Disclaimer: Nope, don't own the rights to anything Star Trek related. Would be nice though, I'd enjoy writing story lines/scripts if they ever decided to do another Trek show.

"Foreign Earth language translated to Standard."

"Alien Language translated to standard."

"Voice being listened to through a communicator."

'Telepathic speech.'

Thoughts.

"Occasionally, a foreign/alien word will be in a sentence."

In Need and Deed- Part 1.4

There were nine settlements or towns on Tarsus IV. The central one where the Governor resided and then nine smaller towns. The central town (called, imaginatively, Tarsus Central City, despite not actually being a city) had roughly a thousand people, and was populated by the first wave of colonists that came to Tarsus. The other nine had a little fewer than 800 each.

Apparently, and according to Jim, who's logic was solid, the five town were selected more for the amount of aliens that lived there than anything else. Indeed, going over the lists on the padd, they found that if there were any aliens in the other towns; they were the first to get killed.

It had just taken time for the soldiers to organize to head to the other towns, that's why they hadn't gotten killed right away. Spock continued with the morbid calculations and tried not to think about the loss of T'Pre. Spock focused back on the present as a hand gently touched his arm. "We're taking a break Spock." Spock nodded at Jim, and glanced around the small clearing they had stopped in.

Surviving on their own was difficult, and Jim kept them moving so the soldiers wouldn't find them, they were awake at night and rested during the day, to make it more difficult. They stole food from the now abandoned houses, as well as medicine- it seemed sickness had followed the plague on the crops.

Logically, Spock knew it was from the deaths of so many, and the fact that Kodos apparently hadn't cared enough to have them buried so that disease could be prevented- decaying flesh, no matter who's was capable of carrying diseases that would infect the living. He absently studied a tree- apparently; the agricultural plaque had affected all plant life, but why now? Was it some sort of passive aggressive defense mechanism of the planet to repel intruders? Had the settlements been too close together? Spock didn't know, but he absently filed the thought under 'things to study.'

Which brought up the subject of Jim. His friend was a natural leader, the traits that made him reckless and his intelligence that he tried to hide, Spock noted, were the same traits that made him take charge when no one else would, to think out plans and protect them. His human emotions were not a hindrance, in this case, but a strength- but Spock could not figure out how Jim did it. Spock's own emotions kept slipping out of his control as he struggled to deal with the shock. For the most part, he kept a tight lid on them, focusing only on the things necessary for survival. He and Jim were technically the oldest, and so the younger ones looked up to them for guidance and assurance, which Spock could not give them, given the cold certainty that it would take an extreme paradigm shift to be sure that a single one of them might survive for help to arrive. He focused on logic and giving advice to Jim, because that was all he could really due at this point. Giving what might have been a termed a 'sigh' by a human, Spock came out of his mediation.

He glanced around their current camp, trying to find Jim to figure out their next move. He then wished he hadn't, because the scene once again threatened to upset his hold on his logic and emotions.

Jim was crouched nearby the andorian- 'Chay' was how he'd introduced himself, but Spock suspected it was his nickname, not his full name- who was curled into a tiny ball and shivering despite being bundled up. Jim was coaxing the little one into eating, and not for the first time, Spock realized that Jim had given up part of his own ration to the little one. There was some logic to that, Chay was sick and much younger than Jim, and so needed more food to get better, but, (as Spock had pointed out, logically, and more than once to his stubborn human friend), because Jim was the one they all relied on to lead, he needed to eat his own food to keep him going so he didn't collapse.

Jim had given him a look that had spoken volumes; he had known that, but at that same time, he could not let a child die.

Such an attitude was inherent in all cultures, Adults and adolescents would rather die than let young ones and infants suffer. On several planets, anyone that killed a child was worthy of the death penalty- and unlike earth and a few other planets, there was no waiting period on those planets between the trial and carrying out of that sentence, it was done immediately, and usually very painfully. (One planet allowed the parents of the child to decide the method of death, and usually they demanded for the murderer to die slow, in the same manner their child was killed- in that same system, there was a planet that allowed the mother of the child to kill the murderer. Spock had to admit there was a certain logic to that idea.)

On Vulcan, to physically harm a child was a crime that was dealt with harshly, and there were records, even after Vulcans embraced logic, of Vulcan parents going into an irrational frenzy to protect their children from threats. One such story (that was almost mythic) had a mother with a young child killing ten invaders because they had decided to eat the child for food. (His mother had read the story, and had told him and his father that Earth women had been known to lift entire vehicles off their children if they were trapped- vehicles that were impossible to lift normally.) So Spock stopped trying to convince Jim not to give up most of his food. Instead, he started sharing his own ration with Jim, whose attempt at protest was cut off with a simple logical statement.

"Vulcans can go 33.78 terran days with little food or water and suffer no ill effects." Jim had studied his face, blue eyes searching for something in his own dark eyes, before he gave a small grim nod and agreed.

Now though, Jim looked like the strain of pushing himself despite the food was going to make him collapse at any moment. And Spock was at a lost as how to get Jim to relax and sleep for awhile, instead of the short naps he took. He wasn't the only one, Tommy had tried to convince Jim to relax and failed.

"How's Chay?" Ruth knelt next to Jim, and Spock pulled himself out of his musings.

"His fever's gone down." Jim sighed, as Chay curled up into his chest. "How are Kevin, Rose and Tiana doing?"

"Ti-lain-ya." Ruth corrected. "They're alright, Tommy's telling them a story." She sighed.

"No luck on figuring out Tilainya's species, then?"

"Nope. Just that it's descended from felines with yellow scales instead of fur that interbred with gecko/monkey hybrids." Ruth leaned against Jim, looking down at the sleeping Chay for a moment. "Thank you, Jim."

"For what?" Jim looked confused, and Spock tilted his head slightly, studying the girl's slight flush.

"For being here, for taking care of us . . ." Ruth met his eyes. "I know you're not comfortable with other people, Jim. I can tell in the way you only ever let us in all the way, just so far, but never far enough for you to actually feel it. In the way you always hid behind masks of foolishness, sarcasm and anger. But the fact you're still here, taking care of us even though you're not comfortable . . . that means a lot to me." Spock blinked. From that statement, he concluded that this was going to become a personal conversation, but he saw no reason to not stop observing the interaction.

"Yeah, well, I'd feel more uncomfortable not taking care of you all." Jim gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Especially you." He smiled, and then stood, picking up Chay.

"I wasn't done talking, Jimmy." Ruth pouted. Jim chuckled.

"Give me a minute to get Chay to Tommy, then, alright?" Ruth nodded and stood up.

"Okay." Spock watched, trying to put together Ruth's motive for talking. She was saying words of gratitude, trying to tell Jim something in a roundabout way that had no logic, and he couldn't quite pick up a theme to her words. Jim returned.

"Alright, so what-" Spock's eyes widened as Ruth kissed Jim, arms wrapping around him. "Ruth?"

"I've always said I never want to have regrets, Jim, and I don't want anything to change that- so please, will you give me what I want? I know it's not the best place, but would you please consider, just this once, Jim?" Spock turned and walked away at that point. He had a feeling that he wouldn't want to see what happened next.

The next evening saw Jim and Ruth a little cleaner than they had been, and Jim was much more relaxed than he had been in a long time. Jim went over to Tommy to talk, and Ruth went over to Spock after checking on the kids.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but I figured it would be the best way to get Jim to relax and rest a bit." So his observation had been noticed, then.

"Relaxing and rest to Vulcans is stopping the usage of energy, not using more." Spock retorted. Ruth just smiled.

"I know, it's a bit counter-intuitive, but it works for humans."

"You do realize that there was the chance of pregnancy?" Ruth shook her head.

"No, because of the lack of food, my body is unable to be fertile right now." Spock's eyebrow arched, and she smiled again. "It's a human biological safeguard, to protect the possible child and myself. Without enough nutrients, the baby wouldn't develop properly, and I would probably be ill. So I can keep doing this to keep Jim from running himself into the ground. Unfortunately, he's stubborn, so it won't happen again for a while- and we can't risk being completely senseless so much as I would like."

" . . ." Spock nodded.

"On that note, I think I should thank you." Spock looked at her confused. "You've been looking out for Jim, too, I've seen you slip him your food when he gives up his own. I know Vulcans don't do gratitude, but thank you, Spock, for taking care of him."

"He's the only one that is able to make sure we survive, Ruth, it would be illogical for me not to." She just smiled again, a similar smile to the one that she had given Jim, but this had no flush accompanying it, so she was not trying to flirt with him.

After that, however, the two were often seen sharing glances whenever it looked like Jim might have lost his mind. Spock providing, as best he could, logic and an unattached view, as well as intellectual distraction with words and logical arguments, and Ruth provided physical and emotional comfort, for times when Jim needed someone to hold him when his choices didn't seem to be working.

Hiding during the day and moving only at night while all but starving and occasionally sick made time become meaningless. Every night was a struggle for survival, and even Spock stopped trying to keep track. There was no point. The eight of them stuck together, and occasionally they would find other children that had fled to survive, saved by their parents. Some of the children would join, others would choose to continue to be on their own. A few tried to kill the group, hunger and illness driving them mad, and those were the ones that haunted the older children- especially Jim, because he still had the Phaser, and he was the one that had to pull the trigger- and 'stun' didn't always work, either. The first time, Tommy hadn't understood, and Spock had to assure Jim that it had been the logical thing to do, while Ruth had held him and assured him she wouldn't leave. Tommy had come around the next day, when he killed a lone soldier that tried to kill one of the children. After that, the morality of their actions was never brought up again.

They did everything they could, but not all of the children survived- several died from being sick, a couple, who had probably been on the farms that had first been hit by the plague, had died from malnutrition and lack of food. Through it all, Rose, Tilainya, Chay and Kevin were the four children that stuck like glue to the four older kids- refusing to run and hide even when told to.

There was no way of telling how long it had been, but one gray morning, Jim and Spock had slipped back to their old town to find more medicine. There was no one out and about, and Jim (who was able to pick locks and hotwire electronic ones, but never admitted to how he was able to do so) had slipped into a house that had been abandoned for a while. Spock kept a lookout, but couldn't bring himself to look at the deserted town square. His attention was caught by a poster- it was old and had been torn more than once, but someone had stubbornly kept tapping it together. 'Never Forget' was written in bold red letters, and there were pictures (someone must've spent a fortune on finding an old film camera, or there was an artist) of the bodies of the victims in the piles they'd been tossed in- most of the pictures were torn and tapped back together to the point it was impossible to make out any details, but one on the bottom right corner had survived with only two tears to be tapped.

He never should have looked at it. Because he recognized T'Pre and Jim's cousin who hadn't made it, in the mostly intact picture on the poster. "Spock. We've got to go-oh." Jim had come up but Spock was fixated on the picture, despite himself. "C'mon Spock." Once again, Jim had to grab his forearm and pull him out of the town before they got caught. "Spock? Spock?" Jim shook his shoulders, and Spock had time to think that if he was human he'd be crying right then. Vulcans didn't cry because that was a waste of water necessary for survival.

"Jim . . ." The logic he had been focusing on had never been as strong as it had once been, before so many had died. He just couldn't keep trying to hold onto it, it was slipping through his hold, even the logic of follow Jim to survive, had started to strain to the breaking point, and was getting ready to give under it. Part of his difficulty came because he no longer had any close family bonds on the planet- T'Pre was dead, and Vulcan was so far away that even though he knew the bonds were still there he couldn't feel anything from them. The other part was because his mental barriers were weakened considerably, he was constantly bombarded by other's emotions, which compromised his own and created a vicious cycle that wore them down as fast as he tried to fix them. But the words to explain this were lodged in his throat as his shields threatened to shatter.

"Spock, what's wrong?"

Spock just didn't have anything to hold onto, and what was worse was that he knew that Jim and the others still needed him- but even that logical thought wasn't enough to hold onto anymore, and the emotions that had been boiling and seething in him were threatening to consume. "I can't . . . can't, Jim . . . control my emotions, not anymore."

"Spock, what do you mean?" His friend's confusion made him illogically angry.

"I don't know how to deal with emotions without my logic, Jim!" Spock snapped, shoving Jim weakly, but the anger fled with the words. "I don't have any more logic to hold onto- the emotions are too much and I can't . . ." He shook his head in despair. "I can't do this anymore- I don't have a bond to hold onto- I can't feel my family bonds because they're too far, and T'Pre's dead." A sob escaped him.

"So you need a mind to hold onto, is that it?" Jim demanded, shaking him a little when he didn't respond. "You can use me, Spock, you can use my mind."

"Jim, I'm half Vulcan, I need logic."

"You're also half human, Spock, and guess what, I'm a human that knows how to deal with emotions. I can help you deal with them!" Spock blinked, staring at Jim with wide eyes, even as the human's eyes narrowed. "Damnit, Spock, I need you to help me protect the others, if the price of that is having a mental link to you, I accept, because I'm your friend and I like the way you think!"

"Jim, I wouldn't be able to break the link if I made it, and it might hurt us both-"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. There are people I wouldn't want to have in my head, and you are nowhere on that list." Jim snapped, forcing Spock to look at him. "You taught me meditation, remember? I'm probably the best chance you've got." The grip on his shoulders had tightened, but Spock didn't notice, staring into determined blue eyes.

Spock's mind was in turmoil at this point, unable to comprehend everything, but a part of him still knew that Jim was right; it would be better to link to someone he knew and could trust. Jim's emotions were steady compared to everyone else's, even now. Without speaking, he put his fingers to Jim's psi points and in the next moment, their minds collided, just as Spock's emotions finally surged, attempting to overwhelm him like a tidal wave. Spock almost slipped under, into the whirlpool of chaotic and contradictory emotions that would consume him.

Spock felt someone grabbed him, holding him steady. 'Focus, Spock, change anger and fear to determination to survive, despair into thoughts about how to survive. You've suppressed your emotions, not dealt with them, that's why you're losing control.'

An illogical statement, some part of him protested. 'I'm Vulcan, I do not feel'.

'Not the time for that, Spock, I'm in your head, I know you can feel. You have to deal with your emotions, not ignore them'. In their minds, it took hours to finally get Spock back into control, helping him regain his logic and deal with the emotional turmoil- for both of them, actually, because Jim was just as emotionally compromised as Spock, he was just dealing with it better, because of Spock and Ruth's support. In reality, it only took about 30 seconds.

"Better?" Jim asked as Spock opened his eyes and pulled away.

"Yes, Jim." It was much better, and the two started walking again. "I'm going to need to meditate, later, to 'tidy up'; I believe is the human expression?"

"Yes, Spock, and I'll make sure the others don't bother you." Jim smiled.

The idea of having a mind link to someone wasn't scary to the Iowa farm boy. In fact, it sounded like a good thing. Jim had grown up, first ignored by his mother, neglected by his step-father, then abandoned by his brother and avoided at school because he was too different compared to all the other kids- smart to the point school was boring and he needed to do something to avoid the boredom. He'd fallen into the trouble maker's crowd, which, while not actually being friends he could count on, had temporarily patched up the need for someone to understand him. Ruth was nice, but she didn't always follw his thoughts. He and Spock had talked a lot, and he enjoyed the other's sense of humor, (Yes, Spock had it, it was very, very dry and occasionally sarcastic, but it still existed, and Jim could tell), and it had been nice to find the one person in the universe that understood what it was like to be an outsider among your own species. Having a connection to someone like that, before Spock actually reached out to him, was nice. And Jim would do most anything to keep it, so he wouldn't have to be alone, ever again. His thoughts were interrupted as he coughed slightly.

Spock felt a little . . . unsettled as he began his meditation. There had already been a small bond between him and Jim when he'd connected to the other. Even considering that Jim had grabbed his hand to pull him when the soldiers first came after them, and had done so for an uncertain amount of distance, there had not been enough mind to mind contact, or even tactile contact on that note, for such a thing to occur. He had spent a lot of time with Jim, that was true, but Jim was Psi Null (he said so himself), and so unlike the bonds between Vulcan family members or friends, it would have required Spock to have held his hand more than once in the time they had been friends, as well as melded with him several times, and that had never happened. Accidental brushes wouldn't have counted- there had only been two instances, and the contact had been too brief for anything to have happened, even if Jim had been another Vulcan.

Which left a possibility almost too strange to be true. It was almost unheard of even between Vulcans, let alone between a Vulcan and Non-Vulcan species. T'hy'la. An inante connection between two minds that were similar. In Terran languages, the three words that could best define it were friend, brother, and, well, lover.

Well, Jim certainly was his friend, easily his best friend, and that had developed over Chess, studying and conversations, Jim even joining him and T'Pre for lessons, and following their tangents with minimal, practically negligent, difficulty. And even with his friend's emotional nature, Spock would have been honored to call him brother. He'd easily have no qualms dying to preserve Jim's life, and he knew that Jim would do the same for him. Going through what could easily and accurately called 'hell' with him these past few, weeks?, months?, had done quite a lot in that regard.

The third Terran word, lover, was what might confuse Jim if he had to explain the concept of T'hy'la. Most humans automatically jumped to sexual intercourse when that word was used, but the concept of T'hy'la was not a concept of mating. True, there had been records of cases where those that were T'hy'la became mates, but that was usually between opposite genders, for most, the bond of T'hy'la would be the same as the bond between Terran Twins that were able to sense each other's well being. 'Lover' as in someone who's mind and soul were compatible to another's, and not usually in sexual ways, but in terms of beliefs, opinions and goals, one who loved and was loved in return. Those with T'hy'la bonds could and occasionally were married to others, but they always stayed in close contact, going to each other if a difficulty arose that their spouses, who despite their own bond and type of closeness, were unable to help them fix.

Quite simply, a T'hy'la bond was there to preserve the lives of the two, keeping them balanced in ways that no one else could possibly understand without having such a bond themselves.

That honestly didn't sound too bad to Spock either. T'hy'la bonds were rare and considered as precious as mating bonds- but no T'hy'la bond was ever severed like mating bonds were on occasion, it was a taboo to do so, because the minds were so compatible the healers might not be able to distinguish where one mind ended and another one began, unlike in a mating bond, where the spouses might not have compatible minds and it would be better to disconnect them. Any future spouse of his would be understanding of the fact that if Jim was in trouble, Spock would go to help him (and hopefully, that future spouse would like Jim enough to come and help as well). The only problem might be the elders, but given the rarity of T'hy'la bonds forming among Vulcans, the fact that Spock was able to form one with a human would be cause for curiosity and research- they'd leave it alone. He opened his eyes as he came out of the meditation. Now he'd just have to ask Jim if he would be alright if they melded again, it would simpler to explain everything in the long run, and Spock would be better able to help Jim put up shields and teach his friend how to separate their thoughts so he wouldn't be overwhelmed by Spock's mind (not that there was the danger of that occurring, it was more likely that Spock would get overwhelmed by the pure energy that was Jim Kirk).

The bond proved to be well worth it, despite Spock's previous doubts. Jim became sick the next day (because once again, he hadn't been eating enough, and had given all of his food to several of the younger ones), and if Spock hadn't had his mind in order before, he would have been a wreck at the logical probability (3.9987 to 1) of Jim dying. As it was, he rarely left Jim's side (at one point, he even melded to guide Jim in the Vulcan healing trance, because any chance, no matter how slim, was worth the risk), but he was able to keep everyone together while Jim was out. (It was a near thing, Ruth and Kevin became rather emotional and Tommy got annoyed at him because he wasn't comforting with his words- he had to remind them that Vulcan's didn't do comforting, and Jim did, which was why he was trying to get Jim back to health.) Jim recovered a week later, though Spock was sure that by this point the only reason Jim hadn't given up on surviving was because of the bond. Until Jim regained his strength, though, Spock melded with him, trying to get them both used to dealing with the sense of the other.

'You were reckless, you know.' Spock 'sighed' mentally as Jim showed him all the trouble he got into that lead him up to being sent to Tarsus. 'Though I think I should be glad you didn't go over that cliff with the car.'

'I know I was, but they didn't even care about that . . .' Jim responded, some of the bitterness remembered tingeing his words. 'They just sent me away- Mom didn't even use a visual comm. she just used audio. I heard her complain to Frank that I was too much trouble to deal with.' Spock gently reached out, sending a small pulse of comfort. 'So, how'd you get sent here?'

'I'm too emotional for a Vulcan.' Spock showed the memory of the other children taunting him, and was shocked at Jim's anger. 'Jim?'

'Let me get this straight, Vulcans- who claim prejudice is illogical- didn't correct their illogical behavior, and blamed it all on you?' Spock had never thought of it like that, and Jim pointed out the incorrect behavior that everyone else displayed. 'At least your mother has sense.' He added.

'You would think that, as your both human.'

'You're half human, Spock, but if you want to just be a Vulcan, I'm more than happy to beat up or tick off the people that bother you.' Jim offered, and Spock sighed. 'But I think I've figured out why we were able to connect like this.'

'Oh?'

'We're both outsiders, even on our home planets.' Old emotions of loneliness and want/need of someone who could/would understand and stay followed that thought.

'Not exactly logical, but it is sound.' Spock nodded.

'Thanks, I think . . .'

Unfortunately, not all thoughts were good ones- despite Jim's ability to keep what he was thinking from everyone else, and even the ability to bury his emotions so Spock couldn't feel them- Spock felt it when Jim stressed that there was nothing he could do, that he couldn't fix what was happening, even though he knew it was out of his control.

"Jim, you do know that statistically, the odds of our survival for a week were about 7, 228 to 1 when we started." Spock felt a little relieved when Jim blinked and looked over at him as he sat down next to his friend. "In fact, with the calculations for our continued survival after that, the odds became increasingly unfavorable, yet we've managed to avoid the statistics."

"What's your point, Spock?"

"To put it simply, we've survived this long because of you, Jim. And as long as you keep going, we'll follow." At that moment, Tilainya rushed over to climb onto Jim's lap, a habit she had developed over their time together. There didn't seem to be a reason for it- she would just go to Jim and cuddle for a few minutes before going back to where the other children were grouped together. She didn't explain either, though it could be because she had a limited knowledge of standard. (Spock didn't quite buy that, as she could be quite talkative to the other children and even Jim on occasion- he suspected it had something to do with Tilainya's culture, it was probably one where, for the most part, children did not speak to the adults unless spoken to.) And the only explanation they had gotten was that Jim was 'Chu-chu-ru' or something similar sounding to that, and she just tightened her grip if Jim tried to pull her off before she was ready to leave on her own.

This time, however, was an anomaly. She was followed by Kevin, then Chay, Rose and Ruth. Tommy and several of the other children joined them as well. In no time at all, they were all in a huddle. No one protested, no one asked what they were doing- for most, they were just tired, emotionally, there was nothing left but the reassurance that they weren't alone, trying to survive without help on a planet that had gone from paradise to hell in a short time. Spock let Jim lean against him, and fell into meditation, gaining some small measure of strength and comfort from the huddle, which he passed to Jim through their bond.

'Thanks, Spock, I wouldn't know how I'd manage without you.' Jim 'muttered' back, sending his gratitude.

'Most likely as illogically and impulsively as ever, Jim.' Spock felt Jim's amusement. 'You're not alone, Jim, you never will be, I'll make sure of that, so you don't have to fear it anymore.'

'All humans fear being alone, Spock, in my case, it was more a fear of dying, alone (unloved) and forgotten. Though, with this, I guess I don't have to worry.' Jim 'smiled' brightly. 'You know the same is true for me- I don't care if you're more Vulcan or Human, you'll always have a place with me.'

'Thank you, T'hy'la.' And suddenly, no more words or explanations were needed. In the middle of a world gone to hell, they were suddenly at peace. It would shatter come time for them to find a new camp, but for right now . . .

It was enough.

Same for this chapter. See you around! (oh, and there's going to be a view change next chapter, as well as a couple of other characters insisted on being included.) Please leave a review- I accept anonymous reviews, as long as their constructive, so you don't even have to log in!