Jim woke up to the sounds of people murmuring around him. A small part of his brain didn't want to register the noises and tried to drag him back into unconsciousness, but that part of him was unsuccessful. He could tell that his skin had just been through the dermal regenerator by how stiff and new it felt. His head was pounding, and all he wanted was to go back to bed. He didn't want to think about anything, but here he was awake.

"Hey Jim. I know you're awake. How are you feelin'?" Bones asked as he checked the vitals above Jim's bed.

"I feel like I got ran over. My head is killing me."

Bones looked worried. There were no signs of physical trauma to his head, so he didn't know why Jim's head would hurt this bad. "What do you remember?" He asked as he started to get a scanner.

Jim watched Bones, but he didn't really process what he was doing. "I- he died." His hand that was resting on top of the blanket curled into a fist. Jim dug his nails into his palm trying to use the pain as an anchor. He couldn't break down now.

Bones stopped messing with the scanner and reached out a hand clapping Jim on the shoulder. "I'm sorry. I know he was your friend. If you want to talk, you know where to find me."

That was the best thing about having Bones as a friend. He seemed to know when Jim didn't want to talk. Bones didn't push the issue like some people did.

Jim nodded and let out a breathe he hadn't realized he was holding. "Can you tell me what the hell happened?"

Bones took a deep breathe and began recounting what had happened. It was quite the story to tell, and he didn't know how Jim was going to react to some of the news. Bones wasn't sure if he could handle any more bad news.

When he got to the part about Riley, Jim tensed up. "What do you mean Kevin was shot with an unknown weapon? I need to see him. Now!" He started to get himself out of the bed, but Bones was there first holding him back.

"All right, All right. Calm down. You have been through a traumatic experience, and you are still recovering. I will help you into his room. He was given a private room. Specialists are working on his case, but Jim, we don't know anything at this point. All we know is that he seems to be in a coma, and nothing we are doing is working. It might not end well." Bones tried to prepare Jim, but all it did was seem to make Jim more determined to get to Kevin.

Together, they made their way into Kevin's room. A nurse was in there looking over his chart, but left as Bones settled Jim into the chair by the bed.

Jim took Kevin's hand in his. It was slightly smaller and less rough than Jim's. Looking at it, he could remember how small it used to be when he tried to drag Jim outside to play. Jim barley held back a sob. Kevin was always going to be his son. He and T'lana had raised him. He was the last link to T'lana Jim had. Jim should have been able to protect him. He would never forgive himself for this. It was another regret to add to his list.

Bones was watching Jim not knowing how to comfort him. He was about to make his way out of the room to give Jim some time alone when he spoke.

"He was on Tarsus with me. I helped raise the kid, and he pretty much become my son." Bones was taken aback. He had figured they were close from the way Kevin acted, but he had not seen Jim as a father figure. He should have though. The signs were all there. The way Kevin was so admirent of Jim, and it explained why Kevin went to such lengths to save Jim.

"I didn't realize you were that close." Bones really didn't know what to say. He was hurt that Jim hadn't seemed to trust him enough with this.

Jim turned his head to look at Bones and seemed to read his mind. "I am sorry you had to find out the way you did. I wasn't trying to intentionally keep you in the dark. You are and always will be my best friend Bones. I was going to tell you about it someday, but I kept putting it off because I never wanted to remember what happened on that goddamn planet." Jim really did feel bad about that.

Bones knew Jim felt bad, and he never could hold a grudge against those puppy eyes. "It's okay. We don't have to talk about it now, but I expect you to tell me something later. Understand?" Bones squeezed his shoulder and watched as Jim nodded. They would finish this story some other time.

"I will give you a few minutes, but then you need to go back to your bed." He released Jim's shoulder and left the room quietly leaving Jim alone with Kevin.

Bones went to go check on his daughter. He found her in the back corner asleep on an empty bio bed. Walking over to a cabinet by the far wall, he grabbed a blanket and gently covered Jo as she slept. She made a soft murmur but continued sleeping.

Bones wished he could get some sleep, but he had so much more to do. He made his way back to Jim hating to interrupt their moment, but Jim needed to rest. The newly healed skin was fragile, and could easily reopen if Jim wasn't careful. He would be fine in a few more hours though.

Bones reentered Kevin's room, and Jim slowly stood up making his way over to the door. They walked to Jim's bed, where Jim climbed in, and Bones checked his vitals.

"Everything looks fine. You should get some more rest." Bones said.

Jim snorted. "I'll try." Bones just smiled grimily and walked away.

He laid there for a few moments after Bones left staring at the ceiling. His last thought before sleep took him was that Kevin had to get better.


The second time he woke up wasn't much different from the first although Jim did feel better than before. He yawned, and slowly moved to sit up glancing around him. Jim didn't see anyone, and he was debating on whether or not to go find Bones when the door opened.

Jim stared in shock at the girl that walked in.

"What are you doing here?" He asked Jo who hadn't looked up from her PADD until she heard his voice.

Her head jerked up when she heard him. "You're awake!" She put her PADD on a nearby bed and raced over to Jim giving him an awkward hug since he was still in bed.

"Hey kiddo. It is good to see you, but how did you get here?"

Bones answered from the doorway where he stood watching them, "She seems to have acquired your sense of trouble. She snuck on board the shuttle to come help rescue you." Bones said the last part in exasperation. He knew that she was only trying to help, but he was still mad at her for taking this risk.

Jim looked down at Jo and sighed. "I am glad you wanted to help, but you could have been hurt you know that right? You shouldn't do these kinds of things." Jim hugged her tighter for a moment before releasing her.

"You're one to talk. You always do stupid stuff." Jo huffed. She didn't understand why her dad wasn't yelling at Jim too.

Bones was picking up Jim's chart looking it over when he heard her comment. He started to snicker to himself causing Jim to turn and glare at him.

"She has a point." Bones said smirking widely. "And did you know that she can hot wire a car? I wonder where she learned that from." The sarcasm was clearly heard, and Jim just blushed and looked away from Bones.

"Dad I told you my friends taught me that."

Jim reached out and touched her arm to get her attention. "Don't lie to your dad." He turned to look at Bones, "Yeah, I did teach her some things. Sorry. I just want her to be able to fend for herself." He couldn't look into his best friend's eyes, so he just stared in his general direction.

Bones just rolled his eyes. "I'm glad your teaching her, but next time don't try to hid it from me. You both suck at keeping secrets." Bones finally understood why Jim was so insistent. After hearing about what he went through, Bones understood his desire to make sure Jo could take care of herself. "And Jim, you can keep on teaching her self defense."

Jo grinned, "Thanks Dad, and sorry for lying and everything."

"It's fine, sweetheart. Just don't do it again. Now, I need you to go wait outside. I have to talk to Jim, and no more eavesdropping!"

Jo ducked her head in embarrassment and hurried out the door. She was in enough trouble already, but she figured she might as well listen to the conversation anyway. It could be important. She waited unseen trying to hear into the room.

Bones waited until the doors closed, but before he could speak Jim was already talking.

"How is Kevin? Have the specialists learned anything new?"

"Sorry kid. There's been no progress. I'll keep you updated though."

Jim shook his head, and cleared away his disappointment.

"That's not all." Jim knew whatever Bones was going to say, it was going to be bad. He had the look on his face when more shit was about to hit the fan.

"Just tell me already." He braced himself, but there was no way he could prepare for what was said.

"Last night, I never got to finish telling you what happened. It's about what happened to those bastards." Bones paused for a minute, not quite sure he wanted to go on, but Jim needed to know. "That woman, did you know who she was?"

Fear and apprehension were growing inside Jim with every word spoken. "Yeah. She was Kodos' daughter. Why?" He hoped this wasn't going where he thought it was going.

"Jim, she managed to get away. Starfleet has officers out looking for her, but so far they have been unable to find any trace of her. Everyone else was recovered from the forest except her. I just thought you should know." Bones put his arm around Jim's shoulders and hugged him for a moment.

Jim wasn't even surprised about this revelation. He felt like the universe had it out for him at this point.

"I hope they find her dead somewhere. She is insane, and most of it was caused by her father. I can understand how she turned out the way she did, but it would be better if she was dead." Jim pushed the blankets off of his lap and stood up.

Bones pointed to some clothes that he had found and brought in earlier. "What happened to her?"

Jim grabbed his clothes and started dressing. This wasn't the first time they had dressed or undressed in front of the other. They had, after all, lived together for three years at the academy.

Jim pulled the black Starfleet undershirt on over his head before he answered.

"Imagine living with a crazy fucking psycho who loved to experiment on people. He told me right before Eames-" Jim swallowed and tried again. "Kodos said that he was the one that introduced the fungus to the crops. He said it was one giant experiment to see how far people were willing to go to survive." Jim paused with his hands on the bed. He couldn't look at Bones and tell this story. Bones for his part remained silent, and Jim was thankful. If he was interrupted now, he would probably never talk about this again.

"If he could do that to a whole community, imagine what it must have been like to live with him every day. She didn't stand a chance. He was sexually abusing his own daughter on top of all of that." A shudder ran through him. That poor women.

"Why can people be so cruel? I just don't understand how such evil has survived this long. After all these years, you would think that this sort of thing wouldn't happen anymore." Jim's fists were curled into balls with the nails digging into his palms.

Bones wasn't sure how to respond. He couldn't believe that things like this still happened either.

"Jim, I am so sorry you had to go through all of that. We will find her. Kodos is dead now, and you can fill in the Admiralty about what he said to you. I hope nothing like this ever happens again. Is there anything I can do? I hate how much this is bothering you." Bones didn't know how to help him. Jim had been fucked over so many times in his young life, and Bones just wished he would catch a break.

Jim turned around and hugged his friend. "You are helping me. Thanks for listening, and I will probably come sneak in and drink with you sometime soon. I need to forget everything for one night."

"Well, I will set aside my best bourbon. You're welcome anytime, as you know." Bones clapped him on the back one, then pulled away. "You're cleared for duty, physically, but not mentally. As soon as we get back, Pike ordered psych evals. Everyone in that little program of yours is getting them, so don't look at me like that." Bones said to Jim's disgruntled expression. "Now, I have to go check on patients. I will send Jo in to keep you busy." Bones teased as he went to the door.

"I am not a child you have to amuse, Bones." Bones just laughed and called Joanna into the room.

"You two please, for the love of god, stay out of trouble. I can't handle any more stress." They both just stared as Bones walked away.

"We do not go looking for trouble. It usually finds us." Jo replied indignantly. The way she said it startled a laugh out of Jim. He couldn't help but agree with her statement, though.

"What should we do for the next couple of hours? I know I'm avoiding doing any real work. I think he still thinks I'm in shock. Not to mention, I have to talk to a shrink when we get back."

Jo looked up at him. "Dad's making me see one, too. I'm kind of glad though. Every time I close my eyes I see that image of the forest. Last night, I couldn't sleep either. Too many bad dreams waking me up."

"Aww, Jo. I'm so sorry you had to see that. Do you want to talk about it?"

She shrugged and looked away. "I don't know. I just hate that it happened. I keep thinking, what if you had died?"

Jim pulled her to him into a hug. "It's okay. I'm right here."

They continued to talk about everything that had happened not noticing the passage of time.


Lenore was devastated. Her father was dead. The one person she had been able to rely on for her whole life was gone, and it was all that Vulcan's fault. She was going to destroy him.

Tears were streaming down her face, but she didn't notice. The room around her was a disaster. The mirror in the bathroom was shattered along with the glass on the television screen. She had taken a knife to the bed and sheets tearing them up into tatters. The devastation of the room was a mirror image to what was going through her mind. It was so hard for her to focus. All she could do was destroy what was in front of her. Looking around, she grabbed the vase with flowers and smashed it into the wall. She watched it shatter on impact and felt slightly better. There was no way she could stay here for much longer though.

Lenore had checked in to a small motel vastly different from where she stayed before. All she needed was somewhere quiet to lay low and sort out herself. She thought the room looked better now with her artistic touches than it did when she first arrived. The wallpaper was peeling down the sides of the wall and water stains were on the ceiling. She was pretty sure she had seen some sort of cockroach when she first walked in, but at the time, she hadn't even cared.

The bathroom was disgusting. Grime covered the seat of the toilet and the shower walls. The faucet leaked, and the mirror had been streaked with dirt and small cracks before Lenore had smashed it.

Looking around at the destruction surrounding her, she felt better than she had in some time. She had asked for a room with no neighbors, but she didn't want to be caught, so she needed to get down to business. The psi weapon she had grabbed was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her to use it. Walking over to the window, she looked out into the setting afternoon sun.

First, she had to figure out how to get into Starfleet headquarters undetected. That shouldn't be a problem though. She knew Curry would help her.