Lt Alex Storm - Black and White
Karen Morris
((Counsellor's Office - Counselling Suites - Deck 7 - USS Artemis-A))
As a Tactical Officer, often Alex saw things as black and white. Sure there was some grey in the world, but even those nebulous items that we grey could still be grouped into … well that’s much more black than white. So we’ll put it in the black bucket. She liked certainty. She liked predictability. She liked knowing and doing what was expected of her, but for the past couple of years, she had found so much of her life outside of that comfort zone.
Lux: Maybe if you explained the predicament to me, that's something we can explore?
Storm: I think Kona sees things differently, and if I’m honest, I don’t know whose point of view is more correct because I’m sure that neither of us has a corner on truth when it comes to our relationship or our daughter.
Lux: I'm interested in how you see the predicament, Alexandra? And if you could expand on those feelings of being cornered, it sounds to me as if you believe that you've created the circumstances?
Storm: How do I see this falling out? Well, I saw that Kona wasn’t happy. He didn’t want to be aboard a starship. He didn’t want to be the stay-at-home dad, but I refused to give up Starfleet. I had given up my independence to marry a complete stranger - per Betazoid arranged marriage customs, I wasn’t giving up my career. That’s when I started to feel cornered. We thought that having a child together may bring us closer, so we conceived Cassie. But because after my maternity leave, he had the luxury of being with her all the time, I felt like he held her over my head. It was just subtle things, a carefully worded statement, feelings that I’d get from him in moments when he wasn’t careful with his emotions. By this time, he realized how much he loved being a dad and being with his daughter. He wanted another child and I refused.
Lux: :: nods :: And this resulted in Kona leaving with Cassandra, your daughter?
Here Alex reached out for one of the glasses on the counselor’s table. She needed a drink and she needed something to hold in her hands. She didn’t often get fidelity, but when talking about Kona and Cassie, she just didn’t know what to do with herself. She took a sip of the liquid to give her a moment to think.
Storm: When finally came out and told me that he was considering leaving, I took a few days. I spoke with my counselor on the Scimitar, and finally, I asked him if we could try counseling together. I didn’t want to destroy my marriage, but I also didn’t feel satisfied in it. I hoped that by going to counseling together, maybe we could find a way to work things out. Maybe we could both find … at least a little happiness.
Lux: Where does that leave you now?
Alex didn’t skip a beat, and the answer came with a definitive nod despite the fact that her eyes studied the cup. She felt the first word deeply.
Storm: Alone. ::Alex took a moment to consider the question more deeply.:: Worried for Cassie’s safety. Wanting to find out if we both had compromised better, could we have … not just made-the-marriage-work … but I find myself wondering if we could have found our way to a good marriage.
Only now could Alex meet Lux’s eyes. Despite the fact that Alex was usually extremely self-aware, she couldn’t have told anyone what her eyes looked like - only what her heart felt like in that moment.
Lux: Response.
Storm: I’m conflicted and confused about what’s next. Do I let him go? Should I let him go? ::Looking the counselor directly in the eyes:: Legally, he kidnapped our daughter. Should I do everything in my power to bring him to justice? ::Breaking eye contact, Alex looked back into the glass in her hands.:: I’m a black and white person, Counselor. I don’t like these unanswered questions. I don’t like being unsure of the best course of action.
Lux: Response.
Storm: ::Softly, looking only down through the cup to the floor.:: What I really want is to see my daughter, to make sure that she’s safe, to make sure that she’s happy, and cared for…
Lux: Response.
~*~
Tags / TBC
~*~
Lt Alex Storm
Tactical Officer
USS Artemis
O240103SK2