Chapter Four
McCoy was in his office when he received an emergency summons to Sickbay. He moved quickly from his office to Sickbay as Elise Jean-Marie was brought in, badly battered and unconscious. "Elise!" he cried, gruffly. His ice blue eyes drilled into the security guard that brought her in. "What happened?!"
"She and Von Cleef had a meeting. He told his security detachment to wait outside and she agreed. When we heard her scream inside, we tried to get in, but the bastard had figured out how to lock the door! By the time we got inside, he had her neck in his hands. We had to stun him to get him off of her."
"And where is he now?"
"The brig. Petty Officer Dinalli is checking on him, medically, but Captain has ordered him confined."
McCoy told his orderlies to get her to a bio bed and dismissed the guard, muttering to Nurse Christine Chapel about the uselessness of a guard detail that doesn't actually guard. "Why in the world would you agree to be alone with him, girl?" McCoy's voice tightened as he examined her.
###########
Captain James T. Kirk was mad enough to spit nails as he moved through the corridors of his ship from the bridge to the brig. He entered the Security Offices and could hear Security Chief Lieutenant Paul Freeman railing at Crewman First Class Barrett.
"You were the buffer between the girl and that monster! When you are assigned to watch someone, you, by god, watch them! You do not let your eyes off him unless you are ordered to do so! I don't care if he throws himself out of the airlock! You stand at the window and continue to watch him until his body is recovered! Do you understand?!"
"Yes, sir!"
As mad as he was, Kirk couldn't help but pause, amused, at the Chief's airlock instruction. He entered the office more fully. "Lieutenant?"
"Sir!" Freeman snapped to attention.
"I want to see Von Cleef."
Freeman looked at Barrett. "Don't you move one millimeter," he growled. He stepped past him to lead Kirk into the secured area containing the brig. "Sir, I am mortified that this happened on my watch. I will, of course, accept any disciplinary action you wish-"
Kirk stopped and looked at Freeman. "I'm sure you're going to provide better training for your department in light of this. Von Cleef will remain in the brig until we reach Starbase 11 under 24 hour surveillance. Perhaps Barrett would find value in an extra shift."
Freeman nodded. "Understood, sir."
Von Cleef had dermoplast bandages on his face and hands as he paced in his cell like a caged animal. "Captain! Is Elise okay? I need to see her."
Kirk's eyes narrowed. "How can you ask if she's okay?! You had your hands around her throat and were choking the life out of her! She could be dead for all you know! Is she okay?! I'd guess she hasn't been okay in several years!"
"Captain, you have to understand: I love her. I have loved her since she was a child. The thought of her leaving me...it was too much for me to bear! I went crazy!"
"And all the other times you've hit her? Were you crazy then, too?!"
Von Cleef stopped moving. His concern was replaced by stoicism. "I need to know if she's okay, Captain. Can you just find that out for me?"
Kirk pressed his lips together. "I'll…" he took a deep breath to calm his temper. "Think about it." He turned and took two steps away, then he turned, his back reed straight and his fists relaxing even as he wanted to use them to punch the other man's face in. "Thought about it: No. You have no need to know," then he turned and walked out, signaling to Freeman with nothing more than the jerk of his thumb over his shoulder.
It wasn't a far walk from the brig to Sickbay and when Kirk arrived, the Charge Nurse directed him to the area Dr. McCoy was in with Elise. He entered McCoy's office next to the exam room to find Spock standing with his hands behind his back, reading something on the computer terminal.
"Spock?"
"No word, yet."
Kirk frowned. "Von Cleef is asking about her," he muttered. "He tries to kill her and still claims to love her. What kind of sense does that make?!"
"Human emotion…"
"Don't give me some speech about emotions and logic, Spock!" he snapped. He held up a hand and waved it, dismissively. "There's nothing human about what he's done to her. No emotion that can explain it."
McCoy entered then. "Jim," he sounded tired. "I've mended four broken ribs, a punctured lung, a ruptured spleen, bruised kidneys, cuts and bruises. He nearly crushed her larynx and I've done what I can to fix it, but until the bruising goes down, I can't say if she'll ever get the full use of her vocal chords back."
Kirk's eyes widened. "Her voice…?"
Spock's eyebrows drew together. "Are you saying that she may not sing again?"
McCoy sighed and sat down. "I don't even know if she'll recover her former speaking voice."
Kirk turned away. His hands were clasped in a fist and he hit the wall with the side of his right hand, his head bowed.
"Doctor," Christine Chapel entered the office. "She is waking up."
McCoy moved from his office. There were tears in her eyes when he arrived at her side. She brought her hands up to hide her face.
"Hey, there," he said, softly, placing his hand gently on her head, stroking her hair. "You're safe now. Captain put Von Cleef in the brig and there he'll stay until we get to Starbase, where he'll be turned over to authorities. You won't have to see him ever again."
He gently pulled her hands away from her face and looked in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, m'dear," he whispered. "That you weren't better protected. I promised he wouldn't hurt you again…"
She opened her mouth to speak, but McCoy stopped her. "You shouldn't speak."
Instead, she touched his cheek with tears in her eyes. "Not your fault," she whispered. "Thought I was dea—" her tears escaped her eyes.
"Ssh!" McCoy wiped a tear from her cheek. "Don't talk. Your larynx is swollen and you have to give the swelling a chance to go down. I've done what I can do, for now, so you've gotta do your part, okay?"
She nodded.
"Spock and the Captain are in the next room, concerned about you…"
She shook her head and turned to her side, away from him.
McCoy swore softly under his breath as he walked out, back to his office.
"Bones?" Kirk asked.
"Never in my life have I wanted to commit an act of violence like I do right now, Jim!" McCoy growled. "Throw my oath out the window and throw him out of an airlock!" He took a deep breath. He waved off his friends. "She's resting. Go on back to work. I'll let you know when she's ready for visitors."
Kirk nodded and looked at Spock, who inclined his head as well.
###########
In the weeks that followed, Elise worked with one of the yeomen Kirk assigned to help her to cancel the rest of her tour. She split her time between her quarters and Sickbay, staying away from almost everyone. The exceptions were McCoy, Christine Chapel and Spock.
She spent a lot of time with McCoy not just because he was her doctor. She enjoyed his company. She spent time with Christine because she was a woman who understood loss and was a great source of empathy.
With Spock, though, it was the absence of empathy or sympathy that drew her. He taught her to meditate, to use meditation to conquer the nightmares. He spoke quietly and was eminently patient with her. When her emotions got the better of her, he simply waited, silently, for her to work through them.
As they neared Starbase 11, Jim Kirk met with her, along with Bones and Spock. "We'll turn Von Cleef over to Starbase officials. Your written testimony and the testimony from the security guards who pulled him off you will be enough to send him to a rehab colony. But what do you want to do?"
Her voice was recovering so she could speak, but McCoy had advised her to keep to low tones. "The Enterprise isn't a passenger ship, Captain. You have been incredibly hospitable up to this point."
Kirk smiled. "My CMO doesn't want to relinquish your care yet. Right, Bones?"
"Absolutely not. I'd love to keep you around for a bit longer to monitor the progress in your throat," McCoy's Southern drawl was thick as he laid on the charm. "Besides, we have to continue your spirit education."
She smiled and shook her head. "I think I'd like to return to Earth for a while. It's been a very long time since I've been there. Perhaps you have a colleague back home that I can work with?" she looked at McCoy.
He nodded. "Of course. But we can get you a little closer to home than Starbase 11, can't we, Captain?"
Kirk tilted his head. "It depends on our orders when we get to Eleven, but I would love to have you onboard longer."
Elise frowned in thought, then nodded with s smile.
###########
When the Enterprise reached Starbase 11, Kirk prepared to meet with Commodore Winton by stopping by Sickbay. He was looking at the PADD in his hand when the door to McCoy's office opened. He looked up when he heard McCoy's negotiating voice.
"C'mon, Elise! The Starbase promenade has all sorts of shops you could visit. It'd be so much better to have a pretty escort instead of the Captain or Scotty for once!"
Kirk smiled. "Bones! Are you saying I'm not pretty?"
Elise laughed as McCoy spun on his heel. surprised by his friend.
"No offense, Jim, but not compared to Elise."
Jim nodded. "Well, I can agree with that," he moved to her side and squeezed her hand, lightly. "How are you this morning?"
She nodded with a smile, the rolled her eyes to McCoy, who grinned.
"Good girl! We're trying a new treatment, but she is under strict orders to not speak for a minimum of four hours."
Kirk smiled and looked at her. "And how many hours do you have left?"
She held up two fingers with a look of chagrin.
"Halfway there! And in the meantime, Bones is trying to convince you to go shopping on the base?"
She nodded.
"Well, you should go! Not because McCoy needs arm-candy, but it will give you a chance to consider what you like, not what someone else chooses for you. Remember?" Jim tilted his head to meet her eyes.
She took a deep breath and considered the Captain, then the Doctor. Then she pressed her lips together as if to try to hide the smile that played there and nodded.
"Is that a yes?" McCoy asked. "You'll go?" He smiled, widely, as she nodded. "Great! I'm gonna go change into civilian clothes—"
"Ah, before you do that, Bones, there's some ship's business to take care of," Kirk interrupted. "You requisition orders…?"
"Now, Jim! I sent those to you already!"
"I know, Bones," the Captain said in his most conciliatory tone. "I'm just being asked for a clarification…"