By the time Bones got back to the medical bay, the adrenaline had worn off and he noticed how badly his left arm hurt. He tried not to show any outward symptoms as he and Dr. Marcus studied the kyrotube in the torpedo.

They explained to Kirk and Spock that the man in the fuselage of the torpedo was, in fact, three hundred years old. That plus the ancient technology used to freeze him meant that there was more to John Harrison than they had originally thought.

Once Kirk and Spock had left to confront Harrison again, Bones finally sat down, nursing his arm slightly. Annie noticed that he seemed to wince as he moved it.

For a moment, Annie remembered what it had felt like, worrying that he wasn't coming back. She remembered how her heart had raced until she thought it might beat out of her chest and he yelled to let him go and save Carol. She almost wanted to cry again but then she remembered he was there, right in front of her and safe.

She quietly picked up a salve they had on hand for deep bruises and a hypospray. She pulled up a chair next to him and he looked at her in surprise. She held out the hypospray, which he took and injected himself with.

She then went to work massaging the salve into his upper arm. He winced for a moment but the pain reliever he had taken numbed most of the pain. She gently worked her hands over the parts of his bicep that had begun to bruise and he took the time to watch her. She concentrated so meticulously when she was working on a patient. She always had.

When she finished, she moved to stand up. He caught her wrist gently. He wanted to ask why she was being so quiet but couldn't think of a good way to ask. So he slid his hand down to hers and squeezed it.

"Thank you," was all he said. She finally cracked a smile as she threw her arms around him. She pulled back to kiss his cheek.

"Please, don't ever scare me like that again," she pleaded. "I don't think I could take it." Leonard was shocked by her request. "I love you," she whispered so that only he could hear. It was the first time she had said it since they had agreed to keep their feelings a secret from the crew. Bones couldn't help but think how good it felt to hear her say it. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise," he replied and she swiftly returned the embrace.


Meanwhile, Kirk and Spock were engaged in conversation with their prisoner who they now knew was named Khan. They also knew that Admiral Marcus was responsible for awakening him and for recruiting him as a weapon for his fight against the Klingons. Jim felt he had heard about enough when Kahn mentioned that Jim might know more about Marcus's obsession with weapons than he was letting on.

"She is considered one of his most prized weapons, I've learned. I didn't quite understand until I saw her earlier. She is remarkable, isn't she?" He taunted. Jim turned sharply around, glaring at Khan. Spock looked from Jim to Khan.

"To whom are you referring?" He asked unsure of his meaning. Khan crossed his arms and smirked.

"Admiral Marcus's most prized possession: little Lieutenant Annabelle Cassidy." Spock looked at him in astonishment. He glanced over at Jim whose hands were clenched tightly into fists.

"You don't know anything about her," he seethed. "Leave her out of this." Khan shook his head.

"You see, but I can't. She is just as important in this equation as I am. Part of my research has been on Ms. Cassidy. Trying to understand how an ordinary human child could acquire such extraordinary abilities. Marcus wanted to know if there was a way to control them; control her. Naturally I told him that it was impossible to weaponize another human being but I did discover something rather fascinating," Khan explained. He left off to gauge the Captain and First Officer's curiosity. After a moment Jim let out a small huff.

"What did you find?" He let out in a very controlled breath. He wasn't going to give in but he figured whatever Khan knew might be able to help Annie.

"Naturally she had discovered it on her own, though I suspect it was still a bit of a shock to her when we spoke earlier. I don't think she's quite as prepared for the end as I am," he said. Spock took a step forward.

"What exactly are you implying?" He asked. Khan began to laugh.

"It's a shame her condition is so critical. If only she had worked it out sooner, she'd have more than a few months to live," he finished. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Jim felt faint. He tried to figure out what to do when Sulu came on over the comm.

"Sir there's a ship headed towards us at warp," he said. Jim was still processing everything as he stammered back.

"K-klingons?"

"At warp?" Khan sneered.

"I don't think so, sir," Sulu responded. Jim sprang into action. He ordered for Khan to be moved to the medical bay and asked that Annie be sent to the bridge. He figured that Khan was best kept, for the moment, with Bones and he needed to see Annie.


She arrived on the bridge shortly after he had. When the door opened, she saw Jim looked back at her. She wasn't sure why he looked so relieved but she let it go as Admiral Marcus appeared on the screen.

It became clear through the conversation that Marcus was lying about his intentions with Khan. She became worried that the Admiral meant them harm as well. Jim ended the transmission by telling the Admiral that Khan was in engineering but he would have him moved over soon. Annie didn't allow herself to look confused until the transmission ended. Then she glanced at Jim wondering why he had lied to the admiral.

Jim ordered for the ship to go to warp and Annie regretted rushing to the bridge. As the pain hit her, she doubled over and collapsed to the ground. She let out a small whimper until the pain subsided and she could sit up. She quickly realized that the whole bridge was looking at her.

In an instant, Uhura was at her side. She was trying to use a few tissues to stop the bleeding.

"Annie, what happened?" She asked calmly. She looked up at her friend and then at Jim who looked more horrified than surprised.

"No, he can't be right," he whispered and she knew that he knew.

"He can be because he is," she whispered. Uhura looked from Annie to Jim and back.

"Right about what? What don't I know?" She asked. Spock sighed slightly. He didn't want to be the one to tell her but Jim and Annie just continued to be silent.

"Annabelle has an acute sensitivity to radiation," he said. Uhura only looked more confused.

"I know, she gets dizzy spells," she answered. Spock looked astonished that she already knew.

"Was I the last to be informed of such critical information on our personal?" He asked. Uhura stood up to look at him directly.

"Spock, I was the first person Annie told." She turned to look at Annie. "But if I had known it had gotten worse, I certainly wouldn't have kept it silent." Annie finally found her footing and stood up with Uhura's help. She took a deep breath to keep herself from falling apart. She opened her mouth to speak when Carol burst through the door.

Annie was grateful that the attention on the bridge was no longer on her. But suddenly the ship lurched as it was hit and fell out of warp. She fell into Uhura who looked at her in concern.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She whispered. Annie moved to nod but knew it was a lie and shook her head instead. Nyota hugged her friend and Annie realized that her news affected more than just herself. She suddenly felt determined to survive. She turned her attention back to Carol and Jim.

Carol was begging Jim to let her speak to her father but Jim continued to refuse. He wasn't sure why but he felt that he needed, or rather wanted, to protect her. Finally, he relented and she turned to the screen.

The Admiral seemed furious that she had stowed away on the Enterprise and as she threatened to go down with the ship, he remained stoic as he told her it wasn't necessary for him to take her life. The crew watched as the lights began to swirl around Carol.

"Annie!" Uhura yelled drawing attention to her as well. Annie saw the lights too and quickly realized that the admiral hadn't forgotten about her. She felt herself being beamed from the ship.

Jim turned just in time to see her disappear as well.