"Are you watching me sleep?" Jim asked when she rolled over thirty minutes before her alarm was supposed to go off. She didn't expect the pair of blue eyes that were looking at her.

"Yep. You're beautiful when you sleep," Gavin whispered. "I mean, you're always beautiful but when you're asleep you're relaxed. It's like the weight of the universe isn't resting on your shoulders. You actually look like a twenty-five year old."

"Are you turning into a sap on me, Cupcake?" she asked.

"Nope. I'm just calling it like I see it, babe," he told her. "Even at the Academy, the only time you'd slowdown was when you were asleep. Though, you weren't nearly as relaxed back then."

"Your fault," Jim muttered against his chest.

"My fault? How?" Gavin gave her a look.

"My subconscious would ask a whole bunch of questions every time we slept within five feet of each other. You've called me on it before. Overthinking in my sleep. I don't do that anymore. Which, coincidentally, is also your fault," she told him.

"I used to do that too, you know. My brain would scream at me to ask you out. I finally listened but it took a nudge from Gaila," he said with a smile.

"She's such a matchmaker," Jim chuckled.

"I just think she wants her friends to be happy. Especially you," Cupcake sighed.

"I'm not that special," she muttered.

"Yes, you are," Gavin said before dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "You'll see it one of these days and then you'll be like 'Gavin was right'."

"You keep thinking that. You know," Jim kissed his chest. "I have some time before I'm supposed to meet Sulu in the gym."

"Yea?" he asked.

"Yea," she smiled. "Wanna help me pass the time?"

"Like you really need to ask me that."

"You're so annoying," Sulu said.

"Why? What the hell did I do?" she asked with a swing.

"You got that stupid love-struck look on your face," he said as he blocked her.

After seeing him on the drill with his retractable katana/rapier hybrid, Jim talked Sulu into teaching her how to fight with the cool sword. She's never had Kendo lessons before but the more they practiced, the more in love with the martial art she was. They were using staffs instead of swords for the moment but it was the same principle.

"Do we need to find you a nice girl or boy, Hikaru?" Jim asked her friend.

"If you see one… of either, let me know. And no, I will not date Pasha. He's completely straight and he's like my little brother. I don't know where people got that one," he muttered the last part.

"You're hot and you're friends, that's enough. My favorite rumor at the Academy was that me, Gaila, Ny and Chapel were all part of Bones' harem," she said with a laugh.

"I liked that one, though. Oh, and the one about me and Gary was pretty funny," Hikaru said with a smile. Mitchell was more Jim's type than Sulu's. To say they missed him was an understatement. It was like a Musketeer was missing. Just someone else Nero took from her.

"Lieutenant Gold," Jim said after a few minutes. Sulu raised an eyebrow. "Brunette with green eyes. The astrophysicist."

"Oh, her. She's hot," he said.

"She's single and you got that whole PhD in astrophysics and a master's in interstellar navigation thing going for you. You should talk to her," she said.

"You really think I got a shot?" her friend asked.

"Couldn't hurt to try," Jim reminded him.

"You're worse than Gaila," Sulu muttered.

"I am not. If it was up to her, we'd all be married already."

"Go back to the ship, Bones," Jim ordered her friend after a bomb went off ten feet from where they were standing. The Enterprise was on a medical supply run to the cold and wet Zald. The Zaldans weren't part of the Federation but they had a good relationship with the UFP.

"I'm not going anywhere, Jim, there're injured people here," he told her before moving to help a woman a few feet away from them. She wanted to argue with him but he was a doctor and there were people to help.

"What can I do?" she relented, even though her 'spidey-sense' was tingling. There was something very off about all of this.

"Triage," Bones said before getting back to work. Jim nodded and ordered the three security officers with them –Price, Prescott and Zahra- to do the same. Catching Prescott's gaze, she gave him a nod to the silent question. Yes, something was going on.

"Bones!" Jim called when she noticed the unfamiliar transporter pattern that wrapped around him. She launched herself in his direction, maybe if she could touch him, she'd be beamed out too. But she didn't make it time. "Bones…"

"What the hell?" Prescott said as his hand wrapped around her arm and pulled Jim to her feet as the captain stared at the spot her best friend just disappeared from.

"He's gone."

"It's a group that calls themselves the Sons of Dolium. They're separatists," the head of Zaldan security, Helina Kavros told her. "They have their ideals and Zaldan people hold no ill will towards them." Zaldans are notoriously honest, to the point that there was almost no crime. Jim would bet that's why a terrorist group didn't seem to bother the people, even if it pissed Jim off.

The young captain glared at the other woman, she didn't really care who they were, she just wanted her best friend back. Luckily, Spock and the other senior staff members were there to ask questions because Jim wasn't in the mood for polite conversation and who knows what she would've said about the Sons of Dolium using Bones as some kind of bargaining chip. Jim figured that a doctor as a hostage was beneficial. As pissed off as he'll be about being kidnapped and transporters, Bones wouldn't deny medical attention to someone who needed it, even if the people are terrorists.

"We should use this ship to find and destroy their base of operations," Kavros said, pulling Jim out of her thoughts.

"No," the captain said. Everyone in the conference room looked at her. "Aside from violating a crap-ton of regulations, I will not wage a war in Lieutenant Commander McCoy's name. He'd hypo my ass into next year and I'd let him. This is an internal dispute that the Enterprise was dragged into and once we have our officer back, the Zaldans can do what they want. Spock, Scotty and Chekov start with how the… Sons of Dolium beamed him out and work from there. Giotto and Uhura, go with Kavros and talk to the men in custody. M'Benga, if it wasn't already clear, you're the acting CMO. You're all dismissed."

"Your knuckles are bleeding," Gavin said from behind her.

"You're observant," Jim grunted as she hit the bag again. So far, it's been twenty-two hours and no Bones.

"That's me. Observant," he said with a shrug. "I'm not gonna bother asking if you're okay. I know you're not. But… You can't beat yourself up, Jim."

"I was right there. Right there," she said as turned to look at him. "He's my best friend. He wouldn't even be out here if it wasn't for me."

"That's not even remotely true," her boyfriend said as he checked her hands. "I know he likes to say that but McCoy gets a kick outta this stuff as much as the rest of us do. And I know that as pissed off as he is about being taken, he'd be even more pissed off if it was you instead. I talked to him a little after that last tour on the Farragut and he was on the verge of tears just thinking about the possibility of you dying out there. We'll get him back, Jim. He's a pain in the ass but he's our pain in the ass."

"How can you be so sure?" Jim asked as she leaned her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her.

"I've seen you pull off miracles with less, sweetheart. It's what you do. McCoy's your family and you don't give up on family. I honestly feel bad for anyone who gets in your way," Gavin chuckled. "Come on. Someone should take a look at your hands. Tape's right there and you didn't even bother to wrap you're hands. I should kick your ass."

"Yea, yea, you can try," she said with a chuckle. "Thank you for making me feel better."

"Anytime."

Jim doesn't know what the hell happened but one minute the sensors were picking up intruders on the ship and next she was fighting some man on her bridge. He landed a hit to her head that left her dazed enough for him to beam out with her in tow.

"Jim," Bones said as she managed to blink her eyes open and attempt to clear her head.

"Hey. Where are we?" she asked.

"You're guests of the Son of Dolium. I'm Kainik Gila. Welcome," the man said to her.

"You beat all your guests over the head and kidnap them? That's a crappy way to make friends," Jim grunted as Bones poked a tender spot on her head.

"Because the Federation's hands are clean. You're here helping the Zaldans," Gila said.

"Not really. It was a trade that's been in effect for decades, longer than I've been alive. You're the ones who kidnapped my doctor and forced my hand. We'd already be gone," she told him. "All bringing me here did was add to your problems. You kill us and you'll just make us martyrs for the Zaldans. A Starfleet captain and her doctor, kidnapped and killed on a medical supply run. Oh, and there's the problem of the Federation. I saved a Earth from being destroyed a few months ago. You really think they won't get involved?"

"No, Captain, that's exactly what I think."

AN: Oh... a cliffhanger.