A.N

Hello, everyone! Hope you are having a great day! First off, let me say THANK YOU to those who have read/alerted/favored this story. You guys really made my day, and I honestly appreciated that you took the time to review. Here's Part 2!

Hope you enjoy!

Part 2

When James Kirk arrived at Spock's door, he was surprised to find the door was open. Usually, one would never find the door unlocked, but as soon as Kirk said these thoughts in his head, he automatically corrected himself. It was only reasonable that Spock leave the door unlocked. He was, after all, expecting Kirk, so why would Spock bother to lock the door? This assumption, however, led Kirk to realize that if Spock habitually kept his door locked, that meant he never expected any visitors. Kirk pushed his thoughts aside as he entered, simultaneously walking in and knocking on the wall to make his presence known.

"Captian," Spock greeted. "Have you comfortably acclimate yourself to these different surroundings, or should I alter the room's temperature and humidity?" At first, Kirk did not know what Spock meant, but as soon as the Vulcan made mention of the environment, Kirk noticed that it was noticeably warmer and brighter in Spock's room. No doubt these conditions were meant to imitate the climate of Spock's home planet, Vulcan.

Kirk inwardly cringed at the thought of Vulcan. He remembered witnessing the destruction of the planet, the despair and fear of the entire Enterprise crew palpable in the air. Kirk's heart ached for all the Vulcans that were lost that day, but he also sympathized with the few Vulcans that had made it out alive and now had to continue living with their previously-normal lives as only distant memories. Spock was included in this group.

"Captain Kirk?" Spock repeated, jarring Kirk out of his thoughts.

"What?" he instantaneously asked with a blink. "Sorry, Spock. Just zoned out there for a second."

"Actually, you were vacantly staring into space for at least 6.72 seconds," Spock informed.

"Whatever!" Kirk suddenly burst out. He was sick of the corrections, the logic, and the feeling of being belittled every time Spock opened his mouth. "You, as I recall, were the one who sought me out this secret conversation. Converse!" he hotly demanded.

"Yes, sir," Spock granted without missing a beat. "I asked you here because I have a personal matter to discuss with you." Before going on, Spock motioned for Kirk to sit down on the chair beside him. Kirk agreed and did so, and Spock followed suit.

"I would like to express my deepest apologies for my actions during our first encounter," Spock admitted, his brown eyes meeting Kirk's vibrant blue eyes. "My words were cruel and unnecessary."

Kirk thought back to that fateful date where he had been accused, but never convicted, he might add, of cheating on the dreaded Kobayashi Maru test that required of all cadets training to command a ship one day. While the two argued over Kirk's circumstances, Spock causally slipped Kirk's father and his tragic death into the dispute. By human standards, it was a low blow. By Vulcan standards, however, Kirk had assumed that Spock had let the touchy subject's logical merits outweigh the emotional taboo that came along with mentioning George Kirk's ultimate sacrifice, therefore it was acceptable reasoning.

"I…" Kirk interrupted. "Spock, it's okay. You don't need to-"

"On the contrary, Captain, I do," Spock firmly insisted, and he continued with his halting apology. "A notable trait of Vulcans is that we are able to examine issues by exhausting every logical idea about said issue and then make the most rational decision. During our debate, however, I gave in to the need to prove myself right and, as I believe humans would say, put you in your place." Spock shifted his weight with uncertainty. "Masking spitefulness as logic only shows how desperate I was to convince others of the validity of my point of view."

Kirk suddenly swallowed, an inexplicable lump forming in his throat. "I never thought you…" The captain's voice trailed off. Spock still did not stop talking, much to Kirk's dismay.

"I am referring to my unkind and callous mention of your father's death," Spock clarified. If Kirk had not been so wrapped up in Spock's speech, he would have made a sarcastic comment. Spock silently breathed, steadying himself. "Captain George Kirk was an unselfish, efficient captain who is a model to all current and future Starfleet officers. It was disrespectful and wrong of me to bring up his death to you in front of your peers."

Kirk remained silent. He agreed with Spock, but there was a catch in Vulcan hybrid's voice that Kirk had never heard before.

"There is never a logical reason to remind one of the pain he…" Spock searched his mental thesaurus for an objective, but accurate, word. He could not come up with one and begrudgingly followed his first instinct. "He feels…" The word was so foreign to Spock's tongue. "When a deceased parent is brought up in conversation. Again, I apologize, and after my recent firsthand knowledge of these overwhelming emotions, I promise that I will not make the same thoughtless error again."

"Sp- Spock," Kirk stuttered, biting his lip as he tried to think of what to say. "I accept your apology, but is pain what your feel when you think of your mother?" Kirk extended as Spock continued to tap his fingers nervously, trying to regain his normally-stoic composure.

"Yes," Spock answered without weighing the consequences of answering Kirk. "And pain. And anger. And confusion. And guilt. And loss. And defeat, shock, hopelessness." The words began to run together, and Kirk reached his hand out and clasped onto Spock's wrist, forcing the Vulcan to regain control and make eye contact with his human captain. Sensing the Spock was uncomfortable, Kirk released his hand.

"But is that all?" The question Kirk asked was judgment-free and Spock found the emotional turmoil inside him began to quell.

"I do not know," Spock admitted with disdain. "I have never felt like this before. My normal techniques of seeking calmness and serenity have been to no avail."

Kirk noticed the subtle traces of Spock's embarrassment of his words, but the young man decided not even to mention that subject. "I didn't really ever know my father, Spock," Kirk informed him, even though Spock had already known this. "And when I think about him, I imagine what could've been, even though it will never be." Kirk paused. Did he really just say that? Nonetheless, it was a true declaration. He continued, "When you think of your mom, you'll always remember the pain of losing her, but you also have to think of the good memories of her, too."

Spock nodded without saying a word, processing the captain's advice. "Most of the memorable part of my childhood has to do with my mother," he noted, subtly agreeing with Kirk. "I will try to concentrate on these thoughts, rather than those of her death."

Kirk grinned at hearing his second-in-command say this. "I'm sorry about your mother." The words sounded hollow and meaningless eve to Kirk's ears because the same placating, well-meaning tone had been used on him dozens of times.

"You didn't know her." Spock's brow crinkled with misunderstanding. "You should not feel sorrow. Neither her life nor her death should be of any significance to you."

Kirk was angered by Spock's insensitive brush-off, but he knew the Vulcan really did not have any ill intentions. "I did not have the pleasure," he said, "but you are my friend and that makes your sorrow my sorrow. And try as you might to hide that sorrow, I know better. So drop the act. I know you're not invincible. The crew knows you're not invincible. Seems like you are the only one under that impression. You're human, or at least part human," Kirk joked. "Displaying grief will not cause anyone to see you as less of man."

"Your words resemble those of my mother, Captain" he wryly observed.

"Jim."

"What?" Spock questioned.

"Call me Jim," Kirk insisted. "At least when we are off-duty. Humor me, Mr. Spock."

"In order to reciprocate this gesture, I must ask that you refer to me as Spock, although you have already taken this liberty many times," Spock accepted. His voice wavered before asking the next question. "Does this method to control your emotions actually work when you think about your deceased father?"

Kirk did not appreciate the swift shift in the conversation. "Like I said, Spock, I never knew my father. My mom never really liked to talk about him, so I don't know that much about him. Only what I've been told." Kirk's gaze darted down to the ground, but Spock could still tell that the captain was holding back something. Spock's stare did not let up, his brown eyes demanding an answer. "But I'm also proud of his actions, and his legacy. I worry that if he knew me, he wouldn't feel the same way about his screwed-up son." The sadness in Kirk's voice was tangible.

"I cannot express a dead man's sentiments," Spock indicated, and Kirk had almost burst out laughing at the seriousness with which Spock spoke. He would have, had the dead man in question not be his father, that is. "I would postulate that Captain Kirk would see you as a formidable member of his family. On your first true Starfleet mission, Jim, you had managed to rise in rank from a Cadet to Captain, save thousands of lives, indirectly help discover a revolutionary warping technique, and accomplish all of that and more at a relatively young age. I might even be so bold to say that your father would be proud of you, just as I am proud to serve as your First Officer."

Kirk beamed at Spock's words. Never in a million eons would Kirk ever think Spock viewed him as such.

"Spock, I… I don't know what to say," Kirk choked out. "I…"

"Obviously." Spock immediately slipped back into Vulcan-mode, but the attitude of the conversation was much more relaxed. "Your speech skills, or lack thereof, do not merit any sort of commendation like your command skills do."

"And your speaking does?" Kirk challenged.

"I do not indulge myself in boastfulness, Captain." Spock ignored the question.

"Well, maybe when you become more in touch with your human side," Kirk prophesized, "You will."

"It is hardly likely that either of those two endeavors will occur, Captain." Spock remained indifferent but stalwart.

"We'll see about that," Kirk dastardly grinned, glancing up at the digital, Starfleet-standard clock above the desk in Spock's room. "Beta shift began a few minutes ago, so we are officially off-duty."

"Indeed," Spock concurred.

Kirk could tell that Spock did not catch on to his insinuation, so the captain explained himself. "Care to join me for a game of chess?"

"Affirmative," Spock consented, following Kirk back to the recreational room.

"I think you'll find that my chess skills highly surpass my grammatical skills," Kirk bragged with conceit.

"I certainly hope so," Spock shot back, raising his left eyebrow in response to Kirk's arrogance. "Or else the game would be over quite quickly, Jim."

END

And so our story is complete. I really hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I did writing it. Reviews would be great. Positive, negative, short, long, constructive, insulting, whatever! I always respond to them! Please and thank you!

Again, thank you so much for reading. See you next time!