The door opened, slowly, the nurses who greeted new patients having learned long ago to stand back a bit before entering the room, just in case. They'd experienced everything from flying kicks and punches, hurled notebooks to furniture coming at them. Some patients just couldn't calm down on their own.

"Mr. Whelan?" The nurse called cheerfully, poking her head in the door. A pair of orderlies stood behind her. "Are you up?"