InsaneJournal

I'm not here looking for absolution
Who: Juliet & Nathaniel
What: Juliet attends her first psychiatric appointment with her new therapist. She isn’t aware that he’s also a neighbor.
Where: Newport Psychology Center
When: 1 pm
Warnings: None

Juliet wasn’t one for always being on the dot in her arrivals; though she was always painstakingly punctual, it was usually four or five minutes early. Finding the Center hadn’t been a difficult process, no, that had been fitting an appointment into her already busy schedule. Thankfully she wasn’t too late in fitting into the senior classes at UCLA, the books she needed hadn’t been sold out and the classes weren’t completely packed. Mostly, at least, there were a few she was missing and would potentially cause her to spend another year in her schooling, unless she could make it up with summer classes. Her job had been a little more forgiving, taking her notification of a doctor’s appointment with no fuss and wishing her well.

The bus ride over had been uneventful, for which she was glad since her hand rose often to cover her mouth and attempt to stifle her yawns. Though she had her license and certainly was practiced in driving, she favored public transportation because it gave her a few precious moments to collect herself. Driving would offer no such break, and her parents had always insisted that she be driven to wherever she needed to be, regardless; despite the fact that she was on buses amidst strangers, being nearly chauffeured from location to location had the taste of home, a little.

Her eyes took in the psychologist's office, unconsciously comparing it to the dozens she’d been in before - pale, soothing colors, a potted plant in the corner and a secretary typing away at a desk before the hallway that led to the various offices where the doctors worked. Legs crossed and neatly covered with a dark gray skirt, her starched, white collar shirt peeking through the black sweater who’s sleeves were pushed up to her elbows, she somewhat nervously fingered the bag sitting on her lap as she waited. Juliet glanced up as the secretary answered a phone call, and looked over to Juliet with a smile.

“Mr. Dewhurst will be out to collect you in just a moment, Ms. Blackwater,” she explained as she set the receiver down, and Juliet nodded with a twitch of her mouth that was meant to mimic the woman’s kind look.

Nathaniel threw open his office door just as the secretary finished talking to the rather beautiful young woman who was sitting alone in the waiting room. He had been running late that day with nearly everything. He never wanted to be a doctor who kept his patients waiting. He never wanted to be that doctor who was just too busy. But ever since he moved into the new apartment he had been kept up at night, forever thinking he saw the shadow people at the corner of his eye or before him just as he closed his eyes to sleep. He had told himself repeatedly that it was surely his minds way of dealing with the stress of the move. Typical that the stress would come out in a way that would only cause him more stress and also a lack of sleep.

Juliet Blackwater, Juliet Blackwater, Nathaniel repeated to himself with each confident step down the hall. He hoped he had her name right, he didn’t want to be one of those doctors either. “Juliet Blackwater,” He said aloud, his accent making the name smooth and even more beautiful than it already was, as he walked into the waiting room. He smiled at the dark haired woman and gave her a small nod. “I’m Nathaniel Dewhurst and I’ll be seeing you today. Do come back to my office. I apologize if I kept you waiting.”

He held out a hand, not expecting her to take it but more so to direct her down the hall, and continued to smile at her. She was beautiful and he felt she was familiar. Maybe he had seen her in the area before. It had happened once already while he was restocking his tea at the local grocery store. A patient he had been seeing since his move to California cornered him and began to tell him of his most recent hallucination in the middle of the store. So, it happened he could have seen her before through passing, and yet that wasn’t quite right.

At the mention of her name, Juliet stood, the straps of her bag curled in her hands keeping it from hitting the floor. She always felt a little nerve-wracked at each of these appointments; never did she hold anything against any of these doctors, but none of them ever found it weird to have a complete stranger come and essentially word vomit their entire life stories to them? Every once in awhile she wondered what they did, these doctors, when they were off work, if they joked with each other about the various fears and stories they heard throughout their days.

But she swept those thoughts from her mind, willing to give this man a chance. Nathaniel Dewhurst, now that sounded rather important, and it definitely fit the young man who came out of the hallway to collect her. Now if all of her doctors had looked like him, she certainly wouldn’t have complained or had second-thoughts about going to any of her sessions.

“I wasn’t waiting long, at all.” The words came out lamely, and she slid the straps of her bag up to one shoulder, hands going to smooth her skirt as she moved in the direction that he motioned. “Um, thank you for being able to see me, I know my schedule is a little weird, but school makes it hard.” His accent was like frosting on an already appealing dessert, and merely for want of hearing the sound of his voice again, she continued talking. “Are you English?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Nathaniel replied with a smile as he began to walk towards his office. “I’ve had more strange scheduling requests. Your requests are perfectly fine and it’s worth working around classes and the likes.” He pushed open his door and held it open for Juliet, a sweep of his arm for her to walk in.

It had always been implied that an office should be kept as simple as possible. The only items that one could decorate it with were to be items that couldn’t cause too much of a connection to anything. Plants. Water color paintings. Boring stuff. Granted, Nathaniel wasn’t one to break rules so he maintained that general decorative scheme, but the one wall was entirely bookshelves with little items from England and the couches and chairs were soft and welcoming.

“Take a seat where ever you would like, Ms. Blackwater,” he said calmly as he closed the door behind her. His eyes followed her, meeting her own, and he smiled kindly. “And yes, I’m from England. Born in Durham. Do you know of it?”

Taking a seat in a large, padded chair near another, Juliet stopped looking around the room curiously long enough to shake her head in answer toward Nathaniel. “I’ve never even been out of the country, sadly,” she responded, a faint smile flickering over her features. For a moment she held her purse in her lap, and then thought better of it; placing it on the floor near where she was sitting, she would be able to grab it quickly in making an exit. She was of the assumption that this meeting wouldn’t last too long - it was their first, and more than likely just an evaluation.

Her hands folded in her lap, she looked over the walls once more, finding nothing of interest until a view of the bookcase caught her attention. Her eyes were held there for a few moments, lingering over the bound volumes and ingrained lettering; she could almost feel her fingers itching to touch them, but she managed to pull her eyes away long enough to glance back to Nathaniel and offer him a small smile. “Have you ever practiced in Nevada? I feel like I’ve met you somewhere before.”

Nathaniel settled down on the couch that faced the two chairs. Leaning towards the small coffee table he had placed the seats around he gathered the file on Juliet before settling back. “One day, if you have the opportunity, you should visit England. It is a lot more dreary there than it is here, I must say, but it does have a lovely country side.”

Flipping open the file he slid out the papers he had on Juliet. Records of past experiences and a check sheet he had to go through. “I have not been to Nevada. Coming to California for this job was actually the first time I’ve come to the States and since you have not left the States...” His blue eyes flicked up to meet hers. “I feel as if I’ve met you before as well. You seem very familiar to me.”

For a spans of a few seconds Nathaniel stared at her. She was more than familiar, she seemed to be a part of him, someone that he could wrap himself around and feel every part of. There was also the weight of history between them but in all actuality their history only covered the past few moments. Blinking, he looked away and focused on the papers from her file.

His frank stare was a little unnerving and yet...she almost felt as though he’d been undressing her with his eyes, without necessarily even giving her a look over. Her mouth twisted into a frown, but evened out as she tried to bat away those thoughts. A hand slid up one arm in a nervous gesture.

“I’ve always wanted to travel...haven’t had the chance, not yet at least.” Her response was quick and abrupt, her eyes traveling back to the bookcase.

“You’re welcome to get up and look around if you’d like,” Nathaniel said clearly and flashed a smile at Juliet. “Please, make yourself comfortable. If looking at my books will help then please do. They aren’t just there for display.” He looked at the case and his smile turned into something soft. He loved to read and despite that half of the books were psychology related, the other half were all literature and plays. Her eyes snapped back to him, and a childishly happy smile appeared on her face. Without needing further encouragement, she rose to her feet and walked over to the bookcase, her fingertips lightly brushing the leather bound volumes before her.

Flipping through his papers he looked over Juliet’s information. She was younger than him by ten years and had been suffering from night terrors since she was a small child. Nathaniel felt a small tie to her just by reading that. He had seen and played with his shadow people since he was a small child. Then something caught his eye in her paperwork - her address. The apartment complex that he had just moved into. The surprise was clear on his face and even more so when he noted that her mailbox number was only two numbers shy of his own...which meant that she lived directly next to him.

“Uh...” He didn’t know if he should tell her right away. To find out by bumping into one another in the hallway would be awkward and could cause her distrust. He looked up at her and licked his lips quickly. “It appears you live in the Pax Letale apartment complex?”

Juliet nodded at first, distracted by the books and fingering a copy of Through the Looking Glass, then turned on her heel as she detected a note of worry in his tone. The volume came loose and she quickly caught it before it hit the floor, feeling awkward. She quickly replaced the book on the shelf and turned her attention back to the therapist. “Um, yes. Very recently.” Her eyes glanced away from him and back. “Is that...bad?”

Nathaniel opened his mouth then closed it slowly. This meeting was starting off disastrously. He hadn’t even had the chance to review the check list with her and get a general idea of her mindset. Now he had to admit to their living so close to one another and he didn’t know how she would take it. “It is not necessarily bad,” Nathaniel began carefully. “We may recognize one another because apparently we are neighbors.”

He looked up at Juliet and tried to keep his face carefully blank. Not entirely serious and threatening, not awkward, just simply blank yet welcoming her reaction.

She blinked, processing the information. At first she thought she’d be alone on that floor, unaware that anyone else had moved in - the perk of being alone on the floor would be that there was no one to bother when she had an episode. Now the man she was meeting with as her therapist was living not only in her apartment building, but right next door?! The realization made her frown tiredly, though another part of her mind was extremely excited about the notion. He was her therapist, which meant he would know how to handle such situations, not to mention that he was terribly attractive, and the accent just made it all the better. But they had just met, and what if she disliked his methods? What if they didn’t get along at all?

“Oh. Well. That’s...quite a coincidence.” Her arms went to wrap around her middle, and she glanced back at the bookcase before returning to her seat. Fixing a smile to her face, she tried to be reassuring, which was an odd switch in their current situation. “I suppose it would be good if we got along then, wouldn’t it?”

Nathaniel relaxed slightly and smiled. “Yes, that could be good.” He studied her for a moment then looked back at his papers, rattling them for a moment before he decided to continue this meeting in a way that most psychologists deemed risky. She seemed nervous and the coincidence that they were neighbors was certainly unexpected. “I see that you’ve suffered from night terrors since you were young. The reason I grew interested in psychology was because as a child, around the age you were when you began getting help, I was sent to a psychologist myself.”

This could blow up in his face, Nathaniel realized, some of his patients appreciated that he understood their position by experience but others seemed to assume his past issues only made him incapable of doing his job.

Juliet’s black brows rose, unsure of the direction he was taking the meeting in. Though she’d been to several different psychologists over the years, and each had their own way of doing things, never had they brought anything personal into the sessions they performed. Crossing her legs at the ankles, she folded her hands in her lap and tilted her head in interest.

“Did it help, at all?” It seemed only polite to inquire into his line of conversation. And she was curious, if she admitted it to herself - first there had been the strange recognition, and now she would feel excluded if he suddenly decided to keep details about his life from her. It struck her, how odd that was, considering that she’d only just met the man!

Nathaniel busied his hands by straightening out the little pile of paper and gave a small nod. “What I thought I saw vanished after awhile, so yes, it did help.” He didn’t include that he had begun to see the shadows again since moving. But he felt that it wasn’t necessary. He was sure that it was all caused from stress and nothing more. “What about yourself, Ms. Blackwater? Do you feel that your sessions have helped at all?”

She wrung her fingers for a moment, her silence answering his question more easily than any words. Finally she gave a shrug.

“I’ve been having these nightmares for almost twenty years. I...I pretty much go to these sessions to keep my parents happy.” She hadn’t ever expressed that sentiment to anyone; she’d never been asked such a question. But it was truthful. Nothing had really helped with the nightmares, not talking about them, nor the medication. This was just another motion that she completed to keep her parents feeling better about her condition.

“Well, Ms. Blackwater, if this was something to be cured, which it very well may be, the first thing we have to do is simply find a way for you to live with the nightmares. Obviously you’ve been doing a good job because you seem to be well adjusted and you’re attending school. It may not be so much finding a cure for the nightmares but how to live with them. I assume your parents are seeking a cure though?” He casually wrote down notes on his papers. He could understand if that was what her parents were doing because his own parents had only sought a cure. They didn’t want him to manage his issues, they wanted the problem gone, and now he was stuck wondering how to deal with the issues should they return.

“I...I’m sure they want it to go away. I’d like it to go away.” She kneaded her hands in her lap, slouching against the soft cushion of the seat. Juliet was already quite aware of what her parents wanted - and she knew they were trying to help her, but it seemed like they were just repeating the same motions over and over with the same end result. “I do live with them, I’ve done my best to. I’m not letting some...stupid issue ruin my life.” Her voice took on a thread of confidence, where before it simply sounded tired.

Nathaniel smiled, feeling a mixture of pride for her although he knew so little of this woman. “Good. That’s wonderful,” he repeated and got to his feet. “You seem to be doing a good job and that’s the hardest part. Many people, when faced with something of this nature, will at times panic and allow the issue to consume themselves. They stop living, essentially, because their problem is their life. But to push it aside and continue living, that is a sign of your strength.” He moved towards his desk, a small table sat behind it, hit by the light from his window, and picked up a teapot. He was stereotypical it seemed, he enjoyed his tea to the point of having a small tea pot forever in his office. “Would you like some tea, Ms. Blackwater?” he asked as he poured himself a cup. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled, he usually wasn’t this jovial around a patient but for some reason he couldn’t help but be happy to see this woman.

Her eyes followed him as he rose and moved to a corner of the office. At the mention of refreshment, she gave a soft nod. “Yes, thank you.” While he busied himself with the teapot and the clinking of china cups, Juliet looked back at the bookcase, missing the motion of him coming to stand next to her chair, offering her a cup of steaming tea.

She gave a small jump, but graced him with a smile as soon as she recovered. Taking the cup with both hands, the warmth emanating through the smooth material made her feel a little better about sitting in a sterile office with someone who was supposed to be a complete stranger.

“If you don’t mind me saying so, Dr. Dewhurst, but you have a very informal way of doing things,” she commented before taking a sip of the hot liquid.

Nathaniel stifled a frown and took his seat once more, clutching his cup of tea and letting out a sigh. “Well, I will give you complete honesty because I expect the same from you,” Nathaniel began. “But I remember going to these offices while I was young. I remember how utterly boring and fake the doctors seemed to be. It was when I began attending appointments with a specific doctor who seemed actually human that I relaxed and began to get better. I feel that is much more genuine than having a doctor who shows no emotions, no livelihood. However, if it makes you uncomfortable I can very easily switch to that role if you feel it will be better suited for you.”

His voice was calm, his accent crisp, but he was in no way annoyed or offended by Juliet’s comment. She very much had the right to make it and he felt she deserved his honesty.

Juliet let the sweet-tasting tea slide down her throat, but her hand immediately went up to indicate a negative response to his suggestion.

“Oh no, no no. I don’t mean that at all. I...like it.” She let herself take another sip before nestling the cup in her hands on her lap. Most certainly she didn’t want to see him slide into the cool and clinical personality of a removed doctor. Somehow she knew instantly that she would, again, feel cut off from something very important. “It’s much more comfortable,” she finished, smiling at him again.

Nathaniel grinned, “All right then, wonderful.” He sipped his tea and took in her smile, she was beautiful and her smiles seemed to brighten up her face entirely. “All right, Ms. Blackwater, I’m sure this isn’t your favorite subject but if we’re going to proceed I must know; what do your night terrors consist of? Do you recall them at all?”

She rolled her shoulders, nodding.

“I do, they’re all the same. Usually. Um, there are two - the first is simply being surrounded by water. I...can’t breathe. I literally close my eyes and I’m underwater, suffocating.” Just thinking of it right then pulled a tremor through her body. “I try to move, but something is holding me under the water. I don’t know which way is up or down.” Her eyes fixed on the cup in her lap, the tea within gently swirling with her motions. “And then everything goes black.” She had never noticed that she almost welcomed the darkness, that it felt like it was pulling her into a warm, loved embrace. Because the moment she could feel her breath leaving her body, she usually woke.

Nathaniel gave a sympathetic nod and wrote down the details of this night terror before looking back at Juliet. “Has this particular dream affected you at all elsewhere in life? My paperwork says you have hydrophobia. And what is the second night terror that you experience? Is it similar to the first?”

Helping herself to another sip of the tea, she continued answering his questions. “Um, yes. I mean, I’ve never been swimming and I don’t like being around large bodies of water. I can shower and...take baths,” moving over that explanation quickly while she slightly reddened in the face, “though I prefer a shower. Sinks and taps and things like that don’t bother me.

“The second dream is similar to the first, except I’m in snow, and I’m freezing to death. I’m walking, trying to find some place, but everything looks the same. There are trees,” she continued, furrowing her brow as she drew a mental picture. One hand slid up and down her arm in an attempt to calm or perhaps warm herself. “A forest, but nothing that I recognize. Eventually I just sit and...freeze.” She glanced over at Nate, watching his pen scribble over the paper.

He raised his eyes and looked at her, his face carefully blank as he nearly slipped into the detached doctors role. But it wasn’t that he was detached, it was that he felt extremely sorry for her. He didn’t want her to experience these things nor have this fear. He felt, very suddenly, that he wanted to protect her. He wanted to hold her and insist that all would be fine. The need to comfort her was strong enough that the emotion filled his eyes but he still controlled his face enough to remain somewhat blank. “Do you have any fear towards the snow or forests? Have you been tested for seasonal disorder?”

“No,” she responded, continuing to watch his pen before raising her eyes to his gaze. The look he was giving her was far different than his removed attitude, and it comforted her a little. “I used to live in Nevada. Just desert. I’ve never even seen snow, except inside of man made skating rinks, if you call that slush snow. These things happen all throughout the year.” Juliet raised the cup to her lips once more and drained it, continuing to hold it. She felt herself relaxing, which was odd in itself, just from what his gaze was telling her. Almost like the only part of him that was ever really seen was his eyes... For a moment, Juliet’s mind started to wander.

Nathaniel smiled in spite of himself. “No, the slush in a skating rink is not real snow. Snow can be quite lovely if it’s given in small portions. I always enjoyed when it snowed in England.” His voice was almost wistful as he made more notes. “Well, Juliet... I apologize, I mean, Ms. Blackwater, I feel that we should continue making your waking hours as normal as possible for you. If you have one portion of your life completely under your control it may help to control the night terrors. We could look towards fixing your waking fears and then, if you are not fearful of these problems during the day, it might be easier to convince yourself while you sleep that you should not be afraid of them. The terrors might ease up.” He gazed at her, a comforting smile still on his face as he lifted his cup of tea to his lips.

She snapped back to attention at the sound of her name, her mouth curving sleepily. Listening to his words, she nodded softly, falling back into the old patterns of just following whatever direction she was given.

“By all means, you can call me Juliet. It fits with your practice,” she responded, smiling wryly. “What do you suggest I should do?”

“Well then, Juliet, you can call me Nathaniel if you’re comfortable with it,” he replied with a smile. Turning back to his paperwork he looked it over with a small lick of his lips. “We’ll focus on your phobias. Since you haven’t much experience with snow and aren’t quite sure if you have necessarily a fear of it, that can be pushed aside for now, but your fear of water we can strive towards surpassing. We can take steps, move from small bodies of water and conquer each one. It will be a lot of hard work but you seem strong and completely capable of overcoming this.” He smiled at her, completely believing what he said, and he wanted to help her more than any previous patient he had. He felt he needed to help her and protect her and he was certainly going to try any way possible.

The smile on her face faded a little at the thought of attempting to overcome her problems with water. She was perfectly content to let it remain in its various lakes and oceans, while she stayed far, far away. Her fingers picked at her skirt.

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea,” she replied, her voice wavering anxiously.

“I wouldn’t let you get hurt, Juliet,” Nathaniel cooed, not realizing how gentle his voice had become. “We would work through this together and take baby steps. It wouldn’t be rushed. I know it’s a frightening idea but do believe me when I say that I want to help you.”

Some aspect of his voice, whether it was his words, the tone, or the overall combination thereof was much more relaxing than it should have been. Still it didn’t quite wipe the distressed look from her face. Forcing her hands to stop picking at her skirt, she smoothed it, taking in a deep breath as her eyes slid closed for a moment. Upon opening them, she looked Nathaniel straight in the eye with a much more determined stare than before.

“Are you sure? That doesn’t seem like an extreme sort of treatment?” If she could find a way out of this predicament, she would.

“No, it’s not. Considering that your fear is stemmed from your night terrors, this is all pertaining to it and should go hand in hand. None the less, there are those who seek out help for much smaller phobias that feel they have no basis. At least we know where your fear has come from right away and we can therefore focus on how to cure it.” He leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees and looking directly at Juliet, his eyes not moving away for even the briefest moment. “We would take it very slowly. I wouldn’t push you further than you need to be pushed and you would be in no danger.”

Her mouth pouted for a moment before straightening.

“No one’s suggested this as a form of treatment. They always focused on the nightmares themselves. I’ve never had a drowning experience, or anything that would cause these phobias, except for the nightmares. And it really hasn’t ever affected my regular daily activities, so I don’t see how this will help,” she continued, though now she was quite aware that she was pulling at straws.

“It’s something small, I know, but if you conquer this fear as I said it may help for you to conquer your night terrors. Having control over one thing related to the terrors may make it easier. Looking at your history it appears that you have been poked and prodded for most of your life. Your past doctors have tried nearly everything with very little results but this. Wouldn’t you like to give something else a try?” Nathaniel made a little movement as if he was going to go to Juliet. He wanted to, surely, to take her hand and squeeze it reassuringly or kiss her pouting lips. That realization, that he wanted her in such a way, made Nathaniel come to his senses and he sat up straight on the couch.

Her hands fumbled against one another for a moment, and she finally gave a defeated sigh. “All right. If you think it will help - I honestly don’t know what else can be done at this point, aside from whatever new medications are hitting the market.” One hand rose to to rub at her eyes. It was slowly feeling like a very nice idea to just lay down. She’d had half a nap - a quarter of an hour, really - before coming to this appointment, just so she didn’t suddenly fall asleep on the bus. “Would you start with something like the apartment complex’s pool?”

Nathaniel smiled, relieved that she was willing to attempt his idea. He didn’t want her to be so fearful and unfortunately he felt there was no other way to deal with this. The suggestion of the pool was a good one but he kept the near devilish smile at bay. “We could have an out of office meeting, yes. If you feel comfortable and settled at the apartment complex it may help you to relax as we try to get you comfortable with water. We could work at the pool there, just the shallow end, we’ll keep you far from the deep end.”

“I certainly hope so, my parents aren’t paying for me to be drowned,” she muttered, mostly to herself. She hoped that Nathaniel hadn’t overheard that particular little comment, and so she fixed a quick but small smile to her features. “I have a few more things to unpack, but I’m sure I can make my schedule work for something so important. I’ll...have to buy a swim suit, too,” she added, trying to make light of the situation and failing when her attempted mask fell to pieces.

“Wear whatever is comfortable to you,” Nathaniel replied as he settled into his seat. “But yes, a bathing suit may help. We can arrange for a meeting this weekend if you would like? I am here through most of the week but in the evenings and during the weekend I am free. Saturday would be good for me unless you have another day to suggest.” With a sigh he got to his feet, smiling at Juliet for a moment before he passed by the book shelves and went to his desk. “In fact, if you ever need anything, please stop by.

“As I said, my apartment is next to yours. But I mean everything by this, if you need anything, it doesn’t have to be related to what we discuss in here. Just come and knock on my door.” His stare at Juliet was serious yet as trusting as he could manage to appear. He was insistent in helping Juliet in any way possible. He was taken by her, even if she was a patient, and he still could not shake the feeling that he knew her.

She nodded, breathing in another deep sigh as she reached down to collect her purse. Rising as well, she walked forward to place the empty teacup on his desk, closing the space between them. It might have been dramatic and cheesy to say that there was a magnetic pull between them. Looking up from the desk, she met his eyes and couldn’t help but smile.

“Thank you - that’s a very generous offer coming from someone I’ve only just met.” But of course it didn’t feel like that at all. She was continuously wracking her mind to find out the source of that feeling, what it was that made him seem so familiar. Then she was looking away, stepping back from the desk as her heels made puncture marks in the carpet. Sliding the straps of her bag up to her shoulder, she glanced at the bookcase and the door, and then back to Nathaniel. “I think this was a good session. Um, I’ll call your secretary about the next appointment?”

Nathaniel let out a breath he had not realized he was holding in. He wanted to reach out and brush at her hair, that need to hold her and bring her to him. Swallowing he shifted on his feet and gave a nod. “You can call my secretary or stop by my apartment. Whatever is easier for you. We’ll start with the pool and do a follow up during the week. And I meant that, if you need anything, please stop by.” He grinned at her and took a step forward, brushing against her ever so lightly as he passed her on the way to the door. Pulling it open he presented the empty hall to her just as he had presented the room when they first entered. “It was lovely meeting you, Juliet.”

She felt a shiver pass through her from the simple touch, but she batted it away - it was incredibly bad form simply because he was her doctor. Following him to the office door, she paused in the frame as though to give in to the desire to not leave. Something about his very presence was just...comforting, in itself.

“It was nice to meet you as well, Nathaniel. Until next time.” For a moment she lingered perhaps a touch too long, and then gave an embarrassed smile. Juliet turned and walked away slowly down the hall toward the secretary’s desk, pausing for a few moments to fill out another piece of paperwork. Then, making sure she had all of the necessary contact information (though that was silly, they lived right next door to each other!), she made her way out of the front door of the Center and toward the bus stop for hopefully an uneventful ride home.