Raxsah: So… what happened to every Sunday?
Jeck: Um, college happened? It was pretty much all my fault too… XP
Raxsah: Not all your fault… just mostly your fault. Still, shit happens… I'm hungry.
Jeck: I'm not. I just ate a bagel with cream cheese. And now I'm drinking Juicy Juice. FRUIT PUNCH! Not as awesome as Falcon Punch, but still pretty awesome.
Raxsah: Well pin a rose on your nose! My mom refuses to go shopping until all the roast beef is gone, and since I do not eat roast beef… I'm screwed.
Jeck: I'm pretty sure this can be solved. Where is your brother when there is all this defenseless roast beef is begging to be eaten?
Raxsah: He's working on it he says. Hahahahahaaaa. Ah… so, we are back dear readers… later than scheduled, but back nevertheless.
Jeck: And that's what counts, right?
Raxsah: Right. So… what's in this chapter. Hmm… Right, stuff that needs to be in here, but is pretty much just a build up to the next part. But it is important. We promise you.
Jeck: And you'll love it, we promise you. We're good like that. Well actually, she's good like that and I'm just good looking. :D
Raxsah: You know it babe! Well, I suppose it is ridiculous to delay this any longer. On with the story!

Chapter 20; Savior

"Did you hear about the away mission?" Liam asked. Claire nodded and continued to look over her patients blood work.

"Yes I did. A small away team is going to land on a new planet and study it. Apparently, it's almost earth like. Why?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Just wondering… I heard you got selected to go," he said. She chuckled and shook her head.

"So what if I did? Jealous?" she asked. He made a face and stuck his tongue out at her.

"Insanely. Not only do you have a date with a potentially hot man tomorrow night. In a couple days, you get to go and be part of this huge mission, with Commander Spock and like… seven other people," he said.

"You just want to share a tent with Spock again," she said, sitting on a medical bed and marking a few things down on a chart.

"Still, you always get the lucky breaks," he muttered. She rolled her eyes and glanced over, watching as Jim talked to McCoy in McCoy's office.

"I'm not sure I always get them," she muttered. Before Liam could reply, she stood up and walked to the medical station.

"Doctor, Mrs. Fisher made an appointment tomorrow before you head to the station," Nurse Chapel said. She nodded and signed her name on a clipboard.

"Sounds good. I hope she get's to a station before she delivers, I'm not sure I could handle that," Claire admitted. Nurse Chapel nodded.

"I'm sure you would do fine." Claire went to respond, but stopped when she heard McCoy's office doors open, and a familiar pair of blue eyes met hers.

"For the last time, Jim. She's going on the away mission!" McCoy snapped. Jim broke his gaze away from hers and nodded.

"Fine." With that, he quickly darted out of sickbay. Claire didn't move as she made sense of McCoy and Jim's words. Jim didn't want her on the away mission. McCoy turned to look at Claire.

"Back to work, Conaway. You've got plenty of work to do before you leave on the away mission," he told her. Claire nodded and walked away from McCoy's office, her mind going a mile a minute. Why didn't Jim want her to go on the away mission? From what she heard, he wasn't even going to be there. It was just her, Spock, Anna, another man from security that she didn't know, one guy from the engineering department, and a man and woman from the newly developed research department. Claire just couldn't wrap her mind around it.

"Hello, earth to Claire. Mr. Monroe is here for a prostate exam and he's requesting you as his doctor," Liam told her. Claire scrunch her face up and sighed.

"Sometimes, I really hate this job…" She muttered.

"Join the club."

"You sure you're going to be alright?" Ryan asked. Anna nodded and threw another punch at the punching bag. Ryan stood across from her and held onto it, making sure it was stationary.

"I'll be fine… I've been on away missions before," she said, landing one last punch before taking a sigh and walking away from it. Ryan walked over and watched as she wiped the sweat off her face.

"I just… I don't want anything to happen to you," he said softly. She turned a light red and grabbed her water bottle.

"You worry too much." She took a long sip before she put it back in her bag and turned toward him.

"Well… I just care about you," he said. She smiled and placed a hand on his cheek.

"I care about you too, but I'm not flipping out every time you go do something dangerous," she said. He sighed and leaned forward, his forehead pressing against hers. His arms rested around her waist and he pulled her closer.

"I know… I'm sorry," he whispered. He leaned down and pressed his lips softly against hers, causing her to let out a small sigh. Her hands immediately reached up and tangled into his hair, as he deepened the kiss. After a moment, he pulled away and smiled.

"I think I can forgive you… as long as you don't go all ballistic on that guy Claire is going to meet tonight," she said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Did… did Claire put you up to this?" he asked. She chuckled and kissed him again. When she pulled away her brown eyes seemed to glow.

"No, but I know she was going to ask me anyway." Ryan went to speak, but she cut him off. "So… how would you like to have dinner with me tonight?" she asked. Ryan narrowed his eyes and gave her a playful smirk.

"Are you asking me because you actually want to go out with me, or so I don't go ballistic on the guy that Claire is going to meet tonight?" Anna returned his playful smile.

"A little bit of both, but mostly because I'd like to go out tonight with you," she explained. Ryan nodded and pulled her close.

"Good, because I want to go out with you too," he told her, leaning down to capture her lips once more. She tasted like mint, probably from her toothpaste. Unconsciously, Ryan smiled into the kiss. He loved the taste of mint. Anna pulled away.

"Why are you smiling, doofus?" She asked. Ryan just continued smiling at her.

"Oh nothing important."

Claire took a sip of her drink as she unconsciously glanced at her appearance. Her long blonde hair was let down and she straightened it just to be sure. Her hair covered her bare shoulders, and the black off the shoulders top hung loosely off her body. Her jeans covered most of her skin, except the skin that her heels let show.

"Another one, miss?" the bartender asked. She gave a nod and finished up the rest of her drink. She had originally come with Liam, but he left to dance with a few men, not that he would go any further than dancing though.

"Claire Conaway?" a voice asked. She glanced over and her grey eyes met a warm brown pair.

"Yeah?" she asked. The man in front of her stood at a pretty tall 6'3", and his chocolate colored skin seemed to contrast his grey dress shirt immediately. She glanced in his hand and saw he was holding a black suit jacket, showing he must have just got out of work.

"I'm Troy Brooks," he said, a large smile on his face. Claire immediately felt her mood lighten upon seeing him. She was worried he was going to be another stuck up jerk, but from his demeanor, she was wrong. She shook his hand and he sat down next to her.

"Wow, you're… not what I expected," she confessed. He smiled once more.

"Is it because I'm black?" he asked. Claire chuckled and turned red.

"No. It's because you're extremely good looking, and you seem very nice. I'm very glad to have met you, and not some asshole," she said. He chuckled and turned toward the drink in front of him.

"Well, this is actually the third time we've met," he told her. Her cheeks turn a bright red and she pressed her lips together.

"Really? Wow… now I feel like the asshole," she admitted. Troy shrugged and his warm eyes met hers.

"It was a long time ago. We first met at your thirteenth birthday party," he said. She furrowed her eyebrows and tried to think back, before a look of realization came to her.

"Oh! I remember! We played seven minutes in heaven and… we…" She trailed off and her eyes dropped from his when the memory popped up. He simply watched her, a amused smile came on his face.

"That was my first kiss, just for the record," he told her. She gave a small laugh and ran a hand through her hair.

"Yeah, mine too. It was… memorable," she admitted.

"Well, I was nervous, I didn't mean to hurt your lip," he muttered. She smiled and lightly touched her bottom lip. She remembered being locked in the closet with him, and after a minute, he suddenly kissed her. They spent the next six minutes enjoying their small innocent kiss, no tongue involved, before the doors suddenly opened. Both of them jumped in surprise, and he accidentally bit her lip. Though, she couldn't say that she hated the kiss.

"It's fine… I had a story to tell all my friends," she said, a smile on her face.

"I'm just glad your parents didn't ask any questions." She chuckled and took another sip of her drink.

"You, uh… you said this was the third time we met. What was the second time?" she asked. He smiled and turned toward her, she even thought she saw a glimpse of a blush.

"It was at my seventeenth birthday party," he said. She shook her head and laughed.

"I'm going to be honest, I don't remember half the birthday parties I went to after fifteen," she said. They both laughed and he moved a bit closer to her.

"It was my second birthday party, the one my friends threw. It was at a club called Deeds," he told her. She thought it over before a look of realization came to her face.

"Oh, yeah… I don't remember much from that party. I remember dancing on the bar, and making out with this really hot guy in the back before Ryan showed up and dragged me out of there before me and that guy went too far," she said. He smiled and nodded, his eyes looking down. After a moment, another blush came to her cheeks.

"That guy… was you," she said. He nodded.

"First heavy make-out session, by the way," he told her. She pressed her lips together and ran a hand through her hair.

"Can't say the same… but it was one of the best." He seemed to smile with pride, and they sat in silence for a moment.

"So… what do you do in Starfleet?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm a doctor. A surgeon actually," she told him.

"Wow… never thought you'd be a doctor," he confessed.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure everyone thought I was going to get knocked up or get married," she said.

"Yeah, except for the fact that you never slept with anyone, just made-out," he pointed out.

"Well, yeah, except for that."

"Actually, everyone was shocked when you up and joined Starfleet," he said. She gave a small nod and looked down at the bar table.

"Yeah, I was surprised myself."

"You seem to be doing well for yourself, regardless," he said.

"Thanks, what is it you do now?" she asked.

"I help my dad sell his products. The basic high level software that he refuses to sell to Starfleet, but feels free to sell to the stations," Troy explained.

"Sounds… boring," she admitted.

"Well, we all can't be Starfleet surgeons." Claire chuckled.

"I guess not."

Their laughter rang out through the restaurant, causing a few people to turn and look. Ryan didn't even bother to care, he was too lost in Anna's eyes. Anna took a sip of her wine and gave a light chuckle.

"Sounds like your childhood was insane," she commented.

"Insane is an understatement. Living with so much freedom and so much money, kids do crazy things," he said. Anna rolled her eyes.

"I'm surprised though. Normally kids who had the things you and Claire did would turn out like spoiled rich kids," she said and Ryan shrugged.

"If I were an only child, I might have been like that. Same for Claire. But we were there for each other and we realized that money couldn't buy the happiness that we had when we were together. We really didn't have parents, but we had each other. Money didn't really mean much, it just made it easier for us to do that stupid things that we wanted to do together," Ryan explained. Anna nodded at his words.

"I suppose. I never needed money to do stupid things with my brothers. The seven of us managed to get by without it." Ryan scratched the back of his head nervously as Anna took another sip of her drink.

"So what was it like having six brothers? I mean, Claire drives me crazy enough and she's only one girl. I can't imagine having six sisters," he said with a chuckle, trying to picture six sisters who were exactly like Claire. Anna giggled at the thought.

"It wasn't that bad, actually. My mom wasn't really in the picture, so it was just my dad and the seven of us. Everyone looked out for one another, but especially me since I was the only girl. Dating sucked," she told him, a look of nostalgia on her face. Ryan felt his heart beat a little faster as he noticed the small smile on her face, the way her cheeks rose along with her smile. He noticed the way her eyes lit up at the memories she shared with her family. Ryan couldn't help the feeling of awe sitting before the girl of his dreams.

Colleen was different, she had sex appeal and she listened. But once they were together, she stopped listening and started demanding things of him. But Anna challenged him while still caring and listening. And of course, she also had the sex appeal.

"Why'd it suck?" He asked in an airy tone, as if he wasn't all there. His mind was focused on the girl before him, but he found it hard to concentrate on her words. Anna seemed too thoughts in her own thoughts to notice.

"Well, my dad didn't really want me dating until I was thirty, you know? He didn't want his little girl corrupted by some random guy. And my brothers shared a similar view, so they chased off any guy who tried to date me. I love them all dearly, but joining Starfleet gave me a really chance to start dating," she explained. Ryan chuckled, finding it so easy to imagine Anna's father.

"At least your family really cares about you. I know how your brothers felt though, about you dating," he admitted. Anna nodded as she leaned back in her seat.

"I've noticed. Ever since I met you, you were ready to kill any man who looked at her funny. You've mellowed a bit though, which is good. But like any good brother, you're still all about protecting her," Anna said with a smile.

"I think it's a born instinct." Anna smiled at him.

"Must be," she muttered. After a minute Ryan leaned closer to her and smiled lightly.

"So… what would your brothers think about me?" he asked. She chuckled and shrugged.

"Not so sure… they'd be pretty hard on you, but I think you could handle them. You dish it out, I hope you could take it," she said. He laughed.

"I hope I could. Then again, it's six against one, not too fair," he reminded her. She smiled widely, and leaned forward.

"I think you could take it," she said softly. He smirked and pressed his lips onto hers, causing her to smile into the kiss. He pulled away and kept close.

"Hmm, I guess we'll have to wait and see," he whispered.

"Gosh, so much happens when you join Starfleet," Troy muttered. Claire nodded and took a sip of her fourth drink. She wouldn't have said she was drunk, but she was getting quite tipsy.

"Yeah, gosh… the past year alone as been a rollercoaster," she muttered.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked. She looked at him and noticed for the first time that night, he looked serious.

"Sure…" He sighed and let his fingers trace the wood in the bar.

"Why did you agree to meet me?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I could ask you the same question," she replied. After a minute he gave a sigh.

"I was engaged… lovely woman. She seemed to brighten up the room just by being in it. She could make me laugh when I was a my saddest, and she could make me feel like I was capable of doing anything when she was around. I was head over heels in love with her." Claire felt a pang in her heart as she related every single emotion to her and Jim.

"What happened?" she asked. He frowned and continued to look down.

"She passed away in a car accident. I was devastated. My parents began to worry I would never marry again, so contacted your parents. They at first said you were with someone, and wouldn't agree to the meeting even if they did ask. Then, I got a message that I was to meet you at this bar. I figured it couldn't hurt. If it would get them off my back, I would do it. But what I can't figure out, is what your story is," he confessed.

"Well… I just got out of a relationship…" she said.

"A bad one?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Not until the end." He raised an eyebrow.

"What happened?" she sighed and glanced over at the bar, frowning when she saw the exact man she was thinking of, watching her carefully.

"I was in love. We were happy, and we just seemed to fit together. Then… after certain circumstances, things just fell apart," she whispered. He frowned.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he replied.

"Don't be. I guess I agreed to this because… I figured after so many bad relationships, I must be doing something wrong, so maybe my parents could do better." Troy snorted into his drink.

"No offense, but a pretty girl like you could land whoever you wanted. I don't really think that your parents need any involvement in it," he told her. Claire smiled at his words.

"Oh really? So then why am I here with you now?" She asked with a curious smile. Troy shrugged.

"I saw a pretty lady in the bar who just happened to be the same girl my parents wanted to hook me up with. You could have easily have been some random girl in the bar," he said, trying to be smooth. Claire scrunched her nose at his words.

"So I'm just a random girl in the bar?"

"So how about we head back to the ship?" Ryan asked as they paid for dinner. Anna nodded.

"Sounds like a plan to me," she replied. They rose from their table and exited the restaurant only to come face to face with Captain Kirk.

"Ryan, did you know your sister is in the bar with some random black guy?" He asked, with an angry look on his face. Anna froze as she realized the trouble that this could cause. However, Ryan seemed unaffected.

"Oh, so Troy is black? That's cool. I'm sure she's having a good time," he said nonchalantly. Both Anna and Jim gave him a shocked look.

"How can you say that? Your sister could be dating a criminal?" Anna raised an eyebrow.

"Are you racist, captain?" She asked, her accent becoming a bit more apparent as she tried to hide her anger from his words. Jim shook his head.

"No, I just don't think that this Troy is a good guy. He seems kind of shady," he told them. Ryan and Anna exchanged looks.

"Because he's black?" Ryan asked. Jim stomped his foot as his frustration continued to grow.

"No. Why do you keep insinuating that I'm racist?" He snapped.

"Because you're racially profiling him," Anna countered, tightening her grip around Ryan's arm. They just wanted to enjoy their night out and here was Jim, trying to get Ryan to start something with Claire's date.

"I just don't think he's the kind of guy you want Claire dating," Jim finally said after sighing. Ryan shrugged.

"I honestly don't like the idea of her dating any guy, but it's a free country and she can date who she likes. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm on my own date." Jim sighed and turned around and walked away, leaving Ryan and Anna lone in the hallway. Anna gave a sigh and followed Ryan back to her room.

"Gosh, he's… crazy," Anna muttered. Ryan sighed and placed his hands on her waist.

"Let's not mention this to Claire…" he told her. She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Okay, how about we stop talking, and you kiss me goodnight?" she asked softly. He chuckled and leaned down to capture her lips with his. His tongue slipped into her mouth and she gave a sigh of bliss. He pressed her up against the wall. His body seemed to crush against hers, and she felt all of his muscles tense against her. His hands traveled up her sides, slipping under her shirt and enjoying the shivers erupting all over her body. After a moment he pulled away and kissed her neck, causing her to moan.

"R-Ryan… I need, it's late," she breathed. He groaned in disappointment and pulled away. He kissed her quickly before pulling away.

"I guess I should get going," he said softly. He turned around to leave, but gently reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Wait!" Anna's desperate voice seemed to startle herself just as much as Ryan. Ryan flinched slightly at the sound of her voice, but nodded. He wasn't scared, but the intensity caused him to jump.

"Yeah?" Ryan turned back around and his lustful grey eyes connected with Anna's.

"You can come in… but don't expect anything sexual beyond making out," she warned him, but seemed to be asking him in at the same time. Ryan gave her a simple smile as he reached up and cupped her cheek, his palm soft against her sensitive skin.

"I… I don't think I'm ready for that yet anyway. You look beat, why don't you get some rest?" Anna reached up and tugged on Ryan's collar.

"No pressure. I just think I'd sleep better wrapped in your arms," she told him. Her heart felt like it she was running a marathon as she nervously stuck her heart on her sleeve. She'd never been so open with any guy before, nor had she ever tried so hard. Ryan was a broken man after Colleen died, but Anna helped him through that and rebuild his life. It was her job to clean all of Colleen's old things out of Ryan's room. It was her job to help him come to his senses. So naturally, it was her job to be honest with him. Ryan leaned down until his forehead rested against hers.

"How am I supposed to say no to that?" He whispered to her with a smile spread wide across his face.

"That would be the point, doofus," she replied as she closed the gap between them, missing the warmth of his skilled lips against her own. Ryan ran a careful hand through her long dark brown hair as she wrapped her arms around his neck once more. When oxygen became an issue, Ryan pulled away.

"Not that I'm not enjoying this, because I am, but perhaps we should head to bed. Because I'm really enjoying this," he told her, gesturing below his waist. Anna giggled as she leaned into his chest.

"Good idea. I mean, how professional would it be for me to sleep with my boss after our first date."

"Not very professional, but understandable," he said. She rolled her eyes and took a hold of his hand.

"Whatever, doofus, how about I let you take a cold shower and we head to bed?" she said. He nodded and kissed her forehead.

"Sounds like a plan."

"This is me," Claire said. Troy gave a nod and looked down at her. After their drinking, he had convinced her to take a walk with him, ending at the door of her room. Claire crossed her arms and caught a whiff of his cologne. It seemed to be completely made up of spices, and seemed to give a kick right to the nose. It was quite appealing, but wasn't what she was looking for.

"Thank you for letting me buy you a drink," he said. She gave a small nod and took a deep breath.

"Yeah… thanks for the night out," she replied. He gave a small cough and pressed his lips together.

"So… plans for the night?" he asked. She knew exactly what he was insinuating. They had already talked about how sexually frustrating it was to be single for so long, and she knew he had it bad. Though she thought he was nice, she was not about to welcome him to her bed.

"Uh… same thing as every night," she said softly. He nodded.

"You still get those nightmares you were telling me about?" he inquired. She shifted her weight at his statement. She was pretty tipsy, so she divulged more information than she probably would have liked.

"Uh… yeah. I mean, it's no where near as bad, but it still keeps me up," she confessed. He nodded and moved a bit closer toward her.

"He really messed you up, didn't he?" Troy asked, his deep voice becoming softer. Claire looked down and let her eyes trace over the carpet. His hand cupped her chin and guided her head up so he could meet her gaze. His brown eyes were surprisingly warm, but they did nothing to make her feel better. They were not his eyes.

Troy leaned forward, and pressed his lips against hers. She froze immediately, and absentmindedly kissed back. His lips were soft, but that was it. Her heart didn't flutter, her limbs didn't turn to jello, and she didn't lose her breath. Her hands gently pushed him away and she looked down, closing her eyes and trying to make the man in front of her go away.

"I… I can't," she whispered. Troy was frozen as he looked down at her. He could practically see the wheels in her head turning. He took a step back and sighed.

"You still love him, don't you?" he asked. She frowned and continued to stare down at the floor.

"And you don't still love your fiancée?" she asked. He froze as he looked her over. She looked up and he could still see the pain in her grey eyes.

"I still love her, but she's gone. She's not coming back. I can't just stop life because she's gone," he said. She sighed.

"See… it feels like my life has stopped now that he's gone." A silence came upon them as she closed her eyes and let her words sink in. Troy gave a small cough and Claire opened her eyes, slipping off the jacket and handed it to him.

"Maybe our parents were wrong," he said, slipping the jacket on.

"Wouldn't be the first time…" she muttered. He nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Can I give you a piece of advice?" he asked. She paused but shrugged.

"Sure, I guess…" he held her gaze for a long time before he spoke.

"This guy that you're in love with, I know you two split… but try your hardest to get him back. If he makes you feel the way you do, then there is obviously something there that is worth fighting for," he said. She was silent for a long moment before giving a nod.

"Thanks, I'll see you around?" she asked. He gave a nod and kissed her cheek.

"Bye, Claire…" he turned around and began to make his way off the ship. Claire sighed and leaned against the frame of the door.

"Bye, Troy…" His form disappeared and she gave a heavy sigh. Her meeting with Troy Brooks was not what she expected. Nor did she expect his words to effect her so much. A small part of her wanted to be the one to go to Jim and ask him to come back to her, but the larger part of her, wanted him to come to her. The bigger part of her was winning, and she was suffering for it.

"Claire!" A voice called. Claire looked down the hall just in time to see Alex stop not too far in front of her.

"Alex, what's up?" he shrugged.

"I'm going out, want to come with?" he asked. She frowned.

"I was just out, I'm a little tipsy as it is," she said.

"Come on, you're twenty-three… you can't tell me you haven't partied till dawn," Alex said. Claire paused for a moment before shrugging.

"I guess you're right. What's the plan?" she asked.

"Party till we pass out," he answered immediately. Claire laughed and hooked arms with him.

"I like it, let's go."

The sound of her alarm echoed through her room, and Claire flinched out of her sleep. She quickly reached out and slammed the alarm, ignoring the sudden pain in the back of her shoulder. The annoying beeping noise stopped and she fell back into the comfortable sheets. She felt the bed shift and took a deep breath, hoping that she didn't end up sleeping with anyone. She opened her eyes and looked over, sighing when she realized it was only her dog. She closed her eyes and snuggled back into her pillow.

When she went back out with Alex, she spent much more time drinking hard liquor than she did when she first went out. The last time she remembered looking at the clock before she blacked out, it was almost three in the morning. After that, she couldn't remember a thing.

The sound of her door beeping alerted her and she gave a small groan, pushing herself up off the bed. She once again felt the pain in her back shoulder, but ignored it. The beeping sound of her door was much more annoying.

"God, just come in," she snapped, running a hand through her hair. Rocky sat up and gave a yawn before jumping off her bed. Claire took a glance around her room. She was surprised she hadn't thrown up at all during the night. The door opened and she wasn't surprised to se her brother walk into the room.

"Jesus… what did you and that guy do last night," he asked, walking closer. Claire caught a glance of herself in the mirror, and flinched at the sight. She was deathly pale, and her hair was a complete mess. She ran a hand over her face and looked up at her brother.

"I went out drinking with Alex after Troy… we decided to get piss drunk," she told him.

"Didn't you go out drinking with Troy?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah… but I didn't get drunk. Alex said he wanted to get stupid drunk. I just realized that I haven't gotten stupid drunk in a long time. I wanted to get stupid drunk," she explained. He sighed and shook his head.

"I'm going to clean you up a bit. Are your towels still in the same place?" Claire nodded and watched her brother walk back into the bathroom. She gave a heavy sigh and fell back on the bed.

"Ouch! Fuck!" Claire hissed, the pain in her shoulder flaring up. She rolled over on her stomach and gave a muffled cry.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked from the bathroom.

"The back of my shoulder hurts so much!" she cried. Ryan stepped out of the bathroom and stopped when he saw the problem.

"Jesus, Claire, when the hell did you get a tattoo?" he asked, sitting on the bed and examining it. The tattoo was a butterfly on it's side, it's wings overlapping. The color was a bright blue that faded to the black lining, and the closer it got to the actual body of the butterfly, it turned white. It would have been a wonderful piece of artwork, if it was not on his sisters shoulder.

"I have a tattoo?" she asked. Ryan nodded and grabbed her data pad, taking a picture and handing it to her.

"What were you thinking when you put this thing on your shoulder?" he hissed.

"I don't know… I was drunk. You think I can get McCoy to take it off?" she asked. Ryan examined it for a moment longer before he sighed.

"No… you were a complete dumb ass and got someone to do it the way they do Romulan war tattoos, which of course, never come off. If there is a way to take of the mark, only the Romulans know how to do it," he said. Claire sighed and looked at the tattoo. She wasn't sure what inspired her to get it, but upon seeing it, she could say exactly why she picked the color.

"It could be worse… I could have a penis on my shoulder," she said. Ryan sighed and helped his sister sit up.

"True… either way, we got to get you cleaned up for work." She nodded and begrudgingly made her way to the shower.

"Ugh, I hate Romulans, not only does their ale give a horrible hangover, but their stupid ink doesn't wash off," Claire snapped, closing the door and jumping in the shower. Ryan rolled his eyes and had a small flashback of seven years ago and frowned. The sudden fear that they were not moving backwards struck his heart, and he was suddenly very worried that history was beginning to repeat itself.

"God, I hope not," he whispered.

Anna raised her eyebrows at the sight of Claire Conaway, her head pressed against the table and her hands covering her ears. Anna would've laughed if she didn't get small warning nudges from Ryan. Ryan, was still smiling at his sisters stupidity, but didn't want anyone full out laughing at her.

"Did you want coffee?" Ryan asked.

"I want my instant hangover cure. Where the fuck is Liam?" she hissed into the table. Anna looked at Ryan, who just tried to chuckle quietly.

"Claire get's a little evil after a hangover," he explained to Anna. Anna nodded and looked back at the blonde woman.

"Hmm, with every awesome night of partying, there is a consequence," she said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Ugh… Where is Liam?" she asked.

"Right here, hold still," Liam snapped, sticking her with a hypo spray. Claire gave another groan and looked up.

"Now you show up," she mumbled. Liam rolled his eyes and sat down next to her.

"Oh, get over it. Why the hell are you getting piss drunk the day before going on a huge away mission?" Liam asked. Claire took a deep breath and tried to calm down her head-ache.

"Liam… she's had a rough night," Ryan said.

"Oh, I've heard. I heard our little Claire has a nice looking tattoo on her shoulder," Liam snapped. Anna's eyes went wide.

"Seriously? You have a legit tattoo?" she asked.

"I was seriously drunk. A lot of shit sounded like a good idea at the time. Getting a tattoo was the least dangerous," Claire said. Liam rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, as if you even remembered getting it," he muttered. Claire shot him a glare, but Ryan patted Claire on her non-tattooed shoulder.

"My sister, queen of the drunken mistakes," he announced. Liam shook his head and walked away from their table, but Anna giggled at his statement.

"I don't know about the queen. I've made my share of stupid mistakes too while drunk," she told Claire. Claire forced a smile back as she caught sight of her ex-boyfriend walking into the dining area. Jim's eyes searched the room and fell upon Claire's longing grey ones. As soon as she realized that he was staring back at her, her eyes went back to being angry and she turned back to the table.

"We're over here, Jim!" McCoy called from his table in the corner, Spock and Uhura already enjoying their breakfast. Jim gave one last glance at Claire before making his way over to his friends. Claire sighed.

"I think I'll just going to head to work early and see if I can do anything to take away the pain in my arm a bit. I'll see you two lovebirds later," she told them as she rose from her seat. Ryan tore his gaze away from Anna's bright beautiful smile and turned to his sister.

"Good idea. I'll swing by around lunch to say hey, sound good?" Claire nodded and left their table, heading towards sickbay. Ryan watched his sister retreat from the dining area and noticed someone else looking at her out of the corner of his eye. He looked over at Jim's table to see his guilty blue eyes following Claire's form.

"What are you looking at?" Anna asked, noting the faraway look in her boyfriend's eyes.

"Jim… he's been staring at Claire since he walked into the room. I know I'm supposed to let Claire deal with things herself, but I'm mildly concerned, you know?" Ryan explained. Anna nodded and pulled on his arm, forcing him closer to her. Ryan didn't need to be told twice and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Just let them work things out. If he starts following her around or something, then I'd be concerned," she instructed him. Ryan nodded and smiled.

"You're like my kite string, you keep me grounded," he told her causing Anna to blush.

"Keep talking, I think I might keep you around."

"Come on, Dr. McCoy. There's got to be something that we can do!" Claire asked. McCoy merely shook his head.

"There's nothing I can give you for the pain. Romulan ink is made to hurt, as a challenge for the Romulan who wears it. And there's no way to remove it, unless we cut a chunk of your arm off and re-grow it back. That'll take over a week and hurt ten times more than the tattoo does now," McCoy explained to her. Claire sighed in frustration and leaned against McCoy's desk.

"I'm an idiot…" she mumbled to herself. McCoy shrugged as he gestured to the door.

"I won't agree or deny your statement, but the idiot needs to get back to work," he instructed her. Claire raised at eyebrow at his words.

"Wait, didn't you just… never mind," she muttered as she left his office. She walked up to Alex, who frowned upon seeing her.

"I'm assuming that McCoy can't take it off," he said.

"No, and it's made to hurt too… god this sucks," she complained.

"Tell me about it, at least you can sit down." Claire nodded then froze. She glanced back at Alex and furrowed her eyebrows.

"What the hell did you do last night?" she asked. Alex turned pale and gave a small cough.

"I got a tattoo as well…" When he didn't elaborate, she took a step closer to him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's on my ass," he explained.

"I got that much, what did you get?" He sighed and ran a hand over face. Claire simply watched as he tried to swallow his pride and tell her.

"It's a pudding cup… with Liam's name underneath." Claire was silent for a good minute before she began to burst out laughing. "It's not funny."

"It's fucking hilarious!" she cried. Alex smacked her shoulder, causing her jump and grab her shoulder in pain.

"Jerk," he snapped.

"God Damn! That fucking hurts!" she said, tears almost coming to her eyes.

"You started it!"

"I did not!" she snapped. Before either of them could comply, Nurse Chapel walked over to them.

"Doctor Chambers, you have a patient, and Doctor Conaway, you are reminded that tomorrow morning you have a meeting with the away team to talk about the away mission," she said.

"Thank you, Nurse Chapel," Alex replied as he started towards the other room. Nurse Chapel watched as a wicked grin crossed Claire's face. She quickly jumped forward and gave Alex a not-so-gentle smack on his butt. Alex cried out in pain, causing everyone in sickbay to turn to face him.

"You okay there, pretty boy?" Spike asked from across the room, licking his lips as he watched Alex grip his butt in pain. Alex ignored the blonde's comment as he rounded on Claire.

"What the heck was that for?" He snapped, staring at Claire in disbelief who couldn't hold back her laughter. Alex glared as she doubled over, tears in her eyes as she couldn't stop her laughter.

"Chambers and Conaway, get to work. Nurse Chapel, I need your help with some paperwork," McCoy snapped from in his office. Nurse Chapel gave Claire and Alex a sly smile and left for McCoy's office. Alex sighed.

"How is it that he doesn't even have to be in the same room as us to know that we're not working?" He muttered under his breath, but loud enough for Claire to hear.

"He's magic," she replied. Alex rolled his eyes and began working. Claire on the other hand, was stuck with paperwork, and the nagging pain in her shoulder. She began working on a few files before the doors opened and Jim Kirk walked in, causing her to turn pale. He turned toward her and seemed to be fighting with himself. He would open his mouth to talk, but then closed it before saying anything. Claire simply looked back down at her charts, hoping that he would just leave. Instead, he walked up to her and cleared his throat.

"I don't think you should go on the away mission," he stated plainly. Claire looked up, and her grey eyes met his bright blue.

"I'm sorry?" she asked.

"I can't convince Bones to make you stay, but you can decline the mission." Claire just blinked and continued to let her eyes drink in his gorgeous face.

"I'm sorry, I'm not declining the mission," she said tersely.

"Claire… please don't go on this mission," he asked. There was a silence between them before Claire pressed her lips together.

"Why don't you want me to go?" she asked. Jim seemed to be a loss for words as he stared at her. His eyes selfishly raked over her beautiful face, noticing that it was a bit lackluster, but seemed a lot more alive than it had a few weeks ago.

"I just… don't think you are qualified to handle a mission like this," he said. Even in his head, his answer sounded lame. Claire felt like her chest was on fire and she couldn't tell if it was from the anger she felt that he dare say something like that to her, or because a part of her was screaming for joy that he actually seemed to care.

"Jim, I can handle anything thrown at me. Starfleet trained me to handle away missions. It's not like it's going to be dangerous or anything, we're just exploring a new planet," Claire hissed, trying to hold back her screaming rage. How dare he? Jim ran a hand through his hair as he repressed his own angry words.

"Well… I've seen you on away missions before. I'm just worried about your well being, that's all. I know you're not the best fighter ever and we don't know anything about the race of aliens down on that planet," he said, trying to hold back the snappy tone of his voice, but failing. Claire sighed.

"It's not your decision, it's mine and I plan on going on the away mission," she stated simply. Jim furrowed his eyebrows.

"Fine. You know what, go. Like I care," Jim finally snapped, not even waiting for a response as he stormed out of sickbay. She simply watched him leave before giving a frustrated huff. If he was going to be a jerk, fine, she could be bitch too.

Claire gave a frustrated sigh as she crossed her arms. She had just left from a major meeting, and was not looking forward to the away mission. Thankfully, Anna would be with her, so it wouldn't have been as bad. Sadly, Jim was being a pain in the ass, always shooting her looks from across the room. She was sure she liked it better when he wasn't talking to her.

"God, sounds like this away mission is going to be boring," Anna said. Claire nodded.

"Yeah… though, knowing our luck on away missions, we'll get attacked by a giant bunny or something," Claire said.

"Stupid bunnies, I always knew there was something up with them." Claire chuckled.

"I know, I mean, what's with all the carrots?" Claire asked. Anna was giggling insanely now, and turned to look at the blonde.

"Really, why do they need such great eye sight anyway?" By this point, both women were bursting out into a fit of giggles as the lift they were in continued to move. The doors opened and Ryan stepped in, raising an eyebrow at the both of them.

"Do I want to know?" he asked.

"No, but you should stay away from the bunnies, they're evil," Claire explained. Ryan rolled his eyes and moved forward to lightly kiss Anna on the lips. Anna blushed and looked down, not used to the public display. Usually when he kissed her, it wasn't in public.

"So, how was the meeting?" Ryan asked.

"Boring as hell. God, the more I hear about it, the less I want to go," Anna said.

"Maybe we can ditch and find a beach to tan on. I could use some color," Claire said. Anna scoffed and looked at her Carmel colored skin.

"Speak for yourself," she said. Claire chuckled, realizing her mistake.

"Well, are you against more tanning?" Anna shook her head, smiling wide.

"I never said that," she countered. Ryan wrapped his arms around his girlfriends waist and pressed his cheek against hers.

"We should probably get going," Claire said checking the time on her watch. She didn't want to ruin their moment, but the last thing they needed to do was to be late for the away mission and give Jim a reason to take her off the away mission.

"Alright, I'll see you two in a few days. Take care of my sister," he said, addressing Anna. Claire scoffed at his words.

"Like I need taking care of," Claire mumbled. Ryan chuckled.

"Okay, keep her out of trouble then. The last thing we need is for her to get another tattoo in the middle of the night." All three of them burst out laughing at Ryan's statement.

"You know, I wouldn't mind getting another tattoo. I'd like to remember getting it this time, though," she said. Ryan shrugged and turned to Anna.

"Take care, babe. I'll miss you," he said, leaning down to capture her lips. She sighed in contempt and pressed herself closer to him. Claire quickly walked out of the lift and left the two of them alone. Ryan just pulled away from her and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I'll miss you too," she confessed. He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Be safe."

"I'll try." Anna kissed his quickly before walking out of the lift and to the transporter room. Claire was in the process of putting a belt on her hip, in order to hold her phaser. Claire looked up and forced a smile on her face.

"You alright?" Anna asked. Claire nodded.

"Yeah, just tired. We better get going before the captain yells at us," Claire said. Anna nodded and grabbed he belt, following her into the transporter room.

"Nice of you ladies to join us," Jim said. Claire didn't glance at him as she stood next to someone on the transporter.

"I believe we are ready," Spock told them as he finished typing something on his data pad. He passed it off to Scotty before turning to Uhura to say goodbye. Jim sighed as he approached the transporter pad, making sure to stay a safe distance away.

"Claire, this is your last chance to get out of going on the mission," he warned her, but the concern in his voice was apparent. If it had been one of the first ten times that he'd said it to her, Claire probably still would have felt her heart flutter. But it wasn't one of the first ten times he'd suggested she stay on the ship, not even one of the first twenty times anymore. He cared, obviously, but he was treating her like her brother used to. She was a big girl and she was fully aware of what she was getting herself into. And their mission wasn't even that dangerous, they were just doing a routine exploration of the planet. It had a very low risk rate, considering they were going to be on a planet of a peaceful culture.

"See you in a few days, captain," Claire snapped, trying to get him to leave her alone. Half-heartedly, Jim backed away and crossed the room to stand next to Scotty by the control panel.

"Alright, well if everyone is ready…" Scotty began. Jim watched with a somber look on his face as everyone stood ready on the transporter pads, waiting for Scotty's next words.

"I believe we are, Mr. Montgomery," Spock commanded, standing up straight and waiting for the next command. Claire sighed and looked down at her feet, tired of the longing look that Jim gave her. It was getting harder and harder to deal with her own feelings every time and if they weren't going to be together, she just wanted to have him out of her life.

"It's just Scotty to you, Spocky. Alright, I'm beaming you down…. NOW!" Jim's eyes never left Claire's as her body began to fade away, her molecular structure disappearing down to the planet below. For a moment, he wanted to jump out and try to grab hold of her. He was tired of watching her vanish from his life. In that moment, Jim realized what an idiot he was. And when Claire came back from her away mission, he vowed that he would try to make it right.

"Hey Jim… Jim… Jimmy!" Jim snapped out of his thoughts and glanced over at Scotty.

"What?"

"You had this look on your face like you just lost your puppy," Scotty told him. Jim ran a hand through his hair as he headed for the door.

"I kind of did. But I'm going to get her back," he promised. Scotty gave him a puzzled look.

"Wait, you have a dog? You know, I miss so much down there in engineering…"

The first thing Claire noticed about the planet was that it was extremely warm, and a bit humid. The second thing was that, everything was green. The small away team took a moment to look around before Spock turned to them.

"We shall begin the initial reconnaissance, it would be wise to stick close to each other, do not wander off. Though the alien culture may seem peaceful, we have no idea what their reaction to us may be," Spock said. He group nodded and Claire looked over at Anna, who made her way over to her.

"Hey, you alright?" she asked. Claire picked up her medical travel kit and nodded.

"Yeah, why?" she asked. Anna shrugged.

"I don't know, Kirk seemed a little… weird. What's going on between the two of you?" she asked. Claire sighed and shrugged.

"I honestly have no idea," she replied.

"That man get's weirder and weirder. Maybe he's losing his mind," Anna muttered. Claire shrugged and glanced up, noticing that the thick trees covered most of the sun.

"So much for tanning," Claire muttered. Anna chuckled and they began to follow the group.

"Man, now we might actually have to work." Claire gave a small gasp.

"Oh no! God forbid!" Both girls began to giggle and follow the group. Though the temperature and climate was not quite desirable, the place was beautiful. Plants of all types of variety surrounded them, their colors going from a bright lime green, to a rich forest green. There was also a few bright flowers that popped against the green, a few which caught some of the crew members attention.

Claire caught a glimpse of one, and stopped to gaze at it. The flower stood lone against the bush, and it seemed to hold a certain regal presence. Though she had seen many roses back home, she had never seen one so strange. Most of the rose was a light grey, bordering on white, but the middle pedals were a bright blue that could rival the ocean itself.

"Claire, you coming?" Anna asked. Claire looked over to her, then back at the flower. After another second she nodded and walked over to Anna.

"So… how long have we been walking?" Claire asked.

"An hour and a half. We have found nothing, and Spock keeps stopping to look at everything. Quite boring if you ask me," Anna said. Claire nodded and continued to look around.

"Yeah, but we knew that when we sat through that meeting," Claire reminded her. Anna chuckled and they continued to follow the group.

"God, I miss being on the ship already," Anna stated, the annoyance clear in her voice.

"So… you and Ryan seem to be getting along quite well," Claire said.

"We are, he's a really nice guy," Anna told her, a smile appearing on her lips.

"You don't have to tell me that. Ryan is a nice guy, though he has his moments where I want to punch him in the face," she said. Anna laughed and gave a small nod.

"Can't deny that, but I think everyone has moments like that." Claire nodded.

"Yeah." There was a long silence in between the girls as they walked for another thirty minutes or so before Anna spoke.

"I think Jim loves you," she said. Claire pressed her lips together and continued to walk. Anna just watched as she Claire began to let her thoughts linger. "Claire…"

"Why is this happening to me?" she asked softly. Anna just raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the fact that I always fall head over heals with guys that I shouldn't. I know damn well that with Jim there is a big chance that we won't stay together. We've hurt each other so much that… I don't know if there is a chance we could recover, even if we do love each other. God, I should've just stayed on earth," Claire muttered. Anna frowned upon looking at her.

"Doctor Conaway, you are needed," Spock called. Claire gave a sigh and made her was to the front of the group where she saw Spock hold up another officer.

"What happened to him?" Claire asked.

"He was hit with a dart, and then began to fall ill," Spock said. Claire grabbed her scanner and did a quick scan over the man. After a minute she pulled out a hypo spray and stabbed the man, causing him to freeze before the color came to his face.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Looked like a mild poison. Easily cured with our universal antidotes. Though, I had to use the strongest one," Claire explained.

"What does that mean?" Anna asked.

"It means that if any of us got hit with the actual poison and not a watered down version of it, we're screwed. Only the ship has enough resources to make a antidote strong enough." Spock raised an eyebrow.

"Which brings up the question on who shot the dart in the first place," Spock said. Before anyone could guess, something jumped out of the tree and landed in front of them, followed by twelve other identical aliens. They were tall, and reminded Claire of amazons, except for their green skin.

"Identify yourself," one of them asked. Anna stepped forward, her hand held at a safe distance from her phaser, but still ready just in case the natives began to attack.

"We come in peace," she told them, trying to prove her point. One of the natives scoffed.

"That wouldn't be the first time we've heard that excuse," he snapped back at them.

"But if you don't inform us of your intentions, it will definitely be your last excuse. Who are you and why are you here?" Another one demanded. Claire went to open her mouth, but Spock's hand appeared on her shoulder. In his normal monotone voice, Spock addressed the aliens.

"We hail from the starship Enterprise. Starfleet has asked us to explore this planet and interact with the native culture. We mean you no harm," he offered, staring the aliens down with his emotionless stare. Claire didn't move as he removed his hand from her shoulder and took a step forward.

"This is not acceptable. In the past, many of your species has come to our planet and tried to steal our resources. How can we trust you?" A man stepped forward, appearing to be the leader of the small band of green aliens. Spock pondered the man's question for a moment.

"We are under strict regulation of Starfleet not to do any harm to your planet. We are merely here to learn more about the planet and your people," he explained to them. Some of the men nodded at his words, but others looked skeptical.

"I don't know about this…" An alien whispered to the leader-like figure. Spock heard the alien's words and sighed.

"If you would prefer we leave your planet, we will do so without question. We are merely here for knowledge, not materials. Since it is your planet, we are bound to your rules," he said, trying to show his respect for the unknown alien race. Claire raised an eyebrow, remembering clearly from their meeting that Jim informed that to contact the ship in case of such complications. Even if they weren't allowed on the planet, Starfleet would be back.

"I like them. They have cute little faces!" One alien declared from the side. Claire wasn't able to tell if the alien was male or female, but she didn't let her mind dwell on the topic.

"That's enough out of you. Crew of the Enterprise, we will allow you to remain on our planet for a maximum of three days. After that, you must leave. You may not take anything with you, nor are you allowed to harm anything on this planet. If you are not gone by the end of the third day, I'm afraid we have no choice, but to execute you all. Do you understand?" The leader told Spock. The green alien forced a friendly smiled upon his face. Everyone could tell it was forced, but any one who didn't know him wouldn't have known the difference.

"We do, thank you. We shall leave the planet the way we found it when we arrived," Spock told them, offering the leader his word. Claire and Anna watched with bored faces as the leader of the alien race asked Spock for his signature on their agreement before the aliens left. Anna sighed as a silence fell over the group.

"Well, wasn't that fun?" She said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Okay, two and a half day of not finding anything is boring, can't we call it quits now?" Claire asked. Spock turned toward her.

"There is only one more place to look, then we shall call the Enterprise and beam aboard. After that, there is another string of meetings and paper work to be done, I can understand your reasons for wanting to get back so quickly." Claire paused before walking past him.

"Forget it, just keep moving," she said. Anna gave a light chuckle and followed her.

"I do agree though, this is boring… we haven't found anything," Anna said.

"I know… this sucks. I'm like… really thirsty too," Claire muttered, running a hand over her hair. Anna nodded then stopped, turning her head to the side and concentrating hard.

"Do you hear that?" she asked. Claire paused and listened, her eyebrows furrowing.

"It sounds like running water… like…"

"A waterfall, I believe that is what it is," Spock said, walking toward the noise. The group slowly made it's way through the bushes and trees, making sure they kept close together. Finally, they came to a clearing and in front of them stood a large waterfall. It fell into a rather large pond, and there was lily pads and other sort of plant life.

"Dude, finally! Some water!" a man called.

"Wait, let a science officer scan it, you do not wish to have a bad reaction to it," Spock said. The man nodded and one of the science officers stepped forward, pulling out a scanner and carefully checking the water.

"Watch it not even be water," Claire muttered.

"It's not…" the officer said. Anna looked down and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked.

"It's not water. Well, it is… but isn't." Spock raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's like… repairing water. It is full of regenerating cells that if alter their own genetic code to match whatever organism it comes into contact with," the officer said.

"So… in essence, it's healing water," Claire confirmed. The officer nodded and Spock raised an eyebrow.

"This… is unexpected," he answered.

"This is amazing! Just imagine the things we could do with this. We could stop death in its track, we could heal people who are on the brink of death… this is amazing!" the other science officer said.

"I wonder what it's called…" Anna mused aloud.

"I believe such a thing in human literature would be called something like, purification water," Spock said. Claire raised an eyebrow.

"Purification water? Does that mean if I drink it I can become a virgin again?" she asked. Anna began to giggle, and a few of the other officers gave her a weird look.

"Maybe if you bathe in it. It's like a cleansing pallet… just soak your vagina in it for a bit," Anna told her. Spock raised an eyebrow at the two of them.

"I highly doubt that it would have that desired effect," Spock said, musing over the newfound miracle medicine. Anna scratched her chin as she looked over the waterfall and pond.

"So it's like the fountain of youth, but instead of staying young, you'll be healed. That's pretty freaking awesome," she stated. Spock turned to the science officers.

"What do you recommend that we do?" He asked them. The first officer looked at him with big shining eyes.

"Take as much of it as we can, of course. This is a major medical breakthrough. Any disease might be cured and any injury will be healed. We need some of this water!" The officer declared.

"I thought we were instructed to not take anything with us?" Claire interjected. Both science officers' faces dropped at her words.

"Hmmm, you are correct. Perhaps we can meet with one of the leaders and discuss the possibility of taking a small sample with us then," Spock declared.

"Think they'll go for it?" Anna asked.

"No." The crew of the Enterprise watched as Spock starred emotionlessly at the leader of their local culture.

"Pardon me, sir, but this water is-" The leader held up his hand to Spock, causing him to stop mid-sentence.

"No. This water is part of our planet and you agreed to not remove anything from our planet," the leader reminded them. The rest of the natives watched almost as emotionlessly as Spock.

"I realize this, but-" Again, the leader held up his hand and cut Spock off.

"No. I'm sorry, but we cannot approve of the transportation of the Curatio Water." Claire sighed and looked over to the science officers who were both pressing their lips together in distaste.

"I understand-"

"I don't think you do. This water is sacred to us, it was given to us by our Gods and entrusted to keep us from harm, just as the poison from the Morte plant was given to us to protect ourselves," the leader said.

"You don't understand! This is a scientific breakthrough!" A science officer snapped. Spock turned to him and gave him a cold stare.

"You dare speak out against us! We made a deal, you must honor it!" he snapped.

"You aren't listening! This water can save the lives of hundreds, millions! You are being selfish for keeping it!" the other officer snapped. He went to take a step forward, but Claire reach forward and pulled him back.

"Shut up!" Claire hissed.

"You'd better listen to the woman," another green alien snapped. Claire took a step forward and stood next to Spock, Anna right behind her.

"Listen, we really do get that this is sacred, but for us, this is an amazing discovery. Our people have been destroyed by disease and have been left without a cure. With this water, we could finally be rid of that and move on. As a doctor, I only want to make sure things are easier for my people to heal, and with this water I can do that…" The leader looked at her for a long moment before glaring down a her.

"No, that is our final answer… if you do not leave this instant, we will have to place you in our prison. If you speak against us we shall be forced to arrest you." Before Spock could agree to the terms, the science officer stepped forward.

"You selfish bastard! How can you do this! You need to think of someone other than yourself! I'm taking that water whether you like it or not!" he snapped. He went to turn around, only to get stabbed with the sword of a guard, causing him to let out a scream. Immediately Spock turned to the leader, who was glaring at them all.

"Capture them! They are not allowed to leave!" he shouted. The green aliens charged towards the crew members. Spock roundhouse kicked two of the aliens while punching another in the face. Three more aliens rushed at him, restraining him from doing anymore damage. Anna noticed Spock's predicament as she ducked under the blow of one of the alien and kicked his knees out. Her hand shot to her belt and yanked her phaser to blast the natives off Spock, only to find that it wasn't there. She cursed as she remembered that the aliens forced them to remove all weapons as they entered their stone huts.

"CLAIRE! CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE!" Spock shouted over the fighting. Claire nodded and tried to back up, but slid in some fluid on the floor. The science officer who had been stabbed stared up hopelessly with his last dying breath as he bled out all over the floor. Quickly, Claire pulled out her communicator.

"Conaway to the Enterprise. We are in need of help!" She shouted into the communicator as one of the aliens kicked it out of her hand, causing her fingers to crack as they bent in the wrong direction. Claire howled in pain as another alien jumped out and pinned Claire to the ground. Her hand was in mind numbing pain, but the feeling of a man forcing himself upon her sent her into an animalistic rage. Without thinking, she kicked the man in his crotch before flipping him to the side. She rose to her feet to continue to beat the man to the ground, but she froze as unimaginable pain shot through her shoulder. She looked down to see the point of a sword sticking out of her shoulder.

"CLAIRE!" Anna watched helplessly as Claire fell to her knees and her vision became blurred. The last thing Claire remembered was the sight of the aliens dragging Spock away, and the feeling of the stone cold floor.

Jim Kirk stormed down the hallway as he made his way to the bridge. He was in his room doing some paper-work, when all of a sudden he got an emergency page. He quickly made his way onto the bridge and looked over at Sulu.

"What is it, what happened?" he asked.

"We were contacted by the away team saying they needed help, then when we tried to contact them, we got no response." Jim frowned and walked up to him.

"Play the message," he said. Sulu nodded and pressed a button.

"Conaway to the Enterprise. We are in need of help!" Jim felt his heart clench when he heard her voice and he moved to sit in his chair.

"Sir?" Uhura said. He could tell she was worried, usually Spock would've called in, but Claire had. This could only mean that the away team was in more trouble than they thought.

"Have they responded to anything?" he asked, a little hopeful. Sulu frowned and shook his head.

"No sir… we have tried everything. What should we do next?" he asked. Jim sighed and ran a hand over his face and looked down. Starfleet regulation said that he had to contact the closest admiral and see what they said. His gut, however, said that he needed to go down and get his crew back, to get his best friend back, to get his Claire back. He looked up and watched as Ryan walked onto the bridge.

"I was called…" he stated.

"We got a message from the away team…" Jim said softly. Ryan's face became pale and he took a few steps closer.

"Is everything alright?" he inquired. Jim shook his head.

"We lost contact, they were in trouble, and broke contact before we could help them." Ryan's face fell but her tried to keep a level head.

"Are they…" Jim sighed.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. Ryan took a deep breath to calm himself and looked around.

"So… what do we do?" he asked. Jim was silent for a long moment before standing up.

"We go after them. Conaway, you're with me… assemble a small but strong security team to beam down. We'll call Starfleet when we have our people back," Jim told the crew. Ryan nodded.

"I'll get on it," he told Jim before taking off towards the security deck. Jim watched his retreating form before turning back to the crew.

"Attempt to contact Starfleet. As soon as we get the away team back, we're going to have some things to discuss," he ordered as he left the deck. He was not going to let them hurt his friends.

"What do we think?" Anna asked as Spock inspected Claire's wounds. Every finger, but her thumb on her right hand was broken and the wound on her shoulder was getting worse and worse by the minute.

"I think that the sword she was stabbed with was laced with some of their poison. The wound is infected and the poison is slowly killing her. We need to get her medical help soon or she is not going to make it," Spock informed them. Everyone starred down at the unconscious Claire. Anna was nervously playing with the hem of her shirt before she jumped up and crossed their cell to the door.

"We need medical attention in here!" She called out. A second later, the face of one of the natives appeared.

"You'll all be executed anyway. One less body isn't so bad for us," he stated coldly before he disappeared. Anna slammed her hands on the bars of their cell.

"How can you say that? She's going to die!" She shouted, trying to reason with the guard. He returned and glared at Anna.

"You tried to break our treaty and disrespected our culture. The price for that is death. The swords had poison on them for a reason," he countered in the same cold emotionless tone. Anna said nothing and the alien took that as his cue to leave. The remaining officer from the science department looked over at Spock as he tried to treat Claire's wound.

"Spock, what do we do?" He asked hesitantly. Spock sighed and he pulled away from Claire's body and gave the away team and calm look.

"We hope that the Enterprise got our message."

"Alright… let's go, we can't waste anymore time," Jim said. The security team nodded and they all made their way on the transporter pad.

"Sir, what are we going to do if the crew is not alive?" A man asked. Ryan glanced over and frowned, not liking the thought of losing his girlfriend and sister.

"We'll deal with that when the time comes… beam us down Scotty," Jim said. Scotty nodded and soon the crew found themselves in the middle of the forest. Jim looked around and pulled out his phaser, his eyes searching the area to see if he could find any clue to where his crew might be.

"Jim… over here," Ryan said. Jim turned toward him and walked over to a stone path, which he saw led to a rather large city.

"They have to be there…" Jim told him.

"I have no doubt… the problem is… how do we get there?" Ryan asked.

"We drag you there, that's how," a voice replied. The whole team turned around, only to be met with a large group of green aliens holding swords and spears.

"We're here in peace! We've come to find our crew," Jim said. The middle alien scoffed.

"We know why you are here, our leader will deal with you… just like he has dealt with your crew." Jim didn't get another chance to get a word in before the shoved him forward and the crew begrudgingly followed them into the city. The city was full of aliens, all of which were giving them looks of disgust, and Jim realized it might have been harder to escape than he originally thought.

"Stay here… the leader will speak to you in a moment." Jim simply shot the alien a look, and began to look around. There was no sign of his crew, but he could make out a distinct spot on the floor where a large red stain now was, and he had the sinking feeling it was from one of his men.

"Who are you?" Jim snapped his head forward, and was met with, who he assumed to be, the leader.

"I am James T. Kirk, captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. I have come for my crew, if they are here," Jim said confidently. The leader scoffed.

"I know who you are, you may have come for your crew, but you shall not have them." Jim took a deep breath and tentatively took a step forward.

"Please… I don't know what happened, but if you return my crew to me, I promise to take them and leave you planet forever," Jim said.

"They violated a contract, they promised their leave after three days and refused to do so. Then, they insult us further by asking to take from out planet. No, you may not have your crew back. Two have already died, and the rest shall follow them." There was a pause before a alien spoke up.

"One sir…" The leader furrowed his eyebrows and turned toward him.

"What?" he hissed.

"Only one has died… the other, the female, is still alive." The leader had a look of disbelief.

"She was stabbed in the shoulder, how is she still alive?" he hissed. The man shrugged.

"We are not sure either…" Jim and Ryan exchanged looks. There were only three girls on the away team, two of them were very dear to both men. The chances that it was either Claire or Anna was large and had them both worried.

"Quite strange…" The leader mused. Ryan wasted no time in pulling out his phaser and firing at the leader. The room was filled with his loud cry. He fell to the floor, green fluid pouring from the wound now forming on this thigh. Ryan turned to Jim.

"Find them. We've got this," he instructed him. Jim wanted to snap back at him, not liking to be ordered around, but the situation they were in was a dire one.

"Fine. Good luck," he said before taking off. A few aliens tried to stop him, but the rest of the security team had their phasers out and covered Jim's back as he busted out of their stone hut. As his team dealt with some of the other natives, Ryan turned back to the leader.

"You don't fuck with a Conaway," he snapped, pointing his phaser back at the leader. For the first time, Ryan noted the look of fear in his pale green eyes.

"You won't free them. There's too many of us," the leader said in his weakening voice. Ryan fired his phaser again, purposely hitting the leader in the stomach. More of the green blood began pouring out of the leader's body as a small trial of it began to leak out of his mouth.

"I may not like him very much, but I trust Jim. Besides, you should be more worried about you right now." The leader glared up at him and clawed at the floor.

"You have brought nothing but destruction upon my people… you all shall be cursed." Ryan glared at him.

"Like we haven't heard that before…"

Jim's footsteps echoed through the hall as he finally found the dungeon. He had looked through several doors and still hadn't found the cell which his crew was locked in. He gave a frustrated sigh as he continued to roam down the hallway. He needed to find where they were so he could see who was hurt.

"You!" a Alien shouted. Jim pulled out his phaser and shot him square in the forehead. The native fell to the ground and Jim continued to move.

"JIM!" a voice shouted. He paused and looked over, meeting the chocolate brown eyes of a familiar Security officer.

"Anna!" he cried. He moved to the door and yanked it open.

"Jim," Spock said, looking up from his place on the floor.

"Spock, who-"

"We need to get her out of here," Anna snapped. Jim furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He followed Anna as she knelt down next to a woman, and when Jim stepped closer, he finally realized exactly which woman it was.

"Claire…" he said breathlessly. He fell down next to her and his heart seemed to drop from his chest. She was sickly pale, and her hand looked to be in horrible shape, not to mention her shoulder was still bleeding pretty bad. Spock had used the bottom of his shirt to go over the wound, but he we sure that under the cloth, it looked even worse than it did now.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We got into a fight and she was stabbed. Jim, we need to get her to the ship, they lace their weapons with poison and it's coursing through her body." Jim's eyes went wide and he leaned down to pick her up.

"We need to go, now," he said, cradling Claire in his arms. Her grey eyes were dull and tired, but she managed to give him a weak smile. Jim felt his heart swell and ache at the same time as his eyes raked over her wounds once more. Without a second thought, he took off running out of the dungeon. A few of the native aliens tried to jump out and stop them, but Spock, Anna, and the rest of the away team took them out without much struggle. Jim merely watched, his arms wrapped securely around Claire's frail body.

"Come on Jim, we have got to get out of here!" Spock called out. Jim followed them through the winding halls, dodging the aliens as they attacked. Finally after what seemed like forever, they ran out through the door. The sun bathed the tired, dirty, and injured away team, but they didn't stop their running. Jim felt his heart pounding in his chest as he ran as hard as fast as his legs would carry him. It wasn't his life in his hands, it was Claire's. And that was by far the most important life of all in his mind.

"JIM!" Everyone turned to see Ryan and his security team coming up on their right. More of the green natives were chasing them, but they had put a good distance between them.

"Ryan!" Anna said, trying to catch her breath as they ran. Their eyes met for mere seconds, but it was enough. Ryan's speed increased as he caught up to the away team and noticed his sister limp in Jim's arms.

"C-Claire…" Ryan's legs slowed as he tried to comprehend the state of his sister. Anna noticed the slow in his pace and grabbed his hand, giving it a small squeeze.

"Come on, Ryan. We need to get out of here and get her help," she assured him. He nodded and resumed his normal speed as they approached the forest on the outskirts of the town. The trees towered above them, but they continued their hurried pace.

"Captain, if we can get to the small mountain that's not far up ahead, we can contact the Enterprise and have Scotty beam us out," Spock yelled over the rustling of the bushes, branches, and everything else in the environment. Jim nodded, but said nothing. His main focus was to get off of the planet and get his ex-girlfriend some help.

"Shit… they're gaining on us," Anna cried out, glancing over her shoulder.

"Hurry, we're almost there!" Ryan shouted as the outline of the rock ledge came into view. Just as they neared the area, Jim felt the ground give way under his foot. He tighten his grip on Claire and angled himself under her body as they fell. The wind whipped around his hair and his eyes burned at the intensity, but he didn't yell.

"Jim!" Spock's shocked monotone voice called out, surprised at the captain's disappearance. Ryan paused mid-run to stop and turn towards the newly formed pit that Jim and Claire had tumbled into.

"CLAIRE!" He called out in a panicked tone, darting towards the edge of the pit. Anna grabbed her boyfriend's arm as he almost tumbled into the hole after them.

"No Ryan. We need to keep going," she told him, trying to pull him away. Ryan resisted her tug and tried to go after them, but he felt a hand on his chest and turned to see Spock holding him back.

"It is no use, Ryan. We can not help them," he told them. Ryan felt tears sting his eyes as both Anna and Spock pulled him away.

"Not without my sister and Jim. We are not leaving them!" He cried out, still trying to get towards the pit, but failing miserable.

"They're gaining on us!" Jim moved so he was sitting up and groaned.

"Just go! Find a way to beam us up from there," he shouted. He heard no reply, and took that as a sign that his crew had gotten away, and now turned his attention to the situation at hand. A few of the aliens stood above the pit and glared at them.

"Shall we shoot them?" one asked.

"No… they shall die soon enough. The female will lose consciousness within the hour, and die within the next… the male will soon follow. Let us return." Jim remained silent as they all moved away from the pit, and then looked back to the woman in his arms. Her make-shift bandage was beginning to bleed through, and her face was dirty, and pale. He quickly ripped a long piece of his uniform shirt and removed the cloth around her shoulder. The frown on his lips increased when he saw how harsh the gash was, and how the poison was starting to turn the skin around the cut a light green. He quickly tied the cloth around the wound and knotted it tight. Claire winced and took a hold of his arm.

"Jim…" she whispered. Jim frowned and pulled her close to him once more.

"I'm here, Claire… I'm here," he told her. He raised a hand to her pale and dirty face and noticed how feverish she was immediately. Her eyes opened, though it seemed to take much effort for her to do so.

"Jim… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" her voice seemed to break, and tears sprung to her eyes. Jim sighed and tired to swallow the lump in his throat. Sudden realization that this might have been the last time he was going to speak to her seemed to make him feel as though he was falling apart.

"Claire…" she shook her head and a few tears fell out.

"I should have never kissed him, I should never have kissed Spike. I was so stupid to get kidnapped. If I had been a better fighter I could have…" she trailed off and pressed her lips together. She had been telling him she was sorry, when she really just wanted to tell him that she loved him. Jim just let his thumb caress her cheek as he stared down at her.

"No, don't blame yourself for Riley… please don't. That was my fault, Claire…" he whispered. A few tear fell down her cheeks, clearing away a some dirt covering her face. She sobbed and flinched at the pain that erupted in her shoulder, and she looked up at him.

"I love you…" she whispered, her voice breaking at the end. Jim felt his heart clench and lift at the same time. He pressed his lips together and pressed his forehead to hers. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"I love you too, Claire… so much." He froze when she didn't reply and pulled away. His stomach fell when he realized that she had passed out, which meant the poison was working faster than he thought.

"Claire… Claire wake up. Claire!" he hissed. He got no response and checked her pulse. There was still there, but it was quite slow. Jim quickly pulled out his communicator.

"Enterprise, come in! We need to get out of here, now!" He shouted into it. Claire's limp body in his lap caused a hint of desperation in his voice. A muffled voice responded, but Jim couldn't barely make out what he was saying.

"… can't… beam… magnetic… block…" Jim placed his face in his hands as realized their situation. There was no way out of the pit for them. Jim ran one hand through his greasy dirty hair as he glanced up the hole again. It was then he noticed the tiny spikes sticking out of the walls of the pit. They must have been covered in poison, he thought. So now they were both doomed. Jim closed his eyes and tried to think of a way to get both him and Claire out of the hole. After a few minutes of pondering, Jim picked up Claire and gently tossed her over his shoulder. If she were conscious, this would have been much easier, but sadly, things could never be easy.

"I'm doing this for you, Claire," he mumbled to the unconscious blonde. He took a deep breath before jumping up and grabbing hold of one of the small spikes, seeing as they were coated in a liquid. His grip began to slip, but Jim refused to lose his hold. Half-heartedly, he forced the center of his palm into the spike. The hole echoed with his scream as the flesh ripped apart at the tip of the spike. Not giving himself any time to feel the pain, he moved his other hand up to a spike and did the same thing, letting out another cry of pain, but this one was softer as he was more accustomed to the pain. He continued his painful venture up the wall of the pit, making sure that Claire was securely on his shoulder. Just as they reached the top of the hole, he felt the familiar feeling of being beamed up to the ship.

"Jesus Christ!" a voice muttered. Jim looked up into the cold eyes of Doctor McCoy, who surveyed the scene in front of him.

"Bones… Claire…" he groaned from the pain erupting in his hands and fell to the ground, Claire right next to him.

"Doctor Giles, get Conaway to sickbay, make sure Chambers fixes her up." Spike nodded and moved forward, scooping up the unconscious blonde and rushed her out of the transporter room. McCoy knelt down next to Kirk and immediately stuck him with some sort of antidote for the poison that was on the spikes.

"Will she be alright?" Jim asked. McCoy sighed and looked at his hands, thankful that he could take care of it right there. McCoy wasn't sure he wanted Jim to be in the same room as Claire was, especially if she didn't make it.

"My doctors are going to do the best they can," he said, stabbing each of his wrists with a serum to speed up the healing in his hands. Jim gave a grunt and looked at one of his best friends.

"Bones… she needs to be alright, please…" McCoy glanced in the other mans eyes and sighed.

"They're working on it… they'll do the best they can."

Alex gave a frustrated sigh as he continued to try and repair the hole in his best friends shoulder. While he was working on her shoulder, Spike was busy trying to evacuate the poison in her system. Both of them knew they only had a matter of time before Claire was gone, and they couldn't take any chances.

"Damn it… the wound is infected. If I had gotten to her quicker…" Alex muttered.

"Not much better on my end, I've gotten most of it out, but it seems a stream of it is heading to her heart at a rapid pace," Spike said. Alex sighed and was finally able to clear out the wound of infection.

"Alright, the infection is cleared out. All I have to do is…" Alex stopped when the heart monitor began to go crazy, and her stats began to drop. Alex felt the color drain from his face and he turned back to her.

"The poison is going to reach her heart!" Spike exclaimed. Alex reached forward and pressed a button.

"Doctor Peterson, we need help, now!" Alex turned back to Claire and gave her CPR.

"What will he do?" Spike asked, he was still trying to get as much poison out of her system as possible.

"Liam is a general doctor, when he should be specializing in cardio. If anyone can fix her heart, he can." The doors opened and Liam walked in.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Her heart is about to be attacked by a strong poison, it might be damaged." Alex had to say no more before Liam went to work, grabbing a hypo spray and mixing a few concoctions. Spike just watched the man work.

"Will that work?" he asked. Liam scoffed.

"Of course it will work. There is a serum to repair damage to the heart, one to protect it from infection, and one to kill the poison," Liam said. Before anyone could say anything else, the heart monitor flat lined and all three men paused.

"LIAM!"

Ryan gave a sigh as he sat down on a bed not far from the operating room. He had been extremely worried when Alex and Spike had been in there for a good hour, but now was panicking when Liam went in as well. The condition she had arrived was quite horrible, and even a few doctors looked doubtful of her recovery.

He glanced over at the entrance doors, just in time to see Jim Kirk walk in, McCoy following behind him. The captain's hands were bandaged up, and he seemed to be quite pale. Jim looked around and upon seeing Ryan's face, seemed to frown even more.

"Where is she?" Jim asked. Ryan gestured to the surgical room.

"Still in there… things were quiet until they called Liam in… that was thirty minutes ago," Ryan said. Jim gave a frustrated sigh and ran a bandaged hand over his face.

"Jim, take it easy. Sure the holes are closed, but you still need a day before your hands are healed," McCoy snapped. Jim shot him a look and glanced back at the door just in time for Alex and Spike to walk out of it.

"How is she?" Ryan asked. Alex sighed and glanced over at Jim before looking back at Ryan.

"She was in really bad shape. The poison spread through about eighty-seven percent of her body, it was a shock that she stayed alive as long as she did. A few of her organs were severely damaged, but we were able to repair them. Thankfully we didn't have to do any surgery," Alex said.

"You didn't?" McCoy asked. Alex shook his head.

"No, sir. We thought the poison might have ruptured the appendix, but it seemed that she already had it taken out." Ryan nodded and took a deep breath.

"When she was nine she had it taken out… what about the poison or her shoulder?" Ryan asked.

"The poison did a number on her, but we got it all out. She'll be weak for a couple of days, maybe even weeks, but she will recover. Liam had to come in and do some work on her heart before the poison could damage it too bad, but again, she'll have to recover…" Alex trailed off and Ryan looked at him expectantly.

"What… what about her shoulder?" he asked. McCoy stood back and was prepared for the worst, Jim just wanted to know if she was going to be alright. When Alex didn't reply, Spike cleared his throat.

"Alex was able to repair Blondies- erm… Doctor Conaway's shoulder…" Alex sighed.

"It was… difficult. Though I repaired the shoulder, there is a chance it won't heal one-hundred percent." Jim stepped forward.

"What do you mean? Will she be able to use it? She isn't paralyzed, is she?" Alex and Spike both shook their head.

"No! No, she'll be able to move it. There might not be anything wrong with it. There is just a chance that it… will be bothersome." Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Bothersome? Like… an itch or something?"

"Something like that… it's like a small ache. Like when you use a limb or muscle too much it aches… like that." Ryan let out a sigh of relief that his sister was going to be okay, but frowned at the fact that she was probably going to live the rest of her life with pain.

"When will she wake up?" he asked. Alex shrugged.

"I don't know… we just have to sit and wait for her body to recover before she wakes up." The second he spoke, the doors opened and Liam walked out and walked over to them.

"She'll be fine… just a rather lengthy recovery time. She might be out for a week at the most," Liam told them.

"And if she hasn't woken up within a week?" Jim asked. All three doctors exchanged looks and frowned.

"We hope it won't come to that…" Ryan sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"May I see here now?" he asked. Alex nodded.

"Yeah… best keep it to family for now though," he replied, looking at Jim. Jim nodded and sat down on a spare chair. Ryan sighed and walked into the room and gazed upon his sister. She was deathly pale, and even had a few things hooked up to her. He sat down on the bed and took a hold of her hand.

"Get better… please get better… I can't lose you, not after everything just started to get better," he whispered. His only reply was that of the heart monitor, giving a steady beat and showing that his sister was alive.

And to the reviews.

HistoryNerd
Raxsah: Jim and Claire married? What? I think they should at least start dating again. Jeez, you're skippin a couple steps there. Hahahahahaa :D
Jeck: Woah buddy, I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself there. People don't just fall and love and get married right away. That would kind of be why there are so many divorces today. Look what happened to Ryan and Colleen. Bitch died.

WhatsGoingOn
Jeck: Patience. That is all.
Raxsah: Good things come to those who wait. Don't worry, things happen the way they are meant to happen.

Yayyou
Raxsah: Um… no. Never even crossed my mind. Though it would piss Jim off; I don't think McCoy would do that to his best friend. Not unless he was drunk off his ass.
Jeck: Ewww… I just can't see McCoy and Claire together. He's too old for her and she knows it. She's got better standards (sorry McCoy, but she does). Ehh… I'm pretty sure you feel bad for all the characters at some point. Lol

nickiR0x
Jeck: I'm glad someone understands! lol I was afraid the Liam/Alex fangirls out there were going to attack us! Not fun. They are second in scariness only to the Twilight fangirls. Just saying. Hmmm… I completely understand what you're saying. If we hadn't already written the story, I'm sure we would go back and talk about that, but I think you'll enjoy what we've done with it. Hey, we (well, I) love your suggestions. And I love tacos. :3
Raxsah: Yeah, if it wasn't totally finished, we would definitely think it over and possibly add a few ideas in there. However, we're not going back. It's done and we're leaving it like that. We were afraid that people would hate us once people saw that Liam and Alex weren't together. We're glad you're stickin through it.

Lintered
Raxsah: I think we suffer from major ADD, we just haven't been tested that. I won't let it turn into a crack fic though. It's just too weird to write. I hope this much Kirk will hold you over for a bit, there shall be more next chapter. I promise. Jeck is just jealous that I'm mooching off my parents like all college kids should. Sorry for the late update, life get's in the way too much. We're trying to work with it.
Jeck: Wow, honestly I didn't even notice that… I MEAN, of course! It was our plan all along! HA HA HA HA! I can assure you that this isn't a crack fic (though I'd be lying if I said I didn't try ;3). My parents actually came up for parents weekend and bought me shit tons of bagels! It makes me happy. We are in fact finished the story. But we enjoy teasing you. And I feel kind of bad since you asked for an update sooner and we're posting this later. But we'll hopefully be back on track this Sunday.

SWfangirl21
Jeck: Well, the mind control is obviously working then. :3 You're right, it would change everything. Everything we already wrote. Lol But seriously, we felt that Jim was the most likely person to cheat. So that's why he didn't. I mean really, repetitive much? He cheats in like every story people write him in. Liam has issues with cheating which won't be explained until our new story. But yeah, it will explain why he's got such a problem with it and it'll make sense why he stays angry at Alex for such a long time. Ryan isn't supposed to be a douche, he just comes off like one. A lot. Yeah, he's kind of a douche. Let's see what the evil minds of Jeck and Raxsah have in store for Ryan and Anna, shall we? What's a man slore? Is this new slang I haven't heard? That's what I get for going to college in Bumblefuck… Surprisingly, Spock is our comic relief. Well… Spock and Oliver. Mr. Ruffles will be revealed in time… well, not for a really long time. But he will be! Sorry this one took so long, but we'll be back on schedule again (hopefully). Love you too! :3 College is… fun, sure. Yeah… lol
Raxsah: Yeah, As interesting as it would have been to have Alex and Claire having a baby, it never would have worked. A pregnant Claire is not a happy Jim. Liam is stubborn, but he has a bit of a right to be. Poor Alex, we need to stop giving him pudding. I don't know why Ryan randomly becomes an ass… but he does. Oh well, hopefully Anna will fix him up. Just for the record, I knew what a Slore was… took me a little while, but I got it before Jeck. You have to credit Jeck with that line from Spock though, it was all her. And isn't not knowing who Mr. Ruffles is more fun? I think it's like a mystery. I like College… mostly. Some people need to be shot in the knee, but for the most port it's awesome. :D Can't way to hear from you later.

Alright… so we sort of forgot to add a rant down here, seeing as it's Wednesday night and we're kind of running around. Just take our word that there would be a moderately interesting conversation right around here. Till next time dears!