Author's Note:
For anybody new to the story welcome, for anybody revisiting it welcome back! I think I've finally cracked the paragraphing issue all my stories so far have suffered with and like the other two (though I'm still working on them) this story has undergone a lot of editing to try and make the paragraphs easier to read. For any previous reader's chapters 1-6 have been edited and reposted with anything from chapter 7 onwards being new added content for you, if there are still any major issues please let me know so I can fix them as best I can!
Again I'd like to say this was written before Star Trek Beyond so characters like Jaylah will not feature as this wasn't written with Beyond in mind, and I have very little knowledge of Demora Sulu, hence it was easier for me to create Kaiyo instead. Spoiler alert…I don't own anything to do with the Star Trek franchise, only the characters I have created. Enjoy!
Best Wishes,
JessBubble
Anton checked his bag for the umpteenth time that morning, nervously double checking its contents while his father and mother watched from the kitchen. He ran a hand through his curly hair (something he'd inherited from his father) whilst staring down into the bag, feeling like it would swallow him whole if he dared reach in. His mother frowned slightly, hating to see her son so nervous, but her husband had insisted this would be good for him and she knew deep down he was right. Anton zipped up the bag with a sigh, trying to ignore the nervous fluttering in his stomach. Feeling a warm hand on his shoulder he turned to see his father looking down on him, such pride and love in his eyes that Anton felt obligated to try and look happy.
His father chuckled,
"Не притворяйся, что ты не нервничай сын, я вижу тебя насквозь." (Don't pretend you're not nervous son, I see right through you.) a knowing smile gracing his lips. Anton sighed a bit and nodded once, hands fumbling with the bag strap in an effort to take his mind off of the pending separation from his parents. Anton wasn't even sure he wanted to go but his father insisted he would love it and that maybe, just maybe, it would make him want to join Starfleet as he had.
His mother had argued vehemently that his path was his own to choose but Anton loved his father a lot and wanted to make him proud...just maybe not as a navigator. Numbers came just as easily to Anton Chekov as they did to his father but the young boy was much more comfortable in engineering, surrounded by metal and wires that he could join or separate to do whatever he wanted with. Anton liked the freedom and the imagination behind engineering, loved the ways he could use his creativity and how he had to think on his feet, but he didn't love the idea of going away for six weeks when he'd never spent that long without his parents before.
"Что делать, если я испортить? Что никого нет мне нравится?" (What if I mess up? What if nobody there likes me?) he asked quietly, looking up at his father through his mother's green eyes. The pair of them would be departing in a little over ten minutes to board the shuttle that would take them to San Francisco from Moscow.
Pavel Chekov (now considerably older and wiser) gently squeezed his shoulders, smiling down at Anton and shaking his head, dismissing his son's worries with the gesture.
"Они будут любить тебя, я обещаю. Что касается испортить ... каждый должен, если они хотят, чтобы узнать, как получить это право." (They will love you, I promise. As for messing up...everybody has to if they want to learn how to get it right.) Pavel replied.
Anton smiled a bit, pulling his bag up onto his shoulder and nodding firmly,
"I'm ready." he said determinedly, his heavy accent ringing through the English words.
Pavel couldn't have been prouder and felt his heart swell,
"Then say goodbye to your mother, today is ze day!" he urged excitedly.
Hikaru Sulu knocked on the door and waited for it to open with a small smile on his face. His little girl was growing up fast but still he knew she'd need this. He held out the small dragon pin, a twisted piece of shiny golden metal that bit its own tail and was engraved meticulously to be a beautifully hand crafted token for her to carry with her. Her grandfather had given it to her before he died and Hikaru knew that Kaiyo tended to take it everywhere with her as a good luck charm.
She took it from his hand with a small smile, fixing it to the collar of her leather jacket with a satisfied nod before casting him a look he knew too well,
"Shinkei koibito?" (Nervous sweetheart?) he asked her, softly tucking a stray lock of her mother's jet black hair behind her ear. She'd inherited his dark eyes and could see the glimmer in them he recognised from years of looking in the mirror, the glimmer of excitement.
His heart swelled when she shrugged nonchalantly,
"Sukoshi papa ga, kinchō yori mo kōfun. Kore wa tanoshimi ni narimasu!" (A little papa, but more excited than nervous. This will be fun!) she smiled, reaching behind her to snatch up her duffel bag and backpack from the bed. Hikaru took the duffel bag from her, kissing her forehead tenderly and running his hand over her silky hair.
He couldn't be prouder of his daughter. Kaiyo had an affinity for languages (something that he swore was down to growing up in a bilingual house) and had the makings of a great communications officer. Moreover, she wanted to join Starfleet and was taking pride in her skills, wanting to expand on them and use them for good - she'd spent the weeks leading up to this learning Russian when he told her one of his best friend's sons would be a Russian boy. They'd spent the night at a hotel and would take the car today to get to Starfleet HQ. Dumping her bags in the trunk of the car he chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm, watching her all but bounce into the passenger's seat.
The moment he sat down, Kaiyo's thirst for knowledge came back with a vengeance.
"Papa no yōna anata no yūjin wa nanidesu ka? Anata wa mae ni kodomo-tachi ni atta koto ga arimasu ka? Karera wa watashi o suki ni narudeshou ka?" (What are your friends like papa? Have you met their children before? Will they like me?) she fired off question after question and Hikaru held up a hand to stem the flow of words from her mouth.
Glancing at her, he cocked an eyebrow at the small frown he could see marring her features. Tilting his head he hummed slightly,
"Watashi wa sorera o mitashite inaishite inaiga, karera wa karera no oya no yōna mono o shite irunaraba, watashi wa anata ga sorera o sukidarou o hoshō suru koto ga dekimasu." (I haven't met them no, but if they're anything like their parents then I can assure you you'll like them.) he promised her. Seeing her relax slightly Hikaru turned his full attention to the road. It was true that though he'd seen photographs he'd never met the friends of his children, the times they could meet up were often unconventional for young children and by the time they reached their teenage years they had no intention of voluntarily being seen in public with their parents. Shaking the thoughts away he pulled out into the traffic. They needed to be on time. After all, today was the day.
"Max! Max! What are yer doin'?" Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott called up the stairs. They had a shuttle to catch if they were going to get to San Francisco on time and Max was going to make them late...again. The Scott's were never really on time for anything but their warm manner and hearty apologies usually got them off the hook - too bad that apologies wouldn't cut it if they were late this time.
"I'm comin' dad!" he yelled back, still yanking a shirt over his head as he kicked a suitcase down the stairs. Scotty jumped back to avoid it and rolled his eyes, hearing his wife yelling about keeping the noise down. "Sorry sorry! I had to pack a few wee things I forgot." he apologised sheepishly.
Scotty shook his head, an amused smile on his lips before he ushered him to the living room,
"Right, go say bye to yer mother while I put yer bags in the car." he instructed. Wheeling the suitcase outside he popped the trunk and lifted in the heavy case with a grunt. What the hell had his son packed? Deciding it was best not to ask, Scotty hurried back to the door to kiss his wife's cheek and pry her hands off of their son, "I'll be back before yer know it...try not to go into labour while I'm gone, hmm?" Scotty was admittedly begging but when his wife's due date was three weeks away he didn't want to take any chances.
"Wouldn't dream of it, now get going or you'll be late! I love you both!" she called after their hurrying forms. Maxwell (or more commonly known as Max) Scott was already sat in the passenger seat, leg bouncing nervously and fingers drumming on his thigh. Scotty sighed a bit and glanced over at his son as he headed to the shuttle launch site.
"How are yer feelin' son?" he asked. Max shrugged a bit, reaching into the glove compartment to grab a soft mint and pop one in his mouth.
"A little nervous, I mean...it's not every day yer get to meet yer dad's oldest friends." he replied with a small grin. "But I'm excited to! I mean, one step closer to Starfleet, right?"
Scotty chuckled,
"That's right son." he stated proudly. Max had wanted to go to Starfleet just like his dad and Uncle Keenser had, only his talents lay more with tactical and navigational skills than engineering. Scotty had tried to push him in that direction but his son was adamant he'd rather blow things up than fix them, which made sense when he was such a little whirlwind moving around his own home that he'd broken numerous plates and vases in his lifetime. "I canny deny, I'm lookin' forward to seeing them again." Scotty confessed with a smile. The Enterprise crew hadn't met up for a while but were always sending messages to one another, you couldn't serve together as long as they had without forming inseparable friendships.
Max chuckled and clapped his dads arm, almost making him swerve into the other side of the road with the unnecessary force behind his hit. Scotty tried not to groan exasperatedly and instead gave his son a slightly strained smile.
"It'll be fun!" he cried enthusiastically, "Today's the day!"
Spock glanced curiously at Nyota as she put her earrings in, hands clasped neatly behind his back as was his usual stance. Nyota glanced over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at him, a trick she'd picked up from years spent as his partner.
"What is it?" she asked him curiously. Spock tilted his head slightly, expression remaining as impassive as ever but a glimmer of affection shining in his brown eyes.
"You insist on beautifying yourself when there is no treatment or accessory that could further optimise your features." he replied. Nyota smiled, knowing it was his way of calling her beautiful, and pecked his cheek as she grabbed her handbag,
"Thank you." She grabbed the keys from the table by the door and handed them to Spock, who locked the door to their home as they exited it. Since Spock was still at a youthful enough age to be of service, the family lived in San Francisco and didn't have all that far to travel. Of course, they had a home on New Vulcan too but since the death of Sarek it was rare they visited it. "Where's-"
"Already in the car." Spock cut her off, knowing he was about to ask where their son was. Nyota had been ecstatic to become a mother but she hadn't realised just how like Spock he was going to be. Fistrinn could be rather...stoic, but being only a quarter Vulcan meant his emotional outbursts were far more frequent than his father's and he was rather outspoken as a result. It wasn't the usual Vulcan honesty either, it was sarcasm in a rather dry tone of voice that conveyed his opinions and most people found it offensive when it was aimed at them. Climbing into the car she glanced back into the back seat to see Fistrinn watching the scenery pass outside his window, his face blank but his eyes showing a flicker of excitement that she knew he would never admit to. Smiling slightly, Nyota reached over to tap his knee and gain his attention, relishing in the sight of the son she wouldn't get to see for weeks now.
"So Rinn, are you excited?" she asked. Fistrinn thoughtfully inclined his head, weighing his words carefully before finally saying,
"I am curious to meet your friends, and since I cannot lie it would be fruitless to try and hide that I am perhaps apprehensive about meeting their offspring. But yes mother, I suppose I am satisfied to be taking part in this activity."
Nyota nodded her head a bit and glanced at Spock, seeing his eyebrow arch slightly when he looked back at his son through the mirror.
"Did you pack all that you will need for the next six weeks?" he questioned.
"Yes." Fistrinn's reply was curt and to the point, just like his ears. Nyota laughed lightly at the similarities between her boys. Fistrinn had inherited his father's brown eyes and her dark hair, his father's ears and her slender frame - though she knew he had quite a bit of muscle due to the broken noses his school had informed her about when he had stood up to the people bullying him for his ears. She had no doubt that just like his father he would also make a great science officer one day - he already outstripped most of his peers at school. She only hoped that he'd fit in with the kids at summer camp. Shaking the thoughts from her head she sighed and settled back in her chair, her friends' kids would no doubt make him welcome just as they had all welcomed Spock so many years ago. Even though he was eighteen, Nyota wasn't quite sure if she was ready to let him go for six weeks, however she knew she had no choice because today was the day.
"Do you have to kiss each other all the time?" Christopher moaned. His father chuckled and pulled back, looking over his shoulder at his son with a grin,
"Yes, it's not a crime to let your mother know I love her." Jim Kirk answered, leaning back in to give Natalie a quick peck on the cheek before they got out of the car.
"It's not enough that you tell her every day?" Chris asked exasperatedly, shouldering his duffel bag and wrinkling his nose. Natalie laughed and smoothed his hair over, making him groan and run a hand through it to fluff it back up. His mom had no idea how much effort it took to look cool did she?
"One day you'll understand." she promised him, kissing his forehead gently.
"Mom." he whined. Natalie held her hands up in surrender and rolled her eyes,
"Alright alright!" she apologised. Her son was the spitting image of his father with sandy blonde hair and oceanic blue eyes that many a girl had fallen prey to, however he had also inherited her heterochromia in reverse and a tiny section of his left eye was her own bright emerald green.
Christopher George Kirk had been named after two of the most influential people in Jim's life, something Natalie had insisted on, and just like his namesakes he was clearly destined for greatness. He was striving to be just like his father, wanting to be a captain and have his own ship. His parent's whole heartedly supported him and that is why they had pushed him to do the summer camp this year.
Jim slipped his hand in Natalie's knowing she was saddened at their little bird leaving the nest, especially since he was the eldest and their first born. She gave him a smile, squeezing his hand lightly before they walked off after their son, who was quite happily strutting along with an air of confidence almost identical to his father's. They were quite close so it was no surprise. Jim was determined to be a good father after dealing with not knowing his and it showed through their relationship.
"Chris don't go too far!" Natalie called after him. Jim chuckled slightly and shook his head at her.
"You know he's leaving for six week's right?" he teased lightly. Natalie turned her glare on her husband and Jim shrank back with a sheepish grin, lifting her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "We still have Fia." he reminded her. Natalie smiled a bit, thinking of their nine year old little girl back home staying with Grandma Winona back in Iowa. Humming in agreement she watched as their son shot a playful wink at a passing Cadet, making the girl snort and raise an eyebrow at him.
"Just like his father alright." she laughed.
"I was better at it than that." he denied with a laugh.
Natalie smiled,
"Only because you were arrogant, I taught our son humility." she teased. The pair laughed, knowing their son wouldn't be short of female company this summer but also trusting him implicitly to be fair and sensible with the ladies' hearts, Natalie had taught him to be respectful after all. She tried to clamp down on the urge to call him back to them for she knew that he'd be much much further away soon, well today was the day after all.
"Space is fine an' all until you get a case of Andorian Shingles." a female voice grumbled. Her father hummed in agreement as they walked slowly along the pathway, heading towards the main plaza to meet up with the rest of their group. Chuckling to himself, Leonard 'Bones' McCoy threw an arm around his daughter's shoulders and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah but I inoculated you against that before we left home, remember?" he squeezed her shoulder comfortingly and Elizabeth McCoy sighed,
"Dad do I really have to go?" she asked, her expression identical to her father's. Nodding his head he kissed her temple, ignoring the way her nose wrinkled in distaste.
"Hmm, 'fraid so baby girl. It'll be good for you, you can make some new friends." he reasoned. She scoffed a bit,
"You made sure I ain't the friendly type."
She didn't need to remind him once more that she'd inherited almost everything from him. Bones had never intended to have a drunken one night stand with Carol Marcus and it irritated him beyond belief that this had never happened to Jim in all his years of frolicking with women, but they had tried to make it work for a while to be good parents and when it hadn't worked out Carol had willingly handed over Liz into his care. Not that he minded though. After losing Joanna so many years back to Jocelyn he was relieved that he finally got to keep something he loved. Elizabeth was his pride and joy and Bones loved his little girl more than life itself.
They walked in silence for a while before she stopped, the rest of the group already was together in front of them and she stared up at Bones through his own big brown eyes with an expression he knew all to well. She wanted to talk and couldn't phrase it.
"What's on your mind?" he asked her, softly tucking a lock of her blonde hair (courtesy of Carol) behind her ear.
"They ain't goin' to like me." she stated, wrinkling her nose. Bones tilted his head at her in amusement.
"Nobody liked me either." he reminded her, "But look how that turned out." he gestured to the group of friends he trusted more than himself sometimes. Elizabeth sighed,
"S'pose so." she mumbled, "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."
Bones smiled at her annoyed expression, one that was permanently etched into both their faces.
"That's it." he agreed, "But until your eighteen I get to order you to do these things." Her only reply was a scoff before they began walking again - she'd be eighteen in a few months anyway. Elizabeth had an affinity for medicine and had been training alongside her farther for as long as she could remember, she was sure to ace her exams when the time came but Bones was acutely aware that her...grumpy disposition, had led to a lack of friends. He didn't want that life for his daughter so he was trying to help her make a few. Still, after seventeen years of looking after her (and perhaps maybe spoiling her) to give her away to Starfleet for six weeks was mental torture for poor Bones. But he couldn't change his mind even if she wanted him too, not when today was the day.