Chapter Three

Jim swung her legs back and forth as she leaned back against her forearms on the medi-bed. Off to the side of the room still standing as stiff as a board was the Professor who had hoodwinked her into coming to the infirmary. It was sort of awkward, being in the same room as the Vulcan she knew little to none about, with the only sound being the rustling of the bed paper under her butt as she shifted occasionally. God this was awkward. She should've just headed back to her apartment after escaping Bone's grasps.

He at least hadn't attempted to make conversation since they had arrived (neither had Jim, the scaredy cat that she was), nor had he attempted to leave. Was he waiting for their little "Academic talk" or did he expect her to tattle on Uhura? The latter was a no go; Jim may hate the witch at the moment, but she was no tattle tale.

Everyone had their reasons for being bitches, so Jim couldn't judge to harshly. Hell, her own persona made her seem like a bitch.

"Jim, you're such an infant!" She jumped slightly at Bones' proclamation, as he swept into the room with the presence of an angry hurricane. Oh… he sure looked angry. His southern accent was kind of hot when he got angry. Suddenly she felt a wave of guilt under the Vulcan's inquiring eyes. Fuck why did she feel guilty? It wasn't like she hadn't been single for most of her life.

"I don't care how angry you were with me, when your injured you better damn well get the medical attention you need," He growled pulling out a tricorder to scan her, "I have half a mind to report U…" His sentence was cut off by Jim jumping up to cover his mouth with one hand on top of another.

Jim flushed under the Professors tilted head and inquiring look, making her glare at her perpetrator, as Bones cursed, pulling her hand free away from his mouth. He followed her eyes to the Vulcan Professor, before snapping back to her face.

"What did you do Jim?" Bones snapped, glare became even more defined, "You better not have pissed off another teacher, I'm not in the mood to deal with anymore bullshit today."

"Doctor I believe your bedside manner needs improvements," Spock coolly stated hands folded behind his back, "Will Ms. Jim (he paused for a minute not having received her last name beforehand) need a new physician to tend for her medical needs, as you seem to be emotionally compromised?"

Jim sat bug eyed at this little proclamation, cautiously watching as Bones spluttered in indignation. She did not necessarily like her place in between two equally intimidating men (When Bones was angry he could be pretty scary). This guy sure knew how to push Bones' last nerve, even though she knew better than to question his medical proficiency; it was just too suicidal. She had better quell this before it would end with her buddy being impounded for assaulting a Starfleet teacher and more than likely an officer. One fist fight was more than enough for one day.

"No, no Sir, that's just how Bones is," She hurriedly tried to remove his almost glare that was directed at her Doctor, "That's just his personality, I really don't mind."

"Cadet you do not seem to have a logical amount of care concerning your own health," He intoned, "That includes you assuming that I believe you do not mind."

"That right there I agree with," Bones muttered letting his anger blow over and brushing off the Vulcan's consistent stare as he worked around her, "Jim, people who allow others to bully them, won't get far in life. It's a vicious cycle to allow continuing on."

She looked down at her hands embarrassed, as he lightly began to clean off her face. Jim grimaced slightly in understanding as he pulled out that very familiar old fashioned brown bottle of antibacterial liquid. That was sure as Hell was going to be painful.

"Doctor, is it appropriate to use such primitive forms of medicine that induces more pain instead of relief, rather than use a newer alternative such as a hypo spray." Jim mentally groaned; this Professor really seemed to be itching to get into a fight with probably one of the most irritable Doctor's in Starfleet. She wondered if this was a Vulcany thing, or if it was in his nature to annoy the crap out of people around him.

"Jim here is allergic to the alternative," Bones snapped, "If I'd have used a hypo-spray to administer the standard Starfleet anti-bacterial medicine, she would have immediately entered Anaphylactic shock which she may or may not have survived. I believe I am the Doctor here and know my patient who also happens to be my friend better than you, so I'm asking you politely to shove off."

"Fascinating," The Professor stated dryly. The Vulcan crossed his arms, still looking disapproving at Bones.

Bones just grunted in response, as he dabbed some of the liquid onto a cotton ball. His face considerably softened as Jim flinched slightly away from his hands. Very gently he cradled the right side of her face, carefully cleaning the cuts she had sustained from Uhura's devil's claws. It took a little over a pile of the cotton balls before her face was somewhat presentable.

"Sir you didn't need to stay here," Jim looked down at her hands once again as Bones finally finished patching her up (Bones himself was inwardly shocked, Jim was never this shy to anyone, it could be because this was an intimidating Vulcan), "I'm sure you have better things to do than wait for some Cadet have her ouchies cleaned up."

"Cadet once again I fail to see where you have arrived at such assumptions," She cringed slightly under the scrutiny, "I am merely waiting for you to kindly state the name I shall put in the incident report."

"No Sir, please let this go," Jim couldn't understand why he wouldn't just let it go, "Part of this was my fault, so please don't write an incident report." Uhura would never let her live this down if she allowed this to happen.

"I do not see what you will gain from letting such a thing go." He seemed vaguely confused.

"Nothing more than likely," She smiled slightly, "But I'd rather not let the other's career be ruined over a little altercation."

Before he could reply Jim had already stood up and began collecting her things.

"Thanks for the thought though Professor, it was nice of you. Maybe some time when we're both free we can make that discussion happen."Jim left before he could speak once again, surprising him with the traditional Ta'al sign of his Father's people.

Fascinating, Spock thought once again to himself, ignoring the Doctor's angry mumblings as he too left.

(Spock's Apartment – Sometime Later)

Lavender lit candles periodically lined the dressers and tables of the apartment, their soothing scent aiding in the ongoing meditation. The flickering candles illuminated a dimly lit room in calming, rising shadows.

In the center of his living room, Spock had pulled out an older pillow he'd often used to assist in meditating; that was something in which he was having trouble in doing so now. No matter his effort to push it away to keep a calm blank mind, that Cadet kept creeping through his filters, it was illogical. Those azure tear filled blue eyes were on replay oddly pulling at Spock's mind insistently. Why did the tears of one unknown human fascinate him so? It was very improbable.

Maybe it was because it was almost unsettling to see how similar she was to Spock when he had been significantly younger; both sad and resigned from others' treatment. He although was not too fond of her reluctance to "tattle" on the other girl. This "Jim" may admit to being the instigator of the fight, but Spock was more than intelligent enough to see through her half truths. The probability of her starting it because of provocation of another party was 94.3 % a possibility. Bullies didn't always have to through the first punch to be the ones in the wrong.

Even with his stature as a teacher, Spock couldn't bring himself to truly blame her, however logical it might have been to do so. Even with his immaculate Vulcan control he too had lost his control many a time before, because of the cruelty of his peers, which had pushed him into becoming a better Vulcan than they had ever been. As he continued to mull over the 'fascinating' Cadet, he failed to notice his pad beeping.

After the second tone he had finally comprehended the tone of the call, pulling himself out of the daze. Swiping the screen with his index finger, the face of a worried Amanda Grayson appeared upon the screen. Even with slight graying lines and the occasional grey hair she still retained her 'intriguing' Terran beauty that had first pulled his Father in.

"Spock darling what's the matter?" His Mother's sweet voice expressed worry and concern, "You have not connected your Father nor I for a time, it is also seldom for you to pick up on the second tone of a call."

He almost shed away from her worried scrutiny, but quickly quelled it reminding himself of the teachings that he'd ingrained into himself from early on in childhood. It always seemed to throw him for a loop how well she could understand him and see through him as if he were translucent with his emotions, which was obviously far from true; his control was the epitome of the perfect Vulcan control.

It was odd though that she had contacted at a moment such as this; almost as if she knew he was having trouble concentrating on his meditations. Contrary to this thought she would have just labeled it as "Motherly Intuition", in which both Spock and his Father would state to be an unverifiable claim that could not be proven.

"It is nothing Mother," He quietly stated folding his hands neatly into his lap, "Being a Professor and Officer at Starfleet takes up a considerable amount of my time. I send my apologies for not updating Father or you on an earlier date. As for not reaching my pad and not responding to your call at an earlier time, my meditations had thoroughly taken hold of my consciousness contributing to the cause."

She raised an eyebrow as if waiting for Spock to elaborate on more. Amanda may have not been the Mother of the Year, but she was no push over. Reading Spock was practically second nature to her, with having been bonded to Sarek for many years and spending a little over two decades on Vulcan she easily being able to understand a Vulcan's emotions had been a given.

"Earlier this evening I had to escort a Cadet to the infirmary, because she would not go herself to care for injuries to her face." His Mother gasped at his statement.

"Dear Lord, Spock, is the poor girl ok?" She gazed at him with obvious concern; no one could say Amanda Grayson wasn't sympathetic and caring for all.

"Yes Mother," He nodded his head in confirmation, "Although it confused me as to why she hasn't reported the other party, who more than likely had instigated her into fighting her."

Amanda sighed lightly at that, sometimes her son could be oblivious, however much a genius he may be.

"Spock humans are not always as logical as Vulcan's," She told him softly, "The other girl may have prompted her into a fight, but nothing good ever happens to those who tattle. Many Humans do not react well to those who tell on another, no matter how necessary it may seem to be."

He raised an eyebrow at her statement; Humans were such an odd species. To allow such happenings to continue on, because of what seemed to be pride or a twisted sort of honor was illogical. But it oddly reminded Spock of his time in the Vulcan Academy; his teachers hadn't truly cared about his being bullied, because of his status as a half-Vulcan. His telling didn't exactly procure him a more suitable place among-st his peers. As improbable as it may be, this Jim may be in a similar situation as he once was.

"Do you know who this Cadet was, Spock?" Amanda was curious about the girl who had raised her son's inquiries.

He shook his head in negation.

"Negative, although her Physician called her by Jim," His lips twitched down slightly, "I do not believe that to be her real name."

Amanda laughed lightly at Spock's almost invisible disdain.

"Usually Humans have nicknames for their close friends or family, it could just be an abbreviation from some part of her name."

He nodded his head curtly in acknowledgment.

Touching her pinkie and pointer finger to her forehead, Amanda pulled them away and did the same to the screen where Spock's face was situated.

"I love you sweetheart; don't get into too much trouble." Spock repeated the actions of his Mother.

"I cherish thee Mother, and it is illogical for a Vulcan to get into too much trouble."

She snorted internally at that, whatever kept him peaceful at mind. Maybe Sarek would have a better insight to what was going on with their son.

Done I hope you enjoyed the next should be out soon. I was going to add the Kobayashi Maru to this chapter, but it didn't seem to fit.