So only a short one this time (like, super short, sorry!), but in terms of character it might be one of the most important in the entire series. Eep!
Spock found Jim as he was leaving sickbay and headed to the bridge. "Captain," he called, falling back into old habits and refusing to acknowledge the comfort that came to him from being once more able to address Jim as such.
"Spock?" Jim had changed into a pair of uniform blacks, a familiar look for him as he seemed to so frequently misplace or ruin his uniform shirt.
He seemed distracted. Spock allowed a concession – recent events were taxing on all of them and it was not his mother returned from the dead to weave Machiavellian webs. Still, if Jim were to do his duty, they needed all of him in the here and now, and it was to that end Spock had sought his company.
With the dexalithium safely in the hands of Carol Marcus and Scott, Spock had been focused instead on Jim's proposed plan of attack.
As anticipated, he did not like it, though not for the reasons he imagined Jim would expect.
"Might I have a moment of your time?" He inquired, directing Jim to divert to his ready room instead.
"You plan on telling me how much my plan sucks." Jim sighed. "Can we skip to the abbreviated version? I need to check in with Archer and I'm expecting an important comm."
"It is not my intention to highlight the shortfalls of your plan." Spock said, waiting until Jim was inside before closing the door with his personal override. Jim, distracted as he was, did not notice.
"That's good." Jim said absently. "So what is it you need?"
Spock was in control, perfect, rational control, when he seized Jim by the shoulders and backed him against the wall. "As I stated, I have no intention of highlighting the shortfalls of your proposed plan of action. I do not, in fact, have any intention of allowing you to go through with it at all. I had hoped that some level of maturity might have assisted you with your thought process but clearly I am mistaken. You have learned nothing and you continue to act as you always have done."
"I asked you for help!" Jim protested, and Spock realized then that in Jim's mind, that was what mattered.
"You do not understand what that even means." Spock hissed. When Jim attempted to protest, Spock covered his mouth with his hand. He was gentle, careful - pain was not the way to get Jim's attention - but he would not be moved. "You will listen." He demanded. "You have learned nothing. You seek once more to place yourself in harms way and all you have managed to do is ask us to assist you in doing so. I cannot allow it. You seek to once more solve your problems alone, as you did so when you allied with Khan to take Marcus's ship, as you did when you disabled Mr Scott from following you into the warp chamber, as you did so when you turned yourself over into Klingon custody. You have been given a second chance at life and you chose to learn nothing of past mistakes."
His piece said, he removed his hand from Jim's mouth but kept him pinned against the wall, expecting anger or violence in retaliation. He got neither.
"I never asked for a second chance." Jim said softly.
"And yet you have it." Spock frowned. "Jim, my regard for you is higher than for any other being in existence. I have seen your memories, I have experienced your pain and I marvel, truly, at your ability to function as admirably as you do. But now you must make a choice. Jim Kirk can continue on in life merely surviving as he has done so these past years, but if you wish to be the captain this ship deserves, you must be more than merely a survivor. You must take the steps towards healing yourself. You must allow your head to understand what your heart is telling you: that neither I, nor Leonard, nor any crew member on this ship harbor malicious intent towards you of any kind. You must chose, now, to continue as you are with the knowledge that you will, as you fear, perpetuate the cycle of hurt and abandonment you have endured since childhood, or if you will allow your vast intellect to make its own judgments and share its burdens, wholly and without reserve. I swear this to you now, should you chose the later, you will find your mind free, your vision unclouded and the vast strength you have used to hold the world at bay will be finally free to allocate where it is truly needed."
Jim stared at him in stunned silence. Sensing, hoping he might have made some headway through Jim's tremulous emotions, Spock pressed on gently. "You have already given the ship your life, Jim. Is your trust too much more to ask?"
"I do trust you." Jim said softly.
He stepped back and allowed Jim his space. This was a choice he alone could make and though Spock would back him either way, he knew that one road was an unending and well trodden path through an adversary filled jungle, and the other the winding, glorious unknown. Spock squared his jaw and uttered the words he knew would light the dwindling spark in Jim Kirk's weary soul. "Then prove it."