Prologue

"Because death is the only thing that could have ever kept him from you."

Ally Carter, Out of Sight, Out of Time

The birth of James T. Kirk was not easy.

For one thing, George had wanted a boy. A heir and a spare as they say. He came from a family of backward beliefs- some that unfortunately stuck with him- and wanted children who were capable of running the farm in Riverside.

He loved his wife, Winona, and would love their second child no matter what sex, but they both knew that a boy would have a simpler life. Or maybe he was just a bit of a chauvinist- most would never know.

Winona had decided not to scan for the gender of the growing baby in her belly, and wouldn't choose baby names until he or she was born.

Then a crazy Romulan decided to open fire on the Kelvin, causing the little kicker to immediately want to escape. Winona was in labour about two months early, and god did she want it to stop.

At least she knew the kid was a stubborn one like its father, which was strangely reassuring. She begs the medical staff not to leave without her husband, but they follow captain's orders and fly away from the Kelvin.

Winona Kirk screams, agony tearing through her body. It felt like she was being torn apart. But in her mind there was only one thing she was worrying about- George.

She couldn't get him to leave the ship, not for their child, and Winona knew that this might be it. Her husband would be a hero, that she was sure of, but what would become of their family?

Keeping that thought in her mind, she pushed harder and something slithers out of her.

The noise of torpedoes nearly drown out the child's cries. George's voice, filled with hope and love, even from the other end of the static transmission, asks breathlessly. "What is it?"

Winona feels the tears prickling at her eyes. It's a girl. Those words laid on the tip of her tongue, waiting to be spoken. She couldn't say it, better to die believing a lie, than with the truth. He wanted a boy so that was what he'll get. "It's a boy!"

"A boy!" His voice was just so happy it caused tears to roll down Winona's cheeks. She felt so angry, for the Romulans for taking her husband away from her at this time, for herself lying to comfort herself. It was selfish, and yet she reasoned how it was worth it. "Tell me about him."

What was there to tell? The words just rolled out of her mouth. "He's beautiful."

A moment later, she adds. "George, you should be here. I love you."

Her heart freezes as she hears the fatal words: Impact alert. Winona was just so tired that she closes her eyes for a moment. The accusing gazes of the silent doctors burn into her, they knew she was telling a lie, but wouldn't interrupt George Kirk's precious time.

"What are we going to call him?"

"We can name him after your father." Father. She was a mother now, to a child that would soon be without a father. Winona lets a sob loose as she cradles her fragile daughter.

"Tiberius? Are you kidding me?" She could hear the teasing scoff in his voice. "No, that's the worse. Let's name him after your dad. Let's call him James."

"James." She tries but the name doesn't fit right. Yet there was no time to waste, her baby girl was a James and it sticks.

"It's perfect." There are some ominous sounds on the other side. "Sweetheart, can you hear me?"

These must be their very last words. "I can hear."

Desperately. "I love you so much. I love you-"

The Kelvin (the ship where they met, grew up, built their bridges, wasted their tears- not exactly in that order) explodes as it rams into the monstrous black ship. Winona lets go of her emotions for once, and sobs, heart breaking. She couldn't believe it, George was gone. There would be no body, nothing would be left for her to mourn besides his laughter and memories. He was just gone.

She looks down at their daughter, holds the tiny body close to her chest, and smiles softly through her tears. Oh, she's gorgeous. George would've loved her.

This was James Tiberius Kirk's first minute in the universe.

Author's note:

Star Trek is not mine. I wish it was, but it isn't.

This my first fic on FFN so bear with me. The idea of a female Jim Kirk has been in my head for several days, and I can't find a lot of fem!kirk fics so I've decided to write one of my own.

I really, really hope you'll enjoy reading it. Please leave a review!

Updated with more details and slightly better writing: 7/27/2018

(Found the quote on Goodreads- literally the first thing you see on the 'father-and-daughter quotes' page.)