Reboot Fic: Shadowplay 2/9 (Draws XI) [Pike/Dael/Kirk/McCoy]
For warnings, see Part 1
*
Considering his surprisingly stable health at the moment, Naaz finally greenlights him playing HoloSquash again. He promises to keep it slow and easy but both adjectives aren't really part of his vocabulary, so Dael and he end playing their hearts out on one of the 'fleet courts one Thursday afternoon. They're both wearing the sensor suits but he's playing on full level, no artificial help from the system, and hasn't felt that good in months. It makes him feel a bit puckish and he uses his greater strength to chase Dael around the court until she's fighting for air and close to throw her racquet at him.
"Sorry, darling," he says, rather unrepentantly.
She gives him the finger and summons some energy, from where he's got no clue, serving a ball that makes him run. For a while the battle is balanced, until they're both tiring out and Pike decides to change tactics. After a half-crash into the wall, he theatrically slides to the ground.
Dael hastens to him. "Everything alright?" she asks concerned. He takes her hand and pulls her down to him, rolling them over and tackling her to the ground.
"More than fine," he says with a smirk, and captures her lips for a kiss, slipping his tongue deep inside. She groans into his mouth as he suggestively rubs his groin against hers. Her hands on his ass are more than encouraging, leaving nothing to assume about her own interest.
"They surely got cams here," she mutters.
"Probably. But there's a place without any." They hastily unlace, grab their gear and go to one of the large, lockable showers. Her lips are soft and welcoming as he presses her against the tiled wall for another claiming kiss, one knee between her legs. With one free hand, he pulls her front zipper down.
"Want to make love to you right here."
"I want you to fuck me," Dael retorts pointedly, more aggressive than pliant. "Really, really good."
"Fine." He picks up the change in the atmosphere, feeling a surge of desire. "Get out of the suit," he says breathlessly.
Considering that she'd made a point lately of not wanting to get ordered around by him, it doesn't seem to apply when she's turned on like right now. Dael peels out of the suit, and another order makes her strip her boy shorts too, leaving her naked. She flushes under his gaze but doesn't flinch, just brushes her fingers over his bulge. His suit has got a two-way zipper and she reaches between his legs, purposely nudging his balls before carefully opening the zipper far enough to get to his underwear. His eyes drop closed as she nuzzles her nose against his covered erection and cradles his balls with her hands. Lacing his fingers into her hair, he starts directing her a little, not too much, just to show that he wants to stay in control. That she follows his lead causes a strong, new rush of arousal, and he's so damn ready to fuck her through the floor of the shower. With slightly trembling legs - what the hell, not now, stupid body - he pulls away.
"Get on all fours," he says, and she instantly swings around, getting on hands and knees and presenting her sexyhottight ass to him. For a moment, he just cherishes the view, nudging his dick that has a rather clear goal, straight on, fuck hell, and then kneels down behind her, covering her tiny buttocks with both hands.
Thank god for knee protectors.
He massages her ass under her low moans, slipping a finger into her vagina to check her status and she's flooded, a warm, hot pool. She curves her back to claim more of his hand, and he obliges, fisting her with four fingers while her beautiful whimpers resonate in the tiled room.
"You want this, yes?" he rasps and presses his still covered bulge against her wetness. "Want to get fucked right here on the floor?"
"Yes."
"Beg for it."
She lowers her head on her arms, an almost inaudible "You ass" floating his way. He sucks one thumb, wetting it as much as possible before sinking it into her ass without warning.
"Shit…" Dael gasps and tries to pull away, but he's got one arm around on her hips and doesn't let her.
"You're mine, and I'll take you any way I want," Pike states. As soon as the words are out, they seem so harsh that he wonders if they've been too much - but then she whimpers and stretches her ass only more towards him. He takes a deep breath; he's so turned on by now that he can't imagine being able to even give her what they both want, a long, hard fuck, because he'll just come the second he's inside of her. Ah well, if that happened, he'd still have his hands and mouth.
With one slightly shaking hand, he pulls his erection out of his stretched jocks and teasingly rubs its already glistening head over her ass cheeks. "Come on, say it," he whispers and lightly pats her clit with his dick. She moans into her laced arms as he draws through her wet folds without any inclination to drive inside yet. It's an unfair fight and her giving in is the only logical solution.
"Come on." He thumbs her ass again, slowly pulling out and pushing back in.
He can see her fighting, her shoulders hunched against the folded arms, and dips his dick in, just a little, damn hard to hold back... and then she gasps, "fuck me please", and he loses is, shoving into her hard and deep. There's nothing teasing about it when he pulls out only to drive in again to the hilt, and she's so wide, everything slick and barely enough friction for him, but she loves it anyway, pushing back towards him, matching his rhythm. He pulls out his thumb, needing his hands for leverage on her hips as they pick up speed, the sound of flesh against flesh loud and obscene in the room. He slows down a little as from the depth of his groin he can feel his orgasm approaching, far too early. But it's her that brings their movements to a sudden stop a moment later.
"What is it?" he asks concerned.
"You said you'd fuck me any way you want," she mutters.
"Yes?"
"So fuck my ass, damn."
He exhales, caressing her back with his hands. "Can't switch back, no condoms around."
"Doesn't matter. Fuck me both ways. Got it on my mind for a while…" She rises on her arms a little, looking back at him. "Please."
Pike knows that if he gives her an infection, the doc will have his hide - but he'd indulged in quite a few fantasies of his own about this, so he shifts his hands back to her ass, teasing her ring muscle with his thumb again. "You want me to fuck your hole? Take you any way I really want to? Back and forth, just as I please?"
"Yes," she gasps and sinks forward again.
"You just want to make me a dirty old man," he mutters, his dick literally twitching to thrust into the one place that is all his.
"Everyone thinks you are one, so put your money where your mouth is," she retorts, half-laughing, and this pushes him over the edge; in a swift move, he pulls out of her vagina and drives into her ass, a little cautious but not too much, his grip harshly on her pelvis to hold her in place. It's rather dry and tight, and he only makes a few pushes before switching back, dipping into her pussy under her deep moans. The change between both holes is amazing; one wide and slick and with a more direct effect on her physical arousal; the other wonderfully tight with an animalistic touch for them both. He already knows he'll be addicted to this afterwards, and judging from her responses, it's the same for her - there seems to be no end to her juices flowing, crawling down the insides of her legs like he's never seen before, and she still wants more, driving against him demandingly. Somewhere in between his heady rush of hormones he's really damn glad that his heart works fine because they might end in the headlines for death by sexual overkill.
While his heart beats like a mad drum and his legs start trembling, he still wants to last a little longer. She's probably never been that close to a vaginal orgasm, which she sometimes regrets not being able to have, and he'd love to help her solve that knot. At last he gives up, though, and reaches around to touch her clit. It's large, pulsing hot and slick, and he circles three fingers around it. Her breathing instantly changes, her concentration shifting from his pushes towards his other actions, and he slows down, glad for a moment of reprieve as his muscles seriously complain by now. Her sudden shudders take him by surprise and her vagina contracts so strongly that he's concerned about his dick for the first time in his life; then her muscles release him again and he thrusts some more before he follows her over the top, shooting two loads into her before switching back to her ass, pushing inside with his last shots. His world tilts and wavers before he comes back to reality, lying next to Dael on the hard floor. They're both breathing heavily, so out-fucked that it takes minutes before they're even able to draw together for a kiss.
"Love you," Pike whispers, cradling her face with his hand.
"Love you too." She catches his hand and puts a kiss on his fingers. "Thanks for ignoring your concerns."
"Hope it will work out," he says, having a slightly bad conscience.
She strokes him soothingly. "I'm sure I'll be fine."
He sits up, slinging his arms around his bent knees to stretch his back. His neck cracks ominously, and he rolls his shoulders. He'd be sore tomorrow but it's been damn worth it.
She stretches out on her back with a yawn. "They've got these fancy toilets around here, should be enough to clean up."
He looks down on her, suddenly thinking that the fun doesn't have to end here, not for her. "Maybe I can help with that," he says and lies down between her legs, holding her with strong arms as she tries to wiggle out of his grip with an overexcited laugh before licking their joint juices out of her.
Two orgasms later, they finally make it to shower.
*
At midnight, he gets a message from the second ship he'd considered for Dael, captained by a friend from way back academy times. They rarely meet but when they do, it feels as if they hadn't been apart at all; he sometimes wishes she'd be in the quadrant more often, but her ship is dedicated to long research missions in the outer rim, and she usually spends any longer shoreleaves on Risa with a multitude of young men, claiming to need this escape to keep her sane.
From Captain Mori Illyon, Endeavour, to Admiral Pike, SFHQ
Dear Christopher,
Much as I liked to hear from you about Cadet Dael, after discussing her case with my XO I can't accept her for the tour. We've just had an admiral's son on the last one for which we had to cancel on a very promising lieutenant, and it's been a gigantic clusterfuck. I'd probably have a mutiny on my hand if we took on another special candidate for a while.
Our leftover posting is kept open for Cadet Xi who's still in rehab after a bad accident on her first tour (you might remember the avalanche on Tristin II?), and we're pulling all strings to get her to us in time. In fact, I'd like to ask you in return if you could put in a word in Xi's favor. She wants to do her second tour, and we're equipped to deal with her remaining disabilities. She deserves a chance to finish the academy. Would you do that for me?
Love, Mori
*
Dearest Mori,
Despite you being unhelpful and equating my esteemed partner with some spoiled brass brat, I've made a few calls and brought in a specialist, so Xi should be in her way to you within the next three weeks.
You realize you owe me something now. I intend to make good use of that for Dael's second tour.
Christopher, not above blackmailing but loving you too
Pike isn't really surprised when the cancellation from the third ship arrives only an hour later. Captain Berell just had accepted another cadet and is sorry etc etc. Pike is sorry too because this means that Dael won't get a ship posting, but will end on some boring station or worse. At least he'd tried.
*
For various reasons, Dael hadn't been able to make it to a reception with him yet, but on the next evening, the Andorian ambassador would celebrate the ten year jubilee of his inauguration, and Pike has every intention to bring her along. They'd even gone shopping together to buy her a presentable outfit.
He might've dropped a word about his plan to a few people, considering it to be no big deal - but he's obviously wrong, as Nogura calls him late in the evening before the event.
"I heard you wanted to bring Cadet Dael as your escort to the Andorian Embassy."
"Yes. Any problem with that?"
"As you attend in your official capacity as Starfleet officer, we don't think it's recommended that you attend with a cadet as your company."
Pike squares his shoulders against the back of his chair. "We?"
"The press office and I."
"I don't understand. It's been never a problem when an officer brought his partner, no matter if said partner was a member of Starfleet or not. She wouldn't even be in uniform."
"As I said, we think you shouldn't bring her along."
"Is that an order, sir? Because if it isn't, I'd reserve the right to bring an escort of my own choice," Pike says stiffly.
"If I need to make it an order, I will," Nogura says just as stiffly. "Chris, please. Don't make this any more complicated than it already is. We'd like to keep you out of the headlines for a while, and showing up with her would certainly push the matter of your foursome relationship into the focus of the press hounds."
"They'll write a story about it anyway, if they want to," Pike states. "Does that newly created order also refer to Dael's potential attendance of events at the Vulcan embassy? For which she receives invitations addressed to her own name?"
"If she has an invitation of her own, we probably couldn't stop her. We still would recommend against the two of you attending together."
"I see," Pike says flatly. "I will adhere to your wish, although I'd like to state for the record that I think your order to be unjustified and against common Starfleet rules."
"Comment noted. Good night, Chris."
Pike doesn't say anything, just watches the screen go blank, annoyed and irritated.
*
He attends the reception as promised, and despite his intention to leave it early, the attachés of various Federation nations had obviously decided to team up against him, cajoling him into discussions about politics that keep him occupied far longer than he wanted to. Of the attending 'fleet officers, he'd been most interested to finally meet Captain Shaa, or Treshanshaa z'Chrondre, the person who's currently most often brought up as Barnett's successor.
For decades, there hasn't been an Andorian in any higher position in Starfleet; they usually thought the 'fleet to be too pacifist and Earth too frivolous and tended to return to their own ships after a brief detour through the Federation's fleet. Shaa had been no exception from the rule, but she had been among a group of Andorian officers to rejoin the 'fleet in the wake of the Narada incident, determined to make Starfleet a more powerful organization. Since then, she'd been mostly assigned to critical border protection missions, her natural aggression combined with strategic thinking a perfect mix to deal with Klingons. She's been decorated many times, had a dozen ships under command in the end, and while nobody wants to use the word "war hero," Shaa essentially fits that bill. Making her Head of Ship Ops would be a signal for a more militaristic direction of the 'fleet - of the Federation in whole. The final decision is still open, but watching Nogura practically court the Andorian makes Pike smile ironically. She's the old man's new favorite toy and agrees to it, no doubt about it, but she'd learn fast enough that toys are destined to be played with. With his personal decisions, he'd walked out of Nogura's toy collection without intending to, and he doesn't really regret this.
The sun is well on its way up into the sky when he finally leaves the Embassy, his med app signaling an annoyed orange in his pocket. He likes to think it's the lack of sleep and not the few drinks people had forced on him, which he had to accept because it would've looked rude otherwise.
His assistant Nicole had attended in company of a Lieutenant Hershew, and she'd been the only one to ask about Dael, not completely surprised when she'd learned about Nogura's call. Pike wonders what's going on that he might have missed over his vacation, but is too exhausted to think about it right now, using his beam account for a speedy delivery.
Everything had looked fine when he'd left home, so Pike is surprised when he finds the bed empty and a stripe of light emerging from the bathroom, ominous sounds in their wake. He opens the door to find Dael huddled on the toilet seat.
"What's wrong?"
She looks up at him, face starch-white underneath the tattoos. "I'm bleeding."
"Bleeding?" he asks confused and instantly concerned about their unsafe sex from a day ago, before things fall in place. "As in menstruation."
"Yes," she replies, and opens her legs.
Hell, it looks as if someone stabbed her, bright-red blood smeared all over her inner legs. For a second, Pike isn't sure who of them is more traumatized right now, but he'd rescued burned people out of shuttle explosions and had held a ripped-off limb in his hands more than once.
This can't be worse, right?
He bites down his upcoming nausea. "Let's get you into the shower."
"I don't want to move," she whispers. "I feel sick."
"Then the shower is still the best place to be." A bit of calm command voice does the trick and when he holds out his hand, she takes it.
"It's all right, you will be fine," Pike says as she's under the spray of the head he holds. He showers half the room with her and doesn't mind, as that means the blood on the seat and floor is at least diluted. Seeing the first droplets of water on his expensive jacket, he only wishes he'd undressed before looking for her.
"Guess we need to buy, uh, things to take care of the bleeding. Is there anyone you'd like to call?" Because he's really out of his league right now, and a part of him wishes he'd never had to deal with this.
She shakes her head and leans back against the shower wall with eyes closed.
"How do you feel?" he asks concerned.
"Not good."
He's not surprised, considering her face is as white as the tiles behind her.
"You should see a doctor."
Opening her eyes to a slit, she frowns at him. "I don't want to see anyone. I'm not ill."
"When was the last time you had this?"
"I was sixteen. And it wasn't like this." She rolls along the wall, looking away from him.
"We could call SFM. Use my emergency code."
"No. I don't want them - ah -" The sentence ends in a gurgle as she bows forward and throws up. Pike's stomach jumps in sympathy.
Good thing the water's still running.
"You stay put here, I'll be right back." Pike walks out, doing a little research. Just as he remembers, there's a gynecology practice in the same apartment block, only five levels below them.
Five minutes and a hurried change into more comfortable clothes later, he walks back into the bathroom. "There's a 24h in house practice. I gave them a call, and they'll take you in as emergency. Think you can make it for a few minutes?"
Dael looks up from her seated position in the shower, looking twice as miserable with the water running down her head. "I never had any problems. I thought it would all just go back to normal. I wish I hadn't listened to Leonard."
"I'm sure it's just the first time," Pike states, definitely wishing it for her and himself. "Give it a few months." He offers her one of the dark-blue towels.
"You've got the choice - the in house gynecologist, or SFM."
With trembling arms, she slings the terry cloth around her. "I really feel better, Christopher."
Pike shakes his head. "I had people lie to me before you were born, Dael, so don't even try. Besides, if I don't take care of you, I'll have two angry people on my case and I'd like to avoid that."
She smiles a little, and it's good enough for now. He's with her as they dress, and she's using some toilet paper as make-up sanitary towel. Minutes later, they're at the practice.
"I phoned you on behalf of my partner," he says as he's at the reception. "She's having medical problems."
"Fine." The nurse only briefly meets his eyes, quickly focusing on Dael instead. She asks for an ID card and some personal data, which Dael supplies, and then shows her to the doctor's office. Pike walks back and forth for a moment, just deciding to take a seat when the door springs open, Dael running out. "I'm not going to stay here for another second!" she blurts out and grabs his arm. "Let's go."
"Hold on. What's the matter?" Pike asks.
"They… " She's at loss for words. "They think… ah fuck." When she side-steps him, he reflectively takes a hold on her arm.
"Just need to go to the restroom," she chokes, and he'd heard that sound already once today so he hastily lets her go.
"What did you say to her?" he states sharply as the doctor comes out of the room.
"I only asked the usual questions," the doctor says with a belligerent expression on his face.
Suddenly, Pike gets it.
Strong vaginal bleeding, bruises, probably traces of unsafe sex, and a man twice her age bringing her in, claiming she's his girlfriend.
There are explanations and explanations.
It's time for disaster control. He takes out his ID card. "My name is Christopher Pike. Admiral Christopher Pike. Dael and I live here together on the twenty-eighth floor. Feel free to contact Admiral Nogura of Starfleet to check out my reputation. If you want to talk to a doctor, call Doctor Naaz Anumanchi whose patient I am. Do whatever you need to feel good with the situation, because Dael needs a doctor and we don't have time for bullshitting around. And I'll see what I can do to calm her down."
The doctor frowns as Pike opens the door to the restroom. Pike shrugs. "You can send in a nurse with me, but I'll go in there now and try to control the damage you've caused."
There's nobody following him as he walks in. "Dael?" He finds her in the second stall, kneeling in front of the bowel. Grabbing some paper towels, he crouches down. "Here, take that," he says softly and offers them to her.
"I hate this," she mutters after wiping her face. "The doctor suggested that you… "
"I realized that now."
"Sometimes I can't believe how people think."
"Frankly, I'd rather have them ask one time too many instead of closing their eyes to potential abuse. Two hundred years ago, they'd just have swallowed any lie." He draws her closer, and she leans against him with a sigh.
"Let's go back and see if he's ready now."
Dael shakes her head. "I want to get out of here."
"I just dropped my figurative pants, so we might as well see it through now." He strokes her wet hair. "He was only concerned for your well-being. Give him another chance." Still a little resisting, Dael walks with him back to the doctor's office. The man is inside, offering them a seat.
"I've got to apologize," the doctor says roughly. "Just a week ago, we had a case -" He wipes his hand across his face. "Let's just say, a really bad case like I haven't seen in ages, and seeing you coming in today in what looked like a similar state was just too much for my composure. I reacted unprofessionally and without the full knowledge of your details, and I apologize for that."
When Dael remains deadly quiet, Pike replies in her stead, "Apology accepted."
"No," Dael says sharply. "I don't accept it." Pike frowns at her, but she looks at him with her jaw set before turning back to the doctor. "You had no right to make such an assumption," she addresses the man. "It's been an incredible insult and presumptuous and I will not stay here." She gets up and walks out, leaving Pike with nothing to do but follow her lead. "Sorry about that, doctor," he says and shakes the man's hand. "Trust me when I say that I appreciate you taking care of your patients, but -"
"But she doesn't see it like that, and I can understand her too." The doctor nods and sighs. "I assume you're off to another medical facility now?"
"Yes, I'll get her to Starfleet Medical, which I should've done in the first place. Have a good day." Pike leaves, joining Dael in the corridor.
"I'm fine," she mutters as he takes her arm.
He skims over her still pale face. "No, you're not," he says in his command voice, then flips open his communicator to contact SFM for a medical emergency beam-out, not blinking at the Romulan expletives thrown his way.
Pike waits outside of the station for an hour before she returns. She's not inclined to speak about her results on the way home, aside from the information that all is fine and she'll deal with it - and the question of protection - on her own. He's not sure whether he should feel insulted or relieved, settling with the latter in the end.
He could always ask about details some other day.
*
On the next weekend, it's Pike who brings four small bottles home, placing them in a row next to the tasty lube variations. He feels like celebrating their survival of Dael's first menstruation, but doesn't say that aloud. She's not much in favor of her female parts at the moment, and there's hope some good sex would improve that. A completely altruistic action on his part, of course.
Dael picks one up, reading the label. "Chemical protection? The one brand we tried didn't work very well."
"No, but after our recent workout I asked our non-resident hetero sex specialist for recommendations -"
"Jim?"
"The same, and these four are on his favorites." Pike waves at them. "I really loved having sex with you without giving a thought to condoms, so I think we should try them."
She makes her choice, and he sits down on the bed with folded legs. At first, it's mostly experimental and plain fun as she undresses and gets on all fours, wiggling her butt in front of him. He puts the bottle's outlet into her vagina and sprays into her. Their fingers meet as they both test the consistency, and Dael giggles. "Sounds and feels like spray cream."
"Maybe I should use that, and then lick it all out of you," he says and rotates his forefinger inside her. That's the moment when the atmosphere changes, suddenly charged with eroticism. He takes some of the cream and teasingly strokes it across her tight hole. "Should I…?"
"Of course," Dael says a little strangled and holds still as he sprays a load into her ass. Once again, he probes to feel the consistency, using one, two, three fingers for it.
"What do you think?" he asks, his other hand palming his erection through the pants.
"Don't ask stupid questions," she groans. "Test along."
"We should record it, send it to Jim," he says. "He wanted to know what we needed this for, so I told him about our fuck in the shower."
She gasps. "You didn't!"
"I did - every dirty little detail." He places a kiss on her ass. "He loved hearing it. He misses you."
"I know," Dael says, and whimpers as he fingers both holes simultaneously. "I miss him too."
"Let's record this and send it to him. He'll love it."
"Okay."
The cream works extremely well with no discernible side effects, and they send a lengthy, triple-locked recording to the Enterprise the next day, their first straight porn ever.
It's a message from McCoy that comes in two days later, saying, "I'm not sure what you sent him but I'd like to thank you anyway. Best sex since we left Earth."
Swapping becomes one of Dael's and Pike's favorite sex techniques.
*
"I'm sorry," Nicole tells him on Tuesday as she hands in her resignation from his office. "Lieutenant Hershew and I are going to get married and I decided to move to UP with him."
Having a good assistant leave comes close to one's house burning down, but Pike knows better than to whine about the inevitable chaos that will ensue over the next months. "While I hate to see you go, I understand your motivation. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage," he says graciously as he shakes her hand. "Do you want another posting? Commander Cho -"
"Yes, she already signed my new orders," Natalie says. "Over the work for the task force, we became almost friends, and I'm looking forward to working in her team on UP. Which might well mean that we'll still be in contact once in a while."
"That would be nice." He eyes her resignation. "Only two weeks until you leave? This will be a tight transition phase. Do you have anyone that you might want to recommend to me?"
"I wish I had, but most people I know have interesting postings at the moment."
"You're saying working with me isn't interesting?" he teases her, but there's a flicker of an indefinable emotion in her eyes, and he suddenly wonders if she has another reason to leave.
"Of course it is," she says after a moment too long, "I just meant they're all occupied already."
He pushes his misgivings aside, but when HR sends the first aspiring candidates, they leave much to desire.
When Natalie leaves for good, he accepts a temporary assistant with the necessary security clearing from the pool that someone recommends to him. The man is a few years younger than he but turns out to have the flexibility of a concrete wall. It also doesn't help that the guy gives them strange gazes whenever Dael visits him in his office, but Pike is willing to give him four weeks to adjust, all the while secretly hunting for another assistant.
At least nobody would assume he'd have an affair with a guy who has such a horrible aura of a married man, flabby, with thinning grey hair and football as his sole interest.
*
Farnham had renewed his offer for a boys'n'girls night out between the four of them, and after a short discussion with Dael, Pike had accepted. They meet in his club on Thursday night. Pike is dressed in dark grey, Dael in one of her black club outfits, tight jeans and a leather vest. She wears her dick, leaving little to assume by its half-erect curve pressing against the fabric; on her face, the tattoos are hidden beneath a layer of cover cream - a design decision, she tells him, nothing else - and her make-up makes her look a little like having walked out of the latest production of Rocky Horror Picture Show. Pike wouldn't have minded a less flashy outfit but he won't meddle with her decision.
Pike hadn't seen Farnham since his friend's apology to Kirk a few weeks ago, and the first minutes are a little strange, chit-chat about nothing important. Eric is happy to see him, and extremely curious about Dael, barely able to keep his eyes away from her. Pike watches the interaction of his friends with interest; they seem closer than before the crisis they've had in between. When they send Eric and Dael off to get some beer, Farnham confirms his impression.
"Yes, we did quite a lot of talking over the last weeks, checking out what we want from each other." Farnham smiles. "Found out that we want to stay together for as long as possible."
"Great. I want you to be happy, you know, and Eric is a really fine guy," Pike says.
"Yes, he is." Farnham's smile deepens as his eyes stray over to Eric at the bar, who's animatedly chatting with Dael.
"So, how about Fed Intelligence? Did you get back your job or are they still trying to boot you?" Pike asks.
Farnham draws a face. "Don't ask."
"Sorry."
"They're still investigating, and honestly, it's driving me crazy. Thought about resigning myself but I just don't want to give them the satisfaction of making me look guilty. They either should find something to get me shoved, or let me go back to some sensible work." Farnham shakes his head. "Let's speak about something better. Like Dael, maybe. She looks breathtaking tonight, what did you do with her?"
Pike feels a leap of pride about the compliment, but it's not really his doing, so he says, "Nothing - she's just learning to spread her wings more and more."
"When I first saw her in that shop, she looked as if she wanted to meld with the decorations. But today… I'm impressed."
Eric and Dael walk back to their corner of the bar room with beer in hand. They're still talking when they reach them, about some music groups Pike had never heard of, and if anything, Eric's gaze on Dael shows even more interest.
Pike hadn't had any plans for tonight beyond a simple chat, but it doesn't take long before Eric is on his knees in front of Dael and sucking off her dick, while above them, Farnham keeps telling Pike about the newest fine restaurants that have opened. Dael tries to keep down her noises but Eric loves dick and gives a hell of a blowjob, so her sweet moans soon make other people turn their heads.
"Guess we should change location," Pike says, and they move into his private playroom. It's a kind of natural development that Eric ends on all fours on the large bed, his pretty ass high up in the air, and Dael practically bounces behind him, barely able to wait until Farnham prepares his lover with lube, more for show and the mental image - Eric loves to get loaned out - than because Eric needs a lot of preparation. They need a moment to arrange their limbs and adjust Eric's ass to the right height for Dael, and then she slowly pushes in, her dick hard and long, close to the max.
"Fuck, yes…" Eric moans into the pillow, arms curled into the blanket, and thus encouraged, Dael gathers speed, pushing and pulling out of the hole faster.
Seeing the two younger people in action is quite a turn-on, but Pike doesn't feel the need to participate, just palms his dick through his pants as he watches them. In fact, Pike prefers watching Dael fucking someone else to fucking him, strange thing. Eric loves the ride, no doubt about it, and utters a lot of sweet groans all through it. He's a responsive guy, one of the cutest bottoms Pike has ever met, and the two in combination produce a hot layer of arousing sounds in the room.
"You just want to watch, or would you like me to help a guy out?" Farnham asks with a twinkle as he draws close to Pike. Pike scoots a little over, resting his back on the wall for better support. "Let's help out each other," he says, and so they sit side by side, jerking each other off to the view of their lovers having sex.
It feels so different than what they've had in their vacation, Pike thinks in a random moment; without the complicated emotions of interwoven relationships, having a foursome like tonight is just sex and fun and so easy, somehow. There's not a trace of jealousy, no thoughts of demands being placed by someone.
When Dael has a first orgasm, she's quite done while Eric hasn't come yet, and the four rearrange themselves, Farnham taking over Eric and Dael crawling up to him.
"Did I tell you that we reworked the belt, Jim and I?" Dael asks, eyes flashing as she pulls the condom off her dick.
"No, how?" Pike says expectantly, his hand cradling his hard-on.
"I can get penetrated while wearing it." She crouches over him and sinks her pussy down on his erection without warning, and his body just jerks into the move. It's hard work to push up into her, and so he soon rolls them over so that she's on her back. Fucking her with her dick pressed between their bodies is adding a new, brilliant level to their lovemaking, and he thrusts into her with little finesse and all need, her legs caught in his tight hold. When he comes with a groan, he drowns in the dancing flicker of candlelight turned to golden whirls. She cradles him through the subsiding shudders with her hands soothingly on his neck, letting him find his breath again.
When they look over to the other couple, Eric is also on his back, with Farnham curled around him and going for quite a low, sensual fuck. They kiss a lot and joke around, and Pike is strangely touched by the feel of belonging he can see between the two.
Dael and Pike quietly agree to leave and let the others have their time alone, sitting down at the bar for another beer and cooling down.
It takes half an hour before the others return, faces still a little red and lips puffy from kissing, a general air of well-fucked around them. Eric embraces Dael, whispering something in her ear before thanking her for the great ride, and Pike can see the flush on her neck where the makeup doesn't cover it. She excuses herself for a moment, leaving for the restrooms.
"He's really something special," Eric says to Pike.
"He?"
"Well, De," Eric says. "I know that he's genetically a woman, but for me, he's a guy."
Pike looks after her, seeing her shadow disappearing into the men's restroom. He wonders if that's intentional or just an error, while contemplating Eric's use of her club nickname Dee.
"What is he to you?"
"A woman," Pike says without thinking. "Always has been, and while I love sucking her dick… I don't know. Still a woman." Somewhere in the back of his head, something clicks; he wouldn't be in favor of any gender alignment because she's perfect for him just the way she is. Even and maybe especially as a woman. It surprises him.
"In any case - De is fabulous," Eric says.
Farnham curls an arm around his lover, nodding at Pike. "What he says."
When Dael returns, she frowns a little under their combined stares. "What?"
"Everything fine," Pike says, drawing her into an embrace and mussing up her carefully redone spiky hairdo, everyone laughing as she slaps away his hand with a groan and a curse.
They all agree that they'd have to hang out together more often.
*
Dael's classes pick up speed and her days get longer and longer, which leaves Pike with more of their household chores. He changes his schedule and starts to leave the office early whenever he can, shop on the way and then work in his home office until she comes home.
Today, her favorite Romulan spice rhlliene is on the list and so he makes a little detour to Barnes's shop to buy it.
The second Barnes notices him, the man's face darkens. "You!" the man half-shouts at him. "You still dare to come here? Ah, I waited to see you to give you a piece of mind."
"Well, then it's probably good that I came along, isn't it?" Pike says calmly. "What's your problem?"
"My problem?" Barnes blurts out, both large hands on the counter's top. "My problem is that a man like you dares to hook up with kids."
"You're talking about Dael, I presume?"
"Of course I am! Saw you lately, you and her, and that's when a friend told me."
Pike has little doubt that this friend had actually been Barnes' son Stephen, considering how interested the young man had been in Dael - jealousy is a powerful emotion. They probably could've prevented this drama if Caitleen had kept her brother out of the loop, but maybe he asked too much from kids here.
"Almost couldn't believe but then you dared to kiss the kid right there on the street. That's when I believed it." The man takes a deep breath. "I've got no say in Dael's life, but I've got a say in Caitleen's, and if you ever dare to even think of touching her, I'll kill you."
Pike eyes Barnes. "I have no interest in your daughter, Mr. Barnes. She's a friend of Dael and for that I'm glad, but I'm not pursuing her in a sexual way, if that's your concern."
"Is it even legal, you and Dael? I'm sure there're laws against it, at least in Starfleet," the man keeps raving on, his head growing redder by the second. "Someone's got to protect kids from people like you."
"People like me being…?" Pike asks coolly, having a flashback to his last diplomatic mission as captain, with an angry Mondrian prime minister shouting into his face. He hadn't been great in sweet-talking but he'd had a reputation that he really could stand crossfire.
"Pedophiles and such. It's just wrong."
"Dael was twenty when we got together, and despite your obvious concerns about me forcing her into anything, we've got a relationship that is public and official within Starfleet realms. You might get used to the fact that consenting adults are allowed to make their own choices."
"Get out of my shop," Barnes says, fuming, "and don't dare to come back ever again."
"Fine." Pike leaves. He takes a detour to the bench in the park, sitting down on it to watch the ducks drawing curved lines on the water. Then he takes out his PADD and writes a message to Dael.
Caitleen's father saw us together lately and put two and two together. Read me the riot act for being a pedophile. Guess you've got to buy your Romulan spices yourself from now on.
The answer comes almost instantly.
Will talk to him.
It's after eight when Dael finally comes home, and the answer to Pike's concerns could be extracted from her bent shoulders and hanging head. She sags down onto the couch next to him, spreading her legs into the room.
"He just doesn't understand," she says and slides into his embrace. He puts a kiss onto her forehead.
"He forbids me to see Caitleen. As if we were in the middle ages."
"What does Caitleen say about it?"
"That he'll get over it." Dael sighs. "Sometimes, I'm so sick of it all."
"You could always split up with me."
She heaves a sigh, then looks up at him from under short lashes. "I can't. I want you too much." She closes her eyes. "Need you."
He brushes his fingers through her flattened hair. "Need you too. Come on, let's do something that makes us forget this crappy day."
She's all tired limbs when he kneels over her in bed, putting kisses on her tiny nipples and along her beautiful chest tattoos before getting down to serious business.
*
On the weekend, they visit Tom's family. It's a nice trip, the weather is great, the family relaxed and welcoming. Dael plays with Tom's two kids, teaching them some Romulan swearwords to Tom's hidden delight (Cordelia, his wife, thankfully doesn't speak any).
It's good to be in a place where they just can be, Pike thinks as he sits on the terrace with a drink, watching the action down at the playground when Tom joins him.
"Life's good?" Tom asks with a wave of his glass towards Dael.
"Mostly."
"Any troubles?"
Pike shrugs. "Nothing I can't handle."
"She looks happy."
"I try to make her."
Tom laughs. "Not inclined to talk a lot today, are you?"
"Actually, no. I feel perfectly fine to sit here and relax," Pike admits.
"All right. Just get you a new drink, and then leave you to your observations."
Pike sits in wonderful silence for some more time, thinking of nothing in particular and napping a little until Dael picks him up for the barbecue. The food is delightful, the beer tasty, and it's already sunset when they drive back home. They stop at a parking place in the middle of their journey to sit down on the hood of the car like in some old movie, watching the red-and-blue sky together for a while before driving the rest of the way.
*
Arissa finally finagles him into a joint lunch on short notice, and they meet in a small bar a few streets away from the admiralty. She's dressed rather unspectacularly in jeans and a knitted blue-white sweater, as if she wants to hide in bright daylight, and slips onto the chair opposite to him in one fluid movement.
"Hi, Chris, glad you could make it."
"You're lucky that one of my meetings was cancelled," he says. "Should we order something?" She agrees and they place their orders, apple juice and a salad for him, water and grated vegetables for her.
"So, would you finally tell me what this meeting is about?" Pike asks curiously.
"Remember the Rainbow Balls?" she asks.
"Those large queer events? Barely. They usually took place when I was offworld, and stopped shortly after I came back. I've only attended one of them."
"I've been to them all, but it's been over eight years since the last one," Arissa says. "That's why I think the city definitely needs a new xenosexual party line."
Their drinks and dishes arrive, and Pike sips from his juice. "Maybe, yes," he says noncommittally, not in favor of that strange new adjective that includes sex with aliens on top of everything else; probably he's just too humanophile for his own good, or too old-fashioned.
"A few people decided to reactivate them. Well, at least make one Rainbow Ball and see whether they still work. We've got a location and a number of clubs interested in participating."
"Sounds good. But where do I come into the picture?"
"I've already asked a lot of the smaller clubs but they're reluctant to join the project unless there are some bigger names in the pot."
"And bigger credits?" Pike says, easing his irony with a smile.
"We'll see. In any case, it would be extremely helpful if my club and yours became the main players."
Pike picks up a salad leaf. "You should talk to Ole about it. He manages the club."
Arissa waves her hand. "You know that Ole would never support a mixed party."
"But I would?"
"Not a few years ago, but today…" Arissa smirks. "You owe me one, Chris. You stole my favorite Friday night bartender."
He frowns, instinctively defensive. "It's been Dael's choice, not mine."
"Just kidding," she replies soothingly. "I know she's working her ass off for the academy, and I would've lost her anyway in a few weeks." She tilts her head. "But there's no denying that Ole is damn monosexist and wouldn't want to support a queer party. That's why I'm talking to you."
Pike had never given it a real thought, but now that he thinks about Ole's reaction when learning about Dael, it's probably true. It had never concerned him, as long as he'd just been on the gay side, but that had definitely changed. He chews on the party idea - and a piece of tomato - for a moment before answering, "What are your plans?"
She smiles. "Do you know the Grande Opera? I've asked them for a quote on how much renting it would be for one Friday night."
"Let me guess - terribly expensive." Pike shakes his head.
"We'd rent the building and their team. We'd have eight weeks to sell the tickets in advance. Cheap ones for the dance floor, and expensive ones for the loges, which are private. If there are too few tickets sold, we could cancel the event. Everything people consume in the loges is GO profit, everything else is ours."
"Really, Arissa -"
"You don't have to decide today," she says. "I've promised them our decision for in a week. Here is the full calculation and a list of all interested clubs." She sends a message to his PADD. "Imagine the ground floor as one gigantic anything-goes party. We'd rock the fucking city."
"Probably," Pike says. It sounds nice, but he's got a fair idea of the work involved. "You'd take responsibility of organizing the whole event?" he asks. "Because I don't have the time and interest for it."
"I would, yes. As long as your club's name turns up as a headliner."
Pike thinks for another moment, then nods. "I'll talk to Ole. I couldn't do that without him. We're business partners and he's the one running the club, not me."
"Good." Arissa smiles and sips from her water. "Speaking of which, I heard congratulations are in place?"
"Hmm?"
"Went official with the partnership?"
"Only within Starfleet," Pike states. "Where did you get that information?"
"Not from Dael, but I've got friends who got friends…" Arissa shrugs. "Signing in three names is unusual, of course people are bound to take a closer look. Plus I heard you introduced them all as your partners at a reception. So it's really not that secret anymore."
Before he finds a good answer, Arissa looks at her PADD and gets up. "Need to go. You're invited." She waves her hand over the empty dishes and is gone, in her usual whirlwind style.
*
"I didn't hear from you," Cho says in a call with him on the next morning.
"Did you expect to hear from me?" Pike says surprised. "Our conference is scheduled for -"
"Well, I thought you'd comment on the movie," she says. "Especially as I included a little gimmick for you." She twinkles.
"What movie?"
"Hmm, strange, I sent it to Esteban and supposed he'd forward it. Guess he forgot it. It'll be with you in a minute." She signs off and true, a little vid hits his box, some funny stop motion animation with an Orion woman explaining some fancy Pathfinder installations, like security belts that get hooked right into human bodies.
He fakes amusement in his reply to Cho, but besides that fact he's got a fair picture of the Borg reality thanks to the old Spock's stories, he can't quite ignore that this isn't the first piece of information that's got lost on the way between Esteban and him. Nothing really important so far, but it had happened once too often to be only by chance.
The one time he'd asked Esteban about such a missing message, the young man had chalked it up to a mistake. He'd have to speak with him, but Esteban has the rest of the week off.
Pike decides to speak with him on Monday.
*
Monday comes with the usual flood of meetings, and it takes a few hours before Pike manages to pull Esteban aside for a talk. But before he can bring up the lost messages, Esteban rises to speak.
"Sir, my wife and I would like to invite you and your partner Dael to dinner on Friday night at our house. I know it's on short notice but we'd be delighted if you found the time for it."
Pike doesn't quite know how to reply to this surprising offer. They're not exactly on friendly terms lately and his first impulse is to decline.
Esteban notices his hesitation. "I know, our working relationship was a little strained lately, but I'd like to remedy that."
Pike curls his lips. "A noble goal, but why now?"
"Maybe I had a little epiphany on the weekend?" Esteban says with a tight smile. "My wife reminded me how you came to visit her during my absence. That first mission… I couldn't have asked for a better superior, and I shouldn't let my personal disagreements with your life choices impede our working relationship. I'd like to mend the gap I caused, sir. "
The man's motivation seems sound, and despite a small, lingering feeling that a family dinner isn't necessarily the best way to start anew, Pike accepts the invitation.
He decides against bringing up the lost messages; if things went as planned, these minor annoyances would end soon anyway.
*
On Tuesday, a surprise visitor waits in front of his office when he returns from a lonesome lunch, once again an unplanned task ruining his plans to go with some colleagues.
"I've got to talk to you," Farnham says.
Pike frowns. "I don't have much time. That urgent?"
"I'm out of town for a while, and I'd like to deal with this before that."
"Back in the job?" Pike inquires as they go inside.
Farnham shrugs. "Not sure yet - we'll see." Once the door is closed, he pulls out a disk.
"What's the matter?" Pike asks, growing concerned over the way Farnham looks at him. "Anything wrong with the Enterprise?"
"Oh, no - nothing wrong with anybody, in my opinion. Though your mileage may vary." Farnham smiles. "Are you fully informed about Dael's progress at the academy?"
"A little. I still try not to impose myself on her or her instructors; her situation is complicated enough without that."
"And what do you think of her command abilities?" Farnham asks. When Pike doesn't answer right away, he adds, "If she were just any cadet and you evaluated her, what would you say?"
It pains Pike to ponder this, but at last he replies, "That despite the hard work she puts into her studies and the promise she shows in several areas, she will never be one of the best."
"Exactly. She's doing okay, but nothing more. A far cry from you or Kirk, with which she often compares herself and gets compared by others."
"She's her own person," Pike states coolly. "Why should she be like us?"
"Because everyone knows you always go for extraordinary talent. And she doesn't fit the bill."
"How dare you -" Pike snaps, but Farnham stops him with a wave of his hand. "Not my opinion. Just what some people say. When looking at her profile from another angle, not the normal command track, she is excellent."
"Oh no," Pike says roughly as he begins to understand where this is going.
"Oh yes." Farnham turns the disk in his hands. "We do as much scanning as everyone else involved with the academy, and to us, she looks more than promising."
"Of course, someone with self-destructive tendencies is just perfect for you," Pike snaps, his usual coolness going down the drain over the idea of Dael risking her life over some secret mission on some deathly planet. Being an officer is one thing - and still risky enough - but Intelligence missions are something completely different. Not even speaking of their potentially questionable morality.
"She's left those tendencies behind after her first year, thanks to you, and that's a good thing. We don't like to invest time and money in people who don't survive their first assignment. Today, she's got something to come back for."
Pike is so angry he's at loss for words, although a part of him realizes that Farnham's analysis is rather to the point.
Farnham suddenly slings a friendly arm over his shoulder, drawing him close against his resistance. "Chris, I can understand that you don't like the idea. But we both agree that she's not standard command track material, even if you hate the idea - which is a beautiful sign of your loyalty, but it doesn't help. She's constantly under pressure and surveillance from instructors and cadets alike, and when she gets good grades, rumors have it she receives them because of you, and when she gets low grades, people wonder why you are with her and think she's got to be a fabulous fuck that you can overlook her obvious weakness in performance. I think she's a great girl and she deserves all the chances in the world to make the best of her abilities. And her abilities are different than what Starfleet wants. She's not a great team player. She's not good at ordering people around, and she's not really compatible with a classic military organization. But she's got something else. She's a survivor. She's used to fighting alone, able to do whatever is needed to get through not just a tricky situation but months under pressure."
Farnham pushes the disk into Pike's hands. "These are recordings from some of her training simulations. Watch her in action, and see what she's good at and what not. And then think about it."
"It's confidential material and property of the academy. I won't watch it," Pike states sharply. "And does it even matter if I told you that I think it's a terrible idea to consider her for special ops?"
"You once said to me that it's extremely important to you that she makes her own choices. So answer that yourself," Farnham replies. "We've got a ship out there that could use someone of her caliber - and she could use a surrounding in which she's welcome and accepted on her own terms."
"What ship? Who's the captain?"
"Sorry, can't tell." Farnham smiles apologetically.
"I guess it's time for you to go," Pike says icily and opens the door.
"Yes." Farnham nods. "I know you're angry at me now, but I'm also rather sure that when you step back for a moment and think about it, you're going to agree with me. See you in two weeks." He hurriedly leaves him.
Pike tries his best throughout the day to forget this discussion but he doesn't succeed. Farnham does have a point, he knows, and if he really means it with letting Dael choose her own life, he's got to talk to her.
*
Onto Part 3
*
Considering his surprisingly stable health at the moment, Naaz finally greenlights him playing HoloSquash again. He promises to keep it slow and easy but both adjectives aren't really part of his vocabulary, so Dael and he end playing their hearts out on one of the 'fleet courts one Thursday afternoon. They're both wearing the sensor suits but he's playing on full level, no artificial help from the system, and hasn't felt that good in months. It makes him feel a bit puckish and he uses his greater strength to chase Dael around the court until she's fighting for air and close to throw her racquet at him.
"Sorry, darling," he says, rather unrepentantly.
She gives him the finger and summons some energy, from where he's got no clue, serving a ball that makes him run. For a while the battle is balanced, until they're both tiring out and Pike decides to change tactics. After a half-crash into the wall, he theatrically slides to the ground.
Dael hastens to him. "Everything alright?" she asks concerned. He takes her hand and pulls her down to him, rolling them over and tackling her to the ground.
"More than fine," he says with a smirk, and captures her lips for a kiss, slipping his tongue deep inside. She groans into his mouth as he suggestively rubs his groin against hers. Her hands on his ass are more than encouraging, leaving nothing to assume about her own interest.
"They surely got cams here," she mutters.
"Probably. But there's a place without any." They hastily unlace, grab their gear and go to one of the large, lockable showers. Her lips are soft and welcoming as he presses her against the tiled wall for another claiming kiss, one knee between her legs. With one free hand, he pulls her front zipper down.
"Want to make love to you right here."
"I want you to fuck me," Dael retorts pointedly, more aggressive than pliant. "Really, really good."
"Fine." He picks up the change in the atmosphere, feeling a surge of desire. "Get out of the suit," he says breathlessly.
Considering that she'd made a point lately of not wanting to get ordered around by him, it doesn't seem to apply when she's turned on like right now. Dael peels out of the suit, and another order makes her strip her boy shorts too, leaving her naked. She flushes under his gaze but doesn't flinch, just brushes her fingers over his bulge. His suit has got a two-way zipper and she reaches between his legs, purposely nudging his balls before carefully opening the zipper far enough to get to his underwear. His eyes drop closed as she nuzzles her nose against his covered erection and cradles his balls with her hands. Lacing his fingers into her hair, he starts directing her a little, not too much, just to show that he wants to stay in control. That she follows his lead causes a strong, new rush of arousal, and he's so damn ready to fuck her through the floor of the shower. With slightly trembling legs - what the hell, not now, stupid body - he pulls away.
"Get on all fours," he says, and she instantly swings around, getting on hands and knees and presenting her sexyhottight ass to him. For a moment, he just cherishes the view, nudging his dick that has a rather clear goal, straight on, fuck hell, and then kneels down behind her, covering her tiny buttocks with both hands.
Thank god for knee protectors.
He massages her ass under her low moans, slipping a finger into her vagina to check her status and she's flooded, a warm, hot pool. She curves her back to claim more of his hand, and he obliges, fisting her with four fingers while her beautiful whimpers resonate in the tiled room.
"You want this, yes?" he rasps and presses his still covered bulge against her wetness. "Want to get fucked right here on the floor?"
"Yes."
"Beg for it."
She lowers her head on her arms, an almost inaudible "You ass" floating his way. He sucks one thumb, wetting it as much as possible before sinking it into her ass without warning.
"Shit…" Dael gasps and tries to pull away, but he's got one arm around on her hips and doesn't let her.
"You're mine, and I'll take you any way I want," Pike states. As soon as the words are out, they seem so harsh that he wonders if they've been too much - but then she whimpers and stretches her ass only more towards him. He takes a deep breath; he's so turned on by now that he can't imagine being able to even give her what they both want, a long, hard fuck, because he'll just come the second he's inside of her. Ah well, if that happened, he'd still have his hands and mouth.
With one slightly shaking hand, he pulls his erection out of his stretched jocks and teasingly rubs its already glistening head over her ass cheeks. "Come on, say it," he whispers and lightly pats her clit with his dick. She moans into her laced arms as he draws through her wet folds without any inclination to drive inside yet. It's an unfair fight and her giving in is the only logical solution.
"Come on." He thumbs her ass again, slowly pulling out and pushing back in.
He can see her fighting, her shoulders hunched against the folded arms, and dips his dick in, just a little, damn hard to hold back... and then she gasps, "fuck me please", and he loses is, shoving into her hard and deep. There's nothing teasing about it when he pulls out only to drive in again to the hilt, and she's so wide, everything slick and barely enough friction for him, but she loves it anyway, pushing back towards him, matching his rhythm. He pulls out his thumb, needing his hands for leverage on her hips as they pick up speed, the sound of flesh against flesh loud and obscene in the room. He slows down a little as from the depth of his groin he can feel his orgasm approaching, far too early. But it's her that brings their movements to a sudden stop a moment later.
"What is it?" he asks concerned.
"You said you'd fuck me any way you want," she mutters.
"Yes?"
"So fuck my ass, damn."
He exhales, caressing her back with his hands. "Can't switch back, no condoms around."
"Doesn't matter. Fuck me both ways. Got it on my mind for a while…" She rises on her arms a little, looking back at him. "Please."
Pike knows that if he gives her an infection, the doc will have his hide - but he'd indulged in quite a few fantasies of his own about this, so he shifts his hands back to her ass, teasing her ring muscle with his thumb again. "You want me to fuck your hole? Take you any way I really want to? Back and forth, just as I please?"
"Yes," she gasps and sinks forward again.
"You just want to make me a dirty old man," he mutters, his dick literally twitching to thrust into the one place that is all his.
"Everyone thinks you are one, so put your money where your mouth is," she retorts, half-laughing, and this pushes him over the edge; in a swift move, he pulls out of her vagina and drives into her ass, a little cautious but not too much, his grip harshly on her pelvis to hold her in place. It's rather dry and tight, and he only makes a few pushes before switching back, dipping into her pussy under her deep moans. The change between both holes is amazing; one wide and slick and with a more direct effect on her physical arousal; the other wonderfully tight with an animalistic touch for them both. He already knows he'll be addicted to this afterwards, and judging from her responses, it's the same for her - there seems to be no end to her juices flowing, crawling down the insides of her legs like he's never seen before, and she still wants more, driving against him demandingly. Somewhere in between his heady rush of hormones he's really damn glad that his heart works fine because they might end in the headlines for death by sexual overkill.
While his heart beats like a mad drum and his legs start trembling, he still wants to last a little longer. She's probably never been that close to a vaginal orgasm, which she sometimes regrets not being able to have, and he'd love to help her solve that knot. At last he gives up, though, and reaches around to touch her clit. It's large, pulsing hot and slick, and he circles three fingers around it. Her breathing instantly changes, her concentration shifting from his pushes towards his other actions, and he slows down, glad for a moment of reprieve as his muscles seriously complain by now. Her sudden shudders take him by surprise and her vagina contracts so strongly that he's concerned about his dick for the first time in his life; then her muscles release him again and he thrusts some more before he follows her over the top, shooting two loads into her before switching back to her ass, pushing inside with his last shots. His world tilts and wavers before he comes back to reality, lying next to Dael on the hard floor. They're both breathing heavily, so out-fucked that it takes minutes before they're even able to draw together for a kiss.
"Love you," Pike whispers, cradling her face with his hand.
"Love you too." She catches his hand and puts a kiss on his fingers. "Thanks for ignoring your concerns."
"Hope it will work out," he says, having a slightly bad conscience.
She strokes him soothingly. "I'm sure I'll be fine."
He sits up, slinging his arms around his bent knees to stretch his back. His neck cracks ominously, and he rolls his shoulders. He'd be sore tomorrow but it's been damn worth it.
She stretches out on her back with a yawn. "They've got these fancy toilets around here, should be enough to clean up."
He looks down on her, suddenly thinking that the fun doesn't have to end here, not for her. "Maybe I can help with that," he says and lies down between her legs, holding her with strong arms as she tries to wiggle out of his grip with an overexcited laugh before licking their joint juices out of her.
Two orgasms later, they finally make it to shower.
*
At midnight, he gets a message from the second ship he'd considered for Dael, captained by a friend from way back academy times. They rarely meet but when they do, it feels as if they hadn't been apart at all; he sometimes wishes she'd be in the quadrant more often, but her ship is dedicated to long research missions in the outer rim, and she usually spends any longer shoreleaves on Risa with a multitude of young men, claiming to need this escape to keep her sane.
From Captain Mori Illyon, Endeavour, to Admiral Pike, SFHQ
Dear Christopher,
Much as I liked to hear from you about Cadet Dael, after discussing her case with my XO I can't accept her for the tour. We've just had an admiral's son on the last one for which we had to cancel on a very promising lieutenant, and it's been a gigantic clusterfuck. I'd probably have a mutiny on my hand if we took on another special candidate for a while.
Our leftover posting is kept open for Cadet Xi who's still in rehab after a bad accident on her first tour (you might remember the avalanche on Tristin II?), and we're pulling all strings to get her to us in time. In fact, I'd like to ask you in return if you could put in a word in Xi's favor. She wants to do her second tour, and we're equipped to deal with her remaining disabilities. She deserves a chance to finish the academy. Would you do that for me?
Love, Mori
*
Dearest Mori,
Despite you being unhelpful and equating my esteemed partner with some spoiled brass brat, I've made a few calls and brought in a specialist, so Xi should be in her way to you within the next three weeks.
You realize you owe me something now. I intend to make good use of that for Dael's second tour.
Christopher, not above blackmailing but loving you too
Pike isn't really surprised when the cancellation from the third ship arrives only an hour later. Captain Berell just had accepted another cadet and is sorry etc etc. Pike is sorry too because this means that Dael won't get a ship posting, but will end on some boring station or worse. At least he'd tried.
*
For various reasons, Dael hadn't been able to make it to a reception with him yet, but on the next evening, the Andorian ambassador would celebrate the ten year jubilee of his inauguration, and Pike has every intention to bring her along. They'd even gone shopping together to buy her a presentable outfit.
He might've dropped a word about his plan to a few people, considering it to be no big deal - but he's obviously wrong, as Nogura calls him late in the evening before the event.
"I heard you wanted to bring Cadet Dael as your escort to the Andorian Embassy."
"Yes. Any problem with that?"
"As you attend in your official capacity as Starfleet officer, we don't think it's recommended that you attend with a cadet as your company."
Pike squares his shoulders against the back of his chair. "We?"
"The press office and I."
"I don't understand. It's been never a problem when an officer brought his partner, no matter if said partner was a member of Starfleet or not. She wouldn't even be in uniform."
"As I said, we think you shouldn't bring her along."
"Is that an order, sir? Because if it isn't, I'd reserve the right to bring an escort of my own choice," Pike says stiffly.
"If I need to make it an order, I will," Nogura says just as stiffly. "Chris, please. Don't make this any more complicated than it already is. We'd like to keep you out of the headlines for a while, and showing up with her would certainly push the matter of your foursome relationship into the focus of the press hounds."
"They'll write a story about it anyway, if they want to," Pike states. "Does that newly created order also refer to Dael's potential attendance of events at the Vulcan embassy? For which she receives invitations addressed to her own name?"
"If she has an invitation of her own, we probably couldn't stop her. We still would recommend against the two of you attending together."
"I see," Pike says flatly. "I will adhere to your wish, although I'd like to state for the record that I think your order to be unjustified and against common Starfleet rules."
"Comment noted. Good night, Chris."
Pike doesn't say anything, just watches the screen go blank, annoyed and irritated.
*
He attends the reception as promised, and despite his intention to leave it early, the attachés of various Federation nations had obviously decided to team up against him, cajoling him into discussions about politics that keep him occupied far longer than he wanted to. Of the attending 'fleet officers, he'd been most interested to finally meet Captain Shaa, or Treshanshaa z'Chrondre, the person who's currently most often brought up as Barnett's successor.
For decades, there hasn't been an Andorian in any higher position in Starfleet; they usually thought the 'fleet to be too pacifist and Earth too frivolous and tended to return to their own ships after a brief detour through the Federation's fleet. Shaa had been no exception from the rule, but she had been among a group of Andorian officers to rejoin the 'fleet in the wake of the Narada incident, determined to make Starfleet a more powerful organization. Since then, she'd been mostly assigned to critical border protection missions, her natural aggression combined with strategic thinking a perfect mix to deal with Klingons. She's been decorated many times, had a dozen ships under command in the end, and while nobody wants to use the word "war hero," Shaa essentially fits that bill. Making her Head of Ship Ops would be a signal for a more militaristic direction of the 'fleet - of the Federation in whole. The final decision is still open, but watching Nogura practically court the Andorian makes Pike smile ironically. She's the old man's new favorite toy and agrees to it, no doubt about it, but she'd learn fast enough that toys are destined to be played with. With his personal decisions, he'd walked out of Nogura's toy collection without intending to, and he doesn't really regret this.
The sun is well on its way up into the sky when he finally leaves the Embassy, his med app signaling an annoyed orange in his pocket. He likes to think it's the lack of sleep and not the few drinks people had forced on him, which he had to accept because it would've looked rude otherwise.
His assistant Nicole had attended in company of a Lieutenant Hershew, and she'd been the only one to ask about Dael, not completely surprised when she'd learned about Nogura's call. Pike wonders what's going on that he might have missed over his vacation, but is too exhausted to think about it right now, using his beam account for a speedy delivery.
Everything had looked fine when he'd left home, so Pike is surprised when he finds the bed empty and a stripe of light emerging from the bathroom, ominous sounds in their wake. He opens the door to find Dael huddled on the toilet seat.
"What's wrong?"
She looks up at him, face starch-white underneath the tattoos. "I'm bleeding."
"Bleeding?" he asks confused and instantly concerned about their unsafe sex from a day ago, before things fall in place. "As in menstruation."
"Yes," she replies, and opens her legs.
Hell, it looks as if someone stabbed her, bright-red blood smeared all over her inner legs. For a second, Pike isn't sure who of them is more traumatized right now, but he'd rescued burned people out of shuttle explosions and had held a ripped-off limb in his hands more than once.
This can't be worse, right?
He bites down his upcoming nausea. "Let's get you into the shower."
"I don't want to move," she whispers. "I feel sick."
"Then the shower is still the best place to be." A bit of calm command voice does the trick and when he holds out his hand, she takes it.
"It's all right, you will be fine," Pike says as she's under the spray of the head he holds. He showers half the room with her and doesn't mind, as that means the blood on the seat and floor is at least diluted. Seeing the first droplets of water on his expensive jacket, he only wishes he'd undressed before looking for her.
"Guess we need to buy, uh, things to take care of the bleeding. Is there anyone you'd like to call?" Because he's really out of his league right now, and a part of him wishes he'd never had to deal with this.
She shakes her head and leans back against the shower wall with eyes closed.
"How do you feel?" he asks concerned.
"Not good."
He's not surprised, considering her face is as white as the tiles behind her.
"You should see a doctor."
Opening her eyes to a slit, she frowns at him. "I don't want to see anyone. I'm not ill."
"When was the last time you had this?"
"I was sixteen. And it wasn't like this." She rolls along the wall, looking away from him.
"We could call SFM. Use my emergency code."
"No. I don't want them - ah -" The sentence ends in a gurgle as she bows forward and throws up. Pike's stomach jumps in sympathy.
Good thing the water's still running.
"You stay put here, I'll be right back." Pike walks out, doing a little research. Just as he remembers, there's a gynecology practice in the same apartment block, only five levels below them.
Five minutes and a hurried change into more comfortable clothes later, he walks back into the bathroom. "There's a 24h in house practice. I gave them a call, and they'll take you in as emergency. Think you can make it for a few minutes?"
Dael looks up from her seated position in the shower, looking twice as miserable with the water running down her head. "I never had any problems. I thought it would all just go back to normal. I wish I hadn't listened to Leonard."
"I'm sure it's just the first time," Pike states, definitely wishing it for her and himself. "Give it a few months." He offers her one of the dark-blue towels.
"You've got the choice - the in house gynecologist, or SFM."
With trembling arms, she slings the terry cloth around her. "I really feel better, Christopher."
Pike shakes his head. "I had people lie to me before you were born, Dael, so don't even try. Besides, if I don't take care of you, I'll have two angry people on my case and I'd like to avoid that."
She smiles a little, and it's good enough for now. He's with her as they dress, and she's using some toilet paper as make-up sanitary towel. Minutes later, they're at the practice.
"I phoned you on behalf of my partner," he says as he's at the reception. "She's having medical problems."
"Fine." The nurse only briefly meets his eyes, quickly focusing on Dael instead. She asks for an ID card and some personal data, which Dael supplies, and then shows her to the doctor's office. Pike walks back and forth for a moment, just deciding to take a seat when the door springs open, Dael running out. "I'm not going to stay here for another second!" she blurts out and grabs his arm. "Let's go."
"Hold on. What's the matter?" Pike asks.
"They… " She's at loss for words. "They think… ah fuck." When she side-steps him, he reflectively takes a hold on her arm.
"Just need to go to the restroom," she chokes, and he'd heard that sound already once today so he hastily lets her go.
"What did you say to her?" he states sharply as the doctor comes out of the room.
"I only asked the usual questions," the doctor says with a belligerent expression on his face.
Suddenly, Pike gets it.
Strong vaginal bleeding, bruises, probably traces of unsafe sex, and a man twice her age bringing her in, claiming she's his girlfriend.
There are explanations and explanations.
It's time for disaster control. He takes out his ID card. "My name is Christopher Pike. Admiral Christopher Pike. Dael and I live here together on the twenty-eighth floor. Feel free to contact Admiral Nogura of Starfleet to check out my reputation. If you want to talk to a doctor, call Doctor Naaz Anumanchi whose patient I am. Do whatever you need to feel good with the situation, because Dael needs a doctor and we don't have time for bullshitting around. And I'll see what I can do to calm her down."
The doctor frowns as Pike opens the door to the restroom. Pike shrugs. "You can send in a nurse with me, but I'll go in there now and try to control the damage you've caused."
There's nobody following him as he walks in. "Dael?" He finds her in the second stall, kneeling in front of the bowel. Grabbing some paper towels, he crouches down. "Here, take that," he says softly and offers them to her.
"I hate this," she mutters after wiping her face. "The doctor suggested that you… "
"I realized that now."
"Sometimes I can't believe how people think."
"Frankly, I'd rather have them ask one time too many instead of closing their eyes to potential abuse. Two hundred years ago, they'd just have swallowed any lie." He draws her closer, and she leans against him with a sigh.
"Let's go back and see if he's ready now."
Dael shakes her head. "I want to get out of here."
"I just dropped my figurative pants, so we might as well see it through now." He strokes her wet hair. "He was only concerned for your well-being. Give him another chance." Still a little resisting, Dael walks with him back to the doctor's office. The man is inside, offering them a seat.
"I've got to apologize," the doctor says roughly. "Just a week ago, we had a case -" He wipes his hand across his face. "Let's just say, a really bad case like I haven't seen in ages, and seeing you coming in today in what looked like a similar state was just too much for my composure. I reacted unprofessionally and without the full knowledge of your details, and I apologize for that."
When Dael remains deadly quiet, Pike replies in her stead, "Apology accepted."
"No," Dael says sharply. "I don't accept it." Pike frowns at her, but she looks at him with her jaw set before turning back to the doctor. "You had no right to make such an assumption," she addresses the man. "It's been an incredible insult and presumptuous and I will not stay here." She gets up and walks out, leaving Pike with nothing to do but follow her lead. "Sorry about that, doctor," he says and shakes the man's hand. "Trust me when I say that I appreciate you taking care of your patients, but -"
"But she doesn't see it like that, and I can understand her too." The doctor nods and sighs. "I assume you're off to another medical facility now?"
"Yes, I'll get her to Starfleet Medical, which I should've done in the first place. Have a good day." Pike leaves, joining Dael in the corridor.
"I'm fine," she mutters as he takes her arm.
He skims over her still pale face. "No, you're not," he says in his command voice, then flips open his communicator to contact SFM for a medical emergency beam-out, not blinking at the Romulan expletives thrown his way.
Pike waits outside of the station for an hour before she returns. She's not inclined to speak about her results on the way home, aside from the information that all is fine and she'll deal with it - and the question of protection - on her own. He's not sure whether he should feel insulted or relieved, settling with the latter in the end.
He could always ask about details some other day.
*
On the next weekend, it's Pike who brings four small bottles home, placing them in a row next to the tasty lube variations. He feels like celebrating their survival of Dael's first menstruation, but doesn't say that aloud. She's not much in favor of her female parts at the moment, and there's hope some good sex would improve that. A completely altruistic action on his part, of course.
Dael picks one up, reading the label. "Chemical protection? The one brand we tried didn't work very well."
"No, but after our recent workout I asked our non-resident hetero sex specialist for recommendations -"
"Jim?"
"The same, and these four are on his favorites." Pike waves at them. "I really loved having sex with you without giving a thought to condoms, so I think we should try them."
She makes her choice, and he sits down on the bed with folded legs. At first, it's mostly experimental and plain fun as she undresses and gets on all fours, wiggling her butt in front of him. He puts the bottle's outlet into her vagina and sprays into her. Their fingers meet as they both test the consistency, and Dael giggles. "Sounds and feels like spray cream."
"Maybe I should use that, and then lick it all out of you," he says and rotates his forefinger inside her. That's the moment when the atmosphere changes, suddenly charged with eroticism. He takes some of the cream and teasingly strokes it across her tight hole. "Should I…?"
"Of course," Dael says a little strangled and holds still as he sprays a load into her ass. Once again, he probes to feel the consistency, using one, two, three fingers for it.
"What do you think?" he asks, his other hand palming his erection through the pants.
"Don't ask stupid questions," she groans. "Test along."
"We should record it, send it to Jim," he says. "He wanted to know what we needed this for, so I told him about our fuck in the shower."
She gasps. "You didn't!"
"I did - every dirty little detail." He places a kiss on her ass. "He loved hearing it. He misses you."
"I know," Dael says, and whimpers as he fingers both holes simultaneously. "I miss him too."
"Let's record this and send it to him. He'll love it."
"Okay."
The cream works extremely well with no discernible side effects, and they send a lengthy, triple-locked recording to the Enterprise the next day, their first straight porn ever.
It's a message from McCoy that comes in two days later, saying, "I'm not sure what you sent him but I'd like to thank you anyway. Best sex since we left Earth."
Swapping becomes one of Dael's and Pike's favorite sex techniques.
*
"I'm sorry," Nicole tells him on Tuesday as she hands in her resignation from his office. "Lieutenant Hershew and I are going to get married and I decided to move to UP with him."
Having a good assistant leave comes close to one's house burning down, but Pike knows better than to whine about the inevitable chaos that will ensue over the next months. "While I hate to see you go, I understand your motivation. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage," he says graciously as he shakes her hand. "Do you want another posting? Commander Cho -"
"Yes, she already signed my new orders," Natalie says. "Over the work for the task force, we became almost friends, and I'm looking forward to working in her team on UP. Which might well mean that we'll still be in contact once in a while."
"That would be nice." He eyes her resignation. "Only two weeks until you leave? This will be a tight transition phase. Do you have anyone that you might want to recommend to me?"
"I wish I had, but most people I know have interesting postings at the moment."
"You're saying working with me isn't interesting?" he teases her, but there's a flicker of an indefinable emotion in her eyes, and he suddenly wonders if she has another reason to leave.
"Of course it is," she says after a moment too long, "I just meant they're all occupied already."
He pushes his misgivings aside, but when HR sends the first aspiring candidates, they leave much to desire.
When Natalie leaves for good, he accepts a temporary assistant with the necessary security clearing from the pool that someone recommends to him. The man is a few years younger than he but turns out to have the flexibility of a concrete wall. It also doesn't help that the guy gives them strange gazes whenever Dael visits him in his office, but Pike is willing to give him four weeks to adjust, all the while secretly hunting for another assistant.
At least nobody would assume he'd have an affair with a guy who has such a horrible aura of a married man, flabby, with thinning grey hair and football as his sole interest.
*
Farnham had renewed his offer for a boys'n'girls night out between the four of them, and after a short discussion with Dael, Pike had accepted. They meet in his club on Thursday night. Pike is dressed in dark grey, Dael in one of her black club outfits, tight jeans and a leather vest. She wears her dick, leaving little to assume by its half-erect curve pressing against the fabric; on her face, the tattoos are hidden beneath a layer of cover cream - a design decision, she tells him, nothing else - and her make-up makes her look a little like having walked out of the latest production of Rocky Horror Picture Show. Pike wouldn't have minded a less flashy outfit but he won't meddle with her decision.
Pike hadn't seen Farnham since his friend's apology to Kirk a few weeks ago, and the first minutes are a little strange, chit-chat about nothing important. Eric is happy to see him, and extremely curious about Dael, barely able to keep his eyes away from her. Pike watches the interaction of his friends with interest; they seem closer than before the crisis they've had in between. When they send Eric and Dael off to get some beer, Farnham confirms his impression.
"Yes, we did quite a lot of talking over the last weeks, checking out what we want from each other." Farnham smiles. "Found out that we want to stay together for as long as possible."
"Great. I want you to be happy, you know, and Eric is a really fine guy," Pike says.
"Yes, he is." Farnham's smile deepens as his eyes stray over to Eric at the bar, who's animatedly chatting with Dael.
"So, how about Fed Intelligence? Did you get back your job or are they still trying to boot you?" Pike asks.
Farnham draws a face. "Don't ask."
"Sorry."
"They're still investigating, and honestly, it's driving me crazy. Thought about resigning myself but I just don't want to give them the satisfaction of making me look guilty. They either should find something to get me shoved, or let me go back to some sensible work." Farnham shakes his head. "Let's speak about something better. Like Dael, maybe. She looks breathtaking tonight, what did you do with her?"
Pike feels a leap of pride about the compliment, but it's not really his doing, so he says, "Nothing - she's just learning to spread her wings more and more."
"When I first saw her in that shop, she looked as if she wanted to meld with the decorations. But today… I'm impressed."
Eric and Dael walk back to their corner of the bar room with beer in hand. They're still talking when they reach them, about some music groups Pike had never heard of, and if anything, Eric's gaze on Dael shows even more interest.
Pike hadn't had any plans for tonight beyond a simple chat, but it doesn't take long before Eric is on his knees in front of Dael and sucking off her dick, while above them, Farnham keeps telling Pike about the newest fine restaurants that have opened. Dael tries to keep down her noises but Eric loves dick and gives a hell of a blowjob, so her sweet moans soon make other people turn their heads.
"Guess we should change location," Pike says, and they move into his private playroom. It's a kind of natural development that Eric ends on all fours on the large bed, his pretty ass high up in the air, and Dael practically bounces behind him, barely able to wait until Farnham prepares his lover with lube, more for show and the mental image - Eric loves to get loaned out - than because Eric needs a lot of preparation. They need a moment to arrange their limbs and adjust Eric's ass to the right height for Dael, and then she slowly pushes in, her dick hard and long, close to the max.
"Fuck, yes…" Eric moans into the pillow, arms curled into the blanket, and thus encouraged, Dael gathers speed, pushing and pulling out of the hole faster.
Seeing the two younger people in action is quite a turn-on, but Pike doesn't feel the need to participate, just palms his dick through his pants as he watches them. In fact, Pike prefers watching Dael fucking someone else to fucking him, strange thing. Eric loves the ride, no doubt about it, and utters a lot of sweet groans all through it. He's a responsive guy, one of the cutest bottoms Pike has ever met, and the two in combination produce a hot layer of arousing sounds in the room.
"You just want to watch, or would you like me to help a guy out?" Farnham asks with a twinkle as he draws close to Pike. Pike scoots a little over, resting his back on the wall for better support. "Let's help out each other," he says, and so they sit side by side, jerking each other off to the view of their lovers having sex.
It feels so different than what they've had in their vacation, Pike thinks in a random moment; without the complicated emotions of interwoven relationships, having a foursome like tonight is just sex and fun and so easy, somehow. There's not a trace of jealousy, no thoughts of demands being placed by someone.
When Dael has a first orgasm, she's quite done while Eric hasn't come yet, and the four rearrange themselves, Farnham taking over Eric and Dael crawling up to him.
"Did I tell you that we reworked the belt, Jim and I?" Dael asks, eyes flashing as she pulls the condom off her dick.
"No, how?" Pike says expectantly, his hand cradling his hard-on.
"I can get penetrated while wearing it." She crouches over him and sinks her pussy down on his erection without warning, and his body just jerks into the move. It's hard work to push up into her, and so he soon rolls them over so that she's on her back. Fucking her with her dick pressed between their bodies is adding a new, brilliant level to their lovemaking, and he thrusts into her with little finesse and all need, her legs caught in his tight hold. When he comes with a groan, he drowns in the dancing flicker of candlelight turned to golden whirls. She cradles him through the subsiding shudders with her hands soothingly on his neck, letting him find his breath again.
When they look over to the other couple, Eric is also on his back, with Farnham curled around him and going for quite a low, sensual fuck. They kiss a lot and joke around, and Pike is strangely touched by the feel of belonging he can see between the two.
Dael and Pike quietly agree to leave and let the others have their time alone, sitting down at the bar for another beer and cooling down.
It takes half an hour before the others return, faces still a little red and lips puffy from kissing, a general air of well-fucked around them. Eric embraces Dael, whispering something in her ear before thanking her for the great ride, and Pike can see the flush on her neck where the makeup doesn't cover it. She excuses herself for a moment, leaving for the restrooms.
"He's really something special," Eric says to Pike.
"He?"
"Well, De," Eric says. "I know that he's genetically a woman, but for me, he's a guy."
Pike looks after her, seeing her shadow disappearing into the men's restroom. He wonders if that's intentional or just an error, while contemplating Eric's use of her club nickname Dee.
"What is he to you?"
"A woman," Pike says without thinking. "Always has been, and while I love sucking her dick… I don't know. Still a woman." Somewhere in the back of his head, something clicks; he wouldn't be in favor of any gender alignment because she's perfect for him just the way she is. Even and maybe especially as a woman. It surprises him.
"In any case - De is fabulous," Eric says.
Farnham curls an arm around his lover, nodding at Pike. "What he says."
When Dael returns, she frowns a little under their combined stares. "What?"
"Everything fine," Pike says, drawing her into an embrace and mussing up her carefully redone spiky hairdo, everyone laughing as she slaps away his hand with a groan and a curse.
They all agree that they'd have to hang out together more often.
*
Dael's classes pick up speed and her days get longer and longer, which leaves Pike with more of their household chores. He changes his schedule and starts to leave the office early whenever he can, shop on the way and then work in his home office until she comes home.
Today, her favorite Romulan spice rhlliene is on the list and so he makes a little detour to Barnes's shop to buy it.
The second Barnes notices him, the man's face darkens. "You!" the man half-shouts at him. "You still dare to come here? Ah, I waited to see you to give you a piece of mind."
"Well, then it's probably good that I came along, isn't it?" Pike says calmly. "What's your problem?"
"My problem?" Barnes blurts out, both large hands on the counter's top. "My problem is that a man like you dares to hook up with kids."
"You're talking about Dael, I presume?"
"Of course I am! Saw you lately, you and her, and that's when a friend told me."
Pike has little doubt that this friend had actually been Barnes' son Stephen, considering how interested the young man had been in Dael - jealousy is a powerful emotion. They probably could've prevented this drama if Caitleen had kept her brother out of the loop, but maybe he asked too much from kids here.
"Almost couldn't believe but then you dared to kiss the kid right there on the street. That's when I believed it." The man takes a deep breath. "I've got no say in Dael's life, but I've got a say in Caitleen's, and if you ever dare to even think of touching her, I'll kill you."
Pike eyes Barnes. "I have no interest in your daughter, Mr. Barnes. She's a friend of Dael and for that I'm glad, but I'm not pursuing her in a sexual way, if that's your concern."
"Is it even legal, you and Dael? I'm sure there're laws against it, at least in Starfleet," the man keeps raving on, his head growing redder by the second. "Someone's got to protect kids from people like you."
"People like me being…?" Pike asks coolly, having a flashback to his last diplomatic mission as captain, with an angry Mondrian prime minister shouting into his face. He hadn't been great in sweet-talking but he'd had a reputation that he really could stand crossfire.
"Pedophiles and such. It's just wrong."
"Dael was twenty when we got together, and despite your obvious concerns about me forcing her into anything, we've got a relationship that is public and official within Starfleet realms. You might get used to the fact that consenting adults are allowed to make their own choices."
"Get out of my shop," Barnes says, fuming, "and don't dare to come back ever again."
"Fine." Pike leaves. He takes a detour to the bench in the park, sitting down on it to watch the ducks drawing curved lines on the water. Then he takes out his PADD and writes a message to Dael.
Caitleen's father saw us together lately and put two and two together. Read me the riot act for being a pedophile. Guess you've got to buy your Romulan spices yourself from now on.
The answer comes almost instantly.
Will talk to him.
It's after eight when Dael finally comes home, and the answer to Pike's concerns could be extracted from her bent shoulders and hanging head. She sags down onto the couch next to him, spreading her legs into the room.
"He just doesn't understand," she says and slides into his embrace. He puts a kiss onto her forehead.
"He forbids me to see Caitleen. As if we were in the middle ages."
"What does Caitleen say about it?"
"That he'll get over it." Dael sighs. "Sometimes, I'm so sick of it all."
"You could always split up with me."
She heaves a sigh, then looks up at him from under short lashes. "I can't. I want you too much." She closes her eyes. "Need you."
He brushes his fingers through her flattened hair. "Need you too. Come on, let's do something that makes us forget this crappy day."
She's all tired limbs when he kneels over her in bed, putting kisses on her tiny nipples and along her beautiful chest tattoos before getting down to serious business.
*
On the weekend, they visit Tom's family. It's a nice trip, the weather is great, the family relaxed and welcoming. Dael plays with Tom's two kids, teaching them some Romulan swearwords to Tom's hidden delight (Cordelia, his wife, thankfully doesn't speak any).
It's good to be in a place where they just can be, Pike thinks as he sits on the terrace with a drink, watching the action down at the playground when Tom joins him.
"Life's good?" Tom asks with a wave of his glass towards Dael.
"Mostly."
"Any troubles?"
Pike shrugs. "Nothing I can't handle."
"She looks happy."
"I try to make her."
Tom laughs. "Not inclined to talk a lot today, are you?"
"Actually, no. I feel perfectly fine to sit here and relax," Pike admits.
"All right. Just get you a new drink, and then leave you to your observations."
Pike sits in wonderful silence for some more time, thinking of nothing in particular and napping a little until Dael picks him up for the barbecue. The food is delightful, the beer tasty, and it's already sunset when they drive back home. They stop at a parking place in the middle of their journey to sit down on the hood of the car like in some old movie, watching the red-and-blue sky together for a while before driving the rest of the way.
*
Arissa finally finagles him into a joint lunch on short notice, and they meet in a small bar a few streets away from the admiralty. She's dressed rather unspectacularly in jeans and a knitted blue-white sweater, as if she wants to hide in bright daylight, and slips onto the chair opposite to him in one fluid movement.
"Hi, Chris, glad you could make it."
"You're lucky that one of my meetings was cancelled," he says. "Should we order something?" She agrees and they place their orders, apple juice and a salad for him, water and grated vegetables for her.
"So, would you finally tell me what this meeting is about?" Pike asks curiously.
"Remember the Rainbow Balls?" she asks.
"Those large queer events? Barely. They usually took place when I was offworld, and stopped shortly after I came back. I've only attended one of them."
"I've been to them all, but it's been over eight years since the last one," Arissa says. "That's why I think the city definitely needs a new xenosexual party line."
Their drinks and dishes arrive, and Pike sips from his juice. "Maybe, yes," he says noncommittally, not in favor of that strange new adjective that includes sex with aliens on top of everything else; probably he's just too humanophile for his own good, or too old-fashioned.
"A few people decided to reactivate them. Well, at least make one Rainbow Ball and see whether they still work. We've got a location and a number of clubs interested in participating."
"Sounds good. But where do I come into the picture?"
"I've already asked a lot of the smaller clubs but they're reluctant to join the project unless there are some bigger names in the pot."
"And bigger credits?" Pike says, easing his irony with a smile.
"We'll see. In any case, it would be extremely helpful if my club and yours became the main players."
Pike picks up a salad leaf. "You should talk to Ole about it. He manages the club."
Arissa waves her hand. "You know that Ole would never support a mixed party."
"But I would?"
"Not a few years ago, but today…" Arissa smirks. "You owe me one, Chris. You stole my favorite Friday night bartender."
He frowns, instinctively defensive. "It's been Dael's choice, not mine."
"Just kidding," she replies soothingly. "I know she's working her ass off for the academy, and I would've lost her anyway in a few weeks." She tilts her head. "But there's no denying that Ole is damn monosexist and wouldn't want to support a queer party. That's why I'm talking to you."
Pike had never given it a real thought, but now that he thinks about Ole's reaction when learning about Dael, it's probably true. It had never concerned him, as long as he'd just been on the gay side, but that had definitely changed. He chews on the party idea - and a piece of tomato - for a moment before answering, "What are your plans?"
She smiles. "Do you know the Grande Opera? I've asked them for a quote on how much renting it would be for one Friday night."
"Let me guess - terribly expensive." Pike shakes his head.
"We'd rent the building and their team. We'd have eight weeks to sell the tickets in advance. Cheap ones for the dance floor, and expensive ones for the loges, which are private. If there are too few tickets sold, we could cancel the event. Everything people consume in the loges is GO profit, everything else is ours."
"Really, Arissa -"
"You don't have to decide today," she says. "I've promised them our decision for in a week. Here is the full calculation and a list of all interested clubs." She sends a message to his PADD. "Imagine the ground floor as one gigantic anything-goes party. We'd rock the fucking city."
"Probably," Pike says. It sounds nice, but he's got a fair idea of the work involved. "You'd take responsibility of organizing the whole event?" he asks. "Because I don't have the time and interest for it."
"I would, yes. As long as your club's name turns up as a headliner."
Pike thinks for another moment, then nods. "I'll talk to Ole. I couldn't do that without him. We're business partners and he's the one running the club, not me."
"Good." Arissa smiles and sips from her water. "Speaking of which, I heard congratulations are in place?"
"Hmm?"
"Went official with the partnership?"
"Only within Starfleet," Pike states. "Where did you get that information?"
"Not from Dael, but I've got friends who got friends…" Arissa shrugs. "Signing in three names is unusual, of course people are bound to take a closer look. Plus I heard you introduced them all as your partners at a reception. So it's really not that secret anymore."
Before he finds a good answer, Arissa looks at her PADD and gets up. "Need to go. You're invited." She waves her hand over the empty dishes and is gone, in her usual whirlwind style.
*
"I didn't hear from you," Cho says in a call with him on the next morning.
"Did you expect to hear from me?" Pike says surprised. "Our conference is scheduled for -"
"Well, I thought you'd comment on the movie," she says. "Especially as I included a little gimmick for you." She twinkles.
"What movie?"
"Hmm, strange, I sent it to Esteban and supposed he'd forward it. Guess he forgot it. It'll be with you in a minute." She signs off and true, a little vid hits his box, some funny stop motion animation with an Orion woman explaining some fancy Pathfinder installations, like security belts that get hooked right into human bodies.
He fakes amusement in his reply to Cho, but besides that fact he's got a fair picture of the Borg reality thanks to the old Spock's stories, he can't quite ignore that this isn't the first piece of information that's got lost on the way between Esteban and him. Nothing really important so far, but it had happened once too often to be only by chance.
The one time he'd asked Esteban about such a missing message, the young man had chalked it up to a mistake. He'd have to speak with him, but Esteban has the rest of the week off.
Pike decides to speak with him on Monday.
*
Monday comes with the usual flood of meetings, and it takes a few hours before Pike manages to pull Esteban aside for a talk. But before he can bring up the lost messages, Esteban rises to speak.
"Sir, my wife and I would like to invite you and your partner Dael to dinner on Friday night at our house. I know it's on short notice but we'd be delighted if you found the time for it."
Pike doesn't quite know how to reply to this surprising offer. They're not exactly on friendly terms lately and his first impulse is to decline.
Esteban notices his hesitation. "I know, our working relationship was a little strained lately, but I'd like to remedy that."
Pike curls his lips. "A noble goal, but why now?"
"Maybe I had a little epiphany on the weekend?" Esteban says with a tight smile. "My wife reminded me how you came to visit her during my absence. That first mission… I couldn't have asked for a better superior, and I shouldn't let my personal disagreements with your life choices impede our working relationship. I'd like to mend the gap I caused, sir. "
The man's motivation seems sound, and despite a small, lingering feeling that a family dinner isn't necessarily the best way to start anew, Pike accepts the invitation.
He decides against bringing up the lost messages; if things went as planned, these minor annoyances would end soon anyway.
*
On Tuesday, a surprise visitor waits in front of his office when he returns from a lonesome lunch, once again an unplanned task ruining his plans to go with some colleagues.
"I've got to talk to you," Farnham says.
Pike frowns. "I don't have much time. That urgent?"
"I'm out of town for a while, and I'd like to deal with this before that."
"Back in the job?" Pike inquires as they go inside.
Farnham shrugs. "Not sure yet - we'll see." Once the door is closed, he pulls out a disk.
"What's the matter?" Pike asks, growing concerned over the way Farnham looks at him. "Anything wrong with the Enterprise?"
"Oh, no - nothing wrong with anybody, in my opinion. Though your mileage may vary." Farnham smiles. "Are you fully informed about Dael's progress at the academy?"
"A little. I still try not to impose myself on her or her instructors; her situation is complicated enough without that."
"And what do you think of her command abilities?" Farnham asks. When Pike doesn't answer right away, he adds, "If she were just any cadet and you evaluated her, what would you say?"
It pains Pike to ponder this, but at last he replies, "That despite the hard work she puts into her studies and the promise she shows in several areas, she will never be one of the best."
"Exactly. She's doing okay, but nothing more. A far cry from you or Kirk, with which she often compares herself and gets compared by others."
"She's her own person," Pike states coolly. "Why should she be like us?"
"Because everyone knows you always go for extraordinary talent. And she doesn't fit the bill."
"How dare you -" Pike snaps, but Farnham stops him with a wave of his hand. "Not my opinion. Just what some people say. When looking at her profile from another angle, not the normal command track, she is excellent."
"Oh no," Pike says roughly as he begins to understand where this is going.
"Oh yes." Farnham turns the disk in his hands. "We do as much scanning as everyone else involved with the academy, and to us, she looks more than promising."
"Of course, someone with self-destructive tendencies is just perfect for you," Pike snaps, his usual coolness going down the drain over the idea of Dael risking her life over some secret mission on some deathly planet. Being an officer is one thing - and still risky enough - but Intelligence missions are something completely different. Not even speaking of their potentially questionable morality.
"She's left those tendencies behind after her first year, thanks to you, and that's a good thing. We don't like to invest time and money in people who don't survive their first assignment. Today, she's got something to come back for."
Pike is so angry he's at loss for words, although a part of him realizes that Farnham's analysis is rather to the point.
Farnham suddenly slings a friendly arm over his shoulder, drawing him close against his resistance. "Chris, I can understand that you don't like the idea. But we both agree that she's not standard command track material, even if you hate the idea - which is a beautiful sign of your loyalty, but it doesn't help. She's constantly under pressure and surveillance from instructors and cadets alike, and when she gets good grades, rumors have it she receives them because of you, and when she gets low grades, people wonder why you are with her and think she's got to be a fabulous fuck that you can overlook her obvious weakness in performance. I think she's a great girl and she deserves all the chances in the world to make the best of her abilities. And her abilities are different than what Starfleet wants. She's not a great team player. She's not good at ordering people around, and she's not really compatible with a classic military organization. But she's got something else. She's a survivor. She's used to fighting alone, able to do whatever is needed to get through not just a tricky situation but months under pressure."
Farnham pushes the disk into Pike's hands. "These are recordings from some of her training simulations. Watch her in action, and see what she's good at and what not. And then think about it."
"It's confidential material and property of the academy. I won't watch it," Pike states sharply. "And does it even matter if I told you that I think it's a terrible idea to consider her for special ops?"
"You once said to me that it's extremely important to you that she makes her own choices. So answer that yourself," Farnham replies. "We've got a ship out there that could use someone of her caliber - and she could use a surrounding in which she's welcome and accepted on her own terms."
"What ship? Who's the captain?"
"Sorry, can't tell." Farnham smiles apologetically.
"I guess it's time for you to go," Pike says icily and opens the door.
"Yes." Farnham nods. "I know you're angry at me now, but I'm also rather sure that when you step back for a moment and think about it, you're going to agree with me. See you in two weeks." He hurriedly leaves him.
Pike tries his best throughout the day to forget this discussion but he doesn't succeed. Farnham does have a point, he knows, and if he really means it with letting Dael choose her own life, he's got to talk to her.
*
Onto Part 3