The Man Out of Time

Chapter 17

"You're already part of Starfleet, we should get Jim into the academy too." Pike says.

"I'm not even in the academy, I'm only fifteen."

"You'll go to the academy when Jim goes."

"You're not leaving him a choice?"

"He'll take it."

"How do you know that for certain?" I ask Pike.

"Because of you. It was extremely helpful when you became good friends with him, it let me get to know him a little better."

"You never even met him in person."

"Exactly, all I know is that he's a spitting image of his father-he's at least half the man his father was."

"Is that a good thing?"

"A very good thing." Pike confirms. "James Kirk's father saved 300 lives-including his wife's and his newborn son's, he sacrificed himself for them." Pike pauses. "Natasha, after you graduate the academy, I'm making you my First Officer."

"I-"

"And Jim might be my First Officer as well."

"Two First Officers? That's-"

"Unheard of? Yes, I know. But you and Jim think alike, you're just more responsible than he is, not as reckless. You keep him in line. When you two become captains of the same ship, you will have to keep him in line as much as possible. I'm trusting you, Natasha. I know it may not be easy for you, but you're going to have to keep him in line with Starfleet regulations."

"But Uncle-"

"I know about what happened in the past, but what's done is done."

"I still can't get over it."

"It would be hard for anybody to have a past like you did, but now you live with me and have been living with me since you were nine, try to put your past behind you."

"I can't help but feel like one day my past is going to come back and bite me in the ass when I least expect it."

"It might, but you can't think about it now. And you cannot say anything to anyone about your past. Promise me, Natasha, you can never tell anyone about it."

"I promise."

I snap my eyes open. I look over and find Bones standing beside me.

"Oh come on, you were barely dead." He says.

"Where's Jim?" I manage.

"Natasha?"

I look the other way and see Jim, lying on a small bed which looks identical to the one I'm in.

"How you doing?" He asks me.

"Alive."

"It's the transfusion on both of you that really took it's toll. Both of you were out cold for two weeks."

"Transfusion?" Jim asks.

"Your cells were heavily irradiated, we had no choice."

"Khan..." I conclude.

"Once we caught him, I synthesized a serum from his...super blood. Tell me, are you feeling uh...homicidal? Power-mad? Despotic?"

"No more than usual." Jim smiles a little.

"How did you catch him?" I ask.

"I didn't."

Bones turns and Spock comes into view, he walks to the space between Jim's bed and mine.

"You saved our lives." Jim says to Spock.

"Uhura and I had something to do with it too, you know." Bones says.

I look at Bones and smile. "Thank you." I turn back to Spock.

"You saved my life, Captains, and the lives of many oth-"

"Spock, just...thank you." I interrupt him.

"You are welcome, Captains."

Spock and Bones leave the room.

"Pike was right..." I say aloud to myself.

"Pike was right about what?" Jim asks.

"My past came and bit me in the ass."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing." I dismiss the subject.

"Natasha."

"It's nothing, Jim." I pause. "I'm sorry about everything." I say to him.

"Don't be."

Jim holds out a hand to me and I take it, he looks at me with his bright blue eyes.

"Everything's alright now. It's gonna stay that way." He says, continuing to hold my hand.

I smile and he returns the smile, gently squeezing my hand.

"It'll be alright." Jim says.

I hope. I think to myself.