Posted by Lieutenant Tandra Mika (Chief Mental Health Officer) in Side sim: Unresolved Feelings

Posted by Lieutenant Séan Iven (Counselor) in Side sim: Unresolved Feelings

Posted by Lieutenant Tandra Mika (Chief Mental Health Officer) in Side sim: Unresolved Feelings
Posted by… suppressed (68) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Mika arrived to work that morning, heading straight to her office with a mug of tea. She got straight to work on her paperwork, various mundane things. Anything she could work on to get the morning moving and her mind off things.

~ Mika, CNS

It was shortly after that there was a knock on the door before it opened to Séan peeking his head in. “Hey Lieutenant Mika. Do you have a quick minute? It’s not work related but I had a question.”

Counselor Iven

Mika looked up. “Oh! Uhm. Yeah. But make it quick, please.” She smiled, as if nervous, and waited for his question, a PaDD open in front of her.

~ Mika, CNS

Séan nodded before entering and shutting the door behind him. He moved over to sit in one of the chairs in front of Mika’s desk. He wasn’t intending to go slowly as she wanted it to be quick but as he sat there he looked at her as he thought of the best way to phrase his question.

Counselor Iven

Mika watched him for a moment, fiddling with a stylus in her hands. “So.... Question?” She asked after a moment of silence. And then, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to rush you. What’s it about, generally?”

~ Mika

“Oh, yeah, sorry!” Séan said with a little embarrassment. “Have you… been to any of the more shady parts of Oed?”

Counselor Iven

Mika’s brow furrowed and her nervousness was momentarily forgotten. “Uh, no. Why? Whatever you’re looking for I’m sure there’s one somewhere less shady. I’ve heard interesting things about the shady parts of Oed. Besides, Sharah says there’s tensions between Starfleet and some of the civilians here.”

~ Mika, CNS

Séan waved a hand and offered a smile to reassure Mika. “Oh no, I’m not really looking for anything in particular. I just was remembering the conversation I had with Captain McBride about where to go and where not to go. I may have stumbled upon somewhere not to go during my exploration.”

Counselor Iven

“Why? Did something happen?” Mika asked. She had no reason to go to a place like that, nor desire to.

~ Mika, CNS

Séan shook his head. “No, I was safe the entire time. I did however see a very short bar fight between two patrons. I was a little surprised but one of them was a very drunk Klingon so I wasn’t that surprised.”

Counselor Iven

Mika laughed, “Yes, drunk Klingons don’t usually make for good bar patrons.” She didn’t have a ton of experience regarding that, but she’d certainly heard stories. “So what’s the question?” She asked curiously, not trying to rush him out. Or maybe trying to seem like she wasn’t rushing him out. She wasn’t sure which.

~ Mika

“Right, so the question. If I find myself in a similar location and it doesn’t go as well for me, what’s the protocol for that? I mean it’s not like areas are clearly marked ‘Starfleet Stay Out’, so I’m likely going to find out I shouldn’t be there the hard way.” Séan asked earnestly.

Counselor Iven

“Well, to my knowledge you’re not going to get in trouble or anything,” Mika said, “Even if you get yourself hurt.” Though she’d prefer that not happen. “There’s not really protocol for that, I mean, Starfleet doesn’t control your personal time,” she said with a shrug. “For safety’s sake, I’d say don’t stick around there if you know it’s not a good area.” She thought for a moment, “Didn’t you grow up on freighters? Have you ever lived in a city?”

~ Mika, CNS

Séan shook his head. “Nope. My short time on the Alpha Eridani colony wasn’t what you would call a city. The Academy basically is a city but nothing like here. My only experience with something somewhat close would be how outposts, starbases, and deep space stations kind of form a city structure. I’ve dealt with shady places on those as a kid while my dad was off on a drinking binge.”

Counselor Iven

Mika smiled a little, faint smile. “Denver isn’t the worst city but it certainly has areas like Oed’s… You learn where to steer clear of, and then you do, unless you’re looking for trouble.”

~ Mika, CNS

“Ha, well I’m never looking for trouble and since I’ve grown up trouble usually stays away.” Séan commented with a grin. “But yeah, it’s kind of why I’ve been exploring. Learn the layout of the city and where not to go. I want to be a better guide on our next run. Which by the way, when are we going on our next one?”

Counselor Iven

“If everyone’s looking at you like you don’t belong there… It might be somewhere to stay away from,” Mika said. At his question she smiled and shrugged noncommittally. “I’m not sure… I’ve been really tired lately, so I haven’t felt up to jogging.”

~ Mika, CNS

“Oh.” Séan said with a hint of concern. “Do you need to swing by medical? I’m sure Doctor Fayth would say that getting checked out wouldn’t be an issue.”

Counselor Iven

Mika grinned, “Of course she would say that, I taught her that!” She said, laughing a little, but then shook her head. “It’s just the workload, I think. I’m not sick.”

~ Mika, CNS

Séan nodded. “Well I’m sure you’d tell me to not overdue it and that you need to take the time for self-care so… Doctor heal thyself.” He winked at Mika good naturedly then stood up from the chair. “I should get out of your hair so you can get your work done then.”

Counselor Iven

“Of course,” Mika smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll let Sharah know if it gets worse.” Then she nodded, “See you later Sé- I mean, Lieutenant Iven.”

For the rest of the morning, she worked, trying to finish all her administrative tasks before the afternoon. By lunch she was nearly done and she’d have to finish the rest between her scheduled appointments.

~ Mika, CNS

As lunch time rolled around Séan returned, knocked on Mika’s door, and peeked his head in again. “Hey it’s lunch time. You want to go with me to get a sandwich?”

Counselor Iven

Mika had made absolutely sure she’d look busy. She didn’t want him to think she didn’t want to spend time with him, she just… Well, she didn’t know what she wanted. Looking over her work at him she smiled sadly, “I can’t, I’m going to have to work through lunch today. Maybe tomorrow?”

~ Mika, CNS

Séan blinked in confusion for a second but then gave Mika a smile as he nodded. “Alright. I’ll leave you to your work then.” He gave a little wave as he turned to leave.

About ten minutes later he returned with two sandwiches in his hand. “Hey again, I know you’re busy but I thought you could have lunch and work.” He moved over to her desk and put her sandwich out of the way off to the side of the desk.

Counselor Iven

Mika looked up, surprised and clearly pleased, if a bit… Nervous, perhaps? She smiled and picked up the sandwich. He’d even remembered which one she liked. “Thanks. Really, that’s super nice of you.” She said and smiled again, “Uh, do you want to sit and eat?”

~ Mika, CNS

“If… you’re sure that’s alright?” Séan asked hesitantly. “I don’t want to distract you while you’re trying to work. I just wanted to make sure you’d having something in case you got hungry.”

Counselor Iven

She nodded. She really did enjoy his company. She just… She looked up at him and then promptly away, her face flushing slightly. “I am busy but… A few minutes can’t hurt, right?” She said face down toward her PaDD, trying to hide her blush with her hair.

~ Mika

Séan nodded and sat at the desk with a grin. “Shouldn’t hurt at all, I’d think.” He said as he unwrapped his sandwich and started eating. “Your case load been keeping you busy or is it admin stuff?” He asked between bites.

Counselor Iven

“Admin stuff,” Mika replied, unwrapping her own sandwich and starting to eat it. “There’s a lot and not all of our vacancies for fleet counselors are filled.” She shrugged, “It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with in medical. Just a lot more of it than on a ship.”

~ Mika

“Yeah…” Séan said while in thought. “I know that this is your job but if you need any help with paperwork I’ve done this before as well. I’d be happy to lend a hand.” He offered as he continued to eat. Part of the reason he offered was because he truly did want to help and the other was that he could spend more time with Mika.

Counselor Iven

“I’ll let you know if I need anything,” Mika said. On one hand, she could spend more time with Séan. On the other, she wasn’t sure she should spend more time with Séan, she still wasn’t even sure how she felt about him. And then there was that little voice in her head that said people might think she couldn’t do her job if she asked for help, which she knew was utterly ridiculous but the thought was there anyway. She took another bite of her sandwich. “I did paperwork for medical departments on ships. I’ve done all the departmental stuff, and the counselor specific stuff isn’t that different.”

~ Mika

Séan nodded. “Makes sense. Departments seem like they would be run very similarly, especially medical and counseling. Did you ever have to crack down on anyone violating patient confidentiality?”

Counselor Iven

“Hmm… I once had a doctor telling patients’ families privileged information without the patient’s permission. Why? Have you?” Mika asked, looking at him.

~ Mika

“There was a counselor who told privileged information about a department head to a junior officer in that department that she had a relationship with.” Séan replied with a grimace. “That was a mess and a half to clean up. The DH was very upset, as they should have been, so the XO decided with approval from the Captain to transfer the counselor off ship.”

Counselor Iven

Mika made an ‘oof’ face. “That’s a big breach. It’s lucky they found out about it and were able to transfer them. Therapy requires trust in the counselor.” She set her sandwich down to work a little on her administrative tasks. “I think confidentiality breaches are worse in mental health than in physical. That’s not to say a doctor breaking confidentiality isn’t a huge offence though.”

~ Mika

“Oh yeah.” Séan agreed wholeheartedly. “Like a doctor could refer a patient to us because of some mental health issue impacted by an injury but if the patient doesn’t consent to the information being divulged then it can’t be, unless of course they’re at risk for more harm to themselves or others.”

Counselor Iven

“Actually, then it’s a consult and the information can be shared.” Mika said. “Same as if I brought you in on a case of one of my mental health patients. I can discuss specifics with you so long as there is a professional need. But I can’t go sharing that information with the patient’s family unless they’ve noted otherwise, or with other staff that don’t need to know.”

~ Mika

Séan blinked for a moment. “What if the patient clearly directs that they don’t want a consult brought in?”

Counselor Iven

“Then we can’t, no. Unless they’re definitely going to harm themselves or others.” Mika said.

~ Mika

Séan nodded then shrugged. It was about what he expected but he didn’t interact with medical very much even on the Ogawa. He didn’t think there was an issue with Dr Sharah knowing his weakness but this reassured him a bit more and didn’t tip off Mika. He was almost done with his sandwich.

Counselor Iven

Mika finished off her sandwich in silence, unsure how to continue the conversation. She offered him a polite smile. “Thanks again for the sandwich.”

~ Mika

“Of course. I should let you get back to work. Thanks for giving me some time and having lunch with me.” Séan said with a smile as he finished his sandwich then stood and collected their grabbed their garbage.

Counselor Iven

Mika smiled again and nodded. Then she went back to work. The rest of her shift was long and busy. After a particularly difficult appointment in the mid afternoon, she just set her head down on her desk in the bit of time she had between appointments.

~ Mika, CNS

The next day Séan knocked on Mika’s door around lunch time again. After peeking his head in he said, “Hey are you too busy to go to lunch again?”

Counselor Iven

“Hmm?” Mika looked up as if surprised, and then seemed nervous. “Oh, well....” Realising she had no excuse that wouldn’t seem rude, she shook her head. “I um… I have a little time.”

~ Mika, CNS

Séan’s face lit up as he smiled and entered Mika’s office with two sandwiches in hand again. He shut the door then moved quickly over to sit at her desk. He handed her sandwich over and chuckled. “I kind of figured you might have been skipping lunch again. I hope you don’t mind that I got you another sandwich.”

Counselor Iven

Mika smiled. “Not at all,” she said, picking up the sandwich. Did he have to be so nice? She made space for him to eat at her desk and unwrapped her sandwich to eat it. “You memorized my favorite.” She commented, smiling at him.

~ Mika

Séan smiled and shrugged slightly. “It wasn’t a very complicated order. I have a very good memory which certainly helps with this massive case load.” He unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite. He was trying a different sandwich this time, it was roast beef with a lot of cheese and other toppings.

Counselor Iven

“That’s why I write everything down,” Mika said. “Are you settling in to Oed okay, besides the workload?” She asked as she started eating her sandwich.

~ Mika

“Oh, yeah. Things have been going really well I think. I think we need a battalion more of counselor to keep up with all of the personnel we have but can’t really complain otherwise.” Séan said between bites. “How has the admin paperwork been going?”

Counselor Iven

Mika laughed. “I agree. A battalion more of counselors would be very helpful. We’re slowly getting more though. Even if we could get two or three more, fleet or civilian it would do a lot for individual caseload.” She shrugged to his question, “It’s paperwork, it goes how it always goes. There’s a lot of it, but nothing I can’t handle.”

~ Mika, CNS

Séan looked at Mika to see if she wasn’t being fully truthful. She did not seem like the type of person who would ask for help if she needed any. They probably shared that character trait. “Well if you can’t handle it or get overwhelmed, please keep my offer in mind.”

Counselor Iven

“Of course.” She smiled again, as if maybe a little nervous, fiddling with her fingers a little bit. She didn’t quite meet his gaze. “If I need help, I’ll ask,” she said brightly, still not quite meeting his gaze. She took another bite of her sandwich. “What do you like to do outside of work? Besides jog, of course.”

~ Mika

Séan tilted his head in thought for a moment. He was thinking about Mika’s question but also about her behavior. Was she being… bashful? But why? She clearly indicated during their time at the fountain that she’s attracted to women and not men. Maybe he was reading the situation wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time he had. He cleared the thought from his mind and focused instead on her question. “Well I’ve been exploring and finding new areas that are interesting, though nothing like the other day. Other than that I’ve been catching up on some of the Psychology journals I’ve been putting off reading.”

Counselor Iven

“Oh, the psychology journals! Has there been anything interesting in those lately?” Mika asked. “I’ve been way too busy to catch up on reading those lately. Same with the medical journals, actually.” If she was being bashful, she hadn’t noticed. She was glad to have something to focus on in the conversation, the journals, rather than the giant mess that was her feelings.

~ Mika

“I spent the last year basically ignoring them during my recovery and leave.” Séan replied. “The only really interesting thing I read is that physical contact seems to work for Vulcans similarly as it does for humans. Can release mood stabilizing chemicals in the brain and drop blood pressure.”

Counselor Iven

“Huh,” Mika said interestedly. “I wonder what Vulcan agreed to that study. They don’t seem big on physical contact.” She commented as as she ate her sandwich. “Maybe I’ll look into reading that one myself.”

~ Mika

“Must have been someone dedicated to science and the discovery of breakthroughs in medicine.” Séan said with a smile. “I’m sure it would have to be with someone they trusted. Though I do wonder why Vulcans don’t like physical contact.”

Counselor Iven

“There’s no logical reason for it, I assume,” Mika said with a shrug. “In human society physical touch is often seen as an emotional act. You touch a shoulder to comfort someone, hug to show affection or friendship, you know. It’s like how they don’t pick their partners, they do it logically. I don’t get it, but I guess it’s not mine to get.”

~ Mika

Séan nodded. “I’ve counseled Vulcans before and the mental gymnastics required to logically prove that a logic based emotional control system is often flawed can be exhausting.”

Counselor Iven

“That’s why the Vulcan Counsel of Medicine suggests that Vulcan officers be counselled by Vulcan mental health staff. Emotional species just don’t get it, and all that,” Mika said, shaking her head slightly. “I can’t image convincing a Vulcan a logic based emotional system is flawed went that well.”

~ Mika

“That wasn’t an option for any of the ships I was on. Besides even it could be tiring the challenge presented was intellectually stimulating. I did enjoy talking with Vulcans.” Séan said with a grin. “The convincing wasn’t actually difficult per se. There did need to be some empirical evidence provided to show that bottling everything up, even for Vulcans, is not a good approach. Of course this is when working with patients for whom the system is already not working for, so trying to convince a Vulcan who ‘had it all together’ would probably be like headbutting a brick wall.”

Counselor Iven

“No, I didn’t always have that option either. I was usually the only counselor, which is why Vulcans would avoid seeing me like the plague,” Mika laughed. “I don’t know, they don’t bottle it up, you know. Not ideally. They are supposed to let the emotions go without reacting to them, supposedly.” Then she laughed at his last comment, “Yes, I suspect it would.”

~ Mika

Séan laughed at Mika’s description of how it supposedly went. “Yeah, you would think that Vulcans would consult humans on how to manage emotions. We may not have the best track record as a species but we have some exemplary cases in how to let negative emotions flow through and out of us.”

Counselor Iven

“Vulcans historically don’t consult humans on much of anything,” Mika said, laughing as well. “They’ve grown to appreciate us more than history says they did in Earth’s early space days, though.”

~ Mika

Séan nodded then finished his sandwich. “I can only imagine what humans were like right after recovering from a world war. It would have been exciting to see but likely very stressful to experience.”

Counselor Iven

“Oh, definitely,” Mika said. “Especially that world war.” She finished her sandwich and crumpled up the trash. “So.... Um.” She started awkwardly. Then let a silence stretch, not sure what to say.

~ Mika

“So…” Séan replied into the silence after Mika didn’t continue. His feeling that something was going on struck him again. What was up with this? “Are you okay? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you at a loss for words like this?”

Counselor Iven

Mika nodded immediately. “I’m okay. Promise. I just… You know I’ve been a little lost since I came to Oed. But I’ll be fine.” She smiled at him. “Honestly.”

~ Mika

“Okay…” Séan said somewhat hesitantly. He wasn’t sure if he fully believed her reassurance but he wasn’t going to force the issue. “I guess I should let you get back to work then. But if you need anyone to talk to I’m just a couple doors over.” He gave her a soft smile, collected the garbage, then headed back to his own office.

Counselor Iven

The next several days consisted of much the same. Mika seemed to only be in office when she needed to be, and always busy. She wouldn’t outright avoid Séan but she always seemed nervous and in a rush to leave. On Friday of that week she spoke to Sharah, and on the following Monday, she got to her office early and considered what she should do. Apologize, probably. It was a little rude to keep avoiding him. But what would she say?

~ Mika

Séan was in his office after his lone morning run and the rest of his routine. He was still a bit early for everything so he was reading through various correspondence.

Counselor Iven