Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last conversation. You are all wonderful.

So, today's a distressing day for Spock because it is the second anniversary of his mother's death, along with the destruction of his home planet. It's an equally awful day for Ben and the Ashleys, because of everything they lost.

A/N: Memory Alpha does not list an exact date for the destruction of Vulcan. This is odd because pretty much every other major event in the KTL has an exact date, but the destruction of Vulcan only has a year listed. If the data is not on memory Alpha, then chances are it was never established in canon. Even those who write Star Trek trust that site. Therefore, for this story Amanda died on May 2.

Day 71: In memory of what we lost

Dear Spock Bear:

I know today is going to be a sad day for you. I had my difficult day last week, one of them anyway. But today is your bad, "oh God, I hate this" day. So, I am going to do everything in my power to make sure you're not miserable today. Pretty much impossible. But you know I don't believe in no-win scenarios.

Have I apologized yet this morning for my total dick move of saying that you didn't love your mom, two years ago tomorrow. That was a completely dick move. Granted its sort of lead to us getting accidentally Vulcan married, but still a very dick move. I'm sorry, snuggle Vulcan.

I know you love your mom. I know that you love greatly because I have experienced that love firsthand and the entire ship told me about what happened last June. I know that these last two years have been hard for you especially those first few months. I'm glad that I've been able to help you not forget what happened, because you never really forget, but to keep moving forward.

As we move forward together, that doesn't mean that we must completely let go of our pasts. Amanda will always be part of you. She is your compassion. She is your love. She is your humanity. She makes you the person I love and even though she is no longer with us, she lives in you. You are her legacy.

.

You know I cried on Sam's day. You held my hand and give good head as I tried to muddle through. And I have a feeling that you're probably going to do the same thing next month on Chris' day. So today I pay that forward and it includes more than this morning's bedroom activities. Although I'm sure you really enjoyed your wakeup call this morning. Thank God we are only doing scans of our current solar system because a red alert would have totally ruined everything.

So here is the deal, today you are off duty for the next 24 hours. Don't argue, Rodriguez approved it weeks ago. Again, we are mostly doing scanning and creating a more detailed map of solar system XYZ four and three. I can't wait until they come up with a better name. I can totally make sure that doesn't go badly. I mean the worst thing that will happen is there will be a fight among the scientists to see who will be on team one even though I decided that months ago. Sorry, fungus expert beats weapons expert when I'm sure we will not run in to a situation that will require weapons. Although, watch me be wrong.

Also, now as your Acting captain and husband, I know that you can't take being bored. Bones said you drove the hospital staff a little crazy last June. I'm not even surprised. So, I'm not even going to suggest you take the day completely off. That would just go badly for everyone. Also, on a day like today that will just leave your mind open to focus on things you are not ready to which we don't want.

So, your mission for today if you choose to accept it is baking with the Ashleys in preparation for tonight's Remembrance of that. Yes, we're having one, but not the fake thing that Starfleet puts on. For one thing we'll have more cookies. We'll also share stories about those we lost. If we were able to go to that Star base before traveling to the middle of nowhere, we would have alcohol to go with the cookies as well as no one in our brig. However, we will just have to make do with the baked goods. I can't wait until our cannabis is ready. I already have the cookbook ready.

I chose the three Ashleys as your assistants because one, they need to stay busy, and two, this is an exhausting day for them because this is also the anniversary of their parents' deaths. Ashley 3 lost both parents that day. Dr. Sanchez is actually her mom's younger sister, so yeah this is going to be a sucky day for everyone. But you're going to make it better with cookies and Blondies and any other type of sugary thing you guys can cook today. Sorry you're going to have to use the no egg modifications to the recipes but considering all your mom's recipes were already modified for vegans and vegetarians, I think you'll be OK.

Share stories, reminisce, or scream. I don't recommend punching things. You can although not in the kitchen. We can totally do breath play tonight if you need to let off some steam. Hey, at least we do safe words now.

Anyway, love you

"Why am I cooking with the Ashleys?" Spock asked as soon as James left the shower. Yes, he was still only wearing a towel and Spock appreciated the visual, especially after their early morning activities.

"Because as I mentioned in my note I don't think you can take a staycation." Jim said as he kissed Spock quickly before dropping his towel.

"What is a staycation?" Spock asked.

"That tells me right there, why you can't have one. If I could get away with locking us both in here for 24 hours, it would be a sex marathon, but somebody must run the ship. So, I know you well enough to know that you would go nuts with nothing to do, but read or reorganize the closet."

"I sincerely doubt that."

"Okay, we also need to keep the Ashleys from causing total chaos. We all know, today is going to be a sad day for the Ashleys. Being a good acting Captain, I'm going to deal with all my problems at once, so you're going to Ashleys sit. And they are going to cook." James said as he moved over to their joint closet.

"I'm still questioning the logic of this."

"Question away, but as I mentioned, we kind of need refreshments for our remembrance ceremony today, so why not make them."

"I don't remember authorizing a remembrance ceremony." Spock tells his husband. "I dislike them immensely."

"The fact that you just acknowledged that tells me that, but you did agree to it. A week ago." James says as he grabbed his shirt. Spock was slightly disappointed as he put it on.

"We were engaging in coitus at the time?"

"Yes."

"I thought we agreed not to discuss important work-related things during sexual activities."

"Sorry boo, we run a starship together. We must multitask. Otherwise we would never have time for sex." Spock responded with a slight glare only partially because James is putting on his underwear.

"I know you dislike the Starfleet dog and pony show and that's fine because I dislike the Starfleet dog and pony shows. I'm glad that our guardian angel at the Admiralty made sure we wouldn't have to go this year. At the same time, I feel like we all need a real remembrance of our friends and family that we lost."

"Which is a good idea although I wish you would have not asked me while we were engaging in sexual activities."

"Duly noted."

"Although, why are we baking?"

"Again, leaving the Ashleys unoccupied would be dangerous. Nothing can make an already awful situation worse than replicated cookies. So, you are going to take the Ashleys to the kitchens and supervise," Jim tells his husband as he puts on his pants.

"And Amanda's recipes?" Spock asked.

"Are the best for baking in deep space." Spock raises an eyebrow at has husband.

"I want you to focus on good memories about your mom like eating her cookies after an absolutely awful day of school where you barely avoided knocking various assholes unconscious. I know it's impossible but try not to focus on those last few moments. Think of all the good moments that happened before hand. Cherish those good moments with the Ashleys. Let the girls share those moments with you."

"Did Margarita recommend this?" Spock asked his husband.

"Suarez actually, and only indirectly. But Margarita approves although she probably would be mad about me asking you to do it during sex. But it was for a worthy cause." James said as he sat on the bed beside Spock and grabbed his hand.

"Will it just be me and the three Ashleys today?"

"I think Margarita will come by at some point and possibly Nyota after shift. This isn't the best day for her either. This is the anniversary of her losing her previous best friend, the second time that happened. I tried to give her the day off as well, but she is more stubborn than you are. Unfortunately, I can't use sex as an incentive or distraction for her." James said just before kissing Spock again.

"So, you were going to use sexual favors to convince me not to work today?" Spock asked pulling away from the kiss.

"Well it worked so well with getting you to agree to do the ceremony in the first place." James smirked at him. "I did consider it, but I think that you're aware that you're emotionally compromised today so the best captain thing you can do is help your crew get through this difficult day even if it is by baking. I will keep the ship running. Again, it's a lot of scanning and data collecting. The first landing party doesn't go down until tomorrow. I can definitely run the ship today without you." James tells him.

"I believe that is an accurate assessment."

"Does that mean you agree to baking therapy with the Ashleys?" James asked.

"If I say no, I assume that breath play will be off the table?"

"Totally off the table." James said with a smirk.

"Then I agree to what you refer to as baking therapy." James responded by kissing him.

"Thank you and if I didn't need to be on the bridge in 20 minutes, I would totally do more than that."

"Oh, by the way, at 4 PM our time, you have a video call with your dad. Being an ambassador has its perks."

"Therefore, whatever we bake first will contain chocolate."

"Excellent idea, my cuddle Vulcan." James said as he kissed Spock on the nose.

To be continued