Reading Time: 113 Minutes

Title: All That We Are
Author: Meri
Fandom: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: First Time, Future Fic / Post-Canon, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Science Fiction, Slash
Relationship(s): Christopher Pike/Leonard McCoy
Content Rating: R
Warnings: Canon-level Violence, Explicit Sex, Xenophobic speech (minor character(s)), discussions of child abuse (past), parental violence against a teen (past), mental health issues, drug-induced compliance (minor character).
Beta: Grammarly & Text Aloud
Word Count: 91,603
Summary: Spock arranges for Doctor Leonard McCoy to do emergency, life-saving surgery after Fleet Captain Christopher Pike is severely injured when the baffle plate ruptures during a cadet training inspection. Eighteen months later, Pike and McCoy meet again, and Pike is still recovering from the accident and in varying degrees of pain.

The bond that spontaneously forms between them is powerful and profound. It changes the course of their lives. They will need to learn to navigate their new relationship and all the surrounding circumstances that come with the bond. Family and friends are there to help. And some surprising enemies want to take away what they have found.
Artist: Tpena19

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Chapter Five – Importance of Family

By mid-morning, the fuzzy-headedness had worn off, and Chris went into his office. He had a lot of work to do today. While not entirely without pain, he felt better than he thought he would.

The conversation with William was a little fuzzy, but Chris was glad he’d agreed to start again. It would be a bit awkward now that he was involved with Len, but he trusted William. Adjusting to him being family should be interesting.

“Excuse me, Admiral Pike,” Derek said through the comm. “There’s someone here claiming to be your brother. I didn’t even know you had a brother. And why isn’t he on your family list?”

At this point, Derek knew who his immediate family was, so it was probably part of his act. Add to that, Jonathan was a civilian. How would he have gotten past security downstairs without Chris telling them he was coming today?

“Send him in, Derek. Thanks.” Chris said, pushing himself up from his chair. He had to use his cane to get around his desk. “Jon. It’s good to see you.”

Jonathan looked at him. “How are you feeling today? You didn’t look like you were doing that well yesterday.”

Well, no. But Chris wasn’t going to discuss that with Jonathan. “I’m okay. Thanks. What can I do for you?”

“What was your admin talking about? What does a family list even mean? Whatever it is, I’m betting mom and dad aren’t on it.” Jonathan sounded faintly amused. And something else. Chris wasn’t sure what.

Chris shook his head. Last night, he wasn’t able to focus. Now, he looked at Jonathan, and he looked so much older than the last time Chris had seen him. It shouldn’t be a surprise after ten years, but it was. He probably looked older to Jonathan, too.

“Let’s sit at the conference table. Do you want some coffee?” Chris nodded towards the coffee maker on a low table near the sofa. Initially, he’d put it there on purpose to make himself walk to get it, and now, he just left it there. It was nice to have real coffee in his office.

“No. Thanks.” Jonathan looked around at the office. “I don’t think Mom and Dad want to believe you are an admiral. I doubt they can stand to see how successful you are, especially when you did it all on your own,” Jonathan said.

That was not the thing to lead with, Chris thought. He counted to ten. In three non-human languages. “What do you want me to say to that? I stopped caring what they thought a very long time ago,” he snapped.

Jonathan’s head came up, and he looked startled. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I know that they hurt you. And me, too. It just took me longer to realize how much. After quitting the university last term, I contacted Aunt Amelia for some help.”

That was also not what Chris was expecting his brother to say. “Really? I’m surprised, especially given how Willa and Charles talked about her and the rest of the extended family.”

Jonathan raised an eyebrow, looking a little surprised, probably at his use of their parent’s first names. But Chris had found it was easier to distance himself that way.

“I realized I knew almost nothing about anywhere other than Mojave,” Jonathan said without addressing anything else. “I had only been outside the province a few times in my life, mostly for academic conferences in the last few years. I’d found a job in San Francisco that would allow me to travel, but I needed to find somewhere to live. Amelia helped me find a place and introduced me to some of the family.” Jonathan let out a sigh. “I had no idea that she or they were so…well forgiving. Of me, anyway.”

“And me, as well,” Chris said. Forgiving wasn’t what came to mind first with their family. Accepting was probably closer to what they were. “I’ve been close to Amelia and Grant for years.”

Jonathan’s eyes widened at that. “I had no idea –”

Chris sighed. It was clear that Jonathan wanted to talk. So, maybe it was time Chris did that. “Amelia and Grant came to my graduation from Starfleet when you and our parents couldn’t be bothered –”

Jonathan’s expression changed to outrage. “No. Wait. I wasn’t invited. I asked about it. I knew how important that was to you. Both mom and dad separately said that none of us were invited. That you wanted to leave us all on Earth and go to the stars without us –”

“They lied,” Chris said, and his voice cracked as anger burned through him. “I asked them to come. They said no. And then Charles said that unless I promised never to leave Earth, they would never approve of my choices, and they didn’t want me coming back to their house.” His jaw clenched, and he looked at Jonathan. “I am sure you can guess what my choice was.”

“No. No, fucking way. How could they –” Jonathan’s face went white, and fury radiated off him. His hands curled into fists. He took a deep breath and then a second. “I never forgave you for that rejection. For not even trying to reach out to me. I believed them. And they lied to me.”

“How do you know it’s not me who is lying,” Chris asked. He could feel the hurt in Jonathan. It was nearly tangible.

“I can feel the truth of your words. And your hurt and anger.” He took another breath and seemed to steady himself. “I’m not empathic, but –”

“Then, how do you know what I’m feeling? How are you feeling it? Isn’t that the very definition of empathic?” Chris asked.

“Dad told me more than once that I wasn’t empathic. That I should ignore whatever I felt around other people. That it was wrong. That I was prying.”

“He lied about that, too. Granddad told me what to look for and how to nurture it within myself. And how to screen out unwanted emotions from other people. He also told me never to tell our father about it.”

Jonathan looked down at his clenched fists, which he uncurled slowly and put his hands flat on the table. Without looking up, he took a shuddering breath and seemed to steal himself. Very quietly, he said, “Dad told me that if he found out that I was empathic, he’d beat it out of me.”

Chris’ head came up sharply as shock washed over him. He’d always known Charles was capable of violence, but he’d never thought he’d use it against his own child. “Oh, God. He hit you?” Chris choked out. Was there a statute of limitation on hitting a child? Amelia would know.

“Only once,” Jonathan said, still not looking up at Chris. “When I was fifteen, he caught me kissing Akira Makino. He threw Akira out of the house and then went at me with his fists and a belt. Screaming that he didn’t raise a son who would fuck an alien or a male.”

Chris hissed out a sharp breath. “Was Willa there?”

Jonathan shook his head. “We were alone in the house.”

Chris’ fury ebbed when he looked at Jonathan. Clearly, he was hurt and embarrassed by what their father had done. The last thing Jonathan needed was his temper.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Chris said softly. “I remember you said you’d gotten in a fight. And God, she punished you for it, too. But I –”

“There was nothing I could have done,” Jonathan said. “I was so humiliated by it. I didn’t understand what I’d done wrong. I didn’t say anything to anyone. He told me if I talked about it to anyone, he’d do it again, and I thought he might kill me next time.”

“You should have told me –”

“You couldn’t have done anything, Chris. He would have hurt you, too.” There was something in the way he said that, something in the way it felt, which made Chris look at him.

“Did he threaten to hurt me? Is that why you never said anything?” Chris reached across and put his hand on Jonathan’s bare wrist. “Did he?”

Jonathan tensed, but he didn’t pull away. “Not explicitly. I would have told you to be wary. But he implied he’d take it out on you if I didn’t fall in line.”

Chris shook his head, trying again to force down his anger. “If you had said something, Granddad would have gotten you, us away from them.” Chris took a breath. “Granddad told me that if he ever hit us or hurt us in any physical way, I needed to tell him immediately. I promised I would.”

“What are you talking about?” Jonathan said, finally looking up. “Granddad never said anything to me. Why didn’t he?”

“I don’t know. I always thought you were just not as close to him.” But it was a long time ago, and he no longer remembered all the details. Just impressions of what it was like. “Plus, you do know it is, and was, illegal to do that to a child, and even at fifteen, you would have been considered a child under the law. I’ve always believed they, Granddad and the extended family, were just looking for a reason.”

“I never thought of that. Honestly, if it had happened again, I might have said something. But I just did what Dad wanted after that.” Jonathan sighed. “I missed Akira for years.”

“I’m sorry. I know he was your best friend,” Chris said. “Maybe more.”

“Never got a chance to be more,” Jonathan said sadly. “It’s been thirty-five years. I still sometimes think about him and wonder where he is.”

“That information would not be hard to find.”

“I know. It wouldn’t matter now, anyway,” Jonathan said.

“Where are you living now?” Chris asked.

“I’m using a family apartment, not too far from where you live. But I’ll be traveling so much in the next few years that I’ll be off-world more than on it.”

“I have to say this was not what I expected today. What happened to make you finally break away?” Chris asked.

“Nothing I can point to,” Jonathan said. He looked down at Chris’ hand, which was still on his wrist and kind of smiled at him. “You can tell when I’m lying, can’t you?”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.” Chris gave him a small smile and moved his hand away. “But –”

“So, Emily and I were not compatible.” Jonathan held up a hand to stop him from saying anything. “We should never have gotten married, but as you might remember, our parents and hers were all in for it. In the beginning, neither of us wanted to divorce.”

“Why not?” Chris asked. “I mean, why stay together if you aren’t compatible?”

“Neither of us wanted to upset our parents.” Jonathan sighed. “We divorced a couple of years after we were married, but we didn’t tell them. Fortunately, Mojave is big enough, and our parents were isolated on their ranches so that we could move on with our lives. We were friends, though. So, we’d go to see them together to avoid the drama. We finally had to say something a couple of years ago because she’d met someone she wanted to marry. ”

Chris had no idea what to say about that. “And you? That seems like a long way to go to make them happy.”

“It was. And it said a lot about how much both of us were fucked up by what they’d done to us.” Jonathan closed his eyes for a moment and breathed out. “So, long story short, I had a couple of long-term partners over the last twenty or so years. And the last one, one of my colleagues at the university, made me get some therapy starting maybe eight or nine years ago. Which ended up being the best thing any lover has ever done for me.

“Eventually, I knew I had to leave Mojave. Sadly, she didn’t want to come with me and travel and go into space, which I understand. She was a tenured professor and had a life there. But I couldn’t stay anymore,” Jonathan said, looking sad but not completely heartbroken.

“Wow. Is there anything I can do to help you?” Chris asked. It was probably too late for that, and Jonathan probably needed to do it himself.

“Not at this point. Thanks. I have been thinking about coming to see you for a long time. I wanted to, I don’t know, clear the air,” Jonathan said and then let out a long, slow breath. “I think I must have known deep down that something was wrong in what they had told me. What he did to me, what he threatened, all left a mark on me that I tried to ignore for a very long time.”

“I know it must have hurt you. How could it not?” Chris said.

Jonathan sighed again. “Every time I saw them, Dad and Mom were becoming more and more miserable and angry. I hated being in the same room with them. It made my skin crawl.”

“I understand that. The last time I was with them, and that was a long time ago, I felt the same way. I could not bear the lying and the bitterness.”

Jonathan sat forward. “Was it me, or did you notice that Mom seemed to be withdrawing into herself more and more? And dad was always on the edge of, I don’t know, violence is the word that comes to mind.”

“I haven’t seen them in person in probably ten or fifteen years. And then it was mostly by accident. Willa has tried to call me a couple of times, but I haven’t taken calls from either of them in years. They managed to get in to see me at the hospital, but I don’t remember it.”

“Doctor McCoy mentioned that,” Jonathan said. “How much do you remember from that time?”

Chris smiled. “I have flashes of memories. I remember Len saying goodbye before he left to rejoin the Enterprise. I remember Amelia or Grant being there nearly every time I woke up for months, and if it wasn’t either of them, it was one of my friends or family. That whole time is pretty vague. Almost like a dream.” While he was thinking about it, he made a mental note to call Amelia. It had been two weeks since he’d last seen her. He wanted to find out what was going on with her and Grant.

Jonathan seemed to accept that and nodded. “I’m going to be nosey and ask how you met Doctor McCoy again. Because clearly, you and he have something significant between you.”

Chris wasn’t sure he would have answered if Jonathan had asked at the beginning of the conversation. He told him the truth about meeting the ship. “I took him home with me from the docking and kept him.”

That made Jonathan smile. “And now?”

“I’ll probably marry him at some point. He’s supposed to be going back out on the Enterprise for the next two years to finish his mission –”

Jonathan shook his head. “I don’t think that is going to happen.”

“Why not,” Chris asked. He didn’t look at Jonathan. How many people were going to tell him that before he admitted he knew it was very unlikely that Len would go back out?

“The bond between you already looks and feels like you’ve been together for years,” Jonathan said. “That means it’s either almost or completely established, and you and he won’t be able to be apart for months to come.”

Which was almost word for word what Jim Kirk had told him. “How do you even know that?” Chris asked.

Jonathan looked surprised by the question or maybe it was Chris’ tone. “Do you know anything about empathic bonding?” Jonathan asked.

“Not much. That’s the problem.” It was starting to be a theme with everyone telling him this. As much as Chris wanted the bond, part of him was deeply afraid of what acknowledging it would mean for their safety.

“You had Grandad to tell you about empathy. I researched it. For years.”

“You knew about yourself? You said you didn’t think you were empathic,” Chris said. “What do you know?”

Jonathan looked down at his hands. “After what dad did and said, I learned to deny it automatically. But I was so curious about it. Sometimes, many times, I knew what people were feeling, but I didn’t know what to do with it or how to react. When I got away from them to college, I researched what was out there and compiled it into a couple of unpublished papers. One of them is on empathy itself, and the other is on empathic bonds. There is almost nothing known about bonds. It’s all anecdotal. But I could cobble together enough to have an idea of what it would look like.”

“Will you share some of that with me? Or better yet, with Len,” Chris asked.

“I can do that. I’ll try and send what I have before I leave again tomorrow,” Jonathan said, smiling widely. “I am going off-world for the first time. I can’t believe I waited this long to finally do this.”

“I love traveling, too. I have missed it these last couple of years.” Chris pushed himself to his feet. “Do you want to have lunch? I’m starving. I missed dinner last night. And even with eating breakfast this morning, I need to eat something else.”

“I could eat something, too. I was nervous coming here, and I only had some coffee.” Jonathan stood, too.

Chris wanted to ask why he was nervous, but given the conversation, he could guess. “There’s a diner I like that’s not too far from here. We could walk.”

“Are you sure you should be walking that far?” He glanced at the cane Chris was leaning on.

“I walk there for lunch most days,” Chris said.

“Won’t your Doctor McCoy be angry with you?” Jonathan asked.

“Oh, he might be. But he knows me. So, he’ll deal with it.” Chris smiled at what Len’s reaction might be. It was only about a mile, with a break before he walked back. That would count as an easy day for him.

“How does that work? He seemed very worried about you last night.”

“He’s,” Chris paused. “He cares about me like no one ever has. But he doesn’t own me.”

Jonathan chuckled at that.

*****

Later that week

“How are you feeling,” Len asked as Chris came in after work on Thursday. It was late enough that Len had gotten home before him.

“I tried not to push past my breaking point in PT today. So, not too bad,” Chris said. He’d also not pushed as hard yesterday.

“You don’t do something like that without a reason,” Len said, looking slightly suspicious but putting a hand on his face and kissing him.

Pulling back, Chris looked at him and sighed. “I realized I needed to back off a little. It hurt badly on Monday. I haven’t felt that awful in a very long time.”

“There’s more?” Len seemed to look right into him.

“There might be,” Chris said, leaning in to kiss him again, lingeringly. “If you’re interested, that is.”

“Oh, my darlin’, if you are feeling up to it, I am as well.” Len smiled delightedly at him and kissed him again. His arms slipped around Chris and held him close, kissing him several more times. “Upstairs?” Len asked.

“My plan, exactly,” Chris agreed, kissing his mouth, his hand moving slowly on the back of Len’s neck, anticipation starting to slide pleasantly through him.

Chris stopped to kiss Len on each step on the way up the stairs. And Chris kept kissing him as they got into the bedroom. The kisses deepened as their clothes came off.

“Do you want my hands and mouth all over you?” Len asked, pulling back from a kiss, his fingers moving slowly along Chris’ side to his waist. He nudged Chris to the bed, and he got in. Len followed him, kissing him slowly.

“I want you all over me,” Chris answered as Len rolled on top of him, his hands moving down Len’s sides and over his back, down to squeeze his ass. He’d been thinking about what he wanted for a while and was intrigued with what it would feel like. And he wanted to try it.

“I sense your excitement,” Len said, his hands starting to move along Chris’ body.

“I want more than we’ve done before,” Chris said. They only talked about this once, and Len had wanted him to wait. But Chris didn’t want to wait anymore.

Len seemed to understand and grinned against his mouth. “I want to do that with you.”

Chris arched under Len’s hands, his heart rate picking up, each touch exciting him more. As he settled into the bedding, Chris’ hands moved over Len, sliding through his hair. Chris groaned softly. The wet heat of Len’s mouth had him panting.

After a few minutes, Len raised his head. “My darlin’,” Len said, his voice husky with arousal. “Why don’t you turn over.”

Chris did what he asked. And Len put a pillow under his hips before kissing the back of his neck. And oh, so very slowly, Len licked down his back. Chris pressed into the pillow, moaning as his senses were ready to overload on the pleasure of Len’s tongue. And it went on and on, leisurely, as if Len were in no hurry at all. Chris’ hands were tangled in the sheets, and he wondered if he could come from just this.

“Oh, God,” Chris panted. He’d considered himself experienced when it came to sex, but this level of pleasure was new to him. Of course, nothing with Len was like anything he’d ever experienced before.

Len pulled back a little and started licking back up his back. Len’s teeth lightly scraped along his skin. After a second or two, a slick finger slid all the way into him, and Chris pushed up against it, pleasure radiating out from it.

“Oh, God,” he moaned again, finding it hard to breathe. “You’re killing me with this.”

“Not yet, my darlin’. There’s more comin’,” Len promised. What Len was doing felt so good. They’d both played this game with each other before. They’d had lots of practice. Chris’ body knew how to respond, and he was ready.

Finally, Len moved him onto his side and pushed one knee forward. Then, he started to push into Chris. He’d expected it to hurt, and it did, but not exactly how he’d expected. There was a burn to it, a stretch, like inexorable pressure was building inside him. And then, Len was all the way into him.

Len stopped, his chest warm against Chris’ back. They both panted.

“You feel so amazin’, my darlin’,” Len gasped out.

By this point, Chris was lost to the sensations, entirely beyond words, and just nodded.

As Len pulled out and pushed in again, shocky electric sparks cascaded through Chris. Soon enough, that was all he could feel, and it was intense and amazing, and with each stroke, the pleasure grew exponentially. There wasn’t room for anything left in his mind, only the breathtaking pleasure Len was giving him. When it was finally too big to contain, and he was pushed over the edge, he moaned as he came.

After a while, Len asked, “Are you okay, my darlin’.” He was still pressed against Chris’ back, one of his arms still holding onto Chris’ waist.

It took a few seconds for Chris to be able to form words again. “That was more than I was expecting.”

“Good or bad.”

Chris laughed. “You couldn’t tell I was enjoying that? Because it was amazing.”

“It did seem like you liked what I was doing, but I just wanted to make sure.” Len gathered him close, holding him and kissing him. “I’d never want to hurt you.”

“I doubt that will ever be a problem. And let’s do that again soon.” He kissed Len several times but was having trouble keeping his eyes open. “We forgot dinner.”

Len laughed. “I had you for dinner. Are you hungry?”

“Nope. You have me pretty sated. I need a nap before I can move again,” Chris said.

Len rolled over onto his back. Chris nestled against him, put his head on Len’s chest, and then fell asleep to the sound of Len’s heartbeat.

*****

Chapter Six – Moving Forward From Here

“Admiral Pike,” Derek said through his comm. “Doctor Carson is here to see you. He says he has an appointment, but there isn’t one on my calendar.”

“Yes. I’ve got an appointment with him,” Chris said. “I’ll be right out.”

He pushed himself to his feet. Chris was still feeling a little stiff even after going a little easier on the PT yesterday. Though not as much as he would have been if he’d hit it at his usual intensity.

“William, please come in.” He looked at Derrek. “Hold all my calls. Doctor McCoy is the only exception.”

“Chris,” William said, holding out his hand. “It is good to see you looking so well. You look like you’ve made a lot of progress in the time since I saw you last.”

Chris smiled. “I’m glad to be feeling so well. It’s still slow going. Let’s sit?” He waved a hand to the conference table. “I’ve been thinking about this since I agreed to it. Going back and forth about how it’s going to work now, with Len in my life.”

“There are no end of problems associated with trying to psychoanalyze family,” William said. “And ultimately, I think that’s what you’ll be.”

“I think so,” Chris said. “I know so. What is between Len and me is it for me.”

“I’m going with that assumption as well. So, I don’t think formal therapy is an option anymore. Maybe we can do something else,” William said.

“I didn’t know there was anything else,” Chris said. But he was intrigued by the idea.

“Well, I was thinking of doing it by comm. That will save me the weekly trip out here, as well as giving us some distance. But it also gives you someone you trust to talk to,” William said. “Plus, it will be us getting to know each other differently.”

“We’re going to make it up as we go along,” Chris suggested. “I think that could work.” When he’d done this last year, he’d found it more helpful than he would have thought therapy would be.

“At some point, probably not that far in the future, we’ll hit the end of the line with this, and you will have become family, which will remove all of my objectivity,” William said. “But for now, I think it will be okay for a few months.”

“And Len? I am not sure about talking about him with you,” Chris said. He and Len talked to each other a lot. But there hadn’t been time yet to learn everything he wanted to know. “And he’s a huge part of my life.”

“Either we can just not talk about him at all, but since you’ve just said he was a large part of your life now, not talking about him creates a hole in the narrative,” William said. “Or it might be better if you trust me not to discuss anything you tell me with him.”

“I don’t expect you to tell me anything about Len either,” Chris said and then grinned. “That’s for me to find out, and I plan to know all his secrets by the time I’m done.”

William laughed. “Oh, I think this will be so much fun to watch happen.”

“I can guarantee that it will be entertaining,” Chris said. “How have you been? I’m looking forward to meeting Beth and your kids. Which is kind of weird to say, but true nonetheless.”

“Yeah, this is new territory for all of us. For a long time, both Beth and I had hoped that Len would meet someone. And now, here you are. We could not be more thrilled.”

“Realistically, I’ve known him for five weeks.” Chris resisted the urge to put his head in his hands. “It’s not long enough to feel what I feel for him.”

“And he feels the same,” William said. And oddly enough, that sounded like a statement, not a question.

“He told you?” Because, as far as Chris knew, there hadn’t been time for them to talk.

“He didn’t have to. I’ve known him for more than twenty-five years. He called us at seven in the morning after failing to contact me or his sister for the four weeks he’d been back on Earth. The reason he did was that he was worried about you.”

“You don’t sound angry or hurt.” Chris found that kind of surprising, given everything.

“He knows where we are when his focus shifts. That we’ll love him no matter what. I think it’s a McCoy family rule,” William said with a slight smile. “Now, onto you.”

“There are some things–” Chris shrugged. He didn’t even know where to start. So much had happened in the last five weeks, not to mention the months before that.

“Of that, I am sure. This hasn’t been easy for you. And suddenly having a profound relationship adds a certain level of stress to your life.”

“Not as much as you’d think with the relationship part. It almost feels too easy with Len. And I enjoy his company more than anyone I’ve ever met,” Chris said. “Though, he wants to take care of me. I’ve never had anyone, ever, who took such care with me. I’m not sure what to do with it. Phil, do you remember Phil Boyce?”

William nodded.

“He said I should enjoy it, but I’ve never been able to do that.” A part of him did want to let Len take care of him, at least sometimes. But that also brushed too hard against his need for independence, especially after everything that happened with the accident and his recovery.

“I haven’t talked to Len about you or that specifically, but I do know that you’re going to have to let him know what you’re comfortable with. As is true with many people who are care takers, I suspect if you don’t tell him where your boundaries are, he’ll try to run your life.”

“I’ve already found that out about Len. He can be a very bossy man,” Chris said and smiled to himself. “I’m trying hard not to let him see how amusing I find that aspect of his personality.”

“I don’t think I should comment specifically about Lenny, Len,” William said. “But it’s an interesting choice of words, bossy, which is almost teasing, and non-threatening, unlike say, dictatorial or domineering?”

“I think that sums it up. Len already knows where the line is with me,” Chris said, stopping for a second. “He’s not trying to dominate me. Because trust me when I tell you that would not go over well with me. He literally wants to take care of me. I find that, and him, completely endearing.”

“How does he do it?”

“It’s a hundred little things. He’ll put his hand out for me to help me stand. Or put a hand on my back to steady me. Or just put his arms around me when he knows I’ve done too much, especially when it’s been a bad day. He knows therapeutic massage and uses it on me a lot. He stops by my office at random times, to check on how I’m feeling. Or sometimes just to kiss me. Which we do a lot.”

Chris smiled again, thinking about Len breezing into his office to kiss him for ten minutes and then leaving just as quickly and leaving him with a silly grin on his face for the rest of the day.

William smiled at him, almost as if he knew what Chris had been thinking. “I agree with Phil. Let him do as much as you’re comfortable with. And then tell him to back off.”

“I think that’s how it’s been so far with him. Actually, I’ve had to draw the line with everyone who was with me through this,” Chris said.

“Who else?”

“Just about everyone,” Chris said, and then he told William about the conversations with Phil Boyce and Bob April about Len.

“You find it surprising that they care?” William asked, his tone perfectly neutral.

“Not that they care. But it’s annoying as fuck that everyone doesn’t trust my judgment. Len and I acknowledged what was between us almost immediately, though admittedly, we didn’t talk about it for a couple of weeks.”

“All right.” William gave him a knowing look. “What can you do about your friends?”

“I told them to back off, and mostly they have,” Chris said. Obviously, he needed to sink or swim on his own, and no one could help with that.

“We talked briefly the last time about your family, but that was a topic we didn’t get back around to talking about in any kind of depth,” William said.

Chris paused for a second to think back to what they had discussed. At the time, he’d given William a high-level description of the situation with his parents. He hadn’t discussed Jonathan at all. “So recently, in this past week, I saw my brother again.”

“If I remember correctly, you and he hadn’t spoken in years,” William said.

“Interestingly enough, he got in touch with me last Monday.” Chris sighed. “To be fair, I didn’t answer the comms that he’d sent while I was in the hospital or during my recovery.”

“What did he say to you?”

Chris told him about the conversation. “To say I was shocked by that would probably be an understatement. But he and I seemed to have cleared the air. So, that’s good. Jon left Earth for the first time yesterday. He was very excited about it.”

He hoped Jon would find what he was looking for with his new job and traveling. If he was anything like Chris, he would love it, and he wanted that for Jon.

“I know that I’ve loved going off-world the times I have,” William said with a smile. “Beth and I have visited some of the neighboring planets and a few space stations.” William looked at him. “That was a big revelation about your parents lying to him.”

“I’m sure he feels betrayed by them. I know I do, too. But it’s just one more thing in a whole long line of things that they did. It’s funny, I would have said my mother loved us. I thought that,” Chris said.

“Are you that empathic?” William asked again in that neutral tone he had.

Asked up front like that, the question startled Chris, but that was the whole point of this. “This is where my trusting you and you being Len’s family becomes important. I think that is what’s between Len and me.”

“I think so, yes.” He looked at Chris. “It’s going to make it very difficult for you to be apart for any length of time.”

“You are not the first person to tell me that. My brother did as well.” Chris told him about the research Jonathan had done.

William seemed surprised by it and said, “If you wouldn’t mind sharing it, I’d like to look at it myself. I had no idea that there was that much information out there.”

“He sent it yesterday morning, but I haven’t had a chance to look at it. I’ll forward it to you.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that. About your bond.” William tipped his head towards him in a way that said he wanted Chris to elaborate on something.

But it was Chris who needed the elaboration, and even trusting William, he found it very difficult to ask. He wondered if it was his own reluctance to talk about his own empathy or something fundamental in the bond. Chris took a breath and pressed on. “Do you know something specific about why Len would not be able to go back out with the Enterprise? Because so far, no one has given us a reason.” And even if he felt that what he’d been told was true, Chris needed to understand the details.

“Truthfully, I only know what I have been told or read. Which isn’t much,” William said. “I do know that when the bond is forming, it’s more fragile. Each bond itself is different for each couple. I do know that empathy runs in families. And that the more empathic the people are, the more profound the bond will be.”

“You and Beth?” Chris asked because now that he’d thought about it, it made perfect sense.

William hesitated for a count or two, enough so that Chris wondered if he’d finally hit his limit on what William would tell him, even though they would be family sometime soon.

“I’ve always thought so,” William finally said. “But like you, we’ve never been scanned for it. But it runs in both of our families.”

“Which probably makes it true for both of you,” Chris said.

“So, do you want to go back to your family?” William asked, seemingly as reluctant to talk about his bond as Chris was.

“I’d rather talk about that with Len there. There are some things I haven’t gotten around to explaining to either of you and despite the information dumps Len and I have tried to do, it hasn’t come up,” Chris said.

“Admiral Pike,” Derrek’s voice interrupted. “Doctor McCoy is here, but you said not to disturb you.”

“Except for Doctor McCoy, correct?” Chris asked. He wondered sometimes if Derek did that on purpose, just to make sure.

“Yes, sir.”

And it occurred to Chris that he hadn’t mentioned Derek’s real purpose to either Len or William. And maybe he should think about doing that. Then, Len came in, and Chris stood up to kiss him.

“Billy-Ray,” Len said after letting go of Chris. He embraced William. “You are looking good, old man.”

“Because I’m so much older than you are,” William said with a laugh.

Len smirked at him. “A whole two weeks. What secrets have you given away?” He looked between them. “Either one of you.”

“I don’t know enough secrets to give any away,” Chris pointed out.

William snorted. “And you know, I am trying to walk a fine line with the two of you.”

“You can tell him anything you want about me,” Len said.

William looked a little shocked. “Seriously, Lenny? That could cover a lot of ground. I know a lot of your worst and most embarrassing secrets.”

“All of which, I’d tell Chris. I can’t think of anything that I need to hide.” Len leaned in and kissed Chris again.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Chris said. And much better than what they’d talked about before. There was no reason not to tell Len whatever he wanted to know. “You know, that works for me, too, though nothing that is classified or related. Sorry, Len. That’s just –”

“I don’t need to know any of that,” Len said, taking his hand and threading their fingers together.

“Okay,” William said. “It’s on you both if you hear something you didn’t want to.”

Len shrugged, and Chris said, “Fine.”

“Why is Derek so annoyed about that list he keeps referencing,” Len asked.

“The family list?” Chris asked, wondering how he’d also missed telling him about that. “How do you not know about that, Len?”

“Maybe you didn’t tell him,” William guessed.

“You both know, and I don’t. What are we talking about?” Len asked, with a note of annoyance in his tone.

Chris explained it to him.

Len looked surprised. “I was on that list the first time I came by your office. Like three-four days after we met.”

“Why wouldn’t you be on it by then?” Chris said. “It was the first thing I did when I got back to the office.”

“Excuse me, Billy-Ray,” Len said and drew Chris gently into his arms, kissing him deeply, his tongue slowly pressing into Chris’ mouth, his grip tightening. Chris’ arms slid around Len’s shoulders and moved down his back, leaning into the kiss. It was delicious. Tendrils of heat started to snake through Chris, his heartbeat picked up, and need started to pool low in his belly. He pressed further into Len.

Finally, Len loosened his grip, letting him go and stepping back. “Sorry. I came by to see if you wanted to have lunch. But since Billy-Ray is here, we can all go.”

Chris was still back on the kiss, trying to catch his breath. Len shouldn’t do that to him in the middle of the day.

William grinned at Len. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you kiss anyone like that.”

“Sure, I have,” Len said and paused, clearly thinking about it. “I guess I was never big on public displays of affection before now.”

Chris raised an eyebrow, surprised. Len kissed him in public all the time. “Is Phil going to come looking for you again?” he asked after a second or two.

“No. He only does that to catch us together. I’m not sure what he thinks we’re going to do in your office?”

Chris glanced at his desk. And then back to them. He smiled at Len.

And clearly, William knew what he was thinking. But they hadn’t done anything like that yet. It was too hard a surface for Chris right now. But he had promised himself that someday they would.

“Phil Boyce is Adriana Boyce’s husband, correct?” William asked. “Aside from the special contract, she’s also been trying to recruit me to work for Starfleet.”

“In San Francisco?” Len asked, sounding like he liked the idea. “You haven’t mentioned it.”

“Beth and I are still in the negotiation stage. Missy will start high school next fall. So, if we do it, it would be this summer.”

Len nodded.

“There’s your momma to consider, too,” William added.

“True. But San Fransisco isn’t that far from Atlanta,” Len agreed. “So, lunch?”

“Sure,” William said. “Chris?”

“I think I’ll let you both go. I have a lot of work to do. This took much longer than an hour,” Chris said. He was okay with that.

“It did. But it wasn’t a regular session, so much as us getting to know each other again or differently,” William agreed.

Chris held out his hand, and William took it. “It was good to see you again. Len, take him by the house and give him a temporary code for the door.”

As they moved towards the door, William said, “Oh, I forgot to mention, Beth and the kids won’t be here until tomorrow morning. Dave has something at school tonight that he didn’t tell us about until this morning.”

“I understand that’s typical with kids,” Chris said.

“And momma?” Len asked.

“Pretty sure she’s going to come with Beth.”

“So, only us for dinner tonight,” Chris said. “I’ll cook something.”

“You can cook? You’ve never mentioned that. But it’s great,” William said. “I love to eat.”

“That does not surprise me,” Chris said, eyeing him up and down.

*****

“Let’s take a walk,” Len said as they exited the building where Chris’ office was. “I took the afternoon off so that we could talk.”

“That sounds like a plan as long as lunch is involved,” Billy-Ray said with a smile.

“Of course. Do you think I’d make you work without feeding you?”

“In a heartbeat.”

“You’ve known me too long,” Len said with a laugh.

“How are you coping with all of this? It must have come as a surprise,” Billy-Ray said.

“That would be an understatement.” Len snorted. “But Chris has become so important to me in such a short amount of time. I can already see that it’s going to be a full-time job trying to keep him on his feet and from killing himself by trying to force his body to do what he wants it to do. I want that job. I want to take care of him, when he lets me, which, of course, is a fight every damned time.”

“Yeah, Chris mentioned that you try to take care of him. He didn’t say it, but I think he’s probably still struggling with his independence,” Billy-Ray said and then frowned. “I feel like I’m crossing a line here. Even if you both think it’s okay, I’m not sure I do.”

“You know, even if we are both comfortable with each other knowing everything, you don’t have to be the conduit to tell us. We can and do tell each other almost everything. I’ll ask him about it. But I know what he’s feeling, and I will do anything I can to alleviate the pain he lives with.” Len made a mental note to ask Chris about that. They hadn’t talked about his recovery at all. And probably needed to.

“Fair enough,” Billy-Ray said thoughtfully. “He’s actually in better shape than most people I’ve met who have gone through the kind of trauma that he’s experienced.”

“I’m assuming you know everything about the accident.” Len looked at him. “He told me the night we met. Well, met again.”

“Yes. I believe so. Some of what I know is classified,” Billy-Ray said. “So, when I say he’s in good shape, I mean it. His strength and determination are amazing.”

“I know. I admire Chris so much. It’s amazing what he went through, what he knew was coming, and that he still went on. I don’t think he even thinks it’s a big deal.”

“As far as I can tell, he doesn’t,” Billy-Ray said. “He doesn’t consider himself a hero. He was only doing his job.”

“Yeah.” Len let out a breath. He needed to talk to Chris some more about that, too. There was so damned much they needed to talk about, and hadn’t had time yet. Sometimes, it was overwhelming.

“Are you okay?” Billy-Ray asked. Sometimes, it was as if he knew what Len was thinking or feeling.

“A lot has been happening lately,” Len said. He needed to talk to Chris about it first, not Billy-Ray. “On another topic, I’m looking forward to visiting with everyone this weekend. I should have gone back to Atlanta or at least called before this.” Len felt a little guilty about that.

Billy-Ray shook his head. “I can understand why you didn’t. This is a massive development in your life. What you both have is a profound empathic bond. And Lenny, you are not going back out on the Enterprise when she leaves.”

Yeah, he knew that. Even before he read Jonathan’s research, it was clear to him that he wouldn’t be able to leave Chris for any length of time and certainly not for two years. The very thought was enough to make his heart pound uncomfortably. He recognized what it would do to him to even think too hard about it. “As much as I want what Chris and I have, I hate the thought of not being able to follow through on my commitment to the ship and her crew,” Len said.

“I understand that,” Billy-Ray said. “But I’m pretty sure that breaking a developing bond this strong will be traumatic enough to destroy you, both of you.”

Len sighed and looked down. “I’ve suspected that.”

“And I believe that Chris knows as well, though both of you seem reluctant to admit it. Chris more than you,” Billy-Ray said.

Len knew that. Chris was deeply afraid of anyone outside of his control, knowing about his empathy. “It’s only been five weeks. We’d have to have the bond and our empathy documented. I don’t want to do that or to have it publicly known.”

“I don’t think you’re going to have a choice,” Billy-Ray said. “It’s not as unsafe as it used to be.”

“It’s still not that safe. People disappear over this,” Len said. “I’ve seen the results of what can happen, especially before they tightened the laws ten years ago. I had a young woman brought into trauma when I was still in Atlanta. She’d had her mind ripped apart by someone trying to figure out why she knew what other people were feeling, and she didn’t survive it. Even now, I’d avoid talking about it if I could. I also notice you’ve never talked about it. Even with me.”

“I can’t argue with you on that. But you’re in Starfleet. That’s going to give you some protection.” Billy-Ray sounded like he believed that Starfleet would protect them.

“At least, in theory.” Len sighed. “Part of me wishes that there was more known about it. That and I’d like to know how many people have it or at least think they have it.”

“Sounds like another special research project for you.”

Len laughed. “I’m still working on the last one.” And Len was not ready to deal with that yet. “Let’s get something to eat. The diner is across the street.”

“Sounds good,” Billy-Ray said.

*****

“Okay, when Chris said he had a house, this was not what I expected,” Billy-Ray said when they stopped at the stairs leading up to the front door of Chris’ house.

“Yeah, it’s pretty big,” Len said as they started up the front stairs. “It’s nice inside. You should see the kitchen.”

Billy-Ray gave him a surprised look. “You don’t realize what this place is?”

“What? Momma’s farmhouse is bigger,” Len said. “Chris said he inherited it from his grandfather.”

“Your momma’s farm is an old-fashioned family home meant for big families,” Billy-Ray said and laughed. “Did he tell you his grandfather’s name?”

“Should he have? No, wait, I think it was Marcus Pike.”

“Yes. So, your Christopher Pike is one of The Pikes,” Billy-Ray said, obviously expecting Len to know what he was talking about.

Which Len did not. He put his hand on the plate, and the door snicked open. “I don’t know what you mean. What Pikes?”

Chris appeared in the foyer. “Have you figured it out, William?”

“The Pike Foundation?”

“I guess you did,” Chris said, not even sounding surprised.

“What are you talking about,” Len asked, taking Chris into his arms and kissing him. “The Pike Foundation is one of the top charitable organizations on Earth. What do you have to do with them?”

“They’re my family,” Chris said against his mouth.

“Fuck,” Len said. Something in his brain went click, click, click as the facts fell into place. He put his head on Chris’ shoulder and groaned. He should have figured it out much sooner. Of course, the house should have given it away.

“So, the house and your family were what you didn’t want to talk about this afternoon?” Billy-Ray asked.

“Yes. I wasn’t going to tell you before I told Len,” Chris said and looked at Len. “I was expecting you to figure it out before now.”

Len leaned in to kiss him again and then laughed. “I should have. In my defense, I’m not thinking about the house when I am here.” Then leaned in and kissed Chris again a little more slowly. As much as he wanted to deepen the kiss, he pulled back. “Are you cooking dinner? Or are we ordering in?”

“I’m cooking. I haven’t gotten to do it very often since you’ve moved in. It’s good therapy, too,” Chris said. “Why don’t you both sit at the counter and talk to me? This will take a little while.”

*****

As Len and William watched from the counter, Chris started to do the prep for dinner. After a few minutes of silence, Chris took a deep breath and forced himself to say, “I have a question for you.”

“What would that be?” William asked. Though Chris thought that William could probably guess it was about the bond.

“You implied this afternoon that there could be consequences from Len leaving with the Enterprise, but we never got back to what they might be,” Chris said, his heart pounding hard against his chest.

Len looked at him and nodded. Chris could sense Len’s unease as well.

William sighed. “I know you are both resistant to being tested for an empathic bond. But as I told you this afternoon, if you leave Lenny, you could snap the developing bond when the ship goes to warp. And that could very well kill you both.”

Chris stopped chopping, dropping the knife on the cutting board. He put his hands flat on the counter as his stomach tightened uncomfortably. “I hadn’t realized that was even possible.”

“I’m not completely sure it will happen like that,” William said, frowning. “I’ve heard and read anecdotal accounts, and they might not be accurate. However, do you want to take that chance? There is so little known. Do you know a doctor you can trust?”

“Only Phil. And that means making it official with Starfleet.” Len said, looking unhappy at the prospect.

Chris wasn’t happy having his hand forced on this, but he also had no intention of risking Len’s life.

“I guess we’re going to have to,” he said.

“I guess so,” Len turned to look at William. “Thanks, Billy-Ray.”

“You need to pay more attention to what’s around you.” William pointed to the room they were in.

Len looked down. “I know I should. But I was too wrapped up in Chris to notice anything else.”

“You’ve been coming and going from this house for five weeks. Did you ever notice the neighborhood or that it was huge for a place in the heart of San Francisco?” Chris asked.

“I noticed it was nice. What more did you want?” He looked at Chris. “You said you’d inherited it. That seemed reasonable.”

Chris came around the table and leaned in to kiss him. “God, you’re amazing.”

William just laughed at them.

*****

“Is William going to bed,” Chris asked as Len entered the bedroom. “I am looking forward to getting to know him from a different perspective. Though there are a few things that I still want to talk to him about.”

“He’ll help you work through that and be a good friend, too. He’s always been a great friend to me,” Len said. “And he’s talked to me over the years, too.”

“I’m hoping he and I can get to be good friends, too,” Chris said. Though that would be a little weird, but maybe not in a bad way. “What are we going to do with scanning and the bond?”

“I don’t know how we can avoid doing that. After I met you, I had the feeling that I wouldn’t be going back out with the Enterprise,” Len said. “I guess I just didn’t want to admit it.”

“I was told by just about everyone, including Captain Kirk, basically the same thing, and I didn’t either. But I can’t risk your life with the possibility.” Chris shivered.

“It’s your life, too.” Len sat down on the bed beside him and took the padd he was reading out of his hand, setting it on the bedside table. “So, we’ll talk to Phil and have him confirm what we both already know.”

Chris just nodded. “And you and I won’t be separated once it’s documented. Truthfully, a part of me is so relieved about that, but it also means you’ll have to find something else to do.”

“I can feel your relief, and I am relieved as well,” Len said and leaned in to kiss him, putting a hand on his neck and urging him forward a little. Chris murmured his approval.

After a few minutes, Len pulled back. “I’ve been in a sort of stasis, waiting to go back out with the Enterprise. I’ve mostly been doing emergency surgery and consulting on problems that don’t have easy answers. I won’t have any problem getting an attending physician post or maybe some kind of research position. I’d like to believe that I’m skilled enough that they will find me something I want to do.”

“I am absolutely certain that Starfleet knows just how good a doctor you are,” Chris said, and Len smiled and leaned in to kiss him again.

“I suspect so,” Len said, moving back around to lie beside Chris.

God, Chris loved the feel of Len’s body pressed against his. He slid his hands over Len’s back and down onto his ass. His pulse was already starting to pick up, along with other things.

“How good is the soundproofing in here?” Len asked between kisses.

“Pretty damned good. It’s been upgraded in all the rooms.” Chris leaned into the kiss.

“How are you feeling? Are you in pain?” He ran a hand down Chris’ chest onto his hip.

“I think I’m good with whatever you’d like,” Chris said eagerly.

“Yeah, let yourself rest. I’ll do all the work,” Len said, his fingers straying back to Chris’ chest and pulling Chris’ T-shirt over his head.

Chris nudged Len to sit up, and he did as well. Then, he reached for Len’s shirt. “I can do my fair share, I assure you.”

“You cooked dinner tonight,” Len said, pushing off his own pants and then tugging on Chris’. Leaning back, he lifted his hips so Len could get them off him.

Len lay back down on top of him, settling in and kissing him.

“One thing has nothing to do with the other,” Chris said, tightening his arms to roll Len below him.

Len laughed and settled his hands on Chris’ ass, squeezing. “Always tryin’ to be in charge, my darlin’,” Len said.

“I am in charge,” Chris assured him, laughing and leaning down to kiss him.

“You just keep telling yourself that, Admiral.”

“And don’t call me that, especially not while your hands are on my naked ass,” Chris said. “It will kill the mood.”

“What a lovely, firm naked ass it is,” Len said, squeezing him again and pushing his hips up into Chris’ thigh. “I don’t think you have to worry about the mood.”

“Enough talk. More kissing.” Chris leaned down again and kissed him deeply, effectively ending the conversation.

*****

Early Saturday morning, Chris got an emergency call from Starfleet HQ, saying that he was needed at an 0800 hours in-person briefing. Another terror cell from the Terra Prime organization was starting to operate and was going to be targeting high-profile targets, especially those from Starfleet and those who were empathic. This was not the first time he’d been briefed on them.

After the meeting was over, Bob April stayed behind and motioned for Chris to do the same. He and Chris hadn’t talked a lot since the issue over the consent forms. Bob had backed off after that. And Chris had let him, too wrapped up in Len, to even think about much of anything else.

“Bob?” Chris said. “What’s going on here?”

“We have received some information on one of the cell leaders,” Bob said slowly. “You’re not going to like this.”

“I gathered that. Just tell me,” Chris said. It was easier that way.

“It’s Charles Pike,” Bob said.

Chris breathed out sharply and closed his eyes. That was never going to be easy to hear. “He’s a retired high school science teacher. He’s too old for this crap.”

“He’s not that much older than I am,” Bob said as if there were any comparison between the two men, which there wasn’t. “And we have confirmed it.”

“With who?” Chris asked.

“Chief of Police of San Francisco.”

“Amelia? Really?” Why hadn’t she mentioned it to him? Of course, he hadn’t seen her in a couple of weeks. “I’ve always known he was xenophobic, but this? I can’t believe he’d go this far,” Chris said, still trying to wrap his mind around it.

Bob let out a long sigh. “Grant Pike got a case a couple of weeks ago, and this was the result from it. They turned the information over to us yesterday.”

“Fuck. All right. I’m going to assume I’m one of the targets. Do you have any actionable evidence on Charles?” Chris asked.

“We believe you’re the target. And no, we don’t have anything on him yet. Or your mother, for that matter.”

“Of course, she’s involved, too,” Chris muttered. “I need to read Len into this.”

“You haven’t told him about your admin?” Bob looked just shocked by that. “I’m surprised you were able to keep it from him.”

Chris knew he should have mentioned it already. “Believe it or not, it hasn’t come up yet. Derek does the admin part so well, I just stopped thinking about it.” He’d grown complacent. That was a mistake on his part. “All right, I’ll let him know after I get back today. And I suppose we’ll need to pay attention to our surroundings.”

“You need to start carrying a phaser. And Doctor McCoy does as well,” Bob ordered.

“I’ll mention that to him,” Chris said, wondering what kind of battle Len would put up about a phaser. “Can he even shoot?”

“Well enough to qualify to carry, but that’s about it,” Bob said, resigned. Like he knew what the answer was going to be.

“He’s a doctor,” Chris pointed out as he stood up. Keeping Len safe was paramount, so he was just going to have to deal with it. Chris picked up his cane. “I need to get going. I have a house full of people right now. Len’s immediate family.”

“Meeting the family. Things are moving along for you both, aren’t they?” Bob laughed.

“I’ve been looking forward to meeting his family,” Chris said, and he moved towards the door. “But not the conversation with Len about this.”

Bob nodded. “You should have mentioned it sooner.”

There was no arguing with that.

*****

When Chris got home that morning, the house was full of people. Most of whom he hadn’t met yet. As he’d told Bob, he was looking forward to it. Len met him at the edge of the living room and gave him a quick kiss.

“What’s wrong,” Len whispered as he pulled back, putting a hand on Chris’ face.

“Not now,” Chris said, surprised that Len had felt that from him. He’d thought he’d pushed it down. “I’ll tell you about it later, promise.”

“All right, my darlin’,” Len said. “Introductions now, talk later. First is my momma, Eleanora McCoy. Mamma, this is Christopher Pike.”

Eleanora was beautiful and younger than he’d thought she’d be. She was tall, and her wavy dark hair was shot through with gray. Eleanora had the same hazel eyes Len had.

“Very pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Chris said, holding out his hand, which she ignored and pulled him into a quick hug.

“Very, very pleased to meet you as well, Admiral,” Eleanora said, smiling at him.

“Chris,” he corrected. “If you hug me, you have to call me Chris.”

She laughed at that. “All right, Chris. Please call me Eleanora. At least for now.”

Chris wondered if she’d ask him to call her momma after he and Len were married. He liked that idea.

“Next, we have my beloved sister, Beth McCoy. Accountant Extraordinaire and keeper of the McCoy family assets,” Len said. “Beth, this is Chris.”

Beth was also beautiful and looked more like Len than their mother did. She had the same hair and hazel eyes as Len. It was easy to see they were brother and sister.

“Pleased to meet you, Chris,” she said, smiling. She hugged him, too. “Don’t hurt him, okay?” she whispered as he pulled back.

Her protectiveness made Chris smile. “Never.”

Len just looked at them. “You know Billy-Ray, even if you call him William. He may or may not have given away all my secrets yesterday afternoon. Now, onto my favorite niece and nephew, Melissa and David.

The two of them came over and hugged him one by one. They were both tall for their ages and a little awkward. They both favored their father, with brown eyes and darker hair than Beth had.

“Good to meet you both. Is everyone settled into your rooms?” Chris asked.

“Yes,” Len said.

“This is some home you have,” Eleanora said. “Beautiful.”

“And big,” Missy said. “Wow.”

“Thanks. I inherited it from my grandfather.”

“I’m hungry,” Dave said. “When is lunch?”

Everyone laughed.

“You’re always hungry,” William said. “Should we order something?”

Len picked up his padd and pressed a button. “I just sent everyone menus from a couple of places. We lean towards Indian food or Italian. What does everyone else eat.”

Beth laughed. “Whatever is put in front of us, mostly. I think we’re all good with either of those.”

That was easy enough. “Okay, let’s do Italian for lunch, and then Chris is going to cook for us for dinner,” Len suggested. “Look at the menu and let me know. I’ll send in the order. Should be here in about thirty minutes.”

Everyone seemed surprised that Chris would be cooking, except William. “I’ve had his cooking. It’s amazing,” William said.

*****

“Is everyone finally in bed,” Chris asked as Len entered their bedroom. “I enjoyed meeting them. You have a wonderful family.”

“I know. I hit the jackpot with them,” Len said, picking up his sleep pants from the foot of the bed. “What upset you this morning? It felt like it was personal rather than just a briefing on some random emergency.”

Chris sighed and told Len about what Bob had told him.

“Your Father?” Len said when he’d finished. “I cannot believe that. Are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” Chris said. “I can’t believe he would do that. It’s a shock. He must really hate me.”

“Or, more likely, he’s lost touch with reality. That happens with people who are radicalized into these kinds of things.” Len put his hand on Chris’ shoulder. “I’m sorry. What can you do about this?”

“I knew there was a threat last year, but I’ve gotten complacent when it didn’t materialize. I will need to carry a phaser, and so will you.”

“What? No. I will not walk around armed in the hospital,” Len said, and he met Chris’ eyes. “No.”

Chris was silent for a moment. “I think this is important enough for me to insist –”

“You don’t get to do that with me, Admiral,” Len said, and his tone was cooler now, annoyed. “You aren’t in charge of me. I will not go around armed.”

He needed to convince Len that refusal was not an option. “Len. Listen to me. There is a credible threat. You have to do –”

Len stepped back from the bed, dropping his sleep pants on the floor. “I’m a doctor, not a damned security officer. I don’t need to be armed.”

“Fine. I’ll assign someone to watch you –”

“No, you will not. I’m not the one in danger. You need security,” Len pointed out. And his tone had gotten harder. His eyes were icy.

“I have security. And while I’ve fallen away from being as diligent as I was last year, I’m going to have to report my comings and goings for a while –”

“Well, I am not going to do that either,” Len spat out. “I am not in any kind of danger.”

Chris had known Len would be difficult about it, but not quite this bad. “Don’t be stupid, Len, of course you are. What part of me being a target didn’t you get?”

Len scowled at him. “I get that part. And, of course, I’m concerned about you. But for myself, I don’t see the need.”

“Len –”

“No. No security guards and no weapons.”

“Why are you being so stubborn about this? We’re together most of the time when we’re not at work. You are right beside me. I’m going to have security following me around for a while.” And Chris wasn’t happy about that, but he knew there wasn’t anything he could do about it. “What the fuck is wrong with you.”

“No one knows what I am to you yet. It’s only been a month. This will disrupt my job. And I won’t have it,” Len said stubbornly.

“Yes, you will,” Chris ordered. “You’re involved with me –”

“No. I said no, and I meant it. You are worried about me, and I understand that. I will be careful, and I will keep an eye out when I’m away from the hospital. But security now will point a finger right at me,” Len said. “We’re done. You are going to drop this now.”

Chris folded his arms over his chest and glared at him. “No, I am not. You’re going to listen to me –”

“No. We are done with this now,” Len growled and took another step back, then stopped. “This is where I would walk out. Except I can’t.”

“Sure, you can,” Chris retorted, his patience at an end.

Len looked both surprised and hurt by that.

And Chris didn’t mean it. Maybe Len knew that.

“There’s nowhere else in this house to sleep tonight,” Len snarled and then sighed. “And I don’t want to go, anyway. But you need to listen to me and not try to force your will on me.”

“This isn’t just me. It’s Bob April as well,” Chris said, trying to modulate his tone away from the annoyance he felt.

“Fuck that. I can’t do my job with someone lurking over my shoulder.” Len glowered at him. And Chris could almost feel the rage coming off him.

This wasn’t working. Chris rubbed his hands over his face and tried a different way. “What will you accept?”

“My first inclination is to say nothing,” Len said, sighing deeply. “But that’s not going to be acceptable, is it?”

Chris shook his head. “Another thing you need to consider is that we will have a documented bond within the next week. Everyone, in Starfleet at least, will know what you are to me.”

Len nodded grudgingly. “I will let security accompany me to and from the hospital, but not in it. And I won’t carry a weapon.”

Chris could have argued that Len had carried one when he went on away missions, but that was a whole different level of threat. “That is not what I wanted.” Chris held up a hand before Len could speak again. “But it’s a compromise I’ll live with. You’ll need to work with security and not forget.”

“I know that,” Len snapped and then sighed. “I’m not happy about this.”

“No, really. I couldn’t tell that,” Chris said sharply, but his annoyance was fading.

And for some reason, that made Len laugh. “You do have some snark in you, don’t you?”

Chris looked down, trying not to smile. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Of course not,” Len said and laughed again. “Are we okay?”

“I don’t know. Are we?” Chris wasn’t sure. It didn’t feel like Len was angry anymore. More frustrated. But Chris wasn’t always able to read him.

“I think so,” Len said and moved closer, sitting down on the bed. “You are usually so easygoing that I’d forgotten that you actually are used to being in charge –”

“I tell you that all the time,” Chris pointed out. He wasn’t sure where Len was going with this.

“I thought it was part of the joke,” Len said with a rueful smile. “Turns out, the joke was on me.”

Chris closed his eyes and took a deep breath. How had they gotten this far with Len not understanding who he was? “I was captain of the Enterprise for thirteen years, fleet captain for sixteen months, and now an admiral for the last year. How do you think I managed that without knowing how to stand my ground and give orders?”

“You know,” Len said, his expression still slightly chagrined. “I knew all that, but I didn’t think about what it meant. I only saw what I wanted to see –”

“Which was someone coming back from a serious injury,” Chris suggested. “Someone you wanted to take care of.”

Len nodded, not looking at him. “I was startled when you tried to order me to do something. I didn’t like it.” That seemed like a massive understatement.

“The issue hasn’t come up before. It’s only been a month, and it wasn’t like I was going to order you to have dinner with me when we met,” Chris said.

“That’s the thing though, when we first met, you were so…sweet. You blushed when you were flirting with me,” Len said, then smiled widely. “I was so damned charmed by that.”

“God, must you bring that up now,” Chris said, closing his eyes and trying to push that image away. He’d hoped that Len would forget about that. He wanted to forget about that. “I was so attracted to you and didn’t know what to do with it.” Chris had been stunned by the power of it. He’d literally never felt anything like that before for anyone. “I think what you’re saying is that because I find your bossiness amusing, you thought I wasn’t assertive at all?”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Len grumbled. “Of course not. Don’t you know that I admire the hell out of you? What you lived through, starting with when and how you found out about your fate. It isn’t just admirable, it’s damned heroic.” Len grinned. “And I get to keep you for the rest of my life.”

Oh, hell. What was he supposed to say to that? Chris looked down and was afraid he might blush again. He took a deep breath and looked back at Len. “What else?”

“I think we’re done. Are you okay?”

Chris nodded. “Yeah. Are you?”

Len nodded, and his smile changed to a leer. “I think it’s time for some spectacular make-up sex.”

“Oh God, yes,” Chris said, leaning over and kissing him.

*****

The next afternoon.

“Momma,” Len said, sitting down in the living room. Everyone else, including Chris, had gone off to the science museum. “I am so sorry I didn’t call you sooner. I was just so distracted by –”

“Your Admiral? I can see that.” At least she didn’t sound angry with him. “You recognize what’s going on, don’t you?”

“We both do. I won’t be going back out with the Enterprise,” Len said.

“I should think not. Something this strong would not allow that kind of distance yet. It would extract a heavy price if you tried,” Eleanora said.

“And he’s already paid enough heavy prices for one lifetime,” Len said.

She nodded and reached into the small bag she was holding. “I brought you something. These were your daddy’s and mine. You’re the firstborn, so they go to you.”

She handed him a chain with two rings on it. Their wedding rings. As much as he wanted to put the chain on, Chris couldn’t see the rings until their wedding. He took it and put it into a box that belonged to him that sat on the table.

Len leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Thanks, Momma. I can’t believe I’m going to get to use them. After the debacle with Jocelyn, I never thought I’d find this or him.”

“You know, I never said anything, but I knew that wasn’t the right thing for you,” his Momma said, putting a hand on his arm.

“I think I did, too. I never asked about the rings,” Len said. “I mean, Daddy was still alive then, so I’d have gotten Granddaddy’s rings. But truthfully, I never even thought about it.”

“That’s why I brought you the rings, now. Because I could tell just by talking to you that you and Chris will need them.” She met his eyes, and he could tell she understood. “I expect to be there, son. I’m serious. You are not to get married without me there.”

Len laughed. “I’ll try.”

“No trying. You’ll make sure I’m there,” she ordered in her best momma tone that said he’d better not disobey her.

“Yes, ma’am,” Len agreed, amused. He looked at her. “How did you survive? You had a bond with Daddy.”

“I did. And I had to let him go. He made me promise that I would not follow him.” She sounded resigned, more than sad at this point.

“I didn’t think it worked that way.”

“He and I had a big age gap. When the time came, I kept my promise to him,” she said. “Not entirely willingly. I just wished there would be more time. It’s been fifteen years. And I still miss him every day. But I’ve got you and Beth and Billy-Ray and my grandkids. Many good friends and a job I still enjoy doing.”

He looked at her. “There could be someone else for you. You’re still young yet.”

She laughed. “Not that young. And your daddy also made me promise not to stay alone the rest of my life. But I haven’t met anyone who could turn my head yet. If I do, then maybe. Until then, I’m good with what I have. Plus, I’m gonna get to see you get married for real, this time. To someone who is going to treat you right.”

As much as he loved his daddy, there was part of him that wished that his momma wasn’t alone. That she’d find someone to keep her company. And give her whatever else she might need.

He sighed. “You know, Momma, what I feel for him is completely overwhelming.”

“I can see that, son. I can also see he does not make it easy on you.” She sounded like she knew and understood that.

“Chris defines the word stubborn,” Len said with a laugh.

“Too many years getting his own way. I’m sure after a while, he’ll learn to compromise.”

“I think we both might have to learn it.” Before last night, Len would have thought he could get Chris to do what he wanted. But it was going to take real compromise from both of them. He was surprisingly okay with that.

*****

Chapter Seven – Strength of the Soul

The following week

The scanning was far less mentally invasive than Chris thought it would be. It mostly seemed like they were put on connecting biobeds and scanned.

“So, I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that you have a nearly established empathic bond,” Phil said as he waved him and Len to the chairs in front of his desk.

Chris and Len looked at each other. “No surprise there,” Len said.

“On the positive side, Starfleet will not try to separate you,” Phil said. “It’s not going to be a secret per se, but it won’t be publicized either.”

Len sighed with what sounded like relief. “It could kill us both if someone tried to separate us. And I’m assuming from what you’ve said the bond is powerful,” Len said.

“It’s one of the most powerful empathic bonds that anyone has seen in probably a hundred years,” Phil said. “Practically since they started to record them.”

Len looked at him and smiled a little. “Well, we’re both overachievers. It should be no surprise the bond between us is as well.”

Chris laughed, leaning forward to kiss Len. And then did it again because it tasted so good. But he pulled back before he could go too far with it.

“It also speaks to how compatible you are with each other.” Phil looked at them indulgently. “Beyond that, you will need to meet with Admiral April.”

“Why?” Chris asked.

“They will probably want to send you both on specific diplomatic missions.”

“I’m about as far from a diplomat as you can get. I don’t even like most people,” Len said, sounding horrified.

Phil snorted. “You have outstanding skills as a doctor. From what I’ve read of your exploits on the Enterprise, you’ve figured out problems and come up with unique solutions in the time it would take some doctors to realize there was even a problem.”

Len looked a little startled at that. “It’s usually not that complicated.”

“To you, Len,” Phil said with a smile. “How many doctors would have been able to treat a new species, say, like the mother Horta?”

“What?” Len said with a shrug. “It wasn’t that complicated. She was a silicone-based life form. So, I just used silicone-based cement in the wound. I knew it would work.”

Although he’d heard about some of Len’s more miraculous cures, Chris hadn’t heard about this one. “What is a Horta?”

“It’s an intelligent, rock-eating life form that is now working with the miners on Janus VI,” Len said. “At first, we thought she was trying to kill the miners, but it turned out that the miners had accidentally destroyed some of the eggs of the children the mother Horta was protecting. Jim, Spock, and I got it worked out.”

Chris made a mental note to read that report file.

“To most regular doctors, it’s not that easy,” Phil said. “I think you know you’re going to have to give up the CMO position.”

Len looked down. “I knew that as soon as we agreed to be tested. No, before that. Practically since we met.”

“When do we meet with Admiral April?” Chris asked. He hadn’t spoken to Bob since last week when he’d filled him in on the terrorist cell. “I should probably call him.”

“He asked to meet with you and Len, after I was done. Which I am. I’ll call him while you walk over to his office.”

*****

Admiral April’s yeomen waved them through.

“Bob,” Chris said as they came in. “It’s good to see you.”

“And you, Chris,” Admiral April said and held out his hand to him. “Doctor McCoy, your reputation proceeds you.”

He shook Admiral April’s hand. “Is that good or bad, sir?” Len asked. He didn’t know what to make of the admiral’s comment.

“Very good,” Admiral April said and then looked at Chris. “Let’s sit on the sofa. Mine, at least, is comfortable.”

“I’ve replaced mine already,” Chris complained. But the sofa in Chris’ office was horrible.

Admiral April looked searchingly at Chris. “So, before we start, I wanted to ask if you’d explained everything to Doctor McCoy. About Terra Prime? And your father?”

“Of course I did,” Chris said and then sighed. “It’s still a touchy subject. I’m carrying a phaser, but –”

“I will not,” Len finished for him. “I’m just not that good with one, and I’m sure I’ll hesitate if it comes to that. Besides, no one is going to come after me.”

“You don’t know that,” Both Chris and the Admiral said at the same time. Len wondered if they practiced that.

He tried to keep his tone respectful. “No, I don’t. I’ve agreed to an escort to and from the hospital. But that’s not what we are here to talk about,” Len pointed out.

“You are correct, Doctor McCoy,” Admiral April said, looking at Chris. “So, we now know for certain what most of us have always assumed.”

“You can’t have an empathic bond without two empathic people,” Chris said, nodding to Len and taking his hand. “But I never wanted it made official. I’ve never felt it was safe.” Chris was frowning.

Admiral April nodded, his expression a little grim. “I’m well aware of your views on this. But it’s not as unsafe as it used to be. Plus, with it official in Starfleet, you’ll also have some protection.”

“I know that. I’m still concerned.” Chris looked at Len and squeezed his hand.

“As you know, Sarah and I were official almost as soon as we met,” Admiral April said. “We married after our first year at the Academy. We have a substantial empathic bond. It runs in both of our families, making it much stronger. We’ve served together for all these years.”

That all had to have been said for his benefit since Len was sure that Chris knew that already. “How did that work out for you both, sir,” Len asked.

“We have never had any issues or problems. But we spent many of those years in space,” Admiral April said.

“That’s good to hear. But Admiral Pike and I are going to be on Earth. At least for a while. What are we going to be doing –”

“The immediate problem is what you’re going to do now that you will not be able to continue on with the Enterprise,” Admiral April said in a neutral tone.

“Do you have something for him?” Chris asked.

Surprisingly, Admiral April laughed and looked at Len. “You are one of the finest doctors Starfleet has ever had. I think we can find you something you want to do. For one thing, you’re eligible for promotion to Captain. As I’m sure you know, it’s not like it is for the rest of the fleet. You’d head a department or a major project for Starfleet Medical.”

Something about the way he said major project had Len looking at him. “What exactly are we talking about here, sir?”

“Starfleet Medical gets called in to help out member worlds with natural disasters, as well as other pandemic or worldwide medical problems. We’ve been kicking around the idea of creating a department to deal with that rather than the haphazard way it’s been handled in the past. Your problem-solving skills are well-known and very much in demand. In most cases, you wouldn’t even have to leave Earth. You’d have a team that would travel to the problem and consult with you on solutions.”

“That sounds promising,” Len said. Very promising, but, “I’m not great with administrative work. Or maybe I should say that I don’t like doing it. But I do like figuring out a problem. And finding a solution.”

“Then, we’ll hire an administrator to handle most of the routine administrative work. You’ll handle the problems and solutions, and we’ll send a team out to fix whatever needs to be fixed.” Admiral April made it sound easy. Maybe it was when you were an admiral.

He did like the sound of it, though. “I could probably work with that. I also have some research I’m working on. And another research project that I’m just about to start.”

Admiral April nodded. “You can keep working on that as well. Eventually, there will be a long-term diplomatic mission to Xahea for Chris, and I’m sure you’ll want to go with him.”

Len nodded. “Of course I will.”

“And now?” Chris asked, with a particular look on his face. Len sensed that something else was happening with Xahea that Chris would probably tell him about later.

“There are a couple of other options for you, Doctor. There are two departments you could lead. One would include being an attending physician in trauma surgery. The other would be in Emergency,” Admiral April said.

“I’d also be interested in continuing to do trauma surgery,” Len said. “In fact, that might be my first choice. I am a good surgeon.”

“Of that, I have no doubt,” Admiral April said, and he glanced at Chris.

“Though I do like the idea of problem-solving, too. I’m spoiled for choice. Is there any way I could do a little of each? Along with my research.”

Chris and April laughed. “That’s probably more work than most people could do,” April said. “There are a few more options, too. If you wanted to leave Starfleet, you could continue to work for us as a civilian, too.”

Leaving Starfleet was the least appealing of everything. “No. I’m not leaving Starfleet,” he said. “The only thing that being a civilian would give me is higher pay. I want to get my twenty years in.”

“It is more than just higher pay,” Admiral April said. “It would take you out of the command structure. You wouldn’t have to worry about the protocol of your partner or husband being an Admiral.”

“It will be a little easier after I’m promoted,” Len said. But it would always be an issue. But not enough to leave Starfleet over it. At least Chris wasn’t his captain.

“One last possibility,” Admiral April said. “Phil has said he plans to retire as CMO of Starfleet in the next few years. You would also be in line for that if you were interested. But given what you said about administrative work, that might not be ideal for you.”

Len shook his head. “I have no interest in that. I didn’t enjoy the administrative work when I was just the CMO of a starship. I’m not looking for more of it.”

“Fair enough,” Admiral April said. “You have some time to think about it. And truthfully, if there’s something else you want to do, just let me know. We’re willing to be flexible.”

“I appreciate that. Thank you, sir,” Len said. “I’ll get back to you soon. Though, the head of trauma surgery sounds the most promising. I’m pretty sure I’ll go with that. Maybe I could consult on some of the large-scale problem-solving projects that are more difficult. Also, I have an idea for researching empathy and the resulting bonds. Which has become increasingly important to me.”

“All of that would be a lot of work for one person, Doctor,” April said again, and there was something in his tone that said he would let Len try it.

“It would keep me busy, that’s for sure,” Len said. But he liked having a lot to do that was interesting and engaging. “And really, I could do it all. I’ll be back to you with a project plan for the research.”

Admiral April smiled at that. “That sounds good to me. I’ll see that it’s fed up the chain for the proper approvals.”

“Thanks,” Len said. He was planning to start work on it immediately.

“Thanks, Bob. Is there anything else?” Chris asked.

“I know it’s only been a short time, but being married helps to settle the bond.”

Len looked at Chris. Len could feel that Chris was not opposed to the idea. And neither was he.

“How does it settle the bond? I don’t understand that,” Len said. “Because why would it matter to the bond? It wasn’t sentient.” At least, he thought it wasn’t. But what if it was? Or maybe it was sentient between the two beings with the bond. Figuring that out would make the research even more interesting.

“There isn’t a lot written about the reasons for anything dealing with the bond. Most people don’t admit to having an empathic bond in the first place. Comparatively few are documented. Personally, I think that the two people relax and let the bond happen more easily after being married or bonded,” Admiral April said. “But that’s just a guess.”

“Thank you for the information. We’ll take it under advisement,” Chris said, standing.

*****

Without speaking to each other, Len knew that they needed some privacy, so he and Chris walked back to Chris’ house, mostly in silence. As soon as the door closed, Chris reached for him, pushing him against the door, and kissed him deeply. Len just gave into it, his hands sliding down Chris’ back to his ass, his fingers caressing him as gently as he could manage, which probably wasn’t gentle enough.

“You know,” Len said as they finally pulled back. “This has got to be part of it.”

“I’m sure it is,” Chris said. “I don’t think I’ve ever kissed anyone as much as I’ve kissed you in the last five weeks.”

“We didn’t ask any questions about that or how else it might have manifested. I could barely force myself to ask why getting married did anything. I am reluctant to talk about it except with you,” Len said. That worried him in an abstract way.

“I wonder what that even means. Though I suspect it is different for everyone,” Chris said.

“So, getting married?” Len asked. “When he said it, I was all in with that.”

Chris kissed him again. “I want to ask you. My grandfather gave me his engagement rings before he died. I’ve always expected to offer them to someone. Though, as years passed, especially after I found out, it didn’t look like I would. Now, it does. And I want to do that.”

“Of course,” Len said, kissing him again. “But I want to ask, too. Because my momma gave me her and Daddy’s wedding rings when she was here last week. She and Daddy had given Beth and Billy-Ray Grandaddy’s engagement rings. But in our family, the wedding rings always went to the oldest.”

“So, how does that work with both of us asking?”

“I don’t know, darlin’. We’ll just ask. All I care about is you saying yes,” Len said.

“Not wanting to spoil the suspense, but that’s a foregone conclusion,” Chris said, smiling widely.

“Still, it will be nice to be asked. And to ask. And to say yes.” Len drew him back into his arms and kissed him slowly several times. “I am never going to get enough of you.”

“Since we’re both off the rest of the afternoon, why don’t we try.”

“How do you feel?” His hand ran over Chris’ torso, down to his hip, his fingers moving over it gently.

“Surprisingly good,” Chris said, stepping back and taking off his uniform jacket. “Do you want to go upstairs? Or, you know, maybe break in the sofa?”

“We’ve broken that in several times,” Len pointed out, smiling.

“Just want to make sure it’s comfortable for all possible uses.” Chris laughed, reaching out for him again.

Len went willingly.

*****

They had just gotten their clothes back on when the door pinged. Chris checked the outdoor security monitor. “It’s Captain Kirk. I wonder how he found out where I lived.”

Len cleared his throat. “I listed your address as my residence. Since I still haven’t slept at the base housing, I have.”

“Let him in,” Chris said.

“Hey Jim,” Len said as he opened the door.

Kirk stood there for a second with his mouth open. “Bones, why didn’t you tell me he’s one of the Pikes?”

Len just shrugged. “I didn’t know until last week when it was pointed out to me.”

“The house didn’t give it away?” Kirk came in and looked around. “Nice.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Chris said. “That isn’t for public knowledge.”

“Of course not, sir,” Kirk said.

“I suppose you’ve heard,” Chris asked, knowing the news he was losing his CMO would have already been conveyed to Kirk.

“Yes, sir. As I told you a couple of weeks ago, I knew it was coming,” Kirk said. “And thank you.”

“For what,” Len asked.

“You didn’t tell him, sir?” Kirk looked a little surprised by that.

“I mentioned I talked to you. But that was a bad night for me, and I don’t think I mentioned the rest of our conversation.” By the time he’d gotten home that night and found Jonathan there, the pain had been overwhelming, and he hadn’t been thinking clearly.

“Rest of what, Admiral,” Len asked with a slight edge to his voice.

He realized that because Kirk was here, Len was going to call him admiral in his own damned house. He sighed and glared at Len. “That Captain Kirk knew about the bond and that he needed someone to replace you as CMO.”

“I’m not surprised, and I’m not even going to ask how you knew,” Len said. “So, I assume you knew someone to help with that?”

“Admiral Pike found me an excellent replacement. And I do appreciate that, sir.” Kirk’s satisfaction was particularly evident.

“Just out of curiosity, who?” Len looked at him.

“Joseph M’Benga. He served as my CMO when I was captain. He hasn’t enjoyed being out of space as much as he thought he would. I suggested that he might finish out the current five-year mission for you, and if that worked out, who knows, Captain Kirk might have him for the next mission, too.”

“Thank you,” Len said and leaned over and kissed him.

“You know, that’s getting worse, not better,” Kirk said with a laugh. “You two kiss all the time. In front of everyone.”

“It’s not like we don’t know that. Or that we have to keep it a secret, Jim. What difference does it make?” Len said.

Chris thought it was utterly unfair that Len called Jim by his first name and not him.

“Only the rank thing,” Kirk said with a shrug.

Chris snorted. “As you pointed out, the signed consent forms take care of that. And after we get married, it won’t matter anymore anyway.”

“I doubt anyone is going to make an issue of that now,” Len said. “Especially with a documented bond.”

Kirk exhaled a laugh. “No one who saw you two together for more than five minutes would ever say anything. It was so clear –”

“Not to everyone,” Chris said.

“Pretty much to everyone.” Kirk disagreed. “Anyway, I’ve also heard we’ll be taking you to Xahea in six or eight months. Scotty is already beside himself with joy at the thought of meeting the queen. Who, apparently, is some kind of extraordinary engineer.”

“She was amazing when I met her the first time when she was seventeen. As far as I know, she’s only gotten better.”

“Wait, you know the Queen of Xahea?” Len asked, tipping his head slightly to the side like he wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“I haven’t mentioned that?” Chris asked. Yeah, because everything to do with that first time he’d met her was classified. “We were also invited to Po’s coming-of-age celebration six years ago.”

“Po?” Kirk asked.

“Her Serene Highness, Me Hani Ika Hali Ka Po,” Chris said. “I was invited back again for her bonding the following summer. Po requested me personally to negotiate their joining the federation and then helping to create an embassy for the Federation there.”

Kirk looked surprised. “You do get around, don’t you, sir?”

“I know a few people.” Chris smirked at him.

Len laughed at them. “Stay for dinner, Jim?”

“Are you cooking, Admiral?” Kirk said, sounding hopeful. “I have heard you’re a superior chef.”

“I can attest to that,” Len said with a grin.

And Chris kissed him again and then just looked at Kirk when he groaned. “Sure, I’ll cook dinner. But we’re done with the yes sirring for today.”

“Thanks,” Kirk said, looking pleased.

“You might remember that I hate being yes sir’d on my off-duty hours. So, please call me Chris.” He turned to Len. “I never want you to call me Admiral in our home again.”

Len got a look on his face that Chris was starting to know too well. “Are you absolutely sure of that, Admiral? Because I think you might want to think –”

No, he was not going to blush in front of Kirk. “Shut up, doctor.”

Len just laughed at him and leaned in for another kiss. “Of course, sir.”

Kirk was watching them with a mix of surprise and glee on his face. “Wow. He doesn’t listen to you any better than he does to me, sir, Chris,” Kirk said. “Call me Jim, too. God knows Bones has never called me anything else.”

“Len, really?” Chris said, not sure what to make of that complaint. If it even was one.

Len gave Kirk an odd look. “I call you captain when the situation requires it. I have taken you home and sobered you up after one too many nights out –”

“That’s fair,” Kirk said, smiling. “I don’t have a problem with it, Chris. Bones is a good friend, and I need someone outside the command structure I can talk to and whose advice I can trust. He’s always been there for that, even before I became captain. I am going to miss the hell out of you.”

“Me too, Jim,” Len said, sounding sad. He looked at Chris. “Besides which, weren’t you the captain that had his whole command staff and maybe half the rest of the ship calling you by your first name?”

“I had no idea that everyone knew that.” He probably should have realized it since it was true. Chris laughed. “Fair enough. Let me get to work on dinner so that we can eat at a reasonable time.” Something else occurred to him. “Allergies?” he asked Kirk.

“Several. Bones can give you a run down.”

“I’m surprised you knew that,” Len said.

“I vaguely recall someone mentioning it to me at a briefing. Retinax V for sure, but what else.” Chris asked.

Len went through a list from memory, which was impressive since it was so extensive.

“As you heard, it’s mostly not food-based,” Jim said. “I would have mentioned it before now.”

****

Chapter Eight – Changes in the Wind

Three days later

“Admiral Pike,” Derek said. “I know you said you didn’t want to be disturbed, but Chief Pike is asking to speak to you. And she said to tell you she’s not taking no for an answer, sir.”

Chris laughed. “That’s fine. I’ll see her,” he said, pushing himself up from his chair. Pain laced through his leg and up his right side. Fuck. He should learn to stop pushing so hard. He limped to the door, leaning on his cane.

He hadn’t seen her since the night Grant and Len had stood them up. The following two weeks, the Terra Prime case kept her and Grant busy. So, she still hadn’t connected with Len.

Oh, he knew he was in trouble when he saw her. She was in uniform and had that don’t fuck with me attitude going on. She was talking to Derek, who managed to look intimidated. Though Chris didn’t buy that for one second.

“Amelia,” he said, “Please, come in.” To Derek, he said, “Hold my calls. Family only.”

“Yes, sir,” Derek said, not looking at either one of them.

Once the office door closed, she hugged him and looked him up and down. “What did you do to yourself this time?” she asked.

He stood up straighter but still had to lean a little on the cane. “I hit my PT a little too hard yesterday, and I’m paying for it today. That’s why I can’t stand for very long right now.”

He moved to his desk and sat down slowly in his chair with a sigh of relief.

“Of course you did. When do you ever not overdo your PT,” she said with a sigh, dropping into the chair in front of his desk. “So, what is going on with you? We rarely ever go this long without seeing each other. Why haven’t I met Doctor McCoy yet?”

Amelia’s relentlessness was what made her such a successful police officer. “Would you believe me if I said it was an awful week last week?”

She looked at him and sighed. “What happened?”

“Just a bad couple of days with a lot of pain. I wasn’t fit for company, not even you. And do I need to remind you that you canceled before that?” That reminded him of what he wanted to talk to her about. “I had a briefing with Admiral April last weekend about Terra Prime.”

“What did they tell you?” Amelia asked.

“That the data came from you, and I’m assuming Grant,” Chris said. “What’s going on?”

“We don’t know. We know Charles is involved with the group. But we haven’t gotten any real intel on him specifically. But given everything, I wanted to share the data with Starfleet, hoping it would at least protect you.”

“Which I appreciate,” Chris said. “Bob wanted me to be armed. Len won’t consider it. I do have security here.” He nodded towards the door. “Len has agreed to an escort to and from the hospital. But that’s it.”

“He’s a doctor,” Amelia said as if that explained everything. “I’d expect nothing less from him. And I know your security.”

“I’m aware of that as well.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry we haven’t gotten together in a couple of weeks,” Chris said.

“I’m used to seeing you more often, and we’re getting into a bad habit here.” She folded her arms over her chest. “I want to keep up with you.”

“I do want to see you, too.” Chris sighed. Sometimes, life just didn’t cooperate with what he wanted. “Jonathan got in touch with me last week.”

“That’s surprising, especially given that you haven’t spoken to him in almost a decade,” she said, looking as surprised as he had been. “I’ve talked to him a couple of times recently, but I thought that he was going off-world.”

“He did. We had an enlightening conversation. I don’t mean that in a good way, either. Though it was good to clear the air between us.”

“I’m glad that you did. Jon didn’t say much, but it was clear he had finally broken completely away from your parents,” she said. “Tell me about what he said to you.”

He told her about everything, including what his father had done and why.

Before she spoke, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then exhaled sharply. “If we had known at the time, your grandfather and I would have tried to remove you both from his custody.”

“I know,” Chris said. “At twelve, I’m not sure I would have welcomed that.”

“Possibly not, but it might have helped your brother,” Amelia said.

Chris acknowledged that, and truthfully, it probably would have been better for both him and his brother in the long run. “I wish we could do something for him now. I feel bad for what he went through. They never hurt me.”

She snorted. “Oh, yes, they did. It just wasn’t physical.”

“I’ll concede that point,” Chris said. “But for me, it’s all done. I haven’t seen them in years.”

Amelia looked like she was about to say something else, but the door opened before she could do so.

“Chris, my darlin’,” Len said as he came through the door and stopped midway into the office. “I’m sorry. Derek just waved me through.”

Amelia looked at him and then at Len and raised an eyebrow.

And Chris pushed himself to his feet and stepped around his desk. “I know you both have met before, Len. You remember my aunt, Amelia Pike, and Amelia, this is Leonard McCoy.

“I do remember you, Doctor McCoy,” she said, standing and holding out her hand.

“And I remember you, ma’am,” Len said, taking her hand and smiling at her. “From what I’ve heard, you took care of the Admiral for months after I went back out. I’m sure you know how much it helps to have friends and loved ones nearby when someone is injured as badly as he was.”

“We did know that and were glad to be able to do it. Chris is very dear to all of us,” she said, smiling back at Chris.

Her affection for him always made Chris feel warm inside. “And you both to me, as well.”

“Welcome to the family, Doctor McCoy. I’m very sure you will be an excellent addition,” Amelia said.

“Thanks, I appreciate the welcome,” Len said, and he turned to Chris. “I came to check on you. Are you okay?” Len walked to where Chris stood near his desk and kissed him quickly.

“I’m good. Amelia finally came to investigate why we hadn’t had dinner in three weeks. But given what’s been going on with her and us, it’s not surprising.”

“Are you free tonight?” Amelia asked. “I think Grant and I can make it.”

Len looked at her. “Barring an emergency, I have nothing pressing on my calendar. But there are always emergencies around this place.”

“Why don’t you and Grant come by the house, and I’ll cook something,” Chris suggested. “I haven’t made you the Groundnut stew in a while. Maybe with some rice. Or crusty bread.”

“Well, I’ll be looking forward to that,” Len said, kissing him. He turned to look at Amelia. “And getting to know you both. I know you sort of adopted the Admiral –”

That was the second time he’d used the title. Chris frowned. “You are not going to call me Admiral to my aunt –”

Amelia laughed. “I am sure it’s proper for Doctor McCoy to call you that since it is your title. And you’re at work.”

“I haven’t been able to break him of that habit. He does that all the time,” Chris complained.

“You should call me Len. We’re going to be related very soon,” Len said, smiling.

Her smile got noticeably wider at that. “Amelia. As you said, we’re going to be family. Speaking of that, what do you know about our family?”

“Not that much. I didn’t realize that the Admiral was related to ‘the Pikes’ until it was pointed out to me.” He used his fingers to air quote the Pikes. “I’m surprised you’re a police officer rather than running the foundation.”

Amelia laughed. “A lot of people have said that. I hadn’t planned to stay with the police, but the work was satisfying in a way I didn’t expect. Sometimes traumatic, but I always felt I was helping do some good.”

“And just like with everything else, you came in and took over,” Chris said. She’d certainly done that with him. And he loved her for it.

“There’s that, too,” Amelia said, clearly amused. “My father had a good staff at the foundation, and they don’t need me for much. I am the chair of the board. But mostly, the chief administrator runs it. Do you have any specific questions?”

Len shook his head. “No. I’m a little shocked that I didn’t pick up on it sooner.”

“He was living in my house for almost five weeks by the time it was pointed out to him,” Chris said, smiling indulgently at Len.

She laughed. “I think Grant, my husband, was almost as bad. He ignored everything that had to do with who I was for as long as he could.”

“How is Grant?” Chris asked. “I haven’t talked to him in a couple of weeks, either. Though now that you mention it, I’m sure he will probably get along wonderfully with Len.”

“Grant is fine. He’s threatening to retire again,” she said and then let out a sigh.

“What is it this time?” Chris asked with a laugh.

“I don’t know. It’s more likely some administrative function that Grant has to do and doesn’t want to,” she said. “I don’t know why he accepted the promotion if all he’s going to do is complain about it.”

“Probably so there wasn’t as much rank disparity between the two of you,” Chris pointed out. That was an issue that he and Len would have to discuss at some point, too.

“Rank disparity?” Len asked.

“She’s the Chief of Police for San Francisco, and Grant is Chief of Detectives. But he hates it,” Chris said.

Amelia nodded. “He’s a much better detective than an administrator.”

“I can understand that,” Len said, and he leaned in to kiss Chris again. Just a quick kiss. “I’m a better doctor than I am an administrator, too.”

Amelia looked between them and then grinned at them. “I can feel the bond between both of you. It’s not even fully established yet, and it lights up the room when you two touch each other.” She’d said that would be true.

Chris guessed it was. “That was all we’ve been focused on. Len didn’t even call his mom until three weeks after he arrived.”

“She understood.” Len huffed. “And keeping you on your feet is a full-time job.”

Chris laughed and leaned in to kiss him again. “Don’t I know that. And your family all know and love you.”

“They are going to be your family soon,” Len said, smiling at Amelia. “Just like your family is going to be mine.”

“I’m looking forward to that,” Chris said. And he was. He already felt like they were his family.

“I’m very much looking forward to meeting everyone in your family,” Len said. “There’s a lot of you.”

“That is true.” Amelia looked at her watch. “I need to get back to work. Chris, I should have mentioned this sooner, but you and Len are invited to Grant and my anniversary party next weekend. It will give Len a chance to get to know some of the Pike side of the family.”

Chris knew they had been talking about having a big party this year but hadn’t heard they’d finalized the plans for it. He looked at Len, who looked and felt very pleased by the invitation. “Thanks. We’ll be there. It will be good to see everyone.”

She turned to leave. “I’ll call you later about tonight.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Chris said as she got to the door.

“Nice to meet you, Len. Hopefully, I’ll see you tonight for dinner.” And she was gone.

“Wow, she’s a whirlwind,” Len said.

“She is,” Chris agreed.

*****

The Following Weekend

“Are we ready to do this?” Len asked, straightening the jacket on his formal dress uniform and looking at himself in the mirror. He supposed he’d pass muster at the party with Chris’ family tonight. Part of him was looking forward to meeting everyone, and part was cringing at the thought of that many people.

“Only if you want to,” Chris said, coming down the stairs.

Len sucked in a breath. Chris looked so sexy in his dress uniform. Good enough that Len wanted to strip him out of it —

He needed to stop thinking about that. There was a long time between now and when that uniform was going to come off Chris in a meaningful way.

Chris just smiled at him, clearly knowing what Len was thinking. “Later, beloved.”

“We should probably get going. Or I might not let you go at all,” Len said, smiling widely.

“Before we go,” Chris said. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something. And I couldn’t decide whether to do it in private or in front of a crowd.”

Len just looked at him. “What,” he asked warily.

“Just this,” Chris stepped back, pulled two rings out of his pocket, and then knelt on one knee. He put the rings into the palm of his hand and held them out. “Will you do me the honor of being my husband?”

Len drew in a deep breath, and suddenly, a lump was in his throat. He nodded and said, “Of course. I will.”

Chris stood and kissed him softly, holding it for a long time. Len tightened his arms and deepened the kiss. Chris pulled back slightly and leaned in for a second quicker kiss before he held out his hand for Len’s. He pushed the ring onto Len’s finger.

And that ring just looked excellent on his hand. “I guess we’re wearing them tonight,” Len said, smiling.

“Definitely,” Chris said, handing him the other ring and holding out his hand so that Len could put the ring on his finger.

“I’ll ask at some point, too,” Len murmured.

“I’m looking forward to that,” Chris said, leaning in to kiss him again.

Len could get lost in that kiss. And he wanted to, but they didn’t have time if they weren’t going to be ridiculously late. And if they were going, they couldn’t be late.

“I guess we have to go,” Len said, his hand straying down to Chris’ hip. “I’d rather stay here for a private celebration.”

Chris leaned into his hand. “Me too. But we said we’d go. And we’ll need to call Eleanora and Beth.”

“It will wait until tomorrow,” Len said.

“Let’s send them a quick comm. And tell them we’ll talk to them tomorrow. We’re telling my family tonight,” Chris said. “Don’t we want to let yours know at the same time?”

“Good thought,” Len said, kissing him again.

*****

They descended the stairs into the ballroom of an upscale hotel. This wasn’t quite what Chris was expecting. The room was huge, maybe two hundred people. There were several tables with food and an open bar, as well as dozens of tables around with chairs. Chris saw several people in police uniforms. Plus, the usual beings in gowns, tuxes, and other formal clothes.

Fortunately, there was no formal receiving line. As he and Len moved down the stairs, he saw his aunt standing with his Uncle Grant across the room. They were both dressed in police dress uniforms. While Amelia was tall and thin, Grant was a big man with broad shoulders. Maybe he’d gotten a little soft around the edges at this point, but still in good shape.

Chris paused and said, “See the man standing next to Amelia and Grant. That’s my cousin Thomas.”

“I think I met him once before I left after your surgery, but I didn’t do more than exchange a few words with him.” Len smiled. “I’m looking forward to meeting him again.”

“I can’t tell you how it pleases me that you’re going all in with my family,” Chris said.

“They took care of you when you needed them. That’s all I need to know about them,” Len said, leaning forward and kissing him quickly. “So, who else?”

Chris laughed. “The taller man beside Thomas, with the graying black hair, is his husband, Ravi. They’ve been married for nineteen-twenty years. And they live off-world, so I’ve only seen Ravi in person a handful of times. Most recently, when I was in the hospital.”

“You know, we’ve never talked about that part of your recovery,” Len said. “And I think it’s pretty important. Not right this second, of course, but we need to have that conversation.”

“You’re right, and there are so many other things we haven’t talked about,” Chris said, making a mental note to tell Len about that. William was the only person he’d ever talked about his early recovery with. “Why don’t we head over there.”

“Let’s go meet the rest of the family,” Len said as they stepped off the last step.

“I don’t see my other cousin, Emma, or her husband, George,” Chris said and sighed. “The twins are off-world on a semester on Vulcan. I miss them so much.” Other people were standing around them. He vaguely recognized them as some of his more distant cousins.

“You’ve mentioned the twins before, but without context,” Len said. “Who are they?”

“How did I miss them? They are Amelia and Grant’s youngest children, Lily and Lucas. They adopted the two of them when they were four. There’s a long, sad story there. But we do not have time for that now. They are in their third year at the university here and are studying at the Vulcan Science Academy for this semester.”

“That’s a big thing to miss since it’s obvious you care about them a lot,” Len pointed out.

Chris could not believe he’d missed telling Len about Lily and Lucas. “I adore both of them. But there is still so much we have to talk about.”

“We keep saying that,” Len said with a sigh. “And I know it’s true, but let’s go say hello to the people who are here.”

Finally, they made it to where Amelia was holding court.

“Amelia,” Chris said, and she reached out to embrace him.

“I’m glad you both could be here, Chris,” she said, pulling back.

“Grant,” Chris said, stepping in to hug him as well.

“Good to see you again, Len,” Grant said, smiling widely and holding his hand out.

“And it looks like congratulations are in order,” Amelia said. She reached out and took Len’s hand. “I’d –”

She staggered back a step and then righted herself. “I’m sorry. That usually doesn’t happen.”

“What just happened,” Chris said, reaching out a hand to Len. “Len?”

“That was almost like an electric shock. Did you do something?” Len had stepped back and leaned against Chris briefly.

“Nothing intentional. I haven’t had that happen in a long time.” She stood straight again, but she was white.

“Are you okay,” Len asked, starting to reach out to touch her but pulling back before he connected.

“When I touched you, your emotions brushed against mine, and I wasn’t expecting it.” She took a breath and lowered her voice. “I am not sure why, but what you felt flashed through me.”

Len let out a breath and nodded. “I felt your surprise. It startled me. What did you feel?”

“Truthfully, the joy in you is overwhelming. And it is all focused on Chris,” she said, looking pleased with Len.

“Well, that’s certainly true,” Len said with a grin towards Chris. “I’m pretty pleased with him right now.”

“He asked you this evening?” Grant asked.

“Yes. I’m still going to ask Chris at some point later. I’m firstborn, so I have my parent’s wedding rings.”

“I wanted to look at your engagement ring,” Amelia said.

Len held up his hand. “Chris said you’d recognize them.”

“My parent’s engagement rings. I did wonder what happened to them,” Amelia said, smiling widely. “I’m so glad Dad gave them to you.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t tell you that. Though, it was right before he died,” Chris said. He still missed his granddad. He’d been so important to Chris while he was growing up.

“You were always his favorite,” Amelia said. “And I’m thrilled you finally got to use them.”

“I’ve used them,” Chris said. “Just not quite how they were intended to be used.”

“That sounds like a good story,” Grant said.

“One I’d like to hear, too,” Len said.

Chris laughed. “I would wear them on a chain under my uniform jacket for diplomatic and first contact missions, to have something that would show I was spoken for if the need arose. Most cultures will respect that.”

“Was that an issue?” Amelia asked, sounding surprised by the idea.

Chris shrugged. It wasn’t a party conversation. There were some funny stories, but some not-so-funny stories as well.

Len looked thoughtful, but he’d probably run into the same thing in the past.

And before he could say anything more, Thomas joined them.

“Can I interrupt,” Thomas asked, with Ravi and Jenni, if he wasn’t mistaken. She should be about seventeen now. “Good to see you looking so well, Chris. You’ve progressed so far.”

“Yes, thanks. I am glad to see you and Ravi,” Chris said. “This is my fiancé, Doctor Leonard McCoy.”

“I think we met briefly when I was visiting Chris,” Thomas said.

“We did,” Len agreed.

They both shook hands with Len, smiling. Their teenage daughter looked like she was dancing from foot to foot.

Thomas put a hand on Jenni’s shoulder. “It’s been a while, but I’m sure you remember our eldest daughter, Jennifer. Jenni has just been admitted to the Starfleet Academy. She has been looking forward to seeing you since she heard you’d be here.”

“Dad, really?” she said, blushing. “I’m so pleased to see you, Admiral. As Dad said, I’ve been accepted to Starfleet Academy. I am so looking forward to starting in the fall.”

Chris couldn’t help but be charmed by her earnestness and excitement. “Congratulations. I think you were a toddler the last time I saw you. And we’re related closely enough for you to call me Chris. I’m never sure how the relationships work. Am I your uncle?”

“Cousin, actually. But given the age difference, uncle would probably be appropriate,” Len said, smiling at her.

“How do you even know that?” Jenni asked. “I never get all the connections right, either. There are just too many variations.”

“It was something my momma drilled into us. We had lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles. Anyone more than a generation older was called aunt or uncle.” Len smiled slightly. “Is everyone here related to Chris?”

“Mostly,” Amelia said. “There are several generations of people. And there are other cousins and relations.”

He turned to Chris. “You’ve got a huge family. Bigger than mine, even.”

*****

After a couple of hours on his feet talking to people, Chris had to sit down. Len sat with him. “You don’t have to babysit me, Len.”

“Who else would I talk to?” Len asked, smiling at him.

“You seemed to be having a good conversation with Emma,” Chris said. Emma and George had been late, though he wasn’t sure why.

“I am intrigued that she volunteers with Doctors Across Worlds on top of a full-time job at the Pike Foundation Public Hospital. She knew the whole history of the organization. I had no idea it started on Earth so long ago. And that it survived everything that happened.”

“I could tell you were enjoying the conversation. I just needed to sit for a bit. You could have kept talking to Emma,” Chris said and laughed. “She sounded like she was trying to recruit you.”

“It did sound like that at the end. I don’t have the time right now, but I could see myself doing something like that in retirement,” Len said, looking at him, his expression serious. “Tell me about your early recovery and Una Chin-Riley.”

Chris was not expecting that particular question in this context. Maybe it should have come up sooner. While definitely not a party conversation, it was something they should discuss. “The early part of my recovery was sheer hell. I was in a lot of pain all the time, and I had to depend on other people for everything. All the daily maintenance that we don’t think about, someone else had to help me with or do for me. I spent about five months in the hospital recovering. And then three months in rehab. I stayed with Phil and Adriana for that. And then, I had to go home, which worried my friends and family, but by that point, I had to have some space from everyone. I also went back to work part-time.”

“There’s more there, isn’t there?” Len asked.

“Not a lot more. Being on my own was hard, harder than I thought it would be, but it was also something I needed. I had to be very careful and pay attention to everything that could potentially hurt me. But I was so relieved to have survived and to begin reclaiming my life.” He looked at Len. “What did you want to know about Una?”

“Just why she might have taken so much time off after your accident. That speaks of more than just friendship. You’ve never mentioned anything like that. Actually, of all your friends, you’ve talked about her the least,” Len said, sounding curious.

Chris supposed that it might look like that, given everything. “It is just a very close friendship. We served together for a very long time. And maybe there was some attraction between us, but I was always afraid of screwing up what I had with her. I think I’ve mentioned that my track record with relationships was pretty terrible. Plus, she was an exceptional first officer who would challenge me if she thought I was wrong about something, which was priceless to me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated that about her.”

“I’m glad she was there for you. I am looking forward to meeting her.” Len leaned over and kissed him and then a second time. “When does she get back?”

“Last I heard, she should be back in a few weeks. She and her crew have been out of comms for a few weeks working on something. I’ve missed her,” Chris said.

Len kissed him again and then grinned. “You know, we should get out of here and go home to celebrate our engagement.”

“We could,” Chris said, smiling back at him. “I’ve enjoyed myself tonight.”

Amelia sat down at the table. She put a hand on Chris’ wrist. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Standing for long periods of time still isn’t comfortable. I needed to sit for a few minutes,” Chris said, stifling a yawn.

“I am delighted to hear that you had a good time here tonight,” Amelia said. “I know there are many of your cousins who would still like to speak to you.”

“I live in this city. They can come find me,” Chris said. “I always want to meet more of the family when they come into town.”

“I’ve told them. But some are more intimidated than others. Most of those my age or yours knew your father. But the younger ones only know your legend.”

Chris snorted. “I’m hardly a legend.”

She just smiled. “You might ask some of the Starfleet personnel here tonight that question.”

“I’m surprised at how many there are and how I didn’t know any of them,” Chris said. He didn’t understand why more of them hadn’t introduced themselves over the years.

“You need to eat something,” Len said when there was a lull in the conversation. “Why don’t I get you a plate of food.”

“Now that you mention it, I am hungry. Thanks,” Chris leaned in and kissed him before Len stood and left them.

“I get the feeling you want to talk to me. Which means you’re letting me know that. What do you want to know, Amelia?” Chris asked after a few minutes of silence.

“I just want to make sure you’re adjusting to the bond,” Amelia said. “I could tell that Len is worried about you.”

“I am adapting as well as I can.” Chris smiled. “There is an intensity between us. It’s, well, stunning. I think it’s getting stronger, too.”

“Well, given the strength of your bond, I’m not surprised,” Amelia said. “If you want some advice, I think you should get married, immediately.”

“We plan to get married sooner rather than later, but why? I mean, how does it help?” Not that he wouldn’t marry Len tomorrow, but Chris wanted more than one opinion on this issue.

“I don’t have an exact answer for you. I think it helps establish the bond. Grant and I married within a few months of meeting,” Amelia said. “It still took some time for the bond to settle.”

That was along the same lines as what Bob had said. And, of course, no one knew anything for sure about this because there was almost no information on it. Which was deeply disconcerting. “As I said, we do plan to get married soon. That’s why I asked Len tonight.”

“Have you thought about what you’d like to do for your wedding?” Amelia asked.

Chris laughed. He and Len had been too busy to even think about it, and they needed to. It wasn’t going to be a small wedding, either. “No. Truthfully, I was going to talk to you about it. I know nothing about planning this kind of event.”

“I’d be happy to help you both with this,” she said. “I enjoy planning a wedding.”

“How many have you done?” Chris asked, but not at all surprised that she liked that kind of thing.

“A few,” Amelia said with a smile that said it might be more than just a few. “It’s always such a joyous event.”

Chris smiled at her. “Len and I haven’t talked about it at all. But I suspect Len’s sister and probably his mom would want to help, too.”

“Why don’t you set up a meeting with all of us, and we can go over the details,” Amelia said. “I’ll see what I can find for a venue.”

“Thank you,” Chris said. “I appreciate it. Before he could say anything else, Len returned with a plate of food for him.

“Apologies that took so long. I somehow got into another discussion with another doctor, Brandi White Pike,” Len said, putting a plate of food and a drink in front of Chris and dropping a quick kiss on his mouth. “She’s married to one of your other cousins, Kevin. I think he’s your second cousin. Everyone seems to be named Pike, too. No matter who they are married to.”

“Most people take the Pike name,” Amelia said. “It has become a tradition over time. Grant took my name.”

“You’re the matriarch,” Chris pointed out.

“Should I take your name?” Len asked. “I’ve never thought about doing that. What about a hyphen?”

“Pike-McCoy? Would you want me to take it, too?” Chris hadn’t ever thought about that, either. But if Len wanted to do that, he didn’t have an objection. Actually, he kind of liked the idea.

“Honestly, this is the first time I’ve thought about it.” He leaned over and kissed Chris again. “How are you feeling?”

“Dead tired. Food will help.” Chris ate some of the massive plate of finger food that Len had brought him. They made small talk while Chris and Len worked on the food. It was surprisingly good for hotel food.

“You should just go home, Chris. You look worn out,” Amelia said after Chris stifled a yawn. “The party was supposed to be fun. Anyone who hasn’t met you yet can come see you later on.”

“It was fun,” Chris said, standing. “I had a good time. Say goodbye to everyone for me.”

“Of course.” She smiled, standing as well and reaching out to hug him. “It was good to have you both here.”

Len hugged her, too. “I don’t usually like this kind of thing, but it was nice to talk to so many other doctors who were not in Starfleet. I’m finding out that we are pretty insular. Thank you for inviting us,” Len said, taking Chris’ hand as they went back up the stairs.

*****

“We should probably get married pretty soon,” Len said as they entered the house. “Everyone seems to think it will help with settling the bond.”

“We should, but that was a pretty sorry proposal,” Chris laughed. “I was expecting a little more.”

Len turned around, taking his hand and kneeling. He pressed a kiss to Chris’ palm. “My darlin’ Christopher, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband? I promise to take care of you and let you take care of me for all our days. I promise you will never know a day when I don’t love you, from now until your last day. I promise you, all the days of my life, in sickness and in health, for better or worse, forever. So, swear I this day and every day.”

Chris swallowed hard. He blinked his eyes a couple of times, and he had to take a breath before he could speak. “That was the most amazing thing anyone has ever said to me. I would be honored to be your husband.”

Len rose, and Chris leaned forward and kissed him. And then again. Len’s hands slid around him and pulled him close.

“My darlin’, I want you so badly right now,” Len whispered.

“Oh, God, yes. Whatever you want.” The exhaustion slipped away. Chris wanted everything Len would give or take from him.

“Let’s get out of these uniforms,” Len said, pulling his jacket off and draping it over a chair. “Come ‘mere and let me help you with that.”

He took Chris’ jacket and put it on top of his. Len had become an expert in getting him out of his clothes faster than it should have been possible for him to do it. Chris stood naked, watching him pull off the rest of his own clothes.

Len nudged Chris back into his arms and kissed him slowly.

“I love the feel of you in my arms,” Chris said, his hands moving slowly down Len’s back and onto his ass. “I want all of you.”

“Whatever you want, my darlin’,” Len said, kissing Chris again. His hands moved over Chris’ chest and down his stomach.

Len stepped back, letting go of him. He picked up a pillow from the sofa and put it on the floor. “Let’s try it like this?”

Chris was all in with that. Len helped him kneel on the pillow, and he bent forward to rest against the wide seat of the sofa. Braced as he was, it was surprisingly comfortable. It was nice to be able to get into this position. Not that long ago, it wouldn’t have been possible.

“I’m good,” Chris said, spreading his knees a little further apart.

“Not as good as you’re going to be,” Len promised.

It sent a shiver through Chris as Len started to lick down his back. He loved this. Len knew exactly how to stretch it out and pull the strings of desire ever more tautly. As soon as Len’s tongue touched him again, Chris’ mind shut down.

“Now,” Chris panted.

“Not there yet, my darlin’.” Len chuckled salaciously. “If you can still talk, I’m not doing this right.”

“Oh, you’re doing fine,” Chris gasped, pressing back.

Len laughed and continued on his way. Chris panted as the sensations of Len’s mouth and hands washed over him. By now, Len knew what he liked very well. He could feel Len’s excitement at what he was doing to him.

By the time Len was finally pressing into him, Chris had stopped talking and thinking, and all there was left was the feel of Len giving him so much pleasure he wondered how he lasted as long as he had. Once Len’s slick hand wrapped around him, he couldn’t hold on anymore and dimly heard Len swear as he let go, too.

After a few minutes, Chris caught his breath and turned to sit on the floor beside the sofa.

Chris leaned over and kissed Len slowly. “So, amazingly good.” Though, he couldn’t find words that came close.

Len grinned. “It’s always incredible with you. Even when we fumble around and end up laughing at ourselves.”

“We don’t fumble around as much as we used to,” Chris pointed out.

“A testament to both of us learning what to do with each other,” Len said and got to his feet. “It’s late. You’ve got to be exhausted, and if you’re not, I am. Let’s go up and go to sleep.”

“Good thought.” Chris stood on his own.

“You seem to be moving better,” Len said, standing and moving towards the stairs. “I would have thought after tonight and all that standing around, you would have been in considerable pain. That I might even have to fight you into submission for a pain injection. And here you are, makin’ love with me all over the sofa.”

Chris walked cautiously towards the stairs but without his cane. “Pretty sure that was you making love to me. But I’m good.” He started up slowly. He was definitely tired, but his pain levels were better than they’d ever been.

Len stayed on the bottom step and watched him go up. “You are getting steadier on your feet.”

“I’m walking up the stairs naked, and you’re naked, and you’re worried about me being steady? What is wrong with this picture?” he said with a laugh as he got to the top. “Come upstairs, and I’ll tell you about it.”

“Sorry, my darlin’, you are going to have to live with me worrying about you,” Len came up the stairs and took him into his arms. “I will always care about how you feel and what hurts you.”

“I know. I love you for it.”

Len kissed him, his hands moving over Chris’ back and pulling him tighter into his arms. “I love you as well.”

As they settled into bed, Len asked, “So, what is going so right with your PT.”

“I’ve backed off from overkill the last couple of weeks. I told you when I did it the first time. PT the following Monday was easier. I’ve kept doing it.”

“You’ve still overdone it since then,” Len pointed out.

“But not every time and not as bad. I think my body needed a break. Whatever it is, it seems to be working. My PT therapist wants me to start Yoga and strength training. I’m also going to drop PT down to once a week.”

“That’s great.” Len smiled. “But what kind of strength training?”

“Weightlifting, lap swimming, running — though that might be power walking for a while yet, and self-defense. I’ve been doing some swimming and light weights already. But she wants me to do more of it and more consistently with heavier weights.”

“Where do you even find yoga classes?” Len asked.

“I have no idea. I’m not that interested in it. But I guess I’ll have to give it a try.”

“Of course you will,” Len said, kissing him softly and then again. “Do you want me to hyphen my name?”

“It would be both of us. I like the idea of being Pike-McCoy.” Chris smiled. “It would take a while to get used to it. What do you want to do?”

“If you took my name too, I would do it. I like the connection to you.” Len kissed him. “So, Pike-McCoy it is.”

*****

Chapter Nine – The Coming Future

A few days later

“Admiral Pike,” Derek said. “Eleanora and Beth McCoy are here.”

“Thank you, Derek, send them in,” Chris said as he got up from his desk and moved into the room to greet them. He hugged them both in turn. “Thank you for coming out. I know you are busy. My Aunt Amelia is coming too. She’ll be here in a few minutes. And Len should be here too.”

He waved them to the conference table. He touched the padd. “Derek, please send in Doctor McCoy and Chief Pike when they arrive.”

“Yes, sir,” Derek said.

Just as Chris sat down, Len came in. “Sorry. I didn’t think I was going to get away. One cadet after another this morning with seriously broken bones. What are they doing this week?”

Chris had no idea. The Academy wasn’t part of his authority. He stood again and kissed Len quickly. “Sit. Amelia will be here any minute.”

“Do you have any idea what you want?” Eleanora asked. “I mean size, ceremony, food, there are a million details.”

“Momma’s right. You will need to be flexible at this point because your options regarding a venue will probably be limited,” Beth said.

Amelia came in a few minutes later. “Sorry. I had a meeting that ran over, and I couldn’t just walk out.” She hugged Chris and then Len and turned toward the table. “I’m Amelia Pike –”

Chris smiled at her. “Amelia, meet Eleanora McCoy, Len’s mom.”

She reached over and held out a hand that Eleanora took. “Good to meet you, Chief.”

Amelia smiled at her. “Amelia. All of you. We’re going to be related in some way or other that I’m not sure of.”

“Beth McCoy,” Beth said. They shook hands.

“I hope you don’t mind, but after we talked last week, I secured a hotel downtown. We got lucky with a cancellation for two weeks from Saturday. There’s a full ballroom that will fit about three hundred people for dinner and dancing afterward. I wasn’t sure what you wanted to do. But you’ll need a big venue for everyone.”

“I suppose a small wedding is out of the question?” Len asked, with a frown on his face.

Eleanora and Amelia looked at each other. And Eleanora shook her head. “Son, I don’t think that is going to be possible. Your man is too well known. Given just who he is, even without the family that he’s a part of,” she said. “And that doesn’t take into account who you are and the size of our family.”

Chris sighed and took Len’s hand. “I’m pretty sure your mom’s right. I’m sorry.”

Len leaned in and kissed him. “I guessed that. What do you need from us? Since I’m assuming the two of you and Amelia are going to plan this. When are we having it?”

“Slightly less than two weeks from today. And it won’t be a problem,” Amelia said. “I appreciate the help, Beth and Eleanora.”

“Okay, let’s start with the basics. Who is going to stand with you, Len?” Eleanora asked.

“I was going to ask Jim Kirk.”

“Chris?”

“Phil Boyce.”

Eleanora typed into her padd for a second and then looked up. “Attendants?”

“How many do we need?” Len asked.

“Two at a minimum,” Beth said. “Though you need the same number for each of you.”

“Two is fine,” Len said. “You and Billy-Ray?”

“We’d be honored, Lenny,” Beth said, smiling widely. “I’m speaking for Billy-Ray, too.”

“Perfect,” Eleanora said. “Chris?”

“Spock and Una Chin-Riley.”

Eleanora nodded. “I’m assuming I’m going to give you away?”

“Not like I’ve got another momma hiding somewhere who could do it.” Len grinned at his mom.

“We’re going to walk down an aisle?” Chris hadn’t considered that. And he liked the idea. “Amelia? You and Grant?” he asked.

“Of course,” Amelia said with a smile.

“Presents?” Eleanora asked. “Registry?”

“Can we have everyone who wants to give us a gift, donate some amount of credits in our honor to a charity,” Len asked. “I mean, we don’t need anything. And if we do, we can go get it.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Chris agreed. “How do we set that up?”

“I can help with that. What charity would you like?” Amelia asked.

“Len?” Chris asked. “What would you like?”

“What about The Galactic Children’s Medical Foundation.”

Amelia smiled. “That’s a great organization.”

“That works for me,” Chris said.

“Food?” Beth asked.

“Food is good. How good is the food at the hotel?” Len asked.

“It’s the same hotel where we had our anniversary party.”

“That was good,” Len said. “What else?”

“Guest lists,” Eleanora said.

Both he and Len pulled out their padd and sent her their lists. There were more than two hundred people between them. But he didn’t want to snub anyone.

Chris had asked his brother to come to the wedding. They had been exchanging comms every few days for the last couple of weeks. They hadn’t talked this much since they were children. Jon had been sending him pictures of everything he was seeing. It was great to see his brother enjoying himself so much.

Chris looked at his watch. “I’ve got PT right now. Feel free to use the office as long as you want. Derek, my admin, is outside and can help you with anything you need. Len, I’ll see you after PT for lunch. Eleanora and Beth, your code for the door still works from the last time. I’ll see you back there when you’re done.” He looked at Amelia. “And thank you.”

Len stood as well. “Why don’t I walk you over there? I’ve got to get back to the hospital, too.” He looked around the table. “Thanks. We appreciate this.”

*****

A few days later.

Eleanora and Beth had gone home, but Eleanora would be coming back next week and staying to take care of all the myriad of details for the wedding. Chris could not imagine doing this himself or even with his whole staff and Len.

He’d finally managed to arrange a date to have dinner with Spock.

“Thank you for inviting me to your home, Admiral,” Spock said as he came in.

“You can still call me Chris, Spock,” Chris said. He considered Spock a good friend. Though Chris had always been hard pressed to define their relationship. Jim Kirk called it father-son, which Chris supposed was a close enough description. Whatever it was, Spock meant a lot to him.

“As you please, Chris. I believe I had to wait for permission.” If a Vulcan could smirk without actually moving any facial muscles, that would be what he was doing.

“Except you already had it from more than ten years ago. Just consider it a given from now on. Okay.”

Spock nodded, not quite smiling.

“Anyway, I thought it might be easier to talk here,” Chris said, waving him to the table. “How did the visit go with your parents?”

Spock did not sigh, but his expression looked like he wanted to. “As well as could be expected. My mother was pleased to see me. My father and I disagree on many things. However, we are speaking to each other.”

“It probably doesn’t hurt that he came through for you when I needed him, too,” Chris pointed out. “So, Doctor McCoy and I will be married in less than two weeks.”

Spock looked surprised. “Congratulations, Chris. Is the bond between you and Doctor McCoy that strong?”

“According to Phil Boyce, it’s one of the strongest bonds ever recorded.” Though there hadn’t been that many recorded, so that might not be saying anything.

Spock nodded. “I am sure there are challenges with that.”

Chris looked down. “You do not even want to know. But apparently, marriage or a similar bonding ceremony helps to establish the bond completely. So, there we go. I’d like you to be one of my attendants for the ceremony.”

And now, he looked surprised. “Thank you, I would be honored. What are the details.”

“My aunt Amelia is helping Len’s mother and sister to plan it. You’ll need to be here the night before to get the details. A formal dress uniform is all I know about it. That and it’s a week from next Saturday at 6:00 pm.”

Spock raised an eyebrow. “You do not wish to have a say in your bonding ceremony?”

“I don’t care that much beyond having Len as my husband. I don’t think he cares either,” Chris said with a shrug.

“As you know, Vulcans have many traditions and ceremonies regarding bonding.” And while he didn’t sigh, he did seem sad.

“I was sorry to hear about T’Pring,” Chris said. That she’d challenged was bad enough of her, but the rest of the debacle of their wedding was unconscionable, especially choosing Jim as her champion. It had only been Len’s quick thinking with the tri-ox compound that had saved Jim’s life and, truthfully, Spock’s as well.

“In some ways, it was logical. She leads Vulcans back to logic, and as much as I might try, I am not completely Vulcan.”

“You are caught between two worlds. I’ve always felt that you were unique in that way.”

Spock nodded. “Thank you. I did not mention it previously, but I met Lily and Lucas Pike on Vulcan when I was there.”

“How did you meet them?” Chris asked. He’d given the twins Sarek’s name and comm number in case of emergencies. After Sarek’s intervention had brought the Enterprise back to Earth and allowed Len to operate on him, Chris kept in touch with Sarek and Amanda.

“Apparently, my parents have invited them to dine with them periodically. And my father had a driver take Lily to meet with the clan that she found in her search.”

He’d known about the search, but Lily hadn’t mentioned that she’d found anything or that she’d gone to talk to anyone. “What happened with that?”

“I do not believe it went well. The clan in question are both xenophobic and logic extremists. They had falsified their DNA in the Federation database so that someone looking would not find a match on the strain that Lily and Lucas were part of. It is not illegal, mostly because it is unheard of.”

Chris let out a sigh. “That would lead one to believe they knew someone might be looking for them.”

Spock was silent for a moment. “Possibly. But many have left the clan, and they may have wished to be unavailable for those descendants as well.”

That did make some sense. Chris let out another sigh. “So, when she found them, they were less than pleased to see her.”

There was an ever so slight smile on Spock’s face. “I believe that to be true. But your cousin made them see the error of their ways.”

“She told them off in no uncertain terms?” Which made him smile, too. He could see Lily in full righteous fury over something like that. She hated injustice and prejudice.

“She did,” Spock said. “I believe they sent her the correct clan information she requested.”

He hoped she wasn’t too traumatized by the whole thing. She probably wouldn’t let it show with anyone she didn’t know well. “Even if it were unpleasant, I’m glad she got what she was looking for out of the whole encounter.”

Spock nodded. “Will Doctor McCoy be joining us for dinner?”

“In theory, he’s still at the hospital right now. And sometimes, he’s late.” Chris said with a shrug.

*****

The next afternoon.

“Hey, Bones,” Jim called as he came into the bar that they’d agreed on for lunch. “How are things going with you?”

“Good. You?” Len asked.

“I can’t wait to get the Enterprise back. The whole strategy exercise, without an actual problem to solve, leaves me cold. It’s almost like being in school again,” Jim complained.

“Do you have any idea when that might be?” Len asked as they found some seats.

“It’s already going to take longer than anyone expected. Apparently, the Starfleet engineers will have to upgrade some of the parts,” Jim said and sighed. “Scotty is working with them on it. But he’s pretty frustrated.”

“I’m sure he had plenty to say about it,” Len laughed. “And I’m equally sure it’s a challenge for him.”

“I wish I was challenged. I’m so bored with not being in space.” Jim sighed and picked up the menu. “What’s good here?”

“Chris said the food is decent, and that’s saying something. I’m gonna get a cheeseburger and fries,” Len said after looking at the choices.

“Can’t go wrong with that.” They ordered. “So, what brings you to my door?”

“I have a favor to ask. We’re going to get married next weekend,” Len said.

Jim whistled. “Excuse me. When did you guys even get engaged.”

“Last weekend.” Len held up his hand.

“Nice. The Pike engagement rings. There are supposed to be several sets of them, and they get passed down from generation to generation,” Jim said.

“I know these were Chris’ grandparent’s rings.” Len looked down at it. He loved the ring. “All I care about is being married to him.”

“I’m guessing with that empathic bond between you, it doesn’t matter about any of the outside stuff. How is that going? Are you both still kissing like teenagers?” Jim snickered.

“Yes. And apparently, that is never going to end. At least, according to Chris’ Aunt Amelia.” Len was okay with that. It was silly sometimes, the constant desire to make out with Chris, but he didn’t care.

Jim sighed. “I’m going to miss you so much, Bones. Joseph is a great doctor. I like him a lot. But he is not you.”

M’Benga probably wasn’t going to put up with Jim’s bullshit, and he probably knew that.

“I’m going to miss you, too. But what I wanted to ask you was if you’d stand with me when I get married next weekend,” Len said.

Jim stood and pulled him to his feet to hug him. “Of course, I would be honored. Where and when? Dress uniform?”

“It’s going to be at a hotel downtown. I’ll let you know when you need to be there. My momma and Beth are planning it with Amelia Pike.”

“That’s quite a team. You and Chris get no say?”

“I wanted to go to city hall, but Momma and Amelia said no. That we had to have a big wedding,” Len complained. It would have been so lovely to just have a small family wedding. Though, of course, they both had huge families.

“Who is marrying you?” Jim asked. “And how big?”

“I think it’s going to be Admiral April. He and Chris have been friends for years.” Len sighed. “It’s going to be huge. Most of the Enterprise crew that Chris or I served with and everyone he knows. And my family. And most of his.”

“I’m going to guess that doesn’t include his parents,” Jim said with a note of seriousness in his tone that spoke of him knowing more about the subject than Len would have thought possible.

Len looked at him. “What do you know about that?” Len asked sharply.

“Just what I’ve been briefed about. Chris’ father is involved with Terra Prime. But they don’t have anything on him yet,” Jim said with a casual shrug.

“How did you get read into that?” Len asked. Because as far as he knew, it was need to know only.

Jim shook his head. “Come on, Bones. You were part of my crew. And Chris is your partner. Spock and I were briefed weeks ago.”

The way he put it made sense. Len made a mental note to talk to Chris about it.

*****

The following day

“Admiral Pike,” Derek’s said. “Commander Katherine Pike is here and would like to talk to you. She’s not on your list, but she is a Pike.”

“Thank you, Derek,” Chris said. “I’ll see her.”

Chris stood and moved towards the door as it hissed open, and a woman he did not recognize came in and stood at attention. She was tall, with the same blue eyes that he had. Her dark hair was liberally threaded with gray at the edges. Like his hair was before the crystal vision turned it all gray.

“At ease, commander. I’m assuming you’re related to me?” Chris said. He’d hoped some of his far-flung relations would stop by when they were in town. She was the first.

“Yes, sir. First cousin.”

He waved her to the sofa and sat in the chair beside it. “Wouldn’t I have met you as a kid?”

“You did, sir. My mother is your father’s older sister,” Katherine said with a familiar half-smile. “Who is not Aunt Amelia.”

“Amanda?” Chris asked. He’d only met her and her family a handful of times. “I don’t remember. When did we meet?”

“There were two or three times that I remember. You were about sixteen-seventeen, and I was about twenty-two the last time I saw you. I was just about to graduate college, and you had already applied for admission to the Academy.”

“We’d come to San Francisco for something. A barbecue. Someone’s birthday?” Chris vaguely remembered that. One of the rare occasions, he and his parents went to a family event. Jon had already left for college.

“Right. It was my brother Alex’s birthday. He was three years younger than I was.” Katherine sighed. “You and your father got into a heated argument — well, he was furious about something. You were very calm, and that just made him angrier.”

“I remember having that argument, but not what it was about,” Chris said. It all seemed far away. “At that point, I had learned to deal with him by not engaging. It was a good lesson to learn in life, too. I also remember being sad that I wouldn’t get to talk to any of you after that.”

“I had heard later you’d gotten in,” Katherine said. “But that Grandad had to force your parents to sign because you were still underage. We, the cousins, all felt bad for you.”

“Both my brother and I always knew that the cousins all knew each other and were close. I think we both resented our parents for the isolation we grew up with. We never got to see anyone.”

“How is your brother doing?” Katherine asked. “Amelia said that you’re in touch with him now.”

“He and I are talking to each other again, and that’s good. And he seems to be doing very well. I think getting out of Mojave was good for him,” Chris said. Every time he talked to Jonathan, it felt like they got a little closer. And Jonathan was thrilled to be traveling and, now, off-world.

“So, I volunteered to be the one to come and speak with you,” Katherine said with another half-smile.

Chris raised an eyebrow. “You volunteered? What does that even mean?”

“Despite your reputation as a Boy Scout,” she said, clearly amused. “Most of the cousins in Starfleet are, intimidated probably isn’t the right word, but don’t want you to think they would want anything other than to get to know you.”

“How many are there?” Chris asked, completely ignoring the Boy Scout comment. It wasn’t like he hadn’t heard that before. “I counted about half a dozen Starfleet uniforms at Amelia’s party. None of whom I knew.”

“There’s about twelve, fourteen if you count cadets. And Jenni will start as a cadet next fall,” Katherine said.

“I wouldn’t normally think that anyone would want anything other than to meet me, and I’d like to meet them,” Chris said. “But why did you volunteer?”

“I’m just a few months out from twenty-five. And I’m going to retire at the end of the year. So, I seemed like the logical choice. I’ve been on one ship or another for my whole career.”

“What do you do?” he asked.

“I’m an engineer. I was chief engineer on the USS Explorer for a long time. But I was not up for another five-year mission.”

“You’re six years older than I am, and you’re only at twenty-five?” Chris asked, surprised.

“Yes. Unlike some people,” Katherine said, nodding at him. “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. So, I took the scenic route. I went to college and got a master’s first. And then the Galactic Peace Corp. for three years. Then, a GAP year. And then OCS for Starfleet.”

“Sounds like you had an interesting career,” Chris said.

“I did,” Katherine said, smiling. “I’ve enjoyed it. But I’m ready to do something else. I just got back in a week ago. And I missed Aunt Amelia’s party by a few days. Though apparently, I’m invited to your wedding next weekend.”

“I’m pretty sure everyone in the family was invited.”

“Well, not your parents,” she said and grimaced. “I’m sure they will find out about it in the news or gossip on the network.”

He wondered how much she knew about what was currently going on with them. “I prefer not to think about them,” Chris said. “That said, they will be infuriated when I change my name.”

“You’re going to take Doctor McCoy’s name?” Katherine asked. “That will be different.”

He laughed. “No, we’re going to hyphen it. Pike-McCoy.”

“I like it,” Kate said. “I’ve never married. I’ve had a few long-term partners but never met the right person.” She laughed a little. “Not for lack of trying.”

“If you don’t look, you won’t find it,” Chris said. “Though admittedly, he did sort of find me.”

“How are you doing? I mean, physically. You didn’t use a cane just now, but you don’t move like you’re completely comfortable, either.”

He was surprised by the question and the observation. “How do you know that?”

“I teach yoga, too. I see a lot of people use it to overcome injuries. And to get stronger.”

“When do you teach it? It’s something my PT therapist suggested not that long ago. But with everything else going on, I haven’t gotten a chance to look into it.”

“I just started teaching it again. But there’s a class at 7:00 am every weekday morning at the physical training facility. It helped me come back from an injury years ago, and I’ve been doing it for more than twenty years.” She smiled. “You should try it. I’ll go easy on you.”

“I might,” Chris said. “But I’ve never done it.”

“I could do a few one-on-one sessions if you’d like?” Katherine said.

That was very nice of her, and Chris appreciated it. “That might actually make me do it. When and where?”

“I could do it at 6:00 am or after 5:00 pm during the week.”

“Let’s try it tomorrow morning at 6:00 am. I’m always up early,” Chris said. “Send me a comm with the room.”

“I will. I am up early as well. Bring Doctor McCoy so I can meet him.” Katherine stood.

He stood as well. “Thank you. He’ll probably hate it, but I’ll see if he’s willing. It was nice to meet you again. You should come over for dinner after we get back from our honeymoon, Commander.”

“Kate. I would like that,” she said.

“We are related closely enough that you could call me Chris,” he asked, not expecting her to agree.

But she nodded. “Sure, Chris. You are my cousin, after all.”

*****

A few days later

Chris’ had done early morning yoga with Kate for three mornings so far. And while he wasn’t that crazy about doing it, he felt better when he was done. As promised, she’d gone easy on him, which Chris appreciated. He’d join the class after he got back from his honeymoon.

He had PT in the late morning, and it had gone well. Even a few days of yoga seemed to be helping. If nothing else, it made sure he stretched out.

Before he could settle into his day, Derek’s voice came over the comm. “Admiral Pike, Captain Chin-Riley is asking to see you.”

“Send her in,” Chris said. His door opened, and Una came in. He stood up and moved around the desk to hug her.

As she pulled back, she eyed him up and down and seemed to concentrate on him for a moment. “Admiral, what is going on with you?”

He leaned back on his desk. “Context, please?”

She gave him a look. Like he should know what she was talking about. “Aside from the fact that I’ve gotten three urgent messages from you in the last week, I can tell something’s different about you.”

“You can tell?” Because as far as he knew, it didn’t show.

“Oh, that’s a surprise,” Una said. “You’ve got a bond with someone, don’t you?” She seemed to concentrate very hard on him. “Who?”

“You were out of communication range until yesterday, which I thought would end a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t know about the extension until Admiral Barnett told me.” He laughed. “And yes, I’ve got a bond, and I’m getting married on Saturday –”

“In two days?” She looked incredulous. “Who are you bonded to?”

“Doctor Leonard McCoy. I want you to be one of my attendants.”

Her eyes widened, and she smiled, reaching out to hug him again. “Congratulations! I’m thrilled for you! And, of course, I’d be honored to be an attendant.” She paused and stepped back. “But I talked to you less than three months ago, and you mentioned nothing and no one to me.”

“I told you I was going to meet the Enterprise?” Chris said. “Well, I’m sure you remember Doctor McCoy, and in the process of thanking him for everything he’d done for me, we developed a substantial empathic bond.”

Her jaw dropped a little. It was rare that he surprised Una. She snorted. “That must have been one hell of a thank you.”

“Yeah, it was,” Chris said, smiling.

“How much does Marie know about this? I saw her last night, and she said nothing to me. And she could have explained.” Una sounded annoyed.

He wasn’t getting in the middle of that. “Marie’s invited to the wedding. She probably expected me to explain. Since it’s my wedding and my story.”

Una laughed and faced Chris again. “So, dress uniform?”

“Formal.”

She tipped her head to the side and gave him a long look, clearly surprised again. “Amelia is putting this together for you. How many people?”

He grinned. Una knew him so well. “Yeah, along with Len’s mom and sister. About two hundred and fifty people.”

“So, I want to meet Doctor McCoy,” she said. “I never actually met him after your accident.”

Chris had wondered about that. There was too much time at the beginning that he didn’t remember. “Why don’t you come by tonight? My future mother-in-law is staying with us, but Len will be there. You can meet them.”

*****

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