Epilogue

Resplendent in dress uniform as formal music played behind them, the four hundred or so cadets stood to attention, facing the tall podium. Each row was perfectly aligned, each crew section sharing the same desire to outshine each other.

Admiral Barnett stood at the front, behind the lectern, and looked out at the sea of red uniforms. The crew of people had already achieved such great things, and he knew they would only continue to do so in future.

"This assembly calls Captain James Tiberius Kirk."

Jim smiled at Kez and McCoy who were stood next to him in the line and pivoted smartly before breaking free of the line and walking to the front.

"Your inspirational valour and supreme dedication to your comrades are in keeping with the highest traditions of service and reflect utmost credit upon yourself, your crew, and the Federation. By Starfleet order Two-eight-four fifty-five, you are hereby directed to report to commanding officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise for assignment as his relief."

Snapping off an acknowledging salute and filled with pride, Kirk turned towards Pike. Formally 'Captain' but now 'Admiral' – Pike saluted back from the autochair he was sat in, having not fully healed from his encounter with the Romulans.

"I relieve you, sir," Kirk said the words, hoping that his excitement but also apprehension didn't show.

Pike secured a shiny medal to Kirk's uniform, "I am relieved. Congratulations – Captain."

"Thank you, sir," Kirk responded, recalling the first time they had met in the bar in Iowa. It seemed almost a lifetime ago.

As the cadets filed out of the assembly hall; Kez, Uhura, McCoy and Spock made their way to the front to join Kirk.

"And somehow you managed not to screw things up!" McCoy said, shaking Kirk's hand.

"Feels good," Kirk said, looking down at his medal and making it shine on purpose.

"Very nice," Kez said, rolling her eyes but Kirk could see how proud she was. That made him feel good.

"Celebrations are in order then!" Uhura declared, "Before we end up back on that ship! We need to make the most of our mini-vacation. The rest of the crew are meeting us in Old Jimmy's Bar at seven."

Kirk had to shake his head though, "Sorry guys, I have things I need to sort through tonight. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Boo, you – Captain," Uhura said but winked before dragging Spock away.

Kez looked ready to say something as McCoy moved away as well but instead, she just smiled gently at Kirk, "I hope you manage to get things sorted." And turned to leave, leaving Kirk feeling a little let down by her quietness.

"Bones!" Kez managed to shout, jogging to keep up with McCoy, feeling bad at abruptly leaving Kirk. She didn't know how to find the words she wanted to say to him.

"What can I do you for?" McCoy asked, flicking through things on his portable tablet. He had many reports to fill out since arriving on Earth. The dead needed accounting for, the wounded properly documenting and the ship resupplying with medical supplies.

"I was just wondering ...umm ... what would I have to do to retrain? As a nurse?" Kez asked, suddenly feeling shy.

McCoy paused his finger over whatever he was about to begin reading and looked up, his eyes critical as if trying to work out what her intentions were.

"A nurse? As in a nurse on the Enterprise?"

"Yes," Kez said, trying to sound less like she was a child asking a teacher for life advice.

McCoy paused then turned the screen around, "Fill in this form now and you'll be eligible to be trained up on our next mission. My Chief of Nursing resigned as soon as we got back on Earth so it might have to be me that trains you up. However, you should be about qualified within a year, if everything is satisfactory. You might even be my new Chief!"

Kez accepted the tablet and begin filling in her details.

"Why the change of heart?" McCoy asked as she worked.

She sighed heavily, "People were dying around us, McCoy. They were dying at the mercy of weapons that at one point I was designing. And, at times, I really thought to myself: if this is the life I am living, in the here and now, then I want to do something worthwhile with it. I want to live to better the lives of others."

McCoy listened, then nodded slowly, "Honestly?"

"Honestly." Kez nodded giving back the tablet with the completed form on display.

"It takes courage to save lives. Your job will be more important than mine and far more difficult."

Kez nodded. She understood.

"Thank you, Bones." She smiled and hugged him tightly.

"You'll be a brilliant nurse, Kestrel. I know a good one when I see one." He said.

Kirk stood next to his last box of things and sighed looking around the huge apartment. He had been upgraded into one of the best apartments in the city. He still couldn't get over how one wall was just massive panels of glass which gave him a vast view of the city's skyline and a view over the world buzzing below.

It was getting dark now and as he carried his last box of belongings into the bedroom, he couldn't help but wonder where the light switches were. The whole place was open planned anyway and the windows let in enough light really but the apartment lacked the homely warmth that he was used to in his previous small and humble abode.

He was half glad that he would be spending more time on the Enterprise then he would be spending stuck here alone.

He wandered back through into the lounge-dining-kitchen area and struggled to occupy the hours as the dragged on. He wasn't hungry so didn't cook. He didn't really want the television on. He didn't want to go to bed. Finally, he settled on getting into the shower and afterwards changing into some loose-fitting pyjama bottoms and a black t-shirt before standing again in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and staring out at the world.

There was a light knock on the door and Kirk wondered if finally, the building manager was here to talk about how everything worked in this place. However, it did seem like the kind of building where the neighbours would bring him round a homemade pie and demand to know everything about him.

He opened the door.

Kez stood there in her usual black jeans, ankle boots, vest top and purple leather jacket – which looked more battered and beaten than when Kirk had first met her. In one hand she held up a bottle of Jack Daniels and some Champaign and in the other a plain carrier bag from which drifted the smell of hot Chinese food.

"You can't celebrate on your own in this place!" Kez said, not waiting to be invited in and just moving past Kirk and into the huge apartment and into the kitchen area.

"I thought you were going out with Uhura?" Kirk asked, closing the door before moving to the kitchen counter and locating the prawn crackers and sitting on a bar stool to dig in.

Kez was opening the still empty cupboards until she found two glass tumblers.

She cracked open the bottle of Jack and poured some out.

"Meh. I could have I guess but then I thought of you in this place and I reconsidered." She snatched the bag of prawn crackers off him.

"How nice of you." He mused, rooting through the bag to see what else she'd brought with her. Chicken Chow Mein, his favourite with egg fried rice. He looked at her approvingly and she winked, seeming back to her old self.

She took a swig of drink and winced at the strength before wandering over to the windows.

"You can see everything from here!"

"Don't get your greasy hands on the clean glass!" He warned, stuffing his face with food. He hadn't realised how hungry he actually was.

Kez raised an eyebrow at him then wandered back, shrugging off her coat and opening her container of chicken rice, "Kirk? I have something to tell you."

Kirk didn't like the tone in her voice. It was too serious and something inside him sunk with fear, "What?"

Kez played with her food a little, "I am retraining. In the medicsbay, as a nurse."

Kirk let out a sigh of relief, "I thought you were bailing ship there for a moment!" Then seeing the look on her face, said, "That's brilliant. You know, that right?"

She smiled, beamed in fact. And suddenly it was all too clear to Kirk that she had been waiting for his approval. Not just as a Captain – her Captain, and her friend.

Kez raised her glass, "To the Enterprise!"

He laughed, moving around the table to clink glasses with her. Then he embraced her, hugging her close and tight, the way he wished he had on so many occasions during the last mission; after all the times he thought he'd lost her and all the times that he had thought they wouldn't survive.

"You okay?" She asked, pulling away and looking up into his face. She must have seen that something wasn't quite right with him because she put down her glass and wiped her hands down her jeans in a way that made Kirk smile and roll his eyes, before clasping her hands behind his neck.

"I'm okay." He managed to whisper lowly, then he was kissing her.

And it was a long kiss. A long, overdue kiss that made Kez feel like finally all the pieces of her life had fitted together and made Kirk realise that the happiness of becoming Captain was nothing compared to how he felt right there in his apartment with Kez.

They spent the remainder of the evening with their Chinese food, curled up together on Kirk's sofa under a blanket chatting and kissing the night away, and suddenly there was a lot more to look forward to in the future.

The End ...

... until the sequel

Thank you, everyone, for reading and so sorry about the slow updates. Life does get in the way sometimes but I am truly grateful for everyone's help, support and encouragement. I hope to see you all again soon in the future for an 'Into Darkness' fanfic, however, I hope you appreciate that these things take time and energy, so please be patient and don't lose faith! Hope you have all enjoyed reading and leave comments as and when you can as I love hearing from you all!

Thank you again, my lovelies and see you again soon!