Of innocence and experience.

It's a short one but I think the death of Spock's mother has to be given a chapter of it's own.

Spock Present

Spock did not see anything except the gap in the mountains above him. He was vaguely aware of his heart beating fast . His footsteps falling heavily on the ground. The air that whipped around him was hotter than usual for Vulcan. But as the ground grew steeper and his chest began to ache with lack of air the opening to the katric arch was getting closer. The ground below his feet started to shout as he entered the long tunnel, as a child he had been awed by the statues lining this huge cavernous space but now he felt nothing but a determination to find his parents. He entered the large hall at the centre of the mountain saw the group o elders circling the katric stream.

"Spock!"

His mother had spotted him and he now saw her with his father behind the katric stream. He ran up the steps till he was sure they would hear him over the sound of falling rocks and strange sounds like the tearing of earth and stone.
" The planet has only seconds left. We must evacuate." Spock said.

The Vulcan elders looked at each other then they all seemed to agree silently that decorum could be thrown out the window on this occasion and they started to run towards the exit. Spock saw hi mother faulter a look of panic and fear on her face. He ran to her and took her hand.

"Mother, now."

Kirk Present

Jim could not stop staring at the spot where Spock had disappeared. He was scared. He was scared he wouldn't come back. He had accused him of cheating, brought his fathers death up in front of the whole academy. He had thought that it was a joke when Pike had made him second in command. But even though he had nothing in common with the child he had known every time Jim looked at Spock he saw both passed and presence; both the man and the child.
The minutes seemed as long as hours and Jim's hand gave a twinge of pain to remind him of his broken fingers and bruised ribs. Jim knew he should move, knew that whilst Spock was down there he was in charge and he ought to do something because at the moment he had no idea who had command but half the bridge staff were in this room waiting to see if Spock made it off the planet in time.

"Spock to Enterprise. Get us out now."

At his voice over the intercom Jim felt a surprising wave of relief, almost as intense as when he had been falling and he had felt the tingling of the transporter all around him.

Spock Present.

He could feel the transporter around him and for an instant he thought they were going to be safe. But then his mother turned to him with a look that seemed to be trying to convey something to him and he realized, just a second to late that she was to close to the crumbling edge of the mountain.
She fell.

Kirk Present

"I'm losing her, I'm losing her. Ah I lost her."

Jim looked at the young ensign, Chekov he thought his name was. He saw the boy look down at the floor wide eyed and lost and knew that somebody had died during transport. But he had said 'she' so Spock was still alive and it was one of the elders who had died.

He watched the transporter as the gold sparks multiplied and the shapes of body took form inside them then people appeared. Spock was at the front. He had his hand stretched out in front of him. As he turned to stare down at the empty space on the transporter pad Jim suddenly realized who it was who was missing, Spock's mother. Jim stared at the look on Spock's face, it was a look of being completely lost. Jim felt his heart sink down to his stomach, Spock was in pain.

Kirk 15 years ago

Jim looked down at the green vinyl floor; it was the really old kind that was no longer green, or vinyl for that matter. He felt the tickle of his tears as they ran down his nose and dripped onto that depressing flooring. He did not know what was going on, he watched as nurses ran into the room next to him. He wasn't allowed in that room, and the nurses would not tell him how Spock was, or even if he was still alive. When he had lain beside him Spock had been warm and his breath had been kind of sweet smelling a tickly. But when the ambulance men had come he had been cold and even paler than usual and the breath was kind of rasping and there had been no breath at all before Jim had pushed hard on his chest hoping to get all the water out like he had seen in a film. The nurses had wrapped him in a blanket and given him a bar of chocolate and a cup of a hot milky drink. Jim had not drunk it or eaten the chocolate. Nor would he take any of the icky medicines that would stop the murky pond water making him ill. He did not deserve to eat chocolate, he deserved to be cold and wet and too get ill.

He heard rushed taping heels. He didn't look up but as he saw the lower half of legs come into his view he knew these were not the nurses. And if they were not the nurses then they might be Spock's parents. That thought terrified him. When they had shut the door he looked up and peered through the window, it had got light outside so he must have been sat there for a long time. The door suddenly slammed back open. He looked up to see Mrs Seymour looking down at him. She was very mad.

"Mr. Kirk, I contacted your guardian some time ago and told him that you had been in an accident and were in the hospital refusing treatment and that you were no longer welcome at our school. He has not yet com me back but I have rung him again and left a message with his place of work and with your grandmother so I'm sure somebody will be here to connect you soon.

"Is Spock alright? Is he very ill?"

"Perhaps Mr. Kirk that was something you should have considered before your little joy ride."

"Please.." Jim begged as Mrs Seymour turned on her heel and left him sat there.

He had fallen asleep the next time the door opened but his nervous mind jerked itself awake as he felt somebody wrap another blanket around him. He opened his eyes expecting to see a nurse but found himself looking at a strangely dressed woman with tanned skin and long dark hair and worried warm brown eyes that looked puffed up and red as if she had been crying. He stared up at her.

"Is Spock alive?" He asked worried something had happened whilst he had slept.

She gave a sad little smile.

"Yes. He's going to be alright. We're taking him back to Vulcan when he's better so he's out of the cold."

Jim nodded slowly.

"But he will be alright?"

"Yes."

"Jim. Spock is very tired and has not been to clear on what happened. Can you tell me?"

"It was my fault." Jim said his eyes welling up with tears again.

Spock's mother, as that was who Jim was sure this was, squeezed his hand a little bit.

"You did pull him out the lake, and I'm thankful for that."

Jim knew she was trying to comfort her but the fact that he had managed to get Spock out the lake

no where near made up for the fact that he had ended up in the lake because of Jim anyway.

The door opened again and Jim looked up (way up as the man was a giant) to a very stern face staring down to him. He had the feeling that this man hated him with a.. Vulcan like dispassion.

"Can.. can I see Spock?" Jim asked.

"I do not think that would be wise. "

"I..uh, can't I applogise."

"I'll pass the message on Jim." Spock's mother said.

"Amanda, our son has asked for you."

Amanada placed her hand on her husbands arm and they both turned to go into Spock's room. Jim wanted to shout out to them and beg them to let him see Spock but he was scared of the stren Vulcan man.