Chapter Text
La’an Noonien Singh
There were some truths that Una kept locked away deep within her heart due to the secrets she kept. One such truth was that marriage and children weren’t plans she would ever be safe to make. Not only would it risk her secret but it would also risk her family’s lives. It was better not to think about such things.
Then she met La’an Noonien Singh, a young girl traumatized by the horrific deaths of her family, who needed a caring hand and guidance. A fuse was lit between them and it was only a matter of time before the bomb went off.
Una hadn’t been expecting an actual bomb to go off.
La’an was a strong officer, not just in character but also in physical strength. Her augment heritage was weak but still offered enhanced strength and speed, but even an augment would fall to an explosion.
An Illyrian not so much.
It didn’t take much thought for Una to charge forward and tackle her Chief of Security. Her body pressed La’an’s into the ground as shrapnel dug into her back. The pain was excruciating but she could already feel her body lighting up as the burns healed themselves. Under her, she could feel La’an’s shaky breaths, both of their bodies rising and falling with movements.
La’an words, whispered without much thought, sounded as if they came from a distance.
“Please, please, don’t take another family from me.”
Una’s head dropped heavily onto La’an’s shoulder and she wasn’t sure if it was real or memory as La’an yelled out, “No! Mom, please, wake up!”
When Una woke up in the Medbay with Chris asleep at her side and La’an anxiously pacing the room, she offered the younger woman her hand.
They didn’t talk about it.
Nyota Uhura
When Chris exited his ready room with a bright smile on his face before nearly skipping over to the communication’s station, Una knew her best friend had good news.
“Ensign Uhura,” Chirs announced, bringing the bridge to a halt as everyone turned to their captain with excited grins. “Welcome to the crew of the Starship Enterprise. Your official first assignment upon your graduation will be Alpha Shift Bridge Communications Officer. Think you can handle it?”
Cheers sounded around the room, with Erica shaking Jenna and even Spock seeming pleased at the turn of events. No one had said as much but many on the ship would have missed Uhura once her cadet rotation was over.
Uhura looked up at Captain Pike speechlessly. “Are you serious?” she asked.
Chris smiled. “Just got off a call from the Commandant of Cadets that upon your graduation, you would, pending my acceptance, be assigned to the Enterprise for your original thinking with the M'hanit. A Starship on a five year mission needs original thinkers like that. Unfortunately, with you being assigned to the Enterprise, we won’t be able to get you home for your Graduation, so it’s completely understandable if you’d rather return and take up the offer on the Farragut instead.”
“No sir,” Uhrua replied, still shocked. “I think my place is right here.”
“Good to hear,” Chris said, clapping her on the shoulder before returning to his chair.
Una stood and made her way to the newly ranked Ensign. For a brief moment she broke protocol and leaned down to hug the younger woman. “I am glad you have chosen to stay,” she whispered.
“Thanks, mom,” Uhura replied.
Una tensed for a moment before relaxing into the hug. Uhrua didn’t seem aware that she had said it and the only one who could have heard her was Spock who had headphones in both ears.
She squeezed the cadet, turned Ensign tighter and replied with the words she knew no one else could. “I’m proud of you.”
Beckett Mariner
Time travel was one of the most headache inducing accidents that a Starfleet officer could be inflicted with. Una had already had her fair share of time travel incidents from the loss of the Discovery to that time her and Chris got stuck in a time loop from hell during their transfer from the Yorktown to the Enterprise. Robert April’s introductory speech to his new First Officer and Chief Tactical Officer, was a permanent fixture in both her and Chris’ minds at this point.
Time travelers from the future were new but not so different. They were excitable and odd but mostly harmless even if neither of them were very good at keeping secrets. Though, maybe they were. All of the information they gave simply begged more questions and Una was going slowly insane trying to figure out why Boimler had a poster of her.
Did she quit Starfleet to become a pinup model? It didn’t sound right but she couldn’t think of any other reason for why she would be on a poster and Mariner’s comments didn’t contradict the thought.
It was only as they were going to leave that Mariner came up to her and explained the situation.
“I may have given you the wrong impression about Boimler’s poster,” she said. “It’s for recruitment. You’re the literal Poster Girl/Woman for Starfleet. You know the whole Mom of the Enterprise thing. Really increased the recruitment for non-humans and family driven individuals.”
Una had been surprised and touched by the statement, and Boimler’s added detail of ad astra per aspera being included on the poster. She was so touched at the idea of being Starfleet’s poster woman that she forgot Mariner’s explanation of why until it was staring her in the face.
James Kirk
Una knew her crew well.
She knew when Spock was sick but refused help because “Vulcan’s do not get colds.” She knew when Erica was feeling self conscious about her lack of landing party experience. She knew when La’an or M’Benga were closing themselves off and when Christine was in a self-destructive mood.
She knew Sam Kirk had Daddy issues the size of the Enterprise and how those issues went into overdrive the second his brother was within a lightyear radius.
Sam Kirk, however, was not James Kirk, something the crew of the Enterprise thrilled over teasing Sam with. The crew liked Jim. Chris liked Jim. Even Una herself liked Jim.
She just didn’t think anyone on the ship, even his own brother, really understood Jim
Una had gone into their first interaction with certain expectations based on his brother, but whatever Daddy issues clung to Sam were absent in his brother. James Kirk idolized his father, which was why it took Una far longer to realize that he almost never mentioned his mother.
Sam talked about George Kirk like he was an old school military drill sergeant often and occasionally spoke of Winona Kirk with a strong affection. Jim spoke of his father like he was a comic book hero and the one time he mentioned his mother it was as an afterthought.
Una didn’t want to speculate on the brother’s dichotomy but the stupid anomaly they were caught in didn’t stop Una from getting to perform one last song with the younger Kirk.
Abandonment, somewhere within the younger Kirk was a strong sense of abandonment from his mother and Una went to sleep that night with the lyrics, “cause mom’s make mistakes but this one’s unforgiven” and “sometimes I wish for a mom like you who’s consistent” rolling around in her head.
Joseph M’Benga
For all that Una would drag officers down to Medbey when they refused to go, Una herself avoided the area like the plague when she was the one sick or injured. At first it had been in self-defense. Una healed quickly and often in a glowing manner that wasn’t easily hidden. She would rather fight and suffer her way in silence than risk arrest. Now, it was simply a habit.
She had been feeling lightheaded and a bit off for a while now but it was nothing she couldn’t take care of on her own. Even when she threw up, Una hadn’t wanted to bother the medical staff but she didn’t have much choice when Chris’ door to their shared bathroom slid open and strong but gentle hands rubbed down her back and swept up the hair at her neck.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Una almost lied, but her and Chris had been working on being more truthful since her trial so instead she shook her head. Chris had walked her down to the Medbay and though she could tell he wanted to hover, he had to report to his shift on the bridge.
“He is worse than my father when my mother was sick,” M’Benga joked. “My father would at least leave for food but I think if the Captain could get away with it, he would glue himself to your bedside.”
“It’s not-” Una tried, but faltered at the raised eyebrow M’Benga directed her way. It was in fact like that, and had been since the whole Gorn incident. They had been trying to keep it on the down low from the crew but some weren’t as easily fooled as others.
A squeal from beyond the divider broke Una and M’Benga’s standoff and Chirstine raced into the room. She shoved the pad into M’Benga’s hands and the doctor’s jaw dropped. He turned to make a request but Chirstine shoved a cart into the private room. Whatever was on the cart was clearly what M’Benga wanted as he immediately went to set it up as Chirstine bounced excitedly on her toes.
Una was equal parts confused and nervous as M’Benga turned the device on before rotating the screen for Una to see.
Her own jaw dropped as she looked at the ultrasound before her and the small peanut sized baby in the center.
“Well, Commander?” M’Benga asked, his voice clear of judgment for whatever she may choose. His tone stilled Christine’s excitement and sent Una’s mind racing.
Suddenly she realized the truth she once held as fact was false.
“I want them,” she replied.
“Then let’s get planning, momma,” M’Benga replied.
Christopher Pike
She had spent her entire shift in Medbay going over any potential issues that may come up in a Human-Illyrian hybrid. The two species were highly compatible chromosome wise except in instances where an illyrian altered their chromosome number, which Una's parents had thankfully not done.
The Federation may have outlawed gene editing to the extent the Illyrians did since its conception but those laws did not affect those born to species who have already edited their genes and have since stopped. So long as Una did not alter her own child’s genes, any alterations inherited wouldn’t be counted against her child and thankfully, due to Chris’ citizenship status and Una’s refugee status, any child they had would be automatically granted Federation citizenship.
The only problem M'Benga would need assistance with was the child’s blood type being in conflict with Una’s own. Human’s and Illyrians did not have the same blood types even though they both had iron based blood and if they weren’t careful, Una’s body might reject the baby or become sick because of this. Human’s already had a solution to this and M’Benga assured her with Chirstine’s expertise, they should have one ready for Una by the end of the week.
It was only when she returned to her quarters having missed her whole shift that she realized she left Chris hanging. Her captain was pacing around the room with his hair sticking up in all directions.
“Una!” he shouted when she entered. “What happened? I thought you would be here, maybe sleeping it off but have you been down in Medbay this whole time?”
His worry was very much appreciated but Una knew better than to let him get too frazzled. Chris did stupid things when he thought she was in danger.
“Yes but it’s not anything serious,” she said. Then she reconsidered her words. “Well, not serious in a bad way. Why don’t you sit down?”
Una grabbed Chris’ arm and directed him to sit on the edge of her bed before sitting next to him and holding his hand.
“Do you remember that weird first contact on Trampse?” Una asked.
Chris made a face. “The one with the weird drug that made everyone horny because they negotiated through sex? Yeah, why?” It was just another weird mission to look back on now but at the time, Chris, Uhura, Spock and Erica had been at a serious risk before Una had beamed them back up.
“Do you remember the aftermath?” Una asked.
“Yeah,” Chris replied, this time trailing his eyes up and down Una’s body. “I don’t know if I have a repeat performance like that without the drug if that’s what you’re asking.”
Una laughed. “No,” she replied, “we just weren’t very careful under those circumstances. Chris, I’m pregnant.”
Chris’s face immediately lit up. “Pregnant? We’re having a baby?” he asked, his eyes shining brightly with building tears.
“Yeah, we’re having a baby,” Una replied. She gasped and then laughed when Chris tackled her back onto the bed. It took her a moment to realize Chris was talking to her stomach.
“-and you’re going to have the best mommy in the entire galaxy, kid.”