1. Do You Want To Talk About It?
"Personal Log: stardate—"
*whoosh*
*slam*
"Captain, I apologize—I was not expecting you be standing directly in front of that door."
*sigh*
"That's alright Spock…"
"Is something troubling you, Captain?"
*shrug*
"Just…a rough day. And 'Jim' will suffice here, Spock—we're off duty."
*blink*
"Indeed, Jim. In that case, would you like to…what is it you Humans do?…'talk about it'?"
*smile*
"Why, Mr. Spock, I never would have pegged you as a psychiatrist."
"Hardly, Jim—I am merely attempting to execute a gesture of friendship. I can understand if you would rather not—"
*giggle*
"Is something funny, Captain?"
"It's 'Jim.' And no, nothing's funny."
*pause*
"I mean…yes, I would like to talk about it."
"Excellent; I shall prepare the chess board?"
*whoosh*
2. A Hand to Hold
It had been a long day.
An agonizing, unbearable, distressing day.
And it wasn't over yet.
He had lost four crewmen that morning.
And six more that afternoon.
Same old story: away mission gone wrong,
Disastrous circumstances,
Crippling attacks from unnamed enemies.
The ship was hurting.
Not "hurting," but hurting.
A broken record,
Playing the song you hate.
And the day wasn't over yet.
They say that a captain should be brave,
And courageous, and noble,
And strong.
But some days,
Strength isn't enough.
It had been a long day.
A never-ending, grueling, heartbreaking day.
Regardless of courage, or bravery, or merit,
Or strength,
Sometimes, all he needs
Is a hand to hold.
3. Fireflies
"Fireflies? A strange name to give to a creature that you tend to view favorably."
"It's just a name, Spock," Jim smiled.
A cloud of blinking fireflies drifted silently over their heads. The empty field was filled with thousands of them; scattered like stars.
"And also quite illogical, seeing as their mechanism of bioluminescence does not incorporate any form of combustion…"
Save for the moon, the insects were the only source of light.
One of the little bugs swooped down to their eye level and illuminated the space between them. For all his skepticism, the Vulcan couldn't help but stare at the creature. No such beings existed on Vulcan, and they were truly a sight to behold. And for a split second, he unknowingly allowed a look of awe to creep over his visage.
The light blinked off for a moment, and they were surrounded in almost complete darkness. When the glimmer returned, Jim was grinning wickedly. "Interesting creatures, aren't they?"
Spock realized that Jim had noticed his little slip-up. He quickly regained composure. "Indeed. They are…fascinating."
And the fireflies floated above them, twinkling in time with the stars.