A Matter for Ma'at

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Chapter 4

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2258-Post Narada; Day 2, USS Enterprise

 

Jim should have known that Bones would have drugged him to sleep after he had walked in on Jim sobbing again. He had been trying not to, of course. Sarek had been so kind to him, trying to insure that Jim knew the old Vulcan didn’t blame him for what had occurred. He had even, for a short while, been able to forget as he spent three hours regaling Sarek with stories about Gabriel. But alone in the dark of Bone’s quarters, Jim hadn’t been able to fight back the tears anymore. He must have been sobbing for hours because Bones had eventually come back from another stint in Sickbay to find Jim collapsed on the floor by the bed, his eyes puffy and red, tears still wet on his cheeks, nose congested and head throbbing from dehydration from all the tears he had spilled. Seeing Jim like that, Bones had gone into Mother-hen mode, brushing his tears away with his thumbs before washing his face and forcing Jim into bed. Bones was one of the few people who could get away with that, but even if it had been Chekov, who he had known for barely a day, Jim was sure that he would have allowed the Ensign to put him to bed as well. He felt desperate for some warm loving contact to force the pain and grief to the back of his mind where all the other horrors were hidden away.

 

As always Bones seemed to know exactly what Jim needed without Jim having to ask. The grumpy old country doctor had gotten Jim under the covers and crawled in along with him, curling his body around Jim’s. Jim’s breath had hitched more than once as he tried again to get his crying under control as the heat from Bones’ body warmed his back, soaking into his soul. Bones had rested his head next to Jim’s, finger carding gently through golden hair as the doctor sung to him. It had been an old song, one Gabriel had found a few years ago and had played over and over again.

 

“Courage is when you’re afraid/But you keep on moving anyway/Courage is when you’re in pain/But you keep on living” Bones voice was nearly hypnotic, that thick Georgian accent rolling over Jim like honey.

 

“We all have excuses why/Living in fear something in us dies/Like a bird with broken wings/It’s not how high he flies but the song he sings/ Courage is when you’re afraid/But you keep on moving anyway/Courage is when you’re in pain/But you keep on living.”

 

The hiss of the hypospray releasing the drugs into his arm had been hardly noticed. Jim had forced all his awareness on the sound of Bones voice, the feel of his hands in Jim’s hair and the warm beat of his heart against Jim’s back. Life. Bones was life and Jim needed the reminder that it still went on.

 

“It’s not how many times you’ve been knocked down/It’s how many times you get back up/Courage is when you’ve lost your way/But you find your strength anyway/Courage is when you’re afraid/Courage is when it all seems gray/Courage is when you make a change/And you keep on living anyway…” Bones continued to sing on, but sleep had pulled Jim under.

 

Four hours must have passed at the very least, because as awareness came back to him Jim had realized that Bones wasn’t laying spooned up against him. He must have already gotten up and left again for a shift in Sickbay. Jim sighed. He wanted to tell Bones to get a real eight hours of sleep before going back to work but knew his friend would just ignore him. Bones had a pretty big “helping people” thing. He just couldn’t leave a sick person alone. Of course that was one of the things that Jim loved about him. The man had a bleeding heart of gold hidden behind that barbwire mouth.

 

Sitting up Jim let out a deep breath and ran his hands over his face and into his hair. He felt grimy, as if he hadn’t bathed in weeks. Which of course he had, but things had been so hectic since they left Earth that he barley had time to think and sleep, so bathing had fallen to the wayside and as such is was getting close to forty-eight hours since his last shower. Not the wisest thing to do when he was injured. As Bones would point out it was a sure fire way to get an infection. Jim had a pretty messed up immune system so even with all the boosters Bones was constantly plying him with the chances for him getting an infection or a cold were fairly high. Being a premature baby and exposed to alien radiation had certainly made his life unexpectedly interesting for his good friend. Bones was constantly finding new medical quirks about him that could be traced back to his birth on the shuttle pod or the unusual hormonal fluctuations he had from his alien induced hermaphrodite status. In fact Jim was willing to bet just about anyone that by lunchtime today Bones would have found a new allergy for him at the very least. Of course he hoped he was wrong because he was getting tired of adding new and interesting things onto the list of ‘Jim’s Crazy Allergies’ that Bones kept on his PADD, in his pocket and on a print out tapped to their dorm room door.

 

Stretching Jim got out of bed and head to the bathing compartment. Bones had lucked out and was able to use the CMO’s cabin on the Officer’s Deck so he only had to share a bathroom with the cabin next door, which Jim knew was now Scotty’s. Somehow he was fairly certain the Scotsman hadn’t been in his room yet. He was just too fastidious about the Enterprise and it’s wounded and battered body. Jim had already bet Bones that they wouldn’t see the Scotsman sleeping until his body simply collapsed from exhaustion. Bones had started cursing at that point.

 

The bathroom between the cabins was larger than Jim had thought it would be, but still not necessarily a comfortable size for two, let alone three, adult men to be sharing. He could only imagine how much worse it was for the women’s shared bathrooms or the bathrooms used by the Ensigns who had four people sharing one bathroom. He understood it was to save space onboard for more vital needs, but still! Man he would hate to be in one of those cabins, especially since he had some heavy secrets to hide that would likely be discovered very quick when sharing such a small space with so many others.

 

Jim groaned and moved to where the translucent wall separated the toilet from the rest of the bathroom. Reaching a hand out he waved it in front of the stall door monitor causing the door panel to slide open. The door, like every other one onboard, made a very soft whoosh noise as it opened and then closed behind him.

 

Barely awake he undid his pants, letting them drop to the floor before kicking the off the side of the stall. Yawning Jim stepped up to the toilet and slipped a hand down to scratch his belly before freeing his penis from his boxer briefs. Normally his morning wood would be competing with his bladder but the pall that hung over him had ensured it wouldn't be a problem. Perhaps, for days or even weeks from now. This whole thing reminded him too much of what took place on Tarsus IV. So many dead for no reason other than one insane bastards desire.



Still Jim was glad to be alive, glad that Sarek was anxious to meet Gabriel, glad Spock was alive and very glad that Earth was saved and they were on their way home.



Yawning again, Jim shook his penis to force out the last bit of urine before pulling the boxer briefs off and kicking them aside as well. As Jim stepped away the toilet flushed itself and the stall door opened. Pulling off his torn and stained black shirt, he dropped it and moved across the bathroom to the shower. He smelled rank after nearly a day and a half without a shower. Before he could even think about going to the Bridge he need to be clean and good smelling. He didn't want to give Uhura any further reason to bad mouth him to Spock than she already had.



Reaching into the stall Jim quickly set it to his preferred temperature before stepping into the hot spray. Steam began to quickly fill the room, triggering the automated vent system. The hot water cascaded over his upturned face, down his neck, over his chest to his groin and down his spine. It tickled his still sensitive healing flesh but Jim didn't care. He liked the feeling. If he hadn't been so lucky as to meet Old Spock, really he needed a better name, on that God forsaken ice moon he likely would be in the digestive track of that scary ass red monstrosity. And really there was nothing good about that potential future.



Stepping back from the spray, Jim whipped his eyes clear and looked at the built in shelf. There were two bars of soap, both still wrapped in wax paper, and a bottle of shampoo. Picking up the shampoo he popped the top open and leaned over to give it a sniff. Pretty generic based on scent. It was probably the same crap they had in the dorms. Scowling, Jim squeezed out a dollop of the pearly gel-like shampoo. He hated this stuff with a passion. It always left his scalp dry and unbearably itchy all day. Not to mention that his hair always looked as fluffy as old Ms. Norma's poodle afterwards. With no other option to use he would have to suffer it and plan to buy a box of his own preferred brand before, if, he graduated and got his posting.



Trying not to grumble like a spoiled child Jim quickly washed his hair and began the arduous process of triple rinsing his hair. He didn't want any of the shampoo left in his hair to make the itching scalp worse than it would already be. It took longer but it left him sure it was all out and he could process to soap up and clean the rest of his body. Bones was a stickler for cleanliness and Jim had take to washing as thoroughly as possible after Gabriel was born. The cleaner he was the less likely to pass on germs or colds to his little angel.



Fortunately the soap was better than his shampoo, still not as nice as the homemade all natural stuff he got from the farmer's market back in Iowa, but still decent. It was scentless as could be and seemed to have some built in vitamins and moisturizers for healthy skin. And as luck would have it, he didn't have any allergies to any of the ingredients list on it. Pleased he wouldn't have to worry Bones or Sarek by going into anaphylactic shock while alone in the shower, Jim began scrubbing at his arms and chest and slowly working over the rest of his upper body.



Rinsing off Jim moved once again out of the spray from the shower and propped his leg up on the edge of the stall seat. Scowling at the fine golden hairs on his legs that were nearly invisible, Jim grabbed the soap again and started soaping up his feet and began to work his way back up to his groin.



"Oh, fuck me sideways," cursed Jim. His hand frozen on his thigh Jim watched the thin stream of red drip to the tile floor at his feet. "Of all the days..."



Jim shook his head and went back to washing up. It looked like he was going to have to Comm Bones to have the grumpy old goat bring him some tampons or pads, whichever they had in stock.

 

 

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

 

 

Bridge, USS Enterprise

 

The walk to the Bridge was longer than Jim had planned. Crewmembers kept popping out of nowhere to shake his hand and thank him. Jim always smiled and tried to tell them he couldn’t have done it without their help, but none of them seemed to be listening to him and it just left him uncomfortably holding hands with a virtual stranger. Some part of him basked in their adulation since it was so rare a feeling for him. Most people looked at him with pity for being the dead hero’s son, or in scorn for having the rep of campus manwhore, which was untrue. Jim was by no means celibate. It had been too long since Spock had been with him for Jim to really truly believe that Spock still loved him and to wait for him. Jim wasn’t willing to wait around for Spock. If Spock didn’t love him, well then he was missing out on something good. And if he did, then surely even if he never received Jim’s letters he could have come back. He knew where Jim lived and if Spock had been on Earth long enough to graduate from the Academy and become a Professor, then surely he had enough time during breaks to travel back to Riverside and look Jim up.

 

Jim pushed the thought from his mind and quickly dodged around a corner to hide from the Yeoman who had been tailing him all morning. Janice was a kind girl and in other circumstances he would have been glade of her affection for him, but she always seemed to wait until he was with someone to decide she liked him that way. When he was attainable it was like he was just another guy on campus. Still, he didn’t want to be mean to her, she had never been unkind to him but she really didn’t know Jim very well and he could never quite tell if she was bringing him more PADDs to sign off on one repair or another, or if she was trying to get him to agree to a date when this was all over. He hoped it was the former because she was pretty kick ass as a Yeoman and he could use her help getting all the paperwork sorted out. But if it was the latter he wasn’t sure how to handle it. They were in cramped quarters and people were everywhere. If he turned her down, even if he did it kindly, it would be all over the ship and blown out of proportion before he could prevent it from reaching Spock and Uhura’s ears.

 

Finally Yeoman Rand scowled and stormed off down another hallway, leaving Jim open to get back on the main corridor to the Bridge. Fortunately he didn’t run into in the four minutes it took to reach the door to the Bridge. Sighing and shaking his shoulders to release the tension that had been building all morning Jim stepped through the doorway. As Jim entered the Bridge the Red Shirt by the door called out “Captain on deck.”

 

The bridge crew stood and saluted, making Jim a bit uncomfortable. It was only a day ago that he had been a cadet, that he had been one of them. Now he was the Captain! The weight of that was heavy on his shoulders, only the knowledge that Bones and Sarek trusted him…believed in him, kept him from crashing and burning.

 

“At ease.” Jim waved them back to their seats. Sulu gave him a wide smile as he turned back to his station and beside him Chekov glanced quickly up at Jim, as he took his seat in the Captain’s Chair, before blushing tomato red and spinning back around. That made Jim pause. He wasn’t sure what had caused Chekov to blush. Was he embarrassed? Was he forming some kind of crush? God, if it was a crush that was going to be awkward. It seemed like half the crew and maybe a dozen of the Vulcan refugees had formed some kind of romantic attachment to him overnight. Bones had found the whole thing incredibly amusing when he had strolled into the cabin with Jim’s special items this morning. Apparently the Nurses were gossiping already now that most of the injured were on the mend and Jim’s relationship with Sarek was all the rage. How they knew he and Sarek were on friendly speaking terms and had spent hours alone in Bones quarters last night was still a mystery. But the rumors still came from all quarters. Apparently he had been involved in some kind of torrid love affair with the Ambassador and was now planning on marrying the Vulcan since his wife had died. Of course another rumor was that he was heartbroken at her death because her, Sarek and Jim had been planning to secretly form a triad bond once they had Spock’s approval. And then there was the one about how Jim had given birth to Sarek’s love child and kept him hidden away on Earth, which was far too close to the truth for Jim’s comfort and he had to wonder why anyone would think he could have given birth unless they had figured out his secret? And that was just too terrifying to contemplate.

 

“Status of the ship, Commander,” he asked turning to face Spock and silently hoping the man would at least look at him this time.

 

“All repairs are underway. Commander Scott reports 45% of the repairs have been completed and another 20% are currently in progress.” Spock glanced briefly at Jim and for a moment Jim thought Spock might have recognized him, but the look was fleeting. Spock’s heady gaze was quickly turned back to his station, his back to Jim.

 

Trying not to sigh out loud, Jim slumped ever so slightly in the seat and rested his head in his hand. “E.T.A. to Starbase 3?”

 

“E.T.A. is thirty-seven hours and twenty-six minutes, Captain,” replied Spock in the same neutral tone.

 

“Any chance we can get the repairs completed in that time, Spock?”

 

Spock did the Vulcan equivalent of jumping in place at the sound of his name. Normally Jim would find it amusing, but now it was just painful. Spock should be used to Jim saying his name. He should be pleased by the sound of it as he had been all those years ago. Instead he acted like Jim had struck him. “All calculations point to there being a 2.035% chance of the repairs being incomplete at time of arrival.”

 

“Alright then. We’re doing good so far.” Jim wanted to look over at Spock again, to check to see if his Vulcan…no, Spock wasn’t his Vulcan. Not anymore. If he was anyone’s Vulcan, he was Uhura’s and didn’t she just seem pleased with herself about that.

 

Another hour passed quietly on the Bridge, interrupted only when Yeoman Rand finally found him and thrust a pile of PADDs at him with a rather irritated glare. Apparently she hadn’t been chasing him down to ask for a date…this time. Grimacing, Jim began the tedious chore of reading through each report, memorizing the damages listed and the names of every casualty the ship had had under his Command and even before he had stolen it away from Spock. There were too many there. Too many names with faces that Jim didn’t know. Too many names with too many people who were still waiting to hear about them. Too many names that would have too many people falling into tears.

           

Swallowing back the sob he could feel rising in his chest at the realization of how close he had came to having his name on that list, to having left Gabriel without a Father, to having his son grow up never meeting his Grandfather and his other Father…it was almost too much. But Jim was the Captain right now and if his life had taught him anything before joining Starfleet it was that he had too many people depending on him to be strong and capable to let his emotions break him. “Uhura,” he called out, pleased when his voice didn’t break on a sob. “Any idea when we’ll have Communication back with HQ?”

 

For a moment the room went still. Everyone silently watching the interaction from two people who were famous for hating each other while they had been cadets. Jim knew her opinion of him was well known across campus and likely there was a bet going on about how long it would take for her to lead a mutiny against him. She hadn’t been all that quiet yesterday when she had bitched him out in the hall outside the Mess. Fortunately, Uhura seemed to realize the rest of the crew was waiting for what she would say, for good or ill. Their greedy little hearts just begging for a new bit of gossip to get them through the day. And if nothing else, Uhura was not the type of person to like being the center of any type of gossip.

 

“We should have communication re-established within the hour…Captain.” Even as skilled as she was, it was apparently too much to ask her to keep her scorn out of her voice when dropping his title.

 

Jim was a father through and he knew when to pick his battles and really it wasn’t worth it. He likely wouldn’t get to keep the title, hell he wasn’t likely to get to keep his position as a cadet when this was all over. He had broken too many rules for them to let him get away with it. “Good. Let me know when it’s working. There are a lot of people waiting to find out if their loved ones survived.”

 

Uhura flinched and turned back to her station at the rebuke and at his station Spock looked again, his gaze lingering on each of them. His head tilted slightly as his gazed moved from Uhura to Jim. Not willing to break eye contact, Jim just kept watching Spock watching him.

 

‘Did he just sniff the air?’ Jim tried, and failed to arch an eyebrow in question at Spock. Which was, of course, ignored. ‘Okay, he just totally did it again!’

 

“Captain,” Spock started as he moved away from his station and up to the Captain’s chair, where he once again sniffed the air. “Are you injured?”

 

Jim blinked, confused. “What?” In the background Jim could hear some very slight snickering coming from the communications area and a few indrawn breaths from around the room.

 

“You smell strongly of blood.”

 

Jim suddenly remembered how good Sarek sense of smell was to have picked up on the scent of sex that had lingered on him and Spock even after showering, which meant Spock must be able to smell that Jim was menstruating! ‘Oh, God this is embarrassing!’ Blushing Jim almost yelled out his response before he could stop himself. “What? No. I’m fine! Really. You must just be picking up lingering scents from the fight yesterday.”

 

Eyebrows dropping and pressing together briefly Spock forged on, “I do not believe that likely. The scent of the blood smells far more recent.”

 

“Well I haven’t be in any more fights and Bones has already checked me over. I’m fine, Commander.”

 

Spock raised his eyebrow at the unspoken command to leave the subject alone. Humans were quite curious. “Very well.” Pausing Spock glanced over Jim again as if a second look would allow him to pinpoint where the scent of fresh blood was coming from. “I would request to go to Sickbay to check on the status of Captain Pike.”

 

“Request granted.” Jim didn’t hesitate to wave Spock off the Bridge. The whole morning had just gotten even more uncomfortable and Jim hadn’t believed that to have been possible. He could only mourned his further ruined reputation. The gossip from just this first two hours of his shift were likely to be even more outrageous than the ones already making the rounds.

 

* * *

 

Spock watched as the irritated scowl cross Captain Kirk’s face. He had not meant to upset the man, he was merely inquiring as to his health. As Acting Captain his continued health was important and part of Spock’s responsibility as First Officer. The fact that he smelled strongly of blood and yet claimed not to be wounded was cause for concern. While Spock still had many questions about Acting Captain Kirk’s morals he already had seen the young human would make for an excellent Captain. He was brave but not foolhardy, smarter than anyone gave him credit for, capable of thinking on his feet and altering his plans with the changes of real combat and he was loyal. He showed that he was willing to put his own life on the line for others in a manner both endearing and worrisome, as he appeared to have very little care for his own continued existence if it meant another might be spared.

 

Spock could not help but worry about the scent of blood that lingered on the man. It was almost as if he was still bleeding even as he sat there. Something about that particular scent of blood struck something in his memory as familiar but could not figure out why. It would make sense if the Acting Captain had been female, but he was most certainly not female. The memory of that hot, hard body pressed against his was all too powerful to ignore completely and it certainly confirmed Spock’s knowledge that James Kirk was more than anything else, male. A shiver made it’s way down Spock’s spine as the graphic memory played through his senses again. The whole battle was strongly imprinted on his mind but certain events seemed to have an even greater hold on Spock. His Mother dropping away from him, the sound of Kirk’s voice calling out for help over the COMM, the feel of his throat beneath Spock’s hand, the press of his body along the length of Spock’s own, the smell of his skin and the warmth of his breath as they stood inside the Jellyfish, the touch of his hand on Spock’s shoulder as he left the transporter room with Pike. Was he simply so overcome by the sense memories of the previous day that he was imagining the scent of blood? No, he had regained more of his control after Uhura had left him in his quarters. So why was the smell of blood so strong and heady? It hovered in the air around him like a cloud of the most expensive Orion perfume, teasing at Spock’s already shaky control.

 

‘I should speak with Dr. McCoy in regards to the Acting Captain’s health. Perhaps he has reopened a wound.’ Thought Spock as he stepped into the turbolift.

 

The ride to sickbay was quick and silent, for which Spock was grateful as he had much on his mind and still a great deal of work to do. It stopped only once for an Ensign who went pale at the sight of him and stammered out a greeting before backing up and disappeared back down the hallway. Spock couldn’t help he eyebrow that rose at the baffling behaviour. He was however becoming used to it. Besides a handle of his students and fellow Officers most Starfleet personnel had a tendency to back away from him. Captain Pike had assured him it was merely an involuntary emotional reaction to his “intimidating presence.” He did not see how he could be intimidating any of the other Starfleet personnel as he had made no threatening motions, nor even spoken to them before they would turn away. Perhaps Captain Pike’s logic was flawed?

 

Repressing a sigh Spock silently wished his Jim was here to explain the behavior to him. He knew she would be able to explain it in such a way that he could understand it even if it was still not a logical answer. She was not here however. It had been nine years since last he saw her and it ate away at him every day. He did not understand why she had not responded to him at first or why she sent all his letters back to him with a note telling him she did not wish to hear from him again. He had done nothing to harm her as far as he knew and she had, in fact, seemed very distraught upon his leaving. He had asked Captain Pike about it once but had stopped when the older human had laughed at the fact his K’diwa was a girl with a boys name. When Captain Pike realized he may have gone to far by laughing he had spent the next several days trying to apologize and had tried to explain that a lot of human women gave false names to suitors in order to push the unsuitable ones away. Spock highly doubted this was the case with his Jim as she had been more than willing to share her mind and lying in the meld would have been impossible. It was more likely, he thought, that she had gone to complete a higher education as Spock had and had decided to wait to contact him until she had completed her education so as to avoid any distractions. And distract her he would have if those few days they had together were any indication. He wondered to what she had gone to study? Had it been astronomy? Did she go into engineering or computer science? Had it been a degree on literature? He wanted to know.

 

‘Perhaps I will attempt to locate her when we regain communication with Starfleet. They should be able to locate her or Mr. Freedman.’

 

“Aw damn it. What do you want, you green blooded hobgoblin?”

 

Spock let his eyebrow arch in the only emotional sign he would give the current Chief Medical Officer. Why he chose to be a doctor when normally a good “bedside manner” was required in such a profession made no logical sense, as Dr. McCoy seemed to greatly despise dealing with others. “I am here to inquire as to Captain Pike’s current medical condition.”

 

“He’s bloody fucking lucky to be alive is what he is. Now shoo,” Dr. McCoy waved his hands at Spock as if that would encourage the Vulcan to do as he directed.

 

“Your highly emotional verbiage does not provide the necessary information. If you step aside I shall confirm his status myself.”

 

Dr. McCoy sputtered and his face grew red. Eyes narrowing he stepped into Spock’s personnel space and thrust his pointer finger into Spock’s chest, jabbing at him as he spoke. “Now see here you –“

 

“Will you two quit bickering like a pair of five year olds. Spock get back here,” called out Captain Pike.

 

Dr. McCoy grumbled but let Spock pass back to the curtained off bed where the injured Captain Pike was supposed to be resting. “If you get him too riled up you uppity elf I’ll boot you out of my Sickbay no matter what he wants. Got it?”

 

Spock gave the doctor a curt nod before letting the curtain close behind him.

 

“So,” Pike looked up at Spock from where he lay propped against the pillows on the bio-bed. “You and McCoy seem to be getting along fabulously.”

 

Spock arched his eyebrow.

 

Pike just laughed and waved for Spock to take the seat next to his bed. “Honestly, Spock, the man is certainly a grumpy-gus but what kind of hornets nest did you stuff up his bonnet?”

 

“I have not placed a hornets nest anywhere on the Doctor’s person. Secondly, I am unsure where you believe I could have acquired one or why you believe the Doctor would wear an antiquated piece of female attire.”

 

Pike shook his head and snorted before glancing up at Spock. Seeing the serious look on his face only caused Pike to begin laughing harder. His laughter rang out in loud bellows, startling a nurse into dropping his tricorder before Pike clutched at his side as a wave of pain swept over him. The monitors in the bed let out a loud series of three beeps before going silent again and Spock tried not to wince as Doctor McCoy yelled at him from beyond the curtain. “Lord have mercy…Don’t make me come back there!”

 

“I’m fine, McCoy, go back to harassing the nurses,” Pike yelled back.

 

More loud mutterings could be heard as McCoy moved further away from where Spock sat next to Captain Pike’s bed. For a long moment the two did nothing but listen to the sounds of Sickbay. Soon enough though it was obvious that Doctor McCoy was not going to come rushing back into the enclosed space set aside for the Enterprise’s injured Captain.

 

“How is everyone fairing so far,” asked Pike.

 

“The crew has exceeded all expectations. Repairs are underway and the engineer Acting Captain Kirk brought back from Delta Vega appears to be a capable taskmaster. At present time he estimates the repairs to be finished by the time we arrive at Starbase 3.”

 

“And the Vulcans that were beamed onboard before the planet was lost?”

 

Spock paused and felt the cavity around his heart clench, making it feel as if a solid mass had clamp around it pressing in tighter and tighter. He did not understand what caused the sensation but it was fleeting and Spock paused it to the back of his mind. He could meditate on it once his shift was over. “There are more survivors than first expected. The transporter technicians in the cargo bays were beaming up large numbers of Vulcans from the larger cities. We currently have two hundred and three refugees onboard. Of those nearly thirty are women in the last trimester of pregnancy. There were forty-three with minors injuries and one near fatality when a pride of L’matas were caught in the transporter beam.”

 

“Shit!” Pike’s face blanched at the realization of the potential danger. “Where are the L’matas now?”

 

“They were stunned and then moved to the brig where they have been sedated. The pride is a fairly large one and it has been decided to do what is possible to keep them alive.”

 

“Of course. There aren’t that many in captivity on other planets are there?”

 

“There are approximately eight thousand in various zoos and wildlife sanctuaries throughout the Federation. The addition of the wild bloodline of the pride that was beamed aboard will be necessary to keep the species healthy.”

 

Pike shook his head. The whole last few days were rather surreal. There were spots where he couldn’t remember what had happened, mostly those were while he was onboard the Narada, but there were also points of time prior to the Enterprise launching that he didn’t remember. Everything had been so rushed in the wake of the first emergency message that Starfleet Command had received that his mind just blanked out the unimportant points, or at least what he hoped were the unimportant moments. There were also points in his memory where everything was moving at superspeed. And although it all felt very rushed and hectic his memory of those moments was crisp and sharp edged.

 

“And how are you doing, Spock?”

 

“My health is optimum, Captain.”

 

“That’s not what I meant, Spock. Although it is good to hear.” Pike winched as another flicker of pain shot up and down his neck. “I heard about your Mother. I’m so sorry.”

 

Spock closed his eyes and swallowed, his adams-apple bobbing. Taking a deep breath he opened his eyes again, calm shinning out through the dark orbs. “Her loss was unanticipated and unwelcome.”

 

“I can only imagine how hard this all is for you. If you need someone to talk to, Spock, I’m here. I’m not good for much else right now but this injury won’t keep me from helping you if you want it.”

 

Spock nodded unsure how to reply. He was not good when dealing with emotional situations. As a Vulcan it went against his core beliefs to admit to having emotions let alone wallowing in them and yet it seemed nearly impossible for him to do anything but that since he had watched her fall away from him. He had lost one of the two most important women in his life and it was causing more emotional turmoil in him than he had ever before experienced. He did not even have the words to accurately describe what was currently going through his mind at the sudden loss of his Mother and so many other members of his Clan and his people. It was a loss beyond all rational comprehension.

 

“How is Jim handling Command of the ship,” asked Pike, changing the subject at the obvious sign of Spock’s discomfort.

 

“He appears to be handling the stress of the situation admirably. He spread the duties among the crew as evenly as possible and reassigned personnel capable of handling jobs for other departments that are short staffed.”

 

“He’s doing better than you thought, eh?” Pike smiled at Spock. “You shouldn’t be surprised. Jim has the highest GPA out of the current graduating class and one of the highest in Starfleet history, your own being the one of the ones topping him.”

 

“Indeed,” Spock said in surprise. He knew the cadet was intelligent, he would have to be to hack Spock’s programming of the Kobayashi Maru.

 

“Don’t let him fool you, Spock. Jim likes to be underestimated by people. It gives him a tactical edge as well as being a decent defense mechanism for the brat.” Pike shook his head trying to banish the knowledge he had gleamed of Jim’s past prior to joining Starfleet. “He’s used to people just seeing his pretty face and wanting him for it, if not for the fact of who he is. He’s really a lot like you, having had to grow up in his Father’s shadow.”

 

Spock suppressed the desire to scrunch his nose in annoyance; it was not a seemly expression for a Vulcan. Pike chuckled again. “I can see you don’t believe me, Spock. But for my sake try to be opened minded about Jim. Watch him when you can, see how he interacts with people and how they interact with him. You might be surprised.”

 

“As you wish, Captain.”

 

“Lord,” Pike shook his head, glancing up at Spock with warm fondness. “The two of you seem more an’ more alike every day and yet neither seem able to understand the other.”

 

Spock raised an eyebrow encouraging Captain Pike to expand further on his comment.

 

“Alright, it’s like the Kobayashi Maru sim.” Spock’s eyebrow rose even higher and Pike tried not to laugh out loud at the look. They were just so mobile he couldn’t help but want to say things to see how high up his forehead they could go. “Jim hacked through the firewall and all your coding to insert a subroutine that would change the parameters of the test. Correct?”

 

“Indeed. He cheated.”

 

“Perhaps in your eyes he did, but if you step back and take a look at it through his eyes you’ll see he had no intention of cheating.”

 

“Explain.”

 

“Well,” Pike rubbed his chin. “I picked Jim to join Starfleet not because of who his Father was or even his grades, but because for everything I could find on him showed him to be capable of thinking on his feet and outside the box. He saw your test as a test meant to force him to think outside the box to alter the parameters of the battle to give him a chance to save as many people as possible. Because he knows that Starfleet tactics are predictable which makes us easy prey. But it is more than that as well. It’s gotten to the point where we are essentially teaching the cadets to give up without trying just because the situation is hard.” Pike sighed, his eyes a bit haunted. “That is something that goes against the very nature of Jim Kirk. There is a lot about Jim I can’t tell you Spock. Things that would haunt you, things that would make you understand why Jim would risk his life to ensure others survived. One day I know you and Jim will be a Command team for the history books. I can see it even now. Hell, Spock I knew it after Jim’s second year as a cadet. That’s why I asked for him to serve as tactical officer for the Enterprise.”

 

“That is most illogical. I do-“

 

Leonard smirked from where he stood on the other side of the curtain. It wasn’t exactly ethical to listen in on his patients private conversations but when he had come back to check on Captain Pike he had heard the man talking about Jim. He loved Jim like he was the little brother Leonard had long wished for. So, as he had done at the Academy, he had paused and hidden to listen to the conversation. Jim was all to willing to let his rep be dragged through the mud by the viscous bitches at the Academy who wanted revenge after Jim denied them his bed and body, women like Janice Lester. That bitch had been crazy on a whole new level and had taken great delight in spreading many rumors about Jim being the Academy bicycle and unfortunately for Jim, Uhura had been more than happy to tell everyone she met about how Jim grabbed her (tiny) boobs while in a bar only minutes after meeting her. The fact that he was in the middle of a bar fight and was thrown at her seemed to have skipped her mind.

 

So Leonard had waited and listened and hoped that Captain Pike would be able to reverse whatever negative impression Jim had created in the last few days. So far he was hopeful, Captain Pike seemed quite fond of Jim and was obviously willing to try and convince Spock of Jim’s worth as well. Of course Leonard had long been thinking that Captain Pike, who had been Jim’s mentor at the Academy, had figured out that Gabriel was Spock’s kid. The man wasn’t a Captain because he was stupid, that was for sure, and as he knew both Spock and Jim and had met Gabriel at least three times that Leonard knew of, he must have seen the family resemblance. If he hadn’t figured out Gabriel was Spock’s kid than he certainly suspected they were related somehow.

 

Smirking, Leonard headed away from where Captain Pike was recovering. It would be best to let the older man try to sway Spock back to the right side. Twiddle-Dee and Twiddle-Dum couldn’t seem to fix their relationship on their own but Leonard had too much on his own plate at the moment to try and take up that lost cause.

 

 

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

 

 

1400 Hours; Captain’s Ready Room, USS Enterprise

 

Lady T’Pau had to be one of the most intimidating people Jim had ever met. And considering he had faced both Kodos and Nero that was saying something. Of course he had the strange feeling that the elderly lady was fond of him. It wasn’t rational this feeling, and he wasn’t sure where it was coming from as her expression was as closed off and cold as any Vulcan could ever hope for. But none-the-less he was sure that she actually was enjoying sitting in this little office next to her son…nephew…brother…to Ambassador Sarek, whatever family relationship they had, and talking with him. They had been going over the list of Vulcan names that they had started to gather from the refugees that had been beamed aboard. They had also managed to pick up a communication from several small Vulcan freighters that had managed to fill themselves with people from the doomed planet before escaping its destruction. It would likely take another two or three hours to get the rest of those names compiled but it looked like Spock’s early estimate of only ten thousand survivors was a little low. Based on the information the rest of the council, as well as what information Sarek and Lady T’Pau had, it now looked like there was at least eighty thousand Vulcans who survived. Jim could only be grateful that the council had found several new worlds that the Vulcan Science Academy had built research facilities on, as that had greatly increased the number of survivors.

 

Still as much as he found himself enjoying the conversation he was getting a bit tired of reading between the lines as well as trying to follow the constant double talk that the two seemed to amuse themselves with. He wasn’t sure but he had the feeling that T’Pau was using it as some way to test him for…well, something.

 

‘Maybe Sarek told her about Spock and I,’ mused Jim. ‘If she knows about our former relationship and Gabriel she may be trying to get more little Vulcans out of it for the repopulation effort that is bound to spring up sooner or later.’

 

His musing was interrupted by the chime of the COMM notifying him that the Communications Officer on shift, currently an Ensign Addelene (or Addy as she had requested to be called), was trying to reach him. Jim looked over at the two Vulcans who both nodded at him as he reached to answer the COMM. “Kirk here.”

 

“Captain, you asked to be notified when communications with Starfleet HQ was re-established. Engineering has just notified us and we have sent out a preliminary request for confirmation of contact.”

 

“Was it received?”

 

“Received and acknowledged, Sir. Per your standing orders the current list of survivors and refugees onboard has been sent to HQ along with your report on the Battle for Vulcan and the Narada Engagement. HQ has given the all clear to begin sending live calls through to family members of survivors.”

 

“That’s good to hear. Have they said anything about sending out assistance?”

 

“The USS Washington and the USS Nautilus are en-route. The USS Washington should meet us on our current heading in twenty-seven hours. The USS Nautilus should meet us within forty-eight hours, Sir. Command assured they would be able to take anyone Dr. McCoy lists as in critical condition, along with any refugees willing to be transferred. Also we have been notified that both ships will be able to provide supplies and any assistance Engineering will require.”

 

“Good.” Jim looked over at the two waiting Vulcans and couldn’t help but grin. “Please have Ensign Chekov send out a ship wide notice that anyone wishing to contact home will need to apply to their supervisor for a time slot. Contact the department heads and let them know we will have a schedule ready by 1500 so that we can begin letting people contact their families.”

 

“Aye, Sir.”

 

Jim cut the communication and looked back at the two Vulcans who he could loosely think of as family. He wondered if wither would be offended if he told them they could consider Gabriel and himself as family. “Looks like we’re finally getting some good news. Do you think any of the Vulcans onboard would be interested in using the communications relay to contact any family they may have elsewhere?”

 

Lady T’Pau seemed to consider the question seriously, her dark eyes taking on a thoughtful look. “I shall pose it to the council so they may inquire.”

 

“Jim,” Sarek looked at Jim with what Jim thought might have been a wistful expression. “As communications have been re-established, would you allow me the chance to converse with my grandson prior to our arrival at Earth?”

 

“Of course!” Jim couldn’t stop the wide grin that spread across his face. Eyes twinkling Jim turned to T’Pau, “Would you like to meet Sarek’s grandson, Lady T’Pau? I am sure Gabriel would love to meet you both.”

 

Although she would deny it to her dying die T’Pau would not lie to herself. She was pleased greatly by James Kirk’s intelligence as well as his commitment to family. He would make a fine addition to the Clan of Surak. “That would be acceptable, James Kirk.”

 

Jim blushed and rubbed at his warm cheek with the back of his hand. “Okay then. It might be wrong of me but I could access the communication channel and get a call into his school?” Jim’s eyebrows dropped low as he contemplated whither or not Starfleet would have contacted Mr. Freedman or Sam to come get Gabriel once it was known that Jim was on one of the ship facing off against Nero. “I may have to see if he was picked up by my brother Sam and his wife or Mr. Freedman. Starfleet may have had them come get Gabriel.”

 

“I am glad to hear you have re-established contact with your brother,” stated Sarek.

 

Jim’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know you knew about Sam.”

 

“Mr. Freedman explain your family situation prior to use leaving Riverside. I had contacts at the embassy do yearly checks to ensure your continued health and wellbeing. They confirmed your brother had returned. They also stated that he returned with a young woman and that in winter she gave birth to a child. The boy in the photo you showed me.”

 

Jim let his smiled stretch wide again. By the end of the day his face was going to be very sore from all the smiling. “Peter. Yeah he was born a short while before Gabriel was.” Jim’s eyes widened. “I never told you the whole story about Gabriel’s birth did I?”

 

Sarek shook his head. While Jim and him had conversed for five hours and twenty three minutes last night about his grandson, they had not gone over Gabriel’s birth. Glancing at his Aunt he realized that she seemed intrigued by the chance to hear Jim’s recounting of the tale. T’Pau while quite strict about many things but Sarek had noticed her preference for acquiring informative stories about the members of the clan. Many years later, shortly after Spock’s birth, he learned that she had an entire library in her home that was filled with paper books containing a written account of the life history of each member of the family. Sarek’s heart nearly stopped as he realized that all that history…written stories about countless births, achievements and deaths had been lost.

 

“I would be pleased to hear the tale of Gabriel conception and birth. As well as any further tales you may wish to impart.” T’Pau reached into her over-robe and pulled out a single PADD, her hands already poised to begin setting the voice record program.

 

“Uh…” Jim blushed again and wondered how a people who tried so hard to convince everyone they were emotionless, could be so good at embarrassing him. “I’m…uh…Are going to record this?”

 

“Yes. I record all the family histories verbally through this PADD and then transfer it to a written record for secondary storage.”

 

Sarek jerked sharply, his spine stiffening as he twisted to look at his Mother’s Sister. “Then all of the books that we lost-“

 

“Can be re-written once a new home world is established.”

 

“That is…fortuitous.”

 

“Indeed.” T’Pau turned away from Sarek to look back at Jim. “Now, young one, please start the history of Gabriel Kirk from the beginning.”

 

“Uh…sure. But would you mind if I left out the more…uh…graphic details of his…you know…conception?” Jim was sure his face was a red as a Sarillian tri-horned goat.

 

“Very well.” T’Pau nodded and turned on the recording device. “You may begin by stating your name, the name of the child in question and your relationship.”

 

Jim blinked and shook his head with a soft chuckle. “I am James Tiberius Kirk, son of George Kirk. We are beginning that story of the child known as Gabriel Erestor Kirk son of James T Kirk and Spock son of Sarek.” Jim took a deep breath and released it slowly. “I met Gabriel’s father, Spock, in the year 2249 on Earth in the city of Riverside, Iowa. At the time I was temporarily a girl due to unforeseen circumstances involving a chemistry class and incorrectly labeled alien chemicals…”

 

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

 

1530 Hours; Captain’s Ready Room, USS Enterprise

 

“Man that took longer than I thought,” Jim rubbed at the back of his neck and slumped forward in his seat. “Remind me to give you a file with the ultrasound recordings and all the pictures I have of my little angel. They’d make a nice addition to your record.”

 

“Very well.” T’Pau carefully slipped her PADD back into the pocket of her over-robe. “Now that the records have been sufficiently updated perhaps we shall be able to speak with the boy and ensure him that his family survived.”

 

“Yeah, good plan.” Jim grabbed his own PADD off the desk and quickly scrolled through the schedule. “So if you’d like we can head back to the CMO cabin where I’m rooming and we can contact Starfleet to patch us through? By the time we get there it’ll just about be my time slot for the COMM channel home.”

 

T’Pau and Sarek both nodded. Standing Jim stretched his hands over his head until he felt his back pop, turning back to the other two he made he way to T’Pau and offered his arm to assist her out of the low Starfleet issued couch. Her gaze softening at the edges, T’Pau accepted his assistance up, her grip remaining on his elbow as Jim led them out of the Ready Room and onto the Bridge.

 

“Sulu, you still have the conn. When I have completed my scheduled slot on the COMM lines I’ll come back to relive you and you can have your hour.”

 

“Thanks.” Sulu smiled from where he sat at his station.

 

Leading the two Vulcans from the Bridge Jim couldn’t help but grin. Even though Sulu had control of the ship for now, it seemed he still couldn’t be pried from the helm. Maybe in a few years the other man would be more interested in Captaining his own starship.

 

The door from the Bridge whooshed closed behind them and Jim led them through the hallways towards the Officers Deck. If they were lucky they wouldn’t pass Spock on the way. Spock had been working on putting the Science Department back together and was also working closely with Scotty to make sure other systems were being checked over for any previously unnoticed damage. Jim wasn’t sure when the last time was that either man had slept but it was certainly long enough ago that both were fairly grumpy. Of course Jim wasn’t sure how upset and tired Scotty was simply because when the man started ranting his accent became too thick for Jim to muddle through.

 

The older Spock, who Jim had spoken with during lunch, had been avoiding his younger counterpart but had relayed to Jim that there appeared to be some kind of negative tension between the younger Spock and Cadet Uhura. How he knew that if he was avoiding the other, Jim didn’t know, but he assumed it was because the old Vulcan had somehow charmed both Nurse Chapel and Yeoman Rand within five minutes of meeting both. At this time Sarek and the old Spock seemed to be the only way to keep track of what was happening with Spock when he wasn’t on the Bridge. He knew it was horrible but he really wanted whatever caused the tension to mean that Spock and Uhura had broken up. If that was the case then maybe he could get to Spock and talk to him, tell him about Gabriel and about Jim not really being a girl. Maybe he could even convince Spock to explain why he didn’t come find Jim while he was living in San Francisco and studying at the Academy.

 

“Well,” Jim stopped in front of the door to the cabin Bones and he were sharing. “This is it.” Jim typed in the password to open the door and waved the two Vulcan’s inside. “Can I get you some tea?”

 

“That would be appreciated.” T’Pau looked around the room and all three paused when they realized that they were intruding.

 

“Uncle Jim,” cried out a happy voice and Jim turned to look at the COMM screen in front of Bones.

 

“Hey sweetheart. How’s my little JoJo?” Jim smiled and tossed Bones a look of apology for interrupting his COMM time with his daughter. Bones waved it off and Jim stepped closer.

 

“I’m okay. Uncle Sam and Auntie ‘Rulean came and we got ice cream and now we’re in San Franciso! They said that you an’ Daddy were in space fighting bad guys.”

 

“Yup, just like on the Sunday morning cartoons.” Jim gave Bones’ shoulder a squeez.

 

“Hi!” JoJo waved at the figures behind her Daddy and Uncle Jim. “Are you friends of Daddy?”

 

“Indeed we are, little one.” Sarek and T’Pau stepped up as well. “We did not mean to intrude on your time with him. Perhaps we shall return at a later time, Jim.”

 

“No, It’s alright Ambassador, Lady T’Pau. My times almost up an’ my little girl loves getting to meet friends of her Uncle Jim and Gabriel.”

 

“You know Gabe,” she cried.

 

“I do. He is my Grandson and T’Pau’s Great-Grandnephew.”

 

“Wow!” JoJo jumped up and down in front of the screen. “Are you going to come here an’ visit with Uncle Jim too?”

 

T’Pau nodded slightly. “That is our intention. Perhaps your Father and you might have tea with us one day.”

 

JoJo smiled. “Cool! We can have a tea party! Can Peter an’ Gabriel an’ L’Murr come to?”

 

“I don’t know, honey bear,” Bones sighed. “L’Murr an’ her parents might have plans already.”

 

“Awww…Can’t you ask ‘im, Daddy?”

 

“We’ll see. Now why don’t you say goodnight to everyone.”

 

JoJo made a face at Bones but didn’t further protest. “Night-Night, Uncle Jim!” JoJo blew him a kiss, which Jim pretended to catch in his hand, making her giggle. “Night Uncle Sarek! Night Auntie T’Pau!”

 

“Good Night, JoJo,” the two Vulcans stated in near unison, which did not weird Bones out at all, really.

 

“Good night, Honey bear. You be good for Uncle Sam and Aunt Aurelan until we get there.” Bones watched the screen go dark before leaning back in his chair and letting his spine relax until he had slumped down in the seat.

 

“So my brother picked up your daughter from Georgia and your ex-wife let them?”

 

Bones snorted and rubbed at his eyes. “Apparently your sister-in-law guilted her into it. I doubt she would otherwise have allowed JoJo to come see me even though we saved Earth.”

 

“Your ex-wife does not wish you to share parental rights,” asked Sarek.

 

“No she doesn’t. She was happy enough to marry a doctor because she assumed it meant I would be able to make enough money to keep her in the comfort and style she had become accustomed to in her Father’s home. So when I started working at the hospital she was happy. At least until she realized how many hours I would be there and that I didn’t make as much money as her Father had while he practiced medicine. So she took to fucking the pool boy, the gardener, three of the neighbors and the gods be damned dog walker! We didn’t even have a dog!” Bones smacked his fist down on the table next to him. “If that wasn’t bad enough she ensured I wouldn’t be able to get a decent attorney, stole the home that had been in my family for over four generations, cost me my job and the respect of my co-workers and then forced me out of the state and into space. The only way I can see my daughter is if she or a member of her family is there, or a government official is present during the visit. Which isn’t much of a problem for her since I was at the Academy in a different state and with little to no time to visit.”

 

“Hmmm,” hummed T’Pau. “We shall see what can be done for you, Leonard McCoy.”

 

Bones blinked up at her, wide eyed with surprise. “You don’t have to-“

 

“We shall honor our debt to you.”

 

“But I didn’t do nothin’ rightly deservin’ of a debt.”

 

T’Pau arched a brow at him and gave him a look that clearly communicated that he was behaving in an unpleasant illogical manner. Shaking his head Bones decided that he was better off not fighting any plans this wily old Vulcan could conceive of. She had that same look his Mother had when his Father had done something truly stupid. “As you wish, Ma’m. I’d be a right fool not to accept any help y’all could offer.”

 

Jim looked away from Bones and T’Pau, his gaze catching Sarek’s own. Cupping his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter, Jim moved further away from the two while they spoke quietly.

 

“You are amused,” asked Sarek.

 

“Yeah. Bones accent only gets that pronounced when he’s a) madder than a hornets nest, b) drunker than a skunk and c) surprised and embarrassed beyond belief.”

 

“I see.” Sarek glanced back at the two. “We shall need to access the COMM line I approximately one minute and twelve seconds.”

 

“Well, close enough to ask them to bottle it up while we track down Gabriel.”

 

Sarek reached out, his hand barely touching Jim’s shoulder. “If I may ask, who is the L’Murr that JoJo mentioned?”

 

“Hmmm? Oh, L’Murr is one of the kids that attend school with Gabriel and Peter. Her Father actually works on the Enterprise.”

 

“Indeed?”

 

“Yeah, you probably met him already. He was fixing up Sickbay the other night when you came in.”

 

Sarek blinked, remembering the Caitian male he had take note of that evening. “I see.”

 

Jim smiled and turned to take the few short steps back to where Bones and T’Pau were talking. “Alright you guys I’m going to see if we can track down Gabriel.”

 

“Good. Lord only knows what the little miscreant has gotten up to with Peter and L’Murr there to encourage him.”

 

“He’s not that bad, Bones! He’s a little angel.”

 

Bones scoffed but didn’t say anything further. In truth Gabriel was one of the best behaved kids he’d ever met. His own daughter was in trouble more often than Gabriel ever was. Of course Gabriel was smarter than pretty much every other child within three grades of him, so it wouldn’t be hard for him to figure out a prank he could pull without getting caught, especially with his Kirk DNA to help.

 

“Kirk to Bridge.”

 

“Bridge here Captain.”

 

“Patch me through to the switchboard for Starfleet’s Golden Gate Academy.”

 

“Acknowledged, Captain. One moment please.”

 

“You sure you want us all here for this, Jim,” asked Bones.

 

“Of course. You’re family.”

 

“Captain Kirk? This is Principal Cooper. It is good to see you survived.”

 

“Thanks, Sir.” Jim smiled at the elderly man on the screen. “I hope it’s not a problem but I would like to speak with my son if he is still in the dorms.”

 

“He’s here and I know he’s egger to hear from you. Unfortunately his class was watching a news broadcast during social studies that was interrupted with the announcement that the fleet had been sent to Vulcan and that there were reports that the planet, half the fleet and the majority of the graduating class was lost. We had to call in extra medical staff from Starfleet to help calm own many of the children.”

 

“My son?”

 

“The Betazed healer that came said he was suffering from psychic shock due to the loss of a familial bond. We thought,” the Principal paused and swallowed. “As you are listed as unbonded we assumed you had been lost and contacted your brother to come assist your son.”

 

“Damn.” Jim ran his hands over his face.

 

“It is likely that he had a weak bond with my son and sensed the loss of so many of our other family members.”

 

“But wouldn’t Spock have sensed Gabriel if they shared a bond?”

 

“Potentially. But my son guards his mind and his bond to you quite closely and might not have been aware of a secondary bond to the one he shares with you forming.”

 

“Mr. Kirk, Your son is in the waiting room outside my office. He was still in the dorms as your brother has only arrived about an hour or two ago. Starfleet is still getting them lodging set up. I’ll send your son in now and he can have your nephew join as well?”

 

“Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks, principal Cooper.”

 

“Of course, son. You be careful getting back home now.”

 

“I’ll do my best.”

 

On the screen the face of the Principal disappeared as he stepped away from the COMM to go get Gabriel and Peter. The four standing in the cabin could hear what sounded like a small stampede as the two boys nearly ran the Principal over to get to the open COMM line.

 

“Daddy!”

 

“Uncle Jim!”

 

“Hey now, don’t I get a ‘Hello, Uncle Bones’ from you two?”

 

“Uncle Bones,” they cried out together. Jim couldn’t help but notice both had red puffy eyes. It was obvious the two had been crying, probably since they first saw that news report in class.

 

“That’s better. It’s good to see our little Peter Pan and Erestor smiling like that,” Jim could barley control the wavier in his voice from the sheer relief of seeing these two precious children. The two children didn’t even whine about the use of nicknames in front of strangers, their relief at seeing Jim and Bones alive and okay was too great.

 

“Hey, Daddy,” Gabriel looked glance past Jim to where Jim knew Sarek and T’Pau stood. “Who’re they?”

 

“This is your Grandpa Sarek and Aunt T’Pau.” Jim smiled and waved the two closer.

 

“You’re my Grandpa and Aunt,” asked Gabriel, his eyes wide and again filling with tears.

 

“Your Father was my son.” Sarek paused and Jim could see the emotion filling his eyes silently. “You look a lot like him at this age, but you…you have your Grandmother’s nose.”

 

“I do?”

 

Sarek nodded.

 

“Are they there too,” asked Gabriel as he glanced around the room.

 

“My son, your Father, is onboard although he is unable to be here at this time. That shall be rectified at the first opportunity, as I am sure he would like to make your acquaintance. Your Grandmother, however, did not survived the loss of our homeworld.”

 

“Oh,” said Gabriel sadly. “I’m sorry.”

 

“She would have loved you.” Gabriel glanced up at the soft voice of T’Pau.

 

“Really?”

 

“There is little one can be positive about in life but of this I am certain. Amanda Grayson had a great capacity for love and there is no way she could not have loved you.”

 

Gabriel gave another small sob and rubbed his sleeve over his eyes. Beside him Peter smiled gratefully at T’Pau and Sarek and wrapped his younger cousin in his arms. “Thanks,” he whispered.

 

 

Tbc….

 

 

 

AN: The song Bones is singing at the beginning is “Courage” by Orianthi. Also, a lot of you have been wondering why Spock hasn’t realized who Jim really is and I would like to point out there are multiple reasons. 1) Spock never knew his Jim’s last name, 2) his Jim was female and this Jim most certainly isn’t and 3)well…I could tell you but that would make it too easy. All the answers are there between the lines if you read carefully. I try not to spell out things that should be obvious with a bit of thought. You have to remember it is easier for Sarek to figure it out because he never knew Jim was female and he did know Jim’s name and who he really was.

 

As a side note there is no real confirmed information as to T’Pau’s real connection to Sarek and the house of Surak, as a family member. So I am taking liberty for this fanfic and stating that she is Sarek’s Mother’s Sister (his Aunt).