Here we are, the last chapter! I hope you like it :D

The One Time It Was Precisely What It Looked Like

Kirk cursed in all languages he knew and in some that he didn't know, but this situation demanded all colorful metaphors he could think of.

Spock had had the nerve to demand that Kirk stayed on the bridge at all times – now who was it who had gotten himself kidnapped by a bunch of savages and about to be sacrificed because he had pointy ears!

Why, oh why did this sound like a bad action movie from the middle of the twentieth century, Kirk thought bitterly as he ran through the vegetation, phaser in hand and breath in his throat.

As the sound of chanting reached his ears, he slowed down and attempted to catch said breath before he carefully parted a couple of bushes to get a view of the happenings.

What he saw made his stomach twist. In the middle of a clearing, surrounded by the chanting savages (Kirk refused to think of them as a people at this moment) was a wooden podium with an upright pole. Bound to the pole was, of course, Spock. He stood rigidly, back straight and head raised, and Kirk took this as a good sign.

Kirk didn't know if he was to be burned or slaughtered or what, but he didn't particularly care to find out. He considered his options.

There was no way he could take them all down with his phaser, and if he called for back-up, well, it would take some time and the risk of the barbarians killing Spock as soon as they felt threatened was bigger than Kirk felt comfortable with.

But, speaking of action movies from the twentieth century, the trees surrounding the clearing were rather tall, and that one seemed to have decidedly liana-like appendages…

"Scotty, I need you to lock onto my signal, and then when I tell you to, beam up both Spock and me," Kirk whispered into his communicator as he stood on a branch that was dizzyingly high up and gently tugged at a liana, hoping it would hold his weight.

"Sure thing, Captain," was Scott's confirmation.

Kirk exhaled, took a firm grip of the liana with one hand and both legs, hoped to god that he had judged the distance correctly and jumped.

He had to repress the urge to bellow as he soared through the air, over the heads of the crowd, which didn't actually notice him before he slammed into the top of the pole with a coarse grunt.

Kirk ignored the pain and allowed himself to gently slide downwards and position himself so that he hugged the pole, but had his thighs on Spock's shoulders and gripped his chest firmly with his calves and feet.

The chanting had stopped, and he hoped they would be surprised enough not to kill them just yet.

"Now, Scotty!" he roared and he felt the tingle of dematerialization almost instantly.

As they rematerialized on the transporter pad, they immediately toppled over. Kirk's back slammed into the pad, but Spock's fall was cushioned by the hands tied behind his back and his head was safely lodged between Kirk's legs.

The irony of that particular fact was lost on Kirk as he hurried to lift Spock into a sitting position and loose his bonds. Then he took Spock's face in his hands to make sure he was OK.

"Thank you, Captain," said Spock, calm as ever. "Your rescue was… unexpected."

Kirk chuckled softly as he let his eyes wander down the pale, sharp planes of Spock's face, to his uninjured throat and unsullied blue uniform shirt before they snapped back up to meet Spock's dark brown eyes.

"I assure you, I am fine, Captain," Spock said as an answer to the unspoken question and attempted to get to his feet.

Relief flooded through Kirk's whole body, relief, joy and something close to that but completely different and burning.

"Don't ever do that to me again, Spock."

Instead of letting Spock go, Kirk grabbed his shoulders with both hands and kissed him again.

It wasn't nearly as tender as the kiss under the mistletoe, it was a forceful crush of lips, teeth and tongue, Spock meeting Kirk's fervent kisses with his own. Finally, Kirk inhaled deeply through his nose, and forced himself to slow down.

Then two inhumanly warm hands came up to rest on his elbows, and Kirk couldn't help but grin, lips still touching Spock's.

"A shame we didnae bring a camera, eh Doc?" Scotty grinned where he stood at the console, eyeing the spectacle at the transporter pad.

Chief Medical Officer McCoy only made a retching noise in return.