A week passed after the rescue and the good ship Atlantis was approaching a Starbase to drop off the stranded scientists. Leah hadn't had much to do other than patch up some engineer who burned himself, so she spent a lot of time on the bridge, watching Jim and his crew and cracking jokes with Sulu, who wasn't that bad of a guy after all.

The scientists grew relaxed and happy as they neared the Starbase. Jim however, was tense and jumpy. Leah confronted him after he had bitten some poor kid's head off for expressing excitement over seeing civilization. She marched into his office after his shift was over, barely bothering to knock.

"Okay, Jim. You've been crabbier than a polar bear in July. What in the world is going on?"

He plastered on a fake smile. "Wrong? Why nothing, Bones. Everything is just peachy. I've just stayed up too late chatting with our guests."

It was totally unconvincing. She sighed. "That's not what's making you tense and snappish all the time. I can see it, Jim. The closer we get to a Starbase, the grumpier you get. You've even got ME beat for grumpiness, and that's saying something."

Jim twiddled with his thumbs. "It's disconcerting how well you know me after less than two weeks," he said at last, "yes, I can't stand going near a Starbase. It also has to do with my hatred of Starfleet and the freaking Prime Directive." He grimaced just mentioning it.

Now, they were getting somewhere, Leah thought. Jim got up and actually brought her a chair.

"If you want to hear the whole story, you'd better sit down. It's long and complicated."

She took the seat. Jim sat down again and sighed. "You might have heard of my Dad, George, and how he sacrificed himself to save the crew of the Kelvin, which included my mom and newborn me." So that was why his name sounded familiar, Leah thought. What a rough way to start a life.

"I've heard of him. Never realized you were his kid, but it makes sense."

"Too much sense." Jim sighed, "I grew up being constantly compared to him, mostly negatively. I spent a long time rebelling, acting out, trying to prove I wasn't him. Eventually, I did join up, thanks to Admiral Pike daring me to do better." More dots were connecting in Leah's mind.

"You saved earth from the crazy Romulan, didn't you?" She asked, kicking herself for not seeing it sooner.

Jim looked uncomfortable. "Not just me. And we couldn't stop him from destroying Vulcan. Anyway, I got a ship and all was well and good for a few years, and then it all went down the drain. We encountered a planet where one race was systematically killing off another race they viewed as inferior. The admiralty and Prime Directive ordered us not to interfere. I couldn't stand it and sent a team to get the few survivors to safety. We ended up having to kill a good number of the tyrannical race to get them out. I dropped them on a more friendly planet before the brass found out. Next thing I know, I'm in the brig, stripped of command, and court martialled. I refused to apologize for what I did and ended up kicked out of Starfleet. I still don't regret it." Jim's eyes flashed fire as he spoke. "If I have to let innocent people suffer and die because if that stupid non-interference policy, I don't want any part of it. Now I'm a disgrace to my name and a Federation outcast. But I don't care." He looked positively fierce and actually pirate like as he said this. It rather took her breath away.

She impulsively reached over the desk and grabbed his hand. "James Tiberius Kirk, you are NOT a disgrace to your father's name. He saved lives, so did you. Despite the fact that your people took me against my will, I've felt more at home with them than anywhere on earth. You must be a pretty fantastic captain to get six starfleet officers to resign on account of you."

"How did you...?" He began, surprised. "I looked their names up to be sure you weren't wanted criminals. All of them are former Starfleet." She sat back feeling smug at her detective skills.

He didn't let go of her hand. His facial expressions twisting from eager to resigned. "Yeah. My crew is pretty loyal. Bones, if you want to get off at the Starbase, I'm not going to stop you. You can hitch a ride back to earth from there. You deserve better than this life. It would be selfish of me to keep you to myself, much as I want to." There went the puppy dog eyes again. Leah knew she was a goner.

"Jim, that's very noble of you, but who are you going to kidnap next time you need a doctor? Word gets around you know. Not everybody will take it as well as I did." He laughed sheepishly.

"I don't know. I just...like you too much to keep you against your will. You're a great doctor, Bones. And I hope you stay with us, but you'll have a good four days to decide, so just think about it, okay?"

"Okay, Jim. I will." She smiled at him and he looked slightly poleaxed. Leah got up from the chair. "I'll leave you to your moping now, but just one more question. "How in the world did you get a ship? Your mad pirating skills?"

Jim looked proud. "Nope. I bought and paid for this baby. She was being decommissioned and sold for scrap. Had enough in my inheritance to pay for her and buy some parts to upgrade a bit. She gets around pretty nicely for an old timer."

"If you say so," Leah said rather skeptically. "Have a good night, Space Pirate Jim." Jim rose and saw her to the door. He was a gentleman at heart, Leah thought. "Goodnight, Bones," Jim said, and kissed her on the cheek! She went back to her cabin in a bit of a daze. She had a lot of thinking to do. Contrary to her prediction, Jim did NOT return to his moping. Instead he was daydreaming about big hazel eyes, full eyelashes and a gorgeous, dimpled smile.