Retribution, A Spencer Reid/Criminal Minds Fanfic

Chapter 53. Keeping Secrets

George Evanston, pediatrician, turned out to be a delightful surprise.

Ana wasn’t sure what  she’d been expecting, but it wasn’t an energetic, cheerful elf. Melinda’s new doctor was short, round and beaming. At first Ana thought he was a clerical worker. When she entered the doctor’s office, the man behind the front desk was busily paging through an appointment book and answered a ringing phone without hesitation. Most doctors didn’t do that, leaving such chores to an assistant or receptionist.

His voice was light and bright. When Ana extended a tentative tendril, her empathic senses told her this was a genuinely happy man. She detected fulfillment in his professional life and a pleasant attitude applied to the rest of his existence that saw it as an adventure with surprises around every corner. The good ones were savored. The bad ones were dealt with as quickly as possible and abandoned after having been inspected for any valuable lessons they might offer. Once left by the side of the road, they were not allowed to taint the rest of the journey. There was remarkable, innate strength of character involved in being able to handle one’s misfortunes that way.

What a nice person to hire for a pediatrician’s office, Ana had thought.

At which, the man had looked up and directly at her, bypassing the few other people waiting patiently in the room. Ana blinked and tightened her arms around Melinda. That seemed to be her new reflex since becoming a mother. Anything even mildly out of the ordinary made her hold her daughter with heightened security. When the man nodded at her, he seemed on the verge of saying something. But a woman appeared behind him, touching him on the back to gain his attention. Soft words were exchanged and the man disappeared into the depths of the office. The woman took his place and called the name of the next patient, ushering her and her toddler through a door and into the inner sanctum.

When Ana’s turn came and she was shown to a room, she realized her mistake.

While she was crooning to her daughter that everything would be fine; this was just a get-acquainted meeting, the examination room door opened and the man from the front desk whisked through it, smile lighting up with sincere enjoyment at meeting a new patient.

“Hello, Mrs. Reid! I’m Dr. George Evanston.” The voice lowered to a register that indicated discretion and secrets were at hand. “Your…um,…other doctor…the one up north?...” Sharp, blue eyes questioned whether she understood to whom he was referring. Ana nodded, indicating she did, and the man’s smile grew even brighter. “Well! He informed me of your, uh, unique situation.”

Ana could feel only good coming from this doctor, but she was still nervous. It took her a moment to understand it was the normal reaction of any new mother entrusting the health of her baby to a stranger. She smiled when she saw Melinda transfixed by the man. Her baby’s social circle had just expanded by a large percentage, considering it included so very few.

xxxxxxx

Nice man. Different, but nice.

Still, he wasn’t Errrrr…..unnnnn….

That was where she really wanted to play. That was the place she felt drawn to…

…no matter how important it was to only watch Errrr…unnnnn…from a distance.

Melinda was learning discipline and choices even though she didn’t have the means to define the concepts yet. Her mind was wide open. This place where her mother had brought her, this city, was uncomfortable until Melinda realized she didn’t have to react to all the sensations impinging on her. She would let the tremendous number of psychic impressions enter the memory that was as perfect as her father’s. She absorbed.