Mark smiled softly as his wife headed out to work. "Have a good day dear and be safe ok." He said. A few days ago his wife started her new job at a local mental institution as one of it's new doctors. Mark was happy she got the job but also very worried. He knew she was studying to one day do this but the idea of something going wrong did worry him quite allot. However she soon explained to him that the facility she would be working at was low security so no one there was high risk, which calmed him down a bit.

Mark is 29 years old and works from home as an academic. He has a doctorate in Sociology and has already published two books. He was working on his third and also did occasional articles on line for a bit of extra cash. All in all they were pretty well off. They had a nice sized house in a lovely suburban area surrounded by forest. The house had two good sized bedrooms, an office for mark, an nice attic, a basement, a huge living room and a kitchen and dinning room as well as two bathrooms one which was on suite to the master bed room.

Two years ago Mark and his wife suffered a loss as his wife's parents passed away in a tragic car accident. This left their youngest daughter all alone. Mark and hi wife had been married for a couple of years at that point and just moved into their big house so decided to take her in. The girl was only 14 at the time now she was 16.

Mark got on pretty well with her and had found a nice mix of being fatherly and like an older brother with her always joking around with her but still always making sure she was safe.His wife worried about her allot but as the girl got older and more independent she didn't let her big sis baby her as much.

For the last year or so Mark and his wife have been feeling a slight longing for something more. Something to care for and no not just a pet they already had a lovely big husky, called Blue because of it's lovely blue eyes, and a cute little ginger cat, called Crookshanks because they are huge Harry Potter fans.

Today at the institution his wife was meeting another of her new patients.The girl was 15 years old, soon to turn 16 in November. Her name was Emma and she had been at the institution since she was 7 years old. When Emma was 7 she went though a very traumatic experience. Her and her parents had been coming home from a party at a friends house and a gang of thugs had jumped them. Emma witnessed her parents being killed in front of her eyes and would have died herself if it wasn't for some other people from the party walking by and seeing what happened and helped her. Emma was in hospital for three days after that as she had a broken arm and a scare on her forehead which luckily heeled and was barley noticeable now.

However the day her grandparents from her mothers side came to take her home she had a complete break down refusing to go home with anyone but her parents. She was only small but managed to completely wreck the hospital room she was in. Her grandparents had little choice but to institutionalise her.

Once at the institution the rest of Emma's issues became clear. She had serious anxiety issues and was very jumpy, she suffered from night terrors which sometimes resulted in her wetting the bed, she closed off from everyone else and when she did talk it was like she started the conversation in her head and finished it out loud, she could be hyperactive when over stressed or excited, when she was stressed or nervous she would scratch herself sometimes causing herself to bleed and she was clearly quite emotional.

The institution help Emma in some ways at first. They gave her medication to help with the anxiety and as the institution was very secure and she couldn't leave it she didn't worry about being attacked so much. For the first few years her grandparents visited once a week however they were rather old. When she was 9 her grandmother past away and when she was 10 her grandfather followed. She had no other family.

Having no visitors was hard for Emma she was a very sweet and bright girl and although academically she was at the level she should be at that age, as the institution did educate her, it seems she was emotionally stunted at a younger age.She needed people around her to talk to and play with. She knew she was too old for silly old toys but she couldn't help but love them they were a nice distraction.

Over the years Emma tried to make friends with the other patients but they were all quite a bit older than her and annoyed by her young and somewhat cheerful ways. Then there was the nurses who tried to do what they could for Emma but they had other patients to deal with. Her old doctor Dr Dickson or Dr Dick as Emma referred to her was a bit miserable and always dealt with Emma like she was a thing to be fixed. All in all for the last few years Emma has been very lonely.

However today the young girl was meeting her new doctor and she was hopping they would be a little bit nicer than Dr Dick. Dr Dick never got her sense of humour or the way she looked at the world, which was quite philosophical, all he wanted to do was find a label for her apart from post dramatic stress disorder, which he knew she suffered from.

Emma headed to the new doctors office. The young girl was tiny at only about five feet tall. As a child she was quite tall and her old doctor suspected the stress in her life stunted her growth. She had very pale skin, brown hair which she had cut in a short pixie cut as she pulled at it too much when it was long and it was easier to handle this was, also she thought it was cute. She was dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans and a pair of slippers that were shaped like big hairy monster feet, they were a gift from one of the nicer nurses knowing she loved that kinda stuff. On top she had on a big burgundy jumper with grey and white zig zags at the top. The big Christmas jumper was huge on her and game to just above her knees and completely covered her arms. The most noticeable thing about Emma however was her big blue eyes that were filled with many colours of blue, sliver and some green and yellow.

She bit her lip shyly and nervously knocked on the new doctors door. She was nervous about this. She hadn't slept all night wondering what her new doctor would be like. I heard she is a woman, that might be nice she thought tending to be more relaxed around other woman. I hope she isn't mean and doesn't try and give me to many numb pills, I hate feeling like a zombie she thought as she shyly poked her head in the door.

"You...you asked to see me?" She asked. Emma's speech had got allot better recently and she could now have conversations with people though she did have a bad habit of jumping from topic to topic.

Already her office was decorated to her liking, the stiff chairs were replaced with comfortable bean bags, pictures lined the walls as well as Harry Potter posters, there was a book shelf full of books for her patients to read, there were fresh flowers sitting on her desk, and there was art supplies tucked away in the corner, and even the blinds had been changed to simple gray curtains. It certainly didn’t look like an office at a mental institute. Well Grace didn’t look like a doctor at all. Standing at 5’4, the black haired woman could pass for a teenager. With wide green eyes she took in her office; as disjointed as everything was there was something about the room that was calming. Perhaps it was even Grace herself. The woman was comfortable in this new environment. Her husband had been worried; Mark was always the one to worry for the both of them.
Grace was childish in her ways, often going out of her way to make someone laugh at a joke a five year old would laugh at.

On her desk was a framed photo of herself, her husband and her sister. After their parents died Abigail came to live with Grace and Mark. It was perfect, up until Abigail started to assert her independence. She was sixteen, it was understandable but she was still Grace’s little sister. At the age of twenty eight Grace did not see herself as a surrogate to her half-sister. She did not see herself with such a happy life, as a teenager Grace had hit a rough patch that involved the wrong crowd and everything else that came with being stuck between a child and adult.

The staff here was nice as were the patients, today she’d be meeting Emma. Already having a file on the girl, complete with notes of horrible doctor handwriting, Grace could tell that this case was going to be different. When the door opened and a tony voice echoed through her office, the woman’s face brightened as she welcomed Emma. “Yes come in!” Grace pulled a bean bag across the floor so they could sit close enough to talk.

“I am Dr. Matthews, but please just call me Grace.” She said, taking a seat in a lime green bean bag chair with her clipboard resting on her lap. “Please have a seat Emma.” While Grace was mostly fun she could be work as well. “So tell me…what did you really think about your last doctor? Was he a total prick like the staff said?” Leaning forward to hear the girl better, Grace was quietly observing her mannerisms. For someone with PTSD Emma didn’t seem to be as ‘ill’ as the notes said she was. Grace hated to label others but in her line of work it was needed. That didn’t mean that she could label them all basket cases and call it good. No she needed to get to know them on a personal level in order to understand them and their condition.
Not everyone was the textbook example of mental illnesses.

---

Abigail was home sick today with a stomach ache and slight fever. She wished that her sister and her brother-in-law wouldn’t treat her like a baby. She knew that it had only been a few years since the accident that killed her parents, the same accident that had put Abigail in a coma for a week. The same accident that had taken a large part of her heart was also the same accident that led to its mending. Without her sister she probably would have killed herself.

Grace and Mark were so welcoming, sometimes Abigail felt like a burden to them but her sister reassured her that she wasn’t. Often she would hear them both talking about something more than just a dog and cat, whom she helped name. Crookshanks has been a kitten when Abigail first moved in, a tiny nameless orange kitten. Blue was a different story that was her sister’s baby.

She was worried that once they would become parents it meant that Abigail would be on the streets. The blonde girl sighed; she looked so different from her petite black haired sister. Being quite tall and a bit on the willowy side, Abigail took more after their late father. She wore simple flannel pajama pants and an oversized green t-shirt, one that complimented her emerald eyes. Getting up and venturing to Mark’s office she yawned.
Mark had been part of the family long before he married Grace and he had always been a brother figure to Abigail. She first met Mark when she was only four years old—twelve years ago—then he had been a friend of Grace’s. Of course it wasn’t until a few years ago when they became a couple and married.

“Hey big brother,” Abigail said, using the nickname that she’d given the man years ago. “Wanna make me some soup or something? Remember the last time I tried to cook?” Who wouldn’t? She almost burnt the house down!

With Grace gone to work for the first time since their parents died, Abigail was feeling lonely.

Was this what it could it be like if there was a new person in the family?

When Emma saw the new doctor and what to seem seemed like a completely new office her eyes widened slightly. This is really really different...different is good she thought as she took a little step into the room. Her eyes passed over everything infecting it curiously. She looked like a little kid seeing something like a butterfly for the first time. She seemed consumed by her curiosity to such a level she almost tripped right over the bean bag chair in front of her. However beyond her curiosity it was clear she was a tag nervous by the way she was fidgeting with the bottom of her sleeves.

When she bumped into the bean bag and the doctor told her to call her Grace her attention turned to her. She had a slightly shocked look on her face at the fact she was being allowed to call the doctor by her first time. Different is good, it is nice to call someone by their first names the nicest nurses let me do that she thought as she studied the doctor. She looked nothing like Dr Dick.For one thing she was young. Dr Dick left because he retired so he was a good age. Grace looked only a few years older than Emma...though Emma could pass for about 10 years old so it wouldn't be clear to people that didn't know Emma's real age. She was also a woman and quite pretty. Emma liked her hair. Black hair was hard to find and Emma rather liked it it looked bold. She also had a really warm look on her face. It wasn't a pity look either like the kinds she gets from the nurses it was just welcoming.

Emma shyly sat down on the bean bag pulling her legs up close to her so she was curled up into the chair that engulfed her like a little cat almost.When the doctors first question hit her she sat their stunned for a moment before a smile spread across her face and a cute little giggle escaped her lips Yes different is definitely 100% good! she thought almost cheering in her head. No one ever asks Emma that kind of question. They just want crazy people like her to live content little lives and never have strong opinions on anything.

"Well lets say his name fitted him well." Emma said in a slightly Scottish accent. Even though she hadn't lived in Scotland since she was very young her accent was still there. "He was a bit of a dick and tended to be a kinda stick in the mud about stuff...he was going to take away my sketch book once." She muttered with a frown remembering that. Emma had been deep in thought one week because of a dream she had and therefore been drawing allot more. He said it was unhealthy and threatened to take it off her.

Meanwhile back at the house Mark smiled and turned to Abigail grinning as he called him her big brother. He knew it was just a little pet name but it did mean allot to him that she called him that. "How you feeling kiddo?" He said. He knew that she sometimes got embarrassed when he called her that but he couldn't help it and hay they weren't in public or anything so it was fine.

"Ha ha sure I will make you something you could have just called out to ask me though you didn't need to get out of bed." He said clearly worried about her being ill. He stood up coming to about just under 6 feet tall. He had brown short but somewhat messy hair, blue eyes and a warm face with a slightly misshapen but cute nose. He was dressed in fitted grey trousers and a dark brown cardigan as well as a white t shirt.

He quickly pressed save on his work and headed to the kitchen "What would the lady like?" He asked in a fancy waiter voice wanting to make her laugh.

The black haired woman frowned at the mention of her sketchbook almost being taken away. If Grace had not become a psychologist she would have become an artist. The woman loved art and the way that you could express your emotions and mental states when words would fail. She jotted down a few notes about Emma so far, including the bit about her sketchbook. Eventually Grace would re-write all of the files she was given. They needed an update anyways; it seemed that the old doctor was very dry and bland when it came to his patients’ files. All of their medical history was there as were the notes about what he thought was important: their illness. Never once was progress noted, pill dosages showed peaks of higher and lower dosages but nothing beyond that.

“I have art supplies in the corner if you ever want to draw,” she said with a small smile. “All of the drawings I have up on my walls here belong to people I’ve worked with.” She pointed out a few drawings and mentioned to Emma that the people who drew them suffered from many similar conditions that she did.
“He shouldn’t have said that it was harmful, art is very helpful.”

After the death of her parents Grace filled an entire sketchbook within a week. Of course they were simple studies of her sister as she lay unmoving in the hospital bed but there were studies and drawings of the flowers that people had taken Abigail and other things. It was a way to release those emotions that you don’t have words for; the ones that rob you of every feeling in your body. Grace wrote down a few more things before asking another question.

“What do you think of the nurses and other patients?”

Grace was still doing her job but she wasn’t diving in deep on the first day.

---

Abigail’s cheek flushed at her nickname, although it had been around for so long and she loved having a nickname, it was a bit embarrassing since she was a teenager. “Mm…Chicken noodle soup!” she said, getting a glass of ginger ale and making her way to the living room where she could sit to settle her stomach.
Blue curled up at her feet, whining lightly so he could be scratched under his chin. She could understand why her sister loved that dog so much, he was an absolute sweetheart.

“Hey…do you know when Grace is going to get home?”

Of course Abigail was nervous about her sister’s new job since it was a half an hour away, too far for Abigail’s liking. What if her sister hit a deer or went off into a ditch or something? Cars mildly scared her, especially when it was raining. The blonde sighed loudly and nursed her glass of ginger ale like a drunk at the bar.

Emma wriggled as Grace took notes. People taking noes on her always made her nervous even though she should be used to it by now. She didn't say anything though knowing Grace had to do it as part of her job.

Emma smiled a bit when she found out her new doctor liked art. Her eyes went over to the art stuff curiously. Oh she has good stuff she thought then looked at the pictures. They were all very different but Emma liked them all they were all really interesting to her. "That's really cool"She muttered seeming like she was talking to herself as she was still preoqupied by the pictures.

Her next question made Emma shrug a bit. "Most of the nurses are ok, they area really busy though they are worked to hard here, they need to get more"She said seeming very considerate for them which she was but in reality she also wanted more nurses with the chance that one would spend time with her and play with her.

"The other patients are ok do but none of them really talk to be cause I'm a pain." She said with a hint of sadness in her voice. She seemed quite lonely. Emma curled up more in her seat hugging herself a bit now and sinking into her jumper so only her eyes poked out of it.

Mark smiled and nodded "It will be out shortly"He said and started to make it up for her. Mark smiled seeing her with the dog knowing that was quite therapeutic. However he frowned as she asked about Grace. Poor kid has probably made herself ill worrying about her sister he thought. One of the issues he had brought up with Grace's new job was how it would effect her sister. Grace got rather upset about this. However she went to talk to her and Abigail acted as if she was fine with it. However Mark knew better.

"Well it is only lunch time she probably won't be home till just before dinner if even that. She says that the guy she took over from did a pretty bad job so she has to redo all his work." He said as he cooked.

Grace drew doodles as well, to document the girl’s behavior. Quickly drawing the girl huddling into her oversized sweater Grace smiled and asked another question. “How do you like it here?” she asked, not knowing if any patients were allowed outside. This place seemed to be rather old fashioned and boring in her opinion.

The black haired woman squirmed in her seat before falling into a comfortable position and smiling again. “Please tell me that the food isn’t cardboard here,” she whined. Despite her petite size Grace could eat. If the food was indeed cardboard or otherwise inedible she’d have to bring food for herself, as well as Emma. The girl seemed sweet and she reminded Grace of a small puppy; playful and as sweet as a gumdrop.
The only problem was this damned facility.
It didn’t seem to do much to improve the morale of its patients, she had seen several and they didn’t seem to be happy but who would be happy here, in their shoes? They needed help but they didn’t need to be slowly killed with boredom.

It saddened the woman to think that Emma was in such a situation when a girl her age should be making friends and having fun, not wasting her live away in a place with too few nurses and grouchy patients. Grace set her things aside as she got up and went to the small stash of her supplies, pulling out a small pocket sketchbook and a pack of new colored pencils and a few drawing pencils, Grace presented them to Emma.

“Since Dr. Dick was being a dick and tried to take away a very valuable healing tool, I’ll give you these. I can always get more supplies and eventually I’d like for everyone to get into art.” Grace said to the girl with a slight longing look at the black bound sketchbook. Art helped so much more than people realized and it would be nice to liven this place up with drawings and paintings from the patients. “Since it’s lunchtime lets go get something to eat—If it’s bad enough I’ll sneak us in some food.” Grace giggled.

So far Emma was her priority since there were a few other doctors to help with the older patients. They had assigned Emma to her specifically because Grace was the closest in age to the girl, as the other doctors were all older. She had a total of six patients; she had seen a few already but they refused to answer her questions beyond the simple ones.

---

Abigail nodded, “Grace always has to redo someone’s work. You know how she is with things being boring or left out.” The girl sighed.

Emma shrugged at her questions. "I can barley remember not being here so I don't really have a huge opinion on it...the food it ok." She said. Being here half her life had left her in a state of being content with this place.

When she gave her the art stuff she looked up at her with big eyes and with slightly shaky hands took the things she was offering her. "Th thank you so much." She said with a grin on her face. The small things in life could give Emma endless amounts of enjoyment.

Emma looked at her curiously when she said go for lunch "You want to eat with me?"She asked sounding confused. "No other doctor has ever wanted to eat with the patients." She said. "Most of them eat what they brought from home in the staff room."

Grace wrinkled her nose, “How am I supposed to help you if I don’t know anything about you or this place?” she asked, to Grace it would be better if she got a first-hand experience of the living situation of her patients. She might have been trying too hard, as she often did, but Grace really did want to make an impression with everyone that the patients here are people too. “I’ll have to call my husband first, to let him know how things are doing then we’ll go to lunch, alright?” Grace would have made an excellent mother.

Grabbing her cell phone and dialing her house number, Grace was surprised to hear Abigail (who should have been in bed) answer the phone. “Hey Abby,” she said softly to her sister, “How are you feeling?”

“Fine. When are you coming home?” Abigail asked with a dry tone.

“Before dinner, I promise. I was just calling to let you guys know that everything is excellent.” Grace said with a smile as she twirled a lock of her dark hair.

“Okay. You haven’t asked about Mark yet.” Abigail informed her, finding it odd that her sister hadn’t asked about the (worry wart) of a husband and big brother.

“I almost forgot him,” she laughed, “Is he fine?”

“Yeah…he’s making soup now. It’s weird without you here, Grace.” Abigail sounded like she was frowning.

“I know but I really love my job and you guys.” She said, glancing over at Emma. “It’ll get better just give it some time. I’ll talk to you later Abby. I gotta lunch date with a patient!” Grace giggled lightly; she couldn’t wait to tell them about Emma. The girl was sweet and Grace just wanted to hug her.

“Okay. Talk to you later.”

“I love—“

Abigail hung up the phone before Grace was finished talking. The black haired woman frowned but quickly smiled as she turned to face Emma once more. “Ready?”

"Was that Grace kiddo?" Mark called out to her from the kitchen where he was just finishing up making her some soup. When she came back in he gave her a warm smile and said "She will be home before you know it. If you stop worrying about it she will be home sooner"He said knowing she was missing her sister

Emma listened curiously as Grace was on the phone and watched her her eyes following her very movement. When the doctor said she had a date with her Emma's cheeks went a bright shade of pink and she looked down.

Once she hung up she nodded and shyly asked "Whos Abby?"

"My sister," Grace said with a sad smile, "Our parents died two years ago so I have become her legal guardian. She's a year older than you actually." Grace pocketed her cell phone before she put a few things away, such as Emma's file. There was no need for her file to go to lunch with them. "I'm guessing that Dr. Dickinson never talked to you as a person, he always talked to you like an authority figure. If you ever need to talk about something, anything, I will always listen to you."

Despite her childish nature and giggly demeanor, Grace was a wonderful listener. She was also confident that she could help Emma with almost anything. There were some things that she would never fully understand but she could always try to see those issues through the eyes of a young girl like Emma.

Emma frowned at her reply. She seems to young to be looking after a teenager and working in a place like this that must be stressful...and not having your parents love anymore must only make it worseshe thought and bit her lip before saying "Oh I'm sorry that must be hard...is you husband cool with all of that does he help?" Emma asked kinda hoping for some good news. Emma could be a very caring little thing and others people pain really really got to her, which was why being in a place like this was hell for her.

When the doctor said about how her old doctor talked to her Emma looked shocked and a little impressed she may be young but she sure can read a situation well she thought and smiled softly at her comment about coming to her. Right away three things popped into Emma's head. One she wanted to try anxiety medication that didn't make her sleepy, at the moment Emma is lucky if she stays up till 9 before her medication makes her black out. Two she wondered if the doctor knew of the night time wetting issues she sometimes has due to nightmares, she didn't want her thinking badly of her and wanted to explain herself as the old doctor always looked so disgusted when she did it. Finally her favorite teddy bear, which was given to her by her parents when she was born has a rip in it's ear which has been worrying Emma allot she hasn't even been sleeping with it from fear of breaking it but this was leading to Emma tossing and turning all night and even though her medication made her tiered she was only getting about two hours of sleep a night tops. However part of Emma really didn't want to trouble the doctor with all of this. She played with the sleeves of her jumper nervously and just nodded to the doctor but was clearly thinking of something.