A/N: So this is something I came up with at like 10 or 11pm and wrote in less than 2 hours when I really should've been asleep, so sorry in advance for any mistakes.

Warnings: Mentions of child abuse.

"Who is coming aboard?" Spock asked.

Jim shrugged. "I don't know. Even Pike is keeping his mouth shut on this one."

"That doesn't make sense. Why would they send someone to Starfleet's flagship and not tell the captain?" Leonard protested.

"My thoughts exactly, Bones."

The three men entered the transporter room, where Scotty was waiting at the controls. "She's ready to beam up, Cap'n."

"Beam her up, Scotty," Jim ordered, straightening up.

"Well, at least we know a gender," Leonard muttered. He tugged at the collar of his dress uniform, trying not to be irritated at how easily the hobgoblin looked professional. He only had to wait a few moments for white tendrils of light to give way to a fully-formed middle-aged woman, but instead of the next few moments providing clarity, he only grew more confused.

She had long, curly blonde hair, streaked with silver. Her eyes were brown, but their shape looked incredibly familiar. In fact, so was the way she carried herself – tall, confident, but with hints of defensiveness. Upon seeing her, Jim stiffened, one foot shifting towards the door, a painfully familiar guardedness dropping over his bright blue eyes – and suddenly, Leonard knew who she was.

"So this is why Pike didn't tell me who you were," Jim concluded coldly. "He knew I'd never let you on my ship."

Pain bled through her eyes. "Jim…"

"Captain," he cut her off.

"It's been years, swee-"

"You do not get to call me that. I fell for it when I was five, but not anymore."

Never, never had Leonard heard Jim sound so cold. Not even with Khan, not even with anyone that insulted him or someone close to him. There was always emotion in his voice, no matter how buried, no matter how hard he tried not to care. But now… There was nothing. His voice was pure ice, and that was wrong on so many levels.

"Now, Jim, I know I was hardly the best mother-"

"The best? You weren't a mother. You barely looked at me. You were never home. You… You left me with him. You sent me there."

And there was the emotion. Fury, abandonment, pain… terror. Leonard's heart sank. Jim had finally learned to trust again, to share his burdens with his crew, his family – and every emotion he had finally let go of was currently surging back to the surface. And what did "him" and "there" mean?

"I can never apologize enough-"

Jim stepped forward, his fists clenching at his sides. "You haven't even tried!" he yelled. "I haven't seen you since before you sent me away, which is pretty freaking pathetic considering what happened! Not a word, nothing, in sixteen years."

"I have a week to fix that," she offered quietly.

"Not if I don't see you," Jim retorted, his voice suddenly cold again. "Spock, you know the drill. Tour, quarters, food, whatever. And keep her away from me."

Without another word, Jim spun on his heel and fled the room at a brisk walk. Leonard shared a helpless glance with Scotty while Spock stood in stunned silence, probably overwhelmed by this new level of illogical human relationships. Leonard appraised the woman standing on the pad, noting she didn't look as heartbroken as he would have expected – he knew he'd be devastated if Joanna said anything even remotely similar to him. She didn't look indifferent, either, but she didn't look like she cared enough.

Spock recovered his voice first. "Winona Kirk, I presume?"

She flashed a smile that was simultaneously heartbroken and bitter. "Swan. I dropped Kirk years ago."

"Would that be before or after you hurt Jim?" Leonard snapped. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but he followed Jim before she could.

-LLAP-

Spock watched McCoy leave, most likely to chase down Jim. Swan appeared to slump, but only momentarily – like her son, she appeared to have the ability to pretend nothing affected her. She stepped down from the pad, her expression once again professional. She lifted her hand in a traditional Vulcan salute that Spock was half a second slow to return.

"Commander Spock, yes?"

"Correct," Spock confirmed, returning his hands to their position behind his back. "Where would you like to go first?"

She considered the question for a moment. "My quarters, please. I need to… collect my thoughts."

"Of course. This way." Spock made sure to turn the opposite way from McCoy and Jim. While he didn't really understand the hostility Jim had shown her, he knew he had been given an order, and he would follow it – for now.

"Chris told me you and Jim are pretty close," Swan broached after a few moments.

Spock inclined his head stiffly.

"I suppose we don't know each other nearly well enough for favors, but he's my son, and I want to get to know the man he's become. I just… I can't do it alone. I lost his trust long ago."

Spock couldn't detect any insincerity in her tone or body language, but the way Jim had reacted… "You know I cannot guarantee anything."

"Yeah. Just try?"

He stopped outside the door. "I do not know what Admiral Pike told you, but Jim has made himself a home here on the Enterprise. He is content here, despite a difficult beginning. If I see it fit, I will do as you ask, but I will not permit anything to ruin what he has achieved, even if that obstacle is his own mother. Is that clear?"

He was certain he hadn't said anything amusing, but she smiled anyway. "Chris did say you would be incredibly protective. Yes, Commander, you've made your position clear."

Spock waited a beat before nodding. "Then we have arrived at your quarters, Ms. Swan."

"Thank you, Commander."

"Any time, Ms. Swan. Should you need anything, comm. Lieutenant Uhura – she will reach out to the appropriate crew members."

She nodded and disappeared inside. Spock, not technically on duty for another hour and twenty minutes, struck out to find Jim.

-LLAP-

Leonard managed to catch up to Jim after a few minutes, tracking him down in the private observation lounge. He huddled against the wall, his knees drawn up to his chest and his arm wrapped around them, his free hand holding a glass of beer. His gaze rested on the stars, never straying, but then, he had never needed to look around to know it was Leonard coming up behind him.

"How'd you find me?" he rasped.

"You always look at the stars when your childhood comes up. I've lived with you at the Academy and here for a grand total of six years, Jim – I think I know your habits by now."

Jim gulped down a couple mouthfuls of his beer. "Wonderful."

Leonard settled on the floor beside him. "I'm too old for this," he muttered.

"You're only 35, Bones."

"Well, I've been patching you together for six years."

Jim snorted. "True."

Leonard took a swig of Jim's beer, ignoring the kid's protests. "Just making sure it's not heavy, cause you do have to work in an hour."

Jim snatched it back. "I know. Am I allowed to mope in peace until then?"

"Nope."

"Bones-"

"Jim, we've been through this. You are not alone, and we only want to help you move on from your past, especially when it gets shoved in your face like this."

"I don't see a 'we' right now."

"You know the hobgoblin will be here once he's done following your order. He's more human than he admits – and so are you."

Jim glanced at him like he had grown a second head. "I'm fully human."

Leonard resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You know what I meant, Jim. Everyone has their skeletons in the closet, their own demons to overcome. I know you know you can trust me and the hobgoblin, and we'll help you however we can, but you need to let us in to fully help."

Jim shook his head stubbornly. "Not this time," he whispered.

Leonard took the glass back, setting it down. Jim didn't protest. "We know your past is bad, but the first step to moving on is admitting it happened. That's how you got over your post-death panic attacks, remember?"

"I don't want to remember," Jim snapped, but the tone was almost pleading. "And you don't want to know."

The doors slid open again. "On the contrary, Jim."

Jim groaned. "I told you," Leonard announced triumphantly. Both captain and first officer shot him a pointed look, and he reined in his emotions.

"You really don't," Jim insisted.

"We need to in order to assist you in moving on," Spock retorted. He sat in one graceful motion, glancing at the half-empty beer glass.

"Told ya."

Spock clasped his hands together. "She is your mother, Jim, whether you appreciate the fact or not."

"She gave birth to me, but otherwise she's not my mother," Jim snapped, turning a glare on Spock.

In his own Vulcan way, Spock's look at Jim was equally heated. "Do not be a fool, Jim. There is nothing I would not give to have one more day with my mother, as illogical as the idea is. You have that chance – do not throw it away because of mistakes made sixteen years ago."

Jim had sobered slightly at the mention of Spock's mother – an easy wound to open, even three years later – but his fire returned full force. "They were far greater than mistakes. Frank nearly killed me, and in response she shipped me off to Tarsus freaking IV!"

All three men froze in horror – Jim at saying too much, Leonard and Spock at the implications of those words.

Tarsus IV. God, not there. So many people had died… And only nine kids could identify their mass-murderer. Could Jim be…? Best to find out from the beginning.

"Who was Frank?" Leonard asked quietly, patiently.

It took a minute, but Jim finally, haltingly, spoke. "He… He was my father's brother. Winona… My mother married him a few years… after. Things were… ok, at first, even though she and my brother couldn't look at me without thinking of my father. Then… Frank got abusive. I was, uh, eleven the first time he hit me, I think. Wi- my mother never knew, she was off-planet so much. Finally, when I was thirteen, my brother ran away, I drove my dad's antique Corvette off a cliff, and Frank… snapped. I was hospitalized for two weeks, and the moment I was strong enough, she sent me to my aunt – on her side – on Tarsus IV. It was the last time I saw her until now. I felt like a normal kid for the first time in my life… And then Kodos happened. I looked up to him, and he treated me like a treasure. I wasn't on the kill list, but my aunt, uncle, and cousin were, and I went to the courtyard with them anyway. Then the shooting started – I grabbed my cousin and ran. We found a few others – I was the oldest, and my five-year-old cousin was the youngest. We lived in the forest, always moving, barely surviving for months before Kodos found us. A few of my kids – cause that's what they were to me – died of exposure, a few died in the pursuit, including my cousin. I turned myself in so the rest could get away, and Kodos nearly killed me. Three months of hospitalization, they separated the nine of us who survived the second they found us, and my brother and mother never came to see me. I bounced from foster home to foster home for a while before running away, and well, you guys know the rest."

Jim swiped viciously at escaping tears, glancing longingly at his beer. Leonard tucked it safely away from him, not knowing what else to do.

Spock, surprisingly, did. He spoke softly, careful not to antagonize Jim again. "She made mistakes. The results were terrible, to say the least, but at the time, she thought she was doing what was best. She likely married Frank to give you and your brother a father, and she sent you to Tarsus IV so you could be happy. But his abuse, Kodos's actions – they were not her fault."

"Then why did she abandon me?" Jim asked. He sounded exactly like the lost, hurting, lonely child he must have been. Leonard pulled him close, wrapping him securely in a one-armed hug.

"You would have to ask her," Spock pointed out. "But you cannot do that if you refuse to speak to her. Now you have a week to do so in the security of your ship – your home – surrounded by your crew. She seems genuine about her desire to reconnect.

"Take the opportunity I do not have, Jim – spend time with your mother."

Jim dropped his head onto Leonard's shoulder. "Maybe after our shift," he whispered.

Leonard rubbed his arm reassuringly. "All right."

"Can you… Can you guys come with me?"

"Whatever you wish," Spock promised. Leonard nodded, readily agreeing with the hobgoblin for once.

"Whenever you wish," he added.

-LLAP-

Eight hours later, they sat in the captain's private dining room. Winona smiled through tears, reaching out to grasp her son's hand. He sat across the table, Spock and McCoy on either side like protective big brothers.

"I'm ready to listen," he whispered.

A/N: If I feel inspired and this gets a decent response, I may expand on this. If.

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