Mason Ch. 06

Toni shook her head no; she just wanted to be left alone.

****

Mason hadn't seen Toni since the night at 'star bucks' he had hoped that either she or her mother would have contacted him by now unless Toni was doing better which he doubted. He could tell that she hadn't really talked to anyone including her mother. It was now a month away from the anniversary date of James' death, if she hadn't talked to anyone yet, she was in for a rough night.

Mason changed his appointments to another day to make himself available and contacted Eustace asking him if he would take call if any of his five patients needed anything.

"I was just going to call you anyway. What is it you need?" Eustace asked. "Of course I'll take call just forward your calls here. The reason why I was going to call you was to give you a heads up, Lydia Smythe is on the loose again and from what I'm told she's got a thing for you so be careful."

Fuck! Mason thought, he didn't want or need any distractions right now.

"Thanks and if you hear anything about Lydia call me."

He thought about changing his phone number and decided against it. If he kept his number and Lydia called he might be able to find out where she was. He checked his contact list to see if he still had the number for Lydia's psychiatrist, if he did he was going to give the man a call.

Mason found the number and called Dr. Kirkland.

"Mason Donahue here, I hear that you lost your patient again." Mason said.

It took the Dr. a moment to remember who Mason was.

"Dr. Donahue! Yes I'm afraid that you heard right, as a matter of fact, I was just getting ready to leave. Someone spotted her on the west coast but you're in Boston right?"

"Actually, I'm on the west coast now." Mason replied.

"Please tell me it's not California." Dr. Kirkland said.

"I'm in California." Mason said as he cursed silently. "What's her diagnosis?" He asked.

There was a brief hesitation on the other end of the line and for just a moment Mason didn't think that the doctor was going to tell him.

"I'm not supposed to share information like that so let's just say that I'm consulting. Lydia did sign a consent for me to consult whoever I wish. Lydia is.... How can I say this? One of the most fucked up vampires I know, she's psychotic, sociopath and homicidal and as you already know, she has control issues."

"Has she killed?" Mason asked.

"Not that I'm aware of but if she hasn't it's only a matter of time. There's something about you though that has her fascinated. This is a change for her, her fascination usually last for a short time and then she moves on." Dr. Kirkland said.

"The other men, were they human or vampire?" Mason asked.

"Human, why?"

"The other therapist that she practiced with, were they human or vampire?" Mason asked ignoring the question.

"Human because.... I see where you're going with this. Humans are easily controlled and they were relatively safe with her. She in her own crazy psychotic way protected them, it doesn't make sense but that's what I think. You on the other hand are an entirely different matter. You defied her and she's pissed, if you haven't heard from her you will. Where are you exactly?"

Mason hesitated, but sensed only truth coming from the psychiatrist.

"I'm in San Diego; call me when you get here."

Mason hung up and made another phone call. He could protect himself against Lydia but Toni and her family couldn't. By time he was finished with his call, security for Toni and her family had been set up and would be at her home within the hour. He thought about going and waiting until security arrived but he didn't know where Lydia was and didn't want to chance it. He reconsidered whether he should have security for his own home not for safety but they might be able to catch her if she showed up. Mason had no doubts that if Lydia didn't know where he lived, she soon would, after all she did find out that he lived in California. He picked up the phone and called the security firm again, he wanted her caught as soon as possible.

**** Toni paced restlessly, she was so tired but too afraid to sleep. She didn't think that she could stand having the dreams again. The anniversary of James' death was a week away; she was sure that she wouldn't survive it and began to make plans for Jamie. Her parents would take care of him as they were the younger of the two sets of parents by several years but James' Parents would have free access as would Wanda.

Barbara and Ben worriedly watched Toni. She still refused to allow Barbara to call Mason.

"I'm fine so stop worrying" she would say whenever Barbara brought the subject up.

She wasn't fine and they all knew it. James' parents were just as worried.

"Barbara, we've got to do something." Gina, James' mother said.

Barbara told her about Mason.

"I say that we call him now before something horrible happens." Gina said.

Barbara agreed and made the call.

"Dr. Donahue? This is Barbara Hughes Toni's mother. Could we meet? I'm really worried about her."

They agreed to meet at the 'Star Bucks' in an hour. Gina would stay with Toni while the men watched Jamie. Barbara knew that Toni would be angry when she found out but if she wasn't going to take care of herself then she would do it for her.

****

As excited as Mason was to receive the phone call, he was saddened as well. Toni had to be doing worse if her mother called him instead of Toni herself.

He arrived at the coffee shop early and ordered coffee for the both of them, found a booth in a corner and waited. Barbara arrived a few minutes later.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice." she said as she sat down.

"You're welcome, how is Toni?" Mason asked.

"Not good but she keeps insisting that she's fine. She's having nightmares about James asking her why she let him die. The thing is she thinks that she should have known something and because of that she won't go back to work. She's afraid that she'll miss something and someone will die because of it. She won't talk to anyone and I'm afraid for her."

"Has she talked about hurting herself?" Mason asked.

"No, but she keeps saying how she doesn't think that she's going to survive next week." Barbara replied.

"Tell me about her and James." Mason said.

An hour later Mason had a good understanding of James and Toni's relationship. In spite of a rocky courtship the two of them had loved each other deeply. He understood the full consequences of not taking her out for that drink but then maybe it had to be that way, the both of them had some things to learn about themselves.

"I need to talk to her." Mason said.

Barbara hesitated, Toni was going to be very angry but it couldn't be helped.

"When?" she asked.

"Tonight, we have to release some of the pressure that she has built up even if it's her screaming at us. Where's the baby?" Mason asked.

"At home, why?" Barbara asked.

"Is there a part of the house where he can be taken to? I don't want him frightened." Mason replied.

"The basement is fully furnished and it's hard to hear anything down there." Barbara replied.

Just as they were leaving, Mason's cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID and didn't recognize the number. He answered it thinking that it might be Dr. Kirkland.

"Mason! How are you? I'm still angry that you walked away from me." Lydia said.

Fuck! He didn't have time for this.

"Hello Lydia." Mason said politely. "I'm busy at the moment but maybe we could meet later for coffee."

"Not later, now." she demanded.

That told Mason where she was, he'd call Kirkland after he hung up.

"That isn't possible, I'm seeing a client. I'm sure that you understand that the welfare of our clients come before anything else." he replied appealing to the caretaker part of her.

"Alright, when?" she asked.

"How about you give me a number where you can be reached? My client is in a great deal of emotional distress and as you know, these things cannot be rushed." Mason replied trying to keep the impatience out of his voice.

"Fine but I'd better here from you and soon." she said sharply before she hung up.

"Is everything alright?" Barbara asked.

"It's fine, let's go."

***

Toni had just changed for bed when she heard voices coming from the living room, she recognized all but one. She walked to the door and peeked out trying to see who the unknown voice belonged to. Finally she went to the living room to see Mason talking with both sets of parents and holding Jamie.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she walked toward them. When she reached him, she took Jamie away from him and hugged him.

"Toni..." Barbara said.

"I told you that I was fine! I don't need a psychiatrist, I need to be left alone!" she exclaimed.

"That's the last thing that you need." Mason said quietly. He wanted to draw her anger away from the others and toward him.

Toni stared at him in disbelief, "You don't know what I need! You don't know me."

"While it's true that I don't know you, I do know what you need. You need help to get through your grief and I can help you do that." Mason said. "Why don't you give the baby to your mother so that you and I can talk?"

"I don't want to talk about him." Toni replied.

"We don't have to, we can talk about anything you want but give Jamie to one of the others." Mason urged.

Toni reluctantly handed Jamie to whomever as closest and hugged herself as she watched them walk away.

"Do you mind if we sit?" Mason asked.

He waited until Toni was sitting before sitting down himself.

"You've had a very rough year." he commented.

Toni didn't respond but looked down at her hands.

"Did you like Boston?" He asked, "I liked it but I hated the winters."

No response.

"I moved here not that long ago, I used to live near LA. I still have a home there. Have you been to LA yet?" he asked.

"I know what you're doing, I did my psych rotation." Toni said flatly.

"I'm just making conversation." Mason replied.

"No, you're not." Toni said, "You're trying to get me to talk and it's not going to work so see yourself out."

"Toni, you're hurting Jamie." Mason said. It was a low blow but it had the desired effect.

"I'm not hurting Jamie!" she retorted.

"By not taking care of yourself, you're hurting him." Mason said.

Toni stared at him; she wasn't hurting Jamie was she? Her parents were here to help take care of him so that... tears ran down her face as she realized that she hadn't been a real mother to Jamie since James died and that was James' fault. If he hadn't left her, if he ...., if he, if he what? If he hadn't loved her so damned much and made her love him just as much she wouldn't be hurting as badly as she was. It was irrational to blame him for dying but she did it anyway and she blamed herself.

Mason watched Toni carefully for signs of a mental break relieved when he saw no symptoms but was heartbroken at the deep pain that Toni was in. There was nothing that he could do to alleviate that pain; she had to go through it just as he had to go through the pain of losing Katrina.

Toni's heart ached so badly that she felt as if it was in a vise that was being tightened beyond endurance. From somewhere deep inside of her she felt a rage build. It was a rage directed at James and herself for not saving him. From a distance, she heard someone scream only vaguely aware that it was her that she was hearing.