Labyrinth | Dr. Leonard McCoy

Chapter Three

Emma could see the sun filtering into her room through the window. It shown against her face, almost blinding her, but she didn't care. She laid in the same position and stared up at the ceiling. One year ago her husband had died. It meant one year without hearing his voice. One year without touching him. One year without seeing him. The aching in her heart felt like it might cause her heart to explode. She gripped Chris' insignia tightly in her hand just like she did every damn night as she silently wept. She had no real plans for the day. Her therapist had told her it might be a nice idea to do things that reminded her of Chris on the anniversary of his death, but she couldn't find the strength.

She knew she need to get up. They were only an hour away from arriving to Earth and that would be her cue to leave. She promised her father she would have breakfast with him and then go visit her mom at work. She didn't want too, but she also knew her parents were eager to see her after nearly four months. She sat up in the bed and wiped the tears away from her face. She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, but stopped when she saw herself in the mirror. Her face was tear stained and her eyes were red and swollen.

She grabbed a washcloth and soaked it with cold water before pressing it against her skin. She needed to get rid of any sign that she hardly slept last night. Once she finished getting herself ready for the day, she walked back out into the room and picked her PADD up to check for any messages that required her attention. For the most part there was nothing of importance until the device dinged indicating she had a new message. She clicked on it and read the sender name; Captain Christopher Pike. Emma gasped and almost dropped the PADD. She didn't understand. Chris was dead. How could he send her a message?

With a shaking hand, she tapped the message with her finger. Her heart stopped when his face appeared. He was sitting in their room with his Starfleet uniform on. It was a video of some sort. She hit play and gripped the PADD tightly.

"Emma, I know you're probably confused at the moment. I know I would be." Emma swallowed thickly. Hearing his voice was like music to her ears. "I recorded this message a few months before I'm set to...die and I wanted it to be delivered to you on the anniversary of my death. I can't imagine the pain you must be feeling. I can't imagine how hard this past year has been for you. I just hope you're okay. I hope you've smiled at least once. I hope you've laughed. I want you to be happy, Em. I want you to enjoy life and meet new people and see new things. I know you'll long for me and that's okay, but you have to keep going, for me. Keep fighting. Keep surviving. You have so many amazing things coming your way that I don't want you to miss. I will never leave you alone. You won't see me, but I will always be there. I've got to go now. You're about to get out of the shower. I love you, Emma."

Emma replayed the video twice just so she could hear him speaking to her. It was the last time she played it that she actually listened to what he was saying. He wanted her to move on with her life. He wanted her to be happy. He was asking a lot of her especially given the fact that he wasn't alive anymore to see the anguish she had been living in. It was a mountain of a task he was asking her to complete, but she would try. She would try to smile more and laugh more and enjoy life.

Emma sat the PADD back down on the table and took a deep breath. She felt better. Only a little better, but she was better than she was yesterday and that's all that mattered. She stood up from the bed to gather her things into the small bag Starfleet provided her and walked out of the room. She wanted to beat the rush of people getting off the ship so she could avoid anyone talking to her, but her plan failed when Jim approached her.

"Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?" Jim asked.

"Sorry. I'm supposed to meet my dad for breakfast. I don't want to be late." Emma said and walked past him.