Epilogue

Leah and Jim didn't make any effort to avoid the insane amount of mistletoes which suddenly hung in the most frequented areas of the ship. When they entered the mess hall that evening everyone looked at them expectantly. Leah shrugged and leant in for a short kiss.

But Jim gave her one of his famous grins when he had a spontaneous and sometimes crazy idea – he suddenly dipped her Hollywood style.

The crew nearly freaked out. The applause and cheering was nearly deafening.

And the kiss was hot. Leah just held on to Jim until he brought her back on both feet. She felt dizzy for a moment and was flushed.

But instead of letting exasperation show or giving some of her usual remarks, she suddenly smirked at him. "I'm starved. I'm thinking about three courses since I had nothing to eat since breakfast.", she said and headed to the counter in order to pick out some food.

Jim blinked, slowly following her. "But that…" He looked after her in disbelieve. "… will take forever…"

Leah didn't turn. She just smiled victoriously to herself. She knew that he wanted that kiss to be an innuendo for a quick meal and a long dessert in his quarters. But she decided to get back on him a little for that kind of kiss in public.

Well, she would make up for it later of course.

This kiss wasn't the only one in public area on the ship until they reached Risa the next day. Mistletoes in Medbay, on the bridge and again in the mess hall gave the crew some entertainment. And besides Jim and Leah a lot of other people had to kiss.

The last mistletoe waited in the transporter room.

"Oh, what the hell…" Leah mumbled.

Jim grinned, when she slid her arm around his neck, pulling him into a kiss in the middle of the transporter platform.

"Energize", the doctor ordered and gave him a second quick kiss before the golden lights engulfed them. "But the mistletoes better be gone when we come back."

They materialized in a nice little house at a beautiful private beach where they spend the remaining time until the New Year's Eve Party. Jim almost bailed on the party. He would have rather stayed in bed with Leah.

But she didn't allow that. Not even his tempting plan of making her orgasm the moment when the clock would strike midnight could change her mind. She insisted of going to the party his mother had planned.

So, they went, dressed up nicely.

Jim had his right hand on the small of Leah's back when they entered the party. The room was already buzzing with people. But Winona Kirk saw the couple the moment they walked in.

"Jim! Leah!" She practically ran to them, pulled her son in a tight embrace and did the same with Leah. "I'm glad you're here." She laughed. "But I can imagine you would have rather stayed at that cozy little place."

"Yes", Jim admitted, while Leah said "No" in the same moment

Jim kept grinning, Leah rolled her eyes.

Winona grinned. "All I and your crew want is having you here for a few hours and midnight. You can head back right after." She sighed happily. "It's so great being able to spend New Year's Eve with you, Jim. I wanted that for years."

She studied the couple. Jim was having an arm around Leah's waist and the doctor relaxed against his side. "And seeing how happy the two of you are, is wonderful."

Jim smiled, but almost feared some remarks about an engagement or even more.

"Come on, get some Champaign or something to eat", Winona said instead and looked at Leah again. "And maybe us women can chat later. It's the first time Jim has a serious girlfriend and someone I can talk to."

Jim rolled his eyes. "Mom…"

She chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, I won't embarrass you, Jim. I just want to enjoy having both of you here."

Leah shrugged and later talked with Winona for a while. Jim's mother was of course curious about a lot of things and dropped hidden hints about family and the future. But Leah caught everything and replied completely vague and neutral. She herself also wondered about some of those things. But the relationship was too new for answers. For now the doctor just wanted to have the best New Year's Eve in years.

Jim watched them from afar. Part of him was a little scared of having his mother more or less interrogation his girlfriend. The other part was glad they were getting along so well.

Right before midnight, Jim took Leah's hand and led her to a small balcony. The doors were open and they stepped into the cool air.

"Are you enjoying the party?" Leah asked.

"Yeah… it's good we went here."

They listened to someone counting down the last seconds to midnight and slowly gravitated to each other. Their lips met the moment everyone inside called "Happy New Year!"in unison and some fireworks started in the sky over the Risan capital.

The picture of them smiling at each other full of love Winona Kirk snapped of them a moment later, ended up in a frame on her desk. It was to be accompanied the following years by a wedding picture and photos of her grandchildren.