AN and Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek.

So I should be in bed, but I got on a writing kick and couldn't stop. Good thing I don't have to do too much tomorrow! So enjoy and please leave reviews!

Chapter Ten: Promises

Spock glanced down at the figure laying in his arms, still sound asleep. The more time that he spent with her, the more he fell in love with her.

Soon after Vulcan had been destroyed, his mother killed and Nero defeated, Spock had come to the conclusion that he needed Uhura in his life more than anything else. She had become, for lack of better phrase, his rock. She was now the most stable thing in his life. While it normally wasn't logical for Vulcans to express their love for each other, Spock had been surprised when his father expressed his love for his mother to him shortly after her death. Perhaps that was his father's way of acknowledging that he believed that his son would make the correct choices in his own life – even if those choices weren't always logical.

And that led him to his next decision. He had to tell Uhura what he felt about her with words instead of actions.

It had been almost two weeks since the Enterprise had gone into dry dock for upgrades. Almost every night since then, Uhura and Spock had spent it together – either in his quarters or hers. It didn't bother him that they never left the Enterprise during the entire time. And it certainly didn't seem to bother Uhura any, since she willingly stayed behind with him.

Each night that they spent together was better then the last – but that was only his opinion. Yet, it was only logical that Uhura enjoyed just as much thanks to her reactions.

In his arms, Uhura stirred slightly before slowly opening her eyes. She glanced up at him and smiled.

"Good morning. I hope that you slept well," Spock said, kissing her forehead softly.

"Mhmm," she said sitting up and stretching. "I always sleep well in your arms."

Uhura tried to stand up from the bed and head into the bathroom to change into her uniform for the day, but Spock quickly pulled her back against him. She looked at him in shock. Never in the entire time, that they had been an unofficial and official couple – both at the Academy and aboard the Enterprise – had Spock done anything like that.

"I just need to tell you something," he softly said, looking away from her. He still was unsure about expressing his feelings towards anyone.

Uhura put her hand against his cheek and turned his head back towards her. "What is it Spock?"

"I…I love you, Nyota…" he stumbled out in a jumbled sentence.

Uhura smiled softly as him as she leaned forward and gently kissed his lips. "I love you too," she whispered back.

The couple spent another few minutes in silence before preparing for the rest of the day. It was their last day with a skeleton crew before everyone else began to return. There was no telling who exactly would be returning to the Enterprise since she was scheduled to depart.

Both Spock and Uhura had signed on for full time basis. So had Dr. McCoy, Scotty, Chekhov and Sulu. That was the majority of the senior crew – but there were a few positions still opened, including Chief Intelligence Officer.

Good things come to those who wait.

And Jim Kirk had waited a long time for some things.

He had waited almost 22 years to find where he truly belonged in the galaxy.

Then he had to wait another 3 years before he finished his studies at the Academy.

He also had to wait two times before resulting to cheating on the Kobayashi Maru test. Technically he didn't have to wait to cheat on the test, it was just that he didn't believe in 'no-win scenarios'. Besides, he still argues with Spock that the test was a cheat no matter how much the Vulcan argued against it.

And as a result of all this waiting, he was now the youngest captain in the history of Starfleet. His place in the history books was evident because of his age. But how would he be remembered with the likes of such men as Zefram Cochrane, Admiral Jonathan Archer and even Admiral Christopher Pike? Only time would tell.

He couldn't wait.

Yet, there was one thing that was making him rethink his entire choice of careers. It was the one thing that he had been waiting for over 10 years. He had always thought that it would be his first and hopefully only no win situation in life, but again good things come to those who wait.

And Callie was definitely a good thing.

The last few days had gone by in a blur. From Callie's revelation about her past to him realizing just how much of a screw up he still was, Kirk wasn't sure where the time had gone. Not that he was complaining, because he wasn't. He just wished he had a few more days with Callie before he had to return to the Enterprise, while Callie was reassigned somewhere – either for Intelligence Ops or something like that. Hell, he wasn't sure if she could even tell him where she was being reassigned. He knew that she had been given her assignment during her debriefing a few days ago, while he had received his most up to date crew manifest. He had noticed that the Chief Intelligence Officer position was still opened. He had been tempted to request that Callie be put into that position, but the person he would have to make the request to would be Admiral Pike. It would just be too weird to ask your boss, who also happens to be your girlfriend's father, to place her on the Enterprise.

Girlfriend…

That brought a smirk to his face. Callie had been his last true girlfriend and here he was dating her again. He had been weary about asking her out in the first place since she and Thomas had recently broken up. Yet, he had to. He couldn't risk the chance of someone snatching her while he was gone.

"What's so funny?" Callie asked, glancing at Kirk as they walked from the restaurant where they had just had dinner towards the little bit of nearby beach.

"Just thinking about your reaction a few days ago when I asked you out," he answered, pulling her against him and wrapping his arm gently around her. While her shoulder was healed and bruises were almost gone, he was still worried about internal bleeding and hurting her wrist even more than it was plus her ribs were still healing too.

"Hey! Me saying 'bullshit' was completely reasonable due to your background with Starfleet women. Then I realized you were serious."

Kirk chuckled as he kissed the top of her head as they continued to walk. Neither of them really said much, instead they simply enjoyed being with each other. They had talked enough the last few days about anything and everything.

After a few more minutes, they made it to the beach and found some rocks to sit on. Kirk sat down first then pulled Callie against him. Once she was seated, he gently wrapped his arms around her.

Immediately they both turned their eyes upwards. Kirk sighed into Callie's hair as he glanced in the direction of Starbase 1, where the other woman in his life, the U.S.S. Enterprise, was waiting for his return.

"You'll see her tomorrow," Callie said.

"Yeah but you won't be there."

"Jim, we talked about this." Callie said turning to look at him in the dark. She leaned forward and placed her forehead against his. "It's not forever. We'll make this work."

"Its just that I got you back and I don't want to let go."

"Like I said before, we'll make this work."

Kirk didn't say anything else as he gently kissed Callie's lips before kissing her deeper with the second one. Just like their first kiss when they were 16, each kiss they now shared ignited that fire within each of them. It was almost as if they were two halves of one soul.

Good things do come to those who wait.

Most nights, Christopher Pike was home at a reasonable hour. But not tonight. Late meetings, lots of paperwork had kept him at the Academy late. And tonight of all nights, he hadn't wanted to get back late. It was the last night that Callie was going to be home before departing for her new assignment.

That meant Kirk would be leaving too. It wasn't like Pike had anything against the Enterprise captain; it was just that he was uncertain about Kirk's intentions. He knew that Callie and Kirk had been close – even dated – a bit back in Riverside. But what now?

His daughter had just broken up with her boyfriend of two years.

Good. He never liked Thomas anyways. There was just something about him that Pike didn't trust. And he wasn't the only Starfleet officer that felt that way. That was one of the reasons why he had never moved up from teaching.

But was Kirk right for Callie?

While Pike was musing over his thoughts, he stumbled upon a scene that he wasn't prepared for.

Lying curled up together on the living room couch was Callie and Kirk – both of them were fast asleep, wrapped up in a blanket. Kirk held Callie close to him in a protective embrace with his head nestled just above hers. And for once, Callie had a smile on her face – even if she was sleeping.

Perhaps Pike was wrong about Kirk. Maybe he was right for Callie.

Christopher Pike stood back in the shadows of the main hanger watching the tender scene before him. Kirk and Callie stood close together, with Kirk's forehead against hers – obviously whispering something to her before kissing her goodbye for the time being. Callie stood by and watched his transport take off from the hanger and head towards Starbase 1.

The entire scene brought a small smile to his face. He knew that Kirk and Callie had gotten back together. He had discovered that the night before.

Thank God.

While Pike trusted Kirk to command a star ship, dating his daughter was a completely different matter. Ever since Natalia died and Christopher, Jr. had gone missing, Callie came before anything else. Even Starfleet. Yet he knew that she could handle her own in a tight situation – that was one reason why Starfleet Intelligence had recruited her.

Thankfully, her new assignment was aboard a ship and not in covert ops. And it was on a ship that he knew and trusted.

"You didn't tell him did you?" he asked, emerging from the shadows and walking towards his daughter.

She turned towards him with a smile on her face. "Nope."

The father and daughter began to walk out of the hanger towards the ground transport that was waiting to take Callie home for just a few hours before she was to depart.

"Does he think that you are going back to the U.S.S. Obama?"

"Yup."

Pike chuckled. "Be sure to let me know his reaction," he said stopping in front of the transport for Callie. He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her cheek. "And be careful. Also make sure that Scotty doesn't try to beam Porthos to some planet. I know that the Admiral will be beyond upset if that were to happen."

Callie laughed. "I'll make sure of it," she said kissing his cheek and hugging him back. "I love you daddy."

"You too sweetpea," he said as he watched her get into the transport.

Pike couldn't help but smile as he watched Callie leave. Part of him had been hesitant about letting her go back to serve on a starship, but as long as it was the U.S.S. Enterprise then he was fine with it. Besides Callie had earned it.