Disclaimer: I own none of the Star Trek characters.


Chapter 51

Slowly, the world seemed to melt into place. First came to sound of faint humming which was normal for being on board a starship. Then came the feeling of soft blankets that could possibly be the softest things in existence. Blinking, Pavel let his eyes adjust to the low lighting of the warm room. Sleep still teased at the edges of his consciousness, but there was a buzz of activity just behind the fog of sleepiness. With a groan of mock resistance the blonde sat up in bed with great effort.

Sitting at the desk in the corner of the room was Spock, obviously absorbed in his work. Yawning, Pavel went to the bathroom where he discovered Spock had dressed him in a pair of sleep pants while he had been asleep; then briefly went to check on the twins. While it was still considered night on the Enterprise, the twins were still prone to nightmares. More Vitaliy than Lyusya, but regardless of who had the dream they would both wake up in distress. Glancing at the bed, the Russian sighed in relief. Both children were cuddled together with their new sehlats making a ring of fur around them. Stealthily, he found his PADD and took a picture. That one was going into the photo album.

Stifling another yawn, the young man trudged back to his and Spock's room. Since they were still on leave he made his way back to the bed and fell face first onto it with a groan of bliss.

"Are you well?" Spock asked from the desk.

"Tired," the younger of the two muttered into the mattress. "And zere is buzzing in my head. I must get used to it again."

"A buzzing?" The Vulcan raised an eyebrow in question.

"Da, buzzing. Like flutter of vings in back of mind. Is vhat bond is like vhen vhole. I vill get used to it again."

Pavel nuzzled the sheets not wanting to move. He wanted sleep, but the buzzing of the bond made it difficult to drift off again. Feeling the bed dip next to his hip, he turned his head just enough to see Spock crawling over him. The Vulcan leaned down and placed little kisses on the back of his neck. Hands started to knead at sore back muscles in an attempt to relax them. A small moan of bliss escaped the blonde's throat as the confident and capable hands soothed his minor discomfort.

"Had I realized you were that aware of the bond I would have made an effort to minimize the effects to you," Spock murmured against skin, sending a rush a heat through the young body beneath him, reminding the other just how little he wore.

"If you do zat zen I von't feel you zere," Pavel whined at him. "I like knoving you are zere."

"Then I will not hide from you," the older man reassured.

Just as Pavel was about to roll over and demand Spock take care of the stiffness he had caused, there a tell-tale beeping came from the door. Groaning in disappointment, Pavel shooed Spock away from him. With a disgruntled look the Vulcan left his mate on the bed and marched to the door. Clicking it unlocked he let the metal door slide open to reveal a frustrated looking Leonard and a rapidly turning red Jim.

"Yes?"

"Don't give me that attitude, Hobgoblin. I told you that I wanted to check on the twins after you were done on the planet to see how they reacted to the different environment," the doctor snarled. "And next time you don't want to be disturbed put a message on your damn communication lines so people know. I don't want to deal with Jim screaming about you wanting him dead. Again."

With that Leonard let himself into the room and marched through the bathroom towards the twins.

"Careful of the sehlats!" Pavel called from his position on the bed.

"So," Jim started "Do you still want to kill me?"

"Negative, Jim. I do not desire to end your life."

Pavel smirked into the mattress as he felt the distinct feeling of Spock wanting to maim the Captain. Well, he did say he wouldn't kill the man.

"Good, good." The other blonde scratched at the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "And I am sorry for last night. Had I known I would have run interference for you guys. It was just concerning since neither of you were responding and Bones was getting antsy. I—"

"Jim, you are rambling," Spock gently interrupted. Pavel had the hardest time trying not to laugh as he felt the amusement coming from the other. From the links he shared with the twins he could feel that they were awake now, though extremely groggy. Jim snapped his mouth shut before sending his First Officer yet another sheepish grin.

"Right, no need to fear an early demise," he chuckled. "But seriously Spock, if you ever want alone time again just let me know. One quick message and I'll make sure you're not disturbed."

"Thank you, Jim."

At that moment Leonard came back into the room sporting a heavy frown and Vitaliy's sehlat trying to destroy his left pant leg.

"Spock, control the beasts. They won't let me near the Royal Twins and this one keeps trying to murder my leg," he deadpanned.

Sitting up, and thankfully no longer hard, Pavel took in the sight and laughed at the poor man's misfortune. The little monster was tugging on the pant leg and looking up at the older man with big eyes simply begging to be played with.

"Zat is vhat you get for vaking up babies, Leonard," he laughed.

"Laugh it up, Kid. I know for a fact your physical is coming up soon." The doctor smirked knowing that threat only really worked on Jim, but it was still amusing to use it on other people.

With amusement radiating down the bond on both ends, Spock turned from Jim and went to help the man by distracting the Vulcan pets. Jim entered the warm room chuckling as the little beast trotted after the men into the other room.

"So are we good?" he asked the younger of the two blondes.

Pavel tilted his head to the side ever so slightly and smirked at the other.

"Ve vill be if you don't hack ze door again. Or valk in on us," he teased, enjoying the rosy tint coming back to the man's cheeks.

"Right," Jim weakly chuckled. Not one of his best moments. "So," Pavel raised an eyebrow at the other man, "sex with Spock, eh?"

And there was the embarrassing teasing the Jim was prone to doing. Pavel wondered how long it would take for the man to forget what he saw as he tried to avoid answering the very personal questions.