Author's Note: Special thanks to the reviewers of last chapter: SparkleInTheSun; Love-B .xo; savetonight; foxyfeline; crazyobsession101; and canny-bairn. Reviews genuinely make my day, so thanks for that.
Dr. Mayfield sighed as she sat back in her plush office chair and flipped open the file labeled White, Anna in order to keep her patient's identity confidential. She excitedly noted that JJ had progressed to the point of sleeping in her own room, even if that step was still marred by the woman's tormenting nightmares.
Adding the pictures she had encouraged her patient to draw, she marveled at the detail of this particular rendition. At first glance, she had thought it was simply a flower growing out of a crack in some stony foundation and felt a surge of awe at the delicate daisy growing out of the difficult circumstances. On closer examination, however, she cringed when she noticed the shadow that loomed over the frail plant, indicating an impending doom that even the plant was aware of.
If this was what JJ's psyche represented itself as, then JJ's world was far more devastating than she had realized.
She grimaced as she thought back to that fateful winter night that she had first accidentally encountered JJ and her caretaker as she picked up the phone and dialed the newly familiar number.
Dr. Mayfield grimaced as she approached the parking garage for her office. She sighed as she thought of her three o'clock patient, hoping that by some stretch of the imagination her permanent appointment would somehow cancel.
She slammed on the breaks in surprise as a young girl tumbled out of the silver Prius in front of her as the car screeched to an unnatural stop.
"JJ!" A darker hair woman called after the staggering blonde. Somewhat torn between curiosity and a worry she needed to do something to help, Dr. Mayfield stopped the car in the middle of the parking garage entrance and stepped out.
"JJ, get back here! It's okay." The brunette cried, a mixture of exasperation and desperation in her voice as she stepped around the car.
The blonde crumpled into the snow, sobbing softly as she backed toward the cold brick building.
"JJ, you're safe. It's over. I'm sorry, I never should have taken you there, I should have known better." Dr. Mayfield could easily hear the self-loathing in the brunette's voice despite her obvious attempt to keep her voice calm and placating.
As Dr. Mayfield hurried toward the crumpled figure, she winced as she realized the young girl was not a young girl at all, instead she was an emaciated adult in mental distress. Kneeling down several feet away from the blonde to keep a safe distance and not panic the distraught woman, Dr. Mayfield smiled kindly, "Are you JJ? Is everything alright?" She asked, not having to force the soft gentleness into her voice that had become part of her trade.
The woman curled herself into a ball and rocked softly, one hand close to her mouth as she chewed on her thumbnail while the other began forcefully tugging on the long blonde strands of hair in what appeared to be some attempt to find comfort.
"JJ, my name's Dr. Susan Mayfield and I work in this building right back here. Can you tell me what happened?" Dr. Mayfield encouraged softly.
The woman shook her head before burying it closely between her knees.
"I took her to the store." The brunette admitted as if she now knew it was the most egregious error she could have made. "She gets…" The brunette searched for the right word, "scared."
The therapist nodded understandingly. "JJ, it's okay to be scared." She answered almost automatically.
Turning toward the brunette, she asked. "You took her to the store, what happened?"
"She—people started recognizing her, there was a crowd. She—"
"I need to know what's wrong with her so I can help her." Dr. Mayfield cut in, "What did she do?"
"Clutched at her throat, like she couldn't breathe. JJ just like shut down, it was like she turned off. I got her to the car—she liked the cold air of the A/C, and then she just jumped out of the car."
"She's probably having a panic attack." Dr. Mayfield deduced, "How long has this been going on?"
"Uh—" The brunette paused, obviously feeling like this had been going on for an eternity. "A few minutes?"
Dr. Mayfield nodded. "It should be over soon. Once she calms down, let's get her up to my office and I'll take a look at her to make sure she's okay."
"This is Dr. Nielsen." JJ's specialist answered the phone. The two doctors had come to an understanding that Dr. Nielsen would act as JJ's primary care physician and compile the information from her various appointments into one place.
"Dr. Nielsen this is Dr. Susan Mayfield." She announced, not having to explain who she was calling about, she continued. "She is down almost an entire pound since her last appointment."
Dr. Nielsen sighed over the phone, "That puts her weight at 94 pounds." She could hear the man grimace.
"I suggested a feeding tube." Dr. Mayfield informed.
Dr. Nielsen paused for a minute. "I'm afraid that might be the next course of action. I'm fairly certain her body is simply not absorbing nutrients."
"An NG tube could be inserted as an outpatient procedure." Dr. Mayfield suggested.
Dr. Nielsen sighed reluctantly, "Given her anxiety in hospitals, I'm afraid that isn't going to be an option. An NG tube is helpful because she wouldn't need to be sedated and could insert it herself. With her, it may be easier to skip straight to the gastric tube." He grimaced involuntarily as he remembered being the recipient of his fellow med-school student's attempts to insert a feeding tube.
"What about the surgery on her wrist and hip?" Dr. Mayfield queried.
"She's not strong enough right now, I'd like to see her weight get up to at least a hundred pounds before we operate. But, if it takes longer than two weeks we're going to go ahead with the operation."
"That's shortly after Christmas," Dr. Mayfield cautioned, "Are you sure that's wise?"
"It's the lesser of two evils." Dr. Nielsen shook his head sadly, "But hopefully it won't come to that."