300 Words: The Star Trek Imagines

XI. Ship's Counselor (Part 1) | Spock

"[Y/N, I insist you unlock your quarters and let me inside."

Spock's voice rings out loud and clear through the metal framework that separates you from him. He's been standing there for a half an hour, secretly worried because you had come onto the Bridge earlier that morning with fresh scars on your thighs. He could see them when you sat down at your station beside his, your yellow dress riding up above them.

You lean against your door, knees up to your chin, ashamed that you had let your best friend see one of your most painful moments. The hurting had started on Earth, long before you came to the Enterprise, but like any habit, it was a hard one to break. Especially when your actions as Ship Counselor hadn't stopped a woman from killing herself earlier in the week.

"Go away, Spock."

"As I have repeated many times over the previous thirty-three minutes, I am standing here until you let me in."

"Kirk has been rubbing off on you too much."

"And your job has been rubbing off on you. Please, let me in to help you. I saw your hurt, but that woman's suicide was not your fault. You must know that."

You wrap your arms tighter around your legs. "I'm the Ship's Counselor, Spock. It's my job to prevent people doing what she did. I failed, and now Lieutenant R'lai is dead."

"I knew R'lai. Did she tell you that her mother had died and that her wife had left her for another woman?"

You under your nose. "I had two sessions with her, and she never opened up more than what she was feeling. I never knew why."

"Like you, she was hurting and she refused to tell anyone. Not you, nor me."

To be continued...