J. T. Kirk (jt_kirk) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2013-04-08 19:02:00 |
|
|||
Kirk was bored. Which wasn’t the only reason why he wanted to see Christine, but it did help motivate him to track her down. “Christiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine?” Knock. “Christine!” Knock. “OI! I know you’re in there! Ah, there you are.” Jim smiled innocently as she opened the door, holding out a half eaten pie. “I took a few slices, but the rest is all for you.” People wouldn’t shut up about pie and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from making a impulse buy the day before. He probably should have taken it out of the plastic container he bought it in so it looked less like he was bringing her trash. Hindsight. “Do you realize it has been days since I have seen you? Days, Christine.” Kirk knew damn well that he had been busy with SHIELD and general dicking around, but being dramatic couldn’t hurt. “Tell me about your life since I’ve last seen you. Gotten married? Popped out a few kids? Decide to give up medicine and become an actress?” Christine had been sitting on the couch, engrossed in the final chapters of Gone With The Wind when the knock came. “Damn,” she muttered as she put her bookmark between the pages and laid her book aside. She was curious as to who it was until she hear his voice and then she couldn’t help but laugh. Opening the door, she eyed the pie that Kirk had in his hand. “You brought pie? I guess I have no choice but to let you in then,” she stepped back and motioned him in. “I’d be a fool to turn down free pie and from the looks of it, you didn’t make it so that puts my mind at ease.” Closing the door behind him, she pointed toward the couch. “Have a seat, I’ll go get some plates and be right back.” While Kirk sat down, Christine went to get two plates and forks, bringing them back into the living room and joining him. “What have I been doing?” she said in response to his question. “Well let’s see, I got married three times but they all ended in divorce, I popped out two kids but they ran away from home and I’m not giving up medicine for acting but I’m seriously considering starting up a new career as an advice columnist. How about you? Break any hearts recently?” Christine grinned as she cut them both a slice of pie and then handed one to him. The visit was a surprise but not an unwelcome one. Kirk was right, she hadn’t seen him in the past couple of weeks which was unusual. If she didn’t see him, she at least heard from him. “I would never offer you pie that I made myself. I like you too much for that.” Kirk didn’t need her suggestion to make himself at home. He was never one to stand around awkwardly and it wasn’t long before he was lounging on the couch. “Plates are nothing more than dishes you’ll have to do later. Eat out of the carton. Saves time and water and you know how this decade is all about being green.” He accepted the fork happily, even taking the plate since she was being a nice host. “Not hearts. Possibly a nose but that might have been a dream. My knuckles are in order so I’m guessing I’ve stayed out of too much trouble. You know, I think I heard about that second husband of yours. Should have taken him for more money. We could be on the beach right now.” Kirk shoveled a bite of pie into his face, having the decency to swallow before giving her a grin. “Nothing like store bought, hmm?” “He was a real rat bastard, that one,” she said as she settled back with her own slice of pie. “and no there is nothing like store bought because that means that no one has to clean the kitchen after it’s finished.” Christine was still trying to master the art of cooking in the 21st century and her cooking class was helping but she was still a long way from having any confidence in her skills. “I’m sure if you’d broken someone’s nose it would have been all over the network. People love to gossip on there.” She laughed when he mentioned the beach. “That sounds like a great idea actually. At least it would be warm there. I’m beginning to think that spring never comes to New York. Or maybe it’s just because being in space makes you lose track of what season it is. “That implies that I’m only around people from the tower. Which is fair. I need to get out more.” She wasn’t wrong about people loving to gossip here. It was one more reason he was trying to be on his best behavior. He didn’t want to bring any shame to his ship or his crew. It was hard enough being nothing more than another face in the hall here. He didn’t need anyone to be embarrassed by him either. Being a captain was making him sensible. It was strange. “I’m hoping for warm weather and sunshine by July. If these buildings don’t block out the sun altogether,” he teased, allowing his mind to wander back to his ship. “I thought we’d be back by now,” he admitted. “Not that I mind being here, but I’m getting restless. I haven’t stayed in one place so long since the Academy.” “I feel that way sometimes. I should get out more too but it’s scary out there. At least here I feel like I’m among people who understand, you know?” Christine was trying to venture out more and while it had gone rather well for the most part, she would still run into a person from time to time who insisted on calling her Izzy. At least she knew who Izzy was now since she’d looked up the show. “I thought we’d be back too,” she admitted. “but it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen.” She was silent for a moment as she ate her pie. “I’m not sure I want to go back honestly,” Christine looked up at Kirk. “I don’t know if I’ve got anything to go back to. I know people say that I’ll go back to the same point I left and then go forward, I won’t remember any of this, but from what I’ve been told, I’m not there. I haven’t seen the...trailer I believe they call it? I only know what that I’m not in it. So no, I’m not in any hurry to discover my fate.” Kirk didn’t tell her that he didn’t find it scary. He had always enjoyed the rush from exploring the unknown. It was why Starfleet had been such a perfect fit. He had a reckless love for going full throttle, no matter the consequences. Fortunately he had enough friends to pull him back when he threatened to teeter over the edge. “We’ll go back,” with a certainty he felt down to his bones. “We will. Whatever this is, it’s a nice distraction, but we’re getting back to our ship.” He was getting back. If he was a religious man he might wonder if this was some odd sort of purgatory. If that ‘trailer’ was actually a clue to how it all ended for him. Fortunately, he only gave weight to such thoughts in his darkest moments of drinking right before he passes out. “What?” Kirk knew he was giving her a look but he couldn’t help it. The idea of never returning to space was unfathomable to him. “You’re there, Christine. You’re there and you’re needed. If you want to stay here--Well, that’s your right, but I’m getting back. Not knowing is most of the fun.” “I hope I’m there,” she said. “I want to be, I’m just afraid. As silly as it sounds, I’m not sure that anyone would notice one way or the other. Did you know that Uhura was the only one who remembered my birthday? McCoy didn’t and I’ve known him longer than anyone. He didn’t always give me a present but he at least remembered to say something. I told him and he apologized and took me out to dinner. It’s just...being here is different, you know that. We were a family on the ship, I miss that.” Christine hadn’t meant to be so maudlin but she couldn’t help it. It was something that had been on her mind alot lately. “Speaking of McCoy,” she said, taking a bite of pie while she considered how to phrase what she wanted to say. “Is he okay? He’s not been himself lately, grumpier than usual. We had dinner last night but I could tell he had something on his mind. You know what it’s like trying to talk to him so I didn’t bring it up but I’m worried about him. If you tell him I said that though I will stab you with this fork.” She held up the fork in her hand. “after I finish eating the pie of course.” “Which means I missed your birthday as well. Sorry about that, Christine. It wasn’t intentional.” He knew Christine through Bones, but it wasn’t until they arrived here that he had gotten to know her with any real depth. That was probably one of the things he should be keeping track of, but birthdays had always been a sour event for him. He forgot other people tended to enjoy them. “It is different, but you’ve still got us. If you don’t, whack us on the head and we’ll shape up soon enough. I tend to get ahead of myself,” he said with a smirk, wanting to be comforting but never one to handle these kinds of conversations well. “He’s always grumpy,” he said offhandedly, ignoring the nagging voice in the back of his head that said he had been noticing it as well. “He’s probably having trouble to adjusting to everything still. You know how set in his ways Bones can be.” Kirk raised his eyebrow at her fork, looking at it warily. “You medical types are always wanting to stick things in me. It’s a wonder I talk to any of you at all. I can assure you, I won’t be mentioning this to him. He’ll come around. He always does. If he doesn’t, we’ll deal with it then.” For a moment she had forgotten that Kirk’s birthday wasn’t a day he liked to remember and could have kicked herself for whining about her own. Knowing that it wasn’t something he’d want to talk about, she just let it pass. “It’s okay but I’ll keep your advice about whacking people on the head in mind.” Christine grinned. “As it turns out, I didn’t spend my birthday alone, I spent it with someone....” she had no idea how to define what was going on between herself and Mulder. They were friends, true yet they were more than that too. Not that anything had happened between them but there was an undercurrent there, the sense of something that hadn’t yet come to pass but would. “that I’ve gotten to know since I’ve been here,” she finally finished, deciding that was the simplest way to go about it. She laughed when he said medical people liked to stick things in people. “We can’t help it! It’s so much fun sticking needles in people who hate it. Then we all laugh at you when you’re gone. It’s a lot of fun really.” Christine grew quiet for a minute, thinking about McCoy. “You’re right. He’s just going through one of his things. It just seems to be lasting longer than usual which is what worries me but I know better than to ask him. You know he doesn’t like to talk about himself.” As long as she’d worked with McCoy, Christine thought she knew him pretty well but she also knew that there were parts of himself that he kept hidden from everyone. Kirk, being the nosy bastard that he was, picked up on the hesitation. “Why Miss Chapel, you dirty girl. Do you have yourself a gentleman caller?” He was making a guess that it was a man, but if it was simply a friend she would have said so. The attempt at being vague made him think it was something more. “Good for you. It’s nice to see so many of my crew flourishing in civilian life,” he teased, taking another large bite of pie. “I knew it! I always knew it. You lot are a bunch of sadists and nothing more. Not as bad as dentists, but pretty damn close.” She wasn’t wrong, something Kirk was unwilling to fully admit. Jim couldn’t help but feel like he should be doing more, but he didn’t have the faintest clue where to begin. “He’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it.” “A gentleman caller? Seriously? You didn’t just use that phrase. Have you been reading Gone With the Wind in your spare time too?” Christine rolled her eyes at him. “I guess I do if you want to put it that way. I’m not sure what we are exactly but we’re...something. I like him a lot. You’ve met him actually but you were both pretty trashed at the time so I doubt you remember.” She couldn’t resist teasing Kirk in return. “The night you hosted beer pong. Fox Mulder. He is...was...whatever the proper tense is in this damn place an FBI agent.” Christine took another bite of pie, trying hard not to choke from laughing when Kirk called the medical profession sadists. She supposed he was right in a way but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “You do that. He’ll talk to you before he talks to anyone else. Sometimes I think he doesn’t even see me anymore. He’s like in his own little McCoy bubble. I swear I could walk up to him stark naked and he’d just ask me to hand him something.” “Any southern influence I have can be blamed on Bones. Have you seen how long that book is? Pass.” Jim had been called a genius before, and his test scores would tend to agree, and yet he couldn’t help himself from playing the dumb goon. He was never one to sit still for too long. He didn’t want to give others the impression that he could be bothered to start. “You found yourself an FBI agent. Was it the; badge? It was probably the badge. You don’t have to label anything for me, just try to enjoy yourself. Are FBI agents allowed to have fun? You might have to talk to him about that.” Kirk was pretty sure he did remember him. Vaguely at any rate. “Oh, and Bones and I will mess him up if he hurts you, yada yada.” There, he had done his manly duties for the day. “I’m sure you could, but I doubt he’d be asking you for a medical instrument. Unless you kids are into that sort of thing.” “Yeah it’s pretty long but it’s worth it if you’re into history.” Christine laughed at Kirk’s questions about Mulder. “No it wasn’t the badge. I’ve never even asked to see it or if he has it with him for that matter. He’s just a really nice guy, he makes me laugh, we see things the same way in a lot of respects. The funniest thing is that he was a fan of the old Star Trek show, the one from the other timeline, when he was a kid and now his roommate is Spock. The other Spock, not our Spock.” This amused Christine to no end given what she had discovered from watching a few episodes of the original series but she had yet to actually run into Spock which was fine with her. It was embarrassing enough to know that another version of herself had been infatuated with him. “I’ll keep that in mind. If anything happens, I will be sure and let both of you know.” She finished her pie and settled back into the corner of the couch. “No, seriously. I’m worried about him. Not worried enough to walk up to him naked and see if he notices but worried all the same. I worry about you too of course but for entirely different reasons. With you I worry that you’ll get punched out by a jealous husband or boyfriend and I’ll have to give you stitches. That might be fun though.” Christine shot him a wink. “Small world indeed. At least you know he has excellent taste.” It still amused him to think that the other Spock was here. It wasn’t a great surprise, he had met the man before. Still, it often made him wonder it would be like to meet the other Kirk. Apparently they were very similar, but he imagined there had to be differences. After all, that man had his father in his life. Kirk wasn’t one to talk about it, but you didn’t have to be a genius to realize that shit affected people. “Have you seen any of the show? I kept meaning to, but the gifs were amusing enough. I don’t know if I could handle an entire episode. The man looks all wrong.” “Good,” he said, smiling slightly. He knew damn well that Christine was more than able to take care of herself, but she was part of his crew and he felt a responsibility to her. Not to mention the fact that she had become a friend. “Wouldn’t be the first time, would hate to think it wouldn’t happen again,” he said, waving his hand as if to dismiss the idea. “I know you’re worried, but try not to be. We’ll make sure he’s just fine.” “I’ve seen a couple of episodes. Chekov showed me where to find them. I have to say that the hairstyles of that time period sort of put me off. You wouldn’t believe the hair that Uhura’s and my counterpart had! I believe they called it a beehive which is a pretty good description. I saw some pictures from later in the series though and they changed it which was a relief. God it was horrible.” Christine laughed and shook her head. She had done some reading on the time period that the show was shot and knew that the way they looked was typical for the late 1960s on Earth but still, she was grateful that the style hadn’t come back. At least not as far as she knew. “A whole episode will have you laughing,” she said. “because it’s just so...tacky. The rocks look like they’re made out of cardboard and the bridge is all wrong. It’s amusing though. I’ll give it that much.” Christine had no doubt that Kirk would end up getting decked by a jealous boyfriend at some point, it was part of his charm. “Well both of you take care of yourselves. Someone has to worry about you. It might as well be me and if either of you ever need a female perspective on things, I’m willing to help you out. Or just listen to whatever good dirt you have to share.” She grinned. “Without all the gory details of course.” “I am going to have to investigate this. Who knows, it could be the hair of the future. Ten more years and the beehive will be all the rage on the Enterprise.” Kirk had a funny feeling it wouldn’t be. Life wasn’t without joy on his ship, but the crew tended to be practical with their time. Free time was precious and he had a funny feeling they wouldn’t be spending it doing their hair. “Or maybe not. I was never a fan of bees. I always blew up like a balloon.” Kirk had seen a few things from the show. Mostly ridiculous clips. It was strange to see his life portrayed in such a way, even if he knew it wasn’t exactly his life. That guy got way more action. “You know I am a fan of tacky,” he teased, knowing she was probably right. It was nice to see a place where life wasn’t so dire. It would be a nice change from the previews regarding their own life. Kirk laughed at her offer, knowing it was things like this that made him so fond of her company. “Are all medical professionals such gossips or am I surrounded by the only two? I can give you details, but don’t go complaining when they’re too much for you.” “I hope it’s not because it’s hideous,” Christine shuddered. “and yes I know how you love tacky. I don’t mind it so much myself. Maybe that’s why we get along.” She laughed at his remark about medical gossips. “I can’t speak for all of them but a lot of the ones I know are. Just think about it all the intimate details we get to hear about people’s lives.” The truth was that even though she teased Kirk about it, Christine would never betray a patient’s confidence. “Truthfully though if you came to me and told me something professionally, I wouldn’t say anything. It’s part of the oath we take as nurses. Like the Hippocratic Oath for doctors. Ours is the Nightingale Pledge. Ironically enough legend has it that Florence Nightingale died of tertiary syphilis. I don’t know if that’s true or not but I’ve heard that.” “I knew the medical field was nothing more than a vast conspiracy to gather as much blackmail material as possible. Thank you for your confirmation.” He knew it wasn’t as bleak as all that, but he also knew that under any oath a person was still curious. That was one of the funny quirks of the human race. They were all hopelessly curious. “You know, Christine, we don’t talk about syphilis nearly enough. Especially over pie. It’s like you don’t even like me.” “That’s true. We really should have more discussions about historical figures and STDs. Maybe I could suggest that to the Educational Division. Wonder how many people would sign up for that?” She winked at him. “And next time you come over we can talk about gonorrhea. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, you know. Sadly enough I can’t think of anyone famous who had that one but I’m sure we could google it if we got curious enough. Or drunk enough.” “There are times I worry about our mental health. Then I think, she’s a medical professional, she’d know if we had finally lost it. Or Bones would have us committed. And Christine, please make no mistake, I never have to be drunk to look up truly disturbing things. It’s a nice excuse, but I have no shame.” With his pie finished he dropped his plate on the coffee table, looking over at her with a grin. “Okay, maybe we don’t look at the images section, but everything else is fair game.” |