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

Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Captain’s Quarters- If You Can’t Stand the Heat
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Cochrane looked at her and didn’t move except to cross his arms on his chest and look at her. He said gently but with firmness “Faye. Come into the now. Be present here. Focus… you control you, no one else.”

Cochrane

Words. A name, Yes, her name. Her eyes darted back and forth, moving anywhere that would not land on him and yet Alex’s voice pulled at her. A gentle tug. A beckoning. She blinked. And again.

A deep breath ensued before Faye lifted her gaze properly to meet his. “A count to three than we lift, or lift on three. If it’s as heavy as you say it is, let’s be specific so ne of us doesn’t put our backs out,” she said breezily taking a step towards the coffee table.

~Faye Calloway

“Stop, Faye.” he said and held a hand out to her palm first. “Wait.” and he looked at her with concern. “Want to tell me what that was all about?” The question was framed as a question, but there was certain directness in Alex’s voice that said he expected an answer. He wasn’t mad… more like ‘compassionately curious’.

Cochrane

The word stop made her pause mid-step, causing a slow turn back to face him. Hands drawn together, her thumb from one rubbed the side of the other. Finally, with a sigh, she lifted her hands and made air quotes around her first two words. “The distance. It’s like an escape hatch when my mind encounters something it can’t deal with. And unfortunately, because of recent events, there are a lot more of those than before.” Faye shook her head. “I used to be able to keep different parts of my life separate form each other, in little compartments or boxes. I could choose, most of the time, when to open them or not. But it’s like someone has gone into my room and ransacked the place, and everything is everywhere and all mixed up now. And as much as I try to keep it separate, everything that happened has forced all the past stuff to suddenly be so very present. We… we just happened to stumble upon a box I wasn’t expecting to open. A parallel event that should have nothing to do with our evening and yet…” She sighed again.

~Faye Calloway

Alex smiled at her and said “And yet what? And yet it does? But it actually doesn’t. The event isn’t parallel… its past. Similar, sure. But past. And Faye…” and he reached forward and put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed just enough. “The past determines a starting point. The path you take from that point is your choice… and yours alone. I know you have a lot going on up in that head of yours… but always remember that you choose. And if you need help remembering that in the future, then remember this moment as clearly as you remember the others.” He put the other hand on her other shoulder and looked her straight in the eye.

“You are stronger than you look, Faye. But you need to remember that. You are stronger than your entire past. Because your past isn’t what is standing here… you are. Every day you are here… in the present… that is a day that you are stronger than your past. So keep being here… so you can write your future as beautifully as the poems in that book.” He released her shoulders after one slight shake, and then smiled broadly.

“That’s an order.”

Cochrane