The new Counselor

Posted on 31 Jan 2015 @ 1:47am by Lieutenant Prudence Devin Ph.D. & Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy

2,952 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: Starbase 84 - Deck 22, Office 11
Timeline: MD09 --0938hours

ON:

Prudence Devin looked around her temporary office, one hand on her hip, the other holding the cup of cool tea. She knocked it back with a grimace and placed the small Japanese cup down. She was going to meet her new Assistant. In some sense, there was a relief in a new counsellor to join with her. Since the Galileo had transferred one of their last counsellors, they must have recognised a need for more as they had hired both a Chief and an Assistant Chief.

She glanced at the plant before getting her teapot, adding more hot water to it. She found green tea best for working. Or else, the calories from the sugar alone she added to normal tea and coffee would increase her waist size considerably. Not to mention she preferred being...clear in the mind, a sensation normal tea rarely gave her. Normal tea was for a lazy day off, curled up with a good book. Same worked for a good scotch.

She placed the now full pot to brew, sitting down and taking out the small mirror. She reapplied some lip gloss before adjusting some bobby pins to control the pinned up hair, catching the few bits that of hair that had escaped the bun. She placed the bag away and sat back, waiting. Her back ached. The chair was less than comfortable, but temporary officers were like that. And she was excited to meet her new colleague.

Dru found herself walking down an oh so familar corridor, never in a million years would she have ever imagined herself back here. Looking around, her deep blue eyes surveying the people and objects that she passed. On the surface it seemed as if nothing had changed but she knew better than anyone that perhaps nothing should ever be taken at face value.

So much had changed in the time she had spent in space, People, time and places continued to exist while she had been held in suspension, her future unknown.

Coming to her senses, the petite woman straightened her uniform jacket before pressed her hand against the room chime in order to alert the person inside to her presence.

"Please enter," Prudence stood and smiled at the woman who came in. She was young...well, Prudence was now at the age most people were younger. Beautiful too, although a bit short. She expected her to make up for that in everything else though. "Hello and welcome. I'm Prudence Devin," she walked around the desk to her, offering her hand. She had looked at her file. The woman was human. Irish, actually. At least they'd have some sense of humour to share, possibly even some jokes at the expense of the other's nationality.

The British lilt to the woman's voice caught Dru by surprise. It had been a long time since she had managed to visit Earth and the reminder of home had a pain strike through her heart.

Covering up her feelings and emotions, Dru fixed an easy smile to her lips as she took the offered hand, "Lieutenant, apologises about my tardiness. There was a delay with my shuttle reaching the space station. Something about a mis-programming of the co-ordinates. Though how you could miss a station with a bunch of blinking lights all over is hard to believe."

"It's Prudence. And apology accepted, although I did expect it. I am yet to find a shuttle that arrives on time, regardless of circumstance," Prudence said and smiled gently to her, letting go of her hand. "Can I get you anything to drink, Miss McCarthy?" She didn't want to presume that she would be allowed to use Drusilla straight away. She, however, never really counted rank in counselling. It was about experience to her and she found being on first name basis with those she worked closely with worked better. The rank and last name was saved for when she was in the unfortunate situation to be telling a colleague off.

Despite her superiors easiness and relaxed way of presenting herself, Dru relied on the Starfleet ways of things. She knew how to be when patients were involved but with everybody else, it was easier to hide behind what one had ingrained in them. Relaxing her body though, she understood that the woman infront of her was partly analyzing her to ensure that she could be a correct fit to this ship. It didn't matter if Dru had been on the ship before, nor did any merits or recommendations matter, it was the image she presented today which mattered. "An iced tea would be nice if you didn't mind Ma...Prudence."

"I'll replicate some," Prudence said and walked to the replicator. She glanced over at the other woman, with a small smile. "Any particular flavour?" she asked gently. It was interesting to know, to get to know a colleague.

Dru found that tension was building in the small of her back as she overanalysed every movement she took and every word she spoke. The tension was nothing new, something she experienced every day since....well since.

Stopping herself mid shrug, Dru took a breath as she tried to balance herself. It wouldn't do to let images slip around her superior. "I just prefer the normal blend if you don't mind. I'm not a fancy person, I prefer my home comforts."

Prudence nodded and replicated her some, carrying it to the desk before setting it down. She got her own pot of green tea and carried it over, sitting down to pour it. "Have a seat...and perhaps you can tell me about yourself?"

Moving to take the indicated seat, Dru smiled her appreciation as she cupped her hands around the glass. The coldness acted as an anchoring point as the tingling sensations it caused in her hands forced her to remain in the here and now. "What is there to know? I've been a counselor odd on five years now....I once held your position on this ship but due to...." The counselor hesitated as she gathered her thoughts carefully, "...recent events, it seems that Starfleet felt that perhaps I'd moved upwards too quick."

"Recent events?" Prudence asked, curious as to what they were. Most would have been daunted by their Assistant having held their position previously. But Prudence saw this more as a chance for herself to learn from Drusilla's experience, and for Drusilla to have the support of someone older as the Chief. Age didn't matter that much. An yet, Prudence had experience due to her age.

Clearing her throat slightly, Dru felt her cheeks flush red as she realised she'd said more then was needed. She'd assumed that her Chief had read her file. "It's nothing really...On my last assigned nearly three quarters of the crew were killed in an incident involving pirates."

"I see," she met her eyes, holding them for a moment. She gave a small nod of recognition. "Well, I am most certainly hoping that we will not...have such experiences again. I will need your experiences with this crew. And while I am sure a lot has changed, a lot stay the same too."

Shifting in her chair, Dru briefly looked away as she knew that she hadn't told the whole truth but after months of having not told anyone, now still wasn't the right time for her.

Dru took a moment before smiling gently as memories flooded back of times gone past, "If the ship and crew are anything like I remember; then they are very close knit. Your most difficult issue will be getting them to open up but once the flood gates open, be prepared to be bombarded."

Prudence nodded gently, sipping her tea as she considered it. "I suppose I will find out. I am...not always the best to break the close knit group. Too...English."

Realising that the woman was opening up about herself in some small way, Dru relaxed with the attention now taken away from herself. "The old ways of viewing the English as prime and proper were long gone I thought?"

Arching an eyebrow, Prudence gave her an almost sweet smile. "I think we are still seen as cold and calculated for the most time," she said gently, placing her cup down.

Dru wasn't certain if she'd upset the woman and hesitated for a moment before trying some repair, "I didn't mean to insult....You know yourself how the banter between Irish and English can be. Counseling is a difficult profession. Everyone who enters this room enters with a misconceived perception that we are the enemy. It doesn't matter your nationality, race or sex....The patient will always think the same. I'm sure that it isn't personal...."

"No offense has been taken," Prudence said quickly, giving her a warm smile. "It's...not a bad assumption of people to have. A stiff upper lip has served me very well in my career. And you know better than most...us counsellors, we need a thick skin. I do love a bit of banter though. Last ship I was on had a scot. Would have loved the banter, but the accent was so thick that the universal translator gave up..." she said lightly and then her eyes shone with the joke. A half-truth, in a sense, yet exaggerated for the sake of the joke.

"Scottie too hottie...." Dru sincerely smiles at a closely guarded memory. "On my last mission we'd a Scot onboard who considered himself to be gods gift to women...was convinced that he could persuade any woman into his bed because his accent was so sexy....We were too scared to tell him the truth that it wasn't the accent but....a different attribute that got their attention."

Prudence smiled, arching an eyebrow. "It's always those hidden talents that get whispered about. I think men forget that women can be just as shallow when we want to be. I suppose it adds to the mystery of us....they think we're all romance novels and swoons."

Dru heard a genuine laugh pass her lips, taking her a little by surprise. Smiling warmly at her boss she shrugged her shoulders, "Old fashioned romance is lost in this time. The age of courting a woman and not having sex until marriage is long gone. The sad part is the rest that's missing because of this. Mutual respect, old fashioned gestures of love such as a simple bouquet of flowers. Its a sad thing to see two people forget to step back and just enjoy each other."

"Mm..." Prudence smiled gently, at a memory, before sitting back. "My ex husband was never much of a romantic. Too...awkward. With emotions. It did mean that the times when he did something romantic, it...mattered more. Equally, the times he forgot that I wasn't a wilting flower he got told. Firmly." She winked and her eyes shone with good humour.

Dru looked away as her cheeks flushed red, embarrassed by her only response to this comment. "I've never been in a truly meaningful relationship. There was one...but situation dictated that it never really got off of the ground." Taking a sip of her iced tea, the counsellor smiled lightly at her boss, "Guess I'm one of those romances who picks up everything from a book."

"I think sometimes Jane Austen is an improvement from what this century throws at us," Prudence admitted, with a weak smile. "But every year I think I become more and more cynical in my private life."

"Some sort of cynical can be a good thing in a persons life. It can keep them grounded and ensure that they have an open view on what is around them." Dry said the words as she studied her superior carefully as she gained more of an insight into who the woman was.

Prudence smiled gently, watching the other woman for a long moment before looking away. "Or at least be realistic about it," she said and nodded. "So. I want to say I have not held this position before. This is my first Chief posting."

Dru wondered why the woman had looked away but decided not to probe further, she was surprised that the woman had opened up as much as she had. "There's no harm in that....Surprisingly this girl was my first chief position also. Her crew can be very intense but they are a good bunch of people. They have a solid command structure in the people they have which is half of the battle."

"Always good," Prudence smiled gently, watching her. "And hopefully, we will both settle quickly. Well, you will resettle. Do you have any plans for shoreleave?"

Shrugging her shoulders lightly, Dru looked sideways as she analysed a plant in the room. "I've had my share of shore leave now and am just ready to get back on the bike, as such. You?"

"Same," Prudence said as she held her eyes, with a small smile. "I am currently making myself available for drop ins on the base."

Frowning slightly, Dru realised that it hadn't crossed her mind that she needed arrangements for counseling while the ship was closed off. "I'll put in an application to see if I can secure a set of offices to use while the ship is out of reach. After that I guess we will be sharing the counseling suite onboard?"

"Yes. We will be on different shifts. I am afraid I might put a bit of a...personal touch to the office," Prudence said and gave a small smile, nodding. "Nothing drastic, of course. A plant. If I am seeing people outside of the shift, I will do it somewhere else."

"So we will have a game of 'tag, your it!' going on?" Dru looked down in surprise as she realised her iced tea was finished....She couldn't even remember drinking it back. "Is it just to be me and you in the counselling department?"

"There's currently one more counsellor, although we might get more at this rate," she said and reached for a PADD, to look them up. "Lieutenant Dorian West, former Security. West is on alpha, Miir on beta. Depending what shifts we get assigned, I am assuming that one of us will be working with him at the same time unless we are lucky enough to be one per shift. Some ships avoid having a counsellor on Gamma shift." She met Drusilla's eyes and smiled gently, nodding. "I am sure we will work well together. Once the ship is moving I will arrange a meeting. The ship also have two Chaplains. They'll...most likely take care of their own, some people prefer talking to Chaplains. Less clinical."

Wincing slightly at the thought of trying to work on the same shift as another counselor, with only one room available, Dru nodded her head in agreement with the meeting idea. "Perfectly understandable. It wouldn't be bad to build a relationship between us and the chaplains though, you never know when our work may overlap."

"We should have a meeting," she agreed as she smiled gently. "I am going to see about using my quarters for sessions when I have clashes of offices. As it is for one person, I can easily remove myself from there if you have a session and the office is booked. Does that make sense?" she asked Drusilla.

Frowning slightly, Dru was quick to shake her head. "Hang on a sec now....That isn't fair on you. Every individual needs a place of sanctuary which they can call their own and make their own. It's too much to have you give that up. Infact, at the moment, the only way overlap may happen is if someone schedules an appointment outside of their hours in which case they should counteract by finding space themselves. We can deal with space later if more counselors come onboard."

"It's a small ship by my understanding. Space is hard to find," Prudence said and smiled gently. "I can speak to the Captain and see if there's anywhere else. But, I think it should be offered up if we need it. I am sure it will be fine."

Still shaking her head, Dru moved over to deposit her used glass into the replicator. "If it comes to it we can put our heads together and try find a different alternative. Even if its a rotation of certain rooms we will make something work."

Realising that she may have been coming across overly assertive and perhaps dictative, a blush spread across the counselor's cheek. "My apologies....At the end of the day though what you say goes as you are the boss."

Prudence gave a small nod but didn't look offended by what she had said. "Like I said, worst case scenario. It might very well work out fine."

Smiling her agreement, Dru brushed her hands down over the front of her uniform before indicating towards the door, "Well Ma'am, if I pass and you approve of my placement; I'll be on my way and let you back to your patients."

"Of course," Prudence gave a nod and stood, offering her hand to her. "I look forward working with you."

Easily taking the hand, Dru smiled her appreciation, "And I also. I think we might make a formidable team."

"Fingers crossed anyway," Prudence pulled her hand back and gave her a small nod. It would most certainly be interesting now, but only time would tell how good they'd end up being.

[OFF]

Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy
Assistant Chief Counselor
USS Galileo

&

Lt. Prudence Devin
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

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