Six months later

"Where are you?"

Kirk had just ended his shift on the bridge. He hadn't seen Lena since the morning of the day before. She had taken an away team down to an aquatic planet for a day and a half, and had just gotten back that afternoon. She should have reported to the bridge, but Bones had been having panic attacks about her being away for so long, her heart monitor had gotten water logged so he lost track of her vitals. Lena had sent Ensign Hernandez, would had gone with her, to make the report in her stead.

"In my quarters...working on the report you assigned me", her clear voice said over the com.

Kirk abruptly switched directions. He realized about four months ago that asking her to meet him in his quarters turned into to him waiting around for her for hours on end. She had made it VERY clear that, though she was technically under his command - he couldn't tell her what to do in off duty hours, and she was ABSOLUTELY NOT at his beck and call. If she was still working on a report, she was more likely to finish it before heading over to him. She had never really been great at punctuality.

Lena had taken to life on the Enterprise alarmingly quickly. He had been quite concerned at first as to how it was going to work; she had been a Queen and an entire Empire, albeit for only four days, and he was worried she wouldn't be satisfied with life as his acting Lieutenant. Not so. Once she had recovered enough of her strength she began a training program for the crew - she had trained most of Ya-Mo personally. She didn't make him do it, but he had overheard a significant portion of the crew describe it as basic training on steroids. After of few weeks of supervising she starting actively working on sparing. At first, the men on his ship were afraid of hurting her, but after she knocked Kirk out for 10 hours by accident in a demo, they had shifted their attitudes to be more concerned about their own well-being. She had apologized PROFUSELY for that one, but the apology head was good enough that he might have been willing to let her knock him out again.

Outside of her training program she seemed to get along with everyone - indeed, sometimes she blew him off entirely to go hang out with Uhura or Sulu, but especially Julie. Lena pulled Julie into her training program to aid in the weaponry portion, and they quickly became inseparable. It was weird at first; Kirk was worried about what Julie might say to Lena, but, as Uhura had put it, Kirk, for the first time in his life, had actually done right by a girl. They hadn't worked out because of sheer bad luck and timing, but he had treated her respectfully - there was really nothing for her to be angry about.

Kirk didn't quite believe her, his prior experiences with women told him otherwise; he got his chance to apologize to Julie a few months ago.

Kirk was leaving Lena's quarters. He had to admit it, this girlfriend thing was kind of awesome, he had never gotten laid so frequently in his life! Also, Lena didn't do that weird clingy thing other girls did. She had just fucked him then kicked him out, because she had some work to finish up - which which was cool, because he was supposed to go over something with Spock anyways. They would meet back up later. He was trying to get the stupid grin off his face when he saw Julie, keying into her quarters. It was now or never.

"Hey, Julie?"

She turned and smiled at him, "Hi Jim...coming from Lena's?"

He really needed to work on his discretation. It was hard - Lena straight up didn't care - she thought humans had the most bizarre attitudes towards sex she had ever seen, but then, she had been horrified to learn that human women could get pregnant by accident.

"Um...yeah...Look, Julie…" Kirk started. He sighed, "I hope...I hope there are no...hard feelings. I mean, I really think you're awesome… and, what?"

Julie's eyebrows had risen so high they were in danger of disappearing into her hairline. "It's cool, Jim."

"It is?"

"Yeah...we kissed like one time."

Kirk was slightly taken aback, "Yeah… but then...the dinosaurs...sick bay…your shirt and lackthereof..."

"UGH! They're just boobs, Jim! Nothing you haven't seen before, I'm sure."

Kirk was never being nice again, "Look, I'm just trying to make sure you're OK!"

Julie shook her head grinning, "No you're not! You're trying to stroke your own ego. Aww, poor little Julie must be soooo heart-broken that the dashing James Tiberius Kirk doesn't want to be with her. Honestly, sometimes I'm not sure how Lena deals with you", she finished with a laugh.

Kirk scowled, "Fine. Then I'll just leave you. Go on- go into your quarters!"

Julie rolled her eyes, an annoying habit she'd picked up from Lena, "I don't have quarters in the Lieutenant's wing… you know that."

"Whose quarters are...oh." Kirk looked at the nameplate on the door. Hikaru Sulu.

"Goodnight, Jim", Julie said with a smirk.

Kirk keyed himself onto Lena's quarters without knocking. Apparently in Virosa culture, if you didn't want someone entering the room, you locked the door. She had actually programed a subroutine into her lock, so that you needed a separate code if she didn't want to be disturbed. He knew that one too, Bones insisted someone did, but he promised he'd never use it or save it anywhere; it was his birthday.

Lena was lounging on the bed on her stomach, scribbling into her PADD in just a t-shirt and underwear. She was so gorgeous. In the six months since taking her place on the Enterprise she had recovered from all the damage the war had caused her. She gained back the weight stress had taken from her, filling out her perfect body back to what it had been when he first met her. Her hair was slightly longer and shiny with health once more. Bones had also removed all of the scars on her soft beautiful skin, save for the two on her back where her wings were amputated. She left those untouched. Kirk understood why.

Unable to help himself, Jim ran his hand from the back on her knee, up her thigh, and over her ass. She ignored him. He got onto the bed on all fours over her and started kissing her neck, "Welcome back", he said into her ear.

She laughed, "What are you doing?" He continued kissing her neck, and used his left hand to begin pulling up her t-shirt.

"You know what I'm doing."

"Well you're going to have to wait until after I finish this...there's more down there than we thought…"

"It can wait…"

"Not if it's gonna meet the deadline."

"I set the deadline… I can give you an extension."

Lena stopped writing and pushed him off of her. He rolled onto the space on her bed next to her. She turned to him, "I think that's unethical, Captain!"

"I do like breaking rules…"

She gave him a look and went back to work. "If you're bored, you can read the culture briefing I wrote up."

"You know I wasn't gonna read that, right."

"OK - wasn't gonna blow you either", she said flippantly.

Jim sat up, "OK NOW who's being unethical?"

She smiled wickedly at him, "I learned from the best - here, I just sent it to you. I'll take off all my clothes when you're done."

Well, he figured, that was one way to get him to read a culture briefing. He grabbed the PADD he kept stored in her quarters and opened it up. It was a lot shorter than the ones Spock usually sent him. "Hey...is this whole thing in bullet points?"

"Ummm hmmm, much more efficient - people might actually read them."

Jim started to read it… "Where did you get the idea of putting it it bullet points?" he asked.

Lena smiled...but then looked sad, "It was the only way I could ever get Veelia to read anything."

Lena put down her PADD, and rolled over to face him. It had been happening with less frequency, but Jim still occasionally woke in the middle of the night to find her sobbing quietly into the pillow next to him. There was a part of him that knew she would never get over Veelia's death. He put his own PADD down and held her. She pulled Veelia's betrothal pendant out of her shirt and snaked it through her fingers. She wore it around her neck every day.

They lay like that for some time. There was really nothing to say.

Finally she sat up, "She would have loved this, you know? She said she had the best time when she got stuck on the Enterprise for a week."

"I think Spock would have sent her back after a month - or jumped off the ship himself. I still don't think he's gotten his blood pressure back down."

"Aww she would have found something to do besides annoy him."

"Yeah, but what would she have done AFTER she had sex with all the guys on the ship?"

Lena laughed, "Moved on to the girls, of course!"

Jim smiled, her mood had passed, and he kissed his nose, and brushed the hair off her face. "I wanna ask you something", he said seriously.

"OK…"

Jim took a deep breath, "Are you happy here? On the Enterprise...with me?"

She frowned, "Of course...why would you think that I wasn't? Are you having feelings again?"

"I don't know...You were a Queen, you just gave it all up...walked away." There it was, the question that had been bugging him since the day she told him she was going to stay on the Enterprise. He had talked to Spock about it a little too. Lena was awesome - perfect in his eyes, even when she antagonized him up, but she had been a Princess, a General, and Queen of the Virosa Empire. Now she was the Captain's girlfriend and an acting Lieutenant who spent half her time a as glorified gym teacher, and half her time planning 5-10 person missions. It seemed like a bit of a come down to him.

Lena stared at him like he was insane "How is this a come down? Jim, what would you say if I made you head of the Federation ...tomorrow and told you you couldn't back out of it...ever?

""It would…" he considered for a moment. "It would suck."

"Exactly. Jim...being Queen isn't all it's cracked up to be. Yeah, there's a lot of power, but there is no freedom. I would have been stuck on the home-world my whole life, dealing with a thousand things weighing on me - constantly. Being Queen would have meant I never had another adventure, would be bogged down by the bureaucracy...and it would have meant I didn't get to be with the person I loved - you."

"I would have stayed with you", he said quickly. It was true.

"I know…" she said softly, "But you would have hated it, and it would have been another thing to weigh on me. Yes, I could have done it, and I DID have every intention of being a good Queen...the best I could be, but it would have come at a cost I had dreaded paying my whole life."

"I never thought of it like that…"

"Most people don't."

"It's just...I feel like I got everything. I got to stay on the Enterprise, stay the Captain, keep my life, but I got to take you with me. You had to go through a war, lose people you love, have your wings amputated, and leave everything behind - for me."

She rolled her eyes and kissed him, "We really need to work on your ego. Jim...I went through all that for the Virosa...I left for the Virosa. But I am thankful - thankful I was able to do right by them, and can continue to do right by them now, in a way that doesn't make me miserable. And I admit, I do miss Suria and Brok everyday, but...now that I get to be a little selfish - I'm sort of glad I'm not the Queen anymore, I'm happier now."

"You are?"

"Yes, silly! Jim - I get to live on a starship… go exploring deep space, run around on weird planets that I didn't even know existed, AND I get to do all of this with unlimited access to the MOST amazing penis in the galaxy! What reason could I possibly have for being unhappy?"

"The most amazing, hmmm? That's not really helping deflate my ego…"

She laughed and climbed on top of him, "I think I need that extension."

"Who said it was still on the table?"

Lena ran her hands over Jim's chest, over his uniform, "Ugh...I guess you'll have to give me another reprimand then…You know what it does to me when you're unexpectedly sweet".

"You can't just keep collecting reprimands. I know you don't get it, but they're actually not good."

"Ummm hmmm", she said and pulled her shirt over her head...she wasn't wearing a bra, and her breasts had returned to their perfect fullness.

"You know", Jim said, still not giving in, "I haven't finished reading this super interesting culture briefing yet."

She grabbed his PADD from his hand and threw it against the wall, shattering it.

"Oops", she said innocently.

"You know there are a limited number of those of the ship!" he shouted at her. "You could just...put it on the floor or something."

She leaned down to kiss him, grinding on his erection, feeling him grin in spite of himself. He tugged off her underwear and she pulled his uniform shirt over his head. He hopped out of bed to quickly take off the rest of his clothes, and climbed on top of her, pulling the covers over them.

His slid down so that his face was at her breasts and squeezed them together placing kisses all over them, causing her to squeal in delight. He felt her kiss the top of his head. He moved back up her body and rolled her to her side so that they were face to face. His kissed her lips furiously, tasting her delicious tongue, and moved his hand down between her legs; he felt her hands travel south as well.

She was so wet. His fingers had, in the last six months learned how to stroke and tease her just how she liked it. He never realized that fingering was actually a customized thing for each girl. "You know", he said, "You should really make me work harder for this."

"For what?" she asked out of breath.

"This." Jim swirled his finger tip in a gentle medium speed motion, and promptly eliciting a full scale orgasm from her.

He rolled on top of her again, and pushed himself inside to feel the last throbs of her walls. She started kissing him, pushing her body closer to his…

"So how does the galaxy's most amazing penis feel?"

"SHUT UP AND FUCK ME!" Lena cried out.

Jim was only too happy to oblige. He started moving...this was so hott! He was so turned on! He could smell her excitement ...it was overpowering him… oh god!

Lena stared at him, "You're done?"

Jim was incredulous, how had that happened? They weren't doing anything that crazy, they were still in missionary for fuck's sake! He slide out and threw the covers off of himself. All at once the scent hit both of them in a powerful wave. Pheromones…

Lena had recovered in all aspects except for one. Her pheromones were still inactive - she was still infertile. Bones couldn't figure out why, her endocrine and reproductive systems looked OK - he had just attributed it to stress.

"Lena...your pheromones are back!"

She nodded, she could sense them too. She hadn't accidentally expelled them for ages - all girls, upon developing them were immediately taught to control them, and incorporate them into language. Additionally, before they became sexually active, they all learned how to differentiate between pheromones and the conception hormone, as they sort of functioned together. OH MY GOD, she realized as the memory of her mother teaching her came back to her.

Lena leapt of bed, and immediately began putting her clothes back on, searching desperately for her gold uniform skirt and top.

"Lena - what?"

She whipped around, "We have to go see Bones - RIGHT NOW!" she said in a panic.

"Why?" But he started putting his uniform back on too.

She explained. She hadn't been bothering to control her pheromones, she hadn't for months; she had assumed her body would never start producing them again. When she released them just now she had released ALL of them...including the one she needed to get pregnant. Jim used to get a shot every six months, but it had lapsed two weeks ago - he meant to get it, but it was more of a precaution than actual birth control since he was only having sex with Lena. He was late on it.

"OK - Lena! Don't panic" he said, clearly panicking. "We just need to get an emergency contraceptive...it'll be fine."

"Jim! It doesn't take me 24-72 hours to get pregnant like humans. We could literally have minutes!"

"Really? Don't tell me that was in the culture-"

Lena had already left, and was racing down the hall. For someone who claimed to not run for most of her life she was actually pretty fast. Jim caught her at the turbo-lift and they stepped in together.

"Hold-it!" Julie dashed in just as the door closed. She had just come from Sulu's quarters - she looked annoyed.

"Whoa…" Julie said as the lift began to move, "What is that?" She was blushing, heat rushing to her face, her breathing increasing slightly. Apparently Lena's pheromones worked just as well on Julie as they did on Jim. He nudged Lena - she looked at him and shrugged. I can't do anything about it - her eyes told him.

The lift stopped on the level for sick bay, and Lena darted out, "Later Julie," she said.

Upon entering sick bay she screamed, "BONES!"

Bones came running out - Lena was OK now, but he still worried about her, The surgery he had performed was experimental at best. He had her check in with him every other day. His panic abated when he saw Jim was with her, a pained look on his face. Not this again! Ever since her strength returned, and they started sleeping together again, she sent him to sick bay almost weekly for "intimacy related injuries" or at least that's what Bones was calling them in his log. Lena explained that without her wings she was having a difficult time channeling her "involuntary reactions", meaning sometimes Jim bore the brunt of them. Had it been him, Bones, he would have dumped her over it, but Jim seemed to take it as a compliment. Idiot.

"What did you do to him now?" he asked her. "WHOA!" Bones had just gotten hit full in the face with a powerful gust of pheromones. He hadn't felt them since he was Suria's "gift". Immediately he felt blood start rushing to his penis, and he had the strongest urge to jump her.

"My pheromones are back!" she squeaked.

"Really? I didn't notice."

"I can't control them! I expelled ALL of them!"

Bones looked at her seriously - she had explained how her pheromones worked to him a while ago, when they had been trying to figure out how to kick-start them. It took him less than two seconds to make the connection. It was written all over Jim's panicked face.

"Oh you have GOT to be kidding me!"

"Do you think it's too late?" Lena asked.

"No...but get on the table….I'm gonna have to go straight to the source." He knew from her medical scans that they could have as little as three minutes to stop the process. Bones grabbed a mask to block out her pheromones and thought about his ex-wife. He wasn't about to do this turned on - and by Jim's girlfriend no less! He pulled out a syringe.

"What are you doing?" Jim asked.

"Underwear off, Lena - I gotta go in...a dosage in her neck won't work fast enough."

"Wait", Jim realized what he was saying…. "I don't know if I feel comfortable…"

"JIM - SHUT UP!" Lena screamed at him and pulled the screen back, blocking him out. "Honestly..." he heard her huff behind it as Bones disappeared. They re-emerged a second later.

Jim scowled - squicked out, "I don't know that I'm ever gonna be OK with this…" He kept remembering how he and Bones used to share the gory details of their "conquests" over drinks back on Earth. Bones grabbed another syringe from the table and jabbed it into Jim's neck before he could stop him. "You know I've done surgery on her four times, right? Here, now we won't have this problem anymore." He stalked away - Jim was a little ridiculous sometimes.

Lena had pulled her underwear back on and walked out. "Well… that was exciting", she said.

"Oh yeah...just what I needed." Jim took a deep breath, "They're gone now…"

"I retracted them…" Lena smiled, "Sorry - I haven't had to control them for a while...I guess I forgot how to for a minute, but it's really easy, actually."

"Does this mean that you can...you know?"

"Have kids?... Yeah", she frowned, realizing it herself, "I guess I can. It's funny...I sort of wrote it off after it didn't work with Bay-Lou."

The had had minimal contact with the Virosa after Lena's "death". They knew the Virosa would figure out that the Vaa had beamed her body back aboard the Enterprise, so they knew they couldn't ignore them forever. A week after she accepted her position as acting Lieutenant, Lena had asked for her wings to be incinerated. A warp 7 capable, Virosa ship caught up with them to retrieve a small box containing a handful of Lena's wing ash. They heard Suria had collapsed upon receiving the results of the genetic test that confirmed it was from Lena. Bay-Lou, they were told, was betrothed again, to one of Lena and Suria's wartime leaders. Apparently they had developed feelings for each other over the course of the war. It annoyed Jim, but Lena stated that since they had technically never been betrothed, it was perfectly appropriate - just in slightly poor taste. But she was glad he was happy. One less thing to feel guilty about.

Jim wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck, "Maybe it didn't work because Bay-Lou didn't have "the galaxy's most amazing penis."

She gave him a look, "Annnnnnd you've officially killed it."

"No, I didn't."

She tried to wiggle away from him, but he pulled her back, "So, technically, does this mean that you and I could…" He let the words hang in the air.

Lena stared at him in shock, "Ummm yeah...but like not for another like 10 years!"

"Of COURSE! Like 5-10 years… not now, obviously!"

Lena pulled herself away from him, unable to believe the craziness pouring out of his mouth, "Five years?"

"Five - ish."

"What does "ish" mean?"

"Like 7 ...or 4...or-"

Lena raised her hand, "Are you out of your mind?"

"What, that's like… a long time from now!"

"Not THAT long!"

"Should I come back?" Bones had stepped into the room right in the middle of their argument.

"Nope!" Lena said. "I think we're done here - later Jim...I should probably explain to Julie why I accidently gave her an orgasm in the turbolift."

"Now THAT'S a story I'd like to hear!" Bone chimed in.

Lena stalked out - Men were crazy!

"I now pronounce you, husband and wife!" Kirk said. Spock and Uhura sealed their union with a kiss, to the eruption of applause from the crew. They had initially intended to marry once they landed on Earth, but, after 8 and a half years together, Uhura decided it was about damn time. They needed to have a Vulcan ceremony too, anyways, which Spock would want his father to be at - they could invite her parents to that one. In any case, the Enterprise's crew felt more like family than anything - she wanted to make sure they were all there for it.

They turned to walk down the aisle together. They held the wedding in the mess hall, which Carol had decorated beautifully for the occasion. Lena helped too. She was obsessed with things like spatial efficiency. Uhura spotted both of them in the crowd.

The wedding had been simple - both she and Spock were in their dress uniforms, and she hadn't bothered with a veil. She was just happy that it was official...the crazy journey they started when she first met him as a little girl had finally brought them together - permanently. He was the love of her life...he always had been - from the moment he handed her his Shakespeare file, completely confident that she could do anything.

They had invited the Ambassador and his daughter from the aquatic planet - Palos - to join them. He was quite fascinated with the whole concept of a one on one relationship. He had a wife too - several in fact, and they had several husbands - the Paloans were polyamorous, though, he did admit to having a favorite. His daughter, a six foot tall, pale blue, strangely beautiful amphibious creature, had taken an interest in Kirk after seeing how well he could swim. Palos once had land masses that sunk into the sea centuries ago. All Paloans lived underneath the surface now, but they could still breathe either air or water through their gills. She kept staring at him with her enormous silver eyes, and forcing the skin on her neck to change colors. Her father was visibly annoyed.

"I think the Ambassador's daughter is flirting with you again", Carol whispered in his ear. The bridge officers were at Spock and Uhura's table.

"Yep", Kirk said, grimacing.

"She's really beautiful...what does Lena think about that?"

"No fucking clue, she's being totally weird."

"How so?" Uhura jumped in.

Kirk's eyes found Lena chattering with Julie and a few guys from engineering, something was apparently hilarious; she had been acting strangely all day. Kirk turned to Uhura, "She kept asking me if I was attracted to her, the Ambassador's Daughter."

Uhura raised her eyebrows, "What did you say?"

"I said 'NO' of course! Everyone knows that's a trick question!"

Spock nodded, he'd gone through this before with Nyota.

"So what's her deal?"

"Like I said, no idea. She kept harping on it."

"Annnd?"

"And I kept saying, 'No, why are you even asking me about this, I'm with you!'".

Uhura smacked her hand to her face, Jim had fallen into one of the oldest traps in the book.

"Are you attracted to her?" Carol asked.

"Jim - that is a trick question as well!" Spock hiccoughed, trying to steer his friend out of hot water. Uhura scowled at him, but he was nine shots in, so he didn't really care.

"I know that's a trick question too!"

"Did you say anything else, Jim?" Uhura asked.

"Well she kept pushing me so, FINALLY I was like, 'Yes - objectively speaking - the ambassador's daughter is attractive!'. Then she just said, 'OK' and left without saying another word."

"Oh God", Uhura said.

"What? I said 'objectively'!"

"Jim...the word objectively is not an adequate qualifier", Spock cut in.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH WOMEN?!"

Uhura looked at Carol and rolled her eyes. Though, she had to admit, Jim had been doing quite well at his first ever official relationship. She had always pictured someone very stable finally managing to get him under control, but Lena was at his end of the spectrum, with the energy and intensity to rival his own - she sometimes even proved to be more than he could handle. Instead of taming each other they merely became partners in crime. It was crazy to think that they had been born on opposite ends of the galaxy, but were somehow exactly what the other one needed.

Kirk continued to scowl, Lena had wandered off again. He had such a hard time keeping track of her! He almost whipped out his com to call her when he saw he saunter back into the room. She changed, she was wearing the black dress she had worn the night of the feast - she definitely wasn't wearing any underwear,

"Hi Jim", she said, smiling mischievously casting a whiff of her newly rediscovered pheromones in his direction. Apparently she'd decided how she was going to get back at him for his comments. She looked amazing - the dress hugged every curve of her body, and left very little to the imagination. One wrong move and her breasts could come bursting out of it. Without her wings, the dress seemed so much more provocative - it sloped dangerously low in the back, exposing the long scars from where they had been. Carol looked away - she did not get Lena, or how she could wear something like that.

"Hi Lena", Jim said - his eyes staring at her chest...maybe this wasn't the worst way to be punished.

Before she could say another word the Ambassador and his daughter came up to the table, the daughter looking curiously at Lena.

"Ambassador - I don't think we've met officially!" Lena said brightly showering him with 'welcome pheromones'.

He seemed very taken aback by her appearance, "Of course, you are the one who gave that very impressive combat demonstration to my guards! I didn't expect you to be so…" his eyes trailed down to where Kirk's had been looking, "Charming…" he finished.

"I have many talents", Lena bantered. "Ah! This must be your daughter!" Oh god - Kirk didn't like where this was going.

"Yes...yes..Goyel...this is Lt. Lena...the Captain's….mate? It that the appropriate word?"

Kirk groaned...this was going to be another fight...she HATED being introduced like that. "Girlfriend", he said quickly, hoping it was still true by the end of the night.

Lena brushed it off, "Umm hmm." She turned to Goyel, "That's a pretty name", she said, moving in, just a centimeter too close. Kirk, Sulu, and Uhura's jaws collectively dropped when they saw Lena gently run her hand across Goyel's back and flash her a disarmingly enchanting smile while casting a whiff of the pheromones she usually reserved for Jim in her direction. Lena was seducing her! The Ambassador didn't seem to notice; he was still in a dizzy haze from Lena's welcome pheromones. Lena slipped her arm around Goyel's waist and pulled her away; Goyel's neck was turning all sorts of colors , even more pronounced than it had been with Kirk. "Let's take a walk, shall we?" The Ambassador's daughter agreed excitedly.

"What a nice girl!" the Ambassador said, and wandered off.

Sulu started laughing, "That was amazing."

Kirk looked at Uhura, "Please tell me that didn't just happen."

"Yeah...well...at least Lena won't have to worry about Goyel hitting on you anymore…"

"It is unlikely she was worried to begin with", Spock said.

Kirk called for another round of shots.

"Jim", Spock hiccoughed - Kirk had never seen him this drunk, "There is something I wish to discuss with you. Lena has requested to take the entrance exam to Starfleet Academy. I can administer it - she will undoubtedly pass, and then I can expedite her course work. Has she informed you?"

"No, but...it's been a busy couple of days", Kirk said, thinking about the pregnancy scare.

"Well I am informing you now! She wished to get a head start."

"Cool", Kirk frowned realizing something, "Wait...won't that be a problem? She'll be a cadet...in Starfleet. She reports directly to me - isn't that like...against the rules or something?"

Spock nodded, "You will have to apply for an exemption, but it will be granted."

"On what grounds?"

"On that grounds that your intimate relationship began prior to her admission into Starfleet."

"That's a thing?"

"Yes. A Captain took it to trial thirty years ago when he was reprimanded for having intimate relations with his wife...who happened to be his helmsman - she joined Starfleet to go with him on his missions, but they had been dating prior to that."

"How do know about all of this stuff?"

"It is the same exemption Nyota and I cited when the Academy board realized we were together."

Jim frowned - Spock must have been super drunk, that didn't make any sense, "You cited meeting her when she was nine years old under the Eiffel Tower?"

Spock hiccoughed again, "Of course not! I cited our one-night stand in Cambridge when she was a co-ed at a university in Boston."

"Oh...WAIT WHAT!?"

Uhura whacked him. They had agreed not to tell Jim about that! Spock merely looked at her and shrugged. Uhura sighed… she guessed it didn't matter anymore now that they were married.

"I am sorry, Jim", Spock said, "I cannot disclose any further details."

"Oh yes you can!"

"I should not have said that...I believe I have had too many drinks."

Kirk stood up and shouted across the mess hall at a Crewman carrying a tray of shots, "Crewman! Bring those shots over here!"

"How many do you want, Sir?"

"ALL OF THEM! ALL THE SHOTS!"

The crewman set the tray down at the table, slightly annoyed that he was now going to have to go back to the bar, but Jim didn't care in the slightest.

He handed four to Spock, "Drink these, RIGHT NOW!"

"How many shots am I supposed to take?"

"You can stop when you tell me what happened in Cambridge."

"Jim, you're gonna make him sick!" Uhura pulled the shots away from her heavily intoxicated husband. "I'll tell you - I tell it better anyways."

"You do?"

Uhura pounded two of the shots and winked at Spock, "Well, I will now…"

Nyota ignored the message on her com. It was Josh...her boyfriend...or ex-boyfriend as of three hours ago. What an ass! She had started dating him at the beginning of freshman year and was finally fed up. She lost her virginity to him, and then spent the next six months fighting him tooth and nail over everything. He didn't like her drinking, partying, hanging out with her friends, or even being in a study group. His controlling ways had reduced her to tears more times than she could count and she was DONE! Or sort of done...this was technically their fourth break-up. She did something she thought was OK, it pissed him off, he screamed at her until she realized why it was NOT OK, then he dumped her, then he took her back, apologizing and promising to change. Nyota's friends were getting sick of the roller coaster - she was too.

This time they made her swear not to message him back until the next morning. They wanted to go out, like they had in the first month of school, before Josh entered the picture. What she saw in him, they didn't know. He had only gotten into this school because his dad had been one of the few casualties on the USS Kelvin...the families of fallen Starfleet officers received all sorts of support for their kids' education. She reluctantly agreed. Technically they were broken up. What could one night of fun do?

Nyota looked at herself in the mirror. She looked SO HOTT! She had borrowed a low-cut skin tight micro dress from her roommate who was four inches shorter. She was going to wear opaque tights - it was April in Boston after all, but her roommate convinced her not too. The dress was so tight she had to wear a thong underneath it. Oh well, she could just avoid bending over.

As she stepped into the chilly night air she considered, not for the first time, why she had left her warm home country to come to Boston of all places! It was SO COLD! Fortunately she had done four shots before leaving the dorm to pre-game. They hadn't hit her in full yet, but she was still feeling the effects of a nice booze jacket. She and her roommates piled into a hover-taxi - they were off to a club in Cambridge - Cambridge clubs weren't as strict about IDing.

Spock did another shot - he was getting DRUNK! He was about to complete his first year at Starfleet Academy, and had been convinced by a friend to accompany him back to his home town for spring break. Somehow it had turned into a whole group, and they had rented out a few hotel rooms for the night. Spock had it admit it, though he had been unsure about his choice to reject the Vulcan Science Academy at first, after a few months, he began to realize that he had made the right decision. His father wasn't speaking to him, and neither was his bondmate, but he had friends. He didn't quite fit in, but was generally well-liked. A great quality about humans was that they grew tired of novelty quickly, and looked past his unique heritage in just a few days. For the first time in his life, he felt like everything would be OK.

His friends had taken him to a club in Cambridge with the express purpose of looking for girls. Spock wasn't really interested in human girls, but he went along with the cadets' insistence that they all wear their Starfleet uniforms - apparently they were "pussy-magnets" whatever that meant.

They went to the club a little early, after binge drinking in their hotel rooms, because they had an inadequate ratio of men to women, being a group of six men.

They had been there an hour, sitting at the bar, taking shots, when Spock noticed a group of very scantily clad human girls arguing with the bouncer.

"This isn't you", the bouncer said to Nyota's roommate skeptically. Drinking age in Boston was STILL 21! Damn Puritan laws!

"Yes, it is!" she argued. Nyota rolled her eyes - there was always a 50-50 shot they got rejected at the door. Why was Boston so stupid about drinking?

Suddenly the bouncer noticed her, "ID please", he said.

Nyota hand him her fake… it wasn't very good, she had borrowed it from an upper classman who also had a bright red afro. The bouncer didn't seem to be buying it. Nyota's com went off again...she unzipped her jacket to get it.

"You're good", the bouncer said suddenly, distracting her. She looked up to see his eyes raking her body, which she had inadvertently exposed trying to answer her ex-boyfriend's message. Disgusting.

"I'm not going in without my friends", she said coldly.

The bouncer considered it. It was a complete sausage fest in there - a whole group of retarded Cadets had come in an hour ago. These girls were pretty hott, even if they were only 19. "Go right in ladies" he said.

They all looked at each other and smiled. Whoooo alcohol!

Once inside Nyota opened her com - predictably it was from Josh - "Where r u?" It said. Nyota sighed and started to message back. He would lose his shit when she told him, but better tell him now than deal with him finding out later...he always found out. She guessed her night was over.

"Hey!" her roommate said, "Hey! No no no - DO NOT message him back!"

"I have to."

"No you don't! You're broken up! He dumped you! Let him wonder, for once!"

"I…"

"Give me your com, Nyota."

"No."

"Then turn it off."

Nyota sighed, if she didn't message back soon he would message again, and get mad. But she wanted to have fun! Was that so wrong? No, she decided, it wasn't. She wasn't going to take him back this time, either!

She clicked it off, "Let's get a drink!"

An hour later Nyota was having more fun than she had had all semester. She wasn't really talking to guys, though quite a few had bought her drinks, but was dancing up a storm with her friends. She looked back at the bar and saw a group of Starfleet Cadets hassling the bartender for drinks, one of them turned his head - she saw his ears. It couldn't be!

Nyota pulled her roommate off the dance floor, "Oh my God!"

"What?"

"Those Cadets, I think I know one of them?"

"Wait really? They're so hott! We should go talk to them - which one?"

"The Vulcan - his ears...they're not as pointy as they should be."

"That's a little derogatory."

"No like….you know that Shakespeare file I have….the one in Vulcan...I think that's him! Spock! The one I met under the Eiffel Tower."

"Really!?"

"Yeah...Oh my God he joined Starfleet…"

"OK now you HAVE to go talk to him!"

"There's no way he remembers me!"

"Nyota, man the fuck up! He'll remember you… his friends are hott and your friends are single. After all the shit you put us through with Josh, you OWE this to us!"

"OK fine! Gimme your drink", she chugged it.

Her heart was pounding. What was she supposed to say to him? He really tall, thin...kind of cute...actually very cute. This had been a lot easier before she went through puberty. Oh good, those shots from the dorm were finally starting to hit her.

"Hello", she said in Vulcan; her accent was perfect.

Spock whipped around to see an impossibly gorgeous human girl standing right behind behind him.

"Hello", he answered back in Vulcan as well. She looked oddly familiar.

"Hi - I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm-"

"Nyota Uhura", he finished her sentence. She smiled. Spock was in shock. He hadn't given the little girl much thought over the last ten years, but recently the incident had been on his mind more than ever. He didn't think she would grow up to look like this. He was careful not to let his eyes linger too long on any one part of her body, but he couldn't help but notice how her dress accentuated every curve. He wondered if she was wearing underwear, there weren't any visible lines.

"Heyyyyyy", a girl came up from behind Nyota and put her arms around her. Three more girls were behind her. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Spock - Spock this is-"

"Jillian!" she stuck out her hand.

Nyota smacked it away, mortified "Don't do that!" she said.

Spock reached out, "It is alright, I have accustomed myself to human traditions."

"Hey! Is Spock being rude to you?" One of his friends noticed the large group of girls that had gathered around him.

"Don't pay any attention to him sweetie, hey, can I get you a drink?" His friend gave him a thumbs up as Jillian let him put his arm around her.

"Sorry about that", Nyota said.

"It is of no consequence….would you care for...a drink?"

One hour and three beers later Nyota was pretty fucked up. She and Spock kept up their conversation in Vulcan - the rest of the party had given up trying to talk to them. Yes...he had joined Starfleet, he liked it. He asked if she was in a conservatory school for music, but she laughed and said she realized in high school that she was a much better polyglot than she was a singer, but she still solo-ed in her chorus from time to time. She was in Boston studying Linguistics, with a concentration in Xeno-Ling - she was already looking at grad-schools, two of whom had begun to court her. When he asked her if she could now speak fourteen languages, remembering her progress had been one per year, he was shocked to learn that she could now speak over 30.

"Not to fluency!" she qualified, "But I've gotten really good at spotting linguistic patterns - it's not hard to learn a language once you get the structure in place."

They continued drinking, and somehow ended up on the crowded dance floor. The club was scorchingly hot; Spock could see sweat droplets trail into her cleavage, her body pressed close to his. "Were you looking at my boobs?" she slurred.

"Of course, not!" he slurred back - he had had 16 drinks by his count.

She aggressively put her face in his, he could smell the alcohol on her breath. "I think you were…" she said. She rock to her tip toes and pushed said boobs against his chest. Before he could even think about it, he was kissing her, making out fully on the dance floor. She wrapped her arms around his head, kissing him back. She tasted like bourbon flavored candy.

Suddenly a hand pulled them apart; it was Nyota's friend.

"We're going", she said.

Nyota face fell, "Why?"

"Jillian just threw up behind the bar - they're kicking us out."

"I…" what the fuck Jillian!

"I could bring Nyota home" Spock volunteered.

"Yeah", Nyota said, "Don't worry about me… I'll take a cab."

"Nyota!" her friend shouted over the din of the music, "Are you drunk?"

"No I'm fine… I'll just take a cab, it'll be fine!"

Her friend pointed a finger in Spock's face "Don't you take advantage of her!" she slurred.

"I won't?" he slurred back, unsure of her context.

"I'll be fine...I'll get a cab!" Nyota said again.

The friend was barely off the dance floor when they started kissing again.

The next thing Spock remembered he was in a cab, making out with Nyota, practically on top of her; his hands sliding under her dress. She had wrapped her long legs around him, her ridiculously short dress sliding up to her waist.

The cab driver realized what was going on and kicked them out.

"Fuck you!" Nyota screamed into the empty streets of Boston as he drove away.

"Nyota", Spock said, "We should try to find another taxi."

"There's nothing at this hour! And I have to get all the way back to Chestnut Hill! UGH!"

Spock thought for a second, "My hotel is not far from here…"

"Oh let's go there!"

They made it to Spock's hotel, or at least the vestibule, before they started kissing again. Spock almost fell over as the door she had him pushed up against opened suddenly; she giggled as they toppled into the hotel.

"SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" she said loudly.

"Hey Spock!" Spock's drunk friends were sitting in the lobby, passing around a bottle of Jack Daniels. He had forgotten he was supposed to be sharing a room. They surveyed Nyota with interest and shared smirks with each other.

"Hey buddy! You got 20 minutes! I need to get some sleep tonight."

"Come up whenever you please", Spock said, clapping his roommate on the shoulder, and pinching his nerve. He wouldn't be up for at least 5 hours.

"Holy shit, he passed out!" one of the other cadets hooted.

Spock grabbed Nyota's arm and headed to the room.

"Did you just use a Vulcan nerve pinch!?"

"Would you be more impressed with a yes or a no?" Spock asked, opening the door to his room. She giggled and pulled him down on the bed, kissing him passionately. The room was spinning.

Spock let his hands roam her body wildly - she seemed to be enjoying it.

Nyota was so turned on - this was totally crazy! She had sort of harbored a secret crush on him for 10 years - which was ridiculous because she didn't even know what he looked like - she just knew the sound of his voice. She pulled his shirt off - she couldn't believe this was happening.

Spock removed Nyota's dress, she had been wearing underwear to his disappointment...he could fix that. She didn't stop him - she actually unhooked her bra for him herself, and pulled his face into her breasts. He was going to explode.

She stood him up next to him, unbuckled his pants and placed sloppy kisses down his chest, sitting back on the edge of the bed. He was really hard - he pushed open her legs and all at once he was inside her. He climbed on top of her thrusting as hard as he could - she was crying out passionately, arching her back and wrapping her legs around him.

He had the urge to meld with her, but he couldn't focus on how to do it. He was too disoriented from the alcohol, fortunately his body had figured out what to do without it. He kept going getting more and more turned on by her wild cries, when suddenly everything faded to blackness.

Nyota's eyes snapped open at 7AM, and she sat up in bed, her head pounding. She looked over to find a naked Vulcan sleeping next to her. She looked under the covers, she was naked too! Shit! The previous night started coming back to her. She had had sex with Spock! Oh God!

Nyota leapt over him out of bed, desperately searching for her clothes. She almost fell over when she realized she was still pretty drunk. Where the hell was she? Oh - his hotel room. The other bed was still empty, thank GOD! How? Oh-yeah! Nyota burst into hysterical laughter when she remembered that Spock had used a Vulcan nerve pinch to sedate his roommate down in the lobby. Spock stirred.

Spock sat up and put his hand to his head, horrified over how much alcohol he had consumed the night before. He looked over to see Nyota struggling to put her skin tight dress back on. He remembered with a start that they had had intimate relations the night before.

Nyota turned to see him watching her. He really was very cute. He'd be 22 by now. She desperately wanted to him say something. "I….I should go…" she said.

She was startled by him getting out of bed and pulling on his clothing, "I can take you", he said, "I told your friend that I would."

Suddenly the door to the hotel room flew open and Spock's roommate walked in, still drunk. He looked at Nyota and nodded, then promptly collapsed on his bed - still dressed. Nyota pulled on her underwear under her dress and turned to Spock - why wasn't he saying anything?!

"Well", she said, "See you around!" She darted out the room while he was still only half dressed. She raced down the stairs, zipping up her jacket. She had made it outside the hotel when he finally caught up with her.

"Nyota!" he called to her. She felt him grab her arm gently - he was much faster than she was in heels. She whipped around to face him, praying he would say SOMETHING that would make her feel better. He pulled out her com and handed it to her, "You left this…"

She stared into his strangely human eyes, desperate to see any sort of emotion - she got nothing. She took the com from his outstreched hand and flicked it back on. She gasped. She had 56 messages...2 from her friends asking where the HELL she was, and 54 from Josh!

"I gotta go!" she squeaked.

"Wait! Nyota!" Spock chased her down the street. In the light she realized she must have looked like a hooker.

She turned around, "WHAT?"

"I assured your friend I would get you back to campus."

"Well you did you didn't a really shitty job!" she lashed out.

He took a step back, "I am...sorry...I was under the impression that...that last night was...mutually consensual… I did not mean...I would never have…"

Nyota burst into tears, "It WAS! That's the problem!"

He frowned, "Why would this be a problem?"

"Because I have a fucking boyfriend!"

"You did not menti-"

"WE WERE HAVING A FIGHT!"

Nyota couldn't stop crying, "Don't worry - this on me… I did this. I kissed you at the club, I told my friends to leave, I said let's go to your hotel, I took off your clothes...I wanted to…" She took a deep steadying breath. "I need to go home."

Spock had never dealt with a sobbing female before. He was alarmed by her emotional outburst, but felt an overwhelming concern for her. He had not meant to upset her...but he hadn't meant to sleep with her either; he thought about his bondmate...the one who was currently not speaking to him. He was starting to appreciate her coldness… she could never find out about this.

"I will find a taxi for you" he said.

Nyota put her hand in her pocket - shit. "I think I left my wallet upstairs", she said.

"We shall retrieve it."

The thought of going back into his hotel room made her want to throw up...she had never wanted to go home so badly in her life… "It's fine. I'm just gonna go… I didn't have anything important on me - Just a stupid fake ID and a payment card - I can get both replaced."

"Allow me to hail you a taxi, then."

"Taxi's aren't free."

"I would be happy to-"

"NO!" Nyota cried, there was NO WAY she was going to take ANY money from him. She already felt like a slut, she didn't want to feel like a whore too. "I mean...thanks...but I think I'll take public transit…."

"That requires fare as well."

"I can hop the gate."

Spock followed her quietly as she climbed down the stair to take Boston's outdated underground public transit system. He was concerned that she was still intoxicated. She was quite wobbly in her stiletto heels.

"You don't need to follow me, I'm fine!" she said, and nibbly hopped over the gate. Spock wanted to follow her, but that would have required purchasing a ticket. In defiance of the law, he hopped the gate as well.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she suddenly shouted as him.

"Nyota you are upset...I do not know what I have done. You are also intoxicated and-"

"Look - Spock! It's been fun, really! But I need to go home. Let's just shake hands and pretend this never happened, OK?" Nyota was inwardly proud that she had gained some measure of composure back.

Spock blinked, "If you wish". He held out his hand. Vulcans did not shake hands, as it was their telepathy channel, but Spock had grown accustomed to it.

Nyota rolled her eyes, "It's just an expression!" She glared at him, and held up her hand in a Vulcan salute, "Live long and prosper." Her accent was still perfect.

She left before he could say anything and got on the underground - the "T" locals still called it. It would take her right to campus. She pulled out her com and started going through Josh's messages. They started out innocently enough, after ten messages he "took her back", but after 20 he started getting pissed that she wasn't responding. He had tried to call, too. Once he realized that she had turned her com off, the mean ones started. She was shaking in tears by the time she read the last one. She didn't get why she put up with him. The good days were so good, but the bad days were so SO bad. Of course he was justified. She had just ran off and had a one-night stand. She was so tired of crying.

Nyota got off at the last stop and walked across the street to campus. Suddenly she heard someone call her name behind her - her heart stopped...It was Josh.

"Where the FUCK are you coming from?" he said to her.

"Nowhere", she said quietly.

"Like HELL!" Josh started circling her, taking in everything from her provocative dress to the clearly visible bite marks on her neck. "You fucking slut", he whispered. "You WHORE! I took you back, and THIS IS WHAT YOU DID!? YOU CHEATED ON ME, NYOTA!"

"We were broken up", Nyota cried.

"NO WE WEREN"T! Even if we were, I thought you'd at least have the decency to wait a while before going out and dropping your panties for the first guy you saw. I LOVED you Nyota! But you don't even respect me!"

"Josh…" she sobbed.

"No I'm done! Fucking done! Probably get an STD from you - dirty skank…"

How Nyota made it to her dorm, she didn't know. Sobbing, she told her friends everything. They took turns comforting her, while exchanging secret high-fives behind her back. They HATED Josh. They hated him more after what he had said to her. They were broken up! And HE had dumped her! Nyota cried even more when she heard that Josh had asked another girl out two weeks later, but her friends started a message chain without her to talk about how thrilled they were. Josh was FINALLY out of the picture - Hallelujah!

Summer came, and Jillian went to visit her friend in Africa. She looked so happy. Nyota had returned to the lively girl she had been at the start of the tumultuous year. She was too had gotten aboard the "I hate Josh" train - finally.

"I can't believe I was such an idiot", she said.

"No one can...but he's gone now. Actually, I heard he's on academic probation - maybe he'll flunk out", Jillian said with a smile.

"Is it bad though? I mean, I know he was a controlling asshole, but I sort of proved him right. Girls go to clubs to hook-up."

Jillian scrunched her forehead, "Ummm no you didn't. One, I go to clubs all the time and I am somehow still a virgin. Look - Nyota, if you actually loved Josh, scratch that - if Josh was actually NICE to you… that Vulcan dude wouldn't have stood a chance."

"I don't know if that's true…" Nyota said quietly.

"Whaaaa?"

"He just...got me… It was weird...maybe I was just drunk, but like...I felt like we connected."

Jillian gasped, "OMG you LIKE him."

Nyota shook her head, "I don't know. It doesn't matter...he's a Vulcan… so he probably has a bondmate. Plus, he's in Starfleet! Can you imagine, ME in Starfleet - come on!"

"You are studying Xeno-Ling…"

"For RESEARCH!" Nyota laughed. Starfleet was completely ridiculous - she couldn't imagine zipping around on a ship for months at a time.

"Well, you've seen him twice, and he's done two super nice things for you!"

"Has he?"

Jillian smiled, "Yeah - the first time he met you he taught you Vulcan, and the second time he got rid of your shitty boyfriend! Spock is kinda awesome in my book. Too bad you can't date him!"

Nyota shrugged, "Wasn't meant to be, I guess."

Uhura finished the 4th shot. Kirk's jaw was on the floor. How had he not known this!?

"Oh my god….That's amazing! We are DEFINITELY going to a club when we get back to Earth!"

"You now you could have figured this out years ago, right? The date Spock and I "officially" began our relationship was recorded in our files. All you had to do was actually read them." Uhura was slurring from her drinks. Kirk needed to play catch-up. He was only two drinks in. Lena's lunacy and Uhura's story had completely distracted him.

"I can't wait to tell Lena!" he said.

"Oh she knows…"

"What?"

"Yeah… remember that day I gave her my ring? When the four of us went swimming at the waterfall… We sort of - were swapping stories…"

"Why didn't she tell me!?" Kirk asked, incredulous.

"I asked her not to."

Kirk scowled, but then asked, "What were her stories?"

Uhura bit her lip, "I don't think you want to know."

Kirk took a shot of whiskey - he probably didn't. He and Lena had actually established a don't ask don't tell policy, though lately he had been wondering how much "field research" went into her "most amazing penis" declaration.

"Speaking of which...has anyone actually seen my date? I feel like she disappeared with the Ambassador's daughter hours ago…"

"Oh she's right over there", Sulu said.

"Where? Oh...fuck you!"

Sulu had pointed out an overstuffed leather couch sitting innocently in the corner of the room. Apparently Lena had told Julie….and everyone else she could find... Uhura burst out into laughter and clapped him on the back…"It is a VERY nice looking couch Jim" she choked out.

Kirk scowled, "At least it's an inanimate object!" he shot back.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means at least I'm not into killing trees."

"Fuck you, Jim."

"Were there any plants in that hotel room? Spock, did you get charged extra for damages?"

"ANNNNDDD this is why we don't tell you things", Uhura scowled.

Kirk felt his com go off.

"Hey, where are you?" Lena's voice called out to him.

"I'm at the wedding reception...where I'm supposed to be… Where are you?"

"I am with Goyel", Kirk heard Goyel giggle in the background.

"What are you doing with Goyel?" he asked, allowing her to lead him down the verbal trap he figured she was setting up.

"I was going to show her the ship!" Lena said brightly.

"She already had like three tours, why would she want to see the ship again?"

"We are about to begin!"

"Lena -where ARE you?"

"I am in your bedroom", she let that sink in…

"Wait, what?"

"I am in your bedroom about to 'show Goyel the ship'. I was hoping you might join us…"

"What?"

"Ugh! You have exactly five minutes to get here or I'm starting without you", He heard the Ambassador's daughter giggle again. "Make that three minutes! - Lena out!"

Kirk looked at Sulu and Spock, "Did she just?"

"You lucky son of a bitch!" Sulu said.

"OK- are we SURE this isn't another trick?"

"Hey Julie!" Sulu called his now ex-girlfriend over. She walked up to their table - they were friendly now that Sulu had gotten over it.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

Kirk jumped in, "Lena just hailed me and-"

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, it's what you think it is."

"A trick?"

"NO! She told me she finally worked out of you whether or not you were into the Ambassador's daughter. She thinks the gills are kind of hott, but assumed she needed your participa-"

Julie didn't even get to finish her sentence before Kirk leapt up, clapped Spock on the back, kissed Uhura congratulations and darted out of the room.

Marcus looked outright disgusted, "Seriously?"

Julie shrugged, "Virosa don't really do monogamy before babies...she's wanted to for a while, but I think she wanted her life to calm down a bit first. She didn't want to get Jim's hopes up."

"So she likes girls?"

Julie sighed, "She doesn't think of it like that."

"You do realize that this is a threesome with three different species, right? Like holy fuck!" Sulu exclaimed.

"Ugh!" Uhura said, "I hope we don't get kicked off the planet because of them. I was sort of hoping we wouldn't have to deal with this anymore."

"So when is their wedding?" Sulu asked.

Jim woke in the middle of the night to an empty bed. He and Lena had fallen asleep watching a movie after Goyel beamed back to her planet. They had taken to doing this at Uhura's suggestion; Lena was trying to learn Common, which was basically American that she didn't need to rely on the translator anymore. He noticed Lena's hair-tie on his bedside table. Flicking on a light he saw that the door was slightly ajar.

Jim got up and went to look for her. She was standing in his living room, looking out the window into the cosmos. She was so beautiful standing there in the starlight. She looked almost human saved for her sloped ears. Jim felt his heart ache. She turned her beautiful bright green eyes back to him and smiled slightly. "Hi, Jim" she said.

His translator was off; her voice was the same, but her accent was strange, "Trouble sleeping?" he asked.

She shook her head, "I set an alarm. Something to see." She used her pheromones to let him know she was excited about whatever it was. They were incredible. With his translator off he could actually understand her better… He walked over and wrapped his arms around her; he kissed her ear.

"I love you - vea", he whispered in Virosa, using a term of endearment she'd taught him. He'd been working on learning her language. Though she'd never admit it, he knew she loved it when he spoke to her using it. He realized, after a few weeks, that she might never hear her mother-tongue ever again. Of course the male language was much more complex, but Uhura was a decent tutor, and she thought it was "so sweet". He could feel Lena's pheromones respond happily to his statement, as a warm wave washed over him.

"I love you, too", she whispered back.

"What are we looking for?" he continued.

She slipped his earpiece back in - they weren't that good at communicating without them yet. "A comet", she said. "It should be passing by here soon. I didn't want to miss it."

"Oh", he said. "You... you sort of surprised me today…"

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that."

"I did, I guess I just sort of forgot that that used to be your MO."

Lena laughed, "Yeah - I asked Julie if she was interested, but she said it would have been weird."

"Probably."

"Well, I enjoyed myself… if you're OK with it...we could make it a thing?"

"A thing?"

"Yeah - I mean, what's the point of running around the galaxy if you can't bang a few hott aliens in the process?"

"Where have you been all my life?"

Lena snuggled closer into his chest, "I'm right here, now."

Jim kissed the back of her head, "So what's with this comet?"

"It's one of the few in the Falian Galaxy that's visible to the Virosa solar system. We can see it every 200 years or so. I saw it once when I was a little girl. It was so beautiful - I cried when my mother told me I'd never see it again." She smiled wistfully, "It'll pass us in about 15 seconds."

Sure enough, a brilliant amethyst comet came into view, lighting up the sky. They must have been very close to it, as they could actually see it moving. Jim and Lena stared at it in the quiet for a few minutes - settling onto Jim's now PRISTINE couch.

"Do you want to go chasing after it?" Jim asked her.

"No...I think that's enough", she responded, looking at him.

"You're not even looking at it anymore."

She kissed him then, and kept kissing him, tangling herself in his warm arms, breathing in his scent. He felt her lips sliding over his, her arms gently wrapping around him. There wasn't really any urgency to their kissing - just a desire to be close to each other. When she pulled away, the comet had faded from view.

Lena rested her head on Jim's shoulder. They still weren't ready - but they would be, "OK", she said.

"OK?"

"No "ish", though."

Jim looked at her curiously. She lifted her from his shoulder, "Five years", she said softly.

END.