One

The Wedding

1 month before the 5 year mission.

"Tori More, is that you?"

Victoria More frowned as she turned, spotting the man who had called her by her childhood nickname and shaking her head in disbelief. "Jim Kirk, I should have known. Are you following me?"

"You'd stun me if I tried," boyish charm turned on, Jim Kirk kissed her cheek and gave her a wink that made her roll her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here," she deadpanned. Fortunately, Jim was used to her humour and merely chuckled. Victoria rolled her eyes and continued to set down glasses onto a table from the tray she carried. "What do you think I'm doing here, in my pyjamas at ten in the morning?"

Jim gave her a look. "You always dress like this so, no offense, Tor, but you kind of do look like you work here."

Victoria sighed. "Where's all the charm gone, Kirk?"

"Sorry," he didn't look sorry. He took the tray from her, allowing her to use both hands to set down glasses, and she gave him a relieved smile. Annoyingly considerate, as always.

"Did you even read the invitation?" she asked finally when she was done. "I'm Ben's sister."

"Sulu married your step-brother?" Jim looked surprised, and then the charm was back. "You know, Tori, if I had known you were here, I wouldn't have brought a date."

Victoria snorted. "You'd have brought one regardless. Who is she?"

Jim nodded towards the group of people entering the garden, among them a pretty blonde woman that she easily identified as his type. "You're slipping," commented Victoria, even as her eyes drifted to a very attractive man with a little girl on his hip. The scowl on his face made her grin – she felt like scowling too. "You left her alone."

"Hard to concentrate on anyone else when you're in the room," said Jim cheekily. Victoria gave him an unamused look. He laughed. "Still grumpy before noon? You're almost as bad as Bones."

"Bones?"

"I told you about him last time I saw you," reminded Jim. "We've been friends since the Academy."

"Ah, yes, the grumpy old man who doesn't let you have any fun," Victoria rolled her eyes. "He's probably the reason you're still alive, so I can't decide if I should send him flowers or not."

Jim laughed, as if she had said the funniest thing in the world. "I've missed you, Tori," he nudged her with the tray playfully.

Victoria's expression softened, but only a little. "I've missed you too, honey, but if you drop those glasses you know I'll hurt you."

"Even you couldn't hurt a face like this."

Victoria gave him a wry smile. "I've done it in the past. I know all your tricks, James Kirk. A girl doesn't babysit a kid like you and learn nothing."

"Guilty," he looked anything but, and held out an arm for her to take when she had put down the last of the glasses. "Come meet the rest of my crew. I think my First Officer is a fan of your work."

"I'd love to, but I need to finish setting up inside, and get dressed," a tired look came over her face, and Jim's face went from teasing to concerned in a second. Victoria smiled. As annoying as the young captain had always been, his heart was bigger than a house. She squeezed his arm. "You save a dance for me, okay? Also," she glanced back at his friends, who had sat down a few ways away from them. "There are a couple of other kids inside, if your friend wants to let his daughter roam around?"

"Oh, yeah. That's Joanna," Kirk nodded. "Demora's inside too?"

"I finally got her to play nice with the Lewis twins from next door," Victoria rolled her eyes. "But she'll love having a girl around, I can introduce them if you –"

"Nah, I'll take her, you go on," Jim gave her one last smile and departed, and Victoria heaved another sigh before walking back into the house. She stopped only long enough to tell her friend Katie that she was going into the shower, kissed the top of Demora's head and ran for the bathroom.

The silence was a relief after the constant noise of the day. Victoria loved her step-brother with all her heart; they were very close, having lived together shortly after her father had married his mother and she had gone from being James Kirk's next door neighbour to the girl who visited his mother once a year. As she scrubbed her body and simultaneously attempted to shampoo her hair, she considered how her situation had changed since the day she had kissed thirteen year old Jim Kirk's forehead before climbing into her dad's truck all those years ago.

Her life revolved around her family, there was no doubt about that. Hikaru had settled in wonderfully a few years ago, and she was pleased at how understanding he had been of their dynamic. More than that, he and Ben had given her Demora, a child full of life and laughter that even made someone as acerbic as Victoria melt. When the little girl had insisted on a party for her parents' wedding, Victoria didn't have the heart to tell her that it would be next to impossible to organize in such a short amount of time, and had let her dream to her heart's content. What had begun as a fantasy turned into a real thing, however, since Victoria had practically begged the two men to let her throw a reception, despite Hikaru's upcoming trip with the USS Enterprise and Ben's impending assignment to Yorktown. It had meant they were forced to go through with the informal event at city hall first, of course, and despite their protests that they didn't need a party, Victoria had been adamant that they would get one.

Getting dressed hurriedly, she decided to look in on the children before finishing up inside. There were a few cousins Demora's age and children of the other guests sprawled around the living-room, playing games and watching something on the television. Victoria checked to make sure Demora hadn't spilled anything on her dress, and then noticed that the little girl Jim had brought in was sitting slightly away from the rest of the group, watching them intently but not unhappily.

"Hi there," Victoria smiled and sat down next to her on the sofa, noting that the child looked at her curiously, but not warily. She held out her hand. "I'm Tori. What's your name?"

"Joanna," she shook her hand gingerly, and then offered her a small smile of her own. "Tori is a funny name."

"It's my nickname. Only the people I like are allowed to use it," she winked.

Joanna smiled wider, some of the seriousness melting away. "I don't have a nickname. My mommy says nicknames are silly, but I'd like to have one."

What kind of a mother said that to a child? Victoria tried not to frown. "Well, your name is very pretty, I'm sure your mother realized you don't need one," she patted her hand comfortingly.

Joanna shrugged. "Uncle Jim calls me Jo sometimes, but that's a boy's name."

She rolled her eyes. "Uncle Jim's a bit of an idiot."

"That's what my dad says. What's Tori short for?" the curiosity in her voice was adorable.

"Victoria," she told her. Joanna's eyes brightened and she giggled. Victoria raised her eyebrows. "What is it?"

"Uncle Jim said you're drop-dead gorgeous," she continued to giggle. Victoria felt herself blushing, and rolled her eyes. Damn Jim Kirk, always trying to either embarrass her or charm her. "I don't know about the dead part," continued Joanna. "My daddy said that's a stupid thing to say when he said it, but you're very pretty."

Victoria laughed. "So are you. I love your hair-clip," she indicated the metal clip that was set into her ponytail.

Joanna smiled wider. "My daddy's friend Scotty made it for me," she said proudly. "He said my daddy is the best doctor in the galagzy."

"Galaxy," corrected Victoria, causing Joanna to grin without embarrassment. Something she had picked up from Jim, no doubt. "Why aren't you playing with the others, Joanna? Were they mean to you?"

Joanna shook her head. "I like watching," she said simply. "It's more fun than playing. And I can't get my dress dirty," she indicated the pale pink frock she was wearing. "Auntie Nyota bought it for me today."

"And it's a lovely dress, but I'm sure your auntie wouldn't mind if you got it dirty as long as you were having fun."

"I don't know if she'd mind. She seems nice though."

What a strange child. Victoria shrugged, then an idea hit her. "Would you like to come and sit with me while I finish getting ready?" she asked. She knew for a fact little girls loved that: Demora was always excited to watch her aunt get dressed up to go out, though perhaps that was because the event was so rare. "I could use the company."

Joanna's eyes lit up, and she nodded enthusiastically. Smiling, Victoria offered her a hand and they hurried to the other room.

!

"I'm surprised Sulu got this whole shindig set up with a month to go," commented Leonard McCoy idly as he swirled his whiskey in his glass.

Next to him, Jim snorted. "Sulu didn't have much to do with it. Ben's sister is a whirlwind."

Recognizing the longing tone of voice, McCoy nearly spat out his drink. "We've been here for a day and you've already slept with Sulu's sister-in-law?" he sounded horrified.

"I wish," Jim sighed, almost forlornly. "She's out of my league, not to mention she's seen me in diapers. Too old for me but around your age, Bones."

"Damn it, man, I'm not that old."

"But she doesn't look it," Jim ignored him. "She's got these gorgeous green eyes, red hair, legs that go on forever, and the most perfect –"

"Please tell me you aren't talking about Victoria," said Sulu dryly as he came up to stand next to them. Jim shrugged, hiding his grin behind his glass. Sulu sighed. "Jim, she's Ben's sister."

"And that means she's really off-limits, Jim," added McCoy, though he couldn't help but be curious about this girl. Older women than her had trouble resisting Jim's charm.

"Well, I've known her since before she was Ben's sister," Jim defended himself. "Doesn't that count for something?"

"How d'you know her anyway?" asked McCoy.

"We were neighbours when I was a kid," Jim got that same look in his eye that McCoy often saw when he talked about his childhood. Instead of frowning into a glass of alcohol, however, he was smiling slightly. "I was three when I walked into her yard and told her I'd run away from home, and she thought that was the funniest thing in the world. She would babysit me after that, before her dad remarried and moved them across the country."

"And you've seen her since?" asked McCoy.

Jim snorted. "She tracks me down wherever I am. She still visits my mom every time she's back, though I haven't seen her in about two years, just before I got command."

"I didn't know they knew each other until Victoria showed me childhood pictures," added Sulu. "Pretty sure she's got one of our captain taking a bath as a toddler."

McCoy chuckled even as Jim turned red and pretended not to be embarrassed. "Is she here?" he craned his neck to catch sight of a woman who fit Jim's description, but couldn't see any redheads nearby.

"She's the one who suggested Joanna go inside. I met her just now, didn't you see?" Jim sounded surprised, as if the very idea of Victoria being unnoticed in public was ridiculous.

McCoy rolled his eyes. "I was a little busy."

"Glaring at everything that moves, you mean."

"Shut up, Jim."

"Lighten up, Bones," Jim punched his shoulder, ignoring the look he gave him. "We're at a wedding. You know what that means?"

"Open bar?"

"Desperate single women," Jim corrected him impatiently. "Even you can't resist that, Bones."

"I can, and I will," McCoy finished his glass in one and signalled for another. Then he sighed and threw Sulu a look that he hoped was encouraging. "You feelin' good?"

Sulu shrugged. "This is for Demora more than anyone else. She wanted a party; planned the whole thing with Victoria before Ben or I could say anything, while we were planning a trip to city hall. Kids, you know?"

"Yeah. Kids," muttered McCoy, even as he glanced around for his own daughter. Joanna was the only positive thing in his life, and when she had gotten whiff of his five year long departure she had demanded to see him. For an eight-year-old, she was both terrifying and persuasive: her mother had reluctantly put her on a shuttle to San Francisco two hours after he landed, and so he had been forced to bring her to the wedding as well. Personally, he had a feeling Pamela had done it just so Joanna could see how awful he was at being a dad – something his ex-wife had made clear during their custody battle – but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

McCoy wasn't sure if he'd win father of the year for it, but he had to admit that so far, the trip had been a success. The crew – the only friends he had – were bending over backwards to make her comfortable. Uhura had taken her shopping and helped her get ready for the wedding, Jim had entertained her with heroic adventures that painted him as a hero and McCoy himself as his loyal sidekick (he had gotten a kick in the shins for that), Scotty had made her a little metal hair-clip out of the random bits he carried around in his pocket, and even Spock had answered all her questions about Vulcans with a ridiculous amount of patience. She had declared his friends were "awesome", and now he was hoping that letting her out of his sight was fine as well. Demora was a good kid, but he knew next to nothing about the woman who was supervising them, except that Jim was besotted with her.

"It iz time," a grinning Chekov appeared next to them, clapping his hands together and nodding to Sulu. The groom merely rolled his eyes and made his way towards the door of the house, where Ben was waiting for him. The back garden of the large house on the outskirts of the city had been decorated tastefully in shades of blue, green and white, and both men had agreed to let their daughter precede them up the aisle and walk together after her, so she could have her moment in the spotlight. As McCoy settled into one of the surprisingly comfortable chairs scattered around the venue, he couldn't help but sigh wearily. This was going to be a long day.

!

"Tori, you're going to combust," said Katie disapprovingly, watching Victoria apply lipstick hurriedly. She had no idea how her friend even managed to see anything, since her vanity mirror was basically a computer screen that gave them a split-screen view of the back garden filled with guests and the room full of toddlers next to it. A small square barely the size of Victoria's palm was the only mirror on the surface.

"I'm not that bad," Victoria defended herself. "I got lots of sleep last night, didn't I?"

"I think it all looks very pretty," piped up Joanna, looking up from the book Victoria had given her when they entered her bedroom. "Green is my favourite colour."

"Mine too. Thank you, Joanna," Victoria threw her a quick wink, and even Katie smiled at the little girl's obvious affection for the older woman. How it had developed in less than an hour was a mystery to her, but she wasn't surprised. Victoria had that effect on children, she always had.

Nevertheless, she clicked her tongue. "You're overworked."

"I hardly get to do a thing for them, you can't blame me," Victoria shrugged, then sighed and added quietly, so Joanna wouldn't hear: "But damn it all if I don't go to sleep for a week when this is over."

"They didn't even want this," reminded Katie.

"Demora did."

"You need to stop spoiling her, then."

"Shut up," Victoria rolled her eyes. "I'll go to the minister and make sure he's ready, talk to Demora and get the boys. You get the other kids, okay?"

Katie sighed. "Fine. Let's go, Joanna."

"Can I stay with Tori?" asked the little girl, already seeming unwilling to leave.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Victoria turned around and kissed the top of her head, pulling away to tuck Joanna's hair behind her ears and fix her dress. "I've got to run around and make sure everything is ready for the party, but come see me when it's settled, okay?"

"Okay," Joanna sighed, and reluctantly put away the book. Victoria noticed.

"You can keep that, Joanna," she smiled. "I haven't met anyone that interested in exobiology in a long time."

Joanna grinned, easily appeased. "My daddy's a doctor," she told her. "He has books like this everywhere, but they're harder to read."

"That's because these books are specially written for curious little girls and boys like you."

"Which one is this?" asked Katie curiously. Joanna showed her. "Exobiology for the Budding Scientist. Only you'd keep science books for kids in your house, Tori."

Victoria grinned, blew them both a kiss and watched them leave. Another glance at the monitor showed that Katie was ushering out the rest of the children, and people had started to take their seats outside. She let out another breath, checked her hair in the mirror, and made her way outside.

The minister was waiting for her by the door, smiling comfortingly at her harried expression. She smiled back, caught Demora around the waist before the little girl could run away – she had a habit of disappearing when she was most wanted – and settled her down on the edge of the path that was winding up towards the podium.

"You okay, Dem?" she asked, bending down to help fix the bow in her hair.

Demora nodded confidently. "I can do it, Aunt Tori, I promise."

"I know you can, honey," she kissed her forehead. "I'll be right in front if you want to take a break, okay? All you have to do is give me the signal."

Demora nodded again. Victoria gave her one last kiss, and then escorted the minister to the podium. She sat down on the groom's side, ignoring Jim's appreciative gaze and throwing Joanna a small smile. She was seated primly between Jim and the man she assumed was her father, who had exchanged his previous scowl for a look of tiredness. Victoria tried to catch his eye, but he was gazing determinedly in front. She gave up, and turned to watch Demora.

Unlike Hikaru and most definitely unlike Ben, Demora loved attention. Victoria often joked that she should have been her daughter instead of her brother's. The little girl thrived off applause and recognition, and the constant absence of one of her fathers was the reason they all tried to ensure she got everything she could possibly need. Of course, she had not needed the wedding per se, but Victoria knew her brother, and she knew Hikaru more than he realized. A sense of normalcy was never a bad thing, and normal people had weddings and threw parties, even if it was on a time crunch.

Head held high, Demora walked down the aisle, throwing rose petals along the path. As instructed, she threw them up high, and they glittered different colours of the rainbow in the air, turning white as they landed on the ground. Victoria heard a few appreciative gasps from the guests, and the dark-skinned woman from Hikaru's crew clapped her hands together in appreciation. Next to her, the Vulcan quirked an eyebrow, and it made Victoria smirk. She could hear Jim laughing at his reaction.

Hikaru and Ben followed their daughter up the aisle, and Ben picked her up in his arms once they reached. Victoria let out a sigh of relief when the minister began to speak, and promptly tuned out all the rest of the ceremony, until she saw her brother and Hikaru both press a kiss to either of Demora's cheeks, causing the little girl to giggle adorably.

The guests clapped, and she laughed quietly before turning away. The ceremony was over, and now the party had to begin.