Patient Killer

derek’s here.

Derek, come on in.

Started late.

I know. I had a few things to finish up.

I’m sorry.

Derek...

I want you to look at everything in this room

that’s out of place.

And i’d like you to leave them that way.

Have a seat.

Please.

Thank you.

I-i don’t know how you expect me to focus.

I’m gonna help you with that.

Ignore everything else in the room.

Let it all melt away.

Just focus on me.

Let’s work on our breathing.

Okay?

Deep breath in.

And out.

There you go. I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you so much for this.

The name’s Walt.

The dedication--

who are the initials? A family member?

A patient. Wow.

Really? he must be very special to you.

They all are.

Derek.

I wanted you to sign my book.

You know, you didn’t have to come all the way down here.

I would’ve gladly signed one at my office.

Well, I know how you feel about boundaries,

but you’ve done so much for me,

I just wanted to show my support.

Well, thank you for your support.

I’ll see you next week.

Wednesday, 10:00 A.M.,

sharp.

I will try not to be late.

Who would you like your book signed to?

Actually, I just wanted to meet you.

Well, nice to meet you.

I don’t think you realize how much you’ve affected peoples’ lives.

Well, I hope that my work can make a difference

even if it’s just a little bit.

Hi there.

Wow.

Your book has really taken off.

It’s like i’m dating a celebrity.

Does that work for you?

Yeah.

It’s fulfilling a childhood fantasy.

Mm, how revealing.

And there it is.

The doctor’s never far from the conversation.

Oh, i’m sorry.

Just with all these book signings, it’s hard to get out of work much, you know.

But I only have one more.

Then i’m all yours.

That’s what you said before the symposium.

And before that, it was the lecture at the university.

It’s always something.

Jason, i’m--

it’s all right.

One of the reasons i fell in love with you.

You’re so devoted to sacrificing everything for everyone else.

I just wish I was more than your happy hour.

Ohh. I hate that you feel like that.

Mm.

And i’m sorry. You’re right.

Can I make you dinner this week?

I don’t think I can do it till Thursday.

Thursday’s fine.

this was a good week.

I just had a few episodes

of anger at inanimate objects,

um, some semi-violent fantasies

about people that drove too slow.

But they were just fantasies?

But they were just fantasies. Good.

Um, I went to the laundromat.

Put in my clothes. I left for about a half hour.

I came back. Somebody had left the dryer door open

and didn’t restart the cycle.

So my clothes were wet.

So how did you react?

[Inhales deeply, exhales]

I did my breaths,

closed the door, restarted the cycle.

That’s fantastic.

I’m very proud of you.

The old Derek would’ve rewashed everything.

Oh, I did. Several times, actually.

Scrubbed until they were spotless.

I’m kidding.

Ha-ha-ha. that was very good.

Huh? you got me.

Gotcha.

I think that’s a good note to end on.

Okay.

I’ll see you next Wednesday at 10:00.

Okay.

will that be cash or a check?

Check. I will never pay in cash.

I can assure you that.

Right. what was I thinking?

All done.

Okay. you’re gonna wanna give that

directly to Dr. wrightmar when she calls you in.

Blaire.

Hi.

I’ll take that.

Thank you.

I’ll be in in a second.

Is everything okay?

Yeah. yeah. I was just...

See you, uh, next Wednesday.

bye. 10:00 A.M.

Yes.

Do you have any details for my talk at the university today?

Oh, that was postponed.

There was a meningitis outbreak on campus,

so professor wheaton thought it best to reschedule.

You need to tell me these things.

I put it in your calendar. It’s still in here.

Okay.

Okay? yeah.

All right. It’s fine.

Hey. hi.

You were at the book signing, weren’t you?

Yes. I had made an appointment,

but I felt like I wanted to meet you in a more casual setting first.

Well, i’m glad i didn’t scare you away.

Have a seat.

That’s great.

I should let you know up front--

I like to record all my sessions with my clients.

It just lets me be totally present

and not have to worry about taking notes.

I hope you’re comfortable with that.

I guess if that’s what you do with everyone.

Okay.

So, you already know a little bit about me--

how I conduct my practice.

Why don’t you start by telling me

a little something about yourself?

Like what?

Something brought you to my door.

I’m having trouble sleeping.

I wake up every night,

and i’m drenched in sweat,

my heart’s racing, and i--

I feel like i had a nightmare,

but i-- i can’t remember.

How often does this happen?

Every night.

I’m sorry.

When did your sleep disruption start?

After my divorce.

But they’ve just gotten worse lately.

Was your divorce amicable?

I guess.

But it just ended so quickly.

I mean, one day, he just left.

That must’ve been painful.

Would you like to talk about that?

I know that this is hard,

but if i’m gonna help you,

then we have to be completely open with each other.

It’s just so hard to talk about this

with someone who is so perfect.

I have failures that I struggle with every day,

and every day i get a little bit stronger.

And it’s overcoming those failures

that has made me into a better person.

Your turn.

I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

Blaire-- blaire...

This was a bad idea. I’m sorry. Blaire, wait.

Blaire!

I didn’t meant to waste your time.

You haven’t. Please just come back inside. This was a mistake.

I wanna help you.

You can’t. Nobody can. Don’t say that.

We can make it better if we work together.

We just need to set some goals.

Like what?

First, we need to know what your dream is about.

We’ll just start with one single detail.

Keep a pen and a notepad by your desk,

and when you wake up, just write.

I wanna be here to help you through it.

I’m not saying it’s gonna be easy,

but we can do this if we do it together.

You promise?