~'Long came the devil, caught my eye,

She's kind of my type,

Chelsea baby, drives me crazy,

There's one thing on my mind~

Stepping away from schoolwork for three months was perhaps the best thing that could have happened to Niall. The routine of working almost 24 hours every day made him tired and lazy, which his brother couldn't have been more happy about. It meant that Niall was slowing down.

And this was evident when he unenrolled from the graduate program that he was set to start in September. Instead, he was working at the prison and Wal-Mart, raking in the big bucks. I'm just taking a small break, He told himself constantly. I'll go back in the spring. Spring semester is when I go back.

It had been six months since the internship started. Everything was going swimmingly, and Niall was learning a lot and taking more responsibility with the inmates. Things were getting interesting as the winter began to blow in, along with seasonal depression. An influx of patients and busier days made Niall even reconsider the spring semester. Maybe summer classes would be best for his comeback?

But everything was put to a halt one day when Niall walked in the front doors and Gary called out to him - the first time the two of them had spoken since that first day. "Warden wants to see you immediately."

Stopping in his tracks, Niall looked at the guard/receptionist, wondering if Gary could possibly be talking to him. "Me?"

"Who else is around? Yeah you! Know how to get there?"

Niall nodded before turning and swiping his card to get inside. It was almost 8, meaning Kyle would want to start as soon as possible, but maybe he was in the warden's office too. The emotions the intern faced while walking down the long hallway to the large oak door at the dead end were similar to when your parents say, "We need to talk." Everything he had ever done at this prison flashed through his head, but Niall was positive that the only thing wrong with his actions was the amount of coffee he drank a day.

Wasn't even good coffee, either.

After a knock, the warden's loud booming voice was heard. "Come in!" Wasn't it just typical of a man in that position to sound like that.

Niall had never met the man face to face, but he had heard about him. And Kyle had met him, so there were secondhand stories. Opening the door, he looked just like the typical warden in movies and tv shows too, so there was no use pointing out his characteristics. Besides, Niall was terrified and couldn't do anything more than sit down with his iced coffee in hand.

"Mr. Horan, correct?"

"That's me," He said, trying to stop himself from yelling out that he was innocent. Whatever he was in trouble for - he didn't do it. Kyle and Niall heard that all the time in their department - Connor wasn't the first or the last to make the bold claim. He was however, one of almost all who would never be believed.

"Last night, Mr. Jordan was admitted to the psychiatric ward at Mercy Hospital," The man paused to let that fact sink in. Something that was necessary, since Niall was bewildered.

"He had a psychotic break?" Niall's voice was breathy and hard to hear.

It wasn't hard to believe, since the man worked in a building full of insane people. Niall briefly worried if he'd go insane, but he had a strong head on his shoulders. There was no crazy or insane thoughts in his head.

"So what does this mean? When he be able to come back?"

The warden paused for a moment too long. "Not soon."

"He's okay, though, right?"

"Yes," The lack of elaboration showed that the warden didn't really care about Kyle. Niall didn't care about him in the way that friends do, but in the way that colleagues do.

"Will there be a replacement for him until he is fully better?" The details just had to be cemented down.

The warden smiled a crude smile, and a shot of panic ran through Niall's gut. "There aren't a lot of people in the therapy world who love to work with the kinds of people we keep here. So, until Kyle returns, we'd like to offer you his position."

"What?" He choked out, the shock evident on his face - drained of color and showing every emotion he felt.

"Your pay will be increased, benefits will be added, and you'll have full treatment control. I've informed Dr. Domi, and she is splitting up the case loads so that she will take a majority of them until you get settled and can handle more. So, go see her for your next steps."

Niall walked out of there, none of his brain cells intact. He officially had a job that he didn't ask for, in the field that he loved, because his boss went insane. Most likely doing the job that NIall had just been given. What was going on? Tuesdays weren't supposed to be this insane!

Wendy could see that he was clearly overwhelmed when Niall entered her office. She handed him case files and a schedule for the week. "I made this up for you. Until you get settled."

"Thanks Wendy," He said, life absent from his eyes.

Heading to the therapy room, he sat in Kyle's chair and waited for the first patient to arrive. That would be awhile, so he looked over the small amount of files that he had been given. The one right on top, his nine o'clock appointment, was Connor Rodes.

The screaming man with conversion disorder was back as his first patient as a prison therapist. Niall's chest felt tight, and his breath came in short pants. His brain seemed to be telling him that he was trained to deal with situations like this, but his brain was dumb.

By the time Connor entered the room, Niall's panic attack was through, and he was up to date on the man's case. The paralysis had moved to consume his leg below the kneecap. The conversion disorder was worsening. And despite six months of therapy, Connor claimed in every session that he was innocent. That there was no way that the problem in his leg was caused by a problem in his head.

If two fully trained therapists couldn't get through to this man, how could Niall?

First, the two of them had to get comfortable with one another. And the easiest way to do that was going to be to get on his side. "I'm going to talk to the warden," was the first thing Niall said to him. "And we're going to arrange a trip to the hospital to do a couple more tests."

A giant smile lit up Connor's face. Because finally, someone believed him.

Niall didn't believe him. He just wanted to do his job well. And this was the only way he knew how to get started.