Turnabout Emotions
#6 of The Zoo
*Hey Everyone. Here's the next installment of the Zoo. Hope you enjoy, though I'll confess I'm not sure how good it is. I struggled like hell with this one (wanted to get something out for you guys (and Gals) before school started. ) but for better or worse here it is. As always, Votes, comments, Faves, Watches, Shouts, all of those beautiful things are appreciated as are all of you beautiful people who read this. Love you all ;) - AK *
James Dulion sat reclined in a kitchen chair. His eyes were closed deeply. He tried to focus on the silence that surrounded him; a welcome break from the stress that surrounded him. He was exhausted on every level. On the cluttered kitchen table sat bills for loan payments. Next to them were questions from his bosses asking why he had fought against the DYFS agent. He needed to send them out tomorrow. Next to them sat two letters he knew would come, but still didn't want: Hate mail; one from CATTL and one from WILD. CATTL was pissed that he didn't "do his human duty" and let DYFS take Stephanie away. WILD was pissed because his job existed.
He checked his phone which had been silent all day: no texts, no calls. He sighed and closed his eyes again. Try as he might, Dulion couldn't focus on the silence. Everything around him seemed to scream at him; to demand his urgent attention. It felt like he was trapped. He let out a laugh. How appropriate; he was caged in the Zoo.
***
Dr. Tennant walked the main floor towards James Dulion's room and knocked on the door.
"Coming." Said the voice beyond the door.
The door opened. Dr. Tennant smiled at Dulion, but his smile quickly changed to a look of concern. Dulion's face was pale. He seemed to be leaning on his cane not only as an aid to his leg, but as a support for his entire body.
"Are you alright?" the Doctor asked him. "You look terrible."
"It's nice to see you, too." Dulion said. "I'm fine. I'm just exhausted."
The Doctor put his hand on Dulion's shoulder and they went inside the apartment.
"Please don't mind the mess." Dulion said. "I haven't had much time to tidy up. I was thinking of doing that today."
Dulion sunk into a chair and pointed to the one opposite it at the kitchen table. The Doctor nodded and sat down.
"So, how can I help you?" Dulion asked. "But please don't tell me I have another governmental employee coming to pull some stunt."
"I just wanted to say thank you for what you did with the Makarovs." Dr. Tennant said.
Dulion shrugged.
"I was just doing my job."
"No, you did more than that. You could have let that DYFS agent take Stephanie away, but you didn't. You fought for her. You fought for us, and it means a lot."
"I told you when we met, I was going to the job I was hired to do, not the job they want me to do."
"And for that I thank you. Now, sit tight. I'll be right back. I'm going to grab my medical kit."
"Doctor, you don't have to..."
"I'd rather be safe than sorry. Now stay here."
"Trust me, I can't get that far."
Dr. Tennant shook his head with a smile and left the apartment. He grabbed his medical bag from his apartment and went back to Dulion's apartment. He went through all the basics to make sure Dulion was ok.
"Everything seems normal." The Doctor said as he took a stethoscope off of Dulion's chest. "How have you been sleeping?"
Dulion gestured with his hand to tell the Doctor so-so.
"Ok well, the good news is that you're not sick. But I do believe from the looks of you have a condition called MSS. Have you heard of it?"
Dulion shook his head.
"Can't say I have. Is it serious?"
"Yes. MSS means Medical School Syndrome. In lay man's terms you're stressed beyond belief and need to relax."
"You had me worried there for a second."
"It's an old joke my professor made whenever someone wouldn't show up for class. He was right a lot of the time too."
As he talked, Dr. Tennant noticed one of the letters from the corner of his eye. It was written or even typed, but rather was made up of newspaper clippings.
"What's this?" he asked pointing to the letter.
"One of the many reasons I'm stressed. That one I believe is from WILD, basically hating me because I have this job. The one under it is from CATTL, hating me because I'm not using this job to screw every lycanthrope over and deriding having a human raised by "animals.""
"They know about the DYFS case?"
"It wouldn't surprise me if the DYFS agent was a member of CATTL. As for WILD, me being here is a matter of public record or someone here told them. I'm not going to look into it that much. I have other things to worry about. "
Dr. Tennant quickly looked over the table one more time.
"Now these I recognize." He said pointing to one piece of paper on the table. "Student Loan papers. Medical school was rather expensive."
"Law school is too; especially if you're not going into law. And to think I could have been rich."
"Could have been rich? What are you talking about?"
Dulion took a deep breath and rubbed his temples.
"When my parents died, they left me a bit of money that was kept in a trust fund for me until I was 18. My aunt and uncle, who I was living with, we allowed to take money from it if they needed a little help to pay for me. Let's just say they apparently needed a lot of help."
"They cleaned you dry then?"
"I had enough for Undergrad left. Luckily my cousin isn't a thief and told me what was going on, so I was able to make sure the fund was frozen. I was kicked out the next day. Hence why I say I'm an orphan and why I needed loans."
Dr. Tennant shook his head as Dulion explained his situation. He didn't understand how the young man before him was able to handle things so well seemingly without any form of support system.
"You know what I think? I think you need to go today and do something to enjoy yourself." The Doctor said. "Go see a movie or something. You deserve it."
"There's nothing I really want to do." Dulion said with a sad smile.
A knock on the door brought Dulion to his feet. When the door was opened, Dr. Tennant saw a small pair of arms wrap around Dulion.
"Hello there, Stephanie." Dulion said. "It's nice to see you."
"She wanted to see you before we left." The Doctor Ibuki say. "We're heading to the mall."
"Sounds like a fun day." Dulion said.
"You should come with us!" Stephanie exclaimed.
"I'd love to, but I need to clean up my apartment. It's kind of messy and..."
"I'll do it for you." The Doctor interjected.
"Doctor, you're here too?" Stephanie said.
Dr. Tennant got up and walked to the door where he also received a hug from Stephanie.
"What do you mean?" asked Dulion.
"I mean I'll take care of your apartment while you're gone. Didn't I just say you should go and enjoy yourself? Go have fun. Buy yourself something stupid that you can afford for the hell of it."
"C'mon Mr. Dulion, Please!" Stephanie said begging.
"You're more than welcome to come." Ibuki added.
Dulion sighed, but smiled.
"Give me a moment to get ready?" He said.
"Sure. We'll meet you by the front door." Ibuki said.
Stephanie let out an expression of joy and walked with Ibuki away from Dulion's apartment.
"You don't have to clean up." Dulion said to the Doctor. "I'll take care..."
"I insist. You need a break. Besides, this is nothing. Go enjoy."
Dulion went into his bedroom for a moment. When he came out he was wearing a nicer t-shirt then he had on before and a pair of jeans. He walked to the door, but stopped and turned.
"Thanks, Doc." He said. "This...uh...this means a lot."
"Don't worry about it. Now go. Don't keep them waiting.
Dulion walked out of his apartment and closed the door.
Dr. Tennant smiled. He couldn't explain why, but in a relatively short time, he had developed affection for the boy. Not like the one he had for Jayson, but still it was there. Dr. Tennant looked up at the two crosses that hung on the wall and the picture in between. He had a hunch who the three people in the picture were. Dulion did look an awful lot like his father. Maybe that was it. Maybe it was a parental instinct that was coming out. Whatever it was, the Doctor was happy that, at least of an afternoon, the young man could relax.
***
Ibuki was enjoying the moment of rest she was having. Throughout the day, she felt like she had to sprint in order to keep up with Stephanie as she made her way through the store in the mall. The little girl seemed so excited to be shopping. It reminded Ibuki of when she was young...but it wouldn't be wise to think of that right now. Ibuki shot a glance over her shoulder. Sure enough Dulion was there looking around, somewhat tense.
"It's not like someone is going to call the cops on you." Ibuki said to Dulion.
"Oh yeah, creepy guy with a cane hanging by the young girls' clothing dressing room. No reason to worry."
"You're paranoid."
"Keeps me alive."
"How does this look?" Stephanie said, coming out of one of the rooms.
"Really cute." Ibuki said. "I like the little flower on it."
"Me too! But should I get this one, or the one with the butterfly?"
"Well..."
"Why not both?" Dulion interrupted.
"I mean, I'd like to," Stephanie answered. "but I don't have the money."
"I do. Get 'em both. Consider it an early or late birthday gift, whichever is more fitting."
"Really? Thank you, Mr. Dulion!"
"Don't worry about it. Go get changed and we can go pay."
Stephanie nodded and ran back into the dressing room.
"Makarov is going to kill you." Ibuki said.
"Let him. It'll save me the trouble."
"That's not funny."
"Sorry. But, she's a kid. Might as well let her enjoy it while she can."
"Yeah."
Ibuki sighed. She agreed with Dulion completely, but what he said forced her mind back to how similar Stephanie was to her as a child and how that ended one day."
"What's wrong?" Dulion said.
"Nothing." Ibuki said.
"Well, if you ever need to talk about 'nothing,' you know where to find me. I still have a duty of confidence."
"I know. Thanks. But I'm fine, seriously."
Stephanie came out of the dressing room with a big smile on her face. Her happiness was contagious and made Ibuki forget about her previous thoughts. The three of them walked towards the nearest line to pay for everything. Luckily, it wasn't that long. Ibuki turned around to see if Dulion was still with them. She didn't know why she felt the need to do so; he had been able to keep up fairly well thus far. When she did, she saw a strange look on his face.
"You ok?" she asked.
"Uhh...yeah." He said softly, "It's just...well, do you see that girl ahead of us?"
Ibuki took note of the only person Dulion could be referring to. She had dark brown hair and was about Dulion's height.
"Yeah, what about her?" Ibuki asked.
"I kinda know her. That's Danielle."
It took a moment for Ibuki to remember the name, but when she did she grabbed Dulion's shoulder.
"Go say hi!" Ibuki whispered to him.
"Nah. She probably doesn't want to see me."
"Didn't we have this conversation already? About girls and confidence, remember? God it's like dealing with someone in high school. "
"I was worse in high school."
"Would you stop stalling and talk to her? If you can handle a DFYS agent you could handle talking to her."
"Oh DFYS doesn't scare me nearly as much."
"You'll regret this. Think of what could happen."
"Trust me I am."
Ibuki looked up at the line. Dulion was facing her, so he didn't notice the girl purchase her items and walk alongside them. From the look in her eye, Ibuki could tell she knew Dulion, too. Ibuki smiled at Dulion, knowing what would happen.
"Whatever you say, Dulion." Ibuki said.
She could tell Dulion noticed the smirk on her face. He gave her a look of confusion.
"Dulion? I thought that was you." The girl said from behind Dulion.
Ibuki couldn't help but smirk a little bit more at Dulion's face when he heard the girl's voice. Dulion glared at Ibuki for a second before turning around.
"Danielle, hey!" Dulion said happily. "What are you doing here?"
"Just picking up some clothes for work." She said. "I see you're here with your girlfriend."
"Oh, I'm not his girlfriend." Ibuki said. "I just live in the same apartment as him."
"Oh I see. So you're a...lycanthrope then?"
"Yes." Ibuki said with care in her voice.
"Ok. Danielle said. "I'm glad to see that your making some friends Duley."
"Duley?" Stephanie asked with a laugh.
"It was a nickname for me in law school." Dulion said. "But yeah, everyone has been really nice to me there, actually. There great."
"That's good to hear." Danielle said.
"You know, you should come and visit Dulion and us one day." Ibuki said. "We have this community dinner once a week and it's a really fun time."
"Yeah!" Stephanie added. "Everyone makes something and it's really good."
"It sounds really good." Danielle said.
"You're more than welcome to come." Dulion said. "I mean it would be really nice to have you over."
Ibuki smiled. She hoped that it came off as warm, but in reality, it was because she was trying to stifle a laugh over how awkward Dulion looked "Well," Danielle said, "I'm booked all next week, but the week after I should be free. Text me and remind me of the day so I can clear up my schedule."
"Sure. No problem." Dulion said.
"Mr. Dulion," Stephanie said. "We're up next."
"I guess so. Hopefully I'll see you next week Danielle."
"Same. It was great seeing you Duley. And nice meeting the two of you. Take care now."
Danielle turned and left the store. When she was out of sight, Ibuki playfully gave Dulion a tap on the arm.
"See what happens if you try? You just might be successful."
"She'll probably cancel."
"So what! Then you try again. God do I have to teach you everything, Duley?"
"Don't start."
"Pet names are a good thing."
"Whatever you say Buki."
Ibuki had to laugh. She wouldn't be surprised if this was the first time he asked a girl to do anything. Or maybe she was reading him wrong. After all, she really did just meet him. So why did she...trust him? After all it had taken her at least two months to trust the Makarovs and it took longer than that to trust Dr. Tennant. Maybe she was going soft; or maybe, just maybe, her time in the zoo was finally making her open to people. At any rate, she found herself rooting quietly for the awkward guy with the cane next to her.
***
Dulion paid for Stephanie's clothing (all of it) and the three headed towards the exit of the mall. If you would have asked him a few hours ago, he would have probably said there was no way this day could get better; but now, he was all smiles. The loans and threats seemed a million miles away right now.
"Thanks again for buying me all of this, Mr. Dulion. You really didn't have to."
"I wanted to. Now, just tell your mom and dad not to kill me."
"I will. Did you have fun Mr. Dulion?"
"I did, actually. I think...I think I needed this."
"I'll say." Ibuki said. "After all if you weren't here you wouldn't have gotten to ask your "lady friend" to dinner."
"No, it's not only that. That was an added bonus. It's just...It's just that it was nice to get out like normal people do for once. I don't do it so much so...it's a nice treat."
"Well then, maybe we'll do this more often." Ibuki said.
Dulion nodded. He would like that, perhaps more than even he cared to admit.