There were unwritten rules to serving on a starship. Crew became family, family became life. There wasn't a thing that members of the bridge crew wouldn't do for one another.

And when one of them was falling down, it was up to the rest to pick them back up again. This included Ben. They'd agreed, he was a part of them. Even if he might not realize to what extent that went. Jane was the one to knock first, she was the one that leaped in when action needed taking. One look from stubborn jaw line to stubborn jaw line was enough to put them at a standstill before anything happened. That was where Sulu came in. Curling an arm around her Captain's waist and brushing that perfect blond hair back behind Jane's ear, even as she looked over to Ben.

"Did Pasha ever happen to mention just what the 'team cohesion training' missions consisted of?"

This sort of thing. A lot of this sort of thing.

They weren't there as a replacement, she was coming back, this was the company in the meantime. Even if it was just holding and being held, knowing that when you were down at your lowest and loneliest, there was literally someone there at your back.