AN: Going back a bit to get Mike's point of view

The investigation was tomorrow. Mike rubbed his head, trying to quell emotions that he wasn't sure were his own. Sure he was nervous, but every once and in a while a feeling of anxiety would grip him out of nowhere. Ginny was scared. He almost called her three times. His fingers hovering over the communications panel in his quarters, her name on the tip of his tongue.

But he didn't.

Something was going on between them. Something he didn't understand. But, he realized as he pulled away from the com panel, there was someone he suspected might have an idea. "Computer locate Evelyn Sanders."

"Evelyn Sanders is in her quarters."

Mike nodded. The walk to the Sanders' quarters was long. Long enough for him to rethink his unbelievably stupid plan. After all, how crazy was he going to sound. 'hi Ev, sorry to bother you so late but I'm pretty sure I have some kind of psychic bond with your best friend who just so happens to be an Ensign on my station. Also I've already had several thoughts about how that might benefit me because I'm a lonely sick pervert.' He winced. He'd lose that last part, but he had to know about the first part. The pull between them was too strong and he needed an explanation.

Blip let him in. "Man, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"That's Captain man." Mike corrected. "I need to talk to Evelyn. It's about..." He hesitated.

"Ginny?" Evelyn came up behind Blip. "Come in, but keep your voice down, the boys are sleeping."

Mike grimaced. Evelyn's intuition always made him wonder if she was part Betazoid. (Don't go there, Mike.) He sat on their couch fidgeting. Blip sat across from him, clearly waiting for him to start explaining and fuck if he knew what was going on. "I can feel her." He said. "There are...feelings...they aren't mine and when I touch her-"

"Woah." Blip's eyes narrowed. "Touch her?"

"It was an accident." Mike snapped.

"Oh, accident." Blip shook his head. "That's what we're calling it. Okay."

"I didn't have sex with her." Mike winced. "She patched me up after a coolant leak and...her hand on my skin made me...feel things that I wasn't feeling." He let out a frustrated huff. "I don't know how to explain this."

Evelyn's brow was furrowed. She hadn't spoken. Blip looked pissed.

"Mike, you know that the two of you doing anything is a complete violation of Starfleet protocol."

"Technically, no." Mike said. He winced as the wrinkles on Blip's forehead doubled. Right, the fact that he'd looked that up probably didn't make him look too good.

"She's an officer under your command. You're her captain." Blip growled. "At best it would be improper. At worst..." He shook his head. "You're not usually this crazy, man." He tilted his head. "As for emotions that aren't yours, couldn't that be some left over from Rachel?"

Mike glared at the ground. "Trust me. Whatever connection Rachel and I had was severed a long time before our divorce." He swallowed before whispering. "I just...I need to know if it's real."

Blip was going to say something else when Evelyn put a hand on his shoulder.

"Romulan mating bonds." She said.

Mike blinked at her. He must have heard her wrong. Evelyn sighed.

"Ginny asked about them after the attack. Apparently Tu'rain and her mother were mates. His attack was motivated by her leaving him." She paused. "Not that I'm making excuses for the sonuvabitch. I did some reading into it." She tapped her fingers against Blip's shoulder. "Apparently they exist between two individuals, creating a pull, an inescapable need to be near the other person. Some bonds are strong enough that they can share emotions." She tilted her head. "You think...you and Ginny."

"I don't know." He said, though some things were becoming clearer.

"But-"

"I don't know." He repeated. "I don't...I'm not sure what I was thinking." He lurched to his feet, leaving. He heard Blip calling after him, but he ignored it. Romulan mating bonds. Of fucking course. Just his luck that the universe chose someone completely unattainable for him. because Blip was right. While there was no official rule against intercrew relationships, it was generally frowned upon between officers with large rank gaps. And there was almost no bigger gap than Ensign and Captain. And did he really want this? He'd been in a relationship that had involved a psychic link before.

He stumbled through the door to his quarters. It had been a while since he'd allowed himself to think about Rachel. As she was a Betazoid, they'd shared a mind link. At first it had been...indescribable. To be that open with someone was...painful, but at the same time freeing. He'd never had to address his insecurities or tell her about his past because she just knew. And the sex had been explosive.

And the fallout had unbelievably painful when she'd severed it. Why the hell would he run into the same type of madness? He barely knew Ginny. Though, to be fair it had taken him very little time to create a connection with Rachel. He was so desperate for someone...anyone to care for him. He'd thought that a psychic connection would guarantee an honest love...that had worked out spectacularly. Rachel had been in control of the connection. It had never been even partially his...She'd used it to cheat and manipulate him. He didn't want to go through that again.

But...he could feel that it was different with Ginny. Whatever was growing between them scared her as much as it did him...and he got the feeling she was about as much in control of it as he was. He had to learn more. Had to figure out what he was dealing with before he decided what he felt about it. He went over to the view screen. "Computer, tell me everything you can about Romulan mating bonds."

.

Ginny lurched out of the conference room, fighting to keep her breathing steady. That...unbelievable...jerk.

"Baker." Mike was at her side. He was barely keeping his rage under control. She could feel it and it fed her own. "Come on." He led her away from the conference room. "You don't have to see him again."

"He's going to try and pretend that it was insanity." She said. "That he had a right to...to rape me because of..." She glared at the door of the conference room as it opened again. Tu'rain was led out of it, surrounded by the security team, his wrists in clad in restraints. "You." She lunged, fulling intending to tear him apart. Mike grabbed her around the middle, stopping her.

"Baker." He grit his teeth, struggling to hold her still.

"You can't just say you didn't do it." She hissed, fighting to move Mike's weight. He stood firm, not letting her get closer. "You can't just say that it was a mental lapse. You knew what you were doing."

Mike's arms around her tightened. A warmth spread through her and she let him hold her weight.

"He can't." She whispered, looking up at Mike, searching his face for a means to stop the boiling rage inside her. He was certainty, he was stability. He was hope.

"He won't." Was his reply, his hands drifting to land on her waist. "Come on." He jerked his head. "Don't let him rile you up. He's not worth a court martial." She let him lead her, unsure where until she heard the swish of the holodeck doors and smelled the cool air and grass of the baseball diamond. She shivered, letting the tears she'd been fighting for so long fall. All through it, he held her. She could feel him; in front of her, around her. She could feel the pull she'd been resisting press her. Then she realized...Mike was feeling everything she was...he wasn't trying to run from it or shield her from it...he was sharing it. Letting her knew she wasn't alone.

She looked up, meeting his gaze. There were unshed tears in his eyes. He grimaced, a hand coming up to brush her hair out of her face and tuck it behind her ear. She braced herself for him to flinch, to pull away. Instead he traced his fingers up over the tip. There was no hatred, no revulsion, no fear, no anger.

"Mike." She whispered, unsure where to begin.

"We don't need to talk." He whispered. "Not until you want to."