P?N: What can I say? I'm feeling generous. So enjoy the tripple update. Please review.
Chapter 20: The Last Straw
"I'm tough, ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay." – Madonna
"The personal, as everyone's so fucking fond of saying, is political. So if some idiot politician, some power player, tries to execute policies that harm you or those you care about, take it personally. Get angry. The Machinery of Justice will not serve you here – it is slow and cold, and it is theirs, hardware and soft. Only the little people suffer at the hands of Justice; the creatures of power slide from under it with a wink and a grin. If you want justice, you will have to claw it from them. Make it personal. Do as much damage as you can. Get your message across. That way, you stand a better chance of being taken seriously next time. Of being considered dangerous. And make no mistake about this: being taken seriously, being considered dangerous makes the difference, the only difference in their eyes, between players and little people. Players they will make deals with. Little people they liquidate. And time and again they cream your liquidation, your displacement, your torture and brutal execution with the ultimate insult that it's just business, it's politics, it's the way of the world, it's a tough life and that it's nothing personal. Well, fuck them. Make it personal." – Altered Carbon, Richard Morgan
Sydney was sitting in the hallway, waiting for her father to return or the doctor to come out. She decided she'd wait to see which happened first. After about ten minutes, she started to feel ill. She couldn't describe the feeling, but she knew something was wrong, something was wrong with Vaughn. She got up and stood facing the door. She contemplated silently for a moment, wondering if she was just being paranoid. She'd probably walk in on a normal therapy session and then she'd feel extremely foolish, but the feeling wouldn't go away. She pushed the door open. She came in just at the tail end of a question the doctor was asking about threatening rape.
Vaughn was sitting on the bed, if you could call it that; he had moved to roll himself into as much of a ball as he could. Tears were streaming down his face and he was shaking uncontrollably. She was furious.
"Get the hell out of here, NOW!" she screamed at the doctor.
Instantly, Dr. Kerns and a few nurses entered the room as well, after they heard Sydney.
"What's the meaning of this?" Dr. Kerns asked, looking at Sydney.
"That's my question!" she said as she moved towards Vaughn's bed. "Look at him! This is your idea of therapy? Does it usually end up in this manner, because I can tell you, I've been in therapy before, and I've never ended up like this! What is this, a Gestapo interrogation?"
She moved over to Vaughn's shaking form, and he shuddered away.
"Hey, it's me…it's me…" Once Vaughn heard Sydney's voice, he lurched at her. She caught him before he launched himself off the bed and held onto him. His breath was coming out in heaves, the tears continued to fall and his body was still shaking uncontrollably. His gown was wet and as she ran her hand through his hair, she noted that was wet as well.
Jack entered the room not a moment later and joined his daughter near Vaughn's bed.
"Would someone like to explain to me what's going on here?"
Dr. Kerns answered, "Your daughter has just interrupted a therapy session…"
Dr. Ramsay added, "I'm not finished with Mr. Vaughn yet, either. I want all of you to leave, and I want Ms. Bristow escorted off the premises so we can continue without interruption. There is nothing to be worried about, I am a professional."
Vaughn lost it completely and grabbed onto Sydney. "No…I don't want them to take you away…Sydney please," he begged her, "Don't leave me here…I don't want to stay here anymore."
Sydney was crying too, "It's ok Vaughn, I'm not leaving you here…it's ok." She tried to comfort him further.
Jack moved over to the other side of Vaughn's bed where Dr. Ramsay was still sitting. He looked at Dr. Kerns, "Mr. Vaughn is no longer a patient of this hospital. He will no longer need your medical attention or your psychiatric attention, Dr. Ramsay. He's being moved to a CIA sanctioned hospital. The team is on the way now. He should be moved within the hour and any necessary paper work that needs to be filed is to taken up with FBI Assistant Director Kendall. I should add that the team that is coming to get Mr. Vaughn is an armed escort, and anyone who attempts to interfere with his transfer will be taken into custody with no questions asked. Assistant Director Kendall has also launched an investigation into the psychiatric methods of this hospital and it's staff. Are there any questions?"
Drs. Kerns and Ramsay looked with astonishment at Jack and at the couple on the bed.
Jack added, "I take you silence to mean that you understand the government's requirements in this matter. If you don't mind," he gestured to the door.
The doctors and nurses left dumbfounded.
Jack turned to look at his daughter and Vaughn. He took a chair at the far end of the room near the door, to wait for the transfer team.
Sydney was cradling Vaughn's limp body in a posture she was getting quite familiar with. She silently cursed that she had ever left Vaughn alone with Dr. Ramsay. His body was still shaking and he was whimpering softly.
"Vaughn, I'm so sorry…I shouldn't have left you alone with him. I should have known better, I should have put up more of a protest. I'm sorry sweetie," she murmured as she kissed the top of his head.
It took Sydney a moment to realize that Vaughn was talking, he was talking so low, it was almost impossible to hear him.
"What honey? I didn't hear you…what did you say?"
Vaughn said through his tears, "I'm sorry Sydney, I tried…I tried…"
She was confused, "What are you sorry for? Tried what?"
"I didn't want to talk to him…he…he made me…I didn't want to remember those things…not now…I…I…he sounded like them…he…was…was…he was right what he said," he broke down into a series of sobs and Sydney held him closer.
She said, "Vaughn, you didn't do anything wrong. This wasn't your fault. That wasn't a therapy session; it was an interrogation. What did he say? What do you mean he was right? Right about what honey?"
"He said my greatest fear was that you wouldn't be there with me, that you'd be taken away…he was right, I can't…I tried to do it without you…you can't be there all the time…when you want to leave, I'm going to have to…to…deal with it on my own."
"Vaughn, he's wrong…" she bent down further and said while moving his head, "Look at me, he's wrong…I'm not going anywhere…do you hear me, I'm not going anywhere! You don't have to do this alone; you don't have to be brave right now. I don't want to leave you; the thought of leaving you hasn't even crossed my mind once! You can depend on me, it's my turn to be there for you…just like you've been there for me…it's ok to need me…I'll be here, and I swear to you, no one is going to hurt you again…NO ONE."
She kissed him and held onto him again as he cried. She rubbed circles over his back and tried to get him to calm down.
"Vaughn? What else did he say to you? What has you so upset?"
Vaughn sniffled, and tried to compose himself. "He wanted me to tell him what they did to me…and what they said. I wouldn't say anything, so he started suggesting…" he shuddered before he continued in a quieter tone, "He sounded just like them Sydney. It was like I was right back there with Sloane…"
Sydney held onto him tighter again, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry he did that to you, that you had to go through that again…"
