So I have made the decision to include some parts of the new movie in my story (I do not own any characters or story lines from STB or any other Star Trek film) but, it might be pretty different. Like I said, it's hard to write accurately when the film isn't on DVD and I've only seen it once. However, using my memory, I'll try to make it work.

Nearly six months had passed before I saw Spock again. Well, of course, I had seen him around somewhat. The ship was big, but not that big. He was polite enough to give me a curt nod when I passed him, or drop off papers with a "Hello" as I worked in the lab. But we never talked about that night.

When I first came to the conclusion that he was avoiding, or rather, ignoring me, I was hurt. I was offended. I felt as if he owed me some sort of explanation for his behavior but I suppose deep down I knew it was unlikely I would ever get one. I understood why. I'd like to think I wasn't naïve enough to believe he would suddenly become this emotional man that could love me the way I loved him. And along with the countless professional reasons why we couldn't be in a relationship, it just didn't make sense, a Vulcan and a human. Two completely different races that had fundamental differences and separate cultures. But while I chided myself for thinking he'd change and that it'd be possible, part of me knew that there was something. I hadn't made it up. That night he brushed the strand of hair off my face, the way he seemed a little too concerned with my well being on Platonia, and that kiss- I wasn't imagining it. Or was I? I couldn't tell, and I began to feel as if I were going insane.

It was easier to let it go, so I did.

Now, six months later, I found myself rocked against the side of the ship with such force that I blacked out. I don't even know for exactly how long I did, but when I came to, the lab was in shambles and my head was pounding. I lay on the ground for several moments before the disorientation wore off, and I shakily stood up. The smell of smoke filled my nose, and I could here distant screams. Adrenaline began to course through me and fear overtook my senses. Shards of glass littered the floor, and I didn't just smell the fire anymore, I could see it. It was licking at the doorframe, spreading quickly across the slick black floor. I forced myself to stand and darted from the lab ungracefully, tripping past the flames quickly. Red lights were flashing and frantic crewmembers scrambled past me. I thought I faintly smelled blood and it made my stomach lurch, but I tried to convince myself I was imagining it, a side affect of my pounding head. Joining in the panic, I ran to the nearest officer I found.

His cadet-red uniform was covered in darker, rust colored blood, his eyes wide as he shakily maneuvered his way around the blur of red, blue, and yellow.

"Cadet, what's going on?" I yelled, barely loud enough to be heard over the chaos. He seemed torn before answering me or sprinting away to safety.

"We're being attacked-" He took a large gasp of air "-We're evacuating." The panic was clear in his eyes and true fear began to set in; something must be really wrong. The ship was shaking beneath my feet, nearly tossing me off balance. Part of me wanted to sprint back to the lab and grab some equipment, or samples, at least something, but I recalled the fire and understood the chaos around me wouldn't allow it.

I stood out among the swirling colors in my white uniform, trying to make my way through to the bottom deck. The red lights were blinding, and the alarms were deafening. I could still hear screams echoing within my head and I began to lose my breath; from nervousness or running too much, I didn't know. My heart was racing. I didn't exactly know the protocol for this situation, but I didn't have time to chide myself for being ill prepared. Sweat was forming on my head and sliding down my face. I froze, standing on the last deck of the ship, watching as crewmembers began to either strap themselves into tiny pods or grab weapons. I tried to find Sulu, or Carol, someone that could tell me what was happening and what to do, but I was alone amongst the crowd. After a moment of wandering around like a stunned, wide-eyed child, I realized how unorganized everything was; this wasn't as orderly as I thought it should be. People were jumping ship as if their lives depended on it. It then occurred to me that they probably did.

Suddenly I found myself punching my ID into a keypad on the wall, strapping myself into a pod, and grabbing the seat straps so hard that my knuckles ached. I waited, I don't know how long I even waited, but eventually a sharp jerk snapped by head back into the headboard and I was ejected into space. I saw a blur of silver, the Enterprise I realized, and then blackness, and then Earth.

What? That was impossible. It took me several moments before I realized that, while extremely similar, this planet was not Earth. I was breathing heavily, my breaths amplified by the suffocating silence. No screams, no blaring sirens, no clamor of my crew members- silence. Somehow, this was much, much worse. I could hardly see anything but black and flashes of metallic blurs outside of the tiny pod window. I felt it shake tumultuously and I wondered, what now? What would happen when, and if, I landed? I didn't have any more time for ominous questions. I must have blacked out from the panic, or the pressure, or maybe even lack of oxygen, but when I came to, I was completely alone.

Being alone was the least of my problems; not only was I deserted on this planet by myself, I had no food or water, no weapon besides a flimsy scalpel that had miraculous not stabbed me on my rocky descent, and I hadn't the slightest clue of where to go. I craned my head to see through the thick trees above me, but I only caught glints of strong sunlight. However, I realized soon that sitting pretty wasn't doing me any favors. I grabbed a piece of stray glass that must've shattered from the pod on impact and slipped it into my pocket. I then began my way through the thick brush.

Hours passed, or so it felt like. I was absolutely lost, but what should I have expected? I had never been on this planet, and despite its likeness to earth, had nothing in common with it- the plants were unfamiliar, the trees were foreign, and the day seemed far longer than an Earth cycle. I had made no contact with any crew members, nor seen any other actual person, alien or not. The Enterprise was nowhere in sight. No matter how many times I glued my eyes to the sky in hopes of seeing a glimmer of a pod or the help of the ship, it remained clear blue. At this point, I was too thirsty, hungry, and hot to think about my seemingly doomed fate. I had been hiking through a large, grey canyon for so long that I began to see giving up as a more attractive option than gasping my way through the curves of the rocks. Sweat was dripping from my head in buckets, despite the fact that I had shed my lab coat and my dress, slinging them across my shoulder, wearing now a tight black undershirt and matching boy shorts. Although I was as close to being naked as possible, I still felt as if my skin was on fire and I was overheating. I figured I would die of heatstroke before anything else, but thirst and starvation were close seconds. My breath was labored and finding shade seemed nearly impossible in this damned canyon. I began to feel tears slip down my cheeks, or was that sweat? No, I was crying, which I knew was bad because it would only dehydrate me more, but I couldn't help it. Frustration, anger, fear, and existential doom had all caught up to me and it was making my throat close up. I felt awfully stupid; Using an escape pod without any idea what to do when I actually landed? Why would I do such a thing? Had I even followed the right protocol or had I acted out of fear rather than logic?

A black blur flickered in the corner of my vision and I swirled around to catch it. I saw it again, and again, and again, but I never seemed to catch it no matter how swift I tried to lay eyes on it. I rubbed my eyes and closed them, trying to gather my bearings. The sun was getting to me and I deduced I was hallucinating because of it. I heard laughing, was it my own? No, my teeth were clenched shut tightly, my lips pressed together firmly. I was hearing her voice through my delirium. My baby sister, she was there in front of me, but she was fading in and out of my vision. One second she was there, smiling, her blue eyes sparkling against her lively skin. Then she was gone, replaced by the bleak, colorless canyon. But her laughter resonated, bouncing off the rocky walls and against my eardrums. Her blonde hair, flickering in front of me, I could still smell her, hear her, see her, speak to her. My heart was thumping hard against my chest and I could hear it loudly in my ears. The pain was unbearable, but encircled both my mind and body completely.

I couldn't help it. I yelled into the vacant canyon, screaming because right now it felt as if it was the only thing I could possibly do. I wanted it to stop; I wanted to stop feeling, because right now it felt as if my emotions were suffocating me. It lasted a good five seconds, and then continued to echo through the canyon for another few. I was completely winded, and I bent over, trying to recover my breath. I then lost my balance and fell right onto the parched ground with a hard thud. The sky was spinning around me, my tongue dry and my skin burning beneath the scorching sun above. I lacked both the energy and motivation to stand up. I had failed, both my sister and my captain. I had no more tears left to spill. I was gasping for air, like a fish out of water, flopping helplessly. Then, I was gone.

Or so I thought. When I came to for the second time that day, the sky was nearly black, with stars dotting it like snowflakes on asphalt. I was no longer thirsty, nor as blistered as I had felt before. My head felt like it had been screwed back on tight and I could confidently say I felt a million times better. My Star Fleet shirt was still slightly damp with sweat but it felt cool and soothing against me as I lay my head back against the wall behind me. I could still see the canyons above me, and I understood I was still in them. My muscles felt as if I had just run a marathon, and my limbs felt ten times heavier, but I could bear the pain much more than what I had experienced earlier.

A fire crackled dimly a few feet away, and my head snapped back to attention. Someone must have rescued me. I pushed myself up, using the wall for support, and shakily walked towards the fire for light. My lab coat and uniform lay

next to the fire, and I scooped them up, reaching into the pocket to grab the shard of glass I had scavenged before. Gripping it carefully, I weakly called out.

"Hello?" Unlike my shriek from earlier, my voice was hardly a squeak. I heard nothing for a long while. I wasn't sure whether or not I was hearing things, like boots on gravel or the snapping of tree branches, but it was enough to make me shake in fear. My breath was raspy, as if my lungs were closing up, but I tried to remain calm.

"Stella!"

I whirled around at the familiar voice, letting out a sound crossed between a sob and a laugh. I dropped the glass and ran towards Doctor McCoy, who stood mere feet away. I reached out and grabbed his shoulders tightly. He was real, not a delusion like my sister had been. His eyes were tired yet alarmed and relieved at the same time. I felt waves of relief course through me. Another crewmember. Another person. Although our grim predicament was probably still the same, I had never been so happy to see him. His dark hair was ruffled, his uniform ripped, and the creases in his face more prominent than usual. He seemed confused as I smoothed my hands down his arms and squeezed them before I let go. I had to make sure he was real.

"Are you feeling better? We found you dead as a doornail a couple hours ago. Dehydrated, burnt as a pie left in the oven too long, breathing like you had one lung. You're lucky we found you."

I tried to say his name, nothing came out. My mouth was open, but I was silent. I couldn't speak. I began to hyperventilate as panic spread through me once again. This couldn't be happening again, not again, I couldn't do this again.

McCoy seemed to pick up on this right away, placing a steady hand on my shoulder and another one on my cheek.

"Look at me, listen, you need to calm down, right now. We can't have you pass out again. Stop breathing so hard, dammit." The grittiness of his voice was enough to make me stop, or at least attempt to. After a minute or two, I was breathing normally once again, but only felt slightly less panicky. I looked up at the Doctor, touching my throat, trying to make him understand but no words were escaping my mouth, despite sitting on the edge of my tongue. He nodded.

"I know, I know, but now is not the time for a panic attack. It will come back, I promise." His hopeful words mollified me slightly, as I trusted him completely, but the fearful nagging was getting the better of me. I doubted his soothing words despite desperately wanting to believe them. I realized then something else.

Who's "we"? Who else was with Leonard? I wanted to ask him this but I couldn't. I was helpless once again. Panic was just about to erupt within me again despite the Doctor's firm hand on my back.

Suddenly, waves of calm were sent through me, but I had no idea from where. It soothed my wild thoughts and my over active brain, as if someone had injected me with a sedative. I felt as if I had just been balanced. I looked up at Leo questioningly, wondering what had just happened, if he even knew. He wasn't looking at me though, he was looking forward. I followed his gaze, my dizzy eyes landing on a slightly hunched Vulcan Commander. His brown eyes were wide as they met mine; his face squinted slightly as if he were pain. I realized a moment later that he was. His hand lay gently across his lower abdomen, a bloody rip on his uniform.

"Dammit, Spock, sit. I don't need that wound reopening again."

I barely heard myself whisper his name.

Reviews are life