By Glenice

Star Trek and its affiliated characters are owned by Paramount. No infringement on that copyright intended. I just do it for the love:-)

Hikaru Sulu double-timed it down the corridor toward Chekov's quarters. He checked his wrist chrono every few seconds, its small glowing green face only confirmed what he already knew-they were going to be late...again. As he approached his friend's door he glanced down at his wrist one more time. Sulu looked up just in time to narrowly miss a collision with 140 pounds of damp, swearing Russian.

Without even breaking stride Chekov fell into stride with his friend. "Dammit! I can't believe I overslept again." Chekov swore vehemently, trying in vain to finger comb some order into his still wet mop of dark brown hair. "The captain will have our asses on a string!"

"That's "in a sling", Pav." Sulu corrected automatically, eyes falling once again to the chronometer. "We still have three minutes...if we hurry.."

Chekov gave up the struggle with his unruly locks, shoving his bangs aside long enough to grab his friend's wrist and check the time himself. "Three minutes and forty three point nine nine seconds.." He corrected.

"You're spending way too much time with Mr. Spock." Sulu said, shaking his head.

"Why do you think I'm late?!" The ensign shot back. They were nearly running now. "I was up most of the night scanning that data for the anomaly that he insists is..." Chekov's accent grew progressively thicker as they rounded the bend toward the turbolift.

"We're gonna make it!" Sulu thought, his mood lightening. "We're really gonna...Chekov, LOOK OUT!!"

The young Russian's brain only had time to register a pair of very large, very green eyes before he collided full force into someone rounding the corner from the opposite direction.

"For God's sake!!" Killian Kelly cursed, struggling to lift herself from the deck. She glared at the dark-haired young man that had knocked her down. He was sitting on his rump across from her and rapidly turning a most satisfying shade of crimson. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to run in the house?!"

Ensign Chekov scrambled to his feet as quickly as possible, extending a hand to the flustered young woman he had waylaid. "I'm sorry...Miss...Miss.."

"Kelly." She spat , pointedly ignoring the proffered hand while she gathered her possessions that had been scattered in the collision.

Another dark-haired man she hadn't noticed in the confusion knelt down beside her, an empty BioCase in his hands. "I'm sorry about my clumsy friend." A bright smile lit up his Asian features. "He hasn't been the same since that unfortunate incident with the Valklerian Brain Collectors. It seems they forgot to send his back.."

The girl's eyes widened at the sight of the case in Sulu's hands.

"Oh no...Oh no!" Killian muttered, scrambling about the corridor on her hands and knees, obviously looking for something.

Chekov and Sulu turned very slowly to look at each other and then down at the empty container. "Shit!" They gasped in unison before dropping to the deck to help find the unknown but obviously living inhabitant of the BioCase.

"What is it we're looking for exactly?" Sulu panted as he searched for whatever in the Hell he was supposed to be looking for.

"Boizhe Moi!!" Chekov shrieked as he bolted upright, patting frantically at a rapidly moving lump in the front of his tunic.

"Dammit, be careful!" The girl shouted as she lunged forward.

"Help..aaah!" Chekov's voice went up two octaves as the lump changed direction to head Due South.

"Just hold still!" Those green eyes glared up at him as she knelt to grab whatever-it-was that had taken up a rapid orbit around Pavel Chekov's left thigh.

Sulu had managed to keep his composure to this point. After all, it's not polite to laugh when your best friend has an unknown and possibly dangerous creature circling his nether- region. But, a man has his limits.

Ms. Kelly made a grab for the "creature" with a satisfied "Gotcha!"

" Aaah! That's not it! That's me!!" Chekov jumped like he'd been hit with phaser fire and turned an even deeper shade of red.

It was the coup-de-grace for Lieutenant Sulu. He fell against the bulkhead, cackling madly.

"It's...it's...uhhkhhh...wet!" Chekov exclaimed, a look of pure disgust on his round Slavic face.

Sulu wondered if anyone had ever actually died of laughter as he bent double, clutching at his abdomen and laughing even harder.

"No it's not!" Killian Kelly retorted and shot a dirty look in the hysterical Asian's direction. She then plucked something white, furry and cylindrically shaped from beneath Chekov's tunic. "He just has a cold." She held the thing up to the young Russian's eye level.

Watery blue eyes blinked at him from a fuzzy white "face". Strings of green and yellow mucous oozed from twin orifices beneath those blinking azure orbs.

"Snuffrkht!" The thing snorted and then sneezed mightily and moistly all over the front of the already violated Ensign Chekov.

Pavel Andreivitch turned and threw up as quietly and neatly as possible.

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Out of the corner of his eye, Sulu saw Chekov grimace and shudder almost imperceptibly. The young Russian bit his lip as he glanced to see if the captain had seen him. He and Sulu were definitely not in Kirk's good graces this afternoon.

"You okay?" Hikaru whispered out of the side of his mouth.

"Is it cold in here to you?" Chekov whispered back and shivered again.

Sulu leaned back in his seat and shook his head. "Shit, Chekov. "He whispered. "You aren't getting sick on me are you? I knew you should have gone to sickbay after.."

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" Kirk's voice prompted both men to jump reflexively, their hands flying simultaneously to their control panels. The camaraderie between his helms- man and his navigator was an asset most of the time, but there were times when their boyish enthusiasm grated on his nerves. "I'll...be in my quarters. Please inform me when we're getting close to Starbase 7. Mr. Sulu, you have the conn."

"Yes, sir." Sulu replied.

Kirk raked the helm section with one last hazel glare before stepping up to the turbolift.

Chekov released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. His chest muscles promptly seized, sending him into a coughing fit.

"That's it!" Sulu exclaimed. "You get your butt down to Sickbay this minute. That's an order, mister!"

The ensign wiped his nose on his sleeve and shot his friend and antagonist a dirty look from beneath his bangs. The gesture combined with the sour expression made him look like a petulant twelve year old. "I can't leave now." He moaned miserably::swipe::"There would be only you and Uhura on the bridge. The captain would be angry::sniff:::if we disturb him and Mr. Spock is busy::swipe:::in the Astrophysics department."

"Well if you aren't fit for duty you shouldn't be here, Pavel, and you know it. Besides, if that "thing" is carrying some kind of disease, the Captain and Dr. McCoy need to be alerted."

"I think it's just me." Chekov said dejectedly. "I'm allergic to cats, maybe that thing has dander similar to an Earth feline's. If so, I will be fine in a few hours::Sneeze, sniff, swipe."

"What is this thing you two keep whispering about?"

Uhura stepped down from the communications console and walked over to the ailing navigator. She spun his chair around to face her and handed him a tissue.

He smiled up at her gratefully and blew his nose heartily as she placed a small, cool hand on his forehead.

"You do feel a little warm, sugar. Why don't we call up Ensign Osume to cover for you?"

"No!::::sniff:::" He pulled away from her. "I only have three hours left of my shift. We're due in to Starbase 7 in two. After we reach the station safely and my shift is up, I promise I'll go lie down for awhile.:::Sneeze!!Swipe:::It's just my allergies...really."

Uhura swatted him playfully on the thigh and returned to her station. "This thing, Hikaru, what is it?"

Sulu told her about the incident in the corridor that morning. Despite the hurt, puppy-dog looks emanating from Navigation, they were both practically in stitches by the time Sulu concluded the story.

"Oh...I'm sorry, sweetie." Uhura apologised, dabbing delicately at her eye with the back of her hand. "It's really not funny but...I can just picture your face when she.."The Lieutenant placed her well manicured hand over her mouth, too late to stifle a giggle.

Chekov rolled his blood-shot brown eyes and turned his back to them, setting his jaw stubbornly.

"What did you say the girl's name was?" Uhura asked as she carefully placed her communications monitor back into her ear.

"Kelly." Sulu said after thinking a moment." I think she was from xeno-biology."

Uhura paused, obviously searching her memory banks. "Kelly...I don't recall ever hearing of an Ensign Kelly in xeno."

"I guess she's new." Sulu shrugged. "I'd never seen her before. Had you , Chekov?"

Chekov sniffled in relative silence, intent on something displayed on his console.

Uhura and Sulu looked at each other and sighed. It was going to be a long two hours.

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"Now in orbit around Starbase 7, Captain." Sulu announced.

"Maintain standard orbit, Lieutenant." Kirk said cheerfully. A few hours rest and the prospect of even more R

R aboard the starbase they were lazily circling had greatly improved their commander and chief's earlier surliness. It had been a rough tour of duty for them all the past few weeks.

"Aye aye, Sir. Maintaining standard orbit." Sulu stole a glance over at his friend. Chekov had suffered in silence the past two hours but it was obvious he was miserable. Sulu sighed as the prospect of an enjoyable shore leave slipped farther and farther away with each swipe of the navigator's sleeve.

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"Why don't you just go down to Sickbay and ask Dr. McCoy to give you something?" Sulu asked for what seemed like the thousandth time.

Chekov lay on his bunk, a damp cloth over his red, swollen eyes.

"If it's just allergies, he'll clear it up in..."

"I don't want to risk missing shore leave." Chekov whined plaintively.

His friend threw his head back and laughed. "Look at you! How can you possibly be thinking of going on shore leave?"

Chekov swung his legs over the side of his bunk and sat with his elbows on his knees, pressing the wet cloth over his face. "I'd like to see her again."

"Excuse me?" Sulu asked incredulously.

The young Russian removed the cloth from his face and looked up at his friend. "I said, I would like to see her again. If I go to Sickbay looking like this, McCoy will lock me up for a month!"

"Pavel, really, sometimes you are too much." Sulu shook his head slowly. "You didn't exactly make the best first impression with Ms. Kelly." He paused, a mischievous glint in his jet black eyes. "On second thought, she did have her hands all over you. Maybe there was something she found impressive after all."

Chekov growled and threw the cloth at Sulu, cursing in Russian. He walked over to the mirror and scrutinized his reflection. "Some of the swelling is gone. I'm feeling much better. Please, Hikaru, will you help me locate her?"

The young helmsman sighed a long suffering sigh and plopped down in front of Chekov's computer terminal. "Computer?"

"Working...."

"Shipboard records for an Ensign Kelly, xeno-biologist, please."

"That information is classified. "The mechanical voice said after a brief pause. "Please enter Security Code 37-56 B."

"I'm sorry."

"Shit!" Chekov said, looking over Sulu's shoulder. "Computer, any listing of an Ensign Kelly in xeno-biology?" he asked hopefully.

"Scanning...negative. No Ensign Kelly assigned to xeno-biology. However, there are Ensign Kelly's listed in Security and Medical departments."

Chekov shrugged. "Maybe she transferred to xeno from another department recently."

"Something just doesn't smell right." Sulu said, narrowing his eyes. "Computer, display crew roster, K-L."

"Working..."

The two men watched as the list of names scrolled rapidly up the computer screen.

"Stop!" Sulu commanded suddenly, jabbing a finger at the monitor.

Chekov leaned closer. There were several 'Kelly's or 'Kellie's listed where Sulu was indicating.

" Charles Kellie, Donald Kelly, Graham Kelly...I'm noticing a trend here, Chekov" Hikaru looked up from the screen, glancing back to read the expression on his young Russian friend's face.

"No female Kelly's?" The ensign chewed on his lower lip.

"Something is definitely up here, Pavel."

"Maybe Kelly was her first name...." Chekov muttered hopefully.

Sulu glanced over at the chrono on Chekov's desk. If they didn't beam down soon, they'd miss out on shore leave completely. "Come on," he said, standing and stretching.

"Where are we going?" his friend asked, a suspicious look in his dark Slavic eyes.

"Xeno-biology," Sulu said smiling humorlessly.

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"I've never been down here." Chekov commented as they moved between the rows of plexisteel BioContainers. Some of the inhabitants he recognized from the various planets he had visited, others he had never seen before in his life.

Sulu was peering intently into each container, searching for any sign of Chekov's slimy friend.

"Can I help you gentlemen?"

Chekov turned around slowly, mouth open to respond. His jaw dropped at the sight of the elusive Ensign Kelly, standing in the aisle with a baby chimp slung on one curvaceous hip.

"Something I can help you boys with?" She repeated, brushing a stray lock of auburn hair from her eyes.

Sulu looked at his friend expectantly, then crossed his arms to lean against a row of cages, smiling.

"I..uh.::sniff:: well...that is..." Chekov stammered, realizing he was in this on his own. "I wanted to apologise for the incident in the corridor earlier." He sniffed and studied the toe of his right boot. "It was very clumsy of me. I wanted to be sure you...and your animal...were not injured."

She shifted the young ape to her other hip and smiled crookedly at the blushing ensign. "You came all the way down here to do that? We don't get many bridge types down in xeno."

Sulu saw an opening. "I've dabbled a bit in biology. I don't recall having met you before. Did you just transfer?"

"Well, in a manner of speaking. I'm not standard Starfleet issue." The young woman tapped the area above her left breast. There was no familiar insignia, no marking of any kind-just plain Sciences green.

"A civilian?" Chekov asked, confused.

"Wellll...in a manner of speaking." Killian Kelly rolled her eyes. Of all the people on this ship to discover her... "I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later." She sighed deeply and walked over to a wall of wire cages. She slipped the chimp inside and then turned to face the two befuddled Starfleet officers.

Chekov waited expectantly for her explanation. As he looked on, the small chimp (Erasmus, according to the nameplate above the cage door) reached through the bars and began twirling a lock of her cinnamon hair in his fingers.

"It's just so complicated." She sighed and patted the furry hand entangled in her hair. "They stuck me down here hoping no one would run into me. I just happened to take a chance today with Schmoo...when I ran into you in the hallway. He needed some fresh plants so I was taking him to ...to...the big garden room," Killian explained, motioning with her hands.

"Horticulture?" Sulu supplied, looking suspicious. "Are you some sort of stowaway?"

" Oh no...not really. I guess I'm just one of the best kept secrets in Starfleet right now." The young woman began to look uncomfortable, looking around nervously. "Look, you really shouldn't be down here. We could all be in real trouble."

Chekov was never one to be afraid of trouble. "I really wanted to ask if you'd be able to go on shore leave with us." He looked around." I'm sure it would be good for you to get away from these cages." He knew he certainly would be glad to get away. His allergies were starting to play havoc with his sinuses again.

"Shore leave?" She asked, half surprised, half envious. Her face fell and she turned back toward the cage, leaning her forehead against the bars. "I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible. If you have any further questions, you really should ask the captain."

As they turned to go, Chekov stole one parting glance over his shoulder, just in time to see Erasmus' hairy knuckle wipe a tear from Ms. Kelly's lightly freckled cheek.

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The atmosphere was jovial in the main lounge of Starbase 7. A wide variety of Enterprise personnel mingled happily with the crew of several other Starfleet and non-Starfleet vessels. Amid all this merriment, Pavel Chekov sat in a corner booth, halfway through a bottle of Starbase 7's best vodka. While the alcohol did nothing for his nagging loneliness, it did wonders for his sinuses. He inhaled deeply and threw back another shot of the clear liquid, feeling it burn deliciously down the back of his throat down to his stomach and spread warm and tingly to his toes. But no matter how much he drank, he couldn't get the image of her out of his mind. He kept seeing that one perfect tear wiped away by a chimp.

"Who is she?" He agonized. "Where did she come from? What is she doing hiding out in xeno-biology?" Almost of their own will, Chekov found himself transported on his vodka numbed feet toward the door of the bar. Maybe he'd go find Sulu and he could come up with some ideas to get her out of his head....

At that same moment, a slight figure in a black cloak came barreling through the door. The small, shapeless figure traveled just a few feet before colliding squarely into Ensign Chekov's chest. The hood fell away as the head lifted, revealing a tousled mass of cinnabar hair and startling emerald eyes.

"You!" Killian shouted.

"You?" Chekov blinked, disbelieving.

"Shnrrrknph!" said Schmoo as he stuck his fuzzy white head from the folds of his mistress' cloak.

Killian pulled the young man closer by grabbing two fistfuls of yellowish tunic. "We have to get outta here!" She whispered frantically.

"Wha...wha...what are you doing here?" the ensign stammered, trying to release himself from her iron grip. "I thought you weren't allowed to go on shore leave?"

"I jumped ship, you idiot!" She exclaimed. "This is the first place they'll look. We have to get outta here!"

Sending up a prayer to the patron saint of downtrodden navigators, Chekov followed the mystery lady out the door and into the crowded corridors of Starbase 7.

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Miss Kelly was a woman true to her word. No sooner had she and Chekov ducked down a small side corridor before cluster of stern looking red shirts came galloping by, heading in the direction of the Starbase Lounge. They pressed close to the bulkhead until the last sound of the last footstep had faded.

The girl peeled slowly away form the cold steel and stole a glance up and down the corridor. "It's all clear..." She informed him breathlessly. "Where should we go now?"

Chekov had had quite enough of this little game. He grabbed her forearm a little rougher than he had intended." We're going back to the ship, that's where we're going."

"No!" She cried, struggling to get away. "You don't understand!"

"I understand that you're going to get us both in a lot of trouble." He said, his accent thickening as he grew progressively more irritated.

"If we could just go somewhere private...where I can explain.." Killian widened her green eyes, trying to look innocent and vulnerable.

Chekov narrowed his own eyes, recognizing that particular trick as one he'd used many times before. Still, he had always been a sucker for big green eyes. "All right." He sighed. "Fifteen minutes...I'll give you fifteen minutes to explain and then we are going back to the Enterprise."

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"Well I guess it was bound to happen eventually." McCoy said, shaking his head solemnly. " I couldn't keep her in Sickbay forever, you know."

James Kirk chewed on his thumb, lost in thought. "If only we'd been able to send her back." He murmured.

"It figures Chekov would be the one who ran into her-literally from what I understand." He poured the captain and then himself a generous shot of bourbon.

"He does have a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, doesn't he?" Kirk smiled into his glass.

"Well, one good thing, if she's with him, we know she's safe," McCoy said earnestly. oooooooooooooooooooooo0000000000000000000000000ooooooooooooooooooooo

A busy space station is a difficult place to find a bit of privacy. In the end, the two of them had to settle for a storage area in a little used section of the station.

Chekov sat on a storage container, his back against the cold steel of the bulkhead...waiting. When she finally began to speak, he had to lean forward, elbows on knees to hear her.

"The last thing I remember is stepping off the curb," Killian began, her voice barely above a whisper. She sat on the floor at Chekov's feet, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. "It was a beautiful Saturday and I decided to meet friends in the city for lunch. I was running late so I wasn't concentrating too much on my surroundings. Then I felt ...dizzy.. I must have.. passed out-I don't know. When I woke up, I expected to be lying on the sidewalk or the asphalt. But, the surface was cold...smooth metal of some sort. I freaked...I...I...I didn't know where I was..."

As the girl became more agitated, Chekov slipped off of his perch and eased down on the floor beside her.

Killian didn't even notice the young man's change in seating. She was lost in her own thoughts. "I seemed to be on some sort of platform. There were men there...big men.. in red shirts. They were pointing things at me...weapons, guns of some sort. I was frightened, I suppose I blacked out."

"Wait." Chekov said, holding out his hand. "You were on a transporter pad? On the Enterprise?"

"Yes." Killian nodded. "I came to understand that."

"But where did you transport from?"

"It's not so much a matter of where but rather a matter of when."

The ensign looked more confused than ever. Then realization bloomed in his brown eyes and he looked at her, questions forming in their dark depths also. "What year?" He began, then cleared his throat." In which year were you born?"

The young woman met his eyes with the most direct gaze she could muster.."My name is Killian Rose Kelly. I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio ..March 13th...1974."

Chekov searched her face for any sign that she wasn't completely serious. He found none. She maintained the unflinching cat-like stare as if daring him to doubt her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked finally. "How did you get here?"

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" I don't know...and I don't know. " She shrugged. "The whole physics of the thing is way over my head." Killian smiled wryly. "A lot of things here are over my head. Mr. Spock, he seems to have some theories about how it all happened-something about curved space." She shook her head, the hood slipped back revealing locks of cinnamon and gold. " I must seem so stupid to you,"

"No!" Chekov said emphatically, placing a reassuring hand on her arm. "What you've been through...it's amazing you are so lucid."

"That was one of the problems. I was a bit too "lucid" for your captain's liking it seemed. He, Spock and the doctor...McCoy? They were afraid I would remember too much once they sent me back."

"So, they isolated you?" Pavel looked at the small slip of a girl with much greater respect. For someone who'd been snatched from her own time and transported onto a starship 300 years into the future, surrounded by strangers who were as unhappy with her being there as she was and then forced to face an uncertain future away from everything and everyone she had ever known, she was taking it all really well.

Killian nodded. "They hid me in Sickbay at first. I think they wanted to make sure I wasn't harboring some weird 20th century virus or something...not that you guys wouldn't have a cure for it." She laughed and he laughed with her. Her smile faded first and looked away. "They were curious too, of course. They wanted to...study me." The young woman shrugged and smiled again. "Not that I blame them. I mean, if a Tyrannosaurus Rex materialized in my living room I'd be curious too."

"Why didn't they...we...send you back?" Chekov asked.

"They tried, but the conditions had changed. Things weren't...connected...anymore." She frowned and bit her lower lip. "You really should talk to Spock. He can explain much better than I can."

Pavel Chekov planned on doing just that at the first opportunity. "How did you end up in xeno-biology? That is a pretty specialized field."

"Well, it was getting tougher to keep me hidden in Sickbay. The captain still didn't want me exposed to too much in the remote chance that Mr. Spock would figure out a way to ship me back to where I came from. Kirk, he and the doctor gave me a few options as the where I could go. I chose xeno." She smiled again. " I like animals, and I would have little to no contact with people."

"You must have been very lonely," the young Russian said, his brown eyes soft with empathy.

" Not at first. I made lots of non-human friends." Killian patted the sleeping lump Shmoo made on the shoulder of her cloak. "But after a few weeks I started to get a bit stir crazy."

"A few weeks?" Chekov asked, surprised, "How long have you been on the Enterprise?"

"About a month, I think. It's easy to lose track of time when you're stuck in the bowels of a starship."

A month...it made sense to the young navigator. The extra work Spock began piling into him had started about a month ago. Time warp equations, space-time continuums, wormhole dynamics...it all clicked in his head.

"What has Starfleet said about you?" He immediately bit his lip. What if she didn't know about Starfleet? How much did she know? What things had he unknowingly..?

"Don't worry." Killian assured him, noticing the apprehension in his eyes. "Believe me, I know who Starfleet is. They wanted the captain to bring me to some starbase so they could do research on me."

"How degrading," the young man said.

Killian Kelly was grateful that he seemed to be understanding. He sees me as a person, she thought, not as a science experiment. "Yes. I pitched a fit!" She laughed at the confused look on his handsome face." I got really angry." Killian explained. "I told them they had taken me away from everything and everyone I had ever known..." Her voice caught and she paused taking a deep breath. Then her green eyes blazed and she continued. " I wasn't going to let them take away my freedom of choice as well."

He nodded, appreciating her spirit. "What did you tell them? What did you choose to do?"

"I told them I wanted to stay onboard the Enterprise. I'm comfortable there. Even if I never saw another human soul, at least I wouldn't have to face a universe full of strangers."

Chekov thought about that for a moment. "Have you looked to see if you have... descendants? Anyone you could make contact with?" The ensign sniffed audibly and shifted his weight backwards, both to attempt to get some circulation back into his cramped lower extremities and to put some distance between himself and the fuzzball beneath the girl's cloak.

"Descendants? Why? " She asked, a little more harshly than she had intended. " I'd be a stranger to them, and they to me. I have no one."

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. Chekov took her hand impulsively and looked into her deep green eyes. "If it makes you feel better, you've made your first human friend in the 23rd century." He shrugged and grinned a slow, crooked grin. "That is, if you will have me as your friend."

Killian couldn't help but feel better. His hand felt warm and solid. She noticed he had rather large hands for someone his size. Her hand felt enveloped...and safe. Killian Kelly looked into Pavel Chekov's beautiful brown eyes through a blur of grateful tears. "Thank you, friend," she said.

"Shnfft!" said Shmoo, awakening from his nap. It peeked from beneath Killian's cloak, fixing Chekov with a not-too-friendly stare.

The young navigator sneezed violently. " I think it's time we got out of here."

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"Ms. Kelly has been located, Captain." Spock announced.

James Kirk hit the comm button with the side of his fist. "Thank you, Mr. Spock. Where is she?"

"She and Mr. Chekov were spotted in the corridor of Starbase 7. Security personnel are tracking them as we speak. Ms. Kelly will be returned to the ship as soon as possible" Spock said.

"Keep me informed, Spock. I wish to be notified as soon as she is.." He rolled a few words around in his mouth- apprehended, captured, in custody- none of them tasted particularly good. "..when she is in hand. Kirk out."

He hated situations like this. Battling Klingons, ion storms, warp core breeches-these things he was fine-tuned to handle. Starfleet hadn't trained him to be a social worker. James Kirk was responsible for the 430 lives aboard his ship, but he had not been responsible for their personal choice to be there. Up to this point, every crewmember aboard his ship had been there because they had shed blood, sweat and tears to be there. They had chosen a Starfleet career and had earned the right to be Enterprise personnel. Then Fate had stepped in, as she often does, and threw him a curve-quite a few curves as a matter of fact- in the shape of Ms. Killian Kelly.

Kirk couldn't help but smile when he thought of her, even after as much trouble as she had been. The girl had spunk, that's for certain. How could he have refused her when she asked...no...demanded to stay aboard? And now, she'd thrown herself free of the last restraints he and Starfleet had put upon her.

The captain stood and stretched then gazed a moment at the image of the starbase projected on the screen before him. James Kirk pushed aside a twinge of disappointment. So, she was with Chekov. He shook his head and a slight smile played at his lips. Mark another one up for the ensign. It was the second time he'd beaten his captain to the punch. The first had been Martha Landon. Who would have thought the tall, willowy blond would have chosen the slight, dark navigator over him...?

"Captain Kirk. Security to Captain Kirk." Lieutenant Garrison's voice shook him from his reverie.

Kirk strode quickly to his command chair and stabbed at the comm button. "Kirk here. Report, Lieutenant?"

"We've found them, sir." The security officer reported dutifully. He had to raise his voice over some sort of commotion, audible in the background.

'Thank you, Lieutenant Garrison. Have Ms. Kelly beamed aboard, please. I'll meet her in the transporter room." Kirk moved to end the transmission and head for the turbolift.

"That's the problem, sir. She's refusing to come back aboard. It seems she's requesting..." The lieutenant paused a moment, as if unsure of himself. " Well, she's demanding shore leave, sir."

" Well, " Captain Kirk said, noticing the amused glances from the bridge crew. "I'll be right down, Garrison. Kirk out."

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How do I get myself in these messes?! Ensign Chekov wondered miserably as he stood in the corridor of Starbase 7, a wall of security personnel in front of him and a very unique, very stubborn girl behind him. He sneezed, noticing with amusement how the red shirts jumped back instinctively. Chekov held up his hands to show there was no need for alarm.

"Shnrrrt!" Shmoo blurted and licked his left ear.

This time it was the ensign's turn to jump.

"Well, well , well. What have we here? Ensign Chekov, Ms. Kelly?" Captain Kirk said after making his way through the line of security. "Mr. Chekov, explain."

Chekov's eyes widened a moment, then he squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. " Ms. Kelly has asked for me to...protect her, sir. As a Starfleet officer, I feel it is my duty to comply."

"Protection?" Kirk asked, fixing the young navigator with a steely hazel stare. "Protection from what...or whom?"

"From this!" Killian Kelly gestured over Chekov's shoulder, toward the red shirted Security detail. "I'm tired of being kept prisoner. I would not return to my time, even if I could, not now. This is the life I've chosen. The Enterprise is my home. I have duties to perform there and I have friends now." She gave Chekov's hand a discreet but firm squeeze behind his back. " I am respectfully requesting my full rights as a member of the Enterprise crew. According to my calculations, I have put in more than enough duty hours to earn a 24 hour shore leave aboard Starbase 7."

James Kirk stood, hands on hips, mouth working. After what seemed, to all parties involved, like an eternity, the captain turned to his security officers and dismissed them with a nod and casual flick of his hand. That same hand reached over Chekov's right shoulder, intending to take Killian Kelly's.

Shmoo had other ideas. He hopped onto the surprised Russian's shoulder and gifted the captain with a long, slurping kiss from the base of his wrist to the tip of his index finger. Then, both the creature and Ensign Chekov sneezed explosively.

"Bless you. " Kirk said, wiping his hand on the front of his now damp tunic.

"Shnuwwzah." The creature snorted happily.

"Thank you. Excuse me, sir." Chekov blushed, wiping his nose as discreetly as possible on his uniform sleeve.

"Enjoy your leave, Ensign Kelly. "Kirk smiled crookedly at her as she stepped from behind Chekov to rescue both the sniffling navigator and her pet. "And you, Mr. Chekov..."

"Sir?":::sniff, swipe:::

He pointed a still moist finger at the young Russian. "Report to Sickbay. Tell McCoy I said to give you something for that cold."

"But sir::sniff, swipe::it's just...ahhh...ahhhh...ahh.." Chekov began to protest.

"Now, mister." Kirk ordered, turning away at the threat of another impromptu shower.

If Chekov considered protesting any farther, he evidently thought better of it and instead struggled to stop another stubborn sniffle. "Yes, sir."

" I'll see you back at the ship." Kirk said then turned with a shake of his head.

oooooooooooooooo00000000000000000000000000000oooooooooooooooooooo

" I see someone's feeling better." Uhura smiled, looking in the direction of a corner booth. She and Sulu sat on stools at the bar of the Starbase Lounge.

"Dr. McCoy prescribed him some allergy medication. " Sulu smiled his usual 100 watt smile. "As long as he takes it, he shouldn't have any more problems." He sipped his saki, occasionally casting curious but discreet glances at the couple in the corner booth." I can't believe he finally found someone as stubborn and headstrong as he is."

As they watched, Killian Kelly put a hand on the back of the ensign's head and pulled their friend into a deep, slow, much anticipated kiss.

Uhura and Sulu raised both their glasses and their eyebrows. "Well," They exclaimed in unison," it's about time!"