Jim walked back down the stairs quietly. He was so absorbed in what to do about Carol's new ammunition he didn't notice the man sitting in the lobby. The man stood quickly as Jim approached.
"Jim?" Spock was concerned; the bond was still muted.
Jim seemed to just notice Spock. Then tears formed in his eyes and Spock hurried him out of the building. When they were in the parking lot Spock stopped Jim and turned him to face him.
"T'hy'la," Spock breathed. "What is wrong?"
"She knows," Jim forced out. "She knows about your pon farr and now she thinks you're beating me and she won't let me see David unless I leave you."
Spock froze, assimilating his mate's words for a moment. "How does she know about that? Did you tell her?"
"Hell no I didn't tell her!" Jim exploded. He brooded for a moment. "Her lawyer's got witnesses on the ship who heard you say you hurt me and they saw me in Sickbay." Jim kicked at the ground. After a long silence he looked up again. "Spock?"
Spock shook his head. "I was afraid that incident would haunt us. This is my fault, Jim. What do you wish to do?" Spock waited for instruction.
Jim stared at his husband for a long time, and then threw his arms around him and kissed him on the mouth.
"Jim?" Spock was confused.
"I swore I'd never leave you again, and I meant it. We're going to beat this, but we're going to do it together." Jim stood back and looked around. "How did you get here?"
Spock had the grace to look bashful. "I drove your mother's truck."
Jim laughed. "You don't know how to drive!"
Spock drew himself up proudly. "I have done so four times previously. This makes my fifth excursion and I have yet to have an accident."
Again Jim laughed, and then he hugged himself. "Okay, I think I'm alright now. I needed to laugh, thank you. Now, we need to go home and talk to your dad and call the lawyer. Hope she doesn't mind earning her pay on a Sunday." He walked over to the car. "Meet you at home."
When they arrived back at the house, Jim walked in the house and waited for Spock to come up the stairs. Then in a loud voice he called "FAMILY MEETING!" Spock stared at him and Sarek walked out to do the same, but Winona put down her book and walked in the living room. She motioned for Sarek and Spock to follow her lead. They sat down.
Jim centered himself in the group. "Okay, Carol's got new ammunition on her, and unfortunately there's an inkling of truth to it. We need to figure out how we're going to fight this, and strike back quickly. We're back to square one on this: Either I leave Spock or I don't see David again. But this time she may have the law on her side."
"Question," Winona raised her hand, and Jim nodded to her. "What does she have that has an 'inkling of truth'?"
Jim held a silent conversation with his spouse. When they were finished he began again. "Well, Carol's lawyer has found two people on my ship who were witness to Spock hurting me."
"Jim, if they're talking about what happened before you took command, almost everyone's heard that story," Winona protested.
"No," Jim assured her. "We're not talking back five years ago. We're talking last week."
Winona wrinkled her brow but the timeline made perfect sense to Sarek, who went pale. "She intends to use that against you?" he asked.
"Use what?" Winona was confused. "Spock hurt you? Hurt you how?" She was becoming angry.
Jim sighed. "Mom, there's something I have to tell you about Vulcans that can't leave this room, alright? I'm serious. It's deathly personal and it's not something discussed." She nodded slowly. "There's something called pon farr, which is a mating drive Vulcans have. It happens every seven years and it's very intense." He stopped to let that sink in.
"Spock went into pon farr and with Vulcan being destroyed it was a little worse than we expected. Nothing happened against my will, but I got kinda roughed up." Jim blushed.
"Is the doctor testifying on Carol's behalf?" Sarek demanded.
"No!" Jim shook his head. Then he paused. "At least I hope not. When I left the ship he and Spock were on speaking terms again. I can't imagine Bones doing that. I think it's someone else."
Spock's eidetic memory kicked in and he swallowed. "Jim, I believe I know who her witnesses are."
Jim made a motion with his hand. "Well?"
"Lieutenants Benivan and Delarkan were our sentries during the incident in question." Spock looked at the floor. "They were beside me when you were being examined by Dr. McCoy. I did not think to question their presence until now. However, they would have been party to my admission and the evidence of your supposed abuse."
Jim struggled to remember. "I know we were being guarded, but I didn't remember them being there that night. I didn't really remember you saying you hurt me either until Carol brought it up."
Spock's eyes turned cold. "I had offered to leave you and you refused. I told you I had hurt you and that fact was inexcusable. You insisted I had done nothing wrong. You requested the guards be dismissed by Dr. McCoy and then we returned to our quarters. We slept apart that night. The next morning Ms. Marcus called."
"And all hell broke loose," Jim finished, understanding. "But how did these security ensigns get a hold of Carol's lawyer?"
"Perhaps we should make a call to someone who can answer that question," Spock suggested. He looked at the clock. "It is fifteen sixteen on a Sunday on the ship. Nyota may be in her quarters." He looked to Winona. "May I use your comm. station?"
She nodded mutely. Then she looked to the side. Jim came and knelt in front of her.
"Mom, are you okay?"
Winona looked up at her son and blushed. "I just feel so foolish. For a moment I actually thought Spock had hurt you on purpose."
"Spock would never hurt me on purpose. That's what makes this claim all that much worse. We can't prove he didn't hurt me without telling the whole story, and I think you can understand why we'd prefer that part of our lives remain quiet." Jim touched her knee. "I'll tell you the same thing I told Carol: If Spock ever hit me in malice, I'd knock him right back. I can take care of myself."
"If that boy ever hits you, he'll have me to answer to!" Winona declared hotly.
Spock had gotten through the channels. "Hello, Nyota."
"Spock! How are you? It's great to see you again. We miss you like crazy. Both of you," Uhura amended. "What can I do for you?"
"I do not know how to approach this. I will do my best. Has anyone approached the crew asking personal questions about myself and the captain?" Spock was clear with her.
"Personal questions?" Uhura thought for a moment. "Well, actually, there was a post on the boards a couple of days ago asking if we'd ever seen you get violent with each other. It disappeared pretty quickly." She shrugged. "I didn't give it a second thought."
"Can you check to see if any more messages have been posted of that nature?" Spock asked her.
She cut the visual and began typing. Finally the keystrokes slowed and he heard her hum.
"That's weird. Now there's one asking who approves of your marriage to Jim." She began typing rapidly again. "It's from an outside source. I can't trace it on this computer." She rekeyed the visual. "Is there something I need to know? Is this that woman Jim told me about?"
"I cannot give you a definitive answer," Spock told her. "However, we need to circulate a request of our own."
"Name it, sugar." Uhura was serious.
Jim walked up behind Spock. "Uhura, can you find us character witnesses? Carol's trying to prove Spock's beating me."
Uhura blinked at the screen. "You're serious. She's trying to prove a Vulcan beats his spouse? What, is she on crack or something?"
"Nyota, I will tell you the same thing I told the Lady Kirk. I am half-Vulcan. The possibility of violence exists with me." Spock frowned.
"Well I'll testify that you never hurt me when we were dating, and you and I were together two years. I don't know how else to prove you don't do it. I'll get as many of the crew as I can to give a sworn deposition that neither of you is violent with the other." Uhura narrowed her eyes. "She'll probably try to prove Jim beats you next."
Spock nodded. "Thank you for your assistance, Nyota."
"Give our regards to the crew," Jim mentioned hopefully.
"I will. You two take care." She raised her hand in the ta'al. "Peace and long life, Commander."
Spock repeated her gesture. "Live long and prosper, Lieutenant."