Unconditionally Conditioned |

•☯︎︎𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟻☯︎︎•

     It had been a few days since the episode and Jason had been back and forth checking on Alice, at first, Alice wouldn't open the door, she'd just give a thumbs up through the window, she was too embarrassed to even lock eyes with the man. After a few days of giving him the thumbs up, she cracked the door open slightly, just enough so he could hear her say she'd taken her meds and eaten. After a few weeks she worked up the courage to let him inside, not for very long though. He'd briefly and subtly scan over her pill organiser to make sure she'd been taking them, Alice never noticed.

"Hello? Earth to Alice?" He questioned, waving his hand in front of her face, she had realised that she had been lost in thought  and she was caught staring at him for a lot longer than she thought.
"Hmm?" She hummed, returning her gaze to the tv.
"You've got the doctors today, remember?"
Alice froze, those dreaded words, a shiver engulfed her as she came to the realisation that there was nothing she could do to escape it.
"D-do I have to go?" She muttered, Milo could sense her starting to get worked up, and went to lay on her lap to calm her nerves.
Jason nodded.
"It's not for another hour so we can chill out until then, and if you want me to take you-"
"N-no that's okay" Alice interrupted.
Alice had her own route on getting to the doctors, she always walked there alone as it was only a five minute walk, across the complex car park, cross the crosswalk when the green man appears on the traffic lights, down the street, second left and it was the second building on the right.

Half hour had passed and Alice had gotten ready to leave her apartment for the first time since her episode. This was always the difficult part, the first time going out since an episode. She always found that with every episode, regardless on the severity, she always struggled to leave her house afterwards, it was never easy for her, she'd be over run with guilt for days maybe even weeks after her episode.
She strapped Milo into his harness and looked at her apartment again before she left to see where everything was, once satisfied she left her now empty apartment, as Jason had left to go to his apartment and shower, she quickly made her way down the stairs and started her pre planned routine to the doctors, remembering little things like crossing the street before the green man disappears, tapping the wait button on either side twice, blinking twice every time she passed someone and just little things like that to help keep the intrusive thoughts under control until she got to the doctors.

The doctor asked her a series of questions, some of which were too sensitive for Alice to answer but, they had to be done.
The doctor took note of her various cuts and burns due to her episode and decided to give her additional pills, something that calms her nerves when she has her episodes, Xanax. He said that one of those in the morning and night or before she felt she would be in a situation where her attacks would become severe would help to reduce her anxiety greatly, however it had been years since Alice had any changes to her meds and therefore would take a while for her to be able to be comfortable with altering her routine for them, yes it was only one maybe two additional pills to her day which, in any other case wouldn't be an issue, however Alice's life is built on routines, simple things like this are the foundation of her condition which means that having them altered can be distressful for her. Knowing that her pill organiser needed to have an extra pill in each slot meant, in her mind, everything had to be altered, everything had to be changed and she needed to start all over again.