Note: Because wouldn't it be cool if in Star Trek: Generations, Picard got to meet Kirk in his prime? (And by cool I mean a little bit tragic, but perhaps not too bad...)

I bet I know someone who can help. Guinan's voice echoed even as she faded away.

Jean Luc Picard found himself on the bridge of a starship the likes of which he had only seen in holographic recreations at the academy, with blocky consoles and bright colors; an old Constitution-class, if he wasn't mistaken. The only occupant, sitting at the helm, in an old-fashioned, bright yellow uniform, was a man much too young to be the captain.

"Excuse me," Picard began.

The man snapped to face him. "Who are you?" His eyes darted around the empty bridge. "And what have you done to my crew?"

"Captain Jean Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise. Who are you?"

"Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise." The young man gave him a wry smile that made it difficult for Picard to tell if he was being serious, but the hard glint which had not gone from his eyes suggested that he was.

And maybe it wasn't just some off color joke. Picard thought he recognized the name from somewhere. Maybe this really was that short-lived captain of the Enterprise between Pike and Spock who had been mentioned once, maybe twice, in history class at the Academy. And here he was, stuck in stasis in a temporal nexus since the Constitution-class days.

"Who are you, and what are you doing on my ship?" the young captain asked again, his smile no less disarming and the look in his eyes no less serious.

Picard let out a small sigh; this wasn't going to be easy. "I'm from what you would consider the future, the twenty-fourth century, in fact."

"Are you?" His tone was light, but spoke volumes in doubt.

"I know how real this must seem to you, but it's not. This isn't really your ship. We're both caught up in some kind of temporal nexus."

To his surprise, the young captain nodded along thoughtfully, perhaps even somberly. "I remember. We were investigating a 'temporal anomaly,' Spock called it. The Enterprise was being pulled in. Her deflectors were offline. I went with Scotty to take a look. I was up there alone when the bulkhead in front of me disappeared… Then I found myself back on the bridge, right before you showed up." He punctuated it with another wry smile directed at Picard.

Picard had managed to stumble upon the solution of a century-old mystery, but that wasn't why he was there. "Captain, I'm afraid I'm here to ask for your help. I want you to leave the Nexus with me. We have to go back to a planet, Veridian Three, to stop a man called Soran from destroying a star. Millions of lives are at stake."

The young man stood without hesitation, though there was something rueful in his tone. "A hundred years, huh? Sounds like the Enterprise doesn't need me any more. Let's go."

"Thank you, Captain." However, before they left the Nexus, Picard had to ask, "The one thing I don't understand is why the empty bridge of the Enterprise? The Nexus showed me the family I never had the chance to have, but this is your own ship, just as you knew it." Picard's gaze ran over the ancient consoles.

Captain Kirk smiled. "Where else would I be?"

After working with Captain Picard to defeat Soran on Viridian Three, Kirk was welcomed as a guest aboard the Galaxy-class new USS Farragut - he would probably never get over the chill he felt at its name - and they set course straight for Earth to drop off the now ship-less crew of the destroyed USS Enterprise-C. No answers had been forthcoming about what would become of the captain stranded in time.

At last, he waited to disembark in the sleek transporter room, which was the same muted beige as the rest of the ship. He had borrowed one of the new dress uniforms; like a long tunic in command red, identical to the one Captain Picard beside him was wearing.

Kirk turned to Picard with a smile and casually asked, "Any word on getting me back to my own time?"

Picard's half-sympathetic, half-exasperated expression was answer enough. "You've actually been personally invited to meet with the commander in chief of Starfleet. The rest will be up to him."

So much for a quick slingshot around the sun. "And you couldn't possibly belay those orders."

"No."

"Of course."

Kirk obligingly followed Picard onto the transporter pad and it energized around them, scattering their molecules into space. They reformed inside of a spacious office, in the same sleek beige as the new Farragut, but with a few shelves of antique books in the corners, between the viewscreens that were built into the walls. There was a large window behind the commander's desk, looking out on San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.

And standing in front of the desk was an older man in the same red dress uniform, his hands clasped behind his back. His ears were pointed and his eyebrows arched, like a Vulcan's, and there was something remarkably familiar about his deeply lined features.

Jim stepped forward unthinkingly. "Spock… Spock, is that you?"

"Indeed, Captain Kirk, it is," the Vulcan replied, his voice lower than Spock's had ever been. "I anticipate we have much to discuss. Thank you, Captain Picard, you are dismissed."

Picard took his leave - out of the corner of his eye, Kirk glimpsed a brief look of surprise. And then, it was only the two of them, facing each other across Commander-in-chief Spock's office.

"You don't look a day over a hundred," Kirk said with a wry smile, testing the waters with this Spock who was and was not his own.

"Thank you, Captain, you are very kind." There was a touch of humor in this Spock's eyes, but mellowed by wisdom and age.

"I don't mean to trouble you. I'm needed back in my own time. All I need is a star and a ship to slingshot around her and I'll be out of your way."

The commander-in-chief's expression turned grave. "I regret that it is not so simple. As you are aware, interfering with the timeline is a dangerous thing. Intentional time travel was outlawed many decades ago."

"But you know I don't belong in this time. My crew needs me; Spock, Bones, they need me. If you were really Mr. Spock, you would know that I won't abandon them."

The commander-in-chief sighed and shook his head, displaying more emotion than his Spock would ever willingly show. "Jim... It has been a long time, and much has changed in the intervening years. It would be easier to show you than to explain, if you will permit me the intrusion."

Kirk knew what he was suggesting. They both knew it was a bold suggestion, dangerous in the wrong hands. But, even though this wasn't his Spock, Kirk would always trust him.

Kirk nodded and Commander-in-chief Spock stepped forward to gently splay his fingers across Kirk's face.

It was for Kirk's benefit that he recited the familiar litany, "My mind to your mind, my thoughts to your thoughts."

Kirk felt a strange, floating euphoria, as though he were on the edge of falling asleep, and then their minds slowly came together. He had thought that his own Spock's mind was orderly, but here there were no stray thoughts or uncertainties, just a pervading sense of distant calm, leading him into the desired memory.

He was back on the bridge of his Enterprise, his Spock seated at the con, the ribbon of the Nexus still on the viewscreen. He was in anguish, but the feeling was muted, more controlled than his Spock had ever truly managed.

"He's gone," Bones's voice echoed.

"Set a course into the anomaly," his Spock ordered, stiff and in pain.

"We can't! We'll be destroyed!" Scotty exclaimed.

"Jim's gone and I'm afraid this time he's not coming back." Bones's tough love stung, even after all these years.

It almost took a mutiny, but they stopped Spock from charging headfirst into the anomaly, leaving Jim behind. The new captain locked himself away in his quarters, trying desperately to meditate, seeking answers.

But he was not alone for long. First came Bones, with a sedative to let him finally sleep, then Scotty to discuss repairs, Chekov with questions about anomalous readings, and Uhura bearing the greatest gift of all; the gift of companionship.

Spock served as a captain for decades with his loyal crew and his family beside him. Then, when he was ready to retire from the adventurous life of a captain, he was promoted to admiral, and then eventually commander-in-chief. He helped broker peace with the Klingons and was now in talks with the Romulans. It had been a good life.

Spock slowly pulled away, giving Jim a chance to reacclimate.

Jim brushed the dampness from his eyes with a rueful smile. "You didn't need me afterall."

"You were the first, but not the last," Spock said. Jim could see the warmth and affection in his eyes, like a kind of nostalgia. "And I might even be convinced to call it luck that you have been returned to us now; there has never been any greater need in the galaxy for Captain James T. Kirk."

"Even a hundred years out of date?" Jim asked with a wry smile.

"I am certain that you will learn quickly, and the Fleet could benefit from a new perspective; our new foes, the borg, are relentless and infinitely adaptable. Regretfully, Captain Picard has already been assigned to the USS Enterprise-E, but there is a new USS Constitution currently under construction which requires a captain for its exploratory mission. You will find that there is even more to be explored now that we are at peace with the Klingons."

Jim smiled despite himself at the thought of all the possibilities. "You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Spock. But it won't be the same without you by my side. I doubt there'll ever be a better First Officer in the Fleet - or a better captain, if your record is anything to go by." And Spock was much more to Jim than a first officer, but everything they shared was now long ago.

"Jim," Spock said gently - Jim was again surprised by how his voice had roughed and deepened with age - "I wish that I could accompany you, but do not permit me to hold you back; captaining a starship is your first and best destiny, and I am not so old that I cannot afford to wait for you for a few more years. In the meantime, while you are on Earth awaiting the completion of the Constitution, would you do me the honor of indulging in a game or two of chess?"

"I thought you'd never ask."