Long Run

9

"Have you thought anymore about taking medication?" I asked Tom as another one of our sessions had begun.

"A little, but as you said, I don't want to get hooked on it," Tom replied.

"You said you didn't have a past of drug abuse," I pointed out, the second guessing myself. "At least, I thought..." I began going through his files.

"No, no, I don't. I meant...you said I could start depending on them, and I don't think that's good for this occupation," he expanded.

I gave a nod. "Of course, I completely understand. I just want you to know it's still an option."

"Well, I do think these sessions have been helping. If I just keep doing them, I think I'll be able to manage," he grinned.

I sighed, looking down. "Unfortunately, this will be our last session, Tom," I broke the news. This was the part I hated most, telling my patients I'd no longer be able to treat them because of the relocation. They weren't all coming with us, just Jason, me, and a couple of his closest members who he trusted most to help out.

"What's going on?" Tom asked.

"I know Jason hasn't said anything yet, but sometime today he'll announce that him and I will be relocating to a new base," I explained.

Tom looked shocked, shaking his head. "Is everything okay? I know the attacks are still bad, but he can't abandon us..."

"He's not abandoning you all, I'm sure he'll still do everything he can with that situation," I tried to comfort him, even though I had no authority to say so. I didn't know Jason's plan at all other than I was packing up my things for us to move in two days.

"That bastard!" Tom banged the table, making me jump. He stood up, running his hand through his short hair. "Just leaving it all to us? He always manages to screw us over!" I was a bit shaken, not expecting an outburst. All my other patients had been frustrated as well, but quietly accepted the news.

"I promise, that's not his intention. It has to do with my safety," I hesitantly said, unsure whether I should be sharing details.

Tom's face softened at this reveal. "Is everything okay?"

I shrugged. "I honestly don't know, but Jason's being very cautious about it. I'm sorry it's affecting you though," I apologized.

"Do you know where you'll be relocating?"

"I'm sure Jason will tell you later, but I believe we're going to New York," I answered. It would be a long flight since we're currently in California, but that's what Jason wanted; moving as far as we can without leaving the country since things got more complicated once we left the U.S.

"Across the country? Wow," Tom nodded.

"I've talked to Jason about having another psychologist, or psychiatrist, here though," I added.

"Thanks, Dr. Hartford. I really have enjoyed our sessions."

I gave a grin, "Of course."

Later that night, I had finished packing everything in my room. Not that there was much to pack in the first place, mostly just clothes. It got me thinking of wanting to personalize my room more once we moved.

A soft knock on the door made me turn around, meeting Jason's golden eyes. "Everything ready for tomorrow?" he asked, walking in.

I nodded, looking down at the three boxes I had. "Yeah...are you sure we should be moving? It was just one guy..."

"Hey, we already talked about this. I'm not taking any chances that someone can hurt you," he grabbed my arm.

"It's just...there's already so much going on here with the raids, and now everyone here will be left to deal with it..."

"I'm not just going abandon everyone, I'll still be watching over things and looking into what's going on. I've been the leader for years for a reason," he cut me off, reassuring me. I took a deep breath, nodding in agreement. I don't know why I'm even questioning him, he knows what he's doing. "Where's all this coming from? That's not even something that should be on your mind," he asked.

I shook my head, "It's just from talking to my patients today. There were some...not so great reactions."

"From who?" Jason furrowed his eyebrows, dropping his hand from my arm and his voice tense now.

"You know I can't tell you that," I tilted me head.

"Screw confidentiality, they work for me! If they have something to say..."

"Jason, I think they're just frustrated with the situation. Can you blame them?" I tried calming him down, locking our eyes.

Jason stared at me for a moment before he softened, letting out a breath. "They're just going to have to deal with it. We're leaving tomorrow," he stated.

I nodded. "I know," I agreed.

Jason stepped towards me. "You should get some sleep, we're leaving early," he advised, kissing me on the forehead and then again on the lips.