Day 38: Doctor's Office 6 [Dr. Wilson] [Fourth Shift]

[damned_doctors]

Well, Wilson's session with Caleb had gone surprisingly well. It was a good start to the week, but the doctor knew better than to think that it would continue. After a few weeks here, he had come to realize that there was going to be at least one patient that gave him a hard time. It was usually during the first session with a patient that it

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[notmyfather]

Valyn's slightly eager calm began to break when his nurse gathered him after lunch for his therapy. Not because of the therapy itself, but because of the warning he was given on the way. He had a new doctor starting today, some name he wasn't familiar with.

That caused him to pause and internally lock up. Unlike most people here, Valyn had actually benefited from his sessions with his doctor. It was undeniable that he had a plethora of issues, after all.

As he was pushed gently through the door, Valyn turned to inspect the man he'd been turned over to. Nothing special stood out about him, and Valyn hesitated in the doorway, his expression unreadable. He'd come so far with his previous doctor, how was he supposed to continue this when he didn't trust this man? Ancestors above and demons below, even when this place pretended to help people, it was all just a facade!

[damned_doctors]

Just like Takanaga, this new patient - Aubrey Hill - was acting more like a spooked animal. Wilson wasn't too fazed by it, since he had gotten even the most dubious patients to open up after some work. On the other hand, there were those who would never let their guard down, no matter what happened.

He wasn't sure what sort Aubrey would be, but Wilson was going to give his best effort either way. "Go ahead and come in," he said, figuring it was pretty obvious that there was nothing threatening about him. He was probably one of the most inoffensive doctors around here, which only made Wilson cringe when he thought about how House dealt with these patients.

"You can take the couch, if that's more comfortable," he said. It was a little further from the desk, which might make the man feel better about stepping further into the room - he could still keep his distance.

[notmyfather]

Valyn nodded and sank down to the couch, holding himself stiffly. He folded his hands on his knees, his body angled forward as though he were ready to leap up at a moment's notice.

This was, to say the least, a setback. It had taken a great deal of effort for him to come to trust - at least in some ways - his previous doctor. Now he needed to start all over again, and now was not a good time to be dealing with that.

"I was making progress with my other doctor," Valyn said, not knowing what else to say. Did this man even know what had been discussed, what he was dealing with? Would he allow Valyn at least the pretense of not being mad?

Or would he just insist that Valyn was a danger to himself and deluded?

[damned_doctors]

Wilson watched as the young man settled onto the couch, noticing how tense he seemed and realizing that he would have to tread carefully with this one. He had been preparing to say something, but Aubrey beat him to it.

"Right, you were transferred from Dr. Huang," he said, glancing down at the man's file as he held back a sigh. It was always hard to pick up where someone else had left off, especially if the patient had liked their previous doctor.

"Would you mind getting me up to date on what you two discussed, then?" He knew that it might be hard to summarize something like that, but at least this would give him an idea of how committed or reluctant the patient was.

Wilson personally didn't know what had happened to Dr. Huang, and he hadn't been given any details about it. That seemed to be in bad taste, but he hoped there was no foul play going on.

[notmyfather]

"We focused on my family," Valyn said, his expression unreadable. "My father, primarily, and my...sister." He didn't know if this new doctor had all those little notes Dr. Huang had taken, so Valyn sighed a bit and continued in more detail. Perhaps this new man could help as well, and he'd already said all these things to Dr. Huang anyway. And by the ancestors, he was going to get whatever he could out of these sessions!

"My father was abusive, both mentally and physically. It started when I was very young and continued until I ran away from home. He was a pervert who delighted in displaying his abhorrent nature at every chance he was offered. I have a physical and romantic attraction to my half sister, which she returns. I've thus far avoided pursuing the relationship, but there have been times where it was...difficult." Not that it mattered now, he supposed, but it was something he'd discussed some with Huang.

"And I am, as Dr. Huang phrased it, 'severely emotionally stunted'."

[damned_doctors]

Family did tend to be the root of most patients' problems, in one way or another, so Wilson wasn't surprised to hear that. The way the recap was rattled off was shocking, though - mainly because Aubrey held hardly any expression as he explained things that should have been shameful, embarrassing, and humiliating.

On the other hand, it was possible he did feel those things, but just didn't express them. Dr. Huang's "diagnosis" seemed right as far as Wilson could tell. Now, whether these things that Aubrey had explained were real or not, that was a question. On the other hand, for the moment they were real for him, which meant that they needed to be dealt with before any more progress could be made. Chances were that these issues, even if fabricated, had some basis in Aubrey's real life, so

[notmyfather]

"No, not without emotion. I feel things - quite acutely, I assure you - I simply can't express them. Dr. Huang and I didn't come to any resolutions regarding my family, so I suppose that may as well be where we pick up." At least this new doctor hadn't made any mention of the scarring welt across his throat, or the fact that he was supposed to be suffering from madness

[damned_doctors]

If there was one thing that Wilson was good at, it was listening to someone speak and remaining completely calm and attentive, no matter how long they went on for. But this was something that happened to be interesting, especially since he was starting to see some similarities between Aubrey's father and House's. Although House's father wasn't quite this bad, the man had still done quite a number on his friend

[notmyfather]

"And to ensure I'm progressing in my treatment," Valyn explained, remembering his father's reasoning for being there. "He wanted to make sure I wasn't getting up to trouble. And to berate me over the stress I'm causing him simply for being in need of psychiatric treatment." If there was one good thing his father's visit had done, it was to allow him to pick up on the proper terms and manner of speaking for this strange world. He'd given up trying to convince anyone on the staff that he wasn't crazy, and being able to use proper terms for things went a long way in making him at least sound perfectly sane

[damned_doctors]

Wilson could certainly understand if a parent was stressed by their child being ill (he was faced with worried patients often enough, even as an oncologist). However, Aubrey's father didn't seem to be stressed for the right reasons at all. It was all about status, about his name, and the fact that a mentally ill son would make him look bad. Wilson had come across that sort of thing too, of course

[notmyfather]

"I don't know," Valyn admitted. "Pure chance, most likely. My brother and I are twins; I guess I was just lucky." His father had chosen him, and his brother was carted off to their mother's people. He doubted anything had gone into his father's selection. If there even had been one, and nothing more than 'take one, I'll keep the other'. But he certainly couldn't get into that"And really, my brother is...well, I suppose a lost cause. We aren't terribly close, but it's been some time since I saw him sober." Grandfather let him run rampant. Valyn didn't understand it at all, but he supposed it was none of his business

[damned_doctors]

A lost cause. That was something Wilson had heard before, even said before. He didn't think back on his brother often, and it certainly wasn't something he was going to mention now, but he couldn't help but notice the similarities. Over ten years, now. There was a good chance he would never see the man again

[notmyfather]

"Half a year ago, or so, when I ran away," Valyn said, knowing from his talks with Huang that that rang true in 'both' his lives. "We ran into one another. I remembered my father's mistress, from when I was younger. And I remembered that when she became pregnant...well, my father wasn't happy, we'll leave it at that." How Serina Daeth had managed to escape, Valyn still didn't know.

"I could see the family resemblance, and the age and location and other small facts were too accurate to be coincidence. She had no idea, and...I didn't tell her. She began pursuing me. I would gladly give in to her attention, were she not my sister. And even that argument sometimes seems to wear thin. There was one night when we were simply on my bed together, talking, and she turned to me..." he trailed off, looking away, years of cultural stigma and shame creeping up on him. Even in a 'safe' environment he found it difficult to admit.

"I was very tempted," he finally finished with.

[damned_doctors]

Despite the touchy subject (most people couldn't get past the idea of incest, regardless of the circumstances), Wilson was careful to keep his expression plain as he listened to what Aubrey had to say. So his sister hadn't known, but he had... And she had developed feelings for him. That was definitely a tricky situation, especially since Aubrey felt the urge to return those feelings.

"Your situation is unique, though," he pointed out. "You two only met when you'd already grown older. I think a lot of the stigma of it has to do with the fact that a person would want to... be with this person that they grew up with," he explained. "And there are all other sorts of biological and cultural reasons too, of course.

"But I think that the question of whether consensual adult incest is right or wrong is something that people have struggled with for a while," he pointed out. "Though I'm not sure if your sister is officially an adult..." In which case that brought up a whole other slew of problems.

[notmyfather]

"Yes, she's an adult!" Valyn said, looking more affronted by the suggestion that she wasn't than anything else so far. "She's only a few years younger than I am." What kind of man did this doctor take him for? Shana was what, seventeen? She had been an adult by Elven standards for some time.

"I'm well aware it's wrong to be attracted to a sibling," he went on to point out. "Regardless of whether or not you grew up as siblings. The genetic issues alone are enough to make it...skin crawlingly off limits." He knew all of this. He struggled with all of this nearly every day. Though he didn't understand what the doctor was going on about at first. What did it matter if you slept with someone you grew up with? But the genetic and legal aspects...well, Valyn was well familiar with them.

"You must trust me, Doctor, these are things I spend a great deal of time thinking about. Nearly ever since I met her."

[damned_doctors]

Wilson certainly hadn't meant to offend Aubrey, but it was a valid question, and he was just relieved to hear that his sister was old enough to be making such an important decision. Even at adult age, though, this obviously wasn't something that it was easy to figure out, especially if a person's emotions were fighting against what logic told them.

"I'm sure," he agreed sincerely, not wanting to make light of this in the slightest. "But it's sounding like you still haven't sorted it out. What does she think about it? And what do you think?" He might as well get the whole story before he started commenting on it either way.

The genetic issues were certainly a problem, though some people argued that it wasn't as pertinent now that there were so many forms of birth control. But even with that, it still wasn't something people could swallow.