"Well, I guess you get to follow up today, Mr. Spock," McCoy said. "She will should be awake in about 15 minutes. Until then, it would help to know exactly what you did to her a month ago."
Spock hesitated only slightly, but after a deep breath and an almost-sigh, he spoke. "I already stated, Doctor, that I suppressed the memories of her attack just far enough to keep her out of shock. She was in a severely dissociative state when she was returned to the cell where we were held. I was not sure if she would have been able to withstand that state until we returned to the Enterprise. At that time, I did not know when we would be back on board for her injuries to be treated."
"And you didn't follow up?"
"I was — unsure how to approach her after we were back on board. I was confined to sickbay longer than expected, and by the time I was released, Lt. Torres was back on duty."
McCoy sighed and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. The anger he had previously held slowly dissipated as Spock explained himself. "Well, Spock, I don't blame your motives, but even you have to admit that afterward you really screwed the pooch." Spock raised his eyebrows at this, and almost explained that he was never involved with a canine in such a way, but McCoy just waved his hand dismissing the statement, and further explained, "That means you messed up big time. Now, you have to make it right. She is in a fragile state right now, and I think that she has at least some measure of trust with me, so I want to be there when you explain the situation to Madeline."
"Agreed, Doctor."
"I think I have enough time for her to wake up to take those bandages off," Dr. McCoy said, finally eying the wraps on the Vulcan's hands.
"Doctor McCoy, that would be most agreeable," said Spock. Leonard momentarily saw a flash of relief cross Spock's face, but as soon as he saw it, it was already gone. He made quick work of removing the dressings, and soon enough, Spock was flexing his hands.
"Well, are you ready to face the piper?" Dr. McCoy asked as they walked back to Lt. Torres's bedside.
"Doctor, surely you are not attempting to classify me as a rodent."
"Shut up, Spock! I'm waking her up right now. You don't need to scare her out of her wits before you even get started!"
Spock raised an eyebrow at the doctor, but he wisely decided not to give another retort at the nearly murderous look on the doctor's face.
Dr. McCoy took a big breath, and pressed a hypo with a very mild stimulant in the Lt.'s neck. Again, he almost got smacked in the face and was almost deafened by a high-pitched scream, but he showed his quick reflexes and avoided her hand from connecting his face. He started speaking her name very quietly and gently touched her hand. "Lt. Torres, it's alright. You're safe here. Lt., wake up. Madeline, you're in the sickbay on the Enterprise." Her eyes opened, and panic momentarily flooded her features, but after another moment of Dr. McCoy's quiet murmurings, she began to calm down.
"I didn't hit you again, did I?" she asked, genuinely concerned, although she was joking somewhat.
"No, not this time, Lt. But, you do have a visitor," he said, as he pointed towards Spock.
"Commander!" she gasped, while attempting to get up and stand at attention.
"Lay down, Lt.!" McCoy yelled out before thinking. Madeline tensed up for a moment, but proceeded to lie back down, with an almost wicked gleam in her eye.
"Doctor, I believe the proper term is 'lie down', not 'lay down'."
Spock, with a similar glint in his eye stated, "Lt., I believe that I was going to state the same thing."
"Oh God, now you're both ganging up on me," the doctor said, while throwing his hands up in the air.
"Commander Spock, I know you didn't just come to help me make Dr. McCoy's life more difficult," she said, eying the Vulcan very carefully.
"Indeed. My visit to sickbay was at first to have the bandages removed from my injuries received on Alpha Generalis IV, but after seeing that you were here, I wished to inquire of your condition," he said, watching Lt. Torres's expression very carefully. Her eyes immediately dulled over, as if she was not even present in the sickbay, and she almost began rocking imperceptibly. Spock looked at the doctor helplessly, but Bones merely mouthed keep talking to her and nodded his head encouragingly. "Lt., I understand that you had some undesirable events happen to you on Alpha Generalis IV. I deeply regret that, but I would regret most of all if you were to allow this event to define who you are and the rest of your life. You are more than what those on that planet deemed you were," he said, almost in a whisper. He was unsure if she had heard him, but he noticed that her gaze wasn't so distant so he kept on speaking. "For you to continue in blaming yourself for this incident is not logical." At this, the green-eyed lieutenant finally came back to the sickbay and started crying, this time silently.
After a short moment, she looked at Spock, "I'm sorry for such an, I imagine for you, uncomfortable display.
"Lt., while emotion is something that I am able to control and suppress, for humans, and specifically for you, it is not a very healthy, or logical. Has today been the first time you have cried since your assault?" he asked.
"It has. Spock?" she started, but was hesitant in finishing her sentence.
"Yes, Lt. Torres, please go ahead."
"Spock, back on that planet, after I was... after they finished interrogating me and was brought back to the cell, there was a moment that you... I staggered, and you helped to steady me," she started, but was unable to finish it.
"So, you felt my invasion," he stated, almost showing shame.
"I didn't really feel it so much as my recent memories were suddenly weren't so... biting and on the forefront. By the time we made it back to the Enterprise, I couldn't remember what happened to me. A few days later, I starting having flashbacks and nightmares. I thought that I was going crazy, because I have had similar flashbacks before, but this time, it was almost like they were still in my head."
"You also have not been eating well. I estimate that since our return from there, you have lost 7.71 kilograms," Spock said.
"I have wanted to eat, but I haven't been able to keep anything down. I can't sleep, either. The nightmares are horrendous. They are worse than nightmares, as it is as if every detail has been perfectly preserved."
At Madeline's description of her symptoms, Spock nearly blanched. "Spock, what is it?" McCoy asked him, very concerned by the near lack of green in the Vulcan's face.
After taking three breaths to reassume mastery over his emotions, he simply stated. "Lt., I believe that you have been the victim of a forced mind-meld."