I Haven't a Q

Synopsis: Alternate Reality. Takes place approximately 2378. Isabel's extraordinary behaviour puzzles everyone.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to CBS, its parents and affiliates. Just taking the characters out for a jaunt around the galaxy, I warrant they will be returned in the same condition I borrowed them.

Part 1

"It's lovely. Very suitable for leisure and relaxation," Deanna remarks, following behind an exceptionally tall dark-skinned humanoid woman through a sparse forested area.

"Yes, your crew will enjoy their stay here," the larger woman replies in kind. "Doctor, do you take the Derelwood sap to the colony to treat those sick people?"

Hands behind her back, Beverly shakes her head. "Not directly. We'll be organizing the extraction on the planet and the shipment of the sap to a processing facility. It will be converted into medicine that can treat the outbreak of the plague on Gragor Seven. We're just one piece of the solution."

"Your boss, Governor Horvak, and our representatives are working out the logistics," Deanna adds as they enter an area resembling a park with wooden benches. "In the mean time, your planet is an ideal spot for the crew to take shore leave."

"Whatever we can do to help," the dark aide to the governor replies warmly, glancing down at Deanna and Beverly. "This is your tour. What would you like to see next on Gragor Four?"

Deanna shields her eyes from the bright rays of the planet's sun, gazing off into the distance. "Nazaia, I heard you have a beautiful lake. Can we take the children swimming?"

"Oh, yes," Nazaia exclaims with a grin. "Let me show you. The water is warm and clear. The children will like the beach."

Chuckling, Billy tosses the spinning saucer to Isabel. Isabel jumps to catch the disc, giggling as she barely manages to grasp it between her fingers. Jogging, Isabel throws the saucer to Kestra as the group runs around an open grassy space in the wooded park.

Scoffing, Kestra grabs the disc. "Slow down, guys. You're not letting Audra keep up." Rolling her eyes with a hand on her hip, Kestra tosses the saucer to J.P and pauses to wait for her little sister to run to catch up with the older children. Nine year-old Kestra is often the watcher of her four year-old deaf sister, Audra. Kestra would usually prefer to play with the twelve year-olds Billy and Isabel, as would nine year-old Jean-Paul. The group of them all get along well. Lately, however, the adolescents would prefer to be alone and exclude their younger siblings.

Bolting across the park, Jean-Paul whips the saucer in Billy's direction, as hard and as far as he can, laughing openly.

Billy takes off at a run, trying to chase the flying saucer. A gust of wind lifts the saucer higher and it slips between the trees, landing on a branch of a tall Derelwood tree. Panting, Billy rushes up to the tree, mentally traversing the distance between the ground and the branch where the saucer has become lodged.

"What are you doing?" Kestra yells across the park.

Billy commences climbing the tree, gallantly jumping onto the first branch.

"Billy, no!" Isabel screams from across the park. "Get down from there!"

"Do you want the saucer back?" Billy retorts dryly, rolling his eyes as he effortlessly scales the tree.

J.P comes rushing up to the tree, grinning insanely. "I want to try."

Glancing down at J.P with one arm grasping a branch in a display of bravado, Billy smirks. "Nah. This isn't for kids."

"You are a kid," J.P reminds his friend pointedly.

"Practically thirteen," counters Billy, continuing his ascent.

Folding his arms over his chest, J.P rolls his eyes. "If you can do it I can do it."

Steadying himself, Billy reaches across a thin branch to grab the saucer. As he stretches, the weight transfer causes him to lose his balance. He attempts to find his footing, grab the branch, but Billy slips and falls rapidly to the ground, flat on his back.

Kestra screams, grabs Audra's tiny's hand and dashes for the tree.

Panicked, J.P drops to the ground beside Billy, stunned at the sight of his friend's lifeless form.

Isabel shoves J.P out of the way, kneeling over Billy's motionless body.

"Whoa…" Frazzled, J.P glances behind at Kestra and Audra running as fast as their little legs can carry them to the tree. "What happened…"

"Oh, my God," Isabel cries, grabbing Billy's hands. "Billy…Billy…"Hot tears rolling down her cheeks, Isabel touches Billy's forehead, her lips trembling.

"Belle, how did…did you…" Kestra pants, coming to a stop beside J.P, Audra clinging close to her. Kestra's jaw drops and her eyes widen when her eyes fall on Billy unconscious. "Billy!"

"Go get my mom," Isabel blubbers, moving her hand to feel for a pulse on Billy's neck. "Now!"

Tears welling in Kestra's eyes, she nods. She signs to Audra to stay with J.P while she goes to retrieve the doctor.

Slowly, Billy's eyelids flicker open, and he sees a startled expression on Isabel's evidently distraught face.

"Billy!" Isabel cries, grasping his shoulder as he cautiously sits up.

Bemused, Billy glances at the other children expectantly.

Kestra lets out a scream and Audra begins to cry, entirely confused and scared.

"What happened?" Billy demands as he attempts to straighten.

Isabel keeps a hand firmly on his shoulder, shaking her head in bewilderment. "Stay still. You fell out of the tree."

"Oh," Billy stutters, rubbing his temple.

Eyes dilated, J.P inches closes. "You were dead!"

"What?" Billy creases his brow, thoroughly confused.

Audra wails and Kestra wraps her arms around her comfortingly. She turns to Isabel in fright . "Belle, how did you do it?"

Three women come running through the park as fast as they can, a large dark-skinned woman in the lead.

"It's okay, Audra. Mommy's coming," Kestra says soothingly.

"What happened?" Billy asks Isabel earnestly, looking directly into her eyes.

Hands trembling, Isabel averts her eyes.

"Are you alright?" The large dark woman inquires, halting next to Kestra and Audra.

Speechless, Kestra bobs her head.

Beverly is not far behind Nazaia and drops to the ground beside Billy. "What happened?"

Audra lunges into her mother's arms as soon as Deanna approaches. Deanna scoops the four year-old into her arms and walks over to the tree where Billy and Isabel are sitting on the ground. "What is it? We heard screams."

Beverly runs the tricorder over Billy, briefly glancing at Isabel's tear-stricken red face. "What's wrong, Billy?"

Nervous, Billy shares an uncertain look with Isabel.

"Will one of you please start talking?" Deanna induces, kneeling on the ground beside her son with her youngest daughter in her arms.

Closing her eyes, Isabel begins to sob lightly.

J.P jumps forward. "We were throwing the flying saucer. I threw it too far and it landed in this tree. Billy climbed the tree to get the saucer. He must have lost his balance because he slipped and fell on his back."

Mouth agape, Deanna mentally measures the distance between where the saucer is sitting in the branch and the ground. "That's impossible."

Furrowing her brows, Beverly shakes her head. "There's nothing wrong with you, sweetie. How could you have fallen out of the tree? At that distance your injuries would be traumatic."

"He did fall!" Kestra insists. "We saw him."

Deanna appraises the children, who all appear frightened and confused.

Beverly commences another scan, thinking that she may have missed something in her initial analysis. "What happened after you fell? Did you hit your back?"

Shaking his head timidly, Billy looks at Beverly. "I don't remember. I just remember waking up and I don't feel hurt or anything."

"But he did. He landed right on his back," J.P exclaims animatedly, kneeling on the ground beside his mother. "He didn't move or anything. He was dead!"

Pursing her lips, Beverly shares a look with Deanna. " Honey, Billy's certainly not dead. He's not even injured, just a little rattled."

Shifting Audra to sit on the grass, Deanna looks to Isabel. "What happened?"

Glancing nervously at her mother, Isabel shakes her head. " I don't know."

"Tell them!" Kestra urges Isabel, blue eyes wide.

Placing her tricorder on the grass, Beverly inches closer to her daughter. "Why are you so upset? Billy's perfectly fine."

Averting her eyes to the ground, Isabel struggles to compose herself.

Kestra flops down on the grass beside her mother. "Isabel somehow just…appeared by the tree after Billy fell."

Whipping her head around, Beverly's mouth falls agape. "What?"

Shrugging, Kestra squirms, hesitant about what to reveal. "Well, we were way over there, throwing the saucer. Belle, Audra and I were back there. When we saw Billy fall, we ran here. It took us like..I don't know…thirty seconds to get here. But, Belle didn't run. She was already here."

Swallowing hard, Beverly rotates back around to face her daughter. "Isabel…"

Bursting into tears, Isabel shakes her head violently.

Beverly slides forward and draws her daughter into her arms. "It's okay, honey."

Deanna is overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotions, trying to process everyone's feelings. The children are apprehensive, confused and a little fearful. Isabel is plain terrified. "Honey, is Kestra right?"

Red-faced and blotchy, Isabel swipes at her tear tracks. "I don't know."

"Kestra is right," Jean-Paul supplies excitedly. "After Billy fell, I went to see if he was okay. Belle was there in an instant. I don't know where she came from, but she couldn't have ran that fast."

"Sweetie, what did you do when Billy fell?" Deanna asks, inching a couple feet closer to the pre-teen.

Taking a deep breath, Isabel steals a glance at Billy. "I went to him."

"How?" Deanna presses.

Running her tongue over her lips, Isabel considers her words and the ramifications of them. "I just thought about it and I was there."

Kestra and J.P look at each other, part impressed, part stunned and part scared.

Calm, Beverly runs a hand along Isabel's arm. "Was it like the other times?"

"I guess so," whispers Isabel, red face turning to the grass below.

Beverly looks at Deanna and exhales slowly. "Alright. We're getting some answers."

"But, Billy was dead. We saw him," J.P reminds them.

"Belle magically brought him back to life" Kestra pronounces, jumping up with a playfully grin.

"Kestra!" Deanna admonishes, fixing her eldest daughter with a stern look.

"What?" Kestra shrugs. "If she can somehow appear out of nowhere why couldn't she heal him?"

Incredulous, Beverly looks at her daughter cautiously. "You didn't…."

"I didn't do anything!" Isabel cries, burying her face in her hands.

Leaning over, Billy takes Isabel's hands. "Hey, please stop crying."

"I didn't…I didn't do…" sputters Isabel, gazing up into Billy's blue eyes, the carbon copy of his father's. "I just thought I'd give anything to undo it, to make you whole again. I only thought that I couldn't lose you."

A chill reverberates down Beverly's spine. Clearing her throat, Beverly attempts to keep her tone neutral. "Oh..okay. Everyone seems to be fine. Nazaia, would you mind showing the children the lake? I think Deanna and I should check in with…with uh…"

Helping Audra up, Deanna bobs her head. "Yes. We'll catch up with you in a few minutes. And, Billy, try to stay out of trouble."

Smirking, Billy jumps up before extending a hand to help Isabel.

Nazaia takes Audra's hand, and Audra reluctantly leaves her mother's side.