Title: Rishan D’Kahf-spol (Heart’s Survival)
Author:
1lostone Rating: NC-17
Universe: TOS+ Reboot
Words: 22,259 Beta:
jademac2442Pairings: K/S and of course, K/S
Warnings: None really. Some angst and h/c.
Summary: Jim and Spock , who can barely tolerate working together, let alone come anywhere near the epic friendship they’re
supposed to have, find themselves on an inhospitable (but strangely not uninhabited) planet- stranded from the Enterprise.
A/N: Written as a pinch-hit for the
trekreversebang for
swordsart's amazing art. Also thanks to my cheerleading squad,
jlm121 ,
littleboycalico , and
yesterday_girl
Link to Art: Here Link to Fic: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6( Chapter 3 ) Chapter 3
Please excuse the formatting errors in this chapter, but eljay isn't accepting my edits. ARGH. I will fix asap.
1lostone
jademac2442
trekreversebang
swordsart
jlm121
littleboycalico
yesterday_girl
“This will not feel pleasant.” Perhaps that was somewhat of an understatement. Spock ignored the withering look Jim shot him and arranged the setting on the portable regenerator. The tricorder had shown that Jim had a dislocated shoulder, a broken wrist, three broken ribs, and numerous contusions. “Your eyes are kind of beautiful.” Spock blinked. Perhaps he had administered the hypospray on the wrong setting. The Doctor had left a note on the canister that said ‘safe for jtk; for pain, dumbass,’ but the prescription amount had worn away. Spock must have miscalculated and given his captain too much. Jim blinked up at him, a small smile on his face. “No really. They totally are. Your face is all ‘grrr, Vulcan,’ but your eyes tell me that you want a big ol’ squishy hug.” Spock refused to allow his lips to twitch in amusement. “I find it highly unlikely that my eyes have suddenly developed the ability to speak. Perhaps, Captain, you should refrain from movement. And from speech.” Truly, Spock doubted that this state would ever occur, despite how hurt he was. “Close your eyes and allow me to attempt my medical treatment.” “Can’t.” Jim’s lips frowned down into a pout. “When I close my eyes, ev’rthing is all swimmy. Spock, am I stoned? I feel stoned. I like being stoned, but you know what? They don’t let you do that shit when you are a captain. And especially if you have a Bones that’s always in your business. He’s worse than a girlfriend. He like frowns frownily at me and I haven’t touched anything in like four years and wow I really wish that I could stop talking now.” “I have no wish to know of the doctor’s proclivities; especially if it somehow involves excrement.” Jim looked confused for a moment, before he laughed in delight. The movement caused him to wince, pain causing the bright blue gaze to darken. Spock heard the way he caught his breath and bent over him, applying the regenerator to his skin. They were both quiet as they listened to the little machine work. Spock looked down at the tricorder and back at Jim. He heard a growl of thunder and looked up at the sky. Had the action not been so blatantly illogical, he would have frowned up at the sky. “There is some sort of interference with the tricorder’s readings.” Spock allowed his lips to twitch in a small frown. This was unacceptable. He had to ascertain whether the regenerator was sufficiently performing its task. It was possible that it had been damaged and not performing at peak efficiency. Spock moved the medical tricorder and straightened his shoulders. Of course. “Captain, I believe that we need to move away from this location. The radiation from the shuttlecraft is not contained. Interference could be from the gathering storm or, perhaps when the being threw the shuttle onto the beach...” Spock trailed off, shaking his head. He was babbling. Ridiculous. He had control over his body’s responses to pain and fatigue, but his controls were shaky at best. He needed meditation and rest. Fatigue was burning behind his eyelids like a living entity. Spock looked down, blinking, to see Jim staring up at him, his face strangely solemn. “I believe that we should move further inland.” “Oh.” Jim’s muscles twitched as he began to gather himself, ready to attempt standing. Spock shocked himself once again when he pressed down on the unhurt shoulder of the stubborn Human, his sensitive fingers fairly buzzing with the contact. “It is illogical for you to further stress your body. Your weight is negligible. I will carry you.” “‘Kay.” Trusting blue eyes blinked up at him, still completely solemn. The evidence of a completely docile Jim Kirk somehow made their situation all the more bizarre. Spock nodded once in acknowledgement and stood from his crouch, tightening his grip on Jim’s uninjured shoulder as unexpected dizziness caused him to stumble. Jim made a small pain sound, and Spock jerked his hand away, appalled at himself. He stood and walked the small distance to the shuttlecraft, glancing inside to see what else he could use. There was nothing of use; the twisted metal still buzzed and hissed as the compound in the strange ocean reacted with the exposed wires.
“Bath’pa,” he muttered under his breath. Of course. Anything that had been in the shuttle would have been sucked out into the ocean when the force field failed. “Spock? Did you say something?” “It is not important.” Spock straightened his shoulders, tugging on his uniform as he made his way back to where Jim lay, having pushed himself up to a sitting position. Jim was holding the regenerator in his hand, cradling the arm with the dislocated shoulder protectively to his body. Spock took the small piece of medical equipment and packed it carefully in the titanium case with the medical tricorder, slinging the strap back over his shoulder. “Spock, wait a second.” Spock raised an eyebrow. “I think you need to pop this in place.” Jim’s fingers indicated his dislocated shoulder. “It hurts like a bitch, but having it jarred around won’t feel very good either.” Thunder crashed, causing both of them to look up at the sky. Jim sighed. Spock found himself strangely reluctant to cause further pain to Jim’s body, but he nodded, accepting the logic. “Although it is an anterior dislocation, there is a chance that I will not align it correctly. You will have tendons and muscles that will be damaged.” “Yeah. I know. Not my first dance at the rodeo.” Spock blinked twice, then decided that he didn’t really wish to know. “Prepare yourself, Captain.” He watched as the younger man did, tensing his body for the onslaught of pain, his jaw clenched in a rictus of expected pain. They arranged themselves, Jim lying back down, and Spock moving his clenched arm as best he could. The skin of Jim’s wrist was hot against his fingers. Spock rotated the arm, his superior strength not allowing Jim’s arm mobility as he pulled the joint back where it belonged. Jim cried out, his head falling forward onto Spock’s shoulder. Spock was awash in sensation: the mangled pain/relief of the shoulder popping back into place, the disassociated feeling Jim had complained of from giving him a double dose of the pain medication, the muted worry and disgust Jim felt at being so helpless all causing his own shields to buckle for a moment. “Fuck, that wasn’t cool.” Spock felt a small wiggle of discontent at causing Jim further harm, but ignored it. “It was necessary. Are you dizzy? Nauseated?” “No... I. I’m fine. Let’s go before we get rained on.” “You appear to be more coherent.” Spock stooped again to pick up his captain, focusing on his shielding so he would not invade Jim’s privacy any more than he already had. “I feel better. Sore as all fuck, but better. I don’t know if that regenerator had time to work, but my ribs feel... better. Spock, how are we gonna get back? Does your communicator work? I think I lost mine in the water.” “There have been other tasks that were more necessary to complete before I attempted to use the communicator.” “What? What the hell are you talking about? The Enterprise isn’t even gonna know where the fuck we are! What the hell could have been more important than that?” Spock’s grip tightened on Jim’s body, causing the other man to tense. He was all at once furious and had to pause for a moment so that he didn’t lose the fragile hold on his temper. “You were injured.” Three words that seemed to contain all of the logic in the world. Spock felt the dull burn of anger at himself. The truth was, he had been so occupied with Jim’s injuries that he had not followed protocol at all. Jim was correct. There could be a way of contacting the Enterprise. That should have been his first priority. But Jim’s health was his first priority. “Yeah, well...” Jim trailed off and shifted a little, turning slightly in Spock’s arms. Spock could feel Jim’s increased heartrate and stopped walking. “No... it’s okay. I’m just getting your communicator. I figure if I hav’ta be baggage, then I can at least be useful.” Thunder growled again and Spock silently echoed Jim’s muttered, “Damn thunder.” Spock grit his teeth at the way Jim’s fingers scrabbled near his hip as he pulled the case up, opening it and fishing out the communicator. The first raindrops began to splat onto their uniforms, and Spock hurried further into the aqua-colored foliage. The terrain changed slightly, and Spock felt his calf muscles tighten as he carried Jim’s weight up the incline. “Spock-- gotta. Gotta stop for a minute.” Spock stopped immediately when Jim tried feebly to struggle. He looked extremely pale. Even his eyes seemed to have dimmed in the twenty minutes that Spock had been walking. Jim swung down and staggered, the palm of his hand pressing on his ribs. “Shit. Shit!" Spock moved to assist him, raising an eyebrow when Jim waved him away, watching as the human stumbled over a tree root and fell to his knees, sucking in huge gulps of air. There was a crash of thunder and Spock winced at the sound. He turned to give Jim some measure of privacy and realized that they were in the remains of some sort of structure. There was another crash of thunder and the rain began to fall more steadily. Spock looked from Jim, hunched over in the bushes, still holding onto his ribs eyes shut as he tried to keep himself from hyperventilating-- to their surroundings. The light had dimmed in the time they had been on the unnamed planet, but Spock could see that there was a small overhang in the corner, choked with weeds and what looked like some sort of ivy- possibly the corner of the building. It looked as though it had been there for eons. He began to walk closer, removing the tricorder from the case and taking readings. “Captain. This corner of the structure will provide some shelter from the storm.” Spock watched Jim come towards him, still looking horribly wan. “There appears to be a sub-struct--” The ominous groan of stone scraping together was the only warning. As Jim’s weight was added to his, the floor trembled. Jim’s eyes were very wide as the floor began to give way. Spock saw his muscles tense, his reflexes off from their normal times from the trauma of his body. The tricorder went flying as Spock grabbed his captain, twisting so that when the floor broke apart under their feet, they fell so that Spock hit the surface first, breaking Jim’s fall. They fell several feet, landing with a crash and a plume of dust. Spock immediately twisted and bent, ignoring the twinge in his back, protecting Jim with his body as stones and debris from the floor above them began to fall around where they’d landed. Spock felt the scrapes on the palms of his sensitive hands as he used his arms to keep from crushing Jim’s body, their chests so close, both heaving from the adrenaline of literally having the floor crumble beneath their feet that Spock could feel Jim’s elevated heartbeat. Their foreheads brushed as they both sucked in breath, staring at each other from only inches apart. Spock watched Jim’s lips tremble with breath and was ashamed of himself at the bolt of need that went through him. A small bead of blood slid slowly down Jim’s cheekbone. Spock moved away quickly, appalled at his behavior, using the dirt and debris settling around them as a distraction. “Spock? Are you... Jesus, you were like a ninja or something. I knew you could move fast but Christ that was insane.” The footstep was loud enough that Spock once again found him reacting before the thought fully processed that someone was in the subterranean room with them. He shifted his weight forward, one knee on the surface with his foot tensed, ready to spring up if necessary. He had no weapon other than the strength of his body, but would use whatever was necessary to protect his captain from the harm. He felt his chest vibrate in the low, deep growl of his ancestors. There was another footstep, and a familiar-sounding scrapewhssssh of the breaking of a flare. The pale green light caused Spock’s pupils to dilate. He felt Jim tense underneath him, and for one moment stared, completely mute at the two beings who stood under the arch that had been indiscernible in the dark. “Uh.. Spock? I think I may be hallucinating.” That was likely. However, that did not explain why Spock was seeing the same thing.
Kirk tried his best not to stare at the curve of his first officer’s ass, but it was an exercise in futility. Once he realized what he was doing, he forced himself to jerk his gaze away from the tempting, pert curves in the too-tight regulation trousers. It was extremely warm up here and, Kirk had to smile wryly at himself, the heat wasn’t only from the two suns that burned down onto the planet’s surface He leaned back on his hand and looked around, glancing down idly at the tricorder, bored. He sighed. It was beautiful up here. He could almost pretend that he and Spock were here in their own little paradise. Spock was still scanning the statue, lost in his own little world. Well, not true. Kirk couldn’t imagine a world where Spock wasn’t completely aware of his surroundings. But, if Bones was going to order him off duty, then this would be the place to enjoy it. A cool breeze wafted over his sweaty hair, and Kirk leaned back a little further, resting his boot on the lip of the side of the.. whatever it was. Temple, probably. They hadn’t seen the little girl again, but had just as obviously been led to this spot. Spock seemed convinced that there was something interesting inside, and Kirk, remembering the ancient pyramids from ancient Earth history, conceded that yeah. There was probably something inside- but they couldn’t figure out how to get in there, so what was the point? It was driving Spock insane. Well, the Vulcan version of insane, which was pretty damn amusing. Not that he’d hurt Spock’s feelings by laughing at him. He’d walked around the perimeter of the building no less than three times, scanning with his tricorder. The third time Kirk had followed him, grabbing a bright yellow fruit off the tree and scanning it. Each time left him standing in front of the large statue, lips twitching down in a frown as he tried to process the information. Kirk made his way back to his ledge, polishing the fruit on his tunic. He took a crunchy, satisfying bite and ignored Spock’s sharp look. He’d scanned it. It was safe. Besides, he was hungry. “Still the same?” Kirk took another bite, the sweet, sharp flavor exploding on his tongue. It tasted something like a cross between a kiwi and a radish, but dribbled juice like a q’lava. Not bad, actually. “Indeed. Most Fascinating. There appears to be some sort of...energy surge two-point-three meters from the foot of this statue, then several different readings converge in a... blip.” Kirk felt his grin stretch the muscles of his face. He licked a bit of juice that snaked down his hand. “A... blip, Spock?” If Spock had been any less Vulcan, Kirk thought that he would be getting a very dirty look right now. “Well, we could take samples, maybe.. beam up.” Kirk jumped off the surface of the building and stood besides Spock, watching the Vulcan’s profile as he studied the tricorder’s vastly different readings. He stooped to bury the core of the fruit in the soil. “I would prefer to stay, Jim.” Kirk knew his face was doing a piss poor job of containing the happiness he felt at Spock’s finally using his name, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He sat up from his sprawl on the ledge and slid down, wiping the slight bit of grit off of his hands as he did so. “I’m glad, Spock. It’s nice here.” Kirk bent down, stretching his legs by placing his palms on the ground. “Captain.” The note of warning in Spock’s voice had Kirk reaching for a phaser before he even thought about it, standing up so quickly that blood swam in his head for a minute, making him dizzy. He blinked at the sight in front of him, his body still tense with Spock’s sharp word. “I do not believe she means me harm, Captain.” Kirk’s eyes narrowed. The being from before stood in front of Spock. This closely, Kirk could see that the light of the planet’s double suns filtered through her... him... it. She made the same gesture from before, steepling her fingers under her chest, pointer fingers against the hollow under her throat, and the back of her hands facing outward. She lowered her arms, staring benignly at both he and Spock. She raised her arms and made the gesture again. Maybe it was because they worked together so seamlessly as a team. Maybe after saving each other’s lives so many times, after living together and working together so closely it was just second nature to the two of them to move so closely in sync. Regardless, it happened at exactly the same time. They both made the gesture at the exact same time the being did. There was an almost disharmonious sound, then a bright flash of light. A small archway appeared, set into the large statue that faced them. They met each other’s gazes out of the corner of their eyes. “What do you think, Spock?” “I am unable to reach the Enterprise, Captain. I do not believe that it’s wise to continue. We should return to the beam-up point immediately and... Captain!” Kirk grinned back over his shoulder taking another step towards the archway. “Oh come on, Spock. It seems pretty obvious to me that she doesn’t mean us any harm. You just spent an hour scanning this place within an inch of its life. You can’t tell me that you’re not curious to see what’s inside.” Kirk could see the small shift of Spock’s eyebrow that indicated that he was on the right track. “Come on, Spock.” He grinned, watching as Spock gave the Vulcan equivalent of an eye roll. “I would like to state my objections for the record, Captain.” “Noted.” Spock gave one more, almost forlorn, look at his tricorder before taking a step forward, matching his gait with Kirk’s. They stepped perfectly together, shoulders and hips brushing as they walked through the archway and into the temple. Kirk tried to ignore the way his body shivered for a second, soaking in the indescribable heat that Spock’s body gave off. There was a swirl of light, a feeling of vertigo as his stomach dropped out of his body, then their steps had carried them through and into darkness. He felt Spock’s fingers wrap around his bicep and made himself take a deep, steadying breath. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could a deafening crash sent Spock jerking Kirk behind him, hard enough that he lost his balance. His fingers brushed against the tight muscles in Spock’s back, before resting lightly on the sharp hip. Kirk sucked in a breath and jerked his hand back, heart beating. Spock’s body felt like it was made of rock as he stilled, straining to hear. It sounded like the ceiling had fallen in. Kirk blinked, fumbling in his satchel for a flare. He leaned forward, unable to see but guessing where Spock’s ear was. His lips touched the lobe and Spock jerked away. “Flare,” Kirk warned, shaking it and holding the end away from their bodies. Funny how in God knows how many years of technology, the basic design of a flare didn’t change. Kirk shook it, then popped the seal. He heard Spock step forward as the pale green glow filled the room. For a second, Kirk thought he must be hallucinating. He took a step to the left and tugged on his uniform, straightening his shoulders. There were two men huddled a few feet ahead. One was on his back, and the other was crouched protectively over the other, perfectly still. Kirk couldn’t see any physical characteristics, other than they both seemed to be covered in a thick plume of dust. Kirk took another step forward and put his hand on his chest, bending and wheezing for a second. It was so unexpected that Spock whirled, keeping his body between Kirk and the two beings on the ground. “Capt--” Kirk felt like his lungs were tightening. The whole room seemed to tilt; sending his stomach into his throat. All at once the feeling of wrongness made the air in the dark room felt heavy, as though he had walked into a room full of fog. His lungs burned, as though each breath of air wasn’t acceptable. Then the weird sensation was gone. Kirk blinked the tears out of his eyes and gasped for a second, not trusting that the air would turn to something less friendly with his lungs. That had been fucking weird. He looked at Spock, whose pale skin showed evidence that he too was having some sort of breathing issues, before it also went away. “Spock, are you...” “I am well, Captain.” Kirk jumped when he felt Spock’s fingers slide against his neck, testing his pulse. His throat tightened for another reason entirely as he stared dumbly at his first officer. “No way!” Kirk looked over at the two figures, surprised to hear the Standard. This planet was supposed to be uninhabited. He blinked in shock to see that it was a Vulcan standing guard over the man in the yellow uniform... the Starfleet insignia faintly visible in the faint green light. It wasn’t possible. Well, that was his first mistake. Kirk was ridiculously glad to see that there was no trace of a beard on the Vulcan’s... the other Spock’s face. He started to take a step forward and Spock allowed him, although Kirk could feel every muscle in his First’s body tense with awareness as Kirk put himself into danger, per First Contact protocols. “I’m Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise.” He took a step forward, Spock one half-step behind him as was his habit, holding the flare up so that they could see. Kirk’s foot crunched on rubble as they walked, and he shot an uneasy glance up at the ceiling. A shift of movement out of the corner of his eye caused Kirk to look back at the two in front of him. “I’m Captain James T. Kirk of the starship-- Enterprise.” The man in the command shirt stood up, allowing the Vulcan to assist him to his feet. It was obvious that the kid was hurt, and was standing on his feet by mostly willpower, lips twisted into a smirk. Kirk smiled. The kid looked about ten years younger than himself. Cocky little bastard. It was hard to see specific details in the pale light, but the kid looked like he had gone a few rounds with a Klingon and had gone back for seconds. “I am Spock, First Officer of the Starship Enterprise.” Kirk opened his mouth, and closed it. The other Vulcan sounded like his Spock, but he too had enough differences that it was jarring. He was younger, but it was harder to guess his age. Older than the kiddie version of himself and younger than his Spock. He also looked banged up, like there had been a fight or something. He held himself absolutely rigid, his face just as impassive as his own Spock’s at his most intimidating. Kirk wasn’t much intimidated. He wasn’t sure what was going on here, but he was willing to go with it. “Huh. Interesting. Wouldn’t you say, Spock?” “Indeed, Captain.” Chapter 4