Chapter Text
THE THINGS YOU SEE
Five Times Someone Observed the Bond Between the Captain and his First Officer
Ahlee is new to the bridge, and she is not sure if this is unusual behavior for her commanding officer. Something about him is off, there is no other word for it. She watches him out of the corner of her eye, observing that once again Commander Spock’s attention has wandered. His fingers are still against his console while his eyes scan the bridge restlessly, looking for something or someone who is not there.
Because Ahlee is new to the bridge, she cannot tell if her colleagues have also noticed Spock’s disquiet. She finds herself distracted by his distraction, which she cannot understand and which does not match her expectations of a senior Starfleet officer, let alone a Vulcan senior officer. Ahlee wonders if she should ask Lieutenant Uhura, who seems friendly and who is (according to Lieutenant Hannity, the operations officer whom Ahlee recently relieved) the Commander’s oldest friend on-board.
Ahlee has almost decided to say something when the Commander stands abruptly, sending his datapad crashing to the deck. He is clutching his left forearm with his right hand, his knuckles white, and Ahlee catches her breath at the expression on his face. His features are still Vulcan, still impassive, but his eyes are dark with surprise and some emotion that Ahlee cannot identify.
“Spock,” says Lieutenant Uhura as she rises from the communications console. “Are you all right?”
Immediately Spock’s expression clears. He drops his hands to his sides, curling his fingers into fists. He nods once, tersely, then resumes his seat. Uhura returns to her station as well, and the bridge falls silent except for the soft tap of fingertips on consoles.
Ahlee is still staring at the pieces of Spock’s shattered datapad when she hears the report from the Transporter Room. The Away Team has returned, and there are casualties. Ahlee is a new bridge officer, but she knows already that there are always casualties.
(Later, Ahlee overhears Lieutenant Sulu describing the Captain’s injuries to Ensign Chekov. “They gave him something that was messing him up,” Sulu is saying. “He could barely stand by the time we got back to the shuttle, and it was a rough trip just getting there. The terrain was brutal, these plants kept grabbing at us, and his arm was bent the wrong way the whole time. It must’ve hurt like hell. I’m not kidding, I could actually see the shiny white bone sticking out of his skin.” The pilot shakes his head in disbelief. “Hell, I didn’t even know bones could be shiny.”)