darker_london | The Polygraph (Werner, Rolf and Peter)

Peter was chewing at a loose piece of skin on his little finger which probably didn't make him appear all that brilliant, but he wasn't concerned with how he looked at the moment. Not that he ever was... He was far too preoccupied thinking about the girl he had seen in the park yesterday, Naja. He knew she needed his help. He'd been dreaming of her off and on for over a year now. He felt he knew her well, and yet she knew nothing of him. He'd never experienced anything quite like it before. He had dreamed of Deirdre for a few weeks before she came to him. And it was similar with the other demons and now angels he had gone to try and help, with the exception of Darren, who he'd been called in to help. He had never had visions of someone for over a year with no evidence of how to help, and then randomly run into them during a stroll in the park.

There was the matter of Werner as well. Peter's cousin Johan was terrified that Werner, his lover, was culpable in the death of Werner's ex-wife, Lena. Peter didn't buy it. Not even a little bit. And as he sat there, worrying at his pinky with his teeth, he realised that at the very least, he could do something about that.

Peter jumped up and he rushed off to Rolf's office, and he burst through the door without knocking. Even though it was his hospital, Peter was usually over-polite, so it was a testament to how focused he was when he stood in front of Rolf and reached out to grab the man's arm. "Come on!"

"I...I'm coming?" Rolf stood, allowing Peter to pull him towards the door.

Amadeo, Rolf's older brother, appeared as if from nowhere and he raised his eyebrows as Peter Kemp manhandled his brother away from the office. "Are you abducting him?" Amadeo asked, his tone suggesting he wasn't going to do much about it it Peter was.

"Not today!" Peter called back, opening the door. "I just need him to be a lie detector test."

"Why not invest in a polygraph?" Amadeo called after them.

"He's easier." Peter replied with a thin smile and then he pulled Rolf into the hall. "Your brother doesn't know what a mouse is when it's attached to a computer, but he knows what a polygraph is?"

"Seems to me, just a few years back, you didn't know what a mouse was either." Rolf said, his eyes twinkling as he hurried to follow Peter.

"...Yes...er...well...I- Shut up, Rolf!" Peter hated it when Rolf was right. And 99% of the time, when Rolf wasn't off screwing succubi and selling his friends out to the Templar, he was right.

"As you wish." Rolf followed Peter to Werner's room, and he waited in the hallway when Peter told him to.

Peter thought speaking to Werner alone first was probably the best course of action. And so he went in, to find Werner pouting on his bed. "Werner?" Peter said softly, approaching the end of the bed so he wasn't too imposing.

Werner's eyes shifted to take in Peter's form and he frowned. "Hello, Mr Kemp. Apparently my lover sold me out and I'm your prisoner now."

Though Werner had addressed Peter in English, Peter responded back in German, as it was Werner's first language and he spoke it as fluently as he did English. "Don't pull that 'Mr Kemp' bullshit with me, Werner. And you are not a prisoner. Johan was worried about you-"

"Worried!? About me?! He had me locked up!" Werner said, incredulously. "I would never had hurt Lena! I know you're siding with your cousin, but he...he betrayed me."

"No he didn't." Peter shook his head. "I am not siding with anyone, and Johan did nothing of the sort. Werner, he did the only thing he could with the evidence he had. What if the police had come by the house wanting to ask you questions and they had found you in the position you were in. Naked and bloody in my sister's backyard. Do you really think they would deliver you to hospital to make sure you were healthy?"

Werner was silent as he considered that. "The door's locked." He finally whispered.

"That was my decision, Werner." Peter shoved his hands into his pockets. "And not one I wanted to make. But it was simply to give people peace of mind until we got to the bottom of this regrettable situation. I'm sorry that I had to take into account other people's feelings too. But that's just what someone who owns a place like this has to do. Now...I have someone here with me. He'll be able to tell me if the things you are saying are true or not."

Werner sniffed and then he nodded. "I know, he's in the hallway, smelling like peanuts."

Peter blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"That angel. Rolf. He lived in Austria too and he always smells like peanuts."

Peter decided it would be a frightening thing to be a werewolf, and then he went to admit Rolf to the room. As he did so, he smiled at Rolf and he said, "This is Werner. He thinks you smell like peanuts."

"Ah, I am rather fond." Rolf said, not taken aback in the least. His brother said things that were far more strange. "Hello, Werner." Werner nodded in reply.

"I would appreciate it if you could let me know if what Werner says is true or not, Rolf." Peter asked. "We just need to verify his story."

"Of course."

Werner took a deep breath and then he leaned forwards in the bed. "I never went anywhere near Lena's house. I don't remember what exactly happened...I smelled...another wolf. I was in my room and I smelled another wolf. I went to find them. We must have had a fight. That's the only way I can explain the blood."

Peter considered that and when he turned to Rolf, he was nodding. "You don't remember what the other wolf looked like at all?"

Werner shook his head. "Everything is blank after I left my room. I don't even know if I found the wolf at all, though my face would suggest I did." He said, pointing to the stitches on his cheek. "But I never would have hurt Lena. Johan said I did before. And that I hurt him. But I didn't kill either of them. I don't believe I'm capable of that." Even as he said it, images of the Templar he had killed to save Johan flashed across his mind and he closed his eyes tightly. "To kill is a terrible thing. And I can't risk even the chance that I might do it and not remember. I didn't kill Lena. But who knows what...I could hurt...we'll have to find out a way to keep me more isolated during the change." Werner said firmly. "For everyone's benefit, including mine. I won't have every little incident blamed on me because I can't remember what happened."

Peter nodded, and he moved to lay a hand on Werner's shoulder. "Werner, my friend. I very much agree." He looked to Rolf one more time, and received a wink before Rolf ducked out of the room, leaving them alone. "Well, Rolf believes you. And he would know beyond a shadow of a doubt. Werner, I am so sorry about Lena. I understand the loss. The first woman I loved...Katherine...she took her life about a year ago. I hadn't been with her for twelve years, but that didn't matter in that moment. She was Katie. And everything bad about her seemed to disappear and I only remembered the good things when I mourned." Peter let out a deep breath and he reached for Werner's hand. "You are my family, Werner. You belong with Johan and you belong with us. I will do everything in my power to help you."

"Including locking me in if that's what it takes?" Werner said softly, glancing around the small hospital room.

"If that's what it takes." Peter said with a nod.

"Good." Werner leaned back against his pillows, but his grip on Peter's hand tightened. "Very good. You know...Lena used to take Alastair to dance class. He hated it, but she said she wanted him to experience everything." Werner laughed, though there was more than a hint of sadness in the sound. "She always did her best for him. Even taking him away from me when she thought I was a threat."

"She sounds like an incredible woman."

"She was." Werner agreed. "She really was." Now that he had been cleared of blame, Werner wanted to talk. And thank everything that Peter was there to listen.