"Enter."

The doors parted on Admiral Paris' ready room, revealing Kathryn's mentor sitting at his desk. While he was dressed in civilian clothes, the air about him was just as stiff and formal as always.

"Admiral," Kathryn began.

"At ease, Kathryn." Kathryn? This was a social call? "Please, sit." She did as she was told and took a seat at his desk, confused. This meeting had come at his request, not hers, so it was a surprise to see him out of uniform. To dispense completely with protocol-what was going on?

"How are you feeling, sir?" she asked, hesitant to broach the subject.

"Alright, all things considering." This did not mean well,she knew, but she didn't press further. He stopped, picked up one of the pictures on his desk, stared at it for a moment, and replaced it. His eyes met hers. They'd lost the glazed look they'd had a few days before, but their brightness was still gone.

"Kathryn, we need to talk about what's next. Let me get you up to speed. At the all-hands briefing this afternoon you'll be informed that our mission is being cut short. What's actually happening is that everyone who was involved in the Urtea II incident is being re-issued orders to return to Starfleet HQ immediately for post-capture debriefing. You're not familiar with the process, but in case this debriefing is a term that happens to also mean therapy, Kathryn. I expect you to do it."

So they were being recalled from their mission, just as Justin had predicted. The mandatory therapy part too was just as Justin had predicted. She wasn't sure if this was a relief or a disappointment. "I…understand, sir," she said.

He sat back. "I expected you to fight me about this."

"Lieutenant Tighe has convinced me there's value in it."

"I'm glad you were able to have that conversation, difficult for the both of you as I'm sure it must've been." He took a deep breath that was visible and audible. "There's more, Kathryn. I've been placed on long-term medical leave. They'll be announcing this afternoon that Captain Altira from Ops will be taking my post for our month-long journey to DS7. She'll be in command for the future."

"What about our research?"

"I'm in no condition to lead an expedition, Kathryn."

She swallowed hard. This was a crushing blow even though she'd seen it coming.

"Understood, sir."

"In the meantime, this should have some unexpected advantages for you. It should give you plenty of time to process your data and write a few papers. You're on a reduced duty schedule until we make it home. I, for one, could use the distraction of writing a paper. But this change in plans also means that I can remove you from Lieutenant Tighe's chain of command."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. "That's not necessary, sir. I think we've worked out our differences."

He smiled, weakly, but it was still a smile. "Necessary, no. Beneficial for you both, yes." Confusion continued to play out on her face while that weak smile stayed on his. "You forget that I have two nearly adult daughters, Kathryn. I know what love looks like. With our mission complete, there's no reason for me to stand in your way."

Her jaw dropped open and she spoke without thinking. "How did you—"

"You're both happy, Kathryn."

She snapped her mouth shut. That knowing smile still tugged at the corner of the Admiral's lips. He stood up and turned to look out at the stars streaking by, hands clasped behind his back.

"I never told you how I met him. Very similar situation to you, I might say. A decade and a half ago, when I was a Captain and still teaching, I was scouting in the outer territories for Starfleet Academy. Klatus Prime was in one of those territories. I resented the whole thing, hated being sent out into the middle of nowhere.

"I'd been sent to conduct the in-person interviews and exams for all Academy candidates. When I arrived, I noticed there was one person in the room who wasn't on the list."

"Justin," she interjected.

The Admiral continued looking out the window, hands clasped behind his back, gazing at some invisible point in the distance. "He stayed there the whole day, silently watching people come and go. At the end of the first day I finally asked him who he was and what he was doing there."

"What did he say?"

The Admiral turned, hung his head and chuckled in memory before looking back up at her. "He politely introduced himself. Presented me a PADD with his test and aptitude scores. And then demanded to be considered for acceptance. He was 15."

Kathryn blinked. No Human got into the Academy at that age. Seventeen, sure. Sixteen was considered a limit that was broken in the exceptional cases of supreme physical, emotional and intellectual maturity; superfit geniuses, in other words. Acceptance at age 15 was unheard of.

He turned his head and looked at her, his smile conveying a hint of amusement now. "Does this history sound familiar, Kathryn? A certain Cadet marching into my office, demanding that I take up my Professor's mantle again to supervise not her senior but her junior thesis, no less?"

Now it was her turn to laugh and hang her head in self-effacing humor. "I'm beginning to understand your motivations for having me work with him, yes, Admiral." He nodded, and turned back to the window again.

"You two are cut from the same cloth. Very different scissors, though, I might add." Again, silence settled between them. It was like he was trying to tell her something but didn't want to.

"Sir, if I may, is there a reason you brought me here? I don't think it was to say 'I told you so' now that the cat's out of the bag that Lieutenant Tighe and I are involved.'"

"No, it's not, Kathryn." At this point, he swung around and sat down in his chair. "I don't know when I'm going to be able to return to duty again. You should be able to in a few months. At that point, if you choose to pursue command, I will gladly sponsor you in the post-graduate training program. Know that you can contact me at any time about it and I'll get you in."

"Thank you, sir."

"There is something else, and at this point I risk crossing the line between professional and personal. You're going to be faced with a lot of choices in the next few months, and the coming years. Some of them aren't going to feel like choices." His voice had a foreboding quality to it. What in the world was he trying to tell her?

"I'm not sure what you're saying, sir."

He leaned forward on the desk and folded his hands, then unclasped them and rested his palms gently on the desk. "Kathryn, your father's career took a toll on your family. My wife, my children—they all pay a price as a result of my sacrifices. And yet we all benefit, though sometimes in very intangible ways. We had to pick what was important to us. As individuals. As a couple. As a family. There is no such thing as balance, Kathryn. It doesn't exist. But you know that already."

What in the world did this have to do with her, she wondered?

"Forgive me, sir, but it almost sounds like you're trying to talk me out of command."

He shook his head. "Quite the contrary. But I know you better than to try to convince you to do anything. All I can do is plant a seed in your mind. What's I'm trying to do is give you permission to forge ahead, but to impart you with the confidence to ease up on the ambition on occasion."

It was all she could do not to laugh out loud at his ridiculous suggestion. "Excuse me, sir?"

"Oh, I never said to stop being stubborn about your goals. But…don't forget take time to look around, Kathryn. You'll be in this chair before you know it."

Kathryn was utterly confused. Admiral Paris was not known for being obtuse like this. The trauma of the previous week had obviously had a disturbing effect. She was glad he'd been given medical leave. Given that, it didn't seem right to prod. Best to just express her gratitude and move on.

"Admiral, I appreciate the encouragement."

"You have no idea why I'm getting all philosophical like this, do you?"

"Absolutely none, sir."

"Justin received new orders this morning. It's not appropriate for me to go into details; he'll have to tell you himself. You face your own choice. This may be the first time you're taking another person's needs into account when making a major life decision, and that's never easy.

"I just wanted you to know…I'm here to support you both, Kathryn. Professionally as well as personally. Remember not just what's important to you, but who is important to you, and know that it's okay to ease up on the gas occasionally. I told him as much as well."

She nodded, feeling suddenly incredibly self-conscious, as if he had her under a microscope. "Thank you, sir. Will that be all?"

"Call me Owen, Kathryn. It's going to be a long month until we're home."

"Yes, sir. I mean, thank you, Owen." She opened her mouth to ask if she was dismissed, then stopped, remembering something.

"Oh, sir? Owen," she corrected. Rank was a sticky thing.

"Hm?"

"Before I go, may I be so bold as to ask how your first meeting with Lieutenant Tighe ended?"

"I convinced Starfleet Academy to accept him early, albeit at age 17. His physical and intellectual aptitude was off the charts, as you well know. In the meantime, the best I was able to do for those two years was to advise him remotely. I took a more active role once he got to Earth. Perhaps he'll tell you more about it."

"Thank you, Owen."

"Give Justin my best." And with that, she said good bye and turned out of the room. In the corridor, it took everything she had not to run straight to Justin's quarters.