"The pockets that gave off the huge energy readings, turns out we won't have to search them all, Doctor McCoy and Lieutenant Commander Mills set up a distress beacon, we know where they are Captain." Kirk looked at Spock and grinned.

"Why didn't we pick up on that before?"

"We did not change our frequencies to accommodation the energy Captain," Spock replied solemnly.

"It's not that easy is it?" he asked, unsure whether or not to get his hopes up.

"Seemingly it is Captain, although we're still unaware of what the situation is on the planet where the Doctor and the Lieutenant Commander are located." Kirk nodded gravely.

"You're right, let's keep our wits about us. Mister Spock, you have command." With a nod Kirk looked at Uhura and Sulu and the three of them marched from the Bridge.

Colleen stopped to catch her breath, she had insisted on fetching their food, fed up of sitting round and watching McCoy do everything. She'd felt fine walking there but now making her way back, weighed down by the large melon like fruit she could feel the tightness in her chest. The sun was beating down and she could feel her nose burning. Lightly touching the skin on her nose and cheeks she realised that she hadn't seen her reflection for the entire time they'd been stuck on the planet. She imagined she looked terrible, her hair was loose and sticking to her neck. From the freckles on her arms she imagined that her face was now covered also, the skin on her shoulders had burnt and peeled leaving patches of different hues. They had both lost weight, her uniform was now essentially a glorified smock and the soles of her feet were dirty and calloused from not wearing her boots. Picking the fruit back up she carried on, when she saw McCoy sat in their camp rubbing his now bearded chin she smiled.

"It suits you actually," she told him as she set the fruit down and sat down herself next to him. McCoy immediately noticed Colleen's breathing was shallow.

"I told you I'd go damnit!" he said as he brought his hand to her chest.

"And I told you I'd be fine, which I am. Just a little out of breath, you do remember you carried out surgery on me with a lake reed!" ignoring her McCoy put his ear to her lips, listening to her breath and feeling the rise and fall of her chest with his hand. When she kissed his ear he pulled away and gave her an annoyed look but couldn't help but smirk. "Will you be serious for one moment please?" he said as he checked her pulse. Colleen watched as he did his thing and when seemingly he was happy she wasn't about to die he pulled away and started to collect the fruit.

"Have you thought about if we never get rescued?" she suddenly asked. McCoy paused, one of the fruits falling from his hand. Quickly picking it up and pretending that it had been an unfortunate coincidence he bit into it rather than answering her question. "I'm sure you've thought about it…" she continued.

"Yes," he answered gruffly as he took another bite.

"And?" Colleen said as she crossed her legs.

"And I think I'm at peace with it, you?" McCoy sat himself opposite her and rested his arm on his knee. She still had dark circles under her eyes, she was malnourished and he was shocked she hadn't gotton an infection from the surgery he'd performed. He was shocked she was alive if he was being honest. If they weren't rescued he wondered how long they could survive, they'd made themselves a pretty decent little home, they had what they needed for the most part and they had become close. He wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that he had given up hope of being rescued, seemingly so quickly.

"I'm still not sure," Colleen answered his question quietly.

"Do you wonder if we, would have become this…?" McCoy struggled for the words.

"If we had just been on the ship? If this hadn't of happened?" she finished and he nodded.

"I'm not sure," she answered honestly. "But I'm glad that it did," she added when a flicker of disappointment flashed over his face.

"Me too," he added as Colleen stood and stretched her arms above her head.

"I'm going to collect some firewood," she told him as he came to stand also.

"You've done enough today Colleen," he started but she stopped him with a wave of her hand.

"I'm going to collect some firewood," she repeated as she stalked off. McCoy watched after her until she was out of sight and then turned back to their hut which was looking like it needed some TLC. The whirling lights that appeared to his left made him almost fall back off his feet, seeing Kirk, Uhura and Sulu appear in front of him he felt himself lose all the air from his lungs.

"Jim?" he rasped as Sulu trained his phaser on their surroundings.

"Bones! My God man!" Kirk was instantly by his side, effectively holding him up as the Doctor's legs went weak.

"How did you… how did you find us?" he asked with tears in his eyes but before Kirk could answer McCoy pulled himself from Kirk and shouted Colleen's name.

"Where is she Bones? Where's Commander Mills?!" McCoy didn't answer, instead he just set off in the direction she'd walked, Kirk and the others following close behind, but as they did they were stopped by beams of light, similar to their transporter only louder and brighter. Three figures, standing a foot taller than them all appeared and as Kirk, Uhura and Sulu trained their phasers on them one of the figures slowly raised their hand.

"Who the hell are you?!" Kirk asked angrily as McCoy's eyes darted around them looking for any sign of Colleen.

"We are the Witnesses," one of them answered.

"Witnesses?!" Kirk repeated. "Witnesses of what? Of where?"

"Witnesses of the universe, witnesses of the what, of the where and of the who. Your people visited this planet, one of our places of witness. We took two of you, as this is our way."

"Took two of us?!" McCoy shouted. "You abducted us! Took us prisoner!" Kirk grabbed McCoy's arm, stopping him from rushing forward. "You could have damned well asked you sonsofbitches! One of us nearly died! We could have both died! You wanted to witness that as well?" When one of the figures nodded Kirk had to all but tackle McCoy to stop him from attacking the figure.

"Bones stop!" Kirk whispered. "This is not how you learn! You do not put people in a zoo to be observed, you make contact, you talk and learn from one another…"

"We witness only," Kirk stopped himself from rolling his eyes.

"Well you've witnessed now, we're taking our people home!" Kirk told them angrily.

"You may do so."

"I wasn't asking! Sulu, go find Commander Mills," Kirk spat out as he nodded to Sulu to go in search of Colleen. When the three figures disappeared Kirk sent Uhura in search of Colleen also, steering McCoy back to their hut Kirk looked around as McCoy paced back and forth. "I'm so sorry it took us so long, I've done nothing but try and find the pair of you, you disappeared!" he could see that his friend was too much in shock for his words to register. "It's good to see you again my friend…"

"Captain!" Kirk turned to see Sulu and Uhura making their way towards them, Colleen's unconscious body in Sulu's arms.

"What happened?" he asked as he took in Colleen's dishevelled look noting she looked worse than Bones.

"She fainted Captain," Uhura said quickly as McCoy began to pull her from the other man's arms.

"It's alright Bones, Sulu will take her…" Kirk started.

"It's not alright damnit, I'll take her!" McCoy ground out.

"Really Doctor, let me…" Sulu tried also.

"I SAID I'LL TAKE HER GODDAMNIT!" McCoy shouted as he finally had Colleen in his arms. Kirk noted the look on his friends face and then turned to Sulu and nodded silently. Tapping his badge and ordering the ship to beam them up he could only wonder what his crewmembers had gone through.

Kirk had instructed Uhura and Sulu to report back to Spock on their findings, if McCoy and Mills had been abducted who knew how many others could have been in the same situation? It made sense now that there were so many pockets of the planet their sensors couldn't reach. If they could save others it was their duty to try.

He had quietly leant against the wall of one of the more private medical bays as McCoy had tended to Colleen, the silent way in which she knew when he needed her to look up, turn her neck and sit back told him that they had become close. It had all been done in silence. When the most important checks had been done he had instructed her to go to her quarters, get washed up and sleep but she had hesitated, her hand grabbing his, nevertheless when her eyes darted to Kirk she reluctantly pulled away and had nodded and left.

"Are you alright Bones?" he asked as the Doctor ran a tricorder over himself. "I'm sure one of the other Doctors can help you with this." He added.

"I'm perfectly capable Jim!" McCoy snapped back. "And no, I'm not okay." He added as he threw the tricorder down.

"What happened down there?" McCoy closed his eyes and swallowed the sob in his throat, looking at Kirk he hastily wiped away the tears in his eyes.

"We gave up hope Jim, we gave up hope." Clenching his fists he couldn't look at his friend any longer and turned away.

"Are you and the Commander…?"

"Just stop the bastards who did this Jim, alright?" Kirk could only nod.

Colleen sat in her quarters drying her hair, after leaving sickbay she headed straight to her shower and scrubbed at her skin for what felt like hours. Everything felt soft, the floor under her feet, the chair she sat on. The temperature was too perfect, there was no sun in her eyes or breeze on her face. She never figured she would miss the place she was marooned so quickly. She felt anxious not having McCoy with her, he'd been by her side for so long she missed the sound of his breathing. She was scared as hell however that now they were saved his feelings would change for her, go back to what they were before. Non-existent. A sort of indifferent respect. Just another Officer that would get in his way, a face he recognised in the corridor but couldn't quite place the name. Nice enough for people to like her but unremarkable enough for people to forget her. Would McCoy forget her? Would he want to forget her?

She still hadn't looked in the mirror, scared she wouldn't know who was looking back at her. Picking up her brush she turned to the mirror and silently took in her appearance. Her cheeks were gaunt, her eyes dark and sad. The sun damage had been healed somewhat by McCoy but she could still see the smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She wasn't going anywhere yet still she dried and styled her hair in the way she did before, trying to return some normality to her appearance. And then that was that, she knew she wouldn't sleep so she sat on her chair in a darkened corner of her quarters and grabbed her PADD. Accessing the ships logs she began reading what had occurred since they had gone missing, had they followed protocol? Had every department followed policy when an Officer went MIA? Biting her lip she read everything with the weight of the world on her shoulders, policy had been followed and Kirk had done everything he could. Opening her own report she began to write, the situation they had found themselves in and the steps they had taken to contact the ship. Cross-referencing with policy she noted their failings and breaches of policy. Ultimately she named herself as responsible. Sending the report to Kirk Colleen threw the PADD by her side and closed her eyes, she had failed McCoy and put the lives of Officers at risk.

After sleep had eluded him for several hours McCoy had returned to sickbay and his office, Nurses and Doctors had given him that small, sympathetic smile that people do when they have no idea what to say. He had caught up on work, signed off on treatments and opened and closed the cabinet door next to him that held a large bottle of Bourbon almost a dozen times to pour himself a drink. When his door chimed he rolled his eyes, in no mood for visitors or conversation.

"Come in," he reluctantly shouted and stared silently as Colleen walked in, coffee in hand. Watching her set it down in front of him he noticed that her uniform was loose. "You need to eat something," he whispered as he took a sip of the coffee she had placed in front of him.

"I know," she answered. "Everything tastes so strange, I'm sure I'll get used to it again." Each one of them looked at the other until Colleen gave him a small smile. "How are you?" she asked him.

"Me? Fine, you?" Colleen shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, about sums it up doesn't it…" McCoy pinched the bridge of his nose and then held his hand out over the desk, watching Colleen crease her brow in confusion he wriggled his fingers until she placed her own hand in his. "I'm not fine Colleen," he told her honestly. "I can't sleep, my boots are too hard and my uniform itches! I damned well near hate the lighting on this ship, there's a hum in every damn room and you're not with me." McCoy squeezed his hand around hers as if cementing what he'd just told her, standing and pulling her towards him he watched as she didn't hesitate and melting into him he wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Will you stay with me tonight?" he asked her quietly as he inhaled the scent of her shampoo.

"Yes," she answered simply.

"You're sure?" he could feel his confidence waning.

"I've said yes Leonard, I mean it." Colleen looked up at him and kissed him softly, he'd almost forgotten how good it felt. So much had happened in such a small period of time since they had found themselves lying under their makeshift camp roof together or swimming in the lagoon that his memories almost felt like they'd been erased.

"I'll see you in an hour, we're both on light duties and our brief with Jim isn't until tomorrow." Colleen nodded and stepped away.

"See you in an hour," leaving his office and making her way down the corridor she noticed that those who passed her gave her a look of recognition and curiosity. She supposed people would know who she was now, the entire ship working towards getting her and McCoy back. She wondered how many conversations had been had about them, how much gossip and theories had surrounded them both. Spotting two Ensigns whispering to one another as she approached Colleen wished she could go back to her anonymity, she never would have guessed that she would miss the feeling of people not knowing her name.

"What kind of food do you like?" McCoy asked Colleen as he watched her sit nervously on his couch.

"All kinds I suppose, I'm not fussy." She answered shrugging her shoulders.

"When we were on the planet I would daydream about what I was going to eat first, a cheeseburger, a good steak. I could never decide."

"Stew…" Colleen laughed.

"Stew?!" raising his brow at her McCoy smirked and then slowly nodded.

"Yeah, simple stew and dumplings, stodgy and rich and the type of food you have to undo your pants after you've eaten!" McCoy laughed.

"I could go for stew," he said as he went to the replicator. Colleen smiled and watched as McCoy ordered. Setting the two steaming bowls down on the table she sat opposite him and took in the aroma. "We talked so much but I'm realising I don't know the basic things about you Col," he said as he took a big spoonful of food and shoved it in his mouth.

"Umhum, strange isn't it? Our hours long existential conversations, sharing our deepest secrets and fears yet I have no idea if you like broccoli or not!" Colleen laughed at McCoy's expression. "I'll take that as a no!" Colleen set her spoon down and crossed her arms. "Seems like we're doing this back to front, most couples become attracted to one another and learn all about the little things first!"

"I think the fact I don't like broccoli and you do ain't going to be a game changer Darlin'!" McCoy smiled. "Now if you tell me you like Klingon Opera we have a problem!" Colleen laughed through her mouthful of stew, she liked seeing this more light-hearted version of McCoy.

"Oh absolutely not! It's the worst!" setting her bowl down and away from her McCoy gave her a look. "I know, I need to eat but I'm still getting used to it."

"I know, I'm the same, I'm still getting use to a lot of things…"

McCoy sat opposite Colleen in Kirk's ready room, his anger bubbling just beneath the surface. He was furious at her, furious for blaming herself for any breaches in policy. Kirk, for all his past dismissiveness of Colleen he now shook his head.

"You cannot blame yourself Commander Mills, you both found yourself in exceptional circumstances. You searched for us first! You set up beacons, you and Doctor McCoy survived. You displayed immense bravery." McCoy blanched at Kirk's words.

"We didn't modify the beacon frequency at the recommended intervals Captain…" Mills started to explain.

"Recommended!" McCoy interrupted. "Recommended," closing his eyes he let his head bow down before turning to Kirk. "Don't submit the report Jim," he said as Kirk nodded slowly.

"That isn't your choice Doctor McCoy," McCoy was taken aback by Colleen using his title.

"The hell it isn't!" he answered angrily. "You were emotional, probably suffering from PTSD when you wrote that!"

"Is that your medical diagnosis…" she spat back.

"Colleen!" McCoy's voice almost broke and Kirk could see they were both fighting their emotions.

"Commander Mills, I will submit your report, as per protocol…" Kirk gave McCoy a pointed look to not interrupt. "But I will be submitting my own report opposing your statement of responsibility," McCoy sighed with relief but Colleen stiffened.

"Captain," she started.

"Commander, that's my final say on the matter. You're dismissed." Colleen stared at him dumbfounded and then looked to McCoy who only pleaded with his eyes for her to not argue back. Standing slowly she left the room. "Bones…" Kirk started.

"Don't Jim, she's struggling. We both are."

"I'm putting you on R&R, both of you. I know you asked for light duties but I should have listened to my gut. Mills' report is damning to herself Bones, she needs to know she did nothing wrong." McCoy didn't answer. "You and her are together aren't you?" Kirk asked, already knowing the answer. McCoy simply nodded. "You want a drink later?" McCoy smiled.

"I thought you'd never ask."

"It just happened Jim, I don't know what to say. You spend so much time together, you spend your days and nights collecting firewood, food, talking. She was strong when I wasn't, I've never met anyone stronger. At first I wondered if it was just because we were stuck together, had no other choice? Did I just need companionship, somebody to hold and she was the only option but I found myself smiling when I woke up next to her and I wanted to spend all my time with her. She's kind and considerate, she's damned funny. She kept me sane Jim." Kirk sat and listened to his friend, finding it hard to imagine the situation they had been in. He'd read both their reports, Mills' talking about protocol and McCoy's detailing medical issues, neither mentioned what it had actually been like and Kirk figured he'd never really know.

"How do you feel about her now?" Kirk asked as he took a sip of his drink.

"The same," McCoy answered without pausing. "The fact she took all the blame in her report makes me love her even more."

"Love?" Kirk asked as a he raised his brow. McCoy was taken aback himself, he hadn't realised until that moment how deep his feelings for Colleen were.

"Yeah, yeah Jim love. I love her."

"Does she know?" McCoy shook his head no.

"Don't you think she should?" Kirk smirked. McCoy just stared back at him in silence.