Sorry I took so long to update... I know it was only a couple days and I hadn't gotten any reviews yet so I wasn't sure if anyone was interested or not. Sorry it is going so slow for now, and yes, I'm purposefully trying to keep her race a mystery from both the other characters as well as from you, my readers. The race will be one of my own creation, though i think many of you will like it. The scenes I have in mind for upcoming chapters will make you understand why I'm trying to be so secretive of it for now. I'm sorry if this chapter got a bit wordy, but since this is my very first fanfic, I'm still trying to find the happy medium between too MUCH detail and too little. Please feel free to give me critique, tell me you must like it so far, or how much you hate it... ^_^ I find everyone's opinion worth listening to. I PROMISE that the next chapters will pick up a bit... There will be some smut and such later on as well, so just be patient with me and hang on for the ride! 3
McCoy blinked awake and looked around groggily. He hadn't slept so deeply in quite a while. Wetting his dry lips, the doctor peered over at the biobed upon which the beautiful alien girl still slumbered away. He stood up slowly, stretching his arms slightly as he went, and shuffled around the dimly lit room. She would be waking up soon; McCoy had a feeling she would. He had an aptitude for guessing how long people would sleep after given a sedative. Keeping her biological makeup in mind, he guessed she would be waking up within a few minutes. He busied himself, getting a nutrient hypo ready and sending a request for food to be brought to sick bay. Finally, just as the food tray arrived, a soft mumble issued from the girl's lips as she awoke and brought her hands above her head in a cat-like stretch. As McCoy busied about, she looked around herself, as though carefully searching for something… and then, her eyes trailed on a corner of the sick bay, as though what she was looking for lay somewhere in that direction. "Nasha…" the girl whispered almost inaudible, tearing her eyes away from the corner just as McCoy came up to the side of her bed.
"What did you say?" McCoy asked as he set the tray of food down next to the bed and looked her over curiously.
The girl tilted her head and replied mysteriously, "I did not say a word Master. I know I am not to speak unless directed to do so by my Master…"
McCoy frowned and wagged a finger at the silly female, "I am no one's "master". No one on this ship is anyone's "master". We follow the directions of our Captain, but we are all free to express ourselves as we see fit. As long, of course, as it is within social bounds…"
Simply smiling, the girl shrugged and replied unobtrusively, "That sounds very much like having a Master. It is what they told us when we were little… that we were free… we just had a couple "rules" to follow. We were, of course, anything but free…" She flinched slightly, as though expecting to be hit for her loose remarks. But when the sting did not come, she opened her eyes again and looked up at McCoy expectantly, waiting for her new instructions. This was often a way her previous masters scouted out their new slaves. They would send someone, seemingly nice; to look after them and assure them that life there would be pleasant. The alien girl had been through it before, so she would not fall into the trap of saying anything too openly insulting about her new master, or masters, around the "sweet scout".
McCoy shook his head and sighed, hoping this girl wouldn't give him a headache. He quickly checked over all the food on the tray, and then placed it gently on her lap, "Eat this, all of it. When you are done, I need you to answer a few questions for me…"
She nodded meekly and began to eat, pretending to be completely enthralled by the food, since she apparently hadn't eaten in a year. However, her mind was on hyper drive. Of course she would give off the impression that she was a good slave, just long enough for the Master to think that she was perfect. Once he was comfortable with her, she would start trying to escape again. She had almost managed it too, in her last household, but they caught her a couple hours after her break for freedom. They sold and shipped her away. All these ridiculous stories about her pod floating around, lost in space, for a year were completely unbelievable and probably just this household's way of scoping her out. Well, let them see what they want to see! I'll out smart them this time.., and this time… I WON'T get caught! She nodded resolutely to herself, just as she finished eating and looked up at McCoy expectantly, wondering what he wanted her to do next.
"Ok then, now… First things first. Aside from your healing injuries and a horrible case of malnutrition, you are in pretty good health. I know that seems to contradict itself, but for someone who should have died out in space, you are coming along nicely…" McCoy removed the empty food tray from the girl's lap, and then continued, "But what completely confuses me is that you shouldn't be alive, yet here you are, chipper as can be. That being said, our scanners can not determine what species you are… if you would be so kind as to info rm–" He was cut off as the girl suddenly burst out, with relief and excitement in her voice, "Wait… you don't know what I am?!" She immediately clapped her hands over her mouth and looked up at McCoy with wide eyes. This definitely was not part of her ruse.
The alien girl was so used to everyone seemingly knowing more about her than she did. Her entire species was considered a "slave species" because well, they did make excellent slaves. She shook with excitement as a new thought dawned on her, Maybe… maybe I DID get lost in space! That means… no… I can't get ahead of myself! This could still be a trick…
McCoy watched the emotions flash across her face, from surprise to excitement to suspicion. Then, after a moment, her face went completely blanked and her coughed slightly, continuing, "Well, as I was saying… We have no idea what species you are, and all onboard personnel are required to have a full background check…" He noted the sadness that flashed across the girl's eyes, as well as the fear. She replied, haltingly, "I… I am not particularly sure what I am myself. I was hoping you would know… All we were told when we were little was that we were special and that we could listen to directions really well…"
McCoy lifted an eyebrow, obviously not believe a word she said, but seeing as he couldn't prove otherwise, he decided to leave it be. "Okay, we'll move on then… do you know how you got lost in space?"
"Well, that I DO remember," she replied, honestly this time, "I was caught running away from my last Master, and they took me to trial. I was beaten and then resold, and they told me they were placing me in a bad family because I had a bad track record of running away and I didn't deserve to have a good family… so I was stuffed into pod and put to sleep and… that's about all I remember…"
The questioning went on for a while until McCoy ran out of things to ask. After asking all sorts of things, such as how she had lived without oxygen for so long and what planet she came from, he gave up. Sighing and rubbing his temples, McCoy realized that even though she had answered each of his questions fully, he had gotten absolutely no useful information out of her at all after the first two questions. "Ok then, that is enough for today…"
The girl smirked mentally, feeling triumphant. She had fended off all his prying, and he hadn't even hit her! Looking around again, the alien girl realized that she hadn't bathed herself yet. Frowning and looking down at herself, she realized that someone must have sponged her down while she was out. However, she still wanted to get clean and she looked at McCoy pleadingly.
Seeing the look in her eyes, McCoy coughed and said awkwardly, "You… don't have to look at me like that to get permission to speak girly! Feel free to say whatever is on your mind… lord knows it, everyone else on this ship takes that liberty very seriously." She giggled slightly, a small tinkling of a laugh, and asked sweetly, "Well Master–," she was cut off by McCoy who replied roughly, "It is Doctor McCoy to you. I am not a 'master'!"
The girl giggled again and replied, "Ok, Doctor McCoy, I was wondering if I could… you know… take a shower? I feel somewhat sterile, I guess, which means either you or someone else has cleaned me up already… but… I would really rather prefer… if I could, you know, thoroughly wash myself… I feel rather dirty…"
McCoy wasn't sure why, but he blushed at the mention that he might have cleaned the beautiful female up while she was out of it. Sure, he tended to her wounds, and he had seen most of her body, but he tries to leave his patients with at least a little bit of integrity and therefore had left Nurse Chapel tend to the girl. But, getting control of himself, McCoy nodded, "Fine… You can use the sickbay shower, but only if you take it easy and don't rub your skin too hard. Your wounds are sealed on the outside, but that doesn't mean tall the tissue inside is healed yet…"
The girl nodded earnestly in return, "Oh yes Doctor. I will be ever so careful…" She gently slipped her legs to the side of the biobed and began to slide to the floor. McCoy barely had time to call out a warning and slip over to her side and catch her before her almost naked form collapsed to the ground. She then gasped out in a whine of utter dispair, "M…my legs! They feel… so… weak!"
McCoy sighed and helped her balance on the side of the bed, getting her to stand on her feet. "I was going to have someone carry you and put you into the invalid's tub since I knew you would be weak… don't try to go running off like that again! You are going to undo all my hard work!"
"Yes Doctor…" she replied meekly and leaned back against the biobed, waiting as McCoy called up Nurse Chapel. She turned to the doctor and asked curious, "You aren't going to help me Doctor?" McCoy stopped in mid-transmission and replied patiently, "I was calling the nurse because I thought you would be more comfortable with a female…" With the way he said it, the girl knew immediately that he knew of, at least, the existence of her previous sexual battery.
She blushed and replied rather coldly, "Male or female… they are both the same to me Doctor. Neither has wronged me any worse than the other… I'm sure you understand what you mean…"
McCoy nodded, trying to hide his discomfort. He had just assumed that the girls assailant had been male, though he was obviously wrong in assuming that there was just one previous assailant. He suppressed a shudder and replied, "Either way… Nurse Chapel is much better at all of this than I am… I am sure you will be fine in her capable hands."
Simply nodding in concession, yet again, the alien girl waited while the nurse came and promptly assisted her towards the sickbay showers. Just as she was about to go through the door, McCoy thought of one last question, "Wait…!"
The nurse and girl stopped short, and the alien girl turned around slowly, retaining her balance, "Yes Doctor…?"
"What is your name…?"
She smiled and replied, "You would not be able to pronounce my people's way of saying it. But I would believe that the English equivalent is Evangeline…" And with that, she turned back around, slowly, and with the help of nurse Chapel, walked the rest of the way into the showers, as the door whooshed shut behind them on a very thoughtful Doctor McCoy.