A/N: Yoooooo i know im the worst. I saw this fic has like 70 followers and it made me happy but also sad because I said I'd update this soon in the last chapter and it's been months .-. Anyways! Here ya go dudes and ladies! Love you all! :)

This Time Know: A Star Trek Fanfiction

Written by Lady F.S.

Chapter Six: Sneaking and Sleuthing

Despite being given specific orders to see the second highest ranking officer on board the entire starship, Amira was seriously considering avoiding contact all together. To Spock it may seem like insubordination but really he should thank her for doing him the courtesy of not meeting him. If she were to have to spend any moment alone with him after what had happened she just might throw up all over his nicely polished uniform boots. In either scenario it would end with getting written up for insubordination so why not choose the option with no risk of her vomiting in general? They had twenty minutes left until they were finally released from duty and then Spock would expect her presence outside the bridge.

How was she even going to pull this off? He would notice if he saw her just up and walk past him, he wasn't stupid. Her stomach turned in frantic swirls as she watched the clock tick away relentlessly, the remaining twenty minutes of lock down soon turning into ten and then to five. The anxious lieutenant spared a fleeting glance towards said science officer and was immediately struck with goose bumps. She turned back toward her console with haste and just haphazardly fiddled with her monitor to make herself seem productive. There was a pause in her actions where she slouched in her chair and let out a sigh that seemed to deflate her as she exhaled. There was no getting out of this, as soon as those bridge doors opened she would have to face him and the thought alone was making her ill.

Maybe if I throw up now, he'll relieve me to sick bay...

She scoffed and dismissed the notion just as soon as it had come into her thoughts. It was funny, she had been so eager to finally be let off duty but now she absolutely dreaded the thought of said freedom. Nothing more daunting than someone like Mr. Spock giving you an order for one on one time to discuss an unprofessional occurrence that would probably haunt her for the rest of her career. Amira massaged her temples as a dull ache and a wooziness set in while her brain that spiraled her further into despair and anxiety. She didn't hate the first officer, not at all, but the man was a walking ice box. Whenever he looked at her it was like being put under the microscope, naked and vulnerable with every flaw on display.

"Ten minutes until lock down is complete, sir." Chekov rattled off.

Amira couldn't help but smile when she looked over at the captain for his response and found him mouthing "thank god" rather dramatically as he shook his fist. He was an odd one but he always seemed to be able to make her smile when she needed it most and she found she was very glad he was her captain. He caught her smile and gave her a single nod before turning back to the helm. Amira followed suit and shifted her focus back to her console to try and keep herself together and concentrate on settling her stomach. Irritated to the breaking point with her nerves she wiped her mind of all thoughts of pity and self loathing before initiating a change in behavior with in herself.

Ok, MAN THE FUCK UP. He's just gonna talk to you about crap you already know went down and how it can't happen again and blah blah-blah-blah blah, so just meet with old elf ears after and get it over with.

The exasperated lieutenant drew in a deep breath and sat up straighter in her chair before letting out a slow and steady breath. She maintained a professional posture and tended to her duties to the fullest of her ability. Every now and again as the minutes passed by she would notice how much time remained and the nerves would creep back up on her but instead of allowing herself to be swept away she kept a good distance from the thoughts and pushed forward. Before she knew it, the moment of truth had arrived. A single blare of the ship's alarm sounded as the doors suddenly unlocked themselves and the lifts became operational again.

Kirk eyed the opened doors with wide eyes and stood eagerly before remembering he was still on the bridge and had to maintain some sense of composure. He managed to do so...for about a second. Not even a moment later his shoulders slumped and he let out a strenuous sigh of relief from the anxiety of being trapped in this room for so long.

"The relief crewmen are on their way, everyone leave. Ensign whoever-the-hell-you-are, you have the con. I am so gone." He dismissed hastily in a final, half assed address before rushing out the doors.

Amira and the rest of the 20 or so crewmen watched completely dumbfounded by the sudden retreat of their captain but only dwelled on it for maybe a few seconds before willfully following suit. She heaved herself out of her chair and kept her eyes on the ground as she headed for the door to wait for Mr. Spock to chastise her. As she stood outside the doorway watching the last of a steady stream of exhausted officers trickle through the entry way her heart fell heavy when she realized she had not seen Mr. Spock come out yet. Suddenly, as if on cue, she felt a touch on her shoulder and despite her efforts she flinched noticeably and drew in a sharp breath however when she turned she discovered not Mr. Spock but another crewman.

He had long pure white hair that was gathered in a loose but well kept pony tail, blueish, white skin, and light blue eyes. The most noticeable of these traits were his ears, he had none. Instead, what he had were a delicate set of small antennae that protruded from the sides of his forehead. She had seen these traits somewhere before but she couldn't quite remember the name of the species they belonged to.

"Amira?" He asked in a calm yet unsure voice.

Amira was caught off guard when he called her by her first name instead of by title rank. She was almost positive she had never met him before. With an appearance like his she was very sure she would remember if she had met him, with out a doubt. The lieutenant decided it would be wise to respond and learn more instead of stand there and gawk at this random crewman like an idiot.

"Y-yeah that's me. Do you need something crewman? Also, have we met?"

He chuckled lightly and shook his head.

"No we haven't but Jim, er, the captain told me to look for you before starting my shift as a relief crewman on the bridge. I'm the alternating linguistics officer, Luka Ademi."

Something about that awkward pause piqued her curiosity significantly but she brushed it off almost as soon as the thought came to mind. Amira was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed Luka held out his blue hand, the sight of which surprised her a little bit at first. She shook it regardless and have him the nicest smile she could muster at the moment. He gave her a small smile in return and peered behind her into the bridge before returning his gaze towards her.

"It's nice to meet you lieutenant. You can call me Lieutenant Ciela when we're on duty but, off duty you can just call me Amira."

He nodded and his smile seemed to become less of a formality and more of a genuine expression. The lieutenant saw him eye the clock above the bridge bay doors and realized how long they had actually been standing there. It hadn't seemed like a long time but she knew she shouldn't keep him from attending his duties on the bridge.

"You should head over to your post now, I've kept you long enough."

Luka nodded and headed toward the entry way before turning back toward her.

"Let's try and find each other when we're both off duty, yes?" He inquired in a less than confident tone.

Amira gave a small chuckle at his timid demeanor and nodded with reassurance. "I'll certainly try."

He gave her a small wave good bye and headed inside. Alone once again Amira, was left to wait for Mr. Spock in solitude with nothing but her worries to keep her company as the large gap of time did nothing but layer on the suspense to thick for comfort. She let out a small breath and tried to clear her mind but she found that it became more cluttered with questions beyond measure. For starters, why would Kirk go out of his way to instruct her relief to introduce themselves? She wasn't bothered by it in the least.

She actually rather enjoyed meeting someone that would have otherwise never been unknown to her, the more friends she could make the merrier. One of the bigger ones was where in the heck was Spock? That green blooded terrorist had kept her waiting waaay past their initial dismissal and she had been waiting for almost fifteen minutes. Maybe he had to do first officer stuff she didn't know about but even if that were true he could've dismissed her and just talked to her in the morning like a normal person, er, Vulcan. Amira looked up from her boots and tried not to openly gawk at what her eyes came across.

It was Spock. He wasn't alone either, he was with a woman with long brown hair and dark skin and he seemed intently focused on the words that were coming out of her mouth. Something about the nature of his expression made it evident that they were not talking about normal star fleet run of the mill business but something much deeper. Her commander and this woman stopped off a good enough distance away from her where it seemed he hadn't even noticed she was there watching him. It was then that Amira got a crazy and incredibly risky idea but had the possibility of a favorable outcome all the same.

Spock obviously had some serious business with this woman so who was she to cut it short with something as stupid as passing out and bumping shoulders on the floor. So, maybe just maybe he wouldn't even mind, or notice for that matter, if she went ahead and skipped out on their little chat. Her heart was in her throat as she took an experimental step away from her place near the bridge doorway and watched carefully for a reaction of any kind. When she got none she took three more steps, then seven, then ten and however many more it took to get her toward the lift.

Moment of truth. Dear god if he looks over here I might actually throw up this time. Then I'll definitely get caught.

Amira clenched a fist before opening the lift doors and stepping inside. As the doors closed and the lift began to move she let out a huge sigh of relief and wiped the minuscule amount of sweat that had accumulated on her forehead with her sleeve. She had successfully evaded what could have possibly been the second most nerve wracking experience of her short career in star fleet so far but the final image of the commander with that woman currently nagged at the forefront of her mind. Vulcans weren't suppose to feel or show any sign of emotion but there was no mistake what she saw in his eyes in the short instance before the lift doors closed; hope. The question now was, what was he hoping for?

I know I wasn't imagining things but, considering the circumstances; lack of sleep, stress from the pressure of flawless performance, first day jitters, and a amalgamation of other crap, it would be easy for me to believe that I had and simply leave the matter at that. There was just one problem with that option; I had no intention what so ever to do so. I was too damn curious! I kicked off my covers for the third time in the half hour I had been laying in bed and swung my legs over the side to sit in an upright position. Something about the look I saw on Mr. Spock's face screamed at me in the back of my head but I couldn't exactly pinpoint why.

I looked at the clock above my doorway and noticed how late it was but I knew it wouldn't be out of the ordinary if I were to leave my quarters and stretch my legs as long as I was in my civies and not my pajamas. Besides, I was a little hungry after the whole fiasco on the bridge and maybe a small snack and something warm to drink would calm my nerves enough for me to get some sleep. I figured I should look somewhat presentable so I put on a clean sweater and sweat pants, put my hair in a loose bun, and couldn't be bothered to put in my contacts so I settled for my old thin metal frames I had since the beginning of the academy. As I slipped on my sneakers I caught a look of myself in the mirror and couldn't help but frown a little at how frumpy I looked. I never really cared about that sort of thing but after seeing all the women on the Enterprise all made up with painted nails, perky hair styles, and a menagerie of other decorations on top of our not-so reserved uniforms I had been feeling even more ordinary than usual.

I snorted at the troubling thoughts in my head and waved them all away as I grabbed my meal card and headed out of my quarters and toward the mess hall. Despite my previous reservations, I wasn't perturbed by how many people were in the halls as I made my way through the halls and toward the lift. Mainly because they all seemed to be so occupied with whatever they were doing that they were indifferent to my abnormal appearance as opposed to the various uniformed ones that surrounded me. With that conclusion, I held my head up just a bit higher as I exited the lift and entered through the double doors of the mess hall. I wasn't surprised at all to see that there was next to nobody in here considering the first meal period of the relief staff was still a far ways off.

My appetite seemed to have grown in the short walk from my quarters to the cafeteria because suddenly everything in the display window looked so appetizing and the various aromas of food were all enticing me quite successfully. I didn't hesitate to pick up a tray and snatch up a plate of spaghetti that still had steam coming off of it. I was about to reach for a bread roll in the next bin over but somebody beat me to it. I was about to grab another but the same hand offered me the roll that was in it. Hesitant to take it in the first place, I was about to offer it back but then I met the eyes of a the last person I thought I'd see down here at this hour.

"Couldn't sleep Amira?" An equally disheveled, and surprisingly enough glasses sporting, Jim Kirk.

I couldn't help but gape at my captain in his worn star fleet academy t-shirt and standard issue academy sweats and holy shit yes, those are fucking high tops and fuzzy socks my captain is literally the best the other ships can suck it. Shaking off the initial shock and closing my mouth nodded in acknowledgement of his greeting. He chuckled at me and gave me a good pat on the shoulder.

"Lighten up, I'm not your Captain right now. I'm just Jim." He grinned.

I couldn't help but scoff at that notion. "Captain please, we both know that's not true..."

He frowned at my negative approach and I let out a sigh.

"But I suppose I can play along with the sentiment if only to give my poor nerves a break after this shit storm day." I added, returning that infectious smile back onto his face.

After we both had finished getting food we sat down at a table closest to a window and chewed our food in silence while staring off in the deep black of space that we passed through at millions of miles a minute. Something bright blue and luminous was burning off in the distance and I paid it full attention until it disappeared on the horizon in our starship's path. I suppose Kirk had been doing the same because as soon as it had he decided to start some conversation.

"Amira, what's the deal with you and Spock?" He asked suddenly.

I nearly choked on my bread at the sudden inquiry and had to guzzle nearly all of my water just to settle the disturbance in my wind pipe. Kirk only eyed me cheekily as I glared him down for almost killing me for a few seconds before addressing his question.

"That depends, were you aware of the brief meeting he had intended us to have after we were dismissed from the bridge?" I asked in return.

Kirk raised a brow at me and leaned a little further toward me at the news I had given him. Well shit, if Kirk didn't know about it then what the hell had Spock intended to say to me in the stupid meeting? Maybe this was my chance to find out what exactly his problem was with me in the first place and maybe even to find out what in the hell made him show that small shred of emotion back near the lift when he was speaking with that woman.

"So that must have been what he was keeping you for back on the bridge..." Jim drifted off for a moment after that before focusing back on me. "Did he say he was gonna talk to you about what happened between you and him near the helmsman's post?"

I felt the heat of embarrassment flush my cheeks briefly as I nodded in confirmation. He groaned and rubbed his temples with both hands as he muttered something unintelligible to himself before letting out a deep sigh.

"I told him to let that go, it wasn't even that big of a deal. We all fell asleep together on that floor so who cares who was closer to who." I tensed up at the reminder of what had transpired between me and Spock and tried to block out the feeling.

Kirk must have noticed the troubled expression on my face because he groaned at that too and shook his head.

"Look Amira, this isn't as big a deal as you think. It's not like you two had sex or anything plus it was involuntary so neither of you were either even in control of what happened so you both shouldn't be floundering this much about it, jesus..."

I felt the heat all the way to my ears at his brash outburst and avoided his eyes for a bit before I was able to calm down enough to look him in the eye again. He did have a point though, not about the sex thing that was just unnecessary, but the rest of it made a lot of sense. In the moment it seemed like such a huge deal because I was still in the room with Spock and it made things ten thousand times more awkward but now that I had been out of all that mess for a good amount of time I had a clear enough head to realize that it really was such a stupid thing to fuss about.

"I suppose you're right, Jim." I admitted, feeling much more relaxed after I voiced the realization out loud.

He nodded and gave me a playful punch in the shoulder across the table before giving me a smile that seemed to make his eyes light up. Damn those blue sons of bitches. He was pretty, thank god for handsome captains like Jim. OK, enough of that back to the task at hand!

"Big step forward lieutenant, you called my Jim while off duty." He teased with amusement.

I rolled my eyes at him and smiled too. I couldn't help it, like I said before this guy had the most infectious smile I had ever seen. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing but it was distracting me and I needed to focus.

"Hey, can I ask you something then?"

"You just did." He replied with a mouth full of food.

I knocked his fork back onto his plate out of spite and he feigned shock as I regained his attention.

"Has Commander Spock ever had...a sort of, personal relationship with anyone on your ship prior to my assignment to the Enterprise?"

Jim hesitated as he picked up his fork again and idly picked at his food for a moment before he was able to look me in the eyes again.

"Yes. She had your position before she resigned and let's just say...there was nothing mutual about the end of that relationship."

I frowned at that but also felt so much shock and even more curiosity than before. I had never heard of a Vulcan maintaining a relationship with a human before. I didn't know very much but from what I had learned about Vulcan mating back in my cultural studies among the species class at the academy was that it was very complex and extremely personal. So much so that they have kept the Federation in the dark about pretty much every facet of it and within their own cultural sphere since ancient times of their planet. There were so many questions in my head now; How did this woman even develop feelings for someone so unfeeling like Mr. Spock?

He was so cold and the Vulcan's disdain of human nature was no secret how in the hell did he date one? Oh my god what was the sex like? It'd be like having sex with a robot. Cold, detached, robot sex. That does not sound enticing at all. You also have to wonder, how did that break up go? Probably not well considering how pissy the Commander had been when she had been on duty not even ten minutes into her first day. Vulcan my ass, he sure is one moody son of a-

"Amiraaa, hello?" Jim snapped his fingers in my face and it wasn't until the third time that I actually came out of my head and looked back at him.

"Sorry Jim, when I get in my head it takes a little extra effort to get myself back out." I finally replied with a pathetic chuckle.

He laughed too and waved his hand in dismissal. "I understand."

"I have to ask one more thing though." He raised a brow at what I'm sure was the nerves finally getting to me coming through in my voice.

I swallowed lightly before I continued on. "What if this woman were to come back onto the ship and see Mr. Spock? How do you think he'd react?"

Jim's face turned more serious than I had ever seen it and even with that short time frame of reference it still made me very jumpy. He stood up from his seat and motioned for me to follow after him. We threw our trash away and returned our trays to the depository bin and left the cafeteria. I followed him to a lift and we remained in silence until we got to what I'm almost positive was the deck all the top officers and high ranking crewman had their quarters stationed. We finally arrived at what could only be his door and the whoosh it made had a nerve wracking effect on me but I followed him inside nonetheless. Once the door was shut he took off his glasses and ran both his hands through his hair in what could only be exasperation.

He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before putting his glasses back on and finally acknowledged my presence. He motioned for me to sit at a small table near his bed and I did.

"Amira, I need you to remember what this woman looked like as best you can." He finally said as he reached over toward the edge of his bed where a PADD sat.

I nodded slowly wondering why we had to be so damn discreet, this was scaring me a bit. "I can remember clearly."

He nodded and mumbled a 'good' as he rifled through something in his files. When he finally found what he was looking for he handed me the device and pointed toward an image on the screen. It was a dark skinned woman with long brown hair up in a pony tail and a red uniform like the one I wore when I was on duty. This was a personnel file ID image, I could tell because it had her name, rank, occupation and birth date below.

"Lieutenant Nyota Uhura." I repeated aloud.

"Yeah, she was our old communications officer before I brought you aboard." Jim confirmed.

I nodded in acknowledgement as I looked back at her picture. Jim tapped the picture and it enlarged on the screen to where it was the only thing visible, all the other information gone.

"Amira, is this the woman you saw with Spock?" He asked carefully.

I looked at him curiously. What did she do to make him so careful and serious like this? Also, why did the very idea of her presence back on this ship unsettle him so much? Had her and Spock's break up been that bad? I shook the excess thoughts aside for now so I could give him a clear answer after such an unnecessary pause like that I'm sure he must be more impatient than he was before.

"Well?" He urged, confirming my previous assumption.

"No Jim, that wasn't her. She has the same long brown hair but her face is different. It definitely was not the woman on this screen."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

He paused for a moment, his eyes flitting from one thought to another as he seemed to be contemplating something. If his previous theory had been thrown out this must have raised so many more questions for him. I was in the same place as I was before but now I had some information to give instead of a question to ask.

"Jim, I think you should know something though."

He was brought out of his thoughts at the prospect and I had his undivided attention.

"When Mr. Spock was talking to this woman something was off...he had this look of hope and maybe even a speck of desperation in his eyes. Why would that be?"

Jim groaned lightly at the news and slumped back in his chair. His blue eyes were swirling with frustration and curiosity as he sifted through something else on his PADD, his impatience growing more and more evident as he searched. He frowned when the PADD proved to be insufficient in providing the information he wanted and he left it on the table in favor of a small monitor on the wall near his bed.

"Computer open personnel inquiries, Captain's authority James Tiberius Kirk 67201." He commanded as he held a button.

"Complying with special authority, Captain Kirk, James Tiberius." The computer answered. "Enter search subject."

"Yeoman Leona Colter." He spoke back immediately.

"Processing." The computer replied.

I could only watch with fascination as my Captain unraveled further into his impatience and frustration. Honestly it had me worried but I trusted that all of this worry and agitation came with good reason other wise we wouldn't be on this wild goose chase desperately trying to answer some questions instead of gain them. I also marveled at the Enterprise's impressive AI system, it seemed very efficient but I would be more impressed if it actually managed to answer some of our questions.

"Leona Colter, previously assigned to U.S.S. Enterprise as Yeoman before being promoted by previous captain Christopher Pike to Head of Life Sciences Department A." Does this conclude personnel inquiry?" The computer replied.

Jim muttered something to himself before confirming the end of his usage of the data base.

"Acknowledged." The computer replied before shutting down.

"Jim I'm lost, why is it so bad that this Officer Colter is still aboard the ship?" I asked.

"Oh, and side note; shouldn't you know who heads the departments of your ship? I mean, I'm just saying..." I more mumbled that last part but he didn't find it as amusing as I did so I just kept my mouth shut after that as he paced back toward the table to sit across from me.

"It's not bad but it provides complications if she's playing the part I think she is in all this mess." He said.

"Which is what exactly?" I asked, growing impatient as well.

Jim hesitated before he was able to look me in the eye and the seriousness in his expression made me wish he was still contemplating. He rubbed the back of his neck as he leaned back in his chair and remained silent for a moment or two perhaps trying to regain some of his calm before speaking again. All of this had happened so fast and so out of the blue due to our chance encounter in the mess hall so it was no surprise we both had become exhausted and a little sick to death of this whole mystery shit. I looked down at my lap and fiddled with my brother's spoon ring while I waited for the captain to compose himself and take breather or two to clear his head. I was tracing the floral pattern in the handle for the third time before he began to speak.

"If you saw Spock talking to her," He pulled up a picture of this Colter woman's ID photo on his PADD.

I nodded in confirmation as he paused for me to get a good look and make sure we had our woman. Jim sighed and put down the device in favor of freeing his hands to cross his arms.

"Then she's probably a go between for Spock and Uhura considering Leona's her good friend and we might be in store for a little unrest in the near future."

My mind was racing with so many questions at this point, too many to voice in a decent amount of time and get a decent amount of sleep before our shifts started in the morning. I knew there was no way I could sleep now but I had to try at least. The captain agreed with me when I mentioned the need for us to get some sleep after all this noise and he saw me to the lift before we parted ways for the night. I leaned against the wall of the lift and smiled to myself in spite of all the crap bouncing around in my head. It was a little fun playing Hardy boys with Kirk even though we found out so little. It was this small comfort that saw me to sleep. There was that...and also the small pleasure that was discovering my captain wears glasses and fuzzy socks.

YEAH SUPER LONG UPDATE.

I feel like I owe you guys this much for being on hiatus on and off all the gawt dang time. omg real talk tho, dressing kirk is my guilty pleasure xD
You know that cinnamon roll would totally rock those fuzzy socks in high tops. such QT 3

ANYWAYS,

hOLY SHIIIIIIT whatSGONNAHAPPEEEEEN. Thanks for reading guys! See you next chapter~*