Chapter 342: What the Hell Doc?

Mina clapped in excitement at President Lee's words, and it was not an act. She was genuinely excited to meet people who had an IQ as high as hers. In Mina's mind, she felt as though she were going to be meeting people who would understand her; people who would not ask her what was wrong with her, but the excitement was short lived.

Doctor Jeremy Witt pulled out a small device and paged his colleagues. Everyone except his sister looked at the man as if he were insane, but he remained oblivious. He was just as excited as Mina for a chance to observe an outsider's behavior with the people on the third level. The one-sided end of the conversation made Mina worry, and Dom chimed in to ease her mind.

"The third level is a little eerie, but the people who are down there are mostly harmless," Dom said. Mina was a tad confused by Dom's word choice, but she quickly adjusted her thinking to understand that all levels of the Lee facility were underground. It made her curious to know what level they were on.

"This is level one," said President Lee, who seemed to be the only one willing to answer.

"What is above us?" Mina asked with her head slightly tilted. She had taken off her glasses so her expressions could be clearly seen, and he once again found himself melting for her.

"It's the training level," he replied.

"Cool," Mina said then she turned to Dom and asked him where his clothing was.

Dom was too embarrassed to tell Mina that he had nothing available, but with a movement of President Lee's hand, Doctor Rebecca left the room and returned with a Lee guard training suit complete with underwear and slippers. Mina pushed Dom toward the small bathroom in the ward and was startled to find it locked.

Once again, President Lee made a gesture, and Rebecca unlocked the door for Mina, who was tactful enough to turn around and close her eyes while Dom stood to hop into the restroom. She realized too late that the man would need assistance, but she was unwilling to do it herself. So, she asked Doctor Witt, who without a second thought, handed her brother the clipboard she was holding and walked into Dom's bathroom without knocking.

"What the hell Doc?" Dom asked, and he could hear Mina giggle outside of the door.

"This will be easier if I help you. Trust me, I have already seen everything." Dom did not know if he should be turned off or on by Rebecca's statement, but his body reacted before his brain could. Rebecca paused for just a moment before looking up at the man in pity. "I'm sure I've already explained my position," Rebecca said.

"Actually, you haven't. If you want, you can show me which one you prefer right now. I think we have enough time to try it out."

"What are you talking about?" Rebecca asked, and Dom chuckled.

"Don't worry about it and help me put my pants on before I'm tempted to show you."

"Oh eww," Mina said from outside the door. She had not meant to be listening in on the pair, but she was afraid Rebecca would be too rough with Dom and hurt him.

Rebecca heard Mina's reaction to Dom's statement and the confusion she felt faded away immediately. Dom was being dirty, and while she normally would not have cared, she was upset that Mina had realized it before she did. Out of anger she tried to punch Dom in the groin, but he caught her hand.

"I let you hit me a lot, but if you hurt me there, you'll have to kiss it to make it feel better."

"Oh gosh," Mina said loudly, while Rebecca turned red, a reaction Dom had not caused in her before. Outside of the doors, Mina was explaining away her outburst with a slew of lies, and Rebecca quickly dropped to a knee to help Dom into his sweats.

"Don't be disgusting, I'm only here to help you get dressed," Rebecca said. Dom chuckled and allowed himself to be dressed, but he now knew what flustered Rebecca other than calling her Doc.

When the pair exited the bathroom area, Dom hopped back into the wheelchair, and Mina refused to meet his gaze. She had heard him say things that were less than appropriate, but what he was saying to Rebecca was way, way beyond Mina's comfort zone. Dom noticed that Mina looked a little uncomfortable and he quickly and quietly briefed her on what he was doing and why.

"That is not what it sounded like," Mina whispered. By this time, they were already following the Witt's and President Lee to the lift that could take them to the third level. Doctor Witt, who had been following Mina like a shadow since their argument, was now walking far away from them. "I think you broke her," Mina said.

"I didn't touch her," Dom said excitedly, and Mina gasped before she punched his shoulder. "Oh, you didn't mean it that way." Mina glared at Dom who held up his hands in surrender. "It was an honest mistake." She did not believe him.

"You should apologize," Mina said, and Dom scoffed.

"Why? She was mean to me first." Mina shrugged; it was the truth. Doctor Rebecca had been giving Dom an antidepressant while he was in isolation. Mina was only aware of the dangers of doing so because of a report she had written while in high school.

The paper focused on the negative health effect of a person who self isolates. At the time, Mina had been working with a small group of teens who were trying to save the community center. For the others, it was a free place they could go to use the computers and hang out, but to Mina it was a source of income. She had also met many elderly people who came to the community center to avoid becoming a recluse.

Many of them had lost their spouses and had children who were too busy to spend time with them. The community center offered those individuals a place to speak to one another, without their children worrying while they were at work.

It was during that line of research that Mina found that inmates in the local prison had a higher rate of suicide after experiencing solitary confinement, and some of them, in as little three days. Mina herself had experienced what it was like to be alone in the dark. At that time she often thought about self-harm, but she was not committed enough to the idea to try drowning herself in the mist like water from the shower.

Mina read that inmates who presented with signs of depression while in isolation, were treated with any number of antidepressants, but instead of making them better, the opposite was true. The men and women suffered from delusions, hallucinations and ultimately ended up attempting suicide at much higher rates than those who were not given antidepressants.

What Dom had said was correct, Rebecca was mean to him first. As much as she wanted to pity the woman as a kindred mind, Mina could not. Dom's teasing could be ignored, but his health was no laughing matter.