Have We Been Here Before?

Chapter Thirty-Five - Everything Gone Wrong

Enterprise

Early May 2269

Kirk

This had to be the most fucked up mission they had ever been on. Bar none. And this time it wasn't his fault. Not even a little bit. He peered cautiously around the edge of the boulder he was hiding behind, ducking back quickly when a bolt of disruptor fire came in his direction. Where had those Klingons come from anyway?

On the other edge of the small cover they were hiding behind, Spock tried the same tactic, jumping back just as quickly. They had to come up with something better. He flipped open his communicator and tried to call the Enterprise, but there was some sort of static that he could not break through. Cursing under his breath, he stowed the communicator back on his utility belt and tried to come up with a solution.

Off to his left were two security guards, trying to hide behind a rock not much bigger than the one he and Spock were behind. And on the right was the mineralogist who was supposed to be performing a survey, cowering with his arms over his head. He certainly wasn't going to be any help. And he wasn't going to be on the Enterprise much longer, either. Cowards were not welcome. No, sir.

Spock was hunkered down, doing something with his communicator, and then he was speaking quietly into it. Not thirty seconds later, there was a shimmering right between them, and there sat a small rocket launcher and a stack of missiles. Kirk grinned broadly. He didn't know what magic Spock had worked on that communicator, but the results were outstanding. He began to load that launcher up immediately.

Whine, whump. Whine, whump. One after another the missiles went soaring over the top of their boulder. Spock changed the direction of the launch just slightly each time, so that they covered an arc of ground. When they had fired off all of them, they waited. They heard nothing. One of the security guards slowly peered around the edge of their boulder. Nothing happened. The other one peered around the other side. Still no reaction.

He advanced very cautiously until he could see around the edge of their boulder. All he could see was torn up earth and dust in the air. It wasn't until Spock rose that he saw the glow and yelled out "Duck!" as loud as he could. But it wasn't fast enough. Spock crumpled to the ground beside him. Nyota was going to kill him! Both security guards fired repeatedly, and there was a sudden crump of noise and a bright glow. They got the drek!

He pulled out his communicator again, and this time it functioned. "Scotty! Beam Spock up directly to sick bay! Now!" The words were hardly out of his mouth before Spock's body began to shimmer.

He stood up and rounded the boulder, following the two security guards across the barren land to where the Klingon nest had been. There wasn't much left now. They combed the area anyway, looking for anything that might give them a clue as to why the Klingons had been here, or how they had gotten here. It wasn't until the mineralogist finally did what he had been brought to do that they knew. Dilithium crystals. Many, many dilithium crystals.

By the time he made it to sick bay, Nyota was already there, of course. And when she saw him come in, she glared at him as if looks could kill. And then she burst into tears. He patted her awkwardly, not sure what to do.

When Bones came out of the private room, green blood staining his scrubs, he almost froze. Bones looked so bad. But he came right over, and gave Nyota a big hug. "He's goin' to be all right, darlin'. It's goin' to take a while, but he's going' to be fine."

He let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He sagged back against the wall, suddenly so tired he didn't know what he was going to do. And then Cathy was there, wrapping herself around him, and he just held on, too exhausted to do anything else.

He listened to Bones telling Nyota what Spock's injuries were: all on the right side of his body, muscle disruptions, broken bones, torn ligaments. The bones were mostly mended, although they would not take any weight at all for several days. And the ligaments had been repaired, needing only time now. The muscle damage would take longer. Fortunately, no major organs had been damaged, although how that had happened, Bones couldn't say. Spock was just damn lucky. He had to stay in sick bay for forty-eight hours or until he came out of his healing trance, whichever was longest. Then he could go home, on total bedrest, for a week, or until Bones was satisfied that he was healed. Nyota collapsed against Bones then, crying softly, and Cathy went over to rub her back and speak softly with her.

"Who has Grayson?" It had just gotten through to him that it had to be well past the end of day care hours.

Nyota straightened up. "Pavel and Sasha have him. They went and got him at suppertime. The day care attendant told them that he had been crying all afternoon. But he calmed down after they got him home and fed him. I need to go and see him before he goes to sleep."

"And get yourself somethin' to eat before you come back here, young lady. I don't want two patients."

She grinned slightly at that, and then turned and headed out into the corridor. He pulled Cathy close to him, and staggered after her, bone tired. A shower and bed. Those were the only things he could think of.

Nyota

She cuddled Grayson and tucked him into bed, then went back into the living room, where Pavel and Sasha had a meal set out for her on the table. She smiled gratefully at them, and sat down, eating while she filled them in on Spock's injuries. After that, she went and took a shower, and put on comfortable clothing. Taking an afghan with her, she headed back to sick bay, her friends telling her that one of them would sleep in the unused bedroom, and the other on the couch, that she should not worry about Grayson at all.

She slipped into the private room where Spock was, and pulled the chair over close to the biobed. Wrapping the afghan around her, she laid her head down on the bed beside him, her hands resting lightly in his. She could barely feel him. He was busy, repairing damage. But he was faintly aware that she was there, and she could tell that it strengthened him. She blanked her mind, and eventually she slept.

She awoke, stiff. Slowly she straightened up, and stretched and twisted, trying to get the kinks out of her body. And then she touched his face, lightly. His brows drew together, just barely, but his eyes did not open. She smoothed his brows, softly rubbing out the tenseness, and she felt him stir, but then he sighed, and retreated again, and she knew he was not finished healing. She rose, leaving the afghan there, and slipped out of his room.

She went back to their quarters, and woke Pavel and Sasha, and sent them on their way, with thanks. She took another shower, and dressed in a fresh uniform, and dressed her son, and fed him his breakfast. After leaving him at day care, she ate a small meal of her own, and then she was back to sick bay. He lay there so still, so very pale. She settled down beside him again, holding his hand in her own, feeling his faint response. But most of his consciousness was busy, directing the healing. There was still much damage to repair.

When Jim peeked in, she rose and stepped outside, telling him that Spock was still in the healing trance. He asked how she was doing, and she smiled weakly at him. "I'm doing better. Do you need me on the bridge?"

"Hell no. You stay right here. And then you'll need to be with him until he can get around again. You're on family leave until you're not needed any more."

She leaned against his chest, and put her arms around him and squeezed. "Thank you, Jim." There were tears sparkling in her eyes when she stepped back. She went back and sat down at Spock's bedside again, holding his hand, and speaking softly to him, without expecting any reply. She was just offering reassurance. And love.

"***"

It was the next day, in midafternoon, when he began to toss his head and groan. She rose immediately, and slapped him hard across the face. He turned his face to her, eyes still closed, and made some inarticulate noise. She slapped him again, harder, so that her hand stung. And then again. Hearing the sounds, Dr M'Benga came running in, and took over, slapping much harder than she could. A few more, and Spock's hand flew out, catching M'Benga's wrist. And then his eyes opened, and he looked about until he found her, and he relaxed, all the tenseness seeming to flow out of him at once.

M'Benga studied the readouts on the wall above the biobed, and pulled out his mini-tricorder, running it over various parts of Spock's body. Then he stood where it was easy to Spock to see him, and said that he could go home if he promised to stay in bed. She thought Spock would have promised almost anything for that.

In very short order, Spock was on a gurney, being wheeled through the corridors, while she walked beside him, holding his hand. The orderlies transferred him to the bed, taking away all put one pillow. He was not to get up at all. Not until Dr McCoy said he could. She already knew how difficult that was going to be to enforce. But she was so glad to have him here, where she could care for him.

Pavel came to sit with him while she went to get Grayson, and pick up food. When she brought Grayson into the bedroom, Spock's eyes lit up, and Grayson held out his arms, crying "BABA!" She carefully set Grayson down on Spock's good side, watching carefully while he patted Spock's cheeks and babbled at him. She thought maybe this did as much good as the pain killers Bones had forced on him.

And then she tried to feed him, very carefully. He protested that he could sit up, but she glared at him, and he was quiet. She tucked a napkin under his chin, and wiped his face with it now and then, giggled at her bad aim. Spock quirked an eyebrow at her, and she almost lost it, knowing that she might never have seen that again, but he was there, flowing warmly all through her, and she smiled, so very glad that the three of them were there, together.

After getting his promise not to so much as wiggle, she went into the other side of their quarters, and bathed Grayson and dressed him in his nightclothes. Then she brought him back, and laid him down beside his father, until he fell asleep, snuggled against Spock's warmth. She picked him up and carried him to his own bed, turning out lights and locking up as she came back. She changed into one of Spock's tee shirts and very, very carefully climbed into the bed, positioning herself between his good side and the bulkhead. She pulled the covers up, and ordered the lights to 10 percent, and leaned over him to kiss him goodnight. His arm snaked out, and pulled her closer to him, and she felt his plea. She settled down gingerly, her head on his shoulder, his arm around her waist, and felt him relax. But she laid there, fighting off sleep, until she felt him go limp, his presence in her mind muted. Then she could let herself sleep as well.