FEBRUARY, 2268

RIVERSIDE, IOWA

The woman who called herself Grandma didn't act like herself. Not since Peter returned the previous September. She was different, now. She didn't hit. Didn't look like a person who ever would. She seemed to regard a great many of the chores as being her sole responsibility. Peter Kirk couldn't possibly know it at that time, but his real grandmother had come back from the dead and banished the jealous, petty creature that would have had Tolkien's Gollum clicking its tongue in pity.

And she did things for him, just for him. She worked to erase from his mind her clutching, controlling twin sister, Brianna. The very worst times would begin, very soon. So Winona Kirk needed to act quickly.

"Peter, watch the program on this file. Its nearly three hundred years old. You'll like it."

A man came on the screen, and he looked like he just didn't know how to yell, or to use his hands for any purpose other than to pick up the exquisite miniatures that were everywhere in his small home. After changing two articles of clothing, he smiled and sang a gentle song, a simple imploring that made the 12-year old start to tear up. He also spoke, and these were words his young spirit needed to hear, rather desperately.

*We grownups are supposed to be here for you, and though we don't always succeed, we're always supposed to try. Children are wonderful people, and we love you. We want to do things for you, and make the world as perfect as it can be, only for you. You shouldn't ever have to wonder. Even when it doesn't seem like it, this world is full of good people, who love and cherish their children. And there's something else you should know. You are always welcome here.*

His grandmother came in and comforted a Peter who had broken into open tears. The words seemed like they didn't belong, yet he rejected not a single one. And he would always remember the kind gentle man with the sweater.

A LITTLE MORE THAN ONE YEAR LATER

USS ENTERPRISE

Captain Kirk, still in mourning that would eventually be undone, helped a girl he hadn't expected to adopt learn the basics of civilized society. The computer had pulled up a random vid recommendation. They sat and watched it, and she actually began to smile.

"Uncle Jim?"

"Yes, Saavik?"

"May I someday go to the magic place where the Trolley goes?"

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Dedicated to the memory of Fred Rogers. Without you, sir, I honestly cannot think of what my childhood would have been like. God Bless You and Keep You, Mister Rogers. The Neighborhood will not forget you.