Long Live BRUCAS- Dun dun duuuunnnnnnn
This chapter ended up being a lot longer than planned because it's all dialogue. You have been warned lol.
On with the show!
Sam slouched in his seat and kicked his feet while Dean counted the square tiles on the ceiling. Mary brought them after school to their first therapy appointments.
"Do we have to do this?" Dean asked.
"You don't have to," Mary answered. "I just thought it would be helpful."
"What do we talk about?" Sam asked.
"Whatever you want."
The door opened and a man walked into the waiting area.
"Hey Sam," he said, walking over to him and bending down next to his chair. "My name is Dr. Lloyd and I'm going to be the one talking to you today. Would you like to come on back with me?"
Sam looked up at Mary.
"Go on baby. It's okay. I'll wait right here."
Sam slowly got up and followed Dr. Lloyd back through the door. They were replaced by a woman stepping out.
"Dean?" she called.
"Can you at least try?" Mary whispered to Dean. "For me?"
Dean sighed and walked over to the woman waiting in the doorway.
"Hi! I'm Dr. Molly. Shall we go back?"
Mary watched as the two of them also went behind the door. She took a deep breath and rubbed her hands on her knees.
"Your boys are so handsome," the medical assistant behind the check-in counter said.
"Thank you," Mary answered.
"Is this their first appointment?" she asked, picking up on Mary's nervous energy.
"Yeah, it is."
"Don't worry. All our doctors are really good. There's a coffee cart down the hall where most of our parents prefer to wait. The waiting room makes them uncomfortable."
Mary laughed. "I'll make sure to remember that."
Dr. Lloyd led Sam down the hallway to a door that was sitting ajar. He pushed it more open for Sam to step inside. Sam was immediately taken aback by the pile of toys in the corner.
"Why do you have toys?" he asked.
"Well Sam, I work with kids all day. Sometimes when we talk, we'll play with the toys. You're welcome to help yourself if it makes you more comfortable."
Sam looked over at the pile of toys. They all looked like baby toys and none of them looked appealing to them.
"No thank you," Sam said, still anxiously standing in the corner next to the now-closed door.
"I also have crayons," Dr. Lloyd suggested, playing into Sam's anxiety. "Or we can work on a puzzle."
Sam looked over to the puzzle sitting on the kiddie table. It looked like a half-finished racecar. Sam shrugged and walked over to the table and sat down. Dr. Lloyd smiled and sat down in the kiddie chair opposite Sam. Sam laughed at the image of the big man sitting at a kiddie table half his size.
"I work on this puzzle with a lot of my patients," he explained. "It's fun to work together."
Sam picked up a yellow puzzle piece and snapped it into place.
"Hey, you're pretty good at this."
Sam smiled and picked up a second piece and also snapped it into place.
"So tell me about yourself, Sam."
"Like what?"
"Who are those people that came with you today?"
"My mom and my brother."
"What's your brother's name?"
"Dean."
"Is he your big brother?"
Sam nodded.
"Is he a good big brother?"
Sam made a face. Dr. Lloyd chucked.
"Hey! I get it. I got a big brother too."
"Do you and your brother fight a lot?"
"Do you and Dean fight a lot?"
"Sometimes."
"Yeah? About what?"
"Our dad."
"Why do you fight about your dad?"
"It's complicated."
"So tell me about it. I'm here to listen."
Sam found another piece and snapped it in.
"You know Sam, when your mom called to make our appointment today, she mentioned that things maybe aren't okay with your dad? Is that true?"
"He has a girlfriend," Sam answered softly. "And another kid."
"He does?"
Sam nodded. "His name is Adam."
"How old is Adam?"
"Three."
"How does that make you feel? Being a big brother?"
Sam shrugged.
"Do you still see your dad?"
"Sometimes. He'll take us to school. Or he'll pick us up and we'll go to his apartment."
"That's good," Dr. Lloyd commented. He picked up a couple of puzzle pieces and snapped them into place. "So why do you and Dean fight about your dad?"
"Dean doesn't want to hang out with him. He hasn't even met Adam. I think he's mad at him."
"Well, that's understandable. Are you mad at your dad?"
Sam shrugged again. "Do these two pieces go together?"
"Well, I don't know. Try it."
Sam tried to put the two pieces together and frowned when they ended up not fitting. Dr. Lloyd handed him another piece to try. The two continued to sit there and work on the puzzle as they talked for the rest of the hour.
Dean stared at the puke green carpet as he bounced his leg up and down in the small office.
"So what's going on Dean?" Dr. Molly asked as she sat in the chair next to her desk. Dean didn't answer. "Have you ever done therapy before?"
Dean scoffed and made a face. "No."
"Okay. Can I talk a little bit about how it works?"
"Whatever."
"So Dean, this is a safe space. We can talk about whatever it is you want to talk about and everything will stay just between us."
"Seriously? You won't even tell my parents?"
"Unless you tell me something really scary, I promise I won't even tell your parents."
Dean started to feel a little more comfortable, but still refused to talk.
"You're here for an entire hour. We can either sit in silence the whole time, or we talk."
"I don't wanna talk."
"Why? What don't you want to talk about?"
Dean bit his lip and shook his head.
"Okay. How about we talk about something you do want to talk about?"
"Like what?"
"Anything. How are things at school?"
Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Dr. Molly made a note to avoid that topic.
"You have any hobbies?"
"Wrestling."
"You like it?"
"I used to."
"What happened?"
"Just don't like it anymore."
"That's okay. Being a teenager is all about trying different things. Sometimes you find things that stick, and sometimes you don't."
Dean changed his gaze and looked out the window. He spotted the car in the parking lot and wished he was there instead.
"You sure there's nothing you want to talk about?"
"I'm sure."
The hour was up and Mary returned back to the waiting room with her half-finished cup of coffee. She found Sam standing in the lobby next to Dr. Lloyd.
"Look Mom!" he said, pulling a lollypop out of his mouth and running over to her.
"Sammy, don't run with a lollypop in your mouth!"
"I know. That's why I took it out! And I got Dean one."
Mary laughed at him and ruffled his hair. "How did he do?"
"He did great," Dr. Lloyd told her. "We worked on a puzzle and talked what's been going on at home."
"Good," Mary said, sighing in relief. "I was hoping you two would."
"I'll see you again in two weeks, okay Sam?"
"Okay!" Sam said, sitting in a chair sucking on his lollypop. "Bye!"
Dr. Lloyd opened the door to go back and revealed Dr. Molly with Dean, who walked quickly past his mom and went outside to the parking lot.
"What happened?" Mary immediately asked.
"It's a work in progress," Dr. Molly said, trying her best to assure her. "Mostly, I think Dean would benefit from one of my male colleagues so I will ask around to see if anyone can take him."
Mary ran her hand over her face and went outside to go find Dean. Sam followed behind her. They found Dean pacing back and forth on the sidewalk.
"Hey," Mary said, "what happened?"
"Can we go?" Dean asked, his voice cracking.
"Are you okay?"
"No!" Dean screamed. "I told you I didn't want to do this!"
"Sammy, go wait in the car," Mary said, handing him the keys.
Sam took one last look at Dean, looked both ways, and walked across the parking lot. He climbed in the backseat of the car and watched out the window. His mom and Dean were too far away for him to know what they were talking about. After a minute, they walked over to the car. Dean's face was red and he slammed the car door behind him when he sat down. Sam tapped Dean on the shoulder.
"Not now Sam," Dean said.
"I got this for you."
Dean looked over his shoulder as Sam handed him the second lollypop.
"Dr. Lloyd had them in his desk," Sam continued explaining. "He said I could give one to you."
"Thanks," Dean mumbled. He unwrapped the lollypop and threw it in his mouth as Mary started the car and drove home.
someones-big-sister