Counseling

 Month 14 Day 20

0803 Hours

Jane Burke

 Someone was waiting at Jane's elbow as she signed the duty roster for Yeoman Blossom. Handing the pad back to her aide, she glanced to see who was waiting. "Lt MacDowell."

"I was told you wanted to see me, captain."

That's quite a trick, to get from engineering to here in 3 minutes. At shift change. "Yes. You're very prompt. Come to my office." She led the way, all while keeping a close watch on Bugalu, who cast a quick, worried glance at the twosome as they crossed the bridge. "Give us 10, Blossom," Jane told the yeoman as she entered her office.

"Yes, captain." Blossom laid the pad on her desk as she went out the other door.

"Take a seat, lieutenant." The redhead perched on the edge of a chair. Probably too nervous to sit back in it. "How have you been?"

"Fine." Her voice quivered just a bit.

Definitely nervous. Well, when I was that age, I would have been nervous, too, getting called to the captain's office for no reason. "Any injuries I haven't heard about?"

MacDowell's brow furrowed in confusion. "No, captain."

No, I don't see any bruises, and as I remember, she bruises easily. Good, I didn't like to think Smitty might get physical with her. Come to think of it, she's Gaelund, and could have fought back. I only have to remember Winthrop to remember that. "I wanted to talk to you about your up-coming wedding."

"I've chosen my Maid of Honor, and invited 3 or 4 friends to the ceremony. Plus, as I said last night, I chose the type of cake I wanted." She caught her lower lip in her teeth in uncertainty. "I don't know of anything else I need to do."

"Not if you just want a simple ceremony, I don't suppose there's anything else that's absolutely necessary."

The new transfer to engineering relaxed. "Good. Small and simple sounds good."

Okay, I'm just going to ask. "I got the impression at supper last night, that you were... relying on Smythe to tell you what to do. In regards to the wedding."

MacDowell gave a slow nod. "Well, I know some of the traditions of a Gaelund wedding, from what I remember of my brothers getting married. But I have nothing to guide me on what's expected of a Fleet wedding. I'm hoping wearing my uniform is okay? Don't know if there's time for fabrication to make a dress. And it seems wasteful, since I'd only wear it for a couple hours."

Is that all it is? Smitty's seen a few Fleet weddings over the years, so he would have somewhat more knowledge on the subject. But what about the tension over Bugalu? "You might be surprised how quickly fabrication can make a dress, if they need to. And it could always be sent back to be recycled. If you don't want to keep it."

"I suppose that's true. But it still seems like a lot of fuss, if my uniform will do."

"Your uniform will do," Jane assured her. "Or perhaps you have another outfit you could wear. I seem to recall a yellow outfit. Or a red one that you wore to the New Year's dance. Either one of those would serve for a wedding."

McDowell's cheeks grew pink. "I managed to ruin the red outfit," she confessed.

"Oh! Too bad. It was beautiful."

"And costly."

"Those are always the easiest to ruin."

"Yes, I certainly didn't have any difficulty doing it."

"I expect you'll want your brother to be at the ceremony. Adopted brother."

MacDowell frowned at the floor. "No."

"You don't? Weddings are usually a time when people want their family with them." Have the 2 of them argued? About what?

"I can't," she breathed.

"Smitty scheduled the wedding for 1700," Jane said. "Like you 2, Bugalu gets off duty at 1600."

"Actually, that's Bugsy's day off," the redhead returned.

"Then I don't see anything keeping him away, if you want him there."

The girl's forehead wrinkled, and her eyebrows lowered as she appeared to fight tears. "No, he'd never forgive me."

He wouldn't? Which 'he' is she talking about? "What do you mean? Bugalu doesn't want you to get married?"

MacDowell looked up in surprise. "No, apparently not," she admitted. "But actually, I was talking about Smit. Er, Smythe."

At this rate, it might take me all morning to figure out what's going on. "Why would Smythe object to Bugalu being there?"

"He doesn't believe that Bugs is my brother. He certainly wasn't happy to see me go to the movie with Bugs, and he's asked me not to see him anymore."

That's what I was afraid of. "He's jealous."

"Is that the problem? Well, it just seemed best to accede to his wishes. Maybe after we're married, he'll come to see that Bugalu really is a brother, not a boy friend."

Smitty suffering from rampant jealousy. Never thought I'd see it. But then, I never thought I'd see him get married. And how often does jealousy die down just because the people involved get married? This is not good. And it appears I may be counseling the wrong person. "Answer me one thing, lieutenant. Do you want to marry Smythe?"

Surprised, the girl gave a timid smile. "Of course I do. You were there when I accepted his proposal."

Which I skeptically thought he mentioned purely because of the position I found them in when I entered his office unannounced. "I can see that you get protégé status without having to marry him."

"You know, I'm not sure what all the fuss about that is. It means he's teaching me, and that's what Ivy told him that morning. That she had reached the end of what she could teach me, so he'd have to take over."

It's a little more complicated than that. He winds up teaching all his underlings, but with a protégé, the instruction is more... condensed. Continuous. "Why pick a wedding date so soon?"

McDowell shrugged. "Why wait?"

No, she doesn't know much about Fleet weddings. "You may have to. When 2 Fleet officers want to get married, they have to ask Headquarters for permission." That news has stunned her. "Smitty sent the paperwork in, but there's no telling if the response will get back in time for the wedding to take place on the date you selected."

MacDowell sighed in disappointment, then pushed her shoulders back. "Well, if we have to wait, we have to wait. At least it won't be me telling him we have to postpone."

She seems very accepting of whatever blocks get put in the path of this wedding. With the possible exception that she'd like Bugalu there. "Fine." Jane stood up, and MacDowell quickly did likewise. "I wanted to make sure there weren't any doubts or concerns on your mind. But I don't see anything major in your thoughts. If you start to have second thoughts or worries, feel free to come talk to me. Wedding day jitters can hit anyone as the big day approaches."

"Thank you, captain. I appreciate your taking the time. I wasn't sure I had handled all the details I needed to handle."

"You seem to be well on your way," Jane told her. "Dismissed."