Raxsah: Hello Fanfiction peeps, did you miss us? I missed us.
Jeck: I missed us too. And all the death threats can stop now because the cliffhanger hangs you no more!
Raxsah: Yes, believe it or not, I almost ended this one with a cliffhanger, but I thought that might have been too mean. Hopefully this chapter will keep you all from killing us. Hopefully. O.o
Jeck: Possibly… well, let's not think about that. Let's just think about how awesome Raxsah and I are! :D Modesty was never my strong point.
Raxsah: Hahahahaa, Modesty. Who needs it? I mean, who else could create the awesomeness which is out story? I bet other stories don't have a kick ass Liam in them.
Jeck: No… just a black guy who is gay and is a medic. Hmmm… Oh wait, I'm giving shit away!
Raxsah: Different story, different category all together. Hahahahaaa. Hopefully he'll be as awesome as Liam. Maybe.
Jeck: Possibly. We'll see what you guys think of it after we finish this fine story here!
Raxsah: I know, we're winding down. I'm no longer giving the amount of chapters, because I honestly don't know. It changes every week. Hahahaaa. Anyway, no warnings for this chapter, but a couple of close calls.
Jeck: Everywhere that I am is a close call. ;D They haven't filed that sexual harassment charge yet and I'm quite happy. But then again, I also have Chex Mix.
Raxsah: I wish I had some Chex Mix. Or some Combos, Combos are the shit!
Jeck: Combos are pretty good… but I have an unhealthy obsession with Chex Mix. My roommate and I are on the second bag already! O.o
Raxsah: That is unhealthy. But it's okay, it's college, it's allowed. For now.
Jeck: Until I come home, right? HUZZAH! I'M SO EXCITED! People should not be this happy for a surgery…
Raxsah: It is rather strange. But I'm excited too! It's party time. You shoulda been home to go on this kick ass haunted house hayride thingy Peter Pan took us too. I missed you!
Jeck: Yeah, I wish I could've gone. But it's okay, once I get home there'll be parties up and down every street! :D
Raxsah: Hellz yeah home slice. But until then, let's give the people the story. I'm sure they are dieing to find out if Anna lives or not. Hahahaaa, Dieing, get it? Okay, I thought it was funny.
Jeck: LAWL! Yeah, we should stop torturing them. They probably skipped our rant today to get right to the story and are either coming back to read them now or not at all… in which case… eh, I've got no threats this time. Just read the story for now!

Chapter 24: Burning Love

"I'll be right back Ryan, I'm going to go check on Anna. They should've started the new heart up by now," Alex explained. Ryan nodded and watched the doctor leave the room. Leaving him alone, again. Spike hadn't been much company and spent most of the time talking about how Ryan could fuck Anna without any problems after the surgery, but Ryan merely told him to fuck off. He just wanted Anna to make it out alive.

"Ryan…" Ryan broke free from his thoughts to see the grim face of Alex.

"No… no, no, no, no…" Ryan could feel his whole world collapsing as the realization of what had happened dawned on him.

"I'm sorry," he said, walking across the room and sitting down next to the breaking man. Wordlessly, he put an arm around Ryan as the tears began to fall. Anna… was dead…

"Dr. Conaway, take your hand out of Anna's chest. She's dead and she's not coming back," McCoy ordered, but Claire continued to pumped the heart. Moments ago, McCoy had instructed Spike to inform Alex of the news and told Liam to mark Anna officially dead for all the records.

"I can save her," Claire said between clenched teeth. She wasn't going to let Anna die on this table. She was going to keep pumping until the heart started pumping on it's own. She had to live. For Ryan. For her.

"Claire, she's dead," McCoy said again, but in a softer voice. Claire could barely hold back her tears, but she continued to pump away. No one said a word as a small beep filled the room. Spike rushed over to the monitors and gasped as Claire removed her hand from Anna's chest. McCoy was shocked to see the heart beat all on it's own.

"She's alive again," Spike said breathlessly.

"S-She can't… she c-can't be g-gone…" Ryan said between sobs as Alex cradled the grown man. He felt his heart breaking just watching him, but there was nothing else to do. They had done their best. If Claire couldn't do it, he doubted that anyone else could do any better.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, but Ryan didn't seem to respond at all to his words.

"I-I loved h-her," he stuttered, trying so hard to form his sentences. Alex opened his mouth to continue whisper soothing words, but the door to the OR opened and Claire walked out.

"She made it. I saved her," she declared. Ryan froze, mid-sob, and looked up at his sister.

"Y-you did?" He asked, unsure if it was all some sick twisted joke.

"Yep. She died for about forty-seven seconds, but I didn't give up and Liam is closing her up right now. She's alive," Claire told him. Ryan didn't even glance at Alex as he rose from his seat and practically tackled his sister to the ground.

"YOU ARE AMAZING!" He cried happily, planting kisses on her cheeks. Claire was shocked at first, but started giggling at his reaction.

"Did you think I'd let her die?" She asked as Ryan relaxed in her arms. For a moment, he said nothing. Then without warning, he charged back across the room and tackled Alex to the floor. Alex didn't even know what happened when Ryan's fists began beating his face in.

"YOU TOLD ME SHE WAS DEAD!" Claire was frozen in place for a brief moment before running toward the men and grabbing a hold of her brother.

"Ryan, stop! STOP!" she cried, trying to pull him off of the doctor. Eventually Ryan let her pull him off Alex, but he was still glaring at him.

"You said she was dead! You liar," He hissed. Claire pulled him back and moved so she was in front of him.

"Ryan, he was only doing what he was told to do. She did die, but we brought her back! Just calm down," she said softly. Ryan still had his fists clenched but looked down at his sister.

"She's going to be alright? No permanent damage?" he asked.

"We won't know till she wakes up, but I'm hopeful. Just take a deep breath and try to calm down," she instructed. Ryan did as his sister asked and ran a hand through his short hair.

"I'm trying… Jesus," he muttered. Claire put a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down. She led him to a chair and had him sit down to collect himself.

"Alex, can you go get me a glass of water, please…" Alex picked himself off of the ground and rubbed his jaw before nodding. Claire shot him a sympathetic look and turned back to her brother, who was still trying to collect himself.

"She's alive… she's alive," he mumbled. Claire nodded and rubbed his back.

"Everything is going to be fine… I promise," she assured him. Alex came back and handed her a glass of water, to which she gave to Ryan.

"Fucking asshole, it's not my fault you guys just fucking jump to conclusions," he snapped. Claire rolled her eyes and shot him a look.

"Alex, if you keep your mouth shut for the next hour, I'll patch up your face for you," she suggested. Alex rolled his eyes and walked away. Ryan took a long sip of his water and turned toward her.

"I guess you're kinda like a super hero now," he said. Claire smirked and shrugged.

"More like a rock star, but I'll go with super hero." Ryan let out a small chuckle and then turned serious.

"Thank you. You really are something special when it comes to surgery," he praised. She blushed lightly and leaned back.

"Well, I'm no McCoy, but in a few years… who knows?" he nodded and took a hold of her hand.

"She really is going to be fine?" he asked. Claire resisted the urge to roll her eyes and nodded.

"Like I said, it looks good… but we'll have to wait in order to really know." Ryan nodded and smiled.

"How's she doing?" Claire asked as she entered Anna's room. It had taken a lot of persuading, but she had finally convinced Ryan to go back to his room. The boy needed a shower and a change of clothes desperately. Liam looked up from the machine that Anna was hooked up to and gave her a sad smile.

"She's been asleep now for about six hours," he stated. Claire raised an eyebrow.

"Is that bad?" She asked. Liam sighed.

"Well, I'd hope you know that since you did the surgery. But yes, her heart is working just fine. There shouldn't be any problems," he explained.

"Good, good," Claire mumbled absentmindedly.

"So how's she doing?" Claire and Liam turned to look at the door to see none other than McCoy standing in the doorway.

"You should've come in about sixty seconds ago, I asked the same thing," Claire mumbled. McCoy turned and glared at her.

"Well, I'm the head doctor so when I ask how someone is doing, I better get a goddamn answer," he snapped. Liam cleared his throat.

"Vitals are good and the heart is working perfectly, but she hasn't woken up yet. She's pushing about six hours now," Liam explained. McCoy nodded and pointed to the door.

"Good, now please leave us," he demanded. Liam paused for a moment, but shrugged and headed for the door.

"Yes sir," he muttered. McCoy waited until Liam was out of the room before turning to Claire.

"You did good out there today, Conaway," he told her. Claire blinked a few times.

"Thanks, Dr. McCoy," she said slowly, unsure if he was being serious or not.

"No, I really mean it. I doubt I could've done a heart transplant better myself," he said, this time in a more serious voice.

"Well I don't know about that…" Claire replied, scratching the back of her head.

"Conaway, shut up. I'm trying to give you a compliment," he snapped again.

"Sorry, sir," Claire replied quickly, not even bothering to give her answer a second thought.

"You're a good doctor and a damn good surgeon," McCoy continued. Claire felt her cheeks burn bright.

"You know, up until today I wasn't sure if this was really something for me, but I think it is," she admitted. McCoy raised an eyebrow at her and folded his arms at her words.

"Oh really?"

"Well yeah, I mean I never really had a plan or a goal for my life, just live day by day. But now, I really know that this is something I want to do for the rest of my life," she explained. McCoy let a hint of a smile shine through.

"I'm glad."

Claire glanced up from her charts as she watched Anna's vitals. She didn't see any changes in her condition and went back to her work. It had only been a few hours since Liam last checked on Anna, but Claire had hopped she had woken up by now. Claire took a glance at the clock and let out a small yawn.

"Come on Anna, if you don't wake up soon I'm going to have to kick your ass," Claire mumbled.

"Like you could if you tried," a tired voice replied. Claire looked up and smiled widely at her.

"I totally could. No offense, but you're just coming off of surgery. Not really all that hard to beat," Claire said. Anna looked at her with tired eyes and smirked.

"Yeah, but you're the one with a bum shoulder," Anna pointed out. Claire paused and then shrugged.

"Good point. I say we call it a draw." Anna chuckled and nodded.

"Okay… I guess I'm alive then?" She asked. Claire stood up and walked over to her.

"I would think so. If this is your version of heaven I'd be disappointed… unless it's hell… then I'm concerned." Anna chuckled, though it was still a little weak. Claire checked a few things on the vital machine and turned back to her.

"Will I feel better? Like… stronger and all?" Anna asked, her brown eyes looking up at the blonde doctor. Claire nodded and smiled down at her.

"Yes. It's going to take some time to recover, but once you do… things will be better than ever." Anna smiled at the news and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank God," she muttered.

"Ryan was here earlier, but I sent him to bed. He was going to wait here all night for you to wake up," Claire told her. Anna smiled at her boyfriends dedication and almost became teary eyed.

"Wow, that was sweet of him," she said in an airy tone, her thoughts wrapped around her boyfriend.

"You should've seen him, he almost looked as bad as you did before the surgery," Claire told her, remembering the disheveled form of her brother.

"Thanks Claire, really," Anna said, her sarcasm shining through her weak and fragile form.

"Your sarcasm hurts, but it's true. He really does care about you, you know," Claire told her. Anna smiled as she eased herself back against her pilled.

"I know. Sometimes I just think it's because Colleen is gone, but he really does treat me like one of kind," she admitted. Claire smiled and grabbed Anna's hand, forcing her to look at her in the eye.

"That's because you are. Well, to him. Not to me. Well, you are to me too, but not in the same way of course. I'm a lot of things, but a lesbian is not one of them," Claire clarified. Anna quietly chuckled at her behavior as Claire raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"That babbling thing, your brother does that too," Anna explained, trying to stop herself from laughing too hard.

"ANNA!" Claire and Anna jumped at the sound of Ryan's voice. He ran through the open door to Anna's bedside.

"Ryan? What are you doing here?" Anna asked. Claire rolled her eyes, but smiled when she saw how Ryan's face lit up.

"I'm here to see you, stupid," he said excitedly, gently easing himself down to hug her without harming her.

"I thought I sent you to bed," Claire snapped at him. Ryan shrugged.

"I couldn't sleep. I did shower and change though," he told them with a smile.

"I'm glad, you reeked," Claire mumbled. Ryan shot her a glare, but turned back to Anna.

"You're okay? You're awake and okay?" he asked. Anna nodded and raised a hand to rest on his cheek.

"Yeah, I'm just fine," She assured him. He smiled and looked over at Claire, who was writing a few things on Anna's chart.

"Hey… can we uh… get a minute alone?" he asked. Claire looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"You can get a minute when I'm done. I am working. You will just have to wait," Claire told him. He rolled his eyes and looked back at Anna, who was chuckling lightly.

"Fine," Ryan muttered. Claire chuckled and turned toward Anna.

"When you're better, we are so having a girls night out, we'll even invite Liam," She told her. Anna raised an eyebrow.

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a girls night out?" she asked. Claire shook her head and put the chart down.

"Not really, it's Liam," she pointed out. Anna paused then chuckled and nodded.

"Alright, just let me know when." Claire nodded and began to walk out, not before messing up her brothers short damp hair.

"Don't do anything crazy, she's still recovering." Ryan nodded and waited for Claire to leave before leaning down and pressing his lips lightly onto Anna's.

"I'm glad you're alright," he said softly. Anna nodded and smiled up at him.

"I'm glad too. I didn't mean to make you worry," she said. Ryan shook his head and brushed some of her dark hair out of her face.

"It wasn't your fault, and I was fine for the most part. I just freaked when Alex told me you had died," he confessed. Anna's eyes went wide and her heart rate sped up.

"I died?" she asked. Ryan took both of her hands and began to calm her down.

"Just breathe, it was only for a few seconds, Claire brought you back. God, I'm sorry baby, I thought you knew. Just calm down, you're fine now," He said, trying to sooth her. Anna continued to take a few deep breaths, savoring in the fact that it was no longer laboring to do so.

"Wow, it's so weird to have someone else's heart. Did they say whose heart it was?" She asked, allowing her fingertips to lightly brush across the left part of her chest. Honestly, the new organ didn't feel much different from her old one, but it was strange knowing that it wasn't her original heart.

"No, they just said it was a match for you," Ryan said, watching her examine the area around her heart.

"It's like… this isn't even my heart…" She said slowly, but Ryan reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Maybe not, but it keeps you alive and it keeps you here with me," Ryan told her, tightly holding her hand in his. He scooted closer to her on the bed and placed her hand across his chest, right above his own heart.

"What are you doing?" Anna questioned, her voice barely above a whisper. Ryan didn't answer her as he placed a loving kiss on the top of her head.

"I hope you can find a place for me within your new heart," he said to her, trying to hold back his tears. It wasn't manly to cry in front of your girlfriend, even if she did almost die. Anna choked slightly, trying desperately to hold back her tears.

"Let's hope it can handle all the love I have for you," Anna whispered to back to him.

"Forty-five minutes. They've been in that room for over forty-five minutes just making eyes at each other!" Alex snapped. Claire looked up from her doctoral journal about Anna's surgery.

"Dude, chill out. Just because you and Liam aren't making eyes at each other anymore doesn't mean you can-"

"Did you know we slept together a few nights ago?" He interjected. Claire paused an shook her head.

"Uh… no, I didn't. I'm… sorry?" she asked. Alex sighed and moved so he was closer to her.

"I walked in on him when he was sleeping and-"

"Dude, you are such a creeper!" Claire snapped.

"No, let me finish! McCoy sent me because he had been having trouble sleeping. So I was checking his vitals and the next thing I know, we're… doing it," he said. Claire raised her eyebrows and ran a hand through her hair.

"Wow… shit happens when you leave for shore leave…" Claire muttered. Alex nodded and ran a hand over his face.

"What do I do?" he asked. Claire paused before she turned to her best friend.

"Talk to him, if he doesn't want to talk… wait for him to come to you. I'm sure Liam's having a similar reaction," Claire assured him.

"You don't know already? I thought that was your superpower or something?" Alex asked. Claire laughed and shook her head.

"I haven't talked to Liam about it yet, obviously. Don't worry, things will work themselves out." Alex nodded and rested his head on the desk.

"So… how was your shore leave?" he inquired. She shrugged, but couldn't help the smile that came to her face.

"It was… okay. It had it's moments." Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Did you get laid?" he asked. Claire turned red and shifted awkwardly in her seat.

"Maybe," she mumbled shyly. Alex chuckled and patted her shoulder.

"Ah, so innocent, yet so… not," he muttered. Claire rolled her eyes and went back to her charts.

"Says the guy sneaking into his ex-boyfriend's room in the middle of the night and shagging him up," she mumbled. Alex felt his eye twitch, but didn't turn around.

"Touché."

"I'm so excited!" Liam cried out. Anna chuckled as Claire rolled her eyes.

"Liam, you go out clubbing practically every week. Now you're just going with the girls," Claire explained, but Liam ignored her words.

"This is going to be so epic! I wonder what I should wear…" He mused, trailing off and getting lost in his thoughts.

"Clothes, preferably," Anna mumbled. Her and Claire burst out laughing as Liam glared at them.

"I hope you two are going to do this to me all night," Liam muttered. Claire and Anna exchanged looks and shrugged.

"Maybe," Anna said. Claire giggled and smiled at him.

"Yeah, what can we say, we're girls." Anna chuckled and stepped off the lift.

"Well, I'm off to check in with work before I get ready. I'll see you two later," Anna said. Claire and Liam waved and waited for the lift to get to their floor.

"So, what does Kirk say about all this?" he asked. Claire shrugged.

"He said don't get drunk and sleep with anyone else." Liam chuckled and sighed.

"Yes… we tend to do stupid shit when we are drunk… don't we?" he asked. Claire nodded and looked up a her gay boyfriend.

"So… are you going to get drunk and wander into Alex's room?" she asked. Liam paused and glared at her slightly.

"He told you?" he asked. She nodded and chuckled.

"If it makes you feel better, I got laid too," she told him. Liam raised an eyebrow and exited the lift with her.

"How is that supposed to make me feel better? Your boyfriend is sexy as hell!" Claire paused to ponder it before nodding.

"Yeah… he is, isn't he…" Liam rolled his eyes and stopped at his room and sighed.

"What am I going to do about Alex?" he asked. Claire rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her hair.

"How about, you two figure this out on your own, and stop asking me. Just, party tonight and think about it tomorrow, okay?" she asked. Liam sighed and nodded.

"Fine, what are you going to wear tonight?" he asked.

"A whore red dress… probably short and shows too much skin to be considered appropriate." Liam gave her a sly smile.

"Tease," he hissed playfully. Claire simply shrugged and began to make her way down the hallway.

"What can I say, Jim's rubbing off on me," she explained.

"That's not the only thing Jim is rubbing off on you." Both of them paused an raised an eyebrow.

"Um…"

"That sounded better in my head," he told her. She nodded and smiled.

"I'm sure…"

"You're going out tonight?" Ryan asked as Anna finished up her work for the day.

"Yeah, to party with the girls. Err… your sister and Liam," she told him as she collected the rest of her work into one file.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to handle it?" He asked as he leaned against the edge of her desk.

"I'm fine. You need to stop worrying." she snapped. After the outburst, she felt bad. He was just worrying about her, but it was starting to get old.

"It's only been a couple of weeks since the surgery," he reminded her.

"I know and McCoy declared me fit to work again a few days ago. If I can work, then I can party," she told him, clearing off her desk and handing him the folder.

"I just worry about you," he admitted as he took the folder from her. Anna sighed and nodded.

"Maybe you need a guy's night. Because I'm fine and sometimes I deserve to have a little fun that doesn't involve your penis," she told him, the snappy tone back in her voice.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry I don't want to get you upset," he told her. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I promise I'll be just fine. Don't worry. It's just a bit of fun. I promise," She told him. He nodded and stood up, pulling her closer.

"I'm sorry, I just… worry about you," he said. She rolled her eyes.

"I know, but babe, it's kind of fucking annoying." He smirked and kissed her deeply.

"I love you." She smile.

"I love you too."

"You think this skirt is too short?" Claire asked. Jim looked up from his paperwork and smirked.

"Yes, is that for me?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and made sure the tube top was on securely.

"Maybe later. I bought this dress years ago and never found a use for it. I figured I'd wear it tonight," she said, strapping on the heals.

"Are you going to wear it for me tonight?" he asked, walking up to her and kneeling in front of her. She blushed and smiled at him.

"Maybe, if I'm not too drunk." He smirked and kissed her deeply.

"Don't get too drunk. I don't want to pull anyone off you," he said. She smiled and kissed him once more.

"I have Liam to scare them away, don't worry." Jim chuckled.

"Scare them away or take them into the back room?" He asked. Claire shrugged.

"What that man does with his penis is none of my business."

Liam tugged his blue skin tight shirt off and sighed.

"Stupid closest…" He mumbled throwing the shirt into a pile of clothes. He'd wanted to go shopping, but being on the Enterprise limited their shopping ability. There was, of course, a never ending supply of Starfleet uniforms though. Great.

"The black jeans and the green tank top looked pretty good," a voice said from his doorway. Liam closed his eyes and sighed again, knowing who the voice belonged to immediately. Finally, he turned around to see Alex leaning in the doorway. "We need to talk."

"No, not tonight. Tonight I'm going out with the girls, getting drunk, and sleeping with some random hot guy who doesn't have a name. We are not doing this tonight," Liam snapped. Alex sighed and nodded.

"Fine. We'll talk when you're ready," he said and turned to leave. Liam watched him go and felt a large pang in his chest. Reluctantly, he crossed the room back to his reject pile and pulled out the recommended clothing. At least the man was good for something.

"I want a nice strong shot of tequila with a bottle of Corona," Anna said, smiling at the male waiter. He nodded and turned toward Liam.

"What would you suggest?" he asked, a hint of seduction in his voice. The waiter smiled at him and shrugged.

"My favorite is a martini, it's called Alexander. It has-"

"No, I'll have a Sex on the Beach, and a shot of vodka." The waiter frowned, obviously seeing that he insulted the man and turned toward Claire.

"I'll just have a White Russian, and don't be afraid to water it down," she told him. The waiter nodded and left the table.

"Water it down? I thought this was girls night?" Liam asked. Claire shrugged.

"I'm feeling a little nauseous. What happened with you and the waiter? He totally was into you," Claire inquired. Liam rolled his eyes and glanced around the room.

"He has a stupid favorite drink," he muttered. Anna chuckled and shook her head.

"So, you won't sleep with him because his favorite drink happens to be an Alexander?" she asked. Liam smiled and nodded.

"Yup." Claire and Anna rolled their eyes and looked to the waiter who brought them their drinks.

"Here you go, anything else?" he asked.

"No, we're good. Thanks," Anna said. He nodded and shot a forlorn look at Liam before walking over to another table. Liam shook his head and took his shot of vodka.

"Gosh, men are so pathetic," he said, holding his head up high. Claire began to giggle while Anna almost choked on her shot.

"You are such a hypocrite, you know damn well that you could not last a night as a straight guy. I don't even think you could make out with a woman," Claire laughed.

"Yeah, face it Liam… you need men, almost as bad as we do," Anna told him. Liam folded his arms and glared at the two women.

"I totally could if I had to! Besides, this coming from the two women in steady relationships now. I bet you couldn't even snag yourself a one night stand," he challenged.

"That's because we're happy with hot guys who give us good sex. Actually, I don't know what kind of sex my brother gives, and I think I'd rather leave it that way," Claire mumbled, taking a long drink from her White Russian. Anna gave her a sly smile.

"It's fucking amazing, just so you know," she told Claire. Claire cringed.

"What part of I'd rather leave it that way didn't you understand?" Claire asked.

"The part where I could talk about the amazing sex that I have with your brother. You wouldn't believe the things he can do with-"

"LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!" Claire burst out, causing several people in the bar to look at them. Anna broke out laughing as Liam sighed.

"Your maturity levels are amazing," he mumbled.

"Mature is the stuff I do with Ryan," Anna stated with a smile. Claire narrowed her eyes at the girl.

"Stop talking, now," she instructed.

"I dare you that you couldn't even pick up a guy for a one night stand," Liam challenged her. Claire rolled her eyes.

"I really don't want to try. I'm with Jim and he'd kill me if I slept with another guy," she reminded him, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You don't have to sleep with him. Just get him to invite you back to your place. I mean, unless you're chicken," Liam dared her, flapping his arms like a chicken.

"Speaking of maturity levels…" Anna added.

"You too, missy. You two have been so out of the game you couldn't pick up another guy if you tried." Claire snorted and took a sip of her drink.

"Yeah, that's why I slept with your boyfriend, right?" she muttered under her breath. Liam glared at her and was tempted to throw something but stopped himself.

"Wow," Anna said, laughing up a storm. Claire's eyes went wide when she realized what she had said and turned toward him.

"Liam, I'm sorry! I just, it slipped out!" she said. He shot her a look and went back to his drink.

"So, speaking of sex. How was he in bed? I mean, we all know he's amazing at gay sex, but how about straight sex? Is he better than Jim?" Anna asked.

"Uh, excuse me, I really don't want to talk about this," Liam snapped. Anna rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Liam, it happened forever ago. I mean, you can't be too upset with him if you slept with him again. Just relax and let her answer the question," she snapped. Claire took another sip of her drink before answering.

"Uh… he was alright. He was, um… too used to having sex with guys, so it was a bit too rough for my taste," she muttered.

"See, I like it rough," Liam said.

"He was probably thinking about Liam while fucking you," Anna explained. Claire and Liam shot her a look.

"Gross," Liam snapped. Anna shrugged and turned back to Claire.

"So, it was bad? Is Jim obviously better?" She asked once more.

"It wasn't horrible, just took a while for me to… well, you know. Nothing compares to Jim, he's a fucking Sex God," Claire told them, a small smile on her face.

"Do you guys always do it missionary style? You seem like a missionary girl. I bet you guys do it every night," Liam muttered. Claire turned bright red and gave an awkward cough.

"Uh… no, not always. But about fifty percent of the time we do. And it's not every night… just every other night…" she whispered. Before Anna or Liam could reply Claire changed the subject, "Hey, Liam… that girl keeps making eyes at you," she said, gesturing to a girl at the bar. He didn't even bother to look.

"Looking for men, girls. Not women," he reminded them, gesturing to the waiter.

"You couldn't pick a woman up if you tried."

"I could if I wanted to, but I like to tight rough sex. Excuse me, waiter, give me the strongest stuff you have," Liam told him. The man nodded and left to retrieve his drink, but not without giving him a lust filled look. Anna sighed.

"That guy is hot and all over you, so obviously the cock isn't doing it for you," Anna stated. Claire nodded, but paused as a thought crossed her mind.

"Hey Liam, I dare you pretend to act straight the rest of the night," Claire said, a wicked smile across her face.

"Now why would I do that?" He asked, noting the grin on her face.

"Because Anna and I will get one night stands in return. You did dare us anyway," she reminded them. Liam paused for a minute to think over the situation. Finally, he returned Claire's evil grin.

"Alright, but since you're the one daring me to be straight for the night, I dare you to get a one night stand with a women. Anna, you're fine just getting a guy," he told them. Anna sighed in relief and took a nice long drink.

"Thank god," she mumbled, but Claire was not as happy.

"Hey, that's not cool!" She snapped, but Liam's smile didn't waiver.

"A dare is a dare, my dear." Claire scrunched her nose and ran a hand through her hair.

"I haven't hit on a woman in over five years, I'm not even sure I remember how to do it…" Liam raised an eyebrow.

"You've slept with a woman before?" he asked. Claire shrugged it off.

"It was a threesome. Darren had me pick the girl up," she said. Anna smirked and shook her head.

"Wow, the sex history of Claire Conaway comes to fruition." Claire rolled her eyes.

"Like you have never slept with a woman before," she muttered.

"True, what about that red head over there? She looks hot," Anna suggested. Claire looked over and then back at Anna.

"Fine, but if I'm hitting on her, you have to hit on the guy who is hitting on her," Claire dared. Anna glanced over and saw a tanner man trying to convince the red head to dance with him.

"Deal, he's not too ugly," she compromised.

"Fine, we get with the people we are going to 'sleep' with, and then meet back here. We'll proceed from there. Deal?" Liam asked.

"Who are you hitting on?" Claire asked.

"That wannabe blonde girl, who is hanging with one of her friends. She keeps looking over here, though I'm not sure if it's at me or Anna," he confessed.

"Whatever, see you two here soon," Anna said, standing up and walking over to the man. Claire took a large swig of her drink and stood up, making sure her boobs were sticking out a bit more than usual.

"You know, I could have any guy I want in a dress like this, and you have be trying to get with a woman. That's just sad," Claire muttered. Liam shrugged.

"And you have me trying to get with a woman, so we're equal here," he mumbled back. Claire looked over to see Anna whisking the tan guy over to the bar and out of Claire's way. That was one less thing she needed to worry about. Claire sighed and crossed the bar to where the red head was sitting alone, looking slightly rejected now that the hot guy hitting on her was gone.

"Hey there, can I get you a drink?" Claire asked as she took a seat next to the red head. The girl looked up and smiled, her luck seemingly turned around. Claire felt bad knowing that she was using the poor girl, but a dare was a dare. And from the looks of it, Liam had already made his way over to the blonde girl and was chatting her up.

"Yeah, that'd be nice," she said with a sweet smile, her teeth unusually bright and white. Claire bit on her lip, but motioned for the waiter.

"You looked so lonely over here, so I figured I'd keep you company," Claire told her, waiting for the stupid gay waiter to pull himself away from glaring at Liam.

"That's very noble of you. My name is Melissa," she said, putting out her hand and introducing herself.

"My name's Grace, nice to meet you," Claire said, feeling even worse that she didn't have the guts to properly introduce herself. She was dating Jim Kirk, therefore a lot of people knew her. She was hoping that Melissa wasn't one of those people.

"Can I help you?" The waiter asked in a snappy tone. Claire glared at him as she held out her glass.

"Another White Russian, please. And don't water this one down at all," she ordered before turning to Melissa. "What'll you have?"

"The same, please," she asked. The waiter nodded and left them alone.

"So, why is a pretty lady like you sitting here all by yourself?" Claire asked as Melissa let her long straightened red hair fall over her face.

"Well, I wasn't, but all my friends left early with a bunch of guys and the one guy hitting on me was taken away by your Latino friend over there," she explained, gesturing to where Anna was practically feeling the guy up.

"Oh, yeah sorry about that. Anna is kind of a slut," Claire said, causing Melissa to giggle. Anna stopped what she was doing to shot Claire a look across the bar.

"I heard that!" She shouted.

"Go back to your drink," Claire snapped back, a smile on her face. Melissa continued giggled as Claire forced a smile on her face. Honestly, the red head's laugh was the most annoying thing she'd ever heard, but she had a job to do.

"You two are really funny." Claire smiled and moved a little closer to her.

"And you are really kinda gorgeous," Claire replied. The waiter walked over with their drinks and Claire simply chugged the whole thing. "Another," she demanded.

"You planning on getting drunk?" Melissa asked. Claire forced a smile on her face and turned toward the woman.

"Hmm, aren't we all?" She asked. Melissa shrugged and moved a bit closer to her.

"True…"

A few hours later, Liam was already at the table with his 'woman', who was just about ready to suck his cock.

"Dude… dude… You are like… totally hot," she said, slurring her words a little. Liam took another sip of his drink and patted her head.

"Aww, you're cute too. I think you're- Hey, get your hand out of my crotch… I need a few more drinks for that to happen," he snapped. The girl looked a little put off but leaned against him anyway.

"Okay…" she muttered. Liam rolled his eyes and watched as Anna sat down at the table, a black man next to her.

"What happened to the other guy?" He asked. The dark man raised an eyebrow but Anna ignored him.

"He was too touchy feely. Craig her is much nicer," she said, taking a hold of his hand.

"Uh, my name is Drew…" Anna looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Huh…" Liam rolled his eyes and looked around the bar and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Where did Claire go?" he asked. Anna looked around and spotted the blonde on the dance floor.

"She's making good on her dare," she said. Drew and Liam followed her gaze, and She swore that Drew's eyes bugged out of his head.

"Dude… that is so fucking hot," he muttered. Out on the dance floor, Claire was bumping and grinding on the red head, while the other woman had one hand on her waist, and the other on her ass. Not to mention the red heads lips were lightly kissing her bare shoulder, and slowly making their way up her neck.

"Dude… Claire has to be drowning in alcohol right about now," Liam said. Anna nodded and pulled out her data pad, recording the video and smiling evilly.

"Blackmail… or porn, whichever one," she said, causing the table to laugh. Liam went to chug back his drink, but found his cup to be empty.

"I'll be right back, that damn waiter isn't getting here fast enough," Liam muttered, gently pushing Lisa out of his lap. She groaned at being shoved away, but Liam ignored her and crossed the room. Anna leaned back into Craig or Dave or Drew or whatever his name was and sighed contently.

"You want to get out of here and head back to my place?" Drew asked with a confident smile. Anna smiled too and got off the guy.

"Thanks Steve, but I just fulfilled my dare. I've got a boyfriend, so I'll see you around buddy," Anna said as she too rose from the table and headed off in the same direction that Liam had gone off to. When she reached the bar, neither Liam or the waiter was anywhere in sight.

"Hey, where's Liam?" Claire asked trying to regain her breath as she and Melissa ran into the bar, both giggling like schoolgirls. Claire had decided after about nine drinks, the annoying giggling wasn't so bad.

"No idea," Anna mumbled. Claire opened her mouth to reply, but a long scream filled the bar. Heads turned towards the boys bathroom and Anna groaned.

"Do you think… was that?" Claire asked, trying to form the words. Alex had always complained that Liam was a screamer, but he had officially just proved it. Anna nodded.

"Sadly, I think it was. I do believe he just lost his bet," Anna stated. Claire nodded.

"Yeah, how about you?" She asked, completely forgetting the presence of Melissa standing next to her.

"I did my duty, you?" Claire paused before turned to Melissa, who raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… what would you think about heading back to my place for the night?" Claire asked. Melissa smiled and attached herself onto her arm.

"Of course," she said, batting her eyes at Claire. Claire turned toward Anna and smiled.

"I win," she said triumphantly. Melissa broke off from Claire an raised an eyebrow.

"You were using me?" she asked, her hands on her hips. Claire nodded and took another sip of her drink.

"Yup, sorry. I have a boyfriend, Jim Kirk… and he's one jealous son of a bitch too," Claire said. Melissa paused before raising an eyebrow.

"You are dating James T. Kirk?" She asked. Claire nodded and sat down.

"Yeah… why?" she asked. Melissa shrugged before looking at her shyly. She stepped forward and placed a hand on Claire's thigh.

"Would he be interested in a threesome?" She asked. Claire scrunched her nose and pushed the red head away.

"Probably, but he isn't getting one unless there is a ring on my damn finger," Claire stated. Melissa huffed and walked away. Anna raised an eyebrow.

"A ring on your finger? You planning on getting married anytime soon?" she asked. Claire shook her head and took another sip.

"No… well… no," Claire said. Anna chuckled and took another sip.

"You sound so sure there." Claire sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I don't know. I'm only twenty-three… almost twenty-four, do I really want to be tied down?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, but you've already said you love Jim, and don't want to be with anyone else," Anna pointed out.

"True, but if I get married, nights like this suddenly are out of play. Not to mention kids come along and-"

"But Ryan said you love kids and are really good with them." Claire rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I do, and I am. But… what if Jim doesn't want kids? What am I going to do then? Plus I'd be a horrible mom." Anna shrugged and took a long sip of her drink.

"But you're kids would be fucking gorgeous, just on Jim's looks alone." Claire rolled her eyes and watched as Liam made his way over them.

"Okay, ready to go?" he asked.

"Claire and I made good on our deal… what about you?" she asked. Liam blushed and crossed his arms.

"Stupid dare anyway," he muttered. Claire's eyes went wide and stood up.

"Stupid dare? I got kissed by a girl and you…" She trailed off and covered her mouth. Both Anna and Liam watched her carefully and watched as she turned to the side and emptied the contents to her stomach on the floor.

"Oh… gross," Anna said. Liam rolled his eyes and held back Claire's hair while leading her into the bathroom. Anna said sorry to a few people and followed the pair into the ladies room, stopping and cringing when she heard Claire continue to throw up.

"It's okay… just let it all out," Liam told Claire, rubbing her back and continuing to hold her hair back.

"When did I eat cake?" Claire asked. Anna cringed and grabbed some paper towels and a breath mint.

"Don't worry, we'll get you back to the ship, give you a flusher to flush your system of alcohol and drop you off at your place. Okay?" Liam asked.

"Here, this should help," Anna said. Claire wiped her face and turned toward her friends.

"I want to go home…" she stated. Liam nodded and helped her up.

"Okay, let's get you home."

Anna gave a groan as her hands went to her head, as if that would stop the massive headache coming on. She knew drinking like that would be a bad idea, but of course, she had let Liam and Claire talk her into it.

"Crazy young people," she muttered. Though, she wasn't sure that statement made sense, one because Claire was only a couple years younger than her, two, because Liam was older than both of them. She felt someone sit next to her on the bed and put a hand on her forehead.

"How you feeling?" Someone asked in a whisper. She was very thankful the person knew already she was hung over, because this would have made this conversation ten times worse.

"Like crap," she whined. The person sighed and continued to rub her forehead.

"Anna, I know you don't want to, but you do have to work today," the voice reminded her. She slowly opened her eyes and met her boyfriends worried grey irises.

"I don't want to work," she cried. Ryan sighed and shook his head.

"You have to work, now come on." Anna groaned and tried to turn over, but Ryan caught her and flipped her.

"No, Ryan!"

"You have to work, there is no question about it. I might be your boyfriend, but right now I'm your boss. Get up and get to work." Anna glared at her and gave a small growl.

"You get me out of this bed and you will not be having sex for a month," she snapped.

"You don't get out of this bed, and you'll be doing paperwork for a month," he replied.

"Suck it," Anna hissed. Both of them glared at each other before Ryan shrugged and turned around.

"Fine, be like that. I have a hand," he snapped. After a minute Anna gave a heavy sigh and sat up.

"I'm coming, god. Don't have a bitch fit."

Alex looked up from his patient chart and raised an eyebrow at his best friend.

"Jesus… what did you do last night?" he asked. Claire ran a hand through her hair and shrugged.

"I honestly have no clue. I woke up with Jim laughing at me, a tear in my dress, and a napkin in-between my breasts with a number on it," she mumbled. Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Was Jim super jealous?" he asked. Claire shook her head and took a long sip of her coffee.

"No, that's the reason he was laughing at me. It was a woman's number…" Alex paused before he burst into laughter. Claire shot him a look just as Liam walked into sickbay and raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Claire got drunk and got a woman's number," Alex said, still laughing hysterically. Liam chuckled and nodded, looking over at the hung over blonde.

"Ah yes, Melissa… she seemed nice, until she tried to follow us onto the lift." Claire scrunched her eyebrows together and ran a hand through her hair.

"I don't remember that… I just remember the bet… and someone's hand on my ass," she muttered.

"Ah yes, ask Anna if you want your memories brought up again," Liam told her. Before Claire could ask why, Spike walked over and slammed a chart in front of her.

"Fuck!" Claire hissed, covering her ears.

"Mrs. Fisher is at bed six, and she is upset because her husband is currently on the planet the station is hovering around," he said. Claire nodded and grabbed a hypo spray out of her pocket and stabbed herself with it.

"Alright, two hours and I'll be just fine," she muttered. Alex shook his head and Liam injected himself with his own hypo spray.

"There, now we shall be sober." Spike raised an eyebrow.

"I thought your little hangover cure worked instantaneously?" he asked. Claire shrugged.

"It would, if I didn't get a shot to flush out of my system. When you put the two together, things get wonky." Claire explained.

"And it's not really hers, she stole it from McCoy," Alex corrected. Claire looked around to see if the doctor was around, and when he wasn't she gave a sigh of relief.

"You promised to keep your damn mouth shut!" she hissed. Alex shrugged and she smacked him once more.

"Sorry!"

"Doctor Conaway, Mrs. Fisher is still asking for you," Nurse Chapel said. Claire nodded and grabbed the chart.

"Come on Spike, we've got shit to do!" Spike sighed and followed her to the bed, leaving Alex and Liam alone. After a few minutes Alex spoke.

"Liam… We still need to talk," he said. Liam sighed and threw a chart over to him.

"I'm not talking, I have too many things to think about to talk right now," Liam said. Alex furrowed his eyebrows and walked toward the gay man.

"Liam… come on. We can't just keep putting this off until it's too late to talk about it." Liam took a deep breath and looked down to grab a chart. When he did look up, his eyes were cold.

"Watch me," he said.

"Hello, Mrs. Fisher… what can I help you with?" she asked. Samantha Fisher sat up a little on her bed and forced a smile.

"Oh, just some pains in my abdomen, I was hoping you could take a look at it," she said. Claire nodded and handed Spike her chart while Claire lightly moved her hands over the pregnant woman's stomach.

"Well, from what I can feel, your baby has turned… when are you getting these pains?" Claire asked.

"Um… well, it went from being one a couple hours, to one a few minutes. I'm just worried because they are really strong, sort of like contractions," Samantha said. Claire raised an eyebrow and grabbed her scanner and looked her over.

"Samantha, I believe you are having contractions," she stated calmly, inside, she was a little worried. Sure she was certified to deliver a baby, but she never had.

"I can't be, I'm not due for another week!" Samantha cried. Claire walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Sometimes they come a bit early. It's not to worry. The baby is fully developed and will be able to survive out of the womb," Claire assured her. Claire then walked to her stomach and began scanning the baby.

"I can't be going into labor, my water didn't break!" A second later she gasped and looked down at her legs, Claire raised an eyebrow and followed her gaze, her eyes growing wide and her jaw dropping. Spike also raised an eyebrow and turned toward Samantha.

"Well… that solves that problem."

Jim gave a heavy sigh as he went over a few things on the bridge. His night had been a complete bust, even when he planned to have a huge party. He, McCoy, and Spock went to Deck 5, instead of the local bar, and spent the night drinking and partying. Unfortunately, his party got cut short when an admiral called him and insisted on going over a report with him, which he had submitted months ago. Afterwards he had gotten back to his room and laid around with Rocky. After a couple hours, Liam carried in a very drunk Claire, who repeatedly asked Jim to shower with her and get his belly button pierced with her. He then realized why Ryan hated when his sister got drunk.

Now, he was back to work, though there wasn't a lot of it. He leaned back in his chair and looked over a new supply report when he heard a small beep coming from the computer.

"Captain, incoming transition from sickbay," Uhura said. Jim looked up and gave her a nod.

"Put it on," he ordered. Uhura nodded and pressed a button. "This is Captain Kirk," Jim said.

"Jim, it's McCoy…" Jim raised an eyebrow.

"Bones… What can I do for you?" Jim asked.

"Well, Samantha Fisher is currently in labor, and we can't get a hold of her husband. We need you to call him off the planet," McCoy explained.

"Oh really? First birth on the Enterprise. Are you doing the birth?" Jim asked, already signaling Chekov to call Lieutenant Fisher.

"I am assisting Doctor Conaway on the birth," he said. Jim nodded and looked at Chekov, who gave him a nod.

"Alright, I'll have her husband up as soon as I can." Before McCoy could reply, a scream erupted in the background, along with something crashing.

"He better get her soon, She's not going to last long…" the line went dead and Jim looked toward Chekov.

"Uh… Get lieutenant Fisher up her as soon as possible."

"Samantha, you need to relax and get ready to push. You are fully dilated and the baby needs to come out," Claire told her. Samantha Fisher shook her head and grabbed onto Spike's hand when another contraction hit.

"No! I need to wait for Kevin!" she shouted. Claire sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Samantha, if you don't get the baby out, it's going to harm you and the baby. Please, we need to do this now," Claire said softly. Samantha gave another yell and Claire flinched from how loud it was. Spike held back the chuckle that threatened to slip from his lips, obviously noticing that the female doctor was still hung over.

"Damnit, where the hell his my husband?" Samantha cried. Claire walked up to her and glared down at her.

"Listen, Samantha Fisher… I'm not going to tell you again. You need to give birth to this baby like twenty minutes ago. Now, you need to start pushing, or your husband is going to come back to a ship without a baby, and maybe even possibly without a wife. So please, can you just push for me?" Claire asked. Samantha paused for a long moment before pressing her lips together and nodding.

"Okay," she said softly. Claire sighed and looked to Spike.

"Get Doctor McCoy, we're ready to deliver." Spike nodded and left the room, while Claire walked over and tied her hair back and put on a pair of gloves.

"Is my baby going to be alright?" Samantha asked. Claire frowned when she realized she had scared the woman.

"I'm sure it will be, I just need to get it out of there as soon as possible," Claire told her. Samantha nodded and placed a hand on her stomach.

"Okay… I don't want my baby to be hurt, not after trying for so long," she said.

"Samantha… why didn't you transfer to a station? It would be much safer for the baby," Claire said, sitting in front of the woman and getting ready to deliver the baby.

"Kevin has wanted to work on the Enterprise for the longest time. If we transferred, there was a very good chance that he wasn't coming back here. I can't do that to him, not after he had worked so hard." Claire gave a nod and sighed heavily.

"I suppose I understand, I guess. I don't understand risking my health for something like that," Claire mumbled. Samantha shook her head and shot Claire a look.

"You can't understand something like that unless you are married," Samantha told her. She paused for a second and gave a loud cry of anguish while gripping the side of the bed. Claire placed her hand on hers, and waited till the contraction was over.

"It's alright, it's over. Just breathe," Claire coached. The doors opened and McCoy walked into the room, a pair of gloves on and a scanner.

"We ready to deliver?" he asked. Before anyone could reply, Kevin Fisher ran into the room and walked over to his wife.

"Sam!" he cried.

"Kevin! I thought you weren't going to make it!" she said, tears in her eyes. Kevin took a hold of her hand and leaned down to give her a kiss.

"I'm sorry, I'm here now. I'm never going to leave you ever again," he told her. Claire felt her heart clench at the sight, but brushed it off as she looked at McCoy.

"We're ready," she said. McCoy nodded and pulled out his scanner.

"Begin." Claire took a deep breath and looked up at the older woman.

"Samantha, when the next contraction hits, I need you to push," she said. Samantha nodded and grabbed a hold of her husbands hand. She took a deep breath and let out a loud scream. Claire waited but shook her head.

"Nothing, I need you to keep pushing Samantha. Push!" Claire ordered. Samantha shot her a dirty look but did as she was told.

"Come on sweetie, just push!" Kevin told her.

"I am pushing! You push!" She snapped. Claire shot a look at McCoy, who simply chuckled and shook his head.

"I can see it's head, one more push Samantha!" Claire said. Samantha gave a loud cry and gripped her husbands hands. Claire took hold of the baby before it fell and used a medical tool to get all the gunk out of the small baby's throat. When she had done that, she gave it a small smack on the bottom, causing it to cry out. McCoy walked over to her and gently moved her aside.

"Here, I'll do the rest," he said. Claire nodded and wrapped the baby in a cloth and walked over to Samantha.

"Congratulations, you have a baby boy," she said, placing the boy in Samantha's arms. Samantha began to cry as she looked down at the child and Kevin let a few tears slip down his cheeks.

"Oh my God… Kevin, look at him. He's ours… we made this!" She said. Kevin nodded and placed a hand on his sons head.

"He's beautiful…" Claire smiled and took a step toward them.

"Here, I'm going to get him cleaned up. Do you have a name?" Claire asked. Samantha and Kevin exchanged looks before Samantha looked at him.

"Kevin James Fisher Junior," she stated firmly. Claire smiled and grabbed the baby.

"I'll have him back as soon as he's cleaned up," she told them. They nodded and Claire took the baby into another room. She grabbed a washcloth as the small sink began to fill up and she smiled at the small infant.

"Welcome to the world…"

Ryan took a bite out of his dinner and watched as Anna and Liam walked into the dinning hall. They quickly got their food before walking over and sitting at the table.

"Hey, how's the hangover?" he asked.

"Much better, that hangover cure is fantastic," Anna said. Liam nodded and looked over at Rupert as he sat down with Alex.

"Hello all," Alex said taking a sip of his drink.

"So, it seems that you guys and Claire had fun last night," Rupert said.

"Oh, so much fun. I have never drank so much in one night. It was fun though," Liam said. Ryan chuckled.

"Yeah, you guys were a mess when you came back. Anna pretty much fell over as soon as she got into the room," Ryan said, shooting a look at his girlfriend.

"Not half as bad as Claire. I almost felt bad for leaving her with Jim," Liam said, frowning a little. Ryan shrugged and shot Jim a look, who was over a couple tables.

"Well, if he can deal with her when she's drunk, he must really love her." Anna rolled her eyes and took another bite of her dinner.

"Where is Claire?" she asked.

"Samantha Fisher just gave birth to a son, Claire is staying to make sure both of them are alright." Anna raised an eyebrow.

"Wow, the first baby born on the Enterprise, Claire must be so excited." Alex nodded and quickly finished his dinner up.

"Yeah, I actually better go help her out." The table said their goodbyes and there was a silence for a moment.

"Wow… are we seriously getting to that age where kids are coming around?" Rupert asked. Liam shrugged.

"I suppose… my parents didn't have me till they were in their thirties," he pointed out.

"Your parents weren't on a starship though. Things are different on here. When you're in a serious relationship, you tend to move things faster than you normally would," Anna reminded them.

"Yeah, I mean… any day could be your last, might as well do what you can. If you love someone and want to marry them, do it now before you can't," Rupert added. Ryan took a glance at Anna, who was nodding in agreement. He knew better than anyone at the table how quickly things could change on this ship.

"I suppose it depends on the people and what they want in life, or what happens to be thrown at them," Ryan muttered. Anna nodded and locked eyes with him.

"Ain't that the truth…"

Jim gave a small yawn as he made his way to the lift. He had pretty much kept himself busy all day, but in doing so, he had missed the opportunity to stop by sickbay and see the new baby, and his girlfriend. He was patiently waiting for the lift when someone stood next to him, his hair a mess and his shirt disheveled. He was also tapping his fingers against his leg and seemed impatient.

"You alright ensign?" Jim asked. The man looked over and nodded.

"Oh, yeah… I'm just… anxious, sir. My son was born today, I'm a little all over the place," he confessed. Jim nodded and smiled at the man.

"You must be Kevin Fisher, congratulations on the new baby," Jim said. Kevin smiled widely and entered the lift with the captain.

"Thank you sir. I'm so excited. I was down in sickbay, but I had to check in with work and now I have to change my clothes, doctors orders," Kevin said. Jim nodded.

"McCoy?" He asked.

"No, Conaway. Man, she's a nice lady and all, but she's strict…" Kevin muttered. Jim chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, she's stubborn, that's for sure…" Kevin nodded and sighed.

"I'm trying to get everything done as quick as possible. I just can't wait to get back down there and hold my kid. Samantha should be sleeping by now." Jim nodded, though he couldn't say he really could get into the conversation.

"So… you're excited?" Jim asked.

"Of course! I'm a new dad!"

"Yeah, but now you have months of staying up all night taking care of a kid who only eats, sleeps, and poops. That's… exciting?" Jim asked. Kevin shook his head and looked at the captain.

"Sir, with all due respect, you won't know the feeling, until you have a child. There is nothing like looking down at the kid and knowing you and the woman you are head over heals in love with made that. It's… crazy," Kevin said. The door stopped and Kevin looked back at the captain.

"Your stop?" Jim asked. Kevin nodded.

"For now, thank you for the conversation sir," Kevin said politely. Jim gave a nod and waited for the doors to close. He briefly wondered what his reaction would be if he saw his own children being born. Of course, he wasn't expecting that to be anytime soon, but one day he wanted to see it. Despite the fact of being a major playboy before Claire, he always let the idea of a child linger in his head. By no means did he see himself as father material, but he liked the idea of someone looking up to you no matter what.

Before, it was just a nice thought, a family and kids. Now, it seemed quite possible. He and Claire were already living together, and taking care of Rocky, who was much of a child himself. His thoughts drifted back to the ring now hidden in his room. Was he ready to get married? Settle down? Sure, Claire was a wonderful girl, and he loved her, but marriage was a big step. Hell, having a kid was a big step. He wasn't so sure he could have taken it.

The doors opened and he made his way out of the lift and toward sickbay, trying to banish his previous thoughts out of his head. It proved to be in vain, however, when he walked into sickbay and saw Claire walk over and pick up a small baby who was screaming.

"What's wrong? Hmm? What's wrong baby?" She asked, holding him in her arms and rocking him slightly. Samantha was currently laying in bed sleeping, leaving Claire alone to take care of the child. Jim stood next to the door and simply watched his girlfriend hold the child close and rock him, while humming.

"Shh, it's okay. You hungry? Huh?" Claire asked, grabbing a bottle and feeding the small infant. Claire smiled at him as he began to greedily gulp the formula down and lightly chuckled.

"Much better." The sight made his heart clench a small smile made it's way to his lips. He walked up to her, causing her grey eyes to leave the child and meet her boyfriend.

"Hey, having fun?" he asked. Claire laughed and rocked the baby slightly.

"Tons of fun, I love baby-sitting all day," she replied, sitting on a chair. Jim sat next to her and shook his head.

"I bet…" Claire shrugged and looked back down to the baby.

"It's not so bad… I mean look how cute he is!" she said. Jim nodded absent mindedly and continued to stare at the child.

"Yeah… I guess he's a little cute," Jim agreed. Claire pulled the bottle away from the infant and placed him in Jim's arms.

"Here, I need you to hold him for a minute," she said, standing up.

"Wait, Claire, I don't know if I can-"

"Jim, it's alright. You're doing fine." Jim didn't have another moment to object before she walked away, leaving him alone to watch over the child. He rolled his eyes before looking down at the small kid and smiling lightly. He could not deny the kid was cute, and as the baby's blue eyes looked up at him in wonder, he couldn't help but wish it were his kid looking back at him.

"Here, thanks for holding him," Claire said, grabbing the boy and bringing him over to his crib. Jim stood up and followed behind her, but stopped a good few feet away.

"So, did you have dinner yet?" Jim asked. Claire tucked the baby in before walking up to Jim and shrugging.

"I had a small bag of chips, but I didn't have much time to eat. Why, are you going to make me dinner?" She asked. Jim smirked and placed his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"Well, if you meet me back in my room, I would be happy to make you a six course meal." Claire chuckled and placed her lips on his.

"As lovely as that sounds, I need to stay here tonight," she admitted. He sighed and kissed her deeply.

"I guess I can let this one slide… you owe me though," he told her. She giggled and nodded.

"Definitely…" He sighed and let his forehead rest against hers, and let the peace of sickbay fill the air.

"Claire…" She looked up at him.

"Hmm?" He paused before pulling away slightly, but still kept his arms around her.

"You think we're too young to start a family?" he asked. Claire turned a little pale and just stared at him. Sure she loved him, but she still had a major fear of settling down. Would she be just like her mother?

"I don't know… are you thinking of starting one?" she asked. Jim shook his head and placed a hand on her cheek.

"No, no… I was just wondering. I mean, it seemed like some many others were starting a family around us, I just didn't know if we should be doing the same thing… like a normal couple…" Claire laughed and kissed him.

"Jim… nothing about us is normal." Jim laughed and nodded.

"True…" Claire sighed and looked down.

"Look… if you really did want to start a family… or whatever, I'd… be on board with it. I love you and want to make you happy. Does that mean I want to get married tomorrow? No. But, in the future, yeah… of course. Just… be sure you're ready to take the plunge…" Jim nodded and kissed her deeply, pressing her against the medical station.

"Doctor Conaway," A voice called. Both Claire and Jim broke away to see Sophie staring back up at them. Jim broke away from Claire and frowned at the other woman.

"Uh… yes?" Claire asked, he face turning red.

"Samantha Fisher would like to see you…" Sophie said. Claire nodded and kissed Jim on the cheek.

"I'll be home later…" Jim nodded and forced a smile.

"I'll see you then."

"Hey… Wait up!" A voice called Anna stopped the lift just in time for Alex to slide in. Anna raised an eyebrow.

"You're coming in a little late…" she noted. Alex shrugged and pressed his floor.

"I was going to help Claire through the night, but she said she would be fine, so she sent me to bed." Anna chuckled and nodded her head.

"Yeah, sounds like Claire." The two of them stood in silence for a moment.

"Can you believe the Fishers are going to raise their kid on the Enterprise?" he asked. Anna shrugged and looked up at him.

"It's what they want to do, I don't see the problem with it," she commented.

"You don't see the problem with a ton of kids running around a ship that sees combat on a weekly bases?" he asked.

"I'm not saying it's the smartest thing in the world… just that it happens. I mean, as long as you know what you know what you are doing and you take precautions. I don't think it's as dangerous as people make it out to be." Alex shrugged.

"I guess it depends on your point of view…" He suggested. Anna nodded and leaned against the wall.

"I don't know… I think, personally, if I got pregnant, I'd transfer to a space station," she confessed.

"I'd transfer to the academy. I'd teach or something," Alex stated firmly.

"You think Liam would follow your example?" Anna inquired. Alex paused before letting out a deep sigh.

"I don't know. Nor do I know if I'll ever need to worry about what Liam wants to do in a situation like that." Anna frowned and put a hand on his shoulder.

"He'll come back to you, we know he will."

"Well, until then, I've got bigger things to worry about. I'll see you later." Anna nodded and watching him leave the lift. She gave a heavy sigh and waited for her floor.

"People are freaking crazy on this damn ship…"

Jim gave a small groan as he rolled over and cuddled next to a warm body. Claire instinctively snuggled back as he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. Claire knew that they both had to get up, but it had been almost two weeks since they had both had a decent night's sleep, or even slept together for that matter, and they both were soaking it in.

Jim pulled her closer to him and smiled at how her body fit perfectly with his. It always had, and it seemed like it always would. He had missed these morning hours, though he would never admit it. The moment where they were both awake, but didn't want to leave the comfort of each others arms. He had never had anything like that till now, and he enjoyed it quite a bit. Claire sighed and turned around in his arms so she was facing him.

"Morning," she said, letting her hand come up and caress his cheek.

"Morning… you enjoy sleeping?" Jim asked, a small smirk on his lips. Claire rolled her eyes and moved closer to him.

"Well, I don't think we can actually call that sleeping… but yes, it was nice to spend a night with you for a change." He smiled and leaned down and kissed her. Claire smiled into the kiss and eagerly kissed back. His hands traced lower, one cupping her behind, and the other lifting her leg to drape over his thigh. He pulled away and let out a small breath, causing her to freeze.

Normally, she didn't mind his morning breath, he always made sure to brush his teeth the night before, and usually had a faint mint scent in the morning. Today, however, the sickly sweet mint caused her stomach to lurch. She quickly untangled herself from his arms and ran for the bathroom, only to crouch over and empty all of the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

"Claire?" Jim's voice called. Claire ignored it a she continued to throw up her previous nights dinner. After a few more moments of dry heaving, she wiped her mouth, took a swig of mouth wash, and opened the bathroom door. Immediately Jim placed a hand on her cheek, and another on her forehead.

"You alright? What's wrong?" he asked. She shook her head and attempted to smile.

"Nothing, you're breath just made my stomach upset is all." Jim raised an eyebrow.

"My breath?" he asked. Claire sighed and kissed his cheek.

"I'm fine, I do need to get ready for work. Would you like to join me in the shower?" she asked, a small smile on her face. Jim chuckled and pulled her closer.

"Is that even a question?"

Anna turned over in her bed and was greeted with a cold side of the bed. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes to see the room was empty except for her. Ryan's normal sleepwear was on the floor by their bed and their closest was open, relieving a missing uniform. Anna sighed and turned to look at the clock. The big red numbers blinked back at her that she still had another two hours before she needed to report to work.

"I should get up…" Anna mumbled to herself. However, she closed her heavy eyelids and returned to her precious slumber. Sleep was becoming a rarity on the Enterprise, but they tried when they could. And right now, she was content with remaining in dreamland for at least another hour.

"You're here early," Rupert pointed out as he entered the security deck. Ryan was at his desk, looking over numerous reports. He barely acknowledged his best friend's entrance as his eyes traced every inch of the papers before him.

"Mmm…" He replied dryly. Rupert placed a coffee cup next to the distracted man and took a seat, but Ryan didn't even notice it.

"What're you up to?" Rupert asked, trying to get Ryan to talk. Finally, Ryan pulled his eyes away from the report and locked eyes with the British man.

"This whole Fisher thing has sent the ship in chaos. We have a baby on the Enterprise. A family. And with people like Riley and Griffin out there, we're not safe. Security needs to be the best it can be," Ryan explained tiredly, grabbing the untouched cup of coffee. Rupert nodded and leaned back into his chair.

"Every time someone mentions anything about families and the Fishers, you get this look in your eyes. This is about Colleen, isn't it?" He asked. Ryan paused mid-sip and placed the coffee down.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he snapped, quickly masking his feelings.

"Oh yes you do, don't lie. You're afraid that everyone in love who are trying to have a baby is going to end up like you two," Rupert pointed out. Ryan tightened his hands into fists and slammed them down on the table, startling his best friend.

"Rupert, shut up. I forgave you, but I don't appreciate you talking about my ex-fiancée. At all. Because the family I wanted to start with her was a lie. It was your little parasite in her stomach, not mine," he snapped, the volume of his voice raising with each word. Rupert could see the pain in his eyes, but he knew Ryan needed to talk about it. There were things that hadn't been addressed that the head of security needed to sort out in his own mind.

"Parasite? You've been talking with Claire too much about babies," Rupert added, trying to bring a little humor into the conversation to soothe Ryan's rage.

"That's not the point. If the Fishers or Claire or anyone else on this ship wants to raise a child here, I want to make sure that it's as safe as we can make it," he stated, gesturing to the files on his desk.

"You and Anna thinking about kids?" Rupert asked, waiting a moment to ask his question.

"What? No… I mean, it's too soon," Ryan answered hurriedly.

"It wasn't too soon for you and-" Ryan grabbed his coffee and his fingers pierced the Styrofoam cup.

"Stop, just stop now!' He cried out.

"Fine, but I know you want it. I'm your best friend and I see things Ryan. And I know you want to start a family with your girl. And personally, I think you should." Ryan shot him a look and looked down at the mess of coffee.

"It's not that simple. Anna isn't looking for a kid anytime soon, and even if she was, she would want to get married before she had a child. I don't know if I want to get married right now, not after… that," Ryan explained. Rupert shrugged and helped him clean it up before shaking his head and standing up.

"Do what you have to do man, but don't let it keep you from doing what you want to do." Ryan didn't answer him as his best friend stood up and left. He knew Rupert was right. He wanted a family so bad. He wanted to do what his parents had failed to do, but it wasn't so simple. After Colleen he realized that you could never be too sure about these things. It was a big gamble trying to start a family, and he wasn't sure he was ready, not now.

Ryan gave another sigh and went back to his paperwork. Only time would tell.

Liam raised an eyebrow as Claire exited the sickbay bathroom for the third time this morning. She walked up to the desk and took a deep breath, making sure her stomach was fully calmed.

"Claire, you okay?" he asked. She looked at him and nodded.

"Yeah, just fine. I think I caught a bug or something," she confessed. Liam looked a little unsure but shrugged.

"Okay, you know that some ensign from communications is looking for you, right?" he asked. She shook her head and moved so she was a bit closer to her.

"No, why is she looking for me?" Claire asked.

"Apparently, you were the one who checked Samantha Fisher in right before she got pregnant. She's hoping you'll work your magic touch on her." Claire rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"You know, I will never understand the need for a woman to be pregnant." Alex, who had just walked over, raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, you mean to tell us you've never have thought about having kids?" he inquired. Claire thought it over for a moment before giving a shrug.

"I can't say I haven't. I mean, I guess everyone woman has at least thought about it, but I would never try to get pregnant. If it happens it happens, but I'm not going to go all out for it. Pregnancy is just… ugh." Claire shuddered and shook her head.

"Oh yes, a baby is a parasite. We remember that argument," Liam muttered.

"Just until it is born. After it's born it's cute and not so bad. But in the womb, it's just… do you know what happens to a woman's vagina after she gives birth naturally? It's not a pretty thing, let me tell you. As soon as I recovered after giving birth, I'd do everything in my power to make sure it was as good as new." Alex raised an eyebrow.

"You can do that?" he asked.

"Of course, they have drugs for that now. Just a few hypo sprays and you're set," Liam explained. Alex looked shocked before laughing.

"Wow… gotta love modern science," he muttered. Claire was about to speak, but stopped and covered her mouth. Both men went to say something, but she quickly ran off into the bathroom and began to heave, though there wasn't much left in her stomach. After a few minutes, she came out and took a sip of water.

"Okay, you need someone to look at you, Alex, can you do it?" Liam asked. Alex shot him a look but walked over to Claire.

"I'm fine, just not feeling too well," she snapped.

"Come on, let me just scan over you and then you can get back to work." Claire rolled her eyes but sat on a bed and pulled the curtains, not wanting any of the other doctors to see her.

"This is ridiculous, I'm fine," Claire muttered, watching as Alex began to scan her over.

"Well, you are running a mild fever. Maybe you really are sick," he offered as he continued his scan.

"I'm telling you, it's nothing. I'm pretty sure I know my own body. Maybe a small cold, but that's it. I'm working too hard." Alex nodded but suddenly stopped, and his eyes went wide, causing Claire to raise an eyebrow.

"Wow…" Alex muttered. Claire looked at him and tried to meet his eyes.

"Wow what? What is it? Am I dying or something?" she asked. Alex shook his head and took a deep breath before looking up at her.

"No, you're not dying…"

"Okay, well what is it?" Claire asked. Alex sighed and gave a small smile at his best friend.

"You have a parasite in you," he told her. She furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked. He chuckled and showed her his scanner, watching as his eyes went wide.

"Believe it or not, you're pregnant." Claire took the scanned and ran it once more and then began to mess with it.

"No, I'm not pregnant," she mumbled.

"Yes you are. Seems like you're going to have the joy of carrying a parasite after all," Alex said, now laughing. Claire looked up at him and glared at him.

"Alex, I am not pregnant." Alex shook his head.

"Oh yes you are. You just can't deal with the irony of it," he told her.

"No, I can't be pregnant. I'm on the birth control shot, it lasts for six months. The only way it could fail is if I was using other drugs, but I haven't so the shot is still in effect," she explained. Alex grabbed her medical chart and looked over it before shaking his head and handing it to her.

"Your shot ran out two months ago. We were so busy with everything else going on, we never checked out own files for shots when we were doing check-ups." Claire read it over and her face went pale.

"I have been having sex without my shot for two months?" she asked, her eye wide. Alex nodded and looked at his scan once more.

"Yeah, but you're only about a month along," he assured her. Claire dropped her file and looked up at her best friend.

"This means…" Alex nodded and smiled.

"Yup, you're actually pregnant." Claire stared at him for a long moment, and then everything went black.

"She's what?" The voice was far away and slightly blurred, but Claire could register the voice of McCoy. How could she not? He was only yelling at her for about half of her shift everyday.

"I did the scan and even printed out the diagnoses. She's definitely pregnant. When I told her, she passed out," another voice said, this one sounded clearer and closer. It was Alex. She could feel herself regaining completely consciousness, but kept her eyes closed.

"It must be the shock. Alright, we should probably call Jim and Ryan to inform them of the situation," McCoy said. Claire choose that moment to open her eyes and shot forward in bed. The thought of Jim and Ryan finding out about the baby wasn't something Claire wanted to be done by McCoy or Alex. If anyone was going to tell Ryan that he was going to be uncle, it was most definitely going to be her. And the only person to be telling Jim that he was a father was going to be the mother of his child.

"No, don't tell them yet." McCoy looked over and was about to yell at her, but stopped when she grabbed a basket and threw up in it from sitting up so fast.

"Conaway…" he said, his tone full of warning. She took a deep breath and focused herself.

"Don't tell Jim, or Ryan," she told them. Alex walked over and gave her a hypo spray, making sure the nausea was settled.

"Conaway, Jim has every right to know about you being pregnant, and so does your brother." Claire nodded.

"I agree… but I don't want him to hear it from you." McCoy walked up to her and looked down at her.

"Claire, if you are going to… take care of this, Jim should know immediately," he told her. Claire went a little pale and shot him a look.

"I'm not taking care of the… fetus, or embryo at this point. I just, I want to tell Jim when I am ready, when it's a right time."

"What about Ryan? When are you going to tell him?" Alex asked. Claire pressed her lips together and ran a hand through her hair.

"After I tell Jim…" she said. Alex nodded and McCoy sighed.

"Well, I hope this won't effect your work," he muttered, turning around and leaving.

"He has such a one track mind," Claire muttered. Alex nodded and wrote a few things on her chart.

"Tell me about it."

Ryan sat down next to Anna, who was taking a large sip of water.

"Hey, you were up early this morning," she noted. Ryan nodded and offered her a smile.

"Yeah, sorry. Had some extra work to do, and I wanted to at least go to sleep with you last night," he confessed. Anna smiled and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Aww, how disgustingly cute!" Liam cried, sitting across from them. Claire sat next to him, with what looked to be a small mountain of mashed potatoes and melted cheese on her plate, and a side of crackers.

"You get enough potatoes Claire?" Anna asked.

"Or cheese? I thought you hated wiz cheese and mashed potatoes?" Ryan asked. Claire shrugged and added some bacon to her small mountain.

"Now, it's not just for cheese fries," she told him. Rupert chuckled and showed her his plate, which was just a simple steak and eggs.

"You want to add this too?" he asked. Claire caught a whiff of the eggs and almost gagged.

"God no, get that nasty crap away from me," she told him. Liam and Rupert laughed, while Anna shook her head.

"So, have you heard from the Fishers?" Anna asked. Claire swallowed some of her lunch and shook her head.

"No, I know their son is in for a check-up next week, but that's about it," Claire explained. The rest of the table watched as she practically inhaled all the food on her plate. Ryan merely raised an eyebrow at his sister's behavior. Sure, weirder things had happened to them on the Enterprise, which was just a good reason as any to keep an eye on her. The last thing they needed was her possessed by some she-demon.

"Whatcha thinking about, Ry?" Claire asked, diverting all the attention away from her. Ryan shrugged as he picked up one of his two burritos.

"Nothing, just some reports I need to go over later," he told her. Rupert almost smirked at his comment, but forced himself not to. If Ryan wanted to talk about it, he would.

"This is lunch, Ryan. Not work. And if they're so important, you and I can go over them together later," Anna suggested, picking up her cheeseburger. Ryan shrugged and took a bite of his burrito.

"Naw, they're pretty boring. I wouldn't put you through that," he told her through his mouthful of food. Anna nodded, thinking nothing of it, but Claire decided to push the subject as she picked up a piece of bread with ketchup spread across it.

"Then why are you thinking about these boring reports when your hot and sexy girlfriend is sitting here?" She asked. Rupert dabbed at his face with his napkin before turning to Ryan.

"She's got you there, Ryan," he pointed out, a knowing look on his face. Ryan felt his anger start to increase at the smug look on his best friend's face.

"I'm the fucking head of security! You think it's all rainbows and unicorns? There's a lot of work that I have to do, okay? Can we just drop it now?" He snapped. Silence fell over the table as everyone stopped their eating to look at Ryan. Well, with the exception of Claire who continued to dig into her meal, dipping a pickle from her tray into a tiny cup of mayonnaise.

"Claire, that's really disgusting," Liam said after a few minutes of silence.

"Nice place you got here," Claire said. Ryan looked up from his work to see his sister walking into his office and taking a seat at his desk.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. Claire moved the second chair in his office to put her feet up and continued to look around.

"You know, I've never been in your office. Not long enough to really look around. Makes me wish I had an office," she told him. Ryan sighed and shook his head.

"Claire…" His sister looked down then looked back at him. She was going to tell Jim about the baby first, but after seeing her brother, she wanted to talk to him. She wanted to know he was alright with her having this child, that he was alright with Jim being the father, that he was alright in general.

"I cam to talk to you about something, but I think we need to talk." Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really?" he asked. Claire picked up how harsh her brother was, but just brushed it off.

"What's wrong Ryan? You've been acting funny all day," she said softly.

"I'm fine, except for people who keep asking me if something is wrong," he snapped. Claire seemed un-phased and brought her knees to her chest.

"They usually ask because they know something is wrong," she reminded him. Ryan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. After a minute he looked at his sister.

"It just seems like everyone around me is having kids, or getting married…" Claire raised an eyebrow.

"Getting married? Who the hell is getting married?"

"Patrick Rider and Elaine Sweden, they are in the science department." Claire furrowed her eyebrows and sighed.

"I need to get out of sickbay," she muttered.

"Well, when you're not in sickbay, you're with Jim. That's not the point, the point is that everyone around me is starting a family. I should be the one with a family…" he cried. Claire sighed and leaned forward, taking his hand in hers.

"Ryan, you still can have a family, with Anna." He shook his head and sighed.

"It's not that simple. What if that was a one time thing? I mean, all the shit I've been through, what if I can't have kids? Or what if she doesn't want kids? I don't know if I want to get married, especially since Anna won't have kids until she is married." Claire took a minute to process everything before shrugging.

"You won't know until you find out," She told him.

"Words of wisdom, Claire." She chuckled and shrugged.

"Not much to say. If you want to do something, do it. Don't let past experiences get in the way, just go for it." Ryan sighed and smiled at his sister.

"Thanks, I don't know if it helped, but it was nice to actually talk to you," he said.

"It was nice to talk to you too." He nodded and then furrowed his eyebrows.

"You said you had something to tell me, what was it?" Claire pressed her lips together. After that conversation, she wasn't sure she wanted to tell him that she was starting her own family. It probably wasn't the best idea.

"It's not important, don't worry about it."

REVIEW REPLY TIME! BREAK OUT THE BOOZE!

X-Panic
Jeck: I love cliffhangers. Okay no, that's a lie. I hate them too. Let me rephrase that… I love writing cliffhangers. Mawhahahaha. I'm evil. But like every Sunday so far, we're here to deliver.
Raxsah: Possessive Jim doesn't come out too much, surprisingly. I think this is honestly the second time he's really come out. (Hahahaa, that sounded wrong). Anyway, sorry for the Cliffhanger, I hate them too. But I love them too, it keeps me going until next chapter.

nickiR0x
Raxsah: How devastated would Ryan be? Oh wait… yeah no, we wouldn't do that to him. Kill Anna? Never. We have a rule that we don't kill more than one lover of a main character. However, it's fun to tease. Didn't mean to scare you though. We sorry.
Jeck: Hate us? I bet this chapter was a nice little relief. We're so evil, making you think so a whole week that Anna was dead. We actually like her, we're not gonna kill her. But messing with people is nice. Perhaps you can forgive us?

Yayyou
Jeck: That's a little random right there. lol I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself. But I still enjoyed the review!
Raxsah: Married? Why does everyone think they are going to get married? Well… I think this chapter might be just as good… maybe. We shall see.

Allimba
Raxsah: She shall be reincarnated in the form of a space alien. Hahahahaa, just kidding. We brought her back. We're not that evil… this week.
Jeck: ZOMBIE ANNA FOR HALLOWEEN! Ehhh… not quite. But I likes the zombiez! :D And I'm absolutely glad you like our story!

Lintered
Jeck: No harm done. Trust me, we know a thing or two about that. And anything that's not related to doing schoolwork is good in my book. I'd rather do laundry or wash dishes… but I mostly just nap. Anyway, miracles don't just happen! Oh wait… yes they do. Anna isn't dead. :D
Raxsah: School work sucks. I just do what is necessary to move on and leave it at that. No we didn't kill Anna. We like her too much. She keeps Ryan in line, which saves us the trouble of doing it ourselves. XP

SWfangirl21
Raxsah: We're glad you loved our birthday wishes. And thank you for the review, I love waking up and getting it on my iPod, it makes me smile. Alex and Liam are amazing. Believe it or not, they were meant to be together as a joke, little did we know that they would be one of our favorite couples. Now, if we just put them together now, how else would we create more drama? I have never been in a hospital, but from what I've heard, it sucks. Poor Anna, don't worry. She's back and better than ever! Ryan just needs someone to hold the poor guy and tell him it's okay. Then tell him to suck it up and move on. Oh wait… that's Anna's job. Hmm… good thing we didn't kill her. Pesky older brothers. It was a nice contrast from Claire's brother. And his mom is awesome, I just pictured she always would be a kick ass mom. Don't know why. I'm very glad our story doesn't suck balls, seeing as we're both aspiring writers. I think that would be a set back in our careers. Gum is good. Maybe we should hide McCoy's liquor. Hmm, no that would not be good. Oh well, this is his transition period before the Five year mission, where he is kick ass. Claire wouldn't let Ryan commit suicide, she would kill him before that happened. Hahahahaa. Sadly I don't think Antonio comes back, he was just a character to kinda introduce Anna's family a bit. Review soon please!
Jeck: I would never deny it! It just isn't a good week without a long as review from you! :D Yes, Liam and Alex are my favorite couple in this story too. But isn't it all the drama that help you appreciate a couple? Or maybe I'm just crazy… I can relate to the poking and poor hospital food… I have a new sense of pity for Anna in the hospital. But it's all better now that Anna isn't dead anymore! Honestly, you guys have little faith in us. Although, we have killed off Ryan's squeezes before… hmmm… perhaps I shouldn't trust me anymore? He can have two hugs and I'll have the lollipop. Only if it's cherry though. :3 Well yeah, Jim's brother was supposed to be the creep. I mean, drama? We're good at it. ;D Or at least, we like to pretend we are. Jim and Claire pretty much have the spotlight in this story, so we wanted to make them real, lovable, hot, etc. And it seems like we did a good job at it too. Yeah, McCoy does have his issues. But we're kind of looking at it from Claire's view and honestly, who likes their boss? I didn't. But yeah, McCoy needs a woman who doesn't steal everything from him. Mr. Ruffles does a lot of things that no one knows about… not even us! O.o Yeah, I'm pretty sure Ryan would've just walked off the ship into space if we really killed Anna off. We're evil bitches like that. Well, Raxsah is the bitch. I'm the butch. But not in the scissoring kind of way. His plan will reveal itself in time… MAWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I likes the evil laugh. ZOMBIE SEX FACE ALL THE WAY! :D

Raxsah: Jeck, these people actually thought we were going to kill off Anna!
Jeck: We weren't? I mean, of course we wouldn't! Ha ha… yeah… anyway, we wouldn't do that to you! She doesn't piss us off like Colleen did.
Raxsah: No, she doesn't. She makes sure Ryan doesn't piss us off, which is good before there have been times where sending him to a distant planet sounded like a good idea. Whining baby.
Jeck: Is that why…? No wait, I'm not gonna ask that. Then it'll spoil the ending. :3 I like to tease.
Raxsah: Hahahaa, yes, let's not give too much away. Anyway, thanks for reading. I'm sure we'll get a lot of shit for this one too. Just saying. People have been asking for this for a while. Hahahhaaa
Jeck: Why would we get shit? Isn't this what people want? Shouldn't they be throwing money, candy, and babies at us?
Raxsah: This is truth. However, they can keep the babies, that's only for marching band.
Jeck: Good plan. So, I think we should start wrapping this up. My Chex Mix is all gone and we've got another little project that's taking our focus right now. :D
Raxsah: This is truth. Don't be afraid to review, seven more reviews until we get our next short story! Hurry up kiddies! Till next time!
Jeck: ZOMBIE SEX FACE! :D