His stomach was churning with hunger, and he almost felt nauseous. Sulu groaned and scratched his head.

"I'm getting something to eat." He said to Chekhov as he stood. He'd returned from his sleep rotation a few hours ago, but he hadn't eaten since hours before that. He'd been paying meticulous attention to the navigations. As that creature promised, the computer had their destination mapped in the ship…it was Sulu's job to get them there.

"Do me a favor and keep an eye on it? We're set to just stay at a 20 degree angle from the face of ULAS J0015, warp factor 6." He asked.

Chekhov smiled at him and nodded. Sulu smiled back genuinely and walked to the lift. He liked Chekhov, a lot actually. He was a sweet kid, and astonishingly smart. Sometimes he had a lot to say, and sometimes he didn't have anything to say at all. Sulu appreciated that.

His chest suddenly felt heavy at the thought of Chekhov never reaching his full potential. If something happened that prevented that from becoming reality…something like, well, an alien species destroying them because they're capable of doing so with a stroke of a hand. He pushed the thoughts away before his imagination got out of control.

He finally reached the chow hall, deciding on a soup and sandwich; keep things light. His stomach growled angrily when he sat down. As he raised the sandwich to his mouth, he watched Scotty tread into the room. He waved when the engineer spotted him.

"Sulu, ol' friend. How're things holding up bridge-side?" He asked with a smile, taking a chair. Damn that Scottsman - he always had a smile and laugh nearby.

"A bit downcast, but we're holding up." He said as he took a bite. "Engineering?"

"Aw, fine, laddie. How's the Captain?" He asked sincerely. He worried for his captain…he took too much upon himself. Sulu chuckled.

"Only God knows, Scotty. He can be a brick wall when he wants to be. Under a lot of stress, I'm sure." Scotty smiled a bit in response.

"And the Commander?" There was a small shade of hope laced in the question. Sulu shook his head.

"I dunno." He sighed heavily. "Uh…" He was going to continue his sentence, comment on what happened to Spock. But then he got lost in the memory of it. He shivered. Scotty picked up on sudden change in the air and slyly changed the subject.

"You just had an Angurian jade flower bloom, didn't ya? I heard about it in the rec room, one o' the younger botanists was pissin' himself in excitement talkin' about it the other day."

Sulu looked up at him and smiled. The thought of his plants lifted his spirits, just slightly. Again, just, damn that Scottsman.

"Yeah, I did. First one off planet, actually. Sent an official record of it to Starfleet not too long ago." He released a dark chuckle.

"Ohh, damn this place, huh, Scotty? One day your rare flower is making history, the next…" He waved his hand in the air.

"We're gonna make it, laddie. We always do." He urged. Sulu shook his head for what seemed like the millionth time that day.

"I don't see how. Let's say we do what this thing wants us to do…basically, free them from that planet and let them have the liberty to do whatever they want. With all that power. I mean, how do we even know they'll just let us go after that? And if they do let us go…we're gonna have to ask ourselves,

'what have we done?'"

"It's not gonna go down like that, Sulu. I know the Captain won't give in to that…his will is made too much of iron to be so obedient."

Sulu exhaled with frustration. "Then Spock dies. We all die." He admonished. Scotty leaned forward, his elbows on the table.

"Assuming they're not bluffin."

"What?"

"They could be bluffin', takin' a piss, ya know? I thank the universe I wasn't there to witness what happened to dear Spock, but whatever they're capable of…well, who's to say it's got an infinite range?"

"Who's to say it doesn't?" He responded, somewhat bewildered. What's Scotty saying here?

"That mess the alien displayed up there, it's got to have a line, don't you think? Why else would they need someone else's help, an 'inferior' species' help to escape, when they can do all that?" He added, becoming more vehement. Alright, Sulu had to bite.

"Scotty…what are you trying to say?"

—

Chapel stood in front of Spock's monitor, writing down his progress on a notepad. She liked using a pencil and paper…it helped her to think in a different way. There was an admittedly illogical part of her that hoped she could see a pattern explaining Spock's condition.

She heard a sharp inhale to her right, and turned to see Spock open his eyes. The pencil in her hand lowered as her arm dropped to her side. His eyes seemed foggy, hazy. He blinked through darkness, images of sickbay and noises of a nurse slowly harassing his senses.

"Mister Spock?" She tried. "Can you hear me?"

He swallowed, and barely nodded his head.

"Are you in any pain?" There was a list of certain questions to ask when a patient first woke, and she was supposed to be objective about it. It was a little more complicated with him.

He didn't answer right away, possibly trying to become more aware of himself to answer the question.

"No." . Despite how foreign his voice seemed, he was speaking. She took that positively. He moved his head to look at her…she seemed familiar…

"Chapel…?"

She nodded her head.

"Yes."

He inhaled sharply again and raised himself to one elbow, clearly attempting to breach his prone position. She lifted her arm to him in protest.

"No, your body is still very weak, Commander. Let me call Doctor McCoy." She gently applied pressure to his shoulder to lay him down, but he resisted.

"I need to speak with the Captain." His voice was gravelly and hoarse. It was unsettling when she was so used to his strong and confident one.

"Alright, I can call him too, just take it easy, Commander."

His head hit the pillow as she successfully halted his attempt. As she swiftly retrieved her communicator, she noted how his breathing seemed slightly more labored. He clenched his jaw at his situation.

"Chapel to McCoy."

Back in his quarters, McCoy had just given up on sleeping any longer. It had been a few hours, which he figured was good enough. He heard his communicator chirp as he finished tucking in his undershirt. He fished it out from his pant's pocket.

"Go ahead." There was only one reason she would be calling him right now. Well, two, but he decided he didn't like the other reason. It was because that green-blooded troll was awake, and nothing else.

"He's awake, Doctor," He nodded his head as she confirmed his theory. "He wants to see the Captain."

McCoy couldn't help himself as he chuckled. Of course he wanted to see Jim.

"I'm sure he does. I'm on my over. McCoy out." He flipped it close and stuffed it back in his pants. As quickly as he'd ever done it before, he threw on his work shirt and shoved his feet into his boots. The quicker he got there the better; Spock was a terrible patient.

As he sauntered into sickbay, he was surprised to see it so empty. Even on an average day, there'd be a few crew members with the flu or something. He supposed something about a ship-wide state of emergency made everyone jump out of their panties and stay out and away from the doc. He walked over to the adjacent room with Spock and Chapel.

As he passed the entryway, he silently noted what he noticed about Spock's features. Eyes open, finally. Pale, but unconcerning skin. Clenched jaw. Oh, there it was. The clenched jaw. He did it every time he was in this room, even for a routine check up. McCoy smiled in spite of himself.

"Spock." He acknowledged. He breathed a subconscious sigh of relief at seeing the Vulcan awake.

"Doctor, I believe I'm fit for duty effective immediately," He started as he slowly sat up (to the dismay of Chapel). "It was, it was temporary and I'd prefer to be released." He finished, dodging specifics. McCoy, unbudging, noticed the atypical stammer. He also noted how grating his voice sounded. Nope.

"Well, I'll be the judge of that." He said without betraying his demeanor. "If you can cooperate with me, we might be able to get you outta here." That was a lie. Spock wasn't going anywhere. But, McCoy did need him to comply to his questions, so he really didn't feel so bad about it.

Spock sighed and straightened his back. It was his way of telling McCoy he was ready for his interrogation.

"I'm sure Chapel already asked you, but I'm gonna ask you again…are you in any pain?"

"No."

McCoy outstretched his hand towards Chapel, who plopped the medical scanner into his palm. He waved it in front of Spock, taking in his readings. One in particular caught his attention.

"You got a headache, Spock?" He asked expectantly. He knew how to play this game, too. Spock opened his mouth, but McCoy cut in anyway.

"See, now," He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "This is the kind of thing you gotta tell me, Spock. I ask you, 'are you in any pain?' You say, 'You know what, Doctor McCoy, I have a headache. That's something you should probably know.'"

Spock sighed again and looked to the ceiling. It was a habit Chapel noticed he did in more annoying situations. His eyes migrated from the tile to McCoy.

"It was not something that I-"

"I'll tell you if it's concerning or not, Spock. I'm the doctor here." He was admittedly frustrated with the stubborn fool, but the relief at his counterpart's beating heart won out. He sucked in a breath of air and turned to his loyal nurse.

"Do me a favor and go get the Captain, Christine." He said. She nodded knowingly and left.

"Is there an issue with communications-?"

"No, no, everything is tip top." McCoy scooted his chair next to Spock's bed, despite the skeptical expression the other man gave him. He folded his hands in his lap.

"Do you remember?" He asked. Spock gave his signature head tilt; an effective mask he often deployed. He looked away and kept his eyes forward and on the wall.

"I believe so, yes." He answered flatly. McCoy roamed his eyes over the man's face, trying to get a read on him. He wanted to ask him if he was alright, as he normally did with his patients, but it was futile with this one. He leaned back in his chair.

"Good, good. Well, uh," he scratched his head, still baffled by Spock's readings. "Somehow there isn't a single trace of what happened to you except, ya know, a headache," Spock almost rolled his eyes. "and you look and sound like shit." Spock opened his mouth, then closed it. McCoy raised his eyebrows, wondering if he finally rendered the Vulcan speechless, but of course that wasn't that case.

"Then you can clear me to-"

"I'm not releasin' ya yet, Spock." He said frankly. He saw Spock let out a small huff of breath, clearly agitated at the situation. Emotionless, my ass.

"Well, you know what happened to you. Do you know what that fu…" He had to bite his tongue. "What the alien said? While you were…?" Spock's face softened while he thought back to it. He remembered white blindness. He shook his head.

"I don't know."

McCoy swallowed, beginning to really not like the conversation.

"Well, uh, we…we agreed to it's terms. It threatened you and the ship otherwise." Spock furrowed his brow and his eyes widened slightly.

"We've been hauling ass for about 14 hours now. Still have another day before we even get there. Then there's comin' back." He peered at the Vulcan, who was shaking his head to himself.

"Something on your mind?" He asked.

"We're making a mistake."

McCoy didn't get a chance to even open his mouth, for the Captain practically ran through the door with the nurse tailing behind him.

"Spock!" He smiled with his arms half raised as he walked towards them. "Spock." He was still smiling, but his face couldn't hide his concern.

"You alright?" He asked, standing next to McCoy and his chair. Spock nodded.

"Yes Captain. I was attempting to translate that to Doctor McCoy, but he effectively ignored me."

Kirk gave half a chuckle, his hands on his hips. God, he couldn't believe how relieved he felt. He couldn't count the times that Spock wanted out of sickbay and McCoy wouldn't let him. It was comfortingly familiar. He looked down to McCoy's sitting position and put his hand on his shoulder, holding it tightly. Thank you.

"Spock, with all due respect, you did just wake up." He said to him.

"The doctor's lawless instruments can cite me when I say that I am alright. And I am, Captain." Kirk shook his head at his stubbornness.

"Doc?"

"I don't feel comfortable releasing him, Jim." He shrugged his shoulders. Spock's vitals were officially back to normal, somehow. But, still; no. Jim gave Spock a look, expecting him to accept it, but his good mood was shaken when he read Spock's eyes. The Vulcan had a deep look of intensity, and there was a determination and passion behind them. He was staring right into Kirk. It was almost startling, and an absolute outlier compared to the rest of his weakened body. He needed to talk to him about something, Kirk knew. Now.

"You think you're able bodied enough, Spock?" He asked, reciprocating the stare. Suddenly the only thing that mattered was what Spock needed to say to him. McCoy threw his hands over his head dramatically and looked to Christine, wondering if he was the only sane person in the room.

"Did you not hear what I just said, Jim?!"

Kirk ignored him, waiting for Spock's answer.

"Yes, Jim." Spock stressed. Kirk stared at him for a few more moments, wondering if Spock was well enough to know what was good for him. He finally nodded and looked at McCoy, who's mouth was wide open and arms turned outwards in frozen shock.

"A few hours, Bones, maybe. I'll bring him back and you can do what you need to do, and we'll go from there." He said sympathetically. "Alright?"

McCoy scoffed hard and looked between Kirk and Spock.

"Well, do I even have a choice? Fine, get outta here." He stood and threw the wall closet door open. He gestured to the hanging uniform and threw his hand behind him as he walked away. "There ya go. Damned good for nothing bastards…IF HE FALLS AND BREAKS HIS NECK ITS ON YOU, JIM." He threw over his shoulder, already out of the room. Chapel smiled at the ground at her CMO's temper and followed him out.

Jim sighed and looked back to Spock, who was, unsurprisingly, trying to stand up.

"Easy, easy." He walked over and stood to the side of the bed, ready to catch the Vulcan if he fell.

As Spock slowly put his legs down to the floor, he felt a weakness in his muscles he'd never felt before. It was absolutely disagreeable. He was both grateful and humiliated that the Captain was spotting his movements. Sitting with his legs over the bed, he blinked as he looked at his sickbay livery…a loose white shirt and comfortable black pants. He didn't know why, but he suddenly thought back to an Earth civilization course he'd taken when he was younger. The hospitals centuries ago assigned patients an awkward and displeasing dressing gown, absolutely mandatory. He quietly thanked advancement, as there would be no injury or illness that could make him wear such a thing.

"Are you okay?" A quiet voice asked him nearby. Spock snapped out of his memory, and nodded his head.

"Yes, Captain."

He braced his arm on the bed as he stood, still somewhat shocked at the fatigue. He straightened up, attempting to hide his weakness from his Captain.

"Conference room down the hall?" Kirk offered.

"That would be sufficient, yes."

Kirk smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'm gonna talk to Bones in his office. Change and we'll go." He turned to leave, but his peripherals caught a small shiver move through Spock. He pivoted around just in time as Spock's knees gave out and he pitched towards the floor. He practically lunged as he snatched up his arms and braced him from falling. His friends skin felt so cold.

"You alright?" He asked with no attempt to mask his surprise or concern.

Spock tensed and let go of his grip on Kirk.

"Yes, I apologize, Captain, I wasn't expecting to…" He trailed off. A few of Kirk's heartstrings tugged. Wasn't expecting to…fall? To feel so weak? Although Spock let go, Kirk held onto him for a few more moments until he was convinced he could stand.

"Don't worry about it, you've had it pretty rough. It's normal. Just don't break your neck, or I won't hear the end of it." He gave him a small smile, hoping he spared Spock from feeling too embarrassed. Spock simply nodded.

Kirk stepped away and gave him a quick once over, hoping he was making the right choice. With a final affirmation from Spock that he was capable, Jim stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him. A part of him knew what Spock wanted to speak to him about; he was going to attempt to convince him to advert their foolish, vacuous mission. But it wasn't that simple…there just was no way Kirk could put Spock's life on the line again.

LOVIN' THE REVIEWS! And I'm loving writing this. Thanks for reading, friends. It truly warms my heart.