Posted by Lieutenant Nathan Harland (Counselor) in Counselors office - 0900 Ms. Sofie Mynah

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Jessica Teller (XO) in Counselors office - 0900 Ms. Sofie Mynah

Posted by Lieutenant Nathan Harland (Counselor) in Counselors office - 0900 Ms. Sofie Mynah
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
“Do you prefer Dr, Sir, Lieutenant or Nathan,” Ensign Mary Hart asked handing Nathan a PaDD and exchanging the paper cup of coffee with a hot mug of steaming dark roast lightened slightly with cream. The color was not exactly what Nathan expected in his daily cup of joe but it was his first actual day on the job. Taking a sip what the coffee lacked for in cream was made up with more sweetness than he was used to.

“Nate’s fine…” he said as he took the cup of coffee as he began to nurse it, wanting anything to keep him awake right now. He had to get used to a more rigid hour being the lead for the outpost. In the past, he could make up his hours as he went along, but now he didn’t have that luxury.

“How is your coffee,” she asked as they walked towards his office door. Nathan had briefly met Mary last week when he had met the other officers in the department. At that time he was just the assistant counselor but life moved fast and three days after his arrival Nate suddenly was thrust into head of the department.

“While I do like creamer… it needs to have some kind of punch to it, cut back a bit on the creamer just a bit and maybe a packet less on the sweetener.” Nathan suggested as he grimaced slightly as the first sip went down his throat.

“Too light too sweet, got it,” she said making a note on her PaDD. “I will endeavor to produce a more palatable brew tomorrow morning but today you have Miss Sofie Mynah and you are going to need something to sweeten that kid up. If Sophie was a cup of coffee she would be bitter and blonde,” Mary began to review his first case as they opened the door to the waiting room. “Good luck,” she whispered seeing Lt. Commander Phillip Mynah and his wife Aimee already in chairs waiting for Nathan’s arrival.

“Great… just great… thing we can start with a wartime reformed criminal or something?” Nathan whispered back before smiling wide as the Commander came forward.

“Lt. Harland,” Phillip extended his hand. “This is my daughter Sofie and my wife Aimee,” he made the introductions and stood back.

“Pleasure to meet you all.” Nathan said as he offered his hand to each before putting his arm out in front to signify them to follow him to his office.

“Mr. Harland,” Aimee smiled shaking his hand almost too excitedly. “We are so thrilled to finally have someone here that understands the needs of a family. The other counselors are not baaaahhhhd,” she drew out the word as she took back her hand so that it clasp with the other in front of her body. Aimee was not in Starfleet like her spouse based on the athletic attire she was currently wearing. It didn’t take a shrink to guess she was probably on her way to hot yoga or spin class the second she left little Sofie in Nate’s care. “They just don’t understand the needs a family has at times.”

“Family is important, it’s a core value by all means. It isn’t though the only value…” Nathan said as the kept walking as he kept an eye on Sophie as they all walked. These people truly meant nothing to him, the girl was his client not them.

“We did a little research on you,” Phillip admitted with a grin. “My sister told us about your work with Stem Cell regeneration Techniques to cure Irumodic Syndrome in conjuncture with Boston Mass General. Dr. Bucknell is a friend of hers and he was in your private practice group if I am correct.”

“Yes, I have held quite a few hats over the year.” he said, almost tuning the pair out as he had an inward sigh. These people reminded him a little too much of home. Prattling witless fools who wanted to inflate everyone’s ego’s to get what they wanted.

“Not that we were snooping or stalking but Sheila told us about the amazing things you did with Mitzi Malone,” Aimee smiled as if the name was attached to someone everyone in the world knew. “You worked with her about a year on confidence training and motivational work. I can’t tell you how impressed we were learning that last year she finally made it to the Miss Federation Pagent. Not sure she will win,” Aimee shrugged it off, “but at least with her, your skills made an ahhhmazing turnaround. That’s what we are hoping for with Sofie,” she gestured for her daughter to stand. Playing with the long locks of blond hair tumbling about Aimee’s sixteen-year-old daughter’s shoulders as Sofie snapped some gum still messaging someone on her communicator. “We need a way to make sure everyone sees the potential Sofie has an give her a confidence boost after the last pagent ” Aimee mouthed the last word like it was a secret.

” Pageants? Interesting…” Nathan said as he looked Aimee square in the eyes, his dark brooding stare wasn’t the comforting look most people expected from their counselor as he softly smiled to break up the tone of the stare. “Well… here I am.” he said as he stopped in front of the door as he turned back to the rest of them.

“Honey we should let him get to the session,” Phillip suggested placing a hand on his wife’s back steering her to the door.

=============
In Nate’s office
=============

“Like why do all the offices have to look like an office,” Sophie said with a hint of valley girl type twang to her words. “Why can’t we do therapy on like a beach or maybe a night club. I mean wouldn’t that be fun.” Pumping out a few dance moves with her fist Sophie looked at Nate as if this would suddenly convince him to leave his current room and bring up Yo-Yo Snookies Nite Club in the holodeck program.

“Trust me, not my first choice, but we don’t always get those do we, Sophie?” Nathan said as he motioned for her to take a seat as he walked over to his desk as he grabbed a PaDD and came back to sit across from her as he crossed his legs as he looked over at the young girl.

Flopping down in one of the seats, Sophie, of course, chose the oversized bean bag in the corner, she continued to text as she began to ask Nate her first real questions. “So Nate how do you want to get started,” she asked. Her tone was not snarky or mean. It was more the annoying tone most late adolescents took when thinking they had an adult conversation yet not the attention span or vocabulary to match it. “Like am I supposed to tell you how Robyn dissed me last week…this is her,” she flipped her communicator around showing Nate an image. The duck lipped blonde in the picture easily fit in with what one would imagine could be a BFF for gum-smacking, designer wearing Sophie Mynah. Aside from the all-pink attire that matched what Nate’s client was sporting, both girls had an oversized designer handbag on one wrist and along with a bedazzled communicator in their hands. “Or are you wanted to hear about how Celia just doesn’t understand why since we were transferred back I shouldn’t be head of the Soprano Serenade again.” Sophie’s voice held her full irritation but she still was making surprise faces as she texted and messaged throughout the conversation.

Kate Wyatt Neverbea Counselor O’Neill

“I don’t care about any of that, but by all means, you can talk about them if you want. That’s what we are here for, you to talk to me to listen to. Though… I must confess it seldom really works that well if one just wishes to talk about how annoying their friends are… makes someone start to wonder why they are friends with them… wouldn’t you agree Sophie dear?” Nathan said as his icy blue eyes locked on with her. The truth is for must people Nathan elicited two responses most often, he felt dark and brooding, or smoldering and charming.

Smiling softly at her it was clear he had of putting persona for most patients. Nathan very seldom to guff or crap from anyone, his approach was to analyze and get to their core quickly. He was great at this, but it also meant he didn’t bat around the bush trying to pretend to be someone’s friend to try in hopes they would open up more. He insisted they opened up and had an alarming way of making you want to say everything for fear of life or feeling of understanding, whichever worked best.

Nathan Harland

“Oh, you should because like it’s unfair. I mean,” she tossed some hair over her shoulder and looked at him cocking her head to the side as if he had just grown antlers and a tail. “Why are you sitting on the floor,” she twirled a finger at him.

“Cause I do whatever I want,” Nathan said as he looked at her carefully as he took a deep breath in.

“Oh…oh okay,” she shrugged off his reply.

“And just why is this not fair? What makes you think you deserve to be back in so adamantly?”

“Because Celia thinks she is better than me but I was the one that completely put the group together. I mean without me she would just be sitting on some bench somewhere humming a ditty..badly,” she rolled her eyes. “I was the one that brought her in and now she thinks they are gonna win with some lame song that goes,” Clearing her throat, Sofie belted out a few lyrics acapella.

I saw the pulsar and it opened up my eyes, I saw the pulsar
Life is demanding without understanding

“Not bad kid and that song is a rather old, kind of surprised they want to use it.”

“Because they are not opening their minds to that mix by DJ Binar Bobs and Ted the one where he goes ‘An all I want is to do… is run zeros and ones with you’” Chloe belted out a lyric of the song. Oh oh that was good,” she picked up her phone and sang the part taping it and sending it to her friend’s list.

“And that is what you need to do for me. Help Celia see that she needs to understand that like life is just not gonna go her way,” Sophie blew a large pink sugary bubble that cracked loudly like the period to her sentence. “This is just like causing me so much stress that like I can’t sleep and my school work is dropping,” Sophie flopped back picking up her communicator that had been tirelessly pinging the entire time she was talking with the pace of an electronic heartbeat.

Sophie.

“If you pick that up again…” Nathan said as he reached across grabbing the communicator as he placed it onto the floor,

“Hey,” she squealed indignantly. Instinctively she reached out to take it back placing her hand over his on it.

”…I will toss it out an airlock and have the ship lock phasers on it and blast it into space dust… you understand me?” Nathan asked the girl as he looked at her with a stare that could melt durasteel.

Sophie’s mouth dropped open to resemble the expression ‘letting flies in’. She was both speechless and slightly terrified right now. There was no way she was going to take him on however she was sixteen and at times dumber than a box of rocks. “I think I like it better if you were in your chair ‘cause its just....” Sophie stopped talking noticing Nathan hadn’t moved an inch not dropped his stare. It took Sophie a good ten seconds to process what was needed. “Yes but like I do get it back like after right?”

Of course, at this exact second Nate would feel his communicator vibrate in his pants pocket.

“So… now that we have that clear, why do you want back into the group? Think about this carefully, cause it is vital. Are you upset she took over? Or that you were denied entrance? Or they are signing a song you hate. Cause only one of these is the truth, the other is just sugar coating to hide why you feel the way you do. I want to understand you Sophie… but I don’t want to go in circles for reasons that don’t matter.” Nathan said, his voice much more soothing than just a few moments.

Nathan Harland

“God how do you go from like all serious too like my BFF or BTE in this case,” she began to wiggle slightly seeing the device light up the ground underneath the faceplate. Of course, Nate had flipped it over so she could only see the glow and hear the buzz indicating a message was coming in. “You know Dr. Hojan would let me check my messages after I answered something so,” she squirmed slightly like an addict with her eyes switching from being locke on the phone or Nate’s eyes every other buzz. “I was not denied being in the group,” the phone buzzing broke her sentence like a comma, “Celia just thinks she should be the leader and I am always the leader.” Sophie’s words sped up as the beeps seemed to continue. “I mean like how can I not be the leader. That is my right. I was only gone like ten months. It’s not like I was going for years. Look at me. I sing better and have a far better fashion sense. Who wears sneakers on dress-up day?” The buzz was creating a glazed look to her eyes. Sophie, however, could not tell that every third buzz was Nate’s phone in his pocket.

Reaching forward she dove putting her hand over the phone not retrieving or flipping it over. The buzzing seemed to have a slight comforting effect on her face as if she could somehow get her messages through vibrations. “Since I answered your question can I just peek,” she begged wiggling. While Sophie had fourteen years on Mara the wiggling seat dance was the same as she waited for his answer.

Sophie