Understanding the Misunderstanding

Posted on Tue Jun 16th, 2020 @ 5:11pm by Tristan & Karen Dawson MD

Mission: The Milk Run
Location: Infirmary
Timeline: Day 3 - evening - about an hour after "When No Means Yes, but No One Knows"

Thirst had set in as Tristan awoke from a nap he wasn't expecting to take. He yawned as he pulled the headphones from his ears and slipped them back into their charging case. He wasn't sure why, but he always seemed to get sleepy when he listened to Better the Republic. Some might think that an insult about the band that hailed from Ariel, but Tristan hoped that it might be considered a compliment that their powerful lyrics were set to such soothing symphonic rock music.

He licked his lips, feeling their rough exterior over the skin of his tongue. He was parched and while he didn't exactly want to get dressed, he needed water soon.

After dressing and tip-toeing to the kitchen for a glass of water, Tristan wandered a little on his way back to his bunk. He still hadn't seen a lot of the ship. So far, no one really let him go towards the forward end, but he was fine staying in the area he was allowed to go. On his way back, he noticed the lights were on in the small medical bay. He'd never seen it, despite the Doctor asking him to stop by before his first shift the day before. Hopefully, she wasn't mad that he'd forgotten.

He walked over to the doorway, peeking his head in to see who was there. "Doctor Dawson?" he asked.

"You can call me Karen," the doc insisted as she turned to face him. She had been going through some files on her medical Cortex.

A sign had been posted outside that read, No Weapons Beyond This Point. Karen herself was wearing her scrubs with her white half-length labcoat.

When Karen looked over Tristan, she got the impression something was a bit off. Rather than intrude, she started her questions off with something harmless.

"What can I do for you, Tristan?" she asked warmly and stated his name in such a manner that implied he was a respected equal.

“I was hoping I could talk to you about something...” he said, stepping into the room further. “Something that happened.”

Karen pointed to the stool, which doctor's normally sat in. "Have a seat then. I'm all ears," she replied with a humble smile.

Tristan padded across the room to the seat and sat down, twirling slightly from side to side. "Something happened yesterday morning and I think I messed everything up."

Wow, what a vague sentence. Karen had no idea which way to steer the conversation. And maybe that was the point. Tristan likely needed to vent. So she nodded with sympathy and walked to the door.

First, she closed, but not locked it, then she lowered the blinds in all the windows in case their curious first mate happened by.

"Well... No one is likely to hear or see you in here if you wanna talk 'bout it," Karen prodded gently.

The young man took a deep breath, resting his hands on his knees. "I had sex for the first time yesterday. It was with Jacob and while it was slightly uncomfortable at first, I liked it a lot. But I don't know if he likes me."

What Karen got out of that were physical discomfort and emotional turmoil. Tristan was clearly old enough to know about sex in general, so she decided to take on the latter issue first.

"If drugs or alcohol weren't involved, then I'd say he likes you," Karen answered with a knowing smile. "He's a companion. They like sex. And they choose their partners wisely to have sex with. So on some level, he is attracted to you."

Karen began to formulate what happened, and so far, she doubted crew fucking each other was the cause of all the chatter and yelling going on lately.

"Females tend to describe how we feel, whereas males typically show their affection through action," Karen went on to say. "Companions are trained to articulate affection through both methods."

This made Tristan smile. "I guess I didn't think of it that way." Tristan shrugged, "Captain Loxley didn't seem to like it when he heard about it."

"Alden could care less about who people date, so long as it doesn't interfere with our jobs," Karen informed, then leaned against the counter. Something was off, indeed. "There must have been something about the encounter you told him, that caused his feathers to ruffle."

"I just told him the truth," he said.

"So what did you say, if you don't mind my asking?" Karen asked respectfully. Sexual encounters were not something she delved in. It was a component she did not see as necessary in relationships.

Tristan shrugged, "I told him that it happened. I told him I felt ashamed and embarrassed and that I was keeping my distance for a bit," he said. "Oh and he asked if Jacob hurt me, which I wasn't expecting. I told him that yea it hurt but I think it was supposed to."

Karen facepalmed hard with her right hand. Now she began to understand what all the fuss was about.

"So..." the doctor began with a dismayed shake of her head. "You essentially have two issues... The first is that because Alden jumped to conclusions, he thinks Jacob molested or raped you - which is, in some way, a good thing because he thought he needed to protect you. So that's a pretty big misunderstanding that needs sorting."

This ship was going to cause constant stress migraines for her, she was sure of it.

"He thought what?" Tristan asked, springing to his feet. "I didn't say that, though!"

"True... But you did tell him, very vaguely, that your experience was supposed to hurt," Karen supplied and pried ever gentler. "I'm guessin' it was your first time with that area being touched like that and Alden had no idea - not that it's his business to know that. But..."

Karen gave a relaxed sigh, her shoulders drooped. "Well... Context is everything. He didn't know. He just knows you were in pain and Jacob said it was supposed to hurt. So going on that alone... How would you interpret information like that from a friend?"

Tristan's shoulders slumped as he realized what had happened. "Oh, shit," he said, his voice sounding defeated. "I should tell him, I should clear this up before he gets upset with Jacob."

"That's problem number 1," Karen reminded him. "Problem 2, is you need to figure out how far you feel you want to go with Jacob - being friend, lover, partner... Because for him, sex is part of his job. Sex with other people... And this issue may not be something to pursue just yet, but you should at least consider his profession, his cost of living in that profession, and if you can or cannot cope with it - should you want to have a more serious relationship with him."

This was something Tristan hadn't considered. How far exactly did he want this to go with Jacob? "I'm not sure," he finally said, realizing that he'd been standing there in silence for a moment. "I honestly didn't consider it. But if he loved me, he wouldn't keep having sex with other people, would he?"

This was one of the weirdest birds and bees stories she had found herself part of. First explaining medically, gay coupling, now the asexual component of her lifestyle.

"I've been with men and women in an attempt to fill a void, during a time where violence was all around me. Touch of a warm body was a distraction from that chaos," Karen started. All the while she tried not to let that uncomfortable feeling creep in her voice. "...And in that time I learned Sex is not exclusive to Love... When you find that special person, it is going to be someone that supports you. Cares for you. Stands by you thick and thin.

"You can love someone without ever fucking their gorram brains out," Karen continued. "But Jacob? He's a man that needs both sexual and spiritual attraction to someone... Love might be too strong a word for two men that just met. But suppose for a moment we look at theoretical... Yeah, he could love you, but he makes his money as a companion. If you become serious, he'd be your breadwinner in spades. Asking him to no longer have the career he enjoys would make life harsh on both of you, later down the road."

"But I'm not a customer," Tristan said. "If he had sex with me, it must mean he loves me, right?"

"Love and Sex aren't exclusive to each other," Karen reminded him. "But I do think he is highly attracted to you... When you two can know everything that makes the other whole, and you know without a doubt you can't breath without the other, then in my eyes, what you have is a shared love of each other."

Tristan nodded as he walked towards the door, "I have to learn about him so he'll love me." Another nod. "Got it. And I'll talk to the Captain and clear up the confusion. I would hate for him to be mad at Jacob for something that didn't happen."

"You're a good kid," Karen confessed. "Whatever else, I hope to see big things from you, soon as you are able to plot a clear path."

Tristan smiled at the woman. "I don't know what I'd do without you," he said as he turned and walked out of the room.