Overview of the beginning -
The year is 2025 – post Infinity Wars and their aftermath.
Your name is Namida. It means ‘star dancer’. But when you started living on earth a few years ago you chose the name Y/N to be known by.
Your race possesses a natural affinity for the mystic arts and actively works to develop and promote the use of these skills among its people. Your line is also one of highly skilled warriors, akin to the Amazons. Your life has been spent in the pursuit and perfection of mental and physical disciplines as well as the mystic arts. Many of your kinsmen who have demonstrated proficiency across these areas are scattered across galaxies, choosing to live and serve as part of existing organizations or as free-lancers, mostly disguising their origin. Your race is humanoid, but chameleonlike. While not shape shifters, you appear to others to look like whatever humanoid race you spend the most time with.
Though young, your advanced abilities made you the logical choice for the equivalent of Sorcerer Supreme on your own planet when the need arose. Sadly, after less than a decade “on the job”, your planet was targeted and destroyed. At the time you were fighting alongside a team of sorcerers and superheroes working together to defeat an intergalactic threat. That particular threat was eventually subdued.
You and Stephen Strange had fought alongside each other many times before. The two of you discovered a telepathic connection the first time you met on the battlefield. Ever since then you are quick to join each other whenever you sense a threat and are free to do so, often less out of need and more for the fun of it. Your fighting styles complement each other and you quickly dispatch anything you encounter. He felt it when the news literally hit you. He reached your side and saw it in your eyes before they closed.
Stephen brought you to the New York Sanctum and when the dust was settled, convinced you to stay. Though your earth age is equivalent to the mid-thirties you have not yet attained what your race considers womanhood. This is not unusual in a culture that expends great amounts of energy developing mystic and fighting skills. A human guessing your age would insist that you were at least decade younger.
Stephen understands this. He has rarely encountered one who is as enthusiastic about their duties as you are. Despite what you have seen, you have retained your zeal, enthusiasm and humor. He recognized when he met you that, despite your appearance and skill, you were the equivalent of a human teen. As a result of your youth and early rise to responsibility on your home planet, you have never had a lover, nor has the need or desire for one yet awakened. After knowing you for several years and sharing the Sanctum with you for the recent past, Stephen has begun to secretly entertain hope that when that day comes, he will be the one you choose.
In the early weeks after coming to earth, Stephen notices that you are acting restless and rootless, only coming truly alive in battle. Whereas you were formidable before, now you can only be described as fierce. You seem to have lost your joy. He becomes concerned for your health, as it is taking you longer and longer to recover, mentally and physically. He encourages you to find something outside of battle to interest you. To that end he begins to take you to visit other worlds and other dimensions. It does not take you long to become comfortable with the idea of interdimensional travel for pleasure and entertainment. What Stephen does not realize is that you have an ulterior motive. You are seeking a home.
When the novelty of radically differing planets and dimensions begins to wear off, you develop a desire to visit other versions of earth. Finding nothing to hold your interest for long on any of them, you are about to abandon this little exercise when you somehow discover the Kelvin timeline/earth dimension. This earth intrigues you. It bears the closest resemblance to your own. However, there is no Sanctum in New York here. The mystic arts appear to be held in universal disregard, except by a fringe few. As far as you can tell, Inhumans, mutants and augmented individuals either do not exist or are also staying underground. But the technology is amazing. You set up a meditation/yoga/martial arts studio to generate income and provide yourself a place to live, but you primarily train the teachers. You are seldom there. Your time is mostly spent in your world with Stephen. He is aware of your little hobby and sees no harm in it.
Your fame spreads as your skills and methods become known. You receive an invitation to guest teach at the Starfleet Academy. While doing your research, trying to decide whether or not to accept, you learn about the Enterprise and her crew. Especially Dr. McCoy. The Enterprise is docked for refitting for a month. Dr. McCoy is also guest teaching. You find out that he is known to be a loyal friend with legendary hands and equally legendary intellect. You learn that he too has suffered loss and are curious about how he has dealt with it and what kind of man it has made him. You decide to accept the invitation.
Your access to the Academy both amazes and disappoints you. You find the advancement in technology exciting, but you are disappointed to see that, despite the acceptance of more alien species than you have previously personally encountered on one planet, the attitude toward magic has reverted to that of the middle ages.
Your class is full, your students are motivated. However, your class schedule is the same as Dr. McCoy’s. So far you have only managed to see him in a crowd or from a distance. So one afternoon you decide to give your students the assignment to pair off and work with each other. You need to sit in on his class in order to have the time to find out what you want to know.
Slipping in just before class begins, you take a seat in the back of the lecture hall with a clear view of the man himself. You send out tentative “feelers”, cautious at first. Well, this is new. You are not simply reading his character, you are feeling it. You are aware of a coolness first – that would be his protective walls. They are not hard for you to breach. Behind them is a layer that feels heavy and smoky. Is it insecurity? No, low self-esteem. This is a man who judges himself much more harshly than anyone else possibly could, you realize. That must be hard for normal people to get through. Navigating past that you reach the place where he keeps the love of those closest to him, his daughter, his mother, his friends. It is light and it lifts you, but it is so close to the self-doubt… And beyond that is emptiness. A void. How odd. Pressing through that is what? More protection? This time you feel what is behind it even as you approach. This wall seems tall and imposing, but you can sense that it is as thin as paper. He longs for it to be torn down. Has anyone else ventured this far, you wonder? You blow on the wall and it crumbles. You bravely open yourself completely, absorbing as much as you can. Yes! This is the payoff! This is warmth, this is stability, this is safety. This is a pure, true heart. This feels like – home!
Something else occurs to you. Normally your work requires you to make quick reads. Have you ever had the luxury to take your time like this before? While you are contemplating this, he looks up and notices you. He is too professional to show it. Your awareness comes from a new sensation – a warm tingling in your belly. A gasp escapes before you can stifle it. Now he meets your eyes, which are huge and round with shock. It takes you a moment to come back to yourself. As soon as you are able, you get up and flee the room.
Much later you will discover that he has asked around to find out who you are.
Almost a year passes. You are contacted through your studio and offered an opportunity to meet up with the Enterprise for a short-term mission. You will be working with Security teaching new fighting methods and honing already developed skills. Things have been relatively quiet, mystically speaking. Stephen, for his own reasons, insists that you go.
Dr. McCoy recognizes you right away when you report for your crew physical. You make sure of that. Also magically you adjust your records to read up to date on all vaccinations and cause your vital signs to read within normal human levels. It pleases you to read him and discover that he is attracted to you. But he is not inclined to act hastily. In his mind there is no need to. You are trapped in this tin can together for at least the next six months.
You decide to wait a week to see if he acts on those feelings or if you have to give him a push in that direction.
It takes at least that long before you see him coming down the hallway toward you at dinnertime. Acting quickly you tinker slightly with the emotions of a young man nearby. He begins to make a pass at you as Dr. McCoy gets close enough to hear you say, with a touch of humor in your voice, “Ensign, you do not know who you’re messing with. You might want to back off.”
“You heard the lady.”, McCoy arrives at your side in time to echo.
“Thank you, Sir.” You smile at him as you watch the confused Ensign shake his head and scurry away. “But you might want to watch me in combat training sometime. He was in much more danger than I was.”
“Who said I was protecting you?”, he teases back. “I’m the doctor who would have to fix him if you broke him, remember?”
“Well, in that case.”, you laugh.
He loves the way your face lights up and the sound of your laugh. As if you can read his mind you blush.
“Have you had supper yet?”
“No, Sir.”
“Leonard, please. Since I don’t expect to see you in Sickbay very often, we can dispense with Dr. McCoy.”
“Alright, Leonard. My name is Namida. But you can call me Y/N. Everyone does.”
“Will do Y/N. Would you care to join me?”
“I would be honored.”
“You have a beautiful name. What does it mean?”
“It means ‘star dancer’.”
“How appropriate.”
And that was your first actual conversation. You were genuinely interested in everything he had to say. You made him laugh. He found himself seeking you out in his free time. What you hadn’t counted on was there being so little of that. Between his work as a doctor and your responsibilities, your free time didn’t often coincide. Maybe a little magic would come in handy here as well.
You decide on the one week rule. If you haven’t at least had a meal together in a week you would ‘arrange’ circumstances to give you time to talk. Just when it seems that the two of you are finally forming a real connection, you are chosen to be part of an away team to the surface of a previously unexplored planet.
The team consists of you, Dr. McCoy and four others. You break up into two groups. You are with Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy. As you are exploring the planet’s surface a booby-trap is triggered and Dr. McCoy is shot through the chest.
The story continues:
"What the hell! Where did that come from?", you shout as you and Mr. Spock drop to the ground next to the fallen doctor. Before Mr. Spock can react, you rip open Dr. McCoy’s shirt and place your hand on the fatal wound. The last thing you hear is Mr. Spock contacting the others, warning them of the danger and commanding them to carefully make their way to where you are. Turning his attention back to you, he watches in stunned silence as a blood stain spreads across the front of your uniform.
You begin to heal Dr. McCoy. "Stephen, can you hear me? I need you!", you scream out telepathically. Though you have shared this link with him since you met, you have never tried it at so great a distance. Suddenly the pain overcomes you and you collapse onto the ground.
As Mr. Spock is examining the healed chest of Dr. McCoy who is conscious again and starting to sit up, their eyes are drawn to a large circle of sparkling amber light. They watch as Stephen steps through this portal to find you unconscious. He quickly guesses what happened, though he hadn’t known that you had this ability.
"Who the hell are you and how the hell did you get here?", Dr. McCoy shouts as he watches Stephen drop to your side, calling your name.
"I am Y/N's friend and mentor. She called me and I came."
"I did not hear her call anyone.", Mr. Spock says. "Do you live on this planet?"
"No.", Stephen answers. "Now if you would both shut up for a moment I am a doctor as well and I need to assess Y/N's condition. She just risked her own life to heal you. There are many types of healers in the universe and each one has an accompanying cost. I do not yet know what this will cost Y/N because to my knowledge this is the first time she has used this gift." Tearing your shirt open, he can see that your bleeding has stopped and the wound that you took from Dr. McCoy is closing. He breathes a sigh of relief. You are pale and weak, but you seem to be in no danger.
"What do you mean, you're a doctor 'as well'?", McCoy asks him.
"The name is Dr. Stephen Strange, gentlemen. Don't bother to introduce yourselves, I already know who you are. You", he says, indicating Dr. McCoy, are the reason Y/N is here." Looking at him directly Stephen asks, "Do you love Y/N?"
"How the hell is that any of your business?", McCoy retorts before considering that maybe, just perhaps, it might be. "I, I don't know yet. We were just starting to get to know each other."
"Well, may I suggest that you figure it out fast, because I have to decide what to do with Y/N, allow you to take her back to your ship or open another portal and take her home."
Hearing this Spock and McCoy both point their phasers at him and tell him that he isn't taking you anywhere.
"In that case, I will be coming with you.", Stephen says, gathering you into his arms and standing up.
Just then the rest of the team arrives. The four of you beam up first. The three of them are not far behind.
As Stephen gently places you on the indicated biobed, he just has time to tell Bones that you are not human. You will be fine. Please just allow you to rest until he can return. Then Mr. Spock and a security guard escort him off to talk to Captain Kirk.
Stephen is able to cast a calming spell on the men as he talks to them to ease their minds about him. He explains that he is from earth (partly true). You met off-world while fighting together. Your world was destroyed. You have been living and training together as friends ever since. The two of you are telepathic. When you began to heal the doctor you cried out to him in your mind. He heard and came to you.
“From where?”
“Earth.”
“Impossible.”
Stephen decides that the best approach is the truth. “With the current stage of your technology, yes. With magic, no.” He asks permission and conjures a portal in the conference room to your bedroom above your New York studio.
“And I could just walk right through that right now and be on earth?”, Kirk asks.
Stephen simply nods.
So he does. Mr. Spock and Stephen watch as he walks to the window and looks out. He turns around and opens the closet. Then goes into the bathroom and turns the water on and off before coming back through the portal.
“Now may I go be with my friend, please, Captain?” Stephen asks.
A still stunned Kirk simply nods.
Mr. Spock escorts him to Sickbay before returning to the Captain.
Stephen approaches your bedside. Seeing Bones standing over you, he asks if he can examine you himself and receives permission. He checks you out to his satisfaction. You appear to be in no distress, simply sleeping.
Stephen takes a seat by your bed opposite where Dr. McCoy is standing.
After regarding him silently for a minute he asks, “How are you feeling, Doctor?”
“Considering I was shot in the chest and almost died, pretty damned good. Thanks to your friend.”
Stephen has one of your hands in his and is stroking your forehead with the other. “Since the day we met she never ceases to amaze me.”
Bones takes a seat on the other side of the bed and looks at Stephen. “So tell me, Doctor, do you love her?”
“Of course I do.”
“Come on man, you know what I mean.”
“May I tell you a story, Doctor?”
“I guess I have some time.”
Stephen begins to tell him about how you met a few years ago as your similar duties brought you to fight alongside one another. How impressed he was by your fighting style and fearlessness. How, when, immediately after a particularly intense and prolonged battle over the earth he protects, you discovered that your planet had been destroyed in your absence, he invited you to return with him and you agreed. How the two of you had continued to make each other better at what you do since that time.
“Let me ask you a question. How old do you think she is, Doctor?”
“Early to mid-twenties, I’d say?”
“You are off by roughly 15 years.” He watches Bones’ eyes narrow at him in disbelief.
“The life spans on her home planet averaged 200 earth years.” He leaves out the fact that Sorcerers Supreme can live two or three times that long.
Stephen tells Bones that he has arrived at the point of his story. When he met you, despite your talents and abilities, emotionally you were still an adolescent. You had never been in love. He has observed that in earth’s culture young girls fantasize about falling in love from an early age. He has not found this to be universally true. In fact, in many other cultures, especially warrior ones, the women are surprised when this aspect of their natures are awakened. He has been waiting for it to awaken in you, hoping when it did, you would desire him.
“But somehow, before that happened, she discovered you. I felt the precise moment it happened. It was a Thursday afternoon, the second week of the class that she was teaching at Starfleet Academy.”
“I remember that day.", Bones says, surprised. "I tried to find her after that, but they told me she left suddenly. Family emergency or something.”
“Mm-hmm. She was frightened and confused, didn’t know what was happening to her or what to do about it, so she came home. Damn good thing I can shield.”, he murmurs. “It took a while for her to accept it. Thankfully we had plenty to keep us busy while she worked through denial and anger about the whole thing. I offered to find her a wise woman to talk to, but she does not trust easily. She insisted I was enough. When she had questions, I would try to answer them. When she wanted a distraction, I was there. I told her that just because she was having these feelings did not mean that she had to act on them. As months went by it became clear that she could not get you out of her mind. And that is saying a lot. This woman is a master meditator. Finally, we both realized that if she did not settle this in her heart soon, her lack of focus could put one or both of us in danger. I told her to go. If you were what she wanted, she had to find out if she was what you wanted as well.”
“Mighty brave of you.”, he says softly.
“Hardest thing I’ve ever done. But better than competing with a ghost or an idea for the rest of our lives.”
“Are you telling me that I’m her first crush?”
Stephen narrows his eyes at him. “Do not dare to dismiss this so lightly, doctor. Y/N may be young, but she has seen the best and the worst the universe has to offer. For her to even consider you as a possible mate means that there is much more to you than meets the eye.”
Possible mate? What the hell? Who exactly IS this person, McCoy thinks to himself.
“I am Y/N’s only family.” Stephen answers the unspoken question. “For the past several years I have been her father, her mother, her big brother, her friend and her mentor. I have watched her grow and develop from a delightful, talented adolescent into the most remarkable young woman I have ever known. Were she to choose me as her future I would consider myself the most fortunate man alive.”
McCoy regards your still form for a moment. He sees a beautiful woman. He remembers the way his mood would always lift when you were together. The peace he felt when he was with you. But he realizes he has no idea who you truly are. How could he have been so blind?
Stephen’s tone changes as he begins speaking again. “Hear me, Doctor, I have loved before. And I have suffered loss. And whether you believe or accept it or not, because of who I am and what I am, my life span could likely be twice as long as hers. If I am fortunate enough to find love again - 20 or 200 years after she is gone - make no mistake I will take it because true love is precious and rare. You asked me if I love her. The answer is, I do, in every way possible. But that includes allowing her to find her own happiness. Do whatever you need to do, but you have until she wakes up to figure out if that happiness includes you or not.”
About this time Kirk and Spock come to Sickbay to check on you. Seeing no change, they ask Bones to come talk to them.
“Go ahead, I’m not going anywhere.”, Stephen tells them.
Kirk still hesitates.
“And I’m not taking Y/N anywhere, either, Captain.”
“I believe him, Jim.”, Bones says quietly.
That seems to satisfy him and the three men go to Bones’ office and close the door. Stephen smiles to himself. They really have no idea. But he doesn’t care enough to listen in, preferring to focus on you.
Jim wants to know what happened on the planet’s surface.
Bones explains that he walked into some sort of booby trap and was shot through the chest. He could feel himself dying. You knelt down beside him and put your hands on his chest. The last thing he heard was you crying out in pain. When he came to he was fine, but you were passed out on the ground with Stephen kneeling over you, calling your name. He tried to question Stephen, but he was trying to make a decision about letting you go back to the ship or taking you home. When he said that, Bones told him he wasn’t taking you anywhere and pulled his phaser. That’s all he knows.
They ask how you are.
“Medically there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with her. She just won't wake up. This Dr. Strange person explained that there is a cost that comes with that type of healing. Sometimes it’s just exhaustion – you’ll wake up when your body gets the rest it needs. No idea how long that could be because according to him that’s the first time Y/N has done anything like this.”
“That’s exactly what Spock said.”
“The way this guy talks, Jim. I mean, I know the words, I just can’t make sense of half of them.”
They tell Bones what happened in the conference room. He’s stunned. “So you’re saying he is magic? He told me she’s from another planet. Is she magic too?”
They tell him they don’t know, but they want to ask him some more questions.
The three go back out to your bedside.
Stephen rises when he hears them coming and motions them to a group of chairs on the other side of the Sickbay where he can still see you, but where their voices won’t disturb you.
Bones takes a look at your vitals and orders the lights to ten percent before joining the others.
“We have some more questions for you, Dr. Strange.”, Kirk begins.
“I thought you might.”
“There is no record of you in New York City. Where did you say you live?”
“Gentlemen, your scientific technology is more advanced that what we currently have on ‘my’ earth. However, I perceive that you are not yet capable of inter-dimensional travel, am I correct?”
“You are correct, because that is impossible.”, Kirk says.
“The second time you have used that word, Captain. Might I remind you what happened the first time?”
Kirk glares at him.
Shall I continue?”
“Continue, please.”, Mr. Spock says.
He proceeds to explain that you and he and a number of other trained sorcerers, tasked with protecting the universe from things that most beings do not even wish to know exist, are able to travel between dimensions at will.
“So you’re telling us that you and Namida are sorcerers?”, Kirk asks.
“Sorcerers Supreme, to be precise.”, Strange answers. “The distinction being that the responsibility for the protection of our earth’s galaxy falls to us.”
He goes on to explain that most of these dimensions bear no resemblance to this world. However, being the clever girl that you are, you discovered the dimension that you all currently share – approximately 150 years in time ahead of your own. You became fascinated with it despite, or perhaps because of, its apparent ignorance of and disdain for magic and lack of a Sorcerer Supreme, enough so that you decided to establish an identity here. He had regarded it as a harmless hobby. A diversion. Until you developed an interest in Dr. McCoy.
Everyone looks at Bones. He shrugs. “Hey, I didn’t know. I mean I knew, but… Strange, is there magic that can make one person fall in love with another?”
“Oh, Doctor, would that there were.” Dr. McCoy looks in his eyes and knows he’s telling the truth.
“There are aphrodisiac spells and potions, but those wear off, and there are spells that reveal the truth that someone may be trying to hide from themselves or someone else, but to change someone’s true feelings – that would be some powerful magic indeed.”
“Wait”, Bones continues, “you said that Namida was not from earth. That she comes from another planet. How does she have an earth medical record and human vital signs?”
“That, Sir, requires only the most elementary magic. I myself quickly put a spell on your equipment as soon as we arrived to ensure that you did nothing rash.”
“What! Well you can just undo that spell right now! What if someone comes in here who needs that equipment to be working?”
“As you wish.” Dr. Strange mutters something under his breath and suddenly the alarms on your bed begin to sound.
“You can turn those off. I assure you, she’s fine.”
Bones jumps up and does just that. Looking at the readings he turns back to Strange, “You’re telling me that’s normal?”
Dr. Strange takes a cursory glance. “Hmm, her blood pressure is a little low, but she is asleep after all. I assure you her heart rate, temperature and respiration are well within her normal limits. All the yoga and meditation probably help.”
Mr. Spock asks, “Is she in any distress, Doctor?”
He observes you closely for a minute. “She doesn’t seem to be. Dear god, man, do you know what could have happened if she had lost consciousness and I had to treat her without knowing this? I could have killed her!”
“You forget that I am a doctor as well! And that I care about her as well!”, Strange shouts back at him. “I gave her protection spells and made sure she knew how to cover herself with them and to keep them in place. Even now, any human medicine you give her will have no effect on her whatsoever. If you do not believe me, go ahead, try it.”
The two doctors glare at each other for another moment before calming back down a bit.
“So, you’re telling us she is not human, and she is a magician?”, Kirk asks.
“Sorceress. Sorceress Supreme. Possibly the youngest in any universe or dimension.” He can’t hide the pride in his voice. “Not to mention among the most powerful.”
“And you allowed your powerful ‘ward’, or ‘protégé’ or whatever the hell she is to go traipsing off to another dimension on a whim, just for a chance to flirt with Bones?”, Kirk asks angrily.
“Captain, I can assure you it was not a whim or a game. If you recall, Namida was specifically invited to be part of this mission by Starfleet command. She truly felt that her skills could be of use to your crew. Ask your head of security. I am confident he will tell you they have been. As I was attempting to explain to Dr. McCoy earlier, Y/N has been without home and family for almost three years now. She is only just beginning to experience an awareness of the opposite gender. And you can be sure that I did my research as well before entrusting her to your care. But she has every right to find the answers that she seeks and pursue the life that she desires.
“Let me make something clear to you gentlemen. Regardless of what might have taken place in your dimension to cause you to doubt or dismiss the mystic arts, they exist. We practitioners make it a practice to actively avoid drawing attention to ourselves. We find it easier to do our jobs when we blend in. Y/N ‘blew her cover’, as you say, when she made the decision to save your doctor’s life. From your reactions here today, I am sensing that this selfless decision may cost her dearly.”
“Do you mind telling us what your plans are, Dr. Strange?”, Kirk asks.
“I came here with no plans, Captain Kirk. When Namida called me, I came. Simple as that. When I saw the condition she was in I determined not to leave her side until she regains consciousness. That remains my only plan. As the Captain of this ship I imagine you will be the one to decide if she is to be allowed to stay beyond that. If that is your decision, and hers, I will not interfere. Otherwise we will return to our own dimension as soon as she can safely transport herself there.”
“Wait, didn't you open a door to her apartment back in the conference room?”
“A portal, yes.” Dr. Strange answers, using a tone of voice reminiscent of a kindergarten teacher. “But that was within this dimension. Traveling inter-dimensionally while carrying a body is quite another matter. It can be done, but it is best avoided if possible. Captain, do I have your permission to remain at Y/N’s bedside until she awakens?”
“Certainly, doctor.”
“Thank you. If there is anything else, you know where to find me.”
He returns to your bedside and they watch his whole bearing change as he notices that your color is beginning to return. He sits down on the chair beside you and strokes your hair gently while whispering to you. “You are looking better already my brave warrior. Sweet, selfless girl. I’m right here with you. I’ll be here when you wake up. I cannot wait to hear how you learned how to do this. What other surprises do you have for me, hmm?”
He takes your hand in both of his and kisses it before leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
You stay asleep the rest of that day and night. Late in the evening the next day you feel yourself begin to awaken. You reach out to Stephen with your mind.
“Stephen?”
“Yes, my little warrior. I’m right here at your side.”
“Oh, that’s good. I’m so tired.”
“Well, you did save a man’s life, sweet girl.”
Your eyes fly open to find his. You croak weakly, “I did? He’s okay?”
“Better than you, I’m afraid. Darling, where did you learn to do that?”
But he will have to wait for the answer, because the subject of your conversation, who has been dozing in a nearby chair, jumps up when he hears you talking. He brings you a cup of water with a straw, which you sip gratefully. You give Stephen a panicked look when you see him checking the bioscanner.
“Y/N, darling, he knows. They all know. Did you really think you could keep it a secret after what you did?”
“Which reminds me”, Bones say quickly, “thank you for saving my life, Namida.”
“Call me Y/N.”, she says softly.
“Alright, Y/N, if you’ll call me Len?”
“Alright, Len.”, you say, blushing.
Bones looks at Stephen. “Doctor, I would very much appreciate a few minutes to talk to Namida alone if that’s alright with you. Why don’t I take you into my office and get you something to eat and drink and you can make yourself comfortable there for a bit?”
Stephen looks at you. You send him a silent, ‘please?’. He bends down to kiss you on the forehead. “I won't be gone long.”
Bones escorts him away and is back within five minutes. He pulls up a chair. “You know, that man loves you very much. He hasn’t left this Sickbay since you got here.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without Stephen.”
“Y/N, I’ve heard a lot of things in the last 36 hours. Things that I had never thought about and things that I thought were impossible or didn't believe existed. I don’t think they’ve all sunk in yet. My whole worldview has been turned on its head – again.”
You try to read him, but it is as if his emotions are in a blender. You have to stop trying because it makes you nauseus.
“And then there’s you.” He continues talking. “I look at you and I can’t tell you aren’t human. I can’t tell that you are so much older than you look. I can’t tell that you are a powerful being whose job is fighting evil on behalf of the universe. Hell, I just thanked you for saving my life when for all I know this is only one of many times you might have saved it and I never knew. Darlin’, I don’t know how you found me or what you even see in me, but we aren’t just from different worlds, we’re literally from different dimensions, for god’s sake. And before yesterday I didn't even know that was a thing.”
He takes a breath. You are looking at him with profound sadness, unshed tears in your eyes.
“Say something? Please?”
“You don’t even know me. You haven’t even given me a chance.”, you whisper.
“How am I supposed to do that now? As soon as Captain Kirk finds out you’re awake he’s going to have Dr. Strange take you home. And speaking of Strange, you know the first question he asked me after he appeared by your side?”
You shake your head no.
“He asked me if I loved you.”
You don’t ask.
He answers anyway. “I told him it was none of his business. Then I told him I didn’t know yet. Because you know what? I had already been asking myself the same question. Before we ever set foot on that planet.” He sees her eyes widen. “He gave me until you woke up to ‘figure it out’. Well, darlin’, it just doesn’t work like that. At least not for me. We were just beginning to get to know each other. Right now all I know for sure is if you go away and I never see you again, I’ll never forget you.”
“Stephen.”, you cry out in your mind. “I can’t take any more of this. Please come and take me home.”
He is at your side before the words fade in your mind. You hop off the bed, ask Bones to say your goodbyes, give him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek and tell him not to die. Then you wrap one arm around Stephen and the two of you open the inter-dimensional portal that will take you back to the Sanctum.