Chapter 52 - Worst Date Ever


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"Come on, Allen, snap out of it." Nyota said, gently shaking his shoulder. "Spock and Selina should be here any minute and they're expecting you to at least be conscious."

His eyelids fluttered open. "Ms. Uhura?" He started to bolt up. "Grey! - We have to get her out of there."

"She's okay." Uhura said, to no effect.

"Doctor!" Chapel called as he kept trying to get up.

"You lie back down, dammit!" McCoy yelled, hurrying in.

"She needs help. Spock..." Sorenson pushed himself straight up and then toppled over in a dead faint.

"Faf!" Selina ran to him. "What happened?"

"It's okay - this time. He blacked out from trying to get up like that." McCoy said, as Spock helped get Sorenson back onto the bed. "If he pulls this again, I may have to have someone sit on him."

"He was remembering Selina collapsing in the casino." Nyota said. "He'll be better now that he can see she's safe."

"Are you sure he only fainted, Len?" Selina asked worriedly. "He looks so pale."

Sorenson's head rolled in the direction of her voice and he looked up at her with a smile. "I'm always pale. Albinos look tan next to me, remember? Don't sound so worried. I'm - " He winced and brought a hand to his forehead. "urrgh...Okay, so maybe not completely fine, but I'm in one piece, so it can't be that bad, eh?"

"Not that bad? Faf, we nearly lost you!"

"It was just a little explosion, and..." One red eyebrow arched up. "Faf? Where did that come from?"

"Hush, Allen." Selina said with a private smile. "You are imagining things. That 'little explosion' has scrambled your senses."

He squinted suspiciously up at her. "You're not supposed to be 'looking', remember?"

"I do not need to look at anything but your face." she said patting his cheek. "The phrase 'dazed and confused' comes immediately to mind."

He flashed a jester's smile. "But that's pretty normal for me too, right?"

"What I am to do with you, Allen?" She tilted her head with a wistful frown. "You hide for weeks, and just when I think you are finally emerging from your lair, you go and try to kill yourself."

"I did not try to kill myself." he objected, holding up his hands. "Look, only one hand slightly singed. If I hadn't fallen off that scaffolding I wouldn't even be here. In fact, I'm pretty sure the worst of it is being spaced out from whatever pain killers they gave me." He edged up onto his elbows and his eyes widened at something in a seemingly empty corner. "The special effects are really interesting doc, but I think I'll skip a prescription." He started to swing a leg off the bed.

"Hold up there." McCoy warned gruffly. "I was told that you're a good patient, unlike your pointy-eared friend here." He eyed Spock. "So let's see you prove it by lying back down until I say you can do otherwise."

He held his position. "I'd really prefer to sleep this off in my room."

"Listen to the doctor." Selina advised, putting a hand on his chest and pushing him to lie down.

"You mean the way you always do?" he asked with a teasing grin.

"It is good advice." Spock remarked, one corner of his mouth turning slightly upward. "Even if she seldom follows it herself."

"Like you're one to talk." McCoy snarked.

Allen lifted an eyebrow in Spock's general direction. "You have quite a reputation for someone who's only been here twice. But if even you're siding with the doctor, I guess I don't have much choice." He lay back with a glum sigh. "My usual luck."

"You are alive." Selina said. "All things considered, you could hardly be luckier."

He gave her somewhat ironic look. "Speaking of luck, I think there's someone else you're supposed to be with tonight." Switching to a half-hearted grin, he not-quite whispered. "It's okay. This doctor seems a little old for you, but I'm sure you can convince him to pen me here until you get back."

Christine covered her mouth and Nyota bit her lip to keep from laughing. McCoy scowled at both of them and then at Spock, who didn't seem to be even trying to not look amused. Selina shook her head, looking into eyes focused somewhere in the past. "Donald did not last a week. And the drugs you are on are stronger than you think. The person I planned to be with tonight is you." She smiled at his confused look and raised her eyebrows. "It was only supposed to be chess and a chance to catch up, but considering how I have spent the evening, this may qualify as the worst date ever."

"Surely I couldn't have topped my previous record?" Allen looked up at the ceiling laughing quietly. "I'll make it up to you. I promise..." His eyes rolled back and he lapsed into a mellow smile, drifting off into oblivion.

Selina looked up at the biomonitor.

"He's only zoned out again." Christine reassured her and glanced slyly at McCoy. "Right 'old man'?"

Uhura chuckled and McCoy glared at both of them, before giving Selina a crooked smile. "Don't worry, darlin'. All things considered, he's probably feelin' a lot happier than I am right now."

"Cheer up, Len." Selina said with a wink. "Many women find older men attractive."

Len broke into a real grin while Spock's expression indicated that only a lifetime of Vulcan discipline was preventing him from actually rolling his eyes. Selina looked back down at Allen's quiescent face. "It is strange, but in many ways this is the first I have seen Allen in a long time." She placed two fingers at his temple.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "That is not wise and as he is no longer a captive, you no longer have permission."

"I will keep my touch light, Spock, but I must know. I am the one who helped him to set Erik aside." She looked back down at him tenderly. "Forgive me."

The object of her apology startled and caught the fingers at his temple, bringing them briefly to his lips. "No need for that. My vision's a little fuzzy, but I don't think you've caused any serious damage. Although someday you are going to well and truly drive me crazy. Nuzzling my neck one minute and then flattening me the next definitely constitutes a mixed message." He looked up at her with a drunken grin.

Selina shook her head, lips pressed against a smile. "I did nothing of the sort, Fafhrd." She lifted an eyebrow in Spock's direction. "I still can not believe you allowed him to carry me after he had had that much to drink."

"He was not seriously inebriated." Spock replied coolly. "And it was for the best. Had you done that to my neck, I would have dropped you."

"Would not." Sorenson said with a considerably-less-than-sober smile. "But you would have been seriously creeped out for at least a week."

McCoy snorted and Nyota elbowed him. Spock drew himself up with as much dignity as possible. "Vulcans do not become 'creeped out' Allen, as you would know if you were not currently impaired."

"Impaired? I'm a little dizzy, but I'm not..." He squinted and then frowned. "...Spock, when exactly did you grow a purple beard?"

Bewildered eyebrows rose to mid-forehead. "I am clean shaven. I assure you, I would never grow a beard of any sort."

"Yeah. Didn't think so, which is good - purple is not your color." McCoy chuckled and he looked up, taking in the small crowd surrounding his bed. A worried look crossed his face. "This is more than a slow night at the clinic, isn't it? Surely she didn't hit me that hard?"

"I have never hit you at all hard, you big marshmallow." Selina gently ran a hand along his jaw. "You are unwell and your mind is adrift, even more so than usual."

"But I...I was with you at the party and you were out..." His brows drew together, eyes scanning some internal landscape before going wide. "...like in the casino! I should have been there, not just watching."

"Shh. It is over."

"Maldi saw anyway. He knew...He knew about..." Agony laced across his features as he rolled to the side, clutching his head, "...I can't...I can't tell you..."

Selina's hand spread across his face. "Faf, let me help."

Warning sounds issued from biomonitors. "Dammit!" McCoy growled. "Spock get her out of here. She can't be linked to him if his lights go out."

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When Kirk walked into sickbay, Selina, Spock and Uhura were seated in the outer office. Uhura had an arm around Selina and Spock looked even more serious than usual.

"You gave him the means to resist." Spock was saying. "It is what he wanted."

"At least he is free of that now." Selina said sadly.

"What happened?" Jim asked.

"Allen flashed to remembering the interrogation. He had some sort of breakdown and the stress triggered another crisis." Uhura said. "Len is working on him now."

Jim looked at Selina. For the first time since he had met her, she looked truly vulnerable. He knelt down in front of her and took her hand. "Hey, don't worry. Bones is the best. He'll pull him through. He can practically cure a rainy day." Jim reached up and wiped a small bead of moisture near her eye.

"Forgive me." She turned away. "I had begun to link our minds and was forced to withdraw."

"Emotional transference is an effect of the mind meld." Jim said softly. "I understand."

Selina looked from him to Spock in stunned surprise. "Not with me." Spock said, looking at Jim curiously. "Or perhaps, not with me precisely."

Jim ducked his head and Selina slowly nodded understanding. "Someday, Spock, I must meet your other self. It seems you may yet become rather bold." She looked off into the middle distance. "As I should have been."

"What do you mean?" Uhura asked.

"I allowed myself to be constrained by an agreement that should have been renegotiated some time ago." She shook her head ruefully. "If I had linked to his mind earlier, I could have seen where his thoughts were going and redirected them."

"Or you might have become lost yourself." Spock warned.

Selina frowned. "I am not that weak."

"I did say that you were weak." Spock stated. "But it is not an acceptable risk, especially for someone in your emotional state."

Her back stiffened. Jim and Uhura exchanged a rare look of mutual understanding. "Um, Spock," Jim ventured sotto voce. "Your over-protective big brother is showing."

One eyebrow disappeared into Spock's hairline. "I merely state facts. A meld with someone in a mentally unstable state is dangerous; more so for someone compromised by emotional attachment. If a meld proves necessary to stabilize Cmdr. Sorenson, then I would be the logical choice to perform it."

"You?" Both of Selina's eyebrows shot up. Jim and Uhura exchanged another look.

"Ri-i-ight." Jim said. "You've only been friends with the guy since you were cadets, so of course you have no emotional attachment to worry about."

"I am a Vulcan -"

"Oh shut up Spock!" Selina interrupted. "Jim is right. You have been friends with him even longer than I have. However, you have never melded with him."

Spock cocked his head to the side. "Nor have you."

"Not in the Vulcan sense, but our minds have been closely meshed before." She looked Spock in the eye. "On more occasions than you believe."

Spock's eyebrows rose in mild surprise. Jim looked from him to Uhura. Nope. Sharing time was over.

"Okay," Jim said. "The only part of all that that I really understood is 'Jim is right', but since I agree with that one 100%, let me try another opinion. Since she's done it before, and she was okay checking in on him while he was drugged, it seems like she's probably better qualified."

"Captain," Spock began.

"If you're going to revert to 'Captain', I'm going to be tempted to make it an order." Jim looked at him earnestly. "I do understand, Spock, but you need to too. We humans are tougher than you give us credit for."

"Thank you, Jim." Selina said. "That is a point that I have been trying to make for years."

Jim basked for a moment in a look of approval before forcing himself to say what else needed saying. "You could stand to work a little harder at not making him worry about you."

Spock and Selina raised twin eyebrows. "Vulcans do not worry." they said in unison.

"Right." Uhura said with more than a little sarcasm in her tone. She jerked her head toward main sickbay. "But there's someone in there you both care about and you are both worried about him. Bickering with each other isn't helping - and don't either of you dare tell me you don't bicker!"

Jim glanced up at Uhura and then had to look away to hide a smile. This much mutual accord between them was practically unnatural.

"She's right, you know." Jim bit his lip. So much for that rain check. He stood up. "There are some people at Command who are pretty concerned about him too and I owe them an update. I was hoping for better news to report, but I know Bones. I'm sure he's going to come through that door any minute saying it's going to be okay." Jim paused, looking hopefully at the door. No Bones. He sighed and straightened his shirt. "Well, um, I'll check back right after I send that update."

The door had barely closed behind Jim when Bones walked in wearing a tired grin. "He's probably going to feel like hell when he comes to, but if we can avoid going through that again, I think he's going to make it."

Spock's eyes moved briefly toward the outer door. It was very good to hear positive news about Allen. Ironically, despite the Captain's assumption, he had greater faith in his friend's resilience than the humans in the room. However he could not help thinking that had he left with the Captain, he would have been spared witnessing Selina thanking the doctor again.

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AN: This evening definitely tops Selina and Allen's previous 'worst date'.

Jim is trying to be a good guy, but his author still hasn't gotten the memo about heros getting the girl. He is still having a bad night (although not as bad as Faf's). The least I could do was let him exit before he'd have to see Selina thank Bones. Spock has to suffer, but Nyota will make it up to him later.