Welcome back, and thank you for sticking around! Here we go: the kal-if-fee! Any bets on how this is going to work out? Judging by reviews, you have some very clear bets. Read to find out, and have fun!

The gym was mercifully empty as they met there after their late shift. Spock had reserved it for the evening; someone barging in on them was the last thing they needed.

"Alright, how are we going to do this?" Christine asked as they were standing opposite each other on a mat, wearing their Starfleet issue athletic clothes.

Spock pursed his lips grimly. "Imagine this is a fight for your life, in the arenas of Vulcan. I am your opponent, and I am trying to kill you. Don't hold back, don't be afraid to hurt me. The less you hold back, the better this might work."

Christine nodded and balled her hands into fists.

"Attack me," Spock said, and Christine lunged at him, trying to hit his torso.

For a while, only their sounds of exercise could be heard. Mostly Christine's, if one was being honest. Spock wasn't even breaking a sweat. She even landed a few good punches, though, hitting Spock in the ribcage and lower abdomen.

Then, their combat morphed into some sort of wrestling as Spock held onto her arms. She was soon breathing heavily as she writhed under his grip and leant into him with all her strength. Rolling around on the floor like that for some minutes, her strength faltered at last and she fell on her back, which led Spock to collapse as well, landing on top of her in a decidedly unfortunate position.

Christine gasped as the impact knocked the breath out of her.

Apologizing quickly, Spock propped himself up on his elbows.

"This might have been one of my least successful ideas," he said calmly, his face hovering only inches away from hers.

"Yes, it certainly isn't working as intended," she panted, noticing that something did work, just not breaking up the bond. "Not that I'm complaining," she murmured.

All that punching beforehand aside, this didn't feel half bad. On the contrary, it felt too good. She wondered if Spock had noticed her biological reaction to his proximity.

"It couldn't have worked," he said with a hint of frustration as he rolled off her at last and sat beside her. So, he hadn't noticed. "For one, I am not in plak tow, there is no fever to be broken; second, our bond is naturally stronger already than the arranged one I had with T'Pring."

"Naturally."

He eyed her with a faint look of concern. "Your face is flushed. We should cease this exercise."

She didn't dare educate him on the true reason her face was flushed.

The doors to the gym swooshed open. Hadn't Spock reserved the room? It was the Captain. How lucky that he hadn't come in seconds earlier. He would have been able to read her expression all too clearly.

"Here you are! I've been looking all over for you, Spock."

"Is there something you need help with?" he asked.

"Oh, I just wanted to ask you if you had time for chess. But now that we're here, how about a quick boxing match?" He was already wearing sports apparel as well and tossed a pair of gloves at Spock.

"Very well, Jim."

Christine helped the two of them into the gloves and went to sit on the sidelines to watch.

Soon, Jim was raining down punches on Spock with a strength she would never have been able to muster. Spock blocked every single one and answered with such agility and power that would have broken her a rib.

Their staged Kal-if-fee had obviously not worked to break the bond. She could feel his presence dancing at the rim of her conscious mind.

But as inefficient as it had been in achieving their original plan, it had been more than efficient at eliciting a biological reaction in her. Being close to him, having him cling to her, their bodies only inches apart, had had a greater effect on her than she would have thought. And Spock hadn't even realised as he had looked her in the eyes and told her their plan had failed that her flushed expression had been because of her arousal.

Metres away, Spock suddenly looked around to face her, a hue of green flitting over his face as her thoughts reached him. He had realised now.

His moment of distraction cost him immediately as Jim's next punch landed on his face with a deep thud.

"Spock, are you alright?" Jim asked. It wasn't like Spock to lose focus, and it sounded like the punch had hurt.

"I'm perfectly fine, Jim. You did not hit me that hard."
Both Jim and Christine could see that that was an understatement. A bruise was already beginning to form on his cheekbone.

"Let's go to sickbay."

"I am not seriously hurt, Jim. It is just a bruise."
"Yes, but I can't have you working on the bridge looking like that. People might talk." Jim could barely stifle his laughter. Although he regretted hitting Spock, the reason for the accident, and Spock's behaviour could only be described as amusing.

"He's right, Spock," said the reason for the accident. "If we go now, Leonard might still be there, and not some nosy junior doctor."

Spock relented and they went to the nearest turbolift which they rode in silence. Although both Jim and Christine were highly amused, for vastly different reasons of course. Spock only managed to look embarrassed, if not affronted and slightly scandalised. Only Chris Chapel knew the reason for the latter.

Thankfully, Leonard asked no questions. He muttered something about safety procedures as he healed Spock's bruise, told Jim to be more careful next time and shooed them all out of sickbay after a few minutes as he wanted to retire early.

On the way to the officers' quarters, Jim glanced cautiously at the two others. Spock seemed to have recovered from the embarrassment of his lapse in attention, and Christine seemed to be still amused by it.

"I'll have to ask Christine to watch our sparring regularly if it increases my chance of winning," he said innocently.

Spock only looked at him disapprovingly. Christine smirked at Jim behind his back. It had been pretty funny, even though the Captain did not need to know the exact reason Spock's concentration had failed.

After they had said goodnight to Jim, they walked in silence, stopping in front of Christine's cabin.

"It seems we have to find a new way to break up," Spock almost whispered.

He wasn't looking at her. In fact, he hadn't been looking at her since the mishap in the gym. Something going far beyond that single incident seemed to be on his mind.

"Yes…Well, we can talk about it in the morning," she answered. "Good night, Spock."

She took a step towards him, laid her hands on his bare arm, giving him enough time to withdraw, and when he didn't move, she embraced him gently.

"Good night, Christine."

She felt him wrap his arms around her and squeeze very tenderly. Warmth radiated from him, seeming to take hold of her mind, and a quick burst of happiness washed over her.

Then, they separated, and each went their way into their cabin.

In her quarters, Christine took a warm shower, humming softly to herself. Then, she put on her favourite pyjamas, hugging the soft fabric against herself for a moment. With a look at the time, she decided to go to bed. There was no work to be done, with tomorrow being one of her free days. She shuffled into the covers and closed her eyes. Warm and soft was her pyjama, and warm and soft the duvet. She sighed contentedly. Warm and soft. Just like Spock's embrace.

She ripped her eyes open, her heart suddenly beating faster. He had hugged her, and there had been this incredible warmth radiating from him…not from his body, but the very essence of his being.

Christine swung her legs out of bed and stormed from her cabin. If what she had felt from him was true, there was only one answer to all their questions.

To be continued...

And, is it true what she felt? Dare we hope? And what does our Vulcan feel and think about all this?