L'shanah tovah [for losthunter]

[boldygoing]

Jim Kirk has not celebrated any holidays with his family for a very long time.

Sure, they started talking again after his enlistment in Starfleet made its way into several Earth newsfeeds, the usual media vultures seeking attention for their coverage of George Kirk's son returning to the fold, so to speak. Confined mostly to text-based messages, and a few short video calls, his grandparents have reached out to him over the past few years, trying to reconnect, to mend old fences, and giving a standing invitation to come visit whenever he's ready.

He's always had an excuse for not going, citing existing plans to spend time with Bones, to study for upcoming exams, or being out of the solar system on Starfleet business, among other things. But with the Enterprise still out of commission as her repairs and overhaul nears completion, and having spent several weeks sharing living space with his mother again, he can't really wiggle out of it this year.

Not that he's even sure he wants to, anymore.

His family life has never really been the poster child for well-adjusted people, but... they're still his family. And maybe it's time to stop running away from his problems and pretending they don't exist. He's not a traumatized thirteen-year-old anymore, overwhelmed and isolated in the knowledge that none of them can truly appreciate the horrors he lived through, lashing out at a world that allowed such things to happen to him. He's turned his life around, cleaned up his act, and started down a path that is far more important than just fulfilling his own wants, regardless of the legality. And this particular holiday seems like the appropriate time to try to make amends.

Fortunately, he doesn't have to deal with it alone.

Jim patiently waits just outside a public transporter terminal in the Chicago suburbs, sitting on a park bench. While still wearing civilian clothes, he's on the slightly more formal side of things today in a white dress shirt and dark pants, though he's not bothered to wear a tie. It's about mid-afternoon, and the streets are mildly busy with people out for a stroll or out running errands of some kind, a steady flow of foot traffic both on the sidewalks and beaming in and out at the transporter platforms. He idly watches them pass by, keeping an eye out for his expected guest, whose PINpoint coordinates should bring him out exactly where everyone expects people to appear out of nowhere.

Comments

[losthunter]

"No." An honest answer.

"My father is a multi-media journalist." He glances down at his plate for a moment. "And my mother passed when I was a child, I never knew what she was interested in."

[boldygoing]

Winona looks down at the table too, the story a sadly familiar one, though with her in the role of the grieving parent rather than the child left behind. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Jim moves his knee to rest against Hunter's in silent support.

"Your father never talked about her?" Ruth asks carefully, respectfully.

[losthunter]

"No. My father sort of buried himself in his work, and kept very busy with it throughout my childhood." Hunter leans slightly towards Jim's presence beside him.

"I didn't even know where she was buried, until recently."

"I have very faint memories of her. And I painted a representation of her, that now hangs in my bedroom."

[boldygoing]

"Grief can be the most difficult thing to face," James says, though he doesn't look directly at Jim or Winona. They're not the only ones at the table who have let tragedy and its aftermath guide their actions in the past. "But family is important, and I'm glad you've found your own way to remember her."

[losthunter]

"Family is important. I have started to look into my own genealogical background, just to find out more about my families history."

[boldygoing]

"Anything interesting turn up so far?" Jim asks, curious. Even though he hasn't been around his family much since he was thirteen, he still knows a decent amount of his own family history.

[losthunter]

"I was able to find my father's parents, and have started tracking down their history. Their parents had immigrated to the States from England."

"But I am having trouble finding my mother's parents."

[boldygoing]

"Are you planning to reach out to anyone that's still around?" Ruth asks. "Once you find them, I mean."

[losthunter]

"I'm not sure..." Hunter doesn't know how to explain his hesitation to them. In their timeline, people don't care about appearances the same way they do in his timeline. And he can't really explain that he didn't always look the way he does, without going into details about Kendra and witchcraft.

"Right now I am just enjoying learning about my roots. Learning about the foods and traditions of those other cultures."

[boldygoing]

"Tracing your family history can be a full-time job in itself," James agrees. "It's fascinating stuff, especially when your roots have come from so many different places."

[losthunter]

"It sounds like you have experience. How many generations back have you tracked?"

[boldygoing]

"On my side of the family, we've been able to follow records back to the mid twentieth century," Ruth says, though as she speaks, she's checking around the table to see if anyone would like more food, and passes a little more challah down to Jim. "On James' side, we've traced back some branches to the eighteenth, though the Lakota didn't leave any physical birth records to dig back any further down that part of the family line."

"My dad's side of the family came over during the American pioneer days too," Jim adds, earning a somewhat startled look from his mom, who hadn't expected him to bring up George.

[losthunter]

"That is amazing you have traced back that far." Hunter smiles.

And he nods slightly to Jim's addition to the conversation. "It can be very interesting going back in history, to see those family connections. To see what challenges they faced."

[boldygoing]

James laughs a little. "Well, we can't take all the credit. It's been a sort of multi-generational project on my side of the family, dating back to before the founding of the Federation. Every few generations, somebody updates the records. Family trees branch out so much and there's been so many records lost to time that it's never going to be complete, not to mention when new family lines marry into the family, but it's interesting to learn what we can about our ancestors."

"Especially with opposing methods of tracking families," Ruth adds. "Historically, most Earth societies have favored patrilineal descent, but according to halakha, Jewish family lines are passed down through the mother, not the father."

[losthunter]

"Does that mean a family line ends, when a family only has sons?" Hunter asks, a little interested. He is thinking about Jim and his brother Sam, as an example.

[boldygoing]

Winona can guess what he's thinking. It's not a difficult leap of logic, after all. "Not exactly. But if those sons have children of their own and the mother isn't Jewish, the kids won't automatically be either."

"It's a cultural thing, not genetics," Jim adds. Not like he's given much thought to whether he ever wants to perpetuate the family line from either side of his family, anyway, so it isn't like this bothers him. He hasn't been pressured by his mom to give her grandkids either, for obvious reasons. "With the more secular families it doesn't matter so much, but the really religious sects are strict about it."

[losthunter]

"It is very interesting to think about." Hunter is enjoying learning more about the Jewish culture.

[boldygoing]

"It certainly is," Ruth agrees. "Best of luck with tracing your own family history. It's a uniquely individual thing, but no less important because of it."

[losthunter]

Mostly done with his meal, Hunter is glad that he was invited. The meal was delicious and he is full and happy.

"So, James, what was your role in Starfleet?" He asks Jim's grandfather.

[boldygoing]

"I was the chief of security on the USS Lexington," James says proudly. "Served under Captains Rackham and Shran during my tours of duty. Made it to commander before I had to retire. Got injured in a skirmish with the Klingons and by the time I was fighting fit again, it was pretty clear that gallivanting around the stars should be left for the young."

[losthunter]

"And now Jim has a five-year mission to do just that." Hunter chuckles lightly.

[boldygoing]

"Yes, we're so happy for him," Ruth agrees, beaming proudly also. "He'd already made us proud by being the first in the family to make captain, but commanding the first long exploration mission... we'll miss you while you're gone, Jim, but we know you'll make us proud out there."

Winona looks a little worried, at that reminder. But Jim smiles, looking forward to the trip. "Thanks. They finally set the date for the Enterprise's rededication ceremony in February, so if everything goes according to plan, we should be shipping out not too much longer after that."

[losthunter]

"I will miss him when he is gone too." Hunter wraps his arm around Jim's waist.

"But I can't wait to learn about the adventures that he had, and the new places that he visited, and the new cultures that he was able to discover."

[boldygoing]

Jim smiles back at Hunter, grateful for the support.

"I don't want to lie, I wish you weren't going," Winona says, looking down at her empty plate so she doesn't have to make eye contact.

"Mom..."

"It's dangerous out there, Jim. Anything could..." She doesn't finish the thought, but she doesn't need to. There's only one way that sentence ends, only one person he knows she's really thinking about. "Five years is a long time."

[losthunter]

Hunter is quiet for a moment, unsure if he should say anything. He tightens his grip on Jim's waist for a moment.

"I really don't think there is any job, or career out there that doesn't have some risk to it. Even as an artist, there is risks to my chosen job."

"But as much as I am going to miss him, I know that Jim is following his passion. And he has a good crew going with him."