‼️TW: Mental health, psychiatric evaluation, Mengele, loss of a loved one, death‼️
“Guten Tag, Mr. Schultz.”
Rhine nearly jumped when he heard someone say that. He had been right on the cusp of falling asleep. And then suddenly he heard someone greet him while being extremely close.
Rhine looked to his right and saw a doctor sitting on a stool by his bed, holding a clipboard.
The doctor chuckled softly, smiling, and looked down at his clipboard. “Just practicing my German for those that need medical treatment in the former Third Reich.”
Rhine eyed the doctor suspiciously, even if he looked like a normal doctor. He still didn't fully trust medical professionals, and hadn’t since they couldn’t save Weimar.
“Bruder, just one more hour and they'll get you the help you need.”
“Rhine… Friedrich's…”
“....”
“Rhine?”
Rhine was interrupted by the flashback by the doctor gently shaking him. He recoiled, but didn't react as adversely as when USSR had touched him.
“Did you hear my question?” The doctor asked, looking at Rhine curiously after retracting his hand from Rhine's shoulder.
Rhine blinked before shaking his head slowly. He had been too deep in his thoughts to hear much of anything other than his heartbeat when he remembered-
“Okay. What I asked was, is it okay if I conduct a psych evaluation right now?” The doctor asked, looking at Rhine with concern in his grayish-green eyes, slightly obscured by the glass of his glasses.
Rhine thought for a moment before nodding, wanting to get it over with.
“Perfect. And I just want to say, I am sorry to hear of your brother's passing,” The doctor said sympathetically after checking something off on his clipboard. He continued to look at Rhine sympathetically as he spoke again, “I heard that you two were… exceptionally close.”
That's one way to put it. Rhine thought, but simply said, “Yeah…”
“Alright. First question, what year is it?” The doctor asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.
“1945,” Rhine answered, knowing that was most likely correct.
The doctor didn't outwardly make it seem like Rhine had gotten the question either right or wrong, but did then ask, “What month is it?”
“April?” Rhine answered, not entirely sure.
“It's May, but I can understand why you would say April,” The doctor responded, writing something down on his clipboard before looking up again and asking, “If you dig a hole 1.8 meters deep, how deep is the hole?”
“1.8 meters. You said that,” Rhine said, not fully understanding how important that question was.
“What color is the inside of a baked potato?” The doctor asked, clearly moving on to the next question.
“A-” Rhinr paused, it had been so long since he had seen a baked potato, but he went with the first thing that popped into his mind. “A yellowish white.”
“What is your full name?”
“Rhine Walter Schultz,” Rhine responded. That was a simple question, why would he be asked that?
“If there is a loaf of bread on a windowsill within reach, and you know no one is watching it, would you steal it?”
“Well, that depends. Am I in need of food? If so, then yes. If not, then no.” Rhine answered, seeing nothing wrong with his statement.
The doctor looked up at Rhine above his glasses, before focusing back on his clipboard and finishing what he was writing. He then looked back up and asked, “What are your thoughts on Josef Mengele?”
Rhine had to think for a moment before saying, “I don't like what he did, but he did provide some important research.”
The doctor let out a “hm” like noise, before saying, “And when was the last time you broke a rule or law?”
“I'm not sure.” Rhine responded simply, not entirely knowing.
“That concludes the evaluation, I will come back tomorrow with results,” The doctor said after a few minutes, standing up. “It's good seeing you have a connection in reality. Have a good rest of your day.”
Rhine didn't know how to respond, so he didn’t speak. He watched the doctor leave the room before sighing through his nose and closing his eyes. He quickly fell back asleep, now both mentally and physically exhausted.
Translations:
Bruder = Brother
Guten Tag = Good day
YOU ARE READING
The Road to Recovery
FanfictionTW: Mengele, mentions of suicide, Nazis, Communism, National Socialism, Indoctronation, violence, WW2, Mengele, mental instability, mental health, death, mourning, post-WW2 period, politics, arguments, PTSD, trauma responses I will add more if more...
