CATCH-ALL FOR JANUARY; OPEN

[dow]

Characters: Spock/OTA
Date: Catch-all for January.
Location: Anywhere.
Situation: TBA.

Feel free to start a thread here (with the date in the header) or pm/pp for a specific scene and I'll set it up.

Comments

[dow]

[ A nod of assent and he leads the way out, taking the initiative to talk about anything but himself and the nightmares, along with the fact he remains genuinely concerned for her well-being. ]

Is there a specific reason for your restlessness?

[parallels]

Bad dreams. I guess they're spreading around the house like a bad cold.

[She shrugs. It's been months and she's used to them now. She goes over and pulls a teacup from the cupboard and pours him some tea before handing the cup to him.]

[dow]

[ He accepts the cup and holds it in both hands where he leans back against the counter, blowing on the tea as he thinks. If Eridan had found him, Spock is fairly certain that after the fit the young troll threw when Spock abjectly refused to discuss Pon Farr, things would not be going as smoothly as they are with Clara. With Jack? Yes. Jack is respectful to the point of being tentative, just as confidential as Spock in his own weathered way.

But Clara is someone he can confide in to the degree of letting her see him weakened by emotion, and come back from it without appearing less than he feels he ought to be.

He misses Nyota terribly, with a sudden ache in his chest. ]

Though I would prefer not to discuss the nature of mine, I am willing to listen if you wish to talk.

[ It isn't as if anyone is going to bed any time soon. ]

[parallels]

[Clara watches him for a few seconds, as if worried he might suddenly collapse or suffer some other sort of ailment before she turns to the tea in her own mug. It's gone a little cold in the time it took her to sort out the incident with Spock so she dumps it out and pours herself a new cup and settles herself at the Kitchen bar.]

Does anyone really want to talk about their nightmares?

[She cocks an eyebrow before staring down into her tea.]

It's complicated. Really complicated. Involving all sorts of backstory and time travel and impossible things

[dow]

[ Turning to face her as she settles on the bar, he keeps his hands around his cup as it rests on the counter, straightening his back almost unconsciously. ]

When you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. I take you at your word — and I am patient.

[parallels]

Can't argue with that logic.

[She twists her fingers through the handle of the cup, thinking deeply.]

My friend, the Doctor, was dying. Someone had interfered in his timestream and was trying to kill him in the past, stopping him from saving everyone, everything. So...I jumped in after him. To save the Doctor. But I got torn apart. Ended up with pieces of myself scattered across the universe. I couldn't remember who I was. Only living and dying in other places.

[dow]

[ That ... is certainly not what he expected to hear, but he merely cocks his head as he listens to the sad description. It sends a shiver down his spine when he remembers the recurring nightmare, cast into space by his own mother, though his attention remains acutely on Clara. ]

Is this a parody of actual events or unsubstantiated?

[parallels]

...It happened.

It happened to me. It was all real.

[She replies, suddenly defensive, as if Spock were questioning her state of mind or recollection.]

[dow]

[ Spock, for his part, merely nods and accepts her word, like he said he would. ]

Then I am sorry you went through such an ordeal, Clara.

[parallels]

It's alright, I don't regret it. I'd do it again to save the Doctor. And the rest of the universe. A hundred times over.

[Her voice is quiet, but firm. She doesn't feel any regret only the repercussions.]

[dow]

The Doctor was your priority. [ Asked like a question but not, trying to gauge the Doctor's worth to her. Family? A lover? A friend? All understandable reasons for — well. ] And you did not ... reassemble, until you arrived here?

[parallels]

[A quiet nod in answer to both questions.]

The Doctor found me in the depths of his time stream, helped me remember, I passed out and I was here.

[dow]

[ He would like to meet this Doctor, he thinks. A powerful being. From what Spock has heard of him, also very honorable. ]

He moves throughout time so easily?

[parallels]

He's a Time Lord in a time machine. Comes with the business I suppose.

[Her lips quirk into a small smile.]

[dow]

That is a unique ability indeed, for anyone to possess.

[ But to own it so completely as to become a 'Doctor' of it, that speaks volumes about how long the being must have been doing it. Or perhaps it was a natural inclination, there are certainly those out there with the power to move through time, that much he does not doubt in the slightest. 'A Time Machine'? A machine with the ability to navigate it, rather. Ways and means. Not always for the best, though he keeps that opinion to himself in the wake of Clara's confession.

Spock sips his tea. ]

How did you meet this Time Lord?

[parallels]

He came to my door and asked me to come away with him. I told him to bugger off and slammed the door in his face

[She laughs a little at the memory though she was completely justified in doing so.]

He'd met another me, one of the echoes from the time stream, and came to find me.

[dow]

A reasonable response. [ To anyone asking a stranger to elope with them. ] What did he want with you?

[parallels]

I thought so.

[She cocks her head. It's such a strange tale, really.]

He was friends with the other me. But she died. But he connected her to me in London in 2013 and came to find me to see if I was the same girl.

[dow]

Fascinating. He created a predestination paradox, then? Having met you, he then decided he wanted to make sure you met him because he met the other you first.

[ TIME. Shenanigans aplenty. ]

[parallels]

Something like that.

[She's an English teacher, timey-wimey stuff is way beyond her.]

But he didn't know about the connection at the time. To him, he'd just met the same girl twice.

[dow]

It is possible to accidentally create such a phenomena. [ Spock studies Clara, gauging her reactions. ] When you return, it is likely you will reawaken when and where you left your world. Does that bring you comfort, to know you will see him again?

[parallels]

[She darts her eyes to her tea, like she's slightly embarrassed about her feelings. Which she is. She's never been good at opening up, even just a small crack to let a little out. It's unsettlingly vulnerable.]

Yeah.

I miss him.

[dow]

[ He will never understand the myriad traits that humans exhibit. Pleased but reticent, comforted and unsettled — excited? There are so many nuances that it must be exhausting to carry around on a daily basis, additives and prerequisites for every tiny little comment.

But Spock knows affection, has done since he was a child and tried to ignore its pull. ]

Do you love him?

[parallels]

[At the question, her nose crinkles and she narrows her eyes. While also praying she isn't blushing or showing any outwards signs that might answer Spock's question.]

Bit personal, isn't it? Why I am being interviewed here. [She sniffs.] What about you and Lieutenant Uhura?

[dow]

[ Frowning at her sudden change in demeanor, he arches a cool brow that almost lets her know he has enough information to infer a real answer. Evasion doesn't really help her cause, but as it isn't a subject that he's at all eager to understand (passing curiosity), Spock obliges Clara's sudden verbal parry. ]

Your point is made. [ Nobody wants to talk about Feelings here, no matter how genuine; somewhat because of the strength of them it's mildly shameful. ] We need not discuss this subject if it causes you to feel uncomfortable.

[ Because Vulcans never feel uncomfortable when asked if they love people. Not at all. Is is hardly surprising my father did not answer this question for most of my life. ]