"Oh, come on. You have got to be kidding me," Jim groaned. "I'm not going."
"You have to go," Pike told her over vid-com.
"I hate these things and I don't want to be the center of attention," she said.
"It's not just you. Me, Leo, Spock, everyone else… we all have to go," he told her.
"Feels like the only thing we do now. I mean, they let us go back to work but every time I turn around they want us to go to some party. I'm not going."
"You have to go, Jim," her mentor chuckled.
The brass was ordering them to attend the annual Night of Heroes, a Federation dinner that takes place at the beginning of April. It's been almost two months since Nero and everything had just started to die down. At least, she thought it was dying down. Her father-in-law got someone to handle PR for her and Spock so they wouldn't have to deal with it themselves.
"Can I just pretend for a moment that I don't?" Jim smiled.
"You can but I doubt it would help."
"Figured as much."
"How's Jelly?"
"Jelly's good," she smiled. "I'm surprised Bones doesn't give you updates."
"He does but I like hearing it from you," he said with a wink.
"Been busy."
"Haven't we all."
"You aren't supposed to be that busy."
"That's what Leo says," Pike smiled.
"Listen to him. He's a pain in the ass but he cares about us," Jim sighed.
"I know."
"Are you guys going to this thing together?" she asked. Other than a handful of people, there weren't many who knew Pike and Bones were together. Aside from Jim and Uhura, the senior staff of the Enterprise didn't even know. Spock might know but Jim wasn't sure, she doubts Uhura would ever say anything but Spock is very observant.
"We're considering it. That'll be hilarious. After all the rumors linking you to one or both of us, me and Leo showing up as each other's date to a fancy party would be something."
"You should totally do it."
"Why, so they don't focus on you?"
"No. So that everyone can see that smile that's on your face right now. It's adorable."
"I'm an admiral, I can't be adorable," he chuckled.
"Too late for that, Chris."
"You seriously weren't kidding," Sam chuckled as he looked at the PADD in her hands. 'Kirk Spotted with Mysterious Man. Is her Marriage on the Rocks?'
"This is what happens when I hug my brother in public," she laughed. Two freaking hours. He's been on the planet for two hours and people were already speculating that they were a couple and that she was cheating on her husband.
"It's a bit ridiculous." Her brother just shook his head.
"You look just like George, how nobody put that together is beyond me." Doctor George Samuel Kirk junior was literally the spitting image of their dad. The only difference between the two Kirk men was the length of Sam's hair; their dad kept his short but Sam's falls in his face.
"What are you gonna do?" he asked.
"Nothing. It's already being handled. I don't even care that people talk crap about me, it just pisses me off that it's more work for the embassy's media attaché. He has enough stuff to do without adding this to mix but I suppose that this is what happens when idiots run the press," Jim sighed. In a few minutes, Baleeza Gral, a joined Trill and the embassy's media master, was going to make a quick and simple statement; Jim and Sybok are happily married and the man in the images is her brother Doctor George Kirk Jr. "The trick will come later this week when I don't drink alcohol at that stupid dinner."
"Why not?"
"Really, Sam," she gave him a look. "Why wouldn't I drink?"
"You're…?" he said pointing at her stomach.
"Just hitting twelve weeks," Jim smiled before she found herself wrapped in a big hug.
"That's awesome. Two little baby Kirk's at the same time," Sam smiled. Aurelan, Sam's wife, was just over seven months pregnant, which is why she decided not to travel to Earth with him. "I bet everyone's excited."
"Those who know, are. Outside the family, the Enterprise's senior staff, a few embassy staffers and Admirals Phlox and Reed, we're keeping it to ourselves."
"Makes sense considering that the baby's a hybrid. Not telling anyone before your twentieth week is a smart move. Unless you start showing," her brother chuckled.
"Still flat as a board. I had to switch to yoga, tai chi and some light jogging to keep from going out of shape," Jim chuckled. "Though, Bones said I'm getting pudgy."
"You're not. He just likes messing with you," Sybok said as he walked into the room with a smile. "You're perfect."
"I am not," she rolled her eyes as he kissed the top of her head.
"You must be Sam," her husband greeted her brother.
"And you must be Sybok. Nice place you got here," Sam said as he motioned around the study.
"Thank you. It was always my space but Jim's kinda taken it over a bit so some of this is her doing," Sybok smiled.
"My office is in another building and you have two of them," Jim pointed out.
"I like the fact that you're so comfortable in here," he chuckled. She picked up from his head that it made the room more his space than anything else. Jim even caught a glimpse of her sleeping on the couch with a book on her chest. 'What's mine is yours, beloved.'
'Stop being adorable,' she thought at him. He just shook his head.
"Did I miss something?" Sam asked.
"Vulcan telepathy," Jim chuckled.
"You had a conversation with each other in your heads?" her brother raised an eyebrow.
"It's wasn't a conversation, per say," she smiled. "Maybe I'll explain it to you over dinner or something."
"You're gonna cook?" Sam asked, the alarm on his face was almost comical.
"No, I am," Sybok said. "We generally don't let her in the kitchen."
"Hey! I can cook," Jim said.
"Not really," her brother chuckled. "Last time she tried…"
"Finish that sentence and I'm gonna kick you," she told him.
"It was inedible," Sam said before trying to dodge her foot. Jim caught him in the shin.
"She's gotten better," Sybok said. "But it's safer for all involved if I make dinner."
"Nobody's perfect," Jim said. "You can't blame my lack of cooking skills on me, nobody but Pike ever bothered to teach me."
"I suppose that's true," her brother agreed. "Winona wasn't really the 'prepare your kids for the future' type."
Jim snorted, "Who?"
"Exactly," Sam said. "You're not gonna be like her."
"How could you possibly know that?" she asked.
"Because you care about people who aren't even related to you, there's no way in hell you would ignore your own child. Hell, I don't think you have it in you to ignore any child," her brother said.
"That's what Christopher and I have been trying to tell her," Sybok said.
"Our mother did a number on her and I didn't help, but I don't have to tell you that. Just give her some time," Sam said with a shrug.
"You guys do know that I'm right here," Jim said.
"We know," the two man said in unison. Oh, no.
"If you guys team up on me, I'm gonna tell Bones," she told them.
"He doesn't scare me," her brother said. Sybok slowly shook his head. "What?"
Sybok sighed, "I will do a lot of things but even I don't want to get on Leonard's bad side."
"I got two dates, oh. I two dates, yea," Jim sing-songed as she and Uhura got ready for the dumb dinner of dumbness… that's dumb.
"If the wrong person heard that, you'd be in for it," Uhura chuckled.
"Because nobody has ever gone to a function with their husband and their secret lover," the commander chuckled. "Maybe we should switch it up. I'll go with Sulu and you can go with Bones."
"Then Pike and… Scotty could go together while Chekov shows up with a harem. Your brother can be Spock's date," Uhura laughed.
"That would be epic," Jim laughed as visions of Spock and Sam showing up arm in arm to an official function filled her head.
"What are you two up to?" Sybok asked from the doorway to Spock's room with a smile. Jim stared, yes stared, at him.
"Trying to figure out how you always look so… good. I mean, damn, Sy," Jim said. He went with pre-Federation Earth old school black tie and he looked… there weren't really words for how good he looked. Jim decided in that moment that Sybok's officially not allowed to wear suits or tuxedos without her nearby because she'll have to kill anyone who touches him. How the hell did she end up married to all that?
"You should see what I see," he smiled in that way that makes her all swoony. "You didn't answer my question."
"You asked a question?" the blonde muttered. Jim felt like a love-stuck teenager. 'Brain doesn't want to work at the moment.'
"He did," Uhura chuckled. "We're thinking up how to get back at the press tonight. Figure if we mix up the pairs and add the singles, we could throw 'em off. Or at least have them chasing their tails."
"You two could just go together," her husband pointed out.
"That's too obvious," Jim chuckled. "Could go as a group. We'll all be each others dates."
"That would actually be cool," the communications officer smiled. "Want me to comm everyone and see if they're up for it?"
"Go for it. The press has been making our lives hell, it's time to exact a little revenge," Jim smiled.
"There's nothing wrong with that," Sybok said with a smile. "Nyota, do you mind giving us a moment?"
"Not at all," Uhura smiled. "I'm gonna go call Sulu."
"You know that this is your brother's room, right?" Jim asked as soon as her friend left them alone.
"I'm not going to ravish you, even though I want to. I have something for you," he smiled, pulling a small jewelry box from somewhere.
"What's that?"
"I realized the other day that our marriage is full of Vulcan traditions but no Human traditions."
"I haven't actually noticed. I mean, I'm not a traditional person and neither are you," she pointed out.
"That's true but I actually like this one. It's an excuse for me to give you pretty things."
"What did you do?"
"I bought you a ring," Sybok smiled and handed her the box. Jim opened it and found three rings; a large oval-shaped diamond on a diamond band, a simple diamond band and a plain band, slightly bigger than the others, all of them in a white metal. "Well, two. The plain band is for me but the others are for you… if you want to wear them."
"You know I'll never get away with wearing the big one all the time," Jim chuckled.
"I know, it's just for showing off," he smiled.
"You know, the tradition is that we place the rings on each others fingers," she smiled. "Maybe we should..."
Sy nodded and took the diamond band out of the jewelry box. "With this ring, I... stay wed." He slid the ring on her finger before pressing a kiss against her knuckles. "Perfect."
"With this ring," she smiled as she took his band out of the box, "I stay wed." Jim slid the ring on her husband's finger before she brushed two of her fingers again his. "We're silly."
"Yes we are," he chuckled. "Are you going to wear that one?"
"Tonight I will. Like you said, it's for showing off."