Chapter Text
The next year, very nearly to the day, after Jen’s ordeal with the Tiam-Na terrorists, the Enterprise and her crew were back in the system. Even without apprehending the rest of the terrorists, the Enterprise crew was cleared to begin assistance. They had implemented a number of new policies and had delivered supplies that the Tiam-Na would need in order to literally rebuild their society. They promised they would be back in a year to survey and assess progress. Any further need for assistance would also be determined with the follow-up meeting.
Jen had gracefully taken back her post as Captain in that time. She remained in close conference with Sulu because he’d gotten quite attached to the post. The two talked quite a lot about Sulu pursuing his own Chair. Jen was all of the idea because she had great faith in his abilities. Sulu, on the other hand, was a little wary because he didn’t want to split up their family. This warmed Jen’s heart immeasurably. She told him that part of the function of families was to be supportive of their endeavors, though, and that if he really wanted to pursue his own Captain’s rank, she would support him the whole way. He thanked her and said he would keep her posted.
The night before they were scheduled to meet with Lowk again, Jen didn’t sleep well. She was anxious for the meeting; most of the crew were told that she was excited for their progress, but everyone really knew why she was restless. They were just decent enough not to confront her about it. Bones had decided to spend the night with her to try and help her stay calm. He’d brought a bottle of whiskey with him and they’d had a couple drinks. Bones tried to keep conversation light and succeeded in distracting Jen long enough to get her to settle down and cuddle with him. A couple hours later, though, she was up again and pacing her quarters.
She sat at her desk and tried going over some files and made sure all necessary documents were in order for their visit. After she’d gone over everything twice, she decided to try reading. She curled up in one of her big, comfy chairs with a book she’d started the week prior and began to read. She ended up reading the same paragraph over six times before sighing angrily.
From the bed, Bones stirred and raised his head to look at her. He was bleary-eyed and his hair was a mess. “Jen, come back to bed.” He beckoned to her and waited patiently. Smiling, Jen put her bookmark back between the pages and crawled onto the bed. Bones lifted the blankets and, as soon as Jen slid beneath them, drew her into a tight and warm embrace.
“Can’t sleep, Bones.” she said as she nuzzled his neck and tried to relax.
“I can fix that. If’n you want.” Jen loved how thick his accent became when he was drowsy. She smiled but shook her head.
“I don’t want a hypo. Can’t chance sleeping through the meeting.”
The doctor snuggled impossibly closer to her, putting his knee between hers, and slid his hand under her shirt. His warm and skilled hands caressed the flesh of her side and back. “S’not what I meant, darlin’.”
Jen shivered as Bones bent to kiss and nip at her neck. She hummed in appreciation and rolled him onto his back, swinging her leg over him. “What did you have in mind, Doctor?”
Bones smirked at her. “I was thinking a little…” He stroked up her thighs and teased her skin just under the edge of her shirt. “Physical activity might help clear your mind and help you sleep.”
She pretended to consider the option and then leaned down to kiss him hard. “Sounds like it might do the trick.”
The man beneath her furrowed his eyebrows. Jen was confused for a moment before he spoke again. “I won’t settle for ‘might do the trick,’ darlin’. We’re gonna have to do this until it works.” With that, he flipped their positions and Jen squealed with delight. “I’m a scientist, after all.”
“Well, then,” Jen sat up slightly to remove her shirt before stretching out and putting her arms above her head. “Proceed. For science.”
An hour or so later, they were both sound asleep. Bones slept solidly the rest of the night. Jen, however, only managed a couple hours of sound sleep before the nightmares started.
It had been at least five months since Jen had had nightmares about her experience. But with the impending meeting with the species, if not the specific people, who had tortured her, it could really not surprise many people. Bones lay next to her, unaware of the turmoil going on inside her brain. Fantastical events played out in her head about being a captive. The visions were so vivid and realistic that Jen truly began to believe that she had never made it back to her ship. There was only one aspect that tipped her unconscious mind that she was dreaming.
Peesh had referred to Leonard as “Bones.”
With a violent start and a loud scream, Jen sat bolt upright in bed. She was breathing heavy and flailing slightly in the bed clothes. Her surroundings were immediately alien to her but very soon she remembered where she was. It also helped that Bones had sat up when she did and was trying to comfort her. The blood surging through her veins had made him difficult to hear at first but his voice slowly filtered through her terrified haze.
“Jen! Darlin’, you gotta breathe slow! Calm down for me, baby, please! Jen, please, I’m begging you! It’s okay. Breathe slow for me. You can do this. Come on, darlin’.”
Against his better judgment, he crowded into her space and ran his hands all over her. Luckily, it had the desired effect of calming her. She sagged into his arms and turned her face to hide in his naked chest. Then the tears began. Sobs wracked her body and all Bones could do was hold her. He eventually tipped them back into the pillows and cradled her against his chest. After a little while, the sobbing stopped and Jen was left with tiny tremors from herself and whispered comforts from Bones. He wasn’t going to try and say anything else until Jen said something first. Bones placed careful kisses along her brow and into her hair. All that came from Jen for the time being was sniffling and nuzzling closer to the man.
“I’m sorry.” Jen whispered.
Bones leaned back from her a little to look into her eyes; they were wide, red-rimmed, and glistening in the low light as she looked up at him. “What for?”
“For waking you.”
Bones tried not to laugh because he knew it would be taken the wrong way. Instead, he moved in for a kiss. “Don’t be stupid.” She smiled against his lips, grateful for the endearment. “It’s been a long time since you’ve had nightmares.”
“Yeah… But I figure it’s just because we’re back here.” Bones nodded his agreement and kissed her again. “Thanks, Bones.”
“My pleasure, darlin’.” As she settled into his arms to try and sleep for another couple of hours, he whispered a heartfelt, “I love you.”
“I love you.” she whispered back.
The rest of the night passed without incident and Jen woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly well-rested. She assembled her landing party and they met at the shuttle to get dressed and go to the surface. Her hands shook as she guided the shuttle to the surface but no one was foolish enough to mention it. When they landed, everyone affixed their masks to their faces and waited for Jen to give the order. She jumped up and down, shaking out the last of her nerves. Spock was giving her a questioning eyebrow, but Bones stepped between the two and put his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him, imploring, and he simply leaned his forehead down to rest it on hers. That was all it took for Jen to be ready to face her fears.
The party waiting to meet them included, first and foremost, Lowk. He stood there, tall and official looking as ever, smiling. Jen strode forward, mirroring his smile. They shook hands. Again, she looked the picture of control and the crew wondered how she did it. Bones knew she could wear her Captaincy like protective armor and she was entirely in her element.
“It’s very good to see you again, Captain. Especially after how our last meeting went. You look very well.”
“I feel very well, thank you. You look just as well. And I couldn’t help but notice that your city looks fantastic. Shall we discuss exactly what’s been going on this past year?”
“Of course. Come with me; we have space and refreshments prepared for our talk.” Lowk lead them to the embassy building and to rooms they had been in before. They chatted lightly about some minor advancements made within just the embassy because the heavier announcements would be saved for the presentation itself. Jen’s crew all sat together opposite Lowk’s people at a grand table.
“First and foremost, I want to let you know that we apprehended anyone who had any connection to the terrorist group that was behind the attack a year ago. They have all stood trial and we would gladly allow a Federation trial to occur, but all of them are sitting in our prison. They will never again see the light of day. And I wanted to tell you that myself.”
“Thank you, Lowk.” Her voice broke a little as she thanked him, heart swelling with gratitude.
Lowk smiled warmly and nodded before moving on. He laid out exactly what they had done with the Federation provided assistance; they’d been given a not-insignificant amount of money to work with in order to jump-start their economy and they had done wonders with it. Lowk also said they were in a position to start paying that money back to the Federation. They were presented with a slide show of before-and-after pictures of the best and worst parts of their nearby city as well as some quite a ways away. Everything looked so much better. Lowk was even able to report a massive jump in public well-being, quality of life, and economic status. The lives of the Tiam-Na had turned completely around and “could only get better from here.”
“I can safely say that I am very impressed, Lowk. What you’ve done here is truly remarkable and I could not be more proud of everything!”
“We couldn’t have done it without you and your Federation. I cannot thank you enough for everything you’ve done for us. We are immeasurably grateful and I…” he faltered and settled for fixing Jen and her crew with large, happy eyes. “Thank you. Thank you all. For everything.”
Jen stood and extended her hand. “It’s the least we could do for such a worthy cause, Lowk.”
For a moment, they simply basked in the success and gratitude of one another but then Lowk moved on with business. “I have files for you to send to your superiors to show our progress so that they know your efforts and their money were not wasted on us.” Jen laughed and thanked him. “We will also set in motion the option for an off-world trial, Now, I have one more thing to show you, Captain. Will you come with me?”
“Of course.”
They walked out of the room and Jen was overwhelmed by what she saw. She stopped in her tracks as she saw Kendok standing with his sister Drahlana and, the final captive she’d spent so much painful time with, Staffenek. They all smiled at her and Drahlana put her hand over her mouth to stifle an excited noise. A sharp, triumphant laugh left Jen's mouth before she could help herself and she strode forward. Kendok stooped to pick her up in a hug and she wrapped her arms tight around his neck.
“I’m so happy to see you!” she said into his shoulder. Happy tears slid from their eyes as he put her back on the floor. She wiped at them briefly before moving in to hug Drahlana. She also stooped down to hug Jen and they squealed their delight. Finally Staffenek hugged her tight, picking her up as well.
“It’s so good to see you, Jen!” he said as he put her down. “We were really worried about you, but when we got word that you had survived… I can’t tell you how happy we were.”
“You saved our lives, Jen. We can’t thank you enough for that.” Drahlana grabbed her hand and held it between her much larger ones. Jen looked between all of them, utterly pleased, and then she looked back at her crew; her family. She was very nearly perfectly happy in that moment. For once, everything had worked out and all the people that Jen cared about and befriended had made it out alive.
They promised that they would keep in touch with Jen and she promised the same. The data was sent to Starfleet and the Enterprise crew left the Tiam-Na, feeling a little better about life in general. That night, Jen slept very well beside Bones because she knew she had done something right. She had helped save lives and helped better a society. On very few occasions had Jen ever felt so worthwhile, but she knew now that she could truly do anything. Bones kissed her soundly, reminding her that he loved her and they slept, knowing that even if the next adventure brought violence and terror, they would survive.