*Dennis' POV*
I walked quickly away from the room, having to restrain myself from running, and went to the kitchen. What was that all about? And why... why had I given her my vest? Patricia will know for certain that I've been disobeying her now.
I rested my head in my arms on the table and fell asleep, hoping that Hedwig would be the one to take the light instead of her.
When I woke again, I was outside Doctor Fletcher's office. She was already holding the door open for me and it blinked, trying to find my bearings.
"Is everything okay?" She asked when I hesitated.
"Yeah, everything's great," I said in Barry's voice and went inside.
I couldn't understand why I'd not been given the light before walking here, and my questions were answered by Patricia..
"We'll talk later, for now just do as you're told."
Well that was that. She knew what I'd been doing and had taken over my part in this plan. Damn it...
I sat down opposite Doctor Fletcher and we began to chat.
This was the third session in a row and I was expecting to have to fight. She had let it go before, but I knew I wouldn't be let off lightly this time.
I had been trying to distract her by talking about Barry's work but I was struggling to remember fashion terms and she was looking distracted. I knew I couldn't keep her attention for much longer, and my suspicions were soon confirmed, "we've been talking about silk and wool blend for twenty minutes..." here we go... "can I guess that you emailed me in the middle of the night for an emergency session due to garden-variety issues?"
I laughed, attempting to act nonchalant but also finding a little humour in the comment.
"I was down, and I emailed you... and I woke up and I feel better... I feel better."
"I had a thought," she stated and I could tell she meant business.
I tilted my head, "mm-mm"
"I want to talk about the incident at work."
Oh god, where has that come from?
I moved to the side to lean on the arm of the chair, wondering where the hell she was going with this.
"I just want to bring the details back, we'll just talk about the details."
I prepared myself for whatever she was about to say, and she ran through the issue from work, going over what had happened that day. I listened, mildly interested in how Barry had described the event to her, and tried not to let the neutral smile slip from my face.
"Two young ladies came up to you and one..." here it comes... "took your hand and put it under her shirt on her breast," come on, you're killing me... "And the second one did the same, and then they just ran off laughing to their friends."
I couldn't help let my mind linger on the thought of my hands under their shirts and I had to stop myself from squirming as my pants began to feel too tight. Luckily I was already sitting with my legs crossed... she'd certainly have something to say if she saw that.
"You said they were seventeen or eighteen. You said it upset you for days."
Only Barry could be upset about that...
"It was just a teenage prank, I get that now."
I was beginning to worry about the situation going on below my waist and I focused on her words as best as I could, listening to her as she expressed her concern that the incident had brought up Kevin's past which caused suppressed personalities to take the light. I made a face before smiling at her, listening to her as she, once again, asked if I was Dennis.
I waved it away but she then moved onto the beast, and I had nothing more to say.
When she got nothing out of me about the subject, she began to talk to Dennis, me, again.
"If this is you, Dennis, I understand why Kevin needs you. You are strong and disciplined, you are precise, and you will not be taken advantage of."
For the first time in god knows how long, I felt proud. Someone was talking to me like I mattered... and she meant it. I listened to what else she had to say, almost welling up when she told me that I wasn't evil to her, until it got to one final question, "Dennis... is that you?"
I couldn't help myself. She was nice... I wanted to be friends. I wanted her to understand... maybe I was being selfish but i was starved of human affection. I wanted to talk to her... as me. The conversation had calmed me down enough for me to uncross my legs and I straightened up, losing the Barry act, "they keep calling us The Horde... the others, you know? Miss Patricia and I, we are ridiculed... now we're not perfect, but we don't deserve to be ridiculed. We're all struggling, they have to admit that."
Doctor Fletcher dabbed her eyes with her fingers, clearly overwhelmed to meet a new identity, and then told me she was pleased to meet me. We talked for a moment about the emails before she asked about when I first came into the light. It hit a nerve, as it always did, and my lips tightened. I could feel myself begin to panic, anxiety attacks weren't uncommon to me seeing as everything always had to be perfect, and I could feel my chest tightening.
She changed the subject when she saw how unsettled I became and asked about the beast. That slowed my heart rate but I remained quiet. She can't know about that.
She tried to tell me that it was all make believe-a story-and I ignored it. I played along, not wanting to get us or her in trouble. That pretty much wrapped up the session, and I was soon pacing back to the zoo, worrying about how Patricia was going to react when she found out about me telling Doctor Fletcher.
