Disclaimer: Characters contained within do not belong to me.
Author's Notes: I really cannot say "thank you" enough times. Seriously, all of your incredible feedback just keeps me going like crazy. I appreciate it so much, each and every comment. Thank you. Lisa, you rock, hon:)
The Opposite of Logic
by Kristen Elizabeth
"Starfleet Command, this is Commander Spock requesting the current location of the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701."
With both hands on the ship's controls as it flew through space at Warp Four, the fastest it was able to go, Spock waited for a reply to his transmission.
"Commander Spock, the last confirmed location of the Enterprise was Rigel, where Captain Kirk received orders to report to Nagal Prime. However, they are overdue by two days and their current location is unknown. All attempts at communication have thus far failed. The USS Obama is the closest ship to the Nagal system and they have been dispatched to locate the Enterprise."
Spock frowned, remembering Kirk's message. "Have there been any reports of quantum filaments in that sector?"
A few minutes passed before he received a reply. "Affirmative. One report. The filament is believed to have originated in the Nagalese Nebula."
It was all the information he needed. Shutting down the subspace transmission, Spock laid in a course for Nagal Prime.
The pain was like nothing Uhura had ever experienced. It came in great waves, slamming into her body every few minutes, leaving her weaker each time until she could barely lift her head from the pillow when the next contraction struck.
And yet, the baby refused to come.
"Can't you give her anything?" she heard Kirk ask McCoy. He was holding her hand, as he had been for hours; his palm was a sweaty anchor to the world, the only thing she could grip onto in her agony. "She can't take much more of this."
"I've already given her too much as it is, Jim." Above her, she could just make out the doctor shaking his head. "It's time to talk about a Ceasarian before we lose them both."
Swearing under his breath, Kirk lifted Uhura's hand to his mouth and gave it a brotherly kiss. "Will the baby be all right, Bones?" When he didn't answer, Kirk swore again. "I'm not supposed to be the one making this decision! It's her body! It's his kid!"
"Jim...a captain doesn't always get to pick and choose his responsibilities."
Kirk closed his red-rimmed eyes for a long moment. "All right," he finally said. "Do it."
Uhura had no energy or will to protest. Her baby wanted to be born, but it needed help. Whatever that entailed, she was more than willing to go along with it.
McCoy's face appeared above her, blocking out the overhead light. "I'm going to give you something that will numb you, Uhura," he told her. "You'll be awake, but you won't feel a thing, I promise."
"Just save my baby," she whispered. "Please..." With a nod, McCoy moved off to prepare for surgery. When he was gone, Uhura weakly squeezed Kirk's fingers. "Jim?"
He lifted his head and looked down at her. "I'm here. I'm right here."
"If something...happens to me..."
"Nothing's going to happen to you," he said firmly. "Except that you're gonna be a mom real soon."
Her brow crinkled. "If I don't make it," she tried again. "Please take him...to his father. Tell him..."
Kirk cut her off again with a hard chuckle. "I swear...no wonder you two fell for each other. You're both annoyingly fatalistic!" He shook his head. "You're going to be fine and your baby is going to be fine. A win-win situation." He grinned. "My favorite kind."
McCoy returned just then with a hypospray. "Just relax, Uhura." As gently as possible, he injected the numbing agent into her neck. Almost instantly, the pain disappeared and was replaced by the strangest sensation that she was no longer attached to herself.
When a sterile sheet was draped over her lower body, Uhura closed her eyes and tried to picture the child she'd soon be meeting.
The bridge of the Enterprise was tense and silent, as if each on-duty crew member was afraid to speak, afraid to even breathe as they waited for any news from Sickbay.
Every now and then, they would look around, seeking out eye contact. Chekov would glance back at Sulu who had been left in charge of the bridge; Sulu would look at the Engineering station where Scotty was still making repairs. But no words beyond the occasional technical command were exchanged.
So when Chekov checked his sensor and noticed a small ship approaching their location at warp speed, he was almost afraid to say anything about it out loud. "Sir, I am detecting incoming ship, bearing 084 mark 7."
Sulu frowned. "Do we have a visual?"
"Negative. Our magnifiying capability is still being repaired," Chekov informed him. "The ship will be reaching us in two minutes."
From the back of the bridge, the communications officer announced, "We're being hailed."
"Open a channel." Standing up, Sulu took a breath. He'd always wanted to do this. "This is Lieutenant Sulu of the USS Enterprise. If you are responding to our distress signal, we are grateful for your help, but our primary systems are back online and-"
"Lieutenant Sulu," a familiar voice replied. "This is Commander Spock requesting docking clearance and permission to come aboard."
Stunned, Sulu pointed at the comm. "Close the frequency," he ordered. "Kuso," he cursed in his native tongue.
"That's a right wanker out there!" Scotty declared, his brogue thick with righteous fury. "Asking to come on board like he's not got a care in the world! Just say the word and we can be at Warp Two, maybe even Three if I tickle her under the chin just right."
"We're not going to warp without orders from the captain," Sulu told him. He ran his hand down his face. "All right, Ensign," he said to the communications officer. When he heard the tell-tale beep of the frequency opening, he said, "Commander Spock, you're granted permission to land in Docking Bay Two. Sulu, out."
Chekov looked up at him. "Should we be contacting Sickbay, sir?"
"Not just yet." He paused, still thinking. "Prepare the bay for docking. I'm going down there." On his way out, Sulu announced, "You have the bridge, Lieutenant Scott."
Scotty blinked several times, looking around at his fellow crewmates. "Well, now. Isn't this an interesting turn of events?"
Spock landed the small Vulcan vessel with ease at the end of a row of Federation shuttlecrafts. He barely took the time to secure the inertial dampeners before he hit the door release. Stepping out into the Enterprise, Spock felt more alive than he had in months.
All together, he'd spent less than a year on this ship, hardly a significant portion of his life. So why did he feel like he'd just come home?
Hikaru Sulu was waiting for him at the entrance to the bay, his arms folded tightly across his gold uniform shirt, a carefully neutral expression on his face.
"Welcome back, Commander Spock," he said coolly.
"Lieutenant." Spock started to walk past him, but Sulu stopped him in his tracks. "Is there a problem, Mr. Sulu?"
"Where are you going, sir?"
"Are you under orders to escort me around the ship?"
Sulu smiled without warmth. "She's not in her quarters or on the bridge." He paused. "She went into labor last night."
Not even a full second later, Spock pushed past him. This time when Sulu tried to stop him, he grabbed the younger man's collar. "Do not get in my way again."
To his credit, Sulu did not back down. "Don't hurt her again and I won't." Spock released him. "She's in Sickbay," Sulu told him. "If I were you, I'd hurry."
Later, Spock would not be able to remember the minutes it took him to get to Sickbay. He had one focus, one mission, and if anyone had happened to be in his path, they hadn't been for very long.
When he reached the main medical bay, the doors slid open automatically. The on-duty nurse, Ensign Chapel, took one look at him, pale and out of breath, and pointed to a door across the room. "They're in there."
Uhura's face was the first thing he saw when he entered the surgery room. As soon as the door opened, her head turned towards him and their eyes met.
"Spock." It was Kirk who said his name, but he ignored the man as he took jerky, hesitant steps towards her. "Bones?" He pointed to Spock.
The doctor, who had been half-hidden behind a sheet that was suspended around Uhura's body, looked up, saw the new arrival, scowled and returned his attention to his patient. "Standby with the oxygen," he ordered the equally masked and gloved nurse beside him. "Here we go."
With one arm in a sling and his other hand occupied holding Uhura's, all Kirk could do was stand up as Spock approached the bed. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.
Still, Spock ignored him. "Nyota?" When he reached her side, he dropped to his knees, putting his face only inches from hers. "Are you...how are..." At a loss for words, he hung his head. "I am sorry, Nyota. Why did you not tell me?"
He felt her fingers touch his cheek, but she had no chance to reply. At that same moment McCoy announced, "He's out; I've got him!"
Spock looked up at Uhura in wonder. "He?"
She smiled and nodded through her tears. "Our son," she whispered.
Kirk tore his stare away from them and looked at the impossibly tiny child in McCoy's hands. "Why isn't he crying?" Kirk demanded.
"He will," McCoy said, like the infant could understand and follow the order. But with gentle hands that belied his gruff tone, the doctor rubbed the child's wrinkled back until he issued a single, strangled wail.
Although his mouth was covered with a mask, McCoy's grin lit up his eyes. "Uhura." His tone cooled somewhat. "Spock." He held the baby up enough for them to see their child for the first time. "Welcome to parenthood."
"To all Enterprise personnel, this is Ensign Pavel Chekov requesting your attention please. Pozdravlay s dnem rozdeny rabenko! Please send your most sincere congratulations to Lieutenant Uhura on the safe delivery of a baby boy this afternoon. There will be small celebration in Mess Hall at 1700 hours, arranged by Lieutenant Scott. Please feel free to come by. That is all. Chekov, out."
To Be Continued
A/N: Special thanks to Tatyana, one of the nurses where I work who helped me with the Russian.