Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
She watched from her station as Katherine Janeway took a longing look around the bridge.
"I'll be leaving soon. I wish you all the best of luck. Hopefully, I won't be too far behind you. Tuvok...walk with me."
But her order was met with silence. She glanced at Tuvok, who simply raised an eyebrow.
"I cannot, captain."
"Why not?"
"We're not leaving without you, captain." She turned to her first officer, then to others on the bridge. Their hands were away from their consoles. Janeway turned to her.
"Seven?"
"I will not comply."
The captain sighed in joyful exasperation-
Kes awoke with a gasp.
She allowed her breathing to steady, running a hand through her hair.
"Computer, time!"
"0815."
Cursing, she ripped the covers off of her and hastily showered and dressed. If Steinburg were still around, he would have known what was going on. But Janet had never heard of her visions, but Kes hoped she could explain, with the doctor's help.
It was quiet in sickbay when she entered, but she quickly found McCoy and explained the situation. He nodded to a biobed and proceeded to scan her.
"Everything's normal except…"
Kes smiled ruefully. "How high?"
"30% above normal."
She frowned in surprise. The vision was short, but she expected her serotonin levels to be higher.
"Thank you, doctor. If you would call Finn and explain-"
"I've got you covered. Now," he clapped her lightly on the shoulder. "Get on down to work."
She nodded and with a smile, she was out the door.
…
After her very long shift in sickbay, she took a few hours to get some sleep. The grief of the day weighed on her, and she was eager to escape into dreamland.
She brushed her hair and gazed into her mirror, musing on the captain and her limited time in his company. She had never really had a proper conversation with him; he was always too busy. Now as the crew mourned for their lost leader, she wondered if it was better this way. Her grief was lessened by her lack of knowledge about the captain. Her grief took shape when she saw others so downtrodden; she knew it would be a very long time before this crew healed. McCoy seemed especially affected: he and the captain had been friends for years. But for some reason, the doctor's grief was hidden. Perhaps he put on a mask to broadcast confidence amongst his department; perhaps he simply had not come to terms with this tragedy. Either way, she let him be.
Her eyes had not been trained on the mirror during her musings; rather, they had been observing the products placed on the desktop. But her eyes found her reflected image again.
Suddenly, she doubled over in pain. Her abdomen stung as if doused in acid. She steadied herself on her dresser and raised her eyes to the mirror. Although the pain was abating, she dropped the brush.
Captain Kirk was in the mirror.
His image or ghost was reflected there as if he were standing in her place. But he floated like he was underwater or in space, putting his hands to his mouth to call out. However, no sound reached her ears.
Then, he was gone.
At first, she stood there in shock. Then she sprang into action.
"Spock!"
She was out of her room and racing down the corridor.
"Mr. Spock!"
She saw the doctor up ahead and rushed to him. He held her up as she was on the point of collapse.
"Doctor…I've just seen the captain…"
"What do you mean?"
"He's alive…he's alive!"
"Of course…" But he was incredulous.
"You don't believe me…I did see him…Spock! Mr. Spock! Got to find Mr…"
She felt strong arms around her as the world blacked out.
…
"Ahhhhh!"
Chekov's screams seemed never-ending. When he wasn't screaming or struggling with his restraints, he panted like a hunted animal. She turned her head away and tried to concentrate on other things.
My mother would have been 8 yesterday. Soon she'll go into the Morlogium and lose her grip-
That wasn't helping.
That dream was so real…Captain Janeway was going away for some reason, and the crew convinced her to stay…who was I?
She remembered in the dream, she had glanced down at her console and her hand was covered in…implants…
Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01.
Why was she seeing that through Seven's eyes?
But her thoughts broke off when she saw McCoy approach her bed.
"Mr. Spock didn't believe me either, did he, doctor?"
"Well, no one saw it but you, Kes."
She sighed. "I don't even know now…did I see him? Was it real?"
"I don't think so," McCoy whispered gently. Chekov's screams came back to her ears.
"Will I become like Chekov, doctor?"
"No, no," he assured her. His hand twitched like he was about to place it on her shoulder, but he kept it at his side. "We're working hard. We'll find an antidote."
She gave him a small smile and closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep.
…
She awoke when the tightness around her waist was gone. Her eyes fluttered open to see McCoy standing over her, smiling.
"Does this mean I'm all right, doctor?"
"Yes, Kes, you're fine."
"Then what I saw was…"
He nodded. "It was real."
"So Captain Kirk is…alive?"
His smile widened. "We all saw him; the captain's alive."
She let out a deep breath that she didn't even know she was holding in. When she made to sit up, McCoy gently took her hand and placed his other on the small of her back until she was upright. She nearly flushed when all the old feelings came rushing back, but she managed to hide her face by looking the other way.
"Nurse Chapel to Dr. McCoy."
"McCoy here."
"Results of the last Theragen test ready for you, doctor."
"I'll be right there."
With one last glance at Kes, he strode out the door.
…
Finally, she was done sorting through the samples. It had taken her a week and a half to complete the job. The last hour had been tiring, but she had a nap in sickbay.
She turned at the sound of an opening door and smiled brightly when she saw who it was. McCoy smiled back, sighing inside as she once again undid his every effort to remain neutral toward her. Their relationship was already too confusing.
"What's that in your hand, doctor?"
He glanced up at her and smiled widely. "The answer."
Her smile brightened and he felt a strange sensation in his stomach. It was too familiar for his taste.
"Doctor…that's wonderful! Was it Theragen after all?"
He nodded and handed the glass to her. She took it with a muttered 'thank you' and sat back down at her stool. She sipped it and raised an eyebrow.
"Alcohol, doctor?"
He chuckled. "I don't think straight Theragen tastes very good, lieutenant."
She nodded and took a larger sip. "It's good."
He sighed. "After all the work we put into it, it had better be good." He threw her a sly smile and she laughed.
"It's quite good, doctor. Thank you."
He felt slightly awkward as he watched her drink the rest. She looked at him expectantly.
"Anything else, doctor?"
"No. Have a good day, Kes. I'll see you tomorrow."
With that, he exited, leaving her alone with an empty glass and a whirling mind.
