Chris drifted from place to place; floating from existence to nothingness. He was unsure of where he was, what he was or what was happening. Everything felt distant, foggy, indistinct. He tried to latch onto anything long enough to mean something, and tried to grasp fleeting memories of the past. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't focus, he could't remember how he came to be here; wherever here was.

Somehow he came back to his body and he opened his eyes, blinking in the unfamiliar surroundings and frowning heavily. He felt strange, weightless, almost like someone had messed with the gravity. Chris glanced round the space and saw a barren and desolate landscape, it reminded him oddly of home but that couldn't be right. He hadn't been anywhere near Earth for months.

The more he studied the landscape the fuzzier and less clear it became, and a persistent thought kept tugging at his mind: this place wasn't real and nothing here was a part of his world. The thought didn't really help him, if he couldn't remember anything recent then why couldn't this be real?

A sharp pain struck like lightening forking straight through his head. Chris gasped and clutched his head miserably and willed the images to stop flipping so madly, it was making him feel nauseous and dizzy. Flashes of memories resurfaced with each passing second: he saw a rainforest, watched the wonder in Spock's eyes when he interacted with the light creatures, he remembered Michael's joy watching her brother work.

The memories and feelings associated flashed faster and faster, striking into him with a nasty jolt over and over again. Each image brought such emotion and confusion that he soon felt his body tumble to the ground under the weight of the past.

Out of nowhere he felt fear encroach in the world, he felt unbounded dark terror reach out and wrap its icy tentacles around his throat. His breath stilled and he shivered against the cold abyss. He watched a dark creature leap at Michael and slash at her viciously, sending her flying backwards in a mist of crimson. The panic seized his heart tightly and he was moving towards the creature on autopilot, not able to shake away the sight of a monster snapping its jaws that closely to Michael's head.

The Captain remembered tackling the beast and shoving it away from Michael, only worried about getting between it and her before it lashed out again. After that there was only pain. His shoulder suddenly got hot, growing hotter than a naked flame. Pike gripped the muscle tightly and glanced down at it, blinking and taken aback when his hands came away soaked in blood.

When the hell had that happened? That was when the agony struck. Chris yelled out at the sky until his throat was hoarse, invisible strikes slashed his body again and again, like a whip lashing out. Just when he thought the torture would continue forever something colossal ripped its teeth into his shoulder and pulled.

His head hit the ground with a nauseating thud, his whole body felt like it was burning; like fire was everywhere. Pike's chest felt like it was being torn apart beneath him; his heart pounded madly until everything went dark and the barren landscape disappeared, leaving him alone in the blackness.

Chris whimpered when further spikes of agony struck him on all sides; all he wanted to do was escape the never-ending torture, he just wanted to the burning to stop. He had no concept of time and had lost all sense of what was real, but eventually the misery subsided and he started to lose feeling everywhere. He couldn't get up, he couldn't move, his body was becoming numb.

He felt something damp on his cheeks and reached up to feel tears escaping from his eyes, oddly he felt wet splashes drop onto his face but when he opened his eyes he saw nothing. The weightless feeling returned and he had the oddest feeling that he was being lifted somewhere, something shifted in his shoulder causing his head to slam back into the ground and he cried out against the fresh wave of pain. He had been so close to peace, peace without pain. Why couldn't he just rest?

Echoes of sounds and voices drifted by without consequence, nothing he could latch onto or understand. Out of nowhere water splashed onto his face again and he felt a cool breeze, his mind supplied that it was rain but there was no atmosphere here, no anything.

He closed his eyes exhausted and weary, falling limp and letting go again. Chris shivered when he felt lips brush against his, warm and soft. There was no-one there but the name that came to mind was Michael. He lost himself in that kiss, the feeling of life against his face, swallowing the moans of pleasure that echoed round his mind. Chris could have stayed in that moment forever; the pulse of heat that stirred in his chest, the feeling of Michael's tongue sparring with his, the taste of Michael on his tongue.

Pike's eyes shot open and he sucked in air greedily, gasping like a fish out of water. He jumped back into consciousness like he'd been ripped from some other dimension; it sure felt like someone had yanked him back into existence. Everything was alright for a second, until it wasn't.

He groaned and thrashed against the agony, letting his head crash against the pillow? That was new, and squeezed his eyes shut trying to bring the unfettered misery under control. So much burned. If his body had been numb before it definitely wasn't now. Chris had honestly thought he was dying, hell he was pretty sure he had died. But death surely couldn't hurt like this and death probably wouldn't have pillows and smell and sound like sick bay.

Pike heard alarms blare all around him and felt hands press him gently but firmly down against the bed, setting his whole body alight. He groaned and resisted the touch wanting to get up and see what the hell was going on. He wanted to find out where he was and see that Michael was okay.

The Captain felt a warm hand grip his and an oddly familiar voice whisper near his ear; telling him everything was okay, that he was safe. Chris leaned into the soothing voice and fell back into the bed feeling hands and instruments brush against his skin. He heard a hiss and some pressure against his neck then the pain faded to nothing; the bed fell away to nothing and he floated into the darkness.

The next time he woke he returned to consciousness far slower than before and there was a hell of a lot less panicking involved. The first thing to break through to his addled brain was the sounds of sickbay and a steady beeping, followed by bustling then general muttering nearby. He started to feel more of his body wake up and actually felt like he wasn't just a floating head.

Thankfully the burning fire from earlier was gone, although the ache remained but mercifully it was numbed. His skin felt less hot and sticky also he didn't feel like he had been dipped in oil and set alight which was always a bonus. Taking stock of the injuries Pike realised he could hardly feel his shoulder and his chest felt like it was detached from his body; he realised he must be blissfully high on painkillers and the feeling was heavenly.

Not wanting a repeat performance of earlier the Captain took his time to let awareness come back to him. From the flashes of confused memories he was pretty sure that he had awoken in a frenzied panic earlier, deeply enthralled by fever. How embarrassing.

Chris blearily opened his eyes and squinted against the change in light; it had been dimmed so it didn't worsen the almighty headache he already had. His sight soon adjusted and the blurry ceiling of sick bay became clear, so far so good. Feeling like he was on a roll Pike glanced down at his body and was a little taken aback by all the bandages: they were covering every inch of his chest. No wonder why he could barely feel half of his body.

He stretched his shoulder tentatively and felt the sudden urge to itch the skin indicating that it was most probably freshly knitted. Other than the itchiness though there was no pain and he could wiggle his fingers so everything appeared to be in working order, on the surface at least.

"You're awake." A soft voice called out from his left.

Chris turned to the voice and smiled as he laid eyes on the only good thing that had graced his dreams: Michael. She was sat curled up in a chair and by the looks of it had made herself comfortable: a mug and data pad discarded beside her. She looked tired and weary telling Pike everything he needed to know about how long she had been here; he appreciated not being alone but seriously Michael needed to take care of herself too.

"So it would seem." He tested out his voice and was happy it didn't sound too hoarse. He remembered doing a lot of yelling but to be honest he might have imagined half of it.

Michael leaned forward in her chair and gripped his hand in hers tentatively at first as though she needed permission to touch him. Chris reached out the rest of the way and took hold of her outstretched hand breathing in deeply as he touched her, both familiar and not, proof that he was alive and this was real.

Michael smiled sadly focussing on his bandages. "You had me worried."

Chris squeezed her hand gently and flashed his most disarming smile. "Sorry."

The look worked for him. Michael's grin grew warmer if that were even possible and he noticed her eyes sparkle. Pike sobered as he realised there was something he was missing, someone he should be concerned for other than Michael. The name slammed into him like a freight train and he slapped himself for forgetting Spock until now.

"Is Spock alright?" He asked urgently looking round sickbay but catching no sign of the Vulcan.

Michael smiled and patted his arm calmingly. "He's fine. He's been by numerous times to see if you were awake yet."

Pike relaxed back into the pillow. If Spock was fine and Michael was right here next to him then his urgent concerns were unfounded. His mind flew back to the planet and remembered the vague flashes, it all got a bit blurry in places and after the cave, after that kiss he couldn't remember a thing.

"What happened?"

"What was the last thing you remember?" Michael asked, eyes lighting up with interest.

Chris thought back to his last living memory and felt the ghost of Michael's lips against his own, heard the moans of pleasure he chased and swallowed in their hot sticky embrace, the feeling of her breath against his face, her hands in his hair pulling for more. He brushed his lips with his fingers remembering the feeling of Michael there; wishing she still was. Christ he could still even taste her; a mixture of mint, honey and warmth.

She clocked his reaction and expression, an unrestrained smile spreading across her face. "You remember."

Pike stared right back at her, his desire rekindled. "How could I forget?" He teased cheekily.

Michael blushed deliciously. She glanced round and made sure they were alone before sobering again, keeping her eyes off his face. He had noticed that she had been staring at his lips too. "Do you remember what we discussed before…" She gestured between the two of them.

Pike chuckled at her awkwardness but softened as he answered seriously, for some reason Michael was insecure and he needed that cleared up pronto. "I remember Michael, and I meant what I said." He took her hand in his and rubbed soothing circles into her soft skin with his thumb, mirroring his touch from the cave. "Every word."

He watched his words land; Michael's pupils dilated fully and he felt her pulse race between his touch. She was affected as he was. She shook her head as if that was going to shake away the effect he was having on her, Chris smirked when it did nothing of the sort.

"Ah you're awake." Doctor Pollard's intrusion into their little world was a surprise, and Chris watched Michael jump back snatching her hand from his. It was too little too late, one half amused look from the Doctor told them that they weren't fooling anyone. She had seen everything.

Doctor Pollard smirked at the pair like she had caught them snogging on the back of the school bus but made no further comment, falling into her role without missing a beat. "You're lucky to be alive Captain."

Chris stilled, the warmth from Michael's hand had vanished and now reality came crashing down around him. The happiness in the room disappeared when he remembered how difficult it had been on the planet to hang on; he had known he was close to falling even then. "How bad was it?"

The Doctor sighed heavily then pulled up some scans on a nearby screen pointing to several areas. Pike swallowed deeply as he looked at the damage; it was extensive and covered the majority of his chest. "You suffered severe wounds to your chest and shoulder, whatever bit into you nearly tore your arm off. We had a lot of work to do to repair the damage but with some therapy there's no reason why you shouldn't have full use of your shoulder back."

Chris shivered at the thought, he hadn't realised he had been that close to losing a limb. He realised the Doctor was studying him carefully like she was seeing if he was okay to carry on. He nodded numbly and glanced at the next screen.

Doctor Pollard continued her breakdown. "When you were brought in you had already crashed once, we had to restart your heart but it hasn't given us cause for concern since."

So he had died. Well that was… troubling.

"You were also running a very high fever because the wounds had become infected. Also the amount of blood you lost was worrying for some time." Pike caught the way she had emphasised worrying, for the Doctor to actually admit she was worried made him deeply concerned.

"Still, with all that in mind I'm pleased to say you're doing remarkably well. You should make a full recovery in the next couple of days, as long as you don't strain any of the regenerated muscles and skin." She wagged a finger at him in warning so the Captain felt suddenly abashed. He plastered a smile of innocence on his face like he knew nothing of what she was talking about.

Pollard scoffed and shook her head, completely oblivious to his charm, and not believing for a second that he was unaware of how bad a patient he could be. She glanced between Pike and Michael and wagged a warning finger at Michael too. "Make sure you let him rest soon Michael." She got to her feet and moved outside of their space. "I'll give you some privacy."

With that she disappeared and a privacy screen shimmered into life around them; blocking out their view of the outside world and leaving him and Michael alone in their own little world. If he didn't know any better he would have said Doctor Pollard was playing matchmaker.

Chris watched Michael silently and resisted the urge to laugh; she looked like a deer caught in the headlights and he had to admit it was a funny sight. He reached out for her hand and felt ten times better when she latched onto it.

"She knows." Michael whispered mortified.

Chris sobered as he watched Michael struggle with the weight of this. She had been coping for god knew how many days with him on the brink of death, it couldn't have been easy.

"She won't tell anyone Michael." He knew Doctor Pollard and she was not one for gossip not when people's feelings were involved.

Michael nodded a few times and seemed to agree with his assessment, her shoulders relaxed a tad and Pike frowned as he clocked how tense she had been. Michael then groaned and held her head in her hands. "Spock knows."

Chris blinked in shock unsure he had heard correctly, how the hell had Spock found out? He wasn't sure if that fact scared him more than the idea of the whole ship knowing. "He does?" He just about managed.

Michael opened her eyes and stared at him, something shifting inside her and the tension in her shoulders bled away entirely. A curious reaction, Pike would have thought her brother knowing would be a bad thing. Apparently not.

"Actually he sort of pushed me into telling you, in the cave. I think he gave us his blessing."

Pike almost forgot how to breathe, it just didn't compute. Spock giving someone advice on love, now that was something he would pay good money to see. He couldn't wait to interrogate and tease his friend about this later. "Oh, I would have loved to see that." He grinned cheekily.

Michael swatted his arm playfully but he was thankful to see the last of her tension ease away and she leaned into his space unabashed again, forgetting the outside world at least for now. "My brother meddles like no other, I'm pretty sure he's known about our feelings for weeks. He probably just got tired watching us skirt around the issue with each other."

Pike laughed heartily imagining Spock getting annoyed that the two humans couldn't see as plainly what he could, that they were both under the wrong impression that their feelings were one sided. "Spock the matchmaker." He tested out the words and grinned at how foreign they sounded; he never thought he would say Spock's name and the word 'matchmaker' in the same sentence.

Michael snorted and they sat in companionable silence for a while, playing over Spock's part in their union and happy that he had given them the final push towards each other. Pike owed him big time, for showing him and Michael what they couldn't see for themselves. It was funny how blind you could be when you were in something.

Michael broke the silence when she suddenly remembered something and smirked triumphantly. "I was right."

Pike tilted his head to the side and pursed his lips, the conversation had taken a confusing turn and he felt like he had missed something or hadn't been listening properly. Michael noticed his puzzled expression so clarified. "I told you you weren't going to die."

The Captain flew back to the memory when he had pleaded with Michael to share his final moments with her; he wasn't naturally a pessimist but something about that moment had felt so final. He had believed he was dying, technically he had died but he wouldn't split hairs over the matter knowing it would only hurt Michael, bringing up a fresh memory like that.

He smirked right back remembering his own response back then. "Then that wasn't our last kiss." He caught a sense of insecurity flash across her face, he reached up to cup her cheek gently, revelling in her soft skin. "I don't regret it if that's what you're worried about."

Chris wanted it out in the open: his love for Michael Burnham. They had waited too long already and almost lost any chance of living this. Pike wanted whatever Michael would give him, wishing it would be everything.

She smiled sadly but leaned into his touch, a little surprised that he could read her so well. At least his words seemed to have abated most of her fears. Michael looked at him like she was looking into his soul. "I don't either."

Just like that everything was right in the world, sick bay fell away and it was just the two of them. Pike studied her face, caressed her cheek slowly and tugged her head closer to his, unbelievable want welling inside his body. He watched her lips as she licked them in slow motion, meeting her eyes and seeing her pupils widen and her breath hitch.

Michael leaned over into his space never breaking eye contact on her way down, her hand resting against his face twirling his hair round her fingers slowly. Chris shivered at her touch, all his nerve endings coming alive when she moved lower towards his mouth, they watched each other breathing neither willing to make the final move.

Chris searched her eyes and saw all he needed to there, she wanted this as much as he did, whatever this was going to be. Right now all he could think of were her lips on his, the ghost of them still there from the cave. All he wanted was to taste her again.

Losing the battle of wills Chris tugged her face to his gently and leaned up, capturing her lips with his own. He pressed against them deliberately slowly, revelling in the shape, the feeling, the taste.

Michael followed him down to the bed, parting her mouth slightly and tilting her head to the side, her lips starting to chase his. Chris moved his hand to her hair and relished the warmth and softness there, he felt her mirror his movements and bury her hands in his hair completely, running her fingers through it sending endless shivers through his body.

Chris catalogued everything; the touch of her mouth, the smell of fruit in her hair, the way her breathing hitched when he sped up his assault, the way her eyes sparkled with delight when he tugged her closer to his mouth.

They slowly picked up the pace until they were fully involved in one another, their lips locking together and mouths widening, desire to get more and more of one another fuelling their entanglement.

When Michael's tongue began to bat against his mouth Chris couldn't help but moan; he stopped resisting and gave her full entry into the kiss, teasing her with his. Their tongues were busy getting acquainted like two old friends.

As their passion deepened and they lost themselves in one another Chris couldn't help but be reminded of the cave, more importantly of the last time he had tasted Michael on his tongue. The kisses were so starkly different, each telling a different story and speaking a different message. Earlier their tongues had crashed together like two fighters clashing, but now they twirled deliberately like dancers.

The kiss earlier had been desperate, filled with burning passion like everything was on the verge of ending, final: a goodbye.

This kiss was the complete opposite. It was blissfully hopeful, measured and gentle, slow like they had all the time in the world. It was a promise for the future: the start of something new.

Finis

A/N - And that's the end of this short, hope it delivered a satisfying ending :) I'm unsure if there will be a sequel in the future sometime now the relationship is out in the open, I do quite like writing for Michael/Pike but we'll see what ideas come forward.

Anyway my next story is going in a whole different direction, it's going to be a pre-discovery story based around the Enterprise crew, specifically Pike and Spock.

See ya next time!