Achievement Hunter Dentist Adventure

Chapter 14, "The Talk"

(AN: alright I know the chapter sounds like it's going be about the birds and the bees, but it's not I promise.

Jack stood up and walked over to Gavin calmly. He pulled Gavin into another hug, feeling as though Gavin needed it.

"W-why is he h-he-her-here?" Gavin asked.

"He wants to talk to you about your fear. Geoff and I are here to talk with you because we want to know what's going on." Jack explained. Gavin shook his head.

"No-Geoff said-no..." Gavin said. Geoff walked over.

"Listen, we know you're scared, but you won't get better until you get help, and we want to help you. Right now, all Doctor Smith is is a person. He doesn't have anything that could hurt you. Even if he did, Jack and I would be here to walk you through it. Geoff said. Gavin looked over at the dentist in question, and was greeted with a soft smile. Gavin felt Jack give him a reassuring squeeze. He let out a sigh and nodded. The other three men in the room smiled. They knew it was small, but all three knew it was progress.

"Just come sit down over here and we can start talking alright?"  Doctor Smith said. Gavin nodded and slowly made his way over to his spot across from the doctor. Jack sat down next to him.

"Awesome. How are you dong Gavin?" Smith asked. Gavin shrugged.

"Fine I guess..." he said. The dentist smiled at him.

"No I'm not talking physically. How is your brain doing?" the doctor asked. Gavin thought for a moment.

"It's tired and I feel like it's processing slower than normal." Gavin said. The other three nodded.

"Well that is normal after what happened yesterday. But I will get straight to the point. Geoff told me you had a nightmare last night, and from what Geoff told me it didn't sound too good. I wanted to come ask you some questions and work on a game plan because I want my profession to not scare you. Would you be okay with that Gavin?" Doctor Smith asked.

"Yes." was all Gavin said as he looked at Jack who nodded.

"Excellent, do you want to start by telling me what you saw in your dream?" Smith asked.

"Sure doctor..." Gavin said as he began to think back to his dream.

"Please, call me Nate." Nate said.

"Okay, Nate... I was seven and back in London, and I was going to the... clinic... with my mom. I wanted her to go back with me but... but..." Gavin said, voice quaking.

"Easy Gavin, we can have you type it out if you want." Geoff said and Gavin nodded. Jack stood up and went to grab a laptop that was nearby, and when he returned Jack gave the laptop to Gavin, who began to type rapidly. The other three waited patiently.

"So Nate, do you do this type of stuff often?" Jack asked as Gavin typed.

"I do meetings like this with scared clients often, but usually it is at my office, but there is always a few times I do need to step out of office to go talk to people. So doing something like this is pretty common for me." Nate said. Jack nodded.

"I have a question, how do these meetings usually go?" Geoff asked.

"Well most of the time, we have people who bring the person in, and we talk about what causes their fear, and what it does to them so I can fully understand what is going on when they see or hear anything about my profession. Then, as a group we come up with a plan to help the person combat their fear. While they may not entirely get over their fear, the plan helps all sides know what is going on." Nate explained as Gavin finished typing. Geoff nodded.

"Are you done Gavin?" Jack asked. Gavin nodded. Jack took the laptop and handed it over to Nate so he could read it. Gavin couldn't help but get nervous all over again, he wasn't used to opening up to other people about his medical past, even telling his doctor if he eats healthy scared him. Nate nodded as he finished the writings before him.

"Gavin I am going to start by saying how sorry I am that you have had to go through a traumatic experience like that. No one deserves to go through that, but I promise I want to work with you to help you work towards overcoming your fear. I'm sure Jack and Geoff will agree that we want you to be in the best shape as you can." Nate said. Geoff and Jack nodded and Gavin looked down. "With that in mind I also want to tell you that there is no shame in needing help on this. Your fear is completely normal and I see people who are also afraid all the time. So anything we talk about is nothing that will surprise me, but I will work with you to try to get over your fear as much as possible." Nate said. Gavin nodded.

"Let's talk about your appointment yesterday. What was your initial reaction when you found out where you were going?" Nate asked. Gavin thought for a minute.

"I was scared, I wanted to run. I wanted to go hide in a dark corner and never come out." Gavin said. Nate nodded. Jack put a hand on his back.

"Would us telling you have helped you more?" Geoff asked. Gavin thought for a moment and shook his head.

"I maybe would have tried to run." Gavin said. Nate, Geoff, and Jack nodded.

"Alright, and what did you think when you were in the waiting room?" Nate asked. Gavin thought again.

"I thought it was back in London, I thought I was going to die." Gavin admitted. All three men looked concerned.

"When the nurse went to call you back, what did you think?" Nate asked.

"I thought I was back in England... I was... scared Jack wouldn't be with me..." Gavin said. Jack rubbed Gavins back. "I thought... I was going to get hurt... Or worse..." Gavin said. Nate got a sympathetic smile on his face.

"Was there anything my nurse could have done to help?" Nate asked. Gavin shook his head. "When you got into the room what were you thinking?" Nate questioned.

"I thought I was going to die. I thought.. I thought this was all a lie." Gavin said with a sniffle.

"When you saw me walk in, did you think I was there to harm you?" Nate asked. Gavin just nodded and put a hand on Jacks leg for support. Geoff nodded, as did Nate.

"Alright, that's not a problem. I hear that stuff all the time and it doesn't hurt my feelings, I promise I was not going to kill you. We can stop for a minute alright?" Nate said. Gavin nodded again. He needed a break. Geoff stood up and went and got Gavin some water. Jack just held Gavin in a hug that Gavin desperately needed.