Sighing, Carina leaned back and surveyed her office. She had just finished up an appointment with an ensign and it was nearing the end of her shift. It was good to be back into the swing of things.

She turned toward her door as it chimed for a visitor and stood as the Captain entered her quarters.

"Captain. I was not expecting you." Kirk smiled at her and tilted his head to the side.

"It's Kirk right now, Carina." He motioned toward her more comfortable seating arrangement and she joined him in one of the recliner chairs. She was still a little stiff but was moving easier with every day.

"What brings you by then, Kirk?" She smiled at him. His blue eyes held her brown ones for a moment.

"How is your first day back going?"

"I thought we weren't talking about work. But, since you asked, it is going very well. It helps to work." Her eyes shifted to her hands in her lap. They weren't shaking nearly as much as they had been three days ago. The night she had spent with Leonard had been the best sleep she had had since she had been transferred to the Enterprise.

"I'm glad to hear that. And how are you?" Carina looked back up at her Captain. He was watching her intently again. She knew he was well-intentioned, but she was not a fragile toy that shouldn't be played with. She swallowed her anger before answering.

"I'm…better." Kirk nodded and glanced down at his hands, seemingly uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"I read your report. As per your recommendation, we've been moving from planet to planet, hiding in debris fields or planetary rings for the time being."

Carina knew that was not the only thing she had put in her report that Kirk was curious about. She had spilled her past into that report, hoping he would be able to understand her actions and concerns. There was a desperate reason she didn't want her father to find them again. Kirk cleared his throat, drawing her back to reality.

"Captain Sela is a force that we will need to deal with eventually. We can't hide forever."

"I agree, Captain."

"I'm going to start putting together a task force to come up with solutions with how to deal with a force like Sela. Would you be…willing…to serve on the task force? With your…previous knowledge?"

Carina knew what he was asking of her. The crew would know her past and her secrets then. She knew too much about the Romulan ways and in particular, Captain Sela. She turned and looked out her window to see the stars shining brightly from their current position. She had known she would be able to hide forever.

"Yes, of course, Captain."

"Good. I'll talk with you more on that tomorrow then." He stood and walked toward the office door. "Have a good night then, Carina. By the way, you wouldn't know why my CMO has been walking around all day with a smirk on his face, would you?"

Carina's head shot up at Kirk's question. He grinned, waved and stepped out her office door, leaving Carina shaking her head and smiling to herself.

Leonard put his last patients' PADD back in its holder and headed to his office to close up for the night. He had slept much better the night before than he had since he'd entered space, and he had a pretty good idea as to why. Now he planned on taking that reason a good dinner and was hoping to spend some time with her to help her relax after her first day back at work.

He had just left the Med Bay when he almost ran straight into that reason.

"Whoa…sorry." He steadied them by placing a hand on either side of her. She looked up at him, and for some reason, he decided she looked vulnerable and small in that moment. He kept his hands on her shoulders. "Hey..."

"Hi." She even sounded meek. But she gave him a small smile. Before he could ask what was wrong, she placed a hand on his chest. "Can we talk? My quarters?" He nodded and she slid her hand down to grab his hand. Silently they made their way to her quarters and it wasn't until they were inside that she turned back to look at him.

"The Captain has asked me to be on a task force to help track and bring down Captain Sela." Leonard watched as fear flooded her eyes. "I've agreed. Which means that my past and my heritage will become well known throughout this ship. I told the Captain everything I knew and had experienced in regard to Captain Sela in my report." She looked down at their still intertwined hands and sighed. She closed her eyes and turned away from him. He frowned as he watched her reach up and wipe away a tear. Quickly, he closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her waist. He closed his eyes in relief as she leaned back into him.

"I told you last night that I had some explaining to do. Before the rest of the ship finds out, you have a right to know why everything has happened." She turned and led him over to the couch.

Taking a deep breath, she spilled her life out to him, never making eye contact. She told him about the abusive life she had lived on Romulan and the eventual plan her mother had created to get Carina away from her father. That plan had eventually ended in a manhunt for Carina that caused her father to burn down almost every building in the village they had lived in. Carina's mother had perished in one of those fires. Carina herself had slipped on board a Romulan trade ship and had eventually bartered her way to Earth, where she made a new life for herself as a teenager. She had been homeless, bullied for being an alien on Earth, but she had emerged stronger.

She had lived every day with the fear that her father would find her, although she knew her heart belonged in space. That was why she had joined Star Fleet. And if she could help just one person be better than they were yesterday, she knew she could make a person less like her father. So she had trained to be a ship counselor. Being Romulan wasn't the best plan for a Star Fleet officer, she knew. But her superiors at the academy had given her the benefit of the doubt.

She looked up at Leonard, tears in her eyes. "Now I'm facing the same thing happening on this ship, once the crew finds out about my heritage and how it is because of me that they were almost killed."

Leonard shook his head. "Have you learned nothing about this crew since you've gotten here? We are a family. They will accept you because you accept them." His heart nearly broke when he saw her close her eyes and swallow back more tears and fright at the future. One tear escaped down her cheek. Leaning forward, he placed his hand over its path. "Carina, the crew loves you. I love you. Your heritage or past isn't going to change that because that's not who you are now."

Carina's eyes flew open. "What?"

Leonard realized he had let slip his true feelings. Surprising himself, he found he didn't care. "I love you, Carina. And I'm not going to let that evil bastard have you back." Carina's mouth opened in surprise and before she could say a word, he closed the distance between them and gave her the kiss he'd been dying to since she had gotten back.