Disclaimer: I don't own much, and definitely not these guys!
A/N: Thanks Lucida Lownes for proof reading!!
Chapter 6: Return of the Beast
"Spock?"
"Yes Christine." We have finished our soup and I am melting ice to drink.
"How long have we been here? Has it been two days, or has it been longer? I've kinda lost track." That is not surprising; she has been in and out of sleep for most of our time here.
"We arrived her 3.5 days ago, it's about 5 o'clock terran time."
"Could you get me my bag?" I get up and grab her medical bag. I wander what medicine she wants. She does not have anything in this bag that will help her. "No Spock, the other bag." Oh, she wants her personal bag.
"Here you are Christine." I watch her curiously wandering what she wants out of it.
"Spock, would you hand me that hypo?" I hand her the hypo and note that she has some sort of medicine; I wander why she did not pack it with the rest of her medics. I remember the ice and get up to give it to her. Oh, she wanted her brush. I bite back a chuckle, how funny that she would worry about her hair in our predicament. I reprimand myself for letting my feelings come to the surface. I am clearly in need of meditation.
~~ooOoo~~
I watch Christine from behind heavily lidded eyes. It has been two and a half days since I last slept. I calculate that we have been in this cave for five days, the last two days of which had passed by rather uneventfully, that is till last night. Christine seemed to be improving- yesterday she managed to stand for a few moments before collapsing. She is now lying on her side with not but a blanket covering her. She awoke last night complaining that it was to hot. The temperature in the cave was 3˚ Fahrenheit so I surmised that she was running a fever and told her she need to rest and drink some water. She told me to 'shut up' before she passed out. As I watch her sleeping the rest of the afternoon plays out in my mind as though it just happened. When she passed out I immediately took her temperature- it was 105.8, dangerously high. I took off her jacket and laid her down on top of a blanket. I then soaked a cloth and placed it on her head. Using another wet cloth I wiped her face and neck. After a while she began to cool down some, her temperature slowly lowering. As I waited for her to cool down I found myself gazing at her. Her long legs, her soft curves, her serene face, all of her features worked as one to extenuate her slender and beautiful figure. She was wearing the standard Starfleet uniform for women. A brief outfit that was form fitting- and left very little to ones imagination. I inhaled her unique intoxicating scent, a mixture of a vanilla perfume, medicine, and her own natural scent. It is a scent I instantly connect with Christine, and it is an oddly comforting scent. While gazing at her I note that I am having unusual difficulty controlling my emoting. I feel an almost overwhelming urge to touch her, to be near her. I lay the blanket on her and move to sit by a rock at the other side of the cave. Perhaps distance would help me deal with these unorthodox sensations. It did not. So I sat gazing at her, memorizing her peaceful features- wishing I was not Vulcan, only human. If I had been human maybe I could have allowed my emotions to take over. Maybe I could have taken her in my arms and confessed how I felt. It can never be that way though. I am a Vulcan. It is a blessing and a curse; a blessing that it gives me the strength to overcome the curse of no emotions. For three hours I looked at her while my two half's waged a war inside me. I began to think wonder when this had happened, when had I become unable to maintain complete control around her. Christine was no longer the shy woman who was desperate to be noticed by me. She was a passionate, clever, charismatic woman.
"Spock?" Her breathy voice snatches me out of my thoughts, she is awake.
"Yes Christine" I did not even think as I moved towards her, was she in pain?
"Water" she gasped. I had already melted some ice for her. "Thanks" she stuttered.
"Shh. you should save your energy Christine." I thoughtlessly stroke her back as she drinks, I did not even notice I was doing it.
GRRRRAARRR!!!!! The sound reverberated off the caves walls. Something was coming in. I quickly grabbed her phaser (it was fully charged) and tossed her mine (half charge). I stepped over Christine and racing towards the entrance. I then saw the beast. It was the same kind that got Christine the first time, but now there were two of them. The next few minutes seemed like an eternity of phaser fire, claws and fur. I managed to hit them both before they retaliated and struck me across the chest. I fired on the larger one and managed to knock it down. The smaller one must have sensed its companion dying because it fled the cave. I leaned against the wall in shock, I had managed to fatally injure the beast, but the pain my chest was giving me was truly astounding. With a great effort I managed to turn around and head back towards Christine. I made it to her bedside before collapsed.
~~ooOoo~~
Words could not describe the panic I was feeling as I listened to the battle that was ensuing in the tunnel. Was Spock alright, was he winning? Then I heard a noise that would haunt me for the rest of my life, my Vulcan yelled. His yell was so filled with pain that it was all I could do not to scream with him. That's enough, I'm coming Spock. I reached for my phaser, but before I got up I saw Spock stagger in, clutching his chest. He fell beside my bed, he was unconscious. I didn't even think as I reacted. I laid him against the rock, on top of the blanket. I then took of his shirt, trying to still my trembling hands while I examined his wounds. The wounds were not that deep, nor had they damaged any organs, yet he still continued to bleed profusely. The creature's claws must have some sort of poison in it. But then why hadn't I been as affected by it? I had most certainly been cut by the beast. Wait, maybe it had to do with the beast sex. Males typically possessed additional means of defense, longer claws, more teeth, and occasionally even venom. I grabbed my hypo and gave him some medicine to help his blood clot. I always carried additional medicine for my Vulcan with my clothes. I used to think it was silly, still he seemed to have a special ability to attract trouble, lord only knew how many hours I had spent putting him back together.
