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youvebeenlivingfictional · 3 years ago

Text

Grounded Part Seven

Stardate 865697.80 — Loop 205

Part Six | Masterlist | Part Eight

Pairing: Captain Pike x Reader

Rating: Mature

Notes: Weee penultimate part!! Also this is still not how black holes work.

Warnings: Cursing; angst; some fluff

Summary: “What stardate do you have, Captain?” Cornwell asks.

“Stardate 865697.80.”

Cornwell gives a slow, stunned nod.

“Now when it comes to envy y'all is green

Jealous of the rhyme and the rhyme routine

Another dimension, new galaxy

Intergalactic, planetary

Intergalactic, planetary, planetary, intergalactic—”

“Wake up!”

That’s new. You don’t usually have Veva shaking you awake.

“What?” You mumble. You’re still seeing Pike in your mind’s eye, hearing his apology. He looked and sounded so upset—

“Pike asked for you.”

That is also new. You push yourself to sit up hurriedly, scrubbing your hand across your face before you swing your legs out of bed.

“Do me a favor, Vev—turn that music down?”

“Aw, but I like this song.”

“I know. Fucking trust me, I know.”

“Captain?” You ask. Pike looks up from his desk, waving you into his Ready Room.

“We have an incoming call,” He says as the door whooshes shut behind you.

“Pardon?”

“From Admiral Cornwell.”

Your heart leaps into your throat, and you hurry deeper inside. It was a last-ditch attempt—a panic that’s damn-near uncharacteristic of you these days—when you’d sent all of your hard work to Admiral Cornwell, just as the ship had leapt into warp. You hadn’t been sure that you’d done it in time, if it’d managed to send. Pike stands, accepting the call and turning to the viewscreen as you do.

“Lieutenant,” Cornwell greets.

“Admiral,” You nod to her.

“Starfleet has looked over your work. You’ve done an excellent job. We’ve begun to evacuate Kateria.”

“...Oh,” You manage, swallowing thickly.

“Though I will say, while your description seemed a little far-fetched, the amount of work that you’ve completed is conducive to this…Loop.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand, Admiral,” Pike steps closer, looking at Cornwell through the viewscreen.

“What stardate do you have, Captain?” Cornwell asks.

“865697.80.”

Cornwell gives a slow, stunned nod, her eyes darting between the two of you.

“On Earth, it’s 866258.61. The lieutenant has made us aware that the Enterprise is experiencing the same day over and over again. You’re months behind, Captain,” Cornwell tells Pike, “I had a team look into the simulations that your lieutenant sent over. The sensors at Kateria are incorrect, the black hole is far stronger than we believed. We’ve sent a warp probe through it to confirm. It starts at Kateria, and ends where you’ve just passed—a bend in space-time. I’m ordering the Enterprise to Starbase 329 for inspection—and be sure you don’t pass that same point again.”

“How has the Enterprise survived, being drawn into a black hole?” Pike asks, shaking his head and looking between you and Cornwell.

“You always send it into maximum warp,” You tell Pike tiredly, leaning back against his desk, slouching as you otherwise wouldn’t in front of a commanding officer, “Or Number One does, or Mr. Spock, or…Someone. It puts us at 8,323 times the speed of light, pushing us right into the black hole, and…And out again.”

“I recommend putting the ship through diagnostics,” Cornwell adds, “If what the lieutenant describes is correct, your warp core and thrusters will be on their last legs. You’ll have to limp to the Starbase.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Pike nods.

“Keep me updated,” Cornwell orders before the screen goes dark.

You and Pike stand there in silence for a moment. He turns slowly to look at you, to take in your worn countenance.

“...Lieutenant, while I appreciate the help, I don’t understand why you raised this to the Admiral before you raised it to me.” “I—” You start, and then have to stop, groaning tiredly, “I have raised it to you. I have, so many times. In fact, you’re one of the only reasons we’re here right now.” “I don’t take your meaning, lieutenant.”

You round to his desk, drawing up the files that you sent Admiral Cornwell.

“Here,” You pull up a video—one that you took during the 194th loop. You play it, and step back. Pike grows closer at the sight of himself, Number One, and Spock all crowded together in his ready room. It’s only a second before your voice crackles through the system:

“Come on, say it! Please say it.”

On the screen, Pike hardly glances away from a simulation.

“Fine, just—What do you want me to say?” He asks.

“‘Christopher, this is real.’”

“This is real, Christopher—and it’s putting a crew member through hell, so do us all a favor: believe her.”

The video goes still and silent. Pike’s eyes wander the video before he turns to you.

“I have no memory of that.”

“I know,” You nod, drawing in shaky breath. Pike rounds to stand beside you, tapping his console.

“Number One, have engineering run full diagnostics.”

“Yes, Captain.”

You brace your hands against the table, pushing out a long, slow breath.

“Why aren’t you affected?” Pike asks after a moment.

“I don’t—I don’t know.”

“How long has this been happening?”

“Oof, let’s see…This….The 205th time.”

“...Are you alright?”

He’s asked you that so many times, but now it just makes you smile weakly.

“Now is not the time for that question, Captain. Let’s just get to Starbase 329.”

“Captain,” Number One’s voice crackles through after a moment, “Engineering reports that systems are nearly at critical failure.” Pike’s head turns to you sharply, and you nod, scrubbing your hand over your face.

“Plot a course for Starbase 329,” Pike orders, “And take it carefully.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Pike pulls up the simulations.

“...I realize that this must be a lot for you,” He says, “But can you…I mean…Will you explain it to me? Just how this works?”

You straighten up, forcing yourself to look over your body of work.

Be bold. Be brave. Be courageous.

“Yes, Captain.”

“...Lieutenant?” Number One asks, frowning back at you. You glance from her to the Transporter Pads.

“We haven’t got all day,” She presses irritably. You see Pike hold his hand out to staunch her annoyance. Everyone else has already evacuated the ship—the only people left are you, Pike, Spock, and the transport engineers. Can the loop start over if you’re not on the ship? It has before—when you’ve airlocked yourself in the vicinity of the black hole, or wound up outside of the ship, only to be drawn in with it.

You take slow, hesitant steps up to the pads and stand on one, eyeing the walls of the ship. Your stomach twists in confused, tight little knots; your feet feel like lead, as if they’ll anchor you there.

“Four to beam down,” The engineer says. You glance at them before turning to look at Pike. He gives you a small nod, and a wink—and despite all of your fear, it puts you at some ease.

The briefing with Command is excruciating. It’s punctuated with the news that Kateria has been consumed by the black hole, but that the planet’s population was fully evacuated before its inevitable collapse. All Starfleet personnel made it safely out of orbit as well—for all of the material possessions that have been consumed, no lives were lost. The news is met with smatterings of applause, relieved sighs, and congratulations issued by Admiral Cornwell.

And you appreciate the congratulations, you do—but you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. It will soon, surely—it has to.

“...Captain?” You frown at the sight of him outside of your door. He smiles a little.

“Considering your familiarity with me, I think you can call me ‘Christopher’ now.”

You have to fight back a smile. You’ve heard that before, but it’s always a boon.

“What can I do for you?” You ask.

“I wanted to check in, see how you’re doing. You seemed a little…Rattled during our briefing.” He nods inside. “May I come in?”

You step back, biting your lip and shutting the door behind yourself.

“I guess I’m just waiting for the reset,” You admit.

“You think it’ll happen again?”

“Oh—I’ve gone full months hoping it wouldn’t, but it…It always does.”

Christopher turns to look at you, eyes wandering your face.

“I’m sorry,” He says softly, “I can’t imagine what this has been like for you.”

You fold your arms across your chest, averting your eyes to the floor.

“S’okay,” You mumble, “I mean, you did everything you could—Hell, the last few loops you went above and beyond. Got all stubborn with me, insisted that Spock and Number One help figure it out.”

“I didn’t always?”

“...Well, you didn’t always believe me. Most people didn’t. Not that I blame you—it’s—” You let out a soft, hysterical laugh, “It’s been a mess. But today, things are…Different.”

“Different how?” Christopher lowers himself to sit on the loveseat. The room that they’ve put you up in on the Starbase is nice—spacious, comfy. You expect it’s usually reserved for higher-ranking officials, but considering the past 204 days that you’ve had, Cornwell’s seen to it that you’ve been a bit more comfy.

“Well,” You consider, typing your head to the side, “You…Asked to see me this morning, for one. And Cornwell—Cornwell contacting us, that was new.”

“How did you get the message to her?”

“I back-dated the simulations and the video.”

“Had you never tried that before?”

“No—Well, I’d started back-dating my simulations. I’d never sent them to her before. I didn’t think I’d had enough evidence. I didn’t think she’d believe me.”

“...Spacedock said one more go through that black hole and the whole ship would’ve been ripped apart. The Enterprise is a tough ship, but she hardly had another go in her.”

You nod a little. “I didn’t realize how much damage was done to the ship,” You admit, “I should’ve, but…I don’t know, I woke up and everything seemed like it was the same. Same song on Veva’s system, same bottle of Andorian ale, same broken replicator in the canteen, same crew, same assignments and questions.”

“And same me?”

“...Yeah,” You smile a little, “Same you. I guess this all just feels too good to be true.”

“What does?”

“The Katerians surviving, the starbase—We’re usually trying to evacuate the ship by now.”

“How will you know if it’s changed? Or…Hasn’t?”

“Uh…I’ll wake up to Intergalactic…Again. And yell at Veva to turn it down and start all over.”

“I don’t think I know that song.”

“It’s classical music.”

“Ah.”

Christopher looks around your room.

“...Have I ever stuck around?” He asks. You let out a shaky laugh.

“Well, we’ve never ever been…Here before.”

Christopher grunts, unzipping his jacket. You swallow thickly, careful not to let your eyes wander his bared neck too greedily.

“Well,” He looks around, “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay here for a bit��See if anything changes.”

“...Okay,” You concede, nodding, “I don’t mind the company.”

“...What’ll you do if you wake up the same way?”

The question is asked softly, murmured into your hair. You almost whimper. You don’t want to think about it. Instead, you turn your face more fully into Christopher’s shoulder.

“...Cry, probably,” You admit, “And then get up and…And do this all over again.”

“For the 206th time?”

“What can I say. I’m getting good at it.”

He chuckles softly, smoothing his hand over your shoulder. The two of you have settled against the headboard of your bed, alternating between watching the viewscreen in your room and chatting idly about—everything. The day that you’ve relived, the fact that you know each inch of the ship—what Christopher has told you about him. He’s plied you to tell him things in kind, but you declined respectfully.

“I don’t know,” You’d smiled ruefully, “Maybe if I don’t relive today again. But trust me, you’ve heard the details of my life too many times as it is.”

“I hope you don’t,” He says now.

“Don’t what?” You mumble.

“Live through it again.”

“...Thanks. Me neither.”

“Because if you do,” He adds, “I won’t get to hear about you.”

You roll your eyes a little, glancing up at him. His eyes are closed in the face of his fatigue; there’s a small smile curling his lips.

“...Even if I do,” You slide down a bit, looping your arm around his middle, “This is already way better than the other 204 days combined. I’d rather live this one over and over.”

Pike’s soft, huffed laugh pushes against your forehead.

“Get some sleep, lieutenant.”

“...Yessir.”

As you begin to drift off, your chest twines with worry, and your eyelids shut tightly against advancing tears. You’ll wake up to Intergalactic, you just know it—and you’ll wake up alone, tired, and missing the feeling of Pike’s arms around you.

#Grounded

56 notes · View notes

elen-aranel · 4 years ago

Note

Hey! I LOVE your pike fics <3 wanted to ask if you could write a fun pike x female reader where they’re on discovery but no one there knows they’re married so number one has a bet going on how long they can keep it a secret

Thank you, and thank you for the request, Anon! <3 I'm not sure this is going to be quite what you had in mind but I hope you like it anyway! I tried to keep the tone as fun but a couple of less fun things crept in, sorry about that. 😅 But it did sort of end up as a Pike fix-it fic so there's that I guess?

Tangled Web

Pairing: Christopher Pike x F!Reader (no Y/N) Warnings: mostly fun, some angst & Emotions™️, Spoilers for Discovery Season 2, canon character death (mentioned). Assume everything in canon that you don’t see here happens. WC: 5.4k Tag list: @jusvibbbin (to be added to my Pike X Reader taglist let me know)

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive! —Sir Walter Scott, Marmion

“There’s a bottle of Bowmore in it for you, Captain. If you can keep your marriage secret. Real single malt. From Islay. Eighteen years old.”

“Darling? We’ve got this.” His face on the view screen smiles that dimpled smile and already you know you’re in trouble.

Sometimes you’re glad you kept your maiden name.

Downside? Number One wouldn’t have been able to con you both into this ridiculous bet if you hadn’t.

Upside? People are honest with you, and that’s how you find out that in the couple of weeks you’ve been apart he has Nearly. Died. Twice.

“So, it turns out I know fifteen words for water.” You smile at Chris, sitting at his desk, listening as the computer reads a historical narrative. From the sphere, you surmise. He turns it off and stands, walking round the desk.

“Hello to you too, darling.” He smiles his crooked smile and steps in for a kiss, your arms going round his waist and his hands cupping your face. “I missed you.”

“Masu is Vulcan for water. Did you know that?” You kiss him, tender. You missed him, too. “Spock mentioned it once and I’m glad he did because the fifteenth time was the charm with my synthesiser.”

“Mmm... think I remember that one,” he murmurs, kissing you again, moving his hands down your body.

“So yeah, my first day hasn’t been very productive so far. I was going to go see your quarters, but I thought it was safer to stay put in mine.”

“Productivity can be overrated at times. I’m just glad to have you here.” You kiss one last time them you step back, releasing him.

“I wish it were under better circumstances,” you say, thinking of Connolly, his death being the reason Admiral Cornwell had transferred you, even though you’re glad to be back with your husband. “Any news on Spock?” You can see the concern in his bearing, as he walks back round to sit at the desk, even through his happiness at your reunion. You follow him, watching over his shoulder as he brings up the sensor logs on a shuttle.

“We were following his shuttle, but with the Sphere... we lost our sensor lock. I think we’re back to square one.” He shakes his head. “But the data it’s given us, though...” he grins at you, over his shoulder. “You’re gonna have a field day. Or year.” He presses a control on the desk and the computer starts talking.

“The war between the Quaternary star systems and the Roquarri Imperium—”

You’re still leaning down, a little too close to be professional, when the door opens and Commander Burnham walks in. You straighten, hurriedly.

“Captain, Lieutenant.” She nods at you, as Chris mutes the computer. “It’s good to meet you.” Her smile is warm.

“Commander, it’s good to meet you too. I’m hoping I can be of use to you here; I’ve been fully briefed on the red bursts.” You smile back, walking round the desk. “I’d better go synthesise a Discovery uniform, now I can talk to the computer again. If you’ll excuse me?”

“Dismissed, Lieutenant.” Chris says, and you leave without rushing, hearing Burnham asking about what the computer was saying when she walked in.

Two days, two crises. You had thought the Enterprise had more than her fair share of adventures, but you’re beginning to think she can’t hold a candle to the Discovery. You pop your head into Engineering, thinking you might be able to help – Burnham is there, your immediate superior, and as a theoretical physicist you can often help when something weird is going on in Engineering. But whatever is happening with the mycelial network is beyond your comprehension, and Burnham is clearly busy, so you retreat to Chris’s quarters this time, and catch yourself up on the spore drive.

At least until you hear his voice, over the comms: “Starfleet is a promise; I give my life for you, you give your life for me. And nobody gets left behind.”

His beliefs, and the way he follows through with them, are part of the reason you love him so much, and you’re thinking about his speech, and not about where you are, when you exit his quarters into corridor to go to a safe zone.

You almost get caught – there’s someone further down the corridor – and only the fact that they’re hurrying stops them from turning around.

And then – damn. You practically run into Commander Nhan. You had totally forgotten that she didn’t know about the bet; you’d been thinking about other things so you hadn’t said anything when you transferred over. Did she say anything? This is her second time on Discovery; would she know anyone well enough yet to talk about that kind of thing? Would she have had time?

You want to go and check on Chris after the ship is free of the network, but you’ll have to rein that instinct in if you want to keep up your charade. Instead, you catch up with Nhan in the Security Office.

“Commander, I was wondering if I could, uh, ask you for a favour. Did you happen to mention to anyone that the Captain and I are married?”

You try not to hold your breath, waiting for her response, but she smiles a slow, knowing smile.

“Number one told you, didn’t she?” You raise an eyebrow at her.

“She did,” she replies, not making it easy.

“And I’m guessing you’ve had time to think of what you’re asking for?”

“I have,” she replies. “It’ll cost you.”

“Damn. Well the good thing is that we’re heading to Starbase 17 for hull repairs. We should just about be able to swing it, but I’m going to owe Commander Nguyen...” he smiles his little half-smile. “I’m beginning to think this bet is going to be more trouble than it’s worth.”

“You’re the one that likes whisky so much. I’m just saying.” You smile as you unzip your jacket to start preparing for bed.

Despite her recent trauma, and despite the fact that technically you outrank her, Ensign Tilly takes you under her wing. You try not to get involved in personnel issues – you don’t want to risk asking for people you don’t like to be transferred – but after a duty shift where she explains all her theories so far about dark matter, the two of you bouncing ideas off of each other in a science lab, you think she would be excellent on the Enterprise. Louvier would love her mind. You’re resolving to tell Chris so when she invites you to dinner with Lieutenants Detmer and Owosekun, and Commander Burnham.

“So you’ve served on the Enterprise for a while, right?” Tilly asks over a forkful of food.

“Yes,” you reply, taking a sip of water. Wondering where this is going.

“Is the Captain always so... reckless? With his life?”

“Excuse me?” You ask, not understanding.

“Yeah the first day he was here, he almost ordered us to give up on him when his pod malfunctioned,” Detmer says, and you stare at her.

“He what? Pod? I don’t understand.”

They tell you the story of the Hiawatha, and rescuing him from the damaged pod. It’s fortunate you’ve eaten most of your dinner, because you’d had no idea how close you’d come to losing him, and you’ve well and truly lost your appetite.

And then Owosekun tells the story of him jumping on the phaser on Terralysium and you choke on the last of your water.

“Are you all right? Do you need me to call Doctor Pollard?” Tilly asks, as you see Detmer and Owosekun trade worried glances. Burnham goes to get you another glass of water from the synthesiser.

You wave your arm, trying to indicate that you’re fine, as you work to control your breathing. You take a careful mouthful of your new glass.

“I’m okay, really. A bit of water went down the wrong way. That’s all.”

“I know that look,” Chris says, looking up from the PADD he’s reading in some trepidation. You felt a bit bad for having left him to his own devices all evening, but he assured you he was busy with work. “What did I do?”

“I was having a nice dinner with Ensign Tilly and her friends in the mess hall,” you say. “Right up until Lieutenants Detmer and Owosekun told me how you’d nearly died. Twice. Care to explain how you neglected to tell me any of this?” You ask, as though you didn’t already know the answer. Chris would do anything for his crew, for people who need him. But you’re worried that he’s being maybe a little too reckless at times. Once again, you’re glad you’re here with him.

“I’m sorry. With everything happening, it didn’t seem important, either time. I’ll make it up to you.”

Starbase 17 has the best hasperat outside Bajor, so you’ve heard. Repairs are well underway, and you declined Ensign Tilly’s offer to dine with her friends again in favour of the dinner Chris is taking you out to in apology for not being forthcoming about his near-death experiences. Well, really it’s because you haven’t had the chance to go on an actual date in a very long time.

The base is in a complicated orbit around a gas giant – something to do with its satellites, you assume – and your booth has a full-length window looking down onto it. It’s a stunning view, changing all the time: intricate swirls of dark and light blue, with bands of purple and a ring of green storms, almost looking like jewels, close to the North Pole.

“You’ve outdone yourself this time, Chris,” you say, taking a bite of your hasperat soufflé. It’s spicy, very spicy, but the flavour is rich, complex, piquant. Not quite like anything you’ve tasted before. “The view is beautiful, and this is delicious.” You take another bite.

“So, is everything forgiven?”

You nod, gazing into his blue eyes. Somehow bluer in the light of the planet. “I do get it. The way you care... I love you for it. And I understand how after you do survive you don’t feel like it matters anymore. I just felt—I was a little blindsided.” You huff a laugh, a little rueful. “This bet isn’t helping.”

“We can forget that, if you want. If it’s making you uncomfortable. Number One’s... challenges... are not for everyone.”

“No, no. I’m good. I was just blindsided, like I said. I want to win, but if there’s anything else anyone can surprise me with? You let me know now.” You have another mouthful of your soufflé. It really is very good.

He half-smiles then takes a thoughtful bite himself. “I don’t think there’s anything else. It... would have been a little strange, suddenly introducing you as my wife, too. This crew’s been through a lot; I had already thought it would be better to keep my personal life personal with them.” He catches your eye and grins. “I can’t wait to see Number One’s face when we win, though.” And you’d reach over and kiss him, seeing that expression on his face, those dimples, if you weren’t in public and he wasn’t a captain, and if, at that moment, you didn’t hear a familiar voice—

“I’m so happy I finally get to try it. Mom wouldn’t let me; we passed through here once when I was a teen, and she said it would be too spicy for me, but I don’t care. I think they have milk on hand just in case...”

“I’ve never had it either, but Sarek said he had some when he attended a conference on Bajor. He said it reminded him of a Vulcan dish made with redspice.”

You and Chris lock eyes, but before you can say anything the waiter comes over.

“Captain, I hope everything is all right for you and your lady this evening.”

“Please. Less of the Captain. I’m off duty.” He smiles, charming, indicating his civvies. You smile too, leaning out a little to see if you can see Tilly and Burnham. You see a shock of red curls, and a head bent over a menu PADD, partially obscured by a plant with deep green leaves. They can’t have seen you, and Discovery is not the only ship docked here. There must be half a dozen captains on the base at least.

“Everything is delicious. Please pass along our compliments to the chef.”

You finish your mains, a little closer to the window than before. Then you linger over dessert. And a cheese board. And coffee. Before Tilly and Burnham finally leave. At least the view keeps changing.

The mess hall is bustling with the alpha shift breakfast crowd when you catch up with Commander Nhan. She has finished eating, and is reading a PADD over a cup of what looks like some type of tea. You put your tray down on her table, with your Greek yoghurt and fresh fruit, orange juice, Americano and—

“Flower candies!” Her eyes light up as she takes them, and you don’t think you’ve ever seen her so animated before. “I didn’t think you’d actually manage...” she carefully unpeels the red flower shaped sticker that seals the bag, and gently shakes a little flower shaped sweet into her hand.

She shuts her eyes as she savours the taste.

“Thank you.” She says, fervent. “But how did you find them?”

“And what are they?” Lieutenant Bryce asks, as he and Rhys join you at the table.

“They’re Barzanian flower candies. C—Captain Pike got them for her from the Starbase – apparently Commander Nguyen is a bit of a connoisseur of non-Federation delicacies. I’m just playing messenger.”

And then you realise it’s 07:00, and if they think too hard about things—

But happily they’re asking for one each to try, and Nhan is telling them how she would have them as a special treat after the first day of school every year, and you spend the rest of breakfast chatting with her, Rhys and Bryce about your schooldays.

She gives you a candy, too. It tastes a little like ripe strawberries and roses.

Even after Discovery has had yet another exciting day, with the confrontation with the Ba’ul, you still have to take care of routine matters. Like today’s the day you have to take your quarterly hypos.

And as you walk into sickbay, you nearly walk into Chris on his way out.

“Captain,” you say, off balance. Somehow, you’d forgotten that he would be here for the same reason as you.

“Lieutenant,” he says, with a sparkle in his eye.

Doctor Pollard is thoughtful as she conducts her exam and gives you your shots. She’s clearly wondering about the coincidence, but the first thing you did, before you had even arrived on Discovery, was to have Chris hack their copy of your records to remove any mention of your relationship status. And thank goodness for doctor-patient confidentiality – she can’t outright ask because she’d have to tell you why Chris had been here.

Still it’s yet another close call.

You’re in Engineering when Discovery encounters the time rift, helping Reno with recalibrating some sensors. Accounting for quantum drift was something you’d worked with Louvier on the sensors in the Enterprise’s intermix chamber, and you were happy to do the same for Discovery.

But even as a physicist, you can’t do anything without data, as Chris points out to you in the corridor outside engineering when he lets you know that he’s going to pilot a shuttle close to the anomaly.

“Come back safe,” you say, hands clasped behind your back to keep from reaching out to him.

“I will,” he replies as he nods and leaves.

“Does Captain Pike always check with his junior science staff before going on away missions?” Reno raises an inquisitive brow as you return to where you were working.

You huff a laugh, awkward. “He just knows my interest in phenomena like this. He wants me to be ready to help with the analysis when he returns.” You enter a couple more commands. “I think this is ready to test now; Discovery’s drive is a little different to the Enterprise’s, but I think we’ve made the correct adjustments...”

Lucky for you, Reno loves engines more than gossip.

Given Spock’s news about the end of all sentient life, winning a bet seemed a little trivial. But then, you thought, isn’t triviality worth fighting for? The ability to be whimsical? A part of what it actually means to be sentient? So—

“I fail to see the logic of this deception. Surely your fleet connections, or even your parents, could get you an equivalent beverage? Even if alcohol consumption was logical, which I contend it is not.”

“You’d think.” Chris shrugs. Despite the circumstances his relief at having Spock back and in one piece is palpable. “Ask Number One about the logic, Lieutenant.”

“Very well, Captain, Lieutenant. I will not contradict this lie. Unless I am asked directly – Vulcans do not dissemble.”

You make a point to spend at least some time in your own quarters every day, so you head there after your chat with Spock and Chris in the ready room. And that’s good, because not long after the door chimes. It’s Ensign Tilly.

“Do you play Kadis-kot? A few of us are meeting up in the mess hall for a game, and I just wondered if you’d like to join us?”

“Kadis-kot? I would love to. I haven’t played in years.”

You think, on your way to the mess hall, that a games night is a good idea for crew morale. You may have Spock back but you’re fugitives now, with everything else, which is a weird feeling. It must be even stranger for Chris, too. His belief in Starfleet has been the guiding principle of his life for years. You know you’re doing the right thing, but it must be tough for him.

“I’m beginning to think you invited me here just so you could beat me,” you complain, after successive humiliating defeats to Tilly and Airiam.

“Oh didn’t I tell you? I don’t play against them anymore. They’re too good.” Detmer grins from where she’s playing across from Owo.

“Would I do such a thing?” Tilly grins, as the mess hall door opens.

“Would you do what, Ensign?” Chris asks as he walks in, and of course everyone goes quiet. “At ease, everyone. Just wanted to check you’re all okay. I’m not here to shut anything down.”

“Would I invite the Lieutenant to games night just to have someone new to beat at Kadis-kot, Captain. And the answer is no. Definitely not.” Conversation starts up again, though perhaps a little more muted than before.

“Would you like to play?” You ask before you really think. You figure you’ve got a decent chance of beating him, since you’ve never heard him mention playing. But then you realise everyone is looking at you both.

“I—” he looks round the room. “Better not. I have some matters to attend to. Enjoy your evening.”

“I wish you could’ve stayed for Kadis-kot, Chris. This is a great crew.” You’re in your pyjamas, sitting together on the sofa in his quarters. You lean against him, your head on his shoulder, as he finishes up a bit of work on his PADD.

“Yeah, they are. I’m happy you had fun.” He sets the PADD down and twists, putting his arms around you and pulling your close.

“I... had a strange experience today. Do you remember I told you about Vina? I met her right before you came aboard at the Vega colony.”

“I remember... and the aliens who got into your mind. That was Talos IV, wasn’t it? Where we got Spock? You said you wished you hadn’t left her behind in that dream world.”

“I saw her, today. The Talosians used their projection to let me know to come and get Spock and Burnham, and to trick Section 31 into thinking they had them. She said they had made an illusion of me, for her. But I was thinking... I’m a different person to who I was when I met her. Thanks to you. Things haven’t been easy, for any of us, with missing the war, and all that meant, but...” he squeezes you, and you relax against his strong body. “I love you. I’m grateful for you every day.”

You share one glance with Admiral Cornwell, and you don’t know her well, but her raised brow and tilted head is enough to show you that she knows about the bet too. You know Chris has been keeping Number One updated with your progress, but you’re impressed that she would have thought of warning the admiral. Chris might have gotten away with telling her about the bet, but you’re pretty sure he wouldn’t have had time when she came aboard and now with everything that’s happened with the section 31 base and losing Commander Airiam, it wouldn’t be appropriate.

Either way, you hustle to a science lab to prepare some data on wormholes for Saru. You aren’t entirely convinced by this plan to risk Burnham’s life to capture the Red Angel, but you do know that once Spock has decided on a logical course, it’s almost impossible to dissuade him from it.

The one non-Discovery person you’re pretty sure doesn’t know you or know that you’re the captain’s wife is Captain Philippa Georgiou. And although Chris mentioned her when she was wrongly reported as dead, he only knew her in passing. Hadn’t met her for years. You saw her in the distance once you think, at a conference, but there’s no way she’d remember you from all the other science officers that were there.

So it’s a surprise when she looks you up and down, and laughs. “It figures you would be here as well. The universe really likes its parallels.”

“Captain?” You say, confused. “I don’t think we’ve met...”

“I’m sorry Lieutenant. You just remind me of someone I used to know.” Her expression goes shrewd. “She could hide her feelings. And she was protective, too. She—” Georgiou stops, and smiles, but it’s a sharp expression, only a tiny trace of warmth there. “But never mind. She’s a long way away now.”

You puzzle over that interaction for a while, but you don’t figure it out.

“I’m going down to Boreth. To the monastery, to retrieve a time crystal. I thought I’d better come and let you know.” Part of you pays attention to his unspoken, “before I risk my life yet again”. But for once the physicist wins out over the wife, and you feel your excitement growing.

“A time crystal? So we can send the sphere data to the future still? Let me come with you. I can help you pick; I can analyse—”

“Woah there. This isn’t a physics thing. This is a sacred thing, for the Klingons, at any rate.”

You exhale, trying to put your thoughts in order.

“That may be the case, but you can’t deny that it is scientific too. Time is a fundamental concept of physics, after all. I’m the most qualified. Even more so than Burnham, Spock, or Stamets. And... Surely Chancellor L’Rell can’t object to you bringing your wife with you? A lot of cultures view marriage as a sacred bond.”

Chris spoke to the Chancellor again, privately. Tenavik, the monk, took some convincing. But in the end you took hold of the crystal together, and—

Chris said, afterwards, that L’Rell and Tyler had asked what had happened, and he hadn’t been able to tell them. And you never spoke of it, apart from to Chris. What you had seen – the future you had chosen in exchange for the crystal – you know there is pain in it. And you shed tears when you finally have a chance to speak about it, in the privacy of your quarters back on the Enterprise. But you take comfort, eventually, from knowing you’ll go through it together.

The news that Discovery is going to be destroyed is a shock. She’s a good ship, and, you think as you spend five minutes gathering up the few things you brought with you from your quarters, you’re going to miss her. You wonder if some of the crew can make permanent moves to the Enterprise when all this is over.

Unlike you, Chris does not travel light. You understand – it’s important for him to have a working environment that’s comfortable for him to spend time in, and welcoming so that the crew feel like they can pull up a chair and get their problems off their chests. Thing is in a situation like this, you know that not all his stuff will make it back. He is packing up his quarters, so you go to the ready room. As you thought, everything is still there. You eye the furniture. Most of that is replaceable, and the decorations... you can probably pack a couple of the pots, at least, and his sculpture. But the lightning table. That’s a memory from his childhood, and you don’t want him to lose it. You can’t carry it, but you could use Enterprise’s cargo transporter, and unlike the pots it’s probably sturdy enough to survive in the cargo bay for a day or two.

You press a control on the desk. “Discovery to Crewman Carmichael.”

“Carmichael here,” comes her voice, sounding a little harried.

“Listen, it’s me. Can you do me a huge favour? I’ll owe you. I need you to beam the captain’s desk over.”

“Oh, Um. Of course. If it’s for Captain Pike. Are you there with it now?”

“Yes. I’ve put my communicator on it. Just lock on to that signal.”

You watch as the table dematerialises.

“I’ve got it.”

“Thank you,” you say, fervent. “I’ll see you soon. Discovery out.”

“Lieutenant?” You turn, startled. You hadn’t noticed the door open. Saru is standing there, head tilted to one side.

“Commander, I—I just wanted to take care of some things for the Captain. I—um... thought he would be busy.”

Saru nods. “A good thought, Lieutenant. However you should go to the transfer corridor now. Quickly – there is little time remaining.”

You can’t get out the ready room fast enough.

Finally, you’re at the entrance to the transfer tunnel, from Discovery to Enterprise. You’ve never seen transfer tunnels deployed before outside a drill, and those don’t happen often.

“Lieutenant? Wait up.” You turn to see Ensign Tilly, carrying a duffel bag.

“Ensign, are you okay? Losing Discovery... this is your first ship, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is... I—” she shakes her head. “I’m not thinking about it because I’ll cry. But I...” she smiles, but she has a slight look of trepidation.

“I have a confession to make, and it’s been killing me not to say anything because I hate keeping secrets but we’re technically not on Discovery anymore, so...” she takes a breath. “I—I know you are the captain’s wife. I’ve known this whole time.”

You blink, momentarily floored. “You what—? You—you knew? The whole time? How?”

“When Captain Pike took command of Discovery, when we were transferring the command codes over, I accidentally accessed his records. I was flustered already because he’s him, you know? The most decorated captain in the fleet? And he’d pretended I hurt him and uh. Yeah. His service record ended up on the main view screen, but his personal file was on my console and... I saw your name.”

She sighs. “I was mortified, and I reached out to Number One before the Enterprise was towed. But she thought it was hilarious and told me not to worry, that I needn’t say anything to him, that the captain would probably like to keep his personal life… personal. And then she got your temporary transfer orders from Admiral Cornwell, and...” she waves a hand.

“Who else knew?”

“A lot of us? Number One told Saru, and I had already told Michael and my close friends, so most of the senior staff, at least, but... but it’s not what you think.” She frowns. “I mean it is partly what you think. She did say she’d get the whole crew shore leave on Risa if we didn’t give it away. And you were good, too, apart from nearly choking and trying to hide in that restaurant on the Starbase; we couldn’t believe you didn’t know we’d seen you, that you waited until we left, but um...” she stops in the middle of the transfer corridor to look at you, before realising where she is and starting to walk again. “She said when you joined the Enterprise, you weren’t married to the captain. So the crew there know you as you. But here? She didn’t want you to be isolated, as the Captain’s Wife, not a person in your own right. People can be weird about captains, with the authority. I’m going to be a captain some day; I know it can be isolating. But you didn’t sign up for that. So we wanted you to feel like you were among friends. Family.”

Despite where you are, and the awkwardness of dealing with bags, you stop and give Ensign Tilly a quick hug.

You report to Engineering after you’ve dropped your stuff off in your quarters, and you spend the battle with control with Louvier and his team, trying to keep the ship moving. After it’s all over you pick up a dermal regenerator from sickbay and treat the burns you got from an exploding power relay yourself, while being there for your husband.

“You’re a Captain, Chris. You’d know better than me – what’s the fanciest restaurant in San Francisco? The one you’d take off-world dignitaries to? I owe Number One dinner.”

Chris looks dashing in his tuxedo, beautifully fitted, and finished off with a bow tie. Una looks stunning in a deep red off the shoulder cocktail dress. And you could tell by the look on Chris’s face and the kiss he gave you when you showed him your dress that you look pretty good too.

Dinner was exquisite – a tasting menu of dishes from across the Federation, paired with locally produced wines from California, and the three of you sit, relaxed, with your glasses.

“So are either of you going to tell me what was behind this dinner? You can’t be buttering me up to get me to serve as your first officer because I already do.”

“Well I don’t really know why we’re here.” Chris smiles at you, fond. “Though I’m glad we are.”

You take a breath. “Actually, Una, I wanted to say thank you. For that bet, on Discovery. It seems pretty moot, now, but... I appreciate what you did for me, to make my tour on the ship that much easier. So that things weren’t weird with the crew.”

Chris looks at you, puzzled. “Ensign Tilly knew we were married all along, Chris. She said she saw it on your personnel record the first day you got there. But when I transferred, Una here told her and the rest of the crew about the bet, and challenged them not to let us know.”

“Ensign Tilly.” He shakes his head, turning to Number One, who is smiling, looking completely unabashed. “So you were playing both sides against each other all along.” He looks at her, almost respectful, before turning back to you. “And you didn’t say anything, let me come out here… Talk about blindsided—” he tips his head back, roaring with the first genuine laughter you’ve seen in a while and you catch it too, laughing until your face is sore.

“What—what was in it for them?” He asks, finally beginning to recover himself.

“I said I’d get them shore leave on Risa. I would’ve, too,” she adds, at his quizzical expression. “Admiral Mwangi,” she says, wiping her eyes. That clearly means something to Chris because he nods.

“So... it was a bottle of Bowmore, wasn’t it? Although I’m not sure we could have ever won it fairly...”

“I think you won it,” Una says, tone magnanimous. “Especially after this dinner. Just—”

“I know. The first drink is to the Discovery.”

*****

Endnotes: Class J Starships and Delta radiation are no longer a thing. Something else happens instead. I will not elaborate.

Your mirror self is also a Lieutenant on the Enterprise. Although Mirror!Pike is a very capable Captain, who has the respect of his crew, every now and then you might need to... sort out... a threat. Before it becomes more serious. That's how your mirror self looks after her husband.

#Christopher Pike #Christopher Pike x Reader #Christopher Pike x You #Star Trek Discovery #request #writings of the girl from outer space #nonny #star trek discovery #Sylvia Tilly #star trek fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #tangled web

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