Disclaimer: They aren't mine, and this is unbetaed. Sorry.

Warnings…just like before. Torture. Genocide. Language. It's a dark fic right now, will be fluffy later. We're getting nearer the fluffy.

AN: Sorry it's late, but it's been a bad week, and it's a long chapter to make up for that it's late.

Of the children, he took only Matt with him on his trek back to the cabin, fearing for the safety of civilian who might have come with him. The only reason he took Matt was because he figured that Matt could show him the stuff he'd need to collect. If they had shared a bunk then Matt was likely to know Jimmy kept all his stuff. It would prevent Pike from having to route through it. He figured that the kid had already had enough invasions of his privacy. But if those holos could help Jimmy…then Pike didn't care what it took.

His shoulders ached with tension; his teeth were sore from grinding them together. And he had the mother of all headaches.

Pike just wanted to get back to the ship.

The group walked in silence, with the five security men alternating positions constantly. Only the flank and the rear guard maintained their positions constantly. Everyone else moved in a kind of constant circle, darting foreword, scanning for hostile forces and then covering the next man as he would run up the take the former person's place. Pike didn't always take point in maneuvers like this, but he needed the brain distraction today.

Matt was much quieter than Jimmy, and seemed almost shy. The dark haired boy kept his eyes on the ground. He didn't complain about the brisk pace set by the Starfleet crew. He didn't say much at all.

Everyone was careful to keep the boy at the center. Starfleet didn't take kindly to the endangerment of civilians. Plus, after what had happened with Jimmy, Pike didn't want to take any chances.

That and Jimmy would never forgive you if you let something happen to one of his kids.

Pike actually smiled at the thought.

Let's hope he lives to find out I took good care of them.

That thought sobered a Pike a little bit. Right. Game Face on.

Matt seemed to notice over-protectiveness, and spoke for the first time since leaving the cave. "They don't want me. There won't be any trouble. I'm not JT."

Pike looked sharply at the kid. What did that mean?

He asked.

Matt looked at him like he was stupid. Well, Pike figured he deserved that. Okay.

Matt rolled his eyes and sighed. "Look, they want JT, well, because he's JT. He's the leader."

Pike gave the boy an appraising stare. "There's more to it than that." It was NOT a question.

Matt sighed again, and stared at the ground.

"Look, kid, I'm not gonna go sharing this, but I need to know what he's up against." Pike was surprised at how calm he sounded. Really, it was like someone else was talking. Someone who wasn't emotionally invested in this whole thing.

Matt still wouldn't meet his eyes. "I don't know everything. Just a little."

Pike felt his impatience growing. "Well, tell me just a little then."

It must have been the right thing to say. Matt smiled. "Well, you know Jimmy's…special, right?"

Pike looked at him, sharply. Matt had called him Jimmy.

"Yeah, I know," the kid said, "but I knew him back when he was just Jimmy. Before he had to be JT. I'm the only one left that did."

Pike's eyes widened.

Matt continued. "There were eight of us, in the bunk. All here for camp, you know, for smart kids. We were gonna spend a year here, learning…stuff." The kid trailed off and Pike could see the wistfulness in the child's eyes. "Astrophysics and cartography and growing our own food…and stuff."

The boy shook his head, like it was too painful to remember.

"Anyway, we hadn't been here long when Kodos noticed him. I mean, everyone noticed him. But it was different. Kodos treated him like a son…."

Matt trailed off again. Pike wondered how much the kid was trying to conceal.

Wait did that mean that Matt had also seen Kodos?

Not wanting to interrupt, he put the thought aside for now.

"Anyway, the fungus came and then there wasn't anything to eat and then the governor issued his proclamation."

Yeah. Pike had heard it. The words came back to him then, in a desperate and furious jumble, nearly overlapping on themselves as he attempted to push the hated voice from his mind.

"The revolution is successful. But survival depends on drastic measures. Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society. Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony. Therefore, I have no alternative but to sentence you to death. Your execution is so ordered, signed Kodos, Governor of Tarsus IV."

Pike wondered if Matt had been among those chosen to die.

How would he feel, Pike wondered, if he had heard those words about himself? He grunted to show the kid he was listening, but he really had no words with which to respond.

…more valued members of society.

What a joke. Like those goons that had waited at the cabin for Jimmy. Valued members of society that could torture a child to the point of death. Valued members of society my ass.

Pike thought then, that he might have preferred to be listed among those meant to die than to remain with those "valued members of society."

Plenty of good decent people had died. Hoshi Sato, for one. Starfleet had just gotten word of that particular death. It wasn't pleased. The linguist had done ground breaking work for Starfleet. And she had been one amazing woman, by all accounts. Starfleet was holding an official mourning service, specifically for her. Pike had not been lucky enough to have known her, but he both envied and felt sympathy for everyone who had.

Matt was quiet for a long while. But he stayed beside Pike. He seemed to have decided he could trust Pike.

"What happened after the proclamation, Matt?"

"Well, me and Jimmy were out when the guards came to round us up. Which is good cause I was on the list. But he wasn't. He told me after that they'd tried to keep him at the palace that day. That they didn't want him to go back to the cabin. But he got all suspicious, so he left and found me. I didn't want to go to the square. I don't like crowds. But everyone else from our bunk went, and none of them came back."

Pike nodded. So that was how it was. God. A small selfish part of him was glad it hadn't had to witness that. He didn't know how these children found the strength to keep on going. Matt was quiet for a while. Pike hadn't remembered the walk taking this long when he was walking with Jimmy and talking about Shakespeare. But now, even his feet seemed heavy from the subject.

Matt took a few deep breaths, and then continued. "Jimmy came back to the cabin that day in a panic, and he found me and told me that we had to hide right now. So we hid in the forest, and after a while we found a girl, and then a boy, and it just sort of grew. I'm not like him. He's brave, and I'm not. But I did what he told me to. He found most of the kids, and after a while, he found the cave and we stayed there, but he'd go out to find other people. Oh…and he found our food. Sometimes, he'd bring it from the palace, but that was before Kodos found out."

For a moment, the kid looked panic stricken, as though he'd said too much. Pike decided it might be worth pressing the issue. "What did Kodos want with Jim?" Pike asked. He was dying to know. It might help keep the kid alive.

"I don't know exactly. Jimmy wouldn't talk about it. But he played them for a while. He was like one of those double agents you read about in spy stories from a hundred years ago. He slept at the palace even sometimes, but in the morning, he'd always be back with food. But then he got caught the first time. And I know they did bad stuff to him, because when he came back, he was different."

Pike's stomach dropped. "Different, how?"

"Quieter. Just different." Matt seemed reluctant to give any more information on the subject. Pike decided to let it rest for now. He didn't want to push too far and have the boy end up mistrusting him. That actually made him wonder why the kid trusted him so much. He decided to ask. "Hey, Matt, I really appreciate you telling me this stuff. It might help me keep Jimmy safe."

Matt nodded. "That's why I told you."

Pike raised an eyebrow at that. "Is that the only reason you trust me?"

"No. I trust you because he told me to." Matt said it with a straight face: his expression devoid of any hint of sarcasm or irony.

It was that simple for the kid. JT said to trust the lieutenant, therefore you trusted the lieutenant. Pike didn't know what to think of that. He wondered if any commander of an army in history had ever commanded such unbridled loyalty as did Jim Kirk.

He wondered if Jimmy himself even understood the depths of their devotion. Pike sighed. It seemed as if Jimmy had layers on top of his layers. A thought occurred to him, then. "Matt, why did he want all the kids to call him JT?

Matt looked at Pike sideways. "I was wondering if you were gonna ask me that."

"I did. Are you going to answer it?"

The kid cocked his head. "His mom called him Jimmy. He didn't want to sound vulnerable. So JT. I think the T's from his middle name. He always told the kids he'd tell them his whole name if we could guess his middle name. But nobody ever could. So except me, everybody only knows him as JT."

Pike nodded. Probably a good strategy.

He wondered if Kodos knew the kid's full real name. Probably. Especially if he'd taken an interest in Kirk before the revolution. …Or maybe during the revolution. Matt hadn't clarified. Pike decided he could wait to ask. He didn't want to push away his best informant quite yet.

He put a hand on Matt's shoulder and turned the boy to face him. "Thank you for trusting me with all this."

Matt met his eyes with a solid stare and nodded. Then he turned his attention back to walking.

They arrived at the clearing with the cabin a few minutes later. The beauty of it still took Pike's breath away. He didn't understand how it had the gall to look so beautiful after so many terrible things had happened here. But that was thing about nature. It didn't care.

I am the grass. I cover all. The line came back to him. A memory from a time long ago. How appropriate. "The Grass." Carl Sandburg. He remembered reading the poem in school, and remembered thinking about how callous it sounded then. But it was true. Nature eventually covered or recovered everything.

Pike forced his mind back to the present.

Pike made Matt wait behind a tree while the security team set up a perimeter and approached the cabin. Security signaled it safe and Pike motioned to Matt that the he could approach. There was no one waiting for them. Kodos must have known that Jimmy had been removed from the area. Or maybe he thought the kid was dead. He'd certainly looked it when Pike had beamed him to the ship.

Pike didn't know.

Matt moved around him into the interior of the cabin, picking up small things along the way. The windows threw beams of light in horizontal rays across the room, cutting the gloom like knives. The cabin was much the same as it had been the last time he saw it, but there was a large red stain on the floor. Pike's heart leapt in his throat…Jimmy's blood.

But no, it wasn't.

Jimmy had fallen nearly under the bed. This stain was in the middle of the floor. And then it came back to him. He remembered furiously slamming the guard's head into the floor. There was no body, but it was a pretty large stain.

Pike gulped. He might have killed the man.

Oh well.

He didn't regret his actions. He'd do them all again if it would protect Jimmy.

God when had he gotten so attached?

At this rate, he'd have to just adopt the kid.

Oh Fuck.

Adopt the kid? Had he even meant to think that?

Where the hell had that thought come from.

It was crazy.

No.

NO.

Pike liked being single, he liked being unattached. He liked being the only person responsible for his decisions. He liked knowing that he wasn't making other people suffer. But adoption…would give him a fucking son.

Would it be so bad? His inner voice asked.

Yes. He shot back.

Now he knew he was going crazy. He was losing an argument with himself.

And why the hell was the very idea of it making him feel warm and fuzzy?

Really would it be so bad?

Pike sank onto one of the beds, dejectedly.

Adoption.

Oh God, what would Jimmy say? The kid had been independent for more than a year, he wouldn't want some Starfleet lieutenant he barely knew to take care of him.

Pike wanted to know when the hell he'd started thinking about having this completely inappropriate conversation with the kid.

It could keep him safe, the inner monologue whispered. Dammit, why did it sound like George? And why the fuck did it have to be correct?

It could keep the boy more safe than in an orphanage.

Fuck.

Pike lowered his head to his hands. He could not keep thinking about this. He had a job to do.

That thought sobered him.

He was up and on his feet, wearing his command face less than a minute later.

"Ok, Matt, what do I need to get for Jimmy?" he asked.

Matt looked at him strangely. "Well, that's his bunk you were sitting on, sir, I thought you knew."

Pike felt his eyes widen. Jimmy's bunk. Of course it was.

Matt gestured at the bed. "His mom made the quilt." Ok, Pike would be bringing that. And the pillow. He lifted the quilt and examined it. It was mostly blue, but done in bright colors. It had a series of pieced together squares each contained in larger square. The pattern was mesmerizing. But it was soothing in a way. It kind of reminded Pike of space, a little. Everything was blue: the quilt, the pillows, the sheets. It must have been the kid's favorite color. Should have given him a science jersey, Pike thought. But then, he doubted anyone had ever seen a candidate so suited for command gold. The kid could probably already teach a class on leadership. Pike smiled as he folded the quilt nicely and picked up the pillow.

He was surprised to find a small pile of holos under it.

Oh Jimmy.

Matt had been watching him. "Those are special," he said. And no matter how he was pressed he would not say more about the tiny pile other than that Pike should keep them separate from the rest. Pike pocketed them. He could figure out their mystery later.

"Where are the others?" Pike asked.

The boy pointed to a small footlocker near the wall, "That's his."

Pike nodded.

He gestured for one of the security men to take it. His own hands were full of quilt. "Anything else?" he added.

Matt looked around. "Our chess set is by the door."

Pike smiled. "We certainly can't forget that." Maybe he'd see how well Matt could play while they waited for Jimmy to wake up. He gestured another man to retrieve the board and pieces. And enjoyed a little moment where the crewman couldn't figure out how to carry them all. The man finally settled for thrusting the pieces in his pockets.

Pike smirked.

"Maybe you and I can play later, Matt," he said.

"I'm not very good." The kid hung his head, like he expected his admission to make the Starfleet men think less of him. As if anything could make any member of the crew think less of these kids.

"It's ok, I'm a good teacher. Maybe you'll get good and you can surprise Jimmy when he wakes up."

The kid's expression had the radiance of a thousand suns.

Dammit, he'd said when. Not if. When. When had he turned into such an infernal optimist? When you started thinking you wanted to adopt him? Pike cursed the voice again. And then he slapped himself, mentally.

Dammit, Chris, he is not yours. Your part in his life is very small.

But you want it to be bigger. This time Pike nearly cursed aloud. Everyone was looking at him strangely. Had he cursed aloud?

Oops. Oh well.

Pike tucked the blanket under one arm and looked at Matt. The boy had a very meager pile of possessions in his hands. "That all you want?"

"It's all I can carry." The boy refused to meet his eyes.

The sentiment froze Pike's blood cold. Of course. This kid was used to taking only the barest necessities, only what he and the others could carry.

Well that wasn't the case now. Pike sank to his knees and looked deep into the boy's dark brown eyes. "It's not all I can carry," he said. "Let us help. We can take anything you want. Not just anything you need, but anything you want."

Pike held the boy by his too thin shoulders, and he did not release the kid until he thought that Matt understood was he was saying. The boy nodded, tears in his eyes.

"Now, what all do you want?" Pike asked.

Matt's eyes flicked hopefully toward the corner. There was another footlocker over there.

Pike didn't even wait for Matt to ask. He just pointed another crewman toward the chest, and watched with satisfaction as the man hoisted it above his shoulders.

He nodded. Good. He wanted to get out of here.

The place kind of gave him the creeps.

"All set?" he asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Good. Let's get the hell out of here."

He couldn't help but notice that Matt's "yes sir" was louder than anyone else's.

Pike stepped off the transporter pad feeling lighter than he had since their arrival to this god forsaken hell hole.

It felt like he had hope suddenly.

And while he still didn't know what to do about this whole adoption thing, he did know that he wanted to be on ship when Jimmy woke up.

The kids had all been assigned quarters and he gestured Crewman Stevens, who had Matt's footlocker to show the kid to the designated area. Stevens nodded. Pike took Jimmy's chest from the crewman that held it. It could go in Pike's own quarters for now, at least until Jimmy woke up.

Damn, he had it bad.

Pike moved to go off in the direction of his own quarters, when Matt ran after him, calling his name. "Mister Pike, I just remembered. I …have something to tell you...about JT."

Matt had called Jimmy JT. So they were back to that. Okay. Pike lowered Jimmy's locker from his shoulder and sank to the boy's eye level.

"Yes, what is it?' Pike honestly had no idea what it could be.

But Matt seemed strangely hesitant again. He looked around, as though trying to see if he could be overheard. "He can't sleep on his back."

Pike was confused. Was that supposed to be a secret? His confusion must have shown on his face.

The boy continued, "I don't mean he won't. I meant he doesn't. He can't. He always said he never had."

Well, that was interesting.

And that meant that Pike had best beat it to sickbay. It was Starfleet protocol to leave those recovering from surgery on their backs in order to best maintain an open airway. He stopped briefly by his quarters to drop off the trunk and then, quilt and pillow in hand, went to sickbay as fast as he could.

It was nearly empty. Jimmy was the room's only patient.

Dr. Adamson saw him approach and came out of his office. "Doctor," Pike said by way of greeting. "How is he?"

Adamson hesitated. Damn-not a good sign. "He's…well…he's better, I suppose. He's still on the respirator, but his heart is functioning. And so are his kidneys. Everything's a little sluggish, but …he just might make it. It could go either way. It's really up to him now."

Pike nodded. That was often the case with victims of severe trauma. Ultimately, it was up to them.

"What have you got there?" Adamson asked, eyeing the quilt.

"It's his blanket. His mother made it for him." Pike replied.

Adamson smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Indeed?"

Pike nodded again. He handed the quilt to the doctor. "Sterilize it for me?"

"I'll do it right now," he said. Good.

While the doctor was doing that, Pike wandered over to Jimmy's bedside. The kid looked frail and helpless. Too pale and too thin. Unfortunately no amount of hypos could put fat on a person, nor could they remove it. Jimmy would have to gain his weight back the old fashioned way, with steaks and potatoes and ice cream sundaes.

Pike found himself wondering how much a boy Jimmy's size could eat. Which naturally lead to wondering how much it would cost to buy all that, and if he would be able to afford it all.

Damn, he was in deep.

Oh God, what if the kid survived and then said no. Pike decided to keep his idea to himself for now.

He noticed the kid's breathing seemed a bit labored and wondered if there was anything to what Matt had told him about Jimmy not resting on his back. Couldn't hurt to find out.

Adamson was just approaching with quilt. Not only had he sterilized it, but he'd warmed it also. Pike's heart warmed a little to the old man, and he told Adamson what Matt had told him.

By the time Pike was finished speaking, he was wondering if it was possible for another human's eyebrows to rise any higher than Adamson's had. But the other man was nodding. "I read about something like that, once. Couldn't hurt."

Pike helped the other man roll Jimmy gently onto his side, being careful to keep the respirator mask in place and to keep the boy's airway open. Then Pike carefully covered the boy with Winona's quilt. It might have been his imagination but it looked as though the kid was breathing easier.

Well, I'll be damned, Pike thought.

"I'll sit with him awhile," he said. Adamson nodded, smiled a secret smile and left him to it.

Pike settled himself in a chair beside the bed and watched the boy breath in and out. And before long, he was asleep as well.

Please Please review.

Its been a bad week and I could use the encouragement. The kid with Jimmy's injuries died due to his injuries. In answer to some questions, yes, I will be continuing this fic. ....It's just been a hard week to find inspiration.

Small notes. Hoshi Sato, a character from ST: Enterprise was killed on Tarsus according to the episode "In a Mirror Darkly, II." "He's not yours, in his life, your part is very small." Are lyrics quoted from "I Won't Mind" by Audra McDonald.