"I figured that you'd be out here," Chris said to Jim as he took a seat next to her at the Kelvin Memorial Wall. Jim went for her run but when she was gone for a little over two hours, Chris knew that she went to the wall.

She offered him a small smile, "Yep. You know, I used to hate him for dying. Felt like my whole life was fucked up because of what he did. Now, I'm just glad he didn't have to spend his life with Winona. I don't know if she was like this before he died or not but the idea of my father, who was by all accounts selfless and honorable, spending his life with her makes my blood boil. Any word on what's gonna happen to her?"

"S.I. got all the info she was willing to give. I don't know the details and I really don't want to. She tried to have you killed and that's more information than I need. As far as the public is concerned, she's retiring off planet. I have no idea where S.I. put her. Marcus knows," he told her.

Jim chuckled, "Marcus knows everything."

Chris smiled, "True. Though, that is the man's job. You've been a bit quiet about all this. How do you feel?"

She sighed and looked at the memorial, "She wasn't really my mother, so I'm not too broken up about it. To let it bother me would just be giving her power over me and I refuse to do that. I came to terms with her not wanting me years ago. It was never that I wasn't good enough, she's the one that's not good enough. My problem is with what she did to Max, Les and even Lenore. I mean, Lenore never had a chance. Winona just gave her to her father… like a fuckin' retirement present or some bullshit. Les cried like a fuckin' baby when the reality of it set in. Max... he won't talk to anyone but Jo and Sulu."

"You know you can talk to me," he said.

Jim nodded, "I know. I'm okay, really. I'm glad that I finally know the truth. I can finally let it go and get on with my life."

The admiral raised an eyebrow, "Meaning?"

She sighed, "Meaning I can finally stop waiting for my mother to stab me in the back. I'm convinced she would've murdered me in my sleep if she had the chance."

"She'd have to get through me and I'm tougher to kill than you are," he said.

Jim chuckled, "So, that's what you tell yourself. That's cute."

Chris smiled, "Stick around, I got plenty."

She nodded, "Five years' worth… at least."

"Or a lifetime," he muttered. Jim looked at him for a long minute but, unlike any other time he's brought up the subject of being together forever or getting married, she didn't say anything and turned her attention back to the memorial. 'Help me out here, George,' he thought.

"What do we have here?" Chris asked as he leaned against the bathroom's door frame.

Jim smiled, "I don't know what you're talking about."

She was leaning over the vanity, applying eyeliner, in the sexiest set of lingerie he had ever seen. It was lace in a shade of blue that was a little darker than her eyes, accentuating her already beautiful body. He sighed as he stepped behind her, "I think you know."

"Nope. I'm just trying to get dressed. You might want to go change, we have to leave in forty minutes," she said with a smirk as she finished applying her makeup.

He pressed a kiss against her shoulder, "You're not gonna tell me where we're going, are you?"

Jim shrugged, "That defeats the purpose of a surprise, Chris."

"What if I don't want the surprise? What if I want to stay here and have my way with you?" he asked, resting his hands on her hips and watching her reaction in the mirror. Jim's eyes fluttered closed and she took a deep breath.

"Trust me, you want this surprise. You can have your way with me when we get back," she said just above a whisper.

He chuckled, "I'm gonna hold you to that, sweetheart."

Chris was amused as he tried to figure out what Jim was up to. Getting dressed in the suit laid out for him only added to his mounting clues. Wherever they were going, it was nice enough that they were both dressing up. When he walked into the living room, Jim was waiting for him in a white dress with a large blue flower print. He sighed, "You're trying to kill me."

"It'll be worth it. You ready?" she asked.

Chris nodded, "I wish I knew where we were going."

Jim smiled, "Dinner first. Then… something else."

He gave her a look, "Cryptic."

His girl chuckled, "The thing about an extended tour is that I've had years to plan a whole bunch of stuff. Come on."

He couldn't remember the last time that someone took him out on a date. Granted, Jim's been off planet for most of the last five years but he still couldn't think of a time where he was the one who didn't plan the date. Chris told Jim as much and she laughed. He was informed that that was going to change now that she's home and he couldn't wait.

"James Tiara Kirk, what did you do?" Chris asked as he and Jim walked into the San Francisco Jazz Center. The center was built, destroyed and rebuilt twice in the last three hundred years but music never died.

She chuckled, "I didn't do anything but get us tickets. I take it you approve?"

He looked at her, "Are you kidding? We're going to see Stan Pratt. The Stan Pratt, as in my favorite jazz musician. Of course I approve." Jim burst into laughter and Chris gave her a look.

"I'm sorry I don't mean to laugh at you. It's just… you remind me of a little kid at Christmas right now. It's adorable, which is something I would never equate with you. Handsome, sexy, even dashing but not adorable. I like it," Jim told him.

Chris chuckled, "I will remember that. Thank you, sweetheart."

"You are very welcome. Wanna get a drink before the show starts?" she asked.

He nodded, "Yea. I'm definitely having my way with you when we get home."

Jim smiled, "Like that was ever in question."

"So, I figured something out about… halfway through the concert. You, my love, are up to something," Chris said when they walked into the apartment.

Jim smirked, "Hmm. Am I?"

He nodded, "You are. Not that you taking me out is too much of a surprise. You haven't been able to but it's well within your character. The thing is that we had pretty good seats at that concert. Went to my favorite restaurant for dinner. You're wearing my favorite color on and under that dress. So, the question is; what are you up to?"

"That's an interesting theory. You're completely right, I am up to something. Have a seat," she told him. Chris did as she asked and sat on the couch while Jim sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of him.

"Should I be worried?" he asked.

"No. There's just been a lot of things on my mind since the whole mess with my mom. And… um… you've been a big part of all the stuff rattling around in my brain. I have to get this out, so just let me," she took a deep breath and reached over to hold his hands. "I… I remember the day we met with vivid clarity. I never told you about how I spent the rest of that night sitting on my motorcycle and staring at the Enterprise. I promised myself that I was gonna stand on the bridge of the ship. And I did. And now I'm her captain. And for a while, that was enough. I didn't realize until after this whole thing with Winona that it wasn't."

He was curious as to where she was going with this. Chris gave her hands a squeeze and let her continue. Jim sighed, "It's funny when you spend your whole life looking after yourself how obvious it is when someone else starts looking out for you. Even more obvious when that person doesn't care what happens to them as long as you're okay. I used to think to think that people like that were stupid. Now I realize that it's what you do for people you love. I made a comment a while ago about not owning you but that wasn't true. Because I do… own you. Just like you own me, heart, body and soul. I would… I tried… I'm messing this up."

"Take your time," he told her.

She smiled, "I'm good, I got this. I… I love you. And I was wondering… Chris, will you marry me?"

He wasn't sure he heard that right. Chris stared at her, "Can you say that again?"

"I love you," Jim smiled. "Will you marry me?"

"That's what I thought you said. Yes, I will marry you," he said before he stood up and pulled her into his arms. Their lips met in a soft, passionate kiss.

Chris pulled away and looked at her, "Took you long enough."

She chuckled, "Thank you for letting me figure myself out."

He smiled, "Anytime. I guess I should get you a ring."

"Charlie said to stop by when you get a chance, he has a ring for you… well, me," she said like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Chris raised an eyebrow, "You talked to Charlie?"

Jim nodded, "Of course I did. Talked to Les too. They both want to know what your answer is."

He wrapped his arm around her waist, "Comm 'em later. I got a fiancée to devour."

"Try the combination, Hastings. Nice cross, Richter," Jim said as she walked through the group of cadets she had in the intermediate hand-to-hand combat course. The Andorian kid in front of her dropped his partner on the deck. Jim smiled, "Effective combination, Sheon. Not bad." Chris looked over the group and he could easily spot those destined for the advanced class. Judging by her face, so could Jim.

"You were looking at his hands when you should have been watching his eyes," she told a big cadet that got knocked on his ass. "Just because you're bigger doesn't automatically mean you have the advantage. My chief of security will be covering this class for me next week. Ask him about the bar fight when he and three of his buddies got their asses kicked by a five foot eight, hundred and ten pound girl. The admiral was there. It was epic, wasn't it, sir?"

"You had blood running down your face, Kirk," he reminded her.

She chuckled, "Well, my nose was broken. I still won the fight." Chris chuckled and looked at the cadet who just pushed himself up.

"That's true. All four men were about the same size as you, cadet, she still took 'em down. They thought that because she was small and outnumbered that they'd beat her. They didn't account for the fact that the pretty blonde girl at the bar is an expert at close-quarters combat. When you get out in the black, you cannot assume that you automatically have the advantage because most of the time you won't," Chris told the kid.

"We're gonna end the day with that. I will see you all next Monday. Don't give Lieutenant Commander Hendorff any trouble next week or I'll kick your asses," Jim told the group. The Admiral and the Captain watched as the cadets hit the locker room.

Chris smiled, "You're recruiting. He's on your list."

She nodded, "Santiago. His tactical aptitude is off the charts, he's just a little rough around the edges. I'm trying to get him where he needs to be so I can recommend him for Advanced Tactical Training with Sheon."

"Ah," he said.

Jim raised an eyebrow, "What's the 'ah' for?"

Chris shrugged, "Just a word."

She put her hands on her hips, "No. It's more like a sound. Spill… Admiral."

He chuckled, "I'm just remembering when you got recommended for ATT."

Jim smiled, "Please tell me it wasn't you."

The admiral shrugged, "Wasn't me. It was Richard."

"Tell me about Kirk," his friend said as he dropped into the seat next to him.

Chris chuckled, "You have access to more of her file then I do. I doubt I could tell you anything you don't already know."

The tall admiral sighed, "You recruited her. You're her advisor. Tell me stuff that's not in her file."

Chris shook his head, "There aren't enough words for that. Narrow it down."

"If you only had one sentence about Kirk what would it be?" his friend asked him.

The captain thought about it for a minute and smiled, "Jim Kirk is a brilliant survivor who fights for people who can't fight for themselves. Why?"

Richard smiled, "Baxter is falling all over himself over her survival strategies tests. And there's real talk about changing the tactical analysis course, largely due to her grade. Archer saw her scores. He hasn't seen scores like that ever and he's been fleet since before the Federation was founded. I got no choice but to recommend her for ATT. Wanted your opinion first."

"I think she'll succeed at anything she puts her mind to… which is everything she does. She doesn't like being compared to her father, but she also doesn't want to do anything he couldn't be proud of. If you put her up for ATT, I have no doubt that she'll get her rating with flying colors," Chris said.

Richard smiled, "That's what I needed to hear."

"I should've known. I thought it was either you or Commander Baxter," Jim said.

Chris chuckled, "If it was me, I would've told you. Baxter was gonna put you up for it but Richard beat him to the punch. We weren't wrong, your team's score for the Tanaka Station final is still the record. You think this kid has what it takes for ATT?"

Jim nodded, "He reminds me of me right before we met. He's got the brains and potential but he doesn't have the focus. Yet."

"You'll get him there," Chris told her.

She smiled, "Of course I will. I had a good teacher."

He smiled, "So, you ready to get married tomorrow?"

Jim nodded, "Yea, I'm ready. Are you?"

The admiral smirked, "I've been ready. Just had to wait for you to catch up."