Chapter 7: There Are No Words

He heard voices trying to reach him through the fog of his still-recovering mind. Dr. McCoy's voice shifted through the beeps of Sickbay monitors, and Jim's pitch registered in his ears. He was sure he could hear an eager Chekov too, and was that Scotty as well? But the one voice that broke through to him was Christine's.

"Spock? You can wake up now...they found the antidote...you're going to be okay."

Blinking through the haze, he managed to slowly sit up.

"Are you alright, Spock?" McCoy asked excitedly, running his scanner over Spock in addition to the bio-bed's monitors.

"I am...better, Doctor," Spock replied, picking his words carefully. One hand rose involuntarily to try to stifle his headache.

"Head hurt?" McCoy observed, studying the readings carefully.

Spock tried not to sigh in frustration. "As I said, Doctor, I am better than I was before. My 'headache' will dissipate quickly. It is nothing to be concerned about."

"I'm the doctor here; I'll be the one deciding whether your headache is important or not," McCoy snapped, glaring a little at the Vulcan. Spock decided that arguing at this point would only increase the pain in his head.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," McCoy grumbled under his breath. Clearing his voice, he added, "Well, Spock, it looks like the toxin is almost totally out of your system now; Chekov's miracle did the trick. Looks like you'll pull through just fine."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Ensign Chekov found the antidote?" he questioned.

"Aye, sir," Chekov spoke up, wide eyes beaming. "I was conducting some research of my own on the soil sample after you had left, and I noticed its energy readings were fluctuating abnormally. After looking into it, I realized that it contained a sort of encrypted toxin that is triggered only by Vulcan or Romulan physiology. I don't know why it does that, sir, but I was able to find the appropriate antidote for it in time. Dr. McCoy had already administered a sedative to you, which fortunately was a slowing agent to the toxin itself. Without it, sir," he shuffled his feet uncomfortably, "you would've died almost immediately. It was an incredibly fast-acting toxin, once it took root."

Spock blinked, processing the information for a moment, before slowly and sincerely responding. "Then I believe I owe you and Dr. McCoy a debt of gratitude."

Their eyes could not have grown any bigger.

oooooOOOOOOOooooo

Uhura wheeled around in her chair to face Sulu. "He's okay!"

"What happened?" he demanded excitedly, jumping out of the captain's chair and rushing over to her.

"Pavel found the antidote in time. Spock is already far better and should recover quickly," Uhura replied, tears trying to form in her eyes and her smile growing bigger on her face.

"Thank God for Pavel. I don't know what we'd do without the kid."

Uhura heartily agreed. "And Dr. McCoy, and Scotty, and the captain, and really everyone," she added. "We all need each other out here."

Sulu nodded seriously. "We wouldn't survive otherwise."

He watched as a new light entered Uhura's eyes, gaining ground slowly but surely.

"Oh, no. What are you thinking now?"

"What do I think? First, I think I need to see Spock and Christine for myself and make sure they're both really okay. And then, if they are..." the mischievous light grew stronger in her eyes, fueled by the sudden relief of the situation, "then I think I'm going to have to have a little talk with the group."

Sulu shook his head. Life on the Enterprise was full of quick ups and downs, and if you didn't learn to live by those rules, you wouldn't get far. It looked like it was time for another "up" in their roller-coaster way of life. He'd learned by now not to debate it. "Here we go again."

oooooOOOOOOOooooo

Captain James T. Kirk walked through the halls of the Enterprise, relieved beyond words but also feeling the anxious after-effects of the situation with Spock. He had been through crises before-that was certain-but he certainly hadn't become numb to them. In his experience, ignoring problems and trying to be untouched by them was usually worse than letting them hit you in the gut full-force. If they hit you hard, then you could punch back. If you pretended they didn't exist, you couldn't do anything to get rid of them. And especially as the Captain of a starship, you couldn't afford not to get rid of them.

Each crisis under his command struck him powerfully, but when something happened to one of his close friends, it always hurt more. And something happening to Spock or Bones? That was always the worst. What frustrated him the most was when he couldn't do something to help. Standing there, watching the whole thing go down and unable to do anything about it, drove him crazy. This time, Chekov, Scotty, and Bones had been there to save Spock's life, but would they next time?

He shook the thoughts out of his head as he stepped onto the Bridge, and he smiled in gratitude as Sulu flashed him a grin and got out of his seat.

"As I'm sure you've already heard," Kirk announced as he sat down in his beloved chair, "Chekov found the antidote in time, and Spock's going to be fine."

Uhura smiled. "I'm glad to hear it from you personally, sir."

Sulu nodded his agreement. "It's a real relief, isn't it?" he asked, one arm draped casually over the back of his chair in the general relief of the moment.

Kirk smiled gently at the officers under his command, remembering one of the reasons why all the stress and chaos of serving on a starship were worth it. "You have no idea, Sulu. No idea."

oooooOOOOOOOooooo

"Really, Doctor, I am more than ready to go back to my post."

"I'll tell you whether you're fightin' fit or not!" McCoy snapped. "I don't care how quickly you can bounce back, you were just attacked by some crazy toxin from dirt, for Pete's sake, and you need time for your body to recover."

Spock was about to open his mouth again when Christine walked into the room. For some reason, his mouth snapped shut.

"Ah, Christine, did you get the readings I sent you?" Dr. McCoy asked.

"Yes, Doctor," she replied, "I've double-checked them as you asked; your view on the security ensign's broken leg looks right to me, and none of the others who have been exposed to the soil are showing any symptoms of poisoning. Like Chekov said, it must just go after Vulcan physiology. And apparently, according to Chekov, it only affected Spock because he had enough physical contact with the soil."

Her voice trailed off a bit on the last part as she glanced at Spock, but she quickly moved on. "Being exposed to those who have gone down to the planet shouldn't cause him any harm; he would have to actually handle or be near the soil itself to experience any ill effects." Even so, she was grateful that the others were still under watch in a separate part of Sickbay. The security ensign was with them as well, having been on the planet when he had broken his leg, and her part of Sickbay was empty save Spock.

"Good, good," McCoy muttered, glancing over a report on the PADD he'd just picked up. "Chekov and I were thinking that'd be the case, and I'm glad you agree. I've felt so rushed lately that the double-checking is quite helpful."

"Perhaps, Doctor, you should have someone 'double-check', as you say, your opinion on my readiness to return to my post. After all, you said yourself that you value such-"

"Shut up, Spock! You're resting here for a day at least so I can keep my eye on you, and if you keep protesting, I can and will make it longer!"

Christine couldn't help but let out a tiny giggle. Spock decided to shut up.

"Oh, be nice to him, Doctor," Christine laughed good-naturedly. "He just got over a poisoning and wants to do something instead of just lie there and be bored; the least you can do is be a little sympathetic."

McCoy turned to glare at her, his usual post-crisis grumpiness evident but tempered by the affection in his eyes. "Thank you for your opinion, Christine," he replied dryly, "but I think I can handle my own patient, despite asking for second opinions."

She grinned, still not over her relief at Spock's quick recovery and finding it hard not to show it. "You're quite welcome, Doctor. Always glad to help."

He gave up and rolled his eyes. "Fine then," he replied, "If you're so eager for him to get out of here, why don't you watch him for a while? Trust me, I want him gone-" he cast a quick, taunting look at Spock-"but he has to recover properly first, even if I have to sedate him again to make it happen. And that might just happen if he keeps opening his stubborn mouth. But I'd rather you watch him than me for a while; I need a break from him, and I'd rather not be forced to hypo him due to my own annoyance. Knocking him out would be incredibly welcoming, but it'd just make him stay here longer."

Christine laughed again when Spock raised an eyebrow at the doctor's outburst. "Asking for a little relief, Doctor?" she joked.

He sighed, clearly worn out and not willing to fight over it anymore. "Yes."

She shook her head. "I don't understand why you two just can't get along," she replied, "but if your getting out of here for a while spares Spock another few hours' dose of sedative, then I guess I can oblige."

"Thank you," Dr. McCoy replied with exaggerated gratitude. "I don't think I could've taken listening to his biased opinions on his own health for much longer."

She watched with amusement as he ducked out of Sickbay, no doubt going to talk with the captain over a drink or two. She couldn't blame the guy; with all the stress he had to deal with, an occasional drink with a dear friend was nothing to complain about. She knew that Spock's sudden poisoning had shocked the doctor more than he would have liked to admit, and he was probably a bit emotional seeing the Vulcan suddenly alive and kicking again. He wasn't about to show Spock that relief, however. She knew that all too well.

She turned back to Spock, suddenly feeling awkward and out of place. Clearing her throat, she instinctively picked up a PADD and began scrolling through reports on it, hoping the action might somehow ease the tension. "So, I hear you're feeling better, Spock?" she asked, wishing the awkwardness would just disappear.

"I am in a better state of health than I was before," Spock replied carefully, trying very hard not to get distracted by the blonde sweep of her hair. "Though Dr. McCoy does not seem to believe that," he added, suddenly deciding to encourage the conversation. He didn't know quite why, but he did want to talk to her. She smiled, and he noticed for the thousandth time how beautiful her smile really was.

"Oh, he'll get over it," she replied, tapping a few buttons on the PADD's screen. "He always does. He just gets grumpy after coming through a catastrophe." She shot him a quick look after realizing that he might take the wording badly. She needn't have worried.

"I do not understand why he would be so emotionally inclined," Spock replied with a tilt of his head, "I am perfectly recovered, and there has been no damage done to the ship or her crew."

She glanced away, trying to focus on the PADD and not on Spock's quiet attractiveness in asking a simple question. "Oh, you know us humans," she said quickly. "Always emotional."

She had expected him to fly into a sizable rant about human emotion, but he didn't. She turned around in surprise to see him looking at her, quietly and with an unknowable light enveloping his eyes. "I would not say that it is always a weakness," he finally said, his voice barely audible.

She could barely respond. "What...what do you mean?" she asked breathlessly.

Spock held her gaze instead of looking away. "While I was sedated and the toxin was still in my system, you were with me."

Her shocked face said it all.

"I was not fully unconscious," he continued. "I could hear you talking to me."

She nearly dropped the PADD. She wanted to step back, run away, do anything to get out of the awkward situation, but she couldn't. She was frozen under Spock's gentle gaze, just as she always had been. If what he said was true, then he must have heard her say she loved him. How could she have let that slip? What could he possibly think of that? What would his analytical mind make of it?

"I also believe I felt you wipe the...tears away from my eyes," he added, struggling to admit that he had actually cried, but knowing that he needed to.

She was absolutely frozen now. Her mouth opened, but no speech came out. All she could do was look in those gentle, calm eyes as their owner spoke to her.

"I wanted to tell you...I am very grateful, for all that you did for me. For all that you have ever done for me. I..." His voice trailed off as the doors to Sickbay opened.

"Christine?" It was McCoy's voice, and he instantly realized he'd walked in on something he probably shouldn't have. But there was no fixing that now. "I hate to interrupt, but I was just told they need our help releasing the quarantined patients..." He trailed off, his voice bitter in his throat. He had missed out on something important here, and he really wanted to borrow Spock's equation for time travel to fix it. Unfortunately, getting that equation would be practically impossible, so he had to deal with whatever issue he'd just created. Joy.

Christine choked back into life, and she stammered, "Oh, of course, Doctor. Let me just grab my things, and we can..." she grinded to a halt when she glanced at Spock's eyes, and she forced herself to look away.

"Of course, of course, take your time," McCoy inserted quickly, already backing out towards the hall. "I can get started without you...take your time." He adopted the better part of valor and ducked out.

"Christine?" She turned back in surprise at Spock's use of her first name. "If I can call you that?" he added, and she nodded in dumb response. "Christine, I am very grateful. Perhaps I can speak with you after you attend to the other patients?"

She nodded and tried to speak, but she honestly couldn't tell whether she was dreaming or not. "I would, I mean, yes. Yes, of course," she stammered, once the words had gotten past her throat.

Spock nodded, seeming almost to understand what had just happened. "Thank you," he replied quietly.

Christine left her part of Sickbay totally, and beautifully, stunned.

Another huge shout-out to those who have read, reviewed, and waited patiently for updates! So sorry it took me so long this time around, but don't worry, I'll try not to leave you hanging for too long this time! Reviews help immensely, so please leave one even if you never have before. It's a huge joy to any writer and helps us keep going with our stories. Also, I'm running out of carrots for my plot bunnies and I really need to feed them with something. :)