I'm not entirely too sure how I wanted to go about this chapter, and even though I think it's an okay chapter, I'm not 100% if I like it or not. We'll see. Yes, I know, I'm sorry, the grammar sucks, I'm not great with it and never have been. And also, it hasn't been edited fully.

xxx

"What do you mean I'm in space?" She could hear what they were saying, obviously, but her brain was refusing to wrap itself around the idea that she wasn't on Earth anymore. Ellie frowned then, "Am...am I hallucinating?"

It would only make sense if she was.

But if not.

Then she was on the verge of a full blown panic attack, and if someone didn't give her some semblance of normalcy in this insane, impossible situation that she was in, she will snap.

The one called "Bones", introduced as the Chief Medical Officer, and the one in yellow, who had been called "Captain" numerous times exchanged looks. Looks that Ellie could only describe as being full of concern.

Or maybe it was pity.

"What's the stardate?" Bones' southern drawl piercing through Ellie's thoughts, causing her to jump. She looked at him weirdly.

"Star...date? What's a stardate?" She asked, feeling both confused and the beginnings of frustration.

Apparently so was Bones. She didn't say anything but she did see the way his eyes rolled, and the muscles of his jaw flexing under the taught skin. He sighed at her, "What's the date, darling?"

"March 8th, 2024." She replied, shrugging.

Ellie understood that when someone hits their head, questions to determine whether or not a brain injury had occurred will be asked. She understood that quite well, but what she couldn't understand was the way that the questions were being asked and why their look of concerned to become even more so.

That...is what bothered her.

Again, they exchanged that same look.

It made her feel worried, and uncomfortable.

Frustration surged through her; this was getting to be ridiculous. "Okay, so I get the need to ask these questions, but what's going on? Why the weird looks?"

"Well," Bones began with a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. It appears that you may have hit your head a lot harder than you think, darling."

Ellie sent him a look that was a mix of confusion and a glare. Frustration was mounting at a quick pace and she was just waiting to explode out on him. He may have been a handsome man, but what terrible manners. She crossed her arms over her chest, "What was that supposed to mean?"

"Because it's 2262, not 2024."

She just stared at him with an incredulous look on her face. There was no way. She opened her mouth to say something, closed it, but then she spoke again, "I beg your absolute pardon?"

Before anyone could even respond to her question, Ellie began laughing uncontrollably. She doubled over, barking out a mix of coughs and laughs, she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Bones said something to her, but she wasn't paying enough attention to hear him properly; though, at the same time, right at that moment she couldn't really care what was said to her.

After a few long, awkward moments, Ellie eventually regained some of her composure back as she used the collar portion of the paperlike material of the gown she wore and wiped away the tears that had formed.

"Have to say, you guys almost had me there." A few more coughs and giggles and more wiping of the tears from her eyes. "This is either a dream, I've been abducted, or a very elaborate joke that was put on by the dentist that I usually work with. So come on out guys! Jokes over."

"I know that it must be a shock, but you are here and now." Jim said, and it made Ellie pause. Her heart dropped and stomach churned. He sounded so sincere.

"I mean, sure, it would be." She replied, slowly beginning to back away from the two men. "If it wasn't some sort of joke that is now not as funny. So, the act is up, where's the dental team I work with? Where's Doctor Williams at? Hey Mike!"

Now it was Bones who grabbed what looked like a fancier version of an Apple iPad, pressed a few things on it, before he turned the screen towards her. She saw that it said 2262 on it, but...

"People can change that."

Bones and the Captain threw their hands up in the air and scratched the back of their head while they moved away from her. "Okay, Bones, do you think she's good enough to come up to the Bridge?"

"I don't think so, Jim. It'd be too much for her."

"I know I'm short, but I am standing right here."
Both men turned to her, Jim gestured to her, Bones gave him an unimpressed look. "Great, I'm going to have to go up too, ain't I?"

"That's the spirit Bones." The captain grinned as he smacked the Doctor on the shoulder and came back towards her. "Follow me, er..."

"Ellie. Ellie McKay."

"Ellie, follow me." He turned to leave but she remained where she was, giving him a look as well. "What?"

"If you haven't noticed, Captain Kirk, I'm not exactly wearing appropriate clothing that should be worn outside a hospital type of setting. I know my scrubs were destroyed by...whatever they were...but I need to wear something that doesn't make me think that a slight breeze and everyone will be getting front row tickets to a show they never paid for."

A grin formed from ear to ear and he laughed, "You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

Ellie's jaw dropped, she was surprised that it didn't go through the floor with how fast it dropped. The audacity of this man, this supposed professional. "Please tell me you're joking?" She looked towards the Chief Medical Officer, "Is he joking?"

She watched as Bones shook his head, rolled his eyes, and turned away from her to go into another room. After a moment, he came back out and handed her a black pair of pants and shirt, mumbling for her to pull the curtain back and get changed.

Ellie didn't miss the way that Bones glared at the captain, shaking his head at the man as she pulled the curtain closed.

It only took her a couple of minutes, but she was surprised on how much her body ached from that little bit of exercise she was doing earlier. It was then that she also realised that her head throbbed, her stomach churning with nausea. Before she only ignored it, figuring that it was only the stress of being in the situation that she was in, but now that she was actually focusing on her body and the pain she felt.

It surprised her.

"Okay, I'm ready." Ellie stated as soon as she pulled the curtain back, and wished she hadn't. Jim's eyes skimmed from her head down to her toes, a smirk, a very arrogant one, might she add, made its way onto his face.

"For a visitor's uniform, you sure do make it look good."

"Oh my God..." Ellie breathed, feeling like she was on display. "Has anyone ever punched you in the mouth yet, Captain?"

"Not for awhile no."

Her eyes turned to Bones when he scoffed. "Can we just get going so I can come back here and look after my other patient's, Jim?"

"I second part of that question." She snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. This man was beginning to really scrape her nerves to hell and back and the last thing she wanted was to stay anywhere near him.

Jim seemed to have deflated as he looked between her and Bones and just said okay. With the swish of the door closing before and after them, Ellie practically had to jog to keep with him.

"Where's the fire, Captain?" Ellie gasped out once they got to a T-junction of the floor they were on. Jim looked back at her with slight confusion but also annoyance.

"If you were a part of Starfleet, you'd have to call me captain, but here? You can call me Jim." He turned for a split second for hit the 'up' arrow and then turned back to her, "And what do you mean?

She still didn't know what Starfleet was, sounded like a title to a science-fiction movie – or novel – but she decided to keep her mouth shut as she muttered his actual name this time. "You were moving like your life depended on it."

He nodded to her, realisation dawning on him. "Sorry, used to being in a rush."

"Yeah, I bet." She muttered to herself but knew that Bones had heard her. "Where are we going again?"

"To the bridge."

"Alright." Like that made sense to her. As all three of them filtered into the elevator, they remained silent for the minute long journey up to the floor known as the bridge. When the elevator stopped, the door opened, and they were greeted by someone stating that the captain was on the bridge.

But that was such a distant thing at the back of her mind, away from what she was now seeing and thinking about right in that very moment. Ellie's jaw dropped for the second or third time that day as she stared out to the breathtaking view in front of her. Sure, the room was pretty decent too, but that didn't compare to the scene that was on the...screen? Window? Ellie didn't know, but at that very moment she could care less.

It was still beautiful.

"Wow." Ellie breathed; her eyes fixed on the beautiful scene before her. It gave her calm, peaceful, and yet dangerous vibes as she stepped a couple of steps past the captain's area and leaned on the railing that was directly to his right. She remained quiet for some time, but soon, panic was bubbling to the surface, as she was beginning to grasp the gravity of the situation now.

Ellie stepped slowly back, acting as if the railing burned her. "No...no...no, no, no, no." She brought both of her hands up to her face, hiding behind them, she was starting to freak out. Normally, she was a pretty calm person, but that was before she finally understood that she wasn't just a long way from home, but a long time as well.

"This isn't happening. This...this can't be. H-how is this happening?! How did I get here?" She was beginning to hyperventilate and she was pacing. She grabbed onto Bones arms as she looked at him with bewilderment – like she was going crazy. "I-I can't be here. This isn't possible. Oh, my freaking God...I'm in space...This...this isn't a joke – oh, I'm feeling a bit..."

The voice of Bones echoed through her mind as darkness seeped through the corners of her vision. The stress, as the medical officer predicted, was too much for her to handle, and she was beginning to lose the battle of staying alert and in the presence. Her breaths came out shakily, and she stumbled. She couldn't focus on anything except for the darkening abyss that was going to swallow her whole.

And within seconds her body went limp and she fell forward. Thankfully; however, she didn't drop completely to the floor as Bones quickly caught her in his arms.

What a way to finish off a Friday.