NU2U: "Blood Ties", 20b/26 (TOS/AU, S/Ch, Sa, Am, Vulcan OCs, K, Mc; h/c, anx [PG13])
Gamin
pregnant wife Christine back to be presented at a clan gathering on
Vulcan, where both run afoul of certain ultra- conservative clan-
members. This part: Spock expresses concerns to Kirk about Kirk's
growing involvement with T'Merit, then the three of them find out the
results of T'Syrith's surgery.
Disclaimers: Part 1A.
******
When Spock arrived several hours later, he found T'Merit curled up on
the cushioned bench seat, asleep with her head in Kirk's lap. Kirk
himself was still awake, cautiously stroking her hair as she slept.
Spock raised an eyebrow in surprise at the sight, wondering what they
had been up to, and approached quietly with his hands clasped behind
his back. Kirk looked up at him as he drew near, meeting his eyes
anxiously, and Spock looked curiously from Kirk to T'Merit. "Captain,
may I inquire--?" he began softly.
"I think she wore herself out worrying about T'Syrith," Kirk
explained,
whispering. "I thought it would be best if she got some sleep."
Spock nodded. "Dr. McCoy thought it likely that at least one of you
would be asleep, so he asked me to contact you personally," he told
Kirk, his eyes wandering back down to T'Merit's face. "I do not know
how the two of you occupied yourselves during this time, and under
other circumstances, it would not be my right to ask..." He glanced
up at Kirk again. "...but she *is* my cousin, and her situation
is...somewhat delicate."
"I know all about her situation, Spock," Kirk responded, meeting the
pleading expression in the Vulcan's eyes with pain in his own. "She
told me herself. And don't worry; we just talked, then she fell
asleep." Before Spock could say anything else, Kirk quickly changed
the subject. "What about T'Syrith?"
"Dr. McCoy says she is out of danger--the disease's progress has been
slow enough that surgery halted it with little difficulty, so in that
regard, it was successful," Spock reported. "He believes she should
be able to speak now, since the damage to her speech center was the
most recent, but he is not certain about her eyes. By the time he
removed all the diseased tissue, there was so little of the optic
nerve left that he had to reconstruct most of it using grafts of
healthy tissue from elsewhere in her body. He wants
to keep her here under observation for a few days. She should be
awake in 2.43 hours, at which time the Doctor will be able to tell
more about her condition."
"Good." Kirk sighed, looking down at T'Merit again. "I guess we'd
better wake her up."
Spock nodded, dropping to one knee before T'Merit and shaking her
shoulder gently. T'Merit awoke and sat up abruptly, somewhat
embarrassed to find Spock there. Her sleep-trance had been disturbed
by confusing images of Kirk, T'Syrith and Syrit, calling out to her
incomprehensibly as they swirled around each other, which did not help
her efforts to appear composed as she faced her cousin. "Is
T'Syrith--?"
"She is well," Spock assured her, standing back up. "She will be
asleep for a few hours longer, but she will no longer be afflicted
with T'Terat's Disease." He repeated the rest of what he had told
Kirk, then added, "Dr. McCoy suggested that you and the Captain might
wish to return to Vulcan--"
"Not until T'Syrith wakes up," T'Merit interrupted determinedly,
glancing then uncertainly at Kirk. "Do you intend to leave, Captain?"
Kirk shook his head. "It's my ship, remember? As long as you,
T'Syrith, Spock and Christine are all here, I see no reason why I
should go back down to Vulcan by myself."
T'Merit's expression suggested that she was pleased with the prospect.
So they waited a little longer. Spock remained, realizing he needed
to explain himself to Kirk, and drew his Captain aside. They walked
across the room to the other side of the currently empty (except for
the three of them) Lounge. "Well, what do you want?" Kirk demanded
sullenly, dropping unceremoniously into a chair at the end of a bench
seat comprised of several individual chairs.
Spock studied him uncertainly. "You are angry with me," he concluded,
after a moment.
Kirk looked up at him with the same hurt expression Spock had seen in
his eyes a few minutes ago. "No, but I'm *disappointed* that you
could think I would say or do anything to hurt T'Merit," he returned.
Spock turned away and went to sit at the other end of the bench seat.
"I do not believe you would--not deliberately," he admitted, in a
subdued voice, then looked around slowly at Kirk. "I meant no insult,
Jim. But you know your...history...with the opposite sex better than I
do. We will be gone in a matter of days, and T'Merit may never see
you again. If you *are* feeling certain emotions toward her, and if
she has given you any reason to suspect that those emotions might be
mutual, all I am asking is that you not lead her to believe...that
there might be something permanent between you if it is not possible.
And I ask your forgiveness for intruding into your personal life in
this manner." With that, Spock turned away again and bowed his head.
Filled with empathy, Kirk got up and went to sit beside the Vulcan.
"Spock, it's all right--I understand your concern," he began gently.
"The fact is, I'm well aware of my shortcomings in this area; I even
discussed them with T'Merit. Just please believe that I would never
hurt her in any way. You have my word on that."
Spock straightened a little in his chair, but still did not look up at
him. "If you have no objections, I would like to know what else you
talked about," he stated hesitantly.
"T'Syrith and you, mostly. I suppose I should let you know that I
somehow found myself telling her about your mind-meld with V'ger,"
Kirk revealed, watching him anxiously for a reaction. "She promised
not to tell anyone."
"She will keep her promise," Spock affirmed coolly.
"I suppose that makes it a little easier to live with, but *I* still
broke
*my* promise," Kirk noted regretfully.
Spock lifted his head finally, raising an eyebrow at Kirk again. "The
only promises I ever asked of you regarding my V'ger experience were
not to speak of it in front of the crew and not to mention it to my
father. You have kept those promises," he pointed out, puzzled.
"This was a promise I made to *myself* after I beamed down. You were
having trouble with your family over your Human half, and I knew
discussing that would only make it worse," Kirk explained. "I
wouldn't have told T'Merit if she hadn't seemed so genuinely concerned
about you that I was sure I could trust her. Do you know what she
said afterwards? She said that all that mattered to her was your well-
being, and that if blending the Vulcan and the Human within you the
way you've been trying to would help give you inner
peace, she supported it."
Spock did not appear surprised. "She always *tried* to understand me,
unlike most of my clan," he recalled.
"And just so you know, she did drop some hints that she might be
looking for a replacement for Syrit. I reminded her that she wouldn't
want a Human husband, and I told her I wouldn't make a good one,
anyway," Kirk added then.
Spock appeared encouraged by Kirk's response, but alarmed that T'Merit
would be dropping such "hints". "I have no doubt that she has found
it difficult to raise T'Syrith alone, and I suppose she would find a
pleasant alternative in a husband who could not die in pon farr if she
was...ineffective."
"She mentioned that."
Spock cocked an eyebrow at him, yet again.
"Spock, don't worry. She'll forget all about me after I'm gone."
"You cannot assume that, Jim--not with a Vulcan," Spock admonished
him, still clearly concerned.
"I don't plan to," Kirk assured him, in the same gentle tone as
before. "I'll talk to her before we leave and make sure she knows how
it has to be."
Spock studied him searchingly. "Jim, *do* you feel love for her after
such a short time?" he asked.
Kirk's eyes gave him his answer. The last time Spock had seen such an
expression in them was during the time he had known Edith Keeler--the
same strange blend of affection, respect and awe that had been there
when he looked at her was back again. "I think she's very special,"
Kirk admitted finally. "Am I in love with her? I don't know. I
think I *could* be, given time."
Spock was well aware that Kirk's relationships with women almost
always began with an immediate infatuation which he admitted readily
and burned themselves out by the time he and the woman in question
were forced to part--and Spock had observed also that such
relationships tended to be fairly superficial; the very fact that he
seemed to be more cautious in his emotions toward T'Merit supported
his earlier promise to Spock not to hurt her and did suggest that this
relationship might be different. "How much time would you need?" the
Vulcan asked, at length.
"How long did you say McCoy wanted T'Syrith to stay in Sickbay?" Kirk
questioned thoughtfully.
Spock's eyebrow rose higher. "He was not specific, but a period of
some days, I gathered."
Kirk looked across the room at T'Merit, then returned his eyes to
Spock. "Have I convinced you that I can be trusted with your cousin?"
There was no accusation or condemnation in Kirk's voice, but Spock
felt ashamed, nonetheless. "You gave me your word, and you have
always kept your word to me," he admitted faintly. "But I regret
making you feel *required* to give it."
Kirk stood up, stretched, and reached down to lay a hand softly on
Spock's shoulder. "I told you, Spock, it's all right," he reiterated
soothingly. "You're trying to protect her--that's natural and
normal. I *want* you to be comfortable with this before it goes any
further."
Spock looked up at him with appreciation in his eyes, marveling that
Kirk could consider his emotions so important after he had committed
such a violation of his Captain's privacy--and abruptly, Spock
realized that T'Merit was not the only source of his concern. He still
remembered the agony and despair he had done his best to see his
friend through after Edith Keeler had died, and how those emotions had
returned after Kirk's Indian wife had died carrying his unborn child.
They were the only women Spock had been certain that Kirk actually
loved...and it did not help that Spock himself bore some
responsibility for both losses. (In addition to having to force Kirk
to see that Edith had to die in order to preserve history, if he had
arrived a few minutes earlier, the stoning that had cost Miramanee's
life could have easily been prevented.) He certainly did not want
that to happen again, and he was convinced Kirk would never forgive
him if it did. "My only...discomfort...is in uncertainty as to where
'this' may be going," he admitted softly, fighting to keep his voice
as controlled as possible. "I do not wish either of you to be hurt."
Kirk smiled reassuringly at him as he, too, realized that Spock was as
worried about him as about T'Merit. "Don't worry, we'll be careful,"
he promised again.
Spock watched silently as his friend went back across the room to
T'Merit's side, continuing to watch Kirk as he and T'Merit resumed
talking.
"What are you thinking about?" Kirk inquired, as he reached her side.
"I was just wondering what you and Spock were talking about for so
long," T'Merit replied cautiously. "Is it permitted for me to know?"
"I don't see why not. He's worried about us--both of us--starting
something we can't finish and getting hurt," Kirk revealed.
T'Merit lowered her eyes and sat down in the padded seat before her.
"If anyone fails to 'finish' anything, it will probably be you," she
pointed out neutrally. "Besides--I was not aware there was anything
between us *to* finish."
Kirk turned away from the viewport to face her. "Do you *want* there
to be something between us?" he asked earnestly.
T'Merit stared up at him as he sat down beside her again, outwardly
controlled, but inwardly--for the moment--paralyzed by her own fears
and confusing emotions. "I am not certain. What I know of you so far
tells me that you would make an excellent bond-mate, if we were both
agreeable, yet I would not wish for either of us to go through what
Spock has been through with my clan," she admitted carefully.
"We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it," Kirk decided.
"What does that mean?" T'Merit asked, raising a puzzled eyebrow at
him.
"It means we'll worry about that when it comes up," Kirk translated.
"In the mean time, we can go as slow as you want. Or...not at all. You
tell me--I won't rush you."
T'Merit looked at him with a sudden expression of surprise, relief and
pleasure. "I...do need time, Captain. It has been six years since I
had a bond-mate, and...when Syrit died, I decided it might be best for
me not to agree to another bonding and risk the same thing happening
again. I need time to convince myself that it would be...
safe...for me to do so."
"Fair enough," Kirk agreed kindly. "I think the first step is for you
to
quit calling me 'Captain'."
"You wish me to call you.'Jim'?" T'Merit questioned incredulously. She
had always regarded that as a singular honor, reserved only for close
friends such as Spock and McCoy.
"Well, it *is* my name," Kirk pointed out.
While they continued to talk, Spock decided someone should let his
parents know how T'Syrith was doing so they could pass it on to the
rest of her family and took it upon himself to contact them. The rest
of the time he spent meditating or quietly watching Kirk and T'Merit
from the other side of the Officers' Lounge. Finally, McCoy contacted
them to let them know that T'Syrith was awake, and the three of them
immediately left the Lounge, hurrying back down to Sickbay.
******
They found T'Syrith in the recovery room, lying in bed with the entire
top half of her head wrapped in a white cloth bandage, talking to
Christine, who was sitting beside her on her bed and holding her
hand. T'Merit went quickly to her side. "T'Syrith...you are able to
talk!" she observed, in obvious surprise and happiness.
"Yes, Mother," T'Syrith replied softly. "Christine says I will not
die now, and I do not have the disease any more."
T'Merit looked over at McCoy, who was standing on the other side of
T'Syrith's bed. "Is it true, Doctor? Is she out of danger?" she asked
uncertainly, afraid to believe it.
McCoy nodded. "I'd like to keep her here under observation for about a
week--by then, the artificial skin will be healed, and we should be
able to tell if my reconstruction of her optic nerve will be good
enough to restore her eyesight," he told her.
"Very well--whatever is required," T'Merit agreed readily. "As for
me, I must return to Sarek and Amanda's home, discuss the situation
with my family and try to arrange to stay for another week."
"I'll go with you and beam you down," Kirk offered.
T'Merit nodded gratefully in acknowledgement, then looked down at
T'Syrith and Christine. "Will you stay with her, Christine?" she
requested.
Christine smiled up at her reassuringly. "Of course, T'Merit. You go
on and don't worry about her, now."
Satik approached from a few feet away, focusing his attention on
McCoy. "I, too, must leave, Doctor. I congratulate you; because of
your willingness to allow me to observe this procedure, I can take it
back to Vulcan with me," he declared coolly, regarding McCoy with an
expression that was a strange mixture of gratitude, incredulity and
resentment. "Now we can halt T'Terat's Disease as soon as it is
diagnosed, and no more of our children need die before they are able
to receive treatment. You have the unique honor of having taught
medical science to a Vulcan, though I doubt you grasp the full
significance of something few Humans have ever accomplished."
McCoy barely kept himself from responding as he would dearly have
loved to as Satik turned abruptly and headed for the door.
"By the way, Doctor, I hope you will keep Sarek apprised of T'Syrith's
condition--and pass on any background material you may have on the
surgery, so that I may give proper credit to its originator," Satik
added, as he moved away.
"Oh, absolutely," McCoy assured him sarcastically. //He's probably
hoping I won't, so he can say it was originated by a Vulcan, and none
of his patients will know any better,// he told himself indignantly.
"Pay no attention to him," T'Merit urged sincerely, when Satik was out
of earshot. "*I* appreciate your efforts, and I will never forget
what you have done for my daughter--even if she never sees again."
McCoy smiled in acknowledgement. "I'm glad I was able to help her."
"Come on, T'Merit--your family's waiting," Kirk reminded her. She
turned finally and followed him back toward the door, where they were
joined by Satik as they stepped through it.
"My head hurts," T'Syrith announced, to no one in particular.
"That's normal," McCoy told her kindly. "If it gets too bad, you just
let Christine know, and she'll give you something for it."
"Yes, Doctor," T'Syrith replied faintly.
McCoy turned then to Christine. "If you're going to be here for a
while, I'm going to go get some sleep," he informed her.
"Go ahead. I have a promise to keep."
As McCoy left, Spock came to join Christine, sitting quietly behind
her on the bed. She felt him draw up against her, resting his head on
her shoulder, and reached up to touch his cheek; Spock responded by
cautiously slipping an arm around her waist. "Are you not tired,
Christine?" he asked, puzzled that she was still awake.
"I guess I should be, but I'm not," Christine realized, rather
startled
herself as she began to add up the hours she had spent in her vigil
over T'Syrith.
"If you do need to sleep, let me know, and I will take you back to our
cabin, then come back and stay with T'Syrith," Spock instructed her,
gently but firmly.
"If necessary," Christine acceded, with noticeable reluctance.
Spock drew closer against her, and together they continued to watch
over T'Syrith, Christine still holding the child's hand when she went
back to sleep a few minutes later.
END PART 20B
My ST:TOS Fan-Fiction can be found here:
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http://spocktreks.bravehost.com
(Kirk & Spock Friendship, Spock/Christine
and pre-TOS Spock fan-fic,plus Art, Poetry,
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