When Felicity fell from a tree at the age of fourteen, twisted her ankle and earned several scrapes, she didn't panic. Starfleet cadets weren't supposed to panic. Cadets were supposed to handle themselves in stressful situations. That was what Felicity was raised to believe.
This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening! Felicity repeated throughout her frazzled mind, as she rushed back and forth in the medium-sized room.
Now, unfortunately, wasn't one of those times.
As Felicity paced, Jim in the meantime, sat on the floor with his legs casually flung out. He watched the small brunette move above him. Jim thought she moved in a way that bared similarity to a fast-moving pendulum on a string. He felt himself becoming cross-eyed. He shut his eyes and shook his head. She was making him dizzy. Perhaps it would be best for both of them if she just relaxed.
"Felicity," he said trying to sound convincing, "Why don't you sit down?"
They had been locked in the Starfleet collections room for more than twenty minutes. Out of all the times Felicity had been to the library, she had never been locked in. She knew that the library closed at 2300 hours on Monday nights but she must have lost track of time during her search for her Cleopatra biography. She never intended to stay in the library for so long, but she had managed to let herself get lost in the Egyptology publications. And, then, of course, Jim had shown up to ask her for help. That was when she really lost track of time. Cadets rarely went to this section of the library at the start of the semester, so it probably didn't cross the librarians' minds to see if anyone was on the third level. In consequence, they had chosen to lock down the library from their security consoles and call it a night. Unfortunately, two freshmen cadets were stuck in the library and would remain there for the rest of the night. As far as Felicity knew, there was no way out. But, she was trying to think of a way out nonetheless.
Felicity kept with her movements as she spoke, "Jim, there is no time for sitting. We have to get out of here. I need to get out of here."
"Believe me, Felicity. I understand that," she heard him say. Jim then spoke under his breath, "No one understands that more than me."
Jim ran his hand through his hair, "But, how are we going to get out of here, Felicity? By you making a hole in the floor from all of your pacing?" he joshed, trying to use humor to persuade her.
Felicity turned her head, fixing her eyes on him, granting him a fierce and icy glare. She was not in the mood for jokes. Jim's stomach suddenly turned. He didn't want to see that look again.
In Iowa, Jim had enough experience settling down in places he had no choice in being in. Mostly, he had spent many a night in the local county jail. Additionally, he was used to sleeping in the most unlikely of places. However, a bale of hay was more comfortable and a lot warmer than the Collection's room carpet and wall. At least, this time, he wasn't alone. He had a small brunette to keep him company. Although, right now, she was a bit on edge because of their circumstances. In truth, Jim found her even a little bit scary.
"Look," he swallowed a lump in his throat he hadn't realized was there, to begin with, "all I'm trying to say is there is no point in tiring yourself out-"
"I am not tiring myself out," Felicity denied. Pacing was what she did when she was stressed. It was her nervous tick. "I'm thinking," she professed.
Jim's brows creased, now he knew what that young lieutenant felt trying to get McCoy to sit down on the shuttle yesterday morning. "Sit down or I'll make you sit down" was what the Lieutenant had said. Jim thought about doing the same thing for Felicity. He could easily make his voice a little sterner. He also was much bigger than her. He could drag her to the floor. But, frankly, that was a little too aggressive. He needed a much more relaxed form of persuasion. Being gentle with her seemed like the best way to go.
"Felicity," he said with ease, picking himself off the ground, "look at me."
She began to mumble to herself not even noticing Jim's movements. She was acting the same way she did two nights ago when her father hadn't come back to the hotel when he said he would. He had left her alone again. Just like when she was a little girl. Her thoughts grew evermore frantic. There had to be a way out. There just had to be. I can't be alone anymore. Felicity continued to discern. Something needed to be done. Something. Anything. Please, get me out!
Felicity then felt a stern grip on her shoulders, pulling her backward. Immediately, she was spun in the opposite direction having the room revolve around her. She then felt a soft grasp of her chin causing her to look up. Once again, she was met with a familiar pair of blue eyes. Her mind was at a pause. Her frantic thoughts were lost. She had forgotten that he was there too.
"Felicity…" Jim began.
Felicity blinked several times. She received a closer look of his bruises, seeing how they evolved into darker shades of purple. They were different from the way they looked the night before. She wanted to trace them with her fingertips.
Jim continued to speak in almost a whisper, "You—need—to—take—it- easy." He squeezed her shoulders gently, bringing her back to reality. Her breathing slowed and her heartbeat eased. Jim managed to calm her down. She would have to thank him later. But, as far they both knew, they were still in a problematic situation. They needed to find a way out.
Shaking her head to remove herself from his trance, Felicity said, "But, Jim we're not going to find a way out by sitting-"
Suddenly, the lights in the room gave out save for the emergency lights that remained, "down." she finished despairingly. He looked at her with an expression of amusement. She wanted to rub that expression off his face. "You were saying?" he said with hands still on her shoulders. Jim wasn't the only one telling her to calm down. The room itself was also telling her to relax. Felicity twisted her mouth, forming a crease in her cheek. Jim had won this battle.
He then pulled his hands away from her shoulders, gesturing to the area of the floor he originally sat, "Now, will you sit?"
Felicity bit her bottom lip, she nodded hesitantly. Jim then turned around and took several steps towards his spot on the carpet. He expected to see Felicity's small red frame move in front of him. Instead, he heard some shuffling occur a small distance behind him.
When he turned around, Felicity was settling herself in the area across from where Jim had previously sat. I should have expected that, Jim realized.
On more than one occasion, he tended to push some women the wrong way when he just so happened to say or do the wrong thing. But, as a result of his good looks and charming smile, they usually came around. It shouldn't be so hard with Felicity, he glanced back towards her, seeing what he could of her feminine features, and she was a woman too after all. She would come around eventually.
Now, she sat across from him with her legs folded to the side and her head in her hands. She was clearly still contemplating their situation. Frankly, Jim did not understand why it was such a big deal that they were locked in the library. They just had to wait till morning for library staff to unlock the door. That was the worst case scenario.
In all of his twenty years, he had never met any girl quite like her. At first, he found her…what was the word? Cute. Now, she wasn't just cute anymore. He found her extremely literate, focused, studious and intelligent. Simultaneously, she was also timid and insecure. Felicity Clarke was definitely a character. He didn't regret meeting her that was for sure.
Briefly, he saw that she was rubbing her bare arms, and keeping her legs firmly tucked to her chest. She was shuffling every now and then to continue the action. He noticed the room wasn't as warm as it was minutes ago. She must be cold.
Jim tugged on the zipper down the front of his uniform, Felicity's eyes widened in shock. Her stomach tossed and turned, she wasn't that type of girl. "What are you doing?" she questioned with tenseness in her voice.
"Aren't you cold?" he asked innocently as if he was doing nothing out of the ordinary.
She turned her body more to the side, "No," she lied through closed lips.
Jim perked an eyebrow at her. Of course, you're not, he thought sarcastically. 'Difficult' could be added to the list of words to describe Felicity. But, despite her protests, Jim continued to pull down the zipper of his uniform top.
Without intending to, Felicity's eyes followed the route of his zipper. Instead of revealing the white skin of his chest she saw the night before, he revealed a black shirt hidden beneath. Ruefully, a feeling of disappointment washed over Felicity. Whether she wanted to or not, there was a small part of her that was attracted to him. Felicity was almost sure that it was a just a small passing fancy. So, if she just happened to have any "feelings" for Jim they would surely go away and be forgotten. And, no one would be able to find out about them. No one. Not even Jim.
As he walked closer to her, she looked away, trying to hide the blush that came to her cheeks.
Without saying a word, Jim gently laid his jacket over her shoulders. He didn't linger too long. He just draped the clothing over her shoulders and walked back over to his spot situated across from her. He didn't try anything that Felicity would define as 'funny" which to Felicity meant that he didn't try to put a move on her. Felicity felt a warmth envelope her stomach. Thanks, she wanted to say.
He sat back with legs strewn out and hands behind his head while she sat with legs tucked to the side and hands in her lap. From their positions, one could very much see how different they were in their personalities. He was more laid back while she was more tightly put together. If someone were to walk in on them right now, no one would assume they were a couple. But, on the other hand, if someone were to walk in on them both Jim and Felicity would be more than willing to leave the room at the same time as if they were a couple. A sound of silence began to creep up into the room. They seemed to have a knack for letting a silence hover between the two of them. He had gotten what he wanted from her. He got the information he needed. There wasn't more for them to say. Was there?
As if a light bulb had been switched on, a peculiar inquiry popped into her head. Felicity knew for a fact that she hadn't told Jim where she was. After all, it was a surprise that he had shown up in the library. The books she dropped on the floor said it all. "How'd you know where to find me?" Felicity asked, tugging Jim's jacket over her shoulders.
Jim removed his hands from the back of his head and sat straight up, looking back at her. "I stopped by your dorm. Asked your roommate. "
"Oh…"Felicity felt slightly disappointed. What was she expecting? Was she expecting an answer that was more romantic? Did she expect him to say it was because he felt they had a connection and he just knew? Jim didn't seem like the romantic type. Jim, so far, seemed more like the type that enjoyed a relationship where there were no strings attached. Scratch that, he did enjoy no strings attached relationships. How could she think otherwise? Felicity blew a strand of hair out of her face, she guessed that he had done more than speak to Ariel when he stopped by the room. They probably picked up from where they left off last night. The room was probably in disarray. Felicity felt sick to her stomach. "Are you planning on seeing her again?" she disdained to ask.
"See who?"
Felicity looked at him sideways, "Ariel."
"'Ariel' who?"
Her roommate definitely didn't mean anything to him. "Ariel," Felicity rolled her eyes, "My roommate."
Jim's eyes opened wide, "Oh." Jim looked away somewhat embarrassed by his response.
Felicity twisted her lips, "I guess that is a 'no'."
Jim attempted to respond quickly in his own defense, "It's not like that…it's just. I…,"
"Jim," Felicity stopped him from speaking. "I'm not the one you have to explain things to."
Jim rubbed the nape of his neck. He was glad she cut him off. The truth was he didn't have a good excuse for not wanting to see her roommate again. He wasn't looking for anything serious. He just wanted some fun. He wanted a one night stand. And, he got that last night. He got the fun he had hoped to get prior to him getting his ass kicked from the night before. Jim flexed his jaw. His mouth was still slightly sore from the blow. He had seen the cadet that punched him on the shuttle yesterday morning. It must have bothered all four of the cadets to see him, the lowlife Iowan farm boy from the bar, join them on the same shuttle for Starfleet. Jim sighed, he had been a fool to think that he could sulk around in Iowa for the rest of his life. Now, he finally had a real purpose in life. "I dare you to do better." The magic words Pike used to spark Jim's ambition replayed in his head. But, Jim suddenly began to doubt himself. What if he couldn't do better? Jim traced the outline of the folder in his hands. What if he couldn't live up to his father's legacy? Would that make him a failure? Would it make him more of a failure than he was already?
As he was lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice Felicity's red frame making short jumps to the ceiling. Once he realized it, Jim frowned. To him, it looked like she was still going crazy over them being locked in the library. Too bad there weren't any sedatives for her to take. "You can never be still can you?" Jim asked with arms folded. She resembled a child trying to reach for a jar of cookies that was out of reach.
Felicity hadn't heard his remark as she was too busy trying to reach a certain point above her. "Jim," she panted somewhat tired from her jumps. Felicity looked back at him with honey brown eyes that suddenly had a fire ignited within them, "I think I found a way out."
Christopher Pike drummed his fingers against the wood of his desk. Stacked in front of him were piles upon piles of reports from five year missions. He had been reading for two hours before his eyes began to hurt from the strain of intense reading. He needed to hire an assistant. He was getting too old to read so many reports in a limited amount of time. He moved his eyes toward the digital clock on the wall. It was getting close to eleven o'clock. Maybe it was the perfect time for him to turn in for the night. His daughter would want him to get back home as early as possible. She would want him to have a good night's rest. He wasn't twenty-five years old anymore. He couldn't pull an all-nighter like he used to. But, his daughter wasn't at home was she? She wouldn't be waiting up for him tonight. She was trying to get her independence. She was trying to live on her own for once. At least, that is what she told him over breakfast this morning. His eyes turned to a picture of Felicity that he had on his desk. The picture was taken years ago. It was at a time when she sported pigtails and she barely had any front teeth. He hadn't spent too much time on planet to witness the growth of his daughter in person.
Unfortunately, there was a part of Christopher Pike that regretted not being there for his only child. He hoped that his daughter didn't resent him for it. Christopher had heard stories from his crewmen about sons and daughters that misbehaved back on Earth to gain much-needed attention from their off-planet parents. As far as Christopher knew, Felicity hadn't acted out too much while he was off world. However, Flora had told him of one incident in which Felicity was somewhat rebellious in school. It was a matter over cookies with two of Felicity's peers. But, essentially, the heart of the issue was more than just cookies. It was about Felicity's unrequited schoolgirl crush. When he heard about it, Christopher couldn't help but laugh. His little girl reminded him of himself when he was her age. He had his own innocent crush on a playmate in which affection wasn't returned. Christopher thought of Felicity's schoolyard affair as cute. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized he wouldn't be able to protect his daughter from any boys who wanted to be more than friends with his daughter. Men were rats. He knew that for a fact. Because he was one after all. Luckily, nowadays, he was on planet to monitor her if anything were to go wrong. Yes, it was true she was an adult that could make her own decisions. Yet, his current concerns were to compensate for when he wasn't there for her. He wanted to be a good father. He hoped he could be one now. But, growing up, Felicity was more career-focused than boy crazy. She also didn't seem to change her priorities over the years. She would date when her career was taken care of. When the time came, Christopher was hopeful that she would choose the right man. She wouldn't choose someone that was a philanderer. She would end up with someone that was like her. An intelligent individual that went by the book. He was positive that would happen.
Crash!
Abruptly, Christopher heard a loud deafening sound emerge from outside of his office. He immediately ran outside to investigate the situation. The hallway was barely lit and Christopher could barely see a thing. But, as soon as he went around the corner and discovered the cause of the crash, Christopher's eyesight could decipher what the lights failed to. But, it wasn't anything Christopher ever imagined seeing.
Christopher's hands balled up into fists, turning his knuckles pale white. A sickening feeling grew in his stomach. He wanted to vomit.
Laid on the ground in front of him was his daughter, Felicity Pike, with a pain-stricken face covered with the body of some unknown male dressed in a black shirt and red pants. Her brown hair was strewn out around her head and she was wincing in pain. One of the male's hands was gripping her hip while the other was placed above her head. His daughter was wincing in pain. So much anger enveloped within Christopher.
"Son," Christopher proclaimed with gritted teeth and an inflamed face. "Get your hands off my daughter!" demanded Christopher.
Immediately, Felicity's eyes burst open in recognition of her father's voice while Christopher's demand caused the male to turn his head towards him.
To Christopher's shock, the face of the unknown male belonged to his newest advisee, James Tiberius Kirk, of whom' s face was now a frightening shade of white before uttering what could very much be the last word he ever says, "Daughter?"
*Note from author*
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