By T'Kuht

Amanda Grayson was a contented woman. Her son lay in a bed on her right, her husband to her left. They were not arguing and in fact had engaged in a game of chess earlier in the evening. Sarek’s recovery from heart surgery was proceeding smoothly, and Spock would only be ‘stuck’ in sickbay overnight until he could return to duty. McCoy knew better than to try keeping him any longer than that. It would be worse than pulling teeth out of an adult warthog. Spock had not objected much. He was a little woozy and lightheaded and hadn’t been able to meditate or chase the feeling away. Now, they slept and she could watch them from her seat opposite them. Christine Chapel had arranged for her to have a comfortable lounge chair that laid back to become a bed while Sarek had been in the most danger. Now, she could probably go back to her cabin but wasn’t quite ready. She wanted to watch them both breathe. She’d nearly lost her world earlier in the day, and the illogical human wanted to memorize every line in their faces, every hair in place. Her husband had years ago become used to her staring at him for long periods. But Spock....she hadn’t seen him in four years and he had changed. He was so handsome, not the gangly awkward son she’d seen off to Starfleet 18 years ago. His features had finally solidified, and she knew he’d remain in this state for decades to come. She smiled to herself. He was gorgeous. She had always known he would be. Beside her, Captain James Kirk moaned a little in a fitful sleep. His injuries were troubling him a little, and deciding to stretch her legs she went to find the duty nurse.

Christine Chapel flexed the fingers in an effort to keep them limber for data entry. She preferred typing things in instead of using the voice coder while there were patients in sickbay. In this way they could not inadvertently overhear as McCoy had found out a couple of times. It was also easier for her to gather her thoughts the first time so that she didn’t have to backtrack later and change what she said. She could pause without being prompted by the computer for hesitation. It was also quieter when it was ship’s night. She was filling in the autopsy report with the security findings on the Orion spy. She glanced at the chronometer, it was nearly midnight, and she was ready for her shift to get over with. When there were surgical cases in sickbay, she usually put in 16-hour days and today had been full up. It had been hard to watch Spock’s father in so much distress and his poor mother...

The woman who she had just thought of appeared at the door, "Nurse Chapel, would it be possible to give the Captain something else for his pain?"

Christine frowned a little. He wasn’t due for another shot until 0200. "I can check on his readings. I don’t think Leonard will let me give him anything else."

Rising to check on the sickbay patients, she went in followed by Amanda. Jim’s readings were normal for a man recovering from a knife wound. He was in mild pain and had no fever. He was just restless. Christine said quietly, "The Captain is a lousy patient. We always have a little trouble with him. He doesn’t sleep well away from his own bunk apparently."

Amanda nodded. Spock had been a restless sleeper as a child. She always attributed it to itchy feet. Now, he slept still and deep. She found her eyes staying on her little boy. He wasn’t a little boy anymore. She longed to go and kiss him goodnight. She hadn’t done that since he was 6 and still able to waver between human and Vulcan cultures. Christine checked the other two and motioned for Amanda to come out to the anteroom. "They’re fine. Why don’t you get some sleep? I know you’re as tired as I am."

Amanda’s blue eyes smiled brightly at her, "You stay here a lot don’t you. Particularly when Spock is here?"

Christine stammered in the low light of McCoy’s office. She could barely meet Amanda’s eyes. She knew. It would do no good to lie or try to deceive her. She nodded reluctantly. They laughed to chase the tension away.

Amanda decided it was time to get out of sickbay for a while, "I think a cup of tea would be nice, would you like to join me before heading to bed?"

The blonde nodded eagerly. She’d wanted to just sit and talk to Amanda since she’d learned she’d come aboard. Now was her chance to ask about Spock and his childhood. They headed for the small mess hall that was closest to sickbay and between Christine’s quarters and her work. There was no one else here at this late hour. Even though the ship was on perpetual crew rotation, at midnight, no one was either scheduled for breaks or meals. It gave the clean up crew a chance to clean things this way. The room was spotless. Ordering herbal tea to help unwind them, they sat in a corner booth. Christine preferred booths to tables. They were more intimate to cozy conversation. They sat in an odd silence for a moment. Then Amanda asked, "So, how long have you served aboard this ship?"

"Hmm, three point....oh, about three years I think. I came aboard before Dr. McCoy arrived."

Amanda digested that. "So, you’ve worked with Spock a great deal. You are working on an experiment with him at any rate?"

Christine nodded," He considers me as an auxiliary chem lab researcher. That is my field of study-- bio-chemistry."

Spock’s mother furrowed her eyebrows together, "Then why are you here as a nurse?"

Christine sighed. She had explained her presence so many times it was getting annoying. Still, Amanda was just curious, not nosy. So she began her tale.

By the time she finished, Amanda had taken her hand and squeezed it lightly, "I’m sorry."

Two human women from vastly different backgrounds with one common interest sat silent in the night. They didn’t need words or even actions to convey the meaning in their emotions. Amanda could understand Christine’s pain even though she’d never been through it. The younger woman’s eyes were so revealing. It was as if she could read everything that was there, her love for Spock, the loss of Roger Korby, the fact that she was at an impasse in her life. She decided to change the subject. "Tell me about Spock, what it’s like to work with him, what he does..."

Christine smiled slowly. Oh yes, the way her face brightened, that was the ticket... "Mr. Spock...he’s stubborn, sometimes downright pig-headed."

Amanda interrupted, "He gets that from his father. I believe there is a new level of pig-headed and that is Vulcan-headed..."

The two laughed at that one. The mood was happy again. "He is kind, tender, very deep. He hurts. He also tries very hard not to smile."

Amanda nodded. So her son was not a good actor. It gave her pleasure to know this. "Good. He needs to smile. He has been trying to eradicate that part of me for 30 years now. If I know humans, he won’t succeed."

They talked and talked until it was almost 0300. At Christine’s yawn, they both knew they had better go to bed or there’d be hell to pay in the morning. Christine was scheduled to be back in by 0800 anyway. Amanda could sleep as late as she wanted, but she intended to be there before Spock was released. Amanda walked Christine to her quarters before heading for her own. It was comforting to know that Spock was loved the way Amanda loved him. She wouldn’t have to worry about him as much now.