[NVC Day 14, Early Morning] -- [And So the Sun Rises] -- [Open to All]

[kirktastic]

After a long night at the theater, meeting Spock and his brother, and everything afterwards, it had been difficult to sleep. Along with the tickets, Jim had received a message about the trial's start the next morning. He had refused to let it bother him all night, just wanting to enjoy some time with Bones despite everything they had been forced to

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[kirk_george]

George came up a bit later. He'd snuggled lazily in bed as long as he could, but he didn't bother trying to go to sleep. What with everything going on with the trial he could feel the nightmares chomping at the bit to come visit. So, he'd sleep when he'd physically exhausted himself and catnap. For now, since he'd spotted his son, he'd go say hi.

"Hey kiddo." He didn't touch Jim until Jim could see him in the peripheral, and then only rested a hand on his shoulder. If his reactions were sketchy, Jim's probably were to, and he didn't feel like wrestling this morning.

[kirk_george]

George bit back his first reply and formed it more carefully. "Why do you think standing witness has anything at all to do with your ability as a Captain? An ability you're growing into and becoming downright amazing at."

[kirktastic]

"If I can't stand up and tell them what happened, what they need to know to decide he's dangerous and should be killed or locked away forever, then I shouldn't be in charge of protecting hundreds of lives." Jim's voice was tight, his gaze forward.

[kirk_george]

"Jim, that logic just doesn't follow," George said bluntly. "Your ability to do this has no bearing on your ability to protect hundreds of lives. Your ability to protect hundreds of lives has bearing on your ability to protect hundreds of lives, and that, son, is something you've already proven."

[kirktastic]

"...strength. It's about strength." His voice was just getting tighter by the moment. This trial was testing him as much as anything he could do to himself, and it hadn't even started yet.

[kirk_george]

"Kiddo. I seem to remember someone getting tortured right along-side me. I tend to hear their screams a lot, even now, when I sleep. You happen to know who that was?" George asked. "Lots of screaming, bones being broken, someone refusing to give those Romulans any codes they wanted? I'm pretty sure that there was someone else right there telling them to fuck themselves."

[kirktastic]

The memories surfaced, hot and hard, and Jim closed his eyes as he forced them back down to where they belonged - hidden away. "DAD." The tone was sharp, an order. Every part of him was tense, tight, no longer the relaxing silent morning he had come out for.

[kirk_george]

"That, was stength," George told him sternly. "This? Is spitting in their eyes because they damned well did their best to break you and you fucking beat them."

"I do have a request, after this is done," George admitted.

[kirktastic]

It didn't feel like beating them. It felt like surviving them.

"What is it?" To George's request.

[kirk_george]

"I have a friend, who'd like to meet you," George said rubbing his neck sheepishly. "She hasn't seen you since you were a bump in your mom's stomach, and she would like to meet the son of Winona Kirk and see how you turned out, if you lived up to the promise of being her son."

[kirktastic]

Jim hesitated as he listened, shifting slightly uncomfortably. After what had happened with his mother, Winona just... leaving again from his life when he had started to open up to her again, he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with someone crooning about her. "...I really... don't want to be the son of Winona Kirk to someone, George. Son of George Kirk, sure." The words left his mouth and left a weird taste.

After all, almost all of his younger years had been avoiding that exact thing, being known as his father's son.

[kirk_george]

"I'm afraid you're stuck being both of our sons," George pointed out. "You kind of lost out on the lottery there. Me with my problems and it can't be easy to be the son of George Kirk, and your mom and her...problems."

"It's not like you're going to get fawned over. T'lan would consider such actions highly illogical."

[kirktastic]

Jim let out a very slow breath and shook his head. "I'm not her son. She made that clear."

"So, your friend is Vulcan?"

[kirk_george]

George just nodded. "Hell if I'm going to bother defending her actions to you. She's lost that right."

"Yeah, T'Lan was CEO on the Kelvin. She...didn't entirely approve of Winnie and me being married. Said it was an illogical choice."

[kirktastic]

"Looks like she was right." He sighed, then looked over at his father.

"Why are you out here, doing this?" His voice was tight, his eyes narrowed.

[kirk_george]

"And I'm sure she'll tell me all about it," George muttered darkly.

"Doing what? Watching the sunrise? Talking to you? Breathing?" George asked in return. "Specificity is a virtue, son."