InsaneJournal

Christopher Pike had faced down armadas of enemy ships with less anxiety than he had about tonight. Somehow taking his current… whatever Leia was… to dinner with Phil and his new boyfriend seemed worse. Well, not worse, but different. He knocked on the door to Leia's quarters, dressed in a pair of grey slacks and blue button down, open at the collar and the sleeves rolled up. It was nice to be out of uniform for once.

The car take them to Phil's was waiting outside and he hoped he wouldn't have to wait too long for Leia. He didn't want to answer any questions about why he was here. There was enough on his mind already.

Leia didn’t keep Chris waiting at all. She answered the door when he knocked, smiling in greeting. “You look good out of uniform,” she said as she stepped out of the room she had been assigned here in San Francisco and tucked her ID card into a small clutch she’d picked up from a street vendor. It matched the silver dress she wore. It was simple, long-sleeved and low backed, the lightweight, shimmery material swirling around her legs and fitting her curves, which she still had, though perhaps not as slender as she was when she was young. “You also look like you’re going to be sick,” she said blandly, an eyebrow arched. “Should I bring something for the ride over, just in case?”

Whatever Chris had been expecting, what he saw when Leia opened the door was much more than he expected. "You… look amazing.." Chris said, wondering if perhaps it'd be better to ditch Phil and just go out with Leia.

"If I didn't know Phil's tastes, I'd be worried he try to steal you from me."

He offered her his arm as he leaned on his cane. "Ready?"

“Thank you,” she said, a light blush sliding across her cheek. “I assumed you wanted me to dress to impress.” Leia slipped her arm through his and gave the back of his hand a light pat as they made their way out of the building and into the cool evening air. “I also assume you’ll brief me on any topics of conversation you’d like me to steer clear of.”

Leia had been to enough dinner parties, political events, anything of the like throughout her life that she could figure out fairly easily the type of role she needed to play. That said, she liked Christopher, enjoyed his company very much, and knew enough to be careful of the fact that he was anxious and, she inferred, a little uncomfortable. Anything she could do to help him out, she thought, she’d do.

"Consider me thoroughly impressed," he said with a small smile as he led the way to the car and opened the door for her. He slid into the seat next to her.


"Well, I'm hoping you and Phil won't start talking about my bedroom habits over appetizers," he teased before running a hand over his hair. "Phil knows pretty much everything about me."

There was a point in her life where Han knew everything about her, too. Maybe he still did. Not the Han that was here, but rather the Han the she lost. Even with the time and space between them there in the end, after Ben turned, he still knew her better than anyone else in her life ever did.

She settled into the car and set a hand on his knee lightly, though she didn’t press herself against her or anything, respecting both of their personal spaces. “All right,” she said. “No bedroom talk, got it.” She looked at him. “What about his new partner? Anything you know about him yet that I ought to know? Or are we both going into that part blindly.”

"All I know is that his name is Casey and he's a civilian." Chris was grateful for her hand and covered it with his own, squeezing. "I don't know what to expect. It's been five years for Phil and barely the blink of an eye for me…"

His thumb made circles on the back of her hand. "You should know… it wasn't a lack of feelings that broke us up. We still loved each other. Still do, I imagine. But the relationship wasn't good for us. I wasn't a good partner."

Every day, it seemed, every moment they spent together, Leia was reminded how similar she and Chris were. She had no idea what that meant, if anything, for them moving forward. In the last week she hadn’t even been thinking about it. It was good the way it was, and if it ended or changed, well, that was the way things went sometimes. Still, she nearly laughed, not in an amused way, at his admission.

“Before he died, my husband and I hadn’t really been in any kind of relationship for years,” she said. Even though they had never officially or legally separated, they weren’t really together in many senses of the word since Ben -

She leaned her head back. “I’ll never stop loving him either,” she admitted. It was actually more difficult here, in this world, with a different, younger Han. Especially knowing that in his timeline, they hadn’t separated. “That’s the tricky thing about love, isn’t it? It doesn’t easily go away.”

"No, it doesn't. I'm not sure it ever does. But… Phil had some closure I'm sure, when I died. And now, here I am.." Chris ran his hand through his hair again. At the rate he was going, it would be thoroughly disheveled before they got to to Phil's.

"I don't want to ruin anything for him."

She considered for a moment, her lips pursed, how to respond. Her own closure had been short lived. And while she spent some time, when she could, with Han here, she would prefer to avoid him as well. She turned her hand over and laced their fingers together, giving his hand a squeeze. “And what about what you want, for yourself?”

"I don't know." It was a brutally honest answer and one Chris wasn't often inclined to give. When he'd hugged Phil the other day, smelled his aftershave, well… nostalgia was a powerful thing. Chris was fairly certain that if he and Phil were to have dinner alone, the chance of falling into old habits would be fairly high. Phil had been his touchstone for so many years, and this whole death and timejump thing weighed on Chris more than he let on.

If Phil hadn't pushed for this dinner, he wasn't sure if he would have contacted Leia this week. There was no reason to saddle her with all his baggage. Which seemed more here on Earth than on the Enterprise. Things were simpler aboard, as always. "Right now, I just really want to be back on my ship."

Well, she couldn’t help with getting back to the Enterprise, they both knew that. The ship was inaccessible at the moment. She tipped her head to look at him. “You know, if you want to skip out of this dinner, we can find something else to do,” she suggested. Leia watched his face for his reaction, knowing he wasn’t going to agree to that, not if he had agreed to the dinner and even went so far as to ask her to join him in the first place.

She continued on. “Seriously though, Chris, I’ll take all my cues tonight from you. I was raised to be a queen and a politician,” Leia said, “before I was ever the head of a military resistance. I know my way around any and all types of dinner and social event there is. Whatever you need from me, you’ve got it.” She touched his shoulder gently and leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"I owe Phil my life on more than one occasion. If he wants dinner, I owe him at least that." Chris squeezed her hand. "But thank you for the offer. Tonight is supposed to be casual. Just the four of us at his house. I told him to keep it simple."

He managed a chuckle. "Careful or you might find yourself my +1 at the next Officers' Ball or some diplomatic function."

That’s what Leia suspected, and that was fine with her. She would use the opportunity to get to know more about this world she found herself in. She shrugged. “I don’t know. I might have had enough of those kind of events for one lifetime,” she said, thinking back to the last time she had attended a state dinner, after the public announcement of her bloodline, when she decided she did not give any fucks and went full on Lady Vader with everyone. Of course, that was before she actually had to come face to face again with her father, something she was still keeping close to the chest even if they did exist on the same ship again, now.

"Are you going to turn me down and make me take Jim instead?" He quirked a teasing eyebrow, holding a hand over his heart and feigned being wounded. It was probably too soon to be making that joke, but Chris had a bit of gallows humor.

"I think Phil wants to see me happily settled." Chris let out a slow breath before turning his gaze onto her. "What do you want, Leia? From this?"

Leia gave him a look and shook her head but chose not to comment. She pulled her hand away from his and folded hers on her lap. His question took her off-guard. That hadn’t been a topic they’d entertained before, and it wasn’t one she had given too much thought to, not with everything else going on around her.

“I have no expectations, Chris,” she said after a thoughtful moment. “I - really enjoy the physical aspect of whatever this is because Maker knows I wasn’t getting any of that in the last years.” She hoped it came out as a little joke, in good nature, even though it was true. “And we’ve got a lot in common. It feels natural to talk to you. We’ve both had similar experiences in different universes.” She reached up to touch the side of her head, fingers, tracing the outline of the thick braid that held her hair off her face. “We get along. And we’re both adults who have been through hell in our lives. So I’m not going to pretend this is anything it’s not.”

"Not having expectations isn't the same as admitting what you want," Chris pointed out, aware that this was probably not a conversation to be having on the way to Phil's house. And he wasn't sure it was a discussion he wanted to have. He was happy enough to take things as they came. Not to mention, he wasn't sure he'd be ready for another relationship anytime soon. Or ever.

He turned to glance out the window and paled slightly at the familiar neighborhood.

"We're nearly there."

“I know it isn’t,” Leia said, but she didn’t elaborate. She didn’t know what she wanted. She wanted to enjoy his company, to sleep with him, to have someone like him to talk to, but did she want a relationship? She wasn’t any good at those, she knew. What would make trying one with him any different than her failure with Han?

She leaned forward to look out the window as well and reached over to squeeze his hand as the car came to a stop. “Great,” Leia said. “I’m hungry.”

"Well, if Phil's cooking, I can guarantee the food will be good." He slid out of the car and grabbed the bottle of Phil's favorite vodka that he'd brought before holding a hand out for Leia. He took a deep breath and made his way up the walk. The house was built into the hill. The front was landscaped simply, but the back had an amazing view of the city and the water. He rang the doorbell and waited.

Within moments, the door opened and Phil stood there, an apron over his clothes and a genuine smile spreading across his face. "Chris! I wasn't sure if you'd chicken out, but I'm glad you came. And this is most certainly not your whippersnapper of a captain. I don't believe we're acquainted."

Boyce's charm was on full as he smiled at Leia and Christopher rolled his eyes.

"Phil, this is Leia Organa. Leia, this is Phillip Boyce. Formerly CMO of the Enterprise, my ex, and a giant ass."

Leia couldn’t help but smile at Boyce, at his charm, and also at the way Chris immediately rolled his eyes at it. “A pleasure to meet you, Dr. Boyce,” she said as they walked into his home. “I hope you’re not too disappointed that I’m not Captain Kirk,” she teased.

"Not at all. Come in, come in. So, are you the mysterious person whom I should thank for the reason Chris wasn't on the bridge when the red alert sounded? There's only one reason I've ever known Chris not to be up working by 0530 or 0600 at the latest. And if you're that reason, then my congratulations and thanks. It took me years to get him to have a lazy morning."

"For the love of all that is holy, Phil!"

"I'm just being friendly to your guest, Chris. Calm yourself. Can I get either of you a drink? I make a mean martini."

A delighted smile came over Leia’s face when it dawned on her just what exactly she was to expect from this dinner. She understood better now why Chris was so uncomfortable. It wasn’t necessarily because of a strain in their relationship but rather because of this dynamic, which she had a feeling she was going to enjoy immensely. “What can I say,” she said casually, “I guess I’m just that good in bed.”

She didn’t look at Chris to see his reaction, instead glanced around the room and then smiled again at Phil. “I’d love a martini,” she said, “and so would Chris. You have a beautiful view here,” she continued right on without a pause, making her way into the room to look out through the large window at the bay and the city.

Casey walked in, wiping his hands on a dishtowel, from what Leia assumed was the kitchen. He looked a touch nervous, but smiled at the three of them. “Hello,” he said firmly. He looked to Boyce for introductions.

Boyce handed martinis to Chris and Leia before wrapping an arm around Casey's waist and kissing him on the cheek. The movement was casual, reflective of people who were comfortable in each others space. "Casey, this is Chris Pike and Leia Organa. Chris, Leia, this is Casey."

Chris could see it in every detail. The casual comfort they had with each other, the fondness in Phil's tone… Phil was smitten. And who could blame him, Casey was young, closer in age to Kirk than Pike perhaps, and good looking. Regardless, he felt something tighten in his throat and his fingers tightened on the cane for a moment before he held out his hand and offered his best smile. "It's great to meet you, Casey. Phil seemed rather insistent, though. I'm happy for both of you."

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Chris,” Casey said, stepping forward to shake his hand warmly, using both hands. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m real glad I have this chance to meet you.” He turned and shook Leia’s hand as well. Nice to meet you too, Leia.” He brushed his shoulder against Phil’s and looked at him then gestured to Chris and Leia. “Come in, please. Have a seat. I’ll send Phil off to the kitchen to finish whatever smells so good.”

Leia murmured a greeting as well, glancing at Chris as he met Casey like this. She touched his elbow momentarily before taking up Casey’s offer and taking a seat on a sofa that had a direct view of the water. She set her clutch on the end table. “It does smell good. Can I ask what’s on the menu?”

"Cider glazed chorizo and some dill and chives puff pastries to start, bacon wrapped scallops with cilantro mayo, filet mignon, and grilled asparagus. And then dessert of course."

Chris gave Phil a look, acutely aware that some of his favorite dishes on the menu. "I told you to keep it simple."

"Three courses is simple, Chris. Anyway, the kitchen calls.."

Chris took a seat on the sofa next to Leia and took a drink of martini, which tasted exactly how he remembered. "So, Casey… how did you and Phil meet?"

Casey sat in a chair with his back to the window and leaned forward, his elbows on his thighs as he answered Chris’s question. “I’m a contractor,” he said. “When Phil wanted to put in a new deck and jacuzzi out back -” He gestured off towards the window behind him. “My firm did the work.” He looked between Chris and Leia. “How about you two?” he asked. “Phil didn’t give me all the details about your return, Chris, and I have to admit I’m curious.”

The drink was stronger than Leia expected, but it had a good flavor, and she liked its warmth. She held the martini glass in one hand and relaxed against the sofa, crossing her legs at her ankle. She didn’t recognize the names of half of the dishes Phil mentioned, but she wasn’t going to bring it up. She was sure Chris had told him that she was a traveler, but just in case he didn’t, Leia wasn’t about to herself.

Chris bit back any comments about the jacuzzi, remembering many nights spent relaxing in the old hot tub. It was hard to imagine Phil - who was an officer in his own right and had attended numerous functions with Chris taking up with a contractor. Judging by the way they acted, Chris was pretty sure they were living together as well.

"Astronomical anomaly, as it were," Chris said, sliding a bit too easily into the professional role. "Disrupted the space-time continuum, allowing for individuals from different worlds and timelines to materialize in ours. So far though, I'm the only one that's shown up from this timeline."

He took another sip of his martini, knowing it'd be gone too quickly. "Leia and I met on the Enterprise. Exchanging stories over drinks."

Casey’s eyes lit up a bit and he nodded. “I read a little bit about all that,” he said. “Seems pretty unbelievable but I guess anything’s possible, right?” He laughed a little and turned to Leia. “Are you a traveler then? Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Leia sipped her drink. “I don’t mind at all. I was raised on a planet called Alderaan, which as far as I know doesn’t exist in this universe.”

"It's fairly unbelievable to me as well," Chris admitted over another sip of the martini. Damn, he'd missed Phil's martinis. He'd never found anyone who could replicate them quite right. "One minute I was lying there, dying, Spock mind melding with me and feeling those last moments and the next I'm waking up in the medbay of the Enterprise in a lot of pain."

He took a sip of the martini as he finished, glancing up to see Phil standing in the doorway to the kitchen, his face drained of all color. Apparently some things had been left out of the official reports. "But enough about me."

"Indeed," Phil spoke from the doorway, regaining some of his composure as he carried two trays of appetizers in his hand. "I thought we could eat outside and then Leia, you can tell us about yourself. Chris has been playing things close to the chest."

Leia cleared her throat a bit and touched Chris’s knee for a brief moment as she stood up. “It’s a beautiful evening,” she said. “Eating outside sounds like a great idea.” She glanced down at Chris and then offered him a hand though she wouldn’t be offended if he didn’t take it as she didn’t expect him to. She learned quickly that he didn’t like receiving help from anyone else, even something as innocent as aiding him in standing up.

She looked over at Phil. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear all about me,” she said. “Unless you plan to keep us here all night. I always seem to find myself with a lot to say.”

Chris handed Leia his martini and pushed up to his feet, leaning heavily on the cane and following the group out onto the deck, smiling when he saw the table decked out and took a seat.

Phil chuckled. "Oh you'd be surprised. Besides, we can always trade stories about Chris," he said as he set the platters on the table. "Dig in. Please."

Leia wasn’t so sure she had any stories yet to tell about Chris. But she certainly wouldn’t complain if Phil offered up stories, though she knew Chris would have a lot to say about that. She sat next to Chris, sliding her leg against his under the table comfortingly, as Casey helped Phil set out the food.

“This looks wonderful, thank you,” Leia said, handing one martini back to Chris and then finishing off hers before shaking her napkin out and looking around at the offered food.

“I know I’d love to hear more stories about the Enterprise,” Casey said quickly. “I’ve seen a lot of news articles about it, and she looks like an incredible ship.”

"She's incredible. I mean, this is the second Enterprise, the first one sustained too much damage in one of her missions." Chris put some of the chorizo and the flavored puffs on his plate. "She's not the same ship I oversaw being built, but she's still glorious. There will be others like her, of course, but none can compare with her. She's had upgrades and more now with the arrival of folks from other timeline. We've managed to install a holodeck on her - the programmings incredible. One of the officers from the other timeline programmed a horseback riding simulation that was just like the real thing. She's the best ship in the Fleet, easily, and the best in the galaxy, I'd wager."

Phil poured wine for everyone at the table and took a seat next to Casey. A sad, familiar look came over his face as Chris talked about the Enterprise. He still loved that ship more than life itself. There had been a moment where he'd thought that this might be a second chance for the two of them, but Chris hadn't changed. He smiled as he poured wine for everyone. "Save your love letter to that ship for the book, Chris. So, Leia, have you had some time to explore Earth? What's been the most interesting thing for you so far?"

Leia liked hearing Chris talk about the Enterprise. He had such a passion and a fondness in his tone when he spoke about it, in many ways similar to Han’s relationship with the Millennium Falcon. Not that the Enterprise was anything at all like the Falcon, she reminded herself. She served herself a little bit of everything, not one to shy away from new foods. “I’ve joined a few of the excursions that Starfleet approved for the travelers,” she said, breaking one of the pastries in half to allow its insides to cool. “The food,” she said, with a nod to the spread in front of her. “It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy such rich and delicious food.” It didn’t bother her to admit that at all.

"Told you we'd eat well if Phil was cooking," Chris said fondly, giving Phil a smile. "Compliments to the chef."

Phil smiled and thanked them. "Did Chris ever tell you how he slept aboard the Enterprise when she was being built? He spent every spare moment on that ship to make sure he knew her inside and out."

Casey stayed mostly silent as he watched the interactions between Phil and Chris, though he turned his chair slightly closer to Phil’s, not just out of habit but perhaps a bit out of protectiveness too.

Leia shook her head. “No, he didn’t mention it, but that doesn’t surprise me.” She smiled at Chris then turned back to Casey and Phil. “Where I’m from, I lead a military Resistance, and there have been times when we’ve had to quickly pack up and find a new base of operations. I make it a point to be the first one in and the last one out. Maybe that’s not the same as sleeping on a ship that’s under construction, but I do think it says a lot about the type of people me and Chris are.”

Phil laughed. "Chris didn't mention he'd found another member of command to sleep with." He shook his head and sip his wine. He glanced between Chris and Leia, wondering if this was more serious than Chris was willing to admit. "Well, perhaps you'll be more patient with his bad habits then. Either that or you're as bad as he is, in which case, there might not be any help for either of you."

She didn’t want to say the wrong thing, and yet she also didn’t want to not say anything at all. “Everyone’s got bad habits they either can’t or aren’t willing to break,” she said. “It’s just a matter of which ones are worth overlooking and which ones aren’t.” A change in topic, she hoped, as she turned to Casey. “This outdoor area is wonderful,” she said, taking a moment to look around. “I don’t think I would have expected the woodwork to be so intricate, given what I’ve seen of the architecture of this world’s technology and cities.”

Casey blushed but smiled. “Thank you, Leia. My family has a long tradition of woodworking. It’s not something that a look of people want anymore, not with the synthetics and other surfaces preferred, but it’s a hobby of mine, I guess you’d say.”

"Leia's right, Casey. It's absolutely incredible. Nice to see something that's not just glass and steel." He ran his hand over the smooth wood of the table as his mind wandered to the ranch.

"Glad you think so. Casey's company did some maintenance on the ranch. Has Chris taken you there, Leia? It's a gorgeous property," Phil said with a smile.

She wiped her mouth with her napkin and shook her head. “No, but he’s told me about it. I don’t think our time here on Earth is quite long enough to warrant a trip out there,” she said, even though she wouldn’t mind going. But she would never assume that she would be asked or even, based on what he’s told her about it and about his history there, that he’d want to go. “I am looking at going to Hawaii though,” she continued, in another attempt to steer the conversation back away from Chris. “I believe they’re volcanic islands? There’s a trip set for travelers and I thought that might be fun, spend some time relaxing on a beach.”

Casey grinned. “I love Hawaii. If you go, you should find someone to teach you how to surf.”

She arched an eyebrow at the unfamiliar term.

“It’s where you ride a board in the ocean’s waves, standing up. I pretty much fall off every time I try but I like it anyway.”

"There's some great beaches there," Phil added. "And there's also paddleboarding if you're not willing to be thrown about by forceful waves for three hours. And Casey's not being totally honest. He's had some good rides. You can surf just south of San Francisco, but the water's much warmer in Hawaii."

Phil glanced at Chris, fairly certain Chris would bury himself in work instead of taking advantage of any of these trips. But maybe he could do something about that.

Chris gave Leia a fond look, imagining her on a beach with her hair down.. That would certainly be something worth seeing.

She slid her fingers around the stem of her martini glass. “I much prefer the warmer water,” she said. “I grew up alongside a lake that got its water from the mountains, so it wasn’t really a lake we got to swim in, just boating. But whenever I had a chance to visit some other planets, ones with more tropical conditions, I always enjoyed a good beach.”

It had been years - years - since Leia had had the time to enjoy such a vacation. “I’m sure it won’t take much convincing to get me to Hawaii.” She glanced, just for a moment, to Chris. Though if he didn’t want to go, she figured she could strong arm her brother into it. Or any of her children. Rey might be interested, and it would do them both good to have some mother-daughter bonding time.

"There was this one time we were on a mission - damn, I can't remember the name of the planet - we were on shore leave, and we had some down time." The grin on Phil's face as he sipped his wine made it clear this was going to be a good story. "So, we decide to go for a swim in this lake… and turns out a member of the royal family is there swimming. So Chris starts conducting diplomatic relations with her while swimming naked in a lake. Definitely one of his finer moments."

Leia was smiling the moment she figured out where this story was going. She laughed. “And what did you do while Chris was charming a member of the royal family?” she asked.

"Pretended to be his second in command and kept her guards occupied," Phil said with a smirk, offering Leia some wine.

"Distracting is certainly one way to put it," Chris said, chuckling and rolling his eyes. "Be careful, Casey. Phil's got a devious streak."

"I am sweet and innocent," Phil said, getting to his feet and heading to the kitchen, coming back with the main courses. "Besides, you are ruthless in prank wars, Chris."

Casey chuckled. “I can hold my own with a little bit of pranking, don’t worry,” he insisted.

Leia took the wine glass and smiled, her face slightly flushed from the amusement. “Speaking of swimming and royal families,” she said, sitting back in her chair, more comfortable now. “That’s how my parents met.”

Chris turned and raised an eyebrow at her. Leia didn't speak about her family much and he didn't push. "Oh?"

Phil smile as he passed the plates of scallops and steak around. "This sounds like a story worth hearing."

With a smile as she plated herself some steak and scallops, she laughed lightly. “My parents each used to tell it differently, but I always liked my father’s version better. He said that he was dared to swim naked in the lake by the palace by a group of his university friends, but he swore that he wasn’t in the private section, that my mother was the one out of bounds from the palace grounds. She denied that of course, but the only part that really matters is that she was taking a stroll, having ditched her guards, and she came upon my father’s pile of clothes and, well, decided to move them.” Leia couldn’t help but smile at the memory. It had been one of those stories that she asked to hear again and again the older she got, once she started looking for romance in her own life. How damn long ago that was. “So he came out of the water and couldn’t find his clothes anywhere and then ended up face to face with my very amused mother who refused to give him his clothes back.”

Laughter erupted around the table and Chris was grinning as he took the platters from her, glad Phil was indulging them and not forcing him to eat tofu and mixed greens. He took a large steak and a few scallops, ignoring the look from Phil and smiling.

"Remind me to keep my clothes with me if we ever go swimming together. Somehow, I feel you take after your mother in that."

“Maybe twenty years ago,” Leia quipped. “But I don’t think I’m quick enough to get away with it these days.” She took a slow sip of her wine and then set the glass aside. “My mother claims he was trespassing on palace grounds and she saw taking his clothes as a fitting punishment,” she continued. “Somehow I think they both enjoyed it enough that it didn’t matter what the actual details of the encounter were. They were married about a year later.”

Chris chuckled. "You can still move quickly when you want to," he teased, eyebrow arching as he bit into the steak and made a near orgasmic noise of approval. "Steak is fucking excellent, Phil."

Phil smiled. "Casey made the steak. I did the scallops."

Leia nearly rolled her eyes at his teasing and then at his reaction to the meat but then she took a bite herself and it practically melted in her mouth. “Mmn, yes, excellent,” she echoed.

Casey beamed. “Thanks. I’m real glad you like it. I made the dessert too, so I hope that’s just as good for the two of you as well.” He stood up. “Can I get anyone anything else to drink while I’m up?”

Leia looked at her wine glass, which she was surprised to see was already nearly empty. “I’ll have one more class of wine, if you don’t mind, Casey, thank you.”.

"I wouldn't say no to a refill either," Chris said with a smile. "Are you sure we can't tempt you into Starfleet, Casey? We could certainly use a cook like you aboard the Enterprise."

Phil gave Chris a strange look but said nothing.

Casey smiled at Chris. “That’s nice of you to say but I can’t stomach the idea of being locked up there in space like that,” Casey said. He gave Phil’s shoulder a squeeze as he brushed past on his way back inside.

Leia’s eyebrows went up. It seemed like Phil had gone from someone who couldn’t imagine being anywhere but traveling through space to someone who preferred his feet firmly on the ground. “You know, I’m actually fascinated by this universe’s understanding and use of space travel,” she admitted, glancing at both Chris and Phil. “Where I’m from, beings have been traveling intergalactically for centuries, and yet here it seems, at least with Earth, it’s only been a few ophundred years, if that.”

Phil's hand covered Casey's and squeezed as the younger man walked by. He had no desire to go up into space anymore. "Chris can tell you about that. He was working on a history of Starfleet, before…" He trailed off, unable to say 'before he died' now that the man was sitting across from him. "The first two volumes were published posthumously."

"You…?" Chris asked at a loss for words.

"I made sure they were in good hands, Chris. Just like you would have done with my research."

Chris' hand found Leia's under the table and he squeezed, unsure if he wanted to stay at dinner much longer, but knowing he had to.

Her lips formed a small ‘oh’ of surprise and she jerked her head to look at Chris when he took her hand and squeezed it. She pulled their joined hands into her lap and held on tightly. “Well, then I suppose I’ll have to get my hands on a copy of your book, Chris,” she said gently, glancing at him.

"It needs revisions," Chris said. "There's sections that still need to be expanded and more developed. And now with the alternate timelines, I'll want to incorporate that somehow.. though that is probably security clearances and a violation of the temporal prime directive…"

"Chris." Phil interrupted. "Later. This isn't a work dinner."

Phil turned back to Leia. "there's some civilian travel but most of it is with Starfleet. Now though, there are merchants and terraforming colonies and all of that."

Leia squeezed his hand again, her thumb stroking along the edges of his knuckles. “I just find it fascinating,” she continued.

Casey returned with a new bottle of wine, and he refilled everyone’s glasses before sitting down. “Find what fascinating?” he asked, joining the conversation.

She took up the wine and sipped it quickly. “That space travel isn’t wide spread. I spent most of my life moving between planets. Our galactic government was housed in one place and each core world had representatives in the senate, so I spent time moving between my home and Coruscant and then, later, Hosnian Prime, the planets where the senates met at various times over the years. It seems that this universe is still fairly insular, though your United Federation of Planets is some kind of representative of government, yes?”

Phil smiled, placing his hand on Casey's thigh once the other man sat down.
"More or less. Chris can probably answer just about any questions you have about the Federation of Starfleet. He's a history buff as well. Travel's easy within a solar system, but anything beyond that, well, you wouldn't go to Risa just for vacation from Earth… not unless you had a lot of money to spend. And even with the fleet, you can go months or years in space without stopping planetside."

Leia shook her head. “It’s just unbelievable to me,” she said simply, because there really wasn’t anything else to say to that. She got back to her meal, glad to be eating something that wasn’t war rations or even food in the mess back on the Enterprise. “But then again, everything about what’s happened in the last few months is unbelievable to me.”

"Even before Chris' situation, the reports that were coming in were rather incredible. Quite the situation." Phil shook his head before his gaze lingered on Chris, trying to get used to seeing him alive and not the bloodied corpse that had come into medical. He took a long swallow of wine. "Is Earth rather different than the planets in your world?"

She nodded. “It is, yes. From what I’ve seen already and read, it’s kind of a mix of several different planets, though it’s nowhere near as technologically advanced as I’m used to.” No, Leia wasn’t sure ‘technologically advanced’ was the right phrase. Earth wasn’t like Coruscant, which had so little nature left to speak of, and it wasn’t like Alderaan, with its natural wonders. She sipped her wine again. “I don’t know. It’s comparable and yet not at the same time.” But maybe that was the wine talking now, making it more difficult for Leia to put into words what she was thinking.

Phil nodded. "I understand what you're saying. Some of the worlds we've been to, there's just no comparing them to Earth, no matter how hard you try or how much you want to."

Chris squeezed Leia's hand before disentangling their fingers and moving to get to his feet. "Bathroom is still in the same place, I take it?" At Phil's nod, Chris excused himself.

Once Chris was out of earshot, Phil smiled at Leia and raised an eyebrow. "So, any burning questions you want to know?"

Leia leaned her head to the side as though contemplating what to ask. But it didn’t take long before she pursed her lips, tapped the side of her wine glass, and answered with a short, “No.”

Casey laughed and slapped the back of Phil’s chair lightly, shaking his head.

Phil gave her a look. "Oh come on. There has to be something."

“I’m sure that if I want to know something, I can ask him myself,” Leia said. And she meant it, too. She wasn’t the type of woman to idly gossip like this. If she needed information for strategic reasons, it would be different. But that wasn’t what this was.

Phil shook his head and smiled. "He's lucky to have you." He turned and grinned at Casey. "You know you're welcome to ask Chris anything you want about me."

Leia couldn’t help but smile at that, a faint blush starting at the back of her neck and moving up to her cheeks. She shrugged a little.

Casey laughed. “I’m not sure Chris will be all that forthcoming with answers, honestly. And besides, I think I know you pretty well by now.”

"Depends on the question," Chris said, making his way back out to the deck. "And how embarrassing the answer is for Phil."

Phil rolled his eyes. "I have no secrets from Casey apart from what Starfleet considers confidential. So do your worst with any of the stories. "

Leia set a hand on Chris’s arm and splayed her fingers out gently. “Maybe you should just pick a story,” she said. “Entertain us all as we finish another bottle of wine.”


Chris raised an eyebrow and took a long sip of wine. "But which one?" He took another sip of wine and swirled it around his glass. "So, before I was even an officer, Phil was doing a stint planetside, serving as medical personnel for a command track training exercise. There I was, day fourteen of the exercise and we're somewhere in the desert and -

"And Chris is showboating-"

"- I was simply demonstrating the most efficient way to to accomplish the mission. Needless to say, Kormack and I were going neck and neck for most of that day. I check in for the night and report to medical and there's this young doctor making martinis in beakers. Because, what did you say?"

"If you're going to die of your own stupidity, you might at least have a drink before you do."

Both Casey and Leia laughed, sharing a look. “That’s pretty good advice,” Leia said. “Most of the pilots back home would do a shot of jet juice before a mission and I couldn’t even be upset it might impair their flying. I know they deserved it before they set off for some of those missions. Although, I’m not sure why you’d be showboating for a training exercise, Chris. Who were you trying to impress?” She shifted her chin toward Phil as though asking if he was the one.

"Where we placed in the exercise determined our choice of placements for cadet cruises."

"And Lt. Commander Markowitz was one of the officers assessing the exercise."

"Oh come on, I didn't not have a thing for Markowitz."

"You followed her around like a puppy dog, Chris. You did an inverted dive in a canyon to impress her."

Chris had the decency to flush slightly. "Okay, well, making I was trying to see if she would notice my skills so that she'd request me for the cadet cruise."

“So you’re just the type to charm everyone,” Leia teased, looking down to realize she’d finished her wine again so quickly. “It’s a good thing you’re good at it.” Her eyes brightened when she looked over at him.

"He can charm the pants off anyone if he wants," Phil said with a grin as he refilled everyone's glasses with wine.

"Oh like you're one to talk," Chris said with a smirk as he took a long sip of the wine, enjoying the slight buzz. "Need I mention the Andorrian ambassador?"

Casey was more relaxed now too, Leia noticed - they all were, the more wine they drank. She glanced at Chris, hoping that this would do him some good as well, in the end. “Now I think that’s a story I need to hear,” Casey said from behind his own wine glass as he took a drink.

Leia agreed. “So do I,” she said. She shifted slightly closer to Chris, reaching behind him to set her hand on the back of his chair comfortably.

"It was when I was Captain of the Olympus, wasn't it? There was a dispute over trade routes and mining rights and since we were the closest ship we were sent to oversee and facilitate negotiations."

"Mind you, Chris was probably 25 at the time."

"At least 28. And Phil was in his 30s. Negotiations were not going well. But there was dinner and Phil was there as a senior member of the crew. Somehow, he gets seated next to the Andorrian ambassador. By the time we're on the second course, the two of them seem thick as thieves and the ambassador's got his hand on Phil's leg. Needless to say, Phil got asked to go for a private walk in the gardens after dinner. Luckily we got the treaty signed. Though there was a moment when I wasn't sure I was going to get my CMO back."

Leia had her own stories about negotiations and senate dinners and politics, though she chose to enjoy her wine right now, more slowly this time as it was her third - fourth? - glass by now. She set it down, her head swimming in a pleasant way, and lifted her hand on the back of Chris’s chair to rub the back of his arm. “I imagine that your flirtations with the ambassador helped move the treaty along, hmn?” she said, amused, to Phil.

Phil decided now was a very good time to drink his wine. He was flushed and smiling when he put the glass down and motioned for Casey to top off everyone.

"It's not my fault the ambassador was looking for someone with more experience than the captain. Very lovely man. He even proposed that night.."

Casey stood and offered everyone more wine at Phil’s motion, which Leia tried to refuse but it didn’t work. She sighed, her cheeks rosy, and laughed again. “And what was your reasoning for turning him down?” she asked.

"Wasn't certain I wanted to settle down just yet," Phil said with a smile. "Plus, all those diplomatic functions… I would have gone gray faster than I did with this one." He nodded fondly at Chris.

Leia touched some of her own grayed hair and smiled back.

Casey cleared his throat. “Should I get our dessert?” he asked, finishing off his wine as he stood up. He gave a smile all around, though a tight one, and disappeared inside.

Phil excused himself and followed Casey into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around the younger man and kissing the back of his neck. "Are you all right, darling?"

At Phil’s touch, Casey leaned back. “Of course I am,” he said lightly. He opened the refrigerator to pull the chocolate hazelnut cheesecake he had made out, setting it on the counter. He turned around and kissed Phil firmly. “It’s just - watching you interact with Admiral Pike. Just hadn’t anticipated what that looked like.”

Phil deepened the kiss, pressing Casey back against the counter. "There's a lot of history there, I'll admit. But Chris and I… We broke up for a reason. Long before he died. It's… Unsettling to see him alive again but I'm not about to leave you for anyone. I love you Casey. And you're good for me. Just like Leia is good for Chris. And he's smitten with her. Even if he doesn't know it yet.”

He nodded a times, slid his hands up Phil’s back. “I love you too, Phil,” he said. Casey nodded. “You’re very good for me too, you know. I needed you in my life then and I do now.” He agreed about Chris and Leia, though he didn’t know Chris well enough to know that for sure.

"Besides eventually Chris will go home tonight. And then I will remind you all the ways I love you so you can't walk tomorrow." Phil smirked. "but we should probably take your orgasmic cheesecake out to them. Along with more wine or some brandy."

Casey’s eyes lit up. “Now I like the sound of that,” he said, kissing him quickly and then scooping up the cheesecake into one hand. “The brandy, definitely. It’ll go better with the cheesecake.” He gave Phil a wink and then slipped away to head back outside.

Phil shook his head. "Minx." There was a fond smile on his face as he went to fetch the brandy before coming back outside.



Meanwhile….

Leia ran her fingertip along the edge of her wine glass, pressed her tongue against the top row of her teeth, and then leaned over towards Chris. “How are you doing?” she asked him quietly.

Chris let out a sigh and took a long sip of wine. "I don't know. I didn’t expect him to be so young."

She chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment. “Would you care to trade me in for a younger model?” she joked.

"I'm too old for a younger model. And I don't plan on trading you in for anyone," Chris said, leaning over and capturing her lips in a slow kiss.

A delighted smile crossed Leia’s face at his words, and she met him halfway into the kiss, her hand coming up to slide over his jaw.

Phil couldn't help but smirk when he came outside, coughing.

"Do you two need a room?" He teased, setting the brandy and the glass on the table, filling them before passing them out.

Leia pulls back, touched her lips briefly before accepting a glass with a murmured thanks. She didn't comment on Phil’s tease.

Casey took his glass and returned to his seat, more comfortable now that he’d had a moment with Phil in the kitchen. He grinned over at Chris and Leia too.

Chris flushed slightly. "Oh, like you weren't just having a moment," he challenged with an eyebrow before taking a sip of the brandy. "Andorrian?"

"It seemed appropriate." Phil smirked. "you need to try Casey's cheesecake though. It's phenomenal."

Casey shrugged. “It's an old family recipe. Been in my family for centuries, I guess.” He began cutting it and passing around the plates to each of them.

“I'm excited to try it. It looks fantastic,” Leia said, her tone low. She cleared her throat and took a plate. “Really, thank you, both of you, this meal has been delicious. I really haven't eaten this well in years.”

"Our pleasure," Phil said with a smile. "and the two of you are welcome any time. Though I'm guessing you won't be coming back to earth anytime soon."

Chris shrugged, ignoring the question since he couldn't really discuss Starfleet orders. Though he'd be glad to put Earth behind them as well. He took a piece of the cheesecake and bit into it, groaning.

"Although I might be tempted to come back if Casey's cooking… Damn, this is fabulous."

Casey practically beamed. “Thanks, Chris. I’m glad you like it.”

Leia leaned forward to try the cheesecake. “Mmn, this really is delicious. I don’t think I’ve had anything quite like this.” It was so rich and sweet, a deep taste she couldn’t find a comparison too. “We did have a dessert similar in style, though not in taste, on Alderaan when I was a girl. I haven’t seen anything similar in years.”

"There are a bunch of great restaurants and bakeries in San Francisco and around here. I'll be happy to give you a list - especially some of the newer ones. You need to make the most of your shore leave," Phil said with a smile, one hand rubbing Casey's back in appreciation.

Oi“I’d appreciate that, Phil, thank you.” She wiped a little bit of chocolate from the corner of her mouth and then, even though it wasn’t exactly ladylike, she popped the tip of her finger into her mouth so as not to waste any of the cake. “If I find something I really like, I might have to ship it back with me to the Enterprise.”

Chris found himself distracted by Leia's actions as he sipped his brandy, putting his arm on the back of the chair and playing with the few strands of hair that threatened to escape from her braid.

"Well, being an admiral has its privileges. Let me know if there's something you want. Any chance of asking you to bake another cheesecake before we finish up our shore leave, Casey?"

She leaned, just a little bit, into his touch as she enjoyed the dessert, nodding and glancing over at Casey. “If you could do that, you’d be amazing,” she agreed.

Casey laughed. “Sure,” he said. “I can get a few things baked and packed up for you to take with you, I don’t mind at all.”

"I appreciate it," Chris said, licking the last bit of cheesecake from his fork between leaning back and sipping his brandy.

Phil smirked. "Once we’re done with dessert, the hot tub is open.."

Leia almost coughed at the suggestion, and she covered it up by picking up her brandy and taking a slow sip. All of the alcohol, more than she usually drank, that was for sure, was warming her up and making her mind fuzzy. “I’m afraid I didn’t bring any kind of bathing suit,” she said carefully.

"I'm sure we've got something you can borrow," Phil said with a smile. "Or we could forgo suits. I don't think anyone will care. "

One - Leia didn’t want to ask why they might have a women’s swimsuit lying around. Two - she really didn’t think she was going to strip down in front of these three men and sit in a hot tub with them. Three - she looked over at Chris for his reaction, thinking that maybe she should take a cue from him in this situation but then, before she could stop herself, the words were out of her mouth:

“Sure, why the hell not.”

Chris looked over at her and arched an eyebrow. "Only if you promise not to steal my clothes," he teased at Leia. "If the General's in, I'm in."

Leia gave Chris a ‘who, me?’ look and then worked on her glass of brandy with a smile.

Phil glanced at Casey, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

Casey hesitated for a moment, glancing among the three of them and then holding Phil’s gaze. If it had been just the three of them, without Leia there, then he would probably have said no. But adding her in as a buffer and - Casey shrugged. “I rarely need an excuse to enjoy the hot tub on a spring night like tonight,” he said.

Phil smiled. "it's settled then." He topped off everyone's brandy before getting to his feet. "shall we?"

He got up, taking his brandy glass with him and headed over to the hot tub. Without any fuss, Phil stripped out of his clothes and got in the hot tub, taking his brandy with him.

Chris raised an eyebrow and took a long swig of brandy before following suit, knowing he needed to do this before he got sober.

Leia remained seated for a moment, her brandy in hand, and watched appreciatively as Chris stripped and eased into the hot tub. When she stood, she smiled over at Casey. “Will you be a dear and unzip me?” she asked, turning to give him her back.

Casey looked surprised but stepped over and quickly eased the zipper at the back of her dress down so that she could step out of it.

Chris sunk into the water up to his neck, trying to hide the scars on his back as he watched Leia appreciatively.

Phil smiled at Casey. "do you need an invitation darling?"

Casey grinned and shook his head, stripping down himself and then joining the other two men in the hot tub.

Leia had her own scars, some permanent bruising, over her body, and she moved swiftly to sink into the hot water beside Chris, pressing her side against his as she got used to the temperature, enjoyed it on her skin and for her muscles.

Chris wrapped an arm around Leia's shoulders and leaned over to kiss her. His hand rubbed at her shoulders, the alcohol and hot water relaxing him. "I have to say, we could use this on the Enterprise as well."

Phil chuckled. "There are benefits to being planetside. Many, in fact." Phil leaned over and ran his hand through Casey's hair.

Casey sighed a little. He hated the idea of space travel but decided not to go into all that right now. Under the water, his hand settled on his partner's thigh.

Leia kissed Chris back, her head swimming. She found herself relaxing as the water lapped against her breasts, his arm and her. “It's always nice to be planet side,” she agreed. “But there's nothing like being up among the stars.”

Phil felt the sigh and pulled Casey close against him, his strong fingers working through some of the tension in Casey's shoulders. "Maybe, but I've been done with that for a while. Enjoying my time to just get settled down here and look up at them. I'm not sure there's any way you could get me back up there again."

It was still odd to Chris, for Phil to be so settled on Earth, and he wasn't sure if he'd been expecting a change of heart from Phil or what. But Phil seemed happy here. Happy with this man half his age (which he would tease Phil about later). He took a long swig of brandy, remember his last argument about staying planetside with Phil and not wanting to rehash that.

Leia felt Chris tense a little against her and slid her hand against his side, over his stomach, as she leaned back and lifted her chin to look up into the evening sky. “I know a lot of people who never left their planet,” she said. “Some by choice, others because there was no other choice. My brother told me that he wished desperately to leave his entire life and then there was me, somewhere else, who spent more time away from my home than in it.” and yet now, looking back, what she wouldn't give for just one more minute on Alderaan.

"There are some planets I wish we'd never been too," Chris admitted. Talos IV was high on that list. After all, the records of that were sealed for a reason. He squeezed Leia's shoulder. "It's different for different folks. I have no more desire to be stationed on the Yorktown base than I do to be grounded here on Earth, but it's not for everyone. The trick is to find what makes you happy and do that as long as you can."

And some people didn't have a choice, she thought but didn't say. Instead, she took another sip from her drink. “I'm going to regret all of this in the morning, aren't I?” She joked.

Casey laughed.

Chris laughed. "Depends how well you can handle your liquor, General. But I'm sure the good doctor wouldn't let us go home without something to ease the morning."

Phil laughed and grinned at that. "Just using me for my hyposprays, I see? I suppose I can give you something. Even if it might be fun to make Chris suffer. Though I think I've only known him to get a hangover once."

“I didn't spend as much of my life drinking as, say, my husband did. A glass of wine here or there.” Though in the years since Ben turned… that was different. “It all goes right to my head.”

Phil made a face. "I'm sorry to hear that. If you don't want to head home, we do have a guest room. But I'll give you something for the morning. Word to the wise, don't get in a drinking contest with Chris."

She looked at him, spread a hand against his chest and laughed. “I wont, don't worry.”

Chris rolled his eyes. "I am not that bad. But being brass means knowing how to drink. Especially considering how diplomacy often requires it."

She arched an eyebrow. “Then you didn't learn,correctly how to drink while conducting diplomacy. I once made it through a six hour state dinner and successfully drank less than a glass of wine and my father commented that I'd had too much to drink because I managed to fake it very well.”

"Are you going to give me lessons in drinking and diplomacy?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow at Leia.

Phil chuckled from across the hot tub. "I think you've finally met your match, Chris."

“If there's any need for my coaching, sure,” she said flippantly. She grinned, her eyes bright, over at Chris before leaning in to kiss him boldly.

Chris wasn't expecting that but he wrapped his arms around Leia and deepened the kiss. Who'd have thought he'd find himself kissing a princess from an alternate world in Phils hot tub.

Phil smiled fondly. It was good to see Chris enjoying himself and relaxing and he pulled Casey into his lap. "I'm half tempted to leave them here and go upstairs," he whispered in Casey's ear.

Casey shrugged and laughed. “Well, why not? We can slip out of here and they’ll probably never even notice.” He gave Phil’s hand a squeeze and smiled at him.

Phil nudged Casey up and stepped out of the hot tub, wrapping a towel around his waist and waiting for Casey. He gave Chris a wink as he headed back inside with his lover. He trusted Chris and the guest room was available if he needed it.

Chris found himself deepening the kiss before finally pulling back to catch his breath. "it seems we've been abandoned. I'm not sure whether to punch Phil or buy him a drink."

Leia slipped her hand through Chris’s hair and laughed. “That was very nice of him,” she whispered. “Nice of them both.” She kissed him again and then shifted away, just slightly, shivering as the cool air hit some of her wet, exposed skin. “Do you want to get out of here?” she asked a moment later.

Chris raised an eyebrow at her. "We could… Although not sure I'm in the mood to move."

She kissed him and casually moved through the water so that she was facing him, her hands on his chest under the water. “No? Then what exactly did you have in mind, admiral?”

The eyebrow arched even higher. He was not actually contemplating having sex with Leia in Phil's hottub. Was he? His hands settled on her hips, thumbs moving in small circles. "Hadn't thought that far ahead, to be honest."

She grinned, leaned her head to the side and laughed quietly. “Well why don't you think about it and let me know, hmm?” Leia leaned forward as though she was going to kiss him but instead reached past him for her glass of brandy, which she pulled back to finish in quick, successive swallows.

Once she was done drinking, Christopher kissed her again, savoring the taste of brandy on her lips as his hand slid over her back, pulling her close. "I think I don't want to move.."

Her smile grew. “Good, I hoped you would say that.” She sank in against him, kissing him back and sliding an arm around his shoulders.