--= Mark's + POV =--

The bedroom welcomed me back just as it had before, the ceiling stayed the exact same, as did the rest of the room, the only real difference was that Chica was sound asleep on the foot of the bed. 

She wasn't there when we fell asleep but, at least she looks comfortable. A soft smile coming onto my face, I felt something shuffle in the bed and my eyes immediately darted over to see Jack sound asleep beside me. 

His breathing slow and peaceful, eyes closed and mouth closed. He looked so tired... A sigh escaping my lips, I placed a hand on the side of his face and pressed my lips against his forehead which caused him to stir slightly. 

Panic rising into my throat, he squirmed around a bit and found a more comfortable position and went back to being still. The panic resting for a few seconds,  it faded away once I knew the coast was clear for sure. 

Relaxing my posture, I turned myself so I was properly facing Jack, I kept my hand on his face, and gently stroked his face. Doing it slowly and softly so he wouldn't stir. 

Reaching up and combing my hand through my hair, my hand stopped it's movement and just rested, cupping his face with my hand I couldn't help but think. 

I had so many questions about the expiration date, I don't know if there's going to be any effects leading up to it or if it'll happen just spontaneously. 

Like one minute we're walking down the street and then all of a sudden he falls or.. I don't know.... I'm worried, I'm really really worried because I... I've never cared for someone this much before,

 I've been in love and I've been in relationships but this... thing we have I just- I don't know how to describe it... Agh... Maybe it's just me getting caught up in the moment but, I like to think there's something there, he wouldn't have kissed me otherwise.

 Unless he was teasing me but...He seemed sincere enough... Oh I don't knowwww.... I kept eyeing him, staring at him so much because I was afraid if I turned away he would just disappear. I know he's going to... end up.... not breathing.. but, I just want to find a way to stop it.

 He even said it himself he thinks it's better if he was in the asylum when it happened, which means he probably knows what will happen. Or he's protecting me.. But, I don't need protection.

 I'm not the one with an expiration date he is, I'm not the one whose been in a prison most of my life, he is, I'm not the one who can't control their body or even the way they think sometimes, he is... 

He's going through so much and, yes he hasn't had a strike in a while but.. I'm scared, what if they become more frequent. I have a feeling that's what's going to happen, but it scares me.

 Not him going insane, I'm just scared that he's going to hurt himself while he is. I just feel so helpless I really don't know what to do. I feel like I'm trapped in a problem with only one answer but, this really isn't fair. 

There has to be something else, a solution, a vaccination, anything to stop it. Maybe if I called the asylum? No, then they would realise Jack shared some information and then he'd probably be sent back...

Which I don't want but...I know he does. I don't want to force him against his will, I just don't want him back in that awful cell where he stays there, it's his entire house in one small room, and it doesn't look nice either.

 I... I don't want to see him like that, he's normal now h-he's happy now!...I need to talk to someone about this but I don't think anyone will understand, maybe they'll just think I'm crazy too..... 

I can ask the woman who let him out, maybe she knows something that can help us, she let him out I'm sure she can do other things too. I'll slip by while Jack's asleep, tell him I'm going to get groceries but, if I do it it has to be now.... 

Pending on the decision, I glanced back over at Jack to see him nuzzling into the pillow and it caused  a smile to softly appear on my face. I'll go for him. 

Quietly slipping out of bed and grabbing pants and a shirt, I changed out of the shirt I wore to bed and slipped on a new one. 

Brushing it down so that it didn't look like a crop top, I made my way silently down the stairs and picked up my shoes, bringing them with me out the door. I wanna make sure everything ends up okay for him, or at least if it's even possible to.

--= Scene + Jump =--

The doors to the asylum were surprisingly open, I was able to walk right in and there she was at the front desk. My eyes taking everything in, I looked up to see the hallway upstairs that leads to Jack's old cell.

 A smile almost rose onto my face, then I remembered what kind of place this really was and it caused me to grimace. The woman seemed to recognise me, because she waved me over quickly with a big smile on your face.

 "Hey you! How's my little guy doing in your hands?" Her hands flying over papers and stacking them neatly as she watched me, I could feel my expression lighten to such a positive introduction.

 "Oh he's actually doing really good, I just had a couple of questions for you because I've been somewhat worried about him?" 

"Oh?" 

"Yeah, is there a way we could talk in private?" Glancing around at all the cameras stationed on the front desk, I was met with her eyes staring at me, her expression worried and she nodded quickly, motioning for me to follow her. 

She lead me into a room that seemed to be her own little office when she wasn't at the front desk. Looking around, she closed the door after I came in and locked it. Striking me as odd, I looked up at her but she didn't seem like she was in the mood to explain it.

 "So what's going on? Is he really okay?" 

"Yeah he just, told me about something I didn't think I could discuss publicly out in the open in case it wasn't okay?"

 "Well, it's a good thing you did cause, I don't think letting out an asylum patient was okay either." She mumbled. Her hands fidgeting with each other, I opened my mouth to speak but she raised a hand to shut me up. 

"What'd ya wanna know about?" "It's going to sound weird but, he keeps talking about an expiration date he has, he says on the day it comes he'll die and he said he wanted to be in the asylum when it happened but, I don't know if that's such a good idea. 

I just wanted to know if maybe...Maybe there was a chance he wouldn't actually just suddenly die and maybe it was just a day they were threatening to execute him with an injection? So he doesn't actually die if he's out of the asylum?...." 

Even that I hoped wasn't true, it sounded awful now that I heard what I said but I couldn't take it back anymore. She clearly heard me, but she paled once I finished my sentence. 

"H-he said something about an expiration date? H-Has he been violent at all? A-Any signs of being mean or hostile." 

"No, that's the weird thing he's been more like a sane and normal person ever since he got out of this wretched place. No offence." 

"Oh believe be none taken this place is a shit hole..." She rubbed her chin, her eyebrows furrowed as she kept trying to think. 

"This doesn't make any sense, I mean yeah everyone has an expiration date in here but that's because there's so many patients and so little time, they only get one once the government decides they're too dangerous for society though." 

"But he's changed!" 

"I know Sugar... I just don't think there's a way to change this though... I-It's best if he comes back to the asylum, this isn't a demand it's an opinion Honey okay? You don't have to bring him back but it's the best thing to do. Do you have any pets or anything like that at home? When the patients are kept happy, in certain cases it stalls the patients expiration date. Opposite goes for negative or hostile emotions, try to keep him calm and happy, excited is fine too just.. Make sure he doesn't get angry." 

"I don't think he's ever..been angry actually. He's been upset but I've never seen him angry. Even when he has a strike he isn't violent."

"That's good, now, he's going to get strikes more often and Sugar he can stay with you for now but as soon as he threatens you or grows hostile you need to seriously start thinking about bringing him back here, he's safer and so is everyone else. In his cell he can't hurt anyone and can't hurt himself because he's tied up." 

Nodding, I struggled to keep the tears from falling, pursing my lips tightly I let out a shaky breath and felt her hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry Honey..."

"It's fine, thanks for telling me everything." A small smile coming and going on my lips, I pulled her into a hug and leaned my head against her shoulder. Tensing up at first, surprised, she quickly relaxed and a small sympathetic laugh came out of her mouth.

"I'll always be here for the two of you." She smiled, her eyes getting teary she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed before going to unlock the door and heading back to the front desk.

"Don't be afraid to come back and ask me more, I'll always help you guys." She smiled, a tear falling down her face she quickly wiped it away and sat down on her chair, trying to focus on the stack of paperwork someone put on her desk while we were in the office.

"......Thank you...."

==============================================================

Oh I love making myself cry don't I? Oof, sorry this took a while guys it's all been a bit hectic, I'm just happy I could get this out I kept getting distracted by other fandoms I was being sucked into XD

Umm anyways, we still have some story ground to cover! We definitely aren't done yet, I'd say we have quite a bit to go but, I wanna do it at my own pace :3 Thank you guys for voting, commenting, reading and even listening to me babble at the end of the updates, it's really sweet of you guys and I really do appreciate it. I'll see you in the next chapter <3