I stumbled my way up the stairs, following the others as closely as possible. I cringed as a heavy step caused a single pop of corn to fall to the ground. I had decided to splurge on the buttery goodness in a bucket, but now it was going to waste. What luck!

The others settled into their seats and I took the second to last one on the row. Evan would be emerging from the bathroom at any moment and I wanted to be sure he had to sit next to me.

The day had finally come: the release of the third Star Trek reboot movie. I was excited to see it with all of my friends. I hadn't watched much of the new movies or the TV show since visiting the parallel universe about a year earlier. Not long after that trip, the Doctor dropped me off for the last time. Well...he hadn't been back yet and I was starting to wonder if my hopes of him turning up were going to waste.

My thoughts were interrupted by Evan as he plopped into the seat next to me and dipped his hand into my popcorn.

"I still don't get why you like this franchise so much," he said for the millionth time since getting to the theater. "It's washed up. Boring. All lens flare, no plot."

I rolled my eyes and tossed a fluff of corn into my mouth. "I like the TV show. I watch these movies in the hopes that one day one of them will turn out okay," I said between chews. "They can be interesting if you let yourself ignore the lens flares and enjoy i-"

"Hey, Evan! I saved a seat for you!"

I looked to where the voice had come from. Down the row of our group of movie goers was Cathryn. That girl had been hitting the flirting game hard ever since she found out I liked Ev. She wouldn't stop and I hated every moment her face was in my field of vision. Overdone eyeliner, long brown curls, extremely low cut tops; it was sickening. Still, she was every guy's dream and I worried constantly that my lack of pursuing would let Ev slip into her clutches from which few guys ever returned unscathed.

"Nah, I'm good," Ev shouted back.

I let myself smile this time. More and more, he had been blatantly turning her down and I loved it.

There wasn't much time to gloat because at that moment, the lights went down and the movie started. It was classic Orci writing from the start. I silently laughed at the special effects and ridiculous predicaments that the real Enterprise crew would never find themselves in. More laughs pushed themselves through my lips when I realized that I could say that with confidence since I had actually met the real Enterprise crew.

In addition to my own internal monologue, Ev kept leaning over to whisper some comment, most of which were too good to not write down. I always made sure to keep some paper and a writing utensil around when we hung out together. I kept telling him I would compile all of his best quips into a book one day and his wit would make him a millionaire.

Toward the end though, things got really serious. The crew had come in contact with some alien disease in what used to be a palladium mine. While in the mine, Chekov, precious baby that he is, had decided to take his protective glove off to examine a particularly strange looking rock. I kept mentally screaming, telling him not to, but for some reason he had to according the crappy writers. As a result, he was now writhing in pain in the sick bay. Bones was doing all he could to quell his feverish state and find a cure at the same time. But then the camera zoomed in on Pavel's face. Sweat dripped from his brow in copious amounts. His eyes were clenched shut as he tried his best to drive away the pain coursing through his veins. It was heart wrenching to watch.

"Keptin," he croaked. "Keptin Kirk."

He reached for Kirk as the captain drew near. Bones had insisted that anyone that came to see him wore a protective quarantine suit like the medical staff, so it was a gloved hand that Kirk extended to the ensign.

"I'm here, Chekov," Kirk said, voice shaking.

"Keptin," Chekov repeated. "I need you to do somesing for me."

"Anything, Chekov. Just tell me."

I realized at those words that this was a death scene, or a near death scene, and started to become angry.

"Keptin," Chekov continued, his words coming short and breathy. His eyes were open now and the camera focused on them when he spoke. "Pleaze, Keptin, if she ewer comes back, tell her I lowe her. Vill you tell her?"

Kirk, choking back tears, nodded in response. As he did, Bones came back from the lab and motioned for him to come aside. Kirk left Chekov with Spock and Sulu, moving toward Bones near the door to the lab.

"Tell me you can save him, Bones."

"I'm sorry, Jim. I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker. I've done all I can. I think the best thing to do now would be to put him out of his misery."

Here comes the man pain, I thought.

"Bones, we can't..."

"It's this or let him suffer until he dies." Bones' tone was extremely sharp. His eyes were red-rimmed and glistening. "It's your call, Jim. But as a doctor, this is my recommendation."

Kirk looked over his shoulder to see Chekov writhing against the sickness again. The sight pulled a tear from the corners of his baby blue eyes. He turned back to Bones and nodded his assent. They parted, Bones to retrieve a syringe of euthanasia, Kirk to join Spock and Sulu at Chekov's bedside. A few moments passed and Bones emerged from the lab.

"Alright, Chekov," he said, lowering the needle. "This should make you feel a lot better. Just relax and let it do its thing."

A press of the button, and the drug was in Chekov's veins. It would only be a matter of minutes before he would close his eyes for the last time.

The dying young man reached for Kirk again. "Promise me, Keptin."

"I promise, Mr. Chekov."

Chekov nodded and the camera changed to an overhead shot of the table, focusing in on Pavel's red face. He took a deep breath, then exhaled. With the breath came the words, "I lowe you..." and then he was gone.

I was fuming. How could they kill him off?! Why? He didn't deserve this! This was just get an emotional response and I hated it. I prayed that this didn't affect what was happening in their universe.

I tensed as I felt a body move next to me. It was Ev, leaning in to make another comment.

"I didn't know the kid had a girlfriend, did you?" A short chuckle followed.

The next twenty minutes were full of Kirk and Spock trying to find and kill the villain to avenge Chekov's death because it was their reasoning that he exposed the crew to the disease on purpose. Again, really bad writing. But I couldn't even focus on the gaping plot holes. All I could think about was how I should have been there, that I needed to get there somehow, as soon as possible. Suddenly, nothing else mattered, not Ev, not Cathryn and her boobs, not the ending of this movie, not anything. I just needed to get out of there and find a way back to the Enterprise. But how? The Doctor never came around anymore. How could I get there without the TARDIS? I had to find the Doctor first, and how do you find a man who could be anywhere in all of time and space?

As soon as the credits began to roll, I pushed past Ev and ran outside the theater, reaching for my phone. For all intents and purposes, the TARDIS was a police box, so I figured the best way to start looking for it would be calling 911.