Anger Management

Getting Close

"Doc, I feel totally ridiculous."

"Trust me, Happy, you don't look it," Toby teased. "Not in those tights," she heard him murmur under his breath.

"Perv," she called out.

When Toby had first suggested they try doing yoga as a form of relaxation and to restore peace to Happy's chakras (a term she still didn't understand,) she had laughed in his face. There was no way she was going to spend her day stretching into awkward-looking poses for Toby's enjoyment.

Yet here they were; Happy doing what Toby called a "gypsy dance move" while the poster behind him called it a "tree pose."

"Okay, Happy you're doing this all wrong. I'd reposition you myself but I value my internal organs so I'll show you how to do it." Toby said. He lifted his right foot to the inside of his left leg and folded his arms in front of his chest, as if he were praying. Not that Happy would ever admit it to him, but he was pretty lithe. In her mind's eye she saw an image of the two of their bodies pressed together tightly. Blushing furiously, she shook the thought from her head. She refused to turn into a blushing girl at a thought about the Doc.

She sighed in protest but copied the yoga pose exactly. She had taken ballet classes when she was a young girl, so she knew how to move and bend her body gracefully. She quickly stopped her train of thought, thinking that Toby would appreciate the insinuation. After holding the pose for a minute, she lowered her leg and let her arms fall to her side.

Toby did the same and they both walked to their bags to get a drink of water. Once they were done and ready to continue with the yoga, Toby turned to speak to her.

"This next move is pretty tricky so I wouldn't expect a beginner like you to master it on the first try." Toby said, and Happy shoved him to the side all while laughing.

"May I?" He asked, lifting his hands towards her waist. She nodded and stifled a gasp as she felt his fingers through her thin tank top. Her turned her around so that she was facing the mirror that occupied the length of one wall.

He slowly moved her so that she was bending her one leg, as if she were lunging to the side. He placed her arms straight out on either side of her then returned his hands to her waist to steady her. He told her she was to keep the position for twenty inhalations and exhalations.

She nodded and he took his hands off of her hips. Quickly, she grasped out behind her, found his hands and returned them to her waist. She met his eyes in the mirror and gave him a small smile before continuing her breathing. She liked the feel of his hands on her waist, and for those twenty counts, she focused on his hands, on how they felt, supporting her tiny frame.

Once the twenty counts were up, she stood up straight and turned around. Toby's hands were still on her waist, a fact she was well aware of.

Their eyes met and Happy was sure her heart would beat out of her chest. His eyes flickered between her gaze and her lips, which she had been subconsciously biting. Happy felt her heart hammering as the space between them grew smaller. She felt the heat radiating off of Toby and their breath mingled. Happy closed her eyes and -

"Toby!" A loud, familiar voiced boomed through the studio. Happy jumped away from him faster than she'd like to admit, while Toby kept his eyes closed, almost as if he were frozen.

He turned towards the blonde woman whom Happy now remembered as Katja, from the gym. "Katja. What are you doing here?" His voice was empty.

"Oh, your nice secretary told me I would find you here. Oh, Toby, I was missing you so much that I decided I just had to see you. Oh, and I see your patient is here. How nice," she crooned in a berating voice, as if Happy was a child.

Happy's fists balled at her side and she could feel her anger threatening to spill over. She looked away from the pair, almost missing Toby's hushed voice, while trying to calm herself down.

Toby and Katja exchanged a few words; Toby's hurried and whispered and Katja's loud and obnoxious. Happy busied herself with her phone, trying to look like she was busy while she was actually flicking through her apps.

When she looked up again, Katja was gone and Toby was standing in front of her. Certainly not as close as before they were interrupted, but closer than was usual for them. Toby cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable.

"That," Toby said quietly, "was Katja. You met her at the gym."

Happy nodded. "I remember."

"And you probably didn't know this, but I've been married before. To her."

Again Happy nodded, still not meeting his eyes.

"Recently she made contact with me again. We began speaking and she said she wanted to try again. Just for the record, I said no. After we had split, I realised she wasn't the right person for me." Toby rubbed this knuckles against his lips, obviously deep in thought. He laughed bitterly. "You know, she was the one who broke it off with me. Said she couldn't keep up with me and my problems. As if I were too much effort." He barked out another laugh and collapsed on the bench closest to them.

Happy didn't know how to react. She didn't know how to comfort him, she had never been placed in this situation before. So instead of running her mouth, she sat down next to him. She didn't speak, she didn't touch him; she just let him be. She figured that sometimes, people just didn't want to be alone with their pain. So she helped in the only way she could: she sat with him and stayed silent.

After about 20 minutes of silence, Toby stood up. "Sorry," he said. "It's not your burden to carry. You're not the psychiatrist here."

Happy shook her head. She didn't care, she wanted to help him. She didn't say any of that though. She just looked into his sad eyes and willed him not to be so sad anymore.

After that, Toby quickly packed his things away and left. Happy sat a while in the studio, thinking about how their day had started off so wonderfully and turned into something uncomfortable and sad.