Author's Notes: Yep, still last summer. Ralph gets a surprise as he waits to be called in for his therapy session. A few months to a year after the first chapter. Disclaimer.

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"Oh, I'm sorry… Dr. Tofic is still meeting with another patient. Can you wait in the lobby? It'll only be a few minutes."

The lady at the reception counter smiled apologetically at him. He sighed, turning to look at a picture of a sailboat on a far wall. "Yeah, yeah, that's fine. I'll just go sit over there…" He flashed a small smile at her as he made his way over to the chairs, more for her sake than because he wanted to. Smiling was not high on his list of priorities at the moment, though Dr. Tofic stressed he exercise those muscles as often as he could.

Ralph chose a chair as far away from any person as he could. Socializing was not high up there, either. (Dr. Tofic had made a point about this, too.) But why would you want to socialize with anyone at a therapy center?

He stared down at his lap, not wanting to attract attention, or see anybody he might know. He always dreaded these sessions with the therapist, though in a way they were somewhat of a relief to him. Every time, it felt like a little more of the poison slogging through him was vented out through his pores.

"Vented out through my pores?" What am I thinking? Before he could dwell more on this, he heard the creak of the seat next to him and a voice asking, "Is this seat taken?"

Unwillingly, he looked up. A young girl, about his age, sat smiling at him. Her merry face was surrounded in a halo of unruly dark brown hair, which streamed in waves past her shoulders. She had a smattering of sun freckles across her face, and her bright hazel eyes were scrunched up in the grin.

Ralph looked around. There were plenty of empty chairs around the place. He considered lying to her, then decided against it. "Uh, no." Having said his obligatory line, he turned away from her and stared at a picture of two children and a dog playing in a field of flowers.

But evidently, the girl wasn't done talking. "Well, that's good," she sighed, and he could hear more creaking as she settled back into the chair. "And here I thought I was going to have to sit all alone and bored. I'm glad another kid is here. Adults are no fun to make conversation with. Kids are the interesting ones. You see, my mom works here, and —"

"Your mom works here?" He whipped his head around, cutting her off. Oh god, what if she's Dr. Tofic's daughter? Am I speaking to the child of the lady I tell my problems to? Does she tell her children?

"Yep!" she said, smiling brightly. "Dr. Maverick. My mom…"

Saved from that mortification, Ralph tuned her out and resumed staring off into space. He sat there for a few moments, letting his mind wander, until a hand flashed in front of his face.

"Hey, kid, are you listening?"

Ralph snapped into focus. "Uh, yeah…"

Her laugh was bubbles. "No you weren't, I can tell. It's okay, it doesn't matter. Mom tells me I ramble too much anyway. But, what's your name?"

He blinked at her. "Um, Ralph."

"Wow, you sound unsure." She giggled again. "I'm Mackenzie. It's nice to meet you!"

He was just starting to smile slightly at her when a hand tapped his shoulder.

"Excuse me, Mr. London?"

Ralph turned around, and was greeted with the warm face of the receptionist. "Yes?"

"Dr. Tofic is ready to meet with you."

"Oh. Thanks." He didn't want to turn to meet the girl's — Mackenzie's — surely shocked expression. She must have thought he was just waiting for somebody here. Or something. Anything other than that he was a patient. How embarrassing.

"Oh, you're one of Dr. Tofic's patients? Sometimes she and my mom have coffee together. She's a really nice lady."

It turned out that Ralph was the only shocked one. He turned around to stare at Mackenzie, who was still talking.

"…have tea parties with their other lady friends, and —"

"You don't care?" he blurted, interrupting her again.

She blinked at him. "About what?"

"That I…" he sighed, shaking his head. "Never mind." It didn't really matter what she thought, anyway — it wasn't like he was going to see her again.

"Okay." She grinned up at him. "It was nice meeting you, Ralph! I'll see you around!"

Or maybe he was.

She waved her fingers at him as he made his dazed way to Dr. Tofic's office. He opened the dark wooden door, thinking, What a very strange girl.