Title: The Long Walk Home

Summary: Spock has been involved with Uhura for the entirety of their 5-year mission; now that the Enterprise is coming home secrets from that relationship are coming to light. Damaged in ways he cannot understand, Spock has nowhere to turn. Dr. McCoy has also been hurting, but the southern boy in him can't stand on the sidelines and watch Spock suffer. Can the broken find healing in each other?

Written by request for BlackMetalHeart

Chapter Playlist:

End of My Rope – Trapt

She Loves Me Not - Papa Roach

I Am Nothing – Katatonia

City Traffic Puzzle – The Hush Sound

Mary Come Outside – Christian Kane

Disclaimer: I feel a bit like J.K. Rowling, every installment keeps getting longer than the last. I don't know if I'll be keeping it up though, even Rowling started backing off by book five. My book five may be chapter four. We'll see.

I was a little delayed in posting this because I moved! I live in FL now. I am in the midst of unpacking as we speak. I thought I'd just take the time to pop on here and update.

[EDIT 7-19-2011] – Quick cleanup, I was reading these the other day and noticed some errors. Highly unlikely I'll catch 'em all, but I figure it's worth a try.

….

Chapter Three

Spock blinked, gradually becoming more aware of his surroundings with each movement of his eyelids. The air he inhaled smelled sterile with an after bite that was metallic. He must be in sickbay; the oxygen scrubbers on that deck had an additional cycle to try to prevent the spread of any airborne viruses or dangerous bacteria to the rest of the ship. A side-effect of that extra cycle was that the air seemed staler on the medical deck than it did anywhere else on the ship.

The Vulcan opened his eyes completely and sat upright. He had been lying on a low bed welded to the left wall of a small room, six feet wide and ten feet long. The bed was against a long wall, with a door at the end of the room to his right; the wall to his left was bare. At the foot of the bed a small desk and a light weight chair had been placed. Three of the walls, including the one the bed was attached to, were painted a soft blue color. The long wall opposite the bed was holographic and was currently displaying a coastal landscape, with waves gently crashing on a white sandy shore.

Spock swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He knew he was on the medical deck, but he could not recall having ever been in such a room before and was not entirely sure what it was used for. He mentally reviewed his knowledge of the deck layout. Sick bay itself took the majority of the space on the deck and the remaining area consisted of the operating chamber, storage, research laboratories, the morgue, and a short wing dedicated for use by psychiatric patients who needed to be housed separately from the rest of the crew.

He eyed his surroundings clinically. The most likely assumption would be that he was in one of those psychiatric rooms, though he had no recollection of how or why he had come to be there. Spock took a deep breath and arranged himself on the floor to meditate. His internal clock told him that he had been asleep for six point three hours and since the only logical explanation to his sleeping for such a long period of time mean that he had been sedated, it would be wise for him to meditate in order to alleviate any after effects that the sedative may have upon his mind. The Vulcan frowned, perhaps the meditation would help repair the gap in his memory as well.

..

Leonard looked up from his PADD when Chapel knocked on the outer wall of his office and then poked her head inside the open door. "What is it?"

"Commander Spock has woken up, sir; I thought you'd like to know." She took in his wrinkled clothes and shook her head. "Have you been here all night? Len, you're not going to do anybody any good if you're exhausted. Surely they told you that in medical school?"

The doctor ignored her comments and stood, stretching as he did so. "You said he's awake, what's he doing?"

"Taking in his situation, last I checked. He'll probably start meditating before too long though, so you might want to hurry if you don't want to have to wait to talk to him."

"Thanks Christine," He kissed her cheek as he passed. "Why don't you take off, we won't be starting docking procedures for another sixteen hours, I think the skeleton crew and I can handle any crisis that may crop up in the interim."

She rolled her eyes, but a smile still formed on her face. "All right superman, but promise me you'll call if you need me?"

"I promise." Len called over his shoulder as left sick bay and headed toward the room that had been assigned to the Vulcan first officer.

Chapel watched him go and shook her head. Leonard McCoy was a good man, a good doctor. Despite the gruff exterior the man had a heart of solid gold, he cared about his patients as if they were his own flesh and blood, but there was such a thing as caring too much. The head nurse collected her things and left sickbay. She wasn't sure as to what exactly had occurred between Spock, Uhura, and the doctor. It was rumored the woman had attacked Spock and when Len tried to stop it, she had attacked him next. The communications officer didn't seem to Christine to be the type of person to lose her head like that, but whatever the case and rumor may be, the fact remained that the dark skinned woman had been remanded to the brig and Spock was under psychiatric observation.

Whatever had happened, she just hoped Len wouldn't be in any kind of trouble. The dear man had enough on his mind without being caught up in other people's drama.

..

When the doctor entered Spock's room, he found the Vulcan meditating. Len watched him for a moment and then sat down at the small desk at the foot of the bed. He took out his PADD and started to compile the information needed for his report while he waited. He glanced at the Vulcan again and sighed. He'd probably be waiting for a while. It would give him time to think though; he needed to figure out a way this whole situation could be resolved that wouldn't have a boatload of negative consequences for Spock.

He and Jim had sent several hours trying to come up with a solution that kept their friend out of trouble and placed the blame where it belonged, on Uhura, with little success. No matter how they wracked their brains they couldn't get Spock off the hook without letting the communications officer off as well. They were both hoping that when he woke up, the Vulcan would be able to provide them with something that would help nail Uhura for the damage done. Remembering the state they had found him in, Len winced and wondered if the Vulcan even realized what the woman had been doing to him.

Knowing how ignorant of the inner mechanics of human relationships the Vulcan was, Leonard had a pretty good idea that Spock had no idea how wrong the way Uhura had been treating him was. And aside from this latest incident they really had no idea as to when the abuse had started. The doctor hoped it was something recent that had set the woman off, it would be better for Spock that way. Long term abuse cases were difficult to resolve, the victims were often so messed up that they thought it was their own fault and wouldn't press charges or agree to any kind of help.

"Dr. McCoy?"

The brunette looked up from the PADD he had been staring at to see Spock looking back at him over his shoulder from where he was seated on the floor. "Oh, hey Spock. I hope I didn't, er, disturb you."

The Vulcan unfolded his long frame from the floor and stood. "I was having difficulty meditating, but I believe that to be no fault of yours."

There was silence between them for a moment and then Spock spoke again. "Why am I here Dr. McCoy?"

Len cleared his throat. "Do you recall the events of yesterday evening?" At the Vulcan's blank stare he continued. "You had a…fight, with Uhura, do you remember?"

"I remember Nyota being upset, but I do not recall an argument."

He looked at Spock sharply, but the Vulcan's face was inscrutable. "I think 'upset' is a little generous, but okay." He muttered and cleared his throat. "Is Nyota upset with you often?"

"I do not understand your line of questioning Doctor. You have not answered my question either, why am I here?"

"You are here, Spock, because I think you need to be. It's safer, for starters."

"How is it safer in this location that any other? Is there something wrong with my quarters? Have we fallen under some sort of attack?"

"I answered one of your questions, now you have to answer one of mine. Does Nyota get upset a lot?"

"Define 'a lot.'"

The doctor leaned forward in his chair. "A lot- often, for example, does she get upset once a week, more than once a week?"

Spock shifted and looked away. "A lot." He said finally.

"Thank you. Now to answer your question: the ship is not under attack and there is nothing wrong with your rooms, it's just safer for you to be here."

"I still do not understand, but I suppose it is not my turn, is it?"

Leonard smiled sadly. "No, it's my turn." He leaned back in the chair and picked up the PADD. "Do remember the first time Nyota became upset with you?"

"Yes. It was three years, seven months, and twenty-six days ago."

At the doctor's stare Spock shifted again. "I have a very good memory."

"Yes you do. It's your turn now; do you have something you want to ask me?"

"Yes, how did I come to be here? I do not recall my arrival."

It was Leonard's turn to shift uncomfortably. "You were… indisposed, Jim and Scotty helped me move you here."

Spock frowned, an expression only made apparent by a slight lowering of his eyebrows and a pinched crease between the two brows. "And your inquiry? I am not sure how I came to be playing this game but it is only valuable if it progresses at an acceptable pace."

"Meaning, only if we get to your questions as soon as possible?" The doctor chuckled and wrote something on the PADD. "What does Nyota usually talk about when she fusses at you? I mean, does she start with a specific area every time? Or does it depend on outside factors, such as events that happened during the day?"

Spock turned and paced the length of the room once, before stopping in front of the doctor. His face had gone blank again and Leonard suddenly knew he wasn't going to get anymore information out of the Vulcan. "I am done answering questions Dr. McCoy, I wish to return to my quarters."

Len nodded. "Okay, Spock, no more questions. I'm afraid I can't release you just yet, there are some things that have to be dealt with first, but I'll let you know when you can go." The doctor stood and gestured to the intercom panel next to the door. "Just let me know if you need anything else and I'll do my best to see that you get it."

"Leonard?"

The doctor paused in the doorway and looked back. "Yeah, Spock?"

"Could you change the holo-screen settings?"

Len glanced at the waves and smiled. "Sure thing, you want anything specific?"

Spock shook his head. "Just change it."

The doctor nodded and left. As he walked back to his office he crossed paths with one of the nurses and stopped him. "Hey, do me a favor and change the holo-screen in Commander Spock's room. Try the desert, or something panoramic that doesn't have any motion. I think the movement messes with his Zen, or whatever he needs to meditate."

"Yes Sir."

Sitting in his office, Len blew out a breath and rubbed his face. He had actually gotten more out of the Vulcan than he had expected, but it wasn't enough to really help. Which didn't really surprise him, his minor was in psychology, not psychiatry, but they had still touched on the subject of abuse plenty. The hospital he had interned at had held an annual awareness banquet for battered women and neglected children and they had guest speakers who told horror stories that still turned his insides cold. So even if he wasn't totally studied up on it, he knew more than he ever wanted to about the various types of abuse.

Setting the PADD aside, Leonard tried to think about the options available for his newest patient. Even after the mess with Uhura was resolved, there were a lot of things that needed to be taken care of in order for Spock to recover properly. It would be best for the Vulcan to be put in some kind of rehab during leave, and after they given their new assignments he would need to have an annual checkup with a shrink. That would be ideal. Of course, given the Vulcan's temperament and their social stigma on all things emotional, Spock would probably refuse to even consider rehabilitation or counseling. Pointy Ears was probably freaking out about the psych observation right now. He'd be liable to blow a gasket if Len even mentioned abuse counseling.

And there was the small matter of what Starfleet would say or do if they knew Spock was having his head shrunk.

Len groaned. The whole situation was a nightmare! Even if he could talk Spock into going to a psychiatrist, the hobgoblin would probably refuse to talk. And if he so much as went to a counselor, forget about actually talking to the doctor, Starfleet would want to send their own doctors and see the records and do their own evaluations before they gave the Vulcan a new position. All things Spock would never agree to.

Somehow he needed to fix the thing with Uhura, get Spock to get some help, and actually see that the treatment was effective, and he had to do it all under the radar. In three months.

Actually he had less than a day to resolve the issue with Uhura. Too bad he couldn't have her committed.

Len sat up straight in his seat. He had an idea-he hated it, boy did he hate it- but it would solve their biggest problem at the moment: Uhura's behavior and Starfleet Command's interest in Spock's mental health. Cursing, the doctor lunged forward and snatched up his communicator. "Sickbay to the Bridge, Jim? I need to talk to you."

..

Uhura sat on one side of the desk in Leonard's office and the doctor and Jim stood on the other. The expression on her face revealed only boredom as the two security officers who brought her to sickbay left the room. Once the door closed behind them, she rolled her eyes. "Why am I here exactly? Are you going to stick me in a room with the half-breed and psycho-analyze us?"

Len spoke through gritted teeth. "You are here to discuss a deal and let me assure that referring to Spock in any derogatory manner will not help your cause."

She sneered. "Right. So what kind of deal are we talking about?"

Jim cleared his throat. "If this gets out it will be bad for both of you. Believe it or not, this kind of behavior is considered a career ender in most circles. We understand that you may be thinking about making a preemptive strike and going directly to command yourself with a nice little story about what happened that will put you in a good light."

Uhura laughed incredulously. "And what? You want to help me with that? You'll forgive me if I find that hard to believe."

"In a manner of speaking we do. You see, if this ends up in review and splashed up in the news, you're going to lose. You know I've got connections and Spock was a well respected teacher at the academy. He's also a tragic survivor that of events that destroyed his home-world and the son of a well known ambassador."

"If it's such a sure thing, why are we talking? I hate to sound like a broken record, but you're not explaining yourself very well."

Jim sighed. "The point is this: we'll win, but it'll be messy. Vulcans are private people, as I'm sure you well know, and we'd like to spare Spock any embarrassment possible."

Len leaned forward, his hands flat on the desk. "I have Spock under psychiatric observation; the admission forms have a date stamp, not a time stamp."

"I don't understand."

"I admitted Spock the day of the argument, if it doesn't say what time, would you say it'd be safe to assume he had been under observation the whole day?"

She started to frown, but it cleared almost immediately. A sly smile curved her mouth. "Yes, I'd say that is a fair assumption."

"And if Spock was under observation all day, don't you think it would be likely that a few simulations might be run, to serve as a stress test of sorts?"

Uhura leaned forward. "So what's the plan? I sign something saying I'll stay away from Spock and the captain here announces that the whole thing, including me being suspended and thrown in the brig, was just a part of some elaborate psych evaluation?"

Jim nodded. "Basically, yes. Your charges will be dropped, nobody's careers are in jeopardy, and nobody gets hurt and everybody walks away happy."

She smirked. "Where do I sign?"

The blonde slid a PADD across the desk and Uhura grabbed the stylus and after scanning the document once, signed on the dotted line. She stood. "So that's it, right?"

Uhura headed for the door and when it opened the two red shirts stopped her from moving past. They looked at Jim for orders.

"Lyn and Dekker are going to escort you to your room; I suggest you lie low for a while. There are some nasty rumors floating around and they're not going to disappear just because we let leak it that your actions were just part of a psych exercise. There are people around here who actually like Spock, and hate to see him hurt."

Leonard scowled as the three prepared to leave. "If she gives you any trouble, throw her out the nearest airlock."

The security officers exchanged glances but followed after Uhura without comment.

Jim moved around the desk and sank into the chair the woman had vacated with a sigh. "At least that's over with."

Len was still scowling, but he also sat down. "That had to be the worst idea I have ever had in my life. I can't believe we just let her off the hook like that. You know she'll do it again, and it'll probably be worse next time."

"Unfortunately that will be someone else's problem."

"Maybe we can tip off her next crew."

The blonde laughed. "Redemption for your sins, Bones? Fun, but a bit un-ethical don't you think?"

"What she did was unethical. Reporting her would simply be justice."

Jim nodded. "Amen brother. So…"

"What?"

"Now that we've dealt with Uhura, what are we going to do with Spock?"

Leonard sighed. "Yeah, I'm still working on that one."

"The report you file on his psych evaluation will have record a clean bill of health or else Command is going to start sniffing around, but you can't get him into a rehab center or counseling without submitting some official paperwork, and even if you somehow got around that little obstacle, what's going to stop them from reporting Spock's attendance? It'd be all over the news in a heartbeat if Spock even steps within ten feet of a place like that anyway. You'd have to find somebody you'd trust to keep their mouths shut to treat him."

"And there is the little matter of him even accepting treatment. It doesn't matter if he goes to a center or if I find a doctor to work with him privately, if Spock won't talk to them it'll be a waste of time."

Jim pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Okay…why don't you treat him then? He'll talk to you. He probably trusts you the most out of all of us anyway."

The doctor stared. "Are you kidding? I'd probably kill him. You know his backward Vulcan logic annoys the hell out of me."

"Aw c'mon, Bones. Each little member of our twisted little quartet has his own contribution to the whole. Scotty's the imagination, I'm the intuition, Spock's the brains, and you're the heart. Outside you're all tough and prickly, but everybody knows how soft you are inside. You my friend are one giant marshmallow." The blonde laughed.

"I am not." Len protested. "I was just raised better than you is all."

"Marshmallow."

"Oh, get out of my office!"

..

Leonard glared at the docking platform attendant and the shuttle pilot. How they actually expected people to willingly fly in those little tin cans never ceased to amaze him. "When do we take off?"

"In about ten minutes sir, but you need-"

"Then come back and pester me again in ten minutes!' He barked. "If you think I'm going to sit in that death trap any longer than absolutely necessary you are out of you mind."

The attendant and pilot looked at each other helplessly as Jim called out from over their shoulders. "Have a safe flight Bones! Try not to kill anyone. Or throw up on them."

The doctor leveled his glare at the blonde who stood in a different shuttle line a few feet away. "I'll kill you if you don't shut up James Tiberius Kirk."

Spock smoothly stepped between the brunette and his supposed adversaries, one of which was cackling madly at the stressed doctor's plight. "Dr. McCoy, if you will please board the shuttle we can be under way. The pilot needs the remaining gate time to complete check list procedures so that we can take off. He cannot begin to do this until all of the passengers are on board, it is against Starfleet regulations."

Leonard muttered a few choice words about Starfleet regulations under his breath, but he followed the Vulcan onto the cramped shuttle. A few of the other passengers who were former crew members of the Enterprise and knew about the doctor's fear of flying watched anxiously as the man took his seat. Spock sat next to the agitated doctor and the pilot squeezed past on her way up to the cockpit. The attendant hovered anxiously for a moment, wringing his hands, before going to close the hatch and take his own seat.

"I still don't understand why they don't just beam us where ever we need to go." The brunette grumbled. "As harrowing as that is, it would be better than this."

Spock quirked his eyebrows in a Vulcan smile and leaned over to check the doctor's safety harness. "I would formulate a response but I believe that your comments thus far have been rhetorical, with the purpose of making you 'feel' better."

Len looked at the Vulcan curiously. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

The doctor tugged at the harness straps that crossed over his chest. "Check the straps like that."

The Vulcan looked away; a light green flush tinged his ears and cheeks. "I thought that perhaps it would ease some of your fear if you were assured of the integrity of the safety harness."

"Oh." Len felt himself begin to blush and cleared his throat. "Thank you. I suppose it does help. And thank you again, for agreeing to come home with me."

Spock fastened his own harness and affected an air of longsuffering that he had probably learned from Jim. "If I had not agreed I image you would have found another way to enforce this 'treatment' you insist that I require."

"I know you don't see it Spock and maybe you never will, but I really think this will help you. I knew you would be uncomfortable discussing the things we're going to talk about with a stranger and I appreciate that you value our friendship enough that you would agree to this." Leonard grinned. "And if you hadn't come voluntarily I would have pulled a stunt like I did five years ago to get Jim aboard the Enterprise and forced you to come anyway."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Then I am glad a more peaceable solution was agreed to."

The shuttle jerked and vibrated as it separated from the docking platform and the doctor's arms flailed outward, grasping a hold of the first thing they contacted. The left found a long brace that connected the seats to the bulkhead walls and the right gripped Spock's shoulder.

"If I pass out," Leonard forced out between white lips. "Don't wake me up."

..

Still a little pale from the flight, but quickly recovering, Leonard crossed the street and knocked on the door of a small antiquated Auto Repair shop. The doctor had left Spock and their luggage inside the shuttle terminal. A slightly rusty sign tacked to the chain link fence surrounding the terminal building read 'Welcome to Dublin, Georgia."

The brunette knocked on the door again and from within came the sound of slow foot-steps and a voice called out, "Hold yer horses now, I'm comin.'"

The doctor was forced to take a step back as the door swung open and a slight, balding man stepped out and blinked in the sunlight. He stared for a moment and then recognition lit the old man's face. "Len McCoy! I do declare. Its good tah see ya boy."

"Hey Marty," Len smiled. "You been taking care of Lucy for me?"

Marty cackled gleefully. "Yessiree, I shore* have. It's been a pleasure keepin' 'er I ashore you. Betty sayd that I should be thankin' you fore letin' us keep 'er fore so long."

"No problem, listen, do you think you could bring her over to the Shuttle Terminal for me? A friend of mine is going to be staying with me for a while and I don't want to leave him on his own for too long. He's never been to Georgia before and I don't want any of ya'll scaring him off before he has a chance to love it."

"Lemme jus' grab mah keys and we'll be raht over."

Leonard hurried back across the road to the shuttle station. He pulled the door open and stuck his head inside; when he located Spock he waved the Vulcan over. "Our ride'll be here any minute, if you'll hand me my bag we can wait out here."

Spock nodded and collected their things. The Vulcan followed the slightly shorter male out the door and to the sidewalk. Just as they reached it, a white pick-up truck pulled up to the curb. Marty hopped out of the driver's side and tossed a set of keys to Leonard, who caught them.

The old man waved. "Jus' lemme know if'n you go out of town again, Len. Betty 'n I'll be happy tah keep 'er fore ya."

"I will." The doctor waved goodbye to Marty and then grinned at the Vulcan standing next to him. "Spock, this is Lucy, she's an old friend of the family."

"You have named your vehicle."

"Actually my great-grandmother named her. You are looking at a 1987 Ford F-150. My great-grandfather dug the shell and chassis out of a junkyard and rebuilt it. Four wheel drive, V6 engine with five on the floor. A piece of American history my pointy eared friend."

Spock eyed the truck. "May I inquire as to what type of fuel it uses?"

"Great-Grandpa Hugh converted it to ethanol."

"The twentieth century alternative to fossil fuel."

"He wanted to be as authentic as possible."

"I see. And where do you acquire the fuel from? I was under the impression that since the transportation vehicles on the planet earth no longer use such primitive combustion engines it was decided that the fuel required for operating them would no long be manufactured."

"It's true the government doesn't make or refine anything like ethanol or petroleum, but there aren't any laws in place saying private citizens can't make the stuff. You're just not allowed to sell it if you do." Leonard tossed their bags in the back and hopped up into the cab. "I have a cousin up in the old Kentucky area that has a gift with distilled corn products. He ships me whatever I need and I have a tank on the farm that I store it in."

Spock climbed into the truck and watched curiously as the doctor stuck a key in the ignition and cranked the engine. The vehicle lumbered to life and Leonard grinned at him before putting it in gear. "Better buckle up, it's more than an hour drive out to the farm and the last ten miles or so are dirt roads."

The Vulcan obligingly reached over his shoulder and pulled the strap across his body and snapped the buckle. "Will your daughter be waiting for us?"

"No, Jocelyn's supposed to bring her down tomorrow. 'Lyn remarried last year. Her new husband Garry works in Atlanta so they live up there." Leonard hesitated as they drove past a restaurant. "It'll be well past six before we get to the house, do you want to stop and get something to eat? There'll be some stuff at the farm, one of the neighbors sort of house sits for me and she knows we're coming so she turned down the air conditioner, bought some basic food supplies, and did some cleaning to make sure the place was livable, but if you want we can get something to eat here in Dublin."

"I am not hungry at this time."

"Okay, if you're sure…."

While he drove the doctor kept a running commentary of the history of the area. Once they left city limits and the houses became fewer and further between Spock would have thought there to be less to talk about, but Leonard never seemed to run out of things to say. The human told about the people in the farm houses they passed, whether they were people he had actually met, or just people he had heard rumors about. Although the McCoys were predominately from Mississippi, the brunette's mother's side of the family were all Georgia born and had connections with a lot of the other families in the area.

The Vulcan listened selectively, the talk about the land itself and topography holding more interest than the back stories. At any point he found himself growing tired or irritated by the brunette's dialogue Spock often found himself thinking about how he would have described the area of Vulcan where he had grown up. Deciding that he would have likely talked about it in a manner very similar to what Leonard was doing now, his manners would kick back in and he would begin to pay attention to the human's words again.

When they had finally arrived at the house the heat of day had broken, despite there still being a few hours left to the sun's sinking journey across the sky. A cool breeze stirred up and Spock fought back a shiver. He ignored the slight discomfort and stared at his surroundings. The ranch house was a sprawling affair, two stories tall and a unique blend of pale gray brick and white wood. An enclosed porch wrapped around three sides of the building; tall limbs from pecan trees in the back yard were visible over the corrugated metal roof. A barn stood a hundred yards from the house and a wooden fence ran out from both sides of the large red building and continued out along what Spock assumed was the property line, one side taking a right angle and disappearing behind the house. "How much land are you in possession of?"

"I've got a hundred twenty-three acres. The house sits on what I guess you could call the bottom right hand corner. The border is fenced as well as several smaller sections inside. I run anywhere from fifty to a hundred head of cattle on the back eighty. I usually keep the horses in the two smaller pastures, about twenty acres apiece and rotate them. There is about five acres fenced around the barn where I keep the older riding stock. The house and its yard are roughly three acres. There's a garden in the back that I haven't really used since I got the place."

"How long have you owned the property?"

Leonard frowned thoughtfully while he grabbed their bags out of the back of the truck. He gestured for Spock to precede him up the stone walk to the house. "It was my grandpa's farm originally, on my mother's side. Grandpa grew wheat, cotton, and pecans, just enough to support his family. The pecan grove behind the house still produces a pretty decent crop, but it's more of a ranch now than a farm. Anyway, he gave the place to me a year or so after I got my doctorate, so I guess it's been mine for about twelve years."

"If you will pardon the intrusive nature of the question, but how do you pay for all this? Is it not expensive?"

The doctor unlocked the front door and set the bags down in the foyer. He walked deeper into the house, talking as he went. Spock trailed after the brunette, listening. "Under normal circumstances, yes, it would probably be hard for most people to pay for it. Property tax alone on that much land is a decent chunk of change. Throw in mortgage, general upkeep, and the livestock and you've got a pretty astronomical figure. Fortunately for me, Grandpa had paid off the land and the house long before he gave it to me. The beef pays for itself and the yearly gross from the pecans pay the taxes. Anything grown organically fetches a good price at market. So the only thing I really pay for out of pocket is the upkeep and the horses, which on my doctor's salary isn't too difficult."

They were now in the kitchen and Leonard poured them both some water to drink. Spock accepted the glass and looked around. The kitchen was a large room with maple cabinets and dark granite counter tops. The island was free standing, made entirely of wood, with a four inch thick maple cutting board style top. It sat on industrial sized caster wheels that were locked to keep the island in place in the middle of the kitchen. All the sinks and appliances were stainless and looked like they had seen years of use. There was a long dining table made of out roughly finished wood to appear rustic. It had two benches on the long sides and a tall backed chair at each end, all with the same aged appearance. The wall running parallel to the table contained a series of wide windows that were butted up against each other and looked out into the pecan orchard. Several horses could be seen grazing under the huge boughs.

"I'll have to give an official tour of the house later, but for now I'll give you the layout so you don't get lost." Len put his glass in the sink and drifted back into the foyer. He pointed to the broad wooden staircase. "All the bedrooms are upstairs. Grandpa Allen had six kids, five boys and one girl. He put the younger four boys in two rooms with a connecting bath, Jocelyn renovated them into His and hers guest rooms. That's the first two doors on the right; you'll be staying in the first one. The eldest boy, my Uncle Roy, got his own room, that's the door on the left. We converted it into a library of sorts. Momma's room is the one next to it, which is now Joanna's room, and it has its own bathroom. The third door on the right is a bathroom and the door opposite it is a closet. The master bedroom is at the end of the hall."

Spock nodded to show his understanding a picked up his bag.

"The down stairs is fairly simple. The kitchen and dining area is on the right. The mudroom is straight through the kitchen. On the left here is the den, which you have to go through to get to the game room and my study. There are two doors on the far right wall, the door on the right is the study and the left is the rec room. There is a third door on the outside wall that will take you out onto the porch." The doctor pointed to a door in the wall below the staircase. "That goes down to the basement. The laundry room is down there as well as some exercise equipment, but mostly its storage."

He glanced at the Vulcan. "Think you'll be okay? Most of the furnishings are kind of old fashioned, but there's an intercom is just about every room so you can holler if you can't figure out how to use something."

Spock quirked an eyebrow, "I believe I shall be 'okay.'"

"Alright. I'll be in the barn, if you want to come out after you've settled in. If you're hungry just dig around till you find something, I'll probably be out there a while so don't feel like you have to wait for me. The third button on the intercom system goes straight to the barn, so if you need something don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you for your hospitality Leonard."

The doctor smiled. "No problem Spock. I'll see you in a bit."

The Vulcan nodded and began to climb the stairs. He heard the front door open and close behind him and suddenly felt anxious to be in a strange home all alone. What if something should break? Would Leonard blame him for it? Spock shook himself mentally and entered his new room. It wouldn't do to start thinking so ungraciously about his host and friend.

….

*No you weren't reading a bunch of typos, that's just me trying to write a southern accent. I tell you, I've lived in Georgia since I was seven years old and there are about fifteen different accents in this state and it makes it rather difficult to narrow things down to just a few words to use for illustration. I think you'll notice I haven't even tried to give McCoy an obvious accent, although we all know he's got one.

That last section I had almost decided to cut from this chapter and make it the beginning of chapter four, but I figured ya'll wouldn't mind another 2,000 words or so (and as it is Sunday, February 13, as I write this, it's not likely that it will delay the planned posting of Chapter two on Thursday if I add more to the chapter).