Title: Playtime (11/?)
Author: klmeri
Fandom: Star Trek AOS
Characters: Various
Summary: AU. Fun times ensue at Little Star Academy. Pike begins to realize that while he may be the adult, he’s definitely not the one in charge.
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Part Eleven

When the going gets tough… try not to think of reasons to give up. Pike starts compiling a list in his head as he limps around the snack table and passes out popsicles:

1. They’re just kids.

He’s had this mantra since the end of that first, spectacularly eye-opener of a day. It lost impact rather rapidly.

2. The parents trust him to do his job.

Okay, so he’s not in this for what the parents think. Pike would say that he is important to the children—that means more to him anyway—but he suspects that even as their teacher, his standing is barely above that of a slave.

Captain Jimmy demands a second grape popsicle for his crew member Scotty (who does something important but nobody’s figured out what that important thing is yet).

3. The pay is decent.

Truth being that he doesn’t get paid enough to handle this bunch AND that the money is going into an account to fund his future psychiatric appointments when all’s said and done (with Jimmy standing triumphant and proud on top of a gibbering wreck of a Mr. Pike).

4. He hasn’t given up on a challenging class in fifteen years, so why should he start now?

Oh, that particular why-list is longer than this pep talk. Reason Number One is that no sane man should have to fear falling asleep in his own home because he has nightmares in which skyscraper-tall toddlers named James T. Kirk are chasing, catching, and hurling him some distance only to repeat the exercise. Pike shudders as he gives Spock a strawberry-flavored popsicle. The baby Vulcan eyes the treat disdainfully before using his masterfully strong arm and perfect aim to chuck it into the sink across the room. Christopher sighs and moves on.

Bascially, he is having a “trying” day. Those days seem to alternate between him and Rand, who is currently patting Jimmy’s head and wiping at the melted blue puddles staining the boy’s shirt. Jimmy has always accepted female attention well, and if Pike didn’t know any better, he’d say that the boy is basking in it.

That brings him to #5.

5. Winona Kirk needs him to be a controlling influence over her son.

Pike thinks that he is failing miserably. Then, almost out-of-the-blue, Jimmy will actually listen to something Pike says—or rants about—and act… reasonably normal. When that happens, Christopher is always thrown for a loop… and rather proud. At one point, he contemplated running home to grab that last celebratory cigar and light it up.

Then the Captain had blinked at his teacher, slowly turned around, dashed away with a bellow of “Bwones!” and tried to climb the boy’s back like a monkey. Which had the immediate effect of setting off a McCoy-tantrum too early in the week. Pike had managed to sufficiently pry Lenny’s grip from Jimmy’s hair so that Kirk could stop drowning in an over-sized tub of colored foam balls. Spock, who had been watching this display of base Human nature, had tilted his head and said “Fascinating” directly at Leonard. McCoy went slack in Pike’s grip, his face turning back to a normal shade, and replied, “Only if Jimmy hada died, Spock.”

Pike spent the better part of the afternoon explaining to Lenny why killing people who annoyed him was NOT fascinating and entirely wrong. Seeming to get nowhere, Christopher had said as a last resort, “You would go to jail. You don’t want that, do you, Leonard?”

The boy had looked thoughtful. “I guess not.”

And Pike gave up on the conversation thereafter.

So maybe Pike should rephrase #5 to say:

5. Winona needs Christopher NOT to quit because she’d have no time for a life of her own.

Now that he thinks about it, perhaps that is the case for all of the children’s parents. And thus the real question becomes: is Pike selfless enough?

“Mr. Pike!”

“Mr. Pwike!”

“Misterrr… Piiike!”

He shoves down a bubble of hysterical laughter and addresses his children at large. “Yes?”

Galia bats her eyes. “Is it Playtime yet?” her sweet voice chirps.

He swallows. “Yes. Yes, it is but don’t—”

The children completely ignore him and knock over chairs in their hasty departure for the outdoors. Rand follows them at a sedater pace, turning once to glance back at her fellow adult.

“It’s okay, Chris, I’ll take today’s guard duty. Just rest your leg.” Then she disappears into the sound of childish screams and laughter.

He bends over, rights a tiny chair and eases himself into it. The chair wobbles precariously under his weight. Pike closes his eyes and runs a hand over his face.

No, he isn’t going to quit. Today may be a terrible—unfortunate knee injury—day but there is one more reason to remain, the most important reason of all.

6. He loves each and every one of them.

As Jonathan will probably say to him later, when he rings up the man for short notice assistance and explains the situation, “Oh woe as you, my dear friend. You’re screwed.”

Short interlude. Pike deserves a round of applause for all his hard work. Act Two soon to come! (aka Part Twelve)

Next Part

Related Posts:

• Playtime (20/20) – from October 13, 2010
• Playtime (19/20) – from October 13, 2010
• Playtime (18/?) – from October 12, 2010
• Playtime (17/?) – from October 11, 2010
• Playtime (16/?) – from October 10, 2010