" Counselling "
(Previous Post was Julian's "The Road to Recovery")
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Stardate: 60328.0900
The young woman smiled following the latest recounting of the Oltharian about his dealings with Enaii… many of which had been far from pleasant but that in no way diminished the pleasure that she had extracted from each and every account told by the gentle giant.
Morning had risen throughout the ANUBIS and the redheaded woman had been joined by her daughter bringing the gathering of people around the table to 3. Luckily Talia seemed more interested in the completing of a puzzle that she had fetched from her room which had permitted the young woman and her guest to continue as they had been for the last several hours.
"I can't believe that she treated you like that… and that you never said anything or stopped doing as she demanded of you." The young woman said with a large smile… this not having been the first time she had uttered those exact same words and seeing the same reply forming on the lips of the giant Oltharian.
"It is not in my nature… and I know she never meant the words she spoke
or the actions she performed in her heart. It was simply her way," Elan
began before being interrupted by the woman standing opposite to him at the
table. Sabrina had heard the excuse several times before giving her a much
deeper understanding of the Oltharian, something that in a strange way seem to
make life a little more worth living. Although he had never been able to
achieve his life-long dream, that of becoming a priest in the Religious Cirlce
of his home world, Lt. Fairborn possessed a certain almost saintly quality
that the young woman had come to greatly appreciate.
"You know… we have been at this for over 6 hours… maybe we should call
it quits… at least for the time being. That way we will have something
more to talk about the next time we get to do this." Rikar offered thinking
that the time the 2 of them had spent reminiscing about the ANUBIS' ILO had been very special and deserved to be made to continue.
The Oltharian nodded deeply, as he always did, displaying a kind of
calmness that the young woman never grew tired of seeing. In a universe so
filled with chaos and general evil, Elan and his size seem to present the
perfect balance of strength and gentleness.
"It was my pleasure… and I am glad that I was of some help." The
Lieutenant said as he reached over the table and picked up a single puzzle piece which he presented to Talia before pointing to the location where it fit with the rest of the slowly forming image.
"Elan… you are a unique and exceptionally caring individual… and I can
only hope that Enaii realised this in some small way while she was alive."
Sabrina announced as she stood and joined the Oltharian in a standing
posture. As the Robotics Engineer made his way towards the door, the
young woman reached for her daughter and played in her hair while she bid the
giant farewell.
"Thank you… and may the light of the moons guide you journey through
the long nights and show you the way to a new dawn." The Oltharian said in
a religious manner adding another deep bow before he stepped through the
opened doorway leaving the mother and child once again alone… although
Rikar did not feel this loneliness in any way thanks in part to the support
of the peaceful giant.
"So Talia… what should we do today? Mommy has the entire day to spend with you." The young woman announced as she placed her chin on her daughter's shoulder looking at the puzzle that her daughter had been so busy completing since she had woken. This having been the first time Rikar had actually studied the puzzle in question, the redheaded woman came to realise that the complexity of the image had been far beyond the reach of a 4-year old child…
at least most 4-years-old children.
The more Sabrina studied the puzzle, the more impressed she became in
the ability of her adoptive child to be able to do this and that in the
matter of only a few seconds the Oltharian had been able to locate and place a
piece while she still struggled to comprehend the base picture.
"Bina no want to finish puzzle?" The little girl inquired as if not understanding that the 3-dimensional properties of the 2-dimensional image had been as complex to Sabrina to understand as some of the more difficult engineering principles.
"Maybe later sweetie… how about we prepare a picnic and take Capi to
the Arboretum? We can continue with the puzzle when we come back… does
that sound like fun?" Sabrina queried, silently hoping that the completing
of the puzzle had not been a high priority to the little girl.
"Capi! Come! We go make food." Talia called out to the little sleeping creature which had found a apparently comfortable spot on 1 of the pillows on the couch. Obviously adults talking about things that had passed and children working on complex puzzles had not peeked the animal's interest in the least.
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Sabrina and Talia emerged from their quarters after 2 hours of working on the picnic which had involved a range and mixture of foods that would have given the ANUBIS' Chef a migraine like no other. It had only been because the young woman had mentioned that Capi might end up starving that the little girl had ended her seemingly endless attempts at combining foods that no one had ever dreamt of using in the same sentence… let alone in the same dish.
"Good morning Captain… how are you doing today Talia?" The ship's Cns
offered as she met the mother and child as they emerged from their
quarters.
"We go picnic. Want try food?" The young girl happily inquired as she reached into the wicker baskets that the redheaded woman had replicated and pulled out a rather soggy looking sandwich. Before Ens. Mei could investigate the content of the offering, the CO quickly shook her head in warning… there had been no need to have multiple people suffer through what Talia had been so eager to create.
"No thank you Talia… I had a very large breakfast this morning… but that sandwich sure looks delicious. I bet you are going to have a great picnic." Susan expertly countered with proving to the redheaded woman that counselling troubled adults had not been the Ensign's only proficiency.
A bright smile appeared on the young woman's pink lips which made the Cns react in kind… given the recent lose that the CO had suffered and the even more recent trials and tribulations surrounding the ANUBIS' CEO, Susan had been somewhat surprised to see Sabrina so genuinely smile.
"How are you doing Captain?" The Cns demanded, the intonation of her question hinting that the question had been far more inquisitive than the words might have suggested. As a former Cns, the redheaded woman had recognised the ploy and actually found herself feel grateful for the Ensign's attentiveness to her duties and responsibilities to the individual members of the crew.
"I'm… fine." Sabrina answered, the emphasis on the last word saying far more than the 4 letters could have ever been meant to express at any other time. Although Susan had not been aware of the lengthy remembering session between the CO and Oltharian, she suspected that something had taken place to help the redheaded woman feel so at peace with herself. Despite this seemingly normal attitude towards life though, the Cns made a point to check up on the captain later that same day… just to be sure that this had not just been a passing moment of tranquility hiding an approaching storm.
"Well… have fun… and be sure to save a little something for me." Susan offered with a smile as she watched the mother and child make their way down the corridor while feeling a little curious as to what or who had seemed to have such a profound impact on the mind-set of the ANUBIS' CO.
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"We are Grey, we stand between the Candle and the Star, between the
Darkness and the Light" 2005 post #486
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Draxx/Rikar's Quarters
Stardate: 60328.1100
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7 Corridor
Sabrina Jones {sabrina_sweet@hotmail.com}
Captain Sabrina Rikar
Commanding Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501
-Entilza Delenn, Babylon 5
