The next morning, Jim and Carol were up early because the baby, Alex, was crying. Jim thought maybe they could get into what it was really like to be parents now that they were not in the middle of a battle. However, he did not like getting up at 0600, much less 0500. He sat up on the bed, and Carol brought the baby over there. "Hold him a moment," she said. "And give him this bottle."

Jim took the baby, who was quite angry and hungry now. "Okay," he said. "There you go." He had to be on the Bridge by 0630, and he usually did not get up until 6, but they had not slept much that night…or he did not feel like he had slept much. He thought maybe they would have to take the baby to Bones for that checkup after all.

Carol soon came back. "He was quite fussy over the night, wasn't he?" she asked. "I'm a little worried."

"Yeah. You should take him to Doctor McCoy and let him check him out."

"Jim…why do you call Doctor McCoy 'Bones'?"

Jim smiled. "Because of something he said the first time I met him," he said. "He said he had nothing left but his bones. We just became friends. He hated space travel but he was on a shuttle about to join Starfleet."

"He's quite a character. Do you think he will be alright after the treatments?"

"Spock is very confident. He never exaggerates."

"Right."

Jim was silent a moment. "I wonder how Bones' date went last night," he said. "I think he was nervous about it."

"I'm sure."

Carol lay down on the bed. "I'll just let you finish that," she said.

"Thanks," Jim replied. He thought he might fall asleep sitting there holding the baby.

As Jim walked onto the Bridge that morning, he was yawning, and he did not look like he had spent much time on his hair this morning either. "Captain on the Bridge!" John McCoy announced.

Jim sat down in the captain's chair. "Morning, folks," he said.

"Good morning, Captain," McCoy said.

Jim wondered how anyone could be so cheerful this early in the morning. Then again, John was young, and he seemed to be the opposite of his brother. "I assume everything is operating correctly and we're on course?"

"Yes sir," Mister Sulu answered.

Jim thought he sounded rather cheerful early in the morning too. He leaned back in his chair and thought he might just be dozing right there. He leaned his head back and slumped down in the chair a little. He made sure no one was watching him before he closed his eyes.

Jim was startled awake and sat up straight when Spock came onto the Bridge and said, "Good morning, Captain."

"Morning, Spock," Jim replied. "How's everything?"

"Everything is quiet this morning. I am pleased to say that the treatment seems to have worked for Doctor McCoy as well. He has had no more symptoms of the illness."

"Good." Jim paused a moment. "You know anything about his date last night?" he asked quietly.

"No, Jim. I have not spoken to him about that."

"Well, Andrea didn't come to my quarters crying or screaming, so maybe it went pretty well."

Spock absorbed that a moment. "I assume that you are using humor because of the doctor's cynical nature."

Jim smiled. "Yeah."

"May I point out that it was Andrea who invited him to the dinner."

"Right."

Spock went to his station, and Jim leaned back in the chair again. That chair was definitely not designed to sleep in. He supposed it was made that way for a reason. The captain's chair was not the place to sleep, but he thought he was going to change that rule today if he sat there long enough.

An hour later, Bones came onto the Bridge. He was dressed in his uniform this morning, and looking a lot more cheerful than usual. He walked over to the captain's chair where Jim was dozing. "Morning, Jim!" he said loudly.

Jim started out of his sleep and almost stood up, but he realized Bones was standing there beside him. "Bones?"

"Yeah. You recognize me, don't you?"

"Of course."

"So, what's going on this morning?"

"Nothing."

"Ah, the joys of being a new parent," Bones said. "The little tike keeping you awake all night?"

Jim looked at him. "Can't you tell? Didn't Carol bring him to you?"

"Yeah. He was just having gas."

Jim rubbed his face. "Bones, I see you haven't learned any bedside manner yet." He looked at him. "You seem awful cheerful…and loud, this morning. You must have enjoyed your date."

Bones frowned slightly. "Do you have to say that so loud?"

"Sorry. Did you have to say it so loud that the baby was having…gas?"

"Fine. Yes, I enjoyed the date."

"You seeing each other again?"

Bones folded his arms. "Yeah," he said.

"So you like her, huh?"

"She likes me."

"Bones."

"Alright, I like her," Bones said quietly. "You don't have to spread it around."

"What's wrong with you liking her and dating?"

"Nothing. I just don't want everyone knowing about it right now."

"Far be it from me to spread rumors."

"She actually likes to listen to me talk. And then we went to the holodeck and…we were characters in a novel."

Jim chuckled at that. "You played on the holodeck?"

"Why is that so unbelievable? I went there with you and Carol once, remember?"

"Oh yeah. That didn't quite turn out like we had planned."

"Well, everything went fine with Andrea. I guess trouble doesn't follow me around."

"I'm glad. You feeling alright this morning? Spock told me that you haven't had anymore symptoms of the Xeno…whatever."

"No. I guess that cure is going to work. I dread those treatments though." Bones squatted beside Jim's chair. "Jim, it's horrible."

"It's better than dying, isn't it? You dread it that much?"

"I'm not exaggerating, Jim."

"So, let Andrea go with you for the next one."

Bones looked at Jim as though he were crazy. "I don't want her to see me like that," he said.

"I don't know why. Carol has seen me at my worst, and she makes things not seem so bad."

Bones thought about that. "I'll see you later, Jim," he said. "I don't have much to do since I'm on leave."

"I figured you needed it since you're taking those treatments."

"Maybe not the whole fifteen days."

"Just let me know."

Bones walked over to his brother. "You feeling alright this morning?" John asked.

"Yeah," Bones answered. "I guess I'm gonna be around a while longer to boss you around."

"That's fine with me."

"Good. I'll remember that the next time you argue with me."

"You would."

"Don't give me any lip. I'll talk to you later. Why don't we meet in the gym for a game of basketball?"

"If you think you're up to it."

"Are you kidding? I can beat you anytime. I'm just glad I feel like it again."

John looked at him. "Me too, Brother."

"Don't get all mushy. I'm still gonna beat you."

John smiled. "We'll see."

Bones left the Bridge and Jim sat there and thought about that conversation. He yawned. He thought John had probably known about Bones' illness the whole time. A secret between brothers. He also thought maybe Bones' life was about to change and he just did not know how to take it. He thought he would enjoy watching it happen too.

The day finally came when Bones had to have his next dose of treatment. Jim came into the medical bay. "You alright?" he asked.

"I am right now," Bones said. "Andrea couldn't come because she's…"

"I know. She's babysitting. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. It's her job."

"Just to let you know, I'm going to get Alex and she can come here with you. I think he and I can take a nap together."

"He might not be tired."

"I hope he is. I'll see you later."

Jim went down to Andrea's quarters. He had already talked to her about it and she was delighted, but assured him that she would be right back on the job as soon as possible. He rang the door chime and Andrea was waiting for him and had everything ready. "Thank you so much, Captain," she said.

"You're welcome," Jim replied as he took Alex. "I'll see you later."

Jim was glad to see that the baby was asleep. He went to his quarters and gently lay the baby on the bed. He watched him a moment and then crawled onto the bed himself. "Lights," he said quietly, and the lights went out.

Spock sat in the captain's chair. He knew Doctor McCoy was receiving another treatment today. He also knew how it had affected him the first time. He had been there. However, the treatments were necessary for the doctor to survive. He had grown accustomed to hearing the doctor's bleak outlook and thought that it helped them to look at everything from different angles. He supposed that was the benefit of the differences in people. He would go to the medical bay to check on him later.

Bones was waiting for the treatment. "Just remember the pain doesn't last long," the nurse said as she prepared the syringe.

"I'm trying," Bones replied.

Andrea sat next to him. "Why don't we talk about something and maybe it will help," she suggested.

"Like what?"

"Tell me about when you were flying the swarm ship."

"I didn't tell you about that already? I felt like I talked your ears off last night."

"I could never get tired of hearing you talk."

"Why?"

"Because you tell interesting stories."

"You must be the only person in the whole galaxy who thinks so."

Bones looked at Andrea. He knew he was older than her but he thought maybe he was a little too old for her. He had not asked her how old she was. She had invited him to dinner and he went. He thought maybe if he ignored her a while she would find someone else.

The nurse started the IV in Bones' arm which the treatment medicine would be put into. Then she picked up the syringe. "Are you ready?" she asked.

Bones nodded. "I might as well be."

By the time that was over, Bones thought Andrea must really like him because she did not walk out but stayed with him the whole time. The worst was finally over and he was asleep.

Jim was still asleep in his dark room when the door chime sounded. "Go away," he said, but then he heard the baby making sounds. "Soft lights." The lights came on and he looked to see the baby was definitely awake. "You're gonna make me get up sooner than I wanted to, aren't you?" he whispered. He heard the door chime again. He got up. "Come in."

Andrea was at the door. "Captain, I'm ready to take the baby now," she said.

"How's Bones?"

"He's fine. The worst is over."

"Okay. I'm glad you were there with him. I think Alex just woke up."

"Don't worry. I will take good care of him."

"I know."

Andrea took the baby. Jim just stood there. He wondered how long he slept. He did not feel like it was very long. Did he have to go back to that Bridge right now? He knew Spock was there. He would not mind staying there a while longer. He sighed. No, it was his duty and job to be on that Bridge, and he could not play hooky. He thought if Carol was there with him, he would.

As Jim headed for the Bridge, he thought everything was rather quiet on the ship. He wondered if they had just gotten so far out that they were not hearing about any trouble. He supposed that could be a good thing as long as the trouble did not spread out to where they were unexpectedly. He wondered if those Klingons ever reached Pacifica. They had not heard anything about it.

Jim entered the Bridge. "Captain on the Bridge!" John McCoy said.

Jim went over to Uhura. "Have you heard anything about Pacifica?" he asked. "Did the Klingons ever show up there? Did Starfleet go to the depot and stop them?"

"I haven't heard anything, Captain," Uhura replied.

"Try to find out. I want to know."

"Yes sir. I will get right on it."

"Thanks."

Jim went over to his chair just as Spock was vacating it. "I assume everything is quiet," Jim said. "It seems to be."

"Yes, Captain," Spock replied. "If I might add…too quiet."

"My thoughts exactly. What if the Klingons are tracking us somehow?"

"How would they do that?"

"I don't know." Jim thought a moment. "When they got onto the ship, could they have left a tracking device?"

"It is possible, but I believe we would have detected it by now."

"Unless it's cloaked somehow."

"A cloaked tracking device? I have never heard of such a thing."

"That doesn't mean it doesn't exist. They knew somehow that we were the ones going to Qualor Two. There's something we're missing."

"That is still a mystery. However, I do not believe tracking us in that manner is how they were able to know that we were going there."

"Then what is it?"

"They had kidnapped Dokachin's wife to threaten him into trapping us once we were there. Yet, there were no Klingons on the depot who could have informed them that we were there, and there were no transmissions sent from the depot that the Enterprise detected. It is logical to believe that they knew we were going there before we arrived. Otherwise, they could not have threatened Dokachin to trap us."

Jim thought about that. "Are you suggesting that someone on this ship informed them?" he asked. "Who? And why?"

"I do not know, Captain, and I do not assume such a thing without evidence."

"I know that. I don't have anyone in mind, Spock. But you have to admit, we don't know a lot about everyone on this ship."

"That is true, Captain. However, it would take a very subtle being to get a message from this ship to the Klingons without it being known."

"Who could do that? And how?"

"I will ask Uhura and Mister Scott. Perhaps they will have some insight into this. How many people are authorized to send messages from the ship without direct permission?"

Jim considered that. "Well, there's you, Sulu, Uhura, Bones, Andrea, Carol, Mister Scott, and John," he said. "Everyone else has to have authorization."

"In that list of people, whom do we know the least about?" Spock asked.

"Well, I know everything Carol does, and you know Uhura. I guess Andrea is the one I know the least about. She joined us after the battle on Lemma Two. She was stationed there."

"Did you request that she join the crew?"

"I didn't request her directly. I told the Admiral that I needed some extra people and they volunteered."

"You did not know her then?"

"Of course not." Jim looked at Spock. "Are you suggesting that the woman who is taking care of our baby, and who…" Jim stopped as realization came to him. "She sees and hears everything I record."

"That is true, Captain," Spock said.

"She wouldn't...Spock, she's the one Bones is seeing!" Jim whispered.

"We have no definitive proof of any wrongdoing. I am merely trying to assess the situation."

"But Spock, she keeps our baby!"

"I realize that, Jim. Perhaps Carol should take a leave and stay with your child until we have resolved this suspicion."

Jim nodded. "She may not like that," he said.

"It will give her more time to rest and time to bond with her child and I am sure when she hears the reasons, she will want to."

"Yeah. You're probably right."

"Since you are the captain, you cannot…"

"I know that, Spock. I have to go and talk to Carol now. You watch the Bridge."

"Yes Captain."

Jim left the Bridge. He was worried now. He knew where Carol was working and he had to talk to her. He went down to the weapons bay, and the crew members who worked there were surprised to see the captain of the ship come in. They all stood at attention. "Captain on deck!" someone said.

"At ease everyone," Jim said. "Where's Carol?"

"She's in the aft section, Sir," one of the men answered.

"Thanks."

Jim went on through, passing by crew members who had surprised looks on their faces when they saw him, and one of them was the young Artemus Gordon who had joined the crew even after Andrea had. Also, the young Jim West was onboard, but he worked in security. Jim did not see him very often but he was always on the job when he did see him.

Jim supposed it was unusual for him to be down in this area of the ship, but he was the captain, and he could show up anywhere. He soon found Carol who was studying over some schematics. "Carol," he said.

Carol was even surprised to see Jim there. "Jim," she replied with a smile and kissed him. "What brings you down into the bowels of the ship?" She moved closer to him. "Did you just want to see me?" she asked.

Jim almost forgot what he did come down there for. "Well…I did want to see you, but Carol, we have a big problem."

Carol's smile faded. "What?"

"We've been trying to figure out how the Klingons knew I was going to Qualor Two certain enough that they kidnapped Dokachin's wife to threaten him into trapping us."

"And you've come to a conclusion?"

"Not exactly, but we have a suspicion. We think it might be someone on the ship that we all don't know very well."

"Like who?"

"Someone who always knows what I'm doing. She hears and sees everything I say in my logs."

Carol put her hands on her hips. "Me?"

"No. Not you. You know better than that. I'm talking about Andrea."

Carol did not say anything for a long moment. "Andrea? The woman who is taking care of our baby?"

"Yeah."

"Jim…"

"I know. Spock and I have talked about this. There are only a few people who can send messages from the ship without authorization, and we know every one of them…except Andrea has only been on the ship since Lemma Two."

Jim could see Carol was shocked and worried too. "Listen," Jim said. "I want you to take some leave and take care of the baby. We don't know that this is what's happening, but how can we do nothing?"

"Do you have any evidence to this?"

"Not yet. Spock is checking with Uhura and Scotty to find out how anyone could disguise a message."

"They could have it hitch a ride on an official message, and once it's out of detection range, it goes to its own destination."

"You can do that?"

"Yes, it can be done. My father was a genius at it."

"Oh. Then it is possible that someone's sending messages from the ship without our knowing it."

"Why do you suspect her other than that you don't know her well?"

"Because, like I told you, there aren't that many people who can send messages without authorization, and they couldn't encrypt a message if they had to let Uhura send it."

"Jim, I think we should have more information than that before we make Andrea out to be a villain. She is a very nice woman, and she takes good care of our baby."

"I know that, Carol, but this is serious. The Klingons are finding out some way, and we're just trying to figure out how. They had to know we were going there before they ever got there."

"Did Dokachin let them know? Did the Admiral tell him?"

"I don't think so. Dokachin acted like he didn't know we were coming right at that time. I know that could have been an act, but how do you explain their holding his wife hostage like that?"

"That is strange, but I still think a person should have the benefit of the doubt. "

"Carol, we're not going to put her in the Brig."

"How do you know someone isn't piggy-backing their messages on something she sends without her knowledge?"

"How could they?"

"Someone she trusts. Maybe someone she's been seeing."

"I don't think she's been seeing anyone. She seems to be fascinated with Bones."

"A doctor complex."

"I guess. I can't tell him about this right now, but we have to monitor every message that's sent from this ship from now on."

"Do you think we will encounter the Klingons again soon?"

"I do. I didn't kill Totrak, and I think as long as he's living, he's going to be after me. I offered to talk to the Admiral for him but he thought I was just trying to deceive him."

"Did you talk to the Admiral?"

"I did, but he wouldn't listen. I wonder if this conflict will ever be resolved."

"It will take time. Things like this always take time."

"I would just feel better if you would take some leave and take care of Alex until we have this resolved. Please."

"You're really serious about that," Carol said.

"Yes. I'm kinda worried. What if she is working with the Klingons? And why would she be? What if…"

Carol put her finger on his lips. "Alright. I'll do it."

"Thanks."

They kissed. "You know, this little area here is kinda cozy," Jim said as he kissed her again.

Carol laughed. "Get out of here," she said. "I have some work to finish if I'm going on leave as of this evening."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"You won't spend the night on the Bridge, will you?"

"No. I did sneak a nap earlier. When Bones was getting his treatment, I took the baby so Andrea could go and be with him. He was asleep and I just slept too."

"You cheater. I haven't had any time today to sneak any naps…although I think I might have fallen asleep in that access tube there."

Jim smiled. "I hope not."

"I'll see you later."

"Okay."

Jim went back through the weapons bay still getting those surprised looks as he went, and people standing at attention as he passed by. "As you were, folks," he said. "You're doing a fine job."

As Jim was on his way to the Bridge, he was passing through the crew quarters area. He made a fast decision, and stopped at Andrea's quarters. He did not have to wait long for her to answer the door. "Captain," she said. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," Jim said. "I just wanted to pick up the baby now. I'm not doing anything and I think I can manage to take care of him. Besides I want to let everyone see him."

"Certainly, Captain. I'll get his things together."

They had fixed a cabin especially for Andrea to babysit the baby, and it looked like one big nursery. She soon brought the baby to him, along with a bottle. "He may need that in about an hour," she said.

"Okay," Jim replied. "Thank you. By the way, Carol is going to take some time off starting tomorrow and she's going to be keeping the baby herself so you will have some time to catch up on your other work."

Andrea looked rather surprised by that news. "Okay. Are you unhappy with my work or the way I'm taking care of Alex?" she asked.

"No," Jim said. "You're a great secretary and a great babysitter. It's nothing like that."

"Well, I'll have his things together if she wants to move them."

"Good. We'll get to that soon. I'll see you later."

Jim walked away feeling better that he had his baby in his own arms. He looked down at Alex who was awake. "Don't worry little guy," he whispered. "I'll take care of you."