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"I can't believe it's still here," Hermione whispered in amazement as she looked around at the forest that surrounded them.
When her husband had told her he was taking her on the trip he had wanted to go on during Christmas, but they were unable to do with her so close to her due date, she knew they wouldn't be travelling far since they were so far out in space. And with the exception of the occasional away mission, they didn't leave the Enterprise very often. Plus, they had their two-year-old twins Georgia Grace and David James on the ship currently being watched over by a rotation of their friends onboard.
Hermione knew she had been right about them not going far when her husband had led her through the corridors of the ship from their quarters to one of the holodecks.
She turned to face her husband. "Why did you choose El Yunque?"
Bones grinned at the wonder on her face. "I knew you would love to see this as you said it was the last place you visited with your parents before you had to wipe their memories. Plus it was a place I've never had the chance to visit."
Hermione nodded in agreement, her throat tight with emotion. She turned to face her husband and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Thank you," she whispered into his chest.
"Anything for you, love," Bones murmured into her hair as he leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head. He pulled back and looked at her. "Where to first?"
"Are you up for a hike to the summit of El Toro? The view is spectacular."
Bones looked down at the hiking boots he chose this morning before glancing back at Hermione. He moved his right foot to show off his footwear as he raised an eyebrow. "Are you glad you listened to me when I told you to wear your own hiking boots instead of the thongs you first had?"
"Yes! Flip flops would not have been fun to hike in." Hermione exclaimed. She frowned. "Speaking of not being fun to wear while hiking... the knickers I wore today were not the best idea."
His eyes lit up at Hermione's comment as he followed her as she led the way into the surrounding forest. "Did you wear the pretty blue satin ones?"
"I wish," she groused. "No a golden pair that I've not worn before and was supposed to be a surprise for you when we get home. A thong and hiking do not go well together."
"Well, I've not seen them before, so they'll still be a surprise when I see them."
"True," Hermione agreed as they continued weaving their way through the beautiful rainforest and pointing out different species they saw.
Soon they started the incline of El Toro, still enjoying the sights and sounds surrounding them, and occasionally talking with each other about anything and everything.
After a couple of hours of hiking up the nearly 3,500 feet of the mountain, Bones rolled his eyes at his wife's continued discomfort and said, "I know you're uncomfortable. Why don't you just change them with a wave of your wand?"
Hermione stopped and pinned him with an exasperated expression. "Magic doesn't work like that, and you know it. I can't just transfigure more fabric to my knickers."
"Well, you could just take them off," he offered with a shrug and a devilish grin.
She snorted as she turned back around to lead them further up the trail of El Toro. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
Bones looked unrepentant as he said, "Can you blame me? The thought of my sexy wife running around without underwear and only feet from me is a heady one."
Hermione laughed. "I can't take you anywhere, can I?"
"At least I'm not, Jim," Bones pointed out.
"Thank Merlin for that," Hermione joked.
"Speaking of Jim, who do you think is watching our children right now?"
"Could be any of them," Hermione replied. Looking at the time on her watch, she added, "Base on the current time, it's probably Sulu."
"And his tales of the Japanese Samurai."
"Most definitely."
The trail they were hiking suddenly had a secondary path that led off to the right and Hermione followed it.
"We're almost to the lookout place I remember. The view from there is spectacular, especially of the elfin or dwarf forest further up the mountain, and before we head back down there's a waterfall not too far from the lookout we can visit."
"I can't wait to see it all," Bones replied as he reached out and took Hermione's hand, slowing their pace. While he was enjoying their hike, he had been looking forward to spending the time just the two of them.
Minutes later, the trees cleared and they had an unimpeded view of the forest below them. Finally coming to a stop, Bones wrapped his arms around Hermione as they enjoyed each other and nature surrounding them.
"You were right, love," Bones whispered into Hermione's ear, "the view is stunning."
Wrapping her arms around his, she murmured, "Thank you. This was just what I needed." Her voice was thick with emotion.
"Me too." He squeezed her tighter before they settled in to appreciate all that nature provided them. The loud chirps of birds calling to each other joined the cadence of the millions of insects found on the island, lulling the couple into a companionable silence.
Hours later, the couple finally returned to where they started when Hermione turned to her husband. She smiled up at him, gesturing to their surroundings. "Even after all these years and everything I've seen, the holodeck still amazes me in what it's capable of doing. Thank you."
"Merry belated Christmas, love," Bones replied with a quirk of his lips, knowing they still had months to go for the actual holiday. They took their chances when they could for time alone, because when you were in deep space, then your planned holidays tended to get interrupted by anything and everything that could go wrong.
Hermione returned his smile with a wink. "Merry belated Christmas indeed." She raised on her toes and kissed him. Pulling back, she whispered against his lips, "How are you going to outdo yourself next year?"
Bones laughed. "I have six months to figure it out, love." He stepped back and grasped her hand before leading her close enough to trigger the holodeck's automatic doors. "Let's go home."
"Yes, let's, we have two little ones at home waiting on their mum and dad."
Once they returned to their quarters, they found Chekhov softly singing a Russian lullaby to their daughter and son.