It made me happy to know there are people enjoying this story. I updated it out of the fact I had missed it, and even got reviews!

(And I love reviews.)

So, thanks Ciles4Life, for the enthusiastic review, and thanks to the Guest who pointed out every fandom should have a crossover with TOS. I have never thought of it in that way, but I couldn't agree more!

TOS Nanny

Chapter 10: Bonding

Niles had already dressed and was getting back to the privacy room with a pile of clothes for Miss Babcock on his arm.

She needed those urgently, because first he had cut her older uniform in order to treat her, and then she had tore apart her hospital gown in a frenzy of passion.

He raised a brow at her naked figure sitting on the biobed, the hands joined on her lap and her face as neutral as ever. It was hard to believe that same stoic creature was the who had been yelling in his mind what Niles' understood as declarations of eternal belonging engulfed in waves of pleasure.

(It was in Vulcan – so, all he could get was the feeling, not the exact words.

And it was almost worst, because showing feelings were not easy for a proud half-Vulcan, and she had done plenty of it in the last hours.)

He locked the door, cleared his throat and asked, to break the silence, while getting closer, 'So, you mentioned you were not expecting it to happen'.

'Indeed', she answered, looking at the pile of clothes and noticing he had put it besides her, on the bed and, instead of taking the uniform to give her, he did so to another hospital gown, 'Doctor, I consider myself under enough control now, that I am capable of resuming my activities. I don't see the necessity of…'

'I noticed you didn't like gowns by the way you treated the other one', he dryly answered, and forced himself to ignore the mix of annoyance and endearment at his sarcasm he could feel coming from her and brushing his mind, 'And I know how annoying it is to you to be examined and all, but I'm speaking now as your physician: I need to make some more evaluations before stating you are fit for duty'.

He had spoken while unfolding the gown and opening it in front of her, showing he was waiting for her to move and raise her arms for him to help her with it.

'You could make examinations while I wear my uniform'.

'And you should not underestimate me so much. Do you think our recently bloomed love story made me forget how many times you ran away from here while I turned my back for a second to get material to give you a regular physical?'

She kept looking at his eyes, ignoring the open gown, and he felt amusement rising in her.

(And a strong feeling of comfort at their bantering, because it revolved around the knowledge they had of each other.)

She finally looked at the gown and raised her arms, 'I never ran away'.

He smirked, moving a bit as if he needed to adjust the gown on her body, but just making sure the thing was as neat as a Vulcan would find proper, 'Amuse me, Hobgoblin: how would you describe your escapes, then?'

'I usually leave Sickbay as soon as I verify the basic procedures have been done, once Vulcan meditation techniques are more suitable to treat any complex misfortunes I get involved in than any of your prods and potions'.

Niles finished the pretense of tidying her up with a soft caress to her side, over her beating heart, and stopped in front of her, 'Sometimes I wonder why you even bother to come, if you despise my methods so much'.

'Starfleet Medicine has advanced a lot, and you are one of the most knowledgeable in your field, Doctor. However, Vulcans have developed techniques that are superiorly adapted to their own needs'.

She didn't elaborate any further, and it was not really necessary – both knew she was saying she just bothered going to Sickbay because she respected him as a professional.

And liked him as company, of course.

Niles made a gesture of agreement and crossed his arms in front of him, 'I hope you don't mind me saying – and I really hope, because I can feel you from here and I wouldn't like to break the sweet moment', he paused to smile at the way the corners of her mouth raised just the tiny bit, 'but what has put us in this situation is some Vulcan ancient voodoo, and I would like to understand it better'.

He felt her stress strongly and uncrossed his arms. He had a degree in Psychology, and knew that his body language could be read as resistance.

Miss Babcock breathed in and out, straightened her back and raised her chin to show him, through body language, too, that she had mastered emotions again, 'It's a very well guarded tradition, Doctor. You must understand Vulcans don't talk about it'.

'I would have deduced so by the fact it involves loosing control', he saw her nodding and added, 'And that is why I would appreciate if you explained it to me. Science and Engineering are analyzing data and trying to understand how the planet can mess with our scanners, but I think just the two of us should know and find out what happened to you'.

She finally understood his reasons, and both were invaded by warm things shared through the link – gratitude, fondness, tenderness, respect, admiration.

Belonging.

Niles opened his mouth, startled by the force of the feelings, and put his hands on his face.

Miss Babcock inclined into his direction, putting her hands on his waist to bring him a bit closer and feel better what was going on.

She felt his effort to suppress something and knew he wanted her to wait.

She obeyed, keeping her hands on him, anyway, and seized the opportunity to enjoy their closeness in this moment when she was not still in total control but not the savage she had been before.

It was a very pleasant experience – savoring his smell, feeling his heat, noticing how his hair changed color under different lights, how his skin had a fascinating tanned tone…

'You're not helping with these thoughts', he finally spoke, taking the hands from his face and sniffing.

He had his eyes slightly red.

He had been crying.

She immediately raised her hand to his psi-points, but he took it midway, 'Don't get in my head, now', he asked, softly, 'I'm too emotional'.

She frowned, turning her hand in his to hold it as they had done before, 'Are you ashamed of your emotions, Doctor?'

He sniffed again, adjusting his fingers around her hand, 'Of course not. Don't you dare use it to try winning our never ending argument of reason versus emotion', he sniffed again and breathed deeply to clear his nose, 'I just think you don't have to go through it'.

She kept silent for a moment, feeling what she could through their link, and being cautious to not prod too much, 'You were… overwhelmed'.

'Yes', he answered, slowly disentangling their hands and putting hers back on his waist, 'I was not prepared for this'.

'This, Doctor? Specify, please'.

Niles sighed, his eyes closing for a moment, 'This sureness', he opened them again, 'I always know what is going on between us. The misunderstandings are over. When something is good, it is amplified, because it is both of us knowing, and feeling, and sharing, and knowing that the other knows exactly what is happening and then knowing the other is pleased because both of us know what is happening…', he shook his head, 'It's like…', he looked for a comparison, 'Fibonacci numbers creating fractals: you have something that, once started, keeps evolving and resonating and maintaining the basic image but turning into something bigger and bigger', he looked at her, troubled, 'Something that never ends…'

'That is why this link can be dangerous to non-telepathic species', she explained, a hint of regret coming from her, 'Even if my control were totally recovered, you would have access to my feelings and intentions, and it can take the equivalent to Earth years to get familiar with the intensity of Vulcan emotions'.

He nodded, 'With your parents… It was like this?'

'Yes. My father was Human, and I spent a good part of my time with him learning how to block his flows of feelings', she schooled her expression to hide how he felt about it, 'Luckily, once my mother was an ambassador, they were rarely in Vulcan, and I was left to study and develop my abilities with a well trained staff'.

'It must have been annoying to you to block me out, then', he said, his face saddened, 'I'm sorry for bringing back a bad experience'.

'It's different, Niles', she answered, taking his hands in hers.

He got started by her quick reaction, the use of his name and the warmth from her touch, that seemed to travel from his hands to his arms and reach, curiously, his heart.

He felt calmer quickly: she was letting her appreciation for him flow through the link, reinforcing he had such a strong personality he had all the chances of defending himself from her mental invasions.

(What was a veiled half-insult and a great compliment.)

The calmness flooded him, this time slowly, and he felt the pleasure of knowing something good was happening and would not stop until it completed itself and filled him completely.

'Thank you', he murmured, smiling, after some time in silence, just sharing the peace, 'You have a wonderful bedside manner'.

She passed her tongue in front of her teeth in one of the very few malicious gestures she permitted herself, 'I do you the favor of calming down your primitive Human nerves and what I deserve is you comparing my Vulcan advanced healing techniques…'

'Emotional healing techniques, you mean'.

'…comparing them to ancient Earth physicians theatrical routines'.

He squinted at her playfully, 'I'm sooo unprepared for your God-like features…'

She scoffed.

He started turning and, before she took away her hands from his, to let him go, he brought them to his mouth and kissed them in a gentlemanly gesture.

He freed her hands and took a medical scanner from the pocket of his trousers, smiling at what he could see in his peripheral vision: Miss Babcock had put one hand on her side, over her heart, while the other was brought up in front of her face. She was looking at it as if it had changed into a recently discovered life form.

'Fascinating?', Niles gave her a lopsided grin.

'Indeed', she agreed, her brow raising.

He turned on the scanner and started hovering it over her body, 'So, let's try again: what can you tell me about what happened to you?'

She started talking without hesitance, her hands resting on her lap again, 'It's called Pon Farr – Mating Time. It is an hormonal imbalance that occurs to Vulcans from time to time. Each person has a particular cycle and an epoch to start but, usually, the cycle repeats itself each seven years, and the date of beginning is around twenty-five years old', she followed the scanner with attention, 'As you must know, Earth and Vulcan years are roughly the same lenght'.

Niles nodded, 'The hormones involved are the ones related to sexuality?'

'Yes'.

'But then…', he looked at her, 'It works as puberty for Humans?'

'Indeed'.

Niles paused and straightened his back, shock emanating from him, 'You just entered puberty?!'

'I must remind you, Doctor, that Vulcans have a much longer lifespan than Humans. It is not uncommon for my species to live until almost two hundred years, while Humans with most longevity reach, even with Medicine advances, one hundred and fifty. So, our puberty happens when we are older than your species. What is a very useful evolutionary trait, once it permits one to be physically formed and intellectually mature when it happens'.

He resumed his procedures, 'In Humans – and I hope you understand I relate things to the human body because that is from where I have my information – puberty is the phenomenon that really matures the body, once it gets the person ready to procreate'.

'In Vulcans, the first Pon Farr arises interest in sexuality through the intense experimentation of it, but Vulcan can have experiences before they experience The Fever, and between Fevers. If I was in my home planet, I would be watched and trained during the first one, in order to prevent forming undesirable telepathic bonds with occasional partners, as I heard happens to lots of Humans until today'.

'Well, at least we were lucky that I am your physician', Niles said, and it was evident he had been hurt by her words about undesirable partners.

'Doctor', she called him.

'What?', he answered, not taking his eyes from the scanner.

She sent him a mental message that meant something like You're strangely attractive when grumpy, and his head snapped at her.

He blinked at her Vulcan smirk, surprised, then felt his hurt melt at her playful mood.

She felt him relaxing and going back to getting data with his scanner, and resumed, 'Being in Pon Farr takes out our control, and Vulcans are, as you know, even more passionate than Humans. So much that we had to develop mental barriers that contained our primal emotions, in order to develop as a species and build a civilization', she paused enough to stress what she was going to say next, 'A Vulcan in Pon Farr will die without a suitable partner. I was really fortunate to have you with me when it happened'.

He blushed, 'And… the way it happened… with no warn. Is it like this to everyone?'

'No. The process usually takes at least one week, usually two, to reach the point we saw today'.

'So, we must discover what made it happen in a matter of hours, to you?'

'In fact, it took forty-five hours, thirty minutes and seven seconds, to me. And one of the decisive factors was that you touched me directly in the cave, when I…'

'Whoa, whoa, whoa!', Niles turned off the scanner and looked at her with all of his attention, 'What do you mean by forty five hours and… a bit? You mean it didn't start in the planet?'

'Obviously not, Doctor, once we were in the planet for three hours and seven minutes when I attacked you'.

'First, you didn't attack me', he made a negative with his hand, 'Second, we were already orbiting the planet, two days ago. You say you had symptoms since then, and you never told your Doctor that you were going through a major life changing process?'

'Doctor McCoy, I marvel at your ability to get troubled by my actions, even when they are dictated by the most obvious logic paths'.

'Oh, really? Show me the logic of hiding information from your physician, then', he said, crossing his arms over his chest in annoyance.

'I started feeling the symptoms of Pon Farr when we established our accidental link in Sickbay. I spent the following night meditating on the subject and, even if I had some evidence pointing at Mating Time, I could not be certain that was what was occurring', she leaned her head, 'I have passed the usual time for the first one to happen, and Vulcan healers have speculated my mixed heritage spared me The Fever'.

'That you're not a teenager anymore, even a Vulcan one, is easy to see', he zingered, shrugging, and uncrossed his arms, 'However, you still should have shared it with me. I was involved in the process, anyway'.

'Vulcans have no pride in getting into it, Doctor', he felt her effort in keeping her cool façade, 'And the fact you were involved turned the notion of sharing the fact I felt sexually stimulated by you, and could be entering a process that would lead to us having intercourse or me dying… an awkward subject of conversation'.

'Awkward is the fact you call it intercourse'.

'It's the correct medical word for the physiological act'.

'It's not really about physiology, uhm? There are the hormones and the altered body functions, but it's not just that', he turned on the medical scanner again, to have something to set his eyes on and occupy himself, 'At least, not to me'.

Miss Babcock spoke with softness, 'No, it's not just that, in our case, and that is why I owe you an apology for my actions'.

'I don't see the logic in apologizing for something you have no control over'.

'There in the planet was my first Pon Farr – I really didn't know how to deal with it. However, I was not totally inexperienced in sexual matters. When I woke up in Sickbay I already knew what was happening, and should have opted for meditating on my urges, not surrendering to them', she sent regret through the link, 'I should have refrained from abusing you'.

'Babcock, please, it was not abuse. I wanted it'.

'We have no way of knowing if you wanted it, or were under mental control through the bond, as I have tried to explain to you in the occasion'.

He sighed, 'Desire is something that manipulates the brain in every species known to Science, Miss Babcock. Human women will secrete pheromones when they're ovulating, for example, what turns them more attractive to males. They got more curvy, too…', he said, and realized he had been scanning her breasts for too much time. Clearing his throat and taking the scanner away, he pointed at her chest, 'Exhibit A'.

She raised a brow and he heard clearly in his mind her amusement at his flustered face, Fascinating.

He tried to resume his train of thought, 'Well, what I mean is that, for me to want you as I do, the process is more complicated than you finding the right spot in my mind and touching it until I come', he blushed even more, 'Orgasms are about that, but if I got it right from our bond, what we were sharing had a sense of belonging that was beyond reaching climax together for hours and hours'.

She just nodded, not taking her eyes from his lips, and Niles felt his hands trembling.

She saw it, too, and her eyes got heated again.

He felt the wave of desire and, even if he knew the conversation was not helping them to get clear heads, he couldn't stop now – he had to say it all to her, 'Besides, Hobgoblin, it was a magnificent experience. You were there, I don't have to tell you: the join of minds made us feel the sensations of both bodies, at the same time. I could feel everything you did to me, and everything I did to you, and vice-versa… It was that amplifying thing I was talking about, but with sex between two people who really care for each other'.

He hadn't noticed he had given a step forward and was between her legs again, passing the scanner over her back, in a position that no medical book would have suggested.

She brought her hands up and rested them on his chest, 'If we don't severe the bond soon, it will quickly turn permanent'.

'Is there any problem for you in a permanent bond?', he whispered in her ear.

Her pointed ear.

He had spent years wishing he could lick that lobule and suck that pointed end…

As he was doing now...

Wait… what?

Niles heard Miss Babcock groaning in pleasure and forced himself to let go of her ear.

He planted his lips on her shoulder, unable to completely take them from her, and bestowed kisses there while he spoke, 'I'm sorry. I got carried away'.

She breathed deeply, her nails grazing his blue uniform shirt over his chest, 'Indeed, Doctor, this is one of the problems'.

'Uhm?'

'You asked if there is any problem in the developing of such a bond, and I know you meant a psychic limitation for me, but in fact, the problem is related to your health and freedom of mind'.

'Explain', he asked, his lips and tongue tasting the skin of her shoulders, his hand opening up her gown for him to have access to the skin of her back, in a gesture neither of them knew if was related to the scanner he still had in one of his hands or with some ideas he had about discovering how nerve endings worked on her back.

'Bonds forged during Pon Farr are strongly sexual in nature, and one of the main characteristics of primitive sexuality is that it seeks the formation of pairs', she helped him to take her gown off completely, 'The elements of desire include marks of domination over the partner's body. The exchange of fluids is a territorial marking, too'.

'It doesn't seem so bad', he commented, his hand travelling by her bare side.

And as if on cue, her hands reached the front of his trousers and she ripped them open.

He stopped his exploration of her shoulder and neck (with lips) and side (with hand) and looked down, surprised at her strength.

'It's a propriety bond', she said, her eyes on fire, 'I can claim you whenever and wherever I want', she said, taking the collar of his blue shirt to rip it open, too.

He looked down at the clothes dangling from his sides and smirked, 'Now I think you're just showing off…'

His smirk ignited her fire even more, and she pushed him to hers, her naked center wet against his still clothed one, 'You must know', she sounded hoarse, using his arm still on her back as support for her to incline a bit backwards and rub herself against him, 'You felt side effects of the amplified emotions of the bond, some moments ago…', she brought her legs up, her feet forcing his buttocks against her in a display of flexibility and strength he should have known she was capable of, 'You can have side effects if it's severed…'

'I did already, when they knocked you out', he told her, and her body got tense. Knowing why through the bond, he hurried to clarify, 'They saw nothing, just you being territorial of me, and I told them you had got delirious', she relaxed, 'And now that I know what that emptiness meant, I'm sure I can deal with it if it happens again'.

'It surely will', she rubbed more forcefully against him, and he felt her alien wetness soaking his boxers and dripping by his leg, 'We have a very dangerous line of work'.

'Let's deal with that bridge when we get there', he half stated half pleaded, bringing his free hand (the one that was not still holding stubbornly the medical scanner) to pull at his boxers and take them out of the way.

He had to wait for a moment, because Babcock felt his decision of going forward on things and pulled him for a kiss, forgetting completely that if she didn't give him some space he would not be able to take the boxers away.

They lost themselves in the kiss, massaging each other's tongues and enjoying the moment more than they had been able to, in the cave or even in that same place, earlier.

(Or they were going better acquainted with The Fever, or with each other.)

He mentally asked her How long?, meaning Pon Farr.

Seven days.

Yowza!

She chuckled at that.

His heart soared at such a rare display of Human behavior, and the link was sudden thick with his I love you.

She stopped kissing him and backed enough to look into his eyes.

There was a stunned silence between them.

Niles was starting to ask himself – and her, through the link – if he should say he was sorry, even if he had really meant it; however, she lowered her legs from his back and rested her hands on his cheeks, 'If we don't stop now and the bond gets totally forged, you won't be permitted other partner with any level of psychic abilities'.

He chuckled affectionately, 'Oh, Babcock, you can be sure that I won't want any other partner who can enter at will in my head…', he felt her intense stare on him and turned serious, 'The way things are now, I can't think of wanting any other partner…'

She jumped off the biobed, took him by the arm and almost threw him on it, making him lie down as if he didn't weight anything, took the scanner he was still holding from his hand and threw it away.

The thing fell to the floor with a loud noise.

She easily climbed on the bed, got on her knees and arms and stayed in her fours, her face above his, their bodies not touching, and growled, 'Will you give yourself to me?'

Niles knew what she was doing – she was giving him some space, so he could decide what he wanted to do. Even in her altered state, positioned as a feline ready to devour her prey, she knew the moment they touched it would be impossible to do any rational choice. Now, with their bodies apart, both were feeling the strong waves of desire going from one to the other, but were still able to stop, if they decided so.

'I am already yours, Babcock, bond or no bond', Niles answered, very serious, then gave her the lopsided grin that was her undoing, 'You don't need to rip my clothes and break my things to prove that, by the way', he winked at her, 'Even if it's really a huge turn on'.

For a moment, he thought she would plunge on him.

The fire was there, consuming her.

But something happened.

He frowned, the feeling starting to reach him, too.

It had gone beyond desire.

It had gone so deep, so far, so strong, that it had surpassed the physical realm and reached a new place.

She moved for him to enter her and, even if he felt how dripping wet she was, and how her strong inside muscles gripped at his cock, his shiver was not because that as a strong sexual thing.

It was because both knew those were physical expressions of unconditional acceptance.

She wanted, in a deep, irrational, primitive level, that he stayed with her forever.

He felt her muscles gripping at him inside her while their bodies didn't move, and it took him to the edge and left him there, eyes closed.

He could feel she felt the same – the overwhelming and, still, almost there sensation.

They were at the point of no return in their intimacy: they craved for more, and it felt like dying not to give the step ahead.

He searched blindly for her hand.

She put it on his, and he opened his eyes and looked at her face.

His breathing was ragged, his body trembled, his heart was racing, his forehead sweating.

She was absolutely calm and composed. Not a hair out of place, not a signal that inside her there was a bunch of muscles pulling at him, pulsing and making him throb uncontrollably.

Their natures had never been so clearly opposite: his emotions were raw and exposed, thrown in all directions and provoking all kinds of unexpected reactions on his body and mind; hers, intense, but mastered, focused on what was needed to make things work.

That moment he understood exactly what she, such a powerful being, had meant with her not sharing him with anyone else, if she claimed him through a bond like this.

Niles brought her hand to his face, as close as he could of his psi-points, and whispered, 'Please'.