VII. Friction.

Jim's eyes fluttered open as he heard the door to his quarters whoosh open unexpectedly. In a groggy haze, he stared out across the darkened room almost shocked that anyone would just waltz into his chamber so unannounced. If anyone were to do such a thing, it would have been Spock, still failing at times to adhere to certain protocols on privacy – but with the ship approaching Trill, Jim would have understood the Vulcan's rash decision to make sure Jim was woken up to brief Sulu on time. However, Jim remembered that Spock was still in Sick Bay … and the figure approaching him was in red. Picking himself up onto his elbows, he tried to focus his vision on the figure approaching him. It was tall and slender, and the red uniform was deliciously short.

"Nyota …" Jim said tiredly, as he reached up to run a hand through his hair. "What are you –?"

But his words were cut off as he was mounted instantly and his mouth was consumed by that of the figure. Soft lips forced his to move in a sexual rhythm that instantly turned Jim on. As he laid back and ran his hands up the figure's thighs, he broke away from the kiss for a moment. "Nyota –" he started but stopped himself in shock. Opening his eyes wide, Jim stared up at the straight and sharply featured face of Skylar Pike.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" she queried seriously as she bent over him and kissed him hard.

Jim's heart began to race. His mind barked at him to stop but he could not find the power to. As quickly as he wanted to sit upright and remove his friend from off of him, Skylar began to grind against him. Instantly, Jim was aroused. He knew that Skylar was aware of this as well as she pressed harder against him, kissing him now on the outside of his mouth and moving slowly towards his neck.

"Skylar," he said in a ragged breath, "We can't do this."

She looked up at him. "You said you would take care of me." She kissed him on his mouth again.

Jim pulled away. "What?"

"You told Spock that you would take care of me," she reminded him. Her hand reached behind her back to the zipper on the back of her skant. "In Sick Bay – remember?"

Jim stared at her incredulously for a moment and then remembered the quiet exchange between him and the lifeless Spock in Sick Bay. He had told Spock that he would take care of her, no matter what happened. But how could Skylar have heard? He barely moved his lips when he'd made that promise and the heart monitor itself made it damn near impossible for even Jim to have heard himself. Focusing on the display upon him, he caught Skylar's arm and stopped her from unzipping the skant any farther.

Skylar stared into his eyes, almost silently pleading with him. She reached out her other hand, cupping his face tenderly, running her fingers over the coarse stubble forming on his strong jaw line. She released the zipper per her captain's silent request and was taken aback when Jim sat upright, reached around her and proceeded to pull the zipper down. Her lips curving into a devilish smile, Skylar raised her arms high as Jim pulled the skant up and over her head. Tossing the uniform away as though it was some form of extraneous matter – which it was in these types of situations – Jim unhooked the black bra that clung to Skylar and tossed it aside as well. Groping both of her breasts in his hands, he began kissing her neck passionately. Skylar tilted her head back and let out a quiet gasp as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Jim gently bit at her earlobe as he laid her back onto the foot of the bed, now above her. He breathed into her ear, "I'll take care of you," and he began kissing her again, moving his mouth over her chin, down the front of her neck, and onto her chest region. Skylar ran her fingers through his hair as she wrapped her legs around his waist, forcing him down onto her. Jim chuckled between kisses, looking up at her.

"You are really strong." He gave her a wink.

She stared directly into his eyes, a hard stare that was almost cold. "Or you're just really weak."

"It's always a competition with you."

"This isn't a game, Captain." Skylar pushed him up so that they were upright again. "So fuck the foreplay."

Jim barely had time to give her a confused look before Skylar pushed him back onto the pillow so that he was laying flat. "Holy shit," he murmured as he watched Skylar pull his boxer briefs off. "I don't think that's really fair," he commented.

"All's fair in love and war," Skylar replied simply, running her fingers up and down his thighs. "You're such a good friend, Jim."

Jim sat upright and planted a kiss on her lips. "You're the best friend, Skylar." He quizzically watched as she moved away from him and stood next to the bed before him. "You know, I've …" His eyes followed her panties as they slipped down her slender legs to the floor. Skylar stepped out of them. " … needed this. Like seriously. Needed. This."

"You're not the best," she remarked honestly. "I've had to do most of the work, here. For a Starfleet captain, I'm disappointed."

Jim licked his lips; he didn't know whether the mood was completely killed or if he even wanted to show her how admirably he could perform. After all, he was fucking James T. Kirk – he'd never had a complaint. "I can't say I'm too impressed, either," he retorted. "For a weapon's master – you've yet to master this weapon." He indicated down at his arousal with a tip of his chin and flicker of his eyes southward.

Glaring at him, Skylar marched to Jim and promptly sat down in his lap, facing him. Jim pressed his mouth to hers, her tongue parting his lips instantly as his thumbs brushed over her breasts. He then moved his hands down her bare sides as Skylar began to slowly move against him; Jim nearly squeezed her as he felt himself entering her. A gasp escaped his lips as his mind began to race – how was this happening? He couldn't lie, he'd had a dirty fantasy (or two) about hooking up with a girl friend before. But to actually be committing the act with one of his best friend's girl – it was completely dirty. So. Very. Dirty.

Pleasure rippled throughout his body as his fingers pressed into her hips while he held her against him, trying to make her move faster on him. Even as he tried to control her, Skylar's movements were all her own. "This … is … so … bad …" he breathed as he looked up at her, watching her take him in.

"So great," she moaned. This sent chills running down Jim's spine. He'd never felt like this before; he felt guilty and heavenly all in the same moment. Skylar was a woman on a mission – she had no time for small talk, he concluded. She came to conquer, which was something that she and Jim had in common. Jim was not used to being on submissive side of the sexual game. He had yet to find a girl who could use him; that is, until Skylar had walked through his door. He could do this. It seemed easy enough.

Almost too quickly, Jim could feel that he was going to climax soon. Despite a silent desire to make it last, Jim could not control what his body wanted. As much as he wanted her to slow down to prolong the moment, he couldn't control her. He wasn't entirely sure where she was in the scheme of timing, but Jim knew that he wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. In a rash decision, Jim wrapped an arm firmly around her and picked her up, instantly halting her grinding against him. Kissing her passionately, Jim clumsily moved with her attached to him until he had her up against the nearest wall where he then took the reigns and began to thrust fiercely into her. Just as he was about to release everything into her – his fears, anger, confusion and feeling of inadequacy – he felt his head begin to tip back. Two large hands seized his face. The lips he kissed tasted differently and her breasts – her breasts – where did they go?

Jim opened his eyes and looked into the intense stare of Spock. Jim screamed as he fell backward, hearing the familiar voice of Spock whisper darkly, "Such a great friend, Jim."

Suddenly Jim was wrapped up in sheets as his limbs struggled fiercely to free themselves from their confinement. With a mighty yell, Jim sat upright and heaved uncontrollably. His room was still dark but his eyes adjusted quickly. He sat alone, entangled in his sheets on the floor beside his bed. There was no skant or bra strewn about, no indication that anyone, female or Vulcan, had been there. Jim immediately looked under the sheet. His boxer briefs were still on, but his arousal remained. He sighed heavily.

"Fuuuuuck," was all Jim Kirk said as he looked up at the digital clock that read 6:30am. He sighed heavily and fell straight back amongst the mess of sheets that entangled him.

:::::

The corridors of the USS Enterprise bustled as a subliminal countdown began amongst the crew members. Jim Kirk had made the announcement just after an anxious Nyota Uhura had confirmed coordinates from the station at Trill: they would be arriving within the planet's gravitational orbit in just less than seven and a half hours. Despite the fact that this was a significant chunk of time to iron out dress uniforms and polish off the tops of boots, for the a few of the crew members assigned on the away team, as well as those closest to these few, the time could not have flown by any slower than the blink of an eye. As the corridors snaked through the ship like freeways with vehicles rushing by in a current of fast forward, those on the away team and their peers were caught in a moment of slow motion. Voices called out Starfleet jargon to the next; assignments were given, expectations set, and an air of contagiously excited professionalism clung to the uniforms of red, blue and yellow as they flashed by in a stream of color.

Jim's briefing of Hikaru Sulu had been a quick one. As the helmsman sat at attention before his captain, Jim observed as Sulu outwardly executed perfect Academy discipline in his understanding of the situation. His presence in Spock's place as Jim's first officer (though this was not the correct order in which the baton would have typically been passed in rank) would consist of excellent listening skills, thorough analysis of the negotiations that were conversed about, and direct counseling to the captain – Sulu would have to be the perfect example of a Federation diplomat. And under Spock, Jim saw no better fit than Hikaru Sulu. He was just, insightful and possessed an ample level of passion and trust in himself as well as others. Furthermore, he was particularly charismatic, which put him a few steps ahead of Spock on the emotional aspect of diplomacy. But even though Sulu's intellect did not lead into the encyclopedia range that Spock possessed, Jim was thankful that he'd have a very human representation by his side before the Trills, especially at the rate that everything seemed to be falling apart around him. Despite the fact that nothing serious had happened as of yet, he was highly aware that this mission to Trill was anything but top priority on his away team's plate – and his very human friend Sulu was a perfect representation of this. Even though in his briefing Sulu was did he display the perfect cadet character, Jim instantly realized how much Sulu knew outside of their mission to Trill. He was also very aware that Sulu was hardly ever so serious around Jim, even at the helm. And as much as Jim tried to impress upon himself how lucky he was to have such a well-disciplined, studious helmsman, a tiny pit of worry and guilt seized him at how in place Sulu was. But Jim would not let this fear show. He maintained his cool and paced before Sulu with the plans for Trill flowing out in eloquent confidence until at last he'd reached the end of his expectations for Sulu. Sulu had nodded professionally and had stood tall before his captain, indicating his request to depart the room. Jim hesitated for only a moment. Not yet, he instructed himself. I'll see how the others are.

"I'm going to call a final meeting of the away team," Jim explained, gesturing to Sulu's seat with a hand. "Wait a moment."

Neither nodding nor responding verbally, Sulu sat back down in the chair.

Bending over the PA console on the conference desktop, Jim said over the speakers, "Doctor McCoy, Lieutenants Takashi and Uhura, Ensign Chekov and all away team personnel, report to the conference room immediately."

Within a few minutes, everyone filed in and took their seats around the conference table. Everyone who was on the away team – Skylar, Scotty, Sulu and two of the ship's chief security representatives alongside Skylar, Lieutenants Torres and DeHaven – were almost completely in their dress uniforms. Skylar was in her skant and the bruising along her neck had been covered beneath concealer, though she also donned a red Federation issued dress blazer. The neckline of the blazer aided in masking the deep markings along her skin. Everyone else was in their regular uniforms. The only unifying factor in the room was the exceptionally apparent tension that had formed into a massive white elephant. Only Torres and DeHaven were out of the loop on what was personally affecting the large group of their crewmates. Jim turned to them, briefly scanning over their uniforms.

"You look good, gentlemen," he said to them. "Were the instructions clear as according to the content of the message I sent to each of you around 1830 hours yesterday?"

"Yes, Jim," DeHaven answered. "Torres, Pike and I have already given our orders for the security personnel as to what is to be expected of them over the next 48 hours."

"And there is a rotation set for Commander Spock's room," Torres added. "Although I'm not certain of the severity of the fuss, I can guarantee you that the lockdown is fully effective as of 1830 hours last night."

Jim's eyes quickly darted in the direction of Bones, who stared at the conversation with a reserved demeanor. "Commander Spock is undergoing a severe medical condition which unfortunately might result in some hostile interference. Just have your co-heads keep the boys alert, that's all there is to say on the matter, gentlemen."

Torres and DeHaven nodded, though they both appeared unbelieving.

"Torres and DeHaven, you are both dismissed to your current duties until our departure call time. Docking bay, 1445 hours."

Torres and DeHaven both nodded and walked out of the room in hastened paces, leaving Jim standing before a conference table with all of his personal friends who all stared at him in uncertainty, anger and discomfort.

"Let's cut through all of the bullshit," Jim said suddenly, clapping his hands down to the tabletop and running a gaze over them all. "I'm going to pretend that none of you are acquainted with the situation at hand."

"Jim –" Leonard started to speak but Jim raised a hand to silence him.

"Let me finish, Bones. Spock is in Sick Bay battling a disease that may very well kill him."

Skylar shifted in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. Leonard gripped the edge of the table tightly, and Amelia lowered her gaze from Jim. All the while, Sulu's eyes shifted in the direction of Amelia, just missing her gaze while Chekov and Nyota surreptitiously exchanged unreadable glances. The only one who seemed to be completely out of the loop on the contention of the situation was Scotty, who merely sat with his arms resting on the tabletop, watching Jim in a curiously alarmed calm, unfazed by the sudden suffocating grip around everyone else's necks.

"Kill him, Captain?" Scotty repeated, looking toward Leonard. "Isn't there something Dr. McCoy can do?"

"Not McCoy, Takashi," Skylar said suddenly, with an icy tone.

Amelia instantly turned in her chair and gave Skylar a heavy stare. "Excuse me, Skylar; this isn't easy for any of us."

"I'm terribly confused at the moment," Scotty mentioned as Leonard began to laugh coldly.

Amelia slammed her hands down onto the tabletop, leaning forward in her seat to stare down Leonard. "There you go again, Leonard, being a complete asshole!"

"I'm sorry I can't just dismiss the entire situation so easily!" Leonard groaned.

"And you think I can?" Amelia shot back. "I thought we went over this last night."

"So, Leonard last night, Spock tonight?" Skylar chimed in, fiddling with her nails.

A hush fell over the room, all eyes on Skylar. Everyone aside from Amelia and Scotty stared in wide-eyed shock. Scotty began shaking his head in utter befuddlement. Amelia's eyes began to brim with angry tears.

"I can't believe you just said that," Amelia stated, deeply offended. "I am trying to save your boyfriend's life!"

"That was an extremely bitchy thing to say!" Nyota hissed at Skylar, who immediately smirked mockingly across the table.

"Of course you'd jump to defend her, you've been around the galaxy a few times, haven't you?" Skylar remarked shamelessly.

"Why the hell would you say that?" Sulu demanded of Skylar.

"All of this fighting is absolutely unnecessary," Chekov chimed anxiously as everyone began to stare the other down, save Scotty and Jim who sat and stood watching everyone around them fall apart instantly.

"Come on, guys," Jim called out tiredly.

"You're such a bitch, Skylar," Nyota acidly threw across the table. "You're so quick to dish out and then play the victim – it doesn't even faze you that Spock may die tonight; you just don't want someone else being his last, don't you?"

Skylar leaned across the table, pointing a finger warningly at her. "You better shut the hell up, Nyota, before my fist makes you shut up."

"You both need to shut the hell up!" Sulu yelled at them.

"What about Leonard and me? How the hell do you think we feel?"

"I am very much in tune with how you feel!" Amelia argued in Skylar's direction. "You and Leonard think I can handle this so easily, that I literally jumped into this …"

"There are so many other women on this ship …" Leonard put out there in a heated tone.

"You're willing to risk some other woman's life just so it won't be mine?" Amelia asked in disgust. "What about how she feels?"

"I'm trying to protect you!"

"I don't need you to protect me, Leonard!"

"And what the hell are you supposed to do when Spock starts physically fucking you up?" Skylar hissed at Amelia.

Leonard clenched his fists on the table.

"I will deal with it," Amelia hollered back.

"Enough!" Jim yelled, but he was ignored.

"Amelia can handle herself, she's a strong woman!" Nyota shouted at Skylar. Chekov instantly grabbed onto Nyota's forearm as she began to rise out of her chair.

"Shut up, Nyota!" Skylar angrily yelled. "You don't know about anything going on here." She instantly wiped at her neck, cringing at the pain as her palm made sharp contact with her injured flesh. The purple bruising began to show through. Pulling her neckline down with one hand and pointing up at the bruising at the other, she displayed the bruising for everyone to see, finally turning to Amelia. "You see this? This is what you're going to walk around with for days on end, if he doesn't crush you first. This isn't going to be sex with Spock – he's going to rape you!"

"Fucking shut up, Skylar!" Leonard growled at her.

Scotty instantly stood from his chair. "What the fuck is going on?" he clamored above it all, everyone silent in their anger as they finally acknowledged the quietest one in the room. Scotty looked pleadingly at Jim. "I was told we were on a diplomatic mission to Trill, something as simple as kissing ass and having a drink with the senator, and all of a sudden Mister Spock is raping our friends and may die – somebody of sense, please fill me in! This is maddening, all of it! Where the hell is any of your control at?" As he slowly took his seat again, those standing followed.

Jim watched as his small crew lay in the shambles of their battle, physically and emotionally destroyed. They had yet to see any of the war that lay ahead. If today was already going so poorly, how would tonight pan out when everything was planned to be settled?

"All of you, listen up because I'm going to say this once and only once; in fact, everything that comes out of my lips in this moment is the only truth you will adhere to – I don't give a damn how you think to interpret it, because you're already wrong. This is how the story goes:

'Spock is going through a medical crisis, something native to his planet called the pon farr. It is a ritualistic time of mating, and yes, Spock will need to mate with someone in order for his health to be returned to him. I know that sounds different from what we humans are used to, but dammit, he's not human – well, completely; this is how it is. Pike cannot be the one to mate with him. It is imperative that she is on-planet with me as my acting yeoman. It was stipulated by Starfleet should any negotiations go sourly, and the away team and myself arrive at danger. As much as I did not want to leave Spock behind, seeing as how he is my first officer and a hell of a diplomat – and this is his duty, it had become clear that he is destructive in his current state, so while he is in lockdown, I've requested that Sulu fill in as my acting first officer. Chekov and Uhura will have the con in my absence, and Scotty, Bones, Torres and DeHaven will be on the away team as previously instructed.

'This, of course, leaves Lieutenant Takashi to save us all. As imperative as it is for negotiations to succeed in our favor on Trill, we of course want to see a healthy, non-destructive Mr. Spock on the bridge again as soon as possible. Takashi has graciously and selflessly put herself in harm's way of the situation and of her friends to offer assistance to Spock. Listen, guys, I know how unorthodox this all is. We as humans do not openly celebrate what is going to take place in this instance, but of all the people to have the right to be upset right now, it's Amelia. She did not accept this mission with any ill-conceived intentions; in fact she was well aware of the possibility of horrible back-lashing from her peers, which is absolutely horrible. I thought we were all better than that. She is merely offering to be here to save our dear friend from a harsh reality, and here we stand so quick to cast stones at her. I get that this is harder for some of us to fathom, but let's be adults about this. Or better yet, let's be the supportive friends we are in every other disquieting circumstance we face. It is seriously disheartening to see how quickly we've managed to fall apart over something we each have the power to get over. This isn't some stupid love game – this is a case of life and death, and we all need to treat this as it were, because it is. That is the harsh reality of the situation. Spock will die if we do not accept what his biology has requested of us, and all of this squabbling and the pointing of fingers is absolutely extraneous to the solution.

'Right now, everybody needs to get over any issues they're having with anything and focus on the task at hand. You've all gone through the extensive training that Starfleet has requested of you; you should be able to remain focused on your current objectives. If you cannot, then feel free to be dismissed from duty as we speak.'" Jim paused as the table sat silent in the center of the conference room, all eyes on him. Straightening out his dress tunic, he continued, "As your captain, I expect nothing but your utmost pristine performance of your task at hand. I will not tolerate anything less than that, because I have watched you all do so countless times before. You are all an immaculately constructive team and one hell of a group of friends. It's time to start acting like that again. This mission is unlike anything we've ever encountered before – it's positively simple in essence. The flip side is that of what Spock is going through, and in this we all must remain strong for him and for each other. If we can't help one another out, what's the point of saving him? If I were him, I wouldn't want to return to such a fallible group of 'friends.'"

Jim looked out at the faces before him. The tension had not passed; many were still tight-lipped as dark moods clung to surrounding air with clamped fists.

"You all need to be ready for your assignments at 1445 hours, and my away team needs to be in full dress uniforms. Have one carry on bag with your duty uniforms for tomorrow. Dismissed," he commanded sternly. As he watched his crew rise in heavy silence, he observed Skylar as she hesitated, her hands both clenched to the tabletop much as Leonard had had his fingers around the edge of the table. Her eyes stared intently at the table as though trying to burn a hole through it, but she did not seem to be physically there. As Uhura stood from her chair, casting a glare in Skylar's direction, Jim watched Skylar's eyes flash upward to meet Uhura's glare, but Uhura turned smartly on her heel and followed Chekov out. No one said anything as they passed him. Only Scotty gave him a concerned look, to which Jim tried to shrug sympathetically. Scotty merely shook his head slightly and moved past Jim.

"Lieutenant Pike, may I have a word?" Jim inquired, only Leonard ahead of Skylar. He gave Jim a quick raise of an eyebrow before he passed by Jim and the doors closed with a hiss behind him.

Skylar looked up at Jim, a confused look on her face. "Everybody left?" she asked, her expression softening.

Jim took the seat nearest her, concerned. "Weren't you listening?"

"I heard you," she snapped suddenly, looking at him sharply. Immediately realizing her tone, she added, "Captain."

Ignoring her last comment, Jim told her, "I just dismissed everyone. You seemed to be elsewhere."

Skylar shook her head. "I have a lot on my mind."

"So does everybody else. Are you going to be functional for this mission?"

Skylar stared at him hard. Her fingers did not release the table until Jim, now looking down at the whiteness erupting under the skin of her knuckles, gently clutched each of her hands and pried them off of the table.

"You seem extra violent today, Sky," Jim noted as Skylar quickly placed her hands in her lap. "You nearly attacked Nyota."

Skylar rolled her eyes and exhaled with a sneer. "Don't get me fired up right now, Jim. I'm liable to take someone out."

"Kind of like your boyfriend," Jim commented.

Skylar said nothing. Instead, she looked down at her hands. "I am probably going to go down to the course for a circuit before call time. Maybe that will ease my nerves."

"It usually does," Jim said. "I'm assuming you haven't been training much over the past few days."

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"Because you seem especially angry."

"I don't think you understand at all, Jim. Try putting yourself in my place, or even Leonard's place. This is not easy."

"You can't be mad at Amelia."

"It's not that I'm …" she started, pausing. "I don't know what I am. I'm not necessarily mad at her … I'm just … mad. I'm mad at everything."

"I'm sorry about all of this," Jim said gently. "You're right, I haven't really put myself in your guys' places. I've been really concerned about Spock."

Skylar sighed. "Which should be the priority." She looked at him. "I can't help my human emotions. I can't help how I feel about all of this shit. It's completely blindsided everything."

"And everyone."

Skylar nodded. "I just feel this fire … everything's just kind of piled up as of late, and this fire has begun coursing through me. I find myself wanting to hit something or hurt someone …"

Jim waited a moment, just watching her. She appeared tired. Her eyes wandered away from his, and he could see a glint of shame in them. She wasn't telling him everything. "You didn't answer my question, Skylar. Are you going to be able to –?"

"Yes," she replied firmly, staring back at him. "I will be fit for duty. I just think I need to do the circuit. Then I'll be calmer."

"You really think punching something and overworking yourself is going to calm you down right now?"

"I can't think of any other release right now," she admitted. "I don't want to do anything else. I need to be in my element for a moment longer before I become your yeoman for tonight."

Release, Jim thought. He inwardly laughed. This gave him an idea.

"You know," he said, a smirk playing across his face, "I'm going to tell you a little secret." Despite the fact that they were alone in the conference room, Jim leaned closer to her.

"What?" she asked, almost in annoyance of his sudden change of mood.

Chuckling a bit, Jim replied, "I had a sex dream about you."

Skylar's eyes widened just a bit and she slowly backed away from him. "You did?" she questioned, but not in a way that would suggest that she was repulsed by this.

Jim, slightly confused on where his attempt to make her laugh went wrong, laughed nervously. "I mean, it's like, no big deal. I can't even remember any details," he lied. Boy, are you going to hell in a hand basket. "I just thought you'd find that funny or something."

Skylar nodded slowly, still trying to process what had just been revealed to her. She immediately cleared her throat and started to stand.

Jim jumped up, putting his hands out to her ruefully. "Hey, hey, I'm sorry if I stepped out of bounds, Sky," he apologized sincerely. "I didn't mean to offend you, I was just trying to lighten the –"

"What did I do, exactly?" Skylar questioned him suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"I said what did I do exactly, in your dream?" She stared at him closely, the wheels of her mind tinkering away.

Jim ran a hand through his hair in a state of slight panic. He had just said he didn't remember the details, but he was strongly curious to see where she was going with this whole inquisition. Smacking his lips nonchalantly, he replied, "You came into my quarters and seduced me."

Skylar waited a moment, thinking, and then nodded, appearing unbelieving. "Uh huh," she replied shortly. "That was obviously a dream." She moved passed him in an effort to leave when suddenly Jim took her hand and stopped her.

"Wait, wait," he remarked, turning her around to face him, "What does that mean?"

"It means, Captain, that I'd never do such a thing."

Jim released her and pursed his lips, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, tell that to your dream self; you were quite the nympho."

Skylar rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, that's it?" Jim inquired in all seriousness. "You looked as though you were thinking about something important."

Skylar smacked her lips. "I guess, that's just kind of odd."

"Odd?" Jim repeated as he watched her turn to leave.

Skylar nodded as she made her way to the door. "Yes, I said odd."

"Why is that?" he called after her. "Is it because you wouldn't be caught dead lusting after me in reality, Pike?" he scoffed.

As the doors slid open before her, Skylar looked over her shoulder at him. "Aside from that, it's odd because … I had a dream about us, too." And Skylar quickly exited the conference room, leaving Jim to stand befuddled by their exchange. After a moment, a smile of triumph crossed his face.

"Jim boy, you are back in the game," he quietly exclaimed to himself.

Jim promised to keep his smug smile on his face the entirety of the day. There was no time to be negative; things would work out. His friends would eventually make peace with one another. As of right now, he had to be the captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Everything else would have to wait.

At 1440 hours, a fully dress uniform-clad Captain Kirk entered the docking bay where several red shirted crewmen were finishing up on the shuttle craft that would take the ground team to Trill's surface. As he walked toward the smaller vessel, he heard the rushed clapping of boot heels against the surface of the hanger floor. He stopped and turned to see an angry Leonard McCoy marching after him in his blue dress tunic. The rank pieces on his chest glinted with polish, his expression much the opposite of such an honored recipient.

"Two damned hours," spat Bones as he stopped before the captain. "Two hours and then I'm back onboard. I'm not going to leave Amelia with that devil."

Jim gripped Bones by the shoulders and pulled him in close, their noses barely three inches apart as Jim stared beyond the hardened mask Bones wore, into the eyes of an obviously desperate man. "And what good will that do you?"

Gripping Jim's wrists, Bones began to argue, "He'll hurt her, he'll –"

"You're going to hurt yourself, Leonard," Jim pressed sympathetically. "Whether you like it or not, they will have sex. It will mean nothing expect saving Spock's life. You will have to understand that, one way or another. Torturing yourself and even adding the possibility of ruining that by rash decisions will ruin everything, and possibly everyone." Jim released his friend, though Bones remained near him. "Look, buddy, I'll only keep you here for the two hours; I think your presence medically is important, should something happen with Spock. But I really think you should consider a little bit of talk and drink with the Trills. It may help you calm down a bit."

Bones sighed heavily and ran his hands through his hair in defeat. "This is fucking happening, isn't it, Jim?" His stared into the younger man's eyes with a gaze full of anxious, childlike sadness.

Jim took Bones by the base of his neck and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "Your woman is the bravest that I know. And she loves you. More than you know."

As they released, Lieutenants Torres and DeHaven, followed by a skant and blazer-clad Skylar walked into the hanger. Her hair was in a low ponytail again hanging over the side of her neck where the bruising waited, hidden beneath make-up. The three of them approached the doctor and captain, nodding cordially, DeHaven giving Bones a chuckle.

"The Trills needing check-ups now, McCoy? How'd you get conned into this shit?"

"Hey, hey now," Jim reproached calmly, "This mission isn't 'shit.' It's 'kiss ass,' and refer to it in private respectfully so."

"According to your Academy peers, you'd be the last person running for Federation poster-child, Kirk," Torres scoffed coolly.

"My reputation precedes me; I'm flirting with an admiral position. There could always be an opening, and I see you two getting nowhere near it fast."

"That's James Kirk, always flirting with an opening," Skylar remarked passively.

"I'm sure he's flirted with your opening on several occasions," DeHaven laughed, nudging Torres in the process.

"Not as much as you've flirted with Torres's," Skylar replied simply. "The only difference being that I vehemently declined."

Jim offered the two Lieutenants scoffing winks as Skylar passed them all and proceeded to the shuttle craft where Scotty poked his head out of the doorway, assisting her in.

"There you are, lass," he chimed.

"Just because I'm wearing a skirt doesn't mean I'm crippled," Skylar reminded him as she strapped herself in.

"Are you okay?" Scotty asked her in all seriousness as he caught the rest of the party walking towards the craft. Looking back at her, he quickly added, "They're all coming, so we don't have to speak of it now. But if you need someone to talk to, I'm here."

Skylar looked up at Scotty and hesitated for a moment. "Thank you, Scotty; I'm okay."

Scotty sadly nodded just as Kirk, DeHaven, Torres and McCoy entered the shuttle craft.

The main pilot at the front of the shuttle craft looked over her shoulder and kindly reminded them all to be seated and strapped in, as they would be taking off shortly.

With DeHaven, Torres and Jim cutting jokes for most of the trip, Leonard stared outside the window of the shuttle craft as the stars skirted by in the distance. As Trill came into view, most of the craft was in awe of its beauty, but Leonard could not pull his mind away from his final departing from Amelia. He found her at Spock's bedside, the Vulcan staring up at her. No words were exchanged, but McCoy was slightly surprised to see Spock coherent. His lips had been a line across his face as Spock's black eyes locked in on Amelia's scared brown ones. She only tore away from Spock's gaze to see Leonard standing there, watching them.

"Jim needs me," he'd said quietly.

"Then go," she'd replied simply, appearing wounded.

Leonard tightly clutched one of the drapes around Spock's confinement. "I'm only going to gone for an hour or two. Is there any way that this could wait until I'm back?"

Amelia gave Spock another look before slowly walking toward Leonard. "It's only going to make things worse," she told him quietly.

Leonard took her by the shoulders and gently squeezed. "I won't let him hurt you."

Amelia had wrapped her slender fingers around his wrists and forcefully pushed his hands away. "Trust me," was all she said before turning around and pulling the curtains together tightly before him, separating them by thin drapery.

Back in reality, Leonard placed his forehead against the glass of the craft's window and closed his eyes tight.