Disclaimer: ST characters aren't mine. However, Izzie, Joe, Eli , and Cat are mine. Oh and the use of Jim's "shit-eating grin" is the property of the amazing Clarissa Eden. :)

Chapter 1- Four Minute Warning

February 10, 2012

The clock read 9:30pm as 27-year-old Dr. Isobel Landry peered into the microscope. The large lab had been empty for hours, everyone eager to get home. But not Isobel. She was one of the country's most promising molecular biologists, specializing in gene therapy while researching in vitro fertilization on the side.

"Hey, Izzie! What are you still doing here?" It was Joe from the chemistry department.

Izzie, as her friends knew her, never took her eyes off of the microscope. "I'm working Joe. I feel like I'm close to isolating this protein."

"Well, don't work too hard. Even you need rest Izz." Joe was met with a barely audible reply of "Mmhm".

He began to walk away before giving her one last look. He focused on the mass of chocolate brown curls piled on her head, her glasses on the edge of her nose. If she had looked at him, he would have been met with the sight of her aqua blue eyes. Eyes that used to sparkle. He missed hearing her laugh. He missed hearing her sweet Cajun accent when she would get excited.

Poor Izzie. It's always the sweet ones that endure the greatest tragedies. Joe walked off, shaking his head.

2 hours later Izzie walked to her office and pulled out a bottle of Southern Comfort that she recently hid in a locked drawer. For the past month this had been her ritual. Work 14 hours, drink till she passed out, then wake up and do it all over again. The alcohol burned in her throat. She relished the way it made her feel...needing to forget the past 2 months ever happened. Digging through a desk drawer looking for something to eat, Izzie came across a worn photo.

The pictured showed a handsome man with brown hair and green eyes. Eli. Shaking her head she took another swig of SoCo and let her mind travel back to that awful night.

FLASHBACK

They had been on their way home from a Christmas party. New Orleans was neither safe nor unsafe. Izzie had never worried about her personal safety when Eli was with her. They had been taking a shortcut behind a park when out of nowhere stood a man with a mask over his face.

"Get down on the ground...NOW" Izzie looked to Eli who nodded. They both began to kneel on the ground.

"Hey man, we don't want any trouble," said Eli.

"Give me your wallet and all your jewelry." Izzie looked down and tried to keep her hands hidden as Eli threw the man his wallet.

"Get your hands up!" He yelled. It was then that he saw her ring. Her beautiful 1.5 carat diamond engagement ring. "Take off the ring."

Izzie shook her head. "No please, not the ring.

The man pulled out a gun and thrust it into Izzie's face. "The ring...NOW".

All of a sudden Eli sprung up and punched the man in the face. Grabbing Izzie, they began to run.

Shots rang out. Once, twice, three times.

When Izzie turned her head it was as if everything was in slow motion.

Running over to him she put her hands over his chest. When she pulled them away, they were covered in bright red blood.

"NO no no no no no! ELI!" she began screaming.

The shooter had long run away. She quickly dialed 911 and put pressure on the wound.

"It's ok Izz...we'll see each other again soon". He brought his hand up to her face and stroked her cheek, and then it dropped.

Izzie felt for a pulse. There was nothing. When the ambulance arrived all that EMS found was a dead man and a woman draped over him letting out piercing, animalistic screams.

END FLASHBACK

Since that night, Izzie threw herself into her work. She rarely ever went home. It was too painful. Leaning back in her chair she downed what alcohol was left in the glass and laid her head upon her desk. She could hear the thunder rumbling outside. It began to get louder and louder. Izzie was then met with the sight of a bright light and was unable to register a thought before everything went dark.

2258

It had been 2 months since the Narada Incident. The crew of the Enterprise was slowly getting into a routine. As captain of the vessel, Jim had done his best to interact with the crew as much as possible and set an ambiance of calm.

He had begun to spend more and more time with Spock, trying to offer him comfort as best he could. But Spock was unreceptive. His Vulcan control was unwavering. Even Nyota had difficulty reaching him.

Their relationship had not deepened since the attack, the way she thought it would. During the day, he treated her like he did everyone else. But at night he would come to her quarters, have sex and then leave before she woke up. Nyota told herself that he was just grieving and that things would eventually get better.

That morning had begun just like any other morning. Every officer was at their station promptly on time. When Jim entered the bridge he saw Sulu and Chekov arguing over which weapon was better, the Japanese Samurai sword or the Russian AK-47. Uhura was listening for transmissions while Spock was glued to the science station. Sitting in his chair, Jim started out the view screen.

"Mr. Spock, how long have we been sitting here studying the Rider Nebula?" Jim asked.

Spock turned, "3 days, 10 hours, 25 minutes and 4.3 seconds sir".

Jim sighed, "And have we picked up any new information on it?"

"Negative, Captain."

Jim groaned, "That's what I thought. I mean seriously, why does Starfleet have us out here monitoring crap like this?"

No sooner had Jim uttered those words, Chekov began to speak. "Keptin! Senzors are picking up vhat appearsh to be an ion shtorm."

Spock turned in his chair, "Affirmative Captain, we should move the ship."

Jim's eyes hardened. "Sulu, move us away from the storm".

"Aye sir"

When they were out of range, Jim finally spoke. "Well that was fun. Most exciting thing I've seen all week. I'm gonna go give my report to Starfleet command and when I get back we're gonna go have ice cream or..."

Jim was interrupted by a loud alarm and the voice of the ship's computer. "Unauthorized life form detected in cargo bay 4".

"What the hell?" Jim turned to his crew. "Spock, Chekov, come with me. Let's go see what's down there." Jim then tapped his communicator. "Bones! Meet me in cargo bay 4 now."

Bones met the trio standing outside of the cargo bay door. "What's this all about Jim? I'm a doctor not a security guard! I've got patients!"

"Bones. Shut up." said Jim. "Alright, put phasers on stun. Let's see what's in here."

The doors opened and the four men were met with a sight that shocked them all.

In the middle of the cargo bay, lay a woman stripped bare of all clothing. Her face was covered with long brown curls.

"Sweet Lord! I guess God does drop down angels from heaven!" said Jim.

Spock's lips turned down. "Captain, it is highly illogical to assume this woman was sent here by an unknown deity."

Bones was running his tricorder over the woman. "She's human. Approximately 26-27 years old. Her life signs are all over the place. Chekov, get me a blanket."

When Chekov returned with the blanket, Bones draped it over the woman, turned her on her back. Spock knelt down and brushed the hair out of her face and then attempted to place his hands on her face.

Bones smacked his hand. "What the hell do you think you're doing pointy-ears?"

Spock raised one eyebrow. "I was attempting to meld with her in order to gain information."

"Oh no you don't. Her brain waves are way too out of whack for you to be doing your Vulcan voodoo on her."

At that moment, a small groan escaped the woman's mouth. "Owwww".

Bones leaned over her, "Can you hear me miss?"

"Owww. Joe is that you? Did I fall asleep in the lab again?" The woman was trying to open her eyes.

"No, miss. My name is Dr. McCoy."

Finally she opened her eyes. "McCoy? What department are you from? Are you new?"

Her eyes then became focused on the four men staring at her. One had dark hair, one looked like a kid, one had a cocky smile and the other looked like he had some sort of Halloween costume on. Looking at his ears she murmured, "Mais garde dai don!"

Chekov looked puzzled, "Vat did zhe zay?"

Spock angled his head, "It appears to be some form of French."

Bones laughed, "It's Cajun. I'm from the south remember? I've traveled to Louisiana many a time and they all talk weird over there."

Looking down, she realized she had nothing but a blanket covering her. Jumping up she began to back away. "Ok, what the hell is this? Who are you people and why am I naked?"

Jim stepped forward. "I'm Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise. We were surveying the Rider Nebula when an ion storm hit. We were notified that an unidentified person was on board and we found you...sans clothes."

The girl shook her head. "Wait wait wait...Enterprise? Starship? Ion storm? What the fuck are you talking about? I think I had too much to drink. Oh my God…I'm dead aren't I? I died and this is hell."

Spock stepped forward. "As you are here conversing with us at this moment, it is logical to conclude that you are indeed not deceased. May I inquire as to what your name is?"

"My name is Dr. Isobel Landry. Molecular biologist from New Orleans, Louisiana. And who the fuck are you and why are you wearing elf ears?"

It took all of Jim's strength not to laugh. Both of Spock's eyebrows shot up. "I am Commander Spock, first officer. My ears are not those of the mythical creature that you refer to as an elf. I am Vulcan."

Vulcan? What or where the hell is that? Somewhere in Indonesia? No. Oh God this cannot be happening. Izzie blinked and then whispered the question she'd so desperately avoided, "What year is it?"

The men looked at each other. Spock spoke up. "It is 2258 of the Gregorian calendar."

Izzie looked as if she'd been sucker punched. "2258. No. That's impossible."

Jim slowly walked up to Izzie. "Dr. Landry, what year do you think it's supposed to be?"

Izzie began to shake. "When I went to sleep it was February 10, 2012."

The room was starting to spin. She could hear her name being called but was unable to answer.

Jim lurched forward. "Catch her Bones, she's goin down."

Bones caught Izzie before she hit the ground. He turned to Jim, "I have to get her sick bay now."

Once in sick bay, Bones had Nurse Chapel hook Izzie up to every monitor possible.

"Where's the closest starbase? We should get her to the medical facility there." said Jim.

"No. No way." argued Bones. "Look at her brain activity. She's too unstable to transport. She's gone into shock."

"Ok, then continue to monitor her and let me know the instant she wakes up." Jim turned to Spock.

"Spock, you and I are going to research everything we can about Dr. Isobel Landry, how she got here and if we can get her back."

With that, the two men turned and headed to the bridge.

Stepping out of the turbolift, Chekov, Jim and Spock each went to their chairs. Spock began searching through Earth's history for information about Isobel.

Sulu was the first to speak up, "Captain, did you find someone down there?"

Jim pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah we did. Look, everything that I am about to say, stays right here between us. Got it?"

Sulu and Uhura nodded.

"Ok," said Jim. "There was a woman down there. She says she's from the year 2012. She has no memory of how she got here. When we told her what year it is, she collapsed and went into shock. Bones is monitoring her in sick bay. She's too unstable to transport so she'll remain here with us for the time being."

Sulu's eyes were wide.

"How do you know she's telling the truth Captain?" Leave it to Uhura to be the skeptic.

Spock looked at her. "There is no evidence as to how she came aboard the ship. She was sent here unclothed and therefore has no device with which to transport herself. Also, Dr. McCoy's tricorder readings would have found any implants that could explain her sudden appearance."

Uhura sent Spock a death glare upon hearing the word 'unclothed'.

Jim nodded. "I believe her. There's no way she could've faked being that shocked. She truly has no idea how she got here and neither do we. So let's get on that. Sulu, Chekov, analyze that ion storm and see if there's any connection."

The two men nodded. "Aye sir".

Jim turned his chair, "Spock, tell me what you've found so far."

Spock looked at the screen. "Dr. Isobel Marie Landry. Born in 1985 of the Gregorian calendar. Holds both a medical degree and a PhD. Molecular biologist who specializes in gene therapy along with in vitro fertilization."

Jim scrunched his nose. "What the fuck is that?"

Spock opened his mouth to reply when Jim cut him off. "Never mind I'll ask Bones later."

Jim walked over to the screen at Spock's station and picked up where he left off. "Says that she did contract work for the U.S. government…won numerous awards…blah blah blah…oh shit!"

Uhura could hardly stand it. "What?"

Jim shook his head. "It says here that she was engaged to a man named Eli Watson. He was killed on December 10, 2011 during a mugging. Shot in the chest 3 times right in front of her. She never officially married but had one son and died at the age of 70 from pancreatic cancer."

"Damn, that's rough," said Sulu.

Chekov gasped, "Wait! Keptin, you said he vas keeled on December 10. Dr. Landry said it vas February 10 ven zhe vas azleep. Zat is 2 months egzactly. It is also 2 months zince ze inzident with Nero."

Spock stiffened. Everyone glanced at him.

Jim nodded. "Good catch Chekov. Keep working on finding the connection with the ion storm."

Spock went to stand near Jim. "Captain, what do you see as our next course of action?"

"Now we wait," he said.

A/N: I like reviews. They make me smile. Constructive criticism is always appreciated; just be a bit gentle cause I'm still new to the whole writing thing. Kthanksbye.