Title: Playtime (10/?)
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.
Previous Part: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Part Ten

Lenny McCoy is the first child to arrive on Monday morning, as his father is often needed on shift at early hours. It is not uncommon, then, for Pike to be in the middle of his morning cup of coffee and a debriefing with Janice on the day’s activities when Dr. McCoy comes rushing down the hall with a sullen or sleepy boy in tow. Lenny will accept his father’s goodbye kiss with all the dignity of a child who thinks kissing is stupid and then proceed to sulk or nap next to Pike until other children begin to arrive some thirty to forty minutes later.

This morning, on Pike’s first day back from a very brief sick leave, Lenny takes one look at his teacher and says, “I thought you were dead.”

So Jimmy wasn’t making it up, Pike thinks. Not that he had doubted the toddler because Lenny is, in fact, very likely to tell Jimmy something that will make him upset. Only it seems that Lenny believed his words himself. Interesting.

“Nope,” he replies mildly and sips at his black coffee.

The boy is silent for all of five seconds. “So you aren’t dead?”

His eyebrow goes up. “Last time I checked, I was as alive as you, Leonard. Why do you ask?”

Lenny shrugs. “Pa says it’s always good to be prepared for the worst.”

“The saying goes, ‘Be prepared for the worst but hope for the best'” Pike explains.

The boy grunts. Pike understands that children—and not to mention some adults—only hear what they want to and ignore the rest. So he sighs and pulls a chair over to his desk. McCoy slides into it and props up his head on a fist. He looks incredibly bored.

Janice had discovered that they were low on juice boxes so she’d gone for a quick run to the nearest grocery store. Pike was just enjoying his last minutes of solitude when Dr. McCoy had thrust his boy through the doorway with “Be good, Len. See you this afternoon.”

“I liked Mr. Archer.”

Pike almost spits out his mouthful of coffee. Instead it goes down the wrong way and he has to choke into a handkerchief for some minutes before he can reply. “You did?”

“Sure. He yelled a lot and made Jimmy mad. It was cool.”

Pike sighs. “Believe it or not, Leonard, Mr. Archer is a retired school teacher.”

Lenny snickers. “He’s older ‘n my grandpa and Grandpa’s old.”

His smile is amused, because truth be told, Archer is probably younger than Lenny’s grandfather. The man just turned 60 a few weeks ago. That, of course, is ancient to most children. Pike himself feels more than a tad depressed because he is three years away from forty and twenty more years isn’t actually all that long. He rubs his forehead.

“I’m glad that someone liked Mr. Archer. But Lenny, if you liked him, perhaps you should have tried to get along with him rather than aiding Jimmy in making Mr. Archer miserable.”

“Just ‘cuz I like him doesn’t mean I hafta be nice, Mr. Pike,” Lenny informs him gravely.

Really? Then Pike feels sorry for Leonard McCoy’s future friends—and, God forbid, the person the boy eventually falls in love with. He hopes others learn to live with—or at least tolerate—McCoy’s budding quirks.

He settles for making a noncommittal noise and hands Lenny a puzzle with which to entertain himself. Lenny frowns at the puzzle and eyes Pike’s cup of coffee instead. Christopher is wise enough to walk away from the desk, taking his coffee with him.

Thirty more minutes and then the day truly begins.

Everybody is happily trying to rearrange a series of block letters into the Standard alphabet when there is a knock on the door. Children immediately scramble from their seats. Pike halts the mad rush with “FREEZE!” Under the guise of a game phrase, the word is useful enough to stop disaster in its tracks. Not that the little ones know that; they only think that they earn Ice Cream Points—a system whereby after twenty-five accumulated ice cream points everybody gets an ice cream party (barring birthdays, of course). Spock, in particular, is adept at pulling a wayward child back into line. (That Vulcan loves his strawberry ice cream.)

Janice sticks her head out the door to greet the visitor. Then her body stiffens and when Rand turns around, she barks, “For you, Mr. Pike.”

Pike watches her return to the front of the room, weaving between still-frozen wide-eyed children. When he opens the door fully, there is Jonathan grinning like a madman. Before Pike can protest, Archer sweeps past him into the classroom.

The children collectively gasp—a few shriek—and Jimmy breaks form. Then it’s a mad tumble as everyone else does too. Some children run back to their tables, crawling under them; from the corner of his eye, Pike sees Scotty dragging a worn, oversized stuffed dog behind the art cabinet. Christine and Pavel are wailing and clinging to Janice’s skirt. (He wouldn’t doubt that they are in some secret contest of who can cry the loudest.) But it’s Jimmy who comes charging head-first into Archer’s legs like an enraged bull.

Archer goes down with a yelp and an undignified flailing of his arms. Jimmy is kicking at the old man’s legs, face red. Pike swoops in to save Archer from Destruction by Toddler.

“NOO! KLING’N! BAD KLING’N!” The boy shouts and struggles mightily. It’s all Pike can do to keep a grip on him.

“SILENCE!” The teacher’s uncharacteristic bellow cracks like a whip through the air.

The screaming subsides. Even Jimmy goes limp in Pike’s arms. Archer is clutching his shins, dividing his breath between cursing and moaning.

“Jon, be quiet,” Pike grounds out between his teeth. He marches over to a nearby table and puts Kirk into a chair. “Do not move from this spot, James,” he orders. The boy’s eyes are glittering. With rage, Pike suspects.

Pike then marches back over to Jon Archer, grabs him by a jacket lapel and hauls the man to his feet. And shoves him out of the classroom, closing the door behind them. Archer limps to the side door of Pike’s office, Chris in close attendance. He engages all the locks before turning on his friend.

“What is the matter with you!”

“Me?” Jon says, shocked. “You mean what’s the matter with those kids! Hell, you’d think I was the bogeyman. Lord forbid, did you see how that crazy Kirk jumped on me?” Jon rubs a kneecap, his face bright red.

Chris crosses his arms and settles on a corner of his office desk. This is a room used for formal appointments with parents and to handle the paperwork that comes along with being part owner of a business. Most of the children know that if they see the inside of this office, they must be in serious trouble with Mr. Pike.

There is a headache growing behind his eyes and it’s only ten o’clock in the morning. “Why are you here, Jon?” he asks tiredly.

The man is silent for a moment. “Beats me, really. You’d think after all that ‘attention’ I received last week, I wouldn’t want any more. But I-I was bored this morning and the apartment was so damn quiet…”

Pike stares at him. “Jon,” he says slowly, “are you saying that you miss them?”

“I’m insane, right? Knew it was going to happen sooner or later,” the man mutters.

Pike half-laughs out of sheer incredulity. “I spent yesterday morning watching you get plastered. Didn’t you dedicate each shot to a reason why you were thankful to be retired?” He quotes in an unnerving good impression of Jon’s voice, “‘This one’s for no James Ti-bear-ee-us Kirk—the little terror.’ ‘Oh, and this one’s for not having to listen to that Vulcan list my faults in light of your superior teaching, Pike. I swear, if I have to hear You are illogical. Mr. Pike would not allow this one more time, I’ll puke!'”

The man had almost puked after drinking half of Pike’s good quality brandy. Such a waste.

Jon rakes a hand through his hair and stares too long at his empty hand. “It doesn’t fall out,” he comments absently. “Just keeps getting grayer.”

“You and me both,” Pike sighs. “Alright, you can come back in. Give me a minute to calm everyone down and keep them from climbing the walls again.”

Jon nods. Pike would almost think that the man looks forlorn. But he quickly dispels that idea and heads back to his kids for a stern talking-to.

Jimmy is still sitting down (a minor miracle in Pike’s opinion), bumping the heels of his shoes angrily against the chair legs. Pike calls everyone to the center rug and releases Kirk from his imprisonment.

“You are not a bunch of wild animals,” he tells them, frown in place. “I expect that when a guest comes to Little Star—no matter who it is—that you will act politely. Do you understand me?” Some heads nod obediently; others just stare at him like he is speaking gibberish.

“And the one thing I do not want anyone to do is ATTACK a guest. James, I am extremely disappointed in your uncivilized behavior. A Captain, in particular, sets an example for the rest of his crew. Just now, you made a very poor example.” The boy won’t look at him, but Pike cannot afford to feel regret. Every child that comes to Little Star must understand that there are boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Well, given their young age, Pike might be willing to overlook one or two incidents of silliness or exuberance, but he will not tolerate violence in any form. It’s best that they learn this lesson here, rather than be allowed to develop habits that will land them in trouble down the road.

“Now,” he makes his voice as cool as possible, “Mr. Archer is our guest today.” Pike wishes Jon had told him beforehand, because this morning’s scene might have been avoided if he’d known in advance and prepared the children. “I expect everyone to be nice to him.”

A hand goes up.

“Yes, Hikaru?”

The boy shoots a hesitant glance at Jimmy before speaking. “What if we don’t like Mr. Archer?”

Pike cocks his head. “Why wouldn’t you like Mr. Archer?”

Sulu squirms under his intense stare. “I don’t know…”

“Then you cannot dislike a man if you do not have a reason. Mr. Archer was kind enough to come here and look after you when I couldn’t. I called him personally to ask for that favor and he obliged me. I am grateful to Mr. Archer. The next time I—or Janice—cannot be here at Little Star, it is likely that Mr. Archer shall come instead.”

Several children look surprised at this piece of news.

Jimmy sniffles, wipes his nose on the back of his hand. “Maybe you can always be here, Mr. Pwike,” the boy offers tentatively.

“I’m sorry, Jimmy,” he says gently. “That is a promise I cannot make. I can only say that I will try my best.”

The boy slumps.

An idea occurs to him. “I will tell you a secret about Mr. Archer, if you promise to listen closely.”

That has the effect of immediately perking up many pairs of ears.

“Mr. Archer used to teach children a lot older than you at a very big school. That was a long, long time ago.” Not so long—ten years—and Pike doubts that Archer has lost his teaching skills in that time. Jonathan was renowned in his district for his innovative lesson plans. Kids loved him and his grumpy personality.

“So he not only has forgotten what it is like being around children—” Pike grins on the inside. Feels no qualms about throwing Archer to the wolves. “—but he isn’t used to caring for young ones like yourselves. Do you think that you could help him out today?”

Some look interested; some seem apprehensive.

“For me, your poor old teacher?” he adds. At a wave of solemn nods, Pike does a little mental cheer in his head. “Okay. Then let’s greet Mr. Archer the nice way this time.”

He goes out into the hall and tells Jon try to look like a kindly old grandfather when he enters. Then he pauses, adjusts his eyeglasses and asks smoothly, “What was that about a debt, Archer?”

The man eyes him warily. “What debt?”

“Exactly.”

If Jonathan is surprised that Jimmy strolls up to him sedately and announces “I’s very sworry,” then he doesn’t say a word to anyone. Then Spock, esteemed and proper, asks Mr. Archer if he would like to be escorted. Jon agrees dumbly while Pike has to turn away to wipe at his tears of restrained laughter.

Janice approaches Pike, watching Archer being lead around by Spock and introduced to the children one-by-one. Christine curtsies prettily for the old man. “I don’t know how you do it, Chris, but I am always amazed at your finesse.”

“Experience, Jan,” he tells her. “Ample years of experience. And I’m still learning,” he admits.

“I think we both are,” she replies. They share a knowing smile and, as a team, set about cleaning up the havoc left in the wake of their children.

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