Dear Daddy, #40
Title:Dear Daddy #40: Dear Daddy
Author: jessofthebugs
Disclaimer: O, I have bought the mansion of a love, /But not posess'd it.
Pairing: Kirk/McCoy, Chekov/Sulu, Jo/Savas
Rating: All Ages
Type: Series #40/40 of the Dear Daddy series
Warnings: ;___; It's the end!
Word Count: ~1800
Summary and Notes: Jo goes home, Nobody murders Sulu, Jim actually writes his mother, and Savas has a question.
Thanks to all the readers (mushy letter behind the cut), to both kadollan and arcane_lark for the beta, and to anyone who listened to me talk about this nonsense (I'm lookin' at you cybermathwitch and the_disco_fairy).
Dear Readers,
This is the end... or is it? It is, at least, the end of this part of the story and if I might be a little sentimental for a minute, I'd just like to say that I never expected this to be a 40-part series. It was going to be a one-shot, but the reader response was so great that it kept me writing and constantly challenged me to make something you would enjoy. Though the experiences of the characters are completely fantastic 23rd century constructs, the emotions (even that of our dear Vulcan boy) are drawn from my own experiences and are, in many cases, more real than I can say. Thank you for this series and thank you for this opportunity to craft something I can be proud to call mine. May the Muses bless you with good stories and good theater.
Your faithful servant,
-Jess
Dear Leonard,
Thank you for coming to Jo’s veggie roast. It meant a lot to her that you were there and I’m glad you got a chance to meet Lawrence. Jim seems like a good man and I really hope he does right by you. You don’t really get a sense of who he is from the news feeds and I’m pleased to have had the chance to get to know him a little. He tolerated the Kaplanski boys very well and he’s good with Jo, too. Bill and Lenny are a handful, but they’re good kids. And I’ll never forget what Jim said to Mary Cosgrove. I shouldn’t have laughed, but it’s about time somebody showed her up. I see now why Starfleet puts such stock in his diplomatic ability.
Tomorrow we’ll be going up to Dahlonega for the bluegrass festival. Savas saw somebody playing banjo at the farmer’s market this morning and was intrigued by it, so we’re taking a day trip. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s sweet on Jo, but he seems like a nice boy, so I don’t reckon she’s in trouble yet. I’ll keep an eye on him just the same. I talked to my cousin Michael yesterday and he’ll be coming down from Nashville this weekend with his boyfriend. He offered to bring his phaser rifle to polish on the front porch, but I told him it wouldn’t be necessary- Savas is a good kid.
Anyhow, this is going to be hard to say because I’ve got my pride, but you’re a good daddy to Jo. I’m not sorry we split up, but I do regret keeping her from you. All I ever wanted was to provide for her and keep her safe and in these past few weeks, you did that when I couldn’t. If you could have done it without doing some damn fool thing like joining Starfleet, that would have been a far sight better, but I’m still grateful for what you did for our little girl. Thank you.
I’m talking to my lawyer about adjusting the custody agreement, so you should be getting some documents from them pretty soon. In the mean time, I’ll make sure she writes to you and we can talk about setting up video for her birthday and Christmas and so on.
You should be hearing from Jo sometime today. She’s outside playing and showing Savas around right now.
I wish you well, Leonard, I really do.
Sincerely,
-Jocelyn
---
Dear Daddy,
I miss you already! Sorry it took me so long to write to you, but me and Savas have been busy seeing everything there is to see around here. It ain’t much, but I showed him my tree and my school and we went to the farmer’s market this morning and Mama almost got him a chocolate chip cookie, but I said peanut butter would be better since Savas can’t have chocolate ‘till he’s bigger. I guess she forgot. Anyway, we’re going up to a bluegrass festival this weekend and then Monday, Mr. Phillips said that I could take a test to see if I have to stay in school for the last few weeks before summer vacation and if I don’t have to, he said we’d do something special, but I don’t know what that is. He said that I could call him Lawrence when we’re not in school, but I keep getting mixed up. I don’t know what I think about Mama having a teacher for her boyfriend, but at least it’s better than Peter and his stupid horses.
Anyway, we were outside looking at the environment because Savas wanted to know about the names of the plants and trees and stuff and even though I don’t know the names of everything, it was fun to go out and look. Maybe Uncle Hikaru knows a book I can use to identify stuff. Would you ask him? Anyway, Luanne came up and started being nasty to me and you know what happened then? Savas pretended not to understand what she was talking about and then asked her lots of questions she couldn’t answer so she ended up looking dumb and stomped away in her prissy pink dress all mad. And then you know what? He told her to “Live long and prosper” and I about DIED! It was the best ever! After that we went to my tree and meditated some and then Savas looked in my brain, which was really cool! I know I said that I hated it when Miss Marina, my old counselor, did it, but she didn’t ever once ask me if she could and besides, I tell Savas all my inside thoughts anyway because he’s my friend and Miss Marina ain’t and he tells me his inside thoughts, too, so I didn’t see anything I didn’t know about already and he didn’t see anything he didn’t know about already anyway. I know you know that Vulcans got emotions and all and that they mostly don’t show them, but I could tell that Savas was real happy even though he misses his family and I’m real happy too, even though I miss you lots. I heard from Miss Caryn that Miss Marina ain’t ever coming back to Peach Tree ‘cause she said she needed an “extended rest” or something. I ain’t sad about that.
I hope I get to go on the Enterprise again. It was lots of fun and everybody was so nice, but next time I think we should do it without any pathogens or anything.
Uncle Jim was SO FUNNY at the veggie roast and Bill & Lenny are still talking about getting to meet him and Bill says he wants to be a starship captain when he grows up. Lenny says he wants to be a Vulcan when he grows up, but that’s about the most illogical thing I’ve heard all week.
Mama says to make sure I write to you every day and that she’ll try to get video feeds for my birthday and stuff.
Be sure to tell everybody I said “Hi” and tell Dyadya Pavel that I hope his mama likes Uncle Hikaru and that he should write me to tell me how it went. He was real worried about it, but I figure Uncle Hikaru would probably be alright. Tell Aunt Nyota that I miss her braiding my hair every day and tell Mr. Spock that I’m going to keep up with my lessons. I hope I see everybody real soon!
Love you, Daddy!
-Jo
---
Dear Yaninka,
I miss you very much, but I am certain you are happy to be home again. As for me, I am happy to be on the Enterprise again. You will be glad to know that nobody has murdered Hikaru for dating me, especially not Babushka, who is very picky for me. Already she is asking me about grandchildren! We also went to San Francisco to spend time with Hikaru’s family. Do not tell, but I got lost when we were walking around the city. I would be very embarrassed if anyone knew I got lost anywhere, but we were in a part of the city that I did not know! I only know the Academy campus. I have also learned that I am very glad to be an only child and that when I am ready to be a papa, we will only have one baby. You must know what I mean by this because you are an only child like me.
If it is okay with your mama and papa, I would like to be pen-pals with you. Perhaps also, we can play chess over subspace. Do you know how the notations work? If you do not, I will teach you.
Hikaru misses you as well. He does not say that he misses you, but he has been reading his Three Musketeers book and sulking. Maybe he will write you as well. I will tell him to.
I am sending you The Little Prince, since you liked it so much and I hope to read your letters very soon.
Love,
-Дя́дя Павел
---
Mom,
We’re headed to sector 39J to investigate some weird comms Starfleet is getting from there and while it was good to get a little time on Earth, I’m glad to be back on the Enterprise. I miss Earth, but there’s a lot of good for me to do out here.
Bones and I personally took Jo home and I barely held it together in front of his ex. I’m really going to miss that kid and I can’t stop thinking about how we’re out here, lightyears away, and no matter how much I want to protect her from everything bad in the Universe, I can’t. I don’t know how Bones does it without going insane. I want to be with him for as long as he and Jo can stand to have me around and it might last two weeks or forever, but I’ll take forever if I can get it.
“When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married.”
Much Ado About Nothing, II.iii
I’ve got it so bad I’m quoting the comedies. This is Sonnet 18 bad. I don’t think we’ll be picking out wedding china any time soon, but I’ve got a good thing going. Between Bones, Jo, and the Enterprise crew, I’ve got the weirdest family in the Federation, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Anyway, Mom, I just wanted to thank you - for everything. First of all, without your extensive collection of romance novels, I never would have learned how to pick up girls. More seriously, I joined Starfleet because I wanted to do better than Dad, but I can’t ever be the kind of hero you are. I realize now that you stayed in Starfleet for Sam and me, not in spite of us. I get that now. Thanks, Mom.
Love,
-Jim
---
Ambassador Sarek,
I wish to express my gratitude for the advice you provided to me in regards to my analysis of Earth cultures. As you aptly stated, it is a fallacy to regard Earth as having a single culture when, in fact, it is a conglomeration of many different cultures. My analysis so far, though it is inconclusive, shows that there is great diversity in human culture even in regions that are only a few hundred kilometers distant and that the variation is far more extensive than previously thought. Though I am to prepare a detailed report upon the conclusion of my time here on Earth, I fear that there is far too much data to process in such a short time.
Additionally, there is a personal matter that is causing me some distress. I apologize for any impropriety, but I do not know any other Vulcan who is capable of advising me on this matter. Your marriage to Mrs. Grayson after your ambassadorial appointment was logical, given that it was necessary to observe human behavior, but is it possible for a human and a Vulcan to be compatible as mates? My guardians continue to search for a suitable mate for me, but I have yet to encounter a Vulcan female with whom I am compatible. Additionally, is it possible to inadvertently form a bond during mind meld? I was given to understand that it is not possible, but am at present unable to research the matter.
Thank you,
-Savas, son of Varin
--
[UNN News Feed: 22 April, 2260]
>Cmdr. J. Crichton missing after test flight. Project scrapped due to safety concerns.
>Thirty-three Coridian miners found alive in collapsed mine. Rescue efforts underway.
>Delta IV marks fifth anniversary of devastating ion storm. Some districts still rebuilding.
>USS Enterprise continuing mission to explore strange new worlds.
Part #39: Personal Log:
Author: jessofthebugs
Disclaimer: O, I have bought the mansion of a love, /But not posess'd it.
Pairing: Kirk/McCoy, Chekov/Sulu, Jo/Savas
Rating: All Ages
Type: Series #40/40 of the Dear Daddy series
Warnings: ;___; It's the end!
Word Count: ~1800
Summary and Notes: Jo goes home, Nobody murders Sulu, Jim actually writes his mother, and Savas has a question.
Thanks to all the readers (mushy letter behind the cut), to both kadollan and arcane_lark for the beta, and to anyone who listened to me talk about this nonsense (I'm lookin' at you cybermathwitch and the_disco_fairy).
Dear Readers,
This is the end... or is it? It is, at least, the end of this part of the story and if I might be a little sentimental for a minute, I'd just like to say that I never expected this to be a 40-part series. It was going to be a one-shot, but the reader response was so great that it kept me writing and constantly challenged me to make something you would enjoy. Though the experiences of the characters are completely fantastic 23rd century constructs, the emotions (even that of our dear Vulcan boy) are drawn from my own experiences and are, in many cases, more real than I can say. Thank you for this series and thank you for this opportunity to craft something I can be proud to call mine. May the Muses bless you with good stories and good theater.
Your faithful servant,
-Jess
Dear Leonard,
Thank you for coming to Jo’s veggie roast. It meant a lot to her that you were there and I’m glad you got a chance to meet Lawrence. Jim seems like a good man and I really hope he does right by you. You don’t really get a sense of who he is from the news feeds and I’m pleased to have had the chance to get to know him a little. He tolerated the Kaplanski boys very well and he’s good with Jo, too. Bill and Lenny are a handful, but they’re good kids. And I’ll never forget what Jim said to Mary Cosgrove. I shouldn’t have laughed, but it’s about time somebody showed her up. I see now why Starfleet puts such stock in his diplomatic ability.
Tomorrow we’ll be going up to Dahlonega for the bluegrass festival. Savas saw somebody playing banjo at the farmer’s market this morning and was intrigued by it, so we’re taking a day trip. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s sweet on Jo, but he seems like a nice boy, so I don’t reckon she’s in trouble yet. I’ll keep an eye on him just the same. I talked to my cousin Michael yesterday and he’ll be coming down from Nashville this weekend with his boyfriend. He offered to bring his phaser rifle to polish on the front porch, but I told him it wouldn’t be necessary- Savas is a good kid.
Anyhow, this is going to be hard to say because I’ve got my pride, but you’re a good daddy to Jo. I’m not sorry we split up, but I do regret keeping her from you. All I ever wanted was to provide for her and keep her safe and in these past few weeks, you did that when I couldn’t. If you could have done it without doing some damn fool thing like joining Starfleet, that would have been a far sight better, but I’m still grateful for what you did for our little girl. Thank you.
I’m talking to my lawyer about adjusting the custody agreement, so you should be getting some documents from them pretty soon. In the mean time, I’ll make sure she writes to you and we can talk about setting up video for her birthday and Christmas and so on.
You should be hearing from Jo sometime today. She’s outside playing and showing Savas around right now.
I wish you well, Leonard, I really do.
Sincerely,
-Jocelyn
---
Dear Daddy,
I miss you already! Sorry it took me so long to write to you, but me and Savas have been busy seeing everything there is to see around here. It ain’t much, but I showed him my tree and my school and we went to the farmer’s market this morning and Mama almost got him a chocolate chip cookie, but I said peanut butter would be better since Savas can’t have chocolate ‘till he’s bigger. I guess she forgot. Anyway, we’re going up to a bluegrass festival this weekend and then Monday, Mr. Phillips said that I could take a test to see if I have to stay in school for the last few weeks before summer vacation and if I don’t have to, he said we’d do something special, but I don’t know what that is. He said that I could call him Lawrence when we’re not in school, but I keep getting mixed up. I don’t know what I think about Mama having a teacher for her boyfriend, but at least it’s better than Peter and his stupid horses.
Anyway, we were outside looking at the environment because Savas wanted to know about the names of the plants and trees and stuff and even though I don’t know the names of everything, it was fun to go out and look. Maybe Uncle Hikaru knows a book I can use to identify stuff. Would you ask him? Anyway, Luanne came up and started being nasty to me and you know what happened then? Savas pretended not to understand what she was talking about and then asked her lots of questions she couldn’t answer so she ended up looking dumb and stomped away in her prissy pink dress all mad. And then you know what? He told her to “Live long and prosper” and I about DIED! It was the best ever! After that we went to my tree and meditated some and then Savas looked in my brain, which was really cool! I know I said that I hated it when Miss Marina, my old counselor, did it, but she didn’t ever once ask me if she could and besides, I tell Savas all my inside thoughts anyway because he’s my friend and Miss Marina ain’t and he tells me his inside thoughts, too, so I didn’t see anything I didn’t know about already and he didn’t see anything he didn’t know about already anyway. I know you know that Vulcans got emotions and all and that they mostly don’t show them, but I could tell that Savas was real happy even though he misses his family and I’m real happy too, even though I miss you lots. I heard from Miss Caryn that Miss Marina ain’t ever coming back to Peach Tree ‘cause she said she needed an “extended rest” or something. I ain’t sad about that.
I hope I get to go on the Enterprise again. It was lots of fun and everybody was so nice, but next time I think we should do it without any pathogens or anything.
Uncle Jim was SO FUNNY at the veggie roast and Bill & Lenny are still talking about getting to meet him and Bill says he wants to be a starship captain when he grows up. Lenny says he wants to be a Vulcan when he grows up, but that’s about the most illogical thing I’ve heard all week.
Mama says to make sure I write to you every day and that she’ll try to get video feeds for my birthday and stuff.
Be sure to tell everybody I said “Hi” and tell Dyadya Pavel that I hope his mama likes Uncle Hikaru and that he should write me to tell me how it went. He was real worried about it, but I figure Uncle Hikaru would probably be alright. Tell Aunt Nyota that I miss her braiding my hair every day and tell Mr. Spock that I’m going to keep up with my lessons. I hope I see everybody real soon!
Love you, Daddy!
-Jo
---
Dear Yaninka,
I miss you very much, but I am certain you are happy to be home again. As for me, I am happy to be on the Enterprise again. You will be glad to know that nobody has murdered Hikaru for dating me, especially not Babushka, who is very picky for me. Already she is asking me about grandchildren! We also went to San Francisco to spend time with Hikaru’s family. Do not tell, but I got lost when we were walking around the city. I would be very embarrassed if anyone knew I got lost anywhere, but we were in a part of the city that I did not know! I only know the Academy campus. I have also learned that I am very glad to be an only child and that when I am ready to be a papa, we will only have one baby. You must know what I mean by this because you are an only child like me.
If it is okay with your mama and papa, I would like to be pen-pals with you. Perhaps also, we can play chess over subspace. Do you know how the notations work? If you do not, I will teach you.
Hikaru misses you as well. He does not say that he misses you, but he has been reading his Three Musketeers book and sulking. Maybe he will write you as well. I will tell him to.
I am sending you The Little Prince, since you liked it so much and I hope to read your letters very soon.
Love,
-Дя́дя Павел
---
Mom,
We’re headed to sector 39J to investigate some weird comms Starfleet is getting from there and while it was good to get a little time on Earth, I’m glad to be back on the Enterprise. I miss Earth, but there’s a lot of good for me to do out here.
Bones and I personally took Jo home and I barely held it together in front of his ex. I’m really going to miss that kid and I can’t stop thinking about how we’re out here, lightyears away, and no matter how much I want to protect her from everything bad in the Universe, I can’t. I don’t know how Bones does it without going insane. I want to be with him for as long as he and Jo can stand to have me around and it might last two weeks or forever, but I’ll take forever if I can get it.
“When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married.”
Much Ado About Nothing, II.iii
I’ve got it so bad I’m quoting the comedies. This is Sonnet 18 bad. I don’t think we’ll be picking out wedding china any time soon, but I’ve got a good thing going. Between Bones, Jo, and the Enterprise crew, I’ve got the weirdest family in the Federation, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Anyway, Mom, I just wanted to thank you - for everything. First of all, without your extensive collection of romance novels, I never would have learned how to pick up girls. More seriously, I joined Starfleet because I wanted to do better than Dad, but I can’t ever be the kind of hero you are. I realize now that you stayed in Starfleet for Sam and me, not in spite of us. I get that now. Thanks, Mom.
Love,
-Jim
---
Ambassador Sarek,
I wish to express my gratitude for the advice you provided to me in regards to my analysis of Earth cultures. As you aptly stated, it is a fallacy to regard Earth as having a single culture when, in fact, it is a conglomeration of many different cultures. My analysis so far, though it is inconclusive, shows that there is great diversity in human culture even in regions that are only a few hundred kilometers distant and that the variation is far more extensive than previously thought. Though I am to prepare a detailed report upon the conclusion of my time here on Earth, I fear that there is far too much data to process in such a short time.
Additionally, there is a personal matter that is causing me some distress. I apologize for any impropriety, but I do not know any other Vulcan who is capable of advising me on this matter. Your marriage to Mrs. Grayson after your ambassadorial appointment was logical, given that it was necessary to observe human behavior, but is it possible for a human and a Vulcan to be compatible as mates? My guardians continue to search for a suitable mate for me, but I have yet to encounter a Vulcan female with whom I am compatible. Additionally, is it possible to inadvertently form a bond during mind meld? I was given to understand that it is not possible, but am at present unable to research the matter.
Thank you,
-Savas, son of Varin
--
[UNN News Feed: 22 April, 2260]
>Cmdr. J. Crichton missing after test flight. Project scrapped due to safety concerns.
>Thirty-three Coridian miners found alive in collapsed mine. Rescue efforts underway.
>Delta IV marks fifth anniversary of devastating ion storm. Some districts still rebuilding.
>USS Enterprise continuing mission to explore strange new worlds.
Part #39: Personal Log: