Destined | Christopher Pike

Chapter Twenty Four

Earth had never looked so beautiful to Emma as the transport neared the ground. She felt like that every time she came back home from being in space for a while. She missed seeing something other than the steel walls of a ship. Everything looked greener. It smelled better. She enjoyed feeling the warm sunshine against her skin. She liked seeing all the people who had no idea how many threats loomed galaxies away.

She had told Chris good bye until tomorrow hours ago. She then said bye to the other crew who would not be returning to the Enterprise before she packed her bag. When she returned to the Enterprise in a week she would be considered an Ensign which meant instead of sharing a large room of bunks, she had to only share a room with one other person. She also wouldn't have to share a bathroom with ten other people. The thought of it already seemed amazing to her.

The station where the transports took off and landed was always chaos. People were everywhere reuniting or saying good bye to loved ones. Some people were desperately searching for whatever transport there were suppose to be on. She searched through the sea of people for her parents who assured her they would be there to pick her up. However, to her surprise, she only saw her dad standing there. She tried her best to hide her disappointment that her mom wasn't there. She knew she would see her later. She forced a smile and ran over to hug her dad.

"I know, I know. She isn't here. She had an emergency work thing." Her dad said and pulled back to look at his daughter. "Look at you. So grown up."

"Dad, I've been grown up for a while now." She said.

"I know, but in a matter of hours you'll be walking across the stage at the Academy. Of course you'll always be that little girl who used to run circles under my desk." He smiled at the memory of her running around in a pink dress with a food stained on her face. "Why don't you and I get some lunch? I know your mom used to get tired of those food synthesizers."

"Yes, it can get boring after a while, but Chris is nice enough to cook for us sometimes." She said as they began to walk outside.

"Chris?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

She fought her cheeks not to turn pink. "I mean Captain Pike. Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize to me. Just don't let your mom hear you use his first name. You know how she is."

"Yeah, I know. Speaking of mom, how disappointed is she about me not going straight to the Captain's program?"

"Does it matter?" Her dad really wasn't in the mood to discuss his wife's grievances with Emma not becoming a Captain.

"Considering the fact that she was going to pin my new emblem on my shirt at the graduation, yes." Emma said. "I just need to know if she's going to show up or not."

"She'll show up. I promise. She's a little...upset. I keep assuring her that your mind isn't completely made up and that you're still young."

"Gee. Thanks." She said dryly. "I didn't say 'never.' I'm just not ready to be a Captain. I see the stress they're under and I don't know if I could do that. Sometimes I just think she adopted me because she wanted to create a mini version of herself."

"Emma. Don't say that. You know that isn't true. It has never been about that. We have always loved you because you are our daughter." He assured her.

They were seated outside at a small restaurant Emma frequented with her family. It had a beautiful view of the water and there was a gentle breeze making it pleasant to be outside. She just wished her mood inside reflected the cheerful one that was outside.

"Dad, my whole life I've done everything she wanted me to do. I just want to do something for myself. Something that I love." Emma continued.

"I know. Believe me, I'm on your side."

Emma cocked her head at him. "I thought you weren't suppose to pick sides?"

"I'm not, but your mom has been...pushy. She just wants you to be the best version of yourself you can be."

"Wow. You should put that on a t shirt." She said sarcastically causing him to chuckle.

"Oh, how I've missed you, my Emma girl." He reached over and squeezed his daughter's hand. "Don't worry about your mom. I can handle her."

"I will try not to worry." She promised him.

"So, have you made any friends yet?" He asked.

"Umm, a few. I haven't exactly had of downtime, but everyone is nice. We all care about one another and support each other. I don't think I could ask for a better crew to work with." She explained.

"And this Captain Pike, is he a good a Captain?"

Emma had to fight to contain a smile when he asked about Chris. "He's a very good Captain. He's so...different. He doesn't have an ego. He is steadfast. Doesn't care about attention. Cares a lot about the crew. He wants everyone to succeed, not just himself."

"Sounds like you admire him." Her dad concluded.

"I do." And it was true. She did admire Chris even if she wasn't in a relationship with him. He was unlike any Captain or Admiral she had ever encountered and she had met a lot of them in her lifetime. "Without some of his decisions, I don't know if I would be sitting in this chair, alive."

"Well, for that, I am thankful. Your mom has said you guys had to deal with some pretty tough things?"

She nodded. The death of her fellow crew was still fresh in her mind. "Yeah. We have. We lost some good people."

"How about we talk about something other than work?" Her father suggested.

They sat outside for hours eating their lunch. She just enjoyed being able to relax on her own time. It was also nice being able to catch up with her dad before the craziness of tomorrow. Going back to her parents' apartment have being gone for so long was an odd feeling. For most of her time at the Academy, she stayed in one of the dorms. Now that she had a real job she had hopes of moving out. Though, she didn't know if it was even worth it to buy a place since she was never home.

While odd, it was still nice to see her childhood bedroom. The same old pink blanket still laid on her bed with her favorite stuffed animal that her dad bought her when she was five on it. Her walls were mostly barely beside a few posters of bands and celebrities she had liked growing up. Her formal cadet uniform hung on the door. Her mom had been nice enough to get it pressed for her so she would look her best tomorrow. She ran her hands over the Starfleet emblem over the plastic that protected the uniform.

"Is it setting in yet?" Her mom's voice drew her attention away from the maroon uniform.

Emma looked at her mom who was wearing her Admiral uniform. Her lips were set in a firm line and she seemed to have more gray hair than what Emma remembered. Her mother had always been quite beautiful to her, but it seemed she was aging at a rapid pace. She supposed it came with having such a stressful job.

"It is." Emma answered her question.

Her mom walked into her room further and sat down on the edge of her bed. "Sorry I couldn't be there with dad to pick you up. You know how this job can be."

"It's fine, mom. I understand."

"Well, you have a long day tomorrow and I'm sure you're tired from traveling. I'll let you get some sleep." Her mom said and stood up. She stopped at the door and looked over at her daughter. "I love you, Emma."

"Love you too, mom." But for the first time in Emma's life, she didn't believe what her mom told her.