Mind if I? (Judy & Lennox)

[Judith Eastman]

[Judy's counseling suite, J.E.W. Consulting Offices, Deck 226, SBC]

To anyone but Judy, this would not be retirement. In addition to a million other things, she still saw patients, in this room.
She liked doing that, though. She drew purpose from it. Helping others just felt good.

As did sitting on the very soft couches that she had chosen.

She gave a final look over the record of the latest patient Starfleet had sent her way, Mr. Lennox Ainsley, as she sat on one of the two. She was distinguished by one of her favored pantsuits (this time in a lively yellow), and her half-rimmed glasses, as she did so.

She stood up as soon as she heard a ring from the room's door that faced the Promenade.

"Come on in!" she called, a command that the computer had been trained to take to unlock the door.

[Lennox Ainsley]

[Turbolift > Judy's counseling suite, J.E.W. Consulting Offices, Deck 226, SBC]

It came to no surprise that Lennox would be required to see a consultant, being that he had only recently arrived on the Starbase - they would want to see if he was still sound of mind. He had come a long way since the incident a few years back, though the only thing that might raise a couple of flags was his persistence of drinking alcohol and the amount that he consumed whilst he wasn't on duty.

Lennox was not one for being tardy, in fact, he had arrived several minutes beforehand. He took a breath and pressed the bell. Upon hearing that he was allowed to enter, Lennox stepped in - the doors sliding open, revealing his counselor for his particular session. "Lennox Ainsley, reporting in fer the counselin' session. I think I might have arrived early."

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

"Judy Eastman-Williams, but you can just call me Judy," Judy introduced herself, standing up and offering a handshake. "I definitely appreciate you being a tad early. Tardiness doesn't ruin my schedule anymore, like it used to, but I still like to be timely."

She supposed that statement warranted explaining.

"I retired recently. Well, semi-retired. I retired from Starfleet pretty recently and moved into these new digs. They're nice, aren't they?"

The artwork around the walls sure was nice. About half of it was landscapes painted by Judy's husband, Max, as a hobby. The other half was a collection of varied art that the counselor had acquired over the years.

[Lennox Ainsley]

[Counseling Suite]

Lennox nodded, his own hand going out to meet hers. He gave his best handshake, knowing that first impressions mattered especially in this scenario. "Guessin' that means ye get te finish earlier then?" He inquired, a gentle smile on his face hiding any discomfort he might have felt by getting to know the counselor - Judy.

At her gesture, he looked around the suite, taking in the artwork and general layout of the place. "Nice an' tranquil, fer sure. Ye like yer landscapes then?" Of course, Lennox had an appreciation for art but it hadn't extended past the simple aesthetics of the pieces.

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

"They're lovely, but I like the painter more than anything else," Judy answered. "I did put a ring on him, after all. Max, my husband, is a cook by his trade, so this is just a hobby of his."

Judy smiled, as she always did when discussing the leading man in her life. Now, especially, she could spend so much more time with him.

"Now, let's begin with our work for the day," she called, sitting back down. "How are you?"

[Lennox Ainsley]

[Counseling suite]

Lennox nodded in understanding of who the painter was. "Talented man," He said. "Even wit' it bein' a hobby."

Eventually, he knew they would have to come back around to why he was there - Lennox had hoped to prolong it for a little while longer as he watched her seat herself, doing much the same once she had been first to sit. The Scotsman cleared his throat, shrugging. "Doin' well. Gettin' used te bein' on the Coloumbus I suppose, it's been a while since I was last here."

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

Judy clasped her hands together and leaned slightly forward, listening.

However, she didn't get all that much info just yet. A little more prodding would do.

"Have you had the chance to enjoy the wealth of culinary options on the Promenade? Eat anything good? Drink anything good?"

Alcohol was mentioned in Lennox's file, so Judy knew she'd have to go after that angle at some point.

[Lennox Ainsley]

[Counseling Suite]

Lennox's gaze had drifted down to the table that he had sat in front, before pulling it back up to meet Judy's. At least her gaze looking at him, her posture ever so slightly forward. She was probably looking for some sort of opening, some way into asking the more prominent questions that she wanted to ask, though Lennox wasn't quite ready to open up that much at the moment. Though a humorous snort of amusement did escape him when she pried around whether or not he had eaten or drank anything.

Yep, it was definitely on his file.

"Ye know I'm not exactly a ligh'weight....but yeah, the drinks are good but the food is even better. Too many choices, ye spoil people here."

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

"There are certain privileges to being on a Starbase this big. It feels almost like Manhattan sometimes," Judy remarked. "I came up in the Big Apple. Lived there for more than half a century. Columbus really is quite similar in some ways."

Having allowed herself to pivot a little from side to side as she spoke of New York, Judy returned herself to a more focused posture.

"Let's get at you not being a lightweight, to use your turn of phrase. Tell me more."

Her gaze and tone were inquisitive, but not so much so as to be hostile. She seemed to genuinely just want to know.

[Lennox Ainsley]

[Counseling suite]

Lennox was getting the distinct feeling that he was falling further and further into the rabbit hole - and by rabbit hole, he meant that he was finding himself unable to not answer some of the questions posed by Judy. He allowed himself an attempt at relaxing in his own posture but found that his back continued to ache with the strain of trying to seem upright and focused. He cleared his throat, realising that he couldn't backpedal out of what he needed to say.

"Takes more than a couple o' drinks te put me under the influence," He would have followed up with saying that it was because he had started drinking early in his life or perhaps it was simply good genetics, but Lennox found himself being more measured in his responses. And yet, something at the back of his brain was urging him to get it off his chest. That he needed to speak about it. "Started drinkin'....more...when my family got ambushed by pirates."

And there it was.

Out in the open.

The elephant in the room.

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

"I see," Judy replied initially. She had a feeling they would get around to the pirates sooner or later. That kind of trauma was bound to be at the root of so many issues, after all.

"Let's talk a little more about your family and the pirates, if you don't mind. We can stop if it gets too much for you," she gently directed. "How much do you remember of that day?"

Judy aimed to make her demeanor, and her office, as calming and soothing as possible, exactly because these topics were so hard for patients and warranted it.

[Lennox Ainsley]

[Counseling suite]

There it was.

The nagging fear at the back of his mind, the one that he had worked so hard to silence for years after his family's death. Lennox glanced off to one side, trying to extend the silence for as long as possible - perhaps even taking a childish route of if he were not to speak about it, it would disappear but he had been the one to instigate the inquiry after all. He gave a slight nod of his head, a confirmation to not only Judy but to himself that he was willing to attempt to talk about it. "I...uh...." Lennox glanced down at his hands, as they trembled gently.

To remedy it, he balled his hands into fists just below the table.

Lennox cleared his throat, taking another hot moment to compose himself as he tried to fix his waivering focus on Judy. "I don't remember much of what happened. I don't think it was in my file t'at I wasn't around to save them, te protect them like I should have. Was a combat engineer at the time, jus' comin' home from bein' relieved fer the day...." The image flashed in his mind, the scene that had greeted him on his arrival; chairs over-turned, windows smashed, the table leg broken and the rooms abandoned. "An' they were there....layin' in the middle of the livin' room."

[Judith Eastman]

[Counseling Suite]

Judy nodded in understanding. It was a truly horrible situation for anyone to find themselves in.

She didn't say anything at first. She extended her hand across the coffee table, looked Lennox in the eyes through her glasses, and nodded.

She was going to let him choose where to go next. If he wanted to share more, or cry, or anything in between, she was here for him.