I don't own Riding with Private Malone or Star Trek 2009, so please don't sue.

I was just out of the service thumbing through the classifieds

When an ad that said "Old Chevy" somehow caught my eye

The lady didn't know the year or even if it ran

But I had that thousand dollars in my hand

"Look lady, I don't know the year of the `evy or even if it run, I do know that it's a pre-warp era antique," Frank Bastes loud voice rang out from the Kirk Family Farm and carried across the fields of corn. When his loud voice reached the ears of Jimmy Kirk, the ten year old flinched and subconsciously raised his shoulders to cover his neck. Consciously, the young child quickened his pace up the stairs to his room–trying not to think of the fact that Sam's room, the one next to his was now empty–to get away from his stepfather faster.

"No, I won't take a thousand dollars of pre-warp money… I don't care how much you think it is worth! ...I only want goddamn credits!" When Frank's screaming only grew louder, Jimmy had to suppress his growing fear with the gleeful thought that the bastard wouldn't be able to sell Sam's Chevy. Although, he had to snort at the stupidly of the man he had to call stepfather. Apparently, the moron didn't know that a thousand dollars of pre-warp money, no matter what year it was made in, was worth a small fortune.

"BOY!" Frank's booming voice seemed to shake the house. Not to mention it was a lot closer than Jimmy remembered it being from a few seconds ago. Which could only mean one thing; the bastard wanted something from him. He tried to run up the remaining steps to his room and lock himself in before the man got to him. He figured that the drunk would still be just that, drunk and wouldn't be able to get him. He misjudged the asshole.

Jimmy felt the man grab the back of his jacket, yanking him off the ground and if it wasn't for that same strong hold, would have had him tumbling down the stairs. His first initial reaction was to escape; however, a flashback of the night before had him attempting to curl into himself. He struggled, as was natural, but with a few quick shakes from Frank, he simply just hung there. His meek behavior had his stepfather at least putting his feet back on the floor before dragging him through the trashed house.

"Now listen here boy! You're ganna clean up that Chevy and it better be spotless! Ya hear me? Spotless," Frank screamed, being more coherent than he should have been for being perpetually drunk. "If it's not, I'll make what I did to you last night look like a slap in the face. Got that?" Without waiting for an answer, the man all but threw Jimmy out the door and towards the barn; making sure to close and lock the door behind him, in an effort to make sure the boy couldn't get inside the house.

It was way back in the corner of this old ramshackle barn

With thirty years of dust and dirt on that green army tarp

And when I pulled the cover off, it took away my breath

What she called a Chevy was a sixty-six Corvette

Jimmy tried to keep his body from shaking at the threat as he walked quickly towards the rickety old barn, yet he couldn't help but remember how Frank's hands felt wrapped around his neck. His life slowly being deprived of him in the form of asphyxiation, while his little hands clawing desperately at the much larger hands around his neck to no avail. Jimmy had to thank every deity that he remembered for Sam's noisy arrival through the front door, because Frank loosened his grip and allowed him to escape. The young boy had then all but plastered himself to his brother's side for the rest of the evening and even sleep in Sam's room last night from his fear.

He hadn't told his brother in words what their stepfather had done to him, Jimmy had seen Frank do the same thing to Sam a whole bunch of times and never once did he complain. He was just emulating his brother since his young mind thought that was how he was suppose to act. Yet, maybe, if he had told Sam what the asshole had done, his brother would have stayed…but, he couldn't do that. He couldn't complain over a little pain when Sam had taken so much more without saying a word. It wasn't fair to his brother and he did so much for Jimmy that it was the least he could do for Sam.

With that final resolution in his mind, that he had done the right thing by not telling Sam Frank had laid a hand on him, Jimmy struggled to open up the large broken barn doors so he could get in. It took all his strength, but he finally managed to get the large doors open all the way. Light poured into the darkened barn, illuminating all the dusty contents and the dirty green army tarp. A tarp that Jimmy's little hands had trouble pulling off of the car which lay beneath, but the shiny red `65 Chevy Corvette underneath took away his breath. The car was beautiful.

I felt a little guilty as I counted out the bills

What a thrill I got when I sat behind the wheel

I opened up the glove box and that's when I found the note

The date was nineteen-sixty-six and this is what he wrote

It took a little while to get the dirt and grime to come off of Sam's Chevy, making it shine like it was new. Jimmy got a large satisfaction out of cleaning the car, more than he should have being forced, but because he was cleaning up the car for when Sam would return. His brother's car wouldn't be covered in years of dust and dirt, but shining like a diamond. Jimmy imaged Sam would be so thrilled that the two of them could drive off together in the shiny red Corvette and everything would be alright in the world. It would be just him and Sam, no more Frank to yell at them and no more Winona to ignore them.

Jimmy couldn't wait until that day came. In the mean time, he worked extra hard to make sure Sam's car was in great condition and he had to–somehow–figure out a way where Frank couldn't sell the Chevy. It was when he started to clean the inside of the car and all he was coming up with were dead ends to keep the car that a devious idea began to form in his mind. An idea that would make his dreams of him and Sam driving the Chevy off to a new life together come a lot sooner than later. It was what sparked his search for the keys to the car, which lead him to looking into the glove box. That's where he found the note dated 2232.

He said, "My name is Private Andrew Malone"

"And if you're reading this, then I didn't make it home"

"But for every dream that shattered, another one came true"

"This car was once a dream of mine, now it belongs to you"

"Though you may take her and make her your own"

"You'll always be riding with Private Malone"

Jimmy's eyes quickly devoured the paper, real paper, note that he knew, he just knew, was written in his father's handwriting. He memorized every single flowing line of the old cursive script and couldn't help the thrill he got just by reading something his father wrote. He knew Sam could see their father's ghost and his brother would communicate what his father would say, but this was just too real for him. He couldn't see their father like Sam could, he had no physical proof; until this letter.

To Junior,

My name is Lieutenant George Samuel Kirk, Senior, your father. And if you're reading this, then I never made it home. I'm sorry I broke my promise, I'm sure I did everything in my power to return to you, but I apparently didn't. I am so sorry, you can't possible imagine how sorry I must feel never getting to see my baby boy grow up, I'm sorry you never got that little bother you wanted so badly. But, for every dream that shatters, another one comes true, this car was once my dream and now it belongs to you. Take her, make her your own; just remember you'll always be riding with me whenever you drive this car.

Love always and forever,

Your Father, George Samuel Kirk, Senior

He didn't know when the tears started to flow, it could have been after the second time he reread the letter or the fifth time. Either way, Jimmy's resolve to make sure Frank never got his greasy hands on the car became ironclad. He was kind of nervous about hotwiring the car, he could do it, Sam had shown him how when Frank had lost the keys to the hovercar in one of his drunk spurs, but he didn't want to damage the classic car.

Well it didn't take me long at all, I had her running good

I love to hear those horses thunder, underneath her hood

I had her shining like a diamond and I'd put the rag top down

All the pretty girls would stop and stare as I drove her through town

However, he didn't have to worry about ruining Sam's Chevy, not when the keys literally fell into his hands when he was furiously rubbing his eyes to make the tears go away. Apparently, his dad had hidden them on the weird thing that had a mirror in it, which he didn't understand what it was exactly there for (no hovercars had them in this day and age and he couldn't see the purpose of them other than to cause a distraction while driving). He was just about to put the key into ignition when Frank's earlier words came back to him. The man had stated that he didn't know if the car still ran and as far as Jimmy knew, it hadn't been touched by anyone since his dad died.

Sending a quick prayer upwards, he put the keys in the ignition and closed his eyes as he turned the key, waiting with his breath held in. Jimmy had expected the old gasoline engine to be nosier and spurt out before dying. However, the Chevy came to life in a soothing purr and when he pushed the gas pedal down, the engine thundered like Ole Henry's horses underneath the hood as it fishtailed out of the driveway and down the dirt road. Although, he should have realized that the sound would alert Frank to his actions and he shouldn't have been surprised when the bastard's voice came booming out of the radio-comm unit, but he was. Yet, that was easily remedied but switching the radio-comm from comm mode to radio mode; sadly, the radio was only picking up on static.

Not that Jimmy cared at the moment; he was having too much trouble trying to unlatch the top without having his foot come off the gas pedal. He was most pleased with himself when he got the final latch undone, up until the point that the top was ripped off the back and crashed onto the road behind him. He just hoped that Sam wouldn't be too mad at him for partly destroying his car. It was an honest mistake. He promised himself he would fix it for Sam at a later date, but he had more important things to worry about right now, like finding his brother.

Jimmy was so preoccupied with his thoughts, that he never noticed a pair of hazel that had stop and stared as he barreled down the road.

The buttons on the radio didn't seem to work quite right

But it picked up that oldie show, especially late at night

I'd get the feeling sometimes, if I turned real quick I'd see

A soldier riding shotgun in the seat right next to me

The Chevy was in the middle of shifting gears when the static from the stereo started to dissipate and a song could be partially heard. At first, it was just the background music that could be heard and grabbled words, but ever so slowly the lyrics became clearer. The oldie song could finally be completely understood when Jimmy finally took notice of the cop chasing him on a hoverbike. The cop was wearing one of the new radar sensor masks, which reminded Jimmy of the robotic characters in 20th century B-rated science fiction films that Sam loved to watch. To little kids, it should have looked scary to have a robotic cop hovering right out of the car door signaling him to pull over, but it just amused Jimmy.

Also, the cop's signaling just had Jimmy making a quick rash decision. Turning the wheel hard, the young boy turned down another dirt road and crashed into the gates. Gates which lead to Riverside Quarry, he had been there enough before to know exactly where the road ended. He had full intention of going over the edge with Sam's Chevy, because he didn't think he could live alone with Frank after this stunt and if the cop caught him, he would definitely take the young Kirk back to his stepfather. However, the thought of Sam coming back for him, coming back to a house with only Frank–maybe Winona if she was back from space–and not finding him, Jimmy had the feeling that Sam would be very disappointed in him. That thought alone had him reconsidering his decision of suicide.

In his haste to get out, he turned real quick towards the passenger seat, trying to unbuckle his seatbelt; however, his actions came to a complete halt when blue eyes caught sight of the man sitting shotgun right next to him.

It was a young man named Private Andrew Malone

Who fought for his country and never made it home

But for every dream that's shattered, another one comes true

This car was once a dream of his, back when it was new

He told me to take her and make her my own

And I was proud to be riding with Private Malone

Jimmy was transfixed with what he saw and couldn't help but wonder if this was what Sam went through all the time. It was…weird; that was the best way he could describe it, seeing a transparent man sitting in the passenger seat right next to him. His legs trying to brace his lower body while one hand was holding the side of the door in a tight grip and the other braced on the dashboard. The Starfleet uniform was definitely out of place, just for the reason that there was a larger juxtaposition between pre-warp culture and 23rd century culture and they seemed to clash.

None of that was that important to Jimmy, save for the fact that the man had dirty blond hair and worn blue eyes. These features, more than anything else, gave away the fact that the ghost riding shotgun in the seat next to him was none other than his father. This was George Samuel Kirk, Senior. For Jimmy, everything seemed to freeze, his mind trying to catch and record every single detail in front of him. This was a sight he never wanted to forget and it would be a memory he treasured above all else, only telling the people closest to his heart what had transpired.

It was also at this point that he noticed his seatbelt was stuck.

One night it was raining hard, I took the curve too fast

I still don't remember much about that fiery crash

Someone said they thought they saw a soldier pull me out

They didn't get his name but I know without a doubt

The young Kirk could not think straight with the panic starting to take over. His bright blue eyes leaving his father's figure to latch onto the safety belt that was supposed to keep him from harm's way but was now putting him into it. The car was already going way too fast for him to stop before the quarry began and the road ended. He was going to fall in for sure if he didn't try to do something. He gave up his battle with the seatbelt and put both hands back on the wheel of Sam's Chevy, turning the wheel as hard as he could, feeling the car stutter underneath him, trying to obey his will but failing. The car was going to go over the edge and him with it.

Jimmy didn't know what happened in the next few seconds, but the seatbelt holding him captive had seemingly disappeared and the car door was thrown open. As the Chevy crashed over the edge, he felt someone push him, literally push him, out of the car and halfway onto solid ground. The inertia behind his movements had him sliding over the edge and Jimmy would have died if it weren't for the pair of strong hands that grabbed onto him and helped him pull himself up from the cliff's edge. It was in the few seconds that he was hanging there that Jimmy saw the see the almost physical manifestation of worry and a resolve for him to living in those sky blue eyes staring down into his own and could help but follow the unspoken order.

Together, the corporal body of his father and him manage to get him back up onto solid ground and way from the fiery crash which use to be a 1965 Chevy Corvette.

Jimmy barely had enough time to utter the words he had always wished to say before his father's corporal body began to fade away; becoming transparent once again before totally disappearing from his sight all together.

"I love you Dad."

It was a young man named Private Andrew Malone

Who fought for his country and never made it home

But for every dream that's shattered, another one comes true

This car was once a dream of his, back when it was new

I know I wouldn't be here if he hadn't tagged along

That night I was riding with Private Malone

Before his father could completely disappear, Jimmy watched the man smile the most heartwarming smile he had ever received and then he was gone. His father's parting words floating on the wind, but still audible to him.

"I love you too, Son."

Oh, thank God, I was riding with Private Malone

"Citizen, what is your name?"

I guess this could be read as a stand alone, but it makes more sense if you have read my Grim!verse series and for all of you waiting for James's Story, I'm sorry. For some reason, every single time I tried to write the beginning of it, I couldn't. This wanted to be written instead. So now that it is done, I'll go work on James's part. Also, I think this clears up a little more of why Jimmy was so skittish around Frank in the last few chapters of His Own Brother, but that's just my own opinion. Hope you all like!

Riley Lee