Returning to her quarters Captain Adriana Cruz collapsed onto the couch that she’d had created through holographic technology in her temporary quarters. Her leg was throbbing with pain, an entire shift standing at the conn had been pushing herself. Cruz knew it was all in her mind, the leg was now carbon fiber and no longer felt pain. The pain was phantom pain from the leg that she’d lost in the field back on her ship the USS Luna. Changing into sweatpants and a Luna shirt she removed her leg and lay on her bed. She dozed off for a bit then heard a chime at her door, “Coming she called out.”

Cruz swung her legs off the bed and stood, or so she tried. One leg short, having removed it, she fell and hit her head against a table. She felt blood, as she called out, “Come.”

At the very least she was going to have to have the ship’s nurse look at that wound.

Hyden was worried after the long shift that Cruz had just endured. He made sure his relief was present on the Bridge before quickly making his way to her cabin and chiming the door hearing a loud thud. He was worried “Adriana? Is everything ok?” 

The door slid open to Cruz holding her head and blood dripping. He wrapped his arm around her and led her to the couch. As a science officer, he took some medical training and looked at her head. As he looked her in the eyes “Are you ok? I’m sorry I wasn’t here quicker. If I pushed you too hard I’m sorry.“ 

Rolling onto her back Cruz shook her head, “I’m pushing myself. I have a ship to get back to one day. Though at this rate I’ll end up at desk duty on some starbase.”

It had been foolish, trying to fill in at tactical. She was neither in the right headspace nor in physical shape for it. If anything she’d likely set back her recovery by doing so. Still, she wanted to push herself and stretch her limits so that she could get back to her ship faster.

“I think I should take it easy for the rest of the trip though,” she confessed, “No more duty shifts captain.”

Hyden nodded “I did tell you to take it easy, but I guess I should have just said no. I want you safe especially under my watch. However, not to dwell on any of this I’m free the rest of the night and tomorrow and frankly I don’t want to spend it with anyone else. We are heading towards your destination and it’s coming quicker than I even realized.“

Cruz gestured to her leg which was over on a table where she’d placed it before laying down, “Get my leg. I’ll take a walk with you. Do you have any green space, an arboretum or something? I’d like some fresh air.”

Hyden grabbed the leg and brought it to her. He shook his head “We don’t but I have an idea of a place in the holodeck that would give you a great answer to your request.” He said as he tried to help her.

“Sorry,” Cruz said, “I don’t mean to take it out on you. You’re just getting the brunt of it due to proximity. I’m just, I was good you know. I liked my ship, my crew, my leg. Now my first officer took my crew onto a new ship, and while I’m recovering life is going on without me.”

Cruz did not want to be vulnerable with him and show how much she had broken herself, but she had no real choice. She pulled down her sweatpants and putting them to one side reattached her leg. It was not a sexy, or lascivious moment, at least for her, but one where unless she was going to kick him out of her room she had to do. The leg reattached and she wiggled the toes of the simulated limb. It wasn’t any more than you might see in a locker room, but it was not quite how she had imagined her first time with a boyfriend seeing her in her undergarments. She got up and went to her closet, pulling out a pair of standard issue Starfleet uniform skant. She never wore the skant on her own ship, not since she’d stopped being an Ensign, but she wanted to try it out. 

The skant was connected to a full uniform, so having already taken her pants off she pulled off her shirt, still in her bra, and then pulled the skant uniform on. She adjusted it, and once again cursed at the pale colour of her artificial leg, which did not match her skin tone. 

“Sorry about that,” she felt the need to apologize, “Now I’m sorry if I’ve been hard to get along with.”

Hyden stopped trying to think of how to approach what he said. Cruz had just been more vulnerable with him than he figured she wanted to be. He lifted her head and looked her straight in the eyes. ”I can’t say I have ever done this, but I think I should. This has been the most surprising and unique few days of my life. I didn’t expect this Captain Cruz to be…such a beautiful person and someone who made my heart skip a beat. I can’t say you I have ever been in a place like this, but you’ve not been hard to get along with. I’ve cherished these past few days and well…if you will give me a chance I want to be that person for you like I just was.“

He looked at her again and fiddled with his hands “You are attractive to me just how you are.“ He grabbed the dermal regenerator and quickly took care of the cut on her head. “I have seen you now when you’re most vulnerable and I would walk through a fire with you.“ 

He stopped not knowing what she was going to say but he had done it. Admitted something and was honest to someone he didn’t want to lose.   

Cruz smiled, “I’ll try to be less of an ogre then. We’ll figure it out. If my XO can get married then… Not that I want to get married. Just you know, umm… Let’s go for that walk.”

Hyden nodded and helped her up in a way he was relieved that he admitted it to her. The smile seemed to show she enjoyed hearing it, but he hoped maybe she would say more when she was ready. He led her down the halls to the nearest holodeck and loaded the program he had in mind. He was from Scotland but he loved when he visited another area on Earth. The doors slid open to a view of rocks in the distance and a walking path leading towards the woods nearby. He flipped towards Cruz “Welcome to the rolling hills of West Virginia, while I didn’t come from here this place is beautiful and I have climbed those rocks on many occasions”  

Cruz has not been to West Virginia, and aside from Seattle (on a trip when she’d been captain of the USS Seattle) and San Francisco she’d not been in the former United States of America. It was lovely, at least the part that Hyden had constructed in the holodeck. Perhaps one day she would go there, she’d not seen much of her own world, and had spent more time in space now than she had anywhere else other than Mexico City. 

“It’s lovely,“ she said, “We don’t have to climb that mountain right? There’s paths and stuff?”

She did not think she’d mastered having an artificial leg enough to be climbing any mountains. Though the air smelled lovely. 

Hyden nodded “Yes they have paths so we don’t have to climb the mountain, but eventually I recommend seeing it from the top. It’s breathtaking to say the least.“ He pointed to the path ahead “This is pretty flat trail we can take. Hopefully it works for your leg.“ 

Cruz nodded, “That should be great.“

The advantage of the holodeck is if she got tired or worn out the entire simulation could end and they’d be back on the ship. It was pretty country, rugged in a way. She’d never been one for walks or hikes, during the Academy people had delighted in getting out into California’s natural wilderness, but Cruz herself had always stuck near campus. She had not grown up in the wild and had not been drawn to it. 

“Is this where you’re from?” Cruz asked, as they set out.

Hyden shook his head “No I hail from Scotland, but I came here at the invitation of an old family friend. I actually have a cabin nearby here in actual reality, but I couldn’t think of a better place to try and let you relax!”

Cruz started down the path, one foot in front of the other. The cybernetic leg worked well, and was a marvel of engineering and bio neural circuitry to get it to respond just like her natural leg, but it still felt odd. There were still no pain receptors there, and unlike her natural leg she did not feel the weight of her body on it from just above the knee down. 

“Tell me about Scotland. I’ve never been, I know it’s over now, but there was a thing right, where the Scottish people and Irish people didn’t like the English people? And maybe there were whales?” the tone of her voice rose at the end in a question. The truth was that was likely something she’d have learned in school had she been a more diligent student in her early years.

Hayden nodded “Indeed there was a time when such a thing existed, but now we all get along with no issues. I love Scotland, especially the Highlands. I love playing the bagpipes on a mountainside. After my parents died I left Scotland and…I haven’t returned since then.”

That was the thing, space was huge, and yet they were all drawn to Earth. It was still humanity’s home, and no matter how many colonies they established or what lives they built for themselves it was where their imaginations were drawn back to. Cruz had never thought she’d get the opportunity to leave it, and yet now she had more ties to it than when she’d lived there.

“Do you think you’ll go back, one day when there are no more ships to captain,” Cruz asked, “and no more women to romance?

Hyden’s face got red “Honestly…I well currently…at this moment I can’t think of another person.” He fiddled with a piece of grass he had picked up. He wasn’t sure how to react to her question, but at the current moment he felt like he wasn’t making himself look too good.

Cruz smiled, letting her hair fall across her face to obscure a blush of colour. It was a kind thing to have said, though she noticed he had not answered the question. What did he want, where would his life take him? She did not know if a return to Earth was in her own future or not, beyond visiting. Was she a captain like Admiral Picard who was drawn back to the family winery? Or was she like Kirk who would die out there among the stars.

“If you ever visit it,” Cruz said, “we could go to Mexico. Apparently, the father I never knew owned a winery. My half-brother runs it now. It is much more comfortable than the one-bedroom apartment I grew up in with my abuela. If you get leave, and I’m still like this. We could visit it.”

Hyden took a deep breath “Honestly after meeting you I don’t really want to spend time with anyone else. If you would want to go to Mexico and to see Scotland as long as I am spending time with you I really don’t mind. Honestly, since meeting you I can’t see life with anyone else. Something about you just makes me feel incredible.”

Cruz stopped, “Well, you certainly know what to say to make a girl feel good. We have time to figure it all out, I can take time off in recovery, there’s time before I need to return to my command. Whatever it’ll be. Then well we’ll have to figure it out.”

She had never done the long-distance thing, but she knew that it could be done, and had seen others manage it. Starfleet captains often dated each other, since a life with a subordinate could be complicated and civilians had a hard time understanding what it was like. Stopping she turned toward him, touching the side of his face, “We’ll figure it out.”

Stepping towards him she kissed him.

Hyden didn’t hesitate to return the kiss as they finished and looked at each other he brushed her cheek “I don’t think I have seen someone more beautiful. I will do whatever it takes to make this work. I didn’t expect this week to go this way, but I couldn’t have asked for a better surprise. I have some extended time to take as soon as the XO of the ship is chosen.” 

He looked at the view while it was on a holodeck it couldn’t have been a better view with Cruz beside of him he took a mental photo and smiled. He looked at her again “I can admit this was not my plan, but I felt I needed to tell you how I felt before I potentially lost the chance forever.”

“First Officer’s can be hard to find,” Cruz laughed, “It might take a while. Maybe after we stop at Starbase 72 I can stick around. Help out until your crew is here.”

She was not sure she wanted to put her own career to one side, but as long as she was not able to be a captain due to her injury, there were worse places to be than a state-of-the-art ship like this Pathfinder-class. Awkwardly she stepped back, and lost her balance on her new leg. Grabbing a hold of him she tried to use him as support as she fell backwards, potentially pulling him onto her.

Before he was able to answer he felt a pull as he began to fall as Cruz pulled him as she fell. He was cautious and made sure he didn’t land on her leg. As she landed he looked seeing she seemed to be ok he smiled “If you want me to cuddle with you all you had to do was ask.” He smirked then continued “In all seriousness are you ok? I know this has been a huge change for you, but know this I am here for you and will do everything I can to help.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close looking up at the sky. He looked at her and whispered “You’d be my first choice for XO.” 

She smiled, saying nothing. It was an interesting offer. Her own ship was gone, and she knew that Starfleet likely would try to get her either into the USS Selene which her former XO was now captaining, or another ship before long. A Pathfinder-class was certainly nice, but would she be happy playing second fiddle again? 

“Be careful what you wish for,” she warned Captain Hyden, “You just might get it.”