A/N: Apologies for the error before. I've amended it and we should be ready to roll. So, enjoy this first chapter. (Again... sorry...)
STARFLEET ACADEMY: 1200hrs:-
Four years. Eva had spent four long years training and working for this moment. Becoming a doctor had always been her main goal. Well, that and climbing a mountain. Looking out into the large crowd, Eva smiled brightly as she saw her father sitting in the first row; his smile wider than anybody else's. The Brit was saddened however, Bones and the rest of her Enterprise 'buddies' weren't able to attend. But she knew they had good reason, they always did. Glancing back towards her fellow classmates, the blonde could see the anticipation building in their young eyes. In the corner of her blue eyes, sat Eva's roommate and closest friend, Katia. She, however, was sat on the opposite side of the stage; furthest away from Admiral Marcus, the man who was currently speaking. Eva and Katia had spent a great deal of time together. They'd done everything from study to sneak into the over-18 bars off-campus. It was fair to say, Eva would've been lost without her and vice-versa. Admiral Marcus, who was beginning to sound like a frightful bore, began to call out each Cadet and the ship they'd be assigned to. First, Katia was up. She rose from her seat gracefully, giving the boy next her a saucy wink in the process. Marcus turned to Katia and gave her a crooked grin.
"Katie Roberta Thomas. Assigned to the U.S.S Olivier." Katia shook the Admiral's hand and made her way off the stage. Next was another of Eva's friends, William Harrison. William had once told Eva that he'd wanted to become an engineer. Where as Katia wanted to enter into linguistics, a much-less common subject. Swiftly, William saddled up to Admiral Marcus and slowly awaited his results.
"William Harrison. Assigned to the U.S.S Olivier." The crowd let out a massive cheer as William went to join Katia off-stage. Eva pushed back a wisp of blonde hair and smiled at the pair. In return she was awarded with a cheerful 'thumbs-up'. Time soon passed and Eva's turn suddenly came around. Standing up carefully, she looked over to her father and smiled. Admiral Pike returned the smile and watched as his daughter moved closer to the head of Starfleet. Taking a deep breath, she came face to face with the ageing Admiral. Eva closed her eyes carefully and took another several breaths.
"Dr. Evangeline Maria Pike. Assigned to the U.S.S Enterprise."
A gasp escaped the large audience. Eva too, stood there in complete shock. The Enterprise? Shaking away her trance, Eva relieved herself from the stage and headed towards Katia and William; both staring at her in complete awe. William engulfed the blonde into a large hug and Katia did the same.
"The Enterprise? Jesus Eva... Who did you have to sleep with to score this?" William asked, sending a cheeky wink her way. Katia slapped her boyfriends arm and pulled Eva into a bone-crushing hug.
"Don't you listen to him Eva. I'm extremely proud of you and I know that your father is even prouder." A small tear cascaded down Eva's cheek and she slowly retracted herself from the hug.
"I know. Thank you." She said slowly, doing her best not to choke onto the forthcoming tears. "Now, I'll meet you both for drinks later on?" Both William and Katia nodded before bidding a final farewell. Watching after them with weary eyes, Eva failed notice another presence creep up behind. A cough echoed around, causing the young doctor to turn sharply. Eva grinned widely as she saw her father leaning on his walking-stick. Quickly, she ran into his arms and in turn, he wrapped his daughter up into a hug.
"Words cannot describe how proud I am. Your mother would've loved to of seen this. She'd be just as proud." He said, a single tear escaping his blue eyes. Tears also began to escape my own as they continued their embrace. Eva nodded, pulling away and leading her father away from the event.
"Thanks Dad." She said softly. " Did you know about the Enterprise?"
Christopher stayed silent, confirming her original thoughts. This made Eva break out into a smile and shake her head.
"What?" He asked innocently. The pair shared a smile and started in the direction of the nearest coffee shop. The Starfleet Campus held many student essentials: Shops, cafes, bars etc... Sandy's Cafe was the Campus' biggest coffee retailer and often, you had to battle to get a cup of coffee. But thankfully for Eva, her father was the brilliant Admiral Pike and that meant people would move. Seating themselves in the corner of Sandy's, both ordered their drinks and sat back. Eva began to stare out of the window, admiring the city above her; San Francisco had always intrigued her. Her father leaned back into his arm chair and smiled at his daughter.
"How does it feel to be a graduate?" He asked with a smirk. Eva sighed wistfully and looked on over at her father, crossing her legs as she did.
"Different. I can't wait to be up and away. But the Enterprise doesn't return for another three weeks."
"I heard that's going to change." This made Eva's eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
"Why? What's Jim done now?" She asked with a snort. Christopher took a sip of his newly-arrived coffee before facing his daughter.
"He allowed an M-Class planet to see the Enterprise. Of course, Commander Spock logged the data and well; let's just say Starfleet isn't too pleased with him right now." Eva tutted in annoyance, taking a large gulp of her drink and leaned back in thought.
"So, what does that mean? Will Spock be captain now? Or-" She was cut off her fathers chuckles. Eva furrowed her brows and placed the coffee mug down. "What's so funny?"
"They're going to give the Enterprise back to me." Christopher revealed slowly, awaiting his daughters reaction. The blonde gasped in surprise placed a hand over her mouth.
"Is that you want?" She asked sternly. Christopher sighed and shrugged.
"I don't have a choice Eva. Admiral Marcus stated that he wanted me to take Kirk's place." He stopped for a moment, thankful to see Eva's reaction soften and continued. "You still going out tonight? I heard Katia was rather looking forward to it."
"I'm going to pass. I can't be bothered with drinking tonight. I'll just have an early night and order in. You're welcome to join. Unless you've got plans."
Christopher smiled sadly and fiddled with his walking-cane. Unbeknownst to him, Eva noticed this and allowed her father to speak with caution.
"Rain check on that take-out? I've got to meet with Kirk and Commander Spock. No doubt he'll go sulking off to some bar. Why don't you ask Dr McCoy? I know he'd be happy to see you again."
Eva blushed furiously and hid her face behind the coffee mug. Although a cadet, Eva was 27 and had only joined Starfleet three years ago. She'd spent her time training as a Nurse and to become a Doctor. Whilst training, Eva had met Leonard McCoy or 'Bones' as Jim Kirk insisted on calling him. They'd built up a rather nice friendship over time and when the Nero incident occurred, he'd made sure to look after Eva as-well. Eva had also become close with Jim and Spock, much to her father's surprise. It didn't take a genius to see that Eva was in love with Bones and Bones with Eva. Even her father could see it, much to his dismay. He liked Bones, many did; but Eva was his little girl and that would never change. Now Bones was back on-shore, Eva began to make plans in her mind. She bit her lip and looked up at her father.
"When do they land?"
"In about an hour." He said plainly. Eva nodded and placed her cup down, standing as she did. The blonde nodded and wrapped her cardigan around her slim figure.
"Alright then. I best head on home, tell Katia the bad news and what-not." She then engulfed her father into a hug and smiled. "Once you've spoken to Jim, come and have some take-out. You can't refuse free food Dad."
The elder Pike smirked at his daughter's sass and nodded, releasing her from the hug.
"No, I can't." He said smiling. Eva chuckled and turned to leave the coffee shop. She blew kiss to her father and waved.
"I love you Dad."
"I love you too Eva. Be safe and remember, I'm so incredibly proud of you." Christopher spoke sternly, but with a warm smile. Eva nodded and swiftly exited the cafe.
Outside, the wind had grown stronger and the rain was beginning to pour down. Eva groaned, peering up to the darkened sky and starting to head towards her dorm. However, a collection of familiar faces clouded her vision as she passed the landing bay. Eva grinned widely and headed towards the crowd. Suddenly, she felt herself colliding with a larger figure and almost topple to the ground. Two muscular arms held her steady, stopping her from face-planting the concrete floor. Eva glanced up and gasped in surprise. The man opposite followed suit.
"Bones..." Eva breathed quietly.
Leonard 'Bones' McCoy, a stern southern man with many sensible morals; was glad to be finally on solid ground. He missed many things and Earth was one of them. After Jim's error on Nibiru, Bones had wanted nothing more than to enjoy a whiskey in comfort of Starfleet. Being on solid-ground also meant another thing for the southern doctor, he was able to see Eva. Giving the smaller blonde a unusual smile, Bones helped Eva to stand again and chuckled.
"Eva. You cut your hair." He pointed out with a smirk. Eva nodded and wrapped her arms around her torso.
"Short-waves are in right now." She said smiling warmly. "How long are you on leave for?"
Bones shrugged as the pair began to walk ahead of the crew.
"Not sure. We were scheduled a visit to Earth soon. Dammit, enough about me. How are you doin' darlin'? It's been a while." He replied with a concerned frown.
"Indeed it has. I'm fine though. Graduated today." Eva noticed Bones' expression change to one of surprise and chuckled heartily
"What-Wait-You graduated? That was today? Oh Jesus... Eva. I promised that I'd be there. Dammit, I'm sorry." Bones rambled on, frowning as he did. Eva smiled at her friends ramblings and pulled him to a stop outside her dorm building.
"Bones." She said sternly. "Stop. It was moved, something about admiral Marcus; I don't know. Anyway, I know you wouldn't miss it on purpose. Now C'mon, I want take-away and you're going to eat it with me."
Eva started off into the building, leaving Bones staring off into the open space and at the blonde mystery that was: Eva Pike.
EVA'S DORM ROOM:- 1900HRS:-
With the take-away consumed and a small whiskey each, Eva and Bones began to chat about what they'd missed and seen in the past few months. Eva crossed her legs as she listened to her friend describe Jim Kirk's latest antics. She focused in on his features, unwillingly and without fault. It was obvious to most around that Eva was besotted with the Doctor and vise-versa. Many had bets to see when they would 'hook-up'; but as Uhura would often explain: 'It is much more complex then that.' It was during the time of Nero's attack when Eva realized her love for Bones; but was too scared to admit her feelings. She didn't want to ruin their friendship; Eva didn't want things to become awkward. Downing the reminder of her whiskey, she placed the tumbler down and turned to face Bones.
"-and we ended up jumping of the damn cliff." Bones finished off rather loudly. The blonde laughed and shook her head.
"Well, things are going to get even more crazy." She added with a smirk.
"Oh yeah?" Bones question, raising an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"Not only did I graduate a 'doctor'... But, I've been assigned to the Enterprise." She leaned in closer. "As your assistant."
It took Bones a moment to register Eva before he reached across from her and pulled her into a tight hug. Their faces were close, noses almost touching; 'but it wasn't all that easy.' Bones smiled sadly, pulling away and brushing a strand of blonde hair away from Eva's features. He had never been too sure of his feelings towards the peculiar Brit. But recently, they'd become much clearer. Their eyes locked and before their lingering feelings could be acted on, a sudden knock echoed out from Eva's door. Eva sighed and moved away from Bones' embrace, swiftly tip-toeing to the front door. She pressed in the key-code and the door slide open. On the other side stood a rather distressed William and Katia. Eva gasped at their appearance, ushering them into the room and closing the door.
"Kat... Will. What's going on? I thought I'd told you I wasn't coming out." She asked with a tone of confusion. Bones appeared at Eva's side immediately, absentmindedly placing a hand on Eva's back. Katia stepped forwards and her expression turned grave.=
"There-There's been a terrorist attack in London. The Archives..." She trailed off, her voice wavering slightly. William placed his arms around the brunette and held her close. Eva and Bones both gasped in horror, the former turning to face the doctor and moving closer to him.
"Was there any survivors?" Eva asked quietly, like she already knew the answer. Her friends shook their heads and Eva let out a choked sob. This caused Bones to race forwards and wrap his arms around the smaller woman. Eva allowed the tears flow as the room fell silent. She pulled away from Bones and looked back to her friends. "I need to find my father."
"He and Jim Kirk were called over to a meeting by Admiral Marcus." Eva nodded and spun to face Bones.
"Can we go and find my Dad? He'll know what's going on."
"Sure Darlin'. Let me go and grab our jackets, we'll go now." Bones then headed into Eva's bedroom, picking up their discarded jackets and re-entering the room. He noticed William staring at Eva. Moving closer, he placed another hand on Eva's back and un-knowingly sent shivers down her spine. Eva thanked her friends and exited the dorm with Bones. Everyone seemed to be talking about the attack. Who had caused it? Who was responsible? Eva and Bones headed on over to where Marcus' meeting was being held. A heard of Starfleet officers brushed past the pair, causing Eva to jump into Bones' arms. They shared a worried look before soldiering on into the building. A large blast echoed out around and Eva screamed out as they were halted by a piece of fallen debris.
"What in Gods name was that?" Bones cried out loudly. Eva shrugged helplessly and brushed off the dust from her jeans. The southern doctor raced on over to Eva, checking for any injuries and wrapping a protective arm around her. The pair began to ascend towards the meeting room, but was halted once more by a collective of Starfleet officials.
"I'm sorry, but you can't go in there." The young soldier said firmly. Bones groaned and saw the oncoming storm in Eva's eyes. She moved out of her friend's grasp and squared up-to the soldier.
"Listen here. My father is in there... I need to find him." She cried out, her voice cracking slightly. The soldier flinched at her tone and looked back at the chaos.
"Your Admiral Pike's daughter?" Eva nodded, moving to speak again; however, she was cut off by the arrival of two welcomed faces. Jim and Spock swindled their way past the officials, looking equally as bruised as the meeting room itself. Eva rushed forwards to greet the pair.
"Jim." She cried, flinging her arms around his neck. Jim was taken aback by the girl, but collected himself to hug her in return. He'd always been a brother figure to Eva. She pulled back and began to inspect his bruises. "My God... What happened?"
"Yeah, you both look like hell." Bones added gravely. Jim didn't smile, he simply sighed and looked back towards the wreckage.
"The man who attacked London, he did this." Bones gritted his teeth and placed a wavering arm around Eva.
"Any casualties?" He asked, his doctor instincts booting in. Jim nodded, sparing a glance at Spock before sighing once more.
"Many, many casualties." He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "But there was only one fatality." Bones sighed sadly, knowing what his friend was implying and felt Eva move from his reach. She wandered away from the group and started to examine the wreckage. Tables were smashed, windows cracked into a thousand pieces. Blood scattered the floor and stained most of the walls. Eva then turned back to Jim.
"Where's my Dad? I need to find him... I've got to make sure he's alright. I-" She was halted by Jim's firm grip. Eva stared deep into Jim's eyes and felt a tear run down her cheek.
"I'm so sorry Eva. Your Dad, he-he... He was killed in the blast." Eva inhaled sharply. This wasn't happening. Her Father, he couldn't be dead; could he? She began to hyper-ventilate and the tears soon started to flow. The three men watched as Eva walked away from them and began to cry hysterically.
"No, no, no. He's not dead. My-my Dad. He's not dead. We were having coffee before, he-he was fine. Please Jim... Please tell me that you're joking. Oh God, please." Bones sprung into action and pulled Eva close to his chest, allowing her to sob into his shirt. After a few moments of crying and screaming at the emptiness around her, Eva detached herself from Bones and stepped inside the wreckage once again.
"We'll find him Eva. Scottie's figuring out his location as we speak." Jim told her firmly. Eva snapped around and tightened her jaw.
"What if it's not enough? What if he's moved on? I want him dead Jim. I want him dead now."
At this moment, Spock stepped forward for the first time and addressed Eva personally.
"I... Understand your pain, Dr Pike. We shall do whatever we can to track this criminal down." Eva smiled softly at Spock's kind words. Jim placed a hand on her forearm and locked her gaze.
"Your Dad told me about your assignment to the Enterprise... We'll track this bastard down, as a team and as a family."
Bones grasped a tight hold of Eva's hand, causing her to stare up at him and smile sadly. She then turned to glance at Jim.
"Let's find Scottie and get this son of a bitch..."
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter. It's taken a while, but I'm finally getting around to writing this. Let me know what your thought. Live Long and Prosper. :)