Awkward Moments

Posted on 27 Mar 2012 @ 11:48am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy

1,666 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo, Deck 4, Arboretum
Timeline: MD 01 - 1610 hrs

[ON]

With the Galileo streaking through space on her way to Starbase 234, Lirha finally had a few hours to herself to do as she pleased. After taking a long sonic shower, she put on a fresh uniform with a sleeveless red top, leaving her black and gray jacket behind in her quarters. A quick brush of her hair followed after which she left her quarters in search of a particular crewman she needed to speak with. Her journey took her down several corridors and a short turbolift ride, finally arriving at the doors to the ship's arboretum. Lirha paused for a second to push some of her hair from her eyes, then proceeded through the large doors and into the beautiful botanic garden.

Dru reached a hand up to tuck a piece of loose hair behind her ear. She had needed abit of breathing space after the chaos of the last week and had thought she might get this in the arboretum. Listening to everyone's problems, worries and concerns, she had hadn't a moment to stop and access her own. She had thought that only a few days ago she'd had a friend she could talk to when things affected her but the young counsellor couldn't talk to that friend about this......How do you explain to a friend that you have mixed feelings for her but it confuses you? How do you explain you are not sure what exactly is happening? Dry reached a hand up to rub her forehead as she felt a dull throbbing in her skull returning.

Walking along the pathway through a patch of dense foliage, the captain looked ahead through the leaves and spotted the chestnut brown hair of the ship's chief counselor. Moving closer to her, Lirha clasped her green hands behind her back as she approached. "Good afternoon, Lieutenant. I hope I'm not bothering you?" she asked in a soft voice.

Hearing the Captain's voice behind her, Dru applied too much pressure to the luncar flower's steam, causing the stem to break in half. Dru closed her eyes to try calm herself before responding."Captain, I didn't expect to see you down here, I would have thought you were preparing for our upcoming mission." Dru looked down at the flower in her hands as she wondered why everytime she thought of Lirha she seemed to just suddenly appear."Did you require me for something Ma'am?"

"No...not exactly." Lirha answered as she walked closer and stopped next to Dru. "I've finished most of my work for the day, and Commander Holliday is more than capable of running Beta shift." she said, then looked down at the broken plant in the counselor's hand. Lirha remembered the night Dru had come to her apartment in a bit of distress, and had found comfort in the captain's small collection of flowers. A tiny smile crept across Lirha's lips. "I was just surveying some of our new lab equipment and thought I'd take a look at the arboretum." she said casually as she avoided the truth. After a long pause, Lirha sighed and shook her head in frustration. "That's a lie. I'm sorry." she said quietly, then explained. "I found you using the personnel locator in your comm badge. I...wanted to talk to you."

Dru continued to look at the flower in her hand wondering if this was a good or bad thing. She knew she needed to talk to someone but she didn't know if the person could be Lirha. Dru still felt so confused over the kisses, over her feelings. Concentrating on the last part, Dru eased herself back into a standing position before fixing a smile to her face, hiding what she was feeling. "Well I'm your ships counsellor Ma'am, so here when people need to talk. A call over my commbadge would have been easier. What did you wish to talk to me about?"

"Well, the last time we saw each other," she began while averting Dru's eyes, "Something happened between us. And we haven't spoken since. I guess I was hoping that we could talk about what happened? I remember you were upset when I left you that night in the garden, and I want to make sure you're okay." she managed to say. "As well as apologize for my actions."

Dru frowned slightly as she realised Lirha couldn't make eye contact with her and felt her counselling skills kick in. She didn't stop them or pull back as she realised this was helping her cope. Lirha's last statement had shaken her slightly, it had never entered her head that Lirha regretted what had happened. Wrapping her arms around her own waist, Dru asked gently,"Why do you fell you have a need to apologise for k....for what happened?"

The Orion captain considered the question for a moment, not entirely able to figure out why she felt so guilty. "I suppose I'm worried that I put you in a bad position. I put my own needs and wants in front of yours and didn't really consider the consequences of how you might handle it." she answered, finally looking into the counselor's blue eys. "I know I've made you uncomfortable in the past, and I should have known better than to do it again." she added. "Not only am I your commanding officer, but I'm also a woman...an Orion woman, nonetheless. I can only imagine how you must feel." she finished with an apologetic look in her green eyes.

Dru watched Lirha as she talked. For the first time she started to realise that this wasn't just confusing her, Lirha was just as confused. Dru opened her mouth slightly to respond before closing her mouth and thinking over it all further. She knew if Lirha had been a man, this would have been completely different, there would be no hesitation, Orion didn't matter. "I've never been with a woman before", Dru found herself blurting out, blushing as she broke the eye contact.

"I know." the captain replied quietly. In truth, Lirha had known about Dru's orientation since the day they had first met. An Orion woman's insight, so to speak. It had been something which had been in the back of her mind over the last two days, and she wasn't quite sure how to approach the subject. "Has this been hard for you to deal with?" she asked, somewhat afraid of the answer.

Dru looked down at the flower in her hands, the petals of which had started to wilt ever so slightly. Here was the opportunity to talk about how she felt and yet still, she couldn't get the words out. She found herself wanting to tell Lirha the truth but at the same time being scared. Dry looked back up at the woman in front of her, seeing her bare arms leading to a slender body down to where her hips curved out. She was attracted to the woman but she didn't know what to do, she didn't know what she should do. "I'm confused....I don't understand." Dru shook her head as she realised how oblique her answer sounded but yet she still found it difficult to say any more.

Lirha sighed, confused herself as to what she could do to help the young woman. Dru's answer, though truthful, hadn't given her much to work with, and the Orion felt hesitant to push the issue. "What are you confused about?" she finally asked in a quiet and soft voice.

Dru laughed at the irony of that question. If only she knew the answer then maybe she would have had this figured out herself before. Dru closed her eyes as she tried to formulate it all into words, "I'm confused I have feelings for you. I'm confused that I didn't push you away when you kissed me.I'm..." Dru hesitated before looking over at Lirha, "I'm confused about what I'm feeling. I don't understand it."

The captain silently considered the counselor's words for a moment. It was reassuring to learn that Dru had feelings for her, and Lirha was interested in finding out how deeply they ran. "Would you like to talk it? Maybe in private?" she suggested with a raised eyebrow. Standing in the arboretum, while still somewhat secluded, was a bit of an awkward place to be having an emotional conversation. She felt that Dru needed a little more attention than she could give at the moment. "I'm free at 2030 hours if you'd like to stop my quarters for dinner?" she asked.

Dru watched Lirha and slowly nodded her head. The last time she had been in Lirha's quarters she had felt so relaxed, maybe it would work again this time. If Dru was also honest with herself, she wanted to see Lirha again without any risks of being overheard or questions being asked. "I can do that."

Stepping close to the brown haired woman, Lirha took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, meant to be more reassuring than anything else. "I look forward to it." she said with a small smile. Her mind suddenly focused on preparing a comfortable evening for her friend, and she turned and walked away down the path, out of the large plant room on her way to make arrangements.

As Dru stood watching Lirha walk off she wondered if she had done the right thing accepting the invitation. Her hand still tingled from where Lirha had touched it, the sensation was.... she couldn't find the words as she had never felt it before. Where the young counsellor had always held men at arm's length, only having flings and nothing more serious from feelings of being scared to be hurt, she had never thought she may need to do the same, that a woman might be able to get close.

[OFF]

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CMDR Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy
Chief Counsellor
USS Galileo

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