A special guest makes his appearance in this chapter! FYI: I have a thing for George Kirk and I like bringing him back in various and asunder creative ways. This is just one of them. Cheers! Read, click, and review!

Chapter Three

While Jim listened to sad songs on the bridge, wishing he didn't hate the holidays so much, his officers were enjoying themselves but still wishing their captain had joined them. The boys had scattered to sample the station's offerings, Lieutenant Sulu had last been seen coaxing Ensign Chekov into a restaurant that boasted the best sushi outside of Kyoto and Doctor McCoy had last been seen browsing old books with Commander Spock, leaving Nyota Uhura to her own designs. She had found another bookstore and was browsing the old books for anything she thought her captain hadn't read yet when she was startled by the sound of laughter. It was Jim's laugh and she spun on her heel, thinking he'd come to the station after all, but it wasn't Jim she saw. Outside the shop, she saw two gentlemen, one in Starfleet uniform. She would have known Admiral Pike anywhere, but she wasn't sure about the man beside him.

"I swear, I'll only be a minute, Chris."

"If I didn't know you so well, Rory, I'd believe you. Let you loose in a bookstore and you disappear for hours. Just like that son of yours, he thrives on old books."

"I hear this store carries some good choices. Come with me or stay out here and wait if you want." The other man hadn't stopped laughing, and Nyota ducked behind a shelf of books. She peeked out again to see him come in, Admiral Pike two steps behind, and gasped as he raked one hand through graying hair, just like Jim did! Shivering with nerves, Nyota searched vainly for a book. He liked Shakespeare, poetry, and Patrick O'Brian. On the shelf just above her reach, she saw a volume of 18th century poetry. Oh, Jim would love that! But she couldn't reach it, hard as she tried.

"Here, allow me." Nyota gasped as someone reached over her head and pulled the book down for her.

"Oh! T-thank you, sir." She stammered, taking the book from the gentleman with Admiral Pike.

"Do you read poetry?"

"This is a…Christmas present." She gulped. Rory, Admiral Pike had called him Rory. At close quarters, Nyota saw so much of Jim in his face, in his eyes, she wanted to jump up and down and scream. Or at least hug the man.

"Fortunate friend." The man smiled and stepped back to scan the shelves.

"What are you looking for?"

"Shakespeare, a particular volume of his dramas."

"Which volume?"

"Volume III, it should have Romeo and Juliet in it." He leaned back, frowning, "They seem to have all but that one, damn it." Nyota looked at the second book she was holding, and then at the civilian.

"Here." She held it out to him, "I was going to get both of them, but I think he already has that volume." And even if Jim didn't have it, she'd find it somewhere else.

"Are you sure?"

"Please take it, you need it more than I do." She smiled shyly, "It's not everyday I find somebody who likes Shakespeare as much as Jim."

"Oh, a boyfriend, then?"

"I guess you could call him that. He's good to me." She blushed.

"Lieutenant Uhura! What are you doing in here?" Admiral Pike's boisterous hail made her jump and she resisted glaring at him.

"Admiral Pike, good morning, sir. We're on shore-leave." She got herself together, "Didn't you see the Enterprise out in orbit?"

"I thought I had. She looks good, you kids are taking good care of her." Pike beamed. The Enterprise had been his once, giving her up had been hard for him.

"We try, sir."

"Ah, so you're an Enterprise." The man, he had to be a Kirk, just smiled, "I should have known, you're in uniform."

"Lieutenant, I've seen almost every one of the senior officers, but not a whit of the captain." Pike gave her that look.

"Oh, no, sir. H-he stayed behind on the Enterprise. He said he would be alright."

"And you believed him?"

"He made it an order, sir."

"Who's this?"

"Jim, Rory. Your Jim, actually."

"He stayed behind on his ship? How is that a problem?"

"Jim hates Christmas, sir. He stayed behind because he didn't want to ruin it for anyone else by being sad when the rest of us are so happy." Nyota blushed, "We tried, but he threatened to make it a direct order. He said he'd be just fine."

"That's Jim for you, he'll bend over backwards to make everybody else happy and then hide in a Jeffries Tube until the party's over." Pike shook his head, "We can't force him to enjoy himself. But, before I forget, Lieutenant Uhura, I'd like you to meet someone. This," Pike smiled now, a content, almost sad smile as he put an arm around the civilian's shoulders, "is George Kirk. Best friend and living Starfleet legend." Nyota almost dropped her book.

"You're alive!"

"Long story behind that mishap, sweetheart." The elder Kirk shrugged, showing a hint of the infamous Kirk Smirk. Nyota realized now that she had mistaken him for a civilian at first because of the non-descript long-coat he wore over his uniform.

"Are you…still active, sir?"

"At least until Admiral Eleuth and the others shove me into retirement, my dear. My son is lucky to have you if you're his officer."

"Communications, sir."

"Uhura here majored in xenolinguistics at the Academy, she's one of our sharpest minds." Pike smirked at her blush, "One of the only people I know of who can speak and translate all three dialects of Romulan."

"Any involvement in that mess a few years back?"

"Yes, sir."

"One of the lucky few." Kirk shook his head sadly, "My only consolation was knowing Jim was okay, and that Chris was still alive."

"He really stayed behind this time?" Pike asked as they headed to the back of the store to make their purchases. Nyota nodded.

"I feel so bad for him, he has nothing to make Christmas worth remembering."

"No one should ever spend Christmas alone." Kirk shook his head sadly and Nyota had the most absurd idea. There was no way it could work, but she had to try. Leaving the bookstore, she caught sight of the boys just ahead of her. They were coming her way, and caught sight of them just then. Behind her, she heard Kirk and Pike speaking in quiet tones and tried not to smile. Pike flagged down a porter and turned over Kirk's jacket and the book. Nyota peeked over her shoulder and wondered if it was just genetic for the Kirks to look so damn handsome in Starfleet gold.

"Nyota!" Spock called her name and she excused herself to the senior officers.

"Go on, Lieutenant." Kirk just smiled. She joined the boys.

"Who is that?" McCoy was staring at Kirk, "He looks like Jim!"

"That's Admiral Kirk." Nyota just smiled and waited for that to sink in. It did, and the boys were fast to pay their respects. Pike introduced them in turn as First Officer and Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise, and she knew they had the stamp of approval. Somehow, they all ended up back on the Enterprise together, Nyota wasn't sure how it happened, and she would never forget the expression on Melissa Hannity's face when she stepped off the platform with McCoy, Spock, and the admirals in tow. When they reached the bridge, Nyota looked for Jim. He'd fallen asleep in the command chair, he did that sometimes.

"Well, there you have it. The poor kid fell asleep. Must've gotten too quiet up here." Kirk whispered, going around for a closer look. Jim wasn't the world's soundest sleeper, but Admiral Kirk didn't try to touch his son, as much as he wanted to.

"You can touch him, Jim's not going to wake up." McCoy said quietly, eyeing his slumbering best friend, "I don't know how the kid does it, but you put him in that stupid chair and he's tired enough, he'll sleep like the dead."

"Are you sure of that, Doctor? I can still wake straight out of a dead sleep without warning."

"Jim's not going to wake up, sir, if he cried himself to sleep." Spock added. And Nyota saw what he meant. Jim slept hardest if he'd let go first. Admiral Kirk took a huge risk and touched his son, who didn't bat an eyelash. Nyota and the boys watched, mesmerized and awed, as Admiral Kirk lifted his slumbering son out of his beloved command chair and left the bridge. They didn't follow him, he seemed to know where he was going. McCoy and Spock took their respectful leave and promised to keep it to themselves that they had seen and spoken to Admiral Kirk. Pike joined them, and Nyota snuck down to Jim's quarters to make sure she wasn't needed for anything. After settling Jim in his quarters, Nyota knew he would sleep for a while yet and followed Admiral Kirk back to the station.

When Jim woke up from a strange dream to find himself in his quarters, he was a little confused. He'd fallen asleep on the bridge, what was he doing here? Well, whatever else, he'd had enough isolation for one day. Taking a shower, he got dressed and headed for the station. Nyota, Bones, and Spock were there to meet him, which just made him smile. After getting three iron-clad promises that he hadn't missed any fun on the station, not that he believed it for a minute, Jim stayed with Nyota.

"You look like you actually got some sleep this time." Nyota teased.

"Did Bones and Spock come back or something? I woke up in my quarters."

"Yes, just to check on you."

"Worry-warts." Jim rolled his eyes and wondered if he should bother Nyota with his dream. It was the first time he'd dreamed about his father that didn't end in fire and death or something just as horrible, where he didn't wake up feeling like he had been cheated out of something wonderful.

"What are you thinking, Jim?" she looked up at him.

"Just wondering. I had the strangest dream about my father while I slept."

"All of your dreams are weird, Jim, what made this one any different?"

"I think it was just seeing him. I had this feeling he was alive, like if I looked hard enough, if I looked in the right places, I'd find him. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes, but…that is a little strange. Even for you."

"At least it didn't end in fiery death." Jim rubbed the back of his neck, "Lord knows I've had enough of those for one lifetime." Nyota smiled and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.

"You know what Bones would say."

"I'm not getting enough sleep, which is bullshit. I've slept more in the past six months than I ever did before you decided I was worth a shot." Jim rolled his eyes. As they came around a corner, Jim stepped aside to let a man in a dark gray uniform go past. He recognized the man's uniform as Admiralty, and wondered what business any of the Admirals had with Starbase 2-14. It wasn't dress-uniform, they only wore those at Starfleet Command or on special occasions. Jim shuddered remembering how many times Spock and Bones had fought him into the dress-uniform commanding officers had to wear at special functions. He got a look at the man's face as he turned to make eye-contact and Jim swore his heart thudded to a halt in his chest. It was like looking at his reflection, or what he figured his reflection would look like if he looked in a mirror in about thirty years or so. He would turn thirty in January, not a birthday he was looking forward to with any degree of excitement. The eye-contact only lasted a second, but that was enough for Jim to realize he was staring into eyes the exact blue his eyes were, the chief reason for his mother spending so much time away from home while he was growing up. He'd always been told by people that he looked just like his father, and what a great man George Kirk was, how brave and selfless he was. People also seemed to take some weird pleasure in reminding him that his father had died on the day of his birth, reason number two he hated celebrating. But…if that was true, then who the hell had just walked past him? Shaking off the stupor, Jim turned around.

God, please don't let me be wrong. He thought furiously as he crossed his fingers behind his back.

"Admiral." He didn't raise his voice, the man wasn't that far away.

"Jim?" Nyota touched his sleeve. He narrowed his eyes.

"Hang on a sec, Nyota. I think I'm about to prove history wrong." He kept his voice down. The man turned and Jim was grounded for precisely three seconds. The man looked him over, taking careful note of Jim's uniform, the three stripes on his sleeves, the way he stood at ease, and smiled. He smiled! Jim kept his jaw from dropping open by clenching his teeth. That was his smile! Fuck!

"Jim."

"Oh…my…god." He exhaled sharply, "No offense to the living, sir, but they always told me you were dead."

"No offense to the living taken, son. I was dead, for a long time."

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure. Somebody decided I was more use to the Federation alive."

"Lucky for us, huh?" Jim didn't know why he was freaking out. It really was like looking at his sixty-year-old reflection. He folded his arms across his chest and smirked, "Admiral Pike was right, I really do look like you."

"That's what your mother told me." The admiral's smile turned sad, but it was probably the first time someone mentioned Winona Kirk and Jim didn't feel a sting of antipathy.

"She used to tell me that, too. Right before she'd run away to deep-space and leave me with Sam." Jim shrugged, "Took me a long time to forgive her."

"But you did make your peace?"

"Yeah, I did. Right after we got home alive from kicking Romulan ass in Sector 002."

"I heard about that little fiasco, I also told Admiral Barnett he was an idiot of the world's highest order if he kept up any of those charges."

"Which I deserved, by the way."

"Help in high places, son."

"Oh, don't worry, I won't be taking you for granted." Jim wondered if that dream had been a harbinger of this meeting. No matter, his father wasn't dead and he really did have help in high places.

"I think you and I need to talk, Jim."

"Yeah we do. Eni, do you mind?" he didn't want to run Nyota off, he'd love to keep her around for moral support, but…well. Nyota, god bless the girl's understanding, just smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll find the boys, we'll be fine. Take your time, Jim. You've got thirty years of catching up to do."

"Oh, not all at once. Good god!" He made a face that made her laugh, and then she was gone. Once she was gone, Jim turned to his watchful father.

"Walk with me, Captain." His father turned away and Jim fell into step with him. They just walked in companionable silence for a while, something Jim just couldn't do, but this time it was just nice to…be in the moment with no expectations.

"I can't believe you don't have a million questions."

"I really don't, sir. Just one."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Why did you wait so long?" Jim looked sideways at his father, curious, "I've been captain for five years, why did you wait so long?"

"I wasn't sure you could handle the brutal truth, Jim. Your mother had a full-scale psychological collapse when I finally had the guts to reveal myself."

"Mom flies off the handle for anything, don't take it personally." Jim tried not to roll his eyes, "She's always been like that."

"I wasn't sure if you'd accept me, after everything you'd been told growing up, everything you'd been through."

"I would have given anything for someone like you when I was growing up, someone who cared."

"I do care, Jim, and I wish there were words enough to tell you how bloody proud I am of everything you've done. First the Academy, even cheating on Commander Spock's no-win test, and then pulling your crew through the chaos of the Romulan attack on Federation space and our very existence. Not to mention the various places and experiences you've had in the five years since then."

"Making me the youngest captain in Starfleet, which didn't make me a whole lot of friends. Some people thought I was too young to be put in charge of our flagship, still do. I'm almost thirty and they still think I'm too young and too reckless." Jim frowned, "Do you have any idea how utterly frustrating that is? It's like the world at large has absolutely no faith in me, whatever, to do my job efficiently. It hurts, but I can't show them that."

"Jim?"

"What?"

"How long have you kept that to yourself?"

"Too long, I guess." He sighed and raked one hand through his hair, "Ugh. Five years and just a handful of gray hairs to show for that."

"Your grandfather didn't go gray until he was seventy."

"I doubt he was a Starfleet Captain in command of the flagship."

"Mmm, no." His father chuckled, "They've been dying to get in touch with you, but you've been so busy there was never time."

"Wait a minute." Jim stopped, "Wait a second, they're alive?"

"Yes."

"And…they care?"

"Last I checked, very much."

"What is it with Kirks and communication? Good god!" Jim wasn't surprised he hadn't heard from any relatives, but having someone to write home to would have been nice.

"You know what they say, Jim. Better late than never."

"I'll blame Mom for keeping them away." Jim shrugged, "And myself for not trying harder after I was on my own."

"On a different note but related, Chris said something about Christmas. Why do you hate it so much?"

"Because it never existed as something to be grateful for, there was never a reason to look forward to Christmas when I was little. It was just another day of the year. Like my birthday, which I don't celebrate."

"I don't blame you for that. As for Christmas, it would have been nice for your crew to be with their families for once."

"I would have gone into hiding, probably. I like making other people happy, but I hate not being able to share that with them." Jim scuffed at the deck with the toe of his boot, and wondered what it would have been like to have a family Christmas for once, since it sounded like he actually had family that would have been willing to celebrate with him. With presents, a tree, the whole nine yards. Instead of another Christmas in deep-space lightyears from home and loved ones.

"What are you thinking?"

"Trying to calculate how long it would take to get the Enterprise from here to Earth in time for Christmas."

"If you pushed the Enterprise to Factor 6, and I know she can do it, three or four days, maybe a week." His father shrugged, "You'd be home just in time for Christmas Eve."

"Just one problem, no orders to report home." He suddenly wanted nothing more than to be home for Christmas. The party would still happen, it had to, because without orders they were stuck out here.

"Is that your only concern?"

"A logical one, actually."

"Jim, I don't wear these stripes because they look good. I can do something with them." His father gave him a once-over, "You get back to the Enterprise, I'll hunt down Chris, and we'll get you kids home for Christmas."

"Really?"

"Am I or am I not an Admiral?"

"Never thought I'd be making use of that so soon! Thank you!" Jim shook hands with his father and raced off to find his officers. He'd tell them first, but no one else until after the party. He'd learned during their five years together that he could run the Enterprise with only his Senior Officers at their stations. That much was easy. Scotty was the only one they really had to worry about, he liked to drink heavily during holidays because it was the only time he really could.

Yay! Jim gets to go home for Christmas! Thoughts? Just wait until you meet his grandparents! Click, review!