Of Stars & Sorceresses {A SupernaturalxStar Trek Crossover}

Chapter One

Chapter One

Catherine McCoy was lying in her bed, waiting patiently for her alarm to go off. She had one arm flung over her eyes so as to block out any excess light in the room, and the other resting over her stomach. She tried to focus on the sound of her breathing, and how each time she inhaled her stomach rose, taking her arm with it. She tried to focus on the ticking of the clock, and the sound of the sheets crinkling as she shifted around. She focused on every small sound that came her way so as to ignore the deafening silence.

            Catherine was accustomed to hearing the raspy breaths of her husband, Leonard, and feeling the warmth of his body next to her. Now, she was alone, and the only breathing she could hear was her own, and she felt unnaturally cold. Leonard had received an emergency medical call in the middle of the night and had to leave to go take care of it. Catherine hadn’t really paid much heed to it four hours ago, when he had received the call (she was still half asleep when it had happened), but now, as she lay there alone, she wished she would have given him a hug and kiss farewell, even with the knowledge that she would see him shortly. She sighed. She missed her husband.

            Ten minutes later, the blaring of her alarm pounded against her eardrums. Groaning, she flung the covers off of her body and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Despite the fact that it was early, she was almost comforted by the obnoxious alarm; it put noise in the room. Yawning, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and and then, reluctantly, switched the alarm off. Once again, the room fell quiet, and she let out another pitiful sigh.

Why am I suddenly feeling so needy? she thought to herself, frowning. She wasn’t typically like this. And yet, she wasn’t altogether surprised by it either. She and Leonard hadn’t had much time together as of late. Both were insanely busy with their jobs on the U.S.S. Enterprise, and the only times they really got to see each other was in passing during the day and before they crawled into bed, completely fatigued, at night. Though she saw him everyday, Catherine felt that months had passed since she had truly spent time with the man she married.

Letting out a grunt, she stood to her feet and padded to her dresser, where she pulled out her red uniform. Folding the clothes over her arm, she made her way to the bathroom to get ready. She laid the clothes on the toilet seat and turned on the shower. The hot streams of water hit the metal flooring like tiny bullets, and Catherine couldn’t help but smile to herself, comforted by the sound it made. Even the sound of her own movements made her feel more relaxed.

After running her fingers through her knotty bedhead and undressing, she stepped under the hot water. Normally, morning showers woke her up and made her feel invigorated and full of energy for the day ahead. And yet, today, it only made her sleepier. She sighed again. Why do I feel so oddly out of place this morning? she pondered. Nothing is different about today. It’s just another normal day. What is wrong with me? I can’t stop moping, I can’t seem to wake up, I don’t feel very motivated to go and work...what’s causing it? Why don’t I feel like me?

She didn’t need to think very hard to find her answer. Leonard. Of course. She just really missed her Leonard. And so, with a determined nod, Catherine decided that she would make it point to spend more than five minutes with her husband today. Perhaps she would ask to have lunch with him. Or, she would try to stay awake longer after he finished work. Whatever she had to do to get time with him, she would do it.

By some miracle, Catherine managed to wash without opening her eyes (which still felt like bricks). Water dripping down from her hair and through her eyelashes, she fumbled around for the knob that would turn the water off. Upon finding it, she twisted it. Cold air immediately hit her, and goosebumps traveled all up and down her arms and legs. Shivering, she grabbed her towel and dried off, taking extra care to squeeze all the water out of her thick hair.

She sat on the ground for a few minutes, warm in her towel, fighting off the sleep that was so intent on claiming her consciousness back. Eventually, she found the strength to stand and get dressed. She pulled her makeup bag out of one of the drawers and pulled out all her necessary supplies before plugging in her blow drier. Then, she ran a comb through her hair until every last tangle had been unraveled. Letting out a long breath, she balled her hand into a fist and rubbed it counterclockwise against the mirror, clearing away the steam so that she might see herself. And, when she did, she screamed into her towel.

In place of her dark brown hair was springy, strawberry curls. In place of her tanned skin was a ghostly white complexion and a spray of freckles. And, instead of her familiar brown eyes, she was met with a pair of ocean blue irises that definitely did not belong to her. Looking down, she realized that her uniform didn’t quite fit her either. It was baggier than usual. Glancing back up at the mirror, she brought a hand to her face. Her reflection did the same.

“Oh..my...”

She didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence, for there was a furious pounding on her door. Letting out a squeak, she flinched and covered her mouth. What on earth do I do? she screamed in her head as she approached the door. How do I play this off? What on earth is going on? Is this some kind of sick nightmare? Am I still asleep? What-? The actual-? WHAT-?

Taking a deep breath, Catherine braced herself and opened the door.

Standing out in the hallway was the person who possessed the dark features she had been expecting to see in the mirror.

“Catherine?” the person in the hall said. She spoke with a Scottish accent.

“Astrid?” Catherine yelped in disbelief.

“Am I dreaming?” Astrid, who looked like Catherine, said.

“No,” Catherine, who looked like Astrid, replied. “Am I?”

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Astrid, who looked like Catherine, suggested, “but I think, by some freaky magic er somethin’, we swapped bodies.”

Catherine, who looked like Astrid, nodded. “I hate to say it...but, I think you’re correct.”