AN: Hi! I am so sorry to have not updated in so long. My daughter has been quite ill and required some minor surgery to remove a tumor in her ear.
I also want to include a request to anyone reading this. I am Beamirang's Beta and have not heard from her lately. The last I heard was she was having a rough pregnancy and I was hoping that everyone could PM her and wish her well. For those of you who haven't read her stuff, please do! It is amazing!
I hope oped this chapter is ok and I'm hoping to start getting back to regular updates! Any ideas or wishes that you want to happen? Let me know! Thank you!
Tishbing
Chapter Six
"You're an idiot, Kirk!"
Jim dropped the pink cardigan she'd been stuffing into Ella's suitcase with a groan. Dr. Shan'Ori had let her out earlier and she'd wanted to get an early start packing and the time alone to go over what Pike had discussed with her this morning.
It was nice to finally have real clothes and Jim couldn't help but savor the normalcy of getting dressed. She felt almost human again. She was pulling on her boot when the snick of the door caught her attention. Pike walked in, his face a grim mask showing that he hadn't had much luck with his investigations.
"Anything?" Jim asked tentatively.
Pike shook his head. "There's no record of a Commander Sloane in Starfleet. The man I met with doesn't exist. On document, at least. The records concerning your training have been listed as classified above my pay grade."
Jim's foot dropped and she let a deep breath out. "What about 31?"
Pike frowned, his hand cupping his chin in thought. "Now that is an interesting question. The people I talked to didn't acknowledge their existence...but they don't deny it either. They said they'd simply look into the matter and get back to me."
"When?"
"They didn't say."
Frustration welled up and anger bubbled forward. "How can this even be allowed? It's against everything the Federation stands for!"
Pike looked apologetic but his words cut her to the bone. "I hate to say it but I'm not surprised. Romulans have the Tal Shiar, Cardassians have the Obsidian Order and...we apparently have Section 31."
"But what does that say about us as a people? Are we really willing to sacrifice our principals in order to survive?"
Pike shifted uncomfortably and sat next to Kirk on the hospital bed, his arm snaking around to pull her against him. "I wish I had an answer for you. I'm determined to get you out of this."
"I know."
Uhura stomped into the room where Kirk was waiting, glare in place but falling slightly at the sight of her now holding a tiny Pom-Pom and pink pirate sword.
"I thought I recognized your dulcet tones, Uhura." Jim quipped and gave a smile but even Uhura could tell it was forced. Uhura stepped forward and picked up a pair of Ella's socks, turning them slowly and spoke carefully.
"You know, I heard that McCoy was driving Christine Chapel so crazy she 'accidentally' stabbed him in the hand with the mini-sampler."
Jim couldn't help a small giggle at hearing that. "I did tell him he was welcome to stay on Earth but he said he wasn't going to let me go without him." Her eyes burned with threatening tears. She had practically begged him to stay but the stubborn bastard wouldn't budge. Her efforts to protect him were quickly failing and she was worried.
"Why are you doing this assignment?" Uhura moved forward, her face swung into Jim's vision to where she wasn't able to avoid looking into her eyes.
"Because I have to." She snapped. Lying to Bones was one thing. It was heartbreakingly easy because he loved her and love was blind but Uhura was another matter. The woman was trained in interpreting everything including body language and facial expressions. She frowned and narrowed her eyes at Kirk.
"Why?"
Jim sighed and launched into her prepared explanation of wanting to graduate with Bones. The other woman pursed her lips in disapproval.
"There's more to life than work. You're going to miss out on everything important if you let it control you."
Jim didn't have anything to say to that. She knew that this was taking away from her personal time. There was so much that was changing with her relationship with Bones and with Ella.
She held up the toys. "Sword or Pom-poms?"
Uhura pointed to the pink Pom-poms and Jim was trying to stuff them into the already full bag unsuccessfully.
"Did I ever tell you I was a cheerleader?"
Jim's eyes snapped up, a true smile breaking through. "No because you knew I would mock you endlessly." She tossed the Pom-Pom at the other woman and laughed.
Jim quickly sobered and shoved the last of Ella's favorite things into the bag while Uhura watched her from the edge of her bed.
"What happened to you?"
Jim sighed and sat next to the bags, Uhura watching her with concern in her eyes. And she wanted to tell her. She wanted to tell Leonard. She wanted to let it out and just cry but she couldn't, not with the threat of Sloan hanging over her head. It hadn't been forbidden for her to talk but it had been strongly discouraged.
"Nothing happened. It was an accident." She said evenly in the hope that Uhura would drop it.
Uhura pursed her lips. "You're an horrible liar."
The weight of this secret was crushing her. "Well, everyone's got to be bad at something."
Uhura threw up her hands and growled in frustration, clearly done with Jim's avoidance. "I don't understand why you never talk to anyone. We're your friends and we want to be there for you but you never let us in."
That stung but the truth of her words hit home. She was trying to be more open but this time it wasn't her fault. She fixed Uhura with her most sincere look, trying to get her to understand. "I know and I'm trying. When I'm ready, I'll talk." When all else failed, omission and deflection worked better than outright lying.
"I know." Uhura's arm wound around Jim's shoulders and even the gentle touch caused a small flash of pain but the gesture of solidarity was welcome. "You'd better comm me."
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooo
McCoy wound his way though the eastern campus, hurrying to get Ella from daycare. He wanted the chance to talk to her more about where they were going in the morning. Yet again, his life with Jim seemed to be spiraling. Every time he got close, her damn knee-jerk reaction would kick in and push him right back where he started. Her stubbornness easily matched his and right now he wanted her to accept him in her life as more than a simple boyfriend and accidental father of their child.
They'd been making progress, slow but sure, until this fiasco with Jim's sim and the sudden assignment. His mom had reassured him that all women that the McCoy men loved were the same. Stubborn, fierce and independent and that it was that what drew the McCoy men to them. Long courtships were almost guaranteed but the reward at the end was always worth it for both parties involved. He couldn't help but sputter at the woman's confidence in him.
The thought of going into space a year earlier than planned added to his frustration. He wasn't scared but it unnerved him. He was even more worried about Ella. A change in schedule could be very difficult for a small child and the mission to Axanar was definitely more than a change in her schedule.
Quickly rounding the corner, the daycare facility swung into view. McCoy could see various other parents picking up their children. A Denobulan man was holding onto a set of twins while and andorian female was tiredly pushing a stroller. He went through the doors and saw Ella sat in a corner with a tall Vulcan man and human woman with short brown hair. McCoy frowned and looked around for Ella's regular provider and couldn't see her. He quietly made his way over and listened.
"Why?" Ella squeaked.
The woman laughed quietly and held out her hand which revealed a brown ball of fur. Ella's small fingers barely brushed against it in curiosity before she snatched them back giggling when the furball made a trilling purr. The Vulcan male's eyes shone with amusement.
"It is called a Tribble and it emits that sound when it is pleased." He said quietly and Ella touched the ball and squealed with delight when the Tribble cooed again. The woman carefully arranged the toddler's hands and placed the Tribble inside and Ella was vibrating with excitement. Her blue eyes watched the creature shift in her palms and she looked to the adults for guidance. The Vulcan sat next to her, his robes billowing around him and began explaining the known facts about the creature while Ella listened with an unusual quietness. She was absolutely fascinated by this stranger and McCoy could see Jim in Ella then. She was very much like her mother when a subject interested her.
McCoy was so absorbed in watching his daughter interact with the Vulcan that he startled when he felt a hand on his arm. The woman who had been with them was standing next to him, a kind smile on her face.
"Is she your daughter?"
"Yes, ma'am." He turned away from Ella to face her fully. Her hair was a short pixie cut, large, kind brown eyes with a heart-shaped face. "Leonard McCoy."
He offered his hand in greeting and she gently clasped it. "Amanda Grayson and my husband, Sarek." She indicated the man still sitting with Ella, who was now standing and looking closely at his ears, Tribble still tightly held. McCoy could see his lips twitching in amusement over her curious investigations and McCoy couldn't help chuckling, too.
"She is adorable." Amanda said.
"And a handful." McCoy looked around for a Vulcan child but didn't see any.
"We were walking through the Academy grounds after visiting our son when Ella, quite literally, ran into my husband." She smiled at the toddler. "She immediately started bombarding him with questions and Sarek believed it was only logical to answer them."
Ella was now tugging her "new friend" to show him to the craft table and Amanda giggled when Ella started showing him her finger paintings.
"I think it was more along the lines of Ella taking advantage of a unwitting victim."
It was when Ella had put the Tribble down and started squirting paint onto the palate that McCoy and Amanda decided to rescue Sarek. The man's name seemed familiar but he couldn't place it until Ella's caregiver came over and addressed him as Ambassador.
Ella finally noticed him and ran into him with a hug.
"Daddy! Is momma home?" She clung to him and he hefted her onto his hip.
"Yes, baby girl. She's probably sleeping though." If she knows what's good for her. He mentally added.
Daro, Ella's favorite provider came over with a small clear case, the Tribble inside and McCoy frowned in confusion. The Bolian woman had a mischievous smile as she held out the case. "Ambassador Sarek and Lady Amanda wanted Ella to have this. They said that their son didn't have room for a pet and since Ella liked it that maybe she could have him."
Let it be said that McCoy had excellent manners because he wanted to groan when he saw how excited Ella was at the prospect of a pet but he smiled and accepted the case. He turned to thank the Ambassador but he was already gone.
Ella had the Tribble named by the time they got home (Harry) and McCoy was grateful to find out that it had been fixed so there wasn't going to be any baby tribbles taking over their apartment.
He walked in with Ella pulling at him eagerly and saw Jim was suspiciously silent and sat on the couch reading a PADD. Her face was pale and her fingers were gripping the stylus so tight that McCoy was sure it would break. Ella immediately squealed and ran to her mother and Jim's face lit up. She quickly put her stuff down and opened her arms when Ella climbed into her lap. McCoy scowled when he saw that Jim wasn't wearing her sling for her shoulder. The repaired tendons and nerves were still sensitive and needed rest.
He listened with half an ear as Ella was telling Jim about her day and McCoy was pretty sure only one out of every six words was understandable but Jim was listening with rapt attention.
It wasn't until after dinner and when Ella had fallen asleep that he was able to talk to her. He grabbed his kit from their room and moved behind her. McCoy knew that she was aware of his intentions when she sighed and pulled off her shirt to lean on the back of the couch. Her pale skin was mostly healed. A few bruises were still visible, especially around her left shoulder and the open wound spanning her back was mostly healed. A 3-inch spot would need two more sessions but after that it would be a matter of treatments to remove scarring.
"You do realize that I don't do pets." She mumbled as McCoy gently pulled the tegaderm covering off her back to expose the wound. Jim hissed and flinched and McCoy knew that she wouldn't be able to hold still.
"I don't even have plants. Everything that I try to take care of turns to shit."
While she was distracted McCoy loaded a hypo with her antibiotics, pain meds and a slight muscle relaxer for her shoulder and slammed it home on her neck.
"GODDAMMIT! I hate it when you do that!" Jim snarled and McCoy laughed while Jim sunk back into the couch while he went to work cleaning and running the dermal regen unit over her back, closing it another two inches and quickly bandaging it up.
"It's revenge for not listening to me when you were told to go home and sleep, not pack. Don't think i didn't see the bags already done." He leaned down and helped Jim sit up, her balance sluggish once the meds started to take effect.
He helped her pull on her shirt and she fell back against him, her short hair tickling his chin as she snuggled into his chest.
"And I think Ella turned out pretty good, so not everything turns out bad." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and Jim's chuckles rumbled against him.
"I think that's all you, Bones."
"Mmm...she's charming, cute and manipulative. I think that's you." He whispered, pulling her closer and he was rewarded with a small sigh.
"If I'm so charming, cute and manipulative, how come I don't get out of those savage hypos." A huff against his neck showed Jim was laughing.
"You were due for your antibiotic anyways."
"You know I'm starting to develop a complex. I have visions of you chasing me down a long corridor with those things."
Smiling he held her close until her breathing evened out and he knew she was asleep. "I will always be chasing you because I love you, Jim."
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
It was the feeling of danger that woke her. The sensation of being watched, much like a rabbit scenting a fox. The room was dark and McCoy was sleeping soundly with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Jim reached under her mattress and carefully pulled out the small phaser that Pike had "loaned" her after hearing about 31. She could feel the adrenalin pouring through her and shoving away the vestiges of sleep. Squinting into the darkness, Jim couldn't see anyone in the room so she carefully extracted herself from Bones who didn't even move. That was unusual.
She pushed him onto his back and shook his shoulder but he slept on with no hint of waking. Shit, shit, shit. Jim thumbed the switch on her phaser and rolled out of bed. Her next focus was Ella. Tiptoeing across the room with her back to the wall, Jim scouted her room and saw no hint of another person. The apartment was silent and dark but as soon as she came near the door the living room light switched on. Jim cursed and flung herself into the room to see Sloan sitting calmly in the armchair with one of her paper books.
"I was wondering when you were going to join me."
Jim jerked her weapon, her arm straining against the instinct to pull the trigger. Sloan raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"You can try to shoot me but I think you'll find that there's a dampening field surrounding this building rendering your weapon useless."
Jim's grip tightened on the phaser in frustration and she moved backwards, keeping Sloan in her sight, to Ella's room and quickly looked in to see her sleeping soundly and unharmed. A small wave of relief washed over her and she moved back into the living room. She pressed the trigger on her phaser and was disappointed when Sloan's statement rang true.
Sloan smiled at her and gestured to the couch but Jim held her place.
"You know I don't need a phaser to kill you." Jim snarled and Sloan chuckled.
"Of course I know that. Why do you think I enlisted you. Very resourceful if...utilized properly." Sloan thumbed through her book. "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." He quoted and placed the book casually on the table next to him. "Tell me, Ms Kirk, would you believe me if I said that that statement rang true?"
He abruptly stood and walked closer to her, invading her personal space and looked her over. "It may be the best of times for you to have the good doctor with you but it certainly is the worst of times for him to be there. He is a distraction at best, a liability at worst. Your assignment is to get the King to notice you and McCoy is putting that in jeopardy."
He moved behind her and Jim's body tensed before she spun on her heel, using her right arm that was holding the phaser to swing at Sloan only to have him sweep her feet out from under her. The air left her in a whoosh as Sloan pressed her onto her belly with his knee digging into her back and her arm twisted up. The carpet dug into her cheek and Jim struggled under his grip when Sloan pulled her arm higher. Sharp pain shot through her when her shoulder was jerked and she gasped in pain, tears springing to her eyes.
"Still a bit slow with your reflexes, Kirk." He twisted a little harder and Jim bit her lip as a new wave of pain shot through her.
"Though, I suspect it's from the good doctor's care. You have a tell. Your arm twitched before you struck which warned me about your intentions."
Jim growled and went still. She looked to her room and wondered how Bones couldn't hear any of this.
"He's sedated. Unharmed."
God. It was violating, knowing that this man had been in her home. Touched the ones she loved.
"Distance yourself, Kirk. I'll be watching." He pushed off her and stood while Jim stayed put. "I'd recommend changing your hair back to what it was." It wasn't a suggestion.
Jim silently fumed on the floor until she heard the sound of the door opening and closing and Sloan had left. She wanted to cry and kick and scream but instead, she picked herself up started to get ready for the day. There wasn't any point.