A/N: OK, so apparently I have no life, 'cause I thought I'd post this tomorrow. Nope. The fact that I got so many reviews (for me 13 is many, yaaaay!), meant that I couldn't keep you guys waiting and had to finish this. (see, this is how it works…the carrot, not the stick)

So, if you thought Aureya was brave heading for a mad, agitated Klingon twice her size, wait till you read this. (hee hee)

A big thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially Hegger (wow, creative choice of a name there!) who is my friend and snuck in. Nearly gave me heart attack too.

To vulcanvamp, B.N. Bennett and dragonwitch250: I wonder what could be wrong with her, what could it be? ;p

To Sweet A.K.: I'm currently undecided between "you little cow" and "now listen here, young missy".

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or any of its characters, or any version of "Don't let me be misunderstood".

Aureya

Aureya woke in sickbay, disorientated and nauseous, with Bones and two senior medical officers leaning over her.

"Welcome back, sweetheart." He gave her a warm smile, then threw the other two attendants a meaningful look. They both nodded and left.

Oh God. What?

"Would you like some water? You've been out for a day and a half, you should really have some." He looked uncomfortable.

"What's up?" she managed after taking a sip from the cup he was holding out for her. Her voice sounded a little rusty.

"Hmmmm." Bones was fidgeting, playing with the button of the reading lamp on her nightstand, making the light go on and off, on and off.

"Holy shit, I'm dying, aren't I?"

To her immense relief, Bones let out a genuine laugh of amusement.

"Hell no, honey, you're not dying, just suffering an adverse reaction to your suppressants." He clarified.

He really had to work on his bedside manner.

"Fuck, Bones, you nearly gave me a heart attack…How exactly am I suffering an adverse reaction, I've been on that stuff for 10 years…. Why now?"

Ah, she'd hit a bull's eye, …with what though?

His expression returned to being mildly perturbed but she now realised it was slight embarrassment, not concern.

"Well, you know, you are a rather unusual case, being half human and all, and the injection you receive was created specifically for you when you were very young, you see, not all the information needed was available, so there are some problems now that you are fully matured….'Nothing to worry about, though. There are no lasting effects and we will just have to create a new formula for you, now that we have all that additional information."

Ha!

"Additional information?" she tried to sound unconcerned, whatever it was he was hiding, he was clearly not particularly keen on getting it out there.

"There are certain physical processes currently taking place in your hormonal makeup that are a recent development: a marked increase in both oestrogen, adrenalin as well as serotonin, presumably due to some previously non-existent psychological and emotional developments, leading to an increase in pheromone production."

"Bones, I have an IQ of 206, if you're trying to confuse me with medical jargon, you'll have to try harder."

He gave her an apologetic shrug:

"Fair enough."

"What developments?"

"Developments that would usually lead to sudden hormone and pheromone spikes."

"Einstein's nose hair, Bones, are you trying to be obtuse?"

"Well, yea. Obviously. Damn it, Eya, I'm a doctor, not a relationship counsellor. Do I really have to spell it out?... You're a grown woman now, your physical reaction to sexual arousal was unforeseeable when you were twelve, the dosage of the chemical in charge of that was calculated way too low. The reason you passed out was because your system was flooded with pheromones that the chemicals in your bloodstream could not deal with. Since there was no way of releasing them, because the rest of the formula was working perfectly, they overloaded your system. There, happy now?" McCoy took a deep breath.

What? …wait?…no…what????!!!!....oh, crap!

"Sexual arousal?" her voice came out as a mere squeak.

"Please don't tell me I have to explain that bit to you Miss 'I have an IQ of 206'."

Oh shit, shit, shit.

Aureya had pulled her knees up to her chest and was now resting her arms and head on top of them.

Oh dear Lord, this actually makes sense.

All sorts of events suddenly clicked into place. The night of Lennox's memorial, the reason she had been so upset by his little speech, the time she sort of noticed quite how elegantly he moved when he had walked towards her from behind his desk, the expression in his eyes when he had seriously considered, and then taken on board, her argument, and the time she could feel his chest pressed against the back of her head, the way his growl had travelled through her entire body.

No, no, no, no, no.

She gave a little strangled sob.

Bones reached out and petted one of her hands,

"It's OK, honey, we'll have the new formula sorted in a week or so. No need to get so upset."

What the hell did he know?!

Wait, what did he know?

He would never be this uncomfortable just because she had some odd hormonal reaction to her first proper "mating urges". Would he? But he couldn't know, it could have been any number of men, for all he knew it could have been the fat Orion.

"I'll get you a hormonal supplement, that should keep you from the worst for now. Then I'll take you to your quarters, no need to stay here, you'll be fine."

Aureya sighed a small sigh of relief; his light tone of voice and the nonchalant way he was waving his hand around convinced her that he couldn't possibly know.

"You might try not touching the green blooded goblin again, though. Just in case."

Shit.

As it turned out, Aureya returned from sick leave two days after Chekov had. So, when she met both him and Commander Spock outside the examination hall for Introductory Mathematics and Logic, to invigilate, Spock greeted her with:

"Cadet Newman, I hope you too are fully recovered and feeling better?'

Her eloquent answer took the form of a shrug and something that sounded suspiciously like:

"Ahmmmmnnn,….pffffft."

"Cadet, are you sure you are quite recovered?"

Aureya gave a little squeak of affirmation.

Just don't look at him…oooooo, shiny floor.

The Commander raised an eyebrow and looked at her with a hint of scepticism in his eyes.

"Very well," he concluded "the pads on the tables are set out, would you both be so kind as to place the exam questions on them." He reached into his bag, and retrieved two data chips. He handed the first to Chekov, then held the second one out to Aureya, who took a startled step backwards.

Ah, Crap. Now what?

Spock gave her a rather surprised eyebrow twitch, so she quickly snatched the chip from his hand, then headed straight for the as yet empty examination hall. Some dark grey dots were dancing in her peripheral vision, but she felt pretty stable on her feet.

Only for a week, …just a week.

The exam took three hours, most of which Chekov and herself spent standing at the top of the room, waiting, and during which Aureya managed to only stare at the Commander three times, and each time for no more than 5 possibly 7 minutes tops.

What a ridiculous, stupid, and completely pointless thing to do: staring. She hadn't done it before her "diagnosis", what exactly was the use of it now. It was almost as if a conscious knowledge of her subconscious desires led her eyes to all the places they shouldn't go. His eyes, his lips, his hands, his chest, his bum, and….well. yes,… that too.

Great, just great!

After the final paper had been handed in and the pads securely stored in a sealed box, Commander Spock turned to Chekov: "May I request that you deposit these in my office, Mr Chekov?" he indicated the box, then added "While I have a word with Ms Newman."

Shit, no, run.

"Certainly, Sirr."

As she dolefully watched Chekov head off towards the turbo lift, Aureya frantically looked for a reason to excuse herself.

"Have I in any way offended you, Ms Newman?" she heard Commander Spock say behind her. Turning around she noticed the genuine look of concern in his eyes. Stupidly getting sidetracked and marvelling at quite how big and dark they were, she failed to come up with a decent answer.

"No, Sir. Why would you think that?'

Oh for fuck's sake, Aureya. Don't ask him questions, that just means he'll talk, you don't want him to talk, your stupid hormone addled brain is just gonna find his voice sexy all of a sudden….well, not all of a sudden really…shit.

"If my behaviour towards you - in the context of the Orion delegation - has been inappropriate, I assure you it was merely out of necessity. I would deeply regret any discomfort caused to you by the implication of an intimate relationship between us, I assumed you would forgive the presumption in the light of the possible outcome of the situation in which it was made."

Aureya took a few steadying breaths, closed her eyes briefly, then forced herself to look straight into the Commander's.

"Sir, I swear to you, I would never be so ungrateful as to blame you for your actions. You saved either the Federation from a disastrous end to negotiations, or me from….I don't even want to know what, I'm sure it would have involved leather, chains and a whip….anyway, Sir, I have my reasons for acting like a fool at the moment, please be assured that none of this is your fault."

Well, not intentionally, at least.

"You are still unwell, then?"

"Yes, Sir, in a manner of speaking."

I'm a very sick puppy.

"But Dr McCoy is working on a solution, I expect to be better within the week. Now, may I be excused?"

Commander Spock looked momentarily torn, he clearly felt it was his duty to ascertain what exactly was the matter with her.

Well, that would be 'fun'.

He did, however, relent eventually and nodded briefly:

"Dismissed."

Aureya made her getaway as quickly as her wobbly legs would take her, straight out of the science block, across the square and into the medical research lab she knew so well.

Marching passed reception, she slipped through the large glass doors just closing behind a researcher. She went straight to Bones' desk, where he was staring into a microscope. Slamming both hands, palms down on the table, making him jump, she told him:

"You'll have to sedate me or something, I'm not gonna make it through the week. Euthanise me, if you have to."

Bones merely raised his eyebrows in puzzlement.

Aureya groaned:

"Fuck,… don't do that."

Aureya played 3dimntional chess with Chekov every Wednesday afternoon. It was the sort of overly pretentious set up, complete with cheese and crackers, that they both got a good giggle out of. This Wednesday, however, was a slightly different matter. Exams were over, half the students had already left and Chekov had just been informed of his commission aboard the USS Enterprise, still in the hanger and not yet completed, but the Federation's latest flagship none the less. So, when Aureya arrived at his quarters, a celebratory bottle of sherry in her hand – she thought this was a nice little joke – she was greeted by an already raucous crowd of people. Pavel looked a little lost, squeezed in between P'Grell, Gaila and Greenberg, the way he was, and jumped up to greet her.

"Wow, I never realised chess was this popular." She remarked and he gave her a sheepish grin:

"Gaila found out about the Enterprise thing, and the fact that the Science Department has taken me on as a fellow…just make sure she does not try to make a man out of me again."

"Fellow?" she gave him a happy bounce "really?"

"Yes, Commander Spock is leafing the intro M&L to me. I think you vill be vorking on his final year course vith him, that's big too." Aureya felt a little woozy at this, but gave Pavel a bright grin as he gave her a worried look, no doubt noticing that she had gone a little pale.

"Excellent, I'll get to boss third years around."

"Oooooo, hello there, you smell nice." Gaila, clearly no longer sober, had made her way over to them and was wrapping her arms around Aureya from behind.

Oh-oh. She could tell.

Bones' supplements were enabling her to release a small amount of pheromones, not enough to do any harm, but apparently enough for Gaila to notice. Perfect timing too, since Bones had informed her a few minutes ago that he had finished the new formula and could give it to her in the morning. He had warned her that it would not change her psychological and emotional difficulties, but it would help with the strong physical reactions and urges.

"Aren't you supposed to get a headache or something?" she returned her attention to Gaila.

"Nope, that just works on non-Orion females, this way we can work as a group, if you know what I mean." She gave Aureya a crooked grin and a wink.

"So, Pavel, what have you been saying to Eya to make her all, mmmmm,…..well?"

Chekov looked rather confused.

"Huh?'

"Not him." Aureya hissed.

"Not me, vhat?"

"Oooooooo. Who? Who?" Gaila was scanning the room, looking as excited as a puppy about to be taken for a walk.

Aureya put a hand over her eyes for a moment then grabbed Gaila by the arm and dragged her out of Chekov's quarters, calling an embarrassed "Sorry" over her shoulder to her rather baffled looking friend.

As the door shut behind them, muffling the noise to a low hum, Aureya put her hands on her hips and gave her friend her best angry glare.

"What? 'Just curious. …And can I please say: "about frickin time!""

"I'm not discussing this with you, Gaila, but I need you to swear to me that you won't tell anyone, do you understand me?"

"Pfffft, I'm about as good at keeping secrets as a … Well, not very good." She waved her hand above her head, clearly too far gone to think of a fitting analogy.

"You'd better not tell me anything else, cause trust me, by tomorrow everyone in that room will know something's going on."

"Gaila,…" she wished she could hate her friend for this, but she knew her too well to expect her to act any differently. And on closer consideration, how many people would swear on their lives that they could keep a secret, and then tell it anyway?

"Excuse me?'

Both women turned to find a slender older woman in rather formal civilian attire standing behind them. Aureya felt a small twinge of recognition but could not place her.

"I seem to have lost my way somewhat, would either of you know where I can find Accommodation Building 18?"

"Oooooo, you're pretty for an old lady." Gaila was leaning against the wall, a small smile on her lips.

"I'll take you." Aureya offered quickly, turning to Gaila she added rather harshly: "You! Inside! Now!" Gaila merely shrugged and complied.

"I'm sorry about my friend, she's….ahm, chemically unbalanced,…in more than one way…..Oh, give me that." The older woman was about to protest, but Aureya had already grabbed the bag she had been carrying.

"You got properly lost, we're nowhere near 18, that's staff accommodations." Aureya smiled and the older woman returned the sentiment.

"I am quite useless with directions." She said ruefully.

"I'm Cadet Aureya Newman." She held out her free hand as they entered the turbo lift.

"Amanda Grayson." The other woman replied as she took it, an odd look almost approaching sentimentality on her face.

"Your face is familiar, but I haven't heard your name before, I think." Aureya remarked.

"That is rather peculiar, it is the opposite with me, I am quite certain we haven't met before but your name…rings a bell." She used the expression as if it were a long lost memory only just returned. Aureya had to giggle at the mental image of Gaila noting that this was a rather pathetic 'come on' on both sides.

"I don't know why it would… the only reason why you might know my name is because I was part of one of the two teams who won the Lennox Challenge this year,…could that be it?"

"Oh….of course, Cadet Newman, I should have realised, you're pale green…." She followed this rather eccentric exclamation with a huge smile, which she immediately hid behind her hand.

Aureya gave her a puzzled look, but Amanda simply shook her head.

"I am sorry, that was rude of me, but I have in fact heard of you, I was only just now able to place you. How silly of me, I am sure there are not a lot of half Orion cadets in Starfleet."

"Nope, the one and only." Aureya gave her a bright smile.

"So, Ms Grayson, have you been hired as staff for the next academic year?"

"Oh no, I'm here to surprise my son, it's his birthday tomorrow."

"That's nice, I'm sure he'll be pleased."

"I really don't think so, he is not partial to surprises. It's rather selfish of me. I had some business on Earth and I thought it would be nice to see him."

"You live off planet?"

"Yes…"

Before she had a chance to explain fully, they had reached their destination.

"Voila, Building 18. I've only been inside a few times to see my former Engineering Instructor, but if you like I could give you a hand finding your way around."

The other woman gave her a relieved smile.

"I am looking for quarters 29Q." she told her.

"No problem."

Spock

Having contemplated Newman's rather odd behaviour of the previous day, then taken some herbal tea and raw salad, Spock was now meditating in an attempt to put the strange sense of irritation and regret he was experiencing out of his mind. His behaviour during the end of the Orion delegation's visit had indeed been an act of necessity, this did, however, not change the fact that he had felt a genuine sense of panic, very quickly followed by rage, as the Orion delegate had made his claim on Newman. He had been so surprised by his own emotional response that he had failed to catch her when she had fallen unconscious. If she had sustained any injuries it would have been entirely his fault.

Noting that he was perhaps in need of another cup of tea before he could focus completely on his meditation, he got up and made his way to the kitchen. Before he had the chance to reach it, his door announced a visitor.

A little taken aback, and remembering that the only person who was wont to march into his quarters unannounced was no longer there to do so, he went to open it personally.

To his immense surprise and shock, Newman was standing there, a small travelling bag in her hand, right next to his mother. Both he and Newman gave a simultaneous start and she took a step back.

"Ah, crap!" she announced, before slapping a hand over her mouth and giving his mother first a shocked then an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Sir, you just startled me. I didn't realise…." She trailed off. She almost flung the small bag at him, then turned to his mother again:

"I'm so sorry, I forgot something important. I hope you have a lovely stay." With this she turned to him:

"Sorry, Sir, …have to go." Without waiting to be dismissed she dashed off towards the lift.

"You're right." His mother stated, staring, like him, after Newman's retreating form "She really doesn't like you very much, does she?"

"I don't remember saying this, I presume you are inferring it from my comments?" he felt a small twinge of irritation at his mother; his mouth was still partially open, he noted, and he proceeded to close it immediately.

"You said she calls you names on a regular basis." Amanda stated, then entered his quarters and announced:

"Hello, Spock."

"Hello, mother. How unexpected to see you here." He raised an eyebrow in a way he knew she would be able to identify as meaning "you could have called."

She merely smiled at him, not making any attempt to hide it as she was wont to do.

"How nice, I've only been here an hour and I already feel like I understand your life at the academy so much better."

Relenting, he gave her one of his rare smiles and said: "You are welcome any time, mother."

"I know, darling." She had not used the endearment since he had been very little; her visit to her home planet was apparently playing havoc with her well-practiced restraint.

"I won't impose on you for too long, I have an important appointment tomorrow afternoon, but until then I feel it is permissible for me to spend some time with my only son." She gave him a look as if to dare him to disagree and he felt that it would not be such a bad thing to please her, so he leaned forward and gave her a quick hug. When he drew back she was positively beaming up at him. "Thank you mother, I am very happy that you have chosen to spend part of my birthday with me." She gave an audible sigh, then stroked his cheek and said with some regret:

"53, you're all grown up."

Letting her thoughts wonder for a minute, she appeared to have made a mental leap when she spoke again:

"Mind you, I like her."

"Whom are you referring to?"

"Cadet Newman. When I was young we would have called her 'spunky"." She smiled at this.

"I believe that word is still very much in use, mother, and has been applied to Ms Newman on a number of occasions, as far as I am aware." She gave him another smile, this time though, it held a note of something he could not quite identify.

"Oh, I'm sure it has."

The following afternoon, his mother had taken her leave an hour previously, there was yet another ring at his door. Somewhat concerned that unannounced visits were becoming too much of a regularity for his liking, he called "enter" without rising from his seat at the desk in the corner of his living room, where he was correcting some papers.

Cadet Newman stuck her head in the door but did not proceed any further.

"May I come in for a minute, Sir?" there was an odd mixture of determination and dread on her face. Slightly puzzled by this, he gave her a nod, then rose and indicated the couch. It felt rather strange to see her in his quarters, but to his surprise not quite as out of place as he would have expected.

"Please do."

"May I offer you some tea?" He noticed a small parcel in her hand as she made her way to the couch.

"Coffee would be nice." She smiled at him, making him painfully aware of quite how long it had been since she had done so last, and causing him a small pang of regret for having to inform her:

"I am afraid I don't have any coffee, I could visit Captain Pike's quarters, he is …"

"Tea would be lovely, thank you, Sir." She smiled again, and while she looked strangely nervous, the smile appeared to be genuine. She had taken a seat on his couch and was looking around with obvious curiosity. He wondered what her opinion might be of his rather Spartan decoration and furniture.

"Where is your mother?" she inquired "I wanted to apologise properly for my behaviour last night."

"She left approximately 72 minutes ago, Ms Newman." He informed her.

"Oh." She looked a little disconcerted by this information, but proceeded to state:

"In that case I can only apologise to you, Sir. I am terribly sorry for having acted so inappropriately." She shook her head and laughed.

"You are amused." He said, more as a puzzled statement than a proper question.

"A little, Sir. I wonder just how many times the words "apologise" and "inappropriate behaviour" have come up in our conversations. I presume more often than would be considered normal." The corner of his mouth gave a little twitch in amused agreement. When he made his way to the couch and handed her a cup of tea, she did not shrink back but took it with a nod of thanks. His cup looked enormous in her delicate pale green fingers. He allowed himself to sit down on the couch next to her.

"You are better, I presume? You seem more like your usual self again." He observed and was rewarded with another tentative smile.

"Yes, Sir. I was with Dr McCoy this morning and the…am, medication…appears to be doing its job."

"I am very glad to hear this."

He watched her take a small sip from her cup, then wrinkle her nose in some confusion.

"What is this?"

"Oh it is a special Vulcan blend. My mother brought it as a gift."

"Why am I not surprised?" She gave him a small sardonic grin that made his stomach tighten a little.

"Forgive me, I forgot, you are not partial to Vulcan flavours."

She merely shrugged and took another sip.

"As it turns out, some Vulcan things are an acquired taste."

Not entirely sure how to respond to such an enigmatic statement, Spock indicated the small package and asked:

"Are you on your way to Mr Chekov? I believe he has some good news."

"No, Sir. He was ambushed with a party yesterday. This is for you….Happy Birthday." He was rather startled by this. She had in fact come to give him a present?

He was aware that he was staring at her now, but she merely smiled encouragingly and nodded:

"Go on, open it. I promise it won't bite."

Inside the plain wrapped box was a small booklet, made of actual paper, thick and of a dark cream colour. It was sheet music with the words "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" written on the cover. On top of it was a small wooden box and when he opened it rather carefully, he noticed a glint of metal inside. Two delicate finger picks, one for the thumb and one for the index finger, were placed on top of a small cushion. They were silvery and showed a delicate leaf motif engraved on the small rings that would fasten them to the fingers. Indicating the music Newman explained:

"It's a transcription of an old Earth song for a seven string diatonic sitar, I thought it should be easy enough to adapt it to the Vulcan lute."

He was still staring, completely at a loss as to how to respond in a socially acceptable and adequately grateful manner. She held her hands curled tightly around her cup and merely smiled at him a little sadly.

"I am not sure how to respond to such a thoughtful and well chosen gift, I most certainly don't believe that I have done anything to deserve such consideration on your part."

"Are you asking me why?' Newman tilted her head to one side, allowing a few stay curls to dip over her shoulder.

"I presume I am."

Newman took a deep breath, then looked at him with the most serious expression he had seen on her face to date.

"I believe I shall remain your student aide next year, Sir?"

"If you have no objections, yes, Ms Newman. I find your unusual take on mathematics and logic surprisingly helpful in effectively illustrating certain theoretical problems to my students. Furthermore, your social abilities are a welcome addition to what have previously been rather terse conversations with students." He hoped he did not show the sense of dread her question had caused.

"You do not wish to continue with your studies?"

"No Sir, I do…wish to continue, …I mean." She took another deep breath, then closed her eyes and sipped her tea for a few agonising moments.

'Sir, I feel it is my duty to inform you of the cause of my recent illness and my subsequent denial and dishonest behaviour in connection with it."

"Cadet?' his stomach was now in knots and a distinct thumping sensation was emitting from just below his ribs, right were his heart was.

"While I agree with your assessment of our relationship as one that should, by all means, be a platonic and professional one, I have unfortunately been experiencing some strong physical reactions to your presence. I have been informed that those are of a sexual nature, and on closer examination of my own feelings, it appears that that is unfortunately true." She took another deep breath then proceeded, avoiding his eyes.

"I could now state that your intellectual prowess, combined with your strong physical presence have subconsciously led me to desire you, but that would be bollocks. That is nowhere near all that it is. I was rather confused by the kiss you gave me at Commander Lennox's memorial, I was as yet not aware of my feelings for you. I do admire you greatly, and even though I find you infuriating at times, I believe that when you are not blinded by ignorance, you are brave, caring and more sympathetic than you give yourself credit for. I see my own confusion and loneliness in you sometimes, and you might not agree, but this is merely my subjective impression. All the arguments you have used in indicating that I would never be your choice of a potential mate still stand, and are an accurate assessment of the situation; I am not requesting an intimate relationship with you, I merely felt that it was the honourable thing to do to inform you of my emotional difficulties before leaving you to decide whether you think it's wise to keep me as your aide….Oh, and I passed out because my pheromone suppressants apparently could not cope with what you were doing to me physically…ehm, physiologically, I mean."

She had spoken so quickly and had obviously been so agitated that she was now panting slightly. Her cheeks were flushed in embarrassment and she was still not looking at him.

"Please Sir, may I be excused?"

She did in fact not wait for his reply but merely jumped to her feet and practically ran out the door, calling: "Have a pleasant summer" over her shoulder.

He was left staring at the spot where she had disappeared.

The Vulcan brain is a complex and finely honed instrument, capable of simultaneously solving several convoluted equations, reciting poetry, strategising, and performing any other number of mentally challenging tasks.

Despite all that, Spock's mind had gone completely blank, with the noted exception of a single word going round and round in his head:

"Mine!"

A/N: Review, pretty, pretty please.

I live for those at the moment.