Kirk looks startled, then thrilled when he opens to doors to Carol's quarters and they all look up from their cards. "I didn't know there was a party!" he says, attempting to step over the threshold.

"Jim, no," Uhura says, jumping off Carol's bunk to stop him. "Some things are sacred."

Spock appears at the Captain's shoulder, handing him a filmplast and a small box everyone in Starfleet recognizes.

"Well, this is a good one, I promise," Kirk says with a grin. "Ensign Darwin? The computer located you here and we just got the transmission. We can do this privately, tomorrow, if you'd like."

"No, sir," Darwin says, rising from the couch and straightening her shoulders. Her breath catches, and her focus doesn't waver from the box.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant," Kirk says, opening it and presenting new stripes. "For your work navigating the Enterprise out of Earth's atmosphere and saving the lives of those on board."

Darwin feels Christine grab her shoulders in a hug and Kirk's smiling at her, and she actually hears clapping. The Captain hands her the small container, where the stripes and new pips for her dress uniform sit, along with the filmplast containing her new orders. Spock gives her a slightly less stern nod than normal, the Captain shakes her hand, and the two men turn to leave before Uhura stops them.

"Honey, would you mind grabbing the box in my storage locker? Behind my boots?"

"Can you be more specific as to which boots? You seem to be procuring extra pairs at a startling rate."

"The boots. Brown. Buckles. Rigellian."

Darwin is pretty sure Spock sighs as he heads off with Kirk in tow, only to return in a few minutes, the Captain telling a very loud story involving a Trill, a Betazoid, and an Andorian.

"You're still not invited," Uhura says, stopping Kirk with a hand when he looks eagerly at the box, and then the room of women. "Don't wait up," she says to Spock, and turns back towards the rest of them.

"We can hang out all night," Kirk says, smiling before the door shuts. The soundproofing on the Enterprise is good, but not good enough to muffle Spock's despondent "Indeed."

Uhura opens the box to reveal a bottle of champagne and proposes a toast to Darwin's promotion. She briefly wonders where Uhura gets these things, but it's hard to care when Uhura passes her a glass and the other women all start demanding a speech.

"It feels good to be recognized," Darwin says, holding her glass up. "Though I think we can all note the futility of lieutenant stripes when there's no place for them on our uniforms."

"Long sleeves!" Jodi says, raising her own glass, then looks at her wrist with a frown. "Though, of course, no stripes on mine."

"Someday," Madeline says, "someday for all of us."