Sorry for the lack of updates. I've come to the decision that the next 2-4 chapters will be the final ones. Thank you so much or reading and being patient with waiting!

Time went by quickly as the Enterprise continued their search for the attacking ship. The relationship between Alice and Pavel grew more serious each and everyday, as they worked together on the bridge and slept in the same room. Over time, Alice moved the few belongings she had into Pavel's room.

"It's a lot more easier if I stay here, instead of leaving early in the morning to shower and change in my room," she said, setting her uniforms into the small closet.

Pavel agreed with her, admitting that it would be nice to have her around all the time. Their close friends on the bridge and in medical placed bets behind their backs on when a proposal would come or an offspring. Even though they were both so young, it was nice to see the young navigator smile everyday.

Coming off of a late shift, the young couple quietly walked back to their room. Once inside, they both shared a short shower and partially dressed for bed.

"The fact that Jim wont tell me anything about the ship is driving me nuts," Alice yawned, as she snuggled against the pillows. "Those people killed my friends and they almost killed me. I have a right to be part of their plan."

Pavel rolled onto his side, facing her. "Da, you do. But Kirk only vants to protect you, Alice," he said, taking her hand into his. "Eets not safe and ve don't know vhat they are capable of."

"What if they kill us?" she asked quietly.

Placing a kiss upon her knuckles, the teen pulled her close to him. "Ve vill be safe, Alice. The Captain knovs vhat he's doing." He then nodded, "Da?"

She nodded, "Yes."

Pavel kissed her softly and pulled the blankets up higher, "Go to sleep, lubov moya,"

….

"We think we have the coordinates to the ships location."

Jim stood by the Captain's chair, looking at all his officers the next morning. Scotty and Leonard were called up from their posts to hear this announcement. Alice paled at the though of approaching the ship that destroyed her own and nearly took out the Enterprise. It was Pavel, squeezing her hand, which kept her calm. Having him nearby made her feel safe.

"I've sent word to Starfleet and I should hear back from them soon," he continued, eyeing them all. "If approved, we will drop out of warp in their range and fire upon them."

Jim looked at Lavinia and saw how pale she was, and knew that he need to finish up is announcement quickly. It was hard enough that she would be onboard the ship when they would attack. Leonard made sure he understood that the event could possibly trigger memories from the last two attacks she encountered.

"I hope you have two navigators on deck to replace them when she has another nervous breakdown. Chekov won't let her out of his sight and you know that!"

"Until then," he nodded. "Report back to your stations until further notice."

The crew broke up and moved back to their work, as Jim sat down in his seat. Leonard swiftly made his way over to Alice and knelt down in front of her.

"Hey," he said softly. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Alice nodded, "Yeah," she said, a little too quickly for his liking. "Just.. he caught me off guard there for a moment."

Leonard nodded, "Jim tends to do that with a lot of people."

She managed a small laugh, "Guess I should get used to that, huh?" she asked.

The doctor chuckled, "You can try. But it'll be hard," he shrugged. "If you want to talk you can always come down to medical. I'm not saying this because I'm your CMO, but as your friend."

Friend.

The title was strange, given the fact that she had lost the few friends she had before. On the Enterprise, she considered herself close with so few. Hikaru, Nyota, Scotty. Jim was nice to her, but then again he was the Captain and it only seemed right that he would be nice to his crewmembers. Christine was a nice woman, though she mothered her too much. Conversations with Spock didn't get that far, since she could never understand what exactly he was asking her.

"Are you sure? I can't really picture you being all nice and friendly," she said.

Leonard chuckled and patted her arm, "Like I said," he stood up. "The offer still stands. Enjoy your shift, Alice."

Pavel turned slowly in his seat to look at her, "And make sure she eats lunch today, Chekov," the doctor warned.

He nodded quickly, slightly afraid of the doctor, especially after the contraception incident. Alice turned her seat around to face forward and glanced at Pavel, and shrugged.

…..

Later that evening, the teens laid in a sweaty heap under the sheets. Limbs twisted with one another and a deep flush covered their sweat-slicked bodies, as they laid in a post-romp haze.

"What's going to happen when we go home?" she asked, tracing a zig-zag pattern on his arm. "Where will you go?"

"Vhat do you mean?" he asked, watching her closely.

She shifted under the sheet, "Will you stay at the Academy? Or will you go back to Russia."

Pavel shrugged, "I do not know. Vhat about you?" he asked.

"I haven't really thought about it that much," she sighed. "But we'll probably get called back home after all of this. We should have some sort of plan as to what will happen to us."

Pavel nodded and they remained silent, too wrapped up in their thoughts.

"Ve can live together," he said quietly, her fingers coming to a halt on his skin. "Alice?"

He lifted his head up to look at her and saw her staring at him in the darkness, "Vhat? Should I have not said this?" he asked, suddenly worried.

Alice shook her head, "You'd want that?' she asked.

Pavel leaned over her, resting his hand against her hip and his lips against her damp skin. "I vant to be vith you," he whispered, kissing her shoulder. "Ve can live vherever you vant."

She laughed, "We can stay in San Francisco- in a little apartment," she whispered, as he kissed her other shoulder. "You and me."

"One day, ve vill get married and have lots of babies," he said, making her gasp. He moved back up to her face and pushed her hair way from his face.

Alice felt her eyes fill up with tears, "I love you."

Pavel brushed the stray tears with his thumb, "I love you, too," he said softly, before kissing her on the lips. "Alvays."