Disclaimer: I don't even have my own copy of Star Trek Into Darkness, and you think I own Star Trek? You know, they have these nice drugs nowadays that help with those kinds of delusions…
Ch. 14:
Lydia stood in front of the door of a crappy little apartment in London for about fifteen minutes before screwing up the courage to ring the bell. When she heard someone moving, she almost ran away, but the door opened and shock held her in place.
Julie stood in the doorway, holding a baby.
"What are you doing here?" the other woman demanded.
"I wanted to see you." Lydia replied weakly.
She stared at the little girl with eyes that looked just like hers.
Just like David's.
"You haven't cared up till now." Julie told her.
"I wanted to make up for that." Lydia replied, finally looking up. "How do you have a baby?"
"I would think you'd know where babies come from, Lydia, at your age." Julie said sarcastically.
"Julie." Lydia said, annoyance creeping into her voice.
"Fine." She relented.
She stepped back and let Lydia into the apartment. Lydia moved inside and waited for Julie to move away from the door and set the little girl down in her crib.
"How could you not tell me you were pregnant, Jules?!" she demanded when Julie turned back to her. "I thought we were friends! How could you not tell me I had a niece?!"
"I thought we were friends, too, yet David died and I didn't hear from you for nine months!" Julie shot back.
"No." Lydia told her. "You don't get to lay that all on me. The communicator works both ways, Jules, and I don't remember you trying to call me! Besides, that little girl is at least six months old! I talked to you three days before Nero's attack. You had to be pregnant then, but neither you nor David told me!"
"We were waiting for your tour to be over!" Julie told her, exasperated. "We wanted you to be home to celebrate with us. That's why I didn't tell you!"
"And what, after it just slipped your mind?" Lydia sneered. "You cut me out of your life, which is bad enough, but you cut me out of hers as well!"
"You cut me out first!" Julie shouted. "David died, and I didn't matter. I expected it out of your parents. I know they never thought I was good enough for their darling boy, but we were friends! I would never have even met David if it hadn't been for you, but you didn't even call to find out why I wasn't at the funeral!"
"Well, I'm sorry, but I had just lost my brother!" Lydia told her.
"And I had just lost the father of my child!" Julie shot back. "I lost everything that day. You carried on. You had Starfleet. I had nothing but a steadily growing stomach and an empty bed."
Lydia took a deep breath and turned to look at the apartment as she tried to calm down.
"How did you wind up here?" she asked.
"Professor Wayland is head of the vocal department at the Royal School of Music." Julie said wearily. "I needed a way to support myself and he offered me a place teaching voice and theory here."
"You could've claimed survivors' benefits." Lydia told her. "She's David's daughter. She deserves it."
"It felt like I was profiting from his death." Julie replied.
Lydia wandered over to the crib and looked down at the little girl.
"She has David's eyes." She said, reaching out to gently touch her cheek. "What's her name?"
"Grace Lydia Jones." Julie said, coming to stand next to Lydia.
"Grace Lydia?" Lydia repeated, her voice catching in her throat.
"David picked it." Julie replied simply.
Lydia nodded and took a deep breath.
"You're on winter break right now, right?" she asked.
"Yeah." Julie replied. "Why?"
"I want you and Grace to come stay with me." Lydia told her. "I'm shipping out again in a week and a half, and I want you guys to stay with me until I do."
"I don't know." Julie said. "Won't you be busy? We'll be in the way."
"I've been given leave right up till the Enterprise leaves." Lydia told her. "There was an…incident, and Admiral Pike decided, for my mental health, I should be kept away from anything stressful. My second has it in hand and I'm not needed. I want you guys there. I want a chance to get to know my niece. And to start making it up to you and David for leaving you alone."
Julie sighed.
"We could come for a few days." She relented. "I need a couple of days to get things situated here."
"And I need a little bit to get my apartment baby ready." Lydia replied. "Why don't I come back in two days to get you guys?"
"Are you sure about this?" Julie asked.
"Yeah." Lydia replied. "Now, how 'bout we get some dinner?"
"Alright." Julie agreed, smiling slightly for the first time since Lydia arrived.
The other woman felt something uncoil in her chest and she took a deep breath before returning the smile.
"A niece, huh?"
Lydia lay with her head in Kirk's lap in the living room of his apartment.
"Yeah." She replied. "She's seven months old and she has David's eyes. She and Julie are going to stay with me until we ship out again."
They were quiet for a moment and Kirk looked down at her to find her looking troubled.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing." She replied. "It's just…I knew David and Julie were serious, but a baby? How could he not tell me? There's a little girl out there with a piece of him inside her. How could I know nothing about her?"
She sat up and looked at him.
"I held her in my arms and it was like this connection to David that started to fill the hole he left." She told him. "I want her to know me. Know that she always has someone in her corner. I love her so much already."
"I know." Kirk said, smiling as he pushed her hair away from her face. "I haven't seen my nephew in years, but I remember when he was born. He was so small, I couldn't believe it."
"That's your brother, Sam's, son, right?" Lydia asked.
"Yeah." Kirk replied.
"You don't talk about your brother much." She said.
"Well, Sam and I aren't close like you and David were." He told her. "After dad died, mom did her best, but she was off planet so much. Sam and I…we're just so different. He became a researcher to get out of there and I did my best to be the biggest pain in the ass I could until Pike found me. He's stationed on Deneva for the moment. Peter must be about 5."
"You should call him." Lydia told him.
"Why?" He asked.
"Because we live in a dangerous universe." She replied. "And take it from me, you don't want to look back at all the things you should have said."
Kirk leaned forward and kissed her.
"You know, with Julie and Grace at your place, we're not going to have any time alone." He told her, grinning.
"You may have a point." Lydia agreed, leaning back against the couch. "Whatever will we do?"
Kirk moved so he was hanging above her and leaned down to kiss her.
"That's a good place to start." She murmured as she pulled him back down on top of her.
"Well, this is it." Lydia said, setting down the bags she was carrying. "Home sweet home."
Julie moved to the window and looked out.
"Nice view." She said.
Lydia laughed and joined her.
"Yeah, Starfleet HQ in all its glory." She replied. "I'm high enough in the Security ranks that they wanted me to live close by."
"How's that going?" Julie asked as Lydia moved to set up the crib.
"Pretty well." She replied, moving aside to let the mother set her daughter down. "I love being assigned to the Enterprise."
"And you were being guarded…why exactly?" Julie asked.
"It's a long story." Lydia replied. "I'll explain it later. Meanwhile, you should get settled. I hope you don't mind, but I invited a couple of shipmates over for dinner tonight to meet you and Grace."
"It's your apartment." Julie said, shrugging.
"Well, Liam's coming too, so you won't be totally alone." Lydia told her.
"Lyds!"
Lydia sighed and turned to the door.
"Why did I give you my door code again?" she asked as the door closed behind Kirk.
"So I don't have to go all the way to my apartment to crash." He replied.
"Julie, this is Captain James T. Kirk." Lydia told her with a sigh. "He apparently couldn't wait till this evening to meet you. Jim, this Julie Herondale."
"Nice to meet you." He said, shaking the woman's hand.
"And this…" Lydia said, lifting Grace from her crib. "Is Grace Lydia Herondale-Jones."
"Well, hello there." He said, gently shaking the little girl's tiny hand. "I've heard so much about you from your aunt."
The little girl smiled and babbled at him.
"Are there any girls your charm doesn't work on?" Lydia asked, glaring at him good naturedly.
"I don't know, you held out pretty long." He shot back.
"Oh yeah, a whole six months." She replied, setting Grace back down. "Woo hoo."
"I take it you two are seeing each other." Julie said, smirking.
"For about three months now." Lydia replied. "It's a trial, but someone has to do it. I'm really performing a public service."
"Hey!" Kirk protested as Julie laughed.
"Since you're here, you can at least help." Lydia said, ignoring him. "Go get the rest of the bags and move them into the guest room. And try not to break anything this time."
"Hey, you helped break that lamp." He replied.
"Out." She ordered.
"Yes, ma'am." He shot back, saluting her and marching out the door.
"He's…interesting." Julie said.
"You are not wrong." Lydia replied, laughing.
She went to the fridge and grabbed a drink and threw another to Julie. They both sat on the couch.
"I'm glad you found a place." Julie told her.
"Me too." Lydia replied, smiling softly. "And as glad as I am that you met Jim, when he gets back here, I'm kicking him out. There's something I need to talk to you about."
"What's this about kicking me out?" Kirk asked, coming in with the bags and heading to the other room.
"I need to talk to Julie, so you need to clear out." She told him.
"Fine." He replied, coming back in. "I could only stay for a minute anyway. Spock wants to meet to go over some boring thing."
"Go." She told him. "Listen to your incredibly exciting First Officer. Make sure you and he are on time for dinner or Nyota and I will track you down and kill you."
"Understood." He said, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips. "I'll see you three later."
"Bye." Lydia called as he strode out the door.
"What do you need to talk to me about?" Julie asked, confused.
"I went to see a friend of mine who's a JAG." Lydia told her. "I wanted to see what she thought of a few things."
"Like what?" Julie asked.
"Like getting David's benefits for you." Lydia replied.
She held up her hand as Julie began to protest.
"You and Grace need to be taken care of." She said in a tone that allowed no dissent.
"We are fine." Julie told her. "This isn't the 21st century. We aren't resigned to a life of poverty."
"But aren't happy where you are." Lydia told her. "You never wanted to be a teacher. With David's benefits, you have access to Starfleet's childcare. You could go back to performing."
"I don't know." Julie said. "I've been out of that world for awhile now. I'm not sure I could go back.
"Just talk to Liam tonight." Lydia told her. "See if he has something to get you back in."
"I'll talk to him." Julie agreed with a sigh.
They were quiet for a moment.
"I also looked into something else." Lydia told her.
"I'm going to hate this, aren't I?" Julie asked.
"I changed my file so if something happens to me, Grace gets my benefits." Lydia told her.
"LYDIA!" Julie exclaimed, standing up.
"Why are you so against this?" Lydia demanded.
"Because!" Julie replied.
"I'm going to need better than that." Lydia told her.
"Because…when David died, I didn't have anyone and I swore I would be okay." Julie said, sitting back down. "That I didn't need anything or anyone to help me take care of my daughter."
"I'm not saying you do." Lydia told her. "I'm saying that I want to help. And if something happens to me, I want to make sure that my niece has something of me and her father. That's the other reason I invited my friends tonight."
"What are you talking about?" Julie asked.
"My job is dangerous." Lydia told her. "You know that better than most, but since I joined the crew of the Enterprise, I've been shot at, beaten, stabbed, attacked…and a lot of that was by a member of Starfleet! Plus, tension between the Klingon Empire and the Federation is growing. If this erupts into full out war, I'll be on the front lines. If something happens to me, I want you to know my friends, and I want them to know you. And I want Grace to know them."
"You're really in this for the long haul, aren't you?" Julie asked.
"I may have let my own grief blind me for awhile, but I'm here now." Lydia told her. "I plan on sticking around."
"If you get involved in Grace's life, you can't drop out." Julie warned her. "Right now, she's young enough that if you decide this is too much for you, you can leave and she'll never know. I'm giving you this option. But she's going to grow up without David and…I want her to know her aunt. I was wrong when I tried to keep you out."
"I'm not going to leave." Lydia told her. "You're both stuck with me."
Julie laughed.
"I take it you're still not going to tell my parents." Lydia said.
"If I tell them, your dad will try to take her away, you know he will." Julie told her.
"I won't let him." Lydia replied. "And my father may be a bastard, but my mom deserves to know her grandchild."
"I don't want to tell them." Julie said stubbornly.
"Alright." Lydia agreed, letting it go.
They were quiet again.
"Do you remember when we were young and we never fought?" Lydia asked with a sigh.
"Driving our professors mad as we talked in class and snuck out of the dorms?" Julie added.
"When we were total pains in the ass?" Lydia said.
They both were silent for a moment.
"Nah, me neither." Julie finished, laughing.
Lydia laughed with her and stood up.
"Okay, I have to get dinner ready." She said. "Why don't you go get settled in your room?"
"Okay." Julie agreed, standing up. "You know, I may have been so angry at you when you showed up, but…I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too, Jules." Lydia replied.
She reached up and took her friend's hand, squeezing it tightly, before letting go again. Julie smiled and headed into the other room.
Lydia stood and walked over to the crib to look down at Grace.
"You're going to be alright, little girl." She said gently. "You'll see. Your family is here and we're not going anywhere."
She reached down and Grace grabbed her finger, holding it tightly and babbling happily. Lydia smiled.
"Come on." She said, picking Grace up. "Let's go fix dinner."
When Kirk and Spock arrived at the apartment, they found the party in full swing. Uhura, Liam, and Julie were at the table, talking, while McCoy stood in the kitchen with Lydia, who was cooking while holding Grace, who was happily trying to catch McCoy's finger.
So that's what she'll look like holding our daughter.
That thought froze Kirk in his steps.
"Captain?" Spock asked, looking back at him. "Are you alright?"
Kirk fought to push the rising panic back down and shook himself.
"I'm fine, Spock." He told him, moving past the Vulcan.
"Hey, Jim!" Lydia called, smiling at him, as Uhura moved over to Spock and spoke to him softly.
"Hey." He replied, coming over and pressing a kiss to the side of her head.
"Grace, say hi to your Uncle Jim." She told the little girl.
Kirk felt the panic rise again and forced it back down as the little girl smiled at him.
"Well, she likes Jim, so she's obviously has the same brain defect as her Aunt." McCoy said.
"Hey, no saying mean things about my niece." Lydia told him strictly.
"Are you crazy like your aunt?" McCoy asked the little girl. "Are you? Huh?"
He tickled the little girl's stomach, making her laugh.
"Wow." Kirk said. "How is a reasonably intelligent man, confronted with a baby, turned into a babbling three year old? There's got to be some data on that."
"It's better than the two year old I have to channel to communicate with you." McCoy shot back.
"Okay, back to your corners." Lydia told them, chuckling.
"Do you want me to take Grace?" Julie asked, joining them.
"Sure." Lydia replied, handing over her niece. "Get everyone gathered, would you? Dinner's almost ready. And make sure you take these two with you."
McCoy chuckled and followed Julie, still playing with Grace and Kirk watched them go.
"Hey." Lydia said gently, drawing his attention to her. "You okay? You're kind of spacing."
"Yeah, I'm fine." He told her, taking a deep breath. "I've just had a long day."
"Okay." She said, smiling. "If you're staying here, though, you're going to help me serve."
"Okay." He replied distractedly.
Lydia studied him for a second.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.
"Yeah." He replied, smiling. "Let's feed the masses, shall we?"
Grace was asleep in her crib as the adults sat around the table, still talking several hours after they had finished eating.
"Why don't you come by the club tomorrow?" Liam was saying to Julie. "You can meet the house band, get a feel for them."
"I guess." She said with a sigh. "I'll need someone to watch Grace."
"That's the beauty of staying with me." Lydia told her, grinning. "Built in babysitter."
"Have you ever taken care of a child?" Scotty asked. "Ever?"
"No." she said, annoyed. "But it can't be that hard."
"That answer right there is probably the most terrifying thing I have ever heard, lass." He told her, shaking his head.
"Hey!" Lydia protested as the others laughed.
"I have a free day tomorrow while the techs upgrade some systems in Chekov's area, so I'll come save your daughter from maiming and possible death." Scotty told Julie.
"Thanks, Scotty." Julie told him, smiling.
"Not a problem." He replied, ignoring Lydia as she stuck her tongue out at him. "Someone needs to look after the wee babe, and this one can barely look after herself, much less a child."
"I hate you." Lydia told him.
"And I love you, lassie." Scotty shot back.
"So, I was thinking." Liam said, interrupting their banter.
"Always a dangerous pastime." Lydia quipped.
"Hush, you." He ordered. "As I was saying, I thought that if everything goes well tomorrow, we could premiere Julie and give my favorite ship of the fleet a proper send off sometime next week."
"What do you mean?" Uhura asked.
"Well, we could have Julie grand opening and make it so any crew member of the Enterprise gets in free, and maybe half price drinks?" Liam suggested.
"I like the sound of that." Scotty said, grinning.
"It's twice the price for you." Liam shot back.
"Bastard." Scotty replied good naturedly.
"I think it sounds amazing, Liam." Lydia told him. "Thanks."
"I'm glad you think so, 'cause you're helping me plan this hootenanny." Liam replied.
"Hootenanny?" Uhura repeated, laughing.
"It's a perfectly good word." He defended.
"Just be glad he's not telling you the difference between that and gathering or a shindig." Julie told them.
"Oh, god." Lydia moaned. "You had to remind him! We have a rule! What's the rule?"
"We don't analysis anything Liam says too closely." Julie said contritely. "I'm sorry."
"What's the difference?" Scotty asked.
Lydia leaned over and punched him in the arm.
"A gathering is brie, mellow song stylings." Liam told them seriously. "Shindig: dip, less mellow song stylings, perhaps a large amount of malt beverage; and hootenanny, well, it's chock full of hoot, just a little bit of nanny."
"Let it go, Li." Julie told him. "The joke is dead."
"It can't be, because they've never heard it!" he protested, motioning to the others.
"Let me put it this way." Lydia told him. "Either retire the joke, or you'll be dead."
"Spoilsport." He pouted.
"Well, as much fun as watching Lydia pummel Liam would be, we should get going." Uhura said.
Spock stood up and held his hand out for Uhura, helping her up.
"It has been a most pleasant night." He said, inclining his head.
Lydia stood and hugged Uhura.
"Thanks for coming." She told them, walking them to the door.
"Wait up." McCoy called, grabbing his jacket. "I have to be at Medical in half an hour, so I'll walk out with you guys."
He paused to kiss Lydia's cheek before following the couple out.
"I need to go check on Keenser." Scotty said. "I left the wee little man alone with the repair techs. They've probably let him climb all over things."
"Tell him we say hi." Lydia said.
"Will do, lassie." He replied, hugging her. "Goodnight, lass, laddies."
Liam grabbed some plates and took them to the kitchen and Julie got up to check on Grace as Lydia leaned against the door and pulled Kirk to her.
"I suppose you're leaving me too." She pouted.
Kirk chuckled slightly.
"I've got an early briefing tomorrow." He told her.
"Fine." She sighed. "I guess I'll just have to entertain myself with Grace while you're gone."
Kirk felt the panic rising again and swallowed.
"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" Lydia asked, seriously.
"Yeah." He said, shaking his head, trying to calm himself. "Just really tired."
He leaned forward and gave her a swift kiss.
"I'll call you tomorrow, yeah?" he said.
"Yeah." Lydia replied, slightly confused. "Sure."
"Great." He replied, grabbing his jacket. "Bye, Liam, Julie."
"Bye!" the other two called back from the kitchen.
Lydia moved away from the door and Kirk kissed her cheek before quickly heading out, leaving a bemused Lydia staring after him as the door hissed shut.
A/N: Okay, so I had plans for this to be wrapped up in one chapter, but then I got this idea of a different direction to take this, so it's going to be a couple more chapters before Into Darkness starts. I hope you don't mind!
Please be kind. Rewind…I mean review! Yeah, review! :D
Abbey