Here we are at last, at the very end. Thanks to everyone who stuck with me through this. I hope you have all enjoyed it.
If you really like Effie/Freddey, you can find her in my in-progress fic 'If My Heart Keeps Singing', where one Montgomery Scott has a bit of a crush on her.
A/N: Some of the language in this epilogue is a bit crude and less than feminist, but I am writing from Jim's pov, so I don't think he'd be PC all the time, not when he's out on the prowl.
Jim revels in the first leave he gets from campus, about two months into the first semester. He's sick of doing work and putting up with professors griping at him for not being his father. Bones just huffs when Jim whines to go out to the bars.
"Come on, Bones… I just wanna go out and hit on pretty girls," Jim pouts.
"Yeah, and I hope they hit ya right back, ya whiny bastard," Bones mutters.
Jim pouts and whines some more, and eventually he's put up enough of a fuss that Bones agrees to go out with him to the bar but, "I don't wanna hafta listen to that godawful club music they play up here! It ain't real music!"
"Fine then… how about a country bar? I heard about one the other day. I think you'll fit right in there, Bonesy."
They both roll out of their dorm room in faded jeans, button-up flannel shirts with the sleeves rolled up over worn T-shirts, and grungy old boots. The bar isn't too far from campus, so they hoof it instead of hailing a cab, and Jim loves the views on the way there. City girls either love hicks or hate them; there's no real in-between. He and Bones garner several appreciative looks as they approach the bar.
The Rockin' K a little, country hole-in-the-wall set back from the main streets of San Francisco. Upbeat guitar music throbs through the building and spills out into the street, where patrons stand around sipping beers and smoking cigarettes. Jim likes it already, and even Bones is smiling a bit. Inside is a long bar down one wall, then some tables, with most of the indoor space being taken up by a huge dance floor. Jim eyes those country queens out on the floor in their cutoff shorts and cropped shirts, but there's one in particular that draws him in. She's dancing by another girl, probably just her friend and not girlfriend. Her hair is long and dark and wavy, bouncing as she moves to the beat of the music. Also bouncing is that cute little butt at the top of her long legs… well, long for her; she's short. Those legs are tucked neatly into tan Western boots. She's squeezed perfectly into cutoff shorts, and Jim wants to know if her breasts are as round and perky as her ass. Yeah, Jim wants her for sure. Time to put his moves on her, and maybe they'll both get what they came for tonight.
Jim slips onto the dance floor during an old song from the 21st century and makes his way to her. She doesn't seem to mind, and oh, does she shake it for him like the songs says.
"Shake it for the young bucks sittin in the honky tonks/ for the rednecks rockin til the break of dawn/ for the DJ spinnin that country song/ Come on, come on, come on/ Shake it for the birds, shake it for the bees/ shake it for catfish swimming down deep in the creek/ for the crickets and critters and the squirrels/ shake it to the moon, shake it for me girl…"
He leans in, smug, and whispers to her, "Well, can you shake it for me, girl?"
There's a flash of a grin, and the dark-haired beauty backs up, grinding into him. His hands slide onto her hips. Kind of firm, but there's a bit of give under his fingertips.
"Country girl, shake it for me, girl/ shake it for me, girl/ shake it for me…"
She's getting him all riled up and hot-n-bothered and damn is he lucky he saw her first. They're going to have to go somewhere private real soon if she keeps this up. He runs his hands up to her slim waist. Lord, she's shaped like an hourglass, and Jim gets even more excited. He leans in closer and rests his chin on her shoulder, using it as an opportunity for some reconnaissance. He was right about the breasts. When the song finishes, the beauty turns to look at him, and her eyes go wide. She takes a step back. Shit, do I have a reputation already?
"Jimmy?"
He doesn't have time to react before she grabs his arm and drags him off the dance floor to a quiet corner while he tries to figure out how the hell she knows him. He never forgets a face, especially not one like hers… and he'd never forget that ass. She had to have known him well, however, for her to call him Jimmy. He racks his brain to find the answer. In the corner, she lets go and grins up at him, saying over the music, "Jimmy, you bastard! I thought I'd never see you again! This is so awesome!"
The grey eyes shine cheerfully, It clicks.
"Oh my-! Effie! You're Effie?"
"Well, I'm not eleven anymore," she replies, "and you sure aren't thirteen."
"No… no, we're not… wow, how are you? I haven't seen you since… well, how have you been, Effie? Where have you been?" he stammers out.
"Living with my grandparents and brothers in South Jersey and doing well. I, uh, I went to seminary and divinity school. I know you're not shocked by that at all. What you will be shocked by is that I am currently at Starfleet Academy to be a chaplain."
"Starfleet? No way, me too!"
"You're in Starfleet, too? Shut up! No way!"
"Yes way," he laughs, "It's true, I swear."
"Well, how 'bout that. Maybe we'll end up on the same ship one day, like that new one, the Enterprise. Oh! You'll never guess who recruited me, Jimmy. Remember that 'Fleet captain that came and rescued us? I think the ship was the Aldrin. Anyway, his name was-"
"Chris Pike. Yeah, he recruited me, too."
Effie just shakes her head, saying, "Of course he would come and get us. I always got the feeling he liked us. Guess I didn't know how much."
"I dunno about that," Jim replies, "Anyway, we've gotta catch up. It's been a long time. And just call me Jim. I think I'm a little too old for Jimmy now."
"It's alright, Jim. I prefer Fred or Freddey now myself. Effie never did sound right after all that… unless you say it. It's so good to see you again. It really is. I've always wondered what happened to everyone."
"Well, for a while I wasn't much- Bones! Hey, Bones, meet my old friend, Freddey. Freddey, this my friend and roommate Dr. Leonard McCoy. I call him Bones-"
"And I hate him for it," Bones butts in, "Pleasure to meet ya, Freddey."
"And you, Leonard."
"Come on, Freddey," Jim grins, throwing an arm over each friend's shoulders and leading them to a table, "We have so much to talk about. How is everyone?"
"Oh, yeah, Whit and West are great! Oh, I've got so much to tell you…"
