Foot-in-Mouth (Brody & Judy)

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's Counseling Suite, Deck 226, SBC]

Judy hadn't done a psych eval in a few months, and she was pretty excited to be doing one again. That the circumstances leading to it had been a coincidence was no matter. Brody Cooper's behavior had raised a couple of questions, and she'd have some answers.

The room, and its occupant, exuded a mix of coziness and elegance. Bookshelves, heavy with the printed word, obscured most of the walls, while landscape paintings covered most of the rest. There were two couches, a coffee table with a plate of cookies and some water, and of course Judy herself, with her bifocals, a light-green dress, and pearls. The dominant smell was that of the cookies, home-made.

In this environment, Judy waited.

[Fells Halgerdur]

[Judy's Counseling Suite, Deck 226, SBC]

Brody had no idea why his superior had told him to go and see a counselor. He didn't need counseling or was this a standard procedure after shooting through space in an EV suit and getting hit by an asteroid.
He had no problems other than Costa not talking to him and his ribs still being sore because he was too lazy to go to the sick bay.

Carefully he knocked on the door and entered. Inside he spotted a rather comfortable looking room and a lady, that he recognized as one of the medical personell on the Phoenix. The smell of cookies was very inviting and instantly reminded him of his mother.

"Good morning, I'm Petty Officer Cooper, I'm supposed to see counselor Eastman here."

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

"That would be me, young man," Judy answered the seemingly oblivious young man. "You can call me Judy. Please, have a seat, make yourself at home. Feel free to help yourself to the cookies - my husband and I baked a batch just this morning."

She sat down herself on one of the couches and crossed her legs, right over left. She poured water into the two glasses on the table, her hand a little shaky but still more than capable of doing the job.

"Well, how are you?"

[Fells Halgerdur]

[NPC Cooper Judys office]
The welcome was warm, the cookies smelled delicious and this meant a few minutes off work. So why the hell not enjoy it? Perhaps because he had no idea what he was doing there. But he'd find out.
"Thank you." He looked around and checked out the cookies, even took one and had a bite. "Hm, nice."

Then he noticed the picture, which caught his interest but distracted him from his actual goal.
"I'm fine.....thanks to you, if I'm not mistaken. Weren't you one of the two medics, who helped me on the Phoenix?"
He had been quite disoriented and loopey but he remembered her face and that she helped him out of his EV suit.

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

"Well, yes and no," Judy answered. "I was there, and I guess I helped, but I'm not a medic; I'm something far less useful - a manager. I was filling in for Dr. Lunn as Chief Medical Officer, since I did fill that job for 8 solid months, up until this past August."

Judy took a nice sip of water, and then continued.

"Well, since you did bring that experience up, how are you feeling? Doing better?" she asked, leaning into the nurturing side of her personality to establish the relationship between them before she'd start asking the tough questions.

[Fells Halgerdur]

[Judys office NPC Cooper]
The rest of the cookie was gone in no time and left a pleasant taste in his mouth, that made him want to eat the whole batch. He had some self control and used it, though.

In regards to her question he naturally assumed that Judy was talking about the dislocated elbow and cracked ribs so he cradled his elbow and smiled. "It's as good as new but my ribs are still sore. You shoed me out because the Cardassian mine victims were coming in."
That left the question open why he didn't go and seek treatment at home, so he added. "I haven't had time to go and see a doctor here. I was busy studying the sample we brought back from the asteroid."
Looking up at her he wondered whether that inquisitive look through her glasses could possibly be satisfied.
"Why am I here, Mrs. Eastman?"

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

Judy subtly tapped on her wedding ring when he called her "Mrs. Eastman."

"Eastman is actually my maiden name. It's Dr. Eastman, if first-name basis is really so daunting," she explained.

"Now, young man, you're here because we have a few reasons to be worried about you, and as a counselor, my job is to help. Let's start with the fact that you've chosen to prioritize studying the sample over getting treated more thoroughly."

She took another sip of water.

"You're not the first member of Starfleet to ignore his medical needs, but I'd like to know the thought process that led to that decision."

[Fells Halgerdur]

[NPC Brody Cooper Judys office]
Brody wrinkled his brow when she told him the real reason he was there. They, whoever that may be, were worried. So he set his foot on a ship once and got in trouble?
Was he being investigated here?

Brody wasn't an aggressive person, so he assumed Judy really wanted his best and that good reasoning would help.
"It is my job to study samples, that come to the base from our moons and missions. I got a direct order from commander Hawke to find out what the exact contents of the rock were and what they could be used for. That's what I did."
He shifted a little in his seat on the sofa.
"Was that wrong? I mean its only cracked ribs."
He gave her a quizzical look. "Did I do something wrong?"

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

"Yes and no," Judy answered gently. "Your devotion to your duty is admirable, and it's not something you're going to get in trouble for. However, you're no use to anyone if you're dead."

She clasped her hands together and leaned slightly forward.

"Do you usually put duty as your #1 priority, or do you try to make time for yourself?"

[Fells Halgerdur]

[Judys office NPC Cooper]
The way she leaned closer to him and looked at him made him want to eat more cookies just so he didn't have to talk anymore.
So he did just that, while he mulled over the question, that seemed loaded.
Everyone on the Starbase was supposed to take their duties seriously. Right now it seemed like committing to that sounded like a bad idea.
"I try to do my work diligently and follow my orders but I also enjoy my free time."
He didn't really have any great hobbies right now so he claimed. "I like dating."
That, of course, wasn't entirely true because he was really bad at it and had a way to ruin every relationship within a short amount of time.

He nibbled on the cookie. "Why were you with the medics on the Phoenix if you're a psychologist?"

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

"I was there in a managerial role," Judy explained once again. She stayed quite calm, masking the fact that she really, really didn't like repeating herself.

"Anyway, dating, huh? I always thought that was the grueling part of a relationship; all that pretending to be a much cooler person than you actually are, but that's just my opinion."

She waited to see where that would lead.

[Fells Halgerdur]

[Judys office NPC Cooper]
Brody smiled a bit at the thought of her dating. That had to have been a while ago.
"You were dating? I guess before you got married." He was thinking out loud hopefully without being offensive. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude.... for some reason I thought the dating stops at a certain age."
He then reflected about his own relationships.
"Depends on who you're dating I guess. Maybe I should start putting in more effort and faking to be a cooler guy. I might be more successful then."
For some reason unknown to him he was highly unsuccessful when it came to meeting girls.
"Maybe I get attracted to the wrong girls, who knows. I thought this is about my job."

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

"Well, yes and no. The doctors at sickbay treat more than just your on-the-job injuries, and the same applies to counselors," Judy replied.

"Anyway, I'm going to give you a bit of advice: women, as opposed to girls, don't really like what men seem to think we like. We're not looking for some alpha-oaf hunk who doesn't do emotions; we're looking for someone sensitive, with good listening skills, who watches out for what we want and need," she then explained, speaking as calmly as ever.

"But, something tells me you don't really want to get dating advice from someone more than twice your age. So why did you mention dating, of all things?"

[Fells Halgerdur]

[Brody Judys office]
Surprised he looked at her. "That's a good question. I have no idea. Maybe because that's what I sometimes do in my spare time? When I've got my priorities straight."
He sat there in silence for a while musing about her pictures on the wall and why he might really be there. Probably not for dating advice.
It was more likely that she had some suspicion of a different kind. Maybe he should be a little more cautious with his statements.

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

Judy gently adjusted her glasses with one hand, as she often did.

"Other than dating, is there something else you do in your spare time?" she asked. "Any hobbies?"

That drug problem she had suspected on the Phoenix was on her mind. Drugs were a hobby - ish.