Disclaimer: not mine

By the time everyone else arrived at the hospital, Jim was already in surgery with McCoy, and Spock had been left to wait anxiously for any news.

Uhura got there first, having left shortly after McCoy and Spock. Archer and Barnett had wanted to come, she explained softly to her boyfriend, but they had to meet up with Commodore Paris and get a handle on the situation. They would stop by later. The Klingons had passed on their request to be kept updated to Jim's condition, and some would perhaps come by once he was out of surgery.

Carol, Shay, Sulu, and Chris were next, and they were followed only a few minutes later by Chekov, Kevin, and Joanna. All of them had given statements to the officers at the scene, before Archer had informed Chris of Jim's location and they had all headed straight to the hospital.

Chekov had sent Scotty a message to let him know, and the Engineer came rushing in as soon as he could. He hadn't been at the treaty signing, as he had gotten caught up on a call with the design team back on Earth, working out some upgrades he had wanted to add to the new Enterprise.

April was held up helping at the scene, but she did manage to join them a few hours later, and still before McCoy re-emerged from the operating room.

When the CMO did so hours later, the entire group was on him before he had a chance to take three steps into the waiting room. He held up a hand tiredly, and gratefully accepted a bottle of water from April. Joanna rushed to his side and burrowed in, holding onto her father tightly. He slung an arm across her shoulders and hugged her back.

"He's in Recovery," the doctor informed them. Everyone relaxed immediately at the news, and McCoy continued, grimacing lightly. "There's a reason guns fell out of style. They're messy and crude, and incredibly inelegant. This was a large caliber bullet, and the fact that it didn't exit could have easily done a lot more damage than it actually did. As it is, the bullet entered his shoulder at an angle and shattered his clavicle on the way down. It ended up lodging itself behind his lung. We had to remove it without damaging the organ, which is why it took so long. The clavicle should be easy enough to fix with the osteoregenerator, we'll do that tomorrow once he's had some time to recover a little from the blood loss."

"But he's going to be OK," Uhura said, wanting the reassurance. She hadn't thought it was so serious, but it had been horrifying to watch Jim slowly lose consciousness and blood while they were trapped in that room and unable to do anything to help him.

McCoy nodded reassuringly. "He's going to have to stay here for a few more days, but there's no reason to expect anything less than a full recovery."

"So now what?" Sulu asked, looking at the others.

"Get out of here, go eat something, and get some rest," McCoy answered immediately. "Jim's going to be fine and I have no doubt you're all as exhausted as I am."

Several of them looked like they wanted to protest, but then Chris chimed in giving his support to the idea. "He's right. There's no point in sticking around here. Security's got our statements, we should all go get some rest. It's been a long day." It really had been, and looking at a nearby chronometer showed them that it wasn't even dinnertime yet.

With both McCoy and Chris staring them down the group had no choice but to depart. All except Carol who refused to even consider leaving without seeing her fiancé. McCoy didn't try to dissuade her, and silently led her back to Jim's room.

He left her there and returned ten minutes later with a tray of food that he set in front of the woman with a stern look.

Carol knew better than to argue with that, and ate slowly as McCoy exited the room once more, making for the hospital's entrance where April and Joanna were waiting on him to head back to their hotel suite together.

XXX

Jim stayed unconscious all night, though the nurse who stopped by to check on him periodically assured Carol that they were keeping him under on purpose – a shattered clavicle was a painful injury, and they wanted to keep him out until they could get a start on repairing it. Keeping him under was also McCoy's way of making sure he didn't try to escape the hospital on his own.

The doctor in question returned early the next morning, bringing updates from the Admirals with him.

"They cancelled the last few panels," he informed Carol as he probed Jim's shoulder to determine how it was healing. "There's going to be a farewell dinner tonight, and most attendees will depart in the next day or two. I got the feeling Archer and Nogura just wanted to quit while they were ahead. Kodos is being sent straight back to Elba II, but they need to bring Lenore to Earth for trial before she can be sentenced." He shook his head in annoyance and growled, "Archer said it might not be as cut and dry with her – she's still young, some people think she might not have been acting willingly."

Carol rolled her eyes. "She knew exactly what she was doing."

McCoy nodded in agreement, and then turned his attention back to Jim. "We'll all be heading back to Earth as soon as they figure out who's going on which ship. Archer said he wanted to finalize things with Jim before sending out official notices."

Carol looked at her fiancé. "How long are you going to keep him under?"

McCoy sighed. "I'd like to sedate him until I'm ready to let him leave the hospital, but I know that's not an option. We're going to get his clavicle repaired this morning, and that's going to hurt like hell. I'll take him off the sedatives this afternoon, so he should be awake by evening. The bone will probably ache for a few days, but it won't be debilitating."

Carol frowned. "What about pain killers?"

McCoy shrugged. "He'll be on them for the rest of the day, but you know how we feel about them. He's allergic to most of the weaker ones, and I don't want to keep him doped up for a week while the ache goes away. Even if I wanted to, Jim wouldn't allow it and the Admirals need him alert to wrap up the aftermath of this cluster fuck."

Carol didn't like it, but she did understand the reasoning, and McCoy was right.

The doctor glanced up, and then shook his head. "Go take some time to yourself," he urged. "I know you want to stay, but Jim's going to be just fine. I'll be with him, so go back to your room, shower and change, and for god's sake get something to eat."

Carol almost argued, but then she slumped in defeat and gave Jim a soft kiss on the cheek before she left the room.

XXX

McCoy's estimation was correct; fixing his clavicle took several hours, and he waited a few more after that to start reducing the dose of sedatives. By early evening, Jim was completely off of them and only receiving the mildest pain killer McCoy could give him.

Carol had returned by noon, just in time to be at his side as they finished up with the osteoregenerator, and hadn't moved from that spot since.

Chris and Shay came by for a while in the afternoon, and the command crew all stopped by as well. Jayla arrived with Scotty, and seemed as relieved as the rest of them to hear that Jim would make a full recovery.

By evening however, it was just Carol and McCoy in the room when Jim began to stir.

The moment he opened his eyes, McCoy was there. "You're an idiot," the doctor growled, hands gentle as he pushed Jim back into the bed when the man tried to sit up.

Jim blinked blearily, and focused on the man in front of him. "Wha-?"

McCoy rolled his eyes and stepped back. "You jumped in front of a damn gun, Jim. Do you have any idea how bad it could have been? You're damn lucky the bullet missed anything vital."

Carol stepped in before the doctor could continue venting. "But you saved Chief Garazha's life, and further cemented this new positive relationship with the Klingon Empire," she added, giving McCoy a stern look. "We all wish you had a better sense of self-preservation, but then you wouldn't be the man we all love. So let's just be thankful things worked out the way they did?"

Jim focused on her and smiled softly. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, but Carol shook her head immediately, dismissing the notion that he had anything to apologize for. Jim turned back to McCoy. "What happened after the shots were fired?" he asked curiously.

McCoy huffed. "Can't you take some time to rest before you start demanding to jump back in the thick of things?" he asked irritably, knowing even as he spoke that this was just who Jim was.

"Unfortunately we don't necessarily have that time," Jon's voice spoke from the doorway, interrupting them.

The Admiral entered the room, smiling at Jim, relieved. Behind him, Commodore Paris was there as well, and Admiral Nogura brought up the rear.

McCoy almost growled in annoyance. "He literally just woke up."

Jon gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Doctor. If it makes you feel any better, this isn't an interrogation or a debrief. We just need to go over some details of what's going to happen next. It won't take too long, we need to be at the farewell dinner in an hour."

McCoy didn't look happy, but he didn't argue. He and Carol left the room quietly, so that Jim could be alone with the trio of superiors.

Jon immediately relaxed into the chair Carol had vacated. "I know you'll probably hear this a few times, Jim, but thank you for what you did. If Garazha had been shot it could have been the end to any peace treaties with the Klingons, now or in the future. I know they want to stop by to offer their gratitude."

Jim knew that if Garazha had taken that bullet it would have been worse than just no more peace treaties – they could have found themselves looking at a very bloody and brutal war. Jon just didn't want to acknowledge how close they had come, so the Captain shook his head slightly, stopping quickly when it began to pound. "I know I was kind of out of it, but I'm pretty sure he already thanked me."

Jon shrugged. "Yes, but he wants to do it in a more official capacity. We've also talked with the Klingon Council, and they want to thank you as well."

The Council was made up of all of the Clan Chiefs, who had been contacted immediately once things had settled down the day before. Jon had been grateful to be included in the call Garazha had made, and both he and the Klingons at Yorktown had been full of praise for Jim's warning and actions.

"The only thing I want to clarify is how you knew of the attack," Nogura said drily. "It's not an inquiry," he added when Jon glared at him, "but there were lots of people on that stage and I know I didn't see anything."

Jim sighed and picked at his blanket wearily. "There was movement in the shadows," he explained. "It caught my attention, and then I saw a flash. I knew Security wasn't letting anyone loiter in that hallway leading to the door, so it didn't make sense for anyone to be there." He shifted slightly and then grimaced as the movement sent a wave of pain through his injured shoulder. "I reacted on instinct."

"Well the Federation is truly indebted to you, and I know I am grateful for your instincts," Paris said simply.

Jon and Nogura nodded in agreement, and Jim smiled tiredly.

With that out of the way, Jon let him know what would happen next. "I wish you could be at the dinner tonight, but I doubt that doctor of yours would even consider it." Jim rolled his eyes, and Jon chuckled softly. "Most attendees are leaving tomorrow. We already talked about getting your crew back to Earth, and the Endeavor and the Intrepid will be leaving in two days, taking the majority of your crew with them. They will head straight back to Earth where your crew will depart. We've authorized two weeks of leave for them before they will report to temporary assignments on Earth while the new Enterprise is completed. The rest of your crew, including your command crew – minus Chief Engineer Scott who has demanded to get back to Earth to make sure the team doesn't screw up his ship – his words," Jon added when Jim gave him a skeptical look. Jim shook his head in amusement. "Anyway, you will all stay here a little longer. The Parks will take you all back to Earth soon, but they need to make a stop first." Jon sighed. "Shay and Chris are heading out with their crew tomorrow to do a sweep of the planet you crashed on. They're going to harvest the Enterprise remains and clear out the logs. You did a wipe before you abandoned ship, but there are still things on that vessel that shouldn't fall into the wrong hands."

Jim understood that completely. Edison had almost killed everyone on Yorktown because of a weapon he had stolen from the Enterprise.

Jon cleared his throat and then continued, "They're planning to be gone a week, and they'll be back here one more week before you'll all head back to Earth."

Jim nodded in agreement. "Works for me. When are the Klingons leaving?"

"Tomorrow," Nogura said. "They were planning to stay a few more days, but the Council wants them back immediately."

Jim could see their desire to get their representatives back to safety as soon as possible.

"We'll let you get some rest," Jon stood up and rejoined the other two. "Remember to listen to your doctors, Jim. No escapes!"

Jim rolled his eyes but didn't contradict the Admiral as they all tried – and failed – to hide their smiles.

"It would be so much better if he could attend tonight," Nogura commented as they nodded to Carol on their way out of the hospital. The woman immediately jumped up and headed back in the direction of Jim's room.

Jon shrugged. "Look at it this way, he won't be there to complain when we announce the commendation he's getting for this."

Nogura snorted. Jon and Richard may be closer to Jim, but they were all aware of his propensity for avoiding the spotlight whenever possible. Which was really contradictory, considering how many universe-saving actions he had taken over the years. "Fair enough," he replied, and the trio fell silent as they rushed back to make sure they arrived at the dinner on time.

XXX

Jim was released from the hospital two days later, after the Parks had left but before most of his crew had boarded the Endeavor and the Intrepid. He was still sore, and McCoy had demanded he keep his arm in a sling for at least two more days to avoid aggravating the recently healed bone, but he was free to leave the hospital so Jim didn't protest the order.

Jim had received multiple visits before being released, most notably from the Klingons who had all offered their gratitude once more before they departed Yorktown and headed back to Klingon space.

Ambassadors Sarek, Shras, and Maab all stopped by, as did all of Jim's command crew and a good percentage of the crew members from the Enterprise. April brought Joanna by a few times, Kevin sometimes joining them. He had been watching Joanna often as her parents were busy helping out at the hospital. Most of those who had been injured were released before Jim, but one or two had to stay longer.

All in all, there had been approximately fifty injured, with a dozen of those being serious enough that the doctors hadn't been sure they would make it. Two were still uncertain, but the rest had been moved out of the danger category. Three had died.

It could have been much worse, and it was nothing short of a miracle that they had managed to salvage the talks and could count them as a success. All the delegates leaving for their home worlds were happy and safe in the knowledge that relations between them and the Federation were strong.

There were only a few Starfleet ships left at Yorktown by the time Jim was released from the hospital, and unfortunately for him, the Antilles was one of them. Their departure date was a week after the talks ended, so they would still be at the station for a few more days.

Jim and Carol had just exited the communications building after a long call with Sam and his girlfriend Aurelan when they had the misfortune of running into the one person Jim was most loathe to see.

Sam had not taken Jim's injury well, and it had taken a few minutes to reassure his brother that he was fine and wouldn't even have a scar to show for the experience. It probably hadn't helped that his arm was still in a sling at that point.

Both were happy that Jim would soon be back on Earth though – Sam couldn't wait to see his brother again, and Aurelan, who had been dating Sam for several months now, couldn't wait to meet her boyfriend's brother in person. Both were also looking forward to meeting Sam's future sister-in-law, and they had all tentatively discussed the idea of having a wedding on Earth in the next few months before the new Enterprise was finished and they shipped back out.

Jim and Carol were heading to the main control room to talk with Jon and Richard about making sure the guests they wanted at their wedding – namely Chris and Shay – could be on Earth when it happened, when they were distracted by someone calling Jim's name.

Jim stiffened immediately when he saw Winona rushing towards him. Only Carol's grip on his uninjured arm kept him from running, though if he had looked at his fiancée, he would have seen her own desire to be anywhere else.

Commander Winona Kirk came to a stop in front of the son she hadn't seen in years. She had heard all about his exploits of course, Captain Jim Kirk was the golden boy of Starfleet, and it was always embarrassing whenever people assumed she was up to date on his most recent adventures. She usually had to nod and smile along and act like she knew what they were talking about. When neither Jim nor the woman with him – Lieutenant Carol Wallace, Winona recognized Jim's girlfriend as their relationship had been splashed across the media after Admiral Marcus' treason – acknowledged her presence, Winona forced herself to make the first move. She was, after all, the parent, and she figured it should be her responsibility to do so.

"Congratulations Jim. Attaining peace with the Klingons is an historical achievement. I'm so proud of you."

Jim's gaze immediately narrowed, and Carol's grip was cautioning now, warning him silently not to do anything that might draw undo attention. Jim noticed her hand tightening, and he glanced over at her. She raised an eyebrow, and he sighed in acknowledgement before turning back to the woman who shared his DNA. "I don't need your praise," he said softly, but there was no anger in his voice, just a quiet acceptance. "I haven't for a long time now. I have my own family to offer me all the support and pride I could ever want."

Winona flinched at the statement that Jim didn't think of her as family. She knew she had made mistakes over the years, but she was still his mother. Wasn't she? She opened her mouth, to offer an apology or empty platitudes, she wasn't sure; but Jim started speaking again, and she was forced to listen.

Jim considered walking away and leaving her to stew in the knowledge that he didn't consider her family, but there was more he wanted to say to her, and he knew this would be his only chance. Once he turned his back, he would never see her again. "I finally know why my father left me the way he did. I get why he thought that my life and safety were more important than his. I hated him growing up, for leaving me with a mother and brother who resented my very presence, but I do get it now." He looked at Carol and smiled. His gaze drifted quickly down to her still flat abdomen, and then back up to her face. "Parents are supposed to do everything for their children."

He missed Winona's wince, still looking at his fiancée. When he turned back a moment later, his expression was hard and unyielding. "It's because I understand my father more now than ever before, that I know I will never understand your own actions. How you could completely shut yourself off from your children, how you could be so desperate to get away that you would have left them with anyone no matter the warning signs you should have clearly seen that that person wasn't suitable. Frank barely waited a day before starting on Sam, and I wasn't too far behind." Jim took a deep, stabilizing breath, and seemed to draw strength from Carol's steady presence at his side. "And I will never get how you could blame your own child for your husband's death. Good bye Winona, I have no intention of ever seeing or speaking to you again."

He turned around and walked away, tearing his hand from Carol's grip. She watched him leave for a moment, before turning back to see Winona still standing there, tears running down her face. "I don't know why you expected anything different," she said, unmoved. "The last words you had for him were to tell him how good his abusive stepfather was to him. For the longest time I hated you."

Winona jerked, surprised. "How dare –"

Carol rolled her eyes. "Don't act like the injured party here," she cut the older woman off. "You made your own choices. You signed away your rights to be his mother when he was twelve, and you never even thought about getting them back after your sister died, did you?" By Winona's guilty look, Carol knew she was right. "You come to him now, and expect him to just forget everything you've put him through? It was hard enough for him to let his brother back into his life, and Jim actually understood Sam's actions back then. You need to accept Jim's decision here, or I will go over your head." Carol's smile was neither reassuring nor friendly. "Jim and I have very powerful friends. As a matter of fact, we were just on our way to go see Jon about marrying us once we return to Earth."

Winona's stomach clenched painfully. She knew exactly who Carol was talking about. She may have been in Starfleet longer than either of them had been alive, but she couldn't claim to be on a first name basis with any Admirals, not even Barnett who had been one of George's best friends.

Carol smirked internally. She didn't usually call Archer by his first name, since she wasn't as close to him as Jim, but it had been a calculated move, to show Winona that she was serious. "Jim's right, Commander Kirk. We will never understand how you could throw your child away like that." She curled one hand protectively around her abdomen, and had the satisfaction of watching Winona's eyes widen as they drifted in that direction. "This?" She waited until the older woman's gaze lifted. "This is the best gift Jim could ever give me. I'd like to think that if one of his heroic actions put me in your unfortunate position, I would remember that this child is the best part of him, and love that little boy or girl all the more for it. I don't know how I would go on without Jim as a constant presence in my life, but I would never blame an innocent baby because the love of my life was too self-sacrificing for his own good. He must have gotten that from his father." Or maybe it was because his mother had raised him to believe that his life held no worth. Carol didn't say it out loud, but she knew that probably had played some factor in making him the way he was.

The older woman was still speechless when Carol gave her one final nod, and then hurried to catch up with her fiancé.

Winona was left to head back to the Antilles, alone and depressed and no longer in the mood to enjoy her shore leave.

XXX

Carol caught up with Jim quickly, and was surprised but pleased to see that he didn't appear to be any worse for the wear. "I gave up on having a mother when I was five," he explained with a shrug. "When I saw her at Frank's funeral I told her I was done trying. Now I'm just done. I meant it, I have no intention of seeing her ever again."

Carol smiled sadly. She wished it could be different, but she knew that this was what Jim needed, and she was proud of him for putting himself first, for not trying to let Winona back in to keep the peace, so to speak. To be perfectly honest she was glad that she wouldn't have to try and make nice with the woman who had abandoned her own son and treated him so horribly.

With that matter put aside, the rest of their time on Yorktown seemed to pass quickly.

Jim and Jayla were called into a meeting a few days after the Parks returned from their salvage mission, to discuss the young woman's future. After everything Jayla had been through, neither one would have blamed her if she headed off for the furthest corner of the universe and disappeared. But Jayla had seen so much since Scotty and his friends had stumbled across her on that planet. She had sat with the Engineer before he had left for Earth, and asked him about Starfleet. He waxed poetic about the fun and the opportunities, and how Jim let him experiment as much as he wanted as long as he didn't blow up the ship. But once he had calmed down, he told Jayla more about how they were a peacekeeping organization whose main goal, as these talks on this space station had shown, was to connect all the different races in the universe.

"It's about celebrating our differences," Scotty had said simply, shrugging as if that was the only explanation needed.

As Jayla met with this man – Admiral Archer, Jim had explained, one of the highest ranking officers in Starfleet – she thought that Scotty may have been right.

It was for that reason that she asked how to join Starfleet, which surprised both men in the room, she noted with amusement.

They got over it quickly however, and plans were made to send her back to Earth with the rest of the Enterprise crew; she would work with Archer and a few others at the Academy for a few months to determine her skill set and levels, and which Track she should pursue. They had a little under six months before the new class would begin at the Academy, and assuming Jayla passed the entrance exams – which they would work as hard as necessary to make sure happened – she would be one of them.

A few more days passed peacefully, and soon enough the Parks was departing from Yorktown, with all of its crew along with the rest of Jim's, Admirals Archer and Nogura – Richard had already returned to Earth with the Endeavor – and Jayla.

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