Jim woke before sunrise. The last night had been the most magical of his life. Caroline had agreed to become his wife in the next couple of weeks. After they had made love, she held him in her arms. He hadn't felt that calm and safe since she held him through his first night home after Kahn. When Cal held him, he wasn't alone, responsibility was no longer just his. At times he wondered if she really knew what she was taking on, then she held him and he knew Caroline McCoy more than understood what it would mean to be the wife of Captain James T. Kirk.

Sometime during the night she had moved and was now in his arms, naked, skin as soft as rose petals, and hair that smelled of honey. More than anything he wanted to spend the morning the way they were; but he knew that a couple of Louis's workers would be there to tend the horses, and having them find Cal and him naked in front of the fire would put a damper on the night's memories. "Honey." He kissed her shoulder. "Baby, we need to get back to the house." Malachite eyes sleepy peered up at him through thick coal black eyelashes. She snuggled in closer and closed her eyes again. Jim chuckled. "Louis's people will be here soon. I'm sure they will love this tableau."

'

With that her eyes snapped open. "Can we go back to sleep when we get to the house?"

"Definitely. I need a few hours more. Come on." Slowly they got up, dressed, and trudged through the snow to the house. Someone was up. Two figures moved around the kitchen as Jim opened the door. "Morning Nyota, Spock."

"You mean good night, we just got in. I wanted to grab a few things before we headed back to the house."

"We shall go grocery shopping tomorrow." Spock looked perplexed by his fiancé's need to have bananas when she woke. He thought they could do with what was in their pantry. There were times she was both illogical and impractical, but Len had taught Spock that it was best to not say anything and just go along.

"You mean today."

"Yes. Jim, may I speak with you?"

"Sure. Cal, can you take my jacket up?" He handed her his tux jacket and tie. Spock followed him into his office. "What is it Spock"

"I wanted to make sure you are still alright with preforming our ceremony. Nyota wants to begin finalizing our wedding plans."

"That was fast." Jim was laughing. "I am honored you want me. Spock, by the time we are on board ship again, we will all be married. I have a feeling some of us may even be parents." He wasn't sure, but he could swear the Vulcan went slightly green at the thought. Spock was slapped on the back before they left the office to meet the ladies in the foyer. "Good night you two. We'll see you sometime tomorrow?"

Nyota kissed him on the cheek. "Maybe we can all relax."

"That would be novel." Jim returned her kiss, then followed Cal up the stairs to their room. He watched Cal as she undressed. It was as if she could feel his eyes on her; every move was calculated to entice. The gown fell to the floor before she looked over her shoulder at her fiancé, then disappeared into the bathroom.

"I feel sticky. Thought I would take a shower before we got under the covers." Jim had stripped before joining her.

"Sometimes sticky is a good thing." He walked up behind her. As his hands found their way around her waist, his tongue was drug from her ear, down her neck, and to her shoulder. There he stopped to suck on her. He wanted to taste her. As he tasted the honey of her skin, she leaned her head back into him and pushed her ass against his rising erection. "Tell me what you want." His lips went to her neck.

"After our shower, I want to make you scream." Her fingers entwined with his.

"And then?"

"Then I want you to cum inside me."

"Two times. That might take a while." His voice was soft and dark. "I thought you were tired."

She pushed harder against him. "Not anymore." They stayed in the shower until they had cleaned every inch of their lover's body. After drying Jim walked to the bed. "No, go sit on the couch." Cal was in the mood to play.

Jim sat on the couch. He heard her rustling in the drawers behind him. Knowing Cal, she had been planning this. "Do you want me to do anything?" Jim always got a little nervous when he wasn't the one in control. If he wasn't in control, he at least wanted to know what was going on. Cal knew this and was purposely keeping him a little off balance.

"Close your eyes Captain." That was intriguing, intriguing and erotic. She had never called him captain before, at least not in the bedroom. Jim closed his eyes. He could feel her as she walked in front of him. Something soft was tied over his eyes. Then he could feel her breasts as they rested on his face. His tongue licked at both of them as she brought his hands around his back and tied them together. "There, now don't move."

She said she would make him scream. If that was to happen now was a good time, almost everyone was asleep and with how thick the walls were they wouldn't wake anyone. Also, he knew several of the couples had to have been up to their own fun and wouldn't care if they heard anything. Jim felt her hands move down his thighs and gently separate his knees. She licked up his left thigh slowly before wrapping her lips around his now still cock. His head fell to the back of the couch as he fought the urge to thrust; his arms were bound not allowing for him to have any control over the situation. God this was going to be a long morning.

Seri woke, she could feel Jim. Definitely needed to block that. It was early, Roscoe hadn't woken yet. Her mind reached out to the farm. The bonfire was over and almost everyone was asleep. They had come in late. Jo was in a deep sleep and Gil was… Seri had a wicked smile on her face. Finally, after all these years. Sarah was a great Yenta. Carefully she slipped out of bed. She wanted Len to sleep as long as possible. The new robe was fastened and the door clicked as silently as possible when she left their bedroom.

Dr. Seriana McCoy started to the back steps then stopped. The robe made her feel like a princess, and princesses walked down the grand staircase. The smells of Christmas mixed with the smells of the wedding flowers as she walked gracefully down the stairs. The robe's train drug down the stairs behind her, the front partially opened to her mid-thigh showing off her legs. The downstairs was silent. She opened the front door and listened to the muffled silence of the fresh snow. Tucker had outdone himself.

She walked into the dining room, poured a glass of wine and started to walk around the downstairs. All of the rooms would stay decorated until after the sixth of January. It was a McCoy tradition. The only room that wasn't decorated was the ballroom. Len didn't like that room. One night he told her why, the family wakes were held there. His father's was the last one. Sarah had done an amazing job restoring it now Seri wanted to add some good memories to its walls.

"Candles fifty percent." With that the chandelier and all or the sconces cast a warm glow over the dance floor. Like a child Seri turned around the floor, dancing to a song only she could hear. She closed her eyes as she continued the dance, taking small sips in time to the beat in her mind. It was then she realized, she wasn't a princess; that was a fantasy. This was her reality; she was Mrs. McCoy. She was the lady of the manor.

Strong arms stopped her in mid-twirl. Len had been watching her. As she turned around the floor, he blocked her completely. If his wife knew he was there he would have missed the show. Now she was in his arms. "Time for us."

"I thought you still didn't like this room."

He kissed her deeply as they continued to float around the floor. "I'm warming up to it. Sarah did a great job fixing this. And you were right that summer. Now it is time this room was officially christened." They stopped dancing as he kissed his wife again. When they broke, he pulled her with him to the floor. They were under the chandelier when Len laid back. Seri crawled on top of him. "That's better."

She leaned in to softly kiss him. "The doors?"

"I locked them before I came in." He undid the buttons of her robe, expert hands feathering themselves around her waist.

Seri pulled his pants down and sat on his half hard dick as she leaned in to kiss him softly. The longer the kiss continued, the harder he became. It wasn't long before she could guide him inside her. "I think this may be the last room we need to christen." They spent the next twenty minutes enjoying each other. Len couldn't believe this wasn't a dream. When they finished Seri didn't move. She wanted him in her as long as possible. His arms held her to him as she laid on his chest. "I love you Imzadi."

"How long so you think before the others are up."

"Not long unfortunately. I wish we could stay here, but I guess we should go upstairs."

Seri sat up and separated herself from her lover. He stood and dressed as she buttoned her robe. Holding hands, they left the room to spend the rest of the day together in their rooms, talking, laughing, making love. One day of rest, one day to be one with the other. The lady knew that after that day their souls would be joined permanently. If they did the last part correctly. their joining would truly be a till death do us part. They had joined on most levels before this, and what they did between the ceremony and the reception left only one more thing. After they took their shower, she wanted to show him all bonding could mean. "What are you thinking Peaches."

"About the final stage of bonding."

"There's more? I thought we did that after the ceremony."

"There is one more thing. It is the most beautiful part from what I've read. It's also the hardest to achieve." They entered their den. Len locked the doors before joining Seri on the couch.

"What have you read?"

"Most couples can't achieve what the books call a total bond. Few can bond as far as we have, fewer still can complete the last step. It requires complete and total trust and surrender. Each must surrender all they are to the other; their thoughts, their history, their soul, their mind. This isn't necessary to be bonded and you don't have to do this if you don't want to do it. I would completely understand. Ultimately there will be a loss of individuality."

"What do you mean loss of individuality."

"You will still be you, and I will still be me. We can't control each other. What happens with this is we become one. Going forward we will never be able to completely block the other. And we will need to work on blocking thoughts even more than we do now. From what I've read using the closed-door method works. You know the one I taught you and Jim. But we will need to create stronger doors. Honestly, I think we will only be able to use it for work. It takes a lot of discipline."

"But we will still be ourselves?"

"Definitely, but we will be one in all ways. Some even question that after this is completed when one of the couple dies, is it really a death us do part, or do they still remain bonded through their souls."

"So, in theory, se could still be together after death?"

"In theory."

"Then I want to try. I never want to be without you." His eyes were locked with hers.

"Come here my love." Seri took his hand, stood, and led him to the balcony outside their bedroom. "Look at me." He turned to her slowly. Seri's hands held his face as she stared into him. "See me."

"Know me." He brought his hands to her face, holding her like a precious piece of crystal. With that all that she was, everything she had experienced in her life flooded him, not just her thoughts, but her feelings as well. It was overwhelming but he couldn't close his eyes. It took extreme concentration as he flooded her the way she flooded him. All they were joined until they couldn't tell where one began and the other ended. It took only a few minutes, but it felt like hours. Finally, things slowed and they started to come out of it. Len needed to sit. They sat on the couch and looked over the peach grove. The snow clung to all the branches, and the luminarias still glowed as they hung from various trees. Seri moved in closer. Len turned and put his right leg behind her on the couch so she could use his chest as a pillow. Her head tucked under his chin as they sat reveling in the bond they now felt. "That was unexpected."

"Unwanted?"

"I didn't say that. I'm exhausted. Peaches, I just…"

"I know. I'm also tired. It said it would be exhausting."

"The book you took from your dad's library?"

"Yes. It said it could be exhausting, if we could even achieve the final level. Most couples can't."

"Just as most couples don't have an initial organic bond." He kissed the top of her head. "It's getting cold."

"It is. I just thought this would make it special; our balcony with the snow."

"It did." They stood and lost themselves in one last deep kiss before going back in. Len closed all the curtains. Both stripped before climbing under the covers. "Good night baby."

"You mean good morning." She giggled as she snuggled in closer. They both fell into a deep sleep. A sleep where they shared each other's dreams.

By the time Jim and Cal woke it was mid afternoon and most of the family had left. They wanted to be in town by 14:00 hours. He laid awake looking at the ceiling thinking about his oldest niece. She wanted to come with them into the black, and he was excited to have her there, but he needed to have a serious talk with the little imp. "Penny for your thoughts blue eyes."

"Just thinking about Jo joining us on the Enterprise."

"Us?"

"What are the chances you won't be there. Seri wants you; they'll reassign you. No one wants to deal with her wrath." He moved his arm so his fiancé could use his chest as a pillow.

"What are you thinking about her?"

"I want her with us. It would be great for all of us, especially Len. But there are imes she is less like her father and more like…"

"You? I know; we all know."

"Yeah. I need to talk to her. I wonder if she went to town today?"

"I thought I heard her say she wanted to stay home and rest. Everyone else is going to town. Gil wanted to spend time with Will and go to Geoff's. The rest talked about making it a joint McCoy and Enterprise invasion of Taccoa. I thought you might want to rest after yesterday."

"Rest and plan the wedding, yes."

"And talk to Jojo."

"I think I need a shower then I'll see if I can find her."

"After last night you'll need a long hot shower." She looked up at him as she licked his nipple."

"It was fun, and I did enjoy you making me scream. But you're right. I'm a little stiff." He looked at her. "That's not what I meant smartass. This morning waking up stiff doesn't mean what it usually does." He got up while Cal languished in bed. Today she would take sometime for herself. It was rare that they got snow and a ride to the sheep pasture seemed in order.

Jim took his time, let the water beat on his back. The bruises on his inner thigh and chest would take a little longer to heal than the strained muscles in his back and legs. Finally, he dried and hung up the towel. After that first summer he never forgot to hang up his wet towel. He noticed Cal hadn't moved. "I thought I would rest a little longer. It was a long day yesterday. Later I need to talk to Len. Would you mind if I had him reverse my birth control now?"

Jim stopped rummaging through his drawers. Did he mind? He never saw himself as a father until after Kahn. Then he only saw himself as a father to Cal's child. He was scared, but he wanted it; he wanted it more than anything. "I wouldn't mind." His smile told her more than his words.

"Then I'll talk to him. If I see him today, I'll ask then, if not then tomorrow. I think I'll take Traveler to the sheep pasture."

"He is in the stud stables. We've been doing well on his covers."

"He is stunning. And he has an attitude."

"Just like you." He had finished dressing. Cal gave him one of her squinty eyed looks. Jim kissed her on the head. "Call if you need me. I'm going to grab something to eat then find our niece."

"There should be plenty of leftovers in the fridge."

"Yeah, Lana said something about putting enough food in there even for me." Cal smiled at him as he left.

The bed was still warm and smelled of Jim. Reversing the birth control was a big step, possibly even bigger than the wedding. But she wasn't getting any younger and she always wanted a child. When Jim came to stay after Kahn, she realized the only man she wanted to have a child with was him. She couldn't picture parenting a child with any other man. Cal jumped up, took a quick shower, grabbed a piece of cake from the kitchen table and ran out to the stables. It wouldn't take long to tack up and spend some time on herself.

There were sandwiches in the refrigerator with a note on the front that said 'Jim.' Sarah and Lana really took good care of him. He grabbed one and put on his coat before he went outside looking for Jo. It was still below freezing; how could that child stay outside. "JO! MONKEY!"

"I'M HERE UNCLE JIM!"

Her voice was coming from the pond. It took him a couple of minutes to reach her. Jim pulled his coat tighter. Jo was sitting on the bench with one of the library books. Jim sat next to her. His niece continued to read. "Monkey I need to talk to you."

The book was carefully closed and put in her coat pocket. "What did I do?"

"Nothing baby. I wanted to talk to you about being on the Enterprise."

"I know; don't go anywhere that is marked authorized personnel only. And I'm never allowed on the bridge. Also, I should call you Captain and not Uncle Jim." Jo had turned to face him. She was joking a little, but he looked very serious.

"You can always call me Uncle Jim, and there will be times you will be allowed on the bridge. Jojo, I need to talk to you about what could go on." He tried to pull the coat tighter.

"We should go in. You could freeze to death out here."

"You are just like your father, smartass. I don't want to go into the house. This is a conversation just for us. Let's go to the stables. The horses never tell my secrets."

Jo followed her uncle down the slight decline to the stables. He opened the door for her. As she went past him, she could feel his fear. She sat down as he turned on the fireplace before joining her. "What is it? Uncle Jim, you're scaring me a little."

Jim's eyes softened. "I don't want to do that Monkey; I just need you to understand what life on the Enterprise will mean for you. Sure, Starfleet will give all the family members a nice little packet of rules and things to expect, but they won't cover half of what the daughter of the CMO and the adult niece of the Captain needs to know and fully understand. You won't be like anyone else on the ship. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Her blue eyes studied him the same way her mother's did at times. "Mom says I speak Jim Kirk, but right now I don't think I'm all that fluent."

Jim smirked. Joce had come up with the term 'speak Jim Kirk', it eluded to the fact that at times he could be a little vague when dealing with family dynamics. Funny how on the ship he was as precise as could be, but at home he wavered; the difference between Captain Kirk and Jim. "Alright baby, I'll try to be clearer. Most of the family members coming on are either completely grown adults with jobs to do, or small children. You are not a child, but you are also not an adult with a job. There will be some kids your age, but none of them have parents who are senior staff. That makes you unique. There are times, actually many times, your dad and aunt may be put in harm's way."

"I know."

"Jo, it's my job to explore and to have the best personnel with me for whatever situations we may encounter. Baby, I cannot take you into account when I am making those decisions. If there are times everyone is sent to emergency quarters, I need to know you will go to your room. See, you know more about what could happen to us than any other civilian on the ship; you also seem to have inherited my tendency to break or bend the rules. I need to know that you won't do that, that when you are ordered to do something you will obey the order. If I think you can't do that, you cannot come with us. I can't be captain if I am always worried about you. Does this make sense Joanna?"

"Yes, Uncle Jim." She could feel his fear begin to subside. "I understand what could happen. Can I tell you something, but you can never let anyone else know?"

"You can tell me anything."

"One of the reasons I want to go is it's harder here, harder not knowing. I hate getting the word after the fact. I'm not one of those people who would rather live without knowing. I need to know, need to be involved."

"You remind me of your dad so much. Some days I hear his voice when you talk. He complains about me dragging him along, but complains even more when he can't be there to help." Jim began to smile at some distant memory.

"I promise you I'll do what you tell me to do. I remember you telling me about being captain. I can't promise I won't bend the rules, but I can promise I won't do it in a crisis, or go somewhere or do something that will cause a major problem. Is that good enough Captain?"

"Better than I expected. Jo, if you told me you would always follow orders, I would know you were lying, and we don't lie to each other."

"I won't lie. I don't. Uncle Spock taught me that."

"Oh shit! So, I have to watch what you say." He smiled at her. There were times, too many, where he saw himself in her. "I may have some assignments for you once we're on board." Her eyes lit up as bright as the fire. "I already talked to your mom, Evan, and both of your aunts. They have no problem with this, but I haven't told your dad yet, and you can't tell him. I don't want him to know until we are ready to leave."

"What is it?"

"I got the new mission assignment. It will be for four years, not two. They lengthened it because they want us to go deeper. If you don't want to go, I'll understand."

Jo threw her arms around his neck. "This is going to be so exciting! I won't tell him." Jim hugged her tight. Having them around him would keep him grounded, even in deep space.

"