Chapter Four

"Well that was a good lunch mom. Do you need any help in clearing away the leftovers?" McCoy offered as they sat around the kitchen table.

"No. Leave the food. Eleanora, take Thomas and Linda out of this room now. Jim and Joanna, you will follow them. Do not question me or protest, just do it." Fred said with a note of insistent command in his voice that McCoy had never heard from him before.

"But…" Thomas protested.

"Thomas Neil Withers, you will leave this room now or I will confiscate all your toys and not allow you to play with them for the next month. Nod if that's clear." Fred commanded his son firmly. Thomas nodded an instant later. Eleanora swiftly guided Thomas and Linda out of the room. Joanna and Jim quickly left as well. Jim shot a glance at Donna as he left. She was staring at the food with wide eyes and had gone completely still.

Before McCoy could react to that, Fred stood beside his wife. He turned her chair to face him. Then Fred placed a firm hand on Donna's left shoulder and lifted her face to look at him with his right hand. A moment later, he began to count down from one hundred and made sure to clearly announce each number out loud. It only took a few numbers as well as Donna's unseeing eyes and rigid stance for McCoy to realize what was happening. Dammit, his sister was having a flashback. There was no hyposprays that worked on such traumatic memories, but some psychologists thought being grounded by touch and sound to the present could lessen the severity of them. But what could have triggered such a memory in the first place?

McCoy's eyes went to the large amount of food still left on the table and finally the answer came to him. He closed his eyes as he realized the crop failure that happened on Cerberus in 2259 was likely much worse then what the Federation News Service had told everyone. They had likely been so eager to paint Carter Winston as a hero that they had downplayed the suffering of the colonists. He knew that Cerberus hadn't been as bad as Tarsus Four. Unlike Tarsus Four, there was no genocide and no one had died on Cerberus. Even so, the experience had to have been deeply traumatic for it to resonate years later. But then such mental wounds didn't heal in the same fashion as physical ones and didn't always lessen with time either. McCoy pulled himself back to the present when he realized Fred had finished the countdown of numbers and Donna looked slightly more alert.

"Look at me, Donna Lee Withers. How many fingers am I holding up?" Fred wanted to know as he held a hand in front of her face.

"Ah, three fingers." Donna replied as she blinked rapidly.

"Where are we right now in this moment?" Fred asked.

"Right now, we are on the planet of Earth, the country of the United States of America, the state of Georgia, the city of Atlanta, the house of Eleanora McCoy, and I am sitting in her kitchen." Donna replied.

"Yes you are. What Stardate is it today?" Fred asked.

"Stardate 2266.12." Donna replied with more certainty.

"Who am I?" Fred asked.

"My loving yet exasperating husband Fred." Donna said fondly.

"Good. Come here dear." Fred helped Donna to stand and then gave her a long and tight hug. She returned his embrace and closed her eyes as she did so. Fred didn't let go until Donna did which seemed like a long time to Leonard. Then Fred leaned down and the two of them touched foreheads as they gazed into each other's eyes.

At that intimacy McCoy looked away. Somehow that felt even more private then if he'd stumbled onto them kissing. He'd never really paid much attention to the fact that Donna was married before he'd come to Georgia. That was because Donna rarely mentioned Fred in detail. But it was clear they loved each other and McCoy was glad his sister had someone in her life like that. His attention was brought back to his sister and brother in law when they pulled away from each other slightly.

"Now, why don't you go for a walk outside to get some air Donna? I'll be here right in this room when you get back." Fred said as he still held his wife around the waist.

"Do you promise?" Donna said as her arms were still around his shoulders.

"Yes, and you know how I feel about promises." Fred said softly.

"I do Fred." Donna said firmly. Without looking at McCoy, she pulled away from Fred then swiftly left the room. Donna made sure to close the kitchen door behind her. Fred waited until she had left before he turned and looked at Leonard. His brother in law seemed to have aged a decade just in the last five minutes as he sat down heavily beside McCoy.

"Are you sure you want to know what that was about Leonard?" Fred asked.

"I'm not sure if I want to know, but for Donna's sake I think that I need to." McCoy stated quietly.

"Yes, perhaps it is time to tell you the full story. But what I'm about to say stays between us Leonard. Never mention this to anyone under any circumstances. Please treat this entire conversation as if I am your patient and you are my doctor. Is that clear?" Fred insisted.

"Yes. I promise I won't tell a soul Fred." McCoy replied.

"Very well. You see, on the anniversary of the crop failure on Cerberus every year, Donna has flashbacks to that time and I have nightmares about it. We've both seen a therapist and it's gotten better for both of us. But still, everyone that was there during the crop failure on Cerebrus in 2259 will never forget it." Fred quietly said.

"I understand." McCoy said.

"You don't Leonard, because you weren't there. It could have been much worse and it would have been if Carter Winston hadn't arrived when he did." Fred stated.

"Donna never went into detail about Cerberus. All the Federation News Service said was that there was a crop failure and Carter Winston was some hero who swooped in to save the colony. But what really happened? It must have been worse then that." McCoy wondered.

"Mr Winston never wanted to be seen as a hero, but merely a philanthropist. All those supplies he gave the colony were from his own ship. But there's no denying he saved everyone's life. We were starving to death, all four hundred of us." Fred said plainly.

"So how long did the emergency rations of the colony last?" McCoy asked. Fred sighed before he began to speak again.

"The emergency food rations lasted three weeks for everyone and the emergency water supply lasted for a month. Then there was nothing left. Mr Winston didn't arrive at Cerberus until five days after the water was all gone. He was the first one to respond to our distress signal. Starfleet didn't arrive until a week after that and they told him they had no idea of the situation. They were only there because they were making their annual stop to check on the colony. But don't get me started on blaming Starfleet for this incident when you're a member of that organization."

"Leonard, you've seen how energetic Thomas is. He's always running or jumping around. He was only two at the time of the crop failure and so he was too young to remember anything. As for Linda, she wasn't her curious or smiling self at all. Linda was a newborn at the time of the crop failure, so thankfully she remembers nothing either."

"But I remember that Donna's breast milk dried up two days after the rations were gone. That wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that the doctors had ran out of baby formula a day before and Linda was too young for nutrient hyposprays. Have you ever seen the face of a mother that can't feed her children and who knows she might have to watch them both slowly die while she can't do a thing about it? Donna blamed herself for that but I felt just as guilty." Fred paused and cleared his throat before he continued speaking.

"Unfortunately it didn't end there. At the time of the crop failure I was working as one of the security guards for the governor. He'd given all his private stores to the colonists and had given a rallying speech on the last day we had water, but the governor also knew that help might not be coming in time. Perhaps he should have spent the time with the colonists in the community hall, but instead he stayed in his house blaming himself for not having put weather control satellites in place."

"When the colony became operational in 2255, the Federation had insisted the satellites weren't necessary. The governor had believed them because he was hardly an expert in environmental science. We had only one colonist who was an expert in environmental science, and he had always insisted that weather control satellites should be in place because of the weather patterns in the oceans. So when the hurricane did come ashore and destroyed all our crops this colonist was proven right. Even though he was as horrified as us all at the ramifications of that storm."

"The day after our water ran out, this colonist spoke with some of the other adults and convinced them to march on the governor's house. They wanted to find someone to punish and hold responsible for what had happened and he was the obvious target. I was concerned they wouldn't listen to reason and informed the other security guards we had to protect the governor. They agreed, not wanting to see violence either."

"So I and the rest of the guards got there before the colonists did. As I suspected, no one in the crowd would listen to any of us and insisted on speaking to the governor. I voiced my objections to him doing so along with two other guards, but the governor insisted on facing the angry crowd himself. The governor couldn't calm the crowd who were desperate. I saw one of them, the teenage son of the environmental scientist, pick up a sharp rock to throw it and I just reacted. Without thinking I stepped in front of the governor and took the hit in his place. The rock punctured my lung and so I fell to the ground and started coughing up blood. Everyone in the crowd was shocked for a moment then moved away when the other guards threatened to stun the crowd with their phasers."

"Fortunately the doctor managed to stop the bleeding and put me on some old fashioned ventilator. But I nearly died of blood loss during the surgery. After that surgery I couldn't be a security guard any longer as I didn't have the aerobic fitness that I used to. Hell, I couldn't even run after Thomas any more without being winded. So I moved to tactical analysis work instead."

"As for the governor, he resigned and took his own life on the way back to Earth. The governor escaped from the Starfleet detention cell he was being held in on the ship and used a phaser from the armory set to kill on himself. After that the Federation wanted to appoint another governor or at least have a list of candidates the colonists would choose from. But everyone insisted that we have free and fair elections for the next governor from the colonists themselves. Well, that's all I want to say about Cerberus. I won't ever talk about the crop failure again."

"But Leonard, you should talk to Donna about about all of this. I don't know many of the details about why the two of you were estranged but I saw what effect that had on Donna. I doubt either of you talked about why that happened, how this absence between the two of you felt, or why she was so eager to reconcile with you. Now might be a good time to talk about that." Fred concluded.

There was a knock on the kitchen door before Leonard could reply. He was still reeling from everything that Fred had told him. So when Fred opened the door to reveal Donna who was pale and had recent tear marks on her face, McCoy didn't hesitate to stand up and wrap her in a tight hug.

"Donna. I'm sorry, so sorry." McCoy said as he held his sister and she returned his tight embrace. McCoy was barely aware of Fred as he closed the kitchen door behind the two of them. Donna clung to him and it seemed like minutes before either of them let the other go. Despite everything that had happened between them Donna was still his sister and he'd always love her. Once they had separated Donna guided him to sit on a chair and then placed her hand on top of his own.

"So Fred told you everything about the crop failure on Cerberus huh?" Donna softly said.

"Yeah. That must have been…" McCoy said.

"It was hell. Or at least that's what it felt like. Leonard, you're not the only one who's sorry. I owe you an apology for how I reacted over David's death." Donna quietly replied.

"No you don't Donna." McCoy instantly responded. Donna turned to face him with a fierce expression before she spoke.

"Stop right there, Leonard Horatio McCoy! You are going to shut up and let me say this all now or I never will. I know I called you a murderer when I discovered you had given dad the hypospray that killed him. But that's because I was furious. Not at you but at the pyrrhoneuritis itself. That we still have incurable diseases in the twenty third century, never mind slow acting and painful ones, wasn't something that I wanted to accept at the time. So I looked for someone to blame for the death of our father and I choose you. It seemed easier then facing my own feelings of grief and powerlessness over watching him die like that."

"But I made matters worse by not seeing how you took dad's death even harder then me or Eleanora and not realizing that it would lead to the end of your marriage. Look, I've made it clear from day one that I never liked Pamela. But she seemed to make you happy. I could also tell that you loved Joanna and I thought you were a great father to her. So I put my misgivings about Pamela aside. When I heard that you had started drinking heavily after dad's death I knew Pamela wouldn't be able to handle it for long. Neither mom or I liked to see you like that either. So I distanced myself from you even more and I wasn't there for you when it all fell apart. I was equally surprised and relieved when I heard that you entered Starfleet Academy and thought a new start of my own would be beneficial. So when I heard the Federation were looking for colonists for Cerberus a few weeks later I sighed up."

"The first couple of years on the colony were hard but we all got through it. Soon I had Fred and then I had Thomas and Linda. I told myself that if you really wanted to make an effort to get to know me again then you would have shown up at my wedding or acknowledged it at the very least. Or you would have acknowledged Thomas's birth or Linda's. But after she was born and when I still had no contact from you I gave you up. You were a Starfleet officer now. So I thought you had no time for a sister anymore. I figured that the crew of your ship would become your real family."

"I nearly got in touch with you after the destruction of Vulcan and the battle of Earth. Mom pleaded with me that I should talk to you. But I was too stubborn. I still thought that you should make the first move. In reality I was the one who should have apologized first."

"But after what happened with the crop failure none of that mattered anymore. When I thought that I'd never see you again because I was going to die soon I knew I wanted to see if we could mend fences between us. The Starfleet ship that showed up a week after Mr Winston arrived agreed to send messages from the colonists to their families. So I recorded a message and asked it to be passed on to you. Well, you know the rest Leonard." Donna said.

McCoy's mind drifted back to that day. He'd just finished his debriefing at Starfleet Headquarters after the Enterprise had been called back to Earth because of Jim breaking the Prime Directive on Nibiru. McCoy had just left the room where Admiral Barnett had been questioning him and began to walk away. He'd only waked a short distance in the corridor when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Doctor McCoy. Can I have a quick word Lieutenant Commander?" someone called. The use of his rank stopped him. He'd closed his eyes briefly and then turned around.

"What can I… Wait a minute. You're the officer that dragged me to a seat on the shuttle that flew me to Starfleet Academy! What do you want now?" McCoy had realized as she walked closer to him.

"I have an urgent message for you here." his fellow officer had said and then she had extended a data disk to him. He'd taken it from her hand.

"Thanks. Who is this from?" he'd asked.

"The communication is from your sister Donna Withers." she'd replied. At that answer both his eyebrows had risen and he'd nearly dropped the data disk.

"You've got to be kidding me! There's no way in hell she'd contact me." McCoy had cried out in shock.

"Doctor McCoy, I strongly urge you to watch that communication then view the Federation News Service report about Cerberus from fifteen days ago. If you wish to record your own message in return after you have done so then contact me and I will see to it that your message is delivered to Mrs Withers. You can find me in the Starfleet personnel directory under Lieutenant Heather Hill. Now if you'll excuse me sir?" she'd responded.

"Yeah. Dismissed." he'd absently replied. Lieutenant Hill nodded and then hurried away. McCoy had looked at the data disk for a long moment before he had pocketed it and walked back to his temporary quarters. Donna's hand squeezing his brought McCoy back to the present where they both sat in Eleanora's kitchen. He looked at his sister for a long moment.

"I take it you weren't expecting either my communication or what I said, were you Leonard?" Donna said.

"Dammit Donna. I had no idea what that communication would be about and I was shocked that you even wanted to talk to me. The Enterprise had been out of communication range of Earth for some time and we were nowhere near Cerberus. It was only after viewing your message that I watched the Federation News Service reporting and found out about what had happened on Cerberus. After I saw that I recorded a message to you. When you finally responded, well let's just say that I hadn't been so glad to hear from someone in a long time."

"But I knew you wouldn't want to talk about what had happened when the events were still fresh in your mind. Besides, I didn't want to push it when we'd just reconciled after all those years of silence between us. I didn't know Fred and I didn't know how much you had told Eleanora about what had happened. So I just decided to let the matter rest. But now I see I should have said something sooner. Donna, these flashbacks you're having and Fred's nightmares… Are those only on the anniversary?" McCoy replied.

"Yes. That is the only time I think about the crop failure. Most of the time I don't ever think about it and I don't want to. I think what triggered it today was seeing all the large amount of food on the anniversary of when the crop failure started with the hurricane. With all the people here today having lunch it was only natural there would be more food then usual. So my brain went to where that food should go and you saw what happened… Dammit, I probably scared Thomas and Linda. I should go see them to reassure them I'm all right." Donna said.

"Yeah. Are we all right Donna? I mean, between us?" McCoy wondered.

"Yes Leonard. Or would you prefer if I called you three point boy?" Donna teased him with a childhood nickname.

"Only if I can call you peach face in return Donna." McCoy replied, using a childhood nickname for her right back.

"I was five when I got sick from eating too many peaches from the tree in the front yard. What's your excuse Leonard?" Donna wondered as she stood up and released his hand. McCoy also rose.

"I was seven. Oh, and I was so excited that dad had put up a basketball hoop above the garage and given me a ball that I didn't realize how much time I was spending out there practicing until mom told me that I had to finish my report for school." McCoy explained as they walked to the door.

"It's just as well that you went into medicine rather then being a professional basketball player. Otherwise I think both granddad and dad would have had to have a chat with you about the McCoy tradition of medicine." Donna said as she opened the kitchen door to the rest of the house.

"Oh, they both did right before I went off to Ole Miss." McCoy responded as he left the kitchen behind her. They were silent as they entered the living room where everyone else was. Jim sat beside Eleanora on a couch. Linda and Joanna sat on another couch. Fred stood by the window. Thomas sat listlessly in front of a puzzle.

"Mom!" cried Linda and then raced over to Donna. That caused Thomas to look up and stand.

"It's all right, Thomas, Linda." she soothed them both as they hugged her for a brief moment and she returned the embrace. Then she pulled back from them.

"I'm fine. Now Thomas, why don't you show me how far you've gotten along with this puzzle? You're making good progress but I think you might be missing some corners…" Donna continued as she sat down in front of the puzzle and Thomas sat down beside her.

As Thomas looked at the puzzle Linda sat down on the other side of Donna. Donna hugged her daughter close while she continued to look at Thomas as he worked on the puzzle. Fred caught McCoy's eye and gave him a firm nod. McCoy nodded back at his brother in law. McCoy could feel Jim appraising him. He looked at him and shook his head. Then he went to sit down beside Eleanora and Joanna.

"Well it look you long enough Leonard McCoy." his mom said.

"Donna's not the only stubborn one mom." McCoy confessed.

"Don't I know it. I raised two stubborn children and I think Joanna is just as stubborn as both you and Donna." Eleanora replied.

"I don't think I'm as stubborn as dad grandma." his daughter protested.

"Says the child who at the age of three insisted that I put a rope swing on the peach tree in the front yard after you saw a holo of an old fashioned playground. You wouldn't shut up about it for days until I relented. Then the next summer when you bruised your hip after you had fallen from the swing you wouldn't stop complaining about that either." Eleanora proclaimed.

"I remember that. You drove both Pamela and I up that wall with that one Joanna." McCoy mused.

"Now Mrs McCoy, while the children are playing would you like to watch a film?" Jim changed the subject.

"Sure. We'd disturb them in here but we can move to the den. I have a computer screen there that streams entertainment direct from satellite." his mom said as she stood up. While Fred remained with Donna, Thomas, and Linda, the rest of the group headed toward the den following after his mom.

"Unless anyone has any objections, I think we'll just stick to drama which Leonard has always liked." his mom decided.

"That sounds good grandma. If I have to watch another movie that has kissing in it then I'm going to puke. I mean, what's the big deal about that anyway? It's not as if it's nice. Or maybe Greg was just crap at doing that." Joanna said firmly.

"What? You've kissed a boy! Why have you never told me that Joanna?" McCoy cried in shock. Joanna was really growing up fast, he realized.

"Don't worry about it Leonard. I've already dealt with the matter. Just let it rest all right?" his mom insisted.

"Fine. But only if I can meet your next boyfriend Joanna." McCoy replied.

"Oh God. If that's the case then I'm never going to date again until I'm at university. That scowl of yours would scare anyone off." Joanna complained.

"She's got you there Bones." Jim said with a smile.

"Shut up Jim." was his instant response.

"Can we watch a film now?" Eleanora wondered as she sat down and the others did so as well.

"Of course Mrs McCoy. How does this sound, a film called Moonlight Over the Empire State? According to the summary it's a fictionalized account of the day to day life of the New York governor in 2258." Jim suggested. To his surprise McCoy found the movie unexpectedly interesting. Usually he could care less about politicians. But this governor was a colorful character and he found himself drawn into the film.