Author's Note: If you haven't read #15 – The Escape, this one isn't going to make much sense. Basically, Marco got caught halfway into hammerhead morph in the school pool by two bullies. This is based on one of those bullies' experience. Enjoy, and as always, reviews are greatly appreciated!

#31 – Fixed

Drake sat down in the upholstered chair across the desk from the therapist and wondered how the hell this had happened. A week ago, he'd been fine.

The therapist, an older, balding man, smiled kindly at him. "It's nice to meet you, Drake. My name is Dr. Faber. Why don't you start with telling me why you're here?"

Good question. It was because he'd opened his big mouth to his parents and actually told them the truth when they asked what was the matter with him. To Dr. Faber, he said, "Well, my dad says I'm here to get fixed."

Dr. Faber didn't lose the smile, but his eyes changed. They didn't physically change, of course…but it was enough to remind him of Marco. Drake swallowed hard as the doctor said, "Okay. Well, that's one way of putting therapy. What is broken with you that needs to be fixed?"

Drake felt the old, familiar frustration at not being able to express himself properly, but he tried anyway. "Nothing's wrong with me, that's why this is unfair. Me and Woo were just trying to have fun with the punk, and he's the one who got…weird."

"What punk, Drake?"

Drake launched into his tale, hesitant at first, then getting more comfortable as the story came out. About how he and Woo had just been trying to mess with Marco. How they were just teasing him, and how he…changed. Drake felt relieved as he was able to describe the flat, black look Marco's eyes had taken on. About how his teeth had been way too large, and sharp – only for a minute, but it had happened. It had affected his speech, for God's sake. How Jake had come into the pool area and called Marco off like he was some kind of attack dog. And his legs – don't forget the legs. At first, Drake had thought Marco's feet touching the bottom of the twelve foot pool had been a distortion, but he had had time to think about that. He grew up in the pool, and he knew water as well as anything. He knew the distortions it could make, and making someone's legs appear roughly eight feet longer than they were was not one of those things.

Dr. Faber nodded and "mmhmm'ed" the whole time, scribbling a note here and there on his legal pad. As the story wound down, Drake eyeballed that legal pad suspiciously. "You know I'm not making this up, right?" he demanded. "I mean, I'm not looking for attention. I don't even want to be here. There's no reason for me to make this up."

"I believe that you saw something," Dr. Faber said, and Drake relaxed. "I'm interested in what you think caused Marco's…transformation."

"I don't know!" Drake said angrily. "That's why I'm here! If I could explain it, I wouldn't be losing sleep over it! You're supposed to be the smart one!"

Dr. Faber didn't react in any noticeable way to the outburst. "It's very important that you tell me how you have tried to rationalize what you saw."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Surely you've tried to explain it to yourself. I can't begin to help you until I can get a grasp on your thought process. It doesn't matter if what you've come up with makes sense or not. How have you tried to explain what you saw happen to Marco?"

Drake considered. He'd never had a big imagination, and only a couple of things had even seemed plausible for a minute. "Well," he said reluctantly, "I saw a movie once where a demon possessed a girl. Marco's thing wasn't quite like that, but the eyes…the black eyes, like holes. That was almost the same." Dr. Faber scribbled on his pad, and Drake quickly added, "I know that's stupid, though. Demons aren't real."

"On the contrary, demons are very real to some people," Dr. Faber corrected him. The corner of his mouth twitched into a small smile. "Demons are prevalent throughout the Bible and all through human history. Whether or not they're physically real, they are very real to a lot of people."

"Not to me," Drake said defiantly. "I know Marco's not a demon. Or a mutant. Or anything else I came up with. It just flat doesn't make sense, and it's driving me crazy."

"What about an alien?" Dr. Faber asked quietly. Drake laughed, then realized the doctor was completely serious.

"Don't be stupid. I'd sooner believe in demons than aliens."

Dr. Faber chewed his pen for a moment, then pulled a small yellow pad out of his desk drawer. He scribbled quickly on it. He handed Drake the piece of paper, which said, "Seroquel 200mg, 90, 30 day."

"You're giving me crazy pills?" Drake demanded, feeling betrayed by the smiling doctor. "You said you believed that I saw something wrong with Marco!"

"They're not crazy pills, and I do believe you saw something. I just don't know if what you saw actually happened, Drake. I believe you really saw Marco's teeth large and sharp, and his legs nine feet long, and his eyes totally black. But honestly, Drake, if you were in my shoes...what would you be thinking?"

"That it didn't really happen," he exhaled, all of his defiance leaking out of him. For the first time, he actually considered the possibility that he was crazy.

"You have a check-up with me in two weeks," Dr. Faber said. "Take those pills like you're supposed to, and we'll talk about what they're doing and what they're not doing. You may not have to take them anymore after that. But for now, we're going to try them out." He reached into his desk and pulled out a pamphlet and handed it to Drake. "As part of your treatment, I also want you to go and attend a meeting here. We may find that while you don't need the pills, a healthy support system could do you a lot of good."

"The Sharing?" Drake read the front of the leaflet. "Aw, Doc, this is for dorks!"

Dr. Faber's expression hardened. "I can't make you go, of course. But I will say this – if you choose not to explore that avenue, I'll be forced to rely solely on medication. Going to The Sharing could mean less pills. Maybe no pills at all. It's completely up to you."

Drake thought about what his father would say when he learned his son was taking crazy medication. What his friends would say when he had to go to the school nurse every day after third period to take his daily pills. "All right, I'll go."

Dr. Faber smiled, and though his teeth were completely normal, it reminded Drake of Marco's devilish smile in the pool. "You'll like it. I promise."