The typical easy camaraderie of the bridge crew was conspicuously missing as they uneasily endured the the remaining time to New Vulcan. The absence of Spock from the bridge made the sense of wrongness even more acute — to the dismay of the poor science officer who'd taken over his station. Kirk had taken her aside at one point to assure her that her performance was fine; Alpha shift simply wasn't the same without Commander Spock.
The Captain almost felt guilty. His first responsibility was always to his crew, ensuring their safety and general well-being Unfortunately that involved not exposing them to potential dangers, and even more unfortunately Spock currently qualified as dangerous. Technically, given his assault on McCoy, he should be in the brig pending Court Martial, but Kirk (wanting to save his friend's dignity) had instead confined him to quarters pending their arrival at the planet.
Not that Spock seemed to mind.
The First Officer had embraced his solitude, demanding that only Jim, Nyota, and (surprisingly) McCoy be allowed to enter his quarters — and even then only for a few minutes at a time. Spock even made a point of staying as far away from them as physically possible when they were in his cabin, keeping to the far end of the room and insisting that they did the same.
What little reassuring signs they saw would disappear quickly: Nyota was encouraged by Spock eating the bowl of soup she'd brought, but the relief was replaced by a deep sense of hurt when he stopped letting her in his quarters without an escort. The part of her that was unsettled and slightly afraid of him given his actions the last time she'd been alone with him understood the precaution; the rest of her simply felt slapped across the face.
McCoy actually almost smiled when he found out Spock was eating, the elation fading fast as he observed that the soup was the only thing he would eat — and only in small portions each day. He increased his check-ups of the Vulcan to every five hours, often having to hypo the agitated First Officer with anything from sedatives to concentrated nutrients, depending on what he found.
Time was running out; Spock had lost several pounds since the whole thing began, and as much as the doctor in McCoy analyzed and diagnosed and generally fussed over his patient, the man in him anguished over the possibility of losing his friend.
Not that he would ever say that.
The tension running high on the bridge spread slowly through the whole ship, the anxious-but-excited feeling infusing everyone. It was as though the entire crew held their collective breaths as the Enterprise entered into communications range of the planet, hoping desperately that Spock would finally get whatever help he needed and things could return to normal. No one would relax until they had, so when Kirk called Spock up to the bridge, the attending officers were more than a little uneasy.
"Hail the planet, please, Lieutenant," Kirk said once Spock had arrived. The individual brought up on the screen was not a communications officer for the planet as expected; instead they saw a stunning Vulcan woman in a simple elegant gown with carefully done-up hair.
"Spock," she said solemnly. "Parted from me and never parted; never and always touching and touched. We meet at the appointed place."
"T'Pring," he replied with equal solemnity. "Parted from me and never parted; never and always touching and touched. I await you."
The communication cut off, and the entire bridge was silent, realizing they'd just witnessed one of the rituals of a dying culture. The momentousness of the occasion was broken by Carol.
"Mr. Spock," she said slowly. "Who was that?"
Staring directly ahead at the blank viewscreen Spock replied:
"My wife," He said. There was a slight hesitation in the way he said 'wife,' and if one looked closely they would've seen his eyes narrow just slightly and the hands clasped behind his back squeeze tighter.
Various sounds of disbelief and shock spread across the bridge, followed by a cold, expectant silence as all eyes turned to the communications station. Uhura was slowly rising from her seat, fury etched plainly across her features.
"Uhura," Kirk warned as she stalked up to Spock. He turned to face her, his expression blank.
"Nyota—"
A resounding slap echoed off the bulkheads, the blow snapping Spock's head to one side, though his feet remained solidly planted on the deck.
"Lieutenant!" Kirk jumped to stand between the two of them, gaze flicking from Uhura's too-bright eyes to the green flush spreading across Spock's cheek. "Stand down and step back." She retreated, and Kirk looked to his First Officer. "I really hate to do this, but I have to ask: Commander, do you intend to pursue charges against the Lieutenant for striking a superior officer?" The bridge crew was slightly aghast, but no one could deny the responsibility the Captain had to deal with the situation. The slap happened while both were on duty, in full uniform, on the bridge and in front of the entire command crew (barring Scotty). It wasn't something Kirk could ignore.
Spock blinked a few times before replying, his face betraying nothing of his thoughts.
"No Sir, I do not, on the grounds that I believe I 'had it coming' as you might say."
"Well, that'll make one hell of a note in the log. Lieutenant," Kirk said, turning back to Uhura, "you are hereby confined to quarters during your off hours until further notice, and I want it absolutely clear; no one is in any way to strike or injure a superior officer — or any crewmember, for that matter — unless their own health and safety is in danger. Am I understood?"
"Yes Sir," she replied, turning smartly on her heel and returning to her seat. Kirk saw her glance over at Carol, who gave the communications officer a look that seemed entirely supportive of her actions.
Kirk couldn't blame her.
Turning to Spock, he bottled off the fury he felt toward his First Officer for the moment. He'd get after the Vulcan later for actually starting a crazy love triangle, let alone being part of one; for now, he had to make sure the guy stayed alive to handle the fall out.
"Sulu, you have the bridge," he said.
"Aye Sir."
"How does this work, Mr. Spock?" Kirk asked as he led the Vulcan into the turbolift, Bones following behind. "Are there any particular protocols we need to follow?"
"No, Captain, however I would like to make a request."
"Go for it," he replied warily.
"Much like in a Terran wedding, it is traditional that the couple are accompanied to the ceremony by their friends. I would like to request that you stand with me during this event."
Even through his disgust at Spock's treatment of Uhura — and his wife — Kirk couldn't deny that Spock was one of his best friends, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon, no matter how angry Kirk got.
"I would be honored, Commander." McCoy huffed from beside them.
"Well, I suppose I'll be headed back to the Medbay, then, if ya—"
"Leonard." It wasn't often that Spock used anyone's first name, and it was even more rare for that name to be the doctor's.
"Yeah?" The (slightly shocked) southern gentleman replied.
"I would ask that you stand with me as well."
Kirk looked on in amusement as confusion, happiness and embarrassment mixed together in an odd expression on McCoy face. Momentarily forgetting his anger at Spock, he watched as McCoy pulled himself together and fixed a serious look on the half-Vulcan.
"I wouldn't miss it, Spock" he stated sincerely.
"Thank you," The simple tone of Spock's reply almost eased the oddly apprehensive feeling his friends felt about their impending role in the upcoming ceremony.
But not quite.
TO BE CONTINUED:
I'm sorry this chapter is more-or-less a rewrite of the same scene in TOS. There really wasn't much other choice, as though the planet is gone, the culture is the same, so I figured this particular scene wouldn't have been affected by the changes in the universe as much — except that slap. Boy, it almost makes you feel sorry for Spock, huh? XD
I feel it is no longer necessary after 5 chapters to remind everyone who already knows that I don't own anything that I don't own anything. So I shall desist after this final reminder that no, I don't own them, I'm not getting paid, etc.
Letting you guys know that I'm going through some existential crises — if they cause delays or are detrimental to the stories, I apologize. If they bleed through and you like what they do to my little tales, at least something good came out of it.
I'm curious: My stargate fanfics produce more in the way of reviews than my Trek ones, but 'Gate gets less readers. Are Trekkies/Trekkers simply less vocal, or is my Trek writing not as good? If you read both fandoms, do let me know what you think, and how I can improve.
Reviewer G (Guest) — Thanks, I'm glad you like it! It's nice to know that even though nothing really different is happening yet that you're 'sucked in'. :)
Reviewer KD (Guest) — I do intend to do so. :)