Yay! One more chapter to go till the end of Similarities! The inspiration and some of the lines for this chapter came from Penn Flinn's 'It Goes On'. Yes, I'm still quite sad reading that story. My story won't even form without it. I'm quite thankful of the great stories written in this community in turn granting me the inspiration.

Thank you Starsinger once again for the beta. Thanks for the encouragement.

Star Trek does not belong to me.

Chapter 14: Mission

"Oh my god! Are you out of your Vulcan mind to accept the five-year mission? It's five years in space! Five years of god-knows-what-is-going-to-happen-in-space," Lieutenant Commander, Leonard McCoy was yelling at his soon-to-be Captain after their meeting with Admiral Archer. As soon as the Enterprise was rechristened, they were ready to fly.

Scotty who was usually chatty followed quietly as this was not the first time he tried to interfere and got badly burned by the emotional doctor and the stoic captain. It was hard to be stuck between them. He'd really rather not takes side. Soon, he would have company as Sulu and Chekov would be promoted one rank up each on their performance in the Wrath of Vengeance. Sulu would be the next in line in becoming First Officer whether he chose to be onboard Enterprise or posted elsewhere. What Scotty did not know that that man was a lot smarter than he seemed to be. He would be able to evade them.

"Remind me not to piss you off, Mr Sulu," Was what McCoy had told Scotty.

Spock did not respond to him walking quickly as an exasperated McCoy could keep up while trying to instill his words into his mind.

"If this is the case, you leave me no choice but to jump ship, Commander," McCoy said finally. He could not afford to leave Joanna at this juncture. Joanna was finally recovering from the ordeal and McCoy wished to stay with her and also to watch her grow up to a confident teen.

"Hey! Are you serious? The Enterprise needs you. What about Dr. Marcus? Have you spoken to her?" Scotty finally spoke up.

"Starfleet has a pool of competent doctors. It does not have to be me. M'Benga can do the job," McCoy replied in a serious tone when Scotty realised that he was not kidding, "I will inform Carol myself but I will not stop her from joining ya'll on this mission. My mind is made up. I will send you a formal request, future Captain," the doctor finished and walked off in a huff. Scotty watched Dr. McCoy left and turned back to his Commander.

"Are you going to say anything?" Scotty asked.

The only reply he received was, "It is what he would have done." Spock walked in the opposite direction leaving the bewildered Chief Engineer alone, enlightened by the same words he heard about one year ago.

"What have you done again, Jim?" Scotty wondered.

McCoy returned to his quarter. Joanna was not at home as Carol had taken her out to play. McCoy leaned on the back of the door heaving a sigh. He knew he was being unreasonable as it was their job as explorers to explore strange new world, to boldly go where no one has gone before. He was definitely sure that Jim would have accepted this mission and came to bug him excitedly as soon as he received the order. He had wanted so much to go on adventures despite McCoy's reluctance, fearing that they would blow up in space. Five years for god sake. How was he able to survive this?

"You both have so many stories to live out there...

...And take care of each other." echoed in his mind. He slid down the door he was leaning on as he shut it with a click. He knew that by asking for a transfer he would be letting Jim down. He would be breaking his promise to take care of that hobgoblin and neither the hobgoblin could fulfill his promise to "take care" of him. It was an extremely difficult decision to make and he had chosen to break his promise as Joanna needed her daddy.

"I'm sorry, Jim."

McCoy dropped his mask as a man and broke down in tears once more.

There were many requests of transfer in and out during the window period to be expected as they prepared for a mission of a prolonged duration. Many those who did not have family to worry about remained on the ship and those young, single, unburdened and newly graduated applied to join the mission while the rest dropped out of the mission.

What McCoy should have expected, Carol was still one step ahead of him. She submitted her request for transfer as soon as orders for the five-year mission had been passed down. She foresaw that McCoy would not able to participate and she would stay behind with him. Even if they were to be transferred to different ships, they would still be able to meet during their shore leaves. Most importantly, she would miss him.

"Are you sure about that? I don't want to hinder your future," McCoy questioned Carol for her true desire. "If you want to go, I won't force you to stay. It is once-in-a-lifetime-chance; there might not be such opportunities again depending on the adventures the Enterprise would go through. And you are still young at twenty-six; won't you want to go on an adventure rather than sticking with a middle-age man like me?"

"Did you think I have never given a thought to my future? After going through thick and thin with you and with Joanna for the past few months, sorting out my feelings with Ambassador Spock's advice, I had realised what I really want. I know I'm going to regret it if I give up on you now," Carol explained her rationale for staying. "I want you to understand that I'm not a mindless woman who just follows her husband's orders blindly," she grabbed his arms and urged him to look at her. Her eyes were firm and unwavering. Finally McCoy relented and took her into his arms. He was touched, he really was.

"Did I hear you inferring me as your husband?"

"No, you heard it wrongly."

"Really?" Their lips met and the couple drowned into their kisses.

McCoy's concern was about to be taken care of.

"Hey, you got to be kidding me? Someone put up an adoption request to adopt my girl? Jo is not an orphan. I'm not dead and my ex-wife, her mother is having fun somewhere with another guy to a god-know-where-it-is." McCoy exclaimed in dismay.

"I'm not kidding you. I'm surprised myself too." Admiral Komack raised his voice to match his volume. Komack clasped his hands and looked at McCoy closely. "I heard that you had decided not to join the five-year mission, am I right? And your daughter was your very concern of staying."

McCoy nodded, "Yes sir!" He replied in respect. "All due respect, I believe you are aware what my girl had been through for the past few months. I can't just leave her. It's my responsibility to stay with her and which father does not wish to watch his girl growing up to be a young woman? What if she doesn't recognise me after five years when I'm back from the long journey?" McCoy chose his words carefully even though he was thinking of using metaphors to describe his mind.

"Which is why I'm hoping you will put her up for adoption so that she would have someone to watch over her. You are a valuable asset to Starfleet and I believe you are going to do great things out there. Are you aware that there was a surge in medical breakthrough in the medical field by other practitioners inspired by your willingness to try out unconventional method and untested medical theory even though it may not have been successful all the time," the admiral looked him into the eyes sincerely. "I wouldn't boast about it. Even though you are not able to preserve Captain Kirk's life, your effort was commended. I'm sure Kirk would have been happy if you joined the mission and I'm pretty sure your little princess would be proud of her father or achieving something others couldn't."

McCoy looked down in shame. He wished he could have done more.

"Think about it. I won't force you into a decision," The admiral gave him a pat on his back and smiled. "Want to get a drink? My treat!"

"Sure why not?" McCoy accepted the admiral's invitation.

And as it was, Cadet George Samuel Kirk was the one who put up the request. McCoy, Carol, and Joanna were sitting face-to-face with him and his fiancée, Aurelan. Aurelan was a petite and slim girl and was well-mannered brought up in the typical normal family.

"I'm thirty this year, a fully grown adult, financially stable with a loving wife-to-be and fully capable of taking care of your girl and giving her a family life when you are away on your adventure," Sam made his proposal as he place his arms over his fiancée. "I thought you may need that when I heard the order passed down. I still have two to three years in the Academy and perhaps an extra year for a Masters in Biology. Yes, I had decided that I will be a blue shirt like both of you. Most importantly, Joanna is agreeable," he turned to the little girl who smiled and nodded in agreement.

"I don't want to get in the way and bother my Daddy when he goes on honeymoon with Mommy! The longest honeymoon in record," Joanna said excitedly.

"Come!" Sam did a high-five with Joanna to McCoy's dismay. They had collaborated behind him and Carol. Carol cupped her mouth in surprise. Her face was as red as tomato.

"Go for it! Being able to do something with someone you loves in all areas of life are rare," Aurelan exclaimed excitedly. "Too bad I'm not as smart as George," Aurelan pouted only to have Sam poking her on her nose with her tongue stuck out.

McCoy and Carol laughed at the sight of the lovers teasing each other.

"Sister Alice says he is afraid of Aunty Aurelan," Jo whispered to her father.

"NO WAY…" Sam stuttered, and he was fed a strawberry which he took it obediently.

"As a procedure, my full name will be released to you once you flew off. Mind you it is confidential."

"What?!"

"It's only right you know as I'll be your daughter's guardian for the next five years."

McCoy stared at the night scenery from his apartment balcony reflecting on the most reckless decision he ever made in life, to entrust his daughter to someone he only knew for mere months. Entrusting his sister was supposed to be better, but yet after the incident in Cerberus, he better not send her there again. His line of thought was broken by his girlfriend who hugged him from the back.

"Carol." He greeted taking her right hand and kissed it.

"Changing your mind?" She asked while burying her face on his back.

"I'm not sure if this is a right decision to make," McCoy admitted. He just felt that he could trust Cadet Sam. He was like a reliable elder brother even though McCoy was older in age. McCoy mused. He reminded him of Jim but this was the mature and reliable version of him. Carol pulled away and stared at McCoy's back. She was amazed that her boyfriend had the same sentiment. Even she saw Jim in Sam on the day when he rescued Joanna from the clutches of Lenore Karidian who had lost her mind. She thought it must be hallucination, a side effect from the phaser stun. She smiled and hugged back once more.

"Just think of how we are going to get that green blooded hobgoblin to accept our transfer. I bet he had A LOT to say."

As usual, all authors will love to see feedback on their stories and I'm no exception. Reviews are appreciated.