Chapter Twelve

Spock awoke to a curious sensation; that of another body resting on his own. Zuria's head rested upon his chest, a hand pressed against his stomach. His arms held her tightly against him, leaving no space between their bodies.

Last night.

Spock recalled the previous night; the sounds that Zuria had made, how lovely she had looked, and what it truly felt like to be so close to another person. Of course, he had heard from human men (mostly Jim, of course) how wonderful it felt to reach an orgasm, but he knew that none of those men could truly attest to feeling the same euphoria that he had felt; biologically, he knew that the pleasure a Vulcan derived from intercourse was much greater than what any human could be capable of feeling.

His thoughts caused him to glance down at Zuria. Her breath was warm against his skin, and he placed a hand gently on top of her head, running his fingers through her hair. If only she could see how close to perfect she was at that moment.

The delicate touch caused her to shift slightly, inching herself up on his chest. She gave a sigh, sending another wave of warm air over his body. He placed his hand on top of hers, pressing a light kiss to the top of her head.

"Spock," She spoke his name softly, sounding almost as though she were still asleep.

"Yes, Zuria?"

She made no reply. Instead, she slid her body up his, resting her head on his shoulder and pressing her lips to his. Spock removed his hand from hers, placing it under her chin, holding her to the kiss. She broke away several moments later, smiling.

"How are you this morning?" She questioned.

"If we are being entirely honest, I must admit that I cannot recall ever feeling so well in my entire life." He answered, his words entirely truthful. He knew why; against all logic, he had allowed himself to fall in love with Zuria. Perhaps later, upon further meditation, he could find the logic in his love, but presently, he did not feel the need to trouble himself with such thought. He was certain that it was the love-making that had made him feel as such.

"We have that in common, then." She chuckled, shifting so that her body rested on top of his. He drew her mouth to his, kissing her again. She responded eagerly, her lips parting. Spock savored the taste of her; it was familiarly sweet, like vanilla.

Pulling away, she placed her hands on his chest. "It's Saturday." She reminded him.

"I am well aware of the date." He acknowledged.

"Which means that neither of us have to be anywhere for a while." She continued, dragging a finger slowly across his skin. Spock's eyes brightened as he realized what she was trying to say.

"If you would like to recreate the events of last evening, then I must say that I have no desire to prevent such a thing from happening." He informed her, brushing her hair back. She grinned, pressing a kiss against his ear.

Unfortunately, however, the sound of Spock's PADD interrupted them.

"Incoming transmission from Admiral Christopher Pike." It alerted him. Spock stood quickly, grabbing his robe and clothing himself in it.

"Please wait here." He told Zuria. She nodded, rolling onto her back as he stepped out of the bedroom. "Accept transmission."

Admiral Pike appeared on the screen. "Good morning, Spock." He greeted.

"Good morning, Admiral." Spock returned. "Might I inquire as to your purpose for contacting me?"

"There's been some trouble with Klingons recently; we believe that they might be planning attacks on several peaceful federation planets." Pike began. "There's a meeting that's being held; all ranks of commander and above are required to attend."

"At what time will this meeting occur?"

"In twenty minutes. Sorry to tell you on such short notice; it's become a matter of some urgency, though."

Spock blinked, preventing himself from showing any signs of upset. This meeting had effectively cut into what would have been incredibly pleasant morning plans.

"I will be there." He promised. They exchanged farewells before he returned to the bedroom, setting his PADD down on his bedside table.

"What's going on?" Zuria inquired.

"Admiral Pike has informed me that I must be present a meeting in twenty minutes."

"Oh." Was her response.

"If it were not deemed a matter of some urgency by the federation, I would not attend." He told her. She stood from the bed, collecting her discarded clothes and dressing herself.

"I suppose we'll just have to continue this later." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck, her lips mere centimeters away from his.

"I will be waiting."

Zuria left Spock's apartment after kissing him several more times. She wasn't particularly happy with Admiral Pike at that moment; it wasn't truly his fault, but he was the only one that she could think to blame without cursing an entire warrior race for pulling her lover from her.

Lover. She thought the word carefully, repeating it to herself several times. She had known now for a while that she loved him, but she had never consciously thought about what it meant, about how truly monumental loving a Vulcan was; not many human women did. Vulcans could not easily return their sentiments; not without the proper encouragement, at least.

Shaking her head, Zuria continued in her planned course of direction; it was convenient that Spock and Bones lived in the same building. Her decision to pay him a visit stemmed mainly from her dread at meeting Pallania upon returning home. Her roommate would waste no time in interrogating her, asking every possible question that could expose the fact that she had slept with Spock. And once Pallania had pried that information from her, she would grill her for each and every detail that she could possibly obtain. No; it was a better idea to visit Bones. He might inquire about people's personal matters, but he didn't generally give a damn, so long as they didn't affect him.

Once there, Zuria knocked loudly on the door.

"Bones? It's me." She called. The door opened to reveal Bones, dressed in a well-worn pair of jeans and a wrinkled shirt, a can of soda pop in his hand.

"Hey, Zuria. C'mon in." He invited, stepping aside to let her in. "Want a can of pop?"

"Sure." She accepted, waiting as he made a trip to his refrigerator, pulling a can out for her. She took it, opening it and raising it to her lips. She followed Bones to his couch, plopping down next to him.

"You look pretty happy." He observed, resting his feet on the coffee table in front of them. "What's up?"

"It's Saturday." She responded simply.

"Thank God." Bones said, taking a swig from his can. Zuria chuckled, mirroring his action.

"So, how are things going between you and that lieutenant?" She questioned, sincerely interested in his answer.

"I dunno," He responded, sighing. "I mean, she's gorgeous, and we get along really well; I just don't understand women."

Zuria paused, taking a moment to think. "You don't need to understand women." She told him. "You just need to understand her and make sure that she understands you."

"No offense, Zur," He began, taking another sip of his drink. "But that's not exactly the greatest advice. It's a bit vague."

She smiled at his words; Bones' honesty was one of the things that she admired most about him.

"Ok. My second piece of advice: be honest. That's one of the things that people like most about you. I bet she does, too."

"Couldn't you just have told me that I should wait for her to do something?" Bones asked.

"Nope. But I'll take you out for drinks if things go badly." She promised.

"Well, at least something will come out of whatever happens." He grumbled, folding his arms over his chest.

"That's the spirit." She said, punching him on the arm.

"You got anybody these days?" Bones inquired. Zuria bit her cheek.

"What do you think?"

"Alright, ok." He laughed. "I'm actually glad that you're so damn picky. Means I don't have to worry about you doing stupid stuff with random guys."

Zuria grinned, her mind flashing back to last night. She was glad that she hadn't taken Pallania's advice and sought out some unnamed pretty boy to fool around with. Sex with Spock was worth a million times with other men, as far as she was concerned.

"I'm surprised that Jim hasn't contracted any STDs yet." She told him.

"Believe me, I have no idea how he does it." Bones replied, shaking his head. The two of them remained silent for several seconds, finishing their beverages. "I do have some good news, though." He started, wiping a hand across his mouth.

"What's that?" She questioned, setting her can down on the coffee table.

"It took some convincing and arguing with my higher ups, but I pulled some strings and got you a place working with me on the Enterprise."

"You got me a place on the Enterprise?" She repeated, incredulous. It was the dream of many a Star Fleet member to be stationed on board the prestigious U.S.S. Enterprise.

"Can't go flying off to some planet at warp speed without my best intern, now can I?"

"You're amazing, Bones!" She cried, flinging her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He tentatively returned the hug, patting her on the back.

"Well, yeah; but it doesn't hurt for you to tell me so." He chuckled. "Want to celebrate by going to the mess hall and getting some food?"

Zuria nodded, standing. This day, she was sure, was going to get progressively better. "Sounds good to me."

Hey guys!

So, I finally have a quick update for you! Yay! Hopefully this makes up for the long wait that you guys were forced to endure this last week.

I don't really have much else to say... I might post an interview on here at some point, as I've gotten many questions from you all. It depends.

Anyways, hopefully you enjoyed the chapter. Reviews, as usual, are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Harley