A/N: This chapter previously appeared as The Naco On The Edge of Forever. It has been modified to fit on your screen and has been incorporated into this story which concludes in an all-new Chapter 31.

If you saw it on KP, it belongs to Disney; on Star Trek, it's Paramount's.

Thanks to campy for beta and proof-reading.

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I.

Christine Chapel looked at the draped body stretched out on the biobed. Gently, she pulled back the sheet covering Lieutenant Stoppable. Even though the dead woman was battered and bruised, it was clear she had been attractive. It occurred to the Enterprise's head nurse that she had never actually met the fallen officer; she assumed she must have transferred aboard just before the fateful mission.

Chapel wondered about the lieutenant – what she was like, what she did for fun, who she loved. She sighed as she glanced at the wedding band on the woman's ring finger, then set aside her ruminations. She knew she needed to make preparations for the autopsy. She was about to remove the deceased's tattered uniform when she heard a heartbeat-like beep. Startled, she looked up at the biobed monitor.

"Doctor McCoy, come here," she called out, urgency filling her voice.

The Enterprise's chief medical officer hurried into the ward from his office. He looked at Chapel, then the monitor. He watched in amazement as the diagnostic arrows, all of which had been at rest on the bottom of the screen, began rising upwards.

"That's not possible," he muttered before he took hold of Kim's wrist and checked her pulse. "I'll be darned," he said in wonder as he scanned her with his medical tricorder.

"Where am I?" Kim groaned as her eyes fluttered open. She immediately grimaced as a wave of pain coursed through her body.

"Ten cc's of hadrozine now, and get the clamshell!" McCoy demanded. Chapel retrieved the sedative-filled hypospray and handed it to the doctor, who pressed it against the young officer's neck; she rolled the large piece of medical equipment into place, covering Kim from the collarbone down.

Kim's agony-wracked features immediately relaxed as the drug took effect.

"That should ease the pain, Lieutenant. As to your question, you're in Sickbay," the ship's surgeon explained as he activated the stasis field, which immobilized Kim from the neck down.

"Doctor … McCoy?" she asked as she tried to focus on the middle-aged man before her.

"At your service," he said in his courtly manner. The doctor allowed himself the pleasure of seeing the young woman, whom he'd declared dead only a short while earlier, living and breathing. Though still dumbfounded that he was even having this conversation, he'd worry about the inexplicable resurrection later and focus on healing his patient for now.

"So what's the sitch?" Kim asked.

"Sitch?" the doctor asked.

"Sorry," Kim said. "Situation."

"Well," McCoy answered. "Your right ulna and radius were broken, as were your right femur and tibia. So was your clavicle. Your left arm was dislocated. I've put you on a sedative to reduce the pain and immobilized your body until I can begin your treatment …"

Kim couldn't help but look stunned as she considered the catalog of injuries McCoy had just recited. Even assuming 23rd century medical technology was similar to that of her own day, and she had her doubts given the size of the device that had been rolled into place to generate the stasis field, she could be laid up for days.

"Don't worry," he said reassuringly, sensing her concern. "We'll have you back on your feet and like new, Lieutenant."

Lieutenant. Memories flooded back. Kim recalled being taken from Enterprise – her Enterprise – by Q and being dropped onto the Enterprise of more than a century earlier. Almost immediately after, Captain Kirk took her on an away mission that had quickly gone terribly wrong. She thought of the ion storm, the failure of their equipment, Q's taunts, the way she was cut off by the fierce creature that appeared silently and swiftly. Then she remembered the attack. She was sure she was going to die. "Okay, Doctor, spill."

"Spill?" he asked.

"Tell me what's going on. Now," she demanded. "I'm sure you're an amazing doctor, but I know what was going on down there. I should be … dead."

McCoy shook his head. His patient definitely had an air of command and was clearly perceptive.

"The truth, Lieutenant, is that you were dead. In fact, you should still be dead."

"Q," Kim muttered.

"Excuse me?" McCoy asked.

"I said, 'phew'," Kim dissembled.

McCoy looked at Kim skeptically for a moment, then said, "I'm going to need to run some tests on you before I begin your treatment."

"All right," Kim said, before she gritted her teeth as she was overcome by an unexpected wave of pain.

McCoy frowned. "Lieutenant, I'm going to need to increase the dosage on the hadrozine; you'll be unconscious for a while."

"No big, Doctor," she rasped. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

McCoy smiled at his patient, then pressed the hypospray against her neck. The drugs immediately took effect, sending Kim into a deep slumber.

II.

"You wanted to see me, Bones?"

"Close the door, Jim."

Kirk did as requested.

"What can you tell me about Lieutenant Stoppable?" McCoy asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Not much," the captain admitted as he perched on the edge of his friend's desk. "I only met her just before we went down to the planet. I brought her along since I thought it would be a good opportunity to get to know a new crewmember." Kirk's curiosity was piqued by the look on his friend's expressive faced. "What is it, Bones?"

"Jim, I've seen a lot of strange things over the years. I've even seen people come back from the dead. Heck, I've come back from the dead," McCoy said, recalling the incident on the amusement park planet in the Omicron Delta sector. "However, all that said, Ms. Stoppable's recovery was nothing short of miraculous."

"Go on, Bones," Kirk encouraged, knowing his ship's surgeon had something important to share with him.

"In addition to a number of contusions, lacerations, and a very large number of broken bones, Lieutenant Stoppable suffered severe trauma to the head, extensive damage to a number of major internal organs and spinal cord. There is now no evidence of those injuries …"

McCoy could see that he had Kirk's full attention.

"Given this unusual state of affairs, I thought I should run a full diagnostic on her before proceeding with any course of treatment," McCoy said. "To do that, I needed a base-line. So, I called up her medical records."

"And?" Kirk asked.

"She doesn't have any," McCoy said flatly.

"Are you sure?" Kirk asked.

"Positive," McCoy replied. "She not only has no medical records; there's no service record. In fact, there is no record of her in the ship's computer. I thought it might be a paperwork error; things like that have been known to happen with new transfers. But Starfleet Medical doesn't have anything on her, either. Neither does Starfleet Command."

Kirk turned and looked through the clear plexisteel divider at Kim, who was now sleeping, thanks to a sedative McCoy had administered.

"If she's not a Starfleet officer, who is she?" Kirk asked.

"I don't know, Jim," McCoy answered. "But I can tell you she's human."

"Are you sure? Is it possible she's an alien masquerading as a human?"

"I don't think so. I did have a chance to check her DNA; it's as human as yours or mine," McCoy said. "That said, I still can't tell you why the injuries she sustained that healed were those for which treatment is beyond our technology, where she's from or why she's here, though, based on what she did down on the planet, I don't think she means us any harm."

Kirk nodded his agreement. The young woman was in Sickbay because she'd tried to protect the rest of the landing party when the alien creature first appeared. Still, despite his admiration of her courage, the captain knew he needed to be on his guard. The ship's safety was his primary responsibility after all, and acts of mercy, while warranted, could have dire consequences if he wasn't careful. He was still haunted by his experience with Khan, whom he'd rescued from the depths of space only to be betrayed and almost killed.

"Anything else I should know?"

"Yes," McCoy answered. "The bones in her feet and ankles appear to have suffered major trauma in the past."

"And?"

"Whoever repaired them used materials neither I nor the computer recognize."

"Keep an eye on her, Bones," the captain said as he returned his gaze to the mysterious auburn-haired woman. "And let me know when she wakes up. I want to get to the bottom of this."

III.

The moment Ron appeared in the unfamiliar corridor his trousers fell down.

"Aw, man!" he whined before he realized there were people in odd uniforms gawking at him. He quickly pulled up his pants and grinned sheepishly at the stunned crewmen. "Uh, hey, guys!"

One of the men withdrew what looked like an old-time phaser from a holster and pointed it at Ron. "Hands up!" the burly man, who was named Rodriguez, barked.

Ron looked at the weapon-wielding man in the red shirt, then at the others, some of whom were wearing blue, others gold. Slowly he began to raise his hands. As he did so, he said, "Hey, is that coolant leaking from that pipe up there?"

"Nice try. Now, hands up," Rodriguez said.

"Peace out, dude," Ron said as he began to comply with the order. "And stop waving that thing in my face."

Much to Rodriguez's surprise, Ron crooked his arms when they were parallel with his shoulders and began making extremely odd noises. Then Ron lifted a leg, pivoted, and kicked the phaser from his hand.

The unanticipated move gave Ron just enough time to turn and run. And while many years had passed, he was still grateful he'd tried out for the football team his senior year of high school – all those drills he had to do once he'd been made running back were now paying off as he made his escape.

The security officer, both outraged and embarrassed that the intruder had evaded detention, swore as he took off after his quarry.

IV.

"Security to bridge."

"Kirk here."

"Sir, we have an intruder on board."

"Where?" Kirk asked, alert to the potential danger to his ship and crew.

"He was last seen on Deck Seven."

"I'm on my way," the captain said. "Mr. Spock, you're with me. Mr. Sulu, you have the conn."

V.

Kim slowly awoke from her drug-induced slumber. She still felt groggy but was relieved the pain seemed to be gone or at least under control. She looked around the ward and for the first time in many, many years felt terribly alone. Just about everyone she loved or served with didn't exist; with the exceptions of her Nana and Tuvok, none of them had even been born yet. She found the idea of a universe without Ron or their twins heartbreakingly bleak.

"Okay, enough self-pity, Stoppable," she said to herself. "You're a Starfleet captain. Check your motto: You can do anything. And that includes finding a way back home."

She knew she could do that. But before she could find her way back to Ron, the twins, and the Enterprise-E, she had to figure out how to handle her current sitch. Unless Q had provided her with a 23rd century identity, she was sure it would be only a matter of time before someone inquired into her records and found nothing. Kim knew that it wouldn't be long before Kirk started asking questions.

Kim pursed her lips, as she considered what answers she would offer. As she pondered that matter, she realized that she was going to need to enlist the Starfleet legend's assistance. Suspecting Q was not going to offer her any assistance, returning to her own time would require a Starship for a slingshot or passage to a Guardian. The boys in the Department of Temporal Investigations would be tweaked, but Kim knew she'd have to tell Kirk who she really was; it was her only hope of getting home.

VI.

Tuvok took Kim's customary seat in the Observation Lounge. Arrayed around the conference table to either side of the Vulcan were Enterprise-E's senior officers: Yori Tanaka, the head of security, Miles O'Brien, the chief engineer, Nog, the helmsman, Beverly Picard, the chief medical officer, and Rufus, go-to naked mole rat and de facto guardian of the Stoppables' two children.

"Commander Tanaka, would you please give us your report?" the XO requested.

"It would be my honor," she said with a slight dip of the head. "At 1305 hours, Captain Stoppable left the bridge and went to her ready room. At 1311 she initiated contact with Mr. Stoppable. At approximately 1312, based on Mr. Stoppable's reports of their conversation, the Captain disappeared. In light of subsequent developments, we believe this to be the result of actions taken by Q, who appeared on board Enterprise at approximately 1314. At 1321, he caused Mr. Stoppable to disappear before he himself departed.

"As of this time, I cannot ascribe a motive to Q beyond his self-professed desire to have alleviate his boredom."

Yori's tone and expression were ones of unmitigated contempt, though they soon were replaced by ones of concern.

"We do not know where Kim-sama or Stoppable-san are; Q claimed that the captain was dead, but based on what he said and did, I believe that is no longer the case."

"Thank you, Commander," the Vulcan said.

"Tuvok?" Beverly said.

"Yes, Doctor?"

"Jean-Luc observed that in our dealings with Q, there was usually a method to his madness. While he could be malicious –"

The conference room filled with a white light. Tuvok found himself displaced from the chair at the head of the table, which was now occupied by Q, who was wearing his captain's uniform.

"You really shouldn't refer to your husband as malicious, Doctor," Q said impishly.

"Speak of the devil," she replied with arched eyebrow.

"Malicious. Devil. The hostility today is palpable," he said snidely. "I'd have thought that since you and Picard finally hooked up you'd be a bit less uptight."

"Q, what is the purpose of your visit?" Tuvok asked.

"I thought I'd ask Yori out to dinner, if you must know. She has the most lovely eyes."

The security chief pulled a face.

"Oh, come now," Q said to Yori. "An evening with me would be unlike anything you have ever experienced."

"It would be my honor to not have that experience," she said coldly.

"Spoil sport," Q groused.

"You remain highly annoying," Rufus observed.

"And you remain highly bald," Q shot back. "Now that we've dispensed with the sparkling repartee, shall we return to the reason we're all here? I believe the dancing doctor was on to something," the omnipotent being said before he rested his chin on his clasped hands. "Go on, Beverly. I'm all ears!"

The doctor replied, all the while glaring at the omnipotent visitor. "As I was saying, Q can be malicious. Destructive. Cruel, even …"

Q did his best to look hurt.

"… But whenever he's intruded into our affairs, he's had another motive in addition to his own amusement, one that, as hard as it can be to believe, often involved helping humanity …"

"Bravo, Beverly!" Q said as he clapped. "A brilliant, if overly simplistic, analysis!"

"… Though sometimes that assistance seemed like an afterthought."

"It was never an afterthought," Q said huffily. "I'll have you know that I take very good care of my pets."

"Is that what we are to you, Q?" a disgusted O'Brien asked. "Pets?"

"Well, no, not really," Q said. "More like younger siblings who are extraordinarily dull, unbelievably dim-witted, incredibly slow, unspeakably feeble-minded and yet inexplicably loveable."

"Gee, thanks," O'Brien said acidly.

"You're welcome," he replied. "Well, this has been a blast, but I really should be going." With a flash, Q disappeared.

A moment later, his image appeared on the conference room monitor. "You know, I'm feeling magnanimous today, so here's a clue: if you want to find Kimmie and Rondo, look everywhere. Oh, and O'Brien, if you don't want this tub to explode like a supernova, you'll check the sixth secondary plasma converter in the port nacelle. Ta ta!"

VII.

Ron hurriedly clambered up into the Jefferies tube, opened a hatch, and hoisted himself into the shaft. The partition secured behind him, he began crawling. He didn't know where he was, where he was going, or what he was going to do. He knew he needed time to think. But he also knew he had to keep moving. He suspected the phaser-toting guy he'd seen in the corridor had called in his peeps and that they were now looking for him. Ron felt like he was a high school freshman again, desperately avoiding the abusive bullies of D Hall.

Feeling he'd put some distance between himself and his pursuers, Ron stopped to catch his breath. As he rested, he recalled what had gone down with Q in the galley.

'She's dead,' Q had said.

Ron still couldn't believe that Kim was actually dead. Q was whacked but he'd never killed anyone, at least that Ron knew of.

It wasn't much, but it was something.

Desperately clinging to that lifeline, he hoped that whatever Q was up to involved his bringing Kim back to the world of the living. Ron just didn't want to contemplate the alternative.

VIII.

"Attention all decks, this is the captain speaking," the Enterprise's CO announced. "There is an intruder at large on the ship. He appears to be human, is approximately one point eight meters tall, has blond hair, one brown eye, three large scars on his right cheek, and wears an eye patch. As his intentions are unknown, he is presumed to be dangerous. Kirk out."

The captain turned from the intercom and looked grimly at the man who had seen and failed to apprehend the intruder. Then he looked at the other security officers. "Split into parties of two and comb every inch of the ship. Report back to me on your progress every thirty minutes."

"Aye sir," the chief security officer, an Andorian named Goluk, said crisply.

As the security personnel began to disperse, Kirk placed a hand on the shoulder of the man who'd allowed the intruder to escape. "Find him, Rodriguez," the captain said encouragingly. "I know you can do it." As frustrated as he was with the man, Kirk knew his people performed best when properly motivated. Time and again he'd seen how a show of confidence from their captain could elicit tremendous results.

"You can count on me, sir," Rodriguez replied, determined not to disappoint his commanding officer.

"Good," he replied.

The wall intercom chirped. "McCoy to Captain Kirk."

"Kirk here."

"Captain, I have a patient here who'd like to talk to you. Now."

"Mr. Spock," Kirk said, "I think it's time for us to pay a visit to Sickbay."

IX.

Kim looked up as Kirk, Spock, and McCoy entered the ward.

"The doctor tells me you wanted to speak to me," Kirk said.

"Your intruder is my husband," Kim said; the realization that Ron was on board had set her spirits soaring. "I'd like to ask him to surrender."

"The intruder is your husband?" Kirk echoed while Kim tried not to smirk at the look of disappointment on the Starfleet legend's face. "And how did he get on board my ship? And while we're at it, how did you get on board my ship?"

Kim had already concluded that she was going to have to take Kirk into her confidence if she, and now Ron, were to return to the 24th century.

"Trelane," she answered simply.

"Well, that would explain her recovery," McCoy noted.

"Fascinating," Spock said.

"You know Trelane?" a surprised Kirk asked; the existence of the erstwhile Squire of Gothos and his kind was supposed to be highly classified information.

"No," Kim said truthfully. "But we do know others who we believe are of his kind. Ron and I have had dealings with one of them on more than one occasion."

"And this being sent you here?" Kirk asked.

"Mmm hmm," Kim said. "It was his idea of an April Fool's joke," she added sourly.

"Captain, that does comport with Trelane's past actions," the Vulcan said. "It is possible that capricious and self-indulgent behavior at the expense of others intended to provide amusement is characteristic of other members of his species."

"Thank you, Mr. Spock," Kirk said with slight exasperation before he turned to Kim. "Ms. Stoppable, I don't mean to be rude, but just who are you?" the captain asked. "Starfleet has no record of you."

"Actually," Kim said gingerly, "Starfleet in this time has no record of me."

"That, if true, along with your knowledge of Trelane, would indicate you have traveled from the future," Spock observed.

"That's right," Kim admitted. "My name is Kim Stoppable and I do serve in Starfleet …"

"So you're telling me you really are a lieutenant," Kirk said.

"Captain, actually," she said as she stared Kirk in the eye. "I'm sure you'll understand if I don't say anything more about that; I'd rather not contaminate the time stream any more than is necessary."

"Please don't take this the wrong way, Ms. Stoppable," Kirk said, not quite ready to concede to Kim her rank in Starfleet or status as a time traveler. "But how do I know you aren't lying?" Kirk asked. "You might be spies; that would explain how you know about Trelane. You could be working for the Orion Syndicate."

"We are so not working with the Syndicate," Kim said icily, making all three men wonder what kind of history might exist between the patient and the pirates.

"Captain, Ms. Stoppable's explanation, while seemingly improbable, is not implausible," Spock observed. "I believe that for the time being we should proceed under the assumption that she is being truthful."

"Thank you, Ambassador," Kim said gratefully.

"Ambassador?" McCoy snorted.

"My bad," Kim said as she reddened.

"Ambassador," Kirk said impishly. "I think it suits you, Mr. Spock."

McCoy rolled his eyes.

"The doctor appears to disagree with you, Captain," the Vulcan said.

"Oh no, Spock. I'm sure you'd be a fine diplomat," McCoy said in a tone that made clear he believed just the opposite.

"Do I detect sarcasm on your part, Doctor?" Spock remarked.

"Gentlemen," Kirk said in a bemused tone, "Perhaps we should leave Mr. Spock's diplomatic career for another day." He then turned to Kim. "Ms. Stoppable, while I would like to accept your offer of assistance …"

Kim looked at Spock and McCoy. "May I speak to Captain Kirk. Alone?"

The two officers looked at Kirk, who nodded, then retreated from the ward.

"I'm sure Doctor McCoy's already told you about my feet and legs," Kim said. "Those composites don't exist in your time."

"Assuming you have traveled in time," Kirk responded, "how do I know you're really a Starfleet officer?"

"Would you like to talk about General Order 7 and the Talosians?" she asked.

The expression on Kirk's face told Kim she had his attention.

"Or would you prefer we talk about the Omega Directive?"

"That information is restricted to admirals and captains," Kirk said.

"In your time and mine," Kim agreed. "Omega molecules are so dangerous that they can disrupt the fabric of subspace. I'd so like to know what that scientist was thinking when he created them."

"You're not the only one," Kirk said. "Unfortunately, nobody will ever know --"

"Since he blew himself up," Kim interjected.

Kirk looked at his visitor and considered everything she had said.

"Captain, I can understand why you're skeptical," Kim said sympathetically. "Time travel is so the drama. But you've done this and you know there's only so much I can tell you. Go with your gut. Is there any reason I'd be lying about this?"

Kirk pondered that. "No," he finally said. "There isn't."

"Then let me help you bring Ron in and get us out of here and back to where we belong."

Kirk looked at his visitor for a moment and smiled. "Okay, Captain, what do you have in mind?"

X.

"Ron …"

"Ow!" he cried out as he hit his head on a pipe; he'd not expected to hear Kim's voice. He was confused, relieved, and excited.

"… It's me, Kim, I'm on board and okay," she explained over the ship's PA system. "I don't know where you're hiding, but come out and find your way to Sickbay, please and thank you."

Ron's eyes opened wide at the mention of Sickbay. Worried about his wife's well being, he hurried to the nearest Jefferies tube exit and made his way to a corridor. A number of stunned crewmembers gaped at him. "Hey, uh, I need some directions …"

XI.

Ron was escorted into Sickbay by none other than Ensign Rodriguez.

"Where's Kim?" Ron asked Christine Chapel with urgency. The nurse, who smiled, pointed him towards the ward. He walked in and saw his wife with three strangers.

"KP!" he exulted.

"Hey, Ron," she replied warmly.

"Q is going down," he growled before his voice softened. "Are you okay? He told me …"

"I'm going to be okay," Kim said. "Dr. McCoy and Nurse Chapel are taking ferociously good care of me."

"Your wife is a model patient," McCoy said approvingly.

"Mr. Stoppable," Kirk said. "Welcome aboard the Enterprise. I'm Captain Kirk and this is my first officer, Mr. Spock."

"The Enterprise …" Ron said. He was about to say something along the lines of 'what are the odds?' when he saw Kim discreetly shake her head 'no'. Ron wasn't the Federation's brightest citizen, but he'd learned over the years to pay attention to his wife. "Coolio."

"Captain, when can we begin working on getting Ron and me back to our time?" Kim asked.

"As soon as I say you're ready to leave Sickbay," McCoy said sternly. "I don't know about doctors of the future, but I'm not letting you go until you are ready to go."

Kim, despite herself, grinned. She knew Beverly would say the same thing in this situation.

"You win, Doctor," Kim conceded, knowing that sometimes resistance really was futile.

"He always does," Kirk said. "Mr. Spock, would you please see that Mr. Stoppable is given appropriate guest quarters?"

"Of course, Captain," Spock replied.

"Captain Stoppable, I think you'll understand if I excuse myself now," Kirk said.

"Of course," Kim replied. "A starship doesn't run itself."

Kirk nodded and left Sickbay.

"Mr. Stoppable, if you'll come with me," Spock said.

Kim and Ron locked eyes.

"You sure about this, KP? Maybe I should stay here …"

"Doctor?" Kim asked.

McCoy looked at Kim, then Ron.

"You can stay for fifteen minutes," the doctor said with a smile, "but then I want you out of here. While Captain Stoppable's—"

"It's Kim, Doctor," she interjected.

"And I'm Ron," Ron added.

"Then I insist you call me Leonard or Bones," the CMO said with a warm grin. "Now, as I was saying, while Kim's recovery may have been miraculous, it wasn't complete and she needs to rest during the osteoregeneration process."

"I'm all about Kim recovering," Ron said enthusiastically.

Kim smiled at her husband, relieved to be both alive and reunited with the man she loved.

Ron leaned in, gave her a kiss on the lips, and gently brushed her cheek. "You know you're still beautilicious," he said softly, not caring that she was still bruised.

"And you're still full of it," she replied fondly.

"Hey, I resemble those remarks!" Ron said with mock indignation.

"You are so weird," Kim observed.

"I've heard that before!" Ron replied chipperly.

McCoy had withdrawn from the ward to give Kim and Ron some privacy and joined the Vulcan, who had already retreated to the CMO's office.

"There's nothing like two people in love, Spock," the doctor observed.

"Indeed, Doctor, you are correct," Spock agreed.

McCoy seemed shocked. "Did I just hear you right? Don't tell me you're finally turning into a romantic!"

Spock cocked an eyebrow as he returned McCoy's gaze. "Hardly, Doctor. Logically, two people in love would be a unique state of emotional being. Therefore, nothing else could be like it."

McCoy was about to respond when the intercom chirped.

"This is the captain. All senior officers report to the main briefing room. Kirk out."

To Be Concluded …