InsaneJournal

Christopher Pike was nervous. Christopher Pike was not used to being nervous. Focused. Driven. Confident. But not nervous. Yet, the thought of taking Leia onto the bridge, showing her the holy of holies of his world, filled him with apprehension. Starfleet was his first love and the Enterprise, well, she was like his wife and his child. He'd given up a lot to be her Captain and she would always be his in his heart. He could remember how it felt to sit in her chair the first time - before she was finished. It was like coming home. There were changes to this Enterprise, but there were enough similarities that Chris felt grounded by being on the bridge - and in the chair. He was grateful Kirk allowed him command of the bridge a few shifts a week.

He loved the bridge, and he wanted Leia to love it as much as he did which probably explained the lead feeling in the pit of his stomach. He gave Leia a nervous smile as the lift doors slid open and he heard the familiar call. "Admiral on the bridge!"

Leia could sense that Chris was nervous, and while she wasn't entirely sure why, she did everything he could to ease his nerves. A light touch to his forearm in the lift, relaxing herself in the space between them, a small smile as he turned to look at her.

She had spent enough time on various types of ships, from the informal nature of the Falcon (her lips twitched at the idea of Chewbacca announcing Han's presence every time he stepped into the cockpit) to her own Resistance vessels where, while military, they were much less formal. Similar to this, she thought, would have been the royal yacht of Alderaan, the formalities charged there when her mother or father were aboard, even when she was aboard.

She waited for him to step out first and then joined him at his elbow, just behind.

"As you were," Chris called as he stepped out, giving Kirk a bit of a nervous glance. Perhaps this hadn't been the best idea. After all, it was unlikely anyone would share his affections for the Enterprise and the bridge and understood what it meant to him. He took a deep breath before turning to Leia. "Welcome to the bridge, General." He moved to explain each of the stations, starting with communications and going one by one until he finished with the helmsmen. He introduced each crew member in turn - he made a point of knowing everyone's name.

"And this, of course, is the captain's chair, although anyone who has command of the bridge is entitled to sit in it. It's the best view on the ship."

Leia enjoyed the tour, making note of the names of the crewmembers she hadn't yet met. Some were more active with the travelers than others were, so it was good for her to meet some of the others. She couldn't help but watch Chris as he led her around. He reminded her so much of herself in too many ways, not that she wanted to admit that. Starfleet and the Federation in this universe were so vastly different from anything she could point to in her own.

She glanced over at Captain Kirk with a grin and then tipped her head to the side as she considered the captain's chair. "I'm not sure it looks very comfortable," she said.

He chuckled. "You'd be surprised. But it's not the place you'd want to take a nap in." Though Chris knew more than one Captain who had used the ready room for that. And well, he also knew plenty of captains who had used the chair for various purposes. Which was not something he'd discuss on the bridge with crew members about. "With the Captain's permission, I'll show you the ready room and then we can be on our way."

Truth be told, he could spend hours on the bridge, staring out at the view and just listening to the noises of a beautiful well-run ship. But he didn't expect most people to share his obsession with that.

Jim nodded and motioned for them to go ahead before he turned back to his discussion with Mister Scott, who had come up to the bridge for a rare appearance.

Leia turned for a moment to look out the front of the ship. "The view from here's spectacular," she said, though she still didn't feel as close to the stars as she did sitting in the Falcon's cockpit.

Chris nodded his thanks to Jim before leading Leia to the ready room. "It can be peaceful during the night shift." In some ways, night shift was Chris' favorite. It felt more like just him and the ship. He led Leia into the ready room. "I suppose you could consider this just another conference room," he said with a smirk. " I know the bridge is.. Formal… but it's home.. And since you showed me Alderaan, well, I guess I wanted you to see the place where I feel at home.."

She smiled at him and nodded. "I get it. How do you feel now that you're here and the bridge and this space isn't yours anymore?" Leia didn't ask it to pry but rather because she thought maybe she could sympathize or at least understand in some way, based on the winding path her own life took when it came to places she should have called home.

"Homeless and adrift," Chris answered quietly. Normally he would overthink answers, but he was attempting to do less with Leia - trying to be open about his thoughts and emotions instead. "Jim's been great," Chris said, sinking into a chair in the ready room. "Allowing me to take some bridge shifts and serve as advisor. It.. makes it easier to accept in a way. But this is all temporary, and I'm aware of that."

She sat as well, pressed her hands down her thighs, and nodded. "Yes," Leia said quietly. "Every morning I wonder where I'm going to wake up. Honestly, I assumed that would pass, and I'd understand that this is where I am now, but every time someone else disappears, I can't help but think …"

"That's it's just a matter of time before it's one of us?" Chris asked. "I think that's the hardest part. Because this is my world, Starfleet, all of this, and they reinstated me - it's almost like I never died.. So the illusion feels more… permanent. But then with each set of departures I wonder if any moment here is my last."

He reached out and took his hands in hers. "I don't know what I expected when I woke up in medbay, but it certainly wasn't to fall in love with a General from another universe. I can't promise you forever, but for as long as I'm here, I'm yours."

Leia curved her fingers into his, smiling. "Well, I certainly hadn't expected any of that to happen to me either," she said. She squeezed his hand and then slipped her fingers over her braided hair. "Not with the way my life has gone, certainly."

It wasn't the answer Chris had expected (or desired, perhaps), but it was quintessentially Leia and he couldn't fault her. He got to his feet with a bit of a wince and glance towards the door. "That's the majority of things that are generally off limits to travelers. Unless there's something else you'd like to see, I thought we could go for a walk on the observation deck.

She stepped up next to him and, after a moment's hesitation simply because she wasn't certain how he felt about a display of affection in here, even if they were alone. Deciding the hell with it, she slid her chin over his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Thank you for the tour, Chris," Leia said quietly.

Chris turned to face Leia, drawing her close and kissing her long and slow, not pulling back until he needed to catch his breath. "You're welcome. I just.. I thought you deserved a chance to investigate your competition."

Leia laughed, throatily. "Somehow, I don't think your bridge, this ready room, or even that view can satisfy you in quite the same way that I can."

Chris chuckled, drawing Leia close to him. "You're certainly cocky, aren't you General…" Chris teased, grinning as he kissed her again. "Think you can manage to keep me away from the bridge?"

"I've had years of experience to back up my confidence," she said with a shrug. "I think I can manage to give you a work-life balance, at least."

"Well, the Captain will be happy to hear that," Chris said, running his fingers over her hair. "But unless you want to christen this ready room, perhaps we should head back to our quarters.."

She shook her head and gave him a look, brushing her shoulder against his arm. She didn't point out that she liked to hear him say 'our' quarters, even though she did. When that had started to be a thing, Leia wasn't certain. "I would die of shock right here if you actually wanted to christen the ready room, admiral. How completely unprofessional of you," she teased.

"Well, I'd prefer to christen the captain's chair, but I'm not sure that's feasible," Chris said, giving her a mischievous look before ducking his head to kiss her. "I'm sure we're both much too responsible to do something like have sex on the table of the ready room…"

"Too many people around," she agreed and laughed into the kiss, stepping in against him. "And much too old," Leia pointed out. "I think I've long since passed the point in my life where sex on a table is a good idea."

"Such a shame," he teased, looking like a mischievous schoolboy as his hands slid along the edge of her top. "I suppose I'll just have to content myself with taking the woman I love back to our quarters. Although if it spares me from having to explain another pulled muscle to McCoy, that might not be the worst thing."

Leia almost swatted at his hand, playfully, but she didn't. "Well, I certainly don't want to have to Doctor McCoy and explain why this time I have a pulled muscle." She slid her fingers into his hair and kissed him again slowly. "Let's get out of here before we're interrupted."

Chris chuckled as he reluctantly pulled back from the kiss. "I'm sure we could come up with a good story. But I'd rather not have Jim walk in on us."

"That's probably a good idea," she said. She stepped back and glanced over towards the door they had entered through from the bridge. "Is there a more discreet exit we can slip out through?"

Chris chuckled. "Don't fancy walking by the captain?" Chris didn't fault her. He had been nervous about bringing her on the bridge for that reason. He didn't want to fuel gossip, but he also knew there was no reason to be embarrassed about having a partner aboard this ship. "There's a Jefferies tube.."

She gave him a look. "You won't get me to crawl around inside one of those," she said. "All right, let's just get out of here." Leia kissed him again and then stepped away to head back for the door through which they came through in the first place.

Chris chuckled and shrugged. "You asked, darling." He gave her a lingering, loving look before taking a deep breath and putting back on the officer facade. Leading the way out of the ready room back onto the bridge, he seemed the epitome of professionalism. "So most of of the important moments on the ship happen either in the ready room or on the bridge. Which is why command officers spend so much time here."

Leia fell easily into step with him, nodding. "It depends on the design and purpose of the ships where I'm from," she said. "The Falcon's cockpit was much, much smaller than anything on board the Enterprise, but that's where we did on the work. The Resistance flagship was much bigger, and was used for different purposes of course, so the command center is similar there to the bridge here."

"If I recall, the Falcon had a much smaller crew than either your flagship or the Enterprise," Chris said, ignoring any looks Jim might be giving him as he led Leia into the turbolift. When the doors had closed and they were safe from prying eyes, he wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you for indulging me."

"You don't have to thank me for that," Leia said, sliding her arms around him now that they were alone in the turbolift. "I like seeing and knowing what's important to you, Chris. I like that you're letting me in." She was still working through where and when to let him in too, but she was getting better at it.