Hello lovelies! Here it is; the final chapter! I am writing an EPILOGUE to round it all off so it's not quite the end just yet, there is some cuteness yet to come! As ever, I hope you have enjoyed my story and liked my little Khan/Uhura trilogy! I am so overwhelmed by the love you have shown me, and have loved writing for you all. I do have an idea for a new K/U fic! I will be writing it as a one shot, rather than in chapters as I don't have the time to maintain regular updates, but desperately want to keep writing! You haven't read the last of my works yet... :)


Nyota had been allowed to sleep in her own bed in the quarters she shared with Khan following the birth of their daughter. Her c-section had no complications, and her system had responded kindly to the small transfusion of Khan's blood. McCoy had declared her fit enough to leave, but had ordered her back first thing in the morning for a check over.

Nyota strode happily into MedBay, being congratulated by the doctors and nurses as she made her way over to Bones.

"How was your first night?" He asked, a small expectant smirk twitching at the corner of his lips.

"Pleasantly uneventful." Nyota told him. McCoy tutted.

"It's not parenthood unless they're keeping you up all night!" He joked.

"Well she did wake up once and have a bit of a wail; but she had a feed and then went straight back to sleep until the morning!"

McCoy was scanning her and checking over her stomach. "Well I hope she starts kicking up more fuss; I'd like to see her giving you two the run around." He smiled.

"She'll have plenty of years to get to that." Nyota mused, the thought blossoming in her mind.

She had been so wrapped up in the present moment, holding their daughter for the first time, becoming parents, that she hadn't had a chance to envision the future. How their little girl was going to grow up; they'd have to teach her to walk and to talk, all the ways of the world as they watch her grow into a unique little person.

"Well, you're vitals and levels are fine, and your surgical wounds are healing nicely thanks to Khan's blood. I'd say your good to go and focus on being a momma." He said, helping her back to her feet. "You come straight to me if you have any problems, you or the baby."

"Thanks Bones." She hugged him. He was surprised by her gesture, but returned it. "For everything."

"My pleasure, Uhura."

Getting back to her quarters, Nyota fell in love with the sight she was greeted with.

Khan was sat cross-legged on the bed, pillows propped up behind him, wearing a soft grey t-shirt and black sweatpants, with their daughter cradled in his left arm. His right index finger was being firmly gripped by a tiny hand as he spoke softly to the little girl, who was gurgling occasionally, as if in reply to his conversation.

"I thought of a name." Nyota whispered, stood just inside the doorway, transfixed by the serenity before her. Khan met her gaze, inquisitive.

"Nirvanah." She said softly. "The Buddhists described it as the ultimate goal; freedom, the cessation of suffering."

"Often know as heaven on earth…" Khan murmured, looking at the child again.

"She is our piece of heaven, an end to all we have suffered through." Nyota sat on the bed, her hand reaching to touch Khan's and the little fingers that still gripped his.

"I like it." Khan smiled. "Nirvanah."

xxxx

Khan had forced himself to stop cuddling Nirvanah and attend to his duties. Nyota loved to see how his love and protective nature was extending to their daughter. Khan kissed Nyota, and spared a moment to plant a kiss on their daughter's delicate forehead before he left.

Nyota sat on the bed, her knees drawn up slightly to her chest so she could lay the baby on her thighs to face her. Nirvanah watched her with large, glossy blue eyes, both her little hands grasping Nyota's.

It felt like a dream. She was a mom. This little baby resting on her legs; her tiny hands and feet, perfect tiny features and trusting gaze was all hers. Hers and Khan's. The very essence of them.

"I hope you know how adored you are." She whispered to Nirvanah. "How much me and your daddy love you, how we have fought for you." Nyota beamed at her and she gurgled.

Khan hadn't been gone two minutes before there was an alert at her door. She asked the computer to open it and in stepped Scotty and Kirk, both smiling timidly.

"You don't mind if we ambush you for a couple 'a minutes, do you?" Scotty asked.

"Of course not! Come and say hello." Nyota smiled.

"She's a right wee one!" The engineer smiled as they approached the bed, Nyota gestured for them to sit with her.

Kirk smiled and tickled the baby's foot. "Still can't believe I'm an uncle already. I feel too young." He teased her, Nyota laughed.

"Would you like to hold her?" She asked, his eyes widened as he smiled.

"Yeah, I would!"

Carefully, Uhura passed Nirvanah over to Kirk's arms. The child wriggled in response to the movement and being passed to a stranger. She did not cry, simply watched him, mesmerised.

"I'm your uncle Jim." He told her, "I'm gonna teach you how to do all the bad stuff so you can drive your mom and dad nuts."

Nyota giggled and momentarily moved her hands to cover the baby's tiny ears. "No don't taint her! She's too young!"

"Have you chosen a name for her yet?" Scotty asked. Nyota nodded, straightening the blanket.

"Nirvanah."

"How heavenly." Kirk smiled, recognising the meaning.

"That's a lovely name, lass." Scotty agreed, holding his hands out to Kirk. "C'mon then, don't hog her! I wanna cuddle too before our duties start!"

Kirk reluctantly let Scotty hold Nirvanah.

"Ah, you gotta breathe in that baby smell." He smiled, holding the baby up so he was face to face with her.

"What?" Nyota laughed.

"The smell o' youth!" He told them. "Only babies have that smell."

Her friends stayed as long as they could before they had to report to their stations for work. Nyota thought of her work as she placed a now sleepy Nirvanah on the big pillows next to her. She grabbed her PADD off the desk and went over the reports she had missed from the last few days. Her work from Orcus felt like a completely different life compared to everything that was happening now; the baby and the current demise of the Admiral's Starfleet Career on Earth.

The computer on the wall before her signalled an alert message. She got up off the bed to read it. It was from Keats on the bridge.

Private transmission coming through from General Wells. Khan is on his way. Yours to initiate when ready.

Nyota pushed a button on the console and opened the transmission on the screen.

"Hello Lieutenant." The General smiled.

"Hello sir." She replied, her attention turning to the door as Khan strode into the room.

"General." He greeted him, joining Nyota at the screen.

"I believe I'm looking at Starfleet's newest parents, am I not?"

"You are." Nyota smiled as Khan walked over to the bed and gently lifted a sleeping Nirvanah off the pillows, bringing her to the screen.

"Her name is Nirvanah." Khan told him.

"She is just lovely." He smiled.

"We know." Nyota said, kissing the baby's head. "We could never have let that Admiral anywhere near her." She whispered, the idea of that reality still haunted her.

"And you won't ever have too." The General commented. "All his crimes have been brought to the attention of the Fleet and a deciding tribunal took place last night; he has been stripped of his rank and had his position in Starfleet is officially terminated."

Nyota gasped with delighted incredulity. "You're serious?!"

"Absolutely."

Nyota squealed and kissed Khan, carefully avoiding disrupting the baby. She calmed herself a little.

"So who is the new Admiral for the region?" She asked.

"You're looking at him."

"Congratulations, Admiral!" Khan smiled, "It's about time they put you somewhere more useful."

"How is the operation coming along?" He asked Khan, changing the subject. "You've been at Orcus for nearly a year now."

"I believe our mission is coming to an end." Khan told him. "Whilst the planet is scientifically fascinating, I think that it will be of little use to us. It's rather too small to inhabit, it's winter season is deathly harsh, and the entire planet is alive with intelligence."

"I've seen the reports. I didn't quite believe them at first if I'm honest."

"Neither did we." Uhura pitched in. "It's been extraordinary to see and study how a planet can be so interconnected with its wildlife."

"The interconnectivity gives the whole planet the upper hand from a hostile standpoint; and there are many intelligent hostile creatures. They, along with some of the planets biological toxins, are what were responsible for the deaths of the two-hundred Starfleet personnel. Trying to establish any sort of on-the-surface utility outpost here would be a death trap. The creatures would learn its workings in a matter of days and render it useless."

Admiral Wells listened, studying information from a PADD he held on the desk in front of him as he contemplated what he was reading.

"Starfleet has received all the data you have managed to gather and can decide where and what they want to continue to study in depth. You've answered Starfleets initial question, so I think it's time to call it in." He announced. "No more gathering new data, tie up your loose ends and I expect all reports to be finished and transmitted by the end of the week. I will schedule your return time with the Starship Dock, and see you back on Earth on Saturday."

Nyota and Khan shared a smile. A chapter had ended, and a new one would be beginning.

"Well done, Khan." Wells added, "To you and your entire crew. We'll meet for a mission de-brief when you return."

"Very well. Thank you Sir."

The transmission terminated and Nyota sighed.

"I can't believe it." She smiled, gazing softly into the distance, "That asshole ex-Admiral is gone! We're going back to Earth! No one is trying to sabotage us!" A giggle poured out of her and tears welled in her eyes.

"I love you." Khan said. Nyota met his gaze, gently touching the baby in his arms, she smiled.

"I love you too. Both of you."

xxxx

"Forgive me." A voice cleared from the other side of the room, "I hope I am not intruding."

Nyota lifted the baby up from the table in their room where she had just finished changing her, and turned to see Spock in the doorway.

"Spock, I invited you. You're not intruding, just punctual as always." She offered him a smile as the baby nestled into her neck and she crossed the room to him.

Spock observed her, eyes moving between her and Nirvanah. In theory, her asking Spock to come and meet the baby was a kind gesture, after all he did in the end to help her, yet in reality, there was still a little awkwardness between them. Spock's eyes were deep wells of thought, he looked briefly emotional as he stood before her. She knew he was thinking about the child, and the possibility that in another life that could have been his child she was holding, because she had once thought of that possibility too.

"You appear very natural." Spock told her quietly.

"Well it's only day one," Nyota sighed, "And she's not crying."

"I know a crying child is not enough to disrupt your composure, Nyota." He said, "I am sure you handle her needs perfectly."

Nyota smiled, "Would you like to hold her?" Her words escaped her before she had a chance to contemplate them. Spock simply stood blinking. "I, um…" She fumbled, suddenly thinking perhaps it wasn't the best idea to offer…

"I would like to." He replied to her surprise.

Carefully she passed Nirvanah over to him in her bundle of blankets. The infant was half asleep, little eyelashes momentarily flickering as she watched the face of this new person, before deciding she was not in any danger and could return to dozing off.

"The name you have chosen is highly original." He said, his tone complimenting and gaze fixed on the baby. "And you will make a fine mother, Nyota."

She smiled, but it faded quickly. Nyota could see the reserve in his nature as he watched the child. "I'm not her only parent, though." She said quietly, trying to draw out what he was really thinking.

"No… Khan's parenting abilities are yet to be seen…" He said, contemplatively. Nyota felt a little saddened by his scepticism, after everything. "Although." He met her gaze, "I think so long as you are with him, he will be a most protective and intelligent father."

Nirvanah began to squirm, and Nyota quickly stepped out of her haze to take her from Spock again.

Their arms brushed as he handed the child back to her. She took a breath, "Having your friendship again would mean a lot to me…" She blinked back tears that threatened to appear. "I know after everything… but Khan and I are moving forward, with Nirvanah, with our lives…"

"I will always consider you my friend, Nyota, and I will always show caring for Nirvanah." Spock told her. "I cannot say what my standings with Khan will become, but I have no reason to conflict with him any longer." Nyota saw the peace he had made with himself, hard earned, and coming from a place that was difficult for Vulcans to express.

"Thank you, Spock."

xxxx

Khan made the end of mission announcement and the rest of the week was dedicated to finalising work and data that had been done over the course of the past year. An odd, excited anticipation dwelled throughout the ship and her crew members, the anticipation that accompanied returning home to earth after a time in space. Personnel happily remembered the little things they loved about their homes and their loved ones, gearing themselves up to be reunited with planet Earth once again.

Nyota had called upon Lieutenant Keats, who was more than thrilled to help out, to baby sit Nirvanah for a little while. There was something she had to do, something she finally could do, after so many years…

She sat in an empty analysis suite in the Transmissions room at a computer, and exhaled, trying to dispel some of her nerves. On screen was the personal transmission address of her parents house back on Earth. It had been almost five years since she sent them her goodbye at the end of 2259, before leaving for the Vengeance with Khan, before the start of the war. The amount of time that had passed between them knocked the breath out of her lungs. Her family would be changed people, for she was certainly a changed woman. Nyota did not know if contacting them again now would open the doors to making up for lost time, whether they would welcome their daughter back into their life with Khan, a man they only knew as a criminal, and with Nirvanah, a granddaughter they would not expect. The most she could do was try.

Time had escaped her as she found her stride in composing a message to her parents; there was so much that suddenly poured out of her, as if writing an honest memoir of everything that had happened over the past five years, everything she had thought, felt, seen and done. She allowed herself to acknowledge just how much she missed them, for too long had she pushed thoughts and memories of her family aside, to save herself of homesickness, but now it washed over her like a tsunami of nostalgia and love.

She had been away nearly two hours when she finally got back to her quarters. She wiped her eyes as she walked through the door, trying to settle the onslaught of emotions she was feeling so she could apologise to Keats for keeping her from her duties for so long, but was relieved to find Khan with the baby instead.

Khan was stood, gently swaying from side to side as he held Nirvanah in his arms, feeding her a bottle of formula milk and quietly humming something to her. Nyota felt herself welling up again, but smiled instead as he looked to her. He noticed her emotion filled expression.

"What's wrong, my love?" He asked as she stepped towards him, "Keats told me you had gone to transmissions? Is everything alright?"

Nyota sat on the bed and took a breath, "Yeah, everything is good." She told him, "I contacted my parents again." Khan sat next to her with the baby, "Now that we're finally safe… I hadn't realised how long it had been."

"What did you tell them?" He asked softly.

"Everything." She replied, "The truth about us and what happened before our cryostasis sentencing, they would have only heard lies from the media news. I told them the truth about you, and finally, about our Nirvanah." She said, caressing the baby's head. "I expressed my hopes to at least hear from them again, but I don't know if I will."

"I am sure you will." He comforted her, putting down the bottle of milk Nirvanah was now rejecting and wrapping his free arm around Nyota's shoulder. "You're their daughter; we would never turn away our daughter, even if she got herself in trouble with a man and disappeared for nearly five years."

"See, that sounds awful… I'd be so mad at her."

Khan chuckled and looked down at Nirvanah.

"No you wouldn't… you would not be able to sustain anger at her for more than five seconds."

Nyota smiled. "You're right." She gazed at the baby and sighed. "Then I hope my parents are as forgiving, and I hope they can love you two as much I as do."

xxxx

The sun shone brightly on Earth and San Francisco's Intelligence Base landing ground. Goodbyes with the crew and personnel were harder than expected, and Nirvanah received more love than she would ever know what to do with. Nyota made promises to everyone that she would keep them up to date with Nirvanah's growth, and that they were open to visitors anytime, once they had figured out where they would be living and raising their daughter.

"We can't stay here…" Nyota worried mildly as she stood in the centre of their tiny Starfleet studio apartment, cuddling Nirvanah.

"No worrying." Khan said, turning to her and kissing away the lines on her forehead. "I have a place in mind that would be more than adequate… so long as you don't mind leaving San Francisco with me?"

Nyota thought. "For our family, with you…" She smiled, leaning up to place a kiss on his lips. "I'll go anywhere."


Final Note: I am aware that the usual spelling of the baby's name is 'Nirvana' without the 'H', but I wanted to make it different/unique. I shall be posting an Epilogue, so although it is the end... it's not quite. Feel free to follow me on my Tumblr page (link on my profile), where I shall endeavour to post things. Much love to you my friend ~ Vanilla Jasmine :)