Nothing Will Ever Be the Same

Chapter 18

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at our destination sooner than expected. Thank you for riding with us on Direct Rails, and have a good rest of your day." The announcement was what dragged you out of your trance. You sat up and hurried to get everything together, and Bones did the same. "I'll call a cab." you said when you were off the train. You lived about 15 minutes out of town. Not too far, but too far to walk.

You arrived at your house about 20 minutes later. You stared at the front door of the house, expecting someone to come out and greet you. No one did. You felt a hand at the small of your back and Bones say "Are you okay?" All you managed to get out was "Um, yeah. Come on, let's go inside." You grabbed your bags and lead the way to the front door. When you got there, you just looked at the front door; you made no move to ring the doorbell or knock. You felt Bones grab your hand and whisper in your ear "Go ahead, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, not this time." You took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

A little girl who was about 3 or 4 answered the door. "Hey there. Are your parents home?" you heard Bones ask. You were too stunned to ask yourself; she looked like you when you were little. "Yes, I'll go get my mommy." she said, and waddled away. She still had some baby fat on her. You turned to Bones and said "Bones, you don't think she's my...? Do you?" He cradled your face with his hands, kissed your forehead, and said "Whatever happens, I'll be right beside you, holding your hand." You put your hands over his, closed your eyes, and soaked up the warmth his hands gave you.

"Y/F/N!" you heard a familiar voice say. You gave Bones a 'Give me strength' kind of look, grabbed his hand, and turned to look to where the voice had come from. You saw your mom running towards you and she gave you a hug. You didn't know what to do a first; she looked extremely different than she had 4 years ago. She had more grays in her hair, she had gotten shorter compared to you, and she had gained some weight. You eventually hugged her back, tears threatening to spill over. "And who is this you brought?" your mom asked, pulling away. You didn't answer for a few seconds, so Bones spoke up and said "I'm Dr. Leonard McCoy, CMO aboard the USS Enterprise." Your mom said "Grab your bags and take them up to your room. Leonard, Y/F/N will show you the guest room where you can put your bags. I'll have lunch ready for you when you come down." She then walked to the kitchen and you and Bones walked upstairs. You threw your bags in your room and showed Bones the guest room. You opened the door and found it had been painted pink and filled with clothes, shoes, and the dress-up stuff of a little girl. "You can just keep everything in my room." you said, closing the door and walking back to your room. You sat on the edge of your bed and stared at the wall. You didn't feel anything, but you knew that the emotions would hit you hard later once you knew everything that you missed.

"Come and eat. You haven't eaten for hours. And you need food to have the painkillers injected." Bones said, grabbing your hand and leading you down stairs. You noticed he had his med kit with him and hoped your mom didn't see. You walked into the kitchen to find the little girl sitting at the table eating a grilled cheese and your mom making more over at the stove. You and Bones sat down at the table and you reached for his hand, him taking it and rubbing his thumb over the back of your hand to calm you.

"So, mom, anything happen while I was gone?" you asked, causing her to turn around. "Uh, yeah." she said, putting the grilled cheeses on plates and giving them to you and Bones. She sat down across from you and said "Y/F/N, this is your little sister, Sarah. Sarah, this is your big sister, Y/F/N." Sarah stopped eating and asked "Where have you been?" You smiled a sad smile and said "I have been in space." You wished you hadn't missed the first four years of her life. "How old are you, Sarah?" Bones asked. She counted on her fingers and held up four fingers, proudly saying "I'm four years old." You could tell she was smart. This is the start of something great.

"Why didn't you tell me?" You asked your mom. You were on the couch watching Bones play with Sarah. She had convinced him to play doctor with her. They were playing Starfleet and he had gotten hurt on an away mission. "I was going to tell you. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you. I'm sorry, I really am." she said. You could tell she was about to cry, so you wrapped an arm around her and said "Its fine. I understand." Bones got up and walked out of the room. He came back, sat down beside you, and prepared a hypo. "What's that for? Did something happen? Are you sick?" your mom asked, obviously freaking out. "I'm fine, mom. I broke a few ribs yesterday and I need the painkillers to stop the swelling and keep the pain from getting too bad." you explained. "You ready?" Bones asked you. You nodded and rolled your sleeve up, exposing your forearm. Bones found the vein and injected the painkiller into your bloodstream. You got relief for the pain you didn't realize you felt.

"So, what is he to you?" your mom asked after she put Sarah down for a nap. Bones had gone upstairs to grab something. "He's my friend/boyfriend. I met him on the shuttle to the academy. We were separated for 3 years before I broke my ankle and went to the academy Medbay. I met him there and I met him again on the Enterprise. We got together after we got back to Earth." You knew she was dying to ask questions so you said "Anything else?" "Yeah. Have you two...?" she asked, and you knew what that meant. "Ew, mom, ew, no, ew, no no no, ew, mom, no, ew, ew, ew!" You said, and stood up and went to the kitchen. You grabbed a glass of orange juice.

You were looking out the window when Bones came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist. He rested his chin on your shoulder and kissed you on the cheek. "Are you okay? I know this was hard for you." Bones said after a while. "Yeah. It's just... a lot to take in. In a day. I mean, I have a sister. I knew something was up with my mom before I left. But I thought that it was something we ate the night before. I never thought it would be a baby." He held you tighter and you felt a few tears slip out. He moved around to face you and wiped the tears away. "I wish you didn't have to see me like this. Broken, scarred, a mess." you said.

He gave you a look and said "Lucky for you, I know how to clean up messes. I can reset something that is broken and mend it so its stronger than before. As for scars, I can't make them go away, but I can appreciate them. They show that what tried to stop you only made you stronger." "Thank you." you said. He leaned towards you, you leaned towards you. Your foreheads met, and you closed the space between your lips. You weren't kissing for more than 5 seconds when the front door opened and you heard someone yell "Y/F/N! What are you doing! Who are you? Get out of my house!"

It was your dad. And he wasn't happy to see Bones.