Sure enough when McCoy woke up the next morning he had a raging headache. He lazily slid out of bed and halfheartedly fixed his appearance. As he ate a bit of breakfast he noticed the time and realized that he should have contacted James by now. Going to the intercom he called for the Captain.
"Kirk here," McCoy cleared his throat before speaking.
"Uh hey it's me; I'm up and ready to go…even though I have a god awful migraine."
"It's about time, Spock and I have been waiting in the transporter room for you. And remember I said no complaining?" McCoy groaned.
"Ugh, I'll try my best." He heard James snicker on the other end.
"Well get yourself over here now so we can beam down."
"Alright, McCoy out," He turned the intercom off and took one more look at himself before heading out. 'Damn I don't look too hot,' he said to himself. Shrugging he stepped out of the room.
In the transporter room Spock and James stood waiting. They were side by side both just standing there with nothing to talk about like always. A couple of times James would steal a glance at Spock and Spock would see him do it out of the corner of his eye. One of those times Spock turned his head slightly to look back at James and found James looking at his body as if he were in a trance. James then felt Spock staring at him and adverted his eyes like he was caught doing something wrong, Spock secretly found that amusing. James mentally reprimanded himself for looking at Spock so much, he was sure Spock would find it curious. James was able to keep from looking for a bit but soon the urge was too strong and he tried to sneak another little peak but Spock was too quick and caught James' eyes. James froze when they made eye contact and couldn't look away, a corner of Spock's mouth lifted into a half smile. James could actually feel himself blush a little, hoping it wasn't too noticeable. James didn't know what to do or how to react so he was glad when McCoy walked in at that moment, shoving past them.
"Ok let's get on with it. I'm telling you though; you might have to force me onto the transporter because I don't want to do this today, not at all." James rolled his eyes but smiled, everything McCoy did was just too cute. Spock raised his eyebrows.
"It seems that McCoy is going to be exceptionally irritable today Captain." McCoy put on an even more annoyed expression and James pressed his lips together in an attempt not to laugh.
"Leave the poor doctor alone Spock, he took a little too much of his own advice." James began to lead McCoy by the arm up to the platform. "Come on Bones, it's not going to be that bad." McCoy's eyes widened and his brow furrowed.
"Not that bad? God Jim, you really know how to talk me into something don't you."
"Oh come on, you know what I mean." The three men took their places beside each other on the platform and felt the familiar tingling of being energized. When they arrived on the planet McCoy, seeing the desert for the first time, glanced around in bewilderment.
"The thing we need to ask ourselves, right now, is… where do we start?" Spock was already ahead of them, holding out his tricorder, trying to find some sort of life form in the area. When he found something he turned to James.
"There is an outpost only 3.857 miles from here, I suggest we start there." James thought about it, nodded, and then walked over to McCoy.
"Do you feel up to walking that far? I'll understand if you don't want to go with us." He very much wanted to go with them so he decided that he should just suck it up and deal with the consequences of too much alcohol.
"Yes Jim, I want to go with you. I really should anyway; you never know what might happen." He was right Jim thought; they never know what kind of danger could be lurking. Then his fear of either one of his friends getting hurt resurfaced, but he had to ignore it.
"Good, I'm glad you'll be joining us." He patted him on the back and turned to Spock. "That'll do Spock, let's go check it out." They set off in the direction of the outpost and started on their trek. The sand felt like snow as they trudged on with some areas hard and packed in and others soft and deep where James would trip and stumble, when this happened McCoy would reach out for him and keep him from falling. One of those times McCoy didn't reach out in time and James did fall. McCoy rushed towards him to make sure he was alright with concern troubling his face.
"Jim! Are you ok? I'm so sorry I didn't break your fall." He pulled out his tricorder and started to run it over James to see if anything was wrong; James pushed it away and chuckled, embarrassed.
"Bones, I'm fine! You're overreacting; it's not your fault. I'm such a klutz. I'm the one who should be sorry for delaying us so much." McCoy put away his tricorder and took James' hand. He pulled James up slowly as he himself stood and looked into his eyes, subconsciously tightening his grip as he did.
"It's alright Jim, and, I just worry about you too much, that's all. You're my best friend, if anything happened to you…" Looking away James blushed.
"I know Bones, same here." Now McCoy was blushing and he tried to hide it. Spock had witnessed every second of the situation and he was getting quite jealous.
"Sorry to interrupt Captain but we should keep moving; it's getting late." James quickly straightened up.
"I agree." So they carried on and as they did McCoy's head began to feel like it was going to split open, the migraine was still very unbearable. He started to swerve as he walked and James noticed this. They were close to the outpost now and James figured they could take a short rest before they arrived. The Captain led his friends to a cluster of rocks they could use as seats and helped McCoy down onto one, supporting his back with his hands.
"You seem a bit tense Bones." McCoy arched his back, rubbing at his sides.
"Yeah, you could say that. God, I swear everything hurts. Really, I'm never drinking that much again; I can tell you that right now." James tentatively placed a hand on McCoy's shoulder.
"Hey, I can give you a massage if you want." McCoy could feel himself become even more tense, not from the pain but from James' offer.
"Uh, sure…that would be nice." Without saying a word James positioned himself behind McCoy, his hand shifting slowly to the crook of his neck and his other hand clasping the opposite crook, and proceeded to massage his shoulders soothingly.
"How does that feel?" McCoy sighed.
"It feels good…" James took that as his cue to intensify the action which McCoy thoroughly appreciated. Soon McCoy began to let out long, deep breaths; James' rough fingers digging deep into his neck was one of the most pleasurable sensations he had ever felt. McCoy didn't know how long he had been longing for the Captain's touch; he never really wanted anything sexual, just something intimate, like this. After a while a soft moan vibrated within McCoy's chest. James couldn't deny the fact that he was getting pretty aroused from the friction of his hands rubbing against McCoy's skin and in return hearing the almost erotic sounds escape his friend's mouth. He figured he should stop before he got too excited so he slowly brought the motion to a halt and gave McCoy a light squeeze before removing his hands and walking to the nearest rock to sit down. Because McCoy was in such a daze it took him a while to realize James had walked away.
"Oh…thanks, that was nice." James smiled and folded his arms.
"Anytime Bones…" McCoy looked over at James and flashed a half smile.
"I really tried to suck it up Jim, believe me." James shrugged.
"I understand. I'm sure it's a bad headache. I don't mind staying here for a while." McCoy sighed heavily.
"I just wish there were somewhere I could rest my head without laying on a damn jagged rock or getting sand in my hair." James shifted where he sat nervously not knowing whether he should say what he was thinking about saying but decided to in the end.
"You could come rest your head on my shoulder if you want... I feel bad for making you walk so far." McCoy couldn't believe what he just heard; James said he could lean on him! He felt butterflies in the pit of his stomach and didn't know how to reply, he was scared he'd seem too eager.
"Oh, um…thanks for the offer but I wouldn't want to be a bother…" James unfolded his arms and shook his head.
"No, it wouldn't be a bother at all…" McCoy ran his hands over his legs anxiously.
"Well it would help with the headache." Unsure whether he could hold back his enthusiasm he lifted himself up, shuffled over to the Captain, and hesitantly sat down on the rock next to him. James sat there stiffly with his hands in his lap and his eyes looking down as McCoy snuggled his head into the nook of his neck, he couldn't help but smile. Having McCoy so close felt right to James, he had always cared so much for him and always wanted to be there for him. Unfortunately they had forgotten that Spock was with them therefore he had witnessed the whole scene and was now standing beside them feeling extremely awkward.
As James and McCoy closed their eyes and lost themselves in comfort Spock abruptly mentioned that there was a plant about a quarter mile back that he would like to take the time to examine. James merely nodded his head in acknowledgment and Spock sauntered off in the direction they had come. Spock tried to keep their closeness from bothering him; there was no logical reason for him to care but he couldn't help being upset by it, he was jealous. He resented human emotions, to Vulcans it was a sign of weakness and that's exactly how he felt in that moment, weak. Never had someone tried to force his human side to the surface of his being, in his childhood or anytime really, as much as James had. Sure his mother had tried but her attempts came nowhere close to how James' affected him. With the way James spoke to him and every time he touched him his human side came out more and more to the point where there was no letting go of his emotions, to the point where he needed James, needed to feel his touch, to hear his voice. James was his conductor of life, the only thing that made him feel like he could actually be human, even if only partially, and if anyone or anything else took him away then that would be the end of Spock, he would be dead.
Spotting a plant Spock went over to it and sat down with his tricorder in hand. Attempting to go along with his excuse for leaving he ran the tricorder over the plant and got its readings. Then setting the device down, he plucked the plant from the ground and fiddled with it. He couldn't concentrate on examining it because every time he tried he would realize again how alone he was. Everyone he knew figured that he was content with being alone because he didn't have the emotion to care if anyone was around him but they were wrong, he was not content with being alone, he hated it. Right now he felt left out sitting by himself in the sand with James and McCoy happy together. It was clear to him now that James cared more for McCoy than he had ever cared or ever will care for him. How could he care for an alien who supposedly never felt anything? Just then a single tear escaped from his eye and fell down his cheek. In his troubled state he crushed the plant in his fist and threw it from him. Balling up his fists he put them to his temples and willed himself not to cry any further.
Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his side and he looked down to find he had been hit by a dart, pulling it out he saw that it was a tranquilizer. Beginning to feel lightheaded he made an effort to stand. He was able to make it to a crouched position when he was attacked by someone and knocked flat. Rolling over he saw that the person had a staff which he used to exceedingly hit Spock with. Spock had no strength left to fight back with due to the dart so he tried to block the staff from hitting his head but it was no use, the man would just in turn aim for his stomach. Without any other option Spock began to call out for help, yelling for Kirk and McCoy. Out of nowhere the man was joined by another who also repeatedly hit Spock with a staff. Soon Spock was overpowered, feeling blood trickle down his face, and he blacked out.
Back at the rock cluster McCoy felt much better and was ready to venture to the now visible outpost. He stood up, turned to James, and stretched.
"Well as good as the idea of sitting around and doing nothing sounds I think we should get a move on; those men up on our ship are counting on us." James yawned.
"But it was so cozy; I could have fallen asleep right there." McCoy waved his statement off.
"Yeah, yeah… we need to go find Spock first though. I think he went somewhere over there." He gestured to where they came from, near the side of the cliffs. James stood, brushing the sand and debris from his clothes.
"I'm sure he didn't go far." McCoy rolled his eyes.
"You never know with that green-blooded Vulcan, I'm telling you, he's unpredictable." James laughed.
"I agree with you there Bones." Together they traveled across the sand to walk along the side of the cliffs. There were a few archways along the cliffs that lead into an open area and James chose to enter one in search for his first mate while the doctor continued ahead. Eventually McCoy came to the spot where Spock had been and spotted his tricorder that was left in the scuffle. He ran over to it and picked it up, noticing also the crushed plant beside it. This was clear evidence that something bad had happened.
"Oh my god… Jim! Jim, come her, quick!" James heard McCoy's pleas and ran to him as fast as he could.
"What? Bones, what is it?" He came to a stop by McCoy, panting, and the doctor showed him Spock's tricorder.
"I found this just laying here. I have a strong feeling someone took him." McCoy turned the tricorder over in his hands frowning.
"No… I knew I shouldn't have let him be alone here!" James knelt down with his fist to his mouth, frustrated and worried; then he saw the crumpled plant and picked it up. His heart sank knowing that Spock needed help and he wasn't there for him, he was probably hurt now and James couldn't bear the thought of it; he was sent into a minor fit of hysteria.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it… god, if he's badly hurt I will kill whoever put their hands on him! I swear my life on it! Damn it!" McCoy was shocked by his outburst but he understood; he also was greatly concerned.
"Don't worry Jim, we'll find him; I promise." James calmed down a bit and straightened up, still holding the plant.
"Do you think the people who took him came from the outpost?" McCoy nodded.
"I think that would be our best guess."
With the taste of blood in his mouth and a horrendous pain erupting in his abdomen Spock came back to consciousness. Bleary eyed he looked around at his surroundings, an empty, dreary room with dim lighting. With a loud clang the door flung open and a very pissed off man walked through the threshold. Spock jumped but remained composed. Walking over to him the man slammed him against the wall and glared at him.
"I don't know who you are but all I know is that your Captain took my men and they were alive. I need them dead. So you better hope that your friends come soon so I can get them back or I'm going to make you wish you were dead."
