Receive the cure

The two spent their time slowly returning their lives to a new normal.

One day, John returned home to find Veronica in the kitchen. She was holding a white plate and looking at it pensively.

She saw him come in, "you told me this plate was blue one time," she looked at him, "and I believed it. I remember knowing that the plate was blue and had always been blue."

He hugged her, "I'm sorry for all the crazy crap I shoved into your brain."

"Not being able to trust your own brain... it's so weird." She was suddenly more worried than John had seen her for a long time. "It's really white, right?"

Despite her worry, he chuckled, "Veronica, I swear, that plate you're holding is truly white."

She relaxed a little.

He hugged her, "I'm so sorry...".

She shook her head, "I was safe here."

A few weeks later, the AGS counselors announced that Veronica was ready for the cure.

John went with her to the clinic. They held hands nervously as they waited for their appointment.

Eventually they were led into another room. The doctor did a quick interview with Veronica to ensure no last-minute suggestions had been implanted.

John could feel her quivering as the injection was applied.

The doctor held up a piece of paper with "green" written on it. He said in a very firm commanding tone, "Veronica this says 'poetry'."

She looked at the paper and blinked. After a moment, she agreed, "yeah, 'poetry'."

John started to panic that somehow the cure was ineffective. The doctor answered the question before he asked it, "it takes a few minutes to take effect."

They waited for what felt like hours but was probably five minutes before the doctor picked up another piece of paper. This one said 'month' and he told Veronica firmly, "this says 'child'."

She stared at the piece of paper. Her brow furrowed and the blinked, trying to understand what her eyes were telling her. She slowly responded, "no, it says 'month'."

Realization flashed across her face. She looked at John, stunned, "is it month?"

He managed to hold back tears and confirm, "it's 'month'."

She looked frantically at John and demanded, "tell me something!"

He around the office and grabbed the pen out of the doctor's hand. He looked at the black pen in and said firmly, "this is a red pen."

Tears formed in her eyes as she responded, "that's a fucking black pen!"

They hugged.

The doctor gave Veronica the paper with "green" written on it, "keep this. As your brain recovers, you'll eventually see the word green here."

When they got home, John was a little nervous about their relationship status. They were no longer master and pet, or guardian and ward. They were just... a couple?

John's nerves were calmed by Veronica pulling him toward the bedroom.