A/N: My many thanks to AtanaM and mhgood, for not only betaing this chapter so quickly, but for also understanding the very essence of this chapter, when I was very much afraid it would be completely lost. My many thanks also go to my friends, especially Elizawriter. Friends are what make this world worthwhile.
2nd A/N: Thanks to AtanaM for assuring people this isn't the end of Nar. While this is the end of this particular story arc, there is still more more in Nar to explore and I hope you'll still continue to be along for the ride.

Surreal.

That's the word.

She tried to explain to Spock how surreal this was, but she isn't sure how successful she was. She was, after all, hiccuping and crying and babbling all about being home on the ship, and being away from that planet and that cell and Sybok, and they were okay, they were safe and alive. He was doing things that were so completely normal, so ordinary, like making her soup, and it struck her through the haze of pain and exhaustion that they were going to get past this. The realization was so incredible that she had to cry.

Now she is finished crying. It is time to live.

He walks down the hallway, unsure if what he is doing is the wisest decision, but it is necessary.

He was loathe to leave Nyota, if just for a little while; he would have much rather stayed and watched her sleep. After holding her after she ate, feeling and sensing her fall into sleep, then lying her down on her bed, making sure that she entered the REM stage of sleeping, he realized that he had matters to attend to before he could meditate.

He arrives at the door to the Captain's quarters and he requests entrance. The door swishes open with Kirk standing in the doorway, looking slightly bleary-eyed, still shirtless--his chest bound in bone regeneration webbing--and holding a glass of what smells like alcohol.

"Something the matter, Spock?" he asks.

Spock places his hands behind his back, straightening his back just a little. "Captain, I wanted to thank you for your discretion today."

Kirk stares at him for a second before nodding his head towards the room. "Come on in."

Spock walks in, for a second panicking. Was he correct in his original assumption? Will the Captain use his...affliction against him? Will Kirk demand that he resign?

Kirk collapses in a chair. "Want a drink?"

Spock shakes his head, still cautious.

Kirk shrugs. "Suit yourself. It's Andorian brandy. Best damn stuff in the 'verse. Makes a man feel alive."

"Pardon, Captain?" Spock does not quite understand how an alcoholic beverage can make a man feel alive. Is he unable to breathe, his heart unable to pump blood without the brandy in his system?

Kirk waves a hand towards the chair next to him. "Sit, Spock. You loom over people, did you know that?"

Spock raises his eyebrow. "No, Captain, I was not aware."

"So...'xactly what are you thanking me for?" Kirk asks him, his words starting to slur.

Spock lowers himself into the chair. "You accepted my assurance that Lieutenant Uhura would not sustain serious harm from her injuries. You then ordered Doctor McCoy to give me the dermkit. I am...grateful."

Kirk takes another sip of brandy. "She's a hell of a woman, Spock."

Spock's lips quirk. "So I have heard on numerous occasions."

Kirk laughs. "Yeah, I'll bet." He turns his glass in his hand, staring intently at it. "You said she was fine, Spock, and I believe you. After all that we've been through, do you really think I've had any reason to doubt you? And Uhura...she's not a girl to trust just anyone; and you, you're not a the most open of guys," he chuckles. "But you two...you have something and I'm sure as hell not going to stand in between that."

He lifts his head up and Spock instantly receives the impression that the Captain is trying to tell him more than just his flippant, slightly drunken words. He receives the impression that the Captain truly respects him and Nyota, and because of that respect Kirk is not a threat.

He is a friend.

It was decided in a time and place not of this universe that he and Kirk were friends...he believes the human moniker is best friends. They would have died for each other, not because they were fellow Starfleet officers, but because the men, during their travels and adventures, had become as close as brothers.

He is not sure if they will ever be that close in this universe...there are a lot of aspects of this life that are different from the life of his elder self, but for once in his life, Spock believes he has a friend.

He clears his throat. "I think I would like to sample that Andorian brandy, Jim. Vulcans are, of course, immune to the inebriating effects of alcohol, but I have been told the taste is...intriguing."

Kirk looks at him and slowly smiles, the happiness reaching his eyes. "Sure, Spock."