I think I'll start taking longer with each chapter… I'll try making them longer to have them flow better and make the story better overall, so I'm hoping for one update a week. Let's call it… investment? Hahaha… I want to make this into something I can really be proud of and that you guys will like too. :) and also, as I haven't done this for the previous chapters… I do not own Star Trek or any of the characters. Like at all. (;_;)
FuzzySeduction: Wow, thanks for that great review! Imma try harder, I see what you mean… hope this chapter's a bit stronger in that aspect :) Thanks so much!
MyriadProBold: Thanks for the reviews! ^_^ I'm glad you like it so far!
MeEksiNs: less than three!
R a a i n: Ikr, I think it's really sweet. Heheh, thanks!
Ryen Selenity Caliburn and Black-Dranzer-1119: Ho ho! You see right through me ;)
SavvyEnigmaxBanditgal: :3
Chapter 5
Jim made a beeline for the librarian's counter. If he was quite honest with himself, he'd admit he had no idea where to start looking within the vast archives for the material the memo hinted on. The last thing he wanted was to browse aimlessly, idling away time and having his thoughts bog him down after they had caught up with him- which they were already threatening to do.
As the counter came into sight, he paused. The Vulcan librarian was there, but not alone, and with his back turned. An impish look stole into Jim's eyes and he sneaked (hopefully) soundlessly towards the counter, while making it look as natural as possible to anyone who might happen to be watching. Beside the black-clad Vulcan was a man, slightly stooped and balding, but radiating authority. He was dressed in the dark navy suit of the medical school staff. As Jim neared, the voice confirmed the man's identity; while he didn't know his name, he recognised the voice from a few chance meetings when he had been waiting for Bones near the medical school in the Academy. Usually it was grating out comments on medical reports in a tone that would have rubbed the bark off trees. One of the head professors.
Jim shifted his PADD into a slightly more secure position, surreptitiously straining his ears while pretending to examine the 'Recommended' rack beside the counter. He wasn't completely hidden, but wasn't standing conspicuously apart to be immediately noticed. "-Not yet complete… Though we have had a considerable amount of help from your compatriots. I recommend you remain here, Mr Spock, while we run some more tests, and then we'll see how things go."
Jim's ear twitched. Tests? How what things go? Wait. Compatriots?
"Thank you. I presume I should continue as I have been for the past week?"
"That would be advisable. I would of course prefer if you didn't leave your quarters at all." Jim heard the reproach in his voice.
"Your concern is noted. However, I assure you that I feel well enough to perform the duties of a librarian."
"So you say, so you say… Just continue with the regular dosage, will you? It would set my mind at ease. If you insist on moving around."
"Of course, Doctor." A pause. "And I indeed insist. It would be logical to make my time as productive as possible."
The other harrumphed. Jim wondered if bad temper was a common denominator for anyone that studied medicine… Bones was certainly a prime specimen. Jim could just see the navy-clad man pass the Vulcan a small bottle of something, which the latter took and slipped into a pouch, which in turn he then laid under the counter. Jim resisted the urge to crane his neck, and instead shifted further behind the rack imperceptibly. "I will get back to you when I receive the results of the test. You will be here, I trust."
"Affirmative."
"I will leave you to do whatever it is that you do here, then. Good day."
"Good day, Doctor."
The man swept off. Jim followed him with his eyes. He would have to ask Bones about him. He felt wary, but almost inappropriately interested. Goodness, he was turning into a snoop, listening discreetly to others' conversations. For shame, James Kirk.
He shifted his eyes and his blue met Vulcan brown.
He was caught completely off guard. Hands in the cookie jar, he thought to himself, grimacing inwardly as the brown eyes bored into his. He considered the most tactical approach… Should he hover at the rack for a couple of minutes? Examine the discs, act nonchalant. He focused on the disc he was holding, and realized belatedly he was holding it upside down. The symbols on it didn't make much sense the right way either. 'Xenolinguistics', the small sign on the rack said. He hurriedly put it back on its slot, slightly mollified by the fact that the Vulcan couldn't see his gaffe from behind the counter.
He pulled his easy smile onto his face. He remembered how jovial and easy the mood between him and O'Donnell had been, and pulled himself together. "Hey, Mister Spock." He shifted from behind the rack as if it was the most natural thing to do and had absolutely nothing to do with him having been discovered listening in on a conversation that was obviously not meant for him. He wondered if it was appropriate to ask how he was, given what he had just heard. Vulcan propriety and all that. Did that extend to health? Did it—
Ah, never mind. You didn't come to pry… If he doesn't want to discuss it, we won't discuss it.
His subconscious insisted on having a say. Yet. He acknowledged this all too readily.
"I require assistance, Mister Spock." Jim said, still smiling. He watched carefully for any body language the Vulcan might let slip… In vain, as his hands were now clasped behind his back, a perfect picture of control.
There was the barest hint of a pause before he replied. "Explain, Cadet."
They were facing each other now, with the counter between them. Did Vulcans feel enough to be miffed at an overheard conversation? Well, that wasn't his problem. He just came down to have the librarian do his job. It wasn't like he went down the stairs hell-bent on eavesdropping on the Vulcan's medical history, or whatever it was that was being discussed.
The cat of curiosity inside Jim opened one lazy eye, and flicked its tail. It preened a little. I have the support of your subconscious, it seemed to say. You might as well give it up, buddy, you're outnumbered.
Jim tried to ignore it. He deftly manoeuvred the PADD from under his arm and showed the Vulcan the screen, just as he had done with Bones. "It seems the professors left me with something. I have no idea what these are, and I'd appreciate it if you'd help me. Since this is your kingdom."
The Vulcan's eyebrow levitated skywards at the last remark, and his eyes scanned the list. Jim expected some sign of surprise at the very least, at what was clearly either over-enthusiasm or blatant sadism on the professors' part, but he was disappointed. There wasn't anything he could latch onto to read beyond the mask presented to him.
"These titles are quite… extensive. Do you have a preference as to which you would like to begin with?"
"Wha—Extensive?" Jim repeated. As in, really long? Bugger the professors, did they want him to carry a portable library in his head? He made up his mind quickly. "I'll just start with the first one, whatever that is. I'll wait and see about the rest."
"Very well. The first title on this list is a theory paper on relative astrophysics. This way, Cadet."
Jim considered whisking the pouch out from behind the counter to get a look at the bottle, but thought better of it. He'd be blatantly rude to people who gave him a reason to, like Cupcake for instance. Testing the extent of Vulcan pacifism against the importance of the bottle's contents was something he suddenly felt very disinclined to do, unless given a good enough reason.
No, curiosity did not qualify as a good reason, thank you very much.
~o~
It was approaching dinner time when Bones found Jim. He had pulled up a chair to the counter, and was poring over a PADD, a small furrowed line on his forehead belying intense concentration. Occasionally he would consult the Librarian, there would be a brief exchange, and he would return to his PADD, perhaps scribble something, cross something out, or make some notes. Bones hadn't seen him so absorbed for a long time. It was so rare, in fact, that he hesitated disturbing Jim, but the part of him that knew skipping meals was not going to do his friend a favour won over.
"Hey, Jim. Coming for dinner?"
Jim looked up. He had to pause to unwrap his mind from around the equation used by the author of the astrophysics paper to explain a theory, and tune it to his friend's voice. The problem was... fascinating. It had four sub-equations and as many variables, which meant that Jim's mind was firing on all pistons working it out, and damn it felt good. His stomach, however, had been neglected and was now starting to make itself known. Dinner sounded like a great idea.
"Just a sec, Bones." Jim said. Leonard McCoy saw him save whatever it was that he was doing. Mathematics or physics, by the look of it.
"Well, that's that then," Jim grinned. "Thanks for the clarifications, Mister Spock. I'll see you round." The addressed inclined his head in acknowledgement.
"If you have further enquiries, I will endeavour to answer them."
They left the Library. Jim caught Bones' eye as the latter handed him his shoulder bag, into which he slipped his PADD. "What?" he laughed.
"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering how you had managed to pal around with a member of a species known for not palling around."
Jim laughed again. "I'm not sure I'd call it palling around," he replied, still chortling. "He explained some things to me. It was pretty neat."
Actually, he considered it probably best not to tell Bones about the calm that almost seemed to radiate from the Vulcan. There was something about him that just made Jim's mind focus to a point, his usually wandering thoughts surprisingly grounded. He thought he could attribute it to the equation he had been working on, but that just didn't seem right.
It did puzzle him. Maybe it was a Vulcan thing. That would explain it, since he had never met a Vulcan before, and all he knew of the race was some vague points of interest… Their strength, for instance. Emotionlessness. (God, what a word.) Little-understood mental capabilities and intelligence. That was probably it. Maybe it rubbed off on you if you were doing work, or something. That would be useful during an exam… not that Jim needed it, of course.
He wasn't all that bothered that the professors had dumped all that material on him any more. It seemed like they had known what they were doing, even if what he had seen so far from the material seemed pretty irrelevant to any stuff he was going to be writing anytime soon. Maybe they could tell how bored he was. Maybe they had taken notice of how spring had come around and wanted to keep him indoors as much as possible. Which by extension meant female Cadets in short skirts. He dismissed this thought; while such sentiments would not be unfounded, there had never actually been any complaints. He smiled smugly at this thought.
"How was that med stuff you were reading up on?" he asked instead, changing the topic.
"Ah, that. More space ailments, more reasons to not go in space. I won't bore you with the jargon, but generally it was about different types of space sickness which share fever as a symptom."
"Interesting, is it?"
"If you're idea of 'interesting' involves giving you more reasons to stay on good old Earth, yeah. Very interesting, actually." The distaste he held for outer space was clearly audible in his voice.
"Enjoy it while it lasts, Bones," Jim laughed. "Won't be that long before you have to put all that 'interesting' knowledge to good use, eh?"
Bones snorted. "Be sure not to catch anything, or I'll take pleasure in sticking you so full of hyposprays that you'll be leaking lexotocin for a week."
"I won't hold you to that, Bonesy… You know I want to be where the action is. Wherever it is."
"Typical. And I suppose you want me to patch you up from any mess you'd gotten yourself into."
Jim paused in his stride towards the canteen. "I think you've known that for a while now." Bones looked into his friend's face, saw the smile and the bright eyes. He sighed.
"I did. But I think I'm going to need a lot of hyposprays."
Jim stepped into the canteen, still smiling slightly, closely followed by Bones. There were no empty tables, but Jim sat down with a group of Zoology-majoring Cadets he had somehow contrived to know, and Bones joined him. Dinner was goulash with bread dumplings.
Satiated with a full stomach and sipping tea in a gradually emptying canteen, Jim broached a subject he had been wondering about.
"Bones."
Leonard McCoy squeezed a lemon slice into his tea with a look of intense concentration. "What is it, Jim?"
"I'm wondering. The Librarian's got me interested in differences between Vulcans and humans. Has the med school got anything on the subject?"
"Not much beyond what you'd find in the Library." Bones replied, and Jim was aware of acute disappointment. "You won't find much on biology and physiology, Vulcans keep mum about all that, and pretty much most of anything to do with them. What we know is what they let us know, really."
Jim stared into his mug, watching the scraps of tea leaves swirl around the bottom. Maybe what it took would really be stunning discourtesy, then…
"It's funny though, that. Med school might have more to offer on that particular subject soon, if of course it gets permission.."
Jim looked up quickly. "What do you mean?"
Bones, who had been rubbing his upper lip thoughtfully, suddenly looked uncomfortable. "We-ell. As a matter of fact… Actually I probably shouldn't be letting this on. In fact I'm quite sure I shouldn't…"
A quick pulse of excitement ran through Jim, like that of a greyhound who's stumbled onto a trail previously thought lost. "Come on Bones. Spill it. Tell me tell me tell me." He still looked uncertain, but Jim could feel him breaking down, his icy block of secrecy melting under Jim's blowtorch of enthusiasm. What he needed was a finishing move, a last cast of the dice, the proverbial throw of the hand of cards onto the table, to seal the deal.
Nothing sufficiently suitable, unfortunately, seemed to present itself. Well.
"You can have my lemon slice, Doc."
Bones laughed, and Jim knew it was in the bag. He passed the doctor the lemon segment and watched him squeeze it into his tea.
"Well. No harm in telling, I suppose." He eyed Jim. "But if this starts going round the Academy, you will be in trouble."
"I'm counting on it, Bones. The sacrifice of my lemon slice has to be worth it." he grinned. Bones took his time with the tea, stirring in the lemon juice deliberately. He took a sip. A long sip. He eyed Jim over the rim of his mug, eyes twinkling, and Jim groaned.
"You're killing me, Len."
~o~
Ba-BAMMM! Sort-of-cliffhanger? Bohahaha. Time to get the ball, rolling, I say. I have a feeling I won't be able to come up with something unexpected enough, you guys seem to see right through my head xD Thanks for reading, I'll try getting the next chapter up soon! Please review! :D