Epilogue - So there's always hope in the end
In the captain's chair, he couldn't help but noticing Spock. He had got his miracle. The only thing that prevented him from spending the entire trip with Spock in his lap, or perhaps himself in Spock's lap as his muscles were tired, it was the fact that he knew he wasn't ready for it. Spock needed more time to recover, to get back to being the person he was before. And he would give Spock all the time in the world.
He and Bones continued to gently provoke Spock, and he couldn't help but wondering if the other knew it was nothing more than a sign of affection. It might not seem that way, but the friendly teasing had always been their way to show Spock that he was accepted into the group as one of them.
How much he wanted to be able to pull Spock close right now! Press him against his chest and make him promise that he would never leave. He didn't want to imagine what would happen when they got to Earth. Spock was innocent, and was even dead at the time of most of their transgressions. He would certainly be released, while the others would suffer whatever punishment the Admiralty deemed appropriate. Even being inappropriate, he found himself wondering that it would be nice to have another adventure before they reached Earth. Something like an unknown entity wanting to eliminate human life, and that they could defeat it together for old times' sake. This would help in the trial, even more than Sarek's interference, who had warned them by subspace communication that he would go to Earth for the trial before they even left Vulcan's system. That was what he was thinking about just before approaching Earth, and it was then that everyone realized that something was wrong with the planet.