Elle left the office and went immediately to hug the captain.
He hugged her tightly. "You okay?" he asked, rubbing her back.
She could sense him and Bones sharing a look over her head, but she was too busy squeezing the life out of him.
He tapped her back. "Elle, ribs, breathing," he wheezed.
She let go reluctantly. "I'm fine," she said. "I need ice cream."
"Okay," he said, searching her gaze for signs of tears. "You go find Lt. Riley or Lt. Uhura, get some ice cream, watch a movie, okay?"
"Okay." She left, not without hearing Bones say,
"What did you say to her-"
"It's fine, Len, she's ok-"
The door closed and Elle continued to the rec deck.
The rest of the day, Dr. Elspeth spent interviewing the senior officers of the Enterprise about Elle.
It made Elle feel weird to think about it. They were talking about her. What were they saying?
Every single one of them, with the exception of Spock, came and found Elle later and gave her a hug. That was nice.
The next day, Dr. Elspeth found Elle in the mess hall. "If you wouldn't mind, dear, today you can show me around your quarters, your classrooms, the different things you do. A day in the life, as it were."
Elle sipped at her tea. "Okay," she said, after a minute. "Can Lt. Uhura come?"
"She can come," Dr. Elspeth confirmed.
Lt. Uhura was glad to switch shifts and accompany them.
Elle felt odd, having a stranger inspect her quarters. At least it was relatively clean. She picked up her socks from the floor and stuffed them in the laundry basket before the doctor could turn and see them.
Uhura winked at her.
"And what's this?" Dr. Elspeth asked, coming over to Simba's bio-dome.
"This is my tribble," Elle said. "Simba." She lifted it out and the tribble immediately started purring. "It's okay, Simba doesn't have teeth."
"Fascinating," Dr. Elspeth said.
"And low-maintenance," Elle added, tucking Simba into her sweater.
"Let me guess, Dr. McCoy's idea?"
"Nope," Elle said. "Spock's."
"Fascinating." The doctor wandered over to Elle's bookshelves. "Real books?"
"I like them," Elle said.
The mini-fridge covered in garish, ugly magnets was met with amazement. "And what's this?" Dr. Elspeth asked.
"My snacks," Elle said. "And my one hang-on from my innate culture of twenty-first century materialism and consumerism."
"So you picked fridge magnets," Dr. Elspeth said.
"Yup."
"Well, my son collected river rocks," the doctor said, and made a note in her PADD. "You have a lovely home here, Elle."
"Thank you," Elle said. "Do you want to see my classrooms, now?"
"Sure."
So Elle showed her the different rooms and offices of her teachers. These people, too, were interviewed, and took great pleasure in showing Dr. Elspeth what Elle was learning, and-
"It feels like parent-teacher conferences," Elle said to Lt. Uhura. "Except there's no mini hotdogs or watery coffee."
"Phaser crew's got watery coffee in their department," Uhura offered, deadpan.
Elle rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."
Uhura had to go to her shift, after that. Elle took Dr. Elspeth to the Rec Deck, showed her Elle's Minecraft worlds, Elle's scores in the tiny-Enterprise simulator, and the 3D chess game she was playing against the computer. And she showed her the little pottery cupboard.
"Why pottery?" Dr. Elspeth asked.
"Games computer suggested it," Elle said. "And I find it soothing to squish when I'm frustrated."
"What frustrates you?" Dr. Elspeth asked, and really, Elle walked right into that one.
Elle sighed. "Feeling helpless. Not knowing what's going on."
"Does that happen alot?"
"Not really," Elle said. "Not just because of, you know. But in certain situations, like, I'm not good in combat scenarios, or when we're waiting for the captain's bluff to pay off. So I get out the clay and make a pinch pot, or a crooked turtle, and it makes me feel better."
"And these?" Dr. Elspeth asked, pocking up one of the shattered pots.
"Ah. Hvaid taught me that technique, reglue them with gold," Elle said.
"There's a Japanese technique, very similar," Dr. Elspeth said, giving her an odd look.
"Cool."
They took seats at one of the tables. "About the Romulans," Dr. Elspeth said.
"Yes?" Elle asked, wary.
"And the Klingons, and the Kelvans, and the Zetar," the doctor continued. "How do you feel about being taken hostage so much?"
Elle grimaced. "Is it bad if I say I've gotten used to it?"
"Yes," Dr. Elspeth said frankly.
Elle picked at a spot of paint on the table. "Well," she said, "I haven't gotten used to it, but I'm more prepared than I was, and I'm not afraid, because I trust the security officers and the captain, but it does get a little stressful. I have a bolt-hole, though. I'm not gonna show you where it is, security reasons."
"Good practice," Dr. Elspeth said, like she knew about the chart on Giotto's wall that read 'Civilian Security Protocols', which had seven flowcharts under 'Hostage Situation.' She probably did. "How do you feel about the thought of your own mortality?"
Elle grinned wryly. "Well I've already died once."
Dr. Elspeth winced. "True. Sorry. But thinking about it now?"
Elle shrugged. "I wouldn't be happy about it. Would anyone? I don't wanna die painfully or anything, but I'm not afraid. The Enterprise, Star Fleet, is bigger than me, or any of us." She glanced away. "But I'm kind of counting on my foreknowledge, I know the Enterprise'll be around a long time. It makes me less scared."
"You're not worried about being over-confident, missing something?" Elspeth asked.
Elle winced. "Of course I am. But, it'll either happen or it won't, and in the episodes, they survived just fine without my foreknowedge, so even if I didn't remember anything, they'd be okay. It'd work out. Temporal physics says it has to."
"Why?"
Elle gestured vaguely. She couldn't mention Deep Space 9. "Well we're here, aren't we?"
"You've thought about this a lot," Dr. Elspeth said.
"Yes, I have. Wouldn't you?"
The doctor conceded the point.
-/\-
It was a long, stressful next three days, where Dr. Elspeth followed Elle around her normal routine and just, watched. The evenings, the doctor spent with Dr. McCoy, catching up on their lives. Nothing happened, no Klingons or energy beings appeared, but by the time they arived at Starbase 4 Elle was exhausted.
"It was very nice to meet you, Elle," Dr. Elspeth said, shaking her hand.
Elle gave her a half-grin. "It was nice to meet a friend of Dr. McCoy's," she said diplomatically.
"I hope if we ever meet again it will be in a more casual setting," Dr. Elspeth told them.
Kirk, Spock, and Elle nodded. McCoy gave his fellow colleague a farewell hug. "Stay safe out there."
Dr. Elspeth surveyed them for a moment. "My recommendation to Star Fleet will be that Elle not be moved from the Enterprise," she said. "You have something beautiful here. I'm very happy for you all."
Kirk gave her a nod. "Thank you, Doctor. Energize."
Dr. Elspeth dematerialized.
Elle slumped into Bones' side. "So that was all unnecessarily stressful," she complained.
Bones laughed. "Go take a nap, then." He kissed her forehead. "You did good, darlin'. Kenzie was very impressed with you."
"Good."