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seren_ccdTitle: Is There a Plan B?
Fandom: Star Trek 2009/The A-Team (film)
Ship: Christine Chapel/Face, Kirk/McCoy
Word Count: 5001
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: They are not mine.
A/N: Well, the other day I posted These Pictures.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fringedweller made the motion to have them all get naked together. anodyna seconded the motion and aj thirded, therefore the motion carried. This is the result. It has been betaed by the fantastic fringedweller.
Summary: Two guys, a girl and a quarantine.
As it turns out, the Maltesians were not the most organized nation in the universe and the left hand often had difficulty communicating with the right hand.
This was discovered when Captain James Kirk and members of his crew ran smack into Colonel John ‘Hannibal’ Smith and his crew in a hallway on the large space station in the middle of a literally hostile takeover.
Kirk, Spock, McCoy and two members of security faced Hannibal, BA and Victoria Chapel and for one whole minute, no one said a word.
Finally, Hannibal stepped forward with an outstretched hand. “Well, now, this is a surprise. Captain Kirk, good to meet you at last.”
“Colonel Smith. I’ve heard a great deal about you,” Kirk said, shaking his hand.
“I’m afraid I no longer hold the title of colonel, Captain.”
“I think you’ll find there are a great many people who think otherwise, sir,” Kirk said. He turned to Victoria and gave her a rakish grin. “You’re looking lovely as always, Mrs. Chapel.”
“Why, thank you, James.”
Hannibal had a hint of a grin on his face as he asked, “Here to help with the Aplaxian situation?”
“We were called in by the Federation ambassador who thought something was off. And yourselves?” Kirk gestured to BA standing next to the colonel.
“A group that would prefer to remain anonymous hired us to help neutralize the situation,” he said. A loud boom was heard not too far away and the floor trembled beneath their feet.
“Sounds like you’re doing a swell job,” McCoy said.
“That wasn’t us,” BA said head tilted to the side. “That sounded like an Aplaxian grenade. They’ve gotten to the engineering room.”
“The station must be evacuated, captain,” Spock said.
“Agreed,” Kirk said. “Spock, take Miller and Davis and get to the control center and contact the Enterprise. Get them ready to take on evacuees and have the transporter room ready. I’ll head for the--”
“Captain’s office,” Hannibal said. “He’s got the code to activate the evacuation protocol and I don’t think he’s going to want to give it to you.”
“What makes you say that?” Kirk asked.
“Who would be the one to gain the most from showing that this space station was supposedly vulnerable to an attack and can now get the support he needs to start an all-out war with the Aplaxians?”
“That is a very logical argument,” Spock said. “It would also explain why the Aplaxians seem to be able to enter areas that require passcodes.”
“Well, I hear you and your team are good at getting things from people,” Kirk said, “Care to join me?”
“We’d be delighted, captain.”
“Hannibal!” Face called as he ran down the corridor to join the group. “They’re hitting the upper decks and... Hello, who invited the cavalry?”
“Looks like this job was double-booked, Face,” Hannibal said. Face just nodded as he looked at the Starfleet officers. “Report, lieutenant.”
“They’ve hit decks seventeen and sixteen and I found this.” He held up a silver canister.
“That’s Aplaxian gas,” McCoy said. “One blast of that and you’re dead before you hit the ground. I knew it!” He jabbed a finger at Kirk. “No more complaining about mandatory vaccines! I told you they’d save your life.”
“I think they’ve put them all over the space station,” Face said.
“Spock,” Kirk said. “Control room.”
“Yes, captain.” The Vulcan and the security officers took off down the hall, while the rest headed towards the captain’s office.
The next several minutes involved some fast-talking, followed by severe threats, finally ending in BA simply grabbing the guy and shoving him up against the wall.
The codes were handed over swiftly.
The Aplaxians, realizing the evacuation had started well before they expected, became desperate. Phaser fire broke out as the evacuation alarm sounded.
The combined forces of the Enterprise’s crew and the A-Team held off the Aplaxians in the docking bay as the Maltesians headed to their evacuation pods.
“Talk to me Enterprise,” Kirk yelled into his comm. “Is everyone out?”
“I’ve still got lifeforms on deck seven, captain,” Uhura’s voice said. “In section C.”
“Damn it, that’s the infirmary,” McCoy said.
“Let me guess,” Face said. “Christine’s there.”
McCoy scowled and flipped open his comm. “Chapel, where the hell are you?”
“Infirmary!” was the shouted reply. “The doors have jammed and I can’t get people out of here fast enough! And we’ve got heavy phaser fire!”
Without a word, BA threw a pulse rifle and satchel over to Face, who slung it around his shoulder and then sprinted out of the bay.
“Hey! You don’t have the code for the ward!” McCoy shouted before taking off after Face.
The two men raced through the halls and found the infirmary, smoky from phaser fire as the Aplaxians kept up a steady stream of shots aimed right at the infirmary doors. McCoy quickly entered in the code to gain access to the ward corridor.
“Christine!” Face called out as he edged along the corridor wall.
“Over here!” she yelled from behind the jammed door. Her eyes widened when she saw Face. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Hey, beautiful! Miss me?” he asked with a grin before firing on the Aplaxians.
Christine took advantage of the crossfire and sent the Maltesian medical staff and some of the patients down the hall. She ducked back into the infirmary as an Aplaxian fired on her. Face took him out with a shot to the head.
McCoy darted inside the infirmary and helped get the remaining patients ready to go.
Face yelled, “Fire in the hole!” before throwing one of BA’s specially designed low-impact grenades, which had more flash than bang. The grenade exploded, momentarily blinding the Aplaxians. “Get ‘em out!”
The rest of the patients, assisted by medical staff, escaped down the hall.
One of the surviving Aplaxians yelled into his comm device, “Detonate the canisters!”
Face ran into the infirmary and stood next to McCoy while Christine checked the room for anyone they might have missed.
“Christine! Time to go!” A gas started to leak into the room and his eyes went wide. “It’s really time to go!”
“Scotty! Beam us out of here!” McCoy said into his comm.
“Give me a second, doctor!”
“We don’t have a second!”
Christine looked at Face. “Have you been vaccinated?”
“No, why?”
She met McCoy’s eyes, who said, “Hypo!”
Christine raced over to a counter and grabbed a hypospray off a tray. She tossed it over to McCoy who immediately jabbed it into Face’s neck.
“Ahh! Ow! That hurt!”
"Oh, you’ll live,” McCoy said. The gas was slowly filling the room and was up to their ankles. “Scotty, get us out of here!”
“I’m locked onto your positions and--”
“Wait!” Christine said holding up her hands. “Mr. Scott, wait! The whole crew hasn’t been vaccinated. McCoy, we can’t just be beamed on board.”
Their eyes met again and Face marvelled at the entire conversation taking place without anyone actually saying a word.
“Ahh, I’m waiting, doctor,” Scotty’s voice said.
“Shit. Scotty, beam us directly into room 527 on deck fourteen and don’t let anyone enter,” McCoy said.
“Yes, sir. Beaming now.”
The familiar shimmering light enveloped them and within moments they were standing in a white room. Christine sighed in relief and leaned against the wall.
“Damn it,” McCoy said doing the same.
“Am I missing something?” Face asked.
“We’re safe from the gas,” Christine said. “It won’t hurt us, but even though we’re vaccinated against it, we were exposed to it for a significant amount of time.”
“Long enough for it to seep into our skin,” McCoy said. “Now, it’s dormant in our system, but the second it comes into contact with anyone or anything, well, that’s that.”
“O-kay,” Face said. “So, what happens next?”
“See, it’s not just a simple gas, it’s also a bacteria,” Christine said. “Now, we have no way of actually killing it ourselves. Luckily, it has a limited life span, so we let it die out and that should take care of it. No one else has to be exposed to it.”
Face nodded. “Sounds all right. How long?”
Christine looked at McCoy who was looking particularly grim.
“Fourteen days,” McCoy said.
Face blinked. “Pardon me?”
Christine sighed and let her head fall back to thud on the wall.
“Fourteen days,” McCoy said looking Face in the eyes. “We are stuck in quarantine for the next fourteen days.”
“So, what first?” Face asked, systematically removing his tac gear and his weapons. He set the pulse rifle on the floor, followed by the satchel of explosives, then his phaser, his back-up phaser and his knives. He looked up when no one had answered his question and found both McCoy and Christine staring at him. McCoy had a perplexed look on his face while Christine had a look that Face remembered well. In fact, it was one of his favorite looks on her as it generally led to some highly pleasurable activities. He grinned at her and she immediately blushed and looked slightly sheepish.
“Ah, first we need to go through decontamination process,” McCoy said eventually doing his best to ignore the other two. “We have to leave all our clothes and other things in the strip-down room and then there’s a complete cleansing process in the wash-room.”
“By ‘strip-down’, I assume you mean total strip down?” Face asked.
McCoy grimaced, but said, “Yes. As in naked.”
The three stood in awkward silence and it began to dawn on Face exactly how cracked this particular situation was.
Finally, Christine rolled her eyes. “Well, let’s get to it.” She headed towards the strip-room and was just at the entrance when she realized the men hadn’t joined her. She turned around and looked at them.
“Honestly, guys, we’re adults and it has to be done. So hop to it,” Christine said turning away. Then she added over her shoulder, “Besides, it’s certainly nothing I haven’t seen before.”
Face glanced at McCoy who was scowling fiercely at the departing nurse. The doctor looked over at him and Face held out his arm and said with a grin, “After you, doc.”
McCoy narrowed his eyes and with a quick turn on his heel followed Christine muttering something about ‘headstrong nurses’, and ‘why is it always him’. Face shook his head and wondered if they’d survive the next two weeks.
Christine was not ashamed to admit that if you erased the harsh spray of freezing cold sterilized water beating down on her naked body, the utter whiteness of the shower-room, the green light constantly scanning their bodies, and the looks of extreme discomfort on everyone’s faces, she was right smack in the middle of one of her fantasies.
Somehow she’d ended up at the showerhead between the two naked men and it occurred to her that she might very well be the envy of a large percentage of the crew.
She noted the comparisons, she couldn’t help herself. Where Face had McCoy beat slightly on height, McCoy made up for it in the breadth of his shoulders. Both men had backsides to die for and firm thighs. Christine caught McCoy checking out Face’s abdomen and having run her own hands over that particular surface, she really couldn’t blame him for looking twice. She wondered if she should schedule the captain for some extra abdominal fitness work at his next physical.
The water cut off and everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they headed into the drying-room.
“Really not how I imagined running into you again,” Face murmured into her ear.
“Tell me about it,” Christine murmured back.
“Not that I’m not enjoying the view,” he added.
McCoy just shook his head and grumbled.
Dr. M’Benga’s voice came in over the intercom. “There are clean uniforms for you, Dr. McCoy and Nurse Chapel. There are some civilian clothes for your, ah, ‘guest’.”
Face raised his eyebrows and mouthed ‘guest’ at Christine, who shook her head and went to get her uniform. They dressed quickly and headed into the common room of the quarantine area. It was sparsely furnished with a few arm-chairs and a long sofa. There was a small kitchen area and table. Once again it was all in white.
Small bedrooms were attached to the common area and held one single bed each with a small dresser. There was also a communal bathroom.
“M’Benga, how did the evacuation go?” McCoy asked heading straight to the comm unit where the other doctor was already waiting.
“Smoothly,” the other man reassured him with a nod of his head. “No one else was exposed to the gas and the captain and his guests are busy questioning the Maltesian government.” He paused and with an apologetic look on his face said, ”I don’t think I’ve got to explain to you the rules of the quarantine?”
McCoy snorted. “Considering I wrote them and made Chapel proofread? No, I think we’re clear on the concept, thanks. We’ll need PADDs though and make sure the replicator is in full working order. Looks like you’re in charge of sickbay, but, well, you know where we are if you need us.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of it,” he said. He smiled at Christine. “Good luck.”
“Thanks, Geoff,” she said.
M’Benga shut off the comm and the common room was silent.
“So,” Face said.
“So,” Christine said.
“Oh hell,” McCoy said before heading to the replicator and checking to see if it was working.
“You look good,” Face said to Christine.
She smiled. “Yeah?”
“I really like the uniform.”
“Oh, do you?”
“Oh, definitely.”
“Oh, god,” McCoy said. “Chapel, I swear if I hear anything that could be construed as sex noises, I’m killing
you both.”
“Classy, Len,” Christine said glaring at him.
He glared back before his eyes narrowed and looked at her and then at Face. “Wait, a minute! Chapel, is this the guy?”
“What do mean?” she asked her eyes wide.
“Don’t give me that look. I know that look and I’m immune. This is the guy you’ve” - he waved his hand in the air - “you know, with.”
“‘You know?’ What are you, ten?” she asked irritably but feeling her face flush.
“Answer the question, is this the guy ?” he asked his hands on his hips.
Christine opened her mouth but someone else answered. “Yes.”
She looked over at Face. He looked back at her and gave her a small smile. “Yes, I’m the guy,” he said. Looking at McCoy, he then asked, “Is that a problem?”
“Don’t be stupid, of course not,” McCoy said, “But like I said, no noises. It’s not allowed in the quarantine area, remember? No exchanging of bodily fluids, etc.”
“Because if you’re not getting any, no one else is, right?” Christine said looking far too smug.
“I could write you up for insubordination, you know?”
“You give me that line every other week, it’s getting old.”
McCoy rolled his eyes and turned back to the replicator.
“So,” Face said. Christine looked at him and he grinned. “You’ve talked about me?”
Day One
“You realise you’re the envy of the vast majority of the crew?” Victoria said to Christine as they chatted face to face over the comm.
“The thought occurred to me,” Christine said. “Believe me, it wasn’t as sexy as it should have been.”
“Oh, that is a pity, dear.”
“Two weeks, Jim! I’m stuck with Chapel and her - whatever- for two weeks!”
“You’re not going to go all big brother on him, are you?” Kirk asked. “Because, as much as I
appreciate your domineering side, I’m pretty sure Christine doesn’t.”
“Cute,” McCoy said. “And no, I’m not. Unless I feel it’s called for. I’m just... I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Kirk smiled. “I’m going to miss you too, Bones.”
“You guys should go, get out of the sector,” Face said.
Hannibal frowned. “And why should I do that, lieutenant?”
“Because this is the Enterprise!” Face said. “A Federation vessel and I don’t want to be the reason the team gets caught.”
“What team are you referring to?” Hannibal asked. “The only non-Federation people on board are Mr. Stephen Lee and his associates who just happened to be assisting the Maltesian government with their trade agreement.”
Face raised his eyebrows. “Mr. Lee and associates? That makes me Mr. Martins, then?”
“My most trusted attorney,” Hannibal said.
Face chuckled. “Fine, fine, you’ve thought of everything. Now, what the hell am I supposed to do for two weeks?”
“You could always catch up on your reading,” Hannibal said with a grin.
Day Three
“So, you play chess?”
Face looked up from his PADD in surprise at McCoy. “Ah, sure. Where’s Christine?”
“Debating the finer points of viral analysis with one of the research scientists,” McCoy said. “It’ll take her at least an hour to wear him down. And Jim’s always at me to improve my game.”
The two men sat down in separate arm chairs and set up the three-tiered chess set on a low table. The next half hour was spent in relative peace as they learned the other’s thought processes. McCoy found that Face was definitely a master of strategy.
“Check,” Face said.
“Damn,” McCoy said. “I really should have seen that coming.”
He moved his knight and cleared his throat. “By the way, just to get this out of the way, thank you. For getting her back.”
Face met the other man’s eyes and nodded. “You’re welcome.”
“So, you want to tell me your side of the story?” McCoy asked.
“What story would that be?”
“The story in which four promising men end up in prison, escape and wind up fugitives.”
“Ah. That story,” Face said. “It’s a long one.”
“Where exactly am I going to go?” McCoy said.
Face quirked his lips and nodded. “Well, it started with an order from General Morrison...”
After he finished telling the story, they were silent for another few minutes.
“Sounds like you guys got one heck of a bad deal,” McCoy said. “But, for what it’s worth, your side sounds far more plausible than theirs.”
“Thanks,” Face said.
“Look, I’ll just say this once,” McCoy said. “Christine trusts you, which makes me inclined to trust you. But, I’m a doctor, I have a myriad of ways of killing you that will look completely natural, so whatever it is you’ve got going on with her, don’t screw it up.”
“Duly noted,” Face said blinking.
“Ahem.”
The two men looked up and saw Christine standing in the doorway of her room her arms crossed over her chest.
“We’re playing chess,” McCoy said. “He’s winning.”
“But, McCoy’s putting up a heck of a fight,” Face said.
“Right.”
Day Seven
“How many of those is he going to do?” McCoy murmured to Christine as they both surreptitiously watched Face doing his daily sit-ups.
“As many as he wants to,” Christine said the corner of her mouth quirking up.
Day Eight
“You know, Chapel,” McCoy said around a mouthful of replicated lasagne, “you could have done a lot worse than
Mr. Fugitive here.”
“Thanks,” both Christine and Face said dryly.
“I’m just saying,” McCoy said. He furrowed his brow. “Come to think of it, you have done worse.”
“McCoy,” Christine said her fist clenching around her fork.
“Wait, worse than a federal fugitive?” Face asked.
“Oh, much worse,” McCoy said. He grinned at Christine. “Remember Roger the Robot?”
“Leonard,” she said.
“Oh, wait, they prefer to be called ‘androids’ these days, right?”
“Leonard Horatio McCoy!”
“I’m sorry, android?” Face asked.
“Yep,” McCoy said. “Christine’s fiancé was a real catch.”
“Ex! He was my ex fiancé by then, thank you,” Christine said.
“I really want to hear this story,” Face said his eyes shining with mirth.
Christine groaned and held her head in her hands while McCoy adjusted his seat and leaned on the table.
“Well, Christine’s fian - sorry, ex fiancé - Dr. Roger Korby, went missing a few years back,” McCoy said. “We stumbled across him and Christine and the captain beamed down to see what was going on. Well, turns out the good doctor had done some experimenting while stuck on the planet. In fact, he managed to create actual androids. Not only that, he turned himself into an android.”
Face’s eyes widened and he looked over at Christine, whose hands were covering her face.
“So,” McCoy said. “Korby throws Jim around some and threatens the same to Christine unless she becomes his Bride in Positronic Neurons. She’s not all that keen on the idea and, ah, dealt with him.”
“Dealt with him?” Face repeated. “Dealt with him, how?”
McCoy looked at Christine. “Tell him, Chapel.”
Head still in her hands, she mumbled something.
“I’m sorry?” Face said.
“I. Shot. Him.” She dropped her hands from her face and looked at him. “I shot him in the chest. I aimed for his heart and managed to hit the reactor that powered him. Then I shot him again in the head. Just to make sure.”
Face’s jaw dropped.
“You, ah, shot your fian - wait, sorry, ex - fiancé who had turned into an android in the chest, then
again in the head, just to make sure?” Face asked.
“Yes,” Christine said.
“Wow, that’s... That’s kind of hot, actually,” Face said grinning.
Christine let out a surprised laugh.
McCoy snorted. “Yeah, this one’s a keeper, Chapel. Don’t let him go.”
Face laughed along with McCoy, but Christine could only manage a small smile.
Day Eight
“You okay?” Face asked Christine as they sat on the sofa each with their PADDs in their laps.
“Yeah, fine, why?” she asked.
“Well, you seem a bit quiet,” he said. “Something up?”
“No, no,” she said. “It’s... nothing.”
He raised a brow. “Doesn’t sound like nothing.”
“I just do this, sometimes,” Christine said. “I have a tendency to over think things and it’s fine.”
“What are you over thinking?” he asked putting his PADD down.
Christine bit her lip. “He said not to let you go.”
“What?”
“Len. He said to not let you go,” she said. “And I’m going to have to. I’m a realist and I totally understand the situation, but it would just be nice to have the chance to know more about you that doesn’t relate to heists and daring escapes.” She took a breath. “The truth is, I barely know you. I mean, I feel like I know in a lot of the ways that matter, but I don’t know what your favorite subject in school was or what your favorite food is or what you think about Andorian football. And I know those are little things and I have no illusions to what your life is like and the last thing I’m going to do is make you promise me tomorrow, because I know that it’s a non-issue.”
She chanced a look at Face and felt her heart sink at the impressive poker face he was sporting. Christine rolled her eyes.
“But, that’s okay,” she said. “Just know that’s okay.”
Face wanted to say something, but words were failing him. McCoy’s voice broke in, “Hey, Chapel, Uhura wants to talk to you about the meeting next month.”
“Be right there!” Christine called. She stood and hugged her PADD to her chest and faced Face. “Look, forget
I said all that. Just, I really like you, Face. And I’m in with this for all that we can make of it. That’s all.”
He watched her walk away.
The rest of the evening was quiet as Christine and McCoy examined the latest medical news from Starfleet.
Face watched Christine as she worked, noticed how her eyes brightened and she’d chew on her bottom lip before giving her opinion.
And it hit him for the first time since going on the run, that maybe working for a ‘tomorrow’ wasn’t such a useless occupation.
That night, Face lay awake in his small room. Finally making a decision, he got out of bed and went to Christine’s room.
He quietly opened the door and went inside. Christine was curled up on her side facing him. He crouched down next to her bed and pressed a finger to her lips. She woke immediately and made to say something, but Face shook his head. He ran the back of his fingers across her cheek.
“When I was in school, I liked tactical analysis and discovered that I’m a crack shot. I think that the Andorian Furies got their asses handed to them in the playoffs and it was heart-breaking. I like slow-roasted Orion pulled pork and I’ve never been to Paris but always wanted to go,” he said.
“I also think that the way your nose wrinkles when you’re trying to figure out something is absolutely adorable and the way you don’t back down in an argument is hands down the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. I have absolutely no tomorrow to offer you, but I honestly wish I did.”
Christine studied him. Then she reached up and took the hand cupping her face and kissed the back of it. She scooted back in the bed and lifted up the sheet.
“You need to get in here,” she said. “Because while I don’t need an offer of ‘tomorrow’ from you, we really need to discuss you supporting a team that always folds in the playoffs.”
Face grinned and got in the bed.
Morning came around and McCoy stumbled from his room heading towards the kitchen in search of coffee. He
passed Christine’s room. Then he stopped and walked backwards to look inside.
Both Christine and Face were still in their pyjamas and curled up in each other’s arms on the painfully small bed. McCoy shook his head.
“So much for the no exchanging of bodily fluids,” he muttered. “And you two really better not screw this up.”
Day Eleven
“Please tell me you haven’t - you know - while I’m around?”
“Not knowing is really going to mess with your head, isn’t it?”
“Hey, Christine, does he know that the more he makes that face, the more likely he’s going to get wrinkles?”
Day Thirteen
“I can’t believe we’ve spent the last four nights together and not gone past first base.”
“Well, I’m hardly prudish, but I’m not having sex in the room right next to my boss.”
“And ex-lover.”
“See, I wasn’t going to mention that.”
Day Fifteen
McCoy, Christine and Face exited the quarantine room to a small round of applause.
“Thank you, thank you,” Face said. “This wouldn’t have been possible without my supporting cast of Dr. McCoy and the lovely Nurse Chapel.”
“I want my own bed,” McCoy said.
“Do you want company in that bed?” Kirk asked.
“What do you think?”
“So, are we heading out?” Face asked Hannibal.
“Tomorrow,” he said. “We’ve got a job.”
“Chapel! I want you on beta shift. That starts in twenty-six hours,” McCoy said giving her a meaningful look. “Use them wisely.”
Christine smiled and turned to Face. “I’ve got those articles I was telling you about in my room. Care to see them?”
“I can think of nothing I’d like more.”
While they didn’t actually run to Christine’s room, they made it there in record time. The second the door slid shut, Face was pressing her up against it in a fierce kiss.
He pulled away and said, “I’ve got a plan.”
“You always have a plan,” she said. “What’s this one?”
“I plan on having sex with you right here, right now, up against your door with your uniform still on,” he said sliding his hand down her side. “Then I plan on throwing you on your bed and making love to you for the next twenty-six hours.”
“That’s one heck of a plan,” Christine said. She slid her leg up and hitched it on his hip, pulling him closer. “You had best get to it.”
Fandom: Star Trek 2009/The A-Team (film)
Ship: Christine Chapel/Face, Kirk/McCoy
Word Count: 5001
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: They are not mine.
A/N: Well, the other day I posted These Pictures.
fringedweller made the motion to have them all get naked together. anodyna seconded the motion and aj thirded, therefore the motion carried. This is the result. It has been betaed by the fantastic fringedweller.Summary: Two guys, a girl and a quarantine.
As it turns out, the Maltesians were not the most organized nation in the universe and the left hand often had difficulty communicating with the right hand.
This was discovered when Captain James Kirk and members of his crew ran smack into Colonel John ‘Hannibal’ Smith and his crew in a hallway on the large space station in the middle of a literally hostile takeover.
Kirk, Spock, McCoy and two members of security faced Hannibal, BA and Victoria Chapel and for one whole minute, no one said a word.
Finally, Hannibal stepped forward with an outstretched hand. “Well, now, this is a surprise. Captain Kirk, good to meet you at last.”
“Colonel Smith. I’ve heard a great deal about you,” Kirk said, shaking his hand.
“I’m afraid I no longer hold the title of colonel, Captain.”
“I think you’ll find there are a great many people who think otherwise, sir,” Kirk said. He turned to Victoria and gave her a rakish grin. “You’re looking lovely as always, Mrs. Chapel.”
“Why, thank you, James.”
Hannibal had a hint of a grin on his face as he asked, “Here to help with the Aplaxian situation?”
“We were called in by the Federation ambassador who thought something was off. And yourselves?” Kirk gestured to BA standing next to the colonel.
“A group that would prefer to remain anonymous hired us to help neutralize the situation,” he said. A loud boom was heard not too far away and the floor trembled beneath their feet.
“Sounds like you’re doing a swell job,” McCoy said.
“That wasn’t us,” BA said head tilted to the side. “That sounded like an Aplaxian grenade. They’ve gotten to the engineering room.”
“The station must be evacuated, captain,” Spock said.
“Agreed,” Kirk said. “Spock, take Miller and Davis and get to the control center and contact the Enterprise. Get them ready to take on evacuees and have the transporter room ready. I’ll head for the--”
“Captain’s office,” Hannibal said. “He’s got the code to activate the evacuation protocol and I don’t think he’s going to want to give it to you.”
“What makes you say that?” Kirk asked.
“Who would be the one to gain the most from showing that this space station was supposedly vulnerable to an attack and can now get the support he needs to start an all-out war with the Aplaxians?”
“That is a very logical argument,” Spock said. “It would also explain why the Aplaxians seem to be able to enter areas that require passcodes.”
“Well, I hear you and your team are good at getting things from people,” Kirk said, “Care to join me?”
“We’d be delighted, captain.”
“Hannibal!” Face called as he ran down the corridor to join the group. “They’re hitting the upper decks and... Hello, who invited the cavalry?”
“Looks like this job was double-booked, Face,” Hannibal said. Face just nodded as he looked at the Starfleet officers. “Report, lieutenant.”
“They’ve hit decks seventeen and sixteen and I found this.” He held up a silver canister.
“That’s Aplaxian gas,” McCoy said. “One blast of that and you’re dead before you hit the ground. I knew it!” He jabbed a finger at Kirk. “No more complaining about mandatory vaccines! I told you they’d save your life.”
“I think they’ve put them all over the space station,” Face said.
“Spock,” Kirk said. “Control room.”
“Yes, captain.” The Vulcan and the security officers took off down the hall, while the rest headed towards the captain’s office.
The next several minutes involved some fast-talking, followed by severe threats, finally ending in BA simply grabbing the guy and shoving him up against the wall.
The codes were handed over swiftly.
The Aplaxians, realizing the evacuation had started well before they expected, became desperate. Phaser fire broke out as the evacuation alarm sounded.
The combined forces of the Enterprise’s crew and the A-Team held off the Aplaxians in the docking bay as the Maltesians headed to their evacuation pods.
“Talk to me Enterprise,” Kirk yelled into his comm. “Is everyone out?”
“I’ve still got lifeforms on deck seven, captain,” Uhura’s voice said. “In section C.”
“Damn it, that’s the infirmary,” McCoy said.
“Let me guess,” Face said. “Christine’s there.”
McCoy scowled and flipped open his comm. “Chapel, where the hell are you?”
“Infirmary!” was the shouted reply. “The doors have jammed and I can’t get people out of here fast enough! And we’ve got heavy phaser fire!”
Without a word, BA threw a pulse rifle and satchel over to Face, who slung it around his shoulder and then sprinted out of the bay.
“Hey! You don’t have the code for the ward!” McCoy shouted before taking off after Face.
The two men raced through the halls and found the infirmary, smoky from phaser fire as the Aplaxians kept up a steady stream of shots aimed right at the infirmary doors. McCoy quickly entered in the code to gain access to the ward corridor.
“Christine!” Face called out as he edged along the corridor wall.
“Over here!” she yelled from behind the jammed door. Her eyes widened when she saw Face. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Hey, beautiful! Miss me?” he asked with a grin before firing on the Aplaxians.
Christine took advantage of the crossfire and sent the Maltesian medical staff and some of the patients down the hall. She ducked back into the infirmary as an Aplaxian fired on her. Face took him out with a shot to the head.
McCoy darted inside the infirmary and helped get the remaining patients ready to go.
Face yelled, “Fire in the hole!” before throwing one of BA’s specially designed low-impact grenades, which had more flash than bang. The grenade exploded, momentarily blinding the Aplaxians. “Get ‘em out!”
The rest of the patients, assisted by medical staff, escaped down the hall.
One of the surviving Aplaxians yelled into his comm device, “Detonate the canisters!”
Face ran into the infirmary and stood next to McCoy while Christine checked the room for anyone they might have missed.
“Christine! Time to go!” A gas started to leak into the room and his eyes went wide. “It’s really time to go!”
“Scotty! Beam us out of here!” McCoy said into his comm.
“Give me a second, doctor!”
“We don’t have a second!”
Christine looked at Face. “Have you been vaccinated?”
“No, why?”
She met McCoy’s eyes, who said, “Hypo!”
Christine raced over to a counter and grabbed a hypospray off a tray. She tossed it over to McCoy who immediately jabbed it into Face’s neck.
“Ahh! Ow! That hurt!”
"Oh, you’ll live,” McCoy said. The gas was slowly filling the room and was up to their ankles. “Scotty, get us out of here!”
“I’m locked onto your positions and--”
“Wait!” Christine said holding up her hands. “Mr. Scott, wait! The whole crew hasn’t been vaccinated. McCoy, we can’t just be beamed on board.”
Their eyes met again and Face marvelled at the entire conversation taking place without anyone actually saying a word.
“Ahh, I’m waiting, doctor,” Scotty’s voice said.
“Shit. Scotty, beam us directly into room 527 on deck fourteen and don’t let anyone enter,” McCoy said.
“Yes, sir. Beaming now.”
The familiar shimmering light enveloped them and within moments they were standing in a white room. Christine sighed in relief and leaned against the wall.
“Damn it,” McCoy said doing the same.
“Am I missing something?” Face asked.
“We’re safe from the gas,” Christine said. “It won’t hurt us, but even though we’re vaccinated against it, we were exposed to it for a significant amount of time.”
“Long enough for it to seep into our skin,” McCoy said. “Now, it’s dormant in our system, but the second it comes into contact with anyone or anything, well, that’s that.”
“O-kay,” Face said. “So, what happens next?”
“See, it’s not just a simple gas, it’s also a bacteria,” Christine said. “Now, we have no way of actually killing it ourselves. Luckily, it has a limited life span, so we let it die out and that should take care of it. No one else has to be exposed to it.”
Face nodded. “Sounds all right. How long?”
Christine looked at McCoy who was looking particularly grim.
“Fourteen days,” McCoy said.
Face blinked. “Pardon me?”
Christine sighed and let her head fall back to thud on the wall.
“Fourteen days,” McCoy said looking Face in the eyes. “We are stuck in quarantine for the next fourteen days.”
“So, what first?” Face asked, systematically removing his tac gear and his weapons. He set the pulse rifle on the floor, followed by the satchel of explosives, then his phaser, his back-up phaser and his knives. He looked up when no one had answered his question and found both McCoy and Christine staring at him. McCoy had a perplexed look on his face while Christine had a look that Face remembered well. In fact, it was one of his favorite looks on her as it generally led to some highly pleasurable activities. He grinned at her and she immediately blushed and looked slightly sheepish.
“Ah, first we need to go through decontamination process,” McCoy said eventually doing his best to ignore the other two. “We have to leave all our clothes and other things in the strip-down room and then there’s a complete cleansing process in the wash-room.”
“By ‘strip-down’, I assume you mean total strip down?” Face asked.
McCoy grimaced, but said, “Yes. As in naked.”
The three stood in awkward silence and it began to dawn on Face exactly how cracked this particular situation was.
Finally, Christine rolled her eyes. “Well, let’s get to it.” She headed towards the strip-room and was just at the entrance when she realized the men hadn’t joined her. She turned around and looked at them.
“Honestly, guys, we’re adults and it has to be done. So hop to it,” Christine said turning away. Then she added over her shoulder, “Besides, it’s certainly nothing I haven’t seen before.”
Face glanced at McCoy who was scowling fiercely at the departing nurse. The doctor looked over at him and Face held out his arm and said with a grin, “After you, doc.”
McCoy narrowed his eyes and with a quick turn on his heel followed Christine muttering something about ‘headstrong nurses’, and ‘why is it always him’. Face shook his head and wondered if they’d survive the next two weeks.
Christine was not ashamed to admit that if you erased the harsh spray of freezing cold sterilized water beating down on her naked body, the utter whiteness of the shower-room, the green light constantly scanning their bodies, and the looks of extreme discomfort on everyone’s faces, she was right smack in the middle of one of her fantasies.
Somehow she’d ended up at the showerhead between the two naked men and it occurred to her that she might very well be the envy of a large percentage of the crew.
She noted the comparisons, she couldn’t help herself. Where Face had McCoy beat slightly on height, McCoy made up for it in the breadth of his shoulders. Both men had backsides to die for and firm thighs. Christine caught McCoy checking out Face’s abdomen and having run her own hands over that particular surface, she really couldn’t blame him for looking twice. She wondered if she should schedule the captain for some extra abdominal fitness work at his next physical.
The water cut off and everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they headed into the drying-room.
“Really not how I imagined running into you again,” Face murmured into her ear.
“Tell me about it,” Christine murmured back.
“Not that I’m not enjoying the view,” he added.
McCoy just shook his head and grumbled.
Dr. M’Benga’s voice came in over the intercom. “There are clean uniforms for you, Dr. McCoy and Nurse Chapel. There are some civilian clothes for your, ah, ‘guest’.”
Face raised his eyebrows and mouthed ‘guest’ at Christine, who shook her head and went to get her uniform. They dressed quickly and headed into the common room of the quarantine area. It was sparsely furnished with a few arm-chairs and a long sofa. There was a small kitchen area and table. Once again it was all in white.
Small bedrooms were attached to the common area and held one single bed each with a small dresser. There was also a communal bathroom.
“M’Benga, how did the evacuation go?” McCoy asked heading straight to the comm unit where the other doctor was already waiting.
“Smoothly,” the other man reassured him with a nod of his head. “No one else was exposed to the gas and the captain and his guests are busy questioning the Maltesian government.” He paused and with an apologetic look on his face said, ”I don’t think I’ve got to explain to you the rules of the quarantine?”
McCoy snorted. “Considering I wrote them and made Chapel proofread? No, I think we’re clear on the concept, thanks. We’ll need PADDs though and make sure the replicator is in full working order. Looks like you’re in charge of sickbay, but, well, you know where we are if you need us.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of it,” he said. He smiled at Christine. “Good luck.”
“Thanks, Geoff,” she said.
M’Benga shut off the comm and the common room was silent.
“So,” Face said.
“So,” Christine said.
“Oh hell,” McCoy said before heading to the replicator and checking to see if it was working.
“You look good,” Face said to Christine.
She smiled. “Yeah?”
“I really like the uniform.”
“Oh, do you?”
“Oh, definitely.”
“Oh, god,” McCoy said. “Chapel, I swear if I hear anything that could be construed as sex noises, I’m killing
you both.”
“Classy, Len,” Christine said glaring at him.
He glared back before his eyes narrowed and looked at her and then at Face. “Wait, a minute! Chapel, is this the guy?”
“What do mean?” she asked her eyes wide.
“Don’t give me that look. I know that look and I’m immune. This is the guy you’ve” - he waved his hand in the air - “you know, with.”
“‘You know?’ What are you, ten?” she asked irritably but feeling her face flush.
“Answer the question, is this the guy ?” he asked his hands on his hips.
Christine opened her mouth but someone else answered. “Yes.”
She looked over at Face. He looked back at her and gave her a small smile. “Yes, I’m the guy,” he said. Looking at McCoy, he then asked, “Is that a problem?”
“Don’t be stupid, of course not,” McCoy said, “But like I said, no noises. It’s not allowed in the quarantine area, remember? No exchanging of bodily fluids, etc.”
“Because if you’re not getting any, no one else is, right?” Christine said looking far too smug.
“I could write you up for insubordination, you know?”
“You give me that line every other week, it’s getting old.”
McCoy rolled his eyes and turned back to the replicator.
“So,” Face said. Christine looked at him and he grinned. “You’ve talked about me?”
Day One
“You realise you’re the envy of the vast majority of the crew?” Victoria said to Christine as they chatted face to face over the comm.
“The thought occurred to me,” Christine said. “Believe me, it wasn’t as sexy as it should have been.”
“Oh, that is a pity, dear.”
“Two weeks, Jim! I’m stuck with Chapel and her - whatever- for two weeks!”
“You’re not going to go all big brother on him, are you?” Kirk asked. “Because, as much as I
appreciate your domineering side, I’m pretty sure Christine doesn’t.”
“Cute,” McCoy said. “And no, I’m not. Unless I feel it’s called for. I’m just... I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Kirk smiled. “I’m going to miss you too, Bones.”
“You guys should go, get out of the sector,” Face said.
Hannibal frowned. “And why should I do that, lieutenant?”
“Because this is the Enterprise!” Face said. “A Federation vessel and I don’t want to be the reason the team gets caught.”
“What team are you referring to?” Hannibal asked. “The only non-Federation people on board are Mr. Stephen Lee and his associates who just happened to be assisting the Maltesian government with their trade agreement.”
Face raised his eyebrows. “Mr. Lee and associates? That makes me Mr. Martins, then?”
“My most trusted attorney,” Hannibal said.
Face chuckled. “Fine, fine, you’ve thought of everything. Now, what the hell am I supposed to do for two weeks?”
“You could always catch up on your reading,” Hannibal said with a grin.
Day Three
“So, you play chess?”
Face looked up from his PADD in surprise at McCoy. “Ah, sure. Where’s Christine?”
“Debating the finer points of viral analysis with one of the research scientists,” McCoy said. “It’ll take her at least an hour to wear him down. And Jim’s always at me to improve my game.”
The two men sat down in separate arm chairs and set up the three-tiered chess set on a low table. The next half hour was spent in relative peace as they learned the other’s thought processes. McCoy found that Face was definitely a master of strategy.
“Check,” Face said.
“Damn,” McCoy said. “I really should have seen that coming.”
He moved his knight and cleared his throat. “By the way, just to get this out of the way, thank you. For getting her back.”
Face met the other man’s eyes and nodded. “You’re welcome.”
“So, you want to tell me your side of the story?” McCoy asked.
“What story would that be?”
“The story in which four promising men end up in prison, escape and wind up fugitives.”
“Ah. That story,” Face said. “It’s a long one.”
“Where exactly am I going to go?” McCoy said.
Face quirked his lips and nodded. “Well, it started with an order from General Morrison...”
After he finished telling the story, they were silent for another few minutes.
“Sounds like you guys got one heck of a bad deal,” McCoy said. “But, for what it’s worth, your side sounds far more plausible than theirs.”
“Thanks,” Face said.
“Look, I’ll just say this once,” McCoy said. “Christine trusts you, which makes me inclined to trust you. But, I’m a doctor, I have a myriad of ways of killing you that will look completely natural, so whatever it is you’ve got going on with her, don’t screw it up.”
“Duly noted,” Face said blinking.
“Ahem.”
The two men looked up and saw Christine standing in the doorway of her room her arms crossed over her chest.
“We’re playing chess,” McCoy said. “He’s winning.”
“But, McCoy’s putting up a heck of a fight,” Face said.
“Right.”
Day Seven
“How many of those is he going to do?” McCoy murmured to Christine as they both surreptitiously watched Face doing his daily sit-ups.
“As many as he wants to,” Christine said the corner of her mouth quirking up.
Day Eight
“You know, Chapel,” McCoy said around a mouthful of replicated lasagne, “you could have done a lot worse than
Mr. Fugitive here.”
“Thanks,” both Christine and Face said dryly.
“I’m just saying,” McCoy said. He furrowed his brow. “Come to think of it, you have done worse.”
“McCoy,” Christine said her fist clenching around her fork.
“Wait, worse than a federal fugitive?” Face asked.
“Oh, much worse,” McCoy said. He grinned at Christine. “Remember Roger the Robot?”
“Leonard,” she said.
“Oh, wait, they prefer to be called ‘androids’ these days, right?”
“Leonard Horatio McCoy!”
“I’m sorry, android?” Face asked.
“Yep,” McCoy said. “Christine’s fiancé was a real catch.”
“Ex! He was my ex fiancé by then, thank you,” Christine said.
“I really want to hear this story,” Face said his eyes shining with mirth.
Christine groaned and held her head in her hands while McCoy adjusted his seat and leaned on the table.
“Well, Christine’s fian - sorry, ex fiancé - Dr. Roger Korby, went missing a few years back,” McCoy said. “We stumbled across him and Christine and the captain beamed down to see what was going on. Well, turns out the good doctor had done some experimenting while stuck on the planet. In fact, he managed to create actual androids. Not only that, he turned himself into an android.”
Face’s eyes widened and he looked over at Christine, whose hands were covering her face.
“So,” McCoy said. “Korby throws Jim around some and threatens the same to Christine unless she becomes his Bride in Positronic Neurons. She’s not all that keen on the idea and, ah, dealt with him.”
“Dealt with him?” Face repeated. “Dealt with him, how?”
McCoy looked at Christine. “Tell him, Chapel.”
Head still in her hands, she mumbled something.
“I’m sorry?” Face said.
“I. Shot. Him.” She dropped her hands from her face and looked at him. “I shot him in the chest. I aimed for his heart and managed to hit the reactor that powered him. Then I shot him again in the head. Just to make sure.”
Face’s jaw dropped.
“You, ah, shot your fian - wait, sorry, ex - fiancé who had turned into an android in the chest, then
again in the head, just to make sure?” Face asked.
“Yes,” Christine said.
“Wow, that’s... That’s kind of hot, actually,” Face said grinning.
Christine let out a surprised laugh.
McCoy snorted. “Yeah, this one’s a keeper, Chapel. Don’t let him go.”
Face laughed along with McCoy, but Christine could only manage a small smile.
Day Eight
“You okay?” Face asked Christine as they sat on the sofa each with their PADDs in their laps.
“Yeah, fine, why?” she asked.
“Well, you seem a bit quiet,” he said. “Something up?”
“No, no,” she said. “It’s... nothing.”
He raised a brow. “Doesn’t sound like nothing.”
“I just do this, sometimes,” Christine said. “I have a tendency to over think things and it’s fine.”
“What are you over thinking?” he asked putting his PADD down.
Christine bit her lip. “He said not to let you go.”
“What?”
“Len. He said to not let you go,” she said. “And I’m going to have to. I’m a realist and I totally understand the situation, but it would just be nice to have the chance to know more about you that doesn’t relate to heists and daring escapes.” She took a breath. “The truth is, I barely know you. I mean, I feel like I know in a lot of the ways that matter, but I don’t know what your favorite subject in school was or what your favorite food is or what you think about Andorian football. And I know those are little things and I have no illusions to what your life is like and the last thing I’m going to do is make you promise me tomorrow, because I know that it’s a non-issue.”
She chanced a look at Face and felt her heart sink at the impressive poker face he was sporting. Christine rolled her eyes.
“But, that’s okay,” she said. “Just know that’s okay.”
Face wanted to say something, but words were failing him. McCoy’s voice broke in, “Hey, Chapel, Uhura wants to talk to you about the meeting next month.”
“Be right there!” Christine called. She stood and hugged her PADD to her chest and faced Face. “Look, forget
I said all that. Just, I really like you, Face. And I’m in with this for all that we can make of it. That’s all.”
He watched her walk away.
The rest of the evening was quiet as Christine and McCoy examined the latest medical news from Starfleet.
Face watched Christine as she worked, noticed how her eyes brightened and she’d chew on her bottom lip before giving her opinion.
And it hit him for the first time since going on the run, that maybe working for a ‘tomorrow’ wasn’t such a useless occupation.
That night, Face lay awake in his small room. Finally making a decision, he got out of bed and went to Christine’s room.
He quietly opened the door and went inside. Christine was curled up on her side facing him. He crouched down next to her bed and pressed a finger to her lips. She woke immediately and made to say something, but Face shook his head. He ran the back of his fingers across her cheek.
“When I was in school, I liked tactical analysis and discovered that I’m a crack shot. I think that the Andorian Furies got their asses handed to them in the playoffs and it was heart-breaking. I like slow-roasted Orion pulled pork and I’ve never been to Paris but always wanted to go,” he said.
“I also think that the way your nose wrinkles when you’re trying to figure out something is absolutely adorable and the way you don’t back down in an argument is hands down the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. I have absolutely no tomorrow to offer you, but I honestly wish I did.”
Christine studied him. Then she reached up and took the hand cupping her face and kissed the back of it. She scooted back in the bed and lifted up the sheet.
“You need to get in here,” she said. “Because while I don’t need an offer of ‘tomorrow’ from you, we really need to discuss you supporting a team that always folds in the playoffs.”
Face grinned and got in the bed.
Morning came around and McCoy stumbled from his room heading towards the kitchen in search of coffee. He
passed Christine’s room. Then he stopped and walked backwards to look inside.
Both Christine and Face were still in their pyjamas and curled up in each other’s arms on the painfully small bed. McCoy shook his head.
“So much for the no exchanging of bodily fluids,” he muttered. “And you two really better not screw this up.”
Day Eleven
“Please tell me you haven’t - you know - while I’m around?”
“Not knowing is really going to mess with your head, isn’t it?”
“Hey, Christine, does he know that the more he makes that face, the more likely he’s going to get wrinkles?”
Day Thirteen
“I can’t believe we’ve spent the last four nights together and not gone past first base.”
“Well, I’m hardly prudish, but I’m not having sex in the room right next to my boss.”
“And ex-lover.”
“See, I wasn’t going to mention that.”
Day Fifteen
McCoy, Christine and Face exited the quarantine room to a small round of applause.
“Thank you, thank you,” Face said. “This wouldn’t have been possible without my supporting cast of Dr. McCoy and the lovely Nurse Chapel.”
“I want my own bed,” McCoy said.
“Do you want company in that bed?” Kirk asked.
“What do you think?”
“So, are we heading out?” Face asked Hannibal.
“Tomorrow,” he said. “We’ve got a job.”
“Chapel! I want you on beta shift. That starts in twenty-six hours,” McCoy said giving her a meaningful look. “Use them wisely.”
Christine smiled and turned to Face. “I’ve got those articles I was telling you about in my room. Care to see them?”
“I can think of nothing I’d like more.”
While they didn’t actually run to Christine’s room, they made it there in record time. The second the door slid shut, Face was pressing her up against it in a fierce kiss.
He pulled away and said, “I’ve got a plan.”
“You always have a plan,” she said. “What’s this one?”
“I plan on having sex with you right here, right now, up against your door with your uniform still on,” he said sliding his hand down her side. “Then I plan on throwing you on your bed and making love to you for the next twenty-six hours.”
“That’s one heck of a plan,” Christine said. She slid her leg up and hitched it on his hip, pulling him closer. “You had best get to it.”
