Admiral Kirk raised his glass and shouted another toast over the felicitations from the mob of Starfleet's finest, "To William Decker. The finest desk jockey to ever be promoted to captain. Treat her with love Will, she's a temperamental lady!"

"Aye that she is." Scotty laughed slapping the young captain on the back.

"God Will, I envy you." He winked broadly at the new commander of the Enterprise "I wish I could find a way to get a ship of my own to command!" He elbowed him jokingly and raised his glass. "Watch your back." He laughed.

The crowd laughed and cheered and downed another round.

The room was abuzz with the news. Even the press had shown up. USS Enterprise was finally being refit and a new captain had been placed in the center chair. Of course it had been no surprise that Will Decker had been appointed. He was the youngest Starfleet graduate to make Captain, destroying the records created by Jim Kirk.

Decker moved through the crowd easily, shaking hands and greeting well-wishers. He had already appointed a few in his crew earlier that day. He hoped they would show up and share in the festivities. Unlike his role model, Admiral Kirk, Decker was not as accustomed to being the center of attention. His friends called him confident but unassuming. His mother called him shy. Right now he wished he had either of them here to help him out.

He spied Nyota Uhura at the door and hoped she had brought his new CMO along. He waved above the heads of the crowd. Sulu bumped against his elbow, a lovely Japanese woman in tow.

"Hikaru! Is this your wife?" Decker reached out a hand in greeting. Sulu introduced his lovely bride but in the crowd and the noise, Decker couldn't make out her name. He tried to ask Sulu to repeat himself, but before he could finish his sentence, Scotty was there with a half dozen crewmen that he wanted to introduce to his new captain. A brief moment later a laughing and sympathetic Sulu and wife disappeared into the crowd. Somewhere a drinking song was getting out of hand and the bartender, having given up on serving what was ordered, now poured bar liquor into a long line of shot glasses along the bar. They magically disappeared as quickly as they were filled.

Will's head was swimming. He looked desperately around for a friendly face. What would Jim Kirk do right now? He wondered. Then he caught a glimpse of the Admiral. Evidently he was no more comfortable in the din, as he was beating a hasty retreat with a sour expression on his face. Well, Will thought, he couldn't blame him. If it weren't his party, he'd be leaving too.

"Will!" He heard a familiar voice call him. "Will! Christine just got here!"

He turned and saw Uhura and Chapel wading through the crowd to where he was wedged near the bar. He waved to them. It was exhausting to just stay upright, and he'd only had one drink.

"Christine!" He waved to her over the sea of bodies.

After a long moment she was finally within earshot.

"Will!" She shouted above the crowd. "I just wanted to stop by and congratulate you, but I see you've got plenty of admirers."

He smiled sheepishly.

"I'd buy you a drink, but I understand Jim's picking up the tab." She smiled significantly. "You think they'd make me a double B52?" She smiled mischievously.

His response was cut off by a loud whir as the bartender fired up a huge blender at the bar. They turned with annoyance in their eyes to see a line of salted Margarita glasses across the bar. Christine grinned and turned to Decker.

"Some things never change."

"What's that?" He asked over the din.

She leaned in to him and shouted, "I remember Jim's party."

"You went to Jim's party? I thought you weren't assigned to Enterprise until later."

"I wasn't. Roger was a friend of Dr. Boyce. Roger and I had been dating for almost a year at the time. It was quite a party."

"Oh yeah? Who picked up the tab that time?" He laughed.

"Chris Pike did. So whatever you do, don't move from Enterprise or you'll be picking up the new captain's tab!"

"I won't!" he laughed.

Someone was trying to edge his or her way to the bar and pushed her from behind. She sighed with tired tolerance. "Well, I think I'll call it a night. Will I see you in the morning?"

Will's eyes lit up, "Are you kidding? If my quarters were ready I'd be sleeping there tonight!"

"I don't think you'll be doing any sleeping tonight if they have anything to say about it!"

"Have no fear, I'll be there." But as she shook her head in disbelief another group of crewmembers pulled him away and any response she may have had was quickly forgotten.

She turned and began the long journey across the room to the door.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The gravitational pull of the rising elevator was incredible.

Too many beers and many hours later Jim stumbled out of the lift and into the hall that led to his apartment. It stretched out into a hazy eternity of gray on gray doors and hall and carpet. Every door exactly like the last one. His feet seemed to weigh 100 lbs. He fumbled to his door, pressed a hand against the scanner pad and stepped back allowing the door to slide open. Without a verbal command the lights came on. He dropped his uniform jacket on the floor in the living room and flopped heavily into his chair. The simple comfortable chair in the center of the room. It looked out on the lights of a sleeping city.

Dark and raining, the city was a haze of misty gray.

He watched the droplets slide down the window for a moment. A plain glass window with cold drops of rain sliding down it. It felt so...domestic.

The word caught in his throat.

The Orion syndicate was obliterated. A new sense of hope had emerged in the Federation. He had been credited with single handedly orchestrating an unprecedented peace.

Now Enterprise was leaving, heading out on an exploration of the safer galaxy.

Will was a good man, as good as his father. He deserved the center chair.

He would make a good captain, as long as he didn't make any stupid mistakes.

As long as there were no aliens to take over his bridge and change his crew into mineral cubes, as long as there were no salt vampires or cloud monsters. Will Decker was a good kid and Jim hoped against hope that he'd do it right.

Enterprise was the best lady he'd ever had the privilege to love and it was hard to see her with another man. But if it had to be someone, at least it was someone like Will.

Jim nodded to himself, the world rocked wildly as he did.

He tipped his head back and fell into the barley and hop scented blackness.