Welcome back. Christine has the first in a line of realisations, and they make the first in a line of decisions.

Moments they had shared during the last months suddenly seemed to attain greater importance as she realised just how close they had grown. It hadn't even been sudden, but looking back she wondered how she could have missed those gradual changes as they were happening.

And if others had noticed, they had misinterpreted.

Christine remembered sitting in the dining area with Leonard when Spock had come in, gotten a plate of snacks for him and Jim, nodded towards the both of them, and left.

Leonard seemed to have seen something in her look because when she had watched Spock leave, he had turned to her with a teasing smile and had asked: "After all these years? You still care for him?"

She didn't know why she had dignified him with an answer, but she had looked Leonard in the eye and said, "I've always cared for him, and I always will. I'm not infatuated, though."

It had been the truth, and it still was. At the time it had seemed like a witty reply, and it had seemed to have worked as Leonard hadn't mentioned it again.

But now, the full truth of her statement came back to her. The days of infatuation were long gone, but there was no denying that she cared as deeply about Spock as her other friends, maybe more. It was comfortable to be his friend if you knew how he worked. She enjoyed teasing him, talking about scientific experiments with him, going on away missions with him, spending time with him at lunch, and between shifts. They had established a rapport of trust and friendship. Christine sometimes took advantage of her relatively new position to tease him more than she would have once dared.

There had been the dance in Brieldar, a little medieval city where Spock had almost been hanged. There had been a festival one evening, and as a local woman named Elinor had shown Christine how to dance the local dance, she had designated Spock as her partner. She still remembered holding on to his biceps as they moved to the alien music, his hands resting on her shoulders as they swayed. Their conversation had been easy, and they had held each other without any scruples. They had cut the dance short because Spock's health had not been good at that time, but it had been one of the highlights of the mission for her.

Then, there had been all those instances they had met up to talk about some scientific experiment, interstellar phenomenon, or whatever interesting development was afoot. When the public areas had proved too busy, they had taken those talks to one of their cabins, rounded off by a companionate dinner. Sometimes there had been less to talk about than they had thought, but they had still shared dinner, and usually one of them had eventually come up with some interesting topic, even if Christine didn't mind the silence either.

It occurred to her only now just how often they had met in private. On one of those occasions, Spock had remarked something that she couldn't for the life of her remember, if only because what had followed was more memorable. For some reason, whatever he had said had prompted her to laugh lightly and take his hand that he had rested on the table. She couldn't fathom how she could have been so careless to break the strict Vulcan taboo of touching hands. She had asked herself at that moment what she was doing and had released his hand. Then again, he had neither complained, nor shown any signs of discomfort. Still, what had she been thinking to touch his hand? Yes, they had had scheduled dinners at least once a week, but that didn't mean…

She stopped in her recollection. They'd had scheduled dinners. At least once a week. And it had been a long time since any of them had brought material for scientific discussion to the table. They had been sharing space, sharing conversations, and sharing dinner. In the broad scheme of things, them sharing a bond now didn't seem all that unlikely, if whatever they had done had brought them close enough. The details of how that had worked seemed to elude even Spock.

Spock remembered those instances as well, his crisp-clear memory recounting every dinner they had shared, and that time she had taken his hand. It had been an utterly trivial event, and even now he didn't pay it much attention apart from wondering why he had not done anything against it. Why he hadn't wished to do anything. She had taken his hand and he had quietly accepted her physical touch, a gesture bordering on scandalous in public for a Vulcan. Yes, if those instances made up the narrative of what Christine called 'growing closer', there could be a basis for a bond. Spock felt as if he was missing something. Merely holding hands did not create a bond, eating together, and talking, also didn't.

Whatever the case, he found himself faced with a blunder. He had let her get too close for her own good. Whatever the actual reason for the creation of the bond, it lay in him permitting too many barriers to break down, which had somehow led to her being stuck with him. Spock had to admit that this was no basis for a theory, but the question of how this had happened had to wait, as the question of what to do was more pressing. Surely, she would not appreciate being stuck with him of all people.

"Whatever the reason for our…situation, your initial statement may have been factually incorrect, but I recognise the sentiment. It was not a decision we made. I would propose to wait until after our shore leave, and then try to…break the bond."

Christine had all but forgotten the shore leave. Five days with Spock, Leonard, and the Captain on the planet they had reached this morning. In two weeks, they would receive some diplomats who would then join some conferences on the planet. The Enterprise's role was nothing but representational, a role Jim Kirk had happily accepted in exchange for two weeks of leave for his crew.

"You think it can be broken?" she asked. It was neither a hopeful nor a regretful question, as their situation still hadn't sunk in properly.

"We managed to create a bond, somehow. We must be able to break it. Somehow."

Spock cocked an eyebrow at her, and even though his statement sounded logical, Christine couldn't help but feel it lacked conviction.

"Alright," she agreed. Then said, quieter, and hesitating a little, "Spock, this will not…divide us, will it? I liked it lately."

"Of course not," Spock said. "We will resolve this. Together."

He had stood up again, and Christine barely suppressed a yawn. The day had been tiring as it was, but learning she was bonded to the resident Vulcan had taken her last bit of energy.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Sleep well, Spock."

He left after wishing her a good night, and Christine decided that on a day like this she would retire early.

To be continued...

Well, look at them, making decisions. Stick around to find out how their situation develops! Please feel free to review and tell me what you thought!