A/N: Thank you for the lovely reviews. I'm glad you're looking forward to this story. So, without further ado... Enjoy.
STARFLEET ACADEMY: 0900HRS:-
The next morning, Eva awoke with a headache and a broken-heart. Tears stained her cheeks, as-well as the pillow underneath her. They'd arrived back at Eva's dorm last night, but the bereaved blonde couldn't stand to be alone at such a despicable time. This had caused Bones and Kirk to offer their old dorm room to the girl and after drifting off on the sofa, she'd had the worst dream and awoken to another. Yawning, Eva sat up slowly, trying to gather her bearings. At some-point during the night, Eva had managed to move from Jim's sofa to the spare bed. 'Who'd done this?' She thought, biting her lip and yawning once more. Looking around she noticed a discarded shirt on the grey, plush-ed floor. Eva frowned and crawled out of the bed, picking up the item of clothing. It's then when she realized who the shirt belonged to; Eva was holding Bones' blue-medical shirt. She was in Bones' bedroom. Blushing deeply and placing the shirt back onto the carpet. In the kitchen, Bones and Jim sat chatting over a cup of coffee. The events of the previous night still replaying over in their minds. Almost like a distant nightmare, one they wanted to erase with all their might. On the wall, the clock ticked quietly but much too loudly for Bones' liking. He looked up from his coffee to see Eva stood in the door-frame, watching the scene before her timidly. She wore Jim's dressing gown, but still managed to take the mans breath away. Jim caught the pair staring at each other. He wondered when they'd finally admit their feelings and stop this charade. For years now, Bones and Eva had been dancing around their feelings for each other. Maybe know he'd man-up and tell her.
"Morning darlin'." Bones greeted gruffly. Eva gave a small smile and joined them at the table. A cup of coffee was placed in-front of her, but she quickly declined it. "Darlin', you've got to eat." He told her firmly. Eva sighed, taking a sip of the steaming brew before relaxing into her seat. She flicked her eyes over to Jim.
"Any news?" Her voice wavered, but never cracked. Jim shook his head and moved to speak but was interrupted by the ringing of his comm. All three glanced over at the device and held their breaths. Was this it? As it nearest to him, Jim opened it quickly and held it close.
"Yeah?" He asked, hoping it wasn't another 'condolence call' for Eva. There was a long pause before the voice of a certain Vulcan crackled through.
"Commander. Mr Scott has found something in the wreckage of Harrison's ship. He has asked to see us right away."
With a snap, the communicator was shut and Jim jumped to his feet. Eva and Bones did the same, except Eva scuttled off into Bones' bedroom to change out of her pajamas. Seconds later and much to the boys surprise, Eva clambered out in a pair jeans and Bones' blue medical shirt. She pulled on her boots and headed over to the front door.
"We ready to go? I'm sure Scotty's pretty eager to see us."
Bones chuckled and Jim entered his code into the door, allowing Eva to scurry off down the hallway. He elbowed his taller friend in the sides and gave him a pointed look.
"Eva really suits blue, doesn't she?"
Before Bones could say or act on his impulse to punch Jim, the smaller male had scurried off to catch up with Eva.
STARFLEET: 1000HRS:-
Alongside Jim and Eva, Spock also had accompanied the pair to find Scotty. Where-as Bones had been called over to the Hospital to tend to the survivors of last nights attack. Running at full speed to catch up with the Scotsman, they finally reached their destination.
"Captain. I found this in the crashed jump-ship, sir. This is how the bastard got away." Scotty yelled, slightly out of breath, to Jim and his friends. He appeared to be holding a large device. It's silver-chrome body glistened in Eva's eyes, causing the blonde to wince and turn away. Jim and Spock shared a look and Eva pointed at the large device.
"What do you mean?" She asked hurriedly. Scotty shook his head, still rambling to himself and sighing.
"It's a portable transwarp beaming device." He said with a large sigh. Jim looked confused at all of Scotty's science-talk and stepped forward.
"Well, can you figure out where he went?"
Scotty dialled in a pass-code and the side-panel snapped open. The others peered over, trying to catch a glimpse of the screen.
"I already did, Sir." he said confidently. "And you're not going to like lit. He's gone to the one place we... We just can't go."
Eva gulped and stared down at the screen. She caught Jim's gaze, sighing and wrapping her arms around her torso. Both Jim and Spock shared a glance, before heading over to Admiral Marcus and his council meeting. This left the Scotsman and Eva stood alone, awkwardly and the air tense. Scotty gave the younger woman a smile, offering her an awkward side-hug. Chuckling softly, Eva accepted the hug and began to walk away. Cadets and Starfleet officers gave their sympathies to Eva as she passed by. But all she wanted to was find Bones and escape from Starfleet. Escape from the world that so cruelly took her father. However, Eva needed to find Khan; she had to kill him herself. Arriving at the campus' hospital, Eva pulled on her white coat and headed on over to the Nurses bay. Nurse Chapel and Nurse Farley looked up from their clip-boards and gasped. Eva smiled at the Nurses as she approached, adjusting her coat and taking out her PADD.
"Eva?" Nurse Chapel asked in utter disbelief. The blonde smiled and looked over the Nurses shoulder, only to see no Bones. With this, she turned back to her friend.
"Hi Christine, Michelle. How busy has it been?" Eva spoke with a strained tone, yet her smile remained etched onto her face. She moved around the desk and grabbed the nearest clip-board. Looking up, Eva furrowed her eyebrows at the two nurses. "What? You're both staring at me. It's creepy."
"Eva..." Michelle started carefully. "Are you alright? We-We heard what happened. I mean, the whole of Starfleet heard what happened. We're so sorry, really, we are."
This was what Eva had been trying to avoid all morning. She hated attention and she most certainly hated fakeness. It was well known around the students at Starfleet that Michelle Farley was jealous of Eva and all she had achieved. Eva simply smiled and scurried around the two nurses.
"Thanks Michelle. But, I need to go and find Dr McCoy. I'll see you later Christine?"
Christine nodded and stared on at Eva, watching her flit down the corridor. The raven-haired nurse next to her scoffed and returned back to her work. Down the corridor, Eva was struggling to find Bones and his current position. Suddenly, Eva's communicator began to buzz; causing her to jump and clutch her chest. She flipped it open and leaned against the wall behind her.
"Dr Pike." Eva answered, weary of the nature of the call. There was a long pause before anybody replied.
"Dr Pike. This is Commander Spock."
Eva's eyebrows shot up in surprise. The blonde smiled and held the comm closer.
"Commander. What can I do for you?" She asked kindly.
"Myself and Captain Kirk have met with Admiral Marcus."
"Oh? What did he say? Wait, did you say Captain Kirk? Has Admiral Marcus given us permission to go after Harrison?" Eva asked again with hint of hope.
"Indeed he has, Dr Pike. I'm told you are down at the hospital?"
"Yes, I am. I was looking for Bones but I can't seem to find him."
Unbeknownst to Eva, Bones had spotted his friend and was making his way down to her. He furrowed his brow as he approached the blonde.
"It would be most grateful if you assisted Dr McCoy with the medical-exams... We are scheduled to leave at 1400hrs. Please have all your belongings ready."
"Thank you Commander. See you soon." Eva snapped her comm shut and turned, but was halted by a taller figure. She screamed quietly and looked up to see Bones. He stared down and chuckled.
"You heard the news then?" Bones asked in a hushed tone. Eva nodded slowly, bringing the clip-board close to her chest.
"Spock just com-med. Admiral Marcus has approved the mission. I-I Just want to find this bastard." She admitted softly, gazing up into Bones' brown eyes. The pair began to walk into the next ward, checking the room for any patients. About thirty or so officers assigned to the Enterprise sat in bays, all chatting and discussing the up-coming mission. Bones sighed and took hold of Eva's clip-board, their fingers just slightly grazing. An small shock passed between them, causing Eva to blush and turn away.
"Same here darlin'. C'mon, we need to get going with these patients." He said grumpily. Eva chuckled at Bones' attitude and got to work on the cadets.
"So, Cadet Harrow, is it?" The Cadet nodded steadily. Eva gave her best smile and readied the hypo-spray. "This won't hurt in the slightest."
STARFLEET SHUTTLE BAY:- 1400HRS:-
Together, Eva and Bones entered the loading bay and moved towards Jim. He'd missed his medical and Bones had been extremely peeved about it. Eva recalled how Bones had ranted and cursed at their friends tardiness. Just another quality Eva loved; only if she had the courage to tell him. As the blonde captain approached the pair, Eva could see the storm brewing in the doctor's eyes.
"Jim!" He called out loudly, his southern accent even more poignant. "Where were you?"
Jim caught Eva's glance as he continued walking and rolled his eyes.
"For what?" Bones sighed and halted the trio outside of the shuttle.
"Your medical exam. Ten hours ago, you were in a damned firefight. Now it's my duty as ship's-"
"I'm fine, Bones." Jim cut his friend off, causing the two doctors to sigh. Bones leaned in closer to Jim and turned much more serious.
"The hell you are." He said sternly. Jim, once again, ignored the southern doctor and headed into the shuttle.
"I'm fine." Jim replied in the same, dull tone. He took a seat next to Spock, leaving the back two seats for Eva and Bones. They sat down and whilst Eva strapped herself in, Bones continued to scan Jim's face. At various points, Jim warned Bones to back off but was only awarded with the persistent laughter from Eva. Looking up, Eva noticed a small blonde woman step onto the shuttle and move over to Jim. They began to chat, much to the annoyance of Spock. Eva smirked and leaned back into her seat. From here, she could study the shuttle and the people around her. Except, the only person on her mind seemed to be her father. The lingering feeling of regret echoed around in her mind. She tried not to tear up, especially around the other crew-members. So instead, Eva opened her blue satchel and took out her PADD. Bones leaned over, looking down at the screen Eva was staring at.
"What you looking at?" He asked softly. Eva glanced up at him through her long lashes and smiled softly.
"Pictures of me and my Dad. This one was taken just before the Nero incident."
The picture included Eva and Admiral Pike stood, side by side, under the Eiffel-tower. As a treat, he'd taken Eva to Paris for her birthday. It had been their last vacation together. Eva sighed sadly and swiped the screen to view the next picture. This one had been taken yesterday before Eva's graduation. Both Pike's were smiling, like nothing else mattered.
"I miss him Leo... I miss him so much." She whispered softly, looking up at her friend. Bones was transfixed for two reasons. One, Eva had the most beautiful blue eyes and two, she had called him 'Leo'. Eva only seemed to call Bones that when they were alone and in private. He turned Eva's PADD off and brushed a piece of blonde hair behind her ear.
"I know darlin'. But I-" Bones was cut off by the announcement of arrival. He sighed and began to gather up his things. Eva did the same and together, they descended from the shuttle.
THE ENTERPRISE:- MEDICAL BAY:- 1500HRS:
Now on-board and settled in, Eva and Bones continued to flit about the med-bay. Jim's ship-wide channel began to echo around the ship and Bones stood still, Eva followed suit. The entire ship stood in silence and listened to the Captain speak.
"Attention, crew of the Enterprise. As most of you know, Christopher Pike, former captain of this ship, our dear friend and Eva's father; is dead. The man who killed him has fled our system and his hiding on the Klingon home-world, somewhere he believes we are unwilling to are on our way there now. We are on our way there now. Per Admiral Marcus, it is essential that our presence go undetected. Tensions between the Federation and Klingon Empire have been high. Any provocation could lead to an all-out way. I will personally lead a landing party to an city on the surface of Kronos. Where we will capture the fugitive, John Harrison, and return him to Earth. So, he can face judgement for his actions. All right, let's go and get this son of a bitch. Kirk out."
As the crew got back to their duties, Eva and Bones retreated up to the Bridge. Standing on the balcony next to Uhura, Eva shared a hug with the woman before moving next to Bones. Suddenly, the Enterprise stepped out of warp and Eva felt herself falling sideways. However luck was on her side, as Bones had managed to catch her and save the blonde from falling. They shared a gaze before Eva got back onto her feet. Jim yelled something down to Chekov in engineering and turned on his heels to face the people on the Bridge.
"Where's Spock?" He asked quickly. The Vulcan appeared from behind and stood next to the captain.
"Here, captain."
"You're coming with me to Kronos." Jim turned to Uhura, who quickly stood to attention. "Lieutenant, how's your Klingon?" He asked again, rather speedily. Uhura nodded sharply.
"It's rusty, but it's good."
"Good, you're coming too." The blonde captain then maneuvered himself to face Eva. "And Eva, how about your combat? Any good?"
"My combat? It's been awhile, but I'm alright; I guess." She replied, uncertain of what she was getting herself into. Bones gaped at Eva and shook his head at Jim. The captain started to talk to Spock and Uhura, giving Bones the perfect opportunity to speak to Eva.
"Eva, darlin'. I know you want to help, but these are Klingon's. Nasty bastards, they are. I-"
Eva held a hand up to stop her friend. She placed a hand on his muscular bicep and smiled sadly.
"I'll be fine Leo. I promise. If you're worried, then remember; I have Spock and Jim. They'll protect me if needs be. But they won't, because I'm kick-ass and I can take my own." Bones chuckled at Eva's witty attitude and pulled her in for a hug.
"Be safe down there darlin'."
Eva smiled and walked down to change with Uhura. Bones sighed and moved to rant at Jim.
"Jim, you're not actually going down there are you? You don't rob a bank when the getaway car has a flat tire..."
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. In the next one, we finally get to see Eva in action and Khan will be introduced. Let me know what you thought. Live Long and Prosper my friends.