AN: As always, the Chekov/Joanna pairing deserves more love, so, to show your support, please read, review, and enjoy! (and maybe even write a Chekov/Joanna fic of your own...). Also, if anyone is interested in collaborating with me on this fic, feel free to PM me.

Disclaimer: Star Trek isn't mine.

Chapter 2: The Enterprise

Joanna didn't believe in love. She believed in lust, affection, and friendship. But not love. Being a zoology major, she understood that there were two types of animals: those that mated for life, and those that mated for a season. She had long held the believe that humans were of the second variety, but tried to act like they were of the first. Sometimes, seeing an old couple holding hands, smiling and laughing and truly enjoying each other's company, even after a lifetime, she thinks differently. Maybe, just maybe…

And then she remembers her mother. She remembers her friend from high school, Sienna, crying hysterically after she caught her boyfriend cheating on her.

She remembers that there is no such thing as love.

But sometimes she wishes there was.

Stepping onto the transporter pad, Joanna mentally readied herself. Sure, she talked to her dad over the vid screen on a weekly basis, but this was the first time she would be seeing him in person in almost six years. Don't be silly, Joanna, you have nothing to worry about. In her mind she knew this, but emotions weren't logical.

Unless you were Vulcan, of course.

The transporter was powered up, and the countdown began. Nerves set in- she had never been transported before.

Three…

Joanna glanced over at her two companions, Yuheng "Derek" Tu, a student in his third year of Chinese descent, and William Albertson, a meek boy of sixteen years who had skipped a couple grades to enter the Academy at fifteen.

Two…

Derek stood, straight as a board, his hands clasped together firmly behind his back, his eyes focused straight ahead.

William fidgeted slightly and looked over at Joanna, their eyes meeting briefly. She could tell he was scared.

One…

Joanna felt like her heart had skipped a beat as the room began to fade into complete whiteness. She began to worry. What if something's wrong? Will we be stuck in this limbo state forever? Will we die? Will we-

Figures began to materialize out of the vast whiteness. Blurry outlines became focused, colored, and clarified, slowly gaining dimension.

One figure grew more familiar as it became clearer. Short brown hair peppered with grey, brown eyes, and a perpetual lovable scowl that she knew so well.

Finally, she was there. Half a dozen faces smiled back at her. But there was only one that she cared about at that moment.

She ran from the teleportation pad, leaping into her father's waiting arms. She burrowed her head into his shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of antiseptic and aftershave.

It was like being a little girl again. Her daddy was here. The monsters couldn't touch her, because her daddy was here.

"I missed you, daddy."

Her words were muffled by his jacket, but he didn't need to hear them to know what she said.

"I know, Jojo," he whispered into her hair, "I missed you too."

Letting go of him, she finally looked around the room. William and Derek remained on the teleportation pad, unsure of what to do or where to go. A man sat at the control desk, reclining leisurely. Of the remaining four, there was only one she could recognize- the (in)famous Jim Kirk, complete with the trademark smirk. It reminded Joanna of Alice's.

There were also two men she didn't know, one of Asian decent, and one who looked at least part Vulcan, as well as a woman. Joanna was struck by how pretty she was. She looked graceful and intelligent, her dark brown eyes nurturing, her slicked back hair silky and smooth.

Captain Kirk spoke first.

"Welcome to the USS Enterprise. I assume you all know me, but let me introduce myself anyway. Captain Jim Kirk, at your service. I know this is boring as anything, but it's a necessary evil. First off, you will be known on this ship as "Interns". As this is a new rank, uniforms have been made especially for you. They are waiting for you in your quarters. But I'll get back to that later. Each of the three of you will follow different crew members based off of your majors. Mr. Albertson, you'll be with our navigator Pavel Chekov. He's currently on duty. You'll meet him on the bridge. Mr. Tu, you'll be working with Mr. Scott," Jim pointed at aforementioned Engineer, who greeted the three Interns with a brief wave of the hand.

"And, Ms. McCoy, as we do not have a zoologist onboard the Enterprise, you'll be splitting your time between Commander Spock, Lieutenant Sulu, Lieutenant Uhura, and your old man."

Bones glared at Jim, whose smirk grew into a full-blown grin.

"Tu and Albertson, you'll be sharing quarters. Any crew member would be more than happy to guide you to your room. McCoy, you'll be sharing quarters with Lieutenant Uhura."

Joanna smiled at her new roommate. She'd miss Alice, but Uhura seemed nice enough.

"The rest of the day is yours to explore the ship and get to know myself and the rest of the crew. Be prepared to report for duty at 0800 tomorrow."

The three interns nodded to show their understanding

"Let's get this show on the road!"

Kirk and Spock left for the Bridge, taking William with them. Derek began to talk with Sulu.

"As much as I hate to go, Jo, there's things I need to address down in Medical Bay." Her father looked at her with pleading eyes, his words sincere.

"I understand, daddy." She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. Bones smiled at her gratefully before rushing off.

Joanna watched him leave. She then turned to Uhura, the only one left in the room who was unoccupied. But with nothing to say, the room remained silent except for chatter between Derek and Sulu in the background.

Uhura broke the silence. "Why don't I show you our quarters?"

"Sure!" Joanna exclaimed, cringing. She had been attempting to hide her disappointment, and ended up sounding overly cheery. Dear lord, I really need acting lessons, she thought, shaking her head slightly at her pathetic inability to hide her feelings.

"Right this way."

Joanna watched quietly as Uhura punched the six digit code into the pad with practiced ease.

"The code is 472116," Uhura informed her as the door slid open.

Joanna quickly went through the doorway, interested to see where she'd be spending a good portion of her time for the next year.

The main room had polished wood flooring and basic, cream-colored walls. A loveseat sat at an angle to the right of the room, a glass coffee table in front of it. The left half of the room lead into a hallway.

"The first door on the left leads to the kitchenette, the second to my bedroom. On the right side, the first is your room, the second the bathroom."

"Thanks, Uhura."

Uhura nodded. "Unless you need something, I should probably report back to the Bridge."

"No, it's fine. Go on."

"It was nice meeting you, Joanna."

She left, and Joanna could hear her high-heeled leather boots click and clank against the floor as she walked.

Joanna pressed the button next to the first door on the right. The door slid open, revealing a small room containing the standard bedroom furniture: a bed, a bedside table, a wardrobe, and a mirror. Remembering Kirk's words about the uniforms, she opened the wardrobe doors to find six identical moss green variations on the standard Starfleet fare. Excited, she quickly changed into the uniform, her fingers fumbling over the buttons. Shimmying into the pencil skirt, she examined herself in the mirror. Oh my, she thought, I look so official. She giggled, feeling a bit like a little girl trying on her mother's dress suits. Not that her mother had any dress suits, but still.

Giddy with excitement, she fell back onto her bed with a high-pitched squeal.

This is gonna be one heck of a year.