Slow Way Home
Chapter 2

[Day 5 of 45]

Spock entered the room and was shocked at the condition his wife was in. Now asleep she looked so much paler than she had before. He noticed how fragile she appeared as she laid in that bed.

"Oh, Tibby," he whispered before moving to her side. He went to sit next to her, ignoring the eyes of both Vulcans and Humans as he sat down. Her hand automatically reached out for his and he gripped hers gently.

The last time he'd seen her look that tired had been right after they survived Pon Farr together. It struck him that she would have been pregnant from Pon Farr and neither had realized right away. He sat at her side wondering whether she would forgive him for all he'd done.

Now that everything was said and done he could see the logic in her every action. She'd been right in her decision and thinking back he could see she'd been right.

If he'd continued on his path the earth would have been destroyed – swallowed. He felt something akin to grief as he realized that if the earth had indeed been destroyed his children would have also been killed in the ensuing implosion.

Spock wanted to bow his head as he realized he'd almost killed his children but he could not… too many eyes were on him as it were. She was right when she mentioned he had pride. He was a Vulcan who prided himself on his ability to contain his emotions while everyone was looking. Though no Vulcan would admit to such emotions he'd been on the planet – sensed it when they were near enough to recognize the emotion for what it was. Though it was often quelled and not spoke of.

Focusing on calculating her injuries he was able to catalogue them.

Hours passed and he felt the irrational need to stay by her side. It was as if he was eighteen again, having found her beaten on the floor of her quarters. Back then he'd stayed at her side for days though the others kept trying to force him to go back to his life.

They'd wanted him to leave his T'hy'la, even if for an hour two but he couldn't. He sat at her side for several hours – long enough night came and the medical bay emptied for all but a few patients.

That's when Doctor McCoy walked over to him.

"You hurt her again I will kick your ass," the Doctor threatened. "You will pray never to be on my medical table because I will not be held accountable for my actions."

Spock went to speak – say that it would go against his oath to harm a patient but The Doctor cut him off before he could do more than open his mouth to speak.

"No. She's my best friend – the only one willing to befriend a heartbroken grumpy doctor. I've seen her hurt more times than I can count, mended more injuries than you can believe. The first time she took your goddamned test she had to leave the children with Pavel and get drunk because it hurt her that god damned bad. It upset her balance bad enough she threw up. Her own mother slams her name every chance she gets telling her she's a whore and not worth a damned thing. So if you love her you had better get your act together and prove it because you've been doing a bang up job showing her how much you don't," the Doctor said.

There was a pause in the conversation then. They were basically alone so he made a confession he doubted he would be so open with anyone but kin again.

"I do love her…" he whispered while looking at his wife. He heard the other man straighten up. "That never changed. I'm not sure it could. I am forced to admit, when it comes to this woman I am emotionally and logically skewed. I often find logic overridden by my emotions and my need to protect her – even when my actions in the attempt to do so are illogical in nature."

"You need to tell her that," Doctor McCoy informed him. "Not me. I'm a Doctor, not a god damned marriage counselor!" Then the Doctor walked away.

"Peculiar," Spock muttered as he watched the man walk away before turning back to his wife. He sat there and focused on meditating as he knew he wouldn't sleep much until she was better.

~Slow Way Home~

Sarek followed his wife through the ship as she began toward the medical bay. She refused to tell him why she was returning. But he received his answer when he found his son meditating at his daughter-in-law's bedside.

Her form was still and he remembered a moment similar to this only they were not yet bound for all eternity.

"What has happened?" he questioned and his wife looked at him.

"The injuries she refused to get looked at caused her to collapse," Amanda told him as she looked at the pair. He viewed them, concerned by his son and his son's wife.

"Her actions are illogical," Sarek told his wife who shook her head.

"She is young and headstrong. Logic isn't why she works so well with him. She is emotional… though I have seen – she's grown up. It looks like she doesn't react first think later. She's become a balance between logic and instinct, between emotions," Amanda said softly and there was a snort from nearby but Sarek didn't bother to look at it.

They heard a shuffling from one of the beds and he saw a pregnant woman lying in the bed. Her body was taut, stiff.

Amanda walked over to Mrs. Kirk, looking over her. When she was assured of her health she returned to his side. Then they left her side and Sarek followed his wife back to the small quarters they now were housed in.

~Slow Way Home~

Pavel Chekov hurried through the halls, wanting to check up on Jim. He was worried as he'd heard from Gaila that Jim had had another surgery. The young boy ran and slid right into medical, almost clipping the door in his hurry.

He stopped though when he saw Jim Kirk lying there still which wasn't unusual though she was not alone.

Commander Spock was at her side, his face composed. It was then he saw a resemblance between Spock and Jory who got the same look when he meditated. He went to McCoy who told him that she was fine.

Feeling better with that information Pavel stepped out of the room giving the woman he viewed as a sister her peace with the husband she'd loved from afar for years. He was determined to protect her if it came to that.

He would not let that man – whether a commander or not – hurt her more than she already had been.

~Slow Way Home~
[Day 6]

Vera watched as Doctor McCoy examined Jim who was in a medically induced coma. They knew if they let her wake up naturally she would escape the first chance she got when the medical bay got busy. She'd known the woman less than a year but she'd heard the rumors about 'her'.

The stories she heard – of her escapes and how no other doctor was allowed to work on her – had reached everyone at the hospital. Some had supposed he was in love with her but to anyone with eyes he was obviously in love with Gaila Roe. No… what was between those two was a friendship that was powerful, a camaraderie that would do anything.

Something told her that the three in that little area – The Commander, the Acting Captain, and the Chief Medical Officer – would be tied together for the rest of time, no matter what happened. The Commander was all logic, The Acting Captain was the instinct-the balance between the two, and the Doctor was the emotion.

Shaking her head she told Bones good night even though Alpha shift would be starting in an hour.

The commander was preparing for his shift though he was reluctant to leave his wife. It was that one moment that told Vera all she needed to know. Despite all his logic there was emotion in that man – just as there was logic in Bones' action. If only they could see that in each other.

Shaking her head she left for the night, early but Bones didn't seem to mind. She'd come in an hour early the next day.