You can insist that "it never happened" all you want, but facts have a way of curiously finding their way out into the open... Note: story is *not* abandoned - just on hold! That's what happens if enthusiasm takes the author further than originally intended... I've got a few ideas further down the line, just not as to how to continue where we are now!

On an exploratory mission Kirk goes missing and is trapped by a carnivorous plant. After Spock saves his life, he reflects on how close he came to losing his captain. Meditation can only bring Spock so far before he has to deal with unexpected emotion.

He said it so casually, so off hand. It was like he was stating a fact about the universe. The sky is blue. The cliffs are high. He'll kill you someday.