The Vow au bc I love this plot twist and Aqua/Jim are adorable

[done_in_3]

Three years, nearly four, of wedded bliss. Jim was calmer, more focused and honestly a better captain. He had his wife, his beloved Aqua to thank for that, she was his light, his heart, his whole world. She kept him grounded and morally upright and he honestly took fewer stupid risks with his life thanks to her. The crew ran better, the Enterprise had better records, life was good.

Jim had bought them a house for when he was on Shore Leave on Earth, it barely got used but when Enterprise was docked, well they needed to crash somewhere. It was a nice place in San Francisco, in the heart of downtown and worth every penny of the millions it was worth.The property values were sky high but Jim was a veteran captain and got paid accordingly. He used his money on very little else besides charity so he was happy to spoil his wife with a comfortable home. Besides, if and when they had kids... well if their house just happened to be in an ideal school district he wouldn't call it an accident.

Everything was perfect, which begged for it all to come crashing down soon enough. Jim wouldn't remember the crash or the drunk kids in a truck behind him and Aqua on the road, he wouldn't remember that he shouldn't be alive, his wayfinder had saved him....but he doesn't know what this anymore. All he knows is he's laying in bed, he feels numb.. and he's waking up in what sounds and smells like a hospital.

"Mmm... mm." he was so tired and yet his mind was racing with questions. 'Where am I? What happened? Where's my ship?'

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[watersacrificed]

"Hm?" Aqua tilted her head up, deciding to plant a kiss right on his jaw. There was a soft chuckle from his question, one that she didn't find to be stupid. Well, too stupid.

"No, I feel fine. I'm able to handle a lot, you know." she teased, moving from her spot to climbed on top of him, pressing their bodies against each other's and resting her head next to his.

"I think we both needed that. I feel...a lot better."

[done_in_3]

"Good good." he sighed as she laid on him. He should be thinking more about her mental health and their baby but honestly he couldn't think of much else other than 'boobs'.

She had them.

She had hers against him. He's in a great place right now but she better watch it, he might get a stiffie for number two if she isn't careful. He liked her, respected her, didn't want to hurt her. But he didn't love her again. Not yet. He was totally shagging her for her body right now.

[watersacrificed]

Yes, Aqua was well endowed, but she wanted to spend time cuddling with him. She knew what she was getting into when they first got together and when she first went to bed with him. There were aspects of himself that she knew, that maybe he didn't know about...yet. How he liked to be touched, what turned him on and how to dissuade him from getting too happy.

So in the interest of fairness and to not get him too randy, she rolled off of him and opted to curl back up against him instead.

"Good? I was hoping for great..but I suppose it will be, next time." Hopefully there would be a next time.

[done_in_3]

He pouted with a small whine but didn't argue further. But he laid with her, kind of wanting to be doing something. He didn't smoke and he didn't think he wanted a beer either. He was kind of hungry...

oh wait. Shit.

"I hope you like dry roast. Because that's what we're having." he kind of forgot about dinner in the heat of shagging.

"Unless you just couldn't face me with your clothes ON now."

[watersacrificed]

"...we forgot about the roast..." Oops. Though the little slip up caused her to giggle then start to laugh. Wow, the sex was that good they forgot about the roast in the oven. Oh well. They had sauces and such to make it better.

"I can face you naked or with clothes. I think I might have an issue if the roast comes out burned." Seriously, charcoal was never ever tasty.

"If anything, we could always make pasta." Simple, easy and hard to ruin. She draped one arm over his chest, not tempted to move anywhere...but it he was hungry...

"If you like, go and eat. I think I'll stay in bed for a little bit longer."

[done_in_3]

He wriggled out of bed, out of her grasp. He didn't want to but he had to.

"I can't let the house burn down..." he looked for his underwear, snatching them off the floor and pulling them on. He headed downstairs with only those on to get the roast from the oven and see what was salvageable. Nothing too bad, he could marinate it and you wouldn't even notice. But for now he'll just slice it up and stick it in the fridge.

"You suuuure you don't want something? You haven't eaten since lunch."

[watersacrificed]

By the time Jim got back to the room after salvaging the roast, Aqua was still in bed. Though now, she was wearing one of his old shirts. It was a bit big on her, but she didn't matter. It was one of her favorite ones to wear.

"I'm doing really well...you could even say I'm very satisfied." she flashed him a coy smile, sitting up in their bed with the sheets draped over her lower half.

"But thank you for doing the responsible thing and making sure our house doesn't burn down."

[done_in_3]

"Oh are you now? There's still dessert to be had if you want it." he slid into the bed with his boxers still on though. No need to make it look desperate that he wanted more, he would slip them off should things get hot and heavy again.

"This place looks expensive. Old me might be upset if the house went to hell. Gotta keep things together for when he comes back."

[watersacrificed]

"Oh don't tempt me with dessert now..." she chuckled, scooting over for him to climb back into bed. If things got hot and heavy again, she was sure Jim wouldn't mind sliding off her panties again, or take off his old shirt from her body.

Once he was settled in bed, she scooted back to him.

"It took over two years to build..even longer to design it. You were very particular about how things needed to look."

[done_in_3]

Oh he'd adore that. But he was content to lay here looking at her in his clothes.

"Two years? Bet we had it built while we were in space. How long did we take to design it?" he knew this place had to have been a priority for him, it looked expensive as hell, he couldn't have found it in this condition for any price he could afford. He had to have built it.

"Or did it take that long because of funding?" he had to save up or work slowly so he didn't run out of money to build this castle.

[watersacrificed]

If Jim adored it so much, then maybe Aqua should take to stealing more of his old shirts to wear to bed. It was a habit she developed back when they were on the Enterprise.

"It took a very long time, like over a year. You wanted to make sure every single detail was right..." Plus Jim wanted updates every chance he could. He wanted to build the dream house for them to live in. For them to raise a family in.

"It wasn't because of funding, but it was just the little things. You and I went over every detail of this place. From the flooring to what color of white we wanted on the walls."

[done_in_3]

He won't stop her. Hint hint.

"Yeah, even how many wall outlets we have. This room has eight, that's twice what most bedrooms get, even masters." indeed, the colors were all precise, the flooring and tile were perfectly matched with the walls and windows. This place was a piece of art. This place was his baby at one point, he could tell.

"I actually found something... while I was exploring my old stuff. I think it was supposed to be a surprise but I'll get over it even if I get my memory back. I had plans for an extension to the house apparently. I had them locked up, I don't think I wanted you to know."

[watersacrificed]

If he wouldn't stop her, she'll gladly continue.

The house was Jim's baby, Aqua would freely admit to it. The dedication he had to the project was amazing, though at times it was frustrating. Especially when they were going over such silly things like knobs. The color of knobs, what texture they should have, but she knew it was important to him so she withstood it.

"An extension?" Aqua raised an eyebrow then, looking him over.

"That is quite a surprise. I know you briefly mentioned it maybe once or twice, but I thought...could've sworn we were done with doing anything else to the house." What was her husband planning before the accident?

"You...were and continue to be full of surprises."

[done_in_3]

He'd be a happy man.

Indeed the house clearly showed the care he put into it, the care they both put in. Jim is sure Aqua wad die a lot of credit for her patience. He looked both excited and nervous as he continued.

"I sketched out a lot of different versions but I think I settled on one...I drew it about six times all from different angles. I was ah...I think I was going to surprise you. It's a library."

[watersacrificed]

Aqua began to grow concerned when she looked over her husband. He looked like he had something on his mind, but she wouldn't pry. Whatever it was, he'd tell her in time. At least, that's what the old him did. Him now...hard to tell what exactly he'd do.

"...A library?" she repeated, clearly shocked he had been thinking of such a thing.

"You...wanted to build a library? ...For me?" she repeated again, tears pricking at her eyes.

"..you really know how to make a girl cry, don't you."

[done_in_3]

He blinked then looked a bit surprised. This was a good cry right? Right??

"Yeah. I think I wanted to surprise you for our anniversary or your birthday. Not sure which but I clearly was planning to keep is a secret as long as I could. I had half a mind of continuing that but I have no idea now if these plans are even something you'd like...I have pictures I drew if you want to see them?"

[watersacrificed]

It was a good cry, Jim didn't have to worry about that.

Aqua brought her hand up to wipe away her tears, telling herself to get in control of her emotions before she began to sob. Jim was truly an amazing man. She was lucky to have him.

"A library was something we talked about, but I didn't think you'd build one for me, but I would love to see the drawings." she told him, leaning in closer, propping herself up to deliver a heartfelt kiss.

"You are an amazing, incredible man. You know that?"

[done_in_3]

He looked away but smiled, he was loved. He knew it, no need to rub it in. He was blushing, gosh Aqua. He busied himself with scrounging for his tablet so he could show off the pictures he'd scratched together. He was kind of proud of the place, it looked spectacular if he said so himself. For a moment he remembered... flipping through this before. He used to show Aqua things on this all the time, stupid jokes or pictures. Half his bookmarks were things he saved to show her.

He was crazy about her wasn't he? Bones had been right. That wasn't a memory of actually loving her, just accepting the fact that he did.

He accepted her kiss with more warmth than he'd shown before. He was eager to see her smile now.

"I used to be at least... but here, have a look."

[watersacrificed]

Aqua remained at Jim's side, leaning against him with her head on his shoulder. There were tears still pricking at the corners of her eyes, but she held back the tears. She didn't want to make him feel awkward or bad for making her cry. For the first time in months, it felt like she had a piece of her husband back. The man who stole her heart was doing it again, whether he knew it or not.

"No, you still are. Deep down, you are," she whispered, eyes looking at his tablet. There were dozens of sketches of how the library would look. All of them were breath taking in their own right. It would be hard to pick one.

"...I think I'm falling in love with you all over again." Aqua murmured, awestruck over the detail in each drawing.

[done_in_3]

"Yeah? I think I can get into that." he put an arm around her back and flipped through the pictures.

"I think my intention was to use all of these... but this one..." something was coming back to him. "This one I only wanted the shelves. And I wanted the shelves to look like that all over the whole library if that didn't bother you. And I wanted two floors with a huge skylight...holy shit I'm remembering." he looked to her flabberghasted.

"I'm remembering! This! This one....I...I liked the built-ins, I wanted them to be fucking everywhere, I didn't want any walls untouched. But you know, if you want to put pictures up we can do that too. And these two... I wanted to have both here because I thought this might be your sanctuary after it's built. And the rest of the house is decadent, why not?"

he felt amazing, he remembered the project, remembered all the thoughts he had about it. He didn't remember his love for his wife... but he was getting somewhere.

"Aqua, I think if I work on this I might remember more."

[watersacrificed]

Aqua's eyes lit up at Jim's expression. He was remembering things? He was remembering the project he kept in secret for her. Her heart was beating quickly in her chest the more he poured out the details of what he wanted to build for her. A labor of love that was guiding him back to what he was before.

"It's a start...it's a lovely, wonderful start..." she told him, tears stinging her eyes until they fell down her cheeks.

She was happy, it showed in her eyes. He didn't have to make her anything so luxurious, but he was. He was methodical in everything he did and it showed. Now that trait was guiding him back to her.

Aqua bowed her head and covered her mouth, trying to keep herself from sobbing.

[done_in_3]

He watched her and felt bad for making the tears come. He felt a strange warmth... a need to make that go away and to nurture the joy. He tugged her closer, then physically picked her up and set her in his lap. Gently he brushed her tears away.

"Hey... hey come on. You cry then I'm gonna cry and I get like a baby when I cry." he's making it up to make her laugh "I'm gonna be a mess just 'waaaaah' and then we're both going to be unhappy." he hugged her.

"Besides, when santa brings you a library you're supposed to smile, silly."

[watersacrificed]

The bluenette didn't realize what was happening until she was tugged into Jim's lap. Her lower lip was trembling as tears ran down her face. No matter what she tried to do the tears wouldn't stop. They kept flowing and she wished they had some tissues near by. Just when she thought things couldn't get anymore touching, Jim began to wipe her tears.

There was a weak smile among the tears and sobbing.

"You still look cute when you cry.." she murmured, holding him tightly as she returned the hug.

"Pregnant...remember? Mood swings and...overly emotional and so...so happy."

[done_in_3]

The old Jim might have rocked her and hummed something until she got sleepy. This Jim just decided enough was enough and hoisted her up, carrying her downstairs with him.

"Right, pregnant and with no dinner. Come on, you need something and chocolate milk ails any tears." sure that was fattening and not at all healthy but whatever. Preggers means she is allowed. He wondered gently if he'll remember everything before the baby arrives... if he'll have time to anticipate with joy rather than terror.

[watersacrificed]

When Jim picked Aqua up, she let out a light 'eep', wondering what he was doing. She was wiping away her tears with her wrists to truly see what was going on. The mention of chocolate milk made her pause and wonder if they even had any int he house. More than likely they did, or at least the stuff that could be mixed in with regular milk.

"Ahh, I'll be fine. I'll be fine. I just...need to get it out of my system." But she didn't squirm or move out of his grasp. She stayed in his arms until he placed her down. She was taking in deep breaths, trying to calm herself down and find her center.

Her center couldn't be reached apparently. Jim's memory was coming back little by little. It was something to celebrate entirely and her body decided crying was the best way.

"Go ahead and eat. I'm fine. Really, I p-promise."