There's Something About Cammy - Part 2

Posted on Tue Mar 24, 2026 @ 8:03am by Commander Caoimhe O'Connor M.D. & Lieutenant JG Minh Nao Psy.D., BSc, SFPC(Xeno-Psych), Psi-Track

1,695 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: S03E01 - Something about Tribbles
Location: Counselling Offices
Timeline: MD02 13:00

Continuation:

"You have to look at your feelings. What your heart says. How does it make you feel? Do you feel happy? Sad? Betrayed? Access and allow your feelings to come out. You shouldn't swallow them, especially now." Minh said, trying to make sincere eye contact.

Caoimhe kept her focus on the object; in a way finding it settling. Being able to analyze it, look at its structure; try to figure out its use. It was a binding way to stay in the moment and not allow herself to be pulled back. The anger lingered below the surface but as she closed her eyes and just let herself feel, her hand tightened a little. "It's happened before...almost word for word history is repeating itself. Find the man; let him in. He disappears in the act of service without word nor knowledge of how or why. I'm left behind to picks up the pieces. Left wellowing in trying to understand, was it something I did? Did I do something wrong? And in leaving me...leaving everything unfinished."

Feeling remorse, Minh could sense the confusion, and the flow of emotions that the woman is going through. Her instincts were to reach out and help her with guided meditation, but this was not as a counselor, this was as her friend. The inner turmoil was rampant. It reminded Minh of her childhood.

Steadying herself, she looked at her, "Are you willing to go through that again? That pain, the dissembling of your life? Finding the distraction?"

"I don't know." The words moved quicker than her mind had, shocking Caoimhe a little as she opened her eyes and looked back down at the object in her hand, still rotating the cube through her fingers. "I don't know." The second time she whispered the words realising that even after the time spent with Ron last time they rang true. Even though she'd been able to say sorry; to spend that time understanding what had happened and why; she still have an answer as to what this meant going forward.

Minh nodded, this was going to be hard. She is battling the memories. The memories of her childhood, the memories of her abandonment, is this reflecting on her personal opinion?

Caoimhe finally looked over at the woman, her face finally showing the signs of the weight on her shoulders and the weariness she carried over everything. "When he held me last night, shared hugs and kisses. Spent hours talking like the time apart hadn't passed; it felt easier then than it does now."

Minh sat back focusing on Caoimhe, looked forward and rested her hand on her chin. "Reality is setting in. It is something known. It is something familiar. You have a fight in your hands, you have to choose very carefully. I will fight with you, if you will let me."

Caoimhe finally laughed even if there was more tiredness behind it than actual merriment. "You know something...I swore off of men for years after Barry. After what he did to me, an ultimate betrayal of the trust I had given him. But it only took Ronald a matter of days to break nearly every shield and protective layer I had in place only to then disappear. Despite only ever spending one night together...I spent so long keeping a shirt of his close because it was the only comfort that I had."

Minh paused before saying anything, she looked at Caoimhe, her heart is leading her somewhere. Not necessarily a safe spot?

"I'm a Doctor. I understand the medicine of the brain and the science of love to understand the draw and the needs and the wants. But I just don't..." Caoimhe felt her eyes get wet, her anger momentarily flared as she rubbed her fingers across the lids to stop them falling. "...I just don't understand. His reappearance, his reassurance, his love still being there. Why isn't that enough?"

Minh looked into Caoimhe's eyes. She wanted to say so much, but knew it would fall on deaf ears, she needed answers. "You need answers. I offer a safe harbor. You can bring him here, and I will leave you two to talk. I won't listen, but will come in, should need be."

Caoimhe laughed as she placed the object in her hands back on the table; leaning her hip back to offer herself a support for her tired body; worn out after finally opening up everything she had kept inside for so long. "I'm not sure...it almost feels like it would be an ambush on him. He's returned; scared on how much has changed. In a way; haven't I shown him one thing hasn't changed which is our feelings for eachother. Wouldn't I be pulling the rug out from under his feet if suddenly I show him something different? He..." The woman paused as a flash of guilt passed over her eyes. "...he doesn't know the truth about Barry. There was never a time to tell him...we should have had more time to truly know eachother. Instead we had mere days."

"Present him with the option, this is something that you need, and that needs to be resolved in order for you two to have a healthy and happy relationship." Minh said looking at her wedding band finger...

"I...I..." Caoimhe stuttered over her next words as the truth dawned on her. "I don't think I know how...he's my first since Barry. The first person I allowed my guard to drop on was Ron. The first person I allowed to push through this persona I've built was him." The woman took a sharp intake of breath as the truth became so much more apparent. "That short time together, I knew that I wanted to try with him but I still hadn't figured out how to let him fully in. It's been easier to spend eighteen months hanging onto the emptiness he's left behind than face what would have come next if our relationship had kept going."

Minh looked at Caoimhe, for once Minh was speechless. She felt the confusion, the distraught. She really was at a loss. She just looked at Caoimhe, not knowing what to do. Wanting to comfort her, but not wanting to overstep her bounds. "Can I give you a hug?"

Whatever Caoimhe has expected the woman to say...she didn't think that those would have been the words spoken. In a way it felt like a strike that took her away from her spiral of thoughts and just left her a little dumbfounded..."A hug? Ah....sure?" The woman wasn't quite sure how comfortable she was with this but at the same time...she could see how the counsellor seemed to be struggling and it was her fault. It was just a small gesture.

"Commander, please know I am here for you, but I really think we need Ron and you to sit down. While this is a mandated session, this is something I am going to need you both here to work through." Minh paused, wrote a note in a padd about mandating Ron into a session. "I will be in contact with you, but right now, I need to end this. I feel you need to breath. Assess your feelings, which are valid, and we can move this forward. But right now, we need to concentrate and I need to assess the situation to get to know all ends."

Caoimhe wasn't quite sure how that would work...Ron was barely back on the station and everyone was coming at him from all angles. The last thing he probably needed was counselling sessions with her. "Ok...I guess. I can talk to Ron and see how he feels?"

“I think you need to go out with the Girls, and relax, do you have friends here?” Minh asked. “I will place the call out to him through official channels.”

Caoimhe hesitated, thinking back over to did she have friends on the station. Certainly she had adquances; she didn't really socialise that much, preferring to keep her own company as it made things less complicated. She suppose that there might be Kate...the women had bonded during their time on the planet after the evacution but..were they friends? They didn't confide in eachother their deepest darkest secrets but...the woman guessed maybe they were closer than she had been to other people before.

Realising that Minh was still looking to her for an answer, the scientist shrugged her shoulders. "Leave it with me maybe...there's one friend I can call by this evening."

Minh nodded and gave a thumbs up.

Taking a breath; Caoimhe took the sign as a chance to finally leave the offices. "Ah counsellor..." The woman rubbed the back of her neck as her mouth struggled to form the words and get them vocally out. "Thank you...I guess..."

Thank you might have been easier for another person but for the scientist it was very foreign. People did things they were asked and obligated to do. People followed orders. Why would you thank people just doing their job? At the same time, she recognised that the counsellor had shown some care in this session that she wasn't obligated to do, a side Caoimhe wasn't used to.

Not liking where her thoughts were taking her to; Caoimhe's nose crinkled up as she quickly moved to exit the room least she say something else she would end up regretting. The scientist forced her mind to change tact to safer waters. Work didn't stop while she dealt with the personal so it was time to get back to her department and figure out what mess they'd created this time in her absence.

As the doors closed behind Caoimhe, she pressed a few buttons on her terminal requesting Ron's presence. Taking a deep breath, she looked around her office. The boxes of personal stuff was behind her. There was a lot of unpacking to do, in Caoimhe's situation and in her office.


Commander Caoimhe O'Connor
Head of Research
Langley Station

Lt. JG Minh Nao Psy D.
Counselor
Langley Station

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