This is a very early version of the opening scene in Chapter 13. Needless to say, I discarded it pretty quickly. I still think it's rather sweet, though, if incredibly cheesy.

" Ho hum the tune is dumb! The words don't mean a thing! Isn't this a silly song for anyone to sing?"

Six drunken voices collided with one another as Sulu, Scotty, Uhura, McCoy, Chekov and Kathy belted out their silly song. They were all clapping along to the song's rhythm, not having a care in the world. As Chekov began to perform a Russian jig, urged on by the merry singing, there was a cacophony of drunken cheers and laughter. To encourage him, the five Starfleet officers chanted his name over and over, spilling their drinks all over the floor in the process. Chekov got so into it that he didn't notice the coffee table until he slipped and fell right into it, bashing his face hard. There was roaring laughter from the crowd when he rose to his feet as if nothing had happened, despite his brand new black eye. He very coolly went to sit back down, giggling childishly to himself as he squeezed himself in between Scotty and Sulu. The merrymaking continued mercilessly as they started to quiet down.

" What shall we do now?" Sulu wondered out loud through a yawn.

" I say…" muttered Scotty, who was the drunkest of the lot. " Uhura, give us a song!" he insisted as everyone cheered in agreement.

Uhura chuckled, having known that this would've happened sooner or later. " OK, OK. What do you want me to sing?" she asked her friends as she stood up in front of them.

" Lady Gaga!" Sulu called.

" Celine Dion!" McCoy yelled.

" Beyoncé!" Kathy shrieked.

" Give us some Adele, lass!" Scotty ordered, resulting in a little smirk from Uhura.

She could see herself performing a song from that red-headed beauty that evening. " All right, which song?" she asked them.

" Skyfall!" cried Chekov.

" Rumour Has It!" McCoy pleaded.

" Rolling in the Deep!" said Sulu.

" Someone Like You!" Kathy screamed, almost begging her to sing her favourite Adele song.

Uhura beamed, her thoughts with the captain and the science officer. She then wondered if Kirk would eventually join them that night, knowing that he was still depressed over Spock's temporary departure from the ship. She nodded her head at her friend, making everyone go wild with excitement. Uhura took a deep breath before serenading the very hearts of her best friends.

" I heard…that you're settled down, that you…found a girl and you're…married now. I heard…that your dreams came true. Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you…"

Here, Uhura shrugged in mock-hopelessness. And she knew that she was doing it, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from Kathy's pretty little innocent face. She didn't know, God bless her.

" Old friend, why are you so shy? It ain't like you to hold back or hide from the light…"

Jim, alone in his room, heaved a sigh. With Kathy gone for the evening, he could finally feel free to bask in the despair that tortured him day and night. He thought about everything that he had been through in the past two years.

" You know how the time flies…"

He had found true love…

" Only yesterday was the time of our lives. We were born and raised in a summer haze, bound by the surprise of our glory days…"

And he had lost true love, only to find it again in the worst possible situation.