The Other Woman, chapter 3
"Nyota? Nyota? Wake up. You have a call."
Comfortably ensconced in Milele's guest room, Uhura gradually realized that someone was tapping at the door. She squinted at the clock. Heavens, 0455 hours. "Do you know who it is?" she mumbled.
Milele stuck her head into the room. "It's Saavik. I think something's wrong."
Jolted awake, Uhura met Milele's eyes, then scrambled out of bed. She grabbed her robe and slipped her arms into it on her way down the stairs. No one spoke until she threw herself into the chair in front of the computer.
"Saavik! What is it? What's wrong?"
"I tried to find you at Gibraltar," Saavik said unsteadily, "but when you did not answer, I contacted the switchboard. No one knew where you had gone. Finally, someone thought to check for a forwarding address. You had left it, but no one used it! It should have automatically transferred me to your sister's house."
Uhura's heart pounded in her chest. "Saavik. Calm down. Tell me what happened."
"It's Spock. He and I ate lunch with Admiral Kirk today. As we left the restaurant, he became very pale and collapsed." She swallowed shakily. "Nyota, he had a heart attack. He is very, very ill. Dr. McCoy is going to operate as soon as he can, but he said that it is not good. Oh, Nyota, he might die. He thought he had indigestion, but it was a heart attack, just like his father. What will we do without him if he dies?"
Uhura slowly brought her hand up to cover her mouth as she stared at the screen. Trying to understand what Saavik had just told her, she felt Milele's warm hand on her shoulder. Finally, she whispered, "Where are you?"
"Starfleet Medical, in the Intensive Care Unit."
"All right. Just hang on, Saavik. I'll be there as soon as I can. If there's a flight going out of Heathrow, I should be able to get priority for a medical emergency. I will be there. Soon."
Saavik nodded. "Please hurry."
"I will. Uhura out."
She cut the connection. As she took a moment to compose herself, she heard Milele move into the kitchen and start some coffee. Low voices murmured in the background. Evidently Yusufu was up, too.
She forced herself to think. First, she had to find a flight. Then, she'd get dressed and throw everything into the suitcase. Milele or Yusufu could take her to the spaceport. She could catch a flight in fifteen minutes if she hurried. It was only, uh, about 1400 hours in San Francisco, so she should arrive there by 1600 hours at the latest. She wouldn't have any problem finding quick transportation from the spaceport to the hospital at that time of day.
"Computer." She cleared her throat and tried again. "Computer. Contact flight reservations at Heathrow Spaceport."
...
"I'm looking for Captain Spock's room."
Uhura held her breath while the orderly turned to the computer. The young man took his time, and she wanted to lash out at him. Didn't he know she was waiting for him to tell her about life or death? She held her tongue, however. She knew that she was on edge, and the man had to look up information like this a hundred times a day.
Finally, he said, "Room fifteen, Intensive Care. Go to the lift right behind you and ask for Intensive Care. When it stops on the fifth floor, go straight down the corridor and take a left at the end. You'll see the sign for Intensive Care over the door."
She exhaled forcefully. He was still alive. She'd made it. Trying to modulate her voice so she didn't sound like a complete wreck, she thanked him and hurried to the lift. The ride seemed interminable, and suddenly she was reminded of the rushed trip she and Dr. McCoy had made to Dantria when they had received news that Saavik was sick. They had taken a lift almost exactly like this one and exited onto a long, quiet corridor. Their footsteps had echoed in the silence, and they had come around the corner to see Spock waiting forlornly by the sick little girl's bedside. Those days had been horrible, but Saavik had recovered. Would everything end so happily this time?
Finally, the lift opened, and she saw the end of the corridor ahead just like the man had said. This time, though, her steps didn't echo in the silence. Activity bustled all about her, everyone in a hurry as if they had lives to save. She wasn't sure which rattled her more—the deathly silence, or this quiet, efficient urgency.
She picked up her pace as she neared the end, and there, on the left, was the door. Intensive Care.
The lights glared around her, throwing everything into sharp relief as she walked carefully through the door and scanned the area. An empty waiting room sat to the right, littered with scuffed-up old padds, anemic plants, and empty coffee cups, and ahead of her stretched a corridor. From her vantage point, she could see the number over the first door: One. She quickly placed her duffel out of the way in a small coat alcove and started down the hallway.
Room one, room three, room five... She read the numbers on the right and tried not to peer into the rooms at the patients on the beds, surrounded by blinking equipment and solemn loved ones. A nurse passed her carrying a tray full of small instruments and nodded without speaking. Room eleven, room thirteen... There it was. Room fifteen, at the very end of the corridor. She took a deep breath and walked through the door.
"Nyota! You made it!"
Saavik leapt out of her seat and moved in Uhura's direction. Uhura's first impulse was to open her arms and give Saavik a big hug, but of course she couldn't do that. Saavik was nineteen years old now, much too big for hugs. Instead, Uhura made do with a reassuring smile.
"Yes. I'm here."
To her embarrassment, she sounded like she was about to cry, and she closed her eyes for a moment to regain her composure when Kirk put a quick arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. He patted her back before releasing her just as quickly.
Finally, she turned toward the bed. "How is he?"
"Hanging in there," Kirk replied, his voice colorless.
She sank into the chair closest to the head of the bed without taking her eyes away from Spock. He looked so fragile. This strong, independent man... Maybe it was just her imagination, but he seemed helpless, utterly reliant on everything but himself. Even in sleep, he had always appeared controlled, but now his features were slack, and his only movement was the unnaturally precise up-and-down regularity of his chest. For the second time since she had walked into the room, she had to forcibly stop herself from reaching out to someone, and the effort it took not to brush her fingers along his face, smooth his hair, rest her hand on his arm, caused almost real, physical pain.
Kirk pulled another chair over to the bed so all three of them could sit. "McCoy said that he would like to be able to take Spock off life support before he operates, but that he's not going to wait any later than sometime this evening."
Uhura tore her eyes away from Spock and looked at Kirk. "He's going to operate?"
Kirk nodded. "Yes. It's the same congenital defect that Sarek had. McCoy's kicking himself for missing it before, but evidently it's hard to diagnose. And Spock's human half made it even harder."
"Dr. McCoy said that Spock's human heritage has also made his condition more serious," said Saavik. "He is not confident that Spock will survive."
Uhura swallowed hard at the bluntness of Saavik's statement and waited for an objection from Kirk. Kirk simply held her gaze, however, and finally Uhura dropped her head and covered her eyes with her hand. After a moment, she mumbled, "Was he in pain? Did he understand that he was having a heart attack?"
"He felt some discomfort," replied Kirk, "but he attributed it to our spicy meal. I think it caught him by surprise. He, Saavik, and I were crossing the quadrangle over on the Academy grounds, and he said something about needing to sit down. He looked awful, and I thought that maybe he felt sick to his stomach. The next thing we knew, he grabbed his side and collapsed. It apparently hurt a great deal, but only for a second or two. He never regained consciousness after that, and I don't know that he realized what was happening."
She digested that, then asked, "Has anyone talked to Sarek and Amanda?"
"I spoke with Sarek about thirty minutes ago. Officially, they're off-planet and can't make it in time. Unofficially, Sarek said that Amanda isn't as strong as she used to be, and he doesn't want to subject her to the strain of a rushed trip. They're waiting for news."
She tightened her lips and made herself look up again. "What about Helen? Why isn't she here?"
Kirk blinked, obviously caught off-guard by the question. "Uh, we can't locate her. The people in her office said that she's on a dig. Evidently, she's notorious for not carrying a personal communicator. They're working on it."
After that, they fell silent, and Uhura turned back to Spock. She wound her fingers tightly together so that she wouldn't reach out and grasp his hand.
...
Uhura watched Saavik push her food around on the plate as she remembered the few simple words McCoy and Kirk had exchanged just before they all left Spock's room earlier. His manner businesslike, McCoy had checked his patient, then turned to the three people who loitered near the wall.
Kirk's voice had been tight. "Are you going to operate now?"
McCoy nodded. "We can't wait any longer. Why don't you three go get something to eat? We'll contact you if we need you."
Uhura had lowered her eyes at that. If we need you. A euphemism for 'If anything bad happens.' No one had commented, and finally Kirk had gripped Spock's shoulder, then motioned for Saavik and Uhura to precede him out the door. As she left, Uhura had turned around for one last glimpse. She hadn't been able to see Spock clearly, for he had been blocked by a number of medical personnel, but her mind's eye had been filled by how defenseless he appeared in the midst of all the activity surrounding him.
"Oh, damn it." Kirk dropped his fork onto his plate, startling Uhura out of her dark thoughts.
"What is it?"
"I completely forgot that I'm supposed to meet with Admiral Wu first thing tomorrow." He glanced at his chrono, then put his napkin next to his plate. "1940 hours. Maybe it's not too late to ask him to reschedule. I won't be long, but don't wait for me. I'll track you down if you leave before I get back."
They watched him hurry out the door, then Saavik turned back to her food and pushed her mashed potatoes into a perfectly symmetrical little heap. Uhura smiled when the young woman speared a green bean, studied it, and placed it back on her plate.
Realizing that she was being observed, Saavik asked, "What is it?"
"Oh, I was just thinking about a day nearly nine years ago when Spock and I sat in a hospital, and he did exactly the same thing you just did. He had a big, wilted-looking salad, and he kept rearranging it on his plate. He was so worried about you that he almost made himself sick. Did you know that?"
"Is this when I had Rigellian fever?"
"Uh huh. We didn't know if you would make it, and he was a mess. He blamed himself for not interpreting your symptoms correctly, and it just about killed him to be so helpless while he sat by your bedside. Dr. McCoy brought a cot into your room, and he and I took turns sleeping."
"I remember very little about it. I did not feel well when I went to bed one night, and the next thing I remember clearly is sitting in my hospital room with you and Spock. I have a few fuzzy memories of waking up to much poking and prodding, but it is so dreamlike that I cannot distinguish falsehood from reality."
"Do you remember your box full of treasures? We went to the house and sorted through your things, trying to imagine what you'd want the most. While we were there, we discovered that your lizard had died and probably hit our lowest point. Dr. McCoy called about then and said that he had an idea for treatment, so we rushed back to the hospital. Before we knew it, we were bringing you back to that little house. Spock had to carry you in from the flitter, but we knew you would be fine."
She remembered the idyllic days in that house, the long walks in the woods and down the dusty lane, the card games, the warmth of the fire, the amazing discoveries of that last long, cold night. As she stared at the wall behind Saavik's back, she realized that Saavik was waiting for her to continue.
"Sorry." She grinned. "I was just thinking about how much I loved your little house."
"That trip is when you and Spock began your physical relationship, is it not?"
"Saavik! What makes you think that?"
"The morning when I woke everyone to see the snow, Spock was wearing the same clothes he had worn the day before, and the couch was still turned toward the fire. Even if he chose to wear the same clothing two days in a row, he is obsessive about returning things to their proper place. If he had already been up long enough to get dressed before I called him, I am certain he would also have had time to put the sofa back."
Uhura stared at her, open-mouthed.
Saavik raised an eyebrow. "Is that not a logical conclusion? Of course, I did not recall the events of that morning in such a light until some time afterward, but I do remember wondering why Spock did not retrieve the extra blankets from my closet. The main room grew very cold that night."
Rolling her eyes, Uhura said, "You'll understand if I reserve comment on your observations."
"Of course. It is difficult to believe that those events occurred so long ago."
"Yes. I know." Uhura pushed her plate away and leaned on the table. "There's been a lot of water under the bridge since then."
Saavik frowned. "That is a human expression meaning that much has happened, is it not?"
Chuckling, Uhura said, "Yes. I just meant that the three of us have seen a lot of changes through the years. You moved from Dantria to Gamma Cygnus to Earth, and now you're at the Academy. Spock became the captain of the Enterprise, and I transferred to the Lexington. He and I... Well, we went from being friends to being something I never would have thought possible. And once we became more than friends, I couldn't imagine it any other way. And here we are just friends again. I suppose I never thought that would be possible, either."
Saavik idly ran her fingers through the condensation on her glass. "It is odd. For many years, I wanted nothing more than for you and Spock to become a couple again. I used to plan ways to bring you together and imagine the day when we would be like a family once more. That evening when the three of us went out to eat, after our aborted trip to the moon, seemed magical to me, and I was crushed when nothing else ever became of it. I did not even attempt to suppress my emotions, because I thought such desires transcended even emotional control. Suddenly, however, it all seems so unimportant. You and he are friends, and my relationship with each of you has remained solid. I see that you and he have found contentment, each without the other, and I wonder why I thought it so crucial that you be together."
Uhura looked down at her hands and sighed. "Something like this can really bring everything into perspective, can't it? I was just thinking a few minutes ago that Spock and I have wasted so many years. Even though we remained friends after we broke up, things couldn't help but change between us. We hurt each other pretty badly, Saavik. I suppose that's just the way it is—the people you love the most are capable of wounding you the most. But it seems so petty, now, for us to have let anything affect our friendship."
"Regrets are illogical."
"Unfortunately, I think they're just part of the human condition."
"Perhaps you should endeavor to function in a way that would allow no reason for regrets in the future."
"It sounds easy, doesn't it? It's not. But maybe I'll try, anyway."
They both looked up at the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. Kirk stopped in his tracks when he saw that he had their attention.
His face flushed, he said, "Dr. McCoy just called me."
Gripping the edge of the table, Uhura met Saavik's eyes quickly before she turned back to Kirk. "How is he?"
"He made it. McCoy said that he's not out of the woods yet, but the surgery went well."
Uhura felt her whole body go limp. "Thank heavens."
Immediately coming to her feet, Saavik asked, "Can we see him now?"
"Yes. McCoy said that they were just on their way from post-op back to his room."
They left the cafeteria and followed the signs toward the appropriate wing of the hospital. The corridors seemed very long and empty suddenly, and Uhura wondered if the emptiness was due to the lateness of the hour. Saavik would say that such a notion was illogical—after all, sickness knew no schedule—but the people within the hospital had definitely quieted for the night. They passed an elderly man out for a walk in his bathrobe and slippers, but other than a quickly murmured reply to his greeting, they didn't speak.
Finally, they walked into the intensive care ward and slowed as they approached Spock's room. The lights were dim, and McCoy stood with his back to the door, talking to another doctor. Craning her neck to see around him, Uhura saw that Spock lay on the bed. He was very, very still, and he looked even more pale than before. The skin around his eyes also seemed a little puffy, and it made him look eerily unfamiliar.
Kirk cleared his throat, and McCoy turned. He muttered a few more words to the other doctor, then waved them into the room.
"Come on in. It's okay."
"How's he doing, Bones?"
"Fairly well, considering. We had a few rough moments on the operating table, but other than that the procedure went smoothly."
Uhura slid into a chair near the head of the bed. "What do you mean by 'a few rough moments'?"
McCoy examined the diagnostic display. "His heart stopped again, which didn't surprise me since we couldn't discontinue the life support earlier. But it's beating steadily now, if weakly. We're going to monitor him closely to make sure that it gradually grows stronger."
Kirk stood at the foot of the bed. "How long until we know he's out of danger?"
McCoy shrugged. "It's hard to say, Jim. Ten hours. Twelve. As long as it takes to return to a healthy, normal rhythm. All we can do now is watch and wait."
Uhura studied Spock's face, then looked up at McCoy. "Is he in a healing trance?"
"No. Bringing him out of it would be too much of a shock to his system. A trance is great for most injuries, but I don't want to subject his heart to the strain. He's on a steady dose of Triheptizine to block the instinctive urge to descend into the trance."
Saavik, who had remained very quiet throughout this exchange, finally moved over to the bed and sat next to Uhura. "He does not look good."
Nodding reassuringly, McCoy said, "His circulation just isn't quite up to par yet. That's nothing to worry about so soon after an operation like this."
"Does he have a big scar?"
McCoy grinned. "No, but his chest is going to itch like the devil when that hair starts to grow back in."
Kirk snorted, and Uhura smiled ruefully and shook her head. After a moment, McCoy rubbed his face and backed toward the door.
"Well, I'm about done for. I'm going to go get something to eat, but the duty nurse will be in here periodically to check on him. And of course, I'm carrying a communicator that's directly linked to his monitors. If anything unusual shows up, I'll know about it right away."
Kirk followed him. "Hey, Bones. Mind if I tag along? I didn't get a chance to eat earlier, and suddenly I'm starving."
"Sure. I'd love the company."
Uhura watched the two men leave the room, then turned back to see that Saavik sat transfixed by the bed, her eyes on Spock. Neither of them spoke as they settled back in their seats for the long wait.
End chapter 3