Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Captain’s Quarters- If You Can’t Stand the Heat

Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Captain’s Quarters- If You Can’t Stand the Heat

Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in Captain’s Quarters- If You Can’t Stand the Heat

(snip)

He dipped the tip of his finger in and then stuck it in his mouth. It was an instant heat, and the heat built up as it swirled in his mouth. Alex’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t cough or spit… he smiled. Swallowing and feeling the fire travel down, he shook his head quickly and said “Damn! Now that is something. Gotta tell my mom about that. She eats things so spicy none of us can even be in the house. But that needs something to wash it down, for sure.”

“Oh wait for it, it gets so much better, trust me.”

Going to a cabinet on the far side of the kitchen, he opened it to reveal a wine rack. Running his fingers along stoppers and necks of bottles, he finally said “Aha!” and pulled a single bottle out and two glasses. “Besides… it’s illegal to cook without a glass of wine. No… seriously. Bandalamt government takes their wine very seriously, and almost as seriously as their food. Understandable for a species that only eats once a year, I suppose.” and he set the wine on the counter in front of her. It was French, and was named after one of the most memorable ship Captain’s in Star Fleet history. It was also marked “Cochrane Special Reserve”.

“You open. I’ll wash my hands after that taste.” he said and nodded nonchalantly to the bottle.

Cochrane

Faye stood there and instantly felt the heat on her cheeks and it wasn’t from any spicy brine. “Ummm…” Well this was awkward. “Alex, slight confession.”

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “The night after I got out of the brig, I took the sleep aid you gave me and went to bed. But it was like fifteen hundred so though I slept eleven hours, it was like two in the morning and I was having nightmares again like I did in the brig and like I had immediately after I escaped the Romulans. Long story short things kept happening and I was drinking. In the end I polished off half a bottle of Romulan whiskey and then… I… spiralled. And it was not good.” She held up her hands defensively. “But, some part of my brain was actually thinking because I ended up At Rollo’s quarters. And I passed out on her floor. Not my proudest moment but.. I was safe. So… yeah, synthehol only for me.” It was hard to stand there and tell him that and she had to fight back the tears. Mostly she didn’t want to see the inevitable disappointment in his eyes, but she didn’t waver her gaze.

~Faye Calloway

Alex looked down as he rubbed his hands under the faucet and lathered the soap. He was quiet a few moments and then said “So tell me, Faye… are you still in that same place? In your head I mean?” His tone was non-judgmental and held no sense of apprehension or disappointment. He simply washed his hands and looked at her as the soap was rinsed away.

Cochrane

In order to find the true answer and not the one he wanted to hear, Faye let herself think through it. After a few moments she shook her head. “No, at least I don’t think so. A lot has happened in the last week and for the most part it’s nudged things along so that I’m in a better place. But one of the symptoms I’m still dealing with is dissociation. For me it’s like my brain just can’t cope with whatever is going on and I just… check out for a bit. I call it the distance, because it’s like I go someone far away. Sometimes I have no memory of those moments and other times it’s like watching myself from outside myself. The line between reality and non-reality is a little too thin right now and I worry that drinking will only make that worse. It encourages me to cope in ways that aren’t… good for me right now.”

~Faye Calloway