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When the Enterprise had docked following the Nero crisis, Jim and his crew had been swept into a storm of press, debriefing and eventually, ceremonies. All of this after miraculously (and with an insane amount of luck) defeating Nero and limping back to earth with no warp core…safe to say they were all ready for some time off.
So, as you may have guessed, Bones and Jim decide to take it easy and just relax at their favorite bar by the academy. The warm atmosphere and pleasant buzz of alcohol combined with the company of good friends is exactly the kind of therapy they need after such an emotionally draining experience.
“What time did everyone say they were gonna get here, anyway? We’ve been here for a good hour.” Bones grumbles. Anyone who knew him knew he wasn’t actually mad. Complaining was just his thing.
“They’ll get here when they get here Bones, relax.” Jim smiles and pats Bones on the shoulder just the way he knows the man hates.
During the week they had spent dragging themselves back to earth after the black hole disaster, the bridge crew (plus Bones and Scotty) had plenty of time to grow close enough to each other to move from ‘coworkers’ to ‘friends’. Jim would always secretly be grateful about this because he respected them all greatly, and now that he knows he is to be captain officially, he is safe in the knowledge that he will be surrounded by a crew he can trust with his life.
They have all agreed to meet up at this dive as soon as the stresses were over with and just spend some honest to goodness free time with each other.
It has been a while since Jim has been this relaxed and worry free. He knows tomorrow when the ceremony is held to honor those lost and he’s forced to acknowledge that a whole planet had been snuffed out of existence like the flame of a candle along with hundreds of cadets he had been friends with… well he knows that he wants to enjoy himself while he can.
And he does, until he hears a familiar voice behind him.
“And who’s this guy, Jim? Your parole officer?”
Jim tenses and has to resist the urge to turn around swinging to avoid making a very-much-so-not-wanted scene.
Bones, of course, has no such pretenses. “Who the hell are you, asshole?”
Jim let out a deep breath and with it the twenty five years worth of anger that had assaulted him all at once along with the memories associated with that voice. Turning slowly, he places a restraining hand on McCoy’s arm
“He’s my…He was my step father.” Jim explains, with enough bitterness in his tone to brew coffee. The firm grip he has on his friend turns out to be needed when Bones surges forward, fists at the ready. He had heard one too many stories about this monster after waking Jim up from nightmares throughout their academy years.
“Aw Jimmy, don’t be like that.” Frank continues, enjoying the anger he was stirring in both younger men. “Is it because your mother died and left everything to me? It’s not like it was my fault Sam ran away and couldn’t be located, or that your own mother refused to even acknowledge your existence…”
Jim clenches his jaw and looks away. Frank always knew Jim’s insecurities. Damn if that hadn’t been the worst of them all.
Bones steps forward until he’s in Frank’s face, lowering his voice to a menacing tone usually reserved for incompetent doctors. “Now you listen here, dirt bag. I don’t know what you think gives you the right to harass the captain of starfleet’s flagship along with his chief medical officer but if I were you I’d get the hell out of here before his Vulcan first officer and katana-trained helmsmen show up.”
Jim’s head shoots up, startled. God, how sad must his childhood have been if he had never known what it felt like to have someone to defend you until that moment? A real brother, who cared about when you were hurting? Before Jim had Bones he was a planet without a sun, floating completely alone in the darkness. Filled with cold, vast emptiness. He had never dared hope to know what it felt like not to be alone, to have a real family for him to orbit and to light up the surrounding darkness. Someday soon he had to thank Bones, just for existing.
Frank stares back at Bones for a moment before smirking, though he does take a subconscious step back.
“His CMO huh? Don’t know why you even try, the boy’s allergic to goddamn near everything. That’s why I just gave up on feeding him. And a Vulcan, didja say? Thought they were all gone with their planet. Good riddance too. Oh, I know what it is, Jimmy boy. You hate me because I sent you to live in that correctional facility on Tarsus IV. Not my fault you were such a screwed up delinquent you had to be removed from society. Just like it won’t be my fault when you screw up this whole captain buisn-“
He’s forced to finally shut up when Jim’s fist slams into his nose with a satisfying crack. The bastard could say what he wanted about his mother and his career (the man’s hobby was being a dick, and he was good at it), but insulting his first officer and bringing up the worst experience of his life? Like hell he was gonna sit back and take that. All of the anger he had been holding back has swelled up and fueled that gratifying strike, and his adrenalin is pumping for him to finally fight back against his childhood adversary. And he would win this time, too.
“Why you little-!” Frank roars as he sends his own fist flying towards the captain. Jim throws up his arms defensively, but when nothing connects he slowly lowers them.
His first officer has intercepted the strike from behind and twisted Frank’s arm so that he is now on his knees.
“It would be wise to remove yourself from the premises before I have you arrested for the attempted assault of a Starfleet officer.” Spock’s usual logical tone makes his death grip upon the man seem completely nonchalant. Uhura stands beside him, arms crossed and expression unreadable, but the glare she has trained on Frank is deadlier than a sword to the heart.
They all watch with satisfaction as Frank makes the logical choice and, with one final swear for all of their benefits, takes his not-so-graceful leave from the bar.
“Took you long enough to get here, you damn green blooded hobgoblin.” Bones mumbles, turning back to his drink. They all see him try to hide a smile.
Jim turns to Spock, appraising him for a moment “How much did you hear?”
Spock clasps his hands behind his back as was his fashion. “Enough to know he is never welcome near my captain or fellow crewmates again.”
A genuine smile graces Jim’s lips, and the others are glad to finally see one. “Thanks, Spock. And I’m sorry about what he said. He’s a real asshole.
”Your apologies are illogical as you are not the one who committed the act you are apologizing for, but as I have learned this to be a habit among humans I will accept them however unnecessary.”
Jim laughs as he leads his friends to a comfortably private table and orders a round of beers. Frank isn’t mentioned again as they swap embarrassing stories about admirals messing up debriefings and their friends and families antics in contacting them.
And when Sulu and Chekov both show up an hour later, claiming to just have been ‘hanging out’ when they lost track of time, Jim shares in a laugh at Chekov’s blush from the good doctor pointing out the “hidden” hickey on his neck.
“Just as long as it doesn’t interfere with work, you two.” Jim jokingly wags a finger at them and now Sulu blushes too but they’re both smiling.
Soon after, Scotty arrives and together they all toast to Jim’s captaincy and to a successful upcoming five year mission.
Jim leans back, content to bask in the happiness of his friends. He finally decides that having a family wasn’t a bad thing, because your family was not necessarily the people who shared your blood. It was instead the people who cared, helped, and stuck around with no obligation other than their want to. The planet that was Jim finally had enough suns to orbit to keep the darkness and cold at bay.They brought with them warmth and light, allowing happiness and hope to bud within him until the good memories he knew were to come could grow and finally overshadow the bad.