Mikey's POV

Three o'clock comes quicker than we realise and a knock on the door startles us out of our conversation. Bob pokes his blond head inside the door and the walks all the way in followed by a short, raven haired man in his thirties who has a gentle smile.
"Mr and Mr Toro-Way, this is Dr Iero."
"Frank, please," the raven haired man says. "'Dr Iero' makes me sound so old."
"If you're okay I'll leave you here," Bob tells him and he nods. The nurse leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.

Frank turns to me with another warm smile. "I take it you're the patient's brother?"
"Mikey, and yes I am."
"Bob said you also have power of attorney before your mother?"
"That's right, me and Ray both do."
"Great. If you don't mind," he gestures to the bed and we shake our heads, moving back to give him some room.

He walks lightly over, shrugging off his blazer and chucking it into a corner before bending over Gerard with a frown.
"You poor, poor man," he says softly to himself. He increases his volume a little bit to a normal speaking tone and sits upright.
"Gerard, can you wake up for me?"
Gerard stirs at the unfamiliar voice.
"That's it," Frank encourages as my brother wakes up more and blinks at his surroundings. "Gerard, I'm Doctor Frank Iero. I'm here to help you."

Gerard licks his lips. "Bob said you'd come," he says.
"Well, here I am, as promised," Frank says. "I'm a psychotherapist but I also specialise in hypnotherapy. I'm just here to help you, you understand?"
Gerard nods and his hazel eyes are fixed on Frank's face and although he's not panicking I can see that he's scared.
Frank continues with the gently-gently approach for a few minutes until Gerard relaxes gradually.

"I need to make a quick examination, Gerard," he says and my brother tenses up again. "Just a quick one, no trouble at all," Frank clarifies with a smile. "Can I do that?"
A pause, a panicked look, a quick nod.
"Thank you," Frank says sincerely.

He perches himself on the edge of Gerard's bed and very gently touches the tips of his fingers to the palm of Gerard's restrained hand. "This is all I want to do," he says very quietly, stroking Gerard's hand just like Ray was doing a few minutes ago. Gerard's face is puzzled but I think I see a glimmer of trust as well, Frank's gentle smile and calm voice evidently make him feel safe.
Frank's hands move gently up to Gerard's face and probe around the back of his neck then up his jawbone and finally they drift across his shoulders. Gerard's eyes are closed, his hands and ankles tugging at his restraints.

"Shhh," Frank says, lifting his hands off as soon as Gerard starts to show signs of stress and once more stroking them along his palms. "I'm nearly done, can you hold on another few minutes?"
Another nod and this time Frank's hands go down to Gerard's torso. They lift up his t-shirt to his ribcage and coast around his stomach. Frank's eyes close and his brow furrows in concentration.
"Mikey," he asks suddenly, "did Gerard have chickenpox as a child?"
"Yes, we both did."
"Did he get any scars?"
"No, none."
"Hmm."

Frank moves his hands very gently around to Gerard's sides but this proves too much for my brother. He shouts in alarm and twists away from the psychotherapist's touch, his back arching upwards. I rush forwards to hug him but Frank holds out a hand in warning. "Only touch his hands," he says. I don't bother to question him when my brother is so clearly in pain and, on some kind of instruction receiving autopilot, I only grab Gerard's hands.
"Gee, it's okay, it's still me. Still me, shhh, it's okay."
He quietens down and stares at the ceiling blankly.

"What's the matter?" I ask Frank who is gazing at us thoughtfully.
"Did Gerard have any problems previously with regards to being touched or held?"
"No, quite the opposite, he loved hugs. They calmed him down."
"And you're sure about the chicken pox?"
"Yes, I'm sure he hasn't got any scars. Will you please tell me what's going on? What's happening to my brother?" I'm almost wailing now and I have very few scraps of self-control left.
"I think," Frank says at length, looking me directly in the eye, "that somebody is torturing your brother."

Notes