Thank you to TheWindowView for putting up with and correcting all my awkward sentences and random tense changes. I know, I know - it wouldn't happen if I didn't keep writing ehn I should be sleeping.
Did I mention that these characters have a mind of their own? They insist on doing their own thing. I'm just the writer, who am I to tell them otherwise? This chapter contains a little more detail on typical Paladian customs.
Anyways, please read and enjoy!
Like he usually does, McCoy was regretting making a stop at the medbay instead of going directly to his quarters. Though, this time the reason wasn't because of an injured engineer.
This time, the source of his regret was the half-Paladian doctor rummaging through the drawers of the medbay with one hand while holding an ice pack to the left side of her face with the other.
Approaching her, McCoy cleared his throat the let her know he was there.
With a squeal, she bolted upright and laid a hand on her chest when she realized who it was.
"Don't do that!" She snapped.
He smirked at her, then gestured to her face. "You alright?"
Wena turned a deep red. "I'm fine." She told him. She looked at the open drawer, bit her lip, and then looked back at McCoy. "Actually, if you could point me in the direction of your bruise cream, I'd be grateful."
His eyebrows rose. "Bruise?" Sighing, he gestured at the bed behind her and said "Sit down, I'll be right back."
Glancing at the bed, Wena figured out his intentions. "What? Oh no. No, I can treat myself!" She hissed at retreating form. Her words were slightly muffled by the ice pack covering half her face and she didn't want to wake any of the sleeping patients.
McCoy heard her and grumbled something about doctors making the worst patients. "Don't be a child. Sit down."
"McCoy, I do have a license to practice medicine." She told him. "I am capable of treating myself."
McCoy just glared at her and with a roll of her eyes, she sat down on the edge of the empty bed. This was not going to end well.
McCoy knew she could very well take care of herself and was clearly willing to do so, but his gut was twisted and he wanted to check out that bruise for himself.
After retrieving the supplies he needed, he returned to where she was impatiently waiting. Gently, he pulled the ice pack from her face and stared at her. A purple line about an inch wide had formed down the left side of her face, starting just above her eyebrow and ending in a point just above her jaw line. If he had to guess, it looked like she hit a corner with her face… or someone else did it for her. He thought of her behavior when she first arrived, the blatant mistrust of him and what he now believed to be secretive behavior when she attempted to keep the bruise from him.
"So," he near growled. "You want to tell me who did this?" Subtlety was not his forte.
Wena stared at the man. "Who?" She started and then let out and exasperated sigh. "Oh my gosh, just give the medication and we'll be done with it."
"If someone –"
She glared at him. "Thanks for the concern, but no thanks. Trust me, this is just a product of being clumsy." It was worse than she could have imagined. Here she thought she was just going to get mocked. That she could handle, but this gruff concern over what was clearly a misunderstanding? That threw her for a loop.
"Explain." He didn't bother to request the information.
Wena blushed again. "I was trying to turn around quickly and forgot how close the doorway was behind me." At McCoy's disbelieving look, she sighed. "Fine, if you must know I had just walked in on a very awkward situation with my roommate and I was trying to get out of there as quick as possible."
McCoy stared at her. "Your roommate?"
Shrugging, Wena tried to answer the question without telling him too much. "Yeah, she was a little busy."
"Busy? Busy with what?" The light bulb clicked on and he winced. "Dammit woman, I don't want to know that green blooded hobgoblin is getting lucky."
She gaped at him. "Jumping to conclusions much? Man, if I'd walked in on that I'm pretty sure I would have broken something trying to get out of there." She huffed. "Besides, that's not how Paladians do things. They were just kissing. Or almost." Wena shifted uncomfortably. "I think I killed the moment."
"I wouldn't bet you didn't." He told her. Since the tricorder revealed there were no broken bones, McCoy began to work on clearing up the bruise. "What did you mean by 'that's not how Paladians do things'?"
"I mean sex." Wena was distracted by the hands on her face.
"Don't play me for a fool." He snapped at her. "I know Paladians have sex."
Wena narrowed her eyes at him. "I mean sex before marriage."
He seemed interested. "So they're chaste?"
"Sorta." Wena said. "Most Paladians don't even consider premarital sex to be an option. It doesn't make sense to them."
McCoy stepped away from her, tending her bruise complete. "Why? Is it religious?"
"Maybe more spiritual." Wena concluded. "It's really difficult to explain."
"So try."
Wena rolled her eyes. She decided to try a different tactic. "Do you know that on Palad, if a man cheats on his wife, he is considered dishonorable and unfitting of the title 'man'?"
"And what if a woman cheats on her husband?"
"She is usually shunned by at least the female members of her society, if not everyone."
McCoy leaned against the bed next to Wena and whistled lowly. "Damn."
"Yeah." Wena said. "Fidelity is a big deal to Paladians and is considered even before marriage." There was more to it than that, but Wena really wasn't sure how to explain the rest.
"So, how does this whole touch-empathy with Paladians work?" The CMO had noticed that there didn't seem to be anything happening where the bare skin of his hands had touched the half-Paladian's face.
"Oh that's a fun topic." Wena said. "I can show you first hand, if you would like." She grinned at him.
"Oh boy." He said and with a sigh of resignation, he held out a hand.
She looked at the hand, then shook her head. "Actually, I'll explain it to you another time. It's getting pretty late."
McCoy checked the time and swore. "Yeah, you're right." He paused as he got up to leave. "You know, this was almost civil."
Wena snorted. "Don't make me barf."
The two left the medbay in short time, and Wena made her way back to her quarters, relieved to find the door shut this time. A clear indicator that Nia was in fact alone.
Sure enough, when Wena stepped inside she found Nia asleep on the couch in the small sitting area. Smiling softly, Wena carefully shook her friend and guided the groggy female to her bed. Nia was once again asleep before her head hit the pillow and Wena doubted her friend would remember moving when she woke up.
Quietly, Wena quickly changed for bed. She only hesitated when pulling off her shoes. She fingered the little compartment she had in the sole before swiftly tucking the shoes away.
In little time, both women were curled under their covers and asleep.
***
Since the rescue of the Paladians, the mess hall had often been crowded. Despite this, Nia had not often eaten with other Paladians besides Wena. She'd spent time with them outside of the lab, from chasing Jacek down, to spending time with Grego, to entertaining Layla. Slowly, but surely Nia was making her way around to the majority of the Paladian settlers.
On this day, however, the usual trio was joined by an interesting guest.
Nia had been mid-sentence when she'd felt the tugging on her shirt sleeve. Turning her head, Nia looked down in surprise at the little girl staring up at her.
Nia smiled. "Niki," she said. "How are you?"
"I am well. May I eat with you?"
Surprised at how polite she was, Nia told Niki yes.
Wena snickered when the small head appeared over the edge of the table when the child climbed up into Nia's lap. She could tell that Nia had not been expecting the girl to do that, but pushed her chair back anyway to give the girl some room.
A small bowl of sweet fruit appeared next to Nia's lunch and little fingers dug in to pull out choice bits. Small smacking noises could be heard as the fruit slowly disappeared.
Spock eyed the child with interest. This was a Paladian female approximately five or six years of age. Her hair was a pale grey, as opposed to Nia's stark white and the pink hue to her skin was more pronounced. Spock supposed the differences in coloring could have been due to her age or allelic variation of the genes controlling the feature. It would be similar to the extensive variations in human coloring.
To him, the child was an oddity. The child behaved as if Nia was a close family member and highly trusted, but Nia's tone of voice indicated that Niki was not. Also, Vulcan children were not coddled in such a manner. A proper seat was available for the child.
Also, he did not understand Nia's ease in handling the child and having her in such a close position. If the child were biologically hers, the maternal instinct would easily explain such actions. He'd experienced a human mother's maternal instinct, to a somewhat limited extent.
Wena was amused watching Spock stare at the child as if Niki were a puzzle. Wena had seen the child previously, knew the family she was from, and knew she was prone to form bonds with almost strangers. Her mother often had fits about it, but there was little she could do to discourage the child.
Amusement turned into near laughter when Niki looked up at Spock and scrutinized him.
With a frown Niki looked at Nia, then back at Spock, as if comparing the two. Then Niki asked Spock a question.
Spock realized it had become important for him to learn the Paladian language.
Seeing his plight, Nia translated. "She wants to know why you are green."
"I see." He said and waited for Nia to explain the matter to the child. However, Nia and Niki both continued to stare at him as if expecting him to answer the question. "I do not speak her language." He confused by the necessity to pointing out such an obvious fact.
Nia's answering smile was soft. "I know. She would still like to hear you answer her anyways."
With one eyebrow raised Spock proceeded to do so. He addressed Niki directly when doing so. "My skin tone has a green hue due to the copper in my blood." He waited patiently for Nia to translate.
During Nia's translations were the only times that Niki looked away from him. She always addressed her questions to Spock and listened to his answers even when she couldn't understand him.
It was during the question and answer session that Kirk showed up and sat down next to Wena, across from Spock. The captain smirked at the sight of the small child in Nia's lap and didn't dare interrupt the interplay between the little girl and the Vulcan.
Jacek also soon appeared, pulling up a chair to sit beside Nia, in between the Paladian and half-Paladian women. Wena leaned forward to crack a joke at Jacek's expense just in time to catch the near violent glare the man sent in Kirk's direction.
Snapping her mouth shut, Wena leaned back, shocked at the hostility that showed on her friend's face. Jacek was not the type to be disrespectful to authority, so the captain must have done something big to get under Jacek's skin. Maybe something to do with Grego; the brothers were fiercely loyal.
Whether Kirk noticed the hard stare or not, he acted the same.
Nia definitely noticed and kicked Jacek hard under the table. Niki giggled and Spock was about to inquire about the action when Nia shook her head. Wisely, Spock decided to answer Niki's most recent question instead.
Eventually, Niki ran out of questions and lunch and decided to leave the table.
As the girl ran away to join her mother, Wena gushed "That was adorable."
"I know." Nia said. "And she's so polite too. Her mother has really taught her well."
Wena nodded. "She better watch out when Niki gets older though. She's already got her father's good looks."
Nia chuckled. "Yeah, she'll be bringing home trouble when she gets older."
With a smirk, Kirk added "I'm sure her father will love that, if he's anything like human fathers."
The silence that fell on the table and the renewing of the glare from Jacek told Kirk that he said something wrong. It only took a second for him to catch on, having heard the same kind of silence before. "He's dead, isn't he?"
"Just after Niki was born. His heart, well it," Nia tried to remember the right medical term.
Wena spoke up for her. "He had the Paladian form of a heart attack, though it's really not much different than what Humans go through."
"That is unfortunate." Spock said.
"It is," Nia agreed. "I think that's why she took such a liking to you. Because of not having a father figure, I mean."
Wena added "Or any males in her life, really."
"You do not believe it is because I am of a species she has never met?" Spock asked. It seemed a more logical explanation.
Wena made a noise of disagreement. "That might have been part of it, but Niki definitely wanted your attention, Spock. There are other males at this table, and she never gave them a second glance. And, Niki was not near as curious about the female Andorian she met this morning."
"Exactly." Nia said. "That's why I translated your answers instead of answering her questions myself. If your attention didn't matter as much she would have asked me her questions once it became clear she'd only understand what I told her."
Kirk snorted. "I think you might be reading too much into it. She can't have been older than five or six years at the most?"
"But you are forgetting how much of body language and nonverbal communication is learned at a very early age." Wena lifted a hand and gestured at Spock. "If he had refused to give Niki any attention, she would have felt that rejection. Granted," She decided to throw Kirk a bone "she probably wouldn't have understood it and could have easily acted out in a variety of ways, but the she still would have felt it and recognized it."
"You know, the learned part of body language," Nia spoke up "is very important for the parent. After all, a large part of teaching our children how to behave is by behaving in the manner we desire for them to do so."
"Spock, do Vulcan parents act differently around their children than they would in a different situation?" Wena asked.
"They do not." Spock answered, understanding the point behind the doctor's question.
"In reality there's too much effort involved in behaving differently. Even if you start off behaving differently, you get tired of it. Now of course, you treat a child differently because you have to teach them." Wean turned back to Kirk. "If you get down on a child's level when speaking with them or playing with them, you teach them it's ok to interact with adults."
It was around this time Kirk realized just what kind of topic he had stumbled on to. "Wow, you two are really passionate about this."
Nia shrugged. "I suppose you can blame that on the maternal instinct. It can be pretty strong in some females."
"Including yourself?"
Nia cleared her throat. "Possibly. I don't have any experience to really know otherwise."
Briefly, Kirk wondered how he was going to skate around that minefield. He tried to go for the obvious compliment, or else Spock might kill him. "I'm sure you'd make a great mother." He told her and she blushed. "You sure understood Niki better than I ever would have."
Nia's blush deepened as Jacek snapped "That's not hard to do."
This time it was Wena who kicked him as the table stared at him in shock.
"What is wrong with you?" Nia hissed. "If you cannot be nice you can sit elsewhere."
Instead of chaffing under being spoken to like a child, Jacek just rolled his eyes and shoveled a large amount of food into his mouth in response.
Nia grimaced when he couldn't close his mouth and turned back to her more mature tablemates.
"Say," Nia gained the attention of both Kirk and Spock. "Do either of you know of anyone who would be willing to start sparring with me?"
A/N: Not a very eventful chapter, but Niki insisted on making an appearance. I'll be sure to have the next chapter out quickly :D
Thank you, thank you to SerenityAngels, TheWindowView, Saavikam69, little. ona, and skye. maiden13 for reviewing. Also, thank you to everyone who has decide to follow and/or favorite this story. I love hearing from you all, and am glad so many are enjoying this.