What would you do for Family
Chapter 2 – His name was John Harrison
Feb 2259
"Doctor Pike, can you join me please." A male voice said over her communicator.
Dr. Kathrin Pike narrowed her eyes as she stood before her hood where she was currently splicing genes. She took a breath and set down her experiment. She knew that voice. He would not wait until it was convenient to her. He would just come into her lab and ask her and it was not safe for the public.
She sighed and walked, pulling off her mask as she entered the clean room. She pulled off her gloves and disposed of the entire biohazard outfit into the proper bin before stepping out. She showered and then put clean clothing on.
Dr. Kathrin Pike was a young beautiful woman, short in stature, but she made up for it in brilliance and attitude. Her hair was fiery red and long, hanging down her hip, often, as it was today, in a thick braid to keep her hair out of her eyes. Her eyes were a clever blue-gray, like the mists that often surrounded San Francisco.
Her father had told her she looked very much like her mother, an Irish woman who died in a remote outpost while his ship was doing scientific research on a planet near where Vulcan had once been. His wife had gone into premature labor on the surface with her away team. Unable to beam her back aboard due to a violent electro storm outside the cave where they were, she hemorrhaged due to the child she carried being breech. She and the infant died leaving Captain Christopher Pike a widow and his toddler daughter, Kathrin, motherless.
To protect her Pike made sure she went to the best schools and stayed on Earth where she was never far from medical attention. She was young, barely twenty-five now, and she had become Starfleet's leading virologist and toxicologist. She was brilliant and had gone to work for Section 31 under Admiral Alexander Marcus, at the recommendation of her father.
She walked into the hallway and looked about. She sighed and then walked forward to a small meeting room. Admiral Marcus was seated, watching as she walked in. Another man was there, a tall, handsome, dark haired man wearing dark clothing. His azure eyes regarded her as she came forward.
"You wanted to see me?" She asked.
"Yes." Marcus said looking up at her. "This is Commander John Harrison."
Her eyes flicked to him as he stood, ramrod straight near Marcus. "Commander."
"Doctor." There was a slight incline of the man's head.
"He has been doing work for Section 31 as well. I was rather hoping you two might work together."
"I work better alone." She said.
"As do I." Harrison said looking to Marcus. "However, your credentials are most extraordinary, doctor."
She nodded. "Thank you." She looked at Marcus. "If you would allow me to go back to my work, I have an experiment that needs…"
"No, doctor." The admiral said firmly. "The Commander will take you to your new lab. I will have him run you to your home first to gather some clothing. You will be there for at least a week of not more."
Kathrin opened her mouth and then shut it again. She sighed. "Does my father know?"
"He is out on a mission. I will inform him when he returns with his report."
She nodded and then looked down. "Allow me to at least lock up my lab." There are agents there people should not get their hands on."
"Very well, you have ten minutes. Commander. She is your responsibility now. See she well looked after will you."
Harrison's eyes narrowed. "Of course Admiral."
Kathrin whirled on her heel and walked back toward her lab. She looked at her two assistants. "Becky, Kyle. I need you to close the lab."
"What?" Becky asked.
"I am being sent to do His bidding."
"Oh." Kyle said instantly knowing who "he" was.
Becky moved and scrubbed in and worked meticulously closing vaults as Kathrin watched. John Harrison stood nearby, his hands behind his back which was again ramrod straight. "Your new lab is much larger, Dr. Pike."
She looked at him. "I didn't want larger."
He turned his head regarding her. "No?"
"I liked my work here. Kept me where my father could always find me."
"You are close to your father."
"After my mother died…" she swallowed and looked back. "He raised me."
A hand lifted and rested on her shoulder. "I am sorry." He said softly. "To lose family is never an easy thing."
She turned to him. "Do you have a wife? Children?"
"No." He said. His azure eyes looked back at the lab. "I never really considered it. I was somewhat married to my work."
She nodded. "As am I." She said.
He half smiled. "Come then. Your lab is secure."
"But…Becky and Kyle. They need…"
He took her arm in a grip that made her wince. "There is no time for that doctor. Come along."
She gasped as he pulled her after him. His long fingers encircled her thin muscular arm. He did not let her go until they were in a lift. He said the level and she glared at him as she rubbed her arm. "I would have come."
"Hummm. Slowly yes, but we have a bit of a deadline, doctor."
The lift stopped at the level he had said. They walked out and he went to a shuttle. The ship was for short range travel only. He opened the door and hopped in and then stood, dipping a bit, and offering a hand to her.
"I can manage…" She said.
He stood looking and she jumped, her blue skirt riding up to her upper thigh, revealing her black undergarments. She managed to get up, but was on her knees. He sighed shaking his head and offered a hand still. This time she took it and he pulled her upright with ease.
For a moment they stared at each other. She was against his chest, her hands pressed to his stomach due to her short stature, her head tipped up, looking at his eyes as he looked down. He took a breath and then took her arms in his hands and pressed her back from him two steps.
He ducked under a low hanging control panel and pressed a button, closing the door. He dropped into the pilot's chair. "Where is your home, doctor?" He asked as he pressed the buttons, starting the sequencing for starting up the engines.
She stepped forward and dropped into the seat beside him. "I love in Boise." She said.
"Idaho?" He asked turning to look at her.
She nodded. "I like the quiet and it is not a long commute."
Nowhere on earth was a long commute anymore. From Starfleet to London now only took two hours by the transports.
He nodded and the small shuttle lifted into the air and headed north. They arrived in Boise after only thirty minutes. She directed him to where he flat was. He dropped the shuttle onto the landing pad and they got out together. She walked to the door and opened it.
He followed looking about. This was literally as rural as Earth got these days. London had more than eighty million people. San Francisco had two times that. He understood her need to get away. He lived in London and the town was now much of the southern part of England and also vertical.
She went to her room to pack as he looked about. Her home was simple, well looked after, and small. He would have thought a woman of her caliber would have had a larger flat, perhaps some luxury items, but she did not even appear to have a viewer.
She came back with a case and looked at him looking at her living room. "It isn't much, but it is home."
"It suits you." He said.
She nodded. "My father hates it. He wants me to live closer to Starfleet."
"Fathers worry." He said. He turned on his heel and walked out of the house. She followed him back into the shuttle, this time taking the offered hand. He pulled her up, literally so quickly she felt a little light headed.
He looked at her a moment and then they walked back to the pilot area. She dropped into the seat next to him. He started and they moved upwards. Soon they had cleared Earth's atmosphere. She settled back and let the Commander fly.
She stifled a yawn and soon slept in the chair. She had been exhausted the last could of days being on the edge of a breakthrough and thinking about it in her mind. She soon was resting.
Khan looked over at her. She was so delicate in her sleep, almost childlike with some wisps of her hair that had escaped the tight hair style. He piloted out passed Jupiter and looked at her. He had thought briefly to drug her as Admiral Marcus suggested, but she slept. Why do that?
He pulled into a hanger and then reached over and gently touched her arm. When that failed to wake her, he merely rolled over to her other side. He gently rose to his feet, cupping her chin. "We are here." He said leaning down, his face inches from her own.
She woke and looked at him. She gasped startled by his proximity.
He moved back from her and smiled. "It is all right. I will not harm you."
She took a breath and rose to her feet. They walked along the tube to the main part of the space station. He looked back at her. "Quarters here are on short supply. You will be berthing with me." He said lifting something in his hands to read it.
She looked up. "But you are a commanding officer and I am…"
"A Lieutenant-Commander."
"Still lower than you."
He stopped and turned to her, forcing her to check her step. "We will be working together, berthing together, but that does not mean we are lovers."
She swallowed as the azure eyes watched her. "I suppose you are right."
He smiled. "This way."
He led her to a rather sparse cabin. There were two beds, both against the wall. One low, one strapped to the wall and folded up. Harrison had clearly made himself at home in the lower on. He reached up, unlatching the locks, and pulled the second bed down.
"There you are." He said.
She nodded and shifted back as he moved. "Kinda tight here."
"Your flat is small enough I would think you would be used to it."
"I do not have another there with me."
"Noted." He said. He turned to her. "Settle your things and then we must go report to duty."
"We?"
"Of course. We are working together."
She nodded.
ZzZ
In truth, Kathrin loved her lab. Full of the latest and greatest technology, she was able to clone DNA and resequence it within minutes. John Harrison proved to be a rather valuable assistant, able to do tasks she told him without her having to "dumb it down" as she often felt she had to.
A week turned into three and she did not mind. She had just done laundry in the facilities. Harrison had joined her for that as well. The man was quiet, watchful, but when he spoke, it was always of value.
She hated to leave the lab, but Marcus promised she would be able to return, but she was needed to investigate a virus that had been found on the Dugabar system planet Kebela that was killing thousands at a time.
She sighed rubbing her eyes as she sat at her desk. Every moment this virus was loose, it was killing people. She had worked for three solid days on it with no luck as to help. She had been able to isolate the virus RNA though.
She rose to her feet. She needed to get home and go to sleep. She walked out of her lab after locking it and came onto the street. Harrison had been there earlier, but he had been summoned by Marcus to speak to him.
She took a breath and went to go find a shuttle to Boise, but then John Harrison came into her view. She smiled. "Commander. How are you?"
"You look exhausted." He said.
"What did our fearless leader want?" She asked as she continued to walk.
He walked beside her. "Reviewing some schematics." He said nonchalantly.
She paused. "Good." She said.
"How goes the virus?"
"I can't figure the bastard out. It is complicated almost like it was…" She blinked. "Engineered." She shook her head. "I need to go back and…"
He caught her arm. "You are no use to anyone half dead."
"I am fine. I just need some coffee and I will be great." She turned and walked a few steps, but then she felt light headed. She blinked and reached for a railing. She blinked again feeling fainted. She gasped as her knees buckled under her. She did not hit the ground, however. John Harrison caught her to him and lifted her in his strong arms.
She felt so delicate, so small. She then went limp in his arms. He shifted her so he could reach a hand to feel a pulse. There was one, but it was sluggish.
He shook his head. She had fainted from exhaustion. He took her to where he had parked his shuttle. He carried her in, hopping lightly into the area with her in his arms. He laid her down on the small bed like bench in the back area.
He made sure she was secure before he piloted to London to his own flat. He flew, listening to the girl breath, waiting for signs to see if she were waking. She never did. He landed and went back to the girl. He lifted her up in his arms again and walked out. He took the lift to his flat.
She stirred slightly, curling closer to him, perhaps closer to his body heat. The air was cooler. He walked into his flat and then walked to his bedroom. He laid her on his bed. She instantly relaxed, curling up into a ball.
He sighed.
There was something about this girl.
ZzZ
The next morning she woke.
She felt more refreshed than she had in ages. It was an odd feeling. She remembered being so tired.
She looked about. She was in a strange room. Her head was on a pillow. It smelled familiar to her. She then sighed and got up. She walked into the common room and found Harrison sitting with projected screens all about him, working on several schematics at the same time, modifying as he did.
He looked up, seeing her. "Ah, you are awake."
"Yes." She sighed. "Where am I?"
"My flat." He said simply.
"What?"
"You fainted you were so exhausted. You need to care for yourself better." He looked up at her finally. "You fainted dead away and have been sleeping for more than two days." He pushed the screens aside and rose to his feet. "Are you hungry?"
"Of course." She said. She looked about.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"Seemed the most logical." He said.
She sighed. "What two days?!" She gasped. "I need to get back to my lab and…"
He shifted drawing up a screen. "This is what you need for the serum." He said.
She looked at him. "You did this while I slept?"
"Yes." He said.
She blinked. "Commander…this is…"
"My name is K…" He paused. "My name is John." He said.
"I am Kathrin." She said looking at his work. "My friends call me Katie."
"Am I a friend?" He asked, his tone light.
"I suppose you are." She said.
He nodded. "Well then Katie. Work your magic…after you eat."
She blinked. "What?"
"You fainted because of a lack of blood sugar and rest." He walked to a replicator and ordered food for her and came back with the tray. He set it before her. "Eat."
"What of you?"
"I ate two hours ago." He said.
She nodded and dove into the meal, not realizing how hungry she actually was until she started eating. He watched her, his cold azure eyes regarding her.
When she was done she spent the next two hours constructing the serum. She sent it to Starfleet so it could be mass produced. She sat back and rubbed her face. "Hopefully that will save the planet."
He sat down near her. "It is always a privilege to watch you work."
"How so?"
"You are brilliant and you are always thinking ahead of the game. A rate trait in humans."
"You are not human?"
"I am human." He said. "As you are." He smiled. "However, I do have a question?"
"Yes."
He stepped forward to her. "I am not the easiest man to be with, but you understand that, you understand the work, and we have spent time, much time side by side. Your intellect is beyond that of most of those of Starfleet." He smiled at her. "Would you consider us being more than berth mates?"
"What?" She asked.
He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. "So innocent." He said. "Would you date me?"
"Date you? I have so much work…"
"Ah, yes, we both do, but we are both lonely."
She blinked and considered that.
He was right.
She sighed. "All right. You seem to be able to understand me like few others do."
"Good girl." He said dipping down and kissing her.
She was startled as he kissed her, using his bottom lip to open her mouth so his tongue could go inside hers. She gasped and tired to push him back. "What are you doing?" She asked when she could breathe again.
"Kissing you." He said. He caressed her brow softly. "So innocent. I am going to enjoy having you." He said.
"Having me?"
"In good time, my dear one. All in good time." He smiled and took her hand. "Come. I have a lovely restaurant that I want to take you to."
"But the serum…if I need to change it…"
"I doubt it, you are precise." He said. "As I am." He smiled.
"But…"
"I will take my PADD with me so you can receive messages."
She nodded. "All right."
She allowed him to pull her out into the cool and led her to a restaurant. No one had ever taken her on a "date" before, mostly because she had not had time, but Harrison was her equal in his mind and he was able to keep up with her.
She smiled.
Perhaps this was what love was? That weird emotion she had heard about. She looked up at John Harrison.
He looked back at her and smiled.
She was his now.
And he was not going to let her go.