How To Screw With a Counsellor's Mind

Posted on 26 Feb 2016 @ 1:01am by Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy & Ensign Miraj Derani & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn

3,285 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo: Chief Counselor's office
Timeline: MD89 1743

[ON]

Miraj found the chief counselor's office without difficulty. Galileo wasn't big enough to get lost in. She bit her lip and rested a hand on the bulkhead, feeling the quiet reassuring hum of a slumbering ship. She just had to sit on her usual tendency to say what she actually thought, and not sound like a complete crazy person. Easy.

Right.

She stepped across the corridor and through the door.

Rubbing her fingers across her forehead, Dru tried to ease the headache which seemed to linger beneath her skull with no intention of ever going away.

The last few weeks had been a continuous roller-coaster ride. Between Markum and the baby she wondered if life would ever settle again. Since his awaking and their decision to raise the child as their own, weeks were flying by and here she now sat, on the pivotal point of five and a half months pregnant.

The counsellor's bump was hidden behind her desk, between the desk and the over jacket she'd adapted, she managed t avoid awkard questions regarding her pregnancy...especially from the people who were able to do math and realise she was pregnant before she came onboard. Herself and Markum had discussed this alot over recent weeks...as far as he was concerned her baby was his and he cared for noone elses opinions nor who biologically was the father. All the man cared about was Dru and having Dru in his life.

Smiling as her thoughts turned to Markum, Dru forced herself to pick up a PADD just as her door opened. "I'll be with you in just a minute."

"Okay."Miraj waited in front of the desk, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. As the moments slipped past, she looked around the tiny room, saw the two big comfortable chairs facing each other, taking up all the space, the desk pushed as far to the side as possible and still have room to squeeze behind, and the abstract pictures with calming sweeps of muted colours, it looked more like a professor's study than a doctors office. Not so intimidating after all. She could handle this

Finally looking up from her PADD, Dru looked in confusion at the other woman as she wondered why she hadn't sat. She had remembered to invite the woman to take a seat hadn't she?

Feeling the headache beginning to thump again, Dru moved to her feet as the move resulted in her bump clearly showing. "My apologies..." Her eyes darted to the woman's neck, "Ensign? How can I help you?"

"I'm Ensign Derani. I've been assigned as the new Chief Flight Control Officer, and I was briefed to report to you for a psych exam as part of my orientation." She stopped, remembered herself, "Sir."

Indicating towards the two seats facing eachother, Dru made her way around her desk in a rather clumbsy move as she made a note to try and move the desk once again to give herself more space. She was sure that ops would like that request, movement of counselling suite's furniture as pregnant Chief Counsellor is too fat ot be able to get around.

"Please Ensign, there is no need for formalities in here, I prefer first names or preferred names. What do you prefer that people call you Ensign?"

"Miraj." Then Miraj saw the curve of the counsellor's stomach. "Oh! Congratualations! When are you due? Is it a girl or a boy?" It took a moment for her brain to get in control of her mouth, and she looked away. "I'm sorry, that was rude, I apologise."

Dru managed a weak smile at the woman's exclimaton. Taking a moment, she moved herself across to a chair before lower herself down. The very short journey gave her a moment to gather herself. "Just shy of five and a half months. And a girl...do you have children of your own?"

Miraj was surprised at the question. She knew she looked younger than her already young twenty one. "er. No, ma'am. I'm only just out of the Academy, I haven't really thought about...babies."

Dru sat back into her chair as she watched the still standing woman. She was uncertain if she was the cause of the woman's discomfort or if it was the whole idea of a psych exam. "What age are you Miraj?"

"I turned twenty one last month. Just after Graduation." she wondered if she should elaborate. "I have a brother who's nine years older than me. He doesn't have a girlfriend at the moment. Neither does Dad. Babies aren't really something I really think about." SHe looked at the bump. "Except now, because you're, you know, and I don't really know what i'd do with one. They've always been things that happen to other people. I don't know how to be a mum. I never had one. It was always just Dad and Mal and me and-" Shut up! snapped a part of her brain. Shut up, Shut up, Shut up, Shut up!.

For what must have been the third time in so many minutes, Dru felt her lips start to curve into to smile as she listened to the woman's dis-organised thoughts. "Please take a seat Miraj. So is that why you decided on a career in flight rather than child care?"

Miraj sat so fast she would have bruised something if the chair hadn't been soft. "I.." She stopped. "I didn't really decide. I just. I don't think I can do anything else. I am one of the best pilots thats ever been born." There wasn't any pride or arrogance in her voice, it was just a simple statement of fact. "I can't imagine being anything else. Well. no I can imagine being lots of things. but I don't think I could do them. not for real. Not like I can fly. Its as easy as breathing. Easier. Everything else is a struggle. I couldn't raise children. I don't know how."

Dru winced a little as she saw how hard the woman hit her chair, good thing it was padded well. Having had fists and kicks hit chairs over the years, the counsellor found it prudent to ensure that the pieces of furniture were kept soft. It also helped for comfort. "A Chief of Flight at twenty one, just out of the academy. That is quite an accolade to hold against your name Miraj, it speaks well of you as both a person and a pilot."

Miraj blushed. "I know. And i can't wait to get Galileo out of dock and see what he can do. Nova's are slowpokes at warp. But they're not terrible under light speed. Being tiny makes them much more manoevrable, you need so much less to overcome the the inertia. And when you do it doesn't hurt them so bad, so they can last longer if you get into anything protracted. They can be much more fun to fly than say, a galaxy class. Those things are like old ladies. You can't get the buggers to do anything. Its like the engineers forgot that space is three dimensional and practically frictionless. They've barely got enough thrusters to get out of space dock, let alone actually actively fly. They just sort of float. Its like piloting a waterbed, the only thing they have going for them is -"

She was running away again. She shut her mouth with an audible click and blushed harder, frowning at the floor and making her orbital arches flare.

"And breath..." Laughing, Dru leaed forward in her seat as she studed the woman more closely. "Can I get you something to drink to help settle the nerves? Nothing alcoholic though, you know the saying that drinking and driving don't mix."

"No. No thank you. I'm fine." She rubbed her foot against the carpet, in the same way she normally would if she were barefoot and feeling the vibrations of the ship. "So, this exam? What happens? Do I look at ink splotches or answer questions about a tortoises in deserts?"

Dru's hand moved her her abdomen as the baby within started to kick, her fingers gently stoking the mound through her uniform. "That's a psycaratrist I'm afraid that does tet ink splotches, I'm a consellor. The difference being that I help people with issues they may have, find the root of problems and helping with developing coping mechanisms. Like...why is the first though you have of tortoises in deserts?"

"Its from an old earth film my brother likes. 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.' er No. that s the book its based on. I can't remember what the films called. I didn't pay that much attention. Not enough pirates. But Mal likes it. It has a thing where they use that question to test for fake people."

"Do yourself and your brother have many conflicting interests?" Dru's fingers continued the gentle caress across her abdomen as she begun to the the hang of following the fast paced woman.

"Me and Mal? Oh, no! We get on great. He's the best big brother ever. He just likes that film way more than me. I just remembered it had the test in it!". Miraj thought about it. "Mostly we like the same stuff. And cos he's older than me he kind of took it upon himself to make sure I had what he calls a proper education. He likes anything with anti-hero types in."

Dru smiled as she realised that Miraj seemed to have calmed a little now that she was focused. "How much of an age gap is there between you both?"

"Nine years. Which I know sounds a lot, but he's always taken care of me."

Dru knew well what the woman meant, herself and her own brother had a big age gap between them which meant he had always looked after her. "Do you miss him much now your out on your own in Starfleet?"

"I've no really had a chance. He came here to pick up my Waverider and hold onto it whilst I'm here, so I only saw him yesterday. And he'd swing by wherever I was during my time at the academy, so I saw him every six months or so."

"Sounds like he liked to keep a very close eye on you. How did that make you feel?" Dru shifted in her seat as the baby kicked harder.

Miraj's orbital arches squeezed closer. "I'd not thought about it like that. We had fun. Adventures. and then when he went and worked with his own ship he'd always bring me something and tell me stories. He had the best schemes and the best ideas. It was awesome. I don't really know why he put up with me so much. I mean, he was eighteen I was the annoying kid sister. But he never told me to get lost or anything. Even when I flew rings around him in front of his girlfriends."

"How do you feel you'll cope once we move into deep space and there's a distance between you both?" Dru smiled at the woman's memories, recalling some of her own with her own brother.

"I'm sure it will be fine. We talk on Subspace when we're in range. And he's mobile, I'm sure he'll drop by when ever I get shore leave next. I survived before. And he won't be around to make passes at anything and everything with two X chromasones. which will be good."

Dru mocked a cough in order to hide a smile at the woman's last words regarding her brother. "And what about your parents? Do you think that they will miss you while you are away?"

Miraj hesitated. "Dad's the same as Malcolm. We talk, he checks up on me. Embarrasses me as often as he can... But I don't know my mother. Shes..." Gone?, abandoned the good ship Miraj? Missing in Action? On the run from the fleets of at least four different empires? "Not around."

A hint of sadness touched Dru's eyes as she listened to the woman speak. "I'm sorry. It must have been difficult growing up with just the three of you as company for each other?"

"No." Miraj suddenly wondered if it should have been, "It was awesome. Can't miss what you've never had."

Dru smiled at this as her hand moved back to her abdomen, wondering if she'd miss the baby had she never became pregnant with her. "That's a very positive way of thinking. You seem to be a very smart woman Miraj."

The hybrid blushed at the compliment, "I'd like to meet her though. Just once would be enough. Ask her... Ask her why she sent me away."

Leaning forward, Dru placed her hand against Miraj. She was taking a gamble but judged that the woman wouldn't be scared off by the move. "Is it a question that troubles you alot?"

Troubled her? "I don't know." Miraj was silent for a moment, turning the question over in her mind. "I mean. What would make you give up your baby at eight weeks old?"

The comment hit home harder then Dru realised it might. It wasn't so long ago that she weighted up options which included that she might give her own child away. Her reasons weren't what this girl needed to hear...shame on how the child was conceived, pain on the memories the baby brought back...if it wasn't for Markum she would never have been able to see beyond that.

Squeezing the girl's hand, the counsellor drew back as her hand moved back to her abdomen. "I can't speak for anyone else but I can speak for myself when I say that the decision would never have been easy. Have you ever talked to your father about this?"

"I tried once. And he gave me lots of sensible reasons. mother's ship would be no place for a baby. She had a lot of pressures on her. Dangerous line of work. Always on the run. It must be hard to be a pirate and a mummy. But none of them really feels like an answer."

At the word pirate, Dru froze. Her hand gripped her abdomen as fear raced through her mind. "Pirate?"

"Yeah. Captain of a ship called The Serpent's Tooth She was raiding from out of the Badlands during the Dominon war, and took my dad's runabout. Then had her wicked way with him. Repeatedly, enthusiastically and athletically if the look on my Dad's face is anything to go by. Mal gets the same one after a good night. Usually about five seconds before I need to start shouting TMI."

Dru felt the breath caught in her throat as suddenly she felt sick. The room seemed to spin as the woman tried to sit back up, flashbacks moved past the counsellor's eyes, the begs and screams as she was hopeless to stop anything. She couldn't stop it, she couldn't push them away.

Miraj sat forward, perturbed by the counselor's sudden change in demeamour. "Ma'am? are you allright?"

Leaning forward in her chair, Dru's arm had moved to protect her abdomen as she felt the babies increased movements in it's depths. The girls word's managed to penetrate the fog in her mind as she struggled to take deep breaths and fight back what was happening.

"Can I help?" Miraj got to her feet and came to kneel next to other woman. "Is it the baby? Should I call the Doctor?"

As the girl spoke again, this time Dru shook her head as she tried to close her eyes and force it all back. She didn't need the Doctor...she needed Markum. She needed him to just hold her and remind her that everything would be ok.

Dru tried to focus on the girl as her voice came closer and she sensed her presence beside her. "Mark...Markum..."

Miraj didn't know if Markum was the father, or her midwife or just a friend, or if he was even on board. but she didn't stop to think about it, and reached for her comm badge. "Derani to Markum," she could get into trouble for any issues relating to lack of rank later. "Please come to the Chief Counselor's office immediately."

Quinn had just finished with a conversation over subspace with his son, Marcus, when the com came across his combadge. "Dru." he instinctively said aloud. He tapped his combadge. "Transporter Room this is Quinn, I need an emergency beam in to the Chief Counselor's Office, now!"

The Transporter operator on duty replied, "Uh, Chief, I can't just..."

Markum cut the young NCO off. "You can and you will, that's a direct order. I'll deal with breaking protocol later." A moment later Markum was materializing inside the room. He noticed someone that he had never met before and Dru. "What happened?" he asked quickly as he rushed down to Dru's side and brushed his hand against her cheek and placed another hand on her abdomen. "Hey beautiful," Quinn spoke to the belly, "Daddy will tell you more space stories later, okay? Let's help mommy feel better, okay my princess?" Quinn spoke in a rarely heard, soft and tender voice while addressing the baby."

"I'm not sure. We were talking about..." My father's sex life she realised, and changed her words mid sentence "-stuff, and suddenly she just started hyperventilating." Miraj looked from the kneeling man to the counselor, and wasn't sure what to do next.

Dru was aware of Markum taking her into his arms. As she moved to bury her face in against his chest, she was only aware of the murmur of voices through the sound of the rushing blood through her body. Within her body, the counsellor felt the baby she carried in within move, almost pushing against her womb wall as her partner's hand pushed from the outside.

"She'll be okay." replied Quinn to Miraj. "This pregnancy has been hard on her, you know?" He could feel the baby moving, and it filled his heart with love. "Daddy loves you, little one." whispered Markam just before he kissed Dru's abdomen.

Quinn looked back to Miraj. "Could you do me a favor and let Sickbay know we are on our way? I'd really appreciate it, uh, Ensign." Markam added after straining to see the rank pip on her collar.

Miraj moved to the edge of the little room and did as she was asked, and quietly put in a call to Sickbay. She turned back to the Chief of the Boat a moment later. "They're expecting you sir."

Quinn sighed softly and shook his head with a chuckle. "Thank-you Ensign, but please, you don't have to sir me. I'm still an enlisted person, but I do greatly thank you for your respect and for calling me. I owe you one, and I will pay it back."

"Its nothing, sir, she asked me to get you thas all." She looked around awkwardly, realising there was nothing more to do here, and she was intruding ona private moment. "I'll come back later. I hope everything is okay for you all." And with that, Miraj sidled out of the tiny office just as fast as she could without running.

Quinn began to walk out of the office and towards sickbay at a fast pace. "Hang on, Sweetheart, we are almost to Sickbay."


OFF]

CMCPO Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

Ensign Miraj Derani
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

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