Sarek caught up with his wife Amanda outside the priestesses halls of the healing temple. She was conferring with one of the healers, who departed only moments before Sarek reached his wife.

"Sarek," Amanda said evenly to her husband as he reached her, "Captain Kirk has regained consciousness and is demanding to see Spock... do you know where he is?"

Sarek stopped, not to think (because he was unaware of Spock's present whereabouts), but to wonder why Kirk would want to see Spock. He of course assumed it had to do with operational talk about the ship, for which Spock would be woefully unprepared as he had not returned to the ship since bringing Kirk down. Sarek finally answered after a short pause, "No... I was with him moments ago on the third quarter precipice of Mount Seleya, but he parted company 6 minutes ago and I did not know his destination."

Amanda frowned, "Is there something wrong, my husband?" The fact that Spock and Sarek had been together was enough for Amanda to know, in all likelihood, that something unsatisfactory had come out of it.

Sarek sighed, "Spock's behavior earlier today has me..."

"Worried?"

Sarek almost visibly scowled, "That is not what I was going to say."

Amanda smiled that soft, knowing smile as she answered, "I know... but it's what you meant."

Sarek, while he usually delighted in these little teasing games of word play with Amanda, could not entreat himself to the banter with what was occupying his mind.

Sarek stepped closer to his wife, standing by the wall as Amanda turned to face him.

"Spock seemed most agitated."

Amanda nodded, looking at Sarek a moment as though she were stunned he could be so dense, "Why, of course he was. When he arrived here his best friend was dying."

Sarek's brow rose, "Spock seems to rebuke the claim of James Kirk being his friend, to say nothing about 'best'."

Amanda smiled even more kindly to stop herself from laughing at her husband's ignorance, "Well, of course he would say nothing of this to you. For that matter, he would likely deny such claims to me."

Sarek looked at his wife, "Then how do you purport to know otherwise?"

Amanda looked around, a slight conspiring glint in her eyes, "I spent a great deal of time today, after the operation, talking with Leonard McCoy."

"And what did this Doctor McCoy tell you that would so change your mind as to how we perceive our own son?"

Amanda sighed, "About Jim Kirk mostly... it's not hard to imagine why he would be the topic of conversation."

Sarek nodded... naturally.

Amanda grew pensive, a content and wistful look coming to her face, "Spock and James Kirk are best friends without question to the doctor, who seems to be himself friends with both men. Spock and Kirk clearly place explicit trust in one another on board the Enterprise, and value each other's council highly. The surprising part, however, is that Spock and Captain Kirk associate when off-duty... did you know that Kirk plays three-D chess with Spock?"

Sarek was a little surprised, "Spock plays chess with no one."

Amanda nodded, "No one but James Kirk, it seems." Amanda looked her husband in the eye, "Sarek... I know that as a Vulcan what I'm about to tell you might be hard to grasp in its human terms."

Sarek waited silently for her to go on, mentally preparing to hear something that was without doubt going to be illogical.

Amanda sighed a moment, "On more than one occasion it seems, and to familiar people as well as absolute strangers, James Kirk has referred to Spock as his brother."

Sarek's brow creased, "This is erroneous. There is no shared genetic make-up between the two."

Amanda shook her head, "It's not about the science of it, which is why I forewarned you that understanding it might be difficult. You must remember human emotions and how much they rely on them."

Sarek nodded, stating flatly, "They seem to allow these emotions to run their lives."

Amanda nodded, "Indeed... and in an emotional context Kirk thinks of our son as a brother."

Sarek was quiet a long time.

Amanda said what he was thinking, "Considering the truth of how much we humans follow and trust our emotions, that is a bold statement for the captain to make."

Amanda's eyes jumped to life and she looked at her husband, "I was mistaken... there is a context to this that you would understand. A Vulcan interpretation."

Sarek looked at her expectantly.

Amanda smiled as she spoke, "T'hy'la."

Sarek's brows both rose at the word. A Vulcan word, used rarely for it did not occur often in such logical beings as they. T'hy'la, a word that had two meanings in the Vulcan language, almost parallel meanings that could relate just as easily to the other as they could stand apart. 'Lover' and 'brother'... James Kirk considered his son Spock his t'hy'la.

Sarek spoke the obvious question, though, "Kirk, though a fine example of a human, is human nonetheless. Because the captain sees Spock in this manner does not mean our son returns the sentiment."

Amanda nodded, "Maybe not... but I have a feeling that there's some to Spock that we don't know."

Sarek sighed, "Feeling... Amanda, I would rebuff your claims if they didn't prove correct... occasionally."

Amanda smiled, "At least you've stop calling them accurate statistical extrapolations. In the meantime, we need to find Spock."

"Is it something urgent?"

Amanda shrugged, "I wouldn't say so, the captain seems to be recovering and resting well, but McCoy's word carries great weight since he knows the patient so well."

Sarek asked, "What has Doctor McCoy predicted?"

Amanda answered, "Well, it seems that the famous Captain Kirk makes a terrible patient. The doctor expects the captain to attempt rising if he feels he could better tend to his needs himself. Apparently, when incapacitated the captain becomes quite irritable and agitated. If he's correct, then it is somewhat urgent. The captain's wound was deep and the skin graft raw... he should not get up for a while. We need to find Spock."

"I'm right here, Mother."

Both turned to see Spock moving down the hall toward him. His hands were clasped habitually behind his back and he still wore the blue Starfleet uniform tunic that was stained with blood.

Amanda frowned, "Spock... why are you still wearing that garish shirt?"

Spock stopped before his mother, blinking and looking down at his clothes as if stunned that the answer wasn't obvious to his mother.

"I am technically on duty so it would be improper of me to be out of uniform, however I had no change of clothes on planet and I wanted... was going to see the captain before I beamed back up to the ship to procure one."

Amanda still sneered in discomfort at the uniform. It was not surprising it would so startle and upset her... it was the color of her own blood that covered the blue tunic.

Spock recaptured her attention, "I overheard that you wanted to find me?"

Sarek spoke up, "Yes... the captain has regained consciousness and is asking for you."

"Then if you'll excuse me, Mother, Father," Spock dipped his head and was gone down the hall before either could think to say more.

Amanda exaggerated a shiver, "It's amazing how much blood a human can lose and still live."

Sarek looked after Spock, "It was only approximately 1.4 liters, technically a human could lose far more of a percentage of their rough seven liters of blood and still survive."

Amanda grimaced, "It was enough blood to cause distress. Go with Spock."

Amanda departed, leaving Sarek standing there alone. He didn't know why his wife had sent him after Spock, but he had to assume there was reason and followed after his son.

Spock stepped into the doorway of the healer's room. The spartan dormitory was deeply shadowed, illuminated with the soft glow of the red glowing embers in the wall nooks. The bareness of the room was an illusion and the primitive decor just that. The area was set up to invoke thoughts of the old days, in the Time of the Beginning, but hidden inside the walls behind holographic panels of the same red rock as the wall structure were a full barrage of modern medical tools and supplies. An incense burned somewhere that was meant to be an aid in meditation, to help the ill and injured establish the healing trance.

Not that it would do this patient much good. On the center table, proffered like an alter sacrifice, lay James T. Kirk.

Spock looked a good moment at the captain. He was bare-chested (the uniform top, slashed and tattered, lying in a corner), his left side bandaged and faint patterns of blood showing where the wound had been closed and healed. In optimum practice, the faint blood stains shouldn't be there, but Kirk had probably shifted or stirred, and so soon after closing new skin over the old the new flesh was thin and easily torn. It was NOT too hard to imagine that Kirk had woken restless.

Kirk, who had his eyes closed, opened them as though sensing a presence and looked over at the door.

"Spock... I was wondering when you'd get around."

Spock stepped into the room, "I only just learned you asked for me," Spock sat on a block near the bed designed to serve as a seat, unsure how long this visit was going to last so forgoing formality, "I was on Mount Seleya."

Kirk cocked his head slightly, "Troubled?"

Spock frowned faintly, not sure what he was more paused by, the fact that he was troubled or that Kirk would know so effortlessly. Spock took in a breath, "Pensive," he correctly weakly.

Kirk studied Spock a moment, then asked, "You all right?"

Spock would never cease to tire of the way humans asked the wrong people the wrong questions... knowingly. Of course, his father had done the same moments ago... perhaps it was something more than human... or less if it harked back to primeval days for both species.

For Spock, however, his captain deserved more of an answer than his own father did, "I was physically uninjured, yet I am not at peak performance level." It was apparently all the answer Kirk needed, and good thing too, for regardless of whether or not it was enough to tell Jim what he wanted to know it would have been all Spock said.

James Kirk looked awful. His immediate threat might have been ended, but he was still short a couple liters of blood and that would take time to replenish, not to mention the anesthetic he'd been given was probably still making him feel off kilter. The Romulan phaser that had been used on the captain had been some kind of new weapon meant to tear nasty holes in people, because the typical phaser used heat and would have cauterized as it cut... Kirk had been ripped open and left to bleed out. A barbaric tool for a ruthless race of warriors. Those matters could be handled later, however.

Kirk closed his eyes, resting a moment, then said without opening his eyes to look at his first officer, "It wasn't your fault, Spock."

Spock would have glowered if the light was just a little lower and he could have been insured of not being seen, "No... it was yours, but the catalyst for your action was me."

Kirk grumbled under his breath, shaking his head faintly as he said back, "It was my decision. Calculated risk, you might say."

Spock crossed his arms over his chest, "I'd hope, in the future, you would confer with me before pulling such a 'stunt'."

Kirk smirked, opening up his eyes, "Why, Spock? Hoping? That's not like you."

Spock was silent a moment, "Perhaps 'hope' was the wrong word."

Kirk chuckled, but only shortly before the pain it caused to radiate in his side stopped him. He winced, then said after he'd gotten control over his body, "Don't worry Spock, next time something like that happens again, when I have the chance I'll check with you first."

Spock knew he had won no wars with that, "Jim... that situation and any others like it would offer no time for council."

Kirk nodded sarcastically, of course he knew that already. Then he looked over at Spock innocently and stated, "Well, then I guess you'll just have to trust me."

Spock dropped his arms, resigned that he would get no where with the captain on this. "Very well. Have you spoken to McCoy?"

Kirk cleared his throat, "Yes... the phaser fire grazed between my left sixth and seventh ribs, cutting in three inches and tearing into my left lung. They patched up my lung and closed my skin... other than that no real damage and I'm expected to make a full recovery."

Spock said heavily, tone leaden with meaning that only Spock and Kirk would know, "If that had been me, the blow would have been fatal."

Kirk looked up at Spock, meeting his eyes squarely as he replied in a serious, steady voice, "I knew that."

Spock stood, "I have no doubt that Doctor McCoy has prescribed rest for you... I shall leave you to do so."

"My God Spock, get out of that uniform, you look you've been out slaying humans with medieval swords."

Spock ignored the jib, "While I still do not concur with your actions on Beta Rana 3... I suppose I should thank you for them as well."

Kirk grew sincere again, "Not necessary, Spock. I'd do it again."

Spock sighed faintly, "I know... I'll see you later, Jim."

Spock nearly ran into his father leaving Kirk's room, so preoccupied with his thoughts he had been that he did not see Sarek until he was right on top of him.

Sarek had heard almost all of what the two had said, though he'd not meant to eavesdrop. He had been waiting for Spock and since he did not want to interrupt he was left standing back where he couldn't help but hear the conversation. He had considered leaving and finding Spock later, but he knew Spock too well. He would make special efforts to avoid his father, so if he did not catch him now the Enterprise might be on its way before Sarek could do anything about it.

Spock blinked up at his father, saying nothing.

Sarek asked calmly, "Spock... might I have a word?"

Spock stood up straighter, "We had several on Seleya."

Sarek retorted evenly, "I would ask a few more."

Spock nodded, "Very well."