A/N: Okay, I know I'm bad at updating! I'm sorry. Blame it all on Sherlock, series 3 premiered and… well you know how that goes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or STID.


Chapter Six – Questions and Answers

The comms played a message from Kormac himself; the hospital room filled with an echo of the events from last night. We listened to it until Spock, Bones, and Uhura shut their comms. and we gathered around Spock's bed to listen to mine. Kormac spoke about how the explosion in London and the over forty deaths reported were a result of the actions of a former Starfleet officer named John Harrison. Harrison then in turn stole a jump ship and proceeded to attack an emergency session at headquarters. "At this time, the names of those killed are being withheld in respect for their families. We can say that there minor and major injuries reported, but thanks to the talents of the emergency responders, Admiral Marcus is now being hospitalized and is stable. If you see John Harri…"

"Did he just say that Marcus is alive?" Bones ground out.

"It would appear so, Doctor." Spock shifted his eyes to mine.

"They don't want everyone to know that he's dead," I explained, my eyes growing wide as I realized where they're trying to do. "Kormac's afraid that it'll make Starfleet look weak."

"They don't want the Klingons to have an incentive to attack," Uhura finished. We stood in silence for some time.

"They're just going to lie to everyone then?" Bones asked, his eyebrows raised and voice contorted.

"It's a militaristic strategy, Doctor." Bones looked to Spock like he was going to rip out all of his crooked stitches.

"So, when exactly did Starfleet become a branch of the military then?" Uhura asked sardonically.

"Here's the thing." They looked at me expectantly, our faces mere inches apart. "I love you guys and all, but can we take few steps back please?"

We all – besides Spock – took a unanimous step away from each other; Uhura ducked out to the other side of the room trying to hide her embarrassment and quickly pulled out her comm. Bones pulled out his medical tricorder – does he just carry that thing around with him all the time? – and began pretending to exam Spock's forehead, while Spock himself kept his eyes on me. He had that look in his eyes that usually would make me smirk or whatever Bones says I do that makes me look like an "idiot."

"Cap- Commander," started Spock. "From what I experienced last night, it would be safe to assume that Harrison is ruthless and intelligent."

"Yeah well, that's what they say about Jim…"

"Bones. So we're not talking about low level officer here?"

"Not even close." The voice was unfamiliar to all but one of us – me. Standing in the open doorway of the hospital room stood the woman from the bar. She was leaning heavily against the door frame, arms crossed. I had just seen her no longer than an hour ago, but she already seemed to have gone through a whole day. Her neat bun was now a mess, pieces of hair hanging loosely in her face. Her formal uniform was wrinkled and the skirt was torn up at the bottom. She seemed to be favoring her right ankle as well, holding her right foot up an inch off the floor.

Bones and Uhura glanced from her to me, eyebrows raised. Spock just looked her over, his eyes filled with odd curiosity. I took a few steps toward her slowly – I don't know why, maybe I just didn't want to scare her off. "Uh…"

"Good question, Kirk" she sniped. "How about you try it again?"

Uhura stared at me expectantly and Spock's eyebrows rose with some sort of emotion akin to interest, maybe even enjoyment. I managed to pull myself together just as Bones opened his mouth. "Okay, who are you exactly?"

"Starfleet officer."

"Well, I can see that."

"Good."

"I mean, what do you know of Harrison? Why are you here?" What happened last night? Why do I keep seeing you everywhere?

"I'm here because you four are about the only ones who even have an iota of what's really going on-"

"Oh, and I'm guessing you know all about it. Tell me, what's that madman's favorite color?" Bones was not in the state of mind to be bantered with, and the woman at the door didn't seem to get that, at least from her first glance.

"Bones…" I started.

"All right, all right. I got it," she spoke again, edging off some of the attitude. "Here's the thing. No one else is going to tell you the truth from here on out, at least not the whole truth. And you're all not going to get the whole story. If you want to know who and what he is, then you're going to have to listen to me. And you're going to have to trust me too."

Uhura stepped forward and stopped just a foot short of her, she looked the woman over. "And if we're going to trust you, then I need a name."

She pursed her lips together and adjusted herself, keeping her foot off the ground. After a moment, she answered. "Élodie."

"Élodie what?"

"That's all you're getting right now." She tried to straighten up but as soon as she put her foot down, she lost balance; her arms flailed for a second before resting on the door frame. Bones was on her in a flash after that, all earlier hostility gone. She tried to brush him off, but Bones wasn't giving up. "It's fine! Don't worry about me."

"Like hell," he grunted back. He wrestled her over to Spock's bed. "Now you're going to sit on this bed and let me treat you like a grown-up, okay?" She cringed at him before sighing and pushing herself onto the bed. Spock looked Élodie over from his position next to her, raising an eyebrow as he did so; his eyes lingered on her injured foot.

"Sorry, Commander," she said to Spock, and then she addressed Bones. "My ankle's really not that big of a deal, it's just sore. I rolled it-"

Bones was busy examining her foot, his tricorder in one hand. "Doesn't look like nothing to me. I say that's a pretty nasty sprain for just 'rollin' it'." He met her eye and gave her one of those disapproving looks that he usually reserved for me. "I'm going to have to wrap it up." He walked out of the room.

"Bones!" I called. He either didn't hear me or completely ignored me, as he didn't come back. "Ugh… I hope he knows he's in a hospital, you know with other doctors. He doesn't have to take care of everyone all the time."

"I think he likes to," Uhura chimed in. "Besides, he knows where he's going, he used to take shifts here, right?"

"You guys must get hurt a lot, then?" Élodie said. I smirked.

"Mostly me," I answered.

"Yeah, Kirk does get his ass handed to him a lot." Spock looked up at Uhura with surprise. "What? We're off duty, besides he's not my captain." She grimaced and looked to me. "Temporarily, I mean."

Bones came back before I could reply, his arms full of bandages and hyposprays. Uhura moved a table next to the bed for him to lay down his load, and then he got to work. He filled his hyposprays with liquids from several vials. "Alright, let's get this over with," he grumbled.

I crossed my arms and stood next to Uhura. Bones got to work injecting Spock with some painkillers; the Vulcan didn't even bat an eye. He stood over Élodie, whose face had grown pale and her eyes wide. "Don't worry, I'm a trained medical professional." He thought for a moment, and paused. "The name's McCoy, by the way. Dr. Leonard McCoy."

"I know," she said.

"Okay…" Bones eyebrows drew down, he frowned in thought. Then as he looked like he was going to stick one of the hypos in her neck, he swung to face me and stuck it in mine instead.

"McCoy!" I cried out. "What the hell, Bones?"

"Oh, quit being such a baby. It's just a relaxant, you're all tense." Uhura brought a hand to stifle her laughter, and Spock mouth twitched in amusement.

"You've got to give me a warning before you do that!"

"If I had, I would've had to wrestle you to the floor!"

"That's because those damn things hurt!"

"Are you kiddin' me!?"

Our little domestic was broken up by a fit of laughter, we both turned our heads to find Élodie holding her stomach as she gasped for air. It took her a minute to calm down. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! But that was hilarious!"

"It would seem that our interactions are amusing to you, Ensign. But if I'm not mistaken, we do have a kind of crises forming. It would seem logical and productive for Dr. McCoy to treat your wounds and for you to tell us what you know." I hate it when Spock is right.

"All right. But I'm not telling you anything until we find somewhere a little more private."

I eyed every one of my former crew, they again we're looking to me to make the call; although, I could see in every one of their faces that they were weary of Élodie, but they also wanted to take that chance. At least I hope that's what they thought. "Fine. I just have one more question."

"And what's that?"

"Do they have last names on your world?"

She smiled. "Who says I have one?"


A/N: Also, I just now figured out how to insert break lines... yeah, I'm real smart.