Day 40: Doctor's Office 3 (Dr. Kisugi) [Fourth Shift]

[damned-doctors.livejournal.com]

This morning's session with Miss Waterhouse had been a risky one, but Makiko still felt what she'd gained had outweighed the risks. It did mean, however, that she'd need to be even more cautious for a time, no matter how tempting today's patients might end up being (if they were, which she currently doubted - they were both men, after all). It wouldn't do to bring suspicion on herself when she'd only just started here, and hadn't had the time yet to establish herself.

She retrieved this afternoon's patient files from the drawer where she'd put them earlier and frowned slightly. Two of them. In one session. Most irritating, that she'd have to rush them, but at the same time it would hopefully prevent her from getting bored with one before the other arrived.

The first one should be arriving soon, though. She arranged the pair of files in the center of her desk, almost unconsciously aligning them parallel with the edge, and reached over to turn on the CD player. Whichever one was first, she was ready for him. Soon enough today's sessions would be over, and she could begin to prepare for next week.

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[gothamnight.livejournal.com]

The smile disappeared, but the expression in his eyes did not change. There was no doubt in Bruce's mind that she was deliberately trying to provoke him now--wanted to see some sort of reaction. Nowhere in the file was it said that Bruce Wayne abused his wards--only that his personality made him difficult to live with. Strictly speaking, there was nothing Bruce Wayne had to feel guilty about: he'd provided Dick Grayson and Timothy Drake with all the resources they needed to function in society without taking away their independence. Of course, material comforts weren't the only things they'd needed, but some things Bruce would never be able to give back to them. Their families, for one. So he'd stopped trying.

"Dick and Tim are responsible enough to know what's best for themselves," he said simply.

"And in terms of 'safety'...well. Thomas always says that I'm never home long enough to make a difference. Guess it just turned out to be a good thing."

[damned-doctors.livejournal.com]

"Of course." The syncopated tapping came to an abrupt halt, and Makiko leaned forward a little as she flipped pages in the file. She read over a few lines with lips pursed slightly in thought, observing in an almost absent tone, "You always know best, I'm certain. And you thought about nothing but the welfare of those boys, which is why you thought that sort of environment would be best for them."

She allowed that to trail off with what was almost a questioning note at the end as she added a small note in the margin of the file, still without apparently paying attention to her patient's reaction. Though she might not be looking at him, though, her other senses remained quite alert to what results her prodding might elicit.

[gothamnight.livejournal.com]

You always know best, I'm certain. You thought about nothing but the welfare of those boys...

It was beginning to take effort to remind himself that none of this was personal--just another game to the doctor before him, the superficially delicate woman who seemed to delight in every twist of his frown, every suggestion of his pain. Bruce no longer cared whether he was reading too much into her questions: he'd met with enough psychologists to know the difference between professional interest and personal gratification. It was increasingly difficult to defend her actions against the Batman in Bruce's mind; the line about "knowing best" made Bruce think briefly of the telepaths in the Institute until he realized that it was simply a generic jibe at a controlling personality.

Generic. Not personal. General. She could've probably said the same thing to any father with aspirations for his children; it would've hurt the same. Not that Bruce would call himself a father necessarily, or even compare himself to just 'any other parental figure.' The stakes in his life were different, after all, and no matter what he did--

...he'd made a choice, long ago. Seldom did a day go by without him remembering it. Ever since Domestic Bliss had left Gotham City in the shape of Andrea Beaumont, Bruce Wayne'd vowed never to forget that first, original promise. Years had gone by, and his resolve had been tested, but while wards left and things changed that promise alone had never faded. Never left, never abandoned him, never failed to strengthen with each loss and obstacle along the way. He was prepared to give up everything for the sake for that promise, and there'd never been any doubt in Bruce's mind that some day he would...

As for the other things...

...yes. Yes, Bruce did think of them. Often. Too often. Things like Christmases without the Joker, Friday nights spent at home in front of the television. Listening to a Robin's voice not in the heat of battle but following the conquest of a fictional game. Dick's (still) easy smiles, Tim's gleeful punchlines, Barbara and the lists of pop culture references she sometimes insisted Bruce memorize. Coffee with Jim and the costume, Alfred dusting his hands off after handcuffing his latest would-be kidnappers...Talia in Paris with summer rain. And then those increasingly rare moments between missions where no one was really doing anything except maybe sitting in chairs in the Batcave, tending old (and new) wounds and forgetting to think about what came tomorrow.

Happiness.

And the darkness.

.......Bruce smiled, the physical gesture bringing with it an automatic mental blankness as he concentrated on thinking of nothing at all but the curve of Dr. Kisugi's lips and her cold, watching eyes.

"Oh, I wouldn't say I thought about nothing but their welfare," Bruce said, a slight suggestive tone leaving little doubt as to what that "something other than the boys' welfare" could be.

"And obviously I don't know best. I've just been lucky enough to be blessed with two kids who've grown up splendidly despite everything else."

[damned-doctors.livejournal.com]

The man was fascinating in several ways, but at the same time....

Makiko couldn't help but be reminded of her last patient at the hospital in Japan. The Miyashita girl, the one who could be a rare case of an authentic multiple personality. The one who had no fears to be sensed at all, who lived in a harsh reality where enemies of the world were to be killed with no hesitation and no remorse.

This Bruce Wayne was not entirely the same, of course, but it seemed he was striving to be so - though with a streak of idealism that could present a fatal flaw. It allowed for fears and doubts to enter his psyche, after all, cracks where she could very well strike if she were of a mind. If the benefits would outweigh the risks.

That, at this point, she wasn't certain would be the case. Not until she had a stronger power base. Not until her abilities grew, gave her the proper opportunity. But still, the man would bear watching.

"Is that so," she murmured, attention ostensibly turning to the file as she flipped to the end and began adding notes in a neat, precise hand. "Luck won't be entering the equation in this case, though, Mr. Wayne. You have a difficult path ahead of yourself, but if you've decided you're willing to try, I'm sure there's nothing to fear."