N/A: Chapter four will be fluffy and perhaps a little bit weird. It answers a particular plot someone asked for, you'll see what I mean (I don't want to spoil the surprise or shock). I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 4A: "Magis esse quam videri oportet"

Jim felt almost like the last month had been a bad dream. He knew it was real, yet he wasn't feeling as sad as he'd expected to, and the crew was back to normal as well. Sure, they still talked about Jim's pictures (being extremely careful that Spock didn't hear them), but Jim had no problem with that. He was going to get back at Bones for that, and it would be epic. Maybe it could be like a goodbye present for the crew when he requested his promotion.

His promotion… Jim had thought at first that his time on the Enterprise would feel eternal; now they were seven months into the mission, and he was close to obtaining what he wanted. At times like this, when he was laughing and listening to Chekov and Sulu joking about whether he or Uhura would be a better Miss Starfleet, he wondered if the promotion was what he really wanted. He tried to maintain a good working environment and it turned out he cared for every person on the ship. He cared, and he would miss them. No other crew would come close to this one.

But he wanted to be the youngest Captain in the fleet, and he could still accomplish that if he got command of a ship when he was twenty six. And it wasn't like he would forget everyone. He could call and see how they were doing. Bones was his best friend, if he couldn't take him with him at least they would maintain contact, and he could probably work with Spock on some complicated mission. It wasn't like he would be losing everyone forever when he got the promotion.

Nevertheless, it felt like that.

Spock was briefing him about this new mission. Starfleet wanted as many planets as they could have in their hands as allies. Jim knew the Admiralty was planning something; they were pushing the Enterprise to be a diplomatic ship, and Jim thought that it was for political reasons. After all, having a Captain who was Vulcan opened a lot of doors. He didn't like the way Komack hinted that they must have this planet as an ally; it sounded more like 'you better get the treaty signed or else'.

On top of that, this civilization was weird. They were very traditionalist and they didn't have much information available about how they should handle the negotiations. They communicated through noises, and Uhura was trying very hard to get the pattern of the sounds and translate the basic meaning. Jim had tried to help but eventually he got a headache and Uhura kicked him out of her station and sent him to Sickbay.

Spock felt confident, or at least Jim got that impression. He said that as long as they acted neutrally, without looking menacing, they would be successful in the mission. Jim wasn't sure, but he went with the flow.

"I think Uhura, Bones and Cravers should beam down with me." Jim felt a lump in his throat when he said Cravers' name; if Kevin hadn't died… no point in thinking about it now.

"I will beam down with the landing party." Spock lifted his eyebrow like he was daring Jim to defy his orders. And of course Jim would do it. Captain and First Officer couldn't both beam down unless it was necessary, and it wasn't. This was getting pretty old pretty fast.

"I can handle the negotiations; Uhura will be there to keep me in line. Have you noticed the size of the heels she wears? She could kill me if she wanted to."

"I know you are capable of handling the negotiations, however I want to accompany the landing party."

"For what purpose?" Oh, no, Jim wasn't letting Spock get away with this so easily.

"It is a new civilization. The Admiralty was very clear as to the necessity of getting the treaty signed and I am the Captain. My absence could be labeled as disrespectful."

"I'm sure we can explain that I'm also part of the command. They won't mind having the negotiations with me."

"Are we going to have this discussion every time, Commander?" Spock looked like he wanted to sigh. Jim barely contained his smirk. He was the only one who could make Spock this frustrated. It was fun.

"Apparently we are, Captain." Jim smiled widely, knowing well that Spock only asked out of habit as he was fully aware that they were having this discussion every time. It was a bad case of déjà vu.

"Very well. I am beaming down with the landing party; I will request that you stay on the ship."

"What? Why? If you want to beam down, fine, I don't agree, but you're in charge. I don't see why I have to stay."

"Someone has to assume command of the ship in my absence. You are the First Officer. Logically, it should be you."

"Oh, no, you're not throwing that argument out and expecting me to agree with it. Sulu will take the conn while we're gone."

Spock looked at Jim with uncertainty, making him a little bit edgy.

"What?" Jim couldn't help but ask.

"I am curious, Commander. You seem to want Mister Sulu in charge every time we have to beam down. Mister Scott is more experienced, I think he could handle the conn as well as Mister Sulu."

Spock was right. In fact, Jim was supposed to leave Scotty in charge since he had a higher rank; but he was trying to familiarize Sulu with the Command team. He was his replacement after all, and he had to be prepared for when Jim stepped down. He couldn't tell Spock that, though. They were acting like Jim hadn't hinted at his promotion at the end of the first year, and he wasn't stupid enough to bring the subject up again.

"Of course," Jim said "but it doesn't hurt for the bridge crew to get familiarized with the command. Imagine if there was an emergency and Scotty wasn't available … they need to be ready for those scenarios, you don't know what could happen."

Spock arched both eyebrows and Jim knew what that meant: 'I don't buy it, but I'll let it go for now'.

"Indeed, I do not know."

"So… are you beaming down then?"

"It seems that we are both beaming down."

Jim didn't say anything else because he had already made Spock let go of his request that he stay on the ship. If he kept pushing to see if he could get Spock stay it could be received unfavorably right now. Both of them beaming down was better than Jim staying on the ship.

As expected, the negotiations were difficult given the language barrier. Spock noted that Lieutenant Uhura was very proficient at learning the peculiar way of communicating the natives had, and she was handling the direct attention the natives were giving her since nobody else was very skilled at this kind of communication. Spock took this time to carefully observe the surroundings. It was literally a blue planet. Everything was blue, including the natives. They were sitting in front of a blue table, and they kept glancing at Mister Kirk oddly; apparently red was threatening for them, and even after Lieutenant Uhura explained the misunderstanding, they kept looking at Mister Kirk as if he was dangerous. Spock tried to make the Commander beam back to the ship, but the natives saw this as a risk since he could beam back to fetch weapons. It was peculiar how they seemed so fearful; supposedly this was the first time this planet had made contact with outsiders. It was something he had to consider. Kirk volunteered to stay half undressed to avoid the distrust of the natives, however Spock made it very clear that this was not necessary. Commander Kirk's lack of decorum was not surprising – he often took his shirt off without any logical reason, like when he was training with the security team or when he was having an argument with Doctor McCoy over bruises and injures. Kirk had once thrown his shirt at McCoy's head in the middle of the mess hall. This was something Spock would never understand about Kirk.

Spock knew this was another race with empathic abilities, very similar to Betazoids. It was remarkable how Spock, being a touch telepath, couldn't sense anything; they had strong barriers and Spock, even when he tried, was not able to feel a single glimpse of anything.

Lieutenant Uhura made a strange noise, and then diverted her attention to them.

"They don't understand very well what it means to be a part of the Federation, but they aren't opposed to it," she said, smiling.

"Great! I can't take more glaring from these blue fellows," Mister Kirk muttered, knowing perfectly well he was being observed.

"They're more afraid of you than you are of them," Nyota sighed. "There's just one detail…"

Nyota looked at Spock with a sort of apprehension.

"Yes?" Spock asked because it did not seem like Nyota would say anything anytime soon.

"They only will agree to this if our leader 'accepts his true nature'."

Everyone's eyes were now on Spock, including the natives'.

"What the hell does that mean?" Mister Kirk asked, taking the words right out of Spock's mouth, although he had been thinking of something more formal.

"Uh… I'm not sure… they say the Captain has to step into the sacred chamber, and then if he accepts his true nature, they will sign the treaty."

"And if he doesn't?" Kirk frowned.

"He could die."

Spock never thought he would witness something like this. Mister Kirk started gaping; he assumed Kirk was trying to form a coherent thought. Nyota was looking at him with fear and Mister Cravers was reaching for his weapon, probably because he was expecting Mister Kirk to give the order to start shooting 'anything that moves', as Kirk was fond of saying.

"I accept," Spock said before Kirk could react.

"WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY?" Mister Kirk moved his hands wildly.

The natives retreated, like they expected Kirk to attack.

"Commander, they don't react well to yelling," Nyota said calmly, smiling at the natives in a way Spock supposed was intended to made them feel comfortable.

"Mister Kirk, the Admiralty made clear that our goal was to make this planet our ally. If they want to do this ritual, then I will endeavor to fulfill my duty as Captain." Spock tried to reason with the Commander, knowing all too well that it would be futile.

"And it's my job to protect you, so if Uhura says you have to do some kind of ceremony where we don't even know if they'll stab you to see 'your true nature', I have to tell you it's stupid." Mister Kirk glared at Spock. "I'm not letting you do this, Captain."

Spock arched an eyebrow at Mister Kirk. Honestly, this human got stubborn at the most imprudent moments.

"I mean it," Kirk said defiantly.

Spock knew he was serious. He would cause a revolt if he had to and Spock had to think of something to make Kirk concede to this.

"Maybe if I ask what the ritual involves then you can decide," Nyota suggested.

"Please proceed, Lieutenant," Spock requested before Kirk could say anything else.

While Nyota exchanged information with the natives, Kirk kept looking at Spock weirdly. It was making him uncomfortable. It was almost like Mister Kirk wanted to read Spock's mind and learn what he was thinking. Spock had never felt so uneasy about a stare as he did right now with Kirk's blue eyes fixated on him.

"They say there are no weapons of any sort. They have this magic rock, and it sees the true nature of living things; if someone doesn't accept that, then the rock transforms the person into something that would make him or her more open to seeing his or her essence. They say nobody's died… so far, and it's a great honor…"

"Well, tell them what they can do with their 'great honor'," Mister Kirk spat.

"Mister Kirk, it is statistically impossible for me to die, as Nyota has told us, and it is our mission to welcome this planet into the Federation." Spock looked at Kirk coldly.

"First, she said no-one's died 'so far', so you could be their first deceased in this stupid thing. Second, what if they transform you into a mug? How am I going to explain to the Admiralty that the Captain of the Enterprise is a mug because it's his true nature, huh?" If Kirk was not so agitated, Spock would have thought he was joking.

"I am sure my 'true nature' is not a small container for beverages, Mister Kirk. Arguing will not change my mind. I am accepting their conditions."

"I'm sure it will be okay, Commander," Nyota said carefully.

"Fine, I'm going with you."

"You can't go, only the Captain," said Nyota.

"You are not," said Spock at the same time as Nyota. Both earned a glare from Kirk.

"Captain, I'm going, I don't care what you say."

"I am giving you a direct order, Mister Kirk. You are in charge while I proceed with this ritual. If something goes wrong, the Enterprise needs someone in command."

"You suck at convincing people, you know that?" Kirk bit his lip, like he was torn about what he should do. "Uhura, are you sure I can't do the ritual instead of the Captain?"

"When we introduced ourselves we made it clear who our leader was. I'm sorry Commander," Nyota seemed worried as well.

"Lieutenant, please inform the natives that I have accepted their request."

As soon as Nyota made a few noises, the natives got up quickly and clasped their hands together, probably in excitement.

"I don't like this, Captain," Mister Kirk said bitterly.

Spock said nothing. It was pleasant to know that Mister Kirk cared this much, however it was also a bother on occasion. Spock himself was not concerned about this course of action. The information available about this race indicated that they were pacifists, and this ritual must be something subjective. He calculated the risk involved and it was below ten point five percent. Kirk worried unnecessarily.

"Captain, they expect you to go inside that room." Nyota pointed to the left and Spock noticed a dark blue door. He was sure that door had not been there before.

"Very well." Spock stood up and Mister Kirk did as well.

"I'm walking you there," he said. "If I'm not stopping you, at least I'm making sure I hear the screams."

As they walked past the natives, Spock noticed how they slowly retreated, probably because of Mister Kirk and his red shirt.

"I believe you are exaggerating, Commander. There will be no screams."

"You don't know." Kirk sighed. "Being your First Officer is really tiring, Spock."

"I can relate to the sentiment, having a Second in Command who questions every decision I make is also tiring."

"You know I do it because I care, right?" Kirk frowned, looking at Spock with uncertainty.

"I do. I assume that if our positions were reversed, I would do the same, except I would be less stubborn and more proper."

"I think you would freak even more than me," Mister Kirk smirked.

When they stood in front of the door, Kirk patted Spock's shoulder in what the Vulcan assumed was some sort of moral support. He stepped in without looking back, fearing that if he did, he would have second thoughts. Spock could not deny that Mister Kirk was persuasive.

The last thing Spock saw when he entered the room was a bright light and then it all became hazy.

Jim was pacing back and forth in front of the door, like that would make it open faster. It had been a while since Spock entered the room and they hadn't heard anything yet.

"Commander, you're making me dizzy," Uhura said with a small smile. "I'm sure the Captain is fine."

"We don't know that. Cravers, get ready, we may need to blast this door down."

"Jim!" Uhura hissed, getting closer to him. "Spock said clearly that we shouldn't interfere."

"He's been in there for almost an hour, Uhura! If he doesn't come out in five minutes, we are tearing this door down, we are getting him and we are getting away from this planet as fast as Scotty can manage it."

Uhura opened her mouth to reply when they heard a small noise and turned around quickly. One of the natives made strange noises and Uhura let out a breath of relief.

"It's done, and he's fine."

Jim felt something in his stomach when he heard this, and he leaped towards the door, trying to stick to the 'no strangers allowed into the room' rule. He expected to see Spock bleeding, or bruised or limping.

When they saw the figure exit the room, Jim wasn't sure if he was hallucinating.

"Uhura…" he said in a small voice.

"I see it too," she confirmed.

In front of them was a small male figure with pointed ears and eyes filled with fear.

Jim was unable to move from his place, eyes fixed in the small figure in front of them trying to cover himself with what it looked like a big blanket; Jim assumed he was naked under it and wondered how the natives had managed to get Spock out of his Captain's uniform. Uhura also was wide-eyed while Cravers made a few strangled noises.

"Um…" Jim didn't know what to say. The kid looked like he was about to cry, or lash out; maybe both.

"Where is my mother?" the kid asked with a trembling voice. Jim didn't know what the kid was thinking, but at least he didn't seem like he was going to do anything foolish, like running away and making Jim tackle him down.

Jim glanced at Uhura, noticing how she paled immediately.

"Can you tell me your name first?" Jim said, since apparently he was the only one with the ability to speak at the moment.

"Spock. Who are you?"

Spock was a child and he still didn't say his full name out lout. This was a bad moment for Jim to be noticing that kind of thing. The main point: Spock was a child. Priorities, Jim, he thought to himself.

"I'm James Kirk. I'm…"

Before Jim could say anything else, Spock collapsed and Jim thanked his amazing reflexes because he was able to catch him before he hit the ground and hurt himself. It was weird having a small Vulcan in his arms and knowing it was Spock. Spock, who looked far too innocent for this kind of shit.

"I got him," he reassured Uhura. "Ask those nut jobs what the hell happened."

Uhura did what she was told, probably sensing that Jim wasn't in the mood for a diplomatic argument. As Jim rearranged Spock in his arms, he felt a small glimmer of happiness. It was uncanny, he must be in the twilight zone right now. He'd never thought that when he touched Spock it would be in this scenario. Not that he imagined touching Spock, it was only because the Ambassador had left things in his head and it wasn't like Jim wanted them there, and Spock was all rigid about personal space and accidental touches. True, Spock had touched him when he was trying to give him comfort when he told him about Tarsus, but this didn't even begin to compare. He'd better stop this train of thought.

"Commander, I can carry the Captain," volunteered Cravers.

"No." Jim noticed how Cravers looked at him with a frown. He sounded rather possessive. "I can manage it."

"They say that the Captain did well and in this form he will be able to accept his true nature more easily than when he was an adult," Uhura said.

"He did well? Have you seen him? He must be, like, seven! Ask how to reverse this!"

"Um… that's the thing… it can't be reversed until Captain Spock accepts his true nature; then he should be back to normal."

"What? So are we stuck with a kid until he finds out his true nature? What does that even mean?"

"I'm not sure." Uhura frowned.

"Let's go back to the Enterprise; tell them that we need to get Spock to Sickbay and we'll reschedule negotiations for tomorrow morning."

Jim waited until Uhura delivered the message and then noticed the natives moving the small antennae they had on their heads, probablyin agreement. This was great, they got the planet into the Federation and all it cost them was the Captain turning into a child. When Pike heard about this he would die of laughter.

"Scotty, four to beam up, directly to sickbay," Jim ordered, still feeling uneasy about this.

"Are you hurt, Commander Captain?" Scotty's voice echoed.

"No! Why does everyone assume I'm the one hurt on every damn mission?" Jim sighed. "Never mind."

"Aye, four to beam up."

The last thing Jim saw as they disappeared was the natives making weird noises. They were probably happy to see that their stupid rock could transform people into children; talking about the source of eternal youth.

"What the hell?"

Bones' voice was the first thing Jim heard in Sickbay. When he turned around, he saw his friend and Nurse Chapel looking at them with surprise.

"Why are you here? Did you hurt yourself?" Bones grabbed the nearest Tricorder and walked up to him.

"No. And I'm getting offended that everyone thinks that," Jim complained.

Bones then noticed that Jim was carrying something covered in a blanket.

"Did you steal another kid, Jim?" Bones frowned. "Because if you want to be a father, you can adopt or knock someone up, you don't need to be stealing children from every planet we visit."

"Well, in this case, this kid is ours," Jim said with a snort.

"What do you mean, 'ours'? Spock's and yours?" Bones looked genuinely confused.

Uhura got closer to Jim and took a small corner of the blanket, pulling it down and revealing the child's face.

"What's that? A Vulcan? Did they have a Vulcan there?"

"This is Spock, Bones," Jim said carefully.

"Don't fuck with me! This can't be Spock, this is a child!"

"It's true," Uhura confirmed. "He was in a ritual… and somehow they turned him into a child."

"Somehow…" Bones muttered. "Stupid space missions. Fine, put him gently on that bed."

Jim did what he was told, avoiding waking Spock. He felt the absence in his arms as soon as he put him on the bed, and it felt wrong. This was really weird.

"Why is he naked?" Bones asked as he passed a Tricorder over Spock's arms.

"We don't know. He entered clothed, he came out naked and… how old is he?"

"According to this, nine years old." Bones frowned.

"I thought he was, like, seven," Jim said. "He was really short."

"Well, adolescence is our best friend sometimes," Bones smirked.

Jim noticed how Cravers and Chapel were murmuring.

"Cravers, go with the security team, and no word of this to anyone, understood? When we sort this out, we'll inform the rest. Until then…" Jim was reluctant to say this, but he knew it was protocol. "Uhura, inform the crew that I'm acting Captain; tell them that we had a problem with the mission and Captain Spock is in Sickbay. He's fine, he just needs to rest. We'll clear things up later."

"Yes, Commander." Uhura walked out of Sickbay followed by Cravers.

"Let me call M'Benga. He's the alien here."

"I bet he thinks the same thing about you," Jim smiled.

Jim looked at Spock while Bones went for M'Benga. He seemed so innocent like this; he must have been a really happy child. Jim envied that a little bit. He didn't have a terrible childhood, but he'd always wondered what his life could have been if his father hadn't died or his mother had acted more normally. Sam always thought that their crappy childhood was the best example of bad parenthood. He always blamed their mother for what happened; Jim was happy to see that Sam gave his children everything he hadn't gotten, and avoided making the same mistakes they had lived through. He was brave for daring to raise children, Jim honestly didn't think they were capable of that. Jim preferred to avoid finding out if he could be as brave as Sam. He wouldn't screw up a child's life trying to be brave and find out if he could pull it off. He'd already screwed up Kevin's life.

Jim came back to reality when he saw Spock blink. Since he didn't do it again for a few seconds, Jim thought he had imagined it, but then the child blinked again. Jim glanced around. He was alone, how was he supposed to deal with a nine year old? Worse, a nine year old Vulcan… He didn't even know what he was supposed to say. He noticed Spock trying to sit up, so he helped him out and covered him with the blanket.

"Hi there." Smooth, Jim, he thought bitterly. "How are you feeling?"

Spock only blinked at him without answering.

"Do you know who I am?"

"James Kirk," Spock said quietly.

"So do you remember me?"

"No, I do not have any memory of you but the one where you said your name. Where is my mother?"

"Um… Spock…"

"Why am I unclothed?" Spock's cheeks were tinted green and Jim would have thought it was adorable if it wasn't so creepy.

"Oh… well… you see… Look Spock, I'm going to tell you the truth. Maybe you'll think I'm crazy, but keep an open mind, okay?"

Spock looked hesitant but he nodded anyway, and Jim took a deep breath.

"We are aboard the USS Enterprise; we serve Starfleet, and…"

"Commander Kirk," Uhura interrupted Jim, approaching them quickly. "May I speak with you privately?"

"Lieutenant, I'm rather busy here," he said, knowing that glare from Uhura. She didn't approve of what Jim was doing.

"Please, sir, it will be only a moment."

"Very well." Jim noticed Bones and M'Benga standing nearby. "Bones, please give Spock a set of clothing."

"Gold?" Bones asked with glee. He was enjoying this too much.

"Black will be fine for now," Jim said calmly. "I'll be right back, Spock. This is Doctor Leonard McCoy, he's the CMO of the ship. He seems grumpy, but he's okay most of the time." Jim smiled warmly.

"That's more like something we can say about you, jerk." Bones glared at him.

Seeing Spock go rigid, Jim sighed. He was a child with no previous memory of this place. He must see the friendly banter between him and Bones as a fight.

"Commander?" Uhura prompted.

"Doctor McCoy and Doctor M'Benga will take care of you, Spock. This won't take long."

Uhura frowned at the unsaid message: Whatever your objection is, I don't care and I'm doing things my way.

"You are safe with Doctor McCoy and Doctor M'Benga," Jim said cheerfully, trying to transmit as much ease as he could to Spock.

Spock didn't look like he believed him, but he shyly nodded again.

As Jim was being dragged away to Bones' office, he glanced back and noticed Spock looking at him with some sort of discomfort, like wanted to follow Jim. This was really messed up, he'd better focus on how to convince Uhura of his decision without saying 'Because I'm acting Captain and I say so'. He didn't have a lot of options besides that one.

When Uhura closed the door, she looked at him with a scowl.

"Are you telling Spock the truth?" Uhura didn't waste time in speaking her mind.

"Yes. We can't explain why he's on a strange ship without his parents. He's scared and alone, he needs to understand the circumstances."

"He's a child, Commander!"

"A Vulcan child," Jim defended.

"Nevertheless, still a child. Telling him about…"

Then Jim understood where Uhura was going with this. She thought Jim was going to share all the details with Spock, including the destruction of Vulcan and the death of his mother. Even Jim knew that was shitty, he wouldn't do that to a child.

"I'm telling him about his post here and about Starfleet, okay?" Jim said.

"And do you think it will be enough?"

"It has to be."

"I don't think it's for the best. Spock isn't ready to know about his post and his life."

"He's a smart child. Believe me, adults tricking children into believing stupid stories is a big mistake. I'm telling him the truth."

"But this is a lot to deal with, he's only a kid!"

Jim was about to make a retort when he heard someone opening the door. It was Bones, looking at them with a grin.

"In case you two have forgotten, I must remind you that Spock's hearing is better than yours and he probably overheard everything you just said."

Jim paled. They had been talking a little loudly, and glancing at Spock he knew he'd heard them when he kept looking at them with uncertainty through the open door.

"And if I heard you," Bones continued "he must have."

"I'm doing it, Uhura," Jim said calmly, getting out the door.

Jim knew it was normal for Uhura to feel anxious about telling the truth to a nine year old; but she would have to trust Jim on this one. She was worried about Spock, and Jim sympathized; it wasn't like he was looking to hurt the kid, he just wanted to avoid the lies and deceit. He remembered when he was a child, and every time an adult told him something he knew was a lie, he did something illegal, wrong and stupid. Spock deserved to at least be treated with consideration in this mess; he was the one suffering the most, being stuck with a bunch of strangers. If Jim had been in that situation, he would have destroyed Sickbay already. Good thing Spock was Vulcan and had more control… or at least Jim hoped so.

"Spock, did you hear what Lieutenant Uhura and I said?" Jim asked as soon as he got close enough to the child, now dressed entirely in black.

"My hearing is better than humans'." This was Spock's confirmation, then. This hadn't changed the way he avoided giving direct answers, it must be in his genes.

"All right then. You see Spock, like I said, we are aboard the USS Enterprise. You have heard about Starfleet, right?"

"My father has spoken of it and I am learning about the Federation in detail at school."

"That helps… well, we are aboard of one of Starfleet's finest vessels, and… you're the Captain of said vessel." Jim had thought of different ways to tell Spock the truth, but none seemed right. Bluntness was his specialty; in this case it could be good.

"Impossible. I am a child. I could not have finished the basic training at my young age." Spock looked at Jim like he was crazy. Well, he wasn't that far wrong.

"True. It's just… you are an adult, Spock. We were on a mission, and when you did this ritual they… got you back to this age. We don't know exactly how… what's the last thing you remember?"

Spock blinked and tilted his head, apparently trying to evoke his last memory.

"I was in the garden with my mother…" Spock frowned and Jim was amazed. This Spock was so easy to read, perhaps because he still hadn't had his training in masking emotions and become a complete robot. "… I do not remember what happened after…"

"Maybe it's a secondary effect of the ritual," Jim thought out loud, but he knew Spock couldn't have memories he hadn't experienced yet.

"I believe you are right." Spock looked at him, doubtful. "If I am the Captain of this vessel… I assume you are a crew member as well."

"Yes, I'm your First Officer, but I would like to think that we are also friends." Jim smiled kindly. It could be easier to deal with Spock if he thought they were friends.

"Friends?" Spock arched an eyebrow. The resemblance to the adult version was uncanny.

"Um, yes." Jim kept the smile. Could Spock read his mind and see him hesitate? "I know that right now I must be really old to be considered your friend, but you can trust me."

"I never had a friend before," Spock said in a low voice, and Jim's heart broke a little at hearing it. "It is pleasant to know that I overcame my social incapacity and managed to make a friend."

"You have a lot of friends here, Spock," Jim said without knowing why he had to reassure the kid so firmly. "Lieutenant Uhura is one of your best friends, you can trust her too"

"Is she the lady who did not want to tell me the truth?"

"Oh…" Jim was right. Smart kids couldn't be fooled. "Yeah, she was just trying to protect you, she didn't mean any harm."

"I am familiar with human females lying for noble reasons and justifying it as protection," Spock said in a matter-of-fact tone that Jim recognized right away. It was the tone adult Spock used when Jim thought he was been condescending. "I do appreciate your honesty, Mister Kirk. I am glad you seem to know me better than the Lieutenant and acknowledge my need for information even in my current predicament."

Spock sounded like he was happy with Jim telling him the truth; Jim felt like he was damned. He was not the right person for Spock to put his trust in. Uhura was the one he should be confiding in and she should be the one reassuring him. Speaking of Uhura, he turned around to look for her but she was nowhere in sight. Bones shrugged, leaning into his office's door.

"Call me Jim, Spock. We're friends, remember?" Jim said after a while, seeing that it was pointless to avoid this new development. Maybe he could obtain something juicy for the next time Spock got stubborn and wanted to beam down with the landing party. Although Jim doubted that Spock would be able to refute 'you could turn into a nine year old' as a reason to stay in future.

"Thank you, Jim." It was the first time Spock had said his name, and Jim felt a small pang in his chest. "What will happen to me now that I am incapacitated and unable to remember anything from my adult life?" Including my training went unsaid but Jim knew Spock was thinking it.

"Right now I'm acting Captain since I'm your First. I was thinking of asking the natives on the planet about a way to reverse what their magic rock did and have you returned to your adult self in no time. Is that okay with you?"

"You are the Captain at this moment. You can do whatever you think is best without my consent," Spock said in a low voice. Jim noticed that Spock had issues with adults not asking him what he wanted. He could join the club. Maybe it didn't matter about race, adults were all complete idiots around children.

"I would still like to hear what you think. It's important to me to know if you're fine with what I've decided." Jim thought that if he was in Spock's place, he would like to see that they respected his opinion even when he was a child. It felt right doing this, though it was unorthodox because Spock was right. Jim was Captain right now, he could order the Enterprise to spin around until everyone was dizzy and they would have to do it.

But this was a great opportunity to show Spock that he was capable of managing things when he needed to; with luck, Spock would remember this when he converted back to adult and it would help to get a recommendation from him when they reached the first year and Jim asked for his promotion.

"I believe is the best course of action," Spock said finally, pulling Jim out of his thoughts; he was painfully formal even when he was nine, being a Vulcan must be really boring.

"All right then… do you have any questions?"

"May I talk with my parents? Perhaps they would have better insight in this situation than myself."

Jim felt his heart pounding fast. Damn Uhura, she'd known this would happen. Jim considered all his options, and none included telling Spock the truth about his planet and his mother.

"I'm afraid it's not possible at the moment… we have an ion storm messing with our communication devices and we're unable to contact other signals." Jim didn't know how he'd invented that but he hoped Spock bought it.

"I see."

"But as soon as we can make contact I'll tell you and we can talk with your father, okay?"

Jim cringed on the inside; he'd lied to Spock when the kid trusted him entirely; he felt like an ass, but it was better than telling Spock everything. He was a child, how was he supposed to take hearing that his mother had died when his last memory was of her being all loving and caring with him? It was better this way; he'd inform everyone about this and ban Spock from every terminal until he blocked all available information about Vulcan. Spock was a smart child; Jim had been a smart child too, he could pretty much guess Spock's next logical move in his search for information, and he could anticipate measures to avoid any information leaks. He'd hacked the Kobayashi Maru after all; he knew how Spock's mind worked with machines.

After Tarsus Jim had kept the trait of thinking the worst and then analyzing potential solutions to the problem. In this case, the worst thing that could happen was that they wouldn't find a way to reverse this, then Jim would have no choice but contact Spock's father and tell him about the incident. As he saw Spock in his adult form and wearing a blue uniform hugging a Kirk in gold, he shook his head to send the image away and Jim suddenly remembered that he had a way to understand how Spock was thinking… the Ambassador. He could tell him how to deal with a nine year old Vulcan, and right now he needed a lot of guidance with this.

"Jim?" Spock tilted his head with curiosity.

"Right… so maybe I should go to the Bridge and tell the crew about what we just discussed."

Spock hopped down from the bed, standing next to Jim, clearly saying 'lead the way then'. He had that look that adult Spock used when he was daring Jim to defy him. He had to be careful about how to handle the kid. He didn't want to upset him (as he enjoyed upsetting the adult version), but he also had to make it clear that he was a child, and hence, he was banned from the Bridge.

"I think it's better if you stay here, Spock," Jim said calmly.

"I am not currently injured or feeling unwell, I have no reason to stay in a medical facility."

"Well, that's not true. Bones is going to examine you, and I'll be back in a while, okay?"

Spock frowned, he actually frowned and Jim was astonished; when Spock got back to his adult self, he would deny everything. For a nine year old, Spock had enormous control over his emotions. For a nine year old Vulcan… his face betrayed him completely.

"Doctor McCoy already did a medical examination," Spock said in what Jim knew was a defiant tone. He let out a breath; this was going to be hard.

"He needs to do more tests."

"Really?" Bones finally joined in the conversation and Jim should have guessed it would be just to screw him. "I wasn't aware of that, Jim. Are you a doctor too?"

"Bones," Jim warned because this wasn't the time to mess around. He had terminals to block.

"He's right," Bones conceded, probably because he saw Jim's face and he knew he was about to freak out. "Since you were an adult last time, I have to update your chart."

"This is going to be on my medical chart?" Spock arched an eyebrow.

"Everything that happens on this ship is documented, kid; including voodoo shrinking," Bones said in an amused tone.

"I was not 'shrunk', I am a child, my size is proportional to my age and race." Spock sounded offended. Apparently Bones and Spock couldn't get along even in this scenario.

"Jim thought you were short," Bones bit out.

Spock immediately turned his attention to Jim; great, now he was in the middle of this fight. It was unexpected because Spock was a Vulcan child and Bones was an adult. They were both supposed to be more mature.

"Um… I just… look, never mind, I haven't seen a child in a while, I was probably just surprised, that's all. I'll leave now, Spock."

"Will you come back?" Spock looked fearful; Jim wanted to hug him and never let go, which was a terrible idea and borderline pathological.

"Sure, I have to show you your room and everything. I think you will enjoy going with me more than if your Yeoman gives you the big tour." Jim flashed his biggest smile, the one that made every girl throw herself into his bed. In this case, of course, he was dealing with a kid and he didn't expect the same effect, but if it made Spock feel less edgy about this, it was worth it.

After he saw Spock's hesitant nod, he knew he still had the touch. He gave Bones a warning glare, and Bones just showed him the middle finger. Honestly, his friend's physical communication was as rude as the vocal kind. The first thing Jim did when he left the Sickbay was order Uhura to send every head of department into the conference room. He would update Bones later; right now he needed to tell everyone how they would be dealing with this situation.

N/A: First time doing the deaged thing, so bear with me; I think this chapter was a little bit fuzzy, but the next one will have more sense (at least that's what I'm aiming for). I know we all are aware by now that I would be totally lost without my amazing beta Anbessette, so kudos to her and her wonderful help.