Pock's Office and Personal Quarters

Pock quirked an eyebrow. "You should not be asking me that question," she said, her voice laced with the irritation that flooded her mind. "I should be asking it of you. It was you that Ambassador Ferrus saw fit to insult with unfair and incorrect accusations of a highly offensive nature. Not I. I was merely accused of being exploited sexually, as if I were not wholly and completely in control of every aspect of my romantic and sexual entanglements."

There was a bitterness that crept into her tone the more she spoke.

Jim sighed. Why was everyone pissy? He didn't understand. He stepped forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. "He shouldn't have said that. Which is why I wanted to make sure you were okay." He met her eyes. "So are you? Because you have every right to report what he said. The Federation doesn't take well to their Ambassadors being sexist assholes."

Her eyes bore into his.

"No," Pock said finally, her voice wrung taut with suppressed emotion and forced stoicism. "I am not. And I cannot fathom why you are. He accused you not only of being undeserving of your position but also of being so ill of character that you would exploit an officer of lower ranking for your own sexual gratification with no respect for her emotional well-being. How can you be so dismissive of such remarks?"

He sighed again, this one the sigh of someone who should have realized that his question would lead to this line of conversation. "Because it's not the first time it's happened and it won't be the last. You just have to ignore it because you know the truth." He shrugged. "Is there anything I can do?" He wanted to make things better. He wanted them to forget what Ferrus had said.

Pock met his eyes and held them for what seemed like a hundred years. This was not the first time. This was not the last. He had said it, and for the first time, she felt it. This would not be the last time she felt this rage on his behalf. This was not the first time someone had thrust such vile filth at his feet. It made her heart sink.

"Yes," she said finally. Her irises were aflame. "You can assure me that you do not believe for one moment that you are undeserving of the Enterprise." Her hand raised to rest upon his cheek, and a joking smirk raised at the corner of her mouth. "And you can consider yourself assured that if you ever did exploit me sexually, I would have you decommissioned as quickly as mortally conceivable, and quite possibly assassinated."

He held his breath while she stared into his eyes. When she spoke, he let out his breath in a little laugh. Jim leaned into her hand slightly. "I don't believe any of what Winston Ferrus said." He pressed a kiss to Pock's forehead. "And I have no doubt that you would. You're a force of nature and anyone willing to cross you deserves what they get, kitten."

Pock chuckled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Endeavor to keep that fact close to the forefront of your mind, ashayam," she half-murmured, half-purred.

His arms went around her waist, pulling her in close. "I'll attempt to do so," he murmured in her ear. He held her close. He was still fighting his own temper about what Ferrus had said about Pock. It helped that he knew that she was more than capable of defending herself.

The silence drew on for a few more moments. It was broken by Jim saying, "Are you okay now?"

Pock sighed, smirking up at her consort. "Indeed," she said. "I am. And becoming more so with each passing moment in your presence."

Jim pressed another kiss to her forehead. "Good. We should get up to the Bridge soon. We're dropping Ferrus off in a couple hours, so after that, he'll be out of our hair."