Amanda

She was happy. Spock had always been a solitary child. Amanda knew that it was because he was a hybrid, not human enough and not Vulcan enough at the same time. Growing up on Vulcan the other children had illogically tormented him for his human heritage. Spock had quietly endured the treatment until he was applying for the Vulcan Science Academy and the administrator made it clear that he would never be treated as an equal, referring to Spock's humanity as a disability.

Amanda noticed a change in Spock when he spoke with her a few months ago. She was excited to learn that he had made friends. Amanda made her way through the embassy to welcome the two cadets that accepted her invitation for dinner. "You may enter, Cadet Kirk, Cadet Mitchell," she heard the guard say. Amanda smiled when she saw them.

"You must be Jamison and Gary, I'm Spock's mother, Amanda." They smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Gary spoke first.

"Please, it's just Jamie. Spock is the only person who calls me Jamison." She paused, "Took months to get him to stop referring to me as Cadet or Doctor outside of class."

Amanda smiled, "That sounds like my son." Amanda led the duo through the impressive embassy, making small talk as they made their way to the dining area.

"If you don't mind my asking, what's Vulcan like?" Gary asked the older woman.

Amanda chuckled, "It's different. Hot, dry, the air is thinner. There is such a presence about the place, even though Vulcans don't share much about their culture with outsiders, you can't help but feel it when you're there. Perhaps you'll get a chance to visit." She thought they were an inquisitive pair, maybe that's why they were friends with Spock; they seemed to like learning new things. They asked about Sarek's work and how she fit in on the world that was so different from home. Entering the dining area, Amanda, Jamie and Gary were met by Spock and Sarek. The young Vulcan introduced his friends to his father.

"Father, this is Doctor Jamison Kirk and Gary Mitchell. They are my classmates, and friends."

Jamie

"Dinner with Spock's family was nice. His dad is very Vulcan with the exception of a human wife. He talked about being an ambassador; he liaises with a few different worlds. Sarek is Solkar's grandson; the first Vulcan to make contact with humans and I'm friends with his great-grandson. Spock's half-brother, Sybok, showed up. You would think he was the hybrid, he's so human. Kept flirting with me, Gary looked like he was going to hit him." Sybok was Sarek's firstborn, Jamie didn't know the details, just that he wasn't Amanda's son. He had chosen to embrace his emotions and had been banned from returning to Vulcan.

"Lady Amanda was a school teacher; she likes reading the classics as much as I do. And I'm keeping you up aren't I?" Jamie and Chris talked to each other as much as they could but with him running a ship and her taking summer classes, it wasn't as often as either of them liked.

He gave her a tired smile, "I pick you over sleep any day. What can I say? I miss my wife."

She smiled, "I miss you too, three more weeks and you'll be back." The Yorktown was heading back towards earth, barring any emergencies, they would be back before the next year of classes begins. "Go get some sleep, Chris. I love you."

He smiled, "I love you more."

"Impossible."

2 Days Later

Richard

There were some parts of his job that he hated, this was one of them. When the reports came back about the Yorktown being attacked by some organic ship, he didn't think much of it. Then word came down that Chris had been taken hostage. Richard had the unfortunate task of telling the captain's wife.

"Cadet Kirk, reporting as ordered, sir." He really, really hated his job.

"Have a seat. While we're in here, you can call me Richard. Your bullshit meter is damn good, so I'm just gonna to get to the point, Jamie. Chris was taken hostage by an race called the Ngultor. I don't know all the details, just that it probed his brain to find all the homeworlds to consume everyone in order to return to their home. He broke from their hold over him and with the help of an away team, he got away. Boyce says he'll be out of the action for a few weeks but he's physically okay. The Yorktown has been ordered to head back, should be here in a few days."

She was silent for a moment, "Has Charlie been notified?"

Richard nodded, "His CO is letting him know. If you want to go home for the day, I can get you pulled from class but I have a feeling that you want to keep yourself busy. The offer stands though, just message me. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Chris and I have been friends for a long time; I owe him my life a few times over." She nodded, thanked him and left the office, no doubt in search of her father-in-law.

Richard was a Commander and Chris was a third year cadet the first time they met. In a way, Richard was Chris' mentor, always looking out for the young officer. When Richard got his own command, Chris was one of the first officers he selected for his crew. They served together for a while before other officers took notice of Chris' talents and he was swooped up for tactical officer on the York, then first officer on the Aldrin before getting command of the Lake and later the Yorktown. He was both impressed and proud when Chris attained the rank of Captain at thirty-one, he wasn't as surprised as many others were. Richard always believed that officers like Chris were the future of the fleet. He just hoped his friend didn't get himself killed before he has a chance to do more amazing things.

Chris

Chris didn't know what to do with himself, he's been stuck in a bio-bed for too long; he was seriously considering an escape. Starfleet Medical was the last place he wanted to be. "Don't even think about it." Chris looked up to find his wife looking at him. How long had she been there?

"I was just…" he started. Jamie had her hands on her hips and gave him that look like she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Plotting your escape. This is me you're talking to, Chris. Behave, Phil said I can take you home in the morning." She took a breath and quietly continued, "You scared the shit out of me, but you know that." Jamie sighed and her features softened. She walked over, stood next to the bed and took his hand in both of hers.

"It was, I don't know what it was, J. I should have fought harder or... something."

"This wasn't your fault, giant organic ships hell bent on eating us all. Nothing you could do about that. Your crew had your back and you guys destroyed the ship. I count that as a win." Chris was proud of his crew, Boyce, One and Shran especially. They refused to believe that there was nothing they could do. They saved his life, the Yorktown and who knows how many worlds. "That's not all that's bothering you." Chris closed his eyes and shook his head, when he opened them, Jamie was watching him.

"HQ has decided to move forward with their plan to build a new flagship. I am at the top of a very short list to be the CO but after all this... I don't know, J." She sat down next to him on the bed and took his face in her hands, forcing him to look into her eyes.

"Since when do you doubt yourself? You're Christopher Pike. The youngest Captain in the fleet. Commanding Officer of the Yorktown. Badass Starfleet officer. And, most importantly, amazing husband. You aren't going to turn down the new constitution class, especially since I'm on the design team." Chris looked at her, she continued, "As soon as I'm done with A.T.T. in January, I'll be going back and forth to Riverside. Scotty too, whenever you guys are here." He shouldn't be surprised by that.

"Archer?"

She nodded, "It's some stuff me, Scotty and Johnny came up with for the warp system. I'll still be assigned to a ship when I graduate and Scotty will still be on the Yorktown, we'll just have a few extra duties when we're planet-side. No way in hell I'm going to put in all that work for you to pass it up. This ship is going to be legendary." Jamie yawned and Chris realized that she probably hasn't slept since she was notified that he was injured. It was a trait that they shared.

"Lay down." Jamie looked like she was going to argue, so Chris pulled her until she was lying next to him.

"You going to think about it, the ship?" she mumbled against his chest.

Chris shrugged, "Yea, I'll think about it and have a conversation with my wife when she's not exhausted. Although, I think she'd tell me to take it if I'm offered it."

"I build it, you command it," she whispered. "Would be kind of cool. Am I going to be part of the crew?"

He smiled, "Wanna be? It's possible, Robert April appointed his wife as his Chief Medical Officer."

"Might be the only way to keep you out of trouble," she joked.

"You can't keep yourself out of trouble. Go to sleep."

"Glad you're okay. I love you," she mumbled.

"Love you more."

January 2253

Gary

"End simulation," whoever they used for the computer had a hot voice.

Team Delta had just finished the last exercise for A.T.T. The trick to this mission was that it's so simple. All the other teams over-thought it, that was the reason many of the teams failed. The mission goes like this, the team is on an away mission on a non-Federation planet when some of them –Gary and Lee in this case- are captured by the locals and marked for execution, the mission is for the entire team to get off planet before even one of them is killed.

Jamie shocked the hell out of everyone by getting herself captured. The instructors and other teams thought Delta was done when Jamie popped her restraints. Then she cut –where the hell does she hide that knife?- Gary and Lee free. They disengaged the magnetic locks on the door and made their way through the compound, dropping two dozen hostiles as they went.

They got into the 'control room' where Jamie hacked the alarms, released the safeties for the shuttle bay and overloaded the computer systems. Lee plotted the best route to the shuttle bay. Gary stole a shuttle and the trio escaped. Easy.

"Very nice, Delta," Gary could tell that Bowers was impressed. The other groups had tried to take over the compound, to enlist the assistance of 'locals' which always ended in fatalities or they got killed trying to rescue the others. Delta kept it simple; they utilized their proficiencies and relied on each other, the two most important traits of being a good tactician. It's not about coming up with a complicated plan, it's about coming up with an effective plan. Bowers looked at Jamie, Gary and Lee, "I don't have to tell you that you passed, you know you did. I'm almost sad to see you three go. Congratulations, you have each earned the Advanced Tactical rating."

Jamie

She didn't want to be here. The twentieth anniversary of the Attack on the Kelvin was a big deal and as the daughter of George Kirk, she was ordered to attend. Shit like this is why she hid at home last year. She was ordered to sit in the front row, where the holo-imagers could see her, and she looked as poised as she could while listening to people talk about how her father died.

They got repetitive after a while. He was a good officer. He was dedicated to the fleet. Blah, blah, blah. It wasn't that she didn't care, Jamie was just tired of hearing the same crap over and over again. It was a bunch officers who didn't know her or George talking about his service to the Federation. She didn't pay attention until someone introduced Chris. She watched as her husband walked to the podium and thanked the Admiral.

"During my last year at the Academy, I was assigned the Kelvin for my dissertation. While conducting my research, I came to admire George Kirk, not just as an officer, but as a person. For being such a large part of who he was, no one ever talks about George Kirk, the person. In a way, we've taken something away from him and his family by ignoring the things that made him who he was. This was a man who didn't believe in no-win scenarios, who fought until the very end for the people who meant the most to him. I never got a chance to meet his wife or son, but I do know his daughter.

Brilliant, determined, willing to sacrifice for others, she is every inch her father's daughter. George Kirk was, by all accounts, a man who loved to learn and took everything in. A man who would do anything for a friend and anyone else in need. He was, most importantly a man who loved his family. Looking at Jamison, you can almost see him. She represents the best qualities of her father. His legacy isn't an easy thing to carry, yet she does it every day, with her head held high. There is so much we could learn from a man like George Kirk, the most important lesson I took from the Attack on the Kelvin, was to cherish every day we get to spend with the people we love." Chris paused before he looked at Jamie, "I think your father would be proud of you, Doctor Kirk. Happy birthday."

She had tears running down her face; it was short but he had tackled her whole issue with all of this head on. Her father was a person, she was a person, and somewhere along the line, people forgot that. For a man who saved so many lives, you would think that people would want to know who he was; he was more than his last actions. He was a human being with a wife and two children.

She had found out a lot about George when she was going through her mother's belongings. The realization that she was so much like her father had hit her like a ton of bricks; she liked to read the same things, listen to the same type of music, worked non-stop like him, liked to learn and had similar feelings on coffee. Most importantly, she didn't believe in no-win situations, if you're breathing, there's a chance.

Gary

"You have seen this right? 'Kelvin Baby brought to tears at Anniversary of Attack on the Kelvin' They released this quick. What did Chris say to make you cry?" Gary couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the reports.

Jamie looked at him, "How do you know it was Chris?"

"Because it was me, J." Chris turned to Gary, "I reminded people that George was a person and so is Jamie. I swear Starfleet is full of the dumbest smart people in the universe. They made her show up, the least they could have done was pretend he was more than just a dead hero for a few minutes, because he was." That earned a chuckle from Jamie, Lee and Gary. "They all keep ignoring that George Kirk was a man who loved his family, instead those idiots take shots at his daughter and forgot about his son. Since he is my father-in-law, I figured that I would set them all straight. Without giving away everything I know about him."

Gary could understand that. He'd been friends with Jamie since she got to the academy, she worked hard, stayed out of trouble and yet people still treated her like being born a Kirk was her fault. He's heard plenty of idiots complain about how easy her life must have been, Gary wanted to ask if he could have some of the drugs they must have been on. Her father died, hero or not, life isn't easy when you lose someone like that. It was probably the reason she stuck with him, Lee and Spock as friends.

Gary couldn't imagine life without his folks, he would bet that Spock couldn't either. Lee's dad died back in August and it hit him hard. He kept pushing because being a Starfleet officer was what he always wanted and he knew his dad would want him to live his dream. It shocked Gary that the same people giving Kirk crap about her dad, gave Kelso condolences about his in the next breath.

"I got caught up in the moment, Mitch," Jamie whispered. He looked at his friend who was showing him her vulnerability for the first time. He pulled her into a hug.

"It's all good Jamie, I teared up too, just didn't have anyone taking holos of me."