Counseling Session: Of Love and Friends

Posted on Sat Apr 25th, 2026 @ 10:28pm by Lieutenant JG Aiden Poe & Lieutenant Lanna Alexander

1,086 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Forgotten Wounds
Location: Counseling Office | USS Arcadia
Timeline: Just before shuttle launch

ON:

Poe sat on the sofa across the counselor. He'd had his counseling appointments for clearance but never an actual one. "So...um. Do I sit or lay down?" He wasn't sure. He'd read that both were acceptable but he didn't know if he'd have the ability to choose so when he asked he was hoping for a decisive answer from the counselor that would make the choice for him.

“The choice is entirely yours Poe” Lanna smiled. “Whatever you feel most comfortable doing. Some people prefer to lie down, some hate lying down.”

He looked at her lost. "But ummm I don't know what to do." He bit his lip and then finally decided that he'd prefer sitting. "Okay... I think I'll just sit."

“That’s fine” Lanna smiled warmly. “If you change your mind feel free to move. So, how are you doing?”

He shrugged. "I don't know. I feel a lot and it's all jumbled and sometimes I think I can identify it but then I can't and I can't shut off my brain except like at dinner last night cause he made me laugh so much that I didn't think about family or the past." He said with out taking a breath.

“Then it sounds like having dinner was just what you needed” Lanna smiled warmly. “Don’t worry about feeling jumbled, that’s to be expected so I wouldn’t worry. Just talking about it will help you to clear your mind, it’ll take time but we’ll get you there.”

"It's been years and I'm still not there." He said sadly.

“Then let’s get you there” Lanna added with a comforting gaze. “If you ever want to bring a friend with you as support at your sessions that’ll be fine.”

He shrugged. "I don't have friends. I never figured out how to make em."

“Actually you do have friends, you have Sabastian and you have me” Lanna smiled warmly. “Just be yourself and don’t try to impress others. True friends will take you for who you are.”

"I don't even know who I am sometimes."

Lanna nodded. “That must be difficult for you, losing yourself is sense of self is a horrible thing. What we need to do is find that part of you that you can hold onto when you feel at your worst. That part of you that’s always there, just hiding deep inside.”

He looked up at her. "How do we do that?"

“Now that is a good question” Lanna grinned. “Let’s start by finding a happy memory, one that you can fall back on, that holds a special place in your heart.”

He smiled. "Having dinner with Commander Walker."

“Okay so we have our starting point, when you feel you’re losing yourself to a bad day just recall that memory. It will help to ground you.” She smiled warmly.

He sighed. "I guess I could try that."

“There’s always the option of coming to see me, or even dropping in on Sabastian. He thinks a lot of you.” Lanna paused. “You’re helping him as much as he’s helping you.”

"How can I help him? He's like the coolest person I know."

“The coolest person who recently suffered a great loss.” Lanna added. “You’ve managed to bring him right out of the shell he was hiding under, you’ve been a big help.”

He smiled. "He's been through a lot. He's a good man." Poe paused. "He didn't deserve how he was treated. The entire Engineering department is talking about his husband...I can understand why he shut down."

“People talk, they shouldn’t but they do” Lanna offered shaking her head. “That’s the problem with working in such close quarters, on a ship there’s nowhere to escape it.”

Poe sighed. "Well if I can help then I'm glad." He stood and walked up to the window. "Do you know he has entire wall that's a window to the stars?"

“He does? I never noticed” Lanna gave Poe a curious look.

"It's hidden. Like a holo. You press a button and it goes clear and you feel like your in space. He did that for his husband. I wonder what it's like to be loved like that."

“To be loved is…it’s impossible to put into words” Lanna added with a smile as she thought of Jarin. “It’s just like being wrapped in the softest, cuddliest, warmest blanket you could ever find, you never want it to let go.”

"That sounds nice." He said turning and smiling.

“It is” Lanna nodded. “Trust me you’ll know when you find that person, or when they find you.”

He shook his head. "No, I don't think they are out there. My parents always used to say who would love a freak like me."

“You’d be surprised Aiden, don’t listen to the harsh comments, just be you. Someone who is true will love you for who you truly are,” Lanna smiled warmly.

"Is it really that simple?"

“You bet it is!” Lanna grinned. “It may take time, but it will happen.”

He shrugged and turned coming back to sit down. "The bad things are easier to believe then that good I guess."

“Bad things are taken to heart, and eventually you learn to believe them” Lanna paused. “They’re not true, let the bad things go, see the good things instead and it’ll help you to move on.”

He sighed. "Okay I guess. I should go though. We will be arriving at the site soon and I have to look over the probes again."

Lanna nodded. “Of course, anytime you need to talk I’m right here.”

Poe smiled. He felt a little better. Maybe this counseling thing wasn't so bad. He sighed as he thanked her again and walked out. He had work to do. Final review of the probes before the launch.

It didn't take him long to get to Engineering. When several people greeted him he nearly jumped. He wondered how they all knew him already. He'd been here a few times working with Walker on the probles and the Andorian fellow Thol but...as he walked futher he found people waving and smiling. He wondered breifly if he'd walked into an alternate universe but he enjoyed the greetings nonetheless. It would all go away eventually so he would take the acceptance for as long as he could.

OFF:

 

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