James had finally woken, nearly crying out in agonizing pain. He wasn't sure which hurt the most his head or the rest of his body and he couldn't comfort either as it was even more painful to move. Opening his eyes a bit more, he watched as Bones made his way towards him, Hypospray at the ready. James, despite the pain, frantically shooed Bones away knowing that his so called "gentle" touch was a load of crap and would hurt like hell.

"Hold still for god's sake otherwise it'll inject somewhere else and you'll never feel a part of your body again." Bones shouted as James's continued squirm.

"You make it hurt on purpose why shouldn't I move?" James cried. Bones stopped, surprising James for a moment as he paused to stare at his friend. In that small window of opportunity Bones sent the warm liquid through his neck gaining a very shocked and pained looked from James.

"Geeze, you really do do it on purpose!" James's shouted.

"Only because it's you."

"And here I thought our friendship meant nothing to you." He replied, gingerly rubbing the injection site on his neck. Bones grinned and began scanning Kirks body to asses any other damage he might have missed. Though painful, he was glad to be able to move his arms at least without searing pain; the rest of his body was a different story.

"You'll be confined to a wheelchair for awhile until your body is completely recovered. You sustained a lot of damage on the planet and need to take it slow." Bones continued on, but by this point James was no longer listening. His eyes watched the unmoving body of Jesse.

"Do you want to see her?" James nodded, unable to speak. It was as if all words were removed, his voice lost within this one moment.

Bones slowly wheeled him towards the bed, the battered body coming into view more and more. It began to feel like someone had hit him in the stomach repeatedly, his breath catching within his lungs. Now beside her, James felt as if his world was crashing around hi and he wasn't sure why. He had lost crew members before surely in their own escapades, but why this feeling now, with her? Had it been because she risked her life for him and in return he was unable to done nothing in return for her? Flashes of the execution came to mind, flashes of light and of the creature, but he couldn't remember exactly Jesse. He remembered her standing there watching him, dragging him to safety and then light, but nothing after that. Bones silently stalked away to his office, taking a stance beside the watchful Saraya.

James sat still for what seemed like hours to bystanders. Nurses avoided the silent captain by way of angry glares from Doctor McCoy who seemed somewhat more irritable than usual. What James could not comprehend was how they had all this technology now, to mend bones in almost an instant, to save people from death with minimal surgery and yet Jesse lay here, dying and on a ventilator. Without thinking, James reached up and wrapped his fingers around her hand. He attempted desperately to think of words to say to her, to express his gratitude, his need to have her back to pick fights with, to question his authority. He was so lost in thought he almost didn't hear Saraya move behind him. She made sure to keep her distance. He had not seen her, even during their brief event on in the Krillon Territory and she wasn't sure how he would react to …her to be exact. Especially after the minor episode only moments before with Bones's second.

"She wouldn't want you to stay here like a lost puppy Captain." Saraya said sternly. He made no move to reply, he simply sat there, holding her hand, watching her.

"Remaining here won't bring her back." Saraya placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "And you know she would yell at you for not acting like a real captain…for not acting like the infamous James T. Kirk."

James gave a grin and turned to thank the unknown crew member but was at a loss of words. He wasn't sure if what he was seeing was correct. Images of the execution flashed through his mind as the golden skinned woman with silver hair stood over him. James stared at her some more and realized that she was not the same woman; her hair was tinted with the lightest shade of gold possible.

"Captain I am glad to see that you are no longer in harm." Came the ever even voice of Spock as he made his way into the sick bay.

James turned and gave a hearty slap to Spock's arm, "Glad to hear how broken up you were about it Spock. And here I thought you didn't care." He received a perplexed look from his second in command for a moment before he continued on.

"Captain, I must inquire as to why we are receiving orders to make ready for a small group of Angelics."

"Angelics?" James asked, "What for? And by who's orders?"

"Admiral Pike sir. He says all of them, including himself, are making an inspection and picking up Jesse to take her to earth back for medical reasons. Would you like to hear the transmission?"

"Yes. Yes I would."

She could hear everything. It pained her not to be able to speak back, especially when James was beside her. She could feel the warmth in his hand and it nearly killed her not to be able to respond even with a slight touch. Her body refused to respond to anything she tried to do and it was her fault, she knew the risks when she returned to her human state. She wanted to be able so desperately to make sure he was ok, that Saraya was ok, that everyone was alive and well but she had made a choice and was paying the price. It was as if someone had thrown her into a bottomless pit and it was just her falling down into the blackness unable to stop or be saved. Her world was slowly crumbling around her and she didn't know how to stop it. She knew somewhere deep down that this day would come, but she had hoped that she could have remained human for a little bit longer.

Saraya looked over to Jesse's unmoving body and heaved a sigh. She wasn't used to her being so quiet and she didn't particularly like it. It reminded her to much of what happened to her after the war. Saraya pushed those memories far back into the deepest recesses of her mind and continued to work silently beside Dr. McCoy. No matter how much she concentrated, she couldn't shake this odd feeling that began to creep up from the pit of her stomach. Everything was going off, all the bells and whistles, but she couldn't figure out why. It might still be because of Mamelas unexpected appearance at the Territory but she knew Mamela wouldn't show up on a Federation ship. It wasn't her style.

"Saraya, have you eaten yet today?" Saraya blankly stared at Bones. She shook her head trying to think back on when exactly she ate last. She was used to not eating for days that hunger didn't really register with her.

"Would you like to accompany me to the mess hall? We can make a quick trip and eat here if you prefer?" Bones asked, an almost hopeful plea silently submitted with his words. Her mother's words echoed in her mind but the mess hall was right down the hallway and she would be able to sense if someone or something approached Jesse.

"I would love to so long as we make it quite quick." Bones gave a quick threat to the nurses to enforce the fact that no one was to go near Jesse while they were gone. They bleakly nodded their heads in unison as others just stared at him in a calm fear. The woman in the shadows smiled. She knew she didn't have much time until they returned. Approximately 8 minutes, maybe less if Saraya sensed her. Emily waited until Saraya and Bones were out of view before she stepped into the sick bay. Without much effort or energy Emily swiftly moved her hands in a series of movements causing those within the sick bay to fall into a quiet sleep. She made her way to Jesse's bed and grinned as she whispered in her ear. In one rapid movement Emily pulled the breathing tube from Jesse's throat.

Jesse's eyes flew open as she painfully inhaled the cold air of the room. She blinked a few times, unsure of what was going on until her eyes focused on Emily's menacing visage. Her eyes were cold and filled with thoughts of death as her face pulled back into a tight grin. Jesse gave a small laugh at the ironic situation she found herself in.

"You're lucky I don't have any strength." Jesse said flatly as she stared at the ceiling above her.

"You're right." Emily said manically. "I am very lucky. You don't know how long I've had to wait for this moment."

Jesse turned her head and stared at Emily. "You don't have much of a life do you? I mean if this is what you've been waiting for you're going to be quite disappointed aren't you?"

"Cadet! State your orders!"

Emily twitched at the sound of his voice and frowned. Her human side had been drilled so much that it naturally responded to a superior officer's call even if she wished to ignore it. But now, she was gaining back the control. Emily spun around to find the dear Captain seated before her watching her ever so carefully. She scowled. For some reason he did not respond to the sleep spell that she had pass over the nurses and the door but his current predicament did not pose such a problem. Her fingers shot out in his direction and with them nearly invisible strings that coiled around Kirk's body like a python. She clenched her hand into a fist, dragging Kirk against his will towards Emily until he was only inches away.

"I don't take orders from humans like you." She sneered as she turned her attention back to Jesse.

"Kirk what the hell are you doing?" Jesse cried as she tried to look at him.

"Well," Kirk started as he attempted to struggle against the unseen ropes, "I was trying to protect you."

Jesse rolled her eyes. "Clearly that went well."

"Ok now wait, I think I did a pretty good job. I mean I am in a wheelchair!"

"Oh yeah, ordering a cadet who clearly a bit stronger than you while you're in a wheel chair is a brilliant idea."

"Well aren't we pleasant! You're not the one tied up." Kirk shouted back, getting a bit frustrated not only with the ropes but Jesse's annoying attitude.

"Shut up both of you!" Emily screamed. Emily severed the thin threads from herself but Kirk still remained immobile, his arms still tightly bound to his chair arms.

"What the hell is this?" Kirk asked the wheelchair shaking as he tried to pull himself free from the bond through the pain.

"They're spirit threads." Jesse replied nonchalantly.

"What?" Kirk asked, obviously a bit pissed off by this point.

"Spirit threads are practically invisible threads that are five times stronger than steel and are the main weapon of choice for Binders." Kirk stopped moving and glared at her.

"What the hell is a Binder?" Jesse groaned. This was just ridiculous!

"Did you ever pay attention in any of your classes?!" Jesse screamed. Emily had had enough. She quickly silenced them both with a quick spell. Emily groaned as she realized that the spell had probably alerted Saraya. There was a reason why she preferred to work away from people and these two were just it. Her hands moved rapidly as she began to set up a barrier spell, just long enough to hold off Saraya a bit longer so that she could complete what she was sent to do. Without any surprise Saraya was just on the other side, her face filled with fury as she stared at Emily. With one correctly placed punch Saraya had already begun to crack the barrier. Emily stood in shock. No one had been able to do that before, not even Mamela. Often times it had taken two or three attacks to begin destroying the barrier but not for her. Emily scowled once more. Quickly she bent down and whispered sharply in Jesse's ear, finishing just as Saraya had penetrated the barrier.

The barrier had done its job leaving just enough time for Emily to disappear in a halo of light before Saraya could strangle the girl.

"Oh geeze…." Jesse said as she watched Saraya's anger spread. This girl had really gotten to her sometime earlier today otherwise it was just getting easier and easier to make Saraya angry. Blood began to drip from Saraya's palms as she clenched her hands with all her forced in an attempt to calm herself down so that she would avoid hurting anyone.

"Um…."

"I wouldn't" Jesse said to Kirk quickly interrupting his question to avoid Saraya going on a rampage. "Best to just let her cool down for a moment." Kirk sighed and waited patiently in his chair for the woman to cool down.

"We aren't done talking yet!" Kirk whispered hotly as he glared at Jesse who merely rolled her eyes in response. 'Good morning to me'