Reading Time: 93 Minutes

Title: Against All Odds
Author: Meri
Fandom: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Drama, Family, Romance, Science Fiction, Slash
Relationship(s): Captain Christopher Pike/Dr. Leonard McCoy
Content Rating: R
Warnings: *No Mandatory Warnings Apply. Illegal drugging of characters, Very brief BDSM negotiation that doesn’t end up going anywhere, Discussions Of Child Abuse, Discussions of Mental Health Issues
Beta: SerpentsGarden. Thank you for your stellar beta. Also Grammarly and Text Aloud
Word Count: 76,369
Summary: Doctor Leonard McCoy and Captain Christopher Pike both have their share of struggles. Their first meeting should have gone very differently than it did. McCoy was looking for one thing but ended up finding something completely unexpected. At their second meeting, Doctor McCoy saves Captain Pike’s life, although Pike is unconscious at the time. Their third meeting didn’t go as expected either. By the fourth time they meet, they can’t ignore the undeniable connection between them. Could it be a soul bond? As far as either of them knew, soul bonds weren’t supposed to happen the way this one did.

After a while, they began to wonder if there was a larger conspiracy that was trying to keep them apart.
Artist: ImaliFegen89 — thanks so much for your lovely artwork!

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Chapter Thirteen

Later That Evening

Len parked the car behind Zach’s car and got out. They started up the long driveway.

“Wow,” Chris said when the driveway turned, and he could see the house lit up. “That’s pretty damned ostentatious.”

It hadn’t changed at all, not that Len expected it to. He always supposed they were going for an antebellum manor house effect. Wide steps led up to a porch with tall, white columns and huge floor-to-ceiling windows that were framed by long black shutters. The house was surrounded by a manicured lawn, with oak trees draped in Spanish moss that lined the driveway. It looked like something out of the far distant past and not in a good way.

“I always thought of it as a disgusting display of wealth for no reason,” Len said. “Plus, I hate what it stood for.”

“Yeah, really,” Chris said as they approached the door. Zach and Joanna were standing outside, along with someone else in a Starfleet uniform.

“Sir,” the man said, standing up from his slouch. “I’m Lieutenant Robert Thompson. I’m part of the engineering department at Starfleet Atlanta.”

“Thanks for coming out, Lieutenant. I’m Commodore Christopher Pike, and this is Doctor Leonard McCoy. My daughter, Joanna McCoy, and son-in-law, Lieutenant Zach Bowen,” Chris said.

Both Len and Joanna smiled brilliantly at him, as if he’d done something extraordinary. But all he’d done was acknowledge his new family circumstances, which, frankly, were entirely pleasing to Chris.

“Yes, sir, I’m aware of who you and Doctor McCoy are. I didn’t realize that Lieutenant Bowen was your son-in-law, though,” he said, sounding unhappy to have that knowledge.

“It’s going to be common knowledge soon enough. I’m soul-bound to Doctor McCoy. His family is now my family.”

“Of course,” Thompson said. “What do we have here?”

“We’re looking for a review of the entire household network. I want to know what all the house rules for messages and comms coming and going for everyone. I don’t think that should be a heavy lift, but I need it completed and documented tonight before we leave.”

“Of course, sir. It shouldn’t take long to do. Let me get started,” Thompson said pleasantly.

“Thank you,” Chris said. “Let’s go in. Len, you said there were some family heirlooms you’d like to have back?”

Joanna palmed the door, and they went into the foyer, which was enormous, with a massive curving staircase going up along one wall. White on white satin striped wallpaper and light wood wainscotting around the whole circle of the room, and white ceramic tile in a perfect circle were on the floor.

It seemed overdone to Chris. After he’d been adopted by his aunt, he’d lived in a big house in San Francisco, but it had been much simpler in design and was decorated more modern and less fussily than this house.

“We should have brought Momma along so she could pick out the ones she wants back,” Len said after Thompson had left for Jocelyn’s office.

“Do you want to go with him, Zach? It seemed like he knew you,” Chris asked.

“Yeah, we know each other. We don’t actually work together, fortunately. And yes, I think you should order me to go watch him. He’ll take twice as long as necessary.” Zach sounded resigned to that.

“I actually can’t order you to do anything without a good reason, but I can ask you. So, if you would,” Chris said, smiling at him.

“Sure thing. I’d be happy to help out,” Zach replied with a smile. “I would have done it myself –”

“We need this on the record by someone impartial. I think it’s going to be important.”

“Very good, sir. Chris. That’s going to take a second or two before I learn to call you that,” Zach said and went in search of Thompson.

“I asked Grammy what she wanted when Jocelyn finally left the house to me. She made a list. So, we should get it packed up and shipped out tonight if we can,” Joanna said.

“Yeah, maybe we can find where all the presents I sent over the years ended up.” Len actually didn’t sound very hopeful about that.

Not that Chris blamed him.

“Good thought,” Joanna agreed. “But I’m going to sell this monstrosity as soon as the funeral’s over. It will go on the market tomorrow, maybe.” Joanna sounded bitter.

*****

An hour later, Len and Joanna were still going through the house collecting things. They’d found some storage containers and the missing gifts. They had all been unwrapped and Jocelyn had put them in a separate drawer in her closet. Len had recognized what was in the drawers as his gifts. Joanna now had a pretty scarf around her neck that she said that Len had bought her for her sixteenth birthday.

Chris went in search of Zach and Lieutenant Thompson.

He stopped in the doorway of Jocelyn’s office when he heard them talking.

“I think that’s about done,” Zach said, typing something into a padd. “Thanks for your help.”

Thompson grunted. “It wasn’t like I had a choice. Unlike you.”

“I don’t mind helping out my family. You should get back to base now. I’ll give this to the Commodore.”

“Yeah. You got lucky on that one. It’s clear sailing for you now. It must be nice to get to rub shoulders with the big brass,” Thompson said snidely.

Zach sighed. “I actually do my job where and when I’m told to. Besides, I just met him tonight. He’s probably not going to have anything to do with my career. Though, he seems like a nice man.”

“You haven’t heard of him?” Thompson asked disbelievingly. “His list of accomplishments goes on for miles. He’s one of the most decorated officers in Starfleet. Did two five-year missions as captain of the Enterprise. And just a couple of months ago, he saved like six cadets on a training cruise.”

“I actually did know that,” Zach said. “And yes, he’s impressive. More importantly, he’s my family now. That trumps everything else. Why do you have a problem with that?”

Thompson sneered again. “You don’t even know, do you? Why do you always get everything handed to you? You get the first choice of all the good assignments. You always got straight A’s at the Academy. You got promoted before anyone else did. You’re always one step ahead –”

“Did you ever think that I might have earned that?” Zach said, and it sounded tired, like he’d heard that before.

“What do you have for me, gentlemen?” Chris asked, stepping into the room.

Zach handed him the padd.

“Thank you, Zach, Lieutenant Thompson. Do you need help finding your way out of this place?” Chris waved a hand towards the front door.

“I think I’ve got it. I was happy to help out, sir,” Thompson said and turned around and walked out.

Zach breathed out, sounding relieved.

“He’s a piece of work,” Chris commented. “You didn’t mention you were top of your class.”

“Does it matter? I mean, that was just school. It’s what I’ve done beyond that, that’s what matters. I cannot wait to get back into space full-time. It’s what I’ve wanted my whole life.”

“I understand that completely. It was what I wanted too,” Chris said. “It must be tough to have to wait a few more years.”

“You know, truthfully, nothing is that difficult where Joanna is concerned. It’s almost too easy sometimes. I’m happy to wait for her to finish medical school. She’s probably going to outrank me for a few years. But that’s okay, too. Doctors don’t seem to care about rank.” Zach seemed amused by that, too.

“I’ve noticed. Len is about to be promoted to captain.”

“Wow, I had no idea. Of course, how would I? Can I ask you something personal?”

Chris nodded. “I can’t promise to answer.”

“Is he bad-tempered? Really grouchy in the mornings until there’s coffee in front of him. Snap, snap, snap when he’s hurt or even just too tired? Not that I don’t find every single thing about her delightful, but does it get better with age?” Zach asked.

“We’ve only been together a few months, but I’m pretty sure that’s only going to get worse with age, not better. But I find it adorable, too,” Chris just laughed and looked down at the padd in his hand. “So?”

“If you were looking for rules that applied to Doctor McCoy — ”

“You’re not going to call him that, are you?” Chris asked. That took the rank protocol a little far, considering who Len was to Zach.

But he shrugged. “Well, I haven’t actually been given leave to call him anything else, and it’s a fine line here. I’m going to error on the side of caution.”

Chris laughed again. “He is not going to appreciate that. So, we should probably correct that oversight as soon as possible. But go on,” Chris said.

Zach looked at the padd that Chris was holding. “Anyway, there are several rules for outgoing and incoming calls. If Doctor McCoy didn’t call on Christmas day or Joanna’s birthday, then he wouldn’t be able to connect at all. If he had called, then, from what I have heard, she wouldn’t have been there to answer. Also, she stopped living here at all after she turned eighteen.”

That was something else, too. “If she no longer lived here, how were her comms rerouted?”

“If she used the same padd, which I’m sure she did, it would still have whatever protocols were copied from the previous one.”

“Making sure that Len’s comms never got to her,” Chris said and sighed. “What about her messages to him?”

“They were also rerouted too, so that they didn’t go out. Although, I don’t know where they went. But I doubt they were deleted,” Zach said. “That’s a whole other class of felony.”

Chris was sure whoever did this didn’t care about the law at all. “And what about something she sent at school?”

“Same thing as when she moved out. She upgraded the padd every few years, so something on it must have been copied to each of them with her existing files.” Zach sighed. “It’s only when she got a new padd and didn’t copy anything from the old one that probably let her send the last message.”

“And Jocelyn couldn’t have done it. So, who could have?” Chris asked.

“I don’t know. But it could have been a bit of code that copied itself to each new device that was attached to the network.” Zach sighed. “I can’t figure out why anyone would want to hurt them this way. It just makes no sense to me. Frankly, it makes me very angry.”

“Yes. I’m furious about it, myself. You probably deal with it better than I do,” Chris said truthfully. “I think it was meant to destabilize Len. He was pretty alone for a while.” Chris sighed. “He had friends, of course, but I think losing his entire family must have devastated him.”

“Honestly, losing my family would kill me,” Zach said. “I’ve got this huge family, and I dearly love all of them.” He snorted. “Well, most of them. Most of them have been all in on Joanna since I brought her home the first time. My parents and sister especially.”

“I’m so glad for her. That probably helped her a lot.” It probably gave her some comfort after everything with her mother and father.

“I hope so,” Zach said. “I think I’m going to have Joanna set up an alert on the house, and specifically the network access, through the security system. If anyone other than her tries to enter the system, it will set off an alert. We should be able to automatically contact the police to come out and check on it.”

“You know, that’s a good idea,” Chris said. “At least until she sells it. Although Joanna said, it will be going on the market tomorrow.”

“More like the day after. She’s going to turn it over to a real estate company to deal with,” Zach said. “She’s been threatening to give all the credits to a charity.”

“What do you think of that?” Chris asked. That might be an issue between them.

“If it would give her some kind of closure for all of this, then I’m all for it,” Zach said earnestly. “This place has nothing but bad memories for her.”

Chris nodded. Yeah, he thought it was a good idea, too.

*****

It was late when he and Chris settled into bed that night. All Len wanted was to cuddle up to him and be held. As always, Chris seemed to know exactly what he needed.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Chris asked.

“Which part. I’m reeling from all the revelations of today. But on the plus side, I got my daughter back and my momma, too. In addition to a son-in-law who adores my daughter,” Len said. Maybe Zach had a flaw somewhere, but it wasn’t readily apparent. And there was no denying that he looked at Joanna like she was his whole world. Len understood that feeling all too well.

“I’m kind of surprised you said that about Zach. Usually, fathers don’t want their daughters to even date,” Chris laughed.

Well, if he’d been there when Joanna was fifteen, maybe. But, “I looked him up. He did extremely well at the Academy and is working on a master’s degree in his spare time. Generally, he’s very well thought of and has a bright future. What’s not to like,” Len said and kissed him.

“So, no complaints?”

“About Zach, no. I probably shouldn’t complain about anything else either,” Len said.

“I think you can take exception to all the years that someone was fucking with all of you for some still unknown reason,” Chris pointed out, and he wasn’t wrong.

“Yeah, there’s that,” Len said, letting out a long sigh. “I am ready to kill someone over it. Or maybe several someones.”

“I know, Sweetheart. I feel the same.” Chris wrapped his arms around Len and held onto him.

Len turned and moved closer, leaning in to kiss him. “How tired are you?” he asked as he pulled back.

“I am never going to be tired enough to turn you down,” Chris said against his mouth. He kissed him again, fingers sliding along Len’s cheek in a slow caress.

Len lay back and let it unfold as it always did. Slow and sweet. Chris’ hands on his skin were tender and sure, moving along and creating powerful sensations. Len just went with it, letting it build and flow, breathtaking in its pleasure.

A while later, he was coming down from the height Chris had created between them, catching his breath and getting ready to fall asleep. But Len felt some unease in Chris, and after what they’d just done, he couldn’t imagine what had upset him.

He snuggled closer. “What’s wrong?”

“You can feel that, can’t you?” Chris asked and then sighed. “I was just thinking about how to finish the conversation we started with your mom.”

“About your momma? Amelia Pike. I’ve heard of her, obviously.” Pretty much everyone on Earth knew about the Pike Foundation. It was interesting that most people didn’t know the connection to Chris or that it was his family.

Chris let out a sigh, which wasn’t quite reluctant. “Do you want me to tell you?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t have to be right now. Although, given all the work we just did, you should be nice and relaxed. But clearly, you’re not,” Len said. “In your own time. I know whatever it was had to have been traumatic.”

“It was. The long story short, is that my father was xenophobic to an unhealthy degree. I wanted to go into space and be an explorer from the time I was old enough to imagine doing it. I also made no secret of this fact. He disagreed. Sometimes physically.”

“How did he get away with it?” Len asked because that was not legal anywhere on Earth.

Chris sighed again, tired and sad. “My mother was complicit. I think she thought if he abused me, he wouldn’t abuse her. Or maybe she was just as xenophobic as he was. I don’t know.”

“What happened? Len asked, holding on to Chris tightly.

“You must know me well enough to know that I did not back down. In fact, the more he pushed me, the harder it made my resolve,” Chris said.

“I can see that about you, even as a child. What happened?” Len asked.

“When I was twelve, he’d had enough, and he said he was going to beat the Boy Scout out of me. And tried to, badly enough that I ended up in the hospital. My mother stood by him, and they lost custody of me and Jon, who is two years older. My aunt adopted us, but for some reason, he could never let me go. He tried to kidnap me a couple of times. The second time, they sent him to a penal colony, and he died there.”

“And your mother,” Len asked, horrified that anyone would do that to their own child.

“Honestly, I don’t know what happened to her. There’s a part of me that is still outraged by what she let him do to me. But Amelia turned out to be the mother I always needed. She also understood abused children. Both my brother and I had the best of care from her, Grant, my uncle, and Emma, who is my cousin and about the same age as Jon. Amelia took us to see a children’s psychologist and just the love and support I got from all of them helped to heal most of the damage.”

“You still don’t trust easily,” Len pointed out.

“No. But I do trust people. I’m learning to trust you. It’s surprisingly easy with you. And I know what you’re feeling about me. That also helps a lot,” Chris said.

“I guess there’s no hiding it,” Len said with a chuckle. He’d never been able to hide what he was feeling from someone he loved. Not that he wanted to in this case, anyway.

“No. I’m sure you know that I feel the same way. It might take me longer to actually say it out loud.” Chris looked at him. “I’ve never said it out loud to someone who is not my family.”

“I do know that. And it’s okay. We haven’t been together that long, and we also don’t know each other that well,” Len said. “Is there anything else we should talk about because I am pretty damned worn out at this point.”

“I don’t think so,” Chris said, kissing him.

*****

Chapter Fourteen

The Following Morning

As Len and Chris moved into the small room where the funeral would be held, Chris took his hand, and he could feel the comfort that Chris was sending through their bond.

In the end, Len had decided that if he needed to go to collect the DNA samples, which he’d done easily enough, then he might as well stay to support Joanna. The courier had picked up the physical samples right before they’d gotten to the room. And they should have the results later in the afternoon.

Even if Joanna didn’t want to be there any more than he did, she felt she had to go. It still was something of a surprise that there were so few people there.

Surprisingly, Len recognized some of them. A few of her friends from Ole Miss. And Charlie Parker. But fortunately, he didn’t say anything to Len, and Len certainly had nothing to say to him. The service was a standard non-denominational service. There would be no reception or callers to the house afterward. Joanna had said that the service was as far as she could go.

As they were going out, he saw Billy-Ray and, more surprisingly, Jon standing at the back.

“Uncle Billy-Ray,” Joanna said, hugging him. “Thanks for coming.” She looked at Jon and tipped her head. “You don’t look like him, but you’re Chris’ brother, aren’t you?”

“I’m surprised you knew that,” Jon said. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thanks. You feel like Chris.” She nodded politely and looked back at Billy-Ray. “Come by Grammy’s farm so we can talk,” Joanna said. “She’s makin’ lunch for us.” She turned to Len. “We forgot to mention it last night, Daddy, but you and Chris should come by, too.”

Chris nodded. “We’ll see you there.”

With Zach’s arm around her, Joanna moved toward their car.

“I’m surprised to see you here, Chris,” Jon said, reaching out to hug him. Chris let go of Len’s hand to hug his brother. As he pulled back, Jon raised an eyebrow at Chris.

“Yeah, about that. Well, I’d like you to meet my soulmate, Dr. Leonard McCoy,” Chris said, smiling and nodding towards Len. “Len, this is my brother, Dr. Jonathan Pike.”

“We’ve met. But it’s good to see you again, Jon.” Len smiled. “I didn’t know you were a doctor?”

“Psychologist,” Jon said, looking at Chris, his eyes wide. “A soulmate, Chris? That’s a surprise.”

Billy-Ray laughed and put a hand on Len’s shoulder, squeezing. “I should have known that.”

“We think it happened the second time we met,” Len said. “Let’s all go back to Momma’s, and we’ll talk there.”

“Good thought,” Billy-Ray said. “I should probably call my own momma. But I guess if it has waited this long, it will wait a little longer.”

*****

Len set the car down at the end of his momma’s long drive. Before he got out, Chris put a hand on his arm. “How are you doing?” Chris asked.

And his concern was comfort on Len’s soul. Which, of course, was the point. “I’m pretty good. I was surprised Joanna was right about almost no one coming to Jocelyn’s funeral. She must have alienated all the friends she had.”

“It’s pretty sad,” Chris said.

“Yeah. I was also surprised to see Billy-Ray and Jon there, too,” Len said.

“I saw them come in, but I was as well. I had no idea they were actually that close. I mean, it’s pretty clear that William brought Jon home to meet his mom.”

“I sensed something between them when I met Jon for the first time, which was the night I found out who you were. There was something strong and sturdy between them,” Len said. It had been a surprise to feel what was between them. “I didn’t think Billy-Ray would be able to acknowledge that, not easily. His attachment to Beth was very strong.”

“I didn’t think either of them would get over the grief of losing their wives,” Chris agreed.

“It’s been a long time for both of them. I think that time does heal you or maybe just gives you some emotional distance. And I might be misreading it,” Len said. He hoped not. He’d like to see Billy-Ray settled and happy.

“Probably not.” Chris leaned over and kissed him. “You are empathic. And the bond makes you more so.”

Yeah, Len realized that. “Is Admiral April coming by later today?” Len asked.

“He said he was, especially after I told him that Joanna would not be upset and your mom wasn’t even going to the service,” Chris said.

“I’m glad it’s over with. Let’s go up to the house and talk this out with everyone.” Len opened the door to the car and got out.

Chris stood beside him, leaning in to kiss him quickly, but Len turned into him, and Chris reached out, pulling him completely into his arms. The kiss held for a moment or two.

Someone cleared their throat, and Len opened his eyes to see Billy-Ray smiling at him.

“Like we said, soul bond,” Len said, stepping out of Chris’ arms.

“Congratulations,” Billy-Ray said. “Shall we head up to the house?”

“Sure. You can tell me why you and Jon are here. I mean together,” Chris asked.

“There’s a story to tell, but maybe we should tell it to everyone at once,” Jon said.

“I didn’t think you knew the rest of Len’s family,” Chris said, and he was surprised.

“Again, let’s only go through this once,” Billy-Ray agreed.

“Fine,” Chris said, taking Len’s hand again and starting up the drive.

*****

Lunch was a noisy affair, with everyone talking at one time. Chris loved these kinds of family meals. It reminded him of what it was like after he and Jon had gone to live with Amelia and Grant. He could tell that Len felt a little overwhelmed by it, but Chris tried to keep a firm hand on his wrist, and that seemed to relax him.

He turned to Jon, who was sitting on the other side of him. “So, are you going to tell us about this?”

Jon looked at him and shrugged. “I have been meaning to say something for a while now, but I wasn’t sure what to actually say. And truthfully, I didn’t want to admit that I was finally moving past what happened with Emily. William and I have been together for years, and as casual as we always said it was, it was time to move forward.”

“As much as I’m delighted to hear it, I have to say that I never thought you would get past it,” Chris said.

Jon cleared his throat. “Both William and I realized we were in a holding pattern with our lives. I, we, needed to get on with it, or we’d be stuck in the same place forever. It just wasn’t healthy. And I know that Emily would not have wanted me to grieve forever.”

Chris knew that was true. She wouldn’t have wanted it to have gone on as long as it had. But that kind of resolution of grief wasn’t something that anyone else could determine for another person.

“It’s interesting that you’re feeling that now,” Len said. “I mean, I felt like that as well, and now, in a matter of weeks, everything has changed for me.”

“How is that,” William asked. “It does feel like it’s all changed for us. But for Jon and me, it’s been a long time coming. But how has it changed for you?”

“Coming back here now has healed something that should never have been hurt in the first place.” Len went on to explain what was going on with not being able to contact Joanna and the rift with his mom from Beth’s funeral.

“You know,” William said, “I had no idea that you and Joanna were estranged in any way. I never even thought to ask about it.” He paused. “Which isn’t like me. I should have sensed something when you never mentioned her, and she didn’t mention you.”

“Why do you think that was?” Chris asked. “Because it seems like both of them were compelled in some way to not think of it.”

“I don’t know,” William said. “It’s kind of vague. Actually, now that I’m trying to think about it, I don’t remember anything at all about Beth’s funeral. I mean, at all. It’s a blur of pain and confusion.”

“I can barely remember it as well,” Len said. “And Momma is the same.”

“How is this all related,” William asked. “And to what?”

“It’s connected to Chris, isn’t it?” Jon said, glancing at Chris. “But I don’t understand how.”

Chris wondered what he could tell any of them. “Some of this is classified. And some of it is just not something I can talk about.” But that felt very wrong to Chris. These people were all his family.

“I think we understand that,” Zach said. “Especially with Grammy, Joanna, and me. You don’t know us. While saying it’s all about family, is all good and well on paper, but you have no reason to trust us beyond that I’m Starfleet, and they are your new family.”

“I think I’ve already said that I do consider you my family as well, Zach,” Chris said. But it didn’t help either, Chris thought. There was nothing he could say now, partly because of the classified nature of some of it. He looked at Len and could feel he understood.

“I appreciate that,” Zach said. “I think we all know what happened with Joanna and her mom. And Doctor McCoy and Grammy.”

“Doctor McCoy?” Len asked, frowning.

“I’m in Starfleet,” Zach pointed out. “I need explicit permission –”

“Oh, for God’s sake, don’t be an idiot,” Len snapped.

“Is this where I point out you did the same thing to me?” Chris asked, holding back a laugh at Len’s disgruntled expression.

“We were in a completely different situation then,” Len growled at him.

“Possibly,” Chris admitted, but it wasn’t that far apart since both Jim and Spock called him Chris. “But –”

Zach looked like he was trying not to laugh at them.

“Please call me Len. Or you know what? Since you now belong to my daughter, you should be calling me whatever version of Daddy you’d prefer.”

Everyone laughed at that. “Fine, Dad,” Zach said. “I might be looking at this wrong, but Chris said last night that he thought all of this was to destabilize you. Why would be the next question.” He looked at Len. “Was there something you were supposed to do that hurting you that badly would stop you from doing it?”

Len looked surprised by the question.

Chris cleared his throat. “In a relatively short amount of time, Len lost his entire family. One by one. His father to Pyrrhoneuritis, his sister to Messores’ Syndrome, his beloved brother-in-law to her loss, and then, his mother to a false memory, and finally, his daughter to illegal use of technology and anger. And, of course, his wife, too, but she was probably always going to be a loss. He literally had nothing left except Starfleet. That would have brought even the strongest of people to their knees.”

“But in reality, Starfleet gave me the structure I needed to keep going,” Len said. “And I had my work to bury myself in. I’d already spent years working on the radiation mitigation research. I would use my shore leave to track down leads about therapies on other planets.” Len paused and then looked down.

“What?” Chris asked. He could feel Len thought of something and wondered why he was hesitant to mention it.

“This will sound arrogant,” Len said. “But I’ve always felt I should have been able to do more or maybe be better than I am. I’ve done well –”

“Daddy, I think that’s an understatement,” Joanna said. “I’ve read your papers, and about the innovations you’ve come up with, it’s all pretty amazing. I would like to be half as good a doctor or researcher.”

“Honey, I’m sure you’re going to be just as good. Hopefully, better,” Len said. “But I have always felt like I never quite lived up to my gifts.”

Chris could not imagine what gave him that idea. As far as he knew, Len was considered one of the best doctors to ever serve in Starfleet. He made a mental note to ask Len about it when they were alone. “You saved my life. And if you hadn’t been there, with the skills you and Joseph had, then I would have died.” Chris paused, and something occurred to him. “Maybe that’s it. Why they did this,” Chris said.

There was a moment of absolute silence.

“Wait,” Joanna said. “You think all of this was to make sure Daddy couldn’t save you. Why and how would that even work?”

“We believe that much of what happened to Chris was a set-up,” Len explained. “We don’t know why, but there are far too many coincidences. Starting from Billy-Ray and Jon.” Len looked at them. “How did you two meet?”

“Completely random,” Jon said. “I was on Risa. I wanted some companionship, and I saw the club’s unobtrusive sign amid the lights and sounds of that street. And I was intrigued, so I went in. People coming there for the first time talk to one of the managers or the owner. I’d never had that happen in a club before –”

“What kind of club do you have Billy-Ray?” Eleanora asked, but it was clear that she had an idea, at least.

“A very specialized one that caters to certain kinds of tastes,” William said. “Jon didn’t know that going in. I didn’t explain then, either. But I was surprised by the attraction I felt towards him, enough for me to ask if he wanted to spend some time with me. He did. That’s how it started.”

“Seriously. Completely random,” Len said, his forehead furrowed, and he looked at Jon. “What made you choose the club?”

“As I said, the plain sign and the name. Votre Choix, which means Your Choice,” Jon said. “Something about it was interesting to me.”

“When did you tell Chris about it?” Len asked, glancing at him.

“That was a couple of years later,” Jon said. “William had only been open a few months when I wandered in. That was a couple of years before the Klingon War.”

“So how is the bar related to all of you, and you to it?” Joanna asked, glancing at Len.

“You do not need to know that kind of information about your father or stepfather,” Chris said, trying not to smile at her.

Joanna rolled her eyes at him and waved her finger around at William and Jon. “So, you two met in a random encounter and found something together that held beyond a one-night stand. I’m going to guess that Daddy and Chris met in that same club at some point later on. Probably not that long ago. So, why don’t you fill us in with the rest of it?”

“She’s too smart for the likes of us,” Len complained.

“You’re not going to be able to keep anything from her,” Zach pointed out. “You shouldn’t even try.”

“Probably not,” Chris conceded. “All right, so this avenue is actually a coincidence.”

“Can you tell us anything non-classified about the other ones?” Zach asked, looking at Chris and then Len.

Chris glanced at Len, who shook his head. “I’m going to follow your lead with this,” Len said. “But the thing I’m wondering is how the soulbond ties into everything else. We haven’t figured out why they, whoever they are, would want to block our soul bond.”

“Is it possible that our bond was somehow blocked when we first met?” Chris wondered out loud. “Because we should have felt something that first night.”

Len looked at him. “We should have, yes. But neither of us did. At the time, I was distraught,” Len said. “A lot of things had gone wrong right in a row. I’d lost a patient, who I shouldn’t have lost. I had a mission go very wrong and had nearly died myself. And then it was the anniversary of Daddy’s death.”

Yeah, distraught was probably putting it mildly, Chris thought.

“I don’t think any of that should have mattered,” Eleanora said. “I’ve always read that nothing could block a soul bond.”

“Actually, Momma, that’s not completely true,” Len said.

Chris could feel that he was concentrating hard on something.

“I read a paper, actually a couple of them, where a soul bond was blocked because of the mental impairment of one of the beings. I think one of them talked about a drug-induced block,” Len said. “The question becomes how and where could a drug have been introduced into one or both of us.”

“I don’t think either of us was drugged during that first meeting, or at least, I wasn’t. I’d had one drink at the bar,” Chris remembered. “And it was real whiskey, not replicated.”

“I hadn’t had any alcohol in a week or more when I got to Risa,” Len said. “I talked briefly to Billy-Ray and then went into the bar to meet you.”

“So, what do you think caused it,” Billy-Ray asked. “Because given your age, that soul bond should have slammed into the both of you like a giant asteroid as soon as you met.”

He and Len looked at each other. “I didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary,” Chris said. “I remember thinking Len was very attractive, but it wasn’t out of range with what I usually thought of someone good-looking.”

“Why don’t you walk us through what happened from when you entered the club until you met Lenny,” Billy-Ray asked.

Chris wasn’t sure this was the right avenue to pursue, but he would go along with it. He also wasn’t going to tell them about some of what happened. That was just too private between him and Len.

“I gave the bouncer my name, and he waved me through,” Chris said. “Then I went to see you, and we chatted briefly, and then you sent me to the bar. I ordered a drink, and the bartender gave it to me. I sat there for a while, drinking it and relaxing, and then Len came in and sat down next to me.”

“How clear is the memory?” Jon asked.

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Well, if you were drugged in some way, then it might be blurred in your memory,” Jon explained.

“How could that have happened?” Chris wasn’t following this.

“You could have been drugged with something that could have blocked your response to Len. So that you couldn’t respond to him as you should have,” Jon said.

“Do you mean something that would leave him vulnerable to mind control?” Len asked.

“There are many drugs that do that,” Billy-Ray said. “Most are highly illegal. And the better they work, the more illegal they are, at least on Earth. But every Federation planet has strict laws about those kinds of drugs.”

“But wouldn’t I have felt it?” Chris asked. Because he could mostly remember everything. Some parts were, if not blurry, then not as clear. But that could be his memory rather than something else. Even if it was only four months ago, a lot had happened since then.

“In theory, you should have. You might have distorted memories after the drug was introduced,” Len said. “But it would also depend on the drug used.”

“What about something else? Maybe something that used a suggestion to have you do something or not do something?” Joanna asked. “Rather than something to alter your perception of what was going on.”

Chris knew there were many different kinds of drugs that could do that. He’d run onto enough of them in space and was sure Len had as well.

Maybe someone had given him something so that he would follow through with what he was going to do to Len. Which was not something he would have wanted to do under normal circumstances. On the other hand, if someone had wanted him to follow through with that, it hadn’t worked because Chris had offered an alternate solution and he’d been pretty relieved when Len accepted that.

“There are certain classes of drugs, mostly illegal as well, that could leave you open to a suggestion. When I was still practicing, I’d get people who were addicted to them,” William said, his expression thoughtful.

“I know that they are mostly single-suggestion drugs. If you try to tie too much to it together, it won’t take effect correctly,” Len said. “And you could be seriously damaged. Which is why they are so highly illegal.”

William nodded. “They were originally created to help people who had specific kinds of mental disorders, but it was found over time that it did more damage than good. Unfortunately, they aren’t hard to come by, even now. But getting them into either of you would be harder to do.”

“Would they still be in our systems months later?” Chris asked.

“We should check on that,” Len said. “Some of them were designed to last for years. Now that we’re talking about it, it makes sense. I suspect whatever Momma and I were given at Beth’s funeral is still in our systems.” He looked at Joanna. “And maybe you, too.”

“What?” Joanna said. “You think we were drugged to believe what we did?”

“I think it’s a possibility,” Len said. “How else could you explain that Momma and I didn’t speak for all those years? I still loved her, and she loved me. I missed her desperately and did nothing about it. Even being as stubborn as we both are, we should have made up years ago. And with you, it’s been nearly eight years.”

Joanna sucked in a breath and nodded. “But how would anyone have drugged me? Given the fact I would have been a minor, there is no statute of limitation on that.”

“That’s correct,” Chris said, fighting down his anger that someone did this to any of them. “But we’d need to know who before we could do anything about it.”

“It seems like that’s what happened,” Len said.

Chris put his hand on Len’s back, moving it up and down. He was a mess of emotions. “I agree. I’m pretty sure one of us had to have been drugged at our first meeting.”

“Which brings us back to why anyone would want to block us from having a soul bond in the first place?” Len said.

Chris thought that he and Len needed to discuss this in private because there were too many things that didn’t add up anymore about that night. And some of that could not be addressed in a group.

Len was silent for a moment more. “Thinking back on it now, we should have known much sooner than we did, especially given how much contact we had with each other. That does lend credence to the idea we were drugged not to notice. I need some blood samples and a lab.”

“You could go into Starfleet Atlanta. Maybe run blood tests on all of us to see what you can find out,” Zach suggested.

“If you had these drugs in your systems, why didn’t it show up on a toxicology screen, which Zach told me you get at your yearly physicals,” Joanna asked.

“I think you’d need to be looking for a specific class of drug,” Len said thoughtfully. “And they don’t show up as mind impairing, especially the ones that work with suggestions rather than just blurring your memories.”

“I think blood tests all around is a good idea. I’ll send a message to Admiral April and have him meet us there rather than here,” Chris said, getting up.

*****

Chapter Fifteen

Starfleet – Atlanta
Later That Afternoon

Admiral April met them at the entrance to the Starfleet base. Len, Chris, and Zach were still in their dress uniforms from the funeral. Chris ran through a quick introduction of everyone other than him and Chris.

“Chris,” Bob said. “What’s going on? I thought I was going to come out to Mrs. McCoy’s farm later this afternoon.”

“We thought of something that Len needs a lab to check out. We think we may have been drugged to ignore our soul bond. Also, some of the details seem to be misremembered or are just completely wrong.” Chris went on to explain their lunch discussion.

Len took blood samples from everyone, including himself, and then did the analysis without any assistance from anyone else. Chris stayed in the lab with him while everyone else waited in the conference room that Admiral April had requested.

“Okay,” Len said, looking up from his padd. “It’s pretty clear that we were all drugged. It seems that I was drugged the most, and it goes back years, with three different types of drugs. But you have two distinct types of drugs. All of it is various types of synthetic scopolamintropic drugs that are very effective and highly illegal. It leaves the person open to a suggestion. So, if I said you wanted to do something or believe something, you would, until it was proven that your information was wrong.”

“So, if I didn’t want to do something, say beat you with a strap, someone could tell me I did want to do that, and I’d do it?” Chris asked, sounding rightly horrified.

“I don’t know that it would go that far. I don’t think it could get you to commit a crime.” Len sighed. “I suspect that the soul bond wanted you to take care of me as you do, and that might have also given you the impetus that you needed to follow through on it. It was something I believed I needed.”

“Except that I offered another option, and you took it,” Chris said.

“Looking back on it, I was surprised by that, that you’d suggested something else. Even more surprised that it worked.” He smiled at Chris.

Chris nodded. “I would have done just about anything you wanted that night. I might not have wanted to do it personally, but I also would not have regretted it if it had helped you.”

“And it did. We should talk about that in more depth, too. Until you mentioned it, I would never have thought of trying something else because what I had done previously had worked,” Len said. He couldn’t believe he’d never thought about other options. “And I think the bigger problem was that I never did anything to relieve that emotional pain. I just wallowed in it.”

“Where are we with this?” Chris asked.

Len picked up a hypo. “This is going to dissolve the remaining drugs in your system. I’ve already taken it.” He hesitated until Chris nodded, and then he pushed the trigger on the syringe.

“Wow. That cleared my mind,” Chris said. “And yes, now I do remember the bartender handed me a drink and said, do what he needs you to do, no matter what it was. He needs it. Then she also said soul bonds do not exist for you. I remember thinking that was strange. And then I forgot what she said.”

“I got a drink of water before I met you, and she told me that soul bonds don’t exist for me. She also said you’d give me what I needed,” Len said. “I’m going to assume it was Anna, the bartender, who gave you your drink.”

Chris nodded. “I don’t know her name, but I am sure I would recognize her. She’d been there for a long time.”

“Anna has been there since I started coming to Billy-Ray’s club. So, years,” Len said. “What else do you remember?”

“Obviously, I was going to do what you needed me to do, and also, taking care of you when you need it is organic to me. That is who I am,” Chris said. “I think I’ve said that before.”

“I know that.” And it was never a question for Len. He cleared his throat. “I still need something when I’m overwhelmed and will likely need something again at some point in the future.”

“When you do need something in the future, I promise you that we’ll figure out what it is together.” Chris put a hand on his arm. “There’s something else I want to know about this. Why do you think someone tried to block our soul bond?”

“Because that would have been a comfort to me,” Len said. “Something else occurred to me. What if the soul bond was supposed to happen before it did, and somehow it was blocked or stopped then.”

Something clicked in Chris’ mind as soon as Len said that. How could he have forgotten that? “Wait. Jim told me that he’d gone to my lecture on shuttle aerodynamics twice, in fact. That meant we were at the Academy at the same time. That was when I was getting ready for the first five-year mission, I had an office in the administration building.”

Len looked at him. “Fuck. Yes. I remember now, he thought the lectures were brilliant,” Len said and then really smiled. “He also said you were hot as hell, too. And Jim, in those days, had very little restraint, so he went on about what you looked like and what he wanted to do to you at some length.”

Chris laughed at that. “He didn’t mention that part.”

“Of course not. He’s grown up a lot since then. And yes, I literally just remembered that after my fellowship, Phil wanted me to meet with you about possibly going with him on the Enterprise, and right before that happened, there was an incident in my lab. I spent a week in the hospital. And another week recovering in my dorm.”

“What kind of incident?” Chris asked.

“I was working on something with the radiation burns, and I was exposed to a non-lethal dose,” Len said and then paused. “No, that’s not right.” Several conflicting memories slid into his mind, and he could not quite parse them out. “No, wait. Give me a second.”

“Len?” Chris asked concerned, putting a hand on his arm, and that seemed to steady him.

Len took several deep breaths. “I think someone tried to murder me in my lab. There was a fight between two people, neither of whom I knew. And they were dressed differently, weird. One of them killed the other, and whoever it was who died then disappeared. And then the other one, who was human-looking, pushed something into my hand, and I dropped it.”

Len breathed out sharply and closed his eyes again, trying to remember what happened. “He said to forget about this. This didn’t happen. And then he disappeared, too. I think I passed out, and then, I woke in the hospital and was told I had an accident in my lab with a non-lethal dose of radiation.” Len sighed. “It took about four or five weeks to work completely through my system. And Phil left with the Enterprise before I was completely recovered. I was pretty disappointed.”

“And you didn’t remember the fight or the two beings in your lab after they told you about the lab accident?” Chris asked.

“Nothing until this minute. I did wonder how the accident could have happened at all,” Len said. “And at some point later, I didn’t remember any of it. I was assigned to another ship later that summer when I’d recovered. Jim knew about the supposed lab accident. That wasn’t a secret.”

“And when he and I were talking about it, he said there was something else but that he didn’t remember what it was,” Chris said. “I suspect he’d been drugged to forget about the accident as well.”

“We need to get in touch with him about it,” Len said, outraged. “I wonder who else around us has been drugged to forget things.” Len sighed. “If we had met then –”

“We would have established the soul bond so much sooner. That would be in line with how young most people are,” Chris speculated. “I feel like I was cheated out of all of those years I could have had with you.”

Len took a breath and tried to rein in his own anger. “I do, too. Obviously, someone tried to kill me so that we didn’t meet then. And when we did meet, it was under much more difficult circumstances. I’d had so many years for the bitterness and anger to fester in me.”

“I’m so sorry about that. I know I could have made a difference in your life. Especially then,” Chris said. “When we did meet, whoever it was doing this decided that if they couldn’t prevent our meeting, then they wanted the encounter to be something that would block the soul bond.”

“That would make sense. Did Billy-Ray know what your preferences were? Or that what I wanted would not be compatible?” Len asked.

“I told him about what I wanted. And that I was all about the pleasure,” Chris said with a little smile. “And taking charge.”

Len looked down at the pad. “Normally, I wouldn’t tell anyone the results of someone else’s tests, but this has stopped being about us personally and become a criminal case. So, Billy-Ray’s blood work shows almost the same amount of the drug in his system as I have. He also had the same three types of drugs I did. We can only surmise that he was drugged at about the same time, which would explain his not remembering Beth’s funeral and his bringing us together at the club. Maybe that’s why he didn’t tell me not to mention the connection between him and me.”

“Yeah, finding out was a surprise. It let me figure out who you were,” Chris said. “But William would have always been the connection. The bartender at the bar is involved. We’ll need to talk to William about that.”

“We have been manipulated for years. And for what?” Len said and knew that Chris could feel his fury.

“I don’t know. It seems that we must do something together that someone wants to stop,” Chris agreed. “The question was what. And whether or not we’ve already missed doing whatever it was.”

“This is seriously irritating to me,” Len said in a huff.

“A lot annoys you, Sweetheart. It’s part of your charm.” Chris leaned in, his hand on Len’s face, but he hesitated. “Okay?”

“Why are you asking me that,” Len snapped and then sighed. “Yes. Please.”

Chris’ lips touched Len’s. He sighed into the kiss, his arms slipping around Chris, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss.

After a second or two, Len pulled back. “We should give the antidote to everyone else.”

“Let’s join the family in the conference room. We have a lot to explain,” Chris suggested. “I’ll call Bob as well.”

*****

Everyone turned to look at them as they came in. Len explained what they had found and their theory about the drugs being administered at Billy-Ray’s bar. He and Chris soft-peddled what actually happened between them since it wasn’t anyone else’s business.

Billy-Ray looked absolutely outraged that someone in his establishment had been part of the conspiracy. He pulled out his padd and said, “Her name is Anna Jones, and she’s someone who has been with me almost since I first opened the bar. I’m sending you her information. Apologies, I trusted her.”

“It’s not your fault. This was part of a much larger conspiracy,” Chris said. “Len?”

Len nodded. “I’m going to give all of you the antidote to the drug. Some of you have more of it in your systems than others. But aside from Zach, everyone has some amount of it.”

He’d finished administering the antidote to everyone by the time Admiral April came in. April sat at the table and glanced through the report on his padd. “Where does this leave us?”

“With more questions,” Chris said. “Someone interfered with the creation of our soul bond. That alone is something that can get them sent to a penal colony.”

“I hope so,” Eleanora said. “I’m disgusted that this happened. And that no one noticed.”

“From what I’ve seen of this, each single act could have been a coincidence. Only by looking at it together does it become very noticeable as a conspiracy,” Bob said.

“We still don’t know who, and we don’t know why,” Chris said. “But I can guess that Len was stronger than they thought he’d be. By all rights, he should have been crippled by what happened to him.”

That was nice to hear. Len was pretty sure he was crippled by it, but he’d forced himself to go on, even though that wasn’t what he wanted to do. His own need to try to live up to his potential was what carried him forward, even if he knew he had no real hope of coming close to it.

He and Chris could talk about that later. “So, we’re back to Jim’s suggestion that someone had foreknowledge of what was going to happen and went to a lot of trouble to stop it. And ultimately, failed. But they kept trying to make it work out the way they wanted it to.”

“Are you sure they failed, Doctor McCoy?” April asked.

“The commodore is alive and well, soulbound to me. That tells me they failed to keep us apart or to kill either one of us,” Len pointed out.

“I hate to bring this up, but it could have been something else,” Billy-Ray said. “It could have been trying to prevent a future event.”

“Like what?” Len asked.

“Well, if I could even guess, then I’d know and tell you,” Billy-Ray laughed. “It’s just something playing in my mind. Despite all the coincidences, we don’t know for certain what the point was. Maybe we could question Anna Jones, the bartender. I’m going to assume we’re not going to catch her. I have a notice from my manager that she didn’t show up for her shift last night. That’s the first time she has ever just not shown up.”

“Isn’t that just fucking typical,” Len snapped. Anytime he figured something out, it just didn’t work out the way it should have. God, he hated this.

Chris caught his wrist and put his hand on Len’s, threading their fingers together. And damned if that didn’t stop his whirling thoughts. Focus, Len told himself.

“I’m not sure how we get to any kind of certainty.” Chris sighed.

“I actually don’t think we can. At least not right now,” April said. “We would need to know who did this. And the real reason for it.”

“I can’t believe that we can’t figure that out. I don’t even know all the facts, but I still feel like we’re missing something, that some significant information isn’t there yet,” Eleanora said.

“Apologies, but there are some facts that are classified and others that are considered sensitive,” April said.

A padd alarm went off, and Joanna pulled it out of her carryall. “Apologies. Damn,” she said. “Someone just tried to do something on Jocelyn’s network system.” She looked at it.

“How did anyone get in,” Chris asked. “You said you were the only one able to do that.”

“I added Zach, but they went in with an admin override of the lock,” she said. And fiddled with it again. “And that override was what also got them into the system itself. It looks like they were trying to erase all the house rules for the network.”

“Can I take a look?” Zach asked. She handed it to Zach. “The police were alerted and have stopped the deletion. We should contact the police –”

“I’ve already done that,” April said, looking up from his own padd. “They are beaming the person into our holding cells.”

“Who is it,” Len asked tightly. Each time something happened, he wondered how he could be more outraged than he had been before. And each time, it seemed that he could.

April looked at him. “Charles Parker.”

“Damn it all,” Len said, and his outrage went up again. “I want to talk to him.”

“Oh no. I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Chris said. “Nor me, neither. I might kill him.”

Len bit back his annoyance at Chris’ proprietary attitude. That was just the way Chris was. “But I won’t. And if I play it right, I might be able to get him to talk to me,” Len said. And Charlie wasn’t that bright a man. Len knew he could play him right into what he wanted.

“Why would he talk to you, Daddy?” Joanna asked, sounding perplexed.

“Well, I’m sure you know that certain kinds of people want nothing more than to set someone else down a peg,” Len said. “Even before I married Jocelyn, Charlie had always wanted to do that to me. I’m sure he’d like nothing better than to brag about how he’s finally gotten the better of me. Which looking back on it, he’d been trying to do since we’ve known each other.”

“How do you know that?” Chris asked.

“Because I remember now that he’d always wanted Jocelyn. She was from Atlanta, and he’d known her growing up. I have no idea whether she wanted him or not, but he didn’t have the prospects I had. And he didn’t come from an old southern family like I did.”

“I can’t believe that anyone thought like that, even years ago,” Joanna said.

“Oh, honey, of course, they did and do. People don’t change that much,” Eleanora said. “People have thought like that for hundreds of years.”

“Be that as it may, I still don’t think you should –” Chris met his eyes, and Len was sure that he was one second from ordering him not to do it.

“You do not get a say on this, Chris,” Len said. “I’m a Starfleet officer. I can do this, and I’m going to.” He was the best person to get any information out of Charlie Parker. And it was clear that April knew that as well.

“I think Doctor McCoy has a point,” April said.

Chris shook his head. “No. I don’t want him near –”

Len glared at him. Even though he could feel Chris’ worry, it didn’t change his resolve. He needed to do this. “I’m going to talk to him. You, on the other hand, need to be locked behind the wall, watching through the monitor.” He looked at Joanna. “I’m going to ask that you go back to the farm with Momma. I do not want you to hear what he might say –”

“I’m an adult,” she said, outraged, but Zach nodded and put a hand on her wrist.

“I think Dad’s right. I’ll take you and Grammy home, and we’ll wait for Chris and Dad there,” Zach said and stood.

“No. I’m not going anywhere,” Joanna said stubbornly. “I want to know what he did and why. This affected me, too.”

“Please,” Len said, putting some emotion into his tone. “There are some things that you just don’t need to hear.”

She looked at him, and he could see her thinking about what he’d said. “All right. I’ll go, but I want an explanation when you’re done with him.”

“We’ll go, too,” Jon said, standing, and he glanced at Billy-Ray, who stood, too.

*****

Len walked into the room where Charlie Parker had been secured, with a padd in his hand and a smirk on his face. Charlie looked old and tired. His once-brown hair was almost all gray, and his face was lined and jowly. He was overweight and looked out of shape.

Compared to Len, who was in good physical shape and trained, Charlie looked at least ten years older than him, rather than the same age.

Len wasn’t a hundred percent sure what he was going to say, but he had known Charlie a long time. He was a bitter, entitled man, and Len could play on that.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Charlie asked after a few seconds of surprise.

Len sat down across from him and put the padd on the table. “Well, trust me, you’d rather have me asking you some questions than my soulmate. Who would probably just as soon kill you as talk to you.”

‘What soulmate would that be,” Charlie sneered. “Last I heard, you didn’t have one.”

Yeah, so that was not a good way to start this conversation. “Why would you hear anything about me, anyway?” Len asked. “Why would you care?”

“Oh, I care, you bastard. I have hated you since you came home with Jocelyn as your wife. You had no right,” Charlie spat. Len had known that Jocelyn had been dating someone before they met, but he hadn’t known there was a connection to Charlie, because Charlie would not have been acceptable to Richard Treadway. Ever.

“Obviously, I didn’t know you were seeing her before she met me,” Len said. “She didn’t mention it.”

“Like that would have mattered to you. You were so in love with her. She led you around by your dick. And she used to laugh about it when she and I got together. Which we did a lot.”

Well, that hit home. Len tilted his head and didn’t let it show. “So, she cheated on me with you from the beginning.”

“Before you were even married,” he said proudly. “You should be grateful that Joanna looks like you. She could have been mine.”

Interestingly, he was lying about that. Len wondered if she had stopped seeing him at some point after they were married. Maybe that was why Charlie hated him so much. “If she wanted you, why did she marry me?”

“Because you came from the right family, but more than that, you seemed to be her perfect lapdog. Right up until you bit her on the ass by not doing what she wanted. She misread you so badly it would have been funny, if it weren’t so infuriating.”

That was very true. When he said no to the gap year travel, Jocelyn had been so shocked. Every time he’d said no after that, it had been worse. “Why did you reprogram Jocelyn’s network to shut me out,” Len asked.

“Because I could. It was a nice bit of revenge,” Charlie said and then smiled with all his teeth. “I got paid very well for it, too.”

“Really? Who on earth would care about me enough to pay you to hurt me and Joanna?” Len asked casually. Like it didn’t matter.

“I don’t know who paid me,” Charlie said.

He was lying. That was pretty clear, even without Len’s empathy letting him know that. “Who paid you, Charlie. You don’t have to take the blame for this yourself.”

“Well, it was no one on Earth, I’ll tell you that,” And he laughed a little maniacally. “Get the joke, not from Earth?”

“Yeah, hilarious,” Len said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “Why don’t you tell me who? Won’t that enhance your revenge on me? That’s why you did it, isn’t it.”

“I did. But they will kill me, if I tell you. And I want to keep spending the credits they gave me,” Charlie said.

Didn’t he realize that he wasn’t going to leave here any time soon, or probably at all? In all likelihood, he’d be sent to a penal colony for what he’d done. “Didn’t Jocelyn leave you some credits as well?” Len asked.

“Yeah, but I feel bad about taking that,” Charlie looked at him. “She didn’t deserve what they did to her. She died alone, hating everyone around her, including me. I don’t want them to do that to me, too.”

“Why did they kill her?”

“She knew too much. I don’t just mean what I’d done to her network. She wanted to hurt you, but when it hurt Joanna so badly, she tried to back out, but she didn’t know how to fix the network. She wanted me to do it, but I wasn’t going to do anything without their okay. Then, they did something to her. Not that I can prove it, but I know they did. Somewhere around Joanna’s fifteenth birthday, she started to decline. But whatever it was, it took years to finally kill her.”

Len hadn’t seen anything on the DNA scan that looked out of the ordinary. “Who were they?”

“I’m not going to tell you that. I’m done. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Did they kill my sister?” Len asked. “Or did you?”

“Beth? Why would you think that?” Charlie asked, but something about the way he said that set off an alarm inside Len. He knew something, maybe about the funeral. If not about Beth’s death, then something else.

“Why did you drug me and Momma at Beth’s funeral?” Len asked.

“What makes you think I gave either of you anything?” Charlie said. But he telegraphed his lie with his face.

“I remember you handed me a drink. What was in it?” Len asked again. He remembered that Charlie had handed him a drink, and without thinking, Len drank whatever it was.

Charlie was shaking his head. “I was told you wouldn’t remember anything. And I don’t know what was in it. I didn’t care either. Anything I could do to get you away from Jocelyn, I would have done, especially then.”

“Did they pay you for that, too?” Len asked.

“Maybe. Jocelyn knew about it. She told me to tell you that your momma said she hated you for not saving Beth and your father,” Charlie said and then laughed nastily. “I added that she rejected you and that you’d never get her to love you again.”

Even knowing that, it was still a direct hit, and as much as he didn’t want to let it show, he was pretty sure he had. Immediately, he felt Chris’ love and comfort through the bond, and that steadied him.

As odd as it seemed, Charlie didn’t seem to notice and went on. “You were easier than your momma. But she finally took a glass of water, which I handed her. And I told her you were drunk and that you’d always be angry at her. She took a couple of sips but then handed it to Billy-Ray, who also drank it. I was told that I had to say something or it would damage the mind of the person I gave it to. So, I told him he needed to leave Earth to recover from Beth’s death.”

Len sucked in a breath. Something else occurred to Len. “Did you drug Joanna, too?”

“Yeah. That wasn’t my idea. But she knew too much, so I had to tell her to forget about me.” For once, his voice wasn’t smug. “And that you had to contact her rather than her continuing to try to contact you.”

“Why?” Len asked. It had taken real effort to ask that in a calm voice.

Charlie looked at him and then down. “She couldn’t keep looking for you. You were too easy to find. I didn’t want to do anything to her. She was just a kid. But they said that I had to,” he shrugged.

Len forced his fury down and could feel Chris’ rage as well. There was a part of him that wanted to kill Charlie. And he could feel that in Chris as well. “How old was she?”

“Seventeen,” Charlie said. “They said I had to do it then, and there was no arguing with them. So, I did it.”

It was getting harder to conceal his anger, even with Chris’ support. “Before she met her soul mate?” Len asked.

Charlie blinked and then glared at him. “I’m done with you, Lenny. I hate you so much. You had the one woman I ever wanted, and you pissed it away.” Charlie frowned. “You don’t deserve any of the things you have. But especially not after you denied me my soulmate.”

“What are you talking about?” Len snorted. “She was not your soulmate. You and she would not have been able to be with anyone else if you were soulmates. You would have protected her with your life.”

“How do you even know that?” Charlie sneered.

This had become useless, and he shouldn’t engage with him anymore, but Len just couldn’t keep his mouth shut, “My soulmate took down a BarTier in my defense.”

“That old guy, no way,” Charlie said and laughed.

“He’s a Starfleet Commodore. Didn’t you notice the uniform this afternoon?”

“Yeah, so. I see you’re in a uniform, too. Always showing off. As if that matters, no way you could hurt anyone.”

Len smirked at him. He was done now, too. “I could put you on the ground in a matter of seconds. I’m very well trained, and I know exactly where to hit you to make it hurt.”

Charlie looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. “Get out of here. I want my lawyer.”

And until he asked, Len could ask whatever he wanted. Now they were done. “Fair enough,” Len said and stood.

Len walked out into the corridor, put his hands on the wall, and leaned on it, breathing in and out. He felt every bit of Charlie’s hatred and bitterness. It had all been directed at him, as if it were his fault that Jocelyn was what she was.

Len looked up as Chris came towards him.

*****

It had taken everything Chris had in the way of control to remain in the chair and not go in and kill Parker. His utter lack of remorse surprised and horrified Chris. He could not imagine what made Parker think that he’d get away with what he’d done to Len. That Len had done nothing to him made Chris insane with anger.

But now, he could only comfort Len. So, he took him into his arms and held him close. Len put his head on Chris’ shoulder.

“What a piece of work he is,” Len whispered into his neck. “I can’t believe the amount of hate and bitterness in him.”

Chris tightened his arms. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s certainly not your fault,” Len said. “Or mine, for that matter. But at least we know something more than we did.”

Chris rubbed his hand up and down Len’s back. “It’s clear that he knew who he was working for, and we can make an educated guess. We don’t know about Beth –”

“I don’t think so. And speculating won’t bring her back. There’s a cure that will mean no one ever dies of it again, and whether they planted it in her or not, she’s still gone,” Len said. “And from the way he was talking, it sounded like he genuinely didn’t know.”

“As for anything else, it might be a comfort to Joanna to know that Jocelyn tried to fix what she had done because she loved Joanna.”

“Yeah, I think that might give her some comfort, but it still cost her me and ultimately her mother as well,” Len said.

“We have to tell her,” Chris said. “Whatever she feels about it, Zach will be there to support her through it.”

“Me as well, if I can.”

Bob strode down the corridor towards them. “Chris, I’m glad I caught you before you left,” he said. “We’ve caught the bartender who drugged you and Doctor McCoy at William Carson’s club on Risa.”

Chris reluctantly let go of Len, and he stepped back. “How? I thought we’d need to extradite them from wherever they ended up, if we could even find them at all, that is,” Chris said.

“Probably without thinking about it, they got on a Federation shuttle from Risa to one of the main space station’s transport hubs,” Bob said. “Federation rules don’t care where you’re from. So, they were arrested and are now being held in an undisclosed location. It’s about time we got lucky on something with this whole disaster.”

“True,” Len muttered. “When do you question them?”

“As soon as the Enterprise gets here.”

“Who is overseeing Starbase 11,” Chris asked.

“Commander Ortegas is in charge for the moment, and I sent the Yorktown there for backup. Doctor M’Benga has agreed to start interviewing doctors for you.”

“How many doctors am I down?” Len asked, sounding a little concerned.

“About ten of them turned out to be Romulan. And six more failed a basic medical knowledge test. All of them will be arriving on Starbase 1 with the Enterprise by the day after tomorrow.”

“That’s going to stretch the rest of them pretty thin,” Len commented. “Not that any of them are very impressive.”

“Add to that, we’ve found a list of complaints from all the competent doctors who were either denied positions or were forced out of the starbase in the last three years,” Bob said.

“Found?” Chris asked.

“Apparently, there were some misrouted complaints coming out of Starbase 11. This has been going on for some time,” Bob said, his annoyance evident. “We’ve taken care of that situation.”

Chris nodded. “Back to the bartender, I’d like to be present when you question her.”

“I’ll be doing the questioning,” Bob said. “You can watch. Both of you.”

“We should probably have Billy-Ray here,” Len suggested. “He might give you some insight into what this being was like. They worked for him for years.”

“That’s a good idea,” Bob said. “I’ll be in touch with William Carson before we question anyone.”

*****

Chapter Sixteen

The McCoy Farm
Later that Night

It was late by the time Chris and Len got back to Eleanora’s. She’d made dinner and said that they should eat while they explained what was going on. Chris was so hungry that he just ate for a few minutes without speaking. It had been a very long time since he’d had home cooked food that he hadn’t made or wasn’t bought in a restaurant. The lasagna was delicious.

“So, Charlie Parker considered my mother the love of his life and basically committed multiple crimes because you married her,” Joanna recapped after a brief explanation. She looked absolutely outraged. “Not to mention drugging me as well, which is a whole other class of crime against a minor.”

“Yes,” Chris said. He completely agreed with that sentiment. “He blamed everything on Len. He also basically confessed to everything. Except who actually paid him.”

“But you have an idea,” Zach guessed.

“Yes, but it’s still classified,” Len said. “I want to read that note from Jocelyn. Can you send it to me?”

She took out her padd and pressed a few buttons. “You should have it now.”

Len walked out onto the front porch. Chris was going to give him a few minutes to read and digest whatever Jocelyn had to say. “Any other questions?”

William and Jon stood. “I think we’re going back to our hotel. It’s late, and we are supposed to see Maman for lunch tomorrow. And William’s mom for dinner. Maybe we can catch up after that.”

“We’ll say goodbye to Len on the way out,” William said and hugged Eleanora. “Thanks for dinner, Momma, we’ll see you soon.”

*****

Joanna cleared her throat after William and Jon had left. She glanced first at Zach and then at Chris. “Do you think I could talk with you privately for a few minutes?”

That was a surprise. “Of course,” Chris said and stood.

“Why don’t you go for a walk out back,” Eleanora suggested. “It’s lit, and there are paths you can follow around the garden.”

“That sounds good, Momma,” Chris said. He and Joanna went out the back and followed a paved path.

After walking for a few minutes, Chris asked, “What can I do for you?”

Joanna took a deep breath. “I just wanted to talk to you. So much has happened in the short time we’ve known each other, and you’re so important to Daddy.”

“You want to get to know me?” Chris asked, pleased that she felt like that.

“Oh, I already know you a little,” she said. “I’m pretty empathic, and I can tell who you are just by being close to you.” She held out her hand, and he took it.

“Does that tell you more?” Chris asked, already knowing that it would. “Your daddy is empathic, too.”

“Nothing I couldn’t have guessed,” she said. “He would have to be. Jocelyn was not at all.”

“Have you been tested?”

“Yes. And when I get to Starfleet, I’ll get some specialized training. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. Well, not directly.”

Chris waited. “I will help you in any way I can.”

“I just,” Joanna stopped and sighed. “I’m not sure how to say this. I feel like I was cheated out of having you as my father, along with Daddy. For some reason, some unknown entity did this to all of us. I missed Daddy so much. Zach’s Daddy is an amazingly warm and welcoming man, and he felt like a father to me when I met him, but he wasn’t able to make this better. Although he did help, I didn’t meet him until I was eighteen.”

Chris closed his eyes and breathed out. “You should have had Len with you your whole life, and me as well, probably from when you were about nine or ten.”

She nodded. “I’m an adult now, and I know that sometimes, bad things happen, and I know life isn’t fair. But I am furious about this. Someone took something very dear from all of us.”

“They did. And I’m realizing what I could have had as well. I would have loved to have been there for you. I would have loved to have seen you grow up with both of us as your dads.”

“I would have loved that too, but you know what,” she said, smiling slightly. “You can still be my dad. A little late, maybe, but I’ll have kids with Zach someday, and they’ll need more than one granddaddy.”

Chris felt a sting in his eyes. “I would be all in on that,” he said softly. “I’m sure Len would be ecstatic, too.”

“I am going to call you Dad from now on if you –”

He pulled Joanna into his arms and held her. “I would be honored and delighted for you to call me Dad.”

She laughed and put her arms around him. “So, are your parents alive? Do I get some more grandparents out of this deal? Richard, Jocelyn’s father, died when I was a young teenager. But I hated him. He was this cruel, awful person.”

They hadn’t had a chance to talk much, but Len had mentioned Richard. And Chris was sure he wouldn’t have cared for him, either. “You probably know of my Maman,” Chris said. “Amelia Pike?”

“Of the Pike Foundation? You’re one of those Pikes?” She laughed as she stepped back, more than surprised, astounded maybe. “Why doesn’t anyone in Starfleet know this?”

“I never traded on my family name –”

“Of course not,” she laughed again. “Well, I want to meet them. And I guess Jon is now my uncle as well. Although, he would have been that anyway because of his relationship with Billy-Ray.”

“Yes. Jon and I also have a sister, Emma Pike. And yes, you’ll get another grandpa, too. Grant Pike. He is probably the opposite of Richard in every single possible way.”

“I’m going to enjoy meeting him, everyone really. It was such a comfort to meet Zach’s whole family. And there are a lot of them. I grew up mostly without relatives other than Grammy and a few more distant McCoy cousins. I always wished I’d had a big family with lots of cousins.”

“Well, you’ll get a few more on the Pike side. I have a lot of cousins, too.”

“That’s great. I’m glad you found Daddy. I wish it could have been when it should have been, but we’ll make the best of it now.” She sounded enthusiastic and hopeful.

And Chris was hopeful as well. “We should head back. I hope Len is back.”

“Sure,” Joanna said. “I need to go home and go to bed. I have tomorrow off to put the monstrosity house on the market. And then I’m back in school, or really, back in the hospital since I’m doing third-year rotations. They gave me a week of leave to deal with Jocelyn’s death and funeral.”

“We’ll probably need to return to Starbase 11 in a few days. We left abruptly after we got your note.”

“I will have a break in December for the winter holidays. If Zach can get leave, we could come out there for a visit,” Joanna suggested.

“You know, we’d be thrilled to have you. That will give us a few months to get things settled there. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”

“I am sure,” Joanna said as they got to the back steps. She stopped and hugged him again. “I’m so glad that you’re with Daddy. He needs you.”

“I need him as well.”

*****

A half-hour after they returned to the house, Len still hadn’t come back in, but Joanna and Zach were ready to leave. After they left, Eleanora sat down beside him. “I talked to Amelia today. I didn’t know you hadn’t contacted her yet. I didn’t mention Lenny, but you need to tell her soon.”

“I know. I’ve been meaning to call her. But I just haven’t had a chance,” Chris said. He was going to be in big trouble with her.

“Jon is going to bring Billy-Ray out to meet her,” Eleanora said.

“They are going all in on this, aren’t they?” Chris was happy for them.

“I’m glad. I’ve always loved Billy-Ray. He loved Beth for a long time. And grieved for her longer than she would have tolerated from him. I’m glad that he’s found someone who loves him.”

“Yeah, I’m glad for him and for my brother. I’m going to go out and talk to Len, and then I’m going to take him back to the hotel. We’ll both see you tomorrow. I better call Maman tonight, too.”

“Oh, I think you are quite late with that, son,” Eleanora said, laughing.

He stood and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Thank you for everything today.”

She just nodded, and Chris went out the door.

*****

Len was sitting on the top step of the porch. His head was leaning back on the railing of the steps. He was still holding the padd.

“What did she say?” Chris asked, sitting down beside him. He could feel that Len was upset but not devastated or furious.

“The note was from right after Joanna turned fifteen.” Len sounded tired and sad.

“That’s about when Parker said she’d had a change of heart about it,” Chris said. “What else did she say?”

“That she had made a mistake with me,” Len sighed. “That she loved Joanna and hated how much the deception that she’d been a part of hurt her. That if she could have, she would have undone it. And finally, that she had been infected with something she didn’t understand by the people who wanted to hurt me. She also included her medical records at the time. She said it was too late for her, but maybe I could figure out how to fix whatever they did to her.”

“Why didn’t she tell anyone?” Chris asked. “It might not have made a difference in what finally happened to her, but it would have helped Joanna. And you.”

“I think the and me, was why she didn’t do anything,” Len said. “Or she may have thought at that point she’d lose Joanna completely if she said anything.”

“That sounds more likely. And that happened anyway,” Chris said. “Did you look at the records?”

“Not yet,” Len said and sighed. “I’m still trying to digest this. We’ll see what it looks like when I open the file. I’m going to assume you want me to do it immediately.”

“At least, take a look at it,” Chris said. “I think anything more than that can wait. You have a lot on your plate right now. I think it’s time we went back to the hotel.”

Len stood, and Chris stood with him. “I can tell you’re upset. But you don’t seem…” Chris trailed off, not sure what he should say.

“I’m not wiped out by this. I don’t care that much about her anymore. She did a lot of things to me and took a lot from me. Did I tell you that Joanna gave me the account with all the credits that Jocelyn took from me?”

Chris wasn’t surprised, even at the amount.

“I didn’t expect to get any of that back,” Len said. “I don’t even know what to do with it.”

“I’m sure that you’ll think of something,” Chris said. “Let’s go back to the hotel and go to bed.”

Len nodded. “This has been a long damned day, and I’m exhausted.”

Yeah, so was Chris.

*****

Even as exhausted as he was, Chris knew he needed to get in touch with Maman, or she’d have his head.

“Christopher Pike to Amelia Pike,” he said into his communicator.

“About time you called me, Christopher,” Amelia said in the annoyed mom tone she had when he’d done something she hadn’t liked. It was kind of funny now that he was too old for that.

“Apologies, Maman. I have been busy. I have a surprise for you.”

“I’ve already heard about Jon. At least he called me when he got here. I’m having lunch with him and his new man tomorrow.”

“I heard that. And William is not his new man. They have been together for years,” Chris pointed out.

“He’s new to me,” Amelia countered, looking very pleased.

“Well, since you’ve had that good news, I’ve actually got some more good news along the same lines.” He motioned for Len to come over. It was pretty clear he’d been listening to their conversation. “Maman, meet your new son, Leonard McCoy.”

Len bent down and smiled at her. “Hi. I’ll bet Chris has got Jon beat for surprises.”

Amelia’s expression was stunned. “You’re Eleanora’s son? The one she hasn’t talked to in years.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Len said politely. “She’s talking to me again, though. I called her yesterday.”

“Chris, you should take lessons from him,” Amelia said and her eyes met Chris’ through the screen. “Am I to understand that you’ve found your soulmate.”

“Yes. That’s why you suddenly have another son,” Chris said, smiling.

“Well, he’s got better manners than you do. So, I like him already.” And it was obvious that she was delighted.

“We’ve had a lot going on, and there hadn’t been time to talk yet,” Chris said. “I’ve only been here two days.”

“When do I get to meet you in person, doctor?” Amelia asked, looking pleased with her new addition to the family.

“You should call me Len,” he said.

“You can call me whatever version of mom that you’d like,” she replied, grinning at him.

“I like Maman, actually,” Len said and glanced at Chris. “Though I’m curious as to how you came to use it.”

Chris smiled at her. “It’s French for mom. Maman deserved that title from the moment she took us in, but I felt like I couldn’t possibly call her mom because that was what I called Willa. Maman seemed like a good compromise, and once I started using it, Jon did, too.”

“I love you, too, son,” Amelia said, her expression soft. “How did you and Chris find each other after all this time.” Clearly, the question was for both of them.

“Yeah, about that, Maman,” Chris said. “We’ll need to tell you that in person. We’ve had some challenges with our relationship.”

Amelia raised an eyebrow. “Well, I expect you to come to lunch tomorrow, too. I can hear all about both of my son’s new relationships. I’m thrilled. Oh, and I guess Eleanora and I will be…what will we be? In-laws in some way? She’ll probably know. That will be wonderful.” And then she smiled wider. “And Joanna? Eleanora’s granddaughter. She’s yours, correct?”

“Yes. And now your granddaughter as well,” Len said.

“Well, I like that,” Amelia said. “I like that a lot. Despite the years I’ve known Eleanora, I’ve never met Joanna. We’ll have to have her over soon.”

“That sounds like a plan. But I’m going to say goodnight, Maman. It’s been a very long day,” Len said. And stood. “I’m looking forward to meeting you in person.”

Len wandered off towards the bedroom.

“I should go, too. We’ll see you tomorrow. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner. I’ll explain when I see you,” Chris said sincerely.

“I am thrilled for you, Chris. I think this is going to be marvelous for you.”

“I’m pretty damned lucky. He’s great, too.”

She just smiled at him and cut the connection.

Chris went into the bedroom, stripped off his clothes, and got into bed with Len, who rolled over and put his arms around him.

Chris sighed in pleasure. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Tired, but yes. There were no surprises with what happened today.”

“If you’re not too tired,” Chris said. “I wanted to ask you what you meant when you said you hadn’t lived up to your potential.”

Len sighed. “It’s hard to describe in a way that doesn’t sound like I have a self-esteem problem, which, as you know, I don’t. That said, I have always felt that I should have done more to help people –”

Chris knew that Len had a good sense of himself and who he was, but this didn’t track with that. “How can you say that? You know that you’re –”

“I do know who and what I am, but I also know that I wasted a lot of time wallowing in my misery rather than doing anything to fix it,” Len said, and Chris could feel the exasperation that Len was radiating. “And I also know that I could have accomplished more than I have.”

“I think you’re trying to hold yourself to a standard that most people could not possibly meet,” Chris said. “Was there something that precipitated this feeling?”

“A few years ago, I read through my files, looking for something, and I came across a comment from a supervisor when I was working at the ‘Fleet Hospital in San Francisco that basically said that with hard work and continued education, I could have been the best doctor in my generation.”

“Aren’t you?” Chris thought Len was being unreasonable. He was a brilliant doctor. “You’ve helped a lot of people. The radiation burn therapies will help many, many more.”

“I am aware of how good I am at what I do, but I’m not a generational genius. And the thing is, I think I had the potential for that. And, yes, I know, that is the height of arrogance to even say it, but it’s also true.”

Chris had no idea what to say to that. If it were true, then it was something else that was taken from them, from Len specifically, and it was also something that was taken from the people he could have possibly saved. But there was nothing they could do about it. “This must be very frustrating for you,” Chris finally said, tightening his arms around Len.

“It is. And I don’t know what to do with it,” Len said, sounding more tired now.

“I don’t think there is anything you can do. You need to go on and keep doing what you do because whether you’re the most brilliant doctor ever or just a brilliant doctor, you still have the potential to help a lot of people. And you have, and you will,” Chris said, leaning in to kiss him. “But tonight, you need some sleep, and so do I. Tomorrow is soon enough to start worrying about this again.”

Len nodded. “I do love you so much,” he whispered, and put his head down on Chris’ chest, and he could feel Len start to relax.

“I love you, too,” Chris said, closing his eyes.

*****

The next morning, Len woke up snuggled up to Chris’ back. He kissed Chris’ bare shoulder and ran a hand down his side onto his ass.

Chris turned around and gathered him into his arms, kissing him. “You’d better have a good reason for waking me up,” he grumbled.

But Len could tell he was amused and aroused. “You didn’t put your sleep pants on last night. I feel the need to take advantage of that.”

“It’s not like I won’t take my clothes off for you any time you want me to,” Chris murmured, still sounding half asleep.

“It’s not the same,” Len assured him, his hand straying down Chris’ chest and over his belly. His hand strayed further down and took hold of him. “Yes?”

“Oh, God, yes,” Chris said, moving into his hand. And slid his own hands down Len’s body.

They moved together for a while, kissing and touching, and finally, Len closed his eyes and let the simple pleasure take him to where it wanted him to go. And it was a lovely, messy way to start the day. He loved it.

Len leaned in and kissed Chris slowly. “We have a busy day again today.”

“Yes,” Chris said. “I need to get us a shuttle to San Francisco. And I probably should check in with Bob about the letter from last night. One more piece of evidence.”

“And didn’t you say that the bartender would be here tomorrow. We’ll need to talk to them,” Len said. “I’m not looking forward to that.”

“No. Me neither.” Chris tightened his arms and kissed him, but then he let go and started to move away to get out of bed.

“Hey, come back here,” Len complained. “I’m not done with you yet.”

Chris leaned back and kissed him again. “I’m afraid that we need to get up and get moving.”

Len pouted. He liked lying in bed and enjoying Chris. “Fine. I’m not happy about this turn of events.”

“Apologies, Sweetheart, but we have work to do.” Chris sat up.

“Fucking Boy Scout,” Len muttered as he sat up too.

Chris just laughed at him.

*****

San Francisco

Amelia opened the door and smiled at them. “Come in. Come in,” she said, stepping towards Chris.

Len watched as Chris embraced Amelia. She was tall and slender, with ash blond hair and the same blue eyes as Chris.

“Maman,” Chris said. “Good to see you.”

As Chris stepped back, Amelia reached for him. “Len, or should I say, Lenny, since that’s what your momma calls you,” she said, hugging him.

He didn’t care. “Sure, why not?”

“There might be someone else who wants to meet you.” Amelia held out a hand, and an older man with gray hair and very blue eyes stepped forward and hugged him. The man was tall, with broad shoulders, and very solid-looking.

He stepped back and smiled at Len. “I’m Grant Pike. I’m delighted to meet you.”

Len could feel the warmth and joy of Grant’s welcome. It touched something inside him and made him feel accepted into their family.

“Papa,” Chris said, also hugging Grant. “It’s good to see you.”

“And you as well, son,” he said. “I’m looking forward to hearing about how you two finally found each other.”

“Yeah, about that,” Chris said as he followed Amelia into the living room. “So, it’s a complicated story with some of it classified. As they sat down, Chris launched into an abbreviated version of how they met, leaving out some of the more salacious details. Which relieved Len. He didn’t need to explain anything like that to Chris’ family.

“So, let me get this straight,” Grant said. “You and Len should have met years ago and were kept from doing so by something or someone stopping that in some manner and then drugging Len. You did meet a couple of months ago but were prevented from bonding because of some other kind of drug introduced into your systems. And then you met again and finally bonded, but you didn’t realize it until another being tried to kill Len? That’s an incredible story.”

“Yeah, and worse, it’s true,” Len said grimly.

“And you’re not going to tell us why this happened?” Grant asked, sounding incredulous.

“I did say some of it was classified,” Chris said. “And truthfully, for most of it, we just don’t have enough of the answers to why, yet.”

“I’ve got a pretty high clearance,” Grant pointed out. “Do I need to remind you what I do for a living?”

Len raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you do? Chris hasn’t mentioned it yet.”

Grant gave Chris a look, and Chris looked down. “Yeah, about that –”

“I’m Chief of Detectives for the San Francisco Police Department.”

Well, that was a surprise. “I have to follow Chris’ lead on this. He outranks me.”

“And I have to follow Starfleet protocol. You are not involved, and it is need to know only. At least he and I are together now. And the accident is behind us.”

Amelia tipped her head to the side, and she felt hurt or angry, something to Len. “You knew about what was going to happen, and you didn’t say anything to us?” she asked.

“I couldn’t burden you with that,” Chris said. “I didn’t tell many people, and mostly only those involved in some way. It was highly classified, too.”

With a sigh, Amelia folded her arms over her chest. “I feel that I would have wanted to know –”

“But that wasn’t your choice to make,” Grant said evenly. “For myself, I would have wanted to know, too.”

“It was my choice, and I made it,” Chris said, taking responsibility for it as he always did. “I can’t unmake it, and I wouldn’t. There was literally nothing you could have done.”

Both Chris’ parents looked at each other and then back at Chris, clearly weighing his words between them.

“I do not agree,” Amelia said, and she held up a hand. “But it wasn’t my decision to make.”

Chris nodded but said nothing else.

“I think we will go on from here, and hopefully, things will even out,” Len said. Or at least they’d be able to continue on with their lives and maybe find out what caused all of this.

“Does Eleanora know about the current situation,” Amelia asked. Because clearly, she thought that Eleanora would tell her.

“She knows some of it, and you shouldn’t talk to her about it,” Chris said, just enough force in his voice to make Amelia look annoyed at him.

“I’m pretty sure you can’t order me around, son,” she said. “You do not outrank me.”

Chris just looked at her and sighed. “Maman. Let it go.”

Amelia looked like she was going to say something else, but the door chimed, and she stood to answer it. Grant followed her out. And in a few minutes, Jon and Billy-Ray came in.

“I didn’t know you’d be here today,” Jon said, hugging Chris and then Len.

“Last minute invite, I think. I called Maman last night to tell her about Len,” Chris said.

“You hadn’t called her before that,” Billy-Ray asked him, sounding slightly surprised. “Though, I guess we’ve had a lot going on the last couple of days.”

“Yeah,” Jon agreed. “You’ve told Maman and Papa?”

“Some of it,” Chris said. “As you know, other parts are classified.”

“I’m hoping you’ll fill in some of the blanks,” Amelia said, never leaving well enough alone.

“I’m going to follow Chris’ lead on this,” Jon said. “Starfleet is still doing an investigation.”

Billy-Ray nodded.

“Why don’t we go into the dining room and have lunch,” Grant suggested. “I think we can leave some of the discussion for another time.”

“Fine,” Amelia huffed. “I’d also like to ask about you and William. And when that started.”

“It’s been a while, Maman. We kept it casual for a long time,” Jon said.

*****

“Jon,” Chris said, looking at him as he came onto the rooftop deck. It was a beautiful view of the bay, and Chris had spent a lot of time up here when the weather was clear when he was a kid. He never got tired of it. “How are you doing?”

Jon leaned against the railing beside Chris. “Good. Actually, better than I ever expected.”

“I know. I’m so happy for you,” Chris said. “What are you and William going to do? I don’t see you living on Risa. Although maybe I’m wrong about that.”

“No. You’re right about that. I’ve never completely stopped practicing,” Jon said. “Though I did cut back a lot. I needed time and space. I didn’t think I’d ever recover from what happened.”

Chris understood that. “Plans?”

“I think William wants to sell the club, and we’ll move somewhere else. I’m not sure where. Probably not back to Earth, but closer to it. I think what happened with Len and how the club was involved has shaken him.”

“I’m sure it must have,” Chris agreed. “It’s very disturbing. I’m sure Len doesn’t blame him.”

“No. But I think William blames himself,” Jon said.

“I’m not sure Admiral April got in touch with William, but they caught the being who drugged us. And we are going to question them, probably tomorrow.”

“He did get in touch and ask William to be there. We’ll both be there. I knew them as well,” Jon said. “William and I sometimes sat in that bar and had a drink. I liked that. It was quieter in there, and he and I could talk.”

“How long were you –” Chris stopped. It wasn’t any of his business.

“What?” Jon asked.

“How long before you knew you were in love with him?”

“I don’t know. It just dawned on me one day a couple of years ago. And I think he felt the same, but it took us both a while longer to admit it.” Jon looked at him. “You?”

“Probably from the moment I met him the first time. I woke up with him wrapped around me, and I’d never felt anything so right before with a lover,” Chris said.

“And yet, you walked away, and the bond didn’t form then,” Jon pointed out, sounding a little surprised.

Despite the drugs, that deep attraction he had to Len should have forced the bond, and Chris was still surprised that it hadn’t. “I believe it finally did form after we met the second time,” Chris said.

Jon sighed. “I think both of us are finally on the right track. At least, I hope so.”

“Me too.” Chris nodded. “We should get back downstairs before Maman comes looking for us.”

*****

Chapter Seventeen

Starfleet Headquarters – San Francisco
The Following Morning

Chris was in uniform and so was Len. The Enterprise arrived earlier that morning, and before that, all of the Romulans and incompetent non-Romulan doctors had been transferred to Starbase 1’s holding cells to await questioning and possible arraignment on charges. The bartender from William’s club had been beamed to a secure holding cell at Starfleet HQ. So, he and Len were back there.

Jim Kirk was also there, and Bob April, as well as Ash Tyler, head of Section 31. He was dressed in all black, but not like special ops. There was nothing about what he was wearing that said Starfleet.

“I was planning to do the questioning,” Bob said. “But Captain Tyler is going to do that.”

Chris held out his hand. “It’s good to see you again, Ash. Thanks for coming.”

“I was on Earth for something else, when I was briefed on what was going on with this. It’s good to see you too,” Ash said, shaking his hand.

“This is my soulmate, Doctor Leonard McCoy,” Chris said.

Ash held out his hand, and Len shook it. “Good to meet you, Doctor McCoy. I’ve heard many good things about you and your skills.”

“Thanks. I have to say that I’ve never heard of Section 31,” Len said. “What do you do?”

“Intelligence. Mostly classified,” Ash said.

Chris introduced Jim Kirk, who clearly knew what Section 31 was.

“We should get started,” Ash suggested. “Admiral April, if you’ll accompany me?”

“Of course,” Bob said and turned to give Chris a piercing look. “I do not want you to move from that room, Chris. No matter what you hear.”

“I’ll try,” Chris said. “Where is William Carson?”

“I thought we’d talk to him later to corroborate what we’ve found out. Due to Captain Tyler’s involvement in the interview, the entire investigation is going to be classified.”

“How is that going to work with both the Commodore’s and my family both knowing about it,” Len asked amused, and turned to glance at Chris. “I’m willing to bet Maman talked to Momma as soon as we left yesterday to get the details.”

“How likely is it that your mother told her?” Ash asked.

“Pretty damned likely,” Chris confirmed. “They have been good friends for twenty years. And now they are related, much to their delight.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that at the moment,” Bob said. “However, you need to tell them they can’t talk about what happened with anyone other than their immediate families.”

“I think that might work,” Len said. “But our daughter and her soulmate also know and are involved.”

“Your son-in-law is Starfleet. He’ll obey the rules,” Bob said. “And as I understand it, your daughter will be joining us when she finishes medical school.”

That was all true.

“All right,” Ash said. “We should beam in.”

*****

Jim, Len, and Chris went into the observation room.

“How do you know, Captain Tyler,” Len asked. “He struck me as, I’m not sure what. Although he obviously looks human, he doesn’t feel entirely human to me.”

Chris looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“I sense something suppressed in him. I’m not sure what. But it’s not comfortable,” Len said. “I’ve never met anyone who felt like him.”

“That would be true,” Chris said and glanced at Jim. “There’s a story there. And we probably don’t have time for it right now.”

And truthfully, Chris wasn’t sure that it was his story to tell. During the Federation-Klingon War, a Klingon warrior named Voq underwent extensive surgery to appear human and was part of a plan to infiltrate Starfleet as a sleeper agent. Then, Lieutenant Ash Tyler’s DNA and memories were spliced with Voq’s, creating a hybrid. There was a clash between the two personalities and ultimately, Ash’s personality was the one that survived, and a few years later, he became head of Section 31.

“We should sit down,” Jim suggested. “I didn’t feel anything about him. But you’re much more empathic than I am.”

Len was quiet for a second and Chris put a hand on his arm and sent a pulse of comfort. He put his hand over Chris’.

*****

Through the monitor, they could see an older human-looking woman with dark hair and a bitter expression, sitting at a table. Her hands were secured to the chair she was sitting in, and a plain silver band was on her wrist. There were no doors or windows in the room.

Ash and Bob beamed in, and she looked up and scowled at them, but she said nothing.

Bob took a seat in front of her and looked at his padd. “Our records indicate that you’re a human woman, sixty-eight years old, and your name is Anna Jones. The DNA test says you’re Romulan,” Bob said.

She just glared at him.

“We also have evidence that you drugged several people, including two Starfleet Officers. Also, that you tried to block a soul bond. That is enough to have you sent to a penal colony pretty much forever,” Bob added pleasantly.

She still said nothing. In fact, she looked utterly unimpressed.

“I’m sure you think you’re going to be rescued by whoever put you in to do this,” Ash said. “But that band you’re wearing will stop you from being beamed out of this room. And even in the future,” Ash paused. “There would be no way to get around the field that band generates. Or maybe it’s from the future.”

“No way, you’ve got future tech here,” she said, clearly annoyed by the implication. “We’d know.”

“Would you?” Ash asked. “Do you want to risk your life on that? Because that band should disrupt anything that tries to get you out of this room. And maybe it kills you, or maybe it doesn’t.”

“You’re not going to kill me,” she scoffed. “You’re all Starfleet. You think you’re better than that.”

“He might be Starfleet. I’m not, and I’m definitely not better than that.” Ash could look very dangerous when he wanted to. That whole Klingon grafted to a human worked wonders for that.

She eyed him and was silent for a moment or two, clearly thinking about her options. “Deal?”

“Maybe. Tell us why you were put in and why they wanted to stop the soul bond between Christopher Pike and Leonard McCoy.”

“Oh, please. You haven’t figured it out yet? They will do something in the future. Something big. Something that being together lets them do. Obviously, it needed to be stopped.”

“Why go to all this trouble,” Ash asked. “Why not just kill them?”

She laughed bitterly and glared at him. “We tried that, but apparently, they are harder to kill than they should be. McCoy especially, they tried three times, and each time, something happened, and he didn’t die.” She scowled at the wall, as if she could see there was someone else on the other side of it. “Twice a temporal agent stopped it, and the last time, Pike did. There might have been more, but I don’t know about it.”

Chris could feel Len’s shock, and he put his hand on Len’s, and as always, it calmed him.

“So, Mal Farquhar was told to kill Doctor McCoy,” Ash said. “By who?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just know he didn’t manage it.”

Ash put his hands on the table. He was wearing a similar silver band to Anna Jones, but his had buttons on it. “What about Commodore Pike?”

“What about him?” She gave him a disgusted look. “He was supposed to die in the baffle plate accident. I know they went to a lot of trouble to make sure he did what he was supposed to do, and that was ruined by McCoy saving his life.”

“What do Doctor McCoy and Commodore Pike do in the future?” Bob asked, cutting to the chase.

“Well, I don’t know. I was just following my orders. For the last twelve years,” she sneered. “Working in a sex club on a gods-cursed human pleasure planet.”

“But you’re from the future. You should know what happens,” Ash said.

She breathed out angrily. “I don’t care. The admiral negotiated a treaty with three worlds that stopped a Federation war that would have let us take over half of the Federation. The doctor figured out how to cure a plague that was annihilating one of those worlds, and after that, they were much more willing to be allied with the Federation.”

“Where and why? It doesn’t make sense that you’d suddenly try and take over that much of the Federation?” Ash asked.

There was something else there. Chris was sure of it.

“Most of it was taken from my mind, so I could not tell anyone about it,” she said. “I do know that Romulus’ sun was going to go supernova in my lifetime, and we needed a place to go –”

Chris sucked in a breath, and he heard Len do the same. He glanced at Jim. His eyes were wide, and his jaw had dropped open.

“What year was that?” Bob asked, his voice was inflectionless.

She shook her head. “I don’t remember. All I know is that they needed to be stopped and that making sure they didn’t bond was key to making sure the crap they did later didn’t happen.”

“They have bonded,” Ash pointed out. “So, you have failed at that.”

“I knew that. This was the last time we could try to fix it. All that work, twelve years of my life, and it happened anyway. Fuck that.” She scowled at them. “I hate you all.”

“How many times have you tried before?” Ash’s tone was curious, still conversational.

She scoffed at them. “I don’t know. It wasn’t me. At least two other times. Each time, they tried something else. Forcing the accident with Pike, the McCoy family drama, and the club connection. All to block that bond from happening. And every damned time, the bond happened. I am so done with this plan. And with all of you.”

“Good to know,” Ash said pleasantly. “And for the record, we’re not all that fond of you, either.”

“What’s my deal? I want out of here. Before the temporal agents catch up with me.” She shivered at that.

“I’ll be taking you back to Section 31 headquarters and keeping you safe there. You’ll be able to live out your whole life without the worry of them taking you back.”

She looked outraged and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could say anything else, she disappeared. It didn’t look like a beam out of any kind that Chris had ever seen.

After another second, a man appeared. He was pretty unremarkable looking, with medium brown hair that was threaded with gray and blue eyes. “I’m Temporal Agent Daniels, and I’ve taken custody of the beings known as Anna Jones and Edward Collins.”

“Jose Mendez?” Bob asked.

Agent Daniels shook his head. “He’s not from the future, so he’s your problem.”

Ash stepped forward, but Daniels held up his hand. “Collins and Jones will be tried and returned to Romulus. This is non-negotiable.”

Chris pressed the button on the table to speak, and a monitor in the other room should have appeared so that they could see him. “Is what she said true? Is Romulus’ sun going to go supernova? Right now, we estimate there are two billion beings on that planet. What are you doing about it?”

“There is nothing you can do from the past. It’s too far in the future for you to have any impact. And for those in that time, they have to want our help,” Daniels said. “You may not speak of this. Any of you.”

Chris folded his arms over his chest. “How can you enforce that?”

Beside him, Len sucked in an audible breath and put his hand on Chris’ arm. “I wouldn’t fuck with a time cop, Commodore,” Len muttered.

Daniels laughed. “The Federation has no diplomatic relations with the Romulans, and even if there have been incursions, the majority of those beings will be returned to Romulus in prisoner exchanges or die in Federation prisons. And Captain Tyler and Admiral April both understand the gravity of this.”

Both Ash and Bob nodded. “He’s right, Chris. There’s nothing we can do with the information,” Bob agreed.

“Commodore, your life is your own now. Live it,” Daniels said. “Enjoy your family and your soulmate, and do what comes naturally to you.”

“What about the murder attempts,” Len asked. “I only knew about two of them. What was the other one?”

“It didn’t make it far enough for you to become aware of it. And she was right. They can’t try it again without grave consequences for all of them. You should also enjoy your life, and your soulmate and do what comes naturally to you. You’ll do great things in the future.” With that pronouncement, Daniels disappeared.

“I’m going to leave now,” Ash said tightly. “I’ll write it all up in a report. But clearly, it’s all classified.”

Bob nodded. “Send me a copy, and I’ll take care of it, as well as my own report.”

Ash touched something on his wrist and was gone.

*****

“Fuck. I cannot believe that just happened,” Len said after Ash beamed out.

“I’m going to agree with you about that, Bones. This just keeps getting more and more complicated and bizarre,” Jim said, sounding resigned. “On the positive side, at least we know that you both should be clear from here on out.”

“Except for the part where I have to cure a plague,” Len snapped. “It would have been helpful if one of them had told me what to look for.”

“Or that I have to negotiate a peace treaty between three different worlds so there isn’t a full-on Federation war,” Chris said. “But I guess that would be why my birthday was a holiday in the future.”

“What are you talking about?” Len asked, looking at him askance. His curiosity was coming through the bond. “How do you know that?”

Chris sent a pulse of love across it. “I would say it’s classified, but I guess that’s not going to work with you, is it?”

“Not a fucking chance,” Len snapped.

“I’d be curious how you know that as well,” Jim said, laughing.

“There were these two ensigns from the future who accidentally traveled through a time portal and who ended up on the Enterprise when I was captain. They talked way too much and were generally extremely disruptive, rather like toddlers knocking over furniture as they raced around.” Chris laughed. “They mentioned it in their ramblings. I was very relieved when we got them back to where they belonged.”

Len looked surprised but just nodded.

Jim snickered. “That’s life on a starship.”

“You’ve got that right. When do you leave again,” Chris asked, wanting to change the subject. He stood and went through the door to the corridor.

Len and Jim followed him out.

“About a week,” Jim said. “Everyone has three days of shore leave, and then our new personnel should be onboard, and we’re going to head out again.”

“Any chance you’ll be coming by Starbase 11 in the next month or two?” Chris asked. He wanted his pots and pans and dishes. They were all packed up and ready for transport. But there were enough of his possessions that he wanted to be transported that he didn’t have space for it all on Erica’s shuttle.

“Probably. Do you need something?” Jim asked.

“I have some of my personal items that I need to be transported,” Chris said.

“Send me a request with the coordinates, and I’ll pick it up and drop it by,” Jim promised.

“Thanks, Jim. I appreciate that,” Chris said. “We’re going to head back to Starbase 11, probably tomorrow morning.” Chris looked at Len. “Unless you want to take some more leave and visit with our families?”

“Part of me wants to stay for a while, but Joanna is back in school starting today and going to have to catch up from missing so much time dealing with Jocelyn’s death. Zach has to work. So does Momma and your parents. I think we’ll have to come back with a little more notice.”

“Or Joanna did say she was going to come out for the winter holiday this year,” Chris said. “Maybe some of the rest of the family can come out as well. It’s only a few months.”

“That would be great,” Len said. “But it’s time to get back to work.”

Chris nodded. “I also need to relieve Erica and give her back her shuttle.”

*****

Later That Night

As they came into the hotel room, Len knew that Chris would have liked to have discussed everything they’d discovered, but he’d had enough talk. He was keyed up and tense, and all he wanted was to relax.

Chris smiled knowingly at him. “What can I do for you?”

“I could think of a few things, if you’re willing,” Len said. And he knew that Chris could feel what he wanted.

“Of course I am.” Chris seemed a little worried about that.

But there was no need for him to be concerned. Len knew what he wanted, and he knew that Chris would give it to him.

“I only want to give you what you want,” Chris promised.

Len knew that. He glanced at Chris, “So…”

“You’d like for me to make you feel good without worrying about anything else. Let us try and get you to that good place?” Chris suggested.

That sounded good to him. “Well, right this second, I want to enjoy you making me feel good.”

“Anything specific?” Chris asked, kissing him again softly and then more firmly. “I can draw things out for a long time.”

Len could definitely work with that. “Nothing specific beyond what you just said, which would be very nice.”

Chris kissed him again, his hands on Len’s neck and cheek. Len leaned into it.

“Now, my darlin’, it’s time for you to take my clothes off and have your wicked way with me,” Len said, anticipation and need starting to grow in him.

“It’s not wicked if I want to do it and so do you,” Chris pointed out.

“Don’t be pedantic,” Len growled at him playfully.

Chris laughed and leaned in to kiss him again and again. Then, he took a step back and started to slowly take Len’s clothes off. Chris’ hands were sure and steady over his skin, and Len let him bend him any way he wanted.

Somehow, they ended up on the bed, with Chris mostly still dressed in his uniform pants and undershirt and Len naked beneath his mouth and hands. He turned Len onto his belly and then licked along his spine. When one finger traced down the length of his back, Len squirmed a little.

Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion, and each sensation exaggerated. Len’s mouth was open, panting, and his fingers dug into the sheets, and he just held on as feelings that Chris evoked with his mouth and hands, broke over him.

Soon, all there was, were those sensations created by his hands and mouth, and Len rode each one of them as long as he could. He was getting closer and closer to where he wanted to go. His mouth opened on a moan, and Chris kissed him on it and then pulled back to move him again.

Then, Chris was moving against him, into him, so damned slowly. God, it was exquisite torture waiting for him to finally pull back again and in again, lighting him up like fireworks in the dark. Brilliant. Powerful. He was bright with it, and all too soon, it crested, like he knew it would, like it had to. He was breathless, gasping. All the love and devotion broke over him, and he reveled in it.

When he caught his breath, he opened his eyes, and there was Chris with that super satisfied look on his face. Well, Len supposed he deserved it. Something hard and cold inside him relaxed into something warm and soft.

Len reached out a hand and put it on Chris’ chest. “These last few days had scraped me raw and bloody, what you just did…I don’t have words for what it meant to me.”

Chris took his hand and pressed a kiss to his palm. Then, he gathered Len into his arms and kissed him sweetly. “I know. I am always going to want to do whatever I can to help you in any way I can. I have to believe that if it makes you feel good and lets you relax, maybe that will help you heal, too.”

That was true, and something had shifted in him again. “That was lovely. I’m too tired right now to worry about anything else. I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“Go to sleep, Sweetheart,” Chris kissed him again and cuddled him closer.

*****

Once Len was asleep, Chris eased out of his embrace and got rid of his pants, which were open and around his hips. He found a pair of sleep pants and a T-shirt to put on.

He’d been able to feel that Len had been holding himself together with force of will from everything that had happened in the last few days. This had all been something that was beyond any of their best hopes and worst nightmares. They’d gotten as much resolution as they were going to get. Only the future would tell them the rest. Chris could only assume they’d recognize the situations when they presented themselves.

He had to believe that whatever had happened to them before this moment, that maybe they were now back on track with their real future.

His comm buzzed. It was a little late for a social call. “This is Christopher Pike,” he said.

“This is Jim Kirk. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“Not at all,” Chris said. “What can I do for you, Jim?”

“I was worried about Bones,” Jim said. “I could almost feel his anger and hurt when he was with us today. Is he okay? I think that many awful things all together like that, could set him off.”

Chris wasn’t sure what to say. “I think he’s okay now. Do you want to talk to him? I think he’s asleep, but I can wake him.”

“I tried his comm, but he didn’t answer. I thought I’d try you. Don’t wake him,” Jim said.

The door opened behind him, and Len came out naked, took one look at the screen, and muttered, “Fuck”, and went back into the bedroom.

“I’m sure he’s going to have something to say about that,” Jim said with a laugh.

The door opened again, and Len came out dressed in casual clothes and sat down beside Chris.

“All good, Jim?” Len asked.

“Just checking up on you,” Jim said. “I could tell today rattled you.”

“Yeah. It did. But I’m good now,” Len said and put a hand on Chris’. “Thanks, Jim.”

“Thanks, Jim,” Chris said, too. “Anything else?”

“No. Well, some admin items, since I have you here. Next week, when we head out, we’ll be transporting a couple of temporary doctors out to Starbase 11. I got the transport docs on your personal inventory, so we’ll drop that off, too.”

“Thanks, Jim. I appreciate that. And I’ll be pleased to have my things with me,” Chris said. Especially his pots and pans. He could see a lot of comfort cooking in his future.

“What about my bed?” Len asked.

“Already in your new quarters with the rest of your personal belongings,” Jim said, smiling. “We’ll see you both in a little over a week.”

“Great, thanks,” Chris said. “Pike out.”

Len leaned in to kiss him. “Thanks. That was perfect.”

Chris nodded. “I was hoping it would help.”

“I’m sure you can tell that it did.”

“I think the soul bond has helped with that as well,” Chris suggested.

“Yeah, this starts and ends with that,” Len leaned in and kissed him. “I’m sure there are lots of things to discuss, but I think you need to come back to bed with me and go to sleep.”

Well, Chris couldn’t argue with that. The morning was soon enough to start again.

*****

Epilogue
Starbase 11
Five Years Later

Len sat back, putting his fork down on his plate, moaning in pleasure. “Have I mentioned how much I adore having you cook for me?”

“At least once a week,” Chris laughed. “I’m glad you enjoy it.”

“Enjoy is such an insignificant word for the pleasure I get from your cooking,” Len said, grinning at him. Even after that first meal at Momma’s, which had been very good, Len hadn’t expected the level of excellence of Chris’ culinary skills. He literally could have been a chef in a fine restaurant. “What’s going on? You usually don’t go to this much trouble during the week unless there’s something you want to relax me for?”

Chris laughed again. “How is it possible you know me that well?”

“I’ve lived with you for five years, and I pay attention,” Len said. “Plus, soul bond. That guarantees I know you very well. So, what’s going on?”

“I just wanted to do something nice for you,” Chris leaned in and kissed him quickly. “It’s been a hard couple of months, especially for you. I thought it would help with settling back into a routine.”

Yeah, that was true. “Are the negotiations with Vanteer still on track?”

“Yes, the treaties are due to be signed in a few weeks. Vanteer and the two sister planets, Vorleen and Vulneer, are all on board. They want to thank you in person again.”

Len nodded. Vorleen had been the plague planet they had been warned about. Despite all the preparations he’d tried to make in advance, it still had been tricky to figure out. It had been entirely different from anything he’d seen before.

Vanteer and Vulneer were highly advanced, and Vorleen was more agricultural, with a more conservative population. But none of the three planets had ever dealt with a pathogen like the one that struck Vorleen. They hadn’t had a lot of diseases strike the population at all. Despite their technical and scientific advances, their medical staff and researchers weren’t ready to deal with a planet-wide disaster of that nature.

It was an airborne, rapidly moving infection that defied all of their known mitigations. But the people of Vorleen were humanoid, and their biology wasn’t that different from most of the humans on Earth. And that made a huge difference for Len and his team in being able to treat them quickly. After what felt like a couple of impossible months of trial and error, he’d been able to come up with a cure before it decimated the entire population.

Once he’d figured out what it was, the scientists and researchers on Vanteer had been able to synthesize a vaccine for their planets.

“They’d like you to come out for the signing next week and be honored for your work to save Vorleen,” Chris said. “I’m so proud of you.”

Yeah, Len knew that, and it warmed something deep inside him to have Chris say that. “I didn’t do it alone. In fact, the entire medical staff of the Enterprise and several doctors from here helped me. Not to mention the scientists and researchers on Vanteer. They were almost there when we got there.”

Chris smiled indulgently at him. “I know. So, do you want to go back and be honored again?”

“Yes. I’ll go. Do I have to do anything specific?”

“Not that I’ve been told,” Chris said. “But if there is something, I’m sure they will let us know.”

He looked at Chris. “I sense that’s not everything.”

“You would be correct,” Chris said. “Bob April has announced that he’s going to retire. He’s recommending that I take over Starbase 1 from him. And there would be a promotion in it for me.”

Well, that was a surprise, but not an unpleasant one. “Congratulations, my darlin’.” He leaned over and kissed Chris, then again because it tasted so good. “I’m going to assume you’ll be doing more in the way of diplomatic work,” Len suggested. “How long do I have to find someone to replace me here?”

“It’s going to be months before this goes through,” Chris said. “Maybe as much as six months.”

“All right, I’ll start putting some feelers out. Since the hospital is now top-notch, we won’t have that much trouble finding someone competent.” He looked at Chris. “Was that all?”

“Wasn’t that enough,” Chris said. “Being closer to Earth is going to be nice, too.”

“Yes. But it’s been great the last few years with everyone coming out here at least once a year,” Len said. “And all the people who stop by for shore leave and such. We’ve made this place pretty popular.” The Enterprise came by regularly, as did the Yorktown and many of Chris’ and Len’s friends.

“That’s what I was hoping for,” Chris said. “I’m very pleased at how well things have gone here. Have you heard from Joanna?”

“And Zach. That’s another reason that Starbase 1 is so attractive. They are going to be there, too,” Len said.

“In her last comm, she said they had requested it because they want to start a family.”

“She got tired of constant travel sooner than I thought she would. But Zach is all in on having a family. And, of course, they both want to be closer to Earth,” Len said.

Chris nodded. “I love the idea of being a grandad. I’m sure you do, too.”

“Oh yes. I’m already looking forward to that, too. But our parents are all getting older –”

“You better not mention that to Maman or Momma, for that matter,” Chris told him seriously.

“Doesn’t change the truth,” Len pointed out. It was something that they needed to be thinking about. “Do you think either of them will ever retire?”

“I doubt it. Right now, Maman has been talking about expanding the reach of the Pike Foundation. I think she’s trying to do something to justify that space yacht she bought for the foundation.”

During their first winter holidays on Starbase 11, not only did Joanna and Zach come out to visit, but also Maman, Papa, and Momma. Maman had said the shuttle took too long, so she borrowed the yacht because it was much more comfortable and considerably faster.

It had been a lovely holiday. He’d had some more time to talk to Momma about the past. They had come out at least once a year for the five years they’d been here. It was an unexpected bonus of being on the starbase and stationary. It was good to see them all.

Chris glanced at him. “What else do you have on tap for this evening?”

Len knew and loved that look. Things between them were still growing stronger. And Len had spent some time working on his issues, and they haunted him much less now. When they did, Chris was there to help with it.

“Nothing that can’t be postponed until tomorrow,” Len said, smiling at him. “What about you?”

“Same,” Chris said. “Let me just clean up from dinner, and I’ll join you in a minute or two.”

*****

-finis

 

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