Refractions: Track Service and Last Stop (4/4)
"Spock. Spock!" Jim said, but he knew it was useless. Spock was gone.
"The shuttle is going to overshoot the Enterprise," Bones said tonelessly into his communicator. "Try beaming Spock aboard,"
"The transporters are not at full power," a crewman answered in confusion. "It would be dangerous."
"Damn it, he's already dead! It doesn't matter."
"Yes sir," the man said. Bones went over to Jim and ran a hand through Jim's hair, tender.
"I'm sorry, Jim. I tried to stop him."
"It's okay, I know you couldn't have stopped him. God, Spock, Bones," he said, voice small and hurt. Bones' communicator went off and Bones answered it with one hand.
"What?"
"Sir, there's a faint pulse!"
Part IV: Last Stop
"Don't you move a fucking muscle," Jim said, trying to sound commanding but too happy to achieve it. Spock stirred in the biobed, eyes fluttering open. Bones swooped in like a gruff, whiskey-breathed angel, shining a light into Spock's eye and running a medical tricorder over every inch of his body, muttering obscenities under his breath.
"You'll need a few days to recuperate. The feeling will return to your leg in another day, and I have no clue how you managed not to go blind."
"An inner eyelid my ancestors developed to protect from the harsh environment of Vulcan. We tend to ignore it, as you often ignore your appendix."
"Damn luck," Bones said, voice scathing.
"As luck is a force that brings good fortune, I must disagree, as it was merely anatomy that saved my vision."
"It was luck and you know it. By all accounts you were dead for a couple of minutes, because I saw your life readings before they beamed you up."
"Maybe the transporter scrambled his molecules just enough to save his life," Jim said, teasing.
"Don't even try to make a saint out of those damned things," Bones reprimanded, pointing a warning finger in his direction.
"You will not hear complaints from my own person. If the transporters were sentient, I would have liked to express my gratitude," Spock said, and Jim laughed brightly at Bones' scandalized expression.
"Whatever the case, I'm glad you're here and not six feet under," Bones said.
"Six feet under what, Doctor?"
"You know damn well what I mean, Spock. Did that scary-as-hell version of yourself teach you how to pull someone's leg or something?"
"Doctor, I hardly need instruction to 'pull a leg' as the procedure for that action is clear, though the motivation to do so is not."
"Speaking of which," Jim cut in before Bones could retaliate. "The other universes. Are they all back where they belong?"
"After Spock kamikazed that star, the others faded and disappeared again, so I guess that's where they ended up," Bones said.
Jim smiled. "The planet wasn't destroyed, then. Maybe that Terran Empire will be able to settle and rebuild both of their species, except with a lot less crazy thrown in."
"It is highly possible. When we are able to contact Starfleet again, we should recommend the planet for habitation. It may be a more suitable planet than New Vulcan."
"But wouldn't Spock, the other Spock-the original Spock-good god I will never not be confused," Jim said.
"Spock Prime," Spock supplied.
"Thank you. Wouldn't Spock Prime already know that this planet existed, since he was the one who told us all about it before we got here?"
"He arrived years after this point in time, so the planet may have been destroyed or endured some natural disaster to render it inconsequential."
"I hope for their sake that doesn't happen," Bones said, finished changing the gauze over Spock's torso. "Still, I wouldn't envy being in that other universe either. To think, Romulans armed with red matter decades and decades before they should be, if they even had that technology before Nero stole it."
Spock nodded. "They will likely go to war, or at least become bitterly entangled in an intricate diplomatic battle."
"I almost say it serves them right, since they got to keep both of their planets and defeat the bad guy way too easily," Bones said.
"I don't know, Bones. Yeah, they managed to get places earlier and accomplish more, but they were late for at least one thing," he said, touching Spock's arm. Bones looked down at Jim's hand on Spock's skin and widened his eyes, comically flustered.
"I'll go run these results and deal with the rest of these patients. Half of them need to get out of sickbay; they don't have me fooled for a second about their supposed 'fatal' injuries." As he left, he drew the curtain, (about as discreet as a pissed-off Tellarite), shielding Jim and Spock from the rest of sickbay. Jim kept looking at Spock, unable to believe that they'd really made it out okay, that he'd been fortunate enough to have been given a second chance.
"There is a personal matter we need to discuss," Spock began, and Jim thought, oh, you bet your ass we do. "If my katra is left in you for much longer, you will begin to experience unpleasant symptoms due to the mental stress of carrying my essence, as well as endure a variant of a multiple personality disorder. I will need to perform a shallow mind meld to extract my katra from your mind."
"Do you really need to ask when you're doing me a favor?"
In answer, Spock reached up and positioned his fingers over the meld points. "Our minds, one and together."
Jim had been unconscious the first time Spock had done this, so this was the first time he felt this particular Spock enter his mind. The feeling of Spock's soul leaving him was like when he was tired and every part of his body relaxed and he drifted into sleep. When it finally left completely, Jim felt awakened. He sensed that Spock was about to break the contact, so he physically grasped Spock's wrist and said in their minds, Hold on there, I've got something I wanna say, and I seriously doubt I'll be able to say it out loud.
As you wish, Spock said.
I don't know what the hell I'm doing, what I feel about any of this, about you. But I know that when I thought you were dead, I felt like I'd lost part of myself. The best part. I didn’t know it before, that you already meant that much to me, that you were necessary. You don't have to say anything about it, you can ignore me if you want, I just wanted you to know that-
His thoughts were cut off as Spock broke the contact, but Jim didn’t have time to feel hurt before he felt Spock slide his hand to the curve of his cheek, gently pulling Jim down for a kiss, a brief press of their lips that felt inexplicably better than some of the best make out sessions Jim had ever had. He pulled back a bit and Spock let him, eyes warm and liquid brown.
“I guess this means you’re propositioning me, Mr. Spock,” he said, chest so light that Jim was surprised he wasn’t floating away.
“By no means, Captain. I am merely signifying that I return your sentiments.”
“You can return them all night long if you like,” Jim said, waggling his eyebrows. His flirting was off, perhaps because Jim was on uneven footing or perhaps because this was Spock and the stakes were much higher.
“I look forward to this mutual commendation,” Spock said. “I have only one question that requires immediate clarification.”
“Shoot,” Jim said, mouth curved upward.
“Is it imperative that I wear the pineapple-patterned shirt on our next shore leave?”
Jim burst out laughing, loud and startling in the quiet of sickbay.
“Goddamnit, Jim!" he heard Bones yell from several feet away. "You made me inject too much sedative into this bald-headed security guy that hates your guts, and now he’ll never get out of my sickbay!”
End
Random notes:
*C universe Spock calls his Jim ashayam, which means 'beloved' in Vulcan and is similiar to t'hy'la but with more emotional connotations.
*The painting that B universe Kirk sees in his cabin during the time merge belongs to track C Kirk and is called The Nightmare.
*Commander Decker is the much younger alternate version of Captain Decker from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. My version is of course much younger and with spiky blond hair, but with that same classical handsomeness.
*First Officer Stiles is the alternate version of Lt. Stiles from the TOS episode Balance of Terror. He was the navigator who had a grudge against Romulans and was openly racist toward Spock when they discovered that Romulans look like Vulcans.
*The Empire is what replaces the Federation in the mirror universe featured in the TOS episode Mirror, Mirror. The emblem they use in the episode is of Earth with a sword stuck through it. I modified the sword to a Lirpa to show that Humans and Vulcans are united in tragedy and by their two leaders.
*the rest of the fic is basically spot-the-TOS-reference. I like lifting lines and situations from the series and the movies, as you can tell with the scene of Spock sacrificing himself for our sins for the crew and some of the features of the C universe.
Thanks to the betas, artist, and fanmixer for their help and general awesomeness. I was very fortunate to get each of them. Now if you'll excuse me, I shall go collapse on my fainting couch (or rather my metaphorical one, work with me people) and try to remember what it's like to write and finish a fic in a week.
"The shuttle is going to overshoot the Enterprise," Bones said tonelessly into his communicator. "Try beaming Spock aboard,"
"The transporters are not at full power," a crewman answered in confusion. "It would be dangerous."
"Damn it, he's already dead! It doesn't matter."
"Yes sir," the man said. Bones went over to Jim and ran a hand through Jim's hair, tender.
"I'm sorry, Jim. I tried to stop him."
"It's okay, I know you couldn't have stopped him. God, Spock, Bones," he said, voice small and hurt. Bones' communicator went off and Bones answered it with one hand.
"What?"
"Sir, there's a faint pulse!"
Part IV: Last Stop
"Don't you move a fucking muscle," Jim said, trying to sound commanding but too happy to achieve it. Spock stirred in the biobed, eyes fluttering open. Bones swooped in like a gruff, whiskey-breathed angel, shining a light into Spock's eye and running a medical tricorder over every inch of his body, muttering obscenities under his breath.
"You'll need a few days to recuperate. The feeling will return to your leg in another day, and I have no clue how you managed not to go blind."
"An inner eyelid my ancestors developed to protect from the harsh environment of Vulcan. We tend to ignore it, as you often ignore your appendix."
"Damn luck," Bones said, voice scathing.
"As luck is a force that brings good fortune, I must disagree, as it was merely anatomy that saved my vision."
"It was luck and you know it. By all accounts you were dead for a couple of minutes, because I saw your life readings before they beamed you up."
"Maybe the transporter scrambled his molecules just enough to save his life," Jim said, teasing.
"Don't even try to make a saint out of those damned things," Bones reprimanded, pointing a warning finger in his direction.
"You will not hear complaints from my own person. If the transporters were sentient, I would have liked to express my gratitude," Spock said, and Jim laughed brightly at Bones' scandalized expression.
"Whatever the case, I'm glad you're here and not six feet under," Bones said.
"Six feet under what, Doctor?"
"You know damn well what I mean, Spock. Did that scary-as-hell version of yourself teach you how to pull someone's leg or something?"
"Doctor, I hardly need instruction to 'pull a leg' as the procedure for that action is clear, though the motivation to do so is not."
"Speaking of which," Jim cut in before Bones could retaliate. "The other universes. Are they all back where they belong?"
"After Spock kamikazed that star, the others faded and disappeared again, so I guess that's where they ended up," Bones said.
Jim smiled. "The planet wasn't destroyed, then. Maybe that Terran Empire will be able to settle and rebuild both of their species, except with a lot less crazy thrown in."
"It is highly possible. When we are able to contact Starfleet again, we should recommend the planet for habitation. It may be a more suitable planet than New Vulcan."
"But wouldn't Spock, the other Spock-the original Spock-good god I will never not be confused," Jim said.
"Spock Prime," Spock supplied.
"Thank you. Wouldn't Spock Prime already know that this planet existed, since he was the one who told us all about it before we got here?"
"He arrived years after this point in time, so the planet may have been destroyed or endured some natural disaster to render it inconsequential."
"I hope for their sake that doesn't happen," Bones said, finished changing the gauze over Spock's torso. "Still, I wouldn't envy being in that other universe either. To think, Romulans armed with red matter decades and decades before they should be, if they even had that technology before Nero stole it."
Spock nodded. "They will likely go to war, or at least become bitterly entangled in an intricate diplomatic battle."
"I almost say it serves them right, since they got to keep both of their planets and defeat the bad guy way too easily," Bones said.
"I don't know, Bones. Yeah, they managed to get places earlier and accomplish more, but they were late for at least one thing," he said, touching Spock's arm. Bones looked down at Jim's hand on Spock's skin and widened his eyes, comically flustered.
"I'll go run these results and deal with the rest of these patients. Half of them need to get out of sickbay; they don't have me fooled for a second about their supposed 'fatal' injuries." As he left, he drew the curtain, (about as discreet as a pissed-off Tellarite), shielding Jim and Spock from the rest of sickbay. Jim kept looking at Spock, unable to believe that they'd really made it out okay, that he'd been fortunate enough to have been given a second chance.
"There is a personal matter we need to discuss," Spock began, and Jim thought, oh, you bet your ass we do. "If my katra is left in you for much longer, you will begin to experience unpleasant symptoms due to the mental stress of carrying my essence, as well as endure a variant of a multiple personality disorder. I will need to perform a shallow mind meld to extract my katra from your mind."
"Do you really need to ask when you're doing me a favor?"
In answer, Spock reached up and positioned his fingers over the meld points. "Our minds, one and together."
Jim had been unconscious the first time Spock had done this, so this was the first time he felt this particular Spock enter his mind. The feeling of Spock's soul leaving him was like when he was tired and every part of his body relaxed and he drifted into sleep. When it finally left completely, Jim felt awakened. He sensed that Spock was about to break the contact, so he physically grasped Spock's wrist and said in their minds, Hold on there, I've got something I wanna say, and I seriously doubt I'll be able to say it out loud.
As you wish, Spock said.
I don't know what the hell I'm doing, what I feel about any of this, about you. But I know that when I thought you were dead, I felt like I'd lost part of myself. The best part. I didn’t know it before, that you already meant that much to me, that you were necessary. You don't have to say anything about it, you can ignore me if you want, I just wanted you to know that-
His thoughts were cut off as Spock broke the contact, but Jim didn’t have time to feel hurt before he felt Spock slide his hand to the curve of his cheek, gently pulling Jim down for a kiss, a brief press of their lips that felt inexplicably better than some of the best make out sessions Jim had ever had. He pulled back a bit and Spock let him, eyes warm and liquid brown.
“I guess this means you’re propositioning me, Mr. Spock,” he said, chest so light that Jim was surprised he wasn’t floating away.
“By no means, Captain. I am merely signifying that I return your sentiments.”
“You can return them all night long if you like,” Jim said, waggling his eyebrows. His flirting was off, perhaps because Jim was on uneven footing or perhaps because this was Spock and the stakes were much higher.
“I look forward to this mutual commendation,” Spock said. “I have only one question that requires immediate clarification.”
“Shoot,” Jim said, mouth curved upward.
“Is it imperative that I wear the pineapple-patterned shirt on our next shore leave?”
Jim burst out laughing, loud and startling in the quiet of sickbay.
“Goddamnit, Jim!" he heard Bones yell from several feet away. "You made me inject too much sedative into this bald-headed security guy that hates your guts, and now he’ll never get out of my sickbay!”
End
Random notes:
*C universe Spock calls his Jim ashayam, which means 'beloved' in Vulcan and is similiar to t'hy'la but with more emotional connotations.
*The painting that B universe Kirk sees in his cabin during the time merge belongs to track C Kirk and is called The Nightmare.
*Commander Decker is the much younger alternate version of Captain Decker from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. My version is of course much younger and with spiky blond hair, but with that same classical handsomeness.
*First Officer Stiles is the alternate version of Lt. Stiles from the TOS episode Balance of Terror. He was the navigator who had a grudge against Romulans and was openly racist toward Spock when they discovered that Romulans look like Vulcans.
*The Empire is what replaces the Federation in the mirror universe featured in the TOS episode Mirror, Mirror. The emblem they use in the episode is of Earth with a sword stuck through it. I modified the sword to a Lirpa to show that Humans and Vulcans are united in tragedy and by their two leaders.
*the rest of the fic is basically spot-the-TOS-reference. I like lifting lines and situations from the series and the movies, as you can tell with the scene of Spock sacrificing himself for our sins for the crew and some of the features of the C universe.
Thanks to the betas, artist, and fanmixer for their help and general awesomeness. I was very fortunate to get each of them. Now if you'll excuse me, I shall go collapse on my fainting couch (or rather my metaphorical one, work with me people) and try to remember what it's like to write and finish a fic in a week.