CHAPTER 2.
Family arguments in Sickbay were becoming quite the regular fixture, McCoy reflected as he left his office a few hours later to take a still-sleeping Spock's readings.
"What difference would a day make?"
"Postponing our arrival would be taken as a sign of weakness. Particular among species of a more combative disposition."
He did his best to ignore Sarek and Amanda's heated conversation, looking approvingly to the monitor above Spock's bed. The ventilator had been removed by his nurses, and so far all oxygen levels remained stable.
"Only a few days ago you were at death's door – don't pretend you understand the saying," Amanda hissed, and McCoy carefully kept his back to them so as to hide his smirk. "And now Spock is ill, too. I agree that we do not wish to appear weak, which is why I don't want to risk having to withdraw from the negotiations midway."
"Withdrawing from negotiations would not be necessary," Sarek insisted. "We will have evenings available to converse with Spock. What would be achieved during the extra day you propose we spend with him, that cannot be achieved over a comm-link?"
"This is the first time we have seen Spock in seventeen years."
"I fail to understand the relevance of this."
McCoy was just about to leave the couple to it and retreat to the relative safety of his office, when he clocked Spock watching him blearily.
"Jesus!" McCoy dropped his Padd with a loud clatter, breaking off Amanda and Sarek's debate. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Spock's face, though lined with exhaustion, tightened in what could be considered the Vulcan approximation of a smile. "A comment in bad taste, given my father's recent troubles."
McCoy snorted. "I say it as I see it."
Spock offered no further rejoinder to what he usually would have decreed an overtly emotional approach from McCoy. He sat up, slowly but steadily, and turned his attention to his parents. They came to stand by his bio bed, Amanda squeezing her son's shoulder gently.
"How do you feel, Spock?"
Where usually he might have objected to the use of the word 'feel', Spock seemed to know his mother required the reassurance and simply answered, "I am uncomfortable, but in no danger. The Doctor's usual blend of medications is impacting my clarity of thought, for which I apologise."
"I'm amazed you can string two sentences together with what we've got pumping around your bloodstream," McCoy replied with a low whistle of appreciation. "Guess it's that Vulcan stubborn streak."
"I believe that 'streak' may in fact originate from his mother's side," Sarek commented blandly, and Amanda tutted. "My son, I am gratified to see you are well."
Spock blinked and said nothing. McCoy couldn't blame him - coming from Sarek, that was about as heartfelt as it got.
"However," Sarek continued. Here we go, McCoy thought. "We must soon depart in order to prepare for the upcoming conference."
Amanda's nostrils flared. "I am not comfortable for us all to be separated given there are assassins and- and Surak knows what else aboard."
Spock tilted his head curiously. "My memory is compromised. Is the current state of my health due to an assassination attempt?"
"Your mother was attacked earlier today in our quarters. An incident unrelated to your own ill health, which was a result of the experimental drug intended to increase blood production."
"Which we believe was a result of the experimental drug," Amanda interjected. "The Captain is questioning the assassin now."
Sarek turned to McCoy. "Doctor McCoy, in your medical opinion-"
"Oh ho ho, let me stop you right there." McCoy fancied from the glint in Spock's drug-dimmed eyes that the half-Vulcan was having quite a bit of fun at his expense. "I'm a Doctor, not a marriage counsellor."
"That is exceedingly obvious," Sarek deadpanned. "Nevertheless, you do admit that all evidence suggests this reaction is due only to an experimental drug on my son's unpredictable hybrid physiology?"
McCoy couldn't help but wince at the phrase 'hybrid physiology'. Was it really so easy for Sarek to discuss his son in such a detached way?
"Well, yes."
"Logical evidence in favour of my argument," Sarek chimed in triumph, but McCoy spied a brief flash of Vulcan fear when Amanda pinned him with a hard stare.
"Mother, you should go to the conference." It was Spock, somewhat unexpectedly in McCoy's view, to come to his father's defense. "It is the same discussion we had prior to my father's heart surgery. I appreciate that this is a period of heightened emotion. Nevertheless, you cannot expect us to abandon logic."
"Logic," Amanda scoffed. "If we had stuck to logic then your father would be dead."
"The balance of emotion in relation to logic will always be a source of contention between Vulcans and humans." Spock spoke wearily, as if by rote, and McCoy couldn't help but feel for the sickly science officer as he imagined a young half-Vulcan trying desperately to conjoin such disparate ideals. "Regardless, you must appreciate that I am not... I believe the Terran phrase you utilized earlier was 'at death's door'? To remain here with me, where you can do nothing but focus on negative emotions whilst Sarek could make practical use of your support on Babel, would be illogical."
Amanda huffed and went for the door. "Very well. I'm going to see if the Captain has learnt anything."
"I will accompany-"
"Alone, Sarek."
She swept out, and McCoy was sure that if there was any way to program the Sickbay doors to slam, they would have done.
Kirk had just stepped out of the holding cells and was about ready to pound his head against the ship's durasteel walls when Lady Amanda stalked down the hall with a face like thunder.
"How's Spock?"
"He woke up, just long enough to contribute his opinion on a... discussion between me and my husband."
Kirk decided not to delve into that any further than he had to and changed the subject swiftly. "Well, your attacker hasn't said anything." Two whole hours of interrogation and he hadn't spoken a word, only smiled smugly with arms crossed as Kirk asked question after question. "He's human, he's not a registered member of the crew, and that's about all we know."
"Will he be handed over to Starfleet?"
"When we arrive at Babel. We told Command about the troubles we've had on the journey, and they've sent the USS Farragut and her crew to bolster security at the council." He scrubbed a hand across his eyes, a phantom twinge in his side reminding him that it hadn't been so long ago that he himself had been in Sickbay. "I think you were right, earlier – this isn't linked to Thelev or the Orions. But if not them, then who?"
Amanda shrugged helplessly. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Kirk returned to the interrogation room, but another hour of questioning yielded no further results. Afterwards he came to the yet more unpleasant task of letting his crew know there would be no shore leave after all, by which time he was about ready to crawl into bed. Before that, though, he went at last to check in on Spock.
The lights were dimmed in Sickbay to mimic night-time and Spock was dozing, half propped against the head of the bed. A Padd lay in his lap, and Kirk recognised an old mission report that had yet to be edited.
"Once his parents left, he insisted he could finish some reports." Bones had emerged from his office, speaking in an undertone. "Keeled over within five minutes."
Kirk extricated the Padd from Spock's loose grip, switching it off and placing it to one side. "He's that bad?"
"It's just the drugs, Jim. You know he doesn't react well to them." McCoy smirked. "Anyway, I think it does him to good to remember he's only human."
"But-"
"Oh, you know what I mean. Anyway, it was defusing the argument between his parents that really had him exhausted."
"I think I caught the tail end of that from Amanda." He reached a hand toward Spock, then stopped short. "Can I..?"
"Be my guest." McCoy withdrew back into his office and Kirk gently shook Spock's shoulder.
The half-Vulcan's slanted brows twitched and, sluggishly, he blinked into wakefulness.
"Captain?" His hand clenched instinctively on the space where his Padd had been, and he frowned when he saw it missing. "I had intended to finish some reports…"
Kirk pulled up a chair and sat so that they were on a level. "You're off-duty Spock. I just came to check in on you. Spock?"
Spock's eyes had drifted to the lights near his bio bed, but at the mention of his name he focused back into the conversation. "Yes, Jim?"
Kirk ignored the lapse. "The Enterprise will dry-dock on Babel in a few hours. Everyone will be planet side except for Scotty, Uhura, Sulu and Chapel for a full system overhaul. Full system except for the Science Department, of course," he amended hastily when Spock's eyes widened in alarm. "You can do that once you're back on duty."
"And the crew?"
"On full alert and brought to the conference on Starfleet's orders to increase security. Speaking of which, your parents will have a personal security contingent."
Spock's eyes were drifting again, this time to the faint glow of one of the Sickbay screens in the far corner. Kirk had seen him on medication before; as McCoy said, he never reacted well. Allergic reactions, excessive nausea, and slower thought processes were all side effects, which was why Spock so often chose to forgo medication in favour of meditation. That wasn't an option here and Kirk didn't want to embarrass his First, so he waited patiently for Spock's attention to return to the matter at hand.
"My mother's attacker?" Spock asked, after a few moments.
"Not talking, but we have The Farragut's crew waiting at Babel - maybe they'll have more luck."
Spock pushed himself up onto his elbows, as if suddenly remembering something. "Do you need to me to oversee the beam downs?"
"It's a dry dock," Kirk reminded him. "And you're on medical leave in any case."
For a moment it seemed as though Spock might argue – then he settled back against the pillow with an exhausted sigh Kirk had never heard from him before.
"It is logical," he admitted softly. "Not many know about the connection between my parents and me. I would not want to be a hindrance." His eyelids drooped. "Keep me informed, Jim."
"Get some rest, Spock."
As Spock drifted back to sleep, Bones poked his around the office door. "You all done?" He held a bottle of whisky aloft. "Scotty's finest."
"None for me." Kirk dropped into the chair across from Bones, stretching with a loud yawn. "It'll be a long day tomorrow and I don't need a hangover on top of that."
"Just a drop then." Bones thrust the glass into his hand and Kirk accepted it with a roll of his eyes. "You tell Spock everything you wanted to?"
"Yes. He seemed pretty out of it."
"He always does," Bones dismissed. "You know how he is on this kind of medication."
"How much longer until he can go without?"
"Two days minimum. I'd say three or even four to be absolutely certain."
"He had you worried, didn't he?"
McCoy ignored the question, as good an answer in itself. They sat, sipping, in contemplative silence.
"Bones, do you-"
"Jim, could I-"
They stopped short, having both spoken across each other.
"Go ahead," said Kirk. "Could you what?"
"I wanted to ask if I could stay and run the overhaul on Sickbay. I know Christine wanted to get the experience, but with Spock the way he is…"
"I was going to ask you the same thing."
"Oh. Well then." Bones took another sip. "That's that."
Kirk swilled the last of his whiskey round the bottom of his glass, watching how the liquid caught and refracted the ship's artificial light. "I've got a bad feeling about all this."
"Yeah, well I'm not feeling too peachy about it myself," McCoy admitted. "What's the old saying… Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Only we've just been fooled the second time."
"Exactly. And I'm worried someone might not survive a third."
"I'll keep an eye on him," McCoy promised. "And you stay safe too, y'hear?"
"Bones..."
McCoy fixed him with a stern look.
"...Okay. I will." Kirk finished the last of his drink and stood, yawning.
"Get some rest, Jim. I have a feeling you're gonna need it."
Kirk left, sparing a quick glance to Spock as he passed through the main Sickbay. He looked peaceful, slanted features illuminated peculiarly by the dimmed lights. Still, Kirk couldn't shake that feeling...
