This Road Comes from Deneva
by Starsinger
Role switching story here, so an AU. Kirk is a new Doctor who has been abruptly handed the care of his five year old orphaned nephew (TOS episode: Operation: Annihilate as background), Peter. McCoy is the town drunk who suddenly finds himself the parent to his five year old daughter, Joanna, who was abandoned by her mother. Spock is switching with Uhura, Sulu is now the navigator, Chekov the Engineer, and Scotty the helmsman. No idea how this is going to work out. Don't own them.
"Uncle Jim?" the small voice asked him. Kirk opened his eyes and they picked out the small form of his nephew standing in the doorway. "May I sleep with you?" the boy looked just like his father, Sam. The same blonde hair and hazel eyes that made Jim's heart ache. Jim lifted up the covers and Peter, and his teddy bear, Henry, crawled into bed next to him. This didn't happen every night, but it had become more and more frequent over the past few weeks.
Jim had been devastated. After years of not speaking to each other, he'd gotten word that his brother Sam, his wife, Aurelan, and two of their three children had died on Deneva. Details were sketchy, but it seemed an alien parasite had landed on the planet and took over the population. The USS Hood, Captain Pike at its helm, managed to find a way to rid the planet of the parasite, but not before Peter had become an orphan. When Pike showed up on Jim's doorstep with the waif in tow, Jim didn't know what to do. He couldn't refuse him, no one wanted him in fosterage, or with Winona, so Jim took him in. He grieved in private and loved Peter in public, never wanting him to feel that he was a burden.
Unfortunately, this left Kirk in a dilemma. He was 22, and had been practicing medicine at the local clinic. When that shut down, all the medical care had moved to Des Moines. Jim was practically out of a job, not wanting to abandon the town that had given him so much. So, he got a job at the nearby Shipyards with another of his specialties, Computer Science. The vessels being constructed there would have the latest in computer and nanotechnology, and as one of the tops in his field, Starfleet had snapped him up to work on their ships.
The dilemma was that he worked odd hours, and couldn't always get someone to watch Peter when he was at work. Mrs. Demorka, the old lady downstairs, most often took over, but, sometimes, he ended up taking the boy with him and letting him sleep on the couch in his office. Engineers got their own offices. The day that Pike had shown up with Peter, Pike had told him to join Starfleet. They could always use more doctors. They even had family housing for cadets in his situation. Kirk sighed and finally fell asleep, Peter resting comfortably at his side.
They awoke the next morning and Jim made breakfast. His eating habits had become more regular now because of Peter's needs. He'd even stopped burning pancakes. Peter thought it was funny how slow his Uncle Jim ate. It never occurred to the boy that it wasn't normal, or his having to remind Jim that he was hungry. Jim left Peter with Mrs. Demorka and reminded her that he'd be late. He was having some drinks with some friends after work.
He arrived late at the bar, having had to work through some technical glitches on one of the ships, the Enterprise, and came swooping in to give Gloria, his friend, a quick kiss on the cheek. They were good friends, and she laughed as he plopped down beside her before ordering a drink, "Jim, you're late. Another bug in the system."
"You could say that," Jim replied. "Also had to stop and check in on Peter."
"You dote on that boy as if he were your own son, Jim…" her voice trailed off as a loud argument seemed to be coming from the bar.
"Hey, cutie, come over here with us," a man said, slurring his words badly. He'd grabbed a woman, by the arm. Admittedly, the woman was beautiful, dark, slender, and wearing an academy teacher's uniform, she informed the drunk cadet to keep his mitts to himself. Kirk rose, "Jim, don't get involved. They're leaving tomorrow."
"I can't stay out of this, Gloria," he added as the Cadet started to make his way out of the bar, woman in tow. Jim got in the way, "Hey, Cupcake! Let the lady go!"
Cupcake let go of the woman as he turned to Kirk, "Who's going to stop me, you?" Kirk ducked as "Cupcake" swung at him. The fight was short, and brutal as Cupcake was joined by three of his friends. Kirk gave as good as he got until he ended upside down over a table. Then, a short sharp whistle sounded as a voice advised, "Cadets! Outside!"
Gloria grimaced as she headed over to the table to help Jim up, "You can whistle really loud, you know that?" he asked the man making his way into the bar.
Pike shook his head, "Your actions are commendable, Dr. Kirk, but what are you doing in this dump?"
Kirk shook his head as Gloria tried to staunch the blood flowing from his nose and looked up at Pike, "Trying to unwind."
Pike looked at Gloria, "Cadet, you should join them outside."
Jim looked at Gloria confused, "Cadet, when did you sign up?"
"That's what I was going to tell you, Jim. I joined Starfleet," she was looking at the floor.
Pike looked at her, "Go, Cadet Smithson, I need to talk to Jim." She left as Pike looked at Kirk, "You've been doing well at the Shipyards. Peter has actually put some weight on you."
"Well, I eat when he eats, and he gets hungry a lot," Kirk mumbled. "What do you want Pike?"
"Join Starfleet, Jim. We need you. You're a good doctor and you're being wasted out here," Pike looked at him. "Shuttle leaves tomorrow morning with the class of new recruits. I've got a command track cadet who's afraid of dying in space, but has a five year old daughter to support, so he joined up. Give it a shot, Jim."
Jim closed his eyes as Pike left, unable to bear the thought of going into space. It had killed his father on the day he'd been born. Ultimately, it had also killed his brother and most of his family, he didn't want to die in space either. He returned home and retrieved Peter before sitting down with the little boy. "Peter, we're packing tonight. We're going to San Francisco to live tomorrow. Uncle Jim is going back to school."
Peter helped Jim pack, as much as a five year old could, and sat down to watch television in his pajamas. It was going to be a long day tomorrow. Jim had Mrs. Demorka drop them off at the shipyards in the morning light. She hugged Jim, wishing him luck, and kissed Peter, who still held onto Henry, telling him to be a good boy. Jim got on board, eyeing Cupcake and his friends wearily, before strapping Peter in next to him. He strapped himself in before another little voice interrupted him, "Hi, my name is Joanna. My Daddy's hiding in the bathroom because he's afraid of flying." Jim turned to find a beautiful little girl sitting next to him, dressed in pajamas and carrying a blanket.
"Did he not tell you not to speak to strangers?" Kirk asked.
"Yes, he did, but you've got a little boy with you, and that's different," she peered over, as much as she could, at Peter, who looked back.
"I had a seat! In the damn bathroom, a place with no windows! I'm aviophobic, that's a fear of dying while in space," the man was being manhandled back across the shuttle.
"Sit down before I make you sit!" the woman handling him shouted. He sat, next to Joanna. Kirk looked at him.
"I may throw up on you kid," Jim was advised.
"Uh, only if you miss Jo, here," Jim added.
"Jo, what did I tell you about talking to strangers?!" the other man asked exasperatedly.
"But Daddy, he has a little boy with him!" Jo protested.
"My nephew, Peter," Jim added hastily. "I'm Jim, Jim Kirk. If you're afraid of flying, why'd you join Starfleet, they operate in space, you know?"
"Well, I didn't have much choice, my wife took everything I had in the divorce. All I have left is my daughter and my bones."
Okay, I'm putting off the ending to Admiral Marcus, here. He's going to die, honestly. I just can't decide if it's by his own hand before he gets to Qo'noS, or on Rura Penthe being beaten up. Suggestions would be helpful. Please Read and Review.