Jeck: Hey look, we're back on schedule!
Raxsah: Yes, for now. Might as well post these as we can right?
Jeck: Absolutely! Even if we only posted a new chapter like 4 days ago. But I'm pretty sure this is my favorite chapter, just saying.
Raxsah: This is a good one. I'm not sure it's my favorite though… Hmm, I think it ranks the top five though. Maybe that's because of the Lemon.
Jeck: Well, the lemon isn't my favorite. All the other stuff is. All of our Liam and Alex fangirls will really enjoy this chapter too.
Raxsah: Word. So… Hmm… I guess the only other thing we are up to is writing that mini story for Parallel Days… Wow, we're boring.
Jeck: We're also college students. So boring with an excuse. Shall we change that? (the boring part, not the college students part)
Raxsah: I wish, I should get my license before I worry about the being boring part.
Jeck: Well, we'll see how you do this week. EVERYONE WISH RAXSAH GOOD LUCK! Jeck has asked nicely. :3
Raxsah: Alright, let's get to the fun part, the story. Like we've said, there are some graphical parts in this chapter. But not to worry, we did it for your pleasure. :D
Jeck: And if you would like more pleasure, just hit me up. ;D
Raxsah:… words… are not enough. Enjoy the story folks!

Chapter 21: Sweet Dreams

Anna gave a sigh as she placed a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. He looked up and forced a smile upon his face, while he reached up and placed a hand on her hand. He then looked back to Claire, who was still asleep.

"Alex is beginning to get worried. He's afraid that the poison might have hit her brain without them knowing," Ryan said. Anna pressed her lips together and kissed the top of his head. She was secretly glad that she had made him take a shower earlier, or else his hair would have been unbearably greasy.

"It is not a week yet, she still has one more day…" Ryan frowned and let his eyes trace over her sister's features once more. She wasn't as pale as she had been a few days ago, but she didn't look healthy yet either. Ryan let out a shaky breath and looked back to Anna.

"Is Jim still outside?" he asked. Anna shook her head.

"McCoy told him that he would be allowed back a few hours after she woke up. He has a ship to run…" Ryan nodded and looked at the clock.

"She will wake up within the next few hours… she has to," he whispered.

"She's going to wake up when she wants…" A weak voice spoke. Both Ryan and Anna looked to the bed, where they saw Claire shift slightly and open her eyes. Ryan's eyes went wide and he held her face in his hands.

"Claire… you're really awake?" he asked. She blinked a few times before looking around.

"Either that, or I'm having a very realistic dream," she concluded. Anna chuckled and walked to the door, calling Alex in. Ryan leaned forward and kissed the top of her head and gave a sigh of relief.

"I hope you know that you are never going on an away mission ever again," he whispered. She smiled and nodded.

"I didn't think so…" Ryan pulled away just in time for Alex and McCoy to walk in the room. McCoy began to check over her charts, while Alex just looked at the clock, then back to Claire.

"Cutting it a bit close… aren't you?" he asked. Claire just shot him a look and glanced at McCoy, who finished looking at her chart and was looking at her.

"How do you feel?" he asked. Claire thought it over and looked at her fingers, realizing that her fingers were healed.

"Fine… I'm really thirsty, and I still feel a little weak. My shoulder is really stiff too," she confessed. McCoy nodded and lifted the bandage, his eyes assessing the rather large scar. Claire also saw it and frowned.

"Because of the poison, it didn't quite heal right… you'll have a scar there, and possibly have a dull pain on occasion in your shoulder," Alex told her. Claire nodded and looked at her brother.

"How long have I been out?" she asked. Ryan ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Almost a week…" he admitted. Her eyes went wide, and her good arm reached up to ran a hand over her face.

"Wow… I've been asleep a damn week and I'm still tired," she mumbled. Alex chuckled and moved her hurt shoulder, helping her get used to it.

"It's common. We'd like to keep you up for a couple more hours. Can you move your arm on your own?" he asked. Claire moved her arm on her own, surprised at how well she was able to move it. McCoy wrote a few things on her chart then looked back down at her.

"I'll be back in a few hours to make sure you can get back to sleep… try not to do anything stressful," McCoy said, turning around and walking out. Alex gave her a smile before turning around and leaving. Claire paused before turning toward her brother.

"So… what'd I miss?"

Jim walked into sickbay and took a glance around, his eyes landing on Claire's sleeping form. He heard she had woken up, and had hoped to catch her when her brother wasn't there, but it seemed the only time her brother left, was when she had fallen asleep. He glanced around and saw that only McCoy was on duty, and he was currently passed out at his desk.

Jim walked over to her bed and sat down on the chair, his eyes tracing over her features. Her color had return a bit, but she still didn't look quite like herself yet. He hesitantly reached out and took a hold of her hand, savoring the fact that it was now warm, and not freezing cool like it had been a couple days ago. He squeezed her hand before leaning down and pressing his lips to her knuckles.

"Hmm…" a small voice said in content. He looked up and saw her stir, her hand never leaving his. He smiled when her grey eyes met his tired blue, and she looked confused for a moment before she smiled back.

"Hey…" he said softly. She gripped his hand.

"Hi." He looked down at her hand and let his thumb lightly caress her skin. Claire just watched as he seemed to get lost in his own world. Her heart seemed to lift just upon seeing him, and if she wasn't so tired, she would have grabbed him by his shirt and kissed him. However, she seemed content enough to simply gaze upon him as he tried to comprehend the fact that she was finally alive and well. He took a deep breath and looked back up at her.

"You almost died… right in my arms. You were practically gone," Jim told her sadly. Claire paused as the memory of the pit came back to mind, then frowned. She remembered saying she loved him, but never heard his reply, if he did reply.

"Jim…" he sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"I tell you I love you and you almost die, how is that a fair trade?" he asked. Her hand gripped on his as his words sunk it.

"I'm sorry… for everything. I shouldn't have… I messed up." He sighed and moved so he was sitting on the bed.

"Claire… it takes two people to end a relationship like that. I was blaming you for something that wasn't your fault. I was just so mad, at Riley, at myself… at the son of a bitch who hurt you. Yet, I took it out on you, the one person I wasn't really mad at. I left you out to dry… I don't know how you still love me," he told her. He reached out and let one hand rest on her cheek, where a tear had escaped her eyes.

"I will always love you… I don't think I could stop if I wanted to," she confessed. A smile broke out on his lips and he leaned down, pressing his lips on her forehead. He let them linger for a long moment before pressing his own forehead against hers.

"I love you, please forgive me," he pleaded. She raised her good hand to trace over his cheek.

"Only if you forgive me…" he nodded and kissed her temple. He didn't want to kiss her lips. He was afraid that if he did he wouldn't be able to control himself, and she was still hurting quite a bit. Claire was too busy thanking whatever higher being there was out there for bringing him back to her to care.

"I should let you get some sleep…" he said. She shook her head and took hold of his hand.

"Please don't leave me… I don't want to wake up from a nightmare alone," she told him. He frowned but nodded.

"Okay… I'll stay." She smiled softly and moved over on the medical bed, giving Jim enough room to lay on his side next to her. Claire moved so she wasn't laying on her bad shoulder, and let Jim pull her closer to him. Their chests touched and Jim let his chin rest on top of her head, while she snuggled closer to his warmth. She helped place some of her medical covers over him and almost cried from joy.

"I missed you… so much," She told him, her fingers lightly caressing his shirt. Jim carefully pulled her closer and rubbed her arm.

"I missed you too," was the last remark she heard before falling into a nightmare-less dream.

"What am I supposed to do with two weeks leave? We're not on shore leave… I'm just going to be stuck in my room!" Claire argued.

"Find a hobby, painting, sewing, reading, or watch television. Either way, you can't work. You need rest," McCoy told her. Claire sighed and glared at him.

"But-"

"Jesus, Conaway… you are given leave, enjoy it. Spend time with your brother or with Jim." Claire blushed at the last part and sighed.

"You're just worried I'm going to screw up," she snapped. McCoy turned to her and fixed her with a glare.

"Conaway, I'm not going to tell you again; get out of here." Claire sighed and walked out of sickbay.

"Hey, they finally let you out?" a voice called. Claire turned and smiled up at her brother.

"Seems like it, they're not letting me back in though," she told him. Ryan chuckled and pulled her into a hug.

"Well, at least you're out… it's a little past dinner, did you want to get something to eat?" he asked. Claire thought about it before shaking her head.

"No… I kind of want to enjoy my room. I want to see my puppy, too…" Ryan nodded and lead her to the lift.

"Kirk was looking for you earlier," Ryan stated. The color drained from her face a bit as they continued walking. Claire and Jim had been caught the following morning a few days ago by McCoy, who gave them a long lecture. After a few hours of getting yelled at, they asked him to keep quiet about what the older man had seen. Claire wanted to tell her brother first, and she wanted to find the right time to do so. Ryan was less than pleased with the captain, and she knew if she just sprung on him the fact that they were together once more, he would have flipped.

"Claire?" Ryan asked. Claire jumped and looked up at her brother.

"Yeah?" Ryan raised an eyebrow and continued to look down at his sister.

"You didn't hear a word I said." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Uh… I'm sorry, I got distracted…" she confessed. He sighed and stopped at the lift.

"I need to head to security… try and get some sleep." She nodded and kissed his cheek.

"Okay… night, Ryan." He smiled and ruffled her hair before leaving. She gave a small sigh of relief before turning to the lift and pressed a button. While she waited, she ran a hand through her hair, happy that she was able to get a shower that morning. Nurse Chapel had even brought her shampoo from her room.

The doors opened and she was surprised to see Jim and Spock in the lift, looking over a data pad. The moment the doors opened, Jim looked up and smiled, causing Spock to look up as well. There was a moment of silence between the three of them before Spock spoke.

"I suppose I shall leave. Goodnight, Jim… Doctor." Claire gave a nod and moved so he could walk past her. Jim gave a small wave to Spock as she stepped into the lift, and the two of them were silent as the door closed.

Not even a few seconds after the lift began to move once more, Jim reached out and pressed the stop button, halting them from any intrusions. Claire just leaned back against the walls of the lift, while the captain looked to be collecting himself. He then turned around and took a couple steps toward her.

"Claire…" he said. Claire's eyes seemed to light up upon seeing him. Even though they had only seen each other a couple of days ago, she felt her old self coming back at a rapid pace.

"Jim," she replied. He took another step toward her and leaned forward, placing a hand on each side of her face to brace himself.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked. She smiled and nodded.

"Much better." He smiled and let his eyes trace over her, as if he had never seen her before in his life. One hand reached over and caressed her cheek, stopping at her chin and tilting her head up slightly.

"Did you know I can't remember the last time I kissed you?" he asked. Claire blinked and tried to think back.

"I believe it was the morning that…" she trailed off and looked down. Jim sighed and tilted her head back up so he could meet her grey eyes.

"I remember… I also remember what happened that morning, and the night before." Claire's cheeks tinted to a dark red, and he could practically feel the heat radiating off her face.

"Yes… I remember that as well…" she agreed. He smiled and stepped closer, his body inches away from hers. He met her eyes before his gaze dropped to her lips, as if drawn to them. Claire also let her gaze drop to his lips, but closed her eyes when he gently pressed them to hers. She felt her heart skip a beat, and her stomach was in the middle of an acrobatic act. Her skin felt as though on fire as he leaned into the kiss a little more.

She reached up and let one hand tangle into his hair, while the other rested at the base of his neck. His own hand stayed on her cheek while his lips moved in sync with hers, the other wrapped around her waist and pulled her to him. His tongue slipped through her rosy lips and lightly massaged her own, causing a moan to escape her throat. It had been far too long since she had felt the way she did in that moment. His hand traveled up her waist and traveled under her tee-shirt, his coarse fingers causing her to shiver. She responded by pulling herself closer to him, his hips perfectly in line with her own. A low groan broke free from the captain's mouth as he placed his leg in-between hers. She broke free from her lips and moaned.

"Jim…" she breathed, her body enjoying the feeling of his leg being there to cause friction. Jim simply lowered his head to her neck and kissed down to her collar, where his teeth lightly scrapped the sensitive skin. Unconsciously, she began to rub against his leg as one of his hands traveled over her abdomen. She pulled his lips away from her neck and kissed him feverishly, her hands traveling up his shirt and tracing the abs that she had missed dearly. Jim pulled away and took in a deep breath.

"Claire… not here," he hissed, trying to ignore how uncomfortable his pants had suddenly become. She tangle both her hands in his hair and kissed from his jaw to his earlobe, where she bit very lightly.

"I need you, James." Jim groaned and hit the go button, knowing that the lift was taking them to her room. Claire kissed his earlobe once more, and kissed down to a sensitive spot on his neck, which caused his grip on her waist to tighten. The doors opened and Jim pulled her out of the lift, practically running down the hallway to her room. Claire quickly opened the door and grabbed him by his uniform shirt and dragged him into the room. He leaned down to capture her lips, but was stopped by a loud bark. The interruption caused both of them to groan and Claire turned to her dog, who was growling at Jim.

"Damnit, Rocky!" she hissed. Jim sighed and glared at the dog. Though he was a dog lover at heart, this dog had it out to get him.

"I swear he hates me…" Jim told her. She rolled her eyes and grabbed the dog by his collar and put him in the bathroom. She wasn't worried about the barking, since the bathroom was sound proof. She turned around and was pushed up against the locked door, not that she minded. Jim simply pressed his lips onto hers, pouring more passion into each fluid motion than he even thought possible. Claire groaned and reached for his shirt, lifting it so it was halfway up his body. He complied and broke away from her long enough to slip his shirt off and expose his chest to her. She pulled him to her and raked her nails lightly down his chest, causing a moan to emit from him.

Claire wasted no time taking her shirt off, and throwing it to the ground, not to far from Jim's. She expected Jim to take her bra off, but was surprised when he stopped and simply stared at her shoulder. It was only then when she realized he was staring at her scar. The move made her self conscious and she wished she had kept her shirt on. Jim simply reached out and let his fingers trace over it.

"They couldn't get rid of it…" she said after a minute. He nodded and looked back up at her.

"Does it hurt?" he asked. She shook her head.

"No…" He nodded and leaned down, his lips sensually kissing the scar, and then traveling down so he was kissing the top of her breasts. He reached around and unhooked her bra, and she slipped it off and let it fall to the floor. His lips traveled lower and gently took a nipple into his mouth, while his hands pulled her closer to him. She sighed in content and ran her hands through his hair. One hand reached from behind and tended to her other breast, and she lowered her hands to her jeans and quickly unbuttoned them. As much as she loved the moment they were having, she had gone far too long without feeling him inside her, and she was eager to feel him once again. Jim laughed and pulled away from her chest.

"Eager are we?" he asked, his hands helping her get her jeans off. She slipped her flip-flops off and continued to help Jim get her pants off. Once they were completely off, he quickly unbuckled his own pants, but did not take them off.

"I've missed you… all of you," she told him. Her own cheeks burned at the realization of what she had said. He laughed and kissed her breast once more before letting his lips travel down her body, stopping to leave sensual kisses on certain parts of her body. His lips finally reached her underwear and he slowly pulled it off her. Jim suddenly grabbed her leg and let it rest on his shoulder, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

"What are you-" she stopped speaking and simply gasped upon feeling his tongue caress the most sensitive part of her body. The sensation caused her toes to curl and she threw her head back, ignoring the pain the erupted from hitting the solid door behind her. Her hands were in his hair, and she bit her lip to stop the very loud moan that was begging to escape her lips.

"J-Jim…" she breathed when she felt his tongue enter her. She loved the feeling his tongue was giving her, but she wanted more, she also didn't want the night to be just about her. Jim pulled away from her and stood, his lips immediately crashing onto hers. Her hands went to his pants and she unbuttoned them, pulling them down along with his boxers. Jim stepped out of them and kicked them along with his boots, which he had taken off with his socks earlier, to the side. He grabbed her thighs and urged them up. Claire wrapped her arms around his neck, and her legs around his waist, moaning at the feeling of his hard member against her womanhood.

"Claire…" Jim breathed. He began kissing her neck and turned around, leading her back to the bed and placing her down gently. Claire flipped them so she was on top and kissed him deeply, her tongue lightly flicking his own. He moaned and almost whined when she pulled away and kissed down his neck. She stopped at his own nipples and flicked them with her tongue before giving a light suck. Jim ran his hands through her hair as she went lower, and he froze when she gave a sensual kiss right above his groin. He watched her carefully, his eyes growing darker as she lowered her lips to his erect member, and cried out when her mouth came down upon it.

"Holy shit!" he cursed, his grip on her hair tightening. Claire simply chuckled, which only caused him to groan once more. Her head slowly bobbed up and down, causing his member to grow harder with each stroke of her tongue. She continued to tantalize him further with a few tricks, until he pulled her away from his crotch and flipped them so he was on top once more. His lips crashed upon hers and he used his hands to slowly spread her legs. She complied and moaned at the feeling of him at her entrance. Jim moved forward hesitantly, but didn't enter her just yet. He pulled away from her lips and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I love you… God, I fucking love you," he told her. She smiled and kissed him deeply.

"I fucking love you too…" she said quietly. Jim smiled and entered her, not going as slow as he had before. She gasped and grabbed onto the sheets under her. Jim let out a throaty growl into her neck, savoring the feeling of being surrounded by her. Sex was just not the same if it wasn't with her.

Claire moved first, causing Jim to pick up the pace a bit. One hand was by her head, keeping him supported, while the other ran down her body. Their hips met each other in sync, and Claire felt the pressure in her lower abdomen begin to increase. She placed her mouth on his, and their tongues began to wrestle for dominance. Unfortunately, for Claire, Jim knew just where to hit in order for her writhe in pleasure. He hit the spot and she gave a loud moan into his mouth before pulling away from him.

"Mmm…Harder… Oh God," she groaned. Jim pulled almost all the way out before slamming back into her, making sure he hit her sweet spot. The sensation caused her to let out a small scream, and she buried her face in his sweat covered neck in order to muffle the sound. Jim gave her a few light thrusts, while Claire lightly kissed his neck, and began sucking on his sweet spot. Jim pulled out and rammed into her again, causing to lightly bite down on his neck. Jim groaned and repeated the action a couple times. The pressure in her lower abdomen seemed to fill her as she came closer and closer to her release. The tension she felt was almost too much to bare before she threw her head back cried.

"Holy shit… Jim!" she practically shouted. The pressure in her lower half seemed to explode, and her body was thrown into a sea of euphoria. Her walls clenched around him and he felt his insides practically explode as he came with her. He buried his face in her shoulder and gripped her waist tightly.

"Oh God, Claire!" he screamed, though his voice was muffled. He gave a couple last trusts before he collapsed on top of her, just as she came down from her own orgasm. Both of them continued to breathe heavily for a few long moments before Jim kissed her deeply. He pulled away and gave her a quick and sensual kiss before pulling away and looking down at her.

"I love you…" he whispered, his thumb caressing her cheek. She smiled and ran her hands through his hair.

"I love you too… " Jim smiled and gently pulled out of her before rolling over and slipping under the covers. Claire joined him and moved so her head was resting on his chest, which was still a bit sweaty. Jim pulled her closer and let his chin rest on top of her head. They laid in silence for a few minutes, her fingers tracing light circles in his skin. He continued to look down at her and smiled lightly. Words could not describe how happy he was to have her back in his arms.

"Jim…" she whispered. He looked down at her and smiled.

"Yes?" he asked. She looked up at him and smiled softly.

"I'm so happy we're back together," she confessed. His smile widened and he kissed the top of her head.

"Me too…"

Consciousness slowly came to her as she realized someone was tracing an outline on her back shoulder. The feeling was not unwelcoming, but was enough to stir her just the same. She opened her eyes and looked over to see Jim using one arm to prop himself up, while his free hand traced over her shoulder.

"Morning…" he greeted. She smiled and kept her head on the pillow. Sometime during the night she had broken away from him and laid on her stomach, giving him full access to her back.

"Morning." Jim smiled lightly and continued to move his finger on her back shoulder. She glanced over and saw that he was tracing the outline of her tattoo. The alien had stuck the sword in her right shoulder, leaving her shoulder with her tattoo unharmed.

"When did you get this?" he asked. She paused to think it over before sighing.

"Almost two weeks ago, right before the away mission. I got drunk with Alex and we decided a tattoo would be fun," she said. He nodded.

"Why a butterfly? And why go through the trouble of making it a different color? I thought that hurt more?" She nodded.

"It does… you have no idea." He chuckled and continued to watch her.

"So… why?" he asked. She sighed and buried her head in the pillow, trying to remember why she got the damn thing, before turning back to him.

"I got a butterfly because I was feeling trapped, like I was in a cocoon, or chrysalis… which ever one. I just wanted to break out and become normal again. I wanted to fly as far away from where I was and be free. The sad thing is, I had felt that way so many times before, it was depressing me. I figured a butterfly expressed how I was feeling, and how I had felt. I thought maybe if I put one on my body… I could finally be free…" Jim nodded and looked down at the tattoo before looking back at her.

"And the color?" he asked. She blushed and hid her face in the pillow before mustering the courage to speak once more.

"It's the color of your eyes." Jim smiled widely and moved so he was leaning over her. He gently bent down and pressed his lips onto her shoulder, giving the skin a sensual kiss before moving away and laid back in his previous position.

"I love you…" he whispered, reached out to caress her cheek. She smiled and kissed his hand.

"I love you too."

Anna glanced up at up at Ryan as he sat down next to her and across from his sister. She didn't fail to notice the light in Claire's eyes and the chipper mood she was suddenly in. Anna doubted that Ryan knew the reason for her mood, but Anna was well aware. Claire gave a yawn and took a bite from her breakfast.

"I love pancakes," she muttered, a small smile on her face.

"You're in a really good mood," Rupert commented. Anna shot Claire with a knowing look, which was ignored, but still noticed.

"I guess I just woke up on the right sight of the bed," Claire concluded. Anna chuckled into her glass of milk as Rupert rolled his eyes. Everyone at the table appeared to know about the happily reunited couple, except Ryan.

"Guys!" Everyone looked up as Liam rushed over to the table with a worried look on his face. Claire felt her heart stop as the thought of something happening to Jim crossed her mind, but relaxed when she saw Jim entered the café with Sulu.

"What's up, Liam?" Rupert asked as he stopped next to the table.

"You know Greg in the communications department? He died in his sleep last night!" He informed them. Ryan jumped to his feet.

"Really? What room is he in? I should go investigate just in case it wasn't an accident," he said as he turned to leave, but Liam grabbed his shirt.

"Actually, it wasn't an accident. Greg was completely healthy and only twenty-five years old. Spock and McCoy are looking into it now, but they're planning on making some kind of announcement after breakfast," he informed them. Ryan paused a moment before sitting back down.

"Well, I guess they don't really need me yet. And I don't mind finishing my waffles first anyway," he joked as he wrapped one arm around Anna and used the other to fork another chunk of waffle into his mouth. Claire smiled at the light-hearted mood of the table, even if a man just died.

"Yeah, I've got to get back to sickbay and take over for Alex. He's been working graveyard shifts all week," Liam said. Claire raised an eyebrow, a small ray of hope forming.

"Oh, are you and Alex talking again?" She asked. Her wishful thinking was shut down as Liam gave her a sad look.

"No, McCoy told me." Without another word, Liam left the café. Ryan took another bite of his waffle as everyone else let their eyes follow the depressed Liam out of the room.

"Well, that's a bummer," he stated. Anna shot him a mini glare while Claire shrugged. Despite her best friends still fighting, she couldn't help the overwhelming pure joy she felt after her night with Jim. No, there was nothing to destroy her bad mood.

"We've determined the man's death," McCoy told everyone as he entered sickbay. His sickbay. Claire and Liam looked up from their spot in the corner of the room as McCoy glared at her. "Conaway, what are you doing here?"

"Getting a check-up. So what caused his death?" Claire asked curiously. Spike's head popped out of one of the back rooms.

"It wasn't me, just to let you know." Claire shot him a look, and he retreated into the back room once more. She rolled her eyes and looked back at McCoy, who was shooting a look at her.

"I said no working," He stated firmly.

"I'm not working… I'm listening. I'm not going to perform surgery on anyone. Can I please listen… please?" McCoy shot her another look and looked back to the rest of the doctors.

"We have reason to believe that something entered his brain and lulled him to sleep." Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Like a sleep fairy?" he asked.

"An evil sleep fairy," Claire added.

"Conaway, you can listen, but you need to keep your comments quiet." Claire rolled her eyes and looked back to Liam, who was looking at her shoulder.

"So… when they lulled him to sleep… what happened?" Sophie asked.

"I'm not quite sure what happens within the actual dream, but I assume that the alien gives the person a reason to stay asleep. The further the mind get's into the dream, the further the body gets away with life." Claire looked over at Alex, who looked as though he was going to pass out, and then looked back at Liam, who was staring at his ex-boyfriend as well.

"So… we just have to tell the entire crew to stay awake until we figure this thing out?" Jackson asked.

"It's never going to happen. So many people just worked graveyard shift, they are exhausted. You're going to need a bloody miracle drug," Spike told them. McCoy sighed and looked around.

"I suppose we've just got to warn the captain, and go from there. Jim shall decide how we tell the crew and where we go from there." Claire closed her eyes as she realized this meant the crew would be in more danger than normal. She was brought back to reality when a small pain shot through her shoulder and she flinched.

"Ouch, that hurt," she snapped. Liam sighed and messaged her shoulder joint.

"That wound did a number on your shoulder. How bad did it hurt?" he asked.

"It's fine… just startled me. This is the first time it's hurt." Liam sighed and nodded.

"Alright… I guess it's best if you leave, before McCoy locks you in your room," Liam said, glancing at McCoy. Claire sighed and got off the bed, taking a look around sickbay.

"The sad thing is… I don't know where to go," she confessed. Liam shrugged.

"Grab a book, read… you haven't done that in a while," he told her. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Man… I have no hobbies…" Liam chuckled and put away his supplies.

"Work is your hobby, as sad as it sounds. Just get a few new books and find a quiet place to read… you should be fine." Claire nodded and left sickbay, not wanting to get in anymore trouble than she already was. She knew she was stuck with trying to find something that would keep he awake and entertained for a few hours.

"You know how long it took me to find you?" a voice asked. Claire looked up from her book and smiled at her boyfriend, as he entered the shuttle.

"I needed to find a quiet place to read… The whole ship went crazy after you made the announcement of what happened." Jim sighed and sat next to her on the floor.

"I know… they've calmed down a bit now though… enough for me to come and find you," He told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"You know that no one can sleep until we figure this out… right?" Jim nodded.

"I didn't make the decision lightly, but I had no choice. We don't know what we're dealing with and we don't know how to save the crew members who might be killed in their sleep. For now, no one sleeps," Jim explained. Claire nodded as cuddled closer to him.

"I guess the keeping each other awake rule makes sense then. Any ideas on how we can stay awake?" She asked as her voice became laced in seduction, snapping her book shut.

"Hmmm… I might have a few…" He said in his own seductive voice, pulling Claire into his lap and crashing his lips against hers. They might have spent the night together the night before, but Jim just couldn't get enough of this blonde haired angel. It felt so good to hold her in his arms again.

"Hey babe," Ryan said, propping himself up against the wall with his elbow. Anna looked over to the doorway he was standing in and smiled.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, getting up from her desk of work and crossing the room to her boyfriend.

"Well, Jim suggested that we all pair up and try to stay awake so we avoid dying in our sleep. Perhaps you'd be up for a night of not sleeping?" He asked. Anna chuckled and nodded.

"Sounds like a good night to me. Let me just finish up my paperwork…" Anna went to turned around, but Ryan reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You're not going anywhere!" He told her, tickling her sides. Anna let out a squeal as she writhed in his arms, trying to get away from his fingers. Ryan couldn't help, but laugh at her predicament as he continued to assault her sides. Quickly thinking, Anna leaned up and captured Ryan's lips. Ryan's fingers stopped as he let his hands rest on Anna's curvy hips. Before he could register what happened, Anna's hands had reached out and begun their own assault on Ryan's ticklish sides.

"NO FAIR!" He cried out as he tried to hold back his uncontrollable laughter. Anna just smiled.

"All's fair in love and war." He grabbed her wrists and leaned down to capture her lips, pulling her against him. She sighed and fell into the kiss, letting him run his hands through her thick hair. He pulled away and smiled down at her, his grey eyes turning to dark stone.

"So… would you like me to escort you back to you room?" he asked. She looked back at her paperwork and then back at him.

"I'd love it… as long as you promise to come in for some fun later," she whispered. The smile on his face grew wider as one hand rested on the small of her back.

"Of course, if you're up to it." A light laugh escaped her lips as they left the security office and began walking down the hallway. He pulled her closer to him as they made their way to the lift.

"You have… condoms… right?" she whispered. Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah… why? Are you on the shot?"

"Of course… but sometimes it doesn't work. No offense, but I really want to be married before I have a child." Ryan nodded and frowned.

"That was my original plan too." She frowned.

"Ryan, I'm sorry… I was just-"

"You don't have to explain Anna… it's fine," he assured her. She nodded, but still looked at him warily.

"Alright…" Ryan smiled and kissed her temple, and continued to lead her down the hallway. As they stood for the lift, he pulled her to him and let his nose take in her scent.

"I'm so glad you're my partner," he joked. Anna chuckled and nodded.

"I'm going to be honest, I thought you were going to pick Claire," she confessed. Ryan paused before pulling away slightly.

"Do you know who she is spending the night with?" he asked.

Yes, Anna thought.

"Uh… I don't know. I think she'll be just fine though," Anna assured him. Ryan frowned and shot her a guilty look.

"I just want to check on her… I mean, I'll still spend the night with you. I can't just leave her alone…" Anna was sure she suddenly became white.

"Oh, I doubt you'll be able to find her, she kind of wanted to be alone."

"She said something about a shuttle bay, I'll check there." Ryan entered the lift and hit the button for the shuttle bay, and Anna held back an annoyed sigh. She was going to have to save that girl's ass, yet again.

"Have you seen my panties?" Jim simply smiled up at her from his spot on the floor, but said nothing. She had a long tee-shirt on, and that just covered butt and private area. She had her jeans in one hand, and her sneakers weren't too far from the door.

"No, but I like the non-panty look on you," he said, a seductive smirk on his face. Despite her heart skipping a beat, she gave him a glare.

"Jim… I need my panties…" she walked over to where he was and he grabbed her arm, pulling her down to the ground and rolling so he was on top of her.

"Not for what I have in mind," he whispered. He leaned down and pressed his lips onto hers, while slipping a hand under her shirt. Claire sighed and gave into the kiss. Her legs wrapped around his waist and pulled her closer to him. He groaned and kissed down to her neck.

"If we keep doing this, we might fall asleep doing it," she told him, using the small blanket they found on the shuttle to cover them more. Jim chuckled and pulled away.

"Believe me, you won't fall asleep…" Claire chuckled and let her fingers trace over the love bite she had given him the night before.

"Hmm… no, but eventually we'll tire ourselves out," she reminded him. He smiled and kissed her deeply once more. His tongue slipped through her lips and she arched her back so her body could touch his. He moaned and his hand traveled to her breasts and she pulled away to give a small sigh.

"Claire!" a voice echoed out. Both she and Jim froze upon hearing the voice and stared at each other. They heard footsteps and Claire slipped out from underneath him to peak through the window, only to see her brother looking around.

"Shit," she hissed quietly. Jim was right behind her and saw her brother too, but only pulled her back.

"Maybe, if we're quiet, he'll leave…" he whispered. They stayed silent for a moment longer before Ryan's voice ran out.

"Claire! You in here?" Claire groaned and grabbed her jeans, slipping them on without even bothering with underwear.

"Claire…" Jim whined, pulling her down to him. Claire placed a sensual kiss on his lips before breaking away.

"I'm sorry, I need to go." He sighed but kissed her neck sensually before giving her lips a quick kiss.

"Your room, later…" she nodded and stood up, slipping her sneakers on and running out of the shuttle.

"Hey, you looking for me?" she asked. She was glad she got out of there when she did; her brother was only a few feet away.

"Why didn't you answer me earlier?" Ryan asked. Claire paused and shrugged.

"Well…"

"You weren't dozing off, were you?" a voice asked. Claire looked over and smiled upon seeing Anna.

"Yeah… I'm sorry; I was reading and started to doze. My bad…" Ryan frowned.

"Come on… we should probably head to our rooms…" Anna nodded.

"Yup, you lead… Claire forgot her book; I'll wait with her while she gets it." Ryan nodded and walked out of the shuttle bay, and Claire quickly grabbed her book, which was strangely right by the door. She shot a smile into the shuttle and went back to Anna.

"Got my book," Claire said. Anna nodded and grabbed onto her arm when she went to walk back.

"I can understand why you want to keep what's going on quiet… but you need to tell Ryan, and you need to be a little more discreet," Anna told her. Claire furrowed her eyebrows and continued to watch her carefully.

"What are you talking about?" Anna shot her a knowing look and glanced back at the shuttle, a small smirk on her face.

"All the lifts have security cameras, Claire… you're just lucky it was me and not your brother watching the monitors," Anna whispered. Claire's eyes went wide and her face turned bright red.

"So… you won't tell him?" she asked. Anna shook her head.

"No, but you should tell him before you get caught, or pregnant…" Claire gave a frustrated huff.

"Why does everyone assume Jim's going to get me pregnant?" she asked softly. Anna gave a scoff and began walking out of the shuttle bay.

"Because it's going to happen… one day." Claire just scrunched her nose at the thought and walked with her to the lift, where Ryan was waiting patiently.

"Hey, we're back!" Anna said. Ryan smiled, but there was something in his eyes that made her think something else was up.

"So… I was thinking…" He said. Claire raised an eyebrow.

"I thought I smelled something burning…" Ryan shot her a look and looked down at his girlfriend.

"I was thinking, that maybe we should let Claire stay with us… until this get's settled." Anna's eyes went wide as she realized her prospect of an intimate moment with her boyfriend was disappearing.

"What?" Anna asked.

"Well… I just thought, since she needs a place to stay it would be nice. You don't mind, do you?" he asked. Anna pressed her lips together.

"No, of course not…" she replied through clenched teeth. Ryan leaned down and kissed her temple.

"Thank you," he whispered. Anna broke away and the three of them entered the lift.

"Nada bueno, sobreprotector, estúpido hermano. Esto es totalmente arruinando mi noche de amor, decisiones. Lo juro por Dios, si ella no le dice pronto lo haré. Que me condenen si las cosas efectos tis otros también." Anna snapped, going off into her own tangent. Ryan just blinked and gave a small cough.

"So… you're staying with us tonight," Ryan finalized. Claire took a deep breath and gathered her courage.

"I'm not staying with you guys," she told him sternly. Ryan raised an eyebrow and looked at his sister.

"Claire… you need to stay with someone, captain's orders," Ryan reminded her.

"Oh, she knows…" Anna mumbled. Ryan shot her a look before turning back to his sister.

"Just stay with us, I'm not going to leave you alone." Claire gave a sighed.

"Look, Ryan-"

"Please don't fight me, I know you want to be by yourself, but that's not an option. I want my sister to be alive, since I'm the only one who is available-"

"I'm with Jim…" Claire blurted out. Ryan paused an just stared for a few moments.

"Claire…" He started, but Anna smacked his arm. Ryan didn't even have to glance over at her to know that she was giving him a warning look.

"I'm not going to keep it from you any longer. I really love him and we've worked things out. Can't you just be happy for me?" Ryan sighed.

"Anna, can you give us a minute?" Anna glanced back and forth between the two siblings before she shrugged.

"No hay nada más que puedo hacer aquí. Estaré esperando por usted cuando usted deje que su hermana viven su propia vida. Hombre, yo estaba esperando con el sexo también …" She snapped before turning around to leave. Claire watched her retreating friend.

"Any idea what she said?" She asked. Ryan scratched his head as he too watched Anna disappear out of the lift.

"I heard something about you and sex," he stated. Claire winced at his words, remembering all too well the events from Valentine's Day, and rolled her eyes.

"Of course you would… "

"Listen Claire, I get that you love him and you're happy, but just think about how much he hurt you," he tried to reason. Claire crossed her arms and glared at her brother.

"It hurt me the most because I wasn't with him. I realize that what I'm doing is leaving me vulnerable, but sometimes that's what love is about," she explained. Ryan opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but stopped. He wanted to snap back at her, to tell her that she was making a mistake, but he paused to rethink his words.

"Claire… just be careful. I worry about you. But, I suppose it's ultimately your decision. And I support it." Claire nodded and looked down.

"Thank you… I appreciate it," she muttered. Ryan nodded and they stood in a silence for a moment. "You should probably make sure she's alright…"

"Yeah… she sounded kind of pissed," Ryan agreed.

"I should go and try to find Alex and Liam… I never found out who they partnered up with," Claire said. Ryan nodded and kissed her cheek.

"Alright, be careful, I mean it." She nodded.

"Of course." Ryan watched her for a moment longer, then made his way out of the lift. He knew Anna was at her room, so decided he would try and talk to her. He made his way to the door and gave a light knock.

"Who is it?" her voice called, sounding a little irritated.

"Anna… it's me," he answered. There was a long pause before the door opened and Anna looked up at him, her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face.

"What?" she hissed. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry if I upset you. I didn't mean to." Anna rolled her eyes and leaned against the door frame.

"Really? How is it that you're going to offer me the prospect of having an amazingly euphoric night, then ruin it when you invite your sister… how messed up is that?" Ryan flinched and took a step toward her.

"I'm sorry… I really am. After what happened with her and Jim… it's just… difficult for me to let her go a little. I should have never done that to you," he told her. His hands rubbed her arms, and she slowly let her arms drop.

"I know… I understand, but I you should understand that, sometimes I want to be selfish and have you for my own," she told him. Ryan smiled and raised one hand, letting his hand rest on her neck.

"I understand now… and I'll be happy to give you that amazingly euphoric night… if you let me," he suggested. Anna smiled and let her arms wrap around his neck, and looked up at him.

"Hmm, I might need a little convincing," she teased. Ryan chuckled and leaned down, his lips finding hers immediately.

"Alex? Liam?" Claire called out as she entered sickbay. She heard a muffled conversation coming from one of the back room. She silently made her way over to slightly ajar door and listened closely to the argument.

"The hell you will!" Liam's familiar voiced be bellowed. Claire flinched at his words, but didn't move from her spot by the door.

"You can't just stay by yourself! What if you fall asleep?" Alex's voice called back. She could clearly make out Liam's trademark scoff.

"I'd rather fall asleep than be anywhere near you!" He yelled.

"I just care about you…" Alex snapped back.

"Yeah, you care so much about me that you sleep with my best friend!" Claire felt her heart drop as she realized that Liam was still holding that above Alex's head. She heard footsteps and backed away from the door as Liam flung the door open.

"Uh… hey Liam!" Claire said nervously as she realized that she just got busted eavesdropping on her best friends.

"You heard all that?" He asked her with a remorseful look on his face.

"Well… yeah…" She said, running a hand through her slightly messy hair. For a moment, Claire remembered she still had sex hair. However, there were more important things to worry about.

"Ugh, you'd think he'd get the hint!" Liam snapped as they walked away from the back room. Claire took a quick look into the back room to see Alex watching them both silently.

"He's just looking out for you. It shows he still cares," she said, trying to defend her other best friend. If it hadn't been for her, perhaps they would still be together. However, it wasn't just her fault so she couldn't take all the blame.

"I do too… I'm not even going there right now. I officially got off the clock seven minutes ago." Claire sighed and pressed her lips together.

"Liam…" He glanced over, and she could tell by the look in his eyes he did not want to deal with Alex.

"Claire?" Liam finally said. Claire looked down and shook her head.

"Never mind…" Liam frowned and nudged her lightly.

"Don't worry about it, you have your own things to worry about." Claire shrugged and forced a smile.

"Not so much anymore… I just… my best friends are fighting even though they clearly love each other. What's worse is that it's totally my fault," she confessed. Liam shook his head and looked back at Alex before looking back down at her.

"The past is the past Claire… don't let it drag you down," he said.

"Then why do you continue to hold it against Alex?" she asked. Liam met her eyes before shaking his head.

"I need to go, say hi to Kirk for me," Liam muttered. Claire turned bright red and watched Liam walk out of sickbay, while Alex walked up to her.

"He hates me…" he muttered. Claire looked up at him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He doesn't hate you. He's letting the past get the better of him," She assured him. Alex sighed and leaned against the wall, letting a hand run over his face.

"Either way, he doesn't have a partner, and is refusing to let me help him."

"Maybe if you just sort of look after him… or something," she muttered. Alex sighed and shrugged.

"I'm off duty… I should get out of here. Keep an eye out for him." Claire nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Good luck…" Alex nodded and walked off, leaving Claire alone. She gave a heavy sigh and rubbed her shoulder absentmindedly, since it was beginning to bother her a bit.

"Claire…" a voice called. She looked over and her grey eyes met his brown.

"Doctor McCoy, I wasn't working!" She defended. He rolled his eyes and lightly took hold of her arm.

"Come on, I want to check your shoulder," he said. She gave a frustrated sigh and followed him to a medical bed.

"I'm fine, Liam checked my shoulder this morning," she explained.

"Just let me check it." She pressed her lips together and let him scan over it. She really didn't think it was necessary, but wasn't going to argue with her commanding officer. "Has it been hurting?" he asked.

"No, well… a bit," she confessed.

"You should really take it easy," he scolded.

"I am! I'm not working."

"Playing hide the sausage with Jim is not taking it easy," he reminded. Claire's cheeks turned bright red and she gave an awkward cough.

"You said nothing about that, just that I shouldn't work." McCoy sighed and let his fingers check her joint.

"Well, when you land your ass back in here, don't expect me to be so sympathetic," He snapped.

"When are you ever sympathetic, you're an all around hard ass," she mumbled. McCoy shot her a look but continued to check her shoulder.

"You know why I am so hard on you?" he asked. He hit a certain spot, and she hissed in pain.

"Because you're a secretly a Nazi?" she snapped.

"No, that's because my wife took everything I owned in that damn marriage. Including my kid…" Claire frowned and looked up at him, his dark eyes becoming sad.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered. McCoy said nothing for a moment and looked her in the eye.

"When you were assigned to this ship, I read over your record. 'Shows great potential, but lacks motivation.' Once you came on here, I saw the potential you had to be a doctor. You just needed someone to make sure you stayed in line. Now look at you, now you're on your way to being one of the best surgeons in Starfleet. Now, unless you take care of that shoulder, that's not going to happen. So take it easy and lay off the crazy wild sex for a couple days." Claire continued to hold eye contact with him for a good minute before looking down and nodding.

"Okay… thank you, Doctor McCoy…" he gave a small nod and stuck her with a hypo spray. She gave a small hiss of pain and shot a small glare at the doctor.

"To help with your shoulder. Now, I believe you are still allowed limited visits into the sickbay," McCoy said. She sighed and stood up.

"Yeah, yeah… find a hobby, I got it."

Ryan raised an eyebrow as he walked toward his room, stopping at the sight of Alex Chambers sitting in front of someone's door. There was a pause before Alex slammed his fist against the door, and then turned back to the data pad in his hand.

"Uh… do I want to know?" he asked. Alex looked up and sighed.

"I'm making sure Liam doesn't fall asleep. He refused to partner up with anyone, so I'm making sure he's alright." Ryan gave a nod and watched his sisters best friend let out a small yawn.

"How are you going to stay awake?" he asked.

"I don't know, I'm hoping doing this will keep me up…" Ryan frowned.

"Maybe someone should stay with you…"

"I'm fine… I swear. Aren't you spending the night with your girlfriend?" he asked.

"Uh… yeah, I left to go get food, but they said that the cafeteria is closed, so we're forced to have out own computers generate it. Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" he asked.

"I'm sure," Alex replied as he stifled back a yawn. Ryan shook his head and took a seat next to the younger doctor.

"Why don't you try talking to him?" He suggested, but Alex shook his head.

"I did, but he doesn't want my help," he told Ryan. Ryan sighed.

"Do you really think he doesn't realize that you're out here banging on his door?" He stated, gesturing to Liam's front door. Alex followed his gaze, but couldn't tear his eyes away.

"Oh, I know he knows. I mean, he hasn't come out to check and I can hear him mumble curses every so often, but he's still awake and that's all that matters," he replied, his eyes still focused on the door. The two men sat in silence for a moment before Alex slammed his fist against the door again. Ryan could vaguely make out the mumbled curses from Liam and sighed.

"This is ridiculous…."

"You're telling me. I asked him to be his partner as a friend, not a lover, and he still said no," Alex told him. Ryan rubbed his sleepy eyes as he thought about Alex's situation.

"Isn't there anyone else you can stay with? I mean, I'm with Anna and Claire is with Kirk, but surely there's someone else you can room with for the night," he asked. Alex just shook his head.

"Nope." Ryan scratched his chin which contain a little bit of blonde facial hair.

"Rupert?" He suggested. Alex just shook his head again.

"He's got the identical Asian twins in his room tonight," he informed him.

"Oliver?" Ryan tried again, but Alex just sighed.

"Mr. Ruffles." They sat in silence as Ryan furrowed his eyebrows. This was harder than he though.

"Hmmm… McCoy?" He threw out in desperation, but Alex just shook his head once more.

"Mass amounts of hypo spray containers." Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"You make him sound like an addict," he muttered.

"He might be… explain why he's on his man period all the time," he commented. Ryan chuckled.

"Not sure you'd want to partner with him anyway…" Alex nodded his head.

"Yeah… it's a little awkward 'partnering' up with your boss." Ryan shrugged.

"I'm Anna's boss, and she's still partnering up with me," Ryan reminded. Alex shot him a knowing look.

"You also are having hot, crazy sex with her. That's probably one of the reasons Kirk is partnering with Claire and not McCoy," Alex pointed out. Ryan nodded and after a minute he stood up.

"I guess I better head out, I don't want Anna to fall asleep," Ryan muttered. Alex nodded and banged the door once more.

"How long do you think we'll be required to stay awake?" he asked. Ryan sighed and shrugged.

"A few hours… a few days… who knows?" Alex nodded and gave a small wave.

"Well then, have fun fucking!" he commented. Ryan shook his head and gave a small wave.

"Have fun being desperate!" Alex chuckled and leaned against the wall, giving another smack to the door for the hell of it. The door opened and Liam glared down at him.

"Do you mind?" he hissed. Alex smiled and shook his head.

"Not at all, anything for you babe," he said. Liam gave a frustrated huff and entered the room once again. Alex could hear a string of curses emitting from Liam's room, and he smiled down at his data pad. At least he was awake.

Claire walked sluggishly down the hallway to her room. It was nearing midnight and she was exhausted, but she knew that she wouldn't be getting any sleep for awhile. And as much as she didn't want to admit it, McCoy was probably right in saying she should take it easy when it came to spending time with her boyfriend. But just as she neared her room, she felt her heart skip a beat. Outside her room was a trail of red rose petals that lead into her room.

"Jim?" She muttered to herself, nearing the front door. What was he planning? Or at least, she hoped it was Jim. If it was some random creeper, she might have to be concerned. Claire took a deep breath, trying to control her heartbeat, as she stood outside her door.

"Open." The door slide open at her words and the low light of her room spilled out into the hallway. Scented candles filled her room as the aroma of sweet vanilla filled her nostrils. But Claire felt her breath quicken and her face fluster as her eyes followed the rose petals to her bed where her very naked boyfriend was laying across her bed, a single red rose in his mouth.

"What do you think?" He asked, removing the rose so he could speak. She pressed her lips together and covered her mouth with her hands as she looked at him.

"Very romantic… what movie did you get this from?" she asked, walking up to the bed. He smirked and looked up at her.

"That is for me to know, and you to maybe find out one day," he said. She chuckled and ran a hand through her hair.

"It's very sweet, Jim… and the flowers are lovely…" she commented. Jim smirked and took hold of her arm and pulled her to the bed.

"That's not the only thing that is lovely." He pulled her down onto the bed and flipped them so he was on top.

"Jim, I-" he cut her off by kissing her sensually. She sighed and gave into the kiss. She knew she should have listened to McCoy, he was only trying to look out for her, but she couldn't bring herself to pull away. Jim's tongue entered her mouth and began to wrestle with hers, while his hand traveled up her shirt. His hips pressed into hers and she moaned at the feeling.

His lips moved down her jaw and rested on her neck, his tongue tracing circles on her sensitive skin. She sighed in content and he leaned up so he could take her shirt off. Sadly, she decided to wear a cami under her tee-shirt, and he gave a small sigh of frustration. She tried to distract him by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling her to him and kissing him. She flinched upon doing so, the lack of sleep was not working well for her shoulder. Jim felt the flinch and pulled away.

"You alright?" he asked, one hand tracing over her face. She nodded.

"I'm fine… just my shoulder," she whispered. Jim ran one of his rough hands across her shoulder, careful not to do any damage to the aching piece of flesh. Claire moaned at the contact, the pain slowly disappearing under his soft touch.

"We can take it easy tonight if you want," he suggested, though the tone of his voice was clearly betraying his true intentions. Claire sighed as Jim continued to caress her shoulder.

"No… you went to the trouble of making one of the most romantic nights of my life and I can't deny you this, because I want it too," she told him, looking into his lust filled blue eyes. Jim nodded.

"I completely understand, trust me. I'll try to be gentle, okay babe?" He said with his normal cocky smile, but it wasn't the same insincere smile he'd be using for years. It was cocky and filled with lust, but it also filled with the unwavering love and desire he held for her. Jim leaned down and let his lips dance across her neck and down to her shoulder, making sure to not put too much pressure on it. Claire groaned in response, flipping them around so she was on top.

"Let me show you just how much I love you."

Ryan hurried back to his room, realizing how much time had gone by since he'd left for the cafeteria. If Anna hadn't been pissed before, she definitely was now. He darted around the last corner before halting in front of his door.

"Open," he commanded, but the door didn't budge. "Uh…"

"You think you're getting in that easily, Conaway?" A voice called from inside the room. Ryan flinched at the angry tone of his girlfriend.

"I'm so sorry, babe. I swear it was an-" Ryan started, but Anna cut him off.

"You didn't bring another person back with you, did you? Another person to ruin our special night!" She snapped from inside his room. Ryan ran a hand through his hair, trying to keep his cool.

"No babe, I swear. I did stop to say hi to Alex whose trying to keep Liam awake from outside his room, but-" Again, Anna cut him off.

"Of course you did. Everyone is so much more important than your horny girlfriend, right?" Ryan sighed realizing his mistake.

"No babe, I swear. The cafeteria was closed and Alex is our friend whose in a really bad spot and-" For the third time that night, Anna cut Ryan off. He clenched his fists, remembering all the times Claire did that to him as a kid. His biggest pet peeve was getting cut off mid-sentence.

"Why do you always have to be the hero, huh? Why can't you let people take care of their own problems?" She called out. Ryan took a deep breath and glared at the door to his room.

"I'm just a good guy, Anna. Please, for the rest of the night, it's just going to be you, me, and lots of sex. I swear!" He swore, trying once more to gain access to his room.

"Si no vienen más de diez veces esta noche, vas a estar en un mundo lleno de problemas. Get in here!" The door opened and he walked in, giving an apologetic smile at his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry," he said, walking up to her and letting his hands rest on her hips.

"You should be sorry, I don't wait for just anyone," she snapped. He smiled and pulled her close.

"I never expected you would," he said. She smiled and leaned up, pressing her lips against his and running her hands through his hair. He groaned and let his hand dip lower, cupping her behind and giving it a light squeeze. She jumped slightly and pulled away.

"Excuse me?" she said. He chuckled and looked down at her, his grey eyes turning dark with lust.

"I'm sorry, I just resist your voluptuous behind," he growled. She chuckled and pulled his lips back onto hers. His hands reached behind her to her uniform and unzipped it, the cold air causing her to shiver. She quickly let the garment fall to the floor, leaving her in her black silk bra and panties. He pulled back to admire her body, causing her to blush lightly from embarrassment. She quickly recovered and pulled his shirt off of him, enjoying her boyfriends muscles before leaning forward and kissing his neck.

Ryan moaned and ran his hands down her sides, then back up to rest on her breasts. She moaned at the contact and pulled away to kiss his lips and unhook her bra. Her breasts spilled out in front of him and his hands greedily caressed them. Anna pulled away and began to unbuckle his belt.

"I have a small confession," she whispered. He raised an eyebrow and pulled down his pants, leaving his boxers on.

"Oh, do you?" he asked, his voice low and rough. She nodded and pulled away, smiling wide at him. "Care to share?" he asked. She reached down and pulled down her panties. She now worse nothing except her knee high black boots.

"I think too much foreplay is overrated," she replied. Ryan felt his boxers become extremely uncomfortable as he smiled at her.

"A woman after my own heart," he replied. He pulled off his boxers and pulled her to him, relishing the fact that her skin was touching his. He moved so they reached the bed and gently placed her on the bed. His hands caressed down her body and rested on her womanhood, his rough fingers pleasing her as they entered her core.

"Ryan!" she breathed. He leaned down and kissed her neck. His member was throbbing painfully, but he held off entering her before she was ready. Anna closed her eyes while she enjoyed the pleasure erupting through her body.

"Anna…" he groaned. She nodded and pulled his hand away before reaching into her night stand and pulling out a gold wrapper.

"Just incase," she told him. He nodded and quickly ripped the wrapper open and gently wrapping the condom over himself. When it was finally on, her positioned himself over her. If Anna wanted him to skip the foreplay, then he was going to do just that. In one swift movement, he thrust his pelvis against Anna's and inserting himself into her womanhood. She moaned out his name, arching her back as waves of pleasure racked her body. Ryan smiled down at her, using one hand to support his weight while the other hand was busy with her chest, gently rolling her right nipple around with his fingertips. Anna bit her lip as sweat began to pour down her body.

"Fuck…" she hissed as Ryan began thrusting himself in and out of her at a steady pace.

"That's what I'm doing, babe," he told her with a cocky smile. She reached up and pulled him closer, her nails digging into the skin of his back.

"Don't get smart with me. Ugh… f-faster!" She cried out as Ryan found her sweet spot. He repeatedly pounded the same spot, causing Anna to shake and shiver under his own sweaty body. Ryan felt a fire burning up inside of him, centering from his groin, but continued to hammer away inside of his girlfriend. He was going to make sure he held out for her.

"I'm s-so close…" she stuttered, moaning into Ryan's neck. Ryan tilted her head to meet his lips, savoring the sloppy kiss they shared. He sped up his pace, refusing to break their heated kiss. She thrust her tongue into his waiting mouth, trying not to get lost in the heavenly feeling as her orgasm began to build. Ryan could barely contain himself any longer when he felt Anna's walls tighten around his throbbing member.

"I'm gonna… ARUGH!" Anna cried out along with her boyfriend as he shot his seed into the condom he was wearing. Her walls contracted around his member as she was sent over the edge. Anna was in complete bliss as the feeling of ecstasy pumped through her very veins. Ryan helped her ride out her orgasm before collapsing on top of her, trying to return to his senses. Anna closed her eyes and for a moment, was sure she had died and went to heaven. She opened her warm chocolate brown eyes and turned over to Ryan.

"Ready for round two?" Anna whispered into Ryan's ear, pulling her boyfriend closer. His chest rose and fell against her hand as he tried to regain his breath.

"I thought you'd never ask."

"This is freaking ridiculous…" Alex murmured to himself, rubbing at his tired eyes. He'd been sitting outside Liam's door for hours. For what felt like the millionth time, Alex banged on the door with his sluggish movements. He paused and waited for the familiar string of curses that Liam had picked out just for him before returning to his slumped position against the wall.

"I don't know how much longer… I… can…" Alex's eyes became heavy as he trailed off, unable to focus his train of thought. Without thinking of the consequences, Alex drifted down the side of the wall and passed out, the exhaustion from his long graveyard shifts and the seemingly never-ending night catching up to him.

It had been a few hours since Liam last heard his ex banging on his door and he was starting to grow worried. Yes, the man was annoying and didn't take a hint, but he was only doing it because Liam was being stubborn. Truth was, he just couldn't take getting hurt again. All throughout his life, Liam had the one to break hearts. He was the Kirk of the gay world, before Jim had met Claire, of course. He'd never suffered heartbreak over a man before and he didn't know how to handle it. Perhaps he was wrong, yes, but he didn't know how to just forgive Alex and let it go. Against his better judgment, Liam rose from his computer. He'd been working on some research for a new method of childbirth just to keep himself awake. Slowly he made his way to his door and peeked outside to find Alex slumped in a ball on the floor.

"Oh shit, this is not good…" he leaned in front of him moved the man so he was sitting up.

"Alex… Alex!" Liam snapped. He got no response out of him and Liam suddenly became worried. He checked the mans vitals and got no response. Liam began to panic and walked to the computer, hitting the first contact he could think of.

"Hello?" the voice asked sluggishly.

"Claire, I need help!" Liam cried.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's Alex, please just get here as soon as possible." He hear no reply and then turned to Alex. He kneeled and tried shaking him in order for him to wake.

"Come on, the one time I want to talk to you, you decide it's time for a nap," Liam muttered. A few seconds later, someone kneeled down next to him. He looked over and smiled upon seeing Claire, though, she had looked better.

"Is he alright?" she asked.

"You look like you just rolled out of bed," Liam commented. She shot him a look and turned back to Alex.

"I did… sort of. What's wrong with him?" she asked.

"He fell asleep, now he's not waking up." Claire frowned and walked to the computer.

"Doctor Conaway to sickbay, we have a medical emergency outside of Doctor Peterson's room. Please come immediately." She didn't bother to hear a reply as she kneeled in front of Alex once more and sighed.

"You have any idea how to wake him up?" Liam asked. Claire paused before backhanding him across the face. The impact caused Liam to flinch, but did nothing for Alex.

"No… none. Maybe McCoy knows…" Liam sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"If I had jus agreed to partner with him, this wouldn't have happened." Claire sighed and began to shake him once more.

"Alex, come on! You have to wake up, I'll let you eat pudding!" she suggested. When she got no response she gave a heavy sigh and ran a hand through her tangled hair.

"Conaway, Peterson… what happened?" a voice asked. Claire stood up and saw McCoy and two other doctors looking at them.

"He fell asleep! He's not waking up!" Liam said. McCoy nodded and helped the doctors put him on a stretcher, and the group walked down the hall, reaching sickbay in record time. Before they entered, McCoy turned around and looked at Claire.

"Conaway…" he said, his voice wasn't harsh, but it had a small warning tone in it.

"Please, he's my friend. I swear to god I won't work, but I need to make sure he's alright. I need to make sure Liam is alright… please…" McCoy sighed and ran a hand over his face.

"You touch anything, I'll have you locked in your room." She nodded and smiled at him before rushing in sickbay and walking over to Liam.

"He's going to be alright… right?" Claire nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure he is…"

Alex gave a small groan as he opened his eyes. The light seemed to be killing him and the small headache in the back of his head was a little disconcerting. He blinked a few times and froze when he realized that he was not on the Enterprise, but was in a large bedroom. The walls held many pictures, a few he recognized of him and Claire, and a few other members of the crew. As he sat up, he realized he was wearing nothing but his boxers, proving further that he was not at the last place he remembered. The doors opened and a small dog jumped onto the bed, nuzzling his cold nose on Alex's arm.

"Alex, you awake yet?" a voice asked. Alex looked up to see a topless Liam walk into the room.

"Liam?" Alex asked. Liam raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… yeah. Are you getting out of bed anytime soon? I made pancakes…" Alex nodded absentmindedly and got out of bed.

"Pancakes?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, you said you wanted some last night. Thought I'd make them now before we get started. We have a lot to do today," Liam told him, turning around and walking back to the kitchen. Alex rubbed the back of his head and slipped on a pair of sweat pants, pausing when he saw the picture on his nightstand. It was a picture of he and Liam standing under an arch, both of them wearing tuxes. Next to them was Claire and Jim, and Ryan and Anna. There were a few other people from the Enterprise, but Alex couldn't remember them. He was drawn to the caption on the bottom.

"Our Wedding!" His eyes went wide and his gaze dropped down to his left hand, where a simple gold wedding band sat.

"Oh, shit…" Alex whispered. The dog barked once more and Alex took a deep breath. He seemed to have just woken up from a weird dream, and was thrown into an even weirder reality.

"Alex! Get your ass in here! We need to eat before we go to meet Stacy!" Liam called. Alex began to walk into the kitchen.

"Who is Stacy?" Alex asked.

"Only the woman carrying your child! Jesus, did you hit your head or something? We're meeting with her so we can finalize the adoption." Alex walked to the kitchen island, where Liam was cooking dinner.

"Adoption?" he asked softly. Liam placed a plate of pancakes in front of him and sighed.

"Here, maybe after some food you'll start thinking straight," Liam said, leaning forward and kissing him deeply. Without thinking, Alex leaned into the kissing, enjoying the familiar feeling of Liam's lips against his own. It'd been so long since he'd been able to enjoy the feeling… but his world of bliss was cut short when everything came rushing back to him. Liam wasn't his, he was still mad. This wasn't real. Reluctantly, Alex pulled away.

"I… I can't…" He mumbled, ashamed at what he'd done. Kissing the dream Liam felt the same as cheating on the real Liam. True, he'd already done it once before and true, Liam wasn't his anymore to cheat on, but the feeling was still there.

"Okay, what's wrong? You've been acting funny ever since you woke up this morning. Aren't you happy?" Alex wanted to say yes, after seeing the pleading look in Liam's eyes. But he had to keep reminding himself, this wasn't Liam. This wasn't their life together. This wasn't real at all.

"I'm… not. This isn't real. It's too good to be real," he said hesitantly. It was hard for him to keep his grasp on reality, but as much as he wanted it to be real, he knew it wasn't.

"I've had that feeling once or twice before, but it is real Alex. We made it through all that shit on the Enterprise and now we're happy. Can't you just accept that and let go? I love you," Alex closed his eyes at Liam's words, savoring the words not spoken in a long time. Why couldn't all this be real?

"I wish I could, I do, but this isn't real. The real Liam… he never forgave me. None of this is real. You're all in my head!" Alex snapped, trying to fight the luring words of the dream Liam.

"Don't say such things!" But Liam's voice was no longer his own. The voice became thick with a foreign alien accent, making it so much easier for Alex to reject the dream world. The dream Liam tried to cling to Alex, but he jumped back from the table and glared down at Liam.

"Stop! Just stop!"

"What can we do?" Claire asked as McCoy looked over at the board of information they'd put together. They didn't have a lot of information on the dream deaths occurring on the Enterprise, so they didn't have much to go off of.

"Well, it appears that Alex's vitals are remaining constant, despite the coma-like condition he's in. Honestly… I don't know what we can do because we don't know what's going on in his head," McCoy explained. Claire looked over to Alex's bed to see Liam holding his limp hand.

"We have to do something…"

"Don't you want to stay here forever, Alex? Liam loves you here and you're happy," the dream Liam told him, the unfamiliar alien voice still present, but Alex shook his head.

"No, this isn't real! It doesn't mean anything if it isn't real?" he muttered. The dream Liam frowned and clenched his fists.

"You can have anything you want here. You're lover, a family." Alex watched in astonishment as three or four children appeared, all looking similar to either Alex or Liam.

"No, it's not real!" he hissed.

"It is as real as you wish it to be." The alien stepped toward him, causing Alex to step back.

"You can't make this real. Let me out!" he snapped. The alien took another step, but Alex pushed him back. The aliens eyes suddenly turned dark and he again took another step.

"There is no out. This is it. You can either accept it, or succumb to us unwillingly." Alex glared at him and clenched his fists.

"This isn't real! I can't just go on with this and pretend it's all fine!" he hissed. The alien paused before stepping back.

"Perhaps another fantasy then…" it suggested. The scene changed and he was suddenly in a palace, surrounded by gorgeous women. He himself was on a throne and wore a crown on his head. He looked over to see Liam, wearing nothing, but sheet covering his lower half. On the other side of him, was a beautiful woman, wearing practically nothing. All around him he noticed was full of all the woman he had previously slept with, and he meant all.

"Does this satisfy you?" The alien controlling Liam asked. Alex's eyes went wide as he saw a particular red head walk up to him. The first girl he ever slept with.

"Just give in Alex. Here, you can have whatever you want… who ever you want. No repercussions," she said. Alex tried to swallow the lump in his throat and turned to Liam, who practically crawled his way to him, while the she sat in his lap and caressed his face.

"I… I just…" he trailed off when Liam also sat on his lap, and ran his hand through his hair.

"We can please you, forever. Not just us, anyone you wish. Just say the word, and all of this… all of us… can be yours," he whispered.

"He's starting to flat line!" Liam called out from besides Alex's limp body. The color began to drain from his face as he realized they were losing him. Claire turned to run to Alex's side, but McCoy put his arm out.

"No working," he snapped. Claire turned to him with pleading eyes.

"But he's my friend! I have to do something!" She said, tears starting to well up in her eyes. No one else had survived the sleep coma before, what made Alex any different?

"Which is why I need you out of my way so I can save him," McCoy told her, a strict order and a sympathetic promise wrapped into those fifteen words. Claire swallowed the lump in her throat, but nodded and moved out of his way.

"Good Alex… good…" The alien who had taken Liam's form purred into the helpless man's ear. Alex relaxed into his touch, reluctantly giving in. What was he supposed to do?

"S-Stop…" But his demanded was weak and fell upon deaf ears as the alien cuddled closer.

"We'll do anything for you, Alex. Anything," the fake Liam told him, running his hand down the now shirtless Alex until his hand landed in his lap. Alex felt his breath to catch in his throat as he try to resist the moan building in his vocal chords.

"T-Then let me out of here. P-Please…" he stuttered, finally finding the will power to push the dream Liam away. Even if the real Liam hated his guts, he'd still rather be there with him than living a lie with the dream Liam. That's just how love worked.

"What'd you do?" Claire asked as Alex's vitals returned to normal. Liam returned to his right hand, latching onto the unconscious man once more.

"I don't know, he seemed to stabilize all on his own," McCoy told them, double checking to make sure the machine wasn't malfunctioning. After a few minutes, McCoy sat his scanner down and returned to his previous work. Liam stroked his ex-lover's hand as he watched his eyes twitch.

"Wait… do you think he's fighting whatever it is that's in his head?" Liam asked after a minute. Silence fell over the room as McCoy pondered the question.

"He might very well be. There could be a huge battle going on inside his head right now…"

"Don't you like it when I touch you here?" Liam purred once again as his hand disappeared under Alex's robe. He was dressed as a Roman emperor which left plenty of room for inappropriate touching.

"N-No…" Alex forced, trying to fight against the hand, but his body would not respond to his commands and he sat helpless under the sensual touch.

"That's not how your body seems to be responding…"

"Does… does Alex have a boner?" Everyone in the room froze and turned towards Alex's corpse-like body. Liam jumped back from the table, surprised at the small tent atop Alex's crotch.

"Um…" Liam started. He looked over at McCoy, who was dumbfounded.

"I don't know…" Liam let out an awkward cough and looked around the room.

"So… what do we do?" Liam asked. McCoy watched as Alex's heart rate began to slow, and looked back down at the man.

"Okay, if whatever is happening in his dream is effecting him in the real world, then anything that happens to him in the real world will effect him in the dream world…" McCoy concluded.

"So… what should we do?" Spike asked.

"Obviously the dream is doing… sexual things to him… so we stop it." Claire raised an eyebrow, as a few dirty things came to mind. She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. She had been hanging out with Jim for too long.

"So… we make him come?" Sophie asked. McCoy scrunched his nose.

"God I hope not," he commented.

"Hit him in the balls," Claire whispered to Jackson. Jackson raised an eyebrow.

"But… wouldn't that hurt?" he asked. Claire rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to smack him. So young, and so stupid.

"Duh…" she muttered. Jackson's eyes went wide and he turned to McCoy.

"If you hit him in the balls, it'll hurt!" Spike rolled his eyes.

"No shit, Sherlock…"

"No, wait. If the alien is… pleasing him, kicking him in the balls would bring him back to reality… so to speak…" McCoy blinked then nodded.

"That might actually work…" he mumbled. Before anyone could do anything about it, Scotty walked into sickbay, dragging a bleeding unconscious man behind him.

"What's going on?" Sophie asked.

"The whole ship has gone crazy. People are fighting each other everywhere," Scotty said. Nurse Chapel quickly ran over and tried to help the man.

"Not enough REM sleep makes people irritated, crazy, and violent. McCoy, we need to stop this thing now," Chapel said.

"Where is Jim?" McCoy asked.

"Trying to break up a fight in the dinning hall, it's pretty heated." Claire pressed her lips together and fought the urge to go help him, he was more skilled to handle something like that than she was.

"Shit… this isn't good…" McCoy hissed. A loud beep echoed through sickbay, and they all turned to Alex, watching in horror as he began to flat line.

"Shit! What the fuck do we do?" Jackson cried.

"Punch him in his balls!" Claire snapped. Liam needed no more encouragement.

A searing pain shot through Alex's crotch, and he shoved the alien away from him. The alien stumbled back as Alex crouched over, his hands covering his most sensitive area. It was then he knew that someone, anyone, from the ship was trying to get him to wake up. They had found him and were now doing whatever they could think of to keep him alive. He needed to stay alive, for his friends… for Liam.

"Alex?" the dream Liam cooed. Alex shoved him away and stood from the throne, making sure to put a good distance between he and the alien.

"Stay away from me!" he snapped.

"I will make this all better, Alex… I promise!" he cried. He rushed toward Alex, moving to embrace him, but Alex simply punched him across the face, causing the alien to fall over.

"No, let me the hell out of here and leave my ship alone!" Liam's eyes suddenly turned red and he hissed at Alex.

"You are mine! And only mine! You will succumb to me!" He shouted. He lunged toward Alex and they fell to the ground. The Alien's hands were around his throat, and Alex punched him in the face before he could properly strangle him. Before he knew it, all the other women in the room had him pinned to the ground. Dream Liam stood up and slowly crossed the room to stand towering over Alex.

"Get the hell away from me!" He cried out, trying to fight against the strong grip of the women.

"I can't let you leave here," the alien told him, his voice going down an octave and echoing through the palace they were in.

"Why? You can't just lose one person?" Alex cried out as some of the women began to disrobe him. The alien removed the cloth around dream Liam's body and stood stark naked before him.

"If we lose you, it'll drain our power and we'll lose our hold over the Enterprise. We must have everyone succumb to our power in order to become whole once more. No, you cannot leave. I will do whatever it takes."

"That looked like it worked," Claire stated as Alex's heart rate returned to normal and the tent disappeared.

"That's good. Perhaps he can… oh shit…" McCoy placed his face in his hands as the tent slowly returned to Alex's crotch. Claire's face went red and Liam rolled his eyes.

"Another boner? Jesus Christ… why couldn't he get it up that fast while we were having sex…" He mumbled. McCoy shot him an angry look.

"Can you just not?" He snapped, while Spike pointed towards the monitor.

"Wait, look at the heart monitor!" He cried out. Everyone in the room turned to face the monitor as Alex's heart rate began to beat in a certain pattern.

"What the hell is happening?" Liam asked as he rushed to Alex's side again, ignoring the man's boner.

"I think it's Morris code!" Claire stated, watching the pattern closely.

"Does anyone know Morris code?" McCoy asked, scanning the room. It was silent for a minute before Spike stepped forward.

"Er… I do," he told them.

"How the hell do you know it?" Claire asked, glaring at the British man.

"Sometimes it's better not to ask, love," he told her with a smile.

"Well, what's he saying?" Liam demanded. Spike nodded and moved over to the monitor. He watched the pattern a few times before turning back around to face McCoy.

"I'm pretty sure he's telling us 'again'. What again?" Everyone paused.

"Punch him in the balls again?" Jackson suggested.

"Dude, poor guy isn't going to be able to have kids if we keep this up," Claire stated as Liam prepared to punch his ex-boyfriend in the crotch again.

"I think living is more important than functioning junk!" Liam snapped, turning to face Claire.

"That's up for questioning," Spike interjected. Everyone turned to glare at him.

"Liam, just punch him again…" McCoy ordered.

The pain erupted in his crotch once more, and he threw the women, and the naked Liam off him and reached behind for a weapon. He finally found a sword, and thankfully a sheet, and faced the alien.

"You can't do this! There are hundreds of innocent people on that ship, you're just going to kill them?" Alex asked. The dream Liam held a sword of his own.

"No one is innocent. If you insist on being stubborn, I will have no choice, but to kill you. I have derived enough pleasure from you to wait till the next victim. It is just a matter of time before someone falls asleep," the alien snapped. Alex tightened his grip on the sword. The next person could just as well be Liam, and he couldn't let that happen.

"Fuck you!" he snapped, rushing forward to attack the alien. The alien moved out of the way and hit him in the face with the hilt of the sword. Alex cried out in pain, but swung the sword and grazed the alien's stomach. The alien cried out in pain and went to stab him once more, but was stopped by Alex's sword. The alien growled at him and went to punch him in the gut, only to be stopped by Alex's knee. Alex pulled away and swung his sword, meeting the other's with a clang. The women who were previously in the scene had vanished, and it was just Alex and the alien.

"You are so foolish. We could have given you anything you wanted, any lifestyle, any lover. Yet you choose to fight us!" Alex shoved the alien forward and swung his sword down, cutting off the Alien's hand.

"Yeah well, your dream world is a bunch of bullshit. It's not the same if it's not real," Alex snapped. The alien glared and swung his weapon, smiling evilly when it sliced through some skin on his chest. Alex cried out in pain and fell to the ground, but not before stabbing the son of a bitch in the foot.

"Is that blood?" Liam asked, his voice raising in face as the shirt covering Alex's chest began to turn a deep crimson color. Not waiting around, McCoy quickly ran over to his side.

"Come on, Chambers. You can do this," he whispered as he ripped the doctor's shirt open to reveal the gash across his chest.

"What do we do now? I don't think punching him in the balls again will do much now…" Claire trailed off, watching McCoy tend to the wound.

"Nothing, it's up to him now. We just need to make sure we take care of any injuries he might receive," he explained.

"Dr. McCoy, look at his thigh!" Liam exclaimed, pointing to Alex's right thigh which began bleeding profusely.

Alex howled with pain as the alien's sword became lodged in his leg and he fell to the ground. He tried to rise to his feet again, but the muscles contracted against the metal in his legs, slicing farther through his leg.

"ARGHHH!" He cried out. The alien grinned as Alex dropped his sword and grabbed his leg.

"What are you going to do now, Alex? Do you really think you can beat me?" Alex gritted his teeth together as he gripped the handle of the blade and yanked it out of his leg in one fluid motion.

"I am going to end this now," Alex said with barred teeth as he used the sword to support to his weight. He rose to his unsteady feet and held the sword in a ready position.

"Are you really going to attack and unarmed man?" The alien asked with a smile, holding up his empty hands. Alex wasted no time in lunged towards the alien and piercing it in the chest.

"You're not man, you're just one sick fuck!" The Alien paused before letting out a ear piercing scream, and disappeared in front of Alex's eyes. Soon the sword disappeared, and Alex was left alone in the dark.

Liam stood next to Claire, one hand tightly gripping hers, and the other tapping against his leg. Claire could tell the man was nervous, and she was nervous as well. They had finally got the bleeding in his chest to stop, and were now looking at his leg. She began fidgeting when she saw Spike work on his leg, and use the wrong clamp to stop the bleeding.

"Ugh, this is driving me crazy…" she muttered.

"He just needs to wake up… that's all," Liam whispered.

"No, I'm talking about the clamp!" she snapped. Liam turned toward her, his eyebrows raised.

"My boyfriend is in there dying, and you're worried about a clamp!" he snapped.

"Ex-boyfriend, Liam…" she pointed out.

"Whatever…" Claire rolled her eyes and turned back to Alex, who's leg had stopped bleeding and was recovering quite well.

"Why don't you just forgive him? You obviously love him quite a lot still." Liam frowned and turned toward her once more.

"It's not that easy… I can't just… I can't, not just yet." Claire was about to reply when the doors opened and Jackson walked out.

"He's awake, he's asking for you, Liam." Liam froze before letting go of Claire's hand. For a moment, she thought he was going to actually go to him, but was disappointed when he turned around and left sickbay. Claire sighed and looked back at Jackson.

"I'll see him…" she told him. Jackson nodded and she walked into the room just as McCoy was leaving. He paused to look at Claire, then back at the door where Liam just left and shook his head.

"Poor kid," he muttered. Claire nodded and walked up to the bed, where an exhausted looking Alex was laying down. He looked up at Claire and his frown deepened.

"Liam?" he asked. Claire sighed and shook her head, placing her arm on his.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered. Alex frowned and nodded, blinking a few times to stop the tears from falling.

"I should have expected…" he trailed off and closed his eyes.

"Alex, I can try to get him back." Alex shook his head and gave her arm a small pat.

"No… you need to get some sleep. I'll be fine," he said. Claire paused and looked at her best friend.

"Are you sure. I don't want you to be alone," she told him. He shook his head and yawned.

"You need sleep, I need sleep. The whole ship probably needs some sleep," he said in an exhausted voice. Claire furrowed her eyebrows at his statement.

"What about the aliens?" She asked. Alex sighed.

"I took care of them, not to worry," he told him. Claire grabbed his right hand and gave it a gentle pat.

"Give him some time. You went through hell today in your head, but Liam went through his own personal hell today too. I'm sure that once-" Alex pulled his hand out of Claire's and looked up at her.

"He'll come around if and when he's ready. I can wait. Just being around the real Liam is enough for me…" He said before drifting off to sleep. Claire gave him a sad smile as she pulled the sickbay sheets up and tucked the tired man in.

"At least he can rest easy now…"

Ryan sighed as they finished leading the bloody crew members to sickbay. The fighting had been occurring all night, interrupting his special night with his girlfriend. Neither he nor Anna were happy with the disturbance, but they were both security officers.

"Here's the last ones. Everyone who wasn't harmed were sent back to their rooms for a good night of sleep. Anything else you need, Dr. McCoy?" McCoy rubbed the bridge of his nose as he scanned sickbay.

"This place is ridiculously overcrowded and I'm short three doctors!" He snapped while rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Which three?"

"Dr. Chambers, Dr. Peterson, and your sister. Alex is recovering from this whole sleep battle he had to go through and Claire's still not approved to work yet. I have no idea where Liam is though and I really need him here right now," McCoy explained. Ryan nodded.

"I'll go find him and send him down here to help you guys out." McCoy gave a nod and returned to work. Ryan walked out of sickbay and made his way down the hall, stopping when he saw Liam sitting on the floor, his legs pulled up to his chest. Ryan paused an glanced back at sickbay, then back at the doctor. He was actually surprised that he was able to find the doctor so quick.

"Liam?" Ryan asked. Liam looked up, his tired dark eyes meeting Ryan's tired grey.

"Yeah?" he asked softly. Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Are… uh… are you alright?" he asked.

"No," Liam replied. Ryan debated on just telling the man he was needed and leaving, but decided to sit down next to him.

"Is this about Alex?" he asked. Liam nodded.

"I can't help it. I still love the cheating asshole!" he snapped. Ryan gave him a sympathetic smile and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's hard to stop loving someone, even after they do something like that," Ryan told him. Liam sighed and turned to Ryan.

"Would you have forgiven Colleen?" he asked. Ryan's face fell and Liam immediately knew the answer. "I didn't think so."

"That's different though. Colleen never told me. She was going to marry me and have Rupert's baby without telling me. Alex came to you up front and said that he made a mistake. He's a better person than Colleen was," Ryan explained. Liam sighed.

"I suppose you're right…" Ryan stood up and waited for Liam to hoist himself up as well.

"Listen, it's tough, but you can't live in the past. Everyone makes mistakes, it's just a matter of if they learn from them, and if they regret them." Liam thought it over and then gave a small nod.

"That makes sense… maybe I should… try to be friends with him," he admitted.

"It's a start…" Liam nodded and gave Ryan a hand shake.

"Thank you, I really needed this." Ryan smiled.

"No problem. Oh, McCoy needs help in sickbay, it'd be best if you went." He said. Liam nodded and turned toward sickbay.

"Night Ryan," he called. Ryan waved.

"Have fun!"

Jim gave a yawn as he entered Claire's room. They finally got all the fighting to stop, and he ordered everyone to at least take a nap. He entered the room and frowned upon seeing the scene in front of him. Claire had fallen asleep in her attempt to wait for him, but Rocky, he faithful guard dog, was sleeping right next to her. Upon seeing Jim, he sat up and started growling.

"Shh, I'm leaving," Jim whispered.

"No, don't go," Claire muttered. She sat up and pushed her dog off the bed, ignoring the small growl of protest he gave. "Oh shush…" she muttered. Despite the growling dog, Jim crossed the room and joined his girlfriend on the bed.

"Hey," he whispered to her as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey," she replied, cuddling closer to the warmth and serenity he provided.

"How's Alex doing?" Jim asked as they leaned back against the bed. Rocky finally stopped barking and settled down next to the bed, angry that he'd been disturbed.

"Okay, but he's going to be out of commission for awhile," Claire informed him, closing her eyes and relaxing against his strong arms.

"Well, I'd imagine so. Thanks to him, everyone on the ship is safe," he stated, mimicking Claire's actions.

"Yeah, poor guy…" Claire trailed off. Jim opened one eye to look at her.

"Let's get some sleep, you look exhausted," he stated as he reached down and pulled the covered up over them.

"What, no sexual advances?" She inquired, giggling at her own words. She was tired and feeling a little bit silly.

"There's plenty of time for that later. I'm pretty beat myself. Besides, if I'm going to blow your mind, I need to make sure I've got enough energy to last for a couple of days," Jim told her, pulling her close once more. Claire scoffed at his words.

"Yeah, like you could."

"Do you doubt me? Am I going to have to prove it to you?" He asked, pulling away and sitting up to look down at her, a cocky grin spread across his tired face.

"Maybe another time. Right now, it's time for bed," Claire told him, pulling him back down.

"Good call."

To de Reviews

X-PANIC
Raxsah: Yeah, College tends to take up most of your time. Like, I'm supposed to be doing my English essay, but I'm going to wait till later tonight. XP Jim and Claire are together, no Amnesia needed, though that would have been interesting. O.o Jim would have had to flirt with her constantly all over again. How many chapters? Uh… who knows. We're playing it by ear… type? Idk.
Jeck: Nursing student? Wow, that must be intense. My best to you! Of course Jim has! I think you guys don't give us enough credit sometimes. Chapters? We're not sure. Pages? Less than 300, more than 200... -ish. :3 Not studying too hard is something I'm good at. That would be why I got a 78 on my psych exam. Just saying. But thanks anyway!

Lintered
Jeck: I love scaring random people in the library. I went there to do homework and ended up watching AMV Hell on there. I was pissing myself laughing at some parts and people just kept giving me the stink eye. :3 I enjoy it. I know, it's pretty hard to remember all of our craziness. We try though. The healing vagina thing was mostly Raxsah's idea, so give her the credit on that one. Colleen had to die. Just saying. She was the exception to the killing character rule. I'd love to drop out, but I'd have to pay about 60% of my tuition in addition to my tuition. So not happening. You'll just have to deal with updates being sparse sometimes. We're pretty on time this week though. :3
Raxsah: Yes, I would say the same happened in my Library, but there is always someone doing something weird on my school. Believe it or not, we think of much weirder things, we just keep them to ourselves. And honestly, when you're running around in space and not wearing protection, shit happens. I can't drop out because my parents would kill me. Yeah… that and I have nothing else to do. XP

klandgraf2007
Raxsah: Thanks! We appreciate it. Hope you liked this chapter.
Jeck: I can't either! I love this story! UPDATE MORE JECK AND RAXSAH! Oh wait… never mind…

nickiR0x
Jeck: Perhaps you should make up your own language! Jeck and Raxsah appreciation language! :3 Lol, I'm just kidding. (though if you want to, I'm not stopping you!) We've actually reached a part in the story where one major thing happens after another. We just started cramming all of our ideas in there. Hope this chapter was quick enough for you!
Raxsah: I feel special. I'm glad you like the story. Hopefully we can surprise you a few times before it gets predictable. Hopefully. I think after this, we were just trying to get everything done, it got to the point where we threw random stuff in there so it wasn't one thing after the other. Hopefully we'll have the next chapter up next weekend. Hopefully.

Raxsah: Wow… we're actually in chapter 21. Makes me wonder how many chapters we have in the story.
Jeck: I don't know… we started out with smaller chapters though and we've been increasing their length lately. *shrugs* Maybe we should sit down one day and just outline all the chapters in one day.
Raxsah: That… takes effort which I don't have. Anyway, like before, we're thinking of having a contest. First to 100 gets a one shot. Same rules apply as before, and hopefully we'll have the other story out soon enough. Hopefully.
Jeck: We're all about the hopefully part. Everything is up in the air when you're in college. (especially when you roommate hates you for busting her for drinking in the dorms) :3 I'm not a nice person. But we've also got ANOTHER contest too. The 50th and 100th reviewer is all by chance, but we'll be awarding the person who reviews the most a story of their own. Instead of a one-shot, it'll be a multi-chapter story. Incentive to review? Well, I hope so! :3
Raxsah: Yeah, plus it gives us more of a reason to make our Sundays free. ;D This is all practice for when we publish our own book one day… if we ever write one. Hahahahaaa. Anyway, feel free to review and let us know what you think. Makes us happy to hear from you guys.
Jeck: I'm sure we'll get around to it when we're rooming together in an apartment after college. Hopefully. It all goes back to hopefully.
Raxsah: Keep your hopes up! Till next time lovelies!
Jeck: I'm Jeck, this is Raxsah, and DON'T FIST FUCK A RAT!
Raxsah:… You need to come home. Those people are teaching you crazy and… just wrong things.
Jeck: :D