Who: Tabbit and Gaius Where: Rehab centre When: 26 July 1980 What: First meeting
Rating: PG Status: Complete
Tabitha must have been deemed a low priority, for she'd been in this place two weeks to the day and had seen only orderlies. That didn't bother her, really, so far as being bothered went. She didn't want to see Gaius. She didn't want to know what had happened to Aberforth.
Being alone here had somewhat set her on edge. She saw very few people but for the healers who came in and took her temperature and gave her medication that she didn't want to take. But she was compliant, if only because she was afraid and unsure how fighting them would help her. She had to keep up her strength, not that she was being mistreated, really. The food was all right and her bed was comfortable. She missed Ioan. She missed Marlene. Everything was so frustrating.
Today (though she wasn't sure which day it was) she'd finished lunch and was now just sitting. It was a pleasant thing, sitting, though she didn't know why.
The rehabilitation centre had seen an influx of patients in the last several weeks and Gaius was trying, mostly in vain, to schedule time for each of them. In terms of priorities, he mostly opted to spend his time with the Aurors who had been dragged in or the other notably dangerous wizards he suspected would need more time than he actually had to offer -- he would simply have to do the best he could given the circumstances. Tabitha had not been in the forefront of his mind, but it was time to check in with her anyway. Maybe some time having sat alone with nothing but potions and the occasional meal would have been enough to weaken her to a malleable state. It was wishful thinking, but in his mind, all things should have been so easy.
"Hello, Mrs MacFusty," he said, opening the door without a cursory knock. He was tired and impatient -- that polite detail could be saved for those who truly deserved it. Closing the door behind him, Gaius stood near the entrance of the room, looking down at the girl he was preparing to 'rehabilitate'. "I think it is time for us to talk."
Tabitha's heart pounded as the man entered, and her eyes widened a bit. The sedative slipped in her food kept her from reacting too strongly (physically, anyway), but she had hoped she could somehow slipped under Gaius's radar and seeing him in the flesh was a bit awful.
"Hello Mr Travers," she said in a small voice, though she cleared her throat to try and seem a bit bolder than she felt. "I am not certain what we have to talk about." She didn't even know how they'd found out about her activities with the order anyway -- maybe James had talked. That hurt a bit. "The charges against me were entirely false!"
"I find that hard to believe," he said, raising his eyebrows slightly. He should have expected everyone to declare their innocence at this point, but for some of them it was downright stupid. She'd fought werewolves to keep from being captured and he reasoned that no one would do that unless they had something to feel guilty over. It didn't matter if she admitted it or not -- he'd have her thinking like a purist in (relatively) no time.
"I don't see why," she said a little petulantly. "I'm just a Thespian! I would never mix myself up with a bunch of terrorists, it would be awful for my career." Her smile was uncomfortable, and she scooted a few inches away, wishing that maybe he could just believe her and walk away.
"Even lesbians are capable of treachery, Mrs MacFusty," Gaius said, looking wholey unimpressed -- the possibility was disgusting. Why on earth was the Dark Lord even make him deal with such people? He had been nothing but loyal to the Cause. Why did he have to help tenacious women in their quest to be destructive, anyway? They were women. The Dark Lord could surely do better. "Do you mean to tell me that you have done absolutely nothing for which you are ashamed?" He reasoned that he would give her a chance to admit whatever she'd done -- then he would start in.
"I'm not a lesbian!" Tabitha protested, octave hitting a higher pitch. "A Thespian! An actor of the theatre!" She was married for goodness sake! Though she supposed there were lesbians who got married, though she wasn't sure why or how they managed in the bedroom. But that was beside the point. "Of course I've done things I am ashamed of," she acquiesced, "but I don't think any of them were worth me being put in here."
"Those too," Gaius muttered with a wave of his hand, as if there were no acknowledgeable difference between them. In his mind, there certainly weren't. A woman with a job may as well have been a lesbian, for all he was concerned. But what did interest him was her concession -- if there were things she should have been ashamed of, they were surely good enough to put her in the rehabilitation centre. He'd found out from Peter that she was an Order member, after all. There had to be something she'd admit with a bit more pushing. "What exactly is it that you have done to be ashamed of?"
"Well, my mum and I used to fight a lot and I feel bad now because she's dead and I can't say that I'm sorry or anything. And I've lied to my husband a few times, which you really shouldn't do. Not you, I mean, since you don't have a husband, but in general you are supposed to share everything with them and I mean that's really hard to do because sometimes girls have secrets, you know, and I didn't feel like sharing them all because some things weren't his business! Could I have some water?" She asked suddenly, feeling a bit parched after her longwinded ramble.
"Fine," Gaius said, grateful for the excuse to leave the room and avoid having to respond to this woman's inane rambling. What did he care if she'd lied to her husband or fought with her mother? He didn't. So instead of commenting, he left the room to find a glass of water, returning a moment later and handing it to her. He wasn't entirely sure how to continue this conversation, but he knew what he had to do. "So, what exactly was it that you lied to your husband and fought with your mother about? I know that you are a terrorist, Mrs MacFusty, so there is no sense in lying to me."
Tabitha drained half the glass before responding, feeling suddenly hot and embarrassed. "I don't think that's really any of your business, thank you," she said, in what she hoped were polite tones. She just wanted to go home. "And I don't really know how you could know anything like that." Unless someone tattled. Oh, Merlin she hoped it wasn't James. "Anyway! How is your day progressing? I'm sure you must be awfully busy here, right?"
"Awfully busy," he said, his patience growing thinner by the minute. He didn't have the energy to weedle things out of her, as much as her momentary hesitation gave him hope that they might be things he could use against her -- to get under her skin more easily than his assertion that she was a vigilante was proving to be. "So, I would appreciate it if you would stop wasting my time and simply answer the question."
Tabitha frowned deeply and stared at him -- she didn't quite have enough control to glare with artificial calmness imbued into her, but she could try(!) -- "I would appreciate being let go but somehow I do not see that as being very likely. I don't belong here. I don't want to answer questions. In fact, I'd prefer to see my solicitor!"
It was all Gaius could do not to snicker at this woman's request and he could tell already that they were not likely to get along. Precisely who did she think she was, anyway? "I am sorry," he said, fighting to keep a smirk of condescention from dominating his features. "You have already had your trial. There are no solicitors here. Just me. So you will either cooperate and answer my questions or we can wait until you are ready."
Tabitha hesitated; she certainly wouldn't have minded him going away, but she was getting very tired being alone all the time. But there was being alone and being with Gaius and of the two horrible alternatives, she supposed she preferred being alone. At least there she didn't have anyone asking personal questions that she most certainly would not answer. "I suppose then you should probably wait," she replied, though she didn't sound at all certain.
"Very well," Gaius said, waving his wand to vanish the remnants of Tabitha's lunch before turning to leave. He had other things to do -- more promising patients to treat -- and if he had to wait a bit longer for this one to come around, he was sure that boredom would eventually have her delirious and malleable enough to do just as he pleased. "Do have a lovely day," he said, nodding at her before he turned to open the door. "Also, I think you are looking a bit over-fed. We will be cutting back your portions, consequently."
Tabitha's jaw dropped, but she managed to repress her instinctive "I BEG YOUR PARDON?!" He couldn't really cut her portions, could he? But she needed food! She got hungry! Arguing, however, seemed like a really terrible idea, given how vindictive he seemed to be right now, and so she didn't say a damned word, but let her hanging jaw close with a snap. He was going to leave her because she wasn't important and there was damned little she could do about it. "Okay, well," she said, already forgetting that she hadn't intended to talk. "All right." There wasn't much else to say.
For the most part, Gaius' expression remained even, though there was a flicker of a smirk that began and ended at the corners of his mouth. "Your compliance is refreshing," he said. "A bit more of that and we should not have so many pointless conversations, I should think." He lingered only a moment to see if she would say anything more before he stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him. He would leave her to think for a bit longer. This time, without any food to distract her.