Jim and Lena walked up a small path toward the Enterprise. As there was no one on board to beam them in, they would have to enter through the cargo bay. Lena was regarding it with a sort of casual interest - it was so difficult for Jim to get a read on her! He did not fail to notice how close she held to him when they were dancing, but now she seemed to be keeping her distance. He also couldn't tell if she liked him, or if had something else hidden up her sleeve. Who knew, maybe it was a combination.

"You've gotten awfully quiet", she said suddenly, "Have you finally run out of quips."

"Never, Lena, never."

"I'm guessing you were mad at me for beaming you back - Suria mentioned you might be."

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to return the favor."

"Are you going to punish me again, Captain?"

And suddenly they were back in territory Jim felt comfortable with. "Maybe. Have you done anything bad recently?"

"Don't tempt me", she said with a wicked smile.

They boarded the ship. Lena's banter suddenly stopped. "This…this is…oh my god…I have never… Do you actually get to live on this thing?" She was practically giddy as they stepped into the turbo lift. She wanted to know everything: when it was built, how long it took, how fast it could go, what kind of warp core it used - Jim silently thanked Spock for making him read all those stupid ship reports. He had never seen someone so taken aback with a starship, but then again, he did live on one. Watching her take in the magnificence of the Enterprise reminded him how cool his life was, and how he wouldn't trade being a Starship Captain for anything.

When they got to the engine room she looked curiously that the door that led to the warp core - whose threshold he had crossed understanding it meant the end of his life. "Can we go in there?" she asked.

"No", he said, "The radiation from the warp core would kill us."

"Have you ever been in there?"

"Yes - once."

"And yet you are alive."

"I didn't expect to be . . ."

"I don't understand."

Jim told her about Khan - how he had damaged the Enterprise, and the ship was going to crash. How he, Jim, had made the decision to enter the warp core, unprotected, and realign the housing. "There wasn't a choice", he finished, "I had to save the crew - the ship. I didn't even think about it." He was oddly somber. Jim never talked about his near death experience. He often still had nightmares about sinking into the blackness and had trouble letting himself fall asleep. On Earth, he had spoken with a therapist about it - Bones had refused to prescribe him more sleep aids until he did. His official diagnosis was PTSD.

Lena was quiet. It was strange to her, that this arrogant man would be capable of something so selfless. She could tell he was still strongly affected by traumatic event. As a Winged Daughter, a Princess, she would have done the same thing; her life belonged to her people. She had never been in such a situation though, had never been forced to have to make such a devastating choice. She didn't know if that time would ever come, or, if it did, that she would have the strength to willingly go to her death for her people, as he had done. With the likelihood of the impending Zezian attack, fear plagued her thoughts constantly. For a moment she was oddly comforted that there was someone who could possibly understand that fear - someone who had even made it out to the other side - alive, and free.

Jim turned to look back at her, "Well, anyways, that was well over two years ago." His demeanor had shifted. She could tell he was uncomfortable.

"You don't like talking about it", she said softly.

"Not really."

"That is the second time in three days you have told me something very personal."

She was right, of course, and now that she had said it, he realized just how strange that was. He could smell her pheromones again, and realized she was within arm's length, once more. "I…"

Lena interrupted him with a kiss. "Are you going to show me your ship?" she asked, with a cocky smile.

They hurried to the turbo-lift. Lena slammed Jim into the wall as it started to move - Jim winced - she was really quite powerful! He felt a wave of pheromones hit him - oh no, not this again!

"Wait wait wait" he said, breaking their urgent kissing.

"What?"

"Can you . . . cut it out with the pheromones?"

"You don't like my pheromones?" she seemed confused.

"No!" Jim said, "I love them - but I love them too much. I can't concentrate - I wanted you to enjoy yourself the other day - not just win a stupid bet."

"I really enjoy winning bets."

"Not as much as you're going to enjoy this" he said darkly, and started kissing her clavicle, one of the erogenous zones Brok had mentioned during their discussion. He heard her give off her cute little whine again.

"I - can't…stop them entirely." She was gasping for air.

Jim let his right hand slide from her waist to her breast, squeezing it through the thin fabric of her dress. He found her nipple and gave it a little pinch. "That OK", he, "I can handle it..."

They finally had reached his quarters. After first Kim made to take her into the bedroom, but though the better of it when he realized her 20 foot wingspan might not work out in his 10x10 room. They would have to stay in the living room.

With a little smirk Lena kissed him, biting his lip, and pushing him onto his sofa. He was driving her crazy with his hands; running over her body. There was something about him she found inexplicably appealing. She climbed into his lap, straddling his clothed erection. She was dying to take her clothes off - she wanted him to see her body, touch her without the fabric of her dress as a barrier - she wanted him to make her feel the way he was promising; whispering dirty, seductive words into her ear. He certainly was a lot of fun!

She reached up and undid the clasp behind her neck. The top of her dress was merely fabric that had been artfully draped over her breasts. As it fell away she noticed that his took his time looking at her exposed chest. She loved that - that he was taking her in - that just the sight of her could turn him on so. Suria had always said she was a bit of an exhibitionist. Running out of patience, however she moved his hands to her breast, feeling him stiffen even more beneath her. "Take this dress off", he commanded. She was only too happy to oblige him.

Jim watched as she slipped out of her black dress and regarded him with completely confident appraisal. "You're falling behind again, Jim", she said, alluding to the fact that he was still fully dressed. He quickly moved to take off his shirt, and she stepped forward to undo his pant buttons. He stripped down and pulled her back on the couch with her straddling him again. She moved to mount him, but he held her back.

"No, no, no… I see what you're doing- I owe you one, remember?"

"One what?" she asked.

Jim slipped his hand down her breast to in between her legs as a response, and started kissing her clavicle again. Brok had confirmed what Jim had thought to be the case. Females of their species also had a clitoris, but they came equally well from penetration. Their g-sots, however, were a little further in, and tended to be a full ring around their walls, meaning the deeper and harder he went, the better. This was fine by Jim.

Lena was starting to shudder. He massaged he clitoris, sucking on her sensitive neck and held her steady with his other hand at the base of her wings - Brok had said there were many nerve endings there as well. Lena was really enjoying herself -how did Jim know all these little tricks? She wondered. Brok -Brok must have told him. She made a mental note to thank him later. Jim was doing an incredible job - she had suspected he was an experienced partner, but she was blown away when she realized he was actually going to be able to make her come, their second time together. Suddenly his mouth was back on hers and he was laying her down on the couch. "I wanna taste you", he said, trailing his warm hands over her breasts. His right hand was still wet from her juices. She grabbed it and sucked her own fluid off his fingers.

"I taste pretty good."

Fighting the urge to pre-come, Jim started trailing kisses up from her knee. She was still fairly bruised from the tournament, he noticed, but, somehow this reminder of her tough, strong demeanor made her even sexier. When he finally reached the folds of her vagina he could smell her pheromones. They weren't as strong as when she hit him with them on purpose, but she still smelled amazing. His flicked her with his tongue; she tasted amazing too. He let his tongue almost lazily circle her clitoris; he didn't go too fast because he knew she was close already. He slipped his long fingers inside her and felt her pulsing against him - it was almost too easy.

Lena let her wing drape over Jim couch, her heart racing as he touched and kissed her. She could hear herself panting and whining - his mouth felt amazing on her - better than Suria's, she noted. Maybe it was because she was so much more attracted to him? Whatever, she didn't care. Lena felt her orgasm build - she was going to climax, she couldn't hold it back. Her back arched involuntarily, and he whispered, "Come for me, baby", and reapplied his tongue.

Her entire body stiffened as she gasped - deep waves of pleasure coursed over her, almost causing her to black out. Struggling to catch her breath she felt him slowly slip into her. Suddenly his lips were on hers again and he was moving, pushing deeply into her body. Instinctively, she kicked one of her legs over the back of the couch to allow him to fuller range of motion - he noticed and increased his tempo.

Jim was desperately trying to hold it together, but she was so hot, so tight, so undeniably aroused. He grabbed a hold of the back of the couch to prop himself up and get a better angle. She responded quite positively. He took note to make sure he was using his pelvic bone to grind on her clitoris and suddenly she was crying out again, her wings stiffening. He thought he heard a crash in the background. As he felt her walls throb around his penis he let go himself. Jim collapsed onto her chest, his head pillowed between her breasts. He felt her arm wrap around him and her hand tenderly stroking his sweaty hair. Her heart was pounding.

Out of the quiet, heard her clear sounding laugh, "Alright, Jim – you've got me. That was better than winning a bet."

Grinning he kissed her nipples, and turned his head to look at the clock. He had lasted just short of four minutes.

Dammit, Spock!

Veelia tapped the com on her wrist off. Lena was not answering. She had watched her mentor go off with the Captain three hours ago, and hoped she would be back by now. Shaking her head she walked back to Chekov - Pavel. She knew she was completely blowing this. Lena had asked her the night before the humans arrived if it would be OK to release a gift to her - she had said there was a young officer on the ship whom she might find interesting. Veelia had agreed most happily - she wanted to experience sexual intercourse, of course, desperately, in fact, but she didn't even know where to start. Lena and Suria ran through partners like she ran through formulas - of course they were probably just taking advantage of the little time they had left before they became mothers. Veelia sighed and thought of her own mother.

Veelia had been the first Winged Daughter born to her family in generations. Genetic testing had even shown her birth to be statistically impossible - her family was in the lowest caste. Because of this she was taken from them at 10 years old - moved to Buvoria, a small colony near the home planet to live with the young generation of Winged Daughters. Unlike everyone else, she did not know a soul - most Winged Daughters were related, or at least had long standing family connections. No one wanted to be her friend; they made fun of her mercilessly, though she never could understand why. At 12 she was granted permission to go home to her mother for a couple of months, after having been diagnosed with depression and experiencing thoughts of suicide. She was told by the conclave, that she could stay home with her family if she wished, but that she would never be able to take her place with them if she did not complete her education. She had decided not to go when she was visited by Princess Lena, daughter of Queen Bial!

Lena had convinced her to come with her to Ya-Mo, the furthest and largest colony in their solar system. She and her co-ruler, Suria, were planning a special project and needed her help, specifically her mind for mathematics and technology. Veelia remembered her mother had protested most vehemently, forsaking all the laws of their culture, saying that she, Veelia, would fall into depression again if she was taken so far away. Veelia still remembered what Lena had said, "No - Veelia is strong - a great warrior, she will not break so easily. I promise. I will take care of her."

That had been five years ago. On Ya-Mo, Veelia had flourished. Lena and Suria trusted her with their most guarded secret - their suspicion of impending war with the Zezians, and had entrusted her with developing superior weapons and ships. Veelia worked tirelessly helping them fortify Ya-Mo and training for battle. Under Lena's tutelage she had become one of the best warriors in the colony, but that still did not ease the sting of being made fun of. She knew it was silly, she knew she should pay the other Winged Daughters no mind, but she couldn't help but thinking that she was always the butt of some stupid joke. And now here she was, with a gift of her very own, unable to consummate - what was wrong with her?!

Veelia regarded Pavel again. He was really quite bright - Lena had always told her that she, Veelia, found most of the males in the colony unappealing because they couldn't keep up with her brilliant mind. Veelia wasn't sure if that was the case, but was happy to have an excuse to go back to her work. But Pavel was smart enough to understand her - he had also gained Lena's approval - additionally, she actually enjoyed his presence. Maybe this would be OK? She could tell he found her attractive - she knew she was too - Kale and Suria told her all the time. OK - she thought - what would Lena do?

"Are you awvight, Vee - ya?" Pavel asked.

" Yes - no - I don't know."

Chekov remembered what the Captain had told him, but he could see that she was not ready - she was so nervous and making him nervous in return. He noticed she kept looking at group of Winged Daughters, watching them to see if they were watching her. Suddenly something clicked.

"Vould you vike to weave?"

"Yes," she said.

They walked away from the feast, together, enjoying the cooler night air, and the quiet shhing of the wind in the trees. Veelia was heart-stoppingly beautiful, and a genius to boot. Chekov had had crushes on girls before but this one was in another category entirely. Of course, she was not his forever - just 10 more days after tonight, but he felt a simple desire to make her happy. He decided that's what he would do. If she wanted to talk about physics, he would talk about physics; if she wanted to have sex - well - he would do his best. Yet, shaking his head, he realized that that didn't really make sense. There was a lot of ground to cover in between talking about physics and having sex. Disregarding the Captain's advice, he reached out and took Veelia's hand. It was the first physical contact they had. As he wove his fingers in between hers she looked up at him with her gorgeous violet eyes and shyly smiled.

"Is zis OK", he asked.

She smiled and nodded. It was nice.

They walked in silence holding hands until they got to the beach. The stars were starting to fade - the sun would be coming up soon. She had failed again.

"Zis is beautiful" Pavel said, pointing to the amethyst galaxy in the sky.

"The Falian Galaxy", Veelia said, "Lena's favorite, that's why her hailing signal is purple. It is the place she would most love to go."

"Vy is yours blue, sen?

"It's my favorite color", Veelia said, "Kind of a silly reason, I guess."

" I don't fink it's zilly."

They sat in the sand still holding hands, watching the stars. Gathering her courage Veelia moved a little closer to him, so that their arms touched. The sun was starting to rise.

Veelia looked at Pavel - her gift - in the morning sunlight. She tried to turn away quickly when she saw his head move to look back, but felt his hand gently catch her face instead. He stroked her cheek. "You are zo beautiful, Vee-ya." he said. She caught her breath, he was going to kiss her, she could tell. But before her mind could freak out, he leaned over and lightly brushed his lips against hers. When she didn't pull back, he deepened their kiss, sliding his arm around her waist. For her first kiss, Veelia couldn't have asked for better.

Jim and Lena finally got off his couch. He looked down at the cushion - that was going to be difficult to clean - maybe he could just flip it? They had been lying there for quite some time, quietly listening to each other breathe. He had felt so comfortable in her arms it had been difficult to pull away. Lying there he realized that he had never been this attracted to anyone, and was starting to hope she might feel the same. Oh well, at least she didn't knock him out this time.

He stood up and looked around for his clothes. He found her dress and absent-mindedly handed it to her, and began to pull on his boxers. He started towards where he left his dress uniform on the floor when he heard her laughing behind him.

"What's so funny?" he asked turning around.

She was practically in tears shaking. When she regained her composure she looked up at him. "I think you actually are going to have to beam me back now that 'we're done'".

Jim felt a stab of disappointment, "Don't you want to see the rest of the ship? I haven't even shown you the bridge yet?"

"Ummm - OK this is sort of embarrassing actually-"

"You get embarrassed?"

"Not often - I actually have no idea how to out my dress back on…"

Jim stared at her, "What?"

She tilted her head attractively, "It's a wrap - thingy. I usually have someone do it for me, but I have no idea how it's supposed to go, and as you didn't read the culture briefing…"

"That's definitely not in there!"

"How would you know?"

Jim couldn't believe her, "Why would you wear a dress you didn't know how to put on?"

"To get you to show me your ship."

"Show you my ship, or show you my ship?"

She gave him her sexy little smile again, " Whichever - plus it make my breasts look amazing."

"Fair point."

Jim's thoughts started to race. He didn't want to send her home yet. Oddly enough, he liked spending time with her; additionally, she would probably consent to another round. Brok was THE BEST, but Jim needed some time to recover.

"Do you want to wear something of mine?" he asked.

"OK"

Jim walked into his bedroom and rummaged through in drawers. He wasn't sure if his sweat pants would fit her, but he grabbed them and a clean shirt, wondering how it was going to accommodate her wings. He also took jeans for himself - he wasn't going back to the party. When he walked back into the living room he saw that she had moved to a different couch. He handed her his clothes.

The sweat pants fit; she was curvy enough to keep them up on her hips and wonderful ass - the shirt however…

"Can I keep this?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Thanks", she said brightly and removed a huge knife that had been tucked away in her wing. She sliced open the back of his shirt and tied it around her, underneath the base of her wings.

"Oh my God! Did you have that on you the whole time?" Jim asked, alarmed.

"Of course, I never travelled unarmed, Jim." Holy hell - she hid things in her wings like a purse. Noticing his concern, she continued, "My wings are actually quite complex, must more so that the rest of me, I have 240,000 miles of blood vessels in my wings alone. I am very aware of them; there was no way the knife could have slipped out during our… ship viewing?"

Jim grinned, "Is that what we're calling it now?"

She just laughed. "Actually, I think I knocked something off your table with them. What's that?"

Jim looked across the room - ten feet from the couch he saw a new bottle of Three Wood - unbroken - thank God. He opened it up, "It's scotch - alcohol… it's good...do you want some?"

Her eyes lit up, "Yes! Brok told me it was really tasty!"

Jim smiled at her, "Sure, let's bring it to the bridge.

Nyota cuddled contently in Spock's arms, still looking at her beautiful ring, unable to believe he had actually asked her to marry him. He was such a private person- now that they were engaged they wouldn't be able to hide their relationship anymore - or rather, she wouldn't be able to pretend that they were successfully hiding their relationship anymore. She wondered if it had been Jim who clued him in that some people probably knew. She had never been in any sort of hurry - she knew he was hers, and rings and paper work wouldn't really make a difference in their relationship, but his little declaration was so moving, and his mother's ring meant everything to him; it was just perfect.

They talked a little about it - specifically her moving into his quarters. They had toyed with the idea before. Finishing her wine, Nyota looked at her wonderful boyfriend - fiance! - and felt suddenly emboldened. Flipping around to straddle his lap she pressed her lips to his, and felt him smile in response.

"Nyota, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Celebrating…" she said. She started unbuttoning his dress uniform, running her hands underneath it. She could feel him beginning to respond.

"I want to meld with you", she whispered.

"We are on the bridge."

"There's no one else on the ship."

"That could change."

"Lock the door."

"The Captain would still have the override code."

Nyota pulled back, "We haven't heard from him all night, meaning he's either still chasing after Lena, or they finally decided to execute him for breaking too many rules."

"He should really read the culture briefing."

"Meld with me."

"One second." Spock pulled dialed into the con-sol embedded in the chair. "Computer, scan for Captain Kirk."

"Captain Kirk and unidentified being currently in the turbo lift. Destination is set to the bridge."

Nyota choked, "How did you know?"

"The Captain has, of late, developed the unique ability to show up precisely when I don't want him to."

"Good catch."

Spock slid his hand up her uniform skirt. His fingers passed the barrier of her panties, and were inside her in one motion "I take it then that you do not wish to proceed."

"Spock!" she slapped him away.

"Why is this locked?" They heard Kirk's voice outside the door. Uhura jumped off Spock as the door opened.

"Ho! my God!"

Jim did not miss her sudden movement. "Really? You have guys have GOT to be kidding me!? On the bridge? In my chair?! Seriously, I'm starting to think you guys are doing this on purpose."

"Sorry, Jim! We thought everyone was at the party…" As she gestured she saw her hand - decorated with her diamond ring. "Jim..." Her eyes were tearing up slightly.

"Look - Spock just asked me to marry him!"

Jim looked from Nyota to Spock, the incident 30 seconds prior wiped from his mind. "You asked her!?"

Spock nodded.

"He knew?" Nyota asked.

"Yeah… congratulations! Really! I am so happy for you guys!"

"Thank you, Jim", Spock finally spoke, "Why have you returned to the ship?"

To answer his question Lena stepped out of the turbo lift. She was wearing Jim's clothes; her chain crown was wrapped like a bracelet around her wrist, and her impeccable braid was loosened and artfully draped to the side. In her hand was Jim's bottle of scotch.

"I wanted to see the ship", she said with a shrug. She wandered casually onto the bridge, taking it in. Spock observed her with some interest. The Princess Lena was somewhat of an enigma to him. She was clearly an intelligent, motivated leader; he had not failed to notice that she was always one step ahead of them in her diplomatic negotiations, but she also possessed a dazzling vibrancy, which, he suspected, was why Jim was so drawn to her. Yet, standing before him in oversized clothing, looking around the ship like a toddler in a state of wonder, she was less an intimidating Princess, and more of a friendly girl. His impression was confirmed when her wing knocked into a console and set off a blazingly loud alarm.

They all jumped and Jim lunged to flip it off.

"Whoops!", she said with a giggle. Lena turned to Uhura. "I hear a congratulations is in order. I wish you both great happiness, and strong daughters...and sons."

Uhura blushed. "Not for a while!"

Lena regarded her curiously, "You are not already pregnant?"

"No!" Uhura sputtered.

"Interesting - here we do not regard a union as official until there is a pregnancy - but, I suppose a starship is probably not the best place to be born."

"I was actually born in a starship", Jim said.

"That explains a lot."

"I noticed you modified the blessing", Spock said.

Lena's eyes glowed, "Just because I am to be Queen does not mean I blindly accept all aspects of my culture. I would be pleased with a son." Her intense demeanor suddenly shifted back to light heartedness. "Perhaps we should celebrate - Jim has volunteered this tasty alcohol!" She knocked into another con-sol setting off another alarm.

"Maaaaaaaaaayyybbeee not on the bridge?" Jim said.

"OK", she conceded, "I know! We should go out to the beach, the feast is over, and the sun will rise very soon. It's quite breath taking, actually. And we could bring the scotch!"

"Spock, Uhura?"

"Let's go!" Uhura said with a smile, lacing her fingers with Spock's.

And the four transported down to the beach.

Suria was reading quietly in her room shortly after sunrise; Dr. McCoy, or Bones, as he told her he was called, was sleeping soundly in her bed. She was quite pleased with her gift - Lena had definitely chosen him for her deliberately. She could be very thoughtful sometimes. Of course, he was to be the last gift she would ever receive; her mate would arrive in 2 short weeks, and Suria planned on becoming pregnant straight away. She wanted a child, and with the impending war, she worried that delaying might mean she would never have one - she might die first. She needed to leave behind a strong daughter - or son, as Lena would correct her.

Her best friend had an odd relationship with Virosa males, vehemently disagreeing with the society which designated them as second class citizens. Suria had never given it much thought, but upon meeting Brok - Lena's former affair partner, and perhaps the only male she had ever had affection for, she realized that perhaps her culture was wrong. Brok, because his genetic testing results had deemed him incompatible with fathering a Winged Daughter, had been denied access to the best positions for males in their society, despite being uncommonly clever and hard working. Later on, when he fell in love with a non-winged brilliant scientist, he was denied permission to mate with her - The Conclave hoped her genius would be passed onto a Winged Daughter. They courted in secret for a while, but when her mate was chosen for her Lena stepped in. Always a wild card, she threw the Conclave, and her mother, into disarray. They wouldn't have cared, but Lena had wisely begun gathering support from the male, and many females as well, to sway their ruling. Unwilling to create dissension, the Conclave had allowed Brok to mate with his love – Lena then used their ruling to amend the law, making it illegal to block a mating between any two consenting adults. It was her friend's first political coo.

Lena would make a superb Queen. She was impossibly impulsive, but Suria knew she could temper her. Sighing Suria looked out her window.

"Good morning", a bright voice said behind her.

Suria saw Lena had snuck up on her.

"I'm not sure if it counts as morning if you didn't sleep the night before."

Lena laughed, "It wouldn't be the first time. I see you are enjoying your gift."

"I see you are enjoying the Captain." Suria shot back. Indeed - Lena looked quite ridiculous in what Suria could only assume was the Captain's clothing.

"He's… fun", she said carefully.

It wasn't like Lena to not give more details, but Suria didn't press her.

"Any luck with Veelia?" she asked instead.

"Yes! - Well … sort of… it was so sweet!"

"What happened - they had intercourse?"

Lena smiled dreamily, "Not yet, they went to the beach, and kissed as the sun rose…Just kissed."

Suria gave her a look, "That might be the stupidest, most clichéd thing I have ever heard."

"I thought it was kind of cute?"

Suria started laughing, "Yeah, right! I think I'm gonna go vomit now."

"Don't make fun of her", Lena said in alarm.

"I won't - ugh - teenagers, right?"

"Yeah…"

Stilling laughing Suria left the room. Lena silently vowed to never tell her that she and Jim had done the exact same thing.