Spock accompanies his parents to an Earth resort where Jim Kirk is a dancer. Dirty Dancing redux.

In a timeline where the Vulcans never allowed Earth freedom from their oversight, Jim Kirk doesn't fit in. All he needs to get away is a fast ship and a crew as crazy as he is; luckily, some things are universal constants. Notes: An AU expanded and continued from a shorter fic, which has now become the prologue. Fic and part titles variously come from songs by the Tragically Hip, Iggy Pop and Bob Dylan and a quote you may recognize from TOS.

“Commander Spock, we have located your son,” the Vulcan lady on the screen says, which would be great, except Jim can tell by the look on Spock’s face that he’s never heard of this kid before in his life. “If it is expedient, the child will be sent to join you on the Enterprise within the week.”

You know of those stories where the transporter sends Kirk or Spock careening into another universe where everything is weird? Well, this isn't one of those. No, this is the story where the transporter makes everything weird in its own universe. Though it skipped the gender-change trope. No, this is a new one. Add on sex, political negotiations, angry admirals, and an unexpected marriage and things get quite complicated.

Seven people and events that shaped James Kirk into the captain he was meant to be, and one that made no difference at all.

As a half-Vulcan, Spock never expects to imprint. It's rare enough for a full-blooded Vulcan to imprint, so why should he have it easy? But he does imprint – on the delinquent who sabotaged his Kobayashi Maru. And everything he once knew is about to change.

Between what was and what will be stands James Tiberius Kirk, in all his fractured patchwork glory. Because saving the Federation was only the beginning.