The intercom jingle came on along with the jovial voice of the Head Doctor.

"I hope that everyone enjoyed our meal from our newly redesigned menu! I also hope, of course, that everyone enjoyed meeting new faces and had some vibrant breakfast conversations.

"In any case, next shift will be a relaxing time in the Sun Room while those patients designated by their files will be taken to therapy. I regret to say that Dr. Huang won't be with us for possibly all of today due to unforeseen reasons, but never fear! We're working right now figure out how we should deal with his roster. There will also be even more new patients added to our population today, so I hope you all bid them a cheery welcome.

"I believe that's all for now! Everyone, enjoy some rest and relaxation on some of our very comfortable armchairs and couches. Talk to you soon!"

The intercom clicked off.

[ All introduction posts for this shift's group of new characters should be made in response to this post. (Have your new character wake up in a random empty room, as we aren't yet able to officially assign rooms.) Thanks!

Also, for your reference, doctor therapy sessions are here. ]

After the couple glasses of water Leon managed to gulp down during breakfast, the mage felt immensely better. He was still a bit tired, but that was nothing a little lounging on one of the sofas wouldn't cure. Stretching his arms above his head, he couldn't help but wish he'd had the chance to grab one of his new doctor's coats before leaving his room that morning. Maybe they would have let him get away with wearing it. Maybe.

He grabbed an empty sofa, pulling out the journal he tried to keep on him at all times. It was nearly complete now. Just a couple more pages to go. It might not improve his spellcasting that much, but any improvement was better than none. It was getting to where it might be too dangerous for him to use spells at all, if it left him so worn out without even finishing a monster off.

Wednesday. The middle of a three-day work week. And Hatori Sohma was certainly ready to work.

It seemed funny, didn't it, to realize, at length, that all of his patients - all of them - were actually rather crazy. Of course he accepted what he found in his file, he'd read all the preliminary tests and verified the data, but it still surprised him that even the most sane-acting patient of them all was inescapably imbalanced. All these minds. Young, old - all fractured. It was a shame, though Hatori would never let on that he felt any sort of pain for them.

There were some things in this world that stood to try the soul of any man.

But today might be somewhat interesting. Two new patients in the morning, ones he'd never seen before. Simon Pastello and -- Dana Browne? He checked the second patient's file suddenly, to make sure of something, then sighed. Everything was in order, fortunately.

And the lavender in the bud vase on the table had been replaced.

The ancient adage of enjoying variety in one's work didn't really apply here; Daedalus would have been more happy following up on yesterday's sole patient, rather than jumping the hoop with three new ones. Though if he wanted to go down that road, then he'd be far more happy having Re-l at his side and Monad under his eye, and not be focussing on the commonplace folk at all.

It was all rather circular in nature, like a useless cog spinning aimlessly. Best to put out of his mind.

There were people who were expecting his helping hand, after all. Daedalus smiled unfeelingly to himself, stretched, and sat back into his chair's solid embrace. Waiting.

With another morning spent at Landel's and two new patients to see, Wilson walked into his office shortly after breakfast, yawning briefly as he sipped at a cup of coffee he had picked up on the way into work.

Completely unaware that patients had been snooping around in the place the night before, he set down his briefcase and fell into his chair, which he decided was probably too comfy for its own good. There was nothing wrong with being comfortable while working, but in the morning it made it far too tempting to take a nap as he waited for his patients to be brought in.

That was a decidedly House-like thing to do, however, and he couldn't help wondering if his friend might find out about it somehow (since he had the tendency to know things even when he shouldn't) and call him on it.

So, he did something much more Wilson-like and flipped through the files of his two new patients as he waited.

Hm... seemed like it was going to be double-duty today. Two patients up front, and then after that, one more. Not that she minded, she really didn't, but it was frustrating to be unloaded on with new experiments when she hadn't yet fully gone through the other ones. Genius was best when focused! No wonder there were always new patients coming in, if the old ones weren't cured!

If this kept up, Washu would have to try something new. For now, though... the scenic walls were of a beautiful jungle, complete with bird warbling and a gentle breeze. Er... well, the movement of branches and things that would, in fact, indicate a breeze. But she hadn't had time to install anything to make the experience more immersive. Not when she still had that sample from yesterday to finish analyzing...

So there would be two patients passing through this door this morning? Nothing Dr. Disraeli couldn't handle, but it did seem a bit odd for such an establishment to require double booking. Were they short on staff, or perhaps Dr. Landel just wanted to see how he, most likely they, would cope. Jizabel certainly would have done the same had he held the position of power here. Making underlings earn their pay was only half the fun. Unfortunately, being one of those underlings (for now) left no room for Dr. Disraeli to argue. He'd just have to deal with Misters Federline and Chen both before being allowed his break – an adult and a teenager should not be too difficult.

Though both their files had made mentions of fire and brimstone explosions.

Speaking of, it looked as though something had tried to explode in his left hand drawer. Closer inspection proved that it had instead been forced open from the outside. Far better than an explosive mishap resulting from an incorrectly labeled toxin he may have tossed in there before leaving. He knew he would not have been that careless.

But who had forced the drawer open? A colleague perhaps? Oh, but that would have been a bold move after only the first day. Of course, having seeing Professor Washu's lunchtime outburst, he wasn’t beyond speculating as to certain things. That the drawer had been pushed back was another point of consideration. Someone didn't want to get in trouble and had tried to hide their snooping. A spiteful co-worker would have preferred to decimate the office as a far clearer statement of contempt. Or that was at the very least how messages were conveyed in Delilah. No blood on the floor in this instance either. Pity.

He'd have to sort out a culprit later; the knock on the door indicated it was time to begin. Again calling for entrance - nothing in either patients' files had warranted a greeting at the door - he readied himself for another busy day.

9... 10... When they said "never sleep again," by god, they meant it. Maggie reached the asylum later than she should have, but no one seemed to call her out on it once they got a look at the heavy circles under her eyes. While the desire to be cranky and irritable was overwhelming, she swallowed her pride for the sake of her patients and entered her office with a level head.

...the door to said office being unlocked. Huh. Odd. The doctor only gave it a questioning look before pulling this day's patient files out of her bag and pouring herself a hot cup of coffee.

She wasn't about to remove the coat she wore, not with the bandages wrapped around the new cuts on her arm.

Dr. Stegman's routine was set in stone. Get his files, get his coffee, and spend the few minutes he had between breakfast and his first patient intent on both. He was a man of routine, after all. Without routine, mankind fell into chaos. A hospital couldn't afford such lackadaisical oversights that would lead to anything even resembling chaos.

He knew all too well what happened when doctors were lax and patients were allowed any voice of authority.

Hopefully he wouldn't be kept waiting long. Those damned nurses had the obnoxious habit of chatting with their wards.

There were no late nights or lazy mornings this time. Early as it was, Muraki's day looked like it would be surprisingly normal. It was a light schedule today; he was expecting Jordan soon, and another new boy during lunch, then he would be home early to sort out certain affairs. Completely, utterly normal.

He rested behind his desk, legs folded at the knee, fingers laced across his thigh. That pose was so automatic now it was just that: a pose. The only sign of life was the way he leaned back heavily against the chair, his expression warring between melancholy and apathy. Maybe his hands were paler too. He wouldn't have noticed just then.

The candy dish had reappeared, in case Jordan favoured sweets. He did like the boy. Cute, trusting, more than a little bit twisted up but not so broken. A smile graced his features when he heard the footsteps from outside. When the door opened, the mask too would reappear.

A soap opera played on the TV in the corner of the office, and though the audio was on, House wasn't paying much attention to it. Instead, he was sitting and staring at the wall, his feet resting on the top of his desk and an open medical file in his lap.

He was thinking. He was also wondering why he hadn't been thinking before.

When a nurse rapped on his door, he looked up at it with narrowed eyes rather than his usual annoyance. Still, he called out in a loud tone:

"Dr. House isn't here right now. If you want to leave a message, press one. If you want to drop off a patient, try Dr. Wilson. If you want to take off that nurse's outfit..."

Not that it worked and not that he'd done it with any other intention than bugging the staff. Still, he figured he'd try.