Amanda felt herself drift in and out of consciousness. She didn't know how much time had passed since she tried to leave. She could hear her parents speaking in the room, sometimes with Doris. But she herself couldn't make anything out of the muffles she heard.

The dreams were the worst. She'd dream that David would barge into the room reaching for her throat.

She hoped they were dreams, at least.

She couldn't distinguish much anymore.

What was real and what were dreams blurred now.

Was she conscious? She didn't even know that.

Eventually the muffles were actual words but Amanda couldn't follow for very long.

Consciousness would soon come and eventually Amanda could stay up long enough to carry a conversation. At first it was small time intervals then longer.

It had been almost two weeks since they had been back and Amanda could stay conscious for almost thirty minutes.

"It's the medicine they're giving you, it's wearing you out, it's never been tried on a human before."

Amanda's mom stepped closer. "But they're closely monitoring your vitals to make sure nothing else happens."

Amanda could understand that much, at least before being knocked out again.

Her stream of visitors were limited to her family and sometimes Starfleet officials who had questions for her family. Since they would not leave her side, usually debriefings were done in her room and even while Amanda was sleeping.

The biggest surprise came to Amanda one night when she thought she saw Sarek come into the room. In her dream, he came into the room and watched her sleep before placing something on the table next to her.

It was gone the next morning when Amanda looked for it, confirming her suspicion that it was a dream.

Amanda couldn't hide her disappointment - she was anxious to see him again. When Amanda asked about him Doris told her he wasn't there and was back on Vulcan disappointing Amanda even more.

Eventually Amanda was started to be weaned off the medicine, which meant she was able to stay up for hours again and go back to a regular schedule. She didn't feel back to normal, though. She still felt weak, drained and walking was even a chore sometimes.

At least she wasn't in pain like before. She felt like she had sandbags tied to her wrists and feet when she moved. Eventually, she was able to move around more in the room. She couldn't hide that she was trying to speed up the process – wanting to get discharged as soon as possible.

When the day finally came, she was excited. Finally, a day outside of the medical wing of the Starbase. She could finally go home.

Home.

How she ached for it. How far was she from home?

Before she could do that, Starfleet wanted to debrief her.

It was in a different building that she had been in, far from the medical wing.

Amanda hadn't seen anything like it, she could have sworn she was home. There was green grass, tall trees, breezy cool weather except – no sky. Where the sky was, it was replaced by a large dome and beyond the glass – at least she thought it was glass since it was transparent- there was space.

Artificial lighting was used to simulate the day light, Doris had said, with a little help from a nearby star.

Amanda was blown away. How insignificant she felt. To think she had been denied all of this wonder when she'd get sick leaving Earth.

She'd face it all again if it meant seeing all of this.

Amanda couldn't walk very fast so her mother pushed her to the meeting in her temporary hover-chair. A temporary situation until she felt well enough to walk on her own. Starfleet headquarters for the base was a large building, with a hustle and bustle like the one back in San Francisco. Men and women in uniform walked in and out about their business, not paying attention to the family as they approached the building.

They were escorted to the turbo-lifts to another floor high in the building. From there, they were escorted to a room with a solitary large wooden desk. Behind it, there were pictures and diplomas, someone very important, Amanda figured.

Her family made small talk while they waited, sitting in the chairs angled in front of the desk. They mostly spoke about the plans they would do once back home to the ranch in Washington.

"We should have a party!" Doris giggled. "Invite all of the neighbors, go dancing! It's been so long!" She turned to Amanda, her blue eyes shining. "What do you think Amanda?"

Amanda smiled, not really listening.

But she heard her mother's enthusiasm. "First thing when we get back, we'll let everyone know the date. We could make your favorite dishes, Amanda. Wouldn't that be great?"

Amanda nodded. "That sounds great, Mom."

A tall woman walked in through the door. She seemed to be someone important at Starfleet for her entire family stood at attention. The dark-skinned woman smiled when she saw them. "Graysons, I'm so very glad you are here."

They all relaxed and shook her hand in turn as she stepped towards them. "Admiral."

The woman's curly hair bounced as she nodded when she spoke. She seemed to be a happy person, which was a stark contrast with the conversation they were about to have.

Once situated behind her desk, the Admiral put the folders in her hand down on the desk. "How are you feeling Amanda?"

Amanda snapped to attention at her name. "I'm fine, thank you."

She gave a half smile. "It's good to hear."

"Have you tried walking today? I've heard it has been really rough for you lately."

Before Amanda could speak, her mom spoke for her. "Yes! She was walking all morning. Much better than a couple of days ago, I think."

Everyone nodded around her.

"That's very good to hear." After a moment of silence the Admiral continued. "The reason I asked for you here right after your release is because I want to hear from you what exactly happened. Everything. From the beginning."

Amanda coughed a little, something that she started doing as she was recovering. "With respect Admiral, I thought I was debriefed already. Several times, actually, while I was recovering."

The Admiral nodded. "I understand completely. But can you, please, enlighten me?"

When Amanda noticed she was waiting for a confirmation from her, she nodded.

"It started when Doris was messaging me like she always does …"

Amanda went through everything. Every painstaking detail, every person she came into contact with, what happened on the Starship, being transported, David, the Doomskey. All of it.

The Admiral sat through it all, nodding as if in understanding and asking questions throughout.

When Amanda concluded, the Admiral smiled. "I want to thank you, Miss Grayson, on behalf of the Federation of Planets for doing what you did."

Amanda was shocked. This was the last thing she expected.

"You have saved an entire species from extinction, Amanda. This mercenary, David, he did despicable things. He would have done worse if not for you. "

Amanda flinched. "If you don't mind Admiral, I'd rather not talk about him."

She stopped, nodding and giving a small smile. "What I want to say is – We owe you. Starfleet, the Federation owes you. However, please understand that you may not talk about this to anyone – ever. The nature of what happened must be kept under the strictest confidentiality. You do understand."

Of course, Amanda understood, her entire family - almost her life had been a lie. She nodded. "I understand."

"I do have to speak to you about your condition."

Amanda froze. "My condition?"

The Admiral nodded solemnly. "Please allow me to fetch the doctor."

The Admiral pressed a button on the large desk. Presumably to call for the secretary that was situated in front of the Admiral's door.

As she spoke to the secretary through the two-way technology, Amanda looked away to the window. They even had the doctor there, brought it from the medical wing. Whatever the news was, it couldn't be good.

Dr. Lieverman was a pleasant looking man. He always had a compliment for Amanda, from being able to sit up and eat, talking, everything she did, he seemed to be proud of. He always walked with an air of confidence that Amanda couldn't help but admire.

From what she gathered he was one of the brightest minds in this corner of the galaxy and now, he was taking care of her.

"We couldn't have asked for a better doctor," her mother had said.

With all the confidence that her family had on this doctor, when she looked at them now, they seemed worried. Whatever the news, they didn't know anything about it.

He walked to Amanda in her chair, stretching out a hand. "Amanda, how are you feeling?"

Amanda took it, feeling apprehensive. "I'm … all right, I suppose."

He smiled warmly, his smile causing little wrinkles around his brown eyes. "Good, good." He nodded towards her family sitting behind her. "Graysons."

They mumbled their pleasantries but said no more as the doctor stood behind the Admiral behind her large desk.

When no one spoke, Amanda cleared her throat. "What is this all about?"

She tried sounding brave and hid her shaking hands under the blanket on her lap.

The doctor looked to the Admiral, who nodded, then looked back at her. All traces of a smile were gone. "Amanda, how much do you know about your illness? About what happened?"

Amanda shook her head, her voice broke. "Can't you just tell me?"

She felt an uneasy energy from her family behind her.

"What happened Amanda, is that you were transported. The ship you were on was very old and was only ever used to transport non-biological items."

"Non-biological?"

"Our biological structures are very different from anything inanimate as you know. The transporter had never been used on humans, that is technology that is still being tested. And even then, it's the Vulcan Science Academy doing this research. Because this was never meant to be used on humans, it didn't bring you back the way you came."

Amanda took a moment. "What does that even mean?"

The doctor looked nervously to the Admiral.

The Admiral answered placing her ebony hands together on the table. "The way this technology works is that at a cellular level it takes you apart, transports you then puts it all back the way it was received."

"Your body hasn't been able to fully recover Amanda," the doctor then continued. "Your body is breaking down as soon as we administer a treatment. There isn't anything we can do. Everything we do is temporary."

Amanda felt like the floor was moving from under her, dizzy like she had been spinning around like she had as a child arms open wide.

"But I feel fine now –"

The doctor nodded. "We have been able to extend the period of treatments from two hours to twelve hours. Should you skip it, your condition worsens."

Amanda frowned deeply. "Will there ever be a chance that there will be a cure?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes! Yes, we do believe that we will find a cure, in the meantime, we do have to run analysis on you constantly. You will have to be monitored closely. Something we can't do on Earth nor here."

She heard someone stand up behind her and place a hand on her shoulder. Her mother. "Whatever it takes."

The Admiral grabbed a PADD of her desk and handed it to Amanda. "This is where you will need to be. It's an experimental Medical base in the Alpha Quadrant not far from your family."

Amanda flipped through the PADD, there were pictures of doctors, patients in a very advanced medical facility from what she could see, and lastly a picture of the Starbase out in space.

"It's one of the most advanced that we have," the doctor told her. "It's the least we could do after what you've done."

Amanda nodded, a knot welling up in her throat. "I understand."

"You will have the best technology, the best doctors, nurses taking care of you."

The Admiral interrupted. "We could also need your skills."

Amanda frowned. A catch?

"There are children there of course, they need a teacher. I can think of no better person than you to teach them."

The doctor spoke next. "It will give you something to do to pass the time."

Amanda took a shaky breath followed by loud coughing. They were right, she wasn't feeling like she used to. Could this be the reason why?

"What about my duties now, back home on Earth?"

"We will take care of everything, this is confidential of course, so we will give them a story of where you are. If you want, you can talk to them but not give specifics to where you are."

Amanda nodded. "This will be immediate?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes. As soon as you are ready."

"What about us?" Her father spoke up, she had almost forgotten he was there. His voice reassured her like when she was a child. "We would like to be there too."

Amanda immediately spoke up. "No."

Her father went to her side and got down on one knee in front of her. "What do you mean, Amanda?"

Amanda took a deep breath, trying to keep from crying. "You lied to me." She looked to her family. "You all did. For years."

"We did it to protect you."

Amanda shook her head. "I think I need to be away from you all, just for a little while, I need to think this over. Just until I get better."

Her father shook her head. "No. We have to be with you, while you do get better."

"Dad." Amanda took a breath. "I really think I need to be on my own, just for a while."

Her dad didn't budge. "No, Amanda."

The Admiral spoke up, "For what it's worth, we don't allow long visits, it's an experimental medical facility. You can be there for small periods of time but not the entire time Amanda is there. There is also the fall-out of David's actions. I need you all there for that as well. No one knows him as well as you do."

Doris spoke next. "We will do it, all of us. If Amanda wishes to be alone, we will respect it."

Amanda looked to her sister, silently thanking her. Her sister looked back to her and seemed to realize what Amanda was saying.

"If Amanda needs time," Doris said. "We will give it to her. And the space she wants until she comes home." Doris reached out to her mom and held onto her hand.

Her mother after some reluctance nodded.

Everyone looked back to Amanda. The Admiral spoke, "Going as soon as possible may be the best for you."

Her doctor spoke up. "I do think that's the best thing you can do, Amanda."

Amanda nodded. "I'll do it. As soon as possible."

Almost there friends!