A Light In the Dark

The Ice Cream Shoppe

Walking into the Ice Cream Shoppe is like walking into another era. Designed to have a small garage-mechanic theme, the shiny chrome and metallic red leather seats look like they've been remodeled based on the backseats of hotrods from the 50s and 60s. Each corner is taken up by a booth large enough to seat at least eight people comfortably. More booths line the walls, and several tables are in the center of the room.

Black and white checkerboard linoleum covers the floor, accented by white walls sporting a checkerboard trim. The decorations on the walls ranges from old traffic lights and signs, to a three-dimensional hull of a bright-red 1957 Chevy Bel-Air that juts out from the back wall.

With a Wurlitzer jukebox in one corner playing 'American oldies', and smaller radio controlled boxes at the booths, this is definitely a place for the younger crowd.

Though famous for its milkshakes and ice cream floats, the Shoppe also has a long counter with a glass shield around it to keep patrons from contaminating the wares. Ice cream in every color and flavor imaginable can be found from one end to the other, interspersed with the occasional yogurt or sorbet.


"No, this is not a midday snack. This is a reward. For a long, hot day of picking out samples and deciding on flower arrangements." Mignonette is just now slipping into the ice cream shoppe, hands full of shiny white and black folders, packets of trinkets and whatnots, carted over from the events place just a few blocks down, her briefcase, as ever, over her shoulder, as she turns to place her back to the door ands hold it for the tall man coming in behind her, "You are going to thank me later. Just trust me on this, my good doctor."

—-

Taking hold of the door, the doctor in question, Dr. David Trudeau, follows Mignonette into the ice cream shoppe. Whistling softly, his tones hold amusement, "This.. is something else." He grins, stepping forward to allow the door to close behind him, the little bell tinkling, announcing their arrival. Turning around in place to get a full 360' of the place, the grin turns lopsided. "Why do I expect the sodajerk to be dressed in crisp white linens, and have a squeaky voice?"

Looking over the choices between the red leather covered round bar seats and the booths, David gestures towards a booth, if only because of the amount of stuff that is being carried. "I have a sudden urge for a chocolate shake."

—-

"Because she does wear white crisp linens," Mignonette offers, as she looks over, catching sight of the young woman who's manning the counter, as it were, for the lunchtime shift, "But I don't think you should tell her she has a squeaky voice, trust me on this one." A smile, of gratitude, as you pick out the seat, and Migs settles into the booth, if only long enough to set down her briefcase and the armful of samples she carried over, before she scoots back out, hands automatically smoothing her skirts to keep herself presentable, "You say that now, wait till you see the assortment of flavours they have available." Another flash of a smile, before she starts off towards the counter, looking back, a finger wagging in the doctor's direction, "You will never look at ice cream the same way again."

—-

Lowering his voice to a sotto tone, David keeps his words for Mignonette only, "Good thing I didn't add 'acne'. I'd never get served." In a more conversational tone, he adds, "Freckles." That's what he means, yes.

David waits for Mignonette to settle their things into the booth, and follows her towards the counter. "If there are too many, I'm never going to be able to decide. Chocolate. Malted. Different fruit concotions.." He whistles softly again, his brows rising, bright blue eyes lifting to read the menu behind the counter, and above all the different mixers.

"Ahh.. you go first." He smiles tightly and nods to the girl behind the counter, "I'm still deciding."

—-

Mignonette laughs, she really can't help herself, as she reaches out, swatting at the man as he gets close enough, "You're terrible. Now you behave or you get to sit in the back again on the ride back to your office." Not that it's much of a punishment, as they're being driven in the company car, but still. A bright, friendly smile to the girl behind the counter, who steps over. "Hi, welcome to the Shoppe, what can I get you today?" And now, it might be a bit clearer, the prohibition made to the man, as the girl's voice sounds as if she's been sucking on helium, which goes, of course, blissfully uncommented by the lawyer, "I'd like an banana split, with strawberry, chocolate and cheesecake ice cream, and strawberry, hot fudge and caramel for the toppings, and lots of extra peanuts. Whipped cream, two cherries, please. And two spoons. And a cherry coke please. And thank you."

—-

David laughs out loud and pulls his shoulder up and away from the swat, but it lands anyway. "As long as it still has the fully stocked bar, I'm good with that." Not that he's going to have any room— and as Mignonette orders, his jaw drops just a little.

"Ah," his brows raise again and a hand comes up, finger pointing in the air, "and I'll take a year's gym membership with that, please?" He uses the upstretched hand to push up on his frames as he turns to face Mignonette again. "Or is that just for you?" The smirk is the dead giveaway that he's playing. "Two spoons— I know how you like to really dig into your work."

Returning his attention to the help, he does have to take the long moment so he simply doesn't break out in laughter. He'll have to have words later— he wasn't warned! Reading the choices, he goes through some of the list, 'Apple pie milkshake', 'Chunky Monkey milkshake'.. "Ah.. what is a Purple Cow?"

The counter girl has certainly identified that the good doctor isn't 'from around these parts', and she speaks slowly, her squeaky, helium-sounding Texas drawl enunciating each word. "Wahl, sir.. it's graype juice, banana, and milk."

David stands motionless for a moment before his jaw shifts to the side, "Ah.. um.." Casting another glance to Mignonette, he takes a deep breath, "I'm thinking a cherry coke'd be good, thank you."

—-

"One for each hand, my good man, one for each hand. It's the only way to do a sundae like this justice." A wink, before she nods, "We're all together, thank you." Migs turns back, accessing the doctor, "And I think perhaps you missed that class in medical school. Ice cream is NOT fattening unless it's eaten after dinner. And we haven't had anything since breakfast. Well, I know I haven't." She even looks down at the watch on her wrist, "That means…I have at least seven hours to go, before I start packing on the pudge." The girl offers that bright smile again, "Coming right up!," before she goes to pull the drinks first, making them the old fashioned way, with coke and cherry syrup and even adding a cherry on top, before she hands those over, "The sundae'll just be a minute." And she goes off to make that as well, as Migs walks off to the side to collect the sodas and offer one to you, after she pops in a straw.

—-

"That was the same class, I think, that stated that a shared dinner or dessert doesn't have any calories," David adds, his tones holding distinct amusement. "Miss Savoy, I think you have just single-handedly conquered obesity in the northern hemisphere. I think I'll have to write a paper on it when I get back to my desk." The grin remains as he leans forward again, "Nobel, for sure."

Wandering off to the side, David takes his drink and circles the straw in the glass, the ice cubes clinking against the side. "You know, I think I may get.. some ice cream.. thing."

Returning to the order counter, but making sure he doesn't cut into anyone elses' order, he raises his voice, "Can I get .. uh .. some soft serve chocolate in a cup, with caramel and peanuts?"

Looking over her shoulder as the bananas are peeled, the counter girl nods her head, a smile is flashed, "Shure thang.."

"Thank you.."

Sliding sideways again, David pulls out his wallet to remove a twenty dollar bill. "Let me get this.."

—-

"Feel free to use me as a test subject. You did see me at work at The Rib Shack." Mignonette takes a sip of her soda, before she settles it into her hand, seeming content to watch the doctor move around in the store. People watching is one of her vices, even of the 'people' being watched is someone she's currently working with, and not the usual sort of strangers you watch pass by you as you're sitting and conversating. "Light weight." Cup of soft serve…really? A sniff, as David pulls out his wallet, but Mignonette seems content to concede to the gentlemanly gesture, this time, "Thank you, that's very kind of you. I'll handle the meeting with the caterer this afternoon for that." It doesn't take too long, after that, for both ice cream dishes to be plated and settled onto a tray, which Migs reaches for, before she tips her head in the direction of the booth, "After you, Doctor Trudeau."

—-

"Hey," David offers his defense thrown over his shoulder, "I had caramel and nuts added. That's got to count for something." Other than rotting teeth.

Paying the girl behind the counter, and getting his few pennies in change, he comes back around, pocketing the coinage and returning his wallet to his back pocket. "Oh, see.. I'll buy ice cream again if it means you handle those meetings."

Picking up his soda as the ice cream gets placed on a tray, David smiles as he leads the way through and back to the table. There isn't much of a crowd at the shoppe, so it's not as if he has to truly work at parting the crowds, but he's on point, and once back at the booth, turns around to face her. "I'll see what I can do about the mayor's office.. unless you have a contact there."

—-

"A tiny little something," Mignonette offers, holding up two fingers, as she sets the tray down, fingers a hair's width apart, "Like this much. But it does make me wonder what else I get if I handle many more of the other meetings." As she finds a comfortable spot on the seat and unburdens the tray, setting out your cup of ice cream and the sundae, which she sets at an equal distance, before she offers you two spoons and keeps one for herself, she continues, "I don't, actually, but we can both try to see if we can secure a meeting with the mayor or one if his aides, and whichever one of us gets in there first, we'll cancel on the other one. Just make sure you send me a message if you manage it, and I'll do the same for you."

—-

It's getting hot enough in Texas to make ice cream a good idea. And what better thing does one have to do on a Sunday than order a sundae, right? Todd wanders in, accompanied by a middle-aged woman with a nametag proclaiming her name to be, "Rose". Todd has his notepad out and is chattering away, while the woman, who has a kind of sour face, makes vague 'hm' and 'mmhm' noises. "I'm supposed to work tomorrow, you know. 9am, /sharp/. It's underlined! Twice! Tomorrow is Tuesday, right?"

"No, Todd. Tomorrow is Monday," the woman responds as she herds Todd to the line at the counter. She sounds bored. "What flavor of ice cream do you want?" she prompts.

Todd looks up, with a kind of startled expression. "Oh! Are we getting ice cream? How lovely! It's a good day for ice cream…"

—-

"Oh, please. A little more credit than that," David slides into the booth and helps square out the ice creams, taking possession of his soft serve. With caramel!

Laughing, he takes one of the two proffered spoons and sets the bowl of the spoon into the side of the 'creation'. "Well, caterers will got you a banana split and a soda. Mayor's office.. I don't know. Are we going 'in kind'? If so, that should have been worth a burger or whatnot."

Finally taking a scoop of his soft chocolate, with an additional scoop to grab some nuts off the top, he brings the frozen dessert to his mouth, considering the bargain in hand for the Mayor's office. Pointing with the plastic utensil soon after, David nods his agreement, following it up with, "That is a good idea. Just a quick text."

The entrance of the next customers into the shop gets a glance, but nothing really strikes him as something to pay attention to— at least for the moment.

"Then, a letter from your office to the businesses…"

—-

"Of course 'in kind', after all, how else would we keep this fair and equitable for both parties?" Mignonette claims her own spoon, turning the sundae so that it's lengthwise and what is clearly meant to be 'your half' is pointing towards you. But she does tucking, waving the spoon idly as she considers, "It's just easier to text, really. I mean, phone tag is too slow, and I'm not going to be interrupting you in the middle of your work." GS-14 he may be, -but- he doesn't have the same amount of autonomy that Mignonette does and the lawyer recognizes that. "And so much simpler, a few words, done. Just the way I like it. But speaking of, you are happy with the local texas theme, the bluebells and wildflowers? I wanted the people coming to really get a sense that the event was focused on the community. With the customs and traditions, and sort of push home the fact that their money is staying right here." Mid bite, she looks up, as the door jingles and the pair walk in, the man getting as much of a glance for the notes in his hand, something Mignonette knows a lot about, as the bored woman beside him. "That's a man after my own heart." She does love her notes.

—-

"/Yes/, Todd," Rose says, quickly becoming impatient. "You said you wanted ice cream, so here we are. What flavor do you want?"

Todd smiles and looks toward the counter where the ice cream is displayed. "Oh…goodness. So many choices! Hold on a moment," he says, to the accompaniment of rolling eyes from the woman. Luckily, the woman had the foresight to ask Todd while they were still waiting in line. While they wait, he flips through his notepad page by page.

As he is flipping, Mignonette's comment draws his attention and he glances up. He gives a polite smile and a wave, then looks back to his notes. He looks puzzled for a moment, then looks back up to Rose. "Ice cream flavor?" the woman prompts, and Todd brightens. "Oh! Right. Yes. Hold on a moment," he requests, and continues flipping through the notepad.

—-

"As long as you can read my shorthand," David responds before leaning to the side to study the banana split. Bringing his tongue up in front of his front teeth and under closed lips, he makes a *tch* sound as he considers the best angle of approach on this one. With spoon in hand, he doesn't get as much whipped cream as ice cream and banana, and takes the first test bite there. It's not that he's never had a banana split before, but.. who makes cheesecake ice cream?!

"Local Texas theme is good. There, I don't have a problem handing over all creative license to you. You don't want a maple leaf in the middle of it all, and that's understandable. I think 'Texas' and I think 'cows'. So, unless you'd planned on 'cow' theme, which I'd be glad to help with, I leave it all in your very capable hands."

Following Mignonette's glance, David takes in the 'scene' and nods slowly, his lips in a tight smile, and his voice cants low. "Anterograde amnesia.."

—-

Mignonette lifts her free hand, waving it idly in the air, "I'll just make it up as I go along if I don't. And text you back with my translation. It'll be fine," so says her voice and her expression, "Now, tell the truth and shame the devil…it's good, isn't it?" The small, sort of french woman waits for the verdict from the taller sort of of french man…over food no less. It's a movie cliche if ever there was one, "I really want people to be invested in the community and feel as if every ounce of their time and money is really going to benefit the people right here. Which, it is, but still, sometimes charities have a way of distancing people from their actual goals." There is a playful light though, as she continues, "But for you, I will try to stick in a few maple leaves where I can." A polite smile to Todd and a lift of her hand in answer, before she looks back to the doctor, "I'm not familiar with the type. Is that when you forget things from a long time ago, or new things?" Because on the one hand, ordering ice cream is a new thing, but what flavour you like is usually an old thing.

—-

Finally, Todd reaches a certain page, and brightens. "My favorite is strawberry," he announces, much to the relief of the nurse. They reach the front of the line, and the woman places the order for a strawberry cone. Ice cream is scooped into a cone, but when the cashier attempts to ask her for the money, Rose clears her throat and nods toward Todd.

The cashier is confused for a moment, but Todd snaps to what's going on after a moment, and tucks his notepad into his pocket to search for his wallet. "How much?" he wonders, and the cashier repeats the amount. Todd digs out enough to pay for the ice cream, and then tucks his wallet away again. "Thanks!"

Thus equipped with a strawberry ice cream cone, Todd and Rose head for a table to sit down. Rose snags some napkins as they goes, and presses them into Todd's hand.

—-

"That would be post-traumatic, and not necessarily 'recent' or 'short term'." David does his best to explain it. "That's one of the mistakes people make. The timing. This could be a year ago, or five, or a decade. Without knowing when the trauma happened, 'recent' really carries no meaning." Nodding at the pair, Dr. Trudeau keeps his voice lowered. "The note pad. He's got lots of notes, which tells me that he's very much aware and has been coping for quite some time. The woman with him is a caretaker and not a duty nurse."

Smiling as the young man finds his page, and his eureka moment, David takes another poke at the banana split, the smile turning lopsided as he gives Mignonette his full attention. Well, her and the ice cream. "Je n'sais pas. Mais, je crois que je vais avoir une autre bite." «I don't know. But I think I'll have another bite.»

—-

"You should have another bite. You'll regret it in the morning, if you don't." Mignonette continues to divide her attention between the man at her table, and Todd and his caretaker, "So that's the definition of the term you used, but what about the terms for specific types? Such as if you only forget things that are stored in your short term memory, or if you only forget things that were very long ago? I mean, there must be different sorts of terms for that." Mignonette takes a few more bites herself. She may not be a doctor, but she is a curious woman, and learning something new is always one way to keep her interested. "I know what you're thinking…what could I possibly need to know for, but who knows when it might come in handy?"

—-

The woman who is apparently named Rose herds Todd to a table, then sits down with him. Once she is satisfied that Todd is settled with his ice cream and napkins, and he won't be wandering off, she sits across the table from him and pulls a small paperback book from her bag and starts to read.

This leaves Todd in a position to people-watch as he licks the ice cream cone. He has a kind of wide-eyed, touristy look about him as he scans the ice cream shop. His gaze eventually settles on David and Mignonette, and stays there for a moment. Perhaps he was drawn by the French, or perhaps the topic of the conversation strikes a chord with him, but he keeps watching them as he licks his ice cream cone, eavesdropping on the conversation.

—-

"I'll regret it if I take another bite now," is the smiled response. "Another bite of that, and I can kiss dinner goodbye."

Instead of dipping the spoon back into the banana split, he instead moves to his soft serve and pokes the bowl of the spoon in there. "That's one of the specific ones. The other is retrograde. Pre-existing information is lost, but the patient can learn new things." Here, he chuckles and takes a bite of his chocolate. "And, just to confuse you, there are cases of both anterograde and retrograde amnesias.. and the patient is still functional. With help."

David chuckles and leans slightly forward, "If you ever need information on amnesia, I just hope it's not for you. You'd never remember it."

—-

"Oh, it's not for me, not in the way you think. I have a slightly different problem. I can't seem to forget. And there are times when I wish that I could, though I'd rather not risk trauma to do it." With the doctor waving off more of the sundae, "Who needs dinner," comes the comment, as Migs returns to the sundae, working her way through neatly and thoroughly. Never leave a man, or peanut behind. "He does seem to be compensating well, but it must be a terrible way to live, I mean, he must realize on some level, that he's having difficulty. It's something I often wonder about Alzheimer's patients. People say once they start to forget that they don't know that they have, but…I often wonder. What if that's just something we tell ourselves on the outside, because the idea of becoming trapped inside our own bodies is just too terrifying of a prospect. To live and slowly watch yourself disappearing?"

—-

While Todd is distracted by the conversation, the ice cream is held halfway to his mouth for just long enough for a bit of it to melt on his hand. He frowns to himself, looking around, and spots the napkins on the table. Thus armed, he goes to work wiping the sticky stuff off his hand, only to glance over at David and Mignonette again. His expression is distant, and kind of sad for a moment, but then he shakes his head a little.

He takes a final bite of his ice cream, then sets it down on the table so that he can pull out his notepad. He flips to the last page and starts writing feverishly. Every now and again, he glances over at Mignonette as she talks, then continues writing.

—-

"Alzheimer's is different. That's a completely different neurological disease, and we're finding genetically linked. It's a degenerative disease, meaning that brain cells basically lose their capacity to transmit their neurochemicals. Like.. squishing a papertowel tube. You can push a superball through the tube.. which is the neurochemical.. and if you squish it, the cell collapses and nothing can get through." David can talk about things like this. Once the topic begins…

"Amnesia isn't a physical degeneration. It's.. a single traumatic event. It doesn't get worse, and in some cases, it can get better as new pathways are wired."

Taking the bite of the ice cream now, he pulls the spoon out thoughtfully. "As for personality and.. being? That's more the job of a psychiatrist and philosopher. We're here to keep them alive."

—-

"And how exactly do you map these new pathways? I haven't heard much in the way of new and innovative ways to return memory to people. At least not in any of the medical journals I've read." Mignonette sets aside her sundae for the time being, turning to her soda. If she realizes she's being overheard, she doesn't seem aware of it, and there doesn't really seem to be malicious intent behind it. "A single traumatic event, but someone, the papertowel tube is also being crushed, isn't it? Just not in exactly the same way?"

—-

Skritch, skritch, skritch… Todd keeps scribbling away, leaving the ice cream sitting on the table to melt. The caretaker is too busy reading her book to notice, since Todd isn't doing anything to potentially hurt himself or anyone else.

He keeps writing away, when something that he wrote catches his eye and he goes back to reread it. He frowns, staring at the paper for a minute, before looking up and over at David and Mignonette. "It can get better?" he asks, timidly. "I mean…Really? Were you being serious?"

Rose glances up from her book, surveys the scene for a fraction of a second, and then frowns deeply. "Todd, your ice cream is melting on the table. And you shouldn't be bothering those people. They're having a private conversation."

—-

David's brows raise at the statement that the woman before him partakes in medical journals. "Well, it's not a headliner, by any stretch. There's been advances on it this decade, but nothing that would touch the mainstream. Not even the New England Journal of Medicine. Much of it is tucked away in neurology and biochemistry journals. And those?" He chuckles, "Can be pretty boring."

David almost feels sorry for Mignonette as she asks leading questions, but he simply can't help but answer truthfully as asked. "Much like children learn. By rote, if it's something as easy as 'how to get here to there'. There are also pharmocological aids in restoring memory, assuming it wasn't something like a physical trauma, but more an emotional one. Then, of course, hypnotherapy, which some don't particularly see as 'real'. And psychotherapy.. the working on getting to the bottom of those issues."

Shaking his head, David tries to make himself clearer, "It's not degenerative. There's a physical block, or a physical cut. More like.. cutting the papertowel roll in half and the ball falls out. One, degenerative, the other.. a cut."

At the question coming up from the other seat, David twists around, his brows rising. "Ah.. it's okay.. I'm sorry. We're just discussing.." How to put it politely?

To answer the man's question, however, David nods, though he adds a caveat, "There have been successes, yes. But it depends upon how the amnesia occurred. There's psychological, physical.."

—-

Mignonette gives the doctor's raised brows a steady look, and a light lift of her shoulders, "You think I spend all day on my days off reading the Law Review? Being good at your job means being able to approach a problem from many angles, and hoping that the angle of your approach isn't one the lawyer on the other side of the courtroom is expecting. And sometimes the most interesting cases are those which have many other disciplines involved. There was a case just a few years ago, a mother who was being charged with welfare fraud. The prosecution claimed she was taking children who were not hers and claiming them for the funds. And it turned out that she was a chimera, and if the lawyers and the courts had not been willing to research her condition, she might well have lost her children and spent years in jail for a crime she didn't commit." Migs listens to David's explanations, paying close attention, as she does to everything, but she doesn't have time to respond, as Todd walks over, and she turns, offering that same friendly smile, before she lifts a hand to wave off the caretaker, "Please, it's alright, he's welcome to sit and join us. Please." She shifts her hand, indicating a free space at her side of the booth, so that Todd can face the doctor, who seems to have Todd's attention.

—-

Todd ignores Rose for once, eagerly going back to his paper to write down everything David is saying, at a feverish speed. While Todd is busy writing, Rose looks over at David with a stiff, but apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, sir. He's usually pretty good, but sometimes he doesn't realize that he's not part of a conversation…"

Todd looks up, dismissing Rose's words in favor of pursuing the possibility that has been presented to him. "Hold on a second, maybe it's in my notebook somewhere. If I find what happened, can you help me?"

The memory-inhibited young man starts flipping through his notepad. He accepts Mignonette's invitation to sit, even as Rose gives the woman a slightly more harsh look for interfering. "Todd, honey. Listen to me, this man can't help you. Just come back and eat your ice cream, okay? It'll all be just fine in a few minutes…"

—-

"Chimera?" David whistles softly, his tones interested. "Now that's pretty cool." Coming down the vernacular certainly suggests that he's beginning to come off of his researcher 'high', as it were. He could expound well into the night regarding the different neurotransmitters involved, the reworking and rewiring.. and such, but.. he won't.

Canting his head to the side slightly, the spoon is put down and the ice cream ignored for the moment. Soft serve will be mush, but there is something here that is keeping David's attention— namely the potentials of Todd?

Waving a hand away, David smiles tightly for the caregiver, "It's okay. I'm a doctor.. and I do research into biochemistry, so this really is… okay." Returning his attention to Todd now, he waits for the man to find his page, the diagnostician in him running wild after the caregiver's words to the man. 'it'll all be just fine in a few minutes'.

"I don't know if I can, even if you have it in that pad. There'd be charts to read, and consults.. and then there are your own core doctors which probably have gone through things with a finetoothed comb themselves."

—-

Mignonette has that perfect courtroom smile down to a science, and the look Todd's caregiver gives her washes off her like water off a duck's back, as the saying goes. She may not have intentionally started any of this, but now that she's in, she's in for a penny, in for a pound. There's really nothing worse than presenting Mignonette with, well, in this case, not strictly a client, but at the least a case where there's actually some potential to do some real good. Even if all the good that can be done is to give hope. If only for a few minutes. But that's really the doctor's forte, more than hers, and she seems well happy enough to allow him to settle into medical mode. She's just hear to guard the defenses. And eat the ice cream. Which, she reclaims. She at least, isn't going to let hers melt, and it gives her hands something to do.

—-

Todd continues looking through his notepad with the caretaker standing behind him, her arms crossed defensively. There's a touch of worry, that she is trying to cover with stubbornness. "Sir, you don't know anything about this man. I would much rather that you /didn't/ upset him…"

It seems a little late for that, though, as Todd looks up with clear disappointment. "There's nothing here. I don't…Do I even have a doctor?" he asks, looking up at Rose, helplessly. Rose relents enough to put a hand on Todd's shoulder.

When she speaks, however, it isn't to answer Todd's question, but to address David's concerns. "If you must know, no one knows where he came from, or how he got this way. His moth…previous caretaker died without leaving a record. He doesn't even have a birth certificate, that could be found. He doesn't have any way to pay for your services, so if you could stop upsetting him and making my job harder, I would very much appreciate it."

Todd takes all this in with obvious shock, and then starts writing again. Rose sighs and reaches to take the notebook away from him. "Hey! That's mine…"

—-

David looks up at the caretaker now, his attention firmly upon her. "No, and from the recitation you just gave me, you know very little about him as well, other than his 'here and now'. As a caretaker, wouldn't you want your charge to learn all he can? While you may not have the resources at your facility, how could you possibly know what I have behind me?" Ever polite. "As for upsetting him, that is certainly not my intent. If I can shine at least a little light into the darkness, and reach something, then wouldn't you agree that it's better than 'status quo'? Unless," David isn't backing down, "you would rather he remain as he is because he is 'easier to handle'. If that is the case," Shaking his head, David pulls his glasses off and blinks before continuing, "perhaps you should simply admit that it's only the paycheck you care about."

Looking over the table, David replaces his glasses and smiles tightly. "Miss Savoy.. how are you on missing persons?"

—-

A good team player knows not only when they need to lead, but when they need to follow, and in this case, as the caretaker makes her 'case' and tries to warn off the good doctor, and seems to be upsetting her own charge just as much as she claims David is, well, Mignonette also knows how to follow. And so she does, "Certainly the more you can know about him, the better you would be able to care for his condition, and perhaps, if there is family to be found, someone else to help him live a more normal life." A tilt of her head, as she turns her attention back to David, "Oh, I think my firm can work wonders with missing persons. I have a few investigators who just love a good mystery."

—-

The caretaker is already tearing out the pages Todd had written on, much to his consternation. She does not seem impressed by David's insults, or even particularly bothered. Instead, she notebook back to Todd, and tucks the couple of pages into her pocket, leaving him to stare disonsolately at the blank page.

"Okay, Mr. Good Samaritan. Do you plan on paying for this manhunt? For this medical treatment that you're talking about? Are you going to give him food to eat, a place to sleep, and teach him to work so that he can support himself? Teach him coping skills so that he doesn't end up wandering homeless on the street?" Rose folds her arms over her bosom, and looks down at David, harshly. "Well?"

—-

"And all that precludes him learning about his problems? I wasn't aware that a man had to remain ignorant of the facts in order to cope in the world. As it is, you are making broad assumptions, one of which is that we will actually charge. In your experiences, have you ever heard the words 'pro bono'? It means 'for the good', or in legal parlance, 'free'." David is working to keep his temper, but it isn't necessarily apparent to the outside viewer. "In fact, should this man ask, yes.. I'd like to know who his doctors are and what sort of accomplishments have been made in terms of making him a productive member of society. He has a guardian appointed by the court, yes?"

Rising from his seat for a moment, David reaches into his back pocket to pull out two cards before replacing the wallet, and takes a pen from his pocket. "I'd like to know his name, please? And where he can be reached?"

A card is handed to Todd with a warning look to his caretaker. "I am giving this to him. If you take it from him, I will see it as theft. Do you understand me?"

—-

Mignonette allows the doctor to do the talking, for the moment, though she does offer a nod to his comment about pro bono, and takes a moment herself, to reach into a pocket of her briefcase. She never goes anywhere without it, and retrieves two cards of her own, one she offers to Todd, the other to the caretaker, "And this is how you may contact me at my law office. My office will always know how to contact me, and I will do everything that I can to make certain that you," here she looks at Todd, but her words are clearly also directed to his caretaker, "receive all of the aid and the counsel the law and my firm can provide to assist you." Seems like the lawyer is ready to play hardball, as much for Todd's sake as Doctor Trudeau's.

—-

Todd looks at David and Mignonette with wide eyes and an open mouth, and accepts cards both cards with obvious shock. He looks at them tracing fingers over the words, before looking up at Rose with a little smile. "…They seem nice…?" he offers, hesitantly.

Rose, for her part, seems shocked by the whole thing. She seems to have made certain assumptions in the carrying out of her duties that were clearly incorrect. She accepts her copy of the card, and says quietly, to Todd, "Yes. Maybe…Maybe these are nice people. Um. You should write on the cards who they are from," she reminds him, and looks back to David and Mignonette. "Look," she says, finally. "I'm just a volunteer at Hope House. It's a charity organization… You're going to have to talk to the person in charge there. They'll have the information you need." She reaches into her bag, and pulls out a couple of cards, handing one each to David and Mignonette.

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