Chapter Text
Una woke early Sunday morning. The sun was just starting to rise, leaving her bedroom with a dim light full of shadows. She peered over at Chris. He was laying on his side facing her, pillows propping him in place. His eyes were closed. His breaths were noisy and had been since his accident, but they were regular and even and he no longer required the oxygen mask. He looked peaceful as he slept.
Between them was little Christopher fast asleep tucked under the covers as he lay cuddled against Chris. He woke up in the night crying, insisting on sleeping in their bed. It was a common occurrence. Luckily his big sister, Astra, had grown out of her habit of crawling in bed with them in the middle of the night or they’d be too crowded to get any sleep. Astra was eight now and Christopher was eighteen months old.
It had been twenty-five months since Chris’s accident, which left him in an advanced life support chair with little function. He was on permanent leave as an instructor at Starfleet Academy, while she continued to teach there part time. They had been living in Bear Creek, Montana for the past two and a half years. Una had never felt so far away from Enterprise and the life they had there. Those days were gone, and she was slowly accepting life after Chris’s accident. All their lives were forever changed.
She could feel someone stirring beside her. She looked over at Christopher as he stretched his arms and turned over to face her with a smile.
“Good morning, little man,” she whispered. “Let’s not wake daddy, okay?”
She climbed out of bed and lifted Christopher up and onto the floor. He followed her out of the bedroom and into the hallway. She yawned as she walked down it past the nursery to the last bedroom. She quietly opened the door and peaked in the purple bedroom to spy on Astra sleeping soundly in her bed under a mess of covers. She closed the door and headed to the nursery to change Christopher and get him dressed.
“What do you want for breakfast, little man?” she asked, tickling his tummy as she dressed him in grey stretchy pants and a white t-shirt with a brown horse in the middle.
As soon as he was dressed, he quickly got up and toddled his way down to the kitchen, ready to turn into a hungry monster if not fed immediately. On her way to the kitchen, Una heard a chirp from the office. She quickly diverted course and checked it. There was a message waiting from her mother.
“Christopher, grandma sent me a message. It’s not our usual correspondence time. It might be important. Can mommy check it before breakfast?”
He shook his head. She laughed as a smile spread across her face. She should have known better than to expect her hungry little monster to wait for her to check her messages.
After she fed him, she grabbed a toy from the living room. It was an activity cube with different things to do on all five sides from spinners to a zigzag racetrack, a bead maze, doors to open, and mix-and-match animal puzzles. She plunked it down on the office floor and shut the door as Christopher started to play with it, going straight for the bead maze as always.
She sat at the desk and pulled up the message from her mother. As she pressed play, her mother came on screen. She was aging well, a beautiful woman with grey hair twisted up in a high bun with a braid wrapped around it. She had the perfect amount of make up to complement her aging face. She was stoic as always, keeping her emotions in check.
“Unathia, I hope you and your family are well. It’s been a few months since we talked about my offer. I understand why you turned down my invitation to relocate your family to our home colony so Christopher could undergo genetic manipulation to heal his injuries from his accident. Though I do not agree as I do think you could find a happy life here and forget about the Federation, I understand.
I want you to understand though that I cannot give up on Christopher. I know you haven’t either. I have been in touch with several doctors over the past few months and they have come up with a new plan. They believe most of Christopher’s function can be restored using medical techniques that do not involve genetic engineering or modification. I know your Federation does not allow technology derived from genetic engineering methods either, so I have only included techniques that have not arisen from genetic engineering. I am sending you the files. The doctors believe that the Federation should have the resources to come up with the technology necessary to perform the procedures. Please look at the files I am sending and consider this.
I miss you, little one. I hope you visit home one day. I want to meet little Christopher and see Astra again. I love you, Unathia. Send my love to the rest of your family. Give your little ones a kiss from their grandmother.”
The video ended and a message popped up on the screen asking to download a series of files. She clicked ‘download.’
Una looked down to find Christopher standing beside her looking at the screen with curious eyes. “That was grandma, little man. Do you remember her from her other messages? Maybe one day you can meet her. We just need to commandeer a shuttle first. Mommy’s home is a long way away.”
She sighed, leaning back in her chair, as she regarded the message. She pulled Christopher onto her lap as she hit play again. A smile spread across her face as she watched her mother reappear on screen. It had been too long since she had seen her last. Astra was eleven months old and they had ventured to her home colony because she was sick, her genetic engineering failing, and Doctor M’Benga was at a loss of what to do.
She hadn’t seen her family since she had left for Starfleet Academy, and it was a tense return full of arguments and tears. However, she left on good terms and had regularly sent messages back and forth with her mother and sister since. Her mother was devastated when she heard about Chris’s accident. She loved Chris the moment she met him, telling Una he was a good man and she chose well. She fell in love with Astra too. Una longed for her mother to meet Christopher, but she knew she would never make the journey to Earth and it was unlikely, especially with Chris in his current state, that they would ever make the long journey to her home.
As soon as the message finished playing for the second time, she opened the files and began reading them. She understood some of it but the majority of it was beyond her. She knew exactly who to ask though. But it would have to wait as Astra slowly pushed the door to the office open and stuck her head in.
“Good morning, sleepy head,” Una said with a smile.
“Mommy, I’m hungry.”
“Another hungry monster. I’ll get right on it. Waffles or pancakes, little one?” Una asked as she plunked Christopher on the floor and headed to the kitchen.
“Hmm…”
“You better decide by the time I reach the kitchen,” Una said.
“Waffles!” Astra exclaimed. “No wait, pancakes… can I have both?”
Una laughed as she turned to look at her eight-year-old with her tangled mess of long dark brown hair and pale blue eyes as she shook her head. “When you start making your own breakfast, you can make both. Until then, it’s one or the other.”
“Pancakes,” she said with a sigh as she sat down at the kitchen table and watched Una prepare breakfast.
“Watch your brother while I make your breakfast,” Una said as she grabbed a big mixing bowl and a whisk.
As soon as they finished eating, the door chimed. Una knew it was Chris’s nurse here to get him up, do his physio, bathe him, and get him in his chair for the day. She quickly let him in and went back to her kids in the kitchen. Astra cleaned up most of the kitchen while Una helped her, at the same time watching Christopher play endlessly with his activity cube on the kitchen floor.
“I need to make a subspace call, Astra. You need to watch your little brother, okay?” Una said as she headed to the office and shut the door almost all the way. “Computer, open a channel to USS Enterprise, Doctor M’Benga.”
“Channel open,” the computer stated.
After a moment, a familiar face and an old friend appeared on screen with a bright smile. “Una, it’s so nice to see you. It’s been too long,” Doctor M’Benga said.
“I agree, Joseph. It has been too long. How’s Enterprise? I miss her,” Una replied.
“Not the same without you and Chris but still a fine ship. How is Chris?”
She sighed and his bright smile faded. “He stopped his rehab a few months ago. Said it wasn’t working so why bother. Unfortunately, the rehabilitation clinic wasn’t as willing as I was to force him to continue.”
“If it wasn’t helping…”
“At least it was hope.”
“Or the illusion of hope.”
“Sometimes the illusion of hope is better than nothing, Joseph.” She took a breath. “I got some new hope this morning though. Months ago, my mother invited us to return to my home to have Chris healed through genetic modification. He adamantly refused. He still believes in the Federation’s ideas surrounding genetic engineering. However, my mother sent me a message this morning with a new proposal. There is technology that can restore most of Chris’s functioning without the use of genetic modifications. She sent me all the info but unfortunately, I can’t understand much of it. I was hoping—” Una looked over as the door creaked open and Christopher appeared. “Your sister is supposed to be watching you,” she said as she picked up Christopher and sat him in her lap.
“Hi Christopher,” Doctor M’Benga said with a warm smile as he waved. Christopher waved back. “Wow, he really looks like Chris.”
“I know,” she said with a smile. “Sorry. Astra was supposed to be watching him. I guess that’s what I get for asking an eight-year-old to babysit. Anyways, the files. Would you mind taking a look? I mean, if you have time.”
“I would be happy to.”
“Thanks, Joseph. I’ll send you the files. I really appreciate this.”
“Anything for Chris. I’ll be in touch. Take care, Una.”
“You too.”
The screen went black, and Una let out a big breath as she hugged her toddler. She turned him to face her as she smiled down on him.
“Maybe one day daddy will be able to hold you and play with you and give you hugs and kisses like mommy gets to do. I know he wants to more than anything. Would you like that little man?”
“Dada?” Christopher said as confusion spread across his face.
She leaned down to kiss his forehead. “Let’s keep this between us for now. I don’t want to get anybody’s hopes up yet. Can you keep this a secret, little man?” She gave him another kiss, this time on the cheek. “I need to send a message to Bob, then we can play.”
“Play!” he said with a smile.
“Yes, playtime.”
They were all seated around the dining room table eating lunch. Chris did not need to eat. He had a nutrient bag hooked up to him inside his advanced life support chair. He was unable to talk or eat due to severe damage to his throat and larynx. But he liked to be there for meals. Christopher was in his highchair picking at his food as Astra was gobbling hers up.
“Daddy, do you want to watch a movie with me?” Astra asked in between bites.
Everyone looked at Chris as his chair began to blink in a sequence. He had learned to communicate in morse code. Astra quickly learned it, eager to communicate with her daddy beyond the simple yes and no that he began with after the accident.
Homework?
“I did all my homework,” Astra insisted.
“I want to check all your answers,” Una said.
“Well, daddy? The movie?” she asked impatiently.
OK.
A smile spread across her face. Chris’s face remained unchanged, his muscles paralyzed and nerves dead.
What movie?
“Can we watch Snow White?” Astra asked.
Yes.
“This must be the hundredth time you’ve seen that movie,” Una pointed out.
“It’s a classic! Right, daddy?”
Right.
Una chuckled as she got up and grabbed a wet cloth to clean Christopher off with as Astra began clearing plates, not needing to be asked.
As soon as Astra finished in the kitchen, Una said, “go get your homework.”
Astra dashed off and soon returned with three PADDs in hand. She tossed them on the table and then sat on the floor with Christopher as he played with a puzzle.
“Chrissy, you’re doing it wrong, silly,” Astra said as she began completing the puzzle herself.
“He’s supposed to be learning how to do that. Don’t do it for him,” Una said as she examined the PADDs. “You made a mistake on your math homework.” She moved onto the next PADD. “And your grammar is atrocious. Doesn’t your teacher teach you anything?”
“Mommy,” she said as she rolled her eyes.
“Your science homework looks good. Go fix the others, then you can watch the movie,” Una said as she handed her the three PADDs.
Astra grabbed them with a sour look and a sigh as she marched into her room.
Chris’s chair blinked: Attitude.
Una chuckled. “I know, right? So, are you looking forward to your hundredth viewing of Snow White, Chris?”
She knew if he could laugh, he would. He simply replied: always.
“Okay, little man, time to watch a movie,” Una said as they went into the living room and she set up Snow White.
As soon as Astra finished her homework, Una pressed play and a live action film about the fairy tale Snow White came on the big screen above the fireplace. Chris sat in his chair while Una and Astra sat on the couch. Christopher was playing with his mountain of toys in the middle of the floor, looking up every so often, especially when the musical numbers came on. Una relaxed, relishing these moments with her family. She looked at Chris and smiled.
His chair blinked: love you.
I love you too, she mouthed back to him.
Una was cleaning the house when the door chimed. She smiled as soon as she opened the door. Admiral Robert April stood there in uniform, never a day off for the man, as he grinned.
“Bob, you didn’t have to come here in person,” Una said as she moved aside, motioning him to enter.
“Your message sounded urgent,” he replied.
“To be honest, it is. I don’t want to talk about it in here though. Why don’t we go out on the patio? Do you want something to drink and a snack?”
“I’ll take some tea. Where is everyone?” Bob asked as he looked around.
“Movie in the living room. It’s a double header. We watched Snow White. Again. Now they are onto Cinderella. I decided I would rather clean house.”
“Kids do like to watch the same things over and over again. Amelia loved this one movie, The Little Puppy. I almost deleted it from our library.”
Una chuckled as she handed him a cup of tea from the replicator. She had her own cup in hand. “Astra, I’m going to be on the patio. Keep an eye on your brother,” she called out as they headed outside.
“So, what’s this urgent matter?” Bob asked as they sat next to each other in Adirondack chairs in the light spring breeze.
“A few months ago, my mother tried to get us to return to my home so Chris could undergo genetic modifications. It would have healed him. Chris said no, so here we are,” Una said with a sigh.
“I’m not surprised. I can’t imagine Chris would go for that.”
“I’m not about to debate genetic engineering, Bob. That’s not why I contacted you. This morning my mother sent me a message. She’s been talking to the doctors back home about other ways to help Chris without using genetic modifications. She sent me a ton of information. I sent it to Doctor M’Benga this morning and he sent me back a message this afternoon. Says it looked promising, that it might work. But Bob, anything that comes from Illyrians is going to be tainted in the eyes of the Federation. The prejudice runs deep. I’m worried—”
“That they will refuse to help Chris using any technology derived from the Illyrians.”
“Yes. But to be clear, it doesn’t involve genetic engineering and the technology isn’t derived from it either. It doesn’t break any Federation laws. It just comes down to prejudice and I can’t let that be the deciding factor when it comes to Chris’s life. I mean, he has no quality of life, Bob. If this could help him…”
“What can I do?”
“Get it approved. Talk to whoever you need to. I can’t let this opportunity pass us by. I can’t let Chris live his life like this if there is a chance he doesn’t have to.”
“I understand. Send me the information and I’ll do everything I can. I agree with you. If it doesn’t break Federation laws, then we can’t let old prejudice and fear stand in the way of helping Chris.”
“Thank you, Bob.”
“You know I’ll do anything for Chris. He is a good man.”
“He is. He deserves a chance.”
“You haven’t told him about this, have you?”
“I don’t want to get his hopes up… or risk him saying no before I have everything in place.”
“That’s smart. Well, I need to get back. I want to say hi to Chris before I go though. If he doesn’t mind me interrupting Cinderella,” he said with a smile.
“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled at the interruption,” Una said, chuckling lightly as they headed inside.
“Goodnight, Chrissy!” Astra said as she kissed her little brother goodnight.
Una had just finished his bath and got him in his blue sleeper with crescent moons on it. It was time to say goodnight before she read him a story and tucked him in bed.
“Christopher, give your daddy a goodnight kiss,” Una said as she held the toddler up so he could reach Chris’s cheek. He planted a big kiss on his cheek with a smile.
Chris’s chair blinked: Night lil tyke.
“Daddy says goodnight,” Una said as she carried him off to bed. “Astra, bedtime is in one hour. This is your first reminder.”
“I know, I know,” she said with a sigh as she went back to drawing a picture of a horse as she sat at the coffee table.
Una carried Christopher into his bedroom and pulled out a book off his shelf before sitting with him in the rocking chair. She began reading Goodnight Stars to him. When she finished she put him in his crib and leaned down to kiss his forehead softly, rubbing his chest lightly as she smiled down on him.
“Goodnight, little man.”
“No sleep.”
She frowned. “Yes, it’s bedtime. Do you want mommy to sing you a song first?”
“Yes,” he replied in his high voice.
“Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are.”
Soon his eyes were fluttering shut. She pulled the covers up to his neck and smoothed them out, smiling at him one last time before tiptoeing out.
Soon it was time for Astra’s bedtime. She had to read her three books before she would agree to stay in bed. Afterwards, it was Chris’s bedtime. She had to get him out of the chair and place him in bed, prop him up with pillows in a specific position every night to avoid pressure ulcers. By the end of it all, she was exhausted enough that she retired to bed herself.
As she lay in bed that night, she watched Chris. He was facing her, his eyes opened as he gazed at her. She scootched over until she was laying close enough to wrap her arm around him. She kissed his forehead and smiled at him.
He began blinking in morse code: I love all of you.
“We love you too, Chris.”
She caressed his cheek before draping her arm back over him as she closed her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to make him whole again. And she would. For the first time in a long time, she felt a sense of hope in her heart. She would have her Chris back.