Disclaimer: Characters contained within do not belong to me, but to Gene Roddenberry, Paramount Pictures, etc.

Author's Notes: Hitting 1000 reviews is mind-boggling, to say the least. And I cannot thank you enough for making that happen. Really, just...thank you. Lisa, thanks, as always, for the feedback;) Please enjoy!

The Opposite of Logic

by Kristen Elizabeth

"So, how'd you find out?"

With his hands behind his back, Spock merely lifted an eyebrow at the Enterprise's captain. "Does it matter?"

Kirk pushed away from the wall against which he'd been leaning. "Hell yeah, it matters! I made a promise to her."

"A promise to what? To keep the existence of my own child from me?"

"That was what she wanted." Kirk took a step forward. "Are you blaming her? Because you're the one who left, pal."

Spock inclined his chin. "Yes, I did. I do not blame Nyota, but had I been in possession of all the facts..."

"Possession of the facts?" Kirk shook his head in amazement. "Are you even listening to yourself? Do you know how you sound?" He took another step towards Spock. "Is it those facts that made you come back, Spock? C'mon...she's not here. You can tell me." He searched Spock's eyes for any sign of a response. "Did you only come back because you have a genetic obligation to her now?"

"Are you attempting to engage me in a physical altercation?"

"You have no idea how much I want to," Kirk told him. "And maybe when this damn sling comes off, we'll revisit all of this in a much less civilized manner."

An Engineering ensign walked by just then, forcing a pause in the conversation. When she was out of earshot, Spock said, "I have no wish to fight you ever again, Jim."

"And I have no wish to watch you break her heart again the next time you decide you're too Vulcan to be with her." He lifted his chin a notch. "Are you still married?"

Although it pained him to answer such a personal question, Spock replied, "My marriage contract will soon be dissolved."

"So, you're still married?" Spock said nothing. "What the hell makes you think you can come back here and make all kinds of promises when you're still legally tied to someone else?" Kirk exploded.

"I believe this is a matter that should only be discussed between Nyota and myself."

"Oh shit." Kirk ran his hand down his face. "Don't tell me that you already did it. Your duty, repopulation, putting a bun in the oven...whatever you want to call it...did you manage to do it? And that's why you can come back now?"

Behind his back, Spock curled and uncurled his fists several times. "Be very careful."

"Well, that was the plan, wasn't it?"

"Plans change," he replied, his voice growing dangerous.

Kirk ignored his tone. "But see...you're not denying it. So...what? Are you going to be called back to the colony in a few months to meet your other..."

Spock's hand shot out, grabbing Kirk's good arm in a death grip. "If I twist my hand as few as ten degrees to the left, you will need another sling," he told the captain. "And as I am still on leave from Starfleet, my actions would not even qualify as insubordination."

"Try it," Kirk dared him. "I'd love it if you did."

Looking Kirk straight in the eye, he went on, "I cannot tell if your defense of Nyota is that of a commanding officer, a friend, or a man, but I will tell you this. While I do not wish to fight you, from now on, she is the one thing for which I will fight anyone, anywhere, at any time."

"Is that a threat?"

"Consider it a promise."

After a few moments, a smile spread on Kirk's face. "Good."

Spock frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Can you let up now?" When Spock released him, Kirk shook out his arm. "Look, you didn't fight for her before you left. You let yourself get all wrapped up in duty and obligation, and because of that, you lost a hell of lot of time that you can't ever get back. You didn't see her get bigger every day. You weren't there when she felt it kick for the first time. You almost missed the whole damn thing...and by the way, you are going to tell me how you found out, eventually, if I have to order it out of you." He paused. "But if you get it now...if you've realized that she's worth fighting for, that being with her is pretty much worth anything...then we're good."

"Good?" Spock repeated doubtfully.

"Water under the bridge. No harm, no foul." Kirk clarified.

Staring at him, Spock said, "You are...confusing."

"You're no walk in the park yourself." Clearing his throat, Kirk glanced back at the doors to Sickbay. "She's tough, Spock, but I don't know if she could stand you leaving again. So if you do have...you know...unfinished business back on the colony..."

"I do not." Spock looked away for a moment. "I suffered without her, Jim."

"I knew you would," Kirk said with a touch of triumph.

Spock merely gave him a cool look. "May I go to my quarters, or am I to sleep in the proverbial dog house for the forseeable future?"

"Now that's entirely up to her. But as for your quarters, you got here just in time. Another couple of days and we were turning it into a storage room for Scotty's whiskey."

"Humorous," Spock said, although his flat tone indicated that he found it anything but.

"Not a joke. You haven't seen the man's stash." Kirk started to walk off in the direction of the bridge. He turned back a second later. "Oh, and Spock? Welcome back."

With a raised eyebrow, Spock started to move off towards the turbolift. But after a few steps, he stopped, turned around and silently, stealthily slipped back into Sickbay.

The baby was a god-damn miracle.

McCoy didn't pretend to be a neonatal expert, but he knew enough about fetal development to know that the child wrapped in a blanket and lying on table in front of him should have been in a lot worse shape that he was.

Sure, he was small, even by infant standards, but his heart and lungs were suprisingly strong and he showed no signs of developing any problems with them in the future.

He was about to take a sample of the baby's blood for analysis when he felt a distinct presence in the room.

"What part of 'get the hell out of Sickbay' escaped you?" McCoy asked without even turning around.

Spock began walking towards them. "He is my child, Doctor. It is only logical that I should be here."

"You know, years ago back on Earth, men just passed out cigars when it was all over," McCoy muttered. "Those were the days..."

Having reached the table, Spock looked down at the infant. "Is he healthy?"

McCoy scowled. "All of his systems are functioning, if that's what you're asking."

"My concern for his well-being annoys you, Doctor?"

"Is that what that was? Concern?" The doctor snorted. "Could've fooled me."

Spock frowned. "Do you believe because I am not openly weeping or passing out cigars, as you say is the tradition, that my feelings for my son are somehow lacking?" Before McCoy could answer, Spock went on, "Vulcans feel as deeply for their offspring as Humans do, Doctor, and I am both." He reached out for the baby's hand. Grayson's fingers curled around his; it took Spock a moment to continue. "So I will ask you again. Is my son healthy?"

McCoy relented with a nod. "Yeah. Surprisingly so. You want to tell me how that's possible? By our standards, he arrived way too early to be doing this well."

"A hybrid is often stronger than the individual parts from which it was created, is it not?"

"Hybrid? Great nickname for the kid."

The baby still had a firm hold on Spock's finger. "He may be called worse one day. I certainly was." With his other hand, Spock touched the gentle point of his son's ear. "It will be my responsibility as his father to teach him to rise above it."

McCoy looked down at the baby. "You'd be better off teaching him that Vulcan neck thing."

"You may be right," Spock agreed, eliciting a very small, very reluctant smirk from the doctor.

Just then, Grayson began to fuss, flailing his little limbs as much as he could. When Spock frowned, McCoy told him, "He needs to be fed." He paused as if making up his mind. "She's in there," he said, gesturing to a door to the right. "Take him to her." He pointed an accusing finger at Spock. "But do not wear her out with a lot of talking or apologizing, you got it? She feeds the kid and then she goes back to sleep. Deal?"

With awkward, but extremely gentle hands, Spock lifted the baby from the table. "You have my word," he said, settling the child against his shoulder.

Shaking his head, McCoy watched him put a hand to Grayson's tiny back, as if to calm him. "I don't think I've ever seen you look more Human than you do right now."

"I choose to take that as a compliment, Doctor." With that, Spock headed for the room where Uhura was resting.

When he was gone, McCoy folded his arms with a reluctant sigh. "As you should."

For the first few seconds after her eyes opened, Uhura was entirely convinced she was still asleep and dreaming. Spock couldn't be standing in front of her, certainly not cradling their whimpering baby. That was part of another life that she could have had if Nero had never destroyed Vulcan, or if she had possessed the courage to tell Spock about their child before he was married.

And yet, despite several attempts wake herself, he was still there, and it began to dawn on her that maybe, just maybe, it wasn't a dream.

"How are you here?"

Her whispered question made Spock look up from the baby in his arms. "Friends," he replied. "Both old and new."

Uhura bit her lip. "Where is your wife?"

"T'Lan is still on Degan V," Spock replied. "Although our marriage contract has not yet been dissolved, we have parted ways by mutual agreement."

"Mutual agreement," she repeated. "What happened between you?"

Grayson's cranky fussing was quickly turning into a tiny temper tantrum, preventing Spock from answering her question.

Uhura held out her hands. "I want to hold him." Their fingers touched as Spock passed Grayson to her. "Oh my god..." She blinked back hot tears. He was so light and fragile; she felt like she was holding the most precious thing in existence. "He has your ears. Sort of."

"Doctor McCoy believes he should be fed." Spock hesitated. "Should I leave the room?"

"Not on your life!" Her vehement reply must have surprised him. She added a softer, "I want you to be here for all of it from now on."

As she guided the baby to her breast, Spock sank onto a nearby stool and watched her feed their child for the first time. When Grayson was done, and his eyes began to droop, she glanced up at his father with wet eyes.

"I can't even explain it," she told him. "How...right this feels. My whole life, I thought I only wanted a career in Starfleet. I wanted to serve on a starship, explore new planets, maybe even be the first person to translate an undiscovered alien language." She paused. "I still want all of that, but now...it's like all of that wouldn't have been enough. Because I wouldn't have had anyone to share it with."

"Nyota." Spock leaned forward. "If you had told me you were pregnant, I would have stayed."

She glanced away. "I knew that. But your people are so important to you. How could I have asked you to choose between me and them?"

"There would not have been a choice," he insisted. With Grayson fast asleep, Uhura tugged at her Sickbay-issued cloth gown to cover herself. "My place was here, not there. My bond is with you, not..." Spock stopped.

"Bond? Are we bonded, Spock?"

"In ways I cannot begin to describe. It is why my marriage never could have succeeded. And I regret...I deeply regret that it took as long as it did for me to allow that realization to penetrate my resolve to make my marriage work."

Uhura busied herself with adjusting the folds of the blanket in which her baby was snuggled. "It didn't work?" The question didn't come out as nonchalantly as she would have liked. "Did you...um...try to make it work?"

"I will not lie to you, Nyota. I engaged in sexual intercourse with another woman in an ultimately futile attempt at procreation."

Although she already knew this, hearing it out loud still hurt, as though a small knife had been plunged into her heart. After a long minute, Uhura said, "Tell me it was nothing like what we had together."

"You should already know that," Spock said. When she tilted her head to one side expectantly, he inclined his chin. "There is no comparison between the two, Nyota. You are heart and soul and mind and body. She was merely...body."

"A good body?" Uhura couldn't help but ask. When he frowned, she shook her head sheepishly. "Sorry. Girl thing."

Spock was quiet for a second. "I would like your forgiveness, but I do not expect it." He paused. "I know I hurt you."

"Yeah, you did," she whispered. "But I think we've both been punished enough for our choices." Grayson flailed a fist in his sleep which she caught and gently tucked back under the blanket. "I still love you, Spock." When she looked up, he was staring at her with an expression she'd never seen before. "I never stopped."

"If I may ask one thing..." His voice throbbed. "Please never do."

Uhura smiled. "Is that a logical request?"

"The very opposite of," Spock said, reaching for her hand. "Perhaps that is why it feels right."

To Be Continued