Warnings: Profanity; Into Darkness spoilers.

Note: This is cliche and awful and I'm slightly ashamed, but I wanted it so here it is.

That One Time When Jim and Spock Met Their Daughter From the Future

You know your day is going to go to shit when some kid you've never seen before calls you 'Papa.'

Okay, the first indication was probably the Enterprise being sucked into a weird ass space anomaly that even Spock couldn't identify, but the blue eyes – just like his – staring at him on the bridge's main screen pretty much confirmed that Captain James Tiberius Kirk was going to have one fucker of a day.

Then the kid looked at Spock and said, "Father!" Instantly she tried to sit up straighter in her chair, schooling her face into something that wasn't quite proper Vulcan stoicness, but wasn't as expressive as she'd been a moment before.

She was a really pretty kid, Jim had to admit. Petite, probably around Chekov's age, she had delicately pointed ears, pale skin, and dark hair that was cut in an attractive bob around her face. No unflattering Vulcan bangs for her, though her eyebrows arched up into the usual diagonal.

And she had blue, blue eyes. Kirk eyes.

She was dressed in a gold Starfleet uniform, and sitting in the pilot's seat of the ship they were hailing.

Jim gave himself a few seconds to freak out within the confines of his own head.

Risking a glance at Spock to see how he was taking this – as expressionless as a board, which probably meant panic attack – Jim addressed the captain of the other ship. "I think there's been some mistake. I'm Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the USS Enterprise. Our ship was dragged off course by a phenomenon we haven't yet been able to identify."

The Vulcan girl with Jim's eyes stared at him at that, looking like she might protest, but was silenced when her captain started to speak.

The other captain, an older Orion woman with black hair, nodded and introduced herself as Captain Zuila of the USS Startreader. "We were also pulled off course by the anomaly." Then she pointedly gestured to her helmsman and said, "And this is Lieutenant Commander S'chn T'gai Kirk. Am I right in thinking you don't recognize her?"

Someone gasped. It might have been Uhura. It might have been Jim, but it probably wasn't because if he did anything it was going to be swearing because was it really just too much to ask for the universe to not be this weird? At least not until they'd been away from Earth for more than three months?

I mean really, he'd spent a year getting over the whole thing with Khan, which no he didn't want to talk about, thanks, and he finally had his ship and his crew back out in space, and now the universe had kicked up this shitstorm.

"Captain."

"Mr. Spock?"

Spock left the science station and came to stand behind Jim. Jim felt steadier with him there. "This provides a clue to the nature of the anomaly."

"Way ahead of you, Mr. Spock," Jim answered. He and Spock were always on the same wavelength these days. Ever since… well, ever since. "Do you think it's a future thing, an alternate universe thing, or both?"

"Uncertain," Spock answered.

Uhura made a sound, and Jim pointedly didn't look at her because yeah, if this was a future thing rather than an alternate universe thing, then at some point in the future he and Spock were going to use one of those combinant DNA chambers to have a kid together, and what the hell did that mean?

Jim would put his money on alternate universe. No way Spock ever broke it off with Uhura to be with Jim, not in this world. No matter what kinds of revelations Jim'd had in those last few moments before he almost-died-but-not-really and Spock had cried and they'd pressed their fingers against the glass separating them and Jim had hoped, hoped, hoped that Spock could pick up his feelings, even though they weren't touching, because Jim couldn't get his throat to work and his tongue was too thick and he just really, really needed Spock to know that he loved him before it was too late.

Then he died, and he floated, and he dreamed, and then he wasn't dead, and wasn't that just a big fucking surprise? And then Spock was at his bedside and that had to mean Spock knew, and this was his second chance and this time he'd do everything right and he and Spock would be together and they'd live happily fucking after, alright, which was something Jim hadn't even known he'd wanted until his organs were cooking inside of him.

Except Spock didn't know, and he was still with Uhura, and no way was Jim breaking that up, and it was probably all for the best because Jim was fucked up anyway, and he had Khan's blood in his veins.

"There is no damage to the ship," Captain Zuila was saying, "but we've been unable to leave the confines of the anomaly, even pushing the engines at Warp Factor Eleven."

Jim felt his eyebrows leap up. "Warp Eleven?"

The Kirk-Spock kid was still staring at him. He really wished she would stop that, and wasn't sure himself whether he should look back or ignore her altogether.

Then the signal from the other ship fizzled, the screen blanking out.

"The anomaly is interfering with communications, Captain," Uhura said before Jim had time to ask. "Working to reestablish contact now."

The feed came back.

"Captain Kirk," Zuila said, "I request permission to beam myself and a small team of my officers to your ship, in order to discuss this further."

"Granted," he replied shortly. "Let communications know when you're ready."

The feed went out again, and Jim had Chekov call Scotty and Bones to the conference room, then he gave Sulu the conn and took Spock and Uhura with him.

He seriously hoped the Kirk-Spock kid was not on the away team. But the way his day was going, she probably was.

-l-

Bones laughed for a good five minutes. Scotty just wanted to know if he could see the other ship's engines, because Warp Eleven. Uhura kept cutting her eyes at Spock and staring at Jim in a way that wasn't quite a glare, but was pretty damn close.

Jim thought he might throw up.

"Alright, first thing's first. We need to figure out if we're in an alternate universe, or if we've time traveled, or both, and how the anomaly could have caused that. And if they bring the kid with them, we should probably do a DNA test to see if she really is… you know. In case it's a trick."

Jim couldn't bring himself to say 'me and Spock's kid' because damn here was another thing he hadn't known he wanted, and saying it out loud might actually hurt more than chewing razor blades.

He was going to need shore leave after this. Shore leave, and booze, and a couple of bed partners talented enough to make him forget for a while.

Uhura looked at Spock again, and Jim made himself look away. They were his friends, and they were together, and he wasn't getting in the middle of that. Not any more than they dragged him into it on a regular basis anyway.

Man, he hated it when Uhura dragged him into it.

"I can do that easily enough in sickbay," Bones volunteered, a shit-eating smile still on his face.

Chekov's voice came over the comm system, informing them that the Startreader's team had been beamed aboard and were being escorted to the conference room. It was a few seconds later that the doors opened and Captain Zuila filed in with a few other officers in Starfleet uniforms that, up close, were slightly different in style than the ones worn on the Enterprise.

And of course, they brought the kid.

Her eyes were darting around the room, her lips twitching at every face she took in. Jim could almost feel her working at keeping a Vulcan blank-face, but it was plain that she'd be happier bouncing off the walls.

Holy crap, she really was his and Spock's kid.

In some universe, anyway.

They got all the formality out of the way, and sat down to discuss what the hell had happened.

"Lieutenant Commander Sachin Tahgai Kirk," Bones started, horribly mangling the Vulcan part of the name, "if you'd allow me to take a DNA sample…"

"Of course, Uncle Bonesies," she replied with an actual fucking smile that made her look a lot like Jim's mom. "And you may all call me Amanda. It is easier for humans to say."

Jim felt Spock go very, very still next to him. Uhura shot him a look, and without knowing why Jim pressed his leg against Spock's under the table. Shit, shit, that was Spock's mother's name, wasn't it?

He pressed his leg tighter against Spock's, and abruptly felt like he'd been punched in the gut, even though he was pretty sure he hadn't been (but at this point, who knew?). And then he realized that gut wrenching feeling was Spock's – he was picking up Spock's reaction somehow and Spock was the one who'd just got sucker punched and felt like his intestines were full of rusty nails.

And then S'chn T'gai Kirk Amanda (is that how that would work?) blushed green, and she pulled her face back into a more blank expression, watching Spock out of the corner of her eye. She had the vague air of a kid who'd just forgotten their parents were in the room and said something like 'fucking shitty fuck fucks.'

Or maybe that was just what Jim was thinking.

Amanda looked at Captain Zuila, and then back at Spock, and then she started speaking Vulcan in a low voice, and Jim couldn't understand much of it. He picked up something about forgiveness and the word for 'father,' but that was about it.

Spock just sat there like a statue, so it was left to Uhura to answer her. She spoke back in Vulcan, and Jim wondered if anyone would notice if he turned on the conference room's translator, because he hated it when people were purposefully leaving him out of a conversation.

And then to his very great surprise, the kid looked at him and started going off in Vulcan, like she expected him to be fluent. Again, all he got was the word 'father', though he was under the impression that she was sometimes using it to refer to him, and sometimes using it to refer to Spock.

"Sorry kid, I don't speak much Vulcan," he told her when she paused for a breath.

She sat back like she'd been slapped. "But…"

Damn, she was so young. Okay, okay, the entire crew of the Enterprise was pretty damn young, but Amanda was plainly barely old enough to be a Starfleet officer. Which actually made sense, because she was a Spock-Kirk kid, and therefore tremendously awesome.

Jim sighed, and tried for gentle. "I'm not your papa, and Spock isn't your father. Whether we've time jumped, or wound up in a parallel dimension, we aren't your parents. Maybe I'll be fluent in Vulcan by the time you're born, or maybe in our timeline you're never born at all – " and damn if that wasn't a bitch to say without his voice cracking – "But either way, we're not them."

His leg was still pressed against Spock's. Spock hadn't moved away.

Amanda nodded, and then she did a total Spock. Her face went blank, and her eyes went dull, and her voice was completely flat when she said, "Of course, Captain. Forgive my presumption."

She went off with Bones to sickbay after that for her DNA test. And Captain Zuila excused herself back to her ship with promises to send over her Chief Engineer and Science Officer to work with the Enterprise on getting them out of this Bermuda Triangle of space, and Scotty went with her to the transporter room, already muttering equations under his breath.

And that left Jim alone with Spock and Uhura.

"I'll see you two on the bridge," he told them, unable to meet Uhura's eyes. They probably needed to be alone to bond or make out or plan their own babies or whatever.

"Captain, please stay," Uhura said.

Jim froze in his tracks and bit back a groan. This was going to be one of those fights where he was in the middle then. That had been happening more and more lately. But maybe he deserved to be in the middle of this one? At least, it was the first one where it made sense he was in the middle. Well, that and the time Uhura had thrown a hissy fit about Spock spending more time playing chess with Jim than doing stuff with Uhura.

"Um, I don't think – " Jim started, but then he looked at Spock. And of course there was no expression on Spock's face, none at all, but somehow Jim still managed to pick up a vibe of don't-you-leave-me-here-you-bastard.

Jim collapsed back into his chair. "Fine," he growled out.

Spock was still doing a pretty good statue impression. Jim scowled at him, because Uhura was his girlfriend so he should really be the one dealing with this shit.

"She was apologizing," Uhura said.

Jim blinked. "What?"

"Forgive me, my father, if my presence has caused displeasure, if my lack of control is unseemly. I am aware that you do not recognize me, but still I endeavor only to live up to your name and all you have taught me."

Jim looked at Spock. "That's what she said?"

"To me. When she spoke to you she commented on our youthful appearance, and asked about our current mission."

"Huh," was all Jim could think of to say to that. But at least Spock was talking. Being in the middle of Spock and Uhura's fights when Spock wasn't talking sucked, because it was like Uhura expected Jim to just make Spock talk somehow. "And then I shut her down and she decided to impersonate you."

Spock raised an eyebrow, and all of the sudden Jim wondered if Amanda Spock-Kirk could do the eyebrow thing. She probably could. Jim was probably surrounded by mocking Vulcan eyebrows in the future. Alternate universe. Whatever.

An awkward silence fell. Jim wound up with his leg against Spock's again, and this time he didn't know which one of them had done it.

"Tell me what you need," Uhura said, her eyes riveted on Spock.

Spock didn't move, but somehow Jim knew that he was relieved and guilty and yeah kind of really unsettled and just weird feeling. Maybe it was the whole legs pressed together thing. They had telepathic knees.

Or maybe it was just the high stress. Whenever shit was blowing up, it seemed like all he and Spock had to do was look at each other to come up with a game plan. Shit wasn't blowing up, but there was the whole Surprise Child thing going on, and that felt like it could be equivalent.

Or worse.

Yeah, it was worse.

"I need to speak with Jim," Spock said, answering Uhura's question.

And then Uhura looked sad, and Jim felt like he'd done something wrong and also he was kind of pissed because just dammit, but because Uhura is classy as fuck all she did was nod and tell them she'd see them on the bridge.

"Sorry about all this, Spock," Jim blurted as soon as they were alone.

Spock did a combination eyebrow-thing-head-tilt, which in Spock speak translated as 'You're being a dumbass.' "What are you apologizing for, Jim?"

Jim scrubbed at his hair, fighting the urge to pull it. "I don't know. This just sucks, and I'm sorry, and now things are going to be weird with you and Uhura, and every time you fight it feels like it's my fault somehow."

"That is an inaccurate assessment."

Jim snorted.

"She has your eyes."

Of all the things Jim was expecting Spock to say, that had to be next to last on the list. (Last being 'Jim, I esteem you greatly. I believe it would be mutually beneficial if we engaged in coitus.')

But that was okay, rolling with the punches was what James T. Kirk did.

"Yeah, I guess she does. You've got to admit it, Spock, we make pretty babies."

Spock's lips twitched, and Jim felt a rush of affection and didn't know if it was his own or if their knees were being telepathic again.

But the moment didn't last because that was just their lives. Spock sobered, and Jim sighed and asked, "You going to tell me what's bugging you? Aside from the part where she's named after your mother, and the part where this kind of fucks with your relationship with Uhura?"

Spock gave him a weird non-expression that Jim interpreted as a chastisement for his swearing, but whatever, it was a swearing kind of day. Jim waited Spock out. "Come on. We both know you'll tell me eventually, and it'll be less annoying if you don't make me pull it out of you."

There was a beat.

"I am concerned with how… Amanda seems to feel that I will disapprove of her."

Jim caught on to that one pretty fast. You spend enough time playing chess and running a ship and almost dying with a guy, and you learned things about him. "You're worried that future you or alternate you or whatever you that's her father pressures her to be Vulcan, even though genetically she's actually more human, and more importantly, a Kirk." And Spock himself still had serious issues about not being seen as Vulcan enough by like, every other Vulcan he'd ever met.

"Precisely."

Jim clapped Spock on the shoulder, one of the little touches he rationed out to himself, and soppily wished that he dared touch one of Spock's hands. "Well, don't worry about it. If it's alternate universe you, then it's not really you and you can't help it if he's a dick. And if it's future you, remember this and just you know… don't be a dick in the future."

The edges of Spock's eyes crinkled, just a little, and Jim grinned like a maniac in response.

"Most logical advice, Jim."

Jim laughed. "Can I record you saying that? No one will believe me otherwise."

Spock turned his face away, and Jim laughed, and if there was a slight edge of hysteria to it, well it was only Spock, and he'd seen Jim die and puke and drunk off his ass and Jim had seen Spock cry and enraged and naked that one time when he barged into their shared bathroom, so there was really nothing left to be embarrassed about.

"You are not distressed at the thought that we may one day have a child together?"

Jim stopped mid-guffaw, all the air sucked out of his lungs. His voice came out as an undignified squeak. "Well, I don't think she's really ours, Spock," he rushed, his words blurring together. "I think a parallel universe is more likely. I mean, you and me? Really?" He started to say more, to make a joke about them being secretly in love, but fortunately sanity reasserted itself and he managed to shut the hell up.

"I see," Spock answered after a beat, and then he was doing the same damn thing as Amanda, going all blank and Vulcany. Yeah, whatever version of Spock was Amanda's father, she totally took after him. It must really piss alternate-universe-Jim off.

"So, what are you going to do about Uhura?" Jim asked just to get a response, because the only thing he hated more than Spock being mad at him was Spock not reacting to him at all. And then he called himself seven kinds of idiot because what the fuck kind of question was that, and Spock probably wasn't doing anything about Uhura besides staying with her, and maybe if this was a time travel thing, when Amanda came back from sickbay she'd actually have brown eyes and dark skin because the timeline would have changed. Or maybe she'd just cease to exist altogether.

"Nyota is a valued friend. I will speak with her so that she will not be distressed on my behalf," Spock said.

"Yeah," Jim agreed.

Their knees pressed together, and there was such a sweet, sharp longing in his belly that Jim's eyes stung, so he decided it was about time he got the hell out of there before he did something really stupid like touch Spock, or kiss Spock, or fuck Spock.

Man, no really fuck Spock and his pointy ears and strong shoulders and that silent graceful way he moved that he totally did on purpose.

Shit, almost dying really did a number on a man. Made him wonder what he was missing out on, what he might be leaving behind…That or it was Khan's blood. It was probably Khan's blood. It would take actually altering Jim Kirk's cellular structure to make him long for a monogamous life with his first officer, and even be not completely freaked at the thought of eventual children. Especially if they were badass children who grew up to pilot starships.

"See you on the bridge," Jim said as he got up. "Hope you and Uhura get it all worked out."

He tried to mean that. He really did. But a big part of him, the dark oozing flip side to the love he felt for Spock, hoped that this was the thing that broke them. He hoped they crashed and burned so that Jim could have his chance, could prove to Spock that they would be so damn hot together and they could even get bonded or married or whatever and have a totally awesome baby named Amanda.

-l-

When Jim got to the bridge, Amanda Spock-Kirk was manning the science station. When she caught sight of him, she snapped off a salute, her expression and movements still stilted and formal and extremely Vulcan. She stood with her hands clasped behind her back, much like Spock, but something in the way her feet were braced apart spoke of a certain Kirkishness.

"Captain," she said. "I have been released by Uncle Bonesies – that is to say, Dr. McCoy has released me and is now processing the test. Lieutenant Commander Sulu gave me permission to enter the bridge so that I might study the long range sensor data collected about the phenomenon that holds us here."

Jim nodded to her, trying to make up for upsetting her earlier. He had a feeling that going Spock-like was probably her version of pouting. "You have training in this field as well?"

She inclined her head. "My father tutored me from a young age."

Well that made sense. Jim couldn't see Spock doing any different, really.

"Did you grow up on the Enterprise?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

She paused for a long moment. "Captain, meaning no disrespect, but if you truly are a younger version of my papa rather than an alternate self, it may be unwise for me to disclose specific knowledge of the future."

"Logical," Jim agreed with a wink, getting kind of desperate.

A teeny tiny twinge of a smile. "Yes, most logical."

He'd call that a win.

-l-

The kid and a few officers from her ship were given temporary quarters on the Enterprise, so that they could collaborate on studying the space anomaly. Captain Zuila ordered that Lieutenant Commander Amanda was to be the liaison between their two ships, as she was familiar with the officers and systems of both. Jim had to agree that made sense, even if having Amanda on board was weird. And he found himself wondering if her familiarity with the ship meant that she'd been raised aboard it in her home timeline, or if she'd served aboard it after joining Starfleet.

The results of the DNA test were on his PADD when he got up that morning. It was official – S'chn T'gai Kirk Amanda was definitely created by combining Jim's DNA with Spock's, and she herself had confirmed that she was grown in a reproductive lab, offering her lack of bellybutton as proof. No umbilical cord, no bellybutton.

That unsettled Jim enough that he couldn't make himself focus on his paperwork, but he really wasn't keen on sitting there figuring out exactly what it was he was feeling since it was all pointless anyway, so he tossed his PADD aside and headed for the ship's gym. He'd feel better after kicking the crap out of something, whether it was a punching bag, a simulation, or one of the better trained members of the security team.

When he got to the gym, there was a crowd gathered. Curious to see what had drawn so much attention, Jim pushed his way through.

Amanda and Spock, both dressed in standard issue Starfleet training gear, were circling each other, their movements slow and graceful. Then they burst into a flurry of activity, dancing back and forth, each trying to get a grasp on the other. Spock's arms were longer, and he was obviously more in control of his muscles than the younger part-Vulcan, but Amanda spun and dodged, occasionally disrupting the flow of her Vulcan stances with surprising street fighting moves.

Eventually she ended up behind Spock, swiftly extending her hand in what Jim recognized was the nerve pinch. But Spock grabbed her wrist before she could complete the attack, flipping her over his shoulder. She landed hard on her back, and stayed down.

"Are you aware of what you did incorrectly?"

"I let my mental shielding slip. You sensed my anticipation of besting you, and knew what I was going to do." She smiled a maniacal smile, her voice losing some of its Vulcan blandness and taking on a wheedling tone. "But Father, you are the only one who would have been able to sense that from me without touch. We have the echo of a familial bond that has yet to form."

Jim could see the muscles in Spock's back and shoulders tense.

"As it is I you were sparring with, that fact should have entered into your strategy."

Amanda's smile faded, and she sat up. "Yes, Father."

Spock folded his hands into their usual position behind his back, his muscles going even tighter, if that was possible. Jim ruthlessly forced down a fantasy of giving his First Officer a massage.

"However… you acquitted yourself well," Spock went on.

The smile came back at full wattage, and Amanda let loose a little laugh. Jim's chest felt stuffed full of cotton at the sight of her sitting there, so happy to just hang out with Spock, and told himself firmly that he was not so far gone that he was going to fucking cry or anything.

At that moment, Amanda caught sight of him. "Papa!" she called exuberantly. And then she remembered what he'd told her the day before, her face closing off, her tone modulated. "I mean, Captain. My apologies for addressing you so familiarly."

He felt like a heel.

"We're not on duty. Why don't you call me Jim?"

The corners of her lips turned down. "That would be most odd for me, sir."

Jim sighed, and changed the subject. "Anything new on the space anomaly?"

Spock was the one who answered, giving his usual thorough accounting that Jim only half listened to, only tuning in for the major points. He was a genius and everything, but he was a hacker and engineer, not an astrophysicist.

Amanda hung on Spock's every word.

"So what you're saying is that this field has sucked both our ships into some kind of… temporal fold in space?"

"Essentially, yes."

Eyes glittering, Amanda tilted her head. "Based upon this new information, I hypothesize that our ships were drawn into this phenomenon at two completely different points in time – in fact over a decade apart. That we are interacting now indicates that the rules of time as we know it do not exist within the field. I find it most fascinating."

Jim couldn't stop the deep belly laugh that erupted from him at that.

Amanda and Spock looked at each other, and then looked at Jim, both of them tilting their heads.

Jim just kept laughing, and waved them off with one hand, heading back toward the gravity weights for his workout.

It wasn't until he was back in his quarters, taking a sonic shower that he realized the full implications of Amanda's theory. If she was right, and their ships had been taken from two different points in time, then they were from the same universe.

She was his daughter.

-l-

The first thing he should have done after having his little realization was talk to Spock. If nothing else, they had a duty as Amanda's parents and officers of Starfleet to ensure that she continued to exist. Even if they were never together romantically because Nero had completely fucked their timeline or whatever – they had to preserve her life. So they needed to talk, and agree that they would still see to her conception, come what may, and maybe she could be raised by Spock and Uhura and Jim could be her favorite uncle or something. So, he should go talk to Spock and tell him that. It was only logical.

He went to see Bones.

"What're you cluttering up my sickbay for?" Bones demanded. His desk was strewn with work, and he automatically reached for a hypospray when Jim slouched into one of the office chairs. Jim wondered if Bones even knew what was in that thing – he just seemed to have a compulsion to hypo Jim within an inch of his life.

"Wanted to talk to you about Amanda," he muttered, not having it in him to engage in their usual banter.

Bones' face softened, taking on a look that Jim had only ever seen when Bones was talking to his daughter Joanna. "What about the Little Goblin?"

Jim spluttered. It was hilarious when Bones baited Spock – they had a mutual friendly hostility – but he wasn't sure how he felt about the young woman he'd just accepted was his daughter being called names. Bone must have seen the look on his face, because he said, "Don't get your panties in a wad. First thing she said when she came to sickbay was 'Uncle Bonesies, I better still be your favorite Little Goblin.' She likes it." Bones smiled, chuckling a little to himself, "Don't know how you and Spock managed it, but that girl is sweeter than a Georgia peach."

Wow. Amanda had either used her telepathy to completely bamboozle Bones, or she was a con artist of the highest degree.

Either way, Jim was proud.

"So… you think she is my daughter? Me and Spock…?"

Bones rolled his eyes, his face the very picture of exasperation. "Dammit Jim, do you think I'm blind? You were moanin' the pointy-eared bastard's name off and on when you were in that coma, and he stayed by your bedside for weeks without hardly moving. Uhura says he would have beat Khan's face in if she hadn't stopped him, and I've only ever known one thing to make Spock lose his cool like that. I've been waiting for my wedding invitation ever since you were cleared for active duty."

To say Jim was stunned would have been an understatement. "Why didn't anyone say anything?"

Bones snorted. "Why didn't you? Good God, man, do you realize how pathetic it is that it took meeting your daughter from the future to get you this far? If the rest of us were this pathetic, every species in the known universe would die out."

"Not the asexual ones," Jim said, just to piss Bones off, and because it was humiliating to realize he probably wasn't anywhere near as subtle as he liked to think.

"Get the hell out of my sickbay and go talk to the hobgoblin. Doctor's orders."

Jim left.

-l-

Shift started in twenty minutes, so Jim headed to the bridge without bothering to find Spock. It wasn't that he was putting it off. Not at all. He just knew this would probably be a long conversation, so he'd rather not rush it.

Really. That was all it was.

Yeoman Rand was waiting by his command chair, a PADD in the crook of her arm. Jim suppressed a sigh. He'd thought he was caught up on all of his paperwork, but evidently he'd let a few things get perilously close to deadline, if the glint in Rand's eye was any indication. She only hunted him down on the bridge when she wanted witnesses present to keep herself from killing him. Jim knew this because she had told him. No one was scarier than Rand on a tear.

Then Jim made eye contact with Uhura, and she glared at him. He gulped.

Right. No one was scarier than Rand, except for Uhura.

Pointedly not looking at his communications officer, Jim nodded to Spock as he passed the science station and absently noticed that Amanda was filling in at one of the bridge positions usually held by a science ensign, then plopped down in the command chair. Calling up a flirtatious smile, he turned his attention to charming Rand out of her funk while she took him through the documents that needed his signature. Of course, Rand had long since grown immune to his charms, damn her.

Jim didn't notice the icy silence on the bridge until he looked up to see Rand's lips pressed into a thin white line. As soon as he handed the PADD back to her, she headed for the turbolift like the hounds of hell were after her. Jim blinked and looked around. Sulu and Chekov were keeping their heads down. Spock looked like he was trying to will himself inside the science station readout, that's how hard he was concentrating.

And Amanda and Uhura were glaring at Jim with matching expressions of feminine rage.

What the hell?

Note to self: Don't let Uhura babysit. She teaches Amanda to be scary and confusing.

Jim sighed and decided he might as well give one of them the opportunity to confront him with whatever it was he did. So with a little trepidation, he gave the conn to Spock and headed for the turbolift.

It was no surprise at all when Amanda followed him. She at least wasn't actually supposed to be on duty on the bridge, making her the better choice to give him his dressing down.

He had no doubt that Uhura and Amanda had somehow communicated this to each other across the room. No matter the species, Jim was pretty convinced that all females shared a gender specific telepathy.

He waited until the turbolift doors closed, then flipped the lever that would keep the lift from moving between floors and engaged his code for the door locking mechanism. "Alright, kid. Let's hear it. What'd I do that's got you and Uhura so pissed?"

"Do you care for my father at all?" Amanda got right to the point, two spots of green high on her cheeks, the tips of her ears turning the color of new leaves. Her lips and eyes were tight with the anger she couldn't quite hide. "You refuse to acknowledge paternity of me or any other familial tie with him, which is perhaps understandable given that it has yet to come to pass, but are you not friends? Why are you deliberately cruel to him?"

Jim's jaw dropped open. "Cruel? To Spock?" Anger swiftly replaced disbelief, a flush of Jim's own suffusing his face. "When have I ever been cruel to Spock? And who the hell do you think you are – "

"Your daughter!" Amanda snarled, thumping the wall of the turbolift in frustration. Her vulcanoid strength left a slight dent in the metal.

"Commander, get a hold of yourself! That's an order!" Jim shouted in his captain voice, flashing back to Vulcan hands strangling him. Seemed like he had a talent for pushing them over the edge.

"I am not within your chain of command," Amanda told him, though her face and voice were calm once more. She took several deep breaths, her blue eyes like flint, hard and cold.

Jim wished he could do the eyebrow thing. This would be a really excellent moment for the eyebrow thing. He crossed his arms instead. "Well, as you just said, you're my daughter. Consider it an order from your papa."

That was probably not a smart thing to say.

Amanda stiffened, folding her hands behind her back, probably so she wouldn't be tempted to nerve pinch him or something. "How convenient that I am your daughter now," was all she said.

Jim sighed, resisting the urge to bang his head against the wall. "Look kid, why don't you get to your point, and I'll consider myself chastised, alright?" He was just tired. Tired of all the questions and shit this whole mess had stirred up.

"Very well, Captain. My point is that in the future, you will not engage in flirtatious behavior with others in front of my father. You have hurt him enough already."

With that, she entered Jim's override code – sneaky part Vulcan daughter – and exited the turbolift. Jim was about to leave himself when Amanda stuck her head back through the doors. "If you wish to report my insubordination to Captain Zuila, I will of course understand."

Jim spent the rest of Alpha shift brooding in his chair.

-l-

He was headed for Spock's quarters through their shared bathroom, as had become his habit, when he heard the voices.

"– knew before you did, Spock."

"It is of no consequence, Nyota. The captain has made his position on the matter quite clear."

"Then why do you keep spending so much time with Amanda? Why let her call you 'Father'?"

Silence. Jim held his breath. Whatever Spock eventually said, it was so quiet Jim could only discern the low rumble of his voice.

"Oh, Spock," Uhura breathed.

Jim backed out of the bathroom, his heart hammering.

-l-

"You talk to Spock yet?" Bones asked, sliding his tray down across from Jim's in the officer's mess.

Jim shrugged, pasting a devil may care smile on his face.

Bones wasn't fooled.

"Dammit, Jim!"

"Calm down, Bones. If you must know, I was going to talk to him, but Uhura was with him."

Bones gave Jim the hairy eyeball. "And?"

"Uhura was with him. Uhura is with him."

Bones rolled his eyes, a blustery sigh passing his lips. "I don't know why I bother."

Jim didn't really know what they were talking about, so he resorted to default. "You bother because I'm awesome."

"You're a pain in my ass, is what you are." Bones waved his fork menacingly in Jim's general direction. "You get this sorted out with Spock by tomorrow, or so help me I'll infect you with something that'll make you impotent."

Jim winced. "Ouch, Bones."

Bones was opening his mouth to retort, but just then Chekov's voice crackled out of the ship wide comm system. "Keptin to ze bridge. Commander Spock to ze bridge."

Jim was up and moving before Chekov's voice had faded away.

-l-

Spock was already on the bridge when Jim arrived, with Captain Zuila and her Chief Science Officer up on the main screen. Amanda was standing at the science station with Spock, reporting findings to her captain. Jim ordered a copy of the new report sent to his command chair and sat down to catch himself up.

The temporal fold they were trapped in was artificially created. The anomaly was essentially a giant fishing net, scooping in ships and holding them there until whoever had created the anomaly came to see what they'd caught.

"I have located the origin point of the generated field," Amanda said. "While neither the Enterprise nor the Startreader have the maneuverability necessary to approach the device, I calculate that a shuttlecraft has a forty-three percent chance of successfully navigating the surrounding area. Chances of success increase to ninety-one-point-four percent if I am the pilot."

"You?" Jim blurted, turning to look at her.

She gave an impassive blink. She was probably still pissed about the flirting, never mind that Jim flirting with Rand could hardly bother Spock.

"Indeed, Captain. I am one of the most skilled pilots in the fleet, with a ranking in the top five. Additionally, I have the training necessary to disable such a device. I am the logical choice."

"No," Jim stood. "Absolutely not." Seeing the determination in her face, he turned to his XO for some help. "Tell her, Spock."

Amanda looked between the two of them. "I remind you again, Captain, that I am not within your chain of command. Additionally, you will find that I am the daughter of both my fathers. My determination to do my duty excels your determination to prevent me, and I am in possession of the unquantifiable Kirk ability to turn any given situation to my advantage."

Jim gaped. Uhura laughed.

Twenty minutes later, Jim found himself standing with Spock in the shuttle bay, seeing their daughter off on her mission.

-l-

"How did she talk all of us into this again?" Jim asked, both he and Spock raising their hands in the ta'al.

"Uncertain," Spock replied.

"I think she might be a con artist."

Spock inclined his head. "She is a Kirk."

"Hey!" Jim protested, a smile stretching his lips. "Well I guess it's good to see something of myself in there. Most of the time she reminded me of you."

"Oh? I found her to be exceedingly similar to yourself."

Jim bumped Spock's shoulder with his own. "I'll take that as a compliment." Then he grew serious. "We have to make sure she's still born, Spock. She's too… we just have to make sure she still gets her chance. So you know, even if you and Uhura raise her, I still want us to make her. I mean, I'll give you my DNA for the combinant chamber."

Spock angled his body toward Jim, both of his brows lightly raised in a micro-expression that Jim interpreted as surprised. Or maybe it was perplexed. A little of both?

Surplexed.

"Why would I raise Amanda with Nyota? I understand, of course, if you do not wish to share in the rigors of parenthood, but it seems presumptuous to assume that Nyota would take your place."

Now it was Jim's turn to be surplexed. "But… Aren't you and Uhura, you know, together?"

Spock's face went blank. "Ah. No. Nyota and I terminated our romantic relationship one year, two months, six days, and four hours ago."

"Oh."

Man, seriously fuck Spock.

Jim pounced, pushing Spock against the nearest vertical surface and all but attacking his face with lips and tongue. It wasn't until he had a hand halfway up Spock's uniform shirt that he remembered that he was a starship captain and should probably avoid groping people in hallways, and grabbed Spock by the arm in order to drag him off to somewhere a little more private.

Once firmly ensconced behind the locked door of Jim's quarters, he pulled Spock's hand to his face to encourage a mindmeld, and got down to the business of actually fucking Spock.

It was awesome.

-l-

Twoish hours later, Jim's comm beeped. He groped blindly for it, blearily barking "Report" once he had it in his hand.

"All systems nominal, Keptin. The anomaly has been disabled, and the Startreader and all her crew have wanished, presumably returned to their own time."

Jim turned to look at the fucking gorgeous Vulcan lying naked beside him, his pale green skin glowing healthily. Man what idiots they'd both been, each thinking the other wasn't interested. The mindmeld they'd shared had certainly set them straight.

"We will see her again," Spock said, his words like a promise. Jim didn't have to ask who Spock was talking about. Instead he set his comm down and lazily started tracing his fingers over the bare skin of Spock's chest.

"Yeah," he agreed. "We'll see her again."