Author's Note:

Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while! Things have been crazy lately, what with school and extracurricular activities and birthdays. I apologize for not updating my Gabriel x OC fanfic, either, if you follow that! Not to worry, I'm almost finished with the current chapter and will have that up later tonight. Thank you for all of your support, and thanks for waiting!

-Mackenzie

Chapter 3: MORE THAN JUST A DREAM

Strata sighed, resting in her new, comfy bed her second night on the USS Enterprise. She was glad she was finally out of Sick Bay; the blinking lights and beeps in the room kept her from sleeping. Rolling over, she frowned.

She had no idea whether this was a dream or not. If it were one, she would've been in different pajamas, for one thing. Or, perhaps she would be in her normal everyday clothes. In her opinion, the latter would have been more helpful. Thankfully, though, the crew had given her some extra clothes to wear.

Secondly, she would be immediately promoted to command and would get to wear one of the uniforms. Strata normally got what she wanted in her dreams, so maybe this wasn't one. She had no idea. Maybe she would ask someone to pinch her later; that should clear some things up for her! And quite honestly, if it were a dream, her iPod would never lose its charge. The charge on there was currently dangling by a thread.

Glancing to the alarm clock, its electric blue numbers sticking through the darkness, she rose up and out of bed. What time zone was the clock set on, anyhow? Space time?! That was just another thing she was unsure of. Adding that to her mental checklist of things to ask, she slipped on some regular clothes. She wanted Chekov to explain a few things.

Chekov lifted his head as he heard a knock on the door. Who could it be at this hour? Sliding out of bed with a small groan, he walked to his dresser and changed into something a little more presentable. "Just a second!" he called out after the knocker rapped on his door again.

Jogging to the door, Chekov opened it to reveal Strata. "Oh, hi, Strata." "Hey, Chekov," she greeted him in response. She glanced around nervously. "Uh, this isn't a bad time, is it? I'm not really aware of how you guys have your schedules here…" His eyebrows rose. He would've expected them to give a brief guide to living – whether it be temporary or not – on the USS Enterprise to her. "Nyet, it's fine! Come on in."

Strata stepped into Chekov's room, studying the organized space before her. Numerous books were stacked neatly on a small desk in the corner of the room, some in English, and some in Russian. She glanced over towards the bed, noticing that the covers were tossed around and laying haphazardly. "Did I wake you up?" Strata asked, worried that she had. He needed his rest, after all; he always seemed to be working.

Even though he was previously sleeping, Chekov didn't want to make her feel bad about waking him up. "Nyet, I actually couldn't sleep, Strata! Um," he said, gesturing towards two armchairs in the back corner of the room. "Do you want to sit and talk?" She smiled. "Sure thing." Once they sat down, the two began to have their conversation.

"You know, I'm convinced all of this is some kind of weird dream and I'll find myself waking up late for school," Strata joked. She intended to be joking, at least, although it came out more like a sad confession. "Really?" "Of course. You know, you all are fictional in my world. It's a little bit disappointing since we could really use some people like you guys there."

Chekov didn't really know what to say to that. He could tell that what she had said rang true to her, and frankly, it unnerved him. Was her world really that bad? Choosing not to delve deeper into that – he didn't want to make her think of horrible things she may've seen or heard –, he spoke up. "I…I'm not sure if they do this in your world, but there's a belief that if someone pinches you and you feel it, you're not in a dream." Strata grinned, and for a second, he thought he had embarrassed himself. "We have that same belief too, you know. I was actually going to ask you to pinch me!" "Oh!"

Strata watched in amusement as a tiny blush lit up his face. "Uh, where do you want me to pinch you? I-I don't want to hurt you," Chekov bashfully asked, leaning forward in his seat. She shrugged in response. "I guess my wrist would do."

Closing her light brown eyes, she held her breath as none other than Pavel Chekov reached over and pinched her wrist. Strata Pink, bracing herself for some fall or stab or whatever would pull her back into reality, was nervous. If it were all just a dream, it was a vivid one at that; was she possibly going insane?

Those thoughts claimed her mind, making her sick to the stomach. But then she felt a pinch. She heard a sharp intake of breath, not entirely realizing it was her own. Her eyes fluttered open. "It's all real," she murmured, awestruck. She wasn't insane after all.

Chekov grinned. "I don't know if anyone told you this yet, but…welcome to the USS Enterprise, Strata!" She smiled back at him. "Thank you, Chekov." He paused for a moment, looking down. "You know," he said, grinning cheekily at her, "We're the same age and all that, so you can just call me Pavel." Strata rolled her eyes, returning a cheeky grin back to him.

Running a hand through her brown hair – that just so happened to be in a sidecut –, she spoke up. "Nice way of turning that back around on me, Pavel! Um," she paused for a moment; unsure of what she had on her mind was okay to say at that time. "Does that mean we're friends?"

Pavel was certainly confused by her question. She didn't need to ask that; of course they were friends. Although they didn't necessarily know each other for too long – he soon realized that she could possibly knew some intimate things about him if he was a work of fiction in her world – he was sure that he, at least, wanted to be friends with her.

"Definitely, Strata!" "Great."

A/N:

Please rate and review!

-Mackenzie

Reviews:

ElektraMackenzie: Isn't he? He's perhaps one of my characters by far in the Star Trek series. He's just so cute and intelligent!