2240

Jim felt very lonely as he looked up to the sky. His mother was up there somewhere. She had returned to Starfleet when he had turned two, and after her marriage the missions took longer and longer.
And this time, she would be gone for nine months. That was a very long time for the seven year old boy.
Despite that, he tried to be brave on the spaceport. Instead of crying, he had winked her goodbye. Then he returned to the farm with his stepfather and brother.
The drive had been tense – and things had gone downhill from there. Frank was on the fast track of getting drunk, and Sam was so angry over their mother's departure that he picked on the adult without pause, even insinuating it was Frank's fault that Winona was gone for so long. Jim decided that was kind of not fair.
In the end, there had been a terrible shouting match which had resulted in the older boy staying with his friends overnight, and Frank was snoring loudly on the couch.
So he didn't even have an older brother to comfort him. Jim was fighting down tears as he went to his room, and promptly tripped over some empty bottles.
"What the hell...?" Frank woke abruptly.
"Sorry," Jim meekly murmured. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"Is that you, Jimbo? Are you crying? Come here, boy."
Jim came to him hesitantly, expecting angry words. Instead, he found himself pulled into strong arms.
"I miss her too," Frank muttered quietly as he settled down again with the boy in his arms.
Jim could smell alcohol and sweat on the man, but it was a smell he had become used to. It was better to snuggle up to a drunken stepfather than go to his lonely bed.
So he got comfortable and closed his eyes.