Dinner party

[dctr_mccoy]

As cozy as it had been camping out in his old CMO quarters with Jim, they were both looking forward to moving back to Jim's rooms. The added bonus of the renovations, the extra room and the larger bathroom and living area were the icing on the cake

Comments

[lt_paula]

Paula leaned over to kiss Hikaru on the cheek as she rang the chime outside Leonard and Jim's door. She looked him over again, admiring. Hikaru was so handsome, and dressed casually like tonight he looked relaxed and happy, if a little nervous. "Hey," she said softly, nudging him gently in the side and giving his hand a squeeze. "It'll be fun."

Her attention turned to the door as it opened, and she grinned when she heard Leonard welcome them. "Hi," she replied, one hand still laced with Hikaru's as they stepped inside. "Thanks for inviting us," Paula told Leonard, leaning in for a quick hug.

[flying_katana]

Hikaru squeezed her hand back, not really nervous. It was more of a sense of anticipation, knowing that they all liked each other, but getting to spend time together like this was different. Now they weren't officers, they were couples, seeing each other in a new light.

Sulu only hoped he didn't say anything to piss McCoy off. But it was an easy smile that the doctor gave as he invited them inside. "Yeah, thanks," he added, shaking McCoy's hand. Jim was over in the living area, so Sulu headed that direction. "Hey Captain," he said, reaching for Jim's hand.

[genius_level]

Jim stood up and grasped Sulu's hand with a smile. "Glad you could make it," he said. He turned to Paula, relieved to see her smiling and looking carefree. "You look beautiful," Jim told her sincerely, glad that she seemed to have recovered well from her misadventure. "So this is what Scotty's been working on for us," he told them, gesturing to the room at large.

"Would you like the tour first, or something to drink?" Jim grinned at them as Bones walked back over, excited to show off the changes to their quarters.

[dctr_mccoy]

It was nice seeing Jim's smile when they arrived. People liked Jim Kirk, the man was so damned personable, that natural charm that drew other to follow him. But he worked hard, once he'd become captain, to keep from making his friends feel uncomfortable.

Paula and Hikaru had been able to get past Jim's promotion and remain good friends. Great friends, really, he thought, as the four of them walked through their renovated suite into the nursery. "This room is still a work in progress," Leonard admitted, looking around at the white walls and the furniture all pushed to one side of the room. "We have a couple more things coming, so we thought about waiting until everything was here."

That, and neither man was able to convince the other to go start 'decorating'.

[lt_paula]

Paula laughed at Jim's obvious excitement, even as she marveled at the change in him. It was even more obvious now, with them all out of uniform, just how much he was showing. The comfortable-looking sweater looked bulky and warm, but it did nothing to hide the pronounced curve of his belly. His face was filled out a little, too, she realized. He'd been lean and strong before and was still in excellent condition, but there was a hint of softness that hadn't been there before. "Let's see the baby's room," she told him as she and Hikaru followed along.

She looked around as they walked in. It needed some finishing touches, but it would be a cozy little room once they had everything in place. The furniture was simple and functional, from what she saw. A crib and a dresser were pushed to one side, but she could see in her mind's eye how it would all look. "A little color and maybe a rocking chair, and you'll be all set," she mused. Paula looked over at Leonard and Jim. "Have you decided what you want to do in here?"

[flying_katana]

It made Sulu feel warm inside, watching Paula's eyes as she looked around the baby's room. The talk they had, about their future had been good, giving them both some comfort in knowing that they were both in this for the long haul. They weren't ready right now, he knew, but in a few years, maybe... they'd be decorating their own child's room.

Hopefully, it would look better than this, he chuckled. It was bare, and Hikaru knew why. "C'mon, Doc, don't you want to paint this? Some hand drawn daisies, maybe a big mural over there..." He could see Leonard's eyebrow arching playfully, so he pressed on, turning his head to wink at Jim. "I'm seeing bunnies."

[genius_level]

Jim laughed, one hand reaching for Bones' as they stood there, showing off the nursery. "Yeah, about that..." He coughed, then glanced over at Bones before smiling at Paula. "We'd like to talk to you about the nursery, but I don't know... Sulu's got some ideas, too. Bunnies and daisies, man? Sounds like you've given the idea some thought yourself." He was teasing, but the slight flush that rose on Paula's face gave him an idea that maybe the two of them had been discussing having a family someday.

He noticed Bones had caught that look on her face, too, and Jim quickly moved on. "Neither of us know much of anything about decorating, let alone for little girls," Jim admitted. He grinned at Paula. "Do you think you could help us out?"

[dctr_mccoy]

"Bunnies," Leonard muttered. If bunnies and daisies were the sort of things that belonged in a baby's room, then he and Jim were definitely in trouble. But Jim's laugh was contagious, and before long they all were chuckling along at the idea.

Leonard had caught that look, and didn't intend for Paula to leave their place that night without talking to him about it. But now was not the time for that. Now was for subtly pleading for help. "You can't let Olivia's first room be left to me and Jim," he tried reasoning. "It'll look like a damned office."

Probably wasn't far from the truth.

[lt_paula]

Paula chuckled at the looks on their faces, but she leaned into Hikaru's side comfortably as they joked about the decorations. "You're right, I can't leave it to you," she told them at last, trying to keep a straight face. She was touched that they wanted her help and Paula looked around again with new eyes. "I think we can keep the bunnies to a minimum," she murmured at last. "But I'll see what I can come up with."

Her eyes were still bright with laughter as she peered into an open box nearby. "What's this?" Curious, Paula picked up the device and caught a slip of paper that had been tucked in with it as it fluttered to the floor. She glanced at the notes as she carefully placed it back in the box, struck by the names. Argo, Bounty, Enterprise, Interceptor, Yorktown... her brow furrowed and then she caught on. They were ship names.

[flying_katana]

He knew that she'd do an amazing job. "It's not like men aren't capable of making it look good," he said, trying to stand up for his gender. "But these two," he grinned. "Between Jim's old books and McCoy's antique medical torture devices ‐ hey, Doc, I've seen those things on the wall of your office. Terrifying," he laughed, squeezing Paula's side. "Your poor kid needs something with a lighter touch, I think."

He saw Paula looking worried as she read something on a little sheet of paper... no, not worried, but there was some concern. "Everything okay?" he asked, glancing over at her face, and the way she was looking at Jim's face.

[genius_level]

"What's wrong with books?" Jim chuckled. "If I pass on anything to her, I hope she loves to read," he added, resting a hand against his belly. "And she's already getting a toy doctor's kit. It's in one of these boxes." Jim squeezed Bones' hand and grinned at him. "But I think a lighter touch in here is exactly what we want."

He sobered a little when Paula pulled the nightlight out of its box and glanced at the paper he'd left there. Jim read the look on her face and his lips quirked up again as he acknowledged it with a nod. "That's... a little project I've been working on." He reached for the nightlight and set it on top of the dresser, then ordered the lights lower as he turned it on. "It started as something I had when I was little, just starships, but I kind of let my imagination run wild and added all kinds of ships." Jim scratched the back of his neck as a galleon sailed overhead. "The list... I was trying to find famous historical examples, but..." He shrugged. "There's a lot of unhappy endings there."

[dctr_mccoy]

Leonard knew as much as they joked about the baby being another doctor or captain of her own ship one day, she had her whole life to decide what she wanted to be. But it was nice imagining her all grown, graduating from medical school, the two of them talking about patients they've treated and people they've seen.

Then again, as he held onto Jim, there was an awfully good chance she's be another Kirk, leaping before she looked. He was about to joke as much when he heard Jim answer Paula's question. "It's what happened before those endings that matter, Jim. They're famous because of what they did, not what happened to them at the end." The lights went dim and he gazed up at the vessels, all of them, from all time periods. It was beautiful. "She's gonna love looking at them, wishing she were on each one."

[lt_paula]

She looked up at the parade of ships above them, struck by the beauty of the display. "It's perfect," Paula said softly, unable to imagine a better present for Jim to give his daughter. This was something close to his heart, that much was clear. "You can tell her those stories when she's old enough." All of those adventures... it was fitting that a child of Jim's would be raised on tales of adventure and exploration.

Paula's smile grew as she watched the vessels drift over their heads. Maybe not old books, exactly, but the thought of those old stories gave her ideas about what to do in here, something to brighten this little room and make it special.

[flying_katana]

He could see Paula's mind working, spinning as she thought to herself, and Hikaru knew that ideas were percolating in there. It was a great little room, and with Paula's help, it would be amazing. The lights already had him a little jealous (maybe Kirk would help him make something like that for his quarters).

The ships passing close to each other also reminded him of something else, some information he'd seen earlier that day. "Not to change the subject, Jim, but I was looking at the routes we might take to get to the Vulcan colony. We're going to come pretty close to some known Klingon trouble spots."

[genius_level]

Jim frowned, for a moment all captain as he nodded at Hikaru. "We'll have to talk about the routes in the officers' meeting, try to figure out which one will be the better option." Once they reached the colony they should be in the clear, but getting there might get dicey. "Communications is monitoring all frequencies, trying to pick up whatever chatter they can so we can be forewarned."

Telling himself not to worry was impossible; Jim was concerned for his crew, and for this new little life. He wanted to keep all of them safe. "We'll proceed with caution," he said, carefully putting the nightlight back in its box and ushering them back to the living area.

[dctr_mccoy]

Leonard could see Jim make that subtle shift from host to captain, the weight of responsibility sliding back on his shoulders. They tried hard not to bring work home with them, but with their jobs, it was almost impossible. Add to that they were each other's best friends and sounding boards, and you had all sort of conversations taking place here in these quarters.

Because of this, Leonard knew about the problem Jim was having with these Klingon outposts. Wasn't like he was afraid of them, but given their situation, that they were heading someplace for the Captain and CMO to take their temporary leave of the ship... well, Jim didn't want any trouble, not right now.

As they headed back to the main room, Leonard pulled Paula off to the side. "What are you thinking, kid?" he asked, letting Jim and Hikaru talk a little more business. "I see that little hamster inside your head running on his little mouse wheel."