Destined | Christopher Pike

Chapter Twenty Nine

"So, that didn't go as planned." Chris finally broke the excruciating silence as he washed the dishes from dinner. Emma was currently working on her third drink. She stopped drinking to look at him from the bar. He was right. The night they both had planned did not go the way they wanted it too. It was mostly Emma's fault too.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled as she brought the glass up to her lips.

Chris gave her a half smile and threw his towel over his shoulder. He leaned against the bar on the opposite side of her so he could be at her eye level. "That wasn't your fault, Em. Well, I mean...telling your parents we're fucking probably wasn't the best choice of words."

"Not helping." Emma grumbled. She knew he was just trying to help, but it was apparent that she was in a foul mood. "They probably hate me."

"They don't hate you. You're their daughter." He pointed out before going back to the dishes.

"Doesn't matter. Lots of people hate their kids. I just couldn't take it any longer. I wanted some other reaction from her other than disappointment. Shock. Anger. Any of it would have worked. I think I just made things worse though." She explained.

"They love you, Em. I promise they do. Your mom is just dealing with...things and people deal with things differently."

Her face dropped. "I just don't her to stop being my mom. I already lost one mom."

Chris felt his heart sink at her words. He hadn't been thinking of things from her perspective as someone who had been adopted. He stopped what he was doing and walked over to her. He gently pulled her up so she was standing and he wrapped his arms around her tightly. He felt her rest her head against his chest and relax only slightly.

"Anyone who leaves you doesn't know what they're losing. It has nothing to do with you. The Emma Coleman I know is intelligent and interesting and funny and kind." He whispered against her hair.

"You're going to make me cry." She mumbled into his chest.

He chuckled and then grew silent. He wished he could tell her it would get better with her mom, but he knew he wouldn't. In fact, it would only get worse. Much worse. He just hoped that after he was gone, her mom would be there for her. He tightened his grip on her slightly. "I love you, Emma."

"I love you too." She moved to look up at him. "I don't deserve you, you know that?"

"Mmm, I think it might be the other way around. Why don't we finish cleaning up and then go see a movie? We can stay at a hotel tonight. Might be better than staying on the Enterprise." He suggested.

"I like the sound of that."

Emma and Chris unintentionally spent the rest of their small leave together. Most of it was spent inside a hotel room. She had wanted to allocate most of her time with her parents and the few friends she had, but that had all changed the night of the dinner with her parents. After that, she couldn't face them. At least her mom. She had stopped by her dad's office on several occasions, but she felt bad. She knew he was caught in the middle of the feud between his wife and his daughter. He tried to be a voice of reason, but it was clear that time could only heal what happened.

Chris served as a wonderful distraction. He was there when she needed to talk or cry. He would attempt to cheer her up the best way he knew way. They would go out to dinner or go for walks or go see a show. She didn't care what they did. She just wanted to spend time with him. It was nice being able to act like a normal couple without constantly worrying if you were going to get caught. They had talked multiple times about the right time to tell the crew, but they both agreed that they weren't ready. They wanted to keep their relationship to themselves for a little longer.

When the leave was over and it came time for Emma to head back to the Enterprise, her father was the only one to show up. She tried to hide her sadness that her mom wasn't going to show up. She didn't even bother to send her a transmission. She had hopes of seeing her when she went back to her parents' apartment to grab a few things she needed for the ship. Emma was about to be gone for months. There was also the small possibility that she could die and her mom would never have the chance to say goodbye.

Growing up, her mom always made an effort to say goodbye to Emma before she went into deep space just in case something happened to her. It was a morbid thought, but the chance of dying came with the job. Instead of moping anymore, she put on a brave, happy face for her dad. She didn't want him to worry about her. She knew he would worry, but it gave him less to worry about. She kept assuring that she was okay and that Chris would keep a watchful eye on her.

Stepping back on the Enterprise as a Ensign verses as a Cadet was a whole different feeling. She actually felt like she belonged on the ship and not like the ship had an obligation to teach her. She was carrying herself differently. As if she had more confidence. This time, she knew where to go. She didn't feel like a deer in headlights as she walked through the hallways. Everything felt familiar to her. Almost like...home. It sounded corny, but it was true. She no longer felt like an outsider. She felt like a part of the crew.

All she needed was her blue shirt to make herself feel more official. Her uniform would be awaiting her inside of her new cabin that she would be sharing with Nyota. She was excited when she learned that Nyota would be returning to the Enterprise as a communication officer. She knew her fellow cadet wasn't sure what she wanted to do after she finished the Academy. It would only be the two of them inside the cabin.

Emma should have known that Nyota would beat her to the cabin. She found her friend already dressed in her new uniform by the time she reached the cabin. It was larger than the bunk room she had shared. Two twin beds laid adjacent from each other. There was a small window with a view of the busy space port, a door that lead to their bathroom and a small closet. On the bed laid her blue shirts folded perfectly.

"It's setting in, isn't it?" Nyota asked as Emma ran a finger over her new emblem.

"Just a bit." Emma admitted and turned to hug her friend. "This feels like the first day at the Academy."

"It really does, except people are actually noticing we existed. I've had three Lieutenants say 'hello' to me. That never happened when we were cadets." Nyota spoke in disbelief. "The private bathroom is also a nice touch. Did you have a good leave?"

"It was...good. What about you?" Emma lied as she began to unpack.

"Uneventful. I got to see some of my family which was nice. Oh, looks like we're about to leave. I need to get to the bridge. I'll see you later, Emma." Nyota called out to her as she walked out the door.

Emma knew she didn't have that much time to unpack and get ready before she reported to the science division. In fact, she just left her bag on her bed and quickly changed into the uniform. Before she reported to her station, she stole a glance of herself in the mirror. She looked like herself finally. The standard, Starfleet issued shirt that was mostly unflattering fit her perfectly. She took a deep breath before walking out of her cabin.

In Emma's opinion, the science floor seemed to have the best tools and toys. Usually it had the latest tech while other departments had to wait. When she was a cadet doing her rotation in the science department, it was a lot more hands on. To her surprise, they wanted her to restock supplies. She didn't particularly mind, but it wasn't exactly what she envisioned for her first day. The familiar beep of the ships communication channel caused all of the crew to stop what they were doing.

"Attention all crew, this is your Captain speaking. I'd first like to welcome all of her new crew to the Enterprise and extend a welcome back to our veteran crew. Thank you all for signing up for this five year mission. We're about to begin our trip to the Neutral Zone to deliver some supplies to the outposts that help guard the Neutral Zone. We will also assist them with any retrofitting they need done. Your assignments will be sent to your data pads. That will be it for now. Pike out." Chris' voice filled the room.