Star Trek 1

"If you would like, I am certain Jim would have no problem in 'calling him out' on the bridge." Spock says innocently. "It would be a fair revenge."

"And maybe it would have ze same effect!" Chekov brightens. "If I need it, I'll ask it."

Kirk is laughing now, his body completely relaxed against Spock's. "I will totally do it too!" he says with a grin. "But if it comes down to that, you have to stop calling me Captain, okay? You have to call me Jim, at least when it's just us and the crew."

"Deal!" Chekov beams. The two men shake on it.

Spock takes the distraction and glances up behind him. Sure enough, Mitchell is still there, and Spock unfortunately recognizes the look on his face. This is the reason he kept his relationship with Uhura secret for so long. He didn't want Gary sticking his nose in it.

He makes it a point to look away and return his focus completely to the conversation at hand.

Kirk feels Spock tense up, and begins to run his fingers through the hair at the nape of Spock's neck in an attempt to distract him. Spock slides him a glance and resumes his conversation with Chekov about the upgrades that the Enterprise needs.

Sulu reappears, and flops down next to Chekov. Kirk gives him a grin. "Welcome back."

"Thanks. That actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Sulu said cheerfully. "Though I hear that he and McCoy didn't really hit it off. Apparently McCoy was really rude."

Kirk starts to snicker. "Yeah - Bones and shrinks have never gotten along. You shoulda seen some of the psyche evals he got before he was assigned to the Enterprise."

"That bad, huh?"

Kirk laughs outright this time. "Take what your thinking, and multiply it by about five. Then maybe you'll come close to his psyche evals."

Spock tilts his head back, leaning into Kirk's touch. He watches Chekov and Sulu through half-closed eyes, content to tune out the conversation for a while. He also wonders, briefly, just how not subtle he and Kirk were if Chekov and Sulu are this obvious and still qualify.

Sulu glances at Chekov. "Actually, you're up with the shrink." he says. Chekov says something in Russian that has Sulu wincing. "Oh, come on, I don't even think that's possible."

"It is tempting." Chekov mutters and walks off. He does, however, take an extra moment to run his fingers across the nape of Sulu's neck. The reaction of the helmsman has Kirk in stitches.

"I didn't know you could jump like that!"

"Shut up."

"That was hysterical! I'm actually a little annoyed I didn't get it on film!" Kirk cackles, dodging the half-hearted swing Sulu takes at him. "Hey! No hitting the captain!"

"Oh, yeah right! Since when do you pull rank like that?"

That makes Kirk pause. "I don't like to, so never. Admit it, that makes me an awesome captain."

Sulu grins widely and leans back into his seat. "So, I'm almost positive Chekov asked, but I'm gonna ask because I'm curious. So you can reserve the right to tell me to go to hell, but do you need any help with the biggest creeper to ever creep creeping around on the second level?"

There was a solid two minutes of silence while Kirk and Spock digested that.

Spock blinks. "What kind of sentence is that?"

"An awesome one." Kirk laughs. Sulu takes a bow. "But it's Spock's creeper, so he'll have to answer that." Kirk adds, jerking his thumb at the Vulcan.

Spock is still staring at Sulu. "That was the strangest sentence I ever heard, but it made complete sense."

Sulu leans forward. "Spock - stop thinking about the sentence before it breaks your brain, and just answer the question. Do we need to call someone in to push him over the railing? Because I am not opposed to it. I know a few people who owe me a favor."

Spock finally just shakes his head. "No. He has done nothing but - creep - so far."

"Yes, but he's looking at you like you're dessert."

"Now I believe you are making sentences up." Spock declares. "What does that even mean?"

Kirk smiles and gently strokes Spock's hair. "Don't worry about it, Spock. It's a human saying."

"I would like an explanation, though. I have never heard that phrase before." Spock pointed out, leaning his head back into Kirk's touch.

Sulu grins. "I can't actually find a way to explain without sounding utterly stupid, so I'm gonna go with Jim here and tell you not to worry about it."

Spock eyes them for a moment or two before letting it drop. Sulu gives Mitchell a thoughtful look, smirking slightly when Mitchell's focus shifts to him. "I can hit him from here."

Kirk snorts. "If I pay you, will you?"

Spock sighs. "You two are aware he can hear you, correct?"

Sulu and Kirk look at each other, then to Spock, and deliberately up to Mitchell. They both give identical grins before answering in tandem. "Yes."

Spock sighs again. "You don't especially care, do you?"

They answer in tandem again. "No."

Sulu suddenly brightens. "Hey - he's leaving!" he says. "Finally. He was starting to freak me out."

That means Mitchell is off to hack the computers and learn the location of Spock's room. Which also means he's going to hack the lock to Spock's room and surprise him there. Under normal circumstances, Spock would call security and have an escort to his room (to remove the unwanted intruder), but he's not rooming alone this time. He has Kirk, and that gives him a bit more peace of mind.

It would be illogical of Mitchell to actually try something with a witness. Spock is not concerned - not yet, anyway. He's being more persistent this time around.

Kirk sighs. "Finally." he agrees. "I was gonna hit him. Again."

Kirk watches Mitchell leave, frowning slightly. He glances at Spock, and the expression on his face decides it. He pulls out his communicator and hails Scotty. "Hey, Scotty? Could I get you to do me a huge favor?"

"Aye! What do ya need?"

"I need you to hack into the Starbase's systems. See if you can locate Spock's room, and more specifically the code to enter the room. See if you can't set it to a rotating passcode. Make it rotate every five mintues or so with three different codes." Kirk says.

There's a pause on the other line. "Somethin' Ah need ta worry about?"

"No, not right now." Kirk says. "Can you do it?"

"Already done and done, laddie." Scotty says cheerfully.

"You're the best, Scotty."

"Ah know it. Have fun, an' be safe." With that, Scotty cuts the link.

Spock turns to stare at Kirk. "How do you do that?" he demands.

"Do what?" Kirk asks innocently.

"Anticipate people." Spock blinks. "I only know his plans because he's done it before."

"Wait - back up." Sulu says, suddenly very serious. "This guy's broken into your quarters before?"

"I had security remove him." Spock hunches his shoulders just a bit. "Why?"

Sulu and Kirk exchange looks.

"That's it. You're not going back to your quarters." Kirk announces.

"But I need my clothes." Spock protests quietly. Sulu raises his hand.

"I'll go get them. He has no reason to accost me, and if he does, well, it won't end well for him." he says with a small shrug.

"Sulu - "

Kirk cuts Spock off. "No. We're aware you can take care of yourself, we're not doubting that. However, this isn't the first time he's done this, and we're not giving him the opportunity to do it again."

Sulu glances at Kirk. "Your passcode still the same?"

"Yes."

"Good. I don't wanna get it wrong. I've heard the stories." Sulu says as he stands. "I'll meet you at your quarters in ten minutes?"

"Sounds good." Kirk says, fistbumping Sulu. "Thanks."

"I would like to repeat that this is not necessary." Spock protests. "Mr. Mitchell is persistent, but harmless. He has never given me cause to fear before."

Kirk shakes his head. "Do me a favor Spock - trust my alarms, all right? I have them. They light up when something is wrong, and trust me, Mitchell is nine kinds of wrong."

Spock twists so he can face Kirk. "Mr. Mitchell is deluded and in want of someone he cannot have." he says softly. "He would not be the first cadet to feel this way. Why has he drawn your attention?"

"Because he spent the last 30 minutes staring at us from the second level, and he's been in your rooms before without your consent." Kirk says flatly. "That's why."

There's only one thing Spock can think to say in response to that. "I love you."

Anything else Kirk has to say vanishes when Spock speaks. He gives the Vulcan a smile. "I love you too. Just, let me try to protect you when I can, okay?"

Spock chuckles once. "Very well. We should depart and meet Mr. Sulu at your quarters. I imagine by now he has gotten the necessary clothes I require."


---/

Sulu headed down the hall, getting the proper codes from Scotty as he went. "I appreciate it, man. I'll let you get back to Uhura."

"Aye, laddie. Gimme a shout if ye need anythin' else."

"Not a problem. Later." He approaches Spock's door and scans the hall, finding no sign of Mitchell. As Kirk had requested, the passcode changed as he typed, demanding him to be quick with the codes. He froze as something dug into his back. He slowly turned his head and gave Mitchell a dry stare.

"I'm assuming that's a phaser pointed at my back."

Mitchell glares at him. "I want in."

"Yeah. Not happening." Sulu says flatly. "I like Spock. I'm not siccing you on him."

The phaser digs in a little deeper. Sulu fights back a wince. "Let. Me. In."

"For the love of - " Sulu twists, slamming his elbow across the side of Mitchell's head. The phaser goes off, and Sulu can feel the burn across his side. It's a glancing blow, and not enough to slow him down. He immediately grabs hold of Mitchell's wrists, trying to force him to let go of the phaser.

Mitchell's leg comes up and kicks Sulu back, regaining his grip on the phaser. "Let me in, or I'll kill you dead here and now."

Sulu snorts and reaches behind him, grabbing his folding blade. He flicks his wrist once, and the blade extends. "I don't think so. You want in so bad, you have to get through me, and I gotta tell you, that's not happening." Mitchell fires off two shots, both of which were deflected by the blade before Sulu charges him, the sword swinging for his wrist.

Mitchell scrambles backwards and away from the blade's reach, but only barely. Sulu uses the advantage to kick the man's wrist, sending the phaser flying down the hall. He levels the point of the sword at Mitchell's neck, backing the man into the wall. "Back down, Mitchell."

"Spock was mine! I'm not going to let some upstart steal him away from me!" Mitchell glares hatefully at him.

Sulu just barely keeps himself from rolling his eyes. "You know, I'm beginning to see why Jim doesn't like to let Spock out of his sight. If Pavel had your kind of crazy after  him, I wouldn't let him out of my sight either."

Mitchell shifts slightly, and the blade actually presses against his throat. Sulu's eyes narrow dangerously. "Don't move. I've got security on the way, and you had better believe I won't hesitate to hand them a head."

Mitchell's eyes flicker to the side, and he grins. Sulu has about three seconds to worry about that before he hears Chekov's voice behind him. "Hikaru? Vat's going on?"

"Pavel, stay back." Sulu orders. Thankfully, the kid just stops mid-stride. He takes in the scene and his eyes widen.

"You are ze asshole who is stalking ze commander." he says. "You vent up against Sulu? You really are crazy."

Mitchell's gaze narrows. He lashes out, kicking Sulu in the knee and bringing him down. The sword falls away, and Mitchell makes a grab for Chekov.

Security arrives just in time to see Chekov knock Mitchell out with a swift punch to the nose. Sulu forces himself to his feet, limping a little. "You can fight?"

Chekov shrugs. "I vas a kid genius." he says. "You do ze math."

Sulu turns in time to see Security cuff Mitchell and drag him off, Mitchell beginning to regain consciousness. Mitchell starts to struggle, and one of the security officers tazes him back unconscious. The officer gives them a lopsided grin. "I've heard of him. We're gonna lock him up in the brig - hopefully, that'll give you guys a break from him for a bit while Admiral Davidson decides what to do with him."

Sulu nods. "Trust me, you're not gonna get any complaints from me."

The officer nods and walks off, leaving Sulu and Chekov in the hall. Sulu considers for a brief second before limping over to where Chekov is standing and kissing the other man. He pulls back and gives a grin. "You punching the hell out of Mitchell was probably the sexiest thing ever." he declares.

Chekov sputters. "Oi! If I had known zat vas all it vould take to make you kiss me - "

Sulu just laughs and slings an arm around his shoulders. "You would have done it sooner." he finishes. "Come on - we should probably let Jim and Spock know what happened."

"And McCoy." Chekov says. "You are limping. Here, sit down - I vill call ze doctor."

Sulu smiles and gives Chekov a wink. "Call McCoy after we get the things I promised Spock I would."

"But you are hurt." Chekov protests, watching as Sulu types in the codes required to get into Spock's rooms.

"I'll be fine. He hit me below the knee, and even then, it's just gonna bruise." Sulu says cheerfully, heading toward Spock's dresser, albeit slowly.

"And what about the scorch mark on your side?"

"A glancing blow, it hit my shirt more than my skin."

"You are almost as bad as ze keptin when it comes to downplaying your injuries." Chekov mutters as Sulu rummages through the drawers, pulling out pants and shirts as well as some underwear and socks.

Sulu snorts. "No, I'm not. I've got nothing on Jim. Ask McCoy to tell you the stories sometime." he says laughing as he turns back to Chekov. "And quit scowling at me, I'll sit down once we get these to Spock. Deal?"

Chekov sighs. "Fine, fine. But you know ze keptin is gonna be annoyed when he finds our you're hurt." he points out. Sulu just shakes his head.

"Hey, I'm on a mission." he teases lightly. "Besides, like we said - he has no room to talk. None." He puts the clothes into a bag as neatly as he can (and now his leg is starting to shake, and he really hopes Chekov won't see it) and straightens up. "Okay, let's go."

Chekov is standing a bit closer than necessary as they walk down the hall. "Where is Spock, anyway?"

"With Jim. They're sharing quarters now."

"That escalated quickly." They turn around to see Kirk and Spock Prime standing behind them. Spock Prime looks at them before a slight frown crosses his face. "What happened?"

Sulu gives Spock Prime a grin. "I got into a fight. You should see the other guy."

Kirk Prime snorts. "I think we did. He was being hauled off to the brig, wasn't he?"

"Yep. That's him." Sulu says cheerfully. "The bloody nose was Chekov's doing, though." he takes another step, and yelps, his leg finally collapsing under his weight. Chekov and Kirk Prime move as one, catching him before he actually hits the ground.

Sulu's jaw is tight as he forces himself back onto his feet. "Thanks, guys."

Chekov doesn't step back, instead opting to keep one arm around Sulu's waist as he pulls his communicator out. He hails Kirk and Spock. "Keptin, Commander? Could you meet Sulu and I in front of Commander's quarters? Sulu is hurt."

"What happened?" Kirk demands. Chekov glances at Sulu.

"Mr. Mitchell, sir."

There's a brief pause, followed by a lot of cussing from the other end of the line. "We'll be there in a few. I've got McCoy with me. Is it bad?"

"Not as bad as it could be."

"Good. We're on our way. Kirk out."

Spock and Kirk Prime exchange looks. "Gary Mitchell?" Kirk Prime asks. Sulu nods. The older man curses. "Looks like some things really don't change."

"I wish them better luck than we had." Spock Prime murmurs.

Sulu turns to look at Kirk and Spock Prime. "What did you guys do to get rid of him?"

Before either one could answer, Kirk runs up to them, Spock and McCoy following at a slightly slower pace. "Sulu!" he stops, and examines Sulu. "You got shot!"

"And kicked, but who's counting?" Sulu says cheerfully.

McCoy growls under his breath as he motions for Chekov to manuever Sulu to sit. "I am. Pull up the pant leg, let me see the damage."

Sulu rolls his pant leg up, hissing as he accidentally brushes where he got hit. McCoy pulls out his tricorder.

"You got lucky, kid. He didn't hit your knee, which is good. However, he hit you hard enough to fracture the tibia." McCoy gives Sulu a hard stare. "Now, off with the shirt."

"My side is fine!" Sulu protests.

Kirk grins. "Give it up, Sulu. Either you take it off, or he'll cut it off of you. I'm speaking from experience here."

Sulu laughs. "And you wonder why the cadets all thought you two were dating!" he teases.

There's a brief silence, followed by indignant cursing from McCoy and hysterical laughter from Kirk.

Spock Prime takes the opportunity to pull his younger counterpart aside. "Is Mr. Mitchell focused on you or Jim?" he asks quietly.

"Myself."

"You must take care, Spock. He is not stable."

"Such individuals rarely are." Spock tilts his head to the side. "What happened in your time?"

Spock Prime sighs. "He developed a fixation on myself. At the time, I dismissed it as inconsequential, much like you did." He fixes the younger with a hard stare. "We had to kill him, Spock, to make him stop."

Kirk glances over at his Spock and sighs quietly, letting McCoy cover the fact that he wasn't talking. Kirk Prime lays a hand on his shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure." Kirk gives Sulu a grin and follows his older counterpart a small distance away from the group. Kirk Prime studies him for a second.

"You're worried."

"Yeah. I know that Spock doesn't want me or anyone else to kill Mitchell, but from what I heard, that's what it took to stop him in your time." Kirk runs a hand through his hair and sighs. "And I'll be honest, I don't wanna kill the guy."

"Neither did I." Kirk Prime says quietly. "I don't know how your Mitchell differs from ours, but if he's as fixated on your Spock as he was on mine, as much as I hate to say it, you just might have to."

"Is there any way to avoid it?"

"Short of cutting your shore leave short and leaving now? I don't know. And even then, that's not guaranteed - there is the chance he would sneak aboard the Enterprise." Kirk Prime says quietly.

Kirk watches him for a moment. "Does Mitchell have anything to do with the scars on Spock Prime's wrists?" he asks. Kirk Prime flinches.

"How do you know about that? He keeps those hidden."

"He mind-melded with me on Delta Vega to prove who he was. I saw a few things I probably shouldn't have." Kirk can't completely suppress a shiver. "It's why I kept Spock on the bridge when the deal with Kahn went to hell."

"You saw that."

"I did. That's why it was me."