...I know he would have. Kirk thought to himself, staring down at the drink in his hand. He finally put it down, shaking his head. "I don't see you as my father, and I won't. I respect you sir, and you were the one that got me to go into Starfleet. You had no reason to give a shit what happened to me or Sam, so I can only blame you so much." He shrugged a little. He thought the two of them were full of it.

"I would be happy just not talking about this anymore. Or ever again. Just thinking of you as Admiral Pike, the guy I respect and wanted to work under as my captain and all that stuff. I'd rather just think of Winona as the girl my father likes whether or not I want him to and you're with to. The problem is that none of you are happy with that. You want me to forgive her, or understand why she chose to do what she did. I don't. I can't. But... maybe I can learn to deal with her as adults, as a member of my crew. Maybe."

He felt... distant from himself. Vague, like words were coming but he wasn't in his own mouth speaking them. Just.. words. Did he fully mean all of this? He had to think about it.