Sometimes you need a sister

Posted on Sunday January 19th, 2020 @ 12:33pm by Cadet Freshman Grade Chloe Graydon & Lieutenant Commander Freya Mannerheim
Edited on on Monday January 20th, 2020 @ 12:49pm

962 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Shakedown Cruise
Location: Deck 7
Timeline: Day 3 - 1630 hrs

=/\=Start=/\=

Chloe ran from sickbay with tears in her eyes. She had known something was wrong, but she hadn't expected it to be what she was told it was. She needed someone to speak to...but she couldn't go and see Phoebe. She'd go mad and start to lecture her, and she didn't need that right now. The only other person she could think of was the Counsellor. She tapped her commbadge. "Chloe to Counsellor Shakura, I need to meet with you...please." She said, with tears streaming down her face. She didn't hear the reply, but kept walking, trying to fight back the tears. How could this happen, why had it happened to her, why had she been so stupid. She fell against the bulkhead, letting it support her as she fell to the floor. She was angry. Angry with herself, with her ex-boyfriend, with the Doctor. She didn't even hear the other person walk upto her.

Freya was on her way back to her quarters, when she thought she heard a young woman crying. Concerned, she turned around the corner to see someone on the floor against the bulkhead, her back towards the Lieutenant. From the uniform, she could see that it was one of the cadets, and from the young woman's appearance, she deduced that it must be Lieutenant Commander Graydon's daughter.

Carefully, she approached her, kneeling down and placing her hand on the cadet's shoulder. "Everything okay, Cadet?", she asked quietly, a with a tone of genuine concern.

Chloe shook her head, looking up through blurry eyes, but not recognising the other person. "Who are you?" She asked through her tears. She didn't want to talk to someone who could pass anything back to her mother.

"Lieutenant Mannerheim. Freya, the conn officer? I think we've met. Graydon, right? The XO's daughter?"

Chloe nodded slightly. "Sorry, i'm a mess, it's all just got to much..." She answered.

Freya nodded and fully sat down on the floor, next to Chloe. "I know the feeling, Cadet. I don't know if you heard of the drama I caused on the bridge a few days ago. I was being forced to hide who I really am, and it just became too much. You can talk to me if you need to." Smiling, she added. "And I don't really see or talk to your mother often, so don't worry about me passing anything on if you don't want me to. You can trust me on that one, I'm good with secrets." After all, she thought, if I can keep my own identity a secret, then what can't I?

Chloe sighed, she needed to let it out to someone, and even though she felt she could talk to Kanaka, she wasn't exactly impartial, being her mothers boss and all that. "Well...i've just been to sickbay and found out, i'm pregnant..." She said, wiping tears from her face.

Freya put her arm around the cadet's shoulders. "Ah, that must have come as a bit of a shock. I understand your reaction, I would be the same." She paused for a moment. "I had a bit of a scare myself when I was at the academy. Turned out to be a false alarm, but I have no idea what I would have done if it had actually been true. So yeah, I can understand you."

Chloe leant into the embrace. "The problem is, I don't know what to do now. I want to keep it but..." She paused as another crewman walked past them, given them a look of confusion, but continuing to walk on nonetheless. "But I don't know how to tell people...the Doctor said I need to tell the Commander for the purpose of ship safety etcetera, but I don't wanna do it alone...and he's not around anymore so he's not going to be much help at all. How do I tell him he's going to be a father?" She asked, having so many questions, and very little in the way of answers.

Freya nodded as she listened. "I know it's a difficult time, but you aren't alone. You do know that, don't you, Chloe?" She paused for a moment as she looked down on the young woman leaning against her. She reminded her of her sister, Sora, who was only two years younger than her. Sora... she probably thought Freya was dead. And she might as well be - it's not as if she would ever be able to return to her, across in the other universe. "If you ever need someone to talk to, come to me, okay?", she finally said, quietly.

Chloe nodded. "I need someone to come and see the Commander with me...I don't want to do that alone." She said in reply, feeling a bond forming between the two of them.

Freya smiled. "Just let me know when you're ready and I'll come with you." Slowly, she stood, and held her hand out. "Now, I don't think sitting on the floor is all that healthy. How about we go to the mess hall and grab a hot chocolate?"

"I'll join you in a little bit? I said i'd go and see the Counsellor, i'm hoping she can help me in telling the other people in my life...especially mum...that's going to be fun." She answered, trying to smile.

"Sure," the Lieutenant replied, nodding. "Lieutenant Commander Shakura is a good person to talk to. I'm sure she will be able to help you. And if you want, I'll come along when you talk to your mother, too. Just call me whenever you need to."

Chloe let Freya help her to her feet, and smiled. "Thank you." She said simply, as Freya turned to walk away.

=/\=End=/\=

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