Disclaimer: Star Trek is not mine nor do I claim to own it. This is purely a work of fiction.
Warnings: You probably won't expect what's coming at the end of this chapter. Fair warning : X
AN: So, basically I wish last chapter was the end of chapter two. Really what an ending? Haha. Hopefully a good thing…perhaps a little too soon, but honestly I had meant for it to be a part of chapter one. So, I guess it was always meant to be soon.
Anyway. The end of Chapter two is where things start to get more action-y…So, woot? Haha. Now it's the start of me having fun ^ ^ bwa-ha-ha. lol.
Hope you enjoy...you may hate me. I apologize in advance. Please no flames X/
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The One I've Loved
Chapter Two (Part Four):
Jim woke to the sound of the Vulcan setting about his morning routine. However, it was hours too early.
"Spock…cold. Come back." Jim breathed reaching his arm out to the other but barely getting it far before it fell to drape over the Vulcan's side of the bed.
"I must return to the bridge, as you are not required to wake for two more hours I had hoped not to wake you. Sleep Jim, I will see you after first shift."
Spock's footsteps were almost none existent as they approached but Jim had grown accustomed to listening for even the faintest sounds, so he knew when the Vulcan was beside him. He wasn't surprised when a second blanket settled over his shoulders, and he was turning to accept the soft press of lips before the Vulcan had to leave.
Jim was too tired to linger further on it, though regretted that was as far as a parting he had given.
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"Fiancé."
"Vulcan mating ceremony." Jim corrected glaring over a cup of coffee at the other man.
"So in normal people talk I'd say that sounds like getting hooked, Jimmy. Which makes you the fiancé."
"Shut up Bones, it's too early for you to be proving my own thoughts correct."
Jim had barely managed to roll out of bed let alone walk through his morning routine before the doctor showed up to bandage a completely forgotten about hand.
"At least I pulled the shards out before Spock showed up."
"I don't care what you did. All I care about is what you hadn't done. Which was come to sickbay!" McCoy grumbled as he set to work cleaning wounds.
Jim chuckled but allowed his hand to remain captured as he turned his gaze to his cup of coffee. Ah, the simple pleasures in life. Like free time to reprogram the replicators to no longer produce the brown sludge they once deemed as coffee.
The cup settled letting the liquid still, as Jim waited for it to cool down some. Not that he didn't enjoy the coffee hot, just he wasn't willing to mix in creams and sugars to cool it down this morning and thus found himself with a slightly overheated beverage.
His eyes lingered upon the dark surface as its stillness brought with it a reflective quality. Jim tensed and shoved the drink away harshly. The liquid sloshing at the rapid movement and splattering over the table.
"Jim?"
Jim's eyes were focused on the spilt cup of coffee.
"Jim!"
Blue flashed up to lock on to McCoy's gaze, the doctor had at some point released his hold on Jim's hand and Jim realized now that his hands were trembling. He clasped the bandaged hand in his other; pulling them close.
"Burnt myself. Sorry, wasn't expecting it." Jim chuckled and turned to gaze at the bandages wrapped on his hand. He wiggled his fingers and gazed with an amused look at the Doctor, "What no magic healing tricks? Just alcohol to disinfect and gauze to wrap it up."
"Magic."
McCoy cooed waving his hands as if the two spoken items were the embodiment of the word. "I'm not going to waste regenerating skin when it'll heal up within a day or two. You can survive that, and maybe next time you won't go smashing your things when they're in your hand. Actually might as well just not smash things altogether, knowing you, you'd probably just manage to get hurt all the same."
Jim chuckled and wiped at his hands. He went to stand up to get something to clean the spill.
"Ow! Dammit!" Jim cursed McCoy as he was struck with a hypo to the neck, "What happened to the whole being nice about those things!"
"You stopped being a cute lil kid and grew up." McCoy began to pack up his things but smiled as Jim rubbed petulantly at his neck. However, this didn't stop him from getting up and returning to clean up the spill. "Didn't know you to be so clean Jimmy."
"Hmm? Oh, new habit I picked up with living with a Vulcan." Jim huffed and at McCoy's smart look he leaned forward, "I can tell you how persuasive he can be? In detail."
"Please don't. I already struggle daily with the idea of you two. Let's leave it at that."
Jim chuckled as McCoy finished, earning a whack to the head as he moved to sit across from Jim. The Doctor watched Jim for a good few minutes before settling back, "So you're doing okay than?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Jim looked up trying to read into the question but seemed unable to read the expression on McCoy's face, as the Doctor tried to mimic Jim's own desire and read into the expression on Jim's face.
"What with returning to the Element, than yesterday's fiasco."
"Yah…that was a bundle of joy." Jim replied smartly. Without his cup of coffee his hands felt empty and hovered momentarily as if to be examined before shifting to comfortably rest alongside him.
"But really you're handling this all really well."
"You say that one more time and you'll probably accomplish freaking me out. I'm assuming that's the intended goal?" Jim sat up to look at Bones and scowled at him for not revealing more.
"What with us arriving today…I assume Spock told ya 'cuz he got pulled up to the bridge at some ridiculous hour. Add to that he and the security team were the only ones to beam over…I'd say I was expecting you to be throwing a pretty fit. Yet, here I find you still hardly out of bed and freaking not about this but about the Vulcan's proposal. Which we will address again later, because I dunno Jimmy this all seems pretty fast."
"It's different though…better, but so much more certain. Like every part of me knows that he's who I'm supposed to be with. Who I need to be with. One of a whole…Wait? Sorry hold up...Did you just say Spock went over onto the Element?" Jim's smile fell as his eyes became dilated and sharp as the words finally caught up. Curse sleep muddled brain functions.
"Yah, watched him and your buff security guard beam off with two others. Apparently the attacks stopped, but they're experiencing difficulties still communicating and a whole bunch of mumbo jumbo talk. Really the new regulations won't let many people off this ship till the location is all scoped out. Could be people dying or injured over there and here we all are just sitting tight."
"…"
Jim had fallen oddly silent at this his mind racing.
"I-I need to go." Jim stood up sharply, freaking McCoy out in the process as he pushed away from furniture and tripped over items in his haste to get out of the room.
"Jim!"
McCoy didn't hesitate as he took off after the other. Jim was fast and it seemed that McCoy had only accomplished in sparking a light beneath his feet because nothing was stopping Jim from reaching his desired goal.
"Pike!" Jim burst onto the bridge with McCoy following in only moments after.
"Jim. What are you doing? Right now you cannot be here, Doctor McCoy please take Jim back to his quarters or off this bridge."
Jim only now realized the red alert alarms blaring. He shrugged out of McCoy's hold as the doctor tried to pull him off. "No." Jim barely breathed the words as he looked out at the damaged space station before them. It had never looked brand new but now it…there were definitely regions missing now from the once whole station.
"You-You just let them go on there!" Jim turned fiercely to look at Pike. "How could you okay that! What-whose bright idea was it to send a team over. We should be transporting survivors off. That place looks like its collapsing!"
"Jim I will not repeat myself again, you are not permitted to be here. Now you have to leave."
"Why are they over there! Why are my men on that trap? Why is Spock over there!" Jim snarled approaching the captain before an arm caught him and pulled him back.
"Jim you are overreacting kid." McCoy breathed out harshly, "Pike couldn't really do much else. The new regulation requires security to do sweeps first before anything else, allowing the first officer as the only commanding officer to beam with them."
"Fuck the new regulations." Jim cursed swinging to glare at Bones, "Why didn't anyone tell me we were just going to beam them like that. Hell why didn't either of you tell me we'd be arriving so soon?"
"Jim-"
"Spock is over there and I want him back! I don't care how that sounds get my men off that station!"
"Jim!" Bones tried once again to grab the others attention. However, a new voice lifted over both of theirs as Nyota shouted in concern.
"Pike!"
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Jim couldn't recall how he ended up on the floor.
He remembered the ship shaking and that probably had something to do with it, but now all he could do was barely push himself up.
There must be voices going on around him. Outside of the high pitched hum blaring like white noise in his ears, there were muddled voices. He felt someone trying to tug at his arm, but shook them off. His head throbbed dully, he must have hit it when he fell.
Pushing up, he had to stand up. Had to see what was going on. Had to…had to check something.
Had to look for something…
…
…
…
Jim pushed up turning to face the view screen looking out at space.
Looking out at the Element…the Element?
Looking at where the Element had been.
Where an explosion of fire and metal was now in the place of an old space station.
…
…
…
Had to check.
Had to…
…
…
…
"SPOCK!"
Jim's cry tore through him as realization honed in.
He was staring at the remains of a station that only moments before he had learned Giotto, and two others were. Where Spock was...had been.
"NO!" Jim cried slumping back as nausea and pain and terror and disbelief sent him crumbling back to the floor. Sent him staring numbly out at the quickly dispersing explosion.
Noise was muddled around him.
A loud hum burned in his ears.
Spock was on that station.
Spock was gone.
How could…that wasn't supposed to happen.
AN: bum. bum. bum.
Hate? It gets worse...I'll probably not be able to post till next Friday. Yay for horrendous cliffhangers. I am sorry, but there is a point to this. Please don't hate too much. There's so much more in store. : )
