This was going to be interesting.
Well, to be honest I had known that since Winona's frantic call begging me to take in her son. She hadn't even bothered with hellos, even though I hadn't heard from her in nearly ten years. My brother in law's funeral was the last time I remember actually talking to her face to face, but even so, I hadn't hesitated in agreeing. One look at James Tiberius Kirk's records had shown him to be a brilliant child, albeit with a bit of a...criminal record. Literally, the kid had been in jail six times, even though he was only ten.
Yes, I had known this was going to be at best strange, at worst a disaster, but I guess it didn't really set in until I was staring at the boy in person. He had just gotten out of the shuttle, standing a bit apart from the crowd with nothing but a backpack and a smirk. Then he turned towards me, and I had to struggle not to gasp-his eyes were bluer than the sky on earth, bluer than George's eyes used to be, and that's saying something.
"Linda? Linda Kirk?" he called as he made his way through the crowd. I nodded, summoning a weak smile.
"And you must be James?" He bit his lip and stopped in front of me, looking down, before turning his defiant gaze back towards mine and saying, "Could you just call me...call me JT."
That was an odd request. "Well, sure, but...is there a reason?"
"Do I need one?" he sneered, then bit his lip again. "I uh, sorry. It's just, when people hear 'James Kirk' they think of George Kirk's son. I don't want people to have opinions of me before they even meet me."
"That's fair." this time, my smile was genuine.
We stood awkwardly for a moment, before I took the initiative and led him to the car. He didn't let go of his backpack, even when I offered to put it in the trunk, but otherwise, he looked relaxed. The drive back was filled with my attempts at starting a conversation and Jam-JT's quick but effective shutdowns. He seemed perfectly content to sit and watch me drive in silence. After a couple more tries, I let him have his way.
It was only moments after cutting the engine when three heads-one redhead, two brunettes-came barreling out of the house. Well, two barreled, one, my oldest, just walked with a purpose.
JT looked vaguely surprised, but it was hidden quickly-too quickly, really, which I would have to think about later. I smiled at him again and turned to introduce my children. "JT, this is Anna-"the littlest member of our family barreled into my side, red bangs flopping into her face when she turned on the spot to examine the stranger. I chuckled. "Timmy, the second oldest, only three years younger than you, and that's Blaze. He's your age." Timmy followed his sister's example and burrowed into my side. Blaze strutted cooly down the steps and over to stand beside me, failing to hide his own excitement in the way he was practically vibrating.
" 'Lo." JT said simply, holding out a hand for Blaze to shake. Blaze obliged a little to enthusiastically, and JT smirked ever so slightly. Immediately, Blaze went hostile, fists clenching. JT looked as calm and collected as ever, which only served to infuriate Baze further. Fearing an all out battle for position of Alpha-of-the-house, I stepped between them and said, "Who wants some lunch? It's a bit early, but I bet you're hungry after that long trip, JT."
He beamed up at me, and I nearly got whiplash at the bright, "Thanks, Mrs. Kirk! That sounds fantastic!" so different from before. It was although he had changed in an instant, going from completely cold and standoffish to the perfect little boy. For a moment, I wondered if he was trying to play me, butter me up for something, but no, that smile was too genuine for him to be anything but honestly excited.
I smiled back, delighted he was letting down his shields. "Alright then, come on inside. Blaze can show you where to put your bags, you'll be staying in his room for now." Blaze huffed.
JT turned his blinding grin on Blaze. "That sounds great!"
Blaze and JT disappeared up the stairs, and I led Anna and Timmy to the kitchen. They were still hyped up on the idea of JT living with us and refused to stay still in their seats, so I recruited them to set the table.
By the time Blaze and JT returned, leftover chicken casserole was heated and set on the table along with creamed corn, green peas, mashed potatoes, and cornbread. Blaze looked rather shaken up, but brightened at the sight of food. JT looked sort of constipated.
"JT, you okay, honey?"
He shook his head like a dog coming in out of the rain and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, it's just we usually eat food from the replicators."
"Ah, well, I'm afraid you're going to have to get used to home cooked meals," I teased, "because the only place around here to get food from a replicator is the hospital."
He sat down between Blaze and Tommy, who turned to grin widely at him. "Lookth! My thooth just fell outh!"
"Er, that's cool." JT said, then peered closer at the gap where at timmy's front teeth used to be. "Wow, both of them at once, huh?"
"Yeah!" Anna's voice was adoring when she gazed at her big brother. "Both of 'em! The tooth fairy gave him five whole credits!"
"That's an awful lot of money. What did you do with it?" JT actually looked interested, and I had to stop myself from smiling too hard. He was pretty darn good with kids!
"I boughth a comic book!" Timmy looked so proud of himself at that. JT grinned. Blaze huffed out something that sounded suspiciously like a word he definitely shouldn't know.
"Alright, eat up before it gets cold." I took a spoonful of mashed potatoes and passed them to my left. Blaze passed it to JT, who passed it to Timmy, who passed it to Anna-or attempted to. Somewhere in the middle it got dropped, and Anna started to cry.
Blaze groaned, exasperated. Timmy turned tearful eyes towards JT, who had been splattered in the incident, and cried out, "I'm sthorry!" I didn'th mean to!"
I sprung up, ready to swoop in with paper towels, apologies, and hugs, but JT got there first. "Hey, it's cool, no harm done. No need to cry Anna, it wasn't your fault. Not yours either, Timmy." he was wiping off the chair with his napkin, and would have gone on to clean off himself if Anna hadn't tackled him in a hug with all the strength a four year old could muster.
"I'm so sorry about that," I made my entrance with more towels. JT chuckled lightly.
"Its no trouble." JT put Anna down and helped me clean off the spilled potatoes. Anna stubbornly clung to his hand, and JT didn't even try to pull away, just let her happily examine his fingers. Looking at him, I couldn't help but think that maybe Winona had been wrong about him being a troubled child with no respect for anyone but himself.
Yes, maybe things would end up being alright.
