It was two weeks after the start of school. Even with the deal Mrs. Garrett had made with her, Dani was having a rough time.
The spankings had not stopped, but they had slacked off for the past week. Frank and Jenny were taking the path of least resistance. There was very little talking in the Roberts household. Dani had said almost nothing. She spent most of her time (when she wasn't doing homework) meditating or crying.
The Roberts' had passed on Dr. Joslin's advice of getting Dani some therapy. There was now a committee at the Department of Corrections reviewing the "Dani matter", as it was being called. So far, they had not issued any constructive suggestions (and it was rumored that they were arguing among themselves), but they agreed to try the Department's therapist with Dani.
Dr. Rash-zin-zuzz was a Rigellian psychiatrist, on retainer with the DOC. He was called in to deal with the mental health of various Penitatas in the Assville area, and also did court-ordered mental examinations and other tasks for the department. Like all Rigellians, he was a telepath. Also like all Rigellians, he looked something like a 1.5-meter tall wasp, complete with 20-cm stinger.
No one had thought to mention it to Dani, however, until almost the last minute. The evening before the appointment, Jenny had told Dani that she would be picking her up at school early the next day, so they could see a new doctor. Dani had asked what kind of doctor, and Jenny had answered her.
"We're all concerned about the fact that you are having trouble fitting in and accepting your new life, and we thought that having someone to talk to would be a good idea. Dr. Rash-zin-zuzz comes highly recommended."
Dani froze. "A Rigellian..." Dani murmured, almost inaudible. Then she started screaming. "You can't! I won't! You keep those damn insects away from me!"
Jenny, surprised and concerned, put her hand out to comfort her niece. Dani immediately started swinging her arms, fists balled tight. She was crying as well as screaming now, and her words were no longer understandable.
Frank, summoned by the noise, grabbed hold of his niece and picked her up. She was incoherent, and her flailing arms struck his back (but did no damage). Frank looked at Jenny with a concerned expression, as he tried to calm his charge.
It had taken two hours to finally get Dani to stop crying. She fell asleep almost immediately thereafter. Jenny and Frank had called the Rigellian's service, and he had called back a short while later. When Frank had told him of Dani's reaction, the doctor agreed that there was little point in his trying to help Dani, as it seemed that Dani had some irrational fear of Rigellians. He said that he would talk to the DOC in the morning, and recommend that they consider a human therapist.
A few days went by, and Dani's condition worsened. She was not eating well. When asked why she had not finished her dinner, she had replied that she wasn't feeling well. While they had let that go one night, when she said the same thing the next day, they had pressed her.
"My stomach is a little upset. It's nothing, don't worry." was the reply. By recent standards, that utterance was a dissertation.
"How long has it been bothering you?" Jenny asked.
"A while. It's nothing," Dani replied.
Jenny tried the normal cure, a penitatas variant of an antacid. This was a perfectly vile concoction, which tasted horrible, but was supposed to settle the stomach. It didn't work exactly as anticipated.
Dani promptly vomited the entire dose of medicine, as well as the rest of her stomach contents.
The next day, Jenny took her to the doctor.
After a brief stay in the waiting room, Nurse Bracken escorted them to an examination room. "Hello, Mrs. Roberts. Hello, Dani. How are you feeling today?" Dani just glared at him.
"Dani has an upset stomach. I tried the antacid, but she threw up just after I gave it to her. I didn't know what else to do." Jenny answered.
"Let me get some vitals, and the doctor will be right in." Jenny was a little surprised when the nurse used a scanner to take Dani's temperature, and other modern instruments to take the rest of the vitals. No rectal temperature, or other overt penitatas procedures. The nurse repeated, "The doctor will be in shortly", and left.
No sooner had the door closed (it seemed) then it opened again to admit Dr. Joslin. "Hello, Mrs. Roberts, Dani. Not feeling so good today, hum?" he said in his best concerned, doctor-to-child bedside manner. Dani just stared at him. "Listen, Dani, I am just going to give you a quick checkup, OK?"
Dani, stared for another moment, and then just shrugged, as if to say, "I don't care." The doctor proceeded to give Dani a thorough checkup, and even took a blood sample himself.
"Mrs. Roberts, I would like to talk to Dani privately, if you don't mind. May I take her to my office?" the doctor asked.
"Fine. I'll wait here."
The doctor dropped the blood sample off at the desk, telling the technician to get the test done right away. Then, he escorted Dani into his office, and seated her in the chair facing the desk. He sat down in the leather chair behind the desk (it was probably imitation, as real leather was very expensive, but you never knew...) and looked at Dani for a minute.
What he saw was different from the girl he had seen just a few weeks previously. He noted that there were circles under her eyes, and that she had apparently lost a little weight. Her cheeks were a little sunken, and she was pale. She didn't look good at all.
"Dani, I know your situation. I have read most of the records of your case, since your rejuve, and I have done some thinking about you since we last met. There is nothing I can do about your sentence, but I have come to a decision. Here, you will be treated like any other voluntaras rejuve. There will be no punishment delivered here, and anything we talk about will be considered privileged. Nothing we talk about will go into any files, and I commit to you that I will divulge nothing of what we discuss." Dani was regarding the doctor with caution, like she was expecting some kind of trick.
"No, Dani, this is not a trick. Let me explain. I think that, regardless of what you may or may not have done in the past, your current health is at risk because of your mental state. I suggested to your mother (Dani bristled, but didn't say anything) that you receive some counseling, but that appears not to have happened yet. In my opinion, you need to have some way of relieving the stress you are under. You need someone to talk to, and you don't seem to have anyone else in your life at the moment. Therefore, until you find someone you like better, I want you to consider me a friend."
"Bullshit" was Dani's only response.
Dr. Joslin smiled. "I am not going to judge anything you say, but you need to talk about what you are feeling. If you don't let what's bottled up inside you out, it will seriously impact your health. Come on, talk to me, what have you got to lose?" Joslin said, and smiled.
Dani stared at the doctor for a long moment. All of a sudden, Dani burst out sobbing. Dr. Joslin got up, walked around the desk, and took Dani in his arms. Dani clung tightly to him. "There, there" Joslin murmured, comforting the girl.
"It's just so hard!" Dani sobbed. "I won't last 48 years of this!"
"You could always relax and go along. The punishment wouldn't be as bad as it is now."
"No, I can't. All I have left is my convictions. If I give in to them, by the end of this sentence, they will have me believing that I was guilty. I can't give them an inch!"