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Akane quietly watched on, sipping her tea while Timothy showed real, honest emotions. she didn't need to didge the pillow, it went wide and ironically hit Daren's leg. she glanced at him and saw the concern on his face, but he trusted her enough to not make a move. not yet at least. good. when Tim finally finished, pulling the lounge over himself and acting like a turtle hiding in its shell. she put her mug on her coffee table and moved to kneel in front of where Tim's head was, looking under the chair and into his eyes. "one more question. that anger, it wasn't just from what i said. it''s been building, for four years and maybe even longer than that. Anger for not being able to make your own choices and lead your own life, but my question is this. Who are you most angry with? it it your mother for controlling your every move as a child and teenager? or maybe Andrew for abusing you and destroying the love you had? or maybe, just maybe, are you angry with yourself for letting it happen?" she sat up and smiled, still barely able to see Tim's eyes, which meant he could see her, "i think we both know the answer, Mr. James. and that is why you are hear, to face that answer and to learn that it's ok. you have forgiven so many others, don't you think it's time to forgive yourself?" she held out her hand, "but forgiving isn't easy, is it? that's why i'm here, to give you that hand up, to help pull you out of that pain and anger and into a place where you can live again. Will you let me help you, Mr. James?"

"Tim," Akane said softly, motioning subtly with her other hand and Daren standing. "you aren't weak, Tim. you've survived something most people would never be able to. you survived and soon you will heal and be able to be strong. right now it's impossible, you're still too hurt, too broken. but that's what we are here for, Tim." with a nod from her, Daren lifted the lounge chair up and laid it on its side, smiling at Tim. "that's why we all need each other. so we can be strong together." she moved forward and smiled, holding out her arms, "it's hard to be strong alone. so let us help you."

Daren knelt beside Akane and put one arm around her shoulder, the other reaching out to Tim while Akane put one of her arms around him. "It's ok, Tim. Let's work hard and become strong together. ok?"

Daren lifted an eyebrow, "sorry, Tim. changing subjects won't help, hug time." he leaned a bit away from Akane and hooked Tim with his other arm, pulling the man in to hug him, but Akane wisely kept her arm around Daren's back and didn't touch Tim. "he'll a good man and he knows us and your moms. that's a start." he tightened his hug a little bit before letting go, "half an hour's up. time for me to go, i'll set the lounge right if you promise not to crawl under it, Tim."

Akane stood and moved to her chair, collecting Tim's tea and wiping up the mess made before refilling it. "we can't have him in here any longer than this, not legally. there's paper work you can fill out to change that, if you want, but at least half of each session needs to be one on one. Sorry, Mr. James."

Akane shook her head, "you can fill them out during Daren's session, but not during yours."

Daren gently pulled away from Tim and kissed the top of his head, "it'll be ok. and i will be right outside. if you need anything just yell and i'll be right here." he stood and put the lounge to rights, "but i don't think you will need to call me. you're strong, Tim. you can handle this. i promise." he smiled and nodded to Akane before heading out, giving Tim a final wave before shutting the door and sitting on the ground directly outside of it. he'd be damned if the little girl of a secretary could move him away.

Akane watched Daren go before looking at Tim. "do you like to draw? or paint? i've plenty of tools here if you want to spend the time doing that. i just ask you let me see before you leave. or maybe you would like to tell me about something you enjoy. like your job, you liked doing your job, right? want to tell me about that?"

Daren jumped when he heard Tim's voice right there, as if he were standing at the door. which he was. he looked up to where Tim's head might have been and simply listened, trying to be silent and offer what little support he could possibly convey from where he was.

Akane let Tim stand at the door if that is what he was most comfortable doing. "that actually sounds nice. what about numbers do you like, Tim? can you tell me about that?" if she got him talking, maybe being a little bit more free, she'd be able to start her real work. she'd already analyzed his reaction to being pushed to the point of anger, but what about when he was talking about happy things? she needed to know him before she could help him.

Akane adjusted in her chair so she was facing Tim and nodded, "you like the stability of it. what else in your life is stable, Mr. James? what do you want to be stable?" if she could get him talking about things he wanted changed she could work with him on learning how he could change them. seeing cases like this broke her heart, he was a good man and from everything she could see, he was kind. he hadn't thrown his mug at her or done anything to hurt anyone. just flung a pillow and hid under the couch, even after being pushed to the breaking. "what do you want to be more like numbers, Mr. James?"

Daren hugged Tim back, "see, that wasn't so bad." he pulled away and smiled before looking in and seeing Akane with his usual cup of tea fixed the way he liked it. "My turn," he said softly before smiling once more at Tim and heading into the room, "you can sit in the lobby if you want, there are some magazines and a tv that you can change to whatever you like. i'll be out soon." he shut the door and waited a long time before turning and sitting down. he accepted the mug with a 'thanks' and took a sip before putting it down.

"Welcome back, the children wanted me to say hello to you for them and give you this..." she handed a box of drawings and cards even a few letters, made for him by the children he'd saved, "you can read them if you want."

Daren hesitated before reaching down a shaking hand and pulling out a small card, folded neatly with a drawing of what he guessed to be himself crawling a little girl. he opened the inside and in careful penmanship said:


Daren stared at the card for a long time before putting it back in the box and pulling out another. he didn't even notice the tears, just continued to read on.

and hour later Daren stepped out of the room, the box held under one arm. he had finally stopped crying, mainly because he knew he couldn't face Tim while still bawling like a child. he smiled when he saw Tim and nodded to the door, 'Ready to go and eat?"

"Kind of," Daren said softly, opening the lid to show Tim, "letters, cards and pictures from the children Doctor Ko is working with. she said they wanted her to give them to me. i'll probably be getting more next week too." he hoped it didn't show that he'd been crying, he hated crying. more, he hated how much he'd spoken to the doctor after he finished the letters. maybe it was being with Tim or talking to Rachel that was the cause, but he'd said more during their session today than ever before. "come on, i promised you dinner. did you decide where you wanted to go?" he head for the door, ready to be out of that place.