Oh, it's so ironic; you've got the good book, your name's still on it

[silkandstone]

There are a lot of commuters on Chicago's streets today, who can be caught between or at their destinations.

Ruvin is on her way to see Wyatt. She wasn't sure about doing this, but... She felt better, last time she was there, however brief their talk was. And even if the medication has side effects that she didn't expect, it still helped her

Comments

[npcyoface]

When Ruvin gets to Wyatt's office, the receptionist is seated at her desk. She's actually a new receptionist, not the same one that was here last time. Mary is on the phone when Ruvin enters. Paperwork is stacked up on the desk.

"Okay. Appointment moved to- uhm... When did we say, again? Okay! Good. Uh-huh. Right. Thursday. 11. I'll- Okay, but-" Mary frowns and puts the phone up. "Hi! I'm so sorry about that. Can I help you?" She moves some papers over trying to find the schedule which is, also, on her computer if she could ever figure out how to get to it. "Did you have an appointment?"

[changingtheodds]

"I hope so. I mean, I hope you can help me. I don't have an appointment, I just... Need to talk to someone. I've been here before. There was another girl, then, but... I came with Robin Rice?"

She doesn't know how that will help, mentioning Robin, but somehow it makes her feel better.

[mindbulletz]

The receptionist nods glancing at the schedule now that she's found it. "He has no appointments for the rest of the day so it should be okay. I'll just- Uhm. One moment!"

Mary gets to her feet and walks to the door, opening it and sticking her head in. "Sir? A girl is here to see you. She knows Robin? Okay."

Mary pushes the door open for her and turns back.

"He says to come directly in."

And when she does come in, Wyatt will look up at her from his desk. He had almost thought it was Jo. Funny how all of Robin's little loved ones keep making their way directly to Wyatt. Useful really.

"Ruvin, it's good to see you, again. How can I be of assistance today?" He stands from his chair and gestures to one of the couches in the room. "Would you like to take a seat?"

[changingtheodds]

She sits, obedient and almost abashed this time. She remembers the way she acted before, which doesn't exactly make asking for help now easy. "I know you spoke to Robin. About the medication. I probably should have said that I was... That I'm a shapeshifter."

...Okay, there was nothing in there implying the need to talk. Fail.

[mindbulletz]

"Yes, I did speak to him." It was more like Robin ranted angrily over the phone. More rage than Wyatt has ever seen for him for anything that didn't involve alcohol. And then Robin came over to speak to him and person and... well, Robin is much more easy to manipulate in person.

Wyatt notices the change in her but doesn't comment on it.

"He wasn't pleased at all with the medication I gave you. I am sorry for that. Perhaps I started you on too strong a does or the wrong kind, but that happens quite often. Yes, it would have been helpful to know that you're a shapeshifter though I'm not sure the results would have differed much though I certainly would have started you on a smaller does. Turning into your animal form with those drugs in your system is not something I would recommend." Not without him nearby to document what happened. Ahem.

[changingtheodds]

"I have been able to sleep. A little. Since the last time I was here." She laces her fingers together, rubs her face, resists the urge to shift now. It's strange, how natural both the urge and its suppression has become; nine months ago she wouldn't even have believed animal transformation was possible.

"I need... I need something," she says. "I'm so close--" To getting it back, getting everything back. She remembers it all, now. As much as is possible without the knowing that comes with her ability--surety and vision she remembers but can't reach. "And I'm scared."

She's not making any sense. She knows she isn't. She doesn't know why she's here, except that saying any of this would upset Robin and she doesn't want him to be upset any more. Not because of her, at the very least. "This was a bad idea."

[mindbulletz]

"That is good to hear," Wyatt says, taking a seat across from the couch that she's sitting on. "I'm assuming Robin's slowly taking you off the drugs so if you could get sleep without their assistance, I'd like that."

He nods when she says that she needs something. There's so much about her that he doesn't know, that he wishes he could know. He gathers that there's more to her than meets the eye, much more. It's the details that he needs. "What are you scared of? If you are able to talk about it, I might be able to help you face it better. The more information that I have, the better I will be able to help you."

Wyatt pulls at the darkness in her head. It's not too much. It never is. He is always concerned with making this gift of his into a subtle art. One strand of dark thoughts at a time pulled slowly away to make them feel at ease without realizing that they do. And when they do realize it, they can assume it was the act of talking to him that's done it

[changingtheodds]

"I'm scared of doing something stupid. I'm scared of doing something that everyone around me will regret. That I'll get everything taken away again. I just--"

She stops, looking down. "And it's a bad idea because you... I know nothing about you. I don't trust you." Ruvin blushes, glaring up at him from under her eyelashes, a snap of her former attitude returning. "It's my life. I don't want anyone else in it."

[mindbulletz]

"Those are all legitimate fears to have, but until you face them and talk about them, they'll remain in your head. We can work together on how to best prevent those fears from coming true

[changingtheodds]

She is starting to relax, just a little. There's something about Wyatt, something comfortable. Something safe.

Something like Flagg had.

That thought makes her bristle again. "How long have you been doing this? Talking to people like this?"

[mindbulletz]

Wyatt folds his hands together though stops trying to pull at the dark thoughts in her mind. "18 years. 21 years if you count the three years of internship I did though that was supervised group therapy. They don't let interns have free reign over patients, which is smart. I don't let my interns do that. It was good experience, but I don't believe it counts so 18 years. I was 28 when I finally got my PhD. It was a struggle but well worth the effort."

He raises an eyebrow at her after a moment of silence.

"You know normally I'm the one that asks the questions." It doesn't look as though it bothers him. He is wondering what it says about her.

[changingtheodds]

"You say there's only so much you can do if I don't trust you--how am I supposed to trust you without some sort of discourse?"

She sits up, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from her jeans. She was a politician once, a person of power--it's something she'll have a hard time letting go of, if she ever does. And she honestly wants to know who he is, how Robin met him--anything she can get.

[mindbulletz]

Wyatt sends her a thoughtful look and then nods.

"You're right. No one has ever thought of it before which may seem strange in 18 years of therapeutic work, but it's the truth. I suppose they either didn't trust me at all (wasn't much help to them), trusted easily, or had few options remaining." Guess which category Robin fell under. "I'm more than happy to answer any questions that you pose to me if it will make you more comfortable. I have limits obviously on certain subjects partly because the APA requires me to be and partly because no person is an open book, and I wouldn't expect it of any of my clients. Everyone will have some secrets and that's perfectly healthy assuming it's not interfering with your life in a negative fashion."

[changingtheodds]

"Bearing all that in mind," she says, quietly, "I have to ask--why? Why do you do it? It must take a particular kind of personality, a field like yours."

Her hands fist in her lap. She doesn't like him. It was so easy to forget when she wasn't in this office, sitting across from him, listening to him talk. She doesn't like him, she doesn't like his drugs, and she doesn't like whatever hold he has on Robin.

Ridiculous, the logical part of her hisses. Ridiculous, emotional judgements. Ruvin scowls at her lap.

[mindbulletz]

"There are many personalities in my field. I wouldn't say there's only a certain, specific kind. Most of us have either experienced mental illness either in our own minds or through a person close to us so we're driven by the need to help those that remind us of the ones that we lost or the ones that are still suffering today. I'm no different than they are in that I have personal experiences which have... lead me to this point." Wyatt shifts, a bit uncomfortably for the first time in a very long time.

He can't remember how long it's been, because while those personal experiences drive him they are not often a subject of his thoughts, and besides the desire to experiment, the scientific need for knowledge is a much more relevant factor in his heart and mind when going about his work.

We all start out with good intentions.

Well, maybe not all of us.

"I, also, have to admit that I find the science of psychology rather interesting though most of the world would disagree with psychology being any sort of science at all."

[changingtheodds]

"It's hard to define science in a world where the paranormal keeps trying to factor in, I would imagine," she says. A pause, then, "Or in a world where people from other universes have entirely different views of what the word 'science' might mean."

All right. She's gotten something from him--that shift, that grain of truth under the smiles and sympathy. If she keeps pushing, he's going to backpedal. It's like negotiating with town heads and mayors for probability benefits; give and take. "My world is the latter, so there's little I can say."