Chapter Seven – Personal Tour
After canceling /everything/, Kirk had managed to convince the new blue-greened science officer to accompany him on a tour of the ship. Well, at least all of the places he thought she would enjoy that is, since the Enterprise was /huge/. They were having a great time, and had just finished having lunch together before they were off to their new destination. Another day had passed since figuring out she wasn't /human/ and he found he really didn't care. He grew up in a world with many different kinds of aliens. Krik beamed at her as they wandered through the halls, "So, what do you think of the ship so far, Sarah?"
Oh gosh there he was again with that smile. It should be illegal to have a smile that could effect someone so much. Sarah's cheeks were almost numb by now from how hard she blushed at different points throughout this tour. "It..It's defiantly different. I really like it. I've always been a kinda of...tech, nerdy person. I mean I would have never /dreamed/ of so many cool things." the brunette toyed with her necklace before playfully pushing Kirk's shoulder, "You shouldn't have canceled your day just to give me a tour. I'm sure I can figure out this place. You're the Captain, you shouldn't waste your time with me."
"And as Captain it's my job to make sure everyone knows where everything is. Makes things so much easier on everybody," Jim snickered and poked her cheek, "I would've thought you would stop blushing by now. Or am I just that charming?" He was being a smartass, but he rather enjoyed that blush on her. Though he was worried she'd get dizzy or pass out from all the blood constantly rushing to her face.
"Oh shut up," Sarah rolled her eyes, pushing his hand away. "It's a natural reaction. You can ask Bria! I just...naturally blush when I smile." That was true...to a point. She did have a natural blush that came out when she smiled, but this blush was /far/ past that point. "It's not nice to point out someone's flaws you know," Sarah teased, sticking her tongue out. Kirk was lucky. Most of the time when she had a crush on someone, the woman couldn't hardly /look/ at the guy, let alone play around like this. It...wasn't flirting either, Sarah couldn't flirt. This was just...being friendly.
"Alright, fine," Jim held his arms out, his elbows slightly bent, "If it makes you feel better, point out a flaw of mine," he didn't know why he just couldn't stop /grinning/ while around her. Not that fake crap he did, either. His face hurt from all of the real smiling.
Sarah shook her head as she laughed. "Well...that's not quite fair either, since we've only know each other a few days now. Besides all that, I'm nice and won't do such a thing." She said that last part in the most posh way possible, raising her chin and putting on a 'rich person's' smug look. "Ladies /never/ sink that low, Mr. Perfect-hair. But /seriously/ your hair could withstand a hurricane. I know...or should I say /did/ know, tons of people that would love hair that stayed the way they want it to. Myself included."
"I work hard on my hair," Jim laughed softly, putting his arms back by his sides, "You sound like Scotty when you call me that, though," he shook his head, "I rather like your hair. After you got a haircut and a couple days rejuvenation with whatever it is you decided to use for shampoo and conditioner, and it /definitely/ looks better than it did when you first got here. All scraggly and full of split hairs." He reached out, sliding his hand through the soft strands.
Sarah's eyes widened and she almost froze up. This...wasn't what normal people did... "A-Ah...um...Thanks?" She didn't want to move away in case he got tangled in her hair, which would hurt since she has a rather sensitive head. "You...are a very touchy feely person aren't you?" It wasn't that she was such touch-phobic, Sarah just grew up that way since touching meant drawing attention to oneself. Trying to blend in with the background needed as little attention as possible. Being in the background meant that she was safe...no one can make fun of someone if they never notice them.
"Are you gunna be like Spock and throw up a no-touch rule which I don't follow anyway?" Jim arched a dirt blond-brown eyebrow at her, "I really will stop touching you, though, if it bothers you." He pulled his hand away from her to prove it. Unlike Spock, someone he had fun messing with by constantly clapping him on the back or shoulder, he didn't want to upset Sarah.
Looking off to the side, Sarah smiled bashfully, "...No it's fine. It's just that...Bria has really only been the one that I'm not bothered being touched by 'cause she's my best friend and sister. I'll just...need some time to get used to it. As long as it's appropriate, and you don't cover my mouth from behind. Living five years like Bria and I is hard to readjust, so just don't do that."
Jim held his hands up, "I promise, I won't," he assured, "Speaking of readjusting, how /are/ you taking life on the Enterprise? The crew on deck really respect you, and Sulu! Taking you under his wing like that! That was awesome. How's training with him? I imagine him to be a strict but understanding teacher."
"I really like it here," the woman nodded with a grin, "I mean I usually have a hard time adjusting to something, but here...it's like I'm supposed to be here, you know? And Sulu is an amazing teacher so far! He's tough, though. If I mess up he has me do it over and over again til I can do it right the same why for at least five times. That's just the beginning too. He's going to eventually show me how to use a sword! Which is, like, so cool! I've always wanted to learn, too."
"Oh wow, that's intense!" Jim stared at her with his mouth agape, "I'm impressed! I'm sure you're going to do really well, with Sulu as your teacher," he grinned, "You can tell him he doesn't need my permission for anything. If he needs to do, or get something, he can." As long as his shy, funny, adorable Sarah could protect himself, that was one less worry of his and...wait, his? Uh...
He didn't have time to think about it further when they turned a corner and he ran right into a woman with shoulder-length blond hair, "Oh! I'm sorry!" She managed to catch her PADD before it could fall to the floor.
"You alright, Carol?" Kirk asked gently, "I wasn't paying attention."
"I'm alright, thank you, Captain," Carol nodded. She looked by Kirk's side and saw Sarah, and her eyes narrowed just slightly, before she flipped her hair, "Are you enjoying the tour, Miss Hawthorne?"
Sarah immediately slipped into her 'omega' mood, as she called it. Bowing her head slightly, her eyes downcast, and imaginary ears folded back against her head. There...there was something cold about how Carol had addressed her, though it was hidden by how...friendly it seemed. "Yes, uh, it's going nicely. I've rather enjoyed it so far." This woman was gorgeous; the type of flawless that Sarah wished she could be with the perfect hair, great figure, and beautiful face. Just standing near her, the brunette felt inferior.
"/Sarah/ and I are having a great time. We had lunch together not that long ago and were walking it off," He didn't like how Carol addressed her, and he got protectively in front of her, hating that their carefree atmosphere had dissipated. "What are you up to?" he didn't want to be mean to her, so if he figured out what she was doing he could direct her away faster.
"I was trying to find Commander Spock, since you canceled everything for today. But, since I found you, could you help me?" Carol brought her PADD up and tapped the pen against it, and she stepped up next to him, turning so she could press her shoulder against his and held it so he could see, and then proceeded to explain her dilemma.
Sarah watched the two before silently slipping away. Clearly she wasn't wanted, after all Kirk all but pushed in front of her to get to Carol. Maybe she was his girlfriend or something? Either way, Sarah couldn't help but to feel rather putout at how those two seemed...picture perfect together. So, she used her learned abilities to shrink into the background which allowed her to hurry to the nearest turbo lift. When the doors closed behind her, Sarah sighed pitifully, crossing her arms. This seemed to happen all the time. Her crushes having someone always better than her. "Um...Engineering?" Maybe seeing how the ship worked would take her mind off of everything. After all there was nothing there to begin with so might as well get over it.
X
Scotty looked up as the doors to engineering opened on the balcony above, and he blinked at the girl, "Who are you and what are you doing here? It's dangerous." Hundreds of thousands of people on this ship, how was he supposed to remember them all? Only ones he was familiar with were the people who worked there with him and the people on the bridge.
Sarah shrank back a bit, frowning, "S-sorry. I just..I was just looking around. I-I'm Sarah, Sarah Hawthorne." So much for that plan...maybe she could sneak back to her room and stay there for the rest of the day? "I'll just go. I'm sorry again."
"Wait...So /you're/ the one who Jim's been talkin' 'bout?" Scotty turned a bit more to her and leaned a little to the side, "Come down. Ya look upset, lass. What's teh matter? Was Jim being inconsiderate again?"
The young woman couldn't help but to smile at the Scottish accent. It was such much better than her laughable fake one. She carefully made her way down to the lower level, going a bit slow as she awed over the massive workings. "No...No he wasn't inconsiderate...he gave me a tour of the ship or most of it anyway." Sarah answered absent minded, grinning up at the ceiling far above her. "This place is huge! I mean, it would have to be to power such a ship, but I...I wasn't expecting to see this! I'm not an engineer, by any means, yet this is...well gorgeous!"
"She's a beauty, ain't she?" Scotty grinned, straightening up and puffing out his chest in pride, "I work here almost 24/7 to keep her purrin' like a kitten. Though...what you did was pretty astonishing in itself, lass. She was about ready to overload, and then you...did whatever it was you did. She's been running smoothly ever since, too," he motioned to her, "Somethin' must've happened, though, if you came down here. Jimbo was planning on spending the whole day giving you a tour, and this was going to be his last stop. I was in the middle of doing some preparations so it'd be ready to be showed off."
Sarah's face fell a bit, but she quickly put on her fake cheerful one, "It was nothing, he just got caught up is all. I thought I'd slip off to explore myself since he had...other priorities." Moving to lean over one of the rails to look down to the level below this, "To be honest, I don't know what I did. I mean, at the time I could explain it in detail to you, but now...it's like a mash of random numbers in my head. Like I put all that great stuff into a blender and dumped it out into my head. I just know I did something to make the reverse ducts to relief the pressure." She looked back at the man before walking over to him with her hand held out, "I'm sorry I didn't get your name."
"Most people call me Scotty, but I'm Montgomery Scott," he shrugged, "Don't bother with the fake smile. Let me guess who it was you ran into - Carol?" He looked at the core, "That was a good idea, Sarah. I guess I was just so stressed I didn't even think about it."
A bit startled at how this stranger was able to see right through her lie like Bria did. Usually, people just...go with what they see without a second thought. "...I shouldn't be upset over it. I mean, she's obviously more important, and I was just getting in the way so I removed myself from the picture. Plain and simple."
"Lass, Jimbo is such a workaholic you have /no/ idea, he's worse than me. He doesn't take a day off unless Mr. Spock schedules one for him," Scotty told her gently, "If he canceled /everythin'/ to give ya a tour, then that's sayin' somethin'." He sighed, "Carol is a pain. She has been ever since she got on this ship. She only did one thing good, but that's a whole 'nother story. The point I'm tryin' to make, lass, is you mean somethin' to our risk-takin', perfect-haired Captain. Everyone who knows him, can see that. Especially after the stunt he pulled today."
The new science officer bowed her head slightly, her face feeling hot. She wanted that to be true, oh, she wanted that to be true. To have someone cancel everything just to spend the day with her...It's what she wanted for a long time before staying with Bria. Just to have someone take her places, even if it was just a tour, because they wanted quality time with her.
"We just met, though, and he said himself that he did this because it was his job as Captain to make sure everyone can find their way." Sarah protested lightly, "Besides, I'm sure he has a thing for Carol. You should have seen how he jumped to help her...It was like I wasn't even there." She reached up to play with her necklace solemnly. Story of her life that she was out shone by someone else.
Scotty put his hands on his hips, "Jimbo doesn't give a damn about Carol. And lass, it's the the year 2259! If you've been together a day, a few hours, no one /cares/ anymore because there are so many different alien cultures and we have had to work around that. Honestly, it's a miracle Jimbo's even interested in a /long/ term relationship."
"And what if it's not?" Sarah questioned, crossing her arms, "What if I'm just some...conquest for him. I don't want my heart to be broken by someone like that. I mean...I've never dated before, and...I don't want to start something with someone who would leave me at a tip of a hat."
"Ya blind, aren't ya?" Scotty arched a brow at her, "What part of any of this don't you see as proof Jim's interested in you and he's not using you. He wants to get to know you, and he more than likely asked Carol what she needed help with so he could make her leave faster." He shook his head, "We've been on this mission two weeks and he hasn't touched anybody, and I don't know about before that. He's been so focused on work...and ever since...nah, I'm gunna let Jim tell you that," he took her by the shoulders and turned her around, "Now you get back up there and finish that damn tour. Don't trust /anythin'/ that happens between Jim and Carol, do you hear me?"
To say Sarah was startled by this was an understatement. She looked over her shoulder with confusion before shaking her head. "Mr. Scott, you are a crazy Scottish man." She made her way up the steps before he tried pushing her up, which she had a feeling he would if she didn't on her own. About half way, the brunette turned back to face him, "And just to be a smartass, yes I am blind when I don't have my glasses on that is. Um...thanks for the kind-of pep talk. I'll see ya at the end of the tour I suppose."
Turning back around, Sarah continued up to the lift and slipped inside. Oh! But she didn't know where to find him now... "Um...uh, take me to the previous location." Maybe it would return her to the level she left Jim on.
X
Sarah clicked her tongue as she tried to remember the twists and turns she took. Starting to turn a corner, the woman began to grin as she saw Kirk's back...until she saw the two arms locked behind his neck. The brunette stopped short of turning the corner, far enough back to stay hidden, yet close enough to see that Carol and Kirk were locked together by a kiss. Covering her mouth to keep from making a sound, Sarah wanted to run as far away as she could, maybe back to engineering to tell Scotty about how wrong he was. But...she couldn't move. It was like her legs were suddenly glued to the ground and, no matter how she tried willing them to move, stayed in place.
Jim shoved Carol off of him, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Carol?! That was complete and utter insubordination!"
"It's not like you don't do insubordinate things on a daily basis, Captain," Carol huffed, "What does that roughed up girl from the past have that I don't? I thought you liked me!"
"Like you?! You nearly got us all killed because you weren't honest about who you were in the first place!" Jim threw his hands up.
The pale blond put her hands on her hips, "I didn't want you to contact my father and have me sent back! I also saved us in the long run because I helped take apart those torpedoes!"
"I technically /died/ and I went into a coma for /two weeks/! You're hot, Carol, okay? I'm going to admit that, because I'm a guy, and I can't help but admire a sexy woman. You could have any man on this ship if you wanted, but I'm not going to be one of them," Jim folded his arms.
She was appalled, "I was an admiral's daughter, I could give you everything!"
"That's just it, isn't it? You /have/ had everything, Carol. You grew up being pampered your whole life. You couldn't /possibly/ understand me, and what I want. And I /don't/ want /you/," Jim finally snapped and turned away from her.
Sarah quickly back tracked a couple of feet in case he saw her. Pressing her back against the wall, she made a mental note to admit to Scotty that he was right. Kirk...he really /didn't/ have feelings for Carol. It was...amazing. Sure she felt bad for Carol to be shot down like that, but at the same time Sarah wanted to squeal in delight. At the sound of heavy foot fall, Sarah jumped, knowing that she could be caught like this. Thinking quick, the brunette moved back some more so that she could starting a normal walking pace as if she had simply been walking down the hall.
"Sarah!" Jim sounded cheerfully surprised, "I thought you were gone! Are you okay? I'm so sorry about that. If you don't want to keep going with the tour that's totally okay. I mean, you can go back to...whatever it is you do, and I can..." his rushed speech trailed off, "Go...back to work, I guess." He sounded dejected and hopeless.
Like usual, Sarah used her quick mind to think of a little white lie, "Oh, please, I was just looking for the bathroom and somehow ended up in Engineering. You guys /really/ need to put up signs for that kind of stuff." She hoped that was believable, or at least enough to not give herself away. "I believe you have a tour to finish, Captain." Sarah smiled, trying to keep from jumping up and down. "So? What are we waiting for? Christmas in July?"
"Oh! If you're looking for something on a certain floor, there are consoles everywhere," Jim beamed, straightening up, and he led her over to one, "They tucked in these little nooks so they're out of the way, but you just say computer before whatever it is you need. Like this - " he got closer to it and leaned in, "Computer, where is the bathroom on this level?"
"Two hallways down and to the right, down one." The computer responded, even bringing up a map of that area for reference.
"Good to know," Sarah nodded, "That will come in handy since I get lost easily. Or maybe I could just call you to navigate me to my destination." Things felt light again between them, that carefree atmosphere returning. "My hero, you found the bathroom."
Jim blushed and rubbed his neck, "Aw, it was nothin'. Come on, let's get you there, and then we can keep going. Did Bria tell you about the Halo Deck? Because that's next!" He had been so upset to realize she was gone, and to be back in her company...he felt relieved, "You mentioned you went to Engineering. What'd Scotty say?"
"Oh...just some things." Sarah shrugged, "...Actually he /alluded/ to that something happened to you, and I think I remember Bones or maybe Spock saying the same thing." She didn't want to put him in an uncomfortable position, but...he had told Carol he had died. That thought chilled her. "If you don't want to tell me it's alright. I'm just curious is all."
"Oh.../that/..." Jim's face darkened before he looked away, though he made sure to keep track of where they were going, turning when they had to, "That's a long story, and I guess they weren't sure if it'd be okay to talk about it. It's still pretty fresh in our minds, even though it was a little over a year ago." They made it to the bathroom, two separate doors for men and women, "I'll tell you about it another time, I promise. For now, let's just enjoy the tour and talk about other stuff, get to know each other better. This /is/ a five year journey after all."
"You sure you really want to get to know me? I maybe shy and nice right now, but I've proven that I'm...difficult. You can ask Bria how difficult I can be." The brunette asked, crossing her arms. "I can be very set in my ways or thought. This is a big ship, so it would be easy to avoid each other, so I suppose that's not much of a problem if you can't handle me." She meant this last part as a joke, but she wasn't sure he would understand that so she quietly said, "That was a joke, by the way."
"I think I can handle you just fine, Sarah," Jim smirked at her, his own innuendo hidden there, and he enjoyed the blush on her cheeks, "Now, go do your thing. I'll wait at the end of the hall," he pointed back the way they came, "I think you're worth getting to know."
"Let me know how that goes then." Sarah chuckled, shaking her head as she slipped into the bathroom. Covering her face, the brunette took a moment to settle her pounding heart. Oh Bria was going to tease her when she tells her about everything.