I hope everyone's had a great weekend so far! I finished this chapter early, so I figure why not post it. As always, thanks for all the alerts! Hopefully you all enjoyed Kirk's POV, I'm sticking with the alternating thing. I'd love to hear any thoughts, though, if you have time to review. :)
~Nadiea
Disclaimer: 'Star Trek' and its existing characters are the property of Paramount/CBS. I only claim my original characters, TBA.
Chapter Three - Tangled Webs And Star Crossed Lovers
I pry my gaze away from Jim's golden head only to meet Spock's eyes as he turns back toward his station. Per usual, I can't interpret his expression so I decide to let it go. I look back at Jim to see if he caught it, but he'd already turned back around and was issuing instructions to Sulu and Chekov.
As utterly ridiculous as it sounds, I feel happy that Jim mentioned that he had plans tonight. Especially after the way Commander Jennings gave him the 'once over' I've seen many times as far as Jim is concerned. It's not a date, it's just dinner, I remind myself. As if getting involved with my instructor and later CO hadn't been a bad enough idea already. I know there are many less complicated and aggravating men on this ship who are not my commanding officers that I should set my sights on for my own sanity. However, as competent as I am in my job, I seem hopeless in my personal life.
As I perform my last duties before signing off of my station, I notice a shadow fall over me. I look up to find Spock hovering nearby. "Is there something wrong, Commander?" I ask, genuinely curious.
I watch him hesitate and then shake his head. "No, Lieutenant. It's of no importance." He turns to leave for the turbo lift and I sit there for a moment trying to figure out what could bother him enough to cause that behavior. I'm not silly enough to think it was anything to do directly with our previous relationship. I think we really are past that. I figure it might have something to do with meeting T'Pring, which would take place less than a week from now. I make a mental note to try to get him alone on the space station to talk about it. Picking up my PADD, I walk away from my station, pausing in front of the turbo lift as I watch Jim finishing the last of his own duties with Sulu and Chekov and then turning the conn over to Scotty and the skeleton crew. I knew Jim would probably have to order Scotty off the ship for his leave when the time came, seeing as the engineer practically worshipped the Enterprise hated leaving her.
He turns around and seems startled when he sees me, a surprised smile forming on his lips. He walks to his chair and grabs his PADD, then joins me. "So, you're a free woman for the next two days," he states as we step into lift. "What are you going to do? And please don't say there's an interesting science, medical, math, or communications treasure somewhere on the base that you're dying to see."
I smirk and shrug. "Well, I'm having dinner with this guy tonight."
He looks at me with interest. "Oh really? Anyone I know?"
"I think so. But, you see, I've just met him in a way, even though I've known him for years."
Jim holds my gaze for a moment, those blue eyes sparkling. "It's probably like that for him, too, you know." He says quietly.
"Hmm, that's good to know," I reply with ease and once again, I'm charmed at this side of him. "Other than that highly anticipated event, I'll probably just get some much needed rest and read."
He scrunches his nose a bit in response and I laugh as the doors open and we walk down the corridor toward the exit that opens into the base. "Well, that's not much better than seeing an academic treasure, ya know," he says, shaking his head. "We'll have to remedy that. What are you reading now by the way?"
"It's another old novel. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte," I reply.
"I've heard of it," Jim states, surprising me again with his literary knowledge. "That's the one with Heathcliff and Cathy, right?"
I nod. "I just finished reading all of Jane Austen as you know, so I thought I'd move on to the Bronte sisters." I eye him askance. "So, I've been meaning to ask, are you a closeted reader or something?"
Jim laughs and shakes his head. "No, my mother loves to read. She had a special PADD with hundreds of books on it," he explains as we enter the base. "Sometimes she'd read something from it to me when I was little. When I was older, I remember scrolling through all the books and reading the descriptions."
I smile at the image this conjures up for me, noting that he actually mentioned his mother. A rarity with him, of course. "Why don't you read Wuthering Heights with me?" I ask impulsively.
"Like how, exactly?" He asks, looking perplexed.
"I'll send a copy to your PADD, and we can read it at the same time, chapter by chapter," I suggest.
"And then do what?" He's still looking uncertain.
I roll my eyes. "Then we can talk about it, Jim," I say, knowing that "talking" is usually a scary word for most men. Even Vulcans. Especially Vulcans. "I mean, we were already kind of doing that when I was reading Jane Austen. I'd tell you about the story and you'd offer your usual colorful opinion. Think of how much more you could make fun of them if you'd actually read one!"
I watch as Jim considers my suggestion. He glances at me and smiles. "Sure, why not?" He said finally. "Heathcliff sounds like a particularly tortured soul from what I've read. There's plenty of comedy material there."
I shake my head and tap on my PADD to send the book to him with a message.
From the opposite way, I see Yeoman Rand approaching, her stride quick and determined. I notice with amusement that Jim appears to visibly steel himself for the encounter.
"Captain, we're due to meet with Commander Jennings in fifteen minutes," Rand announces summarily as she joins us, giving me an efficient nod. Her brown hair is coiled in a bun, her red Starfleet dress uniform perfect in every way. She's actually one of the few people on the ship not handpicked by Jim.
Admiral Pike, according to Spock, had insisted on picking Jim's Yeoman. Seeing her in action was like viewing a tornado of frightening competence and discipline, chosen no doubt to provide yet another counter to Jim's unorthodox style. I'm sure Pike has a nice chuckle every time he thinks about the two of them working together.
"So we are, Rand," Jim affirms with sigh. He turns to me. "I'll see you later, Lieutenant?"
I smirk. "Yes, Captain."
He makes a face at me, no doubt reading my mind on the subject of him and Rand.
I watch them walk away and ponder what to do next as I sit down in the large lobby area and people watch for a moment.
The star base is pristine in almost unrelieved white. Its architecture is all sharp angles and pillars. There are huge windows, displaying the vista of space, as well as holovids of exotic pieces of art from all over the galaxy. I've always loved to watch the interactions of humans with each other and other species. You can learn a lot about how well a ship or base is run this way. Our fellow officers all seem very efficient, but warm as they go about their daily routines.
I make the decision to take a little tour of the base when I saw Christine's blonde curls and Dr. McCoy's familiar scowl. She waves at me and I walk over to them.
"I thought you guys were supposed to see some medical discovery?" I ask.
The doctor scoffs. "There's some sort of problem, so it's postponed to two hours from now. You'd think people in the military could get things right, especially in medical, but I guess that's just too much to ask."
Christine rolled her eyes. "We're actually here for shore leave, too, Dr. McCoy. We could, you know, just relax."
That earns her the patented 'Bones glare' as Jim calls it. It typically cowers most of the medical staff, but Christine's pretty badass herself, so she glares back.
Grumbling, but unwilling to admit defeat, he turns his attention to me. "There's nothing here for communications?"
I shake my head. "No, not really. I was going to take a tour of the base and drop by their Communications Center after that, just to check in, but there's nothing special like there is for science and medical."
"Speak of the devil," I hear McCoy mutter and look behind me to see Spock approaching. I note that Christine perks up quite a bit. McCoy sees it as well and his mood turns even more sour, if that's possible.
"Doctor, Nurse Chapel, Lieutenant Uhura," Spock greets each of us in turn as he joins us.
"Commander Spock," Christine replies with a smile.
I've known about Christine's interest in Spock since the beginning of our mission. It bothered me a lot at first, of course, seeing as our break up was still new. I did not and do not know if he was even aware of her feelings, but I can't help but feel bad for Dr. McCoy. I don't know the actual story behind his gruff exterior, but I sense a certain kindred spirit in the friendship between him and Jim. And I could tell that he cares for Christine, but seems utterly incapable of showing her. As for Christine, she's very independent and of the opinion that shares Jim's distrust of monogamy. It's amazing that nothing's ever happened between those two. Or at least I'm not aware of anything between them. But I've only seen her show interest in McCoy and Spock, while Jim's finds the 'potential threesome' an endless source of amusement.
At any rate, she seems content to pursue both men. Spock appears uninterested, if not totally oblivious to her pursuit and despite his cynical façade, I don't see McCoy as a one night stand sort of guy.
See, another perfect example of why it's a bad idea to get involved with the people you work with my subconscious chimes in much to my annoyance.
"Doctor," I hear Spock begin, bringing me back from my thoughts. "I am to remind you and your medical staff that you should cease your observations in the medical center at 19:00, per the Captain's orders."
McCoy rolls his eyes. "I heard that part of Jim's message and once he shows his ass around, I'll let him know what I think about it."
Spock only blinks. "Nevertheless, he made it an order."
Sometimes, I do think Spock likes to bate McCoy as much as Jim. I'm truly tempted to comm Ambassador Spock and ask how he and his Kirk and McCoy all managed to survive each other.
And the doctor indeed looks ready to level some sort of insult, so I figure this is my cue to intervene. "Hey, we're supposed to be on leave guys, okay? I don't know how you both think this bickering you do is going to work for the next four years. I will end up murdering you both myself if it will put a stop to it."
To my satisfaction, both men looked surprised and chastened.
Christine grins at me.
"You," I say as I point to McCoy. "Take Christine on a tour of the base. That should kill two hours and then you can go to the medical seminar." I turned to Spock. "And you are coming with me to Communications."
"Lieutenant Uhura, I am on my way-" Spock begins, looking at me as if I had grown two additional heads.
"Your science department can take care of themselves for thirty minutes, Commander," I say firmly.
I nod to Christine, who's watching me with curious eyes. I know that she knows I no longer feel that way for Spock, but she's dying to know what I'm up to. However, McCoy touches his hand to the small of her back, gesturing for her to proceed him and they leave.
I turn to Spock, who's also studying me. "Is there something you wish to speak to me about, Uhura?" He asks calmly.
I shake my head. "Nope, but I have a feeling you need to talk about something, Spock," I reply. "And we're friends, right? So as your friend, I'm here to listen if you need me."
I wait and watch the familiar struggle within him.
He finally meets my eyes. "I am...concerned...about meeting T'Pring again."
I smile at him.
"You're nervous?" I ask carefully.
"That is an acceptable word," He replies. "I know that is not common among humans to speak of a future relationship with one they previously...dated." He finishes, settling uncertainly on the last word.
"Well, that's true, Spock, but it's been a year and I won't break if you need to talk to someone about this," I respond, seeing that we've migrated to a quiet corner of the in the hallway of the Communications Center, passersby apparently respecting our privacy, thankfully. "I can't say what she might feel obviously, being fully Vulcan, but I'm certain it's something she's thinking about as well at least. And you know you're not obligated to go through with it if you don't want to in the end."
Spock nodded. "No, I am not as you say 'obligated', but it is the greatest hope of my father and the elders that I will," he said.
"And what do you want, Spock? I'll never tell you not to consider what's important to your father and people, but it should matter what you want," I say, hugging my PADD close to me.
"I do not know what I want, Nyota," he says, looking down.
"I can't help you with that, Spock," I sigh, feeling sorry for him.
"You are helping by listening. After I attend the science conference, I plan to spend my leave in meditation. I believe I may find some answers that way," he checks his PADD. "I must go now, but..."
"No worries, Spock," I shake my head. "I'm here if you need me."
He nods. "Thank you."
As we part ways, I realize that Spock's not the only one who needs to figure out what they want.
My situation is hardly as immediate as his, of course. Right now, Jim and I are friends and I am happy with that. I mean, with Jim's complete lack of faith in committed relationships and my preference for one, hoping for something more is setting myself up for disappointment. And we're still getting to know each other, so who knows if I'll even still feel this way at a later date? I made the mistake of pursuing Spock too soon on certain assumptions, without taking enough time to understand who he was and where he was in his life. And I still figure I've got a long way to go in understanding Jim Kirk. The fallout from any failed attempt would be worse than what happened with Spock. With a Vulcan, it's nearly impossible to stay angry. Unless you're McCoy, of course. With Jim, between his temper and mine, working together afterward would be untenable to say the least.
And it's not even that I'm this huge romantic or that I need a man in my life. Everything was fine, I was enjoying the time I spent with Jim without thinking too much about it, but then I did realize just how much I enjoy his company and it's been downhill from there. I guess that is what makes him great leader as well. Despite his cockiness, he capable of putting anyone at ease, just with his smile and a funny comment. And in the next moment, he's got me exasperated and ready to argue with him. And when I think of my parents, who have been married for thirty years and my grandparents, close to sixty, I remember that push and pull. That comfort and passion that they share with each other and that I feel when I'm around Jim. And if anyone had told me I could feel this way about him a year ago, I'd have laughed in their face. Then, I thought of Jim Kirk as the type of man I would always avoid and Spock as my ideal. Now I wonder how I could find myself attracted to two men so different from each other, at least on the surface, but I've yet to figure that out. And I think I need to do that if I have any hope of not messing this all up.
But until then, the novels I've been reading provide a great distraction. I can witness the courtship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth or Mr. Knightley and Emma without actually having to experience all the angst that accompanies it.
In fact, I decide as I enter the Communications Center, finding it fairly empty and quiet, that I'll start my visit with Heathcliff and Cathy now.
TBC...
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