1."What's got the Doctor in such a foul mood?" whispered an ensign to her companion. Leonard McCoy had come storming off the bridge like a madman, fury all over his face, marching right past them and slamming the button for the turbo lift much harder than necessary.
"I don't know." The young redshirt shrugged. "Maybe he had another row with Commander T'pock. They hate each other." "Maybe the Captain will have to put them on different shifts," speculated the first ensign.
What the ensigns didn't see was the actual argument. Leonard had not wanted T'Pock, who was still recovering from a phaser wound, to go on the away mission. She insisted. "I am perfectly well, Doctor. There is no need to for me to remain behind on a simple exploration mission. This planet appears to have many undocumented life forms and I would be remiss to stay behind for such a minor concern."
Leonard had exploded. "Minor concern, you almost died!" Jim had sided with T'Pock and ticked off Leonard even more. "Stubborn Pointy-Eared Hobgoblin!" he'd muttered and planned on making Jim's next physical much more thorough.
2."Good Grief, Bones, T'Pock, why can't you two bury the hatchet? I can't have two of my senior officers bickering all the time."
Jim Kirk was playing referee between the two yet again. Bones had said something that the first officer had chillingly crushed in her cool logical voice. That caused the doctor to flare up again.
"Dammit, T'Pock! You can't fit everything into a neat little logical box! Sometimes things aren't that simple!" And they were off.
"I don't know why I even try," sighed the Captain after ten minutes of their verbal sparring. "I wish they'd get hit with a clue by four. It's like they enjoy making each other mad."
"Captain, I see no reason to inter a small, primitive, bladed instrument, nor do I wish to be struck by a wooden plank," put in T'Pock, having heard everything he'd said. Jim and Bones face palmed in unison.
3. "Jim," sighed Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, "will you please tell them to shut up and sleep? They're giving me a headache."
The four officers were guests at a banquet thrown in their honor by the people of the planet Zur. They had insisted the honored guests stay the night and had prepared two rooms beside each other. Jim and Bones thought they'd be bunking together, but the aliens wanted Jim with Uhura and T'Pock with Bones. Since Uhura thought it would be best to yield to the hosts wishes, Jim had gone along with it.
The Captain was very nervous about the arrangement, wondering who was likely to get murdered first, him or Bones? He and Uhura had managed to behave like civil adults and settled down on the spacious bed, though he couldn't deny her nearness drove him crazy. T'Pock and Bones, on the other hand, couldn't seem to come to a peaceable conclusion.
"I assure you, Doctor, I am quite comfortable on the floor."
"My mother raised me better than that! You should have the bed, my old bones can take a night on the ground. Besides, you're the superior officer."
"Correct. And as such I order you to sleep on the bed."
"Dammit, hobgoblin!" hissed McCoy rather loudly.
Jim was getting annoyed, now. He raised his voice. "McCoy! T'Pock! Both of you on the bed, now! That's an order! It's big enough for two. And stop the fighting! You're preventing us reasonable people from resting."
"But, Jim..."
"Captain..."
"Not another word," he ordered firmly.
"Yes, Captain," T'Pock answered at last. He couldn't hear what Bones mumbled. Silence fell.
"Thank you, Captain," Uhura muttered sleepily.
"No problem," he answered. "Rank comes in very handy with those two."
4. "That blankety-blank blank green-blooded computer!" Bones was about to burst a blood vessel as he materialized on the transporter pad. "What's wrong, Doctor?", asked Scotty innocently.
"She won't let me do my job!" bellowed McCoy, face beet red. "I was trying to reach Jim to see how damaged he was from the fall down the crevasse, and she yanked me back and sent me back to the ship! Who does she think she is, blocking the CMO from assessing a patient! He could have a spinal injury! If she tries to move him..."
He was interrupted by the arrival of Commander T'Pock carrying an unconscious, battered looking Jim. His face grew thunderous.
"I hope you did not move him before checking for spinal injury, Commander."
His tone was ice cold. Scotty shivered. There was something going on between those two he just couldn't figure out.
"Of course, Doctor," she replied smoothly. "His spine is unaffected. However, he has a broken arm and head injury. I could not allow you to go into the crevasse after him because it was extremely treacherous. You would be no good to him if you were injured as well."
"You don't know I would have been hurt," muttered the doctor.
"I could not risk it," T'Pock said, something like emotion flickering in her eyes, "I could not bear to see either of you injured."
After handing Jim over, She abruptly departed the room. Leonard stared after her, a strange look on his face. Presently, he shook himself and got to work on the captain.
+ 1 Ever since Leonard's recovery from the Xenopolycythemia, things had been tense between him and T'Pock. Not in the old way, though. There was no loud arguing and constant debate going on. In fact, T'Pock hadn't been seen in the same room with him since the final treatment. Jim finally pulled her aside and asked what was going on.
"Nothing is going on Captain. I have been busy with my duties, that is all." She wasn't looking at him. Vulcans can too lie, thought Jim. "That's baloney, T'Pock," he said to her, "You stayed with him night and day during the treatments and now that he's up and around, you hide from him. It's highly illogical."
T'Pock winced hearing her usual words used against her. "You are right, Captain, it is illogical. I had a revelation of sorts while Leonard was sick, but to tell him of it is...difficult. He may be angry or ridicule me."
Jim had a feeling he knew what that revelation was, and was secretly thrilled. He thought Bones had been rather pensive lately. Maybe he missed "the pointy-eared computer" more than Jim thought.
"T'Pock, Bones won't ridicule you. He'll be nice about it, either way. I think he's been wondering what he did to tick you off. Go and talk to him after shift. He won't bite." He hoped he had reassured her.
That evening, T'Pock hesitatingly went to the observation deck where Leonard was observing the stars outside.
"Hey, T'Pock, you done avoiding me?" He asked, seeing her walk up behind him. She flushed.
"I apologize, Leonard. I had some personal discoveries to make and you feature in one. I was unsure how to tell you." Her voice lowered now as she grew more nervous. Leonard was, to say the least surprised.
"Personal revelations? How do I fit in them?"
He asked, curiously, his own heartbeat quickening.
"I find that I have deep affections for you Doctor. When you were ill, I realized that despite our quarrels, I derived great satisfaction from your company."
"Are you saying you're in love with me, T'Pock?"
She nodded nervously, waiting for a reaction. "The captain told me I was being illogical not to tell you."
The doctor smiled widely. "Love makes a lot of us illogical, especially me. I've actually enjoyed our debates for quite a while now. You get even more pretty when you're putting me in my place. Took me a while to admit it to myself, but yeah, I'm in love with you too."
He gave her an inviting yet tender look. "Now come here, T'Pock," he said in a low voice, "I want to see those pretty ears up close."
Blushing, T'Pock went forward into his arms and was introduced to the pleasures of human kissing.
When the nosy Kirk peeked in, he was delighted by what he saw. He soundlessly closed the door and crept away to tell his favorite communications officer that Bones and T'Pock were totally making out, both human AND Vulcan style.
"Finally! Peace on my bridge!", he declared triumphantly. "No more unresolved sexual tension!"
Uhura smiled and then purred, "You sure about that, Captain? I'm feeling some tension myself that needs resolved right now." Kirk grinned and then pounced.