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

I just want to let everyone know that I recently posted word 4 million on fanfiction dot net. I want to thank everybody who's been with me through this long journey. I can't believe I've written over 4 million words, but here we are.

I opened this chapter Friday to give it one last proofreading before posting. I realized that if I posted on Sunday, the dates would magically line up. I just had to do it. This probably won't happen again.

Day 273: Tell me about this Chloe person?

From: Legal Queen San Francisco

To: kitten_loverJJMU

Subject: Everything is well in San Francisco

Time arrived: 11/22/2260 00:00:01

Hi sweetheart:

I'm so glad you got all your presents. I like hardcopy books better than digital ones too. Did I ever show you my library back in Atlanta? I don't think your mom ever came over to the last townhouse, so probably not. The new place will have a library filled with actual books. They've been in the family for generations, but I think I'm the true book lover of the clan. I think that's why Granny left them to me. I'm picking up a few of the best to add to your Christmas care package.

I'm starting to put it together early because I know I must get everything to Liz before departing for New Vulcan in December. I think they're leaving as soon as finals are over. That is still a few weeks away, but it pays to be prepared. Mainly because work is starting to get extremely busy.

I promised lots of art supplies for your artistic self-study. One of my work colleagues is also an artist in their spare time. They're helping me choose some excellent stuff for you. I feel like it's my job as your aunt to nurture your talents. I never really had that growing up, so I want you to have that.

As somebody who has had to deal with survivors' guilt themself, I can say survivors' guilt really does suck. I'm also sorry that you didn't have many good memories with your mom. I have a few from when we were kids before everything got so messed up, and she started drinking all the time. Or before I got messed up and did way too many drugs. I don't think we were ever sober at the same time as adults.

This is probably the time I should warn you about our family's illustrious history of substance abuse. You come from a long line of alcoholics and drug addicts on both sides, unfortunately. You're young, but so was I when I started. So, no sneaking into botany for the Vulcan headache medication or engineering for Scotty's hooch. Kevin told me the Enterprise is very well-stocked, Starfleet regulations be damned.

I'm glad you have Peter, and he has you. It's easier to get through this when you have other people. Now that I'm somewhere where I have friends, I feel like I've been getting better. At least I'm being able to process things better. I'm probably going to be working with my therapist for a while to work through a few decades worth of shit, but I do feel like I'm making some progress. That's a good thing, right? You'd think I would have dealt with more of these issues during rehab, but I didn't. My doctor says it takes time.

I'm also happy to hear that you are making progress. I think Dr. Margarita is good for you. You are healing, which is the most important thing. It's better to do it when you're young than as a jaded adult with a history of drug problems.

Me and the good doctor have been digging into my childhood, which is painful. The judge was always abusive. My mom was too afraid to say anything. Swallowing a bottle of pills was easier. Your mom was too scared to say anything, which is why she went through with the shotgun wedding. I was too afraid as well, so he got away with it. It's a vicious cycle, but it's over now. We're just working through the scars. I'm trying. That's really all I can do.

I am also happy to hear that you're making friends. The pictures from the ice cream social were adorable. Keep sending more pictures of you hanging out with your friends.

So good news, I am making friends here in San Francisco. I'm going to the office Halloween party this weekend because Chloe invited me. Her office is two doors down from mine. She is super hot, recently divorced, and she's the nicest person ever. She has a daughter about a year or two younger than you. I'll send you pictures of the party. Maybe you'll get them before you get this email, even though I'll probably be sending them a few days later. This delay is quite strange. The fact you get pictures first when I send them alone is bizarre.

Anyway, is the ship going to do anything for Halloween? I guess maybe I should ask did they do anything since I'm sure you'll be getting this email sometime in November.

Write me back when you get a chance.

PS: Sorry for delaying a couple of days. Work is getting crazy, which is precisely how I like it. I guess that means I am settling in.

XXXX

From: Elizabeth_Chen

To: SulxuHG2260

Time arrived: 11/22/2260 00:00:01

Subject: I hate the Academy so much

Sorry I didn't reply immediately. I am surviving Starfleet Academy by a thread. I want to smack Jim upside the head because of the modifications to the Kobayashi Maru program. Although I'm sure, he probably didn't expect us to get a dirty professor. It's OK. I've regrouped, and I'm going through with my research project even though the original attempt was to discover more secrets about what happened on Vulcan. They must think I'm an idiot, like I'm going to reveal something ridiculously confidential during a school paper. Despite the recently released tell-all, real Kirks don't spill deep-held family secrets. Apparently, I'm considered a real Kirk already, even though the wedding is probably at least five years down the road.

Don't tell my sister or my mom this, but Kevin and I have started talking about marriage because of the wedding ring shopping. We do want to marry each other at some point. We know that our relationship is it. That we're never going to find another person in the rest of the Galaxy that will understand us the way we do. Kevin and I have gone through the good and the bad together. We know each other's deep, dark secrets, so we want to spend the rest of our lives together.

If we were to take a day trip to Vegas, my mom would kill us. She thinks we're too young to even be thinking about marriage. She forgets I lived through genocide. I'm an old twenty-something.

OK, maybe it's more like two or three years down the road instead of five because I don't think Kevin and I can wait five years to get married. Mom is just going to have to deal. I guess you can say we are engaged to be engaged, maybe.

I will say taking care of your kid for the last few months has made us realize that we probably could do the marriage thing. It feels like we're married anyway right now, just without the paperwork.

I should be honest with you. We are probably a year or a year and a half from marriage because I want us to qualify for tandem assignments as a married couple. Mom is going to be angry at us for turning the graduation party into a wedding.

Don't worry, I won't say the M-word around your sister. She's already going nuts for your nuptials. Please, for the love of humanity, don't do New Vulcan in summer. I will burn, and so will Sue. Also, do you want to risk the baby sunburning? Jim looks like a freaking lobster in all his wedding photos. Don't do it.

Halloween is only a couple of days away, and we must go to mom's Starfleet kids' party today. She's making us help. She put me in charge of getting the piñata this time because of what happened before. I made sure not to get the bachelor party version. Although I do wonder why we're doing a piñata at the Halloween party. Maybe hitting Enterprise with sticks is good for morale. I have no idea.

I've already picked up all our costumes. The kids are gonna be so adorable. Although you probably know that because you've gotten tons of pictures. This delay is so weird. Anyway, write back. Also, write to the baby. She misses daddy.

XXXX

From: kitten_loverJJMU

To: Legal Queen

Subject: you make a good Batwoman

Time sent: 11/22/2260 18:19:08

I got your party pictures a couple of days ago; you look so cool as Batwoman. I love it. Uncle Jim said she was one of the first LGTBQA+ characters in comics and apparently was a favorite of Peter's dad growing up. Jim downloaded a few issues for Peter to read. It made Peter feel closer to his dad in a way. Thank you for bringing us that moment even though you didn't realize you were helping.

I assume that the woman with you in all the pictures was Chloe. You two look good together. How are things going between you two? Is she a new friend by the standard definition or the Uncle Spock definition? You know that the Vulcan language has a word that means friend, brother, and/or lover? (Nyota added a Vulcan language seminar to our curriculum because we will be near the colony for a while, and we're going to have a lot of Vulcan scientists on board helping.

We didn't do anything for Halloween because that was about the time that Liz's sister was rescued after being missing for two weeks. I'm sure Gina spent most of Halloween in sickbay with her best friend. Although the days spent in lockdown before then were filled with lots of cookies and other food from the various care packages. We all shared. Considering we were on lockdown, it was still fun. There was supposed to be a party, but nobody really felt like celebrating. I'm glad you at least had fun, though.

Did you know about Liz's sister being missing for two weeks? I know you are friends with Kevin and Liz, to the point you know where all the good drugs are on Enterprise. I'm sure one of them told you it wasn't exactly the best of times. It's been hard. Things have been getting better, but it's been hard.

Gina's been out of it lately. She's been letting us study a lot on our own. Honestly, it's gotten worse recently because I think she's fighting with Sue. I know she's fighting with Sue because they got into an argument in front of the class.

I'm not entirely sure what's going on there. Mom and Gina are friends. They're working on our Vulcan seminar together to prepare us for the next mission. Also, mom may have given Gina her copy of the Idiots Guide to Multi-Species Polyamorous Relationships. For the sake of my own personal sanity, I am not going to examine carefully why mommy had a copy of that book lying around. There are just some things you don't want to know about your mom and your uncles. I just don't want to know.

I survived lockdown with most of my classmates. I am very thankful we have no new Jeremys. Although Chris 3 is a little transphobic. He keeps calling Chris 1 the wrong name and using the wrong pronoun, which pisses me off. I've been Chris 1's main supporter in the fight against dead naming since I do not go by my original birth name. If everyone can call me Josephine, then they can call Chris the name they want to be known by. Jay is extremely annoyed by this.

I think Uncle Jim will make us go through the Starfleet officers' sensitivity and cultural training course. As soon as he has time to modify it for high school students. Mom is honestly surprised this didn't happen after the Jeremy fiasco. I am too, but I think maybe we're more open to it this time around.

Thank you for sending books or at least planning to send more actual books. I had no idea you had so many hardcopy books as well as have a personal library. I can't wait to see it in the new place. Dad thinks that we might be able to do an Earth shore leave in a year or two. You know if nothing horrible happens. Fingers crossed.

I'm sad that you won't be able to come to New Vulcan, but I do understand. Sulu and his fiancée are planning to get married next summer in June or maybe July at Yorktown. At least civilian transport might be an option there. Plus, you'll probably have some vacation time saved up by then. It's something for you to consider.

Anyway, I've attached some pictures of the science projects as well as from lockdown chaos. Ashley 1 now has purple hair. Also, more of my art projects. I look forward to anything your work friend convinced you to send me. Is that a different work friend in Chloe? I'm curious about other techniques and mediums. I'm willing to try anything. I have ridiculous amounts of free time outside of classes and therapy. I do hang out with Peter and Jay, but they have other things as well. I think something might be happening between Jay and Ashley two. She deserves good things.

We've also been working through breaking that cycle of abuse and helping me not feel bad for keeping quiet. We've been working on that part as a family. Dad feels awful for not noticing how terrible things got. He also feels bad for not fighting harder to get me away from my biological mom before. Also, I kind of want to hug Uncle Spock for paying for the good child custody lawyers. That's more than a lot of other people did. Yes, this is a lot to work through, but I'm making progress. That's all we can hope for, right?

XXXX

From: SulxuHG2260

To: Elizabeth_Chen

Time arrived: 11/23/2260 21:17:24

Subject: I now completely understand why you're doing his semester at Yorktown.

This is another one of those we've already spoken to each other several times since you wrote this email. It just seems weird reading it now after so much has happened. It is like this moment in time before everything fell apart. Ben told me about reading Zack's last email to him. It arrived two weeks after he died. Lots of crying was involved. At least Zach's last words to him was "I love you." That's more than a lot of people can say.

So, I did get the other Halloween party pictures complete with kids beating up the pinata. I also saw the images of your mom beating up the pinata. Which probably should have been a clue that she was just holding it together by a thread herself. Knowing what I know now, I can see it in the videos and pictures that she wasn't OK. She was just trying to put on a brave front for you and for the baby. Jim pointed it out to me because he knows. Winona did this a lot during his childhood, especially around Jim's birthday and after getting back from Tarsus.

Anyway, your sister appreciates all the pictures. It's helping with her recovery process. Obviously, she's been spending a lot of time in therapy. We both have together and apart. I wasn't doing well when she was gone. I realized that now. I was worried about having to raise our daughter without her. I was worried about going on without one of my best friends. OK, maybe more than friends. We don't need to put labels on everything—also, no reason to prove your mom right. I don't have the energy for I told you so's.

I'm sure you know by now the wedding is going to be this summer at Yorktown. Your sister is, of course, going to be my best person. Even though our relationship changed a little, that's still how we're doing things.

What's not going well is Gina. I don't think she quite gets my relationship with Sue. Gina thinks I'm leading her on and doesn't understand how things are. We are family; we're a different type of family, but we are family, and that's just what we are. I love Sue. I really do. If things were different, maybe we would have ended up married together and doing a family that way, but I have Ben too, and that's OK. It's hard for some people to understand that despite polyandry being legal in the Federation for generations. Nyota is running interference, so we'll see how that goes. I'm hoping that things work out soon because this healing process requires Gina to be by her best friend's side. It is not good when they're fighting.

So, with everything going on, I didn't get to help Pavel deal with the anniversary of his sister's death, and I kind of feel bad about that. He said it was OK because I needed to focus on my family. There was hugging and a pizza night. He's also cool with the Sue thing. Maybe being younger, in this case, means he's more open-minded. I don't know, but supportive friends are always helpful.

I'm sure he may have slept with his ex-girlfriend on anniversary night because of something that was said during fencing practice with the kids, but he's a grown-up. I'm going to just stand by and be a supportive friend when necessary.

I'm sorry, but I let your sister read your email to me over my shoulder while I was reading it. Sue knows that you're planning to marry Kevin sooner rather than later. She is supportive and will help you run interference with your mother when the time comes. Although, she does not want you running off to Vegas or anywhere else.

Sue did suggest a double ceremony on Yorktown. I'm sorry, but I want my wedding day to myself. I think maybe you two should wait until after graduation. Thanks to your semester in Yorktown, the two of you will be graduating at the same time now.

You're right, I haven't written to my baby girl for a while, although Sue did. When you get that message, I really hope that you do not read it to the baby. I was there when she dictated most of it, and she had a lot to work through that was not one year old appropriate, but maybe it's good that you read it anyway.

xxxxx

Hey baby girl:

I got to see all your pictures and videos from Halloween. You were so cute in your little costume, especially when you went headfirst into a pumpkin full of candy. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you this year, but eventually, we will all be together as a family. Next year you'll get to do it with mommy and Ben.

Note to self we must decide what we're calling Ben. I don't want to go with "uncle." I'm not asking Jim and Spock yet because Peter is still calling them by their first names, which is apparently appropriate in Vulcan culture. Peter is not even to uncle yet. At least not all the time. It's a bit of a process.

Your mom says, "other daddy," but I don't like that. It's too ordinary, and Ben isn't the other. He's your daddy too, just like I'm going to be a dad to Katie bear. I'm going to ask Nyota because she's a linguistics expert. I know she'll come up with something good.

You know that Daddy is marrying Ben, so soon he's going to be your daddy too. Also, Daddy and Mommy are more than friends. I can't wait to explain the concept of polyandry and demi-sexuality to you when you're older. I think we're going to have to when we talk about how you ended up getting here in the first place. That's going to be a nightmare conversation. But regardless, mommy, daddy, and Ben love you, and we are a family. Not your usual family, but who wants usual when you can have extraordinary.

Anyway, be a good girl for your Aunt Liz, Uncle Kevin, and Ben. I know you're getting ready to move to your new home on Yorktown, but I think it's going to be wonderful when Sue gets there. I won't be there, but at least I'll be able to visit more often, as much as your grandma will authorize it. I'm not worried about Jim and Spock giving me vacation time because they will. They love you as much as I do.

Anyway, Mommy and Daddy love you, and we can't wait to see you. Also, Mommy is sorry that she vented to you, but you are her favorite sounding board.

To be continued…