Winona found her way to the room Phil has directed her to. Sure enough, when she peeked in, she saw Chris deep in conversation with Number One. At first glance it looked like a normal work conversation between two officers, but the fact he was holding her hand gave their true interests away.
"It's about time," she muttered to herself, before clearing her throat to warm them of her presence.
They looked up, but Number One didn't withdraw her hand, which greatly surprised Winona since her Captain was known for being extremely private. She must have been really relieved to see Chris alive again.
"Well, well, Admiral. I see you're looking chipper," she observed. Made any nurses cry yet today?"
"No, as a matter of fact," Chris answered with a lopsided grin. "I've been thoroughly threatened by Dr. McCoy and staying on my best behavior. Besides, One here is pretty good at taking my mind off previous petty annoyances. Been getting a good update on the Yorktown's travels."
"Mmh-Hmm," Winona hummed, knowing it was not One's mission reports that had him so cheery. Those two had been living in denial for way too long and she was relieved to see they'd actually quit pretending they weren't head over heels for each other.
"Jimmy conked out on me, my poor tired baby, so I've come to hang out with you instead."
"By all means, do so," he said, waving an arm hospitably. "I imagine you have some questions about all this."
"Yeah, I do," she admitted. "Like how in the world did Marcus pull the wool over everyone's eyes like that? It was a huge endeavor to hide so thoroughly."
"He was a master manipulator," Chris sighed. "He had quite a few other Admirals in on it and helping cover it up. It was a brilliantly executed scheme. Who knows what might have happened if he hadn't pushed Khan to the breaking point? We'd probably be at war already. Your son did us all proud by standing up to him in the face of utter obliteration. Kid's got guts, that's for sure."
He sounded very proud of his protege and Winona's heart warmed at the confirmation the two were so close even after the Nibiru mess.
"As annoyed as I was when you recruited him, I have to admit it's been the best thing for him," she admitted. "I just wish he hadn't inherited the whole noble self-sacrificing trait."
"He wouldn't be a good captain without it," Number One reminded her. "But I agree, it is very stressful caring for those with said tendencies."
She looked pointedly at Chris, who looked slightly apologetic.
"Pot meet kettle," the Admiral challenged. "Don't think I've forgotten how you took a phaser blast meant for me and nearly died on Vega III, or when you volunteered to be sacrificed to the Borxan's god when I was the one who accidentally committed the desecration."
"As we Now know, those incidents were motivated by far more than a sense of duty, Admiral," One responded. Somehow she made his title sound as affectionate as if she'd called him sweetheart, which Winona knew was something that would never happen in public.
Chris shot his former XO a very loving smile and Winona couldn't help but sigh.
"You two are adorable," she declared. "But anyway, thank you for taking Jim under your wing and putting up with him. He's very good at testing boundaries and patience as I well know."
"You're welcome. I'm hoping that our doctors will see fit to allow a face to face talk one of these days. Screens just don't cut it."
"I agree," Winona said decisively. "But How is your own recovery going?"
"Slower than I'd like," Chris admitted, "but I don't dare complain because when I do McCoy gives me a ferocious scowl and proceeds to give a graphic description of what that phaser shot did to me and how I shouldn't even be alive. I've learned to stay on his good side."
"From What Jim's told me, that's a smart move," she answered, remembering Jim's many accounts of falling afoul of Leonard's instructions and the wrath and hypos that resulted. "We want you two stubborn men properly healed before you're let loose again."
"You can rest easy, Winona," Chris assured her, with a happy glance up at One. "I'm not going anywhere even if there were no force fields.
"Compelled by the power of love?" Winona suggested, a merry twinkle in her eye.
"You make it sound so soap opera," Chris retorted, "But Yeah, kinda like that."
"Your endless pining and denial made it very soap opera, thank you very much," she reminded him. "However, I'll save the smug gloating for another day. I need to hunt down McCoy and thank him profusely for bringing my son back to me. Oh, and Chris, thank you for what you've been to my son," she added, pausing and letting her true emotions show on her face. "You're not just Jim's recruiter, academic advisor, and superior, you're his hero."
She left Chris staring after her dumbly as these words sank in. Hero? Really? That seemed a blatant exaggeration to him. All he'd tried to do was help guide Jim along a bit. Hmm, well, it was nice to know he'd had a positive impact on the kid. He'd been horribly afraid he'd bungled it up big time.