Lt. Cmdr Robin Hopper: Not Even the Half of It
Robin Hopper
((OOC – This scene takes place before Robin learns about Sam Richards’ pregnancy, just to keep the topics discussed to a more reasonable number! Haha!))
((Counseling Department – Amity Outpost))
Robin Hopper was a firm believer in the benefits of regular Counseling as part of her routine health check-ups – something she had taken seriously since a young age. Despite the fact that her first visit to a counselor, about a month before her fifteenth birthday, had been something of a desperate ‘intervention’ by her parents concerned over her increasing obsession with time spent in holosuites with fictional characters rather than with ‘real’ friends, Robin had grown to appreciate the perspective that talking things through with another, more objective, person could be.
She’d certainly made good use of Amity’s suite of counseling staff following her return to the station after Frontier Day; Commander Carter and his staff had accommodated visits from Robin nearly every week for the first couple of months back as she worked to process everything that had happened and to process the ramifications… The break-in to the SRC’s classified Borg research section; Her experiences aboard the Borg Cube; Watching the destruction of the USS Cambridge; and the recovery from her injury – just to name a select few traumatic incidents.
However, while Carter took some much-deserved leave for his own wellbeing, Robin had turned more and more to his other staff. Katy Toliver, filling in for Carter, had her hands quite full (as well as her calendar). Robin had tried visiting a few more junior counselors, to distribute the caseload around… with mixed results. None were bad, per se, but a big part of effective long-term therapy was building an understanding and rapport with one’s counselor. Well-meaning as they may have been, Robin simply didn’t vibe the same way with counselors like Lieutenant JG Ychol and his logic-based approach to therapy as she did with John or Katy.
So it was that she found herself visiting yet another ‘new’ Counselor – one whom she hadn’t met before; In fact, a quick perusal of his personnel file seemed to indicate he was a recent transfer. Perhaps, she hoped, this would mean a more unique perspective as she sought to unburden herself.
Hopper: ::Tapping the door chime:: Good afternoon, Lieutenant. I’m here for our 1630.
McKraken: Response
As the door slid open, Robin stepped through with a courteous but reserved smile. She quickly looked around the office, unsure how much of what she saw was the junior Lieutenant’s personnel aesthetic and how much was just whatever had been left behind by whomever’s office it had been previously.
Hopper: Thank you. ::Reaching out a hand:: Lt. Commander Hopper – but I’d much prefer “Robin.” The less formal and stuffy this can be the better, as far as I’m concerned.
McKraken: Response
Robin took a seat opposite the counselor, crossing her right leg over and resting it atop her bionic left, and adjusting the hem of her dress. True to her intentions to keep her counseling sessions informal, she almost never wore her uniform to such a meeting. Today, she was wearing a sleeveless raspberry wrap dress with a soft retro silhouette, cinched at the waist with a narrow black belt and paired with tall, slate-grey boots. The fabric had a gentle sheen, catching the light with a satin-like luster that gave it a bit of eye-catching glam without being unprofessionally flashy.
Hopper: ::Exhaling loudly:: Hoo… Where to begin? There’s a lot on my mind, Counselor – or can I call you Phil?
McKraken: Response
Hopper: Well, let’s see… I’m not sure how much of my file you’ve had access to – but there have been some, um, newer developments that have really thrown me for a loop. For starters, Nathan and I – oh, that’s Chief Richards – well, we’ve been trying to wait for the right time to share the news of our– ::blushing:: –engagement with the rest of the senior staff, our friends… Even our families don’t know yet. But things have been so chaotic lately, we haven’t had the time. I’m starting to get a little stressed about just how long we’ve been sitting on this news.
That wasn’t even the half of it. If they’d thought things were complicated before, the arrival of Commander Alexis Hopper from the future was another even bigger wrench that had just been thrown into the mix – one which had thoroughly twisted Robin up inside as she tried to figure out just what it meant for her and Nathan. For their future. But it was a bit early in the appointment yet to start sharing classified temporal anomalies with this new counselor…
McKraken: Response
TBC
