Disclaimer: I own S'Brin, the Hernandez's, Tzu, and Simon. Everyone else belongs to Paramount.
Pairings: Some Ch/S (one sided, unfortunately for her), and again with the light dose of S/Mc.
Reviews:
Rissa Of The Saiya-Jin: I'm not exactly sure of what you mean… There are no rodents in this story, literal or metaphorical. But thanks for your review. Perhaps this chapter will be a little clearer in regards to intent…
Allergic-to-Paradox: I can neither confirm nor deny your hypothesis; I don't want to spoil the story. ;)
Kohaku-Kawa: I love theories; they make life interesting. But, like I said before, I'm not going to confirm or deny anything related to the plot until (obviously) I actually wrote it in the story.
((Author's Note: So, the last part of this chapter (Christine's POV) was written before I wrote chapters 2-6. Hence you'll notice the baby isn't even mentioned. I know that. I tried to add mention of him in, but it never seemed to fit. Yet, I feel that the omission actually adds to the mood of that part. If you don't agree, that's fine, just say so in your review but keep your flames at bay.))
Chapter 6: We're Doing All We Can
When they materialized in the transporter room, Spock fell to his knees and screamed. Kirk and the others huddled around him. The room was deafening with the baby and Spock's cries of pain. One of the security guards ran to the comm. and called for a doctor.
"Spock, what's wrong?"
"Child…" Spock gasped out. "Touch-tele… agony… take it!" Spock groaned, thrusting the baby into Kirk's arms. Instantly, the intensity was lessened, but he still felt a great deal of pain. However, this he could control. The baby screamed louder.
"Spock, I didn't know your touch telepathy was so intense with children," Kirk began, but then he wobbled slightly, "Oh no…"
"Captain?" Spock asked.
"I… I feel like I've got a migraine all of a sudden." He ran a finger along the slope of the baby's ear. "I think I know why."
If the green complexion had not been evidence enough, Spock's suspicions that the child was Vulcanoid were confirmed when he saw the tiny point at the tip of the little ear.
One of the medical orderlies came in and gave the baby a shot of the genetic stabilizer. She offered to scan Spock, but he declined. Kirk began bouncing the child in his arms some and the boy calmed down a great deal.
"All better now, aren't you, little guy? Did you name him, Mr. Hernandez?"
"No, senor. Jeraldo wanted to give this little one to his own Papis. We didn't think it would be right to name a little one who wasn't ours," Ivan replied softly.
"How's McCoy?" Kirk asked the orderly. She shook her head.
"Doctor M'Benga is doing his best, sir, and all the nurses, too. I'm really the only one we felt we could spare. Should I set up a pediatric care unit in Sickbay for this little guy?"
"That would be a good idea. When he's really stable and fed and clothed and all that, get a DNA scan done. I want to know whose DNA these two stole."
"Stole? From where? If we had a specific database to search, it will be quicker."
"Starfleet Medical." Spock stated.
"Really? Okay. Well, could one of you bring him to Sickbay? I need my hands free to set up the pediatric unit."
"I will." Spock said. "Hopefully, with my touch-telepathy, I can keep the child from crying while the Sickbay staff works."
Kirk nodded and handed the baby off. "Plus, I think he likes you better." He said with a smile. Spock merely cocked an eyebrow in response.
Christine:
She gasped when she saw he was still here. It wasn't like him to stay longer than necessary. She supposed even he could be moved by this horror. He stood beside the biobed staring intently at the moniter.
"Mister Spock?"
"What is his condition, Nurse?"
She walked over and stood in front of him, looking only at her boss rather than the man she'd pined after for all these years. "The phaser was on heavy stun, thank God. His ribcage absorbed most of the blast, but…"
"But?"
"The blast caused his heart to… restart, as it were. Like a defibrillator would. The rhythm was thrown off, and so Doctor McCoy's body has all but shut down, trying to right itself. He's in a coma at present."
Medical mode was so much easier to be in when talking to him… anything else and she ran the risk of breaking down… Wanting to be held or to be so overly emotional… It didn't matter. He didn't want her either way. She needed to get over him.
But she couldn't.
Spock turned and looked at Len. She wondered if it was because he knew what she was thinking, feeling. That was ridiculous.
"Is he on artificial respiration?"
"No, but his breathing is weak and irregular. We're keeping an eye on him, Mister Spock." You don't have to worry, she thought.
But how could she think that when all of sickbay was worried sick at the thought that he might not come out of this coma? To her knowledge, he didn't have much to live for. Oh, there was his job, but the mission was winding down and he'd told her before that he didn't know what he was going to do when it ended… And there was his daughter, but she was a grown woman, already engaged, it wasn't as though she would stick around to keep him company.
It seemed everyone was willing to desert him. Even she herself was planning on returning to med-school to become a full-fledged MD. The captain was going to become an admiral, and Spock… She didn't want to think about what he was going to do. It broke her heart to try.
"I shall as well." Spock stated.
"What?"
She never thought she'd see him wait at someone's bedside while they were… That just seemed too emotional to her!
"The Hernandez's are in custody, and we are en route to Star-Base 6 to deposit them. I am not required there and Doctor McCoy…"
She could see the gaping holes in Spock's logic, even from here.
"I'm sure he'll feel better knowing you were here, but…"
"I would not know, Christine."
She sighed. Of course he would. He and McCoy argued about things like that every day. But it wasn't her squabble. They were both foolish boys and she was a hopeless woman. She could never understand them.
((Author's Note 2: For a picture I drew of Hernandez shooting McCoy (Chapter 6) and a few comics relating to this story (and some that don't), please feel free to go to my website, the link of which is on my website. All comics are rated G and the standard disclaimers apply.))
