Betazed

Three months later

Jim returned to his dorm room after a full day of classes, whistling an Andorian ballad he'd learned from his new friend Blev. Already his world had expanded and changed with his arrival at university. He was soaking up new information and loving being a normal person again.

That didn't mean he didn't think about Vulcan frequently, or miss his family there, far from it. He talked to Spock every week and often sent funny messages and pictures to Amanda to let her know he was all right.

He'd met lots of interesting characters at University, being a very diverse place, but he was particularly close with three: Blev, a fellow freshman from Andor, a sophomore Brit named Thomas Holmes, and Ella Lu, who was the no-nonsense, but cuttingly hilarious, study partner who bossed him around and had his back when pushy females (and males) were too thick headed to get the message he wasn't interested.

He'd told her about Spock and some of his past and she'd understood his need for a quieter social life.

"Not everyone needs to be a party animal to get through college. You've seen a lot more of the dark side of life than any of these young things so don't you worry your cute little shaggy head about what they think."

Her advice was quite helpful to the new student, who was older than most of his fellow students by a significant amount.

Jim was also seeing a Betazed counselor twice a month and that had been...unexpectedly productive. He'd begun to open up about details to an actual person rather than a recording device and was finding it a relief.

"On the farm, slaves weren't allowed to speak unless directly spoken to, so to communicate we used our hands a lot. I still have that habit today and even when I'm talking, my hands are going like windmills. It looks ridiculous, to people who don't know, but I'm working on controlling it somewhat."

Jim put his bag down and picked up his neglected communicator to listen to his messages.

The first one was from Gaila. Bones had put him in touch with her and she'd been ecstatic to find out he was alive and free. Now, they chatted or commed fairly regularly.

"Hi, Jimmy boy, are you taking care of yourself over there? Captain Pike seems really pleased with your progress. He told me you're acing your classes so far. Good job, darling! Starfleet is still in a furor over your testimony and heads are starting to roll. They've withdrawn from the treaty to put an outpost on Orion due to their refusal to cooperate with an investigation. The chancellor is furious and I love it! Take care, Jimmy. TTYL!"

Jim shook his head at her whirlwind message. Gaila was such a delight, he'd missed her lively, fun loving personality. She'd been his one friend and comfort on Orion, going so far as to sneak into his quarters on days after he'd been treated roughly and give him a soothing balm for his sore muscles and make sure he drank. Jim was usually huddled in a naked heap under the covers, not having the strength to get dressed, but a gentle tap on his shoulder meant relief was at hand and he welcomed it.

Moving on to the next message his grin grew softer as he heard Spock's voice.

"Greetings, James. I hope you are well. Mother sends her greetings and says she is most pleased by the pictures you recently sent. I confess, I found them pleasing as well. You look healthy and content. I hope your academic studies are continuing to be beneficial for you as is the counselor you told me about. The house is extremely quiet without you and I believe that I-Chaya misses you.

I anticipate our next conversation very much James.

Live Long and Prosper."

Oh, he missed that half-Vulcan also. Much as he loved school, many nights he lay awake fingering with the vulcaya pendant she'd given him, building castles in the air with Spock as his Queen.

He had no idea how it could be possible for such a relationship to happen between them, given his history, but he hoped maybe Sarek and Amanda would be open to the idea in the future when he showed them just how far he could put the "boy toy" label behind him.

The counselor, L'Ren told him she sensed a great deal of self-loathing and guilt coming from him and they'd been unpacking the myriad reasons behind those feelings in the last few sessions.

"After years of hard labor, a lot of slaves broke down from overwork, even if they were still young. No one usually lasts over the age of forty in the type of environment I was in. Once you can't work, you have no value and either die of malnutrition or get put down like a rabid dog, unless they like you. I was fortunate that my master's wife would not allow that practice on their farm so I was given away instead. I'll always wonder about my friends that didn't get so lucky.

He moved on to the final message from Captain Pike, which surprised Jim. The captain had been out with the Enterprise for the last eight months and communications were rare.

"Hi, Jim,

I'm just calling to tell you how pleased I am at the positive reports I've been getting from the Ambassador. I'm glad you're thriving on Betazoid. Starfleet's miffed at the rejection, but that and the testimony is finally spurring them to action. We've just seized a freighter full of slaves going to some backwater planetoid. Over 300 souls crammed on board, looking as bad as you did. It's appalling, Jim and it sickens me to think you went through that. We're going to bring these people to justice and try to get these folks back where they belong.

Keep up the good work, son, and send me a comm every now and again."

The use of the word son made Jim smile a little. Pike quite obviously had paternal feelings toward him and a desire to make up for lost time.

He began to clear away the messes around his bed and desk. Tom was coming over for a study session soon and he didn't want to horrify his fastidious friend more than usual.

But first, he carefully placed a holo pic out of the way where it wouldn't be knocked about, eyes lighting up at the sight of Spock's serious countenance. He might not physically be on Vulcan anymore, but part of him always would be.