Previously…
The other boy lifted his hand in the traditional Vulcan salute, and with an almost smile he replied, "I am Spock."
Jim unleashed his full grin and made a terrible attempt to duplicate the salute. "I'm James Tiberius Kirk."
From the opposite side of the trees a steady, Vulcan voice declared. "That would explain why Federation Security is searching the building for you."
Jim jumped at the sudden voice and buried himself deeper against Spock's side, seeking his strength. Jim stuck his chin out and tried to look like the sudden appearance of a fully-grown Vulcan wasn't scaring him, but Spock could feel the rapid beat of Jim's heart beside his chest. Spock took care to not jostle Jim from his place of safety while he turned to ask, "Does this pertain to your 'stupid plan'?"
If either boy could have been bothered to pay attention they would've noticed how the Vulcan's eyebrow quirked at Spock's use of so human a vulgarity, and absolutely soared when Jim slumped deeper into Spock's warmth to mutter, "Unfortunately. I thought I'd be able to get away with coming here without having anyone notice me."
"You are the son of George Samuel Kirk, why should you strive to be ignored?"
Jim mumbled a reply under his breath, but a pointed silence from Spock demanded further explanation. "The Fleet offered Winona a ticket to this, which she didn't want, so I took it. I just wanted to come, see all the exhibits, hear some speeches about my dad, and go them home, with no one the wiser."
"You imply that your absence for three days will go unnoticed."
Jim snorted, "Completely unnoticed if everything goes like it usually does. It's a weekend, so Frank won't come home, and if he does, he'll be too wasted to notice. And if he asks me about it, I'll lie and tell him I spent the weekend camping or something."
"I presume that 'wasted' refers inebriation from some manner of narcotic."
"Drunk, Spock. Wasted means drunk."
"I see."
Jim laughed at Spock's dubious tone and replied, "No, I don't think you do, but I like it better that way."
Spock replied in what passed for a Vulcan huff, "I understand the nature of alcohol and its effect on humans from my association with those who have come to my home, but never have I seen displayed a level of inebriation which would preclude a parent from seeing to needs of their child."
Jim was up and away from Spock's comfort like a shot, "He's Frank. He's not a parent, he's just some guy my mother married because her sister didn't want Sam and I around anymore. He's not my dad, George is my dad, that's what this whole stupid thing was about!"
Spock calmly watched Jim pace back and forth, tossing his hands in the air as he shouted. "Jim," Spock interrupted, "I fail to understand what this 'thing' concerns."
Jim dropped down next to Spock on the bench with a dramatic sigh and finally explained. "I just wanted to spend some time with George. I mean, everybody tells me how he was such a great guy, and I'm exactly like him, but I don't know anything about him! It seemed so simple in my head: come to San Francisco, meet George, hear some stories, go home. Not get chased by Federation security and have them call Winona, who's gonna be pissed!"
"You are operating under the presumption that I intend to release you into the custody of Starfleet. This presumption is flawed." Jim jumped at the comment, like he'd completely forgotten the elder Vulcan was there listening.
The Vulcan was lean, with broad shoulders, softly turned eyebrows, and light brown hair pulled back into a short tail. Jim guessed that if the man dropped his hair to cover his tell-tale ears he would pass for human.
The Vulcan held Jim's appraising stare while he pulled a communicator from his pocket and placed two calls in rapid but succinct Vulcan. Jim turned to Spock for an explanation, but the other boy looked just as confused as his human counterpart, albeit in a very subtle way. At Jim's poke, Spock focused enough to translate, "He has requested that one of his men replicate a dark blue suit to match your specifications, and another of his men to bring my mother to our location."
Jim whispered back, "Why is he doing that?"
Before Spock had the chance to reply the elder Vulcan snapped his comm shut and interceded, "Spock has attached himself to you, which places you under my protection."
Jim just scrunched his brow in confusion, and Spock tried to explain. "James Kirk, this is Takeru, chief of security for the Vulcan Elders. He and his division are presently seeing to the welfare of my family and the other Elders while we are on Earth."
"So, your mom's a Vulcan Elder?"
"No, my mother is human. However, my father is Sarek, Vulcan ambassador to Earth."
"Your mom is human? That's so cool!" Jim stopped himself mid-exclamation and forcibly brought himself back on topic. "But if he's worried about the Elders, why is he worried about me?"
Jim seemed so terribly lost that an adult was willing to defend him, and Spock looked appeared as though he didn't understand so human a question, that Takeru intervened. "Your goal in coming here is honorable, and eminently logical. It is only logical that you should be helped to achieve it."
Jim muttered 'logical' to himself, trying to understand how running away could be interpreted as logical. Before he could ask any more questions trying to make sense of it, a woman gracefully burst into their space behind the trees. She was shorter than Jim's own mother, with loose curls of red hair gathered atop her head, and Spock's warm, brown eyes.
Takeru turned and explained the situation to her in Vulcan. Jim couldn't understand the conversation, but he took the half smile from Spock's mom as a good sign. "My mother is pleased."
"Your mom is happy that you picked up a stray?"
"Both she and Takeru are pleased that I have made a friend."
Baffled, Jim went to ask Spock why a friend was such a strange thing, but Takeru stopped him to make introductions. "Lady Amanda Grayson, I present James Tiberius Kirk."
Amanda gave Jim a bright and open smile, stepping forward with an extended hand to shake Jim's. "It's a pleasure to meet you James."
"And you, ma'am."
"Takeru has already notified the rest of our security force that their protection now extends to you. Now that that's been taken care of, we'll have a proper suit for you a in a moment James, and then we can all go back out to the exhibit."
"Wh-what? Why?" Jim sputtered.
Amanda leaned down in front of him, somehow managing to look perfectly graceful while she did so. "A new suit because people will ask less questions if you look like my husband and I brought you here with us, and because I think you'll wonderful in navy blue." Jim's cheeks flamed red, and Amanda continued with a smile. "And we'll go back to the exhibit because that's what you came for. If you're with us, with Vulcan security paying particular attention to you, most people won't dar talk to you. We'll still have to speak with some Starfleet personnel, but I didn't think you'd mind that since they all knew your father, and will be like kids on Christmas to see you."
Jim was so excited he almost started to vibrate. The boy's joy was so complete that Takeru could feel it blossom from across the room. The boy unleashed a brilliant smile and vaulted himself into Lady Amanda's arms with laughs and exclamations of his gratitude. Spock looked stunned, both by the excessive touching and from feeling someone psi-null project their happiness.
"Let me see if I've got this straight. I get to go to the exhibit, talk to people who knew George, and drag Spock around with me?"
Amanda laughed, "Precisely."
Jim let out a whoop and bounced into the air. "When can we go? Can we go now? Can we?"
Amanda handed over the freshly replicated suit with a smile and replied, "As soon as you're changed."
Amanda ushered the men all out from behind the trees and around the corner, giving Jim as much privacy as possible in a nook. Takeru saw Spock's curiosity and sent the guard who brought the suit off with a nod, presumably to check the halls before returning to the party. As soon as they were safely alone, Spock turned to Takeru and said, "That was... unique."
"It was rare, but not without precedent."
Amanda interrupted, "'It'?"
"Jim is broadcasting his emotions, Mother. His happiness at being allowed to return to the function unhindered is... palpable. I have been taught that such broadcasting in a psi null species does not occur."
Amanda smiled, "Schools must teach you absolutes, Spock. They could never cover every exception to the rule, and perhaps James is one of those exceptions."
Spock heard grumbling from behind the trees within the nook, and stepped up to the corner to inquire, "Jim, are you well?"
"I'm fine, it's just, um, the suit is, complicated."
"Complicated in what manner?"
Jim unleashed a pained sigh and replied in a whisper, "I can't figure out the stupid jacket."
"Do you require assistance?" Spock replied, in not a whisper at all.
Jim popped his head around the trees with a glower and snapped, "Not if you're gonna go telling everyone about it."
With a furrowed brow Spock relied, "I fail to see how-"
"Fine! Yes, fine, I need help with the jacket!"
Spock stepped back behind the trees and deftly rearranged the jacket, just as his mother had so often done for him. "This clothing is Vulcan," Spock explained. "Your difficulty stems from it being foreign in nature."
Jim snorted, "No, I'm just awful with dress clothes."
Spock ignored the statement and instead set himself to righting the layers of the suit chosen for Jim. He arranged everything to his satisfaction, then looked up to find that Jim had been staring at him with a shy smile and wide eyes. Jim reached up and touched a fingertip to the outer ridge of Spock's pointed ear and whispered, "I'm glad you're my friend, and not just 'cause you look out for me."
A green flush spread across Spock's cheeks and he replied, "I find your company pleasing as well." Jim just laughed and grabbed one of Spock's hands which had frozen smoothing Jim's jacket. He pulled Spock out into the hallway at a dash, practically bouncing with excitement.
Amanda just laughed at his excitement, and picked up the pace to escort the boys down the hall. Takeru trailed along behind, knowing that his team would have cleared the path between their location and the main party. He took a moment to appreciate the quiet and braced himself for the fallout when the Elders bothered to pay attention to James.
