Attraction and Conflict

Kirk sat on the bridge pondering the events of the last twenty four hours. They were on their way to Terrin and all was quiet.

His shift was almost over and he thought about Aura. He had promised to have dinner with her when his shift ended. He felt that a burden had been lifted off of him, as they had talked long into the night. She had reassured him that she held no grudges and encouraged him to talk to her mother. It was almost as if the nine years of separation they had experienced, had been washed away.

He glanced over at Spock who had been unusually quiet. Uhura had the day off, so he figured that could be part of it.

Spock looked up and saw Kirk watching him and walked over to him. "Do you require something, Captain?"

"No Spock, I was just thinking of how quiet it is."

"Indeed" Spock said.

Kirk looked at him. "Is everything alright, Spock. You seem a little distant."

"I am fine, Captain." He quickly changed the subject. "I do believe your shift is ending and at your order I will be taking over for the evening. I understand that you are having dinner with Dr. Vanderleigh?"

Kirk knew he was changing the subject, but let it go. "Yes, we are going to the gym first and then we will be having dinner together."

Spock nodded. "Captain I do have a question for you."

Kirk turned and nodded. "Go ahead Spock."

"I fail to understand the human desire to create new family relationships from people who are no blood kin. Lieutenant Uhura calls Dr. McCoy her brother even though they are not related, and I understand that Dr. Vanderleigh is not a blood relative of yours, yet you refer to her as your sister. Why is that?"

Kirk laughed. "Well Spock, when people become close and share a bond, naturally they become like family. Most humans think it is an honor for someone to make them a part of their family. Actually my situation is a little different than Bones and Uhura."

Spock nodded but did not reply

"Anyway, I'm going down to meet her now, so Spock you have the con."

"Affirmative, Captain" he replied.

**********************

Nyota was about to enter the sick bay and saw McCoy exit. "Leonard, where are you on your way to" she asked meeting him.

"Hey, Nyota. I was just heading back to my quarters. I'm done here for a while. What's up?"

She linked her arm in his. "Oh, nothing. I was just coming down to check on you. We haven't talked in a while."

McCoy looked at her suspiciously. "Uh-huh. Well, I've been here. Where have you been? Oh, that's right...up under Spock I suppose in more ways than one."

She laughed. "You've been around the Captain too long, Len."

They entered the turbolift and McCoy looked at her. "Are you following me home? What's on your mind?"

Nyota examined her nails as they headed to his deck. "Why does something have to be up? Can't I come and visit you if I want to?"

McCoy didn't answer right away and stepped off the turbolift when it reached its destination. "Well, I know something is up because you don't call me Len unless you want something. So out with it, please."

She did not answer and followed him to his quarters. He turned and looked at her as he punched in his code. "Come on in."

"Lights on" he said as he entered and walked over to his liquor cabinet.

"I wish you didn't drink so much, Leonard. You worry me sometimes." she said watching him pour a shot.

"I'm a big boy and you're not my mama" he answered.

"I'm not trying to be your mama, Leonard. I thought I was your friend"
she said sitting on the sofa.

"We are friends Ny. So tell me what's really going on. When things are great between you and Spock, you two hardly come up for air. You're here on your day off, so I know something's up."

She sighed. "We had a fight."

"Uh-huh" McCoy said knowingly. "Go on."

"He was jealous, I think of Nathaniel-"

McCoy laughed. "You mean Nichols? Why is that?"

"Because he found out we were old friends. He did a mind meld on me Leonard in my sleep so that he could get the information out of me after I told him that I didn't want to talk about it."

McCoy sat the glass down. "He did what? You've got to be kidding!"

"I am not kidding. He waited until I was sleep and then he probed me for the information that I wouldn't give him."

McCoy chuckled. "That sneaky bastard! So what did you do?"

Nyota stood up and paced back and forth. "I threw him out of my quarters! I haven't talked to him since!"

"A vulcan green with envy. Now that's something to behold!" He began to snicker to himself.

Nyota looked offended. "I hardly think that this is comical, Leonard. It was an invasion of my privacy."

I'm not defending Spock and I don't condone what he did. It was wrong! However do you think you might have done the same thing in his position, if you were feeling insecure knowing that someone else was in the picture?" he asked watching her pace with her arms folded across her chest.

"I would not!"

"Even if you knew that Christine Chapel had the hots for Spock and tries to get him in a corner whenever she can?"

Nyota stopped pacing and stared at him dumbfounded. "Christine Chapel? You mean your nurse Chapel has the hots for my Spock?" She sounded outraged.

McCoy chuckled again "Oh, so now he's 'your Spock'? A minute ago he was a 'sneaky bastard'."

"I believe those were your words, Leonard." Nyota said walking over to him. "You are supposed to be my friend. Why didn't you tell me your nurse was after Spock?"

"Because, Ms. Uhura it doesn't matter that she wants him. He only wants you. I would think that you would have the confidence in your relationship to know that she doesn't stand an ice cube's chance in hell of getting him. The problem with Spock is that I think he's not so sure of that with you and Nichols. There must be some insecurity there. You two have to talk about it and work it out. Now before you get all high and mighty, look me in the eye and tell me that for a moment you didn't feel some insecurity yourself when I told you about Christine Chapel."

Nyota plopped down on the sofa. "You think you're so damn smart, don't you?

Leonard poured another drink. "If I do recall, Ms. Uhura, you came to me."

Kirk entered the gym after changing to meet Aura. He looked around and found it almost empty, but he could hear the sound of someone running on a treadmill which was located past the changing area.

He walked past the rows of weight machines and exercise mats to that area. He saw her running with her hands on the bars, eyes closed. She wore royal blue spandex shorts with a loose fitting gray sleeveless top which revealed the thick straps and sides of her bra underneath. Her braids were loose and beat against her back as she ran. Watching her made Jim feel uneasy and protective as he saw her chest and hips bounce up and down as she moved. He walked over to her.

"Aura!" he said waving his hand in front of her face to get her attention.

She stopped the treadmill and picked up the towel she had to wipe her face. "Hi Jimmy. I hope you don't mind that I got started without you."

Jim looked at the front of her top that revealed about three inches of cleavage. "Aura, why are you dressed like this? I mean I come in here and you're bouncing all over the place! Your chest is showing...my god, don't you have something else you could wear? This is a unisex gym and I don't think it would be a good idea for you to have men gawking at you!"

Aura looked dumbfounded. "What are you talking about, Jimmy? I have on exercise clothes. They are perfectly decent. I can't help it if my breasts are big. What do you want me to do?"

"Do you have to wear these tight shorts? I can see your bra for godsakes!" he said looking around.

"Jimmy, you are tripping! No one else is in here but us! I doubt very seriously if I'm attracting all that much attention. You can't tell me that when you come in here and women are here you don't look, so why are you all over me?" she said stepping off the treadmill.

"That's different."

"Oh it is, is it? Well you seemed to notice my butt and chest right away! You couldn't even say hello. You're no different than any other man I've met! That's always the first thing to catch their eye either my chest or my butt, but mostly the chest!" she snapped taking a drink from her water bottle and sitting on the bench.

Jim frowned up his face in disgust. "Don't make me regurgitate! I don't look at you like that! It's just that I know that there are men who do look at you like that and you should be aware." He sat down beside her, putting his arms around her shoulders. "I don't want anything to happen to you now that I have you back."

Aura laughed. "Believe me Jimmy, I don't draw that much attention. Your concern is sweet. I think I like having my little brother back and all so overprotective. However, I doubt if anyone on this big starship notices me with all the eye candy I see roaming around here."

"Oh, they notice!" he said as he got up and began to stretch. "I happen to know of one such person that is very much interested!"

Aura looked surprised. "Who?"

"My friend, the good Doctor McCoy." Jim said smugly. "I thought it was funny at first, but I now I am not so sure I like the idea."

"You've got to be kidding! He's never been anything but polite to me. I would think a man like him would already have a woman or two."

Jim chuckled and sat back beside her. "He said the same thing about you. That man hasn't seen pussy since they put decorations up for halloween!"

Aura gasped. "Don't be so vulgar, Jimmy."

"It's the truth! I thought he was made of stone, but I can see now that he's not. He has the hots for you. What about you? Do you have anybody? When was the last time-"

Aura jumped up "Jimmy, that's none of your business!"

"That long, huh? Well I can see I will have to keep you two apart! If you ever did get together, there would be a terrible combustion from the release of pent up heat from the both of you on the ship and I'd have to clear the entire deck!"

Aura got back on the treadmill. "Well you don't have to worry about that. has not said anything to me to indicate he's interested and I am not trying to get involved with anyone anyway. I am concentrating on the task at hand. I don't wish to be sidetracked."

"So, you are not involved with anyone at all." Jim asked as she began a fast walk on the treadmill.

"No, and I don't plan to be. Relationships are complicated. I try to put my energy in my work."

Jim laughed. "You both have the same philosophy, but all that does is make you cranky. I have told Bones over and over that he needs to get laid, but I certainly didn't have you in mind for the job."

Aura rolled her eyes. "Why don't you go find some young thing to concentrate on and get your mind off of me. I will be fine."

Jim laughed and climbed on the treadmill beside hers. "Oh I plan on doing just that when we reach Terrin" he said.

Even though Aura was protesting, his gut feeling told him that there was an attraction between her and Bones. Aura relished the fact that she knew him so well, but she forgot that he knew her just as well. If she did not find Bones attractive, she would have made that plain to him up front. Instead she had said that 'she thought that he already had somebody.' He wasn't sure that he liked the idea of them being together. One of them most likely would end up being hurt. They lived in two different worlds. How could he take sides with either of them against the other if it didn't work out? He made a mental note to keep an eye on both her and Bones until this mission was over.

Nyota left McCoy's quarters pondering her next move. He was right, she was somewhat upset to hear that Christine Chapel had her eyes on Spock, and he had not said one thing to her about it!

She knew that they needed to talk, and she definitely was going to keep an eye on Nurse Chapel!

She decided to get something to eat and was surprised to see the Christine Chapel sitting at a table alone eating. Know your enemy, Nyota, she thought to herself. She quickly got her meal and walked over to Christine. "Would you like some company?" she said sweetly.

Christine looked up in surprise. "Sure, but I'm only going to be here a few more minutes."

Nyota sat down. "So how's things going, Christine? Examined any male patients, lately?" She knew she was being catty, but what the hell!

Christine looked at her obviously confused. "What? I'm sorry Uhura, repeat that."

"Oh, I was just asking if you examined any good looking males lately, you know ones that you would corner in sick bay for a personal examination?"

"Lieutenant, that would be highly unprofessional! Why in the world would you ask me something like that?" she said standing up. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to get back to work!"

Nyota laughed to herself. Perhaps Nurse Chapel would think twice before she tried to hem Spock up in a corner again. She wondered why Spock had never mentioned his encounters with Chapel before. Knowing that logical vulcan, he most likely had dismissed her advances and then thought it wasn't worth mentioning. Still, she would store the information away for future use.

She was still mad about what he did, but after listening to Leonard, it made her at least think about forgiving him. They did need to talk it out and she needed to understand why he didn't trust her.

She smiled to herself. Maybe she would wait for him to return to his quarters after his shift. There was no sex better than make up sex. She quickly finished her meal and decided to pay her vulcan a visit.

****************************

Aura struggled to get the duffle bag on the turbolift. If Jim didn't have to run back to the bridge immediately after their dinner, she would have had him pick it up from her quarters. She had wanted to surprise him by returning to him some items he had left at her mom's years ago, as well as some other mementos she had.

He told her that they would be arriving at Terrin in another 24 hours and she wanted to be sure he got the bag in plenty of time. She enjoyed the time that they had spent together. She knew that she most likely would see very little of him in the coming weeks while she was working with the people of Terrin.

The turbolift doors opened and she began pulling it behind her. She began scanning the doors looking for Jim's name. She was sure that he told her that he was on this deck.

"Do you need some help, ma'am?"

Aura looked around and saw Dr. McCoy coming down the hallway. He looked tired, but he smiled and she felt a tingling in her stomach as she thought about what Jim had told her.

"Yes, thank you Dr. McCoy. I'm trying to find Jimmy...I mean Jim's quarters."

"Well, you are heading in the wrong direction. You're actually heading my way. Let me help you." he said picking up the bag. "Wow, what do you have in this thing, bricks?"

She laughed, "It's for Jim. I just wanted to leave it at his door."

"Why don't you just let me give it to him later. We're right at my quarters and I will see him in the morning anyway." he said walking to the door. "I'll just keep it for him until then."

He quickly keyed in the code and the door opened. "Come on in." he said looking at Aura over his shoulder.

She hesitated a moment, but the followed him in. "I don't want to keep you from anything." she said.

"I have no plans. You're not interrupting anything." he replied dropping the bag in a chair. He turned around studying her a moment. His eyes lingered on the aqua wrap top she was wearing and black slacks. "You're not in uniform" he said. "You know that's a big no no." He walked over to the bar and poured a drink "Have one?" he asked looking at her.

Aura shook her head. "No thank you. I don't drink...nor do I always follow the rules."

He smiled at her as he sipped the drink. She felt like a nervous school girl. She decided it would be wise to say her goodbyes and exit his quarters as quickly as possible. However, she stood there, her legs unwilling to cooperate with her brain.

"That's good to know" McCoy said walking over to her. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, the 'not always following the rules' part, I mean."

Aura felt her heart would beat out of her chest. What was wrong with her? He was just a man...a good looking man...a good looking man who was looking at her as if he wanted to do more than just talk. Why did that thought not offend her? Why didn't she run out of there like her hair was on fire? Why did the thought of him kissing her sound so delicious and make her hot? Why did Jimmy have to tell her McCoy was attracted to her? It made it harder to leave because she was also attracted to him. Her brain was trying to get her to the door, but her body was like a magnet being drawn towards him.

"Could I have some water?" she asked tearing her eyes off him and looking around his neat quarters.

"Of course." McCoy said. "Have a seat."

She sat down trying to get her thoughts together. The last thing she needed was to get involved with someone, especially a good friend of Jimmy's. Men usually talked to her breasts instead of her which made it easy for her to scorn their advances. She hated that. She hated their leering, their condescending attitudes, but McCoy was not following the norm and it unnerved her.

McCoy came over to her with the glass in hand. "Here you go." he said sitting beside her. She could smell the liquor and the cologne and...him. He was watching her, his eyes unreadable.

"This is a pleasant surprise...running into you." he said, his voice low. "I hope you don't mind me saying that you are a very beautiful and desirable woman. I just wish I had more time to get to know you. I guess we won't see each other much after tomorrow."

"Well you never know..." that was all she could think of to say. It was so warm here in his quarters and he was so close and she could feel the sweat between her breasts. "I..I guess I'd better go." she said.

He took another sip of his drink. "Do you really want to go, or are you just following the rules?" McCoy asked smiling. "Could this perhaps be a time that you don't want to follow the rules? The rules tell me that I shouldn't push, because I am a gentleman. The rules tell me not to hope for too much because we haven't known each other that long." He sat down his empty glass and turned back to her. "I'm going to go out on a limb here. I don't want to follow the rules right now. I want to kiss those lips of yours that are your most sensuous feature. I have not been able to take my eyes off of them since I first saw you."

Aura knew then that he had her and her resolve evaporated. No man had ever talked to her like that. No man had looked at her the way Leonard McCoy was looking at her. His eyes weren't focused on her breasts when he talked to her, he looked her in the eyes always, and her heart melted.

She did not know if she leaned to him or he leaned to her, but he was kissing her and her head was spinning. 'What are you doing?' He mind screamed, but she didn't want to listen. She knew that she wanted him. It had been a long time since she had been with a man and if Jim was correct, it had been a long time for him also. She didn't want to be proper. She didn't want to wait. She may regret it in the morning, but hell, all she had was right now anyway.

He stood up and pulled her to her feet. "If you want to leave, you'd better do it now while I can still think straight." McCoy said. "Either way, I want you to know, I'll respect you in the morning, but if you stay, I'll give you respect and a whole lot more."

"How can I refuse an offer like that?" Aura asked. "I'm not going to lie. I don't want to leave."

He pulled her close kissing her. God it had been a long time since she felt a man hard and aroused against her, and it felt damn good. To hell with propriety! She reached for his belt and began undoing it, her hands nervously fumbling. He grabbed her hands and for a moment she was embarrassed, afraid that she appeared too forward and desperate to him. He brought her hands to his lips and kissed them. "I want you to know that I will try not to disappoint you, it's been a while for me..."he said hoping that she understood what he was trying to say.

"Me too" she said breathing hard. "It's been a long time for me too."

He smiled. "Then let's not waste another minute."

Nyota walked into Spock's quarters wondering what she was going to say to him. She checked and found out that his shift was now over and that meant that he would be there shortly.

She sat on the sofa crossing and uncrossing her legs. After thirty minutes and no Spock, she decided that she would go look for him. Maybe he went to get something to eat or maybe he was with the Captain.

She left his quarters and decided to check the bridge. Knowing Spock he would still be there even though his shift was finished. On the way to the turbolift, she changed her mind and decided to send him a message. No use running all over the place looking for him. She headed for her quarters instead.

She was surprised that when she entered, Spock was there waiting for her. "Good evening, Nyota. I took the liberty of entering your quarters. I hope that you do not disapprove of my being here."

"No Spock, I am glad you are here. I've been looking for you." she said

"Indeed."

"I was upset by what you did. I was more upset that you didn't trust me. Why don't you trust me Spock?" she asked walking over to him. She took his hand and led him to the sofa.

"I knew that there was a bond between you and Nichols. It disturbed me. I needed to know if you still wanted me or if you preferred him."
Spock said sitting next to her.

"Nathaniel is no threat to you."

"I did not know that. I had to know."

Nyota sighed. "You must promise me that you will never do that again, Spock. It was wrong."

Spock stood up and faced her. "As you wish, Nyota. However, I also have a request that you will not see Nichols again nor any other man you have been involved with. You will not let them touch you, or kiss you, or embrace you. You will do those things only with me."

Nyota was shocked. "Haven't you been listening, Spock? How can you ask me not to talk to someone just because you're insecure?"

"You are my woman. It disturbs me to know that others have been with you and can still approach you and you allow them to take liberties with you."

"You are crazy, Spock!" she said jumping up from the sofa.

"Name calling is not necessary, Nyota. I have made my request!" He began pacing in front of her with his hands behind his back.

"You mean your demands, don't you Spock?" she said feeling her anger rise. "Look, obviously you don't trust me and that hurts. I don't see how we're going to make it with the attitude you have."

Spock turned and studied her for a moment. "Perhaps you need time to think about what I have said. I do not think my request unreasonable. If you are truly my woman, then you would not want another man touching you. If you desire attention from them, then perhaps I cannot satisfy all of your human needs, and I will have to face that truth. I will have to accept the fact that I am not enough for you."

"You are enough for me" Nyota said feeling frustrated that she could not get him to understand. "Why can't you just believe me?"

"This is all very confusing, Nyota. I feel the need to meditate; therefore I will take my leave of you until tomorrow. We will talk more then. Goodnight Nyota."

He did not wait for her to reply but turned and walked out the door.