A/N - Its been ages since I published something. So here's something. It ain't much, but I guess you can call it a oneshot. Hope you enjoy!

Of Birthday Surprises

Pavel Chekov is the youngest Navigator on the Enterprise. Hell, he is the youngest crewmember of everyone on board. Everyone had been a little skeptical at first, and no one could really blame them. And Pavel knew it. Whenever he passed some of the more senior crew, he heard whispers and flicking glances at him. Not that they were specifically saying bad and mean things, but it just made Pavel unsure about what to feel.

Should be he upset that they were judging his ability without first seeing what he is capable of? Should he be proud that he had graduated at a younger age as compared to them? Should he prove to them that even though he was legally underage at seventeen, he is still capable of handling himself like an adult?

But for the most of it, Pavel didn't have the time to actually become bothered by it. After all, he spent most of his time on the bridge, and when he wasn't at the bridge, he was either sleeping, eating or just hanging out with his close friend Hikaru. Besides, after the whole Nevada incident, the Captain insisted time and time again that Pavel had saved him and Hikaru from turning into two splats on the surface of crumbing Vulcan, the rest of the crew did seem impressed by Pavel's feats. It was all very flattering and all, Pavel thought, but he had to remind the Captain that he wouldn't have needed any saving had he not attempted to save Hikaru's life, and that it should be Pavel thanking him instead.

Needless to say, the Captain didn't listen to Pavel's protests. Even if he did, he refused to accept it.

But anyway, turns out, after that whole fiasco, and after the Captain casually announced to the entire crew as well as Starfleet Admirals that it was Pavel's idea to cloak the Enterprise in Saturn's rings while plotting to strike out at the Nevada ship – Pavel had to roll his eyes on that one – everyone on the enterprise became much more accepting of him, if not admiring.

He was still seventeen, that didn't change, but it was now the least of his worries. They have all been busy as of late. What with engaging in peaceful negotiations and treaty talks, and planet-side observations, with the occasional simple-things-becoming-disaster occurring every now and then, Pavel had completely forgotten that his birthday is just around the corner. Much, much closer than he'd thought.

At the end of his shift, he was completely drained. All he wanted to do was take a shower and dive into the covers. Just relax all his tense shoulder muscles, kick off his boots, lay in bed, sleep. Time didn't matter right now.

A fuzzy memory crept into the forefront of his mind. What did his Captain say just before his shift ended? Something about…sleeping well because Pavel needed all his energy tomorrow? That didn't make any sense. Was there something big happening the next day? Was it another mission?

Oh no, if his Captain had given him a briefing about an important mission and he'd zoned out… That was rude. Pavel groaned. He'd better find the Captain first thing in the morning to apologize…

Before he could think of phrasing his apology to the Captain, Pavel's eyelids fell shut and he was willing consumed by darkness.

Pavel had always been a light sleeper. Since he shared quarters with Hikaru, there were times when he would be roused from his roommate's creak of the bed. So, when he heard the locks of the door handle turning, he didn't bother to open his eyes. It was probably just Hikaru coming in late.

He stirred again when he heard the muffled sound of boots against the carpeted ground. At first, Pavel was about to pass it off as Hikaru again, but he hesitated. Something wasn't right. Hikaru's steps were lighter, and he didn't make much of a sound on carpeted floor. His was different. Whoever the intruder was had heavier footsteps.

"What the hell!" Hikaru yelled, springing off his bed, making a loud clunk from the bunk in the process. Pavel's eyes snapped open in alarm.

His fingers grouped in the dark for the light stand. He felt the switch but before he could press it, another hand slapped his arm away. Then a fabric quickly covered his eyes so he could not identify his attacker. Immediately, his lessons of self-defense from Hikaru and his Captain himself kicked in. His hand shot up to grab the wrist of the person covering his eyes.

"Shhh, shhh…" the intruder said.

The hand pressed against his eyes did not budge, and it prevented Pavel from getting up from his bunk. Instead of tugging the hand across his eyes, Pavel launched both his arms upwards, at the area above him where he expected the head of his attacker to be.

True to his aim, his fingers met flesh. He felt his fist contact solidly with the intruder's jaw. Pavel heard a grunt of pain and attacked at the same spot again, only to feel a large hand wrap around his wrists, pinning them down.

"Hikaru?" Pavel called in a wave of panic.

But no one replied him, and his heart sank when a wet cloth was pushed against his nose and mouth. He knew that smell. Chloroform.

Pavel passed out in seconds.

It was a soft sound at first, and it seemed like it drifted from far away. But as he gradually came back to consciousness, the music got increasingly louder. It was so loud that Pavel thought he must be sitting in a rowdy bar. In fact, Pavel would have declared it a bar had he not smelt a whiff of chlorine in the air. Because what are the chances he would be in a bar with a swimming pool included?

He was still blindfolded with a black cloth. And Pavel noticed he was sitting upright on a chair. There was rope wrapped around his chest, and his arms were strapped to his sides. It wasn't uncomfortable, but secure enough such that he could not wriggle free or move his arms much.

In the midst of the blaring loud music, Pavel caught an indistinguishable voice directly in front of him saying something along the lines of "…in for the biggest surprise in his life." Alarm bell rang off in his head as he was reminded of the kidnappers from last night, and realized that now they've caught him, this would be the time where they were going to ask something of him…or kill him.

He had to do something, right now. Before they started taking too much notice of him. The voice had spoken very close to him just now. Pavel inferred that the person, whoever it was, is standing just in front of him, a few inches to his right. This is his chance.

He remembered Captain Kirk giving him a piece of advice one day when they happened to be practicing sparring at the same time.

At that time, Pavel was walking into the practice room when he saw the Captain slumped on the practice mat in exhaustion.

"Coming for a bit of practice too? Takes your mind off ship matters for a while, doesn't it?" the Captain said.

"Da, Keptin. I find ze workout rather relaxing, actually." Pavel agreed.

Kirk smiled, "do you want to hear this one trick that temporarily puts anyone out of action for a while, that always works?"

"I would be happy to learn about it, Sir."

The Captain grinned wider, making Pavel a little nervous. This never meant anything good.

"The trick is…" Kirk replied, and at the same moment, he struck out with his legs. Pavel was caught unawares, since he didn't think the physically drained man could possibly move so fast. The Captain's legs tangled in his and swept his feet right out from under him, sending him crashing onto the mat. Then he continued as if nothing had happened, "…to strike first when your opponent least expects it."

Pavel had the advantage. He had the element of surprise. This one moment was all he needed, and he took it. He pulled his legs bed like a coiled spring, that kicked out with all the strength he had. His feet came contacted hard with the shins of someone's legs, and he felt the person stumble backwards. The impact caused his chair to tilt back. He felt a tinge of satisfaction when the person let out a yelp.

"Woah! What the – " Before the person could finish, Pavel heard a loud splash and felt droplets of water sprinkle onto his face. So he was right! There is a pool! That went well.

What he wasn't expecting was a roar of laughter and giggles. The music shut off too and Pavel could now hear his surroundings better.

"Serve that infant right!" Someone growled.

Wait a minute…that someone sounded like Doctor McCoy. But that doesn't make sense at all.

"Damn, he learns fast. 'Strike first when your opponent least expects it', should've told him to use in on anyone else but me."

Shit. No way. There was no way he could mistake his Captain's voice.

Pavel heard someone getting out of the pool and wet footsteps followed. Then the blindfold was removed from over his eyes. And right in front of him, hair dripping, gold uniform plastered to the skin, boots filled with water, was Captain Kirk himself, looking mildly surprised, but pleased. And to Pavel's horror, as his eyes flicked over the man's face, he saw a blackish bruise starting to form on his right jawline.

Must've been from last night. Oh, Pavel was in so much trouble. He'd punched his commanding officer in the face.

"I must say, though, tha' was some pretty well practiced moves there, Mr Chekov." Mr Scott laughed.

Too stunned to reply, he heard Hikaru explain beside him. "Mr Scott was the one who deactivated the lock on our quarters so that Kirk could sneak in and do the kidnapping."

"You knew about this whole thing last night? I thought…" Pavel trailed off, trying to recall the events from the previous night.

Hikaru shook his head, "no, not really. They didn't tell me about the surprise. I was startled at first, thinking someone had broken into our quarters, but then I saw it was just the Captain."

"Wait," Pavel frowned, "what's this surprise all about? Why on me?"

First Officer Spock was standing beside the Captain, looking the least but amused at this situation. "I believe they found it necessary to co-ordinate this event, seeing it is the date of your birth eighteen years ago,. I, however, do not see the point – "

Pavel felt a warm blush on his cheeks. How could he have forgotten? He was looking forward to it for so long already.

"The point is," the Captain cut in, "it's our way of wishing you a happy eighteenth birthday, Pavel."

The smile that lit up his entire face was reflected in his friends – more of family, he thought – around him.

"Zank you, Keptin." He nodded in appreciation, then at everyone else, "I didn't zink you would actually remember. We were all wery busy."

"How could we forget? It's the big day when you turn a legal adult." Kirk beamed, "oh, and call me Jim, we're off duty, so no formalities."

"Da…zank you, Jim." He repeated.

"He totally kicked your ass last night, I would've said he's considered an adult just because of that." Uhura snickered.

"And in case you've forgotten, just now, he kicked you into the pool singlehandedly, Jim." McCoy added.

"Now, listen carefully, all of you," Kirk said, trying and failing to keep from smiling, "I've got a reputation to keep, alright? So outside this ship, no one is to go babbling about this or – "

"Reputation? Yeah right…I can't wait to tell the Admirals about this." McCoy barked.

Spock raised his eyebrow, "pardon me, Jim. To what reputation are you referring to?"

"Oh, what a surprise," McCoy said, "the damn hobgoblin knows how to joke."

Pavel laughed, and added, "but all ze crew will wonder why you are so wet, Jim."

Everyone howled in laughter again, and Kirk scowled at them.

"I stand corrected," said Kirk, "the formalities are back. It's Captain for all of you, yes, including you, Bones. And I order that none of these is to leave this room."

"Your orders, my foot." Growled the Doctor, taking Jim by the shoulders and steering him away, "Kid's getting cranky. It's late anyway, he needs to sleep. Knock it off."

How did y'all find it? Good? Bad? Wanna just shout something in the review to make me happy? (It would make me really really happy)