"Not that I want to know or should even ask, but I take it that's going well?"
Bones strolled into my quarters towards where I stood by the couch. I was still shaking my head with a smile playing at my lips as I took a sip of coffee, eyes gazing at the door that Aria had just stormed through on her warpath to meet Spock.
My good friend's brows were arched in surprise with an amused look on his face as he came to a stop next to me, arms folding across his chest as he exchanged a glance between the now closed door and my face.
"It's definitely going, Bones, I'll say that much."
With a scoff and the furrowing of his brows, the doctor shot me a look of skepticism.
"Considering it's the day of rest, and Aria is leaving your quarters in the morning, and she seemed rather — "
"I'm giving you ten seconds to get to the point, Bones, or else I'm going to kick you out of my quarters so I can enjoy my coffee in peace."
As I made my demand, I walked over to the couch and sat down, crossing an ankle over my knee and laying an arm out over the back of the couch as I took another sip from my steaming hot mug.
I looked on at Bones in anticipation with raised brows and a hint of smugness. He took a seat opposite me, his arms folded across his chest with an even fiercer scowl, if that was possible.
"I hate to intrude on your day off and your morning visitor, but I need to talk to you about something that I can't keep putting off."
Something caught in my chest at his words, and as I watched the change in his expression from amused to markedly serious. I leaned forward to set my mug down on the glass coffee table in front of me, and fixed my gaze on him intently. It was my turn to wear furrowed brows and a wary expression.
"I don't like the sound of this. What's going on, Bones?"
I watched as he took a deep breath in and out, his eyes looking around the room as if he was searching for exactly how to explain what he came here to say. Just as I was about to cut the tension and anxiety suddenly lacing the room by asking him again what was going on, Bones turned his gaze on me, expression serious, and spoke.
"All those weeks ago, when Aria was brought on board after her incident, I found something unusual with her bloodwork. Not that she needed a transfusion or anything, it's just a standard part of the intake process in order to have complete documentation. I got normal readings on all the standard measurements, but …"
While Bones was speaking, my posture had changed from casually leaning against the couch to tensely leaning forward, my forearms resting on my knees with my hands knitted between them. His gaze moved away from me as he struggled to finish his sentence.
"But what, Bones? What's going on?"
After looking around the room for a few more seconds, he finally snapped his gaze back to me, and with a quick breath, he was talking again.
"She doesn't have a blood type, Jim. At least not one that is commonly recognized. It's not unusual for it to happen, especially with the discovery of new races happening on a somewhat frequent basis. But when I asked her what her blood type was, she gave me an answer. The most common human blood type. I didn't push the issue with her. Just noted her answer and tried to dig a little deeper. When I asked command for copies of any medical documentation or personnel files, my request was denied due to the information being classified."
"I mean, she's mentioned before that she's not sure what race she is, and I haven't exactly pushed her for every detail of her origin story."
Bones leaned forward to match my posture, his eyes intent on me as his tone grew more intense.
"Jim, believe me when I tell you that the database of blood types that Starfleet and the Federation have is vast. What worries me more about her blood type being unknown is the fact that neither one would release one damn bit of information to me. And I know they've got it. I've never been denied access to records before, not once. If they don't exist, that's another thing entirely. Hers do, and they aren't letting me see them."
My whole body stilled as silence fell between us. Eyes narrowing on him more intently, I urged him on again.
"What exactly are you getting at?"
With an exasperated sigh, Bones started again, this time talking with hands. An animated Bones was an upset Bones.
"This whole situation with her doesn't add up, Jim. I still can't figure out why they were so quick to let her aboard the Enterprise, let alone after the incident that happened that, by the way, they also will not give me any information about. I have pressed them time and time again for updates, for insight into anything they've discovered or determined from an investigation. Not to mention the timing of all this happening just as we're sent out on an incredibly vague mission that even has Spock questioning its purpose. It stinks, Jim. The whole thing stinks and I can't figure out what the hell might actually be going on."
His volume had grown as he talked, ending nearly out of breath he leaned back into the couch, arms re-folding across his chest as he looked at me, frustrated and concerned.
"I would've come to you with this weeks ago, Jim, but the situation between the two of you has been… stressed, and complicated to say the least, and I hate to do it now when it seems like you're finally getting along."
With a few nods, I stared down my mug on the coffee table and did my best to not let this outpouring of information completely ruin how much I had enjoyed the previous night and this morning. Easy was not something I'd known as a part of my daily life. Not before my position at Starfleet, and certainly not during. It was no surprise to me that my relationship with Aria would only get more complex, and not simpler as it should.
"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't done my best to not think too hard about putting the dots together. Starfleet has been known to be slippery from time to time, but with something as common as a cadet's history and documentation, I agree that something doesn't seem quite right. I think it's time I push the issue and see if I can get any more traction with them. As far as finding out from Aria directly about what might be going on … That's going to be difficult without being obvious."
Bones nodded in agreement as his brow furrowed again. I already knew something else was coming.
"There is one other thing I wanted to mention."
"Might as well tell me everything, Bones. What is it?"
"Well, with so much mystery surrounding Aria, I was beginning to wonder if the incident back on Yorktown might have something to do with what we don't know. Call me a paranoid conspiracy theorist, but crime on Yorktown has literally been nonexistent since the station's conception. Maybe a few swindlers and undocumented travelers, but an assault on a cadet? Something isn't right, Jim. It just doesn't add up."
Leaning back onto the couch, I let out a huge sigh through parted lips and ran a hand through my hair before drawing it down over my face.
"You certainly know how to bring a man down on his day off, Bones."
"Believe me when I say that I was avoiding it like the plague. There's no such thing as a good time for something like this."
"Yeah, I know, I know. Has anyone else been clued in on this outside of you?"
Bones made a show of moving his gaze to the floor-to-ceiling windows, and then up to the ceiling itself. I pinned him with a steely gaze as irritation tugged at what little remained of my elated mood from earlier.
"Who, Bones?"
Shrugging his shoulders and moving his head from side to side, Bones responded with, "I may have asked Spock a question or two, which may have clued him in on the situation. He was already well into his own suspicions and questions, and I didn't rope him in for the hell of it. He'd been doing some digging on his own."
I leaned forward in my seat again, forearms on my knees, gaze fixed on Bones with nothing but frustration painted on my face.
"You're telling me Spock, the most emotionally clueless, socially unaware and brutally honest person on this ship has been trying to piece this together, and he just so happens to have one-on-one study sessions with her?"
His gaze met mine, concern and worry crossing his features.
"Is that where she was rushing off to?"
A sigh came out of my parted lips as I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to remember all the good things that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. I reached to pick up my mug again, taking a long sip before leaning back and trying to relax again.
"Well, if he pushes her for information, we'll know. Either he'll end up getting his Vulcan ass kicked, or she'll hop into the nearest escape pod and be done with it all."
Bones looked at me with the smallest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"I've never wished for an ass kicking more."
I snorted into my mug at that, taking another sip and reveling in the small piece of humor he found in this complicated mess of a situation.
"Me either."