A Second Opinion ((Tomlinson/Curtis))

[Caroline Curtis 0]

As Lt. Will Tomlinson left the Crew Lounge with the ship's Counselor, he was trying to think about how to approach this. On one hand, he didn't want Anna to feel like he was revealing private information. On the other hand, he was still worried about her. Ever since she bought that thrice-damned bracelet, her behavior had been all over the map. He remained steadfastly silent all the from the crew lounge to Counselor Curtis' office. The trip was far too short for his liking but he knew that he needed to talk to someone. When they got to her office, Will took a deep breath and got ready to talk about the concerns he had for the woman who may be his future wife.

 

Caroline waited to see if Will would speak during the short walk to her office,and for a few minutes after they'd sat down across her desk from each other, too. But he said nothing so finally she made the first move, leaning back in her chair and steepling her fingers, looking over them at him with an expectant expression. "Now...what would you like to talk about, Will?" She knew his concerns had something to do with Anna, which, coming as it did just on the heels of her conversation with Deb, certainly had her attention, but beyond that, he hadn't yet been forthcoming about what it was that had him worried.

 


Will got up and got a glass of water from the replicator trying to figure out how to start this. He sat back down and took a drink as he remembered what his father had once told him. "Begin the story at the beginning." His father told him once. Will look at Caroline, the worry evident in his eyes, "Well it all started on our last shore leave. Anna and I were walking around buying a few knick knacks. She reminded me that my Mother's birthday was coming up and we needed to buy a gift for her." Will stated with a faint smile glad to remember something pleasant. Then his smile promptly faded as he remembered what happened next, "Then we went into another shop and she saw...it." His handsome face darkened into a frown, "That damned bracelet." He looked at Caroline again, "Gaudy thing but something about it caught her attention so I bought it for her." Will sat back and thought for a moment on how to put the next part, "Ever since she put that bracelet on, her behavior has been very...erratic. When she put it on, it was as if she were suddenly a million miles away and when she came back, I asked her to take the bracelet off." Will took a deep breath and became very sad, "She suddenly became very defensive and absolutely refused to take it off. Earlier the bracelet seemed to shrink and now she can't even remove it even if she wanted to."

 


Will watched Caroline to see her reaction as he continued to talk, "Now she seems to be having nightmares. She told me about her being a woman warrior and how she and her warrior lover were betrayed and ambushed. Her lover was slaughtered in front of her and it was so intense for her and so real that when she woke up, she thought at first that I had been killed. It took a long time to calm her down. She explained that it was more like a memory than a dream." Will sighed and took another drink, "We went down to the science lab and had the bracelet scanned but that didn't do us much good. All we know is that both the bracelet and the stones are both made from an unknown substance. I asked her to have a medical examination done, but once more she went very defensive and it almost took an act of God to get her to agree. Of course I don't even know if she has gone yet or if she did, what the results were." He looked at Caroline and pleaded for help with his eyes, "I think that bracelet is doing something to her Counselor. I think that bracelet is influencing her somehow and I don't know what to do about it. I do know that what is happening to her is scaring the hell out of me." He finished and sat back in his seat while he drank his water

while hoping that the good Counselor could help him in some way.

 

Caroline blinked, trying to take this in and reconcile it with what she had heard from both Deb and Anna herself within the past hour. Anna hadn't mentioned the bracelet, but Deb had, referencing the same issue with not being able to remove it, and with its affecting her sleep patterns. Will, however, had a personal investment that Deb didn't, and was evidently considerably more unsettled by it, as a result. Caroline, for her own part, was leery of confusing correlation with causation, and in fact hearing this from a separate source was starting to put a couple of pieces together for her. "You're not the first person to tell me about this, actually," she said slowly after a few seconds pause. "She has indeed gone to Medical, because Dr. Matthews knows about the same issue you're referring to, so she clearly respected your wishes in that regard, in the end, at any rate."

 

Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on the desk and smiled reassuringly. "That being said...I spoke to Anna earlier, and though she looked tired, she showed every evidence of being as much in control as ever. What you're describing sounds like the classic symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder; night terrors, defensiveness, distraction...it's entirely possible that she is dealing with something else, some other issue of which you are unaware, and the purchase of the bracelet itself may in fact be simply coincidence, and her reaction to being asked to remove it a further manifestation of whatever is bothering her internally. I think that the assumption that you should be scared as hell, or that she is being influenced, may be somewhat premature."

 

Will perked up instantly when Caroline mentioned that Anna had gone to sickbay and blurted out, "Really? And what were the results? Is she alright?" He stopped himself and sighed resignedly when he realized something, "Of course you can't tell me if Dr. Matthews told you anything as it would violate medical privacy. I sure hope she tells me." He took a deep breath and digested what Caroline had said, "Counselor, I was taught never to believe in coincidence up front. And the experiences I've had in life have shown me that coincidental events are more rare than naked singularities." He smiled again at her but then rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, "Plus, these events of defensiveness, nightmares or memories or whatever, and anxiety didn't show up until after we bought that bracelet..at least that I didn't see." Will couldn't help but wonder if he had somehow missed these symptoms earlier.

 

"Anxiety can manifest itself in any manner of ways," Caroline said gently, "and as with everything else in the brain, that manifestation can shift and change with changing circumstances. It's entirely possible that the bracelet was a trigger for some buried emotional reaction, or simply coincided with the arrival of other concerns, neither of which you might necessarily have been aware of. I know you and Anna are very close but everyone has private concerns as well; as a matter of fact it's an essential part of our ability to cope with issues as we do." She stood up, moving towards the replicator on the wall of her office and quietly requesting a cup of tea before continuing, "And believe me, coincidences do occur. It sounds as if you have been conditioned to rely on the idea that everything's cause must be easily identifiable -- it's a practical outlook and one I can understand, and your line of work depends on your ability to be practical in that way. But in the realm of emotions...there are plenty of coincidences, and plenty of misunderstandings that arise from them. Having not talked to Anna about the situation, I obviously can't say for sure where the root of the issue might lie, but I think you are causing yourself undue wear on your own emotions, and possibly exacerbating hers by making immediate causal assumptions." She gave him a sympathetic look, keeping her tone light so he would not read it as accusatory. Her primary aim at the moment was to soothe emotions all round while she figured out what was actually going on. "Would you like something to drink?"

 

Will nodded and gave her his empty glass so that she could refill it, "So you think Anna is right and I am overreacting then?" His tone was querying but not defensive. At first he was so sure that the bracelet was the cause but now talking with the Counselor, his mind was filled with doubt. He took the refilled glass and drank from it before shaking his head, "Alright, I guess I can back off a bit and wait and see." He looked at the Caroline, "But if you could, I'd like you to talk to her. Nothing formal, just talk with her and talk about that bracelet. Just see if you notice anything change in her behavior, please? My gut is telling me that if the bracelet isn't the cause, it is somehow involved."

 

Caroline nodded. "I am sure it will come up in conversation, and I will see if I can't learn anything that might help to set your mind at rest one way or another," she said. "In the meantime...have confidence in her ability to meet challenge -- you're both Starfleet officers, capable people, and whatever issues might be at work, she will depend as much on your willingness to trust her independence as well as your willingness to provide support when she needs it." She smiled again, seeing the concern still edging Will's expression. "It will work out, Will, I'm sure of it. And I assure you I will inform you if I happen to notice anything you should know about."

 

Will drained his glass and set it back on the desk before standing and mustering up a smile for the Counselor, "Alright. I'll wait and see what happens but.." He looked at her very seriously, "I just hope waiting and seeing doesn't end doing more damage to her." He nodded his goodbye and left her office not fully comforted by what he had heard but at least he had an idea of which way he might need to go next. He sighed and wished he could ask his father for his advice as well...

 

Caroline watched him walk into the corridor, and then rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand. What a bizarre day... First Deb's report, which had been cause for concern in itself, followed by Will, whose intense concern for Anna was manifesting itself in all sorts of conclusions which might inadvertently be exacerbating a heretofore hidden existing emotional condition. The next step from here was obvious -- talk to Anna, and luckily they were already to eat dinner together later. Unfortunately, she had a feeling it was now probably going to be a working meal.