The few minutes Spock spent alone on his way to the bridge gave him plenty of time to mull over the strange behaviour Doctor Eastman had displayed in her quarters.
She appeared nervous, anxious even. While the interaction was no different to their short meeting in the biopsy lab, her emotion was more intense. She was visibly upset, though he could not pin point exactly what she was upset about.
She looked terrified when she interrupted him, and quickly proceeded to correct herself. And while interrupting was considered rude amongst humans, Spock was not fazed by it. If she wished to be called something other than her official title, he would respect her preference.
But he couldn't understand why.
Every waking moment since their first chess game, she has stayed present in his thoughts. Like she sat in his perhipheral vision at all times, and continued to hide there when he went to look at her.
Trying to suppress the foreign feeling, he confined himself to the bridge and his quarters only. Trying to focus on work and nothing but work until he was sent away by Captain Kirk, ordering him to get some sleep. He never stepped foot in rec room 3 after he left that day, and had no plans to until he went to biopsy to ask her to play chess.
He decided it would be best to carefully and cautiously identify the emotion associated with Doctor Eastman before containing it and locking it away with the rest of his human side.
The doors to the turbo lift opened, and Spock stepped out onto the bridge. He stared out into the vast blackness of space that was projected onto the viewing screen. The darkness sharpened the points of starlight that streaked by as the ship passed, delving further into the vacuum.
"Spock, I thought I told you to get some rest." Kirk said, spinning his chair to meet with the Vulcan. Doctor McCoy stood next to him, looking between the two.
"Yes, Captain, but automatic sensors and various other recording devices require monitoring and periodic adjustments."
"Yes, and Mister Chekhov is doing a fine job of tending to that now."
The Russian boy looked over his shoulder at the three of them after hearing his name, but brushed it off to continue looking into the blue-lit scanner.
"Weren't you and Miss Eastman going to play that chess game you promised?" McCoy asked. Though innocent the question may have been, it didn't stop Captain Kirk from raising his eyebrows in curiosity.
"Miss Eastman?"
"Our new doctor in biopsy. Her and Spock played her first day on board and she wanted a rematch."
"But I can assure you, Captain, it is nothing like what you may believe it to be." Spock piped up, studying the amused look on Kirk's face.
"I didn't think it was." He looked over to McCoy, who had the same plain expression on his face.
"Where is she anyway, Spock?"
"Doctor Eastman has confined herself to her quarters."
"How come?" Kirk questioned.
"I cannot say for sure, but she did seem to be upset about something."
"Upset?" McCoy uncrossed his arms, visibly showing his sudden concern.
"She insisted she was fine, Doctor. She did not wish to elaborate, and I did not wish to pry."
"Spock, let me tell you something about Earth girls," his tone was laced with a mild form of anger. "They say they're fine when in reality, they're not. Now if you'll excuse me, gentlemen."
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Between the Stars | an AOS fanfic
Fanfiction"Spock, do you know what the word hiraeth means?" Spock's eyebrows cocked upward and he took a shallow breath in. He didn't answer. Indy waited for his answer a few seconds more, then left him. ☆~☆ Indiana Eastman has been through many hardships in...
