Author's Note:

Greetings and salutations everyone and I'm back with a very long chapter this time. Firstly I'd like to say to Kenzi600 thank you for your patience, you asked for this chapter when you reviewed chapter 20 and again in your review for chapter 32. As such you'll be pleased to know that this is the chapter explaining when Jim got guardianship of Pavel. It is set after they've beaten Nero and before the last scene when they leave. Thank for your continued support of this story and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

I do not own Star Trek.

Change

Admiral Archer was not entirely sure how things were going to go.

In the wake of all that had happened recently and the loss of Vulcan and most of its people the issue being dealt with today had been put off in favour of more pressing matters. Now however, attention could be turned to matter that Archer had been thinking greatly about.

Some weeks before Nero the admiral had been giving serious thought to the matter of how the guardianship of Pavel Chekov was going to work when his academy days were finished. While the boy was at the academy it was the most obvious and sensible choice to make Archer his guardian as the admiral was close by and was about the only other person Pavel felt sort of comfortable with. However now that would have to change. Naturally the whole issue had been interrupted by what had happened and it was only now that anything could be discussed. The admiral was certain that someone else would have to become Pavel's guardian and Archer didn't think the other admirals would be impressed with his choice of replacement.

He met Pike, who would also be a part of discussions, outside Starfleet Headquarters. The soon to be admiral was in his wheelchair but was looking a lot better than he did a few weeks ago and smiled as Archer approached. The two had been good friends for a long time due to serving together on and off on various ships and starbases over the years and had long since put aside rank and positioning out with professional work.

"Well Jon, how do you think they're going to react to your choice?"

Archer sighed and began wheeling the chair into the building, "Well they'll no doubt make an issue about age and experience and to be fair in other circumstances they'd be right to. In this case however I think the shared experience and obvious closeness between the two will be what makes them come round in the end."

"You seem certain that they'll agree."

"It's the right thing to do Chris and even if they don't agree its going to happen anyway if they're going to be serving on the same ship together. We may as well make it official in the paperwork and save ourselves a lot of trouble later."

Pike smirked and nodded in agreement, "I have no doubt about that."

They soon came to a small conference room to find the other two admirals involved already seated. It was pretty pointless having the entirety of the Admiralty involved with the subject of one underage cadet as such as well as Archer there was only Admiral Barnett and Admiral Mayweather, male and female respectively, with Pike there as Chekov's captain and original candidate for his guardian.

Admiral Barnett started the meeting, "As you all know we're here to discuss the possibility of altering who will be Cadet Chekov's guardian. Firstly I think it should be made clear exactly why we are considering this so if you could please give your reasons sir."

Archer gave a small smile when Barnett addressed him as 'sir'. It was something the younger admiral always did out of respect of Archer's greater experience and the fact that he'd been an admiral when Barnett had still been a new captain. He answered, "No need to be quite as formal Barnett but yes it would be good to make my reasoning clear. When we first took Pavel in as a cadet I was chosen to be his guardian because I was the only person he trusted and that arrangement has worked the last four years. Legally he needs to have a guardian since he's underage but we could've just left things as they are but unlike many teenagers Pavel needs a more constantly present emotional support. Intellectually he is ahead of many of the other cadets but he still has some emotional needs that others don't have. He needs a parental figure who is easy to find and speak to in person which I can't be if he's on a starship. His skills would be wasted planetside or on a starbase and I'm no longer able to spend all my days gallivanting around the galaxy in a starship. As such I thought it would be better to hand guardianship onto someone more able than I am."

Chris chipped in with a comment of his own, "And since I'm now also unable to captain a ship now I can't take over like we initially thought I would so we need to find someone else."

Admiral Mayweather spoke, "We can all agree that those are all valid points and you are right about needing to find a suitable guardian but I do have concerns about choosing James Kirk not least of which being the small age gap. There is about eight years between them and though Kirk has proven himself with what happened a few weeks ago I think he himself is too young for this sort of responsibility."

Pike answered, "Normally I'd agree with you Admiral but in this case age doesn't really matter. I was the one who brought Kirk into Starfleet and he has allowed me to be privy to more of his personal history than many others, with the possible exception of Doctor McCoy, and there are aspects of both his and Pavel's past which are similar. This gives him a understanding of what Pavel has been through which the rest of us don't have, I'm also certain that this wouldn't be the first time Kirk has been a sort of parental figure to someone else."

Barnett put his thought forward, "That may be but surely someone older with more experience like Doctor McCoy or Commander Spock would be better?"

Chris shook his head, "Spock is a fine officer and an exceptional individual but he wouldn't really know how to deal with the emotional aspect for obvious reasons, that and I think Pavel is slightly intimidated by him on top of another issue. McCoy would probably be better at dealing with the emotional issues but he doesn't really know or understand what Pavel has been through."

"From what I've discussed with Pike, Jim does have a understanding and from what we've been told Pavel has already started opening up to him more than he ever did with me." Archer added.

At this the other two admirals looked at him in surprise and Jon elaborated further, "From what we know it seems that during the few days it took the Enterprise to get back to Earth, Jim found Pavel sitting alone in one of the observation decks crying. Pavel was apparently blaming himself for the loss of Amanda Greyson, Ambassador Sarek's wife and Spock's mother, during the beaming up of the Vulcan High Council. Obviously it wasn't his fault and no-one was blaming him but he hadn't realised that, when Jim tried to tell him it wasn't his fault it was like everything suddenly came out and Pavel told him everything. I don't know exactly what was said but it was obvious that afterwards Pavel had given Jim a trust that he hadn't given anyone else especially when he told me about it afterwards."

There was a silence after this as the other admirals considered this before Barnett finally spoke, "That is definitely worth considering as we all know how difficult Pavel finds it to speak in that depth with someone but do we know how Kirk felt about it?"

Chris answered, "He never mentioned anything about it to me or anyone else but other crewmembers noticed that the interactions between the two of them were different, nothing obvious or unprofessional when they were on duty but most said it was like Jim's orders to Pavel were softer and more encouraging and he seemed to take great care in ensuring that the boy was eating and resting properly." Pike leaned forward onto the table, "That is what we know but I am certain that Jim Kirk has had far more life experience than anyone of us could guess which is why I agree with Admiral Archer's choice despite the closeness of age."

Jon added to what Chris had said, "Also we should take into account Pavel's reaction. He has given Kirk a level of trust that he has never really given anyone and he seems to have warmed to Jim quicker than anyone. I personally think that, regardless of our decision, if they are serving on the same ship Pavel will go to Jim before any guardian we assign. I know on paper and to those who don't know them well, making Jim Pavel's guardian is a insane idea but seeing that Pavel trusts Jim and Jim cherishes and protects that trust makes it the only sensible idea."

Barnett and Mayweather shared a look before turning back to Jon and Chris. Barnett was the one who spoke first, "Taking into account everything we know about Pavel and what you've both said it appears that this is the best option, especially in the light of the decision to promote Kirk to Captain of the Enterprise."

Archer smiled at that, though they hadn't brought it up in the discussion he had thought it would be another factor in their favour.

Mayweather continued where Barnett had left off, "The other admirals will have problems with this decision but I agree that it is what is best for Pavel which is the main thing. As such you have our full approval to transfer guardianship of Pavel Chekov to James Kirk provided they both agree."

Barnett nodded to show his agreement and after a few discussions over the legal aspects the meeting finished leaving Jon and Chris to tell Jim and Pavel.

It had been decided they'd tell Jim first and both men were hard pressed not to burst with excitement as they waited for Jim to arrive in the a slightly more comfortable room at Starfleet Headquarters. He arrived looking confused and made to salute but both Archer and Chris waved him down and told them to sit. Chris opened things, "Well we've called you here to discuss something that concerns you and Pavel Chekov."

Archer continued, "What we are about to put forward will only go ahead if you and Pavel agree to it and it is not something that you should decide to agree to out of duty to Starfleet. It is a decision that will have an impact on both your personal and professional life so keep that in mind."

Pike took up the explanation, "As you know Jim, Pavel is still underage so to have him working for Starfleet requires that we fulfil certain legal requirements, including ensuring that he has a suitable legal guardian."

Jon explained further, "Until now I've filled that role but it is now thought best to pass guardianship on to someone more suitable due to him having finished his academy work. After much thought we decided that the best person to take on this role would be you." He held up a hand to halt the question Jim had sat up to ask, "Let me explain why Jim." Jim sat back and Archer continued, "I know it seems unusual but Pavel told me about what happened after you defeated Nero and I have never known him to open up like that to anyone, not even me. That reason alone is quite a considerable one in your favour."

Jim could no longer contain himself, "But surely there is someone else better suited than me sir? I mean there's only eight years between us."

Archer gave him a smile, "Regardless of that Pavel gave you a trust he had never given anyone else and you've not betrayed that trust. You've not passed on anything he said to anyone else and you gave him exactly the kind of comfort he needed. Those are the sort of things that others who if put in your position at the time wouldn't have done and that speaks volumes about your character. In terms of the age difference in some things age doesn't matter and you've most likely noticed that there are times when Pavel acts younger than he is. I believe you can give the emotional security Pavel needs while still managing to maintain the professionalism needed on duty."

Chris put in his own encouragement for Jim, "I agree with what Jon is saying Jim but you don't have to give an answer right now. It's quite a responsibility but for what its worth I believe you will carry it brilliantly."

There was silence and Archer could see the cogs turning in the young man's mind until Jim finally answered, "I'll need time to think about this."

Pike grinned, "I'd be worried if you didn't, give us your answer when you're ready."

It took Jim about three days to come back with his answer and Archer was delighted when he said yes. When they told Pavel there was a moment of concern when he didn't do anything but stare at them but it instantly passed when the boy gave them a huge grin and treated Archer to a massive hug. It didn't take long for the paperwork to be sorted and the day the transfer of guardianship was confirmed was the same day that Jim was made Captain of the Enterprise. The celebratory meal following this was one to remember and Archer could not bring to mind a time when Pavel had laughed and smiled so much. The next few days were a blur of preparations as crew were added and transferred, systems checked and the Enterprise was confirmed ready for duty and soon it was time for her to leave spacedock.

Jon stood with Chris watching as the crew boarded the shuttles to head to the ship. They were hard pushed to not laugh as they watched Jim double check everything while being chased by an irate McCoy who was trying to give him a last minute check-up. Pavel was also checking all his belongings and re-reading his copy of the mission brief. He was so absorbed he had failed to notice that he was one of the only ones left to board, Jim came up startling him and he began to hurry into the shuttle. Archer let out a small laugh when Jim stopped him and pointed in Archer's direction saying something, Pavel gave Jim a mortified look before making his way over to the two admirals looking embarrassed.

"Jim von't let me on board till I'we given you a proper goodbye." Pavel muttered.

Jon grinned, "Well good for him because I would have been disappointed if you didn't."

"But eweryone ees vatching!"

"Well you should have said goodbye when they were all otherwise occupied."

Pavel scuffed his feet, "Vell, goodbye sor."

The boy looked back at Jim and Archer saw the captain fold his arms and fix Pavel with a look, Pavel sighed and quickly hugged Archer, "Goodbye, sank you for ewerysing."

Jon returned the hug, "Goodbye Pavel. Look after yourself and stay in touch. I'll see you sometime." They broke apart, "Now you'd better hurry cause you're keeping the shuttle waiting."

Pavel grinned before running back to the shuttle; he met Jim at the entrance and Pavel waved while Jim gave a two fingered salute. Jon and Chris returned the gesture and they both vanished into the shuttle.

They watched as the shuttle left taking them to a brand new life upon the most famous ship of the Federation.

PS-So a long chapter but I hope you liked it and please let me know what you thought.