Chapter Text
Winona Kirk’s gaze was stuck on the ceiling pattern, her mind numb, as she ignored her tearful husband next to her. She could feel his fingers carting through her hair while he whispered comforting yet hollow words. All those months, all the planning that went into their home and nursery only for her to go into premature labor. If she concentrated, she could feel the phantom kicks as he moved around. What was wrong with her body that she wasn’t able to carry him to term? Was she being punished for something? What happened in her womb that killed him? Her thoughts continued to cycle through similar thoughts until she fells into a disturbed sleep so deep that she didn’t notice the second couple being placed nearby to birth their own baby.
Upon waking, Winona couldn’t help her reaction of touching her stomach and panicking when it was not as stiff and round as it had been this morning. It took her a moment to remember what had happened, causing her to choke back tears. Taking a deep breath, she looked around and saw her husband looking down at the still body of their son.
“George.” Her voice was rough from the strain of yelling during labor and holding back her sadness.
Within moments, her husband was at her bedside. “Sweetheart.”
“He’s really -” She blinked rapidly and swallowed hard.
“I’m so sorry, honey.” George held her hand and laid a kiss on her forehead.
“Can I -” She swallowed hard again. “Can I hold him?”
“Of course.” George cleared his throat before he turned and picked up his swaddled son from the large nursery bed.
Winona felt a pang in her heart when she saw the encompassing love mingling with the despair on George’s face. She couldn’t stop the tears anymore as he gave their son a kiss before carefully handing him to her.
He was absolutely perfect. She pushed the blanket down a little to see a small hand and couldn’t help but hold the hand in her own. She studied his face, memorizing everything she could. Holding him close, her eyes closed tight as she wished that she had been able to see him open his eyes at least one time. It was agonizing to realize that he had never seen the outside world, had never taken a breath. She would never hear his voice as he cried and later talked. Her little boy was gone.
Winona felt George wrap his arms around her as sobs finally forced their way out and they sat there for what seemed like forever, holding onto their little boy.
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George stared at his wife while she slept, one hand on the nursery bed containing their son. It had only been a few hours, but they hadn’t been able to bring themselves to let the doctors take him away yet. They had checked on them a few times and look over Winona but other than that they had been left alone. He was vaguely aware that another couple was across the rather small medical bay and bitterness soured his mouth when he heard the healthy cry a few hours before. He blinked away tears, feeling a headache coming on from the turmoil of the day.
“Lieutenant?” A soft voice came from the entrance to their section of the bay. “I am Denak. May I speak with you in Dr. Lawrence’s office?”
George looked over in surprise to see one of the Vulcan entourage that they were transporting to Vulcan. After checking to make sure Winona was sleeping, he placed one more kiss on his son’s forehead before following the other male into the doctor’s private office where the doctor was sitting behind his desk.
“My apologies, Lieutenant for disturbing you. I am aware of the tragic circumstances that occured today.” George felt a stab of pain take away his breath for a moment. “I grieve with thee.”
Swallowing hard, George nodded. “Thank you. Congratulations on your child.”
Denak inclined his head. “That is what I wished to speak with you about. My mate and I have been discussing this along with Dr. Lawrence. We cannot keep our son. No one from our delegation has been notified to their status of health and believe that my mate is still in labor.”
George shook his head to clear it. “Why can’t you keep your son?”
“One of our people’s closely guarded secrets is that once, we had numerous Vulcans that were called Carriers. They were males born with the ability to bear children and were extremely fertile. They were not common among our people and were once cherished for their ability to produce children with higher intelligence and strength. Our ancestors were not always as logical as we are now and competed for the chance to mate with a Carrier. They became so violent that they would be willing to take Carriers by force even if it meant killing the growing child in their womb and forcing them to carry their own instead. Vulcan females began hiding their children who presented as carriers which was extremely difficult. There are numerous cases of infanticide.” George had never seen a Vulcan fidget before but it was clear that if he would allow himself, Danek would be pacing. As it was, he was standing rather rigidly with his hands behind his back.
“What -” George cleared his throat. “What does that have to do with your son?”
“Lieutenant.” Danek held George’s gaze firmly. “There have been no known carriers among our people born in the last two centuries. Until today. My son is a carrier and his safety is compromised.”
George reared back as though he had been slapped, his mind racing. “You want to use the fact that my son is a stillborn to hide your own.”
“Only if you are Winona are agreeable.” Dr. Lawrence jumped in as George started to become agitated. “We can find other solutions to hide the child but it would still be dangerous for too many people to know about the boy.”
“How would you be able to hide the fact that he is Vulcan?” George frowned as he ran a hand through his hair.
“We have a hologram that when kept on the body, will hide certain features such as his green skin, his ears and eyebrows.” Dr. Lawrence answered, studying him in case he became angry. “He will need to keep it attached to him at all times and will need reprogramming every few years as he grows.”
George could feel his headache growing and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I would have to discuss this with my wife. I won’t do anything that would make this worse for her. How would we take care of him health wise? We would need to let another doctor in on it and they would need to know Vulcan anatomy and such.”
“Nurse Pinkam has been the only other one in the medical bay this entire time. We have leave coming up after we bring the delegation to Vulcan for repairs and upgrades which will take about a year. This way I can handle all the examinations up to that point and I should be able to handle the yearly appointments. I can have a trusted collegue on hand to help out in case he gets sick but Vulcans are less likely to become ill than human children.” Dr. Lawrence answered and leaned on his desk.
“Nurse Pinkam has agreed to aid us in finding a safe place for our son if you do not feel that you can agree.” Denak added. “We are also pressed for time to do so but Dr. Lawrence will place information in our file that he has died. We will proceed from there.”
“Why us?” George struggled with the plan laid out before him.
“Dr. Lawrence provided us with information and personal recommendation to your character.” Denak answered. “Aside from the unfortunate circumstances with your own son, Carriers also have blond hair and blue eyes. We found you to be acceptable within our limited time and resources to make this request.”
“I-” George sighed. “I need to speak with my wife.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Denak nodded to him.
George stared at him for a moment. “Don’t thank me just yet, Denak.”
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Winona Kirk clutched the baby to her chest as she looked out the window of the escape pod, comlink in one hand.
“What are we going to do without you?” She tried to hold back the sob.
“You will love James with all of your heart.” George’s voice wavered over the comlink.
With growing horror, she watched as the USS Kelvin moved closer and closer to the Romulan ship.
“We never came up with a middle name for him.” Winona latched onto whatever piece of normalcy she could.
George gave a weak chuckle. “Well I didn’t want his first name to be Tiberius. That can be his middle name.”
Winona nodded although she knew her husband couldn’t see her. “James Tiberius L’vor Kirk.”
“That sounds -” George went silent for a moment. “That sounds perfect.”
“I love you, George.” Winona’s vision blurred before she blinked away the tears.
“I love you so much Win.” George’s voice started to crackle. “I love you, James and Sam. I’ll see you again one day.”
Winona’s voice caught in her throat. “You and Liam.”
“Me and Liam.” George agreed.
Winona didn’t bother to wipe the tears streaming down her face.
“I love y-” George’s voice cut out.
“George.” Winona sobbed as she watched the USS Kelvin crash into the Romulan ship, her eyes never leaving the sight as her escape pod took her further and further away.