Lt Alex Storm - First, Do No Harm
Karen Morris
((Counsellor's Office - Counseling Suites - Deck 7 - USS Artemis-A))
A doctor’s oath to “do no harm” is often times completely juxtaposed to “do no hurt.” The hurt might be exactly what’s needed in order to for the doctor to keep his pledge.
~*~
Lux’s question felt to be particularly deep incision. If Alex really wanted freedom, why didn’t she just let Kona go. That may not be the exact words the woman used, but it was the meaning behind them that Alex comprehended. She wasn’t sure she was ready for it, but ready or not, here it came. Alex understood that the counselor wanted to get at the festering sore to cut it enough for the infection to get out, but not so much as it did permanent damage, but who likes anyone touching a sore spot with a finger, let alone a laser scalpel.
Storm: One one hand it may allow me freedom, but how do I balance that against the responsibility I have to my daughter?
Her client set the cup back down on the table and crossed her legs, setting her hands in her lap. It was clear to Lori that her words had an effect on Alexandra, she took a slow breath and then cautiously her words came out.
Storm: There’s a big difference between a choice I make to sacrifice myself, and asking my daughter to make a sacrifice on my behalf. ::There was a very long pause as Alex fought to maintain her closely guarded decorum.:: Cassie shouldn’t have to choose between us.
Lux: I agree but that's not what I asked, Alexandra.
Storm: I brought a little girl into this world. I will not abandon her. I will not have her father let her think that I don’t love her or that I don’t want her.
Lux: :: nods :: I noticed that you do that a lot, shape your world around Kona? Especially when you consider how you feel about something?
Alexandra spoke in a whisper but there was power in her words. Lori kept her composure and considered what could be driving the emotions behind the words. Alexandra, typically, had some contradictory emotions to work through.
Storm: Because he took her from me. You don’t take a child away from her mother and then tell her that her mother loves her very much and wants so badly to be with her. The two don’t go together.
Lux: Alexandra, I'd recommend that you engage with the JAG office who will provide you with legal advice if you need to gain access to Cassie - Betazed, as you are aware, is subject to Federation law. I assume custody is something you seek?
Storm: Very much. I had connected with them at one point, but I was told that until or unless they are found, there is nothing the legal system can do for me. But I haven’t given up hope.
Of course, Alex didn’t say that she hadn’t given up hope because she had been searching for Kona and Cassie both on her own and through a friend who did some private investigation work on the side. But the counselor smiled at her statement, and Alex did nothing to dissuade her.
Lux: How would you feel about joint custody with Kona?
The Betazoid took a deep breath and as she blew it out, she released a great deal of tension. Her statement now was as real as her love for her daughter.
Storm: If I could find a way to trust that he wouldn’t take off with her again, I would welcome it with open arms.
Lux: Response
Storm: I don’t hate Kona, Counselor…but it’s hard not to fear - not him, he never raised a hand to me, but what he has done … or what he could still do to spoil, what should be, a wonderful part my life.
Lux: Response
Alex didn’t hate counseling sessions. There were times she could find great value in them, but one common denominator to all her counseling sessions is that besides feeling that her soul had been laid bare, it physically drained her, and before she could clamp her mouth closed so the sound couldn’t escape, the words slipped forth.
Storm: I would give anything for this debacle to be over. I’m so weary of it.
It wasn’t just her situation with Kona. There were so many different repercussions that came from it - being alone, feeling empty, the mask she often believed she needed to wear, the ache for her daughter, the lingering questions in her mind.
Lux: Response
~*~
Tags / TBC
~*~
Lt Alex Storm
Tactical Officer
USS Artemis
O240103SK2