"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Doctor Faschen," Mrs. Alice Hastings said as she stepped into the private consulting room. Caroline, the nurse, followed her in and closed the door behind them.
"Not at all, Madame," Doctor Faschen said in an accent that Alice had never, for the life of her, quite been able to place. The good doctor was quite a mysterious fellow, with dark hair and dark, piercing eyes, and no doubt his accent had been altered somewhat by his studies on the Continent. On days like today, Alice was simply thankful to have found him at all; her nervous distraction had reduced her quite nearly to tears, necessitating her sudden visit to Doctor Faschen's practice. "I am quite accustomed to patients who need my immediate attention, and you happened to find me at a convenient gap between appointments. Please, describe your symptoms to me."
Alice knew perfectly well that her symptoms were the same every visit, but she was nonetheless grateful for the chance to talk about them. "Distraction, Doctor. I cannot concentrate on even the simplest thing without having to worry about shortness of breath, trembling in my hands and body, a terribly feverish sensation, and it seems focused..." She blushed, as she always seemed to when discussing this part. Faschen was, of course, a doctor, and quite accustomed to dealing with the impoliter parts of a woman's body, and Caroline was as discreet as always, but even so, she took a deep breath before admitting, "...in my womanhood, Doctor."
Doctor Faschen nodded, fixed his monocle into place, and stared deeply into her eyes for a long moment. "Flushed skin, rapid motions of the eyes, goosebumps upon the skin...yes, I believe that it is a recurrence of your nervous hysteria. No doubt brought about by an imbalance of magnetic fluids in the womb, but we shall not be able to tell until you have removed your clothing. Caroline, if you would?"
Caroline nodded silently, and moved to assist Alice in removing her clothing. "It is as I feared, then," Alice said as she removed her dress. "Oh, but this is a dreadful affliction, Doctor! It saps my abilities so! I was at Mrs. Norris' tea yesterday, and I could scarcely keep my mind on conversation." She slipped off her camisole, setting it on the chair provided. "The waves of distraction flowing from my womanhood kept me quite unsettled throughout tea, unbalancing my brain most severely." She stood still as Caroline began to unlace her corset.
"Please, do continue, Mrs. Hastings," Doctor Faschen said. "I know that it is somewhat embarrassing, but only by a thorough explanation of your symptoms can I understand exactly how the condition is affecting you."
Caroline finished unlacing, and Alice removed her corset to add it to the growing pile of clothing. "I am afraid that whilst I was in that...that deranged state, I found myself possessed by immodest visions. Mrs. Norris was polite enough not to notice, but I could tell she was aware of my distracted state. Thankfully, I think she was quite unaware of what visions were appearing before me." Alice began removing her petticoats, one after another.
"And those visions were?" Doctor Faschen fixed his gaze upon her, and she could not help but recount the shameful thoughts as she looked into the monocle.
"I saw...within my mind's eye, I saw the waiter close the door of the tearoom, fasten the lock, and round upon us. He grabbed Mrs. Norris first, ripping open her bodice to reveal..." She removed another petticoat, almost mechanically as she was transported by the memory. "...to reveal the appendages of her womanhood. I was helpless to stop him in this vision, but worse, the distracting dizziness in my own womb grew fiercer as I watched the two of them struggle. It was like I was swooning, Doctor, as this madman ravished Mrs. Norris, and part of me ached with the thought that I might be next!" Having finally finished removing her petticoats, Alice slipped her chemise over her head, letting her bountiful breasts expose themselves to the warm air of the doctor's office. "Oh, but that was not the worst part, Doctor! In this vision, the man, he grabbed my hand, pulled me towards them, and forced me to place my own..." Alice practically sobbed as she removed her drawers. "He made me place my hands upon Mrs. Norris' body, Doctor. And that fierce tingling in my womb, it simply would not stop! Oh, Doctor, these visions are a form of madness! They had ceased almost entirely after I saw you last, but I fear they have returned! Please, you must help!"
"I believe I can," Doctor Faschen said. "Please, lie back upon the couch and allow me to examine you." Alice stepped away from the chair, now completely unclad, and as Caroline placed cloths underneath her body, she lay back upon the couch. The Doctor placed his hand upon her forehead, covering her eyes. "Now, my dear, let us begin by simply aligning the magnetic fluids of your brain to produce a state of calm." He began slowly stroking his hand across Alice's forehead, and almost immediately, she felt some of her nervous terror subside as the slow, soft stroking motion soothed her jangled nerves.
"Very good, my dear," Doctor Faschen said, already noticing her changed state. He brought his other hand up to her head, and moved so that both his hands were stroking her temples. Alice let out a soft, gentle sigh as she felt her mind relaxing under his ministrations. "Yes, you can feel the fluids of your brain becoming more tranquil now, calmer, subsiding from their furious motions, can't you, Alice?"
"yes, Doctor..." Alice could even hear the change in her own voice, such a far cry from the hysterical tones of a few minutes ago. Doctor Faschen stared down at her as he continued to rub her temples, his eyes fixing her with their penetrating gaze as he used his animal magnetism to gently quiet the fevered blood in her brain. It was the same every time she came to Doctor Faschen; nobody seemed to be able to soothe her quite the way he could.
His hands moved down her face, slowly stroking the tension down, further down her body. He'd done this so many times before, each and every time she came to him with these dreadful feelings that threatened to consume her, and she didn't even need him to speak to understand exactly what he was doing to her. But he spoke nonetheless, and she listened eagerly, openly, receptively. "And now, Alice, I'm moving that tension back down your body. It's flowed up from your womb, flowed throughout your whole body and into your brain, but I'm moving those fluids back down. As you feel my hands upon you, you can feel the tension flow back out of that part of your body, flow back down towards your womb." Alice felt his hands gently stroking her neck now, and her head already felt light and relaxed, her mind already felt utterly free of cares as she continued to gaze up at him.
