A/N: Set immediately after the Season 3 Episode "And the Children Shall Lead."
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Between the horror of the deaths of the scientists on Triacus and the terror of losing comand, Jim Kirk had had an exceedingly long day. For that reason, Spock was more than a little surprised when he found Jim in the process of vigorously tidying his quarters.
"Spock! Come in," he said, sounding slightly distracted. "Have a seat." Jim gestured towards the chair Spock normally occupied when the played chess, then realized that it was covered with a stack of folded uniforms. He scooped up the pile, then moved it to his bed, where Spock saw what appeared to be the most of the contents of Jim's wardrobe.
"What's up?" Jim asked, as he returned to the task of emptying his wardrobe.
"I came to see if you wanted to go to dinner," Spock said.
Jim looked up in surprise. "Is it that time already?"
"It is 18:42."
Jim looked at the piles of clothing on his bed. "Let me put this away, and then we can go. Does that work for you?"
"That would be acceptable," said Spock. He watched for a while as Jim loaded his clothing back into the wardrobe, then he asked, "Jim, is everything all right?"
Jim shot Spock a quick smile. "Of course. Why do you ask?"
"You seem...preoccupied."
"Ah," said Jim, shutting one drawer and starting on the next. "Do you ever get the feeling that you've misplaced something important?"
Spock frowned. "What have you misplaced?"
"That's just it," said Jim, sounding exasperated. "As far as I know, I haven't actually lost anything."
"That sounds most unpleasant," said Spock with sympathy. "Did you hope tidying would alleviate the feeling?"
"Something like that," said Jim. He put the last stack of clothing back in his wardrobe, then shut the drawer. "All right Spock, let's go get something to eat."
Jim remained preoccupied through dinner. Spock kept up a flow of light chatter, trying to keep Jim's mind off of his worries, but Jim was unable to concentrate. Several times Jim excused himself to contact the bridge and each time he returned to the table looking slightly sheepish and explaining that everything was, in fact, well. As Spock returned their empty trays, Jim contacted the bridge one last time. Spock caught up with Jim just in time to hear the end of the exchange. DeSalle explained that he had checked the communications log personally, and Starbase 4 had acknowledged they were coming, and that there was a specialist on hand who could work with the children. Spock noted that DeSalle sounded exasperated, and Spock didn't blame him. Jim rarely bothered Beta shift unless there was an emergency—four calls on a night when nothing was happening was practically unheard of. Jim thanked the Lieutenant for his diligence, then gave Spock a sheepish smile.
"Would you care for a game of chess?" Spock asked, as they rode the turbolift.
"Sounds like fun, Mr. Spock. My place or yours?"
"Mine, I should think—provided, of course, that you do not feel the need to tidy my living space as well."
Jim smiled, acknowledging the joke. "I'll behave, I promise."
Jim and Spock settled into a comfortable silence as they played, but Spock knew that Jim was still preoccupied when he won the first game with ease. They were resetting the board for a second game when Jim asked, tentatively, "Spock, I haven't forgotten an anniversary, have I?"
Spock quickly did the calculations. They had been engaged in a romantic relationship for 10 months and 17 days, and they had first met two years, seven months and 27 days earlier. Spock could see no particular significance to either date. "None of which I am aware."
"And your birthday isn't for another two weeks."
"That is correct."
Jim sighed in relief. "I was starting to worry I'd confused the date."
"Jim, if I knew what had you so distressed, I would not leave you in the dark," Spock said, careful to keep reproach out of his voice.
"Of course you wouldn't," said Jim. "Maybe I'm being silly, but I just can't stop thinking that I've forgotten something important." Jim paused for a moment. "I had that data cube I was going to send to Mom. Maybe—"
"You sent it when we stopped at Starbase 6," said Spock.
Jim chucked. "Quite right, Spock. What would I do without you?" Then he sighed. "I'm sorry. I can't be very good company tonight."
"Nonsense," said Spock. "You have had a long and trying day. I would suggest, however, that if whatever you have forgotten is truly important, it will come back to you in time."
"You think I should just try to forget about it for now?"
"Trying to force the issue is clearly proving fruitless. It would seem only logical to try a different approach."
Jim gave him a smouldering look. "Can you think of an activity which would be sufficiently distracting?"
Spock put down his chess piece and turned all of his attention on Jim. "I can think of an idea or two."
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Spock's time sense told him it was 02:37 when Jim poked him awake.
"Spock. Spock, wake up."
Spock opened his eyes, and he could just make out Jim propped up on an elbow in the minimal light. "What is wrong?"
"I know what I forgot," Jim said, though he did not sound relieved. "The first security team we left on Triacus. They're still on the planet."
Spock sat up. "Oh dear."
"I'm going to call the bridge," said Jim, getting out of bed. He took a step towards the communicator on Spock's desk, then stopped and turned back. "Do you think we could pull together a last-minute romantic gesture and convince them we didn't forget after all?"
In the darkness, Spock almost smiled. "Somehow, I do not think they would be convinced."
"Ah well." Jim flicked the switch, and called the bridge.