Angels - A Star Trek Fan Fiction

Ch. 1: San Francisco - Earth

"Where are we going?" Andrei asked.
"To visit your father."
"You're my father, Dad."
"Yes, I am. We're visiting your other father," Hikaru said, holding his hand. "It's been too long since I've visited him. I miss him a lot."
"I have two fathers?" Andrei said. "Well... How come I haven't met the other one?"
"You have. You just don't remember him."
"Why did he leave?"
Tears filled Hikaru's eyes. "I don't know, Andy. He just had to."
"Will he like me?"
Hikaru dried his eyes and picked up his son. "You ask too many questions, you know. You're just like him. You've got his eyes, and his hair... He'll like you."
"Is he in Starfleet too?"
"He was, not anymore. He had to leave after his accident. But he had a very important job. He worked with me to fly the ship. His job is called navigation, and you have to be very smart to be able to do it. He was also... Very brave. And he is very young."
"How old is he?"
"Four years younger than me."
"Is that close to my age?"
Hikaru smiled. "No, not really. He is twenty-four. His birthday is coming soon. It's the same day as yours. Except you'll turn four, and he'll be twenty five."
"Can we share a party?" Andrei asked. "Please?"
"Sure, whatever you want." Hikaru said. "You'll love what I got you, too. He got you a present, too."
"Is Jim and Spock going to be at my party?"
"You mean are Jim and Spock going to be there? Yes, they said they would try to bring Amanda, too. You like Amanda, don't you?"
"Yeah," Andrei said. "She's nice to me."
"Think she could be your girlfriend someday?" Hikaru asked.
"I hope so," Andrei said.
Hikaru smiled. He was expecting a shocked, indignant response. "I hope so, too. We're here, see?" He put Andrei back down on his feet. "This is it."
Andrei looked confused. "It's a stone... What does it say?"
Hikaru knelt down next to him and pointed to the words. "Sound it out, see? Pavel Andreievich Chekov. That was his name."
"What are those numbers for? And the little words there?"
"Those numbers there are his birthday... And those ones... Are when he left." Hikaru said. "I haven't brought you here in a long time. Since you were a baby." Hikaru had tears running down his face already. "He would be mad at me, you were his pride and joy. He loved you more than anything. Sometimes I would think he loved you more than me, but he loved us the same."
"He's dead?" Andrei asked, pressing his small hand against the polished stone. "My other dad's dead?"
"You're just like him. You remind me of him every day."
"Did he have a fake heart, too?"
"No," Hikaru said. "Your heart isn't fake. It just needs extra help, so Doctor McCoy... Fixed it up. And someday you won't need it anymore, I promise."
"Why do I have to have a fake heart and a dad who died?"
Hikaru pulled him into his lap. "He left both of us. You were only ten months old. And... All he wanted to was watch you grow up. He told me to do it for him. Just in case he didn't make it. He told me to watch you for him."
"It's not fair," Andrei said. "I want to meet him."
"I was saving this for your birthday, but... I guess I could give it to you now," Hikaru said, pulling a small circular metal device out of his jacket pocket. He pushed the blue button, and a crystal clear hologram of Pavel appeared next to the grave. "Remember not to talk wile Daddy's talking, okay?"
He pushed another button and set it in front of them.
"Hello, Andrei. This is your father, Pavel. Right now, you're only a few days old, and I cannot even tell you how happy I am to have a son of my own. It is the greatest feeling I've ever felt. Well, other than when I married your other dad. But I am recording this so you can get to know me the way I am while I'm young. I'm twenty-one now. You've got the same birthday as me, how funny is that! Maybe one day we'll have a party together. By the time you see this, I will be a lot older, maybe a little bit less childish and immature. I hope I'll be wiser, because... Well, to be honest, I don't know the first thing about being a good father. Spock and Kirk have a baby girl now, too. Her name's Amanda, maybe you'll be friends. I hope you'll tell me if I'm not doing a good job. I cannot wait to be your father. Teach you how to write, ride a bike, maybe we'll even get around to teaching you a little Russian, huh? Hikaru is at work, and you're here with me, but you're sleeping. You sleep so well for a newborn, but only for about an hour at a time. You know... When you're old enough, I hope you join Starfleet like us. You will make a great pilot. Maybe one day - a captain. My son, the captain. But if you don't want to join Starfleet, I'll be proud of you no matter what happens. I think I'll be an admiral by then. I can already see you have my hair. Maybe my eyes a little, too. They're very green for a child who can hardly open his eyes. But you have Hikaru's smile. He will be a great father, too. Even though he gets angry sometimes, and he might yell at you a little, it's just because he worries about you. He yells at me too, sometimes. But he does it because he loves you. He'll always love you, and so will I. You'll always have two people who love you. No matter what happens. And this won't be the last hologram I will make for you. I want to get your first words, your first steps, maybe even your first girlfriend." He laughed. "Remember, part of my job as a father is to embarrass you. I love you, Andrei. Goodbye for now."
Andrei was crying, too. "I miss him. It's not fair, I never met him..."
Hikaru hugged him. He was just like Pavel. He was even sensitive, just like Pavel had been. "I miss him too, I miss him every day. Maybe I could show you our wedding video. That's a nice video. He was so happy, he started crying before he could finish his vows."
"What are vows?"
"Promises we made for our marriage. I remember Pavel's vows like it was yesterday, but I'll save it for the video."
"I think we should plant flowers for him here," Andrei said. "It looks so sad and gray."
"I just come and sit with him and pick the weeds off of his plot. But I leave the dandelions. Pavel loved dandelions, so I let him have them." He picked up Andrei and stood up. "It's getting dark, sweetie. We have to go."
"Wait!" Andrei said. Hikaru put him back down and Andrei hugged the stone. "I'll miss you. I'll visit every week, if it's okay with Dad."
Hikaru tried to keep from crying, but he couldn't. He picked up his son and carried him home. "He still loves you, Andrei. He's just in heaven now."
"I know. How did he go to heaven?"
"He... Was going to help some people on a planet that wasn't very nice, like Earth. There were more poor people, and it doesn't have replicators, so they have to grow all of their food. And... The Klingons found them to be an easy target. They raided the planet and killed many people. Pavel wanted to go and help, but the Klingon vessel jammed our sensors... And Pavel was atomized before he got through the atmosphere. Scotty did his best, but couldn't get him back."
"Why couldn't heaven just wait? Young people aren't s'posed to die. Old people are! Why could they wait? Why could the angels just wait?" Andrei said.
"Because, sometimes it just has to be that way."
"What... What if I die before my baby grows up? What if you die? Then I'll be all alone."
"I'm not dying any time soon, Andy. Let's get you home. Soon we'll be back on the ship. And you'll start pre-K, and you'll want to make lots of friends. Plus, guess who's going to be in your class?"
"Who?"
"Leonard and Carol's son, David, and your cousin, Mary," Hikaru said.
"Who was your friend who's having a new baby?" Andrei asked. "I know it's one of 'em but I can't think of her name."
"Nyota. It's not an easy name to remember. And you don't call her Nyota, you call her Mrs. Scott. She's having twins." Hikaru kissed his son in the side of his face. "She's going to have them very soon. Any day, now. Everything's alright. You're so much like your father, sometimes I forget that he's not here anymore. You're smart, funny, sensitive, playful, and you're going to be very popular in your school. I can bank on that. You'll have a lot of friends. And your daddy's always watching over you in heaven, and he's so proud of you every day. And so am I." He felt Andrei wrap his small arms around his neck. "And we can visit him every week, I promise. Every Sunday. And we'll plant flowers in the springtime. You know how much I love my flowers."
"Maybe the angels can bring him back to visit us."
Hikaru smiled because he was too tired of crying. "Yeah, maybe they will. Sometimes they put him in my dreams, and we talk, and he tells me he's happy, and he's watching over me and you. Almost every night. So... It's kind of like he visits me. When you're older, maybe he'll visit you."
"Maybe tonight!"
"If you get to bed like a good boy, maybe tonight."
"I will, I promise I will!"
"Good. I'll be planning you and Pavel's birthday party."
"Can we have red velvet cake?"
"That's exactly what he would've asked. Of course."
"Is there red velvet cake in heaven?"
"I bet there is," Hikaru said. "But I think the most popular kind of cake would be angels food cake."
Andrei smiled. "Is that a real thing?"
"Of course it is! Why would I lie about cake?" Hikaru asked, walking up the driveway. "You know I take my cake seriously. Run upstairs and get dressed, and I'll read you a story."

"Once upon a time, there was a young boy named Pavel, who wanted to navigate the stars. Every night he would look up at the sky and wish to explore them like the brave men and women on the big ship did. He worked very hard, and one day, he got to fly up into space and see them. He's still there, Andrei. In the stars..."