Character/Pairing: Uhura/Spock, McCoy
Rating: M For swearing
Summary: Spock reveals how he disappeared. The boys have a fight.
'So what happened, Spock? One minute you were there, then another you were gone.' McCoy frowned into his coffee, still perplexed by Spock's earlier disappearance.
'I noticed a plant, it was a ches'lintak….'
'What's that?' McCoy interrupted.
'I was about to explain, Doctor. It is a Vulcan plant known for its healing properties. I thought it incredibly odd to find one on this planet, which of course would be inexplicable. When I picked it up, it somehow…I realized I was mistaken and dropped it. But it….it cut or pricked me. I cannot recall which—except that this all happened in seconds. I felt disoriented and wandered away from the rest of the landing party. I had not realized what I had become until sometime later when I discovered the others.'
'The others? The other werewolves?' Uhura interjected.
'Yes, you were correct in your assumption, Nyota, that the original scouting party were turned into werewolves. They have expanded their numbers, however. I believe there are over twenty of them now. Possibly more.'
'Oh, jeez. Well, how do you know? Did you see any shift?' McCoy tapped his fingertips against his coffee cup.
'Only one. He was much older than the picture from the report, but I believe he was leader of the landing party. He helped me find food. Showed me a safe place to rest.'
'Do werewolves need safe places? Don't they run in packs or something?' McCoy asked.
'The ones who attacked the camp were the younger ones. They were mainly curious, but they do see our presence as a threat. I sensed a rift between young and old, but it is more of a family disagreement, if you will.'
'Yeeesh, I'd rather not get in the middle of some family feud.' McCoy muttered.
'Quite, Doctor. Needless to say, I have kept a 'low profile'. I have not been able to fully avoid altercations with them, however.'
'Mmmmhm.' McCoy shot a look over the lip of his coffee cup at Uhura and drained the rest of the cooled, dark liquid.
'What happened to your tricorder, Spock?' Uhura finally spoke.
'I dropped it when I shifted. I need to go back and find it today before I shift again.'
'Yeah, about that—do you have any control over shifting?'
'Not like the others have. I am still….struggling to adapt to the sensations, the urges. I have not yet mastered it.' Spock raised his eyebrows, a Vulcan shrug.
'But shifting is contingent on it being either night or day, right?' Uhura asked.
'I believe so. Or rather, I have not seen otherwise, yet. Normally, everyone rests during the day.'
'Christ, well, that's comforting. We've been walking around here in the middle of the day like it's summer camp.' McCoy said.
'Then I suggest you and Nyota exercise more caution.'
'We need to find that plant.' McCoy looked at Uhura.
'We need to find Spock's tricorder first,' she answered.
'Well, Spock, are you up to making the trip? It'll take us only a couple of hours round-trip.'
Spock nodded, 'I will be fine, Doctor.' McCoy got up first and went to gather his tricorder and phaser.
'You were very brave, Nyota.' Spock said, referring to their encounter in the tree. He extended two fingers to touch the back of her hand.
She looked at him, 'You were so confused. Yet, you somehow still knew me. I never dreamed it could be you. But the way you acted. It was so strange to recognize things in something…someone so different. It was a wild hope.'
'You only responded to a recognition that I had of you. Nevertheless, it was a hunch that paid off. For which I am grateful. For your reminder of who I am and what we mean to each other.' The metal door banged open and McCoy stood in the doorway, clearing his throat.
Uhura sighed and Spock withdrew his fingers from the back of her hand.
The trip back to where Spock disappeared was fairly uneventful. They'd been blessed with only a drizzle and no heavy rains. It was Spock who suffered the most for it, though his rigid posture belied any real discomfort. He was barefoot still, but they managed to find another blanket for him to drape over his head and shoulders. It gave him a distinctly otherworldly appearance.
He led them to where he found the plant, but he couldn't find where he dropped it. A little further away, McCoy found a boot and shreds of a black undershirt. He handed the boot to Spock, who pulled it on.
'I can see why this all went down with anyone hardly noticing. This is a pretty thick part of the forest we're in. If you hadn't brought us here, Spock, we'dve never found this place, even if we wanted to. In fact, we didn't. And we were all over this place looking for you.' McCoy stood up and began looking at the ground. 'A plant just can't get up and walk away, Mr. Spock.'
'Theoretically, no. However, we are dealing with alien fauna that no one has ever recorded. So we do not know what plant life here is capable of.'
'Christ, this is a disaster.' They both turned when they heard a shout from Uhura.
'I found it! I found the tricorder!' She waved it over her head triumphantly, standing in the middle of a clump of bushes.
On the way back, she walked ahead of McCoy and Spock by some distance, wanting to be on the lookout for anything sharp on the ground that Spock might step on. They were both absorbed in the tricorder, re-playing all the data that Spock recorded before he changed. Their conversation rose and fell in murmurs and she paid them no mind as she examined the ground.
'Now wait just a damn minute, Spock!' Uhura looked over her shoulder. The men had stopped, facing each other with Spock holding his tricorder. 'You aren't in command here! I am! And your idea is outrageous. You could hurt her if something were to happen to you!'
Uhura couldn't hear what Spock was saying back to McCoy, but there was tenseness in his shoulders and his mouth was pressed into a tight line. She turned and started walking back over to them.
'Oh no you don't! You stay right where you are!' She stopped at McCoy's angrily pointed finger. The men stared at her for a moment, then turned and walked away from her, their discussion heated, McCoy practically hissing.
'What is going on, people?' She raised her voice, her hands on her hips. 'You know, I think I have a right to hear this conversation if it's to do with me. I can make my own decisions.'
They stopped arguing and turned to her, before resuming their discussion. McCoy finally drew himself up and snapped, 'Fine, go ahead and ask her!' His blue eyes glared at Spock's back, who walked over to Uhura.
'Nyota, the Doctor has relieved me of command.' Spock folded his hands at his waist, looking very much like some woodland mystic.
'Seems reasonable.' She shrugged, McCoy had that power after all. 'But that's not what you want to tell me, is it?'
'No, Nyota. It is not. I wish to bond with you in marriage. I realize that we were to wait until the Vulcan ceremony with my parents….however, I think it would be beneficial to both of us if we were to bond now.'
Uhura looked over to McCoy, who just folded his arms and stared at them.
'Spock, you know it doesn't matter to me when we do it. But is there a reason why it has to be now?'
'Since I am non-verbal when I shift, I thought perhaps you could….perhaps interpret or translate what I am feeling or seeing. It could be helpful in the investigation or…if something were to happen to either of us.'
'Okay, but, wait-- Aren't you planning on staying with us?'
'It is unlikely. It would be safer for everyone if I were to remain with the others. However, if we were to connect, you may gain insight into the things I experience. Of course, we would be parted and never parted…' Spock's eyes came to rest on her mouth.
She closed her eyes for a moment, 'Okay, Spock. I'll bond with you.' She put her hands on his wrists and leaned up to kiss him.
'This is a stronger bond, Nyota. It is permanent.' He turned his head slightly and her kiss landed next to his mouth.
'I already know that!' She frowned up at him.
'I am trying to tell you that there could be a danger when I shift.'
'But I already melded you when you were changed.'
'We weren't connected when I shifted though. Nor have you held a mind link longer than a few hours. I am just trying to alert you to all the possibilities and dangers.'
'Spock, there's a danger in waking up in the morning. Being with the man I love isn't going to deter me from what might happen.'
'For your sake, I hope so. If something were to happen to me, there is little McCoy could do for you. You could risk mental instability.'
'And if something happened to me, you wouldn't?'
'It would be different, I am already…lost to this new change.' This time, Spock did shrug, however infinitesimally.
Uhura looked up at him incredulously, 'We haven't even begun to fight, Spock. Don't give up on me now.'
He looked down at her tenderly, 'No, I will exhaust every possibility before that happens.' She smiled up at him.
Uhura looked over at McCoy, who was still frowning at them. She walked over to him and hugged him.
'You tryin' to peacemake me, Lieutenant?' McCoy was still upset.
'Len, it's not a crazy idea. We don't have much to go on to begin with, try to understand that we're only doing what we think could help. I can't just deny him.'
'I know, Ny. I know! I still don't like it though. There are too many risks.'
'Doctor, I'm not going to be out of your sight for a moment. I am after all, your only patient. You can hover over me for as much as you like.' She grinned at him brilliantly.
McCoy groaned. He'd won the battle with Spock but lost the war with Uhura, 'You think you have it all figured out, don't you? Come on, let's get back.' He slung his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. They joined Spock and they all walked back to the outpost discussing their next plan.
