A psychologist?" Morticia questioned, feeding Cleopatra her breakfast meatballs as April watered a nearby section of plants. It was a lovely, drizzly grey morning with the crisp chill of fall promised outside. "Im sure I can ask Gomez to see if any of his clients are psychologists. I don't know of any to recommend, myself. We contacted a wonderful psychiatrist once when Pugsley went through a concerning childhood phase. However I don't believe he still practices to give recommendations." She admitted.

"Oh, well, if it will be to much trouble he doesn't need to worry about it. I'm sure I can do some research. I don't want to be a bother." April fretted as she carefully pruned the nightshade. Mortica paused in feeding Cleopatra, looking concerned.

"April, who could ever consider you or your health a bother?" She fretted, scandalized. "Of course Gomez will be happy to assist. I'm certain it will thrill him!"

"What will thrill me?" Both women turned to see Gomez strolling into the conservatory. Morticia gave a soft smile in greeting before explaining.

"Impeccable timing! Our darling April had hoped we could assist in locating a reputable Psychologist. I was just telling her how you would be thrilled to see if any of your clients were in the business or knew of a good one they would recommend." He focused in on April after that.

"Of course! I would be delighted to be of assistance!" He declared. "I can start making calls immediately! May I know the purpose of the visit in case they specialize? I do quite enjoy when they specialize. Always have such long, wonderful wait times when they do!"

She hesitated, still unsure how she felt about the possibility of having a learning disability. Sure, it helped to have a name for it, to know it was something out of her control, but...what about how other people would react? Possibly worse, what if she actually is perfectly normal and failing regardless?

His smile fell as he watched her, stepping forward to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Mi lluvia de primavera, is something troubling you?" His voice was a touch gentler than normal, a tone she had heard him take on with Wednesday a few times with fondness evident. Without thinking, she nodded, blinking away a few stray tears trying to form. Soon, she was being carefully crushed against his nice suit, breathing in the light spices of his cologne before it mellowed to a deep, woody scent. A hand carefully patted the top of her head as she let it fall to rest on his shoulder. Her own arms wrapping about to cling to him for a moment.

"What troubles you, hm?" He prompted.

"I...Chad thinks I have a learning disability. With math. I-The numbers shift and I struggle to write them or remember things that should be easy, by now." She admitted. "He said his friend struggled with the same things and he had this disability. That's what the Psychologist is for, to see if I have it. But...what if I don't? What if I'm just stupid?" She admitted softly, only to feel a rumble of quiet laughter.

"Well of course you aren't stupid, April. You are absolutely brilliant! Everyone knows this!" He insisted happily. "Your mind is fascinating! You find such novel ways to look at old thoughts and stories that have often been set aside by others. Wednesday looks up to you, you know. So does Pugsley. He thinks you are on par with the great Greek philosophers!" He gently pulled away to hold her at arm's length, smiling as he gave her a gentle shake. "You are an Addams! Every Addams is brilliant in their own way, but you, my dear, are a beacon of knowledge! None of this silly nonsense, thinking otherwise."

Mortica smiled, stepping forward to wrap an arm around her shoulders as he let her go. "Come now, dear. Let's get you a nice cup of henbane tea while Gomez makes those calls. We can finish up the gardening later." She hummed, easily leading the dear girl away with a brief, loving smile sent Gomez's way. She adored how wonderful he was with the children.

Gomez found April in the family room an hour or so later with a triumphant grin. "Wonderful news! I found a Psychologist! Dr. Mortensen has agreed to work you into her schedule tomorrow!" He declared. "We will accompany you in morning, so all you need to focus on is the testing itself! I'm a might envious, you know. A test that can take up to eight hours! How tantalizing!"

"Wait, you're going to come and just wait with me?" She asked softly, suprised.

"Well of course! This is incredibly important for you. We discussed it and Morticia agreed we would remain and wait while you took your test."

"But, it could take hours!"

"I know! Isnt it wonderful? Possibly eight hours in blind anticipation while seated in a waiting room with possibly only old magazines and an odd TV channel for entertainment!" He mused giddily. "If they didn't have school I would consider bringing Wednesday and Pugsley to join the fun!" A soft smile crept onto her face.

"Thank you, Gomez." His own smile softened.

"Of course. Well, best inform your educators of your exciting plans tomorrow!" He declared before sweeping out in his usual grand fashion. "Ah! Time to gather Fester and Chad! We've all arranged to spend a bit of time standing on our hands today. Wonderful rush of blood to the brain!"

The next morning found her being ushered into the lovely old hearse with Mortica and Gomez before Lurch slipped into the driver's seat. The ride lasted only an instant but also forever before they pulled up to a charming building in the historic district. Following their gentle urging, she followed them inside and to a front desk manned by an older gentleman with a pleasant disposition against the gloom of the day.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Good morning! How may I help you?"

"Good morning. I, um, I have an appointment with Dr. Mortensen?" She ventured softly. "April Morrigan?" He nodded with a smile.

"We are ever so pleased you're here! Just to confirm from the online new patient forms you submitted last night: Your preferred name is April and she/her pronouns are acceptable?" At her nod, he typed a few more things. "Wonderful. Dr. Mortensen should be around to welcome you shortly. I assume you two must be the Addams! You can either come back at the conclusion of the testing if you would like, or stay here in the waiting area if you'd prefer."

"We'll be staying here for the duration. Such an exciting experience!" Gomez declared as a door off to the side opened and an older woman greeted them with a grin.

"April! How wonderful to meet you! I'm Dr. Mortensen." Shaking her hand, the woman continued. "If you don't mind, I'd like to talk through what you can expect before we get started. Do you want me to explain with your support here or would you rather it be alone?"

"I would like it if the Addams were here." April readily admitted, feeling Gomez's hand come to rest on her shoulder with a gentle squeeze before they all sat in the nearby chairs.

"Alright. So what we're doing today is a series of tests designed to evaluate different portions of your brain and it's capabilities." Dr. Mortensen began. "A lot of it will be basic reading comprehension, math, reaction times, that sort of thing. So not just math. Anything you truly cannot accomplish, you can simply tell us, but we encourage you to try your best for an accurate understanding. You won't see any direct scores until all testing is completed. Of course we can take breaks whenever you feel it's needed to avoid feeling overwhelmed. While we discourage people in the testing rooms, we can have the Addams join us when we review your results if that would be of comfort to you. Or we can review them just you and I." She assured.

"I would prefer the Addams join me for my results...if y'all are okay with it, I mean!" She offered nervously, only to have her hair gently fixed by Morticia.

"Of course, April. We'll be more than happy to do so." Feeling a bit better, April nodded slightly.

"Then I suppose I'm ready. Shall we?" Dr. Mortensen nodded, standing and leading the way.

April didn't exactly understand the purpose of all aspects of the gauntlet of tests. At some points she was reading aloud, copying over lines, repeating lists of words, tracking colors and responding to certain sounds with certain clicks of arrows on a keyboard, solving spacial puzzles with blocks, filling out a questionnaire about her mental health, physical health, games to test her coordination, and more. Of course, she was given a few math problems of various difficulty, most of which she struggled with if she simply couldn't do them. That was the only portion she requested a break after,, needing to calm herself after being so frustrated. Eventually, she was told that the testing was all complete, at which point she was thoroughly mentally exhausted.

Shortly after she sat on the couch in Mr. Mortenson's office, having been left there by the last test proctor, the door opened. Dr. Mortensen entering with a file as the Addams were close on her heels before coming to sit on either side of her. Dr. Mortensen sat in a nearby chair rather than behind her desk as she opened the manilla folder.

"Well, April, you managed to complete the testing in five hours, and I am happy to tell you that you are an incredibly intelligent and observant young woman. Though I suspect we all already knew that." She informed with a smile. "We place your scores against the understood standard benchmark comprehension for your own age group, so our results are based on where you place among your peers. You, my dear, are on par or excelling in every sector...aside from one." Passing over a sheet of paper, she waited until April took it to point with her pen. "Here is the benchmark line, where we would expect the average individual your age to be in the comprehension and execution of mathematical understanding." Moving the pen down on the chart, she lightly tapped it against a circled number stomach-droppingly close to the bottom before continuing gently. "This is where you fell on the chart, April. You not only tested clearly as having dyscalculia, but you tested as having a severe level of disability. You tested on par with where we would hope our gifted fourth graders would fall."

April stared, a bit numb. She always knew she had struggled with math, usually barely scraping by with high Cs and low Bs if she ran herself into the ground before tests. But...to see it so plainly in stark black and white was shocking.

"You mean she has managed all this time on her own with such a severe disadvantage?" Morticia questioned, softly placing a hand over one of April's.

"I mean exactly that. It is admirable, but I'm glad you came to see me. Now that we've been able to properly diagnose your disability, we can get you the proper documentation to ensure you have access to accommodations so that, hopefully, your continued education isn't so much of a stressor." She informed. "When you leave today, you will be sent with all of the needed documents, as well as my office's contact information in case your school's disability office needs any further information from me. I've listed your suggested accommodations alongside your diagnosis, so it should be smooth sailing getting you registered with the campus disability access services. If they do decide to give you any trouble, do not hesitate to call me and I'll be happy to set up a call with whoever I need to in order to settle things. Alright? Do you have any questions for me?"

"I-I don't think so." April managed softly, just taking it all in. "Thank you, Dr. Mortensen."

"Of course, April. Terrance out in reception will have your file all ready for you once you reach him."

As she followed Mortica's gentle urging up to reception, she automatically upon arrival began to ask about payment options, knowing her insurance wouldn't cover this. However, Terrance just smiled as he held her folder in hand. "Oh, Mr. Addams already took care of it while you were in testing, so no need to worry about that. So, here is your folder. I've put sticky notes listing what each document is for to make it a bit easier. Those in the front will be for the school, and the rest are just the entirely of your results. I taped our business card with our office number, email, and hours in the front cover, as well." He explained, briefly flipping it open to point things out before closing it and offering it to her. "If you have any further questions, do not hesitate to reach out, alright? It was lovely meeting you, April. You folks be careful out there, it looks like we're due for a nasty storm."

"Thank you Terrance!" Gomez said happily before beaming at April. "Let's go home and share the good news, hm?"

"Yeah." April said softly, a slight warmth glowing in her chest at the words. "Let's go home."