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Chapter 2
Spock walked into sickbay. "Doctor?"
Spock stopped when he caught sight of a blonde woman sitting on one of the biobeds. He had never encountered her before. He had studied all of the personnel files and he was sure she was not a member of the crew.
"Excuse me, madam . . ."
Jim turned and beamed at Spock before she let out a giggle, "Madam, Mr. Spock?" Spock raised an eyebrow. Did he know this woman? Then he caught sight of her blue eyes. Spock's eyes widened.
He knew those blue eyes… and combined with that smile. No, it could not be possible.
While he was processing all of this, the woman never stopped smiling at him. After 10.254 seconds, she spoke up again.
"Don't tell me you are going to start calling me that now? How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Jim! Not Captain, and especially not madam! That sounds way too formal!" She teased.
As if right on cue, the Doctor stepped out of his office. He looked surprised to see Spock. "Dammit Spock! How did you get here so fast?"
Spock never looked away from Jim who was not looking at him intently, but still had traces of a smile on her face.
"You said that it was important and that it involved the Captain."
"Dammit, I wanted to talk to you before you came into sickbay. But I think it's safe to assume that you now understand why I called you down here."
"Honestly Doctor, I must admit I am slightly confused."
Jim cut in, "See Bones! There is nothing wrong with me! Now can I please get back to the bridge? I have a lot of reports I need to file."
"You are not leaving sickbay until I say so Jim! Spock may I see you in my office please?"
Jim stood up, "But Bones!"
"Not another word out of you missy! And don't you dare try anything! I got a new set of hypos I have been dying to test out."
Jim pouted and flopped back on the bed. "This is malpractice Bones!"
McCoy ignored her led Spock into his office and closed the door behind him.
"Doctor, what has happened to the Captain?"
"I wish I knew. He came back from the planet's surface looking like that."
"The Captain seems to be handling his condition far better than what would be expected of an average human male."
"Yeah well, Jim has never been the average human male. And the only reason he is taking this so well is because he doesn't know about his condition."
"Doctor?
"He is under some sort of delusion. He thinks he has always been a girl."
"Fascinating."
"Dammit Spock! This is Jim. Not some damn science experiment!"
"Do not misunderstand me Doctor. I care about the Captain's well being. There are several drugs and potions throughout the galaxy that are capable of erasing memories. But the Captain's memories appear to be intact. I seems that only one fact was altered and made to wrap around all other memories. This may have been the work of a very powerful telepathic creature. Have you run tests on the Captain?"
"Of course I have you damn hobgoblin! She-he is physically healthy. Jim's new body is perfectly functional. It's only his mind that appears to be messed up. After looking over Jim's psych evaluation, I think it's best to go along with his delusion. It is so deep rooted that we may cause his psychological distress if we tell him that the life he believes he knows is a lie."
"I agree Doctor. We must find a way to deal with the psychological problem first. It would be unwise to turn the Captain back into a man while his mind still believes he is a woman. That would only cause further psychological damage."
"And how do you suggest we fix his brain?"
"We could take the Captain to New Vulcan to see one of the healers. But I cannot guarantee that they will be able to restore the Captain's mind."
"Dammit Spock! We are three months away from New Vulcan! Even at warp speed it would still take us two months to get there! What are we going to do with Jim during that time?"
"We must notify Starfleet. Perhaps they will be able to offer a better solution."
"Are you out of your Vulcan mind!? If we tell Starfleet they will take Jim's command away."
"Perhaps if we explain to them that the Captain managed to retain all of his memories despite his change in form…"
"Spock, he is convinced he was born a girl! His mind has even fabricated false memories to support this belief. If Starfleet finds out about this, not only will they take away his command, but they will also lock him in a damn psych ward. There has to be another way."
Spock remained quiet for a long time. Bones wanted to say something but he could tell by the look in the Vulcan's eyes, he was trying to come up with a plan. So the Doctor remained quiet, which was not easy for him especially with the frustrating Vulcan in the room. He decided to look around his office to pass the time. He was staring at a picture of Joanna when Spock finally spoke.
"We can contact Admiral Pike and inform him of the situation. We must also notify Starfleet about the Captains change of sex. They would become suspicious if the Captain failed to report to them during the duration of our trip to New Vulcan. It would perhaps be wise to keep the Captain's psychological files off the official record."
"Wait, are you suggesting we lie to Starfleet?"
"Vulcans do not lie. I am merely suggesting we exclude certain information that may not be pertinent for the report."
"You realize that is lying by omission right?"
The Vulcan remained silent.
Bones let out a chuckle, "man, I never thought I would say this, but I think Jim is rubbing off on you."
"The Captain has risked his life, job and reputation for my well being and that of the crew. It is only logical for me to feel obligated to do the same."
The Doctor gave Spock a skeptical look, "you can say it Spock. You care about Jim."
Before the Vulcan could respond, a loud tapping interrupted them. They turned to see Jim standing in front the office window.
"Are you guys done in there? I am hungry. Geez what does a girl have to do around here to get a cheeseburger?"
Bones shock his head, "Glad to see his taste in unhealthy food hasn't changed."
Spock had gone to the mess hall to get Jim a salad, much to Jim's displeasure, and brought it back to sickbay within minutes. Meanwhile, the Doctor had gone to the bridge to explain the situation to everyone.
Spock observed Jim while she ate her salad. He could not deny that these were most unusual circumstances. He could not help but draw comparisons between his Captain and the female form sitting in front of him. Her eyes were the same shape and color as her male counterpart and she exhibited many of the same postures and expressions. She was not as muscular in her female form but he could tell from her muscular structure that she was in great physical shape. His eyes darted to her mouth as she chewed on her salad. Her lips were thinner and they looked much softer . . .
"Take a picture, it will last longer." Jim said with a wink. Spock was suddenly aware of his surroundings and raised his eyebrow in response, which only caused Jim to laugh.
"It's just an expression Spock. Why are you looking at me so much today? Don't tell me Bones got to you too! Dammit, I told him, I am fine! I don't understand why he insists on keeping me in sickbay."
"The Doctor is concerned about your well being."
"Yeah, I know but sometimes I feel like he overreacts too much." Jim paused for a moment and then looked up at the Vulcan with her bright blue eyes. Spock couldn't help but notice how long Jim's eyelashes were. Had they always been this long? Spock discarded the question from his mind. It is illogical to have such thoughts.
"Spock… if something was wrong with me, you would tell me right?" All traces of teasing were gone from her voice. Spock could not help feel guilty, although such emotion was illogical. While the Captain's voice had changed to be several octaves higher, Spock could clearly make out the same concerned tone that filled the Captain's usual voice whenever he was concerned.
"Captain –"
"Jim, Spock! Call me Jim!"
"I am on duty Captain. It would not be proper for me to regard you in such a familiar way."
"Yeah well we are alone right now, so your don't have to worry about that kind of thing. And you still haven't answered my question." Jim was looking at her salad as she said this. She was trying to grab a tomato with her fork but the little sucker kept on evading her. Even when she tried to stab it, the fork failed to penetrate and it simply rolled away from her. Finally she just slammed the fork on the table and she pushed the salad as far away from her as possible. "Ugh! This is why I don't like salads."
She looked up at the Vulcan whose brown eyes showed signs that he was amused by her frustration.
"Don't laugh at me Spock!" The Vulcan opened his mouth to object but she cut him off by raising her finger, "and don't you dare gave me that crap about how Vulcans don't laugh. I can see that you're laughing from that look in your eyes." Jim shock her head, "next time you treat me to dinner, make sure it isn't green . . . wait no. Scratch that. I like green, but I am not a huge fan of red."
"Captain, I do not see how colors are relevant in your food preferences."
Jim let out a sigh. "Yeah, I guess you wouldn't."
Spock raised his eyebrows and tilted his head in response but Jim just waved him off. "It's fine don't worry about it."
McCoy cleared his throat.
"Sorry to interrupt you two, but Spock you are needed on the bridge."
"Thank you, Doctor. I shall see you on the bridge Captain." Spock nodded curtly to the Captain and started towards the door.
"Spock wait!"
Spock turned, his face was stoic as ever but his eyes had widened slightly.
"Yes Captain?"
"Umm, I was wondering if you would like to stop by my chambers later? You know, to play chess?"
Spock's eyebrow raised a fraction of an inch but he quick nodded and said, "Of course Captain."
McCoy watched as Jim's features lit up and a . . .. was that a blush creeping up his-her face? McCoy shook his head. He needed a drink. He had enough crazy shit for one day.
Jim wore a satisfied look on her face as Spock walked out of sickbay. She turned to look at Bones who was grumbling to himself.
"Umm, hey Bones? Can I leave now?"
McCoy eyed Jim suspiciously.
"Sure kid. Just answer one question for me."
"Okay. What is it?"
"I was just wondering if you could explain to me what exactly is it that you like about the color green," said McCoy with his eyebrow raised.
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