Part Four of the PW Timeline
A JSE Fanfic
[This is part of a complete series I wrote from July 2019 to July of 2022. Chase finally meets up with Schneep again, and Dr. Laurens tries out a new form of therapy that she thinks could be helpful.]
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The three days seemed to pass by in a blur, until all of a sudden it was Friday. Dr. Laurens found her stomach constantly twisting itself in knots. This had to go smoothly, because…well, she wasn’t exactly sure what would happen if it went wrong. But she knew it would be bad for Schneep, and probably bad for her by extension.

Even waiting in the hall outside the visitors’ room, she couldn’t help but flutter nervously back and forth, pacing the length of the wall. “So how are you feeling today?” she asked. “Everything alright? Nothing—”

“Dr. Laurens, I am fine,” Schneep said, slowly massaging his temple. “You are worrywarting over nothing.”

“I know, I know, it’s nothing.” Laurens sighed. “I just—you know that if there’s an incident Dr. Newson is technically legally allowed to take away visiting hours? I-I don’t know if she would, but, um, just in case…”

Schneep’s face darkened. He looked away, muttering something about “that woman.” Laurens honestly didn’t blame him for being so antagonistic, given how his first meeting with her had gone. Honestly, Dr. Newson really wasn’t that bad, Laurens didn’t know why she had acted like that with him.

The door to the visitors’ room opened, and Oliver, who’d once again volunteered to be the orderly on duty, popped his head out. “Hey, so, he’s here.”

“Oh, Gott.” Schneep walked to the opposite wall, covering his mouth. He was breathing quickly, clearly nervous.

“Hey.” Laurens walked over, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. “What were you just saying to me? I was worrying about nothing? It’s really going to be okay. You’re okay. And I’m going to be right there.”

Schneep made an effort to slow his breathing, lowering his hand. “You are right, you are right. Still, I-I am—I am sca—I-I do not want anything to…to happen.”

“Nothing’s going to happen. He’s going to be happy to see you.” When Schneep still hesitated, Laurens added, “And if you start feeling overwhelmed, or if anything shows up, it’s okay to leave.”

Schneep closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, then opened them again. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Laurens smiled encouragingly. “Alright. Here, I’ll go in first. Come on.”

The visitors’ room looked like someone had taken a living room from a suburban house and tried to remodel it into a hospital waiting room. There were couches, armchairs, lamps, coffee tables and end tables, all in shades of beige and brown. There were magazines and books on the tables, along with a few coloring books and crayons in case kids visited. A wide window on one wall showed a view of the parking lot.

Chase was sitting on one of the couches, curled against the armrest, one of his legs bouncing. He took his phone out of his jacket pocket, looked at it, and then put it back. He exhaled slowly.

“Chase?” Laurens asked. “You ready?”

“Huh?” Chase looked up. “Oh yeah. Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Good.” Laurens looked behind her. Schneep stepped into the room, partially hiding behind her for a second before stepping out. Oliver followed, closing the door behind him.

Schneep took a deep breath. “H-hel—hi, Chase.” He froze, waiting.

“Oh my god.” Chase stood up, quickly crossing the room to stand in front of Schneep. For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other, Schneep on edge, Chase looking up and down, taking in all the details. Then, after a moment, Chase reached forward and grasped Schneep’s arms, patting them down like he couldn’t really believe he was here. He broke into a grin. “Oh my god, it’s really you.”

Without warning, Chase suddenly pulled Schneep into a hug. Oliver made as if to step forward, but Laurens put out an arm to stop him, shaking her head slightly. Let them have this. After a moment of surprised processing, Schneep wrapped his arms around Chase in turn, burying his face in his neck. “I missed you…” Schneep said, voice barely audible.

“I missed you too, Doc.” After a moment more, Chase broke the hug. “What are we doing? Come on, sit down, we gotta talk.” He grabbed Schneep’s hand and pulled him back over to the couch.

Laurens exhaled quietly. She walked over and took a seat in the chair farthest from the two of them. She may have to supervise this, but she wasn’t going to butt in. Oliver, meanwhile, stood leaning against the wall.

“So, like, how is this place?” Chase asked, sitting down, Schneep taking a seat next to him. “I’ve been looking them up, they seem alright. But you never know.”

Schneep laughed nervously. “Is not too bad, I think. They have safety to think about, but they are doing what they can. And that is all you can really ask of them.” He coughed, clearing his throat. “But I am wondering much more about you. How are things? The kids? The others? I missed everything, tell me what I missed.”

“Well, last I checked, the kids were alright.” Chase’s eyes brightened. “We went to the planetarium for their seventh birthday. Sophie loved it, but I think Nick just really liked the blue frosting on the cake.” Chase chuckled, but his expression fell slowly.

“And…is Stacy doing well, too?” Schneep prompted gently.

“Yeah, I think so. I-I dunno, she hasn’t been…talking to me recently,” Chase muttered. “I think she’s mad at me for something, but I don’t know what.”

Schneep pulled his legs up onto the couch, folding them underneath him. “Well, if you think that, then you should find out what it is so you can work to fixing. Otherwise, you will keep being made at each other, and that is never good for anyone.”

A smile flickered across Chase’s face. “You sound like JJ.”

Schneep raised his eyebrows. “Who?”

“Oh, shit, that’s right, you don’t know who JJ is! Hang on.” Chase dug into his pocket for his phone again. “You’re not gonna believe this, we found the sixth doppelganger. His name’s Jameson, but we all call him JJ. Here, I have this picture of him and Jackie and me.” Chase passed his phone to Schneep, who held it close to his face, looking at the screen. “Marvin ran into him first, back in October at the theatre. They got to talking—well, not exactly—and eventually we all met up.”

“Huh.” Schneep passed the phone back. “What is he like? Is he nice?”

“Yeah, very nice. Sweet guy. Into old-fashioned things. Next time I see him, I should totally bring him over here to meet you.” Chase put his phone back in his pocket. “Oh, uh, actually…I forget, do you know sign language?”

Schneep blinked. “Well, I would be rusty, but I think I still know it. The British version, that is. Why?”

“Uh, well…” Chase bit his lip. “JJ doesn’t talk. He hasn’t told us if he can’t, or if he just doesn’t want to, but I’m not gonna pry. So, uh, if I do bring him to visit, he’d either need to bring a notepad, or you’d have to brush up on sign.”

“I will keep that in mind,” Schneep said, glancing over towards Laurens sitting quietly in the corner. She shrugged; she had no idea if the regulations would allow books on sign language. Schneep looked back. “So you mentioned Marvin. How is he? Is he fine?”

Chase winced. “I, uh…I don’t…know.”

Schneep could only stare. “You don’t know?”

“Yeah, he, uh…left.” Chase looked out the window. “Back in March. I don’t know what happened, he just left a note one day saying there was something he had to do. When I dropped by his apartment there was just that note on the door. It was locked and empty—he even took his pets with him. JJ told me he left town, but not why. And he’s not answering any of my calls or texts.” A sort of tone had entered his voice. It was a bit empty, a bit sad, a bit confused.

“Chase, is probably not your fault,” Schneep said, picking up on the tone. “Maybe it is just one of his witchy things.”

“Pfft. Maybe.” Chase grinned a bit. “Maybe it’s just him.”

“You never know.” Schneep looked down at his lap, fiddling with his fingers. “Chase, what about…Jackie? And Jack? Are they both…okay?”

The grin quickly fell. “Well…you know how Jack is, he’s still—”

“Is he dead?” Schneep suddenly asked, eyes wide.

“What? No! He hasn’t gotten any worse, but he…hasn’t gotten any better,” Chase admitted. “You know, since August. You were there.”

“I was there, yes.” Schneep had suddenly gotten very pale. He shook his head. “Jackie? What about Jackie?”

“Oh…” Chase was avoiding eye contact.

“Chase.” Schneep suddenly grabbed Chase by the front of the shirt. Standing nearby, Oliver stopped leaning against the wall and stood up straight. “Chase. Please tell me Jackie is fine. Just—just tell me.”

“I…can’t,” Chase admitted. “He…he’s…”

“He’s what?!”

“…missing,” Chase finished reluctantly.

Schneep stared at him a moment more, then shook his head. “No. No, you have to be mistaken, he can’t be—you all have to be—you are mistaken, yes? Yes?” His voice lowered. “Are you lying?”

“I’m not mistaken, and I’m not lying.” Laurens had to admit she was impressed at how calm Chase was. “Back in December. I think he was working on a case. He texted me, saying I wasn’t going to believe what he just found. And then he never responded. Wasn’t in his apartment. I…I don’t know what happened to him, he just…disappeared.”

After a moment of tension so thick you could cut it with a kitchen knife, Schneep made a strangled sort of sob, and let go of Chase’s shirt, turning away. He bowed his head and buried his face in his hands. Laurens could hear him muttering from where she was: “…no, no…no no no, nein…nein, nein, nein…bitte…”

“Hey…” Chase scooted closer. He hesitated for a moment, then rested his hand on Schneep’s back. “You…you okay, Doc?”

Schneep continued muttering for a bit, seeming to take a moment to register that Chase had spoken. “I…I do not…know…” he finally admitted, raising his head.

“I can leave, if you want—”

“No!” Schneep’s hand shot out and grabbed Chase’s jacket. “Please don’t. Just…stay a little bit longer. You do not need to say anything.”

“…okay.”

For a while longer, the two of them just sat together, Schneep curled against Chase’s side, Chase wrapping an arm around Schneep’s shoulders. Until finally, Schneep pulled away and mumbled, “You should probably leave now.”

Chase nodded. “Okay. But, uh, hey…” he smiled a bit. “See you next week, Doc? I can…I dunno, bring coffee or something.”

Schneep smiled back. “That would be nice. If you want to come next week, then…I-I guess I will see you.”

“Yeah, you will.” Chase gave Schneep a quick side-hug before standing up. “See you then.”

“Good bye.”

Schneep remained sitting on the couch as Chase exited the room through the other door, the door the visitors would come through. He sighed, quietly.

Laurens stood up awkwardly. She couldn’t help but feel like an intruder that entire time. Like she walked in on something secret. She cleared her throat. “Schneep,” she said gently.

Schneep jumped. “A-ah, sorry. Yes?”

“Do you mind if Oliver takes you back to your room? I want to talk to Chase about some things that I think could be helpful.”

“Oh. Yes, of course. I can follow him.” Schneep stood up. “Are you…is your shift much longer?”

“I can come check on you after, if that’s what you’re asking,” Laurens assured him.

Schneep visibly relaxed, though he quickly hid it. “If you can, of course, I do not wish to bother you.”

“It’s not a bother at all, I promise.” Laurens said. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

So, as Schneep followed Oliver back out the door leading to the hospital at large, Laurens hurried toward the visitors’ door, finding herself in the reception area. Chase was just about to walk through the front door out into the parking lot, but stopped when he saw her. “Oh. Hey,” he said. “Lauren, right?”

“Dr. Laurens. You can call me Rya, if you want.” Laurens closed the gap between him and her. “I just wanted to ask you a few questions real quick. It, uh, shouldn’t take too long.”

“I don’t have anywhere to be. Shoot.”

“Okay. Um…” Laurens didn’t have her notebook with her, but she explored her pockets for a little bit and found a napkin and a pen. She smiled nervously. “Okay, so the first question is really just to help me understand. Regarding your friends Marvin and Jackie, I heard you two mention Marvin does ‘witchy’ stuff and Jackie was working on a ‘case’? Is that about their occupations? I’m just a bit confused.”

“Ah, okay, I get it.” Chase leaned against the wall. “The ‘witchy’ stuff isn’t Marvin’s job, he actually works at a clothing shop. But he does…I dunno, witchy stuff. Like crystals and wands and pentagrams, you know? He’s Wiccan, too. And Jackie’s a P.I.—a private detective. He used to be a cop, but he preferred deciding his own schedule and cases.”

“Oh, okay, thanks, that explains it.” She didn’t bother writing that down. “Now, uh, onto the more important questions. Were you and the others in your group aware of Henrik’s issues? Before all this…uh, happened.”

“Well, I think I speak for everyone when I say we never expected it to get serious enough for murder,” Chase remarked dryly. “But, uh, yeah. Jack actually went with him to get the diagnosis. As moral support.”

“Okay.” Laurens wrote a quick note on the napkin. “And he never seemed at all hostile before?”

“I mean, a little, but no more than a normal person.” Chase shrugged. “You know, he got in arguments a lot, stuff like that. Never violent, though.”

She suspected as much, but it was good to get confirmation. “And this may sound weird, but, doesn’t he have an ex-wife? He doesn’t talk about her much, is their relationship…rocky?”

Chase laughed. “Oh no, they’re actually pretty good. Nah, Mina actually separated from him because she thought he needed time to sort his own life out before making commitments. I mean, they were already married, but you know what I mean. Hen was under a lot of stress, he didn’t have a diagnosis yet so he didn’t have medication and it was all going crazy, the two of them just really weren’t in a good situation. I don’t know why they haven’t gotten back together, and I don’t really plan on asking, you know?”

“Okay.” That last note took up nearly the rest of the napkin. She had to be quick. “One last question. I’ve noticed that Henrik often talks about a, uh…well, he doesn’t really talk about it, but he’s mentioned a…I don’t know, a ‘him’ before. Like a strange man. I think it might be the main problem behind this mess. Does that sound familiar to you? Has he ever mentioned something like that to you, like a strange man that he’s afraid of?”

Chase’s brows furrowed. “No, that sounds like a new one. You sure that’s one of his mind things and not like, an actual guy?”

“I think so. He seems to respond to…seeing something, even if it’s just me and him in the room.”

“Yeah, no, I can’t help you there.”

“I see.” Laurens made her final note. “Okay, thank you, Chase. You can go now.”

“Yeah. Uh…hey.” Chase pushed away from the wall, leaning a bit closer to Laurens. “He’s doing okay, right? He…I don’t know, seemed kind of…not doin’ so good.”

“I think he’s going through a tough spot right now,” Laurens confided. “We had to move rooms, he had a more severe episode recently…I think he just needs some time to process this.” Laurens perked up. “But I think he really liked seeing you. You’re planning on coming again, right?”

“Yeah, of course I am.” Chase almost sounded offended at the suggestion that he might not.”

Laurens smiled. “That’s great. I’ll see you next week, then?”

“Count on it. And, uh, Laurens?” Chase paused. “Just…watch out for him, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I will.” Laurens gave a thumbs up. It was her job to do so. But even if it wasn’t, she would anyway.

“Thanks. See you next week. G’bye.” And with that, Chase left.

Laurens started to head back, deeper into the hospital. She tucked the napkin with notes back into her pocket, along with her pen. Those few questions had helped a little bit, and she thought she was starting to understand a bit more about Schneep. But there was still that key she was missing. What was the “he” that Schneep kept seeing, that kept terrorizing him? If that piece of the puzzle would just be filled in, she was sure she’d be able to at least start towards a permanent way of helping him.

Well, maybe she could find a way to get him to open up without him shutting down. In fact, something in the visitors’ room had given her an idea. Now she needed to get the supplies ready for the next session.
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It turned out she had to wait until Monday. The next day, Saturday, wasn’t a good day. Schneep wasn’t responding well, tending to stare off into space, taking ten minutes to realize she said something. Then Sunday was her day off, but the day after that she was ready.

Laurens walked into Schneep’s new room, Oliver still following behind her like he was now required to do. She still wasn’t used to that, but at least she only had to accommodate one person, and not a set of ever-changing orderlies. And at least he only ever waited in the corner and didn’t try to interrupt. “Hello, Schneep,” she said, taking her place in the room’s single chair. “How are you today?”

Schneep, previously laying on his back on the bed, sat up and looked at her. “I have…been better,” he admitted. “But I am also very, very bored.”

“That’s understandable,” Laurens said, setting her bag on the table. “There’s not a lot to do here. You know you’re cleared to go down to the TV room with others, right? Since someone’s always in there. Your door’s not locked from the inside, you just need to get someone to walk you back.”

“I never watched a lot of television,” Schneep shrugged. “Except, ironically enough, some doctor shows.”

“I see.” Laurens nodded. “I’m trying to get more books in here, you know. But Dr. Newson is being very particular about it.”

“Of course she is,” Schneep muttered.

“Well, it’s time to get started for today,” Laurens said hurriedly. “I’ve decided to do something a little different, but bear with me.” She began rummaging around in her bag.

“I will take different, as long as…” Schneep trailed off. “Are those crayons?”

“They are.” Laurens had pulled out a pack of crayons. “I got one of the big ones, for the color variety. It has two blacks And also…” She took out a sketchpad of drawing paper.

Schneep was well and truly confused. “Are we doing arts and crafts today?”

“Art therapy can be very helpful, I’ve read studies,” Laurens said defensively.

“Okay, okay, if you insist.” Schneep scooted closer to the table. As there was only one chair in the room, he was stuck sitting on the bed. “Why crayons, though?”

“Well, uh…you’re not allowed colored pencils. And neither are a lot of the others here.” Laurens tore off two sheets of drawing paper. “I think we should start with something simple. A self-portrait.”

“Are you doing this too?” Schneep asked, surprised.

“Well, I thought it would be better than just me staring at you, watching you draw.” She passed one of the sheets to Schneep’s side of the table. “Unless you’d rather not…”

“No, is fine.” Schneep stared down at the blank paper. “I was never good at drawing people. Things, yes, but faces are hard. I do not understand how Jackie…” He trailed off, face suddenly gray.

“…well, it’s not about being realistic,” Laurens said slowly. God, she hated to interrupt him while he was thinking about his missing friend, but this session only lasted an hour. They needed to make the most of the time. “Just about drawing.” She opened the crayon box. “Are you ready?”

“…yes.”

“Good. Let’s go, then.” She grabbed one of the black pens and immediately started drawing. After a moment, Schneep followed suit.

Five minutes later, they were both done. The drawings were really simple—Schneep had given up on realism and her art skills were nonexistent in the first place. Schneep glanced over at Laurens’s self portrait. “Not very accurate,” he said, a smile curling around his lips.

“Even with the big box they still don’t have the right shade of brown,” Laurens sighed.

“Well…I suppose this is for you to see.” Schneep passed his drawing to her.

Besides being simple, it actually did look a lot like him. Laurens did notice he had drawn himself wearing glasses, as well as one of his casual outfits.

“That’s good,” Laurens said. “I’m going to save that, so we can talk about that next time. For now, I have more things for us to draw.”

Schneep rolled his eyes, but there was a faint smile on his face.

Laurens had prepared a whole list of drawing prompts. The concept she was going for was something simple, but that she could learn more from. “Draw your favorite animal,” “Draw your most relaxing place,” “Draw a beautiful person,” things like that. The drawings eventually stacked into two piles: hers and Schneep’s. She wasn’t too concerned with her own pile; maybe she could use them to analyze herself one day if she was bored. But she would look over Schneep’s drawings every time.

After a while, Laurens said, “We’re almost out of time, believe it or not. But there’s one last one we need to do, and it’s…it’s pretty important.” Laurens took a deep breath. “What we’re going to draw…is what we’re, um…what we’re most afraid of. Not anything existential, but something that’s an actual…thing.” She was watching Schneep’s face as she said this, looking for signs that she was pushing too hard. “Got it?”

Schneep had gone very still the moment she started talking about it. His eyes flicked down to the new blank sheet of paper, and then suddenly over to the side, like there was something there that was important. They stayed locked there.

“Schneep? Henrik? Are you there?” Laurens reached forward and gently shook his shoulder.

He flailed suddenly, then tried to calm down, squeezing his eyes shut. “Yes, yes, I am here. I heard you.”

“Okay…are you good?” She asked gently.

Schneep took a shaky breath and opened his eyes. “Y-yes.”

“Alright. Now…if you’re ready, we’re going to draw now, okay?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Let’s go.” Laurens picked up a random crayon, then stared down at her blank paper. What was she supposed to draw?

Schneep had no such hesitation. He immediately snatched up a black crayon and a green crayon and started scribbling. He kept his head bent low, not taking his eyes off the paper, as if scared of what he would see when he looked up.

They finished at the same time. Laurens looked down at her paper, started, then put the drawing at the bottom of her stack.

“Here.” Schneep shoved the drawing at her. “If you have to see, then you have to see. Perhaps it is better that you do.” He looked down at the table surface.

Laurens blinked, then looked down at the drawing.

It was a mess of black and green. Scribbles and scratches formed a humanoid figure, with eyes and smile green on a black face. It looked like it had a deliberate outline, not just a vague shadow meant to sort of resemble a human. But at the same time, there were scribbles, mostly green, seeming to come off the figure’s limbs, breaking it apart. Across the figure’s neck was a long red line, traced over and over, and it looked like it was dripping.

“Oh…” Laurens whispered. “Schn…Henrik, is this—”

Suddenly he was leaning across the table, his hand pressing against her mouth. She was so shocked that she almost fell out of the chair. There was a movement in the corner of the room, and Laurens glanced over. She’d forgotten Oliver was in here. She waved him down. She wasn’t in any danger.

“Do not…say anything,” Schneep hissed. His face was very white. “Do not, do not, is only bad. You know this, do not ask for more. He wants.”

Slowly, Laurens nodded her head. Equally slowly, Schneep backed down, taking his hand away and leaning back onto the bed. “I…think our time for today is up,” Laurens said, placing the latest drawing on top of Schneep’s stack. “Thank you for trying this today. We’ll talk about…most of these…tomorrow.”

Schneep nodded. His eyes were wide, trying to see everything at once. They kept wandering over to that same spot.

“Um…Schneep…” Laurens cleared her throat. “You’ve been remembering to take your medication, right?” She had no way of knowing, recently the delivery of the meds had been moved to the morning, before the session.

He nodded again.

“…alright. I’ll be going now.” Laurens stood up, gathering the drawings, crayons, and pad of leftover paper and placing them in her bag. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Another nod. He wasn’t looking away from the spot now.

“Alright…goodbye.” Laurens slowly walked over to the room’s door, and, followed by Oliver, left. The minute they were outside with the door closed behind them, she turned to Oliver and asked, “Do you think we should’ve stayed with him? He didn’t look…good.”

“He’ll…probably be fine,” Oliver said.

“Probably…” Laurens repeated. “You…go on, Oliver. I’m going to just…stand here for a bit.”

Oliver was clearly reluctant, but left anyway, and Laurens was alone standing outside the door to Room 1010. She stood there for a while. She wasn’t sure how long. But inside the room, she started to hear a voice. Shouting. Shouting with that trembling tone where one was both angry and scared. It didn’t last long.

Laurens looked down at that last drawing. It…honestly wouldn’t look out of place in a horror movie. And she thought about something…

If this was what Schneep was seeing so often, it was no wonder he was so scared of it. Of him.