HEARTBEAT

It was almost two in the morning, most people in San Francisco were already sleeping, lost in their peaceful dreams, and right then and there, Christopher Pike wanted to believe it was nothing more but a nightmare. His hands were still shaking and he wasn't sure if he could answer a question properly at the moment. Every other second he looked over at Jeremy and Martha as they were pacing back and forth on the sidewalk, waiting for the cab to arrive and pick them up.

They had drank and in this state neither of them wanted to risk driving themselves and even Christopher came up with the very simple lie that he drank as well. He was perfectly sober but now his mind was somewhere else, his thoughts were racing so fast that even he couldn't keep up with them. It was confusing, shocking, terrifying, devastating, and he could have gone on with this list for long minutes without even stopping.

And then, finally, after minutes that had felt like an eternity, the cab arrived and all three of them climbed in without hesitation. Jeremy quickly told the driver where they were going and leaned back in his seat, resting his head against the window. After Christopher was able to tear his gaze from the rearview mirror, he looked out of the window, watching the almost empty streets passing by them.

When the cab stopped, Jeremy paid for the ride and got out of the car, rushing toward the entrance without waiting for his wife or his friend. But it was fine, because once they both stepped out of the cab and shut the door, Martha grabbed Christopher's hand and pulled him back, making him walk slower so they were further behind Jeremy. She looked over at him, her eyes red and wet from her tears.

She gulped and let out a long sigh. "I don't care about Jeremy right now," she started. "I mean I know that he's upset and worried - God, we all are -, but at the moment he can't even imagine how bad it is for you. He has no clue what's going on here."

"There's nothing going on, Martha."

"For God's sake, Christopher, stop denying it!" she snapped at him angrily. "At least now try and be honest to yourself. You love her, and whatever happened between the two of you before the party, whatever you said, wasn't true. It couldn't be true, Chris, because I can see that you're falling apart."

He shook his head as they entered the building and got closer to Jeremy who was, by then, waiting for the two of them. "I'm fine."

"Whatever happens, just stop keeping up this ridiculous act of yours; promise me that."

Christopher didn't have time to answer and was honestly grateful for that. They got into a lift and didn't stop until they reached the sixteenth floor where they were supposed to find her. Jason's parents and his little brother were already there, their faces buried into their hands as they sat in complete silence. Jeremy cleared his throat to get their attention. As he and Martha walked over to the other family, Christopher noticed drops of blood on the floor not far from him, quite a lot, to be honest.

He looked up and noticed the teenage boy standing next to him, staring at the same spot on the floor. "Denise was here after she insisted that she was perfectly fine and told the doctor to give her a few minutes with us," he explained without looking at him. "Then she started coughing with her hands over her chest and the next moment she was coughing up blood.

"Coughing up blood?" he asked worriedly and the boy nodded in response.

Before he could talk to Jeremy and Martha about this a doctor showed up to inform them. He heard every single word clearly. It turned out a couple of her ribs had broken in the accident and one eventually punctured her lung, but now she was stable and that was all that mattered. Christopher ran a hand through his hair as he loosened his tie with the other. She was alive, and she was fine.

Jeremy and Martha were allowed to go and see their daughter and, until they were gone, he decided to go and get himself a cup of coffee. This must had been how Denise felt when he was the one in this condition and now he understood everything. Something like this, knowing the other one was in a life or death situation, could finally open his eyes and make him admit that he loved her. He still did, and it didn't matter what Jeremy would say about this.

At that very moment Christopher hated himself for being so blind and stubborn, ignoring her emotions the whole time. She had been through this, even giving up her relationship with Dylan for him, but he told her no. Over and over again he pushed her away, right until she ended up in that damn car with that annoying little brat who almost got both of them killed.

By the time he finished his coffee, Christopher had already sent a message to Martha, telling her that he went home for now, but would be back once Jeremy's not there.

And this is what he did. He got in a cab, went home, tried to sleep, eventually ended up tossing and turning in bed without sleeping even a second, then woke up and left his apartment to go to the closest jewelry store. Martha had sent a message, saying Jeremy would be spending a few hours in his office, only going to see his daughter in the afternoon. Christopher was more than happy to hear that, sooner than he had expected.

She was still sleeping when he entered her room. Her face was pale, smaller cuts reminding him of the accident she'd had the night before, but other than that, she was the same woman he loved. Sitting down on the chair next to her bed, he took her hand in his and waited. It was strangely familiar, reminding him of the time she had been sitting by his bed, holding his hand the same way.

After a while he didn't even try to keep up with the time; he got lost in watching her sleeping peacefully but then he felt it. Ever so slightly but she moved her hand. "Denise?" he asked quietly as he stood up and leaned above her, his fingers brushing her hair. "Denise, please, just wake up and open your eyes."

"I remember this," she said hoarsely after she opened her eyes and looked at him. "Except it was me looking at you like this," she added.

Christopher laughed. "And it was also you pulling me out of one of the best dreams I've ever had."

Denise let out a humming sound as her eyes closed. "I didn't dream anything."

"If this is your only problem then we have nothing to worry about."

Her brown eyes were now looking at him expectantly, but since he had no idea what she wanted to hear, he stayed quiet and waited. "What happened to Jason?" she asked after a long period of silence.

"As far as I know he'll live." Denise nodded in response and closed her eyes again. Using this moment to act, Christopher reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he had bought that morning, than he waited for her to look at him again. When she did, he rested a hand next to her head and kept the other out of her sight, trying to make sure he wasn't too obvious. "Denise, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry what I've been doing to you," he said. "You were right all along, I was simply afraid of what Jeremy and everyone else would say."

"Was?" she repeated, her eyebrows slightly furrowed at this.

"Yes, past tense. I love you and I don't want to lose you. I don't care what others will think about you being my girlfriend and, if you say yes," he started as he showed her the ring, "being my fiancée then wife." He watched as her mouth opened and closed, trying to figure out what to say. "You don't have to answer now, I just-"

Denise shook her head as she interrupted him. "You're an idiot if it has ever crossed your mind that I would say no. Because I love you, Chris, and I would love to spend the rest of my life with you."

"So your answer is?"

"Yes, you idiot," she said with a laugh, but quickly stopped when her broken ribs reminded her where she was. "Now, give me that ring, please," she added with a wide smile, holding out her hand for him.

Once the ring was where it belonged, he leaned down to kiss her. It had been so long, even if she had kissed him the night before. It was now crystal clear that it was always supposed to happen this way and there was nothing that would make him change his mind. Not even Jeremy.

Little did he know at the time that Jeremy saw everything from outside because he arrived a bit earlier than expected; but he didn't interrupt them, especially after his wife showed up by his side and explained him everything. It had taken him weeks, even two or three months, but eventually he accepted their relationship.

But Denise had been right: this relationship was damned from the very beginning.

Author's note: So, Star Trek Into Darkness... If you've seen it, you know what I mean.