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At the very moment Henry lifted his head, he heard a faint noise. Not quite sure where it was coming from, his eyes searched the room...he thought that it might just be a small mouse moving around on the floor. But he didn't see anything suspicious...that is until his eyes caught a glimpse of his father's hand, which was at one point limp and fragile...but at that moment was clenched tight in a fist. Henry's eyes widened in shock and amazement...
"Father?" Before he knew it both fists were clenched and he was trying to move his arms, "Oh my God..." Henry ran to the door like a wild person and shouted for Dr. Slusar, "Christopher!! Get in here now..."
"What is it Henry???"
"My father..." He ran down the hallway and practically fell into the room.
"What has happened? Is he alright--" He stopped dead in his tracks, "Sweet Jesus..."
"I heard movement and then saw it was he who was moving...look...his hands...and his arms. It's working, Christopher. It's working..." Dr. Slusar walked to the bed...
"Albert Jekyll? Are you with us?" Just then...his eyes opened. "Albert..." his tore his stethescope from around his neck and listened to his chest...it was clear...his heart was beating at a steady pace. He felt his cheek with the back of his hand...the warmth was flooding back. "Dear God, Henry...Henry?" He was besides himself with emotion...uncontrollable tears ran down his face like a rainstorm. He had struggled for so many years to perfect a cure and at last...his mission was complete. He had saved his father.
"Henry, come here...come see your father." He gathered himself together and walked over. Albert lay there slowly returning to them...he opened and closed his eyes...he was moving his legs and arms...and the both of them watched as he did so.
"Can you understand me?" He looked up when he heard his son's voice. He nodded and tried to speak...his voice was so deep and raspy from all the years he spent lying in that bed, unable to do anything but breathe...
"H-henry...where am I..."
"You're in the hospital..." he mumbled, trying to speak clearly through his consuming emotions...
"How long..."
"Six and half years."
"Help me up..."
"No, no...in due time--"
"No, I must get up...get me out of this bed..."
"Albert, I don't think that's wise." Was it really happening? After spending all those years lying motionless, he was unchanged. His sentence structure and diction was incredible...he was in his right mind...but he was confused. Confused as to why he felt so strange and why he was in the hospital for almost seven years. He grabbed hold of Henry's arm and tried to pull himself up but was unsuccessful...his muscles were too weak.
"Henry, lift me up." He did as his father instructed. He slid his arm underneath him, rested his other hand against his stomach and lifted him forward until he was sitting up in bed. "There...that's not so hard, is it." Dr. Slusar stood there...he watched in awe as the man who was once catatonic spoke to them as though nothing had happened.
"This is incredible, Henry. He's--"
"Very uncomfortable." Henry couldn't help but chuckle. "Even I don't believe this. One would think that after spending all these years in here, he'd beunable to speak as of yet...and he can move. How is this happening?"
He stared at his father lovingly, just soaking up every moment he could before he was dragged away down to his own private hell at the end of the hall.
"Look at you, Henry. Your hair has grown so long...you look like you've been beaten up. What has been going on all this time? What was it that brought me here?"
"You were stricken with a very rare illness. At first, you began to lose your memory...you couldn't remember my name...you couldn't remember yours...I had to help you do so many things that normally would've come so easy to you. It just became worse and worse until you were completely gone...unable to speak and move. Seeing you so helpless ruined me. You taught me so much and helped me through so much. To suddenly have the one constant thing in my life silenced was a nightmare. All I could do was sit here by your side and pray...day and night...that somehow you'd return to me...and you have."
"I don't understand it, Henry. What was it that brought me back? If I was so sick, how was it possible for the illness to be reversed in such a way?"
"My formula, father...a drug I call HJ7. I've been working on it ever since the day you slipped away. After so many years of miserable failures, I've finally perfected it...and here we are now."
"This is the same drug which also made your brilliant son run loose about the streets of London taking the lives of innocent people." came a voice from hehind them with a touch of sarcasm. Mr. Harrison had returned and stood in the doorway of the room looking both annoyed and shocked.
"Henry? What does he mean?"
"Why don't you tell your father, Henry? Tell him about your addiction...tell him all about the people you've beaten and murdered. Tell him about Emma--" Henry became enraged and grabbed Harrison by his jacket, "I suggest you let go of me Dr. Jekyll."
"Who is Emma? Henry, what is he talking about??" He stared into Mr. Harrison's eyes and muttered...
"Don't you dare do this now." He responded quietly...
"Why not...are you ashamed? Shouldn't he know what his son really is? You're not a doctor, you're a lunatic. Let go of my coat and back away before I--"
"Please, enough of this." interrupted Dr. Slusar, "Albert is very tired and weak...I think you should both control your tempers."
"I think Jekyll should be escorted back to his room where he belongs, don't you Dr. Slusar?"
"Can't you just let me be? Just leave me here with my father so I can--"
"No, I think it would be best if you went back to your hospital room, Henry."
"Mr. Harrison..."
"We did not vote to have him put away in here for family reunions!!"
"Perhaps if you had a heart in that steel chest of yours, you'd understand his need to be here at this moment."
"Dr. Slusar, I'm very touched by this father-son fiasco, but this is a dangerous man." Albert spoke up suddenly...
"I don't know what either of you are speaking about and I'd appreciate it greatly if you'd stop speaking to my son in such a manner. He is a brilliant man who has saved my soul yet you stand there criticizing him. I don't understand it...perhaps I never shall, but what exactly has he done to make you regard him such a way?" Henry ran to his father's side...
"You don't need to have your head filled with their ridiculous stories, father, please...just lie back and relax." Mr. Harrison approached him from behind, grabbed him by his shoulder and spun him around...pointing at Albert as he spoke...
"This is what the drug was meant for doctor, not for--"
"I know Goddamn well what this drug was meant for!! I told you that I was trying to save my father and I have...can you believe it now..."
"Dr. Jekyll, whether or not I believe that your drug is capable of curing a man such as your father is not the question. The fact that you claim you have two personalities...one of which has the tendency to venture out on killing sprees...is what really bothers me. Now, enough of this overly dramatic behavior, Henry...say good bye to your father. Your time is up." He turned and left...Dr. Slusar followed behind quickly and managed to stop him before he disappeared down the hallway...
"You never fail to amaze me, Robert. You have proof lying right before your eyes that this man is a medical genius. Henry's formula was able to pour the life back into that man's body...why do you doubt him..."
"Let me see if I'm understanding your philosophy correctly, doctor. According to you, this man should be released and dismissed of these crimes that he has blatantly admitted to committing...oh, excuse me...that his other half has committed? I do not doubt that he is a brilliant doctor, Christopher. I do, however, doubt his sanity."
"I'm not saying that he should be permitted to re-enter society without due punishment for the crimes he's responsible for...but what I am asking of you is that you give him a chance to be with his father, whom he has not been able to interact for all this time. If you only knew how heartbreaking it was to see him sit by his father's side hour after hour, just watching him lie there...to watch that grown man cry like a child everytime the thought of perhaps losing the man who had given him his strength to an even darker strength entered his mind...to see a lonely son desperately trying to reach his father...and failing. You have no idea what this means to him...it's like having an angel swoop down from the heavens above and carry you in her arms. To Henry, Albert merely clenching his fist was like being brushed by that angel's wings. You have to let him have a chance to be near his father and regain the piece of himself that's been missing for all these years."
"Is he not in there with him at this very moment? This is his
chance. Please, Christopher, spare me your heart wrenching melo-dramatic
tales and open your eyes. In that room stands a man who has murdered, beaten
and raped. He has scarred people for life and has robbed it from others.
I have no respect for any man who has to hide from his actions behind a
facade instead of facing the consequences like an adult. Now, he has but
a few more minutes with his father. Then I want you to take him down to
his room and do whatever needs to be done."
There was complete silence in the room after Dr. Slusar and Mr. Harris left in a hurry. Henry stood facing the window trying to think of a way to explain the conversation that had transpired between himself and Mr. Harris. He knew it wouldn't be right of him to begin explaining how his experiments had gone awry at this stage. He knew his father would believe him...other than Lucy and hopefully his Emma, he was the only one who would...but he felt that should he confess everything at that moment, his father's heart would fail him....
"Henry, come sit by me." He turned around slowly and his eyes met his father's...he did as he was told, "I'm afraid to ask what that gentleman was referring to in his remarks. Solely based upon your condition at the moment, not my own, I will keep my inquiries to myself. You will explain all this to me sooner or later, I know that much. However, there is one thing I must ask..."
"Yes?" he answered with a smile...
"Who is this Emma girl that man had mentioned? Is she a colleague of yours?"
"Ahh, Emma...well, she is my fiancee, father."
"Your fiancee?? I have missed a lot, haven't I? Tell me, what is she like?"
"She's the rose of my life. So precious, so delicate...so sweet...and so unbelievably soft and beautiful. Throughout the past few years that we've been together, she's been my strength...the one person on this planet who never, even for one second, lost faith in me. I don't know how she was able to put up with my constant absence...all the time I spent locked away in my laboratory with my work....if there ever was a moment where she was the least bit upset with me...I would've never known. She always wore a smile."
"She sounds like a wonderful young lady...you must really love her, Henry...but...there is something wrong..." How does he know? Is it that obvious?
"Over the past few months, there have been serious occurances that have altered our relationship...I feel like I've lost her....and I fear that I will never be able to find her again. We've both changed so much...in different ways and our paths are no longer one...the road we once travelled together has divided itself and now runs in two different directions. The way I know I should follow, deep inside, is not what I've chosen. I've become so lost that I've pulled myself away from the one thing in this world, other than you...that I would die for."
"Perhaps you're too young to be married, son..."
"I wish the reason were that simple."
"Give it time...if you are meant to share one life together, your roads will meet again."
"I truly hope so. I don't like the man I've become. I was a better person when I had her by my side.."
"You've always been that way...even when you were a young boy. Once you had your mind set on accomplishing something, there was nothing that could distract you. If she truly loves you, she will look past that and accept you for who you are. But, you must realize something, Henry. Love is not only based on making one person happy. You both have to give. She needs to know that you will be there for her, as well. Perhaps, your relationship is no longer the way it once was because you have been taking too much."
"I try...but there's no use..."
"Never say that. Look at me, Henry. You can salvage this. You managed to save me, didn't you? I'm sorry to say that losing love is one of the most painful experiences in life. You are a good man, a smart man with a heart of pure gold. The love in your eyes is so strong, Henry. I know it's there...you know it's there...and I'm sure Emma knows it's there. If you want to fix this mess, you have to go to her and set things straight."
Henry listened to his father's advice. He was right...but nothing could fix the problems he'd caused. Albert had no idea of the severity of his son's mistakes. He couldn't tell him what had happened...so instead, he nodded...smiled...and thanked his father for trying to help...
"I will...thank you with all my heart."
"I want a grandson. That would be enough thanks for me." He managed to bring a smile to his son's face...
"In due time." He suddenly felt a rather strong burning feeling in his stomach...Oh God...not now... He could hear Edward Hyde's voice ringing in his ears...
"In due time, Jekyll? Try 'in a few days'. Your father will have his grandson, alright." Henry's body stiffened and he clenched his eyes shut...
"What is it?"
"Nothing...I'm...fine. Father, lay back and try to sleep. I have something I must do. I'll be back later this evening to check in on you." He practically pushed his father back in the bed and covered him with a sheet...he gently kissed his father's forehead and smiled, "I'll see you later, then. You're fine now...safe...and in good hands. When I'm not here, Dr. Slusar will look after you."
"You don't think I'll be in this place much longer, do you?" As he spoke those words, Dr. Slusar entered...
"Henry, I think it's time we get you settled in." They both looked over towards the door. It was incredible...they looked so much alike...Albert, only the older version of his son. Such a striking appearance for a man his age...he had become very thin, yet his face still held onto it's beauty...his hair was midnight black with traces of silver which was what actually revealed his true age.
"I'm saying good bye to my father. I'll be with you in a moment." He looked back at Albert, "Good bye for now...and don't give anyone in here a difficult time. Do as they say...they know what's best for you." He nodded. Henry slowly walked to Dr. Slusar...they left...he was unable to look back at his father. He had no idea when...or even if he'd be able to see him again any time soon. They were silent as they walked down to Henry's room. When they reached the door, Christopher reached in his pocket and took out the key. He unlocked the door and waved for Henry to walk in...
"How are you feeling, Henry?"
"I'm ecstatic yet at the same time, I feel sick to my stomach. That son of a bitch, Harrison." he pounded his fist against the wall, "He saw with his own two eyes my father wide awake...speaking to us all...moving his arms and legs and yet that fool treats me like the scum of the street..."
"You know very well why he's behaving the way he is."
"I know...I know. But why should I not be permitted to have more time with my father?!? He has absolutely no idea how agonizing these past years have been for me and now that I have him back...now that all I've fought for has been acheived...he tears me from his side and throws me in this cell like an animal."
"I tried explaining that to him, boy...he won't give. You've enraged him...and once he has his way, the entire city will most likely turn against you."
"They've been against me from the start. All exept for four people...and I'm slowly losing them as well."
"Your time spent in here will help you...and that's what you need, Henry. Help."
"Eh, Goddamnit...I know you're right. I'm just so accustomed to fighting for everything that I don't know when to back down. Perhaps my time in here will cure me of my...addiction. The voice will be silenced and the pain will cease...and I'll be free at last to live like I once had."
"Now that we can get you away from that drug, the voice will no longer be heard, I promise you..." He leaned back in his chair and suddenly...
"He has no idea what he's dealing with, does he Dr. Jekyll? Well, perhaps we should show him, heh? Yes, I think he would enjoy a little spectacle...uh...do you feel that Henry? That lovely burning sensation? And the nauseating pain surging through your body...that's me. It's time for anencore presentation of last night's festivities..." He was hunched forward in his chair...clutching his sides...
"Henry? What's wrong?" He was transforming...he rose from the chair and his body spasmed...he thrashed about the tiny room, his body hitting the walls and then finally the floor. Dr. Slusar dropped to his knees besides his friend's motionless body and checked for a pulse. The moment his fingers made contact with Hyde's skin, he rose from his possum like position and grabbed Christopher's neck...his eyes burning into him like fire...
"I'd hate to say this, Christopher...but...you and your little governor friends were so unbelievably wrong..hahaahha...it is not the good doctor who is the homicidal maniac...'tis I, Mr. Edward Hyde. What a pleasure to meet you..." He stood up from his place, never once loosening his grip on the doctor. He threw him up against a wall, "I bet you feel rather foolish right now, hmm...shall we go fetch that imbicile Harrison? So we can show him that Henry was, in fact, telling the truth about his charming other half...yes, I think that would be fun..." he let go and Christopher hit the floor with a loud thud. "It's hypocrites like you that really enrage me. One minute, you stand before Henry saying how he should lie to weasle his way out of this sticky little situation...and the next...you agree with Mr. Harrison that he is a killer. You feel sorry for Henry...and a little while later, you are eager to lock him up. Pick an emotion...and stick with it!"
"Henry, please...calm yourself down..."
"I should also mention that I dislike being referred to as 'Henry' immensely. I do have a name..." Christopher rose to his feet...
"So this is the great Edward Hyde, is it? I've heard a lot about you. You sick bastard. Henry, snap the hell out of this..."
"Oh, please...stop throwing your compliments, doctor. My ego is large enough already without your flattery."
"This is how you make your way? By acting like a crazy person?"
"Who said I was acting?" He smiled...
"It's obvious that the drug still has it's hold on you."
"The drug..hahahah...that red garbage that he has been injecting? Would you like to see what he's done?" He rolled up the sleeve of his left arm and revealed enormous bruises due to collapsed veins. "Aren't they lovely? All fooling aside, they are quite irritating. Having these marks all over...they're on his thighs as well, Dr. Slusar. But I won't drop my pants for it's improper behavior for a gentleman such as myself to display, wouldn't you say?"
"What have you done to yourself, Henry?" he mumbled, shocked at the appearance of his arm....
"I asked you to call me by my name." He shouted, lunging forward and hitting him full force...he lost balance and fell to the floor, "Now, perhaps you will remember...Ed-ward...Edward. Or if you prefer, Hyde is also acceptable. My other half has a tendency to use the latter, which is quite rude, might I add. I know I try to address him appropriately....oh, about Henry's drug...it isn't that which has the hold on him. I am the drug...I come and go whenever I feel like it. I am what has the hold on him...and I don't have any intention of letting go anytime soon." He walked slowly across the room gazing at his surroundings, "So, this will be our living quarters for...well, an 'indefinite period of time'. It may take some getting used to, but I'm sure you'll love having the doctor as a patient after a while. There's no telling what he'll do next. Oh, Christopher, get up off the floor, really...it's cold and dirty down there...we wouldn't want to soil that lovely white coat of yours now would we?"
"You are a sick man...and the only reason I have not abandoned you yet is because I truly believe that you can be saved, Henry. This will take time, but this 'role play' game you're engrossed in will come to an abrupt halt soon enough...and I will have to be the one to pick up the pieces since you are obviously not fit to care for yourself." At that moment, Hyde grabbed hold of the chair, raised it high above his head and flung it across the room at the doctor's head....luckily, he missed...it made such a loud noise, that within seconds, two guards and another doctor entered the room to see what had happened. Hyde stood in the far corner of the room laughing as he watched them come after him...
"Come and get me..." He beckoned for them to come forward...they approached him from different directions. They figured if he had three of them going in for the grab, he wouldn't be able to fight them off...they were mistaken. He swung his arm around backwards and punched one of the guards directly in his face, knocking him unconcious with a bloody broken nose. After seeing his incredible strength, the other guard as well as the doctor stopped dead in their tracks, "What's this? No more?" he stared at the larger of the two...a big man with broad shoulders who looked like he could lift him with one hand, "Oh really, sirs, you have to be kidding me." He went forward, but as he moved in, he felt a sharp pain in his side, "Bloody hell, Henry!! Here I am, doing you a service, yet you have to be a priss about it and ruin my fun. Goddamn it all to hell..." he collapsed to the floor and remained still. The guard and Dr. Mitchum ran to Dr. Slusar and made sure that he wasn't suffering from any serious injuries and then looked at each other...
"Well, what are you waiting for? Pick him up off the floor and put him to bed." Christopher ordered, "I'll go get the restraints. They should keep him under control." He took one more look at Henry's body before hurrying off.
"I'll get him by the feet...you grab him from under his arms. Nathan, don't worry about Paul right now. We have to get this one off the floor and onto the bed before Dr. Slusar gets back."
"But what if he bleeds to death."
"He has a broken nose. He won't die."
"There's blood all over his face."
"Is he breathing?"
"Yes."
"Then he won't die. Let's go already. I'm losing patience." They went to move him...and he sprang to his feet..
"Let go of me."
"Just relax Dr. Jekyll..."
"Do you believe it now?? Can you tell me I'm crazy now after seeing what he is capable of?"
"What who is capable of?"
"Edward Hyde...look at this man on the floor. The blood on his face. He did it..." he spoke with a crazed expression...his hair was drenched with sweat...his cheeks were flushed...
"Dr. Jekyll...you need rest. Come now..." They went forward slowly and grabbed him...he struggled to break free but he lost his fight...
"Let me go!! Get your hands off me...I'm not crazy!!! No, please...don't do this..." Dr. Slusar ran in with retraints just as Nathan and Dr. Mitchum pinned him down to the mattress.
"Henry, please! Calm yourself down and cooperate with us. You're just making it harder for yourself." He threw a restraint over to Nathan and as he wrapped the other around his wrist and tied him to the bed rail. Dr. Mitchum grabbed the other two and placed them around Henry's ankles as he kicked...
"Why are you fighting so, Henry?? Relax..."
"How can you expect me to relax when I'm being tied down..." he cried out at them...
"Ok, they're nice and tight, Dr. Slusar. He won't be able to do himself or anyone else any harm." Henry gave up his fight and lay there breathing extremely heavy and crying uncontrollably...
"God in heaven...please just let me out of these things."
"Not until you calm down. I can't let you run around throwing chairs and beating on people..." he pointed at the guard on the floor as Dr. Mitchum and Nathan lifted him up and carried him out.
"But it wasn't me, Christopher, why can't you just understand that????" He didn't answer, "You can't...and even more, you don't want to." Maybe I should just go along with this..my protesting isn't going to get me out of this place any sooner...
"Henry, you're right. I don't understand. I'm trying to see into your mind, but as far as that goes, my dear friend, I'm blind. I'm sorry to have had to do this to you, but you were out of control. I didn't know what else to do." He doesn't comprehend that it wasn't me...
"I have so much pain, Christopher. I don't know what to do with myself anymore," he whispered.
"I know, Henry." He rose from his chair and walked over to a table directly beneath a small window. He lifted a syringe that was already full with a sedative and then dampened a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol. He went to Henry and gently stroked the skin on his forearm with the moist swab...
"What is that you're giving me?"
"Just something that will hopefully let you get some sleep at last."
He gave the injection, sat down beside the bed and watched as Henry's eyelids
fluttered, giving the signal that he was drifting into a deep slumber,
"Sleep well and place your dreams in the hands of the angels..."