Work Text
It was nothing new that Richard had… problems when it came to acclimatizing himself to Saint Marie, much as Camille and her mother and the rest of the team had been trying their best. He did accept their invitations now and then, these days, it was true, but he was still wearing the same suits he had when transferring here, was obviously not trying to find a home (which really, he should because the shack was no place to live. What if he ever wanted to… get something better for… certain reasons? He could hardly stay on the beach then…), and when it came to the island’s style of living…Better not touch that particular subject, but still.True, though, all of this did not explain everything, and Camille would blame herself for it for quite longer than she’d let anyone know.But the point was, she had driven to the shack yet again on an evening where there was not much to do. Usually, she found Richard reading, but today, he was on his knees on the floor, seemingly searching for something, and she cleared her throat.He looked up and she was taken aback by the somewhat frantic look in his eyes.“Richard? Is everything alright?” she asked even though it was clear it very much wasn’t.“I – I – there was a bug, it was the size of a small puppy, and I blinked and it was gone, and –“She would have assumed he was hallucinating if she didn’t know there were indeed a few large insects on Saint Marie.There was a very quiet noise in a corner, the sort of thing she did not pay attention to because she had grown up here. Richard, of course, was a different matter.“Did you hear that?” he asked his eyes wide, reeling around, and Camille knew she had to act.“Alright that’s it. Veranda”. And she gently contemplated him outside and into a chair out there. “Take a few dep breaths.” He did as she hurried inside and got a cold bottle of mineral water from the fridge (that really was making some unnatural noises – she would have to ask about that eventually, but later, once everything was…)“Here” she said, passing him the bottle, and was relieved to find he wasn’t too out of it to realize that she wanted him to take a deep drag and breathe.They were silent for a minute or two and then Richard said quietly “Thank you”.She wanted, but there was nothing. Then, she inquired, “Are you alright?” Tone, she had learned early on, was everything with Richard; and she was very careful lest she sound accusatory or even as if she was ridiculing him.“I – yes, I am now, thank you.”“Richard…”He took a deep breath. “I have to apologize.”“You don’t have to apologize.”“It’s just sometimes I get these – these thoughts and – there was this really big critter, you see and – “ he took another deep shaky breath. “It just – goes round and round in my head and I can’t stop it. It’s not – It’s not normal of course, I mean –“No, it most likely wasn’t… from all that she knew of him, she would guess obsessive-compulsive (not that she liked him any less for it, and she was ready to bet the others felt the same). “And? Do you feel better now?”He nodded miserably and she reached out to lay a hand on his arm. “Richard, you have to know that – yes, I am aware this can’t be easy for you. But there are ways to manage.”“And how? I can’t get off this bloody island – “Now, that was not something she liked to hear but she moved on from it, for now. “I meant – well – you could be looking for a place with proper doors and windows –““Have you seen the prices around here? And it has to be close to the station, and it doesn’t have to be too big, alright, maybe that wouldn’t be a problem, but – “She stayed quiet so he wouldn’t realize what he had just divulged, instead saying, “I will gladly help you.”That shut him up.And so, she was the one to grab a notepad for once and start making a list.He did protest when it came to some things – seafood and different clothes – but she told him that some things had to give, and eventually, eventually, she won that fight.Really, it was only the beginning of some happy developments.Even if it meant that she had to deal with these – Richard insisted on calling them “episodes” when really it was nothing.And in that, he too, mellowed over the years, the fact that she eventually found him pouring over an encyclopedia of insects with their five-year-old proving it.