Series: Moments in Time
Characters: Kirk, Spock, bit of McCoy
Rating: K
Warnings/Spoilers: The Squire of Gothos
Summary: Yeoman Theresa Ross has a crush on the Captain, just like many of his yeomen before her; but today a child-deity picked up very quickly just whom to point that gun at, and it wasn't her.

She had been told by her predecessor, who had inherited the position from Janice Rand, about Captain Kirk's dangerously charming personality, but as she prides herself on being a fairly level-headed woman (or at least she thought so, until now) she hadn't given it much consideration when she transferred aboard at Starbase Fourteen. Anyone in the 'Fleet is thrilled to receive an Enterprise posting, and while the office of Yeoman is one of the places in Starfleet which still holds rampant sexism, fetching coffee for the Bridge crew of the Enterprise is still a much more enviable position than being a comms lieutenant on some other, less prestigious ship.

She hadn't been anywhere near as starry-eyed about her new posting as her room-mate, who was apparently crushing on both the captain and first officer like a sixteen-year-old cadet, and based on what she knew of Kirk's previous yeomen she figured he might be relieved to have one who wasn't googly-eyed over him.

Then she walked into his cabin one evening with a stack of padds for signature, right into the receiving end of that blinding smile on that exhausted-but-still-ridiculously-good-looking face, and cursed the day she entered Starfleet. Because yes, there was no way she was making it through the rest of her term as yeoman without falling a little in love with the captain.

Kirk is as non-sexist as they come (refreshing in a commanding officer), which is one reason she can stand to do her job. Yet he's almost old-fashionedly charming, it's kind of adorable – totally at odds with his forward-thinking philosophy, he still allows women to proceed him into the corridors and things like that, odd extinct courtesies she remembers her grandfather showing to her grandmother. The captain demands only the best from his crew, herself included – she's already been on the wrong end of a dressing-down for incorrectly filing a Priority One report to the Admiralty – and yet he's gentler than most of McCoy's nursing staff when the occasion calls for it. Kirk has a reputation for 'having a woman in every spaceport,' but she has never been recipient of more than a slightly flirtatious smile (which is pretty much how he looks at half the Bridge crew so she's not even sure of that) and she's never seen him act inappropriately with any crewman.

Captain Kirk is just a strange dichotomy of personality, probably one reason why he clicks so well with First Officer Spock.

Even before transferring aboard, she knew they had the reputation of being a ferociously successful command team – and now, having seen them in action a few times, she understands why they have such a reputation. No one aboard seems to really be able to explain it, it just exists – they have some weirdly symbiotic relationship that turns them into a fiercely brilliant working machine. It's one reason she loves the fact that as the captain's yeoman, she has security access to the Bridge – something no other yeoman does. It's just fascinating to watch them at work.

This ship is certainly never boring, that's for sure.

But today – today was a little more out of the ordinary. She rarely gets to go on landing parties, due to her station, and so she can't be entirely annoyed as the others obviously are at being inconvenienced by this crazy child-god Trelane. Certainly, strange as the adventure had been, she's seen stranger things in Starfleet, and been treated worse by Starfleet officers than she'd been by the "squire" himself.

But she is completely taken aback to be addressed about the mission by the captain himself, when she arrives in his cabin late that evening with his dinner tray.

"I beg your pardon, Captain," she says blankly, staring at him in complete bewilderment.

Kirk's eyes glow with faint amusement mixed with resignation as he reaches for his coffee cup. "While I am aware that sexism is still a rampant problem in certain branches of the 'Fleet, Yeoman, I had hoped that an apology wouldn't elicit that much of a surprised reaction."

"It does exist, sir, but never from you; that's why I'm surprised you're apologizing. For what?"

"I sometimes forget, Yeoman, that not everyone is able to almost read my mind regarding my plans as well as Mr. Spock is able to. You did an excellent job of playing along this afternoon when I broke into your dance with Trelane, for which I commend you – but I don't want you to think that I believe addressing you, or talking about you, in such a manner is acceptable, by me or anyone else." His eyes sharpen pointedly at her over the rim of his cup. "If someone is doing so, on this ship, I want to know about it. Is that clear?"

"Quite, sir." She smiles, feeling ridiculously pleased. "But apologies aren't necessary, Captain."

"You're an excellent officer, Yeoman."

"I got an expensive new dress out of the deal, sir."

Kirk laughs, and finishes scrawling his signature across the last padd on his desk before handing it back to her. She takes it with another smile, and turns to leave – squeaking in surprise when she nearly bowls over an equally surprised Vulcan in the doorway, hand still upraised in the act of chiming for entrance.

"Sorry, sir," she murmurs, and steps aside to allow the first officer entrance.

Behind her she hears a mutter of frustration from the desk. "I swear to god, Spock, if you're bringing me those backlogged crew evals and expecting them to get done tonight on top of all the reports I'm behind on –"

"Negative. Your signature is merely required on the final page of the report for today's mission."

"Wait, that report's done already?"

"Yes, sir."

"Is that why you were asking me how to classify Trelane?"

"Yes, sir."

"What would I do without you, Commander?"

"Unknown, sir."

She clears her throat, because they're doing that forget-other-people-are-in-the-room thing again, and both officers glance her direction.

"Mr. Spock, would you like for me to bring you up a tray as well?" she asks, indicating the captain's half-eaten dinner.

The Vulcan shakes his head slightly, as she knew he would; their gentle First won't even ask for coffee like the rest of the Bridge crew and it's something all the yeomen appreciate. "That is unnecessary, Yeoman. I am perfectly capable of acquiring my own meals should I require sustenance."

Kirk flushes slightly. "Was that a crack at my self-sufficiency, Commander?"

Spock's eyes widen slightly, like an animal caught in a searchlight.

She stifles a giggle and leaves, because by now everyone on the Enterprise knows only an idiot takes sides between those two particular commanding officers.

This ship. At least it's a posting you never forget.