Disclaimer: Star Trek is not mine nor do I claim to own it. This is purely a work of fiction.

Warnings: Twists and plot furthering. Beside that…it's a pretty tame-ish chapter.

AN: Yah, so basically last post was cruel *smile* and this one will probably be interesting *smile again* it's part One of Chapter Three, though it will be a little disconnected from the rest of chapter three. So, I figured I'd give it to you all now and spend more time on the other parts, just to tie you over. Or make up for last post : )

I hope that said last post didn't send anyone running in a direction away from this story. Know now that as I said in EtS I would not kill anyone off without putting warnings way back at the beginning, in the summary, or even just at the beginning of the chapter. Plus really I can't kill Spock. I basically love Jim and him as a whole. One without the other is like…like a Reese's peanut butter cup without the peanut butter. Just chocolate is good but gah! it's so-so much yummier with peanut butter.

Lol. Random and now I want chocolate but that is beside the point. Point is. Here there will be Spock! And a beginning of some major plot twists. Familiar and yet oh so different. Oh so different. Promise. Haha. Sorry in advance :D

AN2: Also, um…I guess I sorta just went in for the whole proposal thing without thinking much on it. Okay that's not true. I did think on it and it will actually tie in again later (spoilers sorry), but I'm getting an impression that it didn't hit well? I dunno. Sorry if it's not your cup of tea. It's not really a huge piece of the puzzle, or of this story, so I really hope you don't just turn away. Anyway, proposal isn't even right; it's the Vulcan bonding ceremony. Cuz, well I find that great, like the concept of fully bonding, but yah. It is actually going to tie in to something later…something necessary. So, if you don't like, I guess all I can say is sorry I'm keeping it. : /

Otherwise. I hope this isn't going super-fast pace for you all. I am at odds of this going too slow but also too fast. Hopefully you all are not getting turned off by this.

Though, really, I guess it shouldn't matter. Write for myself ^ ^ just stating what's on my mind, though I do like when everyone is happy.

Otherwise please enjoy. :D


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The One I've Loved

Chapter Three (Part One):

It was an unusual occurrence for Vulcans to feel anything, or perhaps continually feel something. By this point it was no longer worth trying to convince others that Vulcans don't feel. If anything, they feel more so than many others. They just use a practiced control to take those emotions and seal them away.

It was all in an effort to not allow emotions to rule them; to not allow emotions to control their decisions. Instead they followed the teachings of Surak and turned to logic and reason as a guide.

Since Jim's disappearance Spock felt confusion when faced with emotions versus his old customs. He felt strongly for the loss of his planet after Nero's attack, and even more so for the loss of his mother. However, both did not compare to the initial loss of Jim (a loss that wasn't even a for sure forever).

Yet, old customs allowed him to lock away those emotions. They allowed him to set them aside and cope in the inner workings of his mind. During Nero's attack Jim had pushed Spock to react, to succumb to the pull of his emotions. Jim managed to pull the placed aside emotions to the forefront and drove them out like a much needed breath.

It was cruel, his capabilities to do such a thing, and at the time Spock found that the emotions left him even more conflicted than ever before. However, he found himself able to better accept what had happened and eventually move forward (something that many remaining Vulcans still are currently struggling with).

Jim had a way of seeing past Spock's walls and knowing just when to push and step in; even if Spock could not see it at the time. This was perhaps one of the initial reasons Spock sought out a friendship with the other. It was also one of the reasons he was constantly at odds with the brash and emotional man over that first year.

Jim had a way of driving his way into the lives of those who surround him. No one seemed aware that it happened, and many begin opposed to any sort of idea resembling it. However, no one was more oblivious to this trait than the man himself. Jim did not realize his own effect on the others, but it was true all the same.

He drove others to a greater depth, and pushed them to want to excel not because of any words of his. He drove them to want this because of how openly he readily believed in them. Jim could look at anyone and see capabilities that they possessed; that they, themselves, were not aware of. That they had always believed to beyond their limitations.

Jim was an annoying and brash fool upfront, but beyond that he was unquestionably wise, possessively protective, and a compelling force that no other compared to. He was a unique and intriguing individual, and it was without question that Spock had been doomed to fall for him from the moment they crossed paths. Jim's alteration of his program and his watching of them play out were only leading up to when auburn met blue for the first time. At that moment there was really no turning back.

Jim allowed Spock to see that emotions could belong without the fear of them dictating actions. That even logic needed some basic emotions to help better determine answers. That some event needed more than a logical answer sometimes they required hope.

When Jim had been returned to the Enterprise, it had been too late for Spock to seal himself away in his Vulcan armor once again. He had already displayed his inner self too openly to fully step back into such old customs. Jim had changed Spock; for better or for worse, it had happened all the same.

There was an acceptance that he had emotions, because of Jim.

So, when Spock awoke he knew what he felt was confusion, and rather than try to skirt away from it he allowed himself to search out the reasons behind such an expressive emotion. He was unsure how it was that he wound up waking in this place, but more particularly he was confused by the fact that he could not recall where he was at all. This was not something he was accustomed to. Vulcans memories are photographic, in a Terran way of putting it, though they were far greater in a sense. He had always and constantly been aware; aware of place, of time, just always fully aware of being.

However, right now he was completely unsure. He did not recognize his location, he could not recall or place what time of day it was, he was unsure of so much.

The last event that he could recall was of being present on board the Element Space Station. He had beamed aboard alongside Chief of Security Giotto as well as Giotto's choice of two security officers.

Spock could recall that after beaming aboard, they had been met with an empty vessel. It was not something any one of them had foreseen, but it did explain why the Enterprise had continuously been unable to receive any more signals or transmissions from the station.

The possibility that the members on board this space station had been taken hostage seemed most likely. The odds were far greater in this favor when they realized there was not a single body, on this station, to be found. Yet, to be sure the four of them split into pairs and went about combing the entirety of the Element to see if anyone turned up, or if there were any clues to be found.

He recalled that he had been alongside Giotto after the initial split. Chief Officer Giotto had been among the first to volunteer to beam aboard the Element; the reason for this was obvious, perhaps not to every one, but to the Alpha crew in particular it was indeed obvious.

When the mission came in, many of the alpha crew members felt that something was off about it or that it did not sit right with them. They had barely had Jim back with them for months now and already they were turning around to return to the place they had found him. Well, had believed to have found him.

This mission didn't sit well with them, and thus Spock was also among the first to welcome the chance to seek out answers. Regulations permitted him as one of the few besides the security officers who were allowed to do such things, and he welcomed the opportunity.

Finding no one on board the space station only brought home the fact that something was off with this mission, but it also brought with it a wave of unanswerable questions. Continuing from the fact that no one was on board it was also curious that there was no sign of struggle or of a fight at all. If there had been an attack or means to kidnap those on board there would be evidence to support this, and there was none.

Noticing these oddities left both Giotto and Spock tense for what was bound play out.

Spock could recall that he desired to comm for the Enterprise, but everything after that was blank. His mind could not fill the gap between that point and when he awoke here. He wasn't even sure if they had succeeded in fully searching the Element for survivors. He had just been there and now he woke here, wherever here was.

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Waking in and of itself had appeared to be difficult. Whatever had happened, hadn't ended well for him. Spock's internal system seemed to be in shock from some minor but pressing injuries. As well his skin appeared to tense with even the slightest movements and felt to be what he would assume were burn wounds. Some large gashes also seemed to aid in making movement painful.

Recognizing these did not jolt any recollections, but rather only helped to further confuse the Vulcan. How had he been so injured without any memories of the events?

However, the understanding that he had been injured brought with it another realization. His injuries had been treated. He could feel the wraps around his torso in an effort to deter any lingering blood flow. He could smell the almost nauseating ointment that had been applied to the burns and that they too were wrapped. It seemed all of the injuries he had sustained had been cleaned and bandaged to some degree or another. It was all very archaic practices, and all very unexpected.

Obviously the good doctor was not here and had not been the one to treat Spock's injuries. However, whoever did treat them displayed an understanding for treating wounds.

Whatever happened he suspected he was no longer on board the Element. The thrum of a space station was recognizable through both the sense of hearing and touch. No matter how sound proof a room could be made it could not tune out those senses, not if they were still in space, and obviously Spock was no longer in space.

He was also neither chained up, nor left to suffer. Seeing as whoever had found him (or whoever took him) had healed him to a degree.

The entire situation was unexpected and confusing. It left the Vulcan unsure how to best approach the situation. What he did know was that presently he still required further healing and his body would soon step in pulling him deep into a healing trance. Yet, he wished not to fall into such a thing with the possibility that whoever had healed him was more than likely to return.

As much as Spock wished to linger on this predicament his mind was much further ahead, already thinking past the initial who, what, when and where or why's of this situation. His thoughts were already being pulled along to the important question of how he was going to get back? How would he return to the Enterprise, to his mate?

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Suddenly, and with a striking realization, Spock's mind stopped. All thoughts halted as a new realization struck. Right now, no matter how he tried, he could not feel Jim's mind.

The bond the pair of them shared was an always present hum that had settled deep within the recesses of his thoughts. However, he could feel nothing coming from the other. No hum, no emotions, there was absolutely nothing emitting from Jim's side of their bond. This alone was enough to still all of Spock's thoughts entirely and bring the focus completely on it.

Delving into his own thoughts, brought an immediate and gratifying relief to the Vulcan. For there he found the warm and golden essence of their bond still present and intact. However, it had fallen silent.

Something had happened. Something was forcing their bond apart, keeping Jim's mind from communicating with Spock's own; keeping him from being allowed to feel the presence of the other. The hum, that came from being bound with Jim, was a feeling that he had become accustomed to ever since he had pulled Jim from the remains of his own mind. Even more so afterwards, when they had truly bonded with one another.

Had something happened to his T'hy'la, to Jim? Now, more than ever, Spock wished he could recall the events missing from his memories. Yet, there was nothing to recall. At least the presence and the sight of the golden essence allowed Spock the small comfort and knowledge that Jim was alive. The likelihood that something happened to Jim was far less likely that it was Spock's own predicament that was causing such things.

Whatever, had happened between being present on the Element and waking in this room, must've been the cause of the barrier between their minds.

"Jim."

The words were a barely whispered breath from Spock as he allowed them to slip by. He wished perhaps that a response would follow.

Yet, if he were being truly honest he was not expecting one to follow. He wasn't even expecting anything more than finding alleviation in the name itself, and the small comfort it brought with it.

So when a shift sounded behind where he lay, it was loud and shocking to his normally acute senses. Spock had believed himself to be alone in the room he woke in. Though, his sight had remained limited to the radius the bed provided, he had believed he would recognize the presence of another if there had been one.

It was understandable that from his place he would've been completely incapable of noticing the other behind him. It was still surprising all the same, for he had not only missed the other's breathing but he had not registered the clear beat of another's heart over his own. Yet, now that he was aware both sounded loudly within his ears. Had he truly been so caught up in the situation to miss such obvious signs?

All of these thoughts passed rapidly through Spock's mind as only seconds passed within the room. For just after the shift of movement another shock soon followed.

Footsteps.

Whoever was within the room alongside him was now making their way progressively towards him.

"You are the one who treated my wounds?" Spock spoke with a surprising calmness to his voice as he awaited a response. He needed to determine if whoever this was—was an enemy or a companion. His words seemed to still the process of the other's steps and yet not a word was spoken.

Spock tried again, but now with a desire to bring a voice to whoever lingered just out of sight, "I was among others, have you taken them as well?"

Again silence was all the answer given towards the question, but the footsteps continued once more. The room must have been much wider than Spock had earlier believed for it seemed to take the other some time to approach him. It made more sense now that he had missed another presence in such a deeply shadowed room.

However, it was obvious now that he was not alone. Each foot fell with a resounding click. Each step taken had a vaguely familiar pattern to it. It was unusual that Spock would recognize such a thing. He could not understand why he'd find it familiar when he knew without a doubt he had not been to this location before.

When the other came up alongside the bed, in which Spock lay, Spock found himself compelled to lift his gaze. To fully seek out the individual who was either his captor or his savior, if not both.

However, it was because of the familiar foot patterns that Spock was expecting that whoever it was, that it would be a shock to see them. It would be shocking in the familiar, but unexpected way. Such as reuniting with a companion who you had believed you would never see again. In a way that had the potential of being good as it did for being bad.

It left Spock's mind reeling for any who could possibly fit such an occurrence.

He knew that he would never truly deduct who it could possibly be in the time frame it took for the other to reach the bed, and for him to gaze up. He knew that he would be shocked at the realization. There was no preventing this.

So, when auburn eyes lifted to meet with striking blue, his heart stilled.

..

..

"James."

..

..

A click of a weapon sounded threateningly close.

..

..

"How did you find me,"

..

..

Metal pressed against the Vulcan's temple as blue eyes bore into the other.

..

..

"Have you come to finish me off then, Spock?"

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AN: So…I did it again. With the cliff hanger thing, but at least we all know Spock's still alive! That's a yay moment right?

Haha…oh the goodies I have in store for this. Sorry I pulled a similar stunt to EtS, but oh how it is totally different in so-so many ways. If anyone can guess I'll give them cookies or something. Otherwise I really was telling the truth last post. I probably won't have more up till next Friday. Hope this helped, sort of…probably only made things worse but oh the suspense! *hearts* I will hopefully have all of chapter three to post by Friday, and maybe more, but unsure at the present time. We will see.

Hope you enjoyed. I shall be back with answers and more questions to throw at you all! :D