Plot: When Sarek's away, Amanda will... become completely overworked and exhausted as she attempts to juggle the demands of the council and care of a sick Spock during a viral epidemic.
Notes: Just goes to show, Spock may be half-Vulcan, but he is still a child in need of his mother when he is sick ^_^
There has been a little bit of panic on Vulcan lately. A highly contagious upper respiratory infection has broken out in the capital city of Shi'Kahr and has been rapidly spreading throughout different parts of the planet. With symptoms including fever, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and a severe headache, learning centres have been closed until further notice, and limited contact with others has been highly recommended.
Over the past few weeks, it was discovered that if not treated right away, the illness can easily become deadly once infection spreads to the lungs. It seems that Vulcans' bodies aren't as strong as we thought. With the discovery that Humans are immune to the virus, the Embassy sent for doctors on Earth to help treat the infected here on Vulcan once the Doctors themselves became infected.
I must admit, it has been quite the treat seeing so many humans at the Embassy the last couple of weeks, but it has, in return, given me more things to do. I now had to give daily lectures for the incoming doctors giving updates on the virus, as well as cultural and climate advice on top of my usual day's work.
Just as the worst of the illness broke out, Sarek was called off the planet for an emergency meeting. At first, I took solace in knowing that he was safe from the illness that had, by then, resulted in the death of over two hundred Vulcans, until I was told that he was going to the planet where the virus was first reported.
Now, sick with worry, giving daily lectures, loaded with both his Embassy work and mine, I quickly became overworked and exhausted. I left the house two hours early every morning, leaving the eight-year-olds Michael and Spock with their Nanny and Tutor.
After giving my three-hour morning welcome lecture to the new doctors, I made my way home for lunch around midday. At least I had two hours to relax and try and catch up on some sleep before going back to the chaos where paperwork waited until the next lecture at 17:00.
The rush of cold air hit me as soon as I walked through the door offering relief from the overwhelmingly hot summer's day. Covering a yawn, I walked to the kitchen and was greeted by Linnea, who was pouring soup one-handed into three separate bowls while balancing her six-month old daughter on her hip.
"Good day, Linnea." I greeted,
"Good day, Lady Amanda." She returned with a smile, "The doctor came by this morning to check on Master Spock. He has prescribed a larger dose of antiviral medicine and has concluded that the virus has not gotten any worse."
No matter how hard we tried, Spock had become ill. While I wanted nothing more than to stay home with him all day, unfortunately with Sarek away, there was no option. Linnea went onto explain that hopefully with the recently approved medicine, Spock would start to feel better in the next couple of weeks. That was indeed the best news we could get at this point.
"That is great news." I said, covering another yawn, "Has he been asleep all day?" I asked, meeting eyes with the baby who smiled as she saw me. I held my arms out to her and she immediately flung her body away from her mother and into my arms. I placed her on my hip and began to bounce her gently.
"Well hello there, little namesake." I cooed,
Sporting one of Spock's old onesies, the little dark-haired girl looked nothing but comfortable in her surroundings and was adjusting well to life on Vulcan.
"Yes." Linnea responded, brushing her finger along her daughter's cheek. "He has been asleep all day. I just checked on him a couple of minutes ago, he was snoring loudly."
I couldn't help but chuckle imagining Spock's loud congested snoring. At times, I swore I could hear it from my bedroom during the night. I turned my attention to the little girl on my hip. She began to pat my face with her hands for attention, when I turned to her, I realized she didn't want attention as her hands went straight for my dark curly hair. She grabbed a chunk with her small but chubby hand and with a strong tug shoved it in her mouth.
"Amanda…" I said softly, taking my hair out of her mouth "I don't think my hair is food." turning to Linnea I asked as I adjusted the baby to my chest and began to sway with her. "Has Spock eaten at all today?"
"He ate the soup that you recommended, and he drank some water."
I sighed, "Well, that's an improvement from a couple days ago." I knew it would do me, or Spock, no good to panic. We had the best doctors looking after Spock and knowing my son, I knew that he would be fine. Afterall, death of 200 Vulcans on a planet possessing billions really was not a lot.
"Has Felix had the chance to eat something, I imagine he is still watching over Spock."
Linnea picked up the bowls and moved them to the table, placing them on the place mats. "He has, and yes he is. Lady Amanda, would you be so kind as to call for Michael for lunch?"
Taking the baby, I walked out of the kitchen and to the staircase,
"Michael. Come down for Lunch, please!"
I heard the pitter patter of footsteps as I walked back into the kitchen. Placing the baby in her chair, I secured her in, wrapping the little belt around her waist. I turned around to see Michael entering the kitchen wearing her grey school uniform and robes even though she hadn't been out of the house. I looked in slight confusion as she sat down beside the baby.
"What is this?" I asked her, caressing the back of her head gently.
"It seemed logical to dress for lessons." responded Michael.
She had been under extensive logic training for months now but even with all the training emotion was still heard her voice, and to be honest, I was quite happy about that. I moved to the other side and sat down beside her smiling,
"Indeed, it is. How are you today?" I asked.
"I am well, Amanda. Thank you".
As Linnea sat down on the opposite side of the baby and began to scoop the soup in the hungry baby's mouth.
"When will the Ambassador be coming home, my Lady?" She asked, "Felix and I have yet to prepare the items you have requested upon his arrival."
I scooped some of the thick soup onto my spoon "Don't worry, Linnea. Sarek won't be returning until tomorrow morning. Remember, upon his return he will enter isolation for 14 days so the bedroom must be prepared before his return."
"Yes, my Lady. I shall tend to it later tonight."
"Is it because of the virus?" Michael asked spooning more soup into her mouth.
"Yes," I lifted the mug of tea to my lips, "the virus has an incubation period of 14 days before the onset of symptoms so Sarek needs to be in isolation."
"I fail to see the significance of such actions." Michael said, in the past couple of months her vocabulary was adjusting to the traditional one of a Vulcan. It was still surprising to Linnea and I hearing such big words come from a human. "Since Spock is sick, does Sarek require isolation?" she scooped more soup on her spoon.
"Of course, he does." Linnea commented, spooning more soup into the baby's mouth. "Because even though we cannot get infected, the Ambassador can still infect other Vulcans at the Embassy and even Delegates. Thus, he must be in isolation until the duration of incubation is over and if he is not infected with the virus, then the Ambassador is free to go back to work. We must take into consideration if Spock does not get the Ambassador sick."
Sometimes I felt guilty for asking her to leave her job to come to Vulcan. She was practically a scientist with a PhD, but she insisted that children were more important than science. But somehow, I had a hard time believing her at times as her voice seemed to become lower when she spoke science, and her Danish accent thickened. I've known her for 15 years… and when her voice was like that, she was the happiest.
"Spock will be quarantined in his room until he is feeling better and anyone in contact with him shall change their clothes immediately before coming into contact with Sarek." I turned to Michael, "Understood?" She nodded and went back to eating her soup. The room was silent for a moment as we all tucked into our lunch until Michael looked up after a couple of minutes and asked:
"The doctor said that Spock seems to be making improvement but not as quickly as he would like. Why does the doctor give him antibiotics if this is a virus?" asked Michael.
I turned to Linnea; she was the science teacher after all, so it seemed only appropriate that she explain the situation. Seeking approval to give her opinion I nodded, and she stood up straight and gave her response.
"The doctor did not give Spock antibiotics, Michael. He gave him antiviral medicine. Viruses cannot be cured with antibiotics as it is not a bacterial infection. Unfortunately, when one has a viral infection such as this one there really is no cure to fight it off completely… not yet that is…" She glanced at me before looking back at Michael, "one must have a healthy immune system to fight it off and perhaps also a good constitution."
Thank god, we have a scientist for a Nanny! After a moment of silence, Michael turned to me,
"What's a constitution?"
I smiled, "it's basically a fancy word for how someone reacts to something happening to them that's out of their control."
"Understood."
As I placed the last spoonful of soup in my mouth, I turned back to Linnea placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Please be sure to bring your husband some lunch. He needs to keep his strength up if he is to be looking after Spock all the time."
"Of course, Lady Amanda."
I stood up and took my dishes to the sink, covering another yawn. "I'm going to nap before returning to work. I will be there if you need me." I turned to Michael and kissed her on top of the head gently,
"Sleep well, Amanda".
I had just pulled the duvet over my waist when my communicator went off. While I had received word that there was no need for me to return to the council for the rest of the day, my remaining paperwork would be sent to the house in the next couple of minutes for immediate completion.
I changed back into my dress just as I heard the doorbell. I sighed in both exhaustion and frustration as I received the mountain of paperwork and carried it to my office practically throwing them on my desk with a loud thud.
Sleep and Spock were the only things on my mind, as I drew in a sharp deep breath and tried to regulate my now elevated heartrate. I was so tired, only managing three hours of sleep. Half of this paperwork wasn't even mine and yet it needed to be completed by morning.
Spock was sick, I wanted to be with him. I felt the anger brewing in the pit of my stomach, I forced myself to breathe. To do the simple techniques Sarek had taught me. I wanted him home. I wanted him back. I needed him.
After a couple of minutes simply breathing, I finally managed to calm down and decided that it would be logical to spend a couple of hours in my office tending to the paperwork thinking that the less I had to complete in the morning, the more time I could spend tending to Spock.
I sat at my desk and forced myself to tend to documents' for hours and hours. After nodding off a couple of times, I finally managed to get through a quarter of the stack when I heard a little voice from the doorway,
"Mommy!" Spock called. He hadn't called me that since age three, always the traditional 'mother'. I looked up from my document and was very concerned to see my very pale and sweaty son standing in the doorway holding his stuffed rabbit. His white pyjamas were soaked with sweat and his hair was almost glued to his face.
"Oh, my darling!"
I stood up and went over to him immediately scooping him up in my arms and held him close to me. Usually, he would pull away with any type of physical affection as he was beginning the more intensive logic training but, to my surprise, he did not pull away.
He wrapped his arms around my neck, his legs around my waist and he nuzzled his face in the caress of my neck and shoulder. I felt his body heat radiate through the thin green fabric of my dress; he was very warm, indeed and it made me start to sweat. I felt his forehead as I began to walk down the corridor.
"Tell me, my lovie," I asked in a light almost whisper like voice "Do you feel any worse?"
He covered many coughs in the caress of my neck on the way to the kitchen, but I couldn't help and sigh in relief as he shook his head in response to my question.
"Good." I caressed his back gently as we rounded the corner.
"Did you take your medicine?" I asked,
"Yes, mommy." his voice was soft, in an almost whisper against my neck.
I took him into the empty kitchen and opened the refrigeration unit and took out the water jug. Perhaps some cold water will help him feel more comfortable.
"Do you remember what your last temperature was?" I asked, placing the water jug against his back in an attempt to cool him down. A groan of relief escaped his little mouth as he nuzzled his head closer against my neck.
"Forty degrees Celsius." he groaned.
"Right. One-hundred and four degrees. You are very hot indeed." I placed the jug down on the counter and crouched down to the cupboard pulling out a small mug. I moved to place Spock on the counter knowing that I could not pour a glass of water with him on me, but he would not release his grip from around my neck or my waist.
"Spock," I said softly, "I need to pour you some water. I can't do it with you on me. I promise just 15 seconds and I'll pick you up again."
But he continued to hold me and refused to let go.
"No, mommy." he groaned. After a couple more tugs, I noticed a whimpering sound. Once I got a look at his face, I found that he was crying. I must admit, there was a sense of shock that ran through my body. He was never like this. He was only ever like this when he was a baby, but once he reached age four… he insisted on being independent.
"Alright." I said, admitted defeat. I placed my hand under back under his bum and moved him to the side of my hip instead of the front of my body. I poured the mug of water and placed the jug back in the refrigeration unit. I pressed the mug back against his lips encouraging him to take at least a couple of sips, he would turn his head and hide in the crease of my neck.
"Alright" I sighed, admitting defeat. "How about a cold shower?" I asked, adjusting him back to my front.
After a slow nod, I enlisted the help of one Felix, the only human male servant. Since Spock wasn't going to be pried away from me anytime soon, and he wasn't in the mood to drink water I was forced to accept the fact that I would have to join my son in the shower.
Finding that Spock had drifted to sleep against me, I had Felix help me undress him. As Spock continued to hold on tightly to my neck, I realized that there was no way I was going to get undressed. So, I sat on the shower floor in my green work dress cradling Spock in my lap as the cool water ran down on us.
I shivered as the cold water showered down upon us, but I did not care. Spock moaned in a mixture of both relief and discomfort as I began to wash his dirty, sweaty and smelling body with a soap lathered cloth.
"Mommy," Spock groaned lightly as I rubbed the cloth against his chest, his eyes were still closed, and he was moving his head from side to side. "Taluhk nash-veh k'dular".
I paused, what did he say? I looked down at his little face and despite knowing exactly what he meant, I couldn't help but chuckle. Technically that phrase was for bond mates, but I wasn't about to correct my sick child. He said it once more, and then again.
As he kept repeating it over and over, I felt my heart become warm and full of love as in his eight years of life he has never said anything like that to me. Only a merely 'I care deeply for you', but this… this was the closest one would ever get to a Vulcan saying, 'I love you'. I hardly noticed tears of happiness falling from my eyes as I continued to wash him gently with the cloth.
"I love you too, Spock." I finally said and hugged him close to me. "I love you so much."
After a couple of minutes, I turned off the water and was quite relieved when Felix came back in and assisted in the drying and changing of a still very clingy and delirious Spock. He started to cry as he was pulled away from me for less than five seconds as we slid the new pyjamas top over his head, his arms wrapped around my neck and he cuddled himself closer to me.
"No mommy…" he cried softly.
After pulling the bottoms up, I began to rock him for several minutes in an attempt to calm him while fighting my own shivering from my cold wet dress that was stuck to my skin under my towel. After a couple of minutes pacing, I soon discovered soft snoring softly against my neck.
After passing him quickly to Felix, I pried the wet dress from my body and quickly slipped into the dry dress just as Spock opened his eyes against Felix's shoulder and began to whimper.
Carrying the now whimpering Spock back into his room, I placed him into bed and laid beside him, cradling him in my arms as he rested against my chest. His soft sobs turned to snores as the time passed, and as I caressed my fingers gently through his hair and sang him a gentle lullaby, I found myself worrying less and less about the massive pile of work waiting in my office.
I felt the weight on my eyes become heavier and heavier. I rested my head against his pillow and as I drifted off to sleep, with his head rested against my chest and his arm around my waist I wished just for a moment, that I could have moments like this more often.
*~The End~*