Return to San Francisco

by Starsinger

Well, I think the name says it all. Don't own them.

Jim looked up from his desk at the Riverside Shipyards. The paperwork was ridiculous. They had to redesign everything on the side of the ship that fell apart. They were fortunate that it wasn't the Enterprise. That ship was almost ready to be towed into space and taken to the Utopia Planitia Shipyards on Mars. There, the final stages of the Warp Core and engines would be installed. It was done in a place where the fewest numbers of lives would be at stake. Matter/Antimatter mixes were the most precarious of stages in building starships, and the limited atmosphere on Mars meant settlements were far from the shipyards, and repercussions wouldn't affect them.

Jim was waiting to see the ship being towed off safely before he left for San Francisco. He and Peter would make one stop on the way. They were stopping off to pick up Joanna on their way. Yes, it was out of the way, but it meant that Jo could stay with her grandma and friends in Georgia a few weeks longer when her father went back to the Academy.

Jim looked up as there was a knock at the door to find Captain Robert April standing in the doorway, "Dr. Kirk?"

Jim smiled, "You must be Captain April. My mother told me about you."

"Winona is your mother?" April asked. Jim nodded, "And you're sane?"

"She remarried a man named Frank, who was quite sane, and a good man. He's the reason I am sane. You're here to take over the project?" Jim asked.

"That, and watch my favorite lady headed for Mars," April said. Jim grinned as he got up from the desk. April followed him out into the yards. They watched as five tow ships entered the atmosphere and descended to the Enterprise. They positioned themselves around the ship and deployed the tow lasers before heading upward. This had been done so many times that it was down to a science. April and Kirk watched as the ships effortlessly pulled the giant ship up off the ground and out of the atmosphere. "I can't wait to see her fly in space under her own power," April said with a grin.

"Me too," Jim said. "Come on, I need to brief you on a few things. Including that accident a few weeks ago." It turned out that it had been an accident. "The details are in the report, Captain," Jim said standing in front of the desk that April slid behind. "I'm flying back to San Francisco tomorrow."

"At ease, Cadet, you've done fine work. Are you sure you want to be a doctor? You're a damn fine engineer."

Jim chuckled, "I'm already a doctor, Captain. Engineering's just a hobby. Anything else, Captain? I need to get back home and finish packing."

"No, Cadet, good luck. Although, you probably don't need it," April stepped forward and shook Kirk's hand.

The next morning Frank drove them to the shuttleport. Frank gave Peter and Jim big hugs. "Don't be strangers, Jim. At the very latest, I'll see you in December." Frank watched as both of them entered the shuttle. He sighed as the shuttle took off for Georgia.

Hannah stood with her Granddaughter, Joanna, waiting for the shuttle's arrival. Jo was rocking back and forth with excitement. Hannah could barely remember being this excited about starting school. She watched as Jim and Peter exited the shuttle and walked down the concourse toward them. "Jim! Peter!" Jo called running toward them.

"Hello, Jo, nice to see you too!" Jim laughed as she ran into him in her haste to give him a hug. "Nice to see you, Mrs. McCoy," he said to Hannah.

"You too, Jim, Peter. You take good care of them, hear?" Jim chuckled agreement as they turned to board the shuttle back to San Francisco.

It was strange, they arrived in San Francisco an hour before they left Iowa. And they said time travel wasn't possible! Jim gathered their belongings and exited the shuttle before hailing a taxi to the Academy. It was quiet as returning cadets shuffled through intake to find out where they would be living for the next year. New recruits wouldn't actually show up for another two weeks. Jim approached the table with his last name and was given the same apartment he had last year, and was told that the McCoys would be there as well. "We'll be sending you a schedule for the rest of the summer's seminars starting Monday. We know that you have to get Jo and Peter settled before then.

Jim headed for the apartment where they dropped off their stuff, noting that Bones had already made his mark, and headed for daycare where arrangements were made for transportation to Mrs. Ames' Academy at the beginning of the year. He and Peter were due to visit the Academy tomorrow, so they went to the Exchange to buy food and other necessities that he was sure McCoy would have forgotten. When they returned, they found Bones sitting on the couch. "Oh, hi everybody!" McCoy said with a grin. "Nice to see you've returned, with food!"

Jim laughed, always the mundane stuff, "Peter and I are headed for Ames' Academy tomorrow so we can prepare for the new school year."

"Yeah, I'll be going with Jo as well. Need to pick up a supply list," McCoy said. "Hey, is it true what they said? There was an accident at the Riverside Shipyards?"

"Yes, there was, and no, the Enterprise wasn't affected. She's currently on Mars having her engines built," Jim replied, putting away the groceries. "How were the seminars?"

"Mostly long and boring," McCoy answered. "Although, the ones given by actual ship captains, like Pike and Archer, were actually very interesting."

"Really?" Jim asked. "Well, I start Medical seminars on Monday. I bet they'll be just as boring." McCoy laughed. It was good to be home.