Chapter 9

U.S.S. Enterprise Shuttle 1, 2277.131, 0138 hours. She gave Sulu the shock of his life when she stepped on the shuttle behind Spock as the others helped strap him into the emergency bed. He stood gaping at her, completely stupefied, and she stepped up and gave him a small hug.

Hesitantly he put his arms around her. "How…?" Tears threatened to fall.

"Get us out of here now, Mr. Sulu."

He jumped and scrambled for the cockpit and Nyota strapped herself into the jump seat beside her adun. Only once the doors were closed and they were officially off the ground did she turn her attention to the man glaring daggers at Spock.

"I'm glad you're safe, Uhura, I really am," said Jim

She looked to her husband and then back to her Captain, the tension between them palpable. "What happened?"

Jim waved her off with a flick of his wrist. "Never you mind." They broke atmo a few minutes later and he un-strapped himself. No sooner was he up on his feet then Spock looked to be coming back around. "I need to speak to Giotto."

She stared after him curiously, realizing she wouldn't get her answers until the dust settled. Spock feebly stretched out a hand. "Nyota…"

A hazy tidal wave of affection flooded the bond, making her feel off-kilter. "I'm here, Ashayam; I'm right here. We're safe."

That reassurance was all he needed as he nodded and closed his eyes before slipping into a light healing trance.

U.S.S. Enterprise, Sickbay, 2277.131, 0157 hours. "Slow down! Y'all aren't makin' any sense!" McCoy usually demonstrated a great deal more patience with the children of the Enterprise but tonight he was at his wit's end (and it showed in his accent). T'Alora, Se'tak and Selas were quiet as mice just a second ago and now here they were talking a mile a minute as if they'd ingested some psychotropic drugs.

He weighed the pros and cons of giving them a sedative when the Sickbay doors burst open and Len thought hemight be the one hallucinating. Jim strode through first—surprisingly uninjured—flanked by Sulu and Giotto and… "Nyota?"

"MAMA!" The kids tackled her to the ground and they began talking over each in a mix of Standard, Swahili and Vulkhansu, all while holding onto one another in a massive bone crushing hug.

Len just stood there completely frozen. His friend was supposed to be dead. He'd performed the autopsy.

He had to be seeing things.

Shooting Jim a look all he got was a frown and a shake of the head—guess he'd have to have things explained to him later. Taking another glance in Nyota's direction he noted the cuts and bruises on her arms and face and her extremely dirty state. With great patience and care he helped her back to her feet and re-positioned the kids long enough to get an accurate tricorder reading off of her; it was then that he saw Spock being brought in on a stretcher.

"Healing trance," she answered his unspoken question. "Just a few cuts and some deep bruising, I think."

"Since when did you become a doctor?"

Only when she smiled that dazzling smile did he allow himself to really believe she was back. "Missed you too, Len."

He hugged her tight and got a good whiff. She smelled like mud-lots and lots of mud. "Darlin', don't take this the wrong way but you could really use a shower."

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 0249 hours. Scotty turned the corner and headed for the Officer's Rec, noting the crates propping open the doors as McCoy, Sulu and Kirk's voices drifted quietly down the hall.

"I've updated the schedules," he announced as he entered. Sinking into a chair he had a bourbon thrust into his hand while he surveyed the damage. In his mind it'd been well worth it to get Uhura back but the mess her husband and bairns made of his gal had Scotty shaking his head. Taking a swig he turned back to the group. "We'll have everything ship shape again in forty-eight hours, give or take."

"No, Scotty." In spite of the victory—they'd gotten their friend back, hadn't they?—the Captain looked to be in a foul mood. "Have your people fix the front door, but that's it. Spock and the kids are on clean-up duty; T'Alora knew how to seal it up and now she can un-seal it. The boys'll be in charge of putting back the supplies. If I find even one crate missing…"

"Whoa, Jim, you can't be serious! They just got their mother back!"

"Captain," Sulu followed McCoy's declaration, "With all due respect, I know you're angry that we all got hoodwinked but maybe it's not really the kids you're upset with…"

Kirk slammed his glass down hard on the side table. "I know damn well who I'm upset with, Hikaru, and I'll take it up with him soon enough. But the kids are all old enough to have known better and they need to learn there are consequences for their actions." He eyed them all suspiciously. "Or am I not still the captain of this ship?"

Scotty looked around at his tablemates. The other lads went quiet but he still had somethin' to say. "Aye Sir, you are, but at least give the wee ones a few days to get over things. I cannae imagine what it must've been like for 'em thinkin' their mother was dead one minute and come back the next but I suspect they'll be loathe to part from her again anytime soon."

The Captain narrowed his eyes at him over the top of his glass. "I'm not that heartless, Mr. Scott." Finishing his drink the man then up and quit the room.

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 0256 hours. Spock came out of his trance to the ominous sounds of Sickbay machinery, causing his gut to twist as he experienced sensations of 'deja-vu'. Slowly he became aware of a cool, firm hand tucked in his, giving it a gentle but reassuring squeeze.

Nyota…

Eyes squinting against the bright light he turned his head to the side and beheld the most beautiful sight: his adun'a safe in a bio-bed, their children curled up around her fast asleep.

"Hey," she whispered quietly, their eyes boring into one another. "How're you feeling?"

"I believe it is I who should be asking you that question."

Nyota smiled and he felt all the sadness, anger and worry from the last nine days melt away. "I'm alright, just a little dehydrated with a few bumps and bruises. You?"

He reviewed his internal catalogue of injuries. "I cracked two ribs and sustained a deep laceration to my temporal lobe, yet the wounds are healing well thanks to Doctor McCoy's careful ministrations."

The little crease in the middle of her forehead formed as she frowned and he wished he could lean over and kiss it away. "I'm glad you're alright."

"And I you."

He transmitted the full force of his relief and affection across the bond, along with his intention never to let her leave his side again. It was a condition that, at the moment, she readily agreed to. They would have spent the remainder of the morning feeding their joy like that had she not let loose a very large yawn.

"Sleep, k'diwa. I will watch over you all."

She nodded gratefully but still kept her hand in his. Within minutes she had fallen back into a sound sleep.

His bliss at having her back again—safe and whole and within arm's reach—was tempered by the guilt eating away at his conscience. Mere hours ago his only focus had been reclaiming his adun'a no matter the cost and now that that had been accomplished he had ample time to consider the consequences of his actions and the events yet to come. Despite the brevity of their conversation he was aware that Nyota knew things were amiss though she was not witting of the particulars.

He would have to speak with Jim very, very soon, and explain all to Nyota shortly thereafter. There would be no secrets kept from his beloved.

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 1100 hours. Jim sat in his office, a pile of unsigned PADDs to his right, blue eyes staring intently at the information in front of him on his computer screen. Bones had given Uhura and Spock clean bills of health and released them to their quarters less then an hour ago with orders to remain off-duty for another 3 days. It was nothing short of a miracle. He still couldn't believe that she was alive…or that his XO and the kids had committed mutiny.

He was still seeing red about that one.

The door chime went off. "Enter."

Speak of the Devil, he thought as he looked up at Spock. The Vulcan wore a black shirt and slacks which highlighted the deep jade bruise at his temple and the days' worth of stubble growing on his chin; and though he adopted his normal rigid posture he appeared to be favoring his left side a little more then his right-definite sign of at least one cracked rib, maybe two.

"You're not on-duty for another 71 hours you know."

"I am well aware of this fact, Captain."

Spock concentrated on a spot on the wall just behind his head but said nothing more, leaving it up to him to break the silence.

"Spock, have I made any bad command decisions recently? Decisions you've disagreed with and felt I didn't take your input seriously enough?"

His XO quirked his head and looked at him curiously. "No, Sir."

"Have I left crew members behind on any mission, even when we didn't have any good reason to believe that they were still alive?"

"No, Sir."

His anger doubled and tripled in size with each response. Exploding out of his seat he shouted, "Then g-ddammit, why'd you do it? Mutiny, Spock! Why didn't you come talk to me instead? I could've helped you!"

One angular eyebrow rose. "Your offer of assistance was not assured at that time."

He spluttered. "Not assured? Not assured? What the hell does that mean? Why do you think that I, or anybody else on this ship, wouldn't have bent over backwards to help you get Uhura back?"

"At the time the evidence I had suggesting that the Lieutenant Commander was still alive was circumstantial at best."

"But it was good enough for you to follow-up on it and take me and the entire command crew hostage!" He slammed his hand down hard. "Jesus, you know I'm well within my right to have you kicked out of 'Fleet for what you pulled!"

Spock's shoulders slumped infinitesimally. "I am well aware that as a standing Starfleet officer I am currently in violation of sixteen different Codes of Conduct, yet as I previously stated time was of the essence and your offer of aid was not assured."

Jim gritted his teeth, then sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he sunk back into his chair. "Spock, if this is your way of apologizing…"

"This is not an apology; I only came to explain my actions to you and take responsibility for any consequences you might see fit to dispense."

Oh he saw fit to 'dispense consequences' alright. He knew for a fact that Scotty needed the coolant tanks cleaned out before the end of the month; all he needed was to scrounge up a couple of toothbrushes from stores…

It was then that the Vulcan quietly admitted, "Also, in answer to your previous queries, I was not thinking entirely logically." Now that was a horse of a different color. Jim decided it was time to stop ranting and listen. "As you already know I had been monitoring the investigation into Nyota's death since the beginning. I began to have my suspicions when certain facts from numerous crew reports did not add up; however, it was not until Selas came to me with his own research that I truly believed there was a chance she was still alive."

He what now? Did he really just say that he risked his life and career on a child's research?

"Spock?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"How did your seven year old get access to those reports? Everything regarding—" here he searched for a euphemism since Uhura was no longer dead, "the incident was highly classified."

One eyebrow rose sharply. "If you are implying that in addition to other violations I also broke regulation 3E and gave my son command access without proper clearance…"

"I was implying no such thing," he said with a smirk. He was still pissed but he couldn't help himself; he loved rankling the Vulcan.

"Nyota had been reviewing the mission with Selas prior to our arrival at Unohdettu as well as each evening while we were in orbit," Spock carefully explained. "Our son continued her research into the cave glyphs independently after her alleged demise using public record away team reports."

"Oh." Jim took a sip of water and eyed his XO carefully. His off-kilter stance was barely noticeable before but now he was listing heavily to the left. "Why don't you sit down before you pass out on me, alright?"

Despite the offer Spock made no move forward. "I am not in danger of losing consciousness at this time…"

Kirk sighed. "Just take the damn seat, will you?" Only after he was sitting did he ask, "So, how many cracked ribs you got?"

"Two."

He walked over to the replicator and ordered up some tea. "Sorry to hear it." Carrying the steaming mug over he added, "Bet it was worth it though."

"I would have willingly endured much worse to have brought her back."

The immediacy of Spock's response made him smile. "I know." He took another sip of his drink. "Ok, I think I'm ready to listen now. Start over, and take it from the top. What made you suspect…?"

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 2112 hours. The day had proven to be very—interesting. Even now she still wasn't sure what to make of what she'd been told. Once Spock returned from his meeting with Jim they all came clean about how they got her back home and she was just stunned; after all, essentially her adun and her kids had hijacked the Enterprise.

She's lucky they weren't all sitting in the brig right now.

On the other hand her fellow senior officers didn't seem too keen to have the incident reported, and Kirk did appear to be getting his revenge somehow; Spock had disappeared shortly after dinner and still hadn't returned, presumably to carry out some form of penance to Jim.

Nyota sat in bed with a PADD reviewing Selas' work on the Unohdettuans, marveling at how his mind worked. The boys had gone to bed a short while ago and T'Alora, who'd been overly solicitous since their release from Sickbay, was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes while insisting that her mother rest. Despite her homecoming there was still something off with her daughter and so she sat there with her door open biding her time.

She didn't keep her waiting long.

"T, come in here a second, would you please?" Her daughter stopped short in the hallway and turned around as Nyota set aside the PADD. "Have a seat." Again, she did as she was asked but still hadn't uttered a word. She spent a good minute just staring at her daughter's face; the dark eyes were no longer quite so haunted as they'd been hours ago but the high cheekbones were exceptionally pronounced. The traditional Vulcan robes T'Alora favored did much to hide her frame but as Nyota reached over in a gentle caress she felt how bony her shoulders were.

"Sweetie, talk to me. What happened while I was gone?"

She looked almost frightened by the question and spent several seconds formulating a response. "Sa-mekh was in need of assistance in the wake of your 'passing'. Se'tak was extremely emotional over your loss, as was Selas, although to a slightly lesser degree. I aided them during that time."

Nyota ran a hand soothingly up and down her daughter's bicep; she could feel how slim and taut it was. "I know that—your father and brothers have told me over and over again how helpful you were—but I want to know what happened to you while I was away." Here she put both hands on T'Alora's shoulders and allowed them to travel all the way down to her tiny wrists. She didn't miss the tiny angry flicker in her daughter's eyes at her physical assessment. "You're all skin and bones, and don't think I didn't see how you only picked at your supper; you also keep looking around as if the other shoe is about to drop. Now I know it's all going to take us awhile to adjust to everything that's happened but I want you to realize that I'm not going anywhere and you can talk to me about anything."

She watched her daughter inhale sharply and stiffen, the moisture beginning to form in her eyes. "Mama, I…" it was the first time she'd called her that all day, "I coped with your…d-death…as best I could. It was not…easy." For the first time in almost half a dozen years T'Alora gave over to her emotions and cried her heart out, collapsing into her mother's arms in great gasping sobs. Nyota began to sob as well and held her little girl close to her breast, stroking her hair and whispering assurances over and over again in her ear.

"Let it out, baby girl, it's alright. I'm so sorry for putting you through that. It's all over now though and I'm right here…"

U.S.S. Enterprise, 2277.131, 2340 hours. He was unaware of just how much time had passed, as it had not been his intent to stay away from his family this long. However, Spock was also intent on rectifying the situation in the Officer's Rec room as expeditiously as possible, which was why he was now covered head-to-toe in white plas-crete dust. All was quiet in the apartment as he entered and he made his way to the bathroom for a rare water shower before heading to bed, hopeful that he would not rouse anyone.

The bathroom was sufficiently steamy by the time he slipped into the stall. Standing and facing the head he braced his hands against the wall and looked at the floor, letting the hot water trickle down his neck and back. So much had occurred in the last twenty-four hours that he had let his guard down and did not realize he was no longer alone until Nyota wrapped her arms around him and pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades.

"Hey."

He turned around and held her close. "I did not intend to wake you."

"You didn't, I was already awake." Spock waited for her to elaborate further. "The boys went to bed early and afterward T'Alora and I talked." Sensing her discomfort across the bond he gently peeled himself back so he could get a better look at Nyota's face; she appeared to be in great pain. "Spock, show me what happened while I was away."

Her request was…logical…and while he had personal reasons for not wanting to comply none were compelling enough to put Nyota off. Water pelting against his back Spock resigned himself with a soft sigh before bringing his hands up to her psi points.

He had been monitoring a growing wind storm in the northern hemisphere of Unohdettu, Lieutenant Commander Plin-yee was at the communications station where Nyota normally worked. The Bridge was working in near silence as they waited for the away team to return.

Suddenly a high pitched scream knocked the breath from Spock's lungs and his vision swam. The disorientation lasted 3.6 seconds before he determined that his k'hat'n'dlawa ceased to exist. He flew into a rage trying to get to the transporter room, knocking over colleagues and equipment that came into his path. He had to reach Unohdettu, had to see if he could somehow save her…

Awaking in Sickbay to T'Alora's voice…him screaming and crying, unabashed at such a human display of grief.

Reviewing the children; receiving mourners; returning to their quarters with her ashes in his arms.

Presenting a façade of normalcy only to engage in illogical behavior under the cover of night…

"Enough," Nyota sobbed before he could proceed further, "I've seen enough."

When they emerged out of the meld he could not tell whether the water on her face was from the cooling shower or her own tears. "I'm so, so s-sorry I put you through all that," she cried.

"We were not the only ones who grieved," he reminded her while sending images of her own anguish when she likewise believed in their premature demise.

"No, but I…I shouldn't have believed them. If I'd just fought back or tried harder to break free…"

He pressed a kiss against her forehead to silence her self-recriminations. "You are not liable for your kidnapping or for the assumptions made based on false information provided you while in captivity. Due to the severance of the bond we believed as you believed until an alternative theory was presented. Had you reacted to the Unohdettuans in any other manner it is likely that you would not be back here with us now but truly be lost to us forever. Kaiidth, k'diwa."

His words did little to soothe her. "I know, but the kids…" again her voice trailed off and she showed them her concerns: Selas' clinginess, Se'tak's silence and T'Alora's gauntness. The boys' behavior was understandable given the circumstances yet T'Alora's self-injury had completely escaped his notice until now; seeing their daughter through his adun'a's eyes made her emaciated state obvious and he was alarmed for her and ashamed of his failure as her sa-mekh. T'Alora had maintained her composure so admirably throughout their terrible ordeal that he had not realized the full depth of her hurt.

It was only Nyota's hand that stopped him from rushing headlong out of the shower to see to their daughter.

"I had a good long talk with her now and I think she'll be ok; we'll just have to keep a closer eye on her for awhile. I made an appointment with Len tomorrow just to be on the safe side and make sure there's no lasting damage."

The water pelting down on them both was downright cold and he turned the shower head off, stepping out first and assisting her into a warm towel as she moved to do the same. Their thoughts were concentrated on their battered family and each remained somewhat anxious and tense.

"For all the talking we did and all the plans we made in case this ever happened things still went straight to Hell, didn't they?"

"While the existence of Hell remains scientifically unproven I do concur with the sentiment you are attempting to express. I believe the Earth saying 'The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray' is especially poignant in this case." Spock watched closely as she finger combed her wet hair. "However, our family has suffered under adverse conditions before and pulled through admirably at each conclusion, therefore the evidence suggests that now that we have been reunited we will be able to do the same once again."

Nyota smiled at him sweetly and turned around. "So what you're saying is it's going to get better?"

Inwardly he smiled; he had greatly missed their teasing. "Indeed."

She reached out and he met her hand halfway, reveling in the silky feel of her fingers as she twined them with his own. "Spock?"

"Hmm?"

"It's been a long day. Let's go to bed."