Five Years

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I do not own anything mentioned in the following fanfiction, except for the character of Penelope Richmond. She is of my own design.


"Hey everyone. I'm not going to be lecturing today but I do have something that you're probably all going to want to stick around for. A, Jake's coming in and I know how much you all adore him and B, and old friend of mine is here and I think you're going to want to talk to him" she said from her podium at the front of the class, looking over to the door as it opened and in came the two most important men in her life at the moment, her lips instantly smiling as she saw James wearing his old civilian clothes with Jake hitched on his hip.

She heard her class of a hundred and five students erupt into a hushed murmur as James strode in, giving them all a curt wave before depositing Jake down onto the floor, both of them watching as Jake sprinted off to the front row of the class room, high fiving several people as he went by. Penelope had begun bringing him to class with her when he was around one and a half, letting him sit in the front row while she lectured about theoretical physics and transport technology. As a result, a good handful of students had taken a liking towards the kid, and she had at least thirty babysitters available whenever she wanted to go out.

"I don't know if Pen, I mean Professor Richmond has introduced me yet but I'm Captain James Kirk, Captain of the Enterprise. We're docked up at Federation Headquarters for repairs so I thought I'd come in and answer whatever questions you guys have about ship life, captaincy, any of it" he said in introduction as he pulled off his black leather jacket to reveal a plain red t-shirt that looked very worn in, as well as pair of dark faded jeans. As she looked at him for a few more seconds, she recalled a distinct and vivid memory of the red shirt; of how it looked and of how it felt.

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"James, I swear to God, you throw another paper shuttle at me and you are never having kids" she said, glaring angrily to the smirking man who was sitting in the corner of her room, draped across her lounge chair like he owned the place.

"I don't know if I ever want kids. Actually, I do. One boy, to, you know, carry on the legacy" he said from the lounger as he sat back, lacing his fingers together and putting them behind his head.

"Of what? Skipping more classes than anyone else in their entire year or taking the Kobayashi Maru test too many times to count?" she snorted, shaking her head as she went back to her reading, highlighting another verse of text.

"I've only taken it twice" he countered warningly, Penelope looking up to find him glaring at her.

"Yeah, twice too many" she retorted, giving a laugh as she watched him sit up in a huff, a cross between resentment and annoyance on his face.

"You know, I resent that. It's not my fault that test is unwinnable" he said definitively, giving her a pointed look before leaning back, Pen snorting again.

"You're a Kirk. No-win scenarios are supposed to be your forte" she teased, looking up from her book to give him an expectant and knowing look with her eyes.

"Oh, ha ha. But seriously, not my fault" he said with mock humour, getting right back to the point.

"No, but embarrassing yourself in front of the higher echelons at Starfleet and systematically embarrassing your entire simulation crew is your fault" she pointed out without looking up from her text, beginning to do a sample calculation.

"Oh come on, I always try my best" he scoffed, Penelope out right laughing this time.

"No, you don't. Trying your best would mean studying before hand, going over old test transcripts, looking a Federation mission reports" she said, outlining what she was doing herself for the Kobayashi Maru test she'd yet to take. She didn't know when she'd take it, but she wanted to be as ready as possible.

"I study before hand, just not for the test" he replied back with a smirk, Penelope rolling her dark chocolate eyes at him in grave annoyance.

"For the last time James, sleeping with a woman does not count as studying for human anatomy" she said plainly, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Why not? I think it does" he countered, still smirking at her from the corner with arrogance to thick it was almost dripping off his face.

"You aren't even taking human anatomy!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands in frustration as she continued to stare disbelievingly at him.

"Besides the point" he said, brushing the argument away.

"No, exactly the point. Maybe if you actually invested some time into the test, you might not epically fail like you did last time" she pointed out before going back to her text, trying to get some work done.

"Hey, I did not epically fail" he called to her.

"Kirk," she started, looking up once again from her tablet screen as she peered at him pointedly.

"You blew up both our ship and the Kobayashi Maru. You epically failed" she said straightforwardly, raising her eyebrows and pursing her lips slightly in his direction in expectancy.

"Okay, so I kinda fucked it up. So what? When I'm Captain of my own ship I'm not going to remember what other people did in similar situations, I'm just going to do what I think is best" he explained diplomatically as he gazed at her fairly, giving a confident smile at the end of his speech.

"If you become Captain" she corrected, raising an eyebrow challengingly.

"No. When" he counted, correcting her back.

"Oh, that Kirk arrogance. How it defines you" she said giving a chuckle as she turned back to her work.

"You know, I don't know if I like your tone, Missy" he said slowly as she saw from the corner of her eye his body rising from the lounger, slowly coming over to her.

"James, just let me study" she pleaded as she looked up from her tablet for the infinite time, praying with her eyes that he'd just let her be but finding no dice as she saw the wickedly mischievous look on his face.

"Not until you say you're sorry" he said as he finally reached her, his hands immediately plunging themselves into her sides in a tickle, Penelope unable to not laugh.

"James...stop!" she said in between giggles as she squirmed in her chair, managing eventually to get out of it and sprint across the room, James hot on her heels.

"Apologize!" he commanded as he tackled her onto her bed, Penelope laughing once again as he pinned her down on the mattress with a leg on either side of her, straddling her as he continued to tickle her sides, her laughs echoing harshly off the walls. She squirmed and protested, her hands going to the fabric of his red t-shirt in an attempt to throw him off of her, but no luck as he remained firm.

"I'm....sorry!" she cried in between laughs, tears streaming out of the corners of her eyes as he finally relented, removing his hands and grinning down at her looking every bit pleased with himself that she knew he felt.

"Repeat after me. James Tiberius Kirk will be Captain of his own ship one day and I, Penelope Vivienne Richmond will be his First Officer" he called down to her as he continued to straddle her, Penelope sliding out from under him so that instead she was sitting upright in front of him, laughter still all over her face.

"James Tiberius Kirk will be Captain of his own ship one day and I, Penelope Vivienne Richmond will be his First Officer. And best friend" she said, adding on that last part with a smile as she playfully punched his shoulder.

"And don't you ever forget it" he replied back, ruffling up her hair before climbing off the bed and retreating to the lounger, Penelope left laughing in his wake.

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She remembered that day quite vividly so it was only fit that she'd remember the shit he'd been wearing. That was the day she'd first started having feelings for James during their first year, right before a Physics midterm she ended up acing despite him being an obvious distraction. She remembered the feeling of the shirt; it'd be soft and worn even eight years ago. It was a wonder he still had it.

"Scotty detonated the cores we had and the black was big enough to push us out of the gravitational pull of the black hole and into safety. And the rest, as I'm sure you all know, is history that I'm sure Starfleet will get around to teaching one of these days" he said jokingly, finishing a story she'd phased out of after walking down memory lane as the class gave an appreciative laugh.

"So Jake is your son?" a student in the far back called, both Pen and James' eyes going in that direction before the pair of them exchanged a cautious look, her head bowing once in a nod.

"Yeah. Little tyke's mine" James said endearingly in such a way that she felt something inside of her pang, her eyes watching as James went over and ruffled the hair on Jake's head much like he'd done to her years ago, a smile instantly coming to her face.

"So are you and Professor Richmond married?" another student asked, drawing both of their attention again as they both grinned bashfully.

"Sadly, no. We're a shining example of what can happen as a result of drinking too much tequila and not having contraception. I'm just lucky my baby's daddy is my best friend and not some random deadbeat. Anyone else?" she said with a smirk, the class laughing again as both she and James gave appreciative laughs.

"Professor Richmond, did you serve on the Enterprise with the Captain during the Romulan attack?" a student in the front row asked, raising his hand up politely.

"Yes I did, Alexander. Except between the two of us, I was the only one assigned to the Enterprise at the time" she said with knowing appreciation, James giving her a mischievous grin that sent a faint shiver down her spine as she leant back on the desk she was now standing in front of.

"How come you didn't go back like the rest of the crew did?" the student pressed further, Penelope glancing once more at James before answering.

"I found out I was pregnant with Jake shortly before deployment and besides, I always saw myself as a teacher. Ship life isn't for everyone, despite what James might tell you" she replied back, smiling at the student who was smiling back.

"What was it like for you then, professor?" he asked this time, the class all hanging on her very words.

"Those few odd days on that ship were both the most amazing yet terrifying days of my life. The constant fear and near death situations...my nerves just couldn't take it. But for those of you who are thrill seekers, I'm sure Kirk here can tell you about some of the amazing things he's seen during the past five years" she said as she threw the ball back at him, the Q and A going back to him. This went on for another hour or so until the bell chimed that the class was over, James shaking many a hand as his students filed out.

"That probably did nothing for your ego" she sighed as the last student left, both of them chuckling appreciatively.

She was gathering up her things when she felt James come up beside her, flopping down on the corner of the desk next to her.

"Was it true, what you said? That one of the reasons you didn't go back was because of Jake?" he asked her quietly as Jake busied himself with a paper airplane he'd been making, both of them watching him for a second as the kid's face screwed up with exaggerated focus.

"Yeah. We were back on Earth for about a month before deployment and I found out about a week before we were set to leave. I went and talked to Admiral Pike and he arranged for me to stay here and begin teaching. Haven't looked back since" she replied back honestly with a smile, turning to look at him for a second and finding herself inexplicably lost in his blue eyes.

"You know, you would have made a great First Officer" he declared a few seconds later as she finished shoving some papers into her bag, turning to smile at him quizzically.

"You remember that?" she asked him slowly, a little surprised and more than a little touched by the fact that he remembered the exact conversation she'd strolled down memory lane with just minutes ago.

"Of course I do. All I remember from the Academy is all the time I spent goofing off with you. It's all we did" he said endearingly as he gave her a small smile, adding a wink for good measure at the end that she grinned at.

"No, it's all you did. That and screw randoms. I studied and finished top of our class academically speaking" she teased hitching her bag over her shoulder as she called for Jake to join them, James laughing at her comment.

"Where as you just usually—" she said to him quietly so Jake wouldn't hear, raising an eyebrow challengingly at him with a smirk on her lips.

"Finished on top, yeah. I got it" he finished good humouredly, laughing at her joke but sending her a playfully warning look with his eyes.

She felt her son come up beside her a second later and wrap his arms around her leg in a hug, Penelope chuckling and smiling down at her son's grinning face.

"Momma, can we go get ice cream?" Jake asked as he continued to grin, both of his parents let out appreciative laughs at their son's inhibition. She watched as he let go of her leg and moved over to James, grabbing his dad's hand, moving to grab her's as well.

"Sure we can buddy" she replied as they headed towards the door, James grabbing his jacket as they headed out, the gentlest of smiles playing on his pink lips.

"Can Daddy come too? Like a family?" Jake asked with his young innocence, looking back up at them with expectancy in his piercing blue eyes. She glanced over at James who still had the faint smile on his face, his eyes giving her such a wicked look that she felt her heart ping a bit, her lips eventually curling into the smile. She'd been very reluctant to let James into her and Jake's life only a few days ago, but as they stood there now with the prospect of being a family, the idea didn't seem to bad. Especially not since James was continually proving to be the stand up guy she'd fallen in love with 8 years ago.

"Sure. Like a family"

((Author's Note: All my readers rock, don't ever change. Thanks for all the AWESOME feedback, it's worth more than you guys know! Lemme know what you think, okay?))