The case was an unusual one.
Weeks earlier, a woman... timid, hurting and deeply afraid had wandered into his office, much to his annoyance. Usually he insisted on prospective patients making an appointment.
He said as much to Mrs. Woodson, but when he noticed how distraught this woman seemed, his heart immediately softened. After all, he'd become a psychiatrist to help people in need and clearly this woman fit that requirement in ten-fold.
Their initial sessions consisted of nothing but tears and deep sadness that seemed to have no end. He tried endlessly to talk things out but each time it resulted in a flood of tears.
And every hour he spent trying to cure her depression only proved to drive her further into despair.
He was at his wits end, but he wouldn't give up. His patient load had dwindled recently and although he should have been happy with the extra free time, he found himself in a state of distress.
For without a full patient load, he feared that he wouldn't be able to provide for his family. True, it was a bit irrational but it was a fear nonetheless.
So when this fragile woman entered his office, he didn't hesitate to take her in.
But after only a few sessions, Niles began to wonder if it had been worth it. Each night he came home tired and depressed; most likely as a result of sessions that seemed to be going nowhere.
Earlier that evening, after one particularly difficult session that had gone horribly wrong, he'd been so upset that Mrs. Woodson found him at his desk in tears. It took several minutes of coaxing but against his wishes, she insisted that he go home.
However, as he drove through the now darkened Seattle streets on this dreary winter night, he was unable to stop thinking about this woman.
Not in the romantic sense of course, but he found himself worried about her state of mind.
Given her history of mental health issues, there was no telling what she'd do to herself or to someone else. And he simply couldn't live with himself if he knew he could have prevented a disastrous situation.
And so, forgetting all about his commitment to his code of ethics, he'd turned off the freeway and used his state of the art navigation system to find the house on Spruce Street.
He drove past several houses that were clearly those of affluent homeowners, and some that weren't so impressive. It seemed strange to find such a diverse group of homes in a prominent Seattle neighborhood.
After what seemed like forever, he pulled up in front of the darkened house and turned off the ignition of his BMW.
Feeling confident, he strolled to the front door and rang the doorbell, giving no thought to what he was doing.
As he suspected, it took several minutes before the door was actually answered. But when he saw the stunned look on his patient's face, he knew he'd made a terrible mistake...
