Chapter 4 – Return of the Nightmares

Zia woke early on Saturday morning and checked Tara's temperature. Her roommate had come back early that morning, very drunk. Thankfully some sober women had brought her back and dumped her on the Vulcan. Her forehead temperature was normal. Zia poured a cup of water from the bathroom sink and left it in her bedside table where Tara would see it. She then dressed in a warm jacket, jeans and boots and made her way to the Cafeteria. There were only a few people there this early in the morning.

She poured herself some porridge and a coffee. As a second thought, she got some in a cup for Tara. Apparently, coffee was good for hangovers. She sat alone and dug in. The porridge was good, and she read a book from the library while she ate. It was fictional tale about nanotechnology breaking loose and wreaking havoc on a science facility. Zia was quite enjoying it and Tara wanted to read it after she was finished.

In her anthropology class, they were studying Ferengi and researched certain aspects in class, focusing on their development as a society. Zia didn't know much about them, so she'd started her own little side-project that would help her understand their culture better. There were a few books about them in the library that she'd borrowed out and she planned to get started on her project today, now that she had free time. She planned to do the same for physics and oceanography, but for now she was focusing on anthropology. It was by far her hardest subject.

As soon as she'd eaten she went back to the room, put the coffee next to Tara's water, retrieved everything she needed in her satchel and left for the anthropology classroom. She didn't want to go to the library today, as she'd rather be alone while she worked.

The classroom was empty, and she made herself comfortable at one of the desks, pulling a couple more in so she could spread out her books. Most of the Academy was still asleep at eight in the morning, so there was little worry of being discovered. She opened the first book and flipped to the introduction, reading while her pen was poised over her notebook.

She worked for hours until she couldn't focus anymore and then she tucked all the books into her satchel and left the classroom. As she went back to her room, she saw a lot more people up and about. Fair enough. It was getting close to midday. Wait, so she had been in that classroom for almost four hours? It hadn't felt like that. Tara was gone when Zia opened the door and the Vulcan changed into her swimsuit, covering up with her warm clothes. After quick inspection, the cups of water and coffee were gone, so Tara had seen them and drank both. Hopefully she would be feeling better. Zia zipped up her jacket and marched to the Athletic Compound, intending to swim for as long as she wanted.

o.O.o

Zia had gone to bed shortly before her roommate. Tara had woken with a splitting headache and parched throat late that morning and had been surprised to find water and coffee beside her bed. The unrequited kindness was… enlightening.

Tara had spent the day recovering from her hangover while Zia did her anthropology and swam all afternoon. She returned to the room while Tara was working, and the human frowned after seeing the gaunt look on the Vulcan's face. Zia had gone to bed at nine that night, while Tara was still awake. By now the hangover had passed and she was doing the math work that she'd neglected all day.

Muttering caught her attention. Her eyes snapped to Zia. The Vulcan's eyes were closed, but her face twisted in terror. "No. No leave me alone. Go away." Her hands gripped the bed sheets and she writhed. A cry escaped from her mouth. As Tara watched, tears coated Zia's pillows. "No! NO! Go AWAY!" She sat up in her sleep, whimpering, and fell back again, curled into a ball and cried pitifully. That galvanised Tara into action and she rushed from the room and locked the door behind her.

Who to go to? Who to go to? Uhh, she didn't know who! Zia was having awful nightmares and she didn't know what to do. Tara stood there for a second, and a muffled scream sounded behind the door. Who would a Vulcan… that's it!

She flew through the corridors, straight to the professor's dorms. As she passed, she scanned each door for the professor she was looking for. Seeing it as the third door on the left, she pounded it desperately without stopping. The lock flipped, and Professor Spock appeared at the door, still in his uniform.

"Is there a problem, cadet?" he asked.

"It's Zia!" she panted. "Something's happened."

"Lead the way." He stepped out and shut the door behind him. Tara took a second to mentally thank his no-nonsense attitude and raced back up the corridors, fumbled with the password and threw the door to her room open. What a sight greeted them.

Zia wasn't on her bed, and neither were her sheets. She'd rolled off, dragged them all with her, and now lay on the ground and cried into her pillow. Her hands twisted in her hair and grasped at her stomach. "No!" she whimpered. "Stop it… leave me alone…"

Upon seeing her, Professor Spock darted across the room, knelt beside her bedside and grabbed her shoulders. She fought him, punching and kicking in her sleep, and screamed. Tara stood outside to ward people off, her heart and mind racing.

Inside, her fist glanced off the side of his head and he blinked back stars. She packed a punch. He pinned her legs with his knee and held her face with one hand, pressing the other one against her cheek, his four fingers spread out. Immediately he projected calming thoughts and was subject to her mind. He saw a little girl as she lay bleeding on concrete while several other children laughed cruelly, he saw the same girl being beat up by a group of girls, and he saw her crying in the arms of a human woman. He saw into the mind of this tortured young Vulcan, who had been subject to xenophobia for her entire life. In that moment he understood why she was so withdrawn when he saw her. She had suffered abuse, both physical and verbal, from her peers when she was just a child. She had scars running all over her torso from the beatings that she always kept hidden. She was afraid of the same thing happening here.

What surprised him most was that she had no memories of her Vulcan parents. All he saw were two humans who comforted her constantly. Delving into her memories, he saw everything. She had been raised human with human values. She was a Vulcan with human emotions? That only spelt trouble. She was exactly like him, and his mind flicked back to his own childhood, where he'd been bullied by other Vulcan children.

But hers was different. The human half of Spock overwhelmed his Vulcan half, and he knew that he had to protect this woman from being hurt again. If sanctioned by the Admiral he would teach her the Vulcan way, so she could at least bury the hurt and stop the nightmares. She carried everything on her sleeve, and that was dangerous.

Her breathing had evened out and the wild movements had ceased. Spock took his hand away from her face and pulled her into his arms, rocking her back and forth like he'd seen her foster mother do. His arms went around her, and he rested his head on top of hers. She sat there with him kneeling beside her, and she still didn't wake. The door opened, and Tara slipped inside.

"People are asking what the ruckus was," she whispered. "I told them that it was none of their business."

"Do not tell anyone about this," he ordered her quietly. "I will entrust you with her secret as long as you promise to be her caretaker."

"Anything," Tara told him, sitting on Zia's other side. "I was hung-over this morning and she cared for me without expecting anything back. She's my friend and I want to be there for her."

"The only way to calm her down was to mind-meld. During the mind-meld I was subject to her memories. She was abandoned by her Vulcan parents on Earth and found by a human couple, who raised her to be a human. As a child, she was cruelly abused by her peers, both physically and mentally. They beat her for fun all through her adolescence and bullied her relentlessly. Starfleet was her escape and she worries that the same thing will happen here, just because there is severe xenophobia against Vulcans. She has no knowledge on how to bury her emotions, and if the Admiral allows me, I will teach her."

Tara was silent as she stared at her roommate, still wrapped in Spock's arms. "That's heavy. Blair and I both knew she was troubled, but I didn't think it was that bad…"

"Blair Turon?"

"Yeah. He does physics with her, and the two of us are her friends. I think we can trust him."

"Good." Spock stared down at the young Vulcan in his arms. "If you agree to be her caretaker, I will be her protector. If anyone gives her trouble, come to me."

"I will, Professor." Tara blinked back tears. "Thank you for this. You didn't have to…"

The Vulcan looked up at her, his face blank. "I did." He recognised a kindred spirit within her.