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Caly peered into Alastor’s room. Rosie was sitting in the armchair next to his bedside, watching him sleep. Usually, she looked so serene, like a mother watching a sick child, but right now, she looked absolutely livid. Peering into her emotional state, this was confirmed. Anger. Fury. Rage. Betrayal. Worry. – Rosie was drowning in a flood of unsavory emotions.
“I know you’re out there, dear,” the overlord spoke up. “You’re not doing a very good job of spying.”
The lavender raccoon demon stepped into the room and stood next to Rosie’s chair. “I wasn’t trying to,” she answered softly. “I was just checking in. I saw everyone else go down to the dungeon to check on the prisoners.” She huffed. “Never thought I’d ever say that unironically.”
Rosie couldn’t help but chuckle at her comment. At least her mood lightened for a brief second. A flash of amusement bobbed up from the deluge before sinking back below the worry and rage. “I can’t believe Charlie thinks all this Heaven nonsense is a good idea.” She shook her head, making the feathers in her hat sway back and forth.
“I can,” said Caly. “She sees the good in everyone to a fault. She’s naïve but she’s learning.”
Rosie offered her a small smile. “I suppose you’d know better than me.” She glanced back at Alastor. The pair observed his chest slowly move up and down. It was relieving to see him sleeping so soundly. The cannibal spoke up again. “You’re the hotel therapist. That means you attend to everyone.”
“It does.”
“Does that include Alastor?”
Caly nodded. “It does.”
The overlord hummed. “It’s hard to imagine this one in therapy.”
“It wasn’t easy.” Hard to believe the frail man in front of her was the same monster who had threatened to eat her on more than one occasion simply because she proved she could see through his bullshit.
“Anything interesting that he’s shared with you.”
“Doctor-patient confidentiality,” she stated. “I can’t share anything we discuss in therapy. But I will say I’ve learned more about him in these past couple weeks than he ever said in our sessions.”
“I can see that. This one has always been a tough nut to crack.”
The doctor scoffed. “I’ve seen coconuts crack more easily.” Rosie stifled a laugh behind her hand. When it turned into a yawn, she failed to hide it and it caught Caly’s attention.
“You know, if you want to take a break, I can watch him for a bit.”
“I don’t want to leave him for too long,” she protested.
“I’ll call you if anything happens, ok? When was the last time you had a moment to yourself? Besides, I’m pretty sure Charlie and everyone are going to be pretty busy downstairs for a while. You might not get another chance for some time.”
Rosie stood up. “I think I will. Thank you, Calypso.” She switched spots with Caly. Now in the armchair, she watched Rosie leave the room before returning her attention back to Alastor. He hadn’t stirred at all. Hopefully that meant he was getting nightmare-free rest. She leaned back and pulled out her notebook and pen. She regretted that she couldn’t save her patient files when they made their great escape to the palace, but the very least she could do was keep monitoring Alastor’s mental state. She peered at his sleeping form and jotted down some notes.
When Alastor woke up, he looked over at the armchair and saw Caly still sitting quietly with her notepad. She looked up and greeted him with a smile. “Hey there. Did you sleep well?” she asked.
He nodded tiredly, studying her up and down. “You’re…Doctor…Fellowes?” he panted.
“That’s me,” she answered cheerfully. “But everyone calls me Calypso – or Caly.” He blinked at her as if he was trying to figure out why she was there. “You always called me Dr. Fellowes though. Do you remember me at all?”
Alastor shook his head. She knew the answer but she wanted to see for herself. It felt more real hearing the answer for herself. “At least you remembered my name,” she offered. “Dr. Calypso Fellowes: Pensive Spring Psychiatrist.” He smiled at the memory of the game they played a day ago. She noticed him move to sit up. Rising from her seat, she propped him up with pillows and helped him into a comfortable position.
“Did…they…bring you…here…for me?”
“Who? Charlie? Lucifer? No. I’m the hotel therapist,” explained Caly. “Charlie took me in when I first came to Hell. I was a psychiatrist when I was alive so it made sense to be one down here.”
“I…don’t need…a shrink.”
“You don’t have to need one to have one.” She crossed her legs demurely. “A lot of times, people come to me when they want someone to talk to.” A sly smile crossed her lips when she got an idea. “Though I’ll tell you one thing: most of the people who’ve been coming in and out of here could sure use one.”
Alastor’s chest shook as he wheezed. After a brief moment where she worried that he was having a spasm, she realized he was laughing. Relieved, she leaned back in the armchair and chuckled herself. “I could probably write a whole thesis on Vox alone. He is…” She twirled a finger beside her ear. “Cuckoo! If were to hazard a guess, I would diagnose him with…a superiority complex and rejection sensitive dysphoria with a hint of anger issues.” The deer demon’s chest shook harder as he grinned from ear to ear.
She normally wouldn’t say something so insensitive about anyone who was clearly disturbed, but she wanted to see Alastor laugh again. Seeing him so amused was a balm on her soul. He laughed until he coughed. “You ok?”
The red demon took a couple of breaths and nodded in assurance. Once calmed down, she asked him a question. “Want to play a game?”
Alastor raised an eyebrow. “What…kind…of game?”
“A memory game. Something to get the gears in your brain turning. I know you can’t move around much right now, so we can at least get you some mental stimulation, right? At the very least, you should be entertained.”
His eyes brightened at the mention of entertainment. He nodded. “Ok…let’s play.”
“Great! I’m going to give you a list of five words. You need to repeat this list back to me. Doesn’t matter what order, you just need to keep these words in your head. Got it?”
He gave her a confused and suspicious look. Nevertheless, he agreed.
“Ok, listen carefully.” She listed the items in a slow, steady voice. “Ball, feather, apple, red, blanket. Now say it back to me.”
With great effort, he repeated the list back. “Ball…f-feather…apple…r-r-red…blanket.”
“Good job,” she praised. “Next, I want you to count by twos up to 10. Got it?”
“Two…four…six…” He took a moment to catch his breath. “Eight…ten.”
“Excellent!” His skewed look of skepticism didn’t escape her but she moved on. “Here comes the last part. What was that list of five words I gave you?”
Alastor’s eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t expect this. His face screwed with concentration as he racked his brain. “Apple…red…ball…” He took a sharp breath in. “F-f-f-feather!” He was quiet for a full minute. Caly watched him closely, not wanting to break his concentration. With a final push of effort, he blurted, “Blanket!”
Caly couldn’t hide her delight. “Fantastic! Great job! You did great, Alastor!” She scribbled something down in her notebook.
Alastor peered over and tried to look at what she was doing. “What…is that?”
“Just some observations.”
He raised an eyebrow. “About…me?”
She answered honestly, “They are. That was more than just a game. It was actually a simple cognitive test. I promise you I have no intentions to trick you, I just want to check your mental capacity.”
Upper lip curled, Alastor snarled at her. “I…don’t…need…a shrink!”
“I didn’t say you needed one. You’ve had a rough couple of weeks. It’s normal if your mind is a little fuzzy.”
“I’m fine.” His breathing was getting heavier. “I’m…not…crazy.”
“I know you’re not. That’s not what this is for. I’m sorry if I gave that impression.” She needed to calm him down before he had another memory wipe. “You are completely in control. You’re not crazy. I should know. I know you don’t remember, but we used to talk all the time. We would hang out in your room, and talked about books, and music, and theater. We didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but I think before…this happened…” She gestured to the bed and the room. “We were starting to become friends.”
His breathing steadied but he still looked fairly pissed. “I wasn’t entirely truthful before,” she confessed. “When I said Charlie took me in, I left out some important details. When I died and I woke up in Hell, you were the one who found me.”
He watched her intently, waiting for her to continue. “I was being chased by a couple of thugs and they cornered me in an alleyway. I passed out, but when I woke up, there you were. You called me Miss, so I corrected you and told you I was a doctor. Before I knew it, you had me following you to Charlie’s hotel, calling me the new in-house therapist. It was as much a surprise to me as everybody else.
“I gained everyone’s trust fairly easy, but then there was *you*. You didn’t need therapy, you’re perfectly fine.” She rolled her eyes with a laugh.
“What…changed…my mind?” Alastor asked curiously.
Instead of explaining, she started to sing.
“Tho’ I appear a handsome man
I’m really stuffed with straw
‘Tis difficult a man to plan
Without a single flaw
Tho’ you may think my lovely head
A store of lore contains
The farmer each of skill displayed
And quite forgot my brains”
His eyes betrayed his shock. His anger melted away and he lowered his defenses. His smile softened. When she finished the song, she noted his pleased expression.
“That’s…”
“’The Scarecrow’ from the ‘The Wizard of Oz’ musical, yes. You told me your mother had the sheet music and taught you to play it on the piano. She also read the books to you.”
He nodded in confirmation, his gaze was far away as he remembered an old memory. Caly noticed a faint glint in his eye. Time to pull him back to the present. “If I’m honest, I thought you were kind of an asshole when we met.”
“And now?” he questioned.
She smirked as she moved her hand in a so-so gesture. “You’re still kind of an asshole.” Alastor laughed again, his chest shaking with humor. “I guess closer to an ass now,” she added with a wide smile. “Maybe even a butt.”
Caly waited patiently for him to settle down again before stashing her notebook away. “Let’s forget about the psychology stuff. How about we just talk?”
His attention returned to her. The bags under his eyes were darker than they were a while ago. “Feeling…tired.”
“You don’t have to do anything you’re not up for. I know Lucifer was reading to you earlier. Want me to read a bit to help you sleep.”
“That…sounds…acceptable.”
Instead of taking a book from the stack on the nightstand, she pulled out a book she had been waiting to reveal. “Lucifer has quite the library. You have no idea how happy I was to see he had the whole Oz series. I remember you told me this was your favorite in the series.” She presented the cover of ‘Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz’.
He squinted at the title, but at the image of the titular characters, he expressed his delight with a broad smile. “How…wonderfully…visceral!” he chuckled.
Caly laughed with him. “No surprise you like the violence in this one. Do you want me to start from the beginning or should I just skip to the part where the Wizard burns the wooden gargoyles alive?”
“The…beginning…please,” he replied.
“As you wish.” Caly opened the book to chapter one. She was going to have to rebuild his trust, but maybe she didn’t have to start back at square one. Rosie was right: he was a tough nut to crack, but at least he was more like a walnut than a coconut this time around. Still hard to crack, but now she had something to work with.
As Alastor relaxed against the pillows, he closed his eyes with a happy sigh as she started to read in a soothing tone: “The train from ‘Frisco was very late…”