15 No Treatment (1/2)

Annoyed stopped Karen in front of Dr. Torres' office.

Even after she had written her report and asked Stephanie if the examination was really necessary, her order remained explicit.

Incidents like this one always required a mandatory examination, irrelevant how much Karen insisted she was fine.

A sigh escaped her lips when she knocked on the door. At least she could attend her first day as trainer tomorrow if the psychiatrist deemed her fit for service.

The door opened easily and gave sight to a bright office with different seating opportunities. At the desk sat Sebastian's friend Diego, with a warm smile on his face and slight grey streaks in his short, dark brown hair.

"Ah, good afternoon, Katharina. Well… as good as it can get, considering the reasons for our… unusual appointment. Close the door and make yourself comfortable."

Karen smirked, amused by his strange quirk to call her by her full name, and sat down on the chair in front of his table.

"I told you already before, Diego. You can just call me Karen. Everyone does."

While his genuine expression reached up into his grey eyes, kept the left one lagging a little behind.

"I know, I know. But I like it. Katharina sounds just more pleasant to the ear. Why else would we have given that name to our oldest?"

Diego turned the picture frame on his table around to give her a view of his wife and children. A sight that made her feel slightly envious.

"You must miss them now that they're all out of the house. Well, all except Isabelle."

Would she ever have a family like that? Time wasn't in her favor, and Sebastian was currently so concerned about his own children. Not that the things she had learned about him today made things easier, either. Did she even know who he was anymore?

Diego didn't seem to notice her internal conflict, and interrupted it.

"Of course we do. But that's just how things are. Not much longer and Isabelle will move out as well. Joining the military just like the other four."

Karen resisted the urge to ask if he wasn't afraid or if all that was worth it and instead cut the conversation short, while a frown replaced her curiosity.

"Stop that Diego. I know what you're doing. Let's just get over with this evaluation."

Her sulked expression made him chuckle.

"Haha… right to the point. Well, I guess that means you want to tell me how you felt when your own prisoner held you hostage."

She noticed how her teeth ground on another. How did she feel about that?

"What do you think how I feel? This wasn't my first time dealing with Demons, I had countless missions before."

Diego's eyes betrayed the empathy he felt towards her. A look she didn't like fixated on herself.

"Of course you did. As a sharpshooter, from a safe distance. Listen, I read your report, Katharina. We don't have to talk if you don't want to. But how else am I supposed to make a professional assessment of your mental state?"

That answer confused her, although the topic wasn't her favorite either.

"Wait… can't you just… do your magic thing? Look inside my head and that?"

Diego's face changed to disappointment before becoming an impish smirk.

"Did Sebastian put that flea into your ear? Haha… no. I mean, we can pull the examination forward, and look if you got your mind washed, yes. But I'd much rather just talk with you and… you know, do my job as a psychiatrist. I'm not a… let me guess what he said… hm… a quack?"

She had to admit, the descriptions Sebastian gave about Diego's duties seemed, in retrospective, a little ridiculous.

"No… it's just.... I'm sorry, I didn't want to insult you. I had little professional contact with you, aside from my entry evaluation and the breaks…"

He continued to smile while standing up and moved to the couch he had left of his table.

"It's fine. Really. We can look now and make sure everything is fine, if that lifts a weight from your shoulders. Could you lie down on the couch? That makes it easier for me."

Karen followed him over and lied down on it. The comfortable cloth did little to calm her nervousness about it.

"Do I need to do anything? Or…"

Diego put his hand on her forehead before she could finish her question.

"Just try to relax. It's easier to sense deviations when you are at your norm. How about we catch up on some news?"

She struggled not to visualize a Demon bursting from her head like an alien when he mentioned deviations and tried to hide her nervousness.

"Oh… yes. Sebastian and I missed the break because of that… interrogation. Well, I got my license today and… the first day will be tomorrow, if this works out…"

A slight prickle moved down her temple before Diego answered.

"Congratulations then. I remember you stayed often after work to learn for the course. It must mean a lot to you."

That carrier change had indeed been something she looked forward to and Karen tried her best to ignore the weird feeling that pushed unwavering but soft into her mind.

"I've thought about it for a while. Ever since I joined the active service. There's only so high you can climb up the ladder before you have to switch the weapon for a desk that takes more and more of your time."

His hand felt warm on her forehead as she felt how the pressure slowly lifted and he commented on her point with an agreeing hum.

"Even just becoming team leader was a change I had dreaded. But when I helped in a seminar as a guest teacher, that felt like an epiphany to me. That's what I want to do until retirement. Haha… I know it sounds a little silly."

Somehow she felt a little embarrassed for being that open with Diego, yet his presence felt so calming that she might as well know him longer than just since she got together with Sebastian.

His voice had an unexpected somber tone to it when he spoke.

"I won't lie. There are days I miss being out there. An office job isn't for everyone. So no. I don't think it sounds silly…"

Karen wondered for a moment if he had used his powers on her to make her open up like that, and a cold shudder ran down her spine.

The feeling subsided when he didn't react to it. There was no way he would do that. Sebastian would have mentioned it, right?

Diego returned to his warm voice while he finished his sentence.

"… and now that I'm done, I don't see any reason you would have to waive either."

Karen felt herself relax after he moved the hand away, which made her realize how tense she had been as he used his magic on her.

"Are you sure there was nothing?"

Diego looked confused at her, the left eye unfocused.

"You seem… disappointed?"

She tried not to stare at his glass eye and noticed his question a little late.

"It's just… there was that moment when that Demon… did something. She showed me memories, images of Sebastian."

A curious smirk showed up on his face.

"You didn't mention that in your report. May I ask you why?"

Karen hesitated to answer, unsure how to explain what she didn't know either.

"I… just thought you would erase them, anyway. It's nothing important, really."

She regretted bringing the topic up when his eye appraised her with that damned pity he had shown earlier.

"Still important enough to mention it now. Hm… what did she show you about Sebastian?"

Like she needed any help. He hadn't even recognized that something was off.

"It was nothing, nothing. I… could you not remove them, just to be sure that there's no… Demon magic or so… only to be safe?"

His chair creaked when he leaned back in it.

"Why are you so insistent on getting rid of them?"

What did that even mean, other than that he didn't want to help her?

"Hell! I don't know how any of this magic stuff works! And you didn't even notice them in the first place, so just forget it."

Diego's head dropped a little as he answered with an apologetic tone.

"Hm… I'm sorry, but I can't. I will have to report that."

She almost jumped up from her lying position, now facing him eye on eye.

"What? Why?"

Desperation enveloped her, as she wished she would have just stayed silent.

"Well, while I could help you with these memories, I still need to know that I don't cause more damage by removing them than by… not doing that. And you didn't mention that part in your report, so Stephanie will have to know about it, anyway."

The way she knew Stephanie that would end up in her file as well. Her posture fell defeated on the couch.

"But she will just put me out of commission."

There was that empathetic smile on his face again, which made her feel miserable, so she concentrated instead on his drifting eye.

"I don't think she will. Had you included that into your report, things wouldn't be much different. Would have been worse if you hadn't admitted it towards me."

Now she felt stupid, as well as defeated. Of course, he hadn't missed that part.

"So you did find them. That was a test…"

He gave her shoulder a reassuring pat before standing up from his chair.

"I wouldn't call it that. Anyway, if you have nothing else you are ready to talk about, then you may leave. Stephanie will probably send you an email later today."

Her outlook wasn't positive on that part, yet something else worried her more.

"But what about those memories now? You just want to leave me with them?"

Diego sat back down at his desk and gave her an expectant gaze.

"Katharina, my door is always open if you are ready to ask for help. But I can't do anything without your cooperation and until then, you will have to confront your problems alone."

Karen remained seated for a few more moments and observed him with hesitation.

None of the events today were anything she didn't get prepared for. There was no reason to make such a fuss about it.

"I wish you a good evening, Diego."

When she stepped outside into the hallway, convinced Karen herself that she could deal with these stupid memories alone.

She was fine.