Hello all and welcome back! This is the sequel to As We Fade Into The Night, so if you have yet to read that one, you should or you will be confused. Thank you to all the fans who have stayed with me this long, I really appreciate it. Same as the last book, In The Dark will be going by a song each chapter. The song for the entire book is In The Dark by Flyleaf.

The song for this chapter is Memories by Within Temptation.

I do not own Star Trek or it's characters.

Without further ado, let the story begin!


Chapter One - Memories

"Keptin on zee bridge!" Chekov yelled as I stepped through the door and on to the ship. God it felt weird to be here again. But despite it all, I clenched my left hand, feeling the ring bite my skin comfortably as I nodded and smiled at him. Despite everything I was excited and feeling pretty good. I mean, five years in deep space, it's the mission I've been dreaming of!

I looked over at the Captain's chair and smiled, walking over to it.

"It's hard to get out of once you've had a taste, isn't that right Mr. Sulu?" I questioned as he grinned and stood from the chair, his hands behind his back.

"Captain does have a nice ring to it." He remarked, sounding as excited as I felt. "Chair's all yours, sir."

I smiled, walking over to the arm and pressing the button to call Scotty.

"Mr. Scott, how's our core?" The mention of the core had me feeling antsy but I sucked it up.

"Purring like a kitten, Captain. She's ready for a long journey." He replied.

"Excellent!" I hit the button again and turned to my best friend, running over and clapping his shoulders. "Come on Bones, it's going to be fun!"

"Five years in space, god help me." I heard him mutter as I took off. I approached his girlfriend with a smile and decided to welcome her to the crew.

"Dr. Marcus, I'm glad you could be part of the family." I said, shaking her hand.

"It's nice to have a family." She said sadly, though with a smile. I nodded to her before turning to my first officer, my lover, my Ashaya.

"Mr. Spock." I said formally.

"Captain." He responded, turning around to walk over and stand beside me.

"Where should we go?" I asked quietly, staring at the stars and desperately wanting to hold his hand. His want mirrored mine but we stayed professional, we were on duty after all.

"As a mission of this deration has never been attempted," He turned to me, his eyes unable to hold back his love as he smiled at me. "I defer to your good judgment, Captain."

I almost laughed at that, he never referred to my judgment as good before. I smiled fondly at him before he turned away to join Nyota at their stations. Taking a deep breath and looking out at the stars, I sat down in the Captain's chair.

"Mr. Sulu, take us out." I said, smiling. Five years… I can't wait.

"Aye Captain." He said, then the ship came to life with the purring of the engines and we were off, soaring past the stars.

I turned back to look at Spock and we shared a smile before I looked back to the front. I turned on the com and couldn't stop grinning as I addressed my crew.

"We have now departed on our five year journey, I really hope you didn't forget anything." There was some laughter amongst the crew, but I joked because a lot of people were worried. "We're going to be pretty sick of each other sooner or later, but please, no blood on the new interior. If there are any problems, report to me or first officer Spock and we'll take care of them. Kirk out."

"I love you." Spock said quietly next to me, making me smirk as I leaned on my hand.

"I figured I'd be the one to break first, but I see you have proved me wrong." I looked up at him and he smiled back. "I love you too."

My first alpha shift had just ended and we were on course for an unchartered planet that we were going to examine. There were no signs of civilized life, but plenty of plants and animals to examine and find. With a smile, I stretched out, removing my shirt and sighing as my muscles relaxed.

I heard the door to the bathroom close and turned around with a grin. Spock smiled softly, his hands clasped behind his back.

"We're off duty , please relax and make yourself comfortable. Was there a reason for this visit?" I asked, loving the way his lips twitched in amusement.

"Captain, it seems there was a slight problem I noticed during alpha shift." He reported deligently, taking a slow step forward.

"What would that be, and call me Jim for god's sake." I laughed slightly at that, not having to say that for a while now.

"Well, someone kept distracting me with thoughts of…. Sexual content during our shift. I believe he should be punished by myself directly." He smirked and my breath flew out of me when he suddenly sprang forward, throwing me to the bed before climbing atop of me, pinning my wrists above my head.

"But, Commander, we are aboard the Enterprise, is it not improper to mount your Captain?" I asked innocently, trying not to smile. Something glistened in his eyes and he leaned down slowly until he was breathing in my ear.

"We are off duty. In here, I'm your captain." He growled. I gasped, my back arching as a moan slipped through my lips.

"Yes, understood. Spock, please, I need you. It was so hard not to be with you on the bridge." I groaned, leaning my cheek against him as I ground my erection against his.

"As you wish, T'hy'la." He said, lips meeting mine with unbridled lust. His hands released my wrists to run his nails down my chest, eliciting another loud moan from me as I wrapped my hands in his hair, flipping us over with my legs.

"Captain, permission to enter?" A voice through the comm at my door asked. I bit my lip as I got off Spock, who gracefully and quickly got up and went in to the bathroom.

"Enter." I said, trying to hold back my frustration.

The doors slid open and Uhura strutted in, her hair out of its ponytail and wearing a black t-shirt and red jeans. She walked straight over, plopping herself down on the bed beside me as the door closed.

"Make yourself at home." I sighed, rolling my eyes. She laughed, looking to her left.

"Spock, you can come out of the bathroom, I know you're in there." She said. The door opened and he stepped out formally, one eyebrow raised.

"How did you know I was in there?" He asked, walking calmly over the bed.

"There's claw marks on his chest." My face went bright red and I looked down, noticing four angry red marks that went down to the hem of my pants.

"Jesus Christ, Spock!" I yelled, looking at him with pure shock.

"As I recall, you were not complaining at the time." He muttered, climbing in to the bed and laying down behind us. I stared at him for a moment as Uhura laughed.

"Make yourself at home!" I said again, laughing as I threw up my hands.

"Nyota, was there a reason for this visit?" Spock said. I looked back at him to see him practically hugging the pillow, his eyes closed and looking completely relaxed.

"Actually, I was wondering if you might share what you saw in the crowd during your speech that made you pale and look completely freaked out." She said. Spock tensed completely and I swallowed heavily, turning back to look at her. I looked away, starting to play with the silver band on my ring finger.

"Always and forever…. Captain."

"I thought I saw Khan. He looked right at me and smiled before walking away. I was nervous and I was hallucinating." I replied, frowning.

"I saw him too." Spock said. I jolted, spinning to look at him. "But it could have been you projecting it through the bond."

"He's right Jim… I'm sorry, I never thought I'd say this, but I wish he were here." She said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks, I appreciate it Nyota." I said with a smile. I meant it, it meant a lot to me that she supported us.

"Anyways, I'm going to go see Scotty and let you continue." She said, smirking before getting up and stalking out. I shook my head, turning to look at Spock with a grin. He had his eyes closed and he was breathing deeply. I reached out and stroked his cheek lightly as he nuzzled my hand.

"Shall we continue in the morning, love?" I whispered, leaning down and kissing his cheek. He nodded against the pillow and I smiled. This right here, these little moments, were what I lived for.

"Hey kiddo." Bones said, sitting down beside me at the table. I nodded to him, smiling gently and taking a small bite of my food. I was tired from Alpha shift and was looking forward to a nice night of cuddling with Spock. But my stomach had decided that it needed food before I could go to bed.

"Heya Bones, what's up?" I asked.

"Well, I was cleaning out some stuff before we left and well, I didn't have a chance to give it to you, we've been so busy…." He trailed off, biting his lip.

"What is it?" I sighed, not liking the thought of this gift.

"Here, just, watch it. I'm sure it will make you smile." He said, sliding a usb key over to me.

"What's on it that's making you so fidgety?" I asked, glaring at him as I shoved it in my pocket. He stood up, giving me a crooked smile before patting my shoulder and turning away.

"Just watch it with Spock, okay?"

"God, Alpha shift is so long when I can't even kiss you." I complained, pouncing on top of him. He grumbled something, pulling me under the blankets. Yes, I am aware that he was asleep, but I missed him a lot.

"Take your uniform off and go to sleep." He grumbled.

"We can't yet. Bones gave me a drive with something on it that we apparently have to watch." I said, kissing his nose. He opened one eye before sighing and sitting up.

"Alright, hand it over." I dug it out of my pocket and he got up, revealing his naked butt.

"Damnit, maybe we can have some fun first." I said, grabbing his wrist. He smirked at me, but removed his wrist from my hand and went over to the comm, plugging in the usb key.

The wall lit up and he pressed play and suddenly, I couldn't breathe.

I pointed at the camera, my face straight but my eyes laughing.

"No!" I yelled.

"Too late, I'm already recording." Bones said, laughing at me as I backed away from Spock and Khan.

"Oh, good idea!" Scotty's accented voice called. There was a sound of them high fiving as I glared at the two of them.

"Thanks for the support guys!" I yelled, backing further away. Suddenly they lunged at me and I tried to get away but they skillfully grabbed on to me. Bones and Scotty were laughing as they followed me struggling in to the pool.

"Bet you he pretends to be drowning and they fall for it." Bones said.

"Twenty bucks says they aren't that gullible." Scotty replied. I heard Uhura laugh and I looked over to her.

Oh my god, this was when… This was the day that we officially…

"Isn't anyone going to fucking help me?" I yelled, my struggling coming to an end. There was a giant splash as they tossed me in and then looked over the edge.

"Come on, don't let me down guys." Bones said quietly.

"He's faking it! It's James Kirk, what do you expect?" Uhura yelled. The camera jerked slightly while Scotty laughed.

"Fuck, I'm going to get him, he might have hit his head." Khan said, biting his lip. Spock nodded and they both jumped in. I emerged, laughing while Scotty groaned.

"I warned you!" Uhura yelled, laughing. Spock and Khan both looked astonished while they treaded water.

"Damn rat bastards, why do you have to be so gullible?" Scotty groaned. There was some rustling as I laughed and a twenty dollar bill briefly came in to view.

"Spock." I whispered as the video paused.

"Jim, there's more." He said quietly. "You're crying."

I quickly rubbed at my cheeks, laughing and sniffling.

"That seems like forever ago." I whispered, not sure if I could raise my voice any higher. Spock sighed, grabbing the remote and sliding in to the bed with me.

"If you can't handle it, let me know and I'll turn it off." He said, kissing me gently before wrapping me in his arms.

"You're crying too, hun." I said, brushing away one of his tears. He smiled gently and kissed my temple.

"I'm fine, it's just… I miss him. Illogical as that sounds."

"Nah, that sounds perfectly logical to me." I said, laughing and cuddling up to him. "I miss him too."

"Hey I'm stepping out to um, check on something." Bones said, pushing the camera a little so it was angled towards where I was sitting in Khan's trench coat and he was standing beside me.

"Yeah, okay." I grumbled. I heard a door click and looked straight in to the camera. "You think he set it on a timer or something? He was fiddling with it entirely too much."

"I doubt he has the intelligence enough to set something like that up." Khan said, sitting down beside me.

"Hey, be nice to him." I said, glaring at him as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Guess we were wrong, huh." I said, laughing when Spock squeezed me closer to him.

"Now, do we need to discuss this again?" He said with a sigh, kissing my neck. I shoved him off of me and stood up.

"I'm going and that is final." I growled.

"YOU ARE NOT GOING!" Khan yelled.

"I am NOT staying here, you can't make me." I screamed back, silenced by his lips roughly crashing down on mine. I held him close, letting him kiss me until his lips slowed and became soft. Finally, he pulled away, resting his forehead on mine.

"I can't lose you." He whispered. I placed my hand on his cheek with a sigh.

"And I can't lose you."

"You never will." He said, pulling me in to his arms more tightly. "Always and forever…. Captain."

"Oh, don't start with that again!" I laughed, shoving him off of me and sighing.

"What's on your mind? Aside from the usual Spock." Khan said, grabbing my hand and rubbing his thumb along it.

"I know it takes a lot to kill you but… I still can't help but be worried that you'll die. I only just figured this out, I don't know if I could stand it." I whispered, leaning on him.

"Hush, you'll never have to find out, love."

"Guess we were really wrong." I muttered, nuzzling in to Spock's neck.

"I think that's enough for tonight." He said, turning it off and putting the remote on the end table. He tugged my shirt off, immediately starting on my pants.

"Hunnie, I'm exhausted, how bout in the morning?" I grumbled, kicking my boxers off and cuddling up to him. He started chuckling, wrapping his arms around me and kissing my cheek.

"I love how you immediately jump to sex, darling." He said, rolling his eyes. It was sort of weird hearing him use pet names. I had used them on him, but it took him a while to say anything of the sort. But it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"Well, I love you." I muttered, poking his nose.

"I love you too, go to sleep. We have another long shift tomorrow."

I watched the copy I had found on Dr. McCoy's computer and copied over to my own portable drive. Seeing Khan laugh, smile, get concerned over the Captain was just… It was almost too much to take in.

"Please stop…" A little voice whispered to me. I shook it off, laughing quietly and watching as Khan and the Captain kissed.

"Oh, please. Khan is missing and the last person to see him was the Captain. You want to find him or not." I said, retrieving something from my pocket.

"Of course I do, you know that… But you stole these files…" The small voice said.

"That doesn't matter you coward." I growled. "What matters is getting enough information to confront the great James T. Kirk."

"Okay…" I smiled, flipping open the silver blade and stroking the cool metal.


Alright, first chapter finished! Thank you for reading, I really hope you enjoy, please review and tell me what you think :D!