He drifted along in a vague state of being - not asleep, but not really awake either. The sensation was familiar - unpleasant, but familiar. A faint odor wafted across his face, tickling his nose and sparking recognition. Medbay, that was it. He often woke up in Medbay... The staticky smell of the sterilization fields Bones insisted upon prickled at his nose, making him want to sneeze. He tried to screw his eyes further shut; the lights above him were too bright, driving through his eyelids and exacerbating the ache building steadily in his head.

Where was Bones? Bones knew how sensitive his eyes were; Bones never would've left the light level so high. Panic flared in his chest — what had happened? Was Bones hurt? He scrambled for memory. Spock. Vulcan, duel — if Jim had been hurt, Bones would've intervened. What if Spock had hurt Bones, what if the Vulcans had been angry with him for interfering in their ritual?

Shit. Jim struggled to sit up, growing more and more panicked as his body refused to respond. The slow, steady beep of the bio-bed frightened and infuriated him; he felt as though his heart should be racing, not plodding along quietly as though his mind was peacefully asleep.

He strained for sound, for the press of a hand against his own, for any other sensation that could help him figure out what was going on.

There was nothing.

Nyota bent over the still form of her boyfriend - she still thought of him as her boyfriend, even after what he'd put her through - and put her face close to his.

"I don't know what I want more," she muttered. "For you to wake up so that I can kiss you, or for you to wake up so that I can slap you!"

"What has my son done that you seek to cause him physical harm?" The low, solemn voice made her jump, and her ebony skin flushed in sudden shame.

"Besides not telling me that he's practically married and then abandoning me again by trying to kill himself?" she replied, hurt and fury dancing a mad tango through her tone. "Human emotions are so complicated," she sighed. "I'm just so angry with him for all of this…if he wasn't already hurt, I might just hit him, but I'd never do it with him so badly injured."

"You may yet have the opportunity to vent your anger without causing him further harm," Sarek said, moving to stand by Spock. "Vulcans often require a forceful external stimulus to assist in waking from a healing trance. A sharp slap is often used to provide such stimulation."

"Did you just give me permission to smack your son?" Nyota asked, pent-up fear and anxiety combining to rob her of her diplomatic foundations, leaving her jaw hanging in disbelief.

"Yes."

"Oh."

"But we must convince him to enter such a trance before such a thing can happen," the ambassador continued.

"If only we could force him into it," Nyota sighed.

"It may be possible to do so," Sarek replied.

"What? How?"

"Vulcan mind-voodoo," McCoy muttered from behind her. Nyota started with a gasp, having been unaware of the doctor's presence in the room.

"Isn't that a job for a mind-healer?" she asked nervously.

"Generally, yes," was the reply. "However, no one is more attuned to Spock's mind than I, myself — and if he will not listen to his father, to whom will he listen?"

Sarek leaned over Spock's bio-bed, settling his fingers onto his son's meld points, and closed his eyes.

"What now?" Nyota asked McCoy.

"We wait and see what happens."

TO BE CONTINUED:

As promised, another chapter. :) The next one just got sent to my darling Dottie, so it should be up in a couple days. I decided not to break these two bits up, give you a bit longer chapter.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts regarding my grandmother's passing.

Marie