Chapter 4

Felicity got out of the cab, trying to fit all the bags into her small hands. It would have made more sense to pick everything up after your meeting she scolded herself. Managing to fit the last one onto her other hand, she bumped the door with her hip and then turned around to survey the building. Oh, let there be an elevator. It was bad enough she was ten minutes late, but she’d prefer not to arrive all out of breath and sweating. Taking a deep breath, she went into the building.

Brent glanced at the clock again. Maybe she wasn’t going to show at all. He looked at the closed office door and debated on knocking, to ask Sandy what she thought, but as the door was closed, he figured she didn’t want to be bothered. Glancing at the magazine table again, he rolled his eyes, there wasn’t much there that appealed enough for him to even pick one up, never mind read.

The outer door flung open and in tripped a little blonde carrying as many bags as she probably weighed. He watched her struggle to close the door for a moment and was about to get up and help when half of what she was trying to hold slipped from her hands, scattering across the carpet.

Sighing loudly, she closed the door, now almost empty-handed. Turning around she looked at the notebooks and supplies all over the floor. She smirked at the man sitting in the waiting area. “That was rather graceful, wasn’t it? Fall in the door and toss everything on the floor.” Setting the rest of the bags on a chair, she knelt to start shoving things back into a bag.

Brent sat there for a moment. This was the woman that Jac didn’t want the doc alone with? Snapping out of it, he got up and went over. Squatting down he began to pick up pencils and booklets that were scattered all over. She glanced up at him, the long wavy blonde hair half hiding her face, and smiled at him. The palest blue eyes he’d ever seen paralyzed his speech.

“Thank you.” She flipped the hair out of her face and looked around to see if she’d missed anything. “I usually don’t make such a dramatic entrance, really.” She got back to her feet, setting the bags with the other ones on the chair.

Brent stood up and looked down at the tiny woman. Her appearance reminded him of a porcelain figurine. “No problem.” He finally made his mouth say.

“Felicity?”

They both turned around to see Sandy standing at the door.

Felicity nodded. “Yes.”

Sandy stepped back. “Come on in.” She gave Brent a knowing look.

Felicity smiled at him again. “Feel free to draw something if you have the urge.” She motioned to the bags on the chair and walked into the office.

He stood there staring at the door for a moment after it closed, then his brain kicked back in. Well, you wondered what she looked like all grown up. Very fine was all he could think at that moment. Sighing he went and sat back down. It only occurred to him at that moment that no one told him how long this appointment was supposed to be.

***

Felicity looked around the room before walking over to sit on the couch. Pulling one leg up under her body, she leaned on the arm of the couch and then smiled over at the other woman.

Sandy sat down in the chair across from her, glancing at the notebook that always sat beside her. She didn’t think she’d really need it today; something told her that this woman was used to the routine as far as the private sessions went. “So, I’m Doctor Gains—Sandy.” The smiling woman nodded her acknowledgment. “I’ve read all the reports, seen the newspaper clippings, so I know all that stuff.” She paused for a moment and studied Miss Felicity Dante. “What I’d like is to hear is all from you—not some misconstrued reporters’ version.”

Felicity raised both eyebrows at her for a moment before recovering. “That’s the first time I’ve heard that.” She smirked. “Where is the how do you feel part?”

Sandy laughed. “Oh, I might use it at some point, but what I’d really like is the truth.” She tapped the notebook beside her. “I have to report back to the judge that sent you here; it would be a lot easier to play his game if I’m on the same field with you.”

Felicity nodded and then sat there thinking for a moment. She studied the doctor for a moment, many expressions crossing her face. “You may not like or believe the truth Doctor Gains.”

Sandy pouted her lips out for a moment trying not to smirk. “You might be pleasantly shocked to see what I am capable of believing.”

Felicity gave her a skeptical look. “I really don’t know where to start.”

“Let’s start with the reason that brought you here to my office – then we’ll go from there.”

Felicity nodded slowly. “Okay.” She looked down at the floor for a few seconds searching for the right words. “I see things. Inside my head . . . like you would on a tv screen I suppose.” Chancing a glance at the doctor, she expected to see that academic look on her face. It wasn’t, she was actually listening to her. “The things I see are things that are actually happening—at that moment to someone else.” She leaned back on the couch, looking around for a few seconds, giving the doctor time to ask questions if she wanted. When silence met her, she continued. “I’m here because of something I saw. Stupidly, I panicked and ran to the police, hoping they would do something . . . anything to help.”

“What did you see?”

Experience told her not to answer, but her mouth ignored her head and did anyways. “I saw a little boy, probably around seven or eight, and a little girl; I’d say she was four, if that.” She took a calming breath before going on. “They were somewhere dark and hidden, I couldn’t figure out where—they were scared and upset…” She remembered the little boy cradling the girl to calm her down so she would sleep. “They took the little girl, and I freaked out…”

“Who took her?”

Squeezing her eyes shut, she took a deep breath. “I don’t know, it was dark and shadowed, I couldn’t see.”

“Where did they take her?”

Felicity sat forward shaking her head. “I don’t know. I wasn’t connected with her, just the little boy. He was scared and upset. He didn’t want them to take her, then he just cried and cried…” She looked over at the doctor, who surprisingly was sitting forward in her chair as well as listening. “I felt lost and helpless— I wanted to help so I went to the police.” She sat back. “And now I’m here and somewhere out there is a little boy alone, confined in the dark and I have no way to find him.”

Sandy sat there, looking at her for a long moment. “You’re connected with the little boy? Still?” She nodded. “How do you know these things are in the here and now?”

Felicity was actually shocked by the question. No one had ever asked in such a way that made her think they might believe her. “I just know. In the past I’ve found . . . people from my visions…” She took a deep breath. “But they were adults, and I could pick up much more that they noticed.”

“The newspaper stories, the murder, the lost people, all the others— they were true?”

Felicity looked at her for a long time without answering. Her face said she was concerned, her body language said she had her entire attention. “Yes.” She whispered it like it was a sin she was guilty of because to her it was – all the ones she’d never been able to help. “But there are so many I could never help.”

“That’s an awful thing to bear.” Felicity just nodded at her. “When does this happen? Awake? Asleep?”

She cocked her head and studied the doctor cautiously. Was this where the hidden mockery began? “Awake, but I more or less become paralyzed when it happens, at least I think I do because I’m always exactly as I was beforehand.”

Sandy frowned for a moment. “Do they physically affect you?”

“Uh - sometimes I’m disoriented or even ill, but other times just tired.” It was an odd question for someone to ask, how would she know to ask it?

“Is the reason you move around so much because people have found out or is there another reason?”

Felicity was waiting to wake up and discover she was dreaming this entire time; these weren’t the questions the doctors asked her. “Sometimes that’s why.” She looked at the floor and then back to the doctor. You’ve come this far, might as well tell her the rest. “Sometimes I have to leave because I can’t do anything to help. If I go to the authorities with any of it, it gets me sent to places like your office and I only see things that are fairly close to where I am…” She hated saying it out loud. “So, if I leave, the visions stop and I don’t have to sit and watch the news every night to see the outcome of the latest tragedy.”

“Self-preservation.” The Doctor whispered as she looked down at her own hands clenched in her lap.

“Sometimes it’s the only way.” She sat back, looking at the doctor.

The doctor sat there looking at her for a moment and then grinned. “Would you be entirely shocked if I told you I believed every word?”

Frowning, Felicity nodded at her. “Yes.” I’m dreaming, this sort of thing would never happen when I am awake. She watched the doctor get up and walk over to her desk and lean as she wrote something down.

Sandy tore off the page and walked over. Sitting down on the couch next to her she turned. “This is going to come as a bit of a shock to you, but I do believe you, completely. I’ll explain later on why I do.” She smiled. “I’d like you to do something for me.” Suspicious gray eyes studied her. “I’d like you to not pack up and leave just yet.” She smirked at the surprised expression she received. “I saw the supplies in the bags you brought with you—you’re planning on moving on soon, aren’t you?”

Not sure at this point what was happening at all Felicity nodded slowly. “I was.”

Sandy smiled. “Okay. Please don’t, just yet.” She held out the piece of paper. “I’d like you to meet me here at this address later.” She glanced at the clock, wondering how much time she’d need to talk to Jac and calm Reid down. “Let’s say around seven.”

Felicity looked at the address. “It’s not too far from where I’m staying.”

Sandy grinned. “Good. That’s my friend’s address and she has a few things in common with you, but I’ll explain all that later.”

“She does?”

Sandy nodded again. “Yes, and I think we might be able to find a way to help that boy.” She paused and wondered how calmly the detectives were going to take this. Probably not calm at all. “So, will you meet me there?”

Felicity sat there looking at her for a moment. She couldn’t explain why, but the doctor was very convincing. Of course, it could be some kind of trap, but in as many ways as she could think, she couldn’t see why the doctor would even bother going that far. “I can try to.”

Sandy patted her leg twice lightly and stood up. “Great.” She started walking towards the door. “Do you need a ride home?”

Felicity gave her a blank look. “I can take a cab.”

“Oh, because I’m sure Brent out in the waiting area would drop you off and help carry all your purchases if you want.”

Felicity stood up and started walking towards the door. “You want one of your patients to take me home?”

Sandy laughed, pausing with her hand on the doorknob. “He’s not a patient; he’s a friend that was waiting.”

“Oh.” She shook her head. “No, really I’ll just take a cab, I have another stop to make.”

Sandy nodded. “Okay then, I’ll see you at seven.”

Felicity nodded and walked out of the office. She walked out into the waiting area and tried organizing the bags before she tried to pick them up. That was the weirdest therapy session she’d ever experienced. She might actually show up later, just to see what happened next. The man in the waiting room stood beside her.

“Can I give you a hand with those?” Brent was quite happy he was speaking this time.

Felicity smiled and shook her head. “No, but thanks for offering.” She stepped towards the door.

Brent moved over to the door and opened it for her. He reminded himself not to stand there and stare at her as she walked down the hallway. Closing the door, he turned around to see the doctor grinning at him. “It went all right?”

Sandy nodded. “More than all right.” She looked at her watch. “Can you be at Jac’s around six tonight? I may need help convincing Reid.”

His eyebrows shot up. “I can be. Convincing Reid of what?”

She grinned. “I’ll explain it all later. I have some work to finish so I can get there early enough to explain it all to Jac.” She smiled again. “Thanks for watching out for me.”

“No problem.” He stood there after she’d closed the door, and then shook his head. He was supposed to go back to the office and tell Reid what? Nothing? Because from where he stood that’s exactly what he knew, nothing.