"You leave him with us now. We will clean him, swaddle him, and place him in the other room then get you. He will again need you then. Go be with your others and take care of your own needs for thirty standard minutes." Kirk heard the words but all he saw was his friend's limp body in their arms.

Only for a moment before he was about to move to take Spock from them did Kirk pause. The taller of the two apprentices gripped his arm, "It is good you wish to help him. You must go now. He will need you when he awakens."

When he awakens. Kirk nodded, reassured, and walked into the other room when the others were waiting.

As he reached out and took the cup of coffee that Uhura handed him he could see they were all waiting for him to say something. "He's sleeping. He's still fighting and confused but now he is sleeping. Some strong medicine that seems to be working."

"Are you alright, Captain? For some time you were not yourself." Uhura had not stopped looking at him and Kirk understood it.

He knew he had to tell them. McCoy looked at him, "That private message tell you what you needed to know, Jim?"

Looking at each one at a time slowly, knowing he had hurt them, Kirk slowly nodded. "That message told me what I needed to know. It told me something McCoy and I suspected too late. Since he boarded the Enterprise Fallet had targeted me to be a puppet. Over the time he was on the ship he was in control of me and while you all saw it I did not. He brought aboard two drugs that have been banned from use for over a hundred years: one I drank and one he put on my daily."

Sulu nodded, "The way he would come into the bridge and would always put both hands on your shoulders and how he brought you coffee?"

"How he said things then looked at you to repeat them and support him. I saw that happen many times and thought you believed him because of him being him, Commodore Fallet. You could not correct him for many reasons." Chekov looked at him. "Mister Spock spoke for us. He did not know either, did he?"

"No," Kirk closed his eyes and shook his head. "I, I did not speak with him all the time Fallet was on the ship. I, I thought at the time it was because I wanted to be with him to learn how he accomplished all he did. I did not know about the drugs till after, till I got the messages left my him, McCoy, and Uhura. I, I only then thought of how I had been as by then I had not been with Fallet for forty-eight hours and my mind was clear. That message just confirmed all that the drugs were able to do to me. It does not excuse,"

"Aye, but tis not your fault, Sir. As for that thing," the engineer stood and Kirk saw a look on his face he had rarely seen before, "I'll be taking care of him."

"Scotty," Kirk started as he had not only seen something in the way the man had stood up but also heard something in the way his chief engineer spoke that made him look at the man and he could tell from the reaction of the others they had also heard it.

.

"Ye nay need ta worry, Sir. I'll nay kill the thing but he will wish to die before he's done the wee job I'll be having him do. Been wondering who I could afford to use and he'll do nicely." Scotty looked towards the door to the room Spock was in, "He'd nay approve but would see the logic and know the job has to be done. I'll be taking him now, show him what he's ta do, and leave a local or two ta watch him. Aye, they'll enjoy watching him."

As the engineer was about to open the door to the room Fallet was in Kirk said, "What sort of job?"

Just for a moment the engineer stopped with the door partly ajar, "Why checking the sewers, Sir. We need to be sure we have them done now don't we? He is the right build to be down then when we check them. He will unblock any that are blocked. Tis easy enough for him."

There was a look of fury and fear on Fallet's face when Scotty pulled him out of the room. It was obvious he had heard what was happening as he looked at Kirk, "Captain Kirk, you cannot allow this. I am,"

"You are here to help these people get their base, which you almost destroyed, back into full running order. If my Chief Engineer says you are the best for a task I believe him. At the moment I can think of no more a suitable place for you to work."

"But do you know what he meant about checking them?"

Kirk looked at the others then at Scotty, "No, but I know that he would not have you do it unless he felt you were right for it."

"Aye, Sir, he is right for it as he is as we need to know if all pipes are unblocked and the sewage is flowing as it should. We've nay got equipment running properly there yet so it must be the old-fashioned way of manual inspection and unblocking." As they started to leave Scotty stopped and looked back at Kirk, "I'll nay be long, Sir. Ye'll nay see him till the morning."

It was only once the door had shut that there was any comment from the others and then it was McCoy who was trying not to laugh, "I don't know why but I think Scotty knows where they will find blocked pipes."

"I think I vould have had him killed and left in the sewers."

Sulu looked at McCoy, "Any chance of him contracting something from the sewage in the pipes? You do realize Scotty said nothing about protective clothing."

Uhura smiled, "He did say that Fallet was right for the job as he is. And if those pipes have been blocked since the explosion."

McCoy looked from Uhura to Kirk and smiled, "I am sure that if those pipes have been blocked for that length of time that Fallet will honestly be physically in what he deserves to be in. I would just love to hear the instructions Scotty gives to the local engineers about what he is to do."

Kirk smiled, "Knowing Mister Scott and the pride he takes in his work I am sure they will be very exact instructions about what he is to do. At least for now he is repaying some of the damage he has caused."

"You best take a bit of time to freshen-up and eat. These next few hours will be rough enough without having to worry about you as well." McCoy handed him some clean clothes and nodded towards a door. "Small ablution area in there. If you are lucky it drains to a block pipe."

Kirk almost felt selfish as he took a long shower. It felt good. He felt almost totally clean, only that part of his mind where he knew that should Spock die it would be his fault alone felt like it would never be clean. He was the reason his best friend was as he was and he was finding that harder to bear as time passed. He wanted to stay in the shower as he, he admitted to himself, was afraid to face what was to come. The woman had said that what was to come was the worst for Spock and that he would be delirious but would remember the angry words. Which ones? Saying he was nothing to him or to stay out of his life? How could he get Spock to understand? "Your hand holding his is substance." The words came back to him. Holding his hand. That simple awareness that he was there with him. "Your hand holding his is substance."

Kirk was just finishing the last bite of his meal when the woman came in and looked at him. "He is in the other room. An apprentice will be just outside the other door should you need assistance."

As he got up he was aware of the others looking at him, "I'll let him know you are all still here waiting for him." He saw no point in telling them that there was a great possibility that Spock would not even be aware of that.

It was a different room, still with the steam but breathable. There was a chair beside a bed and Spock lay on the bed swaddled in damp cloths with just his right arm uncovered. There was a turban like wrapping around his head with just his face and right ear visible. A young man Kirk had seen before, one of the apprentices indicated the chair. "I will be right outside the door should you or he require assistance. I will come in only at those times and when I bring his drink."

Almost fearfully Kirk took Spock's hand. Oddly the swaddling instead of bulking his physique showed just how badly the gainine had ravished his body. He was way too thin. Even the slight plumpness about his cheek bones was gone. The hand in his was almost nothing but bone. "I'm here, Spock. They had me leave while they treated you but I am here now. The others are all waiting for you as well. I am the only one they will let in with you." Gently he squeezed the hand he held as he was afraid of hurting it.

"They?"

"The medical staff here at Bannet Base." Frantically Kirk tried to think. Had Spock said anything to him after his own tirade on the bridge. He saw the startled and hurt look then the searching and finally the accepting looks that had flashed across Spock's face before he had simply said "Yes, Sir." and calmly left the bridge. Last angry words. They had all been his own, not Spock's.

"Starbase Eight."

"We were there. You, you had an accident here."

"You told me to go."

Kirk closed his eyes, Spock remembered. "You went but got hurt."

"Out of your life. You wanted."

"Go on, confuse him more by telling him how you were under the influence of Somneb24 and Confrontal 48. Tell him how you only found out at Starbase Eight and got all the details when you got here about how it would have thrown you for a loop. Go on, he cannot suddenly turn to his station or avoid you. Go on tell him." a small voice in his head laughed at him as he just looked at Spock laying as helpness and confused as he was with his eyes just barely open and looking at him. Kirk gently squeezed the hand again, "I was so wrong about that Spock. But we will talk later. You need to rest."

"Uhura and McCoy safe? Two of them but only one time on pipe."

"They are both fine."

"No. Only one. Who, who did I miss?"

"Spock, you got them both."

"No. You weren't there. Who died?"

Kirk placed his other hand of the one he held and squeezed, Spock was confused and getting irritated, "You took both of them, Spock. You saved them both."

"Uhura with Janet?"

"Yes, Uhura is with Janet."

Spock gasped then shut his eyes and started to shake his head, "No. No. No. I killed McCoy. Not McCoy. Not McCoy."

Quickly Kirk placed his hands on both sides of Spock's head to still him and felt Spock almost immediately relax as he said, "You saved McCoy and Uhura. Uhura is working with Janet. You saved both McCoy and Uhura."

Slowly Spock calmed then looked at him, looked into him. "Your eyes were not your eyes but are now."

"I was," he paused only for a moment, "unwell. I am better now."

"McCoy?"

"Yes, he helped me."

"Janet parts for computer system. Not listed."

"I'll see she gets what she needs."

"Like Mister Scott, parts used."

Not too sure of what he meant but realizing whatever it was could wait all Kirk did was reply, "Yes, she is. You rest. We will talk later."

The old lady came in with another container of liquid and three apprentices who immediately rolled Spock on his side, unwrapped some of the swaddling to remove some packets of herbs and used tongs to replace them with steaming hot ones, swaddled him back as he was, rolled him back onto his back. Spock opened his eyes and looked at Kirk, "McCoy?"

"No, Spock, not McCoy."

"He asks for this one called McCoy?"

"He was confused. He thought he had killed McCoy. He remembers only making one trip to save Uhura and McCoy but thought he only saved Uhura."

The old woman looked at him, "He remembers them? Anything else in order?"

"That we were bound for Starbase Eight, that I had said things to him, then Uhura and McCoy and a pipe, only making on trip to save two, and then Janet needing parts for the computer system."

The woman looked at Spock, "He is Vulcan?"

":His father is Vulcan and his mother Human." For some reason Kirk had assumed the woman knew, had thought McCoy would surely have told her. He saw the woman shake her head, "Does that make a difference?"

She looked at her apprentices, "Bring the one called McCoy here."

When McCoy walked in there was no mistaking the way he looked at Spock, the blend of concerned friend and medical professional, before he looked at the woman, "You asked to see me."

"You said his physiology is Vulcan but have you not found Human elements may interfere with the treatments you give?" it was more a statement than a question, the way McCoy could remember some of his professors correcting them. He had to admit he had been too fascinated with what the woman had been doing, mixing, to think about those few times when the Human genetic factor had posed a problem.

"At the time all I could think about was that Starfleet has no known cure let alone treatment for gainine and was fascinated by what you were doing to think about that as most treatments for Vulcans work on Spock." A moment of panic seized him as he realized his not mentioning may have harmed Spock, "Did,"

"By initially treating him as a full Vulcan we have stopped the gainine and we must now try a blended treatment."

"McCoy?" the baritone voice sounded tired but Kirk felt the hand in his try to move and looked from Spock to the old woman who nodded and Kirk released the hand. "McCoy?" the voice was a bit louder and almost beseeching as though afraid.

McCoy moved close to the bed to where Spock could see him and took hold of the hand, shocked at how thin and weak it was when the fingers tried to grip his hand. "I'm right here, Spock."

"If I may I would," McCoy saw the unasked question in the dark eyes.

Slowly McCoy leaned forward and raised the thin hand in his to his face and held the fingers against his face, "Find what you need, Spock."

Spock found his mind cradled as it touched the recent events in McCoy's mind and saw the events as McCoy had seen them, felt his emotions. The total trust McCoy had in him to resolve the problem at Bannet Base, the certainty that they would find out why Kirk had been acting as he had, and then the absolute faith and trust clearly shown when he had rescued the two of them. There was also a feeling there that something had not been right with James Kirk, that he had not been himself. Somneb24 and Confrontal 48: Fallet had used them on Jim. McCoy was not rushing him but Spock could feel the trepidation he was aware of each time he had even such a minor mind touch as this with McCoy. As he started to withdraw he saw the others smile at Mister Scott taking Fallet to clear drains and the flash of disappointment on Uhura's face when only McCoy was allowed in.

"Thanks you, Doctor McCoy." Spock said as they both mentally returned to the room and others.

"I won't say anytime, Spock, but glad it helped you some."

"Some is too minor a term. You have enabled me to recollect all the events since Commodore Fallet boarded the Enterprise."

Kirk reached out and took Spock's hand, moving to his Vulcan friend could see him, "All events, Spock?"

"All events that I was present at, yes."

"I, I need to apologise as how I acted was,"

"Was clearly the compounded result of Fallet illegally using Somneb24 and Confrontal 48 on you over a substantial time period. I should have suspected something sooner as you eyes were not your eyes. Your eyes were without life."

"That is still no excuse for,"

"Jim, a sustained exposure to a combination of Somneb24 and Confrontal 48 explains many things but does not expain," Kirk prepared himself to hear how badly he had hurt his friend, "why you did not attempt to stop Mister Scott from taking Commodore Fallet to clear unblocked sewage pipes?" There was just the slightest glint of mischievousness about the eyes that made Kirk smile.

"It was agreed with Admiral Billings that he should help. I may have mentioned that to Scotty and he came up with,"

"Did he, at that time, know of Fallet's involvement in the events?"

"Yes, but he assured me he would not kill him, just put him to work." For a moment the two friends looked at each other, so much said that only they heard.

Spock looked up at the old woman, "I thank for your great assistance and skills in saving my life. If,"

The old woman held up her hand to silence him, "It is I who must thank you. I watched you with our young, encouraging them to embrace the new while remembering the past, to learn both new and old skills. I heard it was you alone who decided to immediately return to us and start repairs knowing that it would be you who would be blamed. I know it was you who worked through that first night you were here to get my special hydroponics area repaired, as well as the irrigation to my regular gardens. It was you who fixed the play area for the young and even installed more challenges for them. And you cannot deny you were the one who also made sure that those with limitations had easy access out of the building until the power was bank to full strength."

Kirk was aware of how McCoy was looking at Spock, clearly he had not know what their Vulcan friend had been doing while he and Uhura slept.

"I came to put right,"

Again the hand went up and Spock was quiet, "You came in your Captain's place knowing that he would have been killed by a mob had he come. You came to put right the mistake of others but you also came knowing you could very likely be killed. True?"

"True."

"At the time did you know this could be a suicide mission?"

"I was prepared for that, yes. I was uncertain as to the reception I would get but knew that had Captain Kirk come he would have been killed. I would not let that happen." Spock looked at the woman, "How much longer do I have to remain here like this? There are things I could,"

"Oh no you don't, Spock. Excuse me for putting in, but this hobgoblin has tried that quick exit from Sickbay far too many times." McCoy looked from the woman to Spock, "You are in no condition,"

"To do work. You are well enough to leave if your friends will ensure you do no heavy lifting and you allow them to assist you in moving for the next three days. You must have only light meals, plenty of fluids, and only gradually put your full weight on your legs. Gainine weakens the muscles in Humans and degenerates them in Vulcans. I will release you to McCoy's care only if you give me your word that others will, for the next three days, be supporting you as you walk anywhere," she looked at him, "including ablution areas."

Quickly Spock looked at McCoy and Kirk and saw them both nod. It would be difficult to allow them to assists him with ablutions but if they were willing, "I will accept the support of others as I know I am not physically able to support myself but that I should be able to be relatively independent within that time."

"And the Captain and I will make sure he does not try anything till he is ready for it. The others will also want to help and keep an eye on him. Now," McCoy pointed to the container that the woman had brought in, "do you still want him to drink that? Does he still need to be swaddled?"

Spock quickly looked at McCoy. The good doctor had seen that in his mind, the way he found being swaddled most unpleasant and how that liquid was not only revolting to drink but also tended to cause severe digestive upsets.

"If you have clothes he can wear you may take him to the new quarters arranged for you."

"Yes, we have some clothes he can wear. Thanks you."

"I will leave you then. Once again, we are in your debt. I am pleased the ways of old still work. When you have washed him and dressed him one of my apprentices will come back and clean the room so just leave the swaddling on the floor. I will tell the others they can come in."

After a very brief reunion as they could all see how eager Spock was to be out of his present situation Uhura rushed off to get clean clothes from what had been salvaged of their belongings, Scotty said he had something to get, and Sulu and Chekov found a mobile standing frame still in good working order and had a short discussion about what height to set it to, Sulu repeatedly testing that the hydraulics would enable Spock to get from a seated position to an upright position easily.

With the help of McCoy and Kirk and dressed in the clothes Uhura had returned with Spock raised an eyebrow when he saw the standing frame. He had prepared himself of a chair for some sort even though he would prefer to stand more as was more than pleasantly surprised to see the standing frame. "I believe the Captain asked you to find a chair." As he looked at the two of them Sulu immediately looked at Chekov and Spock then looked at him, "Am I to believe you found the frame?"

"I know the Keptin said a chair but you must stand for your legs and I thought it vould let you stand and help you onto and out of a chair. I am,"

"You were correct in your assumption, Mister Chekov. Thank you." Gently Kirk and McCoy supported him as he slowly walked to it. The time Sulu had taken to get the hydraulics to work properly was worth it as Spock easily managed the switches and nodded with satisfaction and it allowed him to stand correctly and eased him down to a seat and back up.

"Thank you for your time in adjusting the timing in the hydraulics, Mister Sulu. The fine touch is what let me know it was you work."

"Nobody could tell us when it had last been used to I just stripped it and cleaned it up was all."

Another eyebrow raised, "I hardly doubt if that was all, Mister Sulu, but thank you all the same."

Scotty walked in and handed them each a clean and fully charged communicator, "I Know you'll be wanting some time on your own," he had looked at Spock, "and ye need it after all this but with these we are right there when ye need us for anything."

"Thank you, Mister Scott. I will appreciate having time to reflect yet will be pleased to know should I require assistance I need not call out and disturb others." The engineer nodded but could tell from how Spock was looking at him there was more. "Might I ask where Commodore Fallet is right now?"

"Right at this time, Sir?"

"Yes."

"I will find that out for ye?'

"Do you know where he is?"

"Oh, aye, he is still clearing the block drains. Me other lads are doing different drains that do not see to be so blocked. Once the ship comes with the new pipes it will all be like new."

Janet and some of the other young people came in and expressed their pleasure at seeing Spock recovering and then came back in with food and drink and left the seven of them dine in private. It was the friendly silence that was often there on the bridge. The contentment of all be there, of all being as it should be. Kirk had been in contact with Starbase Eight and told that the Enterprise would be ready for their return and that they should return as soon as the supply crafts got to Bannet Base. They were all to make their statements about what Commodore Fallet had been like on the Enterprise and his treatment at Bannet Base.

One of the local men knocked on the door and asked to speak with Mister Scott. They spoke quietly for a few minutes then the engineer returned and was smiling broadly as he looked at all of them and then just at Kirk and Spock, "Ah, I told ye I'd find out where Fallet was at the time you asked. Seems me lad found him a suitably blocked pipe and Fallet foolishly went about unblocking it incorrectly. At least that's what me lad said. He told Fallet it would be fairly recent waste." There was something in the smile Scotty gave Spock that made Kirk uneasy and Kirk saw an eyebrow raise. "He may have thought he got one over us, Sir, but ye should know ye got all over him."

"Scotty?"

"The pipe was from what Mister Spock was in." For a moment all were silent then Kirk looked at McCoy then at Spock as he remembered how what was in those baths, when he remembered how the drinks had flushed Spock's systems."

"Aye, Mister Spock got that all over him, Sir."

A/N Thanks to those who read and reviewed.

Have had medical and machine problems so many not be on for some time.