A/N: psychosae, you are my hero. I have actually forgotten I have a story to write, and your review reminded me I haven't updated since December! Well, this won't do. I'm back, and I'll work more on the story. Probably. I hope.

Anyway, thank you, my friend, and a huge thank you to Love. Fiction. 2020 for your reviews. Your constant support warms my heart.

I didn't have a beta for this chapter, so there are probably some stupid mistakes. I apologize in advance; if you notice anything, feel free to contact me. I'll fix everything!

Now, on with the story.

Enjoy.

Logically, McCoy knew that all rock bottoms he'd ever hit wouldn't be his last ordeal. A long time, or rather a different life ago he'd chosen this worthy cause of saving people at the front line, realizing full well it would be dangerous, emotionally draining, and happening up in fucking space. He knew that and he accepted that. Trials and tribulations of one person were nothing compared to the safety of the world his daughter lived in. If he wasn't allowed to participate in her upbringing, he would at least try to make the planet she was growing up on a better place. The cause, as the name suggested, was worth it. McCoy was ready for all consequences this choice could bring.

As it turned out, he wasn't ready for this cause to laugh him in the face at his stupidity of thinking he was anything but a pawn in the grand scheme of things. No matter how good he was, how much good he did, he was still an expendable asset meant to be used and then thrown away after playing his role.

The Federation had betrayed him to get what they wanted.

Funny how it made things simpler.

"Bones, please, don't do anything stupid," Jim begged him after they took deadly quiet Lee to the brig, "We still have time, nothing is over yet. Scotty won't allow them transwarp beaming anytime soon with all these repairs going on. We still have time to change their minds. Just please, don't do anything you'll regret later."

McCoy nodded his promise, doubting he would keep it.

The ship didn't have enough resources to allow transwarp beaming at this moment. Nobody was going anywhere for the next few days. In several days' time, if Jim couldn't produce a miracle and change the situation, McCoy would take Lee and run the hell out of here.

There were many worlds in this Universe where he could still be a doctor, still help people. Here, on the Enterprise, he was in his right place, but it changed zero fuck all.

There were choices that you could, and there were choices that you couldn't live with. Letting Lee die so he continued to stay on the ship belonged to the second category. He wasn't about to build his next decades of life on her death. And he would be damned if he served the organization that caused all of this.

McCoy had no doubts Lee could escape her cell and the ship easily. All he needed was to wait until Scotty fixed the ship, tell Lee they were leaving, and, well, leave.

He hoped Joanna would forgive him. Maybe one day, he would find a way to see her again.

For now, his daughter was safe. Lee wasn't, so she had to become his first priority.

He decided it all during the long, sleepless night after the interrogation, so he faced the next day without despair that at first moments after Lee's fateful decision had almost destroyed him. He had a purpose now, a new worthy cause, and he was going to fight for it.

The first step was to prevent her from dying in the brig without proper treatment.

"I need to see my patient," McCoy waved his medkit in front of Black Bitch's nose the morning after the interrogation.

The woman frowned.

"Nobody is allowed to enter this cell, Doctor. The Admiral's orders."

"Well, it's totally up to you," he said, maintaining a calm facade, "But it will be you explaining to the Admiral why your prize prisoner died because she didn't receive the necessary medications. It will be your head he'll be after, not mine."

Black Bitch gave him a suspicious look.

"Show me what she needs, I'll give it to her myself."

"Oh, so you are a doctor now?" he arched an eyebrow, "I'm giving her medications based on her stats. And I can't assess her stats without actually checking on her."

She pursed her lips.

"No one's entering this cell."

"For the love of God, woman!" he bristled, abandoning all pretense, "You have an army watching her, the walls are transparent, and it isn't like she's going anywhere. Or are we torturing prisoners now? Because not letting her get her meds certainly seems like it."

Black Bitch glared at him, but flipped her comm and called her superior.

"Let the Doctor in," was the answer, "We adhere to humane treatment. If she needs the medications, we'll give it to her."

McCoy stomped past the bitch without another word and entered the cell.

Eileen O'Malley, also known as Lee, also known as Tora, also known as Fox, was lying on a bed, staring at the ceiling.

At the sound of his steps, she turned her head, and he saw a familiar blank look. No surprises here. There was no way she would let anything slip, not when a small crowd was watching them now.

It took everything not to rush to her, take her in his arms and just feel her heart beating. The realization that she would be dead soon if he didn't get her out clouded his vision momentarily. He dismissed the thought with a shake of his head and examined her carefully.

At this point, he didn't need his extensive knowledge to say she was on her deathbed. Her breath was shallow and irregular, the color of her skin attained an unattractive shade of gray, and her hands were twitching on their own. Exhaustion and emotional turmoils of the previous day had clearly taken their toll; she was even weaker than she had been after regaining consciousness. All in all, she looked like shit, and he blamed Starfleet for this.

"I've come to give you your meds," he said, taking several steps towards her, his tricorder feeding him disturbing data.

She nodded and faced the ceiling again.

He kneeled in front of her and loaded the first shot. He didn't have much time, so he got straight to business.

"You need to run," he hissed through clenched teeth, "Did you lose your mind when you agreed to die? You shouldn't have done that."

He pressed the hypo to her neck and pushed. The first dose was down.

"I need to do nothing," she muttered, still burrowing holes in the ceiling with her eyes, her lips barely moving, "They will harm you if I do. I don't want that. It's not fair for you to suffer because of me."

"Then let's run away together," he breathed, fiddling with the next hypo, "I bet you can get away from that cell anytime. We can't do it now, because the transwarp beaming is disabled, but in several days…"

She turned to him again and fixed him with a piercing stare.

"No," there was steel in her voice, "You don't belong to that life. You belong here, on this ship, to these people. I've done enough harm to you to take away your life. We won't run, Leo. I won't run."

There was no room for argument in her words.

"But…"

"As much as it hurts to admit it," she interrupted, "Everything happening now is just. I did commit all those crimes, I did kill all those people. It's high time I pay for it."

"But you changed!" McCoy whispered angrily, "And it wasn't your fault in the first place. You were abused, traumatized, and it isn't fair to send you to death for everything that you did in that state."

She exhaled sharply and turned away.

"It isn't fair to make you suffer because of me. My life worth nothing, Leo, but you can do so much good at the place you are now. You deserve to live, and I deserve to die. It is all very simple if you really think about it."

Something cold and sharp squeezed his heart.

"I won't allow you to die because of me!" he growled.

She sighed, her eyes still avoiding his.

"But don't you see? I won't die because of you. I'll die because of me," there was softness in her voice that made him sick. There was acceptance, and it was eerie to hear these words from a person who usually fought tooth and nail for their lives, "None of it is your fault. You need to remember this."

So she wasn't cooperating. He would have to get them out on his own.

God help him.

"It is taking too long, Doctor," Black Bitch said from the other side of the cell, making him jump.

McCoy shot the woman a glare and loaded Lee with the last dose.

He left the brig, still determined to save Lee, even if she was stupid enough to play sacrifice. He would sedate her and take her without her consent if he had to.

He balled his hands into fists to stop them from shaking and headed for sickbay.

It was the middle of alpha shift, but McCoy couldn't find it in him to get his ass up and start work. He was staring at the wall of his office for the last hour, his mind blank. He should be making an escape plan, he knew, but all he could think of was Lee's empty eyes and her last words to him.

It was a mess, and he had no idea how to get out. He started doubting it was possible at all.

The door whooshed, revealing Jim in a thunderous mood.

"Just so you know," the Captain said as a greeting, "I keep trying to get Lee out of this. Some Admirals are on our side, some are hesitant. I talked to mom, but she…" he trailed off.

"She refused to do anything," McCoy finished, unsurprised.

Jim sighed.

"Yes. They crossed paths, apparently. Mom says she's a dangerous psychopath who should have been strangled in her childhood. It's a quote."

"Huh."

Jim adopted a determined expression on his pretty face.

"I'll keep trying. I called Barnett, he promised to think about it. Chandra is on our side; he said if she is stupid enough to agree to work for us, we shouldn't let her go. Paris isn't answering my calls. I think it means she's against it, but sooner or later I'll find a way to contact her. She owes me her fucking life."

McCoy snorted. Their Commodore was such a hypocritical bitch. He highly doubted she would help. The order for his arrest had been signed by the President, but Paris had definitely known about it and maybe even authorized it. So, even though Jim had saved Paris's life back in Yorktown, she clearly chose to forget it now.

"We have at least a week, a lot can happen in a week," Jim tried to look enthusiastic, but there was desperation in his eyes that brought no comfort.

They both knew they were in deep trouble.

McCoy spent the rest of his shift glaring at the walls, then left for his quarters.

He needed a plan, he thought, marching down the corridors, all personnel shrinking out of his way. Jesus, he had never escaped from anywhere; it was usually Jim's job to get people out of undesirable places. How was McCoy supposed to do it? He was a doctor, not some fucking criminal.

He stepped inside his quarters and looked around. He didn't want to be here. This room was giving him a false sense of security, making him think everything was still right with the world.

It all was a lie.

He briefly considered a drink but pushed the desire to drown himself in a bottle quickly. It was not the time for being weak. It was the time to remind those motherfuckers who they were trying to fuck with. He needed some inspiration to create the next course of action, and there was no better inspiration for him than one Jim Kirk.

McCoy turned around and stepped out of the room, his mind set. He would tell Jim he wanted to smuggle Lee away, come what may. McCoy hoped his friend would understand the reason behind this decision. Besides, he didn't have a choice. He was terrible at these things, and Jim was good at it. If McCoy wanted to get Lee out of here, he would need help.

He was ignoring his surroundings on his way to Jim, trusting the other officers to clear the path. It was good his colleagues knew when to leave him alone, he decided, glad his reputation was worth something.

The next second he collided with a wall of walking muscles named Cupcake.

So much of the reputation, McCoy thought angrily, ready to release a long string of curses.

The Security officer, looking unperturbed by the CMO's facial expression, beat McCoy to it.

"Just a heads up, Doc," Cupcake said calmly, "Five minutes ago, Commander Kirk beamed aboard. She asked for the meeting with the prisoner and they allowed it. The two of them are locked in room four now."

McCoy blinked, all anger in him gone.

Commander Kirk?

Did it mean?..

"Is Jim's mother on board?" he clarified.

Cupcake nodded.

"Seen her myself. Thought you'd be interested that she's locked up with your patient in that room."

McCoy bit the back of his lip. Room four was designed for interrogations with no camera surveillance or observation mirrors, so no one could supervise what was happening there. The ship's silent opinion was that this room was needed for beating the hell out of convicts with no one watching.

Fuck, McCoy thought. Winona could be torturing his girl, and no one would stop her.

He took a deep breath to calm down.

"Does Jim know?"

"Yes, but Commander didn't let him be present. They are completely alone."

"Shit," he muttered, "Thanks anyway."

Cupcake inclined his head slightly.

"You're welcome. She might be a pain in the ass, this Lee, but the word says she saved us from the Orions, so I don't think she deserves to be interrogated in this room."

Cupcake saluted and sauntered off.

McCoy turned on his heels and hurried to room four.