How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Quote #7
SULU: Sir, you did it.
KIRK: I did nothing... except get caught with my britches down. I must be getting senile. Mister Saavik, you go right on quoting regulations!
There's a little humility in Kirk after all: the old Kirk (which is, ironically, the young Kirk) would never have admitted to an error like that.
Quote #8
KIRK: I did what you wanted. I stayed away. Why didn't you tell him?
CAROL: How can you ask me that? Were we together? Were we going to be? You had your world and I had mine. And I wanted him in mine, not chasing through the universe with his father. Actually, he's a lot like you. In many ways.
This is one of the most important pieces of dialogue in the film: Kirk has to face the consequences of the decisions he's made. That, more than the possibility of growing old, is what's eating at Kirk: the notion that he missed some cool things. Like a kid. He's got a kid.
And the kid's been doing some really cool stuff, and he missed it, because he was out spooning with space ladeez.
Quote #9
KIRK: There's a man out there I haven't seen in fifteen years who's trying to kill me. You show me a son and he'd be happy to help him. My son…my life that could have been…and wasn't. And what am I feeling? Old. Worn out.
CAROL: Let me show you something that'll make you feel young as when the world was new.
And by admitting he feels old, Kirk takes the first real steps toward not feeling so old any more. It sounds like pop therapy, but it's also an important stop on the Hero's Journey: the part where you confront and acknowledge your deepest fear in order to defeat it.