"I'm feeling great-I can't describe it to you. It's a transformation" Nick said, with a grin stretching from ear to ear- The famous, million dollar smile to which far too many girls were a slave to and melted when they saw it. But the smile was genuine. It was unlike those forced flashes of smiles on red carpets, or at photo shoots. Nick felt happy and most importantly healthy-he hadn't tasted this success is a long time, and it tasted so sweet.
"That's good to hear." Dr. Belkin noted. "How is being off the medication? Any problems? Side effects?" He listed to Nick.
"None of the above." Nick said laughing. A small toy car of Baylee's resided near where he sat and Nick pushed it gently on its wheels and watched it glide over the smooth flooring he was sat on before coming to a halt.
"Ok, so no physical problems- I assume there have been no more anxiety attacks?" Dr. Belkin asked hopefully.
"None whatsoever." Nick told him proudly. This new sense of control had lead Nick to feel proud of himself. He, after all, had suffered through blood, sweat and tears to be in the position he was in now. He had fought a fierce tug of war and was finally feeling like he was gaining ground. The Nick he knew was returning to him, piece by piece. Leighanne wandered in from the swimming pool area. She wore a bikini and her hair was dripping from the water, her skin slightly red from the sun. Nick waved at her.
"Don't mind me." She whispered to him, with a towel wrapped around her waist. She was heading upstairs to have a shower, and get dressed.
"That's great news." Dr. Belkin described to Nick. "I'm very proud of you. It's been difficult, but you've stuck with it-well done." "I suppose I haven't been in too many situations up here, away from L.A, whereby I've felt stressed…" Nick expressed his concern. He by no means wanted to return to his own life just to find the attacks waiting for him when he got back. He couldn't hide at Brian's forever.
"I would expect to relapse at one point Nick…" Dr. Belkin informed him, hoping that this wouldn't disappoint him too much. "…You may not have an attack for three years and then all of a sudden have one. Mental illness is not so similar to physical illness, whereby you received a cure and simply get better." Nick nodded his head as Dr. Belkin spoke. He had never considered himself "mentally ill" and just assumed no one in therapy truly considered themselves mentally ill. Nick wasn't sure if this was true or not, but he didn't care, he was happy in his assumptions.
"The important thing to remember is not to feel defeated if you find yourself stressed or find yourself having an attack…" Dr. Belkin advised. "…Use you're new found control and positive attitude to label the attacks as no big deal…"
"But it's hard to see them as "no big deal" when I'm guttering and can't breathe…" Nick was violently reminded of when he lay fitting on the floor of the restaurant where he met Heather. A chill trickled down his spine and Kaos tattoo despite the warm weather. "I know it's difficult." Dr. Belkin stated. "But you have to try, and my phone number is always there, and my office door is always open…" He reassured Nick, whom he believed had lost some of his valour in the last few minutes. Nick was going to find returning to L.A a challenge, but Dr. Belkin was sure he could do it. "So…" Dr. Belkin said changing the subject. "…How are you and Heather?" Nick sighed pleasurably thinking about her. He hadn't seen her in a while, and waited like a child would wait for Christmas for her arrival that afternoon.
"Well all is good I guess…" Nick described. "…She's coming to visit today." Nick's cheeky smile grew across his face, as beautiful as a sunrise would spread out across the sea.
"Are you looking forward to that?"
"Yeah I really I am." Nick looked up from fiddling with the cord on the phone as he heard Baylee scream. He was alarmed. But he relaxed when he saw that the wide-eyes toddler was running dripping wet straight in his direction. Nick braced himself, but Baylee nearly knocked him over, sprinting as fast as his little legs could carry him through the now open patio doors. Dr. Belkin heard the child's laughter.
"Who is that?" Dr. Belkin smiled to himself-everyone smiles when hearing the laughter of a child.
"That's Baylee-Brian's son." Brian made Baylee leap up and run when he threatened to towel him down. The two ran around playfully, Nick in the centre of their array. He placed one finger in his ear, and tried to say goodbye to Dr. Belkin.
"If you need me…" Dr. Belkin started. "…Call me or come down to the hospital ok?" Nick agreed and hung up the phone, before joining in with the antics, seeing as how he missed the fun in the pool. He and Brian were soon out of breath, beaten by the bouncing toddler, but Leighanne came up behind Baylee as a secret weapon and scooped him up, and jogging him upstairs to get changed. "So…" Brian said his breathing steadily returning to normal. "Is Heather coming in a while?" Nick nodded, leaning playfully on Brian, he rested on his back. "No sex in my bed sheets!" Brian joked to him and Nick laughed.
"No sex…" Nick assured him. He wasn't going to rush with Heather if he could help it.
"We're going to go shopping so will you be able to watch Baylee for a while?" Brian asked. "I know Heather will be here, but is that ok?"
"Yeah, sure, no problem." Nick declared, sighing to himself. He could multi-task-entertain and perhaps get intimate with Heather and keep an eye on Baylee. Nick closed his eyes, as he collapsed on the sofa. Brian retreated upstairs to shower and dress himself. He randomly remembered fragments of his fever driven dream whereby he saw Brian and Leighanne screaming and shouting at him. His imagination was alive with panic and anger. The image was disturbingly vivid to him, and he was unsure as to why…
