Chapter 33: The Root Of A Problem

Maureen's Office, The Runnels Building, Denver, Colorado...

Incessant ticking from the bland old school wall clock was starting to annoy Dr. Hadrian Rawsone the longer he sat in the waiting room of his colleague's side of the office. He wondered if the patients had the same issue when waiting to be seen by him when he'd gotten around to keeping his appointments. Julia's concern had prompted his visit to the office this day in the hopes that Maureen Welch could figure out a way to treat his rather strange impulsive behavior when sleepwalking. He would even settle for treating the sleepwalking itself if that meant he could get his life back in order. The horror stories of Julia after one of his episodes as she called it were starting to horrify even him. The latest being that he apparently had unprotected sex with some random woman and came home expecting to do the same with her after the fact was sickening to say the least.

Julia was the only woman he had sex with due to their long marriage and it was most certainly not in his nature to have a wandering eye least of all to casually approach a younger woman and do it right then and there. He had a hard time even getting in the mood with his own wife unless she initiated their exchanges and only on specific special occasions.

As of recently, he had not touched her since his return, or at least not consciously due to the fact that whenever he attempted to even with her initiating it, he could never get nor sustain an erection long enough if at all. Julia wondered if it was about her in some way, but after his nocturnal adventures and having no problem getting it up for her then she supposed it was something in his psyche that was drastically affecting him during his conscious hours that seemed to have no hold on his semi-conscious state.

Not at all liking the idea that he had hurt or potentially could harm Julia, Hadrian decided to see Maureen sooner rather than wait for the appointment. He knew he could trust her and it was high time he saw to this strange series of events despite his initial skepticism. If he was truly sleepwalking then he needed to put an end to it.

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The Inside Maureen's Office,The Runnels Building, Denver, Colorado...

Maureen had just been finishing up with a patient when she caught sight of her colleague and best friend Dr. Rawsone, only he had not been there on work related business. Julia had filled her in on his current condition and his questionable mental state ever since he returned from his three month absence. There was bound to be some residual issue given his being shot and left for dead in an alley and even the medications he'd been given were potentially the cause of his strangely erratic behavior.

From what Julia described it as, Hadrian was essentially asleep when moving about the house and taking drives to places where he met random women for sexual encounters and drank heavily despite not being of the mind to do so when conscious. Knowing her best friend as she did, Maureen had no doubt that the strange changes were as a result of trauma but she didn't know how far back they went. It was Hadrian himself whom had phoned her and suggested they try a session of hypnotherapy for the sake of exhausting all options in their search for a means of getting his life back on track as well as his mental health.

"Hadrian." said Maureen with a warm smile as she motioned for him to join her following the departure of another patient. "Come on in, I've got time to squeeze you in."

Hadrian seemed grateful to his colleague for her assistance. His unease about the past couple of weeks remained, but he was confidant in his friend's abilities and knew all too well her success rates when it came to her own list of patients.

He entered the office at her behest and sat down in one of the empty chairs, it was strange not to have been the one sitting behind the desk and the decor was quite lovely, something one would expect a woman of a certain age and means to have in her office if she had refined tastes.

Maureen sat down at her desk and Hadrian took a moment to look around. Her office was a very quiet and apparently serene place. He could tell it was quite accommodating to her patients and her work as a whole.

"This is a first I must say." said Maureen attempting to break the ice.

"I'll say as well." replied Hadrian fidgeting with his hands despite his calm demeanor. "Never before did I ever figure that I'd be here in a personal capacity."

Maureen offered him a glass of water and he politely declined it, he was nervous enough already and not just about the session. He knew all too well the kinds of things someone in their profession discovered about their patients and dreaded what might be lurking inside his own mind as a result of his recent round of strange incidents.

"It'll be alright Hadrian, I promise you whatever happens here doesn't leave this room." Maureen assured him. "I will ensure you have the best care possible in the meantime."

Hadrian sighed feeling the uneasiness subside. He knew how this process worked, it wasn't in the least what he'd been afraid of, but he decided to humor his dear friend abit. Her voice was quite comforting if nothing else.

Maureen had gotten him to relax, then put her hand on his shoulder briefly before going about the office dimming the lights and locking the door. She put on some calming tones and sat before him with an old pocket watch her husband had given her.

Despite his nerves, Hadrian managed to completely relax as she got him to focus on breathing. Maureen didn't need the watch but knew that it was difficult for some patients to focus on their own. Hadrian had been no exception in this aspect and it provided a great deal of focus on his part.

"Just relax." said Maureen getting into her professional monologue. "Take some deep breaths."

She had apparently been quite good at her job because after several minutes, Hadrian felt more relaxed than he had been in a long time. Maureen set to work, she knew his symptoms had a root cause and it was possible they were caused by something he had not even been aware of himself.

"We're going to start a bit slow for a warm up and then get to what's ailing you." she said in a calm and firm tone. "Is your name Hadrian Rawsone?"

"Yes." replied Hadrian his face as blank as a wordless sheet of paper. "Hadrian Sheridan Rawsone."

Maureen had often wondered what the "S" stood for in his name, but guessed correctly that he wasn't too fond of it.

"When were you born?" asked Maureen focused on her dearest friend with intent.

"September 2nd, 1957." replied Hadrian still with the same blank expression and an apparent glassy gaze that seemed to peer beyond the woman sitting in front of him.

"Who are your parents?" asked Maureen she'd never known about much of his past and knew all too well that some root causes happened in early childhood.

"Colin Victor Rawsone and Mildred Daphne Rawsone." replied Hadrian.

"Did you get along with them?" asked Maureen finding herself curious.

"No." replied Hadrian. "They hated me."

Maureen was shocked to hear this stranger admission, but continued to remain professional.

"What do you remember about your childhood?" she asked.

"Arguing and drunkenness." replied Hadrian with a bit of contempt behind his tone. "They were always fighting over something or another...Colin was drunk and often choked Mildred...they screamed about Lonnie alot."

"Can you tell me who Lonnie was?" asked Maureen.

"Lonnie was...my..." he trailed off as if it had been difficult for him to speak.

"Hadrian?" asked Maureen in confusion. "Are you alright?...Can you tell me whom this Lonnie was?"

"No!" replied Hadrian his voice changed drastically and his eyes seemed to focus on her as he narrowed them.

"Hadrian?" said Maureen confused as to how he had shaken off the hypnotism so quickly.

"No." replied Hadrian despite the voice change. "You will not question him, you will not pry any further into his mind."

Maureen had been at a loss for words as she looked at her dearest friend in disbelief.

"Hadrian, I was only..." she began only to be cut off.

He swiftly picked up the arm chair and threw it into the nearby wall.

Maureen trembled at the violent display more confused than ever before. She wondered just what it was that Julia was going through if he'd been this aggressive about questions from her about his past.

"YOU WILL NOT PRY ANY FURTHER!" growled Hadrian balling his fists. "YOU WILL NOT AWAKEN HIM HE'S ALREADY NEARLY KILLED US ALL!"

Attempting to regain her composure as well as her hold on the conversation, Maureen attempted to ask questions that didn't pertain to the past.

"Who am I speaking with?" she asked having a feeling that her dear friend might in fact be a long time sufferer of Dissociative Identity Disorder and never diagnosed.

"Why do you want to know Maureen Welch?" asked Hadrian still narrowing his eyes at her.

They seemed red and radiated fury.

"Because, I know you are not Hadrian." she said confident that she could steer the conversation to get real answers. "And if you don't want me asking him questions which I can guess is due to his safety then you'll have to answer some yourself, so that I can help him out once we are done."

Hadrian glared at her for a few moments before agreeing to calm himself.

"I am Adrian." he replied. "The boy, must be protected at all costs."

Maureen nodded in agreement, but she'd been unsure what she was witnessing.

"Okay Adrian, can you tell me what happened to him?" she asked.

"He is not to know of Lonnie and Lonnie is not to know of him." replied 'Adrian'. "Your foolish prodding could have ruined everything and awakened Lonnie in the process."

"I...understand, but I was only trying to help." chimed Maureen. "You see Hadrian's been sleepwalking and he could potentially harm himself or others...his risky behavior isn't doing him any favors either and he thought perhaps it was something wrong in his mind."

"Lonnie." replied 'Adrian' in a disapproving tone. "He is awakening, but not fully conscious we must keep him asleep he nearly got the boy killed the last time."

"Last time?" asked Maureen before finally catching on. "The shooting, that was Lonnie... you mean he was the one that took on the robbers?"

"Yes." replied 'Adrian'. "They cannot know about each other and do not ever try to tell them."

Maureen nodded in understanding.

"I shall put a stop to Lonnie's attempts to awaken." 'Adrian' assured her. "Goodbye Maureen Welch."

Before Maureen could ask any further questions Hadrian collapsed onto the floor and she rushed to brace him for the impact.

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The Floor, Maureen's Office, The Runnels Building, Denver, Colorado...

Hadrian awoke to find he had a pounding headache and seemed to have no recollection of the previous events outside Maureen telling him to relax. When he came to, he saw her leaning beside him with a look of concern filed across her face.

"Reen?" he said coming to his senses.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell me, Hadrian?" she asked in a calm tone. "Like when it was that you were sexually assaulted?"

Hadrian froze realizing that he might have told her about the strange encounter with the woman in the barn during his disappearance.

"Shit..." he replied forgetting just how good she was at her job. "I didn't think that had a relevance....I vaguely remember it, some strange woman in black took me hostage if you believe that in a barn in the middle of nowhere and..."

Maureen was stunned by what she was hearing, but did her best not to appear as if she'd been hearing it for the first time.

"And what?" she asked allowing him to continue.

"I remember being inside her, my wrists and ankles were bound, but I didn't...I keep seeing it...every time I close my eyes I can't get it out of my head." replied Hadrian annoyed at the memory. "Just some strange woman bouncing on my cock in the middle of a barn and then nothing just darkness until I woke up in an alley shot by some would be robbers."

Maureen had not known what to say. She didn't wish to risk further damage to his mind by informing him of the infamous "Lonnie", but she knew he needed answers as to why he was sleep walking to begin with.

"Given all that you've been through, I'd wager you are under a good deal of stress and the sleepwalking is your mind's way of trying to alleviate it." she concluded.

"And the risky sex with random women?" he asked catching her off guard.

"Perhaps, it's the guilt from the previous sexual encounter in the barn or desires unmet." replied Maureen before heading back to her desk. "Take some time off, let your body recover and talk to your wife about what happened to you now and again it should ease the tension and the sleepwalking would eventually lessen."

Hadrian slowly got to his feet and smiled in her direction.

"Thank you Sis." he said seemingly pleased with this outcome of therapy.

"Don't you thank me yet, you are still to come in for at least one session a month and I expect a nice bonus for the upcoming holiday." she replied before putting on her glasses and turning her attention to her client list.

Hadrian chuckled a bit before taking his leave feeling a bit more relaxed than he had in a long time despite the aching head pain.

Maureen barely exhaled when he finally closed the door to her office and disappeared behind it.

"Poor Hadrian." she said unsure how to truly assist her dearest friend. "I truly wish there was some way that I could help you."

She knew all too well, that his stress levels were only going to get worse if he ever found out what Julia was keeping from him all this time.