-Buzz!-

~Empty the contents of your pockets into the tray, ma'am, and go through again.~

*Claire didn't say a word, but dumped out her change, her money, her wallet. Oh right, she placed her gun in the tray too. This time, there was no beep. The officer handed her the rest of her stuff, but held on to the gun. She signed a sheet next to its description and went into the next room.

It was stark, with walls painted a dim gray. Two guards stood against the back wall watching closely. The room itself was divided into cubicles along one wall, each with a chair and a metal table split in half by a glass screen with chicken wire between the panes. She sat down in the one closest to the far wall as instructed and waited.

A few minutes later, Tim entered from the other side of the room. He was dressed in bright orange prison wear. He shuffled along, watching his feet sitting down in the seat across from Claire. His face held only the barest hint of a smile as he looked up and saw her.*

~Hi Claire.~

Hey Tim. How are you doing? *She wanted to hug him, to try to comfort him as he had tried to comfort her the day Danny killed himself and Annie died, but the glass wouldn't let her.*

*Tim opened his mouth as if to say something, but shrugged instead.* ~I'm surviving. You?~

*He was surviving in prison, but only barely. His eyes were sunken, and it was obvious that he hadn't been sleeping well. If he died, Claire would have failed him -again-. She didn't want to fail him, because he was her friend. What she didn't want to admit, even to herself, was that he was quite possibly the last thing keeping her from going insane.*

I'm not dead yet...*She tried to smile, but it wasn't the confident smile that she used to have. It was a tight fake smile. Tim knew Claire was trapped in a prison of her own, of guilt, shame, and isolation. If he made it that long, in ten years, he'd be free. At the rate she was going, she'd be dead in ten years. He wanted to help her, but didn't know how.*

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*They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Tim cleared his throat.* ~Claire, you need to talk to somebody. I'm worried about you.~

*She looked at him, eyes narrowed slightly, and her arms crossed over her chest.* A shrink? Someone who'll tell me 'You did the best you could, Claire. The important thing is Danny is dead. It doesn't matter that he shot himself in the head?! It doesn't matter that you could have saved lives if you hadn't been so consumed with the idea of finding your own answers?!

*Out of sheer frustration, she slammed both hands onto the metal table, teeth clenched. Tim didn't even jump. He knew how she felt. How many lives could he have saved if he hadn't helped Danny at all? If he'd told Claire sooner? As it was, Danny's victims haunted him in his sleep, Annie most of all.*

~Yeah, Claire...that's what I mean.~

*She shook her head, slowly back and forth, eyes wet.* No, Tim. I can't. I come here to talk to you because you're my friend. You're also the only one who understands what I've been through. There was a long pause, and she looked him in the eyes.* We're Danny's last victims, you and me. It may take us twenty years to die, but he killed us just as surely as he did everybody else. We've both lost our jobs, our families, our friends. It would have been better if I'd used my gun to shoot myself...

~Claire...~ *Tim's voice trailed off. He wanted to tell her no, don't say that. It isn't true. All the things you're supposed to say to someone who's contemplating suicide that he learned. But, he didn't. There were times late at night when he lay awake on his cot listening to the painful grunts of rough prison sex when he wished that he'd died in that basement too. At least then, he'd have gone out in a semi-heroic fashion, not living the rest of his life as a pariah and outcast.*

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*She and Tim continued to talk for a while, but not realy about anything important. She'd come back and visit him again, but for now, time was drawing to a close.*

~Visiting time's over. Everybody out.~

I'll see you later, Tim. Try to take care of yourself.

~See you, Claire. Don't do anything stupid.~

*She couldn't help but laugh a little bit.* I'll try not to do anything else stupid, Tim..

*She sat and watched as a bulky guard appeared behind him to lead him back to his cell. She waited until he was gone before rising from her seat and leaving herself.

Outside the visitation room, she got her gun back and headed out.*

~*~Back~*~