Chapter 26: Whereabouts

Spock never returned to his room. Not that night or the night after that.

Kirk knew this even before the Vulcan failed to appear on the bridge and before McCoy stepped onto the bridge and approached him about the matter.

The fact was, however, that the Captain simply didn't care.

"Well he has to be somewhere," Kirk whispered to the agitated Doctor. "Scotty tells me that there are no records of anyone having transported and all the shuttlecrafts have been accounted for."

McCoy shook his head. "I

"Look maybe he just needs some time to himself. You said it yourself that he had been acting oddly."

McCoy's hands went to the bruise that still remained around his neck from the last time he had had contact with Spock. It cried out in pain from even this light touch. He had seen that it had not gone unnoticed by others. Their eyes lingered there wondering what he had done to incur such a mark.

Kirk watched him, his eyes cold like a shark but more calculating. "That's a nice necklace you've got there, Sawbones. Need I ask who gave it to you?"

McCoy met the Captain's eyes coldly.

"So was it a little lover's spat? Or are you just naturally into… Shall we say more darker forms of pleasure?"

The Doctor turned around, knowing that he was giving Kirk what he wanted, an angry departure, his face burning red, but unable to stop himself. McCoy's departure was watched by many on the bridge. However, it was only Uhura who stared at the lift for long after the Doctor was gone, her brow furrowed and in deep concentration.

***

Using his medical authority, McCoy had gained entrance into Spock's empty room. He had spent most of the past few hours searching out Spock's men and trying to pry from them access or an answer to the First Officer's whereabouts. They had all claimed ambivalance, having been discharged momentarily but assured that they would be compensated and rehired immediately when Spock needed them.

If this was true, the Doctor didn't know. They seemed to be honest but then men in charge of security were well versed in the craft of deception; it was a needed trait in their profession.

McCoy felt fresh shame at being in Spock's room without the other man's consent. It was trespassing, the Doctor understood. Still, Leonard McCoy didn't know what other path to take. If Spock was in trouble he would need to do whatever necessary to save him. Though, he could tell himself his interest was only as the Enterprise's physician, McCoy knew that it was a lie. He cared for Spock in more ways than he cared to admit and his concern was as selfish as any emotion he had ever had. He could not survive without the Vulcan on board. It was a simple fact, one Spock would probably have looked at logically and disagreed completely with, but that McCoy felt in his hearts of hearts and whatever soul he still believed he had left.

The room was sparse. Spock kept only a few items, parts of his Vulcan heritage and some small traces of his time spent with the Empire. Some objects, the Doctor would not even hazard a guess about. McCoy had often wondered what the room had looked like. He was a little disappointed past the guilt. He had hoped that there would be something in this room to confuse him and shed a little light into the Vulcan's psyche. Spock was still as much a mystery to the man as he ever was.

Wanting to linger, but not feeling that he had any right to stay, McCoy left Spock's room as sterile and vacant as before. Walking back to his office, McCoy was startled to find Uhura rushing after him.

"What do you want?" McCoy snapped.

"Well excuse me for wanting to be of some help," the woman replied.

"Don't pay any attention to this old fool," McCoy apologized. "That's shame and frustration talking."

"The very thing I wanted to help you with."

McCoy stopped dead in his tracks. "You can?"

"I heard your little discussion with our Captain. He seemed to know beforehand that Spock wouldn't show up. But then Kirk's like the Wizard of Oz these days, isn't he? He sees all and knows all."

McCoy nodded.

"Well last night I guaranteed some company with a fellow Officer. Kirk being somewhat omnipresent had the guy worried. I didn't care one way or the other but my date did. He works down in one of the storage rooms. He thought that it would be less likely we'd be made into a peepshow there. It's dark and abandoned. Kirk may have been watching us. I don't know for sure but what I will tell you is that we were definitely not alone."

McCoy's face lit up as what the woman was trying to tell him dawned on him. "You think it was Spock?"

"Yes."

"He wasn't wounded or anything?" the Doctor stammered in concern.

"Not from what I could tell," Uhura answered. "He did seem kind of different."

"In what way?"

"I don't believe that the Spock we all know and respect would avidly watch a display of human lust do you?"

The very thought proved the validity of Uhura's statement. Feeling gratitude for the woman and fondness, the Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're too good for this ship."

"And don't I know it."

"To Hell with false modesty, huh?" McCoy shook his head.

"Honey, I was being modest," Uhura picked up the hand on her shoulder, gave it a wistful kiss and then strolled away.

McCoy's wished to go directly to the storage docks but understood the foolishness of going unprepared. There were two things he may need and he knew where they were waiting for him. The Doctor ran, knowing that he was once more attracting unwanted attention but too anxious to stop himself.