Welcome to Chapter Twelve!
Sorry for such a late update, this chapter was proving a little difficult to write as well as timing. It's the holidays and I'm running around with the ability to actually buy presents this year with the money I'm making from my Etsy store so that's where all my time was going. Haha.
Anyway, so this is a short chapter this update but I like it all the same. We get to take a peek at a newbie who will play a bigger role as the story continues so I'm excited for that.
Thank you to all who've reviewed :D I enjoy reading all of your comments and I hope for lots to come! Also! I've very excited, I reached 100 followers on my story! Yay! It makes me so happy that so many like what I've written.
I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Where had all of Jim's time gone? He had spent the past week locked away inside his apartment with his favorite Vulcan, ordering take out, watching old movies, laughing when Spock tried new foods and tried his best to not be rude when he didn't like it. Some would say he'd been anti productive, but he would say it was his shore leave, his mini vacation, and he could do whatever he wanted. Either way, the week had gone by so fast that Jim was surprised when Bones knocked on his door, yelling through it that they were running late for a meeting with the newly appointed Admiral Solaris, who'd taken over to watching over the Enterprise's five year mission.
"Shit!" Jim yelled as he flung himself out of bed and reluctantly out of Spock's arms. He scrambled around the bedroom to find any boxer briefs to slip on and when he did, he hopped over to the door, answering it with a smile on his face. "Bones!" He exclaimed to the grumpy man standing at his door. A small chill slipped in and wound its way around Jim, sending goose bumps all over his skin. He shivered and opened the door wider to let his friend in.
Bones, hesitant to the fact that Jim was still in his underwear, stepped inside out of the cold. He unwound the scarf around his neck but didn't take it off, instead letting it hang off his shoulders for later use. He was wearing his coat over his Star Fleet regulated uniform of grey and his hat was tucked under his arm.
"You're not even ready?" He sighed. "We are supposed to be meeting her in twenty minutes." Bones frowned. "Why are you not dressed yet?"
And as if on cue, Spock, who'd found the time to pick out his clothes from the pile on the floor and dress in more than his underwear, emerged from the room, trying to flatten down his hair from the bed head it had been.
Bones rolled his eyes and huffed. "Have you guys even come up for air at all?" He asked, his grumpiness level rising.
Jim smirked but chose not to verbalize an answer. "You need to relax Bones, or you're gonna get wrinkles." He said, walking back into his bedroom.
Spock followed suit but stood in the doorway. "Jim, I need to return to my apartment to change into my uniform. I will meet you and Doctor McCoy at Admiral Solaris' office." He stated. Jim stared at him for a moment before nodding.
"Alright." He said, his voice a bit tight. Sure he'd come to turns on how he felt about Spock and even started to really loosen up and be his old self around the Vulcan during the past week, but, and even though Bones was his best friend in the whole universe, he was still a little awkward around the Doctor about his business with Spock.
Spock nodded and gathered up his clothing and anything else he'd brought with him and placed them carefully in a duffle bag before taking off towards the door. He nodded again to Bones and left swiftly, stepping out in the cold. He bundled himself up nicely with a scarf and his coat to brave the cold weather.
ooooo
Spock sat on a bench in the hallway outside Admiral Solaris' office. He was alone, sitting straight, his feet planted firmly on the ground, waiting patiently for Jim and Bones to arrive. His apartment was a lot closer to the building in which the Star Fleet up and ups held their offices. So he had time to think.
The past week had been a nice respite, spending every night over at Jim's. They'd watch a movie or spend hours talking, but always they fell asleep in Jim's bed, limbs wrapped around each other in some way. Spock smiled, recalling a small event where Jim had tried to cook a meal for the two of them but had burnt almost everything except for the vegetables in a pot of water.
It had been a nice way for Spock to be just be himself. He could enjoy his time with Jim and not have to worry about cause and effect. But it had also clouded his mind from his duties, namely, to remember the meeting appointment time. It was a small infraction upon himself, but one he couldn't easily push aside.
It had made him think then, as to where his loyalties lie. He'd made it a point before, on so many occasions, that he would choose Jim, his Captain, any day. But before then, before the world revolved around James T. Kirk, Spock had been merely a teacher and following the rules was his top priority.
Spock sighed and shifted on the bench, the cushion proving uncomfortable.
"Spock!" Jim yelled from down the hall. Bones, walking next to a now professional looking Jim Kirk, rolled his eyes. Spock looked up from his feet and a small smile crept at the corner of his mouth. He stood and straightened his uniform top.
"Captain." He replied, nodding towards the two as they caught up to the patient Vulcan. "You've arrived just on time. The Admiral is waiting for us in her office."
Be professional. Be calm. You are Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise.
Jim had to repeat these lines over and over in his head and he nodded back to Spock, his expression stiffening to that of a person not in a gleeful mood to see their…boyfriend? What exactly was Spock to him anyway? Jim shook his head, clearing his head of such thoughts, following behind Bones and Spock into the room to their left.
"Ah gentlemen." A melodious voice greeted them as they filed into the Admiral's office. It was followed by an equally attractive woman standing by her desk, a smile plastered on face. "Welcome, I hope traffic wasn't bad." She commented, watching each of them stand at attention. She nodded once. "At ease, please." She said, gesturing to the two chairs in front of the desk.
Bones took one, no questions ask, but when Jim went to stand back to offer the chair to Spock, Spock did the same thing and both were caught in a second long glance that said a million and more things. The Admiral, watching the tiny exchange, chuckled lightly and took her own chair. "You don't have to sit really, its' okay."
Spock nodded and moved aside to give Jim the chair, which he took a little nervously. Bones cleared his throat, a signal that Jim and Spock better cut it out or he was seriously going to ring both their necks once this meeting was over.
Jim nodded to the Admiral and offered a small smile. "I apologize." He shifted in his seat. "I was told that we were going to discuss the mission?" He asked, trying very hard not to look anywhere but at the Admiral.
She seemed like a nice person. She'd greeted them with a smile, instead of regulation professionalism most of other Admirals gave them, and she had an air about her that radiated relaxation. She sat up straight enough, fingers laced together sitting on her desk, but her loosely bound, red hair that lay in a bun atop her head said volumes about her private life. Just by looking at her, Jim could tell that she had been as normal as they come, not so much a straight A student as a jumble of B's and A's and quite possibly a C in one subject or another. She'd been to her fair share of late night parties as equally as many overnight study sessions, but Jim could tell that she had worked hard to achieve Admiral status.
"Yes." She started, another smile appearing on her face. "I know that the mission is stated as a five year mission for exploratory reasons and you are three year into it I am to understand?" All three nodded, Bones shifting a bit in his chair. "I am also to understand that there was no clear reason as to the shore leave taken?"
The room seemed to drop in temperature about five degrees. Jim sat up, clearing his throat. "The reason is that some of my crew were missing their families and since it was so close to the holidays, I decided we could take a break to give them a bit of reprieve until after the New Year." Even Jim thought he didn't sound all that convincing. The answer seemed too simple, simple enough to be suspicious. He desperately wanted to glance at Spock, for reassurance, but he kept his gaze forward.
Admiral Solaris sat back in her chair, hands resting lightly on each arm rest. "There is a small rumor that you encountered a problem while aboard. Is that true? You know all things unsettling must be reported upon your return."
Jim made a mental note to make sure that when they were ready to board the Enterprise, that he weed out anyone who was willing to open their lips the second they landed, and promptly kick them off. "It was nothing of importance I found that I felt needed to be reported." An automated response. Jeez, why not just sit there with the secret spelled on out your face?
"What happened?" Was all she asked. The Admiral tilted her head slightly, her eyes flitting between the three of them.
Jim's hands started to sweat. If Starfleet ever found out about his father…well what exactly? When the elder Spock arrived, they welcomed him with open arms, even helped ship him off to New Vulcan. What had Jim been thinking would happen to his father if Starfleet found out? Well, for one, they'd be reprimanded for keeping it a secret, but what really was Jim scared about? Losing the only version of his father he was able to obtain?
Bones scooted his chair back and stood, staring down at the Admiral. "It's my fault, Admiral." He said, trying very hard not to sneer at the official. "Our ship came across what we thought was debris but it turned out to be an escape pod."
Red eyebrows shot up on Admiral Solaris' forehead. "And you thought this wasn't important enough to report?" She asked, looking between Bones and Jim. "Was it one of ours?"
"No." Spock cut in. "But we did not see any other ship or piece of debris around the area of the discovered pod so we did not inquire further. As Captain Kirk mentioned, the crew were wanting to come home for the Holidays."
"And what happened to the pod?"
"Upon acquiring the vessel, we checked it for any signs of inhabitants and when we did not find anything, we let our engineer Mr. Scott take it apart for any parts he could use. And incinerated the rest." There a cold steel tone to Spock's voice then, an instant dislikeable opinion forming about this Admiral. "I assure you that if there were anything worthy of reporting, I would be the first to do so, Admiral."
A staring contest between the Admiral Solaris and Spock could have been the longest one to go on in the history of staring contests, but Bones cut in between them, forcing them to break eye contact. "It's true. He's very annoying about writing reports."
Admiral Solaris sighed and nodded. "Alright. Fine." She stood, Jim following suit. "But I except you to keep lengthy records on anything else you might find out there, important or not. I do not like hearing second hand from rumors."
All three nodded, Jim mentally marking that the scene would look sort of funny, as if three children were being chastised at school for writing a not-so-funny-yet-really-funny dirty word on the bathroom stall of the boy's bathroom. But right now all Jim wanted to do was leave the room and enjoy the rest of his shore leave, maybe check up on his father to make sure he was still incognito.
"You're dismissed gentlemen." And with that, Jim swiftly took his leave with Bones following close behind him. Spock lingered a bit, taking his time to leave the room and only stopped when Admiral Solaris smiled a smile to suspicious to ignore. "I hear good things about you Commander Spock. Please do not disappoint."
Jim sighed loudly, half to prove his point and the other half to let loose all he was feeling in one fell swoop of an outburst.
Once they had cleared the building and were well on their way to get as far as they could, Bones joined in. "That was too close. I'm gonna kill who ever spilled the beans."
"Jim." Spock piped up from behind the two. "I expect that by now if the rumor has reached the Admiral's ears, than others will have heard it and no one will be willing to come forward as to who said it first."
Jim sighed again. "Yeah, you're right." His shoulders slumped, defeated. But still, the thought that a member of his crew could have easily talked about something he trusted them to keep quiet about was a bit unsettling. Maybe he was setting his sights too high on what, in reality, were nameless faces past anyone he truly got to know. He made a mental note to start getting to know his crew. He had two more years right?
Bones turned around, walking backwards down the uncrowded street. "Where are you two off to for the rest of the day?"
"I think I'm gonna go check on my dad, see how he's been holding up. I haven't really talked to him all that much this week." Jim said, a small smirk forming on his lips.
Bones rolled his eyes and unwrapped the scarf from around his neck. "Will you give this to him then? I keep forgetting to give it back." He said, handing it over to Jim.
Jim's smirk widened. "Why do you have my father's scarf? Don't you have one?"
"No." Bones said, eyes staring hard at his friend. "He gave it to me to borrow and I just haven't had the time to stop by lately."
A blonde brow quirked as Jim slowly took the scarf from Bones. "Okay…" He drawled out, chuckling as he tucked a part of it into one of his coat's pockets. Bones turned back around, his pace suddenly faster.
"Okay. See you guys later." He said, practically speeding off away from them.
Jim continued to laugh until he noticed that Spock was off in his own world. He waved a hand in front of the other's face. "Spock? You okay? You seem preoccupied."
Spock couldn't stop thinking about that last smile he'd seen on the Admiral's face. He'd known a few good Admiral's in his day, Pike for example, a few bad, Marcus. And Spock was good at reading faces, he knew when something like that should be paid attention to. Spock shook his head, the sound of Jim's voice breaking his thought process. He looked up at him and smiled. "I am fine, Jim. You said you wish to see your father today?" Jim nodded. "Then I will leave you to it."
Jim stopped, lightly tugging on Spock's elbow. "What will you do today?"
"I am not sure, more than likely I will be at home meditating. I have not had the time to lately." He smirked a little, watching a small flush rise on Jim's face.
"Will you stay the night again?"
Spock nodded. "Yes, I believe we have not finished the movie we were watching last night."
Jim smiled and took his leave down a side street, aiming for his father's apartment.
So I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter. All in all I liked it but I do admit it was a bit boring for my tastes, but unfortunately there will have to be a few in between to make the good parts great Haha.
Please don't forget to review, I love hearing from you all!
