[Disclaimers/warnings at top of Part I] Also – my apologies for posting this so late. I've been ill this week, so much so that I have wanted neither food nor Star Trek. Imagine that! : p
Part IX
Kirk.
"We got 'em, Spock," he says quietly. "We arrested the Geskref." Spock is still in the sterile room, with Ultraviolet rays penetrating everything to keep pathogens at bay. The deep brown bruises are lightening somewhat; the scrapes are healing, but he can't sense Spock, not in the way he usually can. McCoy has told him Spock's got one more surgery to go (he's had two so far), and then at least a week of intensive medical support with another week of bed rest, followed by weeks of physical therapy.
Kirk gently rests his hand on Spock's arm, wishing to convey hope and warmth and support. "I wanted you to know they won't be killing anyone else. Everyone in the landing party is safe now, except Trinh. I think you saw her … saw her die— Hendorff's really broken up about it. But Ramamurthy and Stills are okay."
He's always still; Spock moves with great grace and economy, but right now his stillness is different, disturbing, and Kirk, not a praying man, hopes that Spock will get back to normal, that he'll move with that same ease again.
On his way out of the room, he meets Hendorff coming in. They nod, and Kirk says, "He's getting there, bit by bit."
"Yessir. All of us are visiting to … well, show our support."
"I think he knows," Kirk smiles. "Keep it up, as long as Bones lets you."
Hendorff pauses. "Do you have a nickname for everybody, Captain?"
/\
Right outside the sterile room, Uhura lies on a biobed, still unconscious, with lively brain activity. M'Ress is there, in a chair by the bed, and has one of Uhura's hands pressed lightly to her tan-furred upper chest, just below her throat. Kirk frowns for a second, then he hears it. M'Ress is supporting Uhura in her own special way, purring deeply, rhythmically, so Uhura can feel it. Kirk smiles, M'Ress smiles back, and Jim stops for a few minutes to hold Uhura's other hand in his. Chapel stops by with a Padd and makes some notes, and gently smoothes back Uhura's hair, then, nodding at Jim, goes into Spock's room.
McCoy's voice startles Kirk. "It's a regular parade of visitors around here, Sciences and Comms visitors. I knew Uhura was really popular, but Spock?"
"He has charms we never knew of, Bones. And he definitely has the loyalty of the Sciences section."
"Not to mention the whole Bridge crew."
Gaila comes in as McCoy and Kirk are talking, and says, "He's got the respect of all the crew, Captain, and we all love Uhura, so here we are." To M'Ress she says, "I'm stepping in to see Commander Spock – I'll be out in a few minutes."
"Well, don't kill 'em with kindness," McCoy says in his grumpy tone. "Fifteen minutes and no more. And in an hour, visiting hours are over. Pass it on."
Chapel has just come out of the sterile room, and says very quietly, "And don't worry, I'll be with them after visiting hours."
McCoy.
Gaila comes in after Spock's second surgery. On his way into his office McCoy sees her briefly conversing with Chapel, then Gaila sits in the chair next to Uhura's biobed and takes her hand. Uhura has devoted friends, himself among them. He's seen the whole Bridge crew, and folks he doesn't often see, many who work "belowdecks" in the CommCen and Engineering, coming in during their breaks or lunch or dinner hours.
McCoy is stripping off his sterile scrubs, exhausted, thinking this week was a helluva time for M'Benga to be at a conference. He has resolved to get a Vulcan Healer on board to help both of them, ASAP. He's acutely aware of how close Spock came to dying, and he doesn't want to do such intricate surgery again without a complete expert on hand – Spock being one of the most valuable officers in th Fleet, it's kind of important to keep him from dying of preventable causes. Sure, he knows Vulcan physiology, but not like M'Benga knows it. Certainly not like a Vulcan Healer knows it. McCoy did his internship and residency on Earth, and the Vulcans on planet had Healers at the San Fran Embassy to help and do seminars at Fleet Medical. While at the Academy, McCoy did some rounds with them, about two months all told; M'Benga did his entire residency on Vulcan.
And something weird is going on with Spock's tendons. Nothing McCoy can define as yet, but it appears to be a problem with the fibers crucial to joint flexion, to movement of the body.
McCoy runs a hand over his forehead and sighs. He's not overly fond of Spock, but he respects him. And he knows Uhura loves him to pieces. Crucial to keep that going. McCoy pours himself a drink, and raises the glass in a silent toast. To Spock and Uhura. Long may they live, together.
Kirk.
Kirk is amazed at how much better Spock looks already. McCoy did quite a bit of work with the suture thing and the dermaplaser; Spock's face is looking closer to normal. And Uhura looks like she's peacefully sleeping.
"It's a response Vulcan couples share, Jim," McCoy is saying. "I don't understand it much, but after the disaster at Vulcan, Ambassador Sarek explained a little of it. There was a couple – Sakhar and T'Som – and T'Som was close to dying – her life signs were failing. Sakhar suddenly dropped out of consciousness and I couldn't find a physical explanation. Sarek said he had gone into a healing trance – and was able to lead T'Som to the proper – state of consciousness, I guess – so she could heal."
"And …?" Kirk's blue eyes flick from McCoy to Uhura, who lies … unconscious? sleeping? … on the biobed next to Spock's, then back to the doctor.
"And she did." The doctor nods at the separate bioscanner displays above Spock and Uhura. He points at each one. "See the green lines there? And there? They show shared activity, see how they rise and fall at exactly the same time?"
Kirk smiles, shaking his head a little. He remembers his uneasiness with the subtle undercurrents on the Bridge in the past weeks, Spock performing to his usual freakishly perfect standards, but chilly toward Uhura, and Uhura, courteously responding to Spock as professionally necessary, coolly efficient yet blank beneath the surface, as if sorrowing.
Yet here they are, sharing a form of consciousness.
It may just heal both of them.
Spock.
I sense the bright thread of her presence; I know nothing else … I near it, reach it, then rise to the proper consciousness; my breathing and heartbeat adjust; I slip into green darkness, following that delicate stream of light, and I know the way back.
I have reached the one within … k'diwa, half of my soul, half of my heart. Nyota.
/\ F I N E /\
A/N: (For those who aren't musicians, "FINE" is Italian for "End," used in sheet music.) Your opinion is very valuable to me, dear reader, and helps me improve. Please comment on what you liked … or didn't. Please be gentle. I am composing a "Coda," but it will take some time, to "perfect" [as much as any of my work is "perfect," that is] and to post.
More angsty stories (e.g. Loss, Trust In Me, The Way Back) at my FanFic site SpockLikesCats; you'll find humor (Put Your Junk in the Box, Sketches of Sparrow) and romance (my Hot Tubs stories &c.) there as well!
If you are new to fandom, or came into it after the first flourish of good and great fan stories, check my Favorites for some really superb fic!
/\ Glossary /\
Asenoi: fire-bowl [used for incense]
FAS: Fleet Admiral [chief] of Starfleet
Hir: 'him or her'
K'diwa: kat'na'l'diwa, half of my heart and soul or "the other half of our whole"
Loshirak: lotus position
Masa: mother [ki-Swahili]
Ozh'esta: the touch of the first two fingers of each partner's hand, a "Vulcan kiss"
Pakuv vil-yai: "odor flame," incense coil [author's construction from Vulcan words]
Plebe: an Academy midshipman/cadet just reported for the summer before the first academic year; one who hears constant swearing at and condemnation of, hirself, the better to get hir to conform to all the new rules; one who engages in constant swearing with hir fellows in private moments; one who is obedient to all above hir; the lowest life form at the Academy.
Twenty-four hundred hours: midnight