Her nose pressed to the window of the train, the young woman waited as it ever-so-slowly grew slower and slower. Though she willed herself to be calm, the girl could feel her heart pounding in her chest and could not stop her breath from quickening as she stared out at the familiar sights of her own town.

It was still oppressed by the Enforcers – they still dictated everything that went on. But it was home. Peering out of the window, Edith Keeler saw the old library – which, if you knew the right people, could occasionally lend you forbidden books – and the mall where Edith had bought all her clothes since she was very young, though her mother bemoaned what the prices had become since the Anglo-American Alliance. And, with a shiver of distaste, Edith saw the gray, institutional roof of the experimental facility.

The XP reminded her of the escaped prisoners her mother was sheltering in the basement, which reminded her of one reason she was so excited to be finally coming home from university – namely, James Kirk. For once she was glad that she had been on the accelerated program, graduating in February rather than August. It had been more work – but now she could see Jim again. And her mother, of course. And it would be good to resume full-time work at the mission.

As her train finally came to a halt and the conductor’s voice came blaring out of the loudspeaker, made tinny and unintelligible by the static. Edith only caught one word in three, but he seemed to be welcoming them all to the town and warning them to abide by the law. Edith rolled her eyes in the privacy of her seat and stood up, drawing her sky-blue cape tighter around her and bending down to pick up her luggage. Before she could, a large hand grabbed her suitcase handle, and she looked up to see a tall, handsome young man, grinning at her widely.

“Thank you,� she said coldly, snatching her suitcase. He tipped his hat and let her pass, still grinning broadly, the idiot.

Edith gave the conductor her ticket, and he ran a scanner over it, then over the ID chip she handed him. “Nice day, Miss Keeler,� he grunted, and she moved on, taking a deep breath of the not-quite-fresh air before strolling off down the concrete sidewalk. She did take one look back at the train, hovering in midair between its magnetic posts, but then she began to walk with her head held high.

“Edith darling!� someone called from her left, and Edith whirled around.

“Mother!�

She dropped her bags and threw her arms around her mother. “Mother, it’s so good to be back! There’s nothing like knowing it’s all behind you, knowing you can work full time now, earn money, make something of yourself – “

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t come to your graduation, darling, but I couldn’t just leave Mr. Pike and his merry band of thieves, they might blow up the house!�

“I understand, Mother – it wasn’t much. A little dry man gave a long dry speech and we all nearly fell asleep, and then we got our little certificates and were told we had served the Alliance well. There wasn’t even a reception.� Edith shrugged and picked up her bags. “I’m much happier being home. How is everyone?�

“Actually, Jim Kirk insisted on driving me here. He should be bringing the car around now – see, there.� Mary pointed, and pulled her daughter toward the old, faded aircar, skimming the ground by a few inches.

Edith pulled the door open and poked her head in, smiling when she saw the man in the driver’s seat. “Jim!�

“Edith! Congratulations.� He flashed his bright, charming smile. “I thought I would come pick you up in person.�

Edith clambered into the car, smoothing her skirt around her legs as she sat down. Mary got in the back with Edith’s luggage, and Kirk revved the aircar.

“So how is everyone? Mr. Pike, Mr. Spock?�

“Same as ever. And Edith, we’ve done it. We’ve made a warp drive. Scotty’s just cleaning it up now – you know, making sure it’s safe and it won’t explode.�

“Oh my goodness!� Edith squealed. “Mother, do you hear – “

“Hear what? I haven’t heard a thing. I haven’t the foggiest clue what’s going on in my basement, Edith, remember?�

“Oh – right, right, of course,� Edith said, and then turned back to Kirk, her eyes wide. “So you won’t be staying long?�

“I guess not. I guess we’ll have to go find a starship to put the warp drive in.� Kirk fell silent for a moment, and Edith watched him drive, his hands gripping the controls. “I don’t know if it’ll work,� he muttered, as if to himself.

“Just as long as you remain quiet, dear,� Mary said laughingly. “I don’t want the people we help to get suspicious.�

Edith didn’t smile; she was half-frowning, looking at Kirk. “Why don’t you think it’ll work?�

He shrugged. “It might. Scotty and Spock are good.�

She looked back out at the road, still frowning. There was something in his tone she didn’t like. If he didn’t believe they could do it, they probably couldn’t.

Kirk maneuvered the aircar around the familiar twisty bend that led to 21st Street, and Edith leaned forward. There it was, the mission itself, sitting there at the end of the road as big and shiny as the day she had left. Which was not very big, or shiny. But after all, it was home, and Edith couldn’t suppress her happiness as she opened the door of the aircar almost before it had landed in the garage, running out the garage door, up the walk and to the front door, hastily unlocking it and slipping in even before her mother and Kirk had gotten out of the car. It was a Sunday, so the mission was closed; it would be empty; she would have it all to herself…

She ran lightly into the sitting room, then stopped dead. Chris Pike and the tall dark-haired woman whose name Edith had never been able to catch stood between the sofa and the coffee table, dustcloths lying forgotten on the floor, locked together in a passionate embrace.

The separated as soon as she entered; Pike looked almost as embarrassed as Edith felt, and the woman’s face was suddenly devoid of expression. “I’m sorry,� Edith said, stepping back. “I didn’t…�

“Miss Keeler. Ah… welcome home,� Pike said weakly. “I… er… congratulations on your graduation.�

“Yes, we heard that you graduated,� the woman said, nodding. “Christopher, I think I had better go make sure that Scott isn’t overworking himself.�

“Good idea, Jemma – er, Number One.�

Number One, that was what everyone called her. She vanished through the side door, her face still completely blank, and Pike smiled brightly at Edith as Kirk and Mary came in, Mary carrying Edith’s bags.

“Mrs. Keeler, hello,� he said, reaching down to pick up the dustcloths. “Kirk, McCoy wants you for a checkup.�

“A what?� Kirk demanded, outraged.

“A checkup. You know, to make sure you aren’t sick? Apparently you haven’t had a checkup in two years, and you were living on the streets for a while, and he wants you to have a checkup.�

“Sadistic old sawbones,� Kirk muttered. “Catch you later, Edith. Bye, Mrs. Keeler.�

“Thank you for driving!� Mary said cheerily. Edith simply met Kirk’s eyes and smiled at him. He blinked at her for a moment, then grinned back before disappearing down the same path as Number One. Edith stared after him for a moment. His smile was still lovely… still bright and charming…

“Edith? Should you get unpacked?� Mary said gently, and Edith jumped.

“Oh! Yes!� With a last nod to Pike, she took her bags and left for her room, walking slowly up the dark-carpeted stairs, taking everything in as if for the first time.

But her mind was still on Jim Kirk.

--

“What?�

Spock opened his mouth patiently, but the young man cut him off. His arms were folded across his chest, and if Spock was any judge of body language and facial expression, he looked positively furious.

“Why do I have to cook? I mean, sandwiches, fine, but cooking? I can’t cook. Why don’t they get the girls to do that? That one black girl? Why can’t she do the cooking?�

Spock raised an eyebrow.

“Surely by know you know her name, Mr. Mitchell. Miss Uhura is trained in physics and in mechanical engineering and is therefore valuable to the project at this time. You are not.�

They stood in the bedroom, on opposite sides of the room, Mitchell glaring at Spock and Spock looking back at him. Both ignored the tangle of blankets and pillows on the floor, which looked as though ten young girls had just had a slumber party.

“So now you’re telling me I’m not valuable?� Mitchell demanded.

“Well, you are not.�

“Right. It’s not like I do all the dirty work around here. It’s not like Pike’s always telling me to make beds, or help make sandwiches, or sweep the floor – “

“You do not do all of the dirty work here. We all rotate tasks. It is merely that you cannot help with the hands-on modification of our warp drive, and therefore you are convenient for the household chores.�

“Convenient.� Mitchell scowled and kicked at the pillow near his foot. “Yeah, that’s me. Gary the housewife.�

Spock stepped closer to the man, frowning slightly. “Mr. Mitchell – I do not understand your hostility. I have merely been sent to inform you that Mr. Pike requires you to make supper. Have I done something to offend you?�

“I’m not valuable. I’m convenient. You really are a computer.�

Ah, so he had hurt the man’s feelings. Everyone’s feelings were so easily hurt. Spock always found it most tiresome trying to find words that would convey his meaning without giving offense, and too often he failed.

“I ask forgiveness,� he said, and again stepped closer. “I did not intend to insult you. You must understand that I do not feel emotion…� This was not precisely true, but close enough. “And I have difficulty understanding what may offend others.�

Mitchell’s expression, which had been hostile, was now oddly closed. “Spock, if you don’t feel emotion, I can’t offend you?�

“Correct.�

“Good – look, are you human?�

Spock raised an eyebrow. Most interesting.

“What else would I be?� he asked gravely. “Mr. Mitchell, you are required to cook supper for us in the mission’s kitchen. Mrs. Keeler has given us permission, provided we use our own ingredients.� His voice was firm; he tried to make it clear that the conversation was closed.

“Spock,� said Mitchell, stepping forward, looking up at him. “If you don’t feel emotion… why are you always looking at Number One?�

Spock stiffened as if Mitchell had hit him. Never ask intrusive questions, Spock, the distant memory of a man’s voice whispered in the back of his mind, but he ignored it, too preoccupied with Mitchell. Pulling his sweater down automatically to straighten it, he said coldly, “Mr. Mitchell, you are required to report to the kitchen at once.�

Mitchell smirked – positively smirked. “Do you know Pike and Number One are together? I can see that and I’ve only been here for a month. I heard him call her Jemma the other day, and Kevin Riley said that he saw them – “

“Mr. Mitchell, will you go to the kitchen, or shall I carry you?�

“I’ve really hit a nerve, haven’t I,� Mitchell said, grinning. “Mr. Logical Spock – “

Spock closed his eyes briefly, then reached out and picked Mitchell up, slinging him over his shoulder. The man gave a cry of protest, pounding at Spock’s back with his fists, but Spock walked out of the bedroom door, through the main room (where everybody stared at the two of them), and up the stairs into the main house. He navigated the deserted halls of the mission, ignoring Mitchell’s yells and kicking, and only let the man down when they were outside the kitchen door.

“Mr. Mitchell, you have been behaving childishly,� Spock said quietly. “Go into the kitchen, please, and cook supper.�

Mitchell glared at Spock for a moment, then wrenched the door open. As he did, Edith Keeler and Jim Kirk turned and fell silent; they had been standing about three feet apart, talking earnestly.

“Well – ‘bye, Jim,� Edith said, her gaze flitting around as she walked quickly out of the kitchen, passing Spock and Mitchell without even looking at them. Spock flicked an eyebrow up, but refrained from comment. James Kirk’s extracurricular activities were not his concern. Still, he couldn’t help but picture Number One and Chris Pike, in a kitchen alone together…

And then he banished the thought. He felt nothing. There was no emotion. Only logic, only control, the control that he knew nothing about, the control that he wasn’t even certain he should employ.

“Mr. Mitchell,� he said, his voice seeming detached, as if someone else were speaking through him, possessing him. “Please proceed. Mr. Kirk – “

“Uh, Spock, could I have a word?� Kirk asked quickly.

Spock was surprised, but the person controlling his voice and body didn’t show it. “Certainly,� he said, and turned smoothly, walking out of the kitchen. He strode down the hall and around the corner, stopping and waiting for Kirk to catch up. Kirk leaned against the cream-painted wall, biting his lip.

“Mr. Spock,� he began hesitantly. “I, er… I know this is a very personal question.�

Spock could guess what it would be about. His ears; his blood; his lack of emotion; the XP; his mother; Number One…

“Uhura. Are you and she… you know? Together?�

Spock raised both eyebrows.

“No. Why would you think that?� And why is everyone so concerned with romance? Mitchell and Rand, Rand and Kirk, Kirk and Miss Keeler, Number One and Pike, Number One and I, now Uhura and I?

“Well, you play and… and she sings, and – the way she looks at you. I’m sorry.� Kirk shrugged apologetically, awkwardly.

“I hear you were a victim of Dr. McCoy’s today,� Spock said to try and put him at his ease.

“Bones? Yep. Great, isn’t he? ‘Dammit, Jim, sit on the bed or I’ll stick this stethoscope up your – ‘ Well, you know what he’s like.� Kirk flashed a real smile, friendly and charming, and then hurried off with a mumbled word of farewell.

As Kirk disappeared around a corner, Spock wondered how on Earth they were going to finish the warp drive if the love triangles and squares and pentagons grew any more complex. No matter why or how, he was right to stay far away from emotionalism. Then and there, walking back to the stairs, he resolved to forget about his illogical attraction to Number One.

If they were ever to win the stars, to find out more about that universe of infinite possibilities, he would have to.