They left in the middle of the night, taking a few possessions and a couple hundred dollars between the two of them. Jim got the old Chevy from a friend who owed him a favor, and parked it a block away from Natalie's house that night. She waited for him at the corner, a large duffle bag at her feet and a purse in her hands.
"Come on, baby," he kissed her quickly. "Let's get out of here."
It was a long drive from Cambridge to San Francisco, and they needed to be far, far away from her home if they were going to make it. It had been a modern day Romeo and Juliet, as the two fell in love. The daughter of a top-notch lawyer and the son of a dead army pilot, working in a garage to make ends meet. They met when she was fifteen and he was nineteen, at a party Nyota was throwing while her parents were off in Dubai for a week. It was love at first sight, as they sat in the corner of the basement and talked about everything and anything. He was polite and re-filled her drink and danced with her. When it was time for him to leave- Gary needed to get home before his mother flipped- he kissed her hand and promised to see her around.
"How long will it take us to get there?" she asked, as they drove on the open road.
"Lets shoot for Saturday," he smiled at her, taking his hand into his. "We're going to be so happy there, Nattie. You, me and little bean."
….
Her parents found out about them when she turned sixteen, after hearing from the town gossip that Natalie was kissing a boy behind the garage in town. Fights and threats of sending her to a boarding school ensued, as Regina Conway lost her shit.
"MY daughter will NOT be seen with some.. common piece of trash!" she flew into rage. "We are better than that!"
No matter how much her mother screamed, Natalie continued to see Jim. Her mother would continue to scream and shout, calling her names- whore, slut, spoiled little brat. But Natalie loved Jim too much to let him go. He was still the gentleman he was the night they met, having kept himself under control around her. He was twenty now and knew the extreme punishment that would take place if they slept together.
"When you're eighteen, baby. I promise you. It'll be worth the wait and I don't want anyone else but you."
…
They hit the Ohio state line by the early morning hours of Tuesday, and by then the Conway's already know she's gone. But Natalie doesn't care, as she wakes up in the passenger seat of Jim's car. They stop for a quick bite to eat and for her to wash up in the ladies room, changing into a blue sundress. Then they're back on the road by ten, driving closer and closer to the future.
"Will we see the desert?" she asked, as the summer breeze rolled through the open windows. "The sand and the cactuses?"
Jim grinned, "Baby, you'll see the best sunset and sunrise of your life out there."
She smiles, "As long as I'm with you."
…
When she finally turns eighteen, Natalie gives herself to Jim in the back of an old pickup truck that sits in a field five miles outside of town. To others, the whole setting would sound like something out of a badly written romance novel. But to Natalie, it's the best moment of her life as Jim holds her in his arms and takes her to heights she's never experienced before.
Afterwards, they lay next to each other, wrapped up in blankets.
"I love you, Nattie," he whispers, kissing her damp forehead.
The stars twinkle above them, like diamonds. She smiles as his hands caress her body and tucks her head against his chest.
"I love you, too."
…
By Wednesday, they are so tired and in desperate need of a shower. They rent a room at a motel somewhere in Kanas, and spend one night together in the room. A shower together and some greasy take out from a diner later, they snuggle under the scratchy comforter in the darkness.
"How are you feeling?" he asks, as they lay entwined.
"I feel happy," she kisses him. "But I won't feel completely calm until we get there."
It's an honest answer, since they both expressed their worry earlier that day. Someone was following them for sure, the same black car that kept its distance as they stopped for gas and food at various locations.
"No one is going to take you away from me," he whispers. "I'm not losing the both of you."
Natalie closes her eyes and sighs softly as he kisses the top of her head, pulling her body close to his. She has a hard time falling asleep that night.
…
Four months later, Natalie finds herself crying in Jim's tiny apartment that's behind the garage. She's been there for hours, coming over right after her dance lessons.
"We'll figure something out, Nattie," Jim says, as he consoles her.
"How? Do you know what's going to happen when I tell them? They'll send me away!" she cries.
Jim kisses her and shakes his head; "No one is taking you away from me. You are mine and I am yours."
She looks up at him with tears falling from her eyes, "I don't want to lose you."
"Lets leave then! I know exactly where we can go!"
"Leave?"
Jim nods and scrambles off the old couch, moving to the table he uses to eat his meals at. Grabbing an envelope, he returns to sit next to her.
"I applied and got into Starfleet for engineering," he says, pulling the pages out. "They're offering to pay for everything- room, board, books, tuition. You can go to school here too! For whatever you want. We can leave this place and never come back, Nattie. We can get married and be together on the west coast."
She looks down at the papers before looking up at his smiling face; she can see the joy and love in his eyes as he smiles at her. "You, me and little bean."
Natalie smiles a smile so big, it makes her face ache. Placing a hand on her still flat stomach, she nods.
"Lets do it. Lets get out of here."
….
By Thursday, they hit Utah. Jim calls his advisor at Starfleet to let him know that they're close.
"Another day or two," he says on the disposable cell phone. "We didn't bring much with us."
Natalie is laying in the back seat of the car, reading a book about fairies and humans falling in love with one another. She smiles as she reads, half listening to Jim on the phone. Whenever she reads love stories, she replaces the characters with herself and Jim. He's always the non-human character, strong and beautiful. He's the fairy prince of an ancient realm, destined for greatness. She's the human girl, ordinary and weak, destined for a life of sadness. They meet; fall in love and fight to stay together.
Jim ends his call and looks into the rear-view mirror, his eyes crinkle as he smiles. "How's your book?"
"Magical."
….
They plot their trip for two weeks, contacting the necessary people at Starfleet for assistance. Jim has friends in the area, who are willing to help with a place to stay before the semester starts. Then there's Christopher Pike, the Dean of Students as well as Jim's advisor.
"Please Sir," Jim says into the phone one night. "My girlfriend is pregnant and we need to leave as soon as possible- is there any way we could get a campus apartment instead of a dorm? One that we can move into as soon as possible?"
It's many conversations back and forth between the two, when finally Pike manages to get them into an apartment across from one of the Engineering buildings.
"You need to get here by the twentieth or it goes to someone else. Can you do this?"
Jim tells him yes and they start planning to leave on the Sunday before the twentieth. She packs a small bag the day before, shoving a few clothes, books and a folder filled with her pictures. She wraps up a bottle of perfume in a scarf; the one that Jim always likes; and shoves it between a sweater and a pair of pants. She takes the largest purse in her closet and packs it up with a first aid kit, medicine and toiletries and shoves both bags into the back of her closet.
On Sunday, after dinner with her parents, Natalie retires early for the night. "I have a headache," she tells her parents.
She lies in bed, wearing her clothes under her nightgown, watching the clock as it ticks towards her freedom.
…..
It's Friday and they stop in the middle of the desert in Nevada, twenty miles south from Las Vegas. It's nearing dusk, as they park the car on the side of the road. Jim takes her by the hand and leads her towards the cliffs that over look the wide span of sand and shrubs. They stand together on that cliff, his arms wrapped around her as his hands rest on her stomach.
"Look at that sunset," he breathes into her ear.
She watches as the sun dips into the horizon, the sky bleeding red, orange and yellow. It's the most beautiful thing- next to Jim, that is- she's ever seen. The sky turns purple and pink as the tiny sliver of the sun peeps out, before vanishing below the horizon, waking up the life that lies on the other side of the world. The temperature drops quickly as they hustle back to the car, giggling and holding hands as they move.
Jim starts the car and pulls back onto the empty road, moving further and further west as they go. They never see the car that pulls out of the shrubs a few feet from where they'd park, keeping its distance as they drive.
…
It's Saturday and they're in crossing the border into California. If they're lucky, they'll make it to Star Fleet by nightfall. Jim calls Pike to let him know that they're in the sate, before calling his friends.
Natalie can do nothing but stare out the window as they drive along the endless rows of palm trees. It's a culture shock for sure, seeing the differences in dress and city format of the various towns they drive through.
"You look like a kid in a candy store," Jim laughs, as she presses her nose against the glass.
"It's so different," she tells him, turning back to smile at him. "I'm so glad we're here!"
He pats her bare knee, smiling as he keeps his eyes on the road. "Me too, baby," he tells her. "Me too."
….
It's after seven when they reach San Francisco, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. Natalie hates the bridge and keeps her eyes down on her lap, as Jim holds her hand. She breathes a little easier once they reach the other side, laughing at how silly she's being. Jim tells her he thinks its cute and that she'll grow to love crossing the bridge.
They stop at his friends' house; Hikaru Sulu and Pavel Chekov, who welcome them with open arms. They're both students at Starfleet; Hikaru in the biology program, while Pavel blows the math and physics department away with his skills. They eat a real dinner around a real table, before cleaning up in the bathroom.
By eight, they all drive into Starfleet, where Pike waits for them in his office.
"I can't believe how fast you two got here," he says, as they sit down in front of his desk.
Jim laughs, "We really want that apartment."
They got over his schedule real quick, confirming that he'll start classes in a week, before moving to the important stuff.
"We have a hospital just off campus grounds that has the best medical team, ready to help when you need it," he tells them, pointing on the map to show them. "When are you due?"
Natalie counts in her head, "I'd say around late winter- February."
Pike nods and scribbles something down on a post-it, "I'll call my friend tomorrow," he tells them. "He's the Chief of Surgery and he'll know the right people that you'll need to see."
He then digs around in a drawer of his desk and pulls out a pair of keys, "Let's go see your new home," he grins.
The three of them take the elevator down to the main floor, where Pavel and Hikaru wait. Once they step outside, everything changes. There's a loud bang, as screams fill the air. Natalie hears a scuffle, as someone pulls her back. Dazed and confused, Natalie blinks a few times before she hears it.
"N-attie.."
Looking down, Natalie sees red in the lights that illuminate the doorway. Then she sees Jim, gasping and clutching his chest. Natalie screams and falls to her knees at his side, taking his hand into hers.
"Jim? Jim?!" she panics, as the blood trickles from his mouth. "Oh god! Call for help!" she screams to anyone. "You're going to be fine, Jim! I promise! Don't you dare leave me, Jim! JIM!"
….
Hours later, Natalie sits in an exam room as the doctor talks to her. He's nice and has green eyes.
"I'm sorry, Miss Con-" he starts, before she cuts him off.
"Kirk."
He frowns and she repeats it again, "Mrs. Kirk."
They aren't married but it doesn't matter. She is his just as much as he's hers, and that's enough.
"Mrs. Kirk," the doctor starts again. McCoy is his name, she remembers, as he tells her how there wasn't enough time to save Jim. He lost too much blood and the bullet grazed his heart, leaving enough damage that he couldn't repair. She nods once and he moves on to her, telling her what the doctor found in his exam. She's three months pregnant and due in the middle of February with twins. He excuses himself to fill out paperwork, leaving her alone in the room. When the door clicks behind him, Natalie cries.
Her hopes and dreams died that night along with her Romeo.
…
When the semester starts up at Starfleet, Natalie can't bear to look at the building across from her bedroom. Pike manages to keep the apartment open for her and the babies, the school agreeing that she could stay after the loss she experienced that night on their grounds.
Jim Kirk died from injuries sustained from a gunshot wound, leaving behind his girlfriend and his unborn children. The shooter was a hit man, hired by Regina Conway and her husband, Thomas. She only knew that his name was Spock and that he held no emotion when questioned by the reporters outside the jailhouse. Jim's blood was on his hands as well as her parents, who would most likely spend time behind bars for the murder of their grandchildren's father.
"I hate them all," Natalie says, as Nyota visits one weekend. "They did this to me. To us."
When she feels the babies kick at six months, she cries for days. Jim should be there, experiencing every new moment with her. Instead, he's buried six feet under ground in a pine box, rotting away. The image alone keeps her up at night.
…
She's at the hospital for her monthly scan, when a group of people shows up. Hikaru, Chekov, Nyota and her boyfriend Scotty, Pike and McCoy.
"What are you doing here?" she asks them, as they crowd around the exam table.
"We came to see you and the babies," Pavel smiles.
The doctor doing the exam isn't please at the crowd and tells them, earning a glare from McCoy.
"Doctor, we're not going anywhere," Pike says, as he stands behind Natalie.
Hikaru nodded, "Nope, staying put."
"We're her family," Nyota pulls her icy glare on the woman. "We are not leaving."
Natalie smiles; a real smile for the first time in months. "You heard them, "she says, turning her eyes back to the monitor. "Now, show me my babies."
There, in that little room, three heartbeats fill the air around the cramped bodies. Natalie lets the tears fall as she smiles, her friends in awe over the lives that grow in her everyday.
It's you, me and little bean. I love you, Nattie.
As the babies kick and roll in the scan, Nattie nods to herself, as part of Jim lives within her. In their babies.
"You, me and our little beans," she whispers, reaching out to touch the screen. "I love you, Jim."