“You can’t be serious.” Lieutenant Juliet Woodward sat at her desk and stared at Gracie Lothan, who stood in the doorway, an excited grin plastered across her face. “Gracie…this is…a terrible idea!”

Lothan rolled her eyes. “I’ve been doing good in our sessions. You can come with! Did you miss that part? Didn’t the Zephyr leave without you?”

Juliet raised her hand to slow the young woman down. “They wanted to give the counseling team a chance to learn some things independently with a supervising instructor. It has given me some free time.” She shook her head. “I immediately regret sharing that with you.”

The smile on Lothan’s face didn’t diminish. It grew. “See? It’s perfect timing.”

Woodward stood from her desk, “I have other words for what this is.” She walked past the young woman, “I need to make some requests and see if the station’s counseling director will sign off on this. She’s my CO while I’m on station.”

Gracie giggled, “Oh, Doctor Court and I are super close. She’ll sign off on it. She’s the best.”

Juliet paused in the doorway. “You ever disappointed her or made her life difficult?”

The smile on Lothan’s face faded. “No.”

“Then you don’t know her as well as I do.” She pointed at he couch against the wall, “Sit, stay, and do nothing.” She stalked off in an annoyed huff.

“How much am I going to owe you?” Gracie Lothan wasn’t smiling. Her face was downcast. It was mostly due to the staredown she was getting from Lieutenant Woodward as they walked to the docking area to board the SS Wandering Wolf. The conversation with Lieutenant Commander Blanchefleur Courtemanche, the director of counseling operations, had been an intense experience for Lothan. The woman shouted her name after Woodward entered the office to make the request. The grilling had only been the first element in the opening of Dr. Court’s gauntlet. Then came a no-holds-barred version of twenty questions, where a fair but firm Courtemanche pulled and pushed the answers out of a dazed Lothan.

Woodward growled, “It’s not a matter of how much you’re going to owe me, it’s a matter of how long you’re going to owe me.” She came to a stop, “Look. This is happening. I’ll support you as your counselor. But you need to know – I may not be in uniform for this trip, but I’m still a Starfleet officer. They expect me to keep one eye on you and another on Hasara.” She closed her eyes and pinched her nose, “Gracie, you’re eighteen and sometimes you seem older…but in this case, this was pure teenager Gracie thinking.”

Lothan’s mouth dropped and she sputtered, “Oh…oh…I’m…oh shit.” Her face turned red, “I screwed up didn’t I?”

Woodward cackled wryly, ” We’re definitely headed towards the middle of the screw-up spectrum. Let’s get to the ship and get settled. Then we’ll figure out how to navigate this mess you got us into.”