If you'd asked Winona Mcintyre why she snuck up to the water tower she'd probably tell you that she didn't know or she'd just shrug, but truth is she loved the stars. She loved thinking about all the life out there. All that vast universe teeming with new knowledge ripe for the picking made her feel less alone in the third new place she'd called home in as many months. She would leave Podunk Iowa eventually. She'd make a name for herself among the stars, but until then she was stuck in the summer before her junior year.
That's where she met George Kirk.
George Kirk was stuck, not in the same manner as Winona, but stuck nonetheless. He was stuck mainly because he'd drunk too much and was afraid of descending the long ladder while tipsy. He'd brought some liquor onto the tower with him in an attempt to forget about the pressure from all sides that seemed to squeeze him like a vice. He wanted to see the universe, he really did, but his family's pressure to become a Starfleet captain seemed like too much even on the best of days. It was the summer before his senior year, and George Kirk was definitively stuck.
"You're not supposed to be here." Winona's voice trembled a little more than she'd intended. She wasn't afraid of the slightly tipsy boy leaning against the water tower, but she'd certainly not expected another person to be sitting on the walkway encircling the water tower at 2 a.m.
He grinned before patting the space beside him. "I won't tell if you won't."
Winona sat down beside him and they talked until the night sky made way for a blood red sunrise. Winona had forgotten the stars that night, and George had forgotten the bottle.
It was D-Day. Their wedding. George had proposed to her on the day of her graduation from Starfleet academy, and she'd said yes before the words fully left his mouth. Her mama smiled knowingly when she told her and George's mama nearly fainted.
"You are not to see that girl on your wedding day or so help me…" Betsy Kirk had taken up temporary residence at the Mcintyre house for the day of the wedding and barricaded the homestead against her son. She was strict with tradition and seemed convinced their marriage was doomed should George have so much as a glimpse of his soon-to-be bride.
Winona smiled sleepily as George slid through the open window of her childhood bedroom. She and George had gotten their own apartment after she graduated high school, but she'd stayed the night at her mother's so they could get up early to prepare for the wedding. He was handsome, even while nearly falling on his face and tripping on the window sill.
"You're not supposed to be here." She laughed, covering up her face with a pillow in mock horror.
He smiled, pulled the pillow down and kissed her before whispering. "I won't tell if you won't."
She'd been strong. She'd been strong for George's parents, for her own parents, for herself, and for her boy, but Winona Kirk was cracking.
They'd had to bury an empty coffin. She'd been presented a flag and condolences from Starfleet officials, but flags and condolences did not bring her husband back. It did not keep her two boys from having to grow up without a father, and it did not fill the chasm that had been rent in her heart.
She ignored multiple offers to driver her home from the cemetery. Jim was sleeping soundly in her arms and George Jr. was quiet. There was no need to leave quite yet. She knelt with her boys in front of their fathers grave and wept silently.
"You're not supposed to be here."
