Jenna woke up on day fourteen with fuzziness in her mouth and Chris's words "I dare you to do better" in her head. Confused, she blinked up at Bones in bewilderment. Wasn't she supposed to be dead? She remembered being told Pike was dead, rage taking over her and chasing Khan, Marcus threatening them, Carol screaming, and running into the warp core.

"Don't be so melodramatic, you were barely dead," Bones rumbled beside her. He was all in white and looked very sharp, if very tired.

She was confused and it plainly showed on her face, because Bones went on to explain he'd made a serum from Khan's blood that had revived her, though she'd been in a coma for two weeks.

"They caught Khan?" She croaked hopefully.

"Sure did," Bones nodded toward the doorway where Spock was standing. Her face lit up at the sight of her first officer and a long discussion ensued, during which Jenna peppered him with questions about Khan's capture and Starfleet's current chaos.

"Did I miss all the...funerals?" She asked Spock at last, vaguely bringing up the aching reminder of Pike without actually mentioning his name.

Spock looked at Bones questioningly and Bones shook his head.

"Haven't told her yet. Go ahead."

"Told me what?" She frowned at her friends, wondering what the heck was going on.

"Jenna," Spock began evenly, (how nice that he was using her first name finally!), "Admiral Marcus deliberately gave us false information about Admiral Pike's condition. He was wounded, but not fatally."

If Jenna could have looked paler than she already was, she would have.

"You're kidding," she breathed, looking to Bones for confirmation.

"Vulcans do not kid," Spock said.

"He's right, Jen," Bones said with a smile. "Chris is alive and as ornery as ever. He came by to see you a lot when you were still out. We figure Marcus lied to make you easy to manipulate, the bastard. You okay?"

Jamie had closed her eyes and let tears leak out onto her cheeks as she processed the news that HE was still here. Marcus lying about it didn't surprise her one bit, but she didn't have the energy to get truly angry again.

"Yeah. Just...really happy. Thank you for telling me." She couldn't fully explain the depth of her feelings about Chris, and didn't know if she ever could, but the overwhelming relief began to mend the jagged wound in her soul.

Her eyes popped back open.

"He's still here, then?" She queried.

"Yes, and constantly pestering me and Phil about you. If you behave and get some rest, I'll let him in to see you in a few hours. Sound good?"

"Sounds great, Bones," she sighed. "You're the best."

"Bout time I got a little appreciation," he grumbled under his breath. It wasn't long before Jen was out again-this time in a peaceful, natural sleep.

Chris was deeply engrossed in the first reports from Headquarters detailing the section 31 investigation when Phil came sauntering into his room, looking decidedly pleased.

"Good news, Chris! Your favorite captain is awake! Well, she's technically sleeping now, but she was alert and talking for a solid hour."

He dropped his PADD and stared at Phil.

"Why didn't you say something?"

"She thought you were dead, Chris. Spock and McCoy wanted to break it to her carefully. She's really weak and tires pretty quickly."

Chris nodded, then frowned as he realized what Phil had said.

"Why did she think I was dead? Spock dragged me out of that firefight. He would have told her I had a pulse."

"He didn't know if you would stay that way. Marcus took that uncertainty and used it to his own advantage, telling them both you succumbed."

Chris cursed Alex's name again. He'd hurt Jenna in so many ways, it was unthinkable. Chris was almost angrier about that than the personal betrayal. His relationship with Marcus had grown decidedly cooler over the years as they'd found themselves in disagreement more and more on Starfleet's policies and goals, but he'd tried to respect the guy and hadn't yet seriously followed through on his hunch there was something off with the Head of Starfleet. He'd be regretting that for a very long time.

"I know what you're thinking and don't go there," Phil reprimanded him. "If you'd showed your hand early, he would have silenced you one way or the other."

"And all this rubble and loss of life is somehow preferable?" He snapped back.

"And just how could you have stopped Khan from doing what he did when no one had any clue that Marcus was blackmailing genetically enhanced humans with bad tempers?"

Phil's logic was sound as possible, but Chris was not very consoled. Before he could continue his arguments of self-blame, a woman's voice interrupted.

"So, the rumors of your demise were greatly exaggerated?"

"Commander Kirk!" He exclaimed. "Long time no see!"

"Likewise, Admiral." Winona Kirk strode into the room, looking calm and composed as ever, but he could see she was exhausted. "I'm pleased to hear the reports were untrue, Chris." She shook his hand in greeting and he returned it warmly.

"Thank you. I am, too, to be perfectly honest. Here to see Jenna?"

"Tried, but she's asleep. I decided to come bother you in the meantime. How goes it, Surgeon General? You look like you've been through the wars."

"It's been stressful," Phil admitted. "Starting to calm down somewhat, now that it's been two weeks. Glad you could make it. Number One pulled out all the stops, so to speak?"

"Oh, you bet she did," Winona confirmed. "She sends her regards, and so does Caitlin," she winked at Phil, and Chris grinned, knowing the interesting history between his former Engineer and CMO. How are you getting along, Chris?"

"Oh, not too bad. Jarred my back when I went down, and that's been more trouble than the actual phaser wound. Should be getting out of here soon."

"Good. Sounds like they really need you back at HQ with all the mess Marcus left," Winona sighed and her face showed the strain of the last few weeks. "We've already lost too many good officers to this."

"Sadly, yes," Chris agreed. "It's going to take years to recover. I can fill you in on some of the missing pieces while you're waiting, if you'd like."

"That would be great, Chris," She replied. "I'm trying to avoid thinking about the fact my daughter was dead. Please distract me. Last I heard, she broke the Prime Directive and got demoted."

That incident seemed like a whole other lifetime ago to Chris, but he started in on the tale willingly, not mincing words. When he finished, Winona was quiet for a minute then nodded to herself, a wry smile appearing.

"She counted the cost and decided saving a planet and Spock was worth breaking the Prime Directive," She said softly. "The lying on the report, though, didn't help her case."

"Yeah. That was what upset me," Chris admitted. "From What Spock reported, she had good reasons for breaking the no contact rule, but claiming the mission was uneventful just compounded the problem. It's such a huge position to be in that young and they were just waiting for her to screw up. I was probably too harsh with her."

"Chris, Jen's a genius, but still learning. Don't overthink it."

"But I told her she was going to get herself and everyone under her killed," he reminded her, cringing at how the words sounded now.

"Hindsight's twenty-twenty," Winona replied, "we all say things we regret, or wish we'd worded differently. Your point was valid: Actions have consequences, sometimes even good actions. Jenna's going to live to Captain another day, and I'm very thankful for that."

"So am I," Chris agreed fervently.