Not as well as she would hope.

Jess didn't know how long she remained like that, trying to get her thoughts, her desires under control, to no avail. When the nurse came to collect her, the southern belle was no closer to any satisfactory conclusion.

"Jessica Cooper?" When Jess didn't react right away, the nurse walked over to her and lightly touched her arm. "Jessica Cooper? The doctor will see you now."

"Helloooo, nurse!" Head rising to look at the other woman, Jess couldn't stop another outburst, turning crimson red as the nurse raised an eyebrow.

"If I had a quarter dollar for every time I heard that..." Moving towards the entrance to the waiting room, the nurse looked back at the bewildered Texan. "Don't leave Doctor Martens waiting."

"Ah... Ah won't..." Jess mumbled as she got up, face burning fiercely. "An'... it's jus' Jess... not Jessica..."

Hurrying past the nurse, Jess almost ran down the hallway and into the doctor's office. There, she found the graying, portly Dr Martens sitting behind his desk, working on some documents, a surgical mask on his face.

"Well, ain't y'all a sight for sore eyes! Is that a stethoscope in your pocket or are y'all jus' happy to see me--eep!" Clapping her hands over her mouth, Jess stood in the door, frozen like the bunny in front of the snake. All Ah wanted to say was that it was good seeing him!

"Hello, Miss Cooper." Ever the professional, Martens didn't react to Jess' outburst at all, looking at his patient warmly. "Please don't mind the mask - I have a slight cold, but it's not bad enough to take time off. Mainly a stuffy nose, I can barely smell anything. Now, take a seat, please. What brings you here today?"

"Ah, uh, yeah..." Jess stammered as she sat down, face bright red and burning. "There are... Ah have these... outbursts, where Ah say these things, and there's this flower I got this morning..."

"And it's a very pretty one. Where did you get it? I'm thinking of getting one for my daughter." Judging by Martens' eyes, he was smiling behind his mask. "But we should talk about these outbursts you're concerned about. Did something happen to cause them? A head injury or something similar?"

"No, the... what? Ah di'n't buy it, it jus' grew!"

"Nonsense, hair ornaments don't grow by themselves, dear. Please, answer my question, I want to help you." Shuffling some documents around, Martens fixed Jess with a look of professional concern. "Again, did you hit your head somewhere? Any memory loss in the recent past?"

"N-no, Ah jus'... It all started yesterday, when Ah... uhm, Ah got some... man's juices into my mouth." If Jess had thought her face had been burning before, now it was ablaze. "Could... that be the reason?"

"Oh, then you have become sexually active recently?"

"No! Ah'd never... not before... an' certainly not with anyone Ah barely know!"

"Please relax, dear. There is nothing shameful about this, it is perfectly normal to have sex and enjoy it. So you're saying these 'outbursts' started after you... were intimate with someone yesterday?"

"Y-yes-- Ah mean, no!" Jess wanted to crawl into a hole and never come back out. This was mortifying! She buried her face in her hands.

"What is it, dear? Yes or no?"

"Ah wasn't... intimate with anyone yesterday, but it did start afterwards!" Then, without her conscious input, Jess felt her mouth continuing to move: "But now that y'all say it, Ah wish Ah'd been fuc--agh!"

"I see... Well, my dear, as you didn't hit your head, it sounds to me like a purely psychological issue. I won't dare to go into detail as to the probable cause, that I will leave up to my colleague Dr Durkheim. She specializes in cases like yours - you'll be able to get your referral at the front desk. Run along now, dear, and have a nice day."

"B-but Ah... won't y'all examine... what about mah flower?"

"My dear girl, I have a professional reputation to uphold. I won't examine your hair ornament, no matter how pretty it is. Now please, I have other patients."

Going back to his documents, Dr Martens made it clear that the appointment was over. Jess, wishing she'd chosen another doctor over the one closest to her apartment, opened and closed her mouth a few times, but couldn't think about anything to say. Defeated, she walked out of the office - her hopes were now with the psychologist.

Maybe Ah am havin' a mental breakdown after all... This is all so weird...

Jess elected to go home after getting her referral. She felt so very tired, exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster she was going through. Lying down sounded like a great idea...