“Hi. My name’s Jim,” the blond haired Terran boy with the startling blue eyes spoke first. His gaze skittered across the room, anywhere but landing on Spock. The Terran boy was dressed in little more than rags and was so thin Spock could see bones sticking out in places.

“Spock.”

The boy, Jim, nodded. His tongue darted out to trace his lips. “You’re Vulcan?”

“Obviously.” He immediately regretted his harsh tone when he saw the boy flinch. “It is the ears. They give me away,” he said, attempting to inject humor into his tone.

The gaze flittered again and then landed on Spock at last, eyes widening.

“Come. My home is not far. You can have a warm bath, put on clean clothes, and have something to eat.”

For a long time, Jim just stared. Then there was just the barest lip tremble. “Yeah?”

“Yes, Jim. Come. You are safe.”Spock barely knew this boy, but he knew he would make sure no one would hurt him again.