Intended or not, there was a lot of pressure on Leah’s shoulders and she felt that weight keenly.

Boots off, she sat cross legged on the floor of her small quarters and closed her eyes. Something about the meeting with Captain Rende had felt off and she wasn’t quite sure what it was. She truly haven’t been looking for blanket approval, but she supposed she had wanted to feel like she had support. Instead it seemed to reinforce the feeling that this new assignment and her first patient here was some sort of big test. In reality that wasn’t true most likely, but Leah understood herself well enough to know where those feelings came from.

They had no place here.

So she sat in her uninspiring quarters and settled into some meditation. Leah understood that she needed to let all the weariness of her travels, the overwhelm of a new place, and the high, high expectations upon her, vanish into the ether. She could not take any of that with her when she went to see Alden. And thus, she dropped into focusing on her breathing and letting her thoughts float away the way S’Rinn had taught her.

Awhile later, Leah put her boots back on, made sure herself and her uniform was tidy, and left her quarters.

A PADD in hand, Hart gave a knock on the door (rather than press the chime), and then stepped in. She smiled at the nurse and security officer, before gazing at Alden. “Hello, Roman,” she said softly.

She gave him a nod of her head and looked back at the others. “Good afternoon, I’m Lieutenant Hart. Can you give us some privacy, please?” It was not a request, but there was no need for rudeness. Besides, she knew they were expecting her.

Once alone, Leah moved to sit on the back corner of his bed and gave him a deep and lingering look, setting the PADD beside her. “So, a lot happened in the last day. Can you walk me through it?”

~Leah Hart, NP