A Good Team of Two: Part 2/2

Posted on Wed Mar 4th, 2026 @ 7:46am by Ensign Nate Stanton & Lieutenant JG Constance 'Connie' Montoya
Edited on on Wed Mar 4th, 2026 @ 7:47am

1,488 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Prologue
Location: Counselor's Office
Timeline: Early 2389

CONTINUED:

Connie sipped her tea, slowly, to let the silence sit for a bit. She then glanced at Nate. "You excited about flying the ship?"

"I'm always excited whenever I get a chance to fly," Nate flashed her a smile to mask the half truth. Having been a fighter pilot, there was flying and there was flying. It was an honour to fly a starship, all those people trusting you with their lives. But it wasn't exciting.

She looked at him, at the eyes and the smile before nodding slowly. "And what is your favourite thing to pilot?" she asked, correcting her language to more...Starfleet coded.

"I...used to be a fighter pilot," he replied with a small, knowing smile. Because he knew she'd be able to see that on his file. "I always felt at home in that cockpit."

"I can imagine," she said softly, a small smile on her lips. And there was still that kid in him, she suspected, who loved the adrenaline in his veins.

"Dad takes me out on the holodeck sometimes," Lottie grinned at that, looking up to her father with genuine fondness and pride. "I want to try flying a real one, one day."

"Well it sounds like you have a very good teacher ready," Connie said with a soft chuckle, but there was something...so nice about seeing how Lottie looked at him. The respect...the mutual respect between father and daughter. "Do either of you have any questions or concerns though?"

"Are..." Lottie hesitated, tucking a piece of dark hair nervously behind her ear. "Are the people nice here?"

Connie nodded, watching her for a long moment. "A lot of them are," she said, meaning it. "Most. And no one here is mean as far as I know."

"Okay," Lottie visibly relaxed, letting out a long breath as she gave her a small smile. "Will we come and see you often? We used to do that with our old counsellor."

"If you want to, yes," Connie said with a warm smile, nodding. "And...you don't have to come together either all the time if you want to chat. I'll make sure I have some juice for you."

Nate looked to Lottie and gave a firm nod of agreement. He hadn't always been a therapy kind of guy, but they'd needed all the help they could get after Leo had died. "I...think it would be good, if you can square it? It helped us a lot."

"Of course," Connie said with a small smile at the way he had said it. "We can set up something regular if you prefer that, to know when you have them...or you can do them more when you want and just book in on the day." She suspected it would be best to make a pattern...and perhaps give a bit of a buffer on either side in case he was late.

"Regular," the word was said by both daughter and father at the same time, making a giggle escape from Lottie as she looked away.

Connie chuckled warmly, nodding as she reached for a PADD to book it in. "Then that is what we will do. But if either of you, or both of you, want to come and see me outside of it...you should."

Nate nodded, leaning forward to Connie with a warm smile, his elbows resting on his knees. "Thank you, Ma'am. It just helps us stay on track..." he chuckled at the glance he caught from Lottie. "Helps me stay on track."

"Connie," she said, a gentle correction, but there was warmth in there too. "And yes. For you to stay on track. It's all booked in. Every two weeks for a couple of months, then you reassess. Does that work?"

"Perfect, thank you," Nate nodded with a small smile, relieved to have that sorted. He knew Lottie was as strong as they came, but sometimes...it was just easier to have the space for them to talk about Leo, or how hard it was without him, rather than trying to say it in their normal lives. "I'm sure I'll have to report for a professional evaluation anyway?"

"Yes," she said with a fond chuckle, but there was a gentleness in it. "That we can arrange. Although you had your last one...not that long ago as far as my notes tell me."

"I was...asked to do one every six months," Nate admitted softly, but gave an easy going shrug. He knew it wasn't an attack, they'd just been trying to make sure he was doing okay. "I don't like rocking the boat, so I just went along with it."

"Do you want to do another one?" she asked, her voice not leaning one way or another. "Or do a normal session instead, the two of us?"

"Let's just go for a session and let you decide," he gave her an easy smile at that. He didn't want Lottie growing up thinking there was anything wrong in talking to counsellors.

Connie nodded, a small smile staying on her lips as she studied him. Yes. There would be a lot of ground to cover with this one she suspected. She looked over at Lottie, meeting the girl's eyes. "You know, I think you two should explore the ship today. An...adventure."

"I'd like that," Lottie admitted with an almost shy smile, hooking some dark, long hair behind her ear. "Where's...the best place?"

Connie gave a small smile, meeting her eyes for a long moment. "I think you should start with the lounge," she said, meaning it. "And...deck 14. There's not much there, but there's a lot this...place someone has made a bench. You can view the nacelles from there."

"Can I take my comic kit?" Lottie asked with hope, looking up to her father with wide, blue eyes that sparkled as she smiled.

"I don't see why not...?" Nate looked to Connie with question, flashing her a patient smile. "Lottie makes comic books...sometimes on paper, sometimes digital. She's a bit too good at it, looking at the pilot that's definitely not me, but definitely is...." he chuckled at feeling her elbow in his side and her laugh.

"I think it would be the perfect place for a comic kit," Connie observed with a warm smile, looking at Nate for a moment. "You'll tell me if I show up, correct? In...the comic book."

Lottie looked between Nate and Connie with a wide, innocent smile. "It's just inspiration..."

Connie hummed, looking at her with a small smile. "Well...for the record...I fence," she said and raised an eyebrow. "Just in case you need that in there."

Lottie's eyes widened as she watched her with awe, trying to image it, coming up with a wild image of her in a billowing pirate shirt and a sword. "That's so cool..."

Connie chuckled warmly, shaking her head at that. "I found it a good use of my energy," she said and looked at her. "I am not that good."

"So long as you enjoy it," Lottie said softly, almost shyly as she glanced to her Dad, an indication that she might have heard that from him at some point.

"I do," Connie admitted as she watched Lottie, a small smile coming to her at looking at the two of them. "And that's more important, right. Enjoying something, even if I am not the best at it."

"I try my best though," Lottie assured as she tucked her hands into her sleeve cuffs, as if it were important that she knew that.

"I can tell," Connie said and smiled gently, glancing at Nate for a moment. "And I think you've both done your best here...and....should now go and do something fun together."

Nate smiled to her with gratitude, pushing himself to his feet and bowing his head in respect to her. "It's been an absolute pleasure, Connie," he assured with an easy and warm smile.

"As it was for me," she said and stood, giving them both a nod. "I will see you soon...both of you. And...Lottie? You are going to be fine here. You're an intelligent girl."

Lottie watched her with surprise that melted to gratitude and then bashfulness. She took her Dad's hand, smiling gently to her with warmth. "Just like learning stuff."

"Well that is good...I am sure we can come up with some things if you get bored," she said softly, giving the girl a gentle nod. "Have a lovely day, both of you."

Lottie looked up to her father with a wide smile as he draped his arm around her shoulders to lead her away. "I like her, Dad, she's really nice," she whispered with warmth.

---

Lt. JG Connie Montoya
Counsellor
USS Guinevere

Ensign Nate Stanton
Flight Control
USS Guinevere

Lottie Stanton
Civilian Child
USS Guinevere

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