In Love With All Your Sins

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, unfortunately.

Chapter One: The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most

Christine Chapel propped her long legs up on the bio bed adjacent to her and cracked her knees loudly while she stretched the rest of her body. The USS Salvation was a nice place to occupy for the time being, and her CMO was a push over, so it was pretty much her Sick Bay to run. Christine's intellect and command of her surroundings allowed her to make a prominent name and reputation for herself. Head Nurse sounded just fine to her for now. With a yawn, she looked back down at the inventory list lying on her lap and grimaced. Her Sick Bay was pristine, clean, and quiet, and unnaturally troubling.

Fate never fails to miss a cue, and took this opportunity to sound an overwhelming, foreboding crash and rip Christine's chair directly out from under her. Out of instinct, Christine threw her hand out to brace her fall and heard a loud crack from her joint and yelled out in pain into the empty room. She scrambled up, cradling her wrist against her chest and sprinted out of Sick Bay to try to see what was going on. Red emergency lights flashed around her and Captain Alexandurr's voice cut in and out with static as she fought through the stream of the crew to get to the Bridge. Another blast slammed her against the wall forcefully, knocking her head with a dull clunk. She clawed her way back up, through the sprinting bodies around her and felt warm wetness dripping around her cheek from her temple.

When she finally reached the bridge, the sight before her was straight out of nightmares. Bodies lined the entire floor, and she called out for anyone, anyone still alive over the explosions and screams outside. She dropped to the floor and started crawling through the carnage to check for the living, to sort through the victims. So many faces she came to care for were bloody and torn beneath her and she thanked the heavens for her apparent lack of gag reflex.

Just as another targeted weapon was announced by the computer, strong arms pulled her from her spot on the floor and she gasped and struggled until her captor barked Star Fleet nonsense into her ear and told her relax. Christine clawed around at the perpetrator's arms and chest until she was spun around face to face, confirmed the officer's identity and when she took in the pale yellow uniform, the emblem on his chest and the worried look on his human-like face, she began to breathe heavily and wildly as she struggled to yell that she had to get her people off the ship. She began to struggle for new reasons, mainly that she clearly had her own legs and she was clearly capable of navigating on her own. This guy obviously didn't understand the intensity of the situation, and that it was clearly her responsibility to help the rest of her crew to safety. Her throat scratched as she yelled and fought against him and threw her body away from him in an attempt to break away. Her head pounded from her temple and things just kept getting darker.

The officer forcefully pressed her to his chest, and tried to calm her thrashing until she slowed and went limp with what he could only assume was exhaustion. He gathered her completely in his arms and quickly called to the Enterprise to be beamed back up. When Kirk materialized on the transport pads with Nurse Chapel hanging from his arms, he pushed past the officers surrounding him and continued straight to Sick Bay to assess the poor woman in his arms.

"Bones! I've got a live one!" Kirk scrambled, almost tripping over other patients in the bustling Sick Bay and hurried to an open, clean bed. He carefully spilled the woman onto it and waved frantically to Bones as she moaned and started to try to lift herself. Bones steadied her motions gently.

"Woah, Darlin' lets get you scanned and checked before you jump out of bed." Somehow, she managed to glare.

"Its Nurse Chapel, thank you," she croaked out and then proceeded to cough, and subsequently choked up blood before shuddering into a limp state of unconsciousness. McCoy flew around the bed to begin scanning, and hypospray-ing, and muttering to himself about heroics and "damnstupidstubbornegomaniacs".

Jim Kirk took a step back, nervously wringing his hands, knowing he had seven thousand things to do, but he was unwillingly glued to the spot with anxiety. Bones quickly put a brace to her wrist, and walked around the rest of her body to scan for damage. He looked up at Kirk with a questioning look, and Jim just mouthed nothingness, for once without words.

"The blood she coughed up was just from her throat being so sore, no damages in her body except for a pretty intense concussion. She should be fine in a day or two. Jim, what is your fascination-" The Doctor was called to attention elsewhere for a quick minute, and Jim took the opportunity to straighten and pull down her uniform, arrange her hair and to try to clean her face a bit. He was really sure when he was possessed by this overwhelming chivalry, but he had never been overcome with the need to be so protective over someone before. Christine's eyes fluttered open when he tried to tuck some hair away from her face, and she tried a smile, but seemed to fail with the pounding in her head. The hauntingly familiar face of the officer, apparently commanding officer according to his now bloodstained golden uniform, smiled softly down to her, and brushed a thumb against her face. Bones roughly pushed his Captain away from the bed as Christine faded into black again, and recommenced his examination. Kirk furrowed his brow in worry as he stepped back, still watching Christine's damaged figure.

'Captain Kirk to the Bridge'

Bones looked over his shoulder at the retreating Captain, then back down at Christine Chapel in front of him. He shook his head and moved onto the next patient. There was no question in his mind already that this woman could be the end of Jim Kirk. Not one question at all.