And at last we come to the end! Once again, large thanks to all of you who read, larger still thanks to all of you who reviewed! On Friday will come a preview of Installment #3, Down to the Wire, as promised. Be looking for my one shots, and see you all again in 2017!

Also, as a note...I've officially been on for six months. I checked my profile today. It's been an interesting time, I will say :) Hope you all appreciate the classical music reference in here.

Oh, wait! Small details about Down to the Wire. It has come to my attention that while I listed this as a Bones/OC fan fiction, it turned more into a Chekov/OC. So, for those of you who came into it deceived and hoping for more of a focus on Cam and Bones, I'm deeply sorry for that. However, I will be doing an equal amount of focus on both of them in Down to the Wire.

All of this being said, enjoy the epilogue! You people are all amazing!

~browneyedgirl29

Epilogue

Two Months Later

"So, you're saying you're not rooting for me?" Camille asked, incredulous.

"What? Just because I'm not sitting with Bones and Jim, does not mean that I will not be pulling for you just as hard as Pavel and Sulu, okay?" Karina explained, for the fiftieth time that day.

"Sure. Whatever you say, Kari. Make sure to tell Yoko I said hello, okay?" Camille said, turning on her heels.

Karina stared after her. "Yoko?" she asked herself. Who the heck was Yoko?

She made her way up to the bleachers that had been temporarily set up around the track and took a seat beside Juliet. She hadn't really known the older girl that well up until now, but since Juliet was pulling for Sulu and Pavel was basically running with him, Karina figured she'd hang with her that day.

"Hey, I was wondering when you'd get here," Juliet said, scooting over. Already the seats were pretty crowded. Karina glanced around and found Jim and Bones. Jim looked over at her and waved, but Bones' stare was fixed straight ahead, a scowl on his face. Wish I knew what was going through his head right now.

"She's going to kill herself somehow. I just know it," Bones was muttering to Jim at that very moment.

Snorting, Jim slapped him on the back. "Bones, lighten up. She's running. What could possibly happen?"

"You do understand this is Camille we're talking about here?" Bones growled, the scowl deepened. "She could injure herself walking down the hallway, Jim. I knew this was a bad idea."

"Then why didn't you tell her?" Jim queried, already knowing the answer and grinning.

"She never listens, does she?"

Jim laughed. "No. That she does not. Meanwhile, just sit back, enjoy it, and try not to send her bad vibes, okay? From what Karina says, it sounds like there's some pretty fast runners here."

A few hundred yards away, Juliet pointed. "Found them."

Karina held her hand up to her eyes to shield them from the sun. Still, she could only barely make out the forms of Sulu and Pavel down at the track. One of them waved at her. She assumed it was Pavel, since Sulu didn't really know her that well.

"What do you think the odds are either of them wins this thing?" Juliet asked.

Karina shrugged. "I suppose it really isn't about winning…"

Juliet shot her a look, saying she didn't believe Karina meant that for a moment.

"…but it would still be pretty cool if either of them did," Karina conceded, her telltale grin saying that she wasn't exactly impervious to the outcome of this marathon. Her competitive side was coming out, and she was pulling for Pavel to win this thing by a landslide. Or at least a few feet.

"I'm thinking it comes down to the pair of them, the other one pulls ahead and wins by a nose," Juliet said. "Literally, a nose. Like, they'll have to look at the video of it later and pause it, and it'll be which one of their noses is farther along in the frame."

"Which we all know which one of them that will be," Karina muttered.

Juliet stopped mid-sentence, and turned to look at her. "Wait a minute. Are you saying Hikaru isn't that fast?"

"No… I'm just saying Pavel's faster," she said, smiling proudly.

Juliet took that in for a minute. "And how do you know that, if I may ask?"

"Because I've watched them train for this, Juliet. Pavel beats Sulu by a landslide every single time."

Karina eyed Juliet, who was taking this very personally for someone who kept insisting she and Sulu were "just friends." Karina grinned, then caught herself. She hated it when Jim and Camille did that to her, so she wouldn't do it to Juliet. And, last she heard, Sulu was happily married. Therefore, there was absolutely no reason for it. Karina sighed. Well, maybe she'd find someone else to tease about this sort of thing one day, just to see what made Camille enjoy it so much.

"Maybe he's got something up his sleeve none of us have seen coming," Juliet muttered, her set face clearly sending you'd-better-prove-me-right thoughts Sulu's way.

"I'm sure he does," Karina conceded, her mouth twisted in a half-smile. This could get interesting. And looking over at Juliet, seeing her face mirroring the expression, she knew that the older girl would be pulling just as hard for Pavel to win if Sulu fell behind.

Down on the track, Camille lined up next to Sulu and Chekov at the starter's call. She looked over at them. It had taken some serious convincing on Sulu's part – and Karina's for that matter – but Chekov had finally agreed to participate. That was good, she thought. Now that he didn't have the cloud of the past hanging over him, actually letting people know he existed was a good idea. Jim and Bones still had a hard time remembering the kid's name, and, from what Karina said, so did Captain Pike.

She muttered to Sulu, "Hope you're ready to be left in the dust."

Staring straight ahead, he said out of the corner of his mouth, "We'll see about that, Osbourne. Tell me how you like last place."

Camille was about to shoot another teasing remark at Chekov, but saw that he was completely focused on the task ahead of him. He'd barely heard anything they'd said. Camille felt a tiny bit of trepidation. Just a tad bit. Karina had said the kid was pretty fast, but there was bound to be at least one faster person here. And often, it wasn't so much speed as it was stamina that came in handy. Camille hoped he was a good loser, if it came down to that.

Just before the horn sounded, Karina turned to Juliet. "Hey, Juliet…do you know who Yoko is?"

Juliet frowned. "In which context?"

"Well, Cam and I were talking about the fact that I was sitting with you instead of Jim and Bones. She accused me of not supporting her at all – totally kidding, of course. I told her that because Pavel and Sulu are running together, I was going to sit with you. She said to be sure to tell Yoko hi for her. What the heck does that mean?"

Her voice trailed off when Juliet let out a peal of laughter. She was practically rolling in the bleachers, holding her sides and trying to get a sentence out. Finally, she said, "I think Camille may be a bit jealous of our friend Mr. Chekov down there."

Karina's eyes widened. "Wait, why?"

"Yoko Ono. You've heard of the Beatles?"

"Yes… Aren't they classical musicians?"

"Yeah, you should look them up if you're into classical music – and I mean ancient classical. They're brilliant. Anyway, Yoko was John Lennon, the lead singer's wife. She pretty much broke the band up from what I hear. Hence the phrase, 'Yoko in the band.'"

Karina frowned. "She meant…"

"You're John Lennon. Chekov's Yoko. And Camille, McCoy, and Jim are Paul, George and Ringo. Oh, my word. I'm watching a live replay of the Beatles!"

Karina was about to sputter something about how that even applied in this situation, when the horn blasted, loud and clear, and everyone was off.

The two girls were on their feet instantly, screaming at the top of their lungs. Karina wasn't even sure what she was shouting, she just knew it was something along the lines of words of encouragement. Juliet, meanwhile, was reminding her slightly of a crazy soccer mom. "Come on, Hikaru! Crush them! Pulverize them!"

"This isn't a gladiator match, Juliet," Karina said.

"Doesn't matter. It's just fun to yell. Try it."

Karina was all for fun, so she thought about it for a second, then stood up on the bench and yelled at decibels that would have burst an elephant's ear drums, "Run them into the ground, Pavel!"

Juliet started making a noise that sounded a bit like a dying donkey – Karina could only assume it was laughter, capitulated by a dry throat - then hopped up on the bench with her. "Great idea, this one. Come on, keep going!"

So, while the girls stood there encouraging violence in a peaceful, humanitarian organization, Bones was avidly watching Camille. She was holding her own, which was impressive. Speed was clearly her strong suit, though he had no doubt as to her stamina, either. He looked over at Jim, who was on his feet, clapping along calmly, shouting, "You got this, Cam! I believe in you!"

Sensing Bones watching him, he grinned. "Ah, who am I kidding? YOU CALL THAT RUNNING, OSBOURNE? PICK UP YOUR FEET!"

Camille, who was passing by at that moment, evidently heard him, because she sent him a not-so-ladylike hand gesture. That one got Bones laughing.

Jim leaned over and muttered, "You know, if she sees me shouting here, she may start getting ideas. I'd probably better sit down. We wouldn't want that, would we?"

Bones, in a mirror move of Juliet and Karina earlier, shot to his feet, cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Come on, Camille! LET'S GO!"

It was down to the final lap, and the three front runners were Camille, Sulu, and one of the captains. This was one of the few events that pitted officers against cadets. Karina, feeling slightly dejected, but not quite giving up, grabbed Juliet's arm and started shaking her. Fortunately, Juliet grabbed her right back and returned the favor, and both girls continued their banshee-reminiscent screams.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the captain grabbed his leg and fell to the side. One of the doctors standing by ran out to him and held a hand up to signal to the crowd that he was okay. Jim grabbed Bones' shoulder and said, "See? The injury quota for the day has been filled! Cam's golden!"

"Oh, shut up!" Bones said, eyes still fixed on the red-clad figure making her way toward the finish line.

Karina, who'd about given up on Pavel getting anywhere close to winning this thing, had her eyes glued to Sulu and Camille, currently neck and neck, when Juliet tugged on her arm. "Karina, you may want to look at this!"

Someone was putting on a sudden burst of speed and leaving the general crowd behind him, gaining on Camille and Sulu fast. Karina drew in a sharp intake of breath when she recognized Pavel from the distance. Forgetting any ounce of dignity she had left, she started jumping up and down and screaming some more, watching the other two react.

Camille and Sulu had been consistent, stamina taking over, but Pavel was way too fast for either of them. Sulu shook his head and grinned, accepting defeat, but Camille, ever the competitor, attempted to put on another burst of speed. Sure of herself, however, she hadn't seen him coming up behind her, and her efforts were fruitless. There was already too much distance between the pair of them for a recovery. Pavel cleared the finish line effortlessly.

Karina sat there in stunned silence for a minute, then attempted to let out another holler of triumph. Her throat gave out on her. Juliet heard, laughed, and then filled the air with enough screams for the pair of them.

Jim, who'd heard Karina's squeak even from the distance, turned back to Bones and laughed. "And she claims they're just friends, huh?"

Bones, meanwhile, was panting. "No injuries," he said. "None whatsoever. I would never have dared to hope for such a thing."

Karina and Juliet, in the front row, vaulted the rail in front of the raised bleachers. Figuring she needed to smooth over the whole "Yoko in the band" thing, they went to Camille first. Camille was wide-eyed, looking as though she still found it rather hard to believe.

"How did – what – HOW DID HE - ?"

Karina shook her head and gave Camille a quick hug. "You did pretty well for yourself, don't believe any different."

Camille shrugged. "Oh, well. Not like I ran to win, anyway." She caught a glimpse of Jim and Bones, and said, "Okay, I guess I can share you today."

Before she left, Juliet called after her, "Cam?"

Camille whirled, and Juliet said, "Yoko? Really?"

Camille shrugged again. "It seemed fitting."

Bones and Jim, who'd flooded the track along with the rest of the cadets, approached Camille. "Second, not bad," Jim said, grinning.

Camille accepted the high five he offered then turned to Bones. "So, I hope I didn't give you too much of a heart attack, right?"

"Well, after the captain went down, I was pretty sure the odds were fairly good of you surviving this time. Although, you haven't exactly been one to keep to the odds, Cam." He eyed her, hoping that he hadn't offended her by referring to the events of a year ago.

Far from it, she put her arms around each of their waists said, "Come on. Let's head over to where they present the winners' circle. I may not get to be taller than everybody, but at least I'll be standing above Sulu."

"Debatable," Jim muttered, receiving a smack to the back of the head.

Sulu hadn't stopped running until he reached Chekov, and then leaped on his friend, almost knocking him off balance. Pulling away, he said, "I knew it! I knew that was how it would turn out! Should never have doubted!"

Juliet got there first, pulling Sulu far enough away that he would be safe from what she knew was coming. Karina, like the freight train she tended to be, also leaped at Chekov, and this time, for the first time in their long history of running into each other, they went down.

Chekov, the wind knocked out of him, lay on the ground for a while, only vaguely realizing Karina wasn't getting off of him. However, this only lasted for a few seconds, as she quickly shrieked, "Gross!" and squirmed away from him.

Sitting up and staring at her, he had no clue whether to be offended or not. Realizing what she'd said, she quickly amended, "You're super sweaty right now. I'll hug you later."

Sulu and Juliet were both doubled over in laughter, and Karina shook her head. Chekov rose to his feet and held his hand out to her, helping her up. "We should probably head over to the winners' circle," she said. "I personally want to savor this."

"If I didn't know any better," Sulu muttered to Juliet as they walked a few paces behind the two kids, "I'd say she was more excited about this than he is."

Juliet, grinning, said, "One hundred credits on two years."

"You're on."

Karina, meanwhile, turned to Pavel. "So…" she said. "How's it feel, officially being the youngest person to ever win this thing?" He whirled and stared at her. "Looked it up. The youngest person before you was twenty-two. Your name'll go on a plaque and everything."

Grinning, he looked up at the sky. And for the first time in his life, he was able to say, "It feels great."