Okay, As promised, I will give you an update as soon as I can. And we're now on the 7th chapter. Thank you for reading my fic, and don't forget to read and review!

Chapter 7 : Are we dating? (Part 1)

Days had passed, and everything seemed to work perfectly fine according to Tomoyo's plans. She was dead serious in keeping Eriol within the company, and it looks like he's now gaining the respect of his colleagues. She also noticed that he's the most improved among the trainees. But there is still one thing that she's quite curious of - Eriol is intelligent, but why does he act childish for a 27-Year old man? She wants to do something for him, more than just giving him a job in the company. She wants his acts to be straighten out, for he may have gained his colleagues and his family's recognition, but not for those people who doesn't seem to understand his situation.

It was a very busy pay day. The training on these days usually ends up around six, and it was three in the afternoon. Tomoyo asked Kouichi, the training facilitator to excuse Eriol for a bit. She explained that they will go somewhere, but she refused to give details on where will they go and what for. Anyhow, he allowed Eriol to go with Tomoyo. He can't stop her since she's the boss, right?

Tomoyo and Eriol were in the middle of the road. Eriol got curious on where they'll go. So he asked her, "Ah... ma'am... I dunno but, where are we going?'

But Tomoyo answered. "First, don't call me ma'am. I have a proper name, and that's Tomoyo. You can call me that way. And please don't talk to the driver while the car is in motion, okay?"

"O... okay." he said. "T...Tomoyo..."

"Right!" Tomoyo snapped. "Don't worry, I have already made an excuse to oyur trainer. I'll take care of you, all right?" Eriol just nod as they continue to their journey on road.

It was almost 3:30 PM when they reached the location. They went out of the car. Then, Eriol realized were they are, then she looked at Tomoyo. "Why... are we in the hospital?... Is someone sick?"

"No..." she giggled. "We're here to meet someone. I've set up an appointment for you."

"But I'm not sick." he said.

- "I know you're not sick. But we're here consult someone about your condition. You know, like a check-up?"

"W... what check-up?"

- "You'll know when we're inside. C'mon, let's go!" Tomoyo walked all the way inside but she noticed that Eriol's not following her. She turned her back and she saw him still standing outside. She went back and encourage him to follow her. "What are you waiting? Believe me, everything will be fine" She reached her right hand, and he shyly grabbed it. Both went inside.

They were at the room. Tomoyo knocks on it and it was opened by a beautiful young doctor named Doctor Nagisa Ayami. She's one of the best psychologist in Tokyo, and her family is close to Tomoyo's. She welcomed them. "Oh, so you're here! Come in."

They went inside the room. Then, Tomoyo introduced Eriol to the doctor. "Well, Dr. Ayami, meet Eriol, one of our employees. Eriol, Dr. Nagisa Ayami. She's a psychologist and a good friend of mine." Eriol and the doctor shook hands. "Nice to meet you!" The doctor said. Tomoyo then asked him to be seated on the sofa. "Well, we have to talk for a bit. Stay right there, okay?" Eriol followed her and the two went in the other room. There, Tomoyo had expressed her concerns for Eriol. She also wants to know his condition that's why she brought him to Dr. Ayami so that she will know how to deal with him, and how to make their employees understand him for his sake. The doctor promised Tomoyo that she will do everything to know his condition.

"I'll be conducting some tests with him." The doctor said, "It might take about a couple of hours, but I'll make sure that we can give all the help he needs." The women went outside the room, then the doctor asked Eriol to follow her.

It's been almost two hours, Tomoyo was just sitting and waiting inside Dr. Ayami's room, when the doctor went inside "Sorry, it took so long." She said.

"What happened? And where's Eriol?" Tomoyo asked.

"I ask him to do something on the other room." the doctor answered. "By the way, I conducted some tests to know his condition. These are just initial results, but at the very least, it will help you and him as well."

- "Good..." Tomoyo said, "...and what did you found out?'

"Well, quite interesting. First, let me show something." The doctor showed Tomoyo a paper. "I've conducted an IQ test. Usually, a normal person has an IQ score of between 90-110. If you went over 130, then you'll be considered gifted. Below 70 is classified as a person who experiences mental retardation."

Tomoyo checked the results. "78? This is his IQ?

"Yup." the doctor said. "I've come up with that result based on his answers. Although he's above 70, his score is still below average. Besides, he took some time answering the tests. Aside from that, he's having some pretty hard time following some of my instructions. Like, I asked him to shade all of his answers, and he did marked an 'X' on it."

- "Yeah, I've noticed that, too. Even his trainer knows it."

"But you know what, I've found something that is very interesting." The doctor then showed another sheet of paper, and some booklets. "You told me a while ago that although he has difficulties in following his trainer's instruction, he is one of the best in his class, right?"

- "Yes, that's true."

"Well, I had a little talk with him before I conducted the IQ test. I've asked him if he went to college, and he said yes. In fact, he got Accountancy as his course. However, he stopped in the middle of his 2nd year because of financial woes, and his father asked him to stop. Probably because his father couldn't stand the treatment he received from his classmates back then. I also asked him what are his favorite subjects and he said Math and History. Thankfully, I have some stuff for accounting and let him answer it. You may look at the booklet to see the results."

Tomoyo opened the booklet, page by page, until she ends up to the last page where the results were written. She was in disbelief when she saw the result. "He... only made one mistake?"

"Not only that..." The doctor continues. "...I asked him to read a cooking book since he will work for your restaurant. I picked a very difficult recipe from it. Then I asked him to write down the ingredients and the basic instructions based on what he remembered, and look at this." She handed the cookbook and the paper where Eriol wrote his answers over to Tomoyo, and she let her compare his answers to the booklet. She was amazed because he wrote everything in perfect order - the exact proportions of the ingredients, and the step by step instructions on how to do it. The doctor continued his explanation. "He read all of it within a minute and a half, then he gave me the booklet and I gave him 30 minutes to write everything. He did it within less than 6 minutes."

"But how could it be?" Tomoyo wondered. "He failed the IQ test but he managed to passed the other tests that you conducted?"

The doctor then explained what she had found out. "That's true, and it's quite unusual. Again, this was just initial, but I found out that he has what we called the Savant Syndrome."

- "Savant... what? Could you repeat that again?"

"Savant Syndrome. It was derived from the french word "Savant" which means intelligent or knowledgeable. It was also called "Idiot Savant syndrome" because this is a kind of mental disorder in which a person can demonstrate abilities and skills that a normal person couldn't do. The problem is that, in most cases, they cannot apply these knowledge to everyday life, or they're having a difficulty of doing it. In the case of Eriol, he almost failed the I.Q. test and I observed that he's having a difficulty in doing simple stuff. But he has a natural talent in rapid calculation and analysis. Mind you, that accounting book that I asked him to answer, the questions there are the most tough. Because that book is a reviewer for CPA Bar exams. Plus he has a profound photographic memory, considering the fact that he was able to memorize the most difficult recipe in the cookbook, and rewrote it within minutes."

- "I don't understand, seriously. Because based on what you're telling me right now, although he fell short on the IQ test, you found out that there are certain areas in which he exceeds as compared to what a normal person could do, right?"

"Exactly. And of course, I understand if you're still confused about his condition because this case is unusual. We people would not usually understand them, because sometimes they lack basic skills but they do great in other areas. That's why dealing with this kind of syndrome is quite difficult that's why you should be more careful."

- "What do you mean by 'careful' ?"

"I mean, you should take care of him, since not all people understands his condition. As I further examined him, he told me that this was the first time the someone brought him to a doctor like me for consultation. He also told me about his childhood experience, the way other children treated him. He brought the pain of being insulted until now. He has this syndrome since birth, but it worsened because of the unfair treatment he received from other people. Understanding his condition, that's the first step that you could do to help him. You're the boss, right? You should lead an example by treating him well. Then, show it to your employees. Treat him like he's a part of a family who truly cares for him. His condition is unusual, but he's knowledgeable and a well-mannered person, and you're lucky to have him, that's why you should take care of him."

- "I got it now, Dr. Ayami. That's why I brought him to you so that you may take a look at him." Tomoyo said. Then, Dr. Ayami further explained his condition, as well as giving Tomoyo some advise on how to help Eriol. Before they end the check-up, Dr. Ayami asked Tomoyo to bring him in once every 2 weeks for further examination.

In the hospital's parking lot, Tomoyo and Eriol were inside the car. Tomoyo was talking to Eriol about the possibility of going back to the doctor two weeks from now for further check-ups, when Eriol asked her. "W... what... what did she told you... about me?"

Tomoyo looked at Eriol. "What do you mean?"

Eriol asked her again. "What did she told you?... That... I'm... I'm a retard. I'm crazy... or something like that?..."

Tomoyo smiled, as she grabbed his right hand. Then she refuted what he thought. "You're wrong. She said that you're an amazing person. That's all I understood." She said. Then, she turns the car on and asked Eriol to come with her. "There's a nice restaurant 5 blocks away from the hospital. I've reserved seats for us before we went to the hospital. We'll be having a dinner there, okay?"

Eriol looked at Tomoyo, he smiled and nodded at her, then they drove away from the hospital so that they could have dinner.

I'm not sure if I described Savant syndrome properly. Our family had adopted our 14 year-old nephew and he was diagnosed of having Savant syndrome. I tried to describe it based on what our family doctor had told us about his condition. I also made some research on various internet sites about it. Any corrections through the reviews section will be greatly appreciated.

As of now, The second part of this chapter will be updated soon. Thanks for Reading!