I'm quite amazed how I came up with the plot of both "Similarities" & "Reflection". Inspiration from various fic helped. Penn Flinn's "It Goes On" sparked the beginning, setting were incorporated from fics by my beta, Starsinger's "A Long Road", "Admirals", restfulsky5's "Escape Artist". Thanks to their wonderful fics, I managed to pull these fics off.

I forgot to share. The previous fic, "Similarities" and maybe a little of "Reflection" was also inspired by this fanvideo, "Dirt in my Eyes" (youtu . be / qpH0hSTHkQo) remove the space when you paste the link. It suits Jim nicely. I can't stop listening to the song or watch the video when I wrote my fic.

In order to understand some parts of this chapter, you will have to read my previous fic, "Similarities". Suggest readers to read another round if you have the time to appreciate my fic better. That's all I can say. Reviews are really really appreciated. Thank you for hanging on with me and reading till the end and of course reviewers who take time to review, fave & follow.

This could be the final instalment of my Star Trek fic. I'm not sure if I will continue writing. That depends on where my inspiration will bring me. Meanwhile, I shall study for my exam. It's probable that I'll move on to finish my Fairy Tail series.

Thank you Starsinger for the beta. Thank you for your time and patience to put up with my fic whether it is good or bad m(_ _)m.

I don't own Star Trek.

Jim and Jim meet. Perhaps, AOS Jim had met Jim of the TOS; perhaps it's an illusion; perhaps it is an image from the AI of Terra who took the form of James T. Kirk. As such, some things are better left unexplained. I shall leave it to your imagination.

Chapter 27: Home

"Jim, this is your final chance to make things right. As my old friend who is residing now in your time will say, live long and prosper to you! It'll be odd to say that to his own counterpart as it'll from me to you. I'll just say, steady as you go!" James raised his hand for a Vulcan salute.

"Just a reminder, as it is for the people of Terra, what was pre-determined for the people cannot be changed even if they defy their fates. The script written earlier cannot be amended. Certain events will still happen if you don't catch it in time. There is no reversal if you fail. You must prevent its occurrence at all costs with your granted free will."

"Isn't that cheating?"

"Oh, I imply".

"Bullshit!"

"Go on! Live the Best Life You Can. I know you can be better, as I was," Jim wiped his eyes as he smiled and nodded at his other self. White light enveloped Jim sending him back to where he belonged.

"Jim, come on, wake up!"

"Kid, you can do it!"

James T. Kirk could vaguely hear a familiar voice calling out for him. The voice was becoming louder. His eyes felt really heavy and tired. Jim had wanted to give up and sleep a while longer but he talked himself out from it. It took him some time and he finally forced his eyes to open.

Jim was back in the world of living. The first thing he saw was the face of his best friend who was on the verge of tears.

"Was he so happy to see me?" Jim asked himself. The doctor looked away seemingly wiping off his tears before turning back to him with his tricorder scanning him all over and shoving the annoying device right in his face. He was covering up his excitement.

"Idiot…"

McCoy noticed that Jim was trying to wriggling himself away from the tricorder. The fact was Jim wanted to sit up but the throbbing pain in his chest forced him back onto his pillow before he could even move. He remembered he was shot earlier. His heart was blasted by a phaser. It hurt really badly.

"Rest, kid. We found you bleeding in the shuttle. You were shot and were bleeding for some time. It's a miracle that you are still alive," McCoy restrained Jim by his shoulder on the biobed to prevent him from moving. It was then Jim realized that he was sent back to the time when he was just rescued from Terra. Which means the hijacking where the fatal shooting had occurred had yet to happen?

"Jim?" McCoy asked in concern as gently as possible so as not to scare him as Jim was staring at McCoy in daze.

"Who are you?" Jim finally croaked out in his muffled voice from the oxygen mask. Jim decided to play it out. Jim tried to use one of his hands to feel for his legs under the blanket. His eyes widened for a moment. A sense of dreadfulness overwhelmed him, he could not feel his legs. Jim shut his eyes tight. As much as he wished for things to change for the better, there were some things that could not be changed.

"Jim, just relax," McCoy, despite being shocked for Jim's loss of memories, noticed his anxiety as his heart rate was picking up. McCoy rubbed his hand on Jim's chest to calm him down while avoiding his wound. McCoy held his hand and stayed with Jim until he fell asleep.

The next few days, the crew of the Enterprise started to visit him including Spock, which Jim allowed the same situation to play out. Inviting Spock to play 3D chess with him and talking to M'Benga before sneaking to the Engineering deck. In the corner of his eye he saw Kev who had seen him. That was how he knew of the recovery of his memories all along.

Chekov and Scotty came by the next day was within his expectations. Lastly, Kev, who came only when he was sleeping in the middle of the night. He could hear him confiding in him about how he missed him, about Tarsus, Kodos and his intention to transfer to the Enterprise.

"I'm sorry, Kev," Jim rubbed the kid's neck when he cried by his bedside startling Riley.

"JT?" Riley looked at Jim in surprise. Jim smiled and nodded.

"Yes, it's me, JT."

"Are you out of your Vulcan mind? Without any evidence, you locked 10 of the people we rescued from Terra in the brig?" McCoy could not understand Spock's abrupt decision.

"I believe Lieutenant Riley has made a great point right there. We do not know who we pick up, what kind of background these people have. Please be assured that I have taken note of your observation before I come up with this decision. More of the survivors are regaining the memories they had lost since their time on Terra. As the Captain of the Enterprise, I will not allow any attempt of compromising the Enterprise and the lives of many onboard," Spock put down his PADD and looked into McCoy's eyes firmly. McCoy noticed that Spock was really serious, even more so than usual.

"We'll be arriving in 7.5 minutes, sir!" Sulu announced over the comm.

"Doctor, may I remind you to be truthful in your report. I do not want anyone of us to be compromised because I incorrectly assume that a certain someone would be truthful in his report," Spock said. McCoy muttered some curses under his breath upon the realization that he was aware that he was going to submit an "outdated" report which meant that he would be forced to hand Jim over to the Admirals.

As such, the terrorists were apprehended and no further incident occurred much to Jim's relief. Jim stared out of his temporary quarter with Porthos who was napping in his lap. He cheated and escaped his fate. Riley appeared at the door.

"JT…"

"Jim, please, Lieutenant Riley," Jim reminded Riley.

"Jim, you're right. Those people are from Martian Colony 4 attempting to return to Earth. They were not judged by Terra because they had not succeeded in becoming illegal immigrants. How did you know?" Riley asked curiously. He admired Jim for his intuitive foresight which Jim had claimed to be.

"Let's say I came from the future and I had been through another time when the ship was hijacked and the worst situation occurred. I just want to avoid the worst," Jim explained tightening his grip on the arm of his hoverchair. He shuddered at the thought of the separation of his beloved crew, Bones and his ruined career, giving up the love of his life and Jo, and Spock giving up his love for Science. Things would never be the same should he ended up losing his life.

Riley placed his hand on Jim's shoulder for comfort.

"It's okay now, Jim. It'll be okay".

"Thank you, Kev."

"It's Kevin, Jim."

"Jim, it's your turn for the interview with Admiral Archer," Scotty came to pick Jim up.

Jim was wearing a long brown trench coat putting a hood over his head and a pair of sunglasses. All for the sake to scare the Admirals.

Three admirals, Admiral Archer, Admiral Barnett and Admiral Komack were here to interview the 214 survivors from the Terra. They were sipping coffee, reading through the notes they had taken down from the previous interviews.

Prothos barked as soon as he saw his owner, jumping from Jim's lap and over to the Admiral's desk spilling the coffee on the table startling the admirals.

"What?" Admiral Komack almost fell of the chair, Admiral Barnett was fumbling for the papers which were messed up, and Archer whose face was filled with the beagle's saliva from his licking.

"It's itchy, stop!" Archer cracked into laughter and smiled brightly. His prized beagle, Porthos had returned. "I missed you so much," he petted the dog and placed him on his lap.

"How can I ever thank you, citizen?" Archer turned to the young man who brought his dog to him.

"It's he who found the dog, Admiral," the young man replied pointing at Scotty who waved his hands signaling a "No".

"Not me, you idiot!" Scotty tried to tell Jim. He knew Jim was kind. He always was even though he was cranky some times when he was their Captain.

The admirals dropped their pens. Barnett allowed his paper to fly. Komack choked on his coffee after he tried to take a sip from a new cup.

"Captain James Tiberius Kirk?" the three muttered in unison unable to believe their eyes. Jim was trying to control his laughter. That was the exact reaction he was expecting to see.

"No, sir! I heard this part about my identity on Earth but I certainly have no memory of it. I'm not a Captain, I'm just James Tiberius Kirk," Jim had made his decision. He was paralysed. There was no way he could return to the Enterprise in his current condition, but he would ensure the rest moved on without him. There was still hope for him to return to them as long as he was still alive and the rest would stay together and continue their five-year mission.

All crew of the Enterprise paid their respect to their former Captain with a salute in a line as Jim wheeled himself past them. Even though he was not suppose to remember them, and he was unable to return to them, they were still ordered by the Admirals to show their respect to him. He was forced to wear his dress uniform and to his surprise, he got an extra pin on his shoulder, effectively outranked Captain Spock.

There were new faces who replaced those who had lost their lives from the previous battle with Khan and Admiral Marcus as well as those who transferred out due to their lack of commitment towards the five-year mission.

A baby cry brought Jim to his attention.

"Gerard, shh!" it was the mother of the baby trying to rock the baby to hush him.

"How old is he?" Jim asked.

"Three months old, Captain!" the father reported. His tone trembled. The day his son was born was the "death" anniversary to the young man before him.

"May I have the honour to carry the youngest crew of the Enterprise?" Jim asked eagerly. The baby peed all the sudden over Jim's face startling the senior crew who witnessed the scene as the diapers somehow had loosened and fallen off.

"Stop laughing, you two," Dr. McCoy whispered to Scotty and Chekov.

"Same goes to you, Leonard," Carol pointed out. "I know what you are thinking," the truth was everyone found it hard not to laugh. Spock was looking away pretending he never witnessed the scene. He would not admit that he had gone through the same embarrassment just three months ago. His mouth was tilting upwards.

Uhura helped to clean up with the baby's parents while McCoy pushed Jim away to clean him up.

Finally McCoy was alone with Jim. In 1.3 hours time, they would be going in their separate ways. Jim would be returning to Earth for further treatment and physiotherapy while he would continue with the five-year mission with Spock and the rest.

"That's why I say, you can't be left alone," McCoy fussed around Jim like a mother hen again. Jim pouted in dismay. He was an adult; he could take care of himself. As McCoy wiped the urine of Jim face, Jim caught his hands to stop him. McCoy was caught off guard by Jim's action.

"Just want to say thank you," Jim said sincerely locking his bright blue eyes with McCoy.

"Always, Jim!" McCoy ruffled his hair before taking Jim by surprise and giving him a warm hug.

"I'm sorry Jim. I'm sorry for ever wronging you for the bad things that had happened to Jo. Thank you for giving me a chance to ever apologise," McCoy had finally let out all his cooped up guilt and gratefulness towards Jim. Whether Jim remembered him, it no longer mattered. All he wanted was Jim to be happy and untainted by his tragic experience. Jim softened. A teardrop trickled down his cheek onto McCoy's shoulder unknown to him. McCoy would miss Jim and how he would annoy him with dirty jokes, stupid ideas and drag him down for an away mission he did not want to go.

Carol was at the door of the washroom with Spock and Uhura. They were smiling at the sight of the brotherhood.

The senior crew took turns giving their dearest Captain a hug which Jim gave in return. Whether he remembered them or not, they were still friends and they would remain in touch.

"Take care of each other, everyone". Jim said smiling. All of them raised their hands to form a Vulcan salute to Jim. Jim imitated them in return.

"Live long and prosper!"

The crews headed to the Enterprise which was ready to be launched. Spock stole a glance at Jim.

No words were needed between them since the talk by the glass door which separated them. Spock would continue to fulfill Jim's dream. He would see that they completed the mission successfully. Jim would be happy and proud to see that.

Jim watched as The Enterprise disappeared into the distance warping away to their next destination. His body was shaking. Tears were flowing uncontrollably down his cheek. A hand was felt on his shoulder. He had forgotten that there was still someone who was close to him still around.

"Ambassador Spock," Jim looked at Spock Prime. His eyes swollen from the crying.

"Foolish boy," he said, sighing. Ambassador Spock knew his friend much better than his younger counterpart. He knew Jim now was the very same Jim who used to captain the Enterprise. He allowed Jim to let out his emotions freely.

*One year later*

"The people we picked up from Terra were all settled. Most of them came from Lunar, Copernicus City and they were mysteriously transported away by the phenomenon known as the Nexus which occurs once every few decades. Not much was known about the mysterious phenomenon," Carol updated everybody of the updates from Starfleet.

It was a miracle that they even came across that planet. The Enterprise had attempted to return to the same coordinate where Terra was supposedly located only to find that it had vanished. So had Veridian III. Not even the skeleton they had popped in the torpedoes and fired to the end of the universe could be tracked. They had returned to where they belonged.

McCoy, paranoid as he was, was afraid that the adventure they had on Terra was a farce, and the Jim they had rescued a year ago was an illusion. His constant contact with Sam told him otherwise.

Perhaps the mission on Terra was just a miracle to reunite Jim with the Enterprise.

Jim had been working hard for himself and took it upon himself to take care of Joanna when Sam and Aurelan went on a holidays during his academy break. Joanna was the happiest little girl when she had Uncle Jim to herself. The only problem he and Joanna had was, Jim had never recovered his memories despite the fact that many others did.

So far until now, the Enterprise had visited over thirty different worlds and had over ten first contacts with beings previously unknown to the Federation. Casualties and diseases are inevitable for service onboard the Enterprise. With the capabilities of the crews, casualties were kept at the minimum with McCoy and his medical team working tirelessly.

Spock sat in his quarters in meditation. He missed his mother. He had told his father, Sarek, about his experience on Terra when they returned to the Starbase a year ago. His father, even though he did not show it, he was grateful. He was glad that Amanda was given a new lease on life and hopefully she would be happier there.

His communicator beeped ending his line of thought as he came out of his meditation. Starfleet had sent him and the Enterprise a new mission. Spock almost choked on his coffee after reading the mission spec.

He tapped on his PADD to summon his Chief Medical Officer as he had a job for him.

"May I repeat, are you out of your Vulcan mind to pick up a Starfleet cadet for him to write an observation report on our five-year mission? We are not on an excursion. Space is disease and danger, wrapped in darkness and silence! I'm a doctor, not a baby-sitter!"

"Doctor, it is contradictory to say that when you are baby-sitting Gerard when his parents are on shift," Spock commented. McCoy muttered curses under his breath as he was being outtalked. He had no words to deny that. He had been a father after all.

"I must correct you that regulation cites that Starfleet cadets are not allowed on practical mission until the third year. As our five-year mission being the first in Starfleet history and considering the degree of danger we are facing, I would not entertain any request for a cadet to come onboard," Spock said in his stoic tone, looking up at the annoyed doctor who stared back at him baffled

"My direct superior is the one coming onboard. I am reassigning you as his personal physician before you start sending me requests later. I thought you will like the job. If not, I shall take you off it," Spock tapped on his PADD only to be stopped by Doctor mother hen.

"NO! Put me on! I will accept the job, Captain!" McCoy replied anxiously. He would gladly accept this job.

They were summoned to Starbase 9 to pick up a certain Fleet Captain who had been assigned to write observation report on the remaining five-year mission as part of his assignment in his refresher course at Starfleet Academy.

"Captain!" the senior crew greeted as they saw a figure on a hoverchair awaiting their arrival. Fleet Captain James T. Kirk was beaming from ear-to-ear looking a lot better than he was when they last see him.

All of them could not wait to bear hug their Captain. Jim was flailing around when the boys, Riley, Chekov and even Scotty jumped at him at once.

"Stop it, stop it, I can't breathe!" Jim cried out in pain even though he was really happy to see them again. While Jim was busy talking to the boys, McCoy approached him and Jim looked up to him only to see McCoy start to ruffle his hair to mess him up.

"You really went and did the impossible this time! Breaking rules again!" McCoy continued to say while Jim trying to wriggle his way out of McCoy.

"You did good! You really did!" what was a five-year mission without Jim? Jim had always wanted to go on this mission but was unable to because he was thought to be dead and the crew went on his behalf. And then, they found him miraculously alive and were forced to separate for obvious reasons. They were to continue their mission while Jim was to return to Earth for further treatment.

Too much had happened during those years since the Wrath of Vengeance. McCoy was really glad that Jim was finally back with them joining them in their remaining mission.

"Stop crying like a baby, Bones!"

"Who are you calling a baby?" McCoy retorted before staring at Jim.

"What did you just call me, kid?"

"Baby?"

"No, the one before".

Jim sighed before he looked up once more and said, "Bones." He was caught off guard when his shoulders were wrapped by the wailing doctor. Spock, Sulu and the girls nodded at Jim who looked up and nodded in return. They finally got their beloved Captain back.

"Welcome home, Jim!"

"I'm home". Jim replied with a warm smile and teary eyes. He was finally home.

Jim stared at the Captain's chair back on the bridge. Tears found their way to his eyes. Jim realized he was the one who became a crybaby.

"Captain, may I have the honour to help you to the chair?" Jim only then realized Spock was standing beside him. Not only that, everyone in their stations was watching him. Jim shook his head.

"Spock, you are the Captain of the Enterprise, you will continue to have the chair! I'm just a guest."

"As per the regulation, I will be glad to."

"Where shall we go next?" Jim asked Spock. He was finally going on the mission of his dreams.

"As you are my superior, I will defer to your good judgment for the next destination," Jim noticed that Spock was relaxing on rules now for letting him to decide despite he was supposed to be the one in charge.

Spock sat in the Captain chair and saw a certain doctor who was standing on the bridge, a rare sight since he became the Captain of the Enterprise. The corner of his lips tilted upwards. Seems that things would revert to how they should be now.

"It's gonna be fun!" Jim told Bones excitedly only to have Bones growling something under his breath.

"Mr. Sulu, take us out!" Spock ordered.

"Aye, Captain."

I hope this chapter will put a smile on your face as it did when I wrote it.

Again, I will leave if Jim will ever fully recover and how he get himself back to the Enterprise despite his current condition up to readers' imagination (of course I have my own idea if I ever write something to address it) :). Please read & review!