"You're absolutely sure you have to go?" asked Jim. August had come and Spock was finishing packing.

"Yes, I promised my mother."

"I guess you really do have to then. Well, I'll miss you."

"Your lack of presence will not go unnoted."

"Thanks, Spock." Kirk sighed. "You don't want to go."

"What brings you to that conclusion?"

"Simple. Going home means seeing your dad."

"That is irrelevant."

"'cept you to don't get along." Bones entered the room. "Hey guys. Your mom let me up, Jim."

"No, really? I thought you broke in." Jim rolled his eyes. "But really, Spock. Bones is right. You haven't exactly kept it a secret you and your father aren't on good terms."

"As I said, it is irrelevant." Spock zipped shut his suitcase. "I am leaving for San Francisco in two hours, and there is a transport to Vulcan leaving there within half an hour after."

"Like I said, you'll be missed." said Kirk. McCoy nodded.

"Same here, ya Green-Blooded Hobgoblin." Jim grinned.

"Say, you have two hours, right? There's one thing I wanted to do this summer that we haven't done yet."

"Does it involve horses?" asked Bones.

"Of course not, I already taught you both to ride."

"Don't remind me, I'm surprised I don't still ache! How could you two go so fast?" asked McCoy.

"We went nowhere. Our horses achieved those speeds." said Spock.

"Smart mouth." grumbled Bones. "Anyway, what is it you want to do, Jim?"

"BREAK!" yelled Jim.

"I am!"

"Wrong pedal!" the car screeched as it slowed down.

"Okay, now bring it back up to sixty, Bones." instructed Jim. "You're not doing half-bad."

"Half-bad my foot! This is an accident waiting to happen! How do you and Chris do this?"

"Trial-and-error." said Chris from the backseat. "I've probably fix this thing as much as I drive it."

"James, if we were to crash, what then?" asked Spock.

"Then the airbags come on, also why there's seatbelts." explained James. "You're doing swell, Bones. Turn a little to the left, you're swerving."

"Okay." Bones relaxed a little. "This isn't so hard after all."

"See? And after all that complaining." said Jim. "You wanna try, Spock?"

"No thank you. perhaps we should go back." said Spock. "I am sure it's been almost two hours."

"Um." Chris pointed at the old pick-up truck's clock. "Is that thing right, Jim?"

"Yeah, why?" Jim looked at it. "Oh. Spock kind of needs to be at the station now." Kirk took in a breath,"okay, Bones, stop the car so I can drive." Leonard managed to do so without crashing. He and James switched spots.

"Okay, everyone buckle up." Chris grabbed hold of the back of McCoy's seat.

"Here we go." said Jim. he started the car.

"Whoa!" yelled McCoy as he was slammed against his seat. "How fast are you gonna go?"

"Don't know. How fast can this thing go anymore, Chris?"

"Ninety."

"I'm going to go ninety."

"Ninety Miles an hour?" asked Bones.

"Or faster." the car's wheels could be heard as the whirred around, propelling the car forward.

"This is not safe!" said Spock.

"Nope!" Jim laughed. "But it's darn fun!" The car barreled along fro a few more minutes, going perfectly straight until Jim swerved.

"Ahhh!" Leonard hit his head on the window. "Ow! What the he-" another truck rushed by them and honked it's horn.

"Don't mind me, just saving your lives." said Jim. "I think I should slow down, otherwise this thing is going to break down."

"We're almost there anyway." said Chris.

"That only took us four minutes and thirty-two seconds. Going at a reasonable, legal pace, it would have taken nearly ten." said Spock.

"And here we are." Kirk stopped the car. "Okay, everyone out, or at least Spock."

"I'm getting out." said Bones. "And I might just go home rather than get back in that bucket of scrap metal!"

"Oh, you'll hurt her feelings." said Kirk.

"Good." said Bones. Chris and his older brother laughed.

"I'll be back in a moment." said the transporter operator once they had reached the transporter room. "I need to check something in the engineering section." she left.

"So we'll see you back at school?" asked Jim of Spock.

"Yes." replied Spock. "Goodbye, James. Goodbye, Leonard."

"You know," began Kirk. "You could always call me Jim." Spock raised an eyebrow.

"I have always called you James. It is your name."

"Given name, sure. But, for humans, a nickname is a sign of affection, or friendship."

"I was not aware Leonard was so fond of me."

"Oh, be quiet, stupid green-blooded pointy-eared hobgoblin of a supercomputer." said Bones. Jim chuckled.

"Well, he likes you better than he lets on." Jim clapped his Vulcan friend on the back "Take care of yourself."

"I will." The transporter operator returned.

"Alright, we're good to go.

"Bye Spock.

"G'bye, Spock." Spock got onto the pad and looked back down at his friends. He offered them the Vulcan salute

"Peace and Long Life, Jim. Bones." Jim grinned and returned the gesture.

"Live Long and Prosper, Spock." the transporter turned on and he was gone.

"Why'd you bring up names right then, Jim?" asked Bones on the walk out.

"Just, things."

"No, really. Why?"

"Because you two are my best and closest friends."

"And you and Spock are mine. And I'm sure it's a same for him.

"And what's it say when you keep your closest friends at arm length?" asked Jim.

"It's different. It's Spock."

"We do it too! I didn't even know a thing about your family or how you grew up until a few weeks ago! Remember when I told you about Tarus IV? I never would've-something that probably changed me for better or for worse-if my mother hadn't told Spock. We found out Spock was half-human from looking him up in the Starfleet personnel files." Kirk stopped talking for a moment, letting the words linger. "I don't want it to end up like the friends I had here. I didn't even talk to the people who were my closest friends before the Academy at all this summer, because I've moved on and I left them behind, because we weren't close enough to last. I don't want that to happen to us when we graduate." Bones thought about that for a moment.

"Dang."

"What?"

"You sound freaking inspirational like a dang starship captain." Kirk smiled. the boys continued on their way.

"I'm telling you Bones. Captain James T. Kirk. Sounds perfect. And Chief Medical Officer Doctor Bones McCoy."

"I suppose Spock's the first officer?"

"Always! And that'll be Mister Spock to you!" both young men laughed.

"Hey, are you gonna tell Spock all that stuff?" asked Leonard.

"Yeah, I want him to know it too. Even if he says it's illogical. I want him to know it. To know how much I value our friendship."

And that there is the end of the summer! Next chapter begins their fall semester of Junior year. Also, I've started a Community for Mirroverse stories. If anyone has/knows of a good one, give me the title so I can add it! Thanks!