Authoress' Note: Moving in to university this week, so I thought I'd get one more chapter out to tide everyone over. Thanks so much to Damsel for her consistently FANTASTIC reviews. Seriously, she is rad, and I don't even know if she knows it. Of course, thanks to everyone else who has faved, reviewed, etc. It feels great knowing that some people believe in this story.

Aching, Lonely Hearts

"I do wish you could stay longer, Jim," Winona Kirk sighs, hugging her youngest son close. "I don't see why that assignment can't wait another month. I'm your mother for goodness sake, and I haven't seen you in years. It's bad enough Sam is light years away himself."

"I know, Mom, I know," Jim Kirk says softly, patting his mother's back gently, "It's not just me though. Bones has got an assignment at the clinic. You wouldn't want him to miss that, would you?"

His mother steps out of her son's embrace and looks down at her hands wringing themselves into knots in front of her. She glances back up at him reluctantly.

"Well, no, I wouldn't, and I know how attached to him you are. It's just . . ." she trails off, biting her lip.

"You know I love you, Mom," Jim says, thankful that his best friend is still in the house packing up. "But Starfleet is important to me. They want me to teach, and even though that's not something I'd really like to do, it'll give me something to do until I can get the Enterprise back."

She nods, and then looks up at him wearily, her warm brown eyes heavy with sadness at the thought of losing him again so soon.

"I understand. Your father was the same way with the Kelvin. Sometimes I wondered if he was really married to me or that ship."

Kirk studies her closely as she remembers his father, a man he has never seen. He has always felt some sense of loss at not ever knowing who his father was, and this loss is compounded even more by the fact that he will now be losing his mother again.

"You can still contact me, you know," Jim says in reassurance. "I've given you all the numbers you can use to message me on my PADD or the vidscreen. It won't be like when I left the first time, I promise."

Winona Kirk smiles wanly up at her son and gives his arm a light squeeze as tears well up in her eyes threatening to spill down her smooth cheeks.

"You're a good boy," she says, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek gently. "Your father would be so proud of you."

The screen door slams and the sound of dragging suitcases can be heard from behind them. Jim's mother hastily wipes the tears from under her eyes with the hem of her blouse and makes to take a step back away from her son, but not before he can whisper something that only she can hear.

"Mom, I'm glad Frank's not around anymore."

Her eyes brighten as she responds, "Me too."

Just then, McCoy lumbers up behind them, heaving their luggage in his wake. He sets both down with a thump as Kirk's mother holds her arms out to him for a hug. She squeezes him tightly, much to his surprise, and plants a kiss on his cheek.

"Keep an eye on my son, will you?" she asks.

"Of course, ma'am. It's been a pleasure meeting you. I haven't had such fine cooking and company in many years."

"The pleasure was all mine, dear," she says, glowing under his praise. She turns back to her son, "Now then, I want you to let me know when you've arrived in San Francisco, okay? I hope I packed enough food for the two of you."

McCoy struggles to lift his suitcase up. "Yeah, I think we're good, thanks."

Jim Kirk hoists his suitcase up as well and waves farewell to his mother one last time.

"Bye, Mom."

She waves back as they trudge up the dusty road toward the gate. "Stay safe. I love you."

Jim waves again for good measure as they close the gate behind them. When they are farther down the road he looks back for a split second to see his mother still standing in front of her small wood frame house, her sky blue skirt and blonde hair blowing in the wind that is kicking up dust around her. He commits the image to memory, hoists his pack up a bit higher, and jogs to catch up with Bones.

The flight from Iowa to San Francisco is faster than Jim thought it would be. No sooner has he settled into his seat and fallen asleep to the gentle thrumming of the shuttlecraft engine than he is being shaken awake by the gruff doctor. Jim can tell his friend hasn't gotten a wink of sleep in several days and secretly wonders why.

It's raining when they arrive at Starfleet. After exiting the shuttlecraft in the main hangar Jim insists on asking after his helmsman, Sulu, whom he had heard was busy piloting the crafts. To his dismay the young Asian is nowhere to be seen, and anyone they ask doesn't know who he is or what work detail he had\s that day.

Dejected, the captain and the doctor drag their luggage out to a line of hover cabs waiting for passengers outside. Rain splatters against the windows in large drops, and the two men do not speak to one another, but rather sit in pensive silence until they arrive at their assigned flat, the very same that Spock and Kirk had once shared. They dump their luggage in the front entryway and make their way to their separate rooms for the night being much too tired to stay up and do much else.

Kirk punches in the appropriate numbers on the keypad of the living room vidscreen and waits patiently as the image swims into view. He is thankful that the rain hasn't caused too much interference. The small farmhouse living room comes into focus and his mother is there in an instant.

"Hello? Jim?" she asks, out of breath.

"Hi Mom. The lag isn't so bad. We made it back okay, and it's raining here. Otherwise everything is fine."

"Good," she says, a relieved smile on her face, "Did you eat any of the food I packed?"

"No, we weren't very hungry. Trust me though, we'll be starving tomorrow, and there won't be anything left of it."

"That's all right."

They are silent for a moment; the only sound is that of the falling rain outside and the muffled sound of rolling thunder. McCoy has the sonic shower going in the bathroom.

"Jim?"

"Yeah, Mom?"

"Thanks for coming home, even if it was for a little while, I'm glad you came. I was so scared for you."

"I know, Mom. It's all right. I'm here."

"Good luck with your classes. I hope those students treat you right," her voice begins to crack with emotion, and Jim fears that if the conversation continues he'll break down as well. Already he fights the urge to jump on a shuttlecraft and go back home.

"I hope so too. I love you, and I'll talk to you soon."

"I love you too. Send my love to Bones as well. He's a good man."

"I thought you'd like him," Jim says with a smile, glad that his friend is in the shower and not where he can hear the contents of their conversation. It would probably embarrass the usually humble doctor.

"Good-night, Mom."

"Good-night."

She waves at him and blows a quick kiss as the picture fades out. Kirk stands up, and slumps onto the couch, rubbing his eyes with his fists. He is so incredibly tired, even after spending the past month or so being waited on hand and foot by his mother. A dull ache spreads in his stomach, and he wonders for a moment if Spock's mother was anything like his own. He wishes the two could have met.

The door to the bathroom swooshes open, and Kirk catches a glimpse of McCoy coming down the corridor already dressed to go to bed. Jim stands up slowly and makes his way toward the doctor's closed door. He knocks once and opens without even waiting for a reply. Bones sits listlessly on the bed, his chin resting in one hand, while in the other he holds a picture of a beautiful woman with a little girl by her side. The woman grips the girl's hand tightly as though she is afraid of letting go.

"Bones?"

McCoy starts, putting the picture down quickly, and whipping around to face his friend.

"I didn't hear you come in! Nearly gave me a coronary!"

The false surprise in the doctor's voice makes Kirk cringe, and he moves to sit next to him on the bed. He looks down at the picture on the bedside table, the overhead light reflecting off the glass.

"Who's that?" he asks, pointing at the little girl, although he already has some suspicion of who she is.

"My daughter, Joanna," McCoy says quietly, and when Jim Kirk looks at him he is surprised to find a look of complete sadness on his friend's face.

"And that's-"

"The ex, yeah."

"She's beautiful. Joanna, I mean. Don't you ever miss her?"

McCoy meets Kirk's eyes and picks up the photo, staring at it unblinkingly. When he speaks, his voice is more broken than Jim has ever heard it before.

"More than you can ever imagine."

Kirk puts a hand on his friend's shoulder to steady him.

"Why don't you visit her before you start work at the clinic?" he suggests. "We've still got a few days left of time off before we really need to get started.

McCoy continues to stare at the picture, and then looks up at his captain with defiant eyes.

"That's exactly what I'll do, Jim. I'll take the next shuttlecraft down to Mississippi, and there's damn nothing the ex can do about it!"