I am literally blown away by all the reviews! I really appreciate every one of them! Quite a few of your reviews have made me laugh and feel special at the same time! So, truly, thank you for that!

I own nothing. Rated M for later chapters. And one reference to a Jeff Dunham line.

Special thanks to Lov2catnap for an awesome beta Job!

OoOoOo

Jim would never admit that she was pouting, only slightly mind you, because of Uhura. Her ears still stung with the lounge lashing she had received under the guise of being a 'crash course on Vulcan culture and customs'. Which, Jim thoroughly believed, she had not needed from one tiny little miscommunication. Honestly, it had occurred to her that her so called 'crewmates' thought of worse possible scenarios than she could even begin to accomplish…sober. Jim scowled at the nearest Vulcan with distaste for she had been informed, a little too happily in her opinion, that Vulcans did not imbibe alcohol because it had not effect on them.

'Well la-de-da for them,' she thought bitterly, 'It had not been enough for them to stop at alcohol, oh no, the pointy-eared bastards don't drink coffee either.' Jim hissed snidely in her head. She could not understand how this race of apparently 'superior beings' had traveled most of the known universe without some god-dammed booze and caffeine! There were certain things Jim could not stand for, and this unholy mockery of the natural law and order, was one of them.

Also, she had come to understand that Vulcans did not believe in real food. They made her feel like a rabbit with all the leafy greens. Jim still swore up and down one part of her supposedly 'vegetarian' meal had tried to bite her. She had no idea what was replicated but it reminded her of a hamster with some sort of stringy moss for fur instead of something edible. She knew she never could have been in Uhura's specialty. She didn't want to embrace other alien cultures. She just wanted a damn steak, or a chicken sandwich; anything that involved a dead animal somewhere on her plate, preferably with ketchup.

It also had dampened her mood that very individual she had accidently 'made out' with had said absolutely nothing about the event either way. The terran woman was suffering from a blow to her pride as well as a lack of proper caffeinated beverages. She had consoled herself to the fact that at least the captain hadn't called it horrible. 'Or illogical,' she mused in her head and a slight smile softened her features, 'If I never hear the word 'illogical' again it will be too damn soon.'

She had been sitting for the past hour listening in a bored fashion to Uhura, and some unknown female Vulcan, with yet another ridiculously hard to pronounce name, engage in the most tedious discussion of oral hygiene habits. 'What the hell am I still doing here?' The blonde thought morosely to herself as she gazed about the confines of the medical bay. She felt slightly cooped up with only stuffy Vulcans, a pissed off southern doctor who still hadn't forgiven her, and her other crewmembers for entertainment.

Jim had successfully staved off two days' worth of mind numbing boredom by talking with Bones, but now she had run out of topics that didn't begin with the phrase 'So there was this one time…' The next two days her mind had still practically vibrated with exuberance over the beautiful sight of the Vulcan warp core. It had not escaped her notice that the security guards seemed to pay particular attention to her movements after her escape the first time. The young engineer had found out, by more than one unsuccessful attempt, that Vulcans also had increased reflexes from humans. When they were not being knocked on their asses by Romulan torpedoes, she granted. The last two days Jim had contemplated eight different ways to compress the warp core into a volume half its size and possibly make it more cylindrical in nature. It was about as entertaining as it sounded.

She had also discovered that Captain Spock had not lied. Vulcans really didn't joke, or take jokes well. Her faced scrunched up for a moment in thought. Really, it had become plainly obvious; Vulcans were excellent at anything that had to do with science. Jim dearly longed to at least discuss one of her theories with a Vulcan mind, if only to pick apart their logical statements one by one, but they had all kept a rather large berth from her since the 'incident' as she had come to call it.

Her head, which had been cradled in one hand with her elbow bent upon the table, slipped out and she let her head fall with reduced speed to bang on the table. She was certain that while Maelrok had failed to drive her crazy in the cramped quarters of the damaged shuttle from the USS Hemingway; the Vulcans were succeeding perhaps a tad too well. She was getting desperate because she almost, almost, missed a certain psychotic Romulan. Her sapphire eyes stared at the greyish metal of the table as she zoned out.

She could hear the Vulcans still momentarily as she felt their eyes upon her. "I'm fine," she called out to the table but she knew they could hear her just fine even if the sound was a bit muffled.

Jim's ears twitched internally at the sound of an un-amused snort. "Having fun there Jim?" Uhura asked archly.

Indignation welled hotly in Jim's chest but she pushed it down. 'Oh it's easy for you. You are fascinated by languages that even I can freaking pronounce,' she thought somewhat testily. Jim kept her forehead resting on the table and refused to look up at Uhura. "Oh oodles," Jim stated dryly.

"Are you bored?"

"Nope. I'm just seeing if I can bend the table with my mind," Jim quipped. Her blonde hair hedged out the edge of her vision from her position so she could not see Uhura, but could hear the startled bark of laughter that escaped.

"The human mind is far too weak to attempt even the basics of telekinesis." Jim nearly sighed as the voice of an unknown Vulcan gave them 'enlightenment'.

"Oh, we are aware of that. Jim was using a hyperbole." Jim could hear the placation in Uhura's tone, and that did illicit a sigh from the Chief engineer, who waited until the retreating steps of the Vulcan could be heard.

"Uhura?" Jim asked neutrally.

"Yes?"

"That Vulcan just called us stupid." Jim looked up and glared through the loose strands of blonde hair that had been jarred out of her otherwise neat ponytail.

Uhura blinked and turned to look at the unnamed Vulcan who Jim could have sworn was laughing at them, or at least the Vulcan's back looked like it was gloating. Blue eyes narrowed slightly at the haughtiness of people that resembled terran elves to an extent. 'Superior my ass,' she scoffed lightly. 'All it would take is a few sarcastic lines and their entire race could be captured in three days.'

"I don't think he meant an insult."

'And hookers don't charge.' Jim arched an eyebrow at her in a decidedly Vulcan mannerism before shaking her head. "Whatever you say Nyota….whatever you say." Jim retracted her outstretched arms to sit back up with a dull look on her face.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," the linguist insisted.

Jim felt nonplussed. "Uh-huh."

"Vulcans are very polite." The engineer could see the doubt as it crept into the other woman's eyes.

"Sure they are." Jim rolled her eyes over toward the door and started drumming her fingers on the metal table.

"You don't really think he... ?" The question had been left hanging but the slightly older woman turned to look at Jim.

The blonde gave her a pointed look and sighed.

They sat in near silence for fifteen minutes and Jim was ready to kill something. Then it seemed her luck had turned for the door to the medical bay swished open and her blue eyes hungrily sought out who had broken the spell of tediousness.

'Oh look… another Vulcan." The blonde woman frowned in her head. She thought he might be yet one more apparent science officer that saw this as a prime opportunity to study 'human behavior'. However, she was about ready to hop on her menstrual cycle and run their asses over. Especially, their pride-wounding Captain who hadn't even had the decency to speak to her after she had rocked his ever-loving Vulcan hand; though finding out they were touch telepaths hadn't helped her dim down the embarrassment from the 'incident' at all.

Actually, she was not certain why his cool dismissal of her mistake upset her so much. Perhaps it had been because his face had never changed expression the entire time? Or maybe it was because he instantly went about business as usual? 'He still could have flirted back a little,' she thought grudgingly.

Her mind had been pulled from its more shallow thoughts by a pair of regulation grey-silver Vulcan pants. Jim slowly trialed her eyes upward to see a face she couldn't place. Her mind flickered with faint recognition. She thought she might have shoved this particular Vulcan out of her way at one point in time.

Jim watched the Vulcan incline his head in greeting.

"Chief Engineer Kirk," He stated blandly and Jim thought his voice was slightly deeper than that of the Captain's. She nearly growled at the thought of the male that had locked her in the damn medical bay.

The terran woman inclined her head back but said nothing. Her blue eyes watched the stiff-faced Vulcan in front of her. A set of impossibly dark eyes gazed down at her and Jim sincerely didn't care at the moment. She had been over the novelty three days ago.

"I wish to discuss your changes to the warp core," the Vulcan broached stoically.

Jim laughed for the first time in six days. "No."

A dark brow rose in question and Jim could see the lines around his eyes lesson which had told her she had surprised him. 'Good.' She thought vengefully.

He looked undeterred. "I must insist."

"I must refuse," she retorted.

"There is no logical reason to refuse," he reprised.

"Humans are not logical." Amusement colored her words wildly.

He pondered for a moment before replying. "Indeed. However, it would be in the best interests of both races to share this knowledge. The combined efforts would make any advances nearly unquantifiable."

A small smile danced with the enjoyment flashing in her eyes at what she perceived to be a Vulcan tantrum. "That's true. My answer is still no."

"I do not understand," the Vulcan stated.

"Yeah, I have had a problem with people understanding the word 'no' lately." The deadpan reply from the engineer had a few of her human companions snorting with laughter. "I can't imagine why. It is a fairly straightforward concept."

Jim did not miss the look that Nyota shot her. The more charismatic of the two women returned the gaze with a 'They started it' head motion.

"That was not what I was referring to," the Vulcan corrected, "I require clarification as to why you will not discuss your findings."

"I won't discuss them because quite frankly, I just don't think you would understand." Jim said in an indulgent manner.

"Fascinating," the male searched for the words, "You mean to imply that your intelligence is superior to ours?"

Jim grinned widely, her blue eyes flashing as she raised her shoulders in a shrug. "I increased your core's potential by 50% over maximum by a few simple changes during a time of chaos with only a calibration tool." She steeped her fingers under her chin with both elbows resting on the metal table before her. "What conclusion would you draw from that Mr…?"

"Second Engineer Ra'Vesti," the Vulcan supplied easily.

Jim's lips had quirked into a smile at the sound of the foreign name. "Right."

"I find myself intrigued by your challenge Chief Engineer Kirk." Jim felt a thrill of anticipation at the nearly naked look of curiosity that twinkled behind the Vulcan's supposed emotional control and she smiled broadly at the sight of it.

Whatever she would have said was lost to the four corners of her mind when the medical bay doors opened once more to allow the Captain of the Vulcan vessel admittance. Jim's gaze slid over to him immediately and her smile froze in her face. Jim felt her cheeks redden and she was mortified that her normally capricious nature had not allowed her to forget her social faux pa where Spock was concerned. Ruefully she noted that his was the only name she could actually say and she had to go and bumble things up so horridly. Really though, how could she have known that hands were intimate to them?

And he could have pushed her away. Why hadn't he pushed her away? Her thoughts churned and Jim pondered just how far Vulcan's took diplomatic relations.

The Vulcans turned and gave nods of respect to their commanding officer while Jim attempted not to glare at the interloper that might possibly rob her of the only source of fun she had had in six days. Besides annoying Bones, but that didn't count right now; it might after lunch.

What did count was the unusual shiver she felt wiggle up her spine when the chocolate brown eyes of the Captain clashed with hers. Jim took in his well kempt appearance and his look of utter placidity with truly human intent. With the smattering of lustful thoughts now circulating her brain, Jim winked at the captain just as she had after finding out she had more or less jumped his hand bones.

The terran woman watched with mild interest as Spock looked between her and second engineer….'God, I really am horrible with names, aren't I?" She was equally curious as to why the Vulcan in front of her stiffened and moved subtly away from her. 'Is he not supposed to talk to me? Oh come on! Captain Spock can't still be mad about my tinkering." Jim groaned mentally. Apparently besides science, Vulcans did grudges.

"Have you come seeking medical assistance Second Engineer?" The cool voice of Spock washed over Jim and decidedly indecent thoughts, mostly pertaining to various uses for certain durable surfaces, flooded her otherwise occupied mind. 'Oh yummy… definitely yummy.' Jim took a moment to make sure her skin was not touching anyone else's that was green. She had not forgotten the 'touch telepath' part.

"Negative Captain," the equally stoic male replied steadily.

"Then perhaps your time would be better served tending to your station." Jim felt that there was a hidden meaning to the words she could not quite place.

"Affirmative, Sir." The other engineer acquiesced quickly and departed the room in a natural fashion.

Jim looked up at Spock and grinned. "Fascinating," she jibed in mock surprise. She wondered vaguely if all Vulcans could raise their eyebrows so high.

"Chief Engineer Kirk," he greeted solemnly. Jim couldn't help but notice that her name seemed impossibly long when they kept attaching her title every time.

"Captain Spock." The half-grin that was second nature crept onto her lips in his presence and refused to leave.

He simply stood there looking at her and the terran found herself curious what could possibly have his attention so thoroughly. "You are operating at full physical and mental capabilities?"

She blinked. "I'm fine, yes."

They lapsed into an awkward silence and Jim couldn't help but notice that Uhura kept glancing over at them. Jim scowled at her for good measure. It was not as if she was going to force herself on the male a second time. Unless that's what he wanted and Jim hummed a pleased note softly at the thought. She wasn't an easy woman and she most certainly was not a virgin, but sometimes playing the 'How to match genitalia so that sex is possible' game with other species was fun. Unless they had tentacles then it was just plain weird.

She was struck by the sudden curiosity if Vulcans were green 'down there' too. Huh.

"That is acceptable then," the Captain commented and Jim laughed.

"I should hope so." She shook her head slightly in pure unabashed fondness for the seemingly maladroit male.

His expression remained neutral. "Indeed."

"Any communications from the Federation?" Blue eyes scanned his impassive face curiously. She knew that her fellow crewmembers had stilled with baited breath for the news.

"Negative. However, I do theorize that this is not wholly without interference." Spock's jaw tensed for a few moments and Jim know the cause without further need to speculate.

"Hm. I had thought Maelrok gave up rather easily. Shields returning to full power would not be enough to sway him from his goal." Her eyes looked down at her hands for a moment of quiet despair. She delved deep within herself and glanced back at the Captain with courage blazing in the blue depths.

"I theorize that the Romulan ship is most likely following our current trajectory and will strike at least once more before we leave the neutral zone." Jim didn't have the heart to tell him she already knew that. It was a fairly obvious conclusion if even she thought of it.

"Likely." She conceded generously.

"Highly probable," he corrected and Jim thought for a moment that it was said rather gently. However, nothing about him had changed and she was sure she had imagined it.

Jim shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"The ship along will the crew; as well as all passengers would be completely obliterated."

She gave him a look of pure shock and a bark of horrified laughter. 'It was a rhetorical question, Captain."

"I see."

She wasn't sure he actually did, but she would not call him on it. Jim stood up from the table and walked around the side. As she neared the Vulcan captain she noticed his eyes trailed her every move and that while he stood without fail, the other Vulcans seemed to tense with unease. She stopped a distance of three feet or so from him and truly looked at him for a moment. When she had looked; Jim had found herself caught between admiration, and attraction.

"How long until we are out of the neutral zone?" She queried absently.

"Approximately 14.756 days." The numbers rattled off his lips faster than any computer could calculate.

Jim smiled brightly at Spock. One of her rare smiles that were slow to bloom but it was filled with some nameless power. "That's more than enough time."

"I do not understand," Spock stated blandly, "It is a large enough time frame for what endeavor precisely?"

"Why to change the ways of warp core technology as we know it of course." She told him blithely. "If Maelrok is as serious as I think he is, then we will need my amazing talent with warp core drives."

"It is illogical to assume that you would be capable of creating and implicating items which you had quantified as theories only 6.258 days ago." The Vulcan blinked.

Jim laughed at him brightly. "Captain Spock, with all due respect," she intoned and watched his brow as it rose nearly to his hair line, "I know for a fact that 14 days is enough time."

"How is it that you are so certain of your capabilities?' Confusion rung out like a bell in his words and it made a sweet music to Jim's ears.

She waggled a finger at him in disappointment. "You are forgetting one thing."

"That is impossible I have an eidetic memory." The dark eyes watched her without reserve and they stood as if the only two people in the room. Both lost in a moment of jocularity and severity in equal measures.

"You're forgetting that I am James T. Kirk," she stated boldly straightening her spine to an almost unnatural height, "There is absolutely nothing I can't do."

"Except speak Romulan, Vulcan, Androrian, Orion, Breen, Xindi…" A male voice cut in matter-of-factly.

Blue eyes narrowed harshly. "Shut up Bones. Nobody asked you."