It had been almost a month since Jessa first walked the halls to Rinker’s office with Ian. The four man escort that had traveled with her every second of every day had been reduced to either Jack O’Neill or Charlie Reed when she wasn’t with another senior officer of the crew. Some of the senior officers, she liked more than others. Walking down the halls, she tried to keep her chin up and a spring in her step. The happier she pretended to be the happier it seemed to make some of the adults that dealt with her daily; and yet, it was still a struggle for her. Nothing on the ship was familiar. The music, the entertainment, the food: It all just served as a daily reminder that she did not belong here. The last few days had been even more trying with the majority of the crew celebrating some holiday. It seemed to be a week long festival starting with something called Christmas and ending with the start of their New Year.

Turning the corner to the counseling suite, Jessa fussed with the box on the package she was carrying. The present was wrapped in a soft blue colored paper with images of Santa, reindeer, and snowflakes scattered across it. The bow was a crisp white that stood out against the paper’s background. Apparently, the main reason for this holiday was giving gifts. Ian had told her it was customary to give presents to people who were important in one’s life. Her list of important people on this ship was microscopic mainly because she worked hard to connect with as few people as possible. It didn’t make sense to build relationships when they would just be torn apart when Pellan arrived to take her back home. This however did not mean she could not be more pleasant to the crew. Fighting the establishment was exhausting and got her nowhere so Jessa let down her guard a bit. There were a few nice things about the Federation that she could appreciate.

Arriving at Rinker’s office, Jessa rang the chime and immediately began to run through the list of things she would say to fill the time in his office. It was not that spending time with Rinker was awful. It was one of the few places Jessa felt safe. The only problem with Rinker’s office was the man’s unending questions about how she was doing and how she was feeling.

After being granted entry into his office, Jessa walked directly to Rinker’s desk. The box in her hands, a decent-sized rectangle that sounded like it contained a million small pieces, was set in front of him. “Merry Christmas,” she stated. Internally she was nervous and excited to see his reaction. “I couldn’t remember what your favorite color was so I went with mine. I am not really a huge fan of red but it was between this or a red paper with candy canes on it.” Jessa felt herself becoming more anxious the longer she stood in front of his desk.

Jessa Novar