Slow Way Home
Chapter 5

[Day 9 of 45]

Jamie Tabitha Kirk awoke and she wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep. All she knew was she was still tired but feeling better. Without thinking she stretched and felt the slight ache in her still healing bones and tissues. But she was restless.

Moving to stand up Jim went and changed into a new black pair of pants and a black undershirt. Then with as little limp as she could, her ankle bothering her, she went to the door.

Bones would be pissed when he learned she'd skipped out on his orders. But she had slept enough already.

So she walked down the hall to the lift, riding down. She went to engineering and found Scotty, doing repairs. She walked up to him, ignoring how people stopped respectfully before continuing onward.

"Hey, Scotty," she called and he turned to face her with a smile.

"Lassy, you're awake. An' lookin' better. Though still bruised I see," he stated. She just shrugged at that. Didn't matter much anyways. Bruises healed fast enough and mending bones left surface bruises that didn't hurt.

"Ah, takes more than a few bruises to stop me. Since the commander won't let me see my Padds to see updates on the girl's repairs… plus I'm going stir crazy in that room, I was wondering if you'd tell me in person," she stated.

With that they both began to work as he told her that they'd finally confirmed it would take about thirty-six more days to get back to earth. They had a lot of the radiation leaks repaired and they were working on increasing propulsion.

"We haven't tried with long range communications yet. The main emitter was damaged and the only way to gain access would be ta space walk," he told her.

"Then save that though we will need it up soon," she told him. "We need to let Starfleet Command know what has happened in detail." He nodded. "So, everything seems to be steadily working. What can I help with?" He hesitated. "If you need confirmation that I can do the work ask Lieutenant Pavel Chekov or Lieutenant Gaila Roe for my skills. Not McCoy because he'll drag me back to the Commander's quarters."

He smiled at her and sent her off to work. The work was steady. Where she was she was able to get lost in the pattern, the repetition. She got lost in the work. Jamie Tabitha Kirk knew she was good at most things. No, she wasn't good with people and some thought she had a death wish.

But she understood the mechanics of a space vessel like the Enterprise. She could have been a Mechanic. She'd been offered – many times – the ability to change her major from Captaincy to Head Mechanic. She also understood Navigation though Piloting for long distances she wasn't that good at – short jonts she could do. She also was a great fighter – though she was questioning that after the beatings those Romulans gave her.

So she set about doing the work with ease. Time slipped beyond her purview. All she knew was eventually a cooler hand touched hers as she worked. Looking up she found a face – not one she had expected – staring back at her.

She'd expected Spock, or McCoy, or maybe Lady Amanda there pulling her away. But it was none of them. Instead she found herself staring into the dark brown eyes of the Vulcan Matriarch – T'Pau.

"You did not seem to hear. And humans react to physical stimuli," T'Pau said in Vulcan as she removed her hand.

"I apologize. I was focusing on the work," Jamie said as she bowed her head. "How may I help you, Lady T'Pau?"

"I would like to inquire about the startling information that you and Spock have not spoken in many years and how that came about… from your point-of-view," T'Pau stated. "And just call me T'Pau. Lady T'Pau is too formal for family."

"Yes… T'Pau," Jamie said as she began to tell her the story – of near daily calls then being informed that Spock was no longer on Vulcan. Of how they would not connect her to him and the years. She also informed T'Pau that the children were telepaths/empaths. They were powerful but it hurt them dearly at times.

Somehow, along the way, T'Pau was able to manipulate Jim into walking and they made their way to Spock's quarters.

"I shall make inquiries. I believe somebody purposely blocked you but for what reason I can only make guesses… and I would hardly without proof," T'Pau said. "Now, once we are on Earth I demand to meet your children and see how much of the Vulcan Culture they are aware of."

"Yes, ma'am," Jamie said as Spock walked down the hall. She felt his annoyance and saw he had just gotten off of his shift. She wanted to swear.

"Jamie," Spock said. His eyes glanced between her and T'Pau and the wrinkles between his eyes that showed his concern formed rapidly. "Lady T'Pau."

"Spock… I will leave you two," she said before nodding and walking away down the corridor. Once she was out of sight Jamie entered the room with Spock following close behind.

"Doctor McCoy…" Spock began as the door closed and she turned to face him.

"Bones knows, well enough, that I esc ape first chance I get and never follow medical orders," she snapped and he looked at her, seeming startled for a moment. "And he would have known, by now, that I escaped. The fact he didn't call over the Comm for me means he knew I was well enough to be walking around… so don't go snapping about my health."

"He contacted me when he discovered you were absent," he told her, though his voice a bit sharper than before. "He came in to scan you and found you missing. He, Lieutenant Uhuras and Roe, and I have been searching for you since you were discovered missing."

"Its not that big of a ship, and I wasn't hiding. I was in engineering, getting an update on the ships progress you wouldn't allow me to see as well as helping out," she snapped while walking toward the bathroom for a drink of water then she returned, still furious.

"We were… concerned," he informed her.

"Sure you were," she scoffed. Then she went toward her bed, pulling off her clothing and replicating a shorts outfit to sleep in.

"You may not wish to believe it… but I was concerned about you," he told her and she looked at him. He looked sincere. "Mother warned me you would still be angry…" he began but she snorted.

"Understatement of the year Spock. And since we're talking about emotions… when did your ego get so big you were blind to everything that was right in front of you?" she demanded. She wasn't going to be nice. He flinched.

"I always imagined you as you were, reddish tan skin with long flowing blonde hair, not the sandy blonde, almost brown you now have," he informed her and she shook her head.

"I meant Nero. You let your ego – your belief that you knew everything, almost destroy the earth. Since when have you been that sort of man?" she demanded from the bed. He flinched again at her words as if she'd struck him.

"My anger got the better of me," he admitted and she did a double take. "I saw only the destruction of Vulcan and thought only of the orders given to me… not of the overall orders. I… saw what I wanted to see." She wanted to stay mad. She really did. But the way he spoke, admitting to emotional influence, drained the anger from her.

"I guess I can admit, my mind was mostly thinking – what if the earth is destroyed? What if I lose my children? What if Bones loses his daughter, or Vera? What if the twins lose their friends? We were both emotionally distraught over different things," she admitted and he moved to sit beside her, his hand moving to envelope hers.

"They are on earth, which was not destroyed. They did not perish, and are waiting for your return," he informed her and she moved to lean on him.

"Amanda and George need you," she told him without looking at his face. "They need their father." Then she turned to face him, his soft brown eyes looking into her blue. They were like when they were teens again, his eyes as emotional as they once were. "No matter what happens between us, don't forsake them. Promise me you will be there for them…"

"I would never forsake them… nor would I forsake you," he told her before moving to cup her cheek, his thumb rubbing it gently in an all too human way. "I promise to love and protect them, and be there for them, as I will their mother."

She smiled but the smile didn't last as a thought entered her mind. It was a thought she knew had to be said so she spoke it aloud.

"We aren't the same Spock. We've changed since the last time we saw each other… and I know Uhura has feelings for you. Honestly, you and she would be a better match that you and I ever would," she told him honestly and he turned to face her.

"Maybe it would… maybe it wouldn't. It does not matter for I made a choice, and a commitment many years ago. I chose you, knowing we were not similar. You and I are opposites, but we are what the other needs. It won't be easy – you and me. But, as I do recall, it was never easy. We were often angering or upsetting the other, to the point of avoidance," he told her and she gave him a look.

"No… that was you avoiding me if I remember correctly, and pissing me off," she told him. He nodded his head as she yawned, the anger having drained away, and she was suddenly tired again. He pulled her close, leaning back with her in his arms. She felt herself drifting off the moment she was horizontal.

~Slow Way Home~

Commander Spock laid there in bed, with his wife's head on his chest, her breath moving the material of his shirt with every exhale. She was deep in REM sleep, another hand wrapped in the material that wasn't moving, her eyes flickering back and forth underneath her lids.

Running a thumb along the back of her hand he closed his eyes, picking up two children at a table, Padds before them. At the end was Ensign Chekov with his own work, and she was watching them, just watching. A content dream that he opened his eyes from.

He had to swallow back a lump that formed.

When he'd spoken with her earlier he'd told her the truth. He would be there for the twins, and for her. He'd missed so much time with them that he had to get to know them. They were already children. Their informative years had been spent without knowing each other. He had not influenced them, and his family had not been of any influence either.

His mental ramblings were interrupted when the door opened and in walked Ms. Roe.

"Is she okay?" the red headed Orion asked in a whisper, moving to sit on the edge of the bed closest to Jamie Tabitha Kirk.

"She is in sufficient health," he stated and the woman rolled her eyes – reminding him of Jamie.

"Right…" she stated in a quiet voice before looking her over with her eyes then at him. "Sorry about barging in like this… she was the first friend I made at the academy. Nobody wanted to befriend the Orion whore… but she did, because she was just as misunderstood. All of our friends were what some would consider the outcasts at the school – the Orion, the Grumpy Southern Doctor, the child Prodigy… We were all different than everyone else." He nodded, able to see his wife bonding with a group like that. "Oh, and don't forget Doctor Vera Ellen. Her daughter is one of Mandy's best friends… also Orion." He nodded.

"You two… are interrupting a nice dream," Jamie muttered before burying her face in his shirt. He went to move and she tightened her grip. "No… I like using you for a pillow." She was half asleep and Gaila Roe smiled. Then Jamie muttered something else before drifting back to sleep.

"I'm glad she's happy again. She hasn't been for a very long time," Lieutenant Roe stated softly. "She pretends to be… and I think she was content… but I don't know that Happy was in her vocabulary anymore."

He nodded his head, while reaching up to brush a strand of almost light-brown hair from in front of her eyes.

"When we parted, I had not considered we would be parted as long as we were," he admitted. "I assumed, naively, we would find each other within a year. Even after that year I still assumed it would not be difficult to find her. But the longer we were apart, the more I worried, and when she regularly began flatlining…" he shivered.

"She always has been slightly reckless… and the older she gets, the worse that gets," Ms. Roe told him before looking him in the eyes. "But you hurt her again… and I promise you will regret it… and will suffer for it." He nodded. She wasn't the first person to threaten him to keep him from injuring his wife.

"I have no intention of doing her damage," he whispered while looking down at his wife. Her eyes fluttered open with a huff before sitting up.

"Not that I don't mind being talked about like I'm not here… but seriously, I'm trying to sleep," Jamie said irritably. "So both of you, out… yes Spock, I'm temporarily kicking you out of your own room." He raised a brow but didn't say a word. Instead he followed Ms. Roe from the room. The door closed behind them and Ms. Roe shook her head.

"She's better…" there was a smile on her face before she looked at him. "Commander." Then she walked out leaving a very confused Vulcan in her wake.

What was that woman thinking? His Tibby had some strange friends…

[I'm back… no big month long break this time… anyways, what did you think? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Was it neutral? Any comments, questions, or concerns are appreciated. I would also like to thank everyone who has favorited or subscribed so far. I would also like to give a special thank you to Maddie, Jasperhaleslover, Medafo, Fernsfairie (2xs), Gigi, Liberty Girl In the Sky, RubyHair (2xs), CHANCEGAMBIT, beauty02102 (5xs), Kassandra J, Fire Dlophin (2xs), aseret91, blueoctober, MirrorFlower and DarkWind (2xs), TheJadePhoenix, Yana5, and BetahimeTsukiko for your reviews.

On a side note… the argument is not done… this is only the tip. The true explosion – I plan on it being much bigger – and I plan it will occur thanks to some meddling… anyways, thanks again…]