I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. Everything burned, but was working. Lifting an arm, I noticed the I.V.s which were hanging from my arm. I went to pull them out, but stopped myself, still confused as to where I was. I rubbed my eyes, trying to take in my surroundings. I seemed to be in the Medical bay, but I didn't remember much else. I tried to swing my legs off, but there was a heavy weight on my left leg. I looked out and saw a blonde head passed out and snoring slightly. I shook my leg, but he just snored louder. Reaching down, I pulled his hair until he woke up.

He jumped off of me, and looked over, his eyes red and throbbing. "Hey you." He said softly. I jumped back from his touch and he frowned. "You're alright…" He grabbed my hand and held it. "It's alright. You're recovering from surgery, you inhaled much more of the dust than Uhura or Spock, and it bonded with the vaccine and actually made it worse." He shook his head. "But you're okay now." He rubbed his thumb along my wrist. "Spock and Uhura are also on the mend, Spock is actually on duty right now." He took a deep breath. "I spoke with Spock and he told me that the illness cause vivid hallucinations as well as an uncontrollable rage." He shook his head and averted his eyes. "It causes you to experience your worst fear."

"So," I began, my voice horase. "You weren't with me last night?"

I could have sworn I saw a tear in his eye. "No, I wasn't."

I nodded as Spock came in. "I see that you are awake now."

"I am." I wheezed.

"I was sorry to hear about your illness." Spock sat down. "I must also apologize for my behavior as of late. Please understand that I wasn't myself."

"I understand." I nodded. "However I have one question."

"Please." Spock said, waiting.

"How did you know so much about me?"

Spock frowned slightly. "What are you talking about?"

"In the tunnels," I began. "You spoke about my past."

"In 2017?" Spock asked, watching my reaction.

"Keep your voice down!" Jim stage-whispered.

"I did not know that it was a secret." Spock seemed confused. "You left your old phone on your desk." He held up my old Pixel which Jim snatched from him quickly.

"There was a fingerprint password on it." I said, appalled.

"The computer unlocked it after ten seconds." Spock informed me.

I frowned. "Why did you snoop?"

"I was trying to find out whose it was. There was a stock photograph on the screen." He explained. "Then I saw your text messages from 2017 and did some digging. You do know forgoring documents to sign up for Starfleet is a capitol offense, correct?"

I gawked at the Vulcan. "What were we supposed to do?" I demanded.

"Contact the proper authorities?" Spock offered, turning to Jim. "Not harbor a missing person for a year, then forge documents to join Starfleet."

Jim scowled. "Did you forget that time travel is practically impossible and hasrvesting dark matter is illegal?"

"I did not." Spock informed him. "However I am certain that if you explained yourself to-"

I shook my head. "I am happy with how things turned out."

"However illegal?" Spock asked, raising a pointed brow.

I nodded. "I had nothing else to lose. When I was…spat here, I had no home, family, or friends. I had nothing except the guy who almost ran me over. Now I have a purpose, a reason. Please don't turn me in."

"Vulcans cannot lie." Spock recited.

"You're half human!" Jim shouted, exasperated.

"That changes nothing." Spock stated, although he looked torn. "I was raised a vulcan.

"Can you look the other way?" I begged. "I've work so hard to get here."

Spock stood. "I will consult with an old friend." He walked out of the room.

I sighed and leaned back into the bed. "When will I be on my feet again?"

"I'll be right back." He said, chasing after Spock.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my chart which was at the end of the bed. The screen lit up as I touched it and I looked it over. My heart had practically exploded in my chest, my organs had begun eating themselves away, and I had been delirious. I frowned as I scrolled through all of the paperwork. I should be ready to be discharged by noon today apparently. It was already ten, so I began pulling the I.V.s out. Just as I sat up, Jim came back looked annoyed. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Getting dressed." I answered, grabbing a bag with a uniform in it.

He walked closely behind me. "You haven't been discharged yet."

"I am discharging myself." I told him. "I was scheduled to be discharged in an hour or two. I'm fine." I walked into the bathroom and stripped just as he opened the door. "Get out!" I yelled, pushing him out and closing the door. I got dressed and stepped out of the bathroom, past Jim and made my way to the exit.

"Artemis I order you-" Jim yelled, chasing after me.

"To get back to work, I know and thank you." I finished, waving behind me. I hear an exhausted sigh, then he ctaches up to me. "Thank you though," I said, turning to him. He raised an eyebrow which showed he had no idea what I was talking about. "For staying."

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a supply closet. "Do you understand that you almost died?" He demanded. "I thought you were dead when I saw you in surgery." Now, I know I was seeing tears in his eyes. "And you believed that I was the one who put you there."

"Jim-" I sighed. "I…" I had no idea what to say.

He just pulled me into a hug. I recoiled slightly, but then relaxed into him. "I thought the next time I was going to hold you, you'd be cold, limp, lifeless." He squeezed me even tighter and I felt his lip on my hair. "Please, just take care of your health. I can't…" He trailed off, not finishing his statement.

I wrapped my arms around him as well, trying to ignore the cleaning supplies. "I'm so-"

"Don't say it. It wasn't anyone's fault." He kissed the top of my head and we exited the closet.

For the next three weeks, everything was normal. Spock had spoken to Spock Prime and decided to not turn James and I in. I had my check-ups, worked on mapping the new planets we surveyed and went down with Jim, Spock and Uhura to check planets. Uhura and Spock also recovered, then went public with their relationship, as did Jim and I. We surveyed four planets before being told stop by a Starfleet base close by. We docked and everyone was excited to get some time off of the ship, including Jim and I.

"Hey!" I called out, leaning into the room. "Are you ready yet?"

"Yes," Jim yelled back, walking out of the bathroom. "I once waited over an hour for you!"

"Only complaining every 30 seconds!" I reminded him. "Come on! We are only going to be here for two days!"

"I know," He said, walking out of the room and wrapping his arm around my waist. "I have reservations at this amazing restaurant tonight." He said, rubbing my back. "So we need to go find some formal attire."

We walked off the starship and into the city. I inhaled deeply as we walked from store to store just being morons. We got chased out of more stores than we will ever admit and had an amazing day. Once the artificial sun began to set, we walked into a high-end clothing store and purchased some formal attire.

Jim grabbed a typical charcoal suit, and I ended up with a (much too expensive) strapless royal blue dress paired with strappy wedges. We changed in the store and carried our other clothes out. Jim led me to a extremely fancy restaurant. We walked and the hostess walked over to us. "Kirk." Jim said.

"Party of three?" She asked.

He made a face. "Yes."

"Follow me." She said, gesturing to us.

I leaned in to Jim and whispered. "Three?"

Jim frowned. "You know I love you, right?"

We rounded the corner and there sat Wynonna Kirk, Jim's mother. I felt my blood run cold. "James Tiberius Kirk!" I scolded in a hushed tone. "What the hell did you- Hello!" I smiled brightly as we got within earshot. I leaned back into Jim and whispered. "I am going to kill you."