Any recognizable lines come from the Star Trek: 2009 movie
Disclaimer: not mine
Chris shaded his eyes as he exited the Starfleet Administration building and stepped into the bright sunlight of midday. Four years since he had taken over command of the Yorktown. They were back on Earth once more, for the first time in almost four years, and Chris was planning on enjoying every minute of the five days he had before they headed back out to finish their mission.
Chris hadn't been sure why the Yorktown had been called back to Earth, until that morning. He had spent the last couple of hours in a meeting with several Admirals. Apparently, he had distinguished himself enough in the last few years that they were considering him for captaincy of the newest Flagship, the USS Enterprise, when it was complete. The ship was in the beginning stages of planning now, but Chris was excited to be on the shortlist of candidates. From what he learned at the meeting – it really felt more like an interview, now that he thought about it – the ship would not be ready for flight for at least another five years or so.
In the meantime, Chris would finish up on the Yorktown, and if selected for the Enterprise, he would hand over captaincy to his First Officer and girlfriend, and return to Earth to wait for his ship to be finished. The Admirals had unofficially offered him a position at the Academy, should he be selected, while the Enterprise was being built. One appealing aspect to him was that he would be able to personally select the crew for the Flagship.
Chris pulled out his comm. and checked his messages and the time, before he smiled and put the device away. Perfect. He had just enough time to grab his overnight bag and meet up with Shay, before they headed to the shuttle depot. He had two very important events to attend in Massachusetts this weekend. He did love when things lined up perfectly like this. Called back to Earth at the right time to be able to attend Jim's defense of his thesis, and graduation from MIT a few days later, before he had to be back in San Francisco.
"Chris!"
Chris turned slightly, and smiled as he saw his girlfriend walking towards him, carrying two bags. 'Thanks," he said, taking his bag from her. "You saved me a trip."
Shay laughed lightly. "I'm just as excited as you are to get there," she replied. "Now let's go."
Chris nodded, and the two started making their way towards the Academy exit.
They were almost there when Admirals Jonathan Archer and Richard Barnett caught up with them. "Chris!" Jon Archer called out.
Chris and Shay stopped, confused, as they turned around and waited for the Admirals to catch up.
"Where are you two headed?" Richard asked, as they reached the Captain and Commander.
Chris and Shay shared a look. Chris shrugged. "We're going to visit a friend for a few days."
Jon raised an eyebrow. "This friend have a name?"
Chris pursed his lips. "Does it matter?" he countered.
It was Jon's turn to shrug. "I just wasn't aware you had too many friends outside of Starfleet."
Chris wasn't sure whether or not he should be offended. "Well, I do. Now, if you have no more questions, we've got a shuttle to catch."
Jon and Richard nodded, and watched as the two left the campus. When they were gone, the Admirals looked at each other.
"Something's up," Richard commented, his expression concerned.
Jon nodded his agreement. "You up for a little detective work?" he asked, a glint of amusement in his eyes.
Richard grinned, and the two headed back to Jon's office, where they quickly looked up the shuttles leaving that afternoon, along with passenger manifests. It didn't take long for them to find Chris and Shay listed on a shuttle manifest headed to Boston, Massachusetts.
Both Admirals were confused. What were they planning on doing there? Who did they know in Boston?
"It's too bad we can't look at Chris' most recent stel-net browsing history," Richard commented.
Jon sat up quickly, a grin forming on his face. "I think we can," he replied excitedly. "Since he's a Starfleet official. A perk of outranking him." He then typed in a few commands and inputted his override code.
Richard frowned. He briefly thought about feeling guilty, but he was too curious to care for long. "He was checking out the MIT site. Is there something going on there this weekend?"
Jon typed in a few more commands, before leaning back in his seat. "MIT's graduation is this weekend." His voice was confused. "Computer, show me the list of graduating students for MIT."
A list appeared on the screen, and Jon and Richard sighed in exasperation. "How are we supposed to know whom Chris and Shay are visiting?" Jon asked, disappointed.
Richard scanned the list, not really expecting anything, which was why he was surprised to actually see a name he recognized. "There."
Jon leaned forward, and read the name that Richard was pointing to. James T. Kirk.
"Shit," he commented quietly.
The two Admirals looked at each other. They both remembered George Kirk well. He had been something of a protégé of Richard's, back when the Admiral had been a Captain. George was a laid back, likeable man. Richard had been devastated to hear what had happened to him on the Kelvin, all those years ago, especially since he had recommended him personally to Captain Robau.
Jon was lost in his own thoughts, but looked up, surprised, when Richard headed out of his office. "Where are you going?" he called out, confused.
"Massachusetts," was the reply.
Jon sighed, but quickly stood up to follow his friend.
XXX
Jim jerked slightly as he heard his name called from across the quad. He looked around in confusion, before smiling as he saw Chris and Shay walking towards him.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, confused, as the pair reached him.
Chris wasted no time in grabbing the young man in a tight hug. Pulling back, he smiled. "You think we would miss this?" he asked rhetorically, as Shay moved in to give Jim her own greeting.
Jim shrugged, suddenly embarrassed. He had kept in touch with the Captain a little over the last few years, but it wasn't easy when they were several galaxies apart. He had returned to Earth eighteen months earlier to complete his degree, and since then, had not had much contact with Chris.
In the last few months, he had thought a little about his upcoming graduation. This would be the first graduation ceremony he would actually attend. His two Bachelor's degrees had been obtained through distance learning, and he hadn't attended the ceremonies. Tarsus' graduation hadn't really been much; they had received a diploma on their last day, handed to them by the principal, but that had been it.
He had heard some of his classmates talk about how their families were coming to the ceremony this weekend, how they were coming to hear them defend their thesis, how proud they were of their children. He wondered if his mother even knew he was completing an advanced degree. Somehow, he doubted it. He hadn't thought he'd have anyone there for him, so he was understandably emotional, to see Chris and Shay there.
"How did you manage to get shore leave on Earth this week?" he asked curiously, as the trio began to walk across the quad.
Chris smirked. "Sometimes fate just works out, doesn't it?"
Jim snorted and shook his head.
The three spent the rest of the afternoon walking through the campus, catching up. Jim told them about his studies, and gave them an overview of his thesis, and Chris and Shay told him about some of their explorations and adventures.
XXX
Chris would readily admit to not understanding much of Jim's thesis, but he could tell that the kid did a good job. He was calm and confident as he stood up before a panel of advisors and professors and spoke about… something. It had to do with Engineering, he knew that much.
A short debate followed after Jim finished speaking, and even if Chris didn't know what they were talking about, he knew that Jim defended his research well.
Evidently, the board thought so as well; he could see approval on their faces as they congratulated him and thanked him for his time.
"Not bad."
Chris jumped in his seat, feeling his heart thump painfully as he turned around quickly. Beside him, Shay mimicked his movements.
In the row behind them, Jon and Richard were sitting, both wearing similarly amused expressions on their faces.
Chris furrowed his brow as he took a deep breath to steady his heartbeat. "What are you doing here?"
Jon smirked. "Come on, Chris. It really wasn't that hard to figure out where you two were going. Why didn't you tell us you were still in touch with the kid?"
Chris sighed and shrugged with one shoulder. "Jim likes anonymity. He's spent his whole life with people looking at him and seeing his father. He just… he didn't want me to go bragging about him." Chris chuckled weakly. "If I could, I'd tell the universe how proud I am of him." He sighed again. "I haven't gotten to spend as much time with him as I'd like over the last few years since we reconnected, and I'm just glad we happened to be on Earth this weekend."
Richard nodded. "Nice little twist of fate," he agreed. He then nodded at the space behind Chris. "So why don't we go say hello? You can introduce us."
Chris swallowed, suddenly nervous. He wasn't sure how Jim would react to the Admirals' presence. He stood up, and Shay, Jon, and Richard followed his lead.
Jim was walking towards them, a smile on his face. He looked carefree, though all four Starfleet officials could see the signs of fatigue lining his face. He had clearly spent a good deal of time, and several all nighters, lately, working towards the completion of his degree.
Chris hid any of his unease behind a smile, and moved forward to give Jim a big hug, grasping the young man tightly as he tried to pass on his feelings of pride. "You did good, kid," he murmured quietly. "I'm proud of you."
He felt Jim stiffen slightly, and knew that the younger man hadn't heard that phrase a lot in his life.
Pulling back, Shay moved in, and then Jim regarded the two unknown men standing in front of him. He raised an eyebrow, and looked at Chris. "When did I become important enough that Admiral Archer himself took an interest?" he drawled, though Chris could see the wariness behind his blue eyes.
Chris rolled his eyes. "They followed us," he said by way of apology. "Jim, this is Richard Barnett, and Jon Archer. But of course you knew that."
Jim sized the two Admirals up, his powerful gaze locking them in place. After a few moments of silence, Jim smirked and held out his hand. Jon and Richard both shook it in turn. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Richard and Jon shared a look. Jon was the one to answer. "I have no doubt you don't remember either of us. You would have only been a few months old the last time we saw you. When we found out that Chris was coming to visit you, we just…" he trailed off a little hopelessly.
Richard picked up where his friend and colleague left off. "I'm not proud of the fact that I didn't try to keep in touch. George was a good friend. He served under me when I was a Captain, and I recommended him to Robau for the position of First Officer on the Kelvin. I can't really offer up any sort of excuse, because the truth is, I don't have any. I meant to keep in touch, but life just got in the way. I'm ashamed that I didn't even really spare much thought to you and your brother over the years. I wish I could go back and change it."
Jim studied the two Admirals, thinking. He wasn't quite sure what to think, actually. These two distinguished men were here, apologizing to him. On the one hand, he really hated it when people brought his dad into the mix, but they hadn't compared him to the man yet, just mentioned that they knew him. So they felt guilty because… they were friends with him? From the sound of it, Barnett had been the reason his dad had been stationed on the Kelvin. That sure sounded like a hell of a lot of guilt to carry around.
Chris cleared his throat. "Perhaps we could continue this conversation somewhere a little more private?" he asked, when they all looked at him. "Jim, I believe I owe you dinner."
Jim shook his head. "I don't think that was part of the arrangement," he argued.
But Chris just slung an arm across his shoulders and proceeded to lead him out of the lecture hall. "Don't argue, kid. I'm buying you dinner."
The evening passed pleasantly, and while Jim still remained wary of the Admirals' presence, he did warm slightly to their company. By the end of the night, Jim had relaxed enough, or dropped his guard enough, that they spent an enjoyable time talking and laughing; Jon and Richard got to know Jim as a young man, and Jim got more acquainted with the Admirals.
"So what now?" Chris asked, as they moved from dinner to dessert at the quaint little restaurant located just off the MIT campus.
Jim looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He knew what the Captain was asking, but couldn't he wait at least until after the actual graduation ceremony? Chris just shrugged sheepishly in response.
Jim sighed. "I've got a couple of offers, based on my thesis and graduate work. A couple of the professors have approached me with projects to collaborate on. I haven't really made any set plans yet though."
Chris nodded. "Well, I'm sure whatever you do, you'll be great."
Jim suddenly looked embarrassed. "Thanks," he muttered, and all of them got the distinct impression he wasn't used to the praise.
Fortunately, no one pressed the issue, and soon enough, Jim left them to return to his dorm room. He was done with his course work, but he had promised to help a professor out early the next morning, so he needed to get some sleep.
"I like him," Jon declared, as soon as Jim had disappeared down a side street.
Chris snorted, and Richard nodded his agreement. "Kid's smart. You talk to him about enlisting?"
Chris suddenly looked concerned. "Please don't bring it up, I beg you. It won't end well."
Both Admirals wondered about that statement, but didn't ask, as they headed in the direction of the Starfleet shipyard located outside of Boston. Being officers, they could simply request lodgings there, rather than worry about finding and paying for rooms at a hotel, especially during a weekend when many other family members would be doing the same thing.
XXX
For hundreds of years, the tune of Pomp and Circumstance had been annoying and irritating both graduating students and the family and friends that came to see them walk across the stage.
Chris loved hearing it. He felt like the proudest father in the audience as he watched Jim shake the College President's hand up on that stage. He knew he was clapping like an idiot, but he didn't care. Next to him, Shay, Jon, and Richard were just as enthusiastic.
They met up with Jim after the ceremony and once more managed to drag him off for a congratulatory dinner. Jim was sure that Chris was just trying to fatten him up one meal at a time, but he wasn't complaining. He wasn't one to turn down a free meal, and he knew the Captain cared about him. It was a strange feeling. Good strange, but still strange.
Unfortunately, the evening came to a close all too soon, and the Starfleet officials had to return to San Francisco. They each said goodbye to Jim, and made him promise to keep in touch, before they got on the shuttle.
"You take care of yourself, Jim," Chris implored, smiling at the younger man.
Jim nodded. "I will if you will," he replied, looking the Captain in the eye.
Chris' smile widened, as he agreed. He stepped aside and Shay moved in to give him a kiss on the cheek, smiling proudly at him.
"We are so very proud of you, Jim. No matter what you do, you will be great."
Jim blushed, not sure of how to respond.
Fortunately, Shay stepped back, so he didn't have to say anything. Jon and Richard both shook his hand, congratulating him and telling him how glad they were to meet him.
Eventually, they couldn't stall any longer, and had to get on the shuttle, or they would miss their flight back to California.
As Jim watched them depart, he knew it wasn't the last he'd see of them. Chris and Shay were good friends, even, dare he say it, parental figures. And he did like Jon and Richard, though he remained slightly wary of them. They were Starfleet Admirals, after all.
XXX
Immediately after his own graduation, Jim hopped a shuttle across the Atlantic. Pavel had invited him to his University graduation ceremony, which of course, Jim wouldn't miss for the world. He spent a few days in Russia, before returning to America.
Chris and Shay returned to the Yorktown, and the remainder of their five-year mission, so talk with Jim was sporadic from there.
A few months later, Chris was interested to hear from Jon that Jim was doing some work on the new Enterprise. Something to do with the warp core design; Chris had no idea what, really, all that technological information just went way over his head, but he knew it was something that built on what Jim had researched for his thesis. Apparently, Jon had looked over Jim's thesis, and thought it showed promise, so he passed it along. The team designing the new Flagship jumped on the idea, and were very eager to get Jim on board. He ended up passing on all the offers his professors had made him, and agreed to work with Starfleet, since the chance to design a warp core for the Flagship was really too good to pass up.
Chris had officially been offered the post as Captain on the newest Flagship, so he was glad to hear that Jim would be involved in its building stages. He trusted his young friend's brilliance. Once their five years were up, he would be passing the Yorktown over to Shay, and would return to Earth for a post at the Academy, while the Enterprise was completed. He would mostly be doing recruiting, though Jon had mentioned that he would be asked to teach a few classes here and there.
Messages from Hikaru and Pavel informed Jim that both his friends had started at Starfleet Academy. He wasn't surprised about Pavel, he knew that his younger friend had wanted to join for a while. Parental permission would allow the thirteen year old to enlist, as he was a certified genius who held a University degree. He had been courted by Starfleet personally, and under the pressure of their son's wide, pleading eyes, his parents couldn't say no. They weren't pleased about it, but they had let him go.
Hikaru was more of a surprise to Jim. Somehow, he didn't really see his carefree friend as the uniform type. But then, Hikaru loved to fly. He knew that. Maybe he had gotten tired of the shuttles he had been flying for the private service that he worked for, and wanted something a little more exciting.
XXX
Jim sighed as he sat down at one end of the crowded bar. This was the last place he really wanted to be, and truth to be told, if it weren't for the fact that the Enterprise was being built at the Shipyard here, he wouldn't have even bothered stopping by.
He had been happily spending the last couple of years as a nomad, the way he had pretty much since he had gotten back from Tarsus. Until that damn comm.
He didn't know why they had even bothered to let him know that Frank was dead. Why did anyone think he'd care? He hadn't seen the bastard since he was fourteen.
But then he had gotten a message from his mother, and it was the first time he had spoken with her in years. She sent him on a really good guilt trip, and made him feel like he had to go back to Riverside for the funeral. If he hadn't wanted to check on the Enterprise's progress, he wouldn't have bothered.
Of course, looking back on it, he probably should have just skipped the funeral all together. Why did Winona think he should be upset? Frank had been a bastard. Plain and simple. He got it that she was sad for the death of her husband, but let's call a spade a spade.
Jim grimaced as he recalled the funeral that afternoon.
There weren't that many people there, which made sense, considering Frank wasn't that likeable a man. Winona was there, as were a few of Frank's poker buddies, but that was pretty much it. Not even Sam had come.
Jim had to spend most of the afternoon listening to Winona demand justice for her husband's death. Apparently, he had picked a fight with the wrong man in a bar brawl. With so many people involved, it was hard to tell who had caused the death blow, but the police had assured Winona they were on it. Of course, that wasn't enough for her.
Finally, Jim had had enough. He had tried. He really had. He wanted to get through the afternoon without any fights. But by the end of the burial, he just couldn't do it. "Frank was a bastard, and I'm glad he's dead," he glowered, glaring at Winona.
Winona cut off midsentence. "What did you say?"
Jim looked at her, his blue eyes piercing. "You heard me. Frank was a horrible person. I wish I knew who killed him too, if only to thank them."
Winona gasped. "You ungrateful, spoiled brat. After all Frank did for you!"
That was when Winona's hand raised to slap him. Jim caught it mid motion, and threw it back down to her side. He glared. "You know what? I'm done trying. Next time you think about contacting me? Don't."
And that was how Jim found himself in a bar, on his third bottle of beer, watching the establishment fill up around him.
A few flecks of red intruded on his vision, and he turned his head slightly, confused. He raised an eyebrow, and smirked. Apparently, there was a contingent of Cadets in town. Why, he had no idea, but hey, it could be fun.
He continued to watch the Cadets for a while, until one particularly beautiful woman separated from the crowd, heading up to the bar. She stopped a few seats down from him and looked at a drink menu, deliberating.
Taking one last swig of his beer, Jim stood up and stepped around a few other patrons to come to a rest by the woman's side, just as she decided.
"I'll have a Cardassian Sunrise."
Jim smirked. "That's a lot of drink for one woman."
Said woman looked at him with something akin to a glare. She turned back to the bartender. "And a shot of Jack straight up."
Jim also looked at the bartender. "Make that two, her shot's on me."
The Cadet rolled her eyes. "Her shot's on her. Thanks, but no thanks."
Jim turned slightly to face the Cadet head on. "Don't you want to know my name before you completely blow me off?'
The woman shook her head. "I'm fine without it." She downed the shot the bartender put in front of her.
Jim also downed his own shot. "You are fine without it." He put the glass back on the bar. "I'm Jim."
He waited for a moment, and finally, the Cadet sighed. "Uhura."
Jim paused for a beat. "You got a first name?"
Uhura shook her head, looking at him. "Not one I give out to strangers."
Jim nodded. Understandable. "So, you're a Cadet, you're studying. What's your focus?"
Uhura smirked slightly. "Xenolinguistics. You have no idea what that means."
Jim's responding smirk was slightly wistful. "Study of alien languages, morphology, phonology, syntax." To Uhura, he sounded like he was quoting someone. "It means you have a talented tongue."
Uhura couldn't help but laugh. "I'm impressed. For a moment there, I thought you were just a dumb hick who only has sex with farm animals."
Jim laughed as well. "Too much work," he chuckled.
Uhura lifted the Cardassian Sunrise to her lips and took a sip. Jim was very good looking, she would be the first to admit it, and probably just a year or two older than her, but she got the feeling that he wasn't looking for a one-night stand with her. He was flirting a little, no doubt, but she didn't think he was expecting anything to happen between them. And she was having fun.
"So do you live around here?" she asked curiously, as he ordered another beer and took a sip.
Jim managed to hide his wince. "Thankfully not anymore," he replied, smiling again, though this time, it didn't quite meet his eyes. "I'm only in town for a couple of days. Family situation, and checking on the progress of the Enterprise."
Uhura raised her eyebrow. "Why do you care what's going on with Starfleet's newest Flagship?"
Jim shrugged. "I did some consulting when they were planning the design for the warp core. Some of my thesis work caught the interest of Starfleet and the team designing the Enterprise a couple of years ago."
Uhura was impressed, and she said so. "How old are you?"
Jim snorted. "Twenty two," he admitted.
Now Uhura was staring. To her knowledge, most people weren't even starting graduate work until that age, and didn't finish until their late twenties.
Jim shrugged. "I'm an early bloomer," he admitted. He didn't feel like telling her his whole life story, so he artfully maneuvered the conversation in another direction. "So what's a contingent of Cadets doing out here in the boonies?"
Uhura smiled. "We're coming back from a training exercise. Our shuttle had a malfunction, so Captain Pike had us set down at the Riverside Shipyard for the night. We'll be leaving at 0800, but for some reason, he and Lieutenant Collins thought we could be trusted to have the night out."
Jim looked around at the Cadets in the bar. Already, a fair number of them seemed to be on their way to becoming intoxicated. He snorted.
Next to him, Uhura seemed to agree. "I hope they remember that we do actually have a curfew. I'd rather not get in trouble because some idiots can't hold their liquor."
Jim looked at her sidelong, his expression taking on a playful tinge, with a sultry undertone. "Well, you know we could always leave before the party crashes. Take a little detour. I know a great little spot near here, beautiful view. Gorgeous sunrise."
Uhura rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her drink. "I'd rather sleep with a cactus," she muttered in Vulcan.
Jim smirked. "That doesn't sound pleasant," he replied in the same language.
Uhura knew she was staring again. "How…" she trailed off.
Jim laughed lightly. "I've done a bit of traveling," he said by way of answer. "Ask me what languages I know later."
Uhura nodded determinately. One way or another, she'd hold him to that.
Someone stumbled into Uhura at that moment, and she gasped, spilling her drink as she in turn stumbled, falling into Jim.
His strong hands caught her, steadying her. She felt herself blush as he set her back on her feet. "You all right?" he murmured.
Unable to say anything, Uhura just nodded.
"Hey there sweetie, how 'bout I buy you a drink?"
Uhura rolled her eyes and turned around, looking at one of her classmates. He had clearly already had too much to drink himself, as unsteady on his feet as he was, evidenced by the way he had crashed into her. "Get lost," she replied.
The drunk Cadet did not appear to take the hint. "Aww, come on sweetie. You're giving this townie a good time, at least I'm worth it."
Uhura rested a hand on Jim's arm to stop him from stepping forward. "I told you, Garth, I'm not interested."
The Cadet seemed to be getting worked up now. He took a step closer and grabbed Uhura around the waist. "Let's just step out back –"
Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to finish that sentence, as Jim moved in one fluid motion. He separated the Cadet from Uhura and put everything he had into his right hook. The Cadet went down. Jim glared at the Cadet now groaning on the ground. He hated men who tried to take advantage, and he hadn't missed the flash of fear in Uhura's eyes when the Cadet had grabbed her.
As soon as the Cadet went down, his friends seemed to realize what was going on, and moved over to back the idiot up. Jim just grit his teeth and defended himself as best he could, but he was glad when a piercing whistle tore through the air.
All the Cadets turned to the source of the noise, as did Jim. He grinned through the bloody nose, seeing Chris standing in the doorway, looking royally pissed off, before turning back to reassure Uhura as she asked him if he was all right.
"I hope you have a very good reason for this." Chris' voice was clipped and hard. "You were all due back at the Shipyard ten minutes ago."
A few Cadets shuffled around, and Chris observed the obvious signs of fighting. Even if he hadn't had to break it up, he could see several men in red on the floor, and a couple more nursing bloody noses and what would most likely be brilliant black eyes in a few hours. He looked around, trying to find the source of the altercation.
His eyes lit on a solitary figure in the center of the group of red. The man was wearing jeans and a worn leather jacket. He too looked worse for the wear, with a bloody nose and several bruises on his knuckles and his face. A female Cadet – Uhura, if he remembered correctly – was standing near him, looking at him worriedly. That was interesting. All the other Cadets were looking at him, but she was more interested in this civilian.
His keen ears heard her whisper something to the civilian, and he replied. He didn't know what was said, but it seemed to please her, because she relaxed slightly, and the man looked over at Chris.
And Chris couldn't believe it. What the hell was Jim doing here? Hadn't he sworn never to come back to Riverside? Of course, Chris remembered Jim being here to work on the Enterprise a couple years ago, but from what he had heard from Jon, Jim had actually stayed several towns over, and commuted to the Shipyard, just so he wouldn't have to stay here.
Jim turned away after reassuring Uhura that he was all right, and looked over to see Chris standing in the bar's entrance. He smirked and shrugged by way of explanation.
Chris sighed and shook his head. "Why am I not surprised," he muttered. Louder, he barked, "Outside, all of you."
The Cadets hurried to obey.
Chris moved through the mass exodus of red to Jim's side. He was interested to see that Cadet Uhura was still there, having not moved to join her fellow Cadets in their hurry to leave the bar.
"Are you sure you're all right, Jim?" he heard her ask, as he walked over to them.
Jim sighed and nodded, reaching up with one hand to touch his bloody nose. "I'm fine," he assured her once more. "It's not broken."
Uhura nodded. "I should go. Thanks for… you know."
Jim nodded again. "Any time. I'll see you around, Uhura."
Uhura paused. "Nyota," she said. "It's Nyota."
Jim smiled and held out a hand, before looking at it, seeing the blood, and grimacing, dropping the limb to his side. "It's nice to meet you, Nyota."
Nyota nodded. "You as well, Jim." She looked over as Chris joined them. "Captain Pike." She sounded nervous, but trying to hide it.
Chris nodded. "Cadet. From the looks of it, I'll need to get a report of the incident from you."
Nyota nodded, hiding her grimace.
Chris then turned to look at Jim. The two stared at each other for a few moments, while Nyota watched, confused, before Chris furrowed his eyebrows. "I seem to recall you mentioning hell freezing over before you spending another night in this town, Jim."
Jim shrugged. "Frank died."
Chris nodded slowly. "I heard. Somehow, I didn't think you cared that much."
Jim shook his head. "I don't. But Winona does, and she somehow managed to get me to come to the funeral. If I hadn't wanted to check up on the Enterprise's progress, I wouldn't have bothered, but…"
Chris nodded again, this time sympathetically. "How was it?" he asked carefully.
Jim's responding look said it all. "Why do you think I'm here?" he gestured to the bar around him.
Chris winced. He did know that Jim liked to drink sometimes, but he didn't really like bars, and he definitely knew his limits. He had been beaten almost to unconsciousness too many times by a drunk man to ever be comfortable going there himself.
Pulling himself together, Chris turned back to Nyota. "Cadet Uhura, can you tell me what happened."
Nyota hid her nerves behind a calm face. She felt slightly better when Jim rested a hand discreetly on her lower arm. She told the Captain about the Cadet drunkenly hitting on her, and how he grabbed her and wouldn't take no for an answer. "Jim was just defending me. When he punched Cadet Garth, the others jumped on him."
Chris nodded. That did fall in line with everything he knew about his young friend. "Thank you, Cadet. Please join your classmates outside. Lieutenant Collins will take you all back to the Shipyard."
Nyota nodded, looking worriedly back at Jim. His smile reassured her. She thought about the interaction between the two, and came to the startling conclusion that they knew each other. She smiled back at Jim and left them alone. She knew he would be all right.
Chris waited until they were alone before he led the younger man over to one of the tables that hadn't been overturned.
The bartender stopped him and passed him a towel with a nod towards Jim. He smiled. "I remember the kid, back when he was a kid. Never believed anything that ass of a stepfather said about him. Man liked his drink too much for me to trust him, and as a bartender, I know a thing or two about that."
Chris nodded his thanks. "I'll cover the damages," he promised.
The bartender shrugged. "Jim was defending the girl. Just make sure that Cadet learns what no means, and we're even."
Chris considered for a moment, and then nodded again, before joining Jim at the table.
He handed Jim the towel and watched as the kid… he really couldn't call him a kid anymore, could he… as the man cleaned some of the blood off his nose and chin. He winced as he bumped his split lip, but kept going.
"You all right?" Chris asked, keeping his voice neutral.
Jim raised an eyebrow but didn't respond as he kept cleaning himself up.
After another minute, he lowered the towel.
"You missed a spot."
Jim glared, and Chris chuckled. "Never mind. Now, I know what happened, and trust me, those idiots will get what's coming to them."
Jim nodded decisively. "Good."
Chris resettled himself in his seat. "So… what have you been doing?"
Jim shrugged, throwing the bloody towel down on the table. "Traveling. Working. The Enterprise is coming along nicely." He showed some pride here, as he thought about the work he had put into the ship. "She'll be ready for you in a few years."
Chris smiled. "I'm glad you're working on her, Jim. I trust you to get her ready to fly."
Jim looked a little uncomfortable with the praise, but happy nonetheless.
Chris bit his lip, observing the young man across from him. "Have you thought about what's next?" he hedged carefully. The last time he had made a suggestion, Jim had walked out on him. He didn't want that to happen again.
Jim shrugged again, picking up one of the saltshakers on the table and playing with it. It was a model of a constellation class starship.
Chris sighed. "Aren't you getting bored with your wandering, Jim? Don't you want to do something with your life? Something, anything."
Still, Jim said nothing. Chris shifted in his seat. "If you joined Starfleet, you could be challenged. You could be an officer in four years, you could have your own ship in eight. You could be a part of something, Jim."
He waited. It took a few minutes, but finally, Jim met his worried gaze. "You done?" he asked curtly.
Chris nodded simply. "I'm done. He stood up, and made to leave, but felt compelled to throw out one last challenge. "You know, your father was Captain of a starship for twelve minutes; he saved eight hundred lives. I dare you to do better." And with that, he left to go deal with a mess and several Cadets who were in serious need of discipline.
Jim smirked as he was left alone in the bar. If there was one thing he never did, it was back down. It had gotten him into trouble on more than one occasion, but it wasn't in his nature.
Truth be told, he had probably been working towards this moment for the last five or six years. Ever since the first time Chris had mentioned Starfleet. He had immediately dismissed the idea, but since then, he hadn't really been able to get it out of his head. Everything he had done since then had just prepared him for this moment. Traveling, learning about different species, adding new languages to his repertoire, completing his Master's, exploring the universe, living life… it was all in preparation for this.
He stood up and rolled his shoulders, wincing at the soreness. He nodded to the bartender as he left, and headed towards Riverside's solitary hotel to grab his duffel bag, before he made his way to the Shipyard for one last look at the Enterprise.
Commander Peterson was still there, and happy to take him on one last tour of the ship-in-progress before Jim left for years of uniforms and 'yes sirs' and 'no ma'ams'.
When it was nearly time for the shuttle to depart, Peterson left Jim near where the shuttle would be leaving with the Cadets. "You take care of yourself, Jim."
Jim nodded, and shook the Commander's offered hand, smiling.
Peterson then gave Jim a light hug, before letting him go. "I'll see you around the galaxy," he chuckled.
Jim laughed as well, before he went to join his new classmates for the trip to the Academy.
Chris was standing by the shuttle watching as the Cadets boarded. Most looked rather worse for the wear, as the night before had clearly caught up with them. Those involved in the bar fight were definitely feeling their mistakes.
Most of the Cadets were on board, but Chris was stalling. They had picked up one extra, a doctor working at the clinic in the area, but Chris was really hoping they would have one more. He looked around, biting his lip, and was about to tell the pilot to start the procedures for take off, when movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He smiled and watched as Jim sauntered up to him.
"Four years?" he smirked. "I'll do it in three."
Chris shook his head as Jim boarded. Somehow, he knew the next few years would be very interesting.
I know the timing for the thesis to graduation doesn't really work out, but I wanted Chris to be there for both, so I fudged it a little.
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