A/N Hey guys, sorry for the monumentally long time its been since I last updated this story. Life happened ha. Here's c.39, c.40 is also already written so I'll post that out in a week or so!
Chapter Thirty-Nine
"I just thought that by now maybe I'd be finding things easier, y'know?" David sighed, slumping a little further down into the too-firm couch in Soren's office.
The Vulcan remained stubbornly upright in his own seat opposite.
"There is no time limit on moving past a traumatic event. You cannot compare your own experience to that of others. Your mind is unique to you, and how you process your own traumas is unique to your mind," he said in his level voice.
"Chris is acting funny. I think he's hiding something from me," David blurted out and Soren looked at him neutrally.
"What makes you suspect this?"
"He's just acting weird. He's been cagey, he hasn't been trying to initiate anything between us… y'know, sexually. I wonder if he's seeing someone behind my back. I wouldn't blame him if he was," David said bitterly, picking at a loose thread sticking out from his pant-leg and looking anywhere but at Soren. The last three months had been tough since he'd been recovered from the Orion ship, and their relationship was definitely under some real strain.
"I do not believe Kirk would dishonour your bond in such a manner."
"You've never even met the guy, I don't know if you're qualified to judge his character," David responded snarkily and Soren bristled.
"I have indeed met Christopher Kirk, when you almost fell to your death after the incident based out of Starfleet London. I observed him completely devoted to your wellbeing, and that of his twin. He displayed great care for you," he said and David rolled his eyes.
"But that was then, things are so different now."
"He adopted your son without hesitation and co-parents him as if he is his own biological child. He clearly intends to spend the rest of his life with you as his bondmate, and should your relationship continue to progress as anticipated, husband."
"We haven't set a date for that yet. I don't know if it's still happening," David quickly backtracked.
"I am certain that Kirk is a man of his word, and a man who respects his bond, his fiancée, his new family that he is building. David, I am certain that you need not trouble yourself with such fears. You also state that Kirk has stopped making physical advances towards you, you could consider, perhaps, that he has adjusted his behaviour so as not to cause you further distress. You have mentioned an inability to… as you phrased it, 'perform' and this is a source of great embarrassment and upset. He can feel this through your bond; no human has the ability to shield such powerful emotions. He is acting with your best interests at heart. Does he still tell you of his feelings towards you?" Soren asked and David closed his eyes for a second, feeling guilty for even considering the thought that Chris would cheat on him.
"He tells me all the time," he admitted without opening his eyes.
"And your bond, is it secure? Do you feel his affection and love for you through this medium also?" he pressed and David nodded.
"Yeah. And he's taking such good care of me… he's always there when I need him even though all I've done is try my hardest to push him away. And the whole thing with Thomas… he's handling it so well. He really does love him and he's accepted him completely into our lives and I just… god I feel like an asshole now. I know he's not having an affair I just… feel like he's hiding something," David mumbled guiltily, shifting again in the couch.
"And what do you suspect he may be hiding, if it is not an affair?" Soren asked and David shrugged.
"Beats me doc. I have no idea."
*~*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*~*~*
Chris made it through breakfast in the Academy canteen with Leo without vomiting. He avoided coffee, fruit, dairy and anything else that he had developed an aversion to over the past couple of weeks. Leo seemed completely oblivious as he babbled happily about engineering department matters.
Joanna McCoy spotted them across the room and came over to join, cadet reds now beginning to reveal a small baby bump developing.
"Preggers, good morning," Leo greeted with a cheery wave and she scowled at him.
"Ignore him Jo, you look great. Hungry?" Chris smirked as he eyed her tray that was piled with nearly everything available.
"A little. Now I've stopped puking every five minutes the kid wants me to eat everything within a ten mile radius," she sighed as she sat down and began to tuck into her fruit salad.
"Are they moving yet? Like can you feel it?" Leo asked curiously and Joanna made an indecisive face.
"Maybe a little bit? Like fluttering. Be a couple months before they start kicking the hell outta me. Quinn is so sure we're having a boy. He just wants someone to play soccer with I think," she smiled and took a sip from her decaff coffee. Chris caught a whiff of the drink and fought the urge to retch, picking up his own herbal tea and sniffing it to clear the scent of the coffee from his nose.
"Hey! I play soccer with him!" Leo protested and Joanna laughed.
"Yeah, but you hand him his ass every single time."
"Well… he should try harder," Leo shrugged and Chris felt the colour draining from his face as he felt exactly the sensation Joanna had just described within his own abdomen. Fluttering. He'd noticed it about a week before just after hitting the gym with David and he'd written it off as maybe muscle cramp after a difficult workout. David was pushing him hard recently but he wasn't complaining, desperate to build some muscle mass.
"Chris? Hellooooo?" Leo was waving his hand in front of his face.
"What?" he snapped, coming back to his senses.
"We were just talking about the wedding. I was going over the final numbers for hotel rooms at the venue, I'm reserving them tonight for everyone in the wedding party. Do you and David want one too?" Joanna asked and Chris looked at her blankly for a second.
"Oh uh. Yeah. Sure. Can we have two? Adjoining?" he asked and Joanna gave him a knowing look.
"Sure. They can give you kiddies bed for Thomas in your own room though, or you guys could get the extra huge bed so there's room for three," she pointed out and Chris pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Uh yeah, ok sure, just get us one. We'll figure it out."
"Uh oh. Separate beds. Trouble in paradise?" Leo asked and Chris aimed a kick at him under the table."
"Not in public you asshole," he hissed and Joanna looked concerned.
"Are you guys really sleeping in separate beds?" she asked in a low voice and Chris sighed.
"No, we aren't sleeping in separate beds. We're just only sleeping in the same bed, if you catch my drift," he said, taking a sip from his tea to try and settle his churning stomach.
"Dry spell? Be honest – does Thomas keep cock-blocking you?" Leo asked with a smirk and Chris sighed heavily.
"We are not having this conversation right now," he said firmly and Leo's smirk widened.
"If you need me and Emily to watch the little man for a couple of days just ask. We aren't having any trouble in that department whenever we actually get to see each other so uh... shouldn't be a problem," he said with a theatrical wink.
"I gotta go, got class," Chris forced out, getting up from the table and hurrying towards the bathroom and his stomach gave a threatening lurch.
"Chris are you ok? You're really pale!" Leo called after him, Joanna giving him a quizzical look.
He hurried into the men's room and locked himself in a cubicle. His stomach gave a few more worrying surges and he tried to breathe through it. He'd become better at controlling his need to throw up all the time. David had enough on his plate without worrying about this too, so he'd become very good at hiding it. He'd now been home from his time in captivity aboard the Orion ship for just over three months and in that time had been under huge stress taking a lot of training and then exams to fast-track becoming a personal trainer so he could remain at the academy as an instructor in the fitness department on campus.
He was doing it so he could stay planetside for Thomas' sake. Chris secretly suspected part of the reason was also that he was perhaps too afraid to go back out just yet.
"Chris? Are you in here?" Leo's voice echoed and Chris sighed, backing up against the wall of the cubicle.
"Christopher?" he asked more insistently, now banging on the door of the cubicle he was occupying.
"Trying to take a shit dearest brother of mine, what do you need?" he lied weakly.
"Unless you're sitting side-saddle then I'm calling bullshit. I can see your feet Chris. Open the damn door," he pressed and Chris took a deep breath before opening the lock.
"Are you ok? You look all sweaty," Leo pressed, practically barging into the tiny cubicle with his twin, pressing his hand against his forehead to feel his temperature. Chris caught his wrist and pushed him away.
"I'm fine. Maybe I ate something bad," he lied casually, walking over to the sinks and taking a handful of water and splashing it on his face.
"Do you want to get a coffee later? The place off campus that does the awesome caramel lattes?" Leo asked and Chris caught his eye in the mirror.
"Uh… a tea maybe, not coffee."
"The dairy thing, right? You've had it going on since before Christmas."
"Yep. Just a little bit of lactose intolerance," Chris said, shoving his hands under the dryer and trying to ignore Leo's insistent gaze in the mirror.
"Alright bro, I'll see you around," Leo said, finally dropping it and leaving him alone though not sounding entirely convinced.
Chris lasted about ten seconds after Leo left before he was back in the cubicle and his stomach was violently ejecting his breakfast.
He stayed completely still when he was done, just letting the fresh wave of fear wash over him. He'd been wondering and worrying on and off for the last few weeks but his symptoms only seemed to be getting worse, and only seemed to be indicating one thing.
He'd been cagey with David and had tried to hide it, but there was only so much longer he could keep doing that before he'd have to tell him about his suspicions. It scared him more than he cared to admit. The possibility that he could be carrying a child. Their child.
Bones had confirmed a couple of years ago that he wasn't able to, that he wasn't equipped to, and that even if he was, it would be so dangerous with the strain it would put on his body that it couldn't possibly be viable.
"Keep it together Kirk. You're fine. Walk it off. It's all in your head," he told himself sternly in the mirror, rinsing out his mouth and heading out to go about his days business at the academy.
*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK~*~*~*~*~*
The next morning Chris was awoken at the unholy hour of six in the morning by a hyperactive David who was already in his jogging kit.
"Get up Christopher, we've got running to do."
"Fuck off."
"Nope. Not part of the deal. You asked me to get you into shape, and one of the most effective ways to lose body fat is fasted cardio. Meaning: running in the morning before you start eating, now up," he ordered, trying to drag Chris by the arm out of the warm bed.
"It isn't even fucking light outside," Chris hissed as he threw the blankets off himself in a strop and stormed into the bathroom to take a leak.
"Good. Now get your ass changed and meet me downstairs in three minutes. Don't make me come back up here," he warned, pulling on his shoes and heading to leave the room.
"Don't make me come back up here," Chris repeated in a mocking high-pitched voice.
"Wow. Mature. More complaining just means more running. Next time you open your mouth to bitch at me, you get an extra mile added to your bid," David warned and Chris scowled, but wisely kept his mouth closed.
The early morning run was exactly as hellish as Christopher feared, particularly given that David ran him all the way to the waterfront and along the path towards Fort Point, finally relenting and allowing them to turn back when they were almost in the foggy shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge.
"How far is it to get home?" Chris panted, stopping at the side of the path to try and catch his breath, clutching his chest through his oversized tee. His ribcage felt like someone had rattled him halfway to falling apart, but Bones had cleared him for this type of exercise, he'd just never actually done anything heavy impact since pre-injury. He grounded himself by pinching the roll of fat that clung around his mid-section, hard.
"Pretty far. Do you need to walk some? Maybe I've been too tough on you for the first session of running," David said uncertainly, pushing his sweaty hair back off his forehead that was tinted a healthy pink from running in the cold wind.
"Yeah, I think my options at this point are walk or projectile vomit," Chris grimaced, clutching his stomach and beginning to walk miserably back the way they'd come.
"Are you ok?" David asked and Chris nodded determinedly.
"Good. Five minutes break, then we're running back," he said more firmly again and Chris nodded in resignation.
Two weeks later Chris caught David frowning at him in the bedroom as he scrambled around for a clean uniform.
"What? Am I sexy yet?" Chris asked as he stumbled around in his boxers, hair sticking up in every direction and still wet from the shower.
David looked him up and down and smirked before giving him a firm kiss on the mouth.
"You're always sexy."
"But I'm getting kind of chubby, right?" Chris asked, frowning down at his own abdomen that was ever so slightly bloated, a small layer of fat that he'd never had before hanging over his waistband
"You're not chubby, don't even start saying that. You're just adjusting to me working you out like this. It's probably water retention or something."
Chris rolled his eyes.
"Water retention? Do I look like a fifty-something year old woman to you?" he asked and David smirked.
"Sometimes," he answered cheekily and began to hurry from the room.
"Oh no you didn't!" Chris protested indignantly, beginning to run after him.
*~*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*~*
Over the next fortnight Christopher and David saw less of each other as they both grew incredibly busy. Chris was re-taking some exams that he'd failed narrowly when David had been held by the Orion's and he'd been distracted, and David was teaching extra fitness classes at the Academy gym after one of the other instructors had changed back to their Security Officer track and had stopped teaching.
A few times Chris had walked past the main gymnasium when David was teaching, and spent a few seconds watching him through the glass as he instructed a room full of people lifting weights to pounding music. He was quickly developing a reputation as being stern but effective in getting results from people who needed to up their fitness, particularly with these group classes. Some of the cadets called it 'David McCoy's house of pain', David had heard of the nickname around and done nothing to discourage it, knowing only too well himself just how sore anyone participating in the class would be the next morning.
On more than one occasion Leo caught his twin staring openly at David if he ever wandered the house without a shirt. He was broader shouldered than either of them, just built differently. McCoy had never been defined in the way Chris had once been, he had always had a stockier, more powerful build to him, and the added muscle he was putting on was making it difficult for Chris to keep his eyes off his bondmate.
"Could you stop it?" David asked with a sigh one day as they did sit-ups in the gym on campus at the end of a tough session during a rare half-hour their workout time had overlapped.
"What?" Chris asked indignantly.
"Staring at me all the time?"
"Well… could you stop looking so damn good? I want to lick the sweat off your abs right now," Chris grumbled, hauling himself off the mats and going to get a shower, leaving David flushed bright red with embarrassment and taking a proper look at himself in the mirror for the first time in what felt like a long time and realising in no time at all he'd gone from being in good shape to being in the best shape of his life.
Life was also busy for Leo. With Emily away on tour he was working as many hours as he could get his hands on, often staying in the main Engineering bay until gone three in the morning, before reporting for duty again at zero-eight hundred after a few hours of rest.
One morning he was sneaking in after three, just a few days before Joanna's wedding. He slipped off his boots by the door and tiptoed up the stairs silently, slipping into the bathroom to brush his teeth before he headed to bed and almost screaming in shock when he found a shadowy figure already in the bathroom hunched over the sink.
"Jesus Christ! You scared the shit out of me," Leo hissed, one hand on his chest over his now racing heart.
"Sorry," David said thickly, hastily wiping his face with his hands.
"No, I'm sorry it was my fault. I shouldn't have been sneaking around, I was trying to make sure I didn't wake Thomas," Leo mumbled awkwardly as David kept his back to him. Leo's night vision was good enough to see his tearstained face reflected in the bathroom mirror above the sink and he hesitated for a second before speaking again.
"Are you ok?"
David sniffed again and nodded stiffly.
"Sure. Just a bad dream," he said vaguely and Leo chewed his lip.
"Is it… about whatever you talk to Soren about?" he asked softly and David turned to face him, resting his lower back against the sink.
"How do you know about that?"
"One time our appointments were accidentally back to back, I saw you leaving, but you didn't see me. You seemed in a hell of a hurry to get out of there," he whispered and David nodded.
"Yeah. I usually am. It's not exactly a party," he mumbled, lunging for the roll of toilet paper and snagging it, tearing off a few sheets and bundling them up to dab at his face.
"So what was your nightmare about?" Leo pressed and David looked at the floor for a second.
"I was back on that Orion ship. It wasn't a nightmare… maybe a… I don't know… a memory? I remembered them dragging me by my hair, and it hurt a lot. And then he threw me into the room and pinned me to the bed and pushed my leg to the side and then… then… I woke up," he finished and Leo took a deep breath.
"That's rough," he said, not really knowing what else to say. He hadn't actually expected David to open up about the contents of his dream and now that he had he was at a loss of how to respond.
"Yeah. Pretty rough. And I'm pretty sure this one was a memory coming back and not just my wonderful imagination filling in the blanks. I'm… I'm honestly just waiting for the day when Chris throws me out and tells me he's done with all of this shit," David whispered, voice cracking as fresh tears spilled onto his face.
"What? Why? Why would Chris ever throw you out? He's never going to leave you, not now and not ever and definitely not over you having some bad dreams," Leo said, taking a step closer, longing to reach out and touch the younger man, comfort him like he would if it were Emily who was upset. He and David didn't really ever touch each other, so he didn't want to overstep.
"Leo… Chris and I… we haven't had sex for almost six months. The last time was before I went on the mission and now if I even touch him to try to cuddle or anything he shrugs me off, and we don't do any open mind-melds anymore, just really limited stuff, we barely share anything," David said flatly, looking up from the floor now and meeting Leo's eyes through the dim light of the room.
"Wait… what?" Leo asked dumbly. His mind finally put two and two together and reached four, the pieces falling into place and an enormous surge of sympathy rising within him.
"David I… I didn't know. I'm… I'm so sorry. I had no… I mean… I wondered, when you first got back, but then I thought maybe… I hoped and I guess I just put it out of my mind," he stumbled and David made a bitter sound.
"Well, I wish I could put it out of my mind," he said miserably.
"I mean this whole game is fun us being here and playing house and having Thomas, but ultimately I don't know if I can ever get back to what we had. And I think he wants what we had, and not what we have now. It's hard to explain," David mumbled, running his hands through his hair tiredly.
"What did you guys have then? Your relationship before you went on the mission, describe it?" Leo asked and David chewed his lip, looking uncomfortable.
"I mean… I don't know. Passionate? I don't know man. We just… we couldn't stop. From when we got up in the morning to when we'd go to bed at night it was just constant flirting and banter and these little touches and just… a lot of sex," he shrugged and Leo nodded.
"So now it's all changed? You still flirt with each other, that tension is still there between you, I see it all the time between you guys. I actually didn't know that you weren't currently… y'know," Leo trailed off and made a crude hand gesture that David chuckled weakly at.
"Yeah. We aren't. So basically I'm just waiting for the day when he tells me that it's fun but he doesn't want to live like some couple who've been married for fifty years and just kiss each other goodnight and maybe spoon once in a while. I know he has needs and I know that I'm not being a good partner or fiancé or bondmate or… whatever we even are. I just don't know," he sighed and Leo frowned, thinking for a long moment.
"You're still attracted to him, right?" Leo asked and David raised an eyebrow.
"Leo, you've seen him right? He's devastating. I can't keep my eyes off him. And I still… y'know, think about stuff, but never when he's around. I want to… but I'm scared. We've never been particularly gentle with each other but I wonder if maybe that's what I need," he trailed off and Leo tilted his head.
"What do you mean never been particularly gentle with each other?"
"Well you know. Sometimes we'd almost wrestle each other for it. We'd pin each other down and things usually would get pretty rough, but it was always exciting and we both liked it. But now I just… I don't know," he sighed.
"You ever tell him any of this? I think he'd be heartbroken to know you've been holding back on wanting to try and resume your physical relationship because you're scared about asking him to change the pace. And besides, I still see into his mind sometimes when he's being lazy with his shields. He thinks about you non-stop, you aren't pushing him away in the way you think you are," Leo reassured and David looked hopeful.
"Really? Because I feel like I'm pissing him off."
"Well, yeah I mean sure I pick up sometimes that he's feeling frustrated, but not directed at you. Maybe you should try and talk to him about it, see if you can work on things? But please don't do it when I'm in the house because I don't need to be mentally scarred if I accidentally see or hear anything I don't need to. Just talk to him. I'm sure he'll be great about it," Leo said finally, setting his hand on David's shoulder briefly before leaving the room.
A minute or so later when he had gathered his thoughts David crept back into bed, Chris stirring as he climbed back in.
"Please no running," Chris mumbled sleepily and David chuckled.
"It's three am, we're not going running. I just went to the bathroom. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he said, curling into a ball with his back to the part-Vulcan.
"Mm, are you okay?" Chris asked, shifting closer and sneaking an arm around his bondmates waist. He was conscious of that strange feeling in his stomach again as he shifted closer to his bondmate, almost like fluttering. He ignored it and told himself it was all in his head.
"I'm fine," David mumbled back and Chris sighed.
"You're worried I'm mad at you because of how long it's been since we slept together. You're worried that I'm going to cheat or leave or both," he said matter-of-factly and David sighed, closing his eyes tightly.
"Chris can we not? It's really late, I'm really tired and-"he stopped talking immediately as Chris began to trail affectionate kisses over the back of his neck.
"Please don't be embarrassed to talk to me about this," Chris pleaded as a deep mumble against the back of his neck.
"Mmm'not," David protested weakly, keeping his eyes closed stubbornly and Chris chuckled.
"I am capable of doing gentle and careful you know. I don't have to pin you against a wall, or pick you up and throw you around," the part-Vulcan offered and David blushed.
"I was thinking maybe… once I get things a bit more figured out. What if uh… maybe we could uh…?" David began and trailed off, allowing Chris to complete the sentence through their physical contact and their minds. Prior to the mission they had fallen into a long stretch of more often than not David being on the bottom. They'd just both come to prefer it that way.
"We can switch, I'd love to," Chris finally verbalised and David nodded stiffly.
"Hey could I uh… could I share something with you for a second?" Chris asked, one hand ghosting gently up David's arm, over his neck and eventually settling on his face, right over his meld points.
"Chris come on it's really late and I'm really tired and-"
"I know. But I feel like this is important for us to do this right now. Because I know when I try to bring this back up tomorrow you'll duck the conversation," Chris pointed out and David sighed because he knew it was true.
"Fine. Five minutes. Then I need to sleep, I've got a busy day tomorrow," he grumbled, closing his eyes and giving over to the meld as Chris carefully dipped into his mind, allowing him to pull him deeply into the meld.
David's hands scrabbled for purchase on sweat-slick skin as he tried to push Chris's legs wider apart and higher, the bedsheets rubbing on his knees as he thrust powerfully forwards. Beneath him his bondmate was nearly incoherent with pleasure, gripping the sheets tightly, head tipped back, gasping with each inwards motion.
"Fuck, harder," he panted out.
The memory changed, they were in David's room at his parents' house now. Chris had one hand over David's mouth, the other with two fingers inside him, twisting and stretching and pressing on his prostate cruelly as they could hear Bones wandering around outside the room.
David's teeth clamped down on Chris' other hand which was covering his mouth, his toes curling as Chris pressed particularly hard on his sweet spot. His eyes widened with alarm as he could now also hear his mother outside his bedroom door having come upstairs to assist in locating whatever it was her husband was looking for. Chris smirked and twisted his fingers particularly creatively and added a third, forcing a sharp exhale from David that was muffled by the large hand blocking his mouth as he came, spurting messily over his stomach and trying desperately to keep silent.
The third memory had Chris beneath him again, looking so young. David recognised it as being a memory from early on in their relationship, not long after Chris got injured.
"That's so good," Chris encouraged, hands rubbing over David's thighs as he exerted the muscles rising and falling slowly on the part-Vulcan's length.
"How does that feel? Is it good?" he asked and David made an uncertain sound.
"I mean its ok. I still don't get what all the fuss is about," he said. David recalled this conversation clearly. It had been the first time he'd bottomed since Chris' Pon Farr and one other occasion, and he hadn't been enthusiastic due to his previous experiences.
"You're doing it wrong," Chris said firmly, pulling him a little closer and helping him reposition one leg. David winced as the angle shifted uncomfortably, then shuddered with pleasure and let out a small moan as he understood exactly what Chris was aiming for.
"Better?" Chris smirked.
"Shut up," David hissed, picking up the pace.
Before he could do anything to stop it the memory changed again, but this time Chris wasn't in control of it. David found himself on his back in a strange bed in a luxuriously appointed bedroom, white hot pain surging through the lower half of his body. He was almost blinded by it, his mouth open and not even sure if he was still crying out. A sharp focal point apart from the pain from his dislocated hip was the blunt press of two large fingers prying into him as he made a futile effort to clench down to prevent the intrusion, and fought to struggle with all his strength to throw the larger man off him.
A man dived in, tearing the Orion away. A man with long brownish hair, a scruffy beard and the brightest blue eyes glinting from his sunken face.
"It's ok. It's ok. You're safe here. I'm here, its ok," Chris was repeating calmly. It took David a long few seconds to come to his senses and realise he was now curled into Chris' chest, his tears soaking through the older man's shirt.
"I lost control of the meld. I'm so sorry. I was just trying to… I don't know. It was a stupid, insensitive idea. I'm so sorry," Chris blurted out and David shook his head, taking a deep breath.
"No. It's ok. I understand what you were trying to do, really. And I do remember how good it can be, and I know that I want to get back to what we had before and I just… I'm sorry. I have no idea why I bounced that memory back onto you. It's the clearest I've ever remembered any of it," he said thickly, then pausing to gulp another huge breath of air, sitting up and pulling all the blankets away from himself as he could feel himself beginning to sweat.
Chris handed him the glass of water he always kept on his side of the bed and David accepted it gratefully, drinking down about half of it before handing it back.
"I promise you. I am never going to push you, or pressure you, or anything, okay? It's really important that you know that."
David nodded and shakily slid back down into the bed properly, half pulling up the blankets and shifting a little closer to Chris.
"I do know that. I'm sorry you had to see that, I didn't mean to."
"Don't apologise for that. I'm sorry you have it in your mind and that you had to experience it and that you sometimes think about it. I'm sorry that I wasn't there to stop it happening," Chris said sincerely, placing a tentative hand on David's upper arm.
"You still want to get married and everything, right?" David asked nervously, partially just desperately trying to change the subject, and Chris chuckled and shifted closer, wrapping David possessively in his arms in a way that left him no choice than to just accept the affection.
"I would marry you right this moment in our pyjamas in this room if I could arrange it that fast. But I can't, so we're gonna have to pick a date and do this like normal people," Chris said fondly and David nodded shakily.
"We can't get married right now anyway, I haven't shaved. I look a mess," David mumbled sleepily and Chris chuckled.
"I like you with stubble. It's manly. And I like how it tickles my face. Anyway. No more worrying about sex stuff okay? It'll happen in its own time, and I don't want you stressing about it," Chris said firmly and David whined.
"I don't want you getting frustrated. I feel li-"
"Yeah so uh… you do know that masturbation is a thing, right?" Chris interrupted and David sighed.
"Ok. Goodnight," he mumbled, burying his face into Chris shoulder and trying his best to get back to sleep, pushing the freshly dredged up memory of the Orion ship to the back of his mind.
Things carried on much as they had been after their conversation, without anything really changing. David continued to go to therapy and Chris did his best to push out of his mind the images and memories that David had unwillingly shared with him.
The day of Joanna and Quinn's wedding arrived at the beginning of April before anyone had really realised quite how fast time was flying.
"Thomas please hold still," David begged as he tried to fasten the little clip-on tie onto his son's shirt collar. He'd found him a tiny suit that was an almost perfect match to the one he was wearing and he was doing his best to hide just how adorable he found the young boy in his formal wear.
"Thomas fancy!" he yelled again, trying to do a spin in his smart new clothes.
"Thomas is very fancy, and Dad is fancy, and Grandpa and Grandma are going to be fancy. It's a wedding, everyone gets dressed up fancy," he explained tiredly, now trying to persuade Thomas to put his feet into his shoes.
"Uh oh, little man, did you see where your Dad went?" Chris's voice came from behind him as David struggled with the uncooperative child.
"Dadda here!" Thomas giggled, grabbing David's head with both hands as he tried to fasten his shoes for him.
"Hmmm no… I don't see him?" Chris said, walking around them now. David didn't look up, but he could see a stone coloured suit and dark brown shoes out of his peripheral vision.
"Here is Dad!" Thomas protested, laughing harder.
"Is it? Hmm… I don't know. Looks too fancy."
"Everybody fancy for wedding!" Thomas exclaimed happily, repeating what David had just told him. David chuckled and finally managed to finish with his sons shoes, then stood up, turning to Chris.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for my fiancée… have you seen him? He's kinda tall, good looking, muscular… a little bit of a beard?" Chris asked David with a completely straight face and David rolled his eyes.
Chris chuckled and slowly snaked his arms around the younger man's waist, pressing up against him in a way that was impossible to ignore.
"You look unbelievable," he murmured softly into his ear, then placed a soft kiss on his neck that sent a shiver down the younger man's spine.
"You look like a goddamn movie star. We're like beauty and the beast," David chuckled, stepping back an admiring his bondmate. He was dressed in a sand-coloured suit that fitted him well, a grey tie breaking up his crisp white shirt. His hair was freshly cut and styled, maybe a little shorter than he would usually wear it, and he was cleanly shaven and groomed. He was somehow holding himself differently, standing up straighter maybe, David wasn't quite sure.
"Pssh. As if. You're like… a solid nine in that suit, maybe even a nine and a half. I still think it'd look better on the floor though," Chris smirked, ending in a low voice that Thomas wouldn't hear, and then reaching out to mess David's hair up ever so slightly.
He was wearing a charcoal grey suit with a navy tie to bring out his blue eyes. Thomas matched him in miniature.
"I feel too bulky," David complained, shifting a little in the restrictive garment. It certainly fitted him much more tightly since the last time he had worn it, and he blamed his recent increase in muscle mass for the problem.
"That's because you became a total beefcake. We should leave or we're going to be late, you're distracting me," Chris said, trying to look innocent. David rolled his eyes and rounded up Thomas to get him into the car.
*~*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*~*
"I promised myself I wasn't gonna cry but I'm not sure I can keep it together after all."
Joanna turned around at her father's voice from the doorway and smiled.
"Don't cry Dad, just think, you've only got two more left to marry off and you'll have got rid of us all," she grinned and he nodded.
"I guess you're right, except maybe I don't want to get rid of you guys, maybe I want to keep you around. You know Joanna, I'm so damn proud of you," he began and she gave him a warning glance.
"Dad, I just got my makeup right and I swear to god if you make me cry and I ruin it I'll-"
"No big speech. I promise. Not until later. I'm just real proud today. Feels like just last week you were only a little girl, and now here we are and I'm about to send you off into your own life and your own family. I'm so proud of you, everything you've achieved, everything you're working towards. Your Mom would be too. And so would your Uncle Jim," he said and Joanna sniffled a little.
"Don't cry; you'll start me off too. And I don't wanna be held responsible for spoilin' your makeup. You look beautiful, Jo."
There was a quiet knock at the door and Joanna took a few steps over to open it.
"Chris, everything alright?" Joanna asked at the nervous looking Kirk twin standing outside her dressing room.
"Everything is good. Can I borrow about thirty seconds of your time?" he asked, looking uncomfortable.
"Sure, so long as it really is only thirty seconds. The bridesmaids will be back any second and then we'll be walking down," she said and Chris nodded.
"I know. I was just in the boys' room, Quinn is shaking like a leaf. I uh… it turns out Jim left something… for you… for today," he said awkwardly and Bones' eyebrow raised slightly.
"He left this big pile of messages for us to deal with any occasion we may want to ask advice about. I went looking for the one about dealing with if your partner brings home a stray two-year old, but I found a section for… well… all of our weddings. He left little notes for all of us, sealed, and also a box for you," he said quietly, offering out the two items.
Joanna looked between the box, Chris' face, her father's face, and finally Jim's painfully familiar handwriting on the ornate looking envelope being offered to her.
"Open it darlin'," her father encouraged.
She accepted the items from Chris and he turned to leave.
"Stay," she said quietly and he turned back, nodding and coming into the room and closing the door.
The box was quite certainly a jewellery box. The envelope a heavy parchment. She decided to open the letter first, and she read it aloud.
"Dear Joanna,
Sorry that I'm not able to make it to your wedding today, it appears I am otherwise occupied," she paused and chuckled, wiping away a tear before continuing. "Watching you grow up from a shy four year old into a confident and beautiful young woman has been an honour, and whoever the lucky individual is that you're marrying today should count themselves incredibly gifted.
With all my love,
Uncle Jim.
P.S Please buy your old man a shot of the finest bourbon money can buy on my behalf at the evening reception."
She finished reading and exhaled heavily, fighting to keep her emotions in. The baby chose that moment to kick noticeably and she flattened her hand against the movement through the ornate fabric of her gown.
"He's such an asshole. If I dropped dead tomorrow there's nothing this thoughtful left behind for any of you guys, just a pile of money," Bones scoffed and Joanna chuckled, opening the box with shaky hands.
Inside was a simple silver ring, a blue stone set into the centre. The stone appeared to be almost alive, shifting and changing like the spring sky outside. Underneath the cushion was another small card with Jim's writing.
"I borrowed this stone on an off world mission, it's owner is expecting it back in around six-thousand terran years if you could please arrange that? I had it set into a new ring. The stone itself is also almost as old as your dad, approximately half a million years. And it's blue. So do I get bonus points for hitting them all with one item?"
"What the hell is he talking about?" Chris asked, scrumpling his face in confusion and Joanna chuckled.
"OK this is embarrassing but when I was a little girl, I used to want to marry Uncle Jim. I thought he was the most amazing man in the whole world. He used to kid with me and say we could only get married if I found something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. I could never do it because I'd find one item and then he'd hide it while I went off and searched for the next one. I must have been about six when we played this game and he remembered all these years," she sighed, fighting again with her emotions as she freed the ring from the box and slipped it onto one of her fingers.
Both men remained silent as Joanna refolded her letter and slipped it back into the envelope, placing it carefully on the dressing table.
The three remained silent until there was a knock at the door, startling them all. Emily slipped into the room, looking radiant in her blue bridesmaid dress.
"Thomas just lifted up Seren's dress in front of like… half the room. David almost died laughing trying to tell him not to do it," she grinned and Chris snorted with laughter.
"That kid is too much. I'll go help, make sure the ladies are safe from his advances," he said, leaving the room.
"We should get going Jo, you don't want to sweat the poor guy too much," said Bones, glancing at the old clock on the wall. It was two minutes to three, and the walk was at least five minutes.
"Sorry I'm late, I was fixing my dress after Thomas," Seren appeared around the doorway, looking slightly flustered.
"That kid better not grow up to be like his father," Bones grumbled as the four of them readied themselves to leave the room, Joanna, Emily and Seren each picking up their respective bouquets of flowers as they did so.
*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*
"Hey, slow down," Chris chuckled as David clumsily got the door to their hotel room open and shoved him against the back of it as soon as they were in the room.
"Looked so damn good all day, been waiting to do this," David growled, pawing at his suit, unfastening buttons everywhere he could find them, pulling out his tie, crashing their lips together. David had had rather a lot to drink at the evening reception; Chris hadn't had a single drop all day.
"Well I personally also think your suit would look better on the floor," Chris mumbled, pushing David's jacket back off his broad shoulders and letting it fall away.
"You think Thomas will stay asleep?" David asked, glancing backwards at the small figure fast asleep in the extra bed.
"So long as you don't scream," Chris mumbled, nipping his earlobe and David shuddered.
"God, Chris don't tease," he hissed, shoving him firmly downwards by the shoulders, hard enough and catching Chris enough by surprise that he dropped to his knees.
"Shit, sorry, I'm stronger than I realise-" David began and stopped speaking immediately when he saw the smouldering look Chris was looking up at him with. He reached out and threaded one hand into his hair; barely daring to breathe as Chris slowly unzipped his pants for him and drew out his length.
David swallowed hard, glancing away from Chris for just a second to check that the lump of blankets on the bed hadn't moved. It hadn't so he allowed himself to look back down just as Chris smirked and then proceeded to sink the velvet heat of his mouth onto him. The younger man fought to keep silent, his knees weakening slightly as he hit the back of his bondmates throat and felt the muscles constrict deliciously around him.
"Fuck, yes," he hissed, letting his head fall back against the wall as Chris began to suck hard, bobbing his head and swallowing and showing off his complete lack of any gag reflex.
He repositioned his hand slightly; worried he was gripping too tightly. Chris paused and put his hand back where it was, encouraging him to grip more tightly and David bit back a moan. Chris smirked up at him with his eyes.
"Chris, so good," he whispered, allowing his hips to rut forwards slightly, being overtaken by his arousal and tipsiness.
Chris pulled back suddenly and David whined at the sudden loss and cold air hitting sensitive flesh. He was about to verbalise his protest when Chris got in first and spoke before he could.
"I'm gonna take Thomas to Seren, and then I'm going to bend over that bed and you're gonna fuck me until I can't see straight, deal?" he said breathlessly and David nodded eagerly, stripping out of his shirt and discarding it as Chris stood up and shrugged out of his own shirt, padding over towards the still unmoved figure under the blankets. Chris approached as David reluctantly tucked himself back into his boxers.
"Hey so we're in luck," Chris smirked and David gave him a quizzical look, his face dropping as Chris suddenly jumped full force onto the pile of blankets on the bed, and when he bounced back up he had a piece of crumpled paper in his hand. He held it up and read from it.
McCoy - please enjoy getting laid tonight, we've got Thomas. Please pick him up before breakfast so I can bang your sister before we check out. Much love, Leo xx
David snorted a laugh and Chris gave a decidedly unmanly giggle, throwing the note aside and moving over to the main bed, kicking off his socks, pants and boxers as he did so, leaving himself entirely naked and sprawled on the bed.
"I ate too much, and I'm so bloated," he whined, rubbing his belly as David crawled over him.
"That's fine, I'll just do you from behind," he smirked, leaning down and nipping his neck, wriggling his way ungracefully out of his own pants and kicking them off whilst also trying not to kick the man laying beneath him.
Chris twisted easily so he was laying on his front, giving his butt a little wiggle once he'd positioned himself.
"Well go on, have at it. I'm bloated and sleepy though, so you can't blame me if I drift off halfway through," he said, voice muffled by the bed.
"Oh there is no way you're going to sleep through what I've got planned for you," David smirked, leaning down and clamping his teeth into the muscle where neck met shoulder, causing his bondmate to whine and squirm happily.
"You brought lube right?" David asked and Chris chuckled.
"What do you take me for, some kind of amateur?" he asked as he leaned over the edge of the bed and fished around in his bag for a moment before returning with a brand new tube that he tore the seal off with his teeth, then handed to David.
"You uh… you're ok, this way around?" David asked and Chris sighed, rolling onto his back and uncapping the tube, squeezing some into his own hand before taking his time to slowly and thoroughly coat the first two fingers of David's right hand. David took the hint and picked up the lube himself, adding a little bit more to his slick fingers before lowering them and teasing around the outside of his bondmates entrance before slowly pressing one finger inside. Chris exhaled heavily and took a steadying breath.
"Are you ok?" David asked, moving closer and pressing his forehead against Chris' temple.
In lieu of a verbal response Chris turned his head and kissed him firmly.
"The real question is are you okay?" Chris asked, shifting slightly so the side of his thigh was pressed against David's crotch.
"Uh yeah… all systems normal," he said uncertainly, suddenly feeling very sober. Chris raised an eyebrow.
"Well… I mean I'm about seventy-percent there," David admitted with a chuckle and Chris smirked, reaching to remove his boxers for him. The younger man kicked them off and resumed carefully preparing his bondmate.
"M'ready," Chris mumbled against David's lips after a long few minutes.
"You want to uh… face to face or?" David asked awkwardly, pink blush creeping across his face.
"You're adorable when you're embarrassed," Chris chuckled, turning onto his side and using one hand on David's hip to turn him onto his side too so they were spooning.
"Like this?" David asked in a low voice, removing his fingers and grabbing a generous handful of lube that he spread on himself before plunging his fingers back inside and catching Chris by surprise, earning a pleased gasp in response.
"Like this," Chris responded sleepily, keeping his hand on David's hip as the younger man removed his fingers again and gripped himself, beginning to press forwards slowly. They both sighed as the head breached the tight ring of muscle.
David gave Chris just a moment before pressing forwards further, burying his face into the back of his neck and wrapping him in his arms.
"I love you so much," he breathed, Chris humming contentedly in response, reaching his arm up to circle David's head as he buried his face into his neck and began to roll his hips leisurely, before starting to become a little more forceful with his movements.
Chris turned his head so their eyes could meet.
"Slowly, okay?" Chris asked softly and David obliged, slowing back down and taking his time. He surged forwards and captured the older man's lips in a passionate kiss. When they broke apart he paused his movements entirely and pulled out, repositioning Chris onto his back and climbing between his long legs.
"David-" Chris began to whine, both hands self-consciously covering his abdomen which still felt bloated and heavy after everything he'd eaten.
"What's wrong?" David asked in a low voice as he sank back inside, pressing Chris into the mattress firmly and kissing his way from his neck up to his earlobe which he paused to tug at with his teeth.
"I feel really uncomfortable on my back," Chris protested, his words losing their effect when he let out a small moan as David hit his prostate dead on.
"Why?" he asked, now paying close attention to the junction between neck and shoulder as he continued to roll his hips in long, slow strokes.
"Because I feel really bloated. Can't we go back to what we were doing before, or something else?" he asked, looking a bit distressed when David pulled back slightly so he could see his face.
"Yeah of course, I don't want you being uncomfortable," he agreed easily, Chris eagerly flipping over onto his hands and knees.
"I don't know if I'm going to stay quite so controlled if we're going to do it like this," David warned, feeling a surge of lust rising as he ran his hands down the older man's back, stopping when he was cupping his rear with both hands and gripping, pulling the two muscular cheeks apart to reveal his entrance. Chris made an undignified sound as David lunged forward and began lapping at him eagerly.
"But I thought you didn't like to- jesus- god, that's so good," Chris breathed and David gave a low chuckle, reaching through his legs and gripping his erection, beginning to stroke him firmly with an unrelenting pace, as he kept up his constant onslaught with his tongue.
"Not gonna last," Chris warned and David growled, biting at the soft flesh on the inside of Chris' thigh and causing him to hiss in pain.
He pulled away and moved up quickly, repositioning and then driving home with one movement. He buried his face into the back of Chris' neck and held still for a moment, taking a deep, steadying breath.
"I thought for a while we might never do this again," he admitted and Chris exhaled slowly.
"I'm glad we figured it out," Chris replied sleepily, his tiredness and impending orgasm leaving him feeling a little fuzzy-headed.
"Mmm me too, almost forgot how great your ass is," David sighed, rolling his hips slowly and savouring the low sound it drew from Chris' throat.
"Can we?" Chris offered his left hand back, lifting up onto his knees so he was effectively kneeling in David's lap, left hand reaching back to touch his meld points, right hand clutching at David's thigh to help his balance.
"Are you sure?" David asked uncertainly.
"Just lightly, just what we're feeling right now, no memories and nothing complicated, just this moment right now," Chris explained and David nodded, wrapping one arm around his chest tightly to hold him close as Chris carefully joined their minds, their bond igniting at the telepathic contact.
What felt like it could have been hours later David blinked hard, coming to his senses to find Chris flat out on his belly beneath him, his whole weight resting on top of the older man as he tried to catch his breath and the pleasant white hum of his orgasm tingling through his body.
"Earth to David?" Chris asked after a few moments and David blinked hard again, realising Chris probably wanted him to move.
"Don't wanna," he mumbled, holding Chris tighter and rolling his hips gently, causing the older man to whine.
"Sensitive," Chris protested and David chuckled, carefully pulling out and moving aside to collapse onto his belly next to Chris, getting right into his personal space and kissing every part of his face he could reach. He felt absolute euphoria that he couldn't tell if it was his own, or if it was coming from the bond, perhaps both.
"That was fun," he beamed as he finally relented and pulled back enough that Chris could see his face clearly. His eyes were more blue than grey and his smile actually reached them, which was rare since he got back from the Orion ship.
"That was fun. I should get a washcloth, I'm sticky," Chris pouted and David smirked.
"And lying in the wet spot?"
"Well… I was kinda constructive about that," Chris admitted and David was silent for a few seconds.
"Do you have a handful of jizz right now?" he asked finally, raising the famous McCoy eyebrow and Chris exploded into uncontrollable laughter, leaping up from the bed and going to wash aforementioned hand. David chuckled and rolled over onto his side to try and get comfortable to go to sleep, Chris returned a short while later smelling like fresh shower and feeling a little cold. David was close to sleep and content enough to just be held that he tolerated Chris' chilly skin as he wrapped him in his arms and pressed up against his back. He placed a small kiss on the back of his neck and whispered his goodnight through their bond, David falling asleep within seconds.
*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*
"Good god man! What the hell happened to you?" Bones demanded as Christopher limped into the hotel restaurant the next morning, lips puffy and a fading bruise still evident on the side of his neck.
"Do you really want me to answer that Bonesy?" he asked sweetly as David appeared behind him, looking smug and satisfied, if a little hungover. Bones looked between them both and narrowed his eyes before returning to his grapefruit without passing comment. David blushed and Chris dragged him to a table far away from his father.
"I'll text Leo to bring Thomas back," Chris said as he sat down gingerly, rubbing his stomach.
"Sure. Are you okay?" David asked looking a little concerned.
"Yep," Chris flashed a grin but continued to rest his hand on his stomach as he fumbled for his comm with the other hand and sent off a quick message to Leo.
"Why don't you just y'know, telepath your message to him?" David suggested helpfully and Chris rolled his eyes.
"Leo and I keep our link pretty blank now, it got too complicated now that we both have bonds. Plus he's a mess, he doesn't meditate enough," Chris dismissed, shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
"Seriously are you okay? Did I hurt you? I'm a little worried and I was kinda drunk and maybe too rough," David pressed, looking guilty.
"I'm fine. Bloated still, but not hurt. I just feel kinda gross," Chris complained. "If you want to go get my food for me though that would be awesome," he suggested, fluttering his eyelashes in David's direction.
"Fine," the human grumbled, heading towards the breakfast buffet and filling up two plates before returning to their table. By the time he got back he found his seat had been taken by a tired looking Leo with Thomas on his lap.
"And then he got up at three… and then he got up at four, and then… guess what? Guess what Thomas? Huh?" he asked, tickling him and causing him to giggle and squirm. "And then he got up at five too! And now he wants to sleep, but it's daytime and we can't sleep now," Leo said, stifling a yawn.
"He give you a hard time?" David asked, setting down the food.
"Yep. You owe me big," Leo replied, handing Thomas over to David and standing up to leave.
"Where are you going? Aren't you having breakfast?" Chris asked and Leo smirked.
"My breakfast is in bed upstairs," he said with a wink and David scowled.
"That's my sister! Don't be so disgusting," he protested and Leo laughed over his shoulder as he retreated through the restaurant back towards the lobby to head back up to his and Emily's room.
"Did you have fun with Uncle Leo last night huh?" Chris asked of Thomas who was now perched on his lap, oblivious to how gingerly Chris was sitting and moving.
"I'm tired," Thomas complained and Chris laughed.
"Yep. Leo has that effect on people. Do you think you can make it a couple more hours and then take a nap in the car on the way home?" David asked his son and Thomas nodded weakly.
"That's my brave little man. Two more hours at the most and we'll be in the car and you can sleep all the way home," David comforted as Thomas started to squirm in Chris's lap, kneeing him in the stomach accidentally, with some force. Chris noticeably winced.
"Are you okay? Thomas, stop beating Chris up, I need him in one piece so he can drive us home later," David hinted heavily at his bondmate and then moved around the table to scoop the child off his lap before settling back in his own seat with Thomas on his knee.
"You want some of this? It's really good," David offered a chunk of pain au chocolat in Thomas' direction.
"Is good?" Thomas asked, looking at Chris with wide eyes.
"I don't know little man, I'm not allowed to eat it. Because I'm a Vulcan certain food can make me sick, but those foods are ok for you to eat because you're a human," Chris explained gently, rubbing his stomach and frowning slightly. As David looked closer he could see a bit of sweat clinging around Chris' hairline and definite discomfort on his features.
"Are you feeling okay? Your stomach?" David asked, reaching across the table for Chris' hand.
"Yeah it's uh… it hurts. Maybe I should just… go for a walk," Chris suggested weakly, standing up and leaving his breakfast almost untouched. David gave him a concerned look and squeezed his hand before letting go as the older man began to walk gingerly towards the exit of the restaurant and back towards the lobby, hoping to go back to the room and lay down.
"You look like crap kid," Bones informed him helpfully as he passed by his table. He shrugged off the comment and continued with a blind focus to just get back to his bed and lay down immediately. His chest felt tight. He could feel the strange fluttering sensation in his stomach, and all he wanted to do was be horizontal and not moving.
He made it to the room and slumped back into bed on his side, lying still as the room span around him. After a few minutes there was a knock at the door. Chris stayed still and silent, just wanting to be left alone. There was a telltale click of the lock releasing and then the door opened slowly, Leonard stepping into the room and closing the door behind him, medical bag over one shoulder.
"You really look like crap. Let me take a good look at you," he said in a tone that suggested it really wasn't a request. Chris groaned weakly and stayed still, stomach churning.
"How long have you been feeling unwell? Is it your chest?" the doctor asked, kneeling beside the bed and shining a pen light in Chris' eyes, making him slam them closed and recoil away.
"Kind of my chest. Kind of just everywhere. Been feeling unwell since… I don't know. Couple of weeks before David went on his mission maybe. Started feeling sick," he mumbled weakly, his eyes still closed. He was aware of the doctors firm but gentle hands on him now, encouraging him to roll over onto his back. He did as he was guided, but then made no effort to move further, laying completely boneless on the bed.
"You're like a limp lettuce leaf. Not sure why in the hell you've walked around feeling sick for six months if you could have just come to see me to begin with," Bones commented, rummaging in his med-kit for something.
"So, your aversion to dairy products that David told me about, when did that start?" he asked and Chris shrugged. "Around the same time?" he pressed and Chris thought for a second before nodding.
"Yeah I guess so. My chest has been feeling kind of tight too but David has been pushing me in the gym," Chris explained weakly. He could hear the low hum of a tricorder now and kept his eyes closed even more tightly. If what he suspected was happening to him was really true, he wasn't sure how he was going to react to the news, let alone how David would react.
"Open your eyes kid," Bones said gently after a long few minutes, the scanner stopping. Chris did as he was told and looked up at the doctor.
"I am, aren't I?" he asked the older man who was looking at him with a forced neutral expression.
"Chris if you knew about this and deliberately kept it from me-" he began and then stopped, sitting down on the edge of the bed and pressing the tips of his fingers to his forehead briefly.
"Are you clean?" he asked and Chris frowned.
"What?" he asked, as though he hadn't heard the question.
"Are you completely clean and sober right now? You're looking at around twenty-five weeks in, so I need to know you've been clean that long at least." Bones asked again and Chris' frown deepened.
"I'm pretty offended that you feel you need to ask Bones. I'm clean and sober, and I get regularly tested for that as part of the custody agreement for Thomas. Glad that's your priority," he said bitterly and Bones looked affronted.
"That's not… that's not how I meant it. You gotta understand… this is my grandchild, and with your history… I just needed to know you haven't been using. I trust you, and I don't think you have been, but I needed to ask. The scan shows your liver function is way off. I'm kind of amazed you're not showing more symptoms. I need to run more detailed scans, but I'm concerned about this being a viable situation," he said flatly and Chris closed his eyes for a second and took a breath. He'd barely allowed himself to consider this being reality, let alone how it would feel to have it confirmed to him.
"Almost six months Bones. That sounds pretty damn viable to me. We need to find a way to make this work that's safe for me and for…well… the baby," he said hesitantly. It was the first time he said it aloud since he'd begun to suspect and the words felt foreign in his mouth.
Bones exhaled heavily.
"Jesus kid. Does David know? I started to wonder a couple weeks back, you've been looking a little chubby… no offense, but you're still tiny for this many weeks. I want you in my office first thing tomorrow so we can take some more detailed measurements. Have you been feeling foetal movement?" he asked and Chris hesitated then nodded.
"Before you ask me why I didn't investigate - David has been pushed to the fucking edge by everything going on since he got back from that Orion ship, and things between us are only just getting back to a more normal state, so I haven't been my priority right now," he pointed out and Bones' argument clearly died on his tongue.
"If you get to full term you'd be due in August, but I think we're looking at more like June with the strain on your body. You should tell David as soon as you can, and you should make Starfleet aware too. I'll make you an appointment for some more detailed scans on Monday, first thing, oh-eight-hundred hours. Don't be late kid," he said firmly, getting up and leaving the room.
Chris exhaled heavily once the doctor had closed the door behind him, letting out the breath he'd been holding. The tears he'd been holding back escaped too and he let them slowly run down his face as his mind reeled. He focused on locking down his bond with David, to be certain that he couldn't find out accidentally. Once he'd accomplished that he allowed himself to think properly about what was going to happen over the coming months.
David would be stressed when he found out, that much was certain. He'd be worried about the strain on Chris' body, and he'd be worried about how they would cope, and he'd be emotional, but Chris was certain that once everything had settled down deep down he would be happy. They hadn't talked about it, but they both definitely wanted another child, maybe even a few more. It had been hinted as something for them to explore way off in the future, perhaps not now, not so young, and not when their careers had only just begun.
Chris didn't even realise he'd fallen asleep until sometime later when he was awoken by a strong arm wrapping around his waist and a face nuzzling against the back of his neck.
"Mmwhat time is it?" he asked sleepily and David chuckled against the back of his neck, the huff of air warm against the sensitive skin there.
"Late enough that I extended check out to let you sleep. Leo and Emily took Thomas back with them, and my dad said you wanted to talk to me about something? I've been up here for ages but you've just been sleeping. I must have worn you out last night huh?" he asked with a grin that Chris could feel against the back of his neck. He turned a little, enough that he could see David's smirk.
"You will never, as long as we live, wear me out. I'm just sleepy today, my chest hurts," he said vaguely, closing his eyes again.
"Nope. Nap time is over, it's like two in the afternoon and you've been sleeping all day. Hey, what's wrong with your face, were you crying?" he asked quickly as Chris turned over to face him more, not realising how puffy his face was.
"Uh… no," Chris lied badly and David looked concerned.
"Did… are you upset about last night?" David asked and Chris frowned in confusion.
"Why would I be upset about last night?" he asked.
"Did I do something wrong?" David asked flatly and Chris gathered him into his arms.
"Of course not. You didn't do anything wrong. Last night was perfect, I just haven't been feeling too well today. I got a little emotional earlier but it wasn't because of anything you've done, I promise," he soothed and David relaxed a little.
"I worry about you. I worry there's a lot in your head that you don't tell me," he pressed gently and Chris sighed.
"There's a lot in my head that its better I keep to myself."
*~*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*
Chris waited until he was absolutely certain Bones would be asleep before he texted him to tell him he wouldn't be coming in in the morning for his check-up. He needed more time to tell David about what was happening. He'd give himself just one more week to break the news to him, and then he'd get looked over. He was certain that both his body and the baby could handle one more week.
Monday morning Chris woke up to a very warm, very solid body pressed up against his back, insistent erection pressing against his ass.
"Mmm good morning," Chris mumbled sleepily.
"Good morning yourself," David replied huskily, voice deeper than usual and scratchy with sleep.
"That a phaser in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" Chris asked, shifting his hips back a little to increase the friction and causing David to tense a little and exhale slightly heavier than usual.
"Don't say too much, you might scare it off," he mumbled, kissing the back of Chris' neck and causing him to shiver at the sensations of his trimmed stubble raking across the sensitive skin.
David's hands trailed down and gripped the bottom of Chris' shirt, slowly drawing it up until Chris helpfully lifted his shoulder so he could pull it over his head entirely and throw it aside. He repeated the process with his own shirt and then pressed up against Chris again, taking a possessive grip on his hip, with the other arm worming his way underneath his neck, bending at the elbow and holding him by the chest so he was effectively pinned on his side facing away from him.
Chris said nothing as David kept completely still for a few moments. He listened to his bondmates breathing, and tried to gauge any information coming across through their bond but it was deliberately blank. This was as far as they'd got with David completely sober in a long time and Chris didn't want to put him under any pressure.
David tightened his grip and rolled his hips forward, sighing at the pleasurable friction. He repeated the motion, movements becoming more insistent and breathing becoming ragged. He dropped the hand on Chris' hip down to grope him through his boxers and Chris nearly whimpered at the touch after so long without any contact from his bondmate, save for a few nights previous.
With a frustrated growl David pulled him tighter into his body, his hand on his hip slipping upwards and onto his stomach in a way that made Chris' heart do a strange sort of jump in his chest. If only David knew that he wasn't just a little overweight. That he was growing their child inside his body.
"Chris, fuck, I think I'm gonna-" David warned, rutting against him almost furiously now, hand rubbing him clumsily through his boxers in a way that shouldn't have felt as good as it did with the fabric of his boxers chafing.
David tensed and went completely silent, taking in a sharp breath as his body trembled. Chris could feel a warm stickiness on his lower back and ass and sighed in pleasure as David finally slipped his hand inside his boxers and barely stroked him twice before he was coming too, unable to control it with David's own orgasm echoing through their bond.
"I uh… sorry, I didn't even get us out of our boxers," David breathed after a few moments. Chris huffed a laugh and rolled over to face him.
"Please don't ever apologise again for waking me up like that," he grinned, leaning in and pressing a small kiss at the corner of David's mouth.
"OK. Uh… do you want to like… cuddle now?" David asked awkwardly and Chris raised an eyebrow, holding their eye-contact for a long enough time for him to sense David becoming uncomfortable and he laughed.
"You're adorable. I'd love to cuddle, but the bed is kind of a disaster, and so are we… so we should probably shower and do laundry," Chris pointed out helpfully and David bashfully glanced down at the wet spot staining the front of his boxers.
"Yeah. That's probably a good idea."
"Go on, get in the shower first and I'll catch you up," Chris offered and David didn't need to be told twice, sneaking out of the door after checking the hallway and ducking into the bathroom.
Chris pulled off his sticky boxers and used them to clean off before balling them up and throwing them back onto the sheets. He stripped the bed off and bundled everything together to carry downstairs to the machine.
Leo was sitting at the kitchen table when he rounded the corner and Chris sighed at the widening smirk on his twins face.
"Oh. I see. Laundry day huh?"
"Yep. Just washing sheets," Chris said casually as he stuffed the sheets into the machine and then stood back upright after setting it, still totally naked.
"Mhm. You stink of sex. And you're looking a little chubby man."
"And you stink of jealousy. I've seen you looking at David too you know," Chris retorted and Leo's smirk widened. He decided not to even snark back at the weight comment.
"Think he'd let us double team him? I think if I asked Emily she'd probably let me do him."
"Leo. That is the single most outrageous thing you've ever said to me. You should wash your brain out with soap, or bleach," Chris fired back, horrified and trying to shield Leo's comment from his bond because he knew David would be mortified if he heard it. Leo smirked and shrugged in response.
"So I'm working really late tonight and I probably won't be getting up early to hangout with Thomas in the morning tomorrow, so maybe you guys shouldn't plan a run or… a whatever this was for tomorrow," Leo gestured to Chris' nudity and Chris rolled his eyes. He noticed Leo's attention divert to behind him and snatched a book off the table to cover himself up with just as Thomas came into the room behind him and giggled.
"What's so funny little man?" Chris asked and Thomas walked around so he was in front of him before climbing up into the chair next to Leo.
"I saw butt," he giggled and Leo smirked.
"You did see my butt. I'm on my way to the shower, I think Uncle Leo is going to fix you breakfast and I'll be right back," Chris said, excusing himself and practically sprinting upstairs, discarding the book he'd hastily picked up on the way. He slipped into the bathroom and locked the door before sliding open the shower cubicle.
"Need someone to wash your back?" Chris offered as he stepped under the spray behind his bondmate.
"Thought you'd got lost on the way here," David smirked, turning around and kissing Chris' neck, first down to his collarbone and then up to his earlobe. Chris sighed contentedly and trailed his hands down the younger man's back, savouring the feeling of firm muscle under warm, wet skin.
"You're not being subtle you know," David hinted and Chris stopped, his hands low on David's back, as low as he dared.
"Hm?"
"I know you want to grab my ass. It's ok, you can grab it, I think I feel ok about that," he said with a nervous smile.
Chris trailed his hands lower and gripped firmly with both hands.
"You're going to have to stop working out so much," he sighed, burying his face into David's shoulder.
"Why?" David asked and Chris chuckled.
"Because I can never take my eyes off you, and I don't think I'm ever going to be able to take my hands off you either," he said, squeezing gently before moving his hands to David's hips and stepping forwards to press their bodies together. David's breath hitched and Chris grinned at the fact his bondmate was hard again.
"Chris, you don't have to-" Chris silenced the younger man with firm kiss.
"But I want to. Plus you're probably only going to last fifteen seconds again anyway," he smirked and David looked affronted.
"I'll have you know that was at least twenty seconds!"
*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*
The rest of the day was the same as any other. David taught his group classes, saw a few people for one-to-one personal training and then taught a few more classes into the evening. Chris had been meeting with instructors and trying to get some extra credit in a few of his classes before heading off to collect Thomas and get dinner made for when David would get home. Bones had called him, a lot, but Chris had ignored it and avoided it. He'd speak to him later and explain he hadn't told David yet.
Leo's day had also been perfectly ordinary, though he had been drafted into staying in late to cover an extra shift overnight as a few of the more highly skilled engineering cadets were out with extremely unpleasant cases of Andorian shingles. It meant he'd be working a twenty-hour stint, but he didn't mind particularly seeing as he'd be doing nothing much else with Emily away, and he felt bad for the guys who were out sick. The engineering bay was filled with hazards, but picking up space-borne illnesses was not a common one.
"Thanks for stayin' late again lad," said Scotty as he watched Leo chasing a length of cable through a section of the shuttle they were working on. Behind him a mechanical crane arm whirred by, controlled by a cadet or officer up in the booth with a clear view of the whole bay. Scotty was standing within a pedestrian-safe green area of floor that the crane would need to be overridden to access.
"No problem Scotty, not like I'd have been doing much anyways," he said, trying not to sound too petulant.
"Oh aye. Must be missin' her somethin' terrible, 'specially with your brother and McCoy all loved up and with their wee-man runnin' around too now," he said, taking a few steps to his left to collect a socket wrench.
"Yeah I do miss her, but she's having a great time and I talk to her a lot. I'm just glad things are finally happening for the band, that was a lot of years they played in shitty little sweaty rooms for about twelve people and she put herself through hell with all the problems she was having with her voice," he said, accepting the wrench from Scotty and moving to another section of the hull, wiping the sweat and grime off his forehead with the back of his sleeve.
"How's the wee lad doin'?"
"Yeah he's good. Learning so many new words all the time, he's a real chatterbox. There's something about him that's odd though… I've been trying to spend a load of time with him to work out what it is, but I just can't figure it out," Leo said, trying to concentrate as he laid down on the floor of the skeleton of the shuttle and began to unfasten a panel he needed to access behind to place his cable correctly.
"Sure there's nothin' weird about him, he's jus' a little boy," Scotty said and Leo frowned.
"I don't know. Sometimes I look at him and feel like he's smarter than me."
"Really? I cannae see how a little lad no' even three could be smarter than you," Scotty chuckled and Leo shrugged, handing Scotty down a bunch of the fastenings he had just removed.
"I think having him around is making Emily broody," Leo grumbled and Scotty laughed, taking a few more steps back from the shuttle and placing his hands on his hips.
"Was always gonna happen eventually. You should do it, I think you'd make a great dad," Scotty encouraged and Leo huffed a laugh.
"Thanks Scotty. Maybe in a couple of years," he said, setting down the last of the fixings on the floor beside him and shifting back to his feet to try and pry the panel off. It gave way pretty easily and he set it down, retrieving the cable he was fitting and looking down to see the path it needed to follow.
An enormous crash jolted the whole shuttle, and a sharp cry of pain rang out. Leo looked up, no longer able to see Scotty stood where he had been a second ago, though he could now see the arm of the crane just in front of the shuttle, near to where Scotty had been standing. It looked like the crane had collided with the shuttle.
"Scotty? You alright down there?" Leo called, moving towards the edge. It wasn't a large drop, only around two meters or so.
Scotty didn't respond. Leo didn't waste a second and leapt off the side of the shuttle, landing on the concrete of the engineering bay and sprinting the few steps to where Scotty had just been standing.
"Scotty? Scotty! Hey, talk to me," he said in a hollow, panicked voice. The older man was at the front of the shuttle, and the crane arm had caught him by one leg when it slammed into the shuttle, leaving him trapped there by his leg that was gushing an alarming amount of blood onto the floor.
Not wasting a single second Leo sprinted to the nearest emergency call button and slammed his fist into it, the alarm ringing out immediately, before he ran back to Scotty's side.
"Scotty?" he asked, touching his shoulder. He was very pale and his eyes were closed, already unconscious from shock and blood-loss.
"Control booth, move the crane!" Leo yelled as loud as he could, stretching to try and see the booth but he could see nobody was in it.
The puddle of Scotty's blood was growing by the second and Leo knew he had to act immediately. He wedged himself alongside Scotty and put his back against the shuttle frame, gripping the steel crane arm with both hands and pushing as hard as he could. His eyes closed, blood was rushing in his ears, he couldn't feel anything except the sheer panic and the desperate need to get Scotty's leg free. A dull thump next to him as Scotty was freed from the crane and collapsed onto the ground brought him back to his senses and he let go of the crane arm and opened his eyes, his vision whiting out around the edges from exertion.
He didn't even look at the crane; his eyes went straight to Scotty's leg where his femur was protruding from his skin, blood absolutely pouring from the wound. Leo whipped his belt off and wrapped it around his thigh above the wound and pulled it as tightly as he dared with shaking hands.
"Come on Scotty, don't you fucking dare die on me," he hissed.
"HELP! ANYBODY?" he called out, unsure why nobody had yet responded to the alarm.
An agonising few more seconds passed before help burst into the room. Emergency medical responders were on Scotty in an instant, and Leo took a step back to let them work. He turned away, unable to watch as they started working on him, but as he turned he came face to face with a security officer with his phaser drawn and pointed right at him.
"Stop! Cadet, don't move," he warned and Leo frowned.
"I didn't do anything. I just needed help for Commander Scott, the crane… somebody must have lost control of it but I didn't see anybody in the booth," he explained, taking a step towards the security officer.
"One more step and I'll open fire. Do not move!" he ordered and Leo raised his hands as if in surrender.
At the movement the officer depressed the trigger, hitting Leo square the in the chest with a stun blast. Leo looked down at his own chest and then back at the officer, not going down. In panic, the officer fired again, just as another officer fired for the first time. The two simultaneous stun-blasts were enough to send the part-Vulcan crumpling to the ground.
Leo woke with a pounding headache and no idea how much time had elapsed. He determined immediately he was at Starfleet medical and based on the amount of wires hooked up to him, something major was going on.
A doctor he didn't know was standing near the foot of his bed and looked up at his face, as if sensing from his vitals that he was awake.
"Ah, Mr. Kirk, I'm relieved you've re-joined us, we were concerned about you," he said smoothly.
"What happened?" Leo asked blearily. "Scotty. Commander Scott, is he alright?" he asked, much more alert after a few seconds.
"Commander Scott may lose his leg, but I believe he has been stabilised and his life is no longer in immediate danger," the doctor answered and Leo exhaled heavily, attempting to lift his hand to push his hair back off his forehead where he was certain he must be sweating. He couldn't raise his arm, as it was linked to the bio-bed with a very solid looking set of handcuffs, one on each wrist.
"You didn't tell me what happened? Or why I'm tied down doc. Am I under arrest?" Leo asked and the doctor gave a smile that was more like a baring of his teeth and did nothing at all to put Leo at ease, in fact it made him more wary of this guy.
"You likely saved the Commanders life today kiddo, if you hadn't got him out and got your belt around his leg like you did he could have bled to death. That doesn't take long with the femoral artery you know," he said over-enthusiastically.
"You're still not explaining why I'm here and strapped to a bed and why I feel like shit," Leo said bluntly, rapidly losing his patience as he was waking up fully. His chest hurt, his whole body hurt, and his mind was racing.
"You bent a crane arm with a tensile strength of… well, I don't need to tell you how strong that crane arm was, do I? You're the engineer here. My point is that you're clearly an exceptional young man, capable of so much more than we ever knew," he said, again repeating the awful smile that wasn't a smile.
"Adrenaline response. People do exceptional things under stress… I was trying to save Scotty's life," Leo justified, his level of discomfort rising.
"Nobody could have done what you did today. We haven't seen strength like that since the augments. And recovering so quickly after your heart stopped too? Impressive."
"My heart stopped?" Leo asked, feeling sick.
"Well, you were hit with three stun blasts in short succession, two which were near-enough simultaneous. Your heart couldn't handle it. It re-started on its own before the medics could even get the cardio-stimulator anywhere near you," he explained, taking a few steps closer to the bed.
"So what, you… you need to question me? About what I'm capable of?" Leo asked and the doctor tilted his head one way, looking down at him with clear curiosity.
"Not exactly. We'd like to run some tests, we need to determine exactly how dangerous you are and whether you're fit to be released back into the general population-"
"Dangerous?! I'm not fucking dangerous! I'm just an engineer. I was trying to save a good friend of mine and I reacted as anyone would have. It isn't my fault that maybe I'm a little stronger than the average cadet on the engineering floor. I don't want to do any tests. I want you to let me out of here, I want to go home," Leo said firmly and the doctor smiled again.
"We're collecting your sister and your twin, because we'd like to run some tests on them too. It should only take us a couple of days and then we'll let you get on your way. I'll be back later to talk to you some more," he said, walking around Leo's bed and letting himself out of the room without another word. Leo lay still and tried to slow his pounding heart back to a normal rate. He needed to talk to Bones. He'd had problems with his heart as a kid, and he knew the doctor would want to take an extra careful look over him after what had happened.
"Hey! Don't I get a phonecall?" Leo called out after the doctor who had left, he had a strange feeling the room was being monitored anyway. He didn't get a response.
*~*~*PAGE BREAK*~*~*~*
Chris was settled on the couch with Thomas, trying to get him to keep still long enough to watch a very old classic movie that had been one of Jim's favourites.
"Is boring," Thomas complained after only around ten minutes.
"What do you mean boring, huh? Toy Story is a classic, you just have to wait for it to get good," Chris encouraged and Thomas yawned.
"Uh oh. Does somebody need to go to bed?"
"Not tired," Thomas said firmly.
"Are you waiting for Dad to get home?" Chris asked and Thomas nodded stubbornly.
"He isn't gonna be home until later, maybe not until ten and that's passed your bedtime," Chris reasoned and Thomas frowned.
"But he promised story," he pouted and Chris shifted a little closer to him on the couch, reaching up for a blanket that was tucked away at the top of the seat and pulling it down to drape around the young boy.
"How about if we watch some more movie and by the time it's done it'll be time for Dad to come home?" he asked and Thomas nodded, yawning widely and curling up against Chris, nuzzling his face into his side and throwing his arm across his thighs. He was asleep within minutes and Chris watched him sleeping for longer than he would be willing to admit to either David or Leo. He lost himself in his thoughts a little, trying to picture the best way to break the news to David. Maybe tonight when they went to bed, when they were cuddled together in the dark, safe in each-others company he'd mumble it to him, maybe take his hand and place it on his abdomen, maybe try to make it seem romantic, even if in his mind he knew really this was an accident neither of them knew could happen, but one he knew he wanted to love and protect.
He was lost in his thoughts for a while until the door chime rang and Thomas stirred, pulling his arm back in his sleep and curling into a tighter ball.
Chris carefully slipped out from under the blanket and out of the room, heading for the door. He opened it to find two Starfleet officers standing before him, both in plain black uniforms with only a shadow of the insignia on their chests to identify them.
"Christopher Kirk?" the larger of the two men asked and Chris stood up to his full height.
"That's me. How can I help you?" he asked, not liking the way it felt like the two men were sizing him up. He noticed that both were armed with phase pistols holstered at their thighs.
"You're going to need to come with us, if you would," the smaller of the two men spoke up now and Chris frowned.
"Why would that be?" he asked.
"We have a warrant for your arrest."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* END CHAPTER *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N sorry totally not sorry for the cliffhanger! Next part coming next week :) Please leave me a review if you feel that way inclined!
