New: TOS Still Life in Triplicate [R] K/S/Ch 2/2
djinn_fic
AUTHOR: Djinn
CONTACT: dj...@djinnslair.com http://www.djinnslair.com
SERIES: TOS
RATING: R
CODES: K/S/Ch
PART: 2/2
SUMMARY: Because I missed these three. And because life isn't
always about the big moments.
DISCLAIMERS: No infringement intended, no money made. I'm just
playing.
Thanks to Rabble Rouser and Trekki for the beta!
"I do not understand the appeal of this game." Spock was sitting
next to Christine, watching as their team got squashed.
Jim wound up for another pitch; Morelli, who was playing catcher,
made a gesture with three fingers and Jim frowned, clearly not
understanding the intent of the sign.
Christine wasn't sure what the hell Morelli meant either. "Len
should have let me play. I'm recovered enough to play." She glared
at Spock who looked away quickly.
She normally played catcher. But Len had refused to clear her for
this activity. Len was also captain of the other team, and he knew
what a great pair Jim and she made--the bond was useful in guessing
what the other was going to do. Christine used to play on Len's
team, until she'd married the captain of the rival team. Len had
forgiven her many things over the years, but she wasn't sure he'd
ever let this transgression go.
Jim pitched. A nice, strong throw--he wasn't letting Morelli's
bizarre communication style distract him from the game at hand. It
flew down the field, but wasn't perfect. Scotty could go either way
on a pitch like that.
Scotty's hands didn't move. Ball, then. No strike.
She leapt to her feet. "What? Are you blind?"
"Christine. Sit down." Spock was tugging gently on her pants, down
low where no one could see him doing it.
She ignored him. "That was a strike!"
"You are making a scene. It is...unbecoming."
"Get some damn glasses, Ump!" she said, pushing Spock's hands away.
Jim was leaning over in the infield, hands on his thighs as he
watched the interplay. She did this when she played, too, only a
lot more quietly. It was part of their strategy--he knew Scotty was
too gallant to throw a woman out of the game. And sometimes it
nudged him back into forgiving territory so he'd call some strikes.
Other times it just made him more determined to be rigid.
Christine wasn't sure today was the day to be yelling at him. He
looked like he'd had a little too much fun on last night's shore
leave.
"Chapel, you're outta there," someone else yelled.
All eyes turned to the first base coach. Rand turned bright red,
but didn't look away from her.
"You can't throw her out, Janice. She's a spectator." Jim flashed
a mega-watt grin as he walked toward first base.
"She should be in the dugout if she's on injured reserve." Jan
didn't back down as Jim got in her face. Nose to nose with him, she
said, "In the dugout...where we could throw her out."
Christine began to grin. Who knew Jan had these kind of balls and
would stand up to James "T is for Tactics" Kirk? And, truth be
told, she was right--Christine should be sitting in the dugout. A
little tired of playing a harpy with poor Scotty, Christine silently
cheered her friend on.
"Back up, captain," Jan said. "You're dangerously close to being
thrown out yourself."
Jim took a step back. "Christine's more comfortable in the stands."
"Well, have a word with her about her behavior, or we'll throw her
out."
"Aye," Scotty joined in from the plate. "That we will." He shot an
apologetic glance at Christine, who pretended to be offended. He
looked down immediately.
"Fine. We need a time-out." As Jim walked toward Christine and
Spock, his feet pounding on the dry earth outside the Sigma Five
outpost, he winked and shrugged. She knew they'd be having a
strategy meeting soon over how to deal with x-factor Rand.
Janice watched him go, not a shred of longing or lust in her eyes.
She was all business. And looking mighty pleased with herself.
"Damn," Christine said, as she watched Jan lean down and brush off
first base. "She's supposed to support Scotty, not make his
decisions for him."
"She's not supposed to be playing umpire, at all," Jim said. "Who
assigned her to that slot? I wanted her at right field."
Spock looked down. Due to his extreme disinterest in the game, all
sides trusted him to make key assignments and keep track of stats.
Jim frowned. "Spock. I told you. Our team. Right field."
"She told me she does not like to play," Spock said. "However, she
was not opposed to serving as a rule-keeper."
"Umpire."
"Whatever," Christine said, although Spock was perfectly aware of
the correct terminology. "Jim, face it. My days of bullying Scotty
into watching his calls are over."
He pouted. Then he looked around at Janice, who grinned and waved
innocently. "She's enjoying this."
"She does appear to be in good spirits." Spock almost smiled.
Jim's eyes narrowed and he looked down at their husband. "You hate
it when Christine acts up."
"I do." Spock looked unconcerned in the face of Jim's glare. "It
is...discordant with her true nature."
"Nothing's discordant if it works." Jim looked at her, obviously
seeking support.
"Right. I'm willing to scream for the team."
"I would rather you didn't." Spock shot her a gentle look.
"You were the one who put Rand in as umpire. For no good reason.
When you knew I wanted her on our team." Jim leaned forward,
chucking Spock's chin up, so he had to look at him. "No good reason
unless..."
"Jim, you are making a leap of logic that is not warranted." But
Spock looked almost as pleased with himself as Jan did with
herself.
"Damn it, Spock." But Jim was laughing.
Christine began to laugh, too. "He out-schemes both of us. Every
single time."
"I was not convinced she would have the resolve to carry out her
part. I am gratified to see I was wrong." Spock nodded at Janice,
who smiled and went back to making first base immaculate.
"Play ball," Scotty yelled. "And you..." He pointed at
Christine. "You get down here in the dugout where I can keep an eye
on you."
"Serves you right," Christine said to Spock as she got up. "Now
you'll have to sit all alone." But she knew Spock would pull a padd
out as soon as she was no longer there to make him pay attention to
the game.
"I shall try to survive without you." Spock's tone was light. A
few weeks ago, he would not have been able to joke about it. Her
near-death had left him more shaken than she'd expected.
"You do that." She touched his shoulder fleetingly, felt something
ping, carried by the bond. As she climbed down the stands, she saw
that Jim was smiling, too.
"Just get well. I miss pitching to you." He waggled his eyebrows.
She laughed.
"No hard feelings," Jan called out to her.
"Right," Christine yelled over her shoulder.
"Great." Rand's tone changed. "I'll be watching you." As
Christine glanced back at her, she moved her hand into the "y'er
out" sign--a little warning.
"Just keep walking," Jim ordered.
Christine turned around and just kept walking, barely resisting the
urge to make a very nasty gesture back at Rand.
---------------
"Ah, Janice, my love. Can I buy you another beer?" Len was having
far too much fun with this latest of victory feasts.
"You can't bribe me, Doctor." Rand looked over at Christine and
grinned. "But she might be able to."
"Let me buy you a beer, Jan." Pushing Len away from the newest
member of the officiating staff, Christine whispered to Jan, "About
that leave I wasn't going to take..."
"Oh, don't even tease me." Rand socked her in the arm. "Besides,
no way you'd share your men." She took Christine's arm in hers, led
her to the bar. "And I don't blame you. I'd like a nice expensive
beer, not this piss that McCoy's trying to get me drunk on."
Christine laughed. "So, Jim wanted me to reiterate his offer of
right field." She handed Jan a glass of the good stuff--Sigma Five
might be an out-of-the-way hellhole, but it provided some of the
best shore leave facilities in the quadrant.
"I hate baseball," Janice said, smiling as she took her first
sip. "Oh, this is good. Thanks."
"If you hate it, why'd you let Spock talk you into being umpire?"
"Who said he had to talk me into it? As umpire, I'm God's right
hand. If God were a very drunk Scottish guy."
Christine glanced over at Scotty. He was making moony eyes at Uhura
while trying to accompany her impromptu blues routine on the chanter
he'd detached from his bagpipes. A chanter he was suddenly having
enormous difficulty playing. "Juice-headed Baby" never seemed more
appropriate.
"Hello, Chief." Lieutenant Rondeson smiled at Janice as he walked
up. Then he seemed to remember that Christine was there. "And
Lieutenant."
"Lieutenant. I'll just leave you two alone."
Christine settled in next to Jim, out in front of the picnic shelter
they'd rented for their post-game party.
He was watching Rand and Rondeson talk. "I was never that pretty."
"Yeah, you really were." She leaned in, taking his arm. "Just ask
Spock."
"I'm not going to ask him. He'll tell me the same thing just to
get my goat." Jim took a long swallow of his beer. He pulled her
closer. "Are you feeling okay? Not too tired?"
"I feel fine." She let herself relax in his arms. "Where is Spock,
anyway?"
"He went back up to the ship. You know how he hates these things."
Laughing, she nodded. "I tried to recruit Jan. She said no."
"Of course she said no. When else is she going to get to boss us
all around?" He shook his head. "I'm going to kill Spock."
She just smiled.
Len came out and sat across from them. "You know, maybe I don't
mind so much that you stole Christine away from me. Now that I've
got Rand on my side."
"She's not on your side, Bones. She's not on anyone's side."
"You just keep telling yourself that, my friend." He took in the
state of Jim's beer and motioned to the ensign who was serving as
frazzled waiter. "Hey there, McMillan. Three more beers. And make
it the good stuff this time. The captain's buying."
Ensign McMillan nodded and rushed back to the bar.
Leaning back, crossing his arms behind his head, Len smiled. "This
is the life. A little baseball where you crush the other team into
oblivion. A little beer paid for by captain of said team."
"A little compassion missing from the captain of the winning team."
Jim said, as he hugged Christine closer. "One of my key players is
out. And perfectly capable of playing. If _you'd_ clear her."
"She looks feeble to me, Jim. Downright frail." Len closed his
eyes. "Wake me when the beer arrives."
"I took pity on McMillan," Sulu said as he walked up, two beers in
each hand. Setting Jim's and Christine's down in front of them, he
nudged Len with his foot. "Doc. Hooch is here."
"Well, color me a happy soul." McCoy reached for it. "Hikaru, you
are a good man. A righteous man."
"I don't know about that," Sulu said as he sat down, staring up at
the stars. "Not much to say for this planet, but it does have a
good night sky."
Jim looked up at the stars with a smile. "That it does."
Christine could feel her eyes closing. It had been a long day in
strong sunshine. Ignoring her beer, she cuddled into Jim, felt his
arm tighten around her.
"She's bushed," Len said. "I know you'd like to think I'm keeping
her from playing because I like to win, but that's not why."
She felt Jim's lips touch down on her forehead. "I know it's not,
Bones. She's getting stronger, though."
"I'm fine," she muttered, but the words came out slurred.
"Shhh. Go to sleep."
"She'll be fine, Jim. Just no way I'm going to rush her into that
state." Len sighed. "So, Sulu, what's the latest gossip below
decks?"
"Now, how would I know that?"
Len laughed. "You always know that. Everyone talks to you, and
don't think I don't know it."
Smiling, Christine let herself drift as Sulu gave up the dirt he
knew. Or the dirt he was willing to tell, she thought he knew a lot
more than anyone realized.
------------------
"Where are your better halves?" Chekov asked as he saw Christine
eating dinner alone.
"They went down to the planet. I expect them back tomorrow."
He looked a little surprised and she smiled. "They could use some
alone time. They've been spoiling me rotten since I got hurt."
"We were all very worried about you."
"Damn Syms."
"It's a little known fact, but the first two Moroph Syms were
actually invented by a little old lady in Vladivostok, then they
bred like Russian sables and overran her place, killing all inside.
Morov Avenue is where she lived."
Christine laughed. "No one ever gives Russia the credit it
deserves."
"This is too true." Chekov winked at her. "You seem to be back to
normal."
"I feel like my old self, Pav." She realized he was carrying a
padd. "You were actually looking for them on business?"
He nodded. "Admiral Nogura plans a surprise visit. He says"--he
checked the padd as if not believing what he was reading--"ready the
barby, Jimbo, and prepare to share. Do you know what that means?"
She laughed. "I do. He means Kalbi. And lots of it. The sharing
part...disregard that." She pushed her plate away. "When is he
coming?"
"Oh, well, yes...his shuttle should just about be on final approach."
Getting up, she sighed. She hated to interrupt Jim and Spock's time
together with a Nogura sighting. "You get the Kalbi ready. I'll
collect my husbands."
"Thank you, Doctor." Chekov hurried into the kitchen.
With a call to the surface, she woke up the boys, thinking they
sounded unbearably sexy in their half-asleep state. It reminded her
of how they'd been on Thule. When she'd come in from one of her
foraging missions to find them lying together, safe and warm under
the robes she'd made.
"We'll be right up," Jim said, sounding more awake. "I trust you
can distract him. Without making us share?"
"I trust I can." She cut the connection and hurried to where
Nogura's shuttle would dock.
He was just disembarking as she walked into the bay. "Chapel. Good
to see you."
"You too, sir. The captain and Commander Spock are still on the
planet. They'll be up directly."
"Wonderful. You better tell me you have the bar-b-q going."
Smiling, as she took his arm, she said, "Galley staff is working on
it now." Programming the hell out of the synthesizers, unless she
missed her guess--Jim had arranged for the Kalbi to be sent in
stasis from Seoul last time.
"So, you feeling better? I saw that you'd been injured."
"I'm feeling fine, sir."
"Command was not pleased to find out the Moroph Syms are back. We
thought we'd eradicated them."
"We thought wrong, sir."
"Obviously. Going to be a lot of activity in their area in the near
future. Guess we'll be sending more exterminators in."
Exterminators was a nice way of saying heavily armed ships designed
to wipe out a species. A horrible, nasty species that tried to set
you on fire for no apparent reason.
Still...as a doctor, it bothered her to think of this whole-scale
carnage. "Do we know what they want? Why they hop into our
dimension?"
"What they want? Why do they have to want anything? Other than our
destruction. Hell, they may not even think of it in those terms.
Me hungry. Me see Chapel. Me eat her."
She hoped to hell there was not a hidden message for her in that.
But his look was serious, not leering.
"They're vermin, Lieutenant. Nothing more. And like we'd do with
voles on a station or rats on an old-time sailing ship, we're going
to get rid of them."
"Right." Only they never could seem to rid a station of voles, and
she didn't think the old-time sailing ships had had much luck with
their rats, either.
"You think we should try to negotiate with them? Maybe you'd like
to be our ambassador since you're so intimately familiar with them?"
She could feel the fire in her veins as the Sym had ridden
her. "No, sir. I don't want to ever go near one again."
"Admiral?" Jim saved her from having to say anything more. His
hair was a little askew--Spock's was even worse.
"No mirrors down there?" she asked Spock, turning so that only he
could hear.
He hurriedly finger-combed his hair. With a look, he asked if he
was presentable, and she nodded. Then she winked at him, and he
almost smiled, his eyes glinting the way they did when he was very
amused.
"Chapel. Come on, let's get some chow." Nogura grabbed for her
arm. "You don't seem as sexy this time. Guess the pheromones have
worn off, eh?"
"Guess so, sir." There was a good reason one of Nogura's nicknames
was "Admiral Blunt."
"She's still sexy," she heard Jim tell Spock behind them. Spock
must have given Jim "the look" because Jim said, "Well, she is."
"I'm here for a reason, Chapel. And nice as you are, it's not to
steal you away from your men."
"Yes, sir." She thought that was the correct response to such a
statement.
"Actually, it has nothing to do with you at all. But it makes Jim
crazy when he thinks I'm interested in you." He winked at
her. "Old rivalries die hard." Then his expression grew more
serious, and he swept his gaze back, including Jim and Spock in the
conversation, as he asked, "What do you think happened to V'ger?"
"It was in our report, sir."
"I read the damn report, Jim. 'V'ger ascended to a higher plane.'
What the hell does that mean?" He stopped walking, pulled them into
an impromptu huddle. "The rest of the brass would like some
answers. They worry that V'ger may still be on this plane. May be
out there for our enemies to take advantage of. We want you to look
for it."
"You want us to look for V'ger?"
"Oh, don't be obvious about it. But, you know, keep an eye out.
Listen for stories of gods that are part machine. That sort of
thing. We want to make sure the Klingons and the Romulans can't put
this thing to their own uses."
"Sir," Spock's voice was very low. "V'ger has evolved. It is no
longer the entity we engaged."
"Well, I can see you believe that. Hell, I believe it if you three
think so. But...just keep an eye out." He rubbed his hands
together. "Now, where's my damned bar-b-q?"
Letting go of all of them, he headed for the mess. Headed in the
wrong direction--Christine had to run after him and get him turned
around without insulting him.
"Easiest orders we've ever had," Jim muttered as they passed him and
Spock. "Damned thing's gone, Spock. You saw it."
"Yes, Jim."
Christine glanced back, making a face at them to shut the hell up.
"Stupid brass," Jim said, obviously not caring if Nogura heard him.
"You were one of us once, Jimbo. You know what we're like," his
boss said, letting go of Christine as he headed into the mess. "We
don't like to leave anything to chance if we can worry about it
instead."
"Like V'ger is just going to pop down here and say 'Hello' to us."
Jim took a deep breath. "V'ger is gone. Ilia and Will are
transformed--or maybe just dead."
Christine suddenly remembered how Ilia had looked in her fever
dream. "What if they're not?"
Three pairs of eyes turned to her.
"I mean. What if they transformed in a way that wasn't so good?"
She looked at Spock. "Didn't you feel any of that dream?"
"I did, Christine. But it was only your fever playing on your fears
for Ilia." Spock's tone was very gentle. "It was a nightmare,
nothing more."
"Are you sure?"
"Does anyone want to tell me what we're talking about?" Nogura
looked annoyed--not that it stopped him from loading up his plate.
"It's nothing, sir," Christine said, feeling suddenly like a nervous
Nelly who cries alien monster at every shadow. "As Spock said, it
was just a dream."
"So, sir. Not to be rude but where do you suggest we look for
V'ger?" Jim looked like he considered those to be the stupidest
orders ever.
"You're the one the kids study at the Academy, Jimbo. You figure it
out." Nogura studied the ribs. "These aren't as good as last time."
"I'll talk to the galley crew," Jim said, crossing his fingers
behind his back.
"You three aren't eating? There's plenty here."
Spock turned away from the pile of meat-covered ribs. Christine
shook her head, murmuring that she'd already eaten. Jim just paced,
probably thinking of ways to track an alien that had ascended to a
higher plane.
Nogura belched softly. "Nope, not as tasty as last time, but still
damned good." He patted his stomach as he got up, the picture of
contented admiral-hood. "Chapel, walk me to my shuttle."
"I'll walk you," Jim said.
"I knew you'd say that." Nogura was grinning. "I'm beginning to
take this personally, Jim."
"No insult intended, sir," Jim said, as he steered his boss away
from her.
She rolled his eyes at his territorial expression. She was going to
have to tell him he was only playing into Nogura's hands by reacting.
----------------
The bustling market of Tiryzhnia beckoned Christine to stop, touch,
smell, linger. She followed Jim and Spock as they strode quickly
past every stall that looked the least bit interesting.
"Can we maybe slow down a little?" she asked. "This is not
shopping, sweethearts. It's a forced march."
"Keep up, Christine," Jim said. "There's something we want to show
you." He and Spock had been down here already when they'd had time
to kill waiting for the Enterprise to pick them up once the trade
negotiations had ended.
She sighed, looking longingly at all the pretty, pretty things they
were hurrying past. "Next time I'm coming with the girls," she
muttered.
"Believe me, they would not be as fun."
"Right. Because this is how I define fun. Trailing in your wake
and oh--" She stopped as they broke free of the market, her hand
rising almost on its own to cover her mouth. "What is that?"
A large enclosure, the sides covered with netting, stood in front of
them. It was filled with all sorts of tropical-looking flowers.
And flitting all over the plants were what looked like Terran
butterflies.
As she stood, spellbound by the gentle movements, Spock paid the man
sitting in front of the gate as Jim pulled her into the first of a
series of doors.
"The butterflies can get out. They ride on visitors in an attempt
to sneak away." Jim grinned as he nodded at the aides stationed at
the last of the doors. "Gotta give them credit for the bold, big
move."
She laughed. Figured he'd like that.
There were a few other people wandering through the enclosure, but
they were very quiet. All Christine could hear was the trickle of
water into the little pools scattered around the area. The
butterflies made no sound at all as they flitted past, settling on a
leaf, or a plate of food left to tempt them to land close to the
people.
"Beautiful," Christine said, her voice coming out little more than a
breath. She glanced at Spock. "Did you two come in earlier?"
Spock shook his head. "We wanted to experience it with you." He
stopped to watch a bright blue and orange butterfly. The creature
flapped its wings slowly as it nibbled daintily on a piece of fruit.
Christine followed Jim to where a larger cluster of the butterflies
were. She picked out a pinkish-gray one, watched as it flew over to
two others, landing on top of them. For a moment, they made a
little butterfly pyramid.
"It's us," Jim said with a laugh, just before the pyramid split up
and they went back to eating. He took a deep breath, glanced at
her, then looked past her to where Spock stood, still in
contemplation. "I never thought I could be this happy."
"I know. And I know Spock's happy. He's--he's leaving us."
Spock wasn't just leaving, he was coming close to charging out of
the enclosure. One of the aides stopped him, gently removing a
would-be escapee.
"What the hell is he doing?" Jim said, as he grabbed her hand and
followed their errant husband.
The aide brushed them off and they hurried out the series of doors.
Spock was just heading back into the market.
"Hell of a time to shop, don't you think?" she asked as Jim put on a
burst of speed, somehow managing to get through the crowd, pulling
her after him, without running into anyone.
"I think he's following that man," Jim said, pointing ahead of Spock
to a tall bearded man in a homespun robe. "Spock!" he called.
Spock turned, and so did the other man. Christine thought he looked
an awful lot like the man who'd snuck briefly into their wedding.
Spock had slowed down enough for them to catch up, but he was still
tailing the other man. "It is my brother."
Jim frowned. "We're going to have to talk about this brother
fixation, Spock. It's not healthy."
"No, you do not understand. I do have a brother." Spock lunged
ahead, grabbing the sleeve of the man and spinning him around.
Christine could feel Spock's agitation as it colored the
bond. "Spock, leave this man alone."
Up close, the man didn't look very much like the fellow she'd seen.
Spock's face fell as he stared at him. "I beg pardon."
The man yanked his arm free of Spock's grip. "You two should keep a
better reign on your friend. What kind of Vulcan are you, anyway,
accosting a stranger?" With a glare at Spock, the man turned and
walked away.
Spock looked stricken. "That is a valid question." He took a deep
breath--it came out ragged.
Christine glanced at Jim, saw that he was as confused as she
was. "Let's go sit down."
"I do not want to sit down, Christine. I want my brother back."
But Spock let her lead him into a small cafe. He sat in his chair
heavily, as if he were ancient.
"Spock. This brother thing..." Jim stopped talking, staring at
Spock's face.
Christine was about to say something, but then Spock turned to her,
and his expression nearly broke her heart. It was too sad a face
for the brother thing to be a delusion. Unless it was a deeply
psychotic one. And Spock had melded with her too many times for her
to think he was psychotic.
"You really have a brother?" Christine asked.
"Yes. I am...forbidden to speak of him."
"Why?" Jim touched Spock's hand gently; Spock grabbed on like a
drowning man, shuddering, then shuddering again while Christine
rubbed his back.
"My brother would be very happy for me, right now. He would approve
of you two immensely. He would consider our love a good thing. A
right thing." Spock sighed. "My father threw him out of the
house. For embracing his emotions."
Christine looked down. No wonder Spock and his father had such a
rocky relationship, or that Spock had tried so hard to be the
perfect Vulcan.
"I thought that man was Sybok. And my heart leapt. Do you
understand that? What that means for me to feel such joy and know
it is for a man who is anathema to most Vulcans?" Spock took a deep
breath. "I was embarrassed by him. And, yet, I...miss him."
"Can you find him?"
"I do not know where he is. I have asked men that I know to be his
friends, but they will not tell me where he is. He has no interest
in seeing me." Spock took another ragged breath.
"I don't think that's true." Christine rubbed his back harder. "I
think he was at our wedding."
At Spock's look of hope, she nodded. "A man who looked like the one
you stopped just now peeked in. He wouldn't come in, but he seemed
so pleased for us."
"He came?" Spock's voice was a little boy's, full of amazement.
Then his face fell. "He came, but he would not stay. I should be
relieved, but I feel..."
"Empty?" Jim said softly, and Spock nodded, turning away from them
to stare out of the cafe.
Jim looked at Christine; she shrugged helplessly. There was nothing
they could say to comfort Spock.
---------------------
Christine walked into Spock's lab. He'd been spending more time
there lately. As if he regretted telling them the truth about his
brother.
"Hi," she said.
He looked over. His eyes were gentle, his almost-smile even more
so. "You are far from sickbay."
"Just checking up on you." It was never worth it to try to hide the
truth from Spock.
"There is no need. I am fine."
"If you're fine, why have you been pulling all nighters? We miss
you. Our big bed is cold."
"I am not avoiding you. But this experiment is in a very delicate
stage. I must attend to it constantly."
"Are you sure that's it?" Christine took a deep breath, moving a
little closer. "Maybe you need some extended time with Jim? I
mean...alone with Jim. I can arrange leave."
He turned to her in surprise. "Have I given you any indication I
wanted that?"
"No. But I'm worried about you, and if you won't seek closeness in
us, I thought maybe you would in him."
Spock did smile. Not a big one, but it was real. "Jim said nearly
the same thing when he asked if I wished for him to leave us alone."
"He asked that?"
Spock nodded. "The love you both have for me...it touches me,
Christine. More than either of you will ever know." He pulled her
close, and she relaxed against him since there was no one in the lab
to see them cuddling. "I am not upset any longer about my brother--
but seeing his double did force me to analyze my feelings. It is a
useful thing, I think, but I am not carrying it to extremes. That
this experiment requires vigilance is the only reason I have not
been in our bed."
"You're sure?"
"Christine." He gave her "the look."
"Okay." She watched him for a while. "So, how much longer will it
require such vigorous mother henning?"
"Two more days." He touched her hand, then pulled her close,
kissing her before turning back to the microscope. "Jim is lonely,
too. Go ease his loneliness."
"It's not the same without you there."
"I know. It is never the same without you there when he and I are
alone. But"--he smiled gently at her--"it is still love."
"Yes, it is." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "I love you."
"As I love you. Now, go."
She went. Jim was in their quarters when she got there, sitting at
his desk working on the terminal. Without looking up, he held his
hand out to her, and once she'd taken it, he pulled her into his lap.
She wrapped her arms round him and nuzzled his neck.
"Mmm. That's nice." He turned away from the computer long enough
to look at her. "What's the occasion?"
"I went to visit Spock." She kissed his lips while they were so
conveniently close. "I offered to give you two some private time."
He laughed. "I offered him the same thing. I'm sure he told you
what he told me."
"Seems like." She took a deep breath. "He says it's just the
experiment keeping him away."
"Do you believe him?" Jim reached over, closing out what he was
working on and turning off the terminal.
"I do."
"So do I." He pulled her around, so she was straddling him. "He
told me you were lonely."
"He told me you were, too."
"Is he wrong on either count?"
They both shook their heads at the same time.
"Christine, he'll come home when his science project is done. In
the meantime, let's stay in practice for him."
Laughing, she practiced with him for a long, long time.
---------------
"So, you're feeling okay? All over your attack?" Janice turned
over in her lounge chair, and the artificial sunlight that blazed
down from the ceiling reflected off her sunshades.
"Yeah. I'm good." Christine looked over to where Ny lay in the
shade, getting a massage. "You've got to love the new features on
this ship." Therapeutic massage was a very nice perk. So was
getting some sun when it was a long while between planets. The sun
spa had cut down on UV-related depression by a large amount. "How
are you and the lieutenant?"
"That would be fraternizing, Christine. I would never do that."
She laughed softly.
"But other than that, he's good?"
"Oh, he sure is."
Christine smiled. "Good."
"Oh, my lord, I think I'm going to marry that masseur." Uhura
plopped down in the lounger next to Christine.
"You'll have to get in line," Christine said, watching as another
crewmember hopped up on the table Uhura had vacated.
"Besides, she's seeing someone." Janice winked at Uhura.
Uhura winked back.
Christine felt a little confused. "You are? Who?" Then she
started to laugh. "Oh, my god, did you finally give Mister Scott a
tumble?"
Uhura's laugh was throaty and deep. "Not exactly."
Before Christine could ask for more dirt, she heard someone calling
her name and looked over at the door. Jim was beckoning her
over. Lieutenant Rondeson walked past him, making a beeline for
Janice.
"Duty calls," Christine said, smiling at Jim.
"If that's duty, then sign me up," Janice said with a little laugh.
But she wasn't really watching Jim. Her eyes were fixed on
Rondeson, who smiled as he sat down in the chair next to her.
Christine gathered up her things and joined Jim at the door. He was
staring into the room, an odd look on his face.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"What do you make of that?" He pointed with his chin back to where
she'd been sitting.
Rondeson had moved to her old chair. He was putting some kind of
lotion on Janice's back. And Uhura was doing the same for him.
Then she leaned in, laughing at something Rondeson had said. She
kissed him on the neck. And Janice saw her do it. She didn't deck
Uhura; she just...smiled. Christine knew that smile.
"Hmmm." Christine looked at him.
His eyebrows went way up, and a very silly grin lit his face.
"You think it's a triangle that goes all the way around?" she asked.
"God, I hope so." At her look, he said, "I mean, I don't know.
Maybe. Maybe not. Let's go, okay?"
She took a last look at her friends and the lieutenant. They looked
very, very happy. "You realize this is all our fault, right?"
Jim just laughed, which made her giggle. If this was their fault,
they probably should get a prize.
"Wait'll we tell Spock," Jim said, his voice full of glee.
"Right, because Vulcans are so easily turned on by girl-on-girl
fantasies." Then she remembered some of the things she'd caught
from Spock in the meld. Things he didn't really dwell on since
there was only one of her and two of them.
"Should be a very interesting night," Jim said, pulling her after
him into the turbolift. As soon as the doors closed, he was kissing
her. She kissed him back, until the doors opened again. Then she
followed him home to Spock, who was, indeed, very interested in girl-
on-girl stories.
He had them undressed and melded in no time at all.
Just another day in the life.
FIN
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
ASCEM messages are copied to a mailing list. Most recent messages
can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCEML.
Jacinto Gonzalez
have a nice day
Jacinto
"Umpire."
She laughed.
---------------
She just smiled.
"Shhh. Go to sleep."
------------------
"Damn Syms."
"We thought wrong, sir."
"Yes, Jim."
"Are you sure?"
----------------
"Can you find him?"
---------------------
"Hi," she said.
"He asked that?"
"You're sure?"
"I do."
---------------
"Oh, he sure is."
Christine smiled. "Good."
Uhura winked back.
FIN
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
djinn_fic
wrote:
>
> Hey Hi that was a "10" of a story I've read online in a long time
really enjoyed it. Please write somemore. Thanks
> have a nice day
> Jacinto
Awww, thanks, Jacinto!! It was a lot of fun to write. I love these
three. Thanks for the feedback!
Djinn
trekskitten
Ah, feedback, it’s so much fun. J
<see comments below>
TITLE: Still Life in Triplicate
AUTHOR: Djinn
CONTACT: djinn@... http://www.djinnslair.com
She dodged as Jim sprayed hair fixative, getting more in the
air than on himself.
Coughing and trying to protect her makeup case, she muttered, "Yeah,
this is romantic."
LOL.
Spock skedaddled back to his desk. As much as a Vulcan ever
skedaddled.
I absolutely love that line! <imagining a skedaddling Vulcan…>
"Why do we have to do this, again?" Christine pulled at the collar
on her dress uniform.
"Because Jim loves to show off his ship." Spock looked serene, but
Christine had seen him fiddling with his collar earlier, too.
"And us?"
Spock almost smiled. "I am not sure Nogura is as big a fan of our
domestic arrangement as he could be."
No, Nogura doesn’t seem to be a fan of anything except what he’s thought up.
"He could be maneuvered into a greater appreciation," Spock said
softly.
Laughing, she wondered if any but she and Jim knew what a schemer
Spock was. "What's your suggestion, oh devious one?"
Yes, Spock is rather wily, isn’t he?
"It's just a marriage, sir. With all the ups and downs." At his
look, she smiled. "Okay, maybe in our case it's the ups and ups and
downs and downs."
He laughed out loud. She thought she heard one of her husbands
stumble--Nogura was known for yelling, not guffawing.
ROFL!
Christine gestured back to where Rand was flirting with Lieutenant
Rondeson--a very, very good-looking man who'd recently transferred
onto the ship. Uhura was looking pretty coy herself around the
godlike human. "I don't think that's why they left."
Jim studied the younger man. "He's all right. If you like your men
pretty."
Spock glanced over. "He greatly resembles you when you were
younger."
Mmmmmm, yessss, very, very pretty.
-----------------
Jim walked out of the bathroom, looking pretty glorious in nothing
but his nicely tanned skin.
Yummy. Thanks for that mental pic. ;-)
TITLE: Still Life in Triplicate
AUTHOR: Djinn
PART: 2/2
She normally played catcher. But Len had refused to clear her for
this activity. Len was also captain of the other team, and he knew
what a great pair Jim and she made--the bond was useful in guessing
what the other was going to do. Christine used to play on Len's
team, until she'd married the captain of the rival team. Len had
forgiven her many things over the years, but she wasn't sure he'd
ever let this transgression go.
True—love is one thing, sports is another.
All eyes turned to the first base coach. Rand turned bright red,
but didn't look away from her.
"You can't throw her out, Janice. She's a spectator." Jim flashed
a mega-watt grin as he walked toward first base.
LOL!!!
James "T is for Tactics" Kirk
That’s a new one; I like it!
You were the one who put Rand in as umpire. For no good reason.
When you knew I wanted her on our team." Jim leaned forward,
chucking Spock's chin up, so he had to look at him. "No good reason
unless..."
"Jim, you are making a leap of logic that is not warranted." But
Spock looked almost as pleased with himself as Jan did with
herself.
"Damn it, Spock." But Jim was laughing.
Christine began to laugh, too. "He out-schemes both of us. Every
single time."
Wise of her to recognize that. ;-)
"I hate baseball," Janice said, smiling as she took her first
sip. "Oh, this is good. Thanks."
"If you hate it, why'd you let Spock talk you into being umpire?"
"Who said he had to talk me into it? As umpire, I'm God's right
hand. If God were a very drunk Scottish guy."
ROFLMBO!!!!
"Duty calls," Christine said, smiling at Jim.
"If that's duty, then sign me up," Janice said with a little laugh.
Amen, sister!!
Just another day in the life.
FIN
Thank you for these glimpses into their lives, Djinn. I enjoy the way you write Chapel—she’s got the spunk I always imagined she had under the surface of what we saw in the series and movies.
TK
---------------------------------
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
idic0375
>
> TITLE: Still Life in Triplicate
> AUTHOR: Djinn
> SERIES: TOS
> RATING: R
> CODES: K/S/Ch
> PART: 2/2
> SUMMARY: Because I missed these three. And because life isn't
> always about the big moments.
> DISCLAIMERS: No infringement intended, no money made. I'm just
> playing.
> Thanks to Rabble Rouser and Trekki for the beta!
>
>
>
Sorry for not posting FB earlier, but I wasn't in the mood for
threesomes when you first posted this. As usual, curiosity won out
and I read it and enjoyed it :)) While I don't personally see either
of these guys willing to share a mate, or themselves with each
other, if I did it would be exactly in the vein as you write them.
I loved your empowerment of Janice <GG> and your liberal use of 'The
Old Man'--Nogura. Your mixture of humor and tenderness was perfect.
Thanks for sharing.
~IDDY
djinn_fic
>
>
> Sorry for not posting FB earlier, but I wasn't in the mood for
> threesomes when you first posted this. As usual, curiosity won
out
> and I read it and enjoyed it :)) While I don't personally see
either
> of these guys willing to share a mate, or themselves with each
> other, if I did it would be exactly in the vein as you write them.
>
> I loved your empowerment of Janice <GG> and your liberal use
of 'The
> Old Man'--Nogura. Your mixture of humor and tenderness was
perfect.
> Thanks for sharing.
>
> ~IDDY
LOL! Thanks for the feedback, IDIC! Sorry it took me a while to
catch up. I know it's not always easy to see these three--lord
knows I didn't plan on making threesomes (it's crept into other
fandoms) a personal shtick LOL. But I'm glad you read it and
enjoyed it. : )
Djinn