As work would have it, things wouldn't stay this way forever, and this is exactly what happened one day when McCoy came home. He found Spock sitting on the sofa, a suitcase beside him. McCoy sighed; he didnt want to deal with this again.  

      The human walked over to Spock with a malcontented question in his eyes. The Vulcan responded, reading the question, "I leave in 1.2 Standard hours." Before McCoy could ask a second question, he continued, "I will return in approximately 5.2 Standard weeks."

      McCoy nodded numbly, not enjoying this unexpected development at all. "Is there time for-" 

      Spock cut him off with a nod and a "Yes." The Vulcan stood and reached out a hand to his mate. McCoy took it and they entered the bedroom.

      Spock gently eased McCoy down onto the soft mattress of their bed and began to undo the fastens of his tunic, and once removed, dropped it on the floor beside their bed. He repeated the action with the doctor's trousers and briefs.  

      McCoy lay back on the bed, and sent a cautious look to the corner of the room, where Maude's bed rested. Assuring himself that she was asleep, he allowed himself to respond to his mate's attention.

      During this time, the Vulcan had managed to remove all of his clothing, and had lay down beside McCoy on the bed, pulling his human to him and kissing him deeply. 

      They stay embraced for long moments, their mouths together, just enjoying their time with each other. Their kisses grew deeper, and their touches stronger as time began to fly away from them. Finally, their waves crested together, and sated for the moment, they lay in each other's arms.

      After a few minutes of the languid connection, Spock rose on his elbows to kiss McCoy softly. "I am sorry, Leonard," he said, "but I must leave now." The Vulcan reluctantly left the bed and donned his clothing. He returned to the bedside and kissed the doctor once more. "I will call as soon as the shuttle arrives on Vulcan." 

      Spock entered the living room, picked up his suitcase and left the house, on his way to the City-owned shuttle dock.

      McCoy sat back on the bed and sighed. Another month without his lover. It seemed that Maude could sense it too, for when the front door closed, she woke from her slumber and walked to the bed, then crouched and jumped up, to land in McCoy's lap. He caught her with some surprise and began scratching her ears. "Yeah," he said, "Daddy's leaving both of us." 

      Maude merely mewed and bucked her head against the palm of McCoy's hand in answer.

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      The weeks without Spock came and went slowly as always. If the Vulcan weren't too busy, he would call McCoy to make sure all was well, and Maude did ease the loneliness he felt. He could talk to her and pet her and spoil her in a way only a pet owner could. She'd sit on his lap as they'd watch the three-dimensional video unit, or she rub against his legs when McCoy came home. She'd eat when he ate. And in the past couple of weeks, instead of sleeping in her cat bed, she'd sleep in Spock's unoccupied half of the large bed.

      It was the day before Spock was due home that McCoy found himself laying across the sofa with Maude resting on his stomach, having her neck scratched and purring contentedly.  

      McCoy spoke softly to her, "Daddy's coming home tomorrow, Maude. He'll be back and we can all be a big happy family again." The doctor smiled with anticipation. "It'll be great." After lying there, stroking her for another forty minutes, he finally said, "I'm going to get ready for bed." He gently scooted her so that when he got up, she wouldn't be disturbed, and he went to check on her food supply. He refilled the bowls for the evening, checking both food and water, and then mixed a few cat treats into the mix.

      Smiling as he saw her walk into the kitchen to eat, he made his way to his bedroom. Once there, he stripped from his evening clothing to take a quick shower. The warm water did him some good and he felt hot and tired as he returned to bed. Maude already lay on Spock's half of the bed as he made his way under the covers. He reached out to stroke her back as he waved for the lights to dim. Whispering, he said to her, "Goodnight, Maude," before descending into sleep.

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      Spock checked his internal time sense as he entered the house: 329. Although he did not expect his mate to be awake, he knew he would be pleased to see him when he awoke the next morning. And in the meantime, the Vulcan would be able to cuddle with an unconscious, limp, human mate. 

      He checked to make sure that Maude did not rest on the floor before him, but she did not, so he was able to avoid stepping on her. The last thing he wanted was for her to cry out, and awaken his mate, whom he knew from past experience would not be resting well in his absence.

      He arrived at their bedroom and entered, noting that the lighting setting was at 5%. Not wanting to disturb his mate, he made his way through the inadequate lighting to the dresser where he removed his robe and quickly disposed of his worn clothing into the refresher unit. This done, he looked forward to seeing his mate sleep. 

      He first went to McCoy's side of the bed, merely to gaze at the resting form of his lover, who in the dim lighting seemed more content than he could last remember his mate being when he was gone. The Vulcan reached out to gently caress the hair of the human before making his way to his side of the bed.

      He was prepared to turn down the sheets, and as he did so, his hand hit something warm and furry. He looked down; Maude rested squarely in the middle of his side of the bed. For a brief moment, an illogical surge of jealousy coursed through him. McCoy seemed rested, and the cat was in his side of the bed. Was he being replaced? Then he realized how ridiculous it was for him to be jealous of a cat, one he had deemed worthy enough to be his bondmate's animal companion. 

      The Vulcan reached out to gently prompt the cat out of his side of the bed, but she seemed to be sound asleep. Spock did not want to prod it, lest it cry out and wake his lover, so he attempted a few more times to move it, but to no avail. Finally, he began to rub her head, which after a few minutes caused her to awaken with a small yawn. Her yellow eyes flashed in the dim light as she looked at Spock.

       Thinking Maude would be more compliant now that she was awake, Spock attempted to push her off the bed, but she refused, stubbornly. To himself, Spock though, *She is more like Leonard than I had previously thought.* Finally, finding no other solution, the Vulcan wrapped his arms around the small frame of the cat to lift her off the bed. She let out a loud meow, instantly awakening the human beside her.  

      McCoy, first thinking it was an intruder, turned on his side, whispering, "Maude?" Then he ordered the lights to normal capacity and saw his bondmate frozen in place with his hands on his pet.

      "Spock!" McCoy cried out in delight. "You're home early!" 

      The Vulcan nodded, giving up on moving the cat and sitting on the edge of the bed. "I had hoped to surprise you by giving you my presence when you awoke, but it seems Maude had other plans." Spock cast a raised eyebrow at the cat.

      McCoy smiled, "She's like that, but she meant well. She's been sleeping on your side of the bed, but I have a solution." Changing the tone of his voice to a soft coo, he called to Maude, "Come on, Maude, and come up here. She arched her back and stretched before walking over to McCoy.  

      The human patted his pillow, where his head no longer rested, for a moment before Maude, after rubbing her tail against his face, moved up to lay in the warm spot. She purred happily, before quickly descending into sleep again.

      McCoy watched Maude sleep for a moment before turning to grin at his bondmate. "Wasn't that hard, now was it?" 

      The Vulcan shook his head as he slipped under the covers and reached for his mate, who moved willingly into those warm arms and rested his head on a broad shoulder.

      McCoy leaned up to kiss Spock softly before letting his eyes slip closed again, "I'm glad you're back home." 

      "As am I," the Vulcan managed to say before his mate slipped into sleep. Spock watched the human, and Maude, sleep for a few minutes, before falling into rest himself.

      A permanent solution of sleeping arrangements was decided that night, as the new family was once more together, content to rest in the dawn before new occurrences could take them from each other. 

                        Finit