Destined | Christopher Pike

Chapter Thirty

A/N: Hello all! So, things are about to change a little in this chapter. It's going to be mostly from Christopher Pike's point of view. I'm going to cover what happened in the last episode of Season One of Strange New Worlds. I may just around a little and leave some things out though. Hopefully it doesn't get too confusing. Thank you for reading!

One second Chris was talking to his future self. The next second he was standing in front of two people he didn't know, marrying them. It had all happened so quickly from the time he touched the stone. Of course, meeting your future self was a bit jarring. Future Chris gave him no indication as to why he needed to see his future right as he was writing the letter to one of the cadets that would die in a few years other than the fact that it had to deal with 'fate of the galaxy' type of things. It did seem like something he would say, so he decided to put his hand on that damn green rock again.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until the sound of a Red Alert interrupted the wedding he was performing. There was a few old faces and a few new faces as he looked around.

"Number One to Captain Pike." Spock's voice filled his ear. Number One. The last thing he knew was that Una was Number One. Not Spock. He didn't have time to wain on it. "Outpost Four reports that they are under attack by a space vessel, identity unknown."

"Copy, Mr. Spock. On my way." Chris tried to sound as normal as possible. Although, it was hard to sound normal when you had no idea what was going on.

Chris didn't know what to expect as he walked onto the bridge. There weren't many new faces. The only thing that seemed different was Ortegas wasn't in her usual seat and La'an and Una were nowhere to be found. He stopped when he saw Spock sitting in his chair.

"Mr. Spock, what's the situation?" He asked.

"Lieutenant Uhura can brief you." Spock said as he stood up.

"Outpost Four reported under attack, sir. Then message terminates." Uhura told him.

Chris continued to look around the bridge in an unsure manner. The last thing he remembered was that Nyota was an Ensign, just like Emma. Emma. He wondered where she was. So far he had not run into her or even heard he mentioned. He didn't even know if they were together any more.

"Any word from Two or Three?" Chris asked about the outposts.

"Two has not responded to our hails. And Three has also gone silent." Uhura said.

Chris turned to look at Ortegas. "How far out are we, Erica?"

"Eight minutes from Outpost Four at this velocity, sir." She answered.

"Did Outpost Four say anything else about the attacking vessel?"

"No identification, sir." Uhura answered.

"I'm guessing it's the same attackers, sir. The Romulans." Erica said bitterly.

The Romulans. Everyone knew who they were and what they were capable of it. They weren't a type of people he wanted to cross paths with. He still needed a clearer idea of what was going on, but he also couldn't alert just anyone.

That's when his eyes landed on Spock. "Let's not make guesses just yet. I'd like to avoid a war if I can. Maintain course. Alert me when we're two minutes out. Mr. Spock, could you join me in the ready room, please."

Chris had learned that he had traveled seven years into the future. At first, Spock didn't believe what he was saying and thought he was going crazy until they tried a mind meld, which Chris never wanted to do a again. He learned the event that should have caused his death happened six months ago. Fortunately, no one died which meant his letter he wrote to Maat proved beneficial. Chris still wasn't clear as to why his future self sent him there. To the exact moment.

He took a minute to himself once Spock left the room after giving him Spock-like advice. He needed to have a clear head to figure out how he screwed up the future by not dying. He didn't understand yet how his death could be so impactful. He raked a hand through his hair and finally stood up to leave the room. It felt like an out of body experience as he walked towards the elevators to go back to the bridge. Technically it was an out of body experience.

He heard footsteps as he walked down the hallway and looked up. The last thing he needed to do was throw people off by his strange presence. That's when he saw Emma. He could probably pick her out of a crowd anywhere. Her head was turned down, looking at her data pad. Her dark hair hung down slightly until she reached up to tuck it behind her ear. He saw the ring on her hand, but not just any ring. His mother's engagement ring.

They had gotten married after all. Truthfully, he was scared that he had done something in the past that may have screwed up his relationship with her. He hadn't though. She was still wearing a blue shirt which meant she was still with the science division. However, the insignia on her shoulders was different. There was one black pin and two gold ones which meant she was now a Lieutenant Commander. It was the sight of her swollen stomach that made him stop walking. It took a minute for the realization to sink in, but she was...pregnant.

"Chris?" Emma called out when she saw her husband. "You okay?"

"Y-You're...pregnant." He pointed the obvious causing her to giggle.

She lowered her data pad. "Well, yes. I have been. For a while now. Speaking of which, your son is currently kicking me in the kidneys. Are you getting on the elevator?"

Son. He was having a son. One of his biggest fears in the world was becoming a father.  His father had not been the best and he was always scared that he would turn out the same way. His eyes searched over. She seemed more beautiful, if that was even possible. She had a lightness about her. Her cheeks were rounder, but it seemed it was from her being pregnant.

"Getting on?" She asked as the elevator doors opened and she stepped inside. He cleared his throat awkwardly and stepped inside with her.

"You look so...beautiful." He spoke softly.

Emma's cheeks burned bright pink. "Thank you, but I don't exactly feel beautiful. I look more like a beached whale right now."

"Would it be okay if I, um, feel him?" He asked.

"Chris, you know you don't have to ask." She told him.

She was right. It was his child, too. The Chris from the timeline he was in probably didn't ask to feel his baby kick. He reached out tentatively to touch her stomach. It felt foreign under his hand and then he felt the tiny jolt of a kick. He almost broke into tears at the sensation. He didn't understand. His future seemed so perfect. He had a wife. He was still the Captain. He was about to have a baby.

"He likes you." Emma whispered to him. "He knows exactly who his dad is. That's probably why he started kicking the shit out of me in the hallway."

Chris pressed his forehead against her's briefly before kissing her softly. "Thank you."

"Thank you?" She asked confused. "You sure you're okay, Chris? You're acting very weird."

"I-I'm fine. I promise. It just feels like an off day for some reason." He attempted to lie.

"Sounds to me like you're stressed. Dr. M'Benga did warn us that this would happen since so much is about to change. Just a few more days and you and I will be on leave for a year."

Chris forced a smile. "You're right. There's just so much to do, I guess. I'll be okay though. The last thing you need to do is worry."

Emma chuckled to herself. "Asking me not to worry is like asking me to not breath. It's impossible."

The doors opened in front of her to reveal the science division floor. It still looked the same aside from a few different faces. Emma was about to step off the elevator, but stopped to take another look at Chris. "Hey, try to take a break today if you can. It sounds like it's going to be a hell of a day."

He could not agree more with her sentence.