"Miss? Miss, can you hear me? C'mon, open your eyes! Please!"

Seventeen miles down. Heavy breathing, the sounds of human and animal life awakening. Sweat dripping down her face, chilling her skin in the weather. Trees on every side of her, towering above like giants.

Five days until final examinations.

Nineteen miles down. Backs of hands wiped across foreheads, shaken off in disgust. A single pair of feet pounding against the dirt floor of the forest. Heart pounding and determination set.

Four days until final examinations.

Twenty-one miles down. Finish line closer than ever, lungs heaving. After four months and still unsure of how she ever managed to make it into Advanced training, and what it would mean if she completed this stage and went onto Starfleet Academy.

Three days until final examinations.

Twenty-three miles down. The finish line of both her scheduled run and training were so close she could taste it. Anything would taste better than the dirt they served here. Who had boot camp at the beginning of cadet school, anyways? It made no sense—by the time you graduated, you have worked yourself back to where you started.

Two days until final examinations.

Twenty-five miles done. Sweat-drenched, gasping to breathe and bent over. Freezing cold and as usual, regretting her choice to ever join Starfleet. Dreading the next three hours to come and overjoyed at the same time.

One day until final examinations.

Today was it—the final day. The dreaded last day of boot camp. Rumor had passed that if you failed examinations, don't even come within fifty feet of the official Starfleet headquarters. Andy wasn't too sure whether this meant they were incredibly easy or impeccably hard. Well, she would sure as hell find out in one day.

She also found it to be incredibly ironic that it was scheduled for the day after Christmas, a day of celebrating for everyone in the camp. For some, today would be their last day with Starfleet. And for others, today was just a step towards a long future.

Andy could remember a night from ten years ago today, crystal clear skies and mild weather, surprising for the mountains of North Carolina. An odd sixty-five degrees, an abnormality for such a snowy place. Especially around Christmas. But, it was warm anyways, and she wasn't complaining. An ironic fact, of course. Always hating the cold, but being born on the day which the most snow had fallen in years. Sam had told her that it was a "Christmas miracle", to which he followed up with how she was as well.

The stars had splayed out along the sky like splattered ink that night, forming galaxies and constellations and stories of their own. Samuel's beat up, cracking, leather-bound journal in hand, she doodled small constellations in the margins of his perfect cursive, steering clear of his own charts.

Immediate pleasure and pride had always surged through her whenever Samuel had opened his starbook and found one of her drawings of a stranger on the pages, the smile, chuckle, and little head shake always making her happy. Her mother and father always put down her interests and talents, seeing her as nothing more than mute as she practically was glued to Samuel at all times. The two were inseparable.

Right now she was connecting the lines of her Draco, the myth playing over and over in her head. The story of a man who wanted nothing more than his own city, slaying a dragon on false promises of Zeus. It was one of her favorites, if not the most. She did love the tale of Andromeda, finding similarities in both their names and stories.

A foolish mother, boasting up to every queen, claiming to be the most beautiful when she was far from it. A neglected daughter and a disloyal husband. Andy wasn't all too sure where Samuel came into play, but maybe one day if she thought hard enough—"I know you're up in the stars, And, but can you come down to earth again for your brother?"

Blinking, Andy moved her gaze away from the stars slowly, looking over at her messy-haired brother, as tall and as handsome as ever. It was very clear that whatever attractiveness they had in their family had gone to him and completely skipped her, an unfortunate fact that she had to guess went with being the younger sibling. Damn.

There was a terribly wrapped package in his hand, callouses and large fingers almost covering it. Andy liked his hands, they were fun to draw. In all honesty, he was just fun to draw in general. Known for being what most people called a "teenage heartthrob", he was all muscle and sharp jawlines. This meant that he was always more than happy to let his six-year-old sister ride on his shoulders while they walked around. She liked the view, anyways. Shortness was a curse, even then.

Goodness was she lucky to have him.

"There she is." Samuel said, smiling brighter, rows of perfect white teeth showing, only making his blue eyes stand out further in the night. "Nice to see you again, curly." He joked, ruffling a hand through her untamable curls and earning a giggle.

Without another word, the two resumed staring up at the skies. Ten years older than her, Samuel was the real expert here, but never ceased to stop and listen to his sister speak, even how little she did. Samuel had the slight suspicion that the diagnosis of so many personality disorders had to do something with this, but anything was possible. His biggest and only wish was that one day she would find someone who found her disabilities beautiful, rather than the monster that most saw.

He couldn't wait for the day when she would talk to people other than him. Not like he didn't enjoy talking to her, no! Sam loved it! He was just concerned for her social skills, is all. The two were polar opposites in most ways, yet somehow they were just alike.

Looking over at her once more, he wasn't surprised to find her doodling around the letters of his writing, almost every space in his book filled with them. "What're you drawing?" He asked softly, as if he didn't know. Andy liked to be asked.

"Draco." She muttered, one word answer being the only one he would get.

Peering over her shoulder, he watched as skilled hands brushed coal over the paper, part of a set he had given her the year before. She had already drawn several other constellations and copied some of his handwriting, always capturing him in awe. "You know, " Samuel said, fingers brushing along the side of his package. "You're going to run out of room in mine eventually."

A simple head nod.

Clearing his throat, he earned a head tilt, the only sign he would get that she was listening. "So, why don't you start one of your own." There was a snap, and suddenly the coal pencil in her hand was in two pieces. As soon as the paper was off, shaking hands felt over the cover of her new favorite item. Tackled in an embrace, Samuel laughed, holding her.

Hand buried in kinky locks, arms around her small frame tightly, Samuel sighed. "I love you, And. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday."

"I love you more, Sammy."

Andy suddenly found tears rolling down her face, and she thanked god no one was around to see them. They had buried Sam with his journal, per request of Andy. He would have wanted her to have it, but it just didn't seem right. You couldn't have the journal without having Samuel. It wasn't natural.

Shaking hands reached underneath the bed, groping around until her fingers connected with worn leather, pulling it out and holding it to her chest. She missed her brother.

She missed Sam.