"Do you want another marshmallow, Daddy?"
Across the campfire, Daddy made a funny face and groaned. He shook his head and leaned back against a log. "If I eat anything else, I'm going to explode. Where do you put it all?"
Jamie shrugged, pulled the stick with her blackened marshmallow away from the fire and watched it burn itself out. The best ones were all black on the inside but gooey and soft on the inside. Yummy. She thought maybe she'd had ten or fifteen or maybe more. Licking her fingers, she smiled at Daddy. His eyes were closed, and he looked like maybe he was sleeping. Right now, he looked like a real daddy, not a starship captain in jeans, a red plaid, flannel shirt and a jacket. Jamie's insides were still bouncing in excitement and happy bubbles at being here with him, nobody bothering them at all. But, if he went to sleep now, she wouldn't have anybody to talk to.
It was starting to get dark. The sky behind the pond was purplish orange and the night birds around the farm were saying goodnight to each other. A loud bullfrog croaked somewhere. Another answered. Past the trees there were deep, dark shadows maybe hiding something scary. Jamie laid down her stick, walked around the fire and sat down right next to Daddy. When he didn't move, she grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her neck, then snuggled in closer.
"Daddy? You wanna play Fizzbin, again?"
He answered around a deep yawn, "Jamie, I am Fizzbinned out. We've played it twenty-seven times. Aren't you tired?"
"No." She waited a few minutes and whispered, "I'm glad we came here, aren't you, Daddy? Instead of going to that old fun park."
He didn't answer at first, so she had to repeat the question a little louder. This time he jumped like she'd woken him up, but that was okay. Jamie didn't much like the idea of being awake, alone, with the dark pressing in from all sides like a scary black thing.
"I thought you wanted to go to the fun park when we first got to Mavaro," he sat up and reached over for the tin coffeepot by the campfire. "Why'd you change your mind?"
"I didn't!" Jamie answered, glad she'd got him awake and moving. If something came out of those woods - and did those trees look like they were coming closer - Daddy could protect her.
"You could have fooled me, stowing away on a shuttle just so you could get down to the planet. That sure sounds to me like someone who wanted to go to Disney Mavaroon awfully bad. You know that was wrong, don't you, Jamie? The rules are that no children are allowed on the shuttle deck, you know that right?"
Grownups asked the dumbest questions. "Course I know that, Daddy!" And before she could think about it, Jamie blurted out the truth, "I didn't stow away on that old shuttle to go to the fun park anyway. I was hiding from somebody and Varoom took off before I could get out."
Uh, oh . . . right away from the way Daddy sat up straighter and took a sip of his coffee, Jamie knew she'd stepped in dangerous territory. If he asked questions - she looked at his hazel eyes, gazing into the fire while he tried to figure out what she'd said - yup, he was going to want to know more. Jamie sighed. What would happen if she tattled on Centauri?
"When Varoom landed the shuttle on Mavaro," Daddy took a small sip of coffee and leaned back against the log, stretching out his legs, "you got out and went to the fun park. Why'd you do that?"
Jamie bit a corner of her lip. Maybe she was in trouble . . . but didn't Daddy already punish her for going to the fun park? "It looked kind of fun from the shuttle an' I had to wait for someone to go back to the Enterprise anyway. Then that robot told me I was going to jail."
"I see."
Daddy was quiet a long time after that just staring into the fire, listening to its crackling and watching the tiny sparks of flame sail into the black, black sky. Jamie thought maybe, just maybe he wouldn't ask anymore questions.
"Who were you hiding from?"
Or maybe he would. Jamie sighed; tired of keeping secrets, tired of being afraid something would pop out of her mouth at the wrong time. "Centauri and Javik."
"The older children in the learning cycle? Why?"
"Not really Javik, except he wanted me to go back to teacher . . ." Might as well tell him the whole story. Jamie started at the beginning with how Centauri pestered her about going to the fun park, calling her captain's daughter and being mean to the little kids. She explained about how she'd pretended to leave her sweater to get away from teacher, then gotten in the turbo and ended up on the shuttle. "Varoom hollered at them to leave the shuttle deck, but he didn't see me. I was gonna come out and tell him, honest, but the cabinet door locked me inside. I wasn't planning on going to the fun park, Daddy, or getting put in that old jail."
Maybe she had spoiled the whole campout now. Jamie's eyes watered and the fire got all blurry orange/yellow when she looked at it. The inside of her nose prickled and her throat squeezed tight. I won't cry. I won't.
Daddy's arm came around her shoulders and he pulled her close to his side. "I'm glad you told me the truth." Then right after she got all cozy warm and thought maybe things would be okay, he said something kind of scary. "Did you know that Dr. McCoy has been evaluating all the children in the program - to see which ones are adapting well to life on the Enterprise?"
"No. What does evaluate mean?"
"Kind of testing and watching - to see if any of the children should be sent back to Earth when we reach the Denali Base. This trip to Mavaro was a kind of trial run of the Children in Space program, Jamie. To see who would be able to stay onboard the Enterprise."
Suddenly, Jamie's chest got really, really tight and she wondered if she could still breath. "I . . ." she started to say but her mouth got so dry no words came out. Was Daddy telling her she would have to go back to Earth? That she had failed Dr. McCoy's test? And if she went back to Earth where would she live with Gramma gone away?
Daddy was still talking but Jamie's ears were roaring from the too fast beating of her heart. Or maybe it was because she didn't want to listen, in case he was telling her she had to leave. I don't want to leave, Daddy. I don't! Then she did hear a word here and there and Jamie tried hard to listen. " . . .Centauri. I'm afraid she and her mother are going to be left at the base. Mrs. Waverly thinks it's best too and as a Science Officer, she has a ready placement at the Starfleet base there. So you won't have to worry about her bothering you again."
"Could you say that again, Daddy?"
"Weren't you listening?" He teased and tapped the end of her nose. "I said that I'm sorry Centauri bothered you and the other children. Dr. McCoy has been evaluating her and he doesn't think she fits in the program. She and her mother are going to be left at the Denali Base when we get there."
No more Centauri? Jamie took a big gulp of fresh, night air and choked on a breath of smoke from the fire. "Javik won't have to leave will he? Or Baxter? Or . . "
Me? Suddenly, Jamie didn't think she could stand not knowing a second longer. "Daddy, I didn't mean to listen but I heard teacher tell nanny that you might send . . . she said . . .I heard . . .Teacher said that maybe you were going to send me back to Earth to stay with Grandma and Grandpa."
Daddy didn't answer right away which was very scary. If he didn't say it, wouldn't he answer right away? The longer he waited to say anything, the more Jamie's insides curled up. A big chunk of fear perched in her chest. I won't go there!
"Do you think you'd like living with your mother's parents?"
"No! They don't like me."
"I'm sure they love you, Jamie," Daddy spoke slowly as if he wanted it to be true, but he knew it wasn't.
"They don't! Grandma always cries and says I look just like Mama. And Grandpa says mean things about you all the time. I don't want to go there. Please, Daddy, don't send me there."
"Maybe there's somewhere else you'd like to live, someone you'd like to stay with . . . your mother's sister or . . ."
"NO!" Jamie knew she shouldn't holler at Daddy, but all the scary thoughts inside just came rushing out. Before she knew it, she was crying and blubbering words and telling Daddy that she didn't want to leave him or the Enterprise. "I want to stay with you! Don't send me away! Please!"
Maybe it was a good thing she'd hollered because Daddy tossed down his tin cup of coffee and pulled her into his strong arms. For a long time, he held her on his lap, cuddling her close to his chest and talking, talking, talking. Daddy didn't want her to leave either. That's all Jamie heard, but it chased every scrap of fear away and all the happy bubbles inside came back.
"As long as you're happy on the Enterprise, Jamie, I don't ever want you to leave. But, I want you to be safe too. You ended up in the Mavaro jail and got kidnapped by Varoom . .. I don't want anything like that to happen to you again. Do you understand? I want to keep you safe and I'm not sure the Enterprise is the best place to do that."
"Yes, it is, Daddy." Jamie didn't know if she convinced him, but he didn't say anything else about her going back to Earth.
"If I hadn't brought you into space, bad things wouldn't have happened."
"Bad things happen on Earth too, Daddy, all the time. An' maybe if Varoom took me on Earth, the Enterprise wouldn't have been able to find me. And I wouldn't have you . . ."
"Well, we don't have to make any decisions right now."
Jamie didn't know if Daddy had made up his mind or not. Safe and warm in the circle of his arms, she let his words drift off. The campfire was burning low, sending out a few crackles and pops. The darkness was complete now and beyond the circle of light, she couldn't see anything but black. Even the tall shapes of the trees had faded into a shadow world.
"Are you sleepy, yet? I am," Daddy said in a more normal voice.
"Can't we sit up just a few more minutes?" No way did she want to leave the circle of safety and get into a cold sleeping bag. "Please?"
Daddy didn't say yes or no but he didn't move either.
While she had him to herself, Jamie took a deep breath and asked a question that had bothered her for a long, long time. "Daddy?"
"Hm?"
"Where's my mother?"
#####
Although he braced himself, Jim knew he'd been anticipating the question for years. Each time he'd gone to Earth, his own mother had admonished him to give Jamie an explanation. Over and over he'd rehearsed what he'd say, how he'd tell her the truth. Each time, he'd talk himself into believing there would be a better time. If he had a choice, he'd have waited again . . . but maybe now was the time to bite the bullet and tell her. There was no way to sugarcoat the truth. Jamie would either accept it . . . or a wedge of anger would begin to grow, and she would blame him. Maybe someday as much as he blamed himself.
"I don't know, Jamie."
The little girl twisted around on his lap to face him. She stared up at him with a serious expression. "Is she . . . dead?"
"I don't know that either, but I don't think so."
"Then, where is she?"
Jim sighed; it was time to answer her questions. "The truth is, honey, I don't know where you mother is because she's . . . lost somewhere. It's a long story but it doesn't look like we're going anywhere, and I guess it's time you know."
"Centauri said you did something . . . bad . . .that you let Mama be captured."
"I did."
He could see the questions in her puzzled eyes, so like her mother. Although reliving that day would be hard, he squared his shoulders and started talking. Jamie had a right to know. "Your mother and I met on Earth before my first five-year mission. She was studying history at a university in San Francisco, her specialty was music. Your mother loved songs from many cultures, but she especially loved old songs from Earth's past. I had to leave her behind for a while on that first mission, we couldn't be married right away. Her parents felt she was too young to be so far out in space . . . but when I came home after that first mission . . . she left with me and after a while, you were on the way. We were very happy."
"Dr. McCoy said I was born on the Enterprise."
Remembering Jamie's birth, Diana and his joy were bittersweet, but he managed a small smile for his daughter. "You were. It didn't take long for you to be spoiled rotten either. Most of the crew were like extra mothers and fathers."
In the soft glow of the campfire, Jamie giggled.
"You loved all the attention too."
"I wish I could remember," Jamie got a wistful look on her face and reached out to hold his hand. "What happened then?"
"Then . . ." He'd dreaded telling her for so long that pulling out the words were almost torture. "You were about one and a half when we stopped at this little nowhere planet. The Federation had sent us mostly on a mission to keep the peace between two sets of inhabitants. It was just a small place, one group of citizens kept sheep and the others were simple merchants. They had some rivalry and had asked Starfleet to intervene. Your mother, of course, was fascinated with the history of the place. Even though she wasn't in Starfleet, she'd managed to get clearance to study and record the history of various planets and moons. She'd already made a name for herself and was doing research for the Federation Council."
If I'd just refused to let her go down to the surface. Made a different choice. He could remember feeling unease that day, a premonition. But it was a planet in the middle of nowhere, nothing around . . . or so the Federation had thought.
"What happened, Daddy?"
He sighed and in a flat voice recited the rest. "A landing party beamed down to the planet. We had a couple of peacemakers aboard, diplomats that were going to try to help the people settle their differences. I was going to beam down with them to meet with a Federation official and your mother . . . she begged to go. I didn't want her to. I had a bad feeling inside . . . but Diana could be stubborn. There was a historical library she wanted to visit, one that still had paper books and ancient parchments. I finally told her she could go."
Jamie didn't ask, but he could sense her expectant waiting.
"We were going to meet at this little outdoor cafe for lunch and we did."
Even now he could recall every detail of that sunny, cobble stoned plaza with a wrought iron table, a crisp white linen cloth, see Diana's plate with a half-eaten sandwich as she chattered on and on about the wonderful discoveries she'd made. There had been a bowl of real strawberries and a small white pot of cream. He could see her beautiful face, so lovely, so animated, a gentle breeze blowing wisps of her dark curls across her silky forehead . . . and then . . . the small prickle of worry as she stared at something over his shoulder. The color drained from her face and she leaned over to whisper, "James," Diana had always called him by his full name, "maybe we should beam back up. Something's not quite right . . ." I should have listened to her.
"While we were eating, a couple of sheep herders began to fight. Or we thought that's what they were, they wore the native dress of long white robes, tied with brown belts and sandals. Diana and I jumped up and began to walk a little away. Then more people began to fight, voices got louder, there was shouting and screaming. We started to run. I had my communicator out so we could beam aboard . . . then . . . everything happened at once."
He could never describe the horror as a crowd came from nowhere and surged through the once peaceful, pleasant plaza - overturning the wrought iron tables, crushing food, drink, and people beneath a massive hoard of people. It was like a riot had erupted and instantly a band of Romulans oozed out of the buildings in a well-coordinated takeover of the little nowhere planet. Another small planet with vast deposits of Yrtney.
"Diana and I got separated. There were so many people shoving and pushing. I held onto her as long as I could . . . then someone hit me from behind. I felt - her hand was jerked from mine and that's the last time I saw her."
Looking down into Jamie's startled eyes, he reassured her as best he could. "She hadn't been killed. One of the diplomats from Starfleet found me, dragged me into an alley and got us beamed aboard. The rest of the landing party . . . they weren't so fortunate. As soon as things settled a little, I went back down to the planet. Several times. We couldn't find Diana. Some peasant woman thought she had seen her taken aboard one of the Romulan . . ." he stopped at telling Jamie it was a slave ship. The truth was horrendous enough without knowing all the details, "ships. I tried through Federation channels to find out . . . but several planets were waging war and everything was so unstable. No one really knew the whereabouts of thousands of people."
He couldn't, wouldn't tell her that he'd been ready to stay on the planet, to comb under every rock, ever twig to find some trace of Diana. Or the despair he felt when he'd been temporarily relieved of command, when Bones and Spock had argued with him to move on. He'd been like a man possessed with one goal - to find his wife. Only when he realized he had to survive for Jamie, had he been able to leave the red clay of that forsaken place. But he had never forgotten or stopped searching . . .
"So, Mama could be alive somewhere? Wouldn't she try to find us, Daddy?"
"If she could." He let it go at that. He'd lived with the horror of each scenario of Diana's disappearance for the last seven years. Some things were so unspeakable that even if Diana were alive, she might never be able to find her way back to him or Jamie.
"Maybe she is dead," Jamie said. "Maybe she can't find us."
He didn't know if he should tell her the rest or not, but in the end, he decided Jamie had a right to know. For too long he'd skirted the responsibility of giving her the truth. It had been wrong to let Jamie wonder and worry for so long.
"Jamie, I want you to know that I did everything I possibly could to find Diana. Even now if there is a scrap of a clue, I find someone to follow it up for me. And . . ." He took a deep breath. Jamie was just a little girl. How she would take the news was anyone's guess. "There's something else you need to know. Your mother loved history, I told you that, didn't I?"
"Yes, Daddy."
"She especially loved finding old songs from different cultures and times. There was one old Earth song that spoke to her deeply. It's been a long time so I can't remember all the words, or even the tune, but there were a couple of lines ..." Even though remembering brought sharp shards of pain into his chest, as if his heart were being ripped and stripped in pieces, he forced his mind to recall the words. "Once in every life, someone comes along . . . as you came to me, it was almost like a song."
"That's pretty."
"It was, especially how she sang it. But the thing I wanted to say is that . . . a couple of years after your mother disappeared, I got a sky mail on my computer. Mr. Spock, several of the computer specialists onboard, no one could find who sent it or where it had come from, but it was recent. It was only one line . . . but it made me believe that somewhere your mother is still alive, and she wanted us to know."
"What did it say?"
"It was almost like a song." He sighed and hugged his daughter close. "Somewhere in my heart, I believe she's alive and I will do everything in my power to find her someday. If I can . . ."
Jamie was quiet for so long after that he thought she'd finally fallen asleep. She was quiet so long that more of the words to the song floated into his mind, deepening a pain he thought couldn't be any worse. Now my broken heart, cries for you each night and it's almost like a song, but it's much too sad to write . . . it's too sad to write.
"Daddy?"
"I thought you'd gone to sleep."
Jamie shook her head. "Daddy, it wasn't your fault . . . that Mama got lost."
"It wasn't?"
"No," she answered in a very decisive way for someone so young. "It wasn't anybody's fault 'cause sometimes things just happen, even bad things. That's what Gramma always says."
"I've heard her say that many times." And suddenly, although the pain of losing Diana was still there, his heart still felt as broken, there was a sliver of something he thought might be hope. There was the belief that somewhere in the universe, his loving, beautiful wife still lived and was waiting for him to find her. And in the meantime, there was Jamie – Diana's gift to him - and he knew he couldn't let her go.
#####
"Captain," Uhura greeted him on his first shift after his onboard shore leave, "You're looking well, sir."
"Thank you, Lt.," he answered back as he settled into the familiar contours of the command chair. "I feel rested."
"It looks as if the shore leave did you a world of good, Captain," Spock remarked as he turned over the command of the Enterprise and moved back to his Science station. "Although perhaps shore leave is not the correct terminology since you never went to the planet."
"Whatever it's called, it did indeed prove relaxing." In many ways Jim felt years younger since the camping trip with Jamie. They'd stayed in the Holo Room for several days, talking, fishing, exploring the meadow and the pond. He felt as if he'd learned more about his child in that length of time than he'd ever had before. They'd talked or fell silent as the mood moved them. In time, he'd been able to answer all the questions Jamie had about what her mother had been like. He'd called up hologram images and recorded tapes of their lives. Jamie enjoyed those as he knew she would. There'd been tears and some nighttime fears, but by the time he'd left her with the Nanny this morning, Jamie had found some peace with the situation.
"Someday Mama will come back, you'll see," she whispered as he hugged her goodbye.
"I hope so," he'd answered and surprisingly he felt a small stirring of belief that it might be true. Until then . . . he had a starship to command.
"Lt. Uhura, how long until our arrival at the Denali Base?"
"In two point six days, sir."
"Mr. Spock, I trust that departure from Mavaro went without incident?"
Spock raised an eyebrow and his face wore an uncharacteristic expression of astonishment. "Certainly, Captain. It could not go otherwise."
"Excellent," Jim smiled at the various members of his crew, "Excellent. I think I feel more rested knowing I didn't have to experience all the hassles of departure." He turned next to the right. "Mr. Ferguson? I trust all the non-crew personnel have finished the work on the Children's Deck and are ready to disembark at the Denali Base."
"Yes, Captain, the work will be finished by 0500 today."
"Excellent. Who's the man in charge on the job?"
"That would be Mr. Smyth, sir."
"That's right, Smith."
"No, sir, he pronounces it SmIth."
"Smith, Smyth, whatever his name is would you ask him to come to the bridge. I have a little project I'd like to discuss with him." Jim smiled to himself and by sheer will power kept from rubbing his hands together in glee. He couldn't wait until Jamie saw what he planned.
#####
"We should give Centauri a goodbye present," Jamie said to Baxter as they sat side by side eating peanuts. Jamie cracked another shell and dropped it into the handy disposal on the table.
Baxter choked on a peanut and glared at her with a horrified expression. "Give her a present? I say we cheer when she leaves . . . or sing that old Earth song from that old- time movie teacher showed us that day . . . ding dong the witch is dead."
"She's not dying," Jamie corrected, "Just leaving. And we should give her a present. Right as she leaves the ship, so she can remember us."
"No way am I givin' her anything," Baxter's red curls shook in emphasis. "Unless it's a good swift kick out the . . ."
Jamie nudged him hard with her elbow as Centauri and Tina walked by. Thankfully, Centauri was too full of her plans to notice them.
"I'm going to do my hair in fuschia," she chattered on to Tina, "with maybe pink highlights. And I'm going to wear my white blouse with the inlaid mirrors - the one my mother bought on Venus. Last night I heard by Sky Mail that Devon, this boy I knew from the Endeavor is living on Denali Base. He is soooooooooooooo dreamy. I want to look my best when I meet him again."
Jamie didn't hear the rest of Centauri's plans because the older girl walked on by, waving her hands and making sure Tina heard every word. "Yeah, I think we should give her a present, a good present. One that will make her remember us forever."
"Ha! Jamie Kirk, you are out of your mind. I wouldn't waste my credits on her!"
"Oh, I didn't mean buy her anything," Jamie made her eyes wide like when Centauri pretended to be innocent. "Maybe we could make her something. Something . . . special . . . just for her."
"You are nuts! If you think . . . hey, why are you grinning like that, Jamie. You got something in mind, don't you? Something . . . mean. Dontcha?"
"Mean? What's so mean about giving someone a present? You want to give her something, don't you, Baxter?"
He started to rub his hands together. "I think you're right. We need to give her a present. So . . . what you got in mind? This won't get us in trouble will it? Because Uncle Scotty said . . ."
"Course not!"
Looking around to see if anyone else could hear, Jamie leaned over and whispered her plan in Baxter's ear. "And don't tell anyone else!"
"Okay . . ." he giggled. "I can't wait! Bet that's the last time she plays any tricks on littler kids."
#####
Jamie had a hard time keeping Baxter from spilling the secret about the present for Centauri. When Nanny came to get her from learning cycle, Jamie had to practically threaten to tell his Uncle Scotty a couple of things if he spilled a word! It worried her a little, letting Baxter out of her sight, but Jamie knew a lot of secrets that he wouldn't want his Uncle Scotty to know. Hopefully they were strong enough to keep him quiet.
Nanny was feeling a little better since Varoom was in the brig and her head was starting to heal. But, she seemed kind of tired and sad.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the Holo Room or the Game Room with the other children?" Nanny asked as they got in the turbo for the Officer's deck.
"No. Daddy said he might have a surprise for me if I came right to my quarters after learning cycle."
Nanny looked like she might know what the surprise was, but she wasn't telling.
"Did he tell you about the surprise?"
"Maybe." A small smile curved her lips.
"What is it?"
"You'll see soon enough."
They got out on the Officer's Deck and walked along the corridor to their quarters. Jamie stopped beside her orange door and waited for Nanny to open it like always. "Hey! Nanny Banks, this is where we go in."
Nanny had walked all the way past to stand by Yeoman Barrow's door, the one right next to Daddy's quarters. Probably Nanny was still forgetting things from where Varoom hit her on the head.
"No, this is our door."
Jamie shook her head. "No, it isn't."
"Are you sure? Maybe we should just look inside to be sure." Nanny put her hand to the touch pad of Yeoman Barrow's door.
"It won't open because it's not our . . . hey!" To Jamie's surprise, the door slid open and Nanny disappeared inside. This was not good, not good at all. Yeoman Barrows didn't like anybody touching her stuff. Jamie had found that out with a couple of not so good experiences. What would she do if she found Nanny Banks in her quarters? Jamie figured it was up to her to rescue Nanny until she got her whole memory back.
"Nanny, you have to come out, now." Jamie whispered at the door, standing with her back to the quarters in case Yeoman Barrows came sneaking up on her. "That's not our quarters. You probably forgot, huh?"
Suddenly, Daddy's door opened, and he peeked out into the corridor. "What's going on out here?"
"Daddy, Nanny went in there and she thinks this is our quarters, but it's not."
Daddy was smiling in a funny way, like maybe he knew something she didn't. "Are you sure it's not your quarters? Because that looks an awful lot like some of your things in there."
Jamie spun around and peeked into Yeoman Barrow's quarters . . . only, it wasn't. Everything that had been in her quarters before was now in this one. There were her puzzles spread out on the low, glass table in the living area, and Nanny Bank's funny kitchen towels with spaceships on them hanging in the galley area. Walking slowly inside, Jamie peeked into the door to the right. Nanny's bedroom peeked back. Turning to the other door, the one closest to Daddy's quarters, Jamie opened it. "My room." She couldn't believe it. "My room is right next to yours."
"That's not all," Daddy said as he came inside. He showed her another door in the wall between their quarters. A door that hadn't been there before and he started to explain. "This door goes into my quarters so you can come in. Only your handprint and mine can open this door. Try it."
Jamie put her hand on the touch pad and whispered her name. The door slid open and she could see right into Daddy's quarters. Just like that.
"Now sometimes, it's going to be locked and you won't be allowed inside. There are times when I'll need my privacy. But whenever this door is unlocked, you are welcome to come in - even if I'm not there."
"What if?" Jamie could see the possibilities in this at once. "What if I wake up and have a bad dream and the door's unlocked? Do I have to wake up Nanny Banks first?"
Daddy smiled. "Only if you want to."
Jamie didn't have any words good enough. Instead she threw her arms around Daddy's neck and hugged him tight.
#####
After Daddy's wonderful surprise, Jamie almost changed her plans to give Centauri a present. It was, after all, kind of naughty what she and Baxter had in mind. But when Centauri smashed a banana into one of the littler kids' hair in her last learning cycle, Jamie decided to go ahead.
With Baxter's help, Jamie had found out there was nothing you couldn't find out on the ship's computer. Melting the chocolate had even been easy. And after they had done a couple of experiments in Mr. Scott's galley while he wasn't there, Jamie knew her idea would work. Nanny even helped - although she didn't know what they were up to - by giving Jamie a sweet little silver bag and some pretty white ribbon to put the present in. The hardest part was getting to Centauri as she got into the shuttle to go down to the Denali Base.
"We could ask the Captain," Baxter suggested. "Bet he'd give us permission to say good-bye."
Jamie shook her head at that. "No, it wouldn't work. He knows I don't like her."
"Maybe somebody else?"
"Teacher!"
"Huh?"
"We can ask teacher to get permission to take us to say good-bye at the shuttle deck. Let's ask."
It turned out simpler than they expected. Ms. Baldersian was happy they wanted to tell Centauri good-bye. Everyone in the learning cycle would go, she decided, which suited Jamie just fine. Some of the little kids started crying when teacher told them to follow Centauri. Jamie had a hard time whispering to them to shush up and keep still. If too many of them started crying, maybe teacher would change her mind.
The shuttle deck was crowded, almost too crowded. Jamie's heart went kadump, kadump in rhythm to all the echoing voices and metallic clangs as the shuttle crew loaded cargo and people into the various shuttles. She hid a little behind Teacher as Ambassador McCale stomped by and got into a shuttle.
"Good riddance to bad rubbish," Baxter hissed beside her.
All the men and women who had worked on the Children's Deck said goodbye, then laughing and waving to their new-found friends they entered Apollo. The noise got louder and louder.
"Here she comes!" Baxter alerted Jamie to Centauri's entrance.
Right at that second, Jamie almost lost her nerve. What if Daddy found out and he got awful mad? But then Jamie remembered all the times Centauri had teased or caused trouble. And the present wouldn't kill her or anything, just embarrass her. If Daddy did get mad, well, she would just take her punishment. But even once she thought it, Baxter still had to give her a shove forward as Centauri walked by. Her mother had already left on another shuttle with the other Starfleet personnel.
"Um, Centauri," Jamie's voice came out squeaky. "We brought you a good-bye present."
Some of the smaller children stared at her as if she was crazy. Teacher smiled though and nodded happily. "That is so sweet of you, Jamie."
"It's from Baxter too!" No way am I taking the blame for this all by myself.
"How sweet! Isn't it sweet Centauri?"
Centauri took the little silver bag and peeked inside suspiciously. Her nose wrinkled up in disdain. "What is it?"
"A chocolate covered peach," Jamie answered. "They're delicious."
With two fingers Centauri reached into the bag and pulled out the peach. It did smell good. Jamie had made sure that all the credits in her piggy bank bought the finest chocolate from the ship store. It was smooth and perfectly round. "Um, well, thanks . . . I guess."
"We wanted to say good-bye," Jamie said in her most contrite voice, "and that I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."
"Oh . . ." Maybe Centauri remembered that Jamie hadn't caused her any trouble because her face got kind of red. "Oh, well, you're just a little kid. Um . . .well, bye."
Centauri turned and started to board the shuttle. This was not good at all!
"Aren't you going to take a bite?" Jamie asked. "Me and Baxter made it special for you. We washed our hands and kept everything very clean. Can't you just take one bite?"
"I don't . . ."
Thankfully, teacher joined in. "I'm sure you can take one bite, dear. Especially since the children went to so much trouble for you."
"Well . . ." Centauri still looked doubtful, maybe aware that they might be pulling a trick.
"Go on, dear."
Jamie made a sad face and let her lip quiver like she might cry. "You don't like it. If you liked it, you would take a bite."
"Well . .." First she licked a little of the chocolate coating. A surprised look came over her face. "It is good, very chocolaty."
"Take a bite," Jamie suggested.
"A big bite," Baxter said.
Smiling, Centauri did as they asked and took a huge, greedy bite. A big enough bite that the Elusian Peach inside burst open and exploded all over her pristine, white blouse – the one with the inlaid mirrors her mother had bought on Venus.
Jamie cringed a little, waiting for Centauri to holler, but she must not have noticed her blouse . . . yet.
"It is good," she smiled. "For a pesky Captain's daughter, you aren't so bad. Oh, that's my shuttle! I have to board. Goodbye!"
Centauri went happily onto the shuttle. Jamie looked at Baxter who looked back at her. No one seemed to have noticed Centauri's shirt. "Maybe it'll take a few minutes for her to . . ."
Baxter nudged Jamie and pointed at the shuttle.
Centauri's face filled up one of the viewports – her mouth was a wide-open pit of anger. Jamie didn't know what Centauri was shouting, but it kind of looked like her mouth was forming the word – monsters! The shuttle pilot appeared in the viewport and he seemed to be shouting back at Centauri.
"My goodness," Teacher said, leading the children back to the turbo lift, "What was that all about? Well, it's not my problem any longer."
Jamie shrugged and followed Baxter. Right before she got in the turbo, Javik leaned down to whisper, "Is peach, eh, Jamie Kirk?"
"A chocolate covered peach," Jamie answered, "for when she meets Devon."
Javik laughed but Jamie had a funny feeling in her stomach.
Playing a trick on Centauri didn't feel as good as she thought it would.
#####
The first night in her new quarters, Jamie had slept so sound Daddy was already on the bridge when she woke up. She used her new door anyway, just to go in and walk around. She sat in Grandpa's leather chair, touched Daddy's brush and comb and bounced on his big bed.
The next night after she lay down to go to sleep, she couldn't. Her stomach still hurt from playing the mean trick on Centauri. Not that Centauri hadn't deserved it – even Nanny Banks said when Jamie finally confessed why she couldn't eat her dinner. In fact, Nanny had even laughed. But just thinking about it made Jamie feel too awake and too sad to sleep. She must have slept a little though because after a while she woke up. It felt really late and the chrono said it was. Maybe late enough for Daddy to be in bed?
Jamie got up and went to the special door. It opened easily enough as her hand touched the hand pad. There was a little light glowing from an old-fashioned clock Dr. McCoy had given Daddy as a present. Enough to see that Daddy was in bed, all comfy and cozy under the dark comforter.
"Daddy? Daddy?" She had to shake his shoulder three times before he woke up. "Can I get in bed with you?"
Maybe he wasn't quite awake. He sort of grunted, moved over and let her slide under the warm, down blanket.
Jamie thought maybe she would tell him about Centauri, but she was too sleepy, too warm and too comfy. Snuggled next to Daddy, she thought she might tell him in the morning. Yes, that was the best time. Jamie yawned and closed her eyes. She was almost asleep when she heard a kind of humming sound. Maybe it was her imagination. Jamie covered one ear and then the other. The uncovered ear still heard the hum. Next, she covered both ears and she felt the hum buzzing through her. What was it?
"Daddy? Daddy!" This time she had to shake his shoulder five times before he woke up.
"Jamie what is it? I've had a very long day and I've very tired. If you don't lie quietly and go to sleep, you're going back to your own bed."
"Please don't send me back there! It might get me!"
Now he was awake. He ran a hand over his face and made a groaning noise. "What will get you?"
"It! Can't you hear it, Daddy? It hums."
"What?"
"That humming noise, can't you hear it?"
Daddy sat partway up and dutifully listened. "I don't hear anything."
Near tears, Jamie clutched his arm. "It's humming, Daddy. Listen."
This time Daddy sat up all the way, turned up the lights and listened. He listened for a long time and then he smiled. "That's nothing to be afraid of, honey. It's just the impulse engines."
"Engines?"
He ordered the lights to go out and lay back down. "Yes," he yawned, "it's just the sound of the Enterprise. Now, please, go to sleep."
Jamie lay back down and made sure she snuggled close – just in case it was something really scary. For a long time, she lay there and listened to the hum. After a while it didn't sound spooky but kind of . . . comforting. Like maybe the Enterprise was humming to her. It was a nice sound after all. Jamie snuggled down and let Daddy's ship lull her to sleep.
The End
Thank you to everyone for reading! Stay tuned for more Jamie stories coming soon. You can also visit my friend, Suzy Scribbles, to read her Jamie stories.