From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 19:01:36

*sits in his office listening to one of the other psychiatrists explain how they could possibly have allowed one of his most fragile patients to be released without a much bigger fight, and on his day off, and to the care of another patient who's demonstrated a similar potential for havoc*

*rubs his eyes tiredly* I'm trying to use 'I' phrases, Johan, I really am. But this was a terrible move on your--I'm feeling very upset about the way things were handled in my absence.

	From: sindacollo	Date: 02/25/2007 19:26:04

*knocks on your office door and doesn't wait for an answer*

*looks at Johan as if unsure why he might be there when the king clearly has business to transact* Shoo. Shoo shoo shoo shoo!

*turns back to you* *nods respectfully?* Doctor.

	From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 19:34:21

*masks his annoyance* Hello, Thingol. *with uncharacteristic hurry* Yes, you can take Lúthien home as soon as she feels ready. She's out of danger now. Just be sure to follow the strict care instructions I give you, all right? It'll seem to you like she's only fighting off the flu but she's still a sick girl.

*starts scribbling on a sheet of paper*

	From: sindacollo	Date: 02/25/2007 19:36:57

*closes your door and takes a seat opposite you*

That's a weight off my mind, to be sure. But that's not specifically why I'm here. *folds his hands and eyes you meaningfully*

	From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 19:39:19

*seriously* I'm very glad to hear you'd like some therapy, my lord, but now is perhaps not the best time. One of my patients has been released in opposition to all my recommendations and I'm trying to work out the logistics of cotinuing to see that she receives proper care. A patient you yourself had committed, I might add.

	From: sindacollo	Date: 02/25/2007 19:41:05

*lets out a guffaw* Therapy? Oh, nooooo. No no no no no.

Let me make myself clearer. I know exactly why my daughter fell so ill. *disgustedly* It's all due to that troublesome Beren creature.

	From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 19:43:01

*jots down a few more notes*

*as sincerely as he can manage* So...Lúthien contracted meningitis from Beren and...what? You'd like to lodge some sort of complaint as to how dangerously communicable he is?

	From: sindacollo	Date: 02/25/2007 19:45:33

Oh for f-- No! My daughter found out about her former husband, who's been filling her head with lies, and she lashed out at me. We've been fighting, she's been moping, and she got it into her head that she was sick. How is this not obvious?

	From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 19:48:09

*continues writing after a pause* Well, I can certainly see how her immune system may have been compromised, since it sounds like she's been under considerable stress, but... *dryly* With all due respect, sir, viral meningitis is not a psychosomatic disorder.

In either case, I'm still not entirely clear what you would like me to do to help.

	From: sindacollo	Date: 02/25/2007 19:52:08

*sighs* Let me speak very slowly, in words you're sure to understand.

I want you to prescribe to my daughter any drugs which can help to keep her mood placid--that means calm--and to possibly suppress any strong feelings about her past. Or better yet, the memories themselves, if possible.

	From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 19:53:25

*stares*

*feels an insane urge to laugh* I'm sorry, no. That's out of the question.

	From: sindacollo	Date: 02/25/2007 19:54:37

*confused* "No"?

*with real curiosity* Do you know of another way I can ensure she remains well?

	From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 19:57:38

*scribbles frantically*

*forces himself to stop shaking his head in amazement* Why, yes. I do believe I can think of several other courses of action that would achieve the desired effect.

For instance, can you tell me when it first seemed to you as though things were beyond your control? Not just Lúthien Things, I mean. Any things. In general.

	From: sindacollo	Date: 02/25/2007 20:08:34

*frowns* Well. The very first time had to be when I was about eight years old. My brothers and I had no parents to speak of and Olwë was an immortal terror. At some point I realized that all the other elves were prepared to hold me responsible for every shitty, obnoxious thing he ever did solely because I was older, solely because I supposedly held some sort of sway over his actions. Not that he ever listened to a word I said, of course. I tried telling him again and again that he'd never be as strong or as talented or as able as I was if--well, ever, really. And for some reason he took that as a prime excuse to start kicking Elmo around, the sweetest little wuss you ever saw. Suddenly it was "Elwë, control your brother!" and "Elwë, be an example!" and "Elwë, if you hold Olwë over the edge of the well and threaten to bury him alive down there, he'll never grow up!" And sure enough, Olwë kicked poor little sissy-boy Elmo right down that well the very next day. And then there was the incident the following year with the secret clubhouse I built in my favorite tree with my very own hands, but I can't even think about that story without having nightmares about raccoons for a week.

*takes a breath*

	From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 20:10:37

*comes*

*squeaks* Goonplease. !!!!!

*exhausts the ink supply in his pen and digs around hurriedly for another*

	From: sindacollo	Date: 02/25/2007 20:11:43

*cocks his head suspiciously*

What does this have to do with Lúthien's treatment?

	From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 20:16:49

*clears his throat and tries to look disinterested*

*handwaves* One gets distracted, I understand. *magnanimously* Don't worry about it.

*treading more cautiously* I assume you've, uh, explained to Melian the need for such aggressive drug treatment? Can you describe your relationship with her? I've had few occasions to speak with her. Yeah. That's it.

	From: sindacollo	Date: 02/25/2007 20:26:59

Don't worry about it.

*is thoroughly confused* *can't decide whether you just politely told him to shut the fuck up*

Melian? *snorts* Oh, she's a real prize, all right. You'd never believe how superior a woman gets just because she's all-- *assuming a mimicking tone* --ancient and wise and foresighted and shit. Fuck. I love her to pieces but she doesn't so much as listen to a word I say before dismissing it out of hand. Can you believe that? Have you ever heard of someone so categorically ignoring every piece of advice their spouse had to offer because they thought their stance on anything was the end-all be-all of existence? As if I, of all people, don't know what's best for my children or my brothers or my city or my people or my Órë. I don't see why a bit of Ainu magic gives her the right to go behind my back and think I'll forgive her for it in the end. Though I always do, so maybe that's the real problem, huh? She turns on that Maia charm and is all beautiful and graceful and intelligent and capable and shit and I keep falling for it. Bitch.

So the answer is, yes, she'll deal with whatever treatment for Lúthien I decide to pursue. Can you write the blasted prescription already?

	From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 20:32:50

*tosses around possible prize-winning book titles in his head*

The Madness of King Thingol
Megalomania: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
World War Elwë: My Years in the Trenches

*valiantly fights off the cramps in his writing hand* Um...just a few more questions, okay? *strikes out in a new area in order to stall* When did it first occur to you that Beren might be making Lúthien ill? Do remember the day you first met him? Would you say you've always had a general dislike of humans?

	From: sindacollo	Date: 02/25/2007 20:48:58

*eyeroll* No, I haven't always had a general dislike of humans. Puh-lease. My boy's a human, isn't he? Or used to be? You know what I'm saying. And I love him like he's my own even though he was and continues to be a stubborn, ungrateful little shit. It's probably just bad genes because it sure as fuck wasn't his upbringing. Certainly his biological dad could've been somewhat less of a downer in the end. First Age mortals, you know? Want everything to be handed to them on a silver platter and then they complain the platter's not shiny enough. Anyway, the rest of us are all humans now and even though that's a fairly fucking disgusting prospect it seems pretty illogical and contrary to basic instincts to hate oneself, wouldn't you say? What was I saying? Oh, yeah. Beren. Sure, I remember the day I met him. "Hi, how're you doing? I have no family and no prospects and no skills but I want to marry your daughter, the most perfect child in the history of the universe." It was fully clear to me then that he was already making her sick. She just kept looking at him with those big eyes of hers like he made the sun rise and set and never once spared a thought for her dear old dad. Did I tell you how I actually had her convinced for a while when she was really little that I did make the sun rise and set? That was so cute. So any idiot would've seen that she was sick and dying from the start. I mean really.

*glances at his watch* Which is I why I need the drugs. Can I please have the cunting drugs?!

	From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 20:51:13

*completely ignores that last bit*

And Melian reacted somewhat differently to Beren's proposition, initially, is that correct? How did that make you feel?

	From: sindacollo	Date: 02/25/2007 20:53:25

*agitated* How did that make me feel? Didn't I just explain Melian's entire agenda? I'll tell you how that made me feel. It made me f--oh you slimy BASTARD!

	From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 20:55:53

*snaps the "How did that make you feel?" rubber band on his wrist belatedly* Oh golly. I always kill it with that, don't I?

*smiles fearfully hopefully*

	From: sindacollo	Date: 02/25/2007 20:58:29

*stands* *evenly* I expect the appropriate prescriptions to be waiting at the hospital pharmacy by the time my daughter is ready to leave, or I'll see that every license you have to practice anything is revoked.

*walks out*

	From: elrondmd	Date: 02/25/2007 20:59:45

*doesn't offer any sort of reply*

*really wanted to hear about those raccoons, too*