Happy Birthday Mr. Captain
Summary: Jim is forced to spend his birthday sober. Short one-shot. Another 'Enterprise Family' Fic
I know that Kirk-Prime was born on March 22 (my brother's birthday) in Iowa but in the new time line he was born prematurely on the Kelvin which would have made it closer to my birthday (February 25)
So, I decided that I would write a fic of Jim's first birthday on the Enterprise as a birthday present to myself heehee. A touch of McKirk if you squint.
Today was the anniversary of George Kirk's death; it was also his youngest son's twenty-sixth birthday. Not that Jim ever thought of it as his special day. It had always been the day that his mother couldn't stand to look at him and had made every excuse in the world to be gone on some expedition where she would not have a com-link to be able to call him. His older brother Sam would give him a pat on the head mumble a few words and head out for the rest of the day. Well, until Sam had finally left home without a backwards glance at Jimmy. Jim didn't know even that kids had big birthday parties with their families showering them with affection until he started school. His sixth birthday had been the worst because he knew what a birthday was supposed to be like and even at his age he knew he would never have one like his friends.
From the time he was old enough to sneak off with some alcohol, Jim had spent his birthday completely wasted. He didn't want to have to think about dead fathers or mothers with empty eyes. Presents were never given and cakes were never baked. He had never learned joy to celebrate surviving another year. At the Academy, Bones had become his drinking buddy. He made sure that atleast this one day a year that Jim didn't get the shit beat out of him. Bones never made him talk about it. There was an understood agreement that Bones would just read it in his medical file and not ask for verbal feedback from Jim. That was the most sincere birthday present Jim had ever gotten. But what could a guy want when his father had given him the gift of life as the ultimate birth-day gift?
But now he was on the Enterprise. Jim was the Captain; Spock was his commander and Bones was his CMO. As it happened the Command Crew took rotation of being on call during the Beta Shift for emergencies. Jim, Spock, Sulu, Chekov and Scotty would swap who would be the first call during an emergency. The night they took call they were to be completely sober and ready for action at a drop of the hat. This allowed for everyone to get able rest four nights out of five and allowed some of the burden of command to be lifted from Spock's and Jim's shoulders for a few hours. As it turned out, Jim was on call tonight, which meant for the first time in fifteen years he was going to have to survive his birthday completely sober. It was also the first time he ever regretted not telling his command crew his date of birth. They would have taken pity on him and changed the rotation so that Jim wouldn't have had to take call instead of partying, even if that wasn't the truth. So, the end of the shift had found Jim in his quarters working diligently on reports so he would not have to think of anything other than the Enterprise.
Jim's door swooshed open to reveal Bones. He had given Bones the code to his door as soon as he was settled because he was too lazy to get up and let him in every time Bones came by. "Jim is workin' on paperwork? I think the universe is going to end!" Bones teased him dramatically clutching his chest as he took the seat on the other side of the desk.
Jim had to laugh, Bones had that effect on him no matter the situation. "I thought I would keep myself busy to distract myself from the yearn of your Southern Comfort since I'm on call tonight." Jim pushed the chair away from the desk and stretched his shoulders.
Bones sighed, it broke his heart to know that Jim would never be comfortable celebrating his day. That 'his' day wouldn't be like everyone else's in the known universe, hell even Vulcans celebrated their birthday. "Well, Jim, I would tell you Happy Birthday but you would send me runnin' out of the room with my ears burnin' from your cussin'. So I'll just keep you company for a little while." Bones relaxed into the seat completely ignoring the death glares Jim was giving him. "Seems like, to me, you could've swapped your call with Spock though. That damn walkin' computer would've had no problem taking two nights in a row worth of call since Vulcans are so superior to us humans and don't need to waste so much time sleeping." Bones chuckled. "Then we could've got drunk together as per our usual routine. It ain't no fun for me to drink and you to watch." That was as close as Bones would touch on the subject of what happened back during the Academy for now.
Jim smiled faintly. "I know Bones, but Spock would have wanted a reason to take two nights' worth of call and I really don't want to lie to him. I don't talk about my date of birth, period." Jim got up from behind the desk and starting pacing. "You know, Bones, I am the youngest captain in Star Fleet history. I've got the Enterprise. I thought maybe this would make Ma proud enough to call me on my birthday." Jim sighed. "I got a pre-recorded message from her today. The damn Christmas tree was in the background which means she had to record it over two months ago!" He punched the closest wall. "I just don't understand." Jim leaned against the wall both palms against the cool metal of the ship letting his forehead touch the only support he had, the Enterprise.
Bones knew the first time Jim was sober on his birthday all the pent up emotion would come bubbling to the surface because no one could dam up those awful thoughts forever. He got up and stood beside his best friend. Bones had to shove his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out to the younger man. "Jim, I don't understand her either, but we are all proud of you." Bones wrapped his arm around Jim's shoulders and walked him towards the door. "Why don't you and I take a walk to try and relax, ok?" Jim nodded and they left the room.
Jim let Bones' arm stay where it was. It was comforting. The weight of the entire universe seemed to be crushing down on him. The only thing that relieved some of the pressure was his best friend's calming presence. Jim had no idea where Bones was taking him, but he didn't care. He needed to be out amongst the rest of the crew. Like Bones kept telling him this was his family now. Jim had a feeling that this family would not hurt him just as bad as the original, but he was still just a little leery. All the crewmembers they passed spoke to them. They were all genuinely happy to see him their eyes glittering with their smiles and Jim knew everyone of their names. The bitter part of Jim reminded him that they would act happy to see him because he was their commanding officer but he really didn't want to listen to that part today. Bones always seemed to put his bitterness in a choke hold when he was around, which is ironic because Bones himself was dripping with bitterness and ire. Bones had led him to the Observation Deck, which didn't surprise Jim. They had ended up more times that not on nights he had to stay sober. They made their way towards the smaller room off to the side which was usually the quietest place on the ship.
There were only a few times in James T. Kirk's life that he was so surprised he was speechless. Opening the door to the smallest Observation Lounge to find his entire command crew in the decorated room shouting "Happy Birthday", was going down as the time he was the most surprised. Jim's wide blue eyes scanned the room. Uhura, Spock, Scotty, Chekov, and Sulu were beaming at him (well, Spock had that gleam in his eye). There was cake, presents, streamers, more food and balloons every where. Bones slapped him on the shoulder and pushed him to the middle of the room. Uhura gave him a hug and the men all shook his hand. Jim couldn't help but smile. "Whose idea was this?" Jim had to know, it was probably Uhura maybe even Chekov but he still wanted to know. He scanned the faces waiting for a reply.
However the voice that answered was not either of those. It was deep and loving and a complete surprise to Jim. "It was me. Jim, I know that during the Academy we never spoke about the day you were born. You and I always went out and got drunk. Usually by the time we made it back to the dorm you were so drunk that you would begin telling me the horror stories of all your birthdays back home." Bones never let his eyes leave Jim's. Jim was staring at him in disbelief that his best friend would bring such ugly truths to the surface in a room full of people. "But, Jim, we are your family now. And as such we are going to celebrate your birthday with you. You might be twenty-six today, but we are going to start all over. This will be your first birthday. We are going to 'do-over' all the times that your birthday was overshadowed by your father's death." Jim's glare had slowly relaxed. Bones was thankful, because he really didn't want Jim to be mad at him for the rest of his life. And Jim Kirk could hold one hell of a grudge. He pulled Jim into a tight hug and stepped back, leaving Jim still standing in the middle of the semi-circle.
This time it was the logical First Officer's voice that interrupted the silence. "Though I am not Human, I do understand the concept of birthdays." Spock stepped closer to Jim, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder. "While George Kirk was a great man, his son, the Captain I am proud to serve under and a friend I am happy to have, should finally be allowed to remove himself from under his father's shadow. While George saved 800 lives, you, Jim, saved many, many more and continue to do so. I sincerely wish you a happy birthday and hope you have many more to come." Spock had allowed his human-half to express itself a little more than usual with his heartfelt birthday wishes because he knew how important this was to Jim, and for his friend he could over come his Vulcan culture long enough to show true human companionship. Spock squeezed his shoulder and move to stand next to McCoy.
The forever eloquent Nyota Uhura stepped forward to face Jim. "I know that you and I got off to a rocky start, but I never once doubted your ability to be a great captain. But if you ever tell a soul, I'll make sure all your transmissions are in Klingon because I know how much you love the language." Ny wrapped Jim in her long arms and pressed a small kiss to his cheek. "Happy Birthday Jim, I am so proud to be part of your family and crew." Nyota stepped back in her place beside Spock.
Sulu came forward next. "Jim, I know that you are the greatest Captain in the Fleet, everyone does. But I also know that you are a very compassionate man. I am thankfully that I was given the opportunity to serve with you and become part of your inner circle. I am sorry to know that you haven't celebrated your birthday before, that really sucks, but here and now this family will make sure that from now on you will only have happy memories of your date of birth." Sulu reached out and pulled Jim in for a bear/guy hug. He stepped back to stand beside Bones in the semi-circle.
Scotty sauntered up to stand before Jim. "Capt'n, I want ta wish ya the best birthday this side o' the neutral zone. Never before have I served with such a' outstanding man. You saved me from that ice burg o' a planet. An' have since become one o' me closest friends. When Dr. McCoy told me that we were havin' a birthday party an' the reason for it ta be kept so secret, I must confess, I cried. For such a wonderful man not ta understand what a great person he is, tis a pity. I'm here beside o' ya, Jim, as long as I can draw breath – as long as we all can draw a breath." Scotty pulled Jim close for the biggest hug yet which lasted a rather long time. Finally Scotty stepped back to his place beside Ny.
Finally, a very nervous Chekov came to stand next to Jim. "Keptin, I vould like to vish you a wery happy birthday. I am so sorry that no one ewer taking time before to celebrate such a vonderful person's birthday." If Pavel had more to say, his nerves would not let him, so he just wrapped Jim in a very emotional hug. Finally before the young Russian began to cry, he stepped back beside Sulu.
Jim had stood still and let every word they all had said seep down into him, down to his very soul. Jim had to admit while he never questioned his crew's loyalty or devotion, this surprised him. Tears streamed down the man's face, tears of regret and sorrow mixed with tears of love and acceptance. Wiping his face trying to regain some semblance of male emotional control, he knew he now needed to acknowledge their heartfelt wishes. "I have never been one for celebrations, you all know that." He chuckled and their small laughs echoed back at him. "I want to sincerely thank you for all you have said and all you have done. You have not only opened your arms to me but your hearts as well. I could not have wished for a better command crew than the one I have been blessed with aboard the fine Enterprise." He glanced from young Pavel, to honorable Hikaru to devoted Scotty to compassionate Nyota to steadfast Spock and finally to loving Bones. This was his family and he would begin his birthday all over, this would be his first birthday party.
Bones cleared his throat, breaking eye contact with Jim before he started crying. "Alright, that is enough of this sappy crap. Let's have some of this cake that will all put us in a diabetic comma so that Jim can open his presents!" Bones wrapped his arm around Jim's shoulder, squeezing gently, leading him to the refreshment table.
A/N: Thanks for reading.
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