When you get so down that you can't get up

[restingstitchface]

WHO: John Watson and Jonathan Crane.
WHERE: Nonah. Crane's old practice.
WHEN: 4th May. Early evening.
WHAT: Lurking.
WARNINGS: Mentions of past criminality. Nothing else.

[Crane's old psychiatric practice, now a surgery, still has an air of familiarity about it. It's more of a home than the hotels and apartments he's existed in these last two years. The cobwebs that had festered in the corners have been vaccuumed; the counters gutted and replaced. The renovation has replaced everything.

He sits alone in the waiting room. Reading a newspaper, looking every inch an awkward middle-aged man who avoids people. Nobody is recognizing him for who he is. Not anybody local, at any rate.]

Comments

[acclimatized]

[ somebody in the surgery recognizes him.

it's his second day working here. after the sleep epidemic and sherlock's brush with the law last month, john had no choice but to cover sickness here to make up for the days he missed. he was skeptical at first -- after all, this building has a history, but the first day proved uneventful and he was almost starting to find it boring.

but then he spots crane in the waiting room. he waits until there's no one around before he approaches him. ]

What are you doing here?

[restingstitchface]

[Crane keeps his eyes in his paper, crosses his left leg and turns the page. He folds down one of the corners when his attention wanders off, and bends it back and forth between thumb and forefinger. There is a pounding in his skull with the effort it will take to speak to Watson.

His fingernails pull the corner down and he looks over.]

Visiting. [A pause.] You're stuck here?

[acclimatized]

[ it might not seem like it, but john is going through a similar ordeal himself. his fingers twitch restlessly at his side. it's taking all his will power to not grab crane by the scruff of the neck and toss him outside on the pavement. no one here would bat an eyelid.

he's not convinced by his explanation and scoffs, not even trying to hide his distrust of the doctor. the must be an ulterior motive behind his visit. ]

Something like that. They're understaffed, so I'm helping out. [ but now he's wondering if dr. sumnall really does have the flu. ] The door's over there.

[restingstitchface]

[Catching the way John's fingers twitch, Crane rolls back his shoulders and brings his fingers together in his lap. He slowly closes his eyes and prevents himself from head jerking. The nerve-raw intolerance of disrespect is quite sore.]

You say that like my sole purpose here is to cause trouble. [His tone is calm and civil.] The idea I might be here for the same reason as any other patient is difficult for you?

[He might be here to talk to somebody. Probably. Maybe he just wants a captive audience.]

[acclimatized]

[ john's serious expression breaks into a lopsided smile. ]

You gassed an entire university campus and Disneyland and used this place for God knows what. Of course I think you're here to cause trouble. [ his tongue runs along his bottom lip. ] Besides, you don't look ill to me. And I've seen that little side project you've got at work.

[ the one concerning norma and countless other names he didn't recognize. ]

[restingstitchface]

[A cold, dead stare. This man believes he knows everything without knowing anything. Falcone had threatened his operations in a similar manner. Poetically, John gets the same answer.]

You don't know anything.

[acclimatized]

Enlighten me, then.

[ he sniffs, crossing his arms over his chest. john isn't intimidated in the slightest by crane's glare. he finds it a bit funny, actually -- it's just like winding mycroft up. ]

If you're waiting for Norma, she isn't working today.

[restingstitchface]

I'm aware of that.

[He says politely. It's easy to accept the taunt and let it go, now he has age and success under his belt.]

If you're expecting me to break doctor-patient confidentiality, wait on. I take my work seriously.

[acclimatized]

Yeahhhh, I'm pretty sure that only applies if the patient is aware you've been making notes about them.

[ his tone suggests that nothing about crane's notes suggest norma being a willing participant in whatever he is planning. ]

[restingstitchface]

Then ask her yourself.

[He replies evenly. His lips turn up into a small impression of a smirk, more than a smile.]

You make presumptions about my research without really understanding it. So go and ask the source. I won't stop you.

[acclimatized]

[ that smile irritates john. he would like nothing more than to wipe it off his face. so many people have suffered because of him and here he is, free as a bird, returning to the scene of the crime like nothing’s happened. he clenches his hand into a fist and looks back over at reception. ]

If I catch you talking to any patients, I'll have security escort you off the premises. Understand?

[restingstitchface]

Of course. I'm not here to cause trouble.

[His eyes dart down to his watch, which he reveals by pulling back his cuff. He vaguely remembers being under the thumb of authorities more hostile than this. He'd kept his patience then. He'll keep it now.]

[acclimatized]

Good.

[ john turns on his heel and walks back over to reception. having watched the entire encounter, the receptionist leans forward and john speaks in a low voice to her. ]

Call security. That's Johnathan Crane sitting over there.

[ she nods and picks up the phone. john looks back over at him, smiles slightly, then walks back to his office. ]

[restingstitchface]

[No reaction.

Crane sits politely with his hands in his lap, spending his time dreaming up suitable punishments and scenarios. His usual boredom is replaced with a sigh of disappointment. He gently puts his right hand up and rests his jaw, and for the first time in a while he actually looks at somebody.

The secretary. There wasn't any way she could be bright enough to know what she was doing, but ignorance wasn't a defense. She'd be out of her job within a month.]