Star Shots (Star Trek One Shots)

Four - Do You Believe in Angels? Pt. 2

Spock woke up the next morning to laughter coming from downstairs. He stood up and got dressed. While he was brushing his teeth, he listened to the conversation downstairs. They were talking about nothing in particular, and laughing like hyenas about it. Spock shook his head. He would never understand human humour. 

After combing his hair, Spock made his way downstairs. Blake and Amanda were making sandwiches and packing them in a large cooler, along with drinks and ice. "I'm sure he'll love it. He's still human."

"I don't know," Amanda said, slicing cucumbers. "All Vulcans learn how to swim, because it's important to know what to do if you get stranded in water, but every time he came home from swimming lessons he would be in a sour mood." 

"Vulcans can have sour moods?"

"Only if you know them very well, and only if they're not fully Vulcan." She stuffed the cucumbers in a bag and put them in the cooler. "Either way, I'm just hoping he'll enjoy-" she paused as she saw Spock standing in the doorway. "Good morning, Spock." 

"Good morning, mother." He walked over and looked inside the cooler. "Where are we going?" Amanda placed another small bag of food into the cooler before shutting and latching it. 

"We're headed to the beach for the day. When we come home we'll have some time to do some studying, okay?" Spock furrowed his eyebrows. He thought that going to the beach would be a great waste of time, but he supposed he could examine some wildlife. With a nod, he turned to Blake. 

"Good morning, Uncle. Are you preparing breakfast?" Blake shook his head and took a sip from the glass in his hand. 

"We'll pick up something on the way out. We didn't want to do dishes." Spock raised his eyebrows, confused. "Your mum says you haven't got a swimsuit, so we'll stop by a store to pick one up, we'll grab food, and then we'll take a trip up north. There's a huge lake only a half hour from here." 

Amanda handed the cooler to Blake and grabbed a bag from the counter. After running through a checklist, she nodded and ushered the boys out of the house. They picked up swimsuits and made their way out of town. Blake kept trying to make conversation with Spock on the way to the lake, but it was stilted and awkward. After a while, he sighed and went silent. When they were getting close to the lake, the car switched to manual driving. On seldom used roads, manual driving was still necessary. 

Spock took a few pictures of different kinds of flora and fauna on the way. As they got further out into the country, and farther away from traffic, he noted there was a substantial increase in wildlife. When they were finally parked at a large sandy spot, he got out of the car and took a few more photographs. 

Amanda and Blake laid out a blanket with their things. "I can't believe we're the only people here," she said, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hands. 

"It's still a little early in the year to go swimming. It'll be pretty cold."

"A little polar bearing never hurt anyone." Amanda smiled at Spock. "Come on, you can study marine life better when you're in the water." 

"Would my being in the water not disturb the marine life?" Amanda shook her head and waved for him to come in. She moved waist deep into the water and started doing a weird shuffling motion. Spock watched her, his toes just barely touching the water's edge. After a few seconds, she pulled up a big rock looking thing. 

"This is a mussel," she said. "This one is a fresh water." Spock looked on from the water's edge, leaning forward and squinting to get a better look. "Oh, just come into the water, Spock. What are you so afraid of?"

"Vulcan's don't feel fear, mother." Spock stared into the water for a few seconds, before slowly wading out. "I fail to see the appeal. I'm just a bit wetter and colder than I was earlier. Could you not have just brought it to me?" Amanda shrugged and handed him the mollusk. Spock took a picture of it and studied it carefully.