To women stare at each other, the doctor and the criminally insane patient, neither of them is willing to speak until the other does, in case they let something slip, but this is a session and the silence must be broken. The doctor is the one to do that.
"You're doing better, Maureen. It's been a year since you've been put in solitary confinement" she says.
Maureen simply nods, and doesn't say a word.
"Maureen, these sessions are for your own good, I need you to talk to me. I want to help you" the doctor says, and it sounds so sincere when she says that last statement.
So sincere, that Maureen decides to speak to her doctor. She doesn't want to say something vicious, but vicious is the only way she knows how to act.
"You mean you want to get paid" she growls.
"No, Maureen. I really want to help. I care about you" the doctor says.
There, right there. I care about you. The four words Maureen has never heard in her life, the statement sounds so true coming from the doctor, and more honest than anything Maureen has heard in her entire life. Suddenly the shell cracks open, and what's left is Maureen's vulnerable side. And with no blockade to stop them, tears flow freely down her cheeks. Soon her soft crying turns into all out sobbing.
The doctor is taken aback; she has never seen Maureen like this before. She has never imagined Maureen like this before. She does what her instincts tell her to; she gets up from her chair, and walks over to the side of the table where Maureen is and she pulls her patient into a comforting hug.
Maureen gasps at the feeling of the doctor's warm body. This is the first time she's ever been hugged in her life; she lays her head down on the doctor's shoulder, still crying.
The doctor runs her finger through Maureen's soft hair, and realizes she's feeling something for Maureen she's never felt for any of her patients. She thinks she might love her, she knows she shouldn't, but doesn't care. She just holds Maureen, letting her cry the tears that she would never let fall.
"Maureen" she whispers into her ear. "The sessions over"
Maureen lifts her head, and stares deep into the doctor's eyes. She doesn't want to leave the comfort and safety of the doctor's arms, but she must.
"Thank you, Dr. Jefferson" says Maureen. Before she leaves, she places a soft kiss on the doctor's lips.
She touches her lips, and looks at Maureen with wide eyes.
"You're welcome, Maureen and you can call me Joanne"