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[boldygoing]

Of all the things Jim Kirk wishes he could do right now, getting good and drunk to drown his sorrows is certainly towards the top of the list. But his doctor says no, absolutely not, and never in his life has he wanted to go against doctor's orders less than he does lately.

So the captain finds himself in the Forum, unsure even what the hell to do with himself, and he gingerly eases himself down onto one of the couches, moving with the careful patience of the recently physically injured, before he notices the date on a nearby calendar.

Father's Day. Huh. How... stupidly appropriate.

"For those who've lost a parent... how the hell do you honor their memory? Even if you haven't, do you bother doing holidays like this?"

Comments

[slayers_desire]

It doesn't take someone with empathic abilities to see that this young man is hurting. And for someone like April, who has empathic abilities, his pain speaks volumes to her.

So she sits down nearby, not impeding on his space on the couch, but still close enough to answer his question.

"I had difficulties finding the right answer to that question myself. I didn't know my mother or father for most of my childhood. And I lost my mother, shortly after meeting her."

"It took time to heal the wounds between me and my father."

"Who did you lose?"

[boldygoing]

Jim shrugs and then thinks better of it as the motion pulls at the still-healing muscles in his back, the rest of his body not exactly enjoying it either. It's no big deal, though. Pain of the body is fleeting. "He wasn't my dad, but he's the closest thing I had."

[slayers_desire]

"Those connections are important too."

"When my husband lost his father, who adopted him as a child, it was still very challenging for him. For us both."

[boldygoing]

Right now it's a little easier to talk about other people than himself, but Jim has to take care with his words to avoid poking any sore spots. "Sorry. What happened?"

[slayers_desire]

"He had a heart attack." There is more to the story than just those words, but April won't be sharing it with a stranger she just met. Unless her voices tell her that there is good reason to do so.

"We named our first born son after him. Jonathan."

[boldygoing]

Even in the twenty-third century, heart attacks can still kill. It's more than enough detail for Jim, especially since they've never met before. He certainly doesn't expect a stranger to go into painful details of their life when he wouldn't want to do the same either. "Nice name." Very traditional.

[slayers_desire]

"Jonathan was a great father to Clark. And he accepted me into his life with warmness and kindness. It was really wonderful to know him. To feel like... he was my father in a way." April smiles a little sadly. "I was still struggling with getting to know my own father during that time. So having Jonathan there when I needed someone the most was really wonderful."

"It is unfortunate that he will never know his grandchildren. His wife, Martha, is a wonderful grandmother."

[boldygoing]

It's not precisely the same situation, but Jim can relate a little. "I never knew my dad either. My actual dad, I mean." By now, he's started to get used to the idea that people here might not know that he's the famous Kelvin baby, or what happened to his father. Especially since he's not in uniform, nowhere close to being cleared to return to duty, which means he's not wearing the emblem of Starfleet anywhere.

"How many kids do you have?" he asks, figuring that's a safe enough question.

[slayers_desire]

"Neither did Clark. He lost both of his actual parents when he was a baby."

April smiles, a little when he asks her about her children. "Three. Currently. We are looking into adoption and adding to our family right now."

[aw_hawkguy]

A scruffy blond man in purple sweat pants and an old t-shirt looks up from where he's walking his dog. "Holidays? Crap, is it Christmas again already? Did I sleep through it?"

[boldygoing]

Jim shakes his head. "Nah. Father's Day, apparently." Keeping track of time is hard when he's just spent two months in a hospital, particularly when he was out cold for a quarter of that. Sleeping all the way until Christmas sounds absolutely plausible to him at the moment, so he can't really fault this guy for jumping straight there.

[aw_hawkguy]

"That's today?" He scratches the back of his head. "Oh. Right. That's why you asked about losing parents." He crouches down, scratching his dog's ears while he gives it a think. "I didn't really have a 'Father's Day' kinda family, gonna be honest. You lost someone? I'm sorry, man."

[boldygoing]

"Not my dad, but he was close," Jim says, nodding slightly in thanks for the sympathy. Even after two months, the loss still weighs heavily on his heart. "I missed the funeral, too."

[aw_hawkguy]

The scruffy man gives a sympathetic wince. "I'm sorry, man. You been by the grave yet?"

[boldygoing]

Jim shakes his head. "Wasn't one. There's a kind of memorial wall up with pictures of everybody, but the press is gonna be there and I'm not ready for that."

[aw_hawkguy]

"Ah, yeah, that's fair. Well, I gotta say it's usually the, y'know, the sentiment that matters, more than going to the actual headstone and all. So... have a drink to remember 'em by, and carry on in their memory?" Glancing down to his dog, he adds, "this's Lucky, wanna pet 'im? He's friendly."

[boldygoing]

That gets at least a little laugh out of him, though it isn't very funny. "I would but I'm not allowed yet. Doctor's orders. But once I am... yeah."

Jim is very much a dog person, so the question gets a more genuine smile out of him. "Sure," he says, reaching out a hand so the dog can smell him first. "Hey there, Lucky. I'm Jim," he adds, more to the man than the dog, although you can never tell these days. "Jim Kirk."

[onemorebounty]

*A tall woman Jim might recognize eyes him as he sits.*

What happened?

*Straight to the point, this one.*

[boldygoing]

He certainly does recognize her, and he knows damn well that his usual obfuscating bullshit is no defense against her powers of observation. So he doesn't even try, his shoulders slumping slightly.

Of course, at least part of the tale is classified, but he figures that part isn't terribly relevant. He hopes. "Terrorist attack on HQ. Killed the only man who ever gave a shit about me." But that's not all, and he knows she's gonna ask. "Enterprise got the bastard, but it cost us. Ninety-six crew and a few thousand in San Francisco." And the way he's moving, he didn't get away unscathed either.

[onemorebounty]

I'm sorry.

*Her empathy sounds genuine, and she doesn't cheapen it with platitudes.*

Need a drink?

[boldygoing]

Jim makes a noise that's not quite a laugh, no real humor in it. "Need, probably. Allowed, not if it's alcoholic. Or caffeinated." He doesn't have any idea whether that other stuff she introduced him to would fit into his restricted diet, it's not like Bones forbade it. The fact that he doesn't know about it is immaterial, in Jim's opinion.

[onemorebounty]

Gavan brandy is neither, if you remember it fondly.

*She considers her words and gives a shrug.*

It's neither if you hate it, as well, but that escapes the point.

[boldygoing]

He nods a little, something closer to a real laugh escaping him for a moment. "Yeah, I'd hoped you'd say that." It's not like he'd asked for an ingredients list before.

"I could go for one."

[onemorebounty]

Then do.

*She smirks, that light of challenge glinting in her eyes again.*

Remember the way?

[boldygoing]

He shrugs, mindful to take care in doing so. "Depends on if it's moved since I was here last time. Apparently things do that sometimes." But he's willing to give it a go.