Chapter Sixteen

"Here you go Jim, I think tha's the last of it," Scotty grunted as he heaved one final box into the house.

Jim nodded gratefully.

"Thanks Scotty, I really appreciate it."

"Don' mention it pal," he said, looking up as Bones appeared in the doorway.

"This sneaky little bastard was hiding in the corner of the van," he said, holding up one more small box.

"Good find," Jim smiled weakly.

"It'll be alright Jim, he's gonna get home safe to you," Scotty said and Jim nodded.

"I know… I just hate doing things like this without him here."

"Hey! You don't need that hobgoblin when you got us right here, the ultimate moving house dream team," said Bones as he set down the box he was holding.

Jim was distracted by a small hand tugging on the bottom of his shirt.

"I'm all done with my boxes," Christopher told him and Jim smiled, ruffling his hair.

"Can you help Leo now?"

"I always have to help Leo," he whined and Jim crouched down to be the same height as his eight year old son.

"I know, but we talked about this remember?"

"Yeah yeah," he said, full of attitude and Scotty snorted with laughter.

"Christopher, what did we say about talking nicely?" Jim warned, standing back up to his full height.

"Sorry dad," he said solemnly and Jim nodded.

"That's ok. Can you go help your brother?" he asked and the boy nodded, bounding up the stairs and out of sight.

"Lot of attitude there Jim," Bones commented and Jim sighed and scratched his head.

"I know, and his tantrums are…out of control. He should have grown out of it by now, right?"

"Oh yeah, tantrums are normally and much younger thing. He's doing it for attention," he said and Jim nodded.

"I know. He's jealous of all the help Leo gets."

"Well, until we can find a solution it's always gonna be that way, so he needs to get used to it," the Doctor said gruffly, picking up a large box and beginning to haul it up the stairs.


"BUT I DON'T WANNA!"

"Chris, hey, listen to me, calm down," Jim soothed.

The young boy threw himself on the floor and began screaming at the top of his voice and kicking his feet.

Jim watched him with absolutely no clue how to deal with it.

"Chris! Come on, quit acting like a baby, it's only one night," he pleaded, crouching down beside the boy and trying to get him to stop.

"I SAID NO!"

"And I'm the parent here and I said this is happening!" Jim said sternly and Chris paused, looking at him before beginning to cry louder.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Jim, just smack him or somethin' please, this is getting embarrassing," Bones sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't agree with hitting kids Bones, no matter how much of a pain in the ass they are," Jim growled as he grabbed Chris by the upper arm and wrenched him into a standing position.

"Well neither do I under normal circumstances but maybe you should start reconsidering. He's nine years old now Jim, and almost as strong as you. Tantrums are for toddlers and he damn well needs to start learning to behave himself."

Jim sighed and looked down at the boy who was now fighting against his grip to try and get away from him.

"Chris, if you behave and stay here tonight without any more trouble I'll make you cookies tomorrow?" he attempted and Chris shook his head.

"Cookies every day for a week?"

Chris considered for a moment and then shook his head again.

"Jesus Jim, how you've survived ten years of being a parent already I don't know. Christopher, get your ass up to David's room right now and play nice and quiet, I don't wanna hear another peep outta you 'til dinner time, you got that?" Bones ordered and Chris was silent for a moment before nodding and obeying, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking silently up the stairs.

"Bones… how did you?" Jim asked exasperatedly.

"Just gotta let him know you're the boss."

"He knows I'm the boss, he just likes to push it," Jim sighed as his comm. began to sound again.

"I gotta-"

"Yeah. Sure. I've got it taken care of. See you tomorrow," Bones said as Jim left his three children in the doctor's care overnight so he could attend a conference.


Another week slipped by, almost as if nobody had been looking and it had crept up on them all.

"December first," Carol noted as she turned over the page on the kitchen calendar.

Her husband grunted, shoved his half eaten piece of toast in his mouth and shuffled towards the door.

She sighed and sat down at the table, sipping at her coffee and going over schematics for a prototype new torpedo launcher to be fitted to a new ship currently under construction.

Leonard was preoccupied with work, and she knew he'd snap out of it eventually, she just wished she could be of some comfort to him when he got like this. Leo was recovering well, better than anyone thought possible, but she knew he'd have doubts in his mind until the kid was awake and talking.

After three weeks unconscious everyone was getting increasingly fraught with worry.

"Mornin' Carol," Jim said sleepily as he wandered into the kitchen, hair still damp from the shower.

"Hi Jim," she smiled as he poured himself coffee and sat opposite her.

"Whatcha got there?" he asked, glancing at the PADD she was looking at.

She tilted it so he could see and he pulled a face.

"Big guns. See I remember the days when Starfleet was about exploration, and now it seems bigger and bigger guns are ending up on all the new ships. And those little fighter ships? Crazy," he said, picking up the newspaper and opening it as if he'd always lived there.

He'd been staying there in Joanna's empty room for five days, having had a blazing row with Spock, the details of which remained murky.

"So did you hear from Chris yet?" she asked tentatively and Jim nodded.

"Yeah. He's okay, he's at my Mom's place. Needs his space right now, which I guess I can understand. I just wish he'd talk to me," Jim sighed, playing with the corner of the paper he was holding.

"He'll come around. David's been out of sorts this week without him here."

"They're T'hy'la… it's unnatural for them to be apart," Jim said, the true meaning of the fact Jim wasn't talking about their sons wasn't lost on her.

"Jim… I think you should go home," she said gently and he nodded.

"I know I should… I just… I don't know what I want anymore," he said quietly and she stayed silent, ready to listen if he was ready to talk.

"Half of me thinks I'll never fully get over this… stupid irrational fear of him leaving again, but the other half of me believes him when he says he's home for good now. I'm struggling to be around him… we can't talk about Leo because we both fall to pieces over it, and I get frustrated when he boxes all his emotions up and I just can't do that with mine. I can't just put the worry aside, you know? I mean… he's always going to be my little boy, stupid as it sounds, and I feel this overwhelming… protective… I don't even know how to describe it. Seeing him sick like this has been horrendous," Jim finished quietly and took a sip from his coffee. His hands were shaking but Carol didn't mention it.

"Right now Jim I think what you all need is to come together as a family and support each other. You're taking it hard, Chris is taking it hard, but running away to Iowa isn't doing him any favours, especially since he's all alone in that house with his thoughts," she said and Jim shook his head.

"No. He's not by himself, Jonathan is there. I managed to get him a sly message to keep a close eye on him and he is, told me he seems quiet but hasn't been acting too weird."

"I guess that's a good thing. Archer was a good influence on you, maybe he can talk some sense into Chris," she said and Jim nodded.

"I hope so. Chris and I have never… I don't know. Never had the kind of relationship I have with Leo, I guess," he said and Carol held back the question she wanted to ask.

And why is that?

"And it's my fault. I always tried to make time for him but I've been thinking a lot about it this week and… maybe I wasn't there for him enough and now me trying to get through to him is too little too late. Maybe he doesn't want a relationship with me now that he's an adult," he sighed and Carol frowned, placing her hand gently on Jim's forearm, causing him to look up at her.

She was always taken aback by how blue his eyes were so close up.

"Go home Jim. Go and talk to Spock, get Chris home, get Seren home, because Len has told me she's only left the hospital once since the surgery. All of you, as a family, support each other," she instructed and Jim gave a weak smile.

"I'll try," he said, getting up from the table and leaving after a few more words of advice from Carol.

Jim walked home quickly, it was cold and felt like it could possibly snow and he wanted to be in the house where Spock would no doubt have the heat turned up just a little bit too high as he usually did.

Arriving in record time, Jim let himself in and kicked off his shoes.

"Spock? You here?" he called and was met with silence.

He took off his coat and scarf and hung them on the hook near to the door, walking into the living room and considering if he was thirsty or not.

He was startled by Spock walking out of the kitchen silently.

"Oh, hi, didn't realise you were here," Jim said quietly and Spock blinked.

"I live here. Where else would I be?" he bit back, barely hidden hostility in his tone.

"I… I don't know," Jim mumbled, looking at his own feet momentarily before looking back up at Spock.

"Spock, I'm sorry. This week… I shouldn't have… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone to stay at Bones' place, I should have stayed here and we should have talked things over," he said and Spock inclined his head in agreement.

"I concur," he said in monotone.

"You know what I'm like with running away from problems," he said and Spock's lip quirked in the tiniest hint of a smirk.

"You usually run into them."

"Well, only when I'm out in space," Jim said with a small smile. The number of sticky situations he'd run them into and backed them out of over the five-year mission was startling, concerning at the time though now humorous to look back on.

They were silent for a few moments before Spock spoke first.

"I believe it is vital you understand I have made no plans to go off planet on any further missions at this time. Though I have explained this to you many times since my return, it appears you require further reassurance," he said and Jim nodded.

"I know. I know you aren't planning on leaving, hell I trawled through the mainframe and checked what Enterprise is being assigned next and I know full well that she's being re-fitted for another month but… what then? Will you go back out? Because they're talking about a year long mission Spock, and I don't know if I can keep doing this," Jim said and Spock looked at him carefully.

"Should Leo be making positive steps towards recovery I see no reason why we would be unable to both-"

"They still need us," Jim interjected quickly before Spock could finish what he was going to say, to suggest they both leave their children.

"They are all adults now, as you have said yourself many times."

"Adults or not, they still need us for the time being. Leo will need to be closely monitored in his recovery, and we've got no idea how his vision is going to progress if at all, and Chris has been so… unstable since his Pon Farr that I don't think it would be a responsible thing to do as a parent to leave him here with nobody."

"Yet he has sought advice and comfort from another during his time of emotional hardship as he clearly feels our company is not acceptable," Spock pointed out and Jim chewed his lip.

"I know. I know he's gone to Archer, someone who knows what's going on but is far enough removed from the situation that he can give more impartial advice. I just hope Chris finds the answers he's looking for," Jim said and Spock took a step closer to him, hands clasped neatly behind his back as they often were.

"I'm… sorry. I shouldn't have run off to hide out. We should have talked about things days ago," Jim sighed.

"Do not apologise further. I understand it is difficult for you to trust me. I did not expect to earn your trust so quickly, nor do I deserve it. The way I behaved by leaving so often and for so long was entirely unacceptable and I am still somewhat amazed that you have not terminated our rela-"

Jim cut off his husband by pressing his lips to his, silencing him instantly, arms wrapping around Spock's waist and pulling him in close.

"I'm not going to leave you. Sometimes I just need a few days to myself to get my head clear. I love you Spock, as much as you drive me crazy sometimes," Jim sighed, holding the other man tightly in his arms.

"I find you a highly illogical and confusing individual, however your feelings are reciprocated," Spock said and Jim allowed himself a small chuckle as Spock's arms wrapped around him in return.

"Missed you," Jim breathed against his neck, placing a cluster of small kisses there and causing Spock to tense slightly in his arms.

"Something wrong?" Jim asked, looking up.

Spock's eyes were strangely… dark.

"No," he answered quickly.

Jim didn't press the matter and accepted his answer for the time being, busying himself with holding Spock close again and trailing his hands up and down his back soothingly, wanting to make up for the week they'd spent apart.


"Given up your bedside vigil huh?" David asked as he found his sister sitting on the couch. She'd barely been home for a week, all of her time either spent rehearsing for her play or at Leo's bedside whenever she was allowed to be there. As he came out of the riskiest stage of his post-surgery recovery he was allowed more visitors and she'd been taking advantage of that.

"Got strep throat," she croaked, looking up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy and her face was pale.

"Jeez. That sucks. Sorry to hear it," he said and she raised an eyebrow.

"You sick too? Think that's the nicest you've spoken to me in ten years," she said, voice cracking and causing her to wince and sip from the mug she was holding.

"No. I'm not sick I'm just… I don't know. I'm sorry. I know how much you care about him. You're not allowed to see him now?"

"Minimum of seven days away from him, even though the infection will clear up by probably the end of today, I could still pass something onto him while he's so sensitive," she said quietly and he nodded sympathetically, sitting down on the couch beside her.

He was quiet for a moment, looking at her carefully. She looked thinner, drawn and tired.

"Are you sleeping ok?" he asked and she snorted with laughter, instantly regretting it when she began to splutter and cough.

"No. Not at all. Every time I fall asleep I have the same nightmare," she said quietly and he nodded, not asking her to elaborate and not expecting her to, but surprised when she did.

"He dies… and I don't make it there in time to say goodbye," she said softly, her voice breaking in the final syllable as her throat gave another painful twinge.

"That's horrible, no wonder you can't sleep if you're having dreams like that," he said and she nodded.

"You look really exhausted. Are your rehearsals still crazy too?" he asked and she nodded again.

"Yeah like ten hours a day, every day. I'm gonna quit," she said and he frowned.

"You're no quitter."

"No, but right now I don't have time. It's okay though, I can come back to it, maybe next year when Leo is hopefully better and I won't be so distracted," she said, pushing her hair back off her face and glancing at her communicator out of habit.

"Yeah. That might be a good idea," he said, glancing at his own communicator.

"So. Heard from Christopher?" she asked and he scowled, stuffing the device back in his pocket.

"No," he said bluntly.

"You guys had a lovers tiff?"

"Something like that," David said vaguely. He'd kept the state he had found Christopher in at his apartment to himself, not wanting to worry Jim, Spock or anyone else with the information. He'd also kept the fact that he'd kissed him a secret, not ready to face the implications of his actions and the fact the kiss has been very deliberate on his part.

"And he's run off to Iowa?"

"Yeah. I don't even know why, I mean, he hates Iowa," he said and she played with her fingernails.

"Probably just needs space, probably just doing some thinking."

"Yeah well he's not the only one who's been doing some thinking," David muttered and Emily looked up at him.

"What?"

"I'm done with being a lazy layabout piece of shit. Taking this semester off has driven me crazy. Sitting in the house all the time? I'm done with it. I'm going back to Starfleet and I'm going to pass that stupid exam and get into my third year," he said determinedly and she smiled.

"Good for you."

"Yeah just… saying it is the easy part, now I have to actually do it," he chuckled nervously.


Captain Hikaru Sulu reclined slightly in his chair, stretching his back. He was aching from sitting down for so long, something Jim had often complained about during his days as Captain, and a reason he'd taken to standing around on the bridge so much during the five year mission, rather than staying in the chair at all times.

"Keptin, ve are detecting an anomaly, it looks like a ship but ze proportions are… improbable," Chekov alerted him.

"Life signs?"

"Yes sir, however zey are… distorted. Not clear on numbers at zis distance, or species."

Sulu stood and walked the few paces to his navigator and first officer, looking at his display.

"If that's a ship, it's enormous," he said as his eyes skimmed over the screen.

Sulu had been a Captain for almost seven years now, Chekov his first officer the whole time. They'd stuck together after the original Enterprise crew disbanded. He'd been given his own ship, a sister of the Enterprise, the Intrepid.

Much as he'd never admit it aloud, being a Captain was of little interest to him. He'd taken the promotion to further his career, it had seemed like the right move at the time, but he always longed to be back in the helmsman's chair.

"Drop us out of warp once we're within range, I'd like to get a look at this," he said and Chekov nodded.

"Aye, Sir."

For a few minutes he paced in front of the chair, waiting for Chekov's warning that they'd be dropping out of warp imminently before sitting back down.

His eyes widened as the view-screen filled with an image of something unlike anything he had ever seen before.


Feeling like it was now his turn to grovel, Jim made dinner, a Vulcan dish of Spock's preference that he didn't particularly care for himself, though he ate it anyway.

They went together to visit Leo, who now looked less like he was in a coma and more like he was maybe taking a nap. Jim had noticed his facial expression change and fingers twitch a few times during the hour they sat with him and wondered what his son was dreaming about. He was certainly close to coming out of his trance, his brain activity was increasing on an hourly basis and Jim had a gut feeling it would be within a few days.

As promised he contacted Emily to tell her he was doing well, although her father told her the same thing every night when he returned home anyway, she didn't quite believe him so always tried to get the information from as many different sources as possible, almost as though she was looking for discrepancies in their information to catch them out lying to her.

Jim's comm. began to chirp as he walked up the driveway with Spock and he hung back to answer it.

"Kirk here."

"Jim, how are you?" Archer greeted and Jim breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been half expecting it to be Admiral Bennett demanding him stop using his leave time and return to work immediately.

"I'm… hanging in there. How are you? And how's Christopher?" he asked.

"I'm good. Chris is… beginning to see sense. I helped him fill out his application to join Starfleet, but I have a feeling he knows somebody who might be able to help him get in quicker," he said and Jim scratched the back of his head.

"You… what? How did you manage that?"

"Kid just needed a little encouragement. He's on his way home. Now you keep him away from that David McCoy, the kid is bad news," Archer said and Spock quirked an eyebrow, having overheard the advice.

"I can't keep them apart, they've bonded," Jim pointed out and Archer muttered something under his breath.

"Well then you tell that kid to stop messing with Christopher's feelings! He's a lot more sensitive than he'd let on. I think he should see a shrink too; his behaviour is all over the place, almost like he's heading for some kind of burnout."

Jim had been thinking the same thing for several weeks.

"I know, I've been thinking the same thing myself, but here's no way he'll go for it."

"If he wants to be a member of Starfleet as much as he's told me he does, he'll have to pass the psych evals, so that'll be down to him to get his head straight in time for it," Archer responded.

"Thank you… for doing in one week what I couldn't do in twenty years and make him see his potential," Jim said sincerely.

"Don't be an ass Jim. He's not doing this because I told him to, or because I influenced him, he's doing this because he looks up to you… you're his hero, and what this all boils down to is a little boy trying to be like his father."

Jim swallowed hard. He wasn't entirely certain if Archer was referring to him following in his own father's footsteps, Jim following in his fathers or Chris following Jim and Spock. It could have meant any or all.

"Thank you Jon, I really appreciate it," Jim said. Spock watched from the doorstep as Jim finished his conversation with the retired Admiral and then put his communicator back in his pocket, walking up the steps to the house and standing beside him.

"Well, Chris is going to the academy," Jim said and Spock inclined his head in understanding.

"As I was always certain he would eventually."

"I'm sure once Leo is up and walking around he'll be quick to follow."

"He has always shown a keen interest in one day pursuing a career in-" Spock stopped speaking halfway through his sentence, flinching slightly, Jim doing the same as he felt what Spock felt.

An inexplicably strong surge of heat, of fire inside his mind.

"Spock are you-"

"I believe the process has begun," Spock said quickly.

Jim looked at him carefully. His jaw was clenched tight, shoulders unnaturally stiff even for him, eyes dark and hungry. He'd noticed it briefly earlier but hadn't quite been able to put his finger on what looked different about him, but now it was all too clear.

He pulled out his comm. and flipped it open.

"Bones, I'm gonna drop off the grid for a few days, Spock is going into Pon Farr," Jim explained quickly before the other man had time to say anything.

"Okay Jim. The kids can stay at my place. I got it under control, just be careful," he said calmly. Jim was grateful for it, the last thing he needed was anyone else behaving strangely. Bones seemed to be relaxing each day that Leo grew stronger and was becoming more and more like his usual self.

Jim eyed Spock carefully, the tension in his body clearly building. He realised he'd never actually seen his bondmate as the fever began, both times he had helped him through it they'd been apart as the symptoms began and had managed to get to each other in time.

"Thanks Bones. Send me anything vital and I can try to look at it when I get a chance," Jim said as Spock closed his eyes tightly, visibly fighting for control. The speed at which he was descending into the fever was staggering.

"I will Jim, and if Leo wakes up I'll be sure to let you know any way I can. Be safe, both of you," he said and Jim managed to get a quick thanks to his friend before cutting off the comm. and taking both of Spock's hands in his own. He was already too warm, overheating.

"Let go of me," Spock said in a low voice.

"I'm sorry?" Jim asked, thinking he hadn't heard him correctly.

"It would be wise if you were to not touch my hands at this moment," Spock said, firmly pulling his hands away.

Jim obeyed and looked at him cautiously for a few moments.

"It comes on really fast, much faster than I expected," Jim said and Spock nodded slightly, eyes closing momentarily before opening and fixing on his own.

Jim couldn't have stopped him if he'd wanted to as he was pushed up against the wall by Spock, lips attacking his own with fierce intensity. He didn't struggle as Spock shoved him towards the stairs, heading up to their room.

"Try and be gentle, okay?" Jim asked quietly and Spock gave a tiny nod, eyes black with large, dilated pupils. He was still in control, but Jim had no idea how long it would last.

In his Pon Farr seven years prior Spock had been entirely feral by the time Jim had got to him, and had no regard for his wellbeing and if he might injure him. He'd barely spoken a word, and what he had said had all been in Vulcan.

"I… will attempt to retain some level of control. I believe if sated before it can properly establish, the fever will not cause the same reaction that I have previously experienced," he said, voice strained and far removed from his usual calm tone.


Seren yawned before she could stop herself.

Exhaustion was something she was used to dealing with, but this was an entirely new level.

She crossed the room to check on her brother one final time before she would go home and rest. She'd barely left the hospital since the surgery a week ago, only going home and sleeping once. She'd shower and eat at the hospital, taking one hours break when she needed it, but the rest of the time she'd be keeping herself occupied.

"You're doing good today," she told him as her startling blue eyes traced over his monitors once again. The readings were improving hour by hour, his strength increasing at an above-average rate.

She ran her tricoder carefully around his head, smiling at the readings.

"A lot of activity, particularly in the visual cortex. That nice new tissue of yours seems to have finished developing whilst you've been sleeping. It's going to take some getting used to, but I think when you wake up you'll be able to see," she said. The readings were normal. Everything was entirely normal. Not only did he appear perfectly healthy and as though he hadn't just fought for his life, but as though he had never been blind.

"Emily sends her love, and her apologies for not being here, she's got a little throat infection so she has to stay away just in case you catch it," Seren said as she set down the tricoder and sat in the chair beside his bed.

"And Spock has gone into Pon Farr, Dr McCoy told me that Jim managed to get him a message. For a few days I guess it's just me and you," she explained, picking up his hand.

He was laying on his back again now and looked far more comfortable than when he had been on his front. His skull was healed perfectly, and his hair even beginning to grow back where a section had been clipped.

"I miss you," she said quietly before she could help herself. It was the truth. She had missed her younger brother whilst he'd been in his trance. She always missed him when she had been away in Chicago, but they had kept in constant contact speaking almost every single day. This had been startlingly different, where he was physically there but unresponsive.

Seren?

She grinned as she heard his voice echo in her mind.

It's me. She squeezed his hand gently as she responded.

She looked up at his face expectantly, hoping to watch his dark eyes flutter open, and even more hopeful that they would focus on her and actually see her sitting beside him.

Can't wake up yet, I'm not done. Gotta make sure it won't come back.

She gave a weak smile and squeezed his hand again.

You stay in there as long as you like. The surgery took care of it, but if you feel like you have things to work on, you keep going with that.

His eyelids flickered and she felt her heart skip a beat, nervous lump rising in her throat. The monitors indicated his heart rate increasing slightly.

I'm just sleeping now. Just tired. Came out of the trance a couple of hours ago but I don't quite want to wake up all the way just yet. I had a dream about being on the beach with Jim. I could see him too. It was… the most bizarre experience.

She chuckled aloud.

"There are plenty of bizarre things you're going to see when you open your eyes, but Jim is certainly not one of them. He'll be excited to hear it. How was it? Seeing in your mind?"

Bright. It kind of hurt. It was too bright.

"Natural response, your mind has never had any form of visual input before so of course it's going to take a while before you can correctly deal with-"

Seren paused as the door opened and did a double take at the person standing there. Christopher was in full Starfleet cadet uniform and had a determined expression on his face as he strode into the room.

He offered no explanation as he sat down on the other side of Leo's bed, Seren continuing to stare at him until she had to ask.

Chris all dressed up in his shiny new cadet reds?

Chris sniggered and Seren glanced up at him.

"Your shields are gone Leo, I can hear everything you're thinking. And yes, new reds… stiff too, need to be washed a couple of times," he said, stretching slightly and tugging at the sleeves of his jacket. Seren watched him look down at his twin, a small smile on his face.

Their mental connection had always been a thing of strong interest to Spock, and then to herself as she'd grown up. It was as if they were bonded, their minds open to one another, sharing thoughts and feelings and knowledge. As children it had been of great use to them, but they had begun to shut each other out more and more, now as adults barely using their telepathic link, both having put up strong shields to silence the thoughts of the other within their own mind.

"Good to have you back," she said and Chris gave a small nod.

"Needed to get some things straightened out. Archer's good at helping with that; he doesn't sugar-coat, just gives straight up honest advice," he said and Seren raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What kind of honest advice?"

"That I need to stop being such an asshole and wasting all my potential."

Hear hear!

Seren chuckled at Leo's telepathic intervention and Chris mock-scowled at his twin.

"When you wake up you get one flick in the ear for that."

No ear flicking!

"Let him rest, Chris, or I'll flick you in the ear," Seren warned and the elder twin relaxed back into his chair, looking more calm than she had seen him for a while.

"So, what track are you on?" she asked and he looked up at her.

"Oh. Uh well right now I'm just taking a little of everything, I'll figure out tracks and stuff before the start of next year. This year since I'm kind of diving in halfway through I'm just gonna try and get a feel for stuff. Archer thinks I could be good on the command track, but I need to get my head straight first, I'm too… unstable to make decisions like a captain would have to under pressure," he said and she nodded.

"Lot of pressure. Captain, Doctor… chief engineer," she said, squeezing Leo's hand again. She could have sworn she felt him squeeze back lightly this time, the pressure so barely there it was hard to detect, but she was certain she had felt it.

"I don't think I'd want to be a Captain. There's plenty of other ways I can make myself useful on a starship, that level of responsibility would be… pretty overwhelming. I'm sure I'll figure something out," he said and she nodded.

"You're doing the right thing. I'm sure you'll be great at whatever you decide."

Seren and Christopher fell into a comfortable silence, both just watching their younger brother resting. Seren carefully placed his hand back down on top the covers and let go of it, trying to stifle another yawn.

"I'm going to go… probably sleep at Joanna's place seeing as we need to avoid the house until Spock is done," she said uncomfortably. The three of them had never really spoken of Spock's Pon Farr. It was known how he would behave and they all knew it had been seven years so were expecting it, but were dreading seeing Jim in the aftermath of it.

"Or Leo's room at my apartment is all yours, if you want it," Chris offered and she nodded.

"I'll talk to Joanna first, but thank you," she said and he nodded. Seren and Joanna got along well; no doubt they would use this as an opportunity to spend some time together.

"Goodnight Chris, Leo," she said, pushing her hair back off her face where it was starting to slip out of the band holding it in it's long ponytail.

"Night," Chris smiled, drawing one foot up to rest on the chair, hugging his knee to his chest.

Seren left and Christopher waited a few moments before leaning down, pressing his forehead to his twin's, closing his eyes and focusing on their mental link. It was weakened from lack of use, but by their minds being so close the connection was easier to use to communicate.

You scared the hell out of me.

Sorry, I didn't mean to, I was just trying to conserve ene-

I know you were conserving energy, but you still scared the hell out of me. Going into a trance like that? What were you thinking? Christopher demanded of his younger brother.

Well, I wasn't exactly in control of it happening! It just… happened. I went to sleep and I just felt so tired. I knew I needed to do it, I knew I wasn't going to cope if I carried on kidding myself and trying to carry on as normal. It's probably a good thing that I did it though, right? I mean I feel good.

Chris sat back in his chair and looked at his brother. He was noticeably underweight now, however, his skin wasn't pale and blotchy anymore, he didn't have dark circles under his eyes, he was a normal temperature, his heart rate was strong and his monitors were all showing good, strong readings of someone well on their way to being healthy again.

"I'll admit you did the right thing, I just wish you hadn't pushed yourself to begin with. You should have told me, Leo, you shouldn't have tried to keep it from me," Chris said quietly. "Or from Emily for that matter, because I know as much as she pretends to be fine about it, she isn't."

Leo took a few seconds, his face scrunching up slightly.

I know. I know what I did was wrong, and I'm sorry. It seemed like the right thing to do, but it was an error of judgement on my part. I promise next time I get diagnosed with an illness that's meant to kill me, I'll tell you right away.

Chris snorted and shook his head, chuckling to himself. Leo's sense of humour was obviously still very much intact.

"You're an asshole. But I love you," he said fondly, ruffling his twin's hair and smiling as he scrunched up his nose a little in response to it.

"Are you awake or…?"

I'm kind of… I don't know. Systems coming online, Cap'n, need a little time to get 'er up an' running.

"You're unbelievable. Scotty impressions at a time like this?" Chris sighed exasperatedly, not missing the tiniest trace of a smile that was appearing on his brother's face.

There is never a bad time for a good Scotty impression. By the way, when I wake up, you're buying me pancakes.

Chris laughed out loud. He felt happier then he had in a long time, knowing Leo was recovering and was alert enough inside his mind to be able to communicate, even if he was still too exhausted from healing to be conscious, was enough for Chris to breathe a little easier.

"I promise you all the pancakes San Francisco has to offer," Chris smiled as he curled up awkwardly in the chair, itching at his uncomfortable starchy uniform.

Quit scratching.

"I can't. It's uncomfortable. I need Jim to work his magical laundry powers on it," he sighed, deciding to remove the jacket altogether as it was far too uncomfortable.

What, fabric softener? You don't know how to do that yourself? I'm fucking blind and I know how to use fabric softener!

Chris chuckled again and picked up his brother's hand gently, holding it between both of his own for a moment before setting it back down.

"Get some rest."

What does it look like I'm doing?

"I know, but stop with the telepathy, you'll tire yourself out. Get rested and ready to wake up. I'll stay here tonight," he said, sinking a little lower in the chair and resting his head and shoulders onto the bed. It was uncomfortable but he would at least be able to close his eyes for a while.

Quit hogging the bed, asshole!

"I'll call Bones and he'll hypo you," Chris threatened, waiting for Leo's response to echo inside his mind.

Goodnight Christopher.

He chuckled to himself at his twin's sudden obedience.

"Goodnight Leo."


A/N

Hi all, first off thanks for reading. I know the story has been a little slow-building, but this chapter is kind of the turning point and the pace is going to really pick up. My apologies if this chapter is really fragmented, it's been written literally 10 minutes at a time in any spare moment I could find this week... -_-

Huge thank you to everyone who's reviewed the story, I really can't say just how much I appreciate every single one :)