A/N: Sorry! It seems I missed posting this chapter, which means that the one I did post, may not have made sense. Thanks to angle897 for pointing out that I had updated the same chapter twice.

A/N: Enjoy.

Jim, Spock and Scotty watched dumbstruck as she left her brother behind. A moment later they followed, only to lose sight of her. They stood looking at each other, Jim about to ask the bridge to locate her bio-signature, when a thud reverberated throughout the hallway. They followed the sound; as a scream, so loud that they had to cover their ears, shattered the silence of the corridor.

They turned a corner and another scream ripped through the air, along with several thuds. There, he saw Winchester turn her back to the wall and slide to the floor, tears running down her face. She drew up her knees, wrapped her arms around them and rocked; all the while, a horrified, anguished, keening cry issued from her mouth. Looking at the others, he realised that everything that had been happening the last few days, especially what had just happened outside the mess hall, was all a front. The wall above her was dented (no mean feat), and Jim could see that she had busted her knuckles open, green-brown blood running from the wounds.

"She told me of the idea to make it go for her brother by distancing herself from all of us. I did not think it would have this much of an effect on her." Spock said suddenly, his voice soft, concerned.

"Really, Spock. It's her brother, not to mention that her dad was killed the same way from what I've heard." Scotty said, about to walk over to her and offer support when Jim held him up.

"Hold up, Scotty. I don't think either you or Spock are the best people to talk to her right now."

"How do you figure that, Jim?" The CEO asked. "I'm one of her closest friends."

"And that is the reason. Don't forget she's a touch-telepath, like Spock."

"Which excludes me from helping her."

"Exactly, and Leonard is the last person right now that can help. Having him around will destroy any control she has left. She's barely holding it together as it is."

"You call this 'barely holding it together'? It looks like she's falling apart." Scotty said, looking back at the stricken woman. His Scottish brogue thickened with worry.

"She's not catatonic." He pointed out.

"She is however, staring at nothing, Jim." Spock said.

"So," The Scotsman looked at him for a moment, "You're suggesting you talk to her?"

"I'm the only one who can. Aside from Spock, I'm also the only one left out of all of us, that see and treat her as a member of this crew, not a close friend."

"You cannot initiate a mind meld with her to bring her back, Jim." Spock said suddenly, grasping what he was going to try and do.

"No, but we do have fingers." That said, he headed over to his Navigator.

He sat beside her at first, not touching her. After a moment and no reaction, he started to talk. He told her of his thoughts when he first found out about her; how hurt he had been that his friends had been keeping it from him. He spoke of nothing and everything for half an hour, during which time, her keening stopped. Hearing that, he looked at her. She was looking at him, but not seeing him. He reached out, arm resting on his own knee, fingers splayed. She looked at them a moment, before lifting her hand and placing her fingers on his. What happened next, he would never be able to fully describe.

He was sucked into her mind, at least that's what it felt like. There was blackness, followed by every colour under the sun. There was blinding light followed by darkness, then, he found himself in a grassy area bathed in sunlight. It was surrounded by trees, but he could see dry bare earth behind them. It felt like Iowa where he grew up, but not. He heard laughter, but when he looked, he saw that it was a bird with a large thick beak and creamy wings. He heard the sounds of other birds, but then something else caught his ear. He turned toward the voices, seeing his navigator with a small boy who looked to be around four or five years old. She was younger, at least 20 years. Jim wondered who the boy was, until he remembered that Campbell was only in his twenties. He had forgotten the massive age gap between the two.

"It's just you and me now, baby B." She said, kneeling on the grass in front of him, her hands on his shoulders. In the background, he could see the Impala, dents on the roof and sides, glass missing from the back window and passenger doors. He could feel her emotions bleeding through whatever this was; sadness, horror, fear of leaving Dean alone.

"Daddy?"

A sob threated to break out from her, "Gone. Something got him, and there was nothing I could do."

"You and me, Sis." For a five-year-old, he had remarkable insight. Jim could tell that he was smart enough not to press; clearly able to see the pain his sister was in. And this is way before Spock was able to teach her how to handle the emotions.

Dean held out his hand, fingers splayed; Sam placing her fingers on his, her hand clawed to compensate for the size difference. The pair touched heads then, and Jim could see her calm down.

"He was always able to get me to calm down," a voice suddenly said beside him, making him jump (could he jump in a memory?). He turned and saw her standing beside him, as the navigator he knew. "No matter the situation, he got me to calm down, and focus."

The scene changed, everything blurring as it moved to the side, to them playing in a park, Starfleet HQ in the background.

"I stopped Hunting to raise him, joining Starfleet as it was the best thing to do. It would allow me to keep him close and we'd be comfortable." Younger Sam raced a now eight-year-old Dean across the grass, dashing under trees and around bushes.

"You started again when you realised that the ships were under threat." Jim said. He was starting to understand why she was showing him her memories; so that he would understand how much of an anchor he was for her. Though, how without a meld, he didn't know.

The scene changed again. They were in a living room, surrounded by books, papers, photos, reports. Jim caught the name of one of the ships that had been brought down by the ghosts.

"What are you going to do about it, Sis? The ship was destroyed by a ghost, Sam. You have to tell them." Her brother flipping through a folder as he spoke.

"How? They won't believe me. Not only am I just a cadet, but I have no standing. I have a shaky past that no can find out about, not to mention, I'm half Vulcan." Sam was pacing while Dean sat on a sofa, a table with all the papers in front of him.

He pulled something from under one of them and tossed it in front of her feet, making her stop. "If you had done your research on the higher ups, you would have found him." His voice understanding.

Sam opened the folder, and Jim could make out a photo of a younger Admiral Archer.

"Jonathan?"

"Yeah, seems he joined Starfleet after what happened. If anyone's going to listen, it'll be him."

That would explain the hurt I saw when he found out about her being Vulcan. He'd known her all her life, and he didn't know.

Jim could see the cogs turning as she thought about it. "He can get the ball rolling, make sure Hunters get on the ships, are involved in building wards into the hull."

"You're going to have to find Hunters that don't have a criminal record." Dean pointed out as he walked over to her, his fingers finding hers again.

"Or ones that are easy to seal." She was calming down again, Jim could tell as she knelt down until she was the same height as her brother. "You, are the best little brother I could have ever hoped for." She hugged him, and even more tension left her.

The scene slipped past, throwing them into another memory. Jim watched as Sam, looking her current age, walked through a zoo. The animal's cries, growls and squawks calming her somehow.

"They remind me that there are normal animals out there, not the abominations we hunt." Winchester said, hearing his thoughts.

They followed her for a while until a little girl ran into her. Crouching next to the child after she fell, Jim gasped as she recognised her.

"Joanna?" He was about to ask what McCoy's daughter was doing in her memory when she simply nodded back to the scene.

"Hey, you ok?" Sam asked.

Joanna sniffled and looked around. She looked to be around 10, when he had last seen her at Yorktown. "I can't find my Daddy."

"Would you like me to help you?"

"Daddy said I shouldn't talk to strangers." She said as she stood and dusted herself off. She held herself straight and just out of reach, just as Jim had taught her. He smiled, seeing her ready herself for anything.

Sam reached behind her and took out her wallet. She opened it to show her Starfleet ID. "I'm with Starfleet, and my name is Sam."

"My Daddy's a Doctor on the Enterprise!" She said suddenly, and Jim could hear the pride in her voice. "He's the best Doctor in the whole fleet."

"I have no doubt. I'm a navigator in the fleet. Do you know what a navigator does?" Sam asked, holding her hand out to the child. Jim saw that she didn't have her gloves on, and a little wince as the emotions from Joanna hit her. Fear no doubt being one of the strongest, but he suspected the pride she had for her father was overriding it.

"They help the ships find their way."

"That's right, that's why I'm going to help you find your Daddy."

Jim and Winchester followed them, Sam asking her where they were last, until Jim could make out a worried Bones standing on a table, looking over the crowd.

"Daddy!" Joanna let go of Sam's hand and raced over to him. He watched as Bones jumped down and hugged her.

"Jo, what happened? I turned around and you were gone." Jim could hear the worry and relief in his voice as he ran a hand through the chocolate curls.

"I went to see the lions, but they roared and scared a bunch of younger kids. I got caught up helping the teachers round them up and got lost. Sorry Daddy."

"That's ok, Jo. I'm just glad you're safe." He turned then and saw Sam. "Thank you." He said, holding out his hand.

Sam took it a moment later, "No problem."

"Daddy, this is Sam, she's a navigator for Starfleet, that's how she was able to find you."

"Leonard McCoy. Thank you so much. Would you like to join us for lunch? As a thank you. Please."

"I would love to." Sam nodded, and they headed to a nearby food vendor.

"You met him before you were assigned to the ship?" Jim asked, turning to her, as darkness started to fill his vision.

"Until we shook hands, the only person who had that calming quality I felt from him, was Dean."

The scene faded then, and Jim felt himself return to his body. He lifted his head, and looked into Winchester's eyes. He could see that she was more aware then she had been before, seeing him.

"I understand." Was all he said as he stood. And he did. Her reason in pushing McCoy away had been to protect him, as much as herself. The ghost possessing Campbell; it was something Sam could handle as it was something she had assimilated into her life, and Max and her brother likewise. If it had gone after Bones or any of the others on the ship that weren't part of the Hunting life; it would destroy her. Her, for failing to stop it, and whomever it chose would have to live with what it had done while in control (if they survived).

"Jim, are you ok?" Spock asked, reaching him as he swayed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good." He patted the arms away.

"Jim, you've been out of it for over two hours." Scotty said, not letting him go.

That made him look at them. "What?"

"Captain, what happened?"

He realised then that he could hear footsteps coming, and didn't want to discuss what had happened with others, so he patted the hands away again and stepped back to help Winchester to her feet.

"Later, Spock, right now we need to find whatever brought this thing on board." Knowing that her walls were pretty fragile, if not shattered completely at this point, he kept his hands to her shoulders. "But first, a trip to the nearest medbay." He added on, seeing her knuckles. They had healed a little so that they no longer bled; no doubt from a type of healing trance she had somehow done at the same time as not-melding with him.

They arrived at a medbay, and it so happened to be the same one Bones was working in. He was about to turn and find another one, when the Doctor spotted the blood on his shirt.

"What the hell did you do?" The Georgian man roared, taking Winchester by her shoulders and sitting her on the nearest bed, his anger and worry overriding whatever had happened at breakfast the previous morning.

He nodded to the others as Winchester told Bones what had happened, "Go, join the Hunters, let me know what they've found." After the pair left, he turned back to Bones, only to find them in a tight embrace. He blushed at the sight and was about to leave them, when they broke apart.

"I'm sorry for what I said, Leon. I couldn't take the chance that it would go after you. Never ever believe that you are nothing to me. You are everything and so much more."

Jim watched as she initiated a full mindmeld with him, relief showing on his face at whatever she had told him several mornings before was only so the Ripper wouldn't go after him. He watched as he turned the dermal generator on and passed it over her left knuckles, still held in the meld by her right hand. He was glad that Spock's request from before would not need to be addressed.

It was on the third pass; she had broken all the layers until bone showed; that Janet Mills arrived.

"Sam, I think we've found something."