A/N: And the plot thickens... I hope you've liked it so far. Here's the next tidbit. I hope it sounds as good to you as it does to me. Enjoy!

I ONLY OWN THE PLOT. THE CHARACTERS, IDEAS, TERMINOLOGY, LAYOUT OF THE ENTERPRISE, ETC BELONG TO THE BRILLIANT CREATORS OF STAR TREK, FROM GENE RODDENBERRY TO J.J. ABRAMS. THIS APPLIES TO THIS CHAPTER AND ALL THE CHAPTERS THAT FOLLOW IN MY FIC. I THANK THEM FOR THEIR BRILLIANCE AND INSPIRATION.

2. To Women!

His quarters were conveniently close to the rec room, and it was a short walk before they arrived. The Captain punched in the code, and entered his living space, inviting the other three to follow him. While Spock and McCoy were quite adjusted to the Captain's quarters, Chekov spent a few minutes taking in the room, despite his embarrassment of doing so. He noted that although the room was not huge compared to many, it was slightly larger, and was furnished with more than just a bed. There was also a desk strewn with federation notices and star charts, and a dark wooden table at which Kirk had already taken a seat. Chekov wondered where the captain had gotten the table, due to the fact that there wasn't much made of wood aboard this ship. Besides the wooden, what captured the ensign's attention the longest was the window just above the Captain's bed, showing a vast sea of stars and planets. He made a mental note that during the next quarter switch, he'd have to request a room with a window as well.

They took their seats as Kirk pulled out a bottle of whiskey and unscrewed the cap quite dramatically.

"We'll save the scotch for when Scotty pulls his nose out of those technical journals." he said jokingly. "How much longer until we arrive at our destination, Spock?" he asked as he poured four glasses. The first officer took his glass and looked thoughtful.

"36 hours, presuming that 3 hours have passed since we left the bridge." he said and raised the glass to his nose and inhaled. He raised an eyebrow before taking a cautious sip. "Nothing stronger than anything consumed during Vulcan ceremonies." he thought out loud. As if on queue, Chekov took a sip and coughed. Kirk and Bones eyed him curiously.

"Sorry, sir. I have never drank viskey before. I vas unsure vat to expect." he admitted, his embarrassment made apparent by his blushing cheeks. Bones laughed.

"It's alright, Chekov." he said as he patted the boy on the back. "We'll forgive you for now."

Chekov laughed and downed his glass, most likely to prove he was more than able to handle it. After a slight grimace, he pushed his glass back towards the Captain, and it was refilled without question.

"If Spock is right, and never dare I try to disprove his calculations, we have plenty of time for the whole bottle." Kirk said as he poured himself another as well, laughing. Spock raised his glass and nodded to the comment.

After a little over an hour, the unusually large bottle was half empty, and Kirk was feeling quite relaxed with his friends. The feeling of suffocation had disappeared and was replaced by loud laughter, result of their current conversation. Bones was telling a story about the ridiculous behaviours of his ex-wife, and Chekov listened wide-eyed, giggling at every mention of her aspiration to have an erroneous number of children, and what she would do to try to achieve her goal. Spock was a different story. Anyone who did not know him well would assume that the Vulcan was in a perfect state of normalcy, but the three could tell that the alcohol had had some affect on him due to the smile that kept twitching at the left corner of his mouth. A perfectly normal Spock would not have allowed his amusement with their current behaviours to be expressed on his face.

"Thank God I never gave her any of mine. She booted me after three years." he said gruffly. "Damn women…"

"Now now, Bones, let's not be rash. Women are a wonderful thing!" Kirk stated.

"I agree with zee Keptin." Chekov chimed in with a lazy grin. Kirk patted his arm.

"Pavel… Pavel…" he said while shaking his head. Chekov, not used to his first name being used on the ship, looked up startled. Kirk continued. "We're off duty, call me Jim."

"Thank you, Sir, but I zink I vill call you Keptin. I von't remember who Jim is, Sir!" he said. Besides when he accidentally answered their questions in Russian, his speaking wasn't sloppy at all. The three looked at him and his huge smile, before Kirk turned very seriously to continue with his lecture to Bones.

"This boy is smart, Bones…" he started to say, when Bones interrupted.

"The boy swears everything has a Russian root." he reminded his friend. Kirk smiled.

"Well, at this rate, I might think that he's right about everything he told us today about the 'mist-injector', seeing as you're sitting over there damning women." he poked back at his friend. Bones snorted in disapproval, but Kirk continued with the lecture. "We need women to satisfy us, to make us happy, to confuse the hell out of us as they so often do… and we need to worship them. Each curve of a woman's body, well most women's bodies, is divine, and with proper treatment, a woman can make you the happiest being alive… if only for one night."

"To women!" Chekov toasted, before downing what must have been his sixth whiskey.

"To women!" Kirk imitated, and had to pour himself another as well.

The left corner of Spock's lips trembled violently as the alcohol fought with his logic over whether or not he should smile on accord to their, in accordance to the human race, funny behaviour. "Fascinating…" he muttered, catching McCoy's attention.

"Speaking of fascinating…" he said, turning to face the first officer, "…how are you and Nyota doing?" Bones asked, raising his eyebrows rather suggestively.

Spock's logic seemed to have a battle again against the alcohol flowing through his green blood, and lost as his mouth stretched into a shy smile.

"I do not believe that this matter is appropriate to discuss, especially without Lt. Uhura's approval, doctor."

Obviously the alcohol had won the battle for facial expressions, but Spock's logic seemed to have sacrificed it in order to keep his brain as normal as possible. Kirk laughed at the thought.

"That smile gives away enough, Spock." he pointed out, making his friend aware of how emotionally open he was being in front of them. A light green blush flushed in Spock's cheeks. Desperate to draw attention away from his self-proclaimed state of weakness, he acknowledged Chekov.

"Why don't you question the ensign about his affairs with women, Captain? I am certain that the quality of his tales far exceeds mine."

Kirk nodded, then looked questioningly at the boy.

"Well, Pasch, spill it." he demanded. "Captain's orders." he added with his too-well-known smirk.

The bluntness of the order surprised Chekov, causing his cheeks to flame.

"Vell… Sir… my experiences with women goes as far as my age allows me." he answered nervously. Kirk and Bones eyed his skeptically. Spock's mouth was now stuck in a grin. "All right, all right…" the ensign chuckled, "…perhaps a little bit more than zat." This confession came with a proud smile. Then he looked at Kirk.

"Vat about you, Sir? Are you still as famous with zee ladies as I heard you were?"

Kirk adjusted the collar of his yellow Starfleet sweater smugly, and Bones brought his palm to his forehead in dismay of having to hear his friend gloat. They will never be sure of whether or not it actually happened, but Kirk could've sworn he heard Spock laugh to himself; probably over how predictable their behaviour was.

"Well, my young friend," the Captain started with a smile, "I…"

His voice trailed of as a look of confusion overpowered his previous look of contentment. He racked his brain for the most recent events, but couldn't remember anything beyond his encounter with Gaila, which took place over a year ago. Yes, he had been too preoccupied during the conflict with Nero to seduce any of the women on board the Enterprise, but during the months that followed, besides the odd battle and mission, there had been plenty of time.

"Keptin?" Chekov ventured, confused by the expression on Kirk's face. Bones seemed to be put off as well, and Spock's expression of happiness returned to one of intrigue.

Kirk shook his head. The feeling of confusion and suffocation returned. Something had been bothering him and this question triggered it. He couldn't grasp what the problem was, but made the connection to it being the reason for his empty slate over the past year. This turned out to be a bigger problem than he had expected, and he couldn't put a finger on what it was. It was affecting him in more ways than one, it seemed, but only just now had he come to realize it. Kirk slowly became more and more frustrated as he racked his brain, trying to remember what had changed in his environment after escaping the grips of the Narada, but remained answerless. He felt his chest contracting, causing his panic to slowly rise.

"Damn it, Jim!" Bones growled as he moved to take his pulse. "What the hell are you doing?" He always became angrier when he was worried about his friend. "Spock, call sickbay, I'm going to send him down; his pulse is irregular. Chekov, talk to him. Try to calm him down. I'm going to continue to monitor his pulse."

Spock stood up and left the room quick-paced, and Chekov bit his lip, shocked by the current state of his Captain and unable to think of something to say.

"Eh, Jim?" The ensign tried using the Captain's first name, but without luck. Kirk slumped in his chair.

A/N: And romance ensues... haha. Please review if you want more! I will be working on the next chapter for the next few days and will thy to finish and perfect it as quickly as possible, but I will only post it if you ask me to.

All it takes is one review, and I will continue posting new chapters. Otherwise, you may be reading but if I don't know that you are then I will get upset and stop writing, because I have a lot on my plate like most writers here, and I take time to write my chapters. I post it for you the reader!

Hey, even though I'm pretty sure who I want to introduce as the romantic interest in the next chapter, you can give me your suggestion and if you ask nicely and convince me with a few good reasons as to why this character is perfect for Kirk then you just might get what you want! That's what reviews are for :)

Thank you for reading and please review!!!

~hace