The Cadet

A Leaky Faucet (Fixed)

I sneezed loudly, my head pounding as I did. The students around me gave me concerned looks but continued working on their cadavers. I degloved and grabbed some tissues to stop the flow from my nose.

" You good, Sparkle?" Bones said, patting my back as I coughed into the tissues I grabbed.

"Yeah, I just have a cold." I said, my throat screaming in pain as I used it.

" Yeah, okay, "just a cold". Go home, sleep, take some heavy medication." He said, pulling the lab coat away from my shoulders as he spoke. " And I'll go disinfect this."

" Bones I'm fine I-"

" Go home." He shooed, pushing me towards the classroom doors. I sighed and left the room, coughing as I walked down the hall.

My walk in the rain was more foolish than I'd like to admit, and I woke up this morning feeling like I'd been run over and drowned in my sleep. I wrapped my arms around myself as I sluggishly made my way across the quad towards the dorms. There were only a handful of people out walking, for it was getting colder as it neared the winter months. As I walked, I recognized a certain sandy haired boy coming towards me.

" Hey, Toby." I said weakly, offering him a small wave and smile.

Toby looked up from his P.A.D.D. and beamed at me, " Hiya, Evie!" He replied excitedly. " Not going to class today?" He asked.

" I don't want to infect anyone, figured it was best." I said, shaking my own P.A.D.D., " Plus, it's doctor's orders."

He nodded in understanding and offered a wave to me, " I'll be sure to take some notes for you!" He said, just before hightailing it to the Math Building.

I scurried back to my dorm, eager to get out of the cold. Once I was in the safety of my own walls, I slid into my bed and fell asleep.

~~~

I was shaken awake by pounding at my door. I rolled ungracefully out of bed and into the living room, where someone was beating on our front door. I failed to recognize the voice calling my name on the other side of the door was male in my sleepy state. So when I opened the door to my Calculus Professor, I was wearing only a long night shirt and underwear.

" Spock?" I said wearily, rubbing some sleep from my eyes.

" Cadet McLaren, I will have you know that lifting your demerits does not mean that you can just skip my class whenever you feel like it." He replied, folding his hands behind his back.

" I didn't skip your class, I'm infectious and didn't want to expose anyone." I said, opening the door to let him in. He seemed hesitant at first, but crossed over the threshold eventually. " Why are you here?"

" I wanted to ensure you weren't taking advantage of the fact that I retracted you're demerits." He replied coolly, avoiding my eyes as he spoke.

" Oh, well no worries, I'm just dying. You can go now, I don't want to get you sick either." I said, offering a wave over my shoulder as I made my way towards the kitchen.

" My Vulcan immune system is much tougher than that of the Human system. I think I will be just fine." He stated, glancing around the living space. The small living room consisted of a couch and a tv, and the kitchen was small but efficient.

I opened the small fridge, " Do you want something to drink? I've got water and beer." I said, bending down to look in the bottom. The cold of the fridge hit my legs and I suddenly remembered my undressed state.

" I'm quite fine, Cadet." Spock said, clearing his throat behind me. I turned quickly to look at him, surprised to find his cheeks tinged green.

" Then why are you here? I don't remember teachers ever making house calls when someone was sick." I questioned, walking behind the counter to cover the lower half of my body.

Spock cleared his throat, opening his mouth to reply. When nothing followed, I became even more conscious about my current situation. Here I was, in my skimpy night gown in front of my Mathematics Professor, who appeared at my door after missing his lesson. I blushed at the implication My'ya had excitedly conjured once I told her about that day in the rain.

"Maybe he wants to smash? I bet "extra credit" is giving him a handy or something."

" Cadet?"

I mentally shook my head and focused on Spock again, uncomfortable with the images that popped into my brain. And uncomfortable with the fact that I didn't mind them.

" I'm sorry, say again?"

" I asked if you needed anything, medication perhaps?" He repeated, coming closer to lean on the counter. " If I could be of assistance I will be."

" Listen, I'm going to be frank." I started, rounding the counter to face him. He was quite a bit taller than me, but I didn't let that phase me. I came about an inch from him, out chests almost touching as I looked up at him. " You coming here seems a little suspicious, even if you have good intentions. On top of that, if anyone were to see us in this state, you would lose your job and I would never practice." I said, gesturing to my outfit. " I can't afford that and I don't want you to lose your job."

He looked at me for a moment, his face remaining stoic as I spoke. " You care about me losing my job, but your secondary worry is your own future. Such a strange creature." He said, his eyes running over my face. I tried not to think about how messy my hair was, or how plain I looked without any makeup on. I especially ignored the nagging voice in the back of my head telling me to close the space between us.

" Spock I-"

" Perhaps, Evelyn," he started, taking a step towards me which forced me backwards. Maybe it is the fever or the close proximity, but the way he says my name makes me forget I'm supposed to be the stubborn one. It makes me feel like giving in, letting him take control. And that terrified me. " we won't take strolls in the rain anymore, hmm?" He said, walking towards me until my back hit the other side of the counter. I felt cornered, pinned by a skilled opponent twice my size with one killer left hook. " I'll see you in class at your earliest convenience, Cadet." He finished, leaving me entirely confused and flustered in my own kitchen.

~~~

" Honey! I'm hooome!" A voice called, soon followed by the slamming of a door. I turned around on the couch to look at My'ya who had just gotten home from classes.

" How was your day?" I asked, pulling the blanket around me tighter.

" Meh, got a cute boy's number." She said, sitting next to me and winking. " Too bad I bat for the other team."

I said nothing but rolled my eyes at her, blowing my nose into a tissue. She handed me some hand sanitizer with disgust.

" Go see a doctor." She stated, sitting further away from me than necessary.

" I see doctors all day long, I think I'm good." I replied, giving her my signature smirk.

" How was your day?" She asked, snacking on a bag of chips she magically procured. " Anything interesting happen while you were here being dead?"

I mentally blushed at the encounter I had with my teacher today, and the embarrassingly wet dream I had about him after. There was no denying any attraction to him, he was good-looking. It was his voice that got me though, smooth and thick, promising things with each word.

Enough, pull yourself together Evelyn. He's your professor, and an asshat at that.

" Yoo hoo! Earth to Evie!" My roommate said, waving her hand in front of my face and abrupting my train of thought. " Wanna tell me what you're thinking about?"

I shook my head and laughed, " I just remembered I need to finish a respiratory system research paper for Miller." I said, scratching my chin in thought, " But my day was pretty boring, sat here, slept, died, the usual." I finished, deciding not to tell her about the visit from Spock.

" So this boy's number I got today, I was thinking I could give it to you." My'ya said, handing me a piece of crumpled paper.

I turned it over, shocked at what the chicken scratch on the other side read.

James T. Kirk