Vulcan Shadows
By Estellio
Chapter Three: A Long Story.
A/N: Since Number One (Majel Barrett's character in the original pilot) doesn't actually have any name I can find I made one up, in fact I made most of the crew stuff up so don't take my gospel word on it, oh and that explanation about why Spock has a daughter is coming right up.
"YOUR WHAT!" Lt. Uhura was very a very perceptive young woman, she indulged her curiosity upon hearing V'au call him father but had kept her tone low so that no one, unless they were intentionally listening, would have heard. Her discretion had kept the Captain and the rest of the bridge crew from hearing; however, Dr. McCoy had unfortunately been standing directly behind her and had heard every word. His predictable response was an emotional outburst but unfortunately for Spock it was an outburst in the form of a shout and some wordless spluttering.
"Indeed, Doctor." Spock's hand found the Doctor's elbow and dragged him into the turbolift with him. Kirk had turned around at McCoy's outburst but Spock simply nodded, face blank and McCoy was still lost for words so Jim just smiled, presuming Spock had gotten in the mother-of-all-one-liners at one of the doctor's narks.
"What in the blue blazes is going on, did you just say that you were her father?"
"Doctor, is there something wrong with your hearing that you have to ask me to repeat everything three times?" This produced some more wordless spluttering from McCoy. "Yes Doctor, she is my daughter. Is there something wrong with this statement? Do you believe me incapable of having a child?"
"Listen to me, Spock, I'm a doctor. I know that little Vulcan babies aren't carried by storks and pelican's in nice little bundles to happy little married couples." Spock raised an annoyed eyebrow and bit off a reply.
"Indeed, Doctor. I believe most seven year olds of your specie are aware of this also."
"Spock! It takes two to make a child. Usually a man, not much unlike yourself, and a woman, whom I'm seeing a very big lack of considering the fact that you're not married and have hadn't any…girlfriends…as far as I know."
"Vulcan's do not have girlfriends…"
"APARENTLY THEY HAVE KIDS!"
"Do you believe I was delivered by a Stork also?"
"I KNOW ABOUT THE BIRDS AND THE BEES!"
"Yes, but do you know about Vulcans?"
"WHY YOU LITTLE!!!" The turbolift doors slid open to reveal Nurse Chapel. It occurred to them that they hadn't asked the lift to go anywhere and most of their argument was probably over heard in the bridge if they hadn't been moving…and they had no idea where it had been called
She stood just beyond the door, staring at them for a moment, obviously realising that she had interrupted something and regretting it intensely.
"Do you want something, Nurse?" Spock snapped and she took a step back.
"I think I'll wait for the next lift." She said, staring at them as if they had suddenly transformed into two bloodthirsty Klingons.
"Get in Christine." McCoy growled but she shook her head.
"I'm not getting in the middle of another one of your arguments, I wouldn't survive it." She abruptly turned tail and walked away. This brief interlude was all they needed to regain their composure and looking at the green coded pipe to their left they noticed they were on Deck Five.
"GNDN-1751." McCoy said out loud, reading the pipe. "We're near sickbay, let's continue this in my office."
"Assuming I wish to continue it." Spock said coldly, indicating that he did not, in fact, want to continue the conversation.
"You can either continue it in private or in public Spock but we're going to continue this conversation." McCoy said in a dangerous tone.
"I don't believe my private life is any of your concern." Spock said callously but McCoy could see the signs, he was wearing him down.
"Spock, someone just tried to kill you, stick me in jail and it turns out that the person sent to protect you is your daughter who kills people for a living…Spock…I think it is my concern, because I'm your friend and I should know these little inconsequential things like the fact you have children and I should know because I'm your doctor and this is obviously effecting you in a very serious way. What happened? Why didn't you tell us about her?" Spock sighed, McCoy had done it, he had worn him down.
"It is…complicated."
"I guessed as much, Spock."
"…I thought she was…well…I knew that she probably wasn't…but…to me…" He was babbling, this set off enough warning bells in McCoy's head to shake down a mountain. Spock never babbled, Spock was never flustered, this was something that was very emotionally moving to Spock and trying to express that was like a badger trying to do Shakespeare. Damn funny to watch, a little disturbing and very hard to comprehend.
"…Spock?"
"You do not talk about the dead, Doctor." Spock blurted out finally, as if that revealed everything.
"Spock…I've been in the profession a long time…I think I can tell when someone is dead or not, and she is definitely not dead."
"Figuratively, Doctor, figuratively."
"Spock…how the hell did you manage to even have a daughter. It's obvious she's been around for a while."
"It was not I who bore her doctor." Spock teased causing McCoy to throw his hands into the air and cry out 'Heaven save me from literal Vulcans!' An amused look passed over Spock's now tired features.
"It is a long, long story Doctor. I believe we should retire to your office and I will begin."
IOI
Enterprise: 2252
"Mister Spock…scan the debris for life signs." All the bridge stood quiet as they took in the devastation before them. Stretching out as far as the eye could see was nothing but debris.
"I'm picking up the IDC of three freighters, a Daedlus class ship and two ships that don't register, Sir." Number One said from her station and Captain Pike sighed.
"Mister Spock?"
"I am picking up no life signs yet si…" His 'Sir' was cut off by a beep. "I am picking up a life sign, faint and steadily dropping."
"Coordinates!" Pike shouted.
"Three point four one, inside the partly intact compartment of one of the unregistered ships." Spock reported, looking out the view screen at the compartment the life sign was being detected in.
"Beam them out of there, Sickbay, medical emergency, get to transporter room three immediately. We've got a survivor but the life signs are real faint."
"On my way Captain." Doctor Piper reported.
"Continue scanning, Mister Spock." They kept at it for nearly an hour before it became apparent that whoever they had picked up already was the only survivor.
"Doctor, how's our patient's condition?" Pike asked Dr. Piper through the intercom.
"We're after getting her stable but I don't think she's in any condition for questioning…I'd like you to send down Mister Spock though, I've some questions for him."
"Alright, Number one, you and Mister Spock get down there." Pike ordered and the two officers entered the turbolift.
"How are you finding life on the Enterprise so far?" She asked, attempting small talk.
"So far it had been quite satisfactory however I have only been here two days." The young woman laughed.
"True, true." After a moment silence she laughed again. "Vulcan's not big on small talk then?" Spock raised an eyebrow but as he went to speak, the turbolift doors opened and the two of them walked briskly out into the hall on their way to sickbay.
IOI
The slow, methodical beep of the equipment was a welcome sound to replace the erratic bleeps and squawks that filled sickbay the moment they had rushed the prone figure before them in.
"Is she finally stable?" Nurse Niara asked, looking at the frail figure on the bed and gentle brushing a stray lock of foxy brown hair from their eyes.
"Yes, she just had a little exposure and malnutrition, nothing this new-fangled sickbay can't handle. We just have to keep her on oxygen for a while and make sure she's wrapped up nice and warm and fed three times a day. Poor little sprite, musta' been real cold in that decompressurising compartment."
"How long do you think she were in there for?"
"I don't know. It probably de-compressurised slowly, only a small fracture that leaked out atmosphere I'd say. Freezing cold, with only corpses for company." Liya shook her head and stroked the girl's forehead reassuringly.
"The sound of the sickbay doors whooshing open caught her attention and she looked up to see Commander Samantha Burns and the new Science officer walk in.
"How is the survivor?" Sam asked, getting straight to business, per usual.
"She's stable. Gave us a scare though. Her life signs went dead almost as soon as we lay her down. Want to see her?" She nodded and Doctor Piper pulled back the curtain. Sam stepped through but faltered when she saw who was on the table.
"My God, it's only a child." The tiny, frail body of a girl, no more than four or five, lay on the table with machinery hooked up to her chest and an air mask over her mouth. She was deathly pale with a green cast to her skin and dark blood caked over the left hand side of her face, but most importantly, Sam noticed, the blood was green and the Childs ears swept back to a slender point.
"Now I don't know much about Vulcans so you're going to have to help me out here, Mister Speck."
"Spock."
"Oh right. Sorry, Mister Spock" He looked back over at the child. "…Poor kid. She's been through a lot. Her life signs look steady but they've been fluctuating."
"Her blood cell count is low for a Vulcan but not in a life threatening way."
"When do you presume she'll be up and able to talk?" Sam asked, her eyes sympathetically on the child whose breath hitched slightly and twitched in her sleep.
"Not for a few days yet, she's weak from exposure. I think…"
A high-pitched scream and the girl leaping up, cut them off. Instantly they moved to help but she reared back in terror. Spock reached out and gently caught her wrist as she grabbed a hypo from the nearby table. She looked over at him, her breathing heavy with terror but she was still. Taking a chance he reached over and took the hypospray from her hand, putting it down out of her reach. Tears were filling her eyes and her shoulders heaved with a dry sob before she flung herself into Spock's arms and began to weep.
He stood there, holding her for several moments unsure of what to do, before she calmed and it was clear she had gone to sleep.
"Wow, you really have a way with kids." Liya pulling at the equipment attached to her said as Spock gently placed her back on the bed. The moment he tried to move his hand away she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back to her, resting her head in the crook of his arm.
"She seems to really like you." Sam said with a small smile.
"I guess there's no accounting for taste." Piper joked and moved to take care of another patient. Spock gently tried to tug his arm away but she just increased her grip on his sleeve as her thumb wandered up and into her mouth.
"It seems you're stuck." Nurse Niara said smiling.
"Indeed." Spock said raising an eyebrow. The girl twitched and gave a small, disgruntled noise in the back of her throat and Spock watched in fascination as many emotions passed over her face, her eyes twitching beneath their lids in R.E.M sleep. Spock sat down in the chair next to the bed and wrapped his arm more securely around her as she began to shiver and a look of panic pulled her features into a grimace.
Pulling her closer to him, she immediately quietened and sighed contentedly.
"I'll go update the Captain on the situation. Don't go anywhere."
"I believe that choice has been taken from me." He said but Samantha was already gone.
He watched the young girl sleeping soundly in his arms a while, her eyes still flickered beneath their lids but she was peaceful and sucking her thumb avidly. Spock closed his eyes and began to meditate but soon found himself following her into sleep.
IOI
Spock woke to the sound of a click and when he opened his eyes he saw Dr. Piper and the Nurse from earlier, in front of him, the nurse was holding a holo-camera.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Ye looked so adorable." She said laughing and he realised he had fallen asleep. He was now cradling the girl in his arms; she had somehow gotten onto his lap and was cuddled up to him, her head beneath his chin, which he rested on the light brown head. He felt her stir as she rose, and looking down she saw her look up at him, her honey brown eyes focusing as she blinked rapidly. Only one eye was brown and the other was silver, she was half blind. She yawned and settled back against him.
He realised he had been asleep for four hours and his shift was over. He tried to move her from his lap but she moaned and only hugged tighter. He heard a grumble and looking down he realised the girl was clutching her stomach. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him as she indicated her mouth.
"You are hungry?" She looked confused a moment but just indicated her mouth again.
"I don't think she can understand you." Piper said. "But she definitely looks hungry. Do you want anything from the replicator?" Spock looked down at the child who was sitting on his lap, looking up innocently at him and resisted the urge to sigh. She looked like she was settled.
"If you wish me to get you food then you must let me up." She stared at him, uncomprehending but suddenly she smiled and giggled. "This is no laughing matter, I must get up and move around or I shall get stiff and I, too, am hungry…so are you going to let me up." She just smiled. "Either get off or I will remove you." She laughed and shook her head. Whether it was to indicate she didn't understand or that she wasn't getting up, Spock didn't know but as he picked her up beneath the armpits and went to remove her, she shrieked in terror and scrambled back into his arms. Spock was exasperated, he had never had to handle a child before and was at a loss at what to do but it was the unnamed nurse who supplied the answer.
"Pick her up."
"What?"
"Put one arm beneath her and the other hand around her shoulders and get up. That way you'll be able to move around and get to the replicator without taking her from you." Spock raised an eyebrow and looked exasperatedly at the child once more.
"This is your final warning, remove yourself or I shall be forced to carry you."
"Just a hunch, Mister Vulcan, but I don't think she understands." Spock restated the sentence in Vulcan and the girl's brows furrowed. She shook her head, a quizzical look on her face.
"I still think she can't understand you." Spock sighed.
"Then I am forced to carry you." He looked down at her, his face set in determination as he placed his arm beneath the Childs behind and his arm around her shoulders and he got up. She laughed with delight and flung her arms around his neck, looking down at the floor. As he began to walk she clung tightly but watched the nurse intently over his shoulder. She smiled and waved and the child imitated her before suddenly becoming fascinated with Spock's ear. She reached out and touched the tip and Spock shook his head suddenly.
"Stop." She giggled and did it again, producing the same reaction.
"What's wrong, Mister Vulcan, ticklish?" Spock glared at the nurse as he tried to manoeuvre the child and operate the replicator at the same time.
All of a sudden the child became determined to wander and began to climb over his shoulder. Gravity kicked in and she began to slid only to have Spock reach over and grab a bunch of the sickbay gown she was wearing at the small of her back to stop her slipping. He was now holding her in a slightly awkward fireman's carry as he operated the controls. He made some Saya and Kreyla and made his way back to the bed, he flipped her over his shoulder and laid her gently down on the bed where she was giggling furiously.
"I'd make a break for it if I were you." The unnamed nurse said with a smile as she finished her rounds and sat down at her station.
"The thought had crossed my mind but I am hungry and she does appear to have the food." The girl had grabbed the tray and lifted a Kreyla to eye level where she was studying it furiously. She sniffed it and looked at Spock then looked at the Kreyla again as if she was unsure what to do with it.
Spock picked up a piece and bit off the end. She looked at him for a moment and she smiled before taking a bite. She paused, thinking as she chewed and gave an affirmative noise before abruptly downing the rest of the biscuit. She reached for another one but paused, looking up at him for acceptance. Spock nodded and she all but leapt upon the tray, downing the rest the Kreyla without so much as an upward glance. She looked over at the Saya and paused. It was obvious she was unsure what to do next so Spock reached over to the jug and poured her a glass of the bright pink juice. She lifted it to her nose and smelt it carefully; a look of bliss passed her face as she obviously found its scent pleasing. She drank it quickly and put out her glass for another.
"Voracious little thing, isn't she." The nurse said, crouching down by the bed. She extended her hand to Spock.
"Liya." Spock reached across and took her hand, he had been around human long enough to accept the gesture but he did not enjoy the skin on skin contact.
"Spock."
"V'au." They looked over to the child who had stretched out her hand. Liya looked over at her.
"What?" The girl looked confused a moment but then she pointed to Spock.
"Spock?" At his nod she turned to the nurse. "Liya?" She nodded and then the girl pointed at herself. "V'au."
"V'au? Why isn't that just a pretty little name." Liya said softly to her. The girl beamed, proud she had successfully communicated then she nudged the glass a little further in Spock's direction. He filled it with a small shake of his head and she returned her attention to the sweet liquid.
"You've really got to feel for her, think of what she's just been through. She's so young. Didn't even stir when we cleaned her up but she clung to you as if you were her last lifeline."
"I do not understand it, why would she respond to me like this and yet be terrified of the others." Liya sat back on her heels and watched as V'au finished the last of her Saya and put the glass on the tray before curling up in a ball and going back to sleep.
"You look like her…well…you've the same shaped eyebrows and ears and ye are both green…that and you come across as a very calm, gentle person. After what she's been through she's obviously going to react bad to the foreign and the brash. You're familiar, quiet, you don't move with sharp jerks but always slow, thought out movements. That, and when you grabbed her, your grip was very gentle. She knew you weren't going to hurt her."
"I doubt she could have ascertained all that information just by me touching her wrist."
"You'd be surprised, children are a lot more perceptive than adults. You've got a chance to run, I guess you should take it, get yourself some food, maybe take a shower but be back here before she wakes or we're going to have a little monster on our hands again." Spock rose from where he sat on the edge of the bio bed.
"Indeed, I shall return shortly." With that he left leaving V'au murmuring in her sleep.
IOI
Enterprise: Present Day
"So you found her in a debris field, half alive?" McCoy asked, staring at Spock incredulously. "That seems a little far fetched."
"It is on file, Doctor, I assure you." Spock said, staring at his hands, folded neatly in front of him.
"Yeah, well. Still don't explain how she became your kid, Spock." McCoy said, taking a sip of his bourbon.
"Doctor, I believe it has become obvious I adopted her and that she is not my biological child."
"I figured that much out, thank you, Sherlock."
"Indeed." Spock's eyes closed a moment before he continued. "It became obvious, quite quickly, that V'au did not like interacting with figures of authority or security officers. She responded exceptionally well to the female nurses and yeomen and later, when she was introduced into the ship, she adored the attention of the female crew members who would often dote on her but she disliked Captain Pike intensely and ran from Lt. Commander Jordan if he entered the room."
"Jordan?" Bones asked.
"The Chief Security officer. She was instinctively distrusting of Commander Burns but soon warmed to her, however, the male bridge crew and security officers terrified her. It was required that a security officer follow her everywhere but no matter who we assigned she became terrified and locked herself in one of the sickbay storage cupboards and would not come out unless I retrieved her."
"You?"
"Yes, she did not seem to have the same instinctual fear of me as she did the others."
"No accounting for taste I suppose." Spock fought the urge to roll his eyes and continued.
"Although she eventually learned to except their presence and formed a strange amity with many crew members, including the entire Engineering staff, her intense dislike of Pike remained and although she did not lock herself in cupboards after the first month, she still hid behind the legs of crew members if he passed."
"I take it he didn't take this well?"
"He was terribly embarrassed but we soon discovered why she was afraid of him."
"Why?"
"We found several marks consistent with abuse, it became obvious that she had been a prisoner on board the ship and had been treated badly by the Captain of the ship and held in a depriving captivity. This led to many confrontations between them."
"They fought?"
"Yes, the first time the Captain came into the room he tried to get her out of the cupboard himself."
"What happened?"
IOI
Enterprise: 2252
Spock came out of his light meditation at the sound of someone knocking at his door. This was unusual in itself, why didn't they ring the buzzer.
"Come." The knocking continued. "COME!" He said again, rising to his feet. The knocking continued, this time harder and more urgent. With a sigh he donned a heavier robe and made his way to the door. Opening it he saw no one, something brushed past his leg and he turned to see V'au crouching low on the floor, hugging a blanket around her. He realised she must have made a break from sickbay judging by the fact she was unaccompanied and she was still wearing the oxygen mask, it's pipe trailing across the floor.
"You should not be here. You should be in sickbay." The girl reached out her arms to him, indicating she wanted to be picked up.
"Spock! Spock! Spock!" She began to cry, reaching out for him again. Reaching down he picked her up in a similar fashion to before but this time she threw her arms around him and buried her head into his shoulder.
He could feel her emotions through the skin contact and realised, since she had no way of communicating what she wanted verbally, he may have to glean it from her this way. He lowered his shields slowly and felt overwhelming fear yet also a comfort of sorts as she lay in his arms. She trusted him but was afraid of the ship. Everything was so unfamiliar, she wanted to go home but did not know where that was, the stars and people were unfamiliar to her and she had been away from home for a long time. Fear, pain, cold…
His shields snapped back into place as the girl began to convulse in his arms. He sat her down near his asenoi firepot so that she would be warm and moved to the intercom to contact sickbay. What had she been through before coming here? …He could find out…with a meld…
The girl began to move away and he realised she had seen something she wanted. Watching her with a mild interest, she immediately scrambled away from the firepot, across his sofa, and picked up a soft velvet cushion. She rubbed her cheek up and down it a moment before curling up and sticking her thumb in her mouth. It was obvious she intended to sleep.
How long can one little girl sleep in a day? I thought children were meant to be hyperactive.
"Spock to Sickbay."
"Nurse Niara here, can I help you Mister Spock?" Spock recognised the voice of Liya, the nurse from before, instantly. She sounded worried making it obvious that V'au's escape had been detected.
"Are you aware that V'au has left sickbay."
"You know where she is!" Liya asked, slightly panicked. "I turned around to get some reports for Dr. Piper and then I saw Sickbay doors closing and when I went outside she was already in the turbolift…Is she with you?"
"Yes, nurse. She is."
"Is she alright?!"
"She is currently asleep on my couch."
"Can you bring her down to sickbay immediately. Dr. Piper has to give her another examination to see how's she's responded to the treatment." Spock looked over at the child who still looked pale and very poorly.
"I'll have her down momentarily."
He reached over to pick her up but she wriggling out of his hands and clung tightly to the cushion.
"NAI!" She said stubbornly. Spock resisted the urge to sigh and made another grab for her, this time she leapt off the couch and threw the pillow at him. "NAI!" She shouted again. "A DANA NA TUIRA!" She roared and ran into his sleeping quarters, leaping on the bed and snuggling up on his pillow. Spock watched her a moment, amused at her behaviour before all but diving in and seizing her around the waist.
"NAI! NAI! NAI!" She screamed, kicking and thrashing as Spock gripped her by the back off her gown and carried her as if she was a kitten.
"NAI! ETEN'WA! ETEN'WA!" He received strange looks, carrying a screaming child by the scruff of her neck through the hallways but upon entering the lift the two female Yeomen began to coddle her.
"Oh you poor baby, is the big nasty Vulcan man handling you?"
Do they expect a response?
Funnily enough V'au quietened and stared at them.
"Oh isn't she just darling." The tall brunette said, crouching down and stroking her cheek.
"She's so precious." The shorter dark haired one cooed. V'au reached out, indicating for one of them to pick her up and the Yeomen laughed, the dark one took her from Spock's arms and Spock was treated to a raspberry before she curled up into the woman's arms.
"What's her name, Mister Spock?" The brunette asked, making V'au laugh by pulling faces.
"V'au."
"Is she yours?"
"No, she is a survivor from one of the destroyed starships." At this the two Yeomen let out a loud 'AWW' and began to fuss over her even more. One of them produced a bar of chocolate and V'au's face lit up, recognising food instantly and leaping for it.
"Oh she's so cute." The turbo lift stopped and V'au was put down as the Yeomen left, leaving Spock and her alone.
She glared at him before turning, so only her back faced him, and sneaked a bite of the chocolate. When the turbo lift doors opened, she marched out ahead of him, clearly quite odd with him.
"Children." He sighed, and entered behind her.
Inside, Captain Pike and Doctor Piper were speaking quietly. V'au ran up to Doctor Piper and hiding the bar of chocolate behind her with one hand she put out her other. With a laugh he produced a bright red lollypop and gave it to her.
"Tanku." She said and ran over to her bio-bed to eat her snacks.
"She's speaking?" Pike asked. I thought you said that she wouldn't be up and about for a few days!" Piper laughed to himself and looked over at V'au who was in the process of unwrapping the lollypop.
"I tell you, I wouldn't have believed it unless I had seen it for myself. The kid is well on her little way to being fully healed. She's still weak from the exposure and gets tired very easily, not to mention cranky if you wake her but I think in a few days she'll be able to leave, never mind just able to answer questions."
"Can I talk to her now?"
"I just have a quick check up to do then you can have her." Pike smiled and let Piper go before approaching Spock.
"So, Mister Spock. How you settling in?"
"I am settling fine, Sir." Spock said, without taking his eyes of V'au who was lying back on the bed, arching her neck back to try and look at the screen behind her.
"Poor mite, it's gotta be a little scary here. Seems to be warming up well to you though."
"Indeed."
'Suppose there's no accounting for taste." Spock resisted the urge to comment, that was the second time today someone had said that. "It's probably the funny ears." Spock tried to cover the affront he was feeling and was ready with a caustic remark about Pike's round ears when Piper beckoned Pike over.
"Sir," Spock began, going to tell him that V'au didn't speak Federation Standard but Pike just waved him off.
"In a minute, Spock." Upon hearing Spock's name, V'au looked up for him and saw Pike approaching. Her eyes narrowed and she leapt to her feet, on the bed, backing away till her back pressed against the wall before letting out a strangled cry.
"NAI! NAI! ERA GNE!" She put her hands in front of her face, trying to block out the sight of him.
I can't see him, he can't see me.
Pike's step faltered for a moment.
"V'au?" He said, calling her quietly in an attempt not to scare her. "V'au, it's okay, my name is Captain Pike and…" She screamed and ran. Bolting straight past both Pike and Piper to hide behind Spock's legs. Pike turned around and took a single step before she was off like a shot, running between Nurse Niara's legs and into her office.
"What the…" The three men followed her in to find the room empty and the security lock engaged on one of the cupboards. It was Spock who initially went to remove the lock but Pike pushed past him.
"No, she's afraid of me so I've got to show her that she can trust me, I'll do it."
"That may not be wise, Captain." He disengaged the lock and was hit squarely in the face with a medical kit before a V'au shaped blur streaked from her cupboard only to be scooped up by Spock. Wriggling, kicking, screaming and bawling, V'au was caught tightly in Spock's arms and avoiding looking at anyone.
"I don't understand it…" Pike began but Piper cut in.
"I do, Spock, pull up the hem of her tunic. Show Chris her stomach." Gripping the end of the little tee-shirt she was wearing, Spock revealed the long, green scar on her stomach and several marks that were all too clearly made by a fist.
"She was stabbed and then badly patched up." He said to Pike, "That's what I wanted to show you, Spock, turned her over, show him her back." Nurse Niara gasped as Spock pulled V'au close, one hand supporting her as he pulled up her top to reveal lacerations and extensive bruising up her back.
"She's been flogged, whipped and beaten…I didn't notice it on my first check. I was too busy making sure I treated the exposure and repaired her lungs…she's been beaten badly, starved and worked to the bone. She's probably undergone fierce mental trauma and there is no way we can help her." Spock was looking down at the little figure who was shivering violently in his arms; great sobs wracking her whole body.
"On the contrary, Doctor. I can meld with her." They all looked at him, confused.
"What the hell are you talking about, Speck?" Piper asked.
"My name is Spock and what I am referring to is the Ancient art of the Vulcan mind meld. We shall join minds. I can discover everything you need to know and sooth her fears. It will be perfectly safe and the only means of communication that we have with her…she cannot speak." Pike and Niara looked thoughtful but Piper exploded.
"WHAT! ARE YOU NUTS! I'm not gonna let you near that girls head until I have more information on it."
"I assure you Doctor. It's perfectly safe." Piper geared up for a long argument but Pike's hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Let the boy try, he says it's safe and I think he knows a little bit about this." Spock sat V'au down on the edge of the desk and placed his hand against her psi points. She gave a small whimper but he reassured her in his mind voice. She brought her own, tiny hand to his cheek and tried to emulate him. Slowly he pushed through the barriers into the maelstrom that was her mind.
They both gasped.
They both screamed.
Neither one of them made a sound.
IOI
Enterprise: Present Day
"What did you see?" McCoy asked, hanging on Spock's every word.
"Doctor, I assume that you are familiar with patient-doctor confidentiality and understand that I cannot tell you but…it was intense. Melding with a child is like touching a power cable. You have no way to control it; it's dangerous, unstable, unordered and bright. Very, very bright. It took me a long time to sort through her thoughts and find the answers I was looking for…and I found a lot of answers I wasn't looking for either…" Spock broke off, looking strangely distant. "I can not explain the…" He paused, as if unsure how to phrase the next thought but with a sigh he gave up and bore all to McCoy.
"I can not explain the…feeling…that overtook me. She was so lost, so scared, small, fragile and alone…so very alone. She had been for a long time and now, with me, she wasn't alone anymore. Do you have any idea how that made me…feel? When I grabbed her wrist in sickbay I had left my shields down, it was accident, a lapse in my control, but in that moment she sensed that I wouldn't hurt her…and that was all she needed to know. That was all she needed in this world, someone who'd not hurt her like everyone else, take her from the painful life that was all she knew. Who wouldn't kick her for not doing something right, who'd hold her when she cried, who would keep her safe from all the bad things in the world. Someone she could trust. To know she felt that I filled all of these requirements was so…so… moving. I had to protect her, I had to do all these things she wanted. I couldn't let her go back to that life, I couldn't. I don't understand it now and I didn't understand it then, it was like…instinct. She couldn't protect herself so I…had to...protect her." McCoy was smiling, his eyes shining with tears.
"I can relate to that, Spock. Maybe not in the same way you can but I felt the same way when I held my baby girl in my arms for the first time. It's paternal instinct and it's nothing to be ashamed of. As natural a thing as breathing. Every father feels it, I did, my father did, you did, and your father did." Spock shook his head slowly.
"She is not my child, she was not borne of my seed, why did I…why do I feel this?"
"She reached out for you, she had no one so you did what your instinct told you to, gave her someone." Spock gave an uncharacteristic sigh, his shoulders slumped and he lay his forehead down on the table, resting his cheek against the cold metal as if he was trying to cool himself.
"Spock, I understand…"
"You do not. On Vulcan adoption is…it is practically unheard of."
"So you adopted her then?"
"Once we had arrived back to Jupiter Station they tried to take her…she screamed my name and begged me not to let them take her. I tried to explain to her but…I had no choice. Even I am not that cold."
"But what happened. Why the Rambo?"
"The what?"
"You now…Rambo…" McCoy was cut off by the intercom.
"Kirk to Spock and McCoy. Miss. V'au's just signalled she's about to arrive. We're going to meet her Transporter Room Three." Spock stood and immediately his Vulcan face was set firmly in place as if he hadn't just been spilling his guts out to McCoy seconds before.
"Captain, this is Spock, we'll be there momentarily."
"Spock, If you ever need to talk again…I'm here."
"Thank you Doctor." No smart remark, caustic one-liner? McCoy could tell that this was a once in a lifetime peek behind the mask and as soon as they went out that door…it'll never have happened.
"Well, we better get going before Jim starts to think we've eloped." Bones said, grinning and was shocked to see Spock's mouth tilt slightly as he left with the succinct reply of…'indeed'
A/N: See,I said there'd be a rational, logical, explanation. Well actually what I said was more along the lines of "Don't Linch me! It'll make sense soon! I promise!" but anyway, don't forget to review andI hope you enjoyed.