"Bringing the Mountain To Muhammed"

Posted on 02 Jul 2014 @ 12:56am by Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Commander Scarlet Blake
Edited on on 02 Jul 2014 @ 3:17pm

1,836 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 06 - Legend of Souls
Location: USS Galileo - XO's Office, Deck 2
Timeline: MD1, 1700 hrs.

ON:

Hitting the chime outside Scarlet Blake's office with the outside of her left forefinger while trying to hold one cup of hot chocolate in each hand was not as easy as she thought it was going to be, but Delainey managed. She had been looking forward to this get together for too long to let a minor annoyance like that get in the way of time spent with her friend.

"Come in!" Scarlet called out, caught in her own balancing act of PADDs and paper notebooks, trying to find places for them on her desk. She would definitely need a bigger desk than the starfleet generic model they'd put in. She had thought that Holliday's addition of a real, big desk to the XO's office had been simply decorative when he'd been the First Officer. No, she now realised it was probably to fit the amount of 'paperwork' that came with the position.

The doors hissed open upon Scarlet's request and Delainey entered, holding up the cups with a grin. "I decided if Muhammed could not come to the chocolate, the chocolate would just have to come to Muhammed."

Scarlet watched her with surprise before laughing at the sight and words. "Wow, I could get used to this. Hot drink deliveries. The yeoman's always with the Captain. Careful, or I'll draft you into the new position of cupbearer," she set the work down in one big pile on the desk. She could sort it out later. She took one of the cups instead, careful not to spill it as she tried to help her out.

Delainey chuckled. "Don't tempt me. Sometimes I think it'd be nice to have a simpler set of responsibilities." She gratefully handed her the extra cup. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Come on in. It's not exactly...home yet," she glanced around the office. It was perfectly comfortable of course, and pretty darn amazing in space and facilities considering the size of the ship, but still stark compared to the old counselling office. "But it has seats," she led her to the couch on the side of the room, positioned so they could see the viewport.

"Ooh! I recognize these seats," she added with a laugh as she made her way over to sit on the couch. "Not too unlike your old office in that way, is it? I imagine being the XO is like being a counselor but on a bigger scale in many ways."

"It sort of is," Scarlet agreed, laughing softly at the idea of it. "More paperwork. But checking in on people, making sure nothing is wrong. We can't have an inefficient work force now, can we," she teased lightly. "How was your leave?"

"Fun," Delainey answered somewhat vaguely. "I went to the Orion homeworld and managed to relax and adopt a couple of tribbles that were set aside to be food."

"How very charitable," Scarlet smiled, able to imagine it well. "We just took some quiet time on Earth. Small things really. Parks, boats, walks."

"That sounds like heaven for your little one. I've often thought as overwhelming as all these changes have been for you, it must have been really difficult for her too."

Scarlet's smile faded a little at that. Balancing work with Lily, it was a big challenge. And the cause of guilt, no matter how much she knew there was no choice. It was just them. There was no father, and she had no other family. It was the way it had to be. "Oddly enough, I'm finding it a little easier now I'm the First Officer," she said quietly. "I hardly got to see her as the Second Officer; I was essentially doing two jobs...pulling bridge duty and the Counselling work. This way, it's more settled on a day to day basis with the single position, instead of me trying to work across different shifts and still have time for home."

She nodded in understanding. "I thought having two hats within a merged department would be easier for me, but if I'm completely honest, sometimes I struggle with where I belong anymore. I'm not just a doctor or a counselor here. I'm both. I'm one doctor among many, but I'm also only one of two counselors. I was a Chief Counselor, but that's no longer true, and now I'm not the only Lieutenant in counseling anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you and for Teth, but if we're just two girls talking here, I'm more ambitious than maybe people know, and all of these changes made my career path feel a lot muddier than it used to be. It's been...perplexing," she added, struggling to find the right word.

She smiled, a bit embarrassed that she'd shared all that. She hadn't intended to. Delainey loved her work and she considered herself a team player, but she also didn't expect her friend and former subordinate to be promoted over her so often and so rapidly. Starfleet Medical had ordered Delainey to step down as Chief Counselor so she could take on a dual role as a medical officer and a counselor because the ship was short-staffed. To go from giving orders to Scarlet within counseling to taking them from her was a bit awkward, though both had tried very hard for it not to be. Then, Scarlet had jumped two ranks fairly quickly, going from SO to XO in what felt like a blink. At the same time, Delainey saw her own responsibilities diminishing in a sense with the merging of the medical and counseling departments, and she knew she should steel herself for a time when Teth may be promoted above her, if history was any lesson. She didn't like caring about things like this, but she did.

"I understand," Scarlet replied quietly, frowning as she watched her, taking a slow breath as she squeezed Delainey's arm gently. "I do, really, I'm not just saying that. When I had to make the decision to leave the Marines and come across to the regular fleet....it didn't feel like a sidestep, it felt like a step down. I'd proved myself in the Marines. I was in a position of authority. In the Fleet though? I had to prove myself all over again. Start climbing that ladder right back from the bottom, even though I'd been in a position of leadership only a few months before," she nodded, meeting her eyes. "Keep working hard, Delainey. Your efforts don't go unappreciated. If anything...you're a very experienced officer and we need your experience across the two departments. Useful for us...but I know it must be frustrating for your personal career progression. I'm sorry. If there's one thing I've learnt though? Things happen when you least expect it."

Delainey nodded, sincerely appreciating Scarlet's words. She knew Blake was genuine. "Haven't we all," she replied with a chuckle. "I wasn't fishing for compliments, but I appreciate them all the same. I know I'm not the only one who's had to re-adjust career expectations, and I am grateful to do what I love. I guess in my case, I've just felt more to blame somehow for the position I'm in now, but I'm not sure what, if anything, I might do to make up for it."

"You don't have to make up anything," Scarlet assured with a small smile, shaking her head firmly. "Just keep pushing and doing sterling work."

"Now I really feel like I'm fishing," Delainey replied, blushing slightly. "Seriously, I didn't mean to turn this into a Carlisle complaining session. I thank you for your support, and just wanted you to know I'm always here for you too. I haven't done enough to communicate that since things have changed for us, and it occurred to me you might be feeling more isolated. We all say we know doors are always open for chatting, but tell me honestly, would you reach out to me if you felt overwhelmed or troubled?"

Scarlet held her eyes for a long moment, taking the time to think about it honestly than just throw an answer out there. "It might take a bit of effort," she admitted with a half smile. "No fault of yours though, at all, all on my side. Ironic, hm? The ex-counsellor who finds it difficult to talk to other people about her own thoughts. Still...doctors make the worse patients, right?"

"This is true," Delainey agreed. "I know intellectually it's irrational to think this way, but perhaps you can relate. As a counselor, I know I need to be available for the entire crew, especially because our section is small and there's not many counselors for people to choose, so I'm mindful of how I present myself to people. I don't want anyone thinking I can't be trusted based on something I've said or done as a person outside of work, but the end result is a professional distance from people that's more isolating than anything else. I imagine there's a lot of pressure to keep that sort of professional distance from the crew as well."

Scarlet nodded with a frown, knowing exactly what she meant. And it was a vicious circle. "I think the only way to break it is just to...dive in and be yourself," she admitted quietly. "When you try the keep nice and vanilla, and impartial, and whiter than white, and mindful in your own time...yes, it might make you seem like you'd be a good counsellor, but...well, my experience has been that it tends just to make some people not trust even more. Like we're not quite real. If you show yourself as a real person, who can make mistakes and so understand them, who can get caught up in their own emotions....I don't know, it seems to give some people more confidence in your ability to understand. But it's a difficult choice. With no real answer or right choice."

Delainey nodded and offered a wry smile. "I knew you'd understand." She realized she should probably let Blake get back to work. "Well, I've taken up enough of your time. My place next time?"

"Sounds like a plan," Scarlet assured with a smile, nodding to her. "And don't be a stranger. If you're 'safe' with anyone to let your hair down, you know it's me," she winked lightly.

"That I do," she added with a sincere nod. She really did feel better, and what started as an effort to check on Scarlet had turned into an opportunity for her to mentally check in with herself, something she admitted she needed to do more often if she expected others to do the same. She stood up and headed for the door, but turned back and offered with a wink of her own, "Thanks for letting me stop by."

OFF:

***

Lt. Delainey Carlisle, M.D., Ph.D.
Counselor/Medical Officer
USS Galileo

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo

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