As always, I own nothing but my take on this. I adore R and R's, so keep em coming.

When the group finally entered the sickbay, Kirk found himself bombarded with, not only his own questions, but that of his crew as well.

"Captain, what's happened?" Uhura asked in a frightened voice. Before he could answer, he noticed Bones looking strangely at a medical supply table.

"Jim, this can't be right."

"What is it, Bones?" Kirk asked, noticing the confused expression of his senior medical officer.

"You see that stain?" At Kirk nod of agreement, Bones continued. "That's not supposed to be here. About a year ago, I spilled a chemical on the table that ate it away, but left behind no residue. That stain shouldn't be here." With a frustrated shake of his head Bones stated, "My God, Jim, what the hell is going on here?"

Kirk had been mentally asking himself that same question ever since they had materialized in the transporter room. All he could say was "I don't know."

Looking around the sickbay, Kirk became to formulate a hypothesis as to what was happening. "Obviously, it's the Enterprise, yet it's not." Backing away from the group he started pacing, no longer talking to them, but to himself. "As Spock would say, there has to be a logical explanation. Maybe…."

"What, Captain?" Scotty asked.

"When we were beaming aboard, did any of you feel strange?" Kirk saw that they all nodded in agreement. "It happened when we first materialize. We were on the pad of our Enterprise, yet before we could fully materialize, we faded again. Once that happened, we landed here."

"Captain," Scotty made his way over to stand next to Kirk, "Kyle did say there was a surge of energy during our beaming. My guess is that the transporter was effected due to the ion storm. We ended here."

"Yes, here." It was at this moment Kirk paused, and began to collect his thoughts. "This is not our ship, but an alternate version. This is not our universe, but one that runs parallel to our own. Everything is almost the same, but there are obvious differences as well as similarities."

At this Uhura chimed in. "Another version of each of us. And if we are here…."

"They have to be there." Bones sated in a far off voice, looking not at Kirk, but through him.

"We must have crossed beams. We had to have been transporting at the exact same time when the transporter was effected. And if they are there, they must be wondering the same things, asking the same questions."

Kirk looked at Scotty who appeared to be having a hard time comprehending what was being imagined by the captain.

"Sir, if there has been an exchange, they are going to have to find a way to get back, the same as we are."

Kirk took that moment to make his way to the computers located in sickbay. "The computers. It's the only way that either parties are going to make their way home."

As Kirk and Scotty began tinkering away, a thought occurred to Bones, who did not hesitate to make his fear known.

"Jim, what about the Halkan Council? Spock has given the order for Sulu to destroy their planet."

"We have to stall, start some kind of a distraction."

"I can help there, Captain." Scotty stated, stepping forward. "It'll take a few minutes, and when I flip the switch, Sulu cannae be watching his monitors."

'What do you have in mind?"

"I can short circuit the phaser couplings. It won't be a permanent solution, but it should give us enough time."

"Good, Scotty. Once you have that completed, see if you and Bones can't work with the computers onboard and get them to help us get home." At their nods, they made to leave sickbay. Before Scotty and Bones could leave, however, Kirk issued his last order. "Keep intercom chatter to a minimum. The bridge may be monitoring them. Keep your communicators handy, and only relay information through them."

Once they were gone, Uhura was the only one remaining. She knew that eventually she was going to have to make her way to the bridge and perform her job, yet it was difficult to make herself go.

"Lieutenant, head to the bridge. Review the communications this ship has had with Starfleet. I want to know what kind of power we are dealing with here."

"Captain, I…"

"What is it, Uhura?"

"I….I'm…" She couldn't bring herself to actually voice her fears and concerns. It wouldn't be professional to break down in front of your captain, or make herself she like a simple minded, weak female. But before she could let her inner thoughts cloud her judgement, Kirk came over.

Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, he lowered his head so it was nearer to hers. "It's alright, Uhura. If anyone can get this done, it's you." With a half-smile, and a squeeze of her shoulder, Uhura's fear and doubts diminished, if only be a little. "I'll be right behind you." And with those parting words, Uhura did as she was bidding.

As she made her way out of the sickbay door, Uhura was shocked to find a familiar, yet not, figure coming her way. When he was directly in front of her, she stopped.

"Can I help you, Commander?" Looking up into the face of this Spock, it was jarring to see how alike, yet different he was to her Spock. And it wasn't all attributed to the goatee he sported.

"Yes, Lieutenant, you can." And before she could stop him, Spock had his left hand wrapped around her delicate throat, pressing her into the wall behind her. His right hand dug painfully into her hip, forcing her to remain still. When at last some sense returned to her, she was them taken aback when she felt his mouth on hers, his tongue probing.

Frozen in shock, Uhura could do nothing but stand completely still while the assault continued. At her lack of response, Spock stiffened and made to pull back. Not wanting him to catch on to the predicament of herself and her party, she began to respond. Uhura found it odd that she had to force herself to return the kiss. This was Spock after all, the man she was madly in love with. Yet, for all of their similarities, this kiss was completely wrong. Where her Spock was always gentle in his handling of her, this Spock held nothing back. There was no tenderness in his kiss or touch, only lust and possession. Nothing that told Uhura she was special or loved. It only spoke volumes of how desperate this man was for his woman, and his woman she was not.

As the kiss continued, Uhura was only brought out of her revere by the hand that had momentarily been on her hip, was now inching its way toward her breast. Before she could stop herself, she shoved the Vulcan with all her might. It was easier than normal as he was distracted by his actions. His fingers around her neck loosened, as did the wandering hand. He took a step back to regain his balance, breathing heavily, and staring at her with lust filled eyes, a sight which only frightened her more.

"You will remember where we are, Commander." She stated, arching her brow in a haughty manner, he raised her face into the air. The action didn't have the desired effect as he made to resume his previous position, but, having gained some composure, Uhura hastily sidestepped him. "I'm needed on the bridge, sir. Captains, orders."

"Of course, Nyota." His speech was low, and she had a hard time hearing it. It almost sounded as if he was, which never happened, chagrined, as if embarrassed by his actions.

At the use of her first name, Uhura was momentarily sidetracked, and for a moment she simply looked at the man in front of her. "I simply wanted to convey that I am… pleased you have returned to the ship unharmed."

Forgetting for a moment which Spock she was interacting with, Uhura reached up and pecked him on the cheek.

"Thank you." She stated sincerely, for at that moment, she was.

As she lowered back to the floor, he nodded at her once, and resumed the walk he had been taking before. As she watched his retreating back, she mentally shook herself, and continued the journey to the bridge she had been previously on.

All she knew what that they needed to get off this ship and back on their own pronto.