Professionalism
Bailey cried in the taxi the whole way back to work. Her tears forced this new cab driver to stay quiet. As she got out of the cab, he told her everything will be okay. She smiled at his sincerity but losing her mother at such a young age would never be okay, and seeing her grandmother becoming less and less of her grandmother every time she visited was soul destroying. She appreciated the kind man's sentiment and wished he were the driver she had on the way to the visit. Bailey nervously returned to the medical wing. She walked through the automatic doors and Dr Koda was in the middle of the corridor, she clocked her instantly. Dr Koda was a kind woman, but scary too. She raised her eyebrows at her and walked to her bed which Bailey should have been in. With her tail between her legs, Bailey followed.
"You know, I came to discharge you this morning but all I found was an empty bed and a pair of patient pants." She said.
Bailey was elated, "Really, oh thank god, I mean thank you Dr Koda."
She scribbled a signature on her tablet, signing Bailey's discharge papers, it sent an automatic email to Director Michaels.
"Please take it easy and watch yourself, I don't want to see you in here again unless it's paying someone a visit." She smirked.
"I don't plan on it." Bailey smiled.
She called Patsy on the way to the gym to get her to meet her there. She needed a shower and some makeup to look much more presentable before she returned to work. Patsy met her and brought her cosmetics bag for Bailey to borrow. After scrubbing herself clean and giving her hair a good wash, Bailey joined Patsy at the mirror where she got ready properly for the day.
"So," Patsy began, "I don't think you are going to be too pleased about this."
Bailey put the powder brush down, "Oh god. What?"
"Dr Thomas, Armstrong and Jennings were getting very...bored. With Barnes held up in his room and nothing to work on, and with the complex being basically soundproof from the inside out, Thomas suggested we use the security cameras to see if we could pick up any sound."
Bailey clenched her teeth, this wasn't awful. Dr Thomas has most definitely done worse whilst on the team.
"They – sorry, I shouldn't say they, because it has been me too, we have been listening to the recordings from the camera closest to his bedroom door, it has mainly been radio silence, but each night
Barnes is heard to be screaming. He is having nightmares every night, and this can happen on and off for hours."
Bailey sighed, "Hmm. I did say to Mr Barnes that the cameras are only used for security purposes, not in terms of monitoring him and benefitting the programme. I am not okay with Thomas not running this past me first. I've been on bedrest, not a coma. I will speak to him."
The two made their way to the psych floor. Bailey swapped her hoodie for a white lab coat in an attempt to hide her casual attire. The doctors welcomed her back, and she asked for a word with Dr Thomas over the other side of the room out of earshot of the team.
"Glad to see you up on your feet Bailey," Dr Thomas smiled as he looked her up and down.
"Thank you. I feel much better," She began. "Dr Thomas," she said trying to remind him to use a level of professionalism with her, "I do not appreciate you making executive decisions in my absence, especially when I was an elevator ride away."
The smile was wiped from his face, "I'm sorry Bailey-"
"Dr Johnson." she interrupted.
"I'm sorry Dr Johnson, I was just trying to take the initiative, we were treading water and I wanted you to come back to some content."
"I appreciate your efforts to an extent, but please think about the way you should go about things." Bailey said and turned to walk away.
Dr Thomas caught her by her arm, "Whilst you're here," he said, "I was wondering, now you're recovered, if you wanted to go get a drink sometime this week after work?"
Bailey was left speechless, a very rare occurrence. She was stunned at the fact that Charlie thought this was appropriate. Her mind listed a tonne of reasons why this wasn't a possibility and why it shocked her so. She was his team leader, they work closely together every day, she was shocked that he saw her in a romantic way, that he thought she could possibly like him in a romantic way, and that he thought this was an appropriate time to even ask.
"Er, erm." She stuttered. "I'm busy." Bailey was like a rabbit caught in headlights.
He raised his eyebrow, "Every night this week?"
"Yes." She said bluntly and walked away.
Bailey joined the rest of the doctors at the meeting table. The request from Charlie had completely thrown her, she was very uncomfortable and thought she had handled it horribly. She should have decommissioned the whole possibility of the two of them then and there. She should have told him that a drink between two work colleagues was inappropriate and not possible. Instead, she was rude and blunt, and as every woman knows, this will not stop a man from trying. She needed to have shut it down completely; Charlie could be one of those men and have taken this as a challenge to eventually get her to say yes to a date.
Bailey shook her head as if to unscramble her thoughts, "So erm, I'll speak to Mr Barnes during my session. I'll ask him to take up his part of the deal, if he refuses, well, I have a plan B." She inputted the code, "See you all in a bit."
Just like their first session, Dr Johnson knocked on Barnes's bedroom door and told him she will be waiting for him in her office. She went to the water cooler and filled up a plastic cup, she walked to each plant in the office and shared out the water. Bailey caught glimpse of Barnes in the doorway in the reflection of the window.
"The other doctors tell me you've been in your room for the last few days," she said as she emptied the last of the water into an aloe vera plant.
"It's just so damn cosy in there," He said sarcastically. "There's no place like home."
Dr Johnson turned on her heels to smirk at his sarcasm, but she was a little shocked at his appearance. He looked like he had only had a few hours’ sleep across the span of the week. The skin around his eyes was dark, his hair limp, his stance weak.
"Please sit," she said and gestured to the chairs.
Barnes audibly sighed and reluctantly sat down. The attitude he had today was radiating from him, Dr Johnson knew she had her work cut out for her today, she pressed recorded to begin.
"You look tired Mr Barnes, have the nightmares that you mentioned in our first meeting kept you up?" She began.
"Yep." He said sharply.
"Would you like to talk about them?"
"Nope."
Dr Johnson smiled politely, "Right then, we'll bookmark that for another day, shall we?"
Barnes was incredibly disinterested today, he nodded with his eyebrows raised and his eyes closed.
She pursed her lips before speaking, she thought she might as well jump right in and may even get some honest answers out of him in this mood. "Why have you not participated in surveillance whilst I have been gone?"
He scoffed at her question like she had asked what colour the sky is. His tone was harsh, his voice a little raised. "Have you ever had fish before? Like, in a fish tank?"
"...Yes." Dr Johnson wasn't sure where he was going with this.
"Was there that one fish that you knew you had, but every time you went up to the glass it would swim away to hide somewhere?"
"Ah," She nodded, "I see what you're getting at."
Barnes straightened up in his chair, "I'm that fish," he spat. "But then again, I'm not that fish because at least that fish belonged in there. That tank is its normal place to be. This place, this complex is so unnatural. It's not normal to have six white coats watching your every move. How am I meant to be normal in an abnormal situation Doc?"
"I understand your frustrations Mr Barnes.."
"No," he interrupted, "I don't think you do. I am expected to watch TV, read, work out, clean up, do the typical things a man would do, but all with eyes burning into the back of my head. Do you know how unnerving that is?" He looked to the side quickly with his tongue pressed to his cheek then back again, "That's how I lived before; constantly on edge, peering over my shoulder, ready to go at any moment. I needed to think that someone was two steps behind me, always watching, ready to put a knife in my back."
He rubbed his chin with the knuckles of his metal hand, "If you want me to not be The Winter Soldier so much, you need to not put me in a situation that forces me to be him."
Dr Johnson nodded slowly and pressed her lips together, she looked down to her hand on the table, she hadn't realised that she had been nervously twiddling with the pen.
Barnes calmed his tone, "I don't mean to be rude Dr Johnson, I apologise for raising my voice. I think you know that I haven't had the best experiences with shrinks."
Bailey knew he was meaning Zemo when he hijacked his treatment previously.
"I really appreciate you sharing how you feel about the programme Mr Barnes and I really don't mind how you voice them either, as long as you are speaking your truth. Doing so is the only way we can help and alter the programme to your needs. Unfortunately, observation from the white coats is a must..."
Barnes sighed.
"But I will do all I can to make you feel as comfortable as possible and help you forget that the doctors are watching. I believe you need a distraction."
He raised his eyebrows confused, "A distraction?"
Bailey carefully controlled her exhale, knowing this was not going to be a decision that other members of staff or the bosses would agree with. "How would you like a part time roommate?"
Dr Johnson and Barnes devised a plan together. Bailey would move her one-to-one sessions out of the office and conduct them over the course of her working hours daily whilst within the complex with Mr Barnes. She would help him rediscover his interests, encourage him to start hobbies, teach him how to use the modern technology that were not advanced weapons or assassin gear that he did know how to use. Bailey would be the anchor to the normativity that Barnes required and craved. She would be the one to distract him from the eyes that looked through the mirror whilst therapeutically assessing and aiding him in his mental health.
By the time they had solidified the plan, Barnes's mood seemed to have lifted and he appeared hopeful and less agitated already. Bailey was positive that this was the best course of action for him, however there was a knot in the pit of her stomach. She knew the people around them would not want this.