8 Months, 2 Weeks
"I don't know how I feel about the name being Vulcan." McCoy said at the little table in he and Spock's quarters. The latter had suggested that they actually sit down and talk about possible names, and McCoy had no objections. After all, they were now crossing the bridge. "How about if it's a boy, we name him James." He said with a small smirk, and Spock just blinked at him.
"I would prefer it if the name of our child did not also belong to a notoriously promiscuous and risk taking Starfleet Captain." Spock replied, and McCoy chuckled.
"I know, I wasn't being serious. Do you have any ideas?" He asked, drumming his fingers against the table. Spock seemed contemplative for a while before speaking.
"I do not think it wise to name our child after someone. It is my impression that when one is named after another, they try to become like that person." He explained, to which McCoy nodded. He's seen that happen a many number of times- Jim, for example, spent much of his life living in the shadow of his father before realizing that he was allowed to do great things for himself. "Perhaps... Soren?"
"Nah, there was a guy at my high school named Soren. He was always selling drugs to the younger kids. I'd prefer not to have to think about him whenever I look at my kid." McCoy replied, thinking about his high school life. Those were the days... sort of. Except for all the drama between him and Joce, but he doesn't talk about that.
Spock's comm. went off, and McCoy sighed angrily. The one time in months that they actually have a serious conversation about their child, and someone has to come interrupt it! "Kirk to Spock."
"Spock here, Captain." Spock said looking over at McCoy, who glared back.
"I need your ass down at Engineering now. There's been an explosion- I'll just explain when you get here!" The line cut off and Spock put his comm. away. McCoy was still glaring at Spock, daring him to leave. Spock stared back at him for what seemed like days.
"It is my duty to-"
"Oh just go, Spock. We can continue this later." McCoy said with a sigh, and Spock took off. "Be careful, damn it!" He yelled just before the man was out the door. If Spock got hurt down there he didn't know what he would do- that Vulcan had been his main support throughout the past while. Not that he was WORRIED.
McCoy sat there, trying to think of names by himself, but it was always a dead end. He didn't want something very Vulcan-like to save his sanity, but he also wanted Spock to be comfortable with the name as well. After all, it was his child too, as much as McCoy loathed to admit it. Even though he was the one doing all the work, carrying the baby inside of him and whatnot. Going through all the pain, nightmares, ridicule... you'd think this was a paying job!
There was a chime at his door, and he frowned. He called out, "Enter," and T'Laua walked in. He scowled at her.
"Look, I don't exactly feel comfortable with you inside my home right now." McCoy snapped at her, but she walked right over and sat down across from him. It was just like before, Vulcan to Human- except he could say that his feelings for this Vulcan were much more... deadly.
"For the good of the child-"
"I don't care about your definition of 'good' for my child!"
"-it must be transported to New Vulcan for studies." T'Laua finished, and McCoy gave her a death glare.
"What are you implying?" McCoy asked through clenched teeth.
"The circumstances of this birth is highly remarkable- it is only logical that the child be observed in order to-"
"You know what, just get outta my quarters!" McCoy said, using the table to help himself stand up. He gestured to the door expectantly as he looked down at the female hobgoblin.
"You must see the reason in this. The child should not be born in the first place-"
"Get. Out. T'Laua. Or I will-" McCoy began to threaten her before the alarm started blaring with the computer's voice announcing the situation.
"INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT."
Red lights flashed around them, and McCoy narrowed his eyes at T'Laua.
"Surely you do not think that I am the intruder." She said calmly, which only made McCoy more suspicious of her.
"Get the fuck out of here, T'Laua." McCoy ordered again over the sound of the alarm, but the Vulcan made no move. Balls deep in anger, McCoy grabbed her arm and forced her to stand up before pulling her towards the door.
"Ponfo miran!" T'Laua answered back, wrenching her arm away from him. She moved to hit McCoy, but he dodged it and pushed her closer to the door. She staggered, but punched him across the jaw, knocking him to the ground. He pushed himself back up and kicked T'Laua in the stomach, just missing her heart. She staggered back again, putting a hand on her stomach. The alarms turned off, and T'Laua smirked at him. "I am not the intruder."
"You're intruding on my home." McCoy declared, pointing at her indignantly. "Now I suggest that you leave before Spock gets here and beats the shit out of you- and you know as well as I do that he would." He threatened, putting a hand on the nearest surface to sturdy himself. T'Laua took a breath before nodding slightly. She strode out the door, and McCoy blew out a huge breath. What had she even come for?
He shook his head and grabbed his comm. from the table to contact Spock. When no answer came, he tried for Jim. "Kirk here."
"Jim, why wouldn't Spock answer?" McCoy asked, becoming worried. He looked around the room anxiously. Jim was taking a while to answer.
"He's in sickbay. He'll be fine." Jim answered, and McCoy shot out of the chair and left his quarters. He practically ran to sickbay. While he had been in his home playing patty cake with T'Laua, Spock was in actual danger and he hadn't even thought about it! What a great doctor McCoy was, surely.
He strode into sickbay, panting. For some reason he knew exactly where Spock was, and he was there at his bedside in seconds. The man was unconscious and there was a cut on his cheekbone, and McCoy looked at his readings on the monitor. "He's going to be just fine, McCoy." M'Benga said, popping up beside him.
"What in the hell happened?" McCoy asked wiping the little bit of sweat from his forehead and sitting down.
"From what the Captain said, Spock had gotten knocked out in the struggle to detain the intruder. I thought it kind of suspicious, though, that this person knew exactly how to knock out a Vulcan." M'Benga explained, and McCoy frowned in thought. It was suspicious indeed. "You might want to go home and rest, now that you know he's okay. I don't know when he'll wake up."
"No. I'm going to stay here until he wakes up." McCoy said, looking up at M'Benga, who's eyes went soft.
"Are you okay? There's a discoloration on the left side of your jaw..." M'Benga asked, reaching down and touching his face gently. Weirded out, McCoy moved his hand away.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." He said bluntly, and M'Benga nodded before walking away. McCoy sighed and looked over at Spock. The green cut on his cheek had already scabbed over. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, closing his eyes. He would just rest there for a while...
He woke up when he felt a warm hand on his face. He blinked up at Spock, who was standing over him. "Who hurt you?" He asked, and McCoy smiled a little.
"Don't worry about it, Spock." He replied as his mind flashed to his encounter with T'Laua, pushing his hand away. Spock held onto his hand firmly, not letting go.
"It was T'Laua." Spock said bluntly, and McCoy nodded.
"I can't help but wonder... Was she in with the intruder? Because it seemed like she only came there to hurt me." McCoy said, and Spock sat down on the bed across from him, letting go of his hand. McCoy squinted at him for a moment. Did he look... guilty?
"When I became aware of the fact that the intruder was Romulan, I resorted to contacting T'Laua to accompany you until the intruder was found. As a Vulcan, she is one of the only people that could match the strength of a Romulan." Spock explained, breaking eye-contact with McCoy. "I did not know that she would cause you harm."
"That's not your fault, Spock. If anything, it's mine." McCoy said, moving his head over to make Spock look at him again. "I tried to physically force her out of the place, so I guess that us getting into a little scuffle was the only way that she could actually stay there. But in my defense, she told me that I should put my kid on New Vulcan to be 'studied.' I didn't wanna listen to that."
"Her narrow minded opinions on our situation is quite troublesome. I have... talked with her multiple times on the subject." Spock said, and McCoy noticed the strain on the word 'talked.' He wondered how many times he and T'Laua have 'talked' over the past eight months.
"It's alright. She really didn't do much harm. Let's get outta here." He said, and Spock nodded and stood. He helped McCoy up, and they walked back to their quarters together. It was getting late, so Spock made them both some hot tea. McCoy drank his down pretty quickly before going to take a shower. He just wanted to wash away all the bad things of the evening and be calm enough to sleep peacefully now that it was all said and done.
When he got out of the shower, he (like always) avoided looking at himself in the mirror. He didn't like looking at himself much these days, with his big, oddly proportioned belly. He just wasn't too fond of his appearance. He used to be fit, healthy looking, and attractive. Now he just felt like his belly stuck out like a sore thumb and made him look... bad, to say the least. It's not like he ever imagined himself in this situation. He shook his head and got dressed. There was no point in having negative thoughts when he could be much worse off.
He crawled into bed and closed his eyes, resting his head against the edge of the pillow. He took a few deep breaths before he fell asleep.
...
Something was wrong.
McCoy heard moans of pain in the darkness, and he walked towards them. A light shone on a body, and there was thick green blood pooling around it. He came closer and saw that it was Spock, and he knelt next to the groaning man.
"Spock, are you okay? Spock!" McCoy yelled at him, grabbing his face with both hands. He didn't save him so long ago to have him die again, damn it!
"Nnngguuuh..." Spock groaned in reply, his face pinched in pain. McCoy looked for sources of wounds, but there was so much blood. He felt all around on Spock's body, trying to find out where the bleeding was coming from.
There was a flash of red that blinded him momentarily, and Spock cried out in pain so loudly that it deafened him. McCoy looked down at him to see that his body was split open at his torso, his ribs broken in pieces and his internal organs spilling out everywhere. Boiling blood drenched McCoy's clothes as he knelt over the Vulcan, trying to do something to help.
"You're not going to die, Spock. Damn it, you're not going to die. Let me take your conscience again- your katra! Let me do take it!" He begged, a hand on Spock's face. The Vulcan looked up at him, tears escaping his dark eyes.
"You'll die..." Spock choked out, but McCoy shook his head.
"That doesn't matter, damn it!" He said, stroking Spock's face. "I'll die if you can live, Spock. Take care of her, I know you'll be the better parent. Just let me take your katra. Your life is worth so much more than mine. Let me die for you, Spock!" McCoy kept begging, but Spock shook his head slightly. "Spock! Let me do this for you!" He shouted desperately.
...
Then he woke up, bolting up and breathing heavily. He felt unbelievably cold, and was shaking violently. His mind flashed to Spock, with his organs falling out and chest split open, and he had to go find him. He still felt like something was horribly wrong.
McCoy got out of bed, his hands shaking and his legs wobbling. He kept his hand on the wall as he walked out of the bedroom and into the living room where Spock slept. "Spock..." He choked out, and he could feel his sanity slipping in the dark room. It was almost just like the nightmare. He could see the outline of the couch, and he shakily made his way to it. "Spock. Are you okay?" He reached out, his hand touching Spock's chest. "Spock."
"Yes. I am here. What is the matter?" Spock asked through the darkness, and McCoy breathed out in immense relief. The Vulcan sat up, and McCoy sat beside him. Before he allowed himself to think about it, he wrapped his arms tightly around Spock. His heart was pounding in his chest, and all he could bring himself to focus on was the living, warm body against him. Spock's arms wrapped around him gently, one of his hands raking through his hair.
"Don't die on me again, Spock. Ever." McCoy said quietly, hugging Spock even tighter. He could feel the Vulcan struggling not to list off the odds that he will or will not die in his company.
"I will not, Leonard." Spock replied simply, running his fingers through his hair. McCoy took a shaky breath and pulled away, but he kept a hand on Spock's arm. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly, and McCoy hesitated before answering.
"I had a dream that you were... going to die. It was really bad. Your blood was everywhere. I begged you to let me take your katra again, but you wouldn't do it because I would die." McCoy vented, looking at the floor. Spock grabbed his hand from his arm and held onto it.
"You would have died for me." Spock said, no doubt reading his mind. McCoy didn't answer, since he felt stupid for getting so worked up about a dream. "You should go back to sleep." Spock said, and McCoy started panicking again. What if he had another dream like that again? What if- "Will you allow me to share the bed with you?" Spock asked, interrupting his thoughts, and McCoy looked up at him.
"Yeah." He acquiesced quietly, and they both got up and went to the bedroom. McCoy crawled into his usual place on the bed, Spock laying across from him. "Hey... it's a girl." McCoy said, touching his belly under the blankets.
"How do you know?" Spock asked, moving closer.
"I just do." He replied, and he felt Spock's hot hand on his belly. He could feel her move inside him, and he smiled a little before closing his eyes.
McCoy woke up with a start, feeling an immense pain in his belly. He reached out and hit Spock, who grunted and grabbed his hand. "What is it?" He asked, a little disgruntled.
"It's time." McCoy announced, and Spock's eyebrows shot up before he grabbed his comm. and contacted M'Benga. McCoy didn't pay any attention to their conversation before getting up. Spock got out of bed and helped him, and together they left to Sickbay. "Make sure you tell Jim when we get there. He'll kill me if I don't tell him- aaahhhowGOD that's painful." McCoy cried out, his hand on his belly.
Male pregnancies weren't the same as female pregnancies. Instead of the baby coming out of any orifices, the body sends off signals of pain so that the brain thinks that whatever is in there needs to get OUT or else the body will die. Over time the pain signals get more and more severe, since the need for the baby to be born increases. She'll need to be surgically removed from him- he's seen and done the procedure a couple times in his medical career, and each time it was intricate and dangerous. He really hoped that M'Benga knew what he was doing.
They were ushered into a private room, and Spock helped McCoy onto the biobed. M'Benga appeared, hypospraying him before asking, "Any special circumstances, or-?"
"God, no, M'Benga. Just do it. And be careful!" McCoy snapped at him, and the doctor nodded.
"I'll be putting you under since this is an operation. When you wake up, the baby will be here for you." M'Benga told him, and he nodded in understanding. He felt another hypo, and he felt his pain as well as his consciousness slip away.
... ... ...