Jaxon picked up a tray and took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of something wonderful.

“I think it might be some type of pasta.” Aria said. “Maybe lasagna or spaghetti.” She hoped she was right. One could never go wrong with Italian food.

Jaxon tried to see ahead but there were too many in front of them. “Hard to tell.” He sighed. “I have a feeling you are right. Whatever it is, it smells really good!” Jaxon had learned to appreciate food. He had finally after some counseling gotten his appetite back.

As they moved forward, Aria saw someone pass with a tray and spoke. “I believe it is chicken Parmesan.” She looked at Jaxon, knowing he was allergic to the cheese. Perhaps there is an alternate entree.”

Jaxon was next in line when Rosa came over

and handed him a plate. “I made this special for you Lieutenant Thorne.” She smiled at the look of surprise on his face. “I asked for a list of allergies or foods that crew could not eat.” She explained.

“Thank you, Chef.” Jaxon said sincerely. “You didn’t have to do this.” He wasn’t one to ask for special circumstances. He would have just gotten a replicated meal. “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble for me.”

“I would not in good conscious have a good homemade meal while one of the crew had to suffer with that poor excuse for dinner.” Rosa declared. “I was not raised that way.”

“Thank you.” Jaxon said again as he took the tray. He stopped to look at the dessert. It looked like peach turnovers but they were shaped different. “What are those?” He asked with interest.

“Empanadas.” Rosa called out. “There are peach and cherry.”

“Choices, choices!” Jaxon declared. He smiled and took one of each and headed to find a table.

“Chef saw you!” Aria said with a grin. “I would not put it past her to let you have it. No one messes with her or her kitchen.”

“I am growing man.” Jaxon said with a smile as he sat down. He looked at his plate and shook his head. “I still can’t believe what she did.”

“Chef Rosa is the first chef I’ve ever known to have looked into health issues for crew.” Aria

said. “From a medical standpoint that should be required on all ships.”

Aria took a bite of her food. She looked over at Jaxon and saw him staring at her. “What?” She said with a frown. “Am so wearing my food or something?”

“Ah…no.” Jaxon shook his head. “I was just thinking.” He had almost asked her about their time on the Wolverine but he changed his mind. He did not want to open old wounds for her if she had put it behind her.

“A penny for your thoughts.” Ara said after a moment. “We are friends, you know you can talk to me. I won’t say anything to anyone. I know how to keep things quiet, it is my job after all.”

Jaxon took a drink from his glass and thought for a moment. “I want to ask you something but I don’t want to upset you.”

Aria thought for a moment he was going to ask her out on a date and she knew that would be awkward. They were friends. She could never look at them that way, he was more like the pesky brother. “I can’t promise you it won’t but I still would like to hear it.”

She was curious now. Aria hated secrets.

Jaxon was moving his fork around his plate, playing with his food when he finally dropped it and looked over at her. “How did you get over what happened on the SS Wolverine?” He finally asked her, the words coming out in a rush.

Aria sat back, she had not imagined that was what he was going to say. At first she wasn’t quite certain how to answer him, it was not an easy answer.

“I should not have asked.” Jaxon said, feeling uncomfortable. “I…”

“It is okay.” Aria interrupted him quietly. “I’m sorry you blindsided me for a moment. I had not expected that.” She looked in his eyes. “What makes you think I got over it?”

“You moved foreward.” Jaxon explained. “And haven’t seemed upset. I thought you were not as bothered about it.”

“I went to see Lieutenant Lox a couple days after we returned.” Aria explained. “I recognized the signs of an issue and knew I had to do something quickly.” She paused. “Have you been having issues?”

“I have.” Jaxon said with a nod. “But it took me a while longer to realize I couldn’t self cure.” He shook his head. “I was having bad nightmares.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself.” Aria said softly. “Medical and counseling are intertwined. It was easy for me to get help.” She paused for a moment. “It helps to talk about it, especially with others who went through the same experience. Perhaps we can get everyone together and see how each other are doing.”

“I don’t know.” Jaxon said curiously. “It was one thing to talk to her but in a group. That kind of exposure was terrifying.

“It is just a thought.” Aria said with a small smile. “And the others may not even want to. But if any of them were having issues wouldn’t you want to try and help them?”

“Yes.” Jaxon said after a moment. “It is hard though, people look at me differently as the head of security. They might not feel the same.”

“What about me?” Aria said with a smile. “I am the doctor. No one wants to think that we may need help. We are supposed to have all the answers after all,”

Jaxon thought about what she said. “Maybe we could try it.” He replied quietly. “Talking about it with someone else has helped me a lot.”

“It is important to remember that we all don’t handle things the same.” Aria murmured. “It’s possible that at least one of us moved forward without any issues. Some cope differently than others.”

“That makes sense.” Jaxon nodded. “Maybe you could send out a message and see if anyone wants to.”

“If not.” Aria said quietly. “I am here for you and so don’t mind talking about it. The therapy helped me a lot but it means a little more when it’s someone who went through it with you.”

Jaxon felt better just hearing her say that. “It does.” He continued quickly. “Lieutenant Lox had been super helpful, I don’t know what I would have done without her to talk to. Not only did she listen, but she also gave me tools, things I could do on my own that helped.” He paused. “But she wasn’t there.”

“I will send out a message to everyone.” Aria said. “Just an informal reach out.” She smiled at him. “Let’s plan something for Friday night. We can meet in the crew lounge.”

Jaxon felt really good about this. He was doing much better going to therapy. Lieutenant Lox was going to be happy when she heard about this. She had suggested that he talk to the others and see how they were doing. “It is a plan.” He  said in agreement.

Aria looked across the room and saw Chef Rosa heading towards them. “Remember when I warned you about taking two desserts?”

“Yeah?” Jaxon said. “What about it?”

“I think you are about to pay the piper.” Ariasaid with a laugh. Jaxon looked over his shoulder and gave the cook his winning smile. Aria just shook her head and laughed. It had felt good to talk, they all were going to be okay.