Disclaimer: Still don't own Star Trek or Ghost Rider.

Chapter One:

"I love you," Roxanne said, putting a hand onto his face. Johnny smiled, and turned to look at her. They were on a swinging bench outside, with the sun setting before them. Inside, their kids were already asleep.

"I know you do," He replied. She looked at him with bright, excited eyes. "That's why I'm taking you on a date."

She smiled at him again, and took his arm, leaning in to kiss him. But before her lips touched his, she recoiled, suddenly afraid. Her hands clenched on his arm and he gave her a confused look.

"Johnny…" She said, eyes wide and frightened. "What's happening to you?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking down at his hands. They were fine. But...there was a strange feeling in his head, like he was having a killer head ache. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Fire!" She said, letting go of him and running towards the house. She ran inside, the door banging behind her.

Fire. Fire, on his face. The realization hit him and he knew what was happening. He was changing - the sun was setting, and he was changing. But he thought he couldn't change in Cryo…

Turning, he saw his reflection in the window. A skeletal face covered in hellfire flame stared back at him. He stared at the man before him in disbelief.

"No." He said, reaching up to touch his face. Even his voice had changed. "No, no, no. NO!"

With a shout, he lunged for the window, and passed right through it. Into it, and out of this reality.

"Doctor," a strange feminine voice called. John was confused, disoriented. His body was getting warmer, the cold leaching from his body. Pain from being stiff for so long started to set in. But he wasn't supposed to hurt, not anymore. He was supposed to be asleep.

"Oh my - Jim get down here!" Another voice, this one male, yelled above him. A strange hand touched his face, opened one of his eyes, and blinded it with a light. Then a hand went to his wrist and held it, feeling for a pulse. This wasn't supposed to be happening. Closing his eyes tightly, he fought against being awake. "Get me a hypo, nurse."

"Yes, sir." the woman said again. Then something clicked against his skin and he went back into the world he knew.

"Roxanne!" He cried out, back in the house. It was dark now, and uncomfortably cold. He face was no longer on fire thankfully. Glancing behind him, he saw that the window was broken, and the door firmly closed shut. Inside, the house was dark, and looked like it had only been lived in by one person.

Rushing to his fridge, he saw that the pictures of Roxanne and kids were gone. No where to be found, not in the trash, not on the floor. They were gone.

"ROXANNE!" He shouted, again in reality. Hands were holding him down, now. The cold of cryogenic casing was replaced by one of a much warmer mattresses table. Straps went across his arms, legs, and torso. He struggled against them, tugging and pulling. "ROXANNE, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Give me the hypo!" A voice shouted. Instantly, something was poked against his skin, and he became sleepy again.

He was back in the house. He was sitting in the kitchen, and he knew something was wrong. Frantically, he ran throughout the rest of the house, into the rooms where his kids had been sleeping, into the bedroom he and Roxanne had shared.

But no one was there. It was like they had never been together. Never ran away together…

"That's exactly how it happened, Johnny," A cold voice said. Turning, he faced the Devil. The demon's form took the shape of a businessman. Flawlessly smooth suit, black cane, cold eyes, slicked back hair - and of course his suitcase full of contracts. "You just chose to forget it, is all."

"No." Johnny said, stepping back. "No - you don't own me. I refused your contract."

"Then what is this?" the Devil asked, pulling out a contract that Johnny had seen before. It had a single drop of his blood at the bottom. "I can assure you, it's not my blood."

"It sure as hell ain't mine." Johnny stated. Smirking, Devil shook his head and laughed quietly to himself. "What's so funny?"

"You're constant denial of reality."

"This is reality."

"So. You. Say." Devil sighed, and moved towards him. "Our contract states that you will come to my aid when I call. You've done that, and now I need you once again."

"What is it this time - another one of your sons trying to kill you?"

"No." Devil said, sneering. He came close and whispered in Johnny's ear. "I need you to wake up from this dream."

"This isn't a dream." He said, pulling back. "This is real. Roxanne and the kids are around here somewhere -"

"Look." Devil pointed towards something in the distance. Out the window, Johnny could see it, a stone of sorts. "See what really happened to her."

Sweat breaking out on his skin, Johnny ran towards the grave, fearing what he would find. He hoped it was nothing, he hoped it wasn't what he thought it was. He knew it was a grave, but he didn't want to believe it was her grave. It couldn't be.

But it was. Her name was inscribed on it in bold letters.

Roxanne Simpson,

Beloved Daughter.

1972 - 2007

"No." Johnny said, falling to his knees. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be true. But, deep down, he knew it was. She was dead. He was the Ghost Rider. And all this time he had been dreaming.

A hand came down on his shoulder and the voice of Devil spoke by his ear.

"It's time to wake up."

In a moment, he was back in reality. Blinking in the harsh white lights, he saw that he was in some sort of hospital. Only it had to either be a movie set or really high tech, because he didn't know what the hell kind of hospital looked like this.

"What the hell…?" He said, trying to sit up. Restraints stopped him, and he glanced down to see he was strapped to a table. This confused him more.

"So, you decided to wake up." A voice said. It had a southern accent. Not like his, though.

"Hello to you too," Johnny said, turning to find a man in a blue scrub and black pants looking at him. The guy was holding some sort of metallic device over him. In a moment, he clicked it shut and placed it on a table. "Mind telling me where I'm at?"

"You're on board the USS Enterprise." the man said, folding his arms and giving him a series look.

"I'm on a decommissioned Nuclear Warship?" John gave the man a confused look and looked around again. "Looks more like a high tech hospital."

"You're on a ship...just, not the one you're thinking of." The man said. Then he tapped a pin on his shirt. "Jim, he's awake."

"On my way, Bones." a voice responded, making John's eyes widen. What the hell was happening to him. Was he still dreaming?

"This is one hell of a dream," Johnny said shaking his head and letting it fall back on his pillow. The man looked at Johnny with a look that could only be described as pitying.

"Wish it was, son." He said, sighing. Then he leaned back on the counter and waited. Closing his eyes, Johnny tried to sense if the Rider was still inside of him. Calming his breathing, he meditated, feeling for any abnormalities -

And he was hit with the painful flare of flame, heat, and rage of the Ghost Rider. Yes, he was still there, and he was angry that he'd been caged for so long. It wasn't natural, and he knew it, and he wanted out.

But Johnny refused to comply. At least, not now. He couldn't give in to the rage of the Rider now. Not until he could process what was going on. Until then, he'd put a hold on the Ghost Rider.

But he wouldn't wait forever.