Q & A - Keith R. A. DeCandido [40]
“To her?”
“What?” La Forge cocked his head. “I didn’t say ‘to her’—did I?”
T’Lana nodded. “You did.” She hesitated. “I do understand that one of the complaints made against those in my profession is that we tend to trace far too many neuroses to the patient’s parents. However, I believe there is a human saying about the shoe fitting.”
That prompted a chuckle from La Forge. “Yeah. Damn. All these years, and it all goes back to Mom, doesn’t it?”
“All too often, that is the case,” T’Lana said.
“Is it with you?”
“No. I am Vulcan.”
Smiling, La Forge said, “Vulcans don’t have neuroses?”
“Vulcans do have neuroses far greater and more complex than those of many humanoids. We are not emotionless creatures. Quite the opposite—our emotions are far more turbulent than those of the surliest Klingon. We have learned to suppress them to our benefit, but that does not mean that there cannot be emotional trauma or difficulties.” T’Lana leaned back. “However, my parents have always wholeheartedly supported my choices, including joining Starfleet.”
“So did mine—but then they both are Starfleet.”
T’Lana said nothing about this use of present tense. La Forge’s mother, Captain Silva La Forge, was officially listed as missing and presumed dead. It had been so for nine years, since the disappearance of the U. S. S. Hera. La Forge’s father was still alive and well. It seemed the commander did not deal well with death, or rather a death that he did not witness, where there was no body. Troi had noted this in her session notes. The Betazoid had tried drawing La Forge out but with little success. She had even admitted in her notes that perhaps her friendship with La Forge could have handicapped the counseling sessions. T’Lana used what she felt was her greatest asset. As a Vulcan, many humans felt freer telling her their stories; it was not logical, but it was true. By just listening she could find what was troubling them.
“Tell me about them,” T’Lana said.
The rest of La Forge’s session consisted of the chief engineer opening up to her, telling stories about his parents, his sister. T’Lana noticed that La Forge was open and honest with her. She believed she could help him.
When the time was up, La Forge got to his feet.
“Thanks, Counselor. I guess I’ve got a lot to think about.”
“If you wish to speak again, Geordi, I would be happy to schedule regular sessions.”
Nodding, La Forge said, “Let me think about that. One more thing.”
“What is that?”
“Everyone calls me Geordi. But every time Miranda does it, I flinch.” He hesitated, seemed to come to a decision, then said, “Maybe it’s time I told Miranda it’s okay to call me Geordi too.”
“You just said that she does already.”
“Yeah, but I still want to give the permission.”
“Then do so.”
T’Lana had received the notice from Commander Worf that Q had shown up and that all personnel were under orders to ignore Q if he appeared. T’Lana found the tactic a sound one and assumed that Captain Picard had conceived it, based on his greater experience with Q.
Miranda Kadohata was here to discuss strategies to keep the crew calm, as Q had a tendency to provoke a response.
T’Lana began, “Commander, I believe that I…” She noticed that Kadohata was not listening. “Miranda, is there a problem?”
The second officer took a deep breath, “I feel like such a hypocrite. Here I am looking to enforce an order to ignore Q…when he popped into sickbay, it took everything I had to keep from belting him.”
T’Lana’s eyebrow shot up. “Such a gesture would have been—”
“Futile, I know, which is why I didn’t do it. But I kept thinking about poor Ric.” Before T’Lana could ask, Kadohata explained, “Ric Torres. He was a conn officer on the D back when it first launched. When Q showed up on the bridge, Ric pulled a phaser on him, and Q froze him solid. Sickbay managed to get him unfrozen, but Ric was never the same after that.”
“You knew him?”
“We were lovers at