This is it guys. I want to thank everyone who stuck with the story, despite my slow updates and massive delays. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you LadyFangs for wearing the Beta hat. A special shout out to the ladies at WA who keep encouraging me to get better. Don't know what's next. So I'm not even going to make any promises.
Chapter 14 – In My Hands
In the years that had passed Spock accepted and sometimes relished his role as outsider. He refused to cry or feel a lack of comfort because the ones Nyota called friends refused to welcome him in their precious inner sanctum. In a period of three months that had changed. He found himself locked in an embrace with Jim Kirk as the man said goodbye. A piece of him craved the companionship he had felt throughout the day with his new ... friends. The other part of Spock felt strangely uncomfortable and lightyears beyond his comfort zone. Leonard McCoy always the physician observed each and every unnecessary scratch Spock levied to his skin and the tugs and pulls at his clothing.
"Come inside, we should talk." The man's words were simple. None of the malice that previously punctuated his southern diction present. Yet it made Spock wonder if this was the conversation where McCoy would tell him to disappear – leave them alone – no one wanted him around. With heavy shoulders he followed the older man up the stairs and into the empty apartment. He could still smell Nyota and the pink bubblegum that Joanna loved to chew. The image of the two locked hand in hand made him smile and for once he didn't have a ping of regret. He was happy for her and the life she'd found.
The sound of glass tumbling and colliding pulled him from his thoughts. He saw the doctor, struggling to reach a bottle out of his reach. Spock moved to the kitchen, retrieved the item and handed it to McCoy."
"Freak." McCoy muttered before pouring two glasses and sliding one across the counter in Spock's direction.
Spock wasn't a drinker and from what he knew McCoy wasn't supposed to be any longer. "Don't look at me like that it's a drink between friends." McCoy raised his glass and Spock followed suit listening to the soothing chime. The liquid made his chest burn and he didn't refuse when the man poured a second round before replacing the top and returning the long neck bottle to its hiding place.
The two men settled in the quiet darkness of the living room.
"Thank you." The words seemed appropriate. After all McCoy did not have to invite him to join the rest of the men today. He did not have to pour him a drink or allow him beyond the threshold of his home.
"You're welcome." The lack of a snarky comeback surprised Spock again. His brow elevated and McCoy set up taking on the serious demeanor he was accustomed to seeing. Now it was time for the delivery of the bad news. "I have to apologize to you."
Spock couldn't breath. Words would not form and his thoughts were incoherent. "Excuse me?"
McCoy laughed, the locks of his hair shielding the amusement in his eyes. "Yes I'm apologizing to you." The man sat back after taking a long sip from his glass. "It's not easy being a father, Spock. You no longer have the luxury of your mistakes belonging just to you."
Spock allowed his head to roll forward in an attempt to avoid McCoy's eyes. The man continued. "Your father is a good man who fucked up more than once. You didn't have the luxury of two parents with a normal relationship. Hell most of us don't, but yours was a special brand of dysfunction. I'm sorry I wasn't more of a friend to you in the past."
He swallowed the lump in his throat and fought back the tears threatening to emerge from his eyes, "There is no need for the apology doctor. You," He paused, "Righted my wrongs in regards to Nyota's heart."
"No I didn't. I brought all of my broken pieces to the table and I allowed her to see me. I'm not some prince charming on a white horse. I'm a broken man who just knows I need that woman. It takes me and her and Joanna to make this family work."
Spock didn't know when McCoy moved or when his hand landed on his shoulder. "The lesson stuck. You know now what it means to love, lose, and grow from the experience. You'll be a better man because of it."
All he could do was nod. He was still having a problem with conveying exactly what he felt in the moment.
"I consider you my friend." McCoy made a move to grab Spock's hand. "I would trust you with the life of my girl's."
Spock could hear the emotion in the man's voice. He let his pride go and the tears cascaded down his cheeks. "I am honored." He whispered.
McCoy took a step back and pointed at the man seated before him, "Dinner tomorrow at five, Jim and Gaila's place. Bring the Tums."
Still wide – eyed and operating in a state of shock, Spock took the hand McCoy extended standing to his full height but shaking with the uncertainty of a toddler on untested legs. "I will see you tomorrow doctor."
"Now get the hell out of here and if you tell anybody I cried I'll inject your ass with something especially deadly."
Spock stepped into the night air for the first time in years full of anticipation and a strange sensation he recognized as hope. He was no longer held captive by the past or gaffes made by the hands of others. It was a new day and he had a say in his destiny.
The End
Love ya,
Ki a.k.a. The Southern Scribe