A/N: My brilliance does not begin to compare with that of Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, or JJ Abrams, the re-inventor. This is their world, and I play only with (vague) permission. I will clean up everything once I'm done, I promise.

Jim stood outside the door, balancing the tray on one hand with the other hovering near the door signal. He pressed after a long moment and stood back.

The door slid open and a pair of deep brown eyes swept over him once before fastening on the tray and covered bowl.

"May I help you, Captain?"

Jim shrugged. "I … uh … brought you something." He looked over the Vulcan's shoulder. "Can I come in?"

Spock stepped aside and Jim entered the tidy compartment, placing the tray on the desk. The two men faced off for a while before Jim leaned back against the bulkhead and gestured to the desk.

"It's, uh, not precisely homemade but I tweaked it a little. You said you remember it being saltier than the replicator makes it, so …."

Spock uncovered the bowl. "You brought me Plomeek soup. For what purpose, Captain?"

Jim looked down. "It's … uh, it's been a year. It was a year this afternoon, actually. I didn't put it in the morning announcements because I think it's too fresh to just blurt out on the intercom but I was thinking of you and I'm really sorry and I wanted you to know you're not alone. Not today. Not ever."

"Is this the reason you took me off duty today? You believe me to be unable to complete my duties because of the anniversary?" Spock lowered his eyebrows in frustration.

Jim waved his hands in front of himself. "No, Spock, I know you're perfectly capable, but I thought it might be nice to have a day off to reflect. It's only been a year, and they say the first anniversary is always the roughest. I was trying to be nice," Jim finished lamely.

Spock covered the bowl again. "You did not remove yourself from duty on the anniversary of the Kelvin crisis. Indeed, you told me when I suggested it that work was a release for you and that you preferred to be involved with the crew on the date in question, not 'locked up in your room moping', to use your words." He put his hands behind his back.

"I wasn't even born yet when the Kelvin crisis started. Why should it affect me? Sure, it's my birthday, but nobody else takes their birthday off. Okay, I get it. You're a Superman and you don't need time off to grieve on the day your planet was demolished and your mother was killed before your very eyes." Jim crossed his arms over his chest. Then he backed up suddenly as Spock turned rapidly and brought a hand up involuntarily.

"You do not dictate how I remember my people or my mother. You do not dictate my responses to this day. You are my superior officer and I will obey your orders but I will not be lectured to about emotional responses to dates of particular significance." Spock nodded to the door. "You may leave."

Jim turned around before halting and reversing his motion. "Spock, wait, I'm sorry, please let me stay."

Spock tilted his head. "What else is there to say, Captain?"

Jim played with his hands. "I thought about taking you up on your offer, to take my birthday off and spend a day thinking about my dad and what my life would have been like if he hadn't died. But I'm so alone already, Spock. I didn't want to remind myself on a day most people are surrounded by their friends and family that I'm completely alone and probably always will be."

"I know I'm alone," Jim sighed. "I can't change that. But if I can be there for you so in some way you're not alone then I'm going to do it. Maybe taking you off-duty wasn't the best way to go about it but I'm standing here, in your room with a bowl of Plomeek soup, asking nicely. Will you let me be here for you? Will you open up for just a split second and let me really be your friend? Just for today?"

Spock looked to the side and for a long while there was nothing but the sound of the air system circulating their breath. Then he shook his head. "You are not alone, Jim." Jim's eyes opened a little wider at the sound of his First Officer saying his given name. "I am certain, should you ask them to be, you would find Mr. Sulu, Mr. Chekov, Mr. Scott, and Doctor McCoy at your side. If you asked nicely, perhaps Lieutenant Uhura would assist you as well."

Jim chuckled softly. "Yeah, Uhura would love to help. She'd help me with a right hook to the jaw and a stiletto to the gonads. Unless you were to ask – "

"I would ask," Spock broke in softly. "And I would assist you as well. Perhaps I do not show it as well as others, but I do think of you as my friend."

There was a long moment of awkward silence before a flushed Jim turned away. "Yeah, well I guess I'd better let you eat in peace. Um, I tried to find sea salt like you mentioned but I couldn't so I just used regular salt. So … uh … I'll just be going."

"Jim?"

Jim turned around again, willing the heat out of his face. "Yeah?"

"You left me a card in our adjoining bathroom three weeks ago. May I ask why?" Spock put his hands behind his back.

"Uh. Um. I thought it was … well, I sort of hacked Bones' records a while back and it said that was your birthday."

Spock frowned. "Is it your habit to commit computer crimes to achieve your intentions, regardless of the outcome?"

"What do you mean?" Jim replied, hurt.

"This is the second time in our association that you have manipulated an electronic medium to achieve a goal. You are aware of the first instance, since it is the basis for your bragging rights on the Enterprise. Now you have violated the doctor's files, and for what reason? To leave me a token on the day of my birth?" Spock squeezed his hands behind his back.

"Well you weren't about to tell me. I asked Uhura and she flipped me off, so how else was I supposed to find out?" Jim demonstrated the other officer's gesture as he spoke.

Spock closed his eyes briefly. "Lieutenant Uhura did not have the required information. She could not have assisted you even if she desired to do so."

"Wait, your girlfriend doesn't know when your birthday is?" Jim was amazed.

Spock tilted his head. "I am not in the habit of spreading my personal information to others. I am not as open as you."

"Okay, point taken. I didn't tell anyone about your birthday, Spock. I just really wanted to do something special for you. Please don't hold it against me. I'm trying, Spock. I may be striking out at every turn but at least I'm putting forth the effort." Jim stepped into the door's range and paused for a second. "Your soup is getting cold." He left quickly.