"...And Captain, my daughter?"
"Admiral Stanley, we're going to do everything in our power to bring her back. We can't bring Toney Song back to earth right now, nor can we transport her out of Sick-Bay. We have also requested to keep Imogene Wood on board, sir, she's our only chance to find the ship."
Bones was sitting in the corner, out of shot of the Captain and Admiral's communication. He had his hands in his hair, squeezing tightly. Thoughts of how he could have prevented this from happening swarmed through his head. He was choking up on it, not able to think very hard on anything besides the fact that Hadley Stanley, His Q-Tip, was more than likely being tortured someplace. It was all on him, if only he had stayed off of that damn shuttle!
"Captain, put Imogene on."
"She is unable to speak at the moment, sir. She's in the Sick-Bay." The Captain turned and looked at Bones.
He stood, collecting his thoughts, and walked into view, "Sir, when she is out of shock she can tell you all she knows. I suggest she sleep now, though. She also lost her brother in that battle."
"Thank you, Dr. McCoy." His voice was laced with extreme dislike. "What did she tell you before she slept."
Bones took a deep breath, "That they're on their way back to the main base, where they'll be processed and examined, and if found displeasing they will be dropped back on one of the empty planets they use for more testing. She didn't know what the tests were, sir. Just that if they still didn't pass they were sent back."
Admiral Stanley nodded his head, "Very well. Do everything in your power, Captain Kirk, to get my daughter back to earth. Then I suggest you dismiss her from her duties aboard the Enterprise. If anything happens to her before then, then it is on you and your entire crew. Understand?"
Bones opened his mouth to protest, but Kirk spoke first, his foot coming down on his almost not very discreetly. "Very well, Kirk out." The transmission ended, and Uhura's face filled the screen.
"Captain, we've received other distress calls. Should we send our own transmission?" She asked him.
"Yes, tell Sulu to send one out that if there is anybody that is a member of the Federation planets that is in danger, contact us right away and we will help them. The more we find, the faster we can find Dr. Stanley."
"Yes sir." Her screen went blank, and Kirk looked at Bones.
McCoy looked like he was going to be sick, or burst into very unmanly tears.
"Damn it, Bones. Pull it together. There are people aboard this vessel that need their senior medical officer. We will find her, not matter how long it takes." His hands clasped Bones's shoulders, his eyes boring into his.
Bones took a moment to collect his breath, and he straightened his back. "Very well then, I'll be in the Sick-Bay if I'm needed."
Kirk's eyes were uncertain, and he dropped his hands.
The two departed, and Bones walked around the corner, stopping to lean against the wall and slide down it. He put his face in his hands, letting out a long and distressing breath. Hadley's face, the look on her face when she saw the Klingons, would haunt him forever.
"Doctor?"
Great, just what I need. Thought Bones as he let his eyes open. He wiped his eyes quickly and stood. "Mr. Spock."
"Are you quite well?" He asked him, a hint of concern in his eyes. It was gone as soon as Bones recognized it though.
"Yes, I'm fine and dandy, Commander. Fit as a fiddle. How about you?" Bones started walked towards Sick-Bay, hearing Spock following after him.
"I am merely curious as to why you were on the ground a moment ago. It seems illogical to be sitting during a time like this."
Bones suppressed an eye roll, "Yes sir, I understand that completely. Now, do you need something from Sick-Bay?" Bones turned to face Spock full on.
He shook his head once, and turned and walked silently away. McCoy reentered the Sick-Bay, and checked on Toney. She was cleaned before being laid to sleep under the healing dressing, and her small face was battered and bruised. Her long brown hair was strewn around her in an unkept way, and one of the nurses was brushing it with a sterilized brush. She reminded Bones of Hadley, how sick and pitiful she looked whenever she arrived on the ship.
"Status report?" Asked Bones, grabbing his PADD.
"Liver is back in functioning order, so is the digestive system. She is recovering, Dr. McCoy. Her pulse is still uneven, but not as slow as yesterday." The Nurse said, looking up.
"Very well. Go to the mess hall and eat, Nurse. I'll sit with her." Bones dismissed, and she reluctantly left the Sick-Bay. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the company of Toney.
Bones sat down next to her, much like he did when Hadley first arrived. And like when she did, he spoke to her. "Hey Toney, I'm Dr. McCoy. It looks like you're recovering very well. You're lucky, you know. My partner Hadley carried you to safety. She's counting on me to keep you safe, so whenever you feel like waking up, you just wake up. Does that sound okay to you?" Bones murmured quietly to her.
He heard the beeping on the comm. and hurried over, pressing the button. "McCoy here." His voice sounded dead, emotionless.
"McCoy, it's Kirk. We're about to land on this planet and recover two kids who said they've been trapped. Get this, 9 years. Are you coming down with us?"
"I can't leave Toney, Captain."
"Very well, we'll bring them to you."
That happened three other times in the next week, and by the time they had a good trail to follow, they had collected 8 kids, not including Toney and Imogene and the other kids from the cave. They were keeping them near the holodeck, where Yeoman Trisha Wolfe was keeping a close eye on them. Bones had given them all thorough examinations after they were washed, and nothing was seriously wrong with them.
Even Toney was getting better. She had started staying awake for longer periods of time, and even could eat solid foods by the 7th day. Bones took the dressings off her, and administered daily shots instead. She was nervous around the water, so Spock brought her a cup of milk everyday per Bones's request. She was also very shy, and hardly spoke to Bones despite his many attempts.
"Bones!" Kirk ran into the Sick-Bay, startling Leonard.
"Captain." Bones stood quickly, setting Toney's book down he was reading to her.
"Can we speak in your quarters?"
"Yeah, of course. Excuse me a moment, Toney." Bones stepped out of the Sick-Bay and walked to his cabin, stepping inside with Kirk right behind him.
"We're hot on a trail. The last boy we picked up even gave us a name."
"A name?"
"Of the scientist that has been kidnapping kids for the past 20 years. K'aDohata." Kirk pronounced the best he could.
"K'aDohata." Bones repeated. "Did they know why he was taking them?"
"Yes, get this... He was kicked out of the Klingon Science Institute because he was caught doing illegal experimentation on the Elders. Turns out he has this bad disease, and he's been trying to find the cure. When he started the experiments on the kids, though, he got carried away. He was curious about how other life forms reacted to the drugs his researchers had created. He's not working with the Klingon, in fact, if he ever showed his face in their territory again they'd blow them out of the sky, the whole crew of them."
"You got all of this from a boy?" Bones was pacing now, listening intently.
"Yes, he's almost 30. He's been with K'aDohata since this all began."
"How are we going to find Hadley with this information?"
"Well.. We know more about them now. We know what to look for. We're following a lead to this planet that is just inside the neutral zone. We'll be there in 2 days." Kirk was watching McCoy carefully now, an eyebrow raised, "Bones? Why are you obsessing so much about Dr. Stanley." Kirk was in his friend mode again.
Bones collapsed into a chair, feeling exhaustion creeping up on him. "Because, Jim, she is under my protection."
"Your protection? Bones, she's under all of our protections. Not just yours. Stop beating yourself up over her kidnapping. We'll get her." Jim tried to assure.
"No, Jim. Not just that. She's under my protection. As in, ever since she opened her eyes and looked at me... With all of that trust built up in those brown eyes after only just a glance..." Bones put his hands against his face again, rubbing it.
"You like her." Jim assumed.
Bones opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again. He thought a moment on how to answer, "No, Jim, I think I love her. And every woman I've ever loved, well, something always happens to where I can't be with them anymore. And it's killing me." Bones spoke through his teeth, hardly able to say much else.
Jim leaned forward, looking Bones dead in the eyes, and said: "Then we will find her, no matter what it takes. We will find her."
"Thank you, Jim." McCoy was unsure if that was a promise he could keep.
The communicator on the wall suddenly started beeping, and Bones walked over and pressed the button. "McCoy here."
"Dr. McCoy, is the Captain with you?" Spock asked from the other end.
"Yeah, Spock, I'm here." Kirk walked over to talk as well.
"We have locked coordinates on the Klingon vessel, sir. Will you come to the bridge?"
"Yeah, on our way. Kirk out." He let go of the button and looked to Bones, "Let's go get her."
Bones and Kirk ran to the lift and climbed in, going up to the Bridge. They ran towards the doors and they slid open. Spock was at his station, and he walked over when they walked in.
"Captain, the ship is in fact going towards the neutral zone, towards Dock 13." Spock relayed.
"Okay, proceed with caution then. They're testing us as well as their selves. If they think they can slip out of Federation Space then they have another thing coming." Kirk said simply, going to sit on his chair.
"Sir, I do not advise it appropriate to danger all personnel of this ship for two people, if we are not careful then we could accidentally start a war." Spock followed. "The Federation has strict laws on making contact in neutral zones."
Bones squeezed his hands together in fists, trying to calm himself at the 1st Officer who was trying to talk Kirk out of the rescue.
"We have strict orders from Admiral Stanley to go after his daughter and Henry, Spock." Kirk said from his seat.
"But sir, Starfleet regulations inform that we can not put our personal emotions over the safety of the ship as a whole. I do not believe he is not acting under rational thoughts at the present moment." Spock argued in his monotone voice.
Bones felt his temper flaring, and he had to force himself to stop from attacking Spock. "Do you not even care, or worry, about Hadley?" He spoke through his teeth. "Dammit, man. You're supposed to be her friend! You'd go after Kirk without a second thought if he were the one on that ship. Hadley is no different, she's been on your side since the beginning!"
"That is illogical, because Cadet Stanley is simply a Cadet and the Captain is far more of importance that she is." Spock responded boredly.
Kirk stood quickly and put his hand on Bones's chest, seeing that he was already lurching forward. "For you to think that Hadley isn't as important as the Captain is the biggest load of Vulcan crap I've ever heard. I know you care about her, and I know you're worrying about her just like everyone else." Bones almost yelled. The entire bridge was watching him now with wide eyes, but he didn't care. "Stop pretending to be completely emotionless, you giant bastard!"
"Dr. McCoy, remember that you are speaking to a Vulcan. Worry is a Human emotion, Doctor. What is done is done, and sometimes we must accept that."
"That's it!" McCoy lurched forwards more, nearly knocking the Captain over, and Kirk had to shove him back. Two guards grabbed him and dragged him out of the bridge, on him in seconds, with Kirk following.
"Bones, I am ordering you to report to Sick-Bay, and don't return to the bridge until you can speak civilly to Mr. Spock. Understand?" Kirk looked stressed, and Bones relaxed when the guards let go of him.
"Jim, you can't really listen to that! You want to get her back too, don't you?" Bones was letting his hands uncurl, stiffness setting in from holding them in one position for a long time.
"Of course, Bones. But you can't go around fighting with a Vulcan, my second in command!. I have to have order on my ship. Don't return to the bridge until you've calmed down or something. Okay? My friend, stop acting like a distressed husband and more of a medical officer." Kirk patted him on the back, and sent him on his way.
Bones hurried back to the Sick-Bay, knowing he'd calm down once he spoke with Toney for a while. Her 11 years were so much wiser than his sometimes.
HADLEY'S POV
My eyes popped open to bright, unusual light. I was restrained in chains, I realized, when I tried to sit up. I had been here and there throughout this center for almost 2 weeks, scars and bruises marking up my body where I had fought them off to no avail.
"Henry?" I croaked. My throat was dry from not having water in a long time.
No answer. He had been there through everything with me, through every procedure and through every beating I was forced to take.
"Henry?" I said a little louder. I forced my stiff head to look around me. I was horrified at what I saw.
Not Henry, but a large machine that was pumping green liquid into my arm. I looked to my right, my stomach churning. Henry was in the corner, looking ashen but awake. He had cloth tied around his mouth to keep from talking.
"Oh Henry." My heart broke for him. He looked pitiful and helpless; a dark purple liquid was being pumped into his arm. Why were they doing this to us?
He blinked at me once. I looked around some more, my eyes resting on the words Spacedock 13. I frowned. Spacedock 13 has been closed down for years, repairs going on. I noticed we weren't on a ship either, and on solid ground. I looked at the restraints, trying to relax my arm enough to slip out of them. No dice. I froze when the doors slid open, and the largest Klingon I had ever seen walked in, smiling his white, pointed teeth.
"Hello Hadley Stanley. It has been a while since we have seen you." His English was very broken, but I recognized his voice.
"Who are you?" I spat, even though I was pressing myself against the table as much as I could. All I could think about was Astrid. Was she alive like we were alive? Scared and tortured somewhere?
"I am K'aDohata. The head scientist here." He responded, laughing. "I am offended you do not remember me, girl. I used to do this to you all the time..." To demonstrate he grabbed three or four strands of my hair and pulled, my hair ripping out. I couldn't hold back a scream. His hand ran up my leg, resting on my upper thigh. The hospital shift was thin, and I shivered in fear and hatred at his touch.
How did I not remember? He gave me a maniacal laugh, squeezing my thigh roughly.
He then walked over and ripped the cloth from Henry's mouth. "Your little girlfriend lost a lot of blood over there, Henry. Care to give her a transfusion?" He was taunting now.
"You're no Klingon." I spat, to get him away from Henry. "Klingons believe in honor, and you have none."
He was next to me in seconds, his large hand grabbing my face tightly.
"Listen here, Hadley Stanley, I have more honor than any Klingon combined. I sometimes let you live, and I'm honorable enough to let you guys sometimes die when you're too weak and pitiful to not live anymore. Do not tell me that I have no honor." He growled in my face, his breath making it hard to not gag. "You will die soon anyways. You do not know how long I've been waiting to do tests on you, you see. You have fighters blood, just like Henry over there. But you lost too much of it in our last little experiment. You're such a disappointment to me, Hadley. I was ever so looking forward to testing on you." His hand came down and stuck me across the face, and I couldn't help the pitiful whimper that exited my mouth. He was about to hit me again, and I prepared for the impact.
"I'll do it." Henry yelled from behind him. "I'll give her the blood she needs."
I met Henry's eyes, mine screaming in protest.
K'aDohata smiled brightly, "Reminds me so much of my good friend Khan." He said to me.
Before I could ask who that was or think too long on it, K'aDohata stabbed a large tube into Henry's vein, very clumsily. He had to take one of his arms out of the restraint. Blood entered the tube as well as all over the table around Henry. He just winced, but I saw the pain in his eyes. As K'aDohata wiped up the blood and threw the towel off to the side, Henry turned very pale.
"Stop, stop!" I demanded as he stabbed the other end into my machine. I watched the green liquid turn to dark red, my eyes horrified.
"I will be back as soon as you are finished, Hadley Stanley." He smirked, and left the room.
"Henry, why did you do that?" I demanded, feeling weak as the blood entered my veins. I could feel my body rejecting the foreign substance, and I went pale as my stomach churned. I was just a corpse, I had never seen skin so purple and veiny before.
"You saved my life, I'm returning the favor. That green stuff is slow poison, but with my blood it'll stop it." Henry used his free hand that was giving blood to rip his restraints off. He was stronger than I would have thought.
I didn't even think at the time to ask what he meant about his blood helping me. I just watched in awe as he got to a standing position. He slid onto the floor, holding the IV tube against his arm as he limped slowing over to me. He had a huge operation scar on his muscular thigh, "There's a communicator over there, in that office. I calculated the amount of times the Doctors come and go, and we have about ten minutes. Help me use it." Henry helped me undue my restraints, and pulled me into a wheelchair. "I'll pull your machine giving you blood, but you need to work the comm.. It's the only one, I've noticed, that doesn't get monitored carefully."
Henry wheeled me slowly while also pulling the machine where his blood was going and coming into my body. He made it to the office in a couple of minutes, and I turned everything on. I felt worse than before just from moving this much.
"Computer." I said quickly, my voice weak. I was finding it hard to keep my head up.
"Ready." It responded.
"Contact the Starship Enterprise, Sick-Bay. NCC 1701." I instructed.
The line went dead, and I knew it was searching. "Enterprise found, patching through to Sick-Bay. Signal, not good."
A face popped up on the screen, and I almost started to cry in relief. "McCoy here."
I pressed broadcast, not sure I could say anything yet. His eyes widened in disbelief when he saw my face. "Hadley!" He yelled, "Oh my gods, Hadley! You're alive!" I could imagine what he saw, how I really didn't look alive.
I smiled weakly, "Yes, I am. Listen, Bones, you need to patch me over to Uhura and Chekov and anybody else so they can get these exact coordinates." I told him weakly. I was so relieved to see his face this last time, how I had missed it terribly.
"Computer!" Bones yelled, "Send these coordinates to the bridge, and tell them Hadley Stanley is on the line." He waited until the computer obliged.
"Bones, I don't have much time..."
Henry spoke after I said that, "There are about a hundred Klingon scientists in here. The best thing you can do is beam all of the survivors up, which I hear is about twenty, and blow them to bits. The leader is called K'aDohata." Henry told Bones, and Bones nodded quickly.
"Alright, I'll tell the Captain. Hadley?" Bones's voice was desperate, and private.
Henry looked away. I looked at Bones's face. "Yes, Leonard?" I said quietly.
"When you get back on this ship, I'm going to marry you. And you aren't allowed to argue." His voice sounded desperate; like this would be the last time I would ever see him again. "I fell in love with you, with your quirks, with your pet peeves. I fell in love with the way you fell asleep, how you fought it whenever we'd sit up talking. I'm in love with you, and I hope you feel the same.
I just laughed, loudly and full of giddy. He loved me? How was that possible, "Leonard, I'm in love with you too, and it'd be my great honor to marry you too."
"They're on there way! I can hear them!" Henry interrupted loudly, looking at the doors.
"Stanley out." I had to say, pressing the off. I didn't know if they'd get to us in time, but I hoped and prayed they would. Leonard professed his love to me, despite my awkwardness and unusual behavior, and not knowing the first thing about being a good wife. I was just a child when I was taken, and I didn't know how to love or be loved. I knew how to survive.
Henry wheeled me back to the bed, and helped me into it. He put the straps back on me, not so tight, and climbed back into his. He made it look like we never moved.
A guard walked in, smiling. He sat next to my bed, a sinister look on his face.
"Hadley Stanley. Honestly, you can scream very loudly. You didn't even know that your sister wasn't dead, did you?" He laughed.
"My sister?" I yelled, jerking against the restraints. I fell back onto the table, exhausted by my sudden movement. My fears were confirmed.
"Oh yes." He laughed again. "She's very alive. We've all had our fun with her, let me tell you. She's here, somewhere." He shrugged.
"Bring her to me!" I screamed, and his hand clasped over my mouth.
"You will shut your mouth, Hadley Stanley. Let me tell you the best part though. We know your little Enterprise is on its way here. When it arrives, we will kill all of you. Every last member on that little ship, until you're screaming for us to kill you too. And then, we're going to actually dismember you. That's going to be the best part." His hand slowly left my mouth. "And I can't wait."
"You're outnumbered, idiot!" I yelled again, and used the last of my remaining spit to spit on his face.
He turned his head to the side, like a confused animal, and then slapped me so hard across the face that I sunk into the blackness. Astrid was the last thing I thought about, and I heard Henry yelling beyond the black.