Well well well, looks like it's time to see how Jim reacts ne?
Jim met them in the cafeteria and sat down across from them with a grin and a cheery "Good Morning!" The grin slowly faded as the pair ignored him, immersed in their conversation as Bones explained Starfleet to her. He didn't even bother to interrupt them, seeing as how Scythe was actually eating the food. She finished eating and Jim happily stood and walked next to them before sticking his head between them and grinning.
"Morning!" They both jolted back, Scythe violently enough for her to go tumbling off the chair. Jim knelt down instantly. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you that bad! Are you okay?"
"Fine." She swatted his hand away with a frown. "What do you want?"
"I was seeing how you were and wondering if Bones was ready to talk. Sorry to scare you." Scythe scowled angrily and righted the chair.
"Don't worry Jim, she's just mad that she didn't know you were there." Jim looked at her again and smiled.
"Guess I'm just that good." She raised a brow in an almost startling resemblance to Spock.
"If the doctor and I hadn't been immersed in our conversation, which you interrupted, than you wouldn't have gotten close." Jim almost visibly deflated.
"Burst my bubble why don't you." Bones laughed and got up.
"You could stand to get knocked down a bit Jim." He started to walk away, Scythe instantly following him. Jim watched her stay close to him and shook his head.
"If 'fleet wants to take her off this ship, we're going to have some fight on our hands." He smiled, amused, and went after them.
They waited outside of Jim's room until he caught up, their faces more serious than before. Jim grinned and opened his door.
"Cheer up, it can't be that bad! Just tell me everything." Bones sighed and followed him, Scythe coming in last. They sat across from Jim, watching him carefully. Jim looked between them and groaned.
"Are you going to be wary of me from now on? Because if that's what's going to happen if you tell me, I'm not sure if I want to know. And you better not be thinking I'll fire you or something stupid like that, because you're still my friend and the best doctor there is. So? What'll it be?" Scythe smiled and looked at Bones.
"It's up to you Bones." He groaned.
"I all ready said I'd tell you Jim. So just shut up and listen. You can ask questions later if you want to." Jim nodded and Scythe leaned back as Bones began to explain the truth.
Jim stared at Bones, occasionally letting his eyes flicker over to Scythe as he finished speaking. He finally leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his hair with a sigh.
"All this time and I had no idea." He paused and looked between them. "I need time to think… Okay?" Bones slumped slightly, but Scythe stood and nodded.
"Of course Jim. Come on Bones." She grabbed him by the arm and hauled him out of the room. Jim slumped down and rested his head on the desk.
"This is impossible…"
Scythe led Bones down a hall before letting him take the lead back to his room. He went slowly until he got his door open. Scythe then proceeded to push him inside and shut it. She made him sit on the bed and stood over him.
"Quit it. It'll be fine. Jim needs time to think about the massive amount of information about you that he had no clue about the entire time he's been your friend. That doesn't mean he's thinking of how to utilize you, study you, or get rid of you. Understood?" Bones nodded slowly and she slapped him. He reeled back and looked sharply at her.
"What the hell?" She looked back at him coolly.
"You're moping. Dreading whatever happens next." She sat next to him. "You don't need to. Jim likes you too much and is… nice. Besides, if things go wrong, there's an entire universe to explore." He smiled slightly and rolled his eyes.
"Trust you to find something good in bad outcomes." She shrugged.
"I found good on Olduvai. You can't keep me down now." They laughed and fell backwards onto the bed.
Jim paced around his room before finally falling onto his bed. He groaned and stared at the ceiling. He kept running over everything in his head, trying to see the Bones he knew. The doctor that could take charge, was right more often than not, and hated transporters. His best friend since they met on the shuttle. Jim smiled and sat up. He was there, still the same. Only difference was his age and past. He really was an old man now. Ancient even. He grinned and called Bones.
They woke up to the computer beeping angrily. Bones groaned and turned away from it. Scythe got up and hit a random button, Jim's face soon filling the screen.
"Scythe? Why'd you answer?"
"Bones decided he didn't want to get back up." She glanced over and saw that he was asleep again. "Okay… he's asleep again. What'd you need?"
"Sheesh, I call and he goes to sleep? I can feel the love. I just wanted to make sure he knows he's ancient. That, and I'm going to call Pike now. Thought you both should know."
"I want to be there when you talk to Pike."
"Okay. I'll come get you then." She nodded and Jim signed off. She looked over at Bones again and left the room to wait in the hall. Jim came over a minute later.
"Did you even bother to wake him up?"
"No. He needs the sleep. Been too worried since I came on board."
"And you don't?" She smiled.
"I've slept enough." Jim shrugged.
"If you say so. Come on, and don't worry; Pike's awesome." Scythe followed him with a small smile. Jim bowed slightly as he opened the door and she rolled her eyes.
"Just call Pike." Jim laughed and called him, grinning when he answered.
"Hey Pike."
"Hey Jim. Something wrong? How'd the trip to Olduvai go?"
"Well… There was kind of an accident with our firing system and it got blown up."
"Jim!"
"Sorry." Pike frowned.
"You don't look it. So what happened? Did you even go down?"
"Of course I did! Um… is this conversation monitored?" Pike hit something.
"No. Now tell me."
"Right, well we went down to Olduvai and met this girl-"
"Girl? There shouldn't have been anyone there."
"I'm getting to that. So we met her and she led us into the facility where we all almost got killed by monsters and she helped us until she found out we wanted the data. Then she wanted to kill us. She finally showed it to us and I decided there was nothing there. We went back up to the ship, making her come. When she woke up she went back down to grab one thing of data so I could show you why I decided against it. She almost got killed but in the end decided to come with us and made it outside in one piece. Bones has been looking after her, but… Well, she had been stuck there for about 200 years and there is a good explanation for that. It has to do with the data. I can play it for you now."
"Is this her?" Jim looked behind him to see Scythe watching them carefully.
"Yeah, this is Scythe." Pike nodded.
"Nice to meet you. Okay, let's see the data that made you go against orders." Jim put it in and they all watched it. When he took it out Pike was silent for a minute.
"Has anyone else seen this?"
"Spock, Bones, you, me, and Scythe are the only ones." Pike nodded.
"Good. And they're not going to say anything about it?"
"Pretty sure."
"Okay. Now how does that explain her?"
"She has C-24. It doesn't turn everyone into monsters. I figured that she could stay on the ship and Bones would be her doctor so no one would know."
"Or you could say she's a hybrid of some sort. Half human and half something else that's unknown." Jim nodded.
"Okay. That could work. She can still stay on the ship though, right?"
"No." They looked over at Scythe. "It wouldn't be fair to those that had to work for it. And I don't know much, so I am basically useless." Pike looked at Jim.
"Did you tell her that?"
"No." He turned to Scythe. "You can learn here. If nothing else, you'd make a great security officer." She was about to protest when Pike interrupted.
"He's right. It'd be best if you stayed on the ship, at least for now." He smiled, "Now, unless I'm mistaken, there's a different reason you don't want on the ship."
"It's not that I don't want to… I just have no reason to be. I'm only causing trouble and worry." Jim groaned.
"Now I get it. It's because of Bones, isn't it?" Pike looked between them.
"What are you talking about?"
"She thinks Bones would be better off if she wasn't on the ship. Which reminds me. I should tell you about him. I just found it out today."
"What?"
"Bones has C-24 too. He knew her 200 years ago."
"How? All his medical records are normal and his birth certificate is definitely not 200 years old."
"He faked them. And I think he did his own medical exams. Either that or the doctors didn't look at that." Pike nodded.
"Okay… So you have two people that are almost invincible and one is a doctor. Why does unusual stuff always happen to you?"
"Good looks."
"It was not a compliment or a joke. Scythe, Doctor McCoy will be fine. You'll stay on the ship. I'll get the paperwork done. Now all that needs to be done is to have that data destroyed and to let your crew know she's a hybrid. And you might want to tell Spock about Doctor McCoy." Jim nodded and grinned.
"All right. I'll get right on that. Thanks Pike."
"Yeah, yeah. So, anything else happen of importance?"
"No, I think that was it."
"All right. Pike out." Scythe looked at Jim and shook her head.
"Strange things must happen to you a lot. He seemed to expect something to have gone wrong. And for you to have disobeyed orders…" Jim grinned guiltily.
"Yeah… well… things never seem to go as planned on this ship. It's exciting though."
"Not the word I would've used." Jim jumped and spun towards the voice. Scythe looked calmly over her shoulder.
"Bones?!"
"About time you got up."
"Thanks for waking me." He rolled his eyes and Scythe shrugged.
"You needed to sleep. We've all ready talked to Pike." Jim grinned.
"Scythe gets to stay here with us! We got another hybrid on board!"
"Hybrid?" He looked at Scythe and she smirked.
"Makes sense doesn't it? Best way to explain me. Half human, half unknown." She frowned suddenly, "Does it bother you? Either the hybrid status or my staying?" Bones blinked.
"Of course it doesn't. I wanted you to stay on the ship, and being a hybrid explains a lot." He turned to Jim. "Pike's okay with her then."
"Yes. He's filling out the paperwork for us. So… You're over 200 years old right?" Bones nodded warily and Jim grinned. "So you're ancient!" Bones twitched and tried to look cross.
"Now that I'm older than you thought, you really should treat me better. Respect your elders and all that." Scythe grinned and Jim burst out laughing. Bones finally lost his mini battle and ended up grinning too.
A few weeks later and Scythe was demanding entrance to Jim's room. He opened the door, saw her angry, and tried to close it. She managed to slip past him easily, still being extremely skinny. Jim sighed and turned as the door closed.
"Hey Scythe, how are you?" She glared at him.
"I am perfectly fine other than two things. One: I am tired of learning everything, seeing as how much of it I will never use. Two: When am I going to actually do something!?" She fumed.
"Okay, okay. Calm down. You can have a job. What one appeals to you?"
"I can't do medical, linguistics, engineering, piloting, or basically anything other than security without going to the Academy." Jim held his hands up in surrender.
"Got it. Security it is. I'll tell John and you can start training tomorrow. In the mean time, you could try and learn some other languages." She twitched.
"I all ready know five!" Jim laughed as she stormed out to go complain to Bones, again.
Scythe waited in the gym for the rest of security to show up. When they got there she was introduced to them all before they would start any training. John smiled and clapped her on the shoulder.
"Okay, we're just running through the basics today. Some exercises, target practice, nothing too difficult. If you get tired or anything, just tell me or stand off to the side, ok?" She nodded.
"Understood." John turned to the rest of the group and clapped his hands, telling them to run two laps and do the obstacle course. Everyone started jogging and Scythe watched them for a bit to understand what a lap was before starting herself, soon passing everyone. She jogged over to John after her two laps and he showed her what the obstacle course was and she instantly started it, finishing just as the others were getting started. John showed her how to use a phaser while she waited for everyone to get done. By the time he had finished explaining it to her everyone else had finished the obstacle course. He started them all on target practice, pointing out that different targets gave different points and how there were some that would make you lose points. Scythe smiled as she watched everyone take their turn before stepping up. She missed a couple, but didn't hit any she wasn't supposed to. They congratulated her even as she berated herself over missing any. John clapped her on the shoulder without warning and she spun him around and pinned him. The entire gym went silent as they watched her cautiously, waiting to see what she would do. Scythe paused for a moment before jumping up and away from him. A few others went to help him up.
"… I'm sorry." She turned and ran off, easily finding her way to sickbay. She quietly walked inside and sat on a bed to wait. Bones came in a moment later, took one glance at her, and sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"I shouldn't be here. I can't aim and I can't be around people anymore." He sat next to her.
"You'll get better at aiming. Phasers have no kick and you're not used to it. Tell me what happened."
"I was able to do everything better than the rest until target practice… They still thought I did well and… I attacked John. I didn't expect him to touch me and when he did I… reacted. I didn't even think to help him back up." Bones rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry about it Scythe. It'll be fine."
"I could have killed him Bones. I would have."
"But you didn't. And since he's not up here you didn't even seriously injure him." Scythe shook her head.
"You don't understand…"
"Really? Considering how I had to adjust to things too I thought I'd be able to. No one expects you to get everything right. They all know you were stuck on Olduvai for a while with monsters as your companions. So… are you going to go back tomorrow, or just give up?"
"Giving up is so much simpler… Back to the gym tomorrow then." Bones smiled and patted her on the back.
"Come on. Let's get something to eat." She groaned, but followed him obediently. Bones rolled his eyes when she didn't get much, but decided against an argument when he spotted John walking towards them.
"Hey Scythe. Sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to startle you. I should've known better." She immediately shook her head.
"No… You did nothing wrong. I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"Just some bruises, nothing big. At least I know that in close combat our enemies need to be careful." He grinned and Scythe slowly followed suit.
"Good… I am sorry though."
"Don't worry about it." He glanced at her plate with a questioning look. "Seriously? You're that strong and that's all you eat?" He shook his head. "Not fair. Anyway, you're coming back tomorrow, right?"
"Yes."
"Good. See you then!" He walked off and Scythe turned back to a smiling Bones.
"What?"
"See? You were worried about nothing." She glared at him.
"It was a reasonable concern." He laughed and stood up.
"You're done for the day then, right?"
"Yes, why?"
"Good. That means you can help me organize sickbay and then get Spock and Jim to set a time for their physicals." She groaned and pushed herself up.
"Wouldn't it work better if you bullied them into it?"
"No. I can only threaten them with hypos. You can actually threaten to carry them down." She laughed with him and followed him down to sickbay. They had just finished reorganizing everything when Jim came in with a grin. Scythe turned and grinned back at him, making him falter.
"Perfect timing Jim! You need to pick a time for your physical." He groaned.
"You know, I just remembered something I have to do…" Scythe grabbed his arm and held him there easily.
"All you have to do is sign the padd and I'll let you go."
"Are you threatening me?"
"Perhaps."
"… Let go Scythe. I am the Captain."
"Well the Captain needs a physical. Now, are you going to set a time for one, or am I going to have to carry you here at whatever time Bones decides to give you one?" He blanched and grabbed the padd from her, quickly signing his name. Scythe smiled and began to push past him when he moved to block her way.
"I came down here with an actual reason. We finally got that room cleared out for you." She paused and looked over at him.
"I get my own room?"
"Yeah! You don't have to share with a grumpy Bones anymore!" He laughed and left before Bones could kick him out. Scythe turned to him when he spoke.
"Congrats. You're now officially part of the crew and don't have to deal with me everyday."
"… You're not always grumpy, and I… I didn't really mind dealing with you." She smiled at him, "It makes it so much easier to adjust to this time." He smiled back at her and pushed her out the door.
"I'm glad. We can talk about how amazing I am after you get Spock to set an appointment." She laughed and left to find him. Half an hour later and she silently slipped into sickbay and then snuck over to peek into the office. Bones suddenly opened the door with a grin, making her jump back. She scowled and threw the padd at him when he laughed.
"Mean." He glanced at the padd and smiled.
"You knew that all ready. Good job getting Spock's signature." She hopped onto a bed and swung her legs around.
"It was easy actually. I didn't have to threaten him near as much as I did Jim."
"Really? Spock hates physicals."
"Are you that horrible during them?"
"Why don't you find out? Now that you've gained enough weight I can do a proper one on you."
"Okay. When?"
"Right now. Lay down please." She tried and failed to hide a smile.
"I don't get a choice like Jim and Spock?"
"Do you really need one?" She laughed.
"Guess not." He laughed and began the physical, making the proper adjustments for her as needed. Once they were done she got up and stretched while he put a few things away.
"Well? Was it absolutely horrible?" He grinned and she laughed.
"I can honestly say I don't know what the big deal is." She grinned back at him. "Then again, I get to compare it to physicals in RRTS."
"This must seem relaxing then." They laughed at that before Scythe headed towards the door.
"See you later Bones. I think I'll go work on target practice."
"Don't overwork yourself. And don't forget you got your own room now." She waved slightly and disappeared.
Late that night she woke up in a cold sweat with adrenaline coursing through her veins. She shook for a while as she checked over the room to make sure no one was there. After twenty minutes she finally got up and went into the empty hallway. She glanced around and headed to Spock's room, hoping he was still awake. She knocked lightly twice and waited, glancing around every now and then as she tried to calm her racing heart. A minute later and the door slid open.
"Scythe? Is there a problem?"
"I'm having difficulty sleeping and I think it's because I'm alone now. Would it bother you greatly if I stay in your room for a while? At least long enough to calm down?" He stepped aside to let her through.
"It would not. Come in." She slipped inside and he closed the door. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes while she took deep breaths to calm herself. A minute later and she opened her eyes to look at him.
"I hope I didn't wake you."
"You did not."
"Good…" She slid to the floor and sat there until he knelt next to her.
"Are you all right? Do you need medical attention?"
"No… I'll be fine."
"Perhaps you should sleep."
"… I'll go back to my room in a minute."
"Seeing as how you had difficulty sleeping there the logical conclusion is that you stay here to sleep." She glanced up at him in shock for a minute before chuckling.
"Logical… Right. For a second there I thought you were hitting on me." She smiled at him and stood up. "You wouldn't mind if I slept here?"
"I would not have suggested it if it would be a problem."
"Thanks. You should get some sleep too."
"I do not require as much sleep as you." She rolled her eyes.
"That's great, but you do need some. You have a pillow or something I could use?"
"There is one on the bed."
"I'm not taking the bed. That's where you're going to sleep. I'll be on the floor." She held up a finger to silence him. "There is no way I am going to take the bed from you, regardless of how much you actually sleep." He inclined his head slightly.
"Seeing as how we disagree it is only logical to share the bed." She paused to look at him before laughing and sitting on the bed.
"Okay. We'll share the bed then."
The next morning Scythe woke up extremely warm and comfortable. She yawned slightly and shifted around until she could sit up. She looked over at Spock with a smile before getting up. Looking around quickly she wrote a note to thank him again before heading back to her room.
She did better at target practice and was careful not to accidentally attack anyone again, often jumping away from them and forcing her hands behind her back. By the time practice was over she was tired, but satisfied. She crept back into sickbay and smiled at Bones.
"I did better today."
"I can tell. You'd be completely despondent if you hadn't." He smiled at her and she pushed him slightly.
"Not completely."
"You really shouldn't be lying to yourself." She just laughed and went back to her room for the night. Almost an hour later and she was outside Spock's door again. He didn't look very surprised to see her and she smiled sheepishly.
"Was last night's offer only for then, or does it still count now?" He stepped aside to let her in once more.
"I see no reason why I should not allow this again." She smiled and slipped past him.
"You would tell me if I was bothering you, right?"
"Yes."
"Really? A lot of people would lie about it."
"That is illogical. As I am Vulcan-"
"Yeah, yeah, something about different species and culture. I believe you." Spock inclined his head at that and Scythe smiled slightly. "Are you going to sleep now?"
"No, not yet."
"Hmmm… I don't really want to sleep without you right now, so maybe you could teach me something?"
"Is there something you wanted to learn?"
"Well… How about your language?"
"It is difficult to learn."
"I don't expect to learn it all tonight. Will you teach me your language Spock?" He went and sat at the desk.
"Of course."
Two hours later and she yawned, blinking tiredly at him before slumping in the chair asleep. Spock immediately got up and went over to check on her. Carefully picking her up he laid her on the bed, keeping the covers off her. A few hours later and he climbed in next to her, instantly seeking her out as he too fell asleep.
Scythe woke early the next morning and smiled as she slowly remembered falling asleep before huddling closer to Spock, enjoying his warmth. He stirred and pulled away to look at her.
"You are awake."
"Not if we have to get up."
"You have to report to the gym today."
"I don't want to. I want to stay here with you."
"I need to report to the bridge in approximately 25.64 minutes." She smiled lightly.
"It takes no more than five minutes to get to the bridge from here. That leaves at least fifteen minutes to stay here."
"It… it's logical." She grinned and huddled back towards him.
"You used a contraction."
"I did."
"… I can come back tonight too right? I can try to sleep alone if it bothers you."
"I have previously stated that you are no bother to me."
"I'll take that as a yes. Thank you Spock." He nodded once and carefully wrapped an arm around her, making her smile again. It soon became a pattern, even going so far as for her to keep some clothes in his room. Luckily, no one noticed.
How cute! She made a friend! ^^