Dr Dominic Gale leafed through his file as he waited for the elevator to reach its destination. It contained the medical notes of his latest referral, one Gwen Sutton. Without seeing the patient they were nearly useless as a diagnostic tool but helpful in avoiding the large blue eyes of Nurse Schluter.
Since her transfer to the hospital a month ago she had made it very clear that she found him sexually attractive. Dr Gale didn't need to be a great psychiatrist to see that. With a healthy amount of insight he recognised the small feeling of flattery the unwanted attention caused him but he could dismiss it as trivial. Without vanity he knew he was good looking, at 35 he was tall, lightly muscled and slender with dark hair.
Dr Paul Chatham, his friend in the department, thought Dominic was a fool not to take advantage of the beautiful blonde's infatuation. He pointed out that Anna Schluter had a body that any man would die for.
Dominic tolerated the advice because he knew that Paul's view stemmed from his insecurity. The other doctor bedded a whole succession of women who later wanted nothing to do with him, having been worn down by persistence and desperate charm.
Try as he might, Dominic had been unable to convince his colleague that he was a perfectly happy married. He was uninterested in any other woman apart from Stacey, his wife of ten years and mother of his two children. He had never cheated on her and no desire to ever do so. Not a day went by that he didn't thank God for allowing them to meet. He didn't care if his attitude made other guys think he was odd; he felt sorry that they hadn't found love like he had.
Anna Schluter coughed and was adjusting her nametag when Dominic glanced across.
Dominic barely managed to hold back a chuckle at her not-so-subtle attempt to draw attention to her large breasts. Fortunately the elevator had reached the fifth floor, which housed the ward he needed. He smiled politely at Anna and exited.
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Gwen Sutton was asleep or resting in the bed when Dominic entered her private room.
He already knew that she was 22 years old, new to Sixville and that she had tried to commit suicide by slashing her wrists. The bandage on her left arm, which lay outside of the blankets, confirmed that fact. Seeing small, pale scars crosshatching her exposed skin informed him that she had a history of self-harm. He scratched his neat beard, mentally scolding the Attending who had failed to note that down.
With that faintest of sounds Gwen opened her eyes and sat up, drawing her arm under the sheet.
"Hello, Gwen. I'm Dr Gale. I'm going to be your doctor for a while."
His patient curled her limbs closer to her.
"You a shrink? I knew that guy thought I was nuts." She muttered sullenly.
"Now you told the Attending that you regretted trying to take your own life, is that right?" He asked softly.
The girl, her fringe hung over her eyes, nodded. Dominic could only see her pink lips.
"It was a mistake. I didn't really want...to die...I guess..." Her voice was low and made her seem younger than she was.
Dominic asked her a few more questions. He felt a pang of sympathy for the girl, a troubled mix of attitude and vulnerability. He informed her he'd be sending her to the psych ward with a session a day initially.
He left her, and though he knew he shouldn't, fully expected to help Gwen with her troubles. If he had one flaw it was that he invested a lot in the people he treated.
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Dominic walked into his house, quietly enough to take Stacey by surprise when he kissed the back of her neck.
She turned in his arms and he embraced her, their lips kissing softly.
"Where are the monsters?" Dominic asked. It was nice to get alone time with his wife.
"Next door. Mrs Lees agreed to show them the puppies." Stacey grimaced, knowing that the subject of owning a pet was going to be brought up again.
Obviously, so did Dominic.
"I think we could see about getting one, don't you? The girls are old enough now to handle the responsibility." Dominic said, adding a pinch of salt to the simmering pot.
"Hey, its up to you! You know that I'm not getting up early to walk the thing, ever?" Stacey growled with mock indignation.
Dominic smirked. He knew that Stacey would probably fall heart and soul for the dog as soon as it was in the home. Her nurturing personality was one reason that he loved her.
"I'll ask Mrs Lees when I see her next." Dominic concluded, knowing his wife secretly approved. "How was your day?"
"Weird incident at the Church today, after I got the girls off..."
Dominic had started to open a bottle of wine but he stopped when he heard the concern in his wife's voice.
"What happened?" He asked, directing his full attention to her.
"Father Miller was in his office with a man; European by accent, I'd say, and they were arguing. I couldn't help being worried...."
Normally Stacey loved her part time work as verger to the Church but now she looked like she was going to cry. Dominic pulled her away from the counter and hugged her, running a hand through her wavy auburn hair.
"Go on..." Dominic encouraged. Seeing his wife troubled was enough to make him feel upset and protective.
"Well, that was it really. I mean, I got the impression...the other man was from the Church so...why would they be shouting at each other? I'm just being silly..."
"Did you ask the father what had happened?"
Stacey laughed softly against his chest and pulled herself together. Composed once more she kissed Dominic on the lips and returned to her preparations.
"Can you imagine me telling Father Miller I'd been eavesdropping?" She chuckled at the idea. The old man could be cantankerous even on a good day.
Dominic knew enough about the priest to let out a little laugh. "Maybe you could speak to Father Peters." Dominic suggested, mentioning the old man's assistant.
Stacey shook her head just as Laurie and Rosalie ran into the kitchen and both adults had their hands full fielding off demands for a puppy.
Dominic scooped up his daughters. He noted with sadness that Laurie's protests were beginning to sound sincere and grown up. Still, there was some time left. He listened intently, genuinely interested, as the sisters told him about their days at school and kindergarten.
"Guess what I saw today." Dominic told his kids.
"What, daddy?" Rosalie dutifully interested.
"Looks like they're setting up a fun fair in the park. Wanna go Saturday, huh?"
The news went down enthusiastically and, topped with the decision on the puppy his kids were ecstatic for the rest of the evening.
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Session 1
"Can you tell me when you started cutting, Gwen?"
Dominic knew that the topic was an awkward one for the girl but he needed to hear her answer. This was his first session with her and he knew that self-harming could be a crucial symptom in deciphering why his patient had tried to take her own life.
Gwen flicked her hair off her face and fixed a rather startling pair of blue eyes on Dominic. Her expression registered a combination of hurt and defiance.
"Sixteen, maybe...." She replied, reluctantly. At least she looked a lot better than when he'd first seen her. Some colour was in her cheeks and he'd even seen a cute proto-smile trying to emerge as he'd been talking to her.
"Was there anything that happened at that time, at home or school?"
Gwen toyed with her hair, which was sleek and shiny now that she was out of bed and able to shower.
"How long have you been in Sixville, doctor? Do you like it here?" Gwen asked back, delaying her own response. Dominic noted down the tactic.
"Me and my family moved here about four years ago when this job came up." He showed Gwen the framed photo of his family he kept on his desk. "We've been very happy here." He paused before asking, "Are you happy in Sixville, Gwen?"
"No." She stated flatly.
"Why did you move to Sixville? What were you hoping to find here?"
Gwen sat with her head in her hands as she pondered the question. Dominic could see her brain working behind her midnight blue eyes. They really were quite extraordinary, and Dominic was sorry to see such pain in them.
"My mom was from here." Gwen stated plainly. "I inherited a place. From my grandparents...we never came up here when she was alive though..."
"When did she pass over?" Dominic asked low.
"Last year. You don't have to put on the kind face, Doc. I never got on with the bitch." She let out a bitter little laugh, throaty and deep. "...She never really told me anything, you know? She never spoke to me really....She was a single mother and I was, like, this unwanted burden on her."
Dominic nodded, not saying anything to see if Gwen would fill the silence. He knew that cutters often had troubled parental relationships.
"Do you love your children?" She inquired.
"Yes." He answered after a brief hesitation. It wasn't that he didn't know the answer, just thinking how much to share but he believed reciprocity was a foundation of trust. "Do you think that your mother loved you, despite everything?"
"I. I don't know.... sometimes it was alright." She began to bite her fingernails and to rock gently. Dom's heart went out to her, her wounds were so raw despite the hard shell she was affecting.
"What happened when you were sixteen? Was there anything you can think of that made you want to cut yourself?"
"There wasn't anything, like specific, dammit." Her eyes flashed angrily.
"How do you feel when you do it?" Dominic pushed on, firmly.
"Like I can feel something for once, something real for once...I can't explain it really...I know it doesn't make sense, doctor," She told him rationally and pointedly. "but I need to do it....most of the time its as if I'm asleep and cutting is the most real thing..."
Dominic smiled at her sympathetically and conveyed his understanding to the troubled girl. He poured her a glass of water and handed it to her.
"Why don't you call me Dominic? We'll never get you better if we can't talk like normal people with each other."
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