K'hat'n'dlawa

Awakening

"Amanda!"

His voice was rough, his breathing suddenly labored. Shocked and scared, Amanda froze, not knowing what to do- something was very, very wrong. She could feel him struggling- struggling to remain conscious. He was fighting against the black tide threatening to consume him...

"Amanda- strike me!" he said, the hand she still held in hers clenching- tightening around hers until it hurt.

"What?" she asked incredulously. His hand tightened further.

"Do it!" he hissed.

She had to be imagining this. Was Sarek telling her to hit him?

"Sarek, I-"

"If you want him to live, do it!" came T'Shan's voice. The woman had stood from her chair and was now standing at the foot of the bed, watching as Sarek's eyes began to slip closed. "Now! Do as he says before he slips under and cannot return!"

Amanda turned back to him- confused, and highly reluctant to hurt him- but he'd told her to...she had no idea what was going on, but she could sense him losing consciousness once more...if this helped, she had to do it.

Wincing, she raised a hand and brought it down against the side of his face- a sharp smack resounded in the room, but it barely jolted him. His eyes fluttered open, but then closed again.

Biting her lips as tears filled her eyes, Amanda repeated the action- this time striking him harder. He gasped, and she could feel him slowly returning- he was fighting the wave of darkness. She raised her hand once more and brought it down again and again- a dry sob coming from her as she did so.

Unable to believe what she was doing, she squeezed her eyes shut- praying that this would work, that this was what he needed- until suddenly, a strong hand closed around her wrist as her arm swung downward once more. She opened her streaming eyes- and saw two black ones looking back at her.

"I am sufficiently awake now," he said calmly. Amanda choked, her chest heaving, and then collapsed against him.

"What the hell was that about?" she asked, burying her face in his neck. She felt his hand resting on her back of her head. He did not reply right away- instead he spoke to T'Shan, who Amanda had completely forgotten about.

"Wait outside, T'Shan," he said quietly. She did not reply, but Amanda heard the door slide open and closed. Then he addressed her. "I was in a self-induced state of healing. Such a trance is extremely difficult to come out of, and forceful awakening is required. If you had not done as I instructed, I would have slipped back into unconsciousness, and been unable come out of it. I would have died."

"Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to do that?" she asked harshly, drawing away to look at him. A faint green imprint of her hand was forming on his cheek, and she leaned forward to kiss it gently, her tears falling against his face as she continued to cry silently, moving to kiss his lips roughly. "Don't you ever scare me like that again," she whispered, and continued to kiss him, hard.

"Amanda..." he said in between her heated kisses. She shook her head- wordlessly telling him not to speak as she resumed her actions- her lips conveying the fear, anxiety, desperation, and love she'd felt for the last innumerable hours. "Amanda, please desist," he tried again. When she still did not listen, he gently pushed her away.

"What?" she asked, stilling her movements. He was looking at her sternly, eyebrows drawn together.

"You should not have come," he said, his voice low and laced with the disapproval she now felt over the link. "I did not tell you what was occurring on Earth because I wanted you to stay on Vulcan. I told you to stay. You disobeyed me when I was only trying to ensure your safety. You have risked more than you realize by coming here."