Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or its character. I make no profit from this work of fiction.

Leonard had just finished everyone's pre-mission checkups when Jim pulled him into his office and kissed him. After a moment of confusion, Leonard kissed back, his hands tangling into Jim's short hair. "Warn a guy, will ya?"

Jim chuckled, leaning forward so their foreheads were touching. "Nah. I prefer to keep you on your toes, Bones. Or knees."

Leonard bit back a groan. "Damn it, Jim, we don't have time –"

"I know." Jim kissed him again, long and sweet. "Just wanted some good luck kisses."

"You don't need luck, darlin'."

Jim kissed him again. "Can't hurt."

Leonard hummed in agreement and pulled Jim close again, claiming his mouth. They both jumped a little when Jim's comm went off.

"Captain, are you heading to the transporter room?" Spock asked.

Jim flushed a little as he flipped open his comm. "Be right there, Commander. Sorry for the delay."

It wasn't supposed to be a simple mission. They were beaming down to the planet Yivahen in the midst of delicate negotiations to prevent civil war between the conservative ruling class, and the two newer classes under them. Rebellion could break out at any moment to seize control of the government. Leonard had to admit that as tense as the situation was, he loved watching Jim at work. He and the security personnel that had beamed down with Spock and Jim were on standby – just in case any violence erupted. It gave him ample time to admire Jim's ever-increasing diplomatic skills.

Preliminary negotiations between the three sides went well. Jim seemed quite pleased with himself as they all gathered on the transporter pad; he gave Leonard a smile he knew was for him alone. He felt himself smiling back as they dematerialized.

Leonard coughed and pushed himself up off the ground.

Ground? How did I … what happened?

He looked around and found himself in the middle of a forest. Alone.

He stood up and fumbled for his communicator.

It was gone.

"Damn it!" He cupped his hands around his mouth. "JIM! SPOCK! ANYBODY!"

Only the sounds of the jungle answered him.

Leonard squinted up at the sun and tried frantically to remember where the heavily forested parts of the planet were located and what the hell time it was. He shook his head. He had no idea how long he'd been unconscious, so he wouldn't be able to orient himself by an alien sun. He fell back on his survival training: find water, find shelter, find a way to make a signal.

He stayed hyper-alert as he started making his way through the dense forest. He desperately hoped that Jim and the others were nearby and unhurt. Goddamn transporter malfunction.

Instead of voices, he heard the sound of running water and moved towards it. He sighed in relief as he came to a clearing and saw a river on the other side. He looked around carefully before crossing into the open and dropping down on the riverbank. He studied the running water before cupping a handful and drinking it.

It tasted crisp and crystal clear. He drank more as he pondered whether or not he could find shelter nearby and something to make a signal fire with.

He whirled around at the sound of rustling leaves behind him.

There was nothing there.

His heart pounded as adrenaline flooded his system. He used his temporarily heightened senses, listening for any further movement. His head snapped to the left as a soft breeze lifted the branches of the vibrant green and purple trees.

Leonard sighed and stood.

Something growled and lunged, knocking his feet out from under him.

Leonard fought to draw in air as something clamped around his ankle. He looked up and saw that some kind of creature had his right foot clamped firmly in its mouth. The thing was massive – gray and purple, covered in dull scales, no eyes that he could make out, at least six feet wide, and with a massive, snakelike body trailing behind.

Leonard shouted and kicked with his other foot, trying to free the first. Either the creature didn't have teeth, or it wasn't using them, since he couldn't feel his right foot getting gnawed on. He twisted around on the ground, managing to grab some rocks from the river bank and hurl them at the creature.

"Let me go!"

He sat up and beat on the creature's nearly featureless head.

"Aagh, get off me!" He pushed back and kicked with all his strength. Unfortunately, the slug opened its lips just enough to capture his left foot. "Goddamnit!"

And then it swallowed, and Leonard's calves were submerged in the creature's mouth with powerful suction.

It's gonna eat me alive¸ he realized as panic shot through him. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" He twisted around again, scrabbling on the ground for anything he could reach. He dug his hands into the dirt and tried to pull himself out.

He fingers clawed uselessly as the creature sucked again, getting its lips around his knees.

Leonard screamed, trying to kick as hard as he could, but he couldn't move his feet. The creature had him caught. His fingers closed around a sharp rock, and he sat up again, savagely beating the slug's face, trying to cut at its nostrils. He fell flat on his back as the creature slurped again, swallowing him up to his thighs. The rock had dropped from his grasp and was now out of reach.

He fought a wave of nausea as something crawled up his feet, twisting around them. It moved further up and forced Leonard over onto his stomach. Its tongue, he realized. Face down in the dirt, he desperately reached out for anything to grab onto. His pants were wet with alien saliva.

"JIM! JIIIIIM!" He beat on the ground, digging into the dirt, trying to hold on as the creature swallowed again, capturing him up to his waist. "NOOOO!" Tears blurred his vision and he twisted around and beat uselessly on the being's snout.

The slug huffed in his face, lifting him up off the ground for a moment before slamming him back down.

Leonard groaned weakly, feeling the ground slide beneath him as he was swallowed up to his ribs. He shook his head and fought wildly. "JIM!" It could have been his imagination, but he could have sworn he heard an answering shout. "JI—"

The cry died in his throat as his legs started to tingle.

Oh God, it's digesting me.

Leonard screamed and flailed, fighting for all he was worth. "JIM!"

"BONES!"

Through the tears, he could see a gold blur heading towards him. "JIM!"

"Bones, hang on!" Footsteps ran towards him and then strong arms grasped his. "Gotcha!"

"Jim," Leonard gasped.

"Shut up and push, Bones," Jim grunted, pulling on his arms with all his strength.

Leonard tried to kick himself free, but he couldn't move a centimeter. His momentary relief from Jim's arrival evaporated. "It's too strong!" He gripped Jim's arms tighter, wordlessly begging him not to let go. "Jim, not like this! Please, not like this!" he sobbed.

Jim squeezed his arms. "It's okay, Bones. I'll get you out." He pulled again, but the creature sucked Leonard his deeper, almost to his arm pits.

"JIM!"

"I know, Bones." He looked around quickly. "I have to fight it. There's no other way."

Leonard knew he was far gone when he clung onto Jim tighter. "No! Don't go!"

Pain twisted Jim's features. "It's okay. I'll be back. I promise."

"JIM!" Leonard yelled as his arms were released.

"Hold on, Bones!" he heard Jim shout. It was followed by several thumps, some splashing, and then Jim was shouting again. "LET HIM GO!"

Leonard was dragged around in the dirt as the creature squirmed – Jim was having some kind of effect. He fervently hoped the creature would give up its meal to defend itself.

That hope proved futile when he was swallowed up to his neck, his hands flailing uselessly.

Everything was warm and damp; the narrow tongue wound around his chest. "JIIIIIIIM!" He could barely feel his feet anymore; he wondered hysterically if they were even still there.

He elbowed the creature's snout and scrambled for purchase on the ground. He could still hear Jim fighting.

"JIM! Jim, I'm almost –"

And then he was sucked inside the darkness.

Leonard screamed, beating his fists against the inside of the slimy mouth. "NOO! Let me out!" He viciously smacked the tongue away from his head. "JIM!" He could only move his head and arms. Everything else was immobilized in the alien's body. He kept fighting in the dark.

Suddenly, the creature screamed in pain – somehow without opening its mouth. The sound reverberated and hurt Leonard's ears. And then everything was still. The tongue was limp on his shoulder.

"Bones?"

"JIM!"

"Fuck, HANG ON!"

Leonard gasped at the flash of daylight over his head and yelled when it disappeared again.

"Bones, stay with me. I'm getting you out. It's just hard to keep its damn mouth open." The light returned, followed by a hand grasping his wrist. "Bones, listen. The light is gonna dim for a sec, because I need to use both hands to pull you out, okay?"

Leonard tried to mutter, "Okay," around the hysterical sobs bubbling out of his chest.

The light went out for a second as the lips closed around his and Jim's clasped hands. Then Jim dug in and found his other wrist and pulled. "Almost there, Bones! Push if you can!"

Leonard squirmed and realized that he could finally move. He scissored his legs and felt himself moving forward. Jim's hands moved up his arms as he pulled more of Leonard out of the mouth. Leonard frantically sucked in deep breaths of fresh air. Finally, the strong arms locked around his shoulders.

"That's it. I've got you. Shhh, it's okay, Bones." Jim's voice was surprisingly gentle. Leonard realized belatedly that it was probably because he was still screaming and sobbing violently. He looped his arms around Jim's neck and rested his head on Jim's shoulder, too exhausted to move anymore.

Jim carded one hand gently through his hair as he slowly dragged the rest of Leonard out of the creature. They collapsed in a heap on the riverbank. He was gathered tenderly into Jim's arms and wrapped him up tight.

Leonard tried to breathe around the sobs and noticed that Jim was shaking.

Jim kissed the top of his head, and he could feel cool tears dropping onto his skin. "Fuck … goddamnit … Bones." Another fierce kiss. "It's okay. It's okay, calm down."

Leonard was trying, but every time he closed his eyes, he could feel damp heat around him.

Jim cradled his face and planted quick kisses to his lips, cheeks, brow. "Shh, I've got you. It's dead, Bones. It can't hurt you. It can't get you."

"Jim – away – get me away from that!"

Jim nodded and picked Leonard up – most likely still running on excess adrenaline. He carried him further downstream and waded into the shallow water. He gently washed the dirt and slime off Leonard's body.

Leonard hissed with pain when his feet hit the water.

"Bones, what – oh, fuck! Your feet!"

Leonard forced himself to look down and saw that his boots has dissolved completely, and his feet were red and inflamed. His uniform pants had holes everywhere.

"What –"

"It was digesting me," Leonard heard himself answer. Then he rolled out of Jim arms into the water on all fours and wretched.

Jim didn't say anything, just rubbed his back.

Leonard watched the river carry the mess downstream; his feet were starting to scream in pain. Jim's arms came around him again, cradling him. He encouraged him to tilt his head back, so he could clean the clear slime from Leonard's hair and face. That done, he moved him back to the bank and ripped his pants to shorts, using the torn material to wrap his tender feet. "Bones? I need you to close your eyes and count to thirty. Can you do that for me?"

Leonard couldn't stop shaking. "Y-Yeah."

"Okay. Count out loud, Bones. Close your eyes."

Leonard did as Jim instructed and tried not to falter when he heard his friend sprint away. He kept counting and heard returning footsteps just as he reached thirty. He opened his eyes and saw that Jim had his medkit. "How?"

"When I woke up, it was next to me. But you weren't."

"Anyone else?"

"No. I couldn't find anyone." He had the tricorder out and was scanning Leonard. "No comms either. I swear, Spock is probably sitting in a field somewhere, surrounded by a pile of comms."

"Then h-how do we get home?"

Jim looked up and carefully laid a hand on Leonard's thigh. "I'll get us out, Bones. I'll find a way to make a signal. Don't worry, okay? I'll get us home, babe. Promise."

"Are there … more of those – things?"

Jim scanned the surrounding area with the tricorder, fiddling with the settings as he went. "I've increased the range. Looks like we're safe. No big predators around from what I can tell." He turned back to Leonard's feet, frowning at the readout.

Leonard swallowed thickly. "Am I gonna walk again?"

Jim looked up again and nodded reassuringly. "Yeah. Definitely. It's just surface damage. Looks like you'll need some serious regeneration, but you're gonna be okay. And we know you've got sensation, so that's good." He dug into the medkit and pulled out a hypospray, loading it with a painkiller. "How bad's the pain, babe? Scale of one to ten."

As the adrenaline was wearing off, the pain was continuing to filter through. "Climbin' towards a seven or eight."

Jim nodded and adjusted the dosage before administering the drug.

Leonard felt the effects almost immediately and watched Jim dig out the regenerator and calibrate it.

"You know how this works, Bones. I need to do it in stages. Try to stay still for me, okay?"

Leonard blinked up at the purplish sky above the trees. He forced himself to breathe steadily. Jim encouraged him, murmuring to breathe in and out at regular intervals. He concentrated just on his breathing, the sky, and Jim's voice.

"You're doing great, Bones. I'm almost done round one. Keep breathing … in … and out. Good. That's it."

A few minutes later, Jim finished but told Leonard to stay still and not move his feet. Jim picked him up again, moving him away from the water and propping him against a gigantic tree. He explained everything he was doing carefully and patiently. Leonard almost resented the way Jim was treating him like glass, except … he actually felt like he might shatter. If he didn't try to focus and breathe, the panic was just waiting to sink in.

"…Bones? Bones!" Jim's hand was firm on his wrist, taking his pulse. "Bones, look at me." A warm hand cradled his cheek.

Leonard looked up into Jim's blue eyes.

"I'm right here, sweetheart. Breathe for me." He gave Leonard's wrist a gentle squeeze. "C'mon. Deep breath."

Leonard forced himself to take a deep breath in, expanding his lungs.

Jim looked pleased. "That's it, babe. Good. Let it out nice and slow." He pulled Leonard close, wrapping his arms around him. "I'm right here. I've got you, Bones."

Leonard shivered and realized he was probably in shock.

One of Jim's arms unwound from around him and dug into the medical kit again. A moment later, an ultra thin thermal blanket was wrapped around him. A distracted part of his mind was intensely proud of Jim's medical skills.

Jim hugged him close again. "You're okay. I've got you." He rocked them back and forth until Leonard could breathe more evenly. "I need to find a way to make a fire." He pulled back slowly and made sure the blanket was wrapped securely around Leonard. "You cold?"

"Only a little," Leonard managed to answer.

"All right. I'll stay right this area and look for wood, okay? Then I'll go for round two on your feet."

Leonard nodded, deciding that he appreciated Jim telling him everything as he went. His thoughts were skittering in every direction; it would be so easy to give in to the panic. But he had enough of a hold on his wits to redirect his focus on the things right in front of him: Jim's monologue as he hunted up wood and scavenged food, the fading daylight, the dirt in front of him, the leaves moving in the gentle breeze … just like what he had heard before the creature appeared – Shit.

"Jim!"

He heard Jim drop everything and race back to his side. "What is it? What's wrong?" He cradled Leonard's hand in his own.

"S-Sorry, I j-just –"

"Shhh, don't apologize. Take some deep breaths. You're okay." He lifted his other hand to brush away the tears Leonard didn't remember crying.

Leonard did as he was told, and Jim's hand squeezed his in approval.

"I managed to find some fruit. I'll scan it to find out what we can eat."

"N-Not sure I can k-keep anything down."

Jim lifted his hand and pressed a kiss to his palm. "Try for me, okay? You know you need to keep your strength up to heal. But I'll be nice and spare you the lecture you would normally give me."

Leonard felt a ghost of a smile touch his lips.

Jim leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth softly.

Leonard's eyes stung as more tears raced down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, Jim."

"Bones –"

"No. I know I shouldn't be a mess right now. I should be able to handle it –"

Jim pulled him close. "It's okay. They don't exactly cover this at the Academy. And everyone has their own levels of tolerance. You're doing really well." Jim stroked his back. "It's okay. I'll get us home."

Leonard forced himself to take more deep breaths and pulled away. "I'm okay."

Jim cupped Leonard's cheek in his hand. "You sure?"

"We can't wait much longer, Jim. You're losing light."

Jim nodded and kissed his forehead. "Just tell me if you need me. I'm almost done."

Leonard rested his head back against the tree and resisted the urge to flex his feet. He fervently hoped he would have no need to run anytime soon.

Jim came back a few minutes later and kept up a constant narrative as built the fire. Leonard was glad of the warmth and light. Jim scanned the fruit he had found, handing two round fruits to Leonard. He ate them to make Jim happy and managed to keep them down. They looked like plums but the texture was more like a pear.

"I've found some leaves and sap that I think will make a good signal fire tomorrow. No sense in doing it now when no one can see it." Jim picked up the regenerator and carefully did a second round of treatment on Leonard's feet. "I wouldn't try moving them yet." He wrapped them up gently with clean gauze. "I think with one more treatment you'll at least be able to walk."

Leonard couldn't help himself. "What if something happens and we need to run?"

"Then I'll carry you," Jim answered without hesitation. He rubbed Leonard's arm. "Get some rest. I'll keep watch."

"You need to rest, too."

Jim smiled. "I know. I'll wake you later, and we can switch."

Leonard tried to glare. "You'd better."

Jim just grinned with false innocence.