Corriene felt herself materialise, back on board the Enterprise and in one piece she heaved a sigh of relief.

"How was your trip?" The Ensign asked manning the transporter.

"Hot, humid and did I mention very hot." Corriene answered pulling her uniform away from her muggy skin. "What I wouldn't give for just one snowy ice planet." She exclaimed longingly.

"I think you've caught the sun Lieutenant." The Ensign cringed, looking at her burnt nose and cheeks.

"Yeah? Well there was two of them and I was working outside all day!" Corriene didn't even want to see what her hair looked like.

"You may want to go to sickbay, get an ointment or something." He suggested.

"Will do Doctor, thanks for the tip." Corriene gave him a wink and then left. She'd been planet side for a week and had missed her quarters, making her way down the hall she watched as those who walked past gave her a funny look. When she finally made it to her quarters she went to the mirror in the bathroom.

"Christ! I look like a clown!" Corriene exclaimed, trying unsuccessfully to pat down her hair and gingerly touch the skin on her cheeks. Taking in her appearance she now knew what the Ensign was talking about, her nose and the rest of her face was a bright red and felt tight when she moved her face around. Grabbing a shower she changed into a clean uniform and then headed towards sickbay. Walking through the large doors she was relieved to see that the place was relatively quiet, spotting a Nurse she made her way over.

"Excuse me." She asked quietly, the Nurse turned and gave her a sympathetic smile, immediately noticing the redness of her face.

"Let me guess." The Nurse kindly joked.

"Do you have a cream? Or something?" Corriene asked.

"I think we can do better than that." The Nurse smiled again and led her towards one of the beds. "Hop up there for me please." She asked. Corriene sat on the edge of the bed as she watched the Nurse pull a device from a drawer. Bringing it towards her face Corriene looked at her apprehensively. "Don't worry, it won't hurt."

"Aren't you all trained to say that?" The woman simply laughed and began waving it slowly over her face. "You're right, it doesn't hurt." Corriene commented absentmindedly.

"So tonight, my place, Texas holdem?" Corriene's attention was caught by the sound of the Captain's voice coming from the door to an office on the other side of the bay.

"I'm not going to say no to taking your credits again Jim." The Doctor followed after, his arms crossed.

"You've had a lucky streak Bones, but it's ending tonight."

"Whatever you say Jim." The pair stopped and looked around the bay, both of their gazes landing on Corriene. She watched as the two men turned away from her and carried on their conversation so that she couldn't hear. She stopped watching, not wanting to appear rude.

"Lieutenant Lees." Startled, Corriene looked up, seeing that the Doctor had disappeared and the Captain was now stood beside her.

"Captain Kirk." She blurted out nervously, she hadn't seen or spoken to him since the turbolift incident.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, concern clearly in his eyes,

"Yes Sir, just a bit of sunburn. I forgot my hat." His smile made the butterflies in her stomach begin to flutter. He was a very handsome man and she couldn't help but stare into his sparkling eyes.

"Commander Scott informed me you did a sterling job down there." He rocked on his feet as he spoke.

"Well thank you Captain, the whole team played a part." She added.

"No need to worry yourself Lees, Commander Scott mentioned you specifically, take the compliment." Kirk encouraged.

"That's good to hear." She pressed her lips together bashfully, quickly glancing at his chest she mentally chastised herself for being such a child and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to refocus and act professionally. Kirk only saw all of this transpire through her facial expressions and couldn't help but laugh, not knowing the cause.

"Are you okay Lees?" He asked. Any redness that the Nurse had managed to remove from her cheeks came back and then some. She felt so embarrassed she was lost for words.

"It's the dermal regenerator Captain, it can tingle." The Nurse spoke up, Corriene feeling instantly relieved that the woman had come to her rescue. Kirk nodded in response.

"I see, well I better be going. Good job Lees, keep it up." With that he turned and left.

"Bad idea." The Nurse whispered to Corriene after a minute.

"What?" She was confused at the Nurse's comment.

"The Captain? Bad idea." She repeated.

"Oh no, I don't, I mean I don't think he's…I just…" Corriene stumbled over her words, incredibly embarrassed at getting caught ogling the Captain.

"Don't worry honey, it's just a word of advice." Corriene watched as she put the device down and told her she was free to go. "Besides, you can do better."

That night, lying in bed, Corriene found it extraordinarily difficult to fall asleep.


Every week she checked the databank and every week she found the same anomaly but still no connection between them. Sitting and stirring her soup round and round she rested her head in her hands. There had to be something, something that linked the missing time and data to somebody on board. She'd been sat in the mess for over an hour thinking, nothing was coming together. Looking up she locked eyes with Lucignano who was walking by with his tray, she fought the urge to scowl and smiled politely. When he simply averted his gaze and carried on walking Corriene instantly felt angry.

"Dick." She said under her breath. Standing and collecting her tray she began to walk to the refuse counter, that's when it came to her. Turning and staring back in Lucignano's direction she pulled her lips together as if she'd just eaten something sour.

"Lieutenant Lees, it's good to see you." She turned to look at Kirk who was stood behind her looking decidedly handsome.

"Yeah? Thanks, umm... I've got to go Captain, I'm sorry." Without a second thought Corriene set off in a run "It's good to see you too!" She shouted as she ran out the mess hall leaving Kirk staring after her in amazement.


7 Weeks Later

Traipsing through the undergrowth Corriene felt her ankle go over at a funny angle as she had tried, unsuccessfully, to dodge a large tree log. Instinctively her arms flung out to try and balance herself, it was only due to the fact that Kirk grabbed her arm that she stayed upright.

"Careful there Lees." Not letting go of her Kirk watched as Corriene cautiously put weight on her foot. "Are you okay?" He asked, watching her wince.

"Yeah I think so." She gave him a tight smile and sucked in a breath, Kirk wasn't convinced.

"You may have sprained it, here, come and take a seat." He moved quickly to her side, never letting go of her arm he placed his other round her waist. He could feel the curve of her hips and ribcage against the palm of his hand, he could also feel her stiffen against his touch and he wondered whether he'd just made a mistake.

"Really Captain, I'm okay, I just need to walk on it for a bit." Kirk reluctantly let go, missing the feel of her straightaway.

"You let me know straight away if it continues to bother you, I don't want my Engineer out of action do you hear me?" He pointed his finger at her as he spoke, he could see amusement in her eyes but she answered politely and they continued on their way.

The journey down to the planet had been relatively relaxed, Corriene found it easy to converse with Kirk. He was smart and funny, insightful and surprisingly sensitive. She found that she'd catch him looking at her from time to time but instead of blushing and turning away quickly he would smile widely and she'd find herself smiling back. A lot of the senior officers she'd met were excellent officers but a lack of experience in the real world resulted in her feeling like they lacked common sense. Kirk seemed different to her, for a long time she'd presumed he was like her, having only joined Starfleet after working in the private sector. So she'd been surprised to learn that he seemingly came from a long line of heroes, it was in his blood. She admired him, he seemed like a good person. It didn't hurt that he was pretty easy on the eye also.

Three hours later and Kirk stifled the yawn he could feel tugging at his jaw, while Lees had been set to work updating the planet's eco support system he'd been talking with the members of Parliament. Making his way out of the government building he stood in the large courtyard peering up at the sun.

"Captain!" Kirk turned in the direction of the shout and saw Corriene making her way over, her uniform was covered in oil and soot but her face was beaming. He found her excitement infectious and smiled back.

"Looks like you've had a productive day." He commented as she stopped in front of him and shielded her eyes from the sun.

"Yes Sir, we're back up and running, took longer than I thought but it should keep the system operational for the next twenty years or so." He watched her keenly, enjoying her enthusiasm. In the sun he could see the freckles on her nose and cheeks which were pink and blushed.

"You forgot your hat again." He laughed.

"Yeah I know Sir, glutton for punishment." She answered jokingly.

"Well, if we're all done shall we get back to the shuttle?" He asked, clapping his hands together.

"Yes Sir." Setting off he noticed she was still hobbling a bit on her right foot, he was about to say something but changed his mind. She was clearly somebody who didn't like a fuss, he'd tell her to go sick bay when they were back on board the Enterprise. "Do they want us to come back Captain, as planned?" Kirk nodded and proceeded to tell her about his talks with the government, she listened intently and asked questions from time to time.

Kirk found it was easy to talk with her, her communication style had thrown him off guard at the start. What he had initially perceived as challenging, as well as her Instructors at the Academy, the truth was actually just an enthusiasm for debate, confidence in her own knowledge and understanding and a support of the other person's thoughts and feelings. Just like her facial expressions, there was a rare honesty to everything she said. He felt bolstered by her comments and questions, he didn't want the conversation to end. "Have you ever considered mentoring Lees? I think you'd be excellent at it." He watched something pass over her face, pain and upset. "Did I say something wrong?" He asked, seeing her eyes glisten with the threat of tears.

"No, no Captain, you didn't. I'm sorry, I don't know where this came from?" Corriene wiped hastily at her eyes and took deep breaths.

"No need to apologise." He comforted.

"I had a mentor, he died, he taught me a lot." He watched as she smiled sadly and sniffled.

"I'm sorry to hear that Lees, but he made a difference to your life and you could make a difference to somebody else's."

"I'll think about it Captain."

"Of course." They fell into a silence and Kirk spent the rest of the walk back glancing at the woman next to him. Once they were back inside the shuttle the pair took their seats and Kirk piloted the craft off the planet. As they went from the blue sky of the planet's atmosphere into the darkness of space Kirk smiled to himself.

"I always love doing that." He commented, looking over at Corriene.

"It's pretty special." She agreed, running her hands through her hair and feeling it stick out more than it had been. Kirk had been watching and couldn't help but laugh at the end product of her styling. "Are you laughing at my hair Captain?" He could tell she was pretending to be insulted. Without thinking he answered, and then instantly regretted it.

"No! I love your hair!" He could see the look of shock flash across her face but appreciated the fact that she simply thanked him for the compliment and then turned towards her console. He did the same, but he wasn't concentrating on anything, he was too busy mentally kicking himself.


2 Weeks Later

Kirk sat at the bar swilling his drink round and round in the frosted glass.

"Penny for your thoughts Jim." McCoy asked, leaning against the bar running his finger round the rim of his own glass. Kirk snapped out of his daydream and looked to his friend who was giving him a look that meant he already knew the answer to his question.

"I'm err, I've got something on my mind is all." Kirk couldn't find the words to describe how he felt, was it a crush? A fleeting desire?

"You mean someone on your mind." McCoy corrected, raising one eyebrow. "Come on Jim, tell Doctor McCoy what ails ya." Winking McCoy stood back up and poured both of them another measure.

"Corriene Lees." Kirk simply said.

"What about her?" Kirk rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly.

"Come on Bones, do I have to spell it out for you?"

"I'm a Doctor not a mind reader Jim! Tell me, what about Corriene Lees has you acting like a love struck teenager?" Kirk sat for a moment and thought about McCoy's question, what was it about her?

"She's fearless, an open book, I like that I can tell exactly what she's thinking at any one time. She's not afraid to do the right thing for the right reasons. She's stubborn and argumentative, she's got one hell of a right hook!" Kirk smiled, thinking back to seeing her laying out Lucignano in the mess. "I think she's one of the most attractive women I've ever seen." He looked up to his friend nervously.

"So… not much then?" McCoy replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, not much."

"Do you know if she feels the same way about you?" Kirk shook his head.

"We have chemistry I know that much but I don't know if she would be willing to take the risk."

"Of what? Dating the philandering James T Kirk?" McCoy asked semi seriously.

"Thanks Bones, I wouldn't say that I was a philanderer."

"You wouldn't?! I'd be damned interested to know what you would call yourself." Kirk thought for a moment but essentially couldn't think of another word to describe himself.

"Anyway shut up Bones! This is different, she'd different." With that McCoy barked with laughter. "I'm going to bed, thanks for the drink Bones, and the support." Kirk hopped off his stool and walked out the bar leaving McCoy still laughing.


Thank you for the follows, favourites and reviews, it's very much appreciated! I'm glad you're enjoying it as much as I am writing it, please leave a review if you can, I'd really like to know what you think of Corriene. LLAP ;-) XOXO