You came slowly back to consciousness. The blood in your ears was roaring. Finding yourself coming back from unconsciousness was beginning to be a really annoying habit you think to yourself. Wait a minute, that roar, thats not blood roaring in your ears. Thats a waterfall you conclude. Waterfall? "Jo.." your eyes snap open and you sit up immediately.
"Jo" you tried to say, but you began choking on a lung full of water.
"Hey, easy there. Take it easy, lass. You took quite the tumble" you heard a voice say that was definitely not Jos, but belonged to a man. You heard the man walk up behind you, then felt their hand on your back and the other underneath your arm to help you up.
You rocketed to your feet and turned around to face the man, putting space between the two of you. Your hands immediately started fumbling for your bow, only to have your heart sink when you don't feel the bowstring across your chest.
"Easy lass, easy. I'm not going to hurt you" the man said as he raised his arms in the air.
"Forgive me if I don't believe you" you say, regarding his every movement and giving him a thorough once over.
"Wheres Jo" you ask, fearing the worst.
"Relax, shes further inside, getting warm by the fire. Which is what you should do, you're soaked and shaking" the man replied.
You stared at him and noted the look on his face and he seemed to actually look concerned about you. He was right though, you were shaking. Although you weren't sure if it was from being cold or from the adrenaline.
You reluctantly took your eyes off the stranger in order to take in your surroundings. You were in a fairly large cave, a cave behind the waterfall.
"The names Paul, whats yours" Paul asked as he offered out his hand. You made no move to shake his hand or offer your name. Paul almost looked hurt. "You don't trust me, I get it, but if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. Both you and the girl" Paul stated.
He was right you thought. He could have easily killed you both and been done with it, so why hadn't he? Curiosity getting the best of you, you relent and extend your hand.
"Kirk, Y/N Kirk" you say as you shake his hand.
"Kirk" Paul questioned quietly and surprised "makes sense"
"What's that supposed to mean" you ask
"Come on, we'll talk by the fire. We don't need you getting hypothermia. I'll also bet you want to see your daughter" Paul said as he made to lead you further inside.
"My daughter? Oh, no, Jos not my daughter. Everyone seems to think so apparently, which is probably why she's in this mess with me" you grumble as you follow Paul further in, still not completely letting your guard down.
You began to smell the telltale smells of a fire. As you got closer, you could see a tiny shadow dancing on the walls in the fire light.
"Jo" you yell, pushing your way past Paul.
"Aunt Y/N" Jo exclaims "You're awake! I was so worried" as she runs up and gives you a hug with only one arm. You hold Jo close, soaking her shirt once more in the process.
"Come on Jo, let's get dry" you say as you move to usher her toward the flames. You notice she's holding her arm close to her chest.
"Jo, are you ok" you scrutinized
"Yeah, Im fine Y/N" Jo replies quietly.
"Jo" you stop walking and put your hand on her tiny shoulder "don't lie to me Jo, please. Not now" you plead. Jo just guilty and stared at her feet.
"I think she hurt her wrist, but she won't let me get close enough to have a look" Paul said helpfully.
"Good girl Jo. Now lets have a look" you say once again, leading Jo to the fire.
"This might hurt a bit, ok" you say as you go to lift her arm to you.
"Ok" Jo breathes out, letting out a tiny whimper as you take her wrist in your hands gently and start feeling and manipulating it around. Jo winced at your movements and tried to yank her wrist away involuntarily.
"Im sorry Jo, I'm done now. Im pretty sure its broken" Jo just let a tear roll down her cheek in response "you'll feel better once we set it and get that bone lined up. I promise" you say as you reassure her with a hug.
"Paul do you have any sticks, ropes, anything" you ask finally acknowledge his presence.
"I can probably come up with something" Paul replied as he left the small room.
You sit down on the ground next to the fire, up against the cave wall. You encourage Jo to sit on your lap, which she is all too happy to do so. She curls up in your lap with her head on your shoulder. You lean your head over and rest your cheek on the top of Jos head.
You were tired, no, exhausted. You hadn't slept since that night in the cell, and that wasn't very long. That tumble off the cliff had completely done you in. The warmth of the fire began to seep through your still damp clothes and warmed your core. You began to doze off.
"Here you go, lass" Paul said as he came back in the room.
You snorted yourself awake. When did you fall asleep? How long had it been? Paul had brought some straight sticks and some twine and fabric. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing. You took the supplies from his outstretched hands gratefully.
"Thank you" you mumble "ok Jo, let's get this set. I'm not going to lie or sugar coat it. It's going to hurt because I'm going to have to pull your wrist back so the bones will line up right"
"I understand, just please hurry" she asked. Jo had always appreciated you talking to her like she was an adult and not glossing over any details just because she was a child. This time, however, she was not appreciating it one bit.
You took her wrist and began to get to work, explaining everything you were doing before you did it.
"How does that feel, Jo? Feel better" you ask.
"Yeah, thanks Aunt Y/N" Jo replied sniffling slightly.
"You did great, Jo. I'm proud of you. You're one tough little girl" you said smiling down at her.
"I learned from the very best" Jo replied sleepily.
"That you did, Jo" you say as you give her a kiss on the top of her head "you need to get some sleep. I'll watch over you"
You pulled Jo back in close as she laid her head in your lap. You began to run your fingers through her hair until you heard her soft snores. You chuckle to yourself "she takes after Bones" you thought. You sigh as you laid your head back against the cave wall.
"Go ahead and get some sleep, lass. I'll take watch for a few hours. You look like hell. We'll talk in the morning" Paul offered.
You thought about protesting, but you were too damn tired. Against your better judgement, you closed your eyes and promptly fell asleep.
"Aunt Y/N, Aunt Y/N, wake up" Jo repeated as she shook your shoulder "get up, it's breakfast time" You snorted awake and groaned. You ached in places that you didn't even know existed.
"Breakfast" you ask as you give Jo a questioning look "Jo.. what.."
"It's not much, but it's really all there is that's edible around here" Paul said as he offered you a leaf full of what looked to be fruits and nuts.
"Thanks" you reply while giving it a once over.
"It's not poisoned" Paul laughed "when are you going to trust me"
"Maybe when you tell me who the hell you are and how you know me" you say as you take a tentative bite. Whatever it is, is pretty good. You begin to inhale it, just now realizing how hungry you really were.
"I'm just like you, someone who pissed them off. Weapons deal gone bad, specifically. So here I am" Paul replied stretching out his arms.
"How do you know who I am" you question as Jo moves to sit in your lap with her own fruit and nuts. You squeeze her tightly.
Paul snorts "Who doesn't know who you are, or at least your brother. Everyone has heard about that little incident"
"Oh" you grumble "just great. I should have figured. So how the hell did you find this cave, and figure out what's edible in this hellhole in the span of a day"
Paul was silent for a few moments as he stoked the fire. "I've been here before" he said finally.
"Come again" you reply
"I was the winner of the last games" Paul replied glumly "There is no escape, just this arena. You either keep winning and coming back, or you die. Either way, there is no escaping, there is no going home"
"This is wonderful news, here I was beginning to think the Romulans would be true to their word" you replied sullenly.
Jo looked pretty glum "what do we do now Y/N"
"I don't know Jo" you say, letting out a large sigh "I don't know…"
"Well you've really only got one option" Paul replied.
You squeeze your eyes tight at his suggestion. You know he's right. You were going to have to suck it up and just do it. Turn off everything in your mind but survival. You couldn't let Jo or yourself die in this hell hole.
"I know, you're right" you say as you nudge Jo off your lap so you could stand. Good god you needed to stretch.
"What's the plan" you ask, looking to paul.
Jim was in his quarters, standing in the shower. He let the scalding water cascade down his back and face as it mixed with his hot tears. He had finally allowed himself to breakdown, he felt so lost. He wished he could be like Bones, but he had a ship to command. Bones probably hadn't been sober for 5 minutes since the two of you were taken.
Jim shut off the water just in time to hear his comm go off. He didn't care. Jim slowly got out of the shower and dried himself off, while his comm went off yet again.
"Leave me the fuck alone" Jim cursed as he rubbed his face and hair with a towel. He looked like hell, felt like it too. He hadn't eaten, hadn't slept since you two were taken. He and Bones were complete wrecks and Jim didn't know what they were going to do if he couldn't find the two of you. He didn't want to think about it.
Jim sighed and closed his eyes and placed his head on the mirror, tears prickled threateningly at the corners of his eyes. He forced himself not to cry anymore. He took a deep breath, as his comm rang yet again.
Getting angry, he stomped out of the bathroom and picked up his comm and answered it angrily, foregoing any pleasantries.
"What" Jim spat
"Captain, your presence is requested on the bridge immediately" Spock's voice filled the room.
Jim pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is it Spock" Jim asked frustrated.
"We found them, Jim" was all Spock replied. Jim dropped his comm where he stood and put on the nearest clothes he could find and raced to the bridge.
Jim arrived on the bridge in no time flat. "Where" was all Jim said in greeting.
"Kepler, Captain" Spock replied.
"Kepler? The hell they doing on Kepler" Jim mumbled.
"They seem to have established a new colony there, Captain. Uhura was about to pin point where the call came from and we used the videos of Y/N to confirm that the terrain matched up. It's a 93.6% match, Captain" Spock stated.
"That's good enough for me, what are we waiting for? Get us to that planet Mister Sulu" Jim ordered.
"Aye, Aye Captain. We should be there in approximately 8 hours, sir" Sulu replied.
Jim groaned, "8 hours"? This was going to be an excruciatingly long wait.
"Bones" Jim thought suddenly. In his haste and excitement, he completely forgot to comm Bones. He didn't figure he would have answered anyway. He had holed himself in your room and refused to come out or talk to anyone. He'd have to go in person, he needed to check on him anyway.
Jim made his way to your quarters, punched in the door code and strode in quickly.
"Bones" Jim yelled, almost knocked off his feet. It smelled like a damn brewery in here. Y/N was not going to be happy if she found out Bones was drinking himself stupid.
"Bones, where the hell are you" Jim called out once more. No reply. Great. Jim made his way to your bedroom and saw Bones lying on your bed, passed out with an empty bourbon bottle on the floor.
"Christ, Bones" Jim murmured, his heart breaking for his friend. Jim made his way to the side of the bed and began shaking Bones shoulder.
"Bones, wake up. Come on, up you get" Jim said "come on you idiot, wake up"
Bones just groaned in reply without moving a muscle or opening his eyes. "The hell for" Bones said as his words slurred together.
"Jesus, are you still drunk? You know Y/N is going to murder you, right" Jim asked as he took the covers and tossed them off the bed.
"The hell Jim" Bones complained "leave me alone"
"No, you're getting out of bed and taking a shower and that's an order" Jim said using his Captain voice.
Bones glared at him before slowly making his way to getting up "I hate you, Jim" Bones said as he glared at Jim and rubbed his face.
"You won't for long, now up" Jim ordered again as he went to grab Bones arm to help him up. Bones just swatted at his hands.
"Get off me" Bones grumped. Bones went to stand on his own, and began to sway dangerously on his feet. He had to grab Jim's shoulder for support. Jim just smiled smugly at him.
"Shut up, Jim" Bones said as he let go of Jim's shoulder and slowly shuffled his way to the shower.
Jim was waiting on Bones with a cup of coffee. He handed it to Bones as he made his way to the couch.
"Thanks" Bones said "I hope there's liquor in this"
"No more liquor for you Bones, I mean it" Jim said
"Yes, mother" Bones replied, as he took a sip "Oh, god, real coffee" as he savored another sip "So what the hell is so important, Jim"
"We found them, Bones" Jim said. It took Bones bourbon soaked brain a few extra seconds to process what Jim had just said. Jim say the glint in his eyes when the gears finally clicked.
"YOU WHAT" Bones roared, almost spilling his coffee everywhere "When? Where? How?" Bones was in high gear now.
"Easy Bones, we traced them from…" Jim trailed off. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell Bones about the video that he had watched, that he had been watching ever since Ajek hailed you. With the fragile state his friend was in, he decided against it.
"..from the call when Ajek hailed the ship. A planet called Kepler. We should be there in about 8 hours"
Bones just nodded his head in response and rain his hands through his damp hair, making it stick up all over the place. He sat back down with his arms on his legs, wringing his hands and staring at his coffee cup.
"Are they even.." Bones trailed off, not able to even say the word.
"We don't know…. they had better be, or else Ajek will pay dearly. Come on Bones, we got work to do. You need to go to medbay and get a hangover cure or something. You really do look awful" Jim grimaced.
"Thanks a lot kid" Bones rolled his eyes but got up from the couch to make his way to medical.
He felt lighter than he had in days. You and Jo were found. He just hoped you were both ok. He couldn't live with himself if something were to happen to either of you. Before he could confess his feelings to you.. He shook his head and forced the thought out of his mind. They would find the two of you and he would finally tell you how he felt. He would never let you or Jo out of his sight ever again.