Chance walked up to the door that was just down the hall from Sickbay.  He’d mentioned coming by after Karissa and her friend had left the day before, and he wanted to know if he was worried about nothing, or if there was cause for concern.  The chime rang when he got within range of Millie’s office.

“Come in!” Millie set down the kettle, turning towards the door.

He walked in when the door opened.  “Hey, you got a minute?  I’ve got something I wanna pass by you.”

Millie smiled. “Sure.” She gestured to the kettle. “Would you like a cup?”

He gave it a thought and nodded.  “What variety do we have today?”

Millie pulled out another cup. “It’s one of the Vulcan blends that Chief K’Naut recommended. Milk or sugar?”

“Just a small amount of sugar, thank you.”  He took a seat, waiting for her to finish the prep and get herself comfortable. 

Millie finished preparing the tea and brought both cups to the seating area, handing one to Chance. “What’s on your mind?”

Chance looked down into his cup, wondering if this was going to come across as overprotective.  “A few days ago Karissa came to me with a…friend…a young guy.  He needed some fixing up after a sports activity on the holodeck.  They were playing the one-on-one version of Parissi Squares, and he got a couple broken bones.  I think she was worried about Mom and Dad finding out.  She came to our quarters instead of Sickbay, and asked me not to say anything.  

“At the time, I didn’t see anything worrying.  I don’t know if she worried about getting in trouble, or getting teased for having a guy friend.  But later I thought about how I hadn’t seen her behave this way before she knew who exactly she is, and I wanted to know when to be concerned if she’s acting out more than she shou…no, more than is healthy.”

Millie nodded, cupping her teacup in both of her hands, savoring the radiating warmth. “I don’t think she’s had a history of trying to hide things in the past, even since she’s learned of her origin story.” She took a sip, looking up over the edge of her cup. “Has she made a habit of spending time with boys while her father was around?”

He thought for a moment, but ultimately shrugged.  “I wouldn’t know that much.  I am aware that she plays some sports, so I don’t know that there are enough kids on board to not have coed games.”  He gave the question more thought but didn’t have a more definite answer.  “But I can’t speak to more than that.”

“Your father can be a little intimidating.” She smirked, taking another sip. “If I were a teenage boy, and wanted to hang out with the Captain’s daughter, I’d probably wait until he was away from the ship–and would probably do something foolish trying to impress her.”

Chance took a drink of his tea, cup in both hands.  Her comment made him grin, though.  “That’s a fair guess,” he admitted.  “The other part of that scenario is her participation in a game known for how rough it is, and how common the injuries coming away from it are.  I’m not sure she’s participated in something that dangerous before.”

Millie nodded. “I don’t think I have to tell you about teenagers and their underdeveloped prefrontal cortexes, do I?” She smiled, setting her tea on the small table. “Are you going to tell your father what happened?”

He grinned again, “I’m gonna have my own here in a few years, so no, you don’t have to remind me.”  The grin faded away to a more serious, but still relaxed expression.  “I told her I wouldn’t lie to them, but I also wouldn’t volunteer the information.  And I did advise them to come clean when she could, unless she wanted it to look like more than it was.”

Millie nodded. “If I know Henry, it’s probably a good thing that he’s not here. Pretty sure he’ll turn a shade of purple we haven’t seen yet if he figures out the girls are starting to show interest in their fellow young crew members.”

Chance smiled behind his mug.  “I’d be inclined to break it to Mom, and let her handle him.”

“I might be jumping to conclusions, but a part of me suspects that one or both of them might have gotten in over their heads in a holodeck program they hoped might impress the other.” Millie gave a shrug. “But then, doing wildly overzealous things for someone they fancy seems to run in your family, doesn’t it?” She winked. 

Chance froze.  But only for a moment.  “I…wouldn’t know what you’re talking about,” he let an easy grin spread across his face, hoping he’d recovered in time.  It was hard to argue with her point.  “So, it sounds like you’re not too concerned about what I’ve seen.  But what would give us reason to worry?”

“This is the first time she’s done something like this, right?” Millie gave a reassuring smile. “In a way, this is a part of growing up. She’s certainly not the first kid on this ship to get themselves in a situation a bit over their head. The advantage to being here is that she has lots of role models to come to–and she chose to come to her big brother for help. And it sounds like she was relatively honest with you about what happened. All kids–even those who don’t come from a mirror universe–go through these kinds of learning experiences.” Millie reached out a gloved hand and placed it on Chance’s arm. “She seemed remorseful, didn’t she?”

He chuckled, “She felt horrible for having done it, and he was trying to take the blame.”

“I think that sounds like a normal teenage response to me. And she trusted you enough to come to you with the situation.” Mille gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. “I think we would be far more concerned if this was a pattern of behavior, or if she wasn’t coming to a trusted grownup for help.”

Millie gave a shrug. “Marcus did something similar a few weeks ago. Got himself stuck under the sofa while he was babysitting Lana. Instead of calling myself or Evelyn, they called Statzia for help–or, technically, Lana did. Marcus was wedged under the furniture and couldn’t get to the com. Statzia said they didn’t want to call either set of parents, because it was an accident and they didn’t want to get in trouble.” She smiled. “Apparently your wife was the first choice, but Marcus didn’t think she should be lifting furniture. But I’m glad they decided to ask for help, even if it wasn’t me they called.”

Chance had to laugh at the image of his youngest sibling stuck under the furniture.  “I’m grateful they called Statzia too.  So, I understand what you’re getting at, and I was starting to think that was probably the case.  But I won’t worry unless we see the same type of behavior over and over.

“Would you maybe feel better if I had a talk with her, too?”

“It couldn’t hurt,” he said with a nod.  “I just…I know Mom has thoughts in the back of her head, looking for any sign that Karissa isn’t coping well, so I wanted to help…keep an eye on things.”

Millie also nodded. “I’ll reach out and see if she’s open to talking about what happened. That way we can help her work through any feelings or self-doubt…and maybe help her to find some safer outlets for spending time with boys…at least, maybe ones with the safety protocols enabled.”

“Thanks,” Chance said before emptying his cup.  “I appreciate you hearing me out.

“Always.”