"So Beverly was...?" Conjuctor said, at a loss for words.

"Q," John-Luc finished with a nod. "Yes."

"Daddy," T'fara said. "Where is Mommy?"

John-Luc knelled down to T'fara.

"Mommy..." John-Luc said. "Mommy went off to a better place."

A child wouldn't understand the whole complicated ordeal Q had undergone to save John-Luc. The little girl hugged her father. John-Luc picked the little girl up into his arms T'fara had a makeshift band aid on her shoulder and came to his full level. John-Luc handed Conjuctor a book and told him to read chapter 14.

"For what?" Conjuctor asked.

"To end this mess," Picard said. "Q wrote it with instructions."

"It doesn't sound like neither of us will live," Conjuctor said.

Conjuctor is in his star fleet uniform.

The machine had been upgraded significantly from the last time John-Luc had seen it.

"Don't say that," John-Luc said. "One of you will live and you have to stick onto that hope. Nobody else will face being thrown into a coma and their entire life being drained within hours, days,weeks, and months!" He went right into the machine. "I don't want the next person to die much as you do to power this planet and keep it alive."

"The door won't open to the temple 5,000 years from now," Conjuctor said.

"So?" John-Luc asked,raising his dark brow.

"I wrote something on the wall I haven't written yet," Conjuctor said.

"Effect happens before the cause in non-linear time," John-Luc said.

Conjuctor had a short laugh.

"Of all the men in the world..." Conjuctor said. "Hearing it from you."

Conjuctor rose the bar to the machine.

"Daddy," T'fara said. "I am scared."

"So am I," John-Luc said.

The machine itself is like a metal 'U' built to be a machine yet it had designs similar to the Transporter machine that set the beaming into place. The paint seemed to be fresh and the technology there is way beyond this time. Conjuctor backed away. John-Luc had a bad feeling he will never see Conjuctor again so he held his free right hand up then made the Vulcan hand sign.

Conjuctor did the same.

"Live long and prosper," Conjuctor said.

John-Luc lowered his hand.

In two minutes their surroundings changed to the Transporter room where McCoy and Kirk were approaching. The two came stop a sudden stop visibly surprised to see John-Luc with a little Vulcan girl in his arms. She shyly turned away from the two closing her eyes ever so visibly shaking.

"Mr Pocirld?" Kirk said.

"Yes," John-Luc said.

"Where is Mr Conjuctor?" Kirk asked.

John-Luc got off the platform.

"He is in the past," John-Luc said.

"We thought you had died," Kirk said.

"That's what I thought about Professor Quarty," John Luc said.

"What about him?" Kirk asked.

"This is...." John-Luc looked over to T'fara. "A complicated story."

..2265..

...Sunday 10th...2:10 PM...

McCoy did some blood test to see if the wild story that John-Luc had told was indeed true. It was thanks to Q obtaining an identity, giving fingerprints, and blood samples in his time on Colo was McCoy able to make his deductions. T'fara is on the bed staring at the ceiling. Her eyes are a tint of gray. She had pointy ears. She had the anatomy and biology of a Vulcan that whacked up the machinery above her head.

McCoy came over to T'fara.

"How old are you?" McCoy asked.

"Two," T'fara said.

McCoy looked at the girl.

"Sure you are not four?" McCoy asked.

"Mommy said I was two," T'fara said.

McCoy scanned her with a tricorder.

"It says you are physically four years old,"

"I am two, not four,"

"Well, you must be wrong or time has been changed on you,"

"Well..My big brother took me on some adventures,"

"Big brother?"

"Uh huh!"

McCoy rubbed his face.

"How long were these adventures?" McCoy asked.

"They didn't last long," T'Fara said. "I was always returned to my original time."

"When was the last visit?" McCoy asked.

"Last week," T'fara said.

"T'fara," McCoy said. "Your father...Er...well...Your other father is a woman."

"I don't have two daddys," T'fara said.

"Yes, you do," McCoy said.

"Do not," T'fara said.

"Fine, you have one daddy and one mommy," McCoy said.

"Yay!" T'fara said, cheerfully.

"Excuse me," McCoy said. "Nurse Catherine,stay with the little girl."

"Yes Doctor," Nurse Catherine said.

McCoy left sick bay. McCoy happened to go by John-Luc who was going the opposite direction. Nothing made sense to McCoy about this little Vulcan girl. She had to be at least four years old, not two! She didn't babble as many four year olds do but she was intelligent and rather strangely wise to chose her words. McCoy entered Kirk's quarters.

"What is it, bones?" Kirk asked.

"That kid,Jim," McCoy said. "She is four years old."

"So?" Kirk asked.

"She claims to be 2," McCoy said. Kirk raised his brows taking a sip of his drink. "I have checked and rechecked my equipment regarding her DNA."

Kirk put down the cup on the table.

"Let's hear it," Kirk said.

"She is the daughter of Pocirld and Professor Quarty," McCoy said.

"He changed his gender," Kirk said.

"But that is impossible," McCoy said, pacing back and forth. "She claims to have an older brother. But we know Trelane is Q's son so it makes sense to me that Trelane has been taking this little girl on 'long' adventures and returning her back to the moment he picked her up. She hasn't even noticed she has aged!"

"Wow," Kirk said. "Why would Trelane take his little sister?"

"I feel that it is wrong for a little girl to not know how old she is," McCoy said. "And her parents haven't noticed!" He came to a stop. "I believe he just took the little girl to mess with her mind. She is growing, learning, but refusing to believe she has aged in these unaccounted for adventures."

"Not close to being funny Trelane is," Kirk said. "I just realized Officer Pocirld just lied to me about Q's whereabouts for the two years he was on that planet."

"What story did he tell you?" McCoy asked.

"That Q found a pocket of his power and used to create a female for him during his Pon farr," Kirk said. "It seems Q had a bigger involvement than Pocirld has said." He leaned back in the chair. "I can only guess what Q did was for Pocirld's benefit and his life."

"That does sound logical," McCoy said.

Kirk snickered.

"Damn," McCoy said. "Spock is contaminating me."

"We are all contaminated by Spock," Kirk said, amusingly.

"If you were in Q's position and it were Spock," McCoy said. "What would you have done?"

Kirk paused, for a long time.

"Depending on the circumstance and the range of the power," Kirk said. "I would do anything for my friend."

McCoy smiled.

"I thought so," McCoy said. McCoy turned away then exited. When he was coming back to Sick Bay he saw Spock. "Hey Spock, I warmed the captain up for you!"

Spock raised a brow.

"Warmed him for what?" Spock asked.

"You, of course," McCoy said.

McCoy walked past Spock who seemed to be curious as to what the Doctor meant. The Vulcan lowered his brow then went after the direction of Kirk's quarters. He had one question on his emotion free mind. A Vulcan can be curious enough to solve a crime just like he did with the Ben Finney case. McCoy hadn't answered Spock coherently but only said it was for him. The humans always puzzled Spock.

The most interesting human to Spock was Kirk.

Spock came into Kirk's quarters.

"Hello, Spock," Kirk said. "What brings you here?"

"Why are we still in orbit around Scottyia?" Spock asked.

"Because I have a gut feeling we have to wait a little longer," Kirk said.

"One hour and fifteen minutes ago you wanted to leave," Spock said. "The retrieval of Pocirld and his child should have been acceptable for you."

"Well," Kirk said, apparently caught by his words. "Did you get any messages from the Federation?"

"They have asked regarding Professor Quarty's transport," Spock said. "And I have told them it has been a rocky ride."

Kirk smiled.

"You just lied to the Federation," Kirk said.

"No," Spock said. "I did not. I just went off your gut. Assuming if Professor Quarty is still alive."

"I will note in my log that you got along quite well," Kirk said. "We will wait until 3, and if he doesn't come back, then we'll return to our original course and inform Star Fleet Professor Quarty has sadly fallen to a disease that made him into dust."

"The Poxy Dust?" Spock asked.

"Yes," Kirk said, with a nod.

"Not the way I pictured him to die," Spock said.

"How did you think he'll die?" Kirk asked.

"A very old and lonely man without his companion," Spock said.

The words stood out to Kirk. Kirk, somehow, knew he would die alone. Without the ones he cared about most. The friends he had aboard this ship. Kirk didn't really show how it affected him to Spock. Some people died alone. Being alone was the worst thing in the entire place in the entire universe. It would seem like no one gave a two cents about you. Nobody cared.

"Wow," Kirk said. "That is deep."

"Not as deep as we are in space," Spock said.

"How do you picture yourself to die, Spock?" Kirk asked.

"Surrounded by my accomplishments and those I have gone to known," Spock said. "I foresee my death would be quite..." He raised a brow. "Content. I feel I would rather die as a old vulcan with his mind together."

Kirk smiled.

"You will be the lucky of us," Kirk said.

Spock raised a brow.

"How do you picture yourself to die,Captain?" Spock asked.

"I can change my future," Kirk said. "I can die manning my ship instead of some 'nexus' because we both know that is not where I am staying at for the rest of my life."

"Indeed," Spock said, with a nod.

"You know..." Kirk said. "If I die first, you'll know it."

"Pardon?" Spock asked, raising a brow.

"I'll make a whole ordeal over it!" Kirk said. "You'll try to logic it out but you won't." At this point Kirk is standing up. "I will make every known sign that I know of to show you that I am still there."

"If I die first," Spock said. "You would be alerted first."

"Ah Spock," Kirk said. "You are so sweet."

"I see that as offensive," Spock said.

"I was kidding," Kirk said.

...Transporter room...

....2265..Sick Bay...3:00 PM...

McCoy was staring at the DNA results when he heard Nurse Catherine's startled scream. The power briefly went out then it hummed back to life. McCoy looked up from the computer toward the source of Nurse Catherine's scream. There lay a body of Q on the biobed that showed his health as comatose.

McCoy's eyes widened then he went over to the communication device hooked into the wall.

"Sickbay to bridge," McCoy said.

"Yes Bones?" Came Kirk's voice out of the box.

"Professor Quarty just appeared in sickbay in a coma!" McCoy said.

"Turning around," Kirk said. "I hope Star Fleet is going to be happy they have a coma man in their hands. Kirk out."

About fifteen minutes later John-Luc came into Sick Bay. T'fara is back in his room playing with her new founded toys that did not consist of some weapons. They were play toys for average four year olds. John-Luc had told the girl himself how old she is. The reason they hadn't told her is because they believed it was part of her Vulcan side instead of these impromptu visits by a unexpected relative. John-luc and Q wanted to believe she wasn't just growing fast before their eyes. She should have been aging rather slowly. They refused to accept that she was growing fast as a human.

John-Luc only accepted it when McCoy told him the truth.

He felt hurt at what Trelane had yanked out of her life.

The first words T'fara ever said was 'Daddy' and 'Mommy' the last few words were 'dirty'. In fact they had been dirty as they had been fleeing from a group of mad Scottyonians wielding weapons and made mad accusations. It was a stormy night. The two had laughed shortly after the crowd had passed them right past a fallen group of trees. John-Luc and Q had laughed covered in mud. Then T'fara made her first words. It was the best day a parent can ever ask for.

Now the problem about those mad Scottyonian's was resolved by the authorities taking their hand into their business as they had wondered off into the king's forest and it was strictly forbidden they did so. Their rather unlikely punishment was slave service to the king in the great mines on the other half of the world. They never showed up again near the gigantic kingdom again. The last John-Luc heard the mob had either perished, fled, or were still working as slaves.

John-Luc came over to Q's side then down into a chair looking down upon the man concerned.

"His mind is...gone," Came McCoy's voice. "The trauma his brain was under had been very...severe. He is lucky whatever happened spared his life."

John-luc looked over to McCoy.

"Professor Q is still alive," John-Luc said.

"But his mind is gone," McCoy said.

"There is still hope he can come back," John-Luc said, turning back toward Q.

John-Luc, the man he is, showed a rare moment of affection by taking Q's hand and squeezed it.

"If he does come back..." McCoy said. "He might be rendered not so bright as he used to be."

Along Q's neck are branded by red marks.

"What do you mean..." John-Luc started to ask but he couldn't finish it.

"He might be a different person whenever he comes to and wakes up," McCoy said. McCoy puts one hand on John-Luc's shoulder. "I am sorry."

John-Luc smiled.

"He will be Q," John-Luc said. "I am prepared to face the hurdles that lie ahead for me."

McCoy took his hand off John-Luc's shoulder.