A/N: And here we go…! Still fighting the computer problems as well as a bit of a rut on where to take the story next. For now I'm going to give you all a little more background on McCoy and Kane's previous relationship. I've got an idea for the rest of it, just got to get it out in writing.

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James Kirk was staring hard at the bulkhead in front of him. Behind the chair where he sat, Admiral Pike paced the floor. The two men were quite the sight, and had been like that for nearly an hour. The first reports from the security lockdown had come in, revealing no criminal mastermind yet. All non-essential personnel had been confined to quarters and were being questioned. A task simple enough in itself, but on a ship as large as the Enterprise, was monumental.

"I can't sit here anymore." Kirk jumped from the chair and headed for the door.

"Jim, where are you going?" Christopher was close on his heels.

"To find answers."

"We have to take it easy, this is a slow process." Pike fell into step beside the Captain, not really sure what their destination was.

"Well, I'm going to speed it up a little." He rounded a corner sharply, leaving the Admiral to increase speed in order to catch up.

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"Two days ago I didn't have any killers on my ship. Then you and the bobsy twins showed up. And because I trust you don't have a vendetta against anyone, that leaves only one other option." Another corner taken.

"The security guards." Pike realized what Kirk was up to. He personally had not met either until the day they had left Earth. These were Starfleet officers, though, sworn to protect and uphold. Then another thought hit him.

"Jim, wait." The Admiral grabbed Kirk's shoulder and pulled him back. "I've got a better idea."

---

The medical bay was quiet except for the soft beeping of machines. Only a nurse and corpsman were working, the rest having been sent back to their quarters. Doctor McCoy stood next to one of the work stations, comparing the notes on the data PADD he held to what was on the screen. A few feet away Commander Scott slept peacefully. The medical staff had managed to purge his system of the poison. Lieutenant Kane's situation was an entirely different story. After reviving her in the brig, Bones spent an additional two hours stabilizing her.

Even after winning the fight against death, McCoy had continued to work. His staff didn't bother trying to even hint he take some time off, they knew better. Instead, they just did as he instructed and stayed out of the way. McCoy moved back and forth between his two patients, but most of his time was spent in the medical bay's Intensive Care Unit, where Adorae had been placed after being stabilized. The poison was almost gone from her system, but what remained wasn't potent enough to have an effect. It was how Kane would be after she woke up that concerned McCoy.

He stopped for a moment, looking down at her. Kane's face was starting to gain back some of its color. It was a welcome change to the ghostly white of a couple of hours ago. McCoy pulled a chair closer to the bed and set down the data PADD on a nearby console. His breath became shallow and he moved slowly. Adorae looked so fragile that he didn't want to do anything to jeopardize her recovery. Reaching up, Bones gently brushed away a lock of hair. He would have given anything for her open her eyes. Quietly, McCoy started humming to himself. It was low and slightly off key, but a familiar tune.

"…let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars." His finger traced the line of her jaw, still humming, "In other words…" McCoy froze, looking at this woman in front of him in an old familiar way, "…I love you." How he wished she would open her eyes.

---

"Leonard! Where'd you put the mustard?" Adorae's voice preceded her into the living room as she walked out of the kitchen. It was seven years earlier at Kane's new apartment in nearby College Hill. She had just moved in the day before and the two had been busy hauling boxes up two flights of stairs. McCoy was sprawled out on a picnic blanket in the middle of an empty room. Adorae walked over kicking him playfully in the thigh.

"Hey!" he instantly sat up wrapping his arms around her knees and hauling her to the ground. Adorae let out a yelp as gravity took over. She fell into a heap right on top of him, laughing the entire time. They wrestled around for a few minutes, McCoy taking every advantage to tickle her. Afterward they both lay there with goofy grins on their faces breathing heavily from the exertion. Not missing a beat, Kane jumped up to her feet.

"Mustard?" she looked down at him, a smile on her face.

"Cooler next to the sliding door." Bones lifted only his head to watch her walk away, enjoying the view with a goofy grin.

"My father invited us over for dinner," the sounds of rummaging emanated from the next room, but the question was all McCoy heard.

"Your father?" the smile had faded from his face.

"Yeah," she popped her head around the corner and saw the look on McCoy's face, "Relax. You two will get along great."

Bones propped himself up on his elbows and stared at the entrance to the kitchen where Adorae had just disappeared. He had been dreading this moment since they had first started dating. Alec Kane was an imposing man. He also lived a little over an hour away. Adorae had been trying to set up a meeting between the two for a couple of weeks now and every time McCoy had managed to side step it.

Genevieve Nuveau, her mother, had stopped by multiple times and had taken a liking to her daughter's new man. She mooned over him constantly, going on and on about how handsome he was and inquiring about grandchildren. Adorae laughed it off, but the words stuck with Bones. He never let it show, but it was constantly on his mind.

McCoy wiped a hand down his face, "When?"

"Tomorrow night. Little restaurant downtown." Kane walked back out with couple of sandwiches and sat down on the blanket. "So what do you say?"

"Sure." He forced a smile and took a sandwich.

---

It was late the next night. Footsteps could be heard outside the apartment, soon followed by loud voices. They only got louder once the door opened and Adorae and Bones stepped through.

"What are you so upset about?" Kane pulled off her jacket and tossed it over the back of the chair.

"Oh I don't know, maybe because I just got dragged through the mud!" McCoy stepped down into the living area just blindly walking.

"What are you talking about?"

McCoy spun around, "Your father blatantly and purposely demeaned me and what I do!" he threw his hands in the air.

"So he made a comment about doctors. He didn't mean anything by it. You're just over reacting." She stood at the edge of the small step separating the two rooms.

"Your father hates me, Addie, let's just face it." McCoy looked hurt. As much as meeting her father had terrified him, he wanted the man to like him. More for Adorae than himself.

"He doesn't hate you, he just…"

"Stop. Alright. Just stop." Brushing by her, Bones skipped over both steps and went straight for the door.

"Leonard, please…"

"I'm leaving. I can't do this." He grabbed the door knob and turned it.

"Where are you going? Let's at least talk about this…" Adorae's voice was quiet; she didn't want to further the argument. In her gut she knew that he was right. Her father was ruthless and very protective of his oldest daughter. Still, she had thought they would get along. She was wrong.

"There's nothing to talk about." McCoy took one more long look at Adorae, a pain growing in his heart. For three weeks they had been each other's constant companions. She was all he looked forward to at the end of a long shift. Her spirit and seemingly endless energy served as his source of happiness. Things had begun to change in the past week, though, and it scared him. The new apartment and her hints of him moving in. It was close to campus and the commute to the hospital wasn't bad. Her insistence that he meet her father and then that fateful night. It was too much to try and take in at one time.

Not saying another word, McCoy left the apartment and shut the door. He stood on the other side for a brief moment before making his way down the hallway, down the stairs, and out into the street. Inside, Adorae stared at the now empty space, not sure of what just happened. They hadn't really had a fight, more of a strong disagreement. Yet those few short moments had shaped the future in an instant. As soon as that door had closed so had the relationship. It was a silly reason to end it all, but end it did. For the next seven years both Adorae and Bones would think of the other, think about what had happened that night, and wonder where they were. That was the last time they would see each other until that day in the shuttle bay on the Enterprise.

---

The dark clouds were ominous. It had been threatening to rain for over a week and it looked as if it might that evening. McCoy walked with no destination in mind. His mind was just as cloudy as the weather. The best three weeks of his life had seemingly just ended. A flash of lightning lit up the night sky, temporarily blinding him. The crack of thunder let loose a torrent of rain, instantly soaking McCoy but he was none the wiser. He was numb to the world.

He walked like that for what appeared to be hours. Over and over in his mind that last conversation played. Adorae's voice was clear and taunting. McCoy could still see the look on her face before he left the apartment. It was confusion. She didn't realize what he had just gone through during their dinner with her father. Leaning back, Bones let the rain run down his face. His clothes were already soaked through, but he didn't care.

The area where he walked was starting to grow dark as the lamp posts became scarce. Further and further away Bones went, not realizing that he wasn't going to be going back. He had his personal fears, but never before had one person scared him so much. Adorae Kane was a force all her own, beautiful and strong. Independent, a certified genius, and a lover of music. Her family had a rocky past but she had stepped through it and survived. McCoy respected her greatly, but she terrified him to no end. He'd never been with anyone so full of life.

Bones stopped walking. Looking up he saw the familiar sight of the University of Mississippi campus entrance. The large sign was lit on both sides. He stared at the words as if seeing them for the first time. So much time spent here in the years and weeks before. With a deep breath, McCoy turned his back on the marker and started walking again. In that moment he had made a difficult decision, one that would haunt him for years. It was time to move on, start a new chapter of his life. As much as it pained him to do it, Bones had chosen to never see her again.

---

Kirk stared at the view screen in front of him. He was sitting in the center chair on the bridge, a forlorn look on his face. The room was quiet and very tense. With minimal manning, there were very few people walking about. It made the Enterprise seem like a ghost ship. Behind him the usually soft hiss of the automatic door was loud, echoing through the room. Jim didn't bother to turn around, he knew who had entered.

"Mr. Sulu," Jim stood and turned to face his pilot. At the same time, Pike's two guards stepped out from their posts along the bulkhead and approached the officer. Sulu didn't acknowledge their presence, merely kept his eyes on the Captain. The guards stepped up to either side.

Kirk spoke, his blue eyes steely and unforgiving, "Hikaru Sulu, you are under arrest for the attempted murders of Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott and Lieutenant Adorae Kane. By the authority given to me as Commanding Officer of the Enterprise, I am confining you to the brig until you can be handed over to Starfleet security on Earth."

Just then a yeoman walked up to the Captain and whispered something into his ear. Kirk looked at the woman, "When?"

"A few moments ago, sir." Her voice was sad, the feeling reflecting in her eyes.

"Thank you, yeoman."

"Sir?" The guard, Michaels, looked at Kirk.

"Mr. Sulu I'm afraid the charges against you have changed. I am dropping one count of attempted murder, and charging you with one count of first degree murder." He stepped forward and stood face to face with the accused, "You just killed one of my officers, something I don't take lightly too. Take him to the brig."

Hikaru didn't say a word, his face stone cold as the two guards led him off the bridge. Jim let out the breath he was holding as the doors to the turbo lift closed. Looking around he noticed everyone was staring at him.

"Carry on!"

As they all went back to work, Kirk sighed. Wiping his face with his hand he shifted his gaze to the quiet figure near the Science console. Commander Spock, hands folded neatly behind his back, face indifferent stepped forward.

"You did what was right, Captain. It is as you said, Lieutenant Kane is dead. There was no other choice then to incarcerate Lieutenant Sulu. After all, the evidence clearly identifies him as the perpetrator."

"Yeah, but that doesn't make it any easier, Spock." Kirk stepped up to the next level and headed for the turbo lift, "You have the bridge, I need to clear my head." The Vulcan gave no verbal reply, merely inclining his head and taking the center chair.

---

The lights in the medical bay were dimmed and jazz music played quietly through the hidden speakers. No one was around but Doctor McCoy, a nurse, and his patient. Bones had moved his work to a console near the occupied bed and sat there pouring over medical publications and notes. Every once in a while he would glance back at his patient, or check a few of the readings on the screen above the bed.

"How's she doing?" the voice came out of nowhere, startling the Doctor.

"Jesus, Jim! Don't you know not to sneak up on a man like that?" Bones had his hand over his heart, trying to slow its rapid beating.

"Sorry."

"Ah, forget it." McCoy flipped the data PADD over and pushed the chair back. Standing up he walked over and grabbed the medical chart lying next to the bed, "She's stable for now, but barely. Had a nasty reaction to the medication a couple of hours ago. Thought I was going to lose her." His voice was low, his eyes sad. McCoy still couldn't get the sound of the buzzers and alarms out of his head. The machines had gone crazy the instant Adorae's blood pressure had dropped and her heart rate sped up. Bones fought for over an hour to steady her vitals. Once that was done, he started her on an entirely new cocktail of medication and moved his office into the ICU.

"She's a fighter, Bones. I doubt she's leaving you anytime soon." Kirk's voice was sympathetic toward his friend. He had seen the change in the Doctor after the attempt on Kane's life. It was as if McCoy was fighting for more than the life of a patient, he was fighting to remedy something from his past that had hurt a loved one.

"I know, I just wish there was more I could do." Bones felt helpless in this stage of her recovery. All he could do was sit and wait hoping that the medication was working to repair the damage done by the poison.

"Where's Scotty?" Kirk had just now noticed the absence of his Chief Engineer in Sickbay.

"Engineering I suppose. I released him earlier this afternoon, unwillingly mind you." McCoy gave Kirk a look that told him Scott had left against medical advice, "Hey, what happened with Sulu? The nurse came in here a few minutes ago saying something about him being hauled off by a couple of guards." Bones' change in subject had caught the Captain off guard. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Amazing how news travels around here. Don't worry about it, we've got everything under control. You just make sure Ms. Kane gets back on her feet. I'll be on the bridge if you need anything." Jim gave the doctor a solid slap on the shoulder and headed for the door.

"Jim," the captain stopped and looked back, "Admiral Pike isn't still planning on taking her back to Earth is he? I mean, he can't, not with her in this state."

"Like I said, Bones, we've got everything under control." Kirk offered a small smile before exiting the medical bay. McCoy stared at the empty space for a while before shaking it off and sitting back down. Picking up another data PADD, he went back to work. Or at least he tried.