The Garden

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek and do not make any money off of this fic

It finally happened. He thought as he looked down at the body on the table. His old friend was found this morning laying on the floor clutching an old-time piece. It was bound to happen. Spock. Well this Spock was old. Old wasn't even the right word. Ancient. That was more accurate. Still, receiving the call shook him to the core. Reaching out his hand, to brush away a stray stained of hair, he tried to stop the tears.

If it hadn't been for that fateful and fucked up meeting, Kirk wouldn't be who he was today. Trapped on that barren, godforsaken planet he ran into the one person he never fathomed to see. He gave him hope and a will to carry on which he never knew he possessed. So many things the older Spock knew but refused to tell. Even with out words, some of the messages could be convey by a simple look. His past, what should have been their past, was not to be. A legendary friendship. Was it possible to still have that? Over time, it seemed the course of history, regardless of the beginning had fated them to be friends. Whether it was Kirk's inability to lose at anything or being in such an enclosed area for such a long time, it happened. The seeds of friendship bloomed into a magnificent garden for all to see.

A hand rested lightly on his shoulder bringing him out of his thoughts. "Jim?"

He wouldn't cry. He couldn't, not in front of Bones. "I knew this was going to happen one day. But I didn't think it was going to be so soon."

"Life is like that. One minute you're here and the next you're not." But tears should never be held back. Pulling his captain into a firm embrace his words whispered. "let it out. No one here is going to judge you. Lest of all me. You gave that old elf something he wanted. Something no one else could give him. A chance to see someone he missed. The summer might have been too short but what time he had, you had special. Don't you dare go thinking you could or should have done anything different."

Tears started to rain down soaking Bones' shirt. Jim didn't say anything. He didn't need to. All emotions coming out as sobs clutching the blue uniform for some type of purchase on his new reality. Their friendship, it was too new to be over. But harsh as the winter, time took Spock from him. Leaving him with little more than the seeds of what could have been.

"I know this is hard. But you'll get through it. All this dirt you're going through will one day bringing something good."

"Something good? You're just saying that."

"No, I'm serious. The two of you started something. Something, I will never understand. But that strange friendship you had didn't end with him. It's still here waiting to be cared for. Don't let these thorns take away from the roses that are here. Live on. Prove to him that you are the person he knew you were. In the past, in the present and in the future."

"Bones…" Why wouldn't those tears stop? His words should have turned off the hose. But rivulet left streaks on his rosy checks.

"It will take it. Like anything worth having or doing."

He looked once more at the body. Moments of late night conversation, impromptu meetings in the hallway played through this mind. Nothing earth shattering. Just everyday things like how he ate his food or how he referred to his friends from the past. Somehow, all of that became special. Little perfect moments.

Kirk expected the hall way to be empty as he and Bones left the viewing room. But standing as straight as ever, calm as ever, was Spock. His Spock. "Captain?"

"I'm ok." Bones gave a slight nudge, pushing Jim closer to their friend. "I'll right. I'm not ok. But I will be."

"Emotions are complex and most do not wish to share theirs. Vulcan or not. However, we still have them. And in times of mourning, even in the depth of our despair it is best to keep love in our hearts. Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead."

"Voltaire?"

"Oscar Wilde."

"Ah."

"The elf's right or Oscar is anyway. You'll get through this and we'll help. Me and…the-I mean Spock. We might be in winter now but comes spring, everything will be fine. Just keep him close to your heart and look towards the future."

As they stood there hurtling through space, Jim's mind wandered to what the future might hold. Without Spock's guidance, he felt lost but the bickering in the background buzzed as a reminded that he was not alone. That he would never be alone. And it was his responsibility to make sure Star Fleet was around for generations to come. When this season is finished a new one begins. The seeds that lay far beneath the bitter snow will someday spring up. He just needed to make sure those that harvest the fruits of his labor were up for.

Far away, in a vineyard in France. A little boy stared up at the stars, his hands running over the frozen ground as he eagerly awaited the warmer months and far beyond that.

This was so hard to write. I started it shortly after Leonard Nimoy died, but never got a chance to finish it. Still hard to believe he is gone. The fic is based on his last tweet. "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but nor preserved, except in memory."

I do want there to be a very small second chapter.

Anyway, Happy International Fanworks Day. May it live long and prosper.

Till next time, write on and live the write life.