"Ms. Bering", whispered a familiar voice. Myka quickly spun around and saw the familiar figure of Irene Fredric in her door way. It was a year ago that she was last 'Mrs. Fredriecked' as Claudia called it and didn't quite expect it in retirement. "It's good to see you."

"Mrs. Fredric, um... I didn't expect to see you... Here. What's going on? Is everything ok?" she asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"The regents wish to speak to you and Mr. Lattimer. They have advised me to convince you two to come out of retirement."

Myka's face lit up.

"Oh my god, of course I need to ask Pete. It might take some convincing but we can be there."

"Good. I will see you soon." And she was gone.

-
"Ophelia," Pete Lattimer whispered as he slowly entered the bathroom. He crouched next to her, slowly placed her cheeks in the crest of his chest, and ran his hands through her curls. Hot tears touched his skin as she ignored his silent plea to box her emotions away. He hated the circumstances. He hated seeing her dip in to the depths of sadness. Most of all, he hated being helpless.

"Pete, if you had someone else you'd have a family by now..." Myka managed to mumble through her sobs. After all, they left the warehouse to start a family, a family that wasn't happening at this moment - at least naturally. She knew he wanted child to call his own to share memories of his father and her body was betraying them. She knew with his charm and his looks, he could have anyone in the world. Women who could give him what he wanted would be crawling all over him. In the end he had reciprocated her love for him, but she was an emotional burden so why did he want her? "I… just want you to stop pretending that it doesn't matter to you," She took in a deep breath as she turned to hide her emotion showing on her face. "Because I know it does." Her insecurities were always tugging at her heart and this time it had reached tipping point. He let his wants known, she wasn't delivering, and that scared her more than any dark or dangerous artifact they ever encountered. For five years they trusted each other with their lives, why was trusting each other with their faults and imperfections so hard?

"Myka." Pete pierced her with a stern look. "You are smart, so beautiful, you kick ass, and don't even get me started on that actual ass of yours. My favorite parts of you are your curls even though you hate them, and your eyes... My god, your eyes..." He pulled away just enough to gaze in to her eyes. He touched her cheeks, silently begging her to ease the sadness again, but she pushed him away and turned around. "Look, I am not going to lie to you." He began, carefully constructing his words. "It's something I want. It's something that I have wanted for a long time, but you got to remember when I made that wish on the dog tag, I didn't even have you. I couldn't even begin to imagine this, but here we are. The day you kissed me," Pete turned Myka around as he buried her face in his chest. "My life became complete. You being here with me is all I need. Everything else is optional. That's the truth."

Everything else is optional.

Myka knew the truth, but the truth still hurt and she wasn't quite sure how to get over it. Pete continued as he pulled away to look in to her eyes once again, "Baby or no baby you belong to me, Myka Ophelia Bering. You'll always belong to me. Don't forget that. There is only one person I want to grow old with and you're mine. All mine." He leaned in for a kiss as if to officially seal the deal.

She hated when he got all possessive like that but she let it go this time. Fine, you win peter Lattimer. I'll belong to you. Always, she thought, careful not to think out loud because hello, he would never let that down - and now that meant forever. She kissed him harder in response to her thoughts which seemed to get the point across without exchanging words. When they finally pulled their lips away from each other, her tears were beginning to dry.
"Come on, I got brats on the grill. Let's go downstairs. The stars are amazing tonight." Pete looked down at her hands, took the offending object and threw it away in the trash.

She looked up and that goofy smile she came to love that used to annoy her was plastered on Pete's face. Suddenly she felt nothing but air under her feet. She instinctively grabbed on to her partner's neck as she felt him move towards the door.

"Oh my god, peter Lattimer, I can walk!" She squealed, as she fell in to a fit of giggles.

"Never said you couldn't." As he smiled back and paused. "You don't trust me?"

"No." Myka snapped instinctively.

"No?" Pete questioned as he stopped at the top of the stairs.

"I mean yes, I trust you but I don't trust being carried down stairs." Myka replied sheepishly.

"Wait, you mean to tell me that you - Myka the tomboy was scared of something this whole time?

"I was eight and it resulted in to a trip to the ER. Tracey was not happy she had to miss cheer practice."

"I thought I knew everything about you."

"Well, I don't like to advertise about my deepest fears and anxieties, and that, you know very well."

"Don't worry about them now." He grinned as he approached the stairs.

"Fine, but only today you get to win twice." She slipped.

"Wait, twice? I won... What?" he looked at her quizzically.

Myka just smiled at him and made a zipping motion across her mouth with her fingers and figuratively threw the key away behind her shoulder.

"Wait a minute! So you're gonna keep another secret from me, Myka Bering?" He chided.

"Sorry," Myka laughed. "Not letting you win for a third time."

Pete wrinkled his forehead as he began his decent down the stairs.
"Fine, because they say compromise is a part of a healthy relationship." With each step he felt his partner slowly relax in his arms. "You get to keep your secrets, and I'll carry you carefully down the stairs."

They arrived down stairs where he set her down on the outdoor patio couch. Myka looked up at the night sky. Pete was right. The stars looked amazing on this balmy Colorado night. He settled in next to her and tucked her in his muscular arms that just had been carrying her. His fingers went through her curls as jolts of comfort enveloped her body. She slowly closed her eyes, enjoying every bit of electricity running through her scalp. It was the only place in the universe that she felt safe enough to surrender her soul completely. She felt peace in this moment she had never felt before. This must be love, she thought. She opened her eyes and looked up once again. All the stars in their life were aligned perfectly like the constellations in the sky, unwavering through ups and downs of life. The moment clearly eternal, neither of them could tell how much time had passed until they smelled the smoke coming out of the grill.
"Oops." Pete pulled away to tend to the grill. "Looks like we ruined dinner again. We love cuddling on the couch too much. How about we kick it up and put my bratwurst in your buns instead?"

"Hm... you should eat something. Then we can have bratwurst and buns all night long. You can't concentrate when you're hungry anyway." Myka flashed a smile and laughed.

"Wait, what if I'm always hungry?"
"Then we should order pizza?" Myka replied with a smile.

"Make it so, number one." Pete called after her in his best captain Picard voice. Myka gave him a confused look. "And remind me that we need you to get caught up with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-D."