'can you handle it? [Rio!]

[Dr. Josephine Hudson]

Jo burst into tears, hitting the remote to turn the TV off. It was so sad... Phoebe and Mike broke up! She had no idea who either of the two were (aside from characters from Friends, an inane television show), and she had no idea why they had broken up. But they had. The bowl of strawberry ice-cream, mixed with pickled onions was abandoned in front of her, the book of pregnancy that she'd snuck in when Gabe was out about to fall off her lap.

It took about ten minutes until she stopped crying, and Jo picked up the book on pregnancy. She was at the 'Hormones' section, which was meant to start a week ago; luckily, it hadn't. They didn't sound fun. As she read, she continued eating the strange mix of pickles and ice-cream with a spoon, getting up to get more when she finished the bowl. The previous chapter had been on 'Cravings', and Jo was slightly worried that she'd got them - well, at least she hadn't developed Pica. That sounded quite...unhealthy. Dirt? Laundry powder? Paper? Not nice, unlike the contents of her bowl.

The book told her that Baby was an inch in length, and weighed two grams, making more tears come to her eyes. So small. Jo focused on a sentence at the bottom of the page - 'You may be able to hear your baby's heartbeat this week.' She'd need to make an appointment with her doctor, then... Sighing, she continued reading, resting her hand over her stomach to see if she could feel a bump. There was definitely one there - not noticeable through clothing, according to her mirror, which was good. Riordan knew (which was a pity) but she didn't want some other patients finding out. Francesca, Laura, Lorelei, Kitty... She was fine with them knowing. But if someone like Morph knew...

It would probably result in Baby getting murdered, somehow. The thought made her tighten her hold over her stomach, almost crying, again. She'd moved Morph to Jarrad, seeing as he'd done a good job last week. The notes still stung; he'd described her as 'Wet and pathetic and absolutely deplorable. But very, very entertaining under the right circumstances.'. Was that because he knew that she'd read them and be hurt? Or his honest opinion? Probably both. If he thought that, did it mean that Rio did? Jo was quite sure that he did, and concerned that she was just being 'entertaining' for him in that session, almost two months ago. Since then, she'd had security in the room.

With a deep breath, she stood up, shoving the pickles and ice-cream in the sink - she could wash up later - and heading towards the therapy room. This was the first session with Rio without security; earlier that day, Laura had mentioned Baby to him. She didn't to have the discussion that she suspected was coming in front of a guard. It was going to be awkward enough. Jo had ran through several scenarios, based on what she knew of Riordan, and none ended very well. It had been only a few hours since Laura had mentioned it to him, maybe enough for him to calm down from the shock. She'd skipped lunch, staying in the room she shared with Gabe, instead of going down; not wanting to face him. What if he told Morph? As 'entertainment'?

Pushing the thoughts aside, she opened the therapy door, surprised at how quickly she'd walked (dissociation, apparently) and pushed a beanbag against the wall before sitting gently on it. Carefully, she picked another one up, hugging it against her stomach and chest. It might serve some protection if he got angry and hurt her... As well as protecting Baby, there was the more embarrassing reason that was attributed to hormones: during week nine of pregnancy - hers - breasts often...developed further, which was supposed to cause arousal in males. Not something she wanted to do with Rio. Look how well that had gone last time he'd been turned-on.

Leaning against the wall, she let her eyes close, listening for the door to open instead of watching the door and the clock. Maybe it'd be better if he never showed up... Fuck the schedule.

[Riordan Shonski]

Rio leaned against the wall, his head still reeling. Jo was pregnant. With his baby? He sure as hell hoped not. He hoped that Laura had finally developed a sense of humour and decided to play some cruel, abusive joke on him to get him back for telling her to kill herself. Maybe she'd actually found a weak point. Maybe this was Jo, trying to teach him some lesson in psychology, and he was too stupid to realise that that was what it was. He wasn't stupid, he knew that, but no matter how many times he told himself, he couldn't quite quell the worry growing inside him. He rested his forehead against the wall, breathing deeply. Fuck, fuck, fucking fuck! Who had she told? Gabe would know, so would the other two shrinks. It was too much to hope that she hadn't told them who was the father. They'd probably be waiting for him in the therapy room when he got down there.7

"Pull yourself together!" he snarled to him, drawing his head back and whacking it against the plaster with an oddly satisfying thud. Ow. Making a mental note not to do that again, he pushed off the wall, glanced at the door to check that there was no chance of Reuben walking in - he couldn't cope with the snobby bastard right now - he gazed at himself in the mirror. So, he was a father now? Interesting. He didn't see any change, except the shadow of a bruise forming over one eye. Right, so now he could turn up looking like he'd come fresh from a fight. Good, wonderful. He ran his hands through his hair, swearing to himself. Shit, shit, shit...

Eventually, he composed his features and left the room, his face a carefully blank mask. He reached the therapy room, and after a short pause, entered without knocking. He'd expected to see Gabe, or at least security, in the room waiting for him. There was no-one but Jo, sat up against the wall, looking as stressed as he felt, hugging a beanbag tightly. If it was his baby, she must be two months pregnant by now. He carefully closed the door behind him, glanced around the brightly coloured room, and settled himself down by the door, leaning against the wall and watching her expressionlessly.

[Dr. Josephine Hudson]

Jo jumped as the door opened, pushing herself further into the wall before relaxing as she saw Rio. Well, relaxing more at the fact it wasn't Gabe - whom, she suspected, had just got her letter about maternity leave and was probably a little pissed off - but not entirely relaxed, due to being in a room with a scary, often violent sadist. A scary, often violent sadist, whose child she was carrying. After all, what if it turned out like Rio did? Not in looks. Looks were okay. But in personality... Jo didn't want her child ending up locked away in a psychiatric hospital, raping and impregnating his psychiatrists. Of course, she thought it was a girl, which would give less weight to the impregnating part, but it was still a horrid thought.

It was slightly annoying how Riordan managed to look so casual, when Jo was curled up tightly in a ball. She made the effort to sit up a little straighter, fiddling with her loose hair in an attempt to look nonchalant. And then the awkward silence began.

She made one or two attempts to break it, blushing furiously and half-wondering if she'd developed selective mutism, due to her inability to speak, that wasn't physiological. On her third try, however, she spoke, quietly. "How have you been since last session?" Not the most inventive thing she'd ever said in therapy, but it was good to ask. And maybe, just maybe, Rio hadn't given much thought to Laura's mention of pregnancy or a baby earlier. He was narcissisc, after all; if he only thought about himself, then her words might not have registered. Hopefully, anyway, because they were about to have an awkward conversation otherwise.

Suddenly, a wave of annoyance came over her. Standing up, she crossed the room quickly, glaring at Rio. "You, you idiotic male, got me pregnant. You may not make me feel awkward about it, and I swear, if you try and hurt her, I will...diagnose you with sociopathy and have you committed for the rest of your life, okay?" Jo crossed her arms over her stomach protectively, resisting the urge to kick him. She'd do that later, if he didn't listen to her. Would she actually follow up on her threat of misdiagnosis and institutions for the criminally insane? She didn't know that she could; maybe her life - and Baby's - would have been ruined by his stupid, thoughtless actions if he hurt her, but did that give her the right to hurt him back? Not really. Hoping that Rio wouldn't magically read her mind, see her doubt and proceed to cause her pain, she just stood slightly awkwardly, glaring.

[Riordan Shonski]

Rio stared mutely at his psychiatrist for a few moments, completely shocked by her outburst. Yelling and threats wasn't what he'd expected. Tears, maybe, anger, yes... but not this rage. He eyed her warily for a few moments, trying to figure out if she would go through with her threats. If so, well, he was treating her with the utmost care from now on. Sociopaths? He wouldn't last long in a hospital for psychopaths, not with the amount of people he managed to piss off. Hopefully, it was a bluff, but you could never really tell, especially not with people like Jo. He glared at her, knowing she wouldn't notice...

Suddenly, something about the whole situation became very funny. He was sat on the floor of a room with beanbags and rainbows painted on the walls, being yelled at by a aspie psychiatrist who was carrying his baby... he wondered whether he'd be allowed to write home and tell his parents about this, just to see what they said. Their faces... Rio laughed aloud. He couldn't help himself. After a moment of laughing, though, he looked up into Jo's face and struggled to contain his hilarity. "Sorry," he choked, biting his lip to keep from laughing. "It's not you, or the baby. It's just this whole situation..." he snorted again, and took another twenty seconds trying to stop himself rolling around on the floor.

Then he decided it would be best to reassure Jo before he got carted off to a mental hospital for the criminally insane. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt either of you... unless you want me to," he smirked, looking up at Jo. He realised why she was threatening him: she was afraid. She was afraid he'd hurt her, or that (and by now, he'd guessed she hadn't mentioned who was the father) he'd tell Gabe, Jarrad and Peter who the father was... she was afraid of him, even more than she had been before. He grinned up at her and stood up, leaning against the wall. Standing, he was several inches taller, towering above her, looking down with a smirk on his face.

[Dr. Josephine Hudson]

Jo was quite pleased by the initial reaction she got; Rio seemed unable to find words for a few seconds. Well, she'd managed to find a way to penetrate his stupid, self-satisfied calmness. Maybe she should write a paper on it? How to shock sadists: Tell them that their female psychiatrists are pregnant and it's theirs. Well, she'd have to do further research... The thought struck her as funny. She'd just sleep with Morph, and Evan, and...no, that was it - unless the new sadomasochistic student, Scott counted - and then get their reactions down. It was probably slightly unethical, though.

Her eyes widened with shock as he began to laugh. He thought the entire situation was funny? Really? "Personally, I don't find the situation amusing, but I suppose you're not the pregnant one!" What she really wanted to say was you're not the one that has to push a baby out of you, but she was concerned that the thought would be a turn-on for him. For a sadist, watching someone give birth was like...a really nice bar of chocolate, or something. No, not chocolate. Better than that. Unlimited strawberry ice-cream and pickles, that was it.

At his words, she stood, fuming silently for a moment, glaring up at Rio. Jo took a step or two backwards, not liking being so close to him, before turning and stalking across the room to where she'd been sitting earlier. Halfway across, she stooped, picking up a beanbag and aimed it directly at Rio's head. She didn't look to see she'd hit her target; it was gratifying just to throw it. When she reached the other side of the room, she sat down, putting the same cushion over the stomach and hugging it tightly.

She rested her head against the wall, closing her eyes. "This is a highly stressful situation," she muttered. Her voice changed, being rougher and deeper. "'The stress is killing me. I dunno how much longer I can last, I hafta tell you that right now!'" She paused for a second, her voice going back to her usual tone. "Surf Up. Two-thousand and seven. An awful film." The echolatia was bound to confuse Rio, something that pleased her slightly. It was nice to confuse him; just so he'd feel a fraction of her stress. Relieving, somehow.

[Riordan Shonski]

He watched her, leaning his head back against the wall. True, he didn't have to push a fucking great baby out of his... huh. Childbirth sounded nasty. Messy, all that blood and crap all over the place. He couldn't imagine that Jo was coping very well with it. She walked away, and he stayed where he was, watching her. Unfortunately, his reactions appeared to have been dulled by shock, because the beanbag hit him square in the face, knocking his head back against the wall with a painful crack. Ouch. OK, then, that was twice today his head had been whacked against the wall.

He made a mental note never to piss off pregnant women again. Hormones were nasty. Dropping the beanbag, wincing at the throbbing in the back of his skull, he followed her across the room, sat down next to her and pulled his legs up to his chest. She appeared to be having another of her moments; quoting from movies she'd seen. He rubbed his head, and muttered, "That hurt." She'd probably be quite pleased about that, he realized. And then he realized something else. He felt... guilty about causing her this upset. Interesting. He frowned, still rubbing his head. Maybe the repeated strain on his brain had jogged something out of place. Maybe he was actually just regretting upsetting her because it had caused him pain... the frown became a scowl. Great, now he was developing a conscience. Sighing, he rested his head against the wall, and murmured to Jo, "Sorry..." he couldn't think of the words. Usually, when he apologized, it was because a big security guard with a syringe was standing behind him. When he was faking, he always knew exactly what to say. Now he was sincere, he couldn't speak. He wasn't even sure what he was sorry for.

After a few moments grasping at things to say, he settled for, "I've seen Surf Up. It was crap. I walked out of the cinema halfway through."

[Dr. Josephine Hudson]

"Obviously, that was my intention," she muttered, edging away from Rio. "Don't come near me." Jo didn't particularly want to upset him - unlike some, she wasn't sadistic - but the thought of him grabbing her wrists again was terrifying. He might try and make her get him alcohol, which she could drink, and while him restraining her was nice, it was something that raised her blood pressure. And that could lead to the baby being harmed... If he hurt Baby, in any way, she would...be very, very pissed off.

She ignored his apology, unsure what he was apologizing for -aside from his sperm- and staring into space. His comment about the film, however, snapped her out of her mini-trance. Most people, when she echoed, tended to stare at her, or pretend she hadn't spoken. Rio was...being nice. Jo frowned, trying to work out his motivation. Probably so she wouldn't throw a cushion at him again. She was an arms length away from him, and it would probably hurt more at close range; a pity. "I went to see it with Antonia. She spoke for the first time after that film, and her first words were 'that was crap'. She was only eleven... My first mute patient. " Her voice drifted off, remembering that day with perfect clarity; as usual.

The thought of Antonia made her mind wander from mute to mute; from her first patient to her second, all the way to Francesca, Kitty and Lorey. Thinking about Kitty made her remember the incident that had occurred, something that still pissed her off when she thought about it. And that reminded her of the other thing; security had caught him and Morph doing something -they weren't sure what- to Jessica Air, an anorexic. She had attempted suicide just the other day; a connection was suspected. "How can you be such an evil bastard?" Jo demanded, her voice not hiding her sudden anger.

"What, exactly, happened with you, Morph and Jessica? Did you know that she tried to kill herself two days ago?" Would that make him feel guilt? Probably not. It was technically confidential information, but she was too pissed-off to care. Before he could answer her question, she added it. "And I recommend that you tell me the truth, or I'll be referring you for some very unpleasant therapies. Have you heard of ECT?" An almost completely empty threat. Maybe if he pushed her hard enough.

[Riordan Shonski]

He sighed, leaned back against the wall, resigned to the abuse. She'd get over it, eventually. And he couldn't threaten her, or even intimidate her; for one thing, he felt slightly dizzy, and being cross-eyed didn't help you look scary. For another, he didn't want to hurt the baby by scaring or shocking Jo, a sensation that was completely new to him. She seemed to be calming down, talking about the film and her first mute, her memory apparently as perfect as ever. He listened, staring at the opposite wall, his head throbbing.

Her angry words snapped him out of his reverie, and his head whipped around fast enough to make him dizzy as he looked at her, surprised. That was twice today, she'd managed to surprise him with her anger. He didn't show it this time, though, simply staring blank-faced at her. Her question made him smirk, though. "Sadistic. I'm not just an evil bastard, I'm clinically an evil bastard. Something you're supposed to be helping to cure." he told her smoothly, grinning at her despite the danger of having another cushion thrown at him.

He sighed, turning his head back to face the wall again. "Yeah, I've heard of ECT. Would you actually do it, or is that just an empty threat?" he demanded, gazing blankly into space. He had to know which it was; if it was a threat, he wasn't telling her anything. She could see the CCTV, hear what Jess had to say about it. If she was willing to carry it out, well... he'd probably tell her. ECT sounded... unpleasant, to say the least. Memory loss, intense pain... it wasn't something he wanted to go through, not now, not ever. And he was fully aware that it was something Jo would be reluctant to put him through, but it was possible she'd do it anyway.

[Dr. Josephine Hudson]

"Fine," she muttered, rising. "I'll help you cure it." She was getting an answer out of Rio, she decided, if she had to beat him until he gave her one. Maybe she'd do the same to Morph. No, he didn't know she was pregnant, and probably wouldn't mind hitting her. It was strange that Rio was being so...not nice. She could never use the word nice to describe him. But he was being...not that evil, an improvement for him. "You don't seem to understand, you idiotic sadist. You are going to tell me. And I suggest you do it sooner rather than later." She was shocked by her own pure rage, her hands trembling slightly. If Rio didn't comply... There was no way she could back out of the situation, not now she'd yelled at him so. Well, she'd just make him tell her, and if he didn't...badness would happen.

Jo walked to her desk with quick, angry strides. Her key was round her neck and she bent down, unlocking the top drawer and shuffling through papers until she found what she was looking for. Throwing the sheet of paper on the desk, she grabbed a pen, glaring at him. "You are going to tell me exactly what happened, or I am signing this. It's a consent form for your ECT. And I swear, if one thing you say doesn't add up with what Jessica says, you're having it anyway." Technically, it probably wasn't feasible; involuntary ECT was hard to get permission for; still, she had other 'therapies' she could use as... persuasion. Glaring at him, she pushed the pen against the dotted line at the bottom, where the signature was required. "And if you threaten her -if you tell her to go along with what you said-" She thought quickly. What would scare Rio? "Holding therapy." She was breathing quickly, inwardly shuddering at the thought. "Fuck! Any sort of therapy. Just tell me what happened, now."

Vaguely, she wondered what Peter would think, if he was present during this session. He'd probably be slightly shocked. She didn't usually swear, especially not at patients. Jo was shocked herself; she'd never threatened a client with therapies before. It was unethical, probably. Well, so was sleeping with a student, and she'd done that.

((I just have to say...
holy shit.))

[Riordan Shonski]

He raised an eyebrow at her. Well, she had a backbone after all, apparently. He also noticed that she seemed furious, and probably perfectly willing to have him tied to a machine and shocked until half his mind shriveled up and died and the other half forgot what it was. In other words, she would give him ECT. Frowning slightly, he asked her quietly, "What's Jess told you? Because all that happened was that... well, we slept together, she got embarrassed about it, later on I saw her in the courtyard crying, whacking her head against the wall and bleeding all over the place, went over to talk to her, Morph turned up, and then she had a massive panic attack. I didn't do anything to her," he considered pointing out that it was mostly Morph's fault, but decided he didn't want to sound like a whiny brat. And if Morph heard that he'd said that, he would be in deep, deep shit.

Crossing his legs and leaning forwards, he looked at her, half-disbelieving. "You'd have me tortured?" he asked her softly. That was all holding therapy was, and they both knew it. Or at least, he was counting on Jo knowing it, fairly sure she did, due to the look on her face when she said it. He sat there, watching her intently, still unsure she'd actually sign the form. Praying she wouldn't, thinking that she might. It was likely, after all, and she did seem angry - or hormonal - enough to do it. He sighed, rubbed his head again. It least that had stopped hurting, for now. He raised his eyebrow, waiting for the verdict. Please, god, not ECT. Holding therapy would be better; at least he didn't stand the chance of losing his memory that way. And he could deal with it better, it would be easier to get over it afterwards. ECT sounded... awful.

[Dr. Josephine Hudson]

Jo decided to keep quiet about what Jess had supposedly told her, because 1) Jess hadn't told her anything, she'd only spoken to Peter and Jarrad about the incident and 2) she hadn't really spoken about it, anyway. Only to deny that Rio, Morph and Layla had any involvement, which irritated all of the staff. If she refused to admit that something had happened, it made it a whole lot harder to punish those bastards. "Rio, I really recommend that you don't lie to me," she threatened, her voice quiet. "What caused her panic attack? What did you say to her, and what did Morph say to her? Why did you have your arm around her, when she obviously didn't want you to?" She ignored the part about them sleeping together, not wanting to start him boasting about how he managed to lay every girl in school. The part about her bleeding and crying sounded about right, though.

She moved her eyes to focus on the bridge of his nose, looking as intensely as she could. "Do you not understand the effect your actions have had? Because of something you and another boy did, a girl has attempted suicide and given up her dream of being a ballerina, because she's too scared to go back to class. Does the thought of that really please you?" If he said yes...she'd probably throw another cushion at him. If he lied and said no...she'd sign the piece of paper her pen was dangerously close to.

His comment about torture made her clench her jaw, narrowing her eyes at him. She hesitated for a second, seriously considering the question. "Maybe. Yes. I think it's...fair." She paused, chewing her lip for a minute. "You cause a lot of pain to other people, on purpose. You enjoy it. Why should I not do the same back to you? The only reason you don't want me to is because ECT can be painful -if done right- and dangerous. Holding therapy can be quite...traumatic, and also painful. But wouldn't you admit that you've endangered others lives, or caused them pain?" If he was going to try and make her feel guilt... Well, she already felt bad, but was going to come up with some good points as to why she shouldn't.

[Riordan Shonski]

Rio sighed, staring blankly at the wall opposite. Hormones were horrible, horrible things, he decided, staring at the brightly coloured stretch of plaster opposite him, an internal debate raging. "Morph told me that she had trouble reading," he told her expressionlessly. "She freaked out. Tried to hit me. Morph grabbed her, I put my arm around her. Security turned up." Turning to Jo, he watched her, one eyebrow raised. It was the truth, and she'd better realise that, or he was in for it. Of course, if she signed that form, he was going to make her feel as guilty as humanly possible... and humanly, one hell of a lot of guilt was possible. Rio knew that from experience.

"It's... well, now I think about it, yes, the thought itself does please me," he told her, still blank of any emotion.. "But it comes with consequences. The threat of torture being one of them, of course." He'd noticed that had an effect (she hadn't signed the form) and now intended to milk it for all it was worth. He was not having holding therapy. What was Jo going to tell her child, that she'd sentenced it's father to trauma simply because she was angry and hormonal? He smiled at her. "And I've got a disorder. You, now, you would just be doing it out of anger. Which is worse? Doing it because it's the way your mind works and you can't help yourself, or doing it because you're hormonal, angry, and want some kind of revenge on me?" After a slight pause, he frowned. "Is this even about Jess, completely? Are you saying this because you're angry at me for getting you pregnant? I think you're doing this for revenge."

[Dr. Josephine Hudson]

Jo wasn't sure who she was more tempted to murder - Rio or Morph. It was easier to murder Rio, she decided. He was right there in front of her, and less likely to attack her if she tried. "And that's everything?" She watched him, her expression revealing more than his; pain and fear was clear on her face. "If I find out you've been lying to me," she threatened, her voice dangerously calm and quiet. "I will have no qualms about sending you to a hospital on the opposite side of the country, due to sociopathic tendancies."

Her gaze shifted from Rio to the rainbow on the wall. "And that is a genuine threat. You might not believe me about the ECT, but I will do this. This morning, I signed the release papers for Morph to be moved." She stared blankly into space, her emotions seeming to drain away as extreme emotions always seemed to after prolonged periods of time, thankfully. It made her feel slightly sick about what she'd done; it had been more Jarrad's decision than her own, but she had agreed that the boy was out of their control, and needed a more contained environment. It was her fault, too. She reminded herself of what Morph had done to Francesca, trying to justify her actions to herself. "The same thing will happen if you do anything like what you did to Katherine again." Maybe it wasn't so bad to threaten, Jo thought, if it would save other students truama like the young mute had gone through.

She felt some revulsion at his admission that it pleased him, followed by a wave of self-hatred as he used the word torture again. Jo had never submitted a patient to ECT or holding therapy; she considored both to be immoral. What had changed since then? Slowly, she sank into the chair at the desk -she had been standng until that point- and rested her head on the wood, facing Rio. What had changed to make her threaten a child with things that she had previously considered to be torture? His smile made her glare, knowing she was being manipulated but unable to ignore his words. "It wouldn't be out of anger. It'd be what was best for you," she answered, knowing she was lying. Another thing that had changed; her ability to lie. No, not her ability, as that was mostly the same -awful- but her...tolerence to lying. She did it now, almost freely.

His last sentence reduced her to tears, and Jo turned her head away, staring unseeingly at the wall and letting the tears fall freely. "I wouldn't do that," she answered after a minute, unsure if she was telling the truth or not. "I just... Did you know that this week, right now, her personality is being determined, to a point?" The her was not referring to Jessica; Jo touched her stomach gently. "What if she turns out like you?" It wasn't meant to offend. For a minute, she chewed her lip, feeling sick. "What if she turns out like me?" She turned back to Rio, still slumped on the desk. "I didn't talk until I was...maybe seven, but I can remember every moment since I was about two. What if she's autistic, but worse? I don't have the money to send her to a school like the one I went to..." It was surprisingly relieving to talk about her worries, even if it was to someone like Rio. "Or what if she's like you and hurts people? Because I don't want to hate her... But I don't think I could love someone that likes to hurt people."

[Riordan Shonski]

He watched her, still blank. Interesting. Apparently, her hormones were really getting into their stride now. Threating to destroy the life of your child's father was... extreme, to say the least. He considered pointing out that she was acting rashly because of hormones, took one look at her face, and decided against it, simply nodding to show he understood. He wouldn't last five minutes in a hospital for sociopaths, not with the amount of enemies he managed to make. On the other hand, he might do fine. He was good at people, he knew, and he would probably be able to survive. He'd have to tone down his little games, though. A lot of sociopaths didn't react to things the same way other people did, and it probably wasn't a risk worth taking.

At the words, he frowned slightly. "Morph's gone?" That was... not entirely unexpected, but it still came as a surprise. He gazed at her, wondering if she was having him on. But, no, she was in far too bad a mood to do that. She wouldn't joke about, not at a time like this. Inwardly, he smiled. While Morph had been a fun guy to have around, Rio had been beginning to get sick of him. He wasn't too smart, and he didn't seem to realise how irritating he could be, especially with all the innuendos. And the constant flirting with Jo... his eyes darkened as he thought about that. She has his. Morph had no right to try anything with her. If he had, and Rio had walked in... well, he'd have had no qualms about attacking the other sadist then. He stopped for a second. Was he having affectionate thoughts about Jo?

No. He relaxed slightly when he realised it was pure possessiveness. This happened to him a lot; he had a way of claiming people, people who he had his eyes on were his, and no-one else could touch them. It was one of the few things that really irritated him, got him properly angry. And that was what had happened with Jo. No affection there, except perhaps a certain... appeal. She was such a perfect victim, he couldn't help but become slightly fond of her. Heck, she was carrying his baby; if he didn't get attached at all, perhaps sociopathy was the answer.

When she started crying, he sighed, got up and walked over. Grabbing a handful of tissues out of the box on the desk, he handed them to her, before saying quietly, "Sadism isn't hereditary, so there's very little chance she'll turn out with that." Otherwise, I'm a wonderful person, and you should be glad if your child turns out like me. As soon as that thought had passed, another one appeared. That's the narcissism speaking. "And you never know. She - you're sure it's a she? - probably won't be autistic. It's chances of having autism are increased because you have it, but that doesn't mean it's going be that way." He shrugged. "You'll just have to wait and see, really."

[Dr. Josephine Hudson]

"Yes," Jo answered, sounding -and feeling- irritable. "To a more...secure facility." She left the end of that sentence open; he could assume it was a hospital for sociopaths if he wished. It wasn't, though, unfortunately. Gabe hadn't let her... If she had been allowed, Jo probably wouldn't have, but it was just nice to have the choice.

Sighing, she took the tissues, turning her head away from Rio, not wanting him to see her crying. "It's not definite, like diabetes -type one- but some children have a hereditary predisposition." Jo wiped her eyes. "There's also hormone malfunctions, other mental disorders, sexual abuse or pathological relationships as contributors to sadism." Rio hadn't been sexually abused, according to his file. It was more likely that he'd been the abuser than the victim, and the thought made her tense. Would he ever touch Baby? There was no reason he wouldn't, aside from the very real chance of being killed. "You aren't touching her. Or going near her. Ever. Okay?" Maybe -maybe- he'd be allowed, under supervision and in controlled circumstances. Like...restrained in isolation. Jo could just imagine him threatening Francesca's fingers like he had to her...or worse.

"She. Not it. I'm sure about her gender." She just knew. Or hoped. If Baby turned out to be a boy, she'd love him just the same. Hopefully, she wouldn't have gender disappointment - something she'd seen a link to on a pregnancy site, but not clicked on. It looked too scary. Rio wasn't too comforting about Francesca's chances of autism, and she turned her head back to glare at him, sitting up straight in her chair. "She's going to be perfect," she snapped, ignoring the fact that she was the one that had brought up her fears. "So... Go away." Slightly childish, and she didn't actually want him to leave, but it was the only thing she could think of. If he left, though, she'd be alone until her next patient... No, that wouldn't be nice.