Therapist, Audrey Edwards, has a new client. She's worked with ex-soldiers before, but none quite as intriguing as the enigmatic James Buchanan Barnes.
"i found love
where it wasn't supposed to be,
right in front of me."
- I Found, Amber Run.
Sl...
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"so tell me where to put my love, do i wait for time to do what it does?" - My Love, Florence + the Machine
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content warning: this chapter contains brief mention of attempted sexual assault.
I've been given fifteen weeks to work with Mr. Barnes. Help get him ready to be a useful and fully functioning member of society.
At the end of the fifteen weeks, he'll go through a psych evaluation. And if he passes his eval, he can choose whether he still wants to see me or not.
If he doesn't pass, they'll give me another month before more eval's.
But they've passively applied pressure on me to make sure he does pass at the end of the fifteen weeks. For their sake, more than his.
The regime they've assigned for his amends.. it doesn't sit well with me.
They claim it's a win-win, that in turn, will help clear his conscious. But I do not like the way they're going about it.
To me, it just sounds like he's being used. Again.
They don't care about him, they just want this taken care of. And quickly. They want to put it all behind them. Whether it truly benefits him or not.
They say they'll give us more time, but I can't imagine they'll be thrilled if he doesn't pass his eval at the end of the fifteen weeks.
I'm beginning to think perhaps this is why Dr. Raynor didn't accept James as a client. But surely if that was the case, she wouldn't suggest me.
Maybe I shouldn't have accepted..
I can only hope she was truthful when she said my methods would be better for James.
I stand at my kitchen bench, looking down at my notes from our first session today.
"James is deeply affected by the loss of his friend and everything he did under HYDRA's control, as their super-assassin."
We didn't delve into too much, but this much was clear to me.
It's crazy to think I was sitting opposite an 'assassin' today. He seems anything but.
He's going to be a tough one to crack, though. He's guarded, jaded and untrusting. And I can't say I blame him. It's perfectly understandable.
It doesn't help that the first therapy session he had, he was passed on to someone else.
I'm determined to not abandon him. To be someone he can trust. I'm determined to help him be free. Lord knows, he deserves it.
There's so much I want to work through with him. I have to work out a plan to follow over the next fourteen sessions.
