Not to terrify you all... but there's only one chapter left after this one.
And then of course, the sequel in which EVERYTHING happens. Gah!
Now, this chapter might be a little silly, though I tried to keep everyone as in-character as possible. Forgive me if anyone is a little OOC!
Read and enjoy!
On a normal day, Wena knew better than to just speak her mind. She knew better than to call someone foul names or slap them for any given offense. The doctor knew how to handle people with courtesy and tact. Normally, Wena was aware of her friend's sensitivity and refrained from offending her.
Normally.
"You are so stupid," the dark haired doctor groaned from where her forehead rested on her crossed arms. "You do realize you've been acting like nothing is wrong, right?" Had been for two weeks, too.
Nia snorted. "If that were true, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"Let me rephrase: you've been acting like nothing is wrong around him." Wena lifted her head to glare at the Paladian across from her. That day the pair was eating lunch alone, something arranged by the half-Paladian doctor. "I'm your best friend, he's just a Vulcan. I have a distinct advantage even if you were acting normal around me."
Rolling her eyes, Nia ignored her friend's gaze. "Well, how else am I supposed to act? He didn't bother to respond to my message."
"Um, hello-o! He did!"
"I'm not sure reinstating my lab status counts."
Wena scoffed. "Sure it does. It just wasn't what you wanted."
Nia set down her fork with a huff. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what you think it does," Wena snapped back. "Look, you expected him to get what you meant and are oh so readily accepting his lack of response as a – a polite rejection."
Silent, Nia picked her fork back up to play with the noodles on her plate.
"And honestly, I can't believe you haven't noticed."
Pausing in her movements, Nia looked up. "Noticed what?"
Wena's head found the table again. She considered lifting it up to repeat the process and decided the headache she already had did not need to be added to. "That poor, poor man has been walking on eggshells around you for the last two weeks. He's clearly been waiting for you to make the next move." Head up and hands waving, she continued, "I mean, did you ever think to, I don't know, talk to him about it?"
"I- well, I- " Nia sighed and valiantly attempted to hold back the tears welling in her eyes. "I've been such an idiot already and I was afraid of continuing to be so. Clearly, I'm attempting to dig myself a grave."
"When you are done, give me the shovel so I can hit you with it. Someone needs to," Wena grumbled then caught a glimpse of Nia's face. "Seriously, you've got to get over this idea of who you think Spock should be with. It doesn't matter what you think, it matters what he thinks."
With another sigh, Nia leaned back in her seat and ran her hands over her face. "You're right. I know you are." She set her hands on the table. "I don't know what he thinks though, and I guess that is part of the problem."
"Well, you know how to fix that," Wena replied dryly. She met Nia's gaze. "Talk to him. Or I'll tell the captain to bar you from your quarters until you do."
Nia snorted, but didn't respond. She wasn't sure if the captain would so willingly do such a thing, but Nia was also smart enough not to test it.
"You could always use the research he's been helping with as an excuse to start talking. He's been a major help in that area and you know it." Wena frowned. "So has Sulu. Sword-fighting, botanist, pilot. Who knew?"
STSTST
"Alright Spock, what is going on between you and Sargent?"
The commander looked up in surprise at his captain.
Kirk just shook his head. He'd had enough. The wary looks and glances, the bit lips, and the unconscious twirls of hair between nervous fingers had been very obvious to Kirk. And of course, Spock's own tension had been just as plain to see.
"Jim, I cannot ascertain your meaning."
Kirk sighed. "Something happened. Something to do with the incident in the turbolift and the brief rescinding of Sargent's lab access, I'm willing to bet."
Spock said nothing, he merely watched him from across the chess board.
"I assumed it was resolved when her status was reinstated, but now I'm starting to think otherwise," he said. "So, what's going on? You say something to upset her? Is she behaving too illogically for you?"
The slumping of Spock's shoulders was slight, but still Kirk caught it. "I know not. Perhaps all conclusions are applicable."
"What happened?"
"We had an altercation that resulted in my prohibiting her from the lab. After sufficient time for her to calm, she sent me an apology. Seeing that she had returned to a more rational state, I reinstated her lab status," Spock informed him.
Frowning, Kirk asked, "And you two have been walking on eggshells ever since?"
Spock nodded.
"Was there anything else in the message? Or was there just an apology?"
He hesitated for only a moment. "An additional line was written, though I am uncertain as to its meaning."
Kirk was unsurprised. "May I see the message?"
"Certainly." Spock pulled the message up on his PADD and passed it over to the captain. While it was a personal message, Spock saw no reason not to show it to Kirk.
Kirk read over the short message quickly before his brows furrowed in confusion. "'How Thought You This Thing Could Captivate?' Is that the line you were talking about?"
"Yes, Jim."
"Is it a title for something?"
He nodded. "A Tennyson poem, I believe. Though, I find it holds little significance to the incident in question."
With a brief inhale as a light bulb went off, Kirk looked up at Spock. "We need a female's perspective on this, and there's no one better to ask than the best friend."
"Dr. Verde."
"Care to put the game on hold for a trip down to the medbay?"
"Only if you do not attempt to cheat."
"Hey! I only did that once."
"Twice."
"You know about that?"
"I am Vulcan, Jim. My memory is impeccable."
"…Right…"
STSTST
When Wena looked up to see both the captain and the first officer heading her way, she instinctively knew she was in trouble.
"What now?" She asked with a groan.
Both men paused in their steps, hesitating to move closer in the face of possible hostilities.
Kirk cleared his throat, "Well, uh, we have something we'd like to ask you?"
"Sure, Captain, what is it?" Wena asked, impatiently. She had work to do.
He handed her Spock's PADD. "This message. Can you tell us what it means?"
Frowning, Wena looked down and read through it. When she saw the sender's name, she started shaking her head. "No. Oh, no. You did not come here for the sole purpose of getting information from the best friend." She handed the PADD back. "Sorry boys, but I think Nia would kill me. I am not getting involved."
Groaning, Kirk tried to plead with her, "Come on Verde, not even a little hint?"
"No."
"I'll make it an order."
"I'm not Starfleet. I don't have to answer."
Kirk's eyes narrowed. "I can make you stay on the Enterprise considerably less comfortable."
Spock's eyes widened fractionally at the threat. "Captain – " He started to protest, but Wena cut him off.
"And do what?" She challenged, green eyes flashing.
He smirked at her. "I'll have the replicators programmed to stop making blue jello."
She gasped and placed a hand over her heart. "You wound me!" She cried.
"What the devil is going on? This is a medbay, not the set for a soap opera!" The gruff scolding seemed to come out of nowhere as both Kirk and Wena nearly jumped out of their skins. They stared at the irate surgeon who had appeared beside them.
Recovering first, Kirk handed the PADD to McCoy. "Here, Bones. What do you make of this? Here's the poem that the line is referring to."
Bones glanced at it and then groaned. "Ah heck, kid, I don't know. Sure that line means something and so does the poem, but I don't understand women any better'n you do." He carded a hand through his hair. "You need a woman to get inside a woman's brain."
Three pairs of eyes turned to look at the only woman standing with them.
Wena threw up her hands and backed away. "Not getting involved," she told them firmly. "So, not getting involved."
Spock turned to McCoy. "What of Nurse Chapel?" He asked. "Dr. Sargent and she have spent a significant amount of time together."
McCoy shook his head. "Maybe, but she hates poetry with a vengeance. I doubt she'd be of any help."
The three men fell into a brief silence.
Finally, Kirk was the one to suggest it. "What about Uhura? Do you think she would be willing?"
The CMO shrugged and said, "Can't hurt to ask, now can it?"
Kirk turned to Spock. "Have Uhura meet us down here in the medbay."
"Absolutely not!" McCoy protested. "Does this look like a relationship counselor's office? No! My patients don't need the drama."
"Actually, I rather find it amusing. And a decent distraction," a foreign voice piped up from behind McCoy.
The three men turned to find an engineer with a broken ankle being swatted at by Wena as she set the bones.
"Shh!" She snapped at him. "Don't encourage them!"
The engineer shrugged under the weight of her scolding. "Oh come on, those boys need all the help they can get." He called to them, "Captain, call down the other lady and see if she'll help us."
"Us?" Kirk asked, smirking. He glanced at the men next to him. "What makes you think you are qualified for the job, Lieutenant?"
The man snorted. "I've been married for fifteen years to the prissiest woman alive. I must be doing something right."
"Good enough," Kirk said as he turned to look at McCoy in askance. "Come on, Bones." The captain even threw in his best smart-aleck grin.
McCoy just rolled his eyes and huffed.
Spock contacted Uhura.
STSTST
Uhura didn't know what she was expecting, but when she arrived in the medbay what she found wasn't it.
Three men were huddled over a PADD and speaking quietly, while both Dr. McCoy and Dr. Verde were attempting to work around them. And if Uhura wasn't mistaken, the engineer bent over the PADD with the captain and the commander was actually a patient in the medbay.
Approaching them, Uhura cleared her throat. Kirk looked up and his face brightened with relief. "You're here, perfect."
"Yes, captain, though I admit I'm still confused on why I was called here," Uhura told him.
Kirk glanced at Spock and then shrugged. "Well, we need someone of your expertise to help us, uh, decipher this message."
The engineering Lieutenant sniggered.
Curious, Uhura stepped closer. "Alright, may I see the message?"
Kirk handed her the PADD.
Uhura scanned over the message and frowned. With a small glare, she looked up at the captain. "Let me guess, my 'expertise' has to do with me being a woman and Spock needing relationship advice?"
The engineer near crowed with laughter as he clapped Spock hard on one shoulder. "Knew she'd figure it out right quick." The man then turned to look directly at Uhura. "We asked Dr. Verde, but she declined to help us. Now, you read the message and saw the last line, right?"
With a roll of her eyes, Uhura nodded. "Yes, I saw it, but I don't know what it means."
"It is the title of a poem," Spock supplied. His head was beginning to ache. The situation had seemed very simple when he told Kirk of it. Now, it seemed more and more individuals were getting involved. If Nia heard of it, he believed she would be upset. One did not simply spread relationship difficulties lightly.
Uhura nodded. "Ok, then she was probably trying to communicate a thought, or emotion through the use of the poem. What was the poem about?"
In response, Kirk just showed her a copy of the poem.
The linguist read through the verses, eyes looking surprised, and then softening as she continued reading. Once she finished, she read one particular line out loud, "'A hand displayed with many a little art'." She shook her head. "Do you have any guesses as to what this poem means?"
"Not really," Kirk said. "Poetry isn't my forte."
With an inaudible sigh, Spock supplied, "The poem is one written from the poet to a beloved. There is bitterness and it appears the poet regrets the time spent with her."
Uhura nodded slowly. "Commander, did you and Nia have an altercation recently?"
"Yes."
"And she was the being illogical, correct? She was the one in the wrong?" Uhura asked.
Spock didn't understand her line of questioning, but responded anyways, "That is correct."
Uhura nodded again, thinking through and trying to understand what Nia's mindset might have been. "When did this happen? Was it just after she was rescued and discovered Wena was alive? I heard something happened between you two with the turbolift."
"I heard about that too, Commander," the lieutenant piped up. "Saw the security feed for it too, and let me tell you, that dress had seen better days."
"Dress? Purple and teal?" Uhura asked. She saw Wena wince when the engineer responded.
"Yeah, it was, I think."
Wena, still eavesdropping, lifted a hand to her head. She could only imagine what kind of wreck Nia was. Wearing the same dress for nearly three days? Seriously?
Clearly, Uhura was thinking something similar. "Alright, Commander, I think I need to know the full story."
With as much patience as the half-Vulcan could muster, he began to explain, in detail, the incident in question. By the end of the explanation, Wena was tempted to repeated bang her head against one of the medical cabinets in the room. That poor, poor man.
Sighing, Wena walked over to the group. "Let's move this party to the mess hall. We've missed my normal lunchtime and I'm starved."
STSTST
At the same time as the discussion in the medbay was occurring, something no less than extraordinary was happening.
Nia was frozen over the microscope, watching as the genetically modified fungus was determinedly devouring the parasite currently spreading through Paladian soils.
She'd done it.
She'd really, really done it.
Well, not just her, but still.
Hands shaking, she transferred a video of what was happening to PADD. She then transferred as much relevant data as she could to the PADD before her excitement and impatience over powered her. Once the information was fully loaded, Nia bolted from the room. She ran for the mess hall first.
As she ran people in the hallways shifted out of her way, some shaking their heads at the unprofessionalism, others smiling at the obvious joy on Nia's face. The only thing she registered about those she passed was that none of them were one of the individuals she was looking for.
In the mess hall, she found Sulu.
All that the lieutenant heard as he returned to his table was a sharp squeal before an individual too strong to human wrapped her arms around his torso. Fortunately, the man had set down his foot tray before Nia embraced him.
"Nia?" He asked in surprise. "Something good happen, I take it?"
She just squealed again in response, released him, and handed him the data PADD.
Suspecting the reason for her excitement, but still not certain, Sulu began to scroll through the information presented. His eyebrows rose. "It worked?" He asked the bouncing Paladian.
She nodded. It was then something glimmered on the edge of her awareness, and Nia turned her head knowing exactly who she would find.
STSTST
Grudgingly, Kirk had to admit Verde had a point. Lunch sounded fantastic right about then. "Alright, let's go."
The captain had to admit, their group looked a little ridiculous as they head down the hallway to the mess hall. Especially with Uhura and the engineer still arguing over what Nia was saying with the poem and why she was saying it.
Since Kirk and Spock were in the front of the group, they were the first to enter the mess hall. Beside him, Kirk felt Spock stiffen at the sight that greeted them.
Nia was unwinding her arms from around Sulu, looking incredibly… happy.
Still standing near the entrance of the mess hall, Spock appeared to be frozen. Kirk, not really sure how to react, kept watching him for any sudden movements. In all likelihood, the situation was very simple and very innocent.
It was then Nia looked up and spotted them near the entrance. Kirk smiled weakly and raised a hand to wave, but the woman was already moving and moving fast. She ran for them and Kirk tensed in surprise, until he realized her trajectory wasn't quite for them, but for one individual in particular. With a last second decision, Kirk sidestepped away from his first officer just as the Paladian literally leapt onto Spock and wrapped her arms around his stiff shoulders. Her legs wrapped around his midsection.
The entire mess hall fell silent.
Spock did not reach his arms around to support her. Instead, he listened.
"We did it, we did it, we did it!" She whispered fervently in his ear. "The last GMO worked, the fungus is now effectively attacking the parasite." She hugged him tighter. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." As she released him to drop back down to the floor, she dragged her cheek along his to catch the corner of his mouth with hers.
Joy and light-hearted elation flashed through him before the brief connection was severed. She gripped his sleeve tightly as she pulled him across the mess hall to where Sulu was valiantly attempting to keep a straight face. Not noticing, Nia snatched the PADD from him to shove it into Spock's careful grip.
"Look, look, look!" Nia squealed again as she began to dance around the Vulcan male, gripping the back of his shirt in an attempt to contain herself as she peered around his shoulder. She watched as he dutifully scrolled through the information she'd presented him.
Hanging back, Kirk and Wena shared a smirk.
Her green eyes sparkled as she jerked her chin in the Vulcan's direction. "Now, I'm sure he won't admit it, but I'm willing to bet Sulu had a close brush with death just now."
"You're right, he won't admit it," Kirk agreed.
Wena just shook her head as she watched Nia continued to bounce around, her focus on Spock the whole time. Spock, while subdued and stoic, was the epitome of male pride. It was probably why he hadn't stopped Nia from clinging to him, though he had yet to respond in kind. Wena was amazed when her friend had leapt at Spock and even more amazed when the man made no move to stop her… and when the happy Paladian clinging to him didn't faze him in the least. Wena wasn't the only one to notice, either. Uhura and the engineer were watching the pair knowingly and, if Wean wasn't mistaken, Sulu was looking just a little too relieved.
The best part, though, the best part was what Nia was so excited about. What filled her with a contagious joy and spread to the others around her. What made even the strangers in the room know exactly what had happened.
Palad was saved.
Or, at least, on its way to being saved. No doubt there were forces already in play to attempt to sabotage all the Science Department's hard work. Wena sighed against the sudden melancholy feeling.
Kirk hit her on the shoulder. "Judging by that sigh, I'd guess you just had the same thought I did."
"That as good as this discovery is, we are nowhere near done? That this discovery doesn't change the fact that people want us dead and Palad dying?" Wena asked.
"Yeah," Kirk let out a sigh of his own. So much for a simple rescue mission. "Come on," he said, "let's go join them. After all, I thought you were hungry?"
Getting Nia to calm down turned out to be a much easier task than expected. Wena got the Paladian to settle down next to Spock and set a plate of food in front of her. Nia barely glanced at it before she started eating. In between bites, she pointed out different things that were happening in the video Spock was viewing.
Kindly, Spock never stopped her, despite the fact he could see for himself what was happening. He didn't even bother to shift or push her away as she pressed closer than she had been since their disagreement in front of the turbolift.
A/N: Ah yes, our second favorite scientist finally figured out at least one peice of the puzzle! And our first favorite scientist got relationship advice, whether he wanted it or not...
Fun fact: Ever seen Stargate SG-1? The episode when Vala is so happy to see Teal'c that she runs and jumps on him? Yes. Yes, that was my inspiration for Nia.
Thank you, thank you for the reviews I got last chapter! I'm really glad you all liked it! Thank you to cherylnixon, Misplaced Levity, my buddy Darth Revan, and the guest reviewer for your reviews! I appreciate them all!
Thank you for those who have added this story to their alerts/favorites!
Don't forget to vote in the poll on my profile! I've only had eight votes so far, I need a few more before I can make a decision!
-Spirit