Jim was in the shower when the seriousness of the situation overwhelmed him again and he sagged against the tile, feeling cold despite the heat in the room. He thought to himself, This is for real. My child is in danger from his own mother and I am the only one who can rescue him. Well, me and Spock. He shut off the water and just stood there for a long time, until he heard a familiar knock on the bathroom door.
"Enter," he called by habit.
Spock slipped in the small room and stood with his back to the door. "I could not help but feel your turmoil. May I assist in any way?"
Jim stepped out and toweled off. "Just by being here you're making it better. Is David ready?"
There was a nod. "David was prepared before I returned from my exercise this morning. He is anxious for this to be 'over with', in his words. I was prepared shortly afterward. David has been fed and now needs to brush his teeth; however we are both in the bathroom and he has vowed he will not enter a room we occupy without our permission again. Apparently your 'talk' had a significant impact on him," Spock told his mate.
"I was just thinking," Jim told Spock as he dressed, "I thought the Academy was just a game until I became a captain. But being a captain was just play now that I have two very special lives depending on me. The pressure is enormous."
"Two lives?" Spock questioned.
"What, you don't count?" Jim replied gently. "I play a significant role in your life and in some small way you depend on me. Maybe not for food and shelter, but certainly for companionship."
Spock pulled his husband close to him. "T'hy'la, were you not in my life, food and shelter would hold little meaning anymore. It is true, I depend on you, but a great deal more than you realize. It is my desire that you feel you can rely upon me in the same way."
Jim lay his head on Spock's shoulder. "If I thought I couldn't live without you when you were just my First Officer, I had no idea how much I'd need you when you were my husband. And now that we're going to be parents full-time, I'd fall apart without you. Thank you for being my rock."
"In the burning of uncertainty, I will be your solid ground," Spock whispered.
"I will hold the balance if you can't look down," Jim sang back softly.
They opened the door and walked out, and Spock started a campaign to keep his mate's mind off the upcoming ordeal.
"Why do you not sing more often?" Spock asked as they walked down the stairs.
Jim scoffed. "Me? Sing? Spock, you've heard me sing. I sound like a rusty gate."
Spock walked in the living room. "Jim, you know I have been brutally honest with you about your strengths and weaknesses. Your singing is actually a strength. I have heard you multiple times, in the shower and in the car. You hold a talent in this area."
"You like my singing?" Jim was still skeptical.
"Sing something for me, Dad," David requested from over at the kitchen table.
Jim was put on the spot. Finally he cleared his throat and started.
"If they were to write about the story of my life,
They would have to mention you with every page they'd write.
There's another side to every story told.
If I were the ocean, you would be the shore,
And one without the other one would be needing something more.
We are the shadow and the light.
Always love me,
Never leave me now.
Now you are the other side of me.
Always love me,
Never leave me now.
Now you are the other side of me."
Jim sang the song softly, his head low and his eyes closed in concentration. When he was finished he looked up hopefully.
David was flabbergasted and broke into applause. Spock gave a surge of love and approval through the bond.
"Dad, you sing really good! You sounded like the recording! That's so awesome. Why don't you sing more often?" David asked breathlessly.
Jim was reluctant to mention the real reason he didn't sing, that being Don Barnett and his comments about Jim being a sissy. "I just always thought my voice was crap," he began, and then flushed. "I meant bad." He held his hand out and David cheerfully smacked it in punishment for Jim cursing.
David got up on his knees in the chair. "Dad, is it abuse when I do that?"
Jim looked over at Spock and shrugged. "I never thought it was. But would you like to make up a new punishment for cursing?"
"Okay. How about … you have to do ten jumping jacks every time you curse?"
Jim thought about it. "One-count or four-count?"
"Four count, so it really works." David nodded to his father. "So now you have to do ten jumping jacks."
Jim sighed and began his punishment. The floor creaked as he jumped up and down. His mother walked in mid-way through the ordeal and found Spock and David watching Jim do jumping jacks in the living room. When he was done David gave him a high five.
"Is this Jimmy's response to not running the whole time he's been on leave?" Winona asked.
Jim laughed. "No, I said a bad word and we decided that's the new punishment for it."
A look crossed Winona's face and she burst into laughter so strong she had to hold onto the side of the table and bend over. Finally she stood, wiping tears away.
"What?" Jim asked, smiling.
"I just got an image of you standing in the middle of Starfleet Command doing jumping jacks." She giggled some more.
"God, Starfleet Command," Jim sighed playfully. "Bones would never have to worry about my weight again with this new regime."
"You cuss a lot at work?" David questioned his father.
"The old saying used to be 'like a sailor'," David's grandmother informed him.
"I really ought not," Jim admitted. "Chris Pike doesn't do it." He became determined. "I'm going to stop cursing."
"Are you certain you will meet with success in this journey?" Spock asked pointedly. "You have employed this manner of speech for close to two decades. Breaking the pattern will take a great deal of effort."
"It's stupid, Spock," Jim told his mate. "There's not a single thing I have to say that I have to curse to get across."
Spock gave that half-smile Jim loved so much. "Then you will have as much support from me as you desire. I am proud of you, Jim."
Jim clapped his hands together. "So I think it's time to go. Everyone ready?" David gave his father a thumbs-up and Spock nodded. They put on their coats and Winona handed them the key.
"Be careful, kids. Come home safe." Winona kissed Jim and David's cheeks and waved to Spock. They left and drove to the courthouse quietly. When they pulled up David looked up at the huge building.
"The last time I was here was when I was four and a half and I told the judge I wanted to see you again," David recalled. "Do you think the judge this time will be as nice as last time?"
Jim nodded. "I hope so, buddy. Be careful getting out." They exited the truck and got in line to enter the building. When they got to the scanner Jim took off his shoes and stepped in expertly. David followed, mimicking his father. Spock was last, and the guard held him up.
"Is there a problem, officer?" Spock began, and then he realized it was the same guard who had detained him the first time he had been there.
"Still think you can beat my scanners?" she drawled.
"No, officer. I do not. Your system is secure." Spock's eyes were shining with amusement.
"Good to see you again, sir," she told him, and let him pass finally.
"What was that about?" David asked in the elevator.
"Just a friend of your father's," Jim laughed. They got to the third floor and Jim led them down the hall to the family court. Taking a deep breath, he walked in the courtroom. He approached the bailiff and asked when they were scheduled. Receiving the answer, he sat down with his son and mate.
A/N: The song once again is "Trilogy: Other Side Of Me" by Michael W. Smith.