Deep and Darkened
The Documentor
Summary: When sixteen-year-old Katherine Elliot comes to the clinic alone, Cameron admits her with clinical depression. If only she'd known what lied behind the name…
A/N: No pairings for the time being. It's thrown into AU only slightly with something revealed later into the story. Chapters will generally be longer than this. Thanks )
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PROLOGUE--------
Dr. Allison Cameron was tired.
Not only tired, but hell bent on going home. And it was only 2:30.
She picked up another file at the clinic, where she'd spent her whole day forking out "it's not pneumonia" and random, probably useless drugs. When she read the file, she prepared herself for another anaemia candidate with her mother spelling out what she'd read on the Internet with her self-diagnosis. She looked inside the blinds and didn't see a young, relatively happy tween with her overprotective mother fussing around her.
No. She saw depression.
The girl sitting limply on the bed in Exam Room Two had her head hanging low, her long dark hair falling over her shoulders. She emanated a ray of darkness and it made Cameron shiver as she entered the room. As soon as the door scratched open, a pair of blue eyes fixed on her own blue-green eyes and even though she didn't feel it was exactly appropriate, she gave a tiny smile.
"Katherine Elliot?" She asked timidly and the girl nodded slowly.
"You can call me Kate."
"Kate," Cameron said as she walked in front of her, "you're sixteen. Did you want your mom-"
"I live with my dad," she said bluntly, the full force of her stare on Cameron, "and I chose to come alone. I don't want my dad to feel like it's his fault."
"Okay. Can you tell about your symptoms, Kate?" She grabbed the pen from her pocket and began ready to write down things the nurses had missed.
"I'm pretty sure I know what I have."
"Oh?" Cameron made the mistake of looking up at Kate and she nodded, letting her guard down.
"I've read a few books, a while ago, on depression. I know you probably get a million self-diagnoses every day but I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I'm really tired, even though I'll sleep half the day. I feel slack and weary all the time and I'm a complete bitch to my dad, even when he's trying to be nice to me and I can see it. I'm not eating right because I'm just not hungry and I'm sore all over and…" She stopped and looked down at her black Chuck Taylor's. Cameron looked up from her writing and saw it written on her face. She had admitted most, but not all of her problem. She wanted to finish the sentence for her, but she didn't feel it right to take an essential step in the process for this young girl, willing to get help.
"I've wanted to kill myself." She whispered and Cameron understood. In the quietest voice she could muster, she continued.
"Have you told anyone else about it?" Kate shook her head and folded her fingers together.
"I've had no one to talk to about it. That's why I came." Kate looked up and it was evident in her eyes that she wanted away from the world and Cameron couldn't help but give her salvation.
"What about your friends?"
"My boyfriend, he…he moved away." Kate looked away whilst she said it and Cameron noted it in the chart, just in case. "My best friend has been very busy with school. And I haven't really got any other friends. My dad's always working."
"What about siblings?"
"Only one," she smiled in spite of herself and Cameron nodded.
"Is there anything that has happened in your life that you can think would be attributed to this?"
"My…boyfriend, moving away. That hurt. I…I can't think of anything else."
"What about your…" Cameron felt scared to ask, but needed to know the truth. "Parents?"
"My parents divorced about five years ago and I moved here with my dad just before junior high. I don't see my mom anymore."
"Okay, Kate," Cameron gave a small smile, signing a small slip inside the file for admission, "I'm going to admit you for a couple of small blood tests as well as a counsellor coming to see you. I'll keep you for observation and I think you need at least a night away from it all."
"Thank you." Kate looked relieved and Cameron nodded.
"We will need to call your dad."
"I know." She whispered. "Just tell him it's…mono or something."
"He's your dad," Cameron looked at her sympathetically, "he'll need to know what's really wrong with you. And you know that it's not his fault and so do you."
"Can…" She looked away before looking down at her shoes again. "Can I stay here just for the night and call him to say that I'm staying at a friend's house so he won't get worried? If I need to stay longer…he'll be okay."
"I…" Cameron didn't know what to say. "I suppose we can do that."
"Thanks." She said and Cameron ripped off the slip, standing and putting her hand on the doorknob, waiting for something to be said. When the room was silent, Cameron opened her mouth to speak.
"A nurse will be here soon to get you sorted out."