Dear John Letter

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Damien cursed at himself for making her get up. "Thanks for actually caring Dr.Owens." He said softly. "You're one of the few who do." With that he hung up the phone, since he did not want to hear her response. As he closed his eyes he hoped that the rest of the night would be peaceful.
 
She opened her mouth to reply to his words, only to hear the click of him hanging up on the other end of the line. Positively unfair, that one. She out her phone on the charger once more and laid back down, troubled by his words. How could no one else care about him? She couldn't imagine it, but she'd had a very different life.
 
The rest of his week went by fine, he was able to get to the market and as he sat in the waiting room he held onto a picture. It was his proof that he was actually at the market and it was pretty funny, the story behind it.

Damien smiled at it slightly and then looked up, hoping she wouldn't be too much longer. It had taken all his will power to not call her and tell her about the experience during the week.
 
Her remaining week was rather easy, as her sessions didn't have any meltdowns or drama in general. When Thursday came around, her appointments were just the usual easy going clients. By the time it was four o'clock she was ready for Damien to come in, with hopes at the rest of his week had been better than that night.

She buzzed him in, pulling out his file and finding her notepad with the notes she had on him so far.
 
He walked in, trying to keep the smile off his face, but not succeeding. "Hello Dr. Owens," Damien said as he put the picture on her desk. It was of him and a large fish in the market, he was angled to make it seem like he had caught the fish.

"I went to that market." He added, in case she had not seen that particular part.
 
He looked genuinely happy, and was actually smiling, which caused her to smile right back. She looked down at the picture he had out on her desk curiously, but saw it was of him and a fish. The background was familiar, and upon his explanation of him going to the market it clicked as to why that was the case.

She was excited for him. He's gone and done something new and didn't have to call her to settle himself down. "That's wonderful, Damien!"
 
"The guy that took the picture had a son in the army. He saw my tag when I was trying to pick out a fish. Tried to give me one of the fish for free, but I didn't take it. It was actually nice to talk to him though." Damien admitted. He hated to say it, but sometimes he did enjoy interaction with other humans and not just dogs. The volunteering had also gone well the past week though.
 
"So you haven't sworn off human interaction anymore?" She asked, needing to make sure that he was willing to do things like that. "I'm so happy you did go to the market. Have your nightmares subsided at all?" She asked, looking up from the picture once more. She didn't ask about the volunteering, instead was more concerned with things that truly affected his mental health. They had plenty of time to discuss the rest later on.
 
"Not all human interaction, but I still don't want to be around humans all the time. It gets tiring." He said with a soft laugh. When she brought up nightmares Damien sighed. "I've been drinking a tea. It doesn't stop them, but it makes me able to get out of them and realize where I am more quickly than before. Basically I can get through them."
 
"I think it's tiring for everyone. But at least we know you still will partake at times. It's a start." She told him easily. This was their fourth session, and while she hadn't really done much more than talk to him, he seemed to be adjusting, a little at a time. "I'm sure they'll subside with time. I'm glad the tea seems to be helping you."
 
Damien shrugged. "I've always had some kind of nightmare haughting me. I guess I should be used to it by now." He said, looking down at his hands. "I think my hand might be getting better though, the doctor said it was starting to heal more and it doesn't hurt as much as it used to."
 
"I think there's a reason that you aren't used to it. Probably something along the lines of because it isn't supposed to be like that." She said with a sigh. She'd have to look up some things about dealing with nightmares and see if there was anything she could do for it. "That's good. How has the shelter been going for you?" She asked.
 
"Really good actually, I went twice this week. They're letting me train the dogs. I think it's good for me to do something that I know how to do." Damien explained as he looked up at her.

"I guess these sessions are helping, even though you don't know what I'm going through. You just want me to get better, which is good, you aren't focusing on finding the root of the problem, on analyzing me."
 
"One might even say you have a purpose right now." She pointed out with a small smile. She looked back at him for a moment before writing something down rather quickly, just so she could keep track of his volunteering.

Her brows shot up when he said this might actually be helping. "So I take it that I'm not dealing with such a skeptic now?" She asked, just to assure herself. "Sometimes what happens in the past needs to stay there." She said with a shrug.
 
"No I'm still skeptical. You're too young to be doing this I think, but I can't deny that so far it is helping a bit," Damien said with a shrug, for once trying to sit back into the couch. It felt odd though since he hadnt been able to do so in a long time. In the end he sat back up at the edge of the couch, feeling more comfortable that way.
 
She looked at him dryly when he told her she was too young for the job. She'd heard it before and more than often had proved the individual who said it wrong. "I'm not going to comment on part of that. As for it helping, that's why I'm here." She told him simply, steering herself neatly away from arguing with a patient. It was extremely unprofessional to do so.
 
"No comment... Seems like the easy way out." Damien said simply, watching her carefully to see how his words affected her. "You must have gone to college early though, if you already have your Ph.D. Maybe I'm wrong though and you're just older than you look. Even then though I assume this job takes years away from being so stressful and someone as smart as you should be able to live as long as they are supposed to."
 
"I've spent the vast majority of my life being patronized because of how young I look. As it is, I'm 26 years old. Fresh out of school." She told him with a shrug. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I do believe we are supposed to be here to talk about you." For all that Jess was a big fan of talking, she wasn't a huge fan of talking about herself. Especially not during sessions.
 
"Twenty six.... Wow." Damien said, giving her a once over with no hesitation. "You don't look a day over twenty two. You should be happy, most women love looking young." He told her, going back to looking at his hands.

"I really don't think there is much to talk about with me, I think we've covered everything."
 
He didn't seem to believe her age for a moment, and consequently have her a once over. While Jess was pretty self confident, she did feel odd being studied by her patient. "Thank you? I think." She said.

"Fine. So would you like to try going out again? Try an enclosed place?" She asked curiously.
 
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