Star Trek Imagines

[ENT] Jonathan Archer - We'll Be Alright

A/N: mentions of anxiety and panic attacks, feel free to skip if this makes you uncomfortable! :)

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Work was never something that you had allowed yourself to get worked up over, nor was it something that you believed you should put before your own mental health. Though, that being said, some days on the Enterprise really did test you. Your anxiety was bad, you'd had it since you were a child, but luckily you hadn't experienced a serious panic attack in a couple of years; not a serious one, at least.

Most days were slow, and rather uneventful; maybe a fight between a couple of ensigns here and there to tide the day over. However, some days were a little more frantic than others, as it seemed that your Captain had a knack for running into hostile beings that were hell bent on destroying your ship. Despite it all, you were proud to have been assigned a station aboard the ship.

Jonathan Archer was a wonderful man, and you knew he was the best man to lead this mission. You were proud to be a part of his crew, however tough it may be from time to time. He was kind, at least to you, and always stopped to talk to you where he could. It didn't take long for the two of you to become close, and for him to become the person you called upon most when you needed a shoulder to cry on, or just to talk and rant, and he was more than happy to oblige.

As of late, you'd felt more and more stressed, and your anxiety was playing up a lot because of it. The last thing you wanted was to have a panic attack while you had so much work to do, not to mention the explaining and awkwardness it would need. Nobody except Jonathan knew of your anxiety, nor did they know just how bad it could get. You couldn't focus properly on your work through trying to keep calm over the said work. Turning back to it, you forced yourself to continue writing.

"Hey, will I see you tonight for a chat and a drink?" The voice of your captain broke you from your paper, and you looked up and smiled, rather halfheartedly; he'd noticed.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world" you replied, earning a small smirk from Jonathan, though there was worry in his eyes you had missed, being preoccupied with coming across as polite. With a wink and a small hug, he was gone as quickly as he appeared, and you were left looking forward to your night in with him. 

The thoughts of spending some time with Jonathan for the first time in what felt like a millennium wasn't enough to distract you from the fact you were behind quite drastically on your work. You'd been sick the week before, and lost out on a couple of days, leaving your file backed up. One half of your brain was telling you not to go, to stay and work, but the other half was telling you not to let Jonathan down.

It was seven o'clock, and you'd finished your shift, your senior officer telling you to lay off for the night despite your protests. The more time had dragged towards the end of your shift, the more the feeling of dread crept up on you. You hadn't finished what you needed to and you were worried your superior might pull you on it and get angry. Your felt sick, and rushed to your toilet to throw up. Your anxiety hadn't been this bad in years, and you weren't sure what was going on, though you could sense the panic rising. You'd promised never to let work take over you, but for what ever reason, that had gone out of the window.

Jonathan was worried; it was half even and you still hadn't showed. He made a decision and went to your quarters in the hopes of finding you there. He'd found you there, after overriding your door lock, though he didn't expect to find you as he did.

You were sat down on your couch, with your head in your lap, and Jonathan could hear your breathing, heavy and out of sync, from as far away as the door. He ran to you and knelt down; you jumped at his hands on your knees, clearly unaware he'd entered.

"Hey, it's alright, Y/N, just me." Jonathan's voice was quiet and soft, knowing you didn't need a raised voice right now. "I'm here, is everything alright?" 

"I-I don't know.." you whispered into your legs, still refusing to lift it for fear of him seeing you crying. He said nothing, but ran his hand through your hair to comfort you. Your breathing became worse and Jonathan could tell you were having a bad panic attack.

"Look at me, lift your head up, Y/N." Reluctantly, but knowing deep down he cared, you did as he asked, and he cupped your face with his hands and wiped your tears away. "Whatever this is, we'll get through it. You'll be okay. Here, count to ten with me."  His hands dropped to your lap as he took your hands in his.

It wasn't a request, more that he knew it would calm you down. As he began, you joined in with him, breathing and counting along with him. Slowly but surely, you had calmed down, your breathing regulated, and your tears gradually stopped. Jonathan was still knelt in front of you, hands on your legs as he stopped counting.

"Y/N, is everything alright?" His question was sincere, concern lacing his voice which was still low. You looked at him, eyes still teary and cheek stained red. 

"I had a lot of work I haven't finished, and I guess it just got the better of me.." you trailed off, looking down at your lap. You heard him chuckle a little, and you stared at him; he was looking at you with care.

"Oh, Y/N, work? There's far more important things in life than work, I'm sure you'll catch up with it and it will be as high in quality as always. You never fail with your write ups, and I don't believe it's worth this. Please don't worry about it to the point you get like this, problems like that can be sorted easily." 

You sat and pondered his words before throwing your arms around his neck, burying your face in his neck. He caught you and wrapped one arm around your waist and one stroked the back of your head. You stayed like that for a while, before you pulled back to look at him.

"Thank you, Jonathan," you whispered, your voice not fully back to normal yet. "You've always been there for me, I'm grateful for you." He smiled.

"You don't have to thank me, I never want you to have to face that alone again. Promise me you'll always talk to me when things get too much? You're never alone, remember that. There's always someone out there willing to help. We'll be alright. Now promise me." He shot you a small smirk and a wink.

"I promise."

He kissed the top of your head, and you stared up at him. Your eyes connected, and never had you been looked at with so much love and care. Instinctively, your hand came to rest at the back of his neck, and he moved so he was sat fully on the floor with you in his arms. You glanced down at his lips for a brief moment, but it was enough that he noticed. Leaning forwards, Jonathan pressed his lips to yours lightly, as though you might break. You kissed him back with just as much love.

Pulling back, neither of you could say anything, but the smiles on your faces said it all.

"Is there anything else I can do to help?" he asked, resting his forehead against yours. You traced his jaw with your fingers.

"Stay?"

"Not even a question, darling. Of course."

And so, he stayed.

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A/N: Thank you for reading! I kinda hate this, but I hope you all enjoy it! :)x