Expect the Unexpected

by Write-The-Words

The crew of the Enterprise realizes soon after their first departure that they should get used to the idea of expecting the unexpected. Series of one-shots centering on the relationships of the crewmembers, and the dangers they face. Series of one-shots

Summary: The crew of the Enterprise realizes soon after their first departure that they should get used to the idea of expecting the unexpected. Series of one-shots centering on the relationships of the crewmembers, and the dangers they face.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or any of its characters.

My first Star Trek story. It was even more fun to write than I thought it was going to be. This will be a series of interconnected one-shots centering around the main character's relationships with each other—but mostly Jim and Spock because I just love them so much. Jim and McCoy will probably be a close second because they have the most adorable best friend relationship.

I have watched the original series, but decided the new movie would give me more freedom to write because their story is untold. I would also like to note that I took some liberties with the characteristics of the Alien races. Some things are true, some are a little tweaked: I know this, you don't need to tell me. That's the beauty of fan-faction; I can twist things so they will work for what I want to write.

Jim:

"Okay, guys, just remember this is a diplomatic mission. So be kind, respectful, and don't do anything to piss the Andorians off, and this should all go down without a hitch." I say as we step onto the transporter pads.

"Oh right, Jim, because I must have forgot, it's usually one of us that goes around pissing government officials off, not our beloved captain," the good Doc grumbles.

"You forgot all-knowing, wondrous, handsome captain, Bones," I add with a cocky smile

"All-knowing, my ass."

I could see Spock looking at us with his usual pondering stare, no doubt thinking how illogical it was that two men who called each other 'best friend' spoke to one another the way we did. I've known Bones long enough to realize that, while he puts up walls, he's really a softie at heart. And all his annoyed grumblings are really signs of affection.

Well…mostly.

"Alright, Scotty, beam us down." He nods and flashes me a smile as he complies.

The landing party, consisting of myself, Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Lieutenant Uhura, is greeted by Representative Igrilan and a few security officials who were not introduced but merely stand menacingly behind him, as if to ward off any potential threat. All of them wear traditional formal clothing from the planet, the bright colors shocking against their pale blue skin and white hair.

Our assignment is to discuss new terms for an old agreement between the Federation and Andoria to trade knowledge and protection with an understanding that the Andorians would not sell their vast and advanced weaponry systems to enemies of the Federation.

"Captain Kirk," the Representative greets with a warm smile. "It is a pleasure to have you on our planet."

"It's a pleasure to be here with such a warm welcome," I respond easily.

"This is my First and Science Officer, Mr. Spock, Chief Medical Officer on the Enterprise, Doctor Leonard McCoy, and our Communications Officer, Lieutenant Nyota Uhura." They all nod in greeting when introduced.

"Very nice to meet you all. If you would follow me into the chambers here, I will introduce you to the Ambassador who will be negotiating our terms with you this day," he says, gesturing towards the Parliament building.

We follow him inside and enter a large room with a high dome ceiling and a bunch of old fashioned columns with ornate designs spiraling upwards. The ceiling is painted in a way that tells the story of the planet's history, from savage and warlike, to strict, yet relatively peaceful. I smirk a little as the first word to come to my mind is 'fascinating'. I really have been around the Vulcan a lot lately.

"Now, Captain, if you just follow me this way,"

"What about my crew?" I ask, managing to sound politely curious.

"Oh yes, excuse me. Ambassador Thalev requested to meet with you privately first, Captain. Meanwhile, your companions will be given a tour of the building. I understand that Lieutenant Uhura came down to learn more about our language, I would love to answer any questions she has personally."

I look briefly at my crew. Bones looks mildly interested, Spock's eyes are wondering all over the room, no doubt taking in every detail and eager,-well, as eager as a Vulcan can be-to learn more, and Uhura is visibly ecstatic at the opportunity presented to her. Smiling, I easily accept the representative's offer, and wave goodbye to the others as they head off on their tour, Uhura chatting with Igrilan the whole way.

I'm ushered into a room and introduced to another Andorian; Ambassador Thalev. He doesn't seem like a bad guy, but much less light-hearted than Representative Igrilan. Pleasantries are exchanged and the talk was well underway when I begin to relax a little more, thinking that maybe nothing would go wrong this time. Everything is going so smoothly so far.

I should have known that would be when it all went to hell.

Spock:

My first mistake was leaving Jim alone with an Ambassador who I knew from my research to be quite hostile at times.

It quickly became obvious that Jim Kirk was extremely adept at being a captain. I would never have expected it when we first met, when he cheated on my test and I brought him to trial for it, but it was true. Even as a cadet, he had enough instinct to know exactly the right course for us to take, even when I did not, and did everything in his power to make sure it happened. Despite the fact that compromising me emotionally was not only dangerous, but also something that went against everything he believed in. It was quite logical, in the end. And since that time, he has grown even more. The responsibility was not something he took lightly, as I feared he might, but rather something he took great care in improving on. His progress was commendable.

However, he had what seemed to be a natural gift for finding trouble and bringing it straight to him.

As his first officer, I made it my job to keep him from any harm. It is logical that I do so for the good of the ship and its crew. But it did not take long for us to become more than just colleagues tolerating each other. It would appear that even I am not immune to the Captain's charismatic charm. It seemed he tool the advice of my counterpart to heart, and started his endeavor to spend more time with me personally, outside of the bridge.

I refused him at first, deducing that it was not rational to partake in frivolous activities when I could be doing something more productive. However, he was persistent and I too had been told by my other self that our friendship would be great. It did not take long for me to accept.

Chess games soon became almost nightly and I felt comfortable talking to Jim, as if it were completely natural. After that, keeping him from danger rapidly became about protecting my friend as well as doing my duty. It was not an easy task, considering how the Captain seemed to find danger in even the safest of places.

Which is why I should have seen it coming when Representative Igrilan mutters an 'Oh no' after a burly security guard came in to tell him something.

"Oh no, what?" Dr. McCoy asks wearily, no doubt knowing just as surely as I did that the Captain has gotten into trouble.

"Well, Ambassador Thalev is a very stern man, not lenient at all, even to guests and it seems that your captain has somehow offended him."

"Jesus, what did the kid do now and how do we fix it?"

"You see, we have a tea here, it's a sacred drink, and when offered, if it's turned down it is considered an incredible insult. We don't usually present it to strangers for that reason, but…" Igrilan trails off, sounding very nervous.

"We were not informed of this," I say. "If the Captain had known, he surely would not have disrespected Ambassador Thalev. The situation can be rectified if we simply speak with-"

"I'm afraid it won't be that simple. Thalev is very easily offended, and he doesn't give second chances. He is taking your captain to be disposed of as we speak," Igrilan seems afraid of what our reaction towards him will be.

I vaguely hear Dr. McCoy curse creatively but my mind is focused on formulating a plan before it was too late.

"Where?" I ask tersely.

"The cliffs that were to our right when you first beamed down. He plans on drowning him."

"We must stop this," I start towards the door, Lieutenant Uhura and Dr. McCoy just behind me when Igrilan interrupts.

"He will have many guards with him. It will be nearly impossible for you to get to captain Kirk."

"Well we're not just going to stand here doing nothing," Nyota snapps before closing the door behind her. "He's right, though. How are we going to get to him?" She asks as we hurried towards.

"I believe that attempting to avoid being captured at all would be the best solution, however, it appears an unlikely one. If we are grabbed by the security officers, I believe I will be able to break free with relative ease because of my superior strength," I say as we rapidly make our way to the cliffs. "When I do so, I will free the captain while you are freeing yourselves, and then Mr. Scott will beam us up."

Dr McCoy contacts the engineer to be ready to beam us aboard when we give the order. "And what if he drops Jim before you get free?" the Doctor asks. "What if we can't break free of the guards?"

"If he drops the captain before I can get to him, I will rescue him from drowning, of course. And if you are unable to release yourselves from the security gaurds, Mr. Scott will surely be competent enough to beam you aboard the ship and the Andorians can be outnumbered and apprehended there." I speed up as I hear incomprehensible shouting ahead.

"Spock, you're a Vulcan, you're not good with the whole swimming thing,"

"It is not my strongest talent, Doctor, but I am able. Be prepared to give the captain any medical help he may require once you get aboard the ship."

"Stubborn, green-blooded, pointy-eared…" I hear Dr. McCoy mutter behind me.

"Spock, are you sure? I don't want you to get…" Lieutenant Uhura trails off as we rounded the corner and see Ambassador Thalev standing precisely 47.8 degrees to the left of a muscular Andorian who is holding Captain Kirk by the neck, his arms and legs chained with a weight tethered to his person, over the edge of the precipice.

Dr. McCoy starts yelling towards the Ambassador but we are grabbed from behind by the guards. Nyota screams as the grip on our captain is released and he is sent plunging into the icy waters below.

We are too late.

Jim:

Okay, it really wasn't my fault this time, I think as I'm hauled—practically dragged—up the pathway leading to the edge of the cliff. I mean, how was I supposed to know turning down that moldy looking drink would be an insult? Starfleet had warned us about some odd customs of the Andorians that we were not to violate, but certainly not this one. I would have remembered something that important.

So here I am, chained at the ankles and wrists, spears pointed at me from every angle. Great. If, by some miracle, I manage to survive this, I'm going to have a few words with Star Fleet. The possibility is looking slimmer and slimmer as I'm lead even closer to the edge.

I have no idea where Bones, Spock, and Uhura are now, or if they even know how much trouble I got myself into (completely not my fault) but I'm kind of hoping for a miracle rescue here.

I'm Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The youngest captain in the history of the Fleet, I defeated Nero and saved the Earth from complete destruction against all odds. Jim Kirk does not believe in no-win scenarios.

And yet, as the beefy security guard clips a heavy weight to the chains on my ankles and lifts me up by a hand around my neck—what is it with bad guys and chaking me, anyway?—it's pretty hard to see a way out of this.

The guard lifts me and the weight over the edge and smiles grimly at me. I feel the mist spraying up from the ocean below.

"You should not have insulted me, Captain," The Ambassador says. "Let us hope the Federation was able to teach it's hero to swim."

Movement catches my somewhat fading vision—again, why do people like to choke me so much?—and I look over to see my crew racing towards us, yelling things I really hope are to the Ambassador because I can't hear them anyway. For just a brief second I feel a glimmer of hope—then the guard releases my neck but I can't even be happy about it because I go plunging into the freezing water as a result; sinking faster and faster until I hit the bottom thanks to the weight at my feet.

Spock:

The Andorians are very strong, stronger than humans, certainly. But I am not a human; at least not completely. I manage to break free of my imprisoner in almost no time at all and take off running, only just remembering to remove my utility belt before diving over the edge after my captain.

As I hit the icy water I find myself pleased that I passed my swimming courses despite my distaste for it. I dive down deeper after Jim, knowing the Captain had to be running out of air.

There he is, head bobbing and eyes just closing, his hands still chained behind his back. I close my arms around Jim's chest and heave him up; knowing logically that his need for air outweighs my discomfort at lifting both him and the weight.

Kicking furiously, I break the surface and inhale much needed air, noting that the captain is not doing the same. The illogical human emotion of worry shoots through me, but I force it back down. Now is not time to be irrational, the only way the captain's life will be spared is if I act quickly and logically.

When I finally reach the shore I haul Jim's dead weight up the sand. As I do so I manage to snap the chains on his wrists, noting that Jim had managed to weaken them considerably.

Laying my captain down, I feel for a heartbeat and find none. This time it is panic I have to force into the recesses of my mind. I must help Jim, I force myself to concentrate.

I place my hands over the human's heart and begin pumping rhythmically. Water gurgles out of Jim's mouth but his chest remains frighteningly still. I never should have left him alone.

I resume compressions again after checking the captain's vitals and being met with only silence. I curse low in Vulcan, and steadily count fifteen compressions, then breathe for Jim. No change.

Again. One, two, three… "Jim, wake up. You cannot leave like this, Jim. You must breathe." I find myself illogically pleading with a man who cannot even hear me…Fourteen, fifteen. I breathe for Jim again and the man's chest rises with the extra air. Beginning compressions again I find myself growling the word "No," refusing to accept that my captain can't be helped, despite the evidence to the contrary.

And then, all of a sudden, the human drags in a ragged breath, eyes snapping open. I quickly turn him on his side so he could expel all the ocean water he inhaled.

I feel such a powerful wave of relief that I cannot suppress it all fast enough. It seems my human half's emotions were especially powerful at the discovery that my friend was out of immediate danger. I plan some much needed meditation to resolve the problem when we get back on the ship. Especially because I know how surprisingly adept Jim is at reading me when he is in his right mind. He does not need the boost to his ego.

"Spock?" Jim's voice is raspy and confused.

"Indeed, Captain," I say while removing the chains from Jim's ankles.

"Pulled me out?" he asks hazily.

"Indeed, Captain," I repeat distractedly, checking my companion's vitals to make sure everything is in order. He is too cold. Humans are naturally cooler than Vulcan's but this is abnormal. The water is only 10.37 degrees above freezing and Jim had been down there for longer than I had. I myself most likely only escaped hypothermia because of my higher body temperature.

I tear the captain's shirt off quickly and efficiently, knowing that cold, wet clothes on someone who was developing hypothermia in not beneficial.

"Hey," the man protests weakly, but he is interrupted by a shiver.

I am pleased to see this, despite the fact that it makes Jim look even more miserable. Shivering is the body's natural defense against the cold, its way of warming up. Jim's core temperature had not dropped significantly.

I hesitate, despite knowing that Jim needs more attention before Mr. Scott can manage to beam us up. That is, assuming, Dr. McCoy and Lieutenant Uhura have made it to the ship, but I no longer have my communicator so I must assume they have.

The next procedure would be to warm the victim up with body heat—and my Vulcan temperature would serve even better for this. But the skin-to-skin contact would mean invading Jim's privacy and thoughts without his knowledge or consent. I have never melded with Jim before but I know the man had thoughts he would most likely desire to keep to himself. And not just the ones involving his notorious promiscuity at the Academy.

I reason that minor discomfort on both our parts is preferable to the captain's suffering and place my warm hand on Jim's bare and shaking chest. Through the touch I can feel my friend's confusion but also his trust. He knows that I am feeling what he feels and he trusts me to help him.

"I-i-it's not l-like bef-fore." Jim says around his chattering teeth.

"Elaborate," I tell him, wondering if he is even aware of what he is saying.

"When y-you did it before it was more p-powerful. H-hurt my head." I'm pleased that the captain's voice is stronger and less confused, but am beginning to get worried he may have injured his head.

"No, Captain, you are mistaken. I have never initiated the Vulcan Mind Meld with you." I inform him.

"No, y-yes you did," I'm really getting worried for Jim's health now. "Not you-you. The other you. He did it. It was cold then too."

Everything falls into place and my eyebrows raise in surprise. "The other me, Captain?" I attempt to clarify.

"Yeah. O-on Delta Vega. It was w-weird. H-hurt my head."

I feel my eyebrows rise even further at this confirmation. Despite the captain's broken sentences, it is impossible to doubt his message. My older self had preformed a mind meld on him. I find myself unsure about what to do with this new and unexpected development. I am also unsure as to why it troubles me so much.

It must be because the captain had clearly not given his consent to the extreme invasion of privacy, and had not been informed of the risks and side effects. It is exceedingly frowned upon to initiate a mind meld without first assuring the recipient was well informed of what would happen. That must be it.

I glance down at Jim to find him looking up at me, pleased to see that his eyes are much clearer than before and his body has stopped its attempts to get warm through shaking. "Spock—" he starts, but whatever he is about to say gets cut off as we are surrounded by familiar sensation of weightlessness which accompanies beaming.

We are rescued.

Jim:

Any breath that I had in me after being suspended in mid-air by my neck washes out of me when I hit the icy water. I sink unbelievably fast, struggling all the way until the weight hits the bottom, sand floating up all around me.

I pull hard on the chains around my wrists, thinking that if I could just get my arms free I could get the right leverage and reach the surface. No such luck. Of course not; why would it ever be that easy?

Pulling and struggling, never giving up for a second, I begin to sense the world spinning. I can feel my heart pounding down to my toes; each beat a stabbing pain in my head. My chest is tight and my whole body numb with the overwhelming cold. The world goes black around me as the pressure increases in my chest. There are no no-win scenarios. However, I get the feeling these might be my final thoughts. The others- my crew, my friends, Uhura, Bones, Spock—they're all safe. Spock will take care of the ship. I realize I'm saying good-bye and try and pull my thoughts together but it's just so dark and cold and it hurts. No such thing as no-win scenarios…And, just before the world fades completely, I feel incredibly warm hands close around my chest and know they must belong to death.

Jim's body feels weightless, like he was flying without a ship. Illogical, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Spock's sounds in his head. At lest he thinks it's his head; it's kind of hard to tell here. And still he feels only weightlessness. 'Is this what dying is like?' he wonders idly as he observes the whiteness all around him. Seems…boring.

His heart jumps as he realizes how much he doesn't want this. Some people might be at peace with dying young but Jim Kirk is not among them. He wants to live. Jim's heart jumps again and then again…it's an entirely uncomfortable sensation. It stops briefly but Jim has only a second to feel relieved before it starts up again. His chest feels weird.

And suddenly, just for the slightest instant, Jim is somewhere else. He can hear the waves of the foreign ocean, feel the sand on his back, the chains on his legs, someone's warm hands on his heart. Then he's back to the whiteness and the strange feeling in his chest has resumed. It feels almost like a…heartbeat .It is a heartbeat. Someone's trying to bring him back.

Air fills his body forcibly and he tries to gasp in more, suddenly aware of how much he needs it.

A voice comes through to him, a muffled disembodiment at first, but then it becomes clearer. "…not leave like this, Jim. You must breathe." It's Spock, sounding extremely worried. For his first officer to be that concerned about him, he has to have been out for a very long time, and Jim is smart enough to know that means he doesn't have long.

Air fills him again and this time he holds on to it, focusing on the forced pumping of his heart and pulling up as hard as he can.

Gasping for breath and coughing up the entire frigging ocean, I come to laying on my side in the sand; cold and miserable but alive. And there's Spock, my rescuer, turning me over and getting rid of the weight, sending blood and feeling back into my legs.

My Vulcan best friend only vaguely answers my questions which is cool because I'm not exactly firing on all four cylinders here and I'm also just really cold. Why am I so cold? And then my shirt is getting ripped off. I kinda think I say something here but I'm not sure because I'm just so damn cold.

I open my eyes and try to focus because I have to make sure Uhura and Bones got away safely and aren't chained up or drowning but with all the effort it takes, I forget what I'm going to say. It does, however, bring my first officer into my line of sight, which is better than the inside of my eyelids because the dark is getting kind of scary.

He is worried, he's trying to hide it but Spock can't hide what he's feeling from me as easily as he can from most others, not including Uhura. I try to reassure him that I'm fine but I think all that comes out is a shiver because Spock's hot hand is suddenly on my chest and damn that warmth feels good.

I try to tell him how different it is from the mind meld but his confusion makes me think I'm not speaking too clearly, so I focus a little harder. I do, however, think, I say a little too much because wasn't I supposed to keep quiet about the Spock from the other universe? Oops. That doesn't explain the angry look on this Spock's face, but I shrug that off to the cold. I must not have seen it right.

Slowly-or at least I think it's slowly, time seems to be moving oddly-awareness comes back to me and I can focus much better. I look up at my dripping friend and realize the extent of what he just did for me. Spock could have died jumping in that water after me. Vulcan's are normally warmer than humans, but they are also more susceptible to cold because of it. I figure Spock was in and out of the water too fast for it to actually take affect like it had on myself, but it was still a huge risk.

It was…illogical. Sure, he's three times stronger than the average human, but add the vulnerability to the cold to the fact that Spock, as a Vulcan, isn't the strongest swimmer and you have one seriously risky plan.

Logically, and I, despite how my brain won't seem to work right at the moment, don't miss the irony in how I'm thinking about how Spock could have been more logical, it should have been Bones to pull him out. He was a good swimmer, pretty strong, and able to give him medical attention when he got him to the shore. Not that Spock didn't do a great job with all of that, but the fact remains that Bones was the more logical choice.

I open my mouth to say…I'm not sure what. There are so many questions I need to ask. Where are the others? Are they okay? Did they make it back to the ship? Why aren't we on the ship? What about the Andorians? What's gong to happen with the negotiations? Thank you for doing that. I know it means you care. But all that comes out as I look into my First Officer's dark eyes was "Spock." And before I can manage to say anything else, the white lights of the transporter bean surround us, and we're home.

"Jim!" Bones is quickly at my side and immediately pulling out a hypospray. Naturally.

I yelp and swat at him, managing a smile at the grumbled "Such an infant," it draws from the good doctor.

"Well we've put your green blood to good use, at least. He might be dead if you hadn't been there to warm him up."

"I am gratified that I could be of assistance, Doctor. But I believe I have been telling you for months about the benefits of Vulcan bodies over human bodies. If I could experience emotions, I would be glad that your irrational human brain appears to be catching up."

I laugh over Bones's muttered "Pointy-eared hobgoblin," and almost call Spock out on his bullshit but decide against it. The Vulcan did save my life, after all. I figure if Spock wants to live in his little fantasy about how unemotional he is – to pretend like I imagined the worry back there—then I'll let him. It really isn't my business anyway, I think as my smirk grows into an outright grin.

After:

Two days in sickbay—"Just to be sure, Jim, quit complaining or I'll make it two weeks"—and I'm back on the bridge. I walk off the turbo lift and back to the Captain's chair with an extra bounce in my step.

I grin in acknowledgement to Sulu's cheerful greeting and Uhura's smiling nod, and listen as Chekov informs me of how the situation with the Andorians is being smoothed over. God, I missed this place.

As we travel on I turn to look at Spock who raises an eyebrow when our eyes met.

And if our eyes hold for longer than what's strictly necessary—well, that's really nobody's business.

Fin

I adore writing both of them and this plot bunny has been n my head for a while, so I hope you enjoyed. I tried to contrast the difference between the two by using both their POV's.

If there are any glaring errors, I would like you to please tell me. I'd also like to note that I wrote this entire story in past tense, decided I didn't like it, and went through and changed it to present. So if there are any mistakes in that area, that would be why.

Also, I have a vague idea about other one-shots I'd like to write for this, but I do have one thing I am unsure of. I started writing this with the intention of it being just a friendship fic. But then when I was reading it through I said to myself, "Self, this reads like pre-slash." Apparently the slash between these two just writes itself.

So what do you guys think? Should I keep it as friendship, or evolve it into slash? I'm open to either. I guess it really depends on where they take me. I'm so excited to write more!