He doesn't quite get them.
Surely, Kirk thinks, the girl he met in that bar in Iowa with the ability to down shots of Jack, would be too much for a Vulcan, even a half-Vulcan. Then he comes to the realization, sometime between seeing them kiss and now, that they are probably perfect for each other, if he thought about it enough. They're both practically geniuses, both take things way too seriously, and he would imagine that they would both rather argue the finer points of xenolinguistics than have a drink. Still, a part of him thinks that Uhura is too much for Spock and though he would never say anything to anyone, since Spock practically admitted that he was in love with Uhura, he doesn't think that Uhura is too much for him. Of course, just thinking that is probably enough to get that Vulcan to start choking him again, and Kirk still has the bruises to prove that Spock is stronger than he looks.
He watches as they enter the mess together, looking perfectly professional. She glances at him on occasion, as if to make sure he's okay, but he just stares straight ahead. It goes against every rule in the book, the geek getting the girl, but he can't help but smile at them when he sees them.
"Captain," Spock greets him as they approach his table.
" G'morning Spock, Uhura. I trust you slept well?" Kirk asks suggestively with a wink, unable to help himself.
He chuckles at Uhura's blush and subsequent huff at his insolence. Spock looks impassive as ever.
"I am sorry, Captain, I am afraid I do not understand the humor in such a personal inquiry."
"The Captain is suggesting that we didn't actually sleep last night, Spock," Uhura tries to explain.
Kirk's grin grows wider as Spock's confusion becomes more evident. "But why would he ask if we slept well if what he was suggesting was that we weren't sleeping at all?"
Uhura sighs. "I'll explain later, Spock. Let's go get some food."
Kirk chuckles to himself as he watches the two leave. For a genius, Spock could be an idiot.
"Were you harassing those two kids again, Jim?" Bones asks him.
"Not more than usual," Kirk replies, going back to the daily reports on his PADD.
"Uhura's gonna kick your ass one day and only the Hippocratic oath is going to get me to heal you," Bones tells him.
"I can handle her."
Bones snorts. "You haven't seen her in a temper. Believe me, I have, and it's not a pretty sight. Last guy who thought he could handle her ended up with internal bleeding, a broken leg, a black eye, and a broken wrist."
Kirk lets out a whistle. "Damn. Feisty. I think I like her even more."
"Remember, Jim, she's Spock's girl," Bones says in a low voice as the two approach the table where the senior officers sit, or what Kirk refers to as "the cool kids table". Kirk watches with interest as they sit down, hoping that they would do something...coupley, but they are the very picture of professionalism. They sit close to each other, but not too close to draw attention. Uhura starts to read a PADD she carried in with her, eating some cereal as she reads.
"I trust there is nothing in the reports to indicate a problem, Captain?" Spock asks, motioning with his hand towards the PADDs lying on the table.
"Nope. Everything's great. Kind of boring, really."
Spock raises his eyebrow. "Life on board a ship is not always full of adventure, Captain. You cannot expect every day to be filled with fighting Klingons and saving damsels in distress."
Kirk grins. "Why not?"
"Starfleet has a peace keeping mission, Captain. It is not in the interest of the Federation to go around fighting without provocation."
"You're no fun, Spock," Kirk says jovially. "I, for one, want some adventure."
Uhura rolls her eyes over her PADD, reading the latest xenolinguistics journal. "Riolozhikaik kren'ath," she mutters.
Spock's eyes widen. "Nyota!"
"What? What'd she say?" Kirk asks.
Spock looks torn, or as torn as a Vulcan could look, Kirk thought. Whatever it was that Uhura called him, it had to have been bad.
"Spock, as Captain of the Enterprise, I command you to tell me what Lieutenant Uhura said."
It was cruel, to be sure, to order him to translate, Kirk thinks, and for a second he contemplates resending his order, but whatever it was that she said got a rise out of Spock and Kirk wants to know what it is.
"I called you an illogical bastard, Captain," Uhura tells him, without any repentance.
Kirk chokes back a laugh. "That was the best you could do in Vulcan? Wow, Lieutenant. I was hoping for something more colorful."
"Captain, on Vulcan," Spock pauses, before continuing. "For Vulcans, being called illogical and having their legitimacy questioned is highly insulting."
Kirk feels low, reminding Spock that he is without a home, that Vulcan as it was, as he remembers it, does not exist. Part of him wants to end the conversation right then and there, but Uhura isn't about to let it go.
"With all due respect, Captain, we have just endured the Battle of Vulcan, watched a founding member of the Federation be annihilated into a black hole," she looks at Spock before continuing. He gives her a small nod before she does, as if he is allow her to. "And you want more? The Federation is now experiencing problems with Romulus and it is more than likely we will enter a war with the Romulans. Thousands of our classmates at the Academy are gone, Captain. And you want more?"
Uhura blinks and it is as if she has suddenly remembered herself. "My apologies, Captain. That was out of line."
Kirk nods, acknowledging her apology. The battle was has hard on everyone, including him.
"I understand, Lieutenant." He clears his throat, hoping to clear the blanket of awkward silence that had befallen the table. "I'll see everyone on the bridge in thirty minutes."
He walks away to the bridge, listening to Uhura and Spock converse in rapid Vulcan as he departs the mess. He had hoped that the couple of weeks of leave they had had would have been enough to let them recoup, to start the healing process, but he would be wise to remember that it wasn't just his First Officer who had lost something. They had all lost a roommate, or a study group, or a friend. They had a lot ahead of them, a lot of healing, a lot of grieving, a lot of repercussions still being discussed in Federation Summits.
He nods to various officers as they stand at attention, noticing his presence on the bridge. He has too much on his mind, too much to mull over to really pay attention to the low murmurs of the crew, the faint hum of the machines. He slumps in his captain's chair. The first time he sat in it he had felt such a thrill, such a sense of purpose. He still felt that way, still felt that he was meant to be here, meant to be Captain James T. Kirk.
Now he just had to figure out how to do it.
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Humans never fail to surprise him.
Her utterance of such an uncouth phrase, the strongest epithet one can use in Vulcan, shocks him. He assumed that she would be completely fluent in Vulcan and yes, that would logically mean knowing the less than courteous words in his language. But to hear her say them, and to the Captain...
He wishes he had the ability to do so. To tell Kirk that he is being an idiot. He always wished he had that ability, from wishing to vocalize his hate toward the bullies at school, to telling the Vulcan Science Academy Panel they were a bunch of snobbish fools, to giving the more unruly students in his classes a piece of his mind. He was never able to. He speaks a variety of languages, a startling number of dialects with fluency, but cannot vocalize the words he wishes to say the most. It is frustrating, but he appreciates the irony, finding amusement in such a predicament.
Kirk shows them compassion. He acknowledges Nyota's apology, understands her motivations, and moves on. It is why he is Captain and Spock is not. He comprehends, but what's more, he understands and accepts. He sees past the insubordination to the hurt and anger and helplessness that they all feel. Spock may be able to speak a gaggle of languages, be able to do complex calculations in his head, but he will never be a man like James Kirk.
It angers him.
This is not like the anger for Nero, not nearly as consuming. No, this is a slow burning fire, Spock realizes. He has to be careful. Kirk is to be his friend and has the capacity to be so, Spock sees. But he is angered. He is angered by his own limitations, by Kirk's potential for greatness, by Kirk's humanity and the glaring fact that it is something Spock lacks.
Nyota is apologizing to him in Vulcan, telling him that she is not sure what came over her. Her words are tripping over themselves as she tries to reach him, as she tries to absolve her insubordination.
"It is alright, Nyota," he tells her quietly. "We will speak of it later."
She thinks he is angry with her, he can see that. She bites her lip and looks at him like she is frightened. He wishes that he could reach out to her, tell her that the anger he feels, that she can see, is not directed at her. He wishes that he could make her pain go away, that he could be strong for her, just as she is strong for him. He should protect her. He should be able to make everything that gives pain go away. He cannot; instead he tells her that they "will speak of it later" and he sounds just like his father. This situation logically calls for comfort and instead he offers her ice.
FYI-I made Uhura, Spock, Bones, etc. senior officers. I'm not sure if they would be-I think they were in TOS but since JJ Abrams has so cleverly liberated himself from canon, I wasn't sure if that was still the case, or if I could just make it writer's prerogative. And if I didn't have a Vulcan dictionary bookmarked on Firefox I'd probably die. Just saying.
I think that's it...I hope I was able to clear up the confusion and add some necessary detail and above all, I hope you enjoyed it.
