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༄ chapter nineteen
-ˋˏ A RETURN TO EARTH ˎˊ-
"CHRIS!" Vera shrieked, her tone light and bubbly, not at all the reflection of her sarcastic nature and the hell of the events she just went through. She bounded forward, her heels clanking loudly against the glass floor below as Vera jumped onto Chris, and subsequently Kirk, tackling them both into a powerful hug Kirk would have thought impossible for someone of her size to achieve.
Though Chris was still weak from his torture, his eyes, once dead and full of pain, lit up, and he used his last bit of strength to force his own arm around the excited engineer. He chuckled, though found it a priority to stop once his chest begin aching, his heart beating irregularly and a pain flashing through his sides.
"Nice to see you too, Vera, it wasn't like I just risked my life or anything," Kirk muttered bitterly, though it was outweighed with the joy of having made it back with Captain Pike, the added bonus of Vera's happiness, something he hadn't yet seen from her, just enough to paint a smile over the sweat and dirt that layered itself over his face.
Vera rolled her eyes lightheartedly, shifting her weight to support Chris and take the burden off the stand-in Captain, bending under the pressure but otherwise beyond elated to have her godfather back, "Yes, Kirk, you were very brave, dear." She took her hand and sarcastically pat him on the cheek, swearing to herself when she looked down at the hand to find it covered in grime. Nevertheless, her heart felt as if it would burst when she saw Kirk's smile, happy to have found a friend in the strange young Cadet.
"You know-"
"Jim!" The Cadet was interrupted by McCoy, who burst into the room, his tone the same lighthearted symphony as Vera's had been when she saw Chris again. Right behind him was Darcy.
Kirk turned to the two, his face lighting up once again as he sprinted forward to hug his friends, first McCoy then Darcy, "Bones! Darcy!" Vera had never quite gotten the idea why Kirk called McCoy 'Bones', but was happy to see the two men reunite nevertheless, having felt what it was like to be apart from her friend, but never the extent where she feared for Kit's life or believed he may not return. After their reunion, McCoy noticed Vera and Chris, rushing towards the two and offering to take Chris down to the medical bay.
Vera looked towards Chris, concern laced in her expression as she noticed the extent to his injuries, his face spliced and his entire body practically putty from all of his injuries, "Do you want me to go down with you?"
Chris sighed, taking a quick look to his side before shaking his head, "No, Vera, you're needed at the bridge. I'll be fine." Hesitantly, Vera nodded, allowing McCoy to assist the Captain down to the medical bay and leaving her only task to tell Kit of his father's safe return, despite Kit's obvious distantness towards the aging man.
