Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Star Trek franchise, nor am I making any profits from the writing below. Star Trek is owned by Gene Roddenberry, Paramount, and J.J. Abrams and whoever else officially has the rights to Star trek . I am none of these people, so please don't sue me.

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Chapter 15: You Broke It, You Fix It

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The science lab was quiet in the early morning hours on board the Enterprise. The day was just getting started, the personnel who had been there through out the previous night switching out with the Alpha shift crew. But while this switch was happening, no one noticed the Corvinian sphere were it had been left underneath a scanning device. The contents within the sphere swirled round and round like it normally did, but if one were to look closely, they would see that amidst the slivery blue swirls was a single line of energy that moved in a completely horizontal direction, but with a small peak up and down every few seconds.

This particular line of silvery blue energy resembled what appeared to be an EKG reading, much like the one from the machine used in sickbay to monitor a heartbeat. But since the sphere was under a scanner, and the crew was going through a shift change, no body noticed this phenomena, so no one could look into it, and maybe ask that if what the sphere was doing was indeed monitoring someone's heartbeat, just who's heartbeat was it?

While the personnel in the lab went about starting their duties, the Corvinian Sphere stayed where it was, swirling away, with a single silvery blue line jumping up and down in time with an unseen pulse.

Meanwhile, in the ICU of Sickbay...

Bones steeled himself as he walked into the ICU carrying a tray that held a bowl of Plomeek soup, a plate laden with a various assortment of sliced fruit, and a cup of tea. The ICU was dark save for the lights that were situated above the only biobed that was occupied by a patient. Bones walked across the darkened ICU till he reached this one bed, and came to stand a few feet from the lone figure who sat beside it.

" Spock?" Bones called softly.

From where he sat, Spock did not turn around to acknowledge the doctor, instead he continued to stare at the pale and lax features of his bondmate.

" Yes Doctor?" Spock replied monotonously.

" I brought you breakfast" Bones answered as he took a step forward.

" I am not in need of repast Doctor, thank you." Came the flat response.

" Don't give me that man, you haven't eaten anything since yesterday. You need to eat Spock." Bones said as he closed the distance between himself and the Vulcan.

" You need to get some food into you before you keel over." Bones further warned sternly.

" I again reiterate doctor, I do not want anything." Spock said slowly.

Bones was silent for a moment before he shook his head. Damn Hobgoblin with a death wish.

" If not for yourself, then for Jim's sake, eat some breakfast to keep yourself going Spock." Bones said quietly.

That finally got a reaction out of Spock as the Vulcan turned and looked up at Bones with dark, unreadable eyes. Then with complete silence, Spock reached out and took the offered tray out of McCoy's hands and set it down on the stand next to Jim's bed before he picked up the bowl of soup and the spoon. Bones turned and stepped away to allow Spock to eat without an audience. The doctor leaned back against the foot of a nearby biobed and waited. In the eerie stillness of the ICU, Bones could hear the low hum of the ship, the distant sounds of his staff moving about and talking out in the main Sickbay area, and the faint sound of the spoon against the bowl as Spock consumed his Plomeek soup.

Bones stayed where he was for a good long while before he slowly walked back over to Spock. To his satisfaction, the tray that Bones had given Spock was now laden with empty dishes.

" Has he been able to move his left arm at all?" Bones asked quietly, knowing that Spock had been up all night in silent vigil over his mate.

" No." Was Spock's singular, monotonous reply as he continued to gaze at his sleeping mate.

" Damn it." Bones whispered softly as he felt a tell-tale prickling sensation behind his eyes.

" Why the Hell is this happening?" Bones said to himself as he crossing his arms across his chest and shook his head.

There was a long beat of silence before Spock's flat and devoid voice sounded through the relative silence of the ICU.

" Jim is in this state because I drove him to it."

Bones jerked in surprise and whipped his head to the side to gaze at the Vulcan.

" What the Hell do you mean to drove Jim to this state? You brought him back to consciousness." Bones said.

" No Doctor, I did nothing to help my mate, I have only made things worse." Spock replied as he slowly turned to meet Bones' alarmed gaze before he continued.

" It is my neglect that is the cause of all of this."

" What do you mean by that Spock?" Bones asked immediately.

" I was so occupied in my research and study of the Corvinian Sphere, I did not give Jim and his half of the bond the love and attention they both needed." Spock explained, while internally feeling like his very Katra was rending itself in half in remorse for what he had done, or in this case, not done.

" I shirked my duties as Jim's bondmate to spend nearly every waking moment I had off-duty obsessing over an inanimate object that is nothing more than a ball of blue energy." Spock finished softly.

" You honestly expect me to believe that Jim's in this state because of emotional neglect?" Bones asked skeptically.

" Yes Doctor, I believe that is the case. You must understand Doctor, the bond that connects me to Jim is more than just a mental connection. It is... It is an almost sentient being within itself with its own needs. The mental stability of the individual who the bond resides in depends on how well the bond is maintained through emotions and attention. Where Jim had never once faltered in making certain that my half of the bond is always nurtured and tended to by always remaining unshielded and letting me know his feelings, I did not serve Jim with as much faithfulness. Because of my foolish obsession with the Corvinian sphere, I basically closed myself off to Jim and hurt him. You saw this for yourself and chastised me accordingly the day that Jim stole the sphere from the Science lab. And then when I attempted to rectify the situation, Jim was too angry with me to be receptive, thereby closing himself off further, causing further destabilization." Spock explained.

" Jesus H. Christ himself." Bones swore as he carded an agitated hand through his hair.

" In-Indeed." Spock said softly.

After a long beat, Bones spoke.

" That explains a few things, but Spock, why did Jim collapse like he did? Why did he suffered this...this Phantom Stroke?" Bones asked desperately as he turned to the Vulcan.

Spock bowed his head even lower and remained silent for a long moment before he forced himself to meet Bones' imploring gaze and spoke.

" Doctor, it was because of me that Jim suffered the 'Phantom Stroke' as you have named it." He said lowly.

" Explain." Bones ordered sternly.

" The day that Jim suffered the stroke, prior to it I attempted to reach out to Jim through the bond while we were on duty in the Main Bridge. Jim was not receptive at all to my advances, but I continued my attempt regardless. When I professed my love and my remorse, I believe that the pain that this confession caused Jim was what finally pushed Jim past the breaking point." Spock trailed off for a moment before he gestured to his husband's pale and sleeping form before him.

" This is the result of my neglect and foolish attempt to earn my T'hy'la's forgiveness."

Bones stood beside Spock, stunned into speechlessness. Then with speed that rivaled that of a Vulcan, Bones lashed out and grabbed Spock by his upper arms in a vice-like grip, pulling the stunned Vulcan to his feet. Breathing hard and with his eyes blazing, Bones spoke.

" Are you telling me that that thing that you and Jim have in your heads has basically gone into self-destruct mode on Jim's side?" The doctor gritted out slowly.

Spock seemed to almost hang limp in McCoy's tight grip, as though the doctor ws the one thing keeping him from collapsing to the ICU floor in an undignified heap.

" Please answer me Spock." Bones beseeched as he gave Spock a firm shake to snap him out of it.

Spock was dead silent for what seemed an eternity, his eyes averted to the floor while the color had drained completely out of the Vulcan's face. Then Spock took in a deep, steadying breath and finally parted his lips.

" I believe that... your words are an accurate description of the situation." Spock said slowly as he finally looked up and Bones with his usually bright eyes dead, and dulled.

Bones could only gawk at the Vulcan he was all but holding upright.

While things had basically descended into fresh, but relatively contained Hell by some shattering revelations down in the Intensive Care Unit of the ship's Sickbay, throughout the rest of the Enterprise, things were running within normal parameters, but there was none of the brightness and lively energy in the personnel who were maintaining these parameters. Instead of liveliness, everyone from Keenser down in engineering, Lt. Sam " Cupcake" Giotto in Ship's security, all the way up to the main bridge crew with Scotty placed in temporary command were quiet and subdued.

From where he sat in the Captain's chair on the main bridge, Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery Scott let his eyes subtly take in everyone who was on the bridge.

From where they sat a few feet in front of him, both manning the ship's helm controls, Sulu and Chekov, each with their fingers rapidly frying across the consoles in front of them, did so in silence where normally there would have been a quiet banter. Both of them had matching expressions of barely veiled melancholy on their faces, Chekov a little more so. The spark was just gone.

Scotty barely managed to keep himself from sighing at the sight. The Chief Engineer then glanced over his right shoulder to where Lt. Uhura was manning the ship's communication station. Though all he could see was her profile, Scotty felt his heart seize for a moment when he saw the drawn quality that had taken up residence over the stunning woman's face. Scotty could also see the shadows of tiredness and sadness etched deep into Uhura's eyes. He could tell that while Uhura had valiantly maintained her composure and professionalism while on duty, when she was off duty and in the privacy of her quarters, or anywhere other than the main bridge, the woman was a wreck.

He knew this because he was the same, and had it on good authority that every other officer on board was also in their own version of the same state.

Scotty managed to stop himself from glancing at the noticeable empty Science officer's station, knowing that if he were to do so, he would probably emotionally compromise himself. And even now, as he sat in the Captain's chair, Scotty just felt horrible, almost like his skin was crawling because he knew how wrong everything was. Where he was sitting was never supposed to be his place, he was the Chief Engineer after all, and the circumstances surrounding just why he found himself in his current position were enough to make anyone feel this kind of wrong regardless.

But as he sat there, Scotty suddenly contemplated what a certain blond haired and blue-eyed individual would say to him if he were to witness the Bridge looking so Goddamned morose. Scotty instantly sat up straighter in his seat and determination quickly filled him. He was not going to let melancholy over-rule him or anyone else, they were still Starfleet officers after all, and besides that... The true Captain of this vessel would not want them to ever be so morally down-trodden.

" Mr. Sulu, how long b'fore we make it to the Melox syst'm?" He asked firmly.

Sulu was startled by the sudden question directed at him, but he quickly recovered and answered his commanding officer.

" ETA thirty-five minutes, warp factor four." He answered while Chekov nodded wordlessly.

" How 'bout we bump thins up to warp factor five an' cut off some o' those minutes?" Scotty said with a smile.

Sulu, Chekov, Uhura, and every other crew member instantly caught on to what Scotty was trying to do. He was trying to brighten the mood.

" Aye sir, warp factor five." Sulu nodded with a wan half-smile.

" Aye sir." Chekov chimed before the two helmsman went about bringing the ship to warp five.

While Chekov and Sulu got to work, Scotty turned to the rest of the personnel on the main bridge and spoke loudly.

" Alrigh' people, let's get to it. No more mopin' about, we all go' jobs tha' need doin'. Besides, the Captain sure would no' want anyone bein' so down on any given day, neither will I allow it eith'r." Scotty said with his thick accent.

To his quite delight, Scotty caught sight of several crew members barely containing their smiles, even Uhura. Smiling in triumph, Scotty sat back in his seat and watched as the personnel around him began going about their duties with a renewed energy.

" Mission accomplished." Scotty thought as he sat and watched the stars pass by at a faster pace on the main view screen as the ship seamlessly passed from warp factor four to warp factor five.

But all too soon the smile was evaporating from Scotty's features as he mind undoubtedly went to the true commander of this vessel, who was currently in dire straits, fighting for his very life down in Sickbay.

Back in the ICU of the aforementioned Sickbay Jim Kirk still lay in his hospital bed out cold and totally unaware of the highly charged confrontation going on between his husband and his best friend who were standing not a few feet from his bio-bed.

" Damn it man, fix this, fix it right the Hell now!" Bones hissed, still gripping Spock by his upper arms and giving the Vulcan an hefty shake with each urgent word that came out of his mouth.

Spock for his part was pale as a sheet and silent as a grave as his body limply moved with each shake from Dr. McCoy. Then it was like Bones' words reached deep inside Spock and flipped a switch. Abruptly the Vulcan was suddenly coming back to life almost and easily shaking off the human hands that were holding his as he stood to full height.

Spock said not a word, only pinned McCoy with an intense look that told the CMO to back the Hell off.

" Rest assured Doctor, fixing this is what I intend to do." Spock said slowly, meaning every word.

Bones opened his mouth to maybe yell at Spock to get to fixing things when a low moan filled the air and had Spock and Bones both turning to eye the source of the sound.

On the only occupied bio-bed in the ICU, Jim Kirk's pale brow was knotted in a frown while his body was tensed up with the unexpected but none the less imminent return to consciousness.

Striking blue eyes fluttered open as Jim let out a low groan of confusion and dull pain. The disorientation of coming back to consciousness was like a thick wool blanket around the young man. Jim blinked owlishly as two slightly blurred figures came into his line of sight.

" Jim, can you hear me?" Bones asked, immediately going into doctor-mode.

" B'ns?" Came Jim's slightly garbled response, his mouth not quite opening the right way, looking lopsided on one side.

" T'hy'la?" Spock said softly as he reached out and gently took one of Jim's hands in his own and squeezed it firmly.

"S-Sp'ck?"

Jim turned his still slightly unfocused gaze to the bleary form of his bondmate and did his utmost best to squeeze Spock's hand back in response.

While Spock was glued to his bondmate's side, Bones stepped away momentarily to get some much needed medical equipment from a nearby table. When he returned to his best friend's bedside, Bones had a tricorder in hand and used it accordingly to scan Jim's bodily status. The results, though not too great, were still welcome from what Jim's vitals had been before.

When he caught Spock's silently expectant gaze, Bones immediately began to explain.

" Jim's vitals are stable right now thank God, but they haven't improved none like I had hoped that they would."

Spock nodded curtly before he spoke.

" The fact that Jim is stable and conscious is ample improvement enough at this stage."

" I'd have to agree with you there Pointy Ears."

Then Bones turned to leave.

" I'm gonna go get some hyposprays, I'll be right back."

With that, Bones hurried off to get the aforementioned hyposprays, leaving Jim and Spock to each other. Spock stood over his bondmate, silent and scarcely believing that there were now a pair of open blue eyes were staring back up at him. In that moment in mattered not at all that one eye was drooping to the point where it was halfway shut, or that the normally tan face they were a part of was still pallid in hue. Jim, his Jim was awake after days of being in a comatose state. With understandable hesitance, Spock finally forced himself to move. He tentatively raised his hand and began to reach out toward Jim.

Jim's eyes caught the movement of Spock's hand, and a small, lopsided smile spread across Jim's slightly drooping face as he slowly raised his right hand with some difficulty to meet his bond mate's hand. Jim and Spock's fingertips touched in the Vulcan kiss, and it sent a warm thrill between the pair.

Jim let out a small sigh while his eyes fluttered at the small but poignant contact.

" Sp'ck, y' k-kay?" Jim gritted out through with a good amount of difficultly as he gazed imploringly up at Spock.

Spock was silent for a beat, stunned that Jim would ask him of his well-being when he himself was in such a dire state. But the Vulcan quickly shook away his astonishment and answered his mate.

" I am well enough Jim, more so now that you are awake." Spock began, before a shadow passed over his pale face and he shook his head. Spock was about to speak, to tell his bondmate just how sorry he was when Bones made his reappearance with hyposprays in hand.

The doctor quickly reached Jim's bedside and spoke.

" I'm sorry about this Jim, but I need to give you these."

Bones had anguish written across his face as he took the first of three hyposprays and pressed the tip to the side of Jim's blanched neck. With a moments apprehension Bones administered the shot.

" Aah."

Jim's soft cry of pain was like a spear straight to the heart for both Spock and Bones, and it was only made worse by the fact that there were still two more medications that needed to be administered. It was only through sheer forced of will that the three men all got through the last two hypospray administrations.

" Alright Jim, just relax now, let the meds do their thing."

Bones reached out and gave Jim's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, to which Jim looked at him gratefully through slightly tearful eyes, one normal, the other drooping un-naturally.

" You just rest now Jim."

As Bones spoke these words, Jim's eyes began to droop slightly as the meds he had been given began to take effect. They wouldn't knock Jim out completely, but they would keep him in a calm state.

Bones then turned to Spock and pinned him with a look as he spoke.

" Spock, you better fix this fast."

Spock could only nod mutely in agreement, because it was the cold hard truth. Jim, his T'hy'la, was in the dire state because of his neglect, because he had not been a true bond mate. The bond was now in a state of flux because of that, and it would only be through Spock that there was any chance of recovery.

Spock then turned his gaze back to his bond mate, who lay pale and for all intents and purposes, broken on a sickbay bio-bed. Dr. McCoy could not be anymore correct, he had helped to cause the dire situation they were all now in.

He would have to fix it, fast.