Complications

By the time Acelynn and Elvira entered Leila's quarters, the captain's head had somewhat cleared. She was still enraged at Kirk, but she had calmed down enough to think logically. She had already started plotting a way to make him see her as the true and only captain. Leila sat at her desk, hands folded neatly in front of her, when Elvira and Acelynn entered. Both looked wary.

"Leila, what happened?" Elvira asked as soon as the door was shut behind her. Leila relayed the day's previous events. Both of them had nearly the same reaction as she had had, if toned down a little.

"You've got to be kidding," Elvira commented. "He must be out of his mind."

"How could he do that?" Acelynn added.

"Now that we're here, he must have decided to take control of the mission," assumed Leila. "I won't let him do that."

"What do you have in mind?" Elvira asked cautiously. She knew that her friend's temper could sometimes get the best of her, spurring her to take rather unwise actions. But Leila had thought this over, and she knew what she wanted to do.

"We had already agreed to split into two separate groups. Each of us would lead one of the groups," Leila informed, rising and walking slowly around to the front of her desk. She leaned back on the desk, folding her arms thoughtfully. "We had decided that both groups would play a part in the exploration."

"Leila, you can't take Starfleet out of the expedition completely," Acelynn argued.

"No, I can't," Leila agreed, her eyes sparkling. "What I can do is assign specific missions for the groups. My group can go explore the crater and the forest, and his group can do…other things."

"Such as…?" Elvira hinted.

"Well someone needs to keep the ship safe. I mean, what happens if a savage little native comes along and attacks the ship? Someone, in this case Kirk and his group, will be here to defend it. Seeing as they're the big, strong protectors of this whole mission, nobody can argue against it," Leila grinned mischievously. She watched her friends' faces as the plan sunk in.

"Perfect!" Acelynn exclaimed.

"You don't think Kirk will argue against the assignment?" Elvira questioned, looking for any faults in the plot.

"No, I think he'll argue. That's the only problem. But if we can keep him away from the assignments tonight, he'll never have the chance. We'll be leaving in the morning, and, once he finds out, he won't have the opportunity or contingency plan to argue with. We'll be gone, and I know he won't leave the ship completely unprotected if we expect him to be there. He'll have to stay. There will be no other choice. And that means he'll be following my orders," Leila explained triumphantly.

"Perfect!" Acelynn proclaimed again. Leila was still looking at Elvira. She could tell from Elvira's eyes that the doctor was sifting through the plan, looking for any flaws. Finally a slow smile started on her face.

"Not bad," she ruled, nodding appreciatively. Leila grinned again.

"Good. So Ace, I'll need you to change the assignments. I would do it myself, but Kirk might get suspicious and check them out." The first officer nodded and headed toward the door. She was about to open it when Elvira's voice stopped her.

"Wait," she ordered. Acelynn conceded and walked back to them, confusion flooding her features. "Are you sure about this, Leila?" Elvira inquired, looking at her friend.

"What do you mean? Of course I'm sure. I need to show Kirk who's in charge. I need to establish my authority to his crew, too, for that matter. This is about principle."

"So this isn't personal?"

"Sure it is, to some degree. But not completely. What are you getting at?"

"I'm not sure," Elvira replied slowly, biting her lip in thought.

"Elvira. Just say it," Leila urged. The doctor remained silent, seeming to struggle for the right words. Finally she found her words.

"In winter of last year," she began, "a man came to see me for his annual check-up. He had always been a very healthy man. Perfect vitals. No conditions. Exercised daily." She paused, and Leila wondered what this story was leading up to. "Well for this check-up, everything was fine until I checked his blood pressure. Although in past years it had been perfectly steady, this year it had jumped. There didn't seem to be any reason for it. I asked him if anything had changed in his lifestyle. He explained that he had changed jobs. Without any further prodding, he began to tell me about his boss.

'She's the most maddening human being you'll ever meet,' he told me. He continued in this manner for another ten minutes, until I stopped him. I'm no psychiatrist, but I knew that whatever effect this woman had on him could be extremely long-lasting. I told him this. I also told him to calm down when around her or she would be the cause of a heart-attack. He grumbled a little, but agreed to try to cooperate a little more with his boss." Elvira paused once more. Leila searched her face to find any hint of the story's moral. She found none, and continued listening intently, still very confused. "This past winter the man returned for his annual check-up. I performed the check-up and found, to my surprise, that his blood pressure had dropped to its normal level. I asked the man if he followed my advice.

'I sure did,' he answered, all smiles.

'And how are you getting along with your boss?' I asked cautiously. The man's smile widened, and he held up his left hand so I could see the sparkly silver wedding ring.

'We were married three months ago,' he announced. Apparently his boss was giving him a hard time because she had feelings for him. And he retaliated because he had the same feelings for her. They loved each other," Elvira ended, looking closely at Leila. Acelynn's mouth dropped open.

"You're – I – are you telling me that you think I love Kirk?" Leila gasped, staring at Elvira with wide eyes.

"No, not necessarily," Elvira corrected. "I think you may have feelings for each other. I've seen the way you look at him, and he at you." Now Leila's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe this.

"Oh, you two would be so cute together!" Acelynn squealed. "You're perfect for each other! And, although you would never admit it, you definitely have the same personalities. You and him! Why didn't I think of that? We definitely need to set you –" she babbled excitedly. Leila overcame her surprise and held up one hand.

"Stop," she insisted. "No one is going to set us up. Ever. And Elvira, trust me. The only feelings I have for Kirk are those of disgust and loathing," she maintained.

"I'm not sure," Elvira repeated. Then she shrugged. "As long as this is what you want."

"This is what I want. Acelynn, go change the assignments," Leila instructed. Acelynn rolled her eyes and headed to the door, muttering something about being oblivious to the truth. "Elvira, tell those in the exploration groups to get some sleep. It will be a long mission, and they'll need to be alert and on guard." After a long look at the captain, Elvira nodded and also made her way to the door, shutting it behind her.

Leila stood, staring at the door for a full minute. Then she walked back around her desk to slowly lower herself into her chair. She distractedly ordered the disorganized papers on her desk as she thought about Elvira's words. Did she have feelings for Kirk? Her dream screamed yes. Reality pulled her in a totally different direction.

Leila shook her head to dismiss the thoughts. She needed to focus on the mission, not some problematic captain. Leila stood and went to the shower. She always found that a hot shower would never fail to clear her mind and calm her. She stood in the hot water, allowing the steaming cascade to wash away all her thoughts. It occurred to the captain that this would be her last definite shower in who knew how long.

Once out of the shower, Leila quickly dressed in her captain's uniform and combed out her long locks. She had wanted to go straight to bed, but she figured that it would be a good idea to check into the bridge before retiring. She didn't want Kirk to think she was hiding from him. Leila had just returned her comb to its spot on her dresser when the door flew open. Leila spun around, taken by surprise. Kirk stood in the doorway, the bright light from the hallway contrasting sharply with the low light in Leila's quarters. The strong light made a sort of glow around Kirk's silhouette.

Leila took one look at Kirk's face and instantly knew that he was furious. Extremely furious. Good. Finally something had ruffled his feathers. Leila could only think of one thing that would create such a response, but had no clue as to how he had discovered the assignment change so soon.

"Good evening, Kirk. May I help you?" Leila asked politely, feigning ignorance, as he had done earlier.

"What the hell did you do?" Kirk demanded, not bothering with a greeting. He stepped forward into the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"I don't follow. To what are you referring?"

"Don't even try. You know exactly what I'm talking about!" he roared. "The assignment change!"

"What about it?"

"Dammit, Leila, what gave you the right to issue an assignment change? This is a joint mission!"

"As captain, I've always had that right."

"Sure. And now, as captain, you're going to lead your little Girl Scout troop into unfamiliar and quite possibly hostile territory. Great plan."

"My crew can handle it fine!" Leila yelled, her patience quickly ebbing away.

"Of course they can!" Kirk agreed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Remind me again how many exploration and combat missions you've been assigned to?"

"I don't see how that has anything to do with this. My 'little Girl Scout troop,' as you've so nicely dubbed them, needs to start somewhere. You had to start somewhere. You weren't always a perfect little legend."

"Yeah, I had to start somewhere. You want to know the difference between your start and mine? I had common sense! I never assigned my inexperienced crew to investigate a new planet! I wanted my crew to live! Don't put your pride before your crew, Leila!"

"My crew completely supports my decision! And this has nothing to do with pride! It's principle, Kirk!" Her patience had completely run out.

"Principle?" he yelled, stepping closer.

"Yes! Principle! You've been undermining my command ever since we were assigned to this mission! In every way!" she screamed, livid.

"I'm a captain, Leila! My crew still recognizes me as such, and I will perform as captain when concerning this mission!"

"You have no right!" Leila screeched into his face.

"I have every right!" he bellowed. "You made up your mind about me the day we met. You hate me, Leila! That's why you don't have any intention of cooperating! It's not about this principle business! Don't lie to yourself! Own up to it! You hate me!"

"Of course I hate you!" Leila shrieked. "I'm glad you finally caught on! You're an arrogant, irresponsible, pompous, stubborn, self-centered son of a –" Kirk suddenly closed the gap between them with two steps and silenced Leila with a crushing kiss. Forgetting her words, Leila responded, bringing her arms up to wrap around his neck. She sighed around the kiss and clutched him closer.

Then she remembered who she was kissing. It was Kirk. She hated Kirk, no matter what effect his kiss had on her.

She pulled away, indignant.

"How dare you!" she accused. "Do you honestly think you have the right to kiss me?" she exclaimed, her voice creeping up an octave. Her face was just inches from his, and her arms were left draping around his shoulders. "I don't…I can't even…," she trailed off furiously. An enraged fire filled her eyes. Suddenly she tightened her hold on the back of his neck, pulling him closer so their lips met once more. Kirk responded, using his teeth to tug gently on her bottom lip. His hands moved to her still-wet hair, fingers running through the damp locks. His hands trailed further down her back and she gave a slight intake of breath. Then Kirk backed away, still infuriated.

"You presume to tell me what I dare?" he challenged, his eyes wild. "I can't even begin to tell you how much you…how much…," and he stopped with a livid shake of his head. Leila could feel his hot breath on her face. They silently glared into each other's eyes, bodies touching and hearts racing. Then, for a third time, their lips met and they fell victim to their overwhelming passion. They put all of their rage into the kiss. Leila's hands moved to his hair, tangling in it as she gasped for breath. Kirk pushed her against the desk, freeing a hand to swipe all the papers off. He used his free hand to pick her up and shift her to the top of the desk. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer. Leila briefly broke her lips from his and tugged his shirt over his head, throwing it to the floor next to them. She ran her hands over his smooth muscles, hearing his gratified sigh as she returned her lips to his. Their lips flawlessly moved in unison, as though they were made for each other. Kirk moved his lips down to her neck, lingering there.

"Oh, James," she gasped, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be rid of the thin layer of clothing between them. Kirk seemed to read her mind. His mouth moved back to hers as he slipped off her tight-fitting shirt as well, throwing it to the same place as she discarded his. His hands traced invisible patterns across her body; his touch left her skin burning, aching for more. Their breath came in ragged pants, although neither of them had any intention of letting up. Leila's whole body felt as if it was on fire. Kirk's hand moved to her skirt. He slid the sleek fabric up her thigh as…

A knock sounded at the door. Leila and Kirk snapped their heads up, gasping for breath.

"Captain Leila? You're needed on the bridge," a runner's voice announced from the other side of the door.

"Yes, thank you. I will be there in a moment," Leila replied breathlessly, her body still fully wrapped around Kirk. They listened to the runner's footsteps melt away down the corridor, pulses pounding.