Co-authored with the effervescent SailingAwaySoftly.

Disclaimer: Don't own it, but we're working on that.

-_-_-_

Their arrival to Earth was without fanfare. Everyone was given shore leave, but only with the order to be ready to leave Earth on short notice, so none of the crew went far from San Francisco. In fact, many of them didn't even leave the Enterprise. Isla and McCoy had escorted their patients from the Indefatigable to the surface, also reporting to Star Fleet. Arlo divided his shore leave between trying to find any relatives of Adele's and helping Scotty prepare the ship for a possible Klingon encounter. Spock and Kirk left immediately to meet with Pike and the other admirals, promising so send word as soon as they had their orders.

Bee, being a lowly ensign, had nothing to do but wait, so she watched Adele while Arlo and Scotty worked. The little girl wasn't much trouble. She napped quite a bit, and was silent the rest of the time. Bee knew that she was still trying to work through the loss of her parents in her barely three year-old mind. Arlo was very attached to her, and she worried about the child's future. They'd had no success in locating any of her family, and while Bee didn't doubt that Arlo could love her just as much, a starship was no place for such a young child.

Just as she was considering asking Adele if she were hungry at all, Arlo showed up at her quarters. He looked a bit tired from working, but also satisfied. "Hey," he said. He was being careful to be friendlier to her with all that had happened.

"Hullo," she replied. "You look a bit tired."

"Nah," he said. "Well, maybe a bit, but I'm about to get my second wind in a minute. I'll take Adele," he added.

"Really, if you want some rest, I don't mind watching her. She doesn't do much."

Arlo's expression saddened slightly. "Yeah… Well, I need to take her anyway. Scotty told me that Kirk wanted you on the surface."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "Dunno."

"Huh. That's strange."

"Well, not that strange."

"I just thought that it would be Commander Spock."

Arlo scowled. He noticed how she included his rank, her respect, while not emotionally expressed, still obvious.

"What was that for?"

"Were you expecting Spock to contact you?"

"Of course not. I just usually report to him first is all. Why are you being so defensive when Spock's name is so much as spoken?"

He sighed. "I just don't get what it is about Spock that's so intriguing to you."

"You don't think he's intriguing? I don't think it's fair that no one really understands him."

"And you think you do? Is that it then, you want to be Spock when you grow up?"

Bee rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a child. It's alright for Kirk – or Scotty, for that matter – to be hero-worshipped, but I'm not allowed to admire someone worth the admiration?"

"You're saying that Kirk and Scotty aren't admirable?"

"Stop twisting my words. Gods, Arlo, sometimes I think that's what you're best at. You manipulate people to get so worked up, and then you've forced everyone into an emotional situation and blame the other party for it."

"Oh, how observant, Holmes. I can't force an emotional situation with you because apparently you don't feel. You're becoming so like Spock, it's disturbing."

"What are you talking about? I've always been like this."

"No you haven't."

"Yes, I have."

"Only since Dad died."

Bee was definitely angry now. "Shut up. You know that's not true. Maybe it became more pronounced then, but only because that happened to be when I grew up. But I've always been reserved."

"Reserved, maybe, but not cold and calculating."

"You think Spock's cold?"

"You think he isn't?"

"No, I don't. I mean, he may not show it, but that doesn't mean he can't feel anything."

"Well, I think that anyone who represses everything like that needs help."

"I've already done the shrink route. As for Spock, it's not just him. You have the entire Vulcan race to contend that point with."

"Yeah, all 20,000 of them."

Bee was ready to explode. She knew that Arlo couldn't possibly understand what had been going on inside her head, but she a better notion of just what the genocide had done to the Vulcans thanks to her dreams, and the fact that he was making light of it made her blood boil.

Arlo was smart enough to see that he had definitely touched the wrong nerve. He rapidly changed course, pulling Adele into his lap as though she would give him protection. "You'd better go," he said quickly. "I'm going to call Mum. Might as well, since we're here."

Knuckles white, nails threatening to pierce her palms, Bee nodded tersely and left without a word.

-_-_-_

Kirk and Spock were waiting for her when she beamed to the surface. Kirk looked pissed, Spock as neutral as ever. However, despite his unreadable expression, Bee had noticed that his eyes betrayed him on occasion. At this particular time, she could see the anger simmering there, making his calm exterior so false in her eyes.

"Captain," she said as she approached them. "Commander. You sent for me?"

"Yes," Kirk replied curtly. Bee knew he had to be extremely angry to be so short with her. He had an astounding amount of patience when it came to his crew, despite his usual hotheadedness. "I need to discuss the situation of that kid."

"Adele? Shouldn't my brother be here as well?"

He shook his head. "I've decided that I'm going to allow her to remain on the Enterprise. This may not be the best choice, but the loss of her, especially knowing that she would be sent to a state home, will distract Arlo more than her presence. And we're going to need him."

"Why, sir?"

"We're going after those Klingons. We've hardly any leads to go on, but we'll give it our best shot."

She nodded.

"The reason I called you, ensign, is because I want you to report your brother's behavior to me. Scotty relies on him the most, and if anything is hindering his progress, then I need to know about it."

"You want me to spy on my brother?"

Kirk looked at her. Those blue eyes were trying so hard to pierce through her front. "Yes," he answered honestly. "He could be easily emotionally compromised because of the circumstances, and I need to do everything I can to prevent that. I have plenty of faith in your brother, but I have to be sure."

"Yes, sir." She understood his reasons. They were logical, and it didn't mean that she had to be overly intrusive. Arlo could be controlled when he wanted.

"I have to meet with Pike again before we leave," he told them. "As soon as the ship is restocked, we'll leave."

With that, he left Spock and Bee alone.

"You and your brother have argued," he commented.

"How do you know that?"

"It is the only thing that wears so strongly at your emotions. It is the hardest for you to control."

She rolled her eyes. "Wonderful. Yes, we argued." She didn't add that it was about him.

"I see. It is unfortunate that you two should be at such odds, especially given the present situation."

She sighed. "I know. I wish we weren't, but sometimes he make me so angry…"

"Perhaps," said Spock, "we should return to the ship, and then you can seek out your brother and make amends."

-_-_-_

Rather unwillingly, Bee decided to follow Spock's advice. She went looking for Arlo and found him in Engineering, Adele sleeping in a corner while he sat at a workbench. But he wasn't working. His fingers were knotted in his hair, his eyes screwed shut. Bee knew that look well. She knew instantly that someone had died.

"Arlo, who is it?" she asked, sliding onto the bench next to him, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Was it someone from the Indy?"

He shook his head, his body trembling slightly.

"Bee," he said quietly, not looking at her. She knew it was to hide his tears. "Bee, it's Mum. She's dead."

-_-_-_

A/N: We're SO sorry for taking so long to update! There was more out-of-town-ness involved. This chapter was thrown in because we didn't think we had quite enough emotional tension. Enjoy and review! We'll be updating soon, and with longer chapters to come, we promise!!!!