Evening Counseling Part II
Posted on Mon Jan 15th, 2024 @ 7:11pm by Lieutenant Vura & Ensign Millicent Ambrose
Edited on on Tue Jan 16th, 2024 @ 11:59pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 15 - The Evil That Lies Beneath
Location: After 11 - Deck 11 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD002 1800 hrs
Milly lifted her head to look up at Vura. "Or maybe thought I did everything right on a repair job? But I have built something, and it didn't work because I had a part in backwards. And I was very certain I had done everything right?" she asked straightening up from being slumped over the table.
"Exactly," Vura confirmed. "You thought you did everything right but somehow something was off. It just means going back through everything and figuring out what went wrong so you can rectify it. So, that's sort of what we're doing here, Milly. We're just going to look at why you put in a part backwards and make sure that we correct your process so it does not happen again. Does that make sense? If so, I can go to your other questions."
"Kind of reverse engineering something, to see how it works, sort of. I get what you are saying. I have gone over what happened over and over, but maybe fresh eyes or a different mindset could work?" Milly responded.
"It can't hurt," Vura answered with a shrug. "Now, for your other questions, you almost answered one of them yourself. You wondered about a person's actions. You told me that you thought that your ex was a good person. You did charity together and such, right? Therefore, you thought that he was a good person. But sometimes, people do things for selfish reasons. Maybe he was doing it to impress you, so that you would want to date him? After all, he did do something horrific to you later, right? You definitely could judge him by his bad actions now, but his initial actions would not lead you to that conclusion. So, seeing another's actions are just a piece of a puzzle. You need to talk to a person to understand why they are doing what they are doing. Or, perhaps listen to your friends when they told you that they saw another side of him. Friends can be a great resource. They should always be looking out for your best interests if they're good friends, and it sounds to me as if these friends of yours were or are."
She smiled warmly at Milly and continued, "That leaves us with your last question, which I think was directed more specifically towards trying to befriend Mr. Turner: 'what if I do something wrong'? What do you mean by that?"
"Well... what if uh something happened as in, I...I get him in trouble somehow like, um, that person he got into a fight with? What if my becoming friends with him, goes badly for him, associating with me?" Tears were starting to shimmer in her eyes. "When they led Alaric away after they caught him, he said to me, and I don't know why it hurt, but he said I was a fake person, and that I was bad luck, and that... that I was a con artist. Why would I even let that affect me? When he was nothing but a liar."
"Let's break this down a bit, shall we?" Vura said while silently wondering when someone was going to come in to ask them about ordering anything. But then she stopped. Did she say that he got in trouble with someone? Connor Turner? Could she be so wrong about him? Impossible! "First, how would you get him in trouble? Are you the kind of person that wants to be harmful to others? I personally do not think so. I don't sense any malice in you. Remember, any relationship, even a friendship is a two way street. Do you think he would cause trouble for you?"
Before Milly could answer Vura's question, "Hello ladies, can I get you anything? Sorry for not being here earlier. I had a mishap and had to clean it up." The waiter gave the women an apologetic smile.
Milly heard the man and she looked down at the table, not wanting to meet his gaze. "Uh, could I get a burger with the works, fries, and a root beer, please?" her voice subdued for the moment.
"Uh sure thing, miss," his eyebrow raising slightly, then he looked towards Vura. "How about you?"
Vura had done her research from her last time here with Hermia. There were so many different things to try. She certainly had not had what Milly was ordering, so she simply answered, "I'll have the same."
She waited for the waiter to leave and then asked, "Why couldn't you look at the waiter, Milly?"
Milly nervously traced a pattern upon the surface of the table. "I-I don't know except maybe I was worried I might develop a crush on him. What if-what if- he liked me and we got along well and then, the same thing repeats itself. I know I shouldn't think like that, I am scared to try." She paused. "Maybe I can be friends with Connor. Connor is safe, he has a girlfriend. Her name is Marjani. He seems to be devoted to her, and he seems to be the sort who won't cheat on his girlfriend. And it makes me feel less worried."
Vura blinked twice unbelievingly. She took a deep breath and asked slowly, "Connor Turner has a girlfriend?" Paisley was right? He was going to get snatched up? How?! "Um, alright, then."
She cleared her throat and tried to recover. shaking her head to the side trying to make certain Vura heard what she thought she heard. That confirmed, Vura continued, "Now, Milly, before Alaric, did you have friends that were male?"
"Yes, I did," Milly replied, her eyes lighting up at the memory. "They were part of the group that helped to find Alaric, to bring me back home. They were very nice, and genuine men. One of them got pissed off at me though. I think it was because he was scared for me. He scolded me for not listening to him, early on." Milly puffed out air through her lips, "I have a lot of regrets, Vura."
The counselor smiled when Milly's eyes lit up. "Regrets are not helpful. That means we're stuck in the past. You cannot change the past. You can only move forward. Think of the past as life lessons learned. If you can learn from them, then you will become a better and stronger person in the future."
Vura put her hands in her lap. "So, if you had friends before, both male and female, what makes you believe that you cannot have them again? Why must talking to a male lead you down a path towards dating? You told me that your previous counselor had you go out with men and women. Was it just as friends or dating or both?"
"It was both, she was trying to help me find a new path, a new direction and hopefully enable me to step out of the dark place I felt I was in. Sadly, two of the people also turned out to be friends of Alaric's. One male, one female. They were leaving little gifts for me from him. Including letters of love. Their connection with him, and those were put to a stop." Milly shivered slightly.
"That's disturbing," Vura replied, wondering how far some cadet's influence really could go. "Well, you're here now and you have me." She shifted again, crossing her legs in the other direction. "Remember what I told you, 'Whenever you want to try and become friends or something more with a person, or you think someone wants to do it with you, run it by me. We'll talk about it and then we will decide whether your thoughts and feelings are matching.' Right?"
Vura nodded towards Milly confirming the situation. "So, you're thinking of trying to become friends with Connor Turner, nothing more. Is that right?"
"Yes, if that is possible. I am not looking to having a boyfriend. I still have to get beyond even the first several steps in becoming friends with someone. So... maybe, I can make a friendship work out maybe? With Connor?" Milly replied.
I'm definitely going to have to get to know Mr. Turner better. Everything I am hearing today sounds nothing like the Mr. Turner that I've seen. He practically ran from Edmund. He's run from every woman that I've ever seen him interact with. Maybe I should ask Elen about him? "Well, I do not see why that would not be possible. Just from what I know of the both of you, you're both engineers and seem to have similar personalities. Why don't you tell me about your interactions with Connor? Perhaps that will help me help you some more with moving the two of you down that path."
Just as Milly was thinking over her interaction with Connor, the waiter arrived with their meals and set down their plates. Milly looked upwards, if only for a moment just to get a glimpse at him. "Uh, thank you," she said quietly. Her eyes darted downwards again.
He was surprised and just said, "Enjoy your meals," then turned to leave.
"Please close the curtains completely when you leave," Vura instructed.
When the waiter left, Vura praised Milly, "You looked at him this time. Good. So, before you tell me more about Connor, what did you think? Cute?"
Milly nodded, blushing furiously, she quickly grabbed a fry and took a bite of it. It tasted so good! "Dark blonde hair, broad shoulders. Brown eyes..." she remarked before popping the rest of the fry into her mouth.
"Would you like to know more about him?" Vura asked curiously.
"Oh no, no, no," Milly replied, vigorously shaking her head from side to side. "I am not ready for anything like that. I just need to get acclimated with the new engineering group and then we'll see?" her eyes pleading with Vura. "One step at a time right?" she asked picking up her burger to take a bite. She was of the mind to concentrate on eating, Milly was very hungry.
"Very well, not today," Vura replied amused, as she watched Milly take a large bite of her burger and munch on it enthusiastically. "Good?" Vura asked, as she more daintily picked up her burger, inspected it thoroughly, and held it near her mouth tantalizingly.
Milly finished her first bite, and watched as Vura contemplated her own burger. "C'mon, I think you will like it. Take a bite, you've not eaten one before have you. Some people like eating them, some people don't. This though is one of the better burgers I have eaten." Maybe it was her hunger that was causing it to taste so good. It didn't matter, she was enjoying it, and took another bite.
Milly closed her eyes as the flavor took her back to being home, a warm summer day, blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Family gathered together just enjoying the sun, and family time. The scent of warm freshly cut grass. She heaved an almost ecstatic sigh.
Vura shook her head at Milly, all the while continuing to inspect the burger carefully. "You mistake me, Milly. I am savoring all the sensations of this burger. I'm enjoying the sight of it uneaten before I take my first bite. There is nothing better than the first bite of anything. It is a sensation that only can be repilcated. So, I wish to savor it all."
The Counselor then watched as Milly allowed the flavor to overtake her. "You would make a very interesting Deltan," Vura told Milly before taking a bite of her own. She closed her eyes and allowed the sensations of the crispness of the vegetables, mixing with the tender juiciness of the meat and the softness of the bun. She purred slightly as she slowly chewed, making certain that each and every taste bud was touched by the burger.
Milly's eyes opened slowly hearing the sound of enjoyment coming from Vura. She waited until Vura had savored the first bite, then asked softly. "An interesting Deltan? How so?" Maybe it was because she and Vura were enclosed behind the curtain sort of cut off from the rest of the world, almost like a safe cocoon. Milly could feel herself relax. She slid back the hood of her jacket, picked up another fry, looked at her root beer and then said quietly. "I should order a milk shake. I love dipping my french fries into vanilla shake, or even a strawberry banana milk shake. An interesting combination of the saltiness of the fries and the sweetness of the drink."
"Oh, yes, that is a very good sensation," Vura agreed. "Feel free to summon our waiter and ask for him to order that." The counselor grinned at Milly, wondering if Milly knew what Vura was doing.
"Oh, I think I shall order the strawberry banana. Would you like me to order one for you as well?" Milly asked, making direct eye contact with the counselor. In fact, Milly hadn't realized that she wasn't looking down at the table where Vura was concerned. Milly eased herself out to where she could see beyond the curtain looking for their waiter. She spotted him and waved towards him to get his attention. He crooked an eyebrow then he came over to where the two ladies were at.
"Hi, so, was wondering if I can get a strawberry banana milkshake, please." Milly glancing over towards Vura to see if she had wanted one. Milly had no idea what Vura was doing. Milly just wanted a milkshake very badly, to go with her fries.
Vura nodded over at Milly, indicating that she should. Vura personally did not need a milkshake but the fact that Milly was exerting herself slightly (and with a man, no less), was encouraging and the longer she did it, the more that she would be able to heal. Of course, the Counselor was not going to bring up that point right now.
"Yes and one for my friend as well." that even slipped out from Milly as well. "And thank you."
Milly then went back into the safe cocoon. "I am excited to have a milkshake." she said with a smile. Milly was actually smiling.
When Milly slipped back in, the Counselor merely smiled knowingly at Milly and said, "So, you were going to tell me all about your interactions with Mr. Turner...."
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Vura
Chief Counselor, USS Pioneer
Ensign Millicent Ambrose
Engineer, USS Pioneer
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