Jo kept an eye on all of the adults. No one had spoken in the hours since they took off from Georgia. All were lost in their own thoughts. She noticed that they were the only ones on the flight. Silently she got up and walked up to the cockpit. "Can I help you Miss McCoy?" The attendant stood between Jo and the cockpit door.

"No. I like to look out the front of the shuttle. I'll go back." She walked back to the cabin. Her mom was looking out the window so was her grandmother. Crystal was taking a nap and Sarah was talking to Jake about the pond near the Tyler's house. Jo continued toward the back when she was stopped by George.

"Come here little one." He sat her away from the group. "It's nice having the whole place to ourselves."

"I guess."

"Do you want to talk to me?"

"About what?"

"You seem to have questions and I don't think we have answered any of them."

"I didn't ask any."

He smiled a sad smile. "Not vocally, but you definitely have them. Your dad is safe. We'll go to him as soon as we get there. They have people to take our bags to the place your aunt got for us. Do you want to see your Uncle Jim?"

Bright blue eyes studied his face. "I don't know. I want to, but what if he doesn't look like him?"

"You can ask your dad, and one of us will be with you if you decide you want to go in. I'm sure your daddy will stay with you if you want to see your uncle. Do you have any other questions?"

"How bad is it? I mean, mom won't tell me but I have seen some of the videos. I was watching when you were showing everyone."

"I know, I saw you in the stairwell. The ship took out about half of the Starfleet buildings including the Academy ones. The medical building wasn't hit, but the dorms are all but gone, and half of the hall is gone. Alcatraz is gone, and so is most of the wharf district and some of downtown. Your aunt said Ben and Demora are safe, but their place is severely damaged. Cal's apartment building is completely gone. Seri is safe and with your dad. Jaz and Kat are meeting us there."

"Uncle Evan will be there as soon as Uncle Tucker gets to the farm."

"He will."

"Thank you, Uncle George. No one else thinks I'm old enough to know what's going on."

He looked at the young girl, and for a moment he remembered the baby he held in his arms and rocked on the porch as her mother took a shower. She wasn't a baby, but she also wasn't as grown as she thought she was. He told her the basics, but not the graphic details. Luckily, they were enough to placate her. "Just ask me baby, I'll answer as best I can." For the rest of the flight, Jo stayed with George as she watched the interactions of the family.

Lights flashed and the signal beeped telling the passengers to buckle in for the landing. Jo looked out of the window as the shuttle approached the green near the medical building. She was familiar with the area. When she came to visit her dad, they would spend countless hours there and near the Golden Gate bridge. Now it was all barely visible through the smoke from the still smoldering buildings. They all remained seated while the shuttle came to land in front of Starfleet Medical. The attendant walked to the middle of the cabin holding a PADD at the same time Joce put Crystal on her lap. The man looked at his PADD and began to read the group's instructions. "Dr. Caroline McCoy will meet you all as soon as the doors open. She has secured two bungalows for you to stay in. We have personnel to take your belongings. They will be placed in the bungalow to the left. The crew is staying in the one on the right, though you can change accommodations if needed. Mrs. Love, you and your daughter are to go to the crew bungalow. Your things will be brought there. There will be an extra room in the family bungalow which I see will be used by two more of Dr. McCoy's family. They will be arriving within the next hour. It says here to leave a room with two beds for them. Starfleet has stocked the kitchens and there are fresh linens. There are laundries in each house. You will find detergent in there. Does anyone have any questions?" The grouped looked at the ensign a little stunned. No one knew what to ask. "Alright."

He left the group and pushed a few buttons on a back panel. With that the back hatch opened, light and smoke streamed into the cabin. The gang unbuckled, Jake took Crystal from Joce as they all paraded haphazardly out of the shuttle and onto the unscorched grass. Cal stood there in her uniform. Lena threw her arms around her youngest as the young woman clung tight to her mother. "I'm alright mom, I promise."

"I know baby."

"Let's all get to the houses. Ben is already there and the rest of the crew will be arriving soon. They are being debriefed in the library. Kat and Jaz will be here soon, and Rory and Owen should be landing within the hour. They'll be taken to the bungalows." She started to walk to the houses on the far side of the lawn. Jo took her hand. "It's alright Jojo. Most of the damage is on the other side of Medical."

It didn't take long for them to get to their housing. Ben was in the kitchen of the crew building. Jo and Joce entered. "Hi! Jo, Demora is going to be happy to see you when she wakes up from her nap. Seri and Len are in there. He needed sleep before he collapsed."

"I'll be quiet Uncle Ben." Joce had taken Crystal from Jake before they entered. The cadets arrived with their bags; Joce showed the one carrying Crystals portable crib into a bedroom with a king-sized bed. Jo went to the smallest bedroom in the middle of the hall. Each of the bedrooms had their own bath.

Cal looked around. "The huge bungalows survived, so did a couple of the smaller ones. Thank you, cadets." The young men each nodded their head to acknowledge their dismissal before leaving. Cal joined Joce in her room. "Hey sis."

"Hey yourself. You look like hell."

"Good, don't want to give any false impressions."

"Let's go outside to talk, Crystal just went down and I have a feeling Jo is taking a nap." The ladies walked out the back door and sat on the lounge chair near the large oak. Joce marveled at the fact the tree hadn't suffered any damage. She could smell the structure fires that burned on the other side of the medical building, and the buildings on the far side of the green were still smoldering. Miraculously the bridge seemed unscathed. "So, talk to me sis. I know at least some of this is about Jim, is all of it?"

"Most of it. I saw Len and Seri, so I am okay there."

"Talk to me. You know you can tell me anything."

"I know. Len is exhausted, and Scotty blames himself."

"What the hell happened up there? I mean, I know about Kahn and the misalignment."

"Jim… he saved them."

"But not himself."

"No, but Len seems to think he can save Jimmy. I'm afraid of what will happen if he can't. Fuck, I'm afraid of what will happen if he can."

"I'll talk to Len. Cal, I'm glad they sent for us, but I am confused as to why."

"That would be me. I know my brother. He'll need all of us to get through this, no matter the outcome." Cal looked across the green to the broken city, her eyes vacant.

"I have some clothes you should fit in."

"It's alright I grabbed some scrubs. Joce…"

'Yes?"

"I'm scared."

"I know."

"I can't talk to Len. I can't, but he is who I have always turned to."

"Turn to him now."

"He doesn't need the worry."

"Can I tell you something about your brother?"

"What?"

"He is happiest when he takes care of others. It helps him not loose himself to his own fears."

"I talked to him a little when I first saw him."

"Talk to him some more when he wakes up. It will keep him out of the hospital longer."

"After he spends time with Jo. God, he needs her right now." Cal got up and started to pace.

A light rain began to fall. It could be heard on the roof of the porch. Jocelyn studied her sister-in-law. She had never seen her like this, scared on a level Joce doubted the woman had ever felt before. "Let's go for a walk. I have a jacket inside. Come on, I'll let Mama know where we're going."

"Where's that?"

"You'll see." With that they went in. Joce commed Mama about where she wanted to take Cal. She grabbed her jacket then looked in the hall closet. Some of the crew's things had been brought to the house from the ship. She took one of their jackets and handed it to Cal. "Come on, this looks like Len or Spock's size. I doubt either would begrudge you."

Cal slipped the jacket on as they walked out of the house and into the beginning of a San Francisco downpour. Mama passed them on her way from the family house to the crew house. "Hi you two. I thought I'd stay here incase Jo wakes up before Len does."

Joce stopped to talk. "Ben is there, but I think you're right. He may want to try to get some more things from their place."

"I'll give him the option. Demora is sweet."

"And you love having her. If Crystal wakes, she needs to eat."

"And be changed. I know sweetie." Joce was laughing.

The two ladies left Lena and continued across the green. "Joce, where are we going? There isn't much on the other side of the medical building, at least not much you want to see." The older woman could see the fear in Cal's eyes. So that was it. It wasn't simply the fear of losing Jim, it was also everything she had seen. What had happened to her friend? One day she would find out.

Joce continued to walk towards Starfleet Medical. "I am assuming Len left our names at the desk."

"Names? Oh, yes. You all have badges waiting. Joce what are you thinking."

"I'm thinking I need to see him. I'm thinking that during the time you sat with him you didn't really talk to him. I'm thinking mentally and emotionally you are saying goodbye." She had gotten a few steps before she realized Cal had stopped. Joce turned back. "Am I wrong?"

"No. I sat in there for hours and didn't even get up to look at him."

"Come with me." Joce took Cal's hand. Together they walked up the steps and into the building. Joce wanted to help Cal to keep Jim alive in her soul until she absolutely had to say goodbye. That time might come at some point, but it hadn't come yet.

The room was dark. Len had woken to the soft feel of Seri's breath on his back. How long had he slept? He wanted to get up and head straight to work, but his fiancé was right, he needed rest. He was having a hard time focusing and that wasn't good for anyone. The shower had felt good, it washed off the soot and blood. He didn't realize how much blood he had ground into his flesh until he saw it run down the drain. Their clothes were piled in the bathroom. Seri was right, they smelled like a structure fire; Len thought, a structure fire and death. He thought about pulling another sample from Kahn, but that would necessitate waking the man and he sure as hell didn't want to do that. No, he would have to use what he had. There was still some blood left over. If he needed to, he could break into that last half pint.

"Stop doing that." The doctor had been so lost in his thoughts he didn't feel his lover wake.

"Doing what?" Her arm came under his arm as she spooned him. He tangled his fingers in hers.

"Coming here to rest isn't going to do any good if you keep drowning in thoughts of what you could have done wrong."

He kissed her fingers. "I don't want this to be like the time I fucked up with Spock. That can never happen again."

It took her a minute to remember what he was talking about. "Len, that time you didn't think enough moves ahead. And in the end, he wasn't blind."

"No thanks to me. I fucked that up."

"Yes, you did. This time you have thought of every possible contingency. I've never known you to make the same mistake twice Imzadi. Now you need to relax for a day. With all that's happened you cannot possibly be at your best, and Jim needs you at your best. Jo is asleep in the small bedroom."

Len sat up. "They're here?"

"Yes. Mama is in the den, and Crystal is asleep. Demora is also asleep, but I don't feel Ben or Hikaru. I think most of the crew is still in debriefings."

"We aren't."

"Perk of not being in the middle of the fight. I was debriefed while you were working on the transfusion serum."

"Oh. I guess they'll get to me later."

"Maybe. Right now. I think they want you working on getting their Captain back."

"True."

Seri sat up next to him. "You want to see Jo, don't you?" He smiled sadly. "Go to her. You can bring her back here if you want. I'll make sure the rest of our stuff and Jim's stuff is sent from the ship. They are going to have a lot of repairs to do and we might as well have some our things in the meantime."

"You know what we'll want. Thanks baby." With that he got up, put on his underwear and went to his baby. He could hear his mother in the kitchen, but he needed to see his little girl. He opened the door to the bedroom slowly. A strip of light from the hall fell across her sleeping form. She had grown in the months since he had last seen her. They saw each other at least once a week, but that was over video. This was different. Seri had said he could bring her to their bed, but he didn't want to wake her. She needed to sleep as long as possible. He closed the door gently.

Seri walked out of their room. She was dressed. "I'm going to help Mama with dinner. I sent the list to Starfleet. Once they are done on the ship Starfleet will send the things here."

Len smiled. Those two in the kitchen meant he shouldn't be there. The door across from his baby's was closed. He opened that one as quietly as possible. Crystal was wide awake in her crib. "Good morning young lady. My you look more like your daddy every day. Come here sweetie." He picked her up. "You need a change. Let's get that taken care of. I wonder where your mommy put that bag." He turned on the light and looked around the room. Crystal was playing with his necklace. There was a backpack on the chair near the window. "I bet that's it. Let's see." He opened the bag without putting his niece down. "Oh, young lady you're stinky." She giggled. Luckily it was the right bag. Len grabbed a diaper and a box of wipes. He was out of practice so he also grabbed a towel. He put the towel on the dresser before laying the little girl on top. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. You know I'm not only your uncle, I'm also your sister's daddy, and a doctor. I've changed more than a few little girls' diapers." She continued to giggle at her uncle.

His face had softened as soon as he had seen her. She had him wrapped around her finger the way Jo had Jim. He made funny faces as he undid her diaper and began to clean her. It didn't take long for him to completely clean her and put her in a new diaper. It took a few more minutes for him to find an outfit for his niece. Once she was dressed, he walked with her out to the den. "Why hello you two." Lena walked up to her boy. She kissed him on the cheek. "Let me take her. You need to go back to bed."

"Do I look that bad." HE hadn't looked in a mirror since he woke.

"A little. Seri you need rest too. You both go to sleep. I've got this." She took Crystal from Len. "Say good night to your aunt and uncle." Lena leaned to let Crystal kiss both of them on their cheeks before taking her to the kitchen for a small snack.

"Mama said I looked exhausted. We must look like hell."

"I guess. I just feel like I should be with him. Peaches, as soon as I get more rest I need to go back."

"Alright, more rest and some food; doctor's orders."

He kissed her on the nose. "Alright doc." They went back to their room. It took only a few minutes for them to fall back to sleep. Neither realized how tired they still were until they fell back into bed. It was going to be a long couple of days, but Seri knew she needed him to get as much rest as possible before he went back to his office to obsess over calculations he had already made over a thousand times in the past day. Seri knew there was nothing more to be done until the serum had finished synthesizing. Then he would need to be there as much as possible. For now, the thing all of them needed was for the doctor to rest.