This is another Scrubs inspired Star Trek fic. Not a very good title, I know. It was originally meant to be a prequel to another fic that would have been posted first, but it became a three-shot and I had to rearrange some stuff.
Jim Says I Love You (Part 1)
James T. Kirk had quite a dilemma on his hands. He and Spock had had their first big tiff. Spock had been nagging him in his indirect Vulcan way about his lunch by listing all of its unhealthy qualities, in the mess hall, in plain view of all present. Really, he got enough of that from McCoy. He hadn't reacted well at all. He'd slammed down his fork and strode out of the mess hall. He'd left his meal unfinished and everything. That alone was a big red flag to anyone who knew him well. Fortunately, his shift was done.
He was now pacing back and forth in his quarters, trying to figure out why he'd reacted so badly to Spock's behavior. Spock did that sort of thing all the time, lecturing him on the bridge in front of the crewman, pointing out any little slip in regulation, questioning his lifestyle choices. Jim always just kind of went with it. He hadn't wanted to mess things up after working so hard for the relationship.
He'd been drawn to the Vulcan almost immediately. Of course, that had gone right to the back of his mind after the accusation of cheating, the nightmare that followed it, and the kiss he'd seen between Spock and Uhura. They'd broken up though, only a month into their five year mission. Jim had already been working on a friendship, wanting to get as close to what their counterparts had as he could. He'd waited an additional five months, to make sure Spock had plenty of time to change his mind about Uhura, or in case he might be interested in anyone else, and just to make sure that their friendship would remain strong. Then, for three months after that, he'd slowly let his demeanor toward Spock change.
It had begun with lingering eye contact, an 'accidental' brush of the hands while playing chess, and worked its way up to Jim asking him out on a real date. Several times. Spock had been hesitant at first. Their ranks and all the rumors that had gone around the academy about Jim were some major contributing factors. Jim really couldn't blame him. But nothing could have prepared him for the elation he felt when Spock said yes.
It had been four months since then, and things had progressed quickly, at least by Spock's standards. Only one month in, they'd started having sex. It had been fantastic, and it still was. It wasn't sex that was the problem. Something was just different now. Jim couldn't really put his finger on it, but he knew he needed to figure it out. He decided to head down to Sickbay. Bones wasn't the ideal guy for advice when it came to his relationship with Spock, but he was a good friend, and would at least listen.
Spock was worried. Not that he'd ever admit it. He was in his quarters trying (and failing) to meditate. His mind kept drifting back to his relationship with Jim. They had been romantically (and sexually) involved for months now, but in some ways, it seemed like Jim's enthusiasm was waning.
His attitude had changed in recent days. His demeanor had become more casual, like it had been when they were simply friends. He was no longer trying to impress Spock with masculine displays or going out of his way to arrange illogical human gestures of romance. And he seemed to become very agitated when Spock attempted to offer him advice about matters at hand. If he knew Jim half as well as he though, he was in Sickbay, 'venting' to Doctor McCoy. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about that.
While McCoy was a loyal friend and exceptional physician, he always made it clear that he wasn't sold on the idea of the relationship Spock had with his best friend. Especially with the bridge incident during the Narada crisis, which he had been a witness to.
Was it possible that Jim had grown tired of their relationship? He could only wait and see what time would tell.
Leonard McCoy was concerned. He and Jim had been discussing his relationship with Spock for about an hour. Jim was lying on the couch he had in his office for when he pulled an all nighter, holding the bag of food he'd left unfinished in the cafeteria. He'd collected it, knowing that Jim would beat himself up over it for at least a week if it had just gone to the recycler. He looked at Jim, who was just staring at the ceiling in contemplation. He sighed.
"I think you know what you need to do, Jim." Jim sat up and looked at him.
"I can't believe it's really come to this." He said quietly. Then, he stood up and headed out the door. In a way, McCoy agreed with him. He just hoped it didn't come back to hurt them all.
Spock decided that as long as he couldn't meditate, he was going to do something productive. He headed to the science labs to work on a project, when he heard Jim call out to him.
"Spock!" He stopped and turned to see Jim hurrying toward him. "Can we go somewhere? I think we need to talk." Spock froze a little inside. This was it. It had to be; those words were disturbingly similar to the ones that had led to the end of his relationship with Nyota. Suddenly he felt the urge to be anywhere else.
"Indeed?" He managed, coolly. I was under the impression that you required some distance between us." Jim's eyes widened a bit. As did those of a few crewman walking by. Fortunately, they had enough sense to keep walking.
"Why would you think that?" He asked, trying not to sound like he was hurt. Spock raised his eyebrow.
"Your juvenile behavior in the mess hall suggested it quite strongly." Jim shook his head angrily.
"See, that's the problem. You nag me about what I eat and how I act. You question all my decisions. You correct every little mistake I make involving anything from regulations to my grammar, and you do of these things in front of anyone who happens to be present. You're driving me crazy. I-" He stopped and shook his head. "Forget it, I can't do this now." He turned and began to walk away. Spock had had enough. His voice was cold as he called after Jim.
"If there is something you wish to say to me, I suggest you say it so that I may move on and use my time more productively." Translation: Your silly human crap is a waste of my time, so just get on with it so I can do something worthwhile. Jim froze in mid step.
"Okay then." He muttered to himself. He turned back around to face Spock, and looked him right in the eye. Spock braced himself internally. Jim took a deep breath. "I love you." Only someone used to reading Vulcans would be able to tell from Spock's minute change of expression that he was totally thrown by what Jim said. "You annoy me more than anyone I've ever met in my life," Jim continued, his voice softening, "and I want to spend every single aggravating minute with you." Spock's eyes had gone unbelievably soft and warm. He reached out and took one of Jim's hands in his own.
"Taluhk nash-veh k'dular." He murmured. Jim felt warm inside. He didn't know much Vulcan, but even if he didn't know the exact translation of the words, he knew the feeling behind them. He gently tugged at Spock's hand, then let go, knowing that it really wasn't appropriate for them to touch like that in front of the crew. Spock got the message and followed, as Jim knew he would. They headed back to their quarters. The lab could wait.
Leonard McCoy shook his head as he watched the Captain and First Officer in the mess hall. It had been a few days since Jim had come to him for advice on what to do with his relationship. That one still made him chuckle a bit. Jim had never been with someone long enough in the past for it to count as a real relationship.
He'd been confused about why things were settling down with Spock, why he wasn't as interested in impressing him as he was when they first started dating. The sad fact of the matter was that Jim worked hard to impress people to keep them interested so they wouldn't leave him. By letting things settle down between them, Jim was finally accepting that Spock wasn't going to lose interest and leave him. Spock's well-meaning criticism however, had caused him to momentarily doubt that.
As much as Spock irritated him, he was pretty sure that Spock was high up there on the list of best things that ever happened to Jim. He wasn't crazy about the thought of them together, but he had a feeling that they weren't going to be breaking up anytime soon.
It was probably one of the closest things he'd ever seen to a miracle, really. If James 'Tomcat' Kirk could find someone to fall in love and maybe even live happily ever after with, anyone could. As he was thinking this, his head nurse, Christine Chapel walked into the mess. He fought the urge to cringe. She'd been dropping hints that she'd like him to ask her out for a while. Maybe it was just a side effect of the two commanding officers making goo-goo eyes at each other, but today he didn't quite feel the urge to flee the room to avoid her. Instead, when her eyes met his, he waved her over to join him.
As she visibly lit up at his invitation, he wondered if he was getting in too deep. His divorce had taught him plenty about how much commitment could hurt. But then he glanced back over at his friends. If the two other most emotionally repressed men on the ship could get over themselves, he might as well give it a shot too.
Like I said, this was originally meant to be a prequel chapter to come after another, but I ended up posting this first. The part with McCoy and Chapel was a last minute addition.
The sequel chapter will be up in about a week. Maybe sooner if I get some compelling reviews!
