Gosh…it was good to finally rest, she deiced. After last night's emotional meltdown and having today off, you would have assumed that she'd had a peaceful night of relaxation. Sadly that was not the case she thought as the memories of today, starting at breakfast, began to play in her mind like a movie.

It had been a while since Emmy had actually had the chance to sit down and enjoy her breakfast without worrying about being late for her shift.

She sat down at a table against the wall and smiled in total repose she began to eat her replicated eggs when someone bumped her table. She glanced up in surprise—it was Captain Kirk.

"Nurse Marshalls, is that you?" Captain Kirk asked with a sexy grin, as though they were long lost friends who had just run into each other at the market.

Emmy nodded. There was no reason for reply when he knew it was her. She began to eat again when the chair across from her was pulled out and Kirk plopped down rather ungracefully with a smile as she watched him, wondering what the hell was going on.

"I hope you don't mind if I join you," he said politely. As though anyone would refuse dinning with that gorgeous smile.

"Actually—" Emmy started, but she was cut off by the Captain.

"I just have to thank you for the wonderful care you gave me yesterday during my 'illness'…it was simply wonderful," he gushed with a grin.

"Captain Kirk…I didn't do anything to help you…that was Dr. McCoy. You should direct your thanks toward him," she said politely, trying to figure out what game he was playing.

"I just hope that you forgive me for whatever I did to cause you to leave so quickly," Kirk continued as though she hadn't spoken.

"Umm…It's fine?" Emmy replied lightly, still unsure of what was going on here. She was beginning to wonder if she should call McCoy because the Captain was going slightly insane.

"That's good, very good, because I am very—OUCH!" he yelled as Commander Richards walked by and slapped him on the head. "What was that for!?" he demanded loudly, causing some heads in the mess hall to turn.

"For being you," Richards replied with a wink at Emmy and a sway of her hips that had the Captain's attention until she sat down at the far end of the hall.

"She's still a tiny bit mad at me for winning my drinking contest yesterday," Kirk murmured, glancing at Emmy with a sheepish grin. She couldn't help but give a small laugh, which caused him to smile widely.

"Now where were we…oh yeah. I am very sorry—for me and for Bones. I'd be sorry for Katrina, but I don't think she really did anything…" Kirk continued thoughtfully.

"It's fine," Emmy assured him once again.

"See that's the thing, though, it's not. Bones never should have said anything, whether you were around or not. It was a medical trauma that involved two Starfleet officers and should have never been mentioned as he did. And I should have never mentioned it to Katrina. Technically I think there's a rule somewhere that says you can file a complaint, or even court-marshal me," Captain Kirk said in total seriousness that caught her extremely off guard.

"I think for now I will resist the urge to file a complaint or court-marshal you," Emmy said lightly, trying to lighten the mood that had fallen over the table.

"Are you sure? Because I have to say I look quite dashing in my dress uniform," Kirk said with a smile and a wink, before a muffin hit the back of his head.

"What?" he asked, turning around to see Commander Richards laughing from her chair. "What the hell, Katrina?" he grinned, laughing.

"Quit flirting, you man-whore! And you owe me a muffin," Richards replied with a laugh before turning around to finish her breakfast.

"How do I owe her a muffin if she threw it at me?"Kirk asked Emmy in total confusion.

"Maybe she was just kidding about the muffin part," Emmy said, not quite understanding Commander Richards' attitude to the Captain's supposed flirting.

"Believe me, if there's one thing she's not joking about, it's her damned muffins. She loves these things and she'll complain until I get her another one when they normally only end up being thrown at me…I don't understand her sometimes," Kirk rambled with a wide grin that she couldn't help but return.

"But you'll get her another one. That's what makes you a good boyfriend," Emmy smiled, voicing her thoughts before she had time to actually think.

"Boyfriend huh? Is that what everyone's saying?" Kirk laughed loudly.

Emmy nodded, waiting for her reprimand for gossiping about a senior officer and the Captain.

"Well I'll give you the inside scoop. We're not dating, we're…well, I'm not exactly clear on what we are. We don't have a title…I don't think…or maybe she just hasn't told me we're dating who knows with her she complete crazy," Kirk finished with affection filling his voice.

Emmy couldn't help but smile at him—he obviously cared for Commander Richards a lot, and she couldn't help but find that utterly adorable.

"Well, I best be getting the little lady a muffin if I want to get any tonight," Kirk said standing with a smile and a wink at her.

She couldn't help but smile again—he was totally whipped.

"You should come sit with us at dinner. Totally informal of course," Kirk added, turning around and heading for the replicators. He didn't wait for her to reply, probably because he knew that she would decline the offer.

Sighing happily at the amusing show she'd been given during breakfast, Emmy quickly finished her now-chilled eggs before depositing her tray and heading out the mess hall doors, slamming headlong into a hard wall.

She waited to hit the ground with a thump, but she didn't. Instead, she could feel hands gripping her arms and helping her upright again from her mid-fall position.

"Thank you so—" Emmy started, looking up and stopping when she saw who exactly had helped her.

Spock.

He raised an eyebrow slightly and inclined his head to her unfinished sentence.

"—Much, thank you so much," she completed her earlier words.

"It is no problem for me to help you. It was the logical thing to do, Nurse Marshalls. I had hoped to speak with you," Spock replied, still gripping her arms, not tightly, but just enough to let her know they were there.

"Umm. You're still holding my arms," Emmy pointed out, knowing if she didn't mention it and he didn't let go she'd never be able to leave quickly but instead actually have to talk to him. She wasn't ready for that quite yet.

"I do apologize, Nurse Marshalls, I was unaware," Spock apologized quietly, releasing her.

"It's fine. I would love to stay and chat, but I'm actually late for something, so if you'll excuse me…" Emmy trailed off quietly and quite convincingly, she decided. Her mistake, though, was meeting his eyes. She knew that as soon as she did, he knew she was lying, which made her feel bad, but not bad enough to have this talk.

"I understand, Nurse Marshalls. Perhaps later today you will be available?" Spock questioned lightly, but to Emmy what he was really asking was 'are you going to run away later this afternoon, too?'

"Yes! This afternoon should be better for me, again, I'm late, I have to go," Emmy blurted, leaving him quickly and hurrying towards the turbo lift. She could feel his eyes on her the whole way and when she turned in the turbo lift she was facing him, having also turned to watch her.

Thank gosh the doors closed almost right away, though not fast enough to miss the look of disappointment she swore flashed through his eyes. Whether or not it was real, it made Emmy feel horrible. But she just wasn't ready to talk with him one-on-one, maybe tomorrow, or maybe in a month… yeah, a month sounded good to Emmy.