Woohoo! Finaly! I've had this done for a while, but I wanted to get the next chapter started before I posed. So yeah. I'm not all too happy with this; I'm kinda not good with the whole sappy-lovey-dowy-comforty stuff, so please tell me what you think! Next chapter should be up in a week+ or less. I had originaly planned for this to be the end but well, I don't like to crush my muse, and he wanted to make this have 5 parts. So yeah. I'd realy like some more imput to know what people think, so I can make this better, but apparently, people don't feel like reviewing *shrugs*. Enjoy please!
The Heart (and how it can be miraculously re-inflated after a painful crushing)
He was awakened by screaming.
Loud, piercing screaming, like a four-year-old watching The Exorcist.
"Hush little bay-bee don't say a word," a tiny voice sang in a soft, broken tone. James was shocked he could even hear the boy over the unidentified wails. "Kevin's gunna buy you a mock-ing-bird." The screams grew louder and the young man's breathing grew heavier. As his memories began to return to him from the bottomless pit of his sleeping mind, he became able to identify the source of the infernal racket. The minor irritation at being awakened in such a crude, loud, irksomeway was quickly being replaced with panic. Something was wrong. Babies only cried when something was wrong. "An' if that mock-ing-bird don' sing, Kevin's' gunna buy you a dia-mond-ring."
At about the same pace as the horrendous pain began to flood him again, James reached his hand to his head, feeling around the area of his grazing head wound. It was covered in what felt like stark-new gauze. At first, he was disgusted that such valuable material was wasted on his pathetic being, but then remembered sadly that since the recent 'involuntary depletion of staff', resource rations had gotten larger and in consequence, they had opened a new package of bandaging. There was no slight stick as he touched the material, which meant he was no longer bleeding. How long had he been unconscious?
"An' if tha' ring turns into brass," Louder and louder the shreiking grew. Louder and louder and louder. His head was screaming with the searing, burning pain of shaking eardrums. "Kevin's' gunna buy' ya' a look-in glass."
Make it stop, make it stop! He thought, barely abel to think a coheisive sentence over the noise. Why wont she stop crying? His combined physical and emotional pain was beginning to rip through the fibers of his being. Somehow, he could connect the present situation with not-quiet-nostalgia of his own misspent youth. When he was a child, he used to scream like that, he remembered. When his mother used to hand him off to his grandfather or uncle, he would wail and cry and scream and people used to think there was something wrong with him. But Jim remembered. He clearly remembered that he had just wanted his mother, who sadly, had wanted nothing to do with him.
"An' if tha' look-in glass gets broke,"Kirk opened his eyes and glanced to his left. Little Kevin Riley was rocking the baby back and forth, his face panicked and worrisome. "Kevin's gunna buy you a…a make you a…a trib-ble float."
"an' if that trib-ble float—"
"Kev," Kirk squeaked out in a high-pitched, sqeualish voice, attempting (and failing) to push himself up onto his side. The child paused and turned his head to the older boy.
His eyes lit up. "Jim! We were so worried--"
"Shaddup." Kevin's jaw snapped shut with a visible click. "Gimme t' baybe."
"Buh?"
"M'said, gimme t' baybe." When the child did not move, Kirk began to get frustrated. "Gimme 'er! Now!" Kevin shot up and clutched the infant to his chest as he approached his wounded friend. "Jus' put'er…on mah chest." Riley did as he was told, and almost as soon as she came into contact with his bare skin, the baby stopped crying. The two boys sighed, and the baby giggled at the rise and fall of Kirk's chest.
"How did you do that?"
James shrugged, then cringed as another, slightly more terrifying high-pitch wail shook his eardrum. "Kevin? What's going on in here? Why did she stop…oh!" The nurse rubbed her eyes and blinked before accepting the sight before her. "Kirk, are you alright?" She asked, her tone slightly less menacing and in a hushed whisper. The man nodded once out of habit, then thought better of it and shook his head. "Too bad, you suicidal jackass." She hissed. "The little angel's been screaming ever since you went under! Mother fuck, what were you thinking? That we'd all be just peachy after you were gone? That we would all be rescued and live happily ever after?"
"You didn' try-ta stop m''"
"We didn't think the bullet would actually fire! How many times have we all sat in a circle and betted on your life before? Better yet, out of those, how many times did the bullet go off?"
"Countin' this lass one, one out a for-hundred n' seventy-do."
"Exactly!" The poorly composed nurse took a deep breath before continuing in a softer tone. "What were you thinking? Do you know how much we need you? How much we love you? Kirk, you're our world. We'd all run 'round like headless chickens without you."
"I dunno," James replied. "I…I dunno. I guess I just…missthem." She looked at him with that 'are you kidding me?' look that only she seemed to be able to successfully perform and he looked down, ashamed. "I mean, I spnt 'lmost my hole life makin' sure dey, he,was safe. Now that ther' gone, I guess I don't realy 'ave a purpose 'nymore." He looked down at the baby resting over his heart and placed a hand on her tiny head. She was so small.
He hated her. He hated her so much. Almost as much as he loved her, which was a lot.
The nurse and Kevin shared a knowing glance and she sighed, then sat cross-legged near his head. Slowly, she unwrapped the bandaging on his head and poured hard liquor over it. It stung badly, but Kirk managed to catch a few wayward drops on his tongue, smiling at the burn they brought as they trailed town his throat. As his nurse re-wrapped his head unnecessarily tightly, he ran his fingers through the fuzz on Jamie's head. When she finished, the nurse slapped Jim hard in the face, leaving a bright red mark. He recoiled slightly, and rubbed the mark until it cooled.
"You idiot," She said simply, quietly. "You say you have no purpose, nothing to live for. Well, what would you call this?" She gestured towards the baby resting quietly on his chest. "She depends on you Jimmy. You're her world. And now, she's your everything."
The man contemplated this. Slowly it began to make sence. She was a part of them, thir Deoxyribonucleic acid, their legacy. Perhaps it was his job to help the legacy live on?
Gradually, like the sun pushing its light through an open window on a rainy day, everything became clear. The pain of the loss of his sisters and brothers was still as sharp as knives, but suddenly, it didn't matter as much. He was able to detach himself again like he had before that disastrous escapade, because he had a focus.
Slowly, Kirk found himself smiling. He moved his hand down from Jamie's head and onto her back. She sighed with content and snuggled closer to him. His resolve reborn, he was graced with a new sense of hope. Maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to get them off that god-forsaken planet after all.
Still waiting on the whole Romulan telepathy thing, and I can't start the big story until I know. Somebody please tell me!
Review please! I FEED on reviews. FEED ON THEM.
