Chapter 11

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They didn't talk much on the ride over. The kids had gone ahead with his mother, leaving the two of them alone in the limo. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Erika looking out the window, watching a world that was about to change. She must have felt his gaze on her, so she turned and gave him a smile. He reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly.

They were escorted down through some underground tunnels that he had never known existed. Doors were held open for them and a lift was waiting to take them up to the suite where he would spend the next thirty minutes pacing like some sort of caged animal. He had told his staff not to bother with it all. He could just hang out in the back and come out when they needed him. His staff just nodded and went back to making their plans. This was the way these sorts of things were done and nothing he said was going to change that.

He had thought about giving his security detail the slip more than once as they made their way down the ornate hallways. All he would have to do was grab Erika's hand and start running. He didn't even know where they would go. Maybe to the kitchens. He and Erika always ended up in the kitchen during important ceremonies, usually because their schedules never allowed for a moment to actually eat. So they would sneak away and grab a sandwich, under the watchful eye of the catering staff. But today he wasn't particularly hungry. He was just a little too nervous for that, and it was making him uncharacteristically quiet. So they wouldn't run away. He doubted his wife could run very far in her heels, but then again, Erika was always full of surprises.

They came to a set of white double doors and he stopped, looking around as if he wasn't sure what to do. One of the guards opened the door and ushered them inside. The room was sparse, a couch, a table, two chairs and a monitor showing the throngs of people pouring into the auditorium, and all of it in a faint shade of off-white. Jon almost laughed out loud as he tried not to think about what the room would look like after his children arrived.

Erika tossed her jacket down on a chair and looked at Jon expectantly but he only shrugged. She turned to the guards who had followed them inside. "Thanks guys, can you give us a moment?"

"Sure thing, Admiral. Lift off is in twenty-five minutes."

As the door closed behind them, Jon looked around the room again. Satisfied, he flopped down on the couch and reached for the remote.

"What do you think you are doing?" his wife asked before he could grab the controller.

"There's a game on."

"Not today there isn't."

"Oh come on, Rike. The whole planet hasn't shut down because of this thing."

"Yes, it has." She sighed and sat down next to him, careful not to wrinkle her dress blues.

"I remember going to groundbreaking ceremonies with my father," he said, gazing at the screen. "Dignitaries giving speeches, reporters, camera crews, hundreds of people all crowded in, just to see the newest piece of technology he had helped to create." He smiled, trying to picture it in his mind. "I always hated it. Everyone wanted to talk to him and it seemed to go on and on forever. And then they would try to talk to me and ask me if I was excited about whatever it was, and of course I would say yes and smile. But I didn't really care. I didn't understand it all. I thought that this was just what everyone's father did. It never occurred to me how different he was."

Jon stopped and looked at his wife, who was watching him closely. "Do you think the kids understand what is going on here today?" he asked.

"To some degree yes," Erika said. "Adalie understands the most but I'm sure they all don't quite comprehend the degree to which this is so important. They'll know when they are older though. They'll be proud of you."

He laughed a little. "It's not really that, it's just that I ….we try to make everything as normal as possible for them so that they don't grow up to be…." his voice trailed off.

"Like you?"

"Yes, like me."

"You were never destined for normalcy, Jon," Erika shook her head with mock seriousness. "And I hate to break it to you but our kids are doomed."

He tossed a pillow in her general direction. "Oh and like you had nothing to do with that?"

"My dad wasn't the most important person in any room he walked into," she countered, ducking the pillow.

"No, but he was a good man," he sighed.

"Yes he was. And so are you." She reached over and brushed his hair back. "You are doing something good today and your children know it." She stopped and looked at him more closely. "And I know your father is watching."

"He would be proud of all this, wouldn't he?" a smile played across his lips.

"He already was proud of you. You're a parent, Jon. Think about it. Of course he was proud of you. He was from the moment you were born."

"I've been thinking about him a lot today," he sighed.

"It's a big day."

"Yes it is," he stood up and began walking around the room. "You didn't change my speech too much, did you?"

Erika smirked. "I rewrote it entirely."

"Thank you."

"I'm kidding. Your speech is fine. Besides, they already sent a copy to the prompter. I think it is a little late for you to want to change things," she folded her arms across her chest and gave him a look.

"I'm the Starfleet Chief of Staff. You don't think that if I want a word changed in my speech fifteen minutes before hand they won't do it?"

She stood up and joined him as he looked out over the balcony. "Your speech is fine," she repeated. "You'll be fine too." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she leaned her head against his.

He wasn't sure how long they had been standing like that when he heard a knock at the door. One of his aides entered, telling them that they had five minutes until they had to go. He muttered something in response and the door closed, leaving them alone for the last time.

Erika sighed and turned to face him, brushing off his shoulders and straighten his tie. She ran a hand over his hair and checked to make sure that his rank and medals were all in place. Satisfied, she reached up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm going to sign a treaty, Erika," he said beaming, as she turned to pick up her coat.

"I know," she shook her head. "Naturally it had to be the most important one since Versailles."

They rode down the lift in silence again but as soon as the doors opened he could already hear the deafening roar of the crowds. He looked cautiously at the stairs leading up to the stage, at the long walk towards the podium, and at the hundreds of thousands of people in their seats. He could see the other VIPs all waiting for the moment, each surrounded by their own entourages.

"We'll be ready in about a minute, Admiral," one of his aides told him, motioning to the stairs. "You'll be the first out."

A guard signaled to Erika and she squeezed his hand tightly.

"You'll be all right?" He looked over at her as she turned to leave.

"I'm fine, Jon. They want me and the kids in the gallery." She nodded towards the waiting escort.

"You'll be off to the left?" He glanced out at the stage.

"And a little up. You'll be able to see me from the podium."

He glanced out at the auditorium and turned back to her, resting his hands in his pockets. "I don't know what to say."

Erika paled. "You don't have your speech? For gods sakes Jon, what in the name of …."

"Relax, Rike, I've got the speech," he said, patting the pocket of his dress uniform. "Remember, prompters."

"Thank god," she muttered.

"I don't know what to say about all this," he sighed, looking around.

"It's all a little overwhelming, isn't it?" she said, wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"I keep waiting for someone to tell me that this all isn't real. That I've been dreaming."

"That we've never been to space and you didn't spend the last year of your life devoted to this massive undertaking that is now complete?"

"Something like that," he smiled.

"Well, I can't help you there," she said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "This is all real and in about thirty seconds you are going to go out there and announce an alliance that is going to change the galaxy."

"Wish me luck."

Erika cocked her head to the side and gave him a funny look. "You don't need luck. Just don't try to mention wild animals, okay?"

"Deal."

"Ten seconds, Admiral."

"Jon?" Erika called as she walked away. He looked back and saw her hand pressed against her lips. She turned and gave him a wave. He smiled and waved back.

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