"Sam. . ."

"Sam is a nickname long associated to names such as Samuel, Samantha, Sam, and other names that begin with the word Sam. There is no one named Sam in this room except for my name starts with a S and ends with a P which is a common name in my civilization."

"Samantha. . ."

"Yes, I just said that."

He felt a soft small woman hand grab his hand.

"I am here, brother." Came her familiar voice.

Reaper sighed.

"Sam. . . I wish you let me died back there." Reaper said.

"The universe needs you. Jim needs you. Spock needs you." Sam said.

"They don't need me, sis," Reaper protested. "The infant and his pet lizard can take care of themselves."

Spock was silent, listening in, at first.

"Are you referring to the captain and I? You do realize I am still here," Spock reminded him. "The captain is not a infant. He is a full grown human. Now if you are referring to his mental stability . . ."

He tuned out the voice of Spock.

"They can't hear me," She squeezed his hand. "You nearly died back there."

"How many times have I not early died?" Reaper jokingly asked.

There was a pause.

"I can't take you with me."

"Because of C-24."

"Because you are you, and you are a Grimm."

"No, I am a McCoy."

"And McCoy's stick around."

"Sam . . .Why can I hear you?"

"You were severely burned inside and outside. Your brain, heart, bones, internal tissue, and other major organs took the punch. You are barely hanging on."

"So the fact is. . ."

"You are in-between life and death."

"For the first time in two centuries. . ." Reaper had a smile. "It is hell living without you."

"You know I am always there for you, right?" Sam asked. "That's what makes us a great team. Twins are always there for each other in spirit."

Reaper had a pained laugh.

"Doctor McCoy?" Came Spock's voice. "Leonard? Leonard? Leonard!" Spock sounded scared. "Can you hear me?"

The darkness was starting to light up.

"Stay." Sam whispered

Reaper felt a strong force trying to keep him there. His eyes struggled to open. His eyes opened to see Spock checking for a pulse, appearing to be concerned, his remaining hand wrapped up as though it was holding another hand, and his body, oh god, it was covered in burns all over the place. The legs were slowly growing back. All of that remained of them was just the knees. His left arm was gone. All that remained of the arm was the top half of the shoulder. Obliterated but regenerating slowly.

The strong force let go.

"Listen to your sister, Reaper," Came a all too familiar and older male voice. His eyes saw the crystal clear and very much human Sarge. "Your work is not done here."

Reaper felt his heart leap.

If his brain could have jumped out at the moment he saw Sarge, that would have surely happened. It wouldn't have been a pretty picture.

"I forgave you a long time ago," Sarge said. "I wasn't myself back then, we all went nuts."

"Sarge . . ." Reaper said, reaching his imaginative hand toward Sarge's face.

Except.

"Go back," Sarge said. "That's an order from your commanding officer. Go give that Augment a piece of your ass."

His hand never did, technically, Reaper could feel the man's face. It was like he had touched the man's face, for real, clear as day. Except his hand wasn't on his face. It was a strange experience as Reaper felt himself sinking back down. Something warm, long tendril like was bringing him down. He was allowing it to take him back. The tendrils felt oddly comforting and like a gentle anchor. He could feel something bringing him back down to the land of the living. The face of Sarge vanished as did the brightness. For the second time in his life, Reaper had nearly died for the second time. The tendrils let go. He could not feel the tendrils anymore. The shine of the light fixture in his face nearly blinded him. There was a sigh of relief from someone nearby.

Why was Reaper brought back?

He wanted to stay so badly and leave this hellhole.

But Reaper had been given a order.

His eyes adjusted to the scenery.

"Sp--Spock." Reaper could hear his shaky voice.

A nurse came to his side.

"Commander Spock and Captain Kirk left you here to recover." The nurse said.

"Where am I?" Reaper asked.

"You are in the intensive burn unit," Came the nurse. "What is your name?"

Star Fleet knew his secret.

The former crew of the Enterprise knew his secret.

Reaper briefly closed his eyes then he reopened them.

"Tell me, what is the status of Leonard McCoy?"

The nurse lowered her head, sadly.

"Dead . . . He died in the crash landing on Mars aboard the Vengeance. His body was later destroyed due to a internal combustion in his coffin. Quite a shame really, he was a damn fine doctor in the universe."

Reaper cleared his throat.

"John Grimm."

The nurse paused.

"As in John 'Reaper' Grimm? The RRTS survival expert?"

"Yes."

"You are a fan of him?"

"I am him."

'You need rest."

"Sure I do. . ."

To the universe, Leonard McCoy was quite dead, and to the commander and the captain, John Grimm was very much alive.

"Where are you heading next?"

"I am going somewhere, far, far away. . . and I am gonna make someone pay for this shit."

His regrown left arm clenched into a fist as did his right hand.