Olivia- :-D ...Ok so i cheated...hehe

SaraBlue- I'm English if it makes any difference, probably not but just in case. My English teacher tells me i have good sentence structure, and true i don't have a Beta but i tend to assume that, like me, people will ignore blatant mistakes and things. Could you please explain? (preferably with a little more tact though it's not your fault if you didn't mean to be rude last time, just i was a little hurt by your phrasing. Sorry if i'm being over-sensitive.)

Chapter 11

"It was an accident."

"I don't believe you."

"You wouldn't, you're a shrink."

"I'm a 'shrink'? I prefer the term 'psychiatrist', since it's more accurate and far less insulting. Besides 'tis most certainly better for you if I'm a psychiatrist as opposed to a 'shrink'."

Greg looked at him strangely and began to think that the stereotypes of weird shrinks might be true. The psychiatrist smiled and went on.

"It's a shortened form of "headshrinker", a derogatory comparison of the profession to primitive tribes who ritually dry and shrink the heads of their slain enemies."

Greg continued to look at him strangely then shook his head slightly and smiled. The psychiatrist laughed a little.

"Hey you learn something new every day right? So do you want to be called Gregory or Greg?"

"Greg. And you are Dr..?"

"Dr nothing my name's Symon."

Symon was English but was clearly African in descent. Greg decided he was an oddity and was fascinated by the casual air Symon had about him, as though nothing in the world was wrong. How could this man possibly understand what he had been through? He wiped the expression of doubt off his face but it was too late. Symon was eyeing him with that same air of easy good humour, but in his eyes Greg could see empathy and understanding on a deeper level. Thankfully, Symon said nothing about the look of doubt he had caught, and moved on, no longer smiling.

"A lot of people hurt themselves. I won't even bother with Statistics, they're completely useless."

"Not if they're used in the right way."

"But people never do, do they? Just look in some of the tabloid newspapers...but anyway as I was saying, a lot of people hurt them-"

"How many people know about this? I mean, will my colleagues find out?"

"You can be assured of complete confidentiality here but I wouldn't know about anyone else. Your colleagues?"

"My friends. Well...not really friends, just the closest thing I have to friends now..."

Greg realised that for a few moments talking to Symon he had forgotten, and a darkness returned to him. Somehow forgetting for a few moments seemed disrespectful. He had to remember them all the time, it would be wrong to just go on living life as if nothing happened, it wouldn't be fair to them. Greg struggled and kindly, Symon changed the subject.

"So your father found you."

At the random change of topic, and the suddenness of the statement, Greg was unsure how to answer. He nodded slightly, hoping it was all Symon wanted.

"What are you going to tell him?"

What are you going to tell him, what are you going to tell him...a sentence his mind had plagued him with since waking up in the ambulance and seeing his father's concerned face. It had almost become a mantra, so overwhelming in his mind he couldn't think of anything else.

"I'll tell him it was an accident."

Symon tilted his head slightly.

"A blatant lie? Perhaps he would believe it were it not for the timing of this incident. I daresay even if it had been an accident no one would believe it after what you've been through."

"Then how can you be so sure it wasn't an accident?"

"Oh I believe it was an accident Greg, that you didn't mean to wind up in hospital. I can tell that much about you, you're not the attention-seeking type like that. No, you accidentally went too far but the fact remains that you did try to hurt yourself, you just told me as much."

Greg absorbed all this in amazement. This atmosphere was entirely new to him.

"Then what can I tell him? That I'm a freak?"

"You're not a freak. Tell him...tell him, that you need some time to sort things out, tell him that you didn't mean to end up in hospital again and apologise for everything."

Greg sat back slightly and nodded.

"Go on then."

Greg was brought out of his reverie and looked up at Symon puzzled.

"Your father's waiting outside for you. Might as well go before you forget."

"Time's up? ...You know I kind of expected you to be sitting there making notes through all this..."

Symon laughed.

"I'll be scribbling furiously after you leave."

Greg smiled and left. Symon leant back in his chair thinking about the meeting, and here he stayed for some time.

Greg met his father outside, and immediately Jon asked the expected question. Greg followed Symon's advice, trying not to sound too rehearsed, and watched the look of astonishment on his father's face.

"You're sorry? Greg..."

Overcome with emotion, Jon put his arms around his son, relieved that he was ok. Finally ending the embrace, Jon looked at the bandage on Greg's arm, then at Greg, and said:

"How was the shrink?"

Greg laughed genuinely for the first time in a while. His father was bewildered, but ignored it in his relief at his son's safety.

TBC