#asharpintake8

Spock sat opposite Kirk, beside McCoy, joined by Scotty. Kirk was eating a sandwich, the contents of which are irrelevant, and close to what the food pretended to resemble, that but the slight aftertaste of cardboard, which for anyone not working on a starship, would be immediately recognisable. Spock ate a small bowl of twisted pasta covered in a green pesto sauce, this too was irrelevant.

The eating was silent. There were questions wanting to be asked. Like an apple tree with fruit, ready for picking, if you could collect a ladder high enough, the tree might think that the pickers were giving them attention, crawling over their branches for apples. But in the end all the pickers want of an apple tree is the fruit, without it, they will leave, and the tree will enter winter and the leaves from branches will fall, and the tree will hope, she survives this winter alone. McCoy was not a fruit picker. McCoy was a doctor.

“What do you dream of?” McCoy asked.

“If I do not mediate for long enough I dream of dragons.”

“Are they good dragons, or bad dragons?” Kirk asked.

“A dragon has no knowledge of good or bad. A dragon is only hungry, and the only food I carry in my dreams are upon my bones.”

“Well. I can see why vulcans don’t dream now.” McCoy said “I’m going to be honest with you Spock, that wasn’t such a secret to me, I’ve seen the odd rare mumble your give in your sleep.”

“I still dream as an adult?”

“At the very least a little” McCoy said “only when you’re injured though, and not had time to mediate.”

* * *

The screaming began four thirty in the morning. It started with a sniffle, the tiniest of whimpers. You know that noise those sad dogs make? How it almost sounds like a mechanical ding, and you’d near enough throw yourself from the closest cliff if it would mean that puppy would never make another cry like that again? That was the whimper.

Around Spock’s eyes was dark green skin, and small cuts battered his arms and face. He was breathing fast his hands around his knees.

“Spock, Spock” McCoy said rushing to him and pulling him into a hug “it’s me. It’s Doctor McCoy. You’re okay now.”

McCoy held him close his face pressed into his jumper as the small figure shook from fear. McCoy could use all the knowledge he had on children having nightmares, but he knew it wouldn’t work for this. McCoy tried several times to prise Spock’s arms away, only so he could treat Spock’s wounds but his grip was just too strong. In the end it was the nurses who healed his cuts. By the time the cuts where healed the bruises had healed themselves leaving only the scars across his body, and shivering form.

“What are we going to do?” Nurse Chapel asked “maybe we should just put him to sleep.” 

“Put him to sleep?” McCoy began defensively.

“Unconscious until he’s older.” McCoy’s hand stroked Spock’s black hair.

“No.” McCoy said sitting on the med bay “he’ll just have nightmares.”

“I didn't think vulcans dreamt.” Nurse Chapel said.

“He’s five and half human. I’ll just wait with him. Nurse you may go back to bed if you wish.”

Nurse Chapel petted the top of Spock’s flinching head “sorry. Okay. Don’t you forget to get some rest too.”

“It’s the only thing I will be doing.”

* * *

“Morning sleepy Bones.” Kirk whispered, sitting on the chair by the edge of the bed. One of McCoy’s eyes opened alarmed as he saw him.

“Jim.” McCoy greeted.

“You know I just thought you should know” Kirk said pointing from him to the sleeping boy “you look adorable.”

“It’s not funny. Look at this” McCoy said gently moving his sleeping head so he could see the scars, but there was nothing there anymore. Every small cut, every tiny bruise, gone.

“Was it bad?” Kirk asked.

“I mean, considering it could have been worse, I suppose not. But he’s a baby, it’s just sad to see him so distressed. I was not prepared for this at all. I could strangle whoever did this to him.” Kirk was silent for a while as he chewed the inside of his cheek.

“He should be fine by now right?”

“Fine? I mean he’s fine when he’s older, sure, but for him, in his time line, this only happened a few weeks ago, Or months. Maybe a year fuck it, if I know.”

“Vulcans recover quickly though, right?”

“I’m not waking him up.” McCoy said, and he didn’t. When the time came, that he needed to use the toilet, and he needed to move and walk, he did so leaving Spock quietly sleeping on the bed.

After he woke, from another nap wiping he saw Spock sitting on the edge of the bed. McCoy’s blue jumper was wrinkled with salt and snot which he pulled off throwing on to the floor, leaving only his black one on.

“Spock? You okay kiddo?”

“I am adequate. Thank you Doctor McCoy. I apologise for disturbing your plans.”

“Oh, thats fine Spock. You’re my patient. I would do anything for you.” McCoy yawned, swinging his legs down from on top the bed so he sat like Spock.

“I take it you finally saw a healer? I mean, in your other timeline.” McCoy asked.

“My brother Sybok helped me.” Spock said.

“Oh.” McCoy said curiously “how was that? Did he perform some sort of meld and fix your cuts?”

“No, he just talked.” Spock said slowly swinging his legs back and forth.

“Is your brother human?” McCoy asked.

“No?” Spock said confused.

“It’s just I didn’t know you had one, so he’s a full vulcan?” 

“I am the only half vulcan. I have.. also only just discovered I have a older brother. He came out of the mountains.”

“He came out of the mountains?” 

Spock slowly nodded his head “he was raised by them. He told me I shouldn’t let fear control me. Fear’s got other stuff to do.”

“I will have to ask an older you about this” McCoy sighed a whisper “raised by the mountains sure?”

“He was raised by mountains!”

“Okay, okay” McCoy said putting up his hands in defeat.

“Do you want me to stay, its fine-”

“You may leave Doctor” Spock said.

“Okay. Okay.” McCoy said standing he rested a hand on Spock’s shoulder before embracing him. Spock froze up like a stiff cardboard block.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m giving you a hug.”

“I don’t want a hug”

“I know kid. I know.” McCoy said and patted his head “if you need me at all, at anytime, I don’t care if it’s in an hour, if your ten or forty eight. Just call me.”

“I don’t need you.” Spock said firmly as though he was trying to stop a dog following him.

“I’ll go. I’ll go” McCoy said and left, without defeat.

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2]        [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4]        [Chapter 5]

[Chapter 6]     [Chapter 7]       [Chapter 8]   [chapter 9]   [Chapter 10]

[Chapter 12]

Tumblr’s trying to add a word limit >:(

“I try to read.” Spock said standing beside the Captains chair. Not like when he was an adult, because he wasn’t, he stood closer, his eyes more trained on the stars and the private going ons of people.

“What do you read, math?” Uhura asked.

“Lord of the rings, Harry Potter, Alice in wonderland. Terran classics.” Spock listed.

“Oh” Kirk said leaning forward on his chair “just the classics?”

“I try, but when I begin reading them I remember I’ve already read them.” Spock said.

“So what are you going to do for the next few weeks if readings not working?” Kirk asked.

“Unknown.”

“I could give you some books to read” Uhura said “they wouldn’t be classics, but they would be written in this decade.”

“I need a purpose to read them.”

“What purpose did you have to read lord of the rings?” Kirk asked.

“History.” Spock said. Sulu glanced back to Spock and then to Chekov.

“That was my favourite time in history” Sulu said.

“Yes I was fond of the orcs” Chekov said.

“I feel like a hobbit myself.” Sulu said.

“It is a shame that they went extinct.” Chekov said and Sulu giggled.

“Mr Spock, perhaps you are related to Legolass.” Chekov suggested.

“Captain, how are you allowing idiots to fly this ship? This is a new level of illogic I have not seen before, and I find myself unsure whether this ship will survive for twenty eight days in space.”

“Spock, don’t be mean, not everyone knows their books as well as me, or you apparently, nerd.” Kirk said light heartedly.

“What?” Spock asked sharply.

“Would you like to educate Sulu and Checkov on why Lord Of The Rings is historic?” Kirk suggested.

“Lord Of The Rings is symbolism for the second world war.” Spock said.

“Oh” Sulu rolled his eyes “good guys vs bad guys, I guess I should have seen that coming.”

“I love reading for symbolism.” Chekov joked.

“I do read symbolism in books” Kirk said offended “thats enough talking I’m sure you should be paying more attention to the ship.”

Chekov gave a hearty chuckle “of course Sir.”

Kirk spoke to Spock quietly after that. They were quiet whispers about Lord Of The Rings, of favourite characters. 

“Captain” Officer Finnegan said approaching him from the lift with a paid “is it wise to have Commander Spock here given that he’s a child.”

“He’s not working as the Commander right now” Kirk said with a smile.

“Nevertheless I don’t think the bridge is the safest place for a vulcan.” Finnegan said his eyes glancing over the tiny vulcan.

“Finnegan” Kirk said sitting up “it’s a quiet day, it is perfectly safe for him to be here.”

“I don’t think it is-”

“I will leave then.” Spock said taking a step back from the captain.

“Spock you don’t need to do that.” Kirk said “Finnegan who the fuck even are you? God this writers so lazy summoning up villains just to move the plot on, and make you say oof.”

“It’s fine. I’m well adapted to telling when I’m not wanted, I’m sure I can find something else to do.” Spock said and turned on his foot, walking past Finnegan with a breeze that even with his small height seemed intimidating.

“Spock come back. Come on” Kirk called.

“No” Spock said almost huffed as he entered the lift.

Spock was an adventurer. In the days before he’d go to the mountains, to walk deep into the desert finding what he could to survive with I-Chaya in tow. Today he wandered the halls of a starship. He started where he would always begin, at the bottom of the mountain. So the lift took him to the bottom of the ship.

He snuck out the lift into a hallway of pipes, where his ears stung from loud shouting humans. No one noticed him as he stayed close the side of the walls. The crew in engineering was different from anywhere else on the ship. Hands on and intelligent thinkers, tinkers and inventors, it was officially professional work, but the lack of professionalism they had would not be seen nor put up with else where on the ship.

Knowing that if he were spotted he would be made to leave, Spock ran and crouched, hiding behind pipes and boxes. Some meters from him Spock spotted a group of humans leaning over an upside down box that they were using like a table. They were smoking, and fans drifted the fumes away from themselves. A red shirt leant with cigarette in hand as he looked bright eyed at the other four around him.

“So I said to him, maybe if you had the surgery on your eyes and not you dick, we wouldn’t even be having this problem.”

His sentence ended with hearty laughter from the others, the sense of the joke, the story, a glimpse of documentation escaping the sense of Spock. 

There were boxes piled high in the corner of the room. There were boxes piled high in most places, but the pile in the corner caught Spock’s eyes. The boxes left little more than a meter between themselves and the roof, but on the roof, was a vent. Perfect to climb into. Dangerous to climb into. The perfect challenge. So Spock ducked and rolled to the boxes, and began his climb. He did it slowly and he did it carefully but that wasn’t the hard part. Spock laid flat on the top of the boxes, he had perfect sight over the people. Groups and couples that walked, carrying tools and scanners, tapping at pipes and - Spock squinted. One man was placing duct tape around a leaking water pipe. Spock sighed shaking his head. He should probably mention how bad that is - when he’s older. That can’t be proper procedure. When he was certain no one was looking Spock began to undo the screw’s from the vent by twisting them with his hand. When all the screws were undone and he carefully and quietly pulled down the vent grid and put it on top of the boxes. He climbed into the vent.

No matter how quietly Spock tried to crawl he was sure he was making a racket. He was sure every time he moved his arm forwards the metal clinked and banged. He was sure a knee forwards sent a shuddering though the whole of the ship. After spending ten minutes slowly climbing forwards Spock rolled on to his back and rubbed at his head. He was sure when he came out where ever that be, there would be a group of people waiting to question him. To ask him what exactly he thought he was doing. Why he had opened the vent. What the purpose of doing so was. This was why Spock had stopped. What was his explanation? He had not words he could say to those people. To the Captain, to McCoy. After a while, Spock rolled back around and made his way forth deciding to keep a vow of silence when they found him, because they would. He was certain.

The vent ended at a grid looking in to a dark room. It wasn’t fully dark, there were large windows that looked out in to space, and space lit his way. It took a while for Spock to realise why he couldn’t see anything in the room. There was nothing in the room. Spock slipped his fingers through the holes of the vent to unscrew it. But his fingers, from this side, weren’t long enough. He was stuck. He took a deep breath, and carefully turned himself around. Laying on his back with his feet facing the vent he gave it a few solid kicks. At the fifth kick the vent flew off the wall. Spock escaped. Walking over to the vent Spock picked it up. The screws were still firmly attached to the vent as was a small portion of the wall around the screws. Sighing Spock stood on the middle of the vent attempting to straighten out the mess he had made. The vent actually straightened enough to be passable so he carefully balanced it back on the wall. He took a few steps back examining the vent carefully. No one should notice unless they got close.

The room he had discovered was dark, and empty. It was some sort of unused, perhaps even forgotten observation deck. Could things be forgotten on a spaceship? The door showed the most sign of life, and that door had spider cobwebs across it. How? They must have sneaked on by sitting on someones shoulder. There was also a bench against it and some other planks of wood. The entire place was empty. There were other vents but they didn’t really take Spock’s attention. Spock walked up to window and sat staring cross legged out across the stars. He wasn’t sure what he would be doing for the next few days, but at least he had found this. He laid down on his side, one elbow beneath his head. It wasn’t quiet, wherever he was, he was too close to the engine room still. But it wasn’t a horrible racket he could hear, it was just a gentle purr.

Spock woke some time later, and he turned over on his other side as he watched the door shake. A crowbar shot through the centre of the door. Spock sat crossed legged silently watching the feat as fingers slipped between the door pulling it opened. There stood the Captain, McCoy, Finnegan and Uhura.

“Spock!” McCoy was the first to push himself through he door “what are you doing here?”

He ran forth, making Spock flinch slightly as he ran a scanner over Spock. Spock looked carefully at McCoy wondering if he should keep his vow of silence as the Captain rushed over.

“Is he okay?” Kirk asked crouching.

“According to this he is perfectly fine.” McCoy said standing up.

“Spock, what are you doing here?” Uhura asked concernedly.

“I didn’t even know this room existed. On my ship as well.” Kirk said looking around the room.

“Was it because of Finnegan?” Uhura whispered.

“Yeah Spock” Finnegan said in a carefree attitude “I’m sorry if like I upset.”

“I’m vulcan. You did not upset me.” Spock said standing up, as he decided he didn’t like the attention he was getting. He literally hadn’t spared a second thought to Finnegan.

“Wait, Spock where do you think you’re going?” Uhura asked “you can’t just go off by yourself.”

“Spock, I thought you had gone back to McCoy, do you realise what the ships been like since we discovered you missing? This past hour has been chaos looking for you.” Kirk said. Spock looked at the people surrounding him. His way was thoroughly blocked. The vent Spock had propped up fell on to the floor with a bang, cascading dust surrounded it as the humans jumped to look at it. They turned back to Spock, looking for an explanation as he finished a yawn.

“Oops?”

[Chapter 1]    [Chapter 2]        [Chapter 3]     [Chapter 4]        [Chapter 5]