A decision is what a man makes when he can't find anybody to serve on a committee. ~Fletcher Knebel

Jim wandered across the living room the next morning, hands scrubbing through his hair that stood up even more. He carefully skirted around the plates and silverware that had been left on every horizontal surface, glasses half empty and turned on their sides, the Christmas tree missing some of its ornaments. When had that happened?

The delicious smell of coffee greeted him when he reached the kitchen, finding it surprisingly tidy, most of the party debris cleared away. "You clean up?" he asked Bones who handed him a steaming cup of the nectar of the gods.

"Hikaru did," Bones said, sitting at the table with Jim and Nyota who had greeted Jim brightly when he entered.

"This morning?"

"Yeah. He and Pavel left about 20 minutes ago. They thought you'd be up but I told them you'd barely slept and I'd have you call when you were up to it."

Jim nodded, staring into this coffee. "How can you look so beautiful at such an ungodly hour of the day?" he asked Nyota.

She laughed at his words, shaking her head and making her ponytail swish. "It's 9:30, my dear. Just because you didn't sleep doesn't mean the rest of us didn't."

"I have reason to suspect that sleeping was not at the top of your list of priorities," Jim suggested, not surprised when Nyota hit him. Bones threatened to but Jim just ignored him.

"You are a pig, aren't you?" Nyota said with a laugh she could not contain.

"Last night I was a seal," Jim said. "According to Chris. Where is he?"

"Right here," Chris said when he entered the kitchen in jeans and a sweater, unlike Leonard and Jim who were still in their flannel pajamas. Nyota was wearing the shirt from a pair of Leonard's pajamas, the red flannel looking elegant on her. But then a potato sack would look elegant if Nyota was wearing it.

Chris refilled his coffee cup before putting it on the table and studying the three of them in turn. "Y'all want waffles?"

"Yeah," Jim agreed, his chin propped on his hand, the only thing holding him upright, Bones and Nyota also agreeing. "How's Scotty?"

"Still asleep," Bones said. "I promised he could walk around the house today as long as one of us is here."

"Good," Jim said.

"Do you have any idea what I just said?" Bones asked sympathetically.

"Some. Scotty. Walking." Jim shrugged, drinking again from his cup.

"All right," Bones said, shaking his head. "You're going to have to take a nap this afternoon."

"Yeah. I'll throw Scotty off the couch and sleep to football," Jim agreed, turning his gaze to Nyota. "Will you nap with me?"

"Stop being a pig," Nyota said, hitting him again.

"You are a pig," Bones agreed. "So, Chris, what do you think of Jim taking a sabbatical?"

"I understand why they're asking," Chris said.

"Did they tell you in advance?" Jim asked him.

"No. Tahla apparently intended to discuss it with me but time got away from her. She told me last night that it's solely for your protection. They are absolutely satisfied with your work," Chris said as he mixed up the waffle batter.

"They really aren't disappointed in you," Nyota added. "They don't want to risk Spock discovering the truth."

"Marjorie never did," Jim reminded them.

"No she didn't," Chris said. "They are leaving it up to you. They prefer you to step out for four months. They will not require that you do so."

"What happens when I'm back in? Won't Spock figure it out then? I'm available all the time then suddenly I'm not?" Jim said.

"There is that," Bones agreed.

"Yeah," Chris acknowledged. "It's not ideal. I think their main concern is that he's a Vulcan. Marjorie never notices that you're incommunicado and some criminal kingpin dies under mysterious circumstances. Spock will see patterns."

"But when I come back in, he'll see them," Jim repeated.

"Maybe they think the sabbatical will throw him off the scent," Bones suggested. "Criminals die while you're around. He won't notice the correlation between you being gone and them being killed."

"Marjorie always believed I was just eccentric. Won't Spock believe that too? You know most writers are borderline crazy," Jim said.

"You are completely crazy. It's only a matter of time before he figures it out," Nyota reminded him. "Mom thinks it's for the best if you do it."

"Why are you hesitant to take the sabbatical?" Chris asked kindly. "I'd think you'd appreciate only having to live one life. Not fly all around the world at crazy times. You'll be able to eat regularly. Sleep regularly. Date regularly."

"As if anybody would go out with him," Bones said because they expected him to.

"As if," Nyota agreed.

"I really don't know," Jim admitted. "Except I've lived like this for so long, I'm not sure how it'd feel not to. Will it get boring? Having a routine?"

"Boring is the last thing your life will ever be," Chris assured him, giving him and Nyota each a crisp brown waffle.

"Thanks," Jim said, accepting the syrup from Nyota to pour an excessive amount over his waffle and ignoring Bones' frown. "Any bacon?"

Chris laughed and got it out the refrigerator to put some in the microwave. "Anything else I can get for you, your majesty?"

"Not at the moment. We appreciate your diligence," Jim said, eating his waffle, the syrup dripping down his chin.

"Wipe your mouth," Bones said, handing him a napkin. "I think the sabbatical will be good for us both."

"You're stepping away too?" Jim asked.

"I told Tahla that if you are taking time off, I was too. I'm not going out there with any of those other crazies."

"I'm very happy about him taking the time off," Nyota added, leaning closer to Leonard. "Give us a chance to plan a real wedding."

"I'll be thrilled to, darlin'," he assured her with a kiss.

"Yeah yeah yeah," Jim grumbled around his waffle "You won't even go on a mission with Sam?"

"Especially not Sam," Bones said. "Last time I did, he nearly killed me."

"That's a little over-dramatic," Pike said with a laugh. "It was only a broken collarbone."

"Only?" Bones said. "I couldn't do surgery with a broken collarbone."

"And the mortality rate at the hospital plunged," Jim said, dodging Bones' hand when he tried to smack him. He couldn't dodge Nyota's at the same time. "I am going to have a huge black and blue mark because of the two of you."

"The hate I feel for you knows no bounds," Bones said to Jim, disproving his own words by refilling Jim's coffee cup.

"Jealousy. That's all it is," Jim said, accepting the bacon from Chris. "Thanks, Dad."

"You can call me that again and I will have you killed," Chris warned, looking over at the entrance to the kitchen when Scotty limped in, one crutch secure under his arm.

"I'll take him out if you want," Scotty offered, sitting at that table and assuring Leonard he was fine. He greeted Nyota, gracing her with a light kiss.

"You've been living in my house for over a week and this is the gratitude I receive?" Jim asked him with an attempted frown.

"I've been held prisoner here by the mad doctor. The sooner I'm able to escape his experiments, the happier I'll be," Scotty claimed as he accepted a waffle from Chris. "Thanks."

"I see that personality transplant failed to take," Bones said. "You still don't have one."

This comment was met with gales of laughter, even Scotty having to join in despite his best efforts.

"I'm escaping tomorrow. Even if my operatives have to come free me," Scotty said.

"We are your operatives," Jim reminded him.

"I have Hikaru and Pavel in my pocket," Scotty claimed.

"Hikaru works for me. And Pavel's too busy being in Hikaru's pants to be in anybody's pocket," Jim said.

"James Tiberius Kirk," Chris said in scolding. "We aren't having that kind of talk at the breakfast table."

"Sorry," Jim laughed. "But this is why I think of you as an honored and revered father figure."

"Shut up," Chris requested, giving him another waffle, Nyota refusing a second one.

"Yes sir," Jim agreed.

"What have you decided about the sabbatical, laddie?" Scotty asked Jim.

"I'm leaning toward taking it. But it's going to be very strange to be away from the business for any amount of time."

"I can understand that," Scotty agreed. "We aren't going to abandon you."

When Jim did not respond to that statement, Bones' eyes grew wide in realization. "That's one of the reasons, isn't it?"

"I guess," Jim said with a shrug. That it was less carefree than he would have liked did not surprise him. He felt rather than saw Bones and Chris exchange a knowing glance.

"Jim," Chris said, sitting next to him. "This is still going to be the clubhouse. Hikaru will still work for you. Pavel will still sleep here more than at his apartment. I'll be here just as much as I ever am."

"And I have no plans to be leavin' you," Scotty assured him.

"We'll all be here," Nyota agreed. "As much as you annoy me, I couldn't stand to be away from you for 4 months."

"It's fine," Jim protested directly to his waffle.

"Jim," Bones said. "You aren't going to be marginalized by your friends. They love you for who you are, not because you are the top of the echelon. We're going to have just as many people trooping through the house all hours of the day and night."

"You will," Nyota agreed, a warm hand on Jim's arm.

"Really, it's fine," Jim protested again, finally looking up at his friends, warmed by their presence and their expressions of friendship. "What abandonment issues?" he joked lamely.

"You don't have abandonment issues," Bones said. "You have 'why don't they know I'm utterly awesome' issues."

"I can always count on you to put it in perspective," Jim said with a laugh.

"Always," Bones agreed, glancing over at Chris. "Chris is still your lawyer. Scotty still fixes anything that breaks. Hikaru still works for you. Pavel inexplicably worships you. Nyota will be here mainly for me but she can tolerate you. Sometimes. Sam will be over here as often as Denise lets him. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," Jim agreed.

"All right then," Bones said with a nod.

"It's settled?" Chris asked, returning to making the waffles. "Do you want me to call Tahla and tell her?"

"I'll call her," Jim said.

"I can just tell her when I get home," Nyota offered.

"Thanks, love. But I'll need to call her," Jim said.

"That's fine then," Chris agreed, looking at the phone when it rang. "It's Spock."

"Oh," Jim said. "I didn't return the draft last night."

"Hello?" Chris said when he picked up the phone.

"I am calling for Jim Kirk," Spock said on the other end.

"And who may I ask is calling?" Chris asked, purely to annoy Spock and make Jim laugh.

"This is Spock," he answered. Chris could tell Spock knew it was Chris on the other end but wasn't about to admit it.

"Hold just a moment," Chris said, stifling his laughter to hand the phone to Jim.

"Hello?" Jim said like he didn't know who it was.

"Jim," Spock said in greeting.

"Hey Spock. Thank you again for coming last night," Jim said.

"Thank you for the invitation. You have a lovely house and interesting friends."

"I do have interesting friends," Jim agreed. "I'm glad you got to meet them. You aren't scared away, are you?"

"Vulcans do not scare easily," Spock said. Jim thought he could detect the faintest amount of amusement in his voice but he could be wrong.

"That's good to know," Jim said.

"While I was there, I did not pick up the revisions."

"I know. I forgot to give them to you. Should I bring them to your office tomorrow?" Jim asked.

"Is that convenient to you?" Spock asked.

"Sure. It's no big deal. Do you want me to email you the revised document?"

"Do you have it complete?"

"Yeah. Well. If I email it, do I need to come tomorrow?" Jim asked. There was a pause on the other end before Spock finally responded.

"If you were to come, we could discuss any additional revisions that might be required."

"Additional revisions?" Jim repeated. He left the table when the others laughed at him.

"Indeed," Spock said, the word not as firm as Jim might have expected.

"I guess," Jim said in some uncertainty. "What time is good for you?"

"Would you care to join me again for lunch?"

"That would be fine," Jim agreed, still not sure what the point of this really was. But if Spock wanted him to come, he would come. "Noon?"

"Yes," Spock agreed.

"Do you want me to invite Chris to come? You can talk about my contract at the same time."

"No," Spock said too quickly. "I will speak with him separately."

"Okay," Jim agreed. "I'll email the revisions right now and I'll see you at noon tomorrow."

"Yes," Spock repeated. "Noon."

"Right," Jim said, waiting to see if Spock had anything else to say.

"Very well. Good-bye."

"'Bye," Jim said, disconnecting and returning to the kitchen. "He's weirder than I thought."

"Even for a Vulcan?" Bones asked.

"Yeah. Well. It's a free lunch, right?"

"There's no such thing, laddie," Scotty reminded him.

"True," Jim agreed, finishing his coffee before standing to stretch. "Well. I guess the living room isn't going to clean itself."

"It never has before," Bones agreed. "I'm going to throw on some jeans and take Nyota home."

"Isn't that convenient?" Jim said, trying to sound put-out. But they knew it was all for show.

"You are just strange. You know that, don't you?" Nyota asked as she followed Leonard into his suite. It wasn't long before they both emerged, Nyota in the same outfit she had worn to the party.

"I'll be right back," Bones assured Jim.

"You better be. I'm not cleaning all of this up by myself," Jim claimed, indicating the mess in the living room with a broad sweep of his hand.

"My heart bleeds for you. You know that, right?" Bones asked as he helped Nyota into her coat.

"It should," Jim said, picking up some of the plates and glasses and taking them into the kitchen where Pike was tidying. Scotty was safe on the couch, grumbling about not being an invalid.

"We need anything while I'm out?" Bones asked.

"I'm good. Scotty? Chris?" Neither of them needed anything so Bones went out of the house with Nyota as Jim and Chris returned to their cleaning.

By the time order was restored and Jim had taken his shower, Bones returned, finding them in the living room watching the football pre-game show. Chris had on fresh jeans, his sliver grey hair still damp from his shower.

Jim reached over for the phone when it rang, smiling as he answered. "Hey mom."

"Hello darling. How are you?"

"Couldn't be better. What about you?" he asked.

"I'm great. I'm also at the airport. Is it okay if I come to your house now instead of next weekend? If it's not convenient, I can call Tahla."

"Of course you should come here," Jim said. "Is everything okay? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, darling. I got done early in England and decided to come see you instead of going to California first."

"Did you buy all the high fashions in London and Paris?" he asked, getting her laughter in return.

"Almost all of them. I bought you a couple of nice dress shirts. I think you'll like them."

"I'm sure I will," Jim agreed. "Do I need to come get you?"

"No, dear. I'm renting a car. Easier all around."

"If you're sure. You know I'll come out for you."

"I know you will, dear. But I need a car anyway. So this works."

"Okay. We'll see you soon," he said, disconnecting after their words of farewell. "Looks like you're going to have a date tonight," he said to Chris with a laugh.

"Yeah me," Chris said. "Go Team Pike."

"Do I need to clear out, laddie?" Scotty said.

"Of course not. You know she always stays in the Jane Austen room. I'll go make up her bed," Jim said. He went down the corridor to the guest room where his mother always stayed, stripping the bed as Bones entered with fresh sheets.

"Why is this the Jane Austen room again?" Bones asked as they made up the bed.

"Because," Jim said, looking the pale pink walls and the Victorian border at the top of the walls. "It always reminds me of a room in one of her novels."

"Makes sense, I guess," Bones had to agree.

"So what do you want?" Jim asked.

"Maybe I just came to give you a hand," Bones responded.

"Yeah. Sure. With no ulterior motive," Jim said, shaking his head.

"I mostly want to make sure you're okay with the sabbatical. I know it's going to be weird, kid. But we aren't turning our backs on you," Bones said.

"I'm fine. I think mostly I'm worried I'll be bored. I don't want to work on the next novel until we go back to Paraguay. I guess I could start it," Jim said with a shrug.

"I know," Bones assured him. "As strange as your life can be at times, it's what you know."

Jim sat on the bed, considering Bones' words. "At least it's Christmas. That will make it easier. Having Mom here. Pavel being out of school. You'll have more free time."

"I will," McCoy agreed, sitting next to him. "You can help me and Nyota plan our wedding. Go Christmas shopping. Bake cookies."

"You still have to officially propose to her. And I usually do my shopping in some exotic country. Buy the cookies in Berlin. Or Tokyo."

"It will be different," Bones said with a nod. "You might enjoy it."

"I might. If I don't go crazy from boredom."

"You won't," Bones promised. "We could get a dog."

Jim laughed at that, shaking his head. "Now I know you're worried. I told you I won't get one until you're dead."

"Yeah yeah," Bones agreed.

"Do you think I can still get the mission updates if I'm out of it?"

"Of course. You aren't being booted. We're stepping away from active status."

"Yeah," Jim agreed with a nod.

Once the Jane Austen room was ready for Winona, Jim and Leonard returned to the living room, putting more decorations on the tree to even it out, speculating on what happened to those that had gone missing. Chris had put on a roast for lunch, thinking it would be ready shortly after Winona arrived.

"Trying to prove you can cook?" Jim teased as he watched Chris peel the potatoes. "Mom can't, you know."

"I don't need to prove anything to Winona," Chris assured him, otherwise ignoring him. "There's the doorbell."

Jim laughed and went to open the door for his mother, hugging her tightly when she was in the house. "I'm so glad you could come."

"Thank you, dear. I'm glad I could come as well," Winona said, smiling at Leonard and Chris as they came up to greet her. "Leonard, you are looking well. Chris," she said, not adding anything to that.

"So good to see you," McCoy said, kissing her cheek before Chris did too. Chris escorted her further in, Scotty greeting her from where he was sitting on the couch. Jim and Leonard slipped out of the door, going to Winona's rental.

"How are you feeling, dear?" she asked, sitting next to Scotty with a smile.

"Doing fine, lassie. I'm escaping tomorrow."

She nodded at that, taking off her coat and handing it to Chris. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," Chris said, putting it in the closet before opening the front door to let Jim and Leonard in with Winona's two large suitcases.

"That blue one, Leonard. Leave it in the laundry room?"

"Of course," McCoy agreed, going through the kitchen to deposit it as directed. Jim went down to the Jane Austen room, putting Winona's suitcase on the luggage rack.

"What's wrong, dear?" Winona asked as she entered the bedroom, studying him with eyes nearly as blue as her son's.

He explained, Winona considering the situation, her fingers pulling through her blond curls, loose and unconcerned and stopping at her chin.

"She's right, you know," Winona finally said. "I've met Sarek. Not Spock. If anyone was going to figure out that you are not just a best selling writer, it would be the Shi'Kahr Clan."

"How do you know Sarek?" Jim asked. He was sitting on the brass bed and she was in the old wooden rocking chair, one of the few items he had wanted from the Iowa farmhouse when Winona finally decided to sell it.

"I've met him, dear. I don't specifically know him. He expressed some interest in purchasing The Tsuyayaka Koromo Boutiques. Ultimately he decided upscale clothing boutiques were not appropriate to the Shi'Kahr Clan holdings."

"What is he like? I haven't met him," Jim said.

"Very Vulcan. Serious. All business when I met with him. I think that even if he had made Mizuki an offer, she would have refused. She didn't like him one bit."

"She didn't?" Jim laughed. "She's the most open-minded person I've ever met."

"She is. But not when it comes to Sarek," Winona said. "How is Marjorie doing?"

"Great. I'm sorry you missed her party last night. I'm pretty sure we had a great time," he laughed.

"And I'm sure you didn't drink anything stronger than Pepsi," she said with a smile.

"I may go to Tuscany with her. Since I'll be on sabbatical. Eric may go too," Jim said.

"I think it's a fine idea, dear. You love Italy. I know you aren't that fond of Eric but he's not terrible company."

"He's not," Jim agreed. "Mostly he needs to stop fighting with Richard."

"Yes he does," Winona agreed.

"What have you been up to?" he asked, wanting to know everything that had been occupying her time. Growing up he had resented her frequent and unexplained absences. He had acted out in an attempt to attract her attention, something she finally understood. The second time one of his stunts broke his leg, she decided that raising her two sons was the most important work she could undertake. Now that he was an adult – at least chronologically – he understood her choices much more clearly and had worked very hard to mend the rift that had existed between them, a rift he readily acknowledged was mainly his fault.

"No way," he laughed when she told him about a date she had barely survived in Prague.

"I know," she said, shaking her head. "He was… so attractive I didn't realize how dumb he was."

"You always were a sucker for a pretty face," he teased.

"And you aren't?"

He shrugged. "I'm not seeing anyone if that's what you are asking."

"Why not, love? You could have your choice of dates. I know men and women throw themselves at you all the time."

"Maybe the ones that are that easy aren't interesting to me," he suggested.

"You do like a challenge," she agreed with a loving smile.

"Sometimes," Jim said. "Are you going out with Chris while you're here?"

"What did he say when you asked him that?" Winona asked.

"He threatened to have me killed. Seemed a little extreme if you ask me," Jim laughed.

"So did it teach you not to ask nosey questions?" she asked.

"Not at all. Are Sam and Aurelan coming here for Christmas?" Jim asked.

"I don't know, dear. I didn't invite them. I'm not in the habit to inviting anyone to visit someone else's house," she said cheerfully.

"This is your house too, mom. Surely you know that," Jim said.

"Thank you, baby. If you want to ask them, it would be lovely to have them here."

"I'll call them," Jim agreed. "Can Aurelan leave work long enough to come?"

"I believe so," she said, smiling over at Chris when he appeared in the doorway. "Hi," she said in a voice her son found a little disturbing. Not in a creepy way. Just in that way you don't necessarily expect your mother to sound when talking to your lawyer/boss.

"I'm…uhm… going to check on the potatoes," Jim said, standing up and bolting for the door.

"You do that," Chris agreed with eyes only for Winona. "We'll be there in a while."

"Right," Jim said, closing the door behind him.