Author's Note: Italics mentalcommunications

Part 7

Vin watched the two boys as they ate their dinner and got ready for bed. Ezranok remained quiet, but Blair chattered away about what they had read and what had happened that day. Finally Nathan came in and got them to go to sleep. Only after he was sure they were well and truly asleep did Vin leave and head for his own quarters. His mind whirled with what had happened, but it didn't take long for him to also slip into the comfort of dreams.

A few hours later, Vin woke suddenly with the overwhelming feeling that something was wrong. Working on pure instinct, Vin grabbed his pants, jerked them on, then left his quarters at a dead run. It only took him a few minutes to get to sickbay, and as he ran in he didn't slow until he was in the treatment bay where the two boys lay. As he entered, he immediately noticed that Ezranok was in the grip of a nightmare. Slipping over beside where the boy lay, he started speaking softly.

"Ez, it's okay. It's just a dream. Come on now, it's all right." Vin looked up as Nathan came in to see what was going on.

"Vin, what…" Nathan began, but he quickly quieted when the normally smooth tempered first officer shot him a deadly glare and motioned for him to be quiet.

As Ezranok stilled, Vin took a chance and lightly rested his hand on the boy's shoulder. At first Ezranok tensed, then his eyes fluttered open, a confused expression filling them. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"You were having a nightmare," Vin told him quietly as he helped the boy sit up.

"Oh," Ezranok whispered as he looked around. To Vin's surprise, Ezranok raised his hands and ran them down his arms. "But why are you here? Did you need the doctor?" he asked getting worried that the kind man might be hurt and continuing to check him over in the only way he knew how.

Vin stilled the boy's hands as he said, "No, I didn't come down to see the doc. I just…I knew you needed help," Vin assured him.

Ezranok was still looking at him in confusion, when Nathan spoke up. "Vin, what is going on?" he wasn't going to be put off this time.

Vin looked from Nathan to Ezranok to Blair, who had managed to sleep through Ezranok's nightmare and their talking. Seeing Nathan was going to repeat the question he quickly brought a finger to his lips, the other pointed to Blair, then nodded toward Nathan's office. Turning to the wide awake Ezranok, he surprised him by picking him up and carrying him toward the door. The boy tensed in his arms as he carried him, but after a few seconds he relaxed and out his arms around Vin's neck.

When the door had closed behind him, Vin sat down with Ezranok still held securely in his lap.

"Vin?" Nathan asked after Vin had gotten Ezranok settled in his lap.

Looking up at the dark-skinned doctor, Vin sighed. "I'm not sure what happened. I was sleepin' then all of a sudden I got this feelin' that somethin' was wrong and I knew I had to get down here fast. Came in and found Ezranok havin' a nightmare. You saw the rest."

"I'm sorry," came a softly voice from the child sitting on Vin's lap, his face hidden in Vin's chest.

"It's not your fault, Ez. I just don't understand what happened," Vin reassured him. He saw the confused expression on Nathan's face, but dismissed it when Ezranok kept talking.

"You couldn't have formed the link, so it must have been me. I didn't mean to," Ezranok contradicted, shaking his head without looking up at Vin.

"Huh? What link are you talking about, Ez?" Vin asked still ignoring the increasingly concerned expression on Nathan's face.

Ezra slowly looked up at Vin, his face solemn. "This one."

Vin heard the words clearly, but he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Ezranok's lips hadn't moved.

"Ez?" Vin asked, a small catch in his voice.

"Vin, what the HELL is going on?" Nathan burst out.

When Ezranok flinched at the doctor's volume, Vin gathered the boy close and held him, his eyes shooting daggers at the contrite man.

"He can't hear me," Ezranok told him from his place on Vin's shoulder

Vin nodded his understanding as he tried to wrap his mind around the idea that the boy had some how formed a telepathic bond with him.

"Ez, why don't you tell us both what happened, all right?" Vin asked as he ease the boy back to where he could see his face.

"All right," Ezranok agreed verbally as he shifted around until he was sitting sideways across Vin's lap so that he could see both men. Looking up at the tall dark doctor, Ezranok tried to think of how to explain what had happened without making them angry with him. Finally he gave up and started to tell them what he knew in as straight forward a manner as he could.

"When Mr. Tanner was here earlier, I accidentally hurt him and quickly healed him. When that happened, I must have unintentionally formed a mind link with him like I have with Blair. When he came back to see us before we went to sleep, I thought he might have heard me talking to Blair, but I wasn't sure, so I didn't say anything. I'm sorry, I don't know how it happened, it just did." Ezranok raised tear filled eyes to Vin's face as he finished.

Nathan had cast a penetrating look at Vin at Ezranok's mention of having hurt the man and promised himself he would get the full story out of Vin later. The Vulcan people were known for their strength, and he wanted to make sure there was no lasting damage. When the boy finished though, he was more concerned about his friend's mental state. Vulcan mind links were powerful things, and if this boy couldn't control them properly, there could be problems when the boy left.

Vin wasn't all that concerned about it, since he experienced a mind link once before. It had been a great comfort to him that there had been someone that could understand him, even if he couldn't find the words, as happened more frequently than not.

"It's all right, Ez. We'll work with it," Vin calmed him. "Nathan, you might should call, Chris. He's goin' to want to know what's goin' on."

Nathan nodded as he headed for the intercom station to call the captain. Chris would definitely want to know about this.

Chris walked into Nathan's office to find his first officer with the little Vulcan boy on his lap, the doctor standing behind Vin's chair a hand on Vin's shoulder and a bewildered expression on his face. Nathan hadn't told him anything other than he needed him in his office.

"All right, what's all this about, Nathan." Chris demanded as he came closer.

"Vin?" Nathan passed the request on, since he wasn't really sure himself.

"Chris, you remember me talking about the link that I had when I was living on Vulcan?" Vin waited until Chris indicated his understanding. "Seems Ezranok and I have developed one as well."

Chris stood staring at him, slack jawed for a moment, then swallowed. "I thought it took you several months to develop that link?" he asked hoarsely.

"It did, but I can hear Ezranok just like I could hear them before," Vin said as he hugged the frightened boy in his arms.

Ezranok was sure they were going to be angry and punish him and was having trouble hiding that fear from the newly formed link. He had learned long ago how to shield Blair from what he felt, but this link was different and the same things weren't working as well. When Chris's arm came up and he stepped toward him, the terror spiked and spilled through into the link between he and Vin. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't…"

Chris stepped forward, intending to grab Vin's shoulderand ask him what they should do, when the boy suddenly cowered away from him.

Vin shot out of his chair and moved away from the other two men in the room. "Back off, Chris!" Vin snapped, pulling the boy as close as he could and adopting a defensive stance.

Slowly Chris lowered his hand and approached the two. "Vin, he's scared and it's affecting you through the link. Remember, you told me that could happen. If he's having trouble, he's probably leaking his emotions. You've got to get him calmed down."

Vin heard what his friend and captain was saying and knew it was the truth. Taking a deep breath he forced himself to calm down. Dropping his face into the child's sleep tousled curls, Vin concentrated on sending thoughts of safety and comfort. It took a few minutes, but he eventually felt the all encompassing fear recede. Feeling a little shaky from the relief, Vin sat back down in his chair. This time when Chris and Nathan moved closer, Ezranok kept his eyes closed and didn't see them.

"Ezranok?" Chris called to get is attention and waited until the boy turned his head to look at him. "Can you tell us what just happened?"

"I'm sorry," the boy whispered.

Very slowly, Chris brought his hand up to brush the boy's hair out of his face. "It's alright, kid. Just tell us what happened."

In a tiny whisper, Ezranok repeated for Chris what he had told Vin and Nathan. Chris snapped his eyes up to Vin's face for confirmation. At Vin's nod, he closed his eyes. This was getting more complicated every time he turned around and he was at a loss as to what to do.

Sighing and wondering what he had done to deserve this mess, Chris said, "Vin, why don't you get Ezranok to bed. Nathan, just keep an eye on the boys tonight, we'll try to sort all this out in the morning." Chris watched from the doorway as Vin carried the boy back to the treatment bay and laid him down. Vin stood by the bed side for a couple minutes, then patted the boy's arm before walking out into the corridor. Chris followed his friend out, leaving Nathan to watch over the boys.

When Vin just stood there, not saying a word, Chris moved closer. "Vin?"

Vin flashed a glance up at the blond man that he had become like his brother in the last few months. "I can't explain it, Chris. I know this should be freakin' me out, but it's not," Vin shrugged. "It's like this is the way it's supposed to be. Ezranok's link is different than the one I had before, but not all that much. His emotions are much more open that Heg'arnak's were, but the feeling of kinship is just the same."

Chris nodded as he led the way down the corridor. "Get some sleep, Vin. Maybe it'll be clearer in the morning." Vin nodded his agreement as he veered off for his quarters. Chris watched the lanky blond walk off.

Every time Chris thought he had gotten a handle on what they had found, it got weirder. Dear God, what a mess! He just hope they all survived with their sanity intact.

A big thank you to everyone that has reivewed this story!

knoteach