Woman advice

Posted on 08 Apr 2023 @ 8:57pm by Captain Jonathan Reynolds & Lieutenant Cassandra Higgins-Stevens

Mission: R&R - Styx Outpost 2
Location: Captains Ready room
Timeline: R&R Day 1
1377 words - 2.8 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Jon had asked his counselor to join him in his ready room. Not surprised to see her not taking the first rotation of R&R, he had noticed since losing Xu and Michael she had thrown herself into work. So he would give her work if that's what she insisted on doing.

"Tea?" he offered. "Proper tea. Not that weak stuff Oliver drinks. Bonefide yorkshire tea?"

"Actually, that would be lovely! I didn't know the replicator had tea from my home county in the database." the smile not really reaching her eyes.

"I need your take on how to handle a delicate personal conversation," Jon said simply. "Sorry I pulled you in here. I mean we can go to your office if you prefer ..."

"No need to apologise sir. That's what I'm here for and an office is an office... How can I help?"

Sipping at the tea and savouring the strength of the flavours. Oliver was in for a shock when she replaced the pre-programmed tea's in the replicator with just this one particular code.

"I have a daughter counselor. You might not know that about me. I've never actually met her in person and the interaction on subspace has well, lets be honest been awkward," he said watching and waiting for a reaction.

"I was not aware... That must be difficult!"

It was a statement rather than a question, wanting the Captain to lead her to his point rather than her probing and pushing to understand more. He, after all, had asked her here to discuss this so the time was his to find his own path with the discussion.

“The events of how she came into existence Im not proud of. At the academy my ex wife, girlfriend at the time got pregnant and my mother …..” he stopped for a moment. “Do you know I am a son of the 13th house? It’s in one of the higher ones in betaziod society. It’s something my twin and I keep quiet. Well my mother put a full press on for a quick marriage and I was young, still somewhat immature and so very not ready for marriage.”

She nodded, taking in the information and in a lot of ways she was surprised but more for the fact of how antiquated the opinions and motives appeared on the surface. Not something you would expect from a progressive and forward thinking people like the Betazoids.

“Liam, my brother got sent on a 6 month placement with the Klingons leaving me and his then fiancé Sydney behind. The short version we lent on each other and things blurred over in his absence. I wasn’t a good brother. I was stressed out, Charlotte turned into bridezilla and I had a lot of pressure forced on me,” Jon confessed.

"If I may Captain, and without seeming to be blunt and blind to what you must have gone through... What does this have to do with me?"

She braced herself because she sounded, even to her own ears, far more harsh than she had intended. Internally she chided herself before flushing with embarrassment realising that he could likely sense what she was expressing internally to herself.

"Well I was operating under the assumption you were my counselor and you kind of need the history first. I was getting to the point of why I need your help," Jon snapped a little bit more than he had wanted too.

"Lets park me as that's out of character for you. What's going on Cassie? You haven't been yourself since ….. ohhhhh" his eyes flickered back and forth in his ready room. Although it had been patched up superbly by his engineering team, it had still be the place where the "incident" had started.

"Perhaps you have some trauma you need to work through from the events that happened in here?" he said looking directly at her trying to evaluate if he needed to send her directly to Counselor Erzo.

"I just need some time sir. That's why I'm throwing myself at my work" she paused taking a deep breath, closing her eyes to centre herself before continuing. "I have Ollie to talk to and yourself but right now I need time to discover myself again, ground myself in the only thing that still feels like me and that is my work. I know my limits and if I feel I am spiralling I will speak to a counselor. I have a friend on Deep Space 21 and on the Merlin!"

"Well I feel your spiralling as the counselor I know doesn't say things like what's that to do with me when I'm asking advice," Jon said simply.

He was right!

She stiffened her back, tensing herself with her eyes closed for a second. Using the tension across her limbs to focus herself. Something they had taught her at the academy to try and centre ones self.

"I have no excuses sir. I will put in a call to Commander Miller on the Merlin... I'm sorry I let you down."

"Well excellent. I am glad to hear you are going to speak to somebody. You haven't let me down yet but I do need your advice on how best to tell my girlfriend that I have a daughter and that she and her mother will be moving to DS21 so I will be having contact in the future," Jon managed to spit out his whole reason for asking her to join him.

"Honestly... Just tell her. Harper is dedicated to you. She may not realise it yet but she does love you and something like this, although perhaps a slight adjustment for her, it won't be an issue. I say this with confidence!"

Her words laced with conviction, she raised the cup to her lips and again took a sip of the liquid, observing the Captain, possibly for the first time in a few days she saw him and not what she had done to him.

"Good because I really don't want to mess things up," Jon said leaning back. "How are things with Oliver? Is he looking after you properly since ... you know."

"I've been avoiding him in truth!" continuing in the same vein of total and unabashed honest. "I..." she started but seemed to faulter, her voice wavering before she took a steadying breath. "I feel violated Captain. I know I was an unwilling puppet but I was still able to see and feel everything and I feel violated".

She avoided the word that was poised at the tip of her tongue because it implied a physical assault and she felt wrong for even contemplating it but she felt it non the less. She had read of similar instances to other officers over the years so this form of mental rape was more common that people would assume... This she knew.

"I can't let him touch me... Not yet!"

"Then talk to him about it Cassie or he will think your pushing him away. And I know with confidence that he loves you," Jon said simply.

" You went through an experience no one else did. A alien being possessed you. Violated yes. A creepy dark evil son of a bitch. You need to cut yourself some slack. I wouldn't know how to go on from something like that. I just hope you find a way to move forward and find some peace."

"Yes" she said weakly, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall.

She took a moment, her eyes closed to fortify herself and gain control over her own emotions before turning back to the Captain, realising he was far more insightful than she had first thought. "Is there anything else you need sir... I may have a conversation or two to have!"

"No you can escape," Jon said. "Just Cassie. Talk to Oliver."

"I will... Just not yet. I'm going to try and get hold of Commander Miller from Merlin and see if she is available for an appointment!"

A sense that a light had been shone on her situation and that light was the end of the tunnel.

OFF:

Captain Jonathan Reynolds
CO, USS Andromeda

Lieutenant Cassandra Higgins
Ships Counsellor and local 'Nut Job' (Medical Terminology)
USS Andromeda