Chapter 4:

Captain Kirk looked at Spock for a moment then nodded. It was then that Dr. M'Benga came out of the room and approached both him and Spock.

"How is he, Doctor?" Captain Kirk asked.

"He's awake, thankfully. His lungs have a lot of toxic intake and burns from the smoke. He'll have a serious case of bronchitis for a while. I'm treating him with medicine right now which should make the recovery process shorter than what it usually is," Dr. M'Benga said.

Captain Kirk nodded barely and sighed sadly.

Dr. M'Benga raised his eyebrow.

"What's wrong, Captain? You should be happy that Mr. Scott and the others have minor to no injuries at all."

"Miss Medford, Scotty's fiancée, was killed in the fire." Captain Kirk answered softly.

"How?"

"Burned alive, Doctor," Spock softly said.

Dr. M'Benga hung his head and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Captain. I give Mr. Scott my condolences," The young doctor said.

"I'm just trying to think of how to break him the news easy as possible," Captain Kirk said, still trying to think.

"Not even I can help Mr. Scott with recovering from grief. Those injuries have to heal on their own. Just do it gently, Captain. It'll be enough stress as it is on him."

"Can we see him?" Captain Kirk asked.

Dr. M'Benga nodded and gestured for him, Spock, and sleeping Julia to enter into the room. The two top in command entered and found Scotty lying in a bio bed in his Starfleet uniform, resting his eyes. Scotty opened his eyes slowly and looked at Captain Kirk and Spock.

Captain Kirk handed Spock Julia and made his way to Scotty's bedside and sat down beside his legs. Spock stood near the entrance swaying gently with Julia watching both men.

"How are you feeling, Scotty?" Captain Kirk asked softly.

"Tired, Captain, but I'll be alright." Scotty answered.

Captain Kirk did not answer. He was not sure how alright Scotty would be after he told him what had happened to Sabrina. He swallowed a knot in his throat and began with what he had so far.

"Scotty...the fire's been put out in Engineering."

"How bad's the damage, Captain?"

"Bad enough. We'll have to stop at Star Base 9 in order to make the necessary repairs in order to keep the ship steady and running efficiently. It'll give you time to rest and the others, too."

"I'll do whatever you want me to do in the meanwhile, Captain."

Captain Kirk licked his dry lips and swallowed again. This was the hard part now.

"Scotty...there's something that you should know." Captain Kirk began.

Scotty looked around suddenly then back at his commanding officer.

"Captain...where's Sabrina?" Scotty asked.

Captain Kirk was silent briefly. Hearing his chief engineer ask him about his deceased fiancée made the young captain forget what he was going to tell him in the first place.

"Scotty...Sabrina is…" Captain Kirk paused.

Scotty sat up a bit.

"Is she hurt, Captain?" Scotty asked worried.

"Not exactly," Captain Kirk answered. "During the fire, you collapsed from a severe cough attack."

"I know that, Captain. What about Sabrina?"

"What do you remember?"

"I remember helping somebody out of the room and beginning to cough like crazy...I could hardly breathe, Captain."

Captain Kirk hesitated to ask his next question, but it was necessary.

"Do you remember someone screaming inside the room, Scotty?" Captain Kirk asked.

Scotty looked blankly at Captain Kirk, as if he did not hear his commanding officer ask a question.

"Scotty...Sabrina got stuck inside the Engineering Room during the fire. I was forced to restrain you from going back in, while the fire team went in to take care of and put out the fire."

"Is she alright, Captain?"

Captain Kirk did not answer. He turned back to look at Spock for help. His second in command nodded gently. Understanding, the captain turned around and again spoke to Scotty.

"Scotty...Sabrina's gone."

"What do yah mean 'she's gone'?"

"Scotty...she didn't make it out in time...she was burned alive."

Scotty made no reaction for about a minute. His jaw was hanging, and his eyes were bugging out of his head. He finally shook his head slowly, trying to believe it was not true. That Sabrina would walk into the room at any moment now and tell him she was okay.

"No she ain't, Captain. She's not gone," Scotty said.

"I know you don't wanna believe it, but…" Scotty cut Captain Kirk off.

"She ain't dead, Captain! I spoke to her an hour ago!" Scotty cried, getting angry.

"You've been unconscious for two hours, Scotty. The fire's been put out now, and Sabrina was not found in the remains."

Scotty shook his head, fighting back tears.

"Captain...she ain't...she ain't gone, Captain...Tell me she's not gone!" Scotty begged.

"Lieutenant Giotto reported to us confirming it, Mr. Scott," Spock softly said.

"I grieve with thee, Scotty," Captain Kirk said softly.

"No! No, Captain, no!" Scotty wailed. He covered his eyes and started bawling. Captain Kirk reached forward and rubbed Scotty's shoulder gently. He could feel Scotty's pain and felt horrible for his friend. He wanted to do something to make him feel better, but there was nothing he could do but be there for him in his time in need.

Captain Kirk walked into Dr. McCoy's room exhausted and depressed. He was hoping his best friend would be able to make him feel better. He was thankful to find Dr. McCoy up and reading a book at his desk. The old doctor looked up and saw the look on Captain Kirk's face. He did not look happy. He rose from his seat and made his way to the young captain.

"Jim," He gasped. "What's wrong? Where's Julia?"

"Julia's fine, Bones. She's with Spock," Captain Kirk said, reassuring his friend that his infant daughter was safe and being cared for.

"Jim, you look like you haven't had sleep in days. What's going on? You were fine when I spoke to you not too long ago."

Captain Kirk was silent for a moment before answering.

"There was a fire in the Engineering Room just a few hours ago."

"My God, Jim! Is Scotty…" Captain Kirk cut Dr. McCoy off.

"No, Scotty's fine...as fine as he can be, that is."

The country doctor raised an eyebrow.

"What are you saying, Jim?" Dr. McCoy asked.

"Sabrina didn't make it out in time, Bones...she was burned alive."

Dr. McCoy shook his head and was beginning to feel empathy.

"I'm sorry, Jim...Scotty must be a wreck."

"He's not good; I finally left, when Dr. M'Benga gave him a sedative to make him go to sleep. He just wouldn't stop crying...I've never seen Scotty so devastated in my life."

"Jim...the man just lost the love of his life...he has a right to be so sad."

"I know, Bones, I know."

"...is there...any other…"

"Everyone else is fine, Bones. The engineers got out with some minor damage done to their lungs, throats, and some burns and charred hair, but other than that, there were no other lives lost thankfully."

"What's Scotty's condition...physically, Jim?"

"Physically, he has a serious case of bronchitis and some damage to his lungs, but Dr. M'Benga's giving him medicine to hurry the recovery process along."

Dr. McCoy nodded and was briefly silent before speaking again.

"Will there be a memorial service for Sabrina, Jim?" Dr. McCoy asked.

"I'll have a private one once we get to Star Base 9." Captain Kirk answered.

"Star Base 9; I thought we were on our way to Galapos 4."

"The Engineering Room needs severe repairs done to it. The ship can't run efficiently nor safely until the repairs are done. I'll have to assign the engineers to other work until the Engineering Room is working again."

"I'm sorry, Jim...I wish I could do something to help."

Captain Kirk gave a sad smile.

"You can be there for Scotty when he needs comfort."

Dr. McCoy gave the same sad smile back and nodded.

"I will, Jim," He said softly.

Captain Kirk nodded and started heading off before he turned around quick, remembering something.

"Bones,"

"Yes, Jim,"

"Get some rest...Spock and I can take care of Julia for a couple days until you get some energy and strength back."

Dr. McCoy simply nodded and went back to reading, and Captain Kirk exited his friend's quarters sadly.