for sale (nienor) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2012-04-06 22:45:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, frodo baggins, nienor niniel |
Who: Frodo Baggins & Nienor
What: Frodo thinks a doctor ought to have a look at his brain, because it seems to be acting up again.
Where: Nienor’s Office
When: Early Wednesday Morning
Rating: PG
Status: Complete
Frodo was standing outside the front door by 8:00, wrapped in an expensive-looking trench coat because it was unusually cool, waiting for the lobby doors to unlock. When they did, he called the first elevator and accidentally mashed more than the necessary number of buttons, forcing him to wait out several false stops before reaching the correct floor. The corridor was still dim. Frodo knew he was early. He walked to the office door and peeked inside the little window. Then he knocked. He hadn’t seen a soul inside, but that didn’t necessarily mean no one was around.
Pressing his back against the wall, Frodo looked up at the ceiling. Then he closed his eyes with a sigh. One hand slipped into his coat pocket and wrapped around a folded piece of paper.
Nienor was at the office early as usual. She was one of those annoyingly early risers and she hated her home life so she usually spent as much time as possible at the office. She loved her job. Frodo was on her mind that morning. She hadn’t heard him that unsettled since he first started coming to see her. She always tried to make time for him, even if it was outside of office hours, like today.
She heard the knock on the door and made her way through the lobby to unlock the door for Frodo. “Frodo,” she said, sounding surprised. “You’re early. Come in. You look cold. Would you like a cup of tea? Coffee?” Although Nienor wasn’t sure if caffeine was really what Frodo needed at the moment.
“No,” he said, and then amended it almost immediately. “Actually, yes. Tea would be a good idea, I think.” He was nervous, but he’d gone without tea for too long and he had a terrible headache. He followed her around like a puppy as she prepared it.
“Come on back,” Nienor said as she made her way into the office break room. She had already been working on a pot of tea for herself. She was also a tea drinker as it were. She made them two cups, handed one to Frodo and then headed back to her office.
“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” Nienor said as soon as they both got comfortable. There was obviously concern on her face.
He at least, watched her get comfortable. Frodo chose to remain standing. He was too keyed up. He even still had his coat on. “Well, to start...” But Frodo wasn’t sure how to start. “Things were going so well. And--” He sighed. Best to be out with it. “I think I had a hallucination yesterday.”
Nienor didn’t let the surprise she felt inside cross her facial features. It was never good to let a patient know that she was concerned. Frodo hadn’t shown signs of hallucinations before. This was a new symptom that had Nienor wondering if she had treated Frodo for the wrong thing since the beginning.
“Was it a vivid hallucination? Can you tell me what happened in it?” she asked calmly.
“Well, I was in the bath,” he began. I knew it might have been an embarrassing start, but he figured he ought to give every detail. “But suddenly I wasn’t in my bathroom anymore. I was in this room with three copper baths and I wasn’t alone. There were other men in the tubs.” He paused, wishing he could leave certain details out. “One of them made this huge splash and-- That’s all I remember of it. I thought maybe I had dozed off for a few moments, but it was so real. I was convinced I was there. And I think I believed I knew these men, but I’d never seen them before in my life.”
Frodo pulled at his hair. “I mean, I’ve seen A Beautiful Mind. I know what happens to me next!”
“Okay, Frodo,” Nienor started, getting up from her chair and closing the space between them. She took Frodo’s hands in her own so he wouldn’t pull at his hair anymore. It was obvious this dream or hallucination had taken it’s toll on her patient.
“First you need to calm down. Nothing like what happened in A Beautiful Mind is going to happen to you, okay? I’m not going to let it. The medical field has learned so much since that man’s time. I’m going to schedule an MRI for you. I want a picture of what’s going on inside that head of yours. It’s been awhile since we’ve done that so maybe something might come up. We’ll beat this, Frodo.”
Frodo stared at her, nodding and momentarily stupefied. He gripped her hand and tried to catch his breath. Given the choice between insanity and brain tumor, he wasn’t sure which was worse. And he had no intention of letting go of her hand until she forced him. So seldom was this sort of contact, its effect was strange and strong. Maybe her heavily pregnant state intensified it, made it maternal--although he could not remember his own mother’s touch.
But how could he look into the eyes of so beautiful a woman and not answer the call to be brave?
Nienor didn’t believe that Frodo was insane. She never had. Maybe because that meant she had never done anything to help him and probably couldn’t help anyway. She wanted to, she really did. Frodo had been one of the first people to place their trust in her when she was straight out of college. She owed it to him to make him better. She owed it to herself. So, they would start with an MRI because maybe that would make sense of things.
“I’ll make the appointment for today. I can call my friend down at the hospital and get you squeezed in, okay? I’ll call you as soon as I hear back. In the meantime you should rest and try not to worry about it.” She knew she was asking a lot. If she were in Frodo’s situation she would probably do nothing but worry.
“But are hallucinations common?” he dared to ask. “With neurologic problems? I mean, what are the chances I’m--” He was finding it difficult to finish. “I’m looking at surgery?”
“They can be common, yes. The brain is a very delicate thing. I won’t know if we’re looking at surgery until I take a look inside of there,” Nienor indicated to Frodo’s head with a smile. If Frodo couldn’t give her a smile she could give it for him.
“If your past results are any indication we’re not looking at surgery,” she admitted. “But let’s not get a head of ourselves. That never helps anyone.”
It was something like a bit of hope she was offering. Frodo took it eagerly. He released a long sigh. “That’s not all,” he said. “There’s this... too...”
He let go of her hands, only to reach back into his pocket. He pulled out that aforementioned crumpled piece of paper. He handed it to her. “I also saw this...”
It was a sketch, done in his own hand. A dark, hooded figure. Faceless. The drawing was actually quite accurate, too. Not a useless scribble, though it would have been impossible to fully convey the terror the image aroused in him.
Nienor took the piece of paper from Frodo and took a look at it. She tried hard not to react poorly, but she couldn’t keep from raising her eyebrows. She was concerned. There was very little Nienor could do with a picture though. Something like that was better suited for a therapist or psychiatrist.
She folded it back up and handed it to Frodo. “It’s good you drew that. If anything like this happens again write down everything you see, drawing it is even better. Keep track, okay?” she told him.
Frodo nodded. “And the MRI? Today?”
“I’ll make the call right now,” Nienor replied, moving away from Frodo and back to her desk. She picked up her phone and went to work.