Standing in front of Devon McCoy began shooting, aiming his fire so that the group of combatants had to take cover before they could fire back. This gave Kitto the time to close the gap between them, running at full speed she let out a primal growl as she bore down on the closest one. Dropping him to the floor she managed to drop the next with a series of expertly placed punches, glancing to her side she saw that McCoy was still covering her and Kirk had made his way down the corridor and was currently trying to open the bay door, not what they had initially agreed on but more effective nonetheless. Her momentary distraction cost her, a blow to her injured shoulder, she uncontrollably screamed out in pain.

"You Son of a Bitch!" Holding her shoulder she watched the man smile at her, seemingly pleased with himself. "You happy!?" He had the audacity to nod at her, before she could throw herself at him he was struck by a phaser shot. Turning she saw McCoy stood watching. "I had him!" She exclaimed, sounding disappointed.

"I did him a favour." McCoy answered back.

"Whose side are you on?" She gave him a quick smile and then refocused on the task, running up to stand beside Kirk she could see that the bay door was about to open.

"McCoy! Go to the Bridge, if we're not successful you need to start a ship wide evacuation!" Kitto shouted at him, she could see he was about to argue back. "Leonard." She knew she needed only to say his name for him to understand the gravity of the situation.

"Alright." He answered, checking around him before darting off.

"Looks like it's you and me Kitto." Kirk gave her one of his million watt smiles, despite herself she couldn't help but smile back.

"Looks like Captain."

"Okay, let's go get our ship back." He pressed one last button and then the bay door began to open. Standing only an inch apart both of them readied their phasers and focussed in on the door's movement. Devon could hear Kirk's breath beside her ear, it was strangely comforting.

The next moment felt like a dream to Devon, her vision blurred as if she was seeing everything through sleep heavy eyes. Her movements felt slow and her surroundings distorted into one another. She could hear shouting, from the enemy, from Kirk and then she realised also from herself. She saw bodies fall, she felt knocks to her face and body. She saw Kirk next to the chamber, she saw someone lift their weapon and point it at him. She felt her own arm lift and her finger pull the trigger. The man fell but not before he fired, she watched as her Captain fell to the ground.

"CAPTAIN!" Her voice didn't sound like her own, she ran and fell to her knees beside him.

"The life support Kitto." He ground out through pained clenched teeth. She stood and keyed in the necessary data, bringing the system back on line. Watching the small light flicker in confirmation on the display in front of her she smiled.

"I need to get you to the med bay Capt…" A hot searing pain slammed into her back pushing her forwards, slowly turning back around she watched wide-eyed as Kirk shot his phaser and stunned the last remaining assailant, his own weapon falling out of his hands, the barrel still smoking.

"Chief!" Kirk's voice was full of pain and dread. Sliding down the work station she found herself slumped next to him, agony still radiating from her back. It was only then that she realised she'd been shot as well.

"He was the last one." Kirk coughed out, holding his shoulder and trying to stem the blood loss.

"Yeah." Devon whispered back to him, tears streaming from her eyes.

"The life supports back on." She didn't know whether it was a question or a statement.

"Yeah." Her eyelids kept closing and opening lazily, each time she found it harder to open them up again.

"Kitto?" She felt a hand on her cheek and her body being carefully laid out on the floor, turning her head she saw that Kirk was lying down next to her, a pool of blood surrounding him and seeping into her uniform.

"Captain?"

"Don't die." He watched as her eyes closed and didn't open, he reached for her face and stroked her cheek, leaving blood stained streaks on her porcelain skin.

The warm breeze swept over her skin like a ribbon of silk, her nose prickled where the rays of the sun were beginning to burn it and bring out her freckles. Moving her fingers, she slipped them under the towel she was lying on. Moving her digits as if she was playing classical music on a piano she felt the cold damp sand slide under her fingernails. The tangerine hue of the sun bled through her closed eyelids, she hadn't opened them since she'd got there. She had listened to the ocean wash up onto the shore, the sound of the exotic birds in the trees. Occasionally she heard the conversations of passing crew, a scream or shout in the distance when someone was seemingly thrown into the water against their will. None of it tempted her out of her catnap state.

She contemplated turning over to lie on her front but decided against it, too much effort was required. The breeze picked up a bit and a few strands of her hair fell across her face and chest. She haphazardly brushed them away, letting her hand fall on her bare stomach. Her skin was hot and she suddenly felt the urge to cool down and have a swim, she covered her eyes with her hand and slowly opened them, the light flooded in and made everything white. Letting her eyes adjust for a moment her vision slowly cleared and she could make out the horizon, next she slowly sat up, her hair falling from the loose twist on the top of her head down her back. Standing, Devon stretched her arms above her head, her hands together as if in prayer. Adjusting her black bikini top, she smiled when she saw the whiter skin under her strap. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had tan lines, walking towards the shore she noticed somebody walking towards her. Stopping she squinted her eyes, the person was too far away. Shielding her eyes with her hands the person suddenly appeared right in front of her.

"Captain Kirk?" Devon looked at him confused, he was in his uniform but covered in blood and grime.

"Hello Devon." He answered back, she looked around them, there was nobody else on the beach besides them.

"Captain, what happened?" She watched as the blood oozed from his shoulder.

"I was shot Devon, you were too remember." Kirk gave her a pleasant smile and took a sip of the cocktail he was holding in his hand.

"Captain, we need to get you to the med bay now." She replied back, panic building in her gut.

"Oh don't worry about me, you look beautiful by the way. I always did think that, but seeing you here on this beach, the way your hair is blowing in the breeze…" Devon looked around again, still nobody.

"Captain! You're not okay!" She interrupted him, looking at him incredulously as he took another leisurely sip of his cocktail.

"Devon, don't you realise? I'm already dead." Kirk stated simply.

"What?" Her brow creased together in confusion.

"I'm dead Devon, I died right next to you, on deck eight." Devon placed her fingers to his neck, he had no pulse. She put the back of her hand on his cheek.

"You're cold Captain." She whispered, tears springing from her eyes.

"You do know you're not here either Devon, right?" Kirk placed his own hands on her cheeks, cupping her face, his thumb slowly stroking her jawline.

"We're not on the planet? We're not on shore leave?" He shook his head.

"No Devon, we're not."

"What? I don't understand?" Her tears seeped between his fingers, he wiped them away gently.

"You're not here Devon, you're still on the Enterprise. You need to start fighting."

"Fighting? Fight what?"

"For your life Devon." He gave her another sweet smile.

"But you didn't fight, you're dead!" She shouted back at him, her legs feeling like they were going to give way at any moment.

"I tried, there was nothing I could do Devon."

"Why do you keep calling me Devon? You've never called me by my first name!" She pulled his hands from her face.

"Don't ask me Devon, this isn't my hallucination." He laughed and ran his hands through his hair.

"So this is a hallucination, and you're not dead." Devon looked around again, it all looked so real, felt so real.

"Don't change the subject Chief, you need to start fighting." He took her hand and squeezed tightly.

"What if I don't want to fight?" Even as she said the words she knew she didn't mean them, or Kirk believe them. She wiped the tears from her face and looked at him, his eyes were full of kindness.

"I'm sorry you're dead." She finally whispered.

"Yeah me too." He shrugged his shoulders. "Devon, wake up."

"I don't know how?"

"Of course you know how, open your eyes. Wake up Devon." She looked down at her feet, the tide had come in and her feet were covered by a low calm wave. Looking back up Kirk was now miles down the beach, a spot on the horizon.

"Captain!" She shouted at the top of her voice, he was still walking away from her. "Captain!" She shouted again.

"Wake up Devon."

It was the incessant beeping that finally made Devon open her eyes, that and the cold draft. When she first opened her eyes she was hesitate to look around, not knowing what to expect and not knowing whether or not it was real. But when she heard McCoy in the background shouting at one of the Nurses she knew she was alive and on the Enterprise. The dermal regenerator frame stopped her from sitting up, turning and craning her neck she still couldn't catch the eye of anybody around, not that there was anybody around. Her dream came back to her, at least that's what she supposed it to be. She couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes, Kirk was dead. Her Captain was dead and it was her fault. She brushed the side of her head against the pillow, wiping away the tear that had slipped down her cheek. She didn't know why she was crying, they hadn't been friends, they hadn't even been acquaintances.

"Devon, you're a damned fool you know that!" She sniffled and quickly tried to compose herself at the sound of McCoy's voice. She didn't trust herself to speak without her voice breaking, she closed her eyes and tried to compose herself. "Hey?" McCoy placed his hand on her bare shoulder, she opened her eyes and looked at him, he was staring at her concerned. "Devon, you're alright." He thought she was upset because of her own state, not the fact that Kirk was gone. She nodded meekly and gave him a tight smile. Tapping away at the screen on the frame Devon watched as it split and slid away leaving her exposed to the cold air, just a thin sheet covering her. She shivered uncontrollably. "I'll get you a blanket." McCoy strode off, returning a moment later with a heavy warm blanket that he draped over her, tucking it up and under her chin. "Better?" He asked.

"Yes, thank you." Her voice was raspy.

"Anytime, you and Jim saved the ship, and all of us along with it." At the mention of Kirk Kitto couldn't help but become upset again.

"I'm sorry Doc." She croaked out.

"Sorry? For what?" McCoy raised an eyebrow at her.

"The Captain." McCoy's eyebrow arched even further.

"Jim?" He saw the upset on Kitto's face and put two and two together. "Devon, he's okay you know, he's alive. It'd take more than a shot to the shoulder to down him!" His words didn't register at first, she shook her head. He tapped his communicator. "McCoy to Captain Kirk."

"Kirk here." His voice resonated around the room, Kitto couldn't help the sob escape her lips.

"Jim, do you mind coming down to the med bay?"

"I'll be right there." The communication ended and McCoy went back to stand next to Kitto.

"Devon, why did you think he was dead?" He asked her.

"He told me." She responded, too quickly because as soon as she muttered the words she could tell that McCoy thought she was nuts. Picking up a scanner he waved it over her head. "On the beach." She continued, earning her an even more puzzled look from the Doctor.

"What beach?" He was about to ask her another question when the med bay door opened and Kirk strode in, making his way over he gave Kitto a big smile.

"Look who's awake!" He exclaimed, coming to stand by her bed. Kitto was overwhelmed with relief, seeing him stood in front of her, alive, she realised in that moment that she cared for him too. She sat up and flung her arms around his neck, clutching at him tightly. Kirk was frozen, in a million years he would never have guessed that that would have been her reaction upon seeing him. When he realised that she wasn't letting go he hugged her back, his hands resting on her bare back, the blanket the only thing between them. "You okay Chief?" He asked, slightly amused.

"You said you were dead, on the beach you told me you were dead." She whispered into his neck.

"What beach?" Kirk asked, looking at McCoy who just shrugged his shoulders and folding his arms in front of him. He'd given up trying to work out Devon Kitto.

"That's what I said." McCoy responded to Kirk's quizzical look.

"You were on the beach with me, you told me you were dead and I had to fight and I had to wake up, you kept saying wake up Devon. You called me by my first name, you never do that." She'd pulled back slightly and was clutching at the blanket lest she lose anymore of her modesty.

"Chief, you were shot remember? So was I, not as bad though, just a scratch." He gave her a wink. "You've been here since, I came and visited you, I told you to wake up Chief but we weren't on a beach at the time. Although that sounds like a great plan now that you mention it. I did call you by your first name though, you must have heard me." She was still staring at him, all sense of decorum and professionalism out the window.

"I'm sorry I didn't protect you."

"Chief, you saved the ship. You've got nothing to be sorry for. I should be thanking you." He was being honest she could tell. Sitting back she looked at McCoy, he was still stood with his arms crossed, smirking at the two of them.

I don't know? What do you think? ;-) LLAP XOXO