~A/N~
Eeeeeeeee sorry, this was meant to go up last night but I was obsessively editing the next chapter and lost track of time! My bad! Sincere apologies! Just a heads up though, updates are now going to come every other day rather than every day, I'm finding I'm spending so much longer writing each chapter that I can't get a whole one done in a day. I'm trying not to leave accidental plotholes, just deliberate ones you can fill in yourselves :D
Now I know after the last chapter you're all probably expecting a nice juicy helping of Khan in this part. Sorry to disappoint... You get Winona though! And oodles of fluffy goodness. Enjoy :3
And once again, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the reviews, faves, follows, all of it. It sounds stupid and cliche and bleh, but it really does spur me on to write more and to write better (or try to anyway, ha). So thank you. :D
~edit 04/07/2013~ now with silly typo's fixed! If you spot anything wrong please do tell me, I'm a bit of a silly goose like that :3
Chapter Thirteen - Mothers Love
***Two months later***
It was early morning, the weak sunlight lapping at the blinds of Jim's bedroom told them both that much. Jim was half asleep; he'd been woken by the birds outside and some other noise that he hadn't been able to quite put his finger on the source of.
Spock was awake beside him; needing less sleep than Jim he'd normally wake up first and then lay there waiting for his partner to wake up.
In two months Jim had come a long way. He had got over his post traumatic stress and no longer needed Bones to pump him full of anti-anxiety medication at the slightest mention of the ship. He'd also reached a new physical peak; finding himself fitter, faster and stronger than he'd ever been in his life. Nobody needed to know his hard training was preparing him to pursue and kill Khan. All they needed to know was that Jim was happy, he was healthy and he was alive.
Being in love suited him. It was good for him. Spock was good for him. As much as it had scared him in the beginning, he felt like it was what he'd been looking for all his life.
A sudden rush of nausea hit Jim like a train. He bolted to the bathroom just in time to throw up into the toilet. Normally after being sick he'd feel better but his stomach felt the same so he stayed there, crouching near the toilet for almost ten minutes until he was certain the threat of any more sickness had passed. He flushed the toilet and brushed his teeth before making his way back to bed.
"Are you alright, ashaya?" Spock asked quietly.
"I think so. I must have eaten something bad yesterday or something," Jim mumbled, drifting back into a state of near-sleep.
The sound of a set of keys jingling downstairs and the front door creaking open brought Jim to his senses. One set of footsteps in the downstairs hallway echoed up the stairs, the sound of a heavy bag being put down and then a piercing voice.
"JAMES TIBERIUS KIRK YOU GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"
Jim groaned and pulled his pillow over his head. Spock sat up and looked at Jim quizzically.
"It's my Mom," he groaned.
"JAMES. TIBERIUS. KIRK. ARE YOU DEAF?"
"I suggest you follow her instruction, it does sound as though angering her would be unwise," Spock suggested and Jim snorted.
"Yeah. Really unwise." He peeled himself out of bed and straightened his boxers, running his fingers through his messy hair.
Spock couldn't help but stare at him. The golden tan, rippling muscles that he'd worked so hard to rebuild, the sun-bleached blond hair. He was… perfect. The best part in Spock's eyes was that he belonged absolutely to him, and he had no plans of letting that ever change.
Jim left the room, closing the door behind him and trudged downstairs to find his Mom standing by the front door.
"Christ! Jim you could have put some damn pants on," she sighed, putting her hands on her hips.
"Yeah well I was sleeping."
She looked him up and down.
"You've gotten… big," she said weakly through lack of anything else to say. She didn't really know where to look as her now very grown up youngest son stood practically naked in front of her.
"What can I say? Hard work and lots of protein," he shrugged.
"Get over here and give your old Momma a hug," she said, opening her arms. Jim hugged her somewhat reluctantly. He'd never had the easiest of relationships with his Mother, and her turning up on this particular day wasn't the best timing. Tomorrow he was returning to San Francisco to be evaluated by Starfleet with a view of going back on active duty as soon as the repairs on the Enterprise were complete.
"So how was Tarsus?" Jim asked as she let him go at last. He snatched up a pair of pants sitting waiting to be ironed and threw them on, realising they were Bones' as they were a few inches too short and a little roomy around the waist.
"Oh you know, the same," she shrugged. She kicked off her shoes and paused, noticing Joanna's small pink sandals by the door.
"I hope you don't have any big news to tell me?" she said, motioning at the sandals.
"Huh? Oh. No. Ha. No. I have a couple of friends staying, one of them has a little girl and she's here too."
"You're not telling me someone allows their child to be around you?" she said, but Jim could tell she was kidding.
"Oh shut up Mom, I'm not the same guy I was a few years ago. I haven't been in a bar fight in so long my nose might have actually healed properly this time!" he followed her into the kitchen.
"Well wouldn't that be a first since high school!" she smiled as she started pottering around and making coffee.
"Nice to see you and your friends can at least keep my house clean," she said, looking around at the spotless kitchen.
"Oh that's Spock, he's like the ultimate neat-freak, I mean you should see our room, it's like a line goes down the middle where my half begins and…" Jim stopped talking as his Mother raised her eyebrows. He realised he'd said far too much.
"A new plaything of yours?" she asked and Jim blushed slightly pink.
"Nope. Not a plaything. A real thing, maybe even the real thing," said Jim, sitting down at the table and smiling to himself. That was the way he was beginning to feel about Spock. At first it had terrified him. He'd talked at length about it with Bones, pouring out his fears over alcohol one evening, but his friend had convinced him he was being stupid. If it felt right, he should do it.
"Are you telling me James Tiberius Kirk, that I won't have any grandchildren because of your choices?"
"Well what about George! He can go and make you loads of grandchildren, he probably already has…" Jim protested, muttering the last part so his mother didn't hear him.
"I never imaged you with a man," she said, adding coffee granules to her boiled water.
"Well I would hope you don't imagine me with anyone, that'd be weird," he said.
"Oh shush!"
"Did I just come out of the closet just now?" he asked, laughing slightly as he realised it had taken him all of two minutes to spill his big secret to his mother.
"Yes dear. But it's fine. I always had a feeling you'd angle that way. You spend far too long on your tan and your hair. Oh, now that you're gay does that mean we can go shopping?" she teased and he blushed brighter red.
"Mom. Stop. I'm still the same person."
"Oh but now you just enjoy co-"
"Whoa now! There's no need to be so graphic about it," he interrupted.
Winona shot her youngest son a wicked smile across the table.
"As long as he makes you happy, then I'm happy for you," she said, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Do I get to meet this man?" she asked and Jim rolled his eyes.
"Well it depends. Do you promise to play nice?"
"I'm always nice," she grinned and Jim sighed.
"Yes dear, I'll be very nice. I promise."
"Well then I can maybe introduce you later or someth-" Jim stopped talking as he noticed Spock in the doorway behind his mother, thankfully he'd had the sense to get dressed before coming downstairs. Winona noticed Jim's eyes were behind her and looked around.
"Oh, hello there dear," she smiled and Spock approached cautiously, smiling slightly just to be polite. Spock studied the middle-aged woman sitting before him. Facially she looked enough like Jim to definitely be his mother, but that was where the similarities ended. She was somewhat rounded and unfit, and her skin was pale, not anything like Jim's golden tone. She had the same warm smile though, and he hoped they would get along.
"Spock, this is my Mom, Winona, and Mom this is Spock my uh… um… friend," he settled with and Spock gave him a puzzled look.
"Partner," he corrected.
"Uh yeah that's the word I was looking for. Partner." Jim blushed even deeper red and started wishing for the ground under the farmhouse to collapse and swallow him whole.
"Lovely to meet you," smiled Winona, standing up and offering Spock her hand. Hesitantly Spock shook her hand. Jim knew how much he hated touching people so he knew it was a big thing for him to have done that.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Mrs Kirk," he said politely.
"Oh please, it's Winona. Jimmy he has such lovely manners! Maybe you could learn a thing or two," she laughed.
"Yeah he does, doesn't he," said Jim as Spock sat down in the seat next to him.
Loud giggling and small feet bounding down the stairs announced that Joanna was awake. The exhausted groan that followed her announced that Bones was in tow.
Great, more people for my Mom to harass Jim thought to himself. Joanna skipped into the kitchen, pausing when she noticed Winona.
"Hi. I'm Joanna. What's your name?" she grinned. Joanna was really coming out of her shell.
"Well hello sweetheart. I'm Winona, Jim's Mommy."
"Y'know Jo, I don't know how you get up so early every day, but I think I'm gonna- Oh… hi," said Bones as he stepped into the kitchen wearing the stripy pyjamas Jim enjoyed teasing him about on a regular basis.
"Mrs Kirk I presume? I'm Leonard McCoy," he offered his hand immediately and Winona shook it, telling him to call her Winona, just as she had to every else.
"So… Mom… how long are you staying?" Jim asked awkwardly.
"Only a few days. I wasn't expecting to be back at all until November, but the opportunity came up and I thought I'd come back and check on you. Jonathan told me you had a nasty accident on your ship, are you alright?" she asked. It took Jim a second to realise that by 'Jonathan' she meant Admiral Archer. They were old friends through him having trained Jim's father during his days at Starfleet.
"Yeah. I'm fine. It wasn't too bad anyway, nothing a good doctor couldn't put right," said Jim, shooting a glance at Bones that said 'for the love of god, please don't tell her any details'. Starfleet had kept the true nature of what had happened to Jim very quiet. The public knowledge of the matter was that he had been critically injured and had made a recovery. The only people who knew the truth were the crew of the Enterprise.
"I'm actually going back to Starfleet tomorrow. I have to re-take my entry tests and pass a physical before I can go back on active duty. My ship is almost ready, and well, I'll be gone five years at least," he said, watching his mothers face.
He'd always felt that his mother blamed him for his fathers death. On that day it was almost as if he'd taken his place in her life, but he couldn't replace him. If he hadn't been born on that particular day, things could have played out differently. George Kirk senior might have made it off the Kelvin.
"Five years? That's a long time in space. Won't you go crazy?" she asked and Jim sighed slightly.
"Nope," he said shortly, standing up from the table and taking her now empty coffee cup from in front of her and putting it in the dishwasher.
Bones was helping Joanna choose a breakfast cereal and Spock was sitting silently at the table, watching Jim's every movement.
"So, Spock, you're an attractive man. Why my Jimmy?" she asked and Jim groaned loudly. Bones hardly hid his snort of laughter.
"Mrs Kirk… your son displays many characteristics that make him a good partner."
"Like what?" she pressed.
"Mom shut up, I told you to play nice. Come on Spock let's go for a walk or something," said Jim, grabbing Spock's arm and dragging him from the room.
"Your Mother is fascinating," said Spock as Jim dragged him upstairs.
"Yeah the other word for it is 'annoying'," Jim muttered.
He quickly showered and dressed so that he and Spock could go out and stay out of the house all day. When he came out of the shower he found, to his despair, his mother sitting at the kitchen table with Bones and Spock, album full of embarrassing baby photos wide open in front of them.
"And this is when he was about six months old," she said, pointing to another picture. Baby Jim was naked in the bath in this one.
"Mom, stop it! I'm naked in like all of these pictures!" Jim protested, trying to snatch the book away and blushing pink.
"Now now Jim, there's no need to be so hasty! This is pretty entertaining," smirked Bones and Jim glared at him.
Once again grabbing Spock and dragging him from the room they made a hasty retreat out to Jim's car, muttering under his breath Jim sped out of the driveway leaving a trail of dust behind them.
"Running away from your mother is highly illogical. She will no doubt be awaiting our return," pointed out Spock and Jim sighed.
"I know. She's just shown up at the worst possible time, I'm already nervous enough about tomorrow without having her around embarrassing me at every opportunity."
Jim grabbed for his sunglasses from the glove compartment, the morning sun was low in the sky and driving into it without them on was unpleasant. He already felt a little under the weather and had for the last few days. Nothing in particular, just a little more tired than he normally would and sometimes a little sweaty or nauseous, all seeming to peak in that mornings throwing-up as soon as he'd woken up. He put it down to nerves about his exams.
"You do not need to be nervous. Your physical capabilities far surpass the level you will be required to perform to in your fitness examination. And you should not be embarrassed about your childhood photographs, they are in fact quite hilarious," Spock smirked.
"Oh they're hilarious are they? I'm glad you enjoyed them," said Jim, unable to stop himself smirking back at Spock.
They drove for a very long time, a good few hours. Jim didn't really know where they were driving; just that he didn't want to be around his mother for any length of time. Finally accepting that his stomach was rumbling with hunger, he stopped at a small grocery store and bought some strawberries before continuing to drive on the familiar roads. A while ago he'd turned back towards home and they were now only about thirty minutes drive from the house.
"Let's go for a walk down by the creek?" he suggested, parking the car on the side of the road near the water.
"Only if you promise you will not attempt to drag me into the water as you did on the previous occasion we visited this location," said Spock firmly and Jim laughed.
"Oh yeah that was pretty great! I promise I won't try and make you get in the water," he said sincerely.
"Very well," said Spock, narrowing his eyes as if he didn't entirely trust Jim's promise.
A few minutes later they were walking in the shade from the afternoon sun under the large trees that grew beside the slow moving water. Being in high summer, the water was low and the banks dry and cracked. Spotting a large fallen tree that spanned the width of the creek; Jim led the way and edged out onto the tree. The water below the fallen tree was much deeper than elsewhere.
"I calculate the probability of you falling or injuring yourself in some other way at seventy-three percent," said Spock and Jim laughed.
"Wow only seventy percent? I must be getting more careful," he chuckled as he tiptoed across the tree, the water flowing lazily below.
He sat down carefully and then patted the space beside him. Spock walked confidently across the log and sat down, he had far superior balance. The tree creaked under their combined weight and Jim froze.
"What did you calculate the probability of the tree breaking as?" he asked and Spock glanced up and down the length of the tree.
"I would prefer not to trouble you with that information."
"Probably for the best," Jim shrugged, opening the strawberries and popping one in his mouth.
Spock stared at him in fascination.
"You want one?" he offered, holding the berry towards the Vulcan's lips.
"I am unsure."
"Just try it, I promise you'll like it," Jim persuaded, moving the berry closer. "Just don't eat the green part, or bite my hand."
"Must you insist on feeding me? I am perfectly capable of feeding myself," Spock protested.
"Ah come on Spock, it's fun!"
He held up the berry and Spock tentatively bit it away from its green leaves, careful to avoid Jim's fingers as he did so.
The sweet taste that filled his mouth was pleasant and he nodded slightly as Jim watched him carefully for approval.
"You like it?"
"I do not dislike it."
"You've got juice on your lip," Jim pointed out, leaning closer to Spock. The tree creaked disapprovingly.
"I do not have j-"
Spock was cut off as Jim pressed his lips against his, kissing him tenderly. Spock allowed his eyes to close and kissed back, one hand finding its way to the back of Jim's head.
"There. All better," Jim smiled as he pulled away, blue eyes glinting mischievously.
He ate another strawberry, swinging his legs back and fore and sighing contentedly.
Spock took another strawberry and ate it slowly. He decided that he must have tried them before as the taste was familiar; perhaps his mother had given him one as a child when he had visited Earth with her.
The tree creaked loudly and Jim looked down at it.
"I get the feeling that sitting here is probably a bad idea," he laughed and Spock nodded, looking down at the water a few feet below them. Jim peeled off his tee shirt, draping it across the log. Next he pulled off his shoes one by one and balanced them next to his shirt.
"This water has not been approved for swimming, it could contain bacteria or contaminants and-"the remainder of Spock's argument was cut off by the loud splash as Jim hit the water. He surfaced a moment later and pushed the water off his face.
"Cold!" he gasped.
"I am not surprised," said Spock. Jim edged closer to Spock's feet dangling down, his hand reaching up for one.
"I must warn you, if you pull me into that water, there will be extreme consequences." Spock pulled his leg away.
"Like what?" Jim smirked, reaching for Spock's leg again.
"You would not wish to find out," said Spock, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh… yeah I think I would," grinned Jim as he pulled on Spock's leg with all his strength, causing him to crash fully clothed into the water. He somehow managed to prevent his head from going under, but he was completely drenched.
"You… are a… child," Spock hissed, scrambling out of the freezing water. Jim couldn't contain his laughter.
"I must consult with Doctor McCoy, I believe some kind of medical error has allowed your body to mature whilst your mind remains at the level of a five-year old," Spock glared from the bank as Jim laughed in the water.
"You're just a big baby." Jim splashed water at Spock who took a step away from the water.
"Negative. It is you who is behaving like a child."
"Aww, is the poor ickle Vulcan grumpy because I dragged him in the water?" Jim teased.
Spock didn't reply, he just walked further away from the water to a sunny patch of ground to try and dry off. Vulcan's didn't like water all that much, being desert creatures. It had taken Spock weeks of getting used to using the water shower at the Kirk farmhouse as opposed to the sonic one he would use aboard the Enterprise.
Jim dragged himself out of the creek, retrieving his shirt and shoes and bounding over to Spock who glared at him.
"Oh don't glare at me you big spoilsport. Come on, let's walk back so we can go and get some dry clothes."
Jim and Spock walked slowly back through the woods towards the car and then drove back to the farmhouse. When they arrived Jim was relieved to hear his mother had gone to visit Jim's brother about an hour away and wouldn't be back until later that evening.
"Jim, you need to know. She got it out of me. What happened on the ship, she got it out of me. I'm sorry! I don't know how she did it! One minute we were just talkin', she was askin' about Joanna and stuff and then the next thing I knew she was asking me all these… questions!" Bones sighed and Jim laughed.
"I knew she'd get it out of one of us. It's alright. She'll freak out at me when she gets back but that'll be it," shrugged Jim.
'Freaking out' was possibly the understatement of the century.
Spock and Bones sat in the living room, both wincing as they listened to Winona berating her youngest son in the kitchen next door.
"YOU HAVE NO REGARD FOR YOUR OWN LIFE OR FOR THE SACRIFICE THAT YOUR FATHER MADE TO KEEP YOU ALIVE!"
"I have regard for the lives of my crew! I did it to save them!" Jim argued back.
"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? ARE YOU THAT SELFISH? DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT WOULD DO TO ME IF YOU DIED JIM?"
"Probably not a whole lot," Jim shrugged.
Bones inhaled sharply. He knew Jim had made a mistake saying that.
"Jim. Your dad gave his life to save you. Doesn't that mean ANYTHING to you?" Bones and Spock heard a chair scrape across the floor as Winona sat down.
"I know. And it does mean something, but you need to understand that what I did was just the same thing. I gave my life to save my ship and crew. If I died, it wouldn't have been a huge loss. I don't have kids or a family or anything like that. But all those people on the ship? A lot of them have families. Like Bones. I couldn't leave his little girl without a daddy, and Spock, there are so few Vulcan's left how could I let him die? How could I let any of them die when they're all worth more than me? You know. I'm done talking about it."
Bones and Spock both pretended that they hadn't been listening as Jim stormed out of the kitchen and slammed the door behind him. He glanced at them both before stomping upstairs and crashing the door of his bedroom shut.
"Jeez," muttered Bones.
Silently, Spock stood up and walked into the kitchen. Bones shot him a puzzled look before retreating upstairs himself. Joanna was tucked up asleep in his bed and he curled up next to her, gently brushing her blond hair back off her face and trying not to think about how she looked more like her mother with every passing day.
Spock slowly sat down opposite Winona Kirk at the kitchen table. She had her head in her hands and took a few seconds to look up, and when she did she looked surprised to see Spock there.
"Oh, hello dear," she said wearily.
"Mrs Kirk. Earlier today you asked me what qualities your son possesses that attracted me to him. You asked the question in a way that suggested I could have had selection of many superior beings. I must inform you that whilst I understand your emotional response to your son's actions, this is one of the many qualities that make him so… exceptional. He is courageous, selfless and compassionate. He has a brilliant mind and an ability to formulate and execute plans with extremely slim probabilities of success. Somehow, he always finds a way to succeed, whatever the personal cost to himself. I did not select a superior being as in my opinion, there are none to be found."
Winona looked at Spock and he could see tears in her eyes.
"I've always been… so hard on him… I wasn't there enough when he was a child. I couldn't get over his fathers death. I look at Jim and he just looks so much like him that it… it just rips my heart right out of my chest. When he was a teenager I was around more, but he'd made up his mind. He wasn't interested in me. I was no mother to him and I'll never forgive myself for the way it's affected his feeling of self-worth," she trailed off as her voice cracked. A single tear rolled down her cheek and she looked at the table.
"I look at Jim and I see his father in him, so much. But then I realise that I don't really know Jim at all, he's almost like a stranger to me," she continued, her voice heavy with emotion.
"Your son is an exceptional man. He has saved the lives of his entire crew, putting himself in danger time and time again if it meant saving the life of another. Allow me to show you?" Spock offered, extending his hand towards her face.
"Wait… I. Your memories go into my mind, right? I've never known much about Vulcan mind-melds," she said, leaning away from his hand slightly.
"Not exactly. I will allow you to experience my memories, but they will not become your own, there is no lasting effect. You said that you do not feel you know or understand your son, I simply wish to share with you this information that you may find useful and will not do so without your expressed permission."
Winona nodded. "OK, I want to see it. I want to know him the way his crew know him," she said, nodding again. Spock gently touched his fingers to her psi points and took a second to establish barriers to their thoughts. Winona's mind was very much like Jim's, highly dynamic with a million thoughts rushing through it at any one time. Once certain that she would only see what he allowed her to see, Spock directed her to the first memory
Jim was falling. Thousands and thousands of feet. He pulled his parachute and landed on the strange platform. He and another man fought off what looked like Romulan soldiers before firing their weapons at the very platform they stood on.
The platform juddered and then began to move upwards, being retracted by the large ship above. The other man tumbled from the edge.
"Sulu!" called Jim, sprinting to the edge of the platform and hurling himself after the other man.
He caught up to him, grabbing him and pulling the parachute which broke shortly after being deployed.
"Kirk to Enterprise, we're falling without a chute, beam us up!" he roared.
"BEAM US UP! ENTEPRISE! WHERE ARE YOU?"
"Beam us up! Now! NOW NOW NOW!"
Jim and the other man vanished as they were transported just feet from hitting the ground.
"Sir! Please! Spare the crew. I take full responsibility for their actions. All they did was follow orders which were mine and mine alone. I'll transmit you Khan's location now and all I ask is you that spare them, Sir. I'll do anything you want." Jim was begging. He looked utterly terrified.
"Kirk. That's a hell of an apology. But I was never going to spare your crew. Fire everything."
The transmission with the man on the screen ended and Jim turned to face the rest of the bridge.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he whispered.
In the next moment Jim was hurtling through open space in a suit, getting to the other ship to take it from the inside so that it couldn't destroy the Enterprise. His helmet was damaged and the spidery cracks in the glass were only getting worse.
"How's our ship?" Jim rasped. His skin was yellowing, eyes bulging, lips swollen.
"Out of danger. You saved the crew."
Jim was dying. He was trapped inside the warp core, life leaving his helpless body. The ship and crew were safe.
The meld ended and Winona gasped at the rush of emotions overwhelming her.
"Emotional transference is a common after-effect of the meld, allow your mind a few moments to settle," said Spock calmly. She nodded, closing her eyes, unable to rid her mind of the image of Jim dying.
"You were… with him when he… passed?" she asked.
Spock nodded.
"I… I'm glad," she said shakily.
"I understand now. It's just difficult for a parent to think of their child dying, especially after what George did to save us. I don't want his death to have been for nothing, and I certainly don't want Jim to ever die in some stupid way. But I can see now, I can see why he did what he did," she explained and Spock nodded again.
"As I previously stated, your son is a truly exceptional man. I give you my word that on our five-year mission I will do everything in my power to protect him and not allow him to come to any harm," said Spock sincerely and Winona blinked a fresh round of tears from her eyes.
"Thank you."
"I must ensure that Jim is adequately prepared for his return to Starfleet tomorrow, if you would excuse me Mrs Kirk. Goodnight," said Spock as he stood up from the table. She nodded and mumbled a 'goodnight dear' in response; mind still trying to process the new information she had been given.
Jim pretended to be asleep as Spock crawled into bed beside him. After waiting a few seconds Spock called him out on it.
"I know you are not asleep," he said smoothly and Jim sighed loudly, moving as far away from Spock as he could.
"Your mother is no longer angry with you. I was able to rectify the situation."
Jim ignored him.
"She discussed a deep regret about your relationship, or rather lack or relationship, and expressed a desire to change that. She is very concerned about losing you."
Jim continued to ignore him.
Spock snaked his arm around Jim's waist and pulled him close.
"Your body temperature is elevated," he noted aloud. Jim felt far too warm, and the naked skin of his torso was clammy and sweaty.
"I think I have a fever or something," Jim mumbled quietly.
Spock gently placed the palm of his hand on Jim's forehead. It was burning hot.
"Perhaps we should ask Doctor McCoy to treat your symptoms. Do you feel unwell in any other way?" Spock asked and Jim rolled onto his back, his breathing slightly heavy.
"Other than throwing up this morning no, nothing else, I'm just really, really hot," Jim whined.
"Stay here," said Spock, getting up to go and fetch the Doctor. Jim didn't protest.
He knocked on the door to McCoy's room and didn't get a response. Waiting a few seconds he then knocked again. The door was flung open.
"What do you want hobgoblin?" he growled. Spock couldn't help but notice the Doctor had obviously been crying. His eyes were red and puffy.
"Jim is unwell. He has a high fever," said Spock simply and McCoy had already shoved past him and hurried down the hall to Jim's room.
"Kitty?" offered a small voice from McCoy's bedroom. Spock entered the darkened room, knowing that the Doctor would already be attending to Jim's condition.
"Where'd daddy go?" Joanna asked from the bed.
"Jim is feeling unwell; your father has gone to treat his illness. I have no doubt he will return very soon."
"Will you lie with me? I don't want to be by myself," she mumbled and Spock looked at her carefully. She looked as though she had also been upset recently.
"Of course," he said, getting into the bed beside the young girl.
Spock and Joanna had built a firm friendship over the course of the summer and as much as he would never admit it, the Vulcan greatly enjoyed the company of the child.
"Me and daddy were sad because we miss mommy a lot today," she said and Spock looked at her sympathetically.
"I understand how it feels for one to miss their mother," he sighed. Joanna curled closer to him and rolled onto her side, her face nuzzling against his chest. Spock carefully lowered a hand to the back of her head, absentmindedly playing with her soft hair.
In the room two doors down the hallway, Jim was getting more uncomfortable by the minute.
Bones scanned over him again with his tricoder.
"I've never been this hot in my life," Jim whined, wriggling around and trying to get comfortable.
"Just bear with me a second, I can't quite figure out this reading."
"I might puke," Jim warned.
"Just let me grab somethin', I'll fix you right up," assured Bones, giving Jim's shoulder a gentle squeeze before he went to grab something from his med-kit. Archer had insisted that McCoy had brought a decent supply of medical provisions to ensure Kirk was properly cared for if he had any health problems.
Returning with a hypo as promised, Bones quickly administered it to his friends neck.
"Bones! Ow!" Jim hissed.
"Stop crying you damn infant! Give that about twenty minutes and it'll improve your nausea and bring your fever down, I'm gonna run you a cool bath and I suggest you stay in it until your fever breaks," said Bones and Jim nodded as the Doctor left the room to run the bath for his friend.
He felt wretched and couldn't put his finger on exactly what felt wrong with him, other than feeling sick and having a high temperature, something else felt… wrong.
"Joanna's asleep on the hobgoblin, it's actually kinda sweet," said Bones as he walked back into the room.
Jim sat up and groaned as a fresh wave of nausea passed over him.
"Let's get you in that tub," said Bones, helping Jim walk shakily into the bathroom. Without removing his boxers he clambered ungracefully into the half-full tub, gasping as the cool water touched his burning skin.
"DADDY!" cried Joanna from the next room.
"M'ok Bones, go get her. Spock can help me," said Jim weakly, eyes slipping shut.
"If you need anything else tonight you just holler, or send Spock ok?"
"Mhm," mumbled Jim, half asleep already.
The next thing Jim was aware of was the feeling of cool, fresh sheets against his bare skin. He opened his eyes, relieved to notice his nausea was gone and his temperature was returning to normal. Spock was watching him from the other side of his bed.
"How long did I sleep?" Jim asked quietly.
"Not long. I allowed you to remain in the water for around thirty minutes to reduce your body temperature before carrying you here to ensure you could rest properly."
"Oh and you also dried me off, changed my sheets and stripped me naked?" Jim asked, smirking slightly.
"I only wanted to ensure your comfort. You usually appear most comfortable when sleeping naked. I must agree it is most comfortable."
"Are you naked under here too?" Jim asked through a yawn, becoming very aware of the fact Spock wasn't wearing a shirt.
"Irrelevant," he said shortly, but the tiny smirk on his lips told Jim that he was.
"I'm so scared I'm going to screw up tomorrow," Jim sighed, closing his eyes.
Spock's warm arms wrapped around him and he immediately felt more relaxed, shifting back so their bodies touched and rolling onto his side so they could spoon.
"I am certain that you will perform admirably," he said quietly and Jim smiled.
"Oh shoot, I didn't set my alarm yet and I need to-"
"I have already set numerous alarms to ensure you do not oversleep, and your bag containing everything you will need is packed and waiting downstairs for you," Spock interrupted and Jim turned his head around to look at him over his shoulder.
"You're the best," he smiled, planting a gentle kiss on Spock's lips.
"Go to sleep, t'hy'la, you need your rest," said Spock softly and Jim sighed.
"You and your Vulcan words. I swear I'm going to use the Universal Translator on you one day," he threatened as he reached to turn off his bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness. Jim had heard the word only a handful of times, the first being a few months ago when Spock had mumbled it in his sleep. He was curious though,
"You will not need to. I will tell you of the meaning very soon," Spock assured.
"Do you promise?"
"I promise, Jim. Now sleep, tomorrow is a highly important day."
They lay in silence for a few minutes until Jim's voice sounded in the darkness of the room.
"Does it mean... sweetcheeks?"
"No."
"Honeybunch?"
Spock sighed. "No. It does not."
"Darling?" Jim guessed.
"Please stop your guessing, it is highly unlikely you will guess correctly."
"What about pudding? Pumpkin? Baby?" Jim rattled off.
Spock stayed silent, planting a small kiss behind Jim's ear.
T'hy'la, please stop your silly games. I want you to be well rested for tomorrow.
"Cupcake? Oooh! Is it cupcake?"
"Yes. Jim. It means cupcake. You have solved the mystery, congratulations," said Spock, voice heavy with sarcasm.
There was a few moments of silence before Jim spoke again.
"So it isn't cupcake?"