by Jamie Davis
“Oh, yeah,” Dean said. “He’s here to take me out for coffee, and I guess I get a pep talk after last night’s events.”
“Mike’s the guy to do it,” Bill said. “Hell, he invented this job. He knows more about dealing with Unusuals than anyone else out there, except maybe for Doc Spirelli of course.”
Dean put the book he’d fallen asleep with back on the shelf. “I guess I’ll go meet Mike and see what he has to say. You guys have a good day. I’ll see you tonight.” He left the squad room and went outside to the parking lot. The sun was shining and it looked like it was shaping up to be a great day. Mike sat in a marked Ford Explorer with the Elk City EMS shield on the doors and emergency lights on the roof. He walked to the passenger side, opened the door and climbed in.
“Dean,” Mike said, holding out his hand. “How the heck are you? I’ve been checking in with Brynne and she says you’re doing a great job. She says you’ve got some good skills and instincts for this unique type of patient care.”
Dean took the offered hand and shook it. “I’ve had better nights, but I guess that’s why you’re here.”
Mike smiled. “I would have been checking in on you soon anyway. I make a point to do that with all of my students a month or so after school is over. I want to make sure that their preceptors are treating them right.” He started the SUV and pulled out of the parking lot. “I did throw you to the dogs out here at Station U. I never had any doubts you were the right person for the job, but I probably should have prepared you better for the specifics of what you were going to run into here. You remind me of me when I was starting out.” He turned onto the main drag of Route 40. “You okay with diner food? I know a really good place called ‘Hanks’ near here if that’s okay with you?”
“Diner food sounds good,” Dean said. “I’m hungry after that night shift.”
“You’ll find that when something supernatural happens to you, it takes a lot of energy to recover from it,” Mike said as he drove. “You’ll likely be hungrier than normal for the next few days.”
They talked about some of the other students in the class but stayed away from anything about the previous night’s activities. After about 10 minutes on the road, they pulled into the parking lot of a beat up diner modeled after the old train diner cars.
“Don’t let the outside fool you,” Mike said. “Trust me, the food is excellent. Everything you order here is good.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Dean said. “I don’t think you’d try to poison me.”
Mike laughed as the two of them walked up to the diner’s door. Mike held the door for his former student as they both walked in. Mike nodded to the hostess and headed to an empty booth in the back corner. That was interesting, as the rest of the place was packed and there were others waiting for a seat.
“I come here a lot and I called ahead and had them save this spot for us. It’ll give us more privacy,” Mike gestured for Dean to sit down. Dean slid into the seat and picked up the plastic laminated menu as Mike sat down across from him. It was typical diner breakfast fare, and he thought maybe the creamed chipped beef on toast looked good with two eggs over easy on the side.
“Like I said,” Mike reminded him. “Everything here is good.” He didn’t look at the menu. “I usually get a short stack of buttermilk pancakes and a side of sausage links. Do you see anything that looks good to you?”
“I think I’m going to get the chipped beef with gravy and a couple of eggs,” Dean said.
Mike raised his hand and a waitress came over. She looked a little tired but greeted them with a smile. Her name tag read Daisy. “Hi Mike! Who’s your friend?” she asked.
“This is one of my former students, Dean,” Mike said. “Dean, this is Daisy.”
“Hi,” Dean said.
“So,” Daisy said. “What’ll you have?”
“The usual for me,” Mike said and looked at Dean, quirking an eyebrow. “And the creamed chipped beef for Dean, with two eggs on the side.” Dean nodded in affirmation.
After she left Mike looked at Dean. “So, how are you really? Last night must have been quite a shock.”
Dean met his mentor’s eyes. “I’m a little overwhelmed, honestly, and freaked out. I won’t lie; last night shook me up.” He looked down at his hands. “Mike, I’ve never felt so helpless. And the worst part was that I didn’t even know I was in danger or would have cared about it if I did know. Lydia was in control and I thought that was fine. It wasn’t until Brynne came in beating that cowbell that I knew something odd was happening. I really don’t remember much of it. I remember starting an assessment, then Brynne was leading me out to the ambulance.”
Mike nodded as he listened, a slight smile on his face. “I understand,” he said. “I really do. I got jumped by a vamp my first week on the job and that was back when we were first getting a handle on the type of things we needed to do. Doc Spirelli was riding along with us at that point and had to threaten the guy with the crucifix that hung on a chain around his neck. When we got back to the station, I was ready to quit on the spot and go work for my brother-in-law in his construction business. The doc talked me off that ledge. I’m still here.”
“I guess I kind of feel the same way,” Dean said. “I’m not sure this is right for me. Don’t get me wrong. I really do enjoy the challenge of getting the medicine right and the puzzle of assessing these patients is intriguing. But I’m still not sure it’s worth it.”
They paused the conversation for a minute as Daisy came back with their drinks. She set a steaming mug of coffee down in front of Mike, then put Dean’s water and diet coke down. “Your food should be out soon, she said.
Mike waited until she had stepped away and then asked, “I heard you set up an appointment to talk with Rebecca?” Dean nodded. “She’s awesome, I think you’ll like her.”
“I talked with her on the phone last night,” Dean said. “She helped, some.”
“That’s good, Dean,” Mike said. “You have to understand it’s a process. You’re not going to forget this all in a night or even a single counseling session. The trick now is to decide whether or not you’re up to continuing on the job right now.”
“I guess if I was a cop,” Dean said. “I would get desk duty for a few days.”
“And that is a choice,” Mike offered. “I’m here to talk to you so that together we can come up with an option that works for you. You should know that Lydia, the siren you ran into, will not be bothering folks that way anymore.”
Dean looked up. “You didn’t …?”
“No,” Mike laughed. “We didn’t bump her off or anything. We don’t work that way. She’s new in town so we had some folks stop by and have a chat with her and her husband. Did Brynne tell you about the special Unusuals police unit?” Dean nodded and Mike continued. “We work with a few select police officers. There’s at least one on every shift. They stopped by and explained to Lydia the way things work here. Not every place has the services we provide. Most Unusuals have to protect themselves from the humans they live among as best they can. Think of their powers and abilities as a sort of defense mechanism that helps them survive alongside us.”
“Brynne also contacted Rudolf,” Dean said. “She had his number from James to help deal with problems if they came up. The way she talked, they handle these things internally.”
“They do,” Mike agreed. “Still, Brynne needs to take things through official channels. Her relationship with James doesn’t give her the right to go around her supervisors when something like this comes up. I guess I need to have a chat with her about that. We contacted Rudolf, too, since we knew James was out of town.”
“I just don’t know what led Lydia to do what she did to me,” Dean said. “We were there to help her. Why did she turn on us?”
“It’s like I told you back in school when we were talking about drunks and drug abusers,” Mike said. “You can’t know what drives them to be the way they are, and because of that you have to be c
areful to treat them with the same compassion as you’d give any other patient. You can’t get mad at them or try to take revenge on them on behalf of society.”
“I remember that lecture,” Dean said. “You used that old Native American proverb about not criticizing people until you had walked a mile in their moccasins.”
“Good,” Mike said, smiling. “I’m glad you remember. That’s part of the lesson here. I don’t pretend that what this Lydia did wasn’t bad. She was wrong and we have dealt with her both officially and unofficially through Rudolf. The part of the job you have is to try and understand is why she might be driven to manipulate you that way. What happened to her in the past that made her not trust the medical system or people associated with the government? Does that make sense? It doesn’t forgive what she did. It does try and explain the why, understand?” Dean nodded. “Good, because the food’s here.”
Dean turned and looked over his shoulder to see Daisy approaching with a large round tray balanced on one hand and steadied with the other. She lowered the tray and let one edge rest on the table. She set the plates in front of them. The food smelled delicious and Dean’s stomach growled.
“Wow,” Daisy said with a chuckle. “Was that you?”
He laughed, too. “I guess I’m hungry!”
“Well, you came to the right place,” she said. “I’ll check back on you in a few minutes.”
Mike and Dean ate in silence for the next few minutes. Mike was right, the food was excellent and there was something about breaking bread with his old instructor that helped settle his fears a bit. It was a reminder that life was still going on around him. Before he knew it, he was finished with the meal, literally cleaning his plate of the last remnants of delicious gravy with a piece of toast.
“I told you it was good,” Mike said. “Do you feel better?”
“I do,” Dean said. “Thanks, Mike.”
“No problem,” Mike said. “We can do this again. Anytime you need to, just call me. Okay?”
“Deal,” Dean said. “Though I hope this kind of thing doesn’t happen too often.”
“Look, Dean,” Mike said. “This is a critical incident. It could happen to anyone whether you’re a regular medic or work in EMS-U. The unusual circumstances surrounding your situation don’t matter as much as the fact that you had a traumatic event. It could have been the death of a sick kid, or a bad motor vehicle accident. We all have triggers that can affect us out of the blue. When that happens our job is to seek out the help we need. We can’t stop these things from affecting us in the moment or immediately afterwards, but we can control how we respond to those effects. You’ve got my support, Brynne’s and your other co-workers as well as a whole support network of people like your new counselor, Rebecca. Use that support to get your feet back under you.”
Mike dropped a few bills on the table. “Come on, I’ll drive you back to your car so you can get some sleep.”
As Dean drove home later, he thought about the conversation and realized he was no longer pondering what he did or didn’t do to cause the situation the previous night. He wasn’t blaming himself as much. He figured that was part of what Mike was trying to achieve with their breakfast conversation. He would have to bring that up with Rebecca when he saw her in two days.
Chapter 13
Two days after the incident with Lydia, the siren, he met Rebecca in person. Her offices were downtown in a high-rise suite. He parked in the underground garage and opted to walk up the stairs to the lobby rather than to use the elevator, as was his habit. He was a little anxious about the meeting. He wondered again if his reaction was a sign of weakness. He knew intellectually that it was not, but there was still a part of him that wondered about his own inner strength.
Once in the lobby, he found the building directory on the wall next to a bank of elevators. He saw the name he was looking for, CISM Solutions, located on the 7th floor. When the elevator arrived he waved to let the others enter first and then stepped on, asking the man nearest to the panel of buttons to push the seventh floor for him.
He was thinking about what he would talk about with Rebecca as the elevator car stopped at the third, fourth, and fifth floors before arriving at seven. He stepped off the elevator into the hallway. The sign for CISM Solutions was next to the second door on the right. He walked over to it and walked inside.
The waiting room was empty, and there was no one at the reception window when he entered. He wrote his name and time of arrival on the clipboard; then he sat down in one of the four chairs lining one wall next to a coffee table with a few scattered magazines on it. He saw two recent EMS magazines. He opted to browse his phone’s social media feed while he waited to be called. He could hear the murmur of voices behind the wooden door across the room from where he sat. The soft music from the speakers in the overhead ceiling kept him from understanding anything that was said, which was the point, he supposed.
After about ten minutes of waiting the door opened, and a man and woman came out. “I’ll email you a reminder about your next appointment, Ian,” a woman said.
“Thanks, Rebecca,” the man said. “I’ll be there.” He walked to the exit and left.
“You must be Dean,” the woman said extending her hand. “I’m Rebecca.” She was a lot younger than he expected, maybe in her mid to late twenties. She had shoulder length red hair, wore a navy blue woman’s business suit and slacks with a white blouse. She had some jewelry on, but not much. Dean stood up and shook her hand.
“Uh, yes, I am,” he said. “I guess I’m in the right place.”
“Come on back, Dean,” she said, smiling. “Let’s go into my office and get to know one another for a bit.” Rebecca led the way to the door and gestured for him to enter first. There was a desk and chair in one corner next to a window, as well as a small love seat and chair combination with an end table in the corner between them. There was a box of tissues on the table. He paused for a moment when he saw that. God he hoped he didn’t end up needing to use them.
“Go ahead and have a seat anywhere, Dean,” she said as she sat down in the chair at the desk.
He sat in the cushioned chair rather than the love seat, and looked around the room at diplomas and credentials on the wall. The proof, he supposed, that she was qualified to do this job. She turned, picked up a file from the desk, and laid it on her lap as she opened it. “I think I have all your information here, and I have my notes from our call the other night. I want to remind you that this is confidential. You also don’t have to worry about them finding out anything we talk about here. The only thing I’m obligated to report is whether you might need reassignment or a change of pace for some reason. Also, you should know that the visit is covered by your employer so you don’t have to worry about paying.”
“Okay,” Dean said. “I guess that’s a good thing.”
“It is,” Rebecca said with a smile. “I notice that you were assigned to Station U right out of school. That’s quite an honor. It usually means your chief and instructors thought highly of you.”
“I wasn’t sure what to think when I first got there,” Dean said. “I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been okay.”
“I know quite a bit about the subject of ‘Unusuals’ as you call us, Dean, so you can speak freely here,” Rebecca said. She laughed as he looked up with surprise at her admission. “I’m a Muse, Dean. Traditionally we inspire artists and musicians to create, but I found that I could use my talents a bit differently. Because of my connection I can help people use their creative minds to see many different potentials. In an artist, that potential is what could be wrought from a block of marble or put on a blank canvas. I like to inspire people to be better people, to see what they could potentially become and then help them live up to that potential.”
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with you using some kind of mojo on me,” Dean said, holding his hands up in front of him. “That’s what has me coming here in the first place.”
“O
h my goodness, no,” she said with a little giggle. “Muses don’t work that way. I can’t do anything to you at all. Let’s just say that as we talk, I will see answers and options that may not occur to you, and I’ll bring them up to see if they resonate with you. Eventually, we’ll find a way to resolve what is bothering you. But in the end, it all comes from you. Muses help people become the better person that is hidden inside them. It all comes from within. Does that make sense?”
“Uh, I guess so.” Dean still wasn’t sure he was comfortable having his counselor be an Unusual.
“Look, let’s make a deal,” Rebecca proposed. “We’ll talk for an hour or so. Afterward, if you think it will work out between us, great. We can keep working together. If you’re still uncomfortable, no worries there, either. I can easily transfer your file to another counselor. The advantage of having me as your counselor is that we can talk freely about some of the things you encounter. You won’t have to beat around the bush about your patients’ strange abilities or habits. How does that sound?”
“I guess that’s fair,” Dean said.
“Excellent.” She smiled. “So, let’s talk a bit about what happened with the siren the other night. You’ve had a few days to get some perspective and give it some thought. Tell me how you feel about it now.”
Dean did most of the talking and Rebecca asked occasional questions. The hour was up before he knew it. He wasn’t sorry he came, and he wished he could stay and talk with her longer.
“So, Dean,” Rebecca said as she put his folder down on the desk behind her. “I think this was productive, but more importantly – what do you think? Shall we continue or would you like me to help you find someone else to talk with?”
“I guess we can keep working together, Rebecca,” Dean said. “This wasn’t that bad.”
She laughed. “I’m glad it wasn’t horrible.”
He smiled back at her. “Yeah, it wasn’t horrible.”