Antique Locket, Chapter 2
Title: Antique Locket
Author: narknon
Fandom: ST XI
Word Count: ~1460
Characters/Pairings:Winona Kirk, K/U, past S/U, G/W
Rating: PG-13 for lang.
Warnings: Het, probable tense shifts
Summary: It's a long road this time, but the Kirk locket is always part of the journey to love
Original Prompt: At Between Love and Duty
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek. In writing this, I mean no harm to the owners of Star Trek.
Chapter 1
Winnie’s words stay with Jim, though. And on his next birthday, instead of getting drunk and thinking about what if’s and should’ve been’s, he pulls out the locket and wraps it up in a small gift box.
He finds Nyota on one of the lower observation decks, reading. Spock is on duty, working on a new botany project with Sulu. “Uhura, I have something for you. I, uh, I’ve always thought it would be inappropriate to give it to you, but… well, just know that I don’t mean anything by it. Or I do, but… you know what, it’s really complicated. My Ma, though, she thinks this belongs to you.” And with that, he thrusts the package at her and stalks off before she can respond.
Nyota opens the package slowly, confused by the Captain’s confession. When she sees the locket, his words become suddenly clear. It’s his mother’s locket. Nyota would know it anywhere. She’d watched the holovids of the Kelvin every year on the anniversary of its destruction and seen Winona Kirk wearing this very locket. Nyota searched her memory for times the Captain had mentioned it, times she’d heard anything about the locket, but she draws a blank. With as much hemming and hawing as the Captain had done when he gave it to her, she expected to have heard something about the locket, especially since now that she’s looking at it, she can tell that it’s an antique. But she has nothing to go on.
It never occurs to her that the reason Jim’s taken so long to give the locket to her is because he never found out that despite Spock’s decision to remain in Starfleet and despite his commitment to her, they had never bonded. They had tried, but the bond never took root in the way that Sarek had described his bond with Amanda. When Spock’s first Pon Farr had happened two years ago, it had been messy. Nyota and Spock had tried to bond yet again, but this attempt was as unsuccessful as previous attempts. An unbonded Vulcan had shown up at Spock’s family’s new place of koon-ut-kal-if-fee and demanded the right to challenge Spock’s suitor. Nyota had been ready to fight for Spock, but Spock’s fevered mind had taken the decision from her. The Vulcan woman had bonded with Spock immediately, and it was only later that Nyota found out who she was. As it turned out, T’Pring had survived the battle of Vulcan where Stonn and so many others had not. She’d come to claim Spock, even though their bond had been officially severed.
After that, Nyota and Spock’s relationship had taken a step backward to friendship. They remained close, even so far as to keeping the adjoining (locked) door between their respective quarters, but it was never and would never be the same. T’Pring, who had been dismissed from Spock and Nyota’s concerns early in their relationship when he’d originally terminated his bond to her, would ever stand in their way.
Eventually, Nyota recognized that she and Spock were both better suited as close friends, rather than as romantic partners, but she had gone through so much. She didn’t want to go through it again. And as time passed, Nyota came to think she preferred the close companionship she shared with Spock and the rest of the bridge, complete with the banter between her and the Captain and the nights out with her girlfriends when she was on shore leave. She’d not thought to venture beyond it in - well, if she was honest with herself, she’d been so broken up over how things with Spock had worked out that she’d not really been tempted.
But the locket stirs the embers of thoughts half formed during her cadet years. Perhaps a call to Mrs. Kirk is in order. After all, she’s the one who thought the Captain should give it to her.
****************
Nyota has on a fresh uniform and has timed her subspace call to coincide with the Iowa morning. She’s nervous, much more so than she’d anticipated. The locket the Captain had given her is at hand, and she studies it once more. Delicate etching covers the gold heart, and a small catch and a tiny hinge sit opposite one another. She plays with the catch absently; she’s already tried to open the locket to no avail, so she doesn’t expect the locket to fall open. When it does, a small scrap of paper and a short lock of hair drift into her lap.
For My Dearest Miranda Sue,
A locket and a lock of hair to remind you of me while I’m away.
All My Love,
Blake T. Kirk
Miranda Sue? Blake Kirk? Real, honest-to-God paper? Just how old was this locket? Suddenly, Nyota’s in a hurry to know just what the locket is, because it’s not just some trifle that the Captain’s given her.
Nyota taps her foot impatiently as she waits to be connected with Mrs. Kirk. When she comes onscreen, its all Nyota can do to exchange pleasantries before she blurts out, “Who are Miranda Sue and Blake Kirk?”
Winona cocks her head at Nyota and gives her one of her patented Kirk stares. Assessing. Finally, she asks, “Was the lock of hair still in the locket?”
Nyota finds herself replying to Mrs. Kirk as though she were her own mama, “Yes, Ma’am.”
“Be sure to put the hair and note back in it. There’s a long line of Kirk women who’d come back from the grave sore with you if you lost ‘em.”
It’s an heirloom. And the Captain had given it to her. Nyota’s struck anew by the way Jim had practically thrown the locket at her and stumbled his words over the fact that his mom had told him to give it to her. “Ma’am, what is this locket, exactly? The Captain didn’t say much when he gave it to me.”
Winona knows there’s more to it than that, so she gets Nyota to recount exactly how her baby boy had given the locket to Nyota. By the end of the short tale, Winnie is laughing at her son’s antics. Jim’s nerves had certainly gotten the best of him, though Winnie could well understand why. Her next question to Nyota throws them both off balance. “Ms. Uhura, what does your bondmate think of Jim’s gift? He assumed it would be awkward.”
Nyota freezes for a moment before carefully replying to Mrs. Kirk. “Ma’am, Captain Kirk thinks I’m bonded to Spock?”
A world away in Iowa, Winona sees Nyota’s reaction on the vidscreen and does an internal jump for joy. Outwardly, though, she’s placidly Midwestern. “He did say you were an married woman. You didn’t marry Mr. Spock on New Vulcan?”
“No, Mrs. Kirk. Our bonding was - unsuccessful. I - it was difficult.”
Winona’s heart goes out to Nyota. It’s one thing to lose the man you love to the line of duty, but to lose someone because of an inexplicable quirk of physiology… well. And the woman had clearly ended up torturing herself by remaining so close to Spock, even if she felt it was comforting. “Nyota - Can I call you Nyota? - I’d like to send you something. It goes with the locket.” It’s an impulsive offer, and Winona hasn’t got any idea if it will work, but she can see Nyota needs something. And from the looks of it, this failed bonding has put Nyota through the wringer to the point that she’s as much a shadow of herself as Winona was when she lost George.
“I appreciate the offer, Mrs. Kirk, but I don’t know if that’s wise."
“Well then, if that’s your only objection, I’ll be sending a box along. Don’t let that boy of mine get his hands on it though. You’ll never see it again if he does. Squirrels away every last bit of Kirk history away for his birthday, he does.” Satisfied with her handiwork, Winnie ends the call with a mention of chores to be done. And calls her son before she can think better of being a meddling mother.
He doesn’t pick up, and she doesn’t expect him to what with it being about halfway through beta shift, so she leaves a quick message telling him that she’s happy he decided to take her advice and to give her a call back when he gets some time.
****************
Meanwhile, Jim’s been going not-so-quietly crazy. Things had been quiet on duty; no Klingons or crazy Romulans or even new solar systems to break the monotony. So after he gives Nyota the locket, Jim does what any self-respecting anxious man would do - he finds his best friend and proceeds to rope him into drinks on the Engineering deck.
Author: narknon
Fandom: ST XI
Word Count: ~1460
Characters/Pairings:Winona Kirk, K/U, past S/U, G/W
Rating: PG-13 for lang.
Warnings: Het, probable tense shifts
Summary: It's a long road this time, but the Kirk locket is always part of the journey to love
Original Prompt: At Between Love and Duty
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek. In writing this, I mean no harm to the owners of Star Trek.
Chapter 1
Winnie’s words stay with Jim, though. And on his next birthday, instead of getting drunk and thinking about what if’s and should’ve been’s, he pulls out the locket and wraps it up in a small gift box.
He finds Nyota on one of the lower observation decks, reading. Spock is on duty, working on a new botany project with Sulu. “Uhura, I have something for you. I, uh, I’ve always thought it would be inappropriate to give it to you, but… well, just know that I don’t mean anything by it. Or I do, but… you know what, it’s really complicated. My Ma, though, she thinks this belongs to you.” And with that, he thrusts the package at her and stalks off before she can respond.
Nyota opens the package slowly, confused by the Captain’s confession. When she sees the locket, his words become suddenly clear. It’s his mother’s locket. Nyota would know it anywhere. She’d watched the holovids of the Kelvin every year on the anniversary of its destruction and seen Winona Kirk wearing this very locket. Nyota searched her memory for times the Captain had mentioned it, times she’d heard anything about the locket, but she draws a blank. With as much hemming and hawing as the Captain had done when he gave it to her, she expected to have heard something about the locket, especially since now that she’s looking at it, she can tell that it’s an antique. But she has nothing to go on.
It never occurs to her that the reason Jim’s taken so long to give the locket to her is because he never found out that despite Spock’s decision to remain in Starfleet and despite his commitment to her, they had never bonded. They had tried, but the bond never took root in the way that Sarek had described his bond with Amanda. When Spock’s first Pon Farr had happened two years ago, it had been messy. Nyota and Spock had tried to bond yet again, but this attempt was as unsuccessful as previous attempts. An unbonded Vulcan had shown up at Spock’s family’s new place of koon-ut-kal-if-fee and demanded the right to challenge Spock’s suitor. Nyota had been ready to fight for Spock, but Spock’s fevered mind had taken the decision from her. The Vulcan woman had bonded with Spock immediately, and it was only later that Nyota found out who she was. As it turned out, T’Pring had survived the battle of Vulcan where Stonn and so many others had not. She’d come to claim Spock, even though their bond had been officially severed.
After that, Nyota and Spock’s relationship had taken a step backward to friendship. They remained close, even so far as to keeping the adjoining (locked) door between their respective quarters, but it was never and would never be the same. T’Pring, who had been dismissed from Spock and Nyota’s concerns early in their relationship when he’d originally terminated his bond to her, would ever stand in their way.
Eventually, Nyota recognized that she and Spock were both better suited as close friends, rather than as romantic partners, but she had gone through so much. She didn’t want to go through it again. And as time passed, Nyota came to think she preferred the close companionship she shared with Spock and the rest of the bridge, complete with the banter between her and the Captain and the nights out with her girlfriends when she was on shore leave. She’d not thought to venture beyond it in - well, if she was honest with herself, she’d been so broken up over how things with Spock had worked out that she’d not really been tempted.
But the locket stirs the embers of thoughts half formed during her cadet years. Perhaps a call to Mrs. Kirk is in order. After all, she’s the one who thought the Captain should give it to her.
****************
Nyota has on a fresh uniform and has timed her subspace call to coincide with the Iowa morning. She’s nervous, much more so than she’d anticipated. The locket the Captain had given her is at hand, and she studies it once more. Delicate etching covers the gold heart, and a small catch and a tiny hinge sit opposite one another. She plays with the catch absently; she’s already tried to open the locket to no avail, so she doesn’t expect the locket to fall open. When it does, a small scrap of paper and a short lock of hair drift into her lap.
For My Dearest Miranda Sue,
A locket and a lock of hair to remind you of me while I’m away.
All My Love,
Blake T. Kirk
Miranda Sue? Blake Kirk? Real, honest-to-God paper? Just how old was this locket? Suddenly, Nyota’s in a hurry to know just what the locket is, because it’s not just some trifle that the Captain’s given her.
Nyota taps her foot impatiently as she waits to be connected with Mrs. Kirk. When she comes onscreen, its all Nyota can do to exchange pleasantries before she blurts out, “Who are Miranda Sue and Blake Kirk?”
Winona cocks her head at Nyota and gives her one of her patented Kirk stares. Assessing. Finally, she asks, “Was the lock of hair still in the locket?”
Nyota finds herself replying to Mrs. Kirk as though she were her own mama, “Yes, Ma’am.”
“Be sure to put the hair and note back in it. There’s a long line of Kirk women who’d come back from the grave sore with you if you lost ‘em.”
It’s an heirloom. And the Captain had given it to her. Nyota’s struck anew by the way Jim had practically thrown the locket at her and stumbled his words over the fact that his mom had told him to give it to her. “Ma’am, what is this locket, exactly? The Captain didn’t say much when he gave it to me.”
Winona knows there’s more to it than that, so she gets Nyota to recount exactly how her baby boy had given the locket to Nyota. By the end of the short tale, Winnie is laughing at her son’s antics. Jim’s nerves had certainly gotten the best of him, though Winnie could well understand why. Her next question to Nyota throws them both off balance. “Ms. Uhura, what does your bondmate think of Jim’s gift? He assumed it would be awkward.”
Nyota freezes for a moment before carefully replying to Mrs. Kirk. “Ma’am, Captain Kirk thinks I’m bonded to Spock?”
A world away in Iowa, Winona sees Nyota’s reaction on the vidscreen and does an internal jump for joy. Outwardly, though, she’s placidly Midwestern. “He did say you were an married woman. You didn’t marry Mr. Spock on New Vulcan?”
“No, Mrs. Kirk. Our bonding was - unsuccessful. I - it was difficult.”
Winona’s heart goes out to Nyota. It’s one thing to lose the man you love to the line of duty, but to lose someone because of an inexplicable quirk of physiology… well. And the woman had clearly ended up torturing herself by remaining so close to Spock, even if she felt it was comforting. “Nyota - Can I call you Nyota? - I’d like to send you something. It goes with the locket.” It’s an impulsive offer, and Winona hasn’t got any idea if it will work, but she can see Nyota needs something. And from the looks of it, this failed bonding has put Nyota through the wringer to the point that she’s as much a shadow of herself as Winona was when she lost George.
“I appreciate the offer, Mrs. Kirk, but I don’t know if that’s wise."
“Well then, if that’s your only objection, I’ll be sending a box along. Don’t let that boy of mine get his hands on it though. You’ll never see it again if he does. Squirrels away every last bit of Kirk history away for his birthday, he does.” Satisfied with her handiwork, Winnie ends the call with a mention of chores to be done. And calls her son before she can think better of being a meddling mother.
He doesn’t pick up, and she doesn’t expect him to what with it being about halfway through beta shift, so she leaves a quick message telling him that she’s happy he decided to take her advice and to give her a call back when he gets some time.
****************
Meanwhile, Jim’s been going not-so-quietly crazy. Things had been quiet on duty; no Klingons or crazy Romulans or even new solar systems to break the monotony. So after he gives Nyota the locket, Jim does what any self-respecting anxious man would do - he finds his best friend and proceeds to rope him into drinks on the Engineering deck.