Jim had barely made it back to his quarters after alpha shift, when he heard the familiar sound of his communicator crackling, and soon after that a voice.

"McCoy to Kirk."

"Kirk here." he answered, rubbing his face. "What's up, Bones?"

"The Vulcan. Spock. He woke up."

"What? Its been six hours, you said he might be out for days." Jim sat down on his bed, rubbing his face with one hand, holding the other securely in his other.

"Well, we don't really know a lot about Vulcan's Jim. They're stiff bastards. They don't tell anyone anything about themselves that they don't really have to. Maybe his metabolism burns off the sedative faster, or maybe it just doesn't work on him that well all together. Fact is that I need you down here. He won't let me change the bandages around his wrists. Keeps growling at me."

"I'll be there in five, Bones. Kirk out." The Terran huffed. He was tired. All he wanted to do was lay down in his bed and get some sleep. But he couldn't just lay down when Spock needed him. So, after splashing some cold water in his face, he made his way to Sickbay.

Bones was waiting for him, keeping a safe distance from the Vulcan's bed, bandages in his hands, an annoyed look on his face.

"Jim, if I'm going to have to call you down for everything you might just want to stay here." he mumbled, recieving no answer. What was he supposed to say? That Bones would have to deal with it? That Spock would have to figure out a way to do things without him around?

The Vulcan was looking at him once again, those deep, deep eyes staring into his own. Now that he was somewhat clean, he was even more beautiful. Jim had to swallow, plastering a smile onto his lips, hoping to mask his thoughts.

"Hey there, Spock. How are you?" he asked. Of course, the Vulcan didn't answer, but Jim still didn't expect him to. He wasn't going to force him into it. "Doctor McCoy here wants to switch those bandages, could you let him do that?"

The Vulcan nodded, lifting his hands up. Jim sighed in relief, waving the doctor closer. The Vulcan didn't turn his gaze away, making Jim not only wonder why he was the one the Vulcan chose, but also making him feel slightly uncomfortable. Those eyes were so intense. So warm. Was this what Vulcan's were really like? How had the Klingon's broken him? Did he really want to know?

Jim cleared his throat. "Would you like some water Spock?" He didn't wait for an answer. He needed to get away from those relentless eyes, walking over to a sink, grabbing a cup and filling it. When he returned, Bones had already exchanged the bandages, and Jim could hand Spock the cup. The other male nodded, possibly a thank you, and took a few slow sips. Jim waited until he had emptied the cup.

"Okay Spock. I'm going to go lay down and get some sleep. And you should get some more sleep too." He looked at the Vulcan, not getting a reaction at all. But surely the Vulcan had understood him?

"Okay, Spock.. I'll see you when I wake up." Jim smiled, and turned to leave. Bones quickly caught up with him at the door.

"Jim, I can't be waiting for you to come down every time something has to be done, and you sure as hell don't have the time to rush down here all the time. What do we do?"

"I'll talk to him when I wake up, Bones. He's probably scared. He went through a lot. Its not uncommon that prisoners pick one person to relate to, until they've gotten used to normality again. I can't just tell him to deal with it, can I?" Jim answered, somewhat irritated.

"Well you better. I don't need the captain of the Enterprise standing around my Sickbay 24/7." Bones huffed.

"I gotcha, Bones. I'll bring it up okay? Just give him a break. And me too." Bones gave a snort, but didn't say any more, turning to head back into Medbay. Jim had a headache. And if he didn't lay down soon, it was going to get worse.

So, once he reached his quarters for the second time tonight to rest, he stripped, throwing his clothes into a messy bundle on the floor, laying down in bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He couldn't have been asleep for more then 20 minutes when a panicked voice yelled through his communicator.

"Jim! Jim, get your ass out of bed! GOD DAMN IT JIM!"

The captain of the Enterprise jumped out of bed, almost falling over the bundle of clothes he had stashed in front of his bed, blindly grabbing for his communicator, snapping it open, dizzy from getting up much too quickly.

"Bones, I'm here, whats wrong?!" Jim snapped into his the device in his hand. "This better be good."

"He's gone. That god damn pointy eared hobgoblin is gone! I turned my back to him for 2 minutes, and he was just gone!"

Jim didn't answer. He didn't have time to answer. A knock on the door made him look up. He closed his eyes, huffing as he closed his eyes. "Hold on, Bones. I think I know where he is."

Jim walked to the door, pressing a button next to the door, watching the metal door slide to the side. And indeed, there he stood. Spock, silent, and oh so beautiful, wearing his clothes which, for some reason, made him that much more attractive.

"Bones. He's here." he said quietly, taking a step back to let the Vulcan in. "I'll handle it. Any medical advice in case he decides to stay?"

"He has to rest. And eat. But slowly, or he'll upset his stomach. Jim, I'd really preferred if you got him back down here."

"So would I Bones, but something tells me that's not going to happen. Kirk out." Jim watched the Vulcan stand in the middle of his room, those beautiful eyes taking in everything before finally turning back to look at Jim. The human was at a loss of words. What now?

"Spock uh. You know, you should still be in Sickbay." Jim said, realizing just how lame that had sounded. The Vulcan quirked a brow, confirming Jim's thoughts of how redundant his comment had been. Spock probably knew better than Jim how he was feeling, and if he really needed to be in a biobed. But Jim knew that he himself had to get some sleep.

"Look, I really don't mind having you around me Spock, but I need to sleep so.. how about I just get you your own quarters? You'll have to promise to go to sickbay regularly so that Bones. . . I mean. . Doctor McCoy can check your wrists." Jim hoped that Spock would at least agree to that, but that would have been too easy. The Vulcan settled down on the floor, crossing his legs, placing his hands on his knee's, palms up.

"...You want to..meditate here?" Jim asked, guessing more then really knowing. A short nod showed that he had guessed right. "Okay well.. if it doesn't bother you that I'm going to go to sleep?"

Spock shook his head, closing his eyes, giving Jim a chance to look at his face closer, without being caught. Those dark eyelashes were an almost brutal contrast to the pale skin, and yet looked beautiful. Thin lips, perfectly formed. Jim wondered if Spock would taste different then the other, human, men he had kissed.

Scolding himself silently, he climbed into his bed. He could hear the Vulcan's soft breathing filling up the entire room, and soon Jim found himself relaxing at the even sound. Somehow, the fact that he wasn't alone was comforting. The presence of someone else was calming. Jim didn't know if it was because said person was Spock, or if he would feel the same way if it had been anyone else.

Frankly, he didn't care. Closing his eyes, he drifted off to sleep.

"Jim." a soft voice called. The human rolled to his side, groaning in protest. But whoever was calling his name wasn't going to let him sleep. "Jim."

"God, what?" Jim snapped, opening his eyes as he turned to whoever had woke him. "Spock." the surprise in his voice was obvious. Had the Vulcan just... just spoken to him? The tone of his voice must have put him off, the delicate frame pulling back a little.

"I'm sorry Spock. I'm not a morning person. What is it?" Jim asked, sitting up in his bed. He glanced at the clock. He had gotten a solid 7 hours of sleep. His next shift wasn't for a couple hours. So why did Spock wake him?

"Meld." Spock said quietly.

"Meld? What do you mean, meld?" Jim asked, getting slightly teed off. Obviously the Vulcan could speak, so why didn't he just talk?

"Meld." The Vulcan said again, reaching his hand out for Jim's face. Jim moved back for a second, but the urgency in those brown eyes made him move forward, leaning his face down to the Vulcan kneeling on the floor.

The second he felt the burning hot fingertips on his skin he wondered if it had been a wise choice to just trust a man he knew nothing about, but only fractions of a moment later, he didn't have a chance to think about it anymore.

Pictures rolled into his mind, feelings that he didn't even have a name for. He wanted to pull back, wanted to break the contact, make him stop whatever he was doing, but he was being held in place by a very strong hand.

Images of Spock being tortured smashed into his mind, making him feel nauseous. The Klingon's had beaten him. Cut him. Done unspeakable things to the man that was now kneeling at his bed. They kept asking him questions, but Jim couldn't make out the words.

What did they want? He thought.

Information. Came the quiet reply. Jim jerked away in surprise, but he was still being held in place by the Vulcan.

You can hear my thoughts?

Yes. A simple answer. Jim tried to fight off the emotions that were about to overwhelm him. Spock was trying to tell him something, something important and he had to concentrate and figure out what it was.

What kind of information did they want? He asked, not sure if he just thought the question, or said it out loud as well. He couldn't feel his own body. A frightening and yet somehow pleasant feeling.

Any information about the Federation. On our ships. Our security. Secret missions. Anything. Spock answered.

Why you?

Vulcan's can withstand more torture. More pain. The chance a human would have died before they got the information was too great. They trusted that I would live to talk.

Jim shuddered. Picking someone just because they could take more abuse.. that sounded like something a Klingon would do. But one question remained.

How did they know on what ship you were?

A traitor among us. Someone within the Federation. Someone that wants to harm us all. Someone that knew enough to give the Klingon's our position.

But you were on a rescue mission. How was this person supposed to know where you'd be? Jim asked.

There was no ship that needed help. We got a transmission from Star Fleet, sending us to those coordinates. When we got to the location, there was nothing but emptiness. They damaged our ship greatly, then came for me. They killed everyone except myself. After they brought me to their ship, they destroyed the Exelsis.

Jim's head was pounding. The words of the Vulcan had a strange echo, as if they bounced off the walls of his skull and into his brain.

Why did they think you'd have such important information? He managed to ask.

Sarek. Ambassador to Earth is my father. They simply assumed he would have shared information with me. Neither the Klingon's, nor the traitor, were aware that Sarek and I are estranged. Jim Kirk. The Klingon empire will soon discover that their ship was destroyed. And that I was rescued. It is not safe. We must leave as soon as possible.

Jim nodded, not able to form a coherent sentence in his mind. It was too much. The information, the mind in his own, the emotions he was feeling. It was nauseating, wonderful, intoxicating, and painful at the same time. He didn't know how much longer he would be able to withstand whatever the Vulcan was doing.

Luckily, he didn't have to. The Vulcan moved his hand away from Jim's face, and he could finally breath again. It was like his mind was slowly returning to his body, every cell in his body tingling. He stood, moving away from Spock, leaning his head against a cool wall, taking deep breaths, trying to steady himself, to understand what had just happened.

"You. You were just in my brain." He whispered. He didn't turn around to see the Vulcan nod. He didn't need an answer. He knew that what he said was true.

"So. The Klingon's got someone within Star Fleet to tell them things. But that person apparently doesn't have all the information they need, or they wouldn't have needed you. So whoever it is is high enough in rank to manipulate a ship into going somewhere.. Fuck." Jim shook his head.

Spock came to stand behind him. Jim could feel his warmth against his back, once more fighting the urge to turn around and gawk at that beautiful face. No matter how dire the situation, he still wanted to stare at the man. How mature.

"..So you think once the Klingon Empire noticed that their ship was attacked, they'll come after whatever did it. And with us floating at the same coordinates where they had been last, which the Klingon's might, or might now know of, we're on a silver platter."

"Affirmative." came the soft answer.

"And you couldn't tell me this a couple of hours ago because...?" Jim asked, finally turning around. He once more felt he was under control. At least enough to not jump the Vulcan in front of him. For a brief moment he wondered if Spock had someone noticed that he was wildly attracted to him while the meld. But even if he did. Right now it didn't matter. His entire crew was at risk.

"I was in no condition to preform a meld. It was easier to show you, now that I have meditated, then trying to tell you after you found me, when the information I could provide would be less then sufficient. Further more, your ship is crippled. No amount of information changes the fact that you are, indeed, stranded here, for now."

"Still. That information would have been awfully handy." Jim huffed, looking up into the Vulcan's face. It wasn't until now that he realized they had quite the height difference. "But. I understand. So what do you suggest we do?"

"Stay vigilant." Spock answered. "If you allow me, I can try and aid your crew with their repairs."

"We'll see about that. First, I need to tell Scotty that we have less time then I thought. And then I need to eat. And so do you." Kirk rubbed his face. "Bones has to look at your wrists too. How about you go take a shower, while I talk to Scotty?"

"A shower would be much appreciated. I do not believe that a sonic shower will irritate the wounds." He replied.

"Okay. Get to it. I'll lay some new clothes for you in front of the door once you're in." Jim said, walking past the Vulcan to grab his communicator.

"Captain Kirk." the soft voice said. "I apologize if I have caused you any discomfort."

"You didn't, Spock. Just go shower." Jim answered, once more not turning to face the Vulcan. "Bathroom door is right there." The familiar sound of a door opening and closing signaled that the Vulcan had indeed found the bathroom. Jim sighed and flicked open his communicator to inform his head of engineering of what was going on.

Once Jim was back on the bridge, he felt utterly useless. There was not much he could do then wait for them to be able to switch back into warp. Of course they could have tried to escape without the core, but the Klingon's would have caught them anyway, and they'd just be pulling much needed energy. So he had to sit here, and wait.

He had sent Spock to Sickbay to have Bones tend to his wounds after they both had eaten in his quarters. Jim had forced the Vulcan to eat slowly, just like Bones had told him so. And while Spock didn't object, he did quirk his eyebrow at him as if he was acting weirdly. And for all he knew, maybe he was. He didn't know jack about Vulcan anatomy. Or metabolism. Or anything really.

Despite Vulcan joining the Federation, they were still private creatures. No matter how close they seemed to be to humans, their culture and many other things concerning them were mysteries. So if he had been acting silly, he wouldn't have known.

Finally, he couldn't take sitting in his chair anymore, staring at a screen that might, or might not reveal a Klingon ship. Or more then one.

"Mr. Sulu, you have the con. I'm going to go check the progress with the warp core."

"Yes Captain." the man answered, standing from his chair and moving to the captains chair.

"Any weird readings, anything that seems off, you let me know immediately." Jim said as he walked to the turbo lift, dully noting Sulu's answer.

While in the turbo lift, he let his thoughts wander once again. Who would want to bring down the Federation? Who would want an all-out war with the Klingon's? Who knew enough about the crew's on each ship, but not enough to get the information that the Klingon's needed? Now that he thought about it, it didn't necessarily have to be someone in Star Fleet. Maybe someone that was close to a crewmen of the Exelsis? But then how did they get that faked emergency call? Where there more than just One spy for the Klingon Empire?

The doors opened, pulling the captain from his thoughts. He walked out, moving through the busy hallways. Crewmen were moving quickly from one spot to the other. Working hard to get their ship working to save all of their lives.

"Scotty?" He called as he had finally made his way into the room that held the warp core.

"'ere captain." The Scotsman called.

"How are we doing?" Jim asked, watching as the man wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"We're getting there, captain. That Vulcan sure 's speeding up everything. 's like he's some kind of genius, that one."

"Spock's down here?" Jim asked, furrowing his brows. "He should be resting. Where is he?"

"Spock? That the lad's name? Barely spoke a word since he got here, Sir. He's back at the control panel."

"Okay. Keep working on it Scotty, we have to get out of here as soon as possible." Jim patted his friends shoulder. "If you need a break, take one now."

"Aye, Sir. I ain't resting until my girl is up and running again." The man gave him a grin. Jim smiled and shook his head.

"Good man, Scotty." Jim said, patting his shoulder one more time before going off to find Spock, leaving the other man to his work. He found the Vulcan leaned over the control panel, just as Scotty had said, his face holding a rather serious expression, if any, as he worked, his fingers moving over the panel at an astonishing speed. The long hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, giving a good view on the Vulcans face.

"Spock. I thought I sent you to Sickbay." he said as he stood next to him.

"Actually, Captain Kirk, you told me to have my wounds tended to. You did not specifically tell me to remain there." Spock answered, not looking up from his work.

Jim snorted. "So you decided you'd come down here and impress my head engineer, and help with the repairs."

"I had informed you that I am capable of helping with the repairs Captain. When Doctor McCoy told me to leave, it was only logical to try and resolve the issues you are having." Spock finally looked up, quirking a brow at the Captain.

"Yeah well, that's really nice of you, but you should be resting, you know?" Jim said. "Also, you can call me Jim."

"That would be highly inappropriate, Captain. I am on your ship, and should address you with your title, not your first name." Jim had to smile. It seemed like the Vulcan was finally back to normal. Normal for a Vulcan, that is.

"If you insist on that. But in private, you're going to have to call me Jim. And I will call you Mr. Spock from now on in public."

The Vulcan seemed to think about that notion for a second before turning his head back down to the panel. "That is acceptable, Captain."

"Good. Now, how long do you think it will take to get the ship going with your help, Mr. Spock?" Jim leaned against the panel, watching the Vulcan's fingers fly over the surface.

"Approximately 6.45 days, Captain. If more crewmen are able to aid in the repairs, it can be reduced to 4.89 days." The Vulcan replied, giving the captain a quick glance before concentrating once more on the task at hand.

"I'll make sure to get some more men down here, then." Jim's gaze wandered from the male's hands to his face. Spock had such a beautiful profile. A long, straight nose, impossibly long eyelashes, and skin so smooth, all he wanted to do was run his palm over it. The bruises were still there, and so was the wound on his lip, but both injuries were fading away. "I will leave you to your work. Report to me at the end of Alpha shift. I trust you know when that is."

"Yes, Captain." Spock answered, obviously already distracted. Jim shook his head, trying to hold back a chuckle. He had never been this attracted to a man. Sure, he wasn't 100% straight either, but he had always preferred women. And now, here he was, not only attracted to a male, but a Vulcan, none the less.

He knew he would probably never get anywhere with Spock. Neither love nor friendship was logical, at least in the eyes of the Vulcan's. But he could dream. And, of course, fantasize.

"Spock to Captain Kirk."

"Kirk here. What have you got for me, Mr. Spock?" Jim was sitting in his chair once more, watching the people work, while he had nothing to do, making him feel more then a little useless. But he was the captain. He was here to make decisions, to protect his crew, and carry out orders. But right now, nothing required his attention. At least not for hours at a time.

"We have made considerable process, Captain. I believe that repairs will be concluded in approximately 3.97 days."

"Very good, Mr. Spock. Now, it is time for you to take a break. Meet me at my quarters in 10 minutes. We're going to grab some dinner." Only seconds later Jim added, knowing full well the Vulcan would no doubt argue that he did not need rest. "That's an order, Mr. Spock."

"Technically, Captain Kirk, I am not a member of your crew, therefor I am not forced to take orders from you. But I will comply with your request. Spock out."

Jim shook his head, grinning like an idiot. Spock was cute. Down right adorable. The way he talked, always so serious. And those eyes.

"Mr. Chekov, you have the con until the beta shift hits." Kirk said, getting out of his chair. "Which will be in 5 minutes. I trust you can handle it for that long."

"Aye, Captain." Chekov grinned. "Rest well."

"Thank You, Mr. Chekov. You too." Jim waked to the turbo lift. He could feel his heart pounding. Pounding because he was soon going to be back in the Vulcan's presence. He shook his head, once more scolding himself. He was acting like a teenage boy. He knew that his crush would lead no where. He had to snap out of it before it became more.

Spock was already waiting in front of his quarters as Jim arrived. They didn't talk as they went into his rooms. Jim motioned for Spock to sit down on one of the chairs at his desk.

"What do you want?" he asked as he walked to the food synthesizer.

"A salad will suffice, Captain." The Vulcan answered.

"Jim, Spock. You agreed to call me Jim in private." The human reminded him, pulling the food from the synthesizer, walking over to place it next to Spock.

"Jim." Spock corrected himself, watching as the captain got himself a plate of pasta with a vegetarian sauce. "You do not have to take my preferences concerning food into account, Jim. You can eat meat in my presence."

"Its fine, Spock. I'm not supposed to be eating so much meat anyway. Doctor's orders. And you've seen how our dear doctor can be." Jim grinned, digging into his food.

"Indeed." was all Spock said before he started eating as well. Silence fell over them, but Jim didn't find it uncomfortable. They didn't have to talk. To him, it was as if they understood without words. He wasn't sure if the Vulcan felt the same. But he didn't ask either. Once they had finished their meals, and Jim offering the Vulcan some water, which he accepted, he pulled out a chess board from one of the cupboards of his desk.

"Do you play?" He asked the Vulcan.

"I do. However I play the Vulcan version." The Vulcan quirked a brow at the chess board. "It has been a long time that I have played Terran chess."

"Well, lets see if you've gotten rusty then." Jim grinned, setting up the board. "You want white or black?"

"The color is not important, Jim. It makes no difference." Spock said, once more looking at the human. Jim was immediately captivated by those brown eyes once more. He didn't know what it was about them. He had met many Vulcan's, briefly. They all had the same expression that Spock had now. But their eyes... something was different. He wondered if it had anything to do with him being captured on a Klingon ship for a year. If maybe his control had suffered, and the emotions had returned into this Vulcan's eyes. 'Wondered if, once he returned to Vulcan, his eyes would lose the evident warmth in them.

"I know, Spock. But we humans often prefer a color."

"Then it is only logical that you decide which you prefer, as it makes no difference to me."

"You are something else." Jim chuckled. "Fine, I'll be white."

"I do not understand, Jim. What do you mean by that statement?" The Vulcan asked, that delicate brow once more rising.

"Its a human saying, Spock. It means you are special. Not like others. In a positive sense." Jim explained, making his first move. "Its something we say to people we care for."

"Therefor implying that you care for me, Jim?" Spock moved his pawn as well.

"Yes, Spock. Implying that I care for you." Another move made that he didn't think about. He couldn't concentrate. He was going to lose against the Vulcan anyway. He could allow himself just these few minutes to be in awe because of the male sitting across from him. Spock's mouth opened, as if he wanted to say at him, and Jim gave him a somewhat hopeful look. But when the Vulcan's mouth closed once more, Jim huffed and looked back at the game board. What else had he expected?

They played in silence for a while until Spock once more broke the silence.

"You never asked me if I have the Klingon's any information Jim. And if, what I told them."

Jim looked up, furrowing his brows. "I assumed you didn't give them any information."

"That is highly illogical. I was held prison for an Earth year, while being tortured. It would only be logical to assume that I gave them some part of information." Spock looked up as well, that unyielding gaze back.

"Well, did you give them any information Spock?" Jim asked, taking a sip from the glass of water he had gotten himself.

"I did not. It is still not logical to simply assume." Spock looked back down at the board, moving his pawn dangerously close to Jim's queen. The human quickly moved it away.

"You know Spock. It was instinct. I didn't think you gave them anything out of instinct. A gut feeling. It might not be logical, but a lot of human's trust their gut."

"And is that concept a successful one, Jim?" Spock inquired.

"Well, it's always worked for me. So yeah. I guess you could say its a successful concept." Jim shook his head, running fingers through his hair as he watched Spock make his next move, accepting that he would probably lose within the next few moves.

"I see..." Spock's voice trailed off. "Is it also normal for humans to feel attracted to others, despite not knowing them?"

Jim froze. So he had found out. He had read it in his mind. He had seen how he felt for him. His heart was beating against his chest violently enough to make it hurt. Out of reflex, Jim asked "Why would you ask that, Spock?"

"A young female confessed her attraction to me. She had apparently been watching me work. I found it highly inappropriate." Spock looked at him. "Your heart frequency is elevated. Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, Spock. Its nothi-" Jim stopped in the middle of his sentence. "You can hear my heart beat?"

"Affirmative." Something like amusement seemed to fill those brown eyes. "Vulcan's have quite sensitive hearing, Jim."

"Well, that's not odd at all." Jim chuckled, looking down at the board, blinking. How had this happened? Had he really been paying this little attention? Had Spock not been paying attention? "Check mate."

Spock quirked a brow, now also looking down at the board. "Fascinating."

Jim grinned. "Didn't think it would turn out that way, did ya Spock?"

"Indeed, I did not, Jim. It seems that your illogical strategy defeated mine." The man glanced at the clock. "I believe it is time for you to rest, Jim."

"..Are you sending me to bed, Spock?" Jim couldn't help but laugh.

"I am simply informing you that it would be wise to sleep now, so that you may be sufficiently rested for your next shift."

"Well, that may be right, Spock. But I still need to get you your own rooms. What do you say I get that set up for you? I can try and get you a room close to mine. In case you.." Jim didn't know how to put it gracefully. In case you decide you want to barge in here in the middle of the night again and don't have to walk for too long?

"..That would be appreciated, Jim." Spock said quietly.

"Okay. Here, can you clean up the board while I get it done?" The Vulcan started to pick up the pawns, nimble fingers putting them back into the cupboard, along with the chess board as Jim talked to the person responsible for the rooms.

"Okay. You can have the room two door's down." he finally said, turning to the Vulcan that was patiently waiting for him to finish. "I can give you some clothes as well. I'm not sure if you want to keep wearing my personal clothes or if you'd like a uniform? What position did you have on the Exelsis?"

"I was the Science officer. And a uniform will suffice." Spock said, slowly standing from his chair.

"Okay. I'll have some sent up to your room tomorrow morning. I'd say get some rest too, but I somehow have a feeling that the second you leave this room you're going to be back down in the machine room. Aren't you?" Jim grinned.

"Yes Jim. I do not require as much rest as humans do. It will serve none of us if I get rest I do not require, heightening the chances of the Klingon's finding our vessel." Spock said quietly, moving to stand right in front of Jim.

"Yeah. That's probably true, Spock, but still. You were injured pretty badly. And you're not in the best condition either. You'll need to rest eventually. So do me the favor and make sure you get enough rest." Jim hated how much taller the Vulcan was. Not because he felt intimidated by it, or because he was the kind of man that wanted to be the tallest. No. The fact that he had to look up to meet those eyes was annoying. If he simply stared straight, his eyes would be captured by those wonderful lips. They were chapped now, but Jim could only imagine how soft they would be once they were healed.

"I will not over strain myself, Jim." Spock was about to move to the door when Jim instinctively reached out for him, grasping his upper arm. The Vulcan froze midst movement, and Jim quickly dropped his hand. "Is there anything else you would like to discuss, Jim?"

"..Yeah." Jim said quietly. He needed to ask. "..When you got here. When we saved you. You didn't let anyone touch you. Anyone but me. Why? Was it because I came through the door first?"

Spock seemed taken aback. And even though Jim felt a little bad about making him uncomfortable, he had to know. He had to know why he picked him.

"...That is a personal question, Jim." Spock finally said after a moment of silence. "I do not feel comfortable with explaining to you why I picked you at the present time. It is most inappropriate."

"..I don't understand." Jim answered. "What do you mean it would be inappropriate? I mean.. how personal can the answer be?"

"Personal enough for me to not give you the answer at the present moment." Spock answered, slowly bowing his head. "Forgive me. Before this journey ends, I might give you the answer."

"You might? Now that's not really fair is it? I mean. It does involve me, no?" Jim tilted his head to the side, giving him a curious look. "Just.. just promise me that you will tell me before we get back to earth. Or Vulcan. Wherever you want me to take you."

"Earth will be fine, Jim." He paused. "I give you my word that I will tell you before we reach earth."

"Okay. Thank you Spock." Jim sighed, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Good night, Spock." he finally finished.

"..Good night, Jim."

And there is chapter 2! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please let me know what you think!

Yours faithfully,

Akikofuma