It is a wondrous thing, almost magical, to possess, even for a short time, something that belongs to someone else—especially if it is something that you yourself desire. The first time Spock discovered this—or rather, the first time he acknowledged the discovery—it was shortly after he had been appointed the guardian of a young Vulcan female named Saavik.

He returned to his quarters one day after shift to find them completely empty but for his young charge's albino pet sehlat, I-Molina. Panicking slightly (though of course he didn't show it), Spock quickly ordered the computer to tell him where Saavik was. Realizing that she was on the observation deck with his elder self and therefore in no danger, he relaxed somewhat and allowed himself to actually enjoy the company of the snow-white sehlat for several minutes before his chess game with the captain.

These instances became more and more common as his elder self continued to spend much time on the ship, Saavik often in his company, organizing the transport of passengers and supplies from Spacedock-9 to the New Vulcan colony, and Spock grew quite used to having I-Molina greet him at the end of his shift.

One day, when the captain's quarters were under repair, Jim suggested to Spock that they have their usual chess game in his quarters. Spock agreed, and the two of them left for his quarters immediately at the end of shift.

When they arrived, Spock was quite surprised to find Saavik and his elder self sitting inside talking. Jim smiled. "Hey, Selek," he said happily to the ambassador, using the name that Spock's elder self had chosen to go by. His eyes fell on Saavik. "Who's your little friend?"

The ambassador caught Spock's eye briefly before responding. "This is Saavik," he replied softly, then turned back to the girl. "Saavik, I believe the captain and commander are here for their nightly chess game, and if I am not mistaken, they prefer to play alone. We shall take our conversation to another place."

Saavik nodded. "I shall be back before it is late, Father," she said to Spock. He raised an eyebrow. "I shall wait for you, as always, Saavik."

She nodded again, then turned to Jim. "Good bye, Captain. I hope to see you again soon." Then she and Selek were gone. Jim turned to Spock. "Did she just call you father?" he asked incredulously.

Spock almost smiled. "Yes," he replied.

"Why? No way you're old enough to be her father."

"You are correct," Spock said. "I am not her father. Both of her parents were killed in the destruction of Vulcan, and, as she plans to enter Starfleet, the remaining members of the High Council appointed me as her guardian. She calls me father…" He hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether he should continue. "Because I remind her of her own father when he was younger," he finished after a moment.

Jim frowned. "How come you never told me?" he asked indignantly. "And how come I never see her around the ship?"

Spock raised one eyebrow. "I submitted paperwork to inform you of her arrival on the Enterprise," he replied. "I did not think you would require further notification."

Jim blushed. "Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot about that. But seriously, how come I never see her around? Does she stay locked up in here or something?"

Spock shook his head, amused. "No. she spends most of her time with the ambassador. He educates her some." He gestured toward his table. "Shall we play our game?" Nearly half an hour later, while Spock was attempting to understand how the move Jim had just made could not be against the rules, Jim brought up Saavik again. "How old is she?" he asked out of nowhere.

Spock looked up from the board. "Of whom do you speak?" he asked, confused.

"Saavik," Jim said. "How old is she?"

Spock looked back down at the chessboard. "She is sixteen Terran years of age." He glanced back up at Jim. "Why do you ask?"

Jim shrugged. "Just wondering," he replied, then leaned back in his chair, watching Spock. "You're not gonna figure it out. Just forget it."

Spock did not look up. "I am afraid that is not in my nature, Captain. I must understand."

Jim rolled his eyes. "For the last time, Spock, it's—what the hell is that?" he exclaimed, jumping backwards. Spock looked up in alarm and went over to see what had scared Jim. Looking underneath the table, he saw that I-Molina, who had apparently been sleeping under the table, had awoken and brushed against the captain's leg, causing him to look down and directly at her six inch long fangs. Amused, Spock leaned down and picked her up, bringing her over to the captain. "Captain," he said quietly, "may I introduce to you Saavik's pet sehlat, I-Molina?"

Jim frowned. "I thought those were illegal on starships. And I thought they were brown."

Spock shook his head. "It is illegal for a Starfleet officer in possession of a sehlat to keep it on a starship," he explained. "However, any passengers on a ship are allowed to keep their pets onboard for the duration of their stay, hence the allowance of the sehlat breeder we are transporting at this time. As for her coloring," he went on, "albinos exist in nearly every species, Captain. I would think you would be aware of that."

Jim nodded, still staring at the sehlat. "Of course," he replied. "You said her name's I-Molina?"

"Yes. The word molina means vanilla in your Terran language Spanish."

The captain nodded again, then abruptly looked up at Spock. "Didn't you say once that you had a sehlat?"

Spock nodded. "I did, a male one named I-Chaya. He too died in the destruction of Vulcan." Jim looked puzzled, so he elaborated. "Sehlats are very loyal to their masters. If their master should ever leave them for an extended length of time, the sehlat will refuse to leave the last place that they were with their master. Therefore, my parents could not bring I-Chaya to the katric arch with them, and there was no time for me to retrieve him myself." He looked down, vaguely aware as he did so of his fingers knotted tightly in I-Molina's fur.

Jim walked over to him and put his hand on Spock's, causing him to look up in surprise. "You really miss him, huh?" Jim said softly.

"Indeed," Spock replied in an equally quiet voice. "However, there are things—people—I have now that I would miss more than I-Chaya if I lost them." Like you. Spock immediately felt annoyed with himself for the thought, but he could hardly take it back, or deny its truthfulness. At least Jim was not a touch telepath as he was.

Jim half-smiled. "I know what you mean." He glanced at the clock and sighed. "I should go," he said, his voice slightly reluctant. "I have to get some paperwork done before I go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."

Spock nodded. "I too should go," he replied. "I must bring I-Molina back to her mistress."

The captain smiled for real this time. "Yeah, you should do that. Tell Saavik to hang out on the bridge some time—I think she'd like it."

Spock raised one eyebrow, and Jim laughed. "Don't look at me like that. If you can manage to enjoy being on the bridge with me, I'm sure she certainly can."

Spock nodded. "I shall inform her."

"Good. See you tomorrow."

Spock inclined his head slightly to the captain as he left, and he couldn't help watching him as he walked down the hall, sighing a little. As much as he loved spending time with Jim, on days like this it just made him want him more.

He turned back to his room, wishing, not for the first time, that the captain did not belong to Dr. McCoy. He sighed, just once. Truly it was a magical thing, but sometimes its loss was almost too much for Spock to handle.

The next day Spock returned to his quarters alone at the end of shift. He and the captain were having their chess game in his quarters again, but Jim had had something to do first, and so Spock had continued without him.

Spock set up the chess board and waited rather impatiently for Jim. This was the only alone time they were able to have together, and Jim's lateness cut into that already short amount of time. It was irritating.

The chime on his door suddenly sounded, and Spock walked quickly to let the captain in, but stopped short at the sight that met him when he opened the door.

He had been expecting to see Jim, but he most certainly had not expected to see Jim holding a squirming brown of fluff in his arms.

Before he could speak, Jim said, "Before you ask, yes, this is a sehlat. Her name's I-Liana. And she's freakin' heavy too, so could you please just let me in and you can interrogate me in a sec."

Spock stepped aside so that the captain could come inside, taking the baby sehlat out of Jim's arms as he did so. She quickly looped her arms around his neck, nuzzling her head against his chest, and closed her eyes with a noise much like a purr. Spock watched her for a moment before turning back to the captain. "Why have you brought a baby sehlat to my quarters?" he asked, his tone a little suspicious. Jim did not miss that. He smiled slightly.

"Calm down, Spock," he replied. "It's a gift." He paused. "She seems to like you better than me."

"That," Spock said, "is because sehlats have a very high body temperature, almost as high as a Vulcan's. Humans' lower body temperatures are uncomfortable for them." He looked up at Jim again. "You say she is a gift. Why, then, have you brought me a gift that I cannot keep?" He couldn't help glaring at the captain a little. He already felt attached to I-Liana, and he did not want to have to let her go.

Jim waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about that," he said nonchalantly. "We can drop her off at my mom's at the end of shore leave. I already checked, she's cool with that."

Spock tilted his head a little in confusion. "I was not aware that we had a shore leave scheduled any time soon."

Jim laughed. "That would be because I only just cleared it with Starfleet Command last night. Starting two days from now, we are going to have a month-long shore leave." He glanced up at Spock, grinning. "That ought to be enough time to cover her training, right?"

Spock didn't answer. He couldn't. After several moments, he spoke. "I…do not know what to say."

Jim smiled. "You don't have to say anything. It was the least I could do. Besides, you'd have done the same for me."

Spock nodded. He would have.

There was a long silence, and then Jim spoke. "Spock, I have to tell you something."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" he asked.

Jim hesitated. "I…think I'm in love with you," he said finally.

Spock just stared at him for a moment, not knowing how to respond. How could that be possible?

Jim, unfortunately, seemed to misinterpret his silence. "I mean, I get it if you don't—"

Spock interrupted him. "Jim," he said softly. Jim looked up tentatively. "You must not think that I do not feel the same way for you. I am merely surprised. I was under the impression that you and Dr. McCoy were together."

Jim smiled. "We're not," he replied. He looked away. "We let people think we are, though. I don't—didn't—want to get involved with one of my crew." He looked back at Spock, the intensity in his blue eyes startling. "I really want you, though. I can't help it."

He walked slowly over to Spock, who met him halfway. When they were so close they were practically breathing the same air, Jim spoke again, his voice a whisper. "Say you want me too."

"Of course I do," Spock replied, his voice low. He hesitated. "May I kiss you?"

Jim laughed, a kind of breathless chuckle that reassured Spock that he wasn't the only one so affected by their closeness—his own usually perfectly ordered thoughts were running lazy circles around his head, and his heart was beating far too fast. "God, yes."

Spock obligingly leaned down and pressed his lips to his captain's, light at first, but deepening quickly. They stayed like that for several minutes, and Spock had all but forgotten about I-Liana when he heard a low growl. He pulled away reluctantly and looked down to see the sehlat staring at Jim in irritation, her arms locked around Spock's neck almost possessively.

Jim, watching her, laughed again. "I think I-Liana wants to keep you all to herself," he said. He slipped his arms lightly around Spock's waist, and Spock leaned into him, allowing himself to be pulled closer to his captain. He raised one eyebrow.

"Perhaps," he replied. "Fortunately for us, however, I-Liana will not be on the ship very often. Jim grinned, and with that Spock leaned down and kissed his t'hy'la deeply again.

I-Liana would just have to learn to deal with it.