Jim had played poker with some of the finest, sneakiest and cheatingest people in Starfleet. He'd bluffed and won and other times he'd bluffed and lost. With Jamie's release laid on the table for this bluff, he was determined to hold a winning hand. Even if it meant going all the way and disobeying a direct order from a Starfleet Ambassador. He'd brought Jamie out here and he would find a way to get her out of the dilemma. If it meant he lost the Enterprise, then so be it.
"King Hescate, Greetings!"
"Greetings, Captain Kirk. To what do I owe the pleasure? When will your shipping barge arrive? I am quite anxious to tour the ship and see if we can make an agreement."
"I spoke to the Ambassador today and he's planning to arrive within another day or so."
The King, dressed in his royal purple robes and ermine crown, settled back into the golden throne and beamed his approval. "I truly hope we can work out a deal with your Starfleet. Mavaro has been hoping to join your Federation for a long time. We've had so much trouble with neighboring planets, especially the Scintillas, that we are hoping for some protection from your noble starships."
"You know, King," Jim sat down in the command chair, hoping he looked relaxed and conversational. Inside his stomach churned and his thoughts were a jumble of conflicting emotions. He folded his hands across his stomach to still the urge to clench them in despair. "The Federation . . . let's say . . . listens to us Starship Captains. We have a lot of, shall we call it, influence about which planets are let into the fold."
He waited while the King called for advisors and translators to run his words into a similar Mavaro word bank. At last the King understood the implications and a sly smile came across his rather chubby, purple tinted face. "Ah, Captain, I think I begin to understand. You can . . ." he consulted with two of his advisors a tall woman with snow-white hair and a short stubby man that looked almost human. "Sweeten the deal?"
Inside, Jim's churning stomach settled down. He knew it would work. His cards were laid on the table and no matter what hand he held, the bluff was going to work. It had to.
Without denying or agreeing, Jim tilted his head. It was a gesture that could have meant anything.
"So tell me, Captain," the King too settled back as if discussing merely the weather, "what would you want in exchange for sweetening the deal?"
Jim waited a few beats as if thinking it over. Then in a conversational tone, trying to keep his voice from showing his urgency, he said slowly, "There is one thing."
"Yes?"
Time to lay all the cards on the table. "My daughter was taken prisoner early today. I'm sure she didn't realize she was breaking any laws on your planet."
"Ignorance of our laws is no excuse," the King intoned. "Malefactors are given two chances before imprisonment. It seems highly fair that they receive a warning. I'm sure your daughter was given the same chance."
Again, Jim hid his clenched hands and the feeling he wanted to jump through the viewscreen and squeeze the King's throat until he ordered Jamie's release. "That may be true," he agreed with a chiding grin, "but the Federation has different rules about the treatment of children."
"How odd."
"I'm sure the Federation wouldn't like to hear that you'd unjustly charged a child with a crime she didn't understand. However, I'd be willing to ignore this fact and to keep the Federation from hearing about it . . . if my daughter is released at once."
The King appeared to be thinking. He consulted with his advisors and then ordered them to leave the room. "Captain Kirk," he sighed in a long-drawn out breath, shaking his head as if talking to a non-agreeable youth, "however much I would like to accommodate you, and to have the Federation's approval, our prison system has been set in place for years. What you ask is so unusual, so out of my control that I fail to see how I could allow this to happen. What would my subjects think of me? No, I'm sorry but . . ."
Time to lay the bluff on the table. "I'll guarantee you a month of regular time shipping . . . without charge . . . on the Starfleet shipping vessels. That way you can see if the services would suit your planet. Call it a trade - just between us."
"A month you say? In exchange for your daughter's release?"
"Yes."
The King appeared to think this over. His greedy bluish eyes shone on the screen. "The free shipping would be nice . . . but a month . . . this is how many Earth days . . ." The King turned to a small desk computer and calculated the time. His eyes glowed with avarice. "Yes, we might be able to work out shall we call it a . . . trade."
Jim's heart leapt into his throat. Was it going to be this easy?
"However . . ."
No.
The King shook his head. "A month hardly seems worthwhile to get to know how excellent the Starfleet services are. I'm sure the Romulans would be willing to offer say . . . a year . . ."
A sharp intake of breath came from Uhura's station, but Jim ignored it. Focused, he shook his own head. "A year . . . that's a little too much. Even if I were to agree . . . Starfleet might come in and squelch the deal."
"Squelch? Explain?" The King asked his computer. As comprehension dawned in his eyes, he turned back to the Captain. "I see . . .then would you be willing to offer nine months?"
"Two."
"Eight."
"Two."
"Seven."
"Three."
"Six?"
Jim sat down and acted as if he were thinking it over. Six was the number he'd decided in his own mind. Less than Ambassador McCale's forbidden order, but enough to sweeten the deal so the King knew he was getting a bargain. "You drive a hard bargain, but . . ." Jim sighed as if he'd been beaten, "I'll agree to six."
"Excellent! Then you will sign documents to this effect?"
"Certainly, but I want my daughter released first. We can beam her aboard at once. Just send the coordinates to my communication's officer."
The King waved a hand over his computer and set Jamie's release into motion. "As soon as your daughter is on board ship, you will come to sign the documents?"
"Yes. Kirk out."
They waited until the King was off the screen before the bridge crew broke out into wild cheering. Jamie was coming home.
#########
The transporter hummed and then the crystals began to form on the pad.
Jamie! He couldn't wait to wrap her in his arms and hug her. Later he'd have to get to the bottom of all this and find a way to be stern. He had to keep reminding himself she had broken about a dozen rules, put the Children in Space program in a bit of jeopardy, not to mention almost starting an interplanetary 'incident' and he still had to deal with Ambassador McCale's wrath. For some reason he still couldn't understand, Jamie had stowed away on a shuttlecraft and tried to enter the fun park. He'd have to punish her somehow, but first he just wanted to let her know he loved her.
Stepping forward as Jamie materialized, he smiled, ready to grab her up. He planned to hug her so tight she squealed. To his shock, as soon as she materialized, Jamie jumped off the dais, sidestepped him, and ran to Bones who'd been standing by.
Throwing herself into his arms, Jamie sobbed as if her heart were broken. "Dr. Bones," she cried against his shoulder before Jim could take the few steps to intercept her, "I was so scared. I wanted to be brave, but I was so scared."
"Sh, sh, of course you were," Bones murmured, patting Jamie's back. He looked at Jim with beseeching eyes, probably knowing Jamie's snub had cut him to the core. "Your daddy's been pretty scared too."
Jim shook his head. He wouldn't upset her further by forcing her to come to him now. "Take her on to Sickbay, Bones, and check her out. I have to beam down to Mavaro and sign that agreement. I'll talk to her when she's not so . . . upset."
"You sure put yourself on the line with Starfleet this time," the doctor murmured while patting the little girl's back.
"Did I have a choice?"
"No."
"C'mon, Jamie, let's go see if you're okay and get you into some clean clothes."
Up close Jamie smelled as if she'd been dumped in a sewer and looked as if she'd been rolled in mud.
Jim stepped onto the transporter pad and watched as Bones took Jamie out of the room. He'd gotten her back, but once again it felt like he'd failed.
########
It didn't take McCoy long to run a medical tricorder over Jamie and see that the only things wrong with her were dehydration and hunger. He solved both problems by giving her some water and an energy bar. Jamie managed to drink a few sips, but exhaustion took over and before he could ask her any questions, she'd fallen asleep. Worn out probably by the ordeal. It wasn't a medical diagnosis but true, nevertheless. He left her asleep on a diagnostic bed, sent to hook her up to some IV fluids and the nanny to get some clean clothes. It was also obvious the little girl had wet herself a couple of times. Poor little kid.
Then he went to check on his other patient, the teacher. Although he'd done the physical for Ms. Balderdasian before she boarded and knew her medical record, he'd never spoken to her at any length other than in Sickbay. He was pleased to see she'd come out of her faint and appeared to be staring up at the overhead lights. When he came into the room, she turned her head and offered him a slight smile.
"I feel so silly, fainting like that. Like some heroine in an old Earth romance novel."
"There's a lot to be said for romance novels," Dr. McCoy smiled, checked the panel on the diagnostic bed and pushed it up into a sitting position. "Looks like you're going to be okay. Take it easy for the rest of the day and drink some extra fluids."
"Okay," the woman's smile disappeared and a look of gloom came over her face. "Maybe physically, but my days as a teacher are over. Dr. Harris told me they got Jamie back onboard. Will she be all right?"
He pulled up a stool and sat down. "She'll be fine with a little sleep and some food. Jamie's a pretty tough little girl."
"I'm glad. If anything had happened to her . . ." the teacher shuddered.
"Nothing did."
"That's probably not going to matter to the Captain. I mean, he'll be glad she's not harmed, but he's going to rake me over the coals for losing her. If I'd have dreamed, she'd gotten on a shuttle, I'd have gone straight to Security. Honestly, I would! I'd never have let her get down to the planet. Even when Centauri and Javik came back and said Jamie had disappeared on the shuttle deck, I never dreamed she'd stowaway in one."
McCoy nodded. "I'm convinced. I think."
"It's the Captain that has to be convinced and there is the fact that I did lose her."
She signed, swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. "Suppose I should pack my things. I'm sure when we get to the Denali Base, I'll be leaving the ship."
Putting on his most concerned, old country doctor face, McCoy leaned forward and tapped the teacher's hand. "Maybe not. Why don't you tell me what happened? How did Jamie get away from you in the first place?"
The woman's face underwent a transformation and puckered up as if she planned to begin sobbing. McCoy hoped not. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was a wailing female. To his relief, although her eyes filled with tears and her lips trembled a little, she didn't let a tear fall. "She didn't exactly get away from me. I mean . . ." she swiped the back of her hand over her eyes, "I knew she should be in line with the other children, but I let her go back into the classroom for her sweater. The rest of us went on and I kept thinking she'd turn up soon for her second meal. She didn't."
"Weren't you concerned about where she might be?"
"Dr. McCoy, please understand . . . I thought . . . well, I thought maybe Jamie needed a little space. The Captain had taken away her recreation privileges the day before and I felt so bad for her. All that's keeping her steady right now is being able to go into the holo of her grandmother's farm. I thought maybe if I let her wander around a little, it would help her not to be so sad."
Although he could see the logic in that, McCoy could also see the pitfalls. "Weren't you concerned she might run into the Captain? Or someone who'd report her wandering around? Or that she'd end up somewhere she shouldn't be?"
"It was a risk, but she's been so despondent. Haven't you noticed how she rarely smiles? She's so homesick. I . . . I've allowed her and Baxter Montgomery to go off by themselves before."
McCoy's eyes widened.
"Oh . . . please don't tell anyone! I'm in enough trouble, I'm sure. It's only been a few times. I sent the two of them on errands to the children's deck. It's not like they could get into any trouble there. The first time, they were gone longer than they should be - but Baxter knows the ship so well. He's a responsible little boy and knows what's off limits. When they got back, Jamie's little face didn't look as pinched and she seemed happier. She was used to so much freedom on the farm and here she's regimented like a prisoner. It was such a little thing to make her happy. Today, when she didn't come right back, I thought I'd let her have a little freedom. Then I realized that maybe that wasn't the best choice, so I sent Centauri and Javik - two of the olders to find her. They followed her to the shuttle deck but then one of the crewmen told them to leave. I kept thinking surely Jamie was just off exploring . . . that she'd come back . . . I never dreamed she'd get into a shuttle . . . I'm in a lot of trouble, aren't I?"
There was no way to soften the blow. McCoy had served with Jim Kirk long enough to know what he thought about a dereliction of duty. He'd seen grown men with tears in their eyes after a reprimand from the Captain . . . and their crimes didn't include his daughter. "Probably so."
She sighed. "I've loved being with the children so much. Being with Starfleet has always been my dream."
"You could throw yourself on the Captain's mercy," he said, not really believing it would work. "Maybe he would. . ."
"You don't have to sugar coat it, Dr. McCoy." Her sad smile tore his heart in two. "I know I acted irresponsibly. I'll have to accept the consequences of that action. Could I please see Jamie before I go?"
"Certainly." He led her to Jamie's bed where Nanny Banks had taken up her station. Jamie was still asleep but now wore a clean green dress and white footed slippers. The fluids were doing their job and the diagnostic pad on the bed showed all green lights.
"Hi Carolyn," the teacher greeted her friend, "I just wanted to see Jamie one last time."
"One last time, what do you mean, Ava?"
The teacher moved close to the bed and smoothed Jamie's dark curls from her forehead. She smiled fondly at the little girl and bent over to kiss her cheek.
"Ava, what do you mean? Where are you going?"
"Nowhere today, unless the Captain has me tossed into the Mavaro Prison. But I'm sure that when we get to Denali Base, he'll send me off the ship."
"He can't do that! Can he Dr. McCoy?"
McCoy sighed, wishing he could offer hope. "He's the Captain, so he pretty much calls the shots on who stays or goes. Ms. Balderdasian did allow Jamie to wander the ship and stowaway on a shuttle, then get herself tossed into Prison. The Captain can overlook a lot . . . but when it comes to his daughter.. . he's more like a Papa Bear than a sensible human being."
"But you're so good with the children, Ava. If the Captain hadn't come up with these ridiculous rules that treat them like prisoners . . . you have to stay. The children need you. Jamie needs you!"
"That's all gonna be up to the Captain," McCoy said. He left the two women alone, both of them ready to dissolve in tears. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was a wailing female. Two of them would be an agony.
#######
It wasn't too long after the teacher had finally left Sickbay that Jamie woke up. McCoy had sent the Nanny back to their quarters to fix Jamie a meal, so he was alone when her eyelids fluttered, and she sat up with a start.
"Well, look who's awake," he smiled and went to the side of the bed.
Jamie looked around a little, as if unsure where she'd been, and then relaxed back against the pillow. "Am I home?" She whispered.
"You sure are," he said. "How do you feel?"
"Tired," Jamie answered in a little voice. Looking around, she grabbed his arm and pulled him down closer to her face. "Is Daddy here?"
He'd never felt so sorry when he had to tell her that Jim was still on Mavaro. "There were some papers he had to sign to get you out of the prison. He'll be back soon. You can talk to him then."
This news seemed to distress her a little. Tears filled her blue eyes and she asked quietly, "Is he awful mad?"
"I don't think he's mad at all, Jamie. Just relieved to know you're all right."
Jamie shook her head, the tears beginning to drip steadily out of the corners of her eyes. "He's mad, I'll bet. Because of his dumb, old program. He's gonna be awful mad. I wish I could go home." To his distress, she turned her face into the pillow and began to cry quietly.
"Now, Jamie, don't you worry. I'm sure Jim's more glad than mad." He tried but nothing he said seemed to help. By the time the Nanny came back, Jamie had stopped crying but her little face had frozen in a stoic, mask of indifference. She almost looked like Spock at his worst. McCoy released her to the Nanny's care, wishing Jim would get back and just hug away the little girl's fear. All Jamie needed right now was a father who cared.
"Try to get her to eat something," he instructed the Nanny, wishing he could do more. Wishing he could ask a few questions about why Jamie had run away – if she had.
Jamie and the nanny hadn't been gone too long when Jim came in looking like a man who'd been through a war. Without conscious thought, McCoy reached into a cabinet and pulled out two glasses and the Saurian brandy. He poured and offered Jim a glass, then motioned him into a chair.
"How'd it go on the planet?"
"Fine. Starfleet Shipping now has to provide Mavaro with six months of free shipping. The King was already rubbing his greedy mitts together and making plans to take the most advantage of it." He took a swift swallow of the brandy, winced and asked, "How's Jamie? Was she hurt in any way?"
McCoy shook his head. "Right as rain. She needed some fluid, food and rest. The nanny just took her back to her quarters."
"That's a relief. Did she say anything to you about why she'd gone down planet? What would cause her to do such a thing? I can't understand it, Bones. She knew the rules about going on the shuttle deck, around the shuttles. I took her there myself and explained how important it was she stay away from there."
He perched on the edge of the desk, swirled the liquid in his glass and answered, "I didn't ask her. She was too worried about whether or not you were mad at her."
"Mad." Jim laughed but it had a bitter sound to it. "That doesn't even begin to cover what I feel at the moment. I'm relieved she's all right and disappointed at her behavior at the same time. I'm also angry with the teacher and whatever shuttle pilot let her stowaway on their craft. Sometime tomorrow I'll have to deal with all that. Then when Ambassador McCale gets here, I'll have to deal with him. Right now, I have too many emotions warring in my head to name. I'm also worried that some of the people in Starfleet who voted against the Children in Space program will see this as an indication that they were right. Where do I even start to fix all this, Bones?"
"Well, Jim, do you have to think about all that tonight? Right now, there's a little girl who just needs to know her daddy cares about her. She can't go to sleep unless she knows he isn't mad at her. Why don't you start with the smallest problem and work your way up?"
"The smallest problem," that brought a slight smile to Jim's face. "I'm not sure Jamie isn't the biggest problem I face. I . . .I don't know how to talk to her anymore. Maybe we've been apart too long."
"I'll never believe that. As long as people love one another, there's no time or distance. Go fix things with Jamie and let tomorrow take care of itself."
"Maybe you're right."
"I know I am! Now go, Doctor's Orders."
Jim sat the glass on the edge of the desk and clasped a hand on McCoy's shoulder. "Thanks, Bones."
#########
Jim walked to his daughter's quarters with one goal in mind. Tell Jamie how much he loved her and that he wasn't angry at her. Nanny Banks let him into their quarters and things went rapidly downhill from there.
"Oh, Captain, I tried to get Jamie to eat. Dr. McCoy said she must, but she won't. She just sits on her bunk and won't talk to me. Maybe you can get her to eat."
"Has she said anything to you?"
"No, sir."
He put his hand over the enter pad and the door to Jamie's bedroom opened. As the nanny said, Jamie sat on her bunk, unsmiling and still except for her fingers. The quilt her grandmother had given her lay across her lap and Jamie's fingers kept pleating the silk edging, worrying it.
"Jamie," he smiled at his daughter, a smile which wasn't returned. Before she could protest, he leaned over and placed a kiss on the top of her silky hair. Did he imagine it or did she pull slightly away? No, he hadn't imagined it. Jamie wanted nothing to do with him. Sighing inside, Jim pulled up a chair and sat so he could face her. "I couldn't wait to come see you. I'm sorry I had to go back to Mavaro when you first got home. Today must have been frightening for you."
Not so much as a shrug. Jamie stared off at the wall over his shoulder. It startled him to realize it was similar to how the Academy taught its cadets to stand in the presence of an officer.
"Jamie, I'm speaking to you. Look at me."
This time she shifted her face so that she was staring right at him. Her face was set without expression except for her blue eyes. Looking into her eyes was almost like looking at himself in a mirror at the same age. He could almost see the same defiance in them. He and Jamie were more alike than he'd thought.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you today. I'm not angry with you, Jamie. The grownups around you are more to blame for what happened than you are. Your teacher and the shuttle pilot who let you stowaway, they will be punished for what happened." He waited for a reaction but there was none. "I guess you know that you also broke a lot of rules today."
"I hate rules."
Jim felt as if he'd made a slight breakthrough in her indifference. He remembered saying something similar to his father a long time ago. Now what had George said to him then? "Rules are important, Jamie," he explained in what he felt was a calm, fatherly manner. Although part of him chafed at the reasonable tone of his voice. He'd resented the lecture as much as he knew Jamie must. "Without rules everyone on board ship would run amuck. We can't have little girls climbing into shuttles and taking off on unknown planets, can we?" She didn't answer so he pressed further. "Can we, Jamie?"
A shrug.
"You know we can't have people running around on the planet just because they want to visit the fun park." A glimmer of understanding began to come to him. Maybe he hadn't paid enough attention to his daughter's needs or wants. "If you wanted to go to the fun park, why didn't you just ask me?"
Suddenly, Jamie's face twisted, and tears trickled out of her eyes. "I . . . I tried," she sniffed. "You never listen."
He reached out to take her in his arms, but she scooted away, shoving herself against the wall behind the bed. "Jamie, you didn't ask me." Even as he said it, he wondered about the day she'd run up to him in the corridor. It suddenly made sense. "You did try, didn't you? The day I was giving a tour to King Hescate . . . Jamie, I'm sorry."
"No, you aren't!"
Ignoring that, he tried another tactic. "Was that why you stowed away in the shuttle and went to the fun park, because I didn't listen, and you wanted to go so badly?"
"No, I . . ." It was almost as if she were on the verge of confessing something when she stopped - wary. As quickly as her tears had begun, they stopped and she again wore her little mask of not caring. She swiped tears off her face and grabbed up the quilt like as shield.
"Then why? Why would you do something like this, Jamie?"
"Because."
It annoyed him before he got control of his temper. "Because why?"
Again silence.
He could feel his temper rising a little. "Jamie, you know how important the Children in Space program is. I thought we discussed how important it is not to do anything right now that would jeopardize your living on the Enterprise."
"I hate you." Jamie said in an ordinary voice. "I hate you first and I hate the Enterprise second."
Shocked by the words and the hard, cold look she gave him, Jim felt his anger bubble a little although he tried to keep it under control. Parenting, his mother had often told him, requires one to put emotions aside and do the right thing for the child. He couldn't deny feeling hurt by Jamie's words, but he couldn't let her know that.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Jamie, because I love you very much." He'd thought about waiting to punish her - she had broken plenty of rules today - but he knew he'd have to go ahead. No sense in her having that hang over her head. Jamie's very defiance and hurtful words showed him that she knew she was going to be held accountable for going off the ship. Right now, she was already angry with him. It would be best to give her a real reason for the anger. "And because I love you, I never want to see you hurt or harmed in any way. What you did today could have had disastrous results . . ."
"They throwed me in the brig!" Jamie shouted as if to remind him. "That wasn't my fault."
"That was bad," he continued, "but it could have been much worse." He steeled himself to break her heart further. "But rules are rules, Jamie, and when you break them you have to accept the consequences."
"I hate rules third," she started to cry again.
He wanted to just gather her in his arms and hold her tight. But, he couldn't just then. He had to break her heart and his because he would be refusing her something she wanted so much. "The rest of the children are going to the fun park tomorrow. It's already been arranged. But you, Jamie, will be confined to your quarters as a reminder that rules are meant to be obeyed." He'd apologized to her half a dozen times since walking in her bedroom, but he wouldn't apologize for the punishment. Neither would he tell her that he still planned to see that she got to the fun park before they left the planet's atmosphere.
"I hate you. I want to go home! I want Gramma! I don't want you!"
Jim sighed. "I'm sorry that I'm such a disappointment to you, Jamie. Right now, your behavior is very disappointing to me too. I had expected better from you."
This time she didn't answer except with heart wrenching sobs. Burying her face into the quilt, she rolled over and faced the wall. He made sure to lean over far enough to put a kiss on her cheek. "Good night."