Spock looked over the lab, a sense of satisfaction pooling in his stomach. He had originally intended to be on the bridge during his shift today, but his scientists had requested his presence as they performed a crucial step in one of the ongoing experiments taking place in the lab. It was not one he had been directly involved in thus far, but he had been reading the reports that were sent to him with interest. They were testing the compatibility of a new alloy for a variety of purposes, including as plating for the Enterprise's scanners. If it performed as they anticipated, the upgrade would allow the scanners to utilize more power without overloading. It was fascinating research.

Despite his interest in the experiment which was currently being set up, his mind wandered to the bridge where his ashayam now sat. It was Jim's first shift on duty following his medical leave, and Spock irrationally desired to be by his side and see for himself that the man was well. It was illogical—Jim's state of being would not be changed by his mere presence, and it was unlikely that he would be needed on the bridge. Following their mission on Ewle, the Enterprise had been assigned to explore a class M planet several systems away. It would take them another five days, eighteen hours, and thirty-seven minutes to reach their destination at the current speed, and they were traveling through a section of space that had been mapped previously by Federation ships.

Still, he had given up on attempting to deny the sense of comfort he received from seeing Jim sitting in his captain's chair, a grin on his lips and shoulders relaxed. It was simply how the universe was meant to be, and seeing it was a quiet affirmation of correctness.

"Mr. Spock, we are ready to begin the first stage when you are," Lieutenant Yahontov stated, drawing Spock from his thoughts.

He blinked once, clearing his mind then nodded. "Very well, you may proceed, Lieutenant."

. . .

When he had been at the Academy, people had always told him that eventually he would get tired of seeing stars move across the viewscreen of a starship, but it had been years and the wonder Jim felt at the sight had never dimmed from the first time. He turned to say as much to Spock—it was a slow day on the bridge, and most of the crew was quietly conversing as they worked—only to be met with flaming red hair. Ah, that's right. Spock was down in the labs today. He had sent Jim a message early that morning requesting permission to allow Ensign Craite to take his place on the bridge. Jim had signed off on it, of course, but he still forgot. It was as if having Spock at his side was a given of the universe and this a strange deviation.

He chuckled to himself at the thought. It wasn't exactly inaccurate, but it was a little poetic for him. This was what happened when he took too many days off and didn't get enough sleep.

He let his mind wander for a few minutes, simply soaking up the feeling of being on the bridge. When he had first sat in the captain's chair, it had been awkward and felt stiff under him. Now, however, it was as natural as breathing. Eventually, he forced himself to focus once more one the present, listening as Uhura talked quietly with Craite, telling her of the Trials.

Spock's had been the only one broadcasted over the Holonet, but there had been enough witnesses to the others that nearly the entire crew had a general idea of what had happened down on the planet. He had heard no less than seven people congratulate Uhura on her performances, and Chekov and Scotty had both been full of compliments for Sulu over breakfast that morning. It was a good thing to hear. Too often, their away missions were tinged with sorrow regardless of their success. And maybe there were a few crewmembers who had been extra careful around him the past few days, but it was a far cry from the heavy grief that sometimes lay over the ship for weeks following a particularly disastrous trip.

"You should have heard it in person, Ensign," he said, turning so he was facing the science officer as he cut into the conversation with a smile. "I knew our Lieutenant Uhura was talented, but seeing her firsthand was incredible."

Uhura smiled. He had already told her as much a number of times when she had come to visit over the past few days, but he couldn't resist the urge to repeat it in front of an audience. He was blessed with the best officers in the 'Fleet and he'd be damned if he didn't take every opportunity he had to remind people of it.

"Thank you, Captain. I'm just glad I didn't have to compose anything brand new," she replied. "Otherwise we might have been there for a few more hours."

Jim raised an eyebrow in the way he had seen Spock do so many times and turned his gaze to the ensign who stood at Spock's spot. "Don't let her fool you, Ensign. She played a Vulcan piece I'd heard Commander Spock perform before but adapted it to fit the situation, and I wouldn't be surprised if she changed the other songs in the same way. If I had been down there it would have just been several horrible renditions of "Row, row, row your boat"."

The ensign laughed and Uhura shook her head, sharing a smile with Jim for a moment before turning back to her station. A quiet fell over the bridge for several moments, and then Jim heard Uhura begin to hum. After a few moments, he recognized it as the song she and Spock had collaborated on for the concert several days ago.

He relaxed against his seat, fingers tapping softly on his armrest to the beat of the soft song. Stars above he was glad to be back.

Eventually, their shift ended and their replacements arrived on the bridge. For a moment, Jim considered staying and overseeing the next shift too, but Sulu shot him a look and Jim stood with a laugh. "What, don't want to see Bones come up here to drag me back to sickbay?" he asked as they piled into the turbolift.

Sulu grinned. "No, sir. Tomorrow we'll have Mr. Spock back and it'll finally be the entire crew again—don't want to ruin it."

"I second that, captain," Chekov piped in, and Jim raised his arms in surrender.

"Fair enough. Honestly, I don't know why Bones worries so much when I've got the entire bridge looking after my health."

That brought a laugh from the crew, and he held the door open as they all filled out and made their way to the mess hall. Most days they went their separate ways after their shift, but it was as if they had reached a silent agreement to spend just a little longer together.

Before long they had all grabbed their food and taken their places around one of the longer tables. A few minutes later, the door opened and Scotty joined them, uniform sleeve stained with some kind of grease and a wide grin on his face.

Jim ate quietly, soaking up the feeling of being surrounded by his friends as they talked.

"Your sound system worked pretty well last time, Pavel, but do you think we could link up some video too and broadcast it to other rec rooms across the ship?" Uhura was asking as she waited for her soup to cool.

Chekov quickly swallowed down the bite of sandwich he was chewing and nodded excitedly. "It should be simple, especially if I can get Scotty's help."

The engineer turned at the sound of his name. "You want to do what, lad?"

"Link the audio and video from the rec room we used for the last concert to the others," Uhura answered for him. "A lot of other crew members have said they want to attend the next one, and we won't have space to fit them all."

Scotty nodded slowly. "Aye, we can manage that. When's the next concert going to be?"

"Well, if the captain approves it, next Tuesday evening. Six people from the communications department asked if they could do the next set of performances."

"I think that will work," Jim said, speaking for the first time since they had sat down. "Send me the paperwork, and I'll sign off on everything tonight."

Uhura smiled. "Thank you, Captain, I will."

The conversation turned to the specifics of the next concert—who was performing, where they were from, what shift they worked, and how they were going to arrange outfits—for several minutes. Then, Uhura said something about meeting up with Nurse Chapel to discuss refreshments, and Sulu broke in.

"Speaking of Christine, how long have you two been together?" he asked, leaning across the table to meet Uhura's eyes. "I didn't know anything about it until we were on Ewle."

"That is because you are blind, Hikaru," Chekov interjected before Uhura could respond. "They have been dating for at least two months."

"Three and a half, actually," Uhura replied, smiling, and Jim whistled. He had thought two and a half at the most. "We had decided to keep it quiet for awhile, and then there was that mission on Greaon VII that happened a few days later. After that, we decided to go slow and make sure we could both make our relationship work while still giving all we could to the Enterprise."

"And?" Scotty asked, a playful smile pulling at his lips. They all knew that if anyone could make a relationship work out here it would be Uhura.

"Well, we went on a lovely date last night, so I'd say we're doing pretty well," she laughed. Chekov wiggled his eyebrows, earning him a jab in the ribs from Sulu. "And before you ask—yes, she is a wonderful kisser."

The table erupted into happy laughter, and Jim felt something in his chest warm. He hadn't slept well last evening, but sitting here now was almost as invigorating as a full eight hours would have been.

"What about you, Captain?" Chekov asked once the laughter had quieted.

Jim frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Did you catch any eyes while you were down on Ewle?"

"I was a little bit busy, Ensign," Jim responded dryly. "Besides, other than the feasts each evening, we were mostly isolated."

Chekov didn't look convinced. Did Jim really have that much of a reputation? Sure, he had deserved it in the past, but he hadn't had a relationship with anyone—fling or otherwise—in over six months. Thankfully, Uhura saved him from having to defend himself by standing.

"I've got to go. I promised I'd meet Mister Spock after he was finished in the labs," she said. "Hikaru, does 19:30 work for this evening?"

"That's fine, Nyota."

"Alright then, I'll see you all later."

. . .

Spock moved with ease as he inputted the proper codes into his personal replicator for the tea he and Nyota preferred. They had decided to meet for tea in his room in order to catch one another up on recent events. It was something they frequently did whenever they had been separated for missions as they had been recently. Once, Spock had found it unnecessary and awkward to relate details that Nyota likely already knew or had access to, but over time he had come to look forward to the discussions. She was a woman of great enthusiasm and clarity and often provided an outlook that he had not considered himself.

Two minutes and six seconds after Spock had finished preparing the tea there was a knock on the door. "Come," he called, and it slid open to reveal Nyota, a soft smile on her face. She walked in without needing him to invite her further and took her seat across the table from him, thanking him as she took her cup.

For a few moments, they sipped in silence, a comfortable quiet settling over them. Then, Nyota put her cup down and said, "The captain said he'll approve the concert for next Tuesday, and Pavel and Scotty are taking care of the audio and video."

Spock nodded. He had been ninety-eight point seven-two percent certain that Jim would agree to the concert considering his previous enjoyment of the practice and the positive impact it had had on the crew. "Should you require any additional assistance, Nyota, I am available to help you."

"Thank you, Spock, but Christine and I have it handled. The only thing we might have trouble with is the traditional apparel for a few of the performers who didn't bring anything from home," she replied. "I'm going to check with the quartermaster and see if they can program the replicators to get something that's close to the originals."

"And you will be hosting, I presume?"

"That's the plan. Christine will help out with anything that needs to be done behind stage, and I'll introduce the performers and such. Assuming we aren't interrupted like last time, it should all go smoothly."

Spock took a sip from his tea before saying, "Jim regretted the interruption. He was looking forward to seeing the remaining performances and learning more of the cultures they come from."

Nyota's eyes softened fondly. "I know. I'm glad he's letting us do this. You know, being on Ewle made me think more about how important our backgrounds are to all of us. Most of the trials had something to do with Ewle's history and our own. There wasn't one without the other." She gazed thoughtfully at her tea. "It made me think about how it's impossible to remove ourselves and our experiences from a situation. We might be representatives of the Federation and do all we can to represent everyone, but we can't eliminate the influence our heritage has on us…" She trailed away, eventually looking back up with a contemplative smile. "I suppose you know plenty about that."

"I am in a...unique position to understand the concept you describe," Spock admitted. "As I believe my Trial showed. There was a time when I would have disagreed with you and said that I need only acknowledge one half of my heritage, but I have since come to realize that to be an illogical belief. Even in choosing to embrace one side of my lineage over another I am acknowledging the influence of both."

Nyota nodded slowly, leaning back in her chair. The light of the room shone through her dark hair, lighting it as if from within. "How was that, by the way, the Trial? I was on duty for most of it, but Christine gave me the highlights."

Although Nyota did not say it, the slight crease in her brow conveyed her concern. It was appreciated but largely unnecessary. "I will not deny that I would have preferred a more private event, but the Trial was successful and I cannot regret that."

"Kaiidth. What is, is," Nyota murmured, and Spock inclined his head. Nyota rarely required much explanation of his thought process, a trait he greatly appreciated.

"A matter that you would consider of interest did occur after the Trial," he said after a moment of internal debate. He frequently shared the contents of his correspondence with his mother with Nyota, and the two women had been in touch several times over the past few years.

"Did Bones go off on you or something?"

Spock blinked. "I would not define the conversation we had as 'going off' on me, but it was not that discussion to which I referred. I received a message from my mother regarding the Trial."

Nyota's eyes widened in interest. "What did your mother say? I didn't think she would have watched it, although I supposed that's a little foolish of me. Any mother would be proud to see her son take part in something as significant as the Trials."

"She stated that it was...unnerving to see a replica of herself speak with me. They did not share all of the same ideas, but there were many which were similar." Nyota nodded as if she had expected such a response. "She also stated that she was glad I had achieved a greater balance between my dual heritages and credited my time aboard the Enterprise with the development. She admonished me to hold onto my friendships here.

"However, it was her postscript that was outside of the realm of her usual comments and drew my attention." Nyota raised an eyebrow. "She requested that I 'send her love' to Jim."

A wide smile broke across Nyota's face, one Spock did not fully understand the source of. "Have you ever heard of a woman's intuition, Spock?" she asked, chuckling quietly.

"My mother attributed it to many successes in her life, and although I could not see the logic in doing so I also could not argue with the results she received by following it," he answered slowly. It seemed Nyota would confirm his suspicions about his mother's intentions.

"Well, I think your mother's intuition is at work right now. She knows you're in love with Jim, and I bet she thinks you two are already dating or close to it at least."

Spock blinked, his mind spinning but producing no words of value with which he could articulate the myriad of emotions that Nyota's statement caused to rise to the forefront of his mind. Eventually, he managed, "I do not see how she could come to such a conclusion." It was a painfully truthful statement.

Nyota's smile softened. "She's your mother, Spock. She knows you better than you might think, and she's met Jim. Remember, she saw you two together on the way to Babel."

"I did not know the extent of my feelings toward Jim at the time of the conference," he protested, fingers tightening around his cup.

"Not consciously, maybe, but there's a reason the main officers have a bet on when you two will figure things out. The chemistry's been there for a long time, Spock."

Spock's first instinct was to ask about the details of the bet that Nyota had mentioned, but he pushed the thought aside as insignificant. "As I explained to Doctor McCoy when we were on Ewle, I do not believe that Jim feels anything toward me that would be conducive to the formation of a romantic relationship between us. I do not fit the typical pattern of his preferred partners, nor am I seeking a short-term source of pleasure. My mother should know this already."

Nyota shook her head, sympathy in her eyes. "I told you before that I thought you two were a good match, and I was serious. If you're worried about Jim not being attracted to men, you shouldn't be. He dated more than a few guys at the Academy from what I've heard."

Spock opened his mouth and quickly closed it again, the information freezing him in place for a moment before he shook his head. "I could not offer him the emotional security that a human partner could, Nyota. He deserves someone who can meet his needs, and I do not believe that I would be capable of doing so."

"Like I said before, it's your life, Spock." She leaned forward, capturing his eyes with her intense gaze before continuing. "But you won't know that the two of you are incompatible if you don't try. Do you think Jim is the kind of person to let a friendship sour because a romantic relationship didn't work out? He isn't. You have to figure out what you have to lose, and you have to decide if that really outweighs everything you have to gain."

He started to reply but was cut off by a quiet ding from the PADD that sat beside him on the floor. Nyota waved her hand, face still thoughtful, and so he retrieved it. A message blinked on the screen. It was from Jim.

'Chess in my quarters tonight? 22:00?'

"Jim has invited me to chess this evening," he reported to Nyota, knowing the woman was curious but would not pry on her own.

"And you're accepting, right?"

"I am," he answered, typing up an affirmative reply and clicking send.

A quiet laugh slipped from Nyota's lips. "The two of you are practically dating already, you know?" Her tone framed the question as rhetorical, and so Spock took a sip of his tea—it was nearly lukewarm now—instead of replying.

After a few moments of silence, Nyota changed the topic and began to discuss an upcoming language conference she was helping to write a paper for. The subject was fascinating, and Nyota was engaging as she spoke. A portion of his attention, however, remained centered on Jim.