Captain Larabee never felt guilty when he made snap judgments about people, because he was usually right.

He didn't like Lieutenant Charlotte Richmond the minute he set eyes on her, although he had no good reason. She was only on the Maverick temporarily, a personnel transfer from the fleet admiral's staff to the USS Yaeger, so he shouldn't have even given her a second thought.

But something about her spelled trouble the minute she stepped off the transporter pads.

His navigator, Vin Tanner had beamed up with her, having attended a two day training seminar at the command outpost where she had been assigned along with Ensign Dunne. They had obviously met well before beaming up, and something about the way she looked at Vin didn't set well with the Captain.

He was forced to admit he was overprotective of the young Vulcan. Vin was one of a kind - a Vulcan raised as a human - but some people took advantage of his uniqueness to satisfy their own need to feel secure at the expense of someone else, and Vin made a perfect target.

It wasn't that Vin was naive or lacked intelligence. On the contrary, he was very bright and had learned to adapt to harsh reality very early in his life. He'd been found buried in the rubble of a remote science outpost when he was five, and then had survived the crash of a transport that had stranded his adoptive family in an uncharted wilderness where they'd managed on nothing but their wits for 12 years. He'd gotten into Star Fleet Academy because he was technically a ward of Star Fleet since his Vulcan family had never been identified. He had done okay academically, despite the fact that he'd never actually been to school, but socially, Captain Larabee suspected the experience hadn't been a pleasant one. Chris had never asked him about it, but Vin never had stories to tell when the others reminisced about their days at the Academy. In fact, he'd usually leave the room.

Vulcans didn't have much use for Vin, and while the largely human crew of the Maverick accepted him, there were just some things about him that were inherently Vulcan. His ears, for one thing, but he kept those covered with shoulder-length hair. He tended to take what was said to him literally, so he often didn't understand a joke or teasing for what it was. On the other hand, he did have a very unVulcan-like sense of humor, and he smiled and even laughed, something most Vulcans never did.

It was also no secret to Larabee that a number of women in his crew found Vin physically attractive, but if Vin noticed, he never gave any indication of it. Until now, anyway.

His navigator was looking at Lieutenant Richmond with the same rapt fascination he'd had for that three-headed Denebian slime devil Ensign Dunne had found once.

His first officer, Buck Wilmington, nudged him in the ribs. "What's with the elf?" he asked, using the nickname the two older officers used affectionately when referring to the younger.

"You noticed," Larabee laughed. He didn't really think it was funny, because Lieutenant Richmond had 'user' written all over the expression she had turned on Vin.

"If I know the signs, that boy has been bitten by the lust bug," Wilmington joked, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

It appeared that Buck was right, although Chris had a sense of foreboding about the situation. Larabee didn't know how much - if any - experience Vin had with women, and he didn't want to see him hurt. But, there wasn't much he could do about it. Vin was a grown man, and he was the Vulcan's commanding officer, not his big brother or father.

TWO

Lieutenant Richmond had four good-sized canisters containing her belongings as well as a fifth oddly shaped bag that wouldn't fit conveniently onto the anti-gravity slide. She was ruminating over the problem when Vin stepped forward and picked the extra piece of baggage up off the floor.

"I'll carry it for you," he said, trying not to stare too fixedly into her big dark eyes. It wasn't polite to do that, he knew, even though he wanted to stand there and examine in minute detail the tiny folds in the irises and the subtle variation in color resulting from the randomly efficient spacing of the tiny ocular capillaries. They were the prettiest eyes he'd ever seen.

"I can get that," she said.

"Oh.... okay." He dropped the bag back on the floor.

He thought that was what she wanted him to do, but he detected a hint of annoyance in her voice when she added "It is awfully heavy, though. I may have to come back for it."

Shit. Now he didn't know what to do. So, he thought about Buck. Women liked Buck. And he wanted Lieutenant Richmond to like him. So, maybe if he acted like Buck... "No problem, Lieutenant, I got it." He picked the bag up again and she led the way to her temporary stateroom. He probably should have been the one to lead her, since he lived on the Maverick, but if he did that, he couldn't watch her.

He liked the way she walked, her hip joints perfectly articulated in such a way that her gluteus muscles tensed into perfect globes with each step. Her uniform was masterfully tailored to reveal the slim contours of her waist and the smooth line of her hips. Of course, so was his and everyone else's, but somehow, he'd never noticed it before.

Her hair was pretty, too. Longer than his, thick and reflecting several different frequencies of the visible light spectrum, but mostly the color of cinnamon - the real cinnamon his mom used to put in her cinnamon rolls.

He wished he had a cinnamon roll. Maybe he could program the replicator to...

"Here we are," Lieutenant Richmond was saying all of a sudden.

She opened her stateroom and Vin followed her inside. He set the heavy bag down.

She smiled at him. Her tooth enamel was flawless.

"You're stronger than you look," she said, looking him over.

"I don't look strong?" he frowned.

"You look like you could use a good meal."

He frowned again. "The food on the Maverick is nutritionally adequate."

She threw back her head and laughed. It was like the music of the giant purple cormorants on Valix 3.

"You're a strange one," she laughed some more.

Vin wasn't sure what was so funny.

She reached out and touched his hair. Human females seemed to have an infatuation with his hair. It confused him sometimes, but he didn't mind her touching it.

"You're kind of cute, though," she smiled.

He smiled back, but then she went to brush a strand of hair back behind his ears and she stopped cold when she saw what they looked like.

"You're a Vulcan!" she gasped.

"Yes." He felt his face getting hot as she stared at him. He supposed she was surprised to discover he wasn't human. Most people were. Even other Vulcans would be curious about his blue eyes, which were an exceedingly rare genetic aberration among his species.

"Well, you're still cute," she said.

Vin understood that as a compliment, even though he had never been able to quite comprehend why human females often referred to mature, adult males using an adjective otherwise reserved for things that were small and fuzzy, like kittens. "Thank you," was all he could think of to say.

"Maybe you'd like to have dinner with me?"

There was no maybe about it. He wanted to look at her some more. And, he was really hungry. "Sure."

"Give me a half hour or so, to get organized."

Vin understood that she wanted to be alone, for now, but he agreed to come back at the appointed time.

Charlotte Richmond watched the odd young officer as he departed. She hadn't been idly flattering him. He was attractive with his lean, supple body, that long, thick hair, and those big blue eyes. Even the ears weren't unattractive, so long as she wasn't touching them.

She'd never had a Vulcan. She didn't know anyone who had. She'd heard things, but, she told herself, truth was always better than rumor...

Vin knocked on the door of Charlotte's cabin exactly thirty minutes later.

A musical, "Who is it?" floated out of the cabin.

"Lieutenant Tanner," Vin replied, a little uncertainly. He was sure she'd told him to be back in a half an hour, but maybe he had misheard her.

"Why Lieutenant, you're right on time," she said in her honeyed voice when she opened the door.

Vin's mouth dropped open at the sight of Lt. Richmond in a flimsy negligee. She sure was showing a lot of skin. "Aren't you cold?" he asked.

"Lieutenant Tanner, what a thing to say," Charlotte laughed and Vin was reminded of those cormorants again.

He swallowed nervously. "You can call me Vin," he said.

"Come on in, Vin," she said softly and waved her hand airily towards the cabin interior.

"Aren't we going to the officer's mess for dinner?" the Vulcan asked, puzzled.

"I thought we'd eat here, it's much more private," Charlotte said in a low voice that wasn't musical at all. Vin wondered if she was getting a cold. Maybe, he should ask her if she wanted to see Nathan.

He was spared from having to decide, when Charlotte hooked her finger on his uniform and pulled him inside. The door slid shut silently behind him and Vin stood there, not quite sure what to do next.

Charlotte decided that too. She took his hand and led him over to a large comfortable couch. When she sat down, the beautiful lieutenant's negligee parted over her slim legs. Vin realized that the garment had been manufactured with a slit in the front that went up to her hips. If he looked, he thought he would be able to see what Buck would call her 'hidden treasure.' Vin wasn't quite sure why Buck called it that, but he was pretty sure it would be impolite for him to look. And, he didn't want to be impolite, because Ezra said that women didn't like impolite men.

Charlotte leaned over Vin to pick up a glass, making sure that her breasts were no more than a few inches away from the Vulcan's face. "Would you like a drink?" she breathed huskily into his ear, as she slowly sank back into her seat.

"No," Vin said, and then remembered the manners Ezra was always reminding him about and added, ".. uh... thank you." Her voice was very scratchy now, he thought. Opening his mouth to suggest she see Nathan, Vin suddenly found himself with Charlotte pressed up against him and her mouth covering his. To his shock, he realized that she had her tongue in his mouth.

Vin knew what she was doing - kissing him - but, he was suddenly unsure of himself and he leaned back against the arm of the couch trying to get away from her. But the amorous lieutenant took is as a sign of him making himself comfortable and rubbed herself against him. Vin was fascinated by the sight of one full white breast falling completely out of her negligee. He wondered what if it was as soft as it looked and almost without realizing what he was doing, he reached a hand out and brushed his fingertips against it.

Charlotte completely misinterpreted Vin's curious touch. The Vulcan had never been alone with a woman like this and he'd certainly never had a half naked woman crawling all over him. Oh, he'd seen all the films and been through all the classes required at the Academy, but seeing a real woman's breast was a lot different than watching one on a screen.

Charlotte on the other hand, began moaning and rubbing against Vin's body. Both breasts were now out and flopping up and down with Charlotte's movements. She grabbed one of his hands and shoved it under her negligee, between her legs. At the same time, she unfastened the front of Vin's pants.

Vin knew he was supposed to like it when she grabbed his penis, but he didn't, not really, and he was repelled by the thick tongue thrusting in and out of his mouth.

The shocked Vulcan felt moisture from Charlotte's body on his hand and he jerked it out from under her garment and hid it behind his back. With his other hand, he easily pushed her off of him and to the other side of the sofa, even though she was almost the same size he was.

He was much stronger than a human male, but he didn't think that was the reason for the surprised look on Charlotte's face.

Charlotte couldn't believe what had just happened. No man had ever refused her. Looking at Vin hiding his hand behind his back and staring at her open mouthed, Charlotte was struck by an incredible realization. Vulcan's lived much longer than humans and by Vulcan standards, the Lieutenant was pretty young. Could it be true? Narrowing her eyes speculatively she asked him bluntly, "Are you a virgin, Vin?"

His face flushed and he looked down at the floor, nodding his head. This was too good to be true, Charlotte thought predatorily. She was not only going to have a Vulcan, but a virgin Vulcan. None of her friends would ever be able to match this.

"Well, Vin, we'll just have to change that, won't we?" she purred huskily and leaned over and put her hand inside his uniform again and began pulling on his penis. Vin didn't know what to do. He knew that in order to have sex, his penis would have to become engorged and stiff. And he thought that what Charlotte was doing was supposed to trigger an increased flow of blood to the flaccid organ and make it become erect. However, all Charlotte was succeeding in doing by tugging on it like that was making it sore.

"Uhm, Charlotte, I don't think it's going to work," Vin said hesitantly.

"Of course it will work," Charlotte laughed her musical laugh again and Vin remembered why he had wanted to be around her.

"I don't think so," Vin said doubtfully. "I read about this and I saw the films. I think maybe, I have to get as old as you for this to work."

Charlotte glared at him. He'd seen that look before, usually before someone hit him. He self-consciously began closing his fly.

"As old as me?" she hissed like a Texas rattler. "How dare you? What the hell's the matter with you?" Her naked breasts heaved and her legs were open, giving Vin a very clear view of her 'hidden treasure.'

Vin knew he'd said something wrong, whatever it was, and thought he should say something to calm her down. "Charlotte, I know that women your age --"

Vin got no further, before, sure enough, she hit him. "Women, my age? How dare you!? What's the matter with you, you freak? Men want me," she informed him furiously. "The only men who don't want me are the kind who want other men. You like boys don't you? That's why you spend so much time with Ensign Dunne. Oh my God, the first Vulcan I've ever met and he turns out to be a faggot." Charlotte began laughing derisively and rearranging her negligee to cover her nudity.

"Of course I like boys," Vin replied defensively. "JD is my friend."

"You stupid freak. Get the hell out of here!" Charlotte demanded and laughed again. "Just wait until I tell everyone about the faggot Vulcan on the Maverick.

Vin's face was burning when he left Charlotte's room. He didn't understand at all why she had reacted so angrily. Dejectedly, he made his way back to his cabin.

Vin couldn't figure out what he'd done wrong. He wandered to his cabin to wash his hands. As he was washing up he looked at himself in the mirror. Why was Lieutenant Richmond so interested in the fact that he was a virgin and a Vulcan? There wasn't anything special about him being a Vulcan; as a matter of fact he would have preferred not to be. That's why he wore his hair long enough to cover his ears. What really confused him was why he didn't feel anything when Charlotte was squeezing and stroking him. He knew that he was supposed to feel some sort of response but he had felt nothing. There had to be something wrong, at judging from Charlotte's reaction, the problem was him.

Vin decided he didn't want to stay in his cabin alone and headed for Ten Forward. He didn't pass anyone on the way to the lounge, which was fine with him; he just wasn't good at the form of communication called 'small talk.' Vin told people what needed to be said and that was it. He walked into Ten Forward and was glad Chris and the others weren't there.

Inez noticed the quiet Vulcan walk in and head for his usual table. The table was tucked in the corner separated from everyone. Inez figured the designers made it for couples who wanted to be alone. No one ever used it except Vin. He liked to come into the bar and watch people, but he rarely interacted with them. Inez was wiping down the bar as he walked by. From the look on his face she knew something was bothering him. Vin had a very expressive face for a Vulcan. She let him get settled then went to take his order.

"Hello, Vin, can I get you anything?" Inez asked.

"Huh?" Vin said with a puzzled look.

"Can I get you anything?" she smiled.

"Oh yeah, sorry," Vin answered. "I'd like a hot fudge sundae with chocolate ice cream and extra hot fudge."

"Want some whipped cream and a cherry?"

"Yeah and those chocolate pieces on top."

"Sprinkles?" Inez asked with a smile.

Vin nodded and Inez left to fill his order. She knew something was bothering Vin. He only ordered a double chocolate sundae with the works when he was upset or confused. She programmed the replicator and it delivered a perfect sundae. She brought it to him and Vin thanked her politely. Inez walked back to the bar and helped other customers.

Vin pushed the cherry off to the side to save for last and began to eat the sundae. He thought better when he was eating one of these. Vin went over the evening in his mind trying to remember everything Buck and Ezra said when they had dates. While he was thinking he mixed the hot fudge and the ice cream together until it was a gooey mass before beginning to eat. The only thing Vin could think of was he forgot the flowers. Ezra said a gentleman always brought a lady flowers...

Vin sighed. That couldn't be why Charlotte was mad at him. He wanted to please her and was willing to have sex but nothing happened when he'd tried. That was what had made her mad. Then she had gotten madder when he said JD was his friend. Maybe there was something wrong with him? He hated to bother Nathan and decided he would do his own research in his cabin. He finished the sundae and walked out.

+ + + + + + +

Chris was worried about Vin. He had looked up Richmond's Starfleet record and what he'd found told him that nothing good would come of Vin's infatuation with her. She always seemed to be transferred off a ship following an investigation of sexual misconduct. Nothing had ever been proven, but the allegation was always the same. The woman was a tramp.

Chris knew Vin was inexperienced with women. Hell he was inexperienced with most social situations. Being marooned on a deserted planet for 12 years didn't prepare someone to deal with the likes of Lieutenant Richmond, and Vin's naivete and curiosity could be a deadly mix at times.

No one had seen the Vulcan all day but that wasn't unusual for Vin. It was his day off and Vin sometimes would spend hours in the holodeck. He usually showed up for dinner in the officer's mess but he hadn't been there tonight.

Then again, it wasn't required that the officers eat there and Chris admonished himself for worrying. Being the Captain of a Starship had its drawbacks. One of them was worrying about the crew. He didn't want to see Vin hurt and he had a bad feeling about Lieutenant Richmond.

The next day Vin was as confused as ever. He'd spent the night going over everything he could find on human sexuality. By morning he still didn't have an answer. He turned off the computer and jumped in the sonic shower. When he was done, he dressed and headed for the bridge. Five of Captain Larabee's 'magnificent seven' had bridge duty and Vin usually enjoyed that, but not today. He didn't want them asking any questions about Charlotte that he couldn't answer. He arrived on the bridge to find he was the first to get there. He relieved the navigator on duty and took her place. Vin was absorbed in running a diagnostic he didn't notice Commander Wilmington and Ensign Dunne come on the bridge.

"Mornin', Vin," Buck said.

"What?" Vin asked looking up.

"I said mornin' " Buck smiled.

"Mornin'," Vin answered then went back to what he was doing.

Buck looked at JD and he shrugged. Ensign Dunne turned to his console and checked everything out. Buck picked up the duty log from the shift before him but found nothing noteworthy. Chris and Ezra walked on the bridge together and went to their respective positions. Chris watched Vin busily doing a diagnostic of his station - three times. Finally, he turned to Chris to report.

"Navigation reports all secure, Sir," Vin announced.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Chris said.

Vin quickly turned back to his console not looking at any of them. Buck turned to Ezra and saw the security chief had a devious smile on his face. He was about to mention Lieutenant Richmond when she arrived on the bridge draped on the arm of Lieutenant James from Life Sciences. James was also a transient, but his uncle controlled the financial affairs of most of the sector, so he thought that gave him special privileges.

They were running routine readings on the planet that was filling the ships view screen, and the Captain hadn't thought to make the bridge off-limits to observers.

Richmond's laughter caused Vin to look up. When the Vulcan saw her he just stared. Charlotte gave him a withering look and Vin turned back to his console trying to hide the blush that spread over his cheeks. Buck watched as Chris's eyes went cold and knew there was going to be trouble. He knew Chris would never make a scene on the bridge but he didn't want to be in the lieutenant's shoes later. Vin tried to ignore Charlotte but he just couldn't. Lieutenant James whispered something to her and she laughed again. Vin sank down in his chair and tried to become invisible.

"Lieutenants, you're on the bridge now," Chris warned. "We conduct ourselves differently here."

"Yes Sir," Lieutenant James said quickly, but a bit too smart-assed.

"We're sorry Sir," Richmond said, turning on the false charm. "We meant no harm. Besides you can't always be so stuffy."

"Lieutenant," Chris growled. "you will conduct yourself as a Starfleet officer on my bridge or you can leave."

"Yes Sir," Charlotte said knowing she couldn't win against the Captain.

Chris was furious. He wanted to take the Lieutenant and throw her out an airlock. He saw how Vin tried not to watch her as she walked around the bridge with Lieutenant James. She knew Vin was watching and would lean into the other man just to see what reaction she would get from him.

The only reaction Chris could see from Vin was one of confusion and hurt. Chris looked at his other officers and he knew they saw it too. JD was looking at Buck, wondering what they could do to get back at her. Ezra looked like he wanted to rip her eyes out.

Chris sighed. This was going to be a long shift.

After an hour of her tittering and smirking looks, Captain Larabee had asked Lieutenant Richmond to leave the bridge. As a guest on board the ship, she had no reason to be there, and he had allowed her to observe merely as a courtesy. The Lieutenant obviously didn't know the meaning of the word.

Everyone could see that the only reason she was there was to try to get under Vin's skin, and that fact was so transparent that after awhile, even Lieutenant James began to grow uncomfortable in her presence, especially since the rest of the bridge crew was clearly not amused.

Things came to a head when Vin, distracted by her behavior, had missed a course correction, which was something he never, ever did. Ensign Dunne caught the discrepancy, and turned to both Richmond and James and said, "Do ya mind? Some people are trying to work, here!" in a tone of voice that he shouldn't have used to address officers of a higher rank. Larabee knew he could write the kid up, but he also knew JD was aware of that and had voiced his opinion, anyway, willing to take the consequences. He'd let it slide.

After they had gone, Vin sat dejectedly at his console, rubbing his forehead. Larabee rose from his command chair to stand behind the navigator. He put a strong, reassuring hand at the back of his neck. He didn't ask Vin if he was feeling okay, because that was one lie Vin would tell.

"Vin, go to your cabin and rest awhile."

"I'm not tired," Vin said. Which was true. His head felt funny and so did his chest and his stomach, even though he wasn't actually sick, but, he wasn't tired.

"Do it, anyway," Chris said.

Vin turned the navigation console over to JD and left the bridge.

Back in his cabin, he turned the heat up and put on some music so the room didn't feel so empty. It wasn't Vulcan music. He didn't like Vulcan music.

He looked at himself in the mirror again, and wondered what other people saw when they looked at him. He had no idea. When he was little, his mom would tell him he was as cute as a bug's ear, and he'd liked it when she said that, but he never knew what it meant. Bugs didn't have ears, and he wasn't little any more, so the description was probably no longer accurate, anyway.

What confused him was not knowing what it was about him that had made him react - or fail to react - to Charlotte. He thought she was pretty, or at least he had. He wasn't so sure now. But the problem hadn't been that he didn't find her attractive.

When he was 10 or 11, his dad had told him how humans procreated, and even though he didn't know about Vulcans, he'd told Vin he figured it was probably the same for them, since Vin had all the 'right parts.' Then at the Academy, he'd heard of Spock, the science officer on the legendary Enterprise, who'd had a Vulcan father and a human mother, so he knew it was possible for him to be with a human female. He had just assumed that when it did happen, all those 'right parts' he had would work like they were supposed to.

He'd been really dumb, and had been left with questions no one could answer. It would do him no good to look up Vulcan sexuality. He'd tried it before. Vulcans didn't even speak of such things, let alone write them down.

He took off his uniform and crawled into bed, hoping that a nap would make his head and stomach not feel so funny.

The others knew something had happened between him and Lieutenant Richmond. They were all very perceptive, in that way humans could understand such things without being told. He'd always envied that ability, but right then, he wished the whole business with Charlotte would just go away. For the first time ever, he wished he was anywhere but on the Maverick. Not that he had anywhere else to go. There hadn't been any other place for him to call home since his mom and dad had died. Legally, he was the heir to their family land in Texas, but, it wasn't the same without them. One day, he'd go back, but for now, visiting would only make him sad.

Sad. Vulcan's weren't supposed to feel sad. They weren't supposed to feel anything...

He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he was aware of was JD knocking on the door.

He tapped the console next to the bed to unlock it. The Ensign entered and immediately stripped off his outer shirt so he wore only his black tee-shirt. JD never complained about how hot he kept his room, he just accepted it was Vin's room and adapted to it. It was one of the reasons Vin liked him.

The Ensign headed straight for the replicator and got himself a soft drink and some donuts before he sat down on the foot of the bed.

"Did the captain send you?" Vin asked.

"Nope. Came by myself," JD answered, and offered Vin a donut.

Vin took one. He wasn't really hungry. His stomach still felt funny.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, Vin nibbling his donut while JD inhaled three of the confections.

That ritual out of the way, JD looked at him, his expression serious. "You wanna talk about it, Vin?"

Vin looked up at him. "About what?"

"Whatever happened between you and Lieutenant Richmond."

"What makes you think anything happened?"

JD looked down at his drink, not sure he should answer.

"JD?"

"Casey told me."

Vin's eyes narrowed. "Told you what?!"

JD could tell when the Vulcan was mad. He put his hands up defensively. "Lieutenant Richmond is sayin' stuff to people. Casey thought you oughta know."

"Then why did she tell you and not me?!"

JD had to think quick. He shrugged casually. "Because maybe she figured you'd talk to another guy before you'd talk to her."

Vin got up from bed. He wanted to kick something, but there really wasn't anything in his stateroom to kick, so he just paced.

JD sensed that the Vulcan's stress level had just risen by a factor of about ten. "Vin, you want to go to the holodeck? Run one of the combat programs?"

Vin shook his head. The mood he was in at the moment, he was afraid he might actually hurt JD if they did that. Maybe he'd go eat another chocolate sundae, this time with some brownies in it.

He sat back down on the bed, facing JD, and took some deep breaths until he was calmer.

He didn't look his friend in the eye when he spoke. He was too embarrassed. "JD... have you ever... you know..."

"Ever what?"

"Had sex."

Vin's bluntness took JD by surprise. "Uh... sure...," he stammered. "Lots of times."

Vin looked up from under his shaggy bangs. He didn't say anything, he just stared.

"Okay, " JD corrected himself. "A few times."

Vin kept staring. Damned Vulcan couldn't tell a lie, but you couldn't lie to him, either. JD averted his gaze. "Twice," he admitted.

Vin pulled his knees up and rested his chin on them, wrapping his arms around his bare legs.

To JD, Vin didn't look any different from a human male, except for his ears, which you usually couldn't see anyway. He was kinda skinny, but anyone who though he wasn't strong learned their mistake really fast if they tried anything with him. JD supposed women found the Vulcan good-looking. Casey did, anyway, although she had also said she thought Vin was 'strange.'

"So, was it easy?" Vin asked.

JD didn't understand the question. "Huh?"

"Did you know what you were supposed to do?"

JD held back his first instinct, which was to laugh at Vin's question. He realized Vin was serious.

"Well, ya don't really gotta know that, Vin. It comes sorta natural once you get started." And as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to bite his tongue off for saying them, because Casey had told him what Lieutenant Richmond had told her and some other women - that Vin either wouldn't, couldn't or didn't know how.

But Vin just looked down again and said, "Oh."

JD didn't know what to say to his friend. This whole subject was just too damned embarrassing. He took the easy way out. "Vin, maybe you should talk to Nathan."

Vin looked at him. "I ain't sick."

"Well, you ain't happy, either. If it bothers you, see if there ain't something he can do to... you know... fix it."

He expected the Vulcan to get angry, but he just nodded his head. "I'll think about it."

JD stood up and grabbed his shirt. "Wanna go have some dinner?"

Vin shook his head. "Maybe later."

JD pulled his shirt on. He wasn't going to push Vin, but as he reached for the door, he turned back to look at the other officer. "Vin, I know sometimes you don't know about stuff... but what Lieutenant Richmond did... tellin' everyone like that... That was just mean."

Vin crawled back under his covers. "'Least everyone had a good laugh."

JD shook his head. "No Vin. No one who matters is laughing. Remember that."