Autopsy of a Mind

I sat beside Harshit and read a book for the new course Sebastian would be teaching next semester.

"What are you reading?" Professor Singh turned to me after the seatbelt sign had dimmed. I turned to him with a smile. 

"Just preparing for Sebastian's classes. I will be taking more control of them from this semester," I admitted. "He went easy on me last semester, only letting me do the legwork."

Professor Singh scoffed. "He's working you to the bone, isn't he?" he asked with a critical eye. "Just because he put a ring on your finger, he thinks he owns you."

My head jerked up and I stared at him in shock.

"What?" he responded calmly. "Did you think I wouldn't notice? You tried to be inconspicuous about it, but you use your hand in front of me too often."

I sighed and shook my head. "There is no point hiding such matters from people who have field experience," I grumbled. "But are you sure Sebastian didn't call and inform you? I highly doubt you would see it if you don't look out for it," I said suspiciously. 

"Oh, hush. I saw the ring on your finger and figured. There was no way the tyrant Sebastian was going to allow a random ring on your ring finger." He rolled his eyes. 

"But back to the topic on hand. He just proposed and you have changed sides. I would think that you are calling him a tyrant because you are jealous that I will take up more of his time," I teased. 

"Jealous of you?" he scoffed. "I believe he will hog more of your time now that it is his legal right to stick beside you all the time." He chuckled. "Not that he leaves your side often."

"Working at the station must have been hard for him then. For a man who loves work so much, he must have suffered, being separated from me for long periods of time."

Professor Singh's eyes lit up. "Oh! I heard about the little girl you found out. Good work on that!" he complimented. 

"Do you want an interview with her?" I responded. 

Professor Singh nodded. "It would be fantastic if I could speak to her. I applied for a time slot to the rehabilitation center they took her to for the short term. Have you spoken to her yet?" he asked curiously. 

"I was with her through the psychiatrist's evaluation and all that jazz. I haven't met her since then. We've been kept out of the loop so far." I shrugged.

Harshit frowned. "You've been working on some high-profile cases recently, haven't you?" he asked. 

I nodded mildly. "My face has been in the newspaper far more than I would like it to be," I bemoaned. 

"Others would kill for the opportunity, but you are cribbing about it," he complained right back. 

"I don't like being treated like a monkey in front of the media. I am not going to answer their wild curiosity about murders. Their need to sensationalize every case makes me want to puke. Soulless bloodsuckers," I seethed. 

"You have a lot of pent-up frustration, don't you?" He gave me a small smirk. 

"What does that mean?" I asked, horrified by the implication. Destroying Sebastian's celibacy right before the trip was a bad move. Despite the talks about the psychology of addiction and whatnot, Sebastian used my one day of leave to the fullest.

Specifics aside, most of my luggage was packed by him.

"About the media and how cases are handled," he said with a hint of amusement. "What did you think I was speaking about?"

I didn't respond. 

"Jokes aside, there is a research fellow position opening at the national institute of criminology and justice, do you want to apply?" he asked. 

I turned to him with wide eyes. "I am already working for Sebastian and interning at the police station," I told him. "I can't take up more work right now," I admitted. 

"But you would like to get the opportunity, right?" he coaxed. 

"Well, the institute only takes students who hold Masters in Criminology and Criminal Psychology, right?"

"And law," he prompted. "But you have enough experience and background to qualify. Add in recommendation letters from Nash, Sebastian, and I, you will breeze through the entrance exams and interviews," he shrugged. 

I shook my head. "I enjoy my work right now," I told him. 

"Yes, but the research fellowship will open up avenues for you to get a Ph.D. Isn't that what you wanted in the first place?" he asked. 

"In the future. Right now, I want to learn everything that I can."

Singh nodded. "Do as you wish. The applications will be open for another month. I don't see a reason why you shouldn't apply. You can always decline the offer if you don't want to work there."

"I'll think about it," I said softly. It would be hard to turn down an offer from such a big institute if a call came. I might get in if I got recommendations from three of the brightest minds in the field at the time, but shooting down such an offer? People would chase me with knives.

Harshit tweaked his paper for the rest of the flight, while I read through the book. 

Once we were settled into the hotel, I called Sebastian.

"Hey," I greeted. He had picked up within one ring. 

"Settled down?" he asked, his voice gruff.

"Yeah. I'll just change and have some food. The inauguration speech is in a few hours," I informed him. "Did you work the whole night after you dropped me at the airport?" I asked. It was a rhetorical question, though. I knew for a fact that he hadn't slept a wink because of his voice. From the looks of it, not talking to a human had taken a toll on him as well. 

"Yeah. I just had some ideas about the BTS killer case and I was charting everything out according to time period and behavior." He paused. "You should concentrate on the conference. I'll tell you what I found after today's session, okay?" 

I could feel his care through the cellphone. 

"Okay," I agreed slowly. "I finished the first book. I didn't bring any other book from the course. Would you mind sending me the ebook so that I can read it in my spare time?" I asked. 

"Don't work so hard. You will have plenty of time to go over the curriculum once you are back," he offered. 

"This is if I stop working at the station when university starts," I told him.

He chuckled. "I already have the class schedules with me, so you don't have to worry about the free days, okay?"

"Oh? Send it over. Do you have the list of students, too?" I asked. 

"Not yet. They are still applying for the courses as of now. The timetable accumulates all my classes three days a week, you can work the other three days at the station and have one day off to yourself. Does that sound good for you?"

I smiled. "You're looking out for me an awful lot," I teased mildly. 

"As I should. My career took off years ago, so I don't need extra hours here and there. You, on the other hand, need all the experience in the world." 

I smiled to myself. "I'll work really hard to reach you, okay? I won't let you outshine me," I promised. 

"I don't outshine you now, either. You have your own ways that I can never replicate," he praised. 

"You're flattering me a lot today. Do you have an ulterior motive, Mr. Butler?" I asked suspiciously. 

"I just want you to come back safely and quickly. I don't have an ulterior motive, okay?" he informed me with a hint of frustration.

"Understood, Mr. Butler. Now, get back to your case and I will get ready for work, okay?" I prompted. 

"Best of luck. I'll be waiting for you when you return," he whispered. The phone cut off in classic Sebastian fashion and I smiled at it indistinctly.

- - - - - 

The call came an hour after the estimated end of that day of the conference. 

"You called right on time," I said with a hint of glee. I was walking out of the hall and the buzz of the people behind me sounded clear to the other side. 

"I estimated how much each speaker would delay," he joked. "In academic fashion. Every conference goes one hour overtime." I laughed alongside him. 

"Any progress on your side?" I asked. From the corner of my side, I saw an older man make his way towards me. Professor Singh took a step forward and started to speak to the mind. 

"Don't think about my cases, right now. You have to take some rest, okay? You've been working day and night for god knows how long. Add in the pressure of therapy and reading study material for the next semester… Just treat this as a short vacation," he tried to persuade me.

"You think too much, okay?" I chuckled. 

"Only looking out for you, Princess," he joked. I heard him turning pages on his side of the phone and became silent. 

"You're working still. You continue. I think someone is trying to talk to me… Harshit is keeping him back for now. Don't know why," I chuckled. 

"Trying to talk to you?" he sounded confused. 

"Yeah. I'll check it out. You should get back to work. I'll call you later tonight. Right before going to sleep, okay?" I whispered. The man had his eyes on me even as he spoke. 

"I miss you," I heard Sebastian say. My breath hitched and I looked for words. 

"You've had time to miss me?" I asked in response. 

"I can think about multiple things while I work, princess. Don't underestimate me," he mock growled. I laughed. 

"Okay, genius. I'll hang up now. I need to talk to this guy. He is getting impatient," I said. I cut the phone without another word and walked over to him.