Chapter 33: Doctor Lewis

A slightly confused Doctor Lewis enters the Holo room, his mind whirling with potential problems and questions. The Captain's call had been shrouded in mysterious terminology. Simply stating that he had a patient awaiting his care in this very room. With that thought, he looks up from his introspective thoughts and spots the holographic image of a young woman seated and waiting for him.

Spotting the Doctor, she smiles. Her expression open and welcoming. "Hello Doctor. It's nice to meet you. I apologise for this." She says.

"Ah yes, uhm. It's no bother young lady. Although, I'm not certain I can entirely help you this way. Not without being able to examine you." He grumbles as he seats himself opposite the young woman.

"I don't have any injuries Doctor, but thank you for your concern. Oh I'm sorry. I'm Angie by the way. I'm sorry for not introducing myself straight away. That was very inconsiderate of me." A moue of sadness shows through her smile and the Doctor smiles at her.

"Young lady, you are a delight to speak with. I could wish that more young people were as polite as you. Would you mind coming and teaching some of our young ones manners?" He responds laughingly.

Shoulders shrugging, she looks at the Doctor a little non-plussed. "Would that I could Doctor."

Harrumphing to cover the uncomfortable silence that follows, Doctor Lewis gives his patient a quick once over. Her figure looked to be slim and athletic in nature, with wavy blonde hair past her shoulder. Green, expressive eyes held his, as he sweeps his gaze along her facial feature. Full pouty lips and high cheekbones off sets a small button nose. Meeting her gaze again, those limpid green eyes stare at him with ill concealed mirth.

"Enjoying the view Doctor?" She says as an impish grin curls her mouth upwards.

"Ah, yes, well. Let's get on with this shall we." He grumbles, blushing beet red. Girlish laughter echoes his words as he seats himself a little more comfortably. "Okay Angie, so if there is no injury why am I here?" He finally asks.

Any response Angie may have given is stalled as the door opens again. The lithe figure of Elise slipping through the opening as unobtrusively as possible. Both heads turn to her and she pauses, a look of uncertainty on her face. "Oh, hi. I was told to report here, that my services were needed. Hello Doctor Lewis!" She smiles at the Doctor, then turns her attention to the holo image on the opposite side of the table. "Hello there." She says. "I take it you need guidance or help of some kind." Seating herself next to the Doctor, she smiles and nods.

"Elise! So good to see you lass. How's the munchkins?" Doctor Lewis asks.

"Just dandy doc." She says, covering her mouth with one hand as she yawns. "Keeping me awake at night, but they're wonderful." She smiles. Turning to Angie, she nods in her direction. "I'm Elise, it's nice to meet you."

"Hello Elise, my name's Angie. It's nice to meet you too." Angie responds.

"Elise?" The Doc asks. "Why are you here?"

"Oh, the Captain said there was someone in here needing to talk with a trained psychologist. As I'm the closest they have, I got drafted." her shoulders lift in a shrugging motion and she smiles, a little wryly. "Not to worry. I have my bachelor's and was almost finished with my Masters. Had the damn meteors not happened I would have graduated and started working later this year." Settling herself into a more comfortable position, Elise takes out a notepad and pen from a hidden pocket and sets them out on the table. "Don't mind me, Doctor Lewis will be talking with you for now, and I'm just going to sit, listen and take some notes. If I have any pertinent questions I'll chime in."

"Ok Elise. I trust you to know what you're doing." Angie responds, smiling in her direction.

Taking control, Doctor Lewis turns back to Angie. "Okay, let's get this show on the road. How can we help you lass?" He asks, keeping his confusion close to his chest.

"Well Doctor, you could say that I'm sort of having a bit of an existential crisis." The laughter leaches from her eyes, being replaced with an undeniable sadness. "I recently confronted my own death, and I've come to realize that those closest to me have no faith or trust in me. If the people I care about don't trust me, or the things that I say, then how can my life have any meaning?" A tear slips down her cheek, a slim hand rising to absentmindedly wipe it away. "One moment I think that I just want to stop existing, the next I can't help but think that I want so badly to continue existing. That I have so much to give to the world and all its people." A wry smile graces her lips momentarily before she continues.

"My life has been, testing, to say the least. I've been hidden away from the world my entire life. My father the only person I ever had any interaction with. And now that I'm finally meeting other people, it feels like all I'm receiving is hatred and distrust. I feel like I'm being treated like an inhuman monster." Bowing her head into her now raised hands, Angie's shoulders start to shake as quiet sobs emanate from her.

"Oh, you poor, sweet child!" The Doctor murmurs, his hands reaching out as if to comfort her. Slowly, he pulls back as he realizes he cannot touch a hologram and sighs in frustration. "Were you here right now child, I'd be around that desk giving you the best medicine I know."

Curiously, she raises her head, the tears slowing as she tries to fathom what the Doctor means. "There's a medicine you could give me if I were actually here?" She asks.

"Of course child. It's called a hug!" He smiles at her gently.

"I think I'd like that." She says, smiling back at him just a little.

"Angie. I need to ask a little bit of a sensitive question now. Why do you feel you've been treated this way?" He asks. "What has happened to make you think like this?"

"I." She hesitates, shaking her head. "No. I don't want to talk about it." She mutters. "It hurts too much to think about it, I really don't want to talk about it." She mutters, an element of stubbornness bleeding through her tone.

"That's okay Angie, we can come back to that later." He replies.

"If I may Doctor." Elise interrupts. "Angie, why don't you just talk for now. The Doctor and I will simply listen. That way you can talk about whatever it is that's causing such distress in your own words, and in your own time." He eyes slide towards Doctor Lewis's, pleading to him to let her take control. Silently, he nods and leans back into his chair.

"Of course. That's a good idea Elise." He says, smiling towards Angie. "We're here for you Angie. But understand this lass, no one in this room will judge you for your life. You are a living, breathing work of art and should be treated as such."

Angie's face suffuses with colour, her head ducking in shy embarrassment at Doctor Lewis's kind words. Slowly, hesitantly, she starts to talk.

"I was born different to everyone else. Father said I was born special, that I had to be hidden away because no one would understand me. That they'd want to destroy me if they found out about me. But father is dead now, and I have no choice but to interact with others." Tears slip silently down her cheeks as she speaks. Her eyes downcast now, as if fearing the looks on their faces.

"When I was found, I was treated so nicely, until they found out what I really was. I'd never seen a look of horror on someone's face before, and certainly not directed at me. It hurt so much." One hand rises and presses into her chest. "It felt like someone was physically ripping out my heart. To be told, coldly, to my face, that I was a soulless monster made me question my very existence." She sobs.

"What if they're right? If I don't have a soul, then I can't be real. Can I? Can someone with no soul even be classed as sapient, or event sentient? All these questions keep repeating in my head, I feel like I'm going to go crazy trying to answer them. I just, I just don't know anymore." A deep sigh fills the room as she falls silent. Her head finally raising to brave a glance at the other two people in the room.

Silent tears fall from Elise's eyes, her hands making no move to wipe them away. Her pen lying discarded on the desk surface. Silence reigns as Angie slowly brings herself back under control, until finally, she whispers. "I think you can come in now Captain." The door opposite the one both Doctor Lewis and Elise had entered opens, to reveal Captain Martinez and Kyle.