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[youwereameteor]

There's something satisfying about it. It's not a big bonfire, not particularly big at all in its pit lined with stones, but it throws off enough heat to make him sweat, and it sends up smoke towards the sky. The sky is blue, a peculiar sort of aching blue. Looking up at it for too long sort of hurts so he looks down instead, takes a swig of the

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[groovytechchick]

Claudia Donovan had not set her laptop down for any length of time since she'd received it. She took it everywhere with her, and that meant it even went with her to the beach, which was where she was currently walking.

Spotting a small fire not far away, she turned and headed straight toward it. Curiosity had always been one of her biggest weaknesses, and perhaps one of the things that always seemed to be getting her into trouble. Key example? Heading into Dino Territory with Eli just because she'd wanted to see them.

Seeing the man standing there staring at the flickering flames, her steps faltered for a moment, wondering if he wanted to be left alone. But Claudia had never really been one to do that and so she continued on until she was just a foot or so away from the man and the bonfire.

"Tunes always go well with bonfires," she said, a smile beginning to form on her lips. Well it was true! Music and marshmallows - but since she didn't have the marshmallows, the music would have to do.

[youwereameteor]

"You've got a point there," says Jim, blinking back tears and wiping his nose on the back of his hand. He manages a smile when he looks at her; in the heart of the fire, the wooden Enterprise is falling apart.

"What've you got?"

[groovytechchick]

Claudia offered him a small smile. She'd have to have been blind to not see how upset he was. Part of her wanted to squeal over the fact that she was talking to James T. Friggin Kirk, but even she knew there was a time and a place for stuff like that and now? Most certainly wasn't one of them.

Plopping down onto the sand, she propped her lap top on her knees and flipped it open, starting it up. While it loaded, she looked up at him. "I got Zeppelin, Bowie, Nirvana...Some 80's stuff, ya know? Hair Band type stuff." She thought for a moment before adding, "I guess it depends on what you're up for listenin' to."

[youwereameteor]

"Old, old stuff," says Jim, grinning, though it doesn't quite touch his eyes. "My Mom likes that stuff." He picks up a stick, feeding it into the fire. "You pick. Surprise me."

[leftwithmybones]

McCoy's heard a rumor. Not confirmation, but enough of a whisper that he thinks he ought to see Jim right away. He finds him at the beach and trudges through sand without complaint -- well, silent complaint, at least. Once he reaches Jim's side, he just hovers behind it and shakes his head. "Goddamn tropical island and you're only making it hotter. You're a study in contradiction, Jim."

[youwereameteor]

He should have gone to Bones, he knows that, but there was a part of him that felt the need to bleed on his own for a time, sweat it out in front of his fire. The corner of his mouth twitches into a smile.

"So I have always been told."

[leftwithmybones]

McCoy knows about losing a loved one, though in his case, maybe he drove her away. Hell, no maybes about it. He knows he had a heavy hand in Jocelyn going and he's not about to say otherwise. "You wanna talk about this?"

[youwereameteor]

"No," says Jim, bendhing his head, pushing the fingers of both hands into his hair, cradling his own head for a minute.

"Jesus, Bones. I have...I don't know what I'm supposed to do here."

So maybe he does want to talk about it. Maybe he's just having trouble finding the words.

[poison_lipstick]

She had an edge, what with her ability to read people, but a body didn't go almost five years on the island without learning what a person mourning a disappearance looked like.

The fire was warm, but not so hot she couldn't approach and stand by Jim's side, slipping her small, warm hand into his much larger one. It wasn't hard for her to guess who was gone this time.

[youwereameteor]

Because she doesn't speak, it's easier; he just curls his fingers around hers, squeezing gently. He swallows against the lump in his throat. He doesn't say anything, not right then.

He's glad she's there.

[poison_lipstick]

She squeezed back, turning her head then to look up at him. "Thought you might need some company," Saffron murmured, knowing no amount of apologies and platitudes would touch what he was feeling right then. She couldn't even bring herself to try and imagine what it would be like to lose Xander.

"There's also the option to get stinking drunk," she added with a slight twitch of her lips. "I happen to know where we can get some pretty decent booze."

[youwereameteor]

He doesn't know how to tell her that he doesn't know how to be around people, right now. He just nods, instead, and leaves his hand in hers.

"I could go for stinking drunk," he says.

[howto_submit]

Nicki was no stranger to bad times. She was no stranger to being the shoulder to cry on. She might not have been the warmest of women, but she knew that no one got through any kind of troubles on their own.

People needed support. They needed family.

On the island, Jim was the closest she had to that, these days. There was just no denying it.

"Jim?" she said, approaching tentatively, reading the pain on his face from yards and yards away.

[youwereameteor]

At the sound of her voice, he swallows, blinking away tears and rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. He looks up at her and tries to smile. It doesn't exactly work.

"Hey, Nicki."

[howto_submit]

"Jim, what's happened?" she asked, stopping only a few feet away, her hands opening and closing nervously. She wanted to reach for him, something as simple as a hand on his shoulder, but even the urge itself didn't come naturally to her.

[youwereameteor]

"Spencer's gone." He can't dance around it, can't lie or make it easier. Of all of the people he knows on the island, he doubts that Nicki would be forgiving of any attempt to soften a blow. He just says it and looks at her. "He's just gone."

[fear_no_words]

There's something about the way he sits there - maybe the set of his shoulders, maybe the way his head falls - that puts a sick feeling in the pit of Uhura's stomach before she's even close enough to see his face. When she can see him, something like panic flares up in her breast, a frenzied concern for one of the few people she still has left in this world.

She tamps it down like her life depends on it - and maybe it does a little - as she approaches the cozy little bonfire, her sandals dangling loosely from her fingers. "Jim?" she asks, hesitating only a second before out and asking, "What's happened?"

[youwereameteor]

There's always been something very comforting about her; she's not their Uhura, but maybe thats what's comforting. She's warmer than their Uhura. It's easier to be around her.

He sniffs and wipes at his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Spencer's gone."

[fear_no_words]

"Fuck," she hissed, not bothering to lower her voice or even think about it. You couldn't cover up a bombshell like that with a placid expression and understanding smile.

It was bad enough when the island took Spock, Scotty, Chekov. People they all loved and cared about. But taking Reid felt like something more personal, an attack against her captain, and she hated it.

Tightening her mouth into a straight line against a surge of emotions, Uhura moved to sit beside him, taking his hand in hers without asking. "I'm sorry."

[youwereameteor]

It's surprising how easily his fingers thread with hers. She's a warm solid presence, a known strength beside him and he finds himself leaning into her. He swallows against the lump in his throat.

"I don't knwo what to do."