Dr Quinzel get out

[restingstitchface]

[Jonathan hasn't said anything. He hasn't said anything since the session started five minutes ago, and he intends not to say anything till it's over. He hasn't spoken to Joan Leland. He has driven other doctors into therapy. He'll have to send his ex-colleague there.]

Hello Harley. How are you today?

[That's all he asks, and he asks soon as she's in the room. Like he's a doctor and not a patient.]

Comments

[itistolaugh]

[ Harley breezes past him to her seat behind the desk. She is the doctor here, he's nothing, not anymore, and she won't be intimidated in her own sessions.

And maybe if she keeps telling herself that, she'll believe it. ]

We aren't here to talk about me, Scarecrow, and you aren't actually interested in the answer.

[ She barely spares him a glance before opening his file and beginning to read in silence. ]

[restingstitchface]

[He watches her read through his file with those greedy fingers. Eager to pry. Eager to make a name for herself. He wonders if she'll start off with the boring questions old doctors have given him before, believing they'll soften him up. Or whether she'll jump into the deep end, so to speak.]

Does it really matter if I'm interested in the answer or not, Harleen? I can call you Harleen, can't I?

[He'll do what he wants!]

[itistolaugh]

You'd be the only one.

[ She's not forbidding it, even though she's not thrilled. Still, she expected these small rebellions.

She keeps reading.]

[restingstitchface]

[He wets his lips. Then he gently clicks his tongue inside his cheek and turns his head to stare out the window.]

Why did you become a psychiatrist, Dr Quinzel?

[His enunciation on her title... isn't flattering. Maybe he'll just constantly change how he addresses her too. Keep her on her toes.]

[itistolaugh]

[ The corner of her mouth quirks up. ]

To write tell-all books about famous loonies and cash out.

[ She finally sets the file aside and looks at him. ]

And yourself?

[restingstitchface]

[Gluttony. Avarice. The need to escape reality. He folds his hands in his lap and studies her back.]

I wanted to learn about the human mind. [His eyes move to the window again. It's a public enough answer. Nothing about it strikes him as overly revealing.] I am sorry that you haven't cashed out so far, as I believe you had it put. You're still stuck in reality with the rest of the maddening crowd.

[itistolaugh]

Learn about. Not help. You aren't a compassionate man, of course.

So, would you say that you've always been a monster, Dr. Crane?

[restingstitchface]

[The corners of his mouth turn down in annoyance. Gauging his childhood via his morality? How predictable.]

I believe we are both aware you want to ask me about my childhood, Harley. There is no need to pretend otherwise. Why don't you come right out and try asking me?

[itistolaugh]

Do you consider monsters to be born or made? In your professional opinion.

[restingstitchface]

You're underscoring nature versus behavior.

[He sighs. Professor Crane is disappointed.]

That is an unimaginative categorization, and your question is a conflicting dichotomy. Genetics and the environment influence one another constantly.

[That's his answer. But there's just one more thing to say.]

To think otherwise is to be outdated in one's practice.