An Earie Experience.

I had not considered the fact that Jim would appear so different wearing his Romulan attire, and the surgical alterations, that I would scarcely recognize him. Yet, that is precisely what happened. As I entered the bridge he was sitting there in the command chair and everything should be back to normal.

Yet it wasn't.

He seemed out of place. Unfamiliar, at a time when I craved familiarity. It was most unpleasant. The events on the Romulan vessel left me disturbed and I had, although not consciously, been looking forward to seeing Jim. I knew I would be soothed by his familiar presence on the bridge. When I saw him, I was disappointed. More so than I would like to admit, even to myself.

He turned to look at me and I did not like what I saw. Where there should be rounded curves of ears and eyebrows, there were now slanted lines and pointed tips. Features I would undoubtedly find aesthetically pleasing on anyone else.

Not on Jim, however. I do not relish changes in him. One does not tamper with perfection. I would of course never say such a thing aloud.

Although I was aware of the doctor's work on his features, I still found myself unprepared for the impact it was having on me. Most distressing. I had never believed I would find Jim's ears a source of comfort. That is utterly illogical.

Fascinating.

As doctor McCoy called him from the Sickbay, admonishing him to come down there to have his "ears bobbed" I found myself not objecting to the crude expression. Instead, I was wholeheartedly wishing that the doctor would perform his surgery swiftly, so that Jim could return to the bridge, as himself.

I watched him leave the bridge, fingering his ears and shooting me a devilish smile. I was unable to return it, or the laughters of the bridge crew, with anything but a lifted eyebrow. Teasing Jim was all I could do to not show him how disturbing I found the entire incident.

I shall be relieved when all is back to normal and the Romulan commander has left the Enterprise.

End.