This chapter is dedicated to all who are wondering what's in the cabinet! The suspense is over!

Upon hearing Jim's exclamation, Spock and McCoy raced into the kitchen, phasers drawn, poised to fight. What could it be? A flesh-eating monster? A gruesome dead body shoved in the freezer? A bomb about to go off? A killer robot? They didn't know what they would find but they knew they would do anything to save the man they loved.

"What is it, Jim?"

"Are you alright, Jim?"

The captain turned around upon hearing the fear in his friend's voices; he almost had to laugh when he saw their phasers. "It's okay, guys. Just look at this!"

As they put down their weapons and carefully stepped closer to Jim, he opened the cabinet all the way.

"Damn."

"Fascinating."

The cabinet was stocked full with bottles of the finest scotch and whiskey money could buy. Bones thought he even saw some Romulan ale hidden in the back. "We are gonna get so wasted!" Jim laughed, taking down on of the bottles and examining it.

McCoy immediately snatched it away from him. "No way! You are not drinking! You can hardly even hold down your own saliva!"

"Jeez, calm down. I was just kidding," he said, holding his hands out placatingly.

Ever curious, Spock opened the cabinet next to the one with all of the alcohol. While the sight of the first cabinet had little effect on him, this one made his eyes widen. Jim and Bones leaned over to see what had so captivated the Vulcan. "Very fascinating."

"Chocolate's what gets Vulcans drunk, right?"

"Gentlemen, it would appear that the former occupants of this base were a human and fun-loving Vulcan," grinned Jim. He wondered what Spock would be like drunk…

"More like drunkards…" Bones muttered.

"On the other hand, Leonard. If they were drunkards, the cabinets would most likely be empty. The logical conjecture is that they stocked up on intoxicants but only used them for certain occasions."

"Why would they leave all their booze and chocolate?" Jim wondered aloud.

"Perhaps they did not have a use for it where ever they left for."

"They probably froze to death," Bones scowled.

"Don't say that, Bones. I'd like to know more about these people, whoever there were and where ever they may be now. If they left this stuff then they probably left other stuff too," pointed out Jim.

"I am also curious as to the identities of the former occupants," said Spock. And with that, the three set off looking for clues.

"One bedroom, one king size bed," Bones commented.

"Ooh, a couple?" suggested Jim.

Spock stopped and thought. "They would have last lived here approximately 28 years ago judging by the expiration date on the carton of what was once milk I found in the fridge—"

"Ew! Sour milk!" cried Jim as he ran away. "At least there's a bathroom here," he called before he gagged.

"What about 28 years, Spock?" asked Bones, grabbing his hand like he did every time they were alone, even if only for a second.

"I wish to wait until Jim returns."

Bones nodded and kissed him quickly.

"Okay, I'm back," said Jim walking back to where they stood. They quickly jumped away from each other. What was up with that? The captain had lost track of the number of times they had nervously jumped away from each other when he came over.

"As I was saying, 28 years ago, my parents had already become the first human-Vulcan couple and I had recently been born as the first human-Vulcan hybrid, but interspecies civil rights have changed significantly in the last 28 years. It is not likely that a human and a Vulcan would have been in a romantic relationship at that time. They would have been greatly persecuted."

"But judging by the contents of their cabinets and the one bedroom, it can only be a human-Vulcan couple!" protested Jim.

Nodding, Spock said, "Nothing that is is impossible."

They decided to further investigate the bedroom. Upon opening the drawer in the bedside table, Bones turned tomato red and almost choked on his own spit.

"What's in it, Bones?" asked Jim.

"Uh, condoms and lube. A lot of 'em."

Even though he had a high fever, he was still James T. Kirk, so of course he had to go see for himself. "Wow, you weren't kidding. Based on the fact that those, alcohol, and chocolate, are the only things we've found so far, I like these people already!"

Over on the other end of the bed, Spock was busy investigating the other nightstand. On top of it was a small picture coated in a layer of dust. Spock picked it up and blew away the dust so that he could get a better look. The frame was shaped like a heart and written on it in curvy print were the words 'Love Is Forever'.

Inside the frame, the photograph was of a human man and a Vulcan man embracing each other and both smiling joyfully. At first, Spock did not even recognize the openly emotional man as a Vulcan. But there could be no mistaking the pointy ears, slanted eyebrows, and greenish tint to the skin.

"Fascinating."

"What'd you find swee—Spock?" Damnit he was going to have to watch it with those lovey pet-names.

'Did Bones just almost call Spock sweetie? Nah, he couldn't have… Or could he?'

"A photograph," the Vulcan replied.

Jim and Bones made their way to Spock and each looked over one of the Vulcan's shoulders at the picture in his hands.

"That's who used to live here," said Jim.

"He looks too happy to be a Vulcan," said McCoy, but Spock could tell it was just the doctor's way of saying 'Why don't you smile like that for me?'

"It is logical to assume that they were the first human-Vulcan same-sex couple. As the Vulcan's family likely did not approve of the relationship, I believe that he abandoned all of his Vulcan disciplines and went to work for Starfleet with his mate. Though less than on Vulcan, they still would have been persecuted," Spock stated grimly. Then, sensing McCoy's growing panic he added, "Such a relationship would no longer be discouraged. Vulcan has become more liberal since interspecies relationships became common."

"So do you think they came out here so they could just be left alone?" asked Jim.

"No one really bothers you on an uninhabited ice planet," agreed Bones.

"And Starfleet would have left them alone as long as they were doing their research work," added the captain.

"That is a very logical theory, Jim."

"What do you think happened to them?" asked Jim as he sat down on the bed.

"I do not know."

Exhausted and sick, the captain laid down on the bed and instantly relaxed. It was so comfortable but he couldn't help but think of how much more comfortable he would be if Spock and Bones were in it with him, naked. He immediately slammed the breaks on that train of thought. He knew he should stop thinking of them like that but he just couldn't.

Love is like quicksand; you can fall in but you can't fall out. Especially if you fall in two sinkholes at once. He promised himself he'd try to talk to them about it as soon as they were off of that god damn planet! He couldn't go on without telling them his feelings but if the conversation turned out badly, he didn't want to be stuck on a planet with them during the awkwardness.

"Jim, you're exhausted, you need to rest," said Bones, sticking him with a hypo more gently than he ever had before.

"Yeah, you're right. You guys can go do whatever you want, I'm just gonna crash right here," he said sleepily, starting to get under the covers.

"Wait," Bones interrupted him. "We might want to change the sheets first. Never know if those guys washed them before they left."

This is the last chapter that I have written at the time. But fear not! There will be more but I need your help!

Should they get to meet the Vulcan and the human in the picture and then have a 'happily ever after', or should I just get right to the 'happily ever after, the end'?

Please review and tell me what you think! The fate of this story lies in your hands!