Thank you to everybody who has read or reviewed so far. We are now at the end of our story. Will Jim and Spock actually make it to the altar without anything else going wrong? We shall see.

The title from this chapter comes from a line of the Backstreet Boys song In a World like This.

Chapter 5: Salvation Through the War

Spock is not surprised to find James sleeping on the couch. Even by Vulcan standards, Jim would be considered sleep deprived considering his minimal sleep over the last 3.2 days. He is surprised to find Davida Marcus McCoy sleeping in his arms.

James is so exhausted that Spock is able to extricate the five-month-old without him stirring. Ms. Marcus-McCoy is a different matter altogether.

Spock was thankful for the fact that he could use his touch telepathy to pick up on the fact that Ms. Marcus McCoy would like a diaper change and to be cuddled. He only needed to watch a demonstration video twice before he was able to successfully change the diaper.

"Well you can do diapers. I'm impressed. You even knew to put the old diaper in the diaper genie self-washing pouch instead of throwing it away like I did my first time when Peter was a baby." Jim said from behind him.

"I assumed you were still sleeping." Apparently, he had not quieted the infant quickly enough.

"I've been a starship Captain too long to sleep through any sharp blaring sound or a baby being removed from my arms." James explained.

"I doubt we will need to contend with an emergency alert here."

"I hope not, anyway. One near-death experience this week is enough."

"I am inclined to agree." Spock responded.

"I promise I'll go back to sleep completely curled around you as soon as we can get Davida down again."

"Should we leave the bassinet here or take it into our bedroom?" Spock asked.

"Let's keep it in the living room. I'm pretty sure between your hearing and my light sleeping habits we will be able to hear her." Of course at that moment Ms. Marcus-McCoy started to scream. "We will definitely be able to hear that. Maybe milk will help. Bring her into the kitchen and I'll heat up a bottle."

"Ms. Marcus McCoy is not particularly in need of nourishment although she would not be averse to more milk. The 'good stuff' because it reminds her of her mother that she misses terribly. I assume the good stuff is breast milk." Spock stated.

"You're good at this. Although it probably helps that you can read minds." Jim smiled, grabbing one of the bottles out of the refrigeration unit. One of the small ones because apparently Davida just wanted a light snack because it smelled like mommy.

"I will be able to do something similar with our own children."

"I wanted to talk to you about that eventually, but after some actual sleep. But this is as good a time as any. I was offered the vice admiral position at Yorktown." Jim told his fiancée.

"Because your heroic actions earlier today?" Spock asked

"Technically that was yesterday. You're slipping." Jim teased as he started to warm up the bottle in warm water.

"I'm still recovering. You are considering not accepting the position?"

"Recent events have shown me that despite the vast quantities of star mapping, the life of a starship Captain is never boring. I definitely never thought we would solve the mystery of the long-lost Franklin." 'Or encountered the ship's mentally unstable former captain.' Spock added mentally.

"Recent events have made you rediscover what you like about your current job?" Spock asked for clarification.

"Yes. I love exploring new worlds and bringing new cultures into the Federation. I love learning about different people. I love protecting people, especially those I care about."

"I feel similarly, unless kidnappings are involved." Spock added.

"I hate the more bureaucratic parts of my duties and I realize that if I take a desk job or at least the Starfleet equivalent of a desk job that would be mostly what I would be doing. I think that would drive me crazy."

"I do not think you would be well-suited for a desk job." Spock said, honestly.

"But I kind of want this too." Jim said, pointing to their goddaughter, resting against Spock.

"Heating up a bottle at 3:28 AM for your goddaughter?" Spock asked.

"Looking at you being all sexy cuddling our child as you try to get her to fall asleep again. Although it would be extra great if you were shirtless right now." Jim smirked at him.

"I believe the section of skin recently regenerated would be irritated by the cold air." Spock remarked.

"I'm pretty sure that won't be an issue in a few days." James joked.

"I am equally conflicted." Spock acknowledged. "I enjoy what we're doing with Starfleet. But as you are well aware, I also feel a need to help my people more directly than I have in the past."

"You also have a need to be a good son to a guy who whose standards are ridiculous and wants grandbabies right away even if he is diving straight back into fatherhood. You know if he wants grandkids so much you could always just give a sample to the endangered species DNA bank program." Spock was positive James was serious, despite the slightly flippant tone.

"A viable alternative, if I believed that anybody would want a multi-species child other than us." Spock honestly believed no one would considering the fact that Spock had to obtain the legal assistance of his stepmother to gain use of the genetic materials bank for himself.

"There has to be someone else out there in the universe that would see the added benefits of having a little human DNA in their child for the sake of genetic diversity." Jim said, taking the bottle out of the warm water and testing it on his wrist to see if it was the appropriate temperature for Davida. Finding it still too cool, it went back into the warm water.

"Even if you are right and the utilization of the bank would allow me to contribute genetically to the continued existence of my species, it does not address the issue of my desire to raise a family with you." James responded by kissing him.

"This is why I love you." Jim said pulling away. "So obviously we are at the same impasse and we are not sure which road we want to take. Well, at least were on the same page. I kind of would love for a sign to point us in the right direction."

"I went through Ambassador Spock's things while you were out." Spock told his fiancée.

"I'm pretty sure I told you that we would go through it together - especially considering you're supposed to be on bed rest. See, this is why neither one of us can do a normal desk job. We hate sitting still."

"I understand your concerns, but I hoped that he left me something that would give me clarity." Spock explained.

"Do you have that now?" Jim asked.

"The fact that there is a picture of the entire crew together at least 20 years in the future, tells me that my counterpart stayed with Starfleet for a very long time." The fact that picture was on his person when he passed through to this time signifies how important these people were to his counterpart.

"Circumstances were different." We were never lovers, at least never publicly.

"I was not a member of an endangered species." Spock said out loud because he wasn't sure how much James knew about that.

"You and I never hooked up - at least not in an 'until death do us part' sort of way, complete with legal documentation." He did not realize James was aware of this. "Also, from what I managed to get the old guy to spill with the aid of chocolate and painkillers, our Enterprise children were born years later, under different circumstances and sometimes with different parents. Sometimes change can be good. You know, for a guy who said he didn't want to interfere, he had a big mouth sometimes."

"Ambassador Spock left us a letter."

"Of course he did." James said as he tested the bottle a second time. Apparently was at the correct temperature, this time.

"And a wedding present." Spock told him.

"I'm glad somebody shopped early." The 'because he did not survive until the wedding' was left unsaid.

"Indeed."

"What did the letter say?" James asked.

"I did not read it yet. I felt it was more prudent for us to read it together as it was addressed to both of us." Because I needed your presence to be able to open the letter.

"Give me Davida." James reached out his arms for the little girl. "I'll get a little milk into her while you read the letter. Your voice always makes me nice and sleepy."

"Last week you said my voice always made you desire carnal activities." Spock said as he handed over the baby.

"And those activities make me sleepy. Totally true."

"I do not think..." James placed two fingers to his lips.

"Just read." And so, Spock did as instructed once James was sitting comfortably in the chair next to the bassinet.

Dear James and Spock:

I am pleased to hear of your engagement. For all the negative changes in this timeline, this one has brought balance to it. Love is a wonderful thing and should be cherished. I am pleased that you discovered that significantly earlier than I did.

Unfortunately, I do not believe I will be able to attend your wedding. Not because seeing you join together would be painful, but because my time in this plane of existence is limited. We all die eventually, some of us more often than others.

Do not be saddened by the end of my journey, but celebrate the journey itself. I have lived through lifetimes, finding pleasure and sorrow in each. I must acknowledge that death itself is less daunting the second time. Then again, I have experienced more loss in the intervening years.

Let life be your own journey. Take the path you choose not the path that others expect you to choose. Your life is your own. Make your own path even if you must cut the brush down yourself to create it.

To my younger self, do not concern yourself with pleasing our father, but with pleasing yourself. Do not become obsessed with being the perfect Vulcan. There is no such thing. Become the perfect you. Although, keep in mind that what was perfect for me is not necessarily perfect for you.

Do not feel compelled to return to the colony because you believe you must take my place now that I am no longer among the living. There are other ways you can help our people without physically being there. Find your own path.

I do have a wedding present for both of you. I have brought very few things with me from my own timeline. I never expected it to be a one-way trip to a different timeline. One is a picture of my crew, the last one of us all together. The other is a pocket watch that once belonged to my Jim's grandfather. It was left to me after.

The watch seems a most appropriate wedding present. It should rest with a Kirk anyway.

I wish you happiness, joy, and hope on your journey together - despite how illogical wishes are. May you find your own path and walk along it together for many decades to come.

PS: If you wish to still explore the galaxy and raise a family simultaneously, might I suggest the diplomatic corps.

"Sneaky, meddling old bastard." Spock heard James mumble under his breath.

"You are displeased."

"No. The diplomatic corps is actually a good idea. I'm surprised I didn't think of it. See the universe and make the Federation a better place without getting shot at. Things are less likely to go horribly wrong, after first contact. It's something to look at."

"Yet you are looking at the watch in the box dubiously."

"Because that's a watch that I have not seen since I was a little kid. Frank, being the bastard that he was, sold Grandpa Kirk's pocket watch instead of giving it to me like he was supposed to. That's the reason why dad's convertible ended up in the Iowa Gorge before Frank could sell it."

"Now you have it, you will be able to give it to our children someday." Spock placed the watch in his hand.

"Are you okay with that being farther down the road? Because as much as I miss Bones and love spending quality time with this little munchkin," James nuzzled Davida's hair with his nose, "I don't think I am ready to be vice admiral of Starbase Snow Globe. Actually, I don't think I want to be an Admiral at all anymore."

"I understand. I too believe we have goals that need to be accomplished before we take a more domestic path." Spock intertwines his fingers through James'.

"As long as I am with you, I don't care how long it takes. Whatever we do, wherever we go, we do it together."

"Even if it's to the New Vulcan colony 5 to 10 years in the future?" Spock asked.

"Yes. Although, please remember, I sunburn easily and one of these days I am going to punch your dad. I don't know when, but it will happen." Spock knew that his fiancée was entirely serious in this regard.

"I have no desire to move back to the colony long term." Spock acknowledged being entirely honest.

"But we could always use some of our vacation time to go and build houses on the colony." Jim offered.

"At present, most structures are completed. However, they do need experienced programmers and coders to rebuild the Vulcan cultural database as well as to locate relevant data that may have been stored on off planet servers."

"Which is something we can do from…" James stopped speaking as a frown appeared on his face. "God, I almost said Enterprise. We don't actually have a ship anymore." What James was really saying was they didn't have a home anymore, even their current accommodations were just temporary.

"Considering they are offering you a promotion, it is logical to conclude that you will have a ship again." Spock stated trying to reassure his lover.

"Or they're giving me a desk job because they don't trust me with the lives of 800 people. At last count including us, only 93 people survived. I don't like those numbers."

"According to the latest email update from the recovery team, nine crew members were retrieved from the other side of the planet, bringing the survivor rate to 102."

"Still not good numbers." James lamented as he gently rocked Davida. Apparently the young child only wanted a small amount of milk.

"Furthermore, because you activated the Theta protocol only essential personnel were aboard Enterprise. There were only 300 crew members on the ship when it was attacked and no minors." Enterprise did have four minors on board, ranging from age 13 to 17.

"And now I'm okay with the regulations being readjusted to teenagers and young infants onboard starships."

"You will receive a new commission and I will be at your side." Spock affirmed.

"This is totally why I fell in love with you. You always believe me when I'm not even sure if I believe in myself. I want to marry you, which will be happening as soon as we can reschedule it. It will probably not be anytime soon because it's going to be a busy couple of days." Spock was certain that James was already mentally calculating how long drafting the many letters to send to the families of fallen crew members would take.

"I am not averse to that plan. I still want legal affirmation of our relationship." Spock placed a kiss on James' check.

"Dammit! I just realized we have to find another wedding location since our current site has the Franklin sitting on top of it. Although, in good news, we won't have to deal with dozens of diplomats because the base is not secure enough to host them. So you know, silver lining." James stated as he placed a now sleeping Davida in her bassinet.

"Hopefully, because of that Starfleet will not be involved in planning our second wedding. I am not opposed to taking point this time." Spock said, leading James to their own bedroom a few moments later after they were certain Davida would not start crying again.

"Good. I think you're more likely to be able to tell them go to hell when they try to get involved again without them realizing you're doing it. I rather not deal with a Starfleet diplomatic wedding again. Also, as wonderful as your father's offer was, I also say no to an outdoor wedding in the hot desert. No desert weddings for us anywhere."

"What did you want?" Spock asked placing James on the bed.

"Well, my dream wedding is no longer in the cards because our bridge is now in pieces on Altamid." Jim said sadly from the bed.

"You wanted to get married on the ship?" Spock asked, laying beside James.

"It's where we spent most of our time together. Or we did, but it's gone now." Despite the darkness of their temporary bedroom, Spock could see the moisture in James' eyes.

"Really, I don't care as long as the only ambassador in attendance is your father and even that's optional."

"The amount of ambassadors present?"

"Your father." James said with a yawn.

"Noted." Spock said as he wrapped himself around, James. Thankfully, his fiancée was asleep within minutes. That's when Spock formulated a plan to give James the perfect wedding sooner rather than later.

December 24, 2264

"Why are we going out to eat on Christmas Eve?" Jim asked as they walked through the restaurant district of Yorktown. It had been a crazy couple of days and they were probably only getting a reprieve because the Federation still recognized Christmas as a holiday and everything usually ended early the day before. Jim was looking forward to spending time with his friends or at least not being cooped up in a Starfleet office for hours on end.

However, Jim would've liked to do it at one of their apartments and not at a restaurant. "I know we never did it right in the Kirk household, but Christmas is supposed to be a homemade apple pie type of holiday when you can pull it off."

"Because I've been repairing the security system on Yorktown for the last three days and I don't have the energy to do anything beyond undoing my nursing bra for Davida." Carol quipped, and Jim is pretty sure Davida giggled in her arms.

She was still dressed as a baby elf from their earlier trip to have her picture taken with the Starbase Santa and giant stuffed polar bear. Yes, Jim had pictures of Spock holding Davida in front of said stuffed polar bear. It was adorable.

"They didn't need to know that. I could've cooked." Bones told his girlfriend.

"Between shifts? You've been living at the hospital for the last two days." In the last two days, 6 more people have been found on Altamid. As they were not in the best shape, the doctor had been kept very busy.

"Thankfully, I get the next 36 hours off. Maybe I'll do Grandma McCoy's pumpkin bread pudding for a holiday brunch tomorrow. I'm so glad Davida is too young to wake up at the crack of dawn for presents." Bones suggested. Jim will not find out because he's planning to spend quality time wrapped around his fiancée.

"We could have cooked. The apartment that they moved us to is pretty big. I think we could've pulled off a dinner party for 12."

"14. My father and stepmother are still here." Spock corrected.

Jim didn't get why the ambassador was still on planet. Since the wedding was canceled, he was sure they would be leaving soon. Actually, he was surprised the ambassador didn't leave after lunch a day and a half ago when Spock told his dad that he wasn't moving back to the colony and grandkids would not be happening for at least six more years. Sarek seemed to take it slightly better than when Spock turned down a sabbatical to help reestablish the Vulcan Science Academy two years ago. Father and son didn't speak for six months after that incident.

Jim wondered if things were going better this time because Jim asked Sarek about what qualities made a good Ambassador and expressed interest in joining the Federation diplomatic corps at some later date. Jim was seriously considering a second act career change. Despite what happened on Teenax he is usually pretty good with diplomats (as long as they weren't at his wedding) and negotiations.

"When would you have had the time to cook?" Carol asked returning him to the present. "How much time have you been spending with Paris?"

"Not a lot. We've mostly been involved in teleconferences with Starfleet San Francisco about what happens now." Jim explained.

The two hour long debate on whether they should publicly announce what happened to the Franklin and therefore rewrite the Starfleet history books was the highlight of the last two days. It was decided that the world will know what happened to the Franklin, but the part about the Captain siphoning off the life force those he captured to stay alive for a century, destroying the Enterprise for a bio weapon, and then trying to employ said bio weapon on Starbase Yorktown would be kept very classified. Typical Starfleet, but it's probably best that cadets not be introduced to the concept of their captain turning against them and the Federation until at least the third year.

"I heard that the ship being constructed here is now going to be the Enterprise 2.0." Bones said as they kept walking. There was talk about that as well at one of his meetings today, but Paris told him an official decision would not be made until the 26th.

"That still just a rumor at this stage." Jim responded as they kept walking. "Even then we are all going to end up with interim assignments for six months to a year."

"Well, we're going to see the new ship in a few minutes regardless." Leonard explained. "The shipyard bistro has one of the best Christmas Eve spreads on Yorktown and thanks to saving the entire base, we were able to get a table for 14 plus a high chair for Davida."

"Wait, shouldn't it be 15?" Jim asked. "Scotty said he was bringing Jaylah." For the sole purpose of Jim letting her know that he got her a spot at Starfleet Academy. He was going to have to explain to the Starfleet Academy computer engineering department chair every single vulnerability in the Kobayashi Maru program, but it was worth it.

"It is still 14." Bones answered. "Chekov is not coming. He said something about calling his parents. The news about what happened has just broke planet side. They were concerned. You know the media only ever gets the story half right." And if Jim was doing the math correctly in his head, it was already Christmas there. This is going to be an awful Christmas for the 192 families that lost people aboard Enterprise. It would've been so much worse if the ship was fully staffed when attacked.

Jim is not even surprised Chekov is not going to be there. He signed off on transfer papers for a position on the Hamilton an hour and a half ago before being pulled out for a very Enterprise Christmas dinner (without Enterprise) and a Santa Claus run. It's probably better this way. Jim really hopes that Pavel finds whatever he's looking for as a lieutenant aboard the Hamilton.

At that moment Demora runs past the group with an exhausted Ben chasing behind her.

"Is Demora wearing her flower girl dress?" Jim asked vaguely remembering picking that thing out a couple of months ago during the chaos of wedding planning for his poor wedding that wasn't happening.

"Have you ever tried to dress a five-year-old? They have minds of their own. And since the dress was ready, she decided it was the perfect thing to wear." Sulu explained when he caught up to the rest of the group.

Jim would have totally believed that if he didn't see Nyota and Kristen making out in their bridesmaid dresses in front of the restaurant. Also said restaurant instead of being decked out in Christmas colors was decorated in the colors originally intended for the wedding. The normally busy restaurant was empty except for the wait staff and it looked like it was being prepared for a party of 100+.

"Okay what's going on?" Jim asked.

"Surprise! It's a wedding for 12 and a reception for 120." Nyota replied sheepishly as Spock father and stepmother arrived.

"I'm sorry we are late. Why do they call it morning sickness when it hits at seven at night?" Alexis said wearing her maternity dress that he knew Kristen picked out days ago before everything went to hell. Now he understands why Sarek did not leave yet.

"Obviously, the term was coined by someone who had never been pregnant." Carol stated from the sidelines. "It's fine. We just got here and were still waiting for our officiant."

"And they're still trying to explain to me what's going on."

"You asked me to re-plan our wedding and I have re-planned the wedding, albeit with significantly less people in attendance." Spock explained.

"12 is definitely less than whatever amount we had before." And all of them were people, Jim actually liked or at least respected. Ben was cool and Sarek wasn't glaring at him anymore. Bonus points for that. Again, it probably helped that Jim was thinking about a diplomatic career post Starfleet. "I wasn't expecting the redo wedding to happen the day before the wedding was originally planned."

"That's because it's much easier to plan a wedding for 11 plus an infant, especially because most of the things for the first wedding were not destroyed by the Franklin." Kristen explained. "The flower arrangements were all ready to go anyway. We had to do a wedding just so they would not die in vain." Kristen added pointedly."So we are getting married here at this restaurant?" Jim asked.

"No, but the reception will be taking place here. Although I am not able to marry you on the bridge of our former ship, we can get married underneath our future ship." Spock said, pointing to the ship being constructed outside of their window.

"We don't know for sure if the ship in front of us will be the new Enterprise." It is highly possible that Starfleet would want to replace their flagship. There's been several Enterprises, what's one more, but there's no guarantee that Jim will be her Captain.

"Technically, she will be Enterprise A." Jim heard Commodore Paris say as she approached the group. "And you will be her Captain once construction is completed."

"I thought they weren't deciding that until after Christmas." Jim said slightly astonished.

"Consider this a wedding present or Christmas gift if you will." Really Jim shouldn't be surprised considering he did sign his now former navigator's transfer papers earlier. If Enterprise really was gone for good, there would be no need for him to sign the papers. Central Command would have taking care of all the reassignments and none would have required Jim's permission.

"Thank you." Jim said, shaking the hand of the Commodore.

"Now I believe I have a wedding to perform." That makes sense, considering Paris was originally to officiate their giant diplomatic wedding. Jim is personally happy that it is now a much smaller affair.

"We have to get the grooms dressed first." Kristin said pulling out a garment bag from who knows where. Jim is pretty sure Spock leaned heavily on Kristen to put this together so fast, but he wasn't complaining.

Considering how many things had gone wrong with this wedding up until this point (deadly bridal shower gifts, losing the ship for the sake of a killer bio weapon, his navigator kissing him in a Hail Mary attempt to get Jim to call off the wedding, and Spock almost getting killed by shrapnel), the ceremony itself actually went very well. His suit fit perfectly and the tie was not missing (that happened at his mom's wedding to asshole number two). Spock looked extra hot in his suit, and ambassador Sarek did not make snide comments about his son getting married in human attire.

Also, Sarek did not object, during that part of the ceremony. Jim was half convinced that Sarek was going to bring his preferred Vulcan female bride to the ceremony. Instead, he proudly gave Spock away to him. He even told him how proud Amanda would have been to witness this moment.

Okay, Jim may have cried a little bit when Bones stood in for Jim's missing family. The man really was Jim's good brother. Jim wondered what Winona would think of Spock. He hoped that his mom would be happy that he found someone who truly loved him.

Demora made a beautiful little flower girl and thankfully she did not lose the ring. That happened at Sam's wedding to Arlene, which should have signified that marriage was going to crumble, eventually.

She did throw her flowers at her 'Auntie Nyota' because somebody (Uncle Chekov) told the five year old that if she did that, then Nyota would be the next to be married. Of course she did this during the actual ceremony. Honestly, Jim is just glad that she didn't toss the flowers at Carol. That would've been awful.

Jim was happy to be getting married with just his actual friends there. He was happy that this private moment between him and Spock would be shared with people they really care about. Seriously, who wants to chat up diplomats at their wedding?

Of his core friends, only Scotty was missing because he decided to volunteer to watch the ceremony from the viewing window so he could ensure the reception was ready. (Chekov wasn't there either, but only a masochist would go to the wedding of their crush and his now former Navigator was not a masochist).

Spock's wedding vows were also beautiful. It didn't surprise Jim at all that the Vulcan elected to write his own vows.

"I pledge to cherish you always whether it be in times of strife and in times of contentment." Spock said as he placed Jim's ring on his finger. He is really glad they remember to pack those in their luggage because Jim would be really sad if this ring would forever be buried in the wreckage of his fallen ship.

"I pledge to share my strength, knowledge, and love with you. I pledge to be there for you in good times and bad. I pledge that there will be no secrets between us. My mind and heart are open to you always. You are my balance. You are my center. You are my heart. I pledge to be part of you from now until death and even beyond."

Maybe it could've been construction dust, but Jim is almost positive that Spock's eyes were watery. Jim's sure were. Thankfully, Kristen did her best woman duties and handed him a pack of tissues. Bless her.

"Unfortunately, I didn't know this wedding was still happening until about 42 minutes ago and my original wedding vows are located on a PADD that's probably somewhere on Altamid. So I'm just going to have to wing this." Jim said, which caused Kristen to giggle.

"I love you." Jim said as he began to place a chain containing Spock's ring around his neck. Long ago, they decided that Spock would not be wearing a ring on his hands because of sensitive Vulcan fingers and science is dangerous. Jim was perfectly okay with the arrangement.

"I've never loved anyone else like I love you and I pledge that I will continue loving you in good times and bad and we have already gone through a lot of bad together. We have to stop having near-death experiences." That line also got a few more chuckles and an 'Amen' from Bones.

"I pledge to stand by your side in good times and bad, in sickness and in health. I promise to support you in all things. I promise to talk things out, instead of reacting badly. I pledge to keep no secrets from you. I promise to keep my heart and mind open. You are my heart and I am yours from this day forward until my last breath."

"I would prefer that you not have another last breath." Spock said, wiping a tear that was running down Jim's cheek. Jim is really crying more than he wanted to do during this.

"I also promise not to die again if I can help it. I expect the same from you." Jim said, leaning over to kiss Spock.

"Of course, T'hy'la." Spock responded in between kisses."

"We are not at that part of the ceremony yet." Paris said with an annoyed look on her face.

"Are you kidding me? It's a miracle they held out this long." Nyota remarked from beside Spock.

"Sorry." Jim pulled away sheepishly

"By the power invested in me by the United Federation of Planets, I now pronounce you lawfully wedded spouses. Now, you may kiss." At Paris's words, Jim pounced on Spock." They kept connected at the mouth until Jim couldn't breathe anymore. Now this was the perfect wedding.

Well, it was perfect until the reception when Kristen decided to give the unedited version of how she and Nyota managed to get Jim and Spock together in the first place as part of her wedding toast. His father-in-law was giving him the eyebrows of death right now and his lovely little flower girl just asked her two dads what a Pleasure Seeker 9000 was. Maybe his wedding was just perfect for him. He didn't care because Spock's fingers were still laced with his and Scotty had made the high proof eggnog.

December 24, 2268

Jim Kirk was having one of his not so great Christmases. It was not as bad as taking his mom off of life support 9 years previously, but rescuing six Vulcan toddlers from a slave ship was definitely in the top five. Mostly because there were more than six children on the ship, but the slavers killed half before they were able to get on the ship. They were trying to get rid of the 'evidence' before Starfleet intervened. Obviously they failed miserably. They also all resisted arrest which was why they were all detained in the morgue instead of the brig.

Now Dr. Margarita Cruz (the ship's CMO, psychiatrist, and a general practitioner in her own right) and Spock were assisting with the children, who were now safely tucked away in the Sickbay of Enterprise. At the same time, Jim and Lieutenant Uhura-Klucking were looking for evidence regarding what the hell happened. (After getting married last June, Kristin took Nyota's last name, happy to be rid of the Marcus name for good).They were currently going through the laboratory that was obviously set up to be some sort of baby factory.

"Those are definitely gestational pods." Kristen remarked from beside him.

"So they're not using kidnap victims as gestational carriers."

Jim wasn't sure how he felt about that. On the one hand, he was relieved that they weren't going to have to deal with more victims, especially victims who suffered forced pregnancy at best and sexual assault at worse in addition to captivity. On the other hand, that meant that the children in the Enterprise's Sickbay never felt the loving touch of someone who cared about them. That can be dangerous for someone who can easily pick up emotions. The children on the ship were merely chattel, bred to go to the highest bidder and that was disgusting.

"If you were running an evil baby making enterprise, why would you use live gestational carriers when incubator pods are so much more convenient. Not to mention less likely to kick you in the balls." Kristen quipped angrily as she scanned each child for life signs. "Also easier to kill when things go south." Of course, at the science officer's dark words her tricorder started to beep.

"I'm picking up faint life signs from gestational pod 31 X despite the fact that they cut off life support. But we got to get the baby out of there now. The pod is losing its synthesized amniotic fluid." The science officer's voice was filled with urgency.

"Kirk to Enterprise. I need a doctor down here now. We have a fetus in a gestational pods that we might be able to save."

Dr. Willow was down there in seconds. She was Dr. Cruz's number two, but the one more qualified for situations like this. (Jim brought her over to Enterprise after his interim assignment on USS Endeavour during the Enterprise's reconstruction). Despite not having all of the necessary neonatal equipment for a Vulcan preemie, baby X did survive the emergency extraction from the gestational pod 11 weeks early after all systems went down.

It wasn't long before they discovered the reason why Baby X survived when the other Vulcan fetuses did not. Baby X was part human and therefore further along in her fetal development compared to the fully Vulcan fetuses.

While they were investigating the baby growing operation on the ship, they discovered that individuals running it were utilizing DNA from the endangered species bank. Once the babies were grown, they would sell the children on the black market. It was easy for them to get the samples that other Vulcans found undesirable such as those belonging to Vulcan survivors who did not follow Vulcan philosophy or happened to be multi-species, such as his husband of 4 years.

Jim wasn't surprised at all when Dr. Willow informed him that Baby X was Spock's genetic daughter. Since the little baby Vulcan had already worked her way into his heart, he was happy about this. (Technically, it was already Christmas Day by about 15 minutes when he found out about this.) He really didn't want to turn her over to Federation family services when they arrived on the Vulcan colony in three days' time.

"Are any of the other children we rescued Spock's?" Jim asked wondering if all the children they rescued could be Spock's.

"No. We are currently running samples from the other children against the databank, but I think we will have the other children identified, if possible, before we reach New Vulcan. We were able to discover Baby X's parentage so quickly because Commander Spock is the only individual with partial human ancestry in the bank."

"And Baby X is obviously part human." They were really going to have to come up with a different name for the little girl, especially because she was part Spock.

"I understand if you need to speak to your husband about this. Let me know if I don't need to make arrangements with Federation family services for this little one." Dr. Willow said letting Jim go to break the news to Spock.

Spock was stunned by the revelation that Baby X was his biological daughter. (Mostly because he was pissed off his DNA was being sold on the black market.) However, Spock's reaction to the news didn't surprise Jim at all.

"I have always been partial to the name Amanda Kristen Kirk." As he stared at the baby in front of them and wonderment. She was definitely a little fighter.

"Only because I won't let you give our daughter your ex-girlfriend's name, even if it's just for her middle name. She is my friend too, but it's still just a little weird." Jim said grabbing his husband's hand.

"Understandable. Since Kristen helped us get together and saved little Amanda's life by finding her in the abandoned lab, I believe naming our first child after her is appropriate."

"Amanda Kristen Kirk sound good together. So does this mean we are going to be parents?" Jim asked his husband.

"Yes, Jim. I am sure Sarek will be pleased with this development, despite the circumstances." Especially because they were going to have to go visit his father-in-law to show off Amanda when they turned over the other survivors to New Vulcan.

"Your brother and sister will definitely enjoy having a niece to play with. Although this means big changes for us. For one, we will have to leave Enterprise before Amanda is a year old." Young children were still not allowed on certain high risk assignments and anything Enterprise does is now considered high risk due to being completely destroyed four years ago.

"This does give you an excellent reason to accept the request to become the Federation Ambassador to Teenax." Certain individuals in the Federation have wanted to appoint him ambassador to the planet for years, but Jim wasn't quite ready to leave yet. This did give him an excellent reason to say yes.

"Mostly because we managed to convince Representative Kevin to give peace another try at our wedding reception." They ended up negotiating a peace treaty between the Teenax and the Fibonan Republic on their honeymoon.

"You know if we leave Kristen gets to be Chief Science Officer without Nyota needing to switch ships." This was going to be even more probable after Kristen received another commendation for quick thinking for hacking into the slave ship to keep them from killing all the children on board. Of course, Nyota would move to a different ship to let her wife have the career she deserved. The 'two bodies' problem was evil.

"And Commander Sulu will no longer be tempted to relocate to the Executor." Spock added.

"I'm sure they will take my recommendation that he become the new captain now that he did serve as a first officer while the Enterprise was under reconstruction. Objectively, us leaving would actually keep more of the band together. I think even Chekov might transfer back with me gone." Darwin was an excellent navigator, but he couldn't help missing her predecessor just a little.

"That would be highly unlikely due to the fact that he is engaged in a romantic relationship with the Captain of the Hamilton." Spock informed him.

"I never thought you were much for listening to ship gossip?"

"As you well know, when a Captain is engaged in a serious relationship with someone under his or her command, copious amounts of paperwork are required." Spock explained. Jim was happy that Chekov found himself in a relationship serious enough to require fraternization paperwork. That stuff was awful.

"And Commander Sulu asked you to get a hold of that paperwork because his baby's mama was involved?" Jim asked. Those two had a really interesting relationship.

"Yes."

"Obviously, this helps our friends out in a weird way, but we don't necessarily have to take the position on Teenax." Jim argued.

"I think it would be a nice planet to raise our daughter for at least the first few years. I am certain you would prefer it to the Vulcan colony." Spock retorted.

"I think you're right. Oh God, we are parents." Jim said realizing the gravity of the situation. They were going to be totally responsible for another person. That was a scary thought. "Can we really be responsible for that little life in there for the next 18 years plus?"

"I believe that we can accomplish anything as long as were together." Jim responded to Spock's words by kissing him breathless.

Jim believed that as well the next day when he held his daughter for the first time. They could do this, together. Amanda was definitely the best anniversary/Christmas present ever.

The end.

Thank you everybody who has read and reviewed the series over the years. Also thank you to my beta GraysonSteele who has helped me through this entire series, especially this last story which is almost the size of the rest of the series combined. Also shout out to memory Alpha who I could not have done the first chapter without. Trying to do a movie rewrite the month before the movie comes out on digital is not easy, especially with character and planet names that my voice recognition software cannot recognize at all.

It's been a wonderful journey writing the series for the last four years. This is the end for now. Maybe someday I will write a story about Jim, Spock and baby Amanda but for now this is where I leave you. It's been beautiful.