Chapter Text
Lt Commander Spock stood at attention as he watched the primary combat class instructor walk up with a Terran female, not too tall with creamy skin and curly brown hair restrained in an old-fashioned coronet braid.
“Spock.”
“Commodore McGivens.”
The older Terran male gestured towards his companion. She was dressed in white pants and a zipped up pale blue jacket embossed with the Starfleet insignia. It took less than a second to place it – unaffiliated medical/science students, ones not geared towards an off planet or deep space mission. Majority of such graduates worked in the second-wave settlement efforts, preparing a planet for colonization and getting it stabilized in the first few critical years. They needed training in Starfleet protocol though they were never meant to be a permanent part of a star ship or station crew.
“This is Nursing Student Hermione Granger. She will be on-site during all of the combat classes that you are leading, to treat any injuries and do any necessary triage. It’s a new policy to minimize combat injuries since most students skip getting treatment for muscle tears and deep bruising and end up aggravating their physical condition.”
Spock opened his mouth to protest then shut it. Most of his students would be Terran and from more fragile races. Despite his best efforts he would not be able to prevent all his students from being injured.
He faced Commodore McGivens and nodded. “Understood Commodore.”
Satisfied, McGivens turned around sharply and walked away at a brisk pace.
Feeling a bit bemused and uncertain of what to do, Spock turned to the Terran and greeted her. “Nursing Student Granger.”
She clasped her hands at the waist and inclined her head shallowly. “Lt Commander Spock. And please call me Hermione. Or Granger.”
“Very well. Granger.” He cocked his head. “You did not try to shake my hand.”
She snorted softly. “I know enough of Vulcan culture to never commit such a faux pas.” And then she raised her hand into the ta’al and voiced the formal greeting of stranger-to-superior.
“How?” he demanded to know.
She relaxed subtly. “I spent a term on Vulcan studying alternative medicine.”
“With the VSA or a different institution?”
“Nothing so formal. I was apprenticed to a Vulcan Healer.”
“Would you share his name? I may know of him.”
“Her. Her name is T’Rin.”
Spock went very still. He was very familiar with the name. In fact he had met T’Rin when he was younger. She was no ordinary Vulcan Healer. She was a highly respected reldai of Seleya – a True Healer, one capable of miracles unmatched by science or lesser Healers. There must be something unique about Nursing Student Hermione Granger for T’Rin to have agreed to teach her.
As much as Spock wanted to know, he knew not all humans were comfortable sharing details about their personal lives. It would be better if he waited and did a little research on Hermione Granger before asking her directly for particulars.
~ooOoo~ooOoo~ooOoo~
It took several weeks of careful casual conversation before she finally agreed to join him for a mid-day meal after his morning hand-to-hand class. Spock had learnt subtlety – though he rarely practiced it – so their first few lunch meetings were to discuss the progress of his students. He inquired about her own studies and offered advice and ideas from his own experiences and academic history. There was just something different about the Nursing Student, something intriguing and intoxicating all at once, and he was determined to find out what it was.
As time passed she became more relaxed and open towards him. Gauging now as the optimal moment, Spock asked the question that had always been foremost on his mind during his interactions with her.
“You said T’Rin taught you.”
“Yes.”
“It is unusual, because T’Rin does not take personal students. She lectures and demonstrates occasionally, but most of the time she lives in seclusion. She turns down influential and wealthy clans who asked her to teach their sons and daughters.”
“Including your clan?” Hermione asked archly. Spock knew exactly when she became Hermione, not Nursing Student Granger, in his mind: Their third lunch meeting.
“Actually, she agreed to teach me. A few months to improve my control and range,” Spock confessed. “The standard teaching techniques and methods were not working for me.” He hesitated for a second. “I am a hybrid and when I was younger my control was flawed.”
It was something no Vulcan would ever admit, to anyone. But Spock was certain he had to demonstrate weakness before she would share her secrets. And he was right.
Her expression softened and turned pensive. She sipped her guava juice before finally speaking. “I had… abilities when I was younger. I attended a special school to learn how to control and best utilize them. There was an incident when I was fourteen and I lost them. The medics said the part of my brain responsible for them had been burned out, scarred. So I focused on forgetting about it and just studying.”
Spock’s eidetic memory began filling in the gaps. “Something happened two point five seven years ago.”
“Yes. My abilities came back… differently. It is no longer fiery and outward,” she gestured around her. “but subtle and inward.” Her hand moved to cover her sternum. “I’d lost touch with my old teachers and honestly I didn’t really want to go to them. They had given up and cut ties with me the first time. But I knew I needed someone to help me so I talked to the Betazed Ambassador. She suggested I ask the Vulcan Embassy about meeting with a reldai.”
“That would have been very difficult for you; reldai rarely leave Vulcan.”
“I know. I applied to complete a term as an exchange student on Vulcan. And after I arrived I kept petitioning for a meeting. It took ten weeks but I met T’Pai. In twenty minutes she said that she could not help, that only a more powerful reldai could. T’Rin was the ninth adept I met. She took one look at me and said it would take several months to straighten me out. My exchange term had already come to an end at that point. She arranged for it and my visa to be extended. I spent half a year studying Vulcan meditation techniques and control exercises before she actually taught me how to shape my… gift.”
“You have not mentioned what it is.”
“What am I studying Spock?”
“Nursing. Medicine.” The dots connected. “Healing?”
“Yes. I’m a natural Healer.”
“Then why are you here?” Spock was baffled. “You can easily secured a post at any Vulcan hospital if you complete a Healing Mastery under T’Rin.”
“I will. But not just yet. I want to learn other ways before finalizing my Mastery.”
“Do you practice?” Spock asked curious.
“I do practice the focus and control exercises. Not the techniques; it would be unethical without consent and I do not wish for others to know.” She sighed. “I’m running out of my favourite incense. It’s harder to meditate without it.”
“Does it have a particular name? A manufacturer?”
“It’s a custom blend. RT437 prepared by Vrn’tal in Shi’Khar. He has a small shop in Rill Plaza behind―”
“The stone obelisk etched with Surak’s Fifth Observations.”
Hermione blinked. “Yes!”
“I purchase incense for my personal use from Vrn’tal. My preferred blends are HG534, FI409, and RT455.”
“Is there a place where you can purchase it locally?” Hermione asked.
“No. I usually place my request when the Vulcan Embassy is sending a ship to Vulcan. All Vulcan citizens do to make purchases of goods not available off Vulcan. If you wish I can place an order for you.”
“Please! Just let me know how much and I’ll get a credit chit for you.”
Spock shook his head. “Unnecessary.”
“But―”
“Consider it a gift.”
“What?”
“It is... agreeable to talk with someone familiar with Vulcan.”
Hermione gave him an old-fashioned look. “You interact with students and staff who know a lot more about Vulcan than me.”
He shook his head. “They may have intellectual knowledge but they do not understand what we are capable of. Specifically in non-scientific and undiplomatic terms.” He looked her directly in the eye. “You do.”
Hermione shivered because he was right. She had seen many Vulcans at their worst and lowest moments, their weakest and most fragile mental states during her apprenticeship with T’Rin. It came with being a Healer.
~ooOoo~ooOoo~ooOoo~
And that was not the end of it. Over the following weeks Spock deliberately arranged more interactions and meetings over meals on and off campus. He kept the topics more or less neutral, focused on academia and current projects. Being a student at heart, Hermione couldn’t help but ask him for details, the timelines, the parameters, the hypothesis, the end goals, potential future expansions.
When he off-handedly invited her to join his research team she couldn’t help but be pleased because Vulcans would never be lax when it came to academia and research. If he was inviting her it was because he truly believed she had something to contribute.
She had known him for seven months now and she was very confused by Spock, his actions towards her, her reactions towards him. None of it fit what was taught in the Starfleet cultural courses, but neither did it fit what she observed on Vulcan.
“You look confused dahlin’. Wanna talk about it?”
She put down her PADD and looked up at her study partner, Doctor Leonard McCoy, an older student on the frontline track for a position off planet. He had often urged her to switch tracks, to join him in the frontline track but Hermione had always demurred. She wanted to spend a few years in the Colonization Department, observe and assist on a few colonies, travel a bit, and then go back to Vulcan for her Mastery. Once she was a fully qualified Healer it would be very difficult to leave for purely personal reasons.
“What makes you think I’m not confused about the new pharmacology material?”
Leonard gave her an old fashioned look. “Dahlin’, you’re smarter than ninety percent of my class batch. You only get that look when you’re thinkin’ about a particular green-blooded pointy-eared elf.”
Hermione went very stiff. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Her companion snorted. “You aren’t foolin’ anyone who knows you sweetie. You spend a lot of time off campus with Lt Commander Spock. You’re part of his biochemistry research team. He actually acts normal around you!”
Hermione chewed on her lower lip. “That’s what confuses me Leonard.”
Leonard was baffled. “What do you mean? I thought you’d be happy that he’s openin’ up to you. You like him, don’t you,” he added knowingly.
This time she could not stop the blush that suffused her cheeks. “Leonard!”
“Well you do!” he insisted. “Most gals would have given up on ever makin’ a Vulcan give enough to admit to havin’ emotions. They would have found themselves a real boyfriend by now, but you haven’t. And he’s actually reactin’ to you.”
“That’s not a good thing Leonard,” Hermione whispered. “Vulcans are not supposed to touch others with bare skin.”
Leonard snorted. “What, they have sex fully dressed?” he joked. “Forget it, I don’t want to know the answer.” Seeing her worried face he softened. “Tell me dahlin’.”
Hermione dithered for a few seconds before blurting it out. “Touching fingertips is like kissing. That’s why they never shake hands.”
Brown eyes widened. “That intimate?”
“It varies. Like kissing cheeks between friends, or a parent kissing on the forehead, or even a platonic no-tongue kiss.”
“How do they distinguish?”
“They are psionics. There is a mental component to the touch; it can be chaste or intimate.”
“How do you know?” Leonard demanded to know.
“I spent several months on Vulcan. I was lucky enough to find a mentor willing to be open and point out the conventions and explain the reasons for them. And no I cannot share everything I’ve been told. I will not betray her trust.”
Leonard nodded slowly. “I can believe that. Vulcans are so private it’s a bitch to even get their medical and clan records.”
Hermione nodded. “Vulcans value privacy. It is very improper to pry and ask for such information.”
“Okay, so Spock’s acting oddly and you aren’t sure why.”
“Correct.”
“Then why don’t you comm or message your friend?”
Hermione opened her mouth then shut it. “You know that is a very good idea.”
Leonard smirked. “Glad you think so. Now why don’t we get back to reviewing the material for Bachner’s class?”
~ooOoo~
Hermione did not forget Leonard’s advice. The first chance she got she sent a message requesting T’Rin to contact her. Even so she was surprised when she received an incoming call from off-planet around ten in the evening local time.
“Greetings Hermione.”
“T’Rin, greetings.”
“You indicated you had some urgent issues to discuss with me? About a Vulcan colleague?”
It was T’Rin’s way to always get right to the point. “It might be nothing or it might be red-flags. I do not wish to taint his reputation in case I am misinterpreting his actions.”
“Who is this colleague?”
Hermione nodded once jerkily. “I believe you know Spock?” she ended questioningly. “He said you taught him.”
T’Rin’s eyebrows raised noticeably. “He told you this?”
“He told me a lot of things,” Hermione admitted. “I did not really think about it because humans share things with friends, sometimes even strangers when they want an outsider’s opinion on difficult issues. But then I remembered he is Vulcan. But he is half-human… would he be more open due to that heritage?”
T’Rin was silent. “Spock is Vulcan, controlled and stoic. The number of times he acted emotionally after his kahs’wan… three. All due to very difficult circumstances.”
“He’s not closed off to me,” Hermione confessed. “I like being around him, even when he is busy with his own work. It’s soothing.”
“Do you have any other examples?” Oh yes there was so many but Hermione was afraid to tell T’Rin, to betray Spock. As though reading her mind, T’Rin continued, “Do not worry child; what you share will be in the strictest of confidences.”
“He touched my hand when I wasn’t shielding and it didn’t burn.”
Normally it was almost painful to have unshielded contact with a Vulcan. None of them had ever meant to hurt her but even the scantiest contact was like dragging her forehead over sandpaper, glass if the Vulcan was a high-psi and actively trying to get into her mind. Not so with Spock. His touch was light and soothing, cool on her skin, causing fizzy bubbles in her veins, a glowing heat deeper inside.
The first touch had been accidental and surprised both him and her. The second had been a deliberate event as he catalogued her reactions. The third had been an experiment testing the depth of his effect on her. After that he was always touching her, casually, lightly, guiding her, emphasizing points. She liked his touches, each and every one of them ignited reactions that made her feel good, and some physical ones that she struggled to ignore. It didn’t take long for the platonic touches on her exposed forearms and hands to not be enough. She wanted him to touch her in other places, more intimately. And Hermione had no idea if he was even interested in her like that!
“Has he tried to make skin-contact?” T’Rin asked in an interested voice.
The truthful answer might place Spock in a bad light but Hermione had to be honest because it was a valid factor.
“Yes,” she confessed. “Every time we meet we have skin-contact, just a few seconds but it centers me and makes me forget the days stresses and tensions.” T’Rin looked pensive. “Is it horribly wrong?” she asked hesitantly.
“Modern Surakians would say yes,” T’Rin said slowly. “I would disagree.”
“Please explain.”
“Vulcans do not touch in public but in the privacy of the clan house familiar behaviour is accepted, especially between bondmates and between parents and children. However I know Sarek; he would have been strict, holding Spock to higher standards. I doubt Sarek would have initiated or permitted such contact when Spock was younger.”
“What about his mother?”
“Lady Amanda is caring and very supportive but she is not an active psi, she would not have been able to initiate a link or reciprocate to such a touch. Is Spock is calmer, more relaxed in your presence?”
“Yes.”
“Then do not be concerned. This bond is symbiotic and benefiting the both of you. Please inform me if either of you start becoming emotionally unstable.”
Hermione laughed. “I’m more likely to become unstable than Spock. And I’m too happy and calm to become angry when he’s around.”
“Then you have nothing to worry about.”
The conversation turned to lighter more intellectual topics as Hermione shared her current workload and plans with her once and future mentor.
They talked for more than forty minutes before ending the conversation citing lateness. It was almost eleven and Hermione had an early lab session.
~o~
T’Rin ended the conversation with her old student feeling concerned and intrigued. She had touched both their minds and now that she was reflecting on it, Spock and Hermione were a very highly compatible match for a bonding. No wonder they had involuntarily begun the bonding process without any outside interference.
The reldai considered the possibility of communicating the information to Spock’s sire before deciding not to. Kevet-Dutar Sarek had a very difficult relationship with his son. It would be more sensible to talk to T’Pau. Someone in the family had to be aware when the bond fully matured. Hermione did not have the experience to recognize its nature and she doubted Spock would, males rarely did until they had gone through pon’farr.
T’Pau had to know, if only to prepare for redactors. And Hermione was going to live on Vulcan, an experienced Elder would be able to tell she was marked as a Vulcan’s mate. T’Rin comm’d her old friend hoping to speak to T’Pau before she left her home.