With this Ring

Chapter 5

"Ay me! For aught that I could ever read,

Could ever hear by tale or history,

The course of true love never did run smooth."

William Shakespeare

"A Midsummer's Night Dream"

Jim carried his mother to the kitchen table, and after their delicious dinner from Mama's, they settled in the living room. Bones strapped the osteo regenerator on Winona's ankle again.

"We'll leave it on for another hour, and then I want Uhura to help you to bed. I'm going to give you one more dosage of pain medication to help you sleep. Rest is the best medicine for both you and your ankle. We'll see how you are in the morning and if the ankle continues to improve like it has, you'll be in a walking cast by tomorrow afternoon." He handed her a pair of crutches Jim had brought down from the attic. "In case you need to get up for the rest room, use these, Winona, and be sure Nyota helps you. Be very careful, falling could re injure your ankle."

She nodded, gratefully. "I'll be careful, Leonard." She had been wondering about how she would manage the bathroom situation.

Jim and Spock played a game of chess with Peter watching; Bones caught up on his journal reading, and Uhura and Winona discussed more of the wedding details. At Bones signal, Jim came over to his mother. "Come on, Ma. It's time for you to go to bed."

"All right, son. I confess to feeling a little tired," she told him. "Good night, everyone." Peter came over to kiss her good night, and she held up her arms and Jim lifted her easily. He carried her to her bedroom with Nyota following.

Nyota pulled down the bed spread and Jim set his mother down on the crisp white sheets. "See you in the morning, Ma. Bones and Spock are in charge of breakfast in the morning. Nyota will help you get dressed, and I'll feed the animals. Sleep well." He kissed her softly on the cheek and left her to Nyota.

Nyota helped her take off her blouse, slacks and under clothes, and brought her a fresh night gown. They both agreed that a night gown was much easier to deal with than pajamas, both in the putting on and the taking off. "I wish I could shower," Winona told Nyota ruefully. "I know it's best not to, but if you'll help me to the bathroom, I'll give myself a quick clean up." Nyota handed her the crutches and stood closely as Winona stood and walked to the bathroom. She didn't want a fall at this stage of her recovery and she made her way carefully to the adjoining bathroom. Nyota got her a fresh towel and wash cloth and left her standing by the sink. She stepped outside the door to give her privacy. "I'll be right here, Winona, if you need any help."

Getting back into bed after her quick ablutions was a relief; using crutches was tiring and Winona sighed as she settled in for sleep. "I am feeling a little tired," she told Nyota. Her lovely face did look tired and drawn, Nyota thought. A good night's sleep and the pain medication should help a lot.

Winona shifted on the bed until she felt relaxed and comfortable. "You don't have to stay here with me, Nyota. It's still early. If you'd like to go back to the living room, I'll be fine here by myself."

"I'm going to get ready for bed and read," Nyota said. "I very seldom have time to just relax in bed and read for pleasure. I'm perfectly happy to lie here with a good book."

By the time Nyota came back from the bathroom and slipped into bed, Winona was sound asleep. Nyota smiled affectionately at the sleeping figure and settled to read; soon she was lost in her novel.

In the living room, Jim sent Peter out to feed the animals, and he, Spock, and Bones talked about Gavin's new assignment. In the morning, Jim planned to speak with Gavin's commanding officer to find out if the orders had come directly from Komack, and if so Bones was perfectly willing to tell Admiral Nogura his opinion about the whole incident. "The man is nothin' but a snake in the grass," the doctor growled. 'It's an abuse of power that's what it is, and he ain't getting' away with it this time, not if I have anythin' to say about it. Admiral Nogura won't like it at all, he thinks a lot of Gavin, and rightfully so."

"Thanks, Bones. It will mean more coming from you; you're not in Komack's direct line of command, so in Nogura's eyes you're more disinterested."

"Jim, if it will help Commander Bradford's situation, I too, could add my observations about Admiral Komack's abuse of power on numerous occasions."

"It can't hurt," Jim said thoughtfully. "If you have an opportunity, bring it up, Spock, but not at the same time as Bones. Too much complaining about Komack sounds like we're whining."

Peter came back in and everyone agreed to head for bed. It would be a long day tomorrow with Violet and Davy arriving. They were all looking forward to seeing Davy, Jim especially.

The sun shining on his face woke Jim. He glanced at his chronometer; it was almost 8:00 a.m. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept so late. He looked over at Peter's cot and saw that he was gone. He could hear the sound of voices in the kitchen and he smiled. Obviously they had all decided to let him sleep in. He grabbed his clothes and headed for a quick shower. When he walked into the kitchen he saw his mother sitting at the table, her leg propped on a foot stool and the crutches leaning on her chair. Bones was at the stove cooking eggs, and Spock was watching the bacon as it crisped. There was a bowl of sliced fruit on the table, and Uhura was just finishing setting the table, with Peter following after her, pouring juice and milk. The whole tableau was like a well-oiled machine and Jim grinned at the sight.

"Morning, everyone. Looks like I'm not needed this morning." He bent down to kiss his mother on the cheek and looked closely at her. "How's the ankle this morning, Ma?"

Winona smiled up at him. "Much better, dear. No pain at all. Leonard is going to check it after breakfast. I'm hoping for a walking cast this afternoon."

Jim looked dubiously down at her and glanced at Bones.

Leonard had turned from his cooking at her statement. "No promises, Winona. I'll know more after I check you out." He checked his eggs and nodded. "All righty, people. Sit down. Nothing worse than cold eggs. Spock, is the toast ready and your oatmeal?"

"Yes, Leonard."

Bones served the eggs and Spock carried the plates to everyone, and then his own bowl of oatmeal. The bacon and toast he placed in the center of the table next to the fruit. "Dig in everyone while it's hot," Leonard said, sitting down.

"I received a text from Jonathon," Winona said. "Violet's shuttle gets in at 9:30 am. He'll bring her directly here." She smiled. "We might do a run through and try to baby proof the house a little. This is a very old house, so we'll all have to be vigilant with Davy….too many tempting nooks and crannies for him to get into."

Directly after breakfast, Jim went out to feed the animals while the others cleaned up the kitchen. Bones hovered over Winona as she hobbled into the living room. He helped her settle on the sofa and began his examination. His clever, surgeon fingers gently felt around the ankle bone; the bruising and swelling were much better. When he was satisfied with his physical examination, he brought out the tricorder and ran it over the ankle. Winona sat patiently waiting for his verdict.

"It's much better, Winona. One more session with the osteo regenerator and we'll put you in the walking cast. I'm real pleased how quickly and how well you're healing."

Winona smiled her sunshine smile so much like Jim's. "Thank you, Leonard. That's great news!" She looked around at the smiling faces that had clustered around waiting for Leonard's verdict.

The doctor strapped on the regenerator. "We'll have this off as soon as Violet and Davy get here," he said.

Winona nodded. "I'll be good, Leonard." She looked at everyone. "Now if everyone will take a room and do a quick clean up, I'd appreciate it. With Violet here, we may have other visitors coming. We need all the beds made, fresh towels put in the bathrooms, and the floors vacuumed. Davy will spot anything on the floor and put it in his mouth, so it's best to be careful. Peter, make sure Sorrel's litter box has fresh litter, and that his food and water are somewhere safe from Davy's little hands."

Jim came in from the barn. "Just heard from Jonathon, the shuttle will be a little late. Closer to 10 he said."

They all scattered to do the chores, and when everything was done, waited impatiently until they heard Jonathon's shuttle landing in the back pasture area. McCoy took pity on the excited Winona and handed her the crutches and walked by her side to the back door with everyone following them.

They could see Jonathon and Violet getting out of the shuttle. Jonathon was carrying Violet's luggage and Violet was carrying Davy who was squirming in her arms trying to get down. Jim and Spock ran down the back door stoop to help, and Violet put Davy down. He started screaming at the top of his toddler lungs, "Jim! Jim! Jim!" and running as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Jim crouched down at the edge of the pasture, and Davy threw himself joyfully into his waiting arms. Jim laughed. It had been at Christmas when Davy learned to walk, and now some months later, he was running like he was born to it.

"Hey, Davy boy! How's my little guy doing?" asked the delighted Jim, picking him up and hugging him tight. Jim always made it a point to talk with Davy every time Jim and Violet or Gavin commed each other. Davy adored Jim and his mighty ship…he would babble to Jim about the 'Prise' every single time they spoke. Jim had sent Davy a large picture of the ship, and Violet had hung it in his nursery right above his night light where Davy could look at it from his bed. Davy grinned, dimples flashing, his little face alight with love and happiness as he kept a strangle hold around Jim's neck.

Bones smiled at the picture. "That baby adores that son of yours." He told Winona. "Never fails, Jim charms the pants off of everyone." Except for Komack, he thought darkly.

Spock helped Jonathon with the all luggage which was considerable, since Davy was staying with Winona and Peter after the wedding. Jim carried Davy with one arm, and the other one he wound tightly around Violet.

When Violet spotted Winona, she broke away from Jim and ran. Winona opened up her arms and Violet threw herself into her arms with a sob. "Shhh, it's alright Violet, don't cry, sweetheart. Everything's going to be alright."

Violet raised her head and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Winona. I don't know what came over me. I don't usually cry like that, but it suddenly just hit me that Gavin may not make it back in time for the wedding, and then what will we do? I don't even know where he is or how to contact him." Her eyes widened as she noticed the crutches that Uhura was holding by Winona's side. "What happened? Are you hurt?" She asked, alarmed. She turned to Jim who was hurrying toward them. "Jim, what happened? Nobody told me that your mother was hurt! Why didn't anyone tell me?" She looked accusingly at Jim, at Jonathon, at all of them. "I would have come sooner to help out!"

"It just happened yesterday, Violet. I'm alright, dear. Leonard is taking good care of me and everyone's has been waiting on me hand and foot. Come inside, let's get you and Davy settled and I'll tell you all about it."

Davy turned in Jim's arms and spotted Spock. He reached for him. "Pock! Pock!" he yelled gleefully.

Spock set the luggage down and took him from Jim. "Davy- kam. I am pleased to see you again," he said softly. He laid a gentle hand on the golden curly head. Davy grinned up at him, and with one small finger touched one of his soaring eyebrows. From the first time he'd seen Spock, Davy had been fascinated with Spock's ears and eyebrows, and a few months absence had obviously not lessened the fascination. Jim picked up the luggage and Spock carried Davy into the kitchen and carefully set him down on the floor. Davy looked at everyone standing around. "Bones," he said, pointing at Leonard. "Petee." "Ota", "Ma!" He said triumphantly and looked over to his mother for approval.

"That's right, Davy. You remembered everyone," she told him, smiling.

"You certainly did," Jim said to him, and to Davy's delight, picked him up and tossed him in the air. He shrieked with laughter.

"Jim!" Violet warned, "he just ate, be careful."

"Ooops," Jim said, and set him gently back on the floor. "Let's all sit down so Violet, can tell us what happened." He searched her face. "I thought Gavin was going to be in his office until right before the wedding."

Violet nodded, as they all sat at the table. "He was, Jim. His commanding officer told him so last week, so we decided that every day after work, we'd move some of his stuff to the house. That way he wouldn't be rushed to vacate the apartment. He's already sold most of his furniture to a coworker who wants to take over his lease, so a lot of it was his personal belongings."

"Then what happened?" Winona asked.

Violet sighed and her big brown eyes filled with distress. "Then out of the blue Major Cernock called him in to tell him he was going to be sent on this assignment. He told Gavin he was sorry, but that these orders had come up very suddenly. He tried to get Gavin out of it, but this person has a much higher rank than the Major. He told Gavin that he'd been specifically requested for the assignment."

Jim, Spock and Leonard exchanged glances. That bit of information cinched it. It was certainly Komack's hand behind this request. Who else?

"Gavin hardly had time to let me know he was leaving, and of course the assignment is classified so I don't know a thing about it or where he was sent. He told me he'd try his best to be back in time for the wedding, but he couldn't promise. He said that other than resigning, he had no choice; he had to do his duty and follow orders. And of course, resigning was out of the question."

She looked at Jim. "I don't understand, Jim. His commanding officer thinks the world of Gavin, why couldn't he send someone else? Especially after telling Gavin that he wouldn't be sent out on any assignments."

"I don't think he had a choice, Violet, since the orders came from much higher up. I'm pretty sure I know who it was, but I'm going to try and confirm it when I speak with Major Cernock."

Davy, who had been exploring the kitchen under Peter's eagle eye, walked over to Jim and put his golden head down on his lap. Violet smiled. "He's tired and sleepy; it's been an eventful day for him and we got up very early. Let me put him down for a short nap." She picked him up and he burrowed sleepily into her shoulder. She looked inquiringly at Winona. "The sewing room?" Winona nodded.

There was silence after she left. "Well, Jim boy. It looks as if you were right. That petty snake in the grass, Komack, is behind this."

Jim nodded; his hazel eyes angry. "He's not going to get away with it, Bones. Not if I have something to say about it. Violet's wedding is not going to be spoiled."

Bones frowned at him, and even Spock raised an eyebrow. His mother and Uhura exchanged glances. They all recognized the look on Jim's face. His tactical mind was now at work.

"If you go over his head, he'll accuse you of insubordination. I'll talk to Admiral Nogura just like we planned," Bones said

"Of course, Bones. We've already agreed on that, but we have to do something prior to that, it'll be too late otherwise. I have an idea how to get Gavin home. First of all, there's nothing to prevent us from talking to Mrs. Nogura, is there?" He asked as everyone stared at him.

Jim considered his plan carefully. Talking with Mrs. Nogura, after his conversation with Major Cernock first thing tomorrow, was one of the two things to do. She and Jim knew each other pretty well; they had met several times at different functions, and they had both enjoyed their conversations. Jim could tell she was fond of him since she'd tried to set him up with a couple of attractive officers in the Admiral's office. Mrs. Nogura might be a retired former Marine officer, still formidable and tough as nails, but she was also a mother, a grandmother, and a wife. Though well hidden, she had a romantic soft spot in her, and she would not be happy to hear what Komack had done to Gavin.

He looked over to his mother as he weighed pros and cons lightning fast in his head; he could see no flaw in his plan. He'd ask his mother to comm Mrs. Nogura tomorrow morning, ostensibly to invite her to a small informal tea party in honor of Violet. The party would be held a couple of days before the wedding. His mother would tell Mrs. Nogura that the tea party was impromptu; she'd decided to have it in order to raise Violet's sprits because she was very upset at the news of Gavin's sudden assignment and the possibility that he might not return in time for the wedding.

Also, tomorrow, Jim would comm Derek, Gavin's brother. Derek, through Jim, had made plans for a small bachelor's dinner at Mama Salvatore's for Gavin; something quiet and low key the evening before the wedding. Admiral Nogura was on the invitation list along with Jonathon, Sonnai, Jim, Spock, Bones and Father Joe. Jim would have Derek contact Admiral Nogura right away to let him know that the dinner had to be canceled because Gavin had suddenly been sent on assignment and he had no way of knowing if he'd be back in time for the dinner.

Jim smiled as he looked around at everyone. "Don't worry, I've got it covered," he said. "Admiral Komack won't know what hit him!"