Things Left Unsaid Stardate 2259.94

Elyse was pacing back and forth in the bedroom. She was angry and upset and nearly in tears. She looked over at her mother and saw her extend her arms out to her. Normally, Elyse would have rushed over to her, but not today. She shook her head. "No, Mom. Hugging me and stroking my hair and telling me everything is going to be alright is not going to work...not this time. He doesn't understand me...he won't even try. Things always have to be HIS way."

"Elyse...I have to live with him 24/7," Hope said dryly as she lowered her arms. "You showed him who you are and, god willing, that will be the end of it. "I'm proud of you, if it matters," she said and then a thought came to her just then. "Does Leonard make you happy? Are you two serious? You've never mentioned him before," she asked. She decided to get away from talk about work. She wanted to know more about this man in her life. The fact that she had a man gave Hope...hope that she was equally an officer and a woman. That hadn't been apparent during her academy years. Elyse had had tunnel vision just like her father did.

Elyse stopped pacing and she looked over at her mother when she brought up Leonard. "Yes, we're very serious. He makes me incredibly happy. He's a hard working, honest, passionate man and I know he loves me very much." She sighed and sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry I haven't mentioned him before. I just...I just knew what Father would say and I didn't want him to ruin this for me."

"Well, I think you have that well in hand. He did the same thing to Levi, so don't think he singled you out. It just him being...him," Hope said. "I won't apologize for him. If you need that you'll have to work that out with him. I came to see my daughter. The one that only sends me the occasional message that she's ok," Hope said with a smile. Hope shifted the desk chair around and sat down upon it.

"Very serious sounds...good. Levi is officially engaged to Jennifer, I don't know if you knew. Holden is...Somewhere near the Romulan Border. That's got him in quite the tizzy of late," she said with a withering sigh.

"Was that a bit of Tennessee on Leonard's tongue? He must be quite the man to make you see that you are not just a Starfleet Officer," she said as she looked down by Elyse's shin. There was something black and lacey, a small bit of material sticking out from under the mattress as if it had been hastily put there. It made her smile.

Holden was almost an exact replica of his father. He put Starfleet and his career absolutely first. He had never had a serious relationship and Elyse doubted he ever would. Elyse was glad to hear that Levi and Jennifer were engaged though. Jennifer made him happy and he deserved to be happy. 

"Leonard's from Georgia," she told her mother, having no idea that part of the lingerie was sticking out from under the mattress. "I was absolutely solely focused on my career until I met him and he just...turned everything upside down. He made me realize that there is more to life than just being a Starfleet Commander." She was quiet a moment and then laughed a little. "It's funny because Leonard actually hates space. He only joined Starfleet because he and his wife got divorced."

Hope goggled. "Elyse...please tell me that he's...not married?" she asked with a horrified look.

Elyse blinked and then quickly shook her head. "No! No, they're fully divorced. They have been since he was at the Academy." She then thought about something and jumped up. "Did you leave Leonard alone with Father?!"

Hope blinked at the suddennes of Elyse standing.

Leonard reached over and poured Idris another couple of ounces of Bourbon. It was the real deal, not the synthahol that Starfleet used most of the time. Both McCoy and Scotty hated the stuff and felt there was no point in drinking that.

"I did read that report on Khan Noonien Singh...That kind of Genetic alteration started before they were even born. Starfleet had long determined that that had made their minds...aggressive and unbalanced. Some Genetic Mutation was not a bad thing but since they couldn't police it, they just banned it altogether," he said as he took a long, drink. McCoy did as well.

"Well, I for one, seeing what it did first hand, can't say I blame them for banning it, despite the good it could do. Having mad men and women...genius level thinkers that are insane doesn't bode well for anyone," McCoy said just as the door to the bedroom opened. Both men looked over toward the door.

Elyse was stunned by the scene she saw. Both her father and Leonard were sitting together, drinking Bourbon, and talking. They were talking calmly and appeared to be having a discussion about something. This was not what Elyse had expected to see. She had expected to see her father visibly interrogating Leonard, or them arguing. Elyse almost didn't know how to mentally handle this. She then remembered that Leonard hadn't yet gone to bed. 

"Leonard, I think you need to get some rest." She looked over at her mother. "He's been up all night." Hope's eyes widened and she nodded. "Of course. We'll see you later," she said as she hugged Elyse. Elyse and her father just kind of awkwardly looked at each other before they left.

McCoy finished his drink as he watched Elyse settle her parents. When she close the door he saw her just stand there for a moment. "I'll sleep when I'm dead...right now...I want you to go back in that room and come out like you did when i first arrived," He said with a grin. "I know you probably don't feel like it now, but I promise, in a few minutes, you will," He said.

Elyse wasn't certain if she was really in the mood, but when she saw Leonard grin at her she couldn't help but smile. She shook her head and laughed but walked back to the bedroom to put the lingerie back on.

Both George and Winona had been waiting to see their son for a long time. He was a busy man these days and they had just found out that he had been wed to a woman named Amara. They knew nothing about the woman except Kirk had told them that she had been orphaned as a child with both of her parents died. THey had been Starfleet Officers and their ship had been destroyed. George was in Starfleet then and had heard of a few ships being destroyed at that time, but not many. Ancient history now and in any event, he was excited to see his son and his new bride.

They teleported right to the Hotel James had reserved for them. The hotel was for only Starfleet personnel and their families, there were several like that and most of his crew had chosen to stay closer together. Winona had blonde hair with just a bit of gray in it. George’s hair hadn’t changed much and he had been retired from Starfleet a while now. He and his wife ran a small farm in Iowa and there had recently been an uptick on restaurants who wanted to get away from protein synthesized food and serve real options. They grew herbs and a few highly sought after vegetables and were doing alot of business so getting away was difficult.

Kirk was on his way home. His parents hadn’t been specific with when they were coming and he was just getting the latest reports from the repair teams. Scotty and Sofia, once again had been working around the clock and he had ordered them to leave the ship for 2 whole days. They tried to argue with him but he made it an order and so he had to stay until they were packed and had Nathan watch them go. If he turned his back on them, he knew they’d just turn around and get back to work.

Amara was feeling alot better and had given her latest blood test results digitally to Doctor Chapel. Her blood had cleaned itself from any residual radiation. Chapel had a few things to tell her about some of the results she had received but she said they could discuss it later and her husband should be there when they did discuss it.

As the door chimed she had just hung up with Chapel.

Amara was slowly regaining her strength. James had been vigilant about making sure that she got enough rest and followed Dr. McCoy's orders. She could get up and move around, but nothing too strenuous was allowed. James had gone to check on how the repairs were coming along and she knew that James' parents were going to be coming to the Yorktown to visit them. She was nervous about meeting them and she desperately hoped that they would like her. She knew that James' father had been in Starfleet, but he was retired now. She didn't know much about his mother, other than that she liked to cook.

She was cleaning up their hotel suite in preparation of his parent's arrival when Dr. Chapel called to discuss her blood test results. Amara was relieved to know that there didn't appear to be any residual radiation in her blood, but she became a little concerned when Dr. Chapel wanted to discuss other results when James was present. She hung up with Dr. Chapel and started to pull out her communicator to talk to James when suddenly the door chimed. She put away her communicator and walked over and opened the door.

They were both in civilian clothes. Winona was in a yellow summer dress and George was in dark dress slacks and a short sleeved button down shirt. When they saw her both of their eyes lit up like Christmas trees. "Oh...Amara? Oh my god! Hi, how are you!?" Winona said and she hurried forward to hug her daughter in law ahead of George.

"Well, don't mind me, I'm just made of wood," George said jokingly. He was carrying a brown bag of sorts. "Oh my, the Holo picture does not do you justice. You are so lovely Amara," Winona said and George chuckled. "You'll have to excuse her, she's only got one son, My name is George and this is Winona, Amara. We ofcourse, already feel as if we know you," he said as they came in fully.

"Winona, may I hug my daughter in law?" George asked dryly. "oh...im sorry!" Winona said and back up so George could give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Its nice to finally meet you Amara," George said softly.

Amara suddenly found herself face to face with her in-laws. She had known that she was going to meet them, but now that it was actually happening she was overwhelmed. James and his parents were truly her family now. She smiled when Winona hugged her and she hugged her back. She blushed a little at Winona's compliment. She then hugged George. "It's nice to meet you too," she told him. She then stepped back and invited them in. 

"James is checking on the repairs to the ship, but he should be back soon. Can I get either of you something to drink?"

"Amara...don't put yourself out, James told us you'd been injured. Please, sit, it is I, who should ask you if you want anything?" Winona said. George hefted the bag. "We brought some herbs, pasta and some sauce. You just need to boil the pasta and add the fresh herbs and you have a meal," He said as he moved into the kitchen.

"So Amara, how was the wedding? James didn't say much about it. I bet you were beautiful. I wish we could have been there. George would have offered to give you away," She said delightedly. "It would have been fun to help you pick out a dress," she said.

Amara was feeling a little tired and she did sit down. She wasn't terribly surprised when George told her that they had brought them some food. James had told her that they ran a farm in Iowa. Amara had never even seen a farm before. She hoped that one day she would be able to visit their farm. They made it sound so easy to prepare the pasta, but Amara feared she would mess it up somehow. After her last cooking attempt she was hesitant to try again. 

She looked over at Winona when she asked her about the wedding. "Oh, well there wasn't a dress. It was a standard Starfleet wedding. We were married by an Admiral and we wore our dress uniforms. Nothing fancy, but we didn't need it to be. We just wanted to be married."

Winona was all smiles as she listened to Amara talk about the wedding. "It still sounds romantic. And I noticed the ring as soon as we came in, can I look at it?" She asked. When Amara lifted her hand Winona ooed and aahed over it. "Wow, he has such good taste, its beautiful," she said. "He gets it from my side," George said.

How bout, some nice, cool lemonade? I know these replicators don't do it justice, but beggars cant be choosers, he said and got them all some lemonade. He handed Amara a glass then sat back down. "So Amara...its been a while since I've been on a ship...and back then they did things differently. I mean...there was no fraternizing. Hows that work on a starship? If you have a problem with someone, you can just get off when you want. With James as the Captain, does he give you orders?" George asked.

Amara had not been allowed to wear her rings again until yesterday when she had been released from the hospital. However, James had kept them safe for her and he was the one to put them back on her. She was happy to show them to Winona. The engagement ring truly was beautiful. It was precisely what she would have picked out for herself. 

She took the glass of lemonade that George handed her and took a sip. It was cool and refreshing and she put the glass down before answering George's question. "Yes, he does. I'm perfectly fine with it. We make a point of remaining truly professional while on duty. I refer to him as Captain and we do our jobs as normal. There is another married couple who work on the bridge, Mr. Spock and Scarlett Wright. Spock, as second in command, can give orders to Scarlett. I think what is the most trying is when we are put into extremely dangerous situations. You have to try to put aside your feelings to do what is best for everyone and that's extremely difficult."

At that moment she heard the door open and she looked over to see James walk in. Winona immediately got up and she smiled when she saw him. There were tears in her eyes as she hugged her son. "I've missed you so much."

Kirk was surprised to see his parents there. But it was a welcome one. He hugged his mother back and chuckled when she didn't stop kissing him. "Ok ma, Amara's right there!" Kirk said feeling embarrassed. "What? I can't show her how much I love and miss my only child?" She said with a smile. George got up and moved to hug him as well. "Its nice to see you son," he said.

"I see you've met Amara," He said and saw that she looked tired. "Did you find your room? The hotel is nice isn't it?" He asked. "Oh its Grand son, and this station...is damn impressive," he said. "We brought you some pasta and sauce. Amara's can't get better on replicated food. She needs something more real," He said. "So, how long are ya here?" George asked. "Maybe 2 weeks so we can get the repairs done," he said. "The ship and crew have taken a beating dad. I wont go on a 5 year mission with a banged up ship a crew that will mutiny in a month," Kirk said.

"Well...that sounds like a story I'd like to hear," George said sensing something pass between them. "Its a long one but, if you dont mind, Amara needs her rest," Kirk said as he stood up. "Oh...ofcourse, we're right up a couple floors," George said. "Oh...I just can't get enough," Winona said as she mauled Kirk again. And then hugged Amara again when she stood.

"How bout breakfast, tomorrow morning?" She asked. "We'll see you there," Kirk said and he showed them out. Once the door was shut he turned and faced Amara. "Ok, off to bed with you my darling," He said and stepped up to her.

Amara looked at James after his parents left. She shook her head a little. "No, I want to call Dr. Chapel back. She called me before you parents got here to talk to me about the results of my blood tests. The radiation is gone, but she said there were other things she needed to tell me, but she wanted you present. I won't be able to sleep until we talk to her."

"Well you'll have to, she's at the Hospital seeing patients. And you look like you'll close your eyes as soon as your head hits the pillow. Are you hungry? I know how to make pasta," Kirk said as he shifted to softly kiss Amara on the lips. It had been a while since they had been together and he certainly liked the feel of her against him. She always breathed through her nose when his kisses were making her heart rate go up. But he wasn't going to let things get that far. He could do things to her if she needed him to but he just assume wait until she was 100 percent. He even picked her up and carried her to bed. He helped her out of her pants and shirt and brought the covers up over her. He felt her trying to pull him down and so he just gave in. He took off his shirt and felt her kissing his chest as she nuzzled into him. And then, after a minute, she was sleeping.

When she woke up James was not in the bed next to her. She smelled something cooking. However before she even sat up he was there with a large wooden tray. When she propped a couple pillows up Kirk set down the tray. "It's just after 1400 hours so i decided to get you some lunch," he said. It was angel hair pasta covered in a red sauce with fresh herbs on top. There was red wine as well but she knew it wasn't the real stuff. There was also a piece of thick, crusty Garlic bread. "I'm going to have a shower while you eat," Kirk said. He didn't think that she'd want to take one with him but her eyes told him that's what she was thinking. Kirk smiled and then moved to kiss her.

"Eat up and I'll...do that thing you like," he said then kissed her and fled before she could grab him. He giggled all the way to the bathroom.

Amara slept for a few hours before slowly awaking to the smell of something cooking. As she was sitting up, James walked in with a wooden tray. On it there was the pasta, covered in red sauce with some fresh herbs. There was also some red wine and a delicious smelling piece of garlic bread. Her mouth actually started to water at the smell of it all. A replicator certainly couldn't make food like this. 

She looked over at James when he told her he was going to take a shower while she ate. Amara and James hadn't had sex while she had been recovering. As Amara was starting to feel better she began to feel more and more...amorous. However, Dr. McCoy had strict restrictions regarding sexual activity while she was recovering. That didn't stop Amara from thinking about it though. She let him go take a shower and she ate lunch. Her appetite was slowly returning and she found that she was able to eat everything. When James got out of the shower her plate was completely clean. When she saw him looking she smiled at him.

"I didn't like it at all."

"I can see that," he said smiling. "At least you're getting your appetite back. I know you'd rather have another round of anti-radiation meds for your next meal," He said sarcastically. "Fortunately, you don't need them. I don't know what Section 31 did to you but I'm thankful...just this once," he said. "Now my darling, is there anything else I can do for you?" He asked as he was drying his hair. "I figure we could chill together and watch a vid or two. No? Nothing appeals to you?" he asked as he removed hi towel and exposed himself to her. He nonchalantly used the towel to dry off his back. "I mean...if you're sure," he said not looking at her.

Amara bit her bottom lip as she watched James. James kept in shape and he had a nice body...he always had. Seeing him teasing her like this was just too much. She reached over and grabbed the towel and pulled it out of his hands...leaving him completely exposed. "I believe you promised me some...dessert if I hate my lunch," she said with a grin.