Thank you everyone for the kind reviews of my other stories. I am enjoying reading yours. It is fun to explore these characters both through other stories and my own. This one started as a T/A romance and took on a life of it's own inquite adifferent direction. I pretty well wrote this story in reverse order. I started with chapter 3. But I had so much to say in the back stories that I ended up writing chapter 2 and then chapter 1 before finishing the ending. The first two stories are Erika/Archer stories. I hope you will read them. Sorry about the corny title, but it seemed to fit.

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Prologue

A young girl of eight sat on the swings in her parent's yard. Her long black hair streamed behind her as she furiously pumped her legs. She loved to make the swing go as high as she could. It gave her the sensation of flying. A roar high up in the sky caught her attention. No matter where she was, or what she was doing, she always stopped to watch a space transport streak through the atmosphere. Even though she had yet to take her first trip into space, she always thought to herself, "that is what I want to be when I grow up. A spaceship Captain." It was as if she was born to be in space.

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Captain Erika Hernandez sat in her ready room. A communiqué from General Gardner was on her console. Instead, she was staring at the pictures of Columbia and Enterprise on her wall. But, she was not really looking at them. She was thinking about yesterday, and Jonathan Archer.

The day had started as it had for the last two weeks in space dock. She spent the morning attending to the details of modifications and repairs to Columbia. Then, there was a meeting with Jonathan and Admiral Gardner just before lunch. As she listened to Gardner drone on about proper requisition procedures, she had a strong urge to take a break. Outside of the Admiral's office she stopped Jonathan.

"Hey, do you remember that little Italian place we used to go to near Twin Lakes? Do you want to catch some lunch?" she asked.

"Isn't that kind of far away?" he said doubtfully. She could tell he was thinking about the hundred things he wanted to do on Enterprise.

"Come on. We have both been working our tails off for the past two weeks. It's a beautiful day out," she urged. But she could see him still hesitating. "Besides, you still haven't bested my time around the lake," she teased.

She smiled when she saw the annoyance in his eyes. Ha! Gotcha! She knew it still bothered him that she was a better sailor than him.

"I'll pick you up in front of your apartment in fifteen minutes," she laughed.

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Erika leaned back against the railing. Her legs were stretch out along the deck as she basked in the warm sunshine. It was a perfect day for sailing. There was a good, stiff breeze blowing across the lake. The water was a brilliant azure blue with waves glistening in the sunlight.

She watched Jonathan work the rudder and boom of the small rented sailboat. He actually was quite a good sailor. But, she was never going to tell him that. Truth be told, it irked her how quickly he had learned to sail. She had spent years on the lake by her parent's house perfecting her skills. Her mother still proudly displayed her regatta trophies on the fireplace mantel.

Jonathan's face was serious as he concentrated on coaxing every ounce of speed from the wind. Erika admired the angular lines of his handsome profile. Even though he was intent on the task at hand, she could see that he was enjoying himself. She was glad to see this.

When he came back from the Expanse, she could tell he was different. She had read all of his logs, even the classified ones. She knew that the things that had happened to him, the things he had been forced to do, had hurt him deeply. Outwardly he was still the gracious, considerate person he had always been. But the spark of excitement was gone from his eyes. His sense of wonder, his love of life was gone. Or, she hoped, buried deep within himself. He was no longer the starry eyed dreamer that she had known in Starfleet. So now, when she saw his clear green eyes light up with some of the old intensity, she was heartened.

As he rounded the buoy, he looked at his watch. He broke into a big grin and held up his arms in triumph.

"Not bad," she laughed at him, "for an amateur. Now step aside. Let me show you how it should be done."

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The sunset on the bay was a spectacular display of reds and oranges. Erika was standing on the balcony of her apartment enjoying the feel of the warm ocean breeze in her hair. Sometimes, there were things about planet side living that she did miss. And evenings like this were one of them. She stepped back into her living room which was growing dark as the sun sunk below the water. A warm, woodsy smell gently wafted up from two candles she lit on the living room table. Next she turned on some music. She chose a slow instrumental that was rich, deep and relaxing. Taking a sip of her red wine, she sat down on the couch.

From this vantage point she could see Jonathan's profile as he cleaned up the kitchen. He was still in the T-shirt and shorts that he wore for sailing. She admired the way the muscles in his arms and legs flexed and rippled as his moved. After all these years, he was still a good looking man.

As Jonathan stepped out of the kitchen, the light turned itself off. He crossed the room to sit on the couch beside her, his glass of wine in hand.

"You did a good job cleaning up," smiled Erika.

"Why, thank you, Captain Hernandez," he smiled back.

"With your skills, you would make an excellent ship's Steward. If you want a position on Columbia, I'll put in a good word for you with the Captain."

"Mmm, that is a tempting thought. I'll keep it in mind."

They paused to take another sip from their glasses. The wine was fruity and aromatic. Erika could feel its warmth radiating from her stomach to her arms and legs.

"It was a perfect day for sailing," she said.

Jon reached over and lightly took her hand. "I'm glad you talked me into it."

"I think that you have been practicing."

"And where would I have practiced? In the Forge?"

They paused again, still gazing at each other. Then, Erika leaned over and kissed him on the lips for several long seconds. At first he didn't respond, but then she felt him kissing back. She pulled herself next to him and slowly ran her hands over the front of his shirt. Yes, he definitely was still an attractive man. He began to caress her back, and she could feel herself responding. Slipping her hands under his shirt, she worked to pull it off.

But, suddenly she felt him stiffen. He pulled his head away. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gently but firmly pushed her back. He quickly got up from the couch and began to pull his shoes on.

"What are you doing?" Erika got up from the couch.

"Erika…. I can't…" he start pulling on his jacket.

"Jonathan Archer! Stop right now. That is an order!"

He stopped and looked at her with a pained look on his face. She put her hands on her hips and her expression softened.

"I'm not a starry eyed cadet. I know what I am doing."

"Erika," he looked miserable, "I… I can't… I don't want to hurt you."

"Jonathan, I had a wonderful time today. You are probably the closest friend I have. We have a lot in common and I enjoy your company. I could easily stay up all night just talking to you."

He started to speak, but she held up her hand.

"But the irony of the whole situation is that the things that we have the most in common, are the things that are going to keep us apart."

He looked up from his shoes. She could tell he saw the truth of her words.

"The reality is that I am not going to leave Columbia, and you certainly are not going to leave Enterprise."

She walked over and put her hand on his arm.

"But the reality also is that I am a woman and you are a man. Not only are you a very attractive man, but you are also my friend. So, since we are both adults, I suggest we enjoy each other's company for the night, and then in the morning we can go back to reality."

She watched the conflicting emotions play out in the muscles of his jaw. Guilt, pain, affection. Eventually, his eyes glowed with understanding and desire. She reached up and gently kissed him on the cheek. This time he reached down to pull her closer.

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Yes, he certainly is a man, Erika thought to herself. Fidgeting with the PADD in her hand, she wondered if she was making the right decision. Her eyes focused on the pictures on the wall. They were a match set of lasergrams showing the ships as mirror images of each other. Columbia and Enterprise speeding towards each other, yet they would never meet.

The buzz of the intercom brought her back to the present.

She reached over and pushed the button. "Yes?"

"Ma'am, we are ready to shove off."

"I'll be right there."

Sighing, she got up. Well, back to reality, she thought to herself.

She paused as she stepped on the bridge. She scanned the room and took in the activity. She felt the excitement of the crew as they prepared to leave space dock. Sitting down in her chair, she listened with pride as the crew worked like a well oil machine.

"On your command, Ma'am."

"Disengage clamps. Ahead one quarter impulse. When we clear Jupiter, go to Warp 2."

Erika sat back and watched the brilliant orange globe of Jupiter grow larger and larger on the view screen. Just as the image passed behind them, she heard the thump of the Warp engines engaging. She leaned forward, excitement and contentment rising up in her.

"In coming transmission, Ma'am. It's from Enterprise."

"Put it on the screen." Erika was a little surprised to hear from them. They had left space dock six hours ago.

"Captain Archer, what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to wish you a safe journey," the smiling face of Jonathan Archer greeted her. She saw the same excitement and contentment mirrored in his eyes. Yes, they were both exactly where they should be.

"Safe journey to you and your crew as well." She tilted her head to the side and a sparkle came to her eyes. "I just hope I don't have to come save your butt, again! Hernandez out." She cut the link just as a retort was forming on his lips. She sat back in her chair, smiling with satisfaction.

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The prologue may seem a little corny, but in a way it is a true story. A Commander from the space shuttle program came to visit the plant that I work at. He told us this story. He told us that as a young boy, even though he had never set foot in a plane, he knew that he wanted to fly. And that is what led him to first become a pilot, and then an astronaut. I thought it was a cool story.