You pulled down on the corners of the short yellow dress that was given to you after you graduated. You were one of the oldest cadets in the class but that didn't stop you from wanting to reach your dream. With a small child at home, it makes things hard to find what was easy to balance between work and mothering.

Little Celeste was only three and she was having a hard time transitioning to going to daycare, but there are sacrifices that need to be made in order to have a better life in the future. Luckily, the Enterprise has a child daycare system that caters toward single parent families, considering how dangerous space travel is. 

As a newly assigned ensign, you make your way to a small office that will give you the paperwork that you will need to fill out in order to be part of the Enterprise crew officially. You smiled to the lady who handed you a large stack of papers then made your way to the tram station to take you home.

You let your hair down and let out a long breath of air. This is going to be a hard transition but if reputation proves right, then it will be worth it.

You open up your apartment door to the sound of a show playing and your daughter giggling. You smiled and felt almost one hundred percent better. Nancy, the babysitter, greeted you and congratulate you on your graduation.

"Thank you, dear. Here is your pay, and a little extra for coming on such short notice." Nancy nodded and left.

You turned to your small apartment and smiled at the little girl sitting in her princess costume, watching her favorite movie, holding a doll with the same dress on. You put your things down and kicked off your shoes. Sneaking up behind her, you let out a 'rawr!' as you tackled her from behind, picking her up and covering her in kisses.

Celeste giggled and tried to tickle back. "Silly mommy! You home!"

You smile wide and hold her close. "Yes, mommy is silly, isn't she. Now that I'm home, do you want me to make you some dinner?"

"Dinner time!" She clapped, dropping her doll as she wrapped her arms around your neck. "I missed you, mommy." She whispered near the end.

Tears started to prick at your eyes but you blinked hard to keep them at bay. You give her a kiss on the cheek. "Aw, sweetie, I missed you too. Now, how about some alphabet soup?" You pulled away from her to boop her on the nose lightly.

"Letter soup!" Celeste threw her hands in the air and giggled again, her blue eyes crinkling with excitement over something so simple.

You smiled as you set her at the table and got the food ready. Times like this, when all the worries in the world can be forgotten just with the twinkle of your daughter's laughter, are the moments that give you reason to be thankful that you decided to keep her when she was born, even after her father left. 

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"(Y/n) (L/n)?"

You made sure to take a deep breath before you raised your hand, the other holding your daughter's hand as she clung to your legs. The tall pointy eared man in front of you looked at you then your child then back to you.

"We have an assistant for you to help with your child until you come back from your shift." He nods to a plainly dressed girl who smiled and opened her arms to take in Celeste.

Your daughter looked up at you with a worried expression, holding on tighter to your hand. "Do I have to?"

You smile sweetly and kneel down, taking her hands in both of yours. "You are a big girl. Mommy won't be gone all day like before. And you will have friends to play with." You kiss her nose lightly and coax her to go to the young girl's open arms.

Celeste looked back at you one more time and timidly waved 'bye'. You waved back and gave her a thumbs up. She smiled then she left willing, laughing at something the assistant said.

You looked back to the tall man and nodded thank for his patience. He remained expressionless but nodded back. He then led you to a small meeting room then, without a word, motioned for you to enter before he left.

You nervously swallowed then entered the room. You were created by the smell of warm coffee and baked potatoes. You had to work hard to no drool. Then you noticed a man standing by the window, his hands clasped behind his yellow-shirted back. He stood just a few inches taller than you and had black short hair. You stepped a little closer to him and cleared your throat.

The man quickly turned around, greeting you with a smile that about took the rest of your breath away. He walked up to you and extended his hand.

"(L/n), my name is Hikaru Sulu, but you can just call me Sulu. I am honored that you asked to shadow me. I heard you just graduated. Congratulations." He beamed at you like you just won an award.

You couldn't help but blush. "Thank you. I have always wanted to be a pilot so when the opportunity came around that I could shadow you, I couldn't pass it up." You shook his hand.

"Well, welcome to the Enterprise. Please have a seat. I took the liberty of getting you some dinner. I heard it was quite a trip for you." He helped you seat yourself before he sat down across from you.

"Thank you very much. Yes it was, but we are going to settle in alright." You glanced at him then tucked into your food.

Sulu took a drink then set his cup down. "We?"

You hesitated mid-chew, swallowing hard. "Ah, yes. My daughter, Celeste. I had to take her with me. Oh, uh, not that I didn't want her to come, I just didn't want you to think that I wouldn't be able to perform well because of her. I have-" You quickly rambled but was cut off by Sulu reaching across the table, resting his hand gently on yours.

"It's alright, ensign. I understand. I believe you will perform better because of her." He grinned then moved to start eating. "But please, tell me about her."

You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding but smiled wide. Things may go a lot better than you had imagined. The two of you spent the evening getting acquainted, talking for hours. You were no longer worried about your work or your daughter coming with you. It was like the two of you have known each other for a lot longer than a few hours. You had just finished your forth or fifth cup of whatever Sulu had picked for dinner after you were done with the coffee. Looking down at your watch you about jumped out of your skin. It was almost eleven.

"I am so sorry Mr. Sulu, but I need to get to Celeste. She will be worried."

Sulu nodded, standing and taking your glass as he helped you stand. "It's alright, I am partly to blame. I look forward to working with you."

You nod and smile, not at all minding you hand lingering in his. With one more nod and a squeeze of the hand, Sulu walked you to the hallway then the two of you split off in different directions. You rushed to your room, hoping Celeste wouldn't hate you in the morning.

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It had been a few months off in space and you were feeling as confident as ever. Celeste has taken a liking to going to daycare but luckily you get back to your quarters before dinner. Sulu has been extremely kind, only having you work a few days at a time, giving you days to spend with your daughter. One night he even offered to cook dinner for the two of you.

You have been learning so much, you were sure your brain had grown twice in size. You sleep so much and you had decided to join a self defense class, just in case. But as you have been feeling more alive, you have noticed that Sulu has been acting extremely tired. One time you had to shake him awake in the middle of him teaching you how to take off the inertial dampener, as he mumbled something about this part being really important.

Sulu had a reason to be tired though. On days that he knew you would be on a long shift for training, he would head to your room when Celeste would be back and be sure to watch her so you didn't have to rush back. You knew he was helping every now and then, and you felt bad for taking advantage of his kindness, but what you didn't know was that he had started to watch her every day you worked and he has time off. Celeste would talk about him all the time and how he made up a name for her. On such nights when you come home to a note saying he put her to bed, you would be able to sleep easy knowing that your daughter was in good hands.

One evening you were coming home from a long shift on the bridge when you heard a noise in your room. You stood there quietly outside your door, straining to figure out what was going on inside. Sulu was usually working on such a day but it seems he was let off work. You opened the door and froze where you stood.

There he was, sitting in a rocking chair with Celeste in her princess costume, the both of them sound asleep with a book still in their hands. You smiled to yourself and stood there, taking in the image before you. Celeste suddenly moved and opened her eyes a tiny bit. Upon seeing you, she let out a shriek of happiness, successfully waking up Sulu. He yawned and let her down so she could run to you. You smiled wide as she came crashing into your open arms.

Sulu got up from the chair and put the book away. He watched as you cooed at her and listened to her gabber about her day.

"Mr. Sulu say I a junior cadet! I going be just like mommy! I want a pretty princess dress like you!"

He smiled and walked over to you, patting your shoulder kindly and tussling Celeste's hair before mutely leaving.

"Wait." You whispered, turning around and grabbing his arm lightly. "Rest a moment as I put her to bed."

Sulu didn't argue as he sat on the small couch you had and closed his eyes a bit as you got Celeste into bed. You shook your head at him and pointed to your bed. He rolled his eyes but complied. You came out of the other room a couple minutes later to find your superior officer sound asleep. Laughing quietly to yourself, you picked up a spare blanket and draped it over him. You wanted to thank him for his kindness to your daughter but it looks like he is the one who needs to be looked after now.

You weren't quite tried yet, so you changed in your bathroom and grabbed a book. You sat on your bed and read for a few minutes before you started to feel tired yourself. But before you could kick your teacher out of your bed, you had fallen asleep, leaning against him slightly.

In the morning, Sulu awoke slowly to pressure on his chest. Looking down he smiled as he found you asleep on his chest. He closed his eyes again and let you rest as he gently stroked your soft hair. Maybe after your training was done he could ask you out on a proper date. He found himself looking forward to that every much.