Memory
Summary: Memories escape him after the Fal-Tor-Pan.
Rating: G
Archiving Information: Please, not archiving without my permission.
Can you imagine waking up, surrounded by strangers, all of them telling you who you are and who they are, but none of them making any sense? They told me what I'd done, all I'd risked. I looked at the man beside me, the man who they tried to hold back, and keep from talking to me. They told me soon I would remember everything again, that this was just a temporary side effect of the Fal-Tor-Pan. I didn't say anything. The only face I recognized was the one of the stranger in the bed next to me. He spoke more adamantly, demanded to know who all these people were and what was going on. Two young women helped me to my feet. One of them whispered that I was very brave and had done the right thing. The other one of told her how illogical her statement was. I looked at that girl. Something about her statement was very familiar.
"Logic isn't everything." I told her. She and the other girl looked at me as though I was very foolish, or perhaps senile.
"Logic is an integral part of who we are, sir. You will remember that in short order."
"Before or after I remember who I am?"
"I cannot say, sir."
A firm hand landed on my shoulder. Both women looked at the man who had stopped me, and as if in deference to him, let me go. I did not recognize him.
"Do you remember me?"
"No." I stated. "But I don't remember anything."
"You will. Until then, know that I am Sarek."
"That's nice. Do I know you, sir?"
The man sighed, but only just barely. "It is of little importance. Before you go among your friends, I would have you know that… I thank you for what you did for my son, Doctor."
I blinked. "Spock? Is he alright?"
"He will be. It is fortuitous that you remember him, at least."
"How could I forget that green-blooded Vulcan?"
"You might choose your words more carefully when in the company of green-blooded Vulcans, Doctor McCoy." His words were reproachful, but he seemed almost amused by my faux pas.
I turned and walked toward my friends, slowly remembering all that really mattered. The Fal-Tor-Pan, Spock's katra, the Enterprise, and by the time I stood in front of Jim, all the little tid-bits and snippets of my life. I remembered that I had risked not just my career, but my sanity and my very life by going on this fool's errand… And that I didn't regret a facet of it.