Five Years

Chapter Eight

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


"Momma!"

She woke startlingly from her sleep, her body switching almost compulsively as her eyes flew open, a flash of light illuminating her room brightly followed by a crash of thunder, her hand going to her eyes to cover them from the assaulting bright lightning.

She pushed the covers off of her and swung her legs over the side of her bed, another bolt of lightning and boom of thunder lighting up and echoing through the room as her feet touched the cool floor. She was just about to slide off the bed when she heard something else, something she hadn't expected.

"Daddy!"

She heard a distant groan before some more lightning and thunder came into the room, finally pushing herself off of her mattress and into a stand, stumbling out of the room and to the doorway just in time to see James stumble down the hallway, a hand scratching at the back of his head as he slipped on his glasses, his face etched with sleep.

"What's going on?" he grumbled as she sluggishly joined him in the hallway, the pair of them moving to Jake's room.

"He hates thunderstorms," she said as she stifled a yawn with the back of her hand, moving into Jake's room with her arms crossed over her tank top and sleeping shorts body.

"What's up, Jay Kirk?" she heard James ask as he stepped beside her, the pair of them standing beside Jake's bed as the little guy hid under the covers.

"I don't like storms, Daddy. They're scary," Jake called from underneath the covers as Penelope laughed quietly before turning to look at James who was just smiling, the pair of them exchanging such a parental look it almost unhinged her.

"Come on, Jake, let's go," she said as she pulled the covers off of the little guy's bed to reveal her son's small, curled-up form, his tiny hands covering his ears.

She watched as Jake scampered from his bed and towards the door, another crash and flash of thunder and lightning ringing throughout the house as he ran.

"He comes to my bed when there's a storm, sleeps with me," she said as she stifled a yawn, answering James' curious look with words.

"Got ya. Alright, I'm going to head to bed," he noted as they headed out from Jake's room, James halfway down the hallway, and Penelope halfway into her room when they heard Jake cry out.

"Daddy comes too!" Jake cried, halting her in her steps as she both inwardly and outwardly cringed, making a face. She was just coming out of the cringe when she spun around, her eyes immediately finding James standing in her doorway with his forearm resting on the doorframe above his head, giving her a small smile.

They just stared at each other for a few seconds, feeling her heart skip a beat as she watched his eyes rake over her body, also feeling terribly self conscious dressed in her pyjamas with no makeup on. The last time they'd been in this room was five years ago, and she had no intention of going down that road again, even though Jake was the greatest thing in her life.

"Momma, Daddy, come to bed!" Jake shouted from underneath the mountain of covers, breaking the moment they'd been having as they both looked towards the bed, glancing at each other with cautious eyes as she moved towards the bed, James staying in the doorframe.

"You coming?" she called as she climbed into bed, glancing at him expectantly. She knew nothing was going to happen between them but she still felt nervous. He hadn't been in her bed since the night Jake was conceived and now he was back on much different terms. She watched him give a chuckle and grin to himself, giving his head a shake as he walked over to the opposite side of the bed and slid under the covers to join her, both of them laying down on their pillows and turning to face each other.

"Hi," he whispered as he smirked, another bolt of lightning streaking across the room.

She laughed quietly and smirked back, adjusting her head on the pillow. She stared at him for a few seconds and was immediately struck by an epic sense of de ja vu. The smirk on his face, his head on a pillow beside her, the view from where she was laying. It all seemed so familiar.

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"I've never cheated on a test."

"Lie, you were totally staring at my paper a few days ago in Linear Algebra, and you know it."

"James, I'm getting a 94 in Lin Al. You're getting a 62. I'm smart enough to know not to cheat off you."

"Fair enough. I've never done a shot of straight vodka."

"Truth. I think I've only ever seen you drink beer, with the occasional scotch when you're feeling regal."

"Hey, there is nothing more manly than a glass of premier scotch. It's testosterone in its purest form."

She raised her head off of her pillow, propping herself up on her elbows as she turned to look at him, a shocked and disgruntled look playing on her features.

"That's so disturbing," she commented as he gave a chuckle, shrugging in his position before bringing his hands and placing them behind his head on the pillow, a self satisfied smirk on his lips.

They were laying on her bed playing Truth or Lie, their version of 'How well do you know YOUR best friend?'. They were laying there looking up at the ceiling of her room, her astronomy kit set up at the centre of the room projecting an accurate version of the milky way galaxy up to the roof. Quiet jazz music, James' favourite after a long day of studying, was playing gently in the background and the room was filled with the scent of vanilla. It was all far too romantic; so romantic that she just had to shake her head at how oblivious James was to it all. They'd been friends for over two years now, and she'd been in love with him for over one and a half. What was it going to take for him to understand? Her down on one knee with a ring in her hand?

"That may be true, but the same goes for women. Have you ever had a cosmopolitan? Just thinking about one makes me want to get my nails done," James noted as he gave a faux shiver, giving her elbows a knock so that she collapsed back onto the pillow, James turning on his side to meet her.

"I think this is the only girl's bed I've laid in fully dressed," he commented as he looked around the room once, Penelope's heart dropping into her chest as she remembered James' track record with women. He wasn't exactly known for his monogamy or loving nature, two things that she'd always banked on being in her selected partner. Which only added to her confusion every time she thought about why she'd fallen for someone so outside of her desired target zone. He was a great guy when he wanted to be; sweet, charming, loyal, intelligent, funny, caring. But at the same time, he had a completely unappealing side to him that she'd thankfully never seen firsthand; manipulative, monopolizing, deceiving and only driven by sex. There were two very different sides to him, and she'd only fallen in love with one of them.

"Well, isn't that . . . wonderful," she replied awkwardly, giving him a confused look as she turned back to the ceiling, tracing our Ursa Major with her eyes.

"But hey, look at it this way. At least I respect you enough to keep my clothes on," he noted as he flipped onto his back to look at the ceiling too, nudging her with his arm.

"So that's what it's all about? Respect? And here I was thinking that all it was about was your emptying your balls," she teased, nudging him back as she felt her heart sink down into her stomach even further as she set into his words. Respect? That was hardly love. That was barely even like.

"Well, it is, mainly. But at the same time I don't respect any of the women that I sleep with as much as I respect you. You're my main girl, Pen. And don't you ever forget it," he said as he nudged her again, turning to look at her with the sweetest, most genuine smile and look in his eyes that she couldn't help but grin, instantly forgetting the side of him she didn't love and falling even more for the side she did.

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"Hi," she whispered back, giving a smile in return.

"Long time since I've been in this bed," he said as he looked around, his blue eyes lighting up as more lightning flashed through the room. They heard Jake squeal as another peel of thunder echoed throughout the room, both of them chuckling appreciatively as their son squirmed between them underneath the covers.

"Let me guess, too long?" she whispered back teasingly, giving him a wicked grin that she saw dampened his face, turning it from mischief to seriousness.

"It was never like that with you, Pen. You are my best friend, have been for the past eight years, and probably always will be," he said as he reached out and gently nudged her shoulder, his lips turning up into a careful smile.

"Do you remember that night?" she asked him slowly a few minutes later as she looked cautiously at him, unsure of whether or not she wanted to hear his answer.

She was the first to admit there was a lot about that night that she didn't remember. One thing, they were shooting back tequila shots with the crew at the Star Bar, the local Academy pub nearby campus, and the next, they were stumbling through her doorway locked at the lips while their hands pulled away their clothes. She remembered the sex, though; it'd be hard to forget. It was by far the best sex she'd ever had, and it had been oddly romantic. It wasn't as rough or quick as she'd thought it'd be; it was passionate and drawn out. She blamed it mostly on herself; it may have been random and singular for him, but for her it was the night she'd been thinking about ever since she'd fallen for him. She knew it must have meant nothing to him, but even the drunken celebratory sex had meant something to her.

But that was five years ago.

"I do. There are a lot of blanks and some fuzzy parts, but I remember being here with you and what we did," he said honestly, his face going stoic as she tried to read it.

"That's it?" she asked with fake humour, trying to mask her faint disappointment that she felt in the back of her throat. Why was she feeling disappointed by how little he remembered? She'd never expected him to have been sentimental about it all, but it was still a little sad. It used to mean a lot to her, and apparently it still did a little.

"I remember it was great, if that counts," he teased as his face broke into a grin, his eyes flashing at her in such a way that she had to smile, scoffing a laugh as she looked away.

"It was good, I'll give you that much," she agreed, giving him a grin.

"You know, you're probably going to take this the wrong way, but I'm really glad we spent that night together" he said as he rolled over onto his back, putting a hand beneath his head as he placed his other hand on his chest, looking up at the ceiling.

"Oh?" she asked curiously as she raised her head off of her pillow, glancing at him quizzically. HE was glad? That was good.

"Yeah. Because if we hadn't of gotten blitzed and had drunken celebratory sex, we never would have had Jake. And I gotta tell you, Pen, he's one hell of a kid," James said as he turned his head to the side, giving her a gentle look with his eyes that made her heart skip a beat, a small smile on his lips.

"He is," she agreed, turning onto her back to stare up at the ceiling as well.

"That night was by far the best night of my life, in more ways than one," he said as he drew her attention again, her head turning back to face him. She shot him a curious look that he only smiled at, causing her to grin in response.

"I can imagine. Getting promoted, conceiving Jake, and you got to sleep with the only girl at the Academy who didn't throw herself at you during those three years," she teased, nudging him with her elbow as she withdrew a laugh from him, turning to watch the smile on his lips grow bigger.

"Hey, there were a lot of girls I didn't sleep with," he shot back defensively, keeping the smile on his lips.

"Not by choice," she snorted, causing him to laugh again as she just smiled knowingly.

"A few were by choice. I mean, you remember what Shirley Jensen looked like, right?" he replied, this time causing her to laugh as she recalled Shirley Jensen, mentally recoiling as she thought of the girl's face.

"I'm glad that of all the chicks I could have knocked up, it was you," he said a few seconds later, turning to look at her with a friendly smile on his lips, unable to discern how incredibly obtuse his words were.

"Excuse me?" she asked as she sat up suddenly, turning to glare at him. She watched as his face passed from confused, scared, to understanding, giving her an abashed grin as he sat to talk to her.

"I mean that I wouldn't want anyone else to be the mother of my kid," he explained, placing a hand down between them as he ruffled Jake's head, the little guy giving a snore of approval.

She looked down at James' hand and then over to James' face, glancing at him critically. She took a second and stared at him right in the eyes, deciphering his level of honesty. All it took was a second and she could tell that he was being serious, and in his own James T. Kirk way, she could tell that he meant something beyond what he'd said. He said that he'd been glad she'd mothered his child, but he meant more. He was saying that he trusted her completely, that he respected her and appreciated her, and that he loved her in the most innocent way. He was trusting her with the probably already most important thing in his life; his son. And that was something that she could understand.

"Thanks, James. That means a lot...I think," she replied sarcastically, shooting him a look with her eyes that told him that she understood him, as always. 8 years may have changed a lot, but it didn't change how wholly she understood him.

"It does. You're kind of a catch, Pen," he said as he nudged her again, Pen's cheeks warming in a blush as she looked away, rolling her eyes at his clichéd-ness.

"Yeah well, seeing as you're a Starfleet Captain, I guess you aren't that bad yourself, James," she teased back as she looked at the clock, groaning as she saw what time it was.

"It's late, we should head to bed," she said as she glanced at him once, both of them nodding as they settled in.

"And now is the first time I'm going to sleep in a girl's bed with all my clothes on," he replied, referencing the very memory she'd been thinking about just a moment ago. She let out an appreciative chuckle, smiling into the pillow as she shut her eyes.

"Night, James."

"Night, Pen."

((Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. Hope you enjoyed it! A lot of readers have been asking about when Jake will meet the crew. Rest easy, raders. That chapter will come in time. James has only been around Jake for three days now so, give it time! Anyways, thanks for all the AMAZZZINGGG support! You all ROCK!))