Hey all –
So I'm sick, so chapters take a while to write and stuff. Two notes:
1) This chapter is actually M. For serious. I warned you. :P
2) I haven't proof read this and I'm too tired to, so sorry for any major typos.
Thank you to Tioman, RowanWolf, Jord-El, Hatori Soma, Teldra, LunarEclipse, Chicapanzy, xKayla xKatastrophe, Secret Thought, Sammy, SnowKissYuki, Yana5, lovefan81, Pheonixfire979, DizzyBaby, Ai-Sarang (we'll see!), Sevrin Saphir, MirrorFlower and Darkwind, hpets, Fitful Fantasy, gwynhefar, my renji-kun, Lady Squish, and Mellyna for their awesome reviews.
Lala woman: ha, I have a list half a page long of fics I want to write, but after that we'll see! I'd have to see the movie first.
Ariii. Chan and wmonica: ha, you caught that did you!
Hikaru: NASA?! do tell! And thank you for reviewing, because most readers don't do that!
Two general replies: yeah, I do like writing action sequences (glad you enjoyed them!) and yes, Pa'tar is around, you'll see!
This chapter is for you guys, with much love.
***********************
Stardate 2258.123. At the request of the Federation, the Enterprise is dispatched to Earth Station 8, located at the edge of the Romulan Neutral Zone. It is suspected that recent distress calls in the area are due to Romulan attacks, and the Enterprise is tasked with defending the colonies and space stations in the area. An encounter with Reman rebels leaves Jim and Spock the only ones on board, until they pick up some Andorian refugees and are able to rescue their crew. Heavily damaged, the Enterprise awaits orders from Starfleet.
*********************
As soon as he awoke, Jim became distinctly aware of two things. The first was that, compared to his recent habit, it was really unpleasant to wake up without a hot Vulcan beside him. The bed felt distinctly cold and empty.
The second was that it was really time for a good meal. He had gone straight to bed after regaling Bones with the story of Spock and his time alone aboard the ship, his body still feeling weak from the shock it had received aboard the Malonic. That left the last time that he had eaten anything being the few mouthfuls of porridge he'd had in the wearily hours if yesterday, and all he'd had was breakfast the day before that.
Deciding that he'd rather skip dealing with the Vulcan children still filing his mess hall, Jim dressed quickly and headed instead to the recreation rooms. He replicated himself a sausage and cheese breakfast sandwich and then decided to get Spock a fruit salad and go wake him up. Munching away happily, he set a course for Spock's quarters.
He was vaguely surprised to find the door to the First Officer's room slightly ajar. This little disturbance was quickly explained by the sight that met him when he entered; Spock sat, legs folded, on the floor in the center of the room. He was clearly meditating, which Jim supposed was not all that unusual. Beside him, however, in the exact same position was Pa'tar. Jim was fairly sure that the child was too young to actually be meditating, and judging by the way that his eyes kept cracking open and shooting furtive glances at Spock, he had snuck in and was merely copying him. Jim smiled and carefully set the fruit salad on the desk by the door.
Though Jim couldn't hear the sound, the noise of the bowl on the table was evidently audible to the young Vulcan. The child's eyes snapped to him and he pressed an admonitory finger to his mouth, plainly telling Jim to be quiet. An instant later the little Vulcan realized who he was shushing and flushed dark green, looking horrified. Jim couldn't help it, he chuckled softly.
One of Spock's eyes cracked open, catching sight of Jim before looking over at the younger Vulcan beside him. He closed his eyes again, apparently untroubled by either of their presences. Jim motioned at Pa'tar to come to the door, and together they slipped into the hall.
"Why don't we leave Mr. Spock to do the rest of his meditation in peace, okay?" he said, indicating that the little Vulcan should follow him down the hall as he started for the bridge.
"Mr. Spock told me that I should feel welcome to attempt meditation with him in the mornings to help restore my self control," Pa'tar said, a shade defensively.
"I'm sure you are welcome," Jim said as the climbed into the turbolift. He smiled down at the child. "But I need you on the bridge right now."
There was a long pause. "You have an unusual relationship with Mr. Spock," Pa'tar said as the lift started.
Jim started, and then looked down at the child in surprise. "What do you mean?"
Pa'tar looked at him seriously. "You behave in a manner typical of those who have undergone koon-ut-kal-if-fee."
"Pardon?" Jim said. The young Vulcan looked frustrated, as if he were looking for the right words.
"You are very emotionally connected," the child flushed slightly.
Jim looked down at him, gawping a bit. "Um, yeah, we are," Jim admitted. Pa'tar merely nodded as the lift dinged open.
He was pleased to find Tavol on the bridge when he arrived. Of his normal bridge crew, only Uhura was already at her station – the rest were being manned by more junior members of the navigation crew overnight.
"You're up early," Uhura observed as Jim took his chair.
Pa'tar trotted up to stand beside him and Jim lifted him absent-mindedly onto the arm of the chair as he replied, "I'm Captain, so whenever I decide to get up is the right time."
He grinned at her and she glared back in annoyance, but Jim could tell she was secretly enjoying herself. It was good to be back.
"So Tavol," Jim said, still smiling as he looked over at the Vulcan who had been talking with the Ensign in Sulu's chair. "Feel up for a job?"
"Of course, Captain," the V'tosh ka'tur replied immediately, coming over. He nodded at Pa'tar, who gazed impassively up at him.
"I need you to relocate our Vulcan guests to some of the empty crew quarters. My crew is back and I'm sure they will want to make use of their mess hall before long. Master Pa'tar here," Jim patted the child affectionately on the shoulder, "has already compiled a list of everything you will need to supply the children comfortably and will be able to help you direct your men to finding it. Borrow some of Scotty' team – I think we've got two whole crews down in engineering from what I've heard, what with Sahran's men down there."
"As you wish," Tavol nodded again, and Pa'tar slid off the chair and followed the older Vulcan out the door.
"Right," Jim clapped his hands together after the two Vulcans had gone. "Uhura?"
She swiveled in her chair to face him, her eyebrows sarcastic. "Yes Captain?"
He leant back, stretching out in the chair, and asked her in a slightly hurt voice, "When are you going to start taking me seriously?"
"Whenever you start taking yourself seriously, Captain," she said the last word as if it had a period in the very centre of it.
"Such an event is extremely improbable in the foreseeable future, Ensign," a calm voice issued from the door, and Spock strode onto the bridge. Jim's grin widened as Spock came up to stand beside him and said, "Good morning Captain."
"Hey Spock," Jim stretched out a little more on the chair, trying to subtly flex his biceps so that the rest of the crew wouldn't notice. Spock was pointedly not looking at him, though Jim could see the tell-tale clench of his jaw that meant he was holding in a smile. Jim sat up a little straighter again and turned back to Uhura. "Uhura, I forgot to ask Dr. McCoy last night if Admiral Pike was planning to send us orders or not."
It had taken quite a while for Bones to get over Jim's little announcement and get down to business. Jim had had the impression that the doctor might never actually get over it, but true to form he had been good natured enough about it. Jim had teased him mercilessly, slipping in comments that were technically innocent but he knew Bones would transform into vivid mental images sure to occupy his mind at the most inappropriate times.
"He was going to review the situation with the Command and get back to us today," Uhura said, referring to Admiral Pike. The communication's officer's eye were fixed suspiciously on Spock who, Jim turned and saw with drop in his stomach, had been glancing at him with that distinct twinkle in his eye.
There was a brief moment of awkwardness that was broken by the entrance of Sulu and Chekov, who were evidently having a heated discussion.
"I'm telling you, the Kelvin scale was a British invention," Sulu was saying.
"Is Russian," Chekov insisted as they stepped through the doors. "Kewlin is Russian name, so it must be Russian inwention."
Sulu looked ready to retort, but his reply died on his lips as he caught sight of the Captain. Jim saw him shoot a look at his watch hurriedly; evidently he thought he must be late.
"Good morning Sulu, Chekov," Jim said cheerfully as the two settled into their seats. He nodded at the two relieved junior officers as they left and then cleared his throat and said, "Uhura, could you get Scotty and Sahran up here? Better call Tavol and Bones too – I want to have all my stuff together before Pike calls us back."
She complied with surprisingly little scorn, and soon the crew had assembled on the bridge. Jim beamed around at them all, inordinately pleased to have them all back. "Right," he said, clapping his hands together for a second him. "First things first. Scotty, what's going on in engineering?"
"Repairs are progressing nicely Captain – I suspect we will be back to maximum shield power within an hour or so," the Scotsman said, looking pleased. One of his hands was absentmindedly tracing over the nearest console, stroking it almost lovingly. Jim grinned.
"Great, how are the two crews working together? Do you need Sahran to assign some of his men to other departments?" he asked.
"Ah, no," Scotty said, looking suddenly downcast. "After yesterday we're rather short-staffed. Sahran's men are making themselves downright useful. They're better at repairing our ship than our own men are."
"We have already done it once," the Andorian pointed out modestly, though his antennae were waving in a happy sort of way.
"Excellent, thank you men. Let me know when the repairs are down and we can get underway, won't you?" Jim said, slinging his legs over the arm of the chair.
"Aye, Captain, that we will," Scotty said and turned to go.
Sahran nodded, but he did not leave. He looked as if he had something to say, so Jim obliged him. "Yes, Mr. Sahran?"
"Captain, I wanted to thank you, on behalf of my fellows, for returning Latal and Tazam to the Enterprise. I understand it is not usually your custom to do so."
"No problem," Jim said, slightly embarrassed. The Andorian simply nodded again, and this time both he and Scotty turned to go.
"Mr. Scott," Spock said, stopping them again. Scotty looked positively anxious to get back to his engineering crew. Spock held out what appeared to be a heavily insulated box about the size of a loaf of bread. "This is a Romulan device I was hoping you might examine at your next convenience."
"Ah'll do it just as soon as my engineering department isn't blasted half ta hell, Mr. Spock, he said in a vaguely harassed voice.
"I'm sure you will find it most intriguing, once you get the opportunity," Spock said calmly. The two engineers left the bridge together.
"Looks like you've made a loyal crewman there," Bones said, referring to Sahran, as he leant against Sulu's work station and sipped a coffee. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink.
"Oh you know me Bones, aliens do tend to find my charisma and general sensibility attractive," he said with a wink. Bones scowled at him and out of the corner of his eyes Jim could see Spock staring at him with one eyebrow arched. He ploughed on, "Mr. Tavol, how is the relocation going?"
"Very well, Captain," the Vulcan replied. "Your assistant has proven most helpful. I too feel compelled to thank you for the service you have done for Pa'tar."
"Ah, it's nothing," Jim said airily. "He's damn useful as you said anyway. Besides, Spock's helping him out too, from what I hear."
Tavol turned to Spock, looking interested. Spock's face was impassive as he explained, "Both the child and I seem to be experiencing side effects of the same neurotoxin. In addition, because of my lineage I have had more experience in controlling unwanted emotion than most Vulcans. It was logical that I offer my tutelage to the boy."
"Uh huh," said Jim, unconvinced.
"Is that really a good plan?" Bones said skeptically. "I mean, teaching him to bottle up emotions hasn't seemed to work out too well for you, has it? You just build up tension until you explode and nearly kill your Captain."
A flicker of anger crossed Spock's face, but before he could reply Jim was saying, with a valiant attempt to keep his face straight, "Yeah Spock, you really suck at that. Somehow I always end up on the receiving end of that explosion of pent up frustration."
Spock's mouth fell slightly open in shock, as did a shrewd Uhura's, but nobody else seemed to notice because Bones had spat out his mouthful of coffee all over Chekov and dumped the rest of the cup on Sulu. Both navigation officers were howling in pain as Bones gawped at Jim.
"What was that about?" Sulu protested, pulling off his shirt to get the burning coffee off of himself. Chekov was trying to wipe the faintly fizzling controls with the sleeves of his uniform.
Bones mouthed I hate you at Jim, who laughed, and turned to apologize to Sulu. Spock sent Jim a deeply sarcastic as Uhura continued to look back and forth between them like she couldn't believe her eyes. She was only diverted from this as her consol flashed and beeped behind her. She turned and a moment later reported, "We're getting a transmission from Starfleet, Captain."
An instant later Admiral Pike's face had appeared on the screen. He surveyed the scene with amusement as Jim whipped around so he was sitting properly in his chair, Bones stopped helping Chekov wipe the consol with his arms and the shirtless Sulu ceased trying to mop up his soaking crotch with his shirt. Spock quickly rearranged his features to a neutral expression as Tavol looked on, bemused.
"Not at all Admiral," Jim said, trying to sound as if his pilot was not half naked and half his crew was not soaked in coffee.
"Alright," Pike said, playing along. "I've got your orders for you. We will be sending the Lexington and the Excalibur to go hunt down the Remans while you are requested to continue to Tarod IX, to deliver the Vulcans you have aboard. I am sending you the coordinates as we speak."
Chekov turned and gave the Captain a thumbs up to indicate that they had received them as Pike continued, "Mr. Scott has informed us that the major damage to your engines will need to be repaired while the ship is docked in order to restore your warp capability, so your orders are to return to Earth after you have delivered the colonists."
"Admiral, our journey will need to include a detour to Andoria as well, so that we can return our additional crew members," Spock pointed out.
"Of course," Pike conceded. "Though if any of them are looking to join Starfleet then I give you permission, Jim, to give them commissions as you see fit. I dare say they deserve it for their loyalty. I've been told that Valik and his men are returning to Andoria to face sanctions from their government for failing to assist a Federation vessel in need."
"Duly noted, Sir," Jim said, positively jovial now. The doors to the bridge wished open and there was a jumble o quick, soft footfalls as Pa'tar hurried up to Jim's chair. He looked at the giant image of the Admiral staring down at him before saying quickly, "We have completed the relocation process Captain."
"Well done," Jim said, lifting the child onto his chair. He looked back at Pike with a hint of defiance to see the Admiral's mouth twitching suspiciously. "Is that everything Admiral? I need to go check on my passengers."
"For now," Pike said, looking smugly pleased at Jim in a way that reminded the Captain of the fathers at his little league hoverball games. "Keep us updated."
"Will do Admiral," Jim said getting up. Pike smiled and flickered off screen again. Pa'tar hopped off the chair too. Jim turned to Bones, feeling slightly guilty, and then to Tavol, saying, "Tavol I'm going to ask you to assist the doctor in the ship-wide physicals today, if that is alright with you."
The Vulcan nodded, and Bones said sarcastically, "Oh now you feel bad. You could just apologize."
"For what?" Jim sent him a dazzling smile. "Chekov, once your station is dry could you announce to the crew that they have to all go get checked up? We'll do it alphabetically, so tell everyone to check their allotted time with the computer."
"Aye Keptain," Chekov set about drying his consol again, with Sulu's help.
"Pa'tar why don't you show me the new passenger quarters?" Jim said, looking down at the child. "Mr. Spock, could you take the bridge?"
Spock agreed, and Jim and the young Vulcan left the bridge.
The Captain spent the afternoon touring his ship. He left Pa'tar with the other young Vulcans after the child had shown him all the preparations he had laid out for their guests. Jim was impressed at the amount of detailed thought that that young child had come up with – he had very few suggestions and they were all minor. The other Vulcan children looked at the pair of them with unreadable expressions as they went about their business. Jim was so used to Spock, Tavol and Pa'tar that he had forgotten how emotionless normal Vulcans were.
Next he visited Scotty and Sahran. The Andorian informed him that the repairs were as complete as they were going to get and that they would be underway as soon as Chekov set a heading. The mood in engineering was nearly as subdued as it had been in the passenger quarters, and Jim noticed a few red eyes and sad faces as he inspected the repairs. He felt a pit in his stomach to see how many men Scotty had lost.
It was not until he had visited the medical bay, where Bones seemed to be swinging between gratitude that Tavol was taking some of his work load and distress that somebody else was in his sick bay, the weapons array and had checked on the repairs to the staircase that Spock had smashed up over a week ago that his path brought him back past the passenger quarters. It was well into the evening by now. He was passing the recreation room when he heard a cold little voice say, "Don't associate yourself with him T'Pok, he is not capable of behavious befitting a Vulcan anymore."
Cold settled into the pit of Jim's stomach as he suspected who those words were directed at. He stopped just out of sight of the door and listened.
"I am as capable of self control as you are," said Pa'tar's small voice, confirming Jim's suspicions.
"I find that statement improbable, given your recent unseemly behavior," the girl taunted coolly. "We are all aware that your deficiency is the reason for the Captain's unreasonable interest in you."
"It's not," Jim lied, stepping into the room finally. The little Vulcans turned to face him and he saw that Pa'tar's face was a sickly green, blotchy patches of colour peppering his cheeks. The young Vulcan girl who had been provoking him looked at Jim expressionlessly. He stared her down. "I have selected Master Pa'tar to assist me because I was sure that he had excellent computing and reasoning skills – something I think you will agree from his success at designing your current housing."
The girl stared at him stonily. He looked around the room to see the other Vulcans, including the adults, watching them expressionlessly. He looked at Pa'tar, who looked controlled at first glance, but Jim noticed his flushed face and his little hands clasped in tight fists. He sighed inwardly. "On that note, I require your assistance again Pa'tar, if you might come with me?"
Pa'tar looked up at him and some of the angry colour left his face. He nodded and followed the Captain as he led him from the room. They did not speak until they had reached the break room at the end of the hall, where Jim let the young Vulcan inside before following him in and closing the door. He sunk into one of the comfortable chairs and sat forward so that he was resting his head on his hands with his elbows propped on his knees. In that position his eyes were level with the young Vulcan. "Pa'tar," he said seriously. "Tell me what you are feeling."
Pa'tar looked at him warily before replying, "I do not desire self expression at this time."
"Well, as the Captain on this ship," Jim said softly, trying to be as friendly as possible while still being stern. "I am responsible for the well-being of my crew and guests. I would like to know what is upsetting me – I won't be mad if you get angry or upset."
Pa'tar looked at him, then finally nodded. There was a long silence and Jim got the impression the boy wasn't sure how to start.
"Tell me what happened," he prompted.
"T-T-Taraq," the child began hesitantly. Jim saw his fists re-clench. "She said I was no longer a V-V-Vulcan."
Pa'tar was shaking with anger and sadness. There was another long silence.
"Pa'tar?" Jim said tentatively.
"It's not true!" the child suddenly growled, and then the next second he had seized a chess set that was lying on the nearest table and flung it to the ground angrily. He seized the pieces and began to throw them against the wall.
The Jim slid off his chair to his knees and drew the small child into his arms. Pa'tar's fists, one of which still clutched a chess piece, reigned down on him in blind anger with surprising force for such a small child. Jim winced at the Vulcan strength but did not pull away. Soon enough the child stopped hitting him and stood, his arms by his sides, shaking. Jim could not see it but he knew that Pa'tar was crying. He lifted the young Vulcan up and carefully slid back into the comfortable chair, pulling Pa'tar onto his lap as he remembered his mother doing when he had been upset as a child.
He brought his hand up to stroke the glossy black hair, thinking how much it looked like Spock's as he did so. The child lowered his head to Jim's shoulder. Unlike a human child he did not hug back or cuddle for comfort, though Jim knew that it was crazy to expect that. It was extraordinary that the young Vulcan was permitting himself to be hugged at all.
Jim occupied himself by trying to determine which chess piece the child was holding by trying to find all the ones on the floor. He had just determined the piece could not be a black one – he could see them all – when he realized that the child had stopped crying and was now breathing evenly, his eyes closed.
Reluctant to wake him, Jim began trying to find all the white pieces as he stroked the young child's hair absentmindedly. Yet the chair was very comfortable and the steady sounds of the toddler breathing were relaxing, and soon he found his eyes drifting closed.
He woke to the sound of the door softly opening. The room had gone dim – Jim wondered how long he had slept. Pa'tar was still dozing as Jim squinted into the darkness. A moment later he was relieved to make out the tall figure of Spock in the darkness. The older Vulcan was looking down at him, unreadable. After a moment he reached out his hand to touch the side of Jim's face.
He felt the familiar nudge followed by a rush of affection that flowed through his veins, easing away the pain of the blossoming bruises from Pa'tar's punches and making him grin. Spock glanced between Jim and Pa'tar, gratitude melding with fondness now. Jim pressed a finger to his lips before standing very slowly, holding the child around his waist so that his head still rested on Jim's shoulder, he motioned Spock out the door again. The corridors were deserted as they walked in silent agreement to Jim's quarters.
Jim laid the child carefully down on his couch, grabbing a blanket and tucking it around him carefully. Spock watched him with his eyebrows slightly raised, his eyes twinkling in the dark. Jim felt his warm fingers slide into his own hand and he turned to face the Vulcan, stepping toward him so that their foreheads pressed together. Lacing his hand behind the Vulcan's back, Jim pulled that warm body into his own.
"I spoke to Nyota," Spock whispered eventually. Jim grinned and pulled the Vulcan around the partition. He broke their contact to pull the divider closed to that the sitting room and bedroom were separated. It unfolded like an accordion on rails, forming a solid wall between the rooms. Spock raised his eyebrows.
"What did she say?" Jim asked, talking slightly louder.
"She," Spock paused to consider. "I do not believe she understood my reasoning."
Jim grinned, "Sounds kind of like Bones."
"I do not believe he appreciated your innuendo on the bridge this morning," Spock said, a smile tugging at his lips.
Jim grinned, "Ah well, it was worth it."
"I do not think Mr. Sulu would agree," Spock said, definitely smiling slightly now. He made to open the partition again, lowering his voice. "I must retire Captain."
Jim turned and in one smooth motion grabbed the hand headed for the divider lock and threaded his fingers through it, sliding his body between Spock and the wall. "Stay?" he asked. "I could do with a good night's sleep."
"Sleep is not what you desire," Spock said shrewdly as Jim used his free hand to push the Vulcan backwards toward the bed, gently forcing him to sit down on its edge.
"Well, not right away," Jim admitted. He climbed onto the bed too so that he was straddling Spock's hips. Spock's face remained impassive, and Jim realized that he really must be regaining some of his control. He looked harder and saw the very corners of the Vulcan's mouth were pursed in the start of a smile. That was all the consent he needed.
He brought his hands into Spock's hair and slid his mouth down his neck, kissing, biting and sucking down to the edge of the blue uniform. His hips began to sway in circles, grinding down as his hands ran down Spock's chest to the hem of his shirt. Teasingly, Jim pulled it off.
"Jim," Spock sounded stern but without any real fight. "The child.."
"Can't hear us," Jim mumbled as his took full advantage of the exposed skin to attac Spock's nipple.
"While it is improbable that he will hear anything loudly enough to wake him," Spock began, but Jim cut him off.
"Shut up and there'll be no chance at all," Jim growled, spinning so that he was all but sitting in Spock's lap. Pulling off his own shirt, he braced himself against the edge of the bed and began to grind back into the Vulcan.
"Jim," Spock whispered again, but not in protest this time. A moment later Jim felt his hands slide and around and run across Jim's stomach, over his chest. He groaned softly. Spock's grip tightened for a moment and then his fingers slid lower. Jim could feel the inhuman heat from his hands through his pants as they ghosted over his waist and up and down his calves. Finally Spock slid his hands up the insides of Jim's slightly parted legs, ending by cupping the obvious bulge in the front of his pants.
Jim slipped off of Spock's lap and turned to push the Vulcan back onto the bed. Reaching over, he unceremoniously undid the Starfleet pants and yanked them off with his underwear. In a moment Jim had stepped out of his own pants and climbed back on top of Spock. The feeling of their naked bodies pressed together made them both gasp and then their lips finally met in a searing kiss.
His lips slick, Jim broke the kiss and trailed his mouth down the Vulcan's burning torso. He reached Spock's hip and placed a quick kiss there before raising his head slightly. Coyly, he looked up at the Vulcan, who had his arm thrown over his eyes and his mouth open in a silent pant. Slowly, Jim took him in his mouth, sliding his tongue over the base like a wave. Spock moaned. Jim slapped him lightly on the leg.
"Shhh!" he hissed, but it came more like mpfh, since his mouth was full.
Jim licked up and down Spock's shaft until it was slick, and then crawled up the bed so he was straddling the Vulcan's hips. Spock was looking at him now, mouthing his name without saying it aloud. Very slowly, Jim lowered himself on Spock, letting him slide in unhurriedly. Spock's hand unclenched from the bed sheets and found Jim's own erection. Soon they found a rhythm, slow at first but growing faster and faster. They came together, both biting down hard on their lips to keep from crying out. When it was done, Jim eased himself off and then flopped down beside the Vulcan. They lay there in each others arms for a long time.
Just as he was dozing off, Jim felt Spock slip out of bed. He heard the partition slide open and propped himself up to look at Spock. The other man was rummaging through Jim's dresser, and returned quickly with two pairs of pyjama pants. Jim sighed, understanding, and pulled them on as Spock climbed back onto the bed and did the same. Pa'tar was bound to wake up sometime and seeing as he'd never been to Jim's quarters, it would be best if he could find them and for that they had to be at least decently clothed. Jim sighed as Spock actually grabbed him around the waist from behind and pulled them flush together. Warmth all around him, with the feel of Spock's breath against his neck, Jim fell asleep as the Enterprise drifted toward the Vulcan's new home.