"Miss Mills?" Regina looks up when her name is called. A woman offers her hand. "My name is Dr. Anderson, but feel free to call me Jennifer." Regina nodds, ignoring the extended hand. She looks back down, back into the book she was reading. "Can we talk for a bit?" Jennifer Anderson isn't surprised when the woman in front of her doesn't acknowledge the fact of her being there. Deidre, one of the nurses who works in her team, has informed her of Regina Mills. She's a quiet woman who keeps to herself all the time. She's either sitting underneath the apple tree in the garden of the facility or in her room reading a book. It's in her room where Dr. Anderson introduces herself.
"Regina?" she tries again. This elicits a reaction; Regina slams her book shut and looks up again. "I prefer Miss Mills." Dr. Anderson nodds. "Alright. Miss Mills it is." she smiles. "Can we talk for a bit?" She repeats her question from before. "There is nothing to talk about so you can spare yourself the effort and let yourself out." Regina wants to open her book again to continue reading but Dr. Anderson prevents her from doing that by putting down her hand on the book. "Please?"
Regina's eyes narrow for just a split second before she sighs and puts away her book. "Thank you." Dr. Anderson smiles. "Is it alright if I sit down next to you?" She points at the bed Regina is sitting on. A sharp breath escapes the woman's throat. The doctor smiles assuringly before sitting down on the chair next to Regina's bed. "I can imagine you like it better if I sit here. After all I'm still a stranger. That's why I'm here today. I would like to get to know you better and I would like for you to get to know me better. We will be spending a lot of time together, so...". Regina cuts her off." I'm not interested." Dr. Anderson smiles again. "I thought you'd say that." "Then why are you here? Why even bother?" Regina counteracts again. The doctor isn't thrown off balance that quickly. "Because you might think you're not worth the trouble, but I don't agree with that."
Regina sighs again. Clearly this woman isn't going away that easily. "You can't force me to talk." She looks at the woman with fire in her eyes. "I know I can't. It's not my place to tell you what to do. I believe people are experts of their own life. You know why you are here and you know what's best for you." Regina's eyes narrow again. "But?" she asks. Dr. Anderson continues. "But somewhere along the way you lost track of what's best for you. I'm here to help you with that. I can't force you to talk. I can only tell you I'm here to listen to you if you decide you do want to talk to someone."
"There is nothing to talk about." Regina repeats. The doctor smiles again. "Maybe not. But maybe there is. Only you can decide if you want to accept the help we are offering you." She gets up from the chair. "I will be here all evening. My door is open for you, Miss Mills."
When Dr. Anderson opens the door to leave Regina's bedroom, a question escapes the woman's lips. "When can I see my son?"