Need a little Therapy

Posted on 27 Nov 2018 @ 3:34pm by Lieutenant Aria Rice & Verity Thorne
Edited on on 07 Jan 2019 @ 1:47pm

2,311 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Verity Thorne's Office
Timeline: MD -178, 1230hrs

[ON]

Aria Rice bit her lip as she walked down to the Chaplain's office, the smile that was threatening to break out finally escaping as she rang the chime. She had missed Verity. Seeing him at Starfleet Medical had been good and now that she had spotted he was on the ship she was eager to see him again. She had done long tours before now, the Saratoga had shown her how insane it could be. The thought of all those months just doing day to day stuff had made a muscle in her jaw twitch so she saw it as the perfect excuse to go and see Verity, to talk about her emotions.

Also, just to see a friend.

She did consider Verity just that, a friend. A good man, someone she could trust and rely on. It mattered to her, it really did. And she was so excited to see him.

Verity glanced up from where he was sat in the chair by the viewport, head bowed over the rosary he held wrapped around his hand. He caught his breath, bringing his mind back to the Galileo. "Come in..." he stood slowly, sliding the rosary back into his pocket.

Aria smiled as she walked in, meeting Verity's eyes as she let out a breath. "Well, you look a lot better than last time we spoke," she said and walked over, hugging him as she closed her eyes. "How have you been, Verity?" she wanted to know. She wanted to know he was okay.

Verity smiled warmly at the hug, holding her firmly in return, sighing with warmth as he remembered how this kind hearted young woman had come to visit him when he'd been a patient in Starfleet Medical. "Oh, I'm back on my feet," he assured with a soft chuckle. "But how are you, Aria? Pleased to be back on a Galileo?"

"Very pleased and a bit nervous," she admitted as she watched him, touching his side after a moment before she sighed. "You, Mister, need some more meat on your bones..." she whispered before she shrugged. "Can I...sit here and talk with you for a bit, Verity?"

"You don't have to ask, please, make yourself comfortable," he smiled warmly at her staying, motioning for her to take a seat. "What can I get you? Within reason, young lady, I saw what you can put back at the party..." he teased, but with obvious warmth.

"Tea," Aria said and smiled as she sat down, kicking her boots off to curl up in the chair. "Please. You make good tea, Verity..." she watched him, with gentle eyes. "You look...happy."

"I suppose I am," Verity admitted with a soft laugh as he warmed the pot, glancing to her with a touch of shyness. "I'm back at work and out of that horrid place. And Oliver is here with me."

"Ah! Oliver..." she said and pretended to swoon. "Oh, he is so dishy. And you are so beautiful. It was meant to be, you and him..." she smiled and bit her lip, shaking her head. "You deserve each other in all the best ways. Unless he hurts you. Then I kick him in the nuts."

Verity couldn't help but laugh at the threat, but there was a slight blush on his skin all the same. "You know, I believe you," he smiled widely to her, shaking his head as he got some tea brewing. "Good job you're good at those high kicks..." he teased.

"Of course I am..." Aria laughed warmly and shifted, worrying her lip again for a moment. "Verity...it's going to be weird to be so far away from everyone for so long. With...just the day in and day out. People will get short tempered."

Verity nodded slowly as he moved to sit with her, setting the tea tray down close to them. "Yes," he admitted softly. "They probably will," he tilted his head, smiling gently. "Are you worried that you might be one of them?"

Aria watched the tea for a moment before he met his eyes, nodding. "I...like being busy, you know? And...and on the Saratoga, sure we were far away from home but every day was different. We are talking about months upon months of the same. I am lucky, I got some amazing people here...friends...but Security can be...tedious."

"Hm..." Verity took a deep breath as he gave it some thought, wanting to try and help if he could, not just offer reassurances. "Variety is the spice of life. It seems like you're going to need to find a way to make every week different. I think every day would be too much of a challenge and you'd just fail....and then you'd stop trying. But every week...that could work."

"Well, I was thinking about the clubs..." Aria said before she shifted closer to him. "I mean, if I get involved...it would be brilliant, right? Something do to every week, something outside the office. I mean, I'm me, I am not going to go around on some wild romance unlike some people I know..." she winked and reached to nudge him. "You and your man not worried about cabin fever?"

Verity laughed warmly at how she put it, shaking his head gently. "I think we've spent long enough apart to reach a point where 6 months shut up together will be bliss," he assured with a fond smile. "Will you come back to the amateur dramatics group? I want to put more dance into it..."

"Oh!" Aria's head perked up with interest at that before she smiled. "I like dance. I can even help getting a routine in if you want..." she said, already thinking about it as she tapped her leg with two fingers. "I think this is the only way I can cope. Things to do, planned out...fun things. And socialising, or else I will go insane."

"Well, to be honest, I was rather hoping you'd offer to plan the dance routines," Verity admitted with a soft laugh as he looked down at being caught out. "Directing acting and music? I can do. But you must have noticed, I'm not exactly a dancer."

Aria clapped her hands with excitement with a warm smile. "I can come up with something easy that works with everyone's skill level. When we get people more into it, we can do solo stuff with different difficulty..." she bit her lip, considering something. "Does Oliver dance? Do you dance?"

"Oliver can ballroom dance," Verity assured with a soft laugh, shaking his head as he glanced down. "Far better than I can anyway. Especially these days," he patted the side of him that had been left weaker since his illness.

"You know..." Aria looked at him before she smiled gently. "I can help with that. Dancing is good for building strength and coordination. We could do it together, slowly...let you get more strength back. Of course, only if a doctor says it is okay..." she reached out and touched where he had touched, her hand gentle.

He smiled gently to her with both surprise and gratitude, patting the hand softly with warmth. "I couldn't put you through that. You'd end up frustrated and full of regret."

"Oh yes you could!" Aria smiled as she held his eyes, laughing suddenly. "It will be fun because we have fun together. And it would just be you and me and you would totally do me a favour because I can focus on something else..." she added the last with hopeful eyes, exaggerated, her hands coming up to press the palms together. "Oh please! Pleeeeeeease...." she dragged the last out until she started giggling.

Verity could only laugh at how she put it, glancing down with a soft smile that showed he was clearly tempted. "Do you really think you could help? It would be nice to be able to dance well with Oliver," he admitted.

"I know I can!" Aria smiled as she nodded, sitting back with a satisfied smile at getting her own way. Because hello! She totally got her own way. "And it will help in other ways as well...and you'll enjoy it which is the most important part!"

"I have a feeling that I'm going to enjoy it whether I like it or not," he teased with a good natured poke to her side. Aria was probably one of the few masters of the art of enforced fun.

Aria grinned as she twisted her body, her eyes shining. "I am the best sidekick anyone could ask for," she said lightly before she sighed. "Oh, and I finally got over my hangover. It was a two day one...not good for anything. I am never ever drinking again ever!"

Verity leant in close to her so he could keep his voice low and confidential, his expression deadpan. "You know, it's bad luck to lie to your chaplain..."

Aria pouted before she smiled, her eyes shining before she chuckled. "Alright, until next time my liver feels better..." she said lightly before she sighed softly, considering it for a moment. "Do you believe in love? I mean...fairy tale real life?"

Verity smiled warmly at the question, reaching to take a hold of her hand. "Yes," he said without hesitation, squeezing her hand. "But I believe in all sorts of love. And none is any worse or better than another. Love is love. It's all good. It's all light. It's all warmth."

She smiled at the words and nodded, taking a deeper breath as she relaxed. "Good. I want to have something like that to believe in," she confessed before she chuckled. "I have never been in love, you see. I have loved...friends, family. But never...that sort of romantic..."

"Trust me, it comes along when you least expect it," he half whispered with a weak smile, leaning in closer to her. "I thought my life was mapped out. It doesn't work like that. Then out of nowhere..." he shrugged, shaking his head with a gentle smile. "You're so young, Aria, you have a life of possibilities ahead of you. And you know what? Love isn't always like you see it in the holonovels and books...it's...complicated, and comes along in hundreds of different ways. The trick is to recognise it when you see it, and then nurture it."

"Like you and Oliver?" Aria asked softly as she watched him, smiling as she pulled her legs close to hug. She did always enjoy a romantic story and this was one she wanted to hear.

"Yes," he nodded with a soft chuckle, glancing down, but with warmth in his eyes at talking about Oliver. "I was worried, about falling for someone. In case it wasn't real. In case I made a fool out of myself and it wasn't worth it. But it was. It was really worth it."

She smiled at the words, sighing softly. "Awww! That is so adorable..." she said with a sigh, fluttering her eyelashes. "I love that...I just love that..." she shifted to lay down. "I bet you two have romantic dinners and everything!"

He laughed warmly at how comfortable she made herself. She was like a slinky cat, making the sofa hers. He liked it. "Sometimes. Although when our shifts clash, it's more like slipping in and out of bed to curl up together in the cross over," he chuckled weakly.

"Still...isn't that what life in Starfleet is? Those moments?" she asked and sighed softly. "Besides, better than shaking crumbs out of your sheets if you ask me."

Verity couldn't quite hold back the laugh at the turn of phrase. The young woman's language was as colourful as her hair. "What do you want, Aria?" he asked softly, patting her ankle. "I mean...what do you really want, when you're really honest with yourself? So many people are...programmed to chase the same things, whether it's what they want deep down or not. Like...a hologram, that's programmed to fulfil its prewritten story. Sometimes...a person has to take a long, hard look at what it is they really want, or perhaps more importantly what they don't want, and break out of their programming."

Aria considered the words carefully, taking a slow and deep breath. She blushed, glancing at him before she looked down. "I want to make a difference," she finally said. "I want to...to make a difference here, to be part of everything. I want those around me to be happy, as happy as I am. Because...that's the weird thing. I am happy like I am."

"Then if you're happy, sweet thing, why yearn for more?" Verity smiled warmly, shaking his head gently as they got to the core of what he had suspected. "Be happy with who you are now...I know that I love who you are now. And if more happens to come along, well, be open to another adventure."

Aria looked at him before she nodded, biting her lip as she considered it. "But isn't it weird that I...am happy like this? Shouldn't I want what most normal people want?"

Verity leant close to her, smiling for a long moment. "No one's normal, Aria, and even if they were, would you really want that? Would you really want to just be...normal? Why not be Aria, she's so much more colourful."

Aria grinned at the compliment, sighing contently. "Mm...I suppose she is. And she is very much enjoying not being in charge, thank you very much..."

[OFF]

--

Lt. jg Aria Rice
Security
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Vansen]

CH Verity Thorne
Chaplain
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Blake]

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