Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:19:57 -0600
From: Paul Tolbert <jatonblue@gmail.com>
Subject: The Unit: Dream Catcher 4

Chapter 3 – Healing

Dave got up promptly at 6:30am after a good night's rest and got ready for
work. He had an early therapy session this morning with Dr. Walsh and
didn't want to be late. He headed out the door around 7:15am. He saw
Mrs. Beckman, his neighbor in the hall and said a quick hello. He headed to
the underground parking garage and got into his vehicle. He cranked the car
up and drove off. He forgot to eat breakfast so he picked up a light
breakfast from McDonald's on his way to the Kelencine building.

Dave still couldn't get the idea of a secret branch of the government
working under the building of a global drug manufacturer. Kelencine
Industries was the first to open the eyes of the government about the
supernatural phenomenon that the world now faces, partly because of the
research they were doing to create their own man-made evolution. They were
practically in bed together so maybe it did make sense Kelencine would
house The Unit under its roof.

Dave quickly ate his breakfast while driving, occasionally losing focus and
swerving around the road. Traffic was light and he was able to get to work
quickly. He drove into the parking lot, got out of his vehicle and headed
downstairs. After the elevator doors opened he rushed out and headed
towards Dr. Walsh's office. Her office was a bit out of the way but he
didn't mind the long walk. The Dollhouse was a massive place, and he'd only
seen level 5. The other levels remained a secret, even to some senior
agents and actives.

Even to this day he was still in awe at how beautiful the dollhouse
was. There was plant life and fountains everywhere, tiny bridges over
charming floor ponds and an incredible aroma lingered in the air; a stark
difference from the stuffy, plain federal building he used to work at. This
was one of the perks of working underground beneath a multi-billion dollar
company's headquarters.

He continued on his way to see Dr. Walsh until a short, geeky looking fella
stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Greetings massive one. Today is a run of the mill day for recreational
activities is it not? Absolutely middling."

"Hello Topher." Dave replied coldly. He wasn't really fond of Topher Brink,
the Dollhouse's main tech guy and self-proclaimed "King of The
Dollhouse". The man was an absolute genius; however he was very annoying
and difficult to deal with. He used his intellect to put others down and
Dave was sure the smaller man said things about him behind his
back. Everyone else seemed to like him however, including Lincoln.

"Where are you headed too?" Topher asked as he snacked on a chocolate
protein bar. He rubbed the excess chocolate on his brown chinos.

"None of your business." Dave answered grimly. He tried to continue on but
Topher blocked his path again.

"I think that John and Lincoln had a date last night. Is that why you two
didn't carpool to work today? Maybe he and John will come in together. I'm
sure he spent the night at John's apartment..."

"Fuck off Topher. I'm late."

"To see Dr. Walsh?" Topher inquired.

"Who the fuck told you?" Dave asked angrily.

"It was pretty easy to figure out big guy. I mean her office IS in this
direction AND you've been coming in early occasionally. Let's not forget
the fact that you have an alcohol addictio—"

Dave grabbed Topher and smashed him against the wall, his forearm pinned
against Topher's neck.

"Who the hell do you think you—"

"Agent Batista." A soft, female voice said. Dave turned his head and saw
Dr. Walsh standing at the end of the hallway. She was a short, petite woman
in her 50's with red hair and large, thick glasses. She had a calming,
pleasant voice that Dave enjoyed listening too.

He saw the disappointment in her eyes and quickly released Topher from the
vice grip. Topher began to cough and grabbed his bruised neck. He gave Dave
a death stare before walking off upset, his pride wounded.

Dave walked slowly over to Dr. Walsh, keeping his head down in shame.

"Hello Dr. Walsh." He said quietly.

"Hello Dave. Follow me please."

Dave followed Dr. Walsh to her office just a few feet away. When they
reached the door, she held it open for him. Dave walked in and sat down on
the leather arm chair near the wooden bookshelf against the wall. Her
office was small and quiet. It was very peaceful here. She was a collector
of glass figurines. They were lined up across the room on various wall
shelves. She sat in a chair across from Dave. She reached behind herself
and grabbed a yellow notepad and pen from her desk. She turned her
attention back to Dave and smiled.

"How are you today Dave?" She asked politely.

"OK I guess." Dave replied unsurely. She nodded and began writing in her
notepad. Dave looked down and began twiddling his thumbs
anxiously. Although he benefited from the therapy sessions, he felt nervous
at the beginning. He didn't like to be in a powerless position being judged
by someone else. It made him feel weak and diminutive.

"Before we start would you like to talk about what transpired a few minutes
ago between you and Mr. Brink?"

Dave sighed and was hushed for a few seconds before talking.

"Topher just gets on my nerves. He's such a ... he's just annoying."

"I see. Some people can be extremely difficult to deal with, although we
have our choices on how we choose to deal with them and the difficult
situations we might face. You lost your calm during your encounter with
him."

"Yeah I did. I don't know why."

She nodded and continued to write down notes.

"Have you ever had any encounters with people where you've gotten upset and
placed your hands on them before?" She inquired.

Dave nodded shamefully. Dave knew he had mild anger issues. In the past he
would verbally explode and even get physical with people he despised. One
time he even got physical with his partner Roger Carrigan. This was back
when he and Roger first became partners. To this day Dave felt ashamed
about the incident, especially since Roger's passing.

Dave and Dr. Walsh continued to talk about Dave's anger issues, Dave
telling her about different instances in the past where he lost his
temper. Dr. Walsh gave Dave a set of coping skills to use in order to
prevent future confrontations. They were about 30 minutes into their
session when they began talking about another topic.

"How's the battle with alcohol going?"

"Alright. I'm still sober. I wanted a drink last night but I didn't have
one."

"Excellent news! Let's explore this. Tell me about last night. What
prompted you to want to have a drink?"

"Well..."

"You can tell me Dave. Remember everything here is in complete
confidence. There's no judging or criticizing."

"Lincoln and I were finishing up this case and I was going to ask him if he
wanted to hang out or something later on but he had plans... with John."

"Hmm. How do you feel about Mr. Burrios?"

"He's great, an incredible guy. He's funny and smart, talented and fun to
be around."

"And Agent Cena?"

Dave took a deep breath and thought to himself for a moment.

"Dave?"

"John's OK I guess."

"Just 'OK'?"

"Yeah."

Dr. Walsh remained silent for a few seconds before responding.

"How do you feel about Lincoln and John's relationship?"

"There's nothing to think about. Lincoln likes John. John likes
Lincoln. That's about it."

"You must have some thoughts about their relationship. Do you support it?"

"I don't know." Dave replied uneasily. The truth was Dave didn't approve of
their relationship. He knew what kind of person John was and didn't want
Lincoln to be with someone like that. Dave didn't know much about John and
Lincoln's relationship. They seemed happy but Dave would rather Lincoln be
with someone else. Dave wasn't being objective with his opinions about John
but didn't see the need to do so.

"You want your partner to be in a happy relationship correct?"

"Of course I do."

"But you don't think John is the right man for him?"

"No I don't." Dave admitted. He started shifting uncomfortably in his
seat. Dr. Walsh noticed this.

"Would you like to discuss this further?"

"No not really."

"OK that's fine. What else would you like—"

A soft knock was heard at the door.

"Come in please." Dr. Walsh said.

Lincoln walked in with a slightly guilty look on his face.

"I'm so sorry for interrupting but I have to speak to Dave."

"That's quite alright Mr. Burrios." Dr. Walsh replied. She smiled at Dave.

"I'll see you next time."

"OK. Bye." Dave got up from his seat and headed out the door with
Lincoln. He wondered why Lincoln needed to talk to him. Dave also had the
unsettling fear that Lincoln may have overhead what he and Dr. Walsh were
talking about.

"It's time Dave." Lincoln said with excitement in his voice. He was pacing
himself quickly as Dave followed suit.

"Time for what?" Dave asked hesitantly.

"We got a new case, a fresh one."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Dave and Lincoln walked at a fast pace towards the man hub of the
Dollhouse.

"Linc slow down. Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see." Lincoln answered. He led Dave towards the main elevator and
pressed the button on the panel and waited for the door to open.

"Linc. Tell me what's going on. What kind of case?"

Lincoln turned to Dave and smiled at him brightly.

"Your official review case man. The case that we've been waiting for, well
the one I've been waiting for at least."

"That doesn't explain where we are going. I thought we went into the
situation room to get our cases assigned to us by Agent Ballard."

"True, however this is your 'Review Case', the case that practically makes
or breaks you. For that we have to see the head mistress herself, Adelle
DeWitt."

Dave was silent for a moment. He was about to meet Ms. DeWitt, the head
poncho at the dollhouse, the leader of The Unit. During his 3 months at The
Unit he never even seen her before. He heard stories about her. They didn't
paint her in the greatest light however. He'd been on a probation period
for 3 months and this was his final test. If he passed this, he will become
an official agent.

His thoughts were broken as the elevator door open and both men stepped
inside. Lincoln opened the elevator door panel to the right and revealed a
biometric scanner on the inside. Dave watched in wonder as he placed his
hand on the scanner and waited for it to confirm his identity. After the
panel lit green, he entered a 7-digit code. After the code was entered he
pressed a button on the panel and the elevator began to ascend upward.

"What the..."

"Her office isn't underground. It's in the actual Kelencine building
several floors up."

Dave remained silent as they rode the elevator for what felt like
minutes. After the elevator abruptly stopped the door opened to a small,
narrow hallway with a large door at the end.

"Here it is." Lincoln said as he stepped out of the elevator. "You coming
Dave?"

Dave stepped out timidly and headed towards the door. Lincoln followed. He
exhaled and placed his hand on the door knob. He was about to meet the
person in charge of The Unit. He was anxious. He twisted the knob and
opened the door slowly to reveal a person standing in front of them.

"Hello Agent Batista."

...