Welcome to the first chapter of the second part in my "Further" series. In order to understand this story, I recommend reading "Threshold of Space" first.
Have fun, enjoy the story and let me know what you think, pretty please
Carissa cracked her knuckles.
"What if your father doesn't like me?" she asked her boyfriend
"What is making you believe this?"
"I don't know… maybe he doesn't want you to be with a human?" Spock raised an eyebrow and she couldn't help but smile "Okay, I admit that's stupid… after all he married a human as well" she tried to fan herself "God, I'm gonna die in this heat. You could have told me it's gonna be that hot!"
"I did inform you that we were expecting temperatures of 39 degrees"
"That's never 39 degrees!" she protested "What kind of winter do you have here?"
"Could it be that you assumed I was giving you the temperatures in Fahrenheit?"
"What? You didn't?"
"No, I do not think too highly of this system"
"Oh God, you meant 39 degrees Celsius? Fuck, that's like a hundred degrees Fahrenheit right?"
"102.2, to be exact. I thought you knew about the average temperatures on New Vulcan?"
"Yes I knew it is hot. It was never said it couldn't get cold though. And you told me it was winter, so of course I assumed that 39 Fahrenheit could be correct" she crossed her arms "You're always being super correct but then you just forget to add that you mean degree Celsius" she muttered "I wouldn't have put this stupid jacket on"
"I thought it would be logical that I use the International System of Units and that you reached the conclusion that Vulcans would not live on a planet where temperatures can fall down to 3.88 degrees Celsius"
"Well forgive me the words but I'm sure your future self couldn't find the 'perfect' planet that's just like Vulcan"
"Would you prefer going back to the ship and change your clothing before we continue?"
"Yes!" she huffed "Otherwise I'm gonna die. And no, I don't want to hear a comment about how it would probably take at least two days until I could die from the heat"
"Technically it would…"
"I said no comment"
"Carissa, is something bothering you? Have I done something to upset you?"
"I-I don't know…. I'm just nervous, you know…"
"If meeting my father causes you uncomfortableness you do not have to feel obliged to accompany me"
"But you already announced that you'd introduce me"
"I am sure he will understand if I tell him that you have changed your mind"
"Actually… I do want to meet him" he nodded and called the Enterprise and shortly after they were beamed back aboard. "Will you wait here until I come back?"
"I will" she nodded and hurried to her quarters to put on something lighter and returned only clad in a top and shorts.
"Okay, let's go" she said as she arrived back in the transporter room and stepped onto the pad beside Spock. They were beamed back at the place where they had left and continued their way to Sarek's house "It's still way to hot but at least I'm not dying anymore"
"I doubt you were passing away earlier"
"It felt like that" she defended herself
"Seeing as you have experience with dying I cannot say whether your comparison is accurate"
"Wow that sounds weird… I have experience with dying" she giggled. Finally, they arrived at the settlement where Spock's father lived and searched for his house. When she felt the looks of the other Vulcans on her, she edged closer to her boyfriend, suddenly feeling as if she shouldn't be here.
"Carissa, is something causing you discomfort?"
"I uh… she glanced around and leaned closer "They're staring"
"I am aware" he admitted quietly "and I have to admit that it indeed is not something I would wish for"
"Do you think they'll look away if I poke out my tongue at them?" she joked
"No, I am certain this would only have the opposite effect"
"Damn" she muttered "But if one of them dares to… I don't know make fun of me or whatever I'll so tell them off" he looked at her but said nothing. Somehow it did surprise her that they made it to Sarek's house without any kind of unwanted confrontation which probably only was the case because Vulcans were so peaceful and intelligent. Not that all the judging looks didn't annoy her but she was almost used to them. Spock's father opened the door and Carissa did her best not to smile and formed a Vulcan greeting with her hand, which she had practiced quite a lot in the past few hours. But suddenly she forgot what she wanted to say "Hi uh, g-good afternoon" she stuttered out and for once she wished that Spock would be the one talking. Which he did after he noticed Carissa looking at him and introduced her. "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir" she said and could have hit herself when she realized that she made a little courtesy.
"The pleasure is all mine, as humans would say" she couldn't help but smile. Luckily, they were told to enter and once they sat down at a table she felt a bit better. Although everything in her wanted to touch her boyfriend she didn't because she was afraid his father would disapprove of this. Suddenly, she could comprehend how Spock must have felt when he met her parents for the first time. Although, now the most embarrassing thing was the silence. Finally, Sarek said something "My son has mentioned you in a few of our conversations but he did not tell me much about you"
"Well, I'm from Colorado and my parents are called Henry and Rachel. I don't have siblings and I went to elementary school and high school. Then I made an internship in a nursery for a year and then worked in my parent's restaurant before I was accepted to Starfleet Academy when I was twenty" she gave a shrug "Not very spectacular, I know"
"I think that working in a nursery is an interesting choice"
"How exactly do you mean that?"
"I am not completely familiar with the concept of a nursery"
"Oh well that's where parents can bring their young kids when they have to go to work. The parents, I mean. And in the nursery, the kids can meet others, play with them or sometimes the caregivers sing with them or go for a walk with them, teach them something or whatever. Spock has once told me that you have something like a kindergarten on Vulcan though?"
"That is correct. My wife was a teacher and has tried to find work in one of those institution. But they would not have employed her even if she had had the qualifications"
"Oh" she said "I didn't know that. And although I can see the sense behind this decision… I still think it's mean. I mean if someone's qualified they should be able to get said job somewhere, unless no new worker is needed right at the moment" she shrugged, suddenly feeling a lot better. Talking to Sarek now felt almost naturally and she wasn't even nervous anymore. Which didn't mean she didn't choose her words carefully.
"I am almost surprised how similar your thought patterns are to Amanda's"
"Your wife?" she asked, feeling surprised as well "Well the reason for this could be that I read somewhere that men tend to search a partner who reminds them of their mother, whereas the woman is looking for a man who reminds her of her father. At least among humans"
"Your statement seems logical. Would you say that you have seen your father in my son?"
"Well… now that I think of it, my father's rather calm and withheld too. Yet it's obvious he cares about me. I'd almost say that Spock's and my dynamic is similar to those of my parents. My Mum often seems on edge and definitely is the louder one"
"Although I have never thought about this, it appears that you are right" Spock agreed. Carissa smiled and shifted a tiny bit closer to him
- oO0Oo -
Time flew by and almost too soon for Carissa's liking they had to leave because Ambassador Spock had invited them to his place for dinner as soon as he heard they would be coming to New Vulcan. Once they left the house, Carissa was very relieved and was grinning and almost dancing beside her boyfriend as they were on their way to the ambassador's house. Somehow she now didn't even care that the other Vulcans were staring at her and she only offered them a grin, what made most look away. But as she saw that Spock seemed not so amused she instantly tried to calm down.
"Sorry" she mumbled and looked down.
"You do not need to apologize" he said "I can understand when you are feeling relief" she smiled
"I am. And I'm really looking forward to meeting Ambassador Spock"
"I have to admit that I am anticipating the meeting as well" she nodded and placed her hand on his lower arm
"You can tell me if you'd rather I don't touch you now and here. Not that your friends think we're doing something improper"
"I can assure you that most of them are certainly not my friends"
"Oh okay" although she wanted to know how he meant it, she didn't dig in further. Suddenly they were approached by a Vulcan who was holding hands the Vulcan way with a female.
"I had not believed to ever see you again, Spock" he said in a tone Carissa didn't really like "As I can see you have taken yourself a human mate, as your father did. Was it because no Vulcan has wished you to be a part of their family? Or were you perhaps attempting to find a suitable replacement for your deceased mother?" she glanced up at Spock who obviously was not happy at all. She decided to distract the other Vulcan a little and play dumb.
"Hello" she said and held out his hand towards him "My name is Carissa, you must be one of my boyfriend's old friends?" she felt Spock's hand on her upper arm, gently pulling her slightly closer to him.
"I would not ever wish to be your traitor's friend" Carissa shrugged
"Okay, my bad" she pulled back her hand and she looked at Spock "Let's go, it doesn't seem like he wants to talk to us although he's the one who talked to us first…. I don't see the logic behind that" she grinned
"I merely will not talk to an ignorant human" her heat shot back at him
"Excuse me?" she hissed, feeling rage inside her
"I suppose I forgot that humans cannot hear as well as us. Or does it have to do with your limited knowledge perhaps? Shall I repeat my words?"
"I heard you fucking right, you bastard" she put her hands on her hips "And I may don't know exactly what's going on here but it does seem like you're bullying him" she looked back to her boyfriend
"Carissa…" he started but she cut him off
"Oh no, you let me talk to him" she turned back to the other Vulcan and crossed her arms "I don't know why you're bullying him but there are usually two reasons for that. Either because you're a sadist who enjoys to make other suffer or because you're jealous. Now I'm asking you; what's better? Admitting that you, as a Vulcan, enjoy disturbing peace and attacking someone verbally or that my boyfriend is better than you? I do believe someone's in for quite some mediation tonight" she glared at him. "In either case you are acting out of emotion and I bet you're even too proud to admit that. Though proud is another emotion so it appears like you're quite the sentimental one, aren't you? So maybe next time, before you say something you should consider your words because I believe you are clever enough for at least that. Now, I suppose I made you angry and that you will retort something anyway without thinking logically, so Spock and I will demonstrate the idiom 'the wiser head gives in' and leave you alone to your well-needed thoughts… but before I forget it, we humans have some kind of salute for people like you" she held up her middle finger at him before she pulled Spock with her.
"I would not have expected you to give him a lecture such as this" she chuckled
"He deserved it. No one talks shit about my friends or me and gets away with it" she shook her head "Not on my watch. Do you think he knows what the gesture means?"
"I doubt he knows the meaning but he certainly knew that it is an insult"
"Yeah. It means as much as asshole"
"I am aware"
"Really?" she glanced at him "because people showed it to you when you came to Earth?"
"No, Carissa" there was a tiny quirk in his eyebrow that told her he was amused "I know the gesture because I have made use of it in my youth on Vulcan"
"You walked around showing people the middle finger?"
"Not entirely. However, I wanted to inform you that I was quite impressed by the speech you have given him"
"Oh yeah, I just said stuff that came through my mind"
"Yet your words are the truth"
"Hm, even better. Now he's also got to deal with the fact that a human cut him down to size" he raised an eyebrow "It's an idiom, that means as much as 'to tell someone off and show him his place'" she translated.
"I believe you did" she nodded
"But why…. I mean what has he against you?"
"I do not wish to talk about this topic now"
"Oh, okay" she gave another nod and they walked in silence until they reached the house of the ambassador. All of a sudden, Carissa started to feel a little nervous about seeing the older version of her boyfriend again. After all she had never seen him together with her boyfriend and feared he could get somewhat jealous of his future self. The door opened and after greeting the ambassador, she took the Commander's hand and intertwined their fingers.
"Please, come in" they were invited and stepped inside. It was bigger than Sarek's home, yet just as scarcely furnitured. They took a seat at a table and the older Vulcan placed a drink in front of them all. She eyed hers with a frown, then looked what her boyfriend had gotten, obviously the same as his future self.
"What's this?" she asked, pointing at her drink
"I recommend you give it a try. I am certain that you will find its taste likeable" their host said, amusement audible in his voice. With a shrug, Carissa did as he said and was pleasantly surprised. It tasted a lot like very sweet iced tea and smiled.
"You're right. I like it" she felt the younger man's gaze on her and then he explained what it was that she was drinking. Before the ambassador got a chance to get up and serve the meal, Carissa got up and offered to do so
"Since I am a guest too, it would only be appropriate if I help her" the younger Spock said as he stood up as well "I am sure that we can manage on our own" he told his future self when he wanted to get up as well. Carissa was staring at the cupboards in the meantime, not knowing where she could find the dishes. Before she made a decision, her boyfriend was beside her, let his eyes wander over every cupboard, then opened one and handed her three bowls.
"Oh" she "How did you know they're here? Did you ask yourself where you would put the cooking utensils and hope your older self had the same thoughts?"
"Correct" he opened a drawer and retrieved cutlery. Carissa held out her bowls towards him and he placed it inside before she went back to the table to set it. Shortly after, the Vulcan returned with a pan and a pot which he placed in the middle of the table. While they were eating, the ambassador told them a bit more about New Vulcan and how they were still adapting. She still couldn't believe all that had happened two and half a year ago and also recalled that so much had happened to her in that time as well. Suddenly, Spock's communicator beeped and from what Carissa heard, the Captain wanted him to come because someone had requested that they came to officially introduce themselves on the planet. And of course Jim wanted to have Spock with him for that, given his heritage. Before he left, however, he handed the communicator to his girlfriend, who looked at him with a frown. He got up, thanked his future self for the hospitality and left.
"What was that for?" she asked, glancing at the communicator. "Does he think something could happen to me? Maybe because… you've lost 'your' Carissa and could lose me too?"
"I doubt this is what he had in mind. I daresay I might be the person he would trust most with you"
"And why then?"
"He must know that I was planning to show you around on New Vulcan and he does not want you to be bothered by one of our people"
"Oh, that already happened" she said and told him what had happened on their way to his house "I bet he's not super happy right now" she chuckled at the end "But maybe he'll actually learn something from it" he looked almost amused
"I have not realized that you have changed that much since our last meeting"
"Well, a lot has happened… I don't know how much he told you but we broke up, then there was this story with Marcus and Khan, Oliver and his stupid uncle and these scientists that abducted him, my gradation and the start of the mission" she gave a shrug.
"I have not heard about these incidents, apart from the issue with Khan and the five-year mission"
"Okay. As far as I remember you have been on that five-year mission in your time as well, right?"
"We have"
"Was that when you met… your Carissa?"
"I have known her before as she has been assigned to the Enterprise upon her graduation. But only when we went onto the mission did I get to know her better" she nodded.
"Was she in the science department as well? I mean… sure she was but did she work in the biology lab?"
"Indeed, she did"
"Can I ask how you got together?"
"You may" he told her of an incident where the whole bridge crew, including her alternate self (who had just come there to deliver a report) where abducted to a planet because an energy being wanted them to bear him company. Apparently, this Carissa totally lost it when said being started flirting with her and claimed that she was dating the Captain, who instantly played along. Once they all were back in safety, Spock and Carissa, who had been friends at that time had quite a lengthy conversation in which they admitted their feelings for the other.
"Oh I see. It was a bit more… stupid for us" she let out a giggle and told him how she had been almost killed during an engineering test and then got a tranquilizer which she didn't need and started to hit on Spock who had been her professor at the time. "But somehow I'm glad that happened… I mean we probably would have gotten together eventually… sometime on the mission…" she shrugged "But I'd probably be dead if we hadn't been a couple" she told him how Spock was the one who made sure she was reassigned to the Enterprise to have an eye on her for the mission on Vulcan and therefore saved her from death. At the memory she couldn't help but smile "God that were times… it's been ages since he did something behind my back because he was trying to protect me. Did you know he didn't even assign me to a ship in the beginning? It was another instructor who assigned me in the first place" he raised an eyebrow. They finished their meal and then left the house because the ambassador wanted to show her around a little.
After about three hours, Carissa started to wonder where her boyfriend was because she had a feeling that it couldn't mean something good if the meeting with the Vulcans took them this long. Or maybe he had just returned to the ship afterwards. Suddenly, the communicator beeped and Scotty informed her that the people who had been at said meeting had returned to the ship and asked if she wanted to be beamed back aboard too now since everyone who had went down on the planet was back already.
"Oh. Give me a moment" she looked at the ambassador "It sounds like they want me back on the ship…"
"I understand" she nodded and told Scotty that she had to say goodbye first and would inform him when she was ready to be beamed back on board. Then she turned back to the Vulcan and shrugged
"Thank you for everything. It was great" she said and formed a Vulcan greeting with her right hand whereupon Spock only raised his hand
"If you allow, your counterpart has showed me a human gesture called 'high five'" Carissa smiled, not quite believing her ears
"She did? And you well… agreed to do this?"
"I have, although I still fail to see the sense behind it"
"Hm well… it is a bit odd for a couple, unless you've achieved something and it's not really a greeting. But hey, maybe I'll manage to get my boyfriend to do the same" she chuckled as she took the ambassador up on his offer for a high five with a broad smile. After they bid each other goodbye and he wished them an exciting and successful five year mission, they parted ways and Carissa asked Scotty to come back onto the ship. The man asked her a few questions about how it was and she said she just looked around a bit and talked to someone, not wanting to tell him the truth about her relationship just yet. Although Spock had never said that he didn't want the others to know she still had a feeling that he preferred it if less people knew. "I think I've gotta bring that back to the bridge" she finally said, holding up the communicator Spock had given her
"Ah sure" he nodded "See ye"
"Sure" she nodded and left for the bridge with a smile. Somehow she felt strange when she stepped into the bridge, as if she shouldn't be here, so she just wanted to hand the communicator back and leave again, but Jim stopped her with a question
"How was the trip?"
"Hot. But nice" she said and glanced at her boyfriend who didn't even pay attention to her. Not that she minded though "May I ask how your meeting went?"
"Boring and tedious…" he rolled his eyes "It's even bad enough to be around one Vulcan, let alone a whole council of them. And hey, they didn't seem very pleased that we're here and requested us to leave within the next twelve hours if we had no important business or reason to be here"
"Oh okay. Does that mean we're leaving?"
"Yup, we don't want to anger them, now do we?" when Carissa turned around she saw that her boyfriend looked at them but said nothing before he turned back to his screen.
- oO0Oo -
There was a lot for her to do in the following weeks since they had a lot of data and samples to test that came from different planets. Besides, since she was new, she and Benedict were supervised quite a lot by the Head of the laboratory, Zacharias Duncan. She had never liked it when someone was looking over her shoulder as she worked because it made her feel watched and she couldn't truly focus. Besides this wasn't all. Sometimes she had the feeling that this wasn't just about watching her work but watching her in general. There were days where he just couldn't take his eyes off her. Plus, he often got a bit too close for her liking or touched her when she didn't find it exactly necessary. Although she approached the topic and told him it made her uncomfortable it didn't stop. In contrary, it seemed like it encouraged him to do more and his hand even started wandering below her waist at times. At this, she told him that he had to stop because she wasn't interested in him and had a boyfriend.
One evening, she was the last person in the laboratory because they had an experiment running and someone had to supervise it until everything was over and she volunteered to do so. If everything went according to plan, she would be finished in a bit more than an hour and could end her day of work. And since she had to stay here anyway, she wanted to do some work. As a compensation she could leave earlier on the following day.
Suddenly the door to the laboratory opened and she had to bite back a groan when Zacharias entered and took a seat beside her
"Did you volunteer to watch the experiment?"
"It would seem so" she said "What are you doing here?"
"I need to finish a report and I thought four eyes on the experiment are better than two. It's already late after all" she shrugged and focused on her work again.
"Okay" she didn't tell him she'd rather if he had chosen another seat.
"Besides, then you don't feel so lonely" he chuckled and she winced when she felt his hand on her lower back. She shifted and bit her lip, soon wishing she had said something because she felt his hand slip under her shirt.
"Don't touch me" she said, glaring at him. He pulled his hand away and placed it on her arm instead
"Sorry. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable"
"Way to go" she mumbled puller her arm away a little but the hand remained. "I said don't touch me" she hissed and now yanked her arm away and looked into his eyes "I swear to God if you touch me ever again, I will report this" he chuckled
"We both know you wouldn't to that… you're too shy and dear. And I doubt you'd be taken serious anyway"
"Somehow you seem pretty confident of yourself"
"I'm just giving you the facts. I've been working quite closely with the Chief Science Officer since I'm the Head of the laboratory, which means he knows me quite well. Besides I don't even want something from you… I just hope we can be friends. Outside work"
"A bit more than friends" she mumbled, looking away from him "And I've got no idea why you can't understand how your advances are making me uncomfortable. Especially when you know that I have a boyfriend"
"What I'm doing has got nothing to do with this"
"Then please respect the fact that it makes me uncomfortable. So get away from me"
"What if I don't?" she didn't say anything and got up herself, getting another seat for herself. Somehow she was a bit surprised that he didn't follow her and she found herself smiling.
- oO0Oo -
But she should have known that this was far from over. The following day Zach held her back when she finished work for the day and left the lab. He grabbed her wrist and called her name. She suppressed a sigh
"I'm allowed to leave early. As you have seen yourself I stayed until the experiment was done so I can leave earlier today" she tore her hand away and crossed her arms.
"And that's not something I wanted to scold you about I wanted to apologize for my behavior… would you like to have dinner with me today? Or sometime this week?"
"Uh… I don't know" she said, not daring to say no and squeezed her eyes shut "I mean you don't see this as a date, right?"
"Depends on what you'd like" he smiled and placed a hand on her upper arm
"Look, I don't see how you can't know what the words 'I have a boyfriend' mean"
"But he isn't here, is he?"
"And you thinks that gives you the right to… do this?"
"He has to accept the fact that you might move on in the years to come"
"Even if that was my plan… I certainly wouldn't cheat on him now already. Now, I've got stuff to do"
"But you're done with work"
"Yeah. And I've got a private life"
"So you don't have anything to do?"
"I'm not going out with you if that's what you're hoping for…"
"Come on, just one time"
"Please, just leave me alone" she sighed.
"Can't you give me an answer?"
"Look, if you keep insisting it's still gonna be no"
"At first you just said you didn't know"
"Then I didn't know you wanted it to be a date… I can't see how you're too stupid to understand that I'm not interested at all!" before she knew it, he had her pressed against a wall
"Don't ever call me stupid again, sweetheart" she felt his breath on her neck and wished she could lean back, away from him.
"Let me go" she hissed
"Sooner or later I will get what I want" he whispered in her ear "You'd do yourself a favor if you didn't put your foot down"
"I've got every goddamn right to defend myself. I told you one too many times that I want you to leave me alone. And if you ever touch me again, I will report you"
"If you had the courage to do so, you probably would have done it long ago. Because you already threatened me to do so three times… Unless, of course, you do enjoy this"
"Let me go" she growled, trying to push him away.
"What if I don't?"
"Like I said… I will fucking report you"
"And like I said, no one would ever believe you. It's your word against mine. Besides, do you really think the Commander would care? He surely doesn't even know what this is all about"
"If I just tell him that this is about sexual harassment at work he'll find a according law that forbids it within seconds" she retorted.
"Oh you think this is sexual harassment?"
"And what is it in your opinion?"
"Getting to know you"
"Well done, you totally did everything right. That's how I get to know others too. By pressing them against a wall and threatening them" he smirked
"I can do more than just that" he grinded his hips against hers and she sucked in a sharp breath before she kneed him in the groin. "What's gotten into you?"
"I could ask you the same thing" she spat when she slipped away from him, using his distraction.
"You're gonna regret this! Mark my words, I will get what I want" he yelled after her as she ran away "And if you think that reporting this will help you're wrong! They'll never ever listen to you" despite everything she still chuckled, knowing he definitely was wrong. Because she knew that his shift on the bridge was over, she made her way towards the rooms the bridge crew used as offices or conference rooms at times, knowing that her boyfriend definitely would have found something else he could work on in his office, a report probably. When she knocked at the door to his office, she heard indeed Spock's voice from inside, telling her to come in. He seemed surprised when he recognized her.
"Hi" she greeted and smiled "Long time no see" in fact she had only shortly seen him three times in the past weeks, when he came to the lab to deliver or collect something "I mean when we actually talked to each other" he agreed, told her it was good to see her and asked what she wanted. "I uh…" she looked down, suddenly not feeling too sure about this anymore
"You seem like there is something bothering you" he remarked and she nodded
"There is… It's about Zacharias Duncan, my-my superior. He-he's well… kind of… making strange remarks and well… advances towards me lately" he raised any eyebrow
"How exactly would you define 'strange'?"
"Molesting?" she said quietly and looked down again before glancing at him quickly. For a while he was silent then contacted the bio lab.
"This is Commander Spock. I demand to see Lieutenant Duncan in my office on deck 6 immediately" he told the Ensign who answered. Again she found herself smiling, Zach surely hadn't calculated with that.
"I think Zach has left already"
"Then please make sure he gets my message as soon as possible"
"What's this about?"
"That is nothing I shall discuss with you" Carissa instantly knew he was beyond pissed.
"I'll see that I find him" the woman said and Spock ended the communication before he turned to Carissa and got up.
"Has he hurt you?"
"No" she mumbled and stepped closer to wrap her arms around him. When he pressed her against his body in a comforting manner, she felt herself calming down and buried her face in his chest.
"I understand this must be difficult for you but I would appreciate if you told me everything that has happened"
"Do you mean 'officially' as in what will be put in the report or 'unofficially' like what I'd only tell you as my boyfriend?" she looked at him
"The decision is up to you" she swallowed
"It wasn't too bad in the beginning and it took me some days to realize what exactly he was doing" she told him what had happened in the past weeks and he listened quietly.
"I fail to understand why you have tolerated such a behavior over weeks"
"Believe me… somehow I'm asking myself the same thing… Maybe I have hoped he'd stop eventually because he would realize that it's of no use? I-I just didn't want to make mountains out of molehills"
"I doubt a mole would be able to create…"
"It's a saying, Spock. It means that someone doesn't want to display something small as something bigger or worse"
"What has made you think these incidents were of little importance?"
"As I said… it didn't start too bad. Today was the worst, actually. And-and I didn't want to bother you" he placed his hands on her shoulders
"Carissa, I doubt you could ever bother me. Particularly not if your welfare is concerned. As First Officer it is one of my tasks to ensure the wellbeing of the crew, meaning that I am a focal point for any kind of conflict that may occur between members of the crew"
"I know and understand that this is your job… but you know me, I'm always waiting and seeing what happens or if I'm able to do something myself before I get help"
"Then please promise me to refrain from doing so in the future when your wellbeing is concerned and come to me directly if something occurs." she smiled
"Okay, I'll try"
"In return I promise you to do everything necessary to protect you"
"Thanks" she looked up and pecked his jaw "God you can't believe how much I've missed spending time with you in the past weeks" she mumbled, leaning her cheek against his shoulder.
"Maybe you would like to do so once the matter with Lieutenant Duncan is resolved?"
"You mean today?" she didn't wait for his answer and nodded "I'd love to. Unless… you've got a lot to do. No wait you probably don't because if you had you wouldn't have asked" she corrected, nudging the tip of his nose with her forefinger "After all I've already known you for quite some time and know that probing into something is unnecessary because otherwise you wouldn't have said anything" he raised an eyebrow and removed her hand from his face, intertwining their fingers instead. "But what do you want to do? Go to the rec room? Or do you prefer us being alone?"
"I believe it would be preferable…" there was a knock at the door and he let go of her after pecking her forehead "Come in" he said as he took a seat again at the other side of the desk.
"You wanted to see me?" Zach said upon entering and his eyes fell onto Carissa. There was some kind of shock in his eyes and she solely grinned at him.
"Indeed. I take it, you already know the reason I have summoned you?"
"Well… maybe because you want to discuss how she's doing at work? She's new after all and I'm her superior and see her daily"
"Not quite" he looked at Carissa "Junior Lieutenant, if you may?" she swallowed
"I uh… I have warned you that I will report this and yet you didn't listen"
"Report what? Have you been doing extra work again? I told you could compensate everything you do out of working hours"
"You know exactly what I'm speaking of" she growled "Your advances"
"Oh that…" he turned to Spock "It's really nothing. I have asked her out and she overreacted because I placed a hand on her shoulder and called me a pervert and all"
"Your statement is not consistent with what the Junior Lieutenant has informed me about"
"And you just believe her?"
"As you might now, I can tell if someone is telling the truth or not and Miss Wiley's testimony seemed thoroughly genuine. Which is something I cannot profess for yours"
"So what? She got worked up about this, surely because she thinks whatever she has told you is the truth, which isn't the case"
"Do you deny pressing her against a wall earlier that day and threatening her?"
"I don't even know what you're talking about" Spock got up and crossed his arms. Carissa instantly took a step back, sensing he was about to burst with anger. At least for Vulcan standards.
"I have ways to… jog your memory- if I remember the idiom correctly- but this is something I would prefer not to"
"Okay, good, I did grab her but only because she insulted me. I didn't threaten her in a way you might think, I just told her it could have consequences"
"Speaking of consequences… has she not informed you about her relationship?"
"She has mentioned a boyfriend, yes"
"Then may I ask why you continued your advances?"
"Well… it's not like this boyfriend would ever know. He has to accept the fact that she might move on during the time she is gone"
"That is incorrect. Her boyfriend does know about these incidents and I assure you that he is, as humans would say, fuming" although she had suspected it, she was surprised that he admitted it just like that.
"So what? He's on earth and can't get to me"
"Are you saying you think his absence and therefore his incapability to hold you justify your deeds?"
"Of course not but nothing what I did was wrong"
"I am careful to point out that lying to me will make this matter worse for you because I will hold you responsible for this as well"
"Even if she was right… where's the proof?"
"Technically we don't need proof" Carissa said "If the Captain thinks it's true you're fired anyway…"
"Oh sure, let's just go and bother the Captain with this"
"If you do not cooperate you will leave us no choice but to do so" Spock said.
"Of course there's a choice… you could dig into this deeper and find out that I am the one who is right"
"Or the contrary and we will ascertain that the Junior Lieutenant was rcorrect and that you have been lying. Which is why I shall give you another chance to tell the truth" he looked at him expectantly.