Time's Divergence
Written for st_xi_kink http://community.livejournal.com/st_xi_kink/4104.html?thread=9589768#t9589768
Let's pretend that Spock Prime came through the same time Nero did, and Kirk lost both parents in the attack. Spock Prime raises Kirk, teaching him all he needs to know.
Bonus points if Kirk ends up meeting nuSpock.
You own my soul if you include the line: "He is just like you Jim. A bit more calm, a bit more knowledgeable, but I can see you in every move he makes. You'd be proud of him, dear friend."
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A.N: I’m doing this story as a series of events through Jim’s childhood, starting at the age of 4 and jumping forward 3 years at a time.
The ship wasn’t going to get out of this, he wasn’t going to survive, George Kirk knew this, accepted this. The impossibly large ship in front of him was making short work of the escape pods, unbelievable fear for his family clenched at his heart and made it a struggle to breathe as he steered the ship. Winona had given birth only the night before to James Tiberius Kirk, their youngest son. His hands clenched around the controls and he tried to focus on the task in front of him.
Winona pulled Sam close to her as she ran towards one of the escape pods, spinning franticly as she looked for something. A medical officer ran past and she grabbed his arm. He stopped only long enough to wrap an arm around her to drag her along with him.
“We need to get into the pod now!” The officer looked anxious as he looked at the young woman and four year old.
“My baby! I can’t find him! He wasn’t in Sickbay!! I need my baby!”
Clearly disturbed the officer dragged her more forcefully as she fought into the pod and locked the hatch. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, but that if they stayed any longer none of them would be around to look for the child.
“You baby is in one of the other pods, they always evacuate patients first. He’s safe, I promise you.”
Winona clutched her son to her and held him tight as she felt the pod lurch out of docking. She bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth and trying not to cry and upset her child. She looked out the window just in time to see the blast hit their hull.
Spock exited the black hole and instantly was greeted by the sight of debris. It pained him to know that he was too late to do anything. Once again he was too late to stop another tragedy. He slowed the ship to a stop and wondered on who was unfortunate enough to meet the wrath of Nero.
“Computer, scan for the Romulan ship Narada.”
A soft computerized voice responded after several seconds, “Ship not located.”
The Vulcan gazed at the fragments of ship that filled space like a lifeless constellation. Nero hadn’t seen him exit, a small miracle if anything. If he were to have gotten his hands on the red matter, well, that was just an avenue best not traveled.
“Computer, scan for survivors.”
Once again the computer took a few seconds before answering, “One survivor found.”
“Set coordinates to the survivor.”
The first thing Spock noticed when he boarded the pod was the insistent crying of an infant. The sound filled the small cabin, grabbing his notice as he assessed the condition of the other two occupants. Some sort of harsh impact had killed them, only the child was unharmed due to having been inside a small protective bubble. The fact that the hull hadn’t given way amazes him as he lifts up the lucky child.
Spock gazed at the child for a second before lifting the baby out and cradling it smoothly. The child still cried while being held, but it had decreased in volume, Spock surmised that the child must be hungry. A thin tag around the infant’s small wrist held the medical information of the babe; with a gentle touch he spun the tag so he could read the name.
“Oh, Jim.” With a firmer hold on the child he spun and looked out the window at the wreckage.
It took almost a month to get himself set up legally through the officials on Vulcan. He’s changed his name to Saval and split his time between caring for Jim and shuffling through all the paperwork. An official inquiry was started at Spock’s request to find out if Jim’s family survived. Within the first week he finds out that Jim’s immediate family is gone.
Two weeks later he was called to an official meeting regarding his ward. There was an unusually grim look on the faces of the Vulcans as they greeted him. There was no small talk and they cut to the heart of the matter.
“It seems your ward, one James Tiberius Kirk has no remaining family. Would you like us to send your ward to Earth? Perhaps he would be best raised among his own people.”
Send Jim away? The idea was logical, but he knew that this was something he couldn’t do. He simply wouldn’t turn his back on his best friend, even if Jim had no memory of him, even if this Jim wasn’t exactly his Jim. There was no way he could entrust his care to someone he didn’t know.
“I will adopt him.” It wasn’t a question.
“A Vulcan has never raised a human child before and our planet would not be suitable for a human child. Not only that, but raising a child as a Vulcan could prove to be psychologically detrimental to his development.”
“There is a first time for everything. If location is a problem then I will simply relocate to Earth. You may also recall that I myself am half human.” Saval arched his eyebrow and dared them to object.
By the end of the week the papers were signed and Sarval and Jim were on their way to Earth. It wasn’t a difficult move for Saval to make considering he had no friends the same age at this period in time. Yes his family is alive, but they no doubt have their hands full with the younger version of himself. Maybe he was also somewhat unsettled with seeing his mother and father at such a young age, not to mention existing in the same space with a younger self.
Saval has decided to raise Jim as a human and not press any of his Vulcan heritage on him. If Jim asks about being a Vulcan he will answer truthfully and teach him what he wishes to know. Jim isn’t going to miss any human holidays though, Saval will make sure of that, whether it’s something like Christmas, Thanksgiving or even Valentines Day.
At the age of four, Jim is a handful. He’s bossy, belligerent and so full of energy that Saval is almost, ALMOST, tempted to give him a hypo. Now he understands why doctor McCoy enjoyed sticking Jim to shut him up and in some instances, knock him out. From his place in the living room he can hear small footsteps racing across the wooden floors upstairs and has to resist the urge to groan. He’s told Jim not to run in the house, yet time and time again Jim does it.
“JAMES TIBERIUS KIRK! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT RUNNING IN THE HOUSE?” He yells, but it’s not in anger, indeed there is hardly a trace of emotion.
The heavy footsteps stopped and Saval resumed his reading. It wasn’t till he felt a small body pressing against his knees that he knew Jim was in the room. Calmly he set his book down and regarded the child with the hint of a smile.
“Daddy! Look what I drew for you!” Jim is all smiles and is handing Saval a colorful piece of paper with something akin to pride shining in his eyes.
Saval studies the paper before hugging his son, “It’s beautiful Jim. Thank you.”
In a flurry of movement Jim is running through the house again. Saval sighs and shakes his head; hopefully he will grow out of his penchant for running through the house soon.
In a few measured strides, Saval was out of the chair and securing Jim’s newest piece of art to the refrigerator. It’s an obviously a picture of himself and Jim in front of their house. Jim has even given him pointy ears, and the house is the appropriate shade of yellow. Both of the people in the picture are smiling and holding hands and it makes Saval smile just a little.
He isn’t entirely sure when it happened. When he stopped thinking of this James T. Kirk as his future friend and captain and has begun to think of him as his own son. It startles him how easily he’s come to think of Jim as his own child. Indeed, there are times when his son scrapes his knees and Saval is momentarily stunned that his blood is not green like his own. Eventually he will have to tell Jim everything, but his son is still so young and Saval wants him to have a somewhat normal childhood.
Time has passed so fast and Jim is about to start preschool tomorrow. Saval isn’t sure how he will fill his time without his adopted son, Jim however is looking forward to school. Saval had bought him a bright blue backpack with some sort of cartoon that Jim liked and for the last few days it’s become an unnecessary addition to his wardrobe. He stared at the picture just a bit longer before he decides it’s time for Jim to go to bed. The next day is going to be long and will no doubt tire both of them out.
“I expect you to be on your best behavior, Jim.”
Saval pointedly ignored the strange looks he’s getting from the human parents. He knows to expect it, he just hopes Jim doesn’t notice the stares they’re getting. Then again, Jim always did like being the center of attention and having a father that isn’t human will pretty much guarantee as much attention as he wants.
“Yeeessssss Daaaaaaaaad.” Jim draws the words out impatiently as he keeps glancing at the school doors. Saval bends down and hugs his son tightly before releasing him to the waiting teacher. He watched the blond hair bounce as Jim bounds away.
There is a strange and uncomfortable tightness in his chest that moves and settles in his throat. Before the feelings can overwhelm him, he clears his mind and resorts to controlling himself like any self-respecting Vulcan should. He waits till Jim is out of sight before leaving. The other parents may not believe he even has emotions, that all Vulcans are devoid of them. Saval knows better, Vulcan do feel, and perhaps their feelings run deeper than even humans.
“Dad! Look at the dog I found!!! Can I keep him?”
He sets the glass he was drinking from down a bit heavily on the granite counter and turns to see Jim’s latest disaster. A young yellow lab is sitting next to Jim covered in what looks like a mix of mud and grass and really, Saval should have anticipated this sooner.
His son has a thing for animals, not that he can complain, he does as well. It started with a hurt grasshopper then grew to an injured frog, morphed into a bird with a broken wing and seemed to have graduated into a dog. Saval had hoped it would be a cat that Jim would decide to adopt as his first official pet. He likes cats, they’re smaller, easier to care for and honestly he’s always been more of a cat person.
Jim is a dog person, it appears. Saval stood up to get a better look at the lab, making sure that he did not portray any signs of illness. His son is anxious for Saval to give him permission to keep the dog, he can tell by the way the seven year old is shifting from one leg to the other. The dog looks healthy, if a bit starved and he is really considering letting Jim keep the young dog. He leads his son and the dog outside so that there won’t be any more mud tracked through the house.
“Have I ever told you about the pet I had when I was your age?”
“You had a dog?!” There was a little bit of wonder in his voice.
“No Jim, a sehlat, her name was I-Chaya.”
Jim rinses the dog off in the front yard and the older Vulcan helps, noticing that the dog seems more patient than most dogs his age. Once clean the dog looks infinitely better and proceeds to shake off, spraying a giggling Jim and an amused Saval. It’s a big responsibility for both of them, sure Jim may feed the dog and bathe him, but he knew that the bulk of care would come directly from himself.
“A dog is a large responsibility. Are you prepared for this?”
“I…believe so.” His words were slow and thought out.
“Then you may keep him.”
Jim grins and hugs the dog around the neck before looking up at his dad. A flicker of curiosity flashed through his eyes and he straitened up.
“Dad, what happened to your pet?”
“I-Chaya followed me into the desert and saved me from an attack from a vicious animal but was badly hurt. I-Chaya gave her life to save mine.”
Before he knows it Jim is hugging him tightly, conveying without words that he understands. He has never cried in front of his son, but Jim always seems to know when he is in need of such contact. After a few seconds they break apart and his son turns to touch the dog.
“I-Chaya.” Jim christens the yellow lab with a smile.
He is startled by the name Jim has picked for the dog, but at the same time felt deeply honored. He knew that his son was trying to help him in his own way to commemorate his beloved pet. Saval also knew it was a ploy to make him more attached to their new pet. It didn’t surprise him really; Jim was sometimes far to smart for his own good.
They stayed outside and watched as dusk settled around them. Together they lay in the grass while Saval pointed out constellations, teaching his son what he knew. A warm body snuggled into his side and lovingly Saval wrapped an arm around Jim’s smaller frame. He talked till his son fell asleep and without waking him moved him to his bed.
Halloween is just around the corner and despite himself Saval is quite looking forward to the holiday. He’s already finished making a costume for Jim; apparently the kid had set his sights on being a captain at a young age. This is the first year he is going as something other than a Vulcan. Jim had whined and told him that his costume wasn’t a real costume, that it didn’t count since he really was a Vulcan. Saval had pointed out that other people didn’t know that, but his logic had fallen flat in the face of Jim’s pouting.
He’s spent the morning finishing his costume as a Romulan, something Jim can’t complain about because he isn’t a Romulan. At one o’clock the phone rang, dragging Saval from his meditation. Gracefully he stood and reached for the phone. The caller I.D. flashes the name of his son’s school and for a second immense apprehension shoots through him. He takes a breath and clears his mind as he picks up the handset.
“Mr. Saval? We need you to come and pick up James.”
“Is he unwell?” It’s the only reason he could think of James needing to be brought home.
“No sir. If you could come down to the school, we need to discuss James’ behavior.”
That’s something unexpected, “I will be there in ten minutes.”
When he arrives at the school one of the administrators is waiting for him in the office. Jim is sitting on a wooden bench with his jaw clenched tightly and his arms crossed looking sullen. He knows that look from his old Jim, it reflects deep anger at someone and anger at himself for having gotten caught doing something.
Once securely inside the vice principal’s office he is informed of his son’s transgression. Apparently Jim had decided to introduce his knuckles to another boy’s face several times. In line with the school’s zero tolerance rule, his son is suspended for the next two days.
The fact that his son is suspended doesn’t really bother him at the moment. Mostly it is the fact that Jim hadn’t shown any signs of anger or aggression prior to the scuffle. As he steers his son to the car he decides that he’s going to need to have a talk with him once they get home.
The drive home is virtually silent and Saval can feel the tension radiating off of his son. When he finally stops the car Jim gets out in a rush and runs up to his room the moment the door is unlocked. When he goes to check on his son, he finds him with his head buried in a pillow.
“You’re mad at me.” The pillow muffled his miserable sounding voice.
“I feel no anger towards you Jim. I simply wish to know why you hit the other boy.” Saval makes sure to keep his voice emotionless and calm.
“He said something and I got angry.”
“What did he say?”
“He said you…he said that the Vulcans didn’t want you and that’s why you came to Earth. He said that you couldn’t possibly love me because Vulcans have no emotions.”
Saval touched his son’s shoulder lightly and guided him into a sitting position. Jim’s eyes were red and puffy and it was obvious he had been crying. He sat close to his son on the bed and sighed, he knew something like this would happen someday, he’d just hoped Jim would be older then ten.
“The boy is not correct son. I was asked to stay on Vulcan but I left because I wanted to do what was best for you. I love you very much and I do have emotions, you know this.”
“I wish I were a Vulcan…”
The confession catches him by surprise, “I do not. I love you as you are. I would not change you for anything.”
The smaller body swiftly filled his lap and Jim is hugging him tightly and crying a little. For the first time he wonders if the elders had been right about it being a bad idea for a Vulcan to raise a human. Perhaps he hasn’t given his son enough affection and therefore has limited his confidence.
“I love you too dad.”
A small smile tugs at his lips and he caresses his son’s hair. Then again, perhaps the elders don’t know what they’re talking about. He stays hugging his son until all the little sobs subside and when he finally lets go he realizes that he still needs to talk to his son about hitting the other child.
“Jim, I do not want you to fight to defend my honor. It is unnecessary, you honor me enough being my son.”
Jim’s silence tells him that his son does not agree. Maybe it’s come to the point where he has to have a different sort of talk. The Jim he knew was a fighter and it is clearly reflected in his son that it’s something deeply ingrained in his character.
“If you do decide to fight I want you to think about something. Is what you’re fighting for worth the consequences that come with the fight? Consider the question.”
He stands up and is almost out the door when his son’s answer, “It was.”
The anniversary of Tarsus IV is upon them and once again Jim is thirteen. It’s a small comfort that his son will never experience the horrors that planet might have held. He had given the Vulcan High Command all the information he had on Kodos and Tarsus IV a year ago in the hopes of preventing the tragedy. But the anniversary still seems to follow at his heels. He decides that in order to vanquish these bad memories he must create new ones.
He decides to take him to a small planet he used to visit as a child. It’s peaceful and has a lake that he spent time exploring when his father and mother could make the time to plan vacations. He’s sure Jim will like it, especially since they will be camping. Saval has decided to go all out and has purchased the necessary items to make s’mores, he won’t be having any chocolate with his but he’s sure Jim will enjoy them.
It takes roughly two days to reach the planet and Jim seems to love every moment in space. I-Chaya however is not taking the trip well and has taken to sleeping until they hit dirt. How Jim talked him into bringing the dog is beyond him, but he figures that if anything the dog might give them a little more protection.
Saval led them through the forested trails till they came to the lake. Before he can say anything I-Chaya is running at full speed and Jim is following him, calling his name in an effort to make the dog stop.
Jim chases the dog and is beginning to get winded when the dog finally slows. By the shore of the lake a dark haired figure is crouching down staring into the shallow water. Before he can shout a warning, I-Chaya is in the person’s face giving him or her a thorough tongue bath. Jim pulls the dog off and is focused on keeping him from going after the person again.
“I’m sorry! I-Chaya just got away from me!”
“I-Chaya?” The voice is melodic and draws Jim’s attention.
A young Vulcan is standing in front of him and if Jim has to guess, he’d say they’re around the same age though he’s sure the Vulcan is a bit older. One eyebrow is up and Jim is sure that it’s a signal for him to elaborate. Jim patted his dog on the head and smiled at the Vulcan.
“Yes, this is my dog I-Chaya, I’m Jim.”
“I am Spock. I-Chaya is a Vulcan name, where did you hear of it?”
“My dad is Vulcan.” Jim answers in an almost flippant way, which startles Spock.
“You do not appear Vulcan.”
“I’m not, I’m adopted.” He grinned a bit when saw Spock eyeing the dog curiously, “You can pet him if you want, he’s friendly. I think he likes you already considering he just finished licking your face.”
Jim smiled as Spock patted the dog as he held one arm behind his back. He wondered if this was a Vulcan gesture, his dad seemed to do that a lot. After a few more minutes he sighed and turned to face where he and I-Chaya had come from.
“I should go. My dad is going to worry if I am gone for too much longer.”
Spock stepped back, both arms behind his back now and nodded. Jim grinned and leashed I-Chaya to avoid another chase.
“It was a pleasure to meet you Spock. Live long and prosper.” Jim did the hand gesture to the startled Vulcan before running towards where he’d last seen Saval.
“Live long and prosper, Jim.” The Vulcan watched as Jim ran towards the thicker area of trees.
It’s time to truly tell Jim about his past, well more of it at least. He let’s Jim drive them out to a nearby park where he plans to talk to him. He thinks that being outdoors might be more soothing than if they did this inside the house. Plus, maybe he knows that letting his son drive is a way to “butter him up” as humans say. He’s just turned 16 and likes to drive, Saval knows that the word ‘fast’ will soon be included in his preference.
When they reach a secluded clearing Saval tries to think of how to tell his son what he needs to know. This version of Jim is mellower than the old Jim he knew, so he’s not exactly worried about a possible blow out. He believes it has something to do with the fact that maybe Jim felt like rebelling a bit after Tarsus IV; since this Jim had not experienced Tarsus he had less of a need to fight back.
He is as prepared as he could be for this talk. To make things easier he’s brought along some of the legal documents that were given to him by the High Council. They’re in a small wooden box that hails from Vulcan, but his bedroom is a shrine to Vulcan, so no big revelation there. It’s Jim though that started the bulk of the collection, at every appropriate holiday he would present Saval with a new artifact from his home. Over time the artifacts have made him feel like he has a little piece of Vulcan on Earth, but by and large it’s the fact that his son has given them to him that makes him feel at home.
Saval clears his throat as they sit on large boulders. He decides to break the ice, “This may come as a surprise to you, but I am not your biological father.”
Jim just laughs and rolls his eyes, “I sort of figured that out father. You seem worried.”
“Jim, there are things about me that I think you are old enough to know now.”
“You’re not gay, are you?” Jim attempts to lighten the mood.
“I’m afraid not. That would be simpler to tell you…Jim, what if I told you I have known you before you were born?”
“You’re…psychic?” Jim’s face scrunches up into a confused look.
“Hardly. Jim, I come from the future of an alternate reality.” He waits and watched the emotions as they play across his son’s face.
“You were my dad in the future of another reality? Or…”
“We were acquaintances.”
He downplays that truth just for now because while his son should know some things, it’s still much too early to tell him everything. He would rather things play out naturally but the timeline has been greatly altered from the moment Nero attacked the USS Kelvin.
“I was on a mission from Vulcan when I was attacked by a Romulan ship that killed your family. We were pulled into a black hole and that’s when your ship was attacked. The Romulan ship exited first. I exited to find that the attack was over and the Romulans were gone.”
He talks for an hour more, telling Jim minor things about himself. He’s not going to tell him that his original name was Spock and that they were best friends. He won’t burden his son with such things, it’s enough that he has him in his life at all. Jim is unusually quiet during his explanation and only interjects to get clarification on certain things or to ask a question.
Once he’s done talking a strange silence fills the darkened woods. Jim is looking up at the stars and Saval is wondering if Jim is upset with him for keeping secrets. They have never kept important things from one another and the silence between them isn’t helping his nerves. His gaze shifts to the stars then back to Jim, who is regarding him with bright curious eyes.
“You know, you would make it harder for me to get away with things, being from the future and all.”
He hears the teasing tone and raises one eyebrow, “I am a father, my duty is to make your transgressions difficult to achieve.”
Jim is angry with him for not letting him buy a motorcycle. Before Saval could set things strait his son had dashed out the door after a few well-placed and painful words. Driving while angry was not something he liked for Jim to do, it was reckless and could get him or someone else killed.
A heavy sigh breaks from his lips and he feels so very emotional, so very human. It wasn’t that he didn’t want his son to have a motorcycle, it’s that he had secretly bought one for Jim to fix up. Jim had taken auto shop for the fun of it and had been dying for something to work on. While Saval couldn’t afford to give him a car to work on, he could afford a motorcycle that was in somewhat bad shape. Some 19th birthday this was turning into.
When Jim gets home it’s midnight and Saval had been waiting. Without a word he hugs his son and presses a set of keys into his palm. His son is taken aback as he opens the door to the garage and an old silver Harley Davidson motorcycle is revealed. Saval is about to ascend the stairs to his room when his son grabs him and hugs him tight.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean anything I said Dad. I was just angry. I’m such an ass, I yell at you for not letting me get a bike only to find you already bought one for me.” He sounds genuinely wretched.
Jim doesn’t realize that his dad had forgiven him the moment the words left his lips. His love for Jim is unconditional and while his words did hurt, he knows better than to listen to Jim when he goes on a rant.
“You are forgiven Jim.”
It’s about three weeks later and Jim has been working on the bike non-stop. He won’t let Saval even catch a glimpse of it till it is complete. He covers it with a tarp when he finishes working on it, at the moment he is painting the bike and has effectively banned his dad from watching. Saval finds that his son’s secrecy is making him wish to see it more than he wishes to admit.
When Jim is done painting and reassembling the bike he drags a blindfolded Saval outside where he has parked it. As soon as he sees it Saval is in awe. It looks nothing like when it was first purchased and is gleaming silver in the sunlight. Jim drags him closer and points to an area on the gas tank. In a large area is a painting of Vulcan and Earth prominently displayed on a backdrop of black space and stars.
“You have done a beautiful job Jim.”
Snow has fallen softly across the land and Saval is finishing up with making Christmas dinner. Jim is on his way with a couple of friends from Starfleet Academy and both don’t know that he is a Vulcan. It’s become a game Jim likes to play on his friends and it amuses Saval as well, so he just pretends that his son isn’t withholding information from his friends.
When he hears the car pull up he takes his usual place in the “psych-Jim’s-friends-out” game. He finds that if he is standing in the kitchen, which is clearly visible from the front door, and acting as if he is looking through a cabinet he can decide to close the cabinet door. The best part is he gets to see the delight on Jim’s face. Saval probably shouldn’t be encouraging the game, but he’s older now and cares less about acting like a dignified Vulcan all the time. The door opens loudly, it’s Jim’s signal that he’s coming in.
“Hey dad!”
A second voice joins his son’s, “I’m just saying, I don’t know how you put up with that pointy eared, green blooded son of a bitch.”
Saval can’t resist and closes the cabinet showing his face to Jim and his friends for the first time. Everyone stops dead and he stands there, observing how Jim is trying to do his best not to laugh. He knows Dr. McCoy’s voice from anywhere and it was rare that they could shock one another into silence. It’s not his McCoy but he still takes a certain amount of pride in being able to make him shut up.
McCoy, or Bones and Jim calls him, has started to stutter and is trying to back pedal. Saval just arches his eyebrows and fixes his gaze on his son who is changing colors. An Orion girl is watching with a sort of bemused look on her face as she watches the situation play itself out. Finally Jim can no longer hold in his laughter and is guffawing in a way that brings all eyes on him. Bones looks like he’s hit his fight or flight mechanism, and Jim is about to get hit when Saval clears his throat.
“Jim, proper greeting.”
“Awwww, dad.”
He whines a little but strides quickly to hug him. Saval has missed his son but he is glad to see that some things will never change, ornery doctors included. When Jim lets go he takes a step back and leads his dad to meet his friends.
“This lovely lady is Gaila and this is Dr. McCoy. I call him Bones.”
He shakes their hands and notices that the doctor seems unsure of himself. Gaila seems at home though and is chatting away with Jim.
“Doctor McCoy, you seem unsettled.”
“I’m sorry for the things I said. I - ” Bones is fumbling for words.
“Do not worry. I’m afraid that Jim has set you up. He takes pleasure in astonishing his friends.”
He notices Bones’ shoulders relax a little and decides to add his two cents, “I am not wholly guiltless either. I could not help but find your timing perfectly amusing.”
It’s getting dark by the time they finish eating and talking. Saval suggests that they might enjoy the snow while they have it. He has never been fond of being out in the middle of the snow, he is a desert creature after all, but even he understands its surreal beauty.
Gaila leads to charge into the cold and he can hear her giggling as she pelts the doctor with a particularly well-aimed snowball. He can hardly believe that his son is 22 years old. He wonders what his old Jim would think of this.
Their laughter reminds him of being their age. He’s not a tottering old man, but he knows he is no longer even slightly young, even by Vulcan standards. He has lines on his face, mostly laugh lines and his hair has gone completely gray and is entering its white stage. He remembers the last time he saw Jim when he was in his proper time and their faces aren’t that much different now.
He sighs and presses the pads of his fingers against the cold windowpane, “He is just like you Jim. A bit more calm, a bit more knowledgeable, but I can see you in every move he makes. You'd be proud of him, dear friend.”
Nero has returned from where ever he was hiding and is attacking Vulcan. With Jim in Starfleet he had decided to take a trip to Vulcan and now he found himself in the middle of an attack. He knows he had to get his ship with red matter off the planet and away from his nemesis.
It doesn’t go to plan though and before he has time to make a quick escape he is being towed into Nero’s ship. An escape pod and twenty minute trip later and he finds himself on Delta Vega watching as his home planet is destroyed in a matter of seconds. He makes a fire once he has regained control of his incapacitating sorrow and sits thinking about what he could have done differently.
A loud scream catches him by surprise and he climbs to his feet, wondering who or what could be headed his way. Another sound, the sound of an animal of some sort follows the scream and he knows that someone out there is in dire need of help.
Striding purposively towards the mouth of the cave, he snatches a large branch from the fire and reaches the opening in time to see a familiar shape on the ground fighting. He won’t lose his son today as well as his planet, he waves the fire at the creature and is mentally daring it to try and hurt his son. Apparently it doesn’t like the fire and withdraws, leaving a breathless Jim panting on the ground.
“Hello son.”
Saval is more than a little upset about his alternate-self stranding his son on an ice planet but pushes his emotions aside to deal with the situation at hand. Jim needs all the facts, and he needs them quickly. With his son’s permission he initiates a mind meld.
“I still can’t believe you’re Spock.” It’s the fifth time Jim has said this.
Saval just raises one eyebrow, “I will admit that I took me a little while to learn to relax around others. I always struggled with finding the correct balance of Vulcan and human.”
They’ve begun walking to the base that is somewhere close by. The wind is whipping at their coats and blowing snow directly into their faces. Jim is worried about his dad being out in this weather but knows there is nothing to do for their situation except for walk. When they reach the station Saval introduces Jim to Montgomery “Scotty” Scott.
After giving Jim instructions to get Spock to step down he watches as the two men faded away in a swirl of white light. Pride shines in his eyes at the man his son has become and he moves to a nearby console to send a communication to get a ride off of Delta Vega.
The auditorium is filled as his son becomes Captain James T. Kirk. Saval is watching from the very back so that is he starts to cry nobody will see. It’s a near thing, but he doesn’t need people to start thinking of him as crazy because he isn’t controlling himself. He leaves as the ceremony closes and is walking towards the site he and Jim designated to meet at.
“Father.”
Saval turned and saw his younger self, “I am not our father.”
Spock of course has questions and he does his best to answer them. He tells Spock to follow his heart instead of logic, and watched his younger-self run to catch a ship. He opens his communicator and sends word to Jim, knowing that he’ll delay their departure.
Jim is sitting in the captain’s chair admiring the view from his seat when Spock strides onto the bridge. He accepts him as his first officer and grins knowingly as he takes his station. He really shouldn’t say anything, but Jim always jumps feet first.
“You should be glad you talked to my dad. You know…he reminds me of you for some reason.”
He doesn’t even have to turn to the chair to know that Spock’s eyes have widened and his eyebrows have arched in such a way that makes them look like they’re about to join his hairline. He’s seen the look on his dad’s face so many times that he’s memorized it.
Saval stands against the docking bay windows. The ship pulls out of the docks and he feels the familiar tightening in his chest and throat. It feels like Jim’s first day of school all over again, only his child isn’t a child anymore. He will always be his son, his friend and now, his captain.
Let's pretend that Spock Prime came through the same time Nero did, and Kirk lost both parents in the attack. Spock Prime raises Kirk, teaching him all he needs to know.
Bonus points if Kirk ends up meeting nuSpock.
You own my soul if you include the line: "He is just like you Jim. A bit more calm, a bit more knowledgeable, but I can see you in every move he makes. You'd be proud of him, dear friend."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A.N: I’m doing this story as a series of events through Jim’s childhood, starting at the age of 4 and jumping forward 3 years at a time.
The ship wasn’t going to get out of this, he wasn’t going to survive, George Kirk knew this, accepted this. The impossibly large ship in front of him was making short work of the escape pods, unbelievable fear for his family clenched at his heart and made it a struggle to breathe as he steered the ship. Winona had given birth only the night before to James Tiberius Kirk, their youngest son. His hands clenched around the controls and he tried to focus on the task in front of him.
Winona pulled Sam close to her as she ran towards one of the escape pods, spinning franticly as she looked for something. A medical officer ran past and she grabbed his arm. He stopped only long enough to wrap an arm around her to drag her along with him.
“We need to get into the pod now!” The officer looked anxious as he looked at the young woman and four year old.
“My baby! I can’t find him! He wasn’t in Sickbay!! I need my baby!”
Clearly disturbed the officer dragged her more forcefully as she fought into the pod and locked the hatch. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, but that if they stayed any longer none of them would be around to look for the child.
“You baby is in one of the other pods, they always evacuate patients first. He’s safe, I promise you.”
Winona clutched her son to her and held him tight as she felt the pod lurch out of docking. She bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth and trying not to cry and upset her child. She looked out the window just in time to see the blast hit their hull.
Spock exited the black hole and instantly was greeted by the sight of debris. It pained him to know that he was too late to do anything. Once again he was too late to stop another tragedy. He slowed the ship to a stop and wondered on who was unfortunate enough to meet the wrath of Nero.
“Computer, scan for the Romulan ship Narada.”
A soft computerized voice responded after several seconds, “Ship not located.”
The Vulcan gazed at the fragments of ship that filled space like a lifeless constellation. Nero hadn’t seen him exit, a small miracle if anything. If he were to have gotten his hands on the red matter, well, that was just an avenue best not traveled.
“Computer, scan for survivors.”
Once again the computer took a few seconds before answering, “One survivor found.”
“Set coordinates to the survivor.”
The first thing Spock noticed when he boarded the pod was the insistent crying of an infant. The sound filled the small cabin, grabbing his notice as he assessed the condition of the other two occupants. Some sort of harsh impact had killed them, only the child was unharmed due to having been inside a small protective bubble. The fact that the hull hadn’t given way amazes him as he lifts up the lucky child.
Spock gazed at the child for a second before lifting the baby out and cradling it smoothly. The child still cried while being held, but it had decreased in volume, Spock surmised that the child must be hungry. A thin tag around the infant’s small wrist held the medical information of the babe; with a gentle touch he spun the tag so he could read the name.
“Oh, Jim.” With a firmer hold on the child he spun and looked out the window at the wreckage.
It took almost a month to get himself set up legally through the officials on Vulcan. He’s changed his name to Saval and split his time between caring for Jim and shuffling through all the paperwork. An official inquiry was started at Spock’s request to find out if Jim’s family survived. Within the first week he finds out that Jim’s immediate family is gone.
Two weeks later he was called to an official meeting regarding his ward. There was an unusually grim look on the faces of the Vulcans as they greeted him. There was no small talk and they cut to the heart of the matter.
“It seems your ward, one James Tiberius Kirk has no remaining family. Would you like us to send your ward to Earth? Perhaps he would be best raised among his own people.”
Send Jim away? The idea was logical, but he knew that this was something he couldn’t do. He simply wouldn’t turn his back on his best friend, even if Jim had no memory of him, even if this Jim wasn’t exactly his Jim. There was no way he could entrust his care to someone he didn’t know.
“I will adopt him.” It wasn’t a question.
“A Vulcan has never raised a human child before and our planet would not be suitable for a human child. Not only that, but raising a child as a Vulcan could prove to be psychologically detrimental to his development.”
“There is a first time for everything. If location is a problem then I will simply relocate to Earth. You may also recall that I myself am half human.” Saval arched his eyebrow and dared them to object.
By the end of the week the papers were signed and Sarval and Jim were on their way to Earth. It wasn’t a difficult move for Saval to make considering he had no friends the same age at this period in time. Yes his family is alive, but they no doubt have their hands full with the younger version of himself. Maybe he was also somewhat unsettled with seeing his mother and father at such a young age, not to mention existing in the same space with a younger self.
Saval has decided to raise Jim as a human and not press any of his Vulcan heritage on him. If Jim asks about being a Vulcan he will answer truthfully and teach him what he wishes to know. Jim isn’t going to miss any human holidays though, Saval will make sure of that, whether it’s something like Christmas, Thanksgiving or even Valentines Day.
At the age of four, Jim is a handful. He’s bossy, belligerent and so full of energy that Saval is almost, ALMOST, tempted to give him a hypo. Now he understands why doctor McCoy enjoyed sticking Jim to shut him up and in some instances, knock him out. From his place in the living room he can hear small footsteps racing across the wooden floors upstairs and has to resist the urge to groan. He’s told Jim not to run in the house, yet time and time again Jim does it.
“JAMES TIBERIUS KIRK! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT RUNNING IN THE HOUSE?” He yells, but it’s not in anger, indeed there is hardly a trace of emotion.
The heavy footsteps stopped and Saval resumed his reading. It wasn’t till he felt a small body pressing against his knees that he knew Jim was in the room. Calmly he set his book down and regarded the child with the hint of a smile.
“Daddy! Look what I drew for you!” Jim is all smiles and is handing Saval a colorful piece of paper with something akin to pride shining in his eyes.
Saval studies the paper before hugging his son, “It’s beautiful Jim. Thank you.”
In a flurry of movement Jim is running through the house again. Saval sighs and shakes his head; hopefully he will grow out of his penchant for running through the house soon.
In a few measured strides, Saval was out of the chair and securing Jim’s newest piece of art to the refrigerator. It’s an obviously a picture of himself and Jim in front of their house. Jim has even given him pointy ears, and the house is the appropriate shade of yellow. Both of the people in the picture are smiling and holding hands and it makes Saval smile just a little.
He isn’t entirely sure when it happened. When he stopped thinking of this James T. Kirk as his future friend and captain and has begun to think of him as his own son. It startles him how easily he’s come to think of Jim as his own child. Indeed, there are times when his son scrapes his knees and Saval is momentarily stunned that his blood is not green like his own. Eventually he will have to tell Jim everything, but his son is still so young and Saval wants him to have a somewhat normal childhood.
Time has passed so fast and Jim is about to start preschool tomorrow. Saval isn’t sure how he will fill his time without his adopted son, Jim however is looking forward to school. Saval had bought him a bright blue backpack with some sort of cartoon that Jim liked and for the last few days it’s become an unnecessary addition to his wardrobe. He stared at the picture just a bit longer before he decides it’s time for Jim to go to bed. The next day is going to be long and will no doubt tire both of them out.
“I expect you to be on your best behavior, Jim.”
Saval pointedly ignored the strange looks he’s getting from the human parents. He knows to expect it, he just hopes Jim doesn’t notice the stares they’re getting. Then again, Jim always did like being the center of attention and having a father that isn’t human will pretty much guarantee as much attention as he wants.
“Yeeessssss Daaaaaaaaad.” Jim draws the words out impatiently as he keeps glancing at the school doors. Saval bends down and hugs his son tightly before releasing him to the waiting teacher. He watched the blond hair bounce as Jim bounds away.
There is a strange and uncomfortable tightness in his chest that moves and settles in his throat. Before the feelings can overwhelm him, he clears his mind and resorts to controlling himself like any self-respecting Vulcan should. He waits till Jim is out of sight before leaving. The other parents may not believe he even has emotions, that all Vulcans are devoid of them. Saval knows better, Vulcan do feel, and perhaps their feelings run deeper than even humans.
“Dad! Look at the dog I found!!! Can I keep him?”
He sets the glass he was drinking from down a bit heavily on the granite counter and turns to see Jim’s latest disaster. A young yellow lab is sitting next to Jim covered in what looks like a mix of mud and grass and really, Saval should have anticipated this sooner.
His son has a thing for animals, not that he can complain, he does as well. It started with a hurt grasshopper then grew to an injured frog, morphed into a bird with a broken wing and seemed to have graduated into a dog. Saval had hoped it would be a cat that Jim would decide to adopt as his first official pet. He likes cats, they’re smaller, easier to care for and honestly he’s always been more of a cat person.
Jim is a dog person, it appears. Saval stood up to get a better look at the lab, making sure that he did not portray any signs of illness. His son is anxious for Saval to give him permission to keep the dog, he can tell by the way the seven year old is shifting from one leg to the other. The dog looks healthy, if a bit starved and he is really considering letting Jim keep the young dog. He leads his son and the dog outside so that there won’t be any more mud tracked through the house.
“Have I ever told you about the pet I had when I was your age?”
“You had a dog?!” There was a little bit of wonder in his voice.
“No Jim, a sehlat, her name was I-Chaya.”
Jim rinses the dog off in the front yard and the older Vulcan helps, noticing that the dog seems more patient than most dogs his age. Once clean the dog looks infinitely better and proceeds to shake off, spraying a giggling Jim and an amused Saval. It’s a big responsibility for both of them, sure Jim may feed the dog and bathe him, but he knew that the bulk of care would come directly from himself.
“A dog is a large responsibility. Are you prepared for this?”
“I…believe so.” His words were slow and thought out.
“Then you may keep him.”
Jim grins and hugs the dog around the neck before looking up at his dad. A flicker of curiosity flashed through his eyes and he straitened up.
“Dad, what happened to your pet?”
“I-Chaya followed me into the desert and saved me from an attack from a vicious animal but was badly hurt. I-Chaya gave her life to save mine.”
Before he knows it Jim is hugging him tightly, conveying without words that he understands. He has never cried in front of his son, but Jim always seems to know when he is in need of such contact. After a few seconds they break apart and his son turns to touch the dog.
“I-Chaya.” Jim christens the yellow lab with a smile.
He is startled by the name Jim has picked for the dog, but at the same time felt deeply honored. He knew that his son was trying to help him in his own way to commemorate his beloved pet. Saval also knew it was a ploy to make him more attached to their new pet. It didn’t surprise him really; Jim was sometimes far to smart for his own good.
They stayed outside and watched as dusk settled around them. Together they lay in the grass while Saval pointed out constellations, teaching his son what he knew. A warm body snuggled into his side and lovingly Saval wrapped an arm around Jim’s smaller frame. He talked till his son fell asleep and without waking him moved him to his bed.
Halloween is just around the corner and despite himself Saval is quite looking forward to the holiday. He’s already finished making a costume for Jim; apparently the kid had set his sights on being a captain at a young age. This is the first year he is going as something other than a Vulcan. Jim had whined and told him that his costume wasn’t a real costume, that it didn’t count since he really was a Vulcan. Saval had pointed out that other people didn’t know that, but his logic had fallen flat in the face of Jim’s pouting.
He’s spent the morning finishing his costume as a Romulan, something Jim can’t complain about because he isn’t a Romulan. At one o’clock the phone rang, dragging Saval from his meditation. Gracefully he stood and reached for the phone. The caller I.D. flashes the name of his son’s school and for a second immense apprehension shoots through him. He takes a breath and clears his mind as he picks up the handset.
“Mr. Saval? We need you to come and pick up James.”
“Is he unwell?” It’s the only reason he could think of James needing to be brought home.
“No sir. If you could come down to the school, we need to discuss James’ behavior.”
That’s something unexpected, “I will be there in ten minutes.”
When he arrives at the school one of the administrators is waiting for him in the office. Jim is sitting on a wooden bench with his jaw clenched tightly and his arms crossed looking sullen. He knows that look from his old Jim, it reflects deep anger at someone and anger at himself for having gotten caught doing something.
Once securely inside the vice principal’s office he is informed of his son’s transgression. Apparently Jim had decided to introduce his knuckles to another boy’s face several times. In line with the school’s zero tolerance rule, his son is suspended for the next two days.
The fact that his son is suspended doesn’t really bother him at the moment. Mostly it is the fact that Jim hadn’t shown any signs of anger or aggression prior to the scuffle. As he steers his son to the car he decides that he’s going to need to have a talk with him once they get home.
The drive home is virtually silent and Saval can feel the tension radiating off of his son. When he finally stops the car Jim gets out in a rush and runs up to his room the moment the door is unlocked. When he goes to check on his son, he finds him with his head buried in a pillow.
“You’re mad at me.” The pillow muffled his miserable sounding voice.
“I feel no anger towards you Jim. I simply wish to know why you hit the other boy.” Saval makes sure to keep his voice emotionless and calm.
“He said something and I got angry.”
“What did he say?”
“He said you…he said that the Vulcans didn’t want you and that’s why you came to Earth. He said that you couldn’t possibly love me because Vulcans have no emotions.”
Saval touched his son’s shoulder lightly and guided him into a sitting position. Jim’s eyes were red and puffy and it was obvious he had been crying. He sat close to his son on the bed and sighed, he knew something like this would happen someday, he’d just hoped Jim would be older then ten.
“The boy is not correct son. I was asked to stay on Vulcan but I left because I wanted to do what was best for you. I love you very much and I do have emotions, you know this.”
“I wish I were a Vulcan…”
The confession catches him by surprise, “I do not. I love you as you are. I would not change you for anything.”
The smaller body swiftly filled his lap and Jim is hugging him tightly and crying a little. For the first time he wonders if the elders had been right about it being a bad idea for a Vulcan to raise a human. Perhaps he hasn’t given his son enough affection and therefore has limited his confidence.
“I love you too dad.”
A small smile tugs at his lips and he caresses his son’s hair. Then again, perhaps the elders don’t know what they’re talking about. He stays hugging his son until all the little sobs subside and when he finally lets go he realizes that he still needs to talk to his son about hitting the other child.
“Jim, I do not want you to fight to defend my honor. It is unnecessary, you honor me enough being my son.”
Jim’s silence tells him that his son does not agree. Maybe it’s come to the point where he has to have a different sort of talk. The Jim he knew was a fighter and it is clearly reflected in his son that it’s something deeply ingrained in his character.
“If you do decide to fight I want you to think about something. Is what you’re fighting for worth the consequences that come with the fight? Consider the question.”
He stands up and is almost out the door when his son’s answer, “It was.”
The anniversary of Tarsus IV is upon them and once again Jim is thirteen. It’s a small comfort that his son will never experience the horrors that planet might have held. He had given the Vulcan High Command all the information he had on Kodos and Tarsus IV a year ago in the hopes of preventing the tragedy. But the anniversary still seems to follow at his heels. He decides that in order to vanquish these bad memories he must create new ones.
He decides to take him to a small planet he used to visit as a child. It’s peaceful and has a lake that he spent time exploring when his father and mother could make the time to plan vacations. He’s sure Jim will like it, especially since they will be camping. Saval has decided to go all out and has purchased the necessary items to make s’mores, he won’t be having any chocolate with his but he’s sure Jim will enjoy them.
It takes roughly two days to reach the planet and Jim seems to love every moment in space. I-Chaya however is not taking the trip well and has taken to sleeping until they hit dirt. How Jim talked him into bringing the dog is beyond him, but he figures that if anything the dog might give them a little more protection.
Saval led them through the forested trails till they came to the lake. Before he can say anything I-Chaya is running at full speed and Jim is following him, calling his name in an effort to make the dog stop.
Jim chases the dog and is beginning to get winded when the dog finally slows. By the shore of the lake a dark haired figure is crouching down staring into the shallow water. Before he can shout a warning, I-Chaya is in the person’s face giving him or her a thorough tongue bath. Jim pulls the dog off and is focused on keeping him from going after the person again.
“I’m sorry! I-Chaya just got away from me!”
“I-Chaya?” The voice is melodic and draws Jim’s attention.
A young Vulcan is standing in front of him and if Jim has to guess, he’d say they’re around the same age though he’s sure the Vulcan is a bit older. One eyebrow is up and Jim is sure that it’s a signal for him to elaborate. Jim patted his dog on the head and smiled at the Vulcan.
“Yes, this is my dog I-Chaya, I’m Jim.”
“I am Spock. I-Chaya is a Vulcan name, where did you hear of it?”
“My dad is Vulcan.” Jim answers in an almost flippant way, which startles Spock.
“You do not appear Vulcan.”
“I’m not, I’m adopted.” He grinned a bit when saw Spock eyeing the dog curiously, “You can pet him if you want, he’s friendly. I think he likes you already considering he just finished licking your face.”
Jim smiled as Spock patted the dog as he held one arm behind his back. He wondered if this was a Vulcan gesture, his dad seemed to do that a lot. After a few more minutes he sighed and turned to face where he and I-Chaya had come from.
“I should go. My dad is going to worry if I am gone for too much longer.”
Spock stepped back, both arms behind his back now and nodded. Jim grinned and leashed I-Chaya to avoid another chase.
“It was a pleasure to meet you Spock. Live long and prosper.” Jim did the hand gesture to the startled Vulcan before running towards where he’d last seen Saval.
“Live long and prosper, Jim.” The Vulcan watched as Jim ran towards the thicker area of trees.
It’s time to truly tell Jim about his past, well more of it at least. He let’s Jim drive them out to a nearby park where he plans to talk to him. He thinks that being outdoors might be more soothing than if they did this inside the house. Plus, maybe he knows that letting his son drive is a way to “butter him up” as humans say. He’s just turned 16 and likes to drive, Saval knows that the word ‘fast’ will soon be included in his preference.
When they reach a secluded clearing Saval tries to think of how to tell his son what he needs to know. This version of Jim is mellower than the old Jim he knew, so he’s not exactly worried about a possible blow out. He believes it has something to do with the fact that maybe Jim felt like rebelling a bit after Tarsus IV; since this Jim had not experienced Tarsus he had less of a need to fight back.
He is as prepared as he could be for this talk. To make things easier he’s brought along some of the legal documents that were given to him by the High Council. They’re in a small wooden box that hails from Vulcan, but his bedroom is a shrine to Vulcan, so no big revelation there. It’s Jim though that started the bulk of the collection, at every appropriate holiday he would present Saval with a new artifact from his home. Over time the artifacts have made him feel like he has a little piece of Vulcan on Earth, but by and large it’s the fact that his son has given them to him that makes him feel at home.
Saval clears his throat as they sit on large boulders. He decides to break the ice, “This may come as a surprise to you, but I am not your biological father.”
Jim just laughs and rolls his eyes, “I sort of figured that out father. You seem worried.”
“Jim, there are things about me that I think you are old enough to know now.”
“You’re not gay, are you?” Jim attempts to lighten the mood.
“I’m afraid not. That would be simpler to tell you…Jim, what if I told you I have known you before you were born?”
“You’re…psychic?” Jim’s face scrunches up into a confused look.
“Hardly. Jim, I come from the future of an alternate reality.” He waits and watched the emotions as they play across his son’s face.
“You were my dad in the future of another reality? Or…”
“We were acquaintances.”
He downplays that truth just for now because while his son should know some things, it’s still much too early to tell him everything. He would rather things play out naturally but the timeline has been greatly altered from the moment Nero attacked the USS Kelvin.
“I was on a mission from Vulcan when I was attacked by a Romulan ship that killed your family. We were pulled into a black hole and that’s when your ship was attacked. The Romulan ship exited first. I exited to find that the attack was over and the Romulans were gone.”
He talks for an hour more, telling Jim minor things about himself. He’s not going to tell him that his original name was Spock and that they were best friends. He won’t burden his son with such things, it’s enough that he has him in his life at all. Jim is unusually quiet during his explanation and only interjects to get clarification on certain things or to ask a question.
Once he’s done talking a strange silence fills the darkened woods. Jim is looking up at the stars and Saval is wondering if Jim is upset with him for keeping secrets. They have never kept important things from one another and the silence between them isn’t helping his nerves. His gaze shifts to the stars then back to Jim, who is regarding him with bright curious eyes.
“You know, you would make it harder for me to get away with things, being from the future and all.”
He hears the teasing tone and raises one eyebrow, “I am a father, my duty is to make your transgressions difficult to achieve.”
Jim is angry with him for not letting him buy a motorcycle. Before Saval could set things strait his son had dashed out the door after a few well-placed and painful words. Driving while angry was not something he liked for Jim to do, it was reckless and could get him or someone else killed.
A heavy sigh breaks from his lips and he feels so very emotional, so very human. It wasn’t that he didn’t want his son to have a motorcycle, it’s that he had secretly bought one for Jim to fix up. Jim had taken auto shop for the fun of it and had been dying for something to work on. While Saval couldn’t afford to give him a car to work on, he could afford a motorcycle that was in somewhat bad shape. Some 19th birthday this was turning into.
When Jim gets home it’s midnight and Saval had been waiting. Without a word he hugs his son and presses a set of keys into his palm. His son is taken aback as he opens the door to the garage and an old silver Harley Davidson motorcycle is revealed. Saval is about to ascend the stairs to his room when his son grabs him and hugs him tight.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean anything I said Dad. I was just angry. I’m such an ass, I yell at you for not letting me get a bike only to find you already bought one for me.” He sounds genuinely wretched.
Jim doesn’t realize that his dad had forgiven him the moment the words left his lips. His love for Jim is unconditional and while his words did hurt, he knows better than to listen to Jim when he goes on a rant.
“You are forgiven Jim.”
It’s about three weeks later and Jim has been working on the bike non-stop. He won’t let Saval even catch a glimpse of it till it is complete. He covers it with a tarp when he finishes working on it, at the moment he is painting the bike and has effectively banned his dad from watching. Saval finds that his son’s secrecy is making him wish to see it more than he wishes to admit.
When Jim is done painting and reassembling the bike he drags a blindfolded Saval outside where he has parked it. As soon as he sees it Saval is in awe. It looks nothing like when it was first purchased and is gleaming silver in the sunlight. Jim drags him closer and points to an area on the gas tank. In a large area is a painting of Vulcan and Earth prominently displayed on a backdrop of black space and stars.
“You have done a beautiful job Jim.”
Snow has fallen softly across the land and Saval is finishing up with making Christmas dinner. Jim is on his way with a couple of friends from Starfleet Academy and both don’t know that he is a Vulcan. It’s become a game Jim likes to play on his friends and it amuses Saval as well, so he just pretends that his son isn’t withholding information from his friends.
When he hears the car pull up he takes his usual place in the “psych-Jim’s-friends-out” game. He finds that if he is standing in the kitchen, which is clearly visible from the front door, and acting as if he is looking through a cabinet he can decide to close the cabinet door. The best part is he gets to see the delight on Jim’s face. Saval probably shouldn’t be encouraging the game, but he’s older now and cares less about acting like a dignified Vulcan all the time. The door opens loudly, it’s Jim’s signal that he’s coming in.
“Hey dad!”
A second voice joins his son’s, “I’m just saying, I don’t know how you put up with that pointy eared, green blooded son of a bitch.”
Saval can’t resist and closes the cabinet showing his face to Jim and his friends for the first time. Everyone stops dead and he stands there, observing how Jim is trying to do his best not to laugh. He knows Dr. McCoy’s voice from anywhere and it was rare that they could shock one another into silence. It’s not his McCoy but he still takes a certain amount of pride in being able to make him shut up.
McCoy, or Bones and Jim calls him, has started to stutter and is trying to back pedal. Saval just arches his eyebrows and fixes his gaze on his son who is changing colors. An Orion girl is watching with a sort of bemused look on her face as she watches the situation play itself out. Finally Jim can no longer hold in his laughter and is guffawing in a way that brings all eyes on him. Bones looks like he’s hit his fight or flight mechanism, and Jim is about to get hit when Saval clears his throat.
“Jim, proper greeting.”
“Awwww, dad.”
He whines a little but strides quickly to hug him. Saval has missed his son but he is glad to see that some things will never change, ornery doctors included. When Jim lets go he takes a step back and leads his dad to meet his friends.
“This lovely lady is Gaila and this is Dr. McCoy. I call him Bones.”
He shakes their hands and notices that the doctor seems unsure of himself. Gaila seems at home though and is chatting away with Jim.
“Doctor McCoy, you seem unsettled.”
“I’m sorry for the things I said. I - ” Bones is fumbling for words.
“Do not worry. I’m afraid that Jim has set you up. He takes pleasure in astonishing his friends.”
He notices Bones’ shoulders relax a little and decides to add his two cents, “I am not wholly guiltless either. I could not help but find your timing perfectly amusing.”
It’s getting dark by the time they finish eating and talking. Saval suggests that they might enjoy the snow while they have it. He has never been fond of being out in the middle of the snow, he is a desert creature after all, but even he understands its surreal beauty.
Gaila leads to charge into the cold and he can hear her giggling as she pelts the doctor with a particularly well-aimed snowball. He can hardly believe that his son is 22 years old. He wonders what his old Jim would think of this.
Their laughter reminds him of being their age. He’s not a tottering old man, but he knows he is no longer even slightly young, even by Vulcan standards. He has lines on his face, mostly laugh lines and his hair has gone completely gray and is entering its white stage. He remembers the last time he saw Jim when he was in his proper time and their faces aren’t that much different now.
He sighs and presses the pads of his fingers against the cold windowpane, “He is just like you Jim. A bit more calm, a bit more knowledgeable, but I can see you in every move he makes. You'd be proud of him, dear friend.”
Nero has returned from where ever he was hiding and is attacking Vulcan. With Jim in Starfleet he had decided to take a trip to Vulcan and now he found himself in the middle of an attack. He knows he had to get his ship with red matter off the planet and away from his nemesis.
It doesn’t go to plan though and before he has time to make a quick escape he is being towed into Nero’s ship. An escape pod and twenty minute trip later and he finds himself on Delta Vega watching as his home planet is destroyed in a matter of seconds. He makes a fire once he has regained control of his incapacitating sorrow and sits thinking about what he could have done differently.
A loud scream catches him by surprise and he climbs to his feet, wondering who or what could be headed his way. Another sound, the sound of an animal of some sort follows the scream and he knows that someone out there is in dire need of help.
Striding purposively towards the mouth of the cave, he snatches a large branch from the fire and reaches the opening in time to see a familiar shape on the ground fighting. He won’t lose his son today as well as his planet, he waves the fire at the creature and is mentally daring it to try and hurt his son. Apparently it doesn’t like the fire and withdraws, leaving a breathless Jim panting on the ground.
“Hello son.”
Saval is more than a little upset about his alternate-self stranding his son on an ice planet but pushes his emotions aside to deal with the situation at hand. Jim needs all the facts, and he needs them quickly. With his son’s permission he initiates a mind meld.
“I still can’t believe you’re Spock.” It’s the fifth time Jim has said this.
Saval just raises one eyebrow, “I will admit that I took me a little while to learn to relax around others. I always struggled with finding the correct balance of Vulcan and human.”
They’ve begun walking to the base that is somewhere close by. The wind is whipping at their coats and blowing snow directly into their faces. Jim is worried about his dad being out in this weather but knows there is nothing to do for their situation except for walk. When they reach the station Saval introduces Jim to Montgomery “Scotty” Scott.
After giving Jim instructions to get Spock to step down he watches as the two men faded away in a swirl of white light. Pride shines in his eyes at the man his son has become and he moves to a nearby console to send a communication to get a ride off of Delta Vega.
The auditorium is filled as his son becomes Captain James T. Kirk. Saval is watching from the very back so that is he starts to cry nobody will see. It’s a near thing, but he doesn’t need people to start thinking of him as crazy because he isn’t controlling himself. He leaves as the ceremony closes and is walking towards the site he and Jim designated to meet at.
“Father.”
Saval turned and saw his younger self, “I am not our father.”
Spock of course has questions and he does his best to answer them. He tells Spock to follow his heart instead of logic, and watched his younger-self run to catch a ship. He opens his communicator and sends word to Jim, knowing that he’ll delay their departure.
Jim is sitting in the captain’s chair admiring the view from his seat when Spock strides onto the bridge. He accepts him as his first officer and grins knowingly as he takes his station. He really shouldn’t say anything, but Jim always jumps feet first.
“You should be glad you talked to my dad. You know…he reminds me of you for some reason.”
He doesn’t even have to turn to the chair to know that Spock’s eyes have widened and his eyebrows have arched in such a way that makes them look like they’re about to join his hairline. He’s seen the look on his dad’s face so many times that he’s memorized it.
Saval stands against the docking bay windows. The ship pulls out of the docks and he feels the familiar tightening in his chest and throat. It feels like Jim’s first day of school all over again, only his child isn’t a child anymore. He will always be his son, his friend and now, his captain.