Sorry its been a while between updating, things have been rather hectic! But I'm back and determined to continue. I hope you are all enjoying readying this chapter!
In all honesty, Charlie hadn't sleep well at all, her dreams had been scattered with sharp stings, loud voices and a building sense of panic. It had caused her to wake several times throughout the night, each time she was gasping for breath and her skin was pricked with sweat.
Rising early the next morning, Charlie had showered, dressed and left the room before she had even heard anyone else up and about. With the lack of sunrise and sunset, she felt as though she were missing out on any resemblance of a normal routine.
She headed straight down to the Physical Recreational Center, the corridors were scarce of people this early and the silence soothed her in its vastness. Walking through a winding corridor, Charlie was presented with another spectacular view from the Enterprise, looking out into the ever expanding Space.
She stopped in her tracks as she took in the spectacle outside of the window; it was a startling reminder of where she was, or more importantly, where she wasn't. The view amazed her and the Enterprise ship continued to impress her. But the smallest part of Charlie wondered about her old life back on Earth, the one that she had lost due to circumstances beyond her control.
After she had been abducted, had people looked for her? Had she been featured on the news as missing? Her brother had moved out of the city before she had been taken, but there was still an ache inside Charlie's chest whenever she pictured him, remembering the brief times as kids that they had shared good memories.
The thought that some Alien race had deemed it necessary to rip people from their homes and lives to experiment on in order to attempt to create a hybrid of their own race, staggered Charlie's belief.
"I wasn't sure if you were sleepwalking."
Charlie turned her head to the voice that had broken the silence, Kirk's curious expression coming into view. She blinked at the surprise of seeing him there, but she wasn't sure why; it was his ship.
"Just...taking in the view." She told him, giving him a side glance as he stands beside her, breathing out a slow breath as he does so.
"How did it go with Lieutenant O'Rourke? I meant to catch up with you yesterday but I've been caught up with something." He asked her, genuinely curious as to how it had gone.
She then proceeded to tell Kirk about the vigorous training his Chief of Security had put her through, mentioning the fact that he was more than capable to keep her on her toes.
Charlie wasn't aware of how her face lit up at discussing combat techniques, but Kirk was. He was now appreciating Bones' idea of involving O'Rourke in aiding Charlie with her ability, her slow burning confidence more evident now.
"I was informed that you've made some new friends on board." There was that sly smile, Charlie noticed, as Kirk at least pretended to be gazing out at the star's before them.
"Scotty?" Charlie asked, remembering the name of the short haired Engineer who had cheerily waved to her yesterday.
"He was worried that you may have been by yourself." Kirk explains with a nod, referring to the friendly Scotsman.
"So is that why you picked my room to be next to one of the Medical Bay nurses?" She smirked at the chastened look upon his face as he began to feign ignorance, but Charlie gave him a knowing look and the excuse rolled off of his lips.
"I just...wanted you to be near someone familiar." He said simply, his words hanging over her head. "It was either her or Bones. I gathered I'd save you the turmoil."
Charlie couldn't help but smile wearily at that, imagining the irritable Doctor as a neighbour was a frightful thought. Kirk watched her reaction as he mentioned his friends name, glossing over the subject.
"So, tomorrow." He said simply to her, not wanting to overwhelm Charlie with the foreboding meeting with Starfleet that he had arranged. She looked directly at him then, anxiousness swelling inside at the daunting aspect.
"Yeah. Tomorrow."
They had parted ways shortly after their brief exchange, Kirk had given her a reassuring smile and advised her to not worry about tomorrow's approaching prospect of being able to release her pent up anxious energy with the Chief of Security eased her nerves just a fraction.
Walking into the gymnasium, Charlie saw that O'Rourke was already there, occupying himself with training one of the dummies that she had seen at the far end of the room. The sounds of his swift punches and kicks echoed in the large gymnasium style room, his steady breathing filling the gaps of silence between his excursions.
The combat sounds against the padded dummy stopped as Charlie approached, O'Rourke giving her a welcoming nod. Reaching for the small towel beside him, he wiped at the sweat up in his forehead and asked if she was ready to begin.
Charlie appreciated that the Chief of Security was a man of little words, their conversations were filled instead with swinging punches, lunging kicks and heavy grunts.
She dodged another of O'Rourke's onslaught of attacks, his shoulder clashing heavily with the energy barrier she had conjured up in a swift breath. Hastily wiping at the beads of sweat on her face, Charlie positioned herself in an attacking stance, aiming to kick his legs out from underneath him.
He sees her move coming with a calculated glance and takes a swipe at her before she could get close enough to execute it. She was barely able to register his fist before it had collided with the side of her head, sending her sprawled onto the padded flooring.
Dazed, Charlie blinked back the stinging tears that threatened at the surface as she looked upwards the tall ceiling. Her vision filled with O'Rourke's concerned face as he loomed over her, urgently asking her if she was alright.
"I'm fine…" She muttered as she took his outstretched hand, being carefully pulled back onto her feet.
"Maybe we should take a break." He told her, sweeping over her a raised eyebrow.
Charlie shakes off the shock at being floored, her right ear ringing slightly from the force that had taken her by surprise.
She waves a hand at his statement, not ready to take a break just yet. Being constantly involved in the exercise of combat and being pushed to her limits was keeping her out of her own thoughts.
O'Rourke looks skeptically at her as he takes a breath and stretches his back, Charlie could hear the clicking of his bones as he did so, wincing at the sound.
"You're not quitting me now, are you Chief?" She asked teasingly, readying herself back into an offensive position, balling her fists as she gives him a determined grin.
He smirks at her attitude, all concern leaving his face as he prepares himself into a similar position, lining himself up in front of her. Her perseverance was surprising him, her ability in combat had improved tenfold in their short hours together.
Adrenaline fuelled Charlie as she lunged towards him, her feet padded the floor with a soft sound as she directed a blow at his abdomen. The punch stuck and she could hear him let out a small grunt at her attack, she circled behind him in a tactic to put some distance between them. She was determined to not hit the floor again.
As O'Rourke turned to face her, Charlie had a flash of a vision; it blinded her so sharply that she almost stumbled. A horrifically familiar face appeared instead of the Chief's, its grey skin and raised markings on its face shook Charlie to her very core. In the blink of an eye, it was gone, leaving her stunned and cold.
She saw O'Rourke take an engaging step towards her, she recognised the beginning of a heavy footed attack and she raised her hands to deflect his kick with her shielded energy. Upon contact with him, she could see the barrier trembled at deflecting the attack, wavering slightly as she struggled to regain her composure.
The shock of seeing her captor, the damn beast who had caused her pain and suffering, had left Charlie feeling nauseous. She pushed the bile down, shaking her head slightly at the concept of what she had just seen.
No, she told herself, stop it. He was not here, there was no way he could be here. They had left her. She was safe.
Out of instinct, Charlie blocked the next few hard-hitting moves from him, noticing that her hands were shaking as she continuously pushed him backwards. She wanted to put more distance between the two of them, still taken aback by the flashing image that had pierced her vision.
She struggled to contain her thoughts, the memory of her being strapped down and defenseless clawed its way out, instilling Charlie with a strong sense of fear and panic. It flooded her nerves, drenching her in a cold sweat and leaving her breathless.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw O'Rourke approaching, or rather charging at her. He was unaware of her internal torment, 100% focused on his approach. Charlie raised her arms to protect herself, trying to summon the psionic force that she usually had no trouble with.
Instead, another image flashed in her mind, the disgruntled face of the brutish one who had punctured her in the chest with one of those lethal injections. He was sneering at her as she quickly approached her, his teeth bared menacingly.
Charlie gasped at the sight, her mind going blank in sheer panic at the traumatizing flashback. Her hands shook as they remained stretched outwards in a half hearted attempted to block him coming at her.
Then suddenly, he was gone, disappearing into the image of an alarmed O'Rourke as he collided into her at an alarming speed. The force of his running attack threw Charlie backwards, causing her to land painfully on her shoulder as she hit the padded wall a few feet behind her. Then it was lights out.
His morning hadn't been great so far, Bones recalled, as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Two more Crew members had come in complaining of various Cold symptoms, their snivelling and coughing was beginning to grate on the Doctor's nerves.
He wasn't sure how they had picked it up, but he would make damn sure that they couldn't pass it on to everyone else aboard this bloody ship.
Taking a fleeting glance at the Sickbay around him, he noted M'Benga had come in to help relieve his CMO after working overnight. Nurse Colewell was busy administering Hypospray's to his medical bays various occupants, trying to alleviate their headaches and lower their temperatures.
A commotion brought Bones' attention to the entrance, his stomach dropping at the sight of Charlie being carried in by the bulking Chief of Security. Snapping out of his surprise, he rushes over, concern written across his face as he comes to the realisation that she in unconscious in his arms.
"Over here." He barked at O'Rourke, motioning for him to carry her over to a nearby bed.
As he settled her gently on the Biobed, the two men caught each other's gaze and the Security Officer speaks quickly to the Doctor as he checks Charlie over.
"I didn't mean to hit her so hard...She completely blanked on me." The man explains in an urgent tone as Bones checks her pupil response, muttering curses under his breath.
Soaking this information in, he notices how pale Charlie's colouring appears to be. He was shocked to see her skin speckled with bruises, spotting the beginning of a rather nasty looking one on the side of her face.
"Charlie, can you hear me?" Bones asked, pulling out a nearby tricorder and began scanning her for injuries, willing her to regain consciousness.
"Did she hit her head?" The Doctor asked sternly, eyeing up the blossom of colour that was on her right cheek, hinting at a trauma to the head.
"Yeah...yeah she did, shortly before. I thought she was only winded, she seemed okay after. Although a bit dazed maybe..." The man in red surmised, his inept recount of what had happened was irking Bones to no end.
"Good God man, just tell me what happened."
So he did exactly that, replaying the activity that had taken place. Bones nodded at his recounting of their sparring session, surprised at the bubbling anger he felt in the pit of his stomach. Pushing it deep down, he tentatively touched on the offending shoulder he was advised broke her fall.
His tricorder had informed him that it was dislocated, but he wasn't willing to do anything further without her being awake and alert.
Bones was aware that a few of his other patients were curiously watching Sickbays newest patient. He swiftly informed M'Benga that the other Crew Members could probably go back to their own living quarters to rest and recuperate, seeing as they had already been given some analgesics for their symptoms.
With the Medical Bay now vacated of its sniffling occupants, Bones was able to focus on Charlie, who was beginning to come round.
"Easy there darlin'," He tried to soothe her as he saw her eyes widen upon regaining consciousness, she motioned to get up but visibly winced. Bones was aware of the pain she must be in, his stomach clenching tightly as Charlie groaned heavily, holding her limp arm.
"Get off of me! Don't touch me!" Her voice rang loud and clear, fear prominent in her tone as she cried out in pain. She appeared slightly disoriented as her eyes adjusted to the bright lights in Sickbay.
Concern grabbed at the Doctor as he remembered her influx on energy that simmered underneath, worried that her panic could cause her to lash out at him, his Sickbay staff stood scattered around, or even herself.
Bones hesitated, her hurt was pronounced but so was her terror. He wondered whether the blow to her head had caused a mild concussion, her disorientation and reaction to light certainly seemed to point in that direction.
He motioned for Nurse Colewell to get a Hypospray ready for Charlie, to manage the pain she seemed to be gritting her teeth through. Bones was not pleased about what he was going to have to do if she could not calm herself down, especially considering the past torturous experience she has been through.
"Charlie, listen to me. Charlie!" He raised his voice as she attempted to get off the Biobed, her thrashing must be making her injury worse and Bones was determined to calm her down.
He reached up to her face, holding it between his two hands. Her skin felt cold and clammy as she stilled beneath his touch, her green eyes were heavily dilated as she looked him in the eyes. A cold shiver ran through Bones at seeing her so dishevelled and tormented, but he brushed it away.
"I get that you're in pain sweetheart, but calm the fuck down." His harsh words sank into Charlie, he saw it as she shuddered out a breath. He took a deep one too, thankful for her to stop thrashing wildly about.
"I'm going to give you some pain relief now, so how's about you don't go making my job any harder than necessary." Continuing with his brash technique, which seemed to be working, he took his hands away from her face. Nurse Colewell handed him a the Hypospray, then gave the two Doctors some room with their tentative patient.
Charlie's gaze was wary as she watched him spray her with the device, the relief immediately evident on her face as the anaesthetic was administered. Her breathing was still laboured and Bones' attention was drew to her painful looking disjointed shoulder.
"Now I'm gonna need to fix that damn shoulder of yours, so you'll have to bear with me, okay?" She blinked a few times before hesitantly nodding, biting at her lip as she watched him be handed the device from M'Benga.
It was an Osteotractor Frame, a handy little device was shaped like a glove so that it could latch onto the injury and pop the shoulder correctly into place. It could sometimes be painful, depending on the patient, thus the need for a mild pain relief.
He hesitated as he held it, giving Charlie a careful glance as she breathed in slow, staggered breaths. He notice her clutching at the bed sheets with her hand, the panic beginning to rise.
With a thoughtful decision, he hands it back to M'Benga and advises him to be the one to fix Charlie's shoulder. He gives Bones a startled look as he moves beside Charlie, offering out his hand in a manner for her to hold.
She gives him a confused look, glancing between him and the strange device that was being place on her injured shoulder. She looked frightened, her stubbornness fading as she let go of the crumpled sheets from her clenched hand.
"This may hurt." Bones told her, voice low and void of any snarky comment. That got her attention, and she made the decision to grab his hand with her own.
As the device made a warning beep, Bones looked into Charlie's eyes, hoping that he was giving her a reassuring look instead of the impassive glares he so naturally gave out.
He heard her shoulder pop in a sickening manner, he also heard the pained gasp that she emitted. But it was overshadowed by the tight grip that she held his hand with, knuckles turning white momentarily from the strain of endurance.
He'd held onto Charlie's hand a few seconds after she had passed out, but the cold glare that he had given M'Benga ensured that he wouldn't breathe a word about it to anyone.
She woke up with a start, flashes of medical equipment and grim faces blurred her memories and she wasn't sure where they were from. With a slow realisation, Charlie became aware that she was in Sickbay, its familiar walls and beds were an odd comfort to her now.
"Rise and shine, darlin'." Came a Southern drawl to her right side.
Bones had been relaxed back on the chair, but was now leaning forwards as she turned to face him. He looked somewhat irritated as she motioned to sit up in the bed, which she regretting almost immediately.
Dull pain seeps into her bones, primarily coming from her head and shoulder, but the rest of her ached with a fierceness as well.
"Good grief woman, can't you see you're injured?" He scolded her, motioning for her to lay back down.
But Charlie was too busy trying to piece together her recollection of getting to Sickbay. Her mind scrabbling at jumbled images of defensive and attacking moves, O'Rourke's face a flurry as they had sparred.
With a sickening remembrance, Charlie had a flash of the face she thought she had seen; the face of the man that had captured her, tortured her on that goddamn ship, causing her to become a wreck. Panic pickled at her as she tried to remember how the session had ended, instead she was met with bleak darkness.
"O'Rourke…" Charlie started to say, concern growing at her at the thought that she had lost control upon having those flashbacks. Oh God, what if I hurt him?
"That damn idiot is fine." Bones informs her with a gruff tone, rolling his eyes. Relief washed over her then and she nodded, grateful for her not having hurt anyone.
"He's a bit bruised and banged up from your session, but nowhere near as badly as you."
She looked away from the Doctor then, feeling her head throbbing slightly and flusteredly noticing the sparse spotting of bruises that were currently on her arms.
"I can't remember…" Her voice felt small and frail, and Charlie didn't like that. She stopped mid-sentence, avoiding eye contact with the Doctor beside her as she notices that there was no one else in the Sickbay bar the two of them.
"That'd be because of the concussion, sweetheart." His sarcastic tone drew Charlie's gaze.
A faint memory of pain exploding in her shoulder caused her to reach a hand up to touch it, an odd ache simmering beneath her skin in a warm fashion.
"That lump of muscle also managed to dislocate your shoulder. He's probably getting chewed out by Jim as we speak." He tutted as if in annoyance by the Chief of Security, but Charlie couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly guilty at the situation.
"It was all my fault." She spoke, her voice barely above a whisper but she knew Bones had heard her as he had leant in upon hearing her words.
She was struggling, a familiar pressure building inside, as she looked down at her hands. Tears fell down her cheeks and onto the sheets as Charlie tried to keep herself together, realising all too quickly that she was falling apart.
"I keep seeing them…" She explains through the tears rolling down her face, avoid I looking directly into his eyes as she breaks. "Their faces...I see them sometimes, when I sleep. But today I saw one of them as we were practising, and I just...froze."
Charlie could see Bones out of the corner of her eyes, watching his concerned gaze soften a fraction at her silent cries. She tried to reign it back in but it was like a crack had appeared in a dam, plugging it was going to be near impossible.
It wounded her to say the words out loud, she felt as though she was losing all of the pretence she had managed to build for herself since coming to this surreal world.
"I can still remember the smell of that place."
Bones adjusts himself on the seat as he witnesses the unfolding scene before him. She had quietly erupted in emotion as she explained what had caused her to blank in the face of O'Rourke's sparring attack, and it had subdued him.
To be honest, he had been expecting this unloading far sooner to her rescue from capture, but the girl had held on so damn tightly to her trauma that he had been worried about her needing a release.
That had been when he had voiced to Kirk that it would may be beneficial for Charlie to be able to be competently trained by their Chief of Security. He wanted to recall back his recommending words upon seeing her breaking down in tears but a small mindful part reminded Bones that this was what Charlie had needed to overcome.
He had been told many times in his life that his bedside manner was severely lacking, it hadn't much bothered him previously but he had no snarky comment or quick witted comeback for this situation. So hesitantly, he reaches for her hand again, unsure of what comfort he was able to provide for her.
Surprisingly, she accepts it with a reassuringly firm grip and Bones can't help but remember how tight her grip had been when she had been in pain earlier. The comparison reminded Bones of just how much fear was still with Charlie, even through her guarded exterior.
Bones waited as her cries began to soften, watching with interest at her reaction to the emotional barrier she had broken.
"I know you ain't gonna want to hear this, but I'm gonna make sure you hear every word." His voice is low and serious as he remains holding her hand, feeling her thrumming pulse beneath his fingertip was an oddly reassuring feeling.
Her eyes were wet and looked exhausted, but Bones persevered, locking into her gaze with a firmness.
"You've been through something pretty goddamn traumatic. To come out of it at all is a damn miracle. So how's about you cut the crap you appear to be determined on giving yourself, and remember that you are only human."
Stressing his last words had affected Charlie, he saw her slowly exhale a breath as she regards him with a curious look.
"Am I?"
Her questions stuns Bones, and a second passes, then two. His brows furrowed as he momentarily wonders why she had even asked, but then it dawns on him: she wasn't even sure if she was, due to the experimentation with her DNA.
"Just because some bat-shit crazy Cardassian scientists decided to splice some Alien DNA with yours, does not mean you are any less of a Human." He attempts to reassure her, deciding to give an additional, "even if you are practically from the Stone Ages, and happen to have some crazy ass ability."
A hint of a smile tweaks at Charlie's mouth as he speaks, Bones absentmindedly grips her hand a fraction tighter, as though to enforce his point.
The door to Sickbay opens, causing the two of them to release each others hand, looking to see Kirk walking in rather speedily, a rueful look on his face.
"I know I told O'Rourke to not go easy on you, but I'm afraid I have to draw the line somewhere." His friendly smile does the inevitable, as Charlie's face brightens with a tired looking smile.
Bones watches as his friend strolls up to them, noticing his cautious glance at Charlie's tear stained face and how close the Doctor had been sat to her.
Getting up from his seat, Bones decides to take this intrusion as a chance to monitor Charlie's vitals. With his Tricorder, Bones scans over her as Kirk takes his seat, a reassuring expression on his face as he delicately asks Charlie how she was feeling.
She nervously glances at Bones for a hesitant second, no doubt weighing her options of what to respond with. But he wasn't going to reply on her behalf, curious as to what answer she would give the Captain.
"...Still feeling a bit fragile." She says carefully, giving Kirk an earnest gaze.
Bones avoided giving either of them eye contact as he finished with evaluating Charlie's vitals, but he made a mental note to talk to Kirk in a more private setting once she was asleep.
They hadn't had to wait too long, it turned out. After Bones had made sure that Charlie was no longer suffering from her concussion, nor any grievous pain from her shoulder, he had given her another dose of mild pain relief with the small side effect of sedation.
Charlie had managed to slip out a thankful response before succumbing to a dreamless sleep, Bones had wanted to make sure that she would not be entertained with recurring flashbacks from her fearful ordeal.
"So," Kirk began, as he settled himself down into the chair in Bones' Office, "how is she really?"
"She's coping as well as you would expect Jim. Maybe that idea to involve O'Rourke had been a mistake-" He's cut off by Kirk, who shakes his head with reverence.
"No, it was a good idea Bones. She needed to vent, I just hadn't expected her to get injured in the process." He looked down at the floor in a thoughtful expression.
"Well I'll be damned Jim, I dont think you've ever given credit to one of my ideas before." His sark caused Kirk to roll his eyes at the Doctor, not wanting to rise to the bait that was dangled in front of him. A second passes between them in the silent room before Kirk breaks it.
"Should I be worried?" The Captain asks his friend, his tone low and serious. It causes Bones to give him an unusually sympathetic look.
"No, I don't think so. We've been waiting for this to happen since we first bought her aboard, better it happens now rather than in front of those high up bastards."
He jutted out his chin at the mention of their Starfleet superiors, the one that always managed to keep their feet comfortably behind the safety of their desks. Kirk raised his eyebrows at his remark, smiling slightly at his chosen words.
"Those 'bastards' are the ones that will ultimately decide what happens to her." He reminds the Doctor, carefully watching his expression changed from mildly irritated to a somewhat simmered calm.
"Those Officials down at Yorktown couldn't find their asses with both hands in their back pockets."
Kirk couldn't help but let out a laugh at the Southerner's insult. He was always amused when Bones slipped into one of his Georgian mannerisms, especially after a few well-deserved drinks.
The CMO looked at his friend as he leant back against his desk, rubbing at his tired eyes as he looks around at the state his Office had been in. A few cups of half drank coffee were scattered haphazardly, evidence of the Doctor having been on shift for more than his regulated hours.
"Seriously Bones, when did you last get some decent sleep?" Kirk asks, glancing around in mock horror at the surroundings. Bones made a sound that was something between a scoff and a chuckle.
"Probably when we last had our feet planted firmly on the damn ground." Came the inevitable grumble response.
"I'll call M'Benga to stay and look after Charlie. I'm going to need you with me in Yorktown tomorrow, but right now you look like shit."
"Did you ever think this is just how I naturally look now, what with flying around in some steel death trap?"
Kirk doesn't dignify him with a response, although his lips did twitch into a sly grin. He waits for Doctor M'Benga to arrive to the Office, and orders his Chief Medical Office to head back his own quarters.
With a disgruntled remark, Bones reluctantly leaves the vicinity of Sickbay with his Captain following suit. He spares a glance over at Charlie's huddled form as she lay on her Biobed, her rested form a damn sight better than when she had been brought in.
Back in his own bed, Bones somehow manages to get a couple of hours sleep. But for some reason, the image of Charlie being brought in unconscious was particularly stained in his mind.
Next chapter will be up sooner, due to having a long awaiting 4 day weekend. Wishing you all a great Easter break!