Bright and early Monday morning, I got up, made my shower coffee, and gave Loki a kiss goodbye. I couldn't believe I was doing this, but between the Kilgrave flashbacks and the general stress of the job, maybe this was a good idea. If it's on company dime, there can't be much harm in going once, right? I'll be fine. I sat in the guy's office, playing with my phone, waiting for him to make an appearance.

"Good morning," a good looking, English man walked in, extending his hand to me, "I'm Dr. Donald Blake."

"You're my guy," I assumed.

"I am, indeed, your guy," he sat down. Dr. Donald Blake…Why did that sound familiar? And his bone structure looked kind of familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind and it was driving me nuts. Shocker. I'm in a shrink's office for five minutes and I'm already catching the crazy, "Now, tell me about your last mission."

"Excuse me?" I choked on my water, "My last mission?"

"You can tell me," he assured, "You're not my first SHIELD agent I've spoken to. If I could put psychiatrist to the Avengers without Director Fury paying me a visit, I would."

I bit my tongue to keep my eyes in my head. This guy really was THE GUY. And if he was good enough for the others, I guess he'd be good enough for me. I held myself together, "Standard mission. Used my good looks to catch a terrible man. I was with him for about a month. Nothing too exciting."

"From what I understand," Dr. Blake assumed, "There were some exciting parts. If there weren't, why else would Fury have sent you to me?"

"You want exciting?" I scoffed, "Try meeting a man that you know is going to be a dick, but having to stick with him anyway. Not only that, but knowing he has superpowers that are supposed to control you, but they can't because you have a protective hold on you. But said dick can't know that, so you have to do everything and anything he says regardless."

"See?" he patted my shoulder, "It feels good to share, doesn't it?"

"No!" I went on, "My first night with Kilgrave, he tore a good white dress up and ruined bondage for me! I used to love being down to the bed, but now, I don't think I'd be able to stomach it! And almost every night after that, it was a constant stream of kinky sex for the next two weeks. All I wanted was to be able to sleep, but I couldn't. I wasn't allowed to sleep! And starving! Oh my God...This may sound stupid, but I never had such a craving for a cheeseburger in all my life. If I never eat Chinese food again, I'd be perfectly ok with that."

I felt tears running down my face. What was this? I was a stone wall. It was one of the main reasons I got chosen for the Kilgrave assignment. I had one hell of a poker face. Paired with the innocent baby face. He never would've suspected me. But here I was. Having a full on breakdown in Dr. Blake's office.

"This is very good," he wiped my cheek, "Go on."

I could barely speak above a whisper, "I've been dying inside for so long…"

"How long?"

"A few weeks," I figured, "It feels like an eternity."

"Let me ask you something," Dr. Blake put his notebook down, "Are you currently in a relationship?"

"Yes."

"And how's that going?"

"It's wonderful," I started to settle down at the mere thought of Loki. But my smile didn't last long, "Minus one little hiccup."

"Oh?"

"Oh," I nodded, "He…He wore a wire on me."

"Like a recording device?" the doctor asked.

"I thought we were past the point in our relationship where Fury wouldn't try using us against each other," I sighed, "But the worst part? It was Loki's idea. And that killed me worse than the actual act of it."

"Have you discussed it with him?"

"Not really," I shrugged, "I thought I could forgive and forget this kind of thing, but I guess not. This was two weeks ago and it's still bothering me. Then again, I hide practically everything from everyone."

"Maybe you should learn to open up to people," Dr. Blake suggested, "Starting with Loki. You have all these wonderful people in your life that I'm almost positive they'd be more than happy to help you if you're struggling."

"Easier said than done," I grumbled, "Considering the people closest to me are all screwed up in one way or another, too. They have too much on their plates. They don't need to add my problems on top of it."

"Like what?" he wondered.

"Well," I thought it over, "Just the other night, I had to help one of them with some serious PTSD induced insomnia. And I always do. Anytime that poor little angel is having problems sleeping, he always comes to me. Everyone comes to me. For everything."

"Maybe the weight of everyone else's problems is blocking you from seeing your own," he figured, "Or distracting you from your own, so you don't have to face them."

"I'd rather take care of them first."

"And there's your problem," Dr. Blake chimed, "You're so busy taking care of everyone else that you don't have time to take care of yourself. And you do need to do that from time to time. It's great that you've done so well, helping others. For a little while, why don't you only think of you? Take care of you for a change?"

"I don't know…"

"I think we've done enough," he stood, collecting his notes.

"Really?" I wondered, "That's it?"

"It was just a simple evaluation," Dr. Blake said, "Nothing too exciting."

"Do I need to come back?" I asked, having a feeling the answer was going to be yes. Obviously, I'm a little screwed up. And this guy struck me as the type that was going to milk SHIELD for every dime, so I might as well get something out of it.

"Do you think you need to come back…?"

That took me by surprise. But my own answer shocked me a little more, "I might…"

"I'm just a phone call away," he assured, "If life gets to be too much for you to handle, give me a call."

"What do you recommend I do while I'm not here?" I asked. Twenty bucks says he starts pill pushing.

"Go out," the doctor suggested, "Have a drink. Get a decent night's sleep. Start over in the morning. And I suggest staying away from that Kilgrave fellow."

"Thank you," I bowed out and headed home. That went better than I expected. I could've lived without the waterworks happening, but all in all, not a half bad experience. I didn't understand why I had been putting it off for so long. I know. Because I didn't want him to make me a drugged up zombie. And he didn't. But still. Dr. Donald Blake. Something about that name. I had heard it before or seen it before somewhere. I just couldn't figure out where.

Probably just overthinking. I popped a couple of aspirin and laid down for a while. The session with the good doctor was oddly draining. A nap, maybe? A nap would help. I shut my eyes for a moment or two and felt my entire body shut down in the best way. It brought me back to Antoine in the Virgin Islands. I missed him. He did as much good as what Dr. Blake did. And we didn't even have to talk much.

An arm snaked underneath me and around my top half. The sweet smell of cinnamon put a permanent smile on my face and I knew exactly who was cuddling me, "Hi, honey."

"Hello, darling," Loki kissed my cheek, "Where were you this morning?"

"I had a doctor appointment," I rolled into his embrace, "Did you not get that memo?"

"I guess not," he nuzzled his face into my neck, "Could I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, baby," I allowed, "What's up?"

"Would you care to go out with me this evening?" he asked.

"I'd love to," I nodded, "The doctor actually told me to go get a drink."

"Strange," Loki giggled, "Never heard of a doctor prescribing alcohol."

"Hey," I looked up at him, "Ever hear of a Dr. Donald Blake?"

"No," he thought it over, "I don't think so. Why?"

"He's my doctor," I told, "And I feel like I've heard the name before. Like I know him, but I don't know how I know him."

"No need to dwell on it," he brushed it off, "Now, I'm going to let you go back to your napping."

"Don't go," I begged, holding Loki down, "Please."

"Alright," he stayed, "I won't go anywhere."

"I need something to cuddle with," I spoke softly, "And pillows don't cut it like you do."

"That's because," Loki zapped his shirt off and pulled me against his chest, "your pillows will get too warm and you won't be able to sleep."

"The perk of sleeping with a frost giant," I smiled, resting my hand on his cool, pale stomach.

"I'm glad you see my curse as your blessing," he pushed the hair out of my eyes, "At least some good can come from it."

"Hey," I stopped him, "Maybe you should come with me next time I see my guy. I'm sure he'd have a field day, playing in your head."

"SHIELD already tried that, sweetheart," Loki chuckled at the notion, "Wasn't a pretty sight. Not going to happen."

"Hold on," I sat up in bed, "SHIELD made you go through psych evaluations? The God of Lies and Mischief was forced to share his feelings with a doctor?"

"The tapes are lying around somewhere," he assumed, "My thoughts are my own business. Those tapes are practically fabricated from the word go. Once they realized I wasn't taking them too seriously, they just gave up. Fury thought it'd be simpler to get me a handler instead."

"And the rest is history…"

"Precisely," Loki gave me a little kiss, "I love you."

"I love you, too, baby," I cuddled, "Who knows what they would've done if you would've been honest with them?"

"Padded room. Guarantee it."

"I know the feeling," I let out a heavy sigh, "My doctor was barely scratching the surface. I thought I had a decent handle on things until he started pushing. And the more he pushed, the more that came out."

"How much leaked out?" Loki worried.

"The only thing that leaked was my eyes for a minute," I chuckled, "He dug in the Kilgrave files in my brain and it got dark for a while. I tried playing it off like everything was fine."

"It's not," Loki couldn't look at me, "I've seen it firsthand that things aren't good with you. I know it's going to be hard for you, my dearest, but I really want you to open up to this doctor."

"I feel like I can," I admitted, "For some reason, he reminds me of you."

"You better not be running off with the doctor, darling," he held me closer, kissing down my neck, "Remember who you come home to at the end of the day."

"Like I could ever forget," I nuzzled into his shoulder, "I couldn't get rid of you if I wanted to."

"No matter what I do?" a little smirk graced Loki's face.

"No matter what you do."

"Even if I were to attempt what I did in New York again?" he tested me, "Of my own volition?"

"Loki," I scolded, "You know better."

"Merely playing up the silver tongue," he promised, "I wouldn't try to take over Earth again. I promise."

"Pinky promise?"

"I will never understand the concept of pinky promises," Loki rolled his eyes, giving me his pinky, "But yes. I pinky promise."

"Actually," I explained, "The origin of the pinky promise? When someone didn't keep their promise, the other person had every and all legal right to cut off and steal that person's pinky."

"A bit morbid, don't you think?"

"That probably hasn't been done in years," I assured, getting out of bed, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date tonight and I need to go get ready."

"But you're beautiful just the way you are," Loki sang after me.

"I know," I smirked, "But I need to make myself better."

"Alright," he let me go, "Go on."

I threw myself in our closet and dug around for something to wear tonight. Knowing Loki, we weren't going somewhere simple. Loki never did simple. So, I wouldn't do simple. I took out a short red dress and some gold coordinates and headed into the bathroom. This was needed. This was sorely needed. A night out with Loki. Just what the doctor ordered.

A/N: So. The guy. Dr. Donald Blake. Where have we heard that before…? Well, kids. I have an unfortunate announcement. And this goes for all my current works in progress. I'm taking hiatus…I'm sick, I'm miserable, and I need to do me for a while. I don't know when I'll be back. I could be back next week. I could be back next month. I don't know. My health likes to play tricks on me. I'm not leaving you. I promise. But this whole being sick thing as seriously thrown me off. When I'm not sick, I'll write little pieces of chapters throughout the week and hammer the rest out on update day. I've been writing some long, meaty chapters in one day and it's gotten exhausting. So, I'm going to do me for a while and hopefully, I'll be back soon. Please don't leave me. I love you. And I'll see you next chapter. xx