Shay: I hope you guys like this chapter. Recently I tried to recreate Fitzgerald's style, so writing this who story is kind of awkward for me, seeing how it's not my actual style. My style is a bit…dialogueish. I know this probably isn't that good, seeing how I'm trying to write like one of America's greatest writers, but please bear with it.

Have fun.

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The funeral was later that day. The entire crew was present, and all in full uniform. It had only been three years with Jim as Captain, but to them, it felt like a lifetime of service. Carol was sobbing into McCoy's shoulder, unable to look at the casket. Spock wouldn't raise his eyes from the floor level. Chekov just stared, not reacting to Sulu's whispered words about how it wasn't his fault, how he couldn't of prevented it. Because that didn't matter any more. Not when James Tiberius Kirk was dead.

Carol had been asked to speak, and she stepped forward, trying not to cry any harder, "I know all of you know Jim Kirk, but none of you know the Jim I know. I first met Jim when he was thirteen, when he and his siblings moved in next door. I watched Jim grow from a broken teenager to an angry adult. I had the opportunity to watch him come back to Iowa happy and content, knowing what he was meant to do. He was always cocky and over-confident, but you always knew that he was on your side. Because to Jim Kirk, your side was the only place he wanted to be. He would do anything to protect those he cared about, something he called the Price One Pays. He always believed that…that the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. Especially if that few was him."

Carol stared out at the gathered crew, the few Jim cared about above all else, even her, "Jim Kirk is the greatest man I know. He may act like a child, and sleep with anything that has a pulse, but he's always there when you need him. Jim was…is the most human person I know. And I knew him at a time when he couldn't even see himself as human."

Carol let out a sad laugh, "If he was here, he wouldn't want us to cry. He'd want us to move on with our lives. I'll do my best to honor his wish."

Scotty stepped forward, holding bag pipes. The crew bowed their head as Amazing Grace started to play. The casket was released into space, and the crew watched it enter the atmosphere of Andromida IV.

Nothing was said as the casket made a slow arc through the night air, a path trailing it like a comet. Poets would say Jim Kirk was being followed by angels, scientists would say the residue from the Enterrpise. Artists would describe his descent in colors and strokes of the brush. But all of them would describe the sadness and pain of those left behind. Nobody could move until the casket entered the atmosphere. It was like an invisible force held them all in place, making them the silent witnesses to the greatest tragedy in the universe. Life returned to the crew slowly as the prepared to leave this place of sadness and death.

As the Enterprise returned to Earth, the casket of Jim Kirk watched from a planet beginning to show the beginnings of life. After all, God managed to make man in seven days after all else was finished.

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Christopher Pike just stared at McCoy and Spock after the doctor finished his dissertation. He simply couldn't believe the information he was hearing. It was impossible. He had seen the boy as a son, had watched him survive horrors most men never faced. Pike started straight ahead, waiting for that moment when it all sunk in.

"You're telling me Jim Kirk is dead?" Pike asked.

"That is correct Admiral," Spock said, refusing to look at Pike.

Ah, there was the moment. Pike let out a groan as he buried his face in his hands. Pike let himself sit there for a minute, before raising his head. There, sitting in the middle of his desk, was an old fashioned photograph, taken by him the moment Jim graduated. Jim was smiling, happy, glowing with life, as his four sisters clung to him smiling happily. It was at that moment Pike felt his blood run cold as he realized the girls probably already knew their brother was dead.

"How did the girls take it?" Pike asked McCoy.

"They don't know yet," McCoy whispered.

"You haven't told them?" Pike stared at him in shock, horrified that Jim's family had no idea what had happened to him, "You do know that Ocean will murder you for not informing her of her boy's death. She's one spiteful bitch when angry, and you want her after you now? On top of that, Shay will defiantly go after you for this, and she's the worst out of the group. The last thing I need is for her to be tried for treason and have a third governor be brought in."

"Admiral, why is your only concern a governorship?" Spock asked.

"Spock, I'll be frank," Pike sighed, "The only reason I'm not going after the person who killed the man I consider a son is because five of his siblings will be in here soon wanting to know what to do. The other one is going to be trying to figure out how to bring him back, and I'll need to step in in about two weeks to make her understand that her brother is dead. The Kirk family is not going to be happy, and many of them will be in denial, and seeing how half of the family is under my jurisdiction, I have to keep them from falling apart."

Pike shut his eyes, "McCoy, are you telling Zenia first, or Ocean?"

"Ocean," McCoy frowned, "I was going to talk to her next. Jim wanted me to tell her something."

"I won't stop you," Pike sighed, "I guess that I have to tell Shay and Kyon about this. Zenia is your problem McCoy"

"Please sir," McCoy whispered, "Just telling Ocean will be hard enough."

"Alright, you're both dismissed," Pike said, putting his head in his hands, "McCoy. You owe me for telling Zenia."

Spock frowned as he watched McCoy exit the office and freeze for a moment, practically collapsing against the wall. Before Spock could ask what was wrong, McCoy had started towards the linguistics department.

"Doctor," McCoy stopped, "I have heard the humans take comfort in acquaintances being present when unfortunate news is presented to family members."

"Yes Spock," McCoy let out a sad laugh, "I guess you should meet the woman who would have been your potential father-in-law."

The two started towards the department together. Spock's eyebrows were furrowed, something McCoy didn't notice. Jim would have, and that was what bothered Spock the most. To break this horrible feeling that came over him with that thought, Spock asked, "How could she have been my supposed father-in-law Doctor?"

McCoy let a small smile show, "Ocean took on the roll of father when Dr. Orchidaceae said that Jim being the father figure in the house was damaging his psyche. Jim and the doctor had a huge yelling match, only proving her right. Ocean broke them up and basically took over. Since then, Ocean has been the father to the entire family."

McCoy froze outside of the linguistics room, "Damn it, now I have to deal with her."

Spock raised an eyebrow McCoy knocked on the door, obviously too scared to open the door himself. A mousy young girl opened the door after a few seconds, looking on the verge of tears, "The professor said you should come on in."

McCoy stepped in h. The room was a lecture all, and in the middle stood a woman who had complete control of the room. She was tall, with her long black hair in a high ponytail. Cold brown eyes kept the class dead silent as she lectured. Some would say she seemed soulless, but to Spock's eyes she seemed too soulful. They were human eyes, flashing with emotion, even as her face remained perfectly still. She didn't wear a uniform, just blue jeans and a gray flowing shirt. Both accentuated her movements, making her glide, not walk through the room. But most importantly to Spock was…

"She is a Vulcan," he observed.

"Professor T'Maire," McCoy said, watching her light into a student who had cheated on his homework, "The only professor who actually got Jim to do his homework while he went to Yale. She, Spock, was your prospective father-in-law."

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You now meet the elusive Ocean! Again, I'm still debating on if I should write about Jim's childhood reactions with her and his other sisters. (Hehehe…Shay and Jim growing up in the middle of nowhere with access to alcohol. Good times.)

Please review if you want to. Even if it's just to tell me about the new puppy you got. I love puppies, so that would make my day! (This is more like my writing style. Weird, with a side of wondering if I take illegal substances.)