Ted Ryan was named after Ryan Tedder! OMG squee!
Over a month had passed, and word had since got around the ship that the first officer was expecting twins. There were times when no one could talk about anything else. It wasn't what Spock had planned, but in the end, he decided to just let these illogical humans be illogical. In addition to this, when Spock first made the announcement, he never identified the father of these twins. It was to protect Jim's privacy and to shelter Kathy from the bitter truth. Besides, Spock didn't need to anyway. Most of the crew had already assumed that it was Jim, and because Spock didn't wish to make it known, they respected the request and never mentioned it. In public, that is. But as far as Nurse Chapel was concerned, Spock's wish appeared to be nothing but a load of ludicrous hogwash. She would talk about the pregnancy to everyone and everything, even the person that the secret was being kept from. One afternoon, while the three women were on their lunch break, Nurse Chapel, Lieutenant Uhura and Kathy were sitting in the corner of the rec room. They chatted and gossiped about the menial things in life like a group of housewives with nothing else better to do. The conversation eventually fell upon the subject of Spock's pregnancy and the father's identity.
" Really?!" Uhura and Kathy exclaimed in unison. Keeping the secret had apparently worked. Even when she worked in sickbay, Kathy had not been aware of the Vulcan's appointments.
" Uh-huh!" Nurse Chapel grunted, nodding her blonde head enthusiastically in excitement. " And he's requested that no other nurse can treat him but me. Sorry, Kathy," she added with a chuckle and a grin.
Even though Kathy was disappointed, she didn't show it. She guessed it had something to do with the fact that Spock hated her. She wouldn't have wanted to treat Spock anyway; he was not the easiest person to talk to.
Uhura's dark, chocolate eyes widened and watered as she let out a huge belly-laugh in disbelief. " Spock?! Pregnant?!" she guffawed. " That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"
Nurse Chapel embodied her patient for a moment by imitating his infamous eyebrow raise. " Laugh all you want, Miss. Uhura. Mr. Spock is in sickbay right now throwing his guts up. Ridiculous or not, he is pregnant and he is a very sick man."
" How did it happen? How is it that Mr. Spock, of all people, is able to get pregnant?" she asked, still not convinced. Kathy frowned for a second, realising that she had a point.
Chapel shrugged. " I don't know," she admitted. " He refused to tell me. Dr. McCoy said it was something to do with an experiment." She gave a small smile, which Uhura misread as a sign of bluffing.
" Ha! You are lying!"
" I'm not lying!" the nurse chuckled.
" So is it true or not?" asked Kathy hesitantly.
Nurse Chapel blinked in surprise. " I thought you already knew, Kathy. When Mr. Spock comes in for his appointments, the Captain is always there with him. I thought he would've told you."
Confused, the black-haired young woman shook her head slowly. " He hasn't said a thing. But I guess it's OK if Spock wants him there."
Uhura gave herself a mental, knowing but sad smile. She knew that her friend would be heartbroken if she ever found out the truth, but she didn't have the heart to say anything. " I guess the twins' father didn't want to know and the Captain stepped in to support him," she wondered out loud to keep up appearances.
" I wonder who it is?" said Nurse Chapel, who honestly didn't have a clue about Spock and Jim's relationship.
Kathy thought for a second. " You know, I bet it's Ensign Ryan down in Engineering."
" Ted?!" Uhura piped up. " Why do you think it's him?"
Kathy shrugged sheepishly. " I don't know. He just seems to change boyfriends all the time. I thought maybe Mr. Spock was one of them."
" Frank, David, Christopher, Isaac, Robert…" Chapel counted just a small number of boyfriends that Ensign Ryan had had in the past. " Yes, yes. I suppose Spock could've gone out with him. Unless it was one of those other guys."
And so, in that brief moment, Kathy formulated a plan. After the girls had finished their lunches, they said their goodbyes and they all bounded off to their assigned department. Uhura went back to the bridge, while Nurse Chapel returned to the sickbay to care for Spock and get bossed around by Dr. McCoy. Kathy, however, had different ideas. Instead of returning to the medical lab, where she would've spent the day dealing with tedious paperwork, she snuck off to the engineering room. There, the crewmen wore red and they were all fiddling with a machine or control panel of some kind to keep the ship moving through space. Kathy spotted Ensign Ted Ryan by a computer screen, where he was busy pressing buttons and taking notes on a clipboard. He was a handsome, well-built young man in his early twenties. Kathy had met him only once before, and had found him to be every girl's dream. She remembered being envious of Ensign Daniel Roach, who was Ted's boyfriend at the time. She quivered slightly at the sight of him. She knew she shouldn't really, but she enjoyed stealing glances of him whenever they past each other in corridors. Suddenly, Scotty appeared in front of her, and she leapt out of her skin with pure terror.
" Oh! Scotty, you scared me!" she cried out, giggling breathlessly. She placed a hand over her racing heart.
" Sorry, lass," he replied and smiled.
" Uh, I was wondering if I could have a word with Ensign Ryan."
" Sure, 'e's over there." The man pointed a finger. He then raised his voice and let out a mighty, brash holler. " Oi, Teddy lad!"
Ted whirled around, looking up in curiosity. " What?" came his faint reply.
" Nurse Weller's 'ere for ye!"
There was a pause as Ted considered it. " Well, what does she want?" he bellowed testily.
Kathy inwardly rolled her eyes at the boy's attitude. She yelled, " It's, um, I dunno. It's about your check-up last week." She grumbled furiously at herself. She could never make up a good excuse under pressure. But thankfully, Ted really did have a check-up the week before.
Ted shrugged and muttered, " Sure."
Kathy gave a shy smile and she ran down the stairs, closer to the ensign. Scotty smiled as he left the room for a few minutes.
" What about my check-up?"
" Um, uh, well…Honestly, uh, well, you know…You know you've had all those boyfriends?"
" Yeah?"
" Well, Dr. McCoy wanted to know if you were using protection?" the nurse asked nervously.
Ted scoffed. " Yeah, of course. What, you think I'm an idiot?"
Kathy gulped. " No," she squeaked. " No, no. It's just that…um…"
" What?! You think I've got an STD?" he snapped.
Kathy could feel his shadow looming over her as he advanced on her. She began to quake with fear. But suddenly, the adrenaline overtook her body. " I know about you and Mr. Spock!" she screeched, her voice carrying throughout the room. Everyone silenced and stared in her direction. " I know about you and Mr. Spock," she said again in a breathless whisper. " How dare you leave those two little babies? I don't care about your reputation; Spock is pregnant and he needs your support. OK? Just be a man for once."
With those piercing brown eyes, Ted stared at the little girl in disbelief. Once he was sure she was done yelling at him, he burst out laughing, prompting everyone else to do the same. " You think I'm the father of Spock's twins?! Me?!"
Tears welling up in her eyes, Kathy gulped and nodded. " You have a new boyfriend every week," she squeaked. " You get through men like candy." The people's laughter was burning through her, killing her spirit inside.
Ted laughed again. " Listen, Nurse. I like my guys tall, dark and broody, but Mr. Spock…? Vulcans just don't do it for me, to be honest." He noticed the tears in her eyes, so he tried to be comforting to her, even though he wasn't the best in these kinds of situations. " Look, why don't you talk to Captain Kirk about it. You guys are still going out with each other, right?"
" Just tell me. Are you or not?" she mumbled quietly.
" Nah. I know who is, though. But as I said, you'll have to speak to Kirk about that." He went back to his work after shooting her a playful wink.
Kathy stood there for a moment or two before she was overwhelmed with the urge to cry, embarrassed by all the laughter. Her hands covering her beetroot-red face, she fled the engineering room. The cruel laughter of the engineers echoed in her head, their sniggers and their screams tortured her like a dog in a cage. She swore she could even hear snarky comments about her weight. Whether it was something that her mind made up or not, she never knew. All she was concerned about was getting away from this horrible nightmare. She kept running through the corridors with no real destination. The tears streaming down her round, crimson face felt like blood against her skin. The blood of her passion and her hate and her fear. The world around her now had transformed into nothing but noise and chaos, her thoughts could only focus on the negative. Her past had resurfaced. She could still remember those mean-spirited chants word for word, and she cursed the day she'd started school. Her hair, now wild, became loose from its bun, and strands of it became soaked in tears as she ran. Bumping into people along the way, she could barely muster apologies, but she started to get a clear idea as to where to go. She ached to be held by him, and comforted with that deep voice of his.
" Kathy!" he called in utter surprise as the door hissed open. He grunted a little as she dashed into his arms, but he quickly caught on. He held her lovingly and shushed her. " What happened, darlin'?"
" Dr. McCoy, I…I did something stupid!" she sobbed. She stared at her boss directly in the eye.
" What? What is it?" asked McCoy in a worried tone. He moved the sobbing nurse away from the screen.
Behind the screen was a bed; the very bed that Spock had been resting in. He was still there, now wide awake from being disturbed by the girl's crying, with the Captain sitting in a chair beside him. The two men were frozen in fear. Their breathing silenced, and they listened intently in on the conversation.
" I made a fool of myself. They laughed at me," Kathy muttered coldly and sniffled.
Jim's head perked up at this.
McCoy smiled softly. He gently brushed a thumb across her face in order to wipe the tears away. " Aww, I'm sure ya didn't, little missy."
" I did! I'm gonna be the laughing stock of the ship!"
Dr. McCoy wrapped an arm around her and chuckled. " You won't. I promise ya. Now, won'tcha tell me what happened?" he said softly.
Kathy lowered her head, swallowed and took a few shaky breaths. And at last, she recalled the scene. " I accused Ensign Ted Ryan of not supporting Spock…because I thought he'd fathered the twins."
Behind the screen as they eavesdropped, Spock and Jim stared at one another in disbelief. And Spock was furious. He deduced that it must have been either McCoy or Chapel who had spilt the beans. He made a mental note for himself to scold the both of them later. Jim, on the other hand, had an almost opposite reaction. Her prince in shining armour, he felt the sudden urge to protect Kathy, and fight those who had humiliated her. He could feel his heart racing in his chest with both rage and guilt. He bit his lip to suppress the urge to run up and embrace her, eager to listen in some more. When Dr. McCoy heard the story, his first instinct was to burst out laughing. Which, sadly for his nurse, he did. He howled, hooted and screamed hysterically, grabbing his belly as he knocked his head back. Kathy gulped and lowered her gaze to the floor, ashamed and sheepish. She couldn't bear the sight of tears forming in the doctor's sapphire-blue eyes. McCoy continued to laugh for several minutes until he calmed down, having realised that the young girl's feelings were hurt.
" Jeez, I am so sorry about that," he apologised, smirking subconsciously. " But ya need to know that Ensign Ryan ain't really Spock's type. In fact, I actually think he hates the guy.
" Then who's the father of his babies?"
The doctor swallowed nervously, unsure of how to lead her off the trail. But soon, an idea came to him and he raised a sly eyebrow. " Well, if Spock wanted ya to know, he woulda told ya. It's none o' yer business, hon. It's our job to care for 'im, not nose into his private life. Got it?" he told her good-heartedly so she would not get the impression that she was in trouble.
She nodded subtly. " Got it, Doctor."
" Go and get a glass o' water – you're outta breath – and then, I want you to get straight back to work," he instructed her in a firm, strong voice. Kathy was reminded of all her former schoolteachers, but then, he smiled at her mischievously. " Don't make me fire yer ass!" he joked.
At that, Jim let out a huge, audible gasp. In his concern, he grabbed on to Spock's hands and gave them a tight squeeze. Spock observed him closely, his chocolate eyes squinted in the deepest intrigue of this display of human emotion. Jim glared at him, his eyes wild and panicked. Kathy was very self-conscious of her posterior and any comment about it, good-hearted or not, often caused her to go into a state of hysterics. Jim was prepared for more screaming and sobbing. But as he started to listen again, he was horrified to hear laughter; genuine, happy laughter.
" All right, Doctor," she said as she turned to leave.
" Yeah, see ya later."
Surprised at Kathy's change of heart, Jim pushed his way out of the screen as if the ship was on fire. He stumbled clumsily into view, shocking both Dr. McCoy and Kathy. Spock groaned in what might have been exasperation.
" Jim?!" Kathy riddled. " What, were you visiting Mr. Spock?"
" Uhh, yeah. Yes, I was. Um, Spock got a little sick and…"
" Right," she answered, nodding.
" I'm sorry, I should've told you."
" No, it's OK. I'm not your mother," she reassured him and grinned.
" Uhh, well, I think we've all gotten a little too excited," McCoy piped up, glancing over his shoulder at his patient. " Why don'tcha both come by later when Spock's feeling better?"
" Actually, Doctor," Spock bravely chimed from behind the screen, " I believe I am starting to feel well again."
McCoy pulled it back to reveal the Vulcan sitting upright in bed and the colour had returned to his cheeks. Only a few hours earlier his face was whiter than the snow on Rura Penthe.
" Oh, that is good," said Kathy in an overly enthusiastic voice. " Was it morning sickness?" she asked.
There was a brief pause before he answered bluntly, " Yes. I am not past that stage in pregnancy yet."
He wiggled uncomfortably as he began to remove his body from his bed. As he stood up, he reached over to retrieve his trousers and shirt from a clothes rack. He had been wearing a white undershirt and shorts the whole time and he had hated it, so he was more than eager to return his uniform to his body. As he dressed, Kathy couldn't help but stare. She furrowed her eyebrows in astonishment – as though she had been hypnotised. This was the first time she had seen Spock with the true knowledge of his bump. Over the course of the past month, the belly had gotten considerably larger and much rounder as the twins flourished inside. Whoever the father was, Kathy thought, he certainly was a lucky man. She felt a twinge of jealousy for him. She knew she wasn't ready yet, but she hoped she would become a mother someday. Conscious of the girl's stares, Spock took a step backwards, which brought her out of her trance.
" Well, I'd-I'd better go," she mumbled as she gestured to the door. She then turned her attention onto her boyfriend. " Still coming to dinner?"
" Yeah." He nodded. " See you then."
As Kathy finally exited the room, the trio exchanged relieved glances.
" Phew! For a second there, I thought I was gonna blow yer secret," muttered McCoy, shaking his head.
" You did OK," replied Jim.
Then the doctor heaved a melancholy and exhausted sigh. " I'm sick of all this. You guys are goin' to have to tell her at some point. What happened just now might be a one-off. Next time maybe you won't be as lucky," he warned them.
" No, we're not telling her!" the captain protested.
" It does appear to be the most logical choice," Spock mused out loud. He walked forward until he stood by Jim, who was now looking very distressed and worried. He placed a hand on his shoulder.
Frowning, McCoy looked at him. " I don't understand why you don't want to tell her," he said.
" I agree with Dr. McCoy. For once."
Jim steeled his jaw, determined to not let his secret slip. But he quickly lost that battle. " I'm building a new life with Kathy right now. It can't be jeopardised."
Spock was hurt by those words; genuinely wounded. It now felt like he was bleeding and slowly dying in agony. For the first time in a long while, he wanted to lash out at the world that had casted him out. " Oh, I am terribly sorry if your unborn children are preventing you from doing so. I'd hate to think they're the reason you're being so selfish!" he snapped.
" Me, selfish? What about you?! You were going to destroy them!"
" Only because I thought it was the right thing!"
Almost immediately, another voice broke in, and it sounded more enraged than Jim's and Spock's put together. " If you're gonna fight like that in my sickbay, take it outside! This is supposed to be a peaceful place, for God's sake!" Dr. McCoy bellowed as loud as he could, stunning the entire room to complete silence.
After the element of surprise had worn off, Spock muttered coldly, " No, I think I'm finished. If you need me, I will be on the bridge." He stormed out.
An icy cold pause followed as Jim glared furiously at the Southern chief medical officer. " Thanks for that, Bones," was his last word on the subject. He stormed out after Spock, believing that this was the last time he would ever speak to him.
Left confused and alone in his sickbay, McCoy frowned and rightly questioned, " What?!"
The next several hours rolled nicely along, and Kathy had completed a large amount of paperwork in the medical laboratory during that time. Dr. Simms, who had been supervising her, was immensely proud, despite being slightly dissatisfied with her punctuality earlier that afternoon. Kathy was pleased with herself as well, especially when paperwork wasn't her strong suit. She preferred to be with Dr. McCoy in sickbay, where the action was. But she knew she would be working there the next day, so being stuck in the lab was merely a way of distracting herself until she could finally do the things she liked best. She needed a good distraction anyway. She kept inadvertently focussing on what Ted Ryan had said, and she kept hearing the people's laughter echoing in her head. It didn't matter what McCoy had told her; no one was ever going to forget what she did. For the next two years, while the remainder of the five-year mission would come to an end, she was going to get teased, mocked and bullied about this. She was sure of it. While she was upset, she tried to not let it show, keeping an air of professionalism about herself. However, when Dr. Simms gave her permission to clock off for the evening, those comments came back to haunt her. As the young woman wandered the corridors back to her quarters, pondering over what to make for dinner for Jim, passers-by insisted on giving her strange looks. They sniggered and mocked her, too, as they walked past.
" Hey, Nurse!" called Lieutenant Bailey.
Kathy whirled around.
" Is it true you punched Ensign Ryan?"
She quickened her pace, only for Bailey to imitate the sound of a cow.
" Nurse Weller, are you sure Ted's the father of Spock's kids?" asked Ensign Townsend in a cruel, mocking, patronising tone.
Kathy simply ignored him, speeding right past him.
" Spock and Ryan? You do know that everybody knows they hate each other, right?"
" Nice work, Sherlock!"
" I thought nurses weren't supposed to judge their patients?"
These remarks that were thrown her way, the very song of her existence, made her heart grow weak with despair. Her hope for acceptance into Jim's world was nothing more than a crimson flower, slowly dying in the white winter snow. But this was before another horrible allegation was slung at her. Kathy hadn't seen this man around the ship before, but his sharp, cold grey eyes seemed so familiar that he could have been lifted from one of her dreams. A cruel smirk on his moistened lips, he began to speak in a low, gravelly tone that also seemed eerily familiar. It made Kathy freeze in her tracks; she was too terrified to even squeak. He stood tall and proud with his head held high. His slim, lean body casted a shadow over the poor little girl.
" You know who's really the father?" he riddled smugly. Kathy was trapped. He was blocking her way, moving in time with her so she could not break free from this chain. As the man started to speak again, Kathy's eyes widened with fear. " Your boyfriend Jim."
" No!" she gasped. The man finally released her, and she darted into the turbolift that was to bring her to her precious Jim.
As she ran away from his sight, that man smirked to himself. He was very pleased with his work. Very pleased indeed.
When Kathy arrived at the apartment, and she was thrown back into her world of comfort, she saw that Jim was already there. He was sitting on the sofa with his feet up. He had his eyes closed and he was humming a tuneless melody. Kathy felt sick when she saw him. She had no idea who that man was, and she didn't know if he was telling the truth. Even if he wasn't, he certainly made it sound convincing. Jim felt her presence in the room, and he opened his eyes to her standing over him with a saddened expression on her chubby face. He grinned and beckoned her to come closer. He outstretched his arms and, as she held on to them tightly, they shared a brief tender moment before Kathy mustered a false smile.
" There you go," Jim said with a little chuckle. He then began to natter on about his afternoon on the bridge. " I made sure that I got off early. Spock's currently taking care of things on the bridge. So, what's going on?" he added as if it was a mere afterthought.
Kathy heaved a deep, miserable sigh, trying to decide whether or not she should tell him. But in the end, she told him anyway. " It's nothing, really. You know, there are some real idiots on this starship. This one guy accused you of being the father of Spock's babies. But I know that's not true!" She forced a laugh in order to appear as though the comment didn't bother her.
For a split second, Jim gulped. " Yeah, that's ridiculous," he mumbled nervously. " Anyway, um," he began, changing the subject completely, hoping to dodge that bullet. " I'm starving! Do you wanna eat yet? I've got some things to tell you."
The second 'eat' passed Jim's lips, it was only convenient that Kathy started to feel her stomach rumble. Even in her distressed state, she had become very hungry. So hungry in fact that she couldn't think about anything else. The young nurse gave a subtle nod of the head and a small, awkward smile, not really bothered at all about the things that Jim wanted to discuss. Because he knew that Kathy had had a tough day, Jim made sure that she was looked after. He had the food replicator create the most delicious dish that no man or woman could resist. And as they ate it together off the same plate, Jim did not breathe a word about Spock or his unborn children. Jim only spoke of Kathy's fabled beauty and the flowers that couldn't compare to it. There was no need to speak of that Vulcan now. Jim had far more important things to keep his mind occupied. This was the night he was to propose marriage. He often wondered if it was such a good idea to abandon his own offspring while they were still growing in another's womb. But he was sure that he needed to move on, and so did Spock. It was only a matter of time Sarek would bring his son home to raise his twins single-handedly. It would be good for all four of them, as Jim eventually believed – or five, including Kathy.
" Why did that man say such things?" she wondered out loud.
Jim shrugged awkwardly, keeping his focus on his vegetables. He popped a sliced tomato into his mouth and chewed it vigorously. He felt the heaviness in his pocket, which contained the boxed ring he would soon give to her.
" Why would he want to hurt me?" the nurse continued with much sorrow in her timid whisper.
" He'll be punished. I'll see to it," he reassured her. " Anyway, I don't want to talk about it anymore. Let's talk about us," he muttered softly. He leant forward with a smile.
" Sure," replied the girl, taking a sip of water from her glass.
" Well, where to start?"
" What is it, Jim?"
Jim gulped nervously, his throat swollen and dry. His hazel eyes darted from right to left and left to right. " I don't really know how to say it," he mumbled. He found himself breathless and panting. He was sure that he was about to pass out – the room was dancing!
Sensing the awkwardness in the room, Kathy was suddenly worried that Jim was about to break up with her. And if it was that, then she didn't know what she was going to do. " It's OK. Just tell me what it is."
Jim took the ring from his pocket and offered it to her. " Will you marry me, Kathy?" he asked.
Kathy's eyes lit up and she beamed, showing all her teeth as she snatched it off him. She opened the box and gasped at the beauty of the diamond. " Oh, of course, Jim! Of course I'll marry you!"
And here began a spiral…A spiral into tragedy…