oOo

"Marlena."

That voice, oddly distant, why was it so far away? She'd just heard it, shared it, weaving around her mind, threading itself through her thoughts in a connection so deeply intimate she'd almost passed out from the sheer, unexpected pleasure of the sensation.

"Marlena."

There it was again, calling a name, her name? She couldn't remember, she was too dazed by the abrupt loss of contact to be able to respond.

"Marlena."

The third time Spock repeated her name, her eyes snapped open, and she released her breath in a ragged gasp. She was standing in her quarters, Spock was in front of her, staring at her with a faint line etched between his brows and a hint of a frown on his lips. Of course, it was his voice she'd heard, and he sounded so far away now because it was reaching her through the inadequate medium of her ears rather than directly, mind to mind. "Do you require medical assistance?"

"No," she managed to say, but the furrow between his brows only deepened instead of vanishing. She couldn't help felling disoriented; were all melds so…beautiful? It had been nothing like she'd been led to expect, far more intimate and not at all frightening or painful, except for the sudden loss she was experiencing now that it was over. She'd heard whispers, rumors, of the damage a meld could do, but nothing more than that, and certainly nothing like what she was still struggling to recover from. "Is it always like that?" The question was out before she could stop it.

She could have sworn there was a smile quirking the edges of Spock's lips, gone before she could blink. "Your mind was most cooperative. I believe you might be a latent telepath. I presume you found the experience…agreeable?"

"Oh, yes," she breathed, then blushed as she realized she sounded like she had after her first orgasm.

"I too found it agreeable," Spock surprised her by saying. She blushed even harder as she realized he understood exactly how she was currently feeling. "I did not intend for such a consequence, but your mind…" His voice trailed off, and she stared into his eyes, unable to move. "I have never experienced such a level of intimacy, nor achieved a meld with such ease, outside of the mating bond." He raised an eyebrow. "It was quite a novel experience."

"For me too," she replied, then took a deep breath. Pushing nervously at the masses of dark curls tumbling about her shoulders, she backed up a step. Deliberately distancing herself. "So what does that mean?"

He reached out with both hands, delicately placing his fingers along the sides of her face, trailing them down her neck. Refusing the distance. She closed her eyes and swallowed, then opened them as his hands reached her shoulders, pulling her unresisting form closer. "It means that, if you are amenable, I would like to explore this unique bond we seem to have formed. If we are to effect changes in our universe, such a bond could prove invaluable." Before she could be disappointed by his businesslike assessment of what had been an emotionally volatile experience for her, he added: "I believe we would both find such exploration…quite pleasurable."

She was only inches away, as close physically as they had been during the meld, and the feel of his hands on her shoulders was sending little crackles of pleasure through every nerve ending. Before she could wonder if that was deliberate, he bent his head down and kissed her.

Now I know how Christine Chapel felt, was the incongruous thought that ran through her mind before she abandoned herself completely to the moment. His hands slid down her shoulders as he pulled her even closer, their bodies pressed together, limbs entwined. She barely noticed when he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the narrow bunk her smaller quarters boasted, but was fully aware when he laid her down on it, if only because of the sudden space between them. She smiled as he raised her leg and removed her boot, pulling it off easily before reaching for the other leg. She watched eagerly as he removed the second boot, then knelt up to help him unfasten his clothing.

She paused as he removed her halter, and he stopped as well, sensitive to her sudden distraction. "Did you find it?" she asked, annoyed with herself for disturbing the moment. What if he took it as a rejection? But this was too important, she had to know. "Did I have any information about the Tantalus Field that could help you? Help us?" Her memories of the meld were purely emotional; she couldn't recall if he had plucked what he needed from her mind or not.

"Your memories were quite valuable," he replied, then lowered his head to her breast, delicately teasing first one nipple, then the next, with his lips and tongue. She gasped, all other concerns instantly fleeing her mind. After a satisfying interval, he spoke again: "I prefer, however, to leave that discussion for another time."

"Absolutely," she breathed, pulling him down to join her on the bed.

oOo

Scott stepped into McCoy's quarters, noting the rumpled state of the bed and smirking to himself. Who had McCoy blackmailed into joining him there? The place practically reeked of sex. Before he could say anything, a woman came out of the doctor's dressing area. The snide comment changed to a surprised gasp as he recognized Uhura. "I thought you were dead!"

"Never believe the death until you see the body." He went rigid as Kirk appeared, resting his chin on Uhura's shoulder as he misquoted one of the early Emperors. "Hello, Scotty." He grinned as he used the nickname the other universe's chief engineer had been given. "Time to pay off a certain debt." He clapped the other man on the shoulder. "Buck up. After this, you're off the hook."

"After this what?" The Scotsman asked through stiff lips. McCoy was trying to look inconspicuous, edging closer to his desk and the bottle on it. The bastard had set him up, and he was going to pay for that, one way or the other. But not now. Later. If Spock allowed any of them to have a later… "What is it ye want me to do?"

"We want to go back to the other universe," Kirk replied, removing his head from Uhura's shoulder, but not his arm from her waist. "We need to disappear, and it's the one place Starfleet and Spock would never think to look for us."

"And what makes ye think I can get ye there? That transporter accident was a fluke, a once in a lifetime chance that's long gone," Scott argued, but he sounded intrigued. The intricacies of the engineering problem Kirk's proposition posed momentarily outweighed his anger at having been tricked. "Besides, ye heard their Spock, the Third Law of Thermodynamics demands an exchange, not just a transfer."

"Is that your way of saying you can't do it?" Kirk's voice was challenging.

"It's my way o' saying their Spock didn't think it could be done," Scott shot back, stung by the implied aspersion on his abilities. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that McCoy had finally worked up the nerve to pick up the bottle, scowling as he realized it was empty. "At least, no wi'out actually exchanging exact duplicates. On the other hand," he continued, eyes going distant as he worked the problem out in his head, "all it might require would be an equal amount o' mass rather than an exact duplication." He moved to McCoy's desk, shoving the doctor out of the way as he sat down. "Computer, bring up program McCoy Alpha 7-3-2-9-5."

"Working," came the harsh, mechanized male voice of the computer.

"I'd be very careful if I were you." Uhura's voice was close behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder in irritation. She'd pulled her dagger from her boot and was holding it very close to his neck. "If you even think about contacting Spock or security, you'll be dead before they get here."

"Leave me to my work, lass." Scott returned his attention to the schematics that suddenly sprang up, and Uhura glared angrily at the back of his neck, not at all pleased at the contemptuous way he dismissed her. She looked around, but Kirk was picking his nails with his own dagger and McCoy was reaching under his bed for a fresh bottle, so she just grumbled under her breath in Swahili and stubbornly remained behind Scott.

She thought he'd forgotten them all as he barked incomprehensible orders to the computer, causing the schematics to change or disappear altogether, when he suddenly sat back in his chair, swatting irritably at her arm, and announced: "I can do it." He sounded pleased with himself.

Kirk, who had gone from picking his nails to almost dozing as he leaned against the wall, immediately stepped closer. "Are you sure?"

"As sure as I've ever been about anythin'," Scott replied confidently. "What's more, I can do it wi'out too much reconfigurin' o' the transporters; it should only take a few hours. What I canna do," he added as Uhura and Kirk traded exultant grins, "is get ye back. Once yer there, yer on yer own."

"You leave that to us," Kirk replied confidently. "You just get us somewhere safe, and we'll take care of the rest. We'll be within transporter range of Sigma Iotia II by morning, and Spock's received orders to stop there." How he'd come across that particular tidbit was no mystery; Uhura simply looked smug when Scott glanced at her. "Just set it up. And remember, we'll be monitoring you. If you or McCoy try to double-cross us, you'll both be dead before Spock can blink."

"There's been a few rumors floating about, that ye had a way of makin' yer enemies disappear," Scott replied, his voice even but a bead of perspiration appearing suddenly on his upper lip. "A machine o' some kind that killed wi'out leavin' any trace o' itself, not even an energy signature."

Kirk just looked at him, allowing a slow smile to spread across his face. A smile that promised a world of pain, confirming nothing and everything. Scott was convinced he wasn't bluffing, and one look at McCoy's suddenly white features told him that the medical man believed he wasn't either. Neither Kirk nor Uhura seemed as desperate as the situation they were currently facing told Scott they should be, further confirming his suspicions. He licked his lips. "I'll get right on it."

"Remember, we'll be watching your every move," Uhura put in. Scott offered a curt nod, then exited the doctor's quarters as quickly as possible.