[ST XI] FIC: In Three Words (4/4)
See Masterpost for story notes and warnings.
In Three Words - Part 4
Unlike last time, they were set upon almost immediately after stepping out into the corridor. A small part of Jim’s mind wondered if the increased number of monsters was significant of something; the rest of him was too occupied with staying alive. The first creature they encountered was another specimen of the many-eyed thing that had killed N’Choa and Harris and Jim was unpleasantly surprised to learn that the fuckers were fast and fond of pouncing. Bones’ intervention kept it from getting to him with its claws or fireballs but it had been a near thing for a few terrifying seconds. Jim eventually landed a few clear shots and had the satisfaction of seeing it crash to the decking and flare brightly before vanishing.
The candle heads were also out in force but they were easy to dispatch.
“Good cube fodder,” Bones declared with a small, vicious grin as he swept a high-powered phaser bolt across a trio of them.
And cube fodder was a great thing because Bones had been right about it. It was wickedly powerful. Not to mention awfully damned impressive when fully deployed. Jim had looked over at the cube after Bones’ comment and had happened to catch the wash of cool green light that spilled briefly across its ornamental face, his first indication of its state of readiness. A steady golden glow kindled in a few of the carvings on its surface.
Jim startled slightly when it spoke again, eagerly urging them to Use us! as it waited at the ready.
Bones’ grin faded back into tense readiness and Jim watched in fascination as he reached over his shoulder. He stopped short of touching the cube but when he lowered his hand the cube followed, hovering an inch or two above his open palm. Bones tucked his phaser under his arm as he prowled ahead, cube floating before him. It didn’t take long to find something to use it on.
A bright light flared to life as they walked into a terminal room at a bend in the corridor. Jim jerked away from the swirl of gathering power, eyes narrowing against the sudden brightness. The yellow pillar of sizzling energy coalesced into a tall, gaunt humanoid with dead white skin, hands crackling with the remnants of the fire that had birthed it. It roared at them and Jim hastily dove away from the ball of plasma it flung his way. Bones ducked another blast but straightened quickly and launched the cube at it with a flick of his hand.
The cube’s flight was swift and deadly. The instant it sped away from Bones, an impossible array of blades emerged into being and whirred into motion. Almost too fast to see, the fist-sized cube had unfolded into a spinning cluster of sharp edges that hissed through the air and ripped the monster to smoking shreds.
“Holy shit, Bones!” Jim said as the cube appeared out of the dissipating cloud, blades already tucked away into its typical, innocuous configuration as it sailed back to them and resumed its waiting position at Bones’ shoulder. “Don’t suppose there are any more like that lying around?”
Bones shook his head, almost cracking a smile. “Sorry, Jim. I think this is a one of a kind sort of thing.”
Yeah, probably. If the ancient Martians had had a few more of these, they might still be around.
Judicious use of the single cube they had allowed Jim and Bones to work their way through over half of the distance they needed to travel before they ran into a dead end. Something had collapsed the ceiling of the corridor they were walking through, piled debris now obstructing their route. After a swift debate about how to proceed, they decided to backtrack to the nearest cross corridor. Bones was strong enough to clear a path but neither of them liked the idea of being trapped like that. Detouring around the obstacle would be quicker and leave them both free to act.
“Which way?” Jim asked as they stood between the two doorways.
According to Bones, the left-hand option was the shorter of the two but there were things moving somewhere down that hallway. Even from where he stood, Jim could hear the shrill chittering, undercut by high, thin wails.
Bones grimaced and Jim wondered if he recognized the noise. “This one wouldn’t be my first choice,” he said flatly.
The doorway on the right was silent and a quick sweep of their lights didn’t turn up anything alarming.
“Door #2 it is, then,” Jim muttered as he trailed in after Bones, out in front as usual.
They passed through two sections of corridor without incident before everything went wrong. Jim had just cleared the door to the final leg of the detour when something dropped out of the shadows above and knocked him to the floor. The thing rode his shoulders to the ground, nearly driving Jim’s face into the grating before he could react. He tried to throw it off but it pinned his arms to his sides with thin, hard limbs. He managed a strangled yell as something tore into his shoulder. Something scuttled up to his side, an indistinct, jerky movement at the edge of his peripheral vision, and there was a vicious jab of pain as something buried itself in the back of his thigh. And another in the other leg. He sort of lost track of things after that.
“Jim!” Bones was shouting desperately. “Jim!”
There was the sound of phaser fire, scattering the things surrounding him in a flurry of screeching as the one perched on his back shuddered. It was wrenched off of him seconds later and a hand closed around his arm and dragged him to his feet. Jim tried to help as best he could but the onus was on Bones to keep them both moving, since Jim was having trouble remembering the finer points of how to walk. He sort of greyed out while Bones was manhandling him along, coming to with a sharp gasp and a low groan as his back hit a wall, sending pain lancing through him.
“Jim? Oh Jesus, oh God. Jim, do not do this to me. Jesus fucking Christ,” Bones was begging.
Jim’s legs buckled under him and he sagged in Bones’ grip, sliding helplessly to the floor. “Sorry, Bones,” he slurred.
“Don’t be sorry, you stubborn little shit. Be alive,” Bones snapped.
Jim blinked slowly at him. He could barely feel Bones’ frantic attempts at treatment and dimly recognized that the spreading numbness was not a good sign.
“Sorry, Bones,” he found the strength to repeat. “You’ve got to -”
“Shut up,” Bones ordered brusquely.
“But -”
“No buts,” Bones cut him off. “You sit there and you keep breathing and you do what I tell you.”
And before Jim could protest, Bones shoved the cube in his hands and toggled the door open. Jim’s vision had gone too blurry to make out what exactly came pouring into the room but it had way too many legs. He flinched away from the flash of Bones’ phaser, fading eyesight overwhelmed by the brightness.
Use us! the cube whispered in his head.
“You heard it, Jim.” Bones was back and kneeling at his side, pressing Jim’s hand to the cube. “Use it. Now!”
Jim forced his eyes open again, letting his head roll to the side. He shoved weakly at Bones’ shoulder. He didn’t need a good look to know that the things with the legs were still coming. “Get out - go!”
“Use it!” Bones demanded fiercely, refusing to leave.
Jim didn't know how to ‘use it’ but he'd be damned if he was going to be the reason Bones died down here.
Help him, he pleaded silently. Stop them!
His hand was suddenly empty and Jim heard the reassuring metallic clatter of the cube’s extended blades, followed by multiple squeals as it tore into the approaching monsters. He slumped in relief, sinking closer to unconsciousness with every ragged gasp when a surge of energy jolted him. His eyes snapped open and he automatically looked to Bones, crouched anxiously beside him.
“Jim?” he checked worriedly.
“I -” Jim said, jumping slightly as another burst of energy flooded his body. “I think I’m okay?”
Against all reason, he actually was. The pain of his injuries was subsiding into faint aches and even those were disappearing as another pulse of energy warmed him from the inside out. The numbness was thankfully receding under a tide of healthy sensation and his vision sharpened with every steady breath.
“I’m not sure how,” he added as he finished taking stock of his condition, “but I’m okay.”
“Oh thank Christ,” Bones breathed, laying a shaking hand on Jim’s shoulder and squeezing almost painfully tight.
“Do you know how?” Jim persisted. “I mean, you’re the best doctor I know but...”
“Can’t take the credit for that,” Bones answered, voice rough. “Thank that thing.”
He pointed at the cube, hovering complacently over Jim’s upturned fingertips.
“How did it...?” Jim murmured.
Bones sat back on his heels. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “When I first picked it up, it said something about ‘passing on the lifeforce of those we slay.’ I think it’s been helping all along. Even with my advantages, I shouldn’t have survived the trip in to get it.”
So it had saved both of their lives, even without considering its deadliness in combat. Jim wondered how one went about thanking a sentient alien artifact. Patting it seemed a bit condescending and he was just going to blame the urge to hug it on residual shock. Which he should really be making an effort to shake off now, he reminded himself sharply.
“Just keeps getting more and more useful,” Jim remarked, bracing himself against the wall as he gingerly stood up. “Can we keep it when we’re done?”
“Let’s worry about getting out of here before we tackle the question of what we want to bring back with us, huh?” Bones asked dryly, catching Jim’s arm to steady him.
“Fine, fine. Ready when you are.”
It wasn’t much further, Bones assured him as they got back to it. That was a good thing, Jim knew, but he wasn’t thrilled by the way that the temperature was increasing as they progressed. The thought that they were walking into something worse than they were trying to outrun wasn’t comforting. So Jim had hoped he was imagining things. The air wasn’t really getting hotter. And the ambient light wasn’t really taking on a sooty orange tinge. And surely that smell was all in his head.
…Jim used to be much better at lying to himself than this.
He risked a glance over at Bones and his stomach sank at the tight, strained expression on Bones’ face. Definitely not all in his head, then.
“Too far to go back now,” Jim said after he caught Bones looking back over his shoulder for the third time in a few minutes. “Only way out is through.”
It wasn’t anything less than the truth and enough motivation to keep them moving deeper into the disturbingly changed complex. The shaft they were aiming for sat over one of the excavation sites Olduvai had been built to disguise. The excavation itself was heavily fortified but dotted with exit points that would get them to a place they could yell for help. At least, that had been the plan. When they got their first look at what had become of the dig site, instead of hopes of rescue, Jim found himself thinking of frying pans and fire.
The heat was overwhelming, scorching air stinging Jim’s skin and lungs. Wavering orange light added to the effect, fiery flickers twisting at the edges of his vision. The network of catwalks and stairways Bones had been hoping to climb to safety were still there but looked oddly warped, courtesy of the uncertain light. The entire ground floor of the complex had vanished, swallowed up in an immense hole. Jim couldn’t get a good look at what was inside; it hurt his eyes to look at it directly. Besides, the massive monster standing next to the hole was pretty attention-grabbing.
“What the hell is that?” Jim hissed, peering at the thing from the dubious cover of the doorway.
“I don’t know!” Bones answered, voice wavering between frustration and fear. “This place never runs out of new shit to throw at me!”
We are the only way to destroy the enemy's mightiest warrior, the cube chimed abruptly. Destroying evil gives us life, and makes us stronger. Unleash us when you hear our call.
Jim had nearly jumped out of his skin at the cube’s unexpected interjection and now he traded uneasy glances with an equally startled Bones.
“Does that mean what I think it means?” Bones demanded in an undertone, scowling at the cube.
“I don’t know but I’m not in any hurry to jump out and test our phasers’ efficacy against that thing!” Jim pointed out.
They snuck another look at the behemoth lumbering around the edge of the pit. It was easily three times their height, an unholy mishmash of bulging muscle and gleaming metal. The floor under their feet trembled with the force of its steps. It wouldn’t surprise Jim to see the thing shake off their phaser bolts as if they were fireflies. He was willing to bet that they wouldn’t have as much luck surviving whatever the thing shot out of the cannon posing as its right arm.
They’d just have to make sure they didn’t get hit, then.
“Okay, so how are we doing this?” he asked.
“Don’t suppose you’d agree to do the smart thing and get out of here while I take care of that fucker?” Bones ventured.
Jim swallowed his reflexive objection to that idea and forced himself to think about it. Not his preferred choice, needless to say, but Bones’ suggestion had merit. They only had one cube, after all. But Jim had four signal boosters.
“On one condition,” he finally said, fishing out the equipment he needed and starting on a hasty rewiring job.
“Really?” The surprise in Bones’ voice would have been comical on any other day. “I mean, what condition?”
“You take this with you,” Jim instructed, pointing at the boosters he was hooking into a single unit. Even if the Enterprise couldn’t find Bones on her own, Jim could tell them what frequency to look for. Or call out line of sight coordinates for a blind transport, if all else failed. “And you don’t bitch when the Enterprise pulls out in the middle of your heroics.”
“Done,” Bones accepted immediately. “So long as you hurry up about it,” he added, looking over his shoulder.
Jim resisted the urge to check out what had prompted that shattering roar and kept working. It couldn’t be anything worth wasting the time. It only took him a few minutes to finish and he held out the linked boosters for Bones to take.
“You aren’t allowed to die down here either,” he said seriously as Bones tucked the signal device into his uniform. “You hear me, Bones?”
“I hear you,” Bones told him, clasping a hand at the base of Jim’s neck and shaking him lightly. “You just remember to follow your own damn orders.”
Jim thumped a fist into Bones’ chest, unwilling to risk anything more demonstrative. “See you on the other side, old man,” he promised steadily.
Walking away from Bones was one of the hardest things Jim had ever done but he did it because it was their only chance. He stayed focused on the catwalks under his feet, alert for any lurking danger. There was every reason to suspect there’d be some sort of threat, given the number of monsters crawling out of the hole at the bottom of the shaft. They were undoubtedly the targets of the phaser fire Jim could hear as he climbed, Bones’ attempts to charge the cube and turn it loose on ‘the enemy’s greatest warrior.’ It didn’t take long and Jim smiled thinly as the sound of whirring blades echoed up to him, followed by a roar that shook the metal under him.
It left his ears ringing so badly that he barely heard the most wonderful noise in the universe until his communicator chirped again. He nearly tore it out of his pocket in his haste.
“Enterprise, this is Kirk!” he shouted. “Enterprise, do you read?”
“We read you, Captain,” Spock’s voice answered calmly.
“It is goddamn good to hear that, Spock,” Jim replied fervently. “Can you get us out of here?”
“We have a partial lock on your position,” Spock told him, “but are unable to locate any other crew members. Who else is with you?”
“Bones,” Jim started but his reply was drowned out by another bellow from below as the cube took another shot at the giant guarding the hole.
“Just Bones,” he continued as soon as the noise subsided. “Scan for the boosters you sent with us,” he ordered. “Bones is carrying three of them. They’re patched together.”
“We are doing so,” Spock assured him and Jim could have kissed the Vulcan practicality that kept Spock from asking useless questions about what the hell that sound had been.
“Make it quick, Spock!” Jim couldn’t help but urge. He knew they were working as fast as they could but still... “We need out of here as soon as it can be managed.”
He glanced over the edge of the walkway to the battle below, relieved to see phaser bolts continuing to lance out from a concealed position against the wall. The cube flickered into view a moment later, blades at full extension and shot out towards the monstrosity in the centre of the room. Jim’s eyes went wide as it buried itself in the centre of that horned head, knocking the giant back into the hole. A low rumble followed, leaving Jim to clutch frantically at the railing as the entire place shuddered around him. He swore when a sudden blast of heat and light caught him in the face, raising one arm to shield his eyes. There was molten rock welling up in the pit now, spilling over the edge and pouring slowly into the bottom of the shaft.
“Bones!” he yelled, desperately searching for any sign of him. “Jesus - Get out of there!”
“We have you, Captain!” Spock announced suddenly. “Energizing now.”
Jim had never been so happy to feel a transporter tugging at him. Not ever.
“Bones?” he demanded immediately upon rematerialization, infinitely relieved by the dry comment at his back.
“Right here, Jim.”
And he was. Exhausted and filthy but there.
The hell with captainly decorum, Jim decided, then flung an arm around Bones’ neck, clutching him even more tightly as Bones slid a bracing arm around his waist.
“We are never letting that happen again,” Jim promised quietly. Bones’ breath caught in his throat and he squeezed Jim tightly for a second before he stepped away.
“There’s no place like home!” Jim announced brightly to Spock, standing at the transporter panel and as unruffled as ever by his captain’s exuberant displays. “Thanks for the save, Spock.”
Spock inclined his head. “It is good to have you back.”
“I’ve got one more task for you, though,” Jim said.
Spock raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry.
“That facility needs to be destroyed,” Jim said flatly. “Completely. Can you make it happen?”
“Certainly, Captain,” Spock told him without hesitation. “Should this be accomplished immediately?”
“Yes,” Bones and Jim answered in unison.
“Then I shall return to the Bridge and see that it is done,” Spock told them.
Jim forced Bones to detour long enough to get the worst of the soot and blood off of them before he joined him in a headlong rush to the Bridge. Spock was standing next to the command chair when they arrived, clearly waiting for them. He stepped aside with a solemn nod as Jim approached, returning to his station as Bones assumed his usual position at Jim’s shoulder.
“Are we ready to do this, gentlemen?” Jim asked.
“Yes, Captain,” Spock answered.
The PADD lying on the arm of Jim’s chair lit up and he gave it a brief glance, noting the calculations and damage projections.
“Excellent,” Jim said. “Mr. Sulu. Fire at will.”
Jim watched the displays, viciously satisfied to see the reports of Olduvai crumbling under his ship’s weapons.
“Captain,” Uhura said almost immediately. “We’re receiving several inquiries and orders to desist.”
Jim waited a few seconds to give the order. Just to make sure there was nothing left.
“I apologize, Captain,” Spock offered in a monotone. “Evidently, I neglected to inform the proper authorities of the actions we would be taking. I take complete blame for the oversight.”
Jim waved that away. “It’s been a pretty rough day for all of us, Spock. We’ll get it smoothed over.” He’d always been a big believer in the notion that it was easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
Uhura looked up from her station, interrupting the stream of apologies she’d been sending. “Admiral Whitlock for you, sir. Urgent and requiring an immediate response.”
“I’ll bet,” Bones snorted softly, eyes still glued to the data scrolling across the main screens.
“Put it through to my ready room, Lieutenant,” Jim instructed as he rose.
He wasn’t entirely surprised when Bones fell into step beside him but he held his tongue until they exited the Bridge.
“You don’t have to be here for this,” Jim tried as the door slid shut behind them.
“Yeah, Jim. I do,” Bones insisted and Jim shrugged.
Bones was a big boy. If he wanted to come be yelled at by an admiral, who was Jim to stop him? Besides, Jim could to admit to himself that he’d much rather have Bones close to hand at the moment. Disaster and repeated near deaths had left him willing to indulge in a bit of clinginess.
Jim settled into his chair and turned on his terminal, flicking a glance back at Bones, at military attention at his shoulder.
“Hello, Admiral. What can I-”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Kirk?” she shouted. “Destroying the facility we sent you to investigate? Firing on Mars?! Have you lost your mind?”
“I can explain, Admiral,” Jim said calmly.
“It better be a good one,” she warned angrily. “Or I’ll have your commission for this!”
“The destruction of Olduvai was necessary,” he started, stalling for time to think about how to spin his report. He hoped Bones had enough sense to keep his mouth shut and follow Jim’s lead.
“Perhaps I can help to explain the situation,” Spock announced as he strode into the ready room unannounced.
Jim almost raised an eyebrow of his own but signalled Spock to go ahead.
Spock tapped some information onto his PADD before setting it down on Jim’s desk and assuming a stance at Jim’s other shoulder.
“As you can see from the data which I have just sent you, the anomalous energy and seismic phenomena that were manifesting at the former UAC outpost presented an immediate threat to the other colonies on Mars. That threat needed to be addressed promptly and with sufficient force to nullify it. The Captain’s solution was a drastic one but the timeframe was very limited,” Spock explained.
Jim was extremely grateful for his misspent youth right then. If he hadn’t spent so much time in and out of gambling games, his poker face never would have held up throughout Spock’s little speech. Not to mention the mountains of very convincing evidence Spock had produced to support it.
“Sorry if we scared anyone,” Jim interjected, allowing his usual informality to reassert itself. “Like Spock said, we didn’t have much time to act.”
Whitlock had calmed somewhat, paging through the data on her side of the connection. “We’ll take a look through this,” she conceded grudgingly. “But Command isn’t thrilled with your dramatics, Kirk.”
She continued on in that vein for a few minutes, Jim nodding dutifully in all the right places. It took some effort to maintain the careful balance of repentance and confidence that typically carried him through the admiralty’s lectures. The smugness with which he usually consoled himself was markedly absent today, leaving just a desperate gratitude that he and Bones were alive and safe on the ship.
Whitlock seemed to take a closer look at him as she wound down and sighed heavily at whatever she saw. “The report says you lost ten people down there?”
Jim nodded somberly. “We did, Admiral.”
She rubbed a hand over her mouth and sighed again. “We’ll take a look through this,” she repeated, raising the PADD. “Go get cleaned up in the meantime, Captain. You look like hell."
Silence fell in the ready room after Whitlock signed off, broken when Bones slid the PADD over the desk towards him and glanced quickly through the information Spock had prepared.
“‘Presented an immediate threat to the other colonies on Mars,’ huh?” he asked as he scrolled.
“Did it not?” Spock replied, an almost challenging quirk to his raised eyebrow.
“Well, yeah,” Jim admitted. “But how did you know that?”
Spock was the only being Jim had ever met who could shrug so impassively. “Despite your emotional natures, neither of you is inclined towards exaggeration in circumstances such as these. Your appearances and demeanors upon returning to the ship suggested significant distress. If your assessment of the situation indicated the need for decisive action, it is my responsibility to aid you in carrying it out.”
“...You couldn’t just say that you trust us and you’d take our word for it?” Bones retorted but the thin veneer of annoyance wasn’t fooling anyone.
Spock’s brow furrowed in disapproval. “I have come to understand the emotional natures of other species,” he countered. “I see no need to partake in them.”
“We’d be lost without you and your logic, Spock,” Jim allowed, not bothering to hide his grin.
“Logic would dictate that you undergo a thorough medical examination, Captain,” Spock promptly replied.
“For once, we agree,” Bones put in.
“From bickering to ganging up on me in under ten seconds,” Jim complained as he stood up. “That’s got to be a record.”
He let them usher him down to Sickbay with nothing more than token complaints, however. He balked only when Bones brushed off his staff’s attempts to check on him.
“Be sure to jab him with as many hyposprays as you can!” Jim called helpfully as Chapel led Bones to another biobed. “You won’t get many chances!”
Chapel’s cheerful “Yes, Captain,” overlaid Bones’ “Shut up, Jim!” and Jim snickered as the medical staff set to work.
No one found anything wrong with either one of them that a good night’s sleep wouldn’t cure and they were sent off with instructions to do just that. Jim wasn’t terribly surprised when Bones silently followed him to his room, slipping in behind him and stalking around the room. Jim poured himself a drink - after today, he definitely deserved one - and splashed some into a glass for Bones as an afterthought.
“So. Down there. What the hell was that?” he asked as he handed off the glass.
Bones shook his head. “Fucked if I know,” he answered honestly. “Out of control experiments? Extradimensional aliens? Demons? Pick one. I don’t really care what they were. We got out - that’s good enough for me.”
Jim nodded tightly. “Not going to argue with that. At least we made good and goddamned sure that no one else will be getting back in.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Bones muttered and proceeded to do so.
Jim nursed his own drink, waiting for the inevitable explosion. It wasn’t long in coming.
“I just don’t get what the hell you were thinking, going down there!”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Jim replied breezily. “Maybe something like, ‘Holy fuck, Bones is stuck in his worst nightmare and probably getting killed down there right now’?”
Bones made a sharp, frustrated gesture. “You said you’d stay here!”
“No, I said I wouldn’t go down with you,” Jim corrected. “I didn’t say anything about leaving you to die.”
“You should have!” Bones shouted, slamming his drink down on the table and pacing angrily.
“Oh like hell I should have!” Jim shot back. “Like I could have!”
“Why the fuck not?” Bones demanded.
“Jesus, Bones. You know why.”
“No, Jim. I don’t! Why would you ever think that going into Olduvai was a good idea?”
“You know why!” Jim repeated.
Bones crossed his arms and glared.
“Don’t make me say it, you stubborn asshole,” Jim complained.
Bones’ temper faltered for the first time since he’d flared up. “Jim, I - you can’t.”
“Too late,” Jim told him brightly. “I already do. Have done for years.”
He sighed at the helpless look Bones gave him and put his own glass down before crossing the room to stand in front of him.
“This isn’t a surprise, old man,” he said gently. “Or it shouldn’t be. And don’t you dare try to convince me it’s one-sided.”
“Never pretended otherwise,” Bones conceded, shoulders slumping as his posture loosened.
“You never did,” Jim agreed, edging a bit further into his personal space. It had been a revelation to Jim and was probably the only reason he’d made it out here in the first place. “Did I ever mention that I’m goddamn glad I met you?”
“Likewise,” Bones answered, burying the reply in Jim’s shoulder.
Jim wrapped his arms around him and hung on. This time, neither one of them was in a hurry to let go.
Things didn’t really change much between them after Olduvai. Except that Jim’s tendency to occasionally crawl into Bones’ bed became something more like regular habit. And often involved a lot more than sleeping. All changes for the good, as far as Jim was concerned. If he was going to be next thing to married to his best friend, he figured that he ought to be enjoying all of the benefits.
The crew seemed more amused than anything by the unspoken shift in their relationship, even on nights when Bones had overestimated even his prodigious stamina and been kicked out of Sickbay by his own staff. Jim had shown up in response to their off-the-record complaints to pick him up and escort him back to his room. He’d kept Bones awake long enough to stuff some food into him, then dragged him off to bed where Bones had promptly collapsed into a deep sleep on his shoulder. Jim chuckled at the role reversal and let him sleep, enjoying the warmth of Bones’ solid weight against his side.
He lifted one hand into the air above his face, barely able to make out the fingers he wriggled against the dimness of the ceiling. Just a pale blur in the shadows, really.
Aside from Bones, there wasn’t much certainty in Jim’s life. Futures in the fleet weren’t fixed. Jim wouldn’t mind staying on this ride as long as it lasted but he knew it wouldn’t last forever. There were dangers to consider. Not to mention promotions, retirements, new friends, old enemies and the list went on. But for now? Jim had the best crew in the universe, the best ship in the fleet, Bones napping on his chest and a few years left on their tour of duty. Time to enjoy himself, yet.
He considered his hand again. His fingers moved smoothly, painlessly. Normally that wouldn’t be cause for contemplation but earlier today, a minor mishap in Engineering had left him bruised and scratched. He’d shrugged it off and redirected Scotty’s attention to the mess in his engine room. By the time he’d remembered to clean it off, the thin lines of blood had washed away and revealed unblemished skin underneath. Jim had stared down at himself for a long, uncomprehending moment. He’d tightened his hand into a fist when he remembered a chorus of voices pouring into his mind, a promise of aid and the warm pulses of energy that had saved his life. And maybe more?
The journey was the destination, Jim’d been told. He liked the idea and his life had been one hell of a ride so far. He let his hand drop and shifted onto his side, drawing Bones into his arms. The sleepy snuffle of his breath into Jim’s ear made him smile and tuck his free hand under Bones’ shirt, wanting skin under his palm. Jim didn’t know if he had five years left or fifty or five hundred but he was looking forward to finding out.
Fin
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In Three Words - Part 4
Unlike last time, they were set upon almost immediately after stepping out into the corridor. A small part of Jim’s mind wondered if the increased number of monsters was significant of something; the rest of him was too occupied with staying alive. The first creature they encountered was another specimen of the many-eyed thing that had killed N’Choa and Harris and Jim was unpleasantly surprised to learn that the fuckers were fast and fond of pouncing. Bones’ intervention kept it from getting to him with its claws or fireballs but it had been a near thing for a few terrifying seconds. Jim eventually landed a few clear shots and had the satisfaction of seeing it crash to the decking and flare brightly before vanishing.
The candle heads were also out in force but they were easy to dispatch.
“Good cube fodder,” Bones declared with a small, vicious grin as he swept a high-powered phaser bolt across a trio of them.
And cube fodder was a great thing because Bones had been right about it. It was wickedly powerful. Not to mention awfully damned impressive when fully deployed. Jim had looked over at the cube after Bones’ comment and had happened to catch the wash of cool green light that spilled briefly across its ornamental face, his first indication of its state of readiness. A steady golden glow kindled in a few of the carvings on its surface.
Jim startled slightly when it spoke again, eagerly urging them to Use us! as it waited at the ready.
Bones’ grin faded back into tense readiness and Jim watched in fascination as he reached over his shoulder. He stopped short of touching the cube but when he lowered his hand the cube followed, hovering an inch or two above his open palm. Bones tucked his phaser under his arm as he prowled ahead, cube floating before him. It didn’t take long to find something to use it on.
A bright light flared to life as they walked into a terminal room at a bend in the corridor. Jim jerked away from the swirl of gathering power, eyes narrowing against the sudden brightness. The yellow pillar of sizzling energy coalesced into a tall, gaunt humanoid with dead white skin, hands crackling with the remnants of the fire that had birthed it. It roared at them and Jim hastily dove away from the ball of plasma it flung his way. Bones ducked another blast but straightened quickly and launched the cube at it with a flick of his hand.
The cube’s flight was swift and deadly. The instant it sped away from Bones, an impossible array of blades emerged into being and whirred into motion. Almost too fast to see, the fist-sized cube had unfolded into a spinning cluster of sharp edges that hissed through the air and ripped the monster to smoking shreds.
“Holy shit, Bones!” Jim said as the cube appeared out of the dissipating cloud, blades already tucked away into its typical, innocuous configuration as it sailed back to them and resumed its waiting position at Bones’ shoulder. “Don’t suppose there are any more like that lying around?”
Bones shook his head, almost cracking a smile. “Sorry, Jim. I think this is a one of a kind sort of thing.”
Yeah, probably. If the ancient Martians had had a few more of these, they might still be around.
Judicious use of the single cube they had allowed Jim and Bones to work their way through over half of the distance they needed to travel before they ran into a dead end. Something had collapsed the ceiling of the corridor they were walking through, piled debris now obstructing their route. After a swift debate about how to proceed, they decided to backtrack to the nearest cross corridor. Bones was strong enough to clear a path but neither of them liked the idea of being trapped like that. Detouring around the obstacle would be quicker and leave them both free to act.
“Which way?” Jim asked as they stood between the two doorways.
According to Bones, the left-hand option was the shorter of the two but there were things moving somewhere down that hallway. Even from where he stood, Jim could hear the shrill chittering, undercut by high, thin wails.
Bones grimaced and Jim wondered if he recognized the noise. “This one wouldn’t be my first choice,” he said flatly.
The doorway on the right was silent and a quick sweep of their lights didn’t turn up anything alarming.
“Door #2 it is, then,” Jim muttered as he trailed in after Bones, out in front as usual.
They passed through two sections of corridor without incident before everything went wrong. Jim had just cleared the door to the final leg of the detour when something dropped out of the shadows above and knocked him to the floor. The thing rode his shoulders to the ground, nearly driving Jim’s face into the grating before he could react. He tried to throw it off but it pinned his arms to his sides with thin, hard limbs. He managed a strangled yell as something tore into his shoulder. Something scuttled up to his side, an indistinct, jerky movement at the edge of his peripheral vision, and there was a vicious jab of pain as something buried itself in the back of his thigh. And another in the other leg. He sort of lost track of things after that.
“Jim!” Bones was shouting desperately. “Jim!”
There was the sound of phaser fire, scattering the things surrounding him in a flurry of screeching as the one perched on his back shuddered. It was wrenched off of him seconds later and a hand closed around his arm and dragged him to his feet. Jim tried to help as best he could but the onus was on Bones to keep them both moving, since Jim was having trouble remembering the finer points of how to walk. He sort of greyed out while Bones was manhandling him along, coming to with a sharp gasp and a low groan as his back hit a wall, sending pain lancing through him.
“Jim? Oh Jesus, oh God. Jim, do not do this to me. Jesus fucking Christ,” Bones was begging.
Jim’s legs buckled under him and he sagged in Bones’ grip, sliding helplessly to the floor. “Sorry, Bones,” he slurred.
“Don’t be sorry, you stubborn little shit. Be alive,” Bones snapped.
Jim blinked slowly at him. He could barely feel Bones’ frantic attempts at treatment and dimly recognized that the spreading numbness was not a good sign.
“Sorry, Bones,” he found the strength to repeat. “You’ve got to -”
“Shut up,” Bones ordered brusquely.
“But -”
“No buts,” Bones cut him off. “You sit there and you keep breathing and you do what I tell you.”
And before Jim could protest, Bones shoved the cube in his hands and toggled the door open. Jim’s vision had gone too blurry to make out what exactly came pouring into the room but it had way too many legs. He flinched away from the flash of Bones’ phaser, fading eyesight overwhelmed by the brightness.
Use us! the cube whispered in his head.
“You heard it, Jim.” Bones was back and kneeling at his side, pressing Jim’s hand to the cube. “Use it. Now!”
Jim forced his eyes open again, letting his head roll to the side. He shoved weakly at Bones’ shoulder. He didn’t need a good look to know that the things with the legs were still coming. “Get out - go!”
“Use it!” Bones demanded fiercely, refusing to leave.
Jim didn't know how to ‘use it’ but he'd be damned if he was going to be the reason Bones died down here.
Help him, he pleaded silently. Stop them!
His hand was suddenly empty and Jim heard the reassuring metallic clatter of the cube’s extended blades, followed by multiple squeals as it tore into the approaching monsters. He slumped in relief, sinking closer to unconsciousness with every ragged gasp when a surge of energy jolted him. His eyes snapped open and he automatically looked to Bones, crouched anxiously beside him.
“Jim?” he checked worriedly.
“I -” Jim said, jumping slightly as another burst of energy flooded his body. “I think I’m okay?”
Against all reason, he actually was. The pain of his injuries was subsiding into faint aches and even those were disappearing as another pulse of energy warmed him from the inside out. The numbness was thankfully receding under a tide of healthy sensation and his vision sharpened with every steady breath.
“I’m not sure how,” he added as he finished taking stock of his condition, “but I’m okay.”
“Oh thank Christ,” Bones breathed, laying a shaking hand on Jim’s shoulder and squeezing almost painfully tight.
“Do you know how?” Jim persisted. “I mean, you’re the best doctor I know but...”
“Can’t take the credit for that,” Bones answered, voice rough. “Thank that thing.”
He pointed at the cube, hovering complacently over Jim’s upturned fingertips.
“How did it...?” Jim murmured.
Bones sat back on his heels. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “When I first picked it up, it said something about ‘passing on the lifeforce of those we slay.’ I think it’s been helping all along. Even with my advantages, I shouldn’t have survived the trip in to get it.”
So it had saved both of their lives, even without considering its deadliness in combat. Jim wondered how one went about thanking a sentient alien artifact. Patting it seemed a bit condescending and he was just going to blame the urge to hug it on residual shock. Which he should really be making an effort to shake off now, he reminded himself sharply.
“Just keeps getting more and more useful,” Jim remarked, bracing himself against the wall as he gingerly stood up. “Can we keep it when we’re done?”
“Let’s worry about getting out of here before we tackle the question of what we want to bring back with us, huh?” Bones asked dryly, catching Jim’s arm to steady him.
“Fine, fine. Ready when you are.”
It wasn’t much further, Bones assured him as they got back to it. That was a good thing, Jim knew, but he wasn’t thrilled by the way that the temperature was increasing as they progressed. The thought that they were walking into something worse than they were trying to outrun wasn’t comforting. So Jim had hoped he was imagining things. The air wasn’t really getting hotter. And the ambient light wasn’t really taking on a sooty orange tinge. And surely that smell was all in his head.
…Jim used to be much better at lying to himself than this.
He risked a glance over at Bones and his stomach sank at the tight, strained expression on Bones’ face. Definitely not all in his head, then.
“Too far to go back now,” Jim said after he caught Bones looking back over his shoulder for the third time in a few minutes. “Only way out is through.”
It wasn’t anything less than the truth and enough motivation to keep them moving deeper into the disturbingly changed complex. The shaft they were aiming for sat over one of the excavation sites Olduvai had been built to disguise. The excavation itself was heavily fortified but dotted with exit points that would get them to a place they could yell for help. At least, that had been the plan. When they got their first look at what had become of the dig site, instead of hopes of rescue, Jim found himself thinking of frying pans and fire.
The heat was overwhelming, scorching air stinging Jim’s skin and lungs. Wavering orange light added to the effect, fiery flickers twisting at the edges of his vision. The network of catwalks and stairways Bones had been hoping to climb to safety were still there but looked oddly warped, courtesy of the uncertain light. The entire ground floor of the complex had vanished, swallowed up in an immense hole. Jim couldn’t get a good look at what was inside; it hurt his eyes to look at it directly. Besides, the massive monster standing next to the hole was pretty attention-grabbing.
“What the hell is that?” Jim hissed, peering at the thing from the dubious cover of the doorway.
“I don’t know!” Bones answered, voice wavering between frustration and fear. “This place never runs out of new shit to throw at me!”
We are the only way to destroy the enemy's mightiest warrior, the cube chimed abruptly. Destroying evil gives us life, and makes us stronger. Unleash us when you hear our call.
Jim had nearly jumped out of his skin at the cube’s unexpected interjection and now he traded uneasy glances with an equally startled Bones.
“Does that mean what I think it means?” Bones demanded in an undertone, scowling at the cube.
“I don’t know but I’m not in any hurry to jump out and test our phasers’ efficacy against that thing!” Jim pointed out.
They snuck another look at the behemoth lumbering around the edge of the pit. It was easily three times their height, an unholy mishmash of bulging muscle and gleaming metal. The floor under their feet trembled with the force of its steps. It wouldn’t surprise Jim to see the thing shake off their phaser bolts as if they were fireflies. He was willing to bet that they wouldn’t have as much luck surviving whatever the thing shot out of the cannon posing as its right arm.
They’d just have to make sure they didn’t get hit, then.
“Okay, so how are we doing this?” he asked.
“Don’t suppose you’d agree to do the smart thing and get out of here while I take care of that fucker?” Bones ventured.
Jim swallowed his reflexive objection to that idea and forced himself to think about it. Not his preferred choice, needless to say, but Bones’ suggestion had merit. They only had one cube, after all. But Jim had four signal boosters.
“On one condition,” he finally said, fishing out the equipment he needed and starting on a hasty rewiring job.
“Really?” The surprise in Bones’ voice would have been comical on any other day. “I mean, what condition?”
“You take this with you,” Jim instructed, pointing at the boosters he was hooking into a single unit. Even if the Enterprise couldn’t find Bones on her own, Jim could tell them what frequency to look for. Or call out line of sight coordinates for a blind transport, if all else failed. “And you don’t bitch when the Enterprise pulls out in the middle of your heroics.”
“Done,” Bones accepted immediately. “So long as you hurry up about it,” he added, looking over his shoulder.
Jim resisted the urge to check out what had prompted that shattering roar and kept working. It couldn’t be anything worth wasting the time. It only took him a few minutes to finish and he held out the linked boosters for Bones to take.
“You aren’t allowed to die down here either,” he said seriously as Bones tucked the signal device into his uniform. “You hear me, Bones?”
“I hear you,” Bones told him, clasping a hand at the base of Jim’s neck and shaking him lightly. “You just remember to follow your own damn orders.”
Jim thumped a fist into Bones’ chest, unwilling to risk anything more demonstrative. “See you on the other side, old man,” he promised steadily.
Walking away from Bones was one of the hardest things Jim had ever done but he did it because it was their only chance. He stayed focused on the catwalks under his feet, alert for any lurking danger. There was every reason to suspect there’d be some sort of threat, given the number of monsters crawling out of the hole at the bottom of the shaft. They were undoubtedly the targets of the phaser fire Jim could hear as he climbed, Bones’ attempts to charge the cube and turn it loose on ‘the enemy’s greatest warrior.’ It didn’t take long and Jim smiled thinly as the sound of whirring blades echoed up to him, followed by a roar that shook the metal under him.
It left his ears ringing so badly that he barely heard the most wonderful noise in the universe until his communicator chirped again. He nearly tore it out of his pocket in his haste.
“Enterprise, this is Kirk!” he shouted. “Enterprise, do you read?”
“We read you, Captain,” Spock’s voice answered calmly.
“It is goddamn good to hear that, Spock,” Jim replied fervently. “Can you get us out of here?”
“We have a partial lock on your position,” Spock told him, “but are unable to locate any other crew members. Who else is with you?”
“Bones,” Jim started but his reply was drowned out by another bellow from below as the cube took another shot at the giant guarding the hole.
“Just Bones,” he continued as soon as the noise subsided. “Scan for the boosters you sent with us,” he ordered. “Bones is carrying three of them. They’re patched together.”
“We are doing so,” Spock assured him and Jim could have kissed the Vulcan practicality that kept Spock from asking useless questions about what the hell that sound had been.
“Make it quick, Spock!” Jim couldn’t help but urge. He knew they were working as fast as they could but still... “We need out of here as soon as it can be managed.”
He glanced over the edge of the walkway to the battle below, relieved to see phaser bolts continuing to lance out from a concealed position against the wall. The cube flickered into view a moment later, blades at full extension and shot out towards the monstrosity in the centre of the room. Jim’s eyes went wide as it buried itself in the centre of that horned head, knocking the giant back into the hole. A low rumble followed, leaving Jim to clutch frantically at the railing as the entire place shuddered around him. He swore when a sudden blast of heat and light caught him in the face, raising one arm to shield his eyes. There was molten rock welling up in the pit now, spilling over the edge and pouring slowly into the bottom of the shaft.
“Bones!” he yelled, desperately searching for any sign of him. “Jesus - Get out of there!”
“We have you, Captain!” Spock announced suddenly. “Energizing now.”
Jim had never been so happy to feel a transporter tugging at him. Not ever.
“Bones?” he demanded immediately upon rematerialization, infinitely relieved by the dry comment at his back.
“Right here, Jim.”
And he was. Exhausted and filthy but there.
The hell with captainly decorum, Jim decided, then flung an arm around Bones’ neck, clutching him even more tightly as Bones slid a bracing arm around his waist.
“We are never letting that happen again,” Jim promised quietly. Bones’ breath caught in his throat and he squeezed Jim tightly for a second before he stepped away.
“There’s no place like home!” Jim announced brightly to Spock, standing at the transporter panel and as unruffled as ever by his captain’s exuberant displays. “Thanks for the save, Spock.”
Spock inclined his head. “It is good to have you back.”
“I’ve got one more task for you, though,” Jim said.
Spock raised an eyebrow in silent inquiry.
“That facility needs to be destroyed,” Jim said flatly. “Completely. Can you make it happen?”
“Certainly, Captain,” Spock told him without hesitation. “Should this be accomplished immediately?”
“Yes,” Bones and Jim answered in unison.
“Then I shall return to the Bridge and see that it is done,” Spock told them.
Jim forced Bones to detour long enough to get the worst of the soot and blood off of them before he joined him in a headlong rush to the Bridge. Spock was standing next to the command chair when they arrived, clearly waiting for them. He stepped aside with a solemn nod as Jim approached, returning to his station as Bones assumed his usual position at Jim’s shoulder.
“Are we ready to do this, gentlemen?” Jim asked.
“Yes, Captain,” Spock answered.
The PADD lying on the arm of Jim’s chair lit up and he gave it a brief glance, noting the calculations and damage projections.
“Excellent,” Jim said. “Mr. Sulu. Fire at will.”
Jim watched the displays, viciously satisfied to see the reports of Olduvai crumbling under his ship’s weapons.
“Captain,” Uhura said almost immediately. “We’re receiving several inquiries and orders to desist.”
Jim waited a few seconds to give the order. Just to make sure there was nothing left.
“I apologize, Captain,” Spock offered in a monotone. “Evidently, I neglected to inform the proper authorities of the actions we would be taking. I take complete blame for the oversight.”
Jim waved that away. “It’s been a pretty rough day for all of us, Spock. We’ll get it smoothed over.” He’d always been a big believer in the notion that it was easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
Uhura looked up from her station, interrupting the stream of apologies she’d been sending. “Admiral Whitlock for you, sir. Urgent and requiring an immediate response.”
“I’ll bet,” Bones snorted softly, eyes still glued to the data scrolling across the main screens.
“Put it through to my ready room, Lieutenant,” Jim instructed as he rose.
He wasn’t entirely surprised when Bones fell into step beside him but he held his tongue until they exited the Bridge.
“You don’t have to be here for this,” Jim tried as the door slid shut behind them.
“Yeah, Jim. I do,” Bones insisted and Jim shrugged.
Bones was a big boy. If he wanted to come be yelled at by an admiral, who was Jim to stop him? Besides, Jim could to admit to himself that he’d much rather have Bones close to hand at the moment. Disaster and repeated near deaths had left him willing to indulge in a bit of clinginess.
Jim settled into his chair and turned on his terminal, flicking a glance back at Bones, at military attention at his shoulder.
“Hello, Admiral. What can I-”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Kirk?” she shouted. “Destroying the facility we sent you to investigate? Firing on Mars?! Have you lost your mind?”
“I can explain, Admiral,” Jim said calmly.
“It better be a good one,” she warned angrily. “Or I’ll have your commission for this!”
“The destruction of Olduvai was necessary,” he started, stalling for time to think about how to spin his report. He hoped Bones had enough sense to keep his mouth shut and follow Jim’s lead.
“Perhaps I can help to explain the situation,” Spock announced as he strode into the ready room unannounced.
Jim almost raised an eyebrow of his own but signalled Spock to go ahead.
Spock tapped some information onto his PADD before setting it down on Jim’s desk and assuming a stance at Jim’s other shoulder.
“As you can see from the data which I have just sent you, the anomalous energy and seismic phenomena that were manifesting at the former UAC outpost presented an immediate threat to the other colonies on Mars. That threat needed to be addressed promptly and with sufficient force to nullify it. The Captain’s solution was a drastic one but the timeframe was very limited,” Spock explained.
Jim was extremely grateful for his misspent youth right then. If he hadn’t spent so much time in and out of gambling games, his poker face never would have held up throughout Spock’s little speech. Not to mention the mountains of very convincing evidence Spock had produced to support it.
“Sorry if we scared anyone,” Jim interjected, allowing his usual informality to reassert itself. “Like Spock said, we didn’t have much time to act.”
Whitlock had calmed somewhat, paging through the data on her side of the connection. “We’ll take a look through this,” she conceded grudgingly. “But Command isn’t thrilled with your dramatics, Kirk.”
She continued on in that vein for a few minutes, Jim nodding dutifully in all the right places. It took some effort to maintain the careful balance of repentance and confidence that typically carried him through the admiralty’s lectures. The smugness with which he usually consoled himself was markedly absent today, leaving just a desperate gratitude that he and Bones were alive and safe on the ship.
Whitlock seemed to take a closer look at him as she wound down and sighed heavily at whatever she saw. “The report says you lost ten people down there?”
Jim nodded somberly. “We did, Admiral.”
She rubbed a hand over her mouth and sighed again. “We’ll take a look through this,” she repeated, raising the PADD. “Go get cleaned up in the meantime, Captain. You look like hell."
Silence fell in the ready room after Whitlock signed off, broken when Bones slid the PADD over the desk towards him and glanced quickly through the information Spock had prepared.
“‘Presented an immediate threat to the other colonies on Mars,’ huh?” he asked as he scrolled.
“Did it not?” Spock replied, an almost challenging quirk to his raised eyebrow.
“Well, yeah,” Jim admitted. “But how did you know that?”
Spock was the only being Jim had ever met who could shrug so impassively. “Despite your emotional natures, neither of you is inclined towards exaggeration in circumstances such as these. Your appearances and demeanors upon returning to the ship suggested significant distress. If your assessment of the situation indicated the need for decisive action, it is my responsibility to aid you in carrying it out.”
“...You couldn’t just say that you trust us and you’d take our word for it?” Bones retorted but the thin veneer of annoyance wasn’t fooling anyone.
Spock’s brow furrowed in disapproval. “I have come to understand the emotional natures of other species,” he countered. “I see no need to partake in them.”
“We’d be lost without you and your logic, Spock,” Jim allowed, not bothering to hide his grin.
“Logic would dictate that you undergo a thorough medical examination, Captain,” Spock promptly replied.
“For once, we agree,” Bones put in.
“From bickering to ganging up on me in under ten seconds,” Jim complained as he stood up. “That’s got to be a record.”
He let them usher him down to Sickbay with nothing more than token complaints, however. He balked only when Bones brushed off his staff’s attempts to check on him.
“Be sure to jab him with as many hyposprays as you can!” Jim called helpfully as Chapel led Bones to another biobed. “You won’t get many chances!”
Chapel’s cheerful “Yes, Captain,” overlaid Bones’ “Shut up, Jim!” and Jim snickered as the medical staff set to work.
No one found anything wrong with either one of them that a good night’s sleep wouldn’t cure and they were sent off with instructions to do just that. Jim wasn’t terribly surprised when Bones silently followed him to his room, slipping in behind him and stalking around the room. Jim poured himself a drink - after today, he definitely deserved one - and splashed some into a glass for Bones as an afterthought.
“So. Down there. What the hell was that?” he asked as he handed off the glass.
Bones shook his head. “Fucked if I know,” he answered honestly. “Out of control experiments? Extradimensional aliens? Demons? Pick one. I don’t really care what they were. We got out - that’s good enough for me.”
Jim nodded tightly. “Not going to argue with that. At least we made good and goddamned sure that no one else will be getting back in.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Bones muttered and proceeded to do so.
Jim nursed his own drink, waiting for the inevitable explosion. It wasn’t long in coming.
“I just don’t get what the hell you were thinking, going down there!”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Jim replied breezily. “Maybe something like, ‘Holy fuck, Bones is stuck in his worst nightmare and probably getting killed down there right now’?”
Bones made a sharp, frustrated gesture. “You said you’d stay here!”
“No, I said I wouldn’t go down with you,” Jim corrected. “I didn’t say anything about leaving you to die.”
“You should have!” Bones shouted, slamming his drink down on the table and pacing angrily.
“Oh like hell I should have!” Jim shot back. “Like I could have!”
“Why the fuck not?” Bones demanded.
“Jesus, Bones. You know why.”
“No, Jim. I don’t! Why would you ever think that going into Olduvai was a good idea?”
“You know why!” Jim repeated.
Bones crossed his arms and glared.
“Don’t make me say it, you stubborn asshole,” Jim complained.
Bones’ temper faltered for the first time since he’d flared up. “Jim, I - you can’t.”
“Too late,” Jim told him brightly. “I already do. Have done for years.”
He sighed at the helpless look Bones gave him and put his own glass down before crossing the room to stand in front of him.
“This isn’t a surprise, old man,” he said gently. “Or it shouldn’t be. And don’t you dare try to convince me it’s one-sided.”
“Never pretended otherwise,” Bones conceded, shoulders slumping as his posture loosened.
“You never did,” Jim agreed, edging a bit further into his personal space. It had been a revelation to Jim and was probably the only reason he’d made it out here in the first place. “Did I ever mention that I’m goddamn glad I met you?”
“Likewise,” Bones answered, burying the reply in Jim’s shoulder.
Jim wrapped his arms around him and hung on. This time, neither one of them was in a hurry to let go.
Things didn’t really change much between them after Olduvai. Except that Jim’s tendency to occasionally crawl into Bones’ bed became something more like regular habit. And often involved a lot more than sleeping. All changes for the good, as far as Jim was concerned. If he was going to be next thing to married to his best friend, he figured that he ought to be enjoying all of the benefits.
The crew seemed more amused than anything by the unspoken shift in their relationship, even on nights when Bones had overestimated even his prodigious stamina and been kicked out of Sickbay by his own staff. Jim had shown up in response to their off-the-record complaints to pick him up and escort him back to his room. He’d kept Bones awake long enough to stuff some food into him, then dragged him off to bed where Bones had promptly collapsed into a deep sleep on his shoulder. Jim chuckled at the role reversal and let him sleep, enjoying the warmth of Bones’ solid weight against his side.
He lifted one hand into the air above his face, barely able to make out the fingers he wriggled against the dimness of the ceiling. Just a pale blur in the shadows, really.
Aside from Bones, there wasn’t much certainty in Jim’s life. Futures in the fleet weren’t fixed. Jim wouldn’t mind staying on this ride as long as it lasted but he knew it wouldn’t last forever. There were dangers to consider. Not to mention promotions, retirements, new friends, old enemies and the list went on. But for now? Jim had the best crew in the universe, the best ship in the fleet, Bones napping on his chest and a few years left on their tour of duty. Time to enjoy himself, yet.
He considered his hand again. His fingers moved smoothly, painlessly. Normally that wouldn’t be cause for contemplation but earlier today, a minor mishap in Engineering had left him bruised and scratched. He’d shrugged it off and redirected Scotty’s attention to the mess in his engine room. By the time he’d remembered to clean it off, the thin lines of blood had washed away and revealed unblemished skin underneath. Jim had stared down at himself for a long, uncomprehending moment. He’d tightened his hand into a fist when he remembered a chorus of voices pouring into his mind, a promise of aid and the warm pulses of energy that had saved his life. And maybe more?
The journey was the destination, Jim’d been told. He liked the idea and his life had been one hell of a ride so far. He let his hand drop and shifted onto his side, drawing Bones into his arms. The sleepy snuffle of his breath into Jim’s ear made him smile and tuck his free hand under Bones’ shirt, wanting skin under his palm. Jim didn’t know if he had five years left or fifty or five hundred but he was looking forward to finding out.
Fin
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Back to the Masterpost
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!