Fic: As Morning Shows the Day, [part 10]

[jade_dragoness]

Title: As Morning Shows the Day [Part 10]
Author: J.D. aka jade_dragoness
Rating: PG-13, for language. Gen
Pairing: K/S pre-slash/friendship
Status: WIP
Spoilers: Star Trek XI
Warning: Dangerous & Near Fatal Levels of Cuteness
Summary: Based on the switched version of the prompt: A de-aged fic where Spock has to take care of a kid-Kirk; preferably Kirk only listens to Spock, and freaks out when he's not around. (Or, you know, switched). Written for the st_xi_kink meme, found here.
Word Count: 5,265 for this part [total so far: 52,720]
Disclaimer: Never ever will be mine. *sadness*
A/N: Part Ten! With now warning added for cuteness, since there have been fatalities and near fatalities as a result of tiny!Spock overload. =D Also, thanks to everyone that been showing their love for the fic. It makes me gleeful.
As always, feedback is hugely welcomed. Also, please feel free to point out any errors I missed.
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[“The childhood shows the man, as morning shows the day” - John Milton ]
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[Part One]
[Part Two]
[Part Three]
[Part Four]
[Part Five]
[Part Six]
[Part Seven]
[Part Eight]
[Part Nine]

“It would be detrimental to your position if your memory is so ineffectual that you would forget so easily,” said Spock, looking calmly at McCoy before shifting his gaze back to the screen.

He then inhaled sharply as the Wicked Witch was shown hiding behind a tree, clearly startled by the loud clang of music that accompanied her appearance.

Jim didn’t bother stifling a snicker as Bones’ face went from smug to outraged. When he saw Jim’s amused expression, McCoy raised his eyebrow at him and took a swallow from his beer bottle, making a point of smacking his lips.

Jim grimaced at him and sulked in his chair, grabbing a fistful of his plain popcorn and munching on it. McCoy smirked and Jim tossed a kernel at his head. McCoy made a face at him. Now, Jim was the one to smirk in triumph.

Bones hadn’t grabbed any popcorn. In this battle, Jim was the one with all the ammunition.

Jim watched Spock’s eyes go a little wide as he watched the apple tree scold Dorothy for trying to take a big red apple from his branches.

“Why would the Scarecrow think that he needs a brain?” asked Spock, as he saw the Scarecrow start chasing down the apples he’d gotten the trees to toss at them. “It is clear that he has more than adequate problem solving abilities.”

“I think that he thinks he needs to be better than how he is,” said Jim, slowly.

“I always thought that he wanted to be more human,” protested McCoy.

Spock looked at McCoy then over at Jim.

Jim shrugged at him. “It really is kind of interpretive.”

“I see,” said Spock, thoughtfully. His attention went back to the screen as Dorothy banged on metal and exclaimed that she’d found a man made out of tin.

“How would she know with certainly that the metal is tin?” asked Spock, frowning. “She has no method of scanning to be being certain of her theory. It is possible that the metal could be another, or even an alloy.”

“I think she just knows because tin is a pretty common metal,” said McCoy.

“Yeah, you can find a lot of it on a farm,” added Jim, around his mouthful of popcorn.

Spock nodded and watched as Dorothy and the Scarecrow managed to get the Tin Man moving again with many applications of oil.

“Tin is a substance that prevents corrosion,” said Spock, his brows scrunching together in confusion. “If that being is truly made out of that metal than he would not have been stuck in that position.”

“Maybe, he‘s just tin coated,” said McCoy. “I don‘t know. I‘m a doctor, not a metallurgist.”

Jim laughed, “I think it‘s time to explain plot-holes.” He quickly explained to Spock that sometimes the story had flaws, or mistakes that weren’t caught when produced or hand-waved away in order to allow the story to occur.

“It seems to me to be a rather poor excuse for errors in the narrative,” said Spock, his expression severe.

“It happens,” said Jim with a shrug. “The whole thing about knowing tin doesn‘t corrode so easily is one of those things that most people may not know. And human children, certainly won‘t know. Not on average at least.”

Spock nodded slowly. “So, such fiction requires a suspension of the knowledge of reality.”

“We call a suspension of disbelief,” said McCoy. “Otherwise than we‘d be stopped accepting the story when she got sucked up into the twister.”

“Pretty much,” said Jim, nodding. “As long as the story makes sense to itself than we‘ll keep going with it. Though usually the best stories have the least of those sort of mistakes.”

Spock nodded again and returned to watching the screen where the tin man was singing over not having a heart.

The scowl on Spock’s face was deeper than usual. “It is clear that this Tin Man does experience emotions. Why would be consider he needs a physical heart in order to express them? He certainly does not have any trouble in that regard.”

“Humans have thought that the root of emotions lays in our hearts,” said Jim. “So, the Tin Man is just expressing that idea. It‘s simpler to say that he wants a heart then anything else.”

“We know that they really are bio-chemical reactions in the brain,” said McCoy with a chuckle as Spock looked skeptical. “The heart is symbolic.”

“Also, I think it‘s suppose to be funny,” added Jim. “He wants a heart to feel emotions while it‘s clear that he has them. So, the contrast of his words and his actions is pretty hilarious.”

Before Spock could respond to this revelation, they all jumped as a loud cackle blasted from the speakers. The tribble wiggled desperately in its cup holder, trilling in alarm.

“You and me both,” said McCoy to the little furry creature as the Wicked Witch laughed and mocked Dorothy, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man. He petted it to calm it down while Spock stared at the screen in muted alarm, clutching the PADD rather close to his face as if he was just resisting the urge to hide behind it.

Jim rolled his eyes at his own startled reaction and brushed away the popcorn kernels that had landed on him to the deck. A starship captain was not afraid of fictional witch.

Spock swallowed audibly as the Witch threw a fire ball at the Scarecrow‘s feet.

“She is clearly a dangerous individual,” said Spock, his brown eyes wide again. “Why has she not been apprehended, or sanctioned for her violent actions?”

“If we go by what the movie shows, she‘s probably too powerful for the people of Oz to stop her,” said McCoy, frowning at the screen. “I can‘t be too sure. It‘s been a while since I‘ve seen this movie.”

“They never show if Oz has a unified governing body,” said Jim, trying to remember too. “So, that may just not be a possibility.”

“It is represented as a different culture,” admitted Spock, slowly. “It would be in error to assume that they have the same policing structures as can be found on Vulcan.”

“Or Earth,” said McCoy.

They watched Scarecrow and the Tin Man declare their intentions to see that Dorothy gets to see the Wizard so matter what because they wouldn’t stand to be threatened. Then the trio walked into a forest.

“The description of a forest as being ‘dark and creepy’ is not at all useful information,” said Spock, having paused in the middle of taking notes.

Jim grinned at the slight irritation coloring the tone of his voice.

McCoy chucked and pointed at the forest scene where the trio were chanting ‘lions, tigers and bears, oh my’ in fear. “I think dark and creepy pretty much covers it.”

The loud roar that blasted from the speaks was an unexpected piece of support for his words.

Spock wrote in his PADD as the trio scattered before the bounding Lion, only pausing to stare at the screen when the Lion stood up straight.

“What is the significance of the phrase ‘put them up’?” he asked, shooting Jim an inquiring look.

“He‘s asking them to fight,” said Jim. He put up his own fists in demonstration, miming a jab in Spock’s direction then at Bones. “See, it‘s a pretty well known stance in boxing, because of the way that the hands are up near the face to provide defense.” He moved back and forth as if to avoid an incoming punch.

“He would know,” said McCoy, dryly.

Spock raised an eyebrow at McCoy, then looked back to Jim.

Jim made a face at his best friend before grudgingly explaining to Spock. “I got into a lot of fights before I joined Starfleet.”

“Even after joining Starfleet,” muttered McCoy, not even trying for under his breath.

Jim shot him a glare but McCoy just grinned and drank from his beer bottle.

“So, it is a stance that would be easily recognized,” said Spock, slowly.

“Yeah,” said Jim. “Even now, boxing is pretty widespread, all over Earth. Boxing is still taught as a fighting technique as well as a sport. Though different cultures have their own versions of it.”

Spock carefully wrote down what Jim said in his PADD and turned back to the screen.

Jim watched in interest as Spock went still when Dorothy struck the Lion in order to protect her dog.

“Good for her,” said McCoy, raising his beer up in a toast.

Spock turned to stare at him. “You support her violent action? Why?”

McCoy stared back clearly caught off guard by the question. “Well… because she‘s protecting Toto. She cares for him and won‘t stand to have someone picking on him. She was scared silly until she got too angry to be scared anymore.”

“And you approve of this anger?” asked Spock, his head tilting.

“When it’s for a good cause!” said McCoy. “The Lion was being a bully and deserved it.”

“So you consider violent actions to be a logical response to bullying?” asked Spock, his brow furrowing enough for a small line to appear between his slanted eyebrows.

“Well, within reason,” admitted McCoy.

On screen, the Lion was now sobbing and clutching his tail as he lamented his lack of courage.

Spock looked bewildered at this. “He was previously very aggressive in his actions. Why would he now be showing such emotions?”

“Well, Dorothy stood up to him,” said Jim.

“And the whole point is that he‘s a coward,” added McCoy.

“Bullies are cowards,” said Jim, nodding in agreement. He remembered what Spock had said earlier about the malicious teasing that he’d experienced. “They pick on someone they consider to be weaker than themselves, even if that‘s not necessarily true. So, when someone stands up to them, like Dorothy just did. They‘ll usually back down.”

Spock dropped his eyes to PADD. He nodded in agreement and asked softly, “Even if they are in numbers greater than one?”

McCoy’s eyes went wide and he shot Jim a startled look. He nodded at McCoy to show that he caught that too.

Bones looks like he just understood something. Something he’s never gotten about Spock before, thought Jim. He wondered with building anger at how many Vulcan kids had picked on Spock as the boy had grown up. And why in the hell hadn’t the oh-so-logical grownups done nothing to stop it.

Then he breathed out his anger in a slow long sigh. There was no point in getting mad about it now. The chances that anyone who’d known or been involved in Spock’s bullying is even alive anymore is low. As Spock says, too low to even calculate.

“That‘s usually trickier,” said Jim, quietly. “It‘s harder to fight too many at once, but yeah. The same principle applies there too.”

“Those are the worst sort,” said McCoy, his voice gentle. He then sat back in his chair, the beer dangling from his fingers and a frown at his lips. He shot Jim another look and raised a eyebrow, silently asking if he’d known about the bullying.

“Yeah,” agreed Jim. He shook his head silently at McCoy, and mouthed ‘later’ at him over the kid’s head. This wasn’t the time to talk about it. Though, Jim knew that he and Bones would end up discussing it, and probably anything else that he found out about Spock, much later on. Just not right now.

Spock acknowledged their words by raising his eyes up to the screen again, though he didn’t say a word in reaction. He did reach out to pet the tribble until the animal purred and wiggled in delight.

It soothing affects made the last of the tension in the boy melt away.

Knowing what was coming next, Jim eagerly watched Spock’s face as the Wicked Witch cackled about poison with her flying monkey.

“Is the blue simian a sentient creature?” asked Spock.

Jim blinked, surprised by the nature of the question. “I think so, they do take directions much better than a non-sentient animal would.”

“Fascinating,” said Spock, and wrote something in his PADD.

“What‘s so fascinating this time?” asked McCoy, leaning over to look down at Spock’s PADD.

Spock blinked at him. “So far there have been eight different sentient beings represented in the film.”

“That many?” asked Jim. He did a silent count and came up with seven. “What are they?”

“The munchkins, the Good Witch, the Wicked Witch, the Scarecrow, the apple trees, the Tin Man, the Lion and now the blue winged simians,” recited Spock. “I consider both witches to represent different sentient races because of the divergent skin color. Though, it is just a theory. I would have to do further research to be certain that the difference is not genetic.”

McCoy chuckled. “Kid, if you manage to get more information about it, then you certainly are taking it more seriously than I ever did at your age. I don‘t even think that kind of info is out there.”

“It could be,” Jim disagreed. “The movie is suppose to be based on a book, right? I think there are book sequels.”

On screen, the group had just come upon the glittering green vision of the Emerald City.

“The movie is based upon a work of literature?” asked Spock, his eyebrows went up in surprise. “I did not consider that a possibility.”

“Oh, yeah,” said Jim. “A lot of movies are made which are based on books.”

“And there are further stories in this setting?” asked Spock, with a glance over to the screen where Dorothy and the Lion were falling asleep in a field of poppies.

“Yeah, but don‘t ask me what they‘re about,” said Jim, with a head shake. “I haven‘t actually read them.”

“Neither have I,” said McCoy, as Spock turned to him.

The shouts of alarms made them all turn to the screen. The Scarecrow scolded the Tin Man for crying for help when no one was around to listen and then promptly did the same thing himself.

Surprised by the comedic timing, Jim laughed.

Spock turned to him, “The situation is dire yet you find a source of amusement. Why is the situation humorous?”

Jim grinned, “It‘s what he said, when he said it. The contrast makes it funny.”

“Humans find humor in bad situations for relief,” added McCoy. “It makes it easier to deal with.”

“Not always, of course,” said Jim, thinking about the sort of bad things they’d run into while serving on the Enterprise. “But a lot of times it helps.”

Spock nodded and carefully wrote down both their answers. For the next several scenes, Spock didn’t react. Even when McCoy snorted in amusement at the visual joke of a horse of a different color.

Jim looked back to the entrance of the Rec Room because he’d heard the door swish open.

Rand walked in and swiftly reached his side. “Sorry to have to interrupt your movie night, Captain. But you need to see this.” She held up her PADD.

Jim stood up, waved at Bones and Spock to go back to enjoying the movie. He and Rand went to the table. It was far enough away from the screen that their whispers shouldn’t interfere.

“What is it, yeoman?”

She handed him her PADD. “Mr. Sulu sent up this report, sir. He said it was your decision.”

Jim took it and opened up the report with a touch on the screen. He read it quickly, his eyebrows going up higher and higher by the time he got to the end.

Jim looked towards Spock, then back down to the PADD and frowned at it.

“Thanks, yeoman,” Jim finally sighed, even after a second read didn‘t change the contents. He signed off that he received the report. “Tell whoever is the current bridge office in charge, that I‘ll have a decision within the hour.”

“Yes, sir,” said Rand, collecting the PADD and nodded before she smartly turning away and out the door.

Jim ran a hand through his hair and grumbled to himself.

Bones glanced up as Jim sat back down. “What is it, Jim?”

Spock looked away from where the Lion was singing about courage to also look at Jim.

“I‘ll tell you guys after the movie,” said Jim, to both of them. Spock nodded in acceptance.

McCoy crossed his arms and gave Jim a searching look. He knew that Rand wouldn’t have interrupted them without good reason. Jim just shook his head.

Jim was more distracted by his thoughts that the next scenes of the movie flew by. The aggressive music that came with the scene involving the first appearance of the Wizard made him pay attention to the movie again. He looked over to see Spock petting the tribble, his eyes a bit wide, the PADD laying forgotten on his lap as he watched the quartet on screen tremble in fear.

The Wizard’s demand that they get him the Wicked Witch’s broomstick made Spock’s eyebrow rise up.

“He requests such a task, even knowing that it is dangerous and could lead to their deaths,” said Spock, his mouth turning down at the corners. “That is an irresponsible test.”

“Well, he needs to know that they‘re sincere,” said McCoy. “He probably gets tons of requests, all the time. Though, I agree with you, he certainly needs a better vetting process.”

On screen, they had just come upon the sign of the Haunted Forest, with it’s added opinion that they should turn back now.

Bones laughed as the Lion, in the attempt to run away, ended up being carried by the Scarecrow and the Tin Man back to Dorothy while his feet ran rapidly in mid-air and getting nowhere.

Spock jumped at the Tin Man was jerked up into the air by nothing and then dropped with a clang. The winged monkeys were then revealed as Dorothy and the others panicked.

“I do not believe that their winged appendages are of sufficient width to achieve flight,” said Spock, his brows furrowed as the winged monkeys flew out with Dorothy and Toto. “Much less so when carrying the weight of nearly fully grown human female.”

“More suspension of disbelief,” said McCoy, in amusement.

Jim involuntarily laughed when the Scarecrow, having explained that his straw was scattered was accused by the Tin Man of that ‘being him all over’.

“More humor during less than ideal situations?” asked Spock, his head tilting at Jim.

“Yeah, not a bad joke either,” said Jim, grinning

On screen the Wicked Witch attempted to blackmail Dorothy into giving up the ruby slippers by threatening the life of her dog.

Spock went pale as the Witch mentioned that she’d forgotten that the only way to remove the slippers was for Dorothy to die. He reached out for Jim’s hand in a move that looked to Jim to be involuntary. Jim held onto Spock’s hand, giving it a soft squeeze of reassurance.

McCoy peered at them and grinned at the sight. Jim ignored him.

“The guards appear to be of the same species as the Witch of the West,” said Spock, when the guards of the Wicked Witch appeared to chase down Toto, their green skins barely visible under their bulky uniforms.

Jim was rather delighted when Spock left his small hand in his own bigger grip even after the movie shifted back to the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion. Though, the grip did get rather painfully tight - enough to make him wince - as the Witch and her guards chased Dorothy and her friends around the castle.

When the chase culminated in the Witch setting the Scarecrow on fire, Spock literally gasped surprise when Dorothy threw that pail of water and caught the Witch in the splash.

“She killed her,” said Spock, staring at the screen. “I did not consider that to be possible outcome.”

“You didn‘t?” asked Jim, in surprise.

“Yeah, why not, Spock?” asked McCoy, curiously.

“Dorothy does not have an aggressive personality outside of when she seeks to protects others,” said Spock.

As if to verify Spock’s analysis of Dorothy’s character, she apologized to the guards for the death of the Witch.

Spock nodded in acceptance. “That is within the previous established parameters of the storyline.”

They watched the grinning and proud quartet bring the broomstick to the Wizard of Oz, expecting to have their requests granted, only to be told to return the next day.

“He is not honoring their agreement,” said Spock, sounding rather scandalized.

“No, he‘s not,” agreed Jim, amused at the expression on Spock’s face.

“I don‘t blame them for being upset about it,” said McCoy, as the four threw up a fuss.

When Toto revealed the man behind the curtain, Spock stared again.

“So, the entire time he has been presenting himself as being more powerful than he actually is?” he said, a tone of bafflement in his voice.

“Yup,” said Jim. He then made a swiftly hidden disappointed face when Spock pulled his hand free so that he could type rapidly into his PADD.

Spock made what sounded almost like a giggle as the Wizard gave the Scarecrow his honorary degree of thinkology.

Both Jim and McCoy stared at him in shock, but the boy’s face was blank and still as stone.

“Did he just laugh?” asked McCoy, sounding rather dazed at just the idea of it.

“Vulcans do not laugh,” said Spock, primly.

Jim just grinned because Spock had laughed - or to be more accurate - he’d giggled. And just the thought that Spock had let loose such a noise was rather amazing in his opinion.

He was suddenly rather sorry that he didn’t set up the computer to record Spock’s reactions. Oh, to have had that bit of proof when Spock was back to his adult self would have been perfect.

When the Wizard told the Tin Man that hearts would only be practical if they could be made unbreakable, McCoy raised his nearly empty bottle of beer in a toast. “You said it!”

Spock looked at McCoy with a raised eyebrow before turning to Jim when he didn’t get an answer.

“It‘s a long story,” said Jim to him. Not wanting to get into the details of Bones’ divorce, right now. “I‘ll tell you later.”

The Wizard was just revealing that he had come from Kansas himself and he would be able to get Dorothy back in the same hot air balloon that had made him first land in Oz.

“The phrase ‘E pluribus unum’ is Latin, an ancient Earth language,” said Spock, thoughtfully. “It means, ‘out of many, one‘, yet why would the Wizard refer to Kansas by this?”

“Because it‘s a motto of the United States,” explained Jim, “it was one of the many countries that existed before Earth united under one governmental body.”

“And it‘s where Kansas could and still can be found,” added McCoy. “Both Jim and I hail from the former good ol‘ USA, that‘s why we know it. It‘s still in our history books.”

Spock continued to watch the movie intently but he didn’t have any more questions until Glinda reappeared in her big pink bubble and explained to Dorothy that she’d always had the power to go back.

“Then why was it necessary for her to travel down the path of the yellow brick road?” asked Spock.

“Listen,” said Jim, softly. “Dorothy explains.”

As Dorothy worked out the reason as to why she needed to discover her own desire to return home, not just to see her aunt and uncle but because she really wanted to be there, understanding lit up Spock’s face.

Though, the puzzlement returned to Spock’s face when Dorothy woke up back in Kansas, as if she’s never been anywhere at all.

As her last words echoed through the recreation room, Spock turned back to Jim.

“I don‘t understand,” said Spock. “The main theme appears to be that home is important even at the expense of exploration. But humans constantly reach out beyond the boundaries of what they know in order to explore and expand their knowledge. The movie is contradictory of human nature.”

Jim considered this thoughtfully. Spock did have a point. “That‘s one way to look at it.”

“I always thought it was trying to say that friends and family are important,” said McCoy.

Jim nodded. “Also, that you should appreciate what you have. The same way that the Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow always had the one single feature that they wanted the most but they just couldn’t see it.”

McCoy snorted, “I always thought that they were just being too blind, and needed validation.”

“It is deeply interpretive,” said Spock, thoughtfully. “Fascinating. It would make it similar to the interpretation brought to bear upon art work such as paintings or sculpture. The intended message can change dependent upon the nature of the viewer.”

Jim blinked in surprise. “I guess that‘s right. I just never thought of movies in that way before.”

“That’s because it’s kind of hard to get interpretive about the hidden message in those B-movies, you like,” said McCoy, dryly.

The credits scrolled to an end and the screen went black. The lights that had dimmed when the movie first started slowly went back up to full brightness.

“Before you start the next movie, I need to hit the head,” said McCoy, prying himself out of the chair with a groan. Three empty beer bottles littered the deck by his feet.

Jim wondered when in the hell Bones had snuck off to get more of them and how he head managed not to notice before he smirked at his friend. “That‘s what you get for drinking without sharing.”

McCoy just rolled his eyes before vanishing into the attached restroom. Jim made certain that the computer didn’t start the next movie yet.

Spock, finally put away the PADD and opened up the red plastic tub of kettle popcorn. He began eating it, pulling out one kernel examine it before he nibbled at it thoughtfully. As soon as he was done with it, he promptly pulled out another one.

The corners of his mouth went up in evident enjoyment.

“I guess you like that,” said Jim.

“This variation of popcorn has subtle sweet and salty flavors,” said Spock, eating another kernel. “The amount of sweet to savory differs from kernel to kernel in a pleasant manner.”

“Bones made a good suggestion,” said Jim.

“I agree,” said Spock with a nod.

McCoy came back and gave Jim severe look. “Now, would you tell me what was up with Rand showing up like that? And don‘t tell me it was nothing because I won‘t believe you.”

“Sulu sent up a request. The leaders of Cromtic want to see Spock,” said Jim. “So, he‘s hoping he could come down to the planet with him.”

“What the hell for?” asked McCoy, scowling.

“You know how Sulu is negotiating with their council for permission to let Starfleet set up a starbase in their system?” asked Jim.

“Yeah, so what does that have to do with wanting to meet the kid?”

“Well, they’re concerned about the lack of progress that we‘re having in ageing Spock up to his normal age,” said Jim, frustrated. “And so they want to double check him before they agree to the starbase. Apparently, they don’t think much of the fact that it’s been over twenty-four hours since he’s been changed and he’s still a kid. I think that they think that something has to be wrong with us for not being able to make a kid happy.”

Spock expression went blank.

It made Jim straighten up. “Hey, Spock, it isn‘t your fault.”

“I could agree to the use the age reversal machine,” said Spock, his tone expressionless.

“That’s not necessary, kiddo,” said Jim. “It‘s just that these people aren‘t used to Vulcans and are expecting you to be able to jump back in age as if you were one of their own. They don‘t know that Vulcans have such a high value on emotional control.”

“Did Sulu try to explain?” asked McCoy.

“He did, but they still want to see Spock,” said Jim. “That‘s why you have to clear me to go down to the planet.”

“Damn it, Jim,” glared McCoy. “I just cleared you for light duties only the other day and I only did that because we don’t have a first officer. You sure as hell aren’t ready to be cleared for away missions.”

“We’ve got no choice about it, Bones. I‘m not letting Spock down there without me,” said Jim, firmly.

“And why is Spock even going down there, at all?” asked McCoy, exasperated.

“Because the starbase is important or Starfleet Command wouldn’t have sent its flagship on this mission,” said Spock, softly.

“Yeah,” agreed Jim.

Spock raised his chin. “Jim, if it is necessary for me to go down to the planet alone then I will do so.”

“And who says I‘ve cleared you for that either,” said McCoy, glowering at both of them.

Jim just looked at him until Bones threw his hands in the air in exasperation. “Fine! But I‘m going to need to have to check you over in my sickbay first. And I‘m going down with you, just in case.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Jim, smiling. “We won‘t need to be down there until morning. Sulu knows the schedule the ship is under and he told the Cromtician Council that we wouldn‘t be available until then.”

“Good,” said McCoy, grumpily. “That‘s better than nothing.”

“Come on, Bones,” said Jim, cheerfully. “You‘ve been down to the planet, stop making it sound like all hell will break loose.”

McCoy gave him a dry look. “Are you kidding me, Jim? You‘re going down there. Of course, all hell is going to break loose. I‘m just worried at how deep of a level of trouble you‘ll land us all in.”

Spock looked from McCoy to Jim then back to McCoy as the conversation continued. Jim smiled at him.

“I‘m not that bad, Bones,” he said, amused. “Just because a few times that I‘ve been on away missions it doesn‘t mean that I get in trouble every time.”

“Oh, really? Do you want me to tell the kid of that one time you ended up being kidnapped by those crazy fans of yours?” asked McCoy. “And that happened on Earth, of all places.”

Spock’s eyes went wide and the look he shot Jim was clearly startled.

Jim gave him a reassuring look. “It wasn‘t as bad as Bones makes it out to be, Spock.”

McCoy rolled his eyes, “Only because Spock tracked you down when you didn‘t show up for the meeting with Pike.”

Jim grinned wider. “See, it worked out.”

“With your luck, we‘ll wind up being turned back into kids too,” said McCoy, frowning a the idea.

Jim laughed at that. “That wouldn‘t be too bad actually, though it does make me feel sorry for everyone else on the ship if it happened. Just think, the three of us running around the ship like that.”

McCoy couldn't help but laughed too. “Okay, okay, you got a point. So, all we have to do is stay way from any crystals in the shapes of spheres and we‘ll be fine.”

Jim got up and started the second movie going. “Now enough talk about tomorrow, lets enjoy the rest of movie night before we’ve got to work. I’ve been looking forward to the Princess Bride. It‘ll be the last movie we‘ll have time for tonight.”

TBC in [Part Eleven]

I'm rather enjoying making tiny!Spock analyze the movie. Though, I bet he'll also read the books. =D He's such a thorough researcher.