A/N: I do not own.
"Captain, there is an incoming message from Starfleet for you."
"Patch it through to the ready room, Lieutenant." Jim sprang up from the command chair and headed over to the doors, calling over his shoulder, " Mr. Spock, you have the conn."
Once inside the room, he happily greeted the face of Admiral Pike. The Enterprise had been kept on a short leash for the last two months, whether it was because they didn't trust him, or that they needed the flagship closer to headquarters because most of the fleet had been destroyed, he didn't know. He only knew that he and the rest of the crew were getting sick of being gofers for everyone.
"Admiral, it's good to see you again! Did you receive my request?"
"Yes, I did. I know you don't like being the errand boy, but all this work is important." Pike raised his hand to signal him not to argue the point. "However, I have managed to get the rest of the Admiralty to approve of a mission for you."
Jim's eyes lit up and a grin spread across his face. "Sweet. What is it? Do we finally get to explore new places?"
"No. I'm afraid not." Jim's grin slipped a little, but Pike didn't notice. "Your new mission is going to be transporting as many Vulcans as possible to their new planet and helping them rebuild. You will spend three months with them, so head to Earth first, and once you get here you and your crew will receive five days of shore leave before you head out." That was probably the only decent thing Jim had heard so far.
Pike, seeming to read thoughts, continued, "I hope you don't think this isn't an important mission because it is."
Jim now felt guilty at having thought this wasn't any better than the other jobs they'd had to do. The Vulcan people, or what was left of them anyway, needed all the help they could get. The thing was they did not want to ask for it. They were a peaceful people and very self-sufficient. You would have thought that asking for help when you need it would be logical, but the Vulcans didn't. They also did not ask for any of this to happen to them.
Jim felt bad, but tried to keep it to himself. "I think it is a very important mission and we'll head back straight away. Thanks for the shore leave, by the way."
"Don't thank me. You guys earned it. There hasn't been one complaint about all the crappy jobs you've had to do."
"You knew those so called missions sucked, but you still gave them to us?"
Pike smirked. "Someone had to do them, but that should make this mission seem like heaven in comparison. Don't you agree?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"When will you arrive at Earth?"
"We should arrive later tomorrow."
"Alright, we'll have shuttles waiting. I have to go. I'll catch you later. Pike out."
The screen went blank. Jim sat there for a few minutes thinking. He had many reasons why he didn't want to go on this mission. The most important one was Spock. Jim didn't know if at the end of the mission Spock would decide to stay on the colony or not. He and Spock still might not be getting along all that well, but he hoped that when the time came to leave the colony, Spock would be leaving with them.
Jim stood up from the chair running his hand through his hair and exited the room.
"Mr. Sulu set a course for earth. Chekov, begin a ship wide announcement telling the crew that when we arrive at earth we have five days of shore leave, and then will spend three months helping the Vulcans rebuild their new home world." Jim glanced over at Spock as he said this and tired to read his face but as usual he did not show any emotion.
"Aye, captain" Chekov replied beginning to relay the message to the rest of the crew. The reaction from the crew was not what Jim expected. They were all excited and seemed to think that this was what a normal mission consisted of. Jim just wanted to get away from all the bureaucracy and explore space. He knew this was an important task but there were other star ships that could have done it.
Jim tried to feel as excited as the crew was about the upcoming vacation, but he really couldn't. Everyone was scrambling to gather all their belongings that they would need for the next five days, everyone except Jim. He didn't want to go home if his mother, Winona, was going to be there so he decided to check and hoped that she would be off planet somewhere.
He and his mother had never really gotten along, and this would not be the time to start. Maybe, he could stay with his brother if Winona was there. He decided to send a message to Sam and ask. Perhaps, he would know her whereabouts, too. Leaving the bridge after his shift, he went to his room to send the message to Sam.
With that done, he didn't know what to do with himself and decided to go annoy Bones.
"Bones!" he called as he walked into sickbay. "What are you doing for shore leave? Would you come with me to Iowa if Winona is not there? I don't want to go by myself."
"Sorry kid I can't. I promised Jo I'd spend it with her. She is really getting sick of her mother and asked if she could come back with me because she can't stand being around my crazy ex anymore than I can. I told her that I don't think she would like it because of our next mission on some desert planet that resembles the old Vulcan. She said she would love to come and meet an alien race. By the way, just out of curiosity what is the policy on bringing a child onboard?"
"I don't know. Ask Spock. He seems to know everything."
"I don't want to ask that pointy eared bastard anything. He's like a robot and would make up some complicated logical excuse for why it is or it isn't allowed."
"I supposed I could look into it then," Jim replied. "It might even help crew moral to have some kids on board. Starfleet is a family organized institution. They usually try to keep them together."
"I know, but I would want Jo to be safe. I don't like space and with your history we usually get into every mess possible. You attract the most trouble out of anyone I know."
"Hey, now. I do not. I never go looking for trouble; it just finds me. And bedsides, I always manage to get out in the nick of time!"
"You are worse than my own kid. I tell ya, you are going to be the death of me." Bones said as he turned around with a hypo and stabbed it in Kirk's neck.
"Shit! What was that for?"
"Well, if you kept your appointments for regular vaccinations I wouldn't have to give them to you when you aren't expecting them." Bones smirked evilly toward his Captain causing him to glare.
"Just for that you are uninvited to come with me for shore leave. It would have been fun, and Jo could have come too, but now you are uninvited. Maybe I'll just ask her to come with me instead. That way we can leave you with your crazy ex wife."
"Don't you dare leave me with that bitch. And Jo would not go with you. She misses me."
"Should we ask her? I bet she would come with me if I asked."
"Leave her alone, Jim. You're taking advantage of her because she a crush on you. If I so much as thought you would do anything with her I would castrate you! So. don't even go there!"
"Hey, hey, hey I would never! She is like ten. You are a sick, sick man."
"She's thirteen, and I know you, that's why I haven't castrated you, yet."
"Oh, well thirteen is ok! I'm going to go call her, then." Kirk barely finished the sentence before being chased out of sickbay with a very pissed off Bones chasing him with a hypo in hand.
Racing for his life, Kirk sprinted through the halls trying to find somewhere he could hide. "I'm sorry," he shouted behind him towards Bones. "It was a joke. I swear I'll never say another word about her."
"You should have thought about that before you opened your big mouth! You're dead Jim, dead! Ya hear?"
Turning his head over his shoulder he called again, "Sorry!" As he was turning his head back around, he crashed into something very solid that sent him tumbling to the ground. Kirk lay there for a minute trying to get his bearings, and then looked up to see what had blocked his path.
He felt very humiliated at that moment in his life and wished the floor would open up and swallow him. Spock, whom he had just crashed into, was towering over him with his eyebrow raised, which Kirk took to be disapproving. He really wished he could just disappear right now.
Jim was staring up at Spock before he heard Bones.
"Jim you will pay for that. Besides, there is nowhere you can hide because I have override codes for everywhere incase of emergencies! There is no escaping me." Bones shouted along the corridor before he caught sight of the sight of the scene in front of him. He skidded to a halt while Kirk got to his feet and tried to hide behind Spock.
"Captain is there a purpose as to why you are sprinting through the corridors recklessly?" Spock asked in a stern voice.
Kirk, hiding behind him, answered, "I'm hiding from Bones. He is going to hypo me to death! You have to save me, Spock."
"It's no more than you deserve. You're an ass, and you need to learn when to shut your mouth."
"I, too, agree." Spock replied, "Carry on." He moved around the doctor and started to exit the hallway.
"Wait you cant just leave me here. You're my first officer, and I need your help. What if Bones kills me?"
"Then you will be dead, and I will then be captain."
"So, I was right. You are pissed that I got the promotion over you."
"No, I am merely stating a fact of what will happen should your death occur."
"Well, now that you point that out I won't kill you because I don't want this hobgoblin as a captain. If he were captain, then I would have to take orders from him, and I think I would shoot myself. But that still leaves so many other possibilities!"
Kirk didn't wait for anything and just took off down the hall, Bones chasing after him. When they were out of sight, Spock just shook his head and continued on his way deciding that humans were too complicated.