Author's Note: I meant to post this a few weeks ago before the whole coronavirus thing started but I kept getting busier and busier with work and now it might seem in poor taste or with bad timing. But it's the only thing that I started writing that I've finished since the summer so I'm going to post it with the hope in mind that it will get me back into a more serious commitment with writing. Please don't be offended that I've used a mysterious illness as a reason to get these two isolated together :o
The alert came as Spock's door locked itself.
"We're stuck here," Leonard grumbled under his breath as his eyes scanned the screen in front of him. "Quarantined until further notice."
"Can you identify the cause?"
"Chapel says one of the ensigns picked up a disease on Valartuk. She's got him isolated in medbay until he can be treated. Says it's contagious, so she's taking precautions. Everyone's stuck where they are until the guy's cured."
"I thought members of your staff scanned the away team before they were beamed up for any illnesses that might have been contracted."
Leonard glared at the damn hobgoblin. "They did scan everyone. I guess they missed this." Had Leonard been back at the bay before the away team got back, he would've made sure nothing got through. Damn Spock and his insistence their routine checkups happen at the same time every time. Leonard sighed. It wasn't Spock's fault the away team had come back three hours earlier than expected.
Spock quirked an eyebrow. "Odd. I thought you prided yourself on your inability to 'make mistakes' as you put it. You must now realize that it was illogical of you to presume you could be perfect."
Scratch that. It was Spock's fault.
"You're right, Spock. The only perfect one on this ship is you." Leonard didn't wait for a reply before he waved his hand dismissively in the air. "Whatever. Look, if I'm going to be stuck here while I wait for Chapel and the others to solve this thing, then I'm going to do my best not to bother you anymore than I already have. Just…go about whatever it is that you Vulcans do in your free time and I'll keep to myself over here." As if to demonstrate his point, Leonard walked over to the corner of Spock's quarters and sat himself down in a chair. He propped his PADD on the table and began scrolling through the data he had collected as part of his biweekly check on Spock's vitals. Starfleet lacked too much information in its database when it came to half-breeds and Leonard was intent on fixing that and updating the information.
Spock stood in place for a moment longer, studying Leonard as if to make sure he really was intent on working, before the Vulcan moved to sit on the floor in a meditative position. The two sat in reasonable silence for an extended period of time before Leonard hit a snag in his research. He looked to Spock and noted that the Vulcan was free of any worry lines or visible distress marks. Was Spock really relaxed?
"You have a question for me, Doctor?"
Guess not.
"I thought you were meditating," Leonard replied.
"I sensed a change in your attention that interrupted my meditation. How can I be of assistance?" Spock's eyes were still closed.
Leonard cleared his throat. "Right. So. I know about pon farr and Vulcan reproduction and all of that…but…what's this…kal-kal-if…kal-iffy –"
"Kal-if-fee?"
"Yeah. What is that?"
"Kal-if-fee is a Vulcan ritual typically fought between two males for the right to mate with a certain female."
"Like two dogs fighting over a piece of meat."
Spock quirked a brow at the analogy. "I do not believe I agree with you."
"Humans have interactions like that, but I don't think we'd be civilized enough to call it a 'ritual' or anything. Usually fights like that just happen in bars when someone tries to mess with your lady."
At this, Spock opened his eyes and studied Leonard. "Have you ever been involved in such a conflict, Doctor?"
"Huh? Oh, no. I've seen plenty of them, though. Happened once or twice with Jim at the academy. Simple mistakes, really. But some guys are territorial and Jim's not always the brightest bulb in the shed after four glasses of whiskey." Leonard filled in some more information on the PADD before he looked back at Spock. "What about you? Have you ever participated in this ritual?"
Spock was quiet for a moment. "I have never had a reason to participate before. Although now that Vulcan has been destroyed, I suppose I should start doing my part to help repopulate my species."
"That why you and Uhura broke up?"
Spock closed his eyes. "That was not the only reason."
When it was clear that the Vulcan wasn't going to willingly continue, Leonard asked, "So…if you go back to Vulcan at some point and try to mate with the top lady of your species, or whatever, will you have to fight off the competition?"
"I suspect so. While the kal-if-fee does not happen often, I cannot believe that the now-present lack of female Vulcans will not hinder reproduction attempts. If I am to do my part in increasing the population of Vulcans found in the galaxy, I must find a suitable female to mate with and continue my species."
Leonard leaned back in his chair, resting his head against the wall behind him. "That sounds pretty drab to me. But humans typically mate based on a mutual attraction and shared affection for one another. Earth hasn't been wiped out or anything yet where we'd have to focus on reproducing just for society's sake. It must be hard for you."
Spock opened his eyes again. "Hard?"
Leonard blinked at him before quickly reiterating, "Difficult. I mean, it doesn't sound like you have much of a choice in the matter. And I'm betting the choice of ladies is even smaller. It probably sucks to have to mate with someone out of a sense of duty rather than because of any emotional attachment. I don't know if I could do it."
"Doctor…may I ask you something of a rather personal nature?"
"We're sitting here on lockdown talking about mating rituals, Spock. I'm pretty sure the floor's open wide for personal stuff."
Ignoring the desire to correct the man's metaphor, Spock asked, "Why do you not think you could do it?"
Leonard shuffled in his seat. "Well…I'm not the type to screw around if I don't care about the person I'm with. I understand that for Vulcans, there's a sense of duty and requirement that goes with mating that might make it easier for your guys to reproduce without any of the love or tenderness involved that humans feel –"
"I must disagree. I believe that Vulcans can experience a great deal of tenderness for partners. My father certainly loved my mother in his own way."
"And you cared for Uhura when you two were together."
Spock's gaze wandered away from Leonard's face and over to the window that looked out among the stars. "You are correct."
"Spock…do you want to mate with someone?"
The Vulcan was quiet for a few moments before he replied softly, "I do. But I believe I do not want it to simply be for the continuation of my species. I understand that Vulcans can take many partners throughout the course of our lifetime but…I suppose the human side of me finds conflict in that idea. I wish to mate with someone I care very deeply for…in my own way. I wish to find someone who can understand that and wants to be with me in spite of my…faults."
"Faults? What, like, not being 100% Vulcan? Spock, that's not a fault. Hell, the fact that you're half-human is one of the things that makes you enjoyable on this damned ship."
"Because I am an experiment? Research?"
"What? No! Damn it, Spock, I didn't mean it like that." Leonard rubbed his forehead in exasperation. This was why he didn't try to engage the Vulcan in 'friendly conversations' anymore. "I meant that because you're half-human, you show emotions a lot easier and more freely than other Vulcans do. And that's not a bad thing, by any means. Granted, this is coming from a 100% human –"
"Humans are typically monogamous and I have yet to meet someone I would care deeply for who would be alright with my work to repopulate my species."
"Sure, humans can be monogamous, but that's not to say that there isn't a single human out in existence who wouldn't be okay with you having Vulcan kids. I mean, I've got a daughter myself from an ex-wife. Granted, she's human and I'm human and my future partner will probably end up being human but…" Leonard trailed off his rambling as something outside of Spock's window caught his attention. Standing up from his chair, he crossed the short space and looked out at the infinite space surrounding them. A comet had sailed by the ship, followed quickly by another one in its wake. The one behind seemed to be chasing after the one in front.
"What were you going to say, Doctor?" Spock prompted quietly from the floor behind him.
Leonard sighed and leaned against the cool glass. "We don't always know where fate's going to take us, Spock. I know you and I aren't the closest of buds, but if you want to keep searching for that 'forever mate' while you work to try and repopulate Vulcan, I think you should do it. But I think you should do what you're going to do because you want to do it. Not because of duty or anything like that. Your life is yours to live however you want to live it, Spock. Whatever you do, whatever choices you make, they're going to be meaningful in some way or another. Because that's just the way you are. Even I can see that."
"Doctor –"
"Attention, crew. The contagion has been eradicated. We are going to keep the patient under surveillance for a while longer but you are now free to travel throughout the ship as you like." The announcement barely finished before Leonard received a message on his PADD paging him back to med bay.
"Well…that's that. I guess I had better go back and make sure Chapel hasn't actually killed us all." Leonard moved back to where he had been sitting and picked up his PADD. Turning back to Spock, he saw the Vulcan's eyes were open, alert, and on him. "Thanks for keeping me company, Spock. If we're ever stuck somewhere…well…I think I would like to have you with me for it." He started to move towards the door of Spock's room before a thought made him smile. "Don't tell Jim," Leonard called over his shoulder before he moved out the door and disappeared into the hallway.
He didn't know that Spock remained there, staring at the door in deep contemplation long after Leonard had left.