Watering and Withering (Part 1)

Posted on 11 Jan 2013 @ 1:51pm by Lieutenant Dawn Meridian

2,963 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3, Counsellor's Office
Timeline: MD 16 1700

[ON]

Jeremy stopped in front of the indicated office, his stomach churning as his fist tapped the side of his thigh. He felt the PADD in his pocket and realized that he would need to start using the new one that Coleman had given him but first he would have to transfer all his data over from the old PADD.

The gentle nudge at his leg reminded him that he was just delaying when he should be hitting the chime. As it was, at this moment, he was going to be late for the appointment. He checked his PADD again, making sure he was where he was supposed to be.

According to the PADD he was. He looked down and shrugged as he hit the chime.

Dawn sat back in her chair and let out the breath she'd been holding as she surveyed the room. The office was pretty much as she wanted it. Greenery dotted the room, potted plants that she'd have to remember to water later. There were a few pictures, mostly landscapes of scenery from various worlds. The main point of the office, though, was choice. There were three separate seating areas in the office: a big, leather chair in front of her desk, a small leather couch facing a chair, and a table with sitting mats. The way she saw it, she could tell a lot about a person based on where they wanted to sit.

She guessed Stone would probably choose the desk area, but it was hard to learn much about someone just from glancing over what someone else had written about them in a file. She'd just have to play it by ear, as she always did.

At the sound of the chime, she spun the chair around and hopped to her feet, briefly brushing off her uniform. She didn't particularly care how she looked, but others sometimes did. She waltzed toward the door and then cleared her throat, putting on a more serious face.

Jeremy Stone was a tall - well, compared to her, anyway - man, but if his large frame intimidated her, she didn't show any sign of it. "Welcome," she said with a smile. "Counsellor Dawn Meridian," she said, holding out her hand. "Come in, take a seat wherever you like."

Jeremy glanced at the outstretched hand. "You're blocking the door," he said as he remained standing in the corridor.

Hello Counsellor Meridian, I'm Lieutenant Jeremy Stone. I would not wish to be so rude as to bump into you, so if you would lead the way into the room, it would be much appreciated, she translated, taking back her hand. "Pleased to meet you," she said with a surprisingly sincere smile, and moved out of the doorway. "Like I said, the choice of seat is yours. Except for the one behind the desk, of course."

Jeremy entered the office and stood in the middle of the room. He put his hands behind his back as he took in the decor, seating arrangements - actually scowling at the table and sitting mats - and photos on the wall. What he didn't notice were the diplomas and degrees and other indicia of her qualifications. He then looked at his chrono.

One of Dawn's eyebrows quirked upward, and she tilted her head slightly. She hadn't really thought anyone would choose not to sit at all. He obviously didn't want to be there... or maybe he just didn't know what to do. Either way, the brown-eyed man intrigued her. "All right," she conceded. "You don't have to take a seat if you don't want to."

Jeremy glanced at her and frowned as he looked at the seating areas again, scowling.

She looked up at him, her head still slightly tilted. "Would you prefer I called you by your rank, position, first name, last name... some combination? You can call me whatever you like." A slight glint passed through her grey eyes, and she turned and paced toward the replicator. "And would you like something to drink?"

Are you actually qualified? he wanted to ask her but stopped because he didn't want to start another incident in medical. Dr. Dhuinn would definitely have a problem with that. Are you an intern? was his next question that he held back. But did want a beverage? He did, but he didn't know what to order so he let it go as he moved to look at the photos again. "I am Lieutenant Jeremy Stone," he said simply.

The silent type, then. Well, that was a start. "Thanks," she replied, still facing the replicator. She didn't seem to notice how unhelpful his answer was. "Water," she said, and took the glass that appeared.

Dawn stepped closer, taking a sip from the glass and peering at him over the rim. He'd glanced at the chairs earlier and hadn't seemed happy. Then again, she wasn't sure 'happy' was something Stone did. After a moment, she shrugged. "The chairs are like that because people relax in different ways." She didn't elaborate. " If you don't like the chairs, that's fine. If you don't like counselling, that's fine too." She spun her glass around, watching the light shifting inside. "You don't have to worry about me getting mad. Complain, if you want to. Ask me a question, if you want to."

"I don't relax," he said. "I don't like new. I don't see why I can't just keep talking to Mulgrew over subspace. Now, I'll have to start all over with things again." He sighed as he looked at the arranged foliage. "Shouldn't you be taking a case history? Making me answer a lot of questions that are already in my file, I don't remember or are completely irrelevant?"

Dawn felt a surge of happiness. She'd been wondering if the 'Stone' in his name was related to a stone wall, but she felt a bit better, now. "I can understand that," she said. "It's a lot of effort to discard something you've already built up. I feel the same way, a little bit. All the people I learned about on the Washington are far away now, and I don't know anything about anyone on the Galileo except what's in the files." She let out a breath.

"But just because I don't know you yet doesn't mean I should waste your time." She took another sip of water. "Waste your time by asking you silly questions, anyway." Even if that's what I 'should' be doing. "Counselling shouldn't be about me indulging myself by making you jump through hoops. This should be about what you want to do. Beats an interrogation." And that way, I don't have to have you tell me what I already know or can guess.

Hoops? he wondered. This was counseling, not a physical agility test. However he glanced at her, frowning. He had nothing to say to her last speech and so said nothing. He glanced at his chrono surprised that only minutes had passed. He would have guessed much of their time at least. He sighed. He looked at the photos. He looked at the plants - noticing the philodendron was overwatered and the ficus under watered. He looked at the seating arrangement and she talked about herself.

None of this was actually helping him.

Dawn watched Stone look around the room. She wondered if he knew she could follow his gaze. He seemed bored, caged maybe. Her mind was starting to paint a rather interesting picture of who Stone seemed to be, and she still wasn't what to make of him. She briefly considered how easy things would be if she had the power to read thoughts, but then decided that would take all the fun out of it. In spite of the silence, Mr. Stone was telling her a lot. His name definitely suited him.

He really wasn't giving her much of an alternative to asking stupid questions. Whatever the file said didn't matter; it wouldn't help her get through to him. He didn't relax, and he didn't like new things. This was definitely new. She wasn't sure if he was being deliberately difficult or if that's just how he was. She was confused, and, above that, happy. "You said you don't relax. What did you do during shore leave, then?"

"Arrested a crewman, arranged for another to be released in lieu pending formal charges and court appearances, fired and reinstated my Chief Warrant, broke my hand, assaulted medical staff, listened to Lt. Panne's piano playing, fixed the privacy fields of the brig cells, tried to fix the environmental controls of brig cell three, retrieved a drunk crewman," he was about to add the bit about using the transporters to adjust quantum signatures of the crew but that information may be classified, he'd have to check, "argued with Doctors Mulgrew and McFarlan, got into several arguments with Commander Holliday." He frowned, trying to think of what else he had done. "Arranged my quarters, discovered that the program I used to keep doors open was a glitch and was fixed in a software update, discovered that I do not have a sense of humor as I've been told numerous times. Ate and slept, worked out," at that he covered his hands behind his back, "voided as necessary. Read reports, assigned duty shifts, put off a department inspection due to...events...chased intruders through the ship, realized that the administration of this ship devalues security greatly." he brought out his PADD to check over his schedule. "Approved a fraternization waiver, assigned Chief Kiwoski to begin forming a response team." He frowned. that didn't seem like a lot but he'd been busy. He'd been all over the ship. "Oversaw contraband inspections on returning crew. Liased with local authorities regarding minor squabbles and run-ins with Galileo crewmembers." he sighed. It still didn't seem like it would have filled four days of activity. Well, three and a half considering what time he arrived at Vega colony and the ship. "Began an overview and training evaluation of my department." He put his PADD away, signalling that he was finished with his recitation. There was a large chunk of yesterday missing anyway.

Dawn nodded as he spoke, mostly because she had no idea how to react to so much information at once. Assaulted medical staff? That would explain why the doctor had urged her to see him so soon. "Thank you," she said softly, thinking.

"You're right," she said at last, pacing over to the replicator and recycling her glass. "It doesn't sound like there was much downtime at all." Not that he would have known how to take advantage of it if there had been, but still...

Where to start? So many events she had no idea about... Some things seemed normal enough for what she imagined working as a Chief Security Officer to be like, but others... "You fired someone under your command?" This, too, she'd heard a little bit about, but not much. "Why?" She held up a finger, as if to make a footnote. "If you'd like water or anything from the replicator, that offer's still open."

He glanced at the replicator. Of course he liked water. Didn't he? Who couldn't like water? But...he considered. This could be some sort of trick. Some test. Depending on what he chose. He was acutely aware this person had the authority to remove him from duty, just as Dr. Dhuinn had for a little while in Medical. But she could do it on a far more permanent basis. She could order him into yet another extended evaluation. Was not accepting the offer of beverage a sign that she was looking for?

On the other hand, he did speak a lot and it was close to dinner time. He took out his PADD and flicked through it. "Tea," he ordered, "cinnamon orange number seven, chilled. Large sized." He took the glass from the replicator and held it with his off hand. "It was a misunderstanding. I thought he was assigned to both Marines and Security and that was unacceptable. The situation was resolved when I realized I was mistaken."

He went back to the replicator. "Watering canister with nutrients for a ficus," he ordered. That it wasn't being well cared for suddenly bothered him and he wanted to correct that. He took the canister to the plant and moistened the soil, straightening the photos before returning the canister to be reclaimed.

Dawn blinked. There wasn't actually any marines on board, as far as she knew. It sounded like a mistake that would have been rather hard to make, but, since she didn't know exactly what had happened, maybe she was wrong. Still, it was good that the problem had been solved.

What intrigued her more than whatever it was the people in security did was that Stone had taken it upon himself to water the plants. Her grey eyes followed him as he worked, her eyebrows raised. "You know a lot about plants," she said. It was an observation with a touch of surprise. "What can I do better? I'd like to keep them healthy." A half-frown touched her lips.

He turned to look at her for a moment. "It needed water. When the leaves start to droop and yellow, they're wilting. The bark also takes on a dry, cracked appearance. It stands to reason that if you did not take the time to water them properly, you would also not give them nutrient supplements necessary for foliage that spends its time in primarily artificial light. Though, it is hard to overwater a philodendron, considering how viscous their route systems are. But a good rule is that when you see standing water in the pot, you have given it too much. It also appears to have improper drainage." He looked at his chrono again.

Dawn nodded slowly. Although she had medical training, it hadn't really focused on plants. For at least the third time, she noticed that he had looked at his watch. Somehow, it didn't seem like he was doing it to offend her. "You keep looking at your watch," she said. Based on past experience, she probably wouldn't get a response from Stone if she didn't ask directly. "Why?"

Jeremy blinked at the question. "So I know what time it is," he answered. What was that question for? What did it mean for her to ask that?

Dawn smiled widely. How hadn't she seen that coming? How had such a simple answer taken her by surprise? She only spoke once she was sure she wouldn't laugh. "A lot of people would take constantly checking the time as a sign of boredom or discomfort," she explained. "Although it makes perfect sense to want to know the time, it might put others on edge, since it looks like you're wondering how soon you can leave."

After a moment, she tilted her head. "I don't mind, though, since I know why. Don't worry about it too much."

Jeremy looked away from her and continued to scan the room. The pictures were not hung level with each other and the disparity was not meant for display purposes but a lack of leveling. The chair sitting in front of the desk was two centimeters off from being square. The placement of couch and chair meant one or the other sitting in those spots would have to sit tilted our crane their necks uncomfortably. He disregarded the sitting mats completely. He drank his tea to try to still his discomfort over the disorganization of the room.

Right. She'd forgotten about the "constantly having to ask questions" thing again. "Stone," she said softly. She wouldn't admit it, but the man reminded her of herself - at least a little bit - only when she didn't know what to do, she did something at random rather than nothing at all. She also wouldn't admit that she was getting a little bit frustrated; thankfully, her curiosity was still strong enough to overcome that. "Do you know why you're here?" She didn't mean it in an insulting way. She just wasn't sure if he wanted help, or how much it helped her if he was open to it. Forcing people to change against their will wasn't something she was sure she could do, or wanted to do. She wasn't sure of a lot of things about Stone.

He set his glass on the desk, making sure to use a makeshift coaster since she didn't appear to have any available for the purpose. "I require counseling," he said as he moved the chair in front of the desk, making it square. He sighed as he frowned. The pictures would require more extensive work to put them right. Instead he picked up his tea and stared into the cup. "I have a condition. It makes life... frustrating."

Dawn followed Stone to her desk, moved behind it and dropped into her chair, letting it spin her around for a time. "You do," she agreed. Based on what he'd done during shore leave, she guessed 'frustrating' was an understatement. "You take medication, but it doesn't help as much as you'd like," she ventured. It wasn't really a question. She wanted to help, but wondered if she could. "It might involve reliving some rather unpleasant things, eventually... to work past it as much as you can."

[OFF]

Lieutenant (JG) Dawn Meridian
Counsellor
USS Galileo

LTjg Jeremy Stone
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

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