"Bonded."

Isobel repeated softly, looking at Spock.

Isobel closed her eyes looking away, entering her mind palace. Ripping through the palace, she tried to locate the foreign entity. Finally reaching a corridor, Isobel felt something out of place and yanked open the door; a vacuum engulfed her only, she was feeling a strange and uneasy sense of being projected to and connected with another mind even though the connection was hair thin.

Isobel's eyes flew open, alert and empty. I turned out to be compatible, highly compatible if I am bonded. How? How? The Bond! "The bond."

"You will have to specify . . ."

"The bond. How did it form?" Isobel stared hard into him eyes.

"During our consummation I melded our minds." Answered Spock promptly, still looking her with newfound interest and bit of respect.

He had been watching her with interest when she closed her eyes, trying to comprehend what she was doing. Minutes later, Spock was properly stunned when he felt a faint sensation through the bond, coming from her. She accessed the bond! Spock was shocked by this new development. He hadn't known humans to be capable of organising their minds and be able to access it. But most importantly, it was known that humans were psi null!

Of course, the mind meld! Stupid, stupid! But why? Vulcans were rather particular about employing mind meld. Almost never. He had to know for sure that I was even mildly compatible to even think of melding with me. How? The scent! She wanted to growl but maintained her stoic mask.

Getting up, Isobel met his eyes, "Come to the canteen at the stroke of midnight."

Spock nodded as she walked past him, hearing her faint steps walking away. A minute later he silently made his way to the bridge, deep in thought, reviewing everything that occurred a moment ago. He finally reached the bridge.

"Captain." Said Spock coming back from his revere.

"Spock." Jim nodded swirling around to look at his first officer who had been gone for a little over half an hour.

Spock nodded back and went to his station, sitting down and stared at the screen. A child . . . his child. A miracle. A faint smile touched his lips as he went back to work.

Jim watched Spock as he stared at the screen for a second before getting to work. He swore he saw a minuscular smile on Spock's face. What happened? Jim was intrigued.

"Captain, according to my calculation a planet is ten light years from us. The coordinates are 23 45 12 32." Said Spock facing Captain from his station.

Something told Jim that Spock was not yielding any sooner or never at all. Subtlety it is then!

Spock sensed his Captain planning and wanted to roll eyes. The Captain is subtle as a gun. He was getting better and better with human expressions.

Spock watched Isobel pile on French fries alongside a hamburger and frowned mentally but conceded a bit when she picked up an extra bowl of salad than usual. He was starting to agree with the idea of discussion more; he had so many things to say and disagree with.

Isobel stared into her tiny wardrobe looking for her skintight tracks and long sleeves. She couldn't imagine meeting the Vulcan in anything but the uniform which she couldn't possibly wear so the next best thing. Something that resembles the uniform. Combing her hair into a high pony, Isobel walked out of the room.

Isobel saw Commander Spock coming from the opposite direction and nodded as they reached the entrance at the same time. He let her slip in first and Isobel walked to a secluded corner and sat down at the table while Spock followed her after sealing the doors.

They stared at each other before Isobel opened her mouth.

"I assume you know by now that this matter is to be kept secret."

Spock nodded.

"It is imperative that the crew knows nothing as of now, to avoid further risks."

Isobel nodded.

"We can not delay the medical exam by more than four days."

Spock nodded. It would be suspicious.

"Before we discuss the technicalities, it would be ideal to establish our opinions firmly."

"I agree."