Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. This is my second attempt at writing this chapter. I live in DC and as I was waiting for Superstorm Sandy to pass I decided to work on the chapter as a distraction (Truly demonstrating how much of a lag time there is between when I start writing a chapter and when it actually gets posted). However, during one of the times when my power went out temporarily the chapter was lost. (I have since got a new computer.) Therefore I had to rewrite the whole thing from memory. I think it came out better the second time around.
In this chapter there a few allusions to TOS episodes, of course they're altered a little bit to reflect the differences in the two universes. Bonus points to whoever figures out which episodes are being referenced.
Warning: sexual situations
Also to prevent having to raise the rating on this I am posting a different version of this chapter on K/S archives. Just Google my username and my other account should pop up.
Interview number 22631016c: Yeoman Janice Rand, Lieutenant Pavel Chekov, and Commander Sulu
If it was not for the vast amounts of sexual activities that had occurred the night before, Spock doubted that he would have received a sufficient amount of rest. Spock was still dealing with thoughts of his former boyfriend. If he were not Vulcan, he would say that he was upset, but only to James. He was the only one Spock would confess such a thing to.
He would not tell James this because he would not understand his reasons for such thoughts. Jim would assume that he was upset at Christopher for his decision to marry his current boyfriend and not Spock during their courtship. Contrary to popular assumption, Spock was not angry about this. Actually, Spock did not completely understand the source of his anger except that it had nothing to do with his personal life. Christopher withheld valuable information pertinent to James' safety. Why was this information withheld? Did Christopher do it to keep Jim and Spock safe?
Spock hoped not. He was not Christopher's responsibility anymore. That was James' job. Just like it was Spock's job to keep Jim safe. He had not done that. His husband almost died and he was unable to do anything to prevent it. Maybe that was what Spock was most angry about.
Due to the situation at hand, he was too restless to sleep past 0500 hours. When he woke up, he placed a kiss to Jim's shoulder. He did not do more than that because he knew James had stayed up later than him, as was evident by the fact that he was currently sleeping on top of his PADD. Normally, Spock would put it on the end table after Jim fell asleep, but the removal of the device would wake up his husband.
A quick check of the server showed that his husband had spent a good portion of the night streaming various video files related to the wedding. Spock assumed that James most likely fell asleep before watching the file labeled as 'ugly'. Because it was so early, Spock decided to watch these files without waking James. He did not watch past the first interview in the 'ugly' file. Instead he sent it straight to Christopher. He was not sure that he wanted to watch anything else after hearing such thinly veiled hatred. How could they have all been so unaware of the true level of this man's loathing towards all things different? Spock was not sure if the man was more xenophobic or homophobic. They both seemed to be interchangeable in this case. He seemed to long for a time that no longer existed, if it had ever existed at all.
As much as he did not want to leave James, Spock got up and showered. Despite washing off after the various sexual activities of the night before, he felt very dirty after viewing such material. The desire to clean himself again was overwhelming. Spock wished he could actually have a hot-water shower. James had shown him the benefits of such an indulgence; however, that would not be an efficient use of resources during quarantine. Spock doubted that there are cameras in there and thought they probably could engage in certain activities without being recorded. He would raise the issue once Jim was awake.
Spock paused for a moment. Were they really in quarantine? Protective custody seemed to be a more appropriate term for the current situation. Aagain, why could they not tell him and James the truth instead of going through such subterfuge?
He returned to see James still asleep and decided to check his email. Christopher responded with an apology of sorts. Maybe an 'excuse' would be a much more accurate description of what he said. Christopher did not explain why he concealed the true severity of the current situation. Nor did he tell Spock why he chose not to tell him about the engagement directly. Instead, he told Spock about the surprise anniversary party that was being planned for him and James and how Christopher was going to do so in person at that event. If it were not for accidentally discovering the original plans for the surprise anniversary party, Spock would completely question the validity of Christopher's claims.
He has exactly 93 unread messages in his inbox, although only a few were of importance. The first message was from Ms. Rand, who provided additional information about what she found on board her boyfriend's ship. The second purpose of this message was to inform her commanding officers that she was getting married and was requesting a transfer so she could be with her husband. James would not be happy with this change, although it was not unexpected. These last few months with Ms. Rand being separated from her boyfriend were less than tolerable for all involved.
The second message was from Nyota, confirming some of the things in Christopher's note. It was essentially a situation report containing everything that he wanted to know but was not supposed to. Leonard most likely contacted her. Spock still wondered about the exact nature of their relationship. They appeared extremely comfortable with each other.
Finally, there were 18 separate messages from Mrs. Kirk, including one wishing the couple a happy anniversary. In the rest of the messages she pleaded for her son to actually contact her. Spock would have to talk to James about that as soon as he woke him up.
He would like to let James sleep later, but he needed to talk to his husband. After he woke Jim up in the most pleasant way possible, he regretted that decision. Apparently his husband had even less sleep then he had originally assumed.
When James was in the shower, a robot arrived with their breakfast. Instead of oatmeal or something similar, there were fresh buttered croissants and a variety of fruit. Spock was sure that the croissants were from Christopher. Croissants were always his apology gift of choice. Every time he did something wrong he would always send Spock a box of fine croissants. The last time Spock received a box of croissants from Christopher was when he told Spock that he was not ready for marriage. Obviously he was ready now with someone else. Spock was tempted to disregard the offering and ask for his usual oatmeal, but he did not do this because Jim enjoyed the pastry as much as he did and loved eating anything that was not replicated. His husband did realize quickly that Spock was looking very upset at the cuisine.
Spock enjoyed the fact that Jim could so easily pick up on his moods. Of course, when Jim asked Spock a question that he did not want to answer, he disliked that fact. To avoid this, Spock brought up Jim's mother, which was obviously an uncomfortable subject for his husband. Jim was convinced that his mother had completely ignored their anniversary and would not do anything like breaking into a secure Starfleet facility to attack her supposedly favorite son for attacking her least favorite child. However, Spock already knew otherwise, having heard the account from two additional sources, including one who was directly involved in said altercation. Jim's expression was one of confusion and irritation. Therefore, Spock did not push the issue when he realized that his assumption was wrong. Instead he went along with Jim's decision to watch more video files. It was the only thing that Christopher had so graciously allowed them to do.
This was another point of contention with Christopher. Spock felt that he should be doing more to catch those responsible for the attempted assassination on his husband. Instead, Spock was locked in this room, unable to do anything. It was disconcerting. It brought back the feelings of hopelessness and uselessness from earlier. The situation reminded him of his youth when he waited for a sandstorm to pass. There was nothing you could do but just stay out-of-the-way.
Like some of the previous files, it began again in the reception hall. Judging by what was going on in the background, this interview took place in the middle of the evening. On-screen, Nyota was on the dance floor with Dr. McCoy, once again raising the question of whether they were more than merely friends.
He also saw his husband in the background dancing with Jane's oldest daughter. Spock saw himself in the distance arguing with his father about some of the guests that they were forced to invite to this wedding. Three had insulted him and his 'politically unsound' nuptials before the reception even took place. Spock would have to forward the names to Christopher afterward.
Also, if Spock forced James to contact his mother, he would most likely be forced to contact his father. Jim also most likely would force him to express his irritation at the fact that his father could not be bothered to exchange his anniversary present, despite what he argued otherwise. Maybe Spock could suggest that they participate in the Earth ritual of re-gifting and give it to Mr. Sulu and Ms. Rand as a wedding present.
The camera panned back around to Jane. But instead of seeing Mr. Sulu and Mr. Chekov, it was Ms. Rand who was sitting with her. That was when Spock remembered that he forgot to tell James about her upcoming nuptials.
"I should mention that Ms. Rand sent both of us an email," Spock tells his husband as he passed the video file.
"Anything good?" Jim asked absently as he went back to eating more fruits that Christopher sent.
"In addition to various details that Christopher has kept from us regarding the information that she uncovered, Ms. Rand requested a change of assignment due to her pending marriage." At that moment Jim choked on the piece of Apple he was eating.
"She tells us she is getting married in an email! I knew I should've actually read her email. When did he propose?" Jim asked once he regained his composure.
"That information was not in my letter, but I am sure that it would be in yours. You have always had a relatively close relationship," Spock said with as close an approximation of a frown that he would ever allow himself.
"That's because we're kind of friends. I do have girl friends of the platonic variety. Sometimes you are all BFF with Ny. You don't get to be all jealous Vulcan about that. Actually, you were going to be so noble about it that you were going to give me to her," Jim said smirking.
"That was only when I was under the impression that you were solely heterosexual. I am well aware that you no longer see her in a sexual capacity," Spock argued in his defense.
"I'm at least a four on the Kinsey scale on my way to being a five. Now, I only want you. You don't have to worry about Janice anyway, as you just told me she's getting married," Jim said as he kissed Spock on the cheek. Surprisingly enough, Doctor McCoy did not object. Spock was slightly surprised. Then again he did allow yesterday's encounter, so maybe his stance on displays of affection has lessened.
"I do not have to worry about Nyota for similar reasons. I believe that she is engaged in a clandestine relationship with Dr. McCoy," Spock told his husband. Oddly enough, Doctor McCoy did not comment on this.
"You think the same thing? Spock just nodded his head in agreement. "Hey Bones, are you screwing Ny?" Jim yelled out.
"Doctor McCoy is not on duty. This is Doctor Key." This was said by a female voice that neither he nor James recognized.
"We might be able to hold hands," Jim said sarcastically. In high Vulcan Jim said, "Oh my God it's a miracle. They somehow managed to get him off duty. Although I bet it's one of my fan girls. I'm so glad I stopped you earlier." Spock silently agreed as he started the video file again.
"Hi, Jim. Since you are making the extremely cliché move of marrying your first officer and work husband Spock, I thought it would only be appropriate to interview your work wife." Jane said with a smile, using a term that Spock was unfamiliar with.
"What does that term mean?" Spock asked James.
"I think it came from the 21st century. I don't quite understand it either." James said with a shrug.
"I am mostly here for Spock. He made my life much easier. He always reminds Jim to actually clear off papers when he is supposed to, and not do stupid things like wait to the absolute last minute to pack for an overnight diplomatic visit," Janice said smiling. James did have a tendency to do that.
"At least she's saying mostly nice things about me. I thought that this was supposed to be with Sulu and Chekov." Jim said, scrunching his nose in puzzlement. Spock said nothing.
"I should've known something was different about these two. Jim is the second captain I have worked with and he definitely had a very different relationship with his first officer than the last one. Jim and Spock have always argued a lot but they worked really well together. They are always so in sync with each other. I had no idea that most of the arguing was really sexual tension until my third month here when I accidentally walked in on the couple in Jim's quarters for the first time." James had the decency to hide under his pillow in shame at that moment. Spock was trying to repress the memory from his mind but due to the nature of Vulcans, that was impossible.
"Did you just say first time?" She just nodded her head in the affirmative. "How many times did you walk in on those two?" Jane asked laughing. Jim was trying to bury himself under a second pillow.
"35, I think. I can't even go into the officers dining hall without becoming scarlet." She actually blushed at that.
"Oh God, maybe it's a good thing she's transferring ships. I didn't know it was that many times!" James said, finally peaking from underneath the pillows. Spock glared at his husband. Thanks to his constant need for sex, James had convinced Spock to behave in ways that were not always professional.
"You have to save me from the evil girlfriend." Sulu said as he kissed Ms. Rand on the cheek.
"Okay, so that's why it had this label." Jim mumbled under breath.
"You know, it may be a good night to tell your best friend that you despise his girlfriend because she makes inappropriate jokes about your supposed orientation," Janice said, passing a full champagne flute to her boyfriend. "Does she even know about Audrey at the Academy?" Spock was confused by that question. He personally has no acquaintance with anybody by that name.
"Not a clue, and they are not exactly in the sharing stage of the relationship. They're still in the disgustingly sweet 'kissing everywhere' stage. It's going to be a disaster when she finds out. Mary Sue assumed that because I turned her down that I'm gay, rather then I have too much common sense to be with someone like her," he said, scoffing. Jim stopped video file.
"Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that it was Ensign Chayanne Cook that he brought to the wedding. I also think they actually broke up during the wedding. I'm not sure because there were a lot of fights at the wedding. Also I'm pretty sure she moved on to somebody in the security staff. It may have been Cupcake. I can't remember which girlfriend he brought to the wedding clearly. I don't think he was with Abebi yet and they broke up because of the age difference thing. Also Stacy is new and well a guy. I'm confused," Jim said, scratching his head. "I believe you are correct and security was called in to break up the altercation. Sometimes I think it would have been more prudent if we had eloped," Spock told his husband.
"Yeah, but your father would have been mad about it," Jim said, bringing up the main reason why they did no such thing, even if it would have been more practical.
"My father is upset about many things even if he refuses to acknowledge such an emotion," Spock said as he started the file again.
"I really think you should tell him that you don't like his girlfriend and the reason why. You know it's just going to be a disaster if you put it off any longer," Janice prodded her boyfriend.
"Why should I? You don't like her either. Besides, I think it's against the Best Friend code of honor." Both women just scratched their heads.
"That's a stupid code. Women always warn their friends when they're screwing someone who's a moron. If you don't want to man up, you can help me with this special project with Adm. Barnett's wife. We are trying to come up with as many humiliating stories as possible about the happy couple."
"You have lots of those. Remember the incident with the ambassador's wife?" At that, James disappeared back under the pillows. If he were not Vulcan, Spock would have joined his husband in hiding in shame. Spock remembered that incident a little too well.
"Which incident?" Janice asked. "The one where she managed to grope both of them during a diplomatic dinner or the one where a different wife tried to put an aphrodisiac in their dinner?"
"I forgot about the last one. That was hilarious. I was thinking about the first one, and she actually managed to get her hand down Spock's pants. Also, there was that one time where we ended up on the planet where they forced everybody to make out. I liked that planet," Mr. Sulu said with a smirk.
"So did I. Although, I think they were a little shocked that I kissed you instead of Nyota," James said from under his pillow.
"I'm sure you did," she said, rolling her eyes. "Don't forget about the fungus that caused those two to make out on the bridge like randy teenagers, and for you to think that you were a musketeer. I almost transferred ships after that incident."
"Okay, that wasn't as much fun and I wasn't trying to be a musketeer," Sulu said with a frown.
"You got to be kidding me? And nobody figured it out? I'm surprise Jim still needed me to discreetly send care packages with stuff like this going on," Jane said, still laughing.
"You're the one who sent those?" Jane just nodded her head in agreement. "I think it was my second week here and I was putting up Jim's packages when I came across an unassuming box that said Jane's Book-of-the-Month club. I was expecting those hardcopy books that he loves so much but never actually had any of his own. Instead, I found something that you get a bride at her bachelorette party. I never opened a book-of-the-month box again." Janice was scarlet as she recounted this incident. Neither James nor Spock knew of this previously.
"That was probably for the best," Jane said, equally flushed.
"The only time I was more embarrassed was when I did walk in on them a few months later and I actually saw one of the items being used."
"What did you do?" her boyfriend asked, laughing hysterically. Spock was green.
"I ran out of there as fast as possible and emailed Jim about what I needed to talk to him about. I don't think they figured out what happened." Spock was secretly thankful that Doctor McCoy was not on duty.
"I wasn't entirely sure what she saw, but I knew she saw something. She wouldn't look at either of us for about two weeks," Jim mumbled from under his hiding place. Spock was very inclined to join him.
"That was bad, but I had worse," Mr. Sulu said, still laughing quite hard. "At least you had some sort of warning that the relationship was not platonic before you walked in on the two of them acting like teenagers. I walked in on them in the training room when I still thought they hated each other. I thought they were trying to kill each other until I noticed the missing clothes and the placement of hands."
"Oh my God!" Janice said with her mouth opened wide.
"I caught them in the executive dining hall on one of the tables." Spock's mouth was actually opened in shock. He knew nothing of these incidents.
"That explains why you carry bleach wipes sometimes. I thought that was a bit of an assistant thing," Mr. Sulu said to his girlfriend.
"If we keep talking about all the times that one of us have walked in on the happy couple, we may be here all night," Ms. Rand said sarcastically.
"Also my family friendly filter might start to go crazy. Okay, let's start with something that has been repeated in these interviews: why do you think everybody assumed that they hated each other?" As Jane asked this question, Jim finally looked up from his hiding place.
"Because I saw Spock try to kill Jim that one time on the bridge. Is your husband going to see this?" Mr. Sulu asked, covering his mouth, realizing what he had actually said.
"He knows all about that. Who do you think made that situation go away?" Mrs. Barnett asked, smirking.
"Why did you do that?" Spock asked his husband.
"I kind of already had a crush on you at the time," Jim said with a shrug. "I swear it's the ears."
The three discussed the many reasons why people assumed they hated each other until Mr. Chekhov arrived at the table with his then girlfriend. You could easily tell by facial expressions that no one was happy with the arrival of Ensign Cook. She was currently a member of engineering who had a less-than-excellent reputation. Spock personally disliked her because she made multiple passes at James. Jim was not bothered by this because apparently she did that with everyone, including Mr. Scott. Actually Spock and Mr. Sulu were the only males on board that she ignored completely. Janice actually rolled her eyes on multiple occasions, especially when according to the subtitles, Mr. Chekov claimed that the dance the couple had just performed had originated in Russia. Only his date believed his false information. What followed was a polite conversation about the wedding with only Ensign Cook disliking any aspect of it.
"I don't know, I just thought the whole ceremony was weird. I mean most of us don't speak Vulcan, yet half the ceremony was in that language. I just thought it was a little rude," she said, crossing her arms. This caused her boyfriend to frown.
"Yes, but Mr. Spock is from Vulcan. Of course, he would want to have his ceremony in his mother tongue. When I get married I want to have the ceremony in Russian." Again judging by body language alone Ensign Cook was not happy with that answer. However, a smile could be seen on Mr. Sulu's face.
"But why? Everybody speaks standard now." You could hear the agitation in her voice.
"Thank god Ny wasn't there. She would slap her silly," Jim mumbled to himself.
"How long have you been in Starfleet? More importantly where did you grow up?" Jane asked, bewildered.
"I graduated from the Academy about a year ago. Enterprise is my first assignment," Ms. Cook said with a glare, ignoring the second question entirely.
"Okay, it makes more sense now," Janice mumbled under her breath.
"Since you were not on Enterprise at the time of the infamous announcement, let me ask you what you perceived, as an outsider?" Jane asked quickly, most likely preventing an incident of some sort.
"I was personally shocked. I'm not that surprised that Mr. Spock is a homosexual, but I was a little surprised that Capt. Kirk was – I mean I always saw him as a James Dean and Alexander the Great type. Not..." She stopped there, most likely not sure how to phrase whatever she wanted to say in a way that will not offend everyone in the room. Mr. Sulu and Janice gave each other knowing looks as her then boyfriend seemed somewhat mortified. Jane's response was to laugh hysterically.
"I didn't say anything particularly hilarious," Ms. Cook said with hands-on hips.
"Yes you did. Also, you don't have to be that politically correct with me. I have a good idea what you wanted to say. I know that we try to pretend that we live in this perfect 'we love each other' society, but we don't. We would all be out of a job if that was true. I think it would just be easier on all of us if you came out of the bigotry closet." Jane said briskly. No one was shocked by her direct speech except Ms. Cook.
"I'm not a bigot," Ms. Cook said defensively.
"Maybe not, maybe you're just an extremely sheltered person. I once had a professor that said everybody is prejudiced; however, it's how we deal with those prejudices that make a difference," Jane said wisely.
"So what did I say that was so funny?" Ms. Cook asked again.
"Those individuals that you mentioned as the heterosexual male ideal were at the very least bisexual, not that it really matters that much anyway. Therefore your ideas about the heterosexual mystique are flawed at best," Jane said in a kind way. "I don't remember hearing that during history class."
"Most high school history classes are very heavily edited for content. Also, I think it's a little ridiculous to be so focused on sexual orientation in this day and age. But you do need to see historical figures for who they really were and not who we wish they were. The only thing you could've said that would have been more ironic was if you had compared their relationship to that of the first FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and his number two. You did study him in 20th century history right?" Jane asked sarcastically.
"I'm not as sheltered as you think. We did study him. I did think Jim and Spock's relationship was like that, at least before the marriage proposal and the undying declaration of love. I originally thought that they were just really good friends, just like those two." Everyone but Mr. Chekov was snickering again.
"History at your school was very censored. Two guys who never date women and spend every moment together are just really good friends?" Sulu said with pure sarcasm. "They go on vacations together, they eat every lunch together, and they're always with each other. If you look at their wills everything goes to the other guy. Really, you think that under those circumstances they're just friends?" She just nodded her head yes.
"If you don't get it, I'm not going to enlighten you," Jane said with head in hands.
"We will use Google later. It is a great thing. It was invented in Russia," Chekov said, putting an arm around his girlfriend.
"I think he just said that to break the tension," Jim said with a snicker beside him.
"How about we just move on? So how did you find out about the happy couple?" Mrs. Barnett asked as diplomatically as possible.
"I walked in on Mr. Spock and the captain in the turbo lift." Mr. Sulu was snickering in the back at Mr. Chekov's words.
"Your face was priceless," Mr. Sulu said, laughing quite hard.
"How did you know about that?" he said as his face fell. "You set me up." Spock could only understand this part due to the subtitles.
"More like Jim did. I just helped," Mr. Sulu said, smirking. Spock almost frowned at this.
"You intentionally had us interrupted during certain activities?" he asked his husband in slight irritation.
"Not really. It's complicated," Jim said nonchalantly, and Spock felt it was best to not go into it right now. Who knew how much longer they would be in 'protective custody'.
"If everybody kept walking in on those two, I'm surprised it didn't come out before the wedding announcement. I mean, back where I grew up every girl in high school had a crush on Jim," Ms. Cook explained. Spock found the statement puzzling. Although, not for the fact that schoolgirl adolescents idolized his husband. He was well aware of that.
"That statement does not make sense. According to her personnel file she is 27 years old. She would have been well out a high school by the time of the Battle of Vulcan," Spock explained.
"That could've just been an expression, but I know you're going to look at her file again," his husband said with a sigh.
"In light of the current circumstances, it is best to be prudent," Spock said as he pulled out his own PADD to begin the search.
"We all knew because we all know the real Jim and Spock and therefore we expected what we saw on some level," Mr. Sulu explained.
"It was obvious that they were in love with each other," Mr. Chekov added.
"Everybody else just made excuses to explain what was going on, like we were talking about earlier. You have no idea how many times we all heard things like: 'that's just a bruise from working out, that's not a hickey.' 'Good friends always spend every single breakfast, lunch, and dinner together.' 'They just don't date because they're busy.' And let us not forget my personal favorite, 'Spock was just helping Jim find his contact lens'," Ms. Rand said with vast amounts of sarcasm.
"There's no way he's humping Jim in supply closet six," Mr. Sulu added, most likely mimicking unsuspecting crewmembers.
"It's perfectly normal to give your best friend a back rub in front of everyone," Mr. Chekov added with equal parts sarcasm.
"We could give more examples of the excuses the entire crew used to explain away what was going on, but they're going to start serving the cake soon," Ms. Rand explained.
"Why did you give Jim a back rub on the bridge?" Sulu asked, turning to his girlfriend.
"Because Spock would have done what Jim wanted if the puppy dog eyes came out and I wanted Jim to actually concentrate on what he was working on and not give me an excuse five minutes later for private time with the secret boyfriend. The strangest thing about the entire thing was nobody questioned why Jim automatically assumed it was Spock," she said with a quizzical expression.
"Or the fact that he spends half of every shift looking at Spock's [expletive]," Mr. Sulu added with another snicker.
"Whenever we're doing star mapping, the captain makes a lot of excuses for private meetings with Mr. Spock," Mr. Chekov added.
"So denial was a normal thing from those who were not in the know?" Jane asked.
"People didn't even catch on during the fungus incident. They were making out on the bridge," Janice said with head in her hands.
"In defense of our fellow crewmembers, a lot of people were randomly making out," Mr. Chekov added.
"That wasn't your fault. You were under the influence of whatever the hell that was," Mr. Sulu said simply.
"Who exactly did Mr. Chekov kiss?" Spock asked his husband.
"Sulu," Jim answered simply.
"Was he not aware of the true nature of the incident?" Spock asked his husband.
"That it made you give into your deepest desire? You know we kept that from most of the crew to keep people from freaking out. I just didn't have the heart to tell him." Jim explained.
"So Mr. Sulu is completely oblivious to the fact that his friend has a crush on him?" Spock questioned.
"He knows on some level at the very least, but contrary to popular assumption he is a zero on the Kinsey scale. As much as Pav hates it, he knows it's only going to be friendship. When you really care about someone you'd rather see him/her happy with someone else then miserable alone," Jim said sadly.
"I understand."
"I'm sure you do, considering you tried to give me your ex-girlfriend. I better give him a call whenever they will let us. I'm sure he's not taking that engagement well." Spock agreed.
"His relationship with this Stacy should help."
"He's a great guy. He's the chief of security on his new ship," Jim explained before they returned their attention to the screen.
"There was a reason why everybody was in denial. We all thought Jim Kirk was straight," Ms. Cook said in everyone's defense. There was more snide laughter.
"Why?" Her boyfriend asked her confused.
The young Ensign tried to explain her position but she just seemed more ignorant.
"We have an old saying in Russia, 'I don't care if you're straight as long as you can shoot straight.'"
"That saying did not originate in Russia," Spock informed his husband.
"99% of the stuff that he attributes to Russia did not originate in Russia. However, I doubt the queen of ignorance would know difference," Jim said, laughing. "Right now I'm not even sure how she passed the entrance exam."
"I knew that James and Mr. Spock were not heterosexual and I was still surprised to learn of their relationship."
"That was mostly because you found out by seeing Jim have a hand down Spock's pants," Mr. Sulu said, laughing again.
"How did you know?" Ms. Cook asked with a confused expression.
"I ran into James multiple times at Purple Hills and most were aware of Mr. Spock's relationship with Mr. Pike.
"It was not a well-kept secret." Spock was shocked to hear that and yet the others were nodding in agreement.
"I thought it was a very well-kept secret considering I didn't know," James mumbled under his breath, but Spock could still hear him. "It would have made my life a hell of a lot easier if I knew."
"What were you doing at Purple Hills?" the young woman questioned.
"More importantly how did you get in? You have to be at least 18," Janice asked.
"I was there with my date and they rarely card Starfleet cadets. Early admission at my age is quite rare. As long as I did not try to drink anything it was okay."
"But why would you take a girl to a gay club?"
Mrs. Barnett had had enough common sense to stop filming then. However, Spock remembered that a very large argument did break out between the two and security was called in. Of course, security was called in multiple times during the festivities.
"Okay, how exactly did she pass the Starfleet entrance exam? I know there's some logic and reasoning section in there."
"I wonder if she did considering that there is currently nothing on her in the Starfleet database," Spock said, as he was unable to find the personnel file for somebody who has served on their ship for the last two years. It was as if she was erased from existence.
"Wait, let me see that," Jim said, pulling the device from his husband's hand. "There is nothing at all. How can that be?" Spock was not sure how to respond. "We need to contact Chris," Jim said after a moment as he switched to high Vulcan.
"That would be most prudent," Spock replied in the same language just as the room went black.
To be continued.
The unrequited love thing and oblivious girlfriend in this chapter was for Magpie1600. I couldn't do exactly what you wanted but I hope you liked what I did.
I'm currently debating whether the next chapter will be one really long chapter or if I'm going to do an interlude and then the final video file. It all depends on if I have the energy to do a 10,000 word chapter. So there's a 50-50 shot that the next chapter is the last.
