Can't Cope
Can't Cope
Summary: Katherine talks to Captain Legacy about her lack of coping skills. Doctor Pike happens upon them in mid-conversation.
Date: PHD 192 (10-27-09)
Related Logs: None
Players:
Pike..Legacy..Kitty..

Naval Offices

Ahhh, the Naval Offices. They're actually quiet tonight - no one's here except Thea. A couple officers were grumbling about being thrown out, but hey, free time for them! Thea's sitting at her desk, wearing her off-duties, folders open in front of her. It looks like she just sat down.

There's a knock and then Kitty comes in, looking like she's expecting the guillotine or something, her face pale, eyes slightly wide. "Sir?" She is pretty sure she knows what this is about as Matto and her had discussed it before, but she's fairly scared which she does nothing to hide from the Captain.

Thea looks up and offers the woman a small smile. Yep, she knows what it's about. And she knows that Kitty knows. "Grab a seat, Crybaby. Seems like you and I need to have a chat." She settles back in her seat, one hand going for the cup of coffee.

Kitty sits down and nods, her gaze drifting between Thea's mug and her face, unable to hold her eyes to those of her superior officer's, looking ashamed. "Yeah, I think you're right, sir." A deep breath in is then exhaled slowly, an attempt to calm herself helping slightly. "Kissy feels horrible for having to come with you. I wish he didn't feel like he does. It's his responsibility and his duty and…dammit, sir. Sorry."

"So why don't you start at the beginning, Kitty," she tells the woman quietly and gently. Yes, Thea's being gentle tonight. Must be thanks to the amounts of coffee consumed recently.

"I don't know where to start," Kitty admits readily. "I don't know what's going on. Don't know why I get so rattled during combat but I do. All I am certain of is that I am a liability to Lieutenant Matto and he can't hold my hand anymore." Pausing, she looks at Thea and watches, just taking in her reaction.

The Captain's response is, well, rather simple. "Why," she asks quietly. And it's clear what she's asking that question in reference to. Thea remains otherwise quiet, studying Kitty across the desk.

Kitty purses her lips before she asks softly "Why can't the Lieutenant keep holding my hand, sir," needing a bit of clarification before answering.

"Why are you a liability," Thea clarifies, tilting her head slightly to the left. "We both know why Lieutenant Matto can't keep holding your hand. The nearly destroyed reason is sitting on the Hangar Deck undergoing repairs. Deck should be able to get the blood stains out of the upholstery."

"That's it right there, isn't it, sir?" She tilts her head to the side, indicating the same hangar bay Thea just mentioned and the Raptor as a result. "If I am allowed to continue flying we might not make it back. I am a distraction and that's something Matto doesn't need…" Kitty snorts at herself. "I don't know what else to say, sir. I truly don't."

Thea dips her head. "I rather figured that out for myself," she replies, tone just a touch dry. "The obvious is one of those things that doesn't need to be restated." That's allowed to sink in. "My question is why is that happening. I want to know the reason for it."
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Kitty shrugs. "That's the part I don't know. I can't really tell. It could be a fear of dying or a fear of not being here for my brother…it could be anything but what? I have no clue, sir." Not having a definite answer for the Captain is frustrating and she's on the verge of tears as a result, tears she manages to keep from falling.

"Of course I do," Kitty says with no hesitation. "But can I stay? That's the rub of it all, isn't it?" Kitty's sitting in front of the desk with Thea sitting on the other side with the former of the two looking like she's having to fight to keep from crying.

Thea is seated at her desk in her off duties, leaning back as she studies Kitty from across the expanse. "I'm not sure you want it," she says after a moment, shaking her head. "You're not willing to tell me what your problem is. I suspect that's where we need to start. I'm not going to make a decision right now, however. That will come after you see the psyche and she determines your fitness for duty."

Kitty looks at Thea. "Thought that the obvious didn't need to be restated, sir?" Thea pushed a bit too far and is finally getting the response she has been looking for but it's not offered in a timid tone, Kitty now angered. "I am scared of the frakking, godsdamned Cylons! I am scared and I don't know how to cope with it." Now out of her system, the ECO leans forward, grasping the edge of her desk. "Sorry for yelling." The rest of what had been said by the Captain gets a nod but Kitty's quiet, falling silent as she notices they're no longer alone.

Thea glances over at Pike and offers a small smile and a shake of her head before she looks back to Kitty. A brow goes up ever so slightly. "So you scream like a godsdamned little girl and nearly get a good man killed, not to mention yourself," Thea asks in a quiet tone, brow going up slightly. "I'm afraid your only damned options with dealing with the Cylons are to put your big girl panties on or to go hide your ass in the kitchens and spend the rest of your days peeling potatoes rather than peeling your friends off what they just killed." The cup gets put down and Thea leans forward slightly. "You need to learn how to cope, and fast. I don't have the time or resources to waste on someone who can't handle her job. You need to decide what you want and get help for getting it and soon."

Pike quietly make her way over to her desk, thankfully nowhere near the conversation taking place and sets her clipboard down before taking a seat in the chair. Yes, she's ranking in the room, but she knows better than to stick her nose in the business of another shipboard department.

"I do not scream, sir. As for the frakking help, I'll go and talk to the shrink." Kitty eyes the other woman coolly for a moment before she calms and she shrugs. "Captain, I've never once meant to even be in a situation like this. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't here and…and that's not my pointing an accusing finger at you because I'm not blaming you. I'm just trying to explain how I feel and what's going on." She's risking quite a bit by talking out like she is, Kitty knowing how Thea feels about when people speak without being given leave to do so, but there she is, pouring her heart out to her and to Pike as well as she does nothing to keep her voice low. "You put your faith in me by bringing me here and I realize that. And I'm trying, sir. I am trying very hard. It's why I haven't given up and asked for a transfer to some other command. But something's not clicking. I just can't…can't figure it out by myself."

Thea continues to study Kitty for a time, then dips her head, once. "There's nothing more I can do until you see the psyche," she says quietly. "For what it's worth, I don't want to lose you. You're a -good- officer and you'd be wasted in the kitchen." Since, apparently, the kitchen is where Kitty's bound for if she leaves the Wing. "You're off the line indefinitely, but the CAG wants this figured out soon. In peace time, we'd be able to give you the time you need. But this is war." Her expression softens a little. "You can do this, Kitty. I have faith in you."

Pike simply steeples her fingers at her desk and reads over the paperwork attached to the clipboard, trying very hard not to intrude on an obvious Air Wing matter.

"The kitchen?" Kitty didn't think about that as she had thought that she'd go to CIC or something but that has her floored. Gobsmacked, even. "At least it isn't garbage detail," she sighs to herself. It takes a moment but Kitty shakes it off and she stands. "I will make an appointment now, sir. Is there anything else I need to do?"

"Get some rest," Thea tells her quietly. "And think long and hard about what you want versus what this ship needs. I have faith in you, Kitty. You need to have it in me, in your wing, and most of all, in yourself." The cup is put down. "You're dismissed."

"Thank you, sir." Kitty snaps a salute to the Captain which she then directs to Pike as she pivots by her waist, it held for as long as she feels is proper and then exits the office, leaving the others to go about whatever they might need to attend to.

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