"When you were standing in the wake of devastation

When you were waiting on the edge of the unknown

And with the cataclysm raining down

Insides crying "Save me now!"

You were there, impossibly alone"

Kirk

The shackles released after Jim and Bones had been literally hanging from their wrists for what seemed like hours. They had both lost the ability to stand, Jim's adrenaline ran out rather quickly after the departure of the Klingons, and the pain in his knees rushed to him. As soon as the shackles released, Jim and Bones both dropped to heaps on the floor. Jim had been taken so off guard that he fell face first into the floor. In any other situation, he probably would have been at least mildly embarrassed, but at this point he was too in pain to care. He lifted his head off the ground to look at Bones, who seemed to be perfectly content with lying spread eagle on the floor. Jim forced his knees to work as much as he could, and slowly made his way over to Bones. Bones looked up at the sound of Jim basically sliding across the floor. "Jim, what in the hell are you doing?" he asked, slowly moving to sit up. "Freezing my ass off, you?" Jim said, finally reaching the wall and sitting against it. He motioned for Bones to join him. Bones scooted back to sit next to him, and looked him over. "You look like shit." he said, worry evident.

"Hate to break it to you, Bones, but you look worse."

Bones simply shrugged and leaned against the wall, arms crossed tightly over his chest. "Doesn't that hurt?" Jim asked, eyeing the multi-colored bruises all over Bones' torso. "Better than freezing to death," Bones replied, shivering from the cold. Jim sighed and leaned closer to Bones, wrapping an arm around him. Bones looked at him, confused for a moment, and then simply scooted as close as he could get without being on Jim's lap. "Then I guess so is cuddling in our boxers," Jim said. Bones said nothing, just shivering against Jim's side.

…

"Prepare a landing party." Spock told Sulu. They had tried contacting Jim and Bones several more times, and had gotten nothing. Med bay had yet to gain back their vitals. In all honesty, Spock was starting to think they were dead. But there was no shot in Hell that he was saying that out loud. "Combat trained," he added. "They need to be prepared for any possibility." Sulu nodded and passed along the orders.

Spock stood next to the Captain's chair, staring out of the Enterprise at the planet below. Kirk, his Captain and friend was down there somewhere. He had no way of knowing if he and Doctor McCoy were even still alive. The only ray of hope the crew had been given was the med bay's report on how unusual the disappearance of Jim and Doctor McCoy's vitals had been. But there was nothing to say that they hadn't just died under unusual circumstances, or that they had died after the vitals had caught out. Spock didn't want to calculate the probability of them being alive. He had the feeling the probability wouldn't be in his favor.

…..

Bones

They were on the floor long enough for Bones to stop shivering. He was still freezing his ass off, that probably wasn't going to change anytime soon, but stopping the shivering was better than nothing. It had been a while since he or Jim had said anything, but what was there to say? They had just watched each other get beaten and bloodied, and they weren't sure how they were getting out of this one. It killed Bones a little that this may be the one time he wouldn't be able to save Jim. He took a quick glance at his best friend. Blood had dried to his face from his earlier bloody nose. His knees were swollen and bruising badly. Bones wouldn't be surprised if they had broken at least one of Jim's kneecaps, if not both. He had various cuts and bruises on about every visible part of his body. He was simply leaning his head against the wall and staring at the ceiling. He hadn't complained once.

Bones was well aware that the only time Jim had let his panic seep out was when their captors had instead turned on him for leverage, and when he had no idea where Bones even was. But Bones knew the panic was still in there. Jim was almost rigid, his muscles tight. If Bones were to ask, Jim would most likely say that it was just the cold. But he knew better. He could hear, however faint it was, Jim's uneven breathing. He could tell how hard Jim was trying to keep his face blank, and how much his eyes were failing him. That was probably why he didn't want to look at Bones. But Jim was Bones' best friend, and he saw right through it.

He was about to say so. He was about to give Jim some speech about how he didn't have to hold back just because he was a damn Captain. But the door opened, and robbed him of his chance to do so. Their captors, all but the one that spoke English, entered the room. Bones felt Jim's muscles tighten even more, something he wasn't even really sure was possible. Their captors stared at them for a moment, before one began saying something to the others in Klingon. Bones felt Jim's hand suddenly grip his shoulder.

Two of the captors approached them. When each one grabbed either of Bone's arms, Jim let his protests be known. So the Klingon closest to Jim sent a fist straight to the side of head. Jim's hand dropped from Bones' shoulder. The stupid son of a bitch was out cold. It was then that Bones began his protests. He struggled against the Klingons dragging him from the room, screaming and yelling. Once or twice he yelled for Jim. He knew it was useless. Even if Jim did come to, he wouldn't be able to do a damn thing. As the door shut on Jim and the remainder of their captors, Bones had to wonder if he had just said goodbye to his best friend.