♕ |[ 88 ]| What did I know, what did I know, of love's austere and lonely offices?

[had_not_lived]

[ACCIDENTAL AUDIO]

--did a better job of it, you know. If only for a couple of days.

[Quietly, Neil's talking to... well, it's probably obvious. He doesn't sound angry; just a bit sad. Weary. It's been a long day, already. Now he pauses, listening to something inaudible.]

Not so badly after all, apparently. I almost wish you would come, just to visit-- to see what I've managed here. I think some of it-- some of it-- you'd have to be proud of. You would. At least a little bit.

[Another long pause.]

Well, of course not. [A sigh.] I'm trying to read, all right? You aren't real. Go away.

Comments

[had_not_lived]

Thank you, Dr. Wilson.

[Awkward is right, but the warmth in his tone is genuine.]

It's-- this isn't him, not really him. I don't want people to get the wrong idea.

[dr_conscience]

I know - you're hardly alone there, today.

Still. If he did show up, I think he'd get there.

[had_not_lived]

I think so. I really do.

[Private]

I did want to say-- thank you, for everything. Really. As strange as the weekend was... well, it wasn't a bad curse.

[Private]

[dr_conscience]

Well, you don't rally have to thank me, but... you're welcome. To be honest, it was one of the most pleasant curses I've been through here.

[Private]

[had_not_lived]

I thought so, too. I just-- I know, it's a little odd, because it wasn't real, but it was nice.

[Private]

[dr_conscience]

It is disconcerting, having an entire life you never lived thrust upon you for a couple of days, but, seeing as we don't really have a choice... I don't think there's much harm in enjoying a curse that isn't awful.

[Private]

[had_not_lived]

I do find it interesting, seeing who I might have been if things had been-- well, different, in whatever way the City chooses.

I think-- well, today's curse has made it clear my father wouldn't approve, but... I think you'd have been a good one.

[Better than his, maybe, but he won't go quite so far as to say it.

Not in so many words.]

[Private]

[dr_conscience]

[Kid, what are you doing to his heart?]

Well... thank you, Neil. That actually does mean a lot-- after all, that curse is the closest I've gotten so far.

[That sounds kind of pathetic, doesn't it? Sob.]

Your father, though... if you give them time, sometimes people can surprise you. I think it's important to remember that this is a curse, and that while you're probably not wrong, at least on his initial response, it's not necessarily how he would react so much as how you expect he would.

[Private]

[had_not_lived]

[Chalk it up to a leftover sense of closeness. It's weird, maybe, but it's hard to shake off something like that.]

I think it's just-- there are certain aspects of my life here that... I don't know if he could accept them, not really. But he might be able to look past that. I think, maybe it's just that I have a hard time imagining anything but him being angry.

[Private]

[dr_conscience]

[Wilson knows that all too well.]

I'm sure there are a lot of things he'd have a difficult time with - and, obviously, you know him far better than I do, so I would never dispute that. But I know that you're a smart, talented young man, and I know that you've really made something for yourself here. He might be angry at you, but I'm sure, deep down, he'd like to know that you're happy.

[Private]

[had_not_lived]

I think you're right. Thank you.

[Aw, Wilson. It doesn't even matter if you're not his real dad, you're still good at it.]