Another day arriving meant that Daniel had to stumble out of bed and get dressed for another day at work. He made the unusual choice of a collared shirt with long sleeves, since it was getting cooler out and debated for a long time as to whether he should pair it with his tie with smiley faces on it, or the much more tame option of a red tie with dark blue stripes. He eventually settled on the latter, as he felt that the smiley-faces were much more commitment than he was willing to put forth. Once he was ready for the day, he knocked on his sister's room to make sure she was ready to go.
"Hey, Sam! You almost done in there or what?" he asked, hearing the sound of rustling paper on the other side.
"Yeah!" the girl replied, projecting her voice. When the door suddenly opened, she had an untidy stack of papers in her arms.
"Oh yeah..." pondered the brunet "You stilling gonna hang up fliers around town with Revy and Gerry?"
"Yeah. Mister Midford is gonna pick us up." his sibling answered before he could ask the question. I dunno when I'll be back. Probably… I dunno, five-ish?"
"As long as Midford is with you and you're not wandering around on your own." Daniel said as Samantha walked past him and set her papers on the table before setting out to make some toast.
"Yeah, like you always went everywhere with adult supervision." she scoffed.
"Hey, Ciel is like, a million years old. He counts. And he didn't want us following him around, helping him look for kidnappers."
"Don't worry. I'll have mister Midford, Gerry, and Revy with me. It'll be super safe. Besides, what else am I supposed to do when a classmate goes missing? Wait for police to do their job?" Pausing, she slid two pieces of bread into the toaster. "Then again, she's a rich, white, girl, so they might..."
"I have no idea what you're talking about anymore..." the man conceded, mostly because he couldn't hear his little sister's muttering.
"Basically, I wanna make sure she gets found. Think your detective buddies know anything about it?"
"I dunno. Probably not. They don't usually handle missing person stuff."
"Well that sucks."
After finishing her breakfast of toast and jam, the two of them got into Daniel's car and he drove her to school. She was dropped off at the front gate, where her friends were already waiting for her. Gerry had her bag which had her fencing equipment in it and Revy had a small backpack that contained only a spiral notebook and two pencils. It was getting time for them to start thinking about what they were going to do after they graduate, which caused dread in all of them at the mere mention of it.
Geraldine thought about joining the military, since it was sort of a family tradition, but wasn't entirely solid of the plan. She sort of leaned toward HELLSING like her brother Oliver did, though wasn't really committed to that either. Revy had a solid idea of what he wanted to do. He was sold in the idea of joining the Media Management Department of HELLSING, using his brother's connections, but the idea of growing up still made him a bit nervous, although he would deny it until his face turned blue if asked. As for Samantha, she knew she was going to college, but where and for what was still up for debate. She wanted to help people, so the thought of becoming a politician or a lawyer came to mind, but being the daughter of Matthew Westley sort of left a sour taste in her mouth about that. According to their teacher, Mister Irons, she was smart enough to get into any college of her choosing. She could even go abroad, but the idea of leaving her friends and family scared her nearly to death. Needless to say, it was a tricky time in their lives and they had that looming over their heads even as they chatted casually while walking to class.
Meanwhile, Daniel had his own issues to face. Once Samantha was safely on campus and heading inside, he took off and headed toward Gehenna. He would park in the space directly in front of the building, as it was the only place to park but fortunately, his was the only car there. Walking inside, he expected to be ignored by the people at the front desk and intentionally tried to slink past one.
It was John Ravenscroft, recent divorcee and "new guy" of the center who was once married to that awful woman who ran for judge and was beaten by Forsetti Sybil. Sybil's was actually the position he filled. Oftentimes, he was accompanied by his daughter, Ruby, but since she was now old enough to start school, her days of hanging around the Gehenna Welfare Center had come to an end. It was a shame. She often played with Daniel, often hanging out in his office down the hall, and was in general a delight to have around. Her father was a nice enough man as well. He was cheerful, pleasant, and interesting to talk to. The reason why he was avoided by Daniel this morning, however, is because recently, the Westley had realised that he found the man attractive.
With a strong chin and kind eyes, Daniel couldn't help but be drawn to the man, even if he seemed to be the opposite of someone who was a "wild child" at any point. Then again, Alois was married to Ciel, a long-time wallflower and part-time stick in the mud. It could never work, in Daniel's mind. Ravenscroft had only recently gotten divorced and was married to a woman when he was "taken." Now, the Westley knew perfectly well that didn't mean that he was exclusively heterosexual, but statistically, he knew the likelihood that it probably did.
Besides, the Westley had his own problems to deal with. He was still trying to figure out what a healthy sex life even looked like, thanks to a combination of naivete and having been involved with Paul Blackwood. Unfortunately, it was primarily the latter. Power was a big deal in that relationship and Daniel had none of it while Blackwood had it all. Daniel knew perfectly well that he was taken advantage of. Using the word "rape" was scary, but yes, Blackwood did suddenly force himself on the Westley while he was intoxicated on more than one occasion.
Going out and having casual hookups was out of the question, given the fact that he lived with his little sister. It also seemed dangerous- terrifying, even, and he didn't want to make a fool of himself due to his inexperience, even to a stranger. It embarrassed Daniel and it made him feel awkward. Thus, although he got along swimmingly with mister Ravenscroft, he decided to enforce a certain distance between them. Still, Ravenscroft was acutely unaware of all of this, and called out to Daniel anyway.
"Morning." he greeted with a cheerful smile. "No fun tie today?"
"Morning." Daniel instinctively answered. "Just wasn't feeling it today."
"Something wrong?" Ravenscroft questioned with a concerned expression and a tilt of his head.
"Yeah. It's Monday." With a polite wave, Daniel excused himself and turned down the hallway to his office, immediately regretting his attempt at a joke.
"Jesus, could you be any lamer?" he muttered to himself while hanging his jacket on the hook near his office door. "You sound like a fuckin' stereotype..."
With a huff, he plopped down in his chair and turned on his computer, so he could look at what appointments he had that day. There were job seekers and others who were looking for them all displayed on the page. Usually, Daniel could access a short snippet about them and what kind of work they had in mind, but some were marked "general guidance" and that was fine. More recently, he was helping assign jobs in Pyestock, of all places. People would take the bus all the way up there to see him for two hours, bless their hearts. Then, they would either have to stay the night or wait a while longer to catch the bus on the way back. Obviously, the welfare center down there wasn't completely functional yet. He needed to fill those jobs as well.
Fortunately, Mister Westley hardly minded it. It just meant less time in between to mess around, but he was alright with that. In fact, it was better so he didn't get bored. The meetings from out of town were typically longer than meetings with citizens of Gehenna. It was so that he could make sure they had everything they needed in one trip instead of having to come back. Some would fill out aptitude tests in the lobby and come right back to his office once they were done. It was all well and good. He liked the business.
One family came in to inform him of job opportunities they were creating in the form of a restaurant in Pyestock only for him to later end up giving an application to someone almost immediately after! He swore he had that place mostly staffed by the day's end. Other situations like this were common. People would come in putting the staffing of their businesses in his hands, informing them of the duties that potential employees would be expected to perform and any prerequisites. These were mostly for shops and restaurants, but one in particular was no such place. It was right there in Gehenna on Medicine street and it was one of the strangest things that Daniel Westley had ever heard of.
Around midday, sometime before lunch, a man of a most peculiar nature walked into his office. He was an incubus with reddish pink skin and hair styled in an unusual fashion. Daniel thought they looked like cat ears, but his client's ears were very much where they were supposed to be. His goatee made him look like a cartoon devil, but his collared shirt, tie, and cardigan made him looked like he belonged on Sesame Street in the 90's. His name was even worse. According to Daniel's computer, his name was "Falchion Grey."
"Mister Grey, is it?" Daniel greeted.
"Yes, it is." smiled the other man. "How are you?"
"Good. Have a seat." the Westley offered with a light gesture. "Is your day treating you alright so far?"
"It is, actually. My office is usually closed on Mondays, since I work through the weekend." Mister Grey said cheerfully. "It helps people avoid having to take off work."
"That's a clever way of doing things. You work on Medicine Street as a..?"
"...Sexual Therapist and Couple's Councilor." the incubus finished for Daniel, somewhat catching him off guard. The human hadn't seen that on his screen, so naturally, he was a bit taken aback.
"And you want… a secretary?" he asked while raising a brow.
"I understand how that sounds..." Falchion conceded. "Sort of shady, isn't it? All I do is encourage and aid in the development healthy sexual practices and attitudes while helping people overcome any personal difficulties they may have. I also do normal couple's counseling! I assure you, there is no exchange in sexual services with my patients or with my staff, for that matter."
"I see." Daniel said despite still being a bit skeptical. "I guess you need a secretary who's okay with being associated with your business, huh?"
"Definitely. I also need someone who will help keep out the riff-raff. I've been getting an increase in customers due to the opening of Pyestock, but I've also gotten and increase in people coming to my office while expecting it to be a brothel!"
"Does it ever get violent?"
"Very rarely, if ever. Usually, they argue until they run out of steam, but I've had at least one person hint that they would try something." Mister Grey explained. "You might want to list that under possible occupational hazards."
"Alright." With a few taps of Daniel's keys, it was done. "So, that along with usual secretarial duties? So… someone who is able to be organised and keep track of dates, time, and be able to answer the phone?"
"Yes, exactly." nodded the other in agreement. "The computer will handle most of it as long as it is entered in. It's just gotten to the point where it's sort of difficult to manage all on my own."
"Okay. So some computer skills?"
"Preferably."
"Anything else?"
"Not that I can think of. That's everything on my list." Falchion said. Many people who came in had a list so this was not at all unusual.
"Alright, then. Shall we move on to hours?" questioned the brunet.
"Certainly. The office is open from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon and is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and on Saturday. Most people go to church on Sunday, so we're not open."
"Okay..." absent-mindedly replied the Westley while typing everything down. Once that was done, he turned back to his client. "Address?"
With a sigh, Flarion finally seemed reluctant. Folding his arms, he answered: "Zero-six-nine, Medicine Street. It's on the second floor above the doctor's office."
"Okay..." Now Daniel was desperate. He fought with all his might to keep a straight face and stay professional. "'Sixty-nine Medicine Street' and in parenthesis, I wrote that it's on the second floor."
"That's correct. And as for the phone number..." Digging in his wallet, the incubus pulled out a card. "I don't often call myself, so I have trouble remembering it. Here's my business card."
Daniel took the piece of paper. Stamped on it in red ink was "Falchion A. Grey Sexual Therapy and Couple's Counseling" with the phone number and address underneath. Holding onto it, the human punched in the information while his client waited and by the end of the meeting, he was still holding onto it, as they concluded.
"That's everything unless there's something else you'd like to add." Daniel finally said.
"No, nothing else." Falchion's words were direct and had he not been smiling or spoke with a friendly tone, he might be interpreted as rude. Standing up, he picked up his jacket and put it back on. "I guess that's that, hm?"
"Yep. You're all set. Have a good rest of your day!"
"You too. Thank you, very much!" smiled the therapist before he turned to walk away. Before he could, however, he paused in the middle of the doorway and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again with a light shake of his head. Then, he offered a small wave before disappearing down the hall going who-knows-where.
The encounter perplexed the brunet, to say the least. He didn't know there was such a thing as a sexual therapist, and furthermore, what exactly did he do? The Westley sincerely hoped he hadn't accidentally been enlisted to help a brothel find employees and felt compelled to ask someone. The question was, however, who would know?
For the time being, it didn't matter. It was lunch time, so it was time for Daniel to go on break. He would think about it after he was done eating. He stood up and grabbed his own jacket before leaving his office and locking the door behind him. On his way out, he walked by the front desk, as he had to inform them that he was leaving for lunch.
"I'm going to get food. Does anybody want me to bring them back anything?" he asked, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Depends. Where are you going for lunch?" asked Helen, the woman who sat next to Ravenscroft. If she wasn't married, Daniel might've thought that she and his little crush were a "thing," but he knew her and he knew her husband, so he wasn't worried.
"I dunno. I'm between Chinese food or burgers."
"I'm joking, I don't eat food." the woman laughed, causing Daniel to roll his eyes. He forgot momentarily that she was a succubus.
"Rude. I was offering out of the goodness of my heart and this is how you repay me?"
"If you're going for burgers, I wouldn't mind a cheeseburger." Ravenscroft chimed in. "Just keep the receipt and I'll pay you back."
"Alright." Daniel answered. With a pause, he hesitated before throwing his question out there. "Uh… You know that guy that was just in my office?"
"Alex Grey?" asked Helen.
"No, his name starts with an 'F.'"
"'Falchion' is his first name." the woman explained. "He usually goes by his middle name, 'Alex.'"
"Is his whole deal… normal, here?"
"Oh. Sometimes, I forget you're human..." his coworker said before picking back up. "Yes. He's known to be a bit 'strange', but not because of the therapy thing. It's mostly his hair, really. Anyway, yeah, his whole thing is normal. He's helped quite a lot of people, actually."
"I went to couple's counseling for a while with him." chimed in Ravenscroft. "He was the one who helped me realise that what I was doing wasn't healthy. I might not have accepted divorce as an option without him."
"Didn't you go to someplace in London before that?" Helen asked.
"Yeah. Petunia insisted that we go see a 'real' professional, but all they did was suggest that I'm at fault while also suggesting that we have sex more?" John had a baffled expression on his face as he said this. "They charge several hundred pounds a session for that and I was still miserable! Mister Grey only charges twenty-five a visit!"
"Is he good?" Daniel questioned.
"Oh, yeah. He really knows his stuff. If you or anybody's got problems, he can probably help fix them."
Daniel did have problems. So far, solving them on his own was proving difficult, if next to impossible. He didn't think he could even try to have a sexual relationship at the moment. It wouldn't go over well. He was far too nervous and admittedly, didn't know a lot. Don't even get him started on figuring out his sexual orientation. He needed to at least get the bad dreams to stop before he could think about that.
Maybe he should at least give it a shot? He had Mister Grey's card, still, and it was only twenty pounds. Perhaps getting a second opinion first would be a good idea. He wouldn't talk to his coworkers about it, though. That's what friends were for. He had time. He could do it while on his break. Yeah. That was an idea. Thus, he headed out the door and got in his car, ready to drive off into town. Daniel would call when he came back. He was too hungry, for now.
A/N: This was a weird concept I came up with and I'm not entirely sure how it occurred to me? It did, though.
After reading your reviews, everybody said that they wanted a break from the plot to check up on everybody, so that's what the next few chapters will be. I haven't decided who I'm gonna follow in the next chapter yet, but hey, there's time. I've got ideas. It'll be fine.
I find it weird knowing the addresses of fictitious places? Somehow, the first ever address we learn in DLTD is this one. Nice. Also fitting that this is chapter 469, don't you think? The guy's name is even a kind of sword... There's gotta be a joke, there...
Anyways... Let's see who we follow next time!
I got a question: "Seeing the remark on the election has me wondering: What's the date in DLTP right now?" by Alxm
Sometime in early September. I don't really know more than that, sorry. I seldom keep track of like, actual DAYS in DLTD. I only ever do if it's a birthday or holiday.
Also by Alxm: "I do have a question though. I may have missed something, but whatever happened to Mr. Irons?"
He's still working at Warwick. They just don't go there and I don't really focus on Revy and his friends that much, so there's never a real reason to put him in here. Nothing really exciting, unfortunately. Imagine the class reunion, though!
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
