Thanks for the reviews. I love feedback.

I know there was only a little bit of Alex in the last chapter, but this one is devoted almost entirely to her.

Will we find out who she was married to?

Read on to find out...

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Alex woke up and stretched lazily. The clock beside her bed informed her that she only slept a few hours, but she felt better than she had in months. "Probably the releasing of all that pressure on me" she thought. She contemplated going back to sleep when her stomach rumbled. Laughing at herself, she got up, had a shower and headed for the mess hall.

As soon as she stepped inside the door, she heard a loud squeal and saw a bright blue blur crawling towards her at warp speed. She reached down and swung baby Mikey up in her arms while he cried "Alie!!!" She gave him a tight hug, and said hello. She grabbed some food from the replicater, and went over to the table where Mikey's mother Jessie was sitting with Frank Bailey. She attempted to hand the toddler back to Jessie. Mikey, however, decided he'd rather have a cuddle with Alex than sit in his chair, and settled down to sleep, his head on Alex's shoulder. Oh well. She didn't mind. She could eat one-handed.

"Did you hear?" Jessie asked. "Captain Archer wants to see all Starfleet personnel before anyone else?"

"He probably just wants to brief us and ask for our help in finding all our families." Alex replied. "It makes sense."

"Still" Frank began. "It not really that fair. I mean...."

Alex let her mind wander as Frank prattled on about preferential treatment. He was ok, a little pompous at times, but he was a good guy at heart. She smoothed back the curls of the now-sleeping Mikey in her arms and breathed in his baby scent. She loved kids. They had planned to have lots of them, preferably with their father's beautiful blue eyes. They'd have been so smart too, like him, though he'd always insisted that she was the brains in the family.

Feeling the tears clog in her throat, and threaten to overspill, she stubbornly blocked off that train of thought. Their plans for a family were over now, vanished. Taken by those Barcarni agents. She could not help but feel a little resentment towards the people who had stolen her life, and her future. Those bright, beautiful children would never be born now. Tears formed again as she remembered.... No! She couldn't dwell on the past. She would be strong, like her husband had taught her to be.

She was snapped out of her revere by Jessie calling her name.

"Alex didn't you hear that?" she asked. "Nick just called all Starfleet personnel to the airlock over the comm."

"Oh. Thanks Jessie. My mind wandered for a while there."

"Are you ok? You look a little sad?" Jessie was concerned. "You were thinking about him, weren't you?" she asked.

Alex nodded sadly. "You know me to well Jessie." Jessie and Alex were about the same age, and had become friendly. That's why Mikey knew Alex so well, and trusted her. She in turn, adored the dark headed little angel.

"Well, look on the bright side," Jessie said. "You are going to a Starfleet ship. Maybe you can look him up."

The thought had occurred to Alex before, and she planned to. Saying goodbye, she handed Mikey to Jessie and left the table. When Frank thought she was out of earshot (which she wasn't) he asked Jessie,

"What was all that about?"

"She misses her husband Frank. She's lonely. You can see it in her eyes. She was with him almost every day since she was sixteen, and now, he's not there any more. It hurts Frank. Believe me. I know. At least I have Mikey to remind me of my husband. She has no-one."

"Her husband? What is his name?"

"I don't know. Only Lisa Holt knows all the details. Alex is very closed mouthed about him. She misses him a lot. All I know is that they joined Starfleet together, and were together since they were about sixteen. She met him when she moved to..."

Alex passed out of earshot at this point. She walked along the corridor to the airlock, lost in thought. She knew that everyone knew she was married. She had made that point clear when she had first gotten to know them. Still, some men persisted, but on the whole...

She was so lost in her own thoughts, that she turned a corner and slammed into someone. He made a grab for her arms to keep her steady. Looking up, she saw who it was, and pushed him away.

"Hey now. No need to get physical" James' attempt at humour failed miserably. Alex stood in front of him, her arms folded over her chest.

"I told you if you touched me again, I would kill you. Unfortunately, I haven't the time now. Get out of my way."

James shifted uncomfortably, and attempted charm again. "Surely you're not still upset over that little incident in engineering." he asked.

"Little incident? LITTLE INCIDENT!?! You attacked me James."

"Well, I admit I went a little crazy, but attacked is too strong a word. I'm a passionate man..." Seeing Alex roll her eyes at that last sentence and attempt to move past him, he tried again, a little desperately this time.

"Alex. You're not going to tell anyone, are you? I mean, you didn't tell anyone else here so..."

"So that's what you're worried about and why you're being all nice. You're worried I'm going to tell Archer that you attacked me."

"Well, are you?"

"Of course I am! You attacked me James. Tried to force yourself on me. You would have succeeded if I hadn't kicked your ass. One of the first things I'm doing is informing Captain Archer of that 'little incident' as you so delicately put it. He will have the authority to detain you. And you think I didn't tell anyone here? Look behind you James."

James turned and saw Tony Ford, a Starfleet Lieutenant, leaning against the wall down the hall. He looked relaxed, but closer observation showed that he was ready to pounce on James if he made one move towards Alex.

She continued. "Tony is there on Nick's order. I told him what happened, and he told me that he didn't have the authority to do anything about you, except assign a tail. You've had a Starfleet crewman on your heels since it happened."

"No wonder I felt like I was being watched."

Alex made to move past him, but James grabbed her arm. She attempted to shake him off, but it was no use. Tony detached himself from the wall when he saw this, and moved swiftly towards them. Before he could reach them, James hissed in Alex's ear

"Listen to me you little bitch! If you tell anybody, you'll be very, very sorry. I can be very dangerous. You're messing with the wrong man."

"I don't respond to threats." she retorted.

"You should."

By this time, Tony had reached them. James let go of Alex's arm, and moved away.

"I'll be seeing you Alex." he taunted as he moved away. Tony went to go after him, but Alex restrained him by placing a hand on his arm.

"Leave him for now, Tony. We have to meet Nick at the airlock. Don't tell him about this though." she asked him as they moved the opposite direction to the one James had gone.

"Why not?"

"I need to tell Captain Archer about this myself, and if you say anything to Nick, he'll go charging in on my behalf."

Tony seemed to understand this. He seemed to understand that she had to be the one to take James down. It was a matter of honour for her.

"Ok." he told her. "I won't say a word."

"Thanks Tony."

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James watched them walk down the corridor from a safe distance. Little bitch! Think she could get the better of him? Well, she was wrong.

He walked away, already plotting his revenge.

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Alex and Tony were the last to reach the airlock. Everyone else stood in a line, waiting, their hands clasped behind their backs. Nick stood at the head of the line.

"Lieutenant, Ensign. We were waiting. What kept you?" he asked. Tony glanced at Alex.

"My fault" she replied quickly. "I wasn't ready. I made Tony wait for me." Hoping he wouldn't ask any more questions, she changed the subject.

"What's with Lieutenant and Ensign? What happened to Tony and Alex?"

Nick smiled tightly. "Out here, there seemed to be no reason to stand on formality. But now though, we are going to be back in Starfleet, God willing. It would be better if we used rank in public."

Tony grinned at Alex as they took their places at the end of the line.

"After you... Ensign." he teased.

"Why thank you... Lieutenant" she teased back. They fell silent though as Nick began to talk.

"Ok. The date is June 29th, 2154."

"June 2154?" Alex thought. "I'm 31 years old!"

Nick was still speaking. "The Captain of the Enterprise is Jonathan Archer. His First Officer is a Vulcan named T'Pol, and she's Starfleet." He ignored the raised eyebrows at this statement and continued. "Enterprise is the flagship of Starfleet. It's the fastest and most advanced ship Starfleet has." He held up his hand, before Alex could speak. "Alex, it's Warp Five." She grinned at his anticipation of her question, as did Tony.

"Their doctor, a Denobulan called Phlox wishes to see everyone on this ship for a check-up. We'll be going in alphabetical order. I know there has been talk about Starfleet people getting preferential treatment. That should nip it in the bud"

"Well" Alex thought to herself. "I won't be getting my physical for a while. I'm near the end of the alphabet."

Nick continued talking, and held up a data PADD. "I have here a crew manifest, with next of kin references. I also have our files, the ones in Barcarnian stating why we were taken. Apparently, one of their ensigns had a knack for languages. Any questions?"

When no-one spoke up, he turned to the comm. system beside him.

"Jenson to Enterprise"

"Enterprise here." a female voice answered.

"We are ready to come aboard."

"Understood sir. Sub-Commander T'Pol is waiting at the airlock."

"Alright. Thank you."

"No problem sir. Sato out."

The door whirred open to reveal a Vulcan female standing on the other side. She was very pretty, with short brown hair and was wearing a Starfleet uniform. Despite being forewarned by Nick, there were still a few raised eyebrows at the sight of a Vulcan in Starfleet. She ignored these, and gazed back at them in a cool, unwavering gaze.

"I am Sub Commander T'Pol" she informed them.

Behind her stood a security detail, complete with phase guns and scanners. They let themselves be scanned for weapons, and when none were found, T'Pol dismissed the team.

"If you will all follow me."

Alex couldn't believe her eyes as she walked through the ship. It was amazing. She spotted several data consoles on the way, and made a mental note to ask Captain Archer for permission to use one to try to trace her husband.

"I wonder what rank he is now. Probably a Lieutenant or a Commander." she thought. "I wonder if he's even still in Starfleet."

They stopped outside a door.

"This is the briefing room" T'Pol informed them as they all filed in. They formed two rows, relaxed, hands behind backs. They all stiffened when the captain entered, but he told them all to relax. Jonathan Archer was a tall, good-looking man. His charismatic voice and manner of speaking inspired confidence and trust in him, and Alex found herself instinctively liking him.

"Welcome to the Enterprise" he began. "I am Captain Jonathan Archer. I have no doubt that Commander Jenson here has already told you a little about this ship, but if you have any immediate questions..."

Seeing no one had, he continued. "Alright then. I'm sure you all want to start to try to contact your families, but there is something I must tell you first. Just over a year ago, a species called the Xindi launched a probe to Earth. It cut a swathe four thousand miles long, from Florida to Brazil. Seven million people died."

They were stunned. Seven million?

"Starfleet command sent my crew into an area of space called the Delphic Expanse to try to stop a second attack. We did, just as the weapon reached Earth. A small team beamed aboard the weapon, and we destroyed it."

Archer continued to talk, but he sensed correctly than no one was really paying that much attention to him after the bombshell he had just landed them with.

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"Malcolm. Hey Malcolm" Malcolm turned to see Trip stepping off the turbo–lift. "Wait up!"

"Are you headed to the briefing room too?" Malcolm asked.

"Yep. Ah have to show their engineer my engine. Update her with advancements and stuff."

Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "Your engine?"

Trip grinned a little sheepishly. "Yeah. The engine. Anyway... why are you going there?"

"Apparently Commander Jenson was a tactical officer on the Prometheus aswel as First Officer. Captain Archer wants me to show him around my Armoury, show him the new weapons and so on."

Now Trip raised an eyebrow. "Your Armoury?" he asked as they reached the door of the briefing room.

Malcolm grinned back and stepped through the door.

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Alex was reeling from the shock of hearing that seven million of her people had been killed. 'Are my family ok?' she wondered. 'My friends?' Trying not to concentrate on the negative for the moment, she forced her attention back to what Captain Archer was saying. He was detailing the Xindi species.

"There are five sub-species of Xindi, the Primates, the Aquatics, the Reptilians..." Archer trailed off as the door behind him opened to admit two laughing men.

"Ah" Archer continued. "Let me introduce two of my senior staff..." he got no farther as he heard a strangled cry come from one of the officers in front of him. A red-headed young woman was suddenly going very pale.

Alex couldn't believe it. He was here! On Enterprise! He was alive! And well! She cried out in shock, and every head turned to look at her, including his.

Archer's brow furrowed in concern and he took a step forward to help his officer, as all blood drained from...

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And that's all for today.

I know. I'm really, really evil!!!

Don't worry though. The next chapter almost finished, so it should be up in a couple of days. Stay tuned!!