Issues by SLynn
Disclaimer: I own only the thoughts in my head and the characters you don't recognize.
Chapter 15: Telling Secrets
Friday came and with it Greg's first visit to his new psychiatrist. He'd been a little nervous about the whole thing. Granted, he'd been nervous about meeting Dr. Sanchez for the first time too, but not this badly.
Now he knew what to expect.
Despite Sara's insistence of at least accompanying him to the lobby, Greg wanted to go alone. He worked nearly a full day at the lab, leaving a little early to make the three o'clock session. This time round he didn't make the same mistake. He'd informed Ecklie the very day of Dr. Tracey recommendation. For all the fuss they'd gone through when he hadn't told anyone, he'd expected a bigger deal to be made about it. In fact, all Ecklie asked was that he try to keep his appointments outside of his work hours, or in the very least as late in the day as possible.
Again, he was about ten minutes early. The office complex that Dr. Fenton's office resided was similar to that of Dr. Sanchez. Actually in the same neighborhood, two blocks over. The waiting room was done in the same simple style. Greg briefly wondered if there was a book on the subject, decorating to soothe the soul or something similar, that was required reading upon obtaining your diploma in this particular field. Like a handbook or something.
He didn't have long to wait. Dr. Fenton had come to the door and ushered him in no sooner then he'd sat down.
If their waiting rooms had been similar, it was were the similarities began and ended. Dr. Fenton's office was nothing like Dr. Sanchez's. It was what Greg had originally expected. Very modern, sleek and somehow sterile. It reminded him of the morgue, but he didn't put too much thought into it. He figured that it was just the difference between men and women. He hardly expected a man to have a 'cozy' office.
"Mr. Sanders, it's nice to meet you," he said as he held out a hand to him. Greg took it and nodded once. Dr. Fenton was a tall man, at least six foot two and looked like he was in good shape. He was at least forty, but he seemed older. His eyes were a sharp blue, nearly electric and he had neatly groomed thin blond hair. "Come inside and we'll get underway."
Greg followed him further into the room and sat down as indicated.
"Would you like something to drink first?"
"Water is fine," Greg said, sitting up a little straighter. Man he was nervous.
"Here you go," he said handing him a glass and sitting down nearby. "I've reviewed your file. Dr. Sanchez was a remarkably astute woman, very well documented, but if you don't mind I'd like to rehash some things with you. Hear it for myself."
"Okay," Greg said. He hadn't touched the water, choosing instead to put it down, and put his hands in his lap. "Where should we begin?"
"How about you tell me what brought you here today?"
Greg smiled inwardly. It was almost exactly what Dr. Sanchez had asked. There probably was a handbook.
"Well, about a year ago I would have said I was forced into this, but now I think I need it. It's been good for me to talk to someone not so closely involved in my life."
"You have a hard time then, relying on people?"
"No, not really. Sometimes. I don't like to bother them with my problems."
"What types of problems do you have?"
"Well, you've read the file. I've been dealing with leukemia for the last year."
"Aside from that."
Greg took a sip of the water.
"I don't know, life stuff. I don't like people involved if they don't have to be."
"Give me an example."
"Okay, once when I first moved here and hadn't been working at the lab very long my car broke down. I worked graveyard shift and the buses didn't run that late in my neighborhood, so I walked. It was about seven miles one way. Not the smartest thing I'd ever done. I had to leave like two hours earlier then I should have just to be sure I'd get there on time."
"How long did you do that for?"
"Well, I was just out of college and didn't really have the money to get my car fixed, so about a month. I could have asked my parents, but I didn't want to bother them. I wanted to take care of it on my own."
"And no one caught on?"
"No, they did. One night I got mugged on my way in."
"What did you do?"
"To the mugger? Nothing. I grew up in the bay area, I knew enough not to fight back. I just gave him my money and let him go."
"Were you hurt?"
"Yeah, he punched me in the face because I only had ten bucks. It wasn't too bad."
"Then what?"
"Well, I went to work."
"Hurt? After being robbed?" Dr. Fenton actually sounded surprised. It made Greg laugh a little.
"I didn't know what else to do. I mean, I worked with cops so I could have reported it, but really it was only ten bucks. It didn't seem worth the time."
"And what did your boss say when you got there, presumably bloody?"
"I was a mess and I don't do blood very well. Especially my own. Luckily he didn't see me like that. I'd changed in the locker room and cleaned up as best as I could. But it's not like I could hide two black eyes. The guy got me square in the nose. Grissom, he was my boss then, he took me aside and asked what had happened. When I told him, at first he thought I'd been car jacked and was going to call one of the detectives over to get a statement. So, I had to tell him the truth."
"About walking?"
"Yeah, everything. He was pretty mad with me, and that's a feat. He doesn't get mad easily. That morning he gave me a ride home and made me promise to call him when it was time to go get my car."
Dr. Fenton wrote down something on his pad, nodding his head.
The rest of the session was pretty much along those lines. Dr. Fenton had gotten a basic feel for Greg's personality and potential problems. It had gone fairly well. Greg left feeling that he didn't like him as much as he had Dr. Sanchez, but wouldn't have a problem coming back again.
He made another appointment for the following Tuesday at five in the evening. He'd explained his work situation and Dr. Fenton had no problem seeing him so late in the day.
Greg thanked him and left.
When he arrived back at his place Sara was still sleeping. Resisting the urge to just crawl into bed beside her, he opted instead to make dinner. She was off again that night, second Friday in a row, and they'd talked earlier about going to a movie.
He wasn't a great cook but could put together a fairly decent meal if pressed. He decided on stir fry and rice since it was the easiest and quickest to make. Half way done and he'd heard Sara waking up in the next room and heading into the shower.
"Hey," she said just as he'd about gotten everything to the table. She gave him a peck on the cheek and sat down.
"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you sleep this late."
"I got in late, nearly noon. Grissom and I were tracking down a stray cat. Don't ask."
Greg laughed a little but didn't press, just started to dig into the food.
"Oh, but we got somewhere last night," Sara said, sounding excited.
"Sanchez case?"
"Yes," she continued. "Actually, Amy got something. Since Hodges isn't doing trace on this one, she took a look at it, she's actually pretty good. Took a look at those fibers found at two of the scenes."
"And? Did she match them?"
"Yes. They were paper fibers, wood pulp. Like the kind you'd find in a mill or if someone made their own."
"But, how does that help?"
"Honestly," Sara said, still smiling as she ate, "not much right now. But the fibers matched exactly so it connects the crimes. Gives us more insight into who's behind it."
Greg nodded, seeing her point.
"Anything else good?" he asked.
"Nothing. Slow night until that cat chase. What about you?"
"Bored stupid all day. Had a nice little chat with Ecklie about my mental stability to which he told me to basically keep it to myself and off of company time."
Sara rolled her eyes in disgust. Never having been a favorite of hers, now she really loathed him.
"And the session?" she asked uncertainly. It wasn't something they'd ever talked about before. Before she hadn't known he'd gone and now that she did she wasn't sure if it was a taboo topic.
"Not so bad. He's different. It'll probably take awhile before I get comfortable with him."
Sara nodded in agreement or at least in an attempt to understand. She didn't really. Still wondered why he couldn't just talk to her but didn't fight it. Like it or not, the tension was back in the room.
Greg knew she wouldn't ask, would never ask exactly what he'd talked about. He almost wished she would. He wasn't sure what he'd tell her, maybe the truth. It depended on what he'd actually said that day. Today he could tell her the truth, without doubt.
"Still want to go to the movies tonight?" he asked, trying to move on to another topic.
"Yeah, sounds good. What's playing?"
They talked it over for a few minutes more, their tastes were radically different concerning these things. Eventually Greg agreed to see the movie Sara wanted, almost entirely because he was starting to feel guilty. Like he was keeping secrets from her and he didn't like that feeling.
They got ready and left not too long afterwards, deciding to walk around the mall beforehand. She wanted to buy some new clothes and he needed running shoes. On their way out the door, just as they were leaving, he decided he was being stupid.
"Hey Sara," he said, still fumbling with the lock. "Did I ever tell you about the first time I got mugged?"
She looked at him funny for a moment. It was as if he'd pulled the topic out of thin air. Sara had gotten accustomed to it since they'd been together, most of their conversations tended to start like that. At least most of their better ones.
"No, but by first do you mean you've been mugged more then once?"
"Three times actually. But you never forget your first."
Greg had said it like it was a joke, but she didn't really find it that funny.
"Okay," she said, sensing that she should just play along. "Tell me about it."
And Greg did. Just like he had told Dr. Fenton hours earlier. It hadn't been as hard as he'd thought it would and now he found the story itself much more amusing. It didn't seem as big of a deal now. She'd chastised him lightly for not just asking for a ride, but understood his predicament. When she'd been new she'd done a lot of things she wouldn't have normally just because she didn't want to put anyone out either. Telling her had been easy and it made him feel a hundred percent better. Greg had found a way of telling Sara his secrets without her having to ask.