Destined | Christopher Pike

Chapter Forty Five

It was morning by the time Chris and Emma reached Montana. They had decided to take one of the trains instead of a transport since it would be a more comfortable ride. They both managed to sleep only a small amount. Emma's mind would not turn off. So many things were running through it; meeting her father, her mother, her relationship with her mother. Chris could not sleep, because he was worried about Emma. She was unnaturally quiet the entire ride. He had hopes that their leave would brighten her back up.

Montana had a way of healing people. He supposed it had something to do with the isolation and being outside. It helped him feel better slightly after he found out about his imminent death. He was excited to show her the home he had chosen after his parents died and he moved from the Mojave desert. He just could not quite remember the state he left in before he went back to the Enterprise. He was quite hungover and feeling down before he left.

The sun had just begun to rise when they stepped off the train. The air was much colder than in San Francisco and Emma regretted not putting layers on. Luckily, Chris was nice enough to lend her his coat. It was slightly too big, but she didn't care. It smelt like him and kept her warm. That was all that mattered. They weren't even to the actual house yet and Emma was already mesmerized by the enormous mountains that seemed to stretch into the sky infinitely. Everything had an orange hue to it from the sun, making the grass almost appear golden in color.

"You haven't even seen half of it yet." Chris whispered to her softly. "How about we get some breakfast?"

"I'd love that. I need Coffee desperately." She told him.

There was a small restaurant only five a minutes away from the train station. They still needed to request a transport to take them to the house and Chris wanted to order some groceries to be delivered to the house. It was a diner he frequented when he was on leave. He visited there so often that most of the workers knew him by name. The inside was slightly, but the food was impeccable. It reminded him of one of the diners hundreds of years ago.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Is that Captain Chris Pike?" An older woman announced rather loudly when the two of them walked inside. Chris chuckled to himself when the woman came over and wrapped her arms around him. "It's good to see you in one piece. And who is this beautiful woman?"

Chris gently touched Emma's back. "This is my wife, Emma. Emma, this is Shannon. She owns this restaurant."

"Wife? You leave for one year and come back with a wife?" Shannon asked and leaned closer to Emma. "You sure he isn't holding you hostage? You look way out of his league."

Emma giggled to herself. "He's not holding me hostage and it's nice to meet you."

"Well, then. Congratulations. Please sit anywhere. And it's nice to see you without a beard, Chris!" Shannon called out as she went back into the kitchen.

"Beard?" Emma asked with a raised eyebrow as they chose a place to sit.

"I have a tendency to let myself go on leave. Don't worry, the beard will not make an appearance this time." He assured her.

"Hmmm. Part of me is curious as to what you look like with one." She teased him. "So, what's good here?"

"Everything."

"That's a bold statement. We'll have to see about that."

"You don't trust me?"

"What can I start you two off with?" Shannon asked.

"I think we'll both take a coffee." Chris said. "You ready to order food, Em?"

"I'll take the pancakes with bacon, please." Emma told her.