February 2259

Chris

"You know what's crazy? This will be the longest we've gone without each other since you were ten and I was twelve. Remember to comm, stay out of trouble, send holos of Charlie and Joanna, and don't die on us. I'ma miss ya, Jimmy," Cody said to his wife.

Chris watched as the nearly inseparable pair hugged each other. They decided to do all their goodbyes at home in an effort to avoid the press. He, Jamie and McCoy were still going up in the shuttles but the kids were going to be beamed up to Scotty and Kevin, who were already on the ship. It wasn't easy to get to this point, physically, he had to prove to Starfleet that he could still do his job. Jamie, McCoy, Boyce and Phlox helped get him ready to stand walk and run on his own. The medical board was pretty impressed at his progress and approved his return to duty.

Standing in his home –Hobelia and Charlie were keeping an eye on it- he watched as his family said their goodbyes. Zane was standing with Charlie in his arms.

"You look after mama and papa, little man," Zane said. Charlie smiled big and nodded his head. "Gonna gimme a hug?" Charlie wrapped his little arms around the tall Texan.

"Can I have one of those? I don't know what I'm gonna do without hugs from my favorite nephew," Cody asked. Charlie giggled as he hugged his uncle. Joanna was holding hands with Amanda and Hobelia.

Jamie smiled at her, "You can't bring them with you Jo, but I promise you can comm and send messages." The little girl nodded and hugged his step-mom and Spock's mother. After another round of hugs and goodbyes, Spock spoke.

"Admiral, Captain. It is time to depart," Spock told them, he was the one keeping track of the time. He opened his communicator at Jamie's nod. "Mr. Scott, two to beam up."

Spock

He did not fully understand the fascination with their ship's departure. He understood that it was news worthy but the crowds of people who were not press, Starfleet officials or family confused him.

"We're young, attractive and heroic, Spock. PR is loving this, I bet recruiting jumps because of us. They're ready to put you and me on recruitment materials. As annoying or confusing as it, we represent the future of the fleet and people want to see us with their own eyes," Jamison said.

"That is acceptable," he said to her. Before Jamison could respond, Christopher spoke from next to her.

"Alright, you guys ready?" the admiral asked. Spock nodded, McCoy grumbled and Jamison chuckled.

"You kidding? I was born ready," she quipped. That was an accurate statement, using the information from his older self; it appears that Captain Kirk is a legend in the other reality. What made Kirk such a good officer was his ability to surround himself with the best people and to use their skills and knowledge. Spock had seen his Kirk do the same. From the moment she introduced herself, she behaved as a leader. She was not overt in her actions –unless it was to make a point- but everyone she befriended was the best in his or her field and seemed to follow her without realizing it. During the Narada incident, she used everyone's strengths to formulate a plan and added her own skills to the finished product. They executed the mission without any flaws and at the time, Spock's assessment was that Jamison's training was exemplary, he was now aware that her training was only a refresher for her real-life experiences.

Jamie

"Jamie, Lee, Spock!" She turned to find Dana and Tom Mitchell heading their way. Most people were kept away from the crew but they were allowed through to see their son's friend off.

"Mister and Misses Mitchell," Spock greeted the couple.

Jamie gave them each a hug, "I'm so…"

"Don't you dare tell us that you're sorry again. Gary knew the risks of what you kids do. You were his friends and he loved you. Knowing my son, he would be happy that you all made it, even though he didn't." Jamie nodded at the mother of her lost friend. Gary's private memorial was the hardest for their group, Spock even got a little emotional. Dana took Jamie's hand, "We went through Gary's affects. I found something that I think he would've wanted you to have." Dana handed Jamie a necklace with a Saint Joseph of Cupertino charm on it; she smiled at the memory of her friend. "What is that?" Jamie asked, pointed at his necklace. Gary smiled, "Saint Joseph, he's the saint of pilots and astronauts, among other things. I guess it's my good luck charm."

"Ma'am, are you sure?" Jamie didn't want to take of a part of their son from them, Mister Mitchell put a hand on her shoulder.

"We're sure. Gary thought that thing brought him luck, he'd want you to have it. Please be safe out there. All of you," their late friend's father told them. Spock, Jamie, Lee and Chris all promised to be careful and went to board the last shuttle.

May 2259

The Enterprise had been out in the black for three months when they got the comm to head to Rigel VII. They were going to represent Starfleet in to admitting the Rigellians into the Federation; they were also going to take in the festivities for a little shore leave. Of course, it all went to hell pretty fast and now three crew members were dead, and seven others were in sickbay.

Chris, Bones, and Chris' yeoman Cusack went down to the planet to meet the Prime Minister. They got to watch the Rigellian Festival of Light while they were waiting for Etashnan. Eventually, Chris went with the minister's aide Talza to visit the location for the ceremony that would make Rigel VII a Federation world. Chris had given Cusack the all clear for more crew members to go down to the planet, most of the off duty crew members went; Spock and Uhura were among them.

"You're not going down there, lass? I would think that this was your thing." Scotty was sitting with Jamie in the lounge, going over one of their crazy experiments, she was going to answer him when Hawkins entered the room.

"Ma'am, I just lost contact with everyone on the surface. Chief Kyle is reporting that the transporters aren't functioning either," the officer told them. She looked at Scotty.

"That's why I didn't go down there. Scan for them. See if you can figure out where the disruption is coming from. Scotty, help them out, I'll be on the bridge," she ordered. Something on the planet was blocking communications and transporters. Jamie didn't want to blindly launch a mission with two thirds of the crew were on planet. She and Scotty were trying to come up with a solution. It was almost two hours before the comm came to life.

"Ma'am, you might want to hear this," Hawkins told her.

"…rprise, this is Cusac… attacked by Kaylar. Admir… Zemtar fortress. I disab… disruptor… ltiple crew injured," the transmission from Cusack said. The Kaylar was the other race of the Rigellians, they were bred to be warriors but due to the planet joining the Federation, they would no longer be allowed to wage war.

Jamie took a breath, "Are transporters back up?"

"Yes ma'am," came Hawkins' reply.

"Have a dozen security officers and Lieutenant Kelso meet me in Transporter Room One. Sulu, you're with me. Scott, you have the con," she ordered. Jamie took Hendorff and his friend Henderson with her and she left Kelso in charge of the rest of the security officers and Sulu. His team beamed down to where the majority of the crew was hiding, her team went to Pike. Man, there's something to be said about good timing.

Jamie and her team arrived at Chris' location just as a group of Kaylar were moving in on him; he was pinned under the body of another. The three officers took down the group that was advancing on their commanding officer.

"You alright, sir?" Jamie took his face in her hands, checking the cut on his head and scanning him for any other injuries.

"I'm okay, Kirk. The others?" he asked. Sulu had let her know that they had found everyone but Cusack. He went to the parliament building to disable the disruptor. There were two dead and seven injured crew members at the other team's location. Chris gave the order to beam everyone up while he, Jamie, Hendorff and Henderson headed to his yeoman's last known location.

Chris

"Why? None of this explains why Talza. You killed and hurt members of my crew, my family, and for what? If you all didn't want to join the Federation, all you had to do was petition," he said to the woman. It was all a set up by Rigellian extremist traditionalists who felt that joining the Federation would eliminate a part of their society. "You got what you wanted. I have to advise my superiors to deny Rigel VII's admission to the Federation. All it cost was the lives of three of my officers. Get her out of here." How could he let this happen? Chris didn't figure out the trap until it was too late and his crew paid the price. Cusack –Dermot, his first name was Dermot- was a good yeoman and a genuinely nice person. The other officers were a geologist, Lieutenant Hardy and a young security officer, Ensign Toth.

"Give us the room, gentlemen," Jamie ordered the security team out. "Chris, look at me. This is not your fault. There was no way to see it coming until it was too late. They each performed admirably. Toth was helping other officers, Hardy was helping Bones patch people up and Cusack gave his life to send me that message. They're heroes, Chris. You have nothing to blame yourself for. Come on."

They checked on the injured crew members together, they saw Spock first. Jamie sighed, "He's in that healing trance thing. Never seen it before but he told me about it." Chris nodded at her quiet words and watched as she touched Spock's hand. "You're the one who's supposed to stay out of trouble." After talking to many of the officers, they went looking for McCoy. He was in his office patching up Uhura's leg.

"You should've come to see me sooner What's with all of you thinking you're invincible?" the doctor asked.

"That's enough, McCoy," Chris ordered. "She was assisting the security team in getting everyone back, add to that Spock being in your sickbay and I would say that the lieutenant got to you as soon as she could. We lost three crew members today; I highly doubt Uhura thinks she's invincible." McCoy nodded at Chris and looked at Jamie.

"I'll deny it if ya'll say anything but I was terrified down there. How do you do stuff like that all the time, Jim?" the doctor asked. Chris glanced at Jamie, who chuckled and sat down on the couch next to Uhura.

"You want the truth, Bones?" Jamie asked. McCoy nodded and Uhura made a move to leave. "You can stay, LT, Spock knows this already. Truth is, Bones, I never had a choice to be anything but a fighter... a survivor. You know that my step-dad was abusive, you just don't know how bad. I learned how to function without food or sleep and through pain when I was just a kid. I know it annoys you when I say 'I've had worse,' but I have, not everything is in my medical record. I'll give you the rest of it since Tarsus isn't classified anymore. Back to my point, getting raped by your step-dad and then watching him beat your brother to death for trying to protect you is a pain you can't even begin to imagine. Then Tarsus happened and it wasn't just my survival, I had all those kids to think about. It's why I went tactical even though I could easily be an engineer. I keep going because somebody has to fight the good fight, might as well be me."

Three Hours Later

"What did the brass say?" Jamie asked as he walked into their quarters. Chris was tired, and he was blaming himself. He knew Jamie could tell, she's blamed herself for lost comrades a few times.

"They are upholding my recommendation; Rigel is not joining the Fed. Barnett said he'd handle the notifications for Cusack, Hardy and Toth. I am ready for this day to be over. Hey little man." He picked up Charlie and just held him.

"It's past his bedtime but I figured you would want to see him. I'm gonna put him to bed." Chris nodded and kissed the small child on the head.

"Love you, buddy," he told his son as Jamie reached for him.

"Love you, daddy."

Jamie

"Sir, it appears to be an old radio distress signal, it looks to be set to cause interference and attract attention. According to the message, there are eleven survivors," Uhura informed Chris from her station. It had been two weeks since the battle on Rigel VII when the ship encountered a space distortion on a collision course. Further examination showed that it was sent eighteen years ago from the Talos star group.

"Guess we should take a look. Helm, lay in a course, warp seven and punch it," Chris ordered. Jamie had no idea what they were heading into and a feeling of unease settled over her.

"Sir, I need you to sign this," Chris' new yeoman, Colt, said. Jamie doesn't know who's idea it was to send him a twenty year old woman to replace Cusack but the way Colt looked at Chris was going to be an issue. The crew knew they were married, as long as it didn't affect their decisions, it didn't matter. This new girl, obviously, didn't get the memo. After Chris signed the PADD a dozen times. Colt thanked him and left the bridge. Once they reached Talos, Chris decided to lead the away team. He took Spock, Bones, Hendorff, and Tyler with him.

"You have the ship, Kirk," he told her.

"Aye, sir." She took his seat as he left the bridge. Jamie hoped that this would be an easy mission… which is why she knew it wouldn't be.

Chris

"Sir, they're in good health, almost too good." Chris nodded at McCoy's assessment; there was something off about this whole thing. One of the survivors, a girl named Vina had said to him that he was a 'prime specimen,' for what, Chris didn't know. Theodore Haskins, one of the survivors offered to show him what the big secret was. Vina took his hand and led him away from the others but before he could tell her to head back to the camp, she vanished. So did the scientists and their campsite. The next thing Chris felt, was the blow to the head that rendered him unconscious.

Jamie

"It appears that this was a trap. They have taken the Admiral," Spock said, his voice was calm to everyone but her and Uhura. One. Jamie just wanted one mission where they showed up, everything was handled as planned and nobody got hurt or captured.

"Options, Mister Spock?" she asked him. They cycled through a bunch of solutions, the one they did try, using the ship's power to blast Chris out, didn't work. Spock saved the day by finding the Talosians' power generator. Jamie, Uhura, Spock, Sulu and two security officers were on the pad to beam down, but only Jamie and Uhura materialized in the cell that Chris was being in.

"They use illusions and telepathy. They've been trying to attach me to her," Chris nodded toward the girl, Vina, when he realized that Jamie and Uhura were really there with him. "They want to breed the new generation, I guess they decided to give me a choice." Jamie and Uhura looked at each other when Vina spoke from her seat.

"They aren't necessary, send them back," the girl pouted.

"I hate to break your heart but I'm his wife. He would never pick you, not even in the illusions... which, I'm assuming, is why they brought the two of us down here. According to the records, you're older then you appear, Vina. I'm almost certain that you're in on all this," Jamie told the other woman. The smile on Chris' face told Jamie that she was right all the way around. Jamie was running different plans through her head when Chris spoke.

"I'm gonna take a nap," he told the women. Jamie watched as he sat down, leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. She smiled and sat next to him, Uhura followed along, sitting on his other side. Reading his body language, Jamie could tell that Chris had a plan, all they had to do is wait.

They had been feigning sleep for about twenty minutes when one of the Talosians tried to take their weapons. They used them in an attempt to escape but nothing happened, Jamie was now realizing that what happened was all part of the illusion. As soon as the Talosian got close to her, Chris grabbed her phaser and put to the alien's head.

"It's all an illusion, the weapons not only work but they work well. Let us go or I will kill you," her husband growled. If it wasn't for the situation, Jamie would kiss him.

A moment later, the illusion dropped and the hole that she and Uhura put through the wall was there. The three of them made their way out of the room only to find that their communicators didn't work and the Talosians had some kind of hold on the ship. Chris offered to stay if they let the ship and crew go, Jamie set her phaser to overload and told them that she's die before being kept in a cage.

"I've been there, done that, got the scars to prove it," she told them. She also wanted them to let the ship go. If killing herself was the only way they'd do it, she was willing to make that sacrifice.

"Their kind has a universal hatred of being captives, even if it's pleasant. Let them go, they would not work for our needs,"the group's leader said. The Talosians shared a look between themselves before the comms beeped. Communications had been restored.

"Do you want to leave?" Jamie asked Vina.

"No," the woman said. "I was hurt when the ship crashed, they are keeping me safe." Jamie nodded as the illusion dropped long enough to show her true face, she was badly deformed.

Chris opened his communicator, "Three to beam up." It only took Kyle a second but they were on their ship again. Home, sweet, home.

"That place is dangerous, gotta warn the brass," her husband said. Jamie nodded at his statement just as Colt, Spock and Bones walked into the transporter room.

"Oh my God, sir, are you okay?" Colt was falling all over herself to check on Chris. Jamie and Uhura shared a look.

"Yeoman Colt. You are new aboard the Enterprise and may not be aware of the crew's interpersonal relationships, it is my duty to inform you that Admiral Pike is married to Captain Kirk. Any further flirtations would not be acceptable behavior," Spock told her. The look of mortification on her face was priceless.

Jamie laughed, "What is with all these girls throwing themselves at my husband, today?"

"Can't really blame them, Jamie. Your husband is awesome," Uhura told her with a nudge.