Day 1

Spock listened to the banter of the groups seated at tables around him.  Everyone seemed to have developed an easy camaraderie.  Everyone that is, except him.  He was still the odd man out.

He was startled out of his introspection as a tray clanked onto the table.  The Captain dropped into the seat across from him, followed shortly thereafter by the Doctor pulling up a chair next to him.

They hadn’t spent much time together outside of their duties on the bridge, though they were slowly coming to respect each other.  He knew  that since they’d all accepted the mission, they would have to begin to rely on and trust one another.

“Mind if we join you, Spock?”

“Not at all, Captain.”

The Doctor pushed his food around on his plate, mumbling to himself.

“Is there a problem, Dr. McCoy?”

“No, no.  I’m sure I’ll get used to this.”

“Is it not what you asked for?”

“That’s just it, I don’t know.  I asked for a hamburger, medium rare.  I mean, what’s the use of having a gadget that can make anything you want, and not getting exactly what you want?”

Spock noted that the food did appear unappetizing, but he wasn’t sure if it was the prospect of eating flesh or the grayish color of the dish.

“So, Spock, what do you do for fun?”

He turned his attention to the Captain.  “I read and study.”

The Captain looked at the Doctor.  “I said fun.  You know, fun.”

Spock tilted his head “Very well, I play musical instruments.  And read.”

The Captain blinked and wondered how long before they could get him to loosen up.  He seemed to have come to a decision.  “1900 hours tonight, in my quarters, join us for a game of poker and a few drinks.”

“Thank you, but”

“It wasn’t a request, Mr. Spock.”

Spock considered arguing the point.  He knew very well that Starfleet regulations did not require officers to fraternize after duty ended but considered the long evening ahead of him and nodded his head as he stood.

“Very well, Captain.  Doctor.”

They watched him walk stiffly to the door, his back ramrod straight, looking straight ahead.

“Damnit, Jim.  Why’d you invite him?”

“I just wanted to get a rise out of him, Bones.”

“Next time you want a rise out of him, do it on your own time.”  Doctor McCoy pushed his tray across the table in frustration as his stomach rumbled. 

Spock returned to his quarters at 2000 hours.  It had been interesting evening.  The premise of poker seemed to be attempting to bluff your opponents into thinking you had a better hand than they.  It made no sense since you could easily keep track of who had which cards merely by observing what had been shown.   He'd gathered from the flow of alcohol that the card game was merely an excuse to drink.  Perhaps he could interest them in three-dimensional chess.

“Computer, messages”

You have no waiting messages. 

No doubt Nyota was busy.  Being invited to participate in Neuro-linguistics research at the Academy was an honor.  That it would require her absence from the ship for two weeks had not been cause for concern when she communicated her upcoming absence to him.

Spock meditated and then picked up his PADD, intending to read a journal.  Ten minutes later he put it down, having only been able to read one page before his mind wandered to their last time together:

He was fascinated by the image before him, much as he’d been as a child when his mother would sit in front of her dressing table applying various creams and concoctions designed to limit the damage to her skin from exposure to the Vulcan elements.  Now it was Nyota kneeling on a bench before a makeshift dressing table, applying, in his opinion, unneeded cosmetics.  She pursed her lips before blotting them on the back of her hand.

“Surely there are more efficient ways of applying the colorant.”

She merely smiled and held his gaze in the mirror, understanding that he did not require an answer. 

He rose from the bed and she watched as he adjusted the low-slung towel around his hips before moving behind her.  He parted the curtain of hair at her nape and placed a chaste kiss there before gathering her hair to one side and pressing his lips against her neck.  He watched in the mirror as she closed her eyes and captured her lower lip between her teeth. 

He murmured against her ear, “It is illogical for me to desire you in this way.  To.."  He paused, his voice returning as a whisper.  "To need to take you again so soon.”  He watched her lips curve and her eyes open.  “And yet, I do.”