Day 52: Game Room

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Lunch had taken his mind from his worries, if only for a few minutes. But after the intercom sounded and the nurses began leading patients onto the next activity, one look at the bulletin board brought everything back in full force. No replies from Ashton, Dias or Dad. By now Claude felt like he was practically counting down until the end of the day, when he was going to have to finally grapple with the real possibility that most of his friends from before Landel's, as well as his own father, had fallen victim to the institute.

And now he was going to have to deal with his mother being here on top of that. It didn't seem like a coincidence that she'd show up right when his father's whereabouts were so up in the air. But what did it mean? Why couldn't Landel leave his family out of this?

Normally, the announcement about new video games would have made him perk up, but his eyebrows only knit together with concern as his nurse led him into the game room. That didn't seem to stop her from trying to get him to unwind, though.

"Oh, come now, Thomas, you've worn that expression for most of the day!" she told him with a frown. "Why don't you have a bit of fun now that your eyes are all better? I'm sure you could use it."

The last thing he wanted was to be reminded of his "sleep studies", he darkly thought to himself. But before he could protest, his nurse had sat him down in front of one of the television screens. There was an old gaming console, one Claude had never seen before, and he glanced at her with a confused expression. "Go on," she encouraged as she placed one of the controllers in his hands. "I know how much you enjoy these kinds of things. Someone will come play with you soon, too, I'm sure. Doesn't that sound nice?"

He didn't have time to answer her, because she'd soon bustled off to tend to some of the other patients. Claude watched her leave with a sigh. He realized the daytime staff meant well, which made knowing what they turned into at night even worse to think about. But now he was just being negative for the sake of it, wasn't he?

Taking in a small breath, he reached over to the console and turned it on. As long as he was waiting for some kind of answer from the bulletin, there probably wasn't much he could do except pass the time. Claude watched the title screen appear on the television, his expression growing more curious in spite of himself. Super Mario Bros....

[For Prussia!]

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[dual-worlds.livejournal.com]

His agreement to use first names during their game seemed to please the captain, if the expression on his face was any indication. It was rather curious, though perhaps not unexpected. He had made the request in the first place, after all.

Spock was curious to see what his opponent's first move would be, though his mind turned onto a completely different train of thought the moment he mentioned that night. His dark gaze flickered up from the board and met Kirk's eyes. Though the expression on his face did not change, his back became slightly more rigid as he sat straighter in his chair.

He had done his best to put that incident as far behind him as possible, and to instead focus on what needed to be done in order to ascertain how to escape the institute and return to the Enterprise. One of the drawbacks of having an eidetic memory, however, was that it was easy to recall every detail of his mother's ghostly figure reaching out toward him, as well as the volatile winds of a dying planet that had howled in his ears. Although he had already reached a probable conclusion regarding the manner in which she had perished, now Spock had experienced the pain and horror she must have suffered as she plummeted to her death -- every bruise, laceration, fractured bone, and punctured organ. He had lived it, and met the same fate she had.

He knew now.

It had unearthed memories best buried beneath more relevant issues, such as their current captivity, but there was little to do except move forward with what needed to be done. Spock did not immediately speak, instead turning his dark eyes back onto the board. Pale fingers reached out and grasped another white pawn, moving it forward to where it was parallel with the first piece he'd used.

"I see," he finally said. There was no change in his tone, though his voice was quieter than it had been before. He could not think harshly of Jim for explaining to McCoy about what had happened. Had the incident occurred back on the Enterprise, a detailed report would have been made and stored in his medical records. As their chief medical officer, it was within McCoy's right -- and duty -- to know of such matters, particularly when they were of such a severe nature. Yet that did not mean Spock was in a position where he could readily admit to the possibility that he was in need of medical assistance.

"Seeing as I am in good physical condition and have been able to see to my responsibilities unhindered for nearly ten days now, I do not believe such an examination is necessary," Spock added after a moment. "Unless the doctor wishes to ascertain whether I am unfit for duty due to..." He paused, as if considering his words. "...the personal nature of what transpired."