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Christine wasn't sure how much time she had spent standing in the corridor, frozen by the panel Spock had caved in with his fist. She kept hearing distant clicks and scraping noises, her mind was still keen on torture it seemed.
Nurse Chapel gazed along the corridor where she had last seen him, hoping against all odds that he would re-appear, but she knew that was foolish. Spock wasn't coming back.
"Woah."
The voice startled her and she leapt backwards away from the intrusion, adrenaline flooding her system. Turns out she was still a little jumpy after being terrorised by the gorn.
Go figure.
She saw the blue shirt first, followed it up to a moustache and knew who had scared the hell out of her - George Samuel Kirk.
He held up his hands, managing a nervous smile. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."
Chapel wasn't one to mince words at the best of times, but after the day she'd had? There was no way she wasn't snapping at this man.
"I'm not the one you should be apologising to."
Sam took a sharp inhale of breath and he started to stumble over a response. Nurse Chapel didn't give him the chance.
She stalked towards him, cornering Sam both literally and figuratively. "Lieutenant Commander Spock? You know, the guy you attacked in that frozen death trap, my friend."
"You owe him an apology." She added fiercely, jaw tightening as she leaned forward into Kirk's space.
Christine ended up pretty much looming over the Lieutenant.
Sam swallowed heavily, eyes darting this way and that for an exit. "I'll admit I may have gone a little far but-"
"But nothing." Chapel snapped, releasing a quick disgusted snort. "What you said was horrible and borderline racism."
That shut him up.
Christine forced herself to take a calming breath, resolved to get something through this guy's thick skull.
"Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean he doesn't feel."
Her gaze wandered to the substantial dent in the wall, how Spock had managed to mangle metal she did not know. "Some Vulcans feel more deeply than humans."
"Spock did that?" Kirk gasped, suitably in awe at the proof of Spock's outburst.
Christine didn't deem the question worthy of a reply. She squared her shoulders and tapped one hand against her crossed arms. "I suggest you go and work on an apology, and if I hear you haven't apologised by tomorrow-"
"You won't," Sam promised gravely, hands held up and head bowed - the picture of contrition. "I crossed a line, Spock didn't deserve that."
Christine kept the surprise off her face, perhaps Kirk did have the capacity to be better. She grunted an acknowledgement and turned on her heel before anyone else crossed her path, she didn't have it in her to fight any more battles that day. Even the ones worth fighting.