"I hope you like snickerdoodles, in that case." It's hard to be upset when you have to say the word snickerdoodles. "We've got some chocolate chip ones as well, they don't usually leave the kitchen since they're so messy."
He's not sure where his cane went at this point (since it rolled slightly and ended up partially under the bed) but he doesn't need it in John's room anyway, and he leads the way to the kitchen. "Most of them are going to be made with coconut sugar, since it's Natalie's favourite."
"They should be on the counter, I believe," he comments as they walk in; the kitchen is very similiar to Arthur's, stylistically, but slightly more modern with, indeed, a set of cookies in a tupperware container on the counter. "I can make us some tea if you'd like something to cut through the flavours, at least. Or coffee, but I can't imagine you need more reasons to be unsteady."
"Tea's fine if you're making it, but some water would be fine, too. I didn't drink any of that, either. It was - " He sighs. "It wasn't rational. Any of it. I was just mirroring Andrew's delusions."
"Right, yeah." He knows where the kettle is, so he'll make them two cups of tea, but he'll also pour a glass of water for Sheehan as well, sliding it over to him while the kettle's boiling. "You said you- I-I suppose Teddy thought it as well, that the cigarettes were drugged."
"That uh...that was deliberate on our part. Mine and Cawley's. After the storm, our clothes were soaked. We changed and the orderlies gave us a pack of their cigarettes. Made it seem deliberate that our cigarettes got ruined."
He laughs to himself. "I should repay them when I get back."
"How was that supposed to work, anyway?" It's genuine curiosity, not derision. "You basically set up a whole conspiracy for him to explore, right? Get him to- to play it through to the end and he'd realise he was Andrew?"
There's no point in hiding it now, he supposes. All his secrets have been laid bare, spread out on the floor.
"It was his delusion. His conspiracy. He talked about it for years in bits and pieces. We just - finally let him have run of the place. Played along. Set up clues that would lead him to the lighthouse where we could confront him. We would have had more time, but he assaulted another patient when I lost track of him."
He hums sympathetically. "So I suppose after that point you'd understand his delusions just as well as Teddy does. No wonder they came through for you so readily."
"Yes. At his worst, he was picking clues out of nowhere, so we had to give him the clues. The rule of 4. Who is 67. We were trying to guide him to the realization that the conspiracy was him. He had created it."
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He isn't sure about the stew, only because he doesn't know if he can stomach something heavy after not eating for three days.
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He's not sure where his cane went at this point (since it rolled slightly and ended up partially under the bed) but he doesn't need it in John's room anyway, and he leads the way to the kitchen. "Most of them are going to be made with coconut sugar, since it's Natalie's favourite."
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He doesn't know the first thing about that, but he's happy to try it out.
"I'll take aby cookies at this rate."
He follows Arthur, heartbeat slowing slightly.
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He laughs to himself. "I should repay them when I get back."
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"It was his delusion. His conspiracy. He talked about it for years in bits and pieces. We just - finally let him have run of the place. Played along. Set up clues that would lead him to the lighthouse where we could confront him. We would have had more time, but he assaulted another patient when I lost track of him."
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He leans against the counter.
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"I'm sorry, doctor," he says gently, picking up one of the mugs by the rim to offer Sheehan the handle. "For all that it did and didn't work."
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"Thanks. But that's why I'm here. If I can't help him, then someone has to."