I am back, for now. I'm sorry for the long update, I've been so busy lately I don't have time to get to a computer. I'm actually this this before I have to go to school. I got home about 6:45, but I didn't get on my computer till 9:30ish. I'm also a bit sluggish due to my little sinus cold, it's killing me. Blah!
Anyway, Thank you to all who alerted this story and reviewed it, thanks for those who added this to their favorite list too. I really appreciate.
Thanks to my beta-reader, Banana7Pancakes, who takes time out of her busy schedule to read over my story. And thanks to my best buddy Jeck, who read over and gave me some criticism when I needed it. You guys rock.
Enjoy
Disclaimer: Star Trek is owned by Gene Roddenberry, J.J Abrams and Paramount Pictures. If there is anything in the story that looks familiar to the movie or series, it's not mine. Though this is fan fiction so… yeah, it's a bit obvious. I do own the plot and Alexis, plus any other characters that are not familiar with the series are mine. Don't steal, you may borrow with permission.
"You have the vaccine, right?" Leo asked her. She rolled her eyes and held it up, smiling slightly.
"I know how to do my job, Leo," she replied. She walked into the transporter room, raising an eyebrow at Uhura's and Spock's close embrace. She moved her gaze to Leo, who was staring at them, eyes wide. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm.
"Come on, you're kind of looking like a creeper right now," she told him.
"How long have they-"
"Leo, that creeper thing you're doing, it's just getting worse." She kept hold of his arm and walked towards Scotty.
"But, they-"
"Just cover your virgin eyes and get over it," she snapped. His eyebrows furrowed but he left it alone. She turned to Scotty, who was checking out the transporter capabilities.
"This ship is amazing, I can't believe they didn't let me serve here," he muttered.
"You're serving now, that has to count for something," she said. He nodded.
"Still, it's pretty amazing." At that time, Kirk walked in, raising an eyebrow at Uhura and Spock.
"When-"
"Don't even go there," Alexis snapped.
"But-" She shot him a look, and he decided it was safer to leave it alone. He then directed his attention to the intercom system.
"Sulu, if you see an opportunity to fire, take it." Alexis put together her vaccine and walked up to Jim, seeing the apprehension in his eyes.
"Are you sure I need that?" he asked. She nodded.
"You've already had the Milvaran Mudflies. We don't want anything else getting in your system. God only knows what the Romulans have on their ship."
"But that was- Ouch! That was Bones's fault," he defended. A light chuckle erupted from her lips as she shook her head.
"You'll get over it," she muttered. There was a pause between them as she checked over his vitals.
"A.J, you know… I never-"
"Don't do that," she said.
"Do what?" he asked glancing down at her. She looked up, her 5'6" stature seeming a bit short compared to his 6'2" height. Taking a deep breath she answered.
"Don't say goodbye, you'll be back, you know you will. Do not say goodbye when you know you're going to come back. Stop doubting yourself and become that cocky, arrogant, womanizer jerk that get's shit done."
"You think I'm a jerk?" he asked.
"Sometimes," she answered. A smile grew on his lips.
"Don't wait up." He grinned.
"Never do," she retorted, walking back over to Scotty and looking back to Spock and Uhura, who were now finishing up their embrace.
"I will be back." Alexis heard him tell her.
"You better be! I'll be monitoring your frequencies," she replied, kissing him lightly. A small light lit in his eyes and he looked touched.
"Thank you, Nyota," he said tenderly. She smiled and walked over to where the rest of the crew was standing.
"So… her first name is Nyota?" Jim asked.
"I have no comment on the matter," Spock told him. Jim nodded and looked back at the group.
"If their ship makers have any sense whatsoever, I should be transporting you into their cargo bay. Not a soul in sight," Scotty told them.
"Sounds like a plan, beam us out," Jim replied. There was a pause before they both disappeared. Leo immediately grabbed onto Lex's arm.
"Come on," he told her.
"Leo, what are you-"
"We need to go to sickbay, come on!" he told her. She rolled her eyes but followed. When they got there he quickly got a few things together and handed them to her. She took them, watching him carefully.
"Leo, why didn't we get these when we were getting the vaccine?" she asked. He paused and looked at her, an embarrassed look etched on his face.
"I didn't think of it until now." She rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow at him.
"And you're the Chief of Medical," she snapped. He rolled his eyes and helped her take all the stuff back to the transporter room. She impatiently tapped her foot, watching as Scotty tried desperately to track Jim and Spock.
"You can't get anything?" Bones asked. Scotty shook his head.
"No, until that drill thing is destroyed there is nothing." She sighed.
"Come on, Monty, you're a genius, you can't figure anything out?" He shook his head and looked up at her sympathetically.
"I'm sorry, Allie, it's the best I can do," he replied. Leo raised an eyebrow.
"Allie?" Scotty looked up at him.
"Yeah, Alexis… Allie… get it?" Leo nodded.
"You're just full of nick-names… aren't you?" he asked. She shrugged.
"I think you're all just lazy," she told them, earning a laugh from Scotty.
"That may be true, but… oh, wait, I've got a lock!" Scotty shouted. Alexis jumped lightly from his sudden volume change.
"Are they alright?" Alexis asked. Scotty was about to say something when he suddenly cursed under his breath.
"They just warped out of here." A groan of frustration escaped her lips as she began to pace.
"Lex, just calm down, we'll get them." Leo told her. She rolled her eyes and continued to pace, lifting her hand to her lips and biting her nails.
"That's a nasty habit, Allie," Scotty muttered. She shot him a look.
"I know, I haven't been able to break it since I was six," she replied.
"Now is a good time to start." She was about to argue her point, but there was a sudden jerk, which signaled that they were now fighting Nero's ship.
"Where are they?" she asked. Scotty paused to search for them, and then looked at her, a worried expression on his face.
"They're separated. Spock is on a totally different ship, I don't know if I can beam them both onto the ship," he told her.
"You're going to have to find a way, because they need to get out of there soon." As if on cue, Kirk's voice came on the intercom.
"Enterprise, beam us out, Scotty!" he shouted. Scotty took a deep breath and looked at the controls in front of him.
"Maybe if I can calibrate-"
"Monty, I don't care how you do it, just do it!" she told him. He nodded and quickly began working, leaving Alexis and Leonard nothing to do but wait. A moment later and Jim, Spock, and Pike were all on the transporter pad.
"Great going Scotty!" Jim shouted. Scotty raised his fists in triumph and smiled at them.
"I have never beamed three people, from two areas, onto one transporter pad!" he shouted. Kirk helped Pike walk over to the medical officers, and Leo took over from there. He quickly glanced at Alexis and smiled lightly, then ran off to the bridge.
"Lex, help me take him to sickbay," Leo said. She nodded and draped the Captain's arm over her shoulder, and helped him to sickbay. After setting him down she began to re-read Leo's scan, stopping at the same time he did.
"He has a slug in him?" she asked.
"Damn it, I don't know how we're going to get it out. It's still attached to his spine," he muttered. Alexis looked over at the Captain as he gave a painful groan.
"We can zap it!" she said. Leo turned toward her, an eyebrow raised.
"How the hell is that going to help?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.
"You pin point the exact spot where it is and send a small electrical burst at it. Then all you have to do is your doctor thing and get it out. Once it's dead it should be easy." Pike looked at her.
"Is that safe?" he mumbled. She paused then looked at Leo.
"Better knock him out first," she said. Leo nodded and went to get a sedative. At that moment there was a sudden jerk of the ship and Alexis fell to the ground. Leo quickly helped her out, but seemed futile since there was another jerk and she fell once again.
"What's going on?" she asked. Leo pressed a button on a screen and read over it carefully, before turning toward her.
"We're being sucked into a black hole, the ship is falling apart," he replied. Another massive jolt shook the ship and she was on the floor yet again.
"For the love of God," she snapped, holding onto one of the bed's railings. By the time the ship was finally safe, her knuckles were stark white. Leo walked over and helped her up, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"You okay?"
"I hate flying, I have no sense of balance what-so-ever," she mumbled.
"I'm pretty sure you have no sense of balance anywhere." She rolled her eyes and picked up a sedative, walking over to Captain Pike.
"Don't worry, sir, we'll take care of you," she told him as she gave him the sedative. Leo walked over with a internal laser machine, to which she raised an eyebrow.
"We don't really have anything that shoots electricity. I figure a surgical laser will do." She nodded and turned it on.
"Damn it, I actually have to find the bug."
"I believe it's a slug," Leo corrected. She shot him a look but began searching. At that time Jim walked in and began watching her.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm looking for a slug. Then I'm going to laser it and kill it," she told him, moving her finger along the screen. He moved toward her, eyebrows raised.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and shoved him away.
"Stop asking your useless questions and let me do my damn job," she snapped.
"That would seem logical, Jim, seeing as the doctor is skilled when it comes to surgery," Spock said, causing Alexis to jump slightly, as she didn't even know he was there.
"I just wanted to know, I mean it's not everyday you hear someone is going to laser slugs out of people," Jim told him.
"She's not going to laser the slug out of him," Leo snapped.
"What is she doing then?" he asked.
"She's just going to kill the slug so I can go in and take it out," Leo explained.
"Then the creature is still alive?" Spock asked, raising an eyebrow at the doctor's explanation. Leo nodded.
"Yes, it's actually a slug that attaches to the spine and secretes a substance that forces to victim to tell the truth. Unfortunately, it is extremely painful," Leo replied.
"Fascinating," Spock mumbled.
"But.. How-"
"I will be happy to answer all of your questions when I'm done. For right now, shut up!" Alexis snapped, glaring at the men. There was a silence and she immediately began searching for the pest. All the men watched her carefully, analyzing her every move. Ignoring them best she could, she maneuvered her way until she finally found it and zapped it. She gave a sigh of relief when the machine told her it was dead and she backed away from it, giving Leo a nod.
"Excellent work, doctor, you show admirable skills in the medical field," Spock said. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Thank you, sir," she mumbled, looking down.
"Was that a complement?" Jim asked. There was a small trace of a smile on his face and he shrugged his shoulders.
"Take it as you will." She laughed and looked at J.T.
"Jeez, I leave you alone for an hour and you're practically broken," she muttered. He shrugged.
"Yeah well, you know how dangerous I can be." She laughed again and shook her head, a few memories coming to mind at his statement.
"Can't deny that. You want me to look at your cuts and bruises?" she asked.
"I actually have to get back to the bridge, but I'll see you around A.J," he told her, pulling her into a hug despite her being hesitant.
"Yeah, I'll see you around," she replied, pulling herself away. He nodded and left sickbay. Spock watched her for a minute before leaving as well, giving Alexis a moment to finally catch her breath.
- + _ + _ + _ + _ + _ +-
"We still would like you to consider working in our Lab, Doctor Kohler. The Enterprise has a fine doctor, we don't see why it would need two." Alexis looked down at the ground, then glanced back up at them.
"I understand, doctors."
"Then, will you be accepting our offer?" She paused and looked back down to the floor. Her weight shifted from foot to foot as she bit her bottom lip, debating over her choices. She finally took a glance up at the leaders of the Starfleet Academy laboratory, one of the finest in the world.
"May I have time to think, doctors? I'm more than honored of your choice to keep me around, I just… I have other factors to think about." There was a silence before doctor Harrison stood up.
"Doctor Kohler, before we grant you time to think about your decision, are you sure this is what you really want?" she asked, her aging face looking surprisingly kind.
"Doctor Harrison… I just… Though I must admit that being part of Starfleet's top research lab is what I've been truly wanting, and always will-"
"Then I do not see the problem," another doctor, Doctor Patterson, snapped. Alexis looked back down to the ground and tried to regain her confidence.
"Sir, the Enterprise is… I don't know how to explain it. I have come to love the Enterprise, and in the short time I've spent there I've made a home for myself. So, you see, it's a little difficult for me to make my decision without fully thinking it through." Doctor Harrison smiled lightly at her.
"Of course, take as much time as you need. You will always be welcome in this lab, Doctor Kohler." Alexis smiled and bowed her head in respect, then turned and left the room, and continued to make her was out of the building. Across the way she could see a few people walk out of the main Starfleet building, signaling the end of Jim Kirk's promotion ceremony.
"A.J!" a voice called. Looking down the stairs in front of the Starfleet Academy laboratory entrance, she could clearly see Jim running up the stairs to meet her.
"Hey, how did the ceremony go?" she asked. He shrugged it off, his eyes betraying a small sense of pride.
"Boring, same old thing as ever." She rolled her eyes.
"You loved it," she told him, lightly shoving his shoulder. A smile grew on his face as he walked down the stairs with her.
"It was interesting. Why weren't you there? When I asked Bones where you were he said to look for you at the laboratory." She stopped and turned toward him, her lips pressing together. She let her eyes drift to the ground.
"They… They want me to become a researcher in the Starfleet Academy Laboratory." He paused and seemed to think it over for a minute, before frowning slightly and shaking his head.
"Wait, you're leaving the Enterprise?" he asked. She sighed and bit her bottom lip, avoiding looking him in his eyes.
"I don't know," she muttered. There was a silence between them as they both thought it over.
"No matter what you do, A.J, I'll be behind you." She smiled lightly.
"Thanks, J.T, that means a lot."
"So, what are you going to do?" he asked. She looked up at the remains of the drill Nero used to try and destroy the world, and looked back at Jim, smiling slightly.
"I think I'm going to see what the Enterprise holds for me." He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It'll be good to have you aboard, Doctor Kohler." She chuckled.
"Same here, Captain Kirk."
- + _ + _ + _ + _ + _ +-
"Sleeping on the job?" Her head shot up off the desk, causing her reading glasses to fall. She looked up at a smirking Jim, and rolled her eyes.
"Not like I have a lot to do in here," she muttered, fixing her glasses and attempting to smooth out her hair. Jim walked further in and sat on her desk next to her. She looked up at him, her tired brown eyes meeting is over-confident blue.
"Is that why you've been hanging with Scotty?" he asked. She nodded and let her head rest on her hand. Jim took the time to glance around her office, not being surprised when everything was extremely clean. He saw her pens all lined up evenly and he just knew the filing cabinet was in alphabetical order or arranged in some other way. The fact that he was sitting on her desk was probably annoying her; she would most likely wipe down the desk and straighten whatever he messed up later.
"He's fun to talk to, and most the time it's nice to sit and watch him work. His job is much more interesting than mine," she confessed. A skeptical look became etched on Jim's face as he looked down at her.
"If this job is boring, why did you go to Starfleet to become a doctor?" he asked. She paused for a second, letting the question sink in before she answered.
"I'm honestly not too sure. I've always been good at that sort of thing…"
"You don't have to tell me twice, A.J, I'd probably be dead if it wasn't for your expert first aid." She rolled her eyes.
"I don't know about that, but anyway… I'm not sure, when it comes to medical stuff and biology things I've always just had a knack for it. It seemed logical to enter into that field when I joined Starfleet."
"Now you're sounding like Spock," Jim told her, laughing a little. She laughed as well, and shook her head at the thought of becoming like the Vulcan commander.
"You know what I mean," she snapped playfully. He threw her one of his award winning smirks, and leaned toward her a little. This small movement made a small flutter in her stomach, and she was sure if he moved any closer to her, her heart begin to jump out of her chest.
"I think we should have a drink." She rolled her eyes and began typing up a few things on her laptop, trying to distract herself from the fact that he was so close to her, and that he was making the pens on her desk uneven.
"Should we?" she asked. He nodded.
"Yeah, it can be like old times. Sitting at a bar, having a few drinks…"
"Watching you pick up girls, watching you get into bar fights. Oh yes, gotta love those old times," she muttered. His deep laugh reached her ears and made her smile automatically.
"I guess we'll wait until we're back in Iowa for that." She nodded and took her glasses off, placed them in their holder and closed her laptop.
"What's on your mind, J.T. Don't you have a ship to run?" she asked. He shrugged and smirked.
"Spock is taking care of it. I haven't seen you in a month, since we took off from Starfleet, I wanted to say hi." She raised an eyebrow and looked at him for a moment. He shifted very slightly under her gaze.
"That's all?" she asked. There was a pause.
"Well, that and I wanted to know if you can hook me up with that nurse, Lisa." She rolled her eyes and stood up.
"No," she told him, walking out of her office and into sickbay.
"Oh come on, A.J, I need-"
"You need to keep it in your pants. I mean, honestly, how many women can you screw?" she asked, earning a look from Leo as she left sickbay, the new captain on her heels. Jim quickly sped up so he was next to her.
"I think the better term would be 'satisfy a woman's every need.' Screw sounds like I'm a whore." She stopped and turned toward him.
"You are a whore," she stated, before she continued walking.
"But I'm a sexy whore." She rolled her eyes and continued her way to engineering.
- + _ + _ + _ + _ + _ +-
"Can you talk to Jim?" Leo asked. Alexis turned toward him and raised an eyebrow.
"Why do you need me to talk to him?" she asked.
"Because the damn fool keeps hitting on my nursing staff, that's why!" She chuckled and shook her head. She always felt bad for Leo, especially when they were in the academy. Long ago she had learned to ignore Jim's antics. Leo, however, wasn't so lucky.
"You really think I can stop him?" she asked. He sighed and sat down next to her at the med station.
"I was hoping you might at least scare him. You had no problem doing it back in the academy," he told her.
"Back in the academy he didn't have his own ship." Leo sighed and began to go through some paperwork. Alexis glanced over and gave a small smile. When they entered the academy, the last person she would've thought to be close with was Leonard McCoy. But since she spent most of her time with Jim, and Leo was Jim's roommate, they had eventually became friends. Not to mention they both had classes together, and when you don't know anyone in the academy except your best friend's room mate (or in Leo's case, your roommate's best friend), you tend to grow close. They also tended to have a few things in common: their love of southern whiskey, their hatred of bitchy women, their love of old literature, and above all, they both had to deal with Jim.
"Did we send out the message to the crew that we need to give them all physicals?" he asked. She paused and shook her head.
"No, I don't think so, do you want me to send it out?" she asked. He nodded.
"Yeah, you can take care of a few physicals, right?" She rolled her eyes.
"You would know, I learned almost everything from you." He chuckled and shrugged. He couldn't deny what was true. During the academy he had been a bit of a mentor when it came to her school work, not that he minded. She usually made it up to him by letting him stay in her dorm room when Jim was 'busy'. She had even gone out and bought a air bed for him, because she didn't want him to hurt his back.
"You need a physical too, Leo," she muttered. She noticed him turn a light red but he shrugged it off.
"I can give myself a damn physical, I'm a doctor, damn it." She resisted the urge to chuckle and turned toward him.
"What if you have a tumor on your ass? I'm pretty sure you don't look at your ass to make sure you don't have a tumor there." He glared at her.
"No one is going anywhere near my ass," he snapped.
"Oh, but Leo, it's such a cute ass. I would know," she said, a large smile on her face. She no longer was able to hold back her laughter when she saw his face. He went from shocked, to embarrassed, and was now a bright red. She was enjoying this too much. One of her favorite things in the world was to get Leo worked up, since he had some of the best reactions ever.
"Whatever, I'm not getting a physical." She ignored him and began to type on her data pad.
"I'll schedule you for tomorrow, at 1400 hours. That way you can get some lunch in before your exam."
"Damn it, woman, I don't need a damn physical!" She brushed him off and continued to type.
"You know, I think a guy of your age should get a prostate exam, I'll schedule you for that too." He reached over and took her data pad.
"I am not that old," he hissed.
"Yeah, whatever, pops," she muttered. He glared at her.
"Maybe you need some embarrassing test that I will make you do." She raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds dirty. Don't you get laid?" she asked. He gave a sigh; she knew damn well that he hated talking about sex.
"Now you're pushing it."
"It's okay if you're not, you know. You can always do what Spock does and just meditate all that frustration away," she said, leaning back in her chair.
"I will not do anything that pointy-eared bastard might do to… Damn it, never mind." She raised an eyebrow.
"Too much sexual tension isn't good for you, just for the record. Can't go too long without sex, Leo." He rolled his eyes.
"I've been married, I can go forever without sex." She frowned.
"Thanks, Leo, now I don't want to get married," she muttered.
"Just marry a idiot like Jim, you'll never have to worry about it."
"I don't want to marry an idiot, I want to marry a smart guy. Like a doctor or something," she replied.
"All men are idiots."
"Except for you," she stated.
"Except for me." She nodded and there was a very long silence before she spoke once more.
"We should get married." Leo raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, should we?" he asked. She smiled.
"Yeah, I mean, think about it. I don't want an idiot, and you don't want a bitch. It totally works." He shook his head.
"The last thing I need is to get married again." She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, but I wouldn't be like your ex-wife. You don't have anything I want. Plus, unlike your wife, I know you're good in bed. I mean, that bitch needed to be high not to enjoy something like that," she told him. He looked down at her.
"Lex, we were both drunk, I don't think that counts."
"Are you kidding? Drunk or not it was still some pretty damn good sex. Imagine what would happen if we were sober!" Leo slammed down his data pad and looked at her, now knowing that she was just trying to annoy him. She was obviously bored.
"Now who needs to get laid." She scrunched her nose and stuck her tongue out at him. She then laughed but gave a nod.
"I do, don't I?" she muttered. He nodded. "You interested?"
"No, I'm not." She put on a frown.
"Ouch, way to hurt my ego."
"I'm a doctor, not some sort of, God damn sex machine." She laughed.
"I don't know. I'm not sure if even Jay can bend the way you did." He shook his head. Sometimes she was more like Jim than she knew. He figured it must just have been something she picked up after sixteen years of hanging with him.
"You should call some of your friends down in engineering, I'm sure they'll be happy to help," he told her. She scoffed.
"This is because I hang out with Monty, isn't it?" He said nothing and went to tend a patient. She gave a sigh and shook her head. "Lame…"
- + _ + _ + _ + _ + _ +-
Her hands moved through the wires and plugs until she found what she was looking for. She gave a small smirk of triumph before pulling the small shot glass, that he had accidentally dropped after taking a shot, out of the machinery. She turned around and handed it to Scotty.
"Told you I could get it." He laughed.
"Aye, you did. But in my defense your hands are smaller than mine." She rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"Sure, use that as an excuse." He laughed.
"Don't expect to be around machinery anytime soon, I still don't trust you enough to fix anything." She blushed and shrugged.
"Fair enough, as long as I can still hang down here with you," she answered.
"What I don't understand is, if you are a doctor, why are you spending all this time in engineering, simply watching me work?" he asked.
"I'll admit it, you're a sexy beast, I can't keep myself away." A loud laugh echoed through the level and Scotty shook his head.
"Yeah, okay, what's the real answer?" he asked. A small chuckle erupted from her lips, and she shrugged, pushing back her bangs.
"I get bored. I know I'm not helping you or anything. I'm pretty much sitting around watching you work, but it's more interesting than going over species and plants for hours. I mean, sometimes I help out Leo, but the cases we get in sickbay are pretty easy to take care of, so I get bored," she confessed.
"Makes sense, and even though you are just sitting around doing nothing, I'll still let you hang out down here. Since I am one sexy beast." This time, her laugh erupted through the level and she nodded.
"You know it. Now, how about some lunch?" she asked. He nodded and they both headed to the lift.
"So, what part of the mid-west are you from?" Scotty asked.
"Iowa, both my grandparents lived there all their lives." He nodded his head.
"But… you're parents didn't?" he asked. She shook her head.
"They were space explorers. They were married and instantly began traveling across the universe, even after my mom had my older brother and me, they just kept going." He nodded.
"Sounds like fun, I bet you saw a lot of sights as a child." She shook her head as they walked off the lift and into the mess hall.
"Not really, I spent most of my time in Iowa with my extended family." He was about to ask her further but was slightly distracted when one of generators generated a sandwich in front of him.
"I love sandwiches," he muttered. She laughed and generated a sandwich for herself. She followed Scotty as he sat across from two men in yellow shirts, one of Asian descent and the other seemed to be a young boy.
"Scotty, vat are you doing out of engineering?" the young boy asked, his Russian accent thick in his voice.
"I needed a sandwich, they just don't generate themselves, you know," he said. Alexis sat down across from the Asian man, and smiled back when he threw a welcoming smile her way.
"You one of the new recruits we picked up?" he asked. A light, slightly irritated, chuckle erupted from her lips as she shook her head.
"No, I've actually been here for a while." The man turned a little red.
"Sorry, I'm not good with faces," he confessed.
"It's fine. Alexis Kohler, I'm a doctor in sickbay, but I'm usually in engineering these days," she told him, holding her hand out for him to shake, which he did.
"Hikaru Sulu, I'm the pilot of the ship," he replied. She nodded and looked over at the younger man, who was smiling widely at her as he held out his hand.
"Pavel Chekov, I am zee elmsmen," he said. She shook his hand and smiled warmly at him.
"More like boy genius if you ask me," Scotty muttered.
"Really?" she asked, taking a sip of her water.
"Tell her how old you are," Scotty told him.
"Seventeen!" he stated proudly. The simple fact made her almost choke on her water, but she quickly recovered and looked over the boy in front of her. He wasn't even out of high school.
"Wow…" she mumbled in amazement.
"I know, they just keep getting younger and younger, don't they," Hikaru said. She sighed and smiled at him.
"Either way, you must be pretty smart for them to put you on the Enterprise." Pavel shrugged.
"I suppose, I just vanted to join Starfleet, 'ere I can really put my logic to use." She smiled at him.
"I know how that feels." She took a bite of her sandwich and looked over when she heard a loud giggle, rolling her eyes when she saw what it was.
"'ow does 'e do it?" Pavel asked, looking over at Jim flirting with some nurse from sickbay. Alexis rolled her eyes.
"Years of practice," she replied.
"I guess so, but I mean, I heard he was like this in the academy even," Hikaru said, which caused her to nod in agreement.
"Pretty much, I think it started in middle school." A confused look came to Hikaru and Pavel as they looked at her.
"And you know dis… 'ow?" Pavel asked. She shrugged.
"I've known him since I was in the third grade." Pavel went wide-eyed as he looked from the captain, then back at her.
"You've known the Keptin for zat long?" he asked. She nodded.
"Are you another one of his… well…" Hikaru trailed off, causing her to raise an eyebrow at his inquiries.
"I haven't slept with him, if that's what you're asking. I think sleeping with Jim Kirk is about the worst thing any woman could possibly do, unless they're just looking for a good night." Hikaru turned a little red but didn't push it any further.
"Kirk, Spock, Uhura, it seems like everyone is getting together on this ship," Scotty muttered, finishing up his sandwich.
"Aw, are you getting lonely, Monty?" Alexis jested.
"How could I, Allie, when I have you down in engineering all the time?" Allie laughed and shook her head. Pavel furrowed his eyebrows.
"You mean, you two are-"
"No, Pavel, it's a joke, we're not really like that," Alexis told him.
"We could be," Scotty told her, trying to hold back a smile.
"No, we couldn't." Hikaru chuckled and Pavel shook his head, not quite getting it. Alexis chuckled and stood up, grabbing her tray.
"Well, I think I should probably head back to my lab, Leo probably has some molds for me to look at."
"Molds?" Pavel asked. She rolled her eyes.
"Leo McCoy has a little fetish for alien plant life, don't ask me," se replied.
"I'll see you in engineering, Allie," Scotty told her.
"Of course, Monty. It was nice meeting you, Hikaru, Pavel."
"Wonderful to meet you too," Pavel replied.
"Nice meeting you." Hikaru smiled. She nodded and left the mess hall, leaving the men alone. Hikaru looked at Scotty.
"She's… quiet, compared to the rest of the crew." Monty shrugged.
"That's just because you don't know her yet."
Story Title "Circus" comes from the Britiney Spears song. It really has nothing to do with the chapter, 'cept that the Enterprise is kinda like a Circus. It's a great song regaurdless, I like the beat.
Anyway, I love reviews. Hope to see you next chapter!