Chapter 7
Jaime bit down hard on the lemon wedge and then held it between her teeth as she closed her eyes. She was still trembling visibly. Oscar had given Mark very specific instructions and limitations on the drive to Clayton and one of his firmest edicts was that Mark could have absolutely no physical contact with Jaime. There could be no taking her hand or placing a comforting touch on her shoulder. Nothing. In spite of that, Mark's only concern was his patient - and she was in distress. He felt Oscar's eyes on him as he picked up an ice cube and held it gently to Jaime's cheek to orient her.
''Jaime, I need you to listen to my voice,'' he said softly. ''Focus on that. Not the sounds in the hallway or the ones you might be hearing in your head. Hear only my voice -'' Mark moved his hand to her other cheek, caressing it with the ice cube. ''Just my voice; that's your reality. Orient to my voice -''
Slowly, Jaime's trembling began to ease but her eyes remained closed and her breathing was ragged and raspy. Mark picked up a second ice cube and moved that one to her temple, watching Jaime's reactions carefully as he used both hands to try and bring her back. Finally, Jaime opened her eyes and gazed directly into Mark's. ''That's right,'' he encouraged, ''now focus on my eyes. Let them tell you where you are and who you are. Orient -''
Suddenly, Oscar grabbed the therapist's arm and pulled him into the hallway. ''We need to talk,'' he said grimly.
''Oscar, what the hell?'' He tried to keep one eye on the OSI boss and the other on his patient who still needed him.
''I'm no expert,'' Oscar noted, ''but that looked and sounded a lot like hypnosis.''
''Well, in a way...it is,'' Mark admitted. ''Self-hypnosis is an effective tool in redirecting a person's focus back to reality - and I need to get back in there.'' He looked through the door and Jaime was lying quietly with the lemon wedge still in her mouth, but her head was beginning to loll back and forth on the pillow and she cowered as something especially disturbing must have passed through her mind's eye.
''So you use hypnosis as a 'tool', Doctor?'' Oscar still held Mark's arm and now moved to block his way back into the room.
''Well of course I do. You know that. It's highly effective when used properly...and I need to do that right now! I almost had her 'out'.''
''How many people have you used this special 'tool' of yours on?'' Oscar queried.
Mark finally wrenched his arm away but stopped himself from pushing past the OSI Director. Calm, careful reasoning would work better than brute force, if he could manage it. ''It's helped Russ, Rudy, Michael, both Steve and Jaime - and you've used the techniques yourself,'' Mark reminded him. From behind Oscar, still in her bed, Jaime let out a soft moan. ''You brought me here for a specific job; I know that. But if I don't pull Jaime out of this flashback first -''
''I can't let you go back in there,'' Oscar insisted.
''The Oscar Goldman who interviewed me back in DC, the one who listened to my theories and my proposed techniques and then hired me on the spot...is he still anywhere in there?'' Mark shot back quietly. ''Or the Oscar who had me flown out here to help Jaime and Steve because he knew what I could do...any of him left inside you? The Oscar I know, the one I work for proudly, has a heart and wouldn't want Jaime to suffer one more second in there. Please, Oscar!''
''What's going on here?'' Michael demanded, rounding the corner and finding the two men facing each other down just outside of his patient's room. His left arm was in a sling but he wore a lab coat (rather than a patient's gown) and pulled himself up to his full height, stepping between Mark and Oscar to look in Jaime's door.
''She needs help, Michael,'' Mark told him quietly. ''Apparently, my brand of help isn't welcome here anymore.''
''That's still to be determined,'' Oscar put it.
''Then determine it. Investigate, question, background-check and do your worst,'' Mark continued. ''But for now, you need to let us through that door!''
Oscar looked from Mark to Michael and back again...and then stepped aside. The two doctors hurried to their patient, who gazed at them both with clear, calm eyes. The lemon and her own determination had been enough. Jaime was 'back'.
''I wanna...go home...'' she announced very quietly but with the 'set' to her jaw that said she meant business. ''Now...please.''
''First thing tomorrow morning,'' Michael promised her. Jaime's vital signs were strong and steady; whatever had happened in this room was over.
''Tonight...now! This place...it's...bad for my health!''
''Jaime,'' Mark began, pulling up a chair, ''you just did a wonderful job in fighting your way through that - and I am so proud of you. I think you'll have to settle for tomorrow though. You'll have so much more energy to play with Becca once you've had a good night's sleep.''
''Don't...like it here! And...I don't...I don't like...that woman!''
''We'll find you a different therapist,'' Michael told her. ''Someone who you can feel comfortable with, and -''
''No. Don't want...another!'' Jaime insisted. She turned her head to glare at Oscar, who was still standing just inside the doorway, watching and listening. ''You...'' she told him. ''You leave...Mark here. He helps me...and you...need to go!''
Michael quickly assessed the situation without needing to ask any questions. He sidled over to where Oscar stood and motioned him into the hallway. ''If you want Mark to talk to her - and I'm assuming it's to get information - then maybe you should go.''
Oscar raised an eyebrow. ''Excuse me? He's still in my custody - and here under my good graces.''
''If you feel he shouldn't be alone with a patient right now, then I'll stay here while they talk. But with her brain injury, Jaime can be even more headstrong than she normally was. You're not going to get Word One from her; not now. Mark can handle working with her - I have confidence in him - and I can stay and help them both work around the limitations of her injury. I'll keep an eye on Mark for you too,'' Michael added quickly.
Oscar opened his mouth to argue...but then nodded. ''I need to know what happened in that room at National between her and Steve - both times she went up there. Try and find out about the boxes he sent down with her, specifically anything she saw him do with them and what he might have told her. And Mark is to have NO physical contact of any kind; he knows that. If he oversteps his bounds or is unusual in any way -''
''I'll make a note of it,'' Michael promised. He turned back into Jaime's room and closed the door.
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