NEW2U: "Kolinahr: the Parting", 7/12 (TOS, K&S&Mc, Ch, Sa, Am; anx, h/c [G])

Summary: My end-of-mission story of how Spock, Kirk, et al, deal with
Spock's decision to return to Vulcan and attain Kolinahr.  This part:
The farewell/homecoming party.  (This is going to be relatively
boring, especially if you don't like S/Ch.)

Disclaimer: Part 1a.

******

The party had been scheduled to begin at 1900 that night.  Christine
managed to find someone to take her watch and was ready when her door
buzzer sounded; she opened it to find Spock there, now in dress
uniform and carrying his Vulcan harp under one arm.  He greeted her by
raising an eyebrow at her attire; it had always seemed most illogical
to him that Starfleet had never authorized dress uniforms for its
female personnel, but rumor had it that Starfleet was in the process
of designing new uniforms, so hopefully that oversight would be
corrected.  As it was, Christine stood before him in a long, royal
blue gown with an unusual, roughly triangular collar, which was white
and--like the gown--embroidered and trimmed in silver.  Spock noted
offhandedly that it went quiet well with her blonde hair and blue
eyes, but said nothing of this to Christine.  "I trust you are ready?"

"Yes…" Christine fought down her disappointment that Spock apparently
didn't notice her gown.

"Then let us go."

******

By the time they arrived in Rec Room 6, the rest of the Bridge crew
was already there, obviously waiting for Spock.  Most of the tables
had been combined into one giant "T" shape, and the room was adorned
with assorted types of paper decorations; various crewmembers were
scattered around the room, some seated, some standing, and all looked
up toward Spock by degrees as they gradually became aware of his
presence, smiling and whispering as they noticed Christine at his
side.  Spock, ignoring them, quickly located Kirk and McCoy sitting at
the table at the top center of the "T"; McCoy was drinking something,
saw Spock, and promptly choked on his drink as he saw the Vulcan
approaching with Christine beside him.  Spock stopped, hesitating, and
regarded McCoy from behind a mask of emotionless-ness with a look that
dared McCoy to mock him.

Kirk, meanwhile, had already seen Spock and came out now to meet
them.  He paused before his First Officer and Head Nurse, deciding
that they made a nice couple…his eyes met those of Spock, whose
expression softened a little as he realized Kirk would not tease him
about inviting Christine.  Kirk looked appreciatively at her.  "Nurse
Chapel, you look lovely," he commented.

"Uh…thank you, Captain," she responded, uncertain of how to react.  It
was the right compliment, but from the wrong person.

Kirk turned then, motioning to them to follow him, and noticed the
Vulcan harp under Spock's arm.  "Oh--are you going to play for us,
Spock?"

Spock looked at him uncertainly.  "I had thought I might, Captain; do
you think anyone would object?"

"Certainly not," Kirk assured him emphatically.  They had reached the
table he currently shared with McCoy, and Kirk showed them each to a
seat.  He remained standing as Spock and Christine sat down and
returned his attention to the other Bridge personnel and their
guests.  "All right, everybody!"  Kirk announced.  "Our Guest of Honor
is here, so let's get this party off the ground!"

When the responding applause and cheering had died down, Spock looked
up at Kirk with a raised eyebrow.  "Captain, may I inquire as to how
you propose to cause such a gathering to become airborne?  I fail to
see--"

"Spock, shut up and enjoy your party!" McCoy ordered gruffly, but with
a strong undercurrent of affection.

Kirk just laughed along with everyone else.  Spock's face remained
impassive, but there was a glint of playful humor in his dark eyes as
they remained locked with those of his Captain.

Dinner was served first, at which point Spock discovered--much to his
surprise--that non-alcoholic drinks were being served, in his honor.
Upon questioning, Kirk revealed that it had actually been McCoy's
idea; Kirk had presented the suggestion to the rest of the Bridge
crew, however, and they had all agreed to it without any real
objections.

After the dinner dishes were cleared away, Kirk stood up again and
addressed his crew: "As you all know, the Enterprise will be going
into orbital dry-dock as soon as we get back to Earth, and I know
there are some of us who'll be moving on to other assignments.  I
thought it would be appropriate now if each of us would stand up and
tell the others a little of their future plans."

There was general applause, mumblings of approval and head-noddings
among the attending crewmembers, and someone called out, "You first,
Captain!"

After the smattering of cheers had died down, Kirk began with a sigh.
"I've been promoted to the Admiralty and will serve as Chief of
Starfleet Operations for at least the duration of the Enterprise's dry-
dock period; after that, I'll have to see what I can do," he told
them, with a grin.

They saw the mischievous glint in Jim Kirk's eyes and applauded both
the promotion and Kirk's intention of keeping it from being permanent,
then Scott was chosen to go next.  "I'll be stayin' on as Chief
Engineer to supervise the Enterprise's refit-and-redesign," Scott
announced, obviously pleased with the prospect.

Another round of applause, and Sulu went next: "I'm being promoted to
Lieutenant Commander, but for the time being, I'll be staying with the
Enterprise--even though Captain Kirk has recommended me for my own
command."

More applause and some whistling, and Uhura stood up.  "I'm in line
for Lieutenant Commander, too, and I'll be staying on to help Scotty
with the refit."

Without waiting for the applause to die down, Chekov stood right up
and shouted over it, "I'll be staying on the Enterprise with the rank
of Lieutenant!"

When the noise finally did die down, there was a small debate as to
whose turn it was, and the honor eventually went to Christine.  "I'll
be leaving the Enterprise for a while to work on my M.D.--I'm going to
be a doctor," she announced quietly, eliciting a pair of raised
eyebrows from Spock and requiring McCoy to pick his jaw up off the
deck.  "Then I'll try to get re-assigned to the Enterprise."

The applause and cheers in response to this were also relatively
quiet, and Uhura nodded knowingly in approval--she and Christine were
close friends, and had discussed this decision at some length prior to
this.
Kirk looked expectantly at McCoy.  "Bones?"

"Uh…yeah, right…" McCoy stood hesitantly, looking at each person in
turn, his eyes lingering on Kirk and Spock, clearing his throat
nervously.  "Frankly, I wasn't sure what my plans were until…well,
very recently.  After due consideration, I've decided to leave
Starfleet.  I'll be doing some research for a while back on the
asteroid-ship Yonada, where I'll be researching Fabrini medicine…after
that, I'm not sure."

This time, there was no applause and no cheers; nobody was really sure
how to react because the news came as such a shock.  Kirk just stared
at McCoy, stunned; Spock's expression was unreadable--at least, by
McCoy--as his dark eyes moved back and forth from the Doctor to his
Captain, back to McCoy, then back finally to rest on Kirk.  He
couldn't see Kirk's face, since it was turned away from him, but he
could sense Kirk's astonishment--and if Kirk had turned to look at his
First Officer, he alone would have perceived the anxiety in the
Vulcan's eyes.

Finally, Kirk lowered his eyes and turned back to stare down at the
edge of the table.  "Your turn, Spock," he managed finally, not
looking up.

Spock watched him silently for a moment, his concern now more obvious,
before finally, reluctantly, standing up.  "You are obviously aware of
my plans; I am returning to Vulcan--permanently," he stated formally,
then his eyes wandered back down to Kirk's face.  "My reasons are…
personal."

Kirk met his gaze levelly, his hazel eyes conveying his understanding
of Spock's need to spare himself having to explain Kolinahr to anyone
else.  Spock bowed his head in silent acceptance of his friend's
perceptiveness, ignoring the disappointed looks of the rest of the
Bridge crew, who had hoped to find out Spock's real reason for
leaving.  Now, in the absence of any clear evidence to the contrary,
they took the looks exchanged by Kirk and Spock to be proof that the
rumors were true and Spock's departure from Starfleet was a direct
result of his conflict with Kirk and McCoy.

The atmosphere immediately became more informal as the group broke up
and they all began talking quietly among themselves, but McCoy had
ruined the party for Kirk, as well as for himself.  For Spock's sake,
however, they kept up the pretense of enjoying themselves. Kirk turned
anxiously to the Vulcan seated on his right and found him sitting in
silence, head bowed, oblivious to the goings-on around him.

Spock found himself again in turmoil.  How would Jim react to *both*
his friends deserting him?  He felt Kirk's eyes on him and looked up
at his Captain uncertainly.  Kirk gave him a reassuring smile and
Spock's face brightened visibly in response; he did not smile back,
but his dark eyes glittered with quiet appreciation.

Christine, sitting on Spock's other side, reached out suddenly and
touched his hand.  Startled, Spock turned toward her and found that
she had picked up his Vulcan harp from where it had lain on the table
and was holding it out to him.  "Spock…will you play something for us,
now?"

Spock hesitated, looking into the gentle, blue eyes as she smiled at
him, and finally took the instrument from her.  "If you wish,
Christine," he replied agreeably, getting up and walking around to the
front of the table.  Sitting on the edge of the table at the
intersection of the "T", he began tuning the harp.

Immediately, the assorted crewmembers re-assembled themselves at the
tables and gradually fell silent.  It was a rare occasion indeed when
Spock allowed himself to relax enough to play his harp in public, and
almost everybody found it pleasant; one or two of them had even
developed a particular preference for the alien instrument and its
music.  They listened attentively as Spock went through a selection of
musical pieces from his ever-increasing repertoire, a good many of
which--surprisingly enough--turned out to be of Terran origin.

Several times during the course of his performance, Spock turned his
attention to his two friends and was pleased to see that they, too,
were enjoying the music; he'd been half-afraid he would find them
arguing again.  He also watched Christine and found her eyes
constantly on him as he played, a strange, sad, wistful expression on
her face.

Spock introduced his last piece simply as being Vulcan in origin.
Kirk listened to the soft, alien melody, wondering what sort of music
it was and what place it had in Vulcan culture, and suddenly noticed
that Spock had begun to center most of his attention on Christine.

Christine didn't know why he was doing it, but she was delighted; she
continued to watch and listen to him intently, her face lighting up
now and then as Spock directed a tiny half-smile at her.

When it became apparent that Spock's performance was over, everyone
applauded long and loud in appreciation--and Christine, of course, was
among the most appreciative.  Everybody separated again, and Spock
returned to his seat, turning at last to Christine.  He became
uncomfortable again, but the feeling passed after a brief time.  "Your
gown is…most attractive," he noted finally.

Christine felt herself begin to blush at the no-longer-expected
compliment and lowered her eyes.  "Why…thank you, Spock."

Spock raised an eyebrow at her, managing to keep his expression
neutral.  "Gratitude is not necessary; I merely made an observation,"
he informed her.

Their eyes met, however, and Christine knew he understood what the
compliment meant to her; otherwise, he would never have said it.

"It is Vulcan, is it not?"  Spock queried.

She nodded.  "Imported.  I got it while I was on leave at Starbase 7."

Spock looked her over again, not unappreciatively.  "It suits you,
Christine…" he stopped short of verbalizing his earlier observation
that it went well with her hair and eyes.

Christine smiled at him, somehow reading in his eyes what he was
unable to say, and their eyes remained locked.  Cautiously, she
reached out again to touch his hand.  "I'm going to miss you so much,
Spock--I suppose you'll think that's illogical."

Spock allowed her to take his hand.  While he was still trying to
think of something to say in response, his attention was diverted by a
commotion off in a corner of the Rec Room, and he looked toward the
sound.  Kirk and McCoy were arguing, apparently unheard by anyone else
in the room.  Spock and Christine fell silent now, listening to the
voices that drifted over to them from that corner.

"You might *at least* have told me you were thinking about it!"

"Jim, you had enough to worry about with that promotion and Spock
leaving--I didn't want to add anything more to that until I was sure."

Coming quickly to a decision, Spock got up and headed toward his
friends, Christine following worriedly.  Never again would he allow
Jim and McCoy to carry an argument as far as they had carried the last
one; if that meant he had to intervene in something they might
consider none of his business and risk making them angry at him, so be
it.

"Why?" Kirk demanded, trying unsuccessfully to hide the pain growing
within him behind an angry-sounding voice.

It was while McCoy was trying to think of how to word his explanation
that Spock intervened.  "Jim…Doctor…your arguing serves no purpose
except that of worsening the situation," he pointed out quietly.

They fell silent, Kirk still glaring at McCoy, who now lowered his
eyes.
Spock turned to Kirk.  "Jim, please…"

Kirk met the dark eyes of his friend, saw the pleading expression
reflected within their brown depths, and realized he was ruining
Spock's farewell party.  He smiled understandingly at the Vulcan and
turned briefly back to McCoy.  "Sorry, Bones," he apologized ruefully.

McCoy, too, managed a smile.  "It's all right, Jim--you're entitled."

The matter was quickly forgotten, or at least put aside--again, for
Spock's sake--and the four of them went back to sit at their table and
talked quietly, interrupted occasionally by other crewmembers
wandering over to express congratulations, good wishes or whatever for
their future plans.

When the time finally came for Spock to get ready to leave and
everyone else to ether go back on-duty or go back to bed, Spock turned
to Kirk and intoned softly, "Captain, I…would like to say something to
them before they leave."

Kirk nodded, standing up as people began moving toward the door.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your attention for a moment, please!"
Everybody stopped and looked toward Kirk, falling politely silent.
Kirk continued.  "Mr. Spock has something to say."  He sat down and
added quietly, "Go ahead, Spock."

Spock stood, clasping his hands behind his back and facing the others
impassively, but hesitantly.  "I wish to thank you all for this
party--" he paused, looking down at Kirk.  "--and the Captain for
inviting me.  No one has ever…given a party in my honor before.  I
appreciate it."  His eyes remained on Kirk for a moment, and Kirk
smiled at the depth of sincere, quiet affection reflected within the
dark eyes.  Spock finally returned his attention to the others.  "And
I wish to say also that I consider it an honor to have served with
you--the best crew in the Fleet.  I wish you all success in whatever
future you have chosen for yourselves…live long and prosper."  He
closed with a Vulcan salute.

Everyone applauded now, and amid the cheers and tears, Spock suddenly
found himself the object of a standing ovation by Kirk, McCoy and
Christine.  It continued as, one by one, the others filed out of the
room, until only the four of them were left.

Spock escorted Christine back to her quarters, Kirk and McCoy walking
part of the way with them.  Alone finally, they reached Christine's
door and she turned to say good night to Spock.  "Did you find it…
pleasant?" he asked uncertainly.

"I think the question is, did *you* find it pleasant?" Christine
countered.  "You never have told me why you invited me."

Spock lowered his eyes.  "Christine, I cannot explain that any more
fully now than I did this afternoon--even to myself," he told her
slowly.  "As to the other matter…yes, illogical as it seems to me, I
did find your company pleasant."  He took her hands in his, squeezing
them briefly.  "Good night, Christine."

"Good night, Spock."

END PART 7
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Antworten

SLWatson (16.07.2008 19:02)
Gamin (17.07.2008 10:55)