Labyrinth | Dr. Leonard McCoy

Chapter Five

Emma could not believe she was standing on a Starbase, awaiting to walk inside a Starfleet ship as an official crew member. She swore to herself a year ago that she would never step foot on a damn Starfleet ship again. Especially one that her husband died on. It was almost comical. Just almost. Somehow she convinced herself to accept Jim's offer as Chief Science Officer. She didn't know why and she couldn't explained the 'why' either. Maybe she was just born to be a Starfleet officer. Maybe her story wasn't over. She didn't know. She just knew she needed to be on the Enterprise.

Her parents weren't exactly thrilled when she told them, but they understood at the same time. Their daughter had worked incredibly hard for the position she was in. She had felt since she was married to the Captain of a ship that she needed to work harder to prove to anyone that nothing was being given to her just because of who her husband was. She had been respected by most of the crew, but there were always a select few people who whispered behind her back. She just chose to ignore them and keep her head up.

However, she kept her head down when she walked onto the Enterprise. She knew people would be surprised by her presence and she wasn't ready to talk to them yet. She just wanted to get settled into her cabin and report to the lab. The realization hit her that she never stayed aboard a Starfleet ship alone. She always shared a room with someone whether it was her parents, Nyota or Chris. It was an odd feeling. Emma didn't mind being alone. She lived alone for six months after Chris passed away. It just served as a reminder that her husband was dead.

The room was larger than what she was expecting. There was of course a bed and nightstand, but there was also a small living room to the side with a fireplace. She had a large window with a view of the Starbase as well. She ran her fingers along the soft blanket that laid at the corner of the bed and stopped at the uniforms folded up. She swallowed dryly and picked it up. There was a time in her life she had been so excited to wear it. However, she was a different person than she was when she first joined Starfleet.

She threw her bag on the bed that contained personal items such as hygiene products, a few pictures and some more causal clothing that could be worn on her days off. She began to unpack everything before changing into her uniform. It felt foreign against her skin as she looked at herself in the mirror of her bathroom. She was incredibly uncomfortable. She kept pulling at the hemline of the uniform and then she couldn't decide what she wanted to do with her hair. She finally decided to just leave it down.

When she stepped outside of the bathroom, she went to sit at the edge of the bed. She leaned over and picked up one of her favorite pictures of Chris. He was sitting on one of their horses at their home with a large smile plastered against his face. A stray piece of hair had fallen from his perfectly kept hair and Emma thought he looked adorable. She ran her finger along the glass and sighed deeply.

"What the hell am I doing here, Chris?" She whispered to herself. "Give me a sign I'm doing something right."

"Kirk to Commander Pike." Her communicator sounded on the side table.

Emma sighed and set the picture down before picking her communicator up. "This is Commander Pike."

"Welcome back aboard, Emma." She swore she could tell Jim was smiling on the other side. "Can you meet me at the science division once you're situated? I want to introduce you to everyone."

"I can do that. Pike out." Emma said and stood up.

Emma figured she knew most of the people at the science division, but a lot could change in a year. She was sure there were new faces. She could not help, but wonder what had already been discussed about her. Were some of them happy she was back? Were they worried she was a ticking time bomb due to her grief? Would her grief permit her from doing a good job? She felt like she was a young cadet having to prove herself all over again. She could do this, she kept telling herself. She had been through worse. However, she wasn't expecting a group of almost 100 people waiting for her.