Thanks for your reviews! You know they spur me on to update. I own nothing Rated M.

Thanks to Lov2catnap!

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Jim awoke groggily to the sounds of Bones pacing. She'd know those footfalls on any surface. God only knew how often he had paced since he met her. Jim had the sneaking suspicion that she was the reason he lost an entire pants size last year. Well, it was just a suspicion anyway.

She cracked an eye open, and noted that she was on a medical bed. They were universally uncomfortable, it seemed.

The chief engineer remained completely still in order to not alert Bones to her awakened state. She surveyed the room for signs of what had happened while she had apparently fainted.

God, how embarrassing to faint right after a date! 'Not, that it actually was a date,' she amended quickly, 'It was just a friendly dinner… of absolutely disgusting food, that, I am apparently, allergic to. Good times, good times.'

When she found nothing of interest except for Bones and T'Starla, who looked directly at her with an 'I know you are awake' expression, Jim stretched. She made sure to make obvious signs that she was alert.

"Jim! Thank God!" Bones exclaimed, rushing to her side.

"Thanks are illogical," the Vulcan medical officer stated from across the room, and Jim smothered a laugh.

"Green-blooded troglodytes," her crewmember hissed under his breath.

"That term is unfamiliar, explain," The Vulcan woman commanded tonelessly, while turning to face the pair of terrans.

"Shut up, will you?" Bones questioned in irritation.

"Your request shall be evaluated after I have received sufficient explanation on the term 'troglodytes'," T'Starla responded calmly.

"Oh, I have an 'explanation' for you right here-"

Jim cleared her throat to stop the line of questioning, and her presumed inappropriate response from Bones. She gave Bones a lop-sided grin.

"Hi, Bones," Jim greeted softly.

"Don't you 'Hi, Bones' me lady," the southern gentleman drawled angrily, "First you disappear with some Vulcan on a date-"

"It wasn't a date," she protested hotly.

He leveled a glare at her, one that had Jim's ovaries drawing up in fear. "Then you have an allergic reaction to something you ate," he continued lowly, "when I specifically told you not to eat anything I hadn't screened."

"Our foods are non-toxic to humans. Your precautions were illogical," T'Starla interjected.

Bones looked ready to throttle them both. The color was high on his cheeks, and Jim could tell he was grinding his teeth.

"Jim has a history of being allergic to harmless items," he ground out, barely in control, "And judging by the fact that she had a reaction to some 'non-toxic' blue fruit… my concern is logical"

She winced when Bones had sneered the word at the Vulcan as if it were a curse. T'Starla merely raised a brow, looking highly underwhelmed by the fury of the male terran. Those eyes pinned Jim with righteous rage.

She laughed nervously, as she moved to sit. "Oh come on now… I'm fine Bones."

"Every time you tell me you're 'fine', I have a near heart attack," he groused, "You were out for eight hours! That… Vulcan over there might have killed you if I wasn't here."

"That is highly improbable," said Vulcan retorted neutrally, "Though weak, the terran physique would require more pressure than-"

"I know," Bones hissed, "I am a Doctor."

T'Starla nodded at him blankly. She faced Jim with the same neutral look, and Jim smiled in return. "I shall inform the Captain that you have regained consciousness."

Oh, right. The Captain of the Vulcan vessel, the one that had fed her food that Jim had thought came out of a horror novel. That Captain…where was he anyway?

"I shall alert him on the Bridge," T'Starla stated, sensing Jim's curiosity before moving toward her communicator. This left Bones and Jim relatively alone. She turned her blue eyes up into his frosty ones. It seemed that he was not done reading her the 'riot-act'.

"Damn it Jim! I have better things to do then watch you fall unconscious all the time!"

"I think you are exaggerating. It's not 'all the time'," she interrupted sweetly.

"If you don't stop acting so reckless I'm going to hand you over to that Romulan myself," Bones stated, stubbornly glaring at her.

Jim laughed lightly. "You're so romantic Bones," she commented dryly, "It's a wonder we aren't married yet."

"I plan to survive past my forties," he quipped, with some of his playfulness returning.

"But Bones," a mischievous grin spilt her lips, "Think about how much fun it would be."

"We'd kill each other inside of two weeks," Bones promised in a deadpan manner.

"Yeah, but two whole weeks! That's a long time," Jim winked at him sexily. "Think of the honeymoon."

A dull flush of red crept up his cheeks, and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Shut up Jim, or I will find a vaccination you haven't had yet."

The threat was clear between them, but that had never been something to deter James T. Kirk.

"So, no honeymoon then?" She waggled her brows at Bones for effect. "I never pegged you for a 'before-marriage' type. Kinky…" Jim purred wantonly.

Her fellow crewmember gaped at her. His face flushed even more, and she hopped off the table. Her knees were still a little weak, but nothing she couldn't handle.

"You know, you are really attractive when you blush, Dr. McCoy." The chief engineer batted her eyes at him coyly.

The click of a recording turned Jim's attention to T'Starla. "Further observation is required; the terran patient has regained consciousness, but suffers from delusions."

Jim blinked at what could only be called a Vulcan joke. Her blue eyes landed on Bones, who looked fit to be tied. Hm, she would file that image away for later. He really did have nice hands, after all. Her companion glanced her way.

"I don't know who should be more insulted," Jim mused aloud, "You or me?"

"Me," Bones retorted sharply.

"It would appear that the delusions are contagious… fascinating," The Vulcan intoned once more.

Jim laughed until tears filled her eyes. Perhaps Vulcans weren't so bad. She noticed that Bones had gone off into a lengthy list of terran monsters to call the other Chief Medical Officer.

Jim's blue eyes landed on the door out of the Medical bay, her reasoning that she had been out for eight hours, so that was the same as a full night's rest. Therefore, to quote her Vulcan rescuers, it was only 'logical' that she get back to work.

She snuck a glance to T'Starla, who looked bored at the ranting of Bones. Jim shrugged. They would be fine without her… or Bones would be laid out on the table she had just occupied…

Oh well! He could handle it. Either way, there was a warp core calling her name. With a few quick punches, which she had witnessed on several occasions, thanks to Captain Spock, Jim let herself out of the medical bay. The terran slunk around to the turbolift, trying to appear nonchalant. She had, after all, done this before. Granted, there had been more chaos, and explosions involved. She traced a finger down to the engineering deck. Her blue eyes flickered toward the door, while she tapped her foot impatiently. As far as Jim was concerned, she was woefully behind schedule.

One passing Vulcan gave her a curious glance as they passed her down the hall, but also a rather wide berth. She had exited the lift and took a fast pace toward her destination. Jim had not recognized the Vulcan, but there were hundreds of them aboard the ship she had not met, so this was not strange.

She came to the door of the Engineering bay, and punched in the access code, as if she had every right to do so. The doors swished open, granting her entrance. Jim made a beeline for her work, which was unsurprisingly, just as she had left it. She spared a polite greeting for the Second Engineer, who stopped to stare at her for a moment. Jim smiled at him warmly, before maneuvering toward her neglected project.

Her fingers methodically wove the crystals into the framework, and soon hours passed by quickly as Jim sweated, cursed internally, and fought with her creation. When enough of the crystal mass had been placed, and secured, she realized that she had forgotten to leave space for the plasma coils. That meant that her power grid, while pretty, would be useless if she could not harness the energy. She wiped the sweat from her brow as she stared down at the grid in concentration.

She had accounted for the mass of crystal, and could not remove what she had placed without risk of compromising the necessary potential energy. Her fingers played with her calibration tool, as she reflected that if she could modify her plans, to attach a separate coil to the grid, like a main power line, then it might be enough to boost the initial chemical reaction. It was far riskier than her original design, but it made it far more probable. It could, potentially, reduce the weight of the grid by 13%. There were certain risks that should be taken in the name of science.

She weighed her options silently in her head.

The sound of something moving behind her caused Jim to turn her head. She blinked into the expressionless eyes of the Second Engineer. Her gaze traveled the length of his body for a moment, coming to rest on the tools in his hands.

"Uh… hi… again." She greeted with surprise.

"Greetings Chief Engineer Kirk," Ra'Vesti responded tonelessly.

"What can I do for you?" Jim queried, tilting her head slightly.

She knew it must have nearly killed him, as much as one can for a Vulcan, not to point out the 'illogical' parts of her statement.

"I have been observing you," he began.

Jim raised an eyebrow at him. She'd known that, he was not exactly tactful about staring.

"I was aware," she responded dryly, she cut him off before he could respond. "No it's ok, keep staring. It just tells me you are interested," she winked at him playfully.

"There is a muscle spasm occurring in your left eye," the Vulcan stated blandly.

Well, there went the idea of flirting with him…

Jim repressed the urge to sigh. "Let's try this again… what do you need?"

"As I stated previously, I have observed you, and I have found that your logic differs greatly from my own. Our first, and second, meetings were not as satisfactory as they could have been."

Jim wondered if this had a point somewhere.

"Yes…and?" Jim asked defiantly.

"And," he repeated stoically, "I would like to inquire if you would be amicable to partaking of nourishment with me?"

Blue eyes widened slightly. 'Am I being asked out… again? Not that Captain Spock asked me out, but this is eerily similar' Her mind pondered curiously. She had to admit, that she could not fathom why so many Vulcans wanted to eat with her. She had better speak to Uhura soon, just to make sure it wasn't some freaky Vulcan thing. Or worse, that she hadn't just engaged herself accidentally… again.

Fucking Klingons… that one had taken Starfleet six weeks to sort out. Jim had been highly upset by the time she was rescued. Her blue eyes gazed back into the Vulcan's dark ones.

"I don't see a problem with that," she stated unsurely, her blue eyes gazed back into the Vulcan's dark ones, and her palms grew damp under his gaze.

The second Engineer nodded. "Then we shall let 'bygones be bygones'."

She reared back to look at him with wide eyes. Had this Vulcan just used a human phrase? She opened her mouth, only to close it a moment later. She, James T. Kirk, was speechless.

"Was that not the correct phrase?" Ra'Vesti asked, his words hesitant.

"No, that was correct," Jim replied, still in shock.

She had seen Vulcans use expressions, made jokes, and use sarcasm. Clearly, all the data on Vulcans was incorrect. 'Humans are being royally duped, ' she thought suspiciously.

Her eyes lurched back to her project, so tantalizingly close to completion. She did not want to be rude, since she was a guest here, and overriding codes would already get her reprimanded. Jim smiled, even though it was forced, at the Vulcan before her. Somehow, she had the oddest feeling that Captain Spock was not going to like her dining with other males.

This made no sense at all, because Jim hardly knew Spock, and they'd only had one discussion that didn't pertain to Maelrok. She fidgeted with her tools again. And she licked her suddenly dry lips. Her gaze swept form Ra'Vesti to the warp core, and back again.

"May I suggest that we depart for the cafeteria? I believe that is the human vernacular for immediately?" The blank-faced Vulcan asked her.

'Well, no time like the present, I suppose,' she conceded. Jim nodded her head, and started for the door, with the second engineer at her heels. Their walk down the hall was in complete silence as well as the ride in the turbolift. Jim was growing more uncomfortable by the second. She began to consider the possibility that she should have listened to Bones…

Ra'Vesti led her down the corridor toward the cafeteria, which was the damn mess hall… freaking polite Vulcans, and Jim's jaw nearly dropped. She stood in a large room, with several tables, chairs, and Vulcans. What surprised her though, was how silent everyone was. The Vulcans did not speak when they ate.

Well, that explained last night, in part, anyway.

Several sets of eyes latched onto her with curiosity burning behind their expressionless faces. Jim smiled wanly at them, feeling as out of place as an ice cream treat in a health restaurant. Ra'Vesti inclined his head toward and empty table, and Jim nearly scurried, but didn't because she had her pride, to sit down.

She was understandably worried. She did not have the best track-record with large groups of Vulcans. Jim could not stop herself from sitting as straight as possible. Her focus darted all around the room. She could not see a single Vulcan she knew, aside from the Second Engineer.

As the tray slid before her, she jumped, startled by the sudden return of Ra'Vesti with their food. 'Great…more colored goop I don't recognize,' she thought warily.She honestly wondered what it was with Vulcans and their freaky soups. Jim, however, was polite and smiled in gratitude at her fellow engineer. She dipped a spoon into the thick liquid with misgiving. Jim thoroughly believed that if the Romulan's, Warp Core tinkering, and Bones didn't kill her, Vulcan food would.

It was decided! She was definitely hi-jacking a replicator.

Jim did not care about the ramifications. She was going to starve if the Vulcans kept trying to 'feed' her. The terran female wondered where she could get her hands on a replicator. Or, at the very least, she could figure out how to get enough time alone with one to change the menu. She nearly snorted into her 'soup' at the understanding that messing with a replicator was the smallest of her transgressions.

"It is customary for terrans to converse during nutrient intake, is it not?" The smooth voice of the Vulcan male pulled Jim from her musings.

"Oh, yes," she responded absently, "humans normally talk during a meal."

"Do you wish to partake in this custom?" The dark eyes scrutinized her for…something.

Jim had no idea what he wanted. "I'm up for talking if you are."

"We are sitting," he pointed out logically.

Jim laughed softly. Her face flushed when several sets of eyes turned toward her. "That is true. We don't actually have to get up," she assured him gently, "It is a human term."

"Fascinating," Ra'Vesti replied, mulling over her words carefully.

"You should talk with our linguist, she could explain many things more adequately than I could," Jim said fondly, trying not to squirm in her seat.

"That would be the other female?"

Jim nodded. "Yes, that is Lt. Uhura" She took another bite of her 'soup', trying not to grimace.

"I must say that I find your species to be… intriguing," The Vulcan continued blandly.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Jim quipped.

Ra'Vesti nodded. "It was intended as such."

They sat in silence for a few moments, and watched as other Vulcans trickled out of the room, their meals consumed. Jim brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen from her ponytail out of reflex. She was not used to being surrounded by another species, especially one she knew virtually nothing about. She looked up to see Ra'Vesti staring at his food in contemplation.

Jim decided to take pity on him. "So tell me about yourself," she started conversationally.

"What knowledge do you wish to gain?" The Vuclan asked.

"Well, what is Vulcan like?" Jim asked in honest curiosity.

"Far hotter and drier than Terra, or Earth," the statement was devoid of emotion.

Jim felt like banging her head against the nearest hard surface, which, of course, was the table beneath her.

"Were you born on Vulcan?" she tried again.

"Negative, I was born in the star system of Sol. My Father came from Vulcan, my mother was Vtosh ka'tur,"

She really hated feeling stupid in front of Vulcans. "What's Vtash Cattcher?"

"Vtosh Ka'tur, a Vulcan without logic," he explained bluntly, "Some that did not embrace the teachings of Surak, but chose instead to embrace their emotions and wander."

'What the hell is a teaching of Surak?' she wondered confused. Jim really needed to take some xenobiology lessons., for this was getting ri-God-damn-diculous.

"So you're what? Half-Vulcan?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"No, I am wholly Vulcan in physiology, however, my control is not that of a standard Vulcan," he admitted without shame. He was Vulcan after all.

"Control over what?" the puzzled expression never left Jim's face.

"Over emotions."

Oh! Uhura had mentioned that in tirade about Vulcan culture. Jim winced at her lack of tact in asking such personal questions. She schooled her features to not show her shock.

"Well, I think it makes you unique," She stubbornly stated. She really didn't care that he was half, or not half, of anything. As long as he wasn't trying to kidnap her, and blow her out of space, she was fine with him. Fine with anyone, really.

His dark eyes searched her blue ones intently. "You are… kind, to think so."

Jim flashed him a smile, 'soup' long forgotten. "You're welcome."

"Welcomed to what?" The stoic individual blinked at her curiously.

'Down Jim! No bad thoughts with touch telepaths in the room.' Her mind shuttered with the effort it took not to crack a joke about what he was 'welcome' to. She really needed to get back to her grid anyway.

"Human saying," she glibly avoided her temptation to flirt. "Well… I'm full. Are you finished?"

The Vulcan nodded gracefully, and Jim moved to stand. She helped him clear the plates, and utensils. They walked back to the Engineering bay in a far more comfortable silence. She basked in the sight of the bay doors, and waited for Ra'Vesti to open them again.

"Thanks for lunch," Jim said sweetly, and moved back to her project. She noticed that Ra'Vesti did not correct her use of an 'illogical' word.

"I have not had my attention engaged that completely since I was an adolescent."

Jim gave him an amused grin. "It was very fun."

"Affirmative, it was… fun," Ra'Vesti said, his mouth giving the barest hints of a tiny smile.

She nodded and turned back to her work. Jim shrugged internally and picked up her plasma injector. Her face scrunched up in concentration as she attempted to find a place to attach it that would not jeopardize her previous work. She sat cross-legged on the floor, and eyed her creation approvingly.

"Where to put you?" She asked herself quietly.

"Perhaps, I could… be of assistance, to you?" Jim turned to see Ra'Vesti directly behind her, unmoving. There was a glimmer of expression behind his eyes.

"Um… that would be nice," Jim nodded slowly, and motioned for him to sit down next to her.

If he seemed startled by the lack of space between them, he did not show it. Jim could feel the heat of his body through his uniform, and she struggled not to be marveled by how different Vulcans truly were from humans. Her cheeks flushed under his gaze, when he stared at her over long. She still could not wrap her mind around Vulcan's and their staring.

Where she came from staring was considered rude. Apparently, no one told this to the Vulcans.

They had spent hours next to one another, speaking of her designs, the possible energy outputs, and even how she had been inspired to create it. Jim had found an unlikely friend in Ra'Vesti. Even though he was emotionally stunted, she could tell that he shared her passion for science. She glanced at him as they affixed the last plasma injector. She had to admit that Vulcans were very attractive.

She pulled herself from her thoughts, and continued on fine-tuning the grid. With Ra'Vesti's help she was a full two days ahead of schedule now. Which was excellent, as her time to complete it was swiftly drawing to a close. She grinned at the stoic Vulcan, who didn't look all that impassive under the florescent light, as she secured the last part of the casing.

Finally! It had been completed. Her lattice style crystallized dylithium crystals glowed an iridescent, and decidedly pretty, blue. Her own sapphire eyes admired her work with great waves of satisfaction. All she needed to do now was hook this exchange port up into the Warp core. However, to do that, she would have to disengage the core for a short period of time.

The definition of 'short' depended on how well she could adapt the plasma injectors.

"I think, we did a fantastic job, Ra'Vesti," Jim stated with exhausted pride.

"Affirmative," the Vulcan replied, looking completely composed.

Jim knew she looked like she had been through the wringer, but that was ok. She was human, she could use that excuse if anyone inquired. Then, she could tell them to shove it up… whatever orifice was the most insulting, she supposed. She glanced down at the grid, then back up to her Vulcan companion.

"I might, need help lifting it," she decided honestly; a body builder she was not.

"I shall assist you," Ra'Vesti offered without much prompting.

Jim flashed him a grateful grin. "Ok you grab that end, I have this one."

They parted from their seats, and for a moment Jim missed the warmth. Not that the blasted ship was cold, anything but, however, she had enjoyed the simple camaraderie of having someone else to share her 'baby' with.

It turned out, she was slightly surprised, that Ra'Vesti could pick the entire thing up by himself. Jim tried her hardest not to ogle the Vulcan physique. It was harder than it sounded. She directed him to a nearby conduit, where she would be able to siphon off a moderate amount of power. Jim requested that Ra'Vesti re-route the warp core for a few moments. Though he stated that they should alert the Captain of such a change, Jim declined.

"This should work," she declared with false bravado.

"You are uncertain?"

Jim could tell that the Vulcan was uneasy at her wording. She flashed him, what she hoped, was a reassuring smile.

"Well, in theory, it will either work, blow us all up, or somehow revert us back to being six," She joked lightly.

A brow disappeared into his hairline. "'Blow us all up'?" The Vulcan questioned with incredulity.

"In theory," Jim stressed sarcastically.

The Vulcan straightened to his full height. "I advise that you do not-"

"Here we go!" Jim crowed, and rammed the injector into the power source. She slammed her eyes tightly shut.

The low whirring of the machine, as the plasma heated, greeted her ears. Jim peaked open a blue eye to stare at her creation with silent awe.

"We are alive," she stated breathlessly, "I can't believe it worked!"

"Indeed," Ra'Vesti stated calmly, though Jim could tell he was fighting for composure.

"This is great. Now, all we have to do it hook the warp core back up before Captain Spock notices," she started excitedly.

"Indeed," the cold tone of the Vulcan Captain cut across to their position.

Jim glanced at Ra'Vesti with amusement, and dread. "He's right behind me isn't he?"

"Affirmative," the other engineer responded with his lips twitching slightly.