#Captain Pike x Reader

[ohpike-mycaptain]

Pay Attention

Pairing: Captain Christopher Pike x Reader

Prompt: "Did you just kiss me?"

Word count: ~420

You pace back and forth across the ready room, rereading the report on the PADD in your hand for the umpteenth time. Repeating the details over and over hasn't made anything any more clear than the first time the problem presented itself. Maybe if you try starting from a different point, or cross checking with the science report from-

Your face is gently tugged to the side and something warm quickly presses against your lips. Blinking away the confusion, you try your best to reorient yourself. You see Christopher Pike standing in your space with an amused grin.

"Do I finally have your attention?" He asks with a laugh. You trace the fingers of your free hand over your mouth as Chris carefully takes the PADD from your other hand.

Your eyes meet his clear blue and everything makes sense. "Did you just kiss me?"

The captain gestures across the room. "I tried other things, but you were so focused that nothing else worked."

He's already served the meal and poured the wine. You feel a twinge of guilt when you realize how long you must have been ignoring him.

"This is why we agreed to leave work at the door when we can." Chris guides you over to the table. "Is it really something important?"

"I know, I'm sorry, Chris." You sit and stare down at your hands. "I just can't figure out what went wrong with the tests."

"Well, perhaps," He pauses and nudges you to get your attention before continuing, "A break will help you clear your head. I appreciate your dedication, but continuing to push yourself will only make things worse."

You smile at his concern, deciding it's time to let it go for now. "You just want me to compliment your cooking and tell you that you're pretty." Your tone is flat, but your grin gives you away.

Chris laughs and picks up his glass. "It is nice to hear, especially when you say it." His eyes sparkle over the rim of his glass as he takes a sip of the wine.

"I'll make sure to say it more often then, captain." You pick up your fork without breaking eye contact. 

"Careful, lieutenant. I might think you're working again." He grins. "I'll have to try harder to keep your attention if that's the case."

"Please do…" Your voice trails off as you take your first bite. "Oh, this really does taste fantastic." You both laugh when the mood breaks and happily enjoy the meal together.

[space-helen]

Sore

Words: 588

Pairing: Captain Pike x Reader

A/N: Short but I think it's cute

Request: could ypu possible do something cute with Captain Pike from Star Trek Discovery and his wife who is an officer on the discovery and they just have a slow day together after she got injured on a mission? - @perasperaadastrawriting

______________________

You were sore, your abdomen radiating pain as soon as you sat up in bed. Taking a breath you braced yourself. The away missing had gone slightly wrong and you’d ended up in the cross-fire. On the whole, relatively uninjured but you knew you’d be sore for days and had been told to take it easy.

Swinging your legs out of bed you let out a small noise of discomfort and stopped once again. Yeah it was definitely worse after sleeping.

Chris was returning to you as you tried to move out of bed. Rushing quickly to you when he realised what you were doing, forgetting the breakfast he’d been carrying.

“Y/N what’re you doing?” he stood next to you and cupped your cheek in his hand as you looked up to him. 

“I just wanted to get something to eat. I didn’t realise you were still here.” you said truthfully, thinking the man had gone back on shift.

“I’m definitely not going back on shift when my wife can’t entirely move around freely on her own.”

You huffed “I’m fine. I can move, the ship is way more important than me.” you tried to stand again but winced. “Alright, maybe I’m not entirely fine.”

He nodded “See. The ship is perfectly under control and I’d much rather be here to make sure you don’t do anything stupid that’ll see you off duty for longer.”

“Ah I see.” you nodded “You just want me back working again for full ship functionality.” you teased.

He playfully rolled his eyes and a smile pulled at the corners of his lips “Sure Y/N, sure.”

You smiled up at him again before bringing your eyes back to the ground. “Can you help me back into bed?”

“Of course.” Moving the covers back fully he helped you move back into bed comfortably. Whispering words of reassurance as the pain hit, eventually you were settled and he pulled the covers back over you before leaning forward and placing a kiss to your forehead.

The forgotten breakfast on the floor caught your eye and you smiled “Chris.”

“Yes?” he pulled away slightly.

“You might want to clear that up.” you pointed in the direction of the doorway.

He closed his eyes and smiled as he turned, letting out a laugh. “I really was worried you’d hurt yourself more you know.”

“I know.” you felt a slight pang of guiltiness over it but knew Chris would hate it if you felt guilty for even a second.

Walking over to the food he quickly picked it up and went to collect some supplies to clean up the rest of the mess. You watched as he got to work cleaning up the mess flawlessly.

“You’re amazing you know that?” you commented from your spot on the bed.

He turned back to look at you with his million dollar smile. His eyes beaming “Says the woman who’s the personification of the word.” Standing to his full height he made a gesture to the items in his hands “I’ll take these back and then make you some breakfast. Maybe I’ll get someone to come check you-”

“No.” you shook your head “I’m fine. If it gets worse later then sure but at the moment I just want to relax.”

He nodded “Alright, but promise me that you’ll let me get Doctor M’Benga before dinner tonight if it gets worse.”

You nod in response “As long as we can cuddle before then.” 

“And how could I turn that down?”

Tag List: (open)

Star Trek: @heyitsaloy  @angel-with-wings-castiel @starfleet-imagines @captainsophiestark @perasperaadastrawriting

[greenjamtoast]

Love Slugs

A Star Trek: SNW fanfic

Part 1

Captain Christopher Pike/reader

Rating: T

- - -

Summary:

A tight space in a balmy climate quickly convinced us to shed our uniform jackets. The shirts beneath them gradually unzipped, and buttons came undone to fight off the heat. Only a fraction more skin was exposed, less than I’d show in civvies on a day off, but it still defied protocol.

We’d both been in tighter situations than that—figuratively and literally—with bare arms abound, but neither of us accounted for the slug effect.

OR

After a rather heated moment on an away mission, Captain Pike is cornered in the hallway to talk about the kiss. And maybe see if he has any interest in repeating recent history.

- - -

Part 1:

Despite his rank and the professionalism that came with it, I still expected to see more emotion on his face than what greeted me when I called after him.

His eyes did a quick perimeter scan before meeting mine, wary of any onlookers before settling into placidity. He planted his feet, shoulders squaring to match mine, and smiled, but his eyes did not crease at the corners, did not sparkle. “Yes, Ensign?” An eyebrow ticked up, inviting a reply, but he blinked as he did it. Feigned diplomacy.

“Captain Pike,” I greeted, parking my feet a meter from his. “For someone so willing to square off with unknown dangers on weekly away missions, I have to admit I’m surprised. I didn’t think I’d have to literally flag you down,” I teased. I come in peace.

His chin tucked in a millimeter, smile warming a single degree. “Respectfully, the Gorn inspire less fear than the mere possibility of your wrath.” He nodded at a passing Lieutenant, waited for their footsteps to fade. “I’m sorry,” he said, voice lowered. “I didn’t mean to be evasive.”

“You know, I’m not sure I believe that,” I replied lightly, involuntarily stepping an inch closer. Catching myself, I retreated two inches back. “Look, we both saw Christine’s report. The slugs may have kicked things off, but it’s clear we crossed that line all on our own.”

I heard an intake of breath and knew another apology was about to greet me. “I’m not mad at you,” I rushed, cutting him off.

- - -

…Want to read the rest? Check out the full chapter (and part two!) on AO3 :)

- - -

A/N: I published this back in June but figured I’d post it here, too. This is my first dip back into writing fanfic in forever (Captain Pike has that effect on people), and I hope everyone who reads it finds something they like. :)

[inthenameofstartrek]

Hi Pike Fans!

I'm searching for a fanfic (I think there were 3 chapters) where Pike and the reader are in a relationship - I think reader was a geologist of some kind. So reader gets caught in a rockslide and saved by Mirror!Pike, but she temporarily loses her vision so she doesn't know the difference until the end - it did have a happy ending though!

If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd be so so so happy!

[ichayalovesyou]

Cool News Guys

Guess who finally has an AO3 Account?! MEEEEEE!

Am I slowly but surely putting all of my Captain Pike x Reader fics on there? YES!

Would it be awesome if y'all checked it out? ALSO YES!!

BEHOLD :D

All of my Star Trek stuff is under IchayaLovesYou as a pseudonym of my main account! My non-trek (BG3 and WIld WIld West) stuff are under my main account.

[mara-tevith-solo]

Masterlist Collection

Sing A Little Song For Me (Recom Quaritch): 18+

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Give Me A Reason (Recom Wainfleet): 18+

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

I’m Your Sinner And You’re My Goddess (Recom Zdinarsk): 18+ Oneshot

Learn Something New (Hunter): 18+ Oneshot

Keeping Secrets (Fives): 18+ Oneshot 

Til The End (Tech): 18+ Oneshot

To End The World For You (Ser Harwin Strong): PG-13

To End The World For You (Aemond Targaryen): PG-13

Part 1

Part 2

Steady As She Goes (Captain Pike AOS): 18+

One Enchanted Evening (Adam Warlock): 18+

Part 1

Part 2

Fate Thinks She’s Funny (Adam Warlock): 18+ In Progress

It Takes Two (Miguel O’Hara): 18+

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

[captainpikeswoman]

(Chris’s hand brushes against yours as you walk together.)

Y/N: (aggressively) commit to it dammit Pike! (Takes his hand and holds it)

Chris: (Beams at you)

[shamelesstrekkie13]

AOS Christopher Pike x Reader after a big fight

Hiii!! So, this is my first time publishing a fanfic in here, so if I'm making any mistakes, please tell me! Also, you can send me requests for any characters of Star Trek, Percy Jackson, Shadow and Bone or Harry Potter :) Also, I should warn you that English isn't my main lenguage, so, I'm sorry for any mistakes I might've made. I really hope you enjoy this fic!

Words: 2662

I don't think there's anything to warn about. There are a couple cursewords, and the word "kill" does appear, but it's all very light.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After I stormed out of Chris’ quarters, I went to the Mess Hall, searching for Sulu, so that he could cheer me up. This wasn’t our first fight, but it was the biggest one yet. The reason why we fought was a really stupid reason, which usually wouldn’t have made either one of us mad, but the stress got to us. So I started getting annoyed and a disagreement became a full on fight. And then, because Chris was also under a lot of stress (because of his captaincy of the Enterprise), the relatively normal fight became the biggest fight we’ve ever had. We started calling eachother names that neither one of us meant, but Chris crossed a line after calling me clingy, needy and 'too much'. And by 'crossed a line' I mean completely shattered my heart. 

Honestly, the only reason why that bothered me so much is because my love language is a hundred percent physical touch. It’s one of the few things that make me feel loved and secure, and it’s my first method of showing love. I’ve always loved hugging and stroking or something as simple as holding hands, because that’s how the message of love got across from one person to another. With Chris being my superior, we could hardly do this kind of thing in front of other people, and since we both work so much, we didn’t have a lot of time for us either. That’s why Chris calling me 'clingy' and 'needy' and 'too much' hit me so hard. I didn’t even know I was 'too much'. For me this was a completely normal thing, it didn’t even cross my mind that it could be annoying. After hearing Chris tell me that, the only thing I could do was get out of his quarters as soon as possible, so that I wouldn’t break down in front of the person who called me 'too much.' That hurt in so many ways that I just couldn’t even look at him without hurting all over again.

I found Sulu sitting on a table with Chèkov, and I immediately went over to them, to explain and vent about what happened. As soon as they saw me, they knew something bad happened, I’m guessing because I didn’t greet them in my usual cheery and optimistic way. I sat down and sighed profoundly, and then I began explaining everything. While I was explaining the events trying desperately not to cry, Chèkov got up and went towards the replicator to order us some alcohol. When he came back with all the shots of tequila, I drank them all, without even thinking that some of those would be for them too. 

“I just don’t understand how he could say something like that” I continued venting. “It makes no sense. He never once complained about me being needy or clingy or annoying. What if that’s what he’s been thinking all this time but never told me?”

I started spirling and questioning everything about our relationship, because we had only been dating for almost a year, even though we had loved each other for much longer, but due to our ranks in StarFleet, neither of us had acted on our feelings. We didn’t even know if the other one felt the same way we did. 

“I wouldn’t say that” started Sulu “that man is crazy for you. I can’t even imagine him saying anything like this to you” 

Everybody knew about my way of showing love. Most people found it cute, and said they’d love to have a girlfriend who showed so much affection. Everybody jokingly said that the Captain didn’t need to be worried about any cheating. I loved too hard to ever cheat. 

“I agree with him. You should talk to him, I’m sure it was just the stress talking” said Chèkov with his pronounced accent. 

“But that’s the thing. Even if he said it because of the stress, doesn’t that mean that at some point in our relationship he felt that way?” I started to tear up again “Maybe everybody’s right and I love too hard”

Sulu and Chèkov looked at each other before addressing me.

“You loving so hard is something unique. And it’s a good thing. And even if he feels like that, which is hard to believe, you deserve much better. You are awesome, girl.” 

When Sulu finished his pep talk, Chèkov commented too:

“If the captain truly feels like that, then we’ll help you move on. We’ll call Nyota and she’ll create a party for you to drink and dance your pain away.”

At that moment I felt so lucky to have the friends that I have. To have support through those dark days that everybody has. I looked at them gratefully. 

Soon enough, Nyota and Spock joined us at the table, and she started to tell a story about a cadet that touched the wrong thing and caused a blackout in the entire ship. Even though I knew exactly what she was doing, which was to distract me from my chaotic love life, I followed her lead. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Captain Pike was a very busy man. He was the captain of the Federation’s flag ship. He was in constant stress because of a million things, but today it felt different. Maybe because of the headache he woke up with. Or maybe because of the huge fight he had had earlier with his girlfriend. Yeah, that was probably it. He didn’t know what came over him. He just snapped when she got close to hug him. Maybe it was because he was late for his shift, and captains can never be late. It could also be because of the meeting he had that afternoon with Admiral Marcus, which made him really nervous and even more stressed than he already was. He didn’t know how to feel about Admiral Marcus, and because of that, he needed to be careful around him. 

Pike couldn’t afford to not be at his maximum when the time of the meeting with the Admiral came. He thought he should distract himself with work, because there was nothing left to do to prepare for the meeting, so the only thing he could do was work until the time came. 

It sounds as if Pike was going to a meeting to find out if he was guilty or innocent of some crime, but that wasn’t the case at all. Just the presence of Admiral Marcus caused this reaction in him. The goal was to go to that meeting free of stress, but now, after the fight he had had with his girlfriend, he was more stressed than ever. He was also worried. Like, sick worried. Because he obviously didn’t mean anything he had said to her, but he knew he fucked up. He knew it, and he was terrified of the consequences of his fuck up. He loved his girlfriend more than anything, she was there for him no matter what, even after his torture. Not many people would’ve stayed after an event like that. He loved her for that. He also loved the way she loved him. The way she loved in general. He loved everything about her, because her love was all he needed to survive. And she had more than enough love for him. All those things he had called her in their fight were repeating in his mind, like an infinite, torturous loop. He didn’t mean a single word of what he had said. 

He also knew that she loved harder than anyone, despite everything that had happened to her in her life. And he admired that above everything else. Her capacity for love was extraordinary, and he might’ve just lost her. No, he definitely lost her. And he couldn’t deal with the implications of that loss right now. Not when he had a ship to run, not when he had a meeting with one of the Admirals of StarFleet. Not when he knew that when he started processing that loss, he would break down, and he wouldn’t recover. He couldn’t. It was just impossible to move on from a love like that, especially when it was his own fault that the relationship had ended. 

Pike entered engineering, to distract himself from the heartbreak he was sure would kill him. He had to oversee a repair procedure on the warp core, to make sure nobody fucked it up. He started walking around engineering, not caring about the repair anymore, just trying to make sense of his thoughts. He walked past a console when a memory hit him. Over a year ago, a shipwide failure happened, knocking the Enterprise out cold. You were there, in engineering, on that same console, trying to revive the ship. You had found a solution on how to fix the problem, and he thought “damn, she’s smart.” And he was right. You were one of the smartest people he had ever met. He also thought you’d have a boyfriend, because it was impossible for a woman like you to be single for long. But, luckily for him, you were single. And the rest was history.

The time to meet Admiral Marcus had come, and the captain made his way to his ready room, to meet the Admiral on a call. He had no clue why this meeting was happening, which was worrying. He started thinking, once again, that maybe StarFleet Command would want to retire him from the chair, because of the torture. And that was an unthinkable thought. When he had thoughts like this, you were always by his side, ready to shine and dissipate all the shadows that were clouding his mind. But you weren’t there now. And you probably wouldn’t be anymore. So he had to force his thoughts away from his mind, which was very difficult to do, since there were shadows everywhere, and your light wasn’t there. 

The computer informed him about Admiral Marcus calling him, and so he straightened his spine and accepted the call.

“Good afternoon, Captain. You look like hell.”

“Good afternoon, Admiral. I must say, I have no idea why this meeting was scheduled in the first place, and that has been making me nervous.”

The captain was trying to keep his nerves under control, so that he wouldn’t say anything stupid. 

“Well, you can relax, Chris. StarFleet Command has decided to promote you to Admiral due to your admirable strength against Nero. Congratulations.”

Pike felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt an enormous relief that nobody was forcing him to retire. His next thought was to tell you about his promotion, and then he remembered he hadn’t seen you since the fight. So he decided to go see you, have you back, and tell you the news. He started to see everything from a different perspective, and he decided that he may have fucked up, but he wouldn’t give up so easily. He wanted you by his side, and it saddened him that you weren’t there when Admiral Marcus had told him about his promotion. 

“Those are excellent news, Admiral. I’d like to thank whoever made this decision, because it’s something I’ve been waiting for a long time. If you excuse me, I have people to share this news to. Have a nice day, sir.”

He hung up without waiting for an answer, and got out of his ready room on long, fast strides. He asked the computer where you were so that he could go and talk to you about both the fight and his promotion. Chris realised that if he was going to be Admiral, he didn’t want to be it without you. If it hadn’t been for you he probably wouldn’t even be on Starfleet right now, due to the torture. 

When he arrived at the mess hall, he saw you with Sulu, with all kinds of alcoholic beverages on the table and a couple of them in your hands. You were laughing at something Sulu had said, and Chèkov was explaining something, gesturing a lot with his hands, and you looked really interested at what he was saying. Suddenly, Pike wished that it was him at whom you were laughing and dedicating that beautiful smile. 

Chèkov saw the captain and stopped speaking abruptly. He then said something to you in quiet whispers. You turned around and looked straight at Chris. The captain’s heart started to beat at an unsafe rhythm, faster with each step you took towards him.

“We should talk” You said

“Yes, we should,” the captain agreed.

Chris took your hand and practically dragged you to his quarters. Once you both got there, he held both your hands and started talking.

“First of all, I need you to know that I didn’t mean a single thing that I said this morning. I love the way you love me, and your way of showing affection. I was really stressed about my meeting with Marcus, and I took it out on you. And I’m terribly sorry for that. I thought my whole future at StarFleet was in danger, and instead of letting you help me, I snapped at you. It will never happen again, because now I know what would happen to me if you ever left me. Just today, after the fight, I was absolutely terrified of you leaving me. For a moment there, I thought we might never be us again. And then, I had my meeting with Admiral Marcus, and he told me that I’ve been promoted to Admiral. The first thing I thought after being relieved that nobody was forcing me to retire was you. Without you, I probably wouldn’t even be on StarFleet after my torture. You’re the reason for this. You’re the reason for every single good thing in my life. You’re everything. So, I really hope you can forgive me for my fuck up. If you do forgive me, I have a lot of good ideas on how to celebrate our accomplishment.”

You were left speechless. After Chris’ speech, you felt as if you were going to cry and just break down right there of happiness and relief. 

“So you never meant anything you said this morning? I was starting to think that maybe you felt that way all along and that you weren’t happy or that maybe I really was ‘too much’” Your eyes were tearing up slowly, and the captain realised that.

Chris’ heart broke from just hearing your self-doubts. His heart broke a little bit more when he remembered that he was the cause of your self-doubts. 

“I would never think that. You’re more than enough, and I could never have ‘too much’ of you. In case you didn’t realise, I’m madly in love with you, and I’m absolutely horrified by the words that I said earlier today.”

As if the captain couldn’t restrain himself anymore, he took a step forward and engulfed you on a huge bear hug. He held you tightly for several minutes, enjoying your body temperature and having you in his arms once again. He rested his face on the crook of your neck and inhaled deeply, as if he wanted to memorise your smell and never forget it. He whispered how sorry he was in your ear and kissed you several times on your cheek and neck, as if tasting the most delicious and sweet food. 

“Chris, this morning I’ve also said a couple of things that I didn’t mean at all. So, really, I’m at fault here too. And I love you too. You’re also one of the most loyal, kind and smart men I’ve ever met, and I’m really grateful to have you as my partner.” You held him tighter than ever too. You had missed him terribly throughout this day. 

You cupped your lover’s cheeks and directed his lips towards yours. 

Sure enough, that night neither of you slept much.

[laanswife]

Gif from @telumendils

When I watched the second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Melanie Scrofano appeared, I was like: "Who is this beautiful woman on my screen?". Then I searched on the Internet and saw in her philology the series Wynonna Earp, which I had already heard of so I decided to stop and watch it at another time.

This month I decided to start watching and I've already watched 3 entire seasons (I watched the first one in just one day), because, what the hell, this series is incredible and it doesn't get the recognition it deserves.

Ps.: Now I live and breathe this character, because she's a bitch with a badass gun and gorgeous hair.

Gif from @dreamlonelywolf

[elen-aranel]

Helloo~ May I make a Christopher Pike x reader request? It's a month old scuttlebutt, that the captain is involved with you, based solely on misconstrued events (leaving the direction of his quarters early morn in a rumpled uniform, stopping by medbay for a 'shot') Everyone knows that everyone knows, from cadet to captain. Except you don't. And noone has bothered checking. And the captain finds it funny (and you 'apparently' don't mind either as you've not bothered to shoot it down) so any moments you two have in view of others, he gives you a conspirational wink with some flirty banter. You think (hope) he's really flirting and not just being friendly.

Is it a bit much for a request? If so lemme know. Or i can commission? Idk. The idea hit me and it made me giggle with all the ways it could go.

Thank you so much for the request, and for your patience... this took a while! I hope you like the direction I've gone with it <333

Common Knowledge

Pairing: Christopher Pike x F!Reader (no Y/N) Warnings/Notes: Reader wears the dress version of the standard SNW uniform. Food mentions, alcohol mention. WC: 5.8k

It all starts the morning after you spent gamma shift in a Jeffries tube. Well. Several Jeffries tubes, in fact, chasing down an issue with a relay that had blown and taken a bunch of circuitry out with it, including some life support systems.

You’re feeling good, though, as you step out into the corridor on a deck full of crew quarters. Yes, your red uniform dress is creased and you’re in dire need of a shower, but the relay and the burned-out circuitry are replaced, and all systems are back online.

You deserve a water shower, not a sonic one, you tell yourself as you head toward the turbolift, nodding to the occasional officer as you walk by them. You just need to make sure the ops console on the bridge is reading everything correctly, then your duty shift will be done.

“Commander, Lieutenant,” you greet Lieutenant Commander Chin-Riley and Lieutenant Ortegas as you enter the turbolift. Unlike you, they both look fresh and ready to face the day. Number One nods in greeting, but Ortegas looks you up and down quite blatantly, and you find you’re trying to smooth your skirt despite yourself.

“Long night?”

“I—” you start, but before you can reply—

“Computer, hold. Open the doors,” Commander Chin-Riley says, and as you turn, Captain Pike is walking into the lift. And somehow, even though you’ve been on the Enterprise for a while, you’re never not struck by his presence. His broad shoulders. How handsome he is.

“Good morning, Number One, Ortegas. Lieutenant.” He puts an odd weight on your title, even though of course he knows your name, and then your mind goes blank as he winks one of those blue eyes.

“C-captain,” you stutter, well aware of Ortegas trying to stifle a laugh next to you.

“Sleep well?” Una asks, something knowing in her voice, after the captain directs the turbolift to the bridge.

“I’ve had… more restful nights,” he says, and looks at you sideways, doubtless taking in your rumpled dress and less-than-fresh appearance. “Like the lieutenant here, I’d wager,” he adds, and you must have missed a memo somewhere because this ‘lift ride has gotten very weird, very fast.

You decide keeping quiet is your best bet — it’s a short ride, thank goodness.

But you can’t shake the feeling that there are eyes on you as you finish your work on the bridge.

It may have started in a Jeffries tube, but it continues in sickbay.

You appreciate knowing sickbay is there. Doctor M'Benga and Nurse Chapel are skilled at their jobs, and you’ve had cause to be grateful for them when accidents happen, from a pulled muscle during a workout to a painful plasma burn from faulty equipment.

That doesn’t mean you love getting your quarterly check-up and shots. But you decided early on in your career that you weren’t going to be one of those people doctors had to chase for their physicals. Every three months you turn up. You’re due for routine vaccinations against some common alien viruses that human immune systems need reminders about, and your contraceptive shot.

Not that you really need it, of course. You aren’t getting any. The closest you’ve been since you joined the Enterprise was Lieutenant Paulson, a senior engineer who sometimes commands gamma shift when you’re on that rotation. He asked you out to dinner on Starbase 1, and while you like him as a person, you had to decline. You’d known him for a while, and never felt any kind of spark. And there’s been no-one— there’s been almost no-one else on the ship that you’re interested in. But still, you get your shot.

Today your appointment is during your shift. You didn’t want to be interrupted; you’re working on a new scanning device to be used on a planet with an unusual combination of atmosphere and magnetic field, which affects the resolution of normal scanners. So when your reminder went off you kept hold of your PADD, and you carried on entering the design parameters as you walked.

“Woah there,” a voice cuts through the equations you’re focussing on, and you feel hands on your arms, steadying you as you stumble.

As it turns out, walking with a PADD is a mistake.

Especially when you walk straight into the captain in the corridor outside sickbay.

“Captain! I’m so sorry! I—I was— I’ll pay more attention.” You look up, flustered, into his blue eyes, suddenly keenly aware of the bulk of him, of the controlled strength in his hands.  Happily, he seems amused rather than annoyed, that half smile playing about his lips.

“I do admire your... dedication, Lieutenant, but you’re right. Paying attention is a good idea.”

And as the doors to sickbay swish open, letting Chief Kyle and one of your fellow engineers out onto the corridor, you realise the captain hasn’t moved. You’re still in his space, and he’s still holding you.

“Captain, Lieutenant... are you joining us?” Nurse Chapel looks as though she’s suppressing a smile. “You’re, uh... both here for your quarterly shots, right?” she adds, as Pike finally steps back, and you walk with him into sickbay. You nod, mutely.

“Yes. Timed it perfectly this time, didn’t we Lieutenant?” he says, and he grins at you, knowing.

“Sure,” you find yourself saying, sitting down a little abruptly on the biobed Doctor M'Benga indicates. Is Pike… flirting with you? Or just being his usual warm self?

“This shouldn’t take too long. I’m sure you want to get back to your... duties.” M'Benga looks meaningfully at Pike, who shrugs, a picture of innocence.

“Can you blame us?”

You can’t help your smile.

But actually, now you really think about it, maybe you’re wrong.  Maybe it started with the onions.

You have a shift free, moving from nights to days as you do on a semi-regular basis, since some edict came down from Starfleet that people shouldn’t just work nights for health reasons. It doesn’t entirely make sense to you; you’re on a ship, so it’s not like anyone has a real day or night, but being able to socialise with people who are always on alpha is a plus, and you suppose the same rules apply to planetary bases which do have day and night.

The captain has invited you to dinner. That isn’t special, even though you wish it were – he likes to get to know the whole crew in an informal setting, and it’s just your turn. And maybe you over-think it just a little, during the day, planning what to wear to make yourself look pretty but not like you’d tried too hard.

Either way, you are early. You only realise as you press the chime for the door, when it’s too late to back out.

But the captain’s smile is warm and welcoming. “Hi, come in, come in. You any good with a vegetable knife?”

You grin in return, relaxing. “Yes sir. It’s been a little while, but I can chop.”

“Chris. We’re not on the clock right now.”

“Yes, Chris.” You follow him into the kitchen area of his quarters, taking in the fire, the view of a green forest through the windows, all the details that mark the space as his.

“Excellent. That spatial anomaly today— well. I’m playing catch-up here.”

“Oh wow, you really are...” the vegetables are all laid out ready, and there are a lot. But then, you don’t know how many people will be here. “Set me to work. How do you want the carrots?”

Pike’s knives are sharp and well balanced, and it’s easy to chop carrots into even circles, and to dice potatoes into neat cubes. You chat, too, about the food he’s making, and the special unit he had the ship’s botanists set up to let him grow fresh herbs in space.

You’re pretty much on autopilot by the time you get to the onions. You know the technique: you slice them in half through the root, then make sure you don’t cut the root again as you cut from close to the root to the tip, then across into chunks.

“So, there’s something I’m curious about,” you say as you grab the next onion.

“Oh?” Pike pauses for a moment, hand poised over the control for the oven.

“The forest overlay you have for the windows. Is it somewhere special to you? It’s really lovely.” You blink a little as you chop. Perhaps you got a lash or something in your eye.

Pike presses the control on the oven, then turns to look at you. “No, actually it’s—” he frowns. “Wait, are you all right?”

You blink again. “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Your brow draws together, and you put your knife down, turning to him a little more.

“Because you’re crying.” He starts towards you.

“Oh, damn.” You can feel it now — that tell-tale sting in your eyes. You look down at your chopping. “The onions. But I was being careful.” You sigh, blink again, and feel a tear roll down your cheek.

“If there are a lot it doesn’t matter how careful you are. I’m sorry, I should have done them.” He reaches past you, and you’re terribly aware of him in your space. He pulls off a piece of kitchen towel.

 “It’s not your fault—” the words die on your lips as he turns to face you, blue eyes filled with concern.

“I’ll just—I don’t want you to use your hands—” and he takes the towel and dabs your face, and you suck a little breath in at his closeness, wondering why it has to be in a circumstance like this, when the door chime goes. “Enter,” he says, distractedly, blotting away one more tear before stepping back. “There. No harm done. But you should wash up. Ah, Spock, perhaps you can take over the chopping.”

You look round to see that Spock, Sam Kirk, Ortegas and Uhura have all walked in, just in time to see you with red eyes from the onions. At least, you think as you wash the onion off your hands, your makeup is waterproof.

Regardless of how things did or did not start, you’re pretty sure the captain only thinks of you as a friend. That this flirting is just a joke between the two of you... even if you wish it were real. Either way, you decide you might as well enjoy it.

You get back to the transport point from your solo hike on Chi Orianis Prime – it’s beautiful, with fluffy peachy-pink grass that’s soft underfoot and smells very slightly citrus-y when you tread on it, interspersed with lavender coloured bushes, with views of blue lakes and red mountains in the distance – right as Pike gets back from his fishing trip. Given how he’s carrying his cooler, it must have been a successful one.

You’re just about to ask him about it when Chapel and Ortegas arrive, with Uhura and La’an in tow, laughing together. They’re wearing t-shirts and shorts and sandals, carrying towels — clearly back from the beach, La’an actually looking like she might have caught the sun a little.

You take a step closer to him.

“Enjoy your trip?” The smile on Erica’s face is just a little too innocent.

“Yes, thank you. Wouldn’t have been the same without the lieutenant here, though.” Pike catches your eye, and you smile back at him, sappy, playing along.

“The captain’s right. We had a good time.”

None of your close friends wanted to go to movie night with you tonight. They’re showing a classic 20th century Earth film, Casablanca, and none of them were interested in seeing something that old. But it seems pretty popular with the rest of the crew when you get there. You pick up some popcorn first, wondering once again whose idea it was to put a Starfleet delta on the containers, and you head to find a seat.

Maybe it was a good thing your friends didn’t come. There aren’t too many spaces left when you go to sit down, but there are a few seats a couple of rows in front of where Spock and Nurse Chapel are sitting together. You settle in, allowing yourself three pieces of popcorn before the lights go down.

And right before they do, Pike slides into the free seat next to you.

“I thought you were going to stand me up,” you tell him, tilting your popcorn container over.

“A gentleman would never,” he replies, and you can hear the smile in his voice as he takes a piece.

The back of the shuttle is open to the bay, and Cadets Novakova and Manuel, on engineering rotation, are standing inside it with you, PADDs in hand. You’ve popped a panel off the inside of the shuttle, and you indicate a junction point.

“So, okay. You want to interplex the circuitry here. What will be the result of that? What are you hoping to achieve?”

“Well, the increased signal strength will improve thruster response time and efficiency.” Manuel says, shrugging his broad shoulders like it’s obvious.

“Yes, and we need better responsiveness for the planet. The atmospheric differentials are almost out of spec.” Novakova nods. “This is the easiest way to achieve that.”

“All right. And looking at the systems in front of you, will there be any other consequences?”

“No, there shouldn’t, it should just—” there’s a pause, then Novakova steps back, playing with a twist of her blonde hair as she considers. “Wait. That pathway, it connects to the impulse engine as well, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does, and the boosted signal would go through there too…” Manuel’s fingers fly over his PADD.

They look at each other as the penny drops, and you notice Pike in the bay, listening in. You tilt your head and raise a brow in a silent invitation, but he shakes his head a little, content to observe.

“So if we interplex the circuitry there, we will get an increase in thruster efficiency, but at the expense of introducing instability into the impulse control matrix.” Manuel sighs.

“You’re flying along, minding your business and then boom. Impulse reactor overload.” Novakova winces. “I didn’t see that.”

You nod. “You didn’t. Because neither of you really looked. For what it’s worth, it would probably have worked on the shuttles at the academy. But these are a different model. You have to work with what’s actually in front of you. That’s half the battle.”

“Wise words, Lieutenant.” Pike leans into the back of the shuttle, and you can’t help your smile at the praise as the cadets turn to acknowledge him. “The two of you should take them to heart.”

You're sitting on a bench in the bar, sipping a favourite drink, listening to Ensign Thyra play an Earth guitar but sing a wistful sounding song in her native Andorian, when Lieutenant Ortegas sits down next to you. And then Nurse Chapel sits on your other side.

“So, you and the captain. How’s that going?” Christine’s opening is straight to the point.

You give her a sceptical look. “It... isn’t? Hi to you too, by the way.” You turn to Erica. “To both of you.”

“Oh, come on. You guys are not subtle.” Erica rolls her eyes. “It’s been scuttlebutt for weeks. Me, Number One,” she starts counting off on her fingers, “Christine, Mbenga, Uhura...”

“Sam Kirk,” Christine adds.

“Yes, Sam Kirk, Spock, La’an...”

 “We’ve all seen it. I even heard the cadets talking about it. Everyone knows.”

You shake your head, putting your drink down on the table in front of you. “We’re not... I don’t—” you look from one to the other. “There’s nothing between the captain and me.” You take a breath. “He flirts, sometimes I flirt back, but it’s just a joke.”

“Doesn’t look like a joke to me.” Christine says, her voice soft, almost sympathetic.

Erica shrugs. “It’s okay. You don’t have to admit it, if you guys are keeping things to yourselves... We just wanted you to know that we’re happy for you. Pike should have someone on the ship. And you. You should have someone too.” Her smile as she stands to leave is genuine.

“I—I’m not hiding anything. But thanks, I guess? I appreciate the sentiment.”

Arriving early when the captain invites you to a crew dinner is your habit now. You enjoy helping with prep when you can, and having a quiet moment to chat with Chris.

But this time you use the computer to check that others have arrived before you get there. You try to relax; these are your friends, Chris is your friend, but with what Erica and Christine said… you feel self-conscious. Second guessing everything you do and say.

 You leave as soon as you can without being rude.

You feel a bit self-conscious with work, too, although you try to bury it. Especially with Pike piloting the shuttle for this mission. You’re sitting in your tactical uniform in the back of shuttle Kepler with Spock, Sam Kirk, La’an, and a couple more science officers. You would expect Kirk especially to pass some comment, but even he is quiet, because Zeta Lyrae VI’s wind shear is every bit as bad as science predicted.

A long-range scanning probe identified it as a possible source of dilithium as well as some other useful minerals — visual scan only, though, because the strange magnetic field prevented scanning of the interior. But that’s where the scanner you developed comes in. The visual scan also tagged some potential ruins which Kirk will investigate, and there’s general surveying to do too.

You grit your teeth against the turbulence. You trust that the captain’s piloting skills and the modifications you and the cadets made to the shuttle will see you safely to the ground, but you still feel motion sick. You know, though, there are pattern enhancers in the cargo. Perhaps you’ll be able to beam back up.

The turbulence lessens as you get deeper into the atmosphere, but you’re still very glad when the shuttle touches down. There’s a metallic tang to the air as the shuttle door opens, but it’s cool and refreshing despite that, and you take a deep breath, settling your rolling stomach, before you get to work.

The dawn sky of Zeta Lyrae IV is muted shades of pale blue and grey, warming a little to mauve-pink at the horizon, where the two suns have just risen. Barren-looking plains stretch out in front of you, with a river lazily meandering across, and there are hills leading to mountains not far away to your right. It’s hard to make out, but the lines of dark stones partially embedded in the ground to your left could well be the remains of a wall, and there are other, more defined structures further away in that direction.

“Lieutenant, you have everything you need?”

“Yes sir.” You lift your last case again, the heavy one, and try to keep your face blank at the weight of it. You know you’ll be feeling it tomorrow, but its contents were too large for your backpack. “I’ve identified a site two kilometres away that’s suitable for the scanner base. Enhanced scanning should be online within an hour.”

Pike nods. “Kirk, La’an, you have the ruins. Spock, the science survey is yours.” He turns to you. “Let me help with that.”

“I’m fine, honestly,” you protest as Pike takes the case from you, fingers brushing yours for one tiny electric moment.

“We’ll make quicker time if we share the load. Which I’m sure Spock will appreciate.”

“Aye, sir.”

You notice that there’s no flirtatious comment today.

This planet feels a bit like a dream, with its dead quiet, muted colours, pearly grey sky and the two suns gently highlighting the landscape. The only evidence you can see of the turbulent atmosphere are the occasional blue-green clouds scudding quickly across the sky.

You pick your way through the pathless terrain, looking for any signs of life. While there are scraps of ragged looking vegetation here and there, a lot of it seems dead, and the planet as a whole seems mostly barren.

You don’t make conversation; there’s something about the planet’s quiet and your confused emotions that steals your ability to make small talk, and Pike is quiet too. There’s just the sound of two pairs of boots crunching on the ground.

Until you almost step on a flower: a seven petaled bloom in the shape of a star, pale blue in the middle deepening to grey-purple just at the tips. You pause to get a better look, to see if there are any others like it nearby, but it seems solitary.

“Are you all right, Lieutenant?”

You look up to see Pike has stopped too, mild concern on his face.

“Yes sir, I’m fine.” You straighten up. “I just... this flower is the only one I’ve seen, and I wonder... is it the last gasp of the life that used to live on this planet, or is it a glimpse of hope for the future?”

Pike glances at the flower, but his focus is on you when he speaks. “We’ll likely never know, but I... I choose hope.”

The site you chose from the visual scan is obvious when you get there. You’re at the edge of the hills, and there’s a grey cliff curving round one edge of a flat open area. Geophysics had identified it as a potential location for dilithium, and as you get close you can see veins of the pink crystal running through the rock.

Now you just need to find out how much there is.

With Pike helping it doesn’t take too long to set the scanner up. You start with the base in the case he was carrying, and together you fold it out into a large circle, locking struts and its three legs in place.

You attach the probe that will drill into the soil, the antennas to communicate with the smaller unit near the shuttle and with the Enterprise, and to facilitate scanning in the atmosphere. Finally, you attach the computer from your backpack which is the brains of the system — you can’t help your private smile of satisfaction as it comes online. The shuttle is far enough away that its systems don’t affect the sensitive scans, and when the probe deploys and calibration data flows straight through immediately.

You talk to Commander Pelia and Lieutenant Spock on comms, making adjustments on the fly to the different parameters, optimising the uplink from the scanner and away team’s tricorders to the Enterprise.

Pike checks in with La’an at some point, but next time you look up you see he’s a little way away, tricorder out, following a standard scanning pattern working outward from where you are. You’re a little surprised he didn’t tell you that’s what he was going to do. Then the scanner beeps as the drill returns a result outside expected tolerances, pulling your focus.

It’s easier to get lost in your work than think about him, and for a long while, you do.

“Lieutenant, do you see that?” There’s a note of concern in Pike’s voice, and you follow his gaze to the horizon to your right.

It almost looks like a distant rain shower would on Earth, but there are green lights sparking all through it. Like lightning but less directional. You take a breath, and realise the metallic smell has intensified, to the point you can almost taste it.

“Yes, sir, I do.” You turn and meet Pike’s eyes.

“Plasma storm?”

“Plasma storm.” You redirect your scanner’s gain to maximum in that direction, sacrificing resolution elsewhere.

Pike’s tone is rueful. “Should’ve known when I scanned a burned patch of vegetation. It must have developed quickly.”

“Looks like it’s moving fast, too.”

“I’ll contact the rest of the away team, have them meet us at the shuttle. You start packing.”

“Sir,” you reply, distracted, already deep in the scanner readouts. You vaguely hear Pike calling Spock, then La’an, but you’re focused on one last scan.

“Lieutenant? I gave you an order.”

“Yes sir, you did, but look.” You point to the readout of the storm’s speed on the screen. “Scans show that even if we leave right now, we can’t make it back to the shuttle before the storm hits. We don’t even have time for them to pick us up.”

Pike frowns. “Options?”

“The cliff. There’s a cave system behind it. I don’t think there’s an entrance close enough, but...”

“Phasers? All this dilithium makes it risky.”

“Plasma burns are no fun, sir. I would know.”

He raises a brow. “Sounds like a story for later. All right. Let’s do this.”

You grab your phaser from your holster and dial the power up.

“Fire.”

You focus your beam on the weakest spot, and Pike fires at it too. And... nothing happens, for long enough for a shade of doubt to creep in. Then there’s a sound, a pile of rubble, and a gap. Just large enough for a person.

The cave is dark. It’s big, too, enough that the torches on your vests can’t illuminate the other side from where you are.

The storm is still raging outside, but the sound of it is quiet in here; the narrow space you opened the gap into curved round for a few metres before opening out into the space you’re in.

Now all you can do is sit and wait.

And you’re so aware of Pike, sitting with you.

He’s quiet, and now you come to think of it he has been all day. Definitely no flirting. You try to steal a glance at him, see what he’s thinking, but it’s too dark, and you don’t want to turn to face him.

You cast around for a distraction, and find a piece of dilithium embedded in the rock floor of the cavern next to you. The surface is flat and glassy-smooth, but with a few imperfections, and you like the feel of it under your fingers. In your head you go over the dilithium crystal eigenstates you memorised at the academy in one of your classes in warp field mechanics, and calculate the power output you would need for your phaser to trigger different levels.

“Sir, I’d like to try something, to give us some more light. It’s safe.”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

You adjust your phaser to its second lowest setting, scoot across a little and fire on the dilithium, counting seconds in your head. It starts glowing red immediately, but as you shut the beam off the glow spreads, along one vein, then another, then another, until the whole cavern is lit up like its own galaxy, surrounding you on the floor, the walls, the ceiling.

“Wow, that’s—that’s good work. Thank you.”

There’s something in his expression as he looks at you, the wonder in his eyes melting into a smile, that makes you brave.

“So… I had an—an interesting chat with Chapel and Ortegas the other day.”

“Oh?”

“Apparently the scuttlebutt is that we’re dating... we’ve been dating for a while. They wouldn’t believe me when I told them it wasn’t true.” You stare out across the cavern at all the glimmering lights.

“Oh.” He exhales. “Hah, yeah… I’m, uh, sorry about that? Things… got away from me.” You hear him stir, move into a different position.

You frown. “I don’t understand. What are you sorry for?”

“I’ve always been interested in you. And you’re not the sort of person that’s cowed by rank – Paulson is your superior, in your chain of command, but I was in the bar when he asked you to dinner, and you were so sure of yourself when you rejected him. So that day in the turbolift, Una and Erica jumping to conclusions... Your face was a picture, and I had to take Una’s bait. But by the time she told me there was already a rumour, you were joining in, and I—”

His voice goes quiet, like a confession.

“I couldn’t stop. And that wasn’t fair to you… making you an object of gossip like that.”

“Chris, I—” but now it comes to it, you can’t find the words. How do you tell him that you wouldn’t mind, not at all, if only the gossip were real? “But you did stop. We’ve barely spoken today. Until now.”

“I can read the room. You weren’t up for it the other night. Or today. And… I would never force my attentions where they clearly aren’t wanted.”

“But... they are, Chris. They are wanted.”

The cavern is dead quiet, and you almost wonder if you actually spoke aloud. But the look in Pike’s eyes when you finally turn to meet them—

“Lieutenant Spock to Captain Pike. Come in, please.”

Pike shrugs a little, face apologetic, as he flips open his communicator.

The ride back to the Enterprise is as quiet, and bumpy, as the ride to the planet. Spock and the rest of the away team had sheltered in the shuttle with shields up while the storm passed over them, and when the Enterprise’s scanners had shown that another one was forming, they came to pick you up.

All the equipment you left outside was destroyed.

But you think, as you climb in the shuttle, you catch a glimpse of one of those star-shaped flowers, still intact. Still blooming.

And Pike makes a point to catch your eye as you leave the shuttle bay. It’s subtle, but you recognise the invitation.

You think you can smell food as you press Pike’s door chime, and the scent only gets more appetising as you walk in. The lights are low, apart from the fire burning brightly, and Pike pauses, apron on over his gold uniform, to smile at you as you walk over to the kitchen area.

“You came.”

“Of course.”

He picks a small bottle up, and pours from it into a salad bowl in front of him. “I hope you’re hungry… I may have gone a little overboard on the mac and cheese. I thought we could use a little comfort food after that planet.”

“It smells amazing. Anything I can do to help?”

“It’s almost ready. You could pour the wine?” He indicates to the bottle and two glasses on one end of his L shape table. You uncork the chilled bottle and take care of the drinks while he brings plates, salad, and the macaroni cheese, piping hot and smelling delicious.

Sitting next to Chris, rather than opposite like you might at a restaurant or on the other side of the L as you have when you’ve been to crew meals here, feels so intimate. As he reaches over to get some salad, or you go to pick up your glass to sip some chardonnay, you can’t help but touch. You try not to let being this close to him distract you… as intimate as this is, as hopeful as you are, nothing is settled.

You take a bite of your pasta and sigh. “It’s perfect, Chris. Creamy, the cheese— everything. Perfect comfort food. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” You see him relax a little as you load up another forkful; he cares what you think.

You eat for a while in companionable quiet, then he takes a breath.

“I’m planning on demoting Spock. He has the worst timing.” He quirks one of those half smiles at you, the kind that make you melt a little, but then his expression goes serious.

“My position on this ship… I have to be careful of it. Your training – everyone’s training – tells you to do as I say. So, if I’m… interested… in someone, usually I try to set that aside.” He puts his fork down and shakes his head a little. “Clearly I didn’t do well on that score with you. But… I would have to be sure, before I truly pursue anything, that a person isn’t saying yes because of my rank.”

“I told myself that flirting was just a joke between us. That you don’t get involved with your crew. I want it to be real, but when people assumed that it was… It spooked me for a moment there.” You turn to face him more fully, to look into his eyes.

“I understand what it means for you to be Captain Pike. I understand that the Enterprise comes before me. But I felt that—that pull toward you, long before whatever this was started. It’s not your rank, your position of authority, Chris, it’s you.”

Chris stands from his chair, reaching a hand out to you. You stand and take it, his fingers warm in yours, and let him draw you to him, feeling the press of his body all along yours. You stare into his eyes, and see a wonder there that you’re sure he sees in your eyes too – the knowledge that you can finally have this. But then your eyes drift shut as he kisses you, gently, unhurried, savouring the moment.

You part for just a second, and then it gets passionate as you kiss him back, one hand on his chest, while his other hand finds its way to your lower back, holding you tighter. Your lips part, his tongue finds yours and you taste him, and you can’t get enough.

“So I know your shots are up to date,” Chris says, voice gravelly, when you pause for breath. “Would you like to take this to the bedroom?”

“Yes please.” You don’t care if you sound needy; you just want him. He takes your hand again and leads the way.

You are not quite sure what happened to your dress. You remember Chris helping you take it off last night, but quite how it got this crumpled is a bit of a mystery. You lift it up from the floor, and try to shake it out, not very successfully.

“Breakfast is served,” Chris says, looking fresh and neat in his uniform, not a hair out of place. No evidence to be seen of your activities last night, or how little sleep he may have had. “Oh, did you want a new uniform? I can synthesise one.”

“No need. I’ll have time to change in my quarters before shift.” You pull it on and try to smooth your skirt. “Breakfast?”

“Waffles. And real maple syrup. I know this little farm—”

It isn’t far from Pike’s quarters to the turbolift, and the officers in the corridor nod and smile to you as usual. Until you meet Lieutenant Ortegas.

She looks you up and down, taking in your creased dress with a raised brow and a sly smile. “I saw the duty rosters; I know you’re on alpha today. So… you get lucky last night?”

You try to hide your smile, but you feel too good – you don’t really want to.

“Yes, Erica, I did.”

Everyone will know, but you don’t mind. You and Chris are at the start of something special.

[thecoffeenebula]

The Discomforts Of Food

Part One

Christopher Pike/Reader

Genre: angst, fluff

warnings: this story is about a eating disorder

You are struggling with your eating disorder. You have lost a lot of weight. As you have been getting weaker, the entire crew has become concerned with you. Captain Pike ordered you to go to sickbay, where nurse Chapel was all in ready to take care of you. Both Chris and Christine are by your side to get better.

This is the second week your commanding officer had to send you to sickbay. Another day of getting unwell at your station. In your eyes you did not need to go to sickbay. You were fine. You looked fine. You just had been having stress and that was affecting you. At least that is what you kept telling yourself.

Despite what you were telling yourself, you were pale looking. Your face all fallen in, the bones around your shoulders showing. Even when you stepped underneath the shower when you looked at the mirror you could see your ribs become visible. But sadly, there was not where your focus was.

Subconsciously you knew that something was going on. When you were helping out on a new colony an old man mentioned how thin you were and joked about how you barely ate, as for you, what you ate seemed like a normal portion. It made you really insecure, but still everything felt normal. Your eating felt normal to you.

For months you had been unhappy with your body. You had been overeating for no reason. You just felt like you could handle more than you could take. But the more you did it the more you had the feeling there was a permanent rock in there. Eating was not enjoyable anymore. So one day you were done with all of it, so you decided to eat lighter and smaller portions. Maybe that is where it went wrong, as the ligther portions might have been too light. You mainly ate crackers, yoghurt, fruit and some bread. Dinner you ate in really small portions as you thought that was all your body could handle. You finally felt happier in your body as you did not have that continuous bloating feeling. But eating that light, avoiding most of the fats that you needed, especially in your line of work as a security officer, you needed a lot more of that. Avoiding fats, heavy and unhealthy foods made you this. A thin troubled woman, who had no idea about how much she needed to eat to survive, and slowly killing herself in the process.

You enter your room. The instant the door shut you let out a scream and kick the table that is besides you. “Why?”

Your roommate looked at you, who was happily reading a book in the corner. They got snapped out of their zone and turned around to face you. “Hey, hon, what’s going on? Aren’t you supposed to be on duty?” She put her book down and turns toward you. She notices the look on your face. All pale. It looked as if you were about to faint.

“They send you to sickbay again?”

You nodded.

“And did you go?”

You scoff at her words. “No, what do you think? There is nothing wrong with me. I am just stressed and it sucks. I hate it that I am this sensitive and my body turns into this nauseating, dizzy mess.”

You walk to your bunk where you lie down and put your hand over your head. Irritation rushes through your body as if it is the blood that pumps through your veins.

“I know this is all frustrating for you. Maybe you like something to drink. Maybe something with sugar might help.”

You scrunch your nose. Sugar is the last thing you want. “No thanks, I am good. I just want to sleep. I am exhausted. ”

“Okay. Well if you need something just say so.”

You lift your arm a little to look at your roommate, standing in the middle of the room. You smile at here a little.  “Maybe some water.”

“Suer can do.” Alice, your roommate, walks up to the food synthesizer, types in what she wants and grabs the two appearing glasses of water. She walks back to you and sits down on your bed. She hands you the glass of water. You take it and take big gulps out of it. “Easy” Alice says looking concerned.

“Maybe you would like something to eat. Food can give you energy as well.”

“No, thanks.”

Alice hesitates and looks down at her own glass. You know when she has something on her mind. You roll your eyes at her. “Spill it.” The words come out harshly.

“Okay, well…” Alice nervously fidgets with her glass. “Maybe it is a good idea to go to sickbay.” She could already see you catch air to go into defence. “I know there is nothing going on, just stress. But maybe nurse Chapel can give you something or help you so you won’t feel shit all the time.”

You give her a look.

“It is just a suggestion. But this is the fourth time in two weeks that you get back here. If this keeps going captain Pike or Commander Chin-Riley might reassign you… you might never work as security officer again if Starfleet thinks you cannot handle this job. I don’t want that for you.”

You put your glass down, tired of listening to your worried friend and turn around to catch some sleep. Alice just looks at you and leaves you be. She cannot force you to do anything at all. But she hopes that you will come to your senses.

Another day has passed. Today was an easier day. You were not send to sickbay and you followed along every moment. Captain Pike organized a dinner for his crew. You were invited. You and Chris go way back. He and your father went to the academy together. Your father made Chris your godfather, so he always tries to keep an eye out for you. Chris wrote your recommendations letter to Starfleet and made sure you could serve aboard the Enterprise. He was proud to have you as security officer on his team. You mean a lot to him. He has not seen you a lot over the past few weeks as Chris has been really busy, so he wanted you to be at his bridge crew dinner.

The moment you got off duty you changed your clothes and raced to the captain’s quarters. You were a bit hungry and you missed the captain. You missed your late night chess meetings as Chris had to cancel them because he was so busy. Finally some time together again.

As you enter his quarters, everyone is already there, La’an, Una, Christine, Erica, M’Benga, Spock, Sam, Nyota and Hammer. Sitting there, sipping their wine. Erica instantly comes over to you with a glass of what appears to be water. “As you are always the only sober one, here you have your go to drink. A simple plain glass of water.” She says jokingly. You smile at her.

“Well, someone has to stay responsible on these kind of events and keep the crew under control.” They all laugh. “What must the rest thing if their senior officers walk around the corridors drunk?” “They join in.” Erica says with a wink. Of course, you thought. Instead of coming with a comeback, you take a seat next to Sam, and look at how Spock helps the captain cook, which is a hilarious sight. You never saw Spock in an apron. The happiness did not stay long for you. Your thoughts began to take over at the sight of the food. How there was a lot of it, and how much you needed to eat of it, and what would be too much for you and if there still was a dessert, how much you needed to eat then to have place for it, the thought of how the dessert would be way too much and unhealthy… you could not eat that… the thoughts made you cranky. Not only the thoughts of course, but the lack of food was also playing a part in your crankiness too.

Everyone was talking and enjoying themselves, but you just sat there, staring at your drink, looking at it quite concerned. Captain Pike had been keeping an eye on you. He did not say anything yet. When you walked in concern instantly took over him. Your roommate had been talking to him about you. About how you looked, about how you closed yourself off. She was pretty sure you were overthinking things to much due to the stress you had been having.

Captain Pike and Spock decked the table with food. Everyone took a seat and enjoyed their meal. You just took a little bit off everything. The voice inside of your head is telling you not to eat too much to avoid the feeling of being bloated.

Chris had something special prepared for dessert. He knew about your love for cheesecake. So he made his grandmother’s special New York Cheesecake. As he presented it on the table, something inside of you snapped. You felt full from the little bits you had been eating. You did not want something so unhealthy and mighty in your tummy. You just sat there very uncomfortable, staring at the cheesecake. As Chris wanted to put some on your plate you instantly refused. Chris’ brow is raised up, as he is confused to why you would refuse his famous cheesecake. “Okay” he said steadily. He served the rest of the crew present in his quarters a piece of cheesecake. Everyone seemed all too happy about receiving a piece, despite being all so incredibly full. You could not grasp to how they could be like that. How can you enjoy food even if you are so incredibly full.

Over time, chatting with everyone else, you noticed your hunger returning. It was quite a miserable feeling as everyone had eaten out. You did not want to feel hungry at all. You tried your best to be all nice to them. But you could feel your body become tense and faint. You just tried so hard to keep your focus onto the people around you. Chatting and laughing at stupid jokes. Drinking their wine as if it is Coca Cola. It made you so uncomfortable. 

After cleaning up, everyone left. It was just you and Chris in his quarters. Chris noticed you had a strange look on your face. He grabbed the last piece of cheesecake and easily slides it over to you. “It’s still yours if you want it.” You could feel the pressure onto your head.

You saw that lovely piece of cheesecake lying there on the counter. But everything inside of you told you not to eat it. It was unhealthy and it fills too hard.

You shook your head “I am good. You can have it.”

Chris pulls the plate aside, so he can lean his arms onto the bar.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

You look at him. “Nothing, I’m fine.”

Chris raises his brow at you. Not convinced at your words.

“You seem stressed.”

“No. I am not stressed.” You grasp for breath.

“(y/n), I have to be honest with you. You do not look good.” The irritation rises from your feet up to your head.

“I am doing okay. I have never been more fine. Everything is going well…”

“Then why do you look like a prisoner who hasn’t seen a meal in a month?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” You say deniably.

“So you have not looked in the mirror lately.” You must admit that every time you looked into a mirror you did notice your ribs sometimes. But you thought this was because of the morning, that you had not eating anything yet.

“I have. I am thin, so what?”

“Maybe a little too thin?” Chris looks at you hopefully. He sees your ever so hopefully eyes looking into his. He gets from behind the bar.

“Come here.” He says, and walks with you to the mirror that stands across the bedroom. He put you in front of the mirror.

“Can you recognize yourself?”

Before you dare to take a look at yourself you keep your eyes on Chris. “Don’t look at me, keep your eyes on you.” He says whilst turning your head to the mirror. You are staring into your own eyes. You look yourself up and down. You look small. You are as thin as a stick. For the first time you had a really good look at yourself. The concern radiates through your eyes. It makes Chris see in that you finally see it.

“What do you see?”

“I am a stick figure.” You say sadly. “I am not okay, am I?”

“Well you are as okay as you can be” Chris places a small kiss into your hair.

“I look like that guy from that old Earth movie you once showed me. What was it called again? Fantastic Beasts? There was this old guy looking just as dead as me.”

Chris chuckled. It was good you still had some humor in you yet.

“You knew all this time things were not okay, you just did not want to see it.”

“Yeah. I have seen the signs, I just, it did not seem real to me. But it is getting more real every day. With the tiredness and by the looks of my body.” You sigh “Chris I am afraid to eat.”

Chris stands in front of you. His soft gaze upon you.

“These thoughts in my head. I am afraid to be full, I am afraid to eat fat and unhealthy things. I am continuously afraid that my stomach will have problems. So I just eat in a way I think is good for me. Because it does not seem to upset my stomach.” Your eyes have become watery. Tears are almost beginning to flow out. The distress within you is high. Chris wraps his arms around you. It is okay.

“No, Chris, it’s not. I am too afraid to eat cheesecake. I am hungry right now and I do not want to eat. Especially not the cheesecake because it is too heavy and unhealthy. It’s not good for me…It’s only gonna give me problems…” tears are streaming down your face.

Chris shushes you. “I just don’t know it anymore.”

“I don’t know either. I am not in your situation, I have no idea what your going through. My mind is not racing about thoughts of food. Only how delicious it is. Like that cheesecake.”

“You are only making it worse.”

“I’m sorry.”

Chris’ sparkling concerned eyes gaze upon you. He looks down at you.

“I just want you to be okay. We can go to sickbay, together if it helps.”

You hesitate for a moment. “I don’t know.”

“Do it for yourself. Doctor M’Benga can help you. You can become better again.”

You nod along his words.

“Okay. I will seek help. But only if you come with me.”

“I won’t leave your side.”

“Thank you.” You say smiling at him.

[ohpike-mycaptain]

Shore Leave

Pairing: Captain Christopher Pike x Reader

Prompt: "Could you... hold my hand?"

Word Count: ~650

"Lieutenant?" Captain Pike questions when he catches you peeking around the corridor of the space port where the Enterprise is currently docked. "Is everything alright?" His voice is thick with amusement.

"Captain! Hi!" You wince when you hear how strained your voice sounds and it's almost an octave higher than usual. Great. Totally not suspicious. "I… uh…" Your thoughts trail off when you finally get a good look at him.

It's been a while since you've seen him dressed so casually. The henley he's wearing clings in all the right places and his blue eyes sparkle with a hint of mischief even as his posture straightens slightly in response to your nervousness. "I have seen you stare down the wrong end of a phaser without blinking, lieutenant. What part of shore leave could possibly have scared you?"

"I'm not scared. It's just…" You let out a sigh, trying not to get defensive because of some light-hearted teasing.

"It's just… what?" He says the last word in a hushed tone like you're about to confess some big secret as he steps closer to you.

"This is my home colony, sir, and my family came to welcome me back…" You try to look anywhere but at his face.

"We're off duty, you know you can call me Chris. And that sounds like a good thing. Or do you not like your family…?" He leans around the corner, not sure what, or who, exactly he's looking for. 

"No, they're fine." You wave off his initial assumption. "They've never really been thrilled that I joined Starfleet, but it's not a big issue. Or at least, I didn't think so…"

Chris focuses back on you and tilts his head slightly, prompting you to continue.

"I figured they would try to convince me to stay and finally 'settle down' but apparently they brought my ex to help." You rub your temple, trying to soothe the headache you can feel starting. "I don't know why I can't make them understand that I'm happy where I am. I love exploring space, and I love the family I've found aboard the Enterprise even more." You blush and look away. You didn't mean to admit all of that.

Your heart skips a beat when warm hands settle on your shoulders and your attention snaps back to the captain as he starts to speak. "Would it help if I went with you to meet them?"

"You don't have to do that, Chris. I'm sure you have plans for your leave already." Energy sparks through your nerves as he slides his hands from your shoulders to your arms.

"I'd be happy to help if I can. I don't want to lose one of my favorite lieutenants. And you can pay me back by showing me around." He grins and your stomach flutters. "Now, I'll defer to your expertise, how do you want us to handle this?"

You consider your options. What would show your parents that you're happy in a way they will understand? "Could you… hold my hand? And maybe not mention our ranks?"

He smirks. "Oh, I can do better than that." Chris slides an arm around your waist, pulling you protectively into his side. "How is this?"

"Perfect." You reply quietly, taking a moment to cherish the embrace, wishing it wasn't just an act. "Thank you for this, Chris."

He ushers you around the corner and starts down the corridor. "Just point me in the right direction." He glances down at you and grins, the mischief returning to his eyes. "Depending on how this goes I might need your local expertise for the remainder of our shore leave."

You blush at the implication of spending your entire stay with Chris instead of your family. "I think I'd like that."

He laughs, head tilted back and you curl into his side. Maybe this shore leave won't be as bad as you thought.

[space-helen]

Irresponsible

Words: 1019

Pairing: Pike x Reader

A/N: May have taken this a different way slightly but I hope it's ok <3

Request: hi, Pike X reader, how would pike react to him over reacting, he is attracted, your falsely accused and/or punished, because he was far harder on you due to his attraction than he would normally have been so how does he attone- @Emeraldsyndicate

______________________

“That’s totally irresponsible of you.” the man could feel himself bubbling inside “You are relieved of landing party duties from this point forward. You’re dismissed.” with his final word he stormed out of the room back onto the bridge.

You could feel tears brimming in your eyes. Taking a moment to compose yourself you turned and also left the room. Crossing the bridge you left and made your way to your quarters, you knew everyone on the bridge had caught on instantly. Heck half of the ship probably knew about your colossal fuck up and being reprimanded for it already. But was it really that big of a deal?

If the Captain had acted that way then sure, it must have been. But would he have reacted that way to anyone else? 

You groaned and allowed yourself to crumple once inside your quarters, thankful that you weren’t scheduled to be elsewhere right now. You allowed some tears of fall.

You knew the mistake was silly. One minute you’d had your phaser on you and the next it’d fallen off. You’d gone back to retrieve it and nearly got caught by the inhabitants of the world. They weren’t supposed to know you were there but no one was entirely sure that you weren’t seen in some way.

The Captain sat on the bridge and tried to calm down. He could feel the anger slowly leaving but he was still annoyed at the situation. You could have been hurt. The inhabitants of the world were known for their anger, for you to drop your phaser and go back for it? A stupid idea really. He mulled the situation over in his head some more. 

He could see why you went back for your phaser. They weren’t to know that you were there under any circumstances and finding a phaser would surely give it away. But the danger you’d put yourself in? Absolutely unforgivable. But was it?

He tried to get on with work but the situation kept crossing his mind. Had he been too harsh on you? Yeah, he really had. Guilt started to flood his brain before he excused himself from the bridge and made his way to you.

You just got up to leave your quarters when you were greeted by the Captain as you’d opened the door. With a sigh you allowed him inside, prepared for another ear full for how you’d behaved. You hated to see the man angry and hated this more especially because he was angry at you.

“I’m sorry.” you spoke out before he could even turn to face you “I understand what I did was irresponsible and I accept-”

“Stop.” he raised a hand and spoke softly “Let me speak.”

You did as you were told. Not wanting to get into more trouble.

He hesitated for a second before finding his voice again to speak. “I need to apologise for earlier. I think my punishment was too harsh and I’d hate for you not to be part of the landing parties anymore.” He looked away from you nervous before looking back “I think I blew up like that because I was really worried about you. I was thinking about how you could have been injured or killed down there and I never want that to happen.”

“Every Captain’s thoughts.” you added “totally understandable.”

“That may be the case for the most part but my main concern was you.” he tried to emphasize “I have no clue what I’d do without you.”

Your heart felt like it froze for a second. Surely Chris wasn’t saying what you thought he might be saying. Gosh you’d known each other for years now and were friends but never in a million years did you expect this. Sure you’d had a crush on him when you’d first met but you’d buried it.

“We all have our part to play” you tried to joke.

“No Y/N.” he grumbled and nervously looked away again “I was trying to say it without saying it but… I like you, more than I probably should and thinking about a future without you was killing me. I flew off the handle because I can’t bare to lose you. Sitting on the bridge thinking about the whole thing made me realise that firstly, my reaction was unjust. Secondly, that I should stop pining and do something about it otherwise it’ll eat away at me.”

You stood dumbfounded for a second and just stared at the man.

“Y/N?” he questioned, scared he’d way overstepped the line.

“Don’t let the others hear you say you were only concerned about me down there.” you laughed.

It was the man's turn to be rendered speechless. Not entirely sure what to do next.

“If you’re saying what I think you’re saying without outright saying it.” you added “then I feel the same way about you too. I like you a lot. I had a crush on you early on in our friendship but buried it because I thought it’d never go anywhere.” you admitted.

“Now why would you think that?”

“Because you’re a Captain and it’d be really inappropriate for someone under you to make a move.”

He laughed “not as inappropriate as a Captain making a move on someone under them.” 

You smiled “I supposed it’s a good thing we feel the same way then.”

He took a step closer to you and reached for your hand “I’m truly sorry about earlier Y/N I was just scared.”

“I understand.” you gave his hand a squeeze and looked into the man's eyes briefly before looking away.

“I suppose I should go back to the bridge” the man admitted “How about I make you dinner though after my shift. You’re done for the day aren’t you?”

You nodded “I start early tomorrow though.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll come get you after my shift.” 

“And you’ll take me for a romantic walk back to yours to cook?” you teased.

“Of course I will.” he gave you a wink and released your hand before disappearing from the room.

Tag List: (open)

All: @perasperaadastrawriting @asgards-princess-of-mischief @trippol-threat @captainsophiestark 

Star Trek: @heyitsaloy  @angel-with-wings-castiel @starfleet-imagines @captainsophiestark @perasperaadastrawriting @butchers-girl @evangeliamerryll

[greenjamtoast]

Love Slugs

A Star Trek: SNW fanfic

Part 2

Captain Christopher Pike/reader

Rating: T

- - -

Summary:

A tight space in a balmy climate quickly convinced us to shed our uniform jackets. The shirts beneath them gradually unzipped, and buttons came undone to fight off the heat. Only a fraction more skin was exposed, less than I’d show in civvies on a day off, but it still defied protocol.

We’d both been in tighter situations than that—figuratively and literally—with bare arms abound, but neither of us accounted for the slug effect.

OR

After a rather heated moment on an away mission, Captain Pike is cornered in the hallway to talk about the kiss. And maybe see if he has any interest in repeating recent history.

- - -

Part 2:

I’d hoped talking later meant sometime that night. But meetings happen, and he’s the Captain, and people need him, so that was a long shot. But the next day would’ve been fine. Hell, I’d have taken the day after that.

Nearly two weeks had passed. A few research teams had beamed down to the planet of the week, gathering samples and intel, but Chris didn’t volunteer. It made sense. Last time he did, he’d slid his tongue into my mouth and was almost eaten alive by the guilt of it. There would be no away missions for Captain Pike for a while.

Of course, he still made his rounds throughout the ship, and of course he gave me a cordial nod in the hallways when we passed, and of course it only set my mind aflame. Each time I passed command, caught a glimpse of his elbow resting on the arm of the chair, triceps flexed, voice stern but soft, my mind went back to our conversation in the hallway.

He’d wanted it. He’d thought about it.

It was a disease he’d passed on to me. With no one to tell—I’d never betray him like that, risk painting him in a bad light to subordinates—it swelled. The benign interest I’d cultivated into a well-contained crush had experienced an overnight growth spurt, and now my mind wandered through countless daydreams of what might happen next, reality tossed to the wind.

Yet, none of my fantasies involved the piece of paper that had been slipped under my door.

- - -

…Want to read the rest? Check out the full chapter (and part one!) on AO3 :)

[burningpeachpuppy]

Confession - Sam Kirk

It had been a weird day on the Enterprise. We had activated a probability field which had made everyone on the ship burst into song at random points.

However, with this strange experience ortegas, Chapel, Sam and I had decided we were going to go to the bar and celebrate Chapel and her getting the fellowship.

Me and Sam were sat side by side. Some would say a bit too close but we didn't care. I had had feelings for Sam for a while, ever since he joined the ship, but I knew I couldn't act on them because surely Sam wouldn't like someone like me.

As we sat celebrating spock and uhura came in and spock seemed upset.

"It appears you a toasting good news regarding your fellowship. So allow me to offer congratulations"

"Thank you spock"

"I am curious as to why you didnt inform me or was it just an oversight" but then we heard the music and she started singing. Me and Sam stayed sat next to each other and joining in with the singing. Then Sam got up and pulled me with him.

"Come on Y/N dance with me" Sam asked, how could I say no to someone that made me feel things that no one else did and who would I be for turning down a chance to be closer to him.

"I'll dance with you," I replied. We dancing along with everyone else in the bar but everyone else just faded out all I could focus on was Sam.

The music starts to fade and I look over the bar and see that spock is stood near the door with a sad look on his features but I can't dwell too much on spock as I feel myself being pulled towards the exit. I look at who is pulling my arm and its Sam. I don't ask him where we're going I just let him take me but as we go past spock I say a quick "im sorry".

I soon realised that we were headed towards the xenoanthropology lab. I had been here once before but that was the only time. "What are we doing here Sam?" I asked confused

"I want to show you something," then he started to walk towards a screen. He waved me over. As I got closer, he took my hand and moved to stand behind me. I was looking at the screen, confused at what I was looking at. "What is this, Sam?"

He stood behind me, so he had to lean around me to tap the screen, but I didn't mind cause it allowed us to be closer than ever before. "It's the genetic make up of myself and you" I turned around to face him

"Why did you do this?"

"I wanted to see if we would be compatible, and I was able to see what our kids would look like." That's when I cut him off

"Kids. Why would we have kids together if we aren't 'together'?"

"That's the thing (Y/N). I do want be with you. " With that, my face dropped. Sam wanted to be with me just as bad as I wanted to be with him and he wanted to have a family.

"I want that too" After my conformation he placed his had on my cheek

"Can I kiss you?"

"Yes." With that, Sam smashed his lips into mine. The kiss was full of passion and pent-up tension and feeling. When we both finally came up for air, Sam rested his forehead against mine, and he had a sappy smile on his face and I had one on my face too.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Sam asked, his voice filled with hope

"Yes. On two conditions"

"What are those" he asked with a laugh

"One, you are my boyfriend and two, we don't tell anyone just yet. That includes my brother and your brother"

"OK, but how on earth am I meant to keep myself away from you while your brother, the captain, is around?"

"I don't know. You'll just have to figure that out"

[starryeyes2000]

You probably could figure this out from my comments but my favorite story of yours is Where's an All-Night Pharmacy. Aside from being a wonderful story, a lovely view of Christopher Pike and a relatable OC/Reader, it got me into reading and writing the OC and xReader genre 💖

@emilie786 - I'm very glad you are writing the in OC and xReader genre, your stories are amazing.

Thank you so much. This story is dear to my heart. And returning soon alongside a companion piece: Where's An All Night Pharmacy When You Need It: Tweens and Teens.