Date: 01 Jun 2013 18:28 Title: Chapter 1
I missed some of the stories in between - real life is after me with a vengeance these days ;) - so while I was glad to see that Anna and Jim had another child, I was saddened to learn of Anna's death.
I think you captured Jim's grief very well here - from what we saw of him in the series, the way he dealt with loss was to bottle it up inside and throw himself into his work (his brother and sister-in-law, Edith, Miramanee, Rayna, the tragedy of his youth on Tarsus IV). He does seem a little detached from the kids, though, especially given what they must be going through.
I hope the memorial service will bring him some closure, and help him to deal effectively with the loss, rather than sweeping it under the rug like so much dust.
Date: 27 May 2013 22:49 Title: Chapter 3
All's well that ends well, more or less - but Anna is still gone.
Date: 27 May 2013 22:45 Title: Chapter 2
So, the ceremony. And there's work to be done on the station. But, again, it can be delegated to others. This can happen in grief, that people throw themselves into work to the exclusion of other things, kind of spending their time doing whatever it is instead of facing up to their problems.
Date: 27 May 2013 22:37 Title: Chapter 1
There's definitely a disconnect here, between the children's behaviors and Kirk's almost detachment most of the time. While he is understandably holding himself together, he does not have to be working or in command (this is why First Officers exist). Adam, at the very least, might insist on Kirk putting his command and work aside for the sake of the family at this difficult time. This does not mean that Jim has to do that, but I think most people who lost their child would be a bit peeved (and Adam's a human, yes?) if that child's widowed spouse was working rather than helping out the rather obviously traumatized grandchildren.
Author's Response: Except that Anna was the First Officer so she is gone
Date: 26 May 2013 20:08 Title: Chapter 3
And so ends the story. Kirk and Spock and Bones, together again, for one last ride. Quite a tale of dealing with grief and loss here, one that saw Kirk go back and forth with his emotions. Bones dispensed a necessary amount of common sense here while Spock proved the ever reliable loyal companion we have come to know him as.
It was good to see Spock get command of the Enterprise after Kirk left. I wonder how all of it happened, how it all progressed (perhaps it’s covered in another story, I’ll have to check) but seeing Kirk and co. get in one last ride, one final hurrah, was nice. The kids seemed to recover a little and Kirk seems to be doing the same, but I have no doubt that the immediate future will be filled with good and bad days.
I hope Kirk can deal with that and I hope he finds peace and maybe even love again. Savvik maybe? I don’t know if it’s possible, especially after such a long marriage and a sad death.
An interesting scenario that played out in a number of surprising ways for me. I’d like to see the further adventures of the Kirk family, see what those kids turned out to be in the future.
Author's Response: If you want to read how it started then you can go to Jim's New Family that is how Anna and Jim got married. So I would check that one out too.. Thanks Sarah
Date: 26 May 2013 19:53 Title: Chapter 2
Vulcans! So that’s why they got a Vulcan toy. Anna was a Vulcan, Kirk married a Vulcan, his kids are part Vulcan, and his wife mind melded with her Vulcan child (Amanda) which is why she misses her mom so profoundly. This chapter was just full of revelations. Kirk is working on a starbase, not a starship (which I somewhat expected) and I can only imagine he gave up the chair for his family. It’s safer to raise a family on a starbase than it is on a starship. I have a character in my stories who does something similar (not yet written, but he’s gonna do it).
Kirk exploding on Teva was a bit shocking, to see the captain lose his cool like that, but taken in the context of the immense grief he must feel I have no doubt that he’s having difficulty holding it all together, holding it all in. Kirk admits as much and then the memorial ceremony … a sad, sad affair. Kirk just barely gets through it. It’s was good to see Spock and Bones show up at the end, no doubt aboard the Enterprise here to come and help the starbase with repairs. I wonder what they’ll say?
I wonder if Amanda can be helped? She seems to be falling apart with the lack of sleep and her behavior … hopefully Spock can do something.
Date: 26 May 2013 19:41 Title: Chapter 1
Wow, well first off, Kirk with kids?!?!
That was the first surprise for me in this chapter. I’ve seen stories where Kirk is married, I’ve seen stories where Kirk is married and maybe has one kid, but multiples? I was floored. It’s not a scenario you see often in fanfic with Kirk. Here, he portrays the grieving father after losing his wife. I’d like to know more about her and I’m sure how the two met will be expanded upon in further chapters (which I’m heading off to read soon) but man, the death of his wife seems to have just numbed Kirk here.
He doesn’t come across as unfeeling but he seems to have put some serious distance between his emotions and himself. While his children are grieving in different ways: Amanda with her constant need for attention, baby Carol with her crying and lack of eating, and Anthony with his nightmares, Kirk seems to be just floating amongst the stars.
His role as captain has prepared him for dealing with such a death but it didn’t prepare him for it being so close. He’s got friends and family around him, which seemed to get him to break down a little, but he “has to be strong” for the kids and I worry he’s just going to get further away from his emotions.
I anticipate that he’s going to get a lot closer to his emotions at the funeral. The grief, the loss, the whole process strikes me as right for everyone in this story. Now the question is how they deal with it and overcome it. I look forward to more.