Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Janna Kingston (Counsellor) in Breathing Room

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade James Rowe (Scientist) in Breathing Room

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade James Rowe (Scientist) in Breathing Room
This morning took the same shape as nearly every morning for Rowe since he’d completed his recovery. Up at 0430, stretched, lacrosse-ball roll out, to the gym for his morning workout… today was upper body and back then two miles on the treadmill, simple breakfast, and shower. Now he was seated in his quarters’ lone chair, feet propped on the edge of the viewport looking out at the alien stars with a book loaded on the PADD in his lap.

The quarters were standard as far as junior officer housing went aboard the Athena, but even in his short time aboard Rowe had made the spartan space his own. The bed was neatly made, but the linens were shades of teal instead of standard white. On the small desk behind where he currently sat were an assortment of PADDs organized neatly into stacks based on their contents. Along one wall there was a yoga mat with a foam roller and lacrosse ball sitting atop of too neatly folded workout clothing. There was a lone picture on his desk. Rowe’s parents, when they were young… long before they had him, but it had always been his favorite because he could see how genuinely happy they were. The only thing that appeared out of place was the lone tumbler on his nightstand with the remnants of an orange peel and a cherry stim from last night’s Old Fashioned.

This morning would be different than every other morning as the ship’s counselor was due to visit any moment, though Rowe had been lost in the stars outside and lost track of time.

• Rowe

Precisely on time, Janna arrived at James’ quarters. For a brief moment she had second-guessed her impulse with him. Professional boundaries were important, and she was mindful of keeping things professional even when she did ‘house calls’. This was different. A part of her she was still learning to understand had seen beneath the surface in her conversation with the scientist. She was an experienced therapist and had worked (and still did) with people with complex issues and trauma, and if there was one thing Janna held to it was that her instincts were not perfect but generally correct. James was accepting a subpar situation when she was certain they could come up with at least a partial solution.

She pressed the chime and waited, an inner calm radiating out from her.

~Janna Kingston, CNS

The door chime pulled Rowe’s mind back from the starscape, but it didn’t happen all at once. First he came back to the moment, sitting in his room… feet propped. Then he remembered he was expecting the visitor. He glanced a the clock and mused to himself, ‘she’s a prompt one’. Setting the padd at the foot of his bed, Rowe stood and put on the plain black tee shirt that had been draped across the back of his chair. He was dressed casually in the shirt and a complimentary pair of joggers with his feet bared because he found the sensation of the carpet pleasant despite his nerve condition. For a moment he glanced at the empty glass on his nightstand and considered putting it away, but thought it would be rude to keep the counselor waiting in the corridor any longer.

Moving silently across the room he pressed the panel to open the door. He greeted Janna with a warm smile and said, “Good morning Ms. Kingston.” Rowe used his left arm to indicate his invitation, “Come on in.” As the counselor moved into the room, James teased “I haven’t decide if I should be flattered or concerned that the ship’s counselor is making a house call this early in my Athenian tenure.”

-Rowe