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[abrightboy]

 This is Bright. Leave a message.

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[empathicfault]

"Yes, actually," Will replies with a nod. "Xie Lian showed it to me. It's amazing, but- I don't know if it'd help, considering I can imagine what I want with just as much fidelity." He shrugs, but he does look thoughtful. "I used to do that when I was in the Baltimore State Hospital. Just...go somewhere else. It's not hard. The difficult part is not letting other people's visions leak in."

[abrightboy]

“But what if you didn’t use it for that?” Malcolm asks. “We talked before about how you like to decompress. What if, when you need to decompress, you go there. Create… create a simple cottage in the wilderness or in a remote location. See if B will let you look after a couple of real dogs while you’re in there. Remember to bring real food, for yourself and them. And just…. Live in that cottage, away from everyone, until you can cope with them again. Would that… help?”

[empathicfault]

Will takes in a breath and sighs it out as he thinks about doing that. He imagines himself in a newly-designed cabin, out in a mountain wood somewhere, feeding the dogs before cooking himself breakfast. He can see the trees covering the hills being lit up by bright sunshine through his window. He raises a glass and drinks some orange juice- then considers making coffee. He cracks an egg and blood oozes out of it and onto the skillet. The red inches around the pan until it finds his arm and slides up it, the boiling liquid settling into his veins.

Will's next sigh is accompanied with him tilting his head back in annoyance. He stares at the ceiling. "I'd have to be there a couple of weeks, probably. Don't think you can book the place for that long. I appreciate the thought, though."

[abrightboy]

“If it’s for medical reasons, I expect I can arrange it.” Don’t underestimate what the sheer force of his annoyingness can accomplish, or something. “But we can hold on to that as an option. How about your cabin. Is it sound proof?”

[empathicfault]

The look Will gives Malcolm is both mildly suspicious and surprised. That's far too much to arrange for one person, surely? Especially someone like himself. But he does eventually just nod, when asked about his cabin. "Yeah. Seems to be, anyway. I think-"

He's staring down at his hands again, he realizes. "Maybe if I can just hole up in there for a few days every once in a while, it'd help. The problem's less the exposure and more of a- a build-up. I get too full of everyone else's personalities and they all start spilling over." He gives Malcolm a tired smile. "At least when I had a case, I could focus on one person."

[abrightboy]

“There might be times when that’s harder than others, but I absolutely think it wouldn’t be a bad idea, creating a new routine to reset and rejuvenate yourself. Taking personal time when you need it. Do you have enough to do in your cabin? Books? Supplies for a hobby?” Malcolm asks.

[empathicfault]

"I've got some books and I can work on some fishing lures. It's what I usually do...minus the dogs and the walks," he replies. He takes another long sip of his coffee "I'll talk to B this week, promise."

He's been putting it off to get familiar with the space, but he thinks he's about as familiar with the ship as he can be, now. Clearly so, if it's starting to feel crowded.

"If I can get away with it, I might help Shaw patrol some, too. She's...quiet. Not the same way you or I are." One edge of his mouth quirks up slightly- it's not a smile, but he's fond already. "Of course, that depends on if I start bothering her."

[abrightboy]

“She’s concerned about that. Her… quietness. I think the company would be good for her.”

And she won’t have his. He asked her out. She turned him down.

“You know, the Enclosure might be good for your solitary walks with a dog. You can get ‘outside’, still avoid being around other people. If you need walks beyond patrolling. Did you get the lure supplies from the art gazebo or were they in your cabin already?”

[empathicfault]

Will catches something in Malcolm's voice and looks up at him as he continues, watching his face carefully. Huh.

"It's all in my cabin, but I'll pick up more as time goes on. Bits of fluff no one will miss. I didn't know you were friends with Shaw-" He stops, corrects himself. "Well, she probably wouldn't put it that way, but..." He shifts in his seat, considering. "Where she's at now, you're lucky if she talks to you, you know."

[abrightboy]

"She asked for some assistance from the counselling office. And we worked together during the Flood," Malcolm tells him. "We talk fairly frequently."

He fidgets with his pencil.

"Have you connected with anyone else here?"

[empathicfault]

He stares at Malcolm, considering ignoring the question that's clearly leading away from the more unprofessional discussion of Shaw.

But he does eventually acquiesce. "Uh...A couple people. Iris, who I met in dog form. One guy I never got the name of, the tall Irishman? I wouldn't say we had a good time talking, but we did drink a lot." That's...something.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm didn't know Iris had a dog form. Interesting.

"Sweeney. Drinking a lot is sort of his default state. How was he? He gets... pretty down sometimes."

[empathicfault]

Well, wolf form, technically. But Will played frisbee with her, so she'll forever be 'dog' to him.

"Yeah, he's not doing well," Will replies, matter-of-factly. "I'm...actually not sure I read him right? Which is a weird feeling. But I definitely understand trying your hardest to be 'better' and getting nowhere with it."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm nods solemnly. "Me too." He looks at Will. "I try to help him," he admits. "Informally, not in the office. He has profound trust issues, but I think we're starting to develop a bit of a rapport."

[empathicfault]

Will gives Malcolm a wan smile. "Hope so. He's a bit much for me, like staring directly at the sun, but I like him."

He's...still looking at Malcolm, tired smile still on his face. It's unusual for Will to hold eye contact this long. "And how about you and me? Do we have a rapport, you think?"

[abrightboy]

Malcolm knows he's a bit much. He's been told that many times before. Still, he goes with complete honesty.

"I've never felt so much connection to someone so quickly in my life."

[empathicfault]

Will wasn't expecting a response so earnest, and his smile widens. He's both surprised and flattered.

"Yeah? I had hoped I didn't ruin a friendship from the beginning, by becoming your patient. Sounds like we still understand each other, even through the professional veil." It's a familiar dynamic that Will had found himself slipping into immediately.

[abrightboy]

"Well. I never worked as a therapist at home, so my method here has mostly been friendly chatting with a clinical bent, since I can't help analyzing people anyway. They mind it less if it's 'therapy'," Malcolm admits.

[empathicfault]

Will's smile grows warmer. He has gotten to the point where he really doesn't want to be concerned about medical ethics. Or any ethics but his own, really. Having this be an informal chat takes much of the sting out of Alana's initial rejection.

"Well, I am happy to continue chatting with you, with a clinical bent. Maybe I would've tried psychology out on my own, if I'd had heard it could make the constant analysis less upsetting." He raises his eyebrows and playfully asks, "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

It's a serious offer, but can easily be played off as a joke, if Malcolm desires.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm smiles a little.

"People don't usually ask me that. You never studied psychology at all? You must be supremely gifted to work for the BSU, then. I had to... jump through a lot of hoops to get in to the program at Quantico, even with a Harvard degree in psychology." A beat. "And a new last name. Which. Largely went better there than it did the first time I tried it out. Until it didn't."

[empathicfault]

"Oh, they found out," he sighs, thinking of how Price or Zeller would've handled that sort of information. Or Katz. "Glad you had a little time before the family albatross was placed once more around your neck. But for me-"

He shifts in his seat a little. "What I studied mostly came from trying to figure out what was wrong with me. You can call me gifted or cursed- it's just a matter of perspective. What I've got is so unique that when the head of the- it's called the BAU where I'm from. The head needed me, no matter how otherwise unqualified I was." Will smirks. "So, it might have more to do with the state of the unit, honestly."

[abrightboy]

"Yeah, in retrospect the state of the unit wasn't... the best. Obviously the upper echelons knew who I was. Extensive background checks are required. But I kept up my end of the deal with them; I cut off all contact of any kind with him for ten years. The people I worked with and for day to day had no idea, though. And then someone found out. And she didn't like how high my solve rate was compared to hers. And she told everyone. They didn't get rid of me straight away, but they were looking for an excuse. Anybody who knows me could tell you it was only a matter of time before I gave them one."

[empathicfault]

Will blows out a long breath. Yeah, he can just imagine that sort of situation happening. Except he'd envision it back when he was working homicide in Louisiana. Hmmm.

"How big was your unit? Ours was like, five people. Including me. Six if Hannibal was there." There wasn't exactly competition at Will's work.

[abrightboy]

"I worked out of the DC office, but I specialized in the particularly horrible or weird and I worked better on my own so... sometimes other agents would be sent on a case with me and sometimes they wouldn't. Sometimes I'd work with local law enforcement to make an arrest or sometimes with agents. They sent me all over the country. Basically they couldn't argue with my solve rate so they just... let me do me, basically. That suited me, because it was easier to mask my cPTSD when I wasn't with other agents constantly. Some of my cases were very high profile, though. As you can imagine, when you get someone racking up a bunch of kills and the crime scenes start making national papers... that's when other agents in the department start wanting you out of the way," Malcolm explains. "And when you're the Weird Murder Guy that nobody particularly likes, they're kind of fine with it. Extra so when it gets around that you're probably good at being the Weird Murder Guy because your dad is one of the most famous and prolific serial killers since Jack the Ripper." He shrugs, then regards Will for a moment. "Was Hannibal helping your team with his own murders?"

[empathicfault]

Sometimes when Will is listening really closely, he just stops moving. This is one of those times, and as he's listening, he envisions what that's like. No handler, but no team, either. Pushing your way through it on your own, with only whoever you're helping this week to bounce off of. Will has been lonely enough here- the job would've been torturous if it relied on Will alone to keep it up.

He's thinking about unfairness and fame-seeking and familial connections when Malcolm brings up Hannibal. Will blinks and sits up as he finally makes it back to the moment. "Not all of them were his, but- yes. I'm sure he was having a great time, watching us stumble around. Watching me start following his trail."