Participants:
| Scene Title | Another Company Shrink |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Abigail makes good on a promise to Caliban and visits Allison to get her drugs and unknowingly, gets another company shrink. Just how many of them ARE THERE?! |
| Date | April 2, 2010 |
Allison's Office - Somewhere in NY
It's a nice new office for Allison, and everything has that new office smell for the most part. Except for the degree that hangs on the wall of her office. It's a comfy looking place, with couches and chairs, but no desk. Clearly this is meant to be more of a comfortable area than one that makes people think of doctors and illnesses. There's even a mini-fridge!
The doctor herself is in pale tan slacks and a deep green shirt, her hair left loose around her shoulders. See, no doctor lady here. Be comfortable! She's sitting on one of the couches, a laptop on the end table next to her, but it's closed when Abby is shown in, and Allison rises and smiles. "Abigail? I'm Allison, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please, make yourself comfortable."
Abigail's in her uniform, having to head off to shift after this, only lacking the stethoscope, her jacket is hung up and her pack left in her SUV in the parking. Dr. Yee hadn't seen her in ages and didn't have appointment time. So, here came the referral, a promise that she'd cost pretty much the same and could help Abigail as much as Yee was helping her.
"Hi Allison" The faux smile sliding across the woman's face, pleasantries first and foremost, proper manners. "It's a beautiful office" She offers to the other woman. "Thank you for taking me on. Really, I appreciate it."
Allison laughs softly and shakes her head, motioning towards one of the chairs. "Don't think of it as an office. I meant it when I said make yourself comfortable. My thoughts are that if you can't be comfortable here, then I can't help you as much as I'd like to."
"It's still an office. A rose by any other name" Abigail points out. But she does what she did in other offices and took a seat near the other woman, leaning to one side so she could rest an elbow and then her jaw on one palm. "It is about comfort isn't it. I don't like the places with leather couches. I can't get comfortable if I'm perpetually sticking to the couch. Too occupied with worrying whether my skin's gonna come off and stay behind when I get up at the end than to talk" Southern accents are hard to come by up here, but the genuine thing is right in front of Allison.
Allison grins and nods. "Yeah, that's why I avoided leather. And those annoying chairs that force you to sit up perfectly straight and make it impossible to get comfortable. I like chairs comfortable enough to sink into. The sort of chairs that you can nearly fall asleep in." She moves to the fridge, opening it and grabbing out a coke. "You want anything? Before the chair puts you to sleep?" she asks, smiling.
"No, thank you. Well no, some water, if you have some." Abigail shifts forward to sit on the edge of the chair so that she can reach for the water when the woman comes back to her spot. "I was on anti-depressants and ended up going off of them. Some things have been happening though and I think.. I just need to get back on them."
Allison nods and grabs a bottle of water, offering it to Abby before she sits back down. "Ahh. Stressful things, I'm guessing? Do you find it harder to cope with things now than when you were on the anti-depressants before? Or do you just find that your attitude has changed abruptly, and in a way that you're not happy with?"
"I'm finding it harder to cope in truth. There's just.. so much and I can't find the time to breath. I get a second, and something happens and I'm just… It's easier to cope with thing, and deal with things and the stress when I'm not having such a hard time just…" Abigail wrinkles her nose, twisting off the top of the water. "I can handle life better. not easier, just better. My life is never going to be easier to handle, but I should be able to at least.. sleep, and wake up and not lay in bed for twenty minutes on my days off debating whether I want to just stay there, and when I do get up, I just… It's hard to smile Allison. I've always smiled"
Allison's smile returns, but it's sympathetic this time, an emotion that's mirrored in her eyes. "Yes, I imagine being unable to smile is a major blow. And given what you've told me, I agree that anti-depressants likely will help. However, I do have a few questions first, though I'm sure you expected that…and wish I would just give you the prescription and let you go on about your day."
The coke is opened and sipped, before it's set aside. "You say you have problems getting out of bed. What about falling asleep? Staying asleep? Or eating? Do you find yourself eating less or more than you did the last time you recall being happy?"
"I work twelve hour days and own a bar, getting sleep is not an issue." There's a shake of her head. "Staying asleep.. uhmm, half the time I'm awake after a couple hours, just, dreams and takes a bit to get back to where I can sleep. I had an oniermancer who helped me but, she passed away and things happened and it's just.. that's not the easiest thing to do anymore. Swing shifts mess with that too but.. You do what you can do because you have to" And she's gotten used to getting by a 5 hours or a little more of sleep.
Eating. "I haven't really ever had an issue with food" She has to think and shake her head. "Like I said, 12 hour shifts and if you don't eat, you don't have the energy to deal with patients" She points out.
Allison nods, but there's no pad that she jots things down on, just listening! "Do you find yourself more listless during the day? Or that you don't enjoy the same things you did before? Perhaps that you distance yourself from your friends more often than you used to?"
Does she? How long since she'd seen Joseph or Francois. Teo'd showed up. Deckard… well, Deckard. "I'm on an imposed exile Alison. Only one I see is Alexander, my roommate. I don't…" Is she allowed to talk with her therapist about super secret stuff?
"I did something for the government. Myself and a bunch of individuals. A repercussion of this has been that some people have opted for revenge. THey're.. they're doing everything they can to do stuff to us without actually… physically hurting us. Attacking family, attacking co-workers, people with some significance to us." The cap is twisted off the bottle, a mouthful of water swallowed before the cap goes back on.
"I have a police escort when I go to work, when i'm at home. I've moved to temporary housing because my friends are afraid a guy witha bomb could just walk into the bar and that'd be the end of us. I can't visit friends or do what I would normally do because…" Of the threat to friends and family. "They event went after my home back down south. Burned that to the ground. I go around worrying that one of them is going to pop up and try something. Or that one of them will create some horrid accident while i'm at work and I'll show up with my partner and my partner will get hurt."There's a soft huff. "So much stress and I just want to just get this foothold or handhold and just try and come up for air. Does that make sense?"
Allison's brows lift at Abby's explanation, and she nods a little as she listens silently. "Oh yes, it makes a great deal of sense, Abigail. It sounds like you have quite the exciting life. And yes, I'm aware that exciting doesn't always mean good. Especially not if someone has decided that they need to take revenge on you," she says, shaking her head slowly.
"I'm going to prescribe you something, but it's more for anxiety than for depression, though it will help both. It seems like that is probably your worst enemy between the two," she says, reaching for the laptop. Gotta love how everything is done on computers nowadays. "However, I'd also suggest you making regular visits here to see me. I think that an hour once a week or every other week could be very beneficial to you. If only because it lets you relax for an hour and vent anything that's on your mind that you don't feel like you can share with friends and family."
When the computer is set aside she looks back to Abby, clasping her hands together in her lap. "I also wonder if you've perhaps considered or looked into hypnotherapy? Do you know anything about it?"
Weekly appointment. There's a nod to that. Back to her old schedule, set aside time to work through things. Things did seem better when she was seeing Yee regularly. "God knows, weekly appointments got me through so much. I don't know much about that though" The blonde confesses, looking over at the other woman. "Please tell me it's not like hooking you up to a machine and shocking you" It's a joke. Weak one, but it's a joke none the less.
Allison smiles and shakes her head. "No, nothing like that. You just get comfortable, whether sitting in a chair, laying on the couch, the floor…Then you relax, and enter a sleep sort of state. That's all. But while you're in that state, or trance as some people call it, it's easier to let go of things that are bothering you, or to remember things that elude you. And I'll set your mind at ease now. Hypnosis isn't like it is in the movies. No clucking like a chicken or anything like that. You'll remember everything, and be in total control. And when it's over, things are a little better, and you feel more rested," she explains.
Teo would be throwing a fit right now. "It'll help? You swear it'll help?" Abigail's leaned forward, elbows on knee's and twisting the cap still. "Never did it before and I don't think you'd put me clucking like a chicken really. I don't have problems remembering stuff. I know that. Some days you wish you could forget stuff but then, if you did, then you can't remember just how good it is right now, compared to then" She's a little uneasy about the thought of that. "Maybe next visit"
Allison smiles and nods. "I do. I've used it many times in the past, with great success. Even if I do nothing else, just the process ends up leaving you as relaxed as if you'd had a full night's sleep. I've even had others hypnotize me because the process works so well," she admits.
"Relaxed as if you've had a full nights sleep but doesn't replace a full nights sleep" She points out. "But, that's what ambien is for when you really need that sleep" The younger blonde murmurs. "I'll let you use your judgment. You're the shrink" She concedes. "Most of the time, you'll be a better judge of what I need"
"Perhaps, but I won't do anything without your consent," Allison promises. At least, not unless the Company orders it. But that's another story! "And no, it doesn't replace a full night's sleep, but you'd be surprised at how much more alert you are." She smiles. "In any case though, I think this is fine for today. The receptionist will give you the prescription and help you set up your next appointment."
Up from the armchair Abigail stands, smoothing wrinkles in her pants. 'Sounds like a deal then. I didn't figured we'd spend a long time today. First meetings" There's hesitation before she offers her hand out to Allison, another thing, somewhere in her file that states she doesn't like to do that. Physical contact. "Thank you Allison. I hope this works out"
Allison smiles and treats the handshake like it's normal. Can't be making the patient feel like a freak, after all! "As do I. If you have any problems, with the medication or just things you need to talk about right now, don't hesitate to call me, alright?"
"I will" Abigail replies. "I'll just go take care of stuff now, out front and leave you to your next patient" There's a dip of her head before she turns around, heading for the door that she came in so that she can collect stuff, leave information and plan her next visit.