Joan Leland
Registered On: Apr 25, 2011 20:27:05 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 144
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Post by Joan Leland on Mar 16, 2012 17:59:01 GMT -5
Joan sits quietly and just watches Heather as she talks, expressions and movements are clearly just as important as the words but by the end of it Joan is quite impressed. Yes Heather was scared but even with full knowledge that Jonathan could find her through her work she still wanted to get back to it. Joan could partially relate, work was important and having some normality would be good.
Of course the only problem was whether or not Jon was really done with her. If he'd got all the data he required for his 'research' Joan was pretty positive he wouldn't care about Heather, if not his obsession would probably demand he continue and Heather was right that he'd find a way to find her. Somehow the criminals always found who they were looking for.
Joan taps her pen on her notepad quietly as she thinks and scans over the words. The important question with her work was whether or not Jon was truly done with her. If he did come after her at work it probably wouldn't just be Heather he ended up hurting too. She finally fixed on the last bit "What makes you think he just wanted you as bait?" it wasn't his normal reason for taking people. It was a reason certainly but not the usual one and that was worrying.
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Post by Heather Glass - VerMillion on Mar 16, 2012 18:56:34 GMT -5
Heather frowns a little at that question, not really liking it that much. But as the question of whether or not the Scarecrow would come to bother her again is, of course, very much on her mind these days the answer doesn't take too much thought. "Because the first time I saw him, all he really did was warn me that he'd come for me. He knew I'd run off and tell the authorities. He knew that they'd be watching me. He knew that they'd definitely come after him then," she shudders a little at that, not liking the idea that he used her like that to get what he wanted at all.
"If he didn't want all that then he wouldn't have let me go. Probably would have been easier on that road than getting into my apartment," she adds with a grimace, "I mean, there could have been more people around if I'd screamed, but they wouldn't have been FBI. He'd probably have gotten away cleanly or had a big enough head start to keep them from catching up. So he didn't want that." She frowns and shakes her head. She'd just been a pawn in that game. A game that she's never wanted to be a part of, even though she's been a spectator for quite awhile.
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Joan Leland
Registered On: Apr 25, 2011 20:27:05 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 144
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Post by Joan Leland on Mar 19, 2012 14:02:57 GMT -5
Joan hide her worry behind a little thoughtful frown. Heather clearly knew how to read the minds of criminals, having reported on them that made some sense. It was also very handy since Joan didn't have to try so hard to do so based off of nervous witness interpretation.
What Heather said though was concerning. Jon had used her for a purpose, to get the FBI to come to him. That didn't mean he didn't consider her done with of course but it would be very unlike the Scarecrow not to experiment on someone at his mercy. He did scare her in Arkham though, perhaps that would be enough.
The question of whether she allows Heather to return to work at this point is very much depending on whether she thinks Heather will be safe. Clearly she's handling it better than most. Some things she wants to avoid but work definitely wasn't one of them and a return to normality would be good for her. If Jon came after her though that would just be one more hit to her mental stability but again, if the FBI failed to protect her the first time she's not going to be any better off no matter where she is.
"Tell me what happened in Arkham" she finally asks. It's a question she's sure Heather won't like but she's hoping it'll be enough to give her the impression that Jon will be done with Heather. Though even if it's not advising Heather to hide away over something that may or may not happen isn't something she thinks she could do. If only leaving were an option but no, they're all stuck inside with the insane people.
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Post by Heather Glass - VerMillion on Mar 19, 2012 16:15:49 GMT -5
Heather is silent, quietly sipping her tea, until Dr. Leland asks her next question. And Heather frowns immediately when she hears it. She wants to protest that she already told the woman what happened at Arkham, but she knows that the only reason she'd ask that question is because she wants it in more detail. Is it really that important?
But after a moment of silence she gives a somewhat reluctant sigh and sets down the tea. It's a good distraction having it, yes, but if she's going to have to explain what happened in Arkham she'll actually need to be able to concentrate a bit. She clutches the pillow on her lap more tightly to herself and her eyes drift over to the wall as she forces herself to say, "I woke up in a cell ... and when I did he came ... I begged him to leave me alone, but ... he came in ... said a bunch of stuff - I don't even remember most of it ... I mostly remember that I wanted to run and hide somewhere, but there was no way out." She stops and swallows, having to back away from the memory before it gets too intense. But a moment later she adds, "He asked me what I was afraid of ... and I told him ... but gave me fear toxin anyway."
She goes silent again, shuddering and clutching the pillow tightly as if it might help her block out the memory. It doesn't work. Time does, though, and after a few moments she's again able to shove it back into the background. But not completely away - never completely away.
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Joan Leland
Registered On: Apr 25, 2011 20:27:05 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 144
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Post by Joan Leland on Mar 19, 2012 17:00:54 GMT -5
Watching closely Joan observed how defensive Heather got, for a moment Joan thought she wouldn't answer but she gained herself some comfort with the pillow and from the way she stared at the wall Joan guessed she was distancing herself from it all. A coping mechanism, only a bad one when someone disconnected too much.
Joan listened but no emotion showed, after years at Arkham she could easily keep her emotional distance and while she felt sorry for Heather she wasn't here to tell her it was terrible and look sad. She could tell Heather wouldn't go much further but it didn't answer one important tiny detail.
"Then what happened?" she asked quietly but calmly, as if it was a tiny prod to see Heather's response to talking about her true trauma before she specified a second later "What did he do? Did he stay with you?" If he stayed there was every chance he got the data he wanted and would leave her alone. If he just left to arrange things for the FBI then chances were more likely that he'd be back even if nothing certain could be said.
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Post by Heather Glass - VerMillion on Mar 19, 2012 23:43:38 GMT -5
Heather visibly flinches at that question, and her initial response is to simply shake her head as she fights to keep that memory from forcing its way to the forefront of her mind again. No, definitely not going there.
However, the clarified version of the question is something she can answer. "I don't know. Nothing I saw after that was real," she states firmly, before adding to herself in more of a mutter, "It wasn't real." Or at least, as far as she can tell none of it was real - it wasn't exactly easy to tell what parts of the hallucination may have had a basis in reality. Mostly because what she saw was a bit too... realistic.
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Joan Leland
Registered On: Apr 25, 2011 20:27:05 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 144
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Post by Joan Leland on Mar 21, 2012 14:27:43 GMT -5
Joan definitely can't blame Heather, in that state she's not she could notice details such as that. In fact she's quite certain she'd go insane, not because she has a weak mind but because Joan is very aware that losing her sanity is her biggest fear. She dreads ever facing Jon's fear toxin.
It doesn't help her decide whether Jon will be back but she can't halt Heather's life on a maybe and nothing she's seen makes her think the woman is on the edge of a break down, just recovering from something bad that happened "That's right, it wasn't real" she adds to try and reassure Heather. They both know it wasn't real, Heather just seems to need time to believe her head in that regard. Joan could tell she wasn't going to talk about it and if she was coping then that's all Joan was brought in to assess and if she did want to talk about it Joan can always be called back.
There were a few last things to think of of course and Joan reached for her bag to hunt inside it after a moment "I assume you haven't been sleeping well?"
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Post by Heather Glass - VerMillion on Mar 22, 2012 2:07:15 GMT -5
While Heather isn't exactly thrilled about what the topic shifts to with Dr. Leland's next question, it's such an improvement on the last one that she actually perks up a bit as she admits, "No, not at all. If I'm anywhere near a bed at night... well, that's where I was when he put that rag on my face." And of course, putting herself in a similar spot makes her feel like it's going to happen again. Even if it's a completely different bed in a completely different place, it still feels about the same physically.
"Sometimes I can sleep a bit out here on the couch during the day though," she adds, "But even then... nightmares." And, based on the shudder that follows that statement, the nightmares are pretty bad. But though this, like pretty much everything they've talked over, isn't something she really wants to talk about at all, it is one thing that she'll admit is a big enough problem that she should probably be talking to someone about it. Sleep deprivation is definitely taking it's toll on her, and she knows it.
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Joan Leland
Registered On: Apr 25, 2011 20:27:05 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 144
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Post by Joan Leland on Mar 24, 2012 15:21:06 GMT -5
Nothing unexpected there. Heather looked tired and it hadn't been hard for Joan to guess why, even someone who hadn't been trained could easily work that one out. Pulling a smaller pad out of her bag to jot her mobile number down and the name of some medication for Heather "I wish I could say there's an easy fix for this sort of thing but it will get better with time. I see no reason to keep you from going to work, you're clearly coping as well as anyone can and returning to normal will do some good"
She rips off the little note and offers it to Heather "I know you don't want to talk about what you saw under the influence of the drug and I don't blame you but if you change your mind or something else happens or even if you just want to talk about anything that's my more direct number" she smiles faintly "Middle of the night and you can't sleep? I will pick up" it's not a privilege she gives to most people, she cares about all her patients but particularly the paranoid ones who would call constantly don't get her mobile number. She had to put her home phone on adds to get business in but most people so far have assumed she has an office rather than working out of her house, the mobile is just a bit more personal and with the possibility of Jon still lurking around Joan wants to make sure Heather will be alright.
She points to the bit of paper again "That's the name of a very mild drug that should help you relax and sleep. You should be able to get it anywhere" provided the lock down hasn't cut off the supply too much. She's not keen on suggesting anything stronger given the situation though "I really do suggest you try it, it will help. It won't keep you from waking up if something happens and I do also suggest you be careful but you should definitely be sleeping, even if you have to time it to when someone else is awake and around the house until you're comfortable again. Naturally if you're allergic to anything or on other medication check with your doctor first"
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Post by Heather Glass - VerMillion on Mar 24, 2012 16:41:26 GMT -5
Heather nods to the first part, looking somewhat relieved. She's more aware than she'd like to admit that she's been a nervous wreck, but she knows that she can handle her show just fine in spite of all that. She's always been able to just set anything else bothering her aside for that one hour. Keeping that from her is probably even a bit cruel.
She takes the note from Dr. Leland and examines it as the woman talks. No, she's definitely not about to talk about what she hallucinated. It was a beyond horrible experience, but it was all in her head so how can it matter what she saw? Just a dream that she needs to forget about. Though she nods anyway - she just may end up calling if she can't sleep. And she's definitely not a bad person to give a cellphone number to; she didn't want to talk to Dr. Leland in the first place, still doesn't, so if she uses the number it would strictly be because she has to.
The frowns slightly at the thought of taking a drug - she'd actually considered doing so just before the Scarecrow kidnapped her. Is there anything having to do with sleeping that she doesn't now associate with that experience? Though she likes hearing that it's mild and won't keep her from waking up. She's definitely not about to take something that would knock her out completely - she doesn't care how much she needs it. And despite the uneasy feeling she'll probably be able to force herself to take it, so she nods to that. "Thank you," she says, not sure what else to say.
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Joan Leland
Registered On: Apr 25, 2011 20:27:05 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 144
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Post by Joan Leland on Mar 24, 2012 17:03:32 GMT -5
Joan definitely sees no reason why she should take away something Heather enjoys, she's not an insane criminal, she's not even insane. She's just a normal person who had something bad happen to her. Joan only hopes it doesn't happen again.
She nods once again and puts her notes into her bag before standing. She could easily guess that Heather wouldn't be keen on anything that would prevent her from waking up, given the situation Joan wouldn't much like to suggest such a thing either but if something mild enough helps then getting some decent sleep should do Heather some good "I'll give your work a call and assure them that you're fine to go back to your job" she suddenly remembers to get her pad back out and write out a little bill, unusual feeling, not something she has to worry about in Arkham "Maybe you can convince them to foot part of the bill since they insisted on it" she suggested with a little smirk but she still gives it to Heather as she stands "Thank you for the tea, I hope things go better in the future"
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Post by Heather Glass - VerMillion on Mar 24, 2012 20:09:03 GMT -5
Heather slowly stands herself after setting aside the pillow, glad that this is over. Especially since she's getting the result that she wanted. And it's comforting to know that an actual psychologist has now confirmed that she's doing well in spite what happened, and not merely that she's sane enough to go home like the guy at the hospital said. After all that's happened, she doesn't need to have everyone worrying about how she's dealing with it on top of that.
She nods when Dr. Leland comments about calling her work, and she pulls a small business card out of her back pocket. "This is my boss," she explains as she hands it over. Saves the woman the trouble of a trip to the phone book and trying to figure out who there she needs to talk to. And she actually smirks a bit at the comment on the bill. "Yeah, they're just worried about me," she says, "A lot of people are." Of course, that's only to be expected. She was attacked by the Scarecrow, after all.
"Thank you for making it, and I hope so too," she adds as she leads the way back over to the door, though she can't think why things won't go better. Her life had been going very well before she was attacked, so it stands to reason that when she picks up her life again it will continue to go well. Just hit a bit of a speed bump, is all.
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Joan Leland
Registered On: Apr 25, 2011 20:27:05 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 144
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Post by Joan Leland on Mar 29, 2012 16:48:26 GMT -5
Joan takes the card with a quick glance to the details on it. That'll certainly save her a bit of time "The good ones often worry the most" she replied with a little smile as she pocketed the card to call them later when she got home and put her notes in order.
She nods to Heather as she headed out the door "Pleasure meeting you Heather. Don't forget, if anything happens just give me a call" she did hope Heather wouldn't need to see her again but it definitely remained a possibility, one Joan considered at length for most of her journey home. She barely even enjoyed the weather on her walk back as a result. Jonathan back to his old tricks was always trouble and Joan really hated cleaning up after him.
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Post by Heather Glass - VerMillion on Mar 29, 2012 17:24:12 GMT -5
"Yeah," Heather agrees with a somewhat mixed smile. On the one hand, she likes that she has a lot of people being supportive, but it's not exactly the sort of attention that she likes.
"Nice meeting you too, and I will," she says with a nod while she shuts the door, even as she promises herself that she won't. She didn't call Dr. Leland because she thought that she really needs any help in coping with this, only because the station insisted. So for her to be able to call, she'd have to admit to herself that she has a problem bad enough that she needs to talk to a therapist about it. Of course, she'll cave in a couple more sleepless nights, but nobody but her and Dr. Leland needs to know about that...
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