Everyone Has Tendencies For Good And Evil:
"I don't want to do this." I complained childishly as I lolled my head back against the headrest and I rolled my head around to gaze out the window at the ominous building we were parked in front of.
"Then don't." Derek answered easily from the driver's seat of the SUV as he tapped his finger on the steering wheel and I turned my head to glare at him in annoyance. "What? You don't have to do this."
"Yes, I do. You know I do."
"No, I don't."
"Why? You want to do it?" I asked him sarcastically, already knowing the answer and his face scrunched up in disgust as he looked away from me. I made a noise of affirmation with a smug smirk on my lips as I relaxed back into my seat and he rolled his eyes at me with a faint smile as he looked out the windshield.
"I know you feel like you have to do this, but you don't. I mean it, Sophie." He told me softly as he reached over to intertwine our fingers on my thigh and he leaned towards me slightly to emphasis his point.
"Maybe I don't have to. But I need to, Derek." I admitted gently in a sad tone of voice as I leaned forward with a small smile and he seemed to nod slowly in understanding as I squeezed his hand. "I have to talk to him. I have to see him. I want to know why."
"You know why, Sophie." He countered sympathetically as he raised an eyebrow at me and I huffed out an exasperated sigh as I turned my head to look out the windshield.
"You sure you don't want to come in with me?" I asked him pointedly, making it clear I was ignoring his comment and he suppressed a smile for a moment before his lips turned down in a frown. "He is your uncle."
"Not any more. My Uncle Peter died in the fire that killed the rest of my family." Derek said solemnly with a blank expression as he turned his attention out the driver's side window and I squeezed his hand tightly with an empathetic frown as I scanned his profile in concern.
"Okay." I whispered in understanding with a slight sad smile as I reached over rub his arm and he turned his head to look at me with an appreciative upturn of his lips. I leaned over the centre console to press my lips against his tenderly and he slipped his hand into my hair as he gently tugged me closer. We continued to kiss for a few moments longer before I pulled back from the embrace with a small smile and he planted a small kiss on the tip of my nose as he leaned back in the driver's seat.
"I'll be right out here. We can leave whenever you want." He assured me soothingly as he tilted his head to the side slightly and I squeezed his hand gratefully but shook my head with a small smile.
"I won't be long. Promise. But when this is over, I'm warning you right now, I'm going to breakdown."
"That's fine. We'll go home, cuddle up on our bed and we'll watch something really sad. And you'll cry on my shoulder and tell me it's over the movie, but we both know it's really not."
"You know me really well." I whispered in awe with one corner of my mouth turning upwards and he grinned brightly as he nodded in agreement, light green eyes twinkling with humour.
"I already have mint chocolate ice cream. And if that doesn't do it, I have vodka." He told me good-naturedly with a wink as his smile transformed into a smirk and I laughed outright as I tipped my head back, feeling relaxed for the first time that morning.
"Thanks for coming with me." I said sincerely as I opened the passenger side door with a small smile and he nodded once in understanding with an earnest expression as I climbed out of the car. The chilly air caused me to shiver as I closed the door behind me and I looked up at the ominous building standing in front of me.
It didn't matter how many times I went there, Eichen House always sent a wave of dread through me but I straightened my shoulders with my head held up high and I started to walk up the foreboding steps that led to the front door.
My high heels seemed to echo on the ground as I entered the quiet lobby and I plastered a confident expression on my face as I strolled passed the receptionist sitting behind the glass window. I held up my ID lanyard when she looked up idly and she pursed her lips in annoyance from being disturbed as she went back to her crossword puzzle.
I followed the dimly lit corridor down to the familiar locked door and I paused in front of it to swipe my card as I remembered the passcode before entering it into the electronic security device. The red light changed to green with a sharp buzzing sound as it unlocked and I pushed it open as I passed through the door into another dimly lit lobby.
"Good morning, Ms McCall." A familiar voice greeted me from the nurse's station across the room and a brief smile touched my lips as I looked over at the middle aged man in a white lab coat.
"Dr. Fenris, you know you can call me Sophie." I told him in greeting as I walked across the foyer to stand in front of him and he tilted his head to the side but didn't respond so I just sighed tiredly. "Is everything ready for the transfer?"
"Everything is in order. The patient is being moved right this moment." Fenris told me in a calm voice as he started walking towards the locked door that led to the supernatural ward and I followed after him with a solemn expression as he used his own ID card to open the door.
The fluorescent lighting overhead made the journey down the corridor seem like something out of a horror movie and the faint sound of creatures growling behind closed doors didn't help the cold shiver that ran down my spine.
I had been here so many times before but there was always the nagging reminder in the back of my mind that one day I might end up here. If I gave in to the darkness inside of me, if I allowed myself to embrace the malevolent nature embedded in my Druid DNA and turned into a Darach then I might end up locked in one of these small rooms. It was one of the main reasons I worked at Eichen House, a reminder to stay on the straight and narrow.
A wave of nausea swept over me as I came to a sudden halt in the middle of the corridor and I gasped in pain as I bent over at the waist with my hand resting on my stomach. I hissed through my teeth as I clenched my jaw with my eyes screwed shut and I internally cursed myself for forgetting the mountain ash embedded in the walls to create a supernatural barrier. I ignored the pounding in my head that felt like a jackhammer attempting to crack through my skull as I took a deep breath and forced myself to continue walking down the corridor. All of my muscles convulsed as I walked forward slowly like I was moving through quicksand and my vision blurred with tears as I struggled to catch my breath, suffocating on the thick air.
The relief was instantaneous when I made it through to the end of the corridor and I collapsed against the wall in liberation as I panted for breath with my eyes closed. The pain slowly eased until it was just a dull echo and my legs were trembling as I stood up straight with a resolved expression plastered on my face.
I released a sigh as I held my head up in determination and turned to look at Fenris, who was standing by the next locked door. His face was paler than normal but his eyes were knowing because he had witnessed the same incident each time I came here and I offered him a small nod as I walked forward. "Okay, I'm ready."
The doctor didn't say anything as he unlocked the bolted door and then held it open for me to pass through before closing it behind me as I looked at him over my shoulder. I could hear the distance cries of people, some begging for help or forgiveness, some screaming every expletive known to man and cursing the existence of the people who locked them away. I tried not to look at any of the windows into the cells because some of the inmates freaked me out and I couldn't afford to be distracted when I was in the middle of something important.
At the end of the hall, three of the orderlies Michael, Oliver and Christian had an unconscious Peter Hale seated in a wheelchair in between them, all of them built all line-backers and looking like a protection detail.
"Ms McCall." Michael greeted me respectfully with a half-smile as he nodded in my direction and I returned the gesture with a half-hearted attempt at a smile as I actively avoided looking at Peter. I unlocked the door to the exclusive ward, the one we reserved for the highest potential risk patients and I held the door open with cell 8 marked on it for the orderlies to push Peter's wheelchair through.
This particular cell always reminded me of the cell holding Hannibal Lecter in the film 'Silence of the Lambs' and I was aware that the glass enclosure was used because the prisoner was too dangerous for direct contact. I knew that it was for the best that he was put in isolation behind a reinforced Plexiglas cell and I stood back with my arms crossed over my chest as I watched them place the unconscious werewolf on one of the thin bed to the side of the cell.
"Be careful, Ms McCall." Oliver warned me in concerned as he touched my elbow gently and I nodded in assurance as he cast a wary glance over his shoulder, his gaze going to the person sitting on the opposite bed from Peter. "You know how Valack gets."
"I, more than anyone, know what he's capable of." I replied drily with a purse of my lips as I made direct eye contact with the inmate without flinching and his lips twitched up into a smirk because I was the only one brave enough to meet his gaze.
I stood in the centre of the observation chamber, watching as Valack silently read one of the romance novels I had given him and Peter shifted on the bed until he abruptly sprung upright with a gasp. His eyes were clouded with confusion as he stumbled to his feet blindly and he staggered woozily towards the thick Plexiglass, practically falling against it because he hadn't recovered from the wolfsbane poisoning.
"You actually think this is gonna hold me?! You think you can shoot me up with wolfsbane, make me docile and weak, and I won't find a way out?!" he shouted angrily in a slurred voice as he banged his fist against the glass and I slowly walked towards him with a frown on my lips.
"It's not just the wolfsbane." I told him honestly in a calm voice, masking my nerves with professionalism and Peter's head snapped around as he squinted his eyes in confusion until realisation washed over his expression. "It's the mountain ash wood framework of the cells. It's all around you."
"Sophie…" he dragged my name out like a curse as he narrowed his eyes at me and I pursed my lips as I tried not to take offence because I knew he was feeling a myriad of emotions. "Where are we?"
"Eichen House. Specifically, the supernatural ward. This is an isolated room, designed for our more… select clientele."
"Well, don't I feel special." He hissed sarcastically with a twisted scowl on his lips and I smiled back tightly as I clasped my hands together behind my back.
"I am sorry it came to this, Peter, but you've really given us no choice. You're sick, and the hospital is the best place for you. Here you'll be given the chance to recover, to be rehabilitated." I informed him serenely with a blank expression, refusing to display any emotion on my face because I didn't want to show him anything he could take advantage of.
"I assure you, I'm in full control of my mental faculties."
"That just makes it worse. It doesn't matter, Peter. After what you've done, you'd be lucky if you ever got released. You've been involuntarily admitted and that means you can't sign yourself out. Only the psychologist assigned your case or your next of kin can discharge you. And since everyone here is bending over backwards to get on my good side, they're not going to release you, and we both know Derek isn't going to."
"So, this is it? You've decided that I'm evil and so you've locked me up, threw away the key?" he asked spitefully as he stepped forward until his forehead was pressed against the glass and I had to stop myself from grimacing as his face distorted in disgust.
"I don't believe in evil as a diagnosis. I think you've been through hell. I think you have unstable personal relationships, stress-related paranoia, chronic anger issues, fear of abandonment. I think you could benefit from talking to someone professionally and you'll be receiving that help in here." I said with forced nonchalance as I kept an indifferent expression and he released a strangled cry as he slammed his fist against the glass.
"I know the real reason you want to hide me away. The reason you're clinging to this lies about my mental state, trying to convince yourself that there's some explainable scientific reason specific to me. It's because you don't want to face the truth."
"And what truth is that, Peter?"
"That you're just like me." he explained slowly with a bitter smirk on his lips and I felt my blood boil with rage under his insinuation because he had hit the nail on the head.
"I am nothing like you!" I shouted angrily as I stalked forward until I was directly in front of him and only the thick layer of Plexiglass was between us as I glared at him heatedly but he didn't seem bothered in the slightest. "I am nothing like you."
"You are exactly like me! I know you, Sophie. I know that you can feel the power deep inside of you. Just sitting there, waiting for you to tap into it. And you want to feel that power take you over. You want to feel invincible. Powerful. A part of knows, deep down, you're meant to be more than what you are. I can relate. I can understand that desire. And I love you enough to want what's best for you. So, I helped you, set you on the right path."
"You tried to kill my brother! You nearly allowed me to kill my brother!"
"Sometimes the people closest to you are the ones holding you back the most."
"Yeah, they are! You! You are holding me back!" I cried furiously as I slammed both of my palms against the glass hard enough that it shook and I was panting slightly as rage flooded through my veins. "I LOVED YOU! I CARED ABOUT YOU! I DEFENDED YOU! After everything you've done! I let it go when you went after the arsonists who burned you family alive, who burned you alive and left you in a coma for six years. I somehow managed to forgive you for psychologically torturing my best friend for months. When we found out you were the mastermind behind the Deadpool, I still argued in your favour. I still told everyone that you had no control over what you were thinking, that anyone in your condition would fantasise about revenge. But this? This is a new low! You can't tell me this was about the fire. You can't use my memories of Talia or my love for Derek to manipulate me into seeing your point of view. This was all you and it was wrong. You actively hunted down Kate, taught her everything she knew. You used Malia, your daughter. You used me! The one person left who loved you! You were going to let me kill my own brother. Do you have any idea what that would've done to me? I would have been devastated. I would never have been the same. Do you even care? Have you ever cared about me? Or have I always been a means to an end?"
There were tears in my eyes when I finished my rant but I didn't let them fall as I slowly curled my fingers against the glass and then let my arms drop to my sides as I stared at the man opposite me. His face was completely blank as he met my eyes unflinchingly and I shook my head sadly as I walked backwards with a frown on my lips.
"It doesn't matter. Because that's all over now." I told him honestly as I held my head up confidently with a carefully composed mask in place and the corner of my lip curled in disgust as my voice came out in a hard tone, "Now, you get to see what it's like having me as any enemy."
I noticed Valack standing up from the bed in my peripheral vision, reminding me that he was still in the room and he met my gaze with a protective gleam in his eyes as I offered him a discreet nod. He moved to stand behind his new cellmate with a severe expression and Peter frowned in confusion when he caught the other man's reflection in the glass.
"Who the hell are you?" Peter demanded sharply as he turned around to face the other patient and I started to walk backwards slowly as I watched the interaction between the two.
"I could tell you. But it's easier if I just... show you." Valack replied in his slightly accented voice with a hostile tone and he removed the bloodied bandage from around his head, revealing a ragged and bloody hole in the middle of his forehead. The sight made a shiver run down my spine as I remembered the one time I had witnessed someone making the mistake of looking in the hole.
According to Valack, I was one of the only people intelligent enough not to look into the hole on my own and he was quite of fond of me, so he didn't feel the need to force me to look into his third eye.
Peter started to walk forward in a daze as though he was hypnotised and I cast one last almost longing look at him as all of the good memories I had of him flashed through my mind but then all of the atrocious acts he had committed overtook them.
I turned around to face the door as I realised that at some point, all of the bad exploits had started to outweigh the good and maybe it was in my best interest to be distancing myself from someone so bitter and cold-hearted.
I used my passcode to unlock the door just as a horrified scream erupted from behind me and I wiped away the single tear that had leaked from my eye down my cheek.