Chapter 12 - Catching Up


Nyota's chronometer beeped. She huffed slightly in annoyance. "Time flies. My duty shift starts in 15 minutes." She stood and turned toward Selina, "I'm off at 18:00 if you would like to join us for dinner?"

"Unfortunately, my evenings are scheduled for this trip," she demurred. "And I believe I have already derailed what should have been a private lunch."

"Nonsense. Spock and I eat together almost every day. But I'll see you at 10:30 tomorrow for that 'ritual'." She brushed Spock's shoulder as she gathered her packages. "I'll see you at 18:30 then. This time I promise I won't be late - missing most of this show has probably cured me of that for the foreseeable future."

"And to think I was feeling guilty about leaving you with nothing to do but people watch!" she said as she walked away.

"You see Spock," Selina observed, "I do provide some benefit in return for the embarrassment I cause you."

"Embarrassment is a human emotion, and despite many admirable efforts on your part, one I do not experience," Spock replied, but hurriedly added, "However, as I have certainly benefited in this case from the chaos you usually generate, any discomfort has been greatly mitigated."

She narrowed her eyes slightly, but smiled. "You're welcome." She pushed her chair back. "And now gentlemen, I believe my room is ready and I should retire to prepare for my appointment this evening."

All three rose as she did. "Can I walk you... " McCoy and Kirk began nearly in unison.

"That will not be necessary gentlemen," she said smiling politely. "And I suspect I will find it easier to have the necessary time alone if I decline."

"I hope this isn't the last we'll see of you," McCoy said.

"I should doubt that it is," she replied as she took her leave.

As she left, Spock was shaking his head slightly. "What?" asked Jim.

"I am merely surprised that you still seem interested in pursuing her. And you as well, Doctor. I had not realized that masochism was so large a component of your nature."

"We were just being polite - at least I was," McCoy said gruffly. "And why didn't you offer to see her to her room? I'd think you two would have a lot of catching up to do."

"There is no further exchange we could accomplish on such a walk."

"But she implied you hadn't exchanged messages in some time," Kirk noted.

"Yes. Until today we had not had the opportunity to 'catch up' as you put it."

"But surely you have more to tell each other than you covered just sharing old war stories with us?"

Spock paused a moment to decipher that. "I see, you think that because we have not conversed verbally that we did not exchange our experiences of the last few months. Recall that Selina is telepath, a stronger one than I, and that we have known each other long enough to each be acquainted with the touch of others mind."

"So when you two were in that hand hold and looked to be lost in each others eyes... " McCoy began.

"We were 'catching up' in a very efficient manner," Spock continued.

"So that's how she knew about Uhura!" Jim said. "Useful trick that. I could sure have used something like that to get out of some misunderstandings."

"Jim, I'm pretty sure none of those situations involved anyone misunderstanding anything," McCoy observed. "In fact, I'm pretty sure if any of those ladies could have looked into your mind, it certainly wouldn't have helped matters."

"Nor did it help in this case," Spock said. "Selina knew about my relationship with Lt. Uhura well before today."

"And exactly how long ago would that have been?" Kirk inquired.

Spock only raised an eloquent eyebrow in reply.

"I know, I know, you have no comment on the matter," he sighed.


.

At 18:25 Spock finished preparing dinner for two in his quarters - at least in so far as adding seasoning to replicator meals could be classified as 'preparing dinner'. His door chimed two minutes later and Nyota walked in with her usual overnight bag and two packages.

"This one is for later tonight," she explained, placing it with her overnight bag on his chair. "And this one is for dinner. I know you don't generally drink wine, but I found this a Muldoian vintage and I wanted to try it with dinner."

Spock examined the bottle and took two glasses from a cabinet. "I believe I will make an exception tonight," he said while deftly uncorking the bottle and pouring the wine.

"You do that well," she quipped. "I think I like getting to be your private fan club."

"You are greatly preferable to my former one," he said as they sat down to eat.

Nyota studied him from across the table. The comment had been light, but there was something strained in his manner. He seemed more tired than she expected too. "Are you alright? Does bringing that up disturb you?"

"I am well and it does not disturb me."

She was looking at him skeptically.

"Do not be concerned. I merely found meditation more difficult this afternoon," he assured her. "It is not an uncommon effect when Selina shows up unexpectedly. It is good to see her, but it is also frequently unsettling."

"Should I be worried?" she half-joked. He looked puzzled. "I mean, finding someone good to be around but unsettling is one way to describe a crush." she explained.

"Then, no, you should not be worried," he stated. "We have never regarded each other in that manner."

"I was only teasing," she said. "But, really, never?"

"Certainly a bond of some kind has developed between us, but it is definitely not that sort of bond. When she referred to me as her brother, it was part of an old joke between us. There is a human idiom to describe something that would not be at all satisfactory." His lips compressed in a slight smile. "I believe it goes: 'like kissing your sister' - or 'brother' from her perspective."

She laughed. "I guess I can see that. I have some male friends I feel the same way about. I suppose I should have known better."

He shrugged. "There are probably still many of our former classmates and associates who do not entirely believe it. And there were times when it was convenient to allow them to make false assumptions. Yet oddly, denying it seemed to spark a greater belief in the false assumption." His eyebrows drew together slightly in what she had come to think of a his 'I-will-never-understand-humans' look. "I received a surprising amount of sympathy when she did fall in love."

"I can just imagine." She grinned at the idea of guys trying to console Spock and getting a blank look in return. "So the Captain really never had a chance then?"

"The Captain would not have had a chance with his approach in any case. But she is single now. Her lover was on the Armstrong and died two years ago on an away mission." The corner of his lips turned slightly downward. "I supposed that is what is unsettling to me this time. Both the Captain and the Doctor seem interested in pursuing her. She has suffered too many losses recently and I find I do not like the idea of them imposing upon her."

"You make a good protective big brother, you know." She took his hand and added gently, "I wondered if she had also lost family on Vulcan."

He looked down. "Her mother. Her father was also a diplomat, but he was killed on one of the first missions to Romulus following the Kelvin incident. That is why her mother transferred to a 'safe' assignment on Vulcan." Spock was quiet a moment. "Though she is well-trained, she is not capable of true Surakian control. She could not attend the memorial for Vulcan on earth because the intense emotions of such a large assembly would have been too much for her at the time."

Nyota loved him for caring so much, even if he would never admit to something a human as 'caring'. But she also had an over-protective brother, and if she read Selina right, she probably wouldn't appreciate quite so much protection. "I think she seems very much in control of things now. Take some advice from an experienced younger sister. Maybe Selina is more mature than I am, but if my brother tried to keep a guy away from me, my first reaction would be to date him just to prove I could make my own decisions."

Spock nodded. "You are likely correct. It seems even now, I have not learned to adequately anticipate human responses."

Time to lighten things up. She crossed over to him, sat down in his lap and kissed him soundly. "Did you anticipate that one?"

"Not entirely, but sometimes it is good to be surprised."

"I have another surprise," she said getting up and pulling a small box from one the package on the chair. "I bought this for you," she said with a wink and tossed it to him.

He opened the box to find a rather small lacy garment. He lifted it carefully and raised an eyebrow. "I do not think it will fit me."

"It's not for you to wear..." She stopped when she saw the faint smile. "...which I think you know perfectly well."

"Nevertheless, I do not see the sense in which it is 'for me'. It seems designed to partially obscure that which I would much prefer unobstructed," he said drawing her into his arms.

Nyota wondered briefly if it would embarrass his 'sister' to help her return it tomorrow - right before the feel of his hands removing her uniform pushed everything else from her mind.

To be continued…


I had a very good male friend that I spent a lot of time with in high school. We even went to prom together (seeing as we were both too nerdy to have any other prospects). But my reaction to the suggestion that we should actually date was pretty much that it would just feel wrong - like kissing my brother.