A/N: next chappie. *hums music from the soundtrack on iPod* enjoy!

Chapter 10: Freckles

"Where's the Captain?!"

"He's speaking with our captain, now you need to lie down," Kristine murmured to the man sitting up in his bed, panic in his eyes.

"But the Captain---!"

"Is fine. Trust me. Now lie down."

She gently pushed on his shoulders to lie him down and he obeyed with a sigh of defeat. He placed his hands on his stomach, lacing his fingers together as Kristine prepared a hypo for him.

"I'm gonna give you a very mild sedative," she explained. "It'll just calm you down a little, which you need right now because your blood pressure is up a little. That seems to be a common symptom from all of you."

"We all took uppers to keep us alert," he replied, wincing when she gave him the hypo. "We're a small crew, so we had to be alert."

"Well, that's good to know," Kristine smiled. "Now, do you remember what kind of uppers they were?"

"No," he sighed, the hypo kicking in as he lulled his head lazily to the side to look at her. "You're really pretty, you know that?"

Kristine glanced at him from tucking the sheet he was lying on back under the mattress and smiled again as she nodded, "Thank you."

"I mean, like, really pretty," he grinned rather loudly and catching McCoy's attention from across the room as he stood scanning one of the unconscious crew members. "Your freckles are adorable."

"Well, thank you, again," she smiled tightly with another small nod, now feeling a little uncomfortable that he was complimenting her so much.

"Hey, it'll take us a while to get back to Starfleet, right?" he asked and she gave a frown but nodded. "You and me should go have dinner in Mess. What are you doing tonight?"

"Doctor Deveraux," McCoy called, almost barked. "I need your eyes over here for a moment."

"Excuse me," Kristine gratefully whispered to the patient she was with before hurrying toward McCoy as he lowered the scanner, still staring at the patient. "Yes, Doctor?"

"Stay over here," he said, in a hushed tone, handing her his scanner. "Make sure his vitals are stable and from now on, deal with the passed out patients on this side of the room."

"Why?" she wondered honestly with a frown over her brow as he walked around her to head to the other side of the room. He stopped and turned to her with a raised eye brow then stepped closer to her again.

"Because I'm your superior officer and I said so," he replied through clenched teeth, making her frown deepen. She glanced at the patient she'd been with before staring at her and when she looked back at McCoy's irritated expression she smiled, slyly.

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Doctor," she murmured, starting to scan the patient they were standing next to. He glanced over his shoulder, throwing a hard look at the only conscious patient staring at Kristine, making him look away nervously.

McCoy turned back to face Kristine and stepped a little closer, leaning toward her ear to murmur, "Let's just say, no one should be complimenting your adorable freckles but me."

"As always, Leo, your protection of your medical assistant is…" she trailed off to find the right word, but was cut off by McCoy.

"If you end that sentence with something Mr. No-Tact would say, like 'logical,' I'm gonna hurl," he warned.

"Just keep Mr. Drunk-on-Pretty over there from going after his captain," Kristine retorted. "All he's been talking about is finding his captain."

"Fine," he grumbled, stepping to leave, but he quickly stepped back. "I mean it, though, Kris. Stay over here. Away from him. Something about him doesn't sit right with me."

"I know what it is," she replied, and he looked at her with wide eyes, waiting for her to elaborate. "It's because he asked your girlfriend out on a date."

"Don't push me, Kris," he warned. "You know I have a bad temper."

"So don't let it loose on him," she advised. "He's been through a lot already."

McCoy's expression softened and he only nodded mutely before walking away to talk to the patient as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't resist the way her heart fluttered seeing him in his Starfleet uniform. He looked so handsome in it, and she preferred this one over the cadet uniform they wore at the academy.

She shook her head to bring herself back to reality and concentrated on scanning the person in front of her. It was the same as the others. Just something to bring his blood pressure back to normal and he would sleep on for another hour or so. There was only one female in the crew of five and Kristine wondered how she dealt with four men probably trying to grope at her.

She looks like a feisty one, though, she thought with a smile as she walked toward her unconscious body. She'd probably kill anyone who tried to touch her.

Her heart skipped at that thought, then clenched, but she only swallowed and began checking the woman's vitals. She'd already checked her and given her the hypo to get her blood pressure down, now it was just a matter of making sure everything was still normal.

The door leading into the hall slid open, catching her attention, and she stood at attention when Kirk entered with the captain of the Kobayashi Maru.

"Captain!" the man only conscious man of the crew grinned, shooting up in his seat on the bed and wincing as he did before pressing the heel of his hand to his head.

"Lay down, damn it!" McCoy growled, almost shoving him back down as Captain Aaron Marcus snickered.

"What's the matter, Jared, does your tiny brain hurt?" he smirked, coming up next to the bed and leaning over the man.

"Very funny, Captain," Jared groaned as McCoy and Kristine hurried to their captain who stood in the center of the room.

"Well, Jim?" McCoy enquired. "What the hell was it?"

"Apparently, the Kobayashi Maru isn't just a test," Kirk cut to the chase. "It was the actual name of a Starfleet ship that had been rendered obsolete about five years ago. They let Captain Marcus leave Starfleet with it. He said he loved her too much to just let her get junked."

"He didn't seem all that upset when we told him we had to abandon it," Kristine explained.

"Yeah, well, he broke down in the briefing room when everything finally hit him," Kirk replied. "How's everything on your end?"

"Well, so far one of the men woke up," McCoy replied. "As you can see, everyone else is out."

"The reason their blood pressure was up a little high was because they were taking something to keep them alert," Kristine chimed in.

"Understandable," Kirk shrugged. "They were on an old ship. She probably had a lot of problems, mechanically. Not much by way of weapons and a small crew, they probably had to be doubly careful to avoid being attacked."

"We gave them something to bring their blood pressure down to normal, we're just waiting for everyone else to wake up," Kristine explained.

"Well, we'll be back home in another hour, so you two go get something to eat or something," Kirk suggested. "You've been holed up here for hours."

"We'll be fine, Jim," McCoy replied. "You just worry about what you have to do."

"Hey, I can't have my best medical officers running themselves down, can I?" Kirk smiled that smile of his, slapping McCoy's arm.

"Thank you, Captain," Kristine smiled as McCoy only rolled his eyes at him.

"Keep me posted," he said, walking toward the lift and giving a two fingered salute to Aaron who returned the gesture.

"Aye, Captain," Kristine called back and turned back to the female patient she'd been scanning earlier as McCoy headed toward the patient next to her to scan him.

"I feel really bad," Aaron suddenly said, stepping toward the two and catching their attentions. "I couldn't help but overhear Captain Kirk say that you've been here for hours. You guys should take a break, like he said."

"A doctor's work is never done, I'm afraid," McCoy replied, still scanning the patient in front of him.

"It doesn't look like these guys are goin' anywhere," Aaron snickered. "Besides, these are all my guys. You're only waiting for them to wake up, right?"

"It's not just that," McCoy argued. "If something happens to one of them while we're gone, you can't do anything, can you?"

"Doctor!" Kristine gasped at his tone.

"I can," Jared suddenly spoke up from his bed, turning hers and McCoy's attention to him. "I'm the doctor."

"You're the doctor?" McCoy repeated, crossing his arms over his chest and looking skeptical.

"I know," Aaron smirked, elbowing him, gently. "Hard to believe, isn't it?"

"If anything happens, I can take care of it," Jared insisted. "I know these guys better than they probably know themselves."

McCoy raised a brow at him then turned it to Kristine who shrugged, silently saying it was up to him. He had to admit, they both needed a break. He just felt uneasy about leaving his Sick Bay in the hands of this guy. This guy who had asked his girlfriend on a dinner date.

He looked at Kristine and realized she needed a break more than he did. Sighing in defeat he nodded to her and turned to Jared.

"Fine," he nodded again. "But we won't be gone for long. Ten minutes, tops."

"I can hold things till then," Jared smiled, swinging his legs off the bed to sit on the edge. "And if any of your people come in with injuries, I'll call you."

"Fine," McCoy replied, then turned to Kristine to say, "Give him your com."

Kristine nodded and went to her desk for her communicator to take it to Jared. As she handed it to him, his smile widened and when he took it from her hand, his fingers brushed against hers, lightly.

"Thanks, Freckles," he murmured, and Kristine swallowed before she nodded, mutely and hurried toward McCoy as he glared at the other man.

"You two take your time," Aaron smiled, waving to them as they headed out the door. "Everybody will still be here when you get back."

The two doctors said nothing as Kristine only waved back, politely and as soon as the door swooshed shut behind them, McCoy threw and arm around her shoulders.

"Leo---!"

"Nobody's here," he cut in as they still walked in no particular direction. "They're not gonna see us."

Kristine sighed in defeat and consented, "Alright, but you'd better let go if someone passes by."

"Gimme your hand," he demanded, ignoring her warning and he lifted the hand she'd given the communicator to Jared with. "I saw what he did…" He started rubbing her fingers. "Who the hell does he think he is, touching you like that? I'm the only one allowed to do that, damn it."

"Well, he doesn't know that," Kristine replied, allowing him to rub her fingers.

"And who's fault is that?" he retorted. "Why haven't you told him you're with somebody, already?"

"Because he'll ask who," she reasoned. "Then what will I tell him?"

"The truth."

"Then it'll get around the ship. I don't want that to happen."

"You're worrying too much. No one cares. Somebody could walk down the hall right now, see us, and they wouldn't care."

"You don't know that."

"Sure I do," he smirked, hearing faint footsteps coming down the hall. "Watch."

"Watch what?" she frowned, then suddenly heard the footsteps as well and yanked her hand from his, trying to get out from under his arm as well, but he held her fast. "Leo---!"

"Stop squirming, will ya?" McCoy pleaded. "Just relax."

Just then, a crew member came around the corner as they rounded it in the opposite direction. Kristine swallowed, her heart racing as she saw him looking down at a tablet in his hands. Her heart skipped a beat when he glanced up at them, nodded and continued walking. She frowned and looked back to watch him. No double take. No frown. No strange look.

"See?" McCoy smiled, triumphantly. "I told you. No one cares." Kristine turned her gaze ahead in wide-eyed surprise as he continued, "So when we get back to Sick Bay, you tell Mr. Flirt to leave you alone. That's an order, got it?"

"Y-Yeah," she nodded, still not realizing what had just happened. Recovering, she looked up at him with a small smile, then remembered something and asked, "How come you don't call me Freckles anymore?"

McCoy frowned as they stopped in the hall and he stepped away from her, slightly before saying, "You said you hated that."

"Never stopped you, did it?" she smirked, closing the gap of space he'd made again.

"Oh, I get it," he grumbled, nodding in understanding. "This is because that guy called you Freckles, isn't it?"

"He has a name, ya know?" Kristine scolded. "No matter how much you dislike him, you should at least call him by his name."

"Well, you tell Jared to stop calling you that too, and maybe I'll start calling you that again," he taunted as they resumed their walk, his arm fully around her shoulders again.

"You're such a grouch," Kristine pouted, slightly and McCoy opened his mouth to reply, but she caught sight of Tatiana coming down the hall, running and waving at them.

"So, I guess this means you're not hiding it anymore, huh?" the blonde grinned, glancing between the two doctors, but Kristine only raised a brow at her, pursing her lips in irritation. "What?"

"I had a little conversation with Commander Spock this morning, Tatiana," she explained, crossing her arms over her chest as McCoy slid his arm from around her shoulders to lean on the wall next to them. "Or rather, he interrogated me about the conversation you had with him last night."

"H-He did?" Tatiana breathed, her emerald eyes, widening. "What did he say?"

"He knew you were lying, Ana," Kristine cut to the chase. "He knew you weren't talking about a friend having problems being a hybrid."

"What?!" Tatiana squeaked so high McCoy winced and plugged one of his ears. "But how?!"

"He's Commander Spock, Ana!" Kristine hissed. "He knows everything!"

"Y-You didn't tell him…?"

"No," Kristine assured her when she trailed off, her eyes huge before she sighed in relief. "But you'd better be careful. And from now on, whenever you talk to him, just tell him the truth, alright?"

"But if they find out---!" Tatiana cut herself off and looked at McCoy who seemed to take the hint and covered his ears. That didn't stop Tatiana from pulling Kristine to the other side of the hall to whisper, "If they find out I'm half Romulan, they'll throw me in the brig, or think I'm some sort of spy!"

"I didn't say tell him what you are," Kristine replied. "I already took care of that. I told him you were afraid of being punished when you've done nothing. He won't ask you about that, unless it's necessary, and I doubt it will ever be necessary. Just don't pull the 'I have a friend' gag. It's not gonna work next time."

"Fine," Tatiana sighed, rubbing her eyes. "If he asks I'll tell him the truth."

"Good," Kristine nodded. "So, what did you decide?"

Tatiana smiled widely and whispered, "As far as anyone is concerned, I'm a human. I won't be anything else."

"Good," Kristine smiled again. "You'd make a better human than a Romulan anyway."

"You can't tell anyone else about this, ok?" the blonde pleaded, glancing at McCoy. "I don't want anyone knowing I'm a hybrid of anything."

"Well, Leo was there when the Commander talked to me, but he won't say anything if I tell him not to," Kristine assured her and Tatiana nodded.

"Pavel can't know either," she whispered, almost so low Kristine couldn't hear. "I really don't want him to know about this, ok?"

Kristine frowned then smiled in realization as Tatiana looked away from her friend's expression.

"You…" Kristine grinned, deviously, "and Pavel?!"

"Don't say another word," Tatiana ground out, her cheeks flush and Kristine tried to stifle her grin.

"How about you have my permission?" Kristine replied and the blonde glared at her but couldn't help smiling.

"Thanks," she muttered. "I have to go to the bridge now. I'll see you later."

"Alright," Kristine nodded and Tatiana hurried past them to head toward the bridge as Kristine stepped toward McCoy who still had his hands over his ears. She took his wrists into her hands and pulled his hands from his head, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him gently as she did and making him smile.

"You girls done gossiping?" he smirked as they walked down the hall, Kristine letting go of one hand but slipping her other into his.

"Did that sound like gossip to you?" Kristine retorted with a smirk.

"So, when are you gonna tell me what Tatiana's 'other half' is?" he asked playfully, but frowned when Kristine stopped and looked at him seriously.

"I'm not," she replied. "And you can't tell anyone that she's a hybrid, you hear me? No one. She doesn't want anyone to know. She's not ready yet."

"I hadn't planned on telling anybody, Kris," he assured her, just as serious.

"Good," Kristine nodded, definitely as they resumed walking the hall. "Because if you told anyone, I don't think I could forgive you."

"Boy, I'd better be on my best behavior with you, huh?" he smiled playfully again, squeezing the hand he held gently and she gave him a small smile. She turned her hand in his to entwine their fingers as they turned the corner, having walked in one huge circle to head back to Sick Bay.

A/N: yeah, yeah, more cuteness. i hope i explained everything ok. i worry about that. like i said, it could make sense to me but for all i know the readers are goin' "what the hell?!" lol! anyway, reviews?