Delirium

It all came back to him, three years ago his parents had come to earth on a diplomatic mission, Spock had set the doorpad to recognize his mother so she could use his apartment when he was teaching.

" Mother?"

Nyota jumped at the word and in a startled movement fell unceremoniously to the floor.

" Nyota!" Spock jumped to his feet, looking down at her, looking her over trying to see if she was hurt. He held his hand out to help her up. Feeling a flood of confusion and startled embarrassment come through the link from her.

" Mother, I was not expecting you."

All signs of his arousal had disappeared. He bent down to pick up Nyota's clothes. She stood, her arm folded across her chest, her cheeks starting to darken in a blush. She stared down at him her eyes flickering from him to his mother.

I am sorry Nyota.

Your mother?

She sounded as if she could Not quite believe it.

Yes.

Shit.

" I'm sorry Spokh." Something in his mothers Voice scared him, she sounded upset, shaky, as if she were barely keeping herself together. Nyota took her clothes from him and with a small glance from him headed into his room to get dressed again.

" Mother? What has happened?"

He walked over to her placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. His mother rarely cried but now her eyes were red as if she had been or was trying hard not too.

"It's your father. He's ill. We were heading to a diplomatic hearing on Taurus IV but the lieutenant said your father would die if we didn't get him to the nearest federation planet so we came here."

" What is his current condition?"

" There's something wrong with his heart, the Earth doctors don't know what to do. They say he can't be moved back to Vulcan."

" Have you contacted the science academy and asked them to send a Vulcan doctor?"

His mother stared up at him and shook her head. She threw her hands up close to her face.

" I just can't.. I just can't think."

Spock pulled her towards him and hugged her.

" Do not worry mother, I will sort it out."

His mother gave a sharp bitter laugh into his chest.

" I know thing's are bad when you hug me, you only do that in the worst of situations."

Spock pulled away.

" I wished to comfort you, not to cause you more worry."

She gave a weak smile and reached up to put her hand on his cheek, he took a moment to look down at her familiar and loving face, now looking older than her years.

" I had forgotten how tall you were."

" I should visit more often." He conceded, knowing it to be true from the sharp burning in his chest he felt at seeing her again. If only he and his father could mend the rifts between them so his visits would not be unwelcome. She looked down and shook her head.

" Your father."

" I will come and speak to the doctors with you and then we will have a better idea of what we must do."

His mother looked nervously over his shoulder.

" Your friend." She hesitated between the words.

Nyota.

He could tell she was thinking that she did not want to come out and face his mother and that this was the worst possible way to meet your boyfriends mother. Spock went and picked up his shirt and pulled it over his head. Nyota, now fully dressed came out the bedroom door her eyes pointed at the floor. Spock went and took her hand and tried to send her calming feelings.

" Nyota, my father is ill. I must go to him."

" On Vulcan?"

" No, here in the academy hospital."

She looked up at him her deep brown eyes showing sympathy, she gave his hand a little squeeze. Spock was aware of his mother watching them but he did not hesitate, after what she had just witnessed holding hands would not surprise her. Spock was not embarrassed, embarrassment would serve no function at this time, he had to help his father and all his emotions were repressed without a second thought.

He walked with Nyota to his mother, Nyota was a foot taller than his mother, but Spock suspected that the fact that she did not meet her eyes had nothing to do with the height difference.

" Mother, this is my partner, Nyota Uhura. Nyota this is my mother Amanda Greyson. Unfortunately the situation does not allow for a more extensive introduction."

Spock's mother held out her hand, and gave Nyota a small little smile.

Nyota took it in hers.

" It's Nice to meet you." She said polity and awkwardly.

" If my husband were not ill I would hope we would have sat down and had a cup if tea and laughed about things Spokh did when he was younger. "

Nyota gave a proper smile then.

" I am sorry your husband is ill I hope he'll get better soon and that someday well have that cup of tea."

His mother gave a small smile. It shocked Spock when the two women hugged, his mother had been living with Vulcan's for so long she didn't make many affectionate gestures anymore. Nyota went to the door.

" Goodbye Nyota."

" Goodbye Spock."

Call me, Kipenzi

I will.

The door closed towards him and he turned to his mother.

" Do you need nourishment before we go mother?"

" No, I just want to get back to him." A solitary tear ran down her face but she quickly wiped it away. Spock went to the kitchen and got out a bottle of water and protein bar from the cupboard so that he knew she had something and then they headed out to the hospital side by side.

It took twelve minutes for doctor Puri to come to see them In that time Spock had managed to pursued his mother to sit in the waiting room and too stop pacing and to eat and drink a little.

Doctor Puri was Spock's doctor, he had run a bundle of tests on Spock when he first arrived on Earth. He had also held a grudge against Spock ever since his first year, the doctor had insisted h do a cardiovascular check up where he laid on a bed and pumped some pedals as fast and hard as he could. Spock broke the doctor brought it up every single time he saw him, except this time.

" Commander." He nodded as he walked in the door, Spock stood up , his mother stayed sat down her exhaustion so potent that it touched the edges of Spock's mind and made him feel weary.

" What is my fathers condition?"

" He has had something akin to a heart attack. You know I'm not an expert on Vulcan physiology but there seems to be a distinct weakening in one of the valves. I have requested his records from Vulcan but they have not been sent yet," He took a deep breath. " Therefore I have had to go off population means, his heart is slow, his blood pressure is through the roof, or at least would be for a human I couldn't find the Vulcan norms for that. He's temperature is definitely low and just looking him over he's lacking that green tinge."

" That would confirm that he's heartbeat is slow, has he been conscious at all?"

" Drifting in and out, I doubt he's entirely aware of where he is."

" I wish too see him now."

" Of course."

Spock turned to his mother.

" You go, I think you need to see him on your own. "

" Mother?"

" I'll come soon."

He nodded and followed the doctor along the familiar hallways into the ward. His father was at the far end the doctor pointed it out then left him. Spock moved the curtain aside, his father was indeed pale, chalky white instead of slightly green. There were dark circles around his eyes and he looked stern even in his sleep. Spock looked at the screen above the bed, the little beeps and moving graphs confirmed what the doctor had said. His father was in a bad state, he figured that if he did not get proper medical attention from somebody who knew Vulcan physiology then his chances of surviving the week were 15.6%. He had to work out how to increase that number. Spock sat on the chair sat besides his fathers bed waiting for either his father to drift back into consciousness or his mother to arrive. After three minutes his fathers eyes flickered open. Spock stood so he would be In his fathers view.

" Father." His eyes met his for a second before flickering closed again.

" You are in the starfleet academy hospital."

" Spokh?" His fathers voice was weak.

" Are you aware of what happened to you?"

" Yes Spokh."

" Did you know of your heart condition?"

His father did not answer he seemed to have lost consciousness again.

" Father?"

" Yes, I knew."

" Mother seems to have been unaware of it."

" She worries, she is so emotional. Spokh, you must listen to me. If I die she must move back to Earth, she does not belong on Vulcan. She never belonged on Vulcan. You were so unhappy then, I saw it but I thought you should have controlled yourself better, your grandparents wanted you to play , couldn't stand that their grandson never smiled. Your mother used to cry, she said it was because you couldn't."

His words were becoming increasingly disjointed.

" Rest Father."

He heard his mothers footsteps just before she peered round the curtain, she sat in the chair and took his fathers hand.

" Has he been conscious?"

" Yes, he has been talking but he has not made much sense. I shall contact the science academy, if my assumptions are correct then he will need open surgery."

" Do you think that there's something that can be done?"

" I will research the matter."

" Amanda." Sarek opened his eyes, Amanda leaned over the bed her hand stroked down his face before entwining with his fingers.

" My Love." Sarek said.

Spock left, he felt overcome by the scene he had just witnessed, he had never seen such affection between his parents. He had never known his father loved his mother or heard such soft tones in his voice before. And what had he been trying to say to Spock? Had it just been a delirium babble fueled by pain and low oxygen levels. Spock did not remember his human grandparents, he had not seen them since he was three, he did not know if they still lived, his mother had told him once that they had stopped talking to her because they had disapproved of her marriage. Did his father truly think that his mother had never belonged on Vulcan? He did remembered the crying, he remembered when he was very young whenever he was upset he would go to his room to meditate and his mother would always have red rimmed eyes when he came back out.

Spock looked up the number for the science academy, it took 5.6 minutes for the call to connect. A familiar face appeared, he had seen this commissioner on several occasion but had not learnt of his name.

" I am Commander Spock of star fleet. I am son of Sarek, ambassador to earth and member of the science academy high council. My father has been taken ill whilst travelling to Taurus iv on a diplomatic mission, he is here at the star fleet academy Earth, San Francisco, he would not survive being moved back to Vulcan. I must ask that a doctor be sent out to tend my father as those here lack knowledge of Vulcan physiology."

The mans expression never faltered.

" I know Sarek is suffering from a cardiovascular ailment. This was to be his last mission before retirement."

Spock nodded, his father was only 92, much too young to retire, he must have suspected the severity of his illness.

" Sarek has served the academy well and would have continued as a consultant after retirement. We will organize to send a doctor but I cannot authorize any Vulcan medicine or equipment to be taken off planet until a full assessment is done. "

" I wish to convey my gratitude."

Spock shut down the link, he sat back on his sofa and sighed. The lack of Vulcan medicines and equipment troubled him, most human medicines were not suited to the Vulcan immune system and the academies knowledge and supplies of Vulcan medicine were limited. Also their surgical equipment was not as accurate and if his father did need open heart surgery he could lose a quarter if a pint of blood a minute in an operation that could last an hour. Spock's blood though the same type had human characteristics, the type, T-negative was rare it appeared in only 0.003% of the population.

Spock remembered his promise to call Nyota, he checked the time, it was past mid-night. He reached out gently with his mind and found hers, she was sleeping dreamlessly. He would not wake her it was only five hours until she would be catching her flight back to Africa, he would ring her tomorrow at her parents home.

Going to his bedroom he grabbed his all hours access card and headed to the library, he had a lot of research to do.

Tuesday.

At 10:00 Spock closed the book he had been reading, the night had not been very fruitful but he had hardly made a dent in the experimental medicines area of the library. He had a few leads on blood filtration techniques and a medicine that could increase Sarek's short term survival just long enough to find a long-term solution. He had been in the library 9 hours had not slept in 28, (which didn't make to much of a difference) and had not eaten or drunk in 14, his concentration was starting to falter and he decided that it would be better to take an hours break than to miss something vital. He made the short walk across to his apartment drunk a cup of spiced tea and ate a replicated bowl of rice and vegetables.

Checking the time and figuring that Nyota would have arrived at home within the last hour he typed the Number he had Memorized into his com-system and waited. Nyota's mother answered she was wiping her hands on a hand towel as if she had been washing or cooking something. Her face fell when she saw him and Spock had to wonder at the reason why.

" Mrs. Uhura, I hope you are well."

" Has something happened to Nyota?"

She asked her voice panicked.

" No. I was calling to ask if I may speak to her. Am I right in assuming from your reaction that she has Not arrived at your house yet?"

Mrs. Uhura's face visibly relaxed.

" No, she's not coming home. She called last night , a friend is having some sort of family problem so she stayed to check their alright."

" I understand, I will contact her at her apartment then. I apologize for the intrusion. "

" That's okay, bye commander."

" Live long and prosper." Spock replied distractedly as the screen went blank. He wondered if it was possible that another friend of Nyota's was having 'family problems' but he knew that wasn't true. He knew she had stayed for him.

His mother was drooped over the bed, half lying across it. His father was still and lifeless and looked even more pale if possible. The screen above his head showed that his heartbeat had slowed even further. Spock knelt on the floor by his mothers feet and looked up at her sleeping face, he wondered what would happen to her if Sarek, his father, died. She had served him as a loyal wife, she had left her home planet, her entire life, because she had loved him. Now, all ties she had to this world had disappeared, all friendships had fallen from decades of living planets apart. She had never made connections on Vulcan, she had talked and socialized as much as an ambassadors wife should, and as an ambassadors wife she was liked by some. But for most, she was a human and they did not respect humans, they are illogical. She would find her contacts there sympathetic at first then neglecting, here she would have to start from nothing if she wished to build a new life. Spock wondered if she could get a job at Star Fleet, they would respect her for the knowledge she had gained over the years, she had visited many non-federation worlds, had seen diplomacy at it's very best and at it's very worst. And, a lot of the staff had children at the little school connected to the academy certainly she could get her old job as a teacher back.

He reached up and touched her shoulder. She roused and looked down at him, she brushed his face lightly, tiredly.

" Spokh, always such a good looking boy." She said.

" Mother, you should go to my apartment and rest."

" I have to stay with your father."

" Doctor Puri gave him a sedative, he will be kept unconscious to keep his vitals steady. His periods of consciousness and attempts to converse were damaging him further."

Amanda sighed she looked across at her husband, Spock stood.

" Yes, I suppose he would tell me that staying here is illogical."

" I believe you are correct. The science academy has organized to send fathers physician, he will be here by tomorrow morning."

" That's good. Thank you Spokh." She looked down at her husband again. " I'm proud of you Spokh, proud of the life you've made for yourself here."

Spock did not answer, Amanda stood and he turned away as she tenderly kissed Sarek.

" I'll be back this evening Ayasham."

" I thought I'd find you here."

Spock looked up over from the journal he was browsing, he saw Nyota standing next to the table. He was happy to see her, it felt as if a little part of the tension he had been feeling had evaporated at the sight of her. Her eyes quickly took in the large files and boxes he had pulled from the library stacks, the cavernous underground room where obscure documents nobody ever requested were kept. He had spent the morning translating the results of various experiments in various languages.

" Experimental Medicine. Is your father that ill?" She asked, for some reason he did not understand himself he had not called Nyota after his conversation with her mother.

"Yes."

She sat on the chair at the other end of the table, due to the holiday the library was practically empty so they could converse without being overheard.

" I uh, I decided Not to go home after all, I've got a really complicated exam in the sensor lab on Monday and I thought I'd study for it."

Spock nodded continuing to read, even if he had not spoken to her mother he doubted that he would believe that reason.

" If you tell me what your looking for I can help."

" I do not know what I am looking for. Blood filtering techniques but I do not know what else, a solution to a problem, but I do not know what form that solution will take."

Nyota nodded slowly.

" Okay."

She got up and began to walk away.

" Nyota." He called her, she turned. He noticed for the first time the worry in her eyes.

" My mother is resting at my apartment. Will you check on her, perhaps keep her company for a short while, she would appreciate it. I would appreciate it."

Nyota nodded and gave a small smile that didn't reach her eyes.

" Of course."

She hesitated.

" Spock promise me you'll rest soon."'

Spock was about to point out he could endure days without rest but the worry in her eyes stopped him.

" As you wish."

Spock paused as the door to his apartment opened, he had heard female laughter coming from the kitchen, it seemed quite strange to him given the situation. He listened for a moment to the conversation taking place in the kitchen.

" And then he said 'this is the first time I have ever hoped a student was inebriated."

He heard his mothers laughter again.

" Yes that sounds like Spokh alright."

Spock walked very slowly to the kitchen.

" Has he ever played the lute for you?"

" Yes. He's so good."

" I know, he always was. I always used to secretly wish he'd grow up to be a poet, or something else romantic, of course there was never any real chance of that. "

This time it was Nyota who laughed.

"' Spock is romantic, it's just..."

" Well hidden?"

" Yes."

Spock arrived in the doorway in time to see his mother nod.

" Just like his father." She said sadly.

Both his mother and Nyota looked up at him then from where they were sat at opposite sides of his table drinking cups of tea.

His mother gave him a small smile but Nyota looked sheepish.

" Mother, you are looking more rested."

" Yes. Nyota has been telling me stories about you."

Spock felt his eyebrow head for his hairline and Nyota managed to look even more sheepish.

" It's taken my mind of things Spokh."

Spock's eyes were travelling to his cooker though, there was a big pot sat on the hob with a delicious aroma dispersing out from it.

" Yes, I made Plomett soup. You need to eat Spokh." His mother said affectionately.

Nyota stood up.

" I think I'll be going now."

She crossed the kitchen, then suddenly just as she reached Spock she stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him on the cheek. Spock felt the tips of his ears go hot.

" Your right." Amanda said. " His ears do still go green when he's embarrassed. " Nyota gave a wicked giggle then left. Spock felt the strange hopelessness that all men experience when the two most important women in their life conspire against them. He waited till he heard the main door to his apartment close then he turned to face his mother seriously. She got up to stir the pot of soup.

" You approve?"

" Yes Spokh I approve. She's good for you. You're happy, I can see it. "

She sighed. " besides, you were never going to be my little boy forever."

She paused for a moment.

" I would have preferred not to have found out in the way I did though."

She got two bowls from out his cupboard.

" When you were a teenager I wanted to have the talk with you, but your father said Vulcan's do not talk of the birds and the bees. I'm glad to see that you've managed to figure it out on your own though."

Spock wondered just how green his ears were now.

Hope you liked it, I really wanted to do an embarrassing mum bit at the end.