Fic: "Hiatus" (2/2)

[mijan]

Title: "Hiatus" (Part 2)
Rating:: NC-17
Word Count: 18,737
Pairing: McCoy/Kirk
Warnings/Temptings: BDSM, bondage, marking, biting, medical kink, Risk-Aware Consensual Kink, public play, D/s, and so on.
Summary: Jim is in over his head with classes and training at the Academy. He needs a break, and he won't take one on his own, so Bones makes him take the hiatus that he needs.

Notes: This fic is part of my Ficathon fundraiser, and was written for treksnoopy and rubymiene. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Link to Part 1

"Hiatus" (Part 2)

Jim felt himself drifting into that faraway place again when someone approached and blocked his view of the play room floor.

“Hey Len... Leonard,” Ted said happily. “Well, would ya look at that? Looks like you’ve got Jim nice and relaxed.”

“He’s enjoying himself,” Bones replied, and Jim could hear the smile in his voice. “Is the room ready?”

Jim blinked and stiffened slightly. He’d almost forgotten about Bones’ earlier conversation with Ted, and something about a private room.

“Sure is. Coded for your thumbprint for access. You two have fun in there.”

“Of course. Thanks, Ted.”

“For you, Leonard? Anytime.”

Jim was still trying to wrap his head around the idea that Bones was favored enough at a private BDSM club that the owner was willing to do personal favors for him, but Bones was already maneuvering Jim upright.

“Come on, kid. I’m not going to make you take out the gag, but it’s time to up and move.” He stood, and pulled Jim to his feet. Jim felt himself wavering, but Bones quickly threaded an arm around his waist to steady him. “Oh yeah, you’re in a good headspace. I’m sorry for almost pulling you out of that. Didn’t realize it would be such a big deal, but I should have known. But don’t worry, kid. We’ve got options. For now, however, let’s move on to the next thing.” He looked around at the other people sharing the alcove with him, and tipped his head in a polite nod as he grabbed his ever-present duffel bag. “Goodnight, gentlemen. It’s been a pleasure. Jim, wave goodnight.”

Jim waved clumsily to a pleasant chorus of farewells, and found himself being steered out of the alcove and to a doorway that he hadn’t noticed before and down a hallway. A moment later, they were going through another door, and...

“Now would be a good time to take a piss, Jim... because you’re not going anywhere for a while once we get started.”

Jim almost laughed at the mundane nature of the order, but he was on autopilot, and it was easy to just follow instructions. They both took a moment to relieve themselves, and then Bones was dragging him back down the hall, past several doors and around a corner. When he finally stopped, he pressed his thumb to a small access panel, and the door slid open.

Jim’s breath caught.

It looked like a strange doctor’s office with an old-fashioned and slightly more sinister-looking biobed in the middle of the room. A dozen disjointed thoughts swam in his head while he stomach did flip-flops. A place like this existed? Bones had always said that he wasn’t the only one with a medical kink, but Jim had never quite believed that he shared that strange obsession with anyone else. But now, looking at this, it was impossible to deny it.

“In ya go,” Bones said, pushing him lightly into the room. “And strip, Jim. I can’t very well treat or examine you with those clothes on.”

Feeling simultaneously nervous and giddy, Jim began pulling off his clothes. Part of his brain was still demanding to ask questions, but that part had been thoroughly gagged, and Jim was pretty satisfied with that. He lined up his boots next to the wall, folded his shirt and pants neatly and placed them on a nearby chair, then intentionally hesitated at his underwear.

“All of it, kid.”

Jim was pretty sure he was just enjoying being told what to do.

The underwear followed the rest of his clothes, and Jim was standing in the middle of a private room in a BDSM club, wearing nothing but a ball gag, while Bones gave him a clinical look that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

“As much as those pants look incredible on you, I think this is definitely preferable.” Bones shook his head, in amazement or amusement, and laughed lightly. “Okay, Jim... hop up on the bed.”

As nervous as he was excited, Jim did as he was told, and sat with his legs dangling over the side, kicking his feet childishly.

Bones rolled his eyes. “Brat. Lie down.”

Jim waggled his eyebrows, then followed medical direction and settled himself back on the biobed. Bones reached over and tapped a button on the side of the biobed, activating the screen, which already began spitting out basic data like heart rate and blood pressure. Then, Bones stepped back across the room to where he’d left his duffel.

Jim watched as Bones began unbuttoning his own shirt. He was starting to wonder what the hell Bones was doing when the guy pulled a blue scrub top out of the duffel bag and tugged it over his head.

When Bones noticed Jim staring at him, he nodded. “What did you expect, kid? A riding crop and high heels?” He grabbed an old-fashioned stethoscope out of his bag and looped it around his neck.

Despite the gag, Jim started chuckling. No, he was giggling. Giddy and ridiculous and -

“That’s it, you’re obviously delirious,” Bones announced, as he grabbed his ever-present tricorder out of his bag and activated it. “It’s good to see your stress markers have almost come back down to the normal range, although it looks like you’re still a bit antsy. Good overall... but your pulse is higher than it should be, and you’re a bit dehydrated.”

Jim let out a whining noise.

“Oh, don’t worry, the gag is working so well that there’s no way I’d discontinue that treatment. But first... I don’t need you squirming and jumping around while I work.”

Bones was smooth enough that Jim hadn’t even noticed him approaching with the medical restraint. A couple of years of ER work in a major city had given Bones the skills of a medical ninja, and before Jim could blink twice, his left wrist was firmly attached to the side of the biobed.

“That looks pretty good,” Bones mused to himself as he checked for Jim’s pulse below the restraint. “Not too tight.” Then he moved around to the other side of the table.

Jim held out his hand for Bones.

“Well now, aren’t you the most cooperative patient I’ve ever had? Who are you and what did you do with Jim Kirk?” He strapped down Jim’s right wrist, checked for a pulse, and moved around to the foot of the biobed.

Jim merely shrugged.

“I don’t know what you’re so happy about. You go and get yourself all beat up, and then just leave it for hard-working doctors like me to fix everything.” Right ankle. “And sometimes, I wonder why I bother. You’re just gonna go break yourself again. But hell, that’s what you Starfleet space cowboy types do, isn’t that right?” Left ankle.

Jim leaned his head back and smiled inwardly. He and Bones hadn’t played nearly as often as he would have liked, but it was often enough that the pattern of restraint application was a familiar ritual.

And then he felt a wide strap being pulled across his stomach and tightened down.

Okay, so that was new.

Bones fastened the strap in place, and Jim arched against it instinctively. He wasn’t trying to get out, but the act of testing the restraints was almost a reflex. He couldn’t move. His torso was firmly fixed to the biobed. If anything, it gave him an even stronger sense of security and mental freedom. That was something he couldn’t have imagined a year ago, but now... it felt so good.

Then, Bones hands were on the ball gag again. Jim let out another high-pitched whine of protest.

“I’m not taking it off, you big baby.”

There was the faint sound of metal clicking against metal near Jim’s left ear, then his right. He tried to turn his head to see what Bones had done, and then he realized that he couldn’t move his head... at all. Bones had clipped the harness of the ball gag to the biobed.

It wasn’t exactly anxiety, because Jim knew he had no real reason to be nervous, and Bones was taking care of him, and that’s what he wanted-needed-craved right now. But... he couldn’t move his head. He’d never been so completely immobilized before. His heart started thudding more heavily in his chest, and he could feel himself breathing just a bit too fast.

“Easy there, Jim.” Bones’ hands were on his shoulders, rubbing and kneading the muscles. “This is good for you. The more control I took away from you tonight, the more you relaxed. The endorphins helped, too. That’s all we’re doing here. And same thing as before... if you need to safeword, use hand signals. Tap the bed three times, and I’ll stop.”

Jim looked up at Bones, and then, slowly, conscientiously let his body relax against the biobed, signalling his agreement.

Bones checked his pulse for a moment, then smiled. “There ya go. Relax. That’s better.” Then, he slid his fingers around and began gently palpating Jim’s neck. “It’s been a while since you had a proper physical, kid, and tricorders can’t tell me everything.”

Jim’s breath quickened slightly. Manual physical? There was no way...

After a moment of feeling every muscle and gland on Jim’s neck, Bones’ hands slid down further, pressing and feeling around Jim’s collarbone. Bones’ attention felt like a physical thing on every point where he touched, intense in its own way. Jim squirmed... or, at least, he tried to. Bones chuckled, then stuck his stethoscope in his ears.

“Breathe, Jim.”

Jim took careful breaths as Bones listened around his chest. The stethoscope was cool but Bones’ gaze was hot.

“Good... very good,” came the clinical report. “That slight arrhythmia from earlier is gone. I’m going to have to strap you down more often. Seems like it’s good for you.”

Jim let out a deep-throated hum as Bones moved on to palpate his abdomen, pressing, exploring, testing. Then, his hand slid down and fingers pressed into the inside of his thigh.

“Femoral pulse, Jim. You know you have pulses all over your body. I should manually test every single one of them on you sometime... one by one.”

Jim was vaguely hoping that sometime meant now, but then Bones’ hands were gone, and there was the sound of Bones digging through the duffel again... then a tight snap. Then another.

Gloves. Exam gloves. He really was going to do it.

Hot damn.

The biobed began moving underneath him. His legs, tied at the ankles to the ends, were spread apart and bent at the knee.

Jim’s breath was definitely increasing.

“Slow down your breathing, Jim. This isn’t going to hurt. You’re going to feel a little bit of pressure.”

Bones’ finger was cool and slick, and it breached Jim’s hole so easily.

Kink play wasn’t always sexual for Jim. Sometimes, the attention was a completely different sort of thing. However, even when it wasn’t sexual, Jim always ended up at least half-hard. He’d been on his way there anyway, just from the restraints and the physical touch he’d been receiving, but as Bones hooked his finger around and pressed firmly and decisively against his prostate, Jim felt himself hardening rapidly. Achingly.

Bones twisted his finger a bit, rubbing his prostate back and forth.

Jim keened. Panted. And if he hadn’t been gagged, his mouth would have followed his brain with a babbling litany of oh God oh God oh God and fuckfuckfuckfuck. He was definitely hard now. Not that it would have been difficult to get there when he was already in a mindset like that, but it was almost overwhelming now. It was the setting, the situation, and Bones, who was adding another finger and hooking it around viciously.

“Your prostate seems pretty healthy,” he said in that clinical tone that seemed so neutral but controlling at the same time. “Good reaction to stimulation.”

Jim was having a hard time breathing, and it felt like he couldn’t get quite enough air through his nose.

“You know, they used to recommend milking the prostate as a therapeutic treatment for various ailments. Maybe I should try that on you, but I think we’re getting enough of a reaction for today.”

Jim moaned wantonly. He felt himself getting tighter at the sound of Bones’ voice.

“Almost too much reaction, actually.” The fingers were gone, and suddenly, something cool and tight slipped around the base of Jim’s cock - the cock ring that Bones sometimes used on him. “That should hold you.”

The whine Jim let out made his own chest vibrate.

“Relax, kid. We’ve got more work to do.”

The biobed moved again, flattening out and bringing Jim’s legs back down as Bones stepped away for a moment. There were more shuffling sounds, and although Jim couldn’t see Bones, he kept trying to picture what the man would dig out before it happened. He had no idea what was in that duffel bag, but he’d seen enough of Bones’ toy collection that his mind was already formulating images, all of which were appealing. Maybe it would be the TENS unit that Bones had used on him when his back was aching after he’d run the academy obstacle course too many times. Maybe Bones would do that nerve conductivity test he’d done once. Jim shuddered at the memory of electrical pulses racing up and down his arms and legs. Maybe Bones would do the same thing to him that he’d done to pip earlier, which would be fucking amazing.

He did not expect to see Bones hang an IV bag from a hook above the biobed. He blinked, then made a noise that, without the ball gag, might have been ”What the fuck?

Bones nodded solemnly as he spiked the bag, straightened out the line, and and filled it with saline. “I started keeping one of these in my play bag whenever I’d come to the club here because some idiot always plays too hard or wraps himself in too much vinyl and rubber and ends up passing out from heat exhaustion or dehydration. You’re not being an idiot, Jim, so don’t worry, but this way, I won’t worry about you dehydrating - because we’ve still got a lot of stuff to do to you - and I don’t want have to discontinue the gag in the middle of it.”

Jim blinked, considering this. Bones sometimes went for intense realism in scenes, but this was sending Jim’s brains in unfamiliar loops.

There was something tightening around his left upper arm, and holy shit, Bones was actually going to do it.

He could tap out, but that would stop everything. He could let Bones take off the ball gag and just drink the damned water, but that would break the strange spell that had settled over him. Besides, Bones had turned him into a pincushion plenty of times. And... not having the brainpower to be anything but honest with himself... he just wanted to let Bones do whatever he wanted.

“You okay, Jim?”

Jim made a sound behind the gag that would have been “Mmm-hmm.”

“Good, kid.” Bones’ fingers were pressing and tapping different spots along his hand and forearm. “There, this one looks pretty good,” he said as his fingers came to rest on one spot, prodding gently.

There was the familiar tingle of a sterilizer unit, then the sound of a wrapper being pulled apart. Bones’ hands were back on his forearm, just above his wrist and the restraint. His fingers were firm and confident, and that sensation alone caused a heady buzz in Jim’s brain. “I’d tell you to hold still, but I think we’ve got that covered.”

The world narrowed to the bite of the needle and catheter piercing his skin and sliding into his vein. Jim had often tried to analyze why the sensation had such a strong effect on him. Part of it had to be simple masochism - the pain and the endorphins were intoxicating. Some of it was the feeling of being penetrated in such an invasive way. But mostly, the lack of control he had over it once it was in his arm was both terrifying and appealing at once.

When he’d been stuck in the hospital after the shuttle crash, the IV line they had him on had felt like a tether, keeping his restrained to the biobed. Now, with the multiple restraints already in place, the effect was even more intense. He was lying there, with Bones doing things to him, and he had no control except the simple decision to stop everything, but he didn’t want to, and it was okay. Bones was taking care of him. Bones was treating all the things that needed to be treated. He could just lay there and take it, and let these things happen to him because it was Bones, and everything would be fine.

Bones was fiddling with his arm just a bit more, and he could see the plastic tubing move as Bones attached it to his arm and taped it in place. Bones stood up and adjusted the flow rate, and Jim watched, oddly mesmerized as the drip chamber at the top counted out the rate of the fluid flowing into his veins.

It was hypnotic, and Jim felt his brain slow down, just a little bit more.

He blinked in surprise when Bones came around and pressed an adhesive strip to his forehead. It felt as though it had tiny teeth, digging lightly into his scalp.

“This is a neuro sensor,” Bones explained in his unwavering, clinical tone. “It will measure your brainwaves and tell me how deep you’re going into subspace. There are changes that take place once you really start slipping into it. You’re already partially there. Don’t fight it, Jim. Just let it happen.”

Of course he’d let it happen. It was so easy to just listen. So easy to just go along with it. So comforting. Soothing.

Jim’s head was strangely fuzzy, and even though he knew Bones hadn’t drugged him in any way, because Bones wouldn’t do that without telling him, he could almost let himself believe that there was something in the IV that was altering his perceptions. He felt strange and disconnected, but hyperaware and hypersensitive all at once. His body was vibrantly alive but completely still, and his mind was beginning to follow suit.

He’d experienced sub-space before, but this was taking him deeper. He was teetering on the edge of a drop, and he wasn’t afraid to fall. Bones would catch him.

“That’s good, Jim. That’s really good.” Bones’ fingers were on the pulse in his wrist, warm and comforting. Then he pulled away and stepped out of Jim’s range of vision. “Now, you’ve been putting yourself through some rough stuff lately, we’re going to do some neurological testing and stimulation.”

Jim listened intently, as if his ears could somehow deduce what Bones was pulling out of the bag. He couldn’t turn his head. His entire range of vision was the ceiling, the IV bag, and the edge of the biobed monitor.

Bones’ face came into view, and he held up something that Jim had never seen before. It was a small, metal instrument. It had a slender handle no longer than a PADD stylus, but at the end was a thin wheel, edged with vicious-looking spikes.

Jim felt his breath quicken just a bit.

“This is something a bit new for you. It’s called a Wartenberg wheel. They’re used to test nerve sensitivity. It’s an ancient medical device that’s still used today because it’s effective. So, first, we’re going to test your nerve sensitivity.”

Test... nerve sensitivity? Jim’s brain was running a bit slow.

Bones nodded at him, and then, there was something delicate and sharp tracing along the left side of Jim’s jawline.

Jim gasped through his nose as the exquisite thread of sharpness continued to roll up under his jaw towards his ear, then down his neck. It prickled delicately along his collarbone from left to right, and despite the fact that it was obvious that Bones wasn’t pressing it very hard, the pinprick sensation from each spike was bright and sharp. It felt like a line was being lightly traced in his skin. It almost tickled, but in no way could the sensation actually feel like a tickle.

The wheel moved up the right side of Jim’s neck, then back down along that side of his jaw. Then, with Bones’ attention focused razor-sharp, he traced the wheel down the front of Jim’s neck, over his larynx, through the hollow at the base of his neck, and down his sternum. It stopped at the base of his breastbone. Then, Bones began drawing it along the bottom edge of his ribcage, down and to the left. The skin along there was more sensitive than Jim expected, and he instinctively tried to squirm away from it, but the strap across his stomach had almost no give. All he could do was pant and shiver as Bones traced the wheel back up from the left and then drew it down along the bottom of his lowest right rib.

It almost felt like he was being carefully dissected. The Wartenberg wheel was like a scalpel in Bones’ hands, tracing muscles and curves, carving the outlines of vital living tissues. Bones’ focus was absolute, and the wheel was rolling faster now so that the individual pinpricks blended together. The pressure was more firm now. It tickled, but it didn’t. If Jim hadn’t known better, he might almost believe that it was a blade, actually slicing through his skin, except that the pain disappeared after the wheel passed. Where it met his skin, however, felt like an icy-hot line of sharpness, cutting everything else away.

Bones ran the wheel over the curve of his left hip, then down towards his groin. Jim couldn’t hold back the tight noise that built in his throat, and desperately tried to squirm against his restraints, but Bones merely planted one hand firmly on his hip as he drew the wheel down the inside of Jim’s left leg.

By the time the wheel began carving its way up the inside of Jim’s right leg, he was a mess, and he knew it. The wheel was suddenly everywhere - across his stomach, down the curve of his obliques, up towards his armpit, over his deltoid, down his neck again, over his chest, across his nipple...

Jim clenched his teeth tighter around the ball in his mouth, and he couldn’t hold back the high-pitched noise that escaped his throat.

“Mmm... you like that, do you?” Bones hummed as he ran the wheel over the other nipple.

Jim squeaked behind the gag.

Bones merely chuckled lightly, then dove right back into driving Jim out of his mind. The sensation was so unique, he didn’t know how to process it. It was sharp and intense and cutting and tickling and everywhere. He couldn’t think. His body was straining against the restraints and going absolutely nowhere. The wheel was on his chest, then his leg, up the insteps of his feet, and underneath the gag, Jim was laughing and gasping and whimpering and moaning all at once, and -

It stopped.

Panting hard, Jim blinked a few times and Bones’ face came into focus above his.

“There you go, Jim. Easy now. Breathe for a moment. We’re just getting you warmed up.” Bones’ hand, warm and soft, cradled Jim’s cheek. His thumb gently stroked along his cheekbone. “That was good, Jim. Really good. We’re going to change it up a bit, now.”

Bones held up an instrument that looked like a ridiculously tiny cane. It couldn’t have been much more than 20 centimeters long, and if Jim had to guess, it was probably a carbon fiber filament of some sort. “This thing has a few names, and while it’s not standard medical treatment, it’s excellent for inducing endorphin release. Colloquially, they call it an evil stick.”

Jim felt his analytical brain trying to kick in, just a little bit. A tiny tool like that? Evil? What was Bones going to do with it? Poke? Scratch? There was no way that little thing could inflict anything that would induce an endorphin rush.

“That’s no good, Jim. You’re thinking again. So... before we get started with this, it’s time to shut off some more of your higher cognition.” Bones pulled something small out of a pocket of his scrub top, and reached for Jim’s head.

There was pressure in his right ear, and then his left, and... ear plugs. Jim blinked a few times, staring at the narrow view afforded to him by his precarious position. He’d been relying on the sound of Bones’ footsteps, the shuffling noises he made, and other little cues to anticipate and predict what was happening. He hadn’t even realized he’d been doing it until that entire sensory input was gone.

There was a brief flash of worry, but Jim forced himself to take a slow, calming breath. Whatever Bones had in mind, it was okay. He could do this. Bones reached down and rubbed Jim’s shoulder for a moment reassuringly. He stepped back and took a moment to check the IV bag, adjusted something, and then stepped around to Jim’s right side.

Jim tried to look down to see what Bones was doing, but then Bones’ hand was reaching for his face, gently guiding his eyelids shut. Jim left them shut for a moment, feeling oddly detached. He was floating a bit, but not entirely. He blinked his eyes open, but now, he didn’t feel inclined to peek at Bones. He let his gaze drift at the ceiling.

A suddenly snapping sensation across his right pectoral muscle shocked his eyes wide open. A split second after the snap, the burn started. Instead of fading, the burn intensified, almost like the burn after a cane had... shit.

Jim could picture it now. He didn’t even need to see what Bones was doing. He was holding the carbon filament flat against his skin, then drawing it back and then letting it snap down, and the burn was the welt that was raising up. And damn, did it burn... and then there was a second snap, not far from the first one.

He arched against the restraints as the second burn set in. He breathed as deeply and slowly as he could, waiting for the burn to fade, but it was barely fading... not quickly enough... and then there was a third snap. The burn was building across his chest, radiating from all three points and blurring together. The first one might have been fading, but not enough. Everything was intensifying together.

A fourth snap.

Jim keened against his gag and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t usually like stingy sensations, and this was fucking intense. The sting and the burn and -

A fifth snap.

Jim was panting. He wanted to writhe and twist away from the fire that was spreading across his chest, but he couldn’t move.

Six.

Couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t... couldn’t...

Seven.

Eight.

A low, desperate sob escaped him. He wanted to brace against the next one, but he couldn’t even do that. He was straining against the restraints, shivering and burning at once, waiting for the next snap to come.

The next touch, however, wasn’t a snap, but Bones’ hand pressing firmly against his chest, rubbing, soothing. The heat of his hand both intensified and eased the burn, and Jim felt himself shaking in relief. A hand cupped his cheek, and a thumb wiped moisture away from his eyes. The stinging burn of his chest was morphing into a strange heat, and Jim realized that he could feel the edges of that elusive endorphin high that he’d only achieved a few times at Bones’ hands.

The hand on his cheek went to his ear, and the ear plug was gently pulled away.

“Hey Jim, look at me, okay?”

Jim blinked his eyes open, hardly realizing that he’d had them squeezed shut.

“There ya go. This part is a little bit intense, but I know you can take it. It’s going to help, I promise. You know you can tell me to stop, but I don’t think you want to.”

Jim made a sound that he hoped Bones interpreted as agreement.

Bones smiled at him, then pulled his hands away.

A moment later, Jim felt something pressed against the inside of his right forearm, and he heard a faint click. There might have been a tiny pinprick.

“Oh yeah, that’s much better,” Bones said with satisfaction. “Jim, your endorphin levels are looking great, and your stress markers are down even more. Hang in there for just a little while longer, and this will really start to work.”

Jim hummed a sound of agreement again, and Bones squeezed his shoulder. A second later, the earplug was being replaced, and the world went silent again.

The burn across the right side of Jim’s chest was hot and tingling, but the pain wasn’t the same as it was a moment ago. It seemed to have deepened somehow, sinking into his muscles and spreading oddly pleasant sensations through his body.

At the same time, now that he was back in his cocoon of silence, his awareness of his own body sharpened. He’d never been restrained so fully in his life, and he was acutely aware of every point where his body was attached to the biobed. He took a moment and tried to flex against the restraints one at a time - ankles and wrists, torso, and finally his head. The sensation of having his head restrained was new and bizarre, but being unable to speak or move in such a profound way had given him a mental freedom he’d never experienced before. Now, with the strange buzz starting to spread through his body, it seemed as though something was shifting in his mind.

He felt Bones’ hands on the other side of his chest, and there was a sudden snap against his skin. He twitched and gasped. The burn followed, but the vicious edge never came.

Another snap near that one. Burn. Heat. Tingling. Gasping and writhing.

It was pain, but it wasn’t the same as before. The heat spread as Bones moved along, leaving what Jim imagined was an intricate pattern of slender welts across his chest.

The buzz in Jim’s head simultaneously intensified and muted. He was floating in a strange world, held up by heat and pain and pleasure. The gasping turned into moaning. Nothing existed beyond the snap-burn of the tool in Bones’ hands, the table beneath his back, and the restraints tethering him to reality.

Every so often, Bones would stop using the tool, and his hands would connect with Jim’s skin, rubbing, kneading, gripping, and digging into the already beautiful ache, spreading the delicious burn deeper. He worked his way down Jim’s arms, the right, then the left. Jim swore his arms were floating away from his body.

Bones continued down Jim’s thighs, a few snaps on the right, then a few on the left, back and forth. He stopped just above the knees, then his hands were back, working the skin and muscle of Jim’s thighs before running his hands back up his torso, chest, shoulders, neck... and gently pressed two fingers against Jim’s pulse.

Jim opened his eyes to see Bones looking down at him, appearing decidedly satisfied. It matched how Jim felt. His whole body was burning with soft fire, hot but not painful. The table felt as though it was rocking gently beneath him, and the air itself seemed to tingle against his skin. If he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn that Bones had drugged him, but this was too natural, too right, to be something from a hypospray.

Bones’ hands pulled away, and a moment later, he was waving a tricorder probe around Jim’s head. Jim watched as the tricorder disappeared, and Bones moved around him. He felt something pressed against his arm again, followed by a tiny flicker of a pinprick, and saw Bones studying the screen of that small biochemical sensor decide.

A broad smile blossomed across Bones’ face, and he reached over and removed Jim’s ear plugs. “You did great, Jim. Your endorphin levels are as high as I’ve ever seen them, and that neuro monitor I stuck on you is telling me that you’re progressing very well. But we’re not quite done. Last part.”

Jim whimpered. Last part? He didn’t want it to be over. He was floating. His mind had stopped racing circles, and everything was quiet in his head. He wanted the silence to last. He wanted the earplugs and the restraints and the gag and...

Bones slipped the earplug back into place, and ran his hand softly across Jim’s cheek.

Jim didn’t bother trying to hold back the sigh that escaped him. He watched distantly as Bones moved around, and he guessed that the guy was digging into the duffel again when he ducked out of sight. This time, Jim didn’t even care to guess what he was doing. Whatever it was, it would be good. He could trust that.

He could always trust that.

Bones came back into view, but not for long, as something dark fell across Jim’s vision. It was completely opaque, and soft, and snug... and it actually took Jim a moment to realize that he was being blindfolded. Bones’ hands were gentle as he settled the blindfold into place, and Jim felt warm fingers caressing his cheeks, stroking his hair, and letting him know that even though he couldn’t see him, Bones was still there.

Some instinctive part of his brain wanted to protest or panic. He needed to be able to see! If he couldn’t see, he wouldn’t know what was going on, and he couldn’t... nothing. He didn’t need to be able to see because he didn’t need to know what was going on. He didn’t have to do anything.

And that was the point.

He could float in the darkness and silence, feeling the way his body tingled and vibrated with the echoes of the evil stick’s bite all over his skin, relaxing under Bones’ touch, and he didn’t have to do anything.

His mind was beautifully blank - just a canvas for sensation and emotion, painted with sharp tools and strong restraints.

Bones’ hands drifted away, and Jim was alone. Darkness and silence, but it wasn’t terrifying, and he wasn’t really alone. It was peaceful.

And then... something cool and smooth touched his shoulder. It wasn’t skin, it wasn’t sharp, and it wasn’t metallic. Maybe... glass? Or...

It didn’t matter. He’d find out if he was meant to find out.

The object moved down his arm and back up again, then traced across his chest and down the other arm. It was a gentle touch, cool and soothing across his abused skin. Back up to his chest, and down across his stomach, weaving lazy loops. It traced his groin, reminding Jim with a flicker of desire, that he was still wearing a cock ring, and - shit, maybe it was a plug or a dildo. But the object kept moving downwards, stroking the inside of one leg, then the other, before coming back up.

Jim was confused, but passive. Whatever would come...

Then, against his chest, the object began to tingle slightly. It might have been his imagination, but it almost felt like a faint buzz of electricity. Maybe a bit like the static electricity around a fully charged forcefield, but more focused, almost delicate.

The tingling sensation continued as the object moved all over his body, tracing almost the same route as before. When it came back up to his chest, there was a pause, and then...

Jim felt himself twitch as the intensity shot up. No longer a faint, tingling buzz, this was a full-on sting of electricity against his skin. He couldn’t hear it, but he imagined it was crackling and sparking. It wasn’t too strong, but it washed over the aching welts from the previous round, bringing them back to life.

Jim moaned at the sensation, even as he twitched and squirmed against his restraints. As it traced up the inside of his leg, he desperately tried to thrust his hips, but he couldn’t move. After almost entirely forgetting about any sense of sexual arousal, the tingling of electricity was doing something completely unexpected.

Bones moved the object across Jim’s hips, and Jim let out a tight keening noise. A sensation like this shouldn’t be arousing, but God damn it, it was. Even as it moved away from his groin, it felt like there was still a direct connection between that buzzing spark of electricity and his cock.

The object returned to Jim’s chest, and suddenly, it was everything short of overwhelming. The intensity cranked up, and it was fire and ice and stinging and sensual and - Jim couldn’t even think of what it was. Darkness and silence and electricity and Bones controlling all of it.

There was the tangy scent of ozone in his nostrils, and the incredible buzz and burn of the electricity was everywhere at once - down the inside of his arm, across his nipples, over his stomach, up the inside of his thigh. Jim’s mind couldn’t keep up with it, and it didn’t matter. Everything followed that cracking, sparking sensation as it ran over and through him. Time didn’t exist. Nothing else existed. His body was alive and shivering and vibrating and writhing with pleasure.

Suddenly, there was something warm and all-too-human wrapping around his cock. Bones’ hand, but Jim was beyond the ability to even identify it. It was good and it was hot.

The strange electrical object was still moving along his body, and now, Jim’s frayed attention was split between the intensity of the electricity crackling over his skin, and the feeling of skin and friction against his cock... but why should he need to pay attention to both? It was the same thing, a bright and brilliant burn reaching through to his core. Everything was hot and tight, and tighter... tight restraints, tight skin, tight squeeze, tight breath rushing in his lungs.

For a moment, the rhythm shifted, and something came undone, but then it was building again, so strong... so much... so much...

Even behind the blindfold, light burst against Jim’s retinas. Distantly, he felt his body clenching and shaking, and he was coming, but that was the least of the sensations flooding him. He was so alive, and nothing else mattered except that moment, that place, that experience.

And then... it started to subside. The sensation of the electricity was dimming and fading, and then it stopped altogether. Bones’ hand was no longer on his cock, but was instead rubbing him gently all over. It was a grounding sensation, keeping him connected even though it felt as if his body was going to float away.

The hands moved up his body, and one rested against his neck, feeling for his pulse. The other slid the blindfold off from Jim’s eyes.

Jim squinted against the anticipated brightness of the room, but to his surprise, the lights were dimmer than before. Bones was looking down at him, wearing a deeply satisfied expression. He pulled out one earplug, then the other. “Well, you look like you’re feeling a bit better.”

Even without the gag, Jim wouldn’t have been able to give a reply beyond the low hum in his throat.

“Yeah,” Bones said. “You’re feeling better. Let’s get you off the table and into recovery.”

Bones unclipped the head harness from the table, but made no move to take off the gag. Jim could move his head again, though, and he watched as Bones began moving around him, releasing the medical restraints from each limb and rubbing the skin underneath. It was part of their ritual when they finished a scene - the transition to aftercare. The feel of Bones rubbing his wrists and ankles, checking the pulses on each extremity, was intensely caring and personal.

As he watched Bones, Jim finally got a good look at the damage to his skin. It was just as he’d imagined, only more striking. Bones had created a pattern of tiny welts all over his body. They still tingled, but the burn was a faint and heady thing now, making him feel wrapped in sensation.

“You seem pleased with the effects of my handiwork,” Bones said mildly as he reached up to unfasten the strap across Jim’s stomach.

Jim nodded.

“They should mostly fade by Monday, but I can heal them if you want.”

Jim shook his head.

“Didn’t think so.” Bones ducked down and reached into his duffel, then came up with a piece of gauze and a roll of medical tape. “Let’s get that thing out of your arm. Hold still for just another minute here.”

Jim watched with detached fascination as Bones sealed off the IV line and then peeled back the tape around the catheter in his forearm. With a single confident movement, Bones pressed the gauze pad against the site and slid the catheter smoothly out of his arm. He taped the gauze down and held pressure against it for a moment. Jim sighed at the sensation of Bones’ fingers pressing firmly against the faint ache the IV had left. A moment later, Bones released pressure, then pulled the bag off the hook. The bag was empty, and Jim vaguely wondered how long he’d really been on the table. He honestly had no idea.

Time had lost its meaning. Maybe that was the point.

Jim closed his eyes and let himself drift - an island of stillness in the middle of a tumultuous sea. Time was grinding and howling on outside of the room, but in that space, it was silent. Along with time itself, Jim’s mind was motionless.

A soft sound caused Jim to open his eyes, and he saw that Bones was leaning over him again.

“Ready to get up?”

Jim held out his hand and let Bones gently pull him upright. He slid off the biobed at Bones’ prompting, and stumbled briefly until Bones steadied him with an arm around his waist. Automatically, Jim rested his arm across Bones’ shoulders, and then let himself be led across the small room. Bones pulled back an old-fashioned privacy curtain to reveal a cot.

Bones lowered Jim onto the cot, then crouched down in front of him. This time, when Bones’ hands went for the buckle on the side of the ball gag harness, Jim didn’t resist. His mind was quiet, and removing the gag was okay now. He felt strangely naked and exposed as the harness fell away from his head and the ball slipped out of his mouth, but he could be naked and exposed in front of Bones. It was okay.

“There ya go, Jim. Here, have a sip of this.”

There was a straw in front of Jim’s mouth, and he automatically took a sip, recognizing the taste of the vitamin and electrolyte drink that Bones usually gave him after a scene. He slowly sipped at it until Bones pulled the straw away.

“That’s enough for now, kid. Here... lie down.”

Hands guided Jim down until his head sank into a soft pillow, and he closed his eyes as a blanket was draped over him. Everything around him was soft and warm, and his mind was fuzzy and blank at once. His skin still tingled all over, and the ache from the welts all over his skin was still feeding the strange buzz that had overtaken his senses.

His body was sated and his mind was quiet. Vaguely, he thought that he should thank Bones, but he didn’t feel like speaking. Words seemed foreign and distant to him. Instead, he reached a hand out from underneath the blanket and groped around until he found Bones’ hand.

Fingers wrapped around his own, and Jim opened one eye to see Bones smiling at him.

“Just rest for a while, kid. Take a nap. Let yourself recover. Ted gave us the room for the rest of the night, so don’t worry about needing to leave.”

Jim hummed a questioning note. He wasn’t sure what he meant by it, but he trusted Bones to figure out what he needed to know.

“It’s okay, Jim. I’m here, and I’m not leaving. I’ve got you.” He reached over and rested his hand on Jim’s shoulder. The weight of his hand was reassuring and comforting, almost like an echo of the restraints that had tethered him to the biobed only moments ago.

Jim sighed and closed his eyes again.

“Just relax,” Bones said softly. “There’s nothing you need to do right now. Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

It was the easiest thing in the world to simply do as Bones told him. Sleep. That was all he needed to do. So simple. Tomorrow, he had work to do, but tonight, all he needed to do was to listen to Bones.

As Jim drifted off, he thought Bones might have still been talking to him, but the words blurred incoherently in his mind. There were fingers carding through his hair, but nothing else moved.

Outside the room, the world went on without him. Under Bones’ watchful eye, Jim slept soundly.

~FIN~