Characters:Isabella, Albren (As spoofed by Cadmus), Merick, and Benjamin
Location: LVC: Infirmary -- Clinic

Do you want to know what events lead to Merick snapping? Read here! This is the day before the horrible murder of a random rat!

**********************************************

Isabella is making her rounds, stopping occasionally to look at a patient's chart, and talking with the other doctors and nurses. Marking off a detail on her clipboard, she continues on her way, stopping near an empty exam table as she fills out the last chart.

Albren limped into the Infirmary, a sour look upon his face as he curses under his breath. "Damned rock...need to get rid of all of the flipping things..." he says, lightly stepping on his right leg and wincing as he does. "'Scuse me, don't mean to barge in or anything, but can I get a little help over here?" He makes his way on in.

As if he had something planned for the day, Merick seemed to be following behind Albren loosely as he watched him limp into the Infirmary. Hearing him curseing about a rock brought a smile to his face. What a fool. He makes his way into the Infirmary as he gives Isabella his usual wave. "Good day, Dr. Bradbury. I was just on my way to see how things were going. All is well?" Glancing over at Albren, he smiles softly and offers a paw to help steady him. "If you need a paw, with permision from Dr. Bradbury, I may be able to help you, sir."

Isabella looks up, and puts her charts aside. "I can help you," she replies, walking over to Albren's side. "What seems to be the problem?" She looks up sharply at the sound of Merick's voice, but recovers quickly. "If you'd help me get him to the exam table, Dr. Hurtz?" she asks politely.

Albren offers his paws to both Isabella and Merick, wobbling slightly on the spot, "Just a damned sprained ankle, hit a rock working around the fields. The things seem to be -everywhere- lately." He says, eyeing over towards Merick and giving a nod. "Any help is appreciated, any at all. Don't think anything broken, at least."

Merick nods his head, then goes to help Isabealla move Albren to the exam table. In his soft, calm voice, he chuckles softly. "That's good to hear! A broken bone in the ankle hurts pretty bad from what I hear. Either way, may I ask your name sir?" His ever calm and confident smile widens a bit as he looks to Isabella. "What do you supose we should do?"

"I told you," says a loud, irritated, and very familiar voice. "We don't need a f---ing escort! They're not...oh, for f---'s sake..." Sighing audibly, Benjamin enters the infirmary, clad in a rather dirty tunic, followed by what appears to be a trio of ferals. Behind them is the 'escort', a poor fellow who seems to be trying to just follow regulations. "What the hell have you done to this place? It's...oh, never mind." He sighs and doffs the dirty coat, replacing it with his old doctor's coat which hasn't left the coat rack since he ran off all those months ago. "I guess it really hasn't changed that much..."

Isabella eases Albren onto the table, so that she can have a better look at his angle. That at least will distract her from being in close proximity with Merick, who somewhat unnerves her these days. "If you had broken something, you'd know it," she remarks, looking at Albren and smiling a bit. "First things first, we take a look at the injury. She runs her paws very gently over the site of injury, searching for the source. "Ah, here's the--" She looks up sharply, startled, as Benjamin makes his entrance. "Ben...?" she asks incredulously.

Albren allows himself to be gently lowered onto the bed, though a sour look still is fixed upon his face as eh says, "Well, that's a comfort, at least. Ah...gentle no--" He turns his head as his ears perk at the new arrival, his brow furrowing severely at Benjamin in his confusion, "Now, don't take this the wrong way, but just who the hell are you?"

Merick's smile quickly breaks as he turns to the door. "This is not a playground, would you min-...." As if everything turned upside down, his face actualy showed to be shocked. "Benjamin?!?" He stood there for a moment, not sure what to think. The three ferals following him confused him even more! Unlike other times when he could normaly regain his composture, this time, he could not. "B-Benjamin... It's been a long time, my friend... Wh... where have you been?" In the back of his mind, he cursed, his thoughts raving savagely. 'And why aren't you there now? Yes, you should go back there... back with those ferals you brought in. Maybe you found some friends that you can actualy understand...' Either way, his face lied as he forced a smile, turning to Albren. "Oh, don't worry.. he's a friend.."

Benjamin takes notice of Isabella quickly enough. "Bella! You...you're in charge, as usual..." he says nervously. "It's...its good to see...you?" He takes a good look at the other doctor in the room. "Merick? My God, I haven't seen you in ages!" He seems tremendously excited to see him, almost dashing forward to take a good look at his old friend. "Last I heard you were out there on the mobile route. I've...wow..." He rubs his head, astounded. "Bella...I...it's really good to see you, to see all of you." He beams with friendliness, but as Albren speaks he quickly reverts. "Me? What about /you/? Who the f---- are /you/!?" He advances on the patient. "I was the f---ing Head Doctor before, and if you didn't know /that/, then...then...f---!" He growls and steps back, sighing yet again and returning his attention to the doctors. "So, what's up with all of you?" he asks nonchalantly.

Isabella flashes Ben a smile, and begins to apply cold compresses to the affected area. She'll follow that with some painkiller and some medicine for the swelling. She rolls her eyes as he begins to ream out Albren, but keeps silent for now. The exchange between Ben and Merick seems friendly enough, so she decides not to worry about it now. She waves to Benjamin, and to the ferals accompanying him. "Yes, I'm in charge--drunk on power now. I just have to finish with Albren here, and I'll come and say hello properly. If your friends want something to drink, there's water over in the corner," she says, pointing. "And Ben? Much as I've missed your dulcet tones, could you /not/ ream out my patient?"

Albren can only give a puffing breath of annoyance at Benjamin, and a sudden jerk in his arm combined with a twitch of a finger make it clear he'd very much like to return his words with a certain gesture. "I'm another Field worker, so sorry I didn't show the once-and-future king his due respect." He says, turning back to Isabella and nodding. He then gazes at Merick, "A friend? Sure ain't looking the part to me..."

Merick smiles at Benjamin and chuckles, "It's good to see you as well... and for the moment, I'm afraid I'm taking a break from working the mobile route. It's been too dangerous. Not much has been going on outside of the fact I'm searching for the perfect lass to call my own" He then snickers a bit as he watches Benjamin and Albren bicker a bit, not really wanting to do anything to stop. 'Perfection at it's finest' he amused himself. He then looks towards the ferals, nodding his head in their direction. "Oh yes, that's what I wanted to ask, outside of keeping your voice down. Are they friends? I'd be happy to assist them in any way I could, old friend." With a soft chuckle, he smiles at Albren. "Hehe, he's a little... flawed, but yes, he's a friend none the less. He's been a friend to be at the very least."

Benjamin, for once, is glad that Merick is providing such support for him. "You see, I have good word about my character, /sir/," he says to Albren, not at all minding being called 'flawed.' Being flawed was a fact of life. Merick, on the other hand, struck him as still too perfect, too smooth, to be genuine, especilly with that glib tone of his. Yet, his time in the wild, living with the ferals, hs given him ample room to step back and reflect upon his old life more fully. Maybe he had been wrong about Merick. Maybe Merick was simply an overachiever when it came to manners, just as he himself was an overachiever when it came to work. At least, that was what he was hoping. "A 'lass'? God, Merrick, you're a sucker for punshiment, aren't you? Women are nothing but trouble, especially the ones into heat (I have a lot of stories to tell you about /that/, let me tell you!" He seems to conveniently forget the presence of a real woman nearby. "Oh, those guys?" he says, thuming at his feral companions. "They're my, um, 'interns'. I've brought them here because, well, they really seem keen on learning about the 'magic' I do. Hey, come on over here!" The three ferals heed Benjamin and draw closer, looking and sniffing at the other nervously. The tallest, most confident one takes his place right beside the former Head Doctor. "Guys, this is Jairus, and those two are Marris and Pheras. They're my unofficial interns." He seems particularly bemused by this fact.

Isabella continues tending to Albren's ankle, beginning to wrap it with a bandage. When she's done, Ben has just gotten to delivering his thoughts on women. Taking the unused bandage in her paw, she throws it at his head. ;) "It's nice to meet you both," she says, with a perfectly innocent smile.

Albren just gives a last annoyed glare at Benjamin, "I'm sure you do have stories, you pretentious little pri- Oh, hello you three, nice to meet you." He says to the approaching ferals, catching himself quickly mid-sentence. He moves his now-bandaged leg up and down, testing the work Isabella has done to it. "Thank you very much miss, much appreciated." He says, eyeing back over to Benjamin with a still-heavily-annoyed stare.

Merick grins at Ben and chuckles. "That I am. I won't lie though, I guess a little trouble in my life wouldn't be all that harmful." Snickering a bit more, he shakes his head. "Stories? The way you make is sound, it's a miracle you're alive! My dear Benjamin, it may not be the women that are trouble in this case." He winks playfully and laughs as he watches the unused bandage get tossed at Benjamin's head. It was hard to tell if he was acting or not at this point! Either way, he turns back to Albren, waving a paw of dismissal as he chuckles. "Please relax, Albren. Benjamin's no harm, I reasure you." He thought to himself. ~No harm at all...~... Turning to the feral rodents, he nods his head. "Welcome to the colony. I hope you three do enjoy it here."

Benjamin emits a small squeak as the towel wraps itself around his head. He shakes it off violently, glaring at Isabella but in good humour nevertheless. "Hah, funny," he says tersely, avoiding the stare of Albren, whose opinion he, frankly, didn't give a damn about. /He/ didn't have a 100% surgery success rate. "Merick, you wouldn't believe the amount of shit...no, really, the shit! I wanted to have my own chamber, but the only one they had was near their, um, common pit, so I dug my own later. It was...well, it didn't smell that bad, but...yeah." -- Jairus pads over to Isabella, highly interested in her and her scent. He sniffs at her, his long whiskers brushing against her form head to toe. "Oh, the females here are so big!" he exclaims. "You are...you smell nice, just like Benji says." -- The other two take their turns sniff and peering at Merick and Albren, equally curious at these strange rats. How large they were, and how strange their scents were! They whisper little squeak to each other as they assess Benji's people, amazed and somewhat fearful at the same time. Pheras sniffs Albren's injured leg and gives the bandage a lick or two.

Isabella can't help chuckling at Ben's mock-glare. Nodding to Albren, she smiles. "We'll get you some crutches before you go--I want you to stay off that foot as much as possible for awhile." She shakes her head, listening to Ben's story. She stares as Jairus begins to sniff her. "Gah! I don't suppose Ben introduced you guys to the concept of personal space, huh?" Her ears go a bit red at the 'you smell nice, just like Benji says'.

Albren finally tears his eyes away from Benjamin to stare, honestly amused, at Pheras. He manages a light grin as the feral rat sniffs over his bandage, even going as far as licking it! "Hey hey now, curious, that leg needs to heal up!" he says, still smiling as he gently prods the rat away with a paw. "Will do, miss. I'll be on my way as soon as I've got em'" He says to Isabella, relaxing a little and even managing to (mostly) ignore Benjamin, who just came across as distinctly -odd- to him. for some reason...

Merick chuckles a bit and shakes his head at Benjamin. "That's very, interesting.." He then watches the ferals. Grinning at what Jarin states, he makes a very quick, sharp glance at Benjamin. "Hehe, maybe so... but I'm afraid Dr. Bradbury is taken..." He then gives the feral rats looking at him a sharp look as well, almost challenging, then grins and chuckles softly. "Well, maybe they haven't learned much of personal space, but I'm sure they'll find out one way or another." They were judgeing him, weren't they? Either way, he stood calm and tall as he usualy did, though his expression seemed a bit cold. Watching Isabella and Albren interacting with the ferals, he turns back to Benjamin. "Do you have a wife, after all your adventures?"

The only sort of judgement the ferals are apt at making is Merick's sociability; his sudden, sharp gaze and bizarre demeanour don't help their impressions very much, and they instinctively shy away from him. Something was wrong with this strange rat! Benji was much safer...the rat in the bed was safer. Pheras goes to the head of Albren's bed. "You are...hurt? Why? Did the predators get to you?" -- Benjamin's expression darkens as Merick mentions wives. "...No, I haven't," he utters tersely, wondering just how out-of-the-loop Merick had been. He probably didn't even know about the time he'd spent as an idiot savant 'feral'. "I guess I'll just have to...keep looking, but hey, life can't be perfect, eh?" He tries hard not to look at Isabella. "Dunno if I'll have much luck in Fern Hill, though. The colony elder told me a story about an...outsider who came there and got it on with one of their males, and it didn't end well. Plus, there's that whole thing about the NIMH treatment being trasferred by intimate contact, amongst...other things...." He trails off, finding the topic repugnant. "How about you, Merick? Surely you must've had better luck. I mean, you're the suave one in our duo of madness ;)" -- Jairus backs away, understanding this idea of 'personal space' after being yelled at by Benji with those strange words of his (he still has to discover what a 'fhag' is). "Sorry, sorry...but you are very nice, Izzy. Nice smell, nice rat." He grins like a child.

Isabella notices the ferals backing away from Merick, though she herself doesn't see anything unusual. She blushes a bit as Merick makes reference to her marital status. "Taken? Hello, I'm a /person/, not the last scone at breakfast," she says, making a face. She, too, steers clear of looking at Benjamin as Merick inquires as to his own marital status. Their discomfiture is a palpable, almost living thing in the air. She looks down at Jairus, and smiles. You couldn't be mad at a face like that. "Thanks, Jairus. That's a nice thing to say."

Albren nods at Pheras, still smiling a little. "Yeah, I am a bit. No, not from predators are anything like that, I just slipped over some rock or something out in the fields. It's no biggie, I'm sure it'll heal in a few days." He can't help but eye over between Merick and Benjamin, knowing a confrontation when he sees one. He keeps his mouth shut this time, holding back the many things he's dying to say to them both. "Those crutches, then, Dr. Bradbury?" He says, not waiting for a reason to get plenty far away from Benjamin and Merick, they -both- of them were off, he just knew it.

Merick felt himself laughing on the inside, though his face showed he was sympathetic. "Aww.. That's sad. Life is also as perfect as you make it, my friend." He then listens for a moment to Benjamin ramble, shakeing his head a bit. "Ah, I see. Terrible...Oh? Other things?" He says the last, seeing Ben's reaction. When he was asked a question, he smiled proudly. "Oh, me? Heh, I just started searching. After nearly looseing my head to some... beast, I started to think that maybe I should settle down a bit. I shouldn't push myself too hard. To be honest, I'm rather impressed that Dr. Bradbury can manage a family and manage her job, let alone Justin!" He then smiles over at Isabella as he chuckles, sneaking a quick glance at Benjamin... He then thinks about the scone joke... What a site that would be. A rat, cooked? Who would ever do such a terrible thing... He then turns to the ferals as he realized they backed away from him. They understood him... Yes, that was it. They KNEW the mission he was on, and they didn't want to cross such a path... His smile became more empathetic towards the ferals. They were smarter than half of the rodents in this blasted colony... They were more perfect than any one of the NIMH rodents... That's, when a thought starts to hit him...

As Benjamin tries to figure out a way to break the ice between himself and Isabella, he takes a good look at Merick's expression and feels a deep chill. That face...he remembers that demented smile of his. So, had Merick not changed, after all? "Hey, I'm sure Bella can handle more than her fair share of the two," he says jovially. "I did work with her for a long time, after all. She's one of the best doctors around here. Hell, she's almost as good as me." He winks at all of them. "Isn't that right, Bella?" -- Jairus breaks out into a wide smile. "It's good that you are happy with that! I can see that you can do your magic well, if you are...so nice :)" -- Mallas and Pheras back away and chitter amongst themselves, exploring the clinic and peeking aobut, but being careful not to touch anything as Benji warned them.

Isabella nods to the nurse, who goes to fetch the crutches for Albren. "Coming right up," she informs him. She blushes even more deeply as Merick praises her--and Benjamin. There's some strange sort of...tension here, not something she's immediately conscious of, but a thread weaving through this conversation. She smiles at Ben, though. "What do you mean, /almost/?" she jokes. His joshing doesn't make her nearly as uncomfortable as Merick's. She looks down at Jairus, and nods. She has to work rather hard to fight the urge to scritch him behind the ears.

Albren nods again at Isabella, watching the nurse she commissioned go off to retrieve his crutches. He can only look on between Merick and Benjamin, growing more and more uncomfortable as that indescribable air of oddity seems to surround them both. He fiddles with his paws, looking over at Isabella and taking solace in knowing that at least there's another sane rat in the room with him.

Merick nods his head a bit and chuckles. He opens his mouth for one second though, almost about ready to loose it at the comment, 'almost as good as me'... Instead, he remains quiet for a moment, his thoughts screaming mad. ~ALMOST better than you? I'm sure she is ten times better than you! One of these FERALS probably know more than YOU!~ He surpresses the thought though, and the one he had before. No, it wasn't true. He WAS perfect... At least, he wasn't as flawed as much as the others around him, right? His smile for once, fades, a bit of an ill look on his face. "Perhaps so, Benjamin. The problem is, you're not a parent... I'm afraid you'd loose that competition paws down... That and the fact it doesn't seem you've been around too many medical tools as of late, one would naturaly assume you'd be a little rusty..." The thought was on his mind now... He couldn't be flawed... It's not possible to be flawed in creation, no... but really, wasn't he a creation of man? No human could create perfection... The look on his face was now distant, his gaze locked on some far, distant object.

Benjamin could only surmise what Merick was really thinking about, but in anticipation, he could, at least, provide an adequete reply. As Merick mentions Isabella's parenthood, he scratches his head; he was definitely beat there. "Yeah, you're right about that, actually," he admits, "but you can't have everything." He walks over to Albren's bed and peeks at the clipboard on the foot of it. "I can get up to speed pretty quickly, get back to being close to perfect again, but really, it's impossible for anybody to be truly perfect in this life, and I'm fine with that. It's all about...well, f---, I don't think I have to explain that." At once he takes notice of Jairus, who has sensed the tension and has approached Benjamin for guidance. "I'll get to you soon, I promise," says Ben, patting the feral on the shoulder. Ever since he had moved in with the ferals he had begun to realize that his lot in life, while regrettable, was not the end of the world. "Why live with your past mistakes?" he continues. "So you didn't get what you wanted the first time. So what?" He replaces the clipboard, satisfied that everything is in order. "One day people will have to realize that usefulness and worthiness aren't necessary partners."

Isabella finally receives the crutches, and she gives them to Albren. She flashes him a brief smile, silently thanking him for keeping her company during that strange exchange. Her ears perk as she listens to Benjamin--she'd forgotten that he didn't know about Aidan yet. *We'll just keep that for another time...* Nodding, she can't help but smile approvingly at Ben's words. She's happy to hear him speak this way. Looking to Merick, Isabella wonders what his reaction will be. His expression is...strange, to her. "Um....Merick?" she inquires. "You okay?"

Albren gladly accepts the crutches, gingerly rising to his feet as he adjusts himself to the feel of them. "Thank you for your aid, Dr. Bradbury. I'll check back in a few days to return the crutches." He says, returning her smile with his own as he slowly makes his way to the door, very eager to leave, it seems. He gives a single, fairly reluctant nod to both Merick and Benjamin, "Good day to you both." As he inches out the door, he mutters, inaudible to all but the most trained ears, "Freaks..."

Merick's mind seemed to had fallen apart at Benjamin's words. It's all about what? How could -HE- of all people know what life was about! If there was any time a look of discomfort was shown in Merick's face, it was certainly now. He then watches Jarius, an odd feeling creeping through him. He then turns back to Ben, his eyes now showing a form of hate they had not shown in quite a while. His fist clenched as he gritted his teeth, his voice low in tone and oddly, volume. "You weren't born with your mistakes... Do you know what I wanted that I never got? I wanted to be treated just like any other rat here... I didn't want to be some... some insane kid everyone would laugh at. You think I made that mistake?!?" His anger grew more, his breathing somewhat noticable.. "I don't know what kind of world you're living in Ben, but I was nothing untill I took what I had to.. and do you think I was happy... forcing myself to learn everything I could?" He then turns to Isabella, his expression doesn't soften. "I am fine, Dr. Bradbury... I'm... just going to go think things through.." He turns towards the door, glancing at Albren as he says freaks... "Excuse me, Albren... I need a word with you.."

Benjamin's perfunctory wave to Albren halts halfway through as Merick begins his tirade, the facade breaking down before his eyes. He had known, from his experience, that Merick was thoroughly disturbed, aroused by a pathological fear of diminishment that fuelled his hatred of the world. He had hoped that it was jsut a passing phase, that he would learn true confidence, the real value of his abilities and contributions, that all those meetings before the Council were a mistake, the irritable testimonies of a bothered surgeon. Seeing Merick break down before him, in this place and time, filled him not with vindication, but fear, fear that it was likely he had been right all along. "Merick, if you have a problem with me, or anyone else here," he states, puncturing the tension with his own, calm words, "then we need to deal with this now, right here. No patients, nobody else. Just us." -- Jairus' consideration of the matter was invariably simpler than Benjamin's, but the conclusion was nevertheless similar. Something was very wrong with this Merick fellow. He had seen than maddened look only once before, when those Staggs invaded their beloved home. He fancied that it was bloodlust.

Isabella's ears go back as she looks to Merick, plainly not convinced that he's 'fine'. To her, he's completely incoherent. Watching Benjamin now, she sees a flash of...something in his eyes, something not normally there. Probably the same kind of uneasiness that she herself felt. When he does speak, he seems as calm as Merick is mad. She edges past Merick, starting toward the door--it might be best if she had a nurse escort him home. "Merick, maybe you'd better go home, get some rest," she suggests, as though she hasn't witnessed the past few minutes of tense dialogue. "Albren here needs to get home, after all."

Albren turns to face Merick, eyes staring curiously, but unflinchingly, into his contorted face. He'd grown more than a little proud of his own abilities and strength over his years of hard labor...what did he have to fear from this freak of a rat? What did he have to fear from that -other- freak of a rat? For now he ignore Benjamin, concerning himself with only one of them at time. "You need a word? Fine." He gives a quick nod to Isabella, smiling at her, "That's alright, Dr. Bradbury, if he wants a word, I'll let him have a word. Just make it quick, because I have a leave of absence to report before I -do- get home." He says, adjusting his crutches and making his way steadily to the door. "Let's not burden the good doctor and friend, shall we?" He sweeps a crutch at the door, beckoning with a small bow. "After you, sir."

Merick stops at the door to turn to Benjamin. The look on his face couldn't express what he was feeling. At this point, his mind did not seem to work at all. He was, confused. Was he really flawed? He couldn't be... not him. "Wh-what... do you honestly think of me, Ben? I want to know...." He then looks at Isabella as he shakes his head. "No, I'm fine... Thank you though... As for you..." He turns to Albren and glares at him. "I'll be out in a second..."

Benjamin swallows, suddenly aware of the weightyness of this crucial moment. Merick, he surmised, was in a vulnerable state, clouded by his mad sense of self-worth. He had to do something to correct that. "I...I think you need to accept who you are instead of constructing a false standard for yourself," he says, feeling that this wasn't going to be enough. "I've...done the same thing before."

Isabella couldn't read the look on Merick's face, though not for want of trying. She doesn't really understand much about what's going on here, but she senses that it's fraught with tension. "I /really/ don't think that's a good idea..." she begins, trailing off as Ben has his say. She hopes that Merick will listen.

Albren gives a single grunt of annoyance, but nonetheless gives another curt bow. He didn't care for any of this, not one bit. He lets Ben say his piece, unable and unwilling to add any further input. One could easily say Albren is an oblivious rat when it comes to discussions of emotion such as these...that or he just cannot care for the two rats he considers far from ordinary. "I'll be waiting outside the door, then." He says to Merick, not wanting any further part in this. "Can you not keep me long? I don't have all day."

Merick stands there, silent for a moment. His face was no longer showing distress, as much as deep thought. He gave Benjamin an odd look, at least for him. He couldn't believe what he was thinking, but he half wished he could believe Ben. He wished that it was that simple... but he knew it wasn't. He was destined to be what he was... and he could not deny it. No one else had the power or passion to do what he did, no one could stomach the pain... He glances over at Isabella again as he tries to think, but now his mind was clouded. He was flawed. It was, no longer deniable. He couldn't stop but ask why though... "I see... M... maybe you're right..." At this point, Albren meant absolutly nothing to him. He was ignorant... He couldn't comprehend the slightest bit of what was going on... and that would probably be best. At this time, Merick's thoughts were torturing him. He wasn't perfect... He wasn't... Why? He was -CHOSEN- to be great... So why was he flawed? Was.. it the fact humans made him? Looking around, he catches a glance of his eyes in a reflection, a sick feeling spreading through him as those yellow eyes glared back...

Benjamin was captive to his own uncertainty. He saw that his words has struck a chord, but even his long experience of troubled friendship with him did not give him any insight into his mind and motivations. "Merick...let's sit and talk, all right? There's a lot we need to talk about, and I think it's best that we work this out together." He steps towards Merick and offers his empty hand, hoping that his gesture of conciliation would be accepted, somehow.

Isabella, meanwhile, goes to speak quietly with one of the nurses who'd helped her with Albren. The nurse nods, and heads out the door to assist Albren home. She watches as Ben offers to help Merick, though she wonders just to what extent that's possible. The nagging feeling of uneasiness that always permeated when Merick was around was getting worse, and this cryptic exchange wasn't helping.

Albren can only shake his head and give another annoyed 'grrf'. "Insane...how anyone thought him fit to be a doctor..." he cuts his muttering short as he smiles at the nurse, allowing himself to be assisted on his way out. "In a week, then, Dr. Bradbury." He says, tacking on another low mutter, "At least -she's- fit to to be one..." He hobbles on out, apparently unneeded, and not waiting for any further excuse to vacate himself.

Benjamin is thoroughly aghast at Merick's actions. "What the flying f---!?" he exclaims, dashing over to the doctor and grabbing at his torso, using all his strength to pull Merick off of Albren. "Jesus Christ! Get off him! GET OFF HIM!!" He reaches out with one arm to grab Merick's outstretched fist. "F---!!!" -- Jairus squeaks in alarm and hides behind Benjamin, but nevertheless he follows close by, prepared to aid his mentor should it prove necessary.

Isabella cries out as Merick attacks Albren. "NO!" she screams, horrified. She darts to the doorway, trying to figure out the best way to free Albren without getting him hurt further. "Merick, please! Let him go!" She can't believe this is happening...they'd all been in /kindergarten/ together, for Heaven's sake!

Albren feels Merick's paw clench around his throat, gagging as Merick's other fist contacts his muzzle. He tries to bring one of his own paws up to strike any part of Merick he can reach, the shove removing him bodily from the room. He manages to just barely keep his balance despite Merick's choke hold, his own flailing fist, and the numerous shouts and curses coming from Isabella and Benjamin. His punching becomes softer and softer as he struggles to breath, teeth nonetheless gritted and bared. "T-that's...what...you...are..." he gasps, "In...sane..."

Merick pants and blinks, realizing just how out of hand he had gotten in a second. His paw continued to grip Albren's throat, but his assault quickly end, the large rat jerking away from everyone as he ran a paw through his headfur. He never lost his cool like that. He was speachless, though he was not through. He wanted Albren dead... he just, couldn't do it here. He'd wait. At this point, he wasn't sure what he could say, but he couldn't remain calm... not at all. Finally, he manages to look up. "B.. Ben.. Isabella... p... please forgive me... Maybe, it would be best if I rested... and.... Ben, I... I would... like to speak with you later..."

Benjamin is almost as shocked by Merick's sudden change in attitude. That was definitely not normal, yet the proper course of action was bogglingly unclear to him. He keeps a firm grip on Merick's arm and shoulder, allowing Isabella to tend to Albren's injuries. Great anger filled him as he looked upon Merick's calm face. Irritable and frustrated as he had been known to be, Benjamin was nevertheless driven by his commitment to his duty, and Merick's assault was one of the most grave violations of a physician's duty that he had so far seen. "Speak with me?" he utters, calmly but firmly and in quiet tones. "You just assaulted a patient! Who knows what he'll be telling his buddies at the shop!" He unhands Merick roughly. "Oh yeah, we're gonig to talk, all right, but the game's totally different now. The next time you see me I'll have Dr. Bradbury with me and we'll all figure out whether or not the medical profession is really right for you." It is difficult to describe the look on Benjamin's face, it being an admixture of rage, disbelief, but most importantly disappointment.

Isabella puts an arm around Albren to support him, with the help of the nurse. "Are you alright?" she asks quietly, eyes darting between Albren and Merick. *I'll have to report this...something is very wrong here.* She half-wonders if Albren's assertion is correct after all. "First do no harm," she quotes, her gaze level with Merick's.

Albren just stares at Merick, gratefully accepting Isabella and the Nurse's support. He breathes a little heavily, massaging his neck with with his somewhat sore other paw. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a little sore..." He says, his eyes full of hatred for this mad rat. Yet another emotion, and very new, however, has taken itself up in his eyes. Fear. And it is this fear that keeps him from speaking any further to Merick. "Just...get me back home, I want to lie down." He was secretly, vigorously nodding in his mind to Benjamin; There was no well in Hell he was going to just keep quite about this. "If none of you mind..." and he flicks just one more fleeting glimpse at Merick, "I'd like to get home now."

Merick looks at Benjamin, though, for once, maybe it was just for the moment, but for once, his expression was desperate. "Ben.. p.. please... I... I've never asked you... to do anything for me untill now.. but please... I... just.. need someone to talk to... I.. I... have to accept who I am, right? Wh.. what am I?" After letting out a soft sigh, he seemed to return to his calm state as he turns to Isabella. "Dr. Bradbury... please, forgive me. I... I am not well and should not but up and about, as you probably see... I... should have taken your advice. I'm so sorry...." In his mind, he knew what he had to do. He was going to kill Albren. No, they would tell... Did... he actualy have to kill -EVERYONE- that saw? No, the ferals wouldn't do anything... They would avoid the trouble... Benjamin.. He had to, though... could it be possible to reason with him? Oh God, Isabella? How could her murder her of all people? Slowly, fear started to creep into him... A fear unlike any other.. a fear that if he didn't kill... he'd be killed...

Isabella nods to the nurse, who begins to assist Albren home. She can't leave just yet...to her, it seems, Merick needed more than just to talk. In addition to the uneasiness he usually inspired, Isabella also felt his fear--but what was he afraid of? Why had he attacked poor Albren. She backs away a little, not wanting to be any closer than necessary.

For once, a look of tender friendship, one that Benjamin reserved only for those he truly trusted, is apparent in his deep, green eyes. Was Merick playing it up, or were his sentiments genuine? It seemed that he wanted to conquer his own madness...but would a mad person be aware of their own insanity? He doubts it, and part of him still doesn't believe it, but if there was a chance then it had to be taken. Still, actions have consequences. "I...I don't know," Benjamin utters truthfully. "I..we'll see about it. Right now I'm just...not sure if you should continue this profession."

Albren gives no backward glance this time, no mutters, no sign at all that he wanted to speak. He simply allows the nurse to guide him along down the hall. He didn't think he'd be sleeping very easily tonight...no, he didn't think so at all. With a last flick of his tail he and the nurse round the corner to the apartments upstairs, he himself nonetheless desperate for bed.

Merick nods at Benjamin, some what relieved at the responce. "Th.. thank you..." With that, he couldn't stand to be there. He had to get out... The more he was there, by the ones that were friends to him, the more confused he felt. He was wrong, wasn't he? All this time, he was wrong... After bowing his head, he slowly made his way out. He needed to relax somehow... Talk to someone, -SOMETHING-. After wandering around, he came across a rat named Edward...

Benjamin watches Merick depart with great trepidation. "Oh God, what a mess," he says to Isabella, rubbing his eyes. "I..I've never seen anything like that. It's unbelievable. It's...I think I'll need some time to think about this." He sighs, feeling very burdened, but his loyal intern Jairus is there to provide him company. "Bella, I think I need to give these guys the tour they wanted. After you're off we'll have to talk about...administrative procedures." He had hoped to never have to consider that, but there he was. He retreats into the infirmary, Jairus tagging along, trying to return to his previous cheerfulness, but Merick's actions and demeanour gravely disturbed him, shook him to the very spirit. Plus, apparently there's been this murderer going about. He'd have to ask his uncle about that later...