Counseling the Counselor

Posted on Sat Sep 19th, 2020 @ 10:40am by Lieutenant Noah Reed M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Savin

Mission: The Shadow of Arachne
Location: Deck 5 - Lounge
Timeline: MD-04 1730 Hours
1957 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure

Noah Reed let out a deep sigh. The past few days had been really intense for everyone aboard the ship. Sickbay had been swamped with critically injured from the damage done during the destruction of the U.S.S. Pico and afterward. He picked up the perspiring drink from the table and let the bourbon burn smoothly down his throat. It was his second drink, to be accurate. And he was just beginning to feel the faintest tingling sensations in his body. He smiled faintly and set the drink down, returning his gaze outside to the twinkling stars.

"Does it help?" Savin had been observing the CMO from a slight distance, but now chose to approach. He had never indulged in alcohol himself, just never having understood the logic of it. He nodded towards the drink as he sat down, uninvited. "Does it make it easier?"

Noah blinked a few times and looked up as he was brought out of his trance by Savin sitting down at the table opposite him. He nodded with a faint smile. "It can in moderation. It's a depressant and calms the central nervous system." He held up the glass briefly and said, "Plus it can make one feel good." Then he grinned and took another sip. "You ever try alcohol?"

"I never considered it wise to," Savin admitted as he studied the man, "I cannot afford my remaining senses to be clouded. I rely on them to function." He paused. "I supposed one sip can do no harm. May I?"

Noah raised his eyebrows in mild surprise as he heard Savin ask to try his bourbon. "By all means," he said as he held out the glass for him to inspect. "Fair warning: it's an acquired taste and can be a little strong." He sat back in his chair and watched Savin with genuine curiosity.

Accepting the glass, the Romulan studied the amber liquid, wrinkling his nose as he sniffed at it. Looking up, he took a careful and very small sip before handing the glass back. He coughed as the liquid burned in his throat. "Wow..." He shook his head. "I will stick with tea," he added. "Are things settling in sickbay?"

Noah smirked to himself as he observed the pointy-eared man struggle with the whiskey. "It's an acquired taste, as I said." He took another sip and set the glass down. "Sickbay is slowly getting back to normal. I had a computer core issue earlier but engineering was able to swing by and take care of it." He stopped and the image of the blonde engineer crept through his mind. "And she had a great smile, too." He got caught in the reverie for a moment before blinking it away and grabbing for his drink again.

"Engineering has a great smile?" Savin tilted his head in question, not quite sure he had read it right. "Or one of the engineers?" He reached for his tea, taking a few slow sips, watching the chief medical officer across the brim of his glass. "I had dinner with the security chief a few days ago," he finally admitted, not really having told anyone else about this.

Not quite grasping the importance of Savin's last sentence, Reed nodded and sipped his drink again. "Oh yeah? How did that go?"

"It went well..." the Romulan trailed off. "Why are women so confusing?" he finally asked. "They seem to want one thing but when you act on your feelings you get slapped in the face. I do not understand why."

Noah raised his eyebrows in mild surprise. "Wait, you expressed feelings for Lieutenant Sar and got slapped for it?" He excitedly finished his whiskey and waved the waiter over to order another. When the man walked away he continued, "You need to start back at the beginning my friend." He leaned forward in his chair in anticipation of the story.

"After the Pico was destroyed, and we were attacked, I was sent to deflector control with Lieutenant Sar. I am not certain why, but the moment just felt right." He seemed to blush a little at his admission. "It was the wrong time, I know that, we were in the middle of an emergency but..." He paused. "We have a connection, I cannot explain it. I felt I had to act."

"Did she say anything in response or just felt the need to let her hand do the talking?"

"She apologized afterwards.." Savin sighed softly. "I have very little experience with women," he admitted, "I have never been in a relationship before, never really had feelings for anyone. It feels very confusing to me." He looked up. "Have you ever had anyone significant in your life? Anyone you wanted to be with?"

"I'm surprised that you've never had feelings for anyone until now, Savin," Reed said. "It definitely can be a confusing time. I've had a few... romantic entanglements in my past. The key is to learn when it's appropriate to express it." He sipped his drink and continued, "Maybe you just need the right moment to broach the topic again, like say... at dinner."

"Why are you surprised?" Savin arched a single eyebrow at him. "How do you know when something is appropriate?" The other eyebrow joined the first. "Are you suggesting I should invite her for dinner again?" What if she said no?

Reed grinned somewhat as he nodded eagerly. "Yes, Savin, yes. I think you should definitely ask her to dinner again. There's always a potential of rejection but as someone with experience, I'll tell you that not asking her is a one hundred percent guarantee that nothing will be discovered. However, if you ask, the odds are that she'll say yes and then you can start out the dinner by discussing interests." He sipped his drink and felt the buzz kicking into another level. "And avoid work... It's dull and we talk about it all the time."

"But her work is of interest to me," the counselor protested, "we are in different jobs, and I would want to hear about her day. Is that not a proper thing to ask?" It was obvious the man was utterly clueless when it came to courtship and proper topics of conversation when conversing with one's subject of affection.

"Ah, well then yes, that's appropriate. Other good choices are music, art, books, news... It's not as complicated as it seems. It's about letting go of the worry about talking and just simply talking." He leaned forward and asked in a reassuring manner, "Why does the idea of opening up to her scare you so much?"

"How do you mean? I do not believe I can open up more to her than I already have..." Savin frowned in thought. "We have a mental connection, I do not believe I can keep anything from her nor would I wish to. I am not...scared." Just very very nervous as he had zero romantic experience and he didn't consider their previous dinner engagement to be any of that sort.

Reed held up a hand to stop him. "If you're already open with her, then that's wonderful. Don't overthink it. It's not as complicated as it seems at first. It's all simply talking and enjoying the company. If things progress smoothly, you'll know when it's the right time, my friend." He grinned once more and added, "And you'll be well rewarded."

"Rewarded?" Both eyebrows shot up in clear surprise. "What kind of reward?"

Noah beamed at him with both eyebrows raised conspiratorially. "That's what I'm hoping you find out, but it involves physical intimacy on a level you're not used to."

"Oh..." Savin briefly looked away, feeling colour rise to his cheeks. "I am sure that is not a polite subject to broach on a date..." Plus was he even ready for that? He looked back up, though he hid most of his face behind the glass he raised to his mouth. "Have you ever.... ?" He trailed off the question, almost too embarrassed to ask.

Reed casually avoided the question as he focused on providing clarity. "Oh, no, you don't actually discuss it with her. It's something that develops naturally as the attraction builds. You take in all the body language clues. Is she smiling a lot? Laughing? Does her eyes wander over your form?" He nodded for emphasis. "That's when the moment is right to slowly move in for a kiss. It gives her time to either accept it or not. As you move in, its customary for both people to look between the eyes and the lips. If that's happening, you're good to go, Savin."

"I see..." Savin deliberately took a sip from his tea in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. "You did not answer my question," he carefully pointed out as he seemed to scrutinize the man. It was necessary of course in order to have a conversation, even as somewhat hushed as theirs, but now he openly stared at the man, hoping for an answer.

"Hm?" Noah was partly caught off guard by Savin's attention to detail. "I mean... I've been with women, yes." He blinked a few times before grinning widely and chuckling a bit. He proceeded to finish his drink and looked around for a waiter.

"But...?" the counselor prompted, noticing another evasion.

Noah chuckled and waved his drink slowly in the air. "Well, the details aren't important until you get past the talking phase, Savin. Then I can impart some real wisdom."

"I see..." Savin watched him closely. "Do you have a significant other?" He realized he didn't know the chief medical officer all that well, though he was trying to sort of remedy that now.

Reed coughed softly on his drink and then cleared his throat. "Not at the moment, no," he managed to force out with a raspy voice. "It's something that I'm open to, but I'm not dying for companionship either." He regarded the Romulan with a thoughtful look. "Do you seek a meaningful relationship?"

"Not actively," Savin answered honestly, a look of concern crossing his expressive features, watching the doctor as he almost choked on his drink. "Though I do admit to being lonely at times. Jerant is a good friend, but it is not the same as having friends. He is more a brother, than a friend, he is so much more to me. But he is not my partner, even if he does wish for it."

"It's always good to leave yourself open to the possibility but also make sure that you don't force it, or shield yourself from the potential with someone. It's a balancing act," Noah replied.

"And a learning curve?" Savin sipped his tea again, a hint of disappointment flitting across his face as he discovered his glass to be empty. He set the glass down and sighed. "I will speak with Dessame, and see if she feels the same, and then we can go from there. Does that sound reasonable?"

The doctor nodded enthusiastically and also frowned at not getting the attention of the waiter floating through the room. Just as well, he thought. He probably had one too many as it is. "That's a very reasonable way to proceed, Savin. Ask her to dinner, listen, talk about common interests and watch her body language as the night progresses." He gave an overly-dramatic okay symbol.

Savin chuckled at the gesture. "I will do that," he promised. "I should head back to my office, and then hopefully, prepare for dinner. Thank you for listening doctor, it is appreciated."

Noah smiled and dipped his head in a nod. "Anytime, counselor. Anytime..."