Spock rushed down to the corridor before Kirk's line went dead. He tried not to look shocked, but for one second his mouth dropped. There was Jim; his body was crumpled under the intercom. He lay in pool of blood, his pale skin tinted by crimson.
McCoy arrived within seconds; he loudly professed his opinion. This included however, several violent words. The medical team rushed to get Jim on a stretcher. Before they could bandage the wound though, they had to stop the infection. The dagger tip had been poisoned. Using everything he had, McCoy managed to slow the poison and stop the bleeding. Still, Jim was hanging in the grey zone. He had to pull through by his own will power now.
The Vulcan walked slowly into the infirmary. Even in sickbay, Spock noted, without the blood, this once proud figure looked so helpless. He and the doctor were very worried. On the inside they both bled for their dearest friend. Spock was good at calculating odds. This time the odds didn't look so good. If this man on the infirmary bed before him died, then he'd be Captain. This was not possible. People would want his decisions, when all his life he been recalculating a decision another man, sometimes a greater man, had made. If this was the last time, the very last time, what could he say to this man?
This wasn't the Captain. This wasn't Kirk. This was Jim. This was his brother. Maybe, this was the last time to talk to him. And what could he say? He couldn't say that he wanted him to get well. Because emotionally he knew that Jim would get well. He couldn't say he wished he'd been stabbed instead, because he just whished it'd never happened at all.
That's what really bugged him. He could have seen the signs! Surely there had been some sort of clue. He might as well have given the Andorian the dagger. He could have stopped it before it began! But he still had one more chance to stop it before anything else went wrong. Placing his hand on the edge of Kirk's bedside, with his head bowed he said quietly, "I'm sorry I didn't stop this sooner. But I will-I'll…"
Ignoring what Spock had said, Kirk looked up (still half dazed from everything) and simply said, "Spock, thank you…you saved my life…" He fell back asleep without a second thought.
Spock looked at his friend, "I'm sorry, I've let you down." He left quickly, mumbling under his breath, "I'll still try though, to fix it, to save the rest of the ship. I'll try for you, because I would never want to fail you."
End
I do not own trek or the epic friendship that those two share.