AN: I don't own them, which is probably a good thing, because I'd never make Kirk captain that young, and then we'd miss out on all this fun.

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"Captain?" Spock was standing by the chair, ramrod straight, while the captain was...lounging.

"Yes, Mr. Spock?"

"There are supposed to be bridge officer meetings regularly. There is no set date as to how soon after the launch there should be one, but nevertheless, I thought it prudent to mention it."

The captain nodded in acknowledgment. "Thanks. We can have a bridge officer meeting all right, at least it will give us something to do while we're on our way. Today?"

"That is your prerogative, of course, Captain, but I'd suggest giving the crew at least a day's warning would be better. Some might have other plans for today already."

The Captain shot him a look which made him slightly uncomfortable. It seemed to suggest he knew that mainly, Spock had other plans already, and that he knew what they were. Spock was also worried the Captain was right in his guess in the general way, although he perhaps imagined more than was real.

"Okay then, tomorrow. Tell Nyota."

Spock raised one eyebrow. "I was not aware Lieutenant Uhura gave you permission to use her first name."

The captain shrugged. "She didn't, of course. But you betrayed it, and now she'll have to bear the consequences," he smirked.

Spock almost sighed. "I will have to remember to apologise to her later for that slip."

"Yeah, make sure to make it up to her properly." The smirk got even wider.

Spock turned and looked him in the eye: "Captain, I believe it is my duty to point out that you are expected to maintain a certain degree of propriety."

Kirk grew marginally more serious. "I hope you know I wouldn't say this in front of other people, or in front of her."

"I am not completely certain of that. Also, I fail to see how speaking like this in front of Lieutenant Uhura would be any different from speaking about it in front of me."

"Well, she might get embarrassed."

Spock was conflicted. On one hand, he certainly didn't want to admit that he got embarrassed too, on the other, he felt he should point out the captain's faulty logic.

In the end, he decided that it would probably be appropriate to rid him of some of the false notions humans generally had about Vulcans. It could only be beneficial for the years of service he was going to spend under the captain.

"While Vulcans do not feel emotions the same way humans do, we have situations that we consider preferable and situations we strive to avoid. I believe you mentioning my private life in the middle of the bridge falls in the latter category for me."

The captain looked confused for a minute, then he said: "I wasn't really thinking about you being a Vulcan, I was thinking about you being a man. It's a...well, I suppose it's a human custom to share talks like this with other men concerning their women."

Spock raised his eyebrow again: "Fascinating."

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When their shift ended, Spock appeared at Nyota's side and accompanied her to the mess hall. She automatically headed to the bridge officer table, and he followed her. Chekhov gave him a look that was frankly terrified. Nyota wondered if it was a residue of seeing him beat the crap out of Kirk, or what.

The captain joined them after a moment, and said: "We agreed with Spock here that tomorrow after shift, we'll have a bridge officer meeting. So, since you're all here..."

"Actually, Captain," Spock interceded, "chief medical officer, chief of engineering and chief of security are also expected to be there, as heads of departments, even though they are not technically bridge officers."

"Well, our CMO is coming right there," Kirk remarked and waved at Leonard, who joined them, "so I can tell him too. Bones, tomorrow after shift, there's a meeting in the briefing room." He smirked. "Everybody who means something is going to be there."

"I'm so honoured," Leonard replied sarcastically.

"Good, so now I only have to tell Cortez and Scotty."

"I'm still interested to hear about the chief of engineering," Spock commented. "He appears to be an extremely skilled professional, yet if I understand it correctly, you found him on Delta Vega."

"That's right. I should really be grateful to you for marooning me there, without it, we wouldn't have one of the best engineers in the Federation aboard."

Spock tilted his head to the side: "I realize I have been remiss, Captain, in not apologizing to you earlier. The action to which you refer was completely unjustified, and a gross violation of many regulations. I am deeply sorry for that, as well as for that physical attack on you after your return to the ship."

Kirk shook his head. "Now don't apologize for that, Spock, I did it on purpose."

"I am aware of that, however, that still does not justify my actions."

"If you hadn't beaten me up, we wouldn't have defeated Nero," the captain pointed out.

"Which only adds the fact that I failed as an acting captain to the equation," Spock stated calmly.

Kirk waved his hand. "Just forget it, okay? It was all for the greater good in the end." Looking at Spock, he added: "I accept your apology. Now, does that make you feel better?"

Spock nodded, though he wouldn't have phrased it that way himself.

"As for Scotty, you'll have to ask him. He did kind of explain when he arrived there, but I was sort of preoccupied by the...other things that were going on, so I didn't really listen."

Spock nodded again. He assumed that by the other things, the captain meant his older self from the alternate reality. Something he needed to ask about, too, but later and somewhere more private.

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After dinner in his quarters, Spock turned to Nyota and said: "I have to apologize to you for using your first name in front of the captain. He now seems to insist on calling you by it in non-official situations."

She smiled: "It doesn't really matter now, he's not the kind to try anything when he knows I'm taken – and especially not when I'm taken by you." She smirked. "I don't think he's going to forget that beating any time soon, and I doubt he wants a repeat performance."

Spock blinked. "I do not find it as amusing as you or him seem to."

"Naturally not, because you perceive it as your own failing, and in something as important as emotional control too. However, I and Kirk both know that he was targeting very sensitive areas when he set out to provoke you. Even though what led him to believe it would work at all is a mystery to me. I mean, I could tell you weren't yourself, of course, but then, I knew you better than anyone on the bridge." Those words made a warm feeling spread through him. "To everyone else, you must have appeared as your normal, emotionless self."

"I certainly did to Doctor McCoy, he made it very plain."

"What did he say?" Nyota sounded somewhat alarmed for some reason.

"He asked me if I was out of my Vulcan mind and commented that I could at least act like marooning then-first officer Kirk on Delta Vega was a difficult decision. He also called me a green-blooded hobgoblin, though I do not believe he thought I heard that."

Now Nyota looked really angry. "That idiot..." She started.

"Nyota, I don't blame him. James Kirk is his good friend. Naturally, he would be affected, and Doctor McCoy has low emotional control even for a human. Anger in such a situation is natural, and as long as it didn't intervene with his professional duties – which it didn't – I have nothing to blame him for."

She seemed surprised. "I'd think you'd expect better emotional control of him, seeing the demands you put on yourself."

"That is different. It would be illogical to ask of humans the same I ask of myself."

Nyota sighed, sinking on his bed. "Do you really walk around here feeling superior to all of us?"

He sat down next to her and said seriously: "In some ways I am superior. It is not a feeling, it is a scientific fact. I am stronger and longer-lived than you, for example, and I do have a better mental discipline. That does not mean I am superior in general. You are superior in other ways."

"For example? I don't really see any."

Surely she was exaggerating. "Do you value your emotions so little?"

She rolled her eyes. "You know very well that Vulcans have emotions too, only hidden."

He inclined his head. "Yes, but yours are different. They allow for much easier inclusion and acceptance, enable you to form bonds with other humans quickly. What I said about Vulcans not doing casual doesn't apply only to romantic relationships. It takes us time to form any kind of relationship to other persons. You are also capable of quicker change, you are more adaptable, more able to rise to a new challenge, accept new ideas. The Federation would have never been born without you. Isn't that quite an accomplishment?"

Nyota smiled. "I don't think it could have been formed without you either – if only because of the first contact. It would have gone very differently had we met a different race back then. But you did make me feel a little better."

"I will endeavor to continue to do so," he said, and then he kissed her.