Chapter 11: What We Could Have Done

Disclaimer: Again I still do not own Star Trek. Many things would have been different.

I do not currently have a beta so all mistakes are mine.

A really big shout out to Pawprintedwriter. I haven't worked on this story in so long. A lot of things happened that I couldn't avoid and I was a little discouraged from writing for a long while. Things have gotten better. Thank you Pawprintedwriter for reviewing. It gave me the motivation to continue writing on this story.

WARNINGS: None

The room was in chaos. Nurses and doctor's ran back and forth making adjustments while Sarek stood to the side out of the way. His dark brown eyes fell on Jim and he took the six steps it took to reach him. He grasped the younger male on the arm and pulled him into an embrace. "He lives Jim. They were able to start his heart. They are trying to stabilize him."

Jim felt his knees give and was instantly grateful the older Vulcan had his arms around him. He shook like a leaf. "I…Sarek. We need to talk. Not now…after…after he is stable." The Vulcan nodded and both took a seat out of the doctor's way. His knee bounced as Jim twisted his fingers together. Spock had to be okay.

Three long hours later the doctor's filed out of the room. Jim ran his fingers through his unruly hair and looked over at his father-in-law. "You are about to think I am crazy. Just…don't have me shipped off just yet to the closes mental institution."

Sarek's eyebrow arched in the way only a Vulcan's could. "Jim, whatever you tell me I will not send you to a mental institution. It is not my call to make."

Jim nodded and let his eyes fall back to his bondmate. "Good. I think…we are talking to each other…when I am sleeping. I know it sound crazy but…I know it has to be him. He can't wake up on his own. He told me."

A cool hand fell on Jim's shoulder. "Jim-"

The former starship captain pulled away from Sarek. "Don't. Don't talk to me in that tone of voice. I know alright? I know just how crazy this makes me sound and I know how stupid it is. You can't talk to someone in your dreams. It's likely my own mind playing tricks on me. Am I right? But I know what I felt and what I saw. I know that I saw Spock. The area always changes and his age matches my own in sleep but…it's him."

Silence descended in the room. "Jim, I do not think you are crazy. I do believe you are under a lot of stress and that it could trigger…these dreams. You are nearly psynull as is nearly every human. However, there may be some truth to your words. You have a bond link to my son. It is possible that he is trying to reach you through it. In doing so you would have been pulled into his mind. Much like a mindmeld. I have no evidence to prove one way or the other and I am not skilled enough to follow your connection to my son."

The human huffed and looked down at the floor. "So, it's pointless then? Just great." His eyes quickly sought out his bondmate's prone form on the bed. He hated seeing Spock so still.

"I did not say that Jim. I am not skilled enough to do it but there are other's that can. The mind healer I have sought counsel with has decided to make the journey from New Vulcan to Earth to see what she can do. All we can do now is wait until she gets here." Sarek laid his hand on the thin shoulders of the former captain giving a small squeeze.

Jim turned to look at the older male and gave a weak smile. "You are getting old if you are showing so much affection for me."

Sarek gave a nod and lowered his hand. "Perhaps. Or perhaps I do not show enough. If I had raised my son in a more human way then maybe he would not have had such difficulties fitting in. If I had moved to Earth when my wife gave birth to him. We cannot change the past no matter how much we may wish it but we can grow to accept it and change accordingly."

After a long moment Jim nodded and stood. "That is true. What do you plan to do now that they got him stable again?"

"I was in the mind of keeping you company as you stand watch over my son. I can leave if you want." Sarek said and waited for a response. When Jim shook his head, he settled back into his seat. "Thank you for letting me stay."

Snorting Jim turned back to the other male. "I wouldn't ask you to leave. You're his dad. It wouldn't be right. Damn, I am such an ass. Here I've been thinking of just myself and you…this must be killing you."

The room was silent as Sarek collected his thoughts. "It is difficult to see him like this. He is my son…and the last part of Amanda that I have left. If he were to die it would be like losing both of them. I am, dealing as you would say, better than I would have been if I were alone. I have you to worry about and it has helped some."

Jim smiled and looked away. "Thanks, old man. I think I am going to grab some water. Want some?" As soon as he got the confirmative he was out the door and down the hall looking for the nearest vending machine. If he took longer than what was necessary or that his eyes were puffy and red Sarek did not call him out on it.

Jim sat in his chair by Spock's bed rolling the bottle between his hands. His mind whirling over the dreams he had. He sat that way for hours until Bone's joined them after talking with the staff. "Hey Bones. What did they say?"

The older male sighed and took the last remaining seat. "Nothing much really. They don't know why his heart suddenly stopped when he was hooked up to the machine. They don't know why his heart started again either. Best hospital my left toe. They think there was a power surge through the system and it stopped the machine from running." The doctor ran his fingers over his face. "How are you holding up kiddo?"

Jim snorted and leveled a look at his longtime friend. "Fine mom. What about you? You're working in a few hours, right? Shouldn't you get some sleep?"

The doctor nodded. "I can sleep here just as well as at your house. The wonders of doing house calls is I don't have a full shift. I can do the few appointments that I have and go home to sleep. Sleeping beauty here should be fine without a third pair of eyes watching him."

The bottle slowed before coming to a complete stop between his fingers. "Hey…That's the old story. The one where the princess couldn't wake up until the prince kissed her."

Bones' let out a low groan. "I swear Jim if you kiss that hobgoblin while I am in here I will hypo you into next week. This isn't a fairy tale kid."

The former captain jumped out of his seat. "I know that Bones, just hear me out. It was something Spock said to me. You just gave me an idea. He said he couldn't wake up like a princess from a fairy tale. That something was keeping him asleep."

The grumpy southern doctor sat up more in his chair. He had been hoping he could get a little more sleep before he had to go to work in a few hours. "So? What are you getting at Jim?"

Jim started to pace tossing his hand in the air. He turned to face the two other men. "In the story, it was a pin prick on the finger, right? That made the girl sleep. In the other one it was an apple that blocked the girl's windpipe. Now that doesn't apply here but what if something is making him sleep? What if he has a poison apple?" He let his hands drop down by his sides.

The room was silent for a moment before Bones' was out of his seat hollering for the doctors on staff. As the first doctor came in he grabbed the tricorder from his hands. "I'm a doctor I know what I am doing. Start scanning for foreign substances. No one is allowed to come in here unless they have been cleared through me."

The doctor looked baffled. "What do you think you are doing? Are you implying-"

"That someone is trying to kill my friend yes. If that is because someone is an idiot and screwed up is to be seen. Now get out of my way. I want a lab cleared so I can do your job." Bones ran the medical device over Spock. When the other doctor did not move he huffed and swore. "Do I need to hold your hand or something? Get! And bring me a tricorder that works better than this." He shook the thing. "I miss star fleet. They at least knew how to keep good equipment."

Author's Note 2: It may take some time before I update again. I want to be able to write out a few chapters before I post them. It's going to get rough from here.