"Captain," Spock's serious voice speaks to Kirk as they make their way through the Starfleet headquarters. "You seem to have something on your mind. Care to enlighten?"
Kirk looks at the half-Vulcan from the corner of his eye. "If I tell you, all you'll do is accuse me of treason."
Spock frowns. "Captain?" He watches as his captain avoids him. "I do believe doctor McCoy is keeping a close eye on her. You need not worry over her well-being…"
"Jim!"
Kirk quickly turns to see doctor McCoy running his way clutching a PADD to his chest. "Bones? Where's the girl?"
McCoy stops in a short distance of his captain with an undecided look in his eyes. "She's fine. Look, there's something you need to see." He shows Kirk his PADD to reveal numbers and statistics. "I took samples of cells from her body internally and externally, and… Well…"
"Spit it out, Bones," Kirk urged his friend.
McCoy switches gazes from Kirk and Spock for a moment before continuing. "That girl didn't collapse just yesterday. She was unconscious for at least 72 hours."
The captain and commander look at one-another in surprise.
"Her last food and water intake was more than 3 days ago."
"Fortunately we had found her when we did," Spock adds, seeing McCoy nod in agreement.
"Where is she now?" Kirk speaks up.
McCoy points over his shoulder. "At Starfleet's infirmary. I placed her on a drip and the nurses are monitoring her closely."
"Keep an eye on her," the captain announces before continuing to head down the corridor with Spock at his side.
The doctor watches in disbelief as Kirk and his commander walk away after giving him the order. He clenches his teeth and lowers the PADD to his side. "How long do I have to play babysitter?"
"Captain, is this wise?" Spock's usual doubt lingers in the air as the two walk side-by-side.
Kirk stops and turns to the half-Vulcan. "Come on, Spock. You can't tell me you still see her as a threat?"
"She is of unknown origin and we have placed her in Starfleet headquarters with no security and access to every sector of the building. Her birth register is nowhere to be seen therefore she is invisible to the system, and what is more, doctor McCoy seems to be the only one you are having keep watch of her. He has other duties as a doctor; he cannot watch her 24/7."
Kirk slaps a hand on Spock's shoulder. "Oh, relax! She's not a threat. Besides, you saw her when she first came here; she couldn't tell which way was up or down with this place."
"Which is precisely why I am so concerned."
"How are you feeling, ma'am?" A young nurse asks the girl lying on the medical bed.
The girl glances at the woman next to her before resting her head on the pillow and staring up at the ceiling. "As good as can be expected, I guess," she replies in a disinterested voice.
The nurse smiles. "You seem more willing to talk."
The girl silently shrugs.
"Or… Not," the nurse adds with a frown forming on her face.
"Where's doctor McCoy?" The girl speaks up.
"Right here." A man's voice enters the infirmary. He throws the PADD on a nearby surface before stepping towards the girl. "How are you feeling?"
The girl shrugs indifferently. "Okay. My stomach still hurts, though," she admits.
McCoy gives her a scornful look. "Well it will do for a couple of days. What about strength-wise? Feeling, weak? Dizzy? Lack of concentration, loss of-"
The girl shakes her head. "No," she replies quickly before he can go into a list.
The doctor nods slowly at his young patient. "Okay, well if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
He makes his way over to the side and takes out a small vial full of red liquid and places it in a stand on the work surface.
"What's that?"
McCoy glances over his shoulder to see the girl with her eyes looking towards the vial beside him. "Your blood sample. I took it before you regained consciousness."
The girl carefully sits herself up to get a better view of the doctor's actions. "Are you going to analyse the poison?" Her question causes McCoy to quickly turn and face her with a look of surprise. The girl shrugs lightly. "I overheard the nurses talk about it earlier. They said I had some sort of paralysis poison in my body."
The doctor looks through his natural scowling eyes at the girl casually sitting there watching him. "You did," he confirms bluntly. "I gave you a serum to help remove the remainder out of your blood stream; don't worry, you're clean."
The girl nods with understanding and the doctor returns to experimenting with the blood sample. "I guess I should thank you," she smiles gently. "You saved my life."
McCoy shakes his head. "That's my job, kid. I am a doctor, you know."
"I know, but still…" The girl pauses to look at her abdomen before looking back at the doctor. "Hey, Bones?"
With the sound of his nickname, McCoy's head turns.
"About medicine… Can you teach me?"
The doctor looks at her for a second before grabbing the blood sample and medical equipment. "I'm not a lecturer…"
"I know," the girl quickly says. "You're a doctor."
