Hello everyone! Here's another chapter for all you wonderful people.

But before that something about Denak - I had originally planned for him to be an orphan but then I decided not to do so. Now he now has loving parents.:P

Enjoy!

Back on the Enterprise…

"Nyota, may I join you?" Carol Marcus enquired softly.

Uhura looked up from her dinner tray and found Carol standing in front of her table. Though not in any mood for small talk, she reluctantly acquiesced.

Ignoring Uhura's less than enthusiastic demeanour, Carol sat down and for the next few minutes both of them ate in silence.

"Do you think they are okay?" Carol broke the silence by hesitantly asking the question gnawing at the back of every crew member's mind. The Captain, First Officer and CMO of the ship were respected far and wide and losing even one of them would be nothing short of a disaster. It was even more difficult for these two women as they had personal relationships with the men.

"Yes," Uhura replied promptly, her eyes daring Carol to disagree, "of course they are. We just have to wait out the ion storm and then we can get them back."

Uhura had complete faith in the trio. In fact, the only good thing about the situation was that even though they were stranded in an uninhabited planet, they were at least together. Separated, each of them was resourceful; but together they were nearly unstoppable.

Carol simply nodded her acceptance and Uhura relaxed.

After another round of tense silence, Carol finally mustered up the courage to ask what she had come for.

"Nyota, may I ask a personal question?" She asked, not meeting Uhura's eyes.

Uhura had a very good inkling about what Carol was going to ask and her lips pursed in annoyance. Her break-up with Spock was still not a common knowledge among the crew and she wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. After all, there was nothing wrong in wanting to delay the headache and heartache which was sure to follow all the wild gossips. And it was not as if Jim and Spock would jump into a relationship at once, would they?

Uhura snorted to herself. Who was she kidding? There wasn't a cat in hell's chance of them keeping their hands off each other now that she was out of the picture.

She blinked back her tears angrily. She would not cry. She was a successful and strong woman and she absolutely refused to dwell in the past.

"Let me guess," Uhura muttered sardonically, pausing to take another bite of her dinner, "you want to ask about the relationship between Spock and Jim."

Carol looked at Uhura in surprise before replying with a shy yes. "I was actually thinking about having a proper committed relationship with Jim. But, I don't know whether you have noticed it or not…the Commander…"

Uhura started laughing, albeit not a funny kind of laugh. It was rather… bitter.

Carol frowned. Had Nyota noticed the Commander's obsession with Jim too?

"Nyota, are you all right?"

Uhura stopped laughing as suddenly as she had begun. "Forget about having a relationship with Jim, Carol… unless you want a very pissed Vulcan after your blood."

Carol blinked and then stared at Uhura. She was flabbergasted by the blunt remark. Yes, she had suspected something like this; but the Commander was Nyota's boyfriend and she had been hoping that she was just blowing things out of proportion.

She should have trusted her instincts.

Every time she had tried monopolizing Jim's attention, she had failed because of the Commander. There was always some report to be completed, or something confidential to be discussed, or some random topic they had to argue about. She had even deluded herself thinking that Jim did not share the Commander's fixation. She should have realized that Jim would never be hers when he had screamed for the Commander in his dreams.

Finally, she heaved a long drawn sigh. "So I was correct all along. But… Commander Spock is your…"

Uhura interrupted her before she could complete her sentence. "No, we have ended our relationship."

"He broke-up with you?"

"Yes, you might say so," Uhura answered, giving up the pretence of eating and taking a sip of her coffee instead. "Though technically, it was I who approached him. He… he did not even try to stop me."

Carol winced. If she was feeling this much hurt over Jim and a relationship which could have been, surely it was much worse for Nyota.

She laid her hands over Uhura's and gave it a comforting squeeze. "You had been together for such a long time. How do you not hate him or Jim?"

Uhura nearly choked on her coffee.

"I cannot. You do not understand… in a way I always knew… Anyway, Spock's a friend I am not willing to lose. As for Jim, you cannot blame the sun for shining, can you? All he has to do is smile to turn Spock into a puddle of illogical goo. It is quite funny when you think about it."

Carol had to admire the way she was dealing with the situation. But… Nyota had always known? Not really understanding she asked her to explain.

Uhura shook her head, not ready to discuss that yet. It was too soon and the pain was too fresh.

"Not now. Maybe someday, after all this is over, I'll tell you. Ask me later."

Carol smiled sadly and nodded.

XXX

Down in the unknown planet…

Bones used the tricorder to scan Denak and found that he was running a slight fever and having difficulty in breathing. Sighing, he reached for the antibiotics and tri-ox in his medkit. Gently tilting Denak's neck, he injected the hypos one after another. Despite what Jim thought, he was very much capable of administering the hypos painlessly. But Jim had to learn to stop being so goddamn reckless all the time. Not that his hypos had helped very much with that. Now he just did it for his own satisfaction.

With nothing else to do, Bones settled himself as comfortably as one could on a tree branch. Moments later he found himself staring at the boy beside him.

"What was Starfleet thinking?" Bones muttered to himself in disgust. "Allowing a kid to go on missions. He can't be more than fourteen."

"I would like you to know that I am seventeen standard years old." Denak opened his eyes and stared back at Bones. He had awoken when the doctor was administering the hypos; and though he wanted to go straight back to sleep, he couldn't let the gross exaggeration of how young he looked to remain uncontested.

Bones snorted, "Ah, my bad! Didn't realize that you were simply short."

Denak glared at the rude human. How dare he make fun of him?

Bones' eyes widened. "You… you are glaring?"

Denak's glare only intensified. "That's very observant of you, Doctor."

"What the hell?" Bones grumbled. "What happened to 'Vulcans-don't-feel' and all that shit? You are a Vulcan and Vulcans do not glare… Unless the Vulcan is Spock when Jim is about to be attacked, or doing something stupid, or trying to pick someone up… well you get the point."

"It is very stupid of you to think that Vulcans do not have any emotions. They just exert absolute control over them. Besides, I am half-human, Doctor," Denak replied, his nose in air. His show of disdain was interrupted by his growling stomach and he realized how hungry he was.

Gentle hands lifted him up into a half sitting, half lying position and then something big, red and juicy was held in front of his mouth. He tentatively took a bite and a sweet and sour taste filled his mouth. He eagerly took another bite.

While he was finishing his fruit, Denak wondered about the man beside him. He just couldn't figure him out. The Doctor's crude, uncaring demeanour was in direct contrast to the way his hands held him so gently and took care of his needs. He was, unsurprisingly, intrigued.

Bones waited for Denak to finish his food before stating, "Well, Spock is half-human too."

Denak sighed and wondered how to explain. Finally, taking a deep breath, he began, "I was the result of a scientific experiment by my biological parents. They put me up for adoption after their curiosity was appeased. Mom and dad adopted me when I was a three years old and brought me up on Earth. They took me to Vulcan yearly so that I could learn about my Vulcan heritage. It only stopped after… Vulcan was destroyed. Living among humans taught me to embrace my emotions while in Vulcan I learnt to exert control over them. Of course it helps that I am a submissive Vulcan. S'chn T'gai Spock, on the other hand, is a dominant and so he must have greater control. That is all I can tell you. I am not allowed to give details of such matters to people of other world."

"Wait, what?" Bones asked. "You're a submissive Vulcan. Spock's dominant. What the hell am I supposed to understand from that?"

Denak stared at Bones for a moment, his eyes alight with mischief. "Are you a virgin, Doctor? But surely you know the basics from your medical classes."

Bones sputtered incoherently for a few moments upon hearing the very inappropriate question… and also because of the slight upon his manhood. "Listen kid…," he began with a fearsome scowl upon his face, "I…"

Denak held up his hands in playful surrender. "It is illogical to take such offence over a simple question, Doctor."

Gritting his teeth, Bones closed his eyes in sheer exasperation. As if the human brat alone wasn't enough, he was now saddled with a Vulcan brat as well.

Well, someone up there in the heavens surely hated him.

"Being a virgin is no cause for embarrassment, Doctor. I'm a virgin too."

Bones groaned. Yup, it was hate all right.

xxx

"Captain…"

"No, I've had it Spock," Jim thundered. "We're going to settle this…"

"Captain, you must…"

Jim cut him off again. "Just tell me how you really feel…"

"Jim," Spock growled, "be quiet."

Jim closed his mouth with an audible snap, heeding both the command and urgency in Spock's voice.

"We are about to have company."

Going on alert, Jim swept his gaze all around the area. He saw Spock take out his phaser from the corner of his eyes and copied him.

"What is it Spock? Some predators again?" Jim questioned in a whisper. His mind flashed back to those beasts they had encountered earlier and he had to suppress a shudder.

Spock, staring intently towards their left, answered, "No Captain. I can hear speech patterns… It is a well developed group of sentient beings possessing vocal cords."

Jim frowned. "Could they be the ones we are looking for?"

"It is not entirely improbable but I am unable to detect the language," Spock replied. "It is much more likely that they are a highly evolved native species. Unfortunately, we have no way of determining whether they will be hostile or not."

"Shit," Jim cursed when even his ears could pick up the voices. "They are coming here. We have to move or risk being caught."

Both of them were laying flat on the ground, hidden from view by some dense thickets. It was an adequate hide-out if the group was only passing by; but it would certainly not stand up to scrutiny of any kind.

Jim glanced towards the direction Bones and Denak were in and wondered whether making a run for it would be advisable.

"We will be caught if we do so, Captain," Spock cautioned, reading Jim easily.

Jim sighed. It was true; even if they were not seen, the sounds would alert the group.

"You're right but we have to get out of here, Spock. We need a plan… and fast."

Jim's eyes flitted across the entire area before coming to rest on the deep stream feeding the river a few metres ahead. In the waning light of the day, he could barely see anything in that area. "I can't believe we're doing this. Spock," Jim said rising, "follow me."

Spock simply raised his brow and jogged after Jim. Once they neared the stream, Jim began wading into the water; only stopping to beckon Spock who seemed to be frozen near the bank.

What Jim did not know was that Spock was trying his best to find an alternative plan.

"Spock, stop being such a baby," he heard Jim hiss at him. "You have taken advanced courses in swimming, for god's sake."

Perhaps Jim knew after all.

Spock did not bother suppressing his sigh. Even though the swimming lessons he had taken were for this exact purpose and his hesitation could be considered to be illogical, he was a Vulcan and walking right into deep water bodies was not something he would ever be comfortable with.

Jim narrowed his eyes and mouthed, "I'm waiting."

Giving up, Spock waded into the stream after his human and tried not to let his distaste show.

Jim simply rolled his pretty blue eyes at him and went even further into the stream, not stopping until the water reached his chest. He lost his footing for a moment but managed to steady himself by catching hold of some rocks over the river bed. The current, though not very strong, was enough to make it difficult for him to find a sure footing. Jim slipped again.

A strong arm wrapped around his waist, steadying him, and Jim threw Spock a grateful smile. Now anchored to the strong body behind him, Jim gave his complete attention to the group of humanoids near the river bank.

Even after trying his level best for a while, the only thing Jim could be sure about in the poor light was that the humanoids were tall; their average height being two metres more or less. And that they were discussing something amongst themselves while looking all around the river bank.

"Shit! I think they know someone was there," Jim whispered. "We have to talk to Denak as soon as possible."

Spock seemed to be deep in thought.

"Captain, I have reasons to believe that the scientists and security officers have been captured by these natives. They are probably searching for Denak at present," Spock informed him.

"Arrgh… great! Seriously, why do we always get stuck in such messy situations?"Jim complained while looking at Spock over his shoulders.

Jim saw Spock's eyes narrow at something before he replied, "Ah, Captain… I believe the situation is about to get… messier."

… to be continued.

So, I hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you for reading. :) Please review.

tanseynz - Hey, so you are team Jim. But please don't hate Spock for his obliviousness. I'm sure Jim can keep him in line.:P I'm glad you liked Denak. Yes, he does favour his human side more. Thank you for reading and commenting.:)