The power of love to change bodies is legendary, built into folklore, common sense, and everyday experience. Love moves the flesh, it pushes matter around... Throughout history, "tender loving care" has uniformly been recognized as a valuable element in healing. ~Larry Dossey

Spock watched Jim sleep, heeding Leonard's warning that he might be somewhat restless. Between the pain of his injuries and the bad dreams that often accompanied them, he might talk and move more than would be expected. Jim had mumbled briefly during the night but Spock spoke quietly to him and Jim stilled.

It was not long after he had woken that Leonard stopped by the door to Jim's room. Spock told Leonard softly that he would stay, Leonard nodding and leaving. Spock could hear the entire house stirring and had already decided to wait until Jim woke before leaving the bed. He did not want Jim to wake up alone when they had gone to sleep together.

"Mmm…." Jim sighed, shifting slightly.

"I am here," Spock told him, a warm hand on Jim's right shoulder. "Go back to sleep."

"Mmm…" Jim groaned, slowly opening his eyes. A smile formed when he saw Spock still there. "Hey."

"Good morning," Spock returned. "How are you feeling?"

"Stiff and sore. Like you'd expect," Jim said. "You?"

"I am fine. Better than fine."

Jim smiled more at that, lifting his right hand to caress Spock's cheek, still warm from the pillow. His thumb traced an elegant up-swept eyebrow. "I've missed you."

"And I you," Spock said. "I regret the time that I wasted."

Jim shook his head. "Time we both wasted. You had to come to it on your own. I know it wasn't easy to learn the truth. I'm just glad you came to Rahth Mutadaffaq. God, what would have happened if you hadn't?"

"I did come. There is no purpose in considering things which never occurred."

"I suppose so," Jim agreed. "Have you ever kissed anyone with braces?"

"Not since I was 12," Spock said, making Jim laugh softly.

"Don't make me laugh. It hurts too much."

"I apologize," Spock said. But Jim knew he didn't really mean it. Neither of them regretted it. "I have no reservations about kissing someone with braces again."

"Just anybody with braces?" Jim teased.

"I do not plan to make a career of it," Spock said.

"Good to know. Would you mind helping me into the bathroom? I'd rather go than the alternative."

"Certainly I will assist you," Spock agreed, leaving the bed to circle to Jim's side. He was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt that Leonard had dug up from somewhere. They were soft and warm and those were the only criteria Spock cared about.

He helped Jim carefully leave his bed, a warm arm around his waist. Jim leaned heavily against him, not that Spock minded in the least. Once they arrived inside the bathroom, Jim said he would sit, to spare them both unnecessary embarrassment.

"I believe Leonard still wants to check the results," Spock said.

"Yeah," Jim sighed. "Tell him when he comes, he better bring me coffee."

"I will convey the information," Spock said, Jim laughing very quietly as Spock left. Spock told Leonard that Jim was seeing to the needs of his body, Leonard going into the bathroom.

"How you doing?" he asked Jim who was resting his elbows in his knees.

"Okay. Just out of breath. You know," Jim said.

"I do know. Did it hurt to pee?" Bones asked.

"Nope. It's all good," Jim assured him, accepting his help to stand up. Jim waited patiently as Bones put his pajamas bottoms back in place.

"No blood," Bones said before flushing away the evidence. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Breakfast," Jim said, pointing toward the hallway.

"Breakfast in bed," Bones corrected, steering him back to his bedroom.

"Booooonessss….."

"No. And quit whining. Get in bed and I'll bring you coffee," Bones said. He helped Jim back into his bed, ignoring Jim's unhappy expression. "What do you want besides coffee?"

"To eat at the table."

"No. Poptarts?" Bones asked.

"Really? You'll let me have Poptarts?"

"If you quit pouting, I will," Bones bargained.

"Okay. Poptarts," Jim agreed with a nod turning on his sunniest smile to which Bones was entirely immune. One of the few people who could actually resist it.

"All right. I'll let everyone come if you want. Providing you promise to take a nap in an hour."

"I will," Jim promised.

"I'll be right back," Bones said, shaking his head and leaving. Only moments later, Spock entered with a huge mug of coffee.

"Thank you," Jim said, sipping from the cup. "Bones said he'll let everyone come but then I have to take a nap."

"It is what you need," Spock confirmed. "I will remain with you as you sleep, if you like."

"I would like. But there's no point in you staying and being bored. I'll sleep fine."

"If you are certain."

"I am," Jim told him.

"Then I will take the time to go home. I have not seen my parents since our return. While my mother knows that I am all right, she wishes to see for herself."

"Same with Mom," Jim agreed. "Isn't that right?"

"Depends on what you are talking about," Winona replied as she lead the parade into his room. In the ensuing chaos, Spock told Jim good-bye, assuring him he would return within the next two to three hours.

Jim ate three Poptarts and finished a gigantic mug of coffee. Hikaru insisted on starting Star Wars because they hadn't watched it in over a month. Everyone else groaned in supposed dismay but he knew for a fact that no one minded. Pavel was telling Chris about his classes this semester and which ones counted toward his PhD. Kameer was trying to convince everyone that he did, in fact, need to go home. His fiancée would be wondering where he was. Salema thought she would leave the next day, her parents aware of where she was. And they had assured her that they would feed her cats. Both of them. Nyota had disappeared about the same time as Leonard, no one speculating out loud where they might have gone or what they were doing instead of not watching the movie. Scotty was telling Hikaru about the Emirates Pavilion and what a good job Spock did of acting all high and mighty which distracted the manager enough to get them upstairs.

Winona was able to chat quietly with Jim, none of the topics of any importance. She had seen him on Oprah and told him how much she enjoyed it. He shrugged at her words, no response to give that made any difference.

"Do you know when Tahla and Kheri are coming?" Winona asked Chris when there was a brief lull in the conversation.

"Not until this afternoon," Chris said. "And Jim is supposed to be asleep."

"I am asleep," Jim claimed, everyone laughing at him.

"Of course," Chris said. "Would you sleep better if we left you?"

"No," Jim said, shaking his head. Chris reached over when the phone rang, checking the display.

"It's Chillie," Chris said.

"Oh," Jim said. "You need to tell him I was in a car accident."

"Of course," Chris said, everyone quieting down so that Chris could talk to him. "This is Chris Pike."

"Hello, Mr. Pike," Chillie said. "How are you?"

"I'm just fine, Chillie. You?"

"Great. I was wondering if Jim was home?"

"He is but he's recovering from a car accident," Chris said, sounding appropriately concerned.

"An accident?" Chillie repeated. "Is he all right?"

"He's banged up and bruised. He's been confined to bed by Leonard for the next week, at least."

"This isn't good," Chillie said. "Does he need anything? Is there anything I can do for him?"

"Not right now. He'll be up to visitors next week. I'm sure he'll want you and Sherry to come."

"Of course. Please keep me posted. And if he needs anything, all you need do is call."

"He'll appreciate hearing that," Chris confirmed. "Thank you for calling."

"Thank you," Chillie said, hanging up.

Once Chris had also hung up, the lively conversation picked up where it had left off, Jim falling asleep in the middle of answering a question his mother had asked.

~o0o~

"Jim," he vaguely heard someone saying. "It's time for you to wake up."

"Huh?" Jim responded. More like grunted. Go to sleep. Wake up. Get in bed. Get out of bed. Man, he'd be glad when he didn't have to take orders any longer. "What?"

"First of all, it's 2:30," Bones voice was saying as Jim tried valiantly to focus on him.

"What?"

"Yeah. If you sleep much more today, you won't sleep tonight," Bones warned.

"You're the one who said I had to nap," Jim reminded him.

"I meant for a couple of hours. Not the entire day. Count on you to do everything to extremes," Bones scolded affectionately.

Jim snorted at him, slowly leveraging himself up higher in bed with Bones' help.

"Tahla and Kheri are here to visit. Do you need to go to the bathroom before they come in?"

"Yeah," Jim agreed. "And I'm hungry."

"Good. You should be," Bones said, helping him out of bed and over to his bathroom.

"You showered," Jim said, making a show of sniffing him. "You smell like Nyota."

"Shut up," Bones groused, settling him on the toilet.

"I wasn't the only one in bed, was I?" Jim asked, making Bones frown even more at him.

"I can have your jaw wired shut. Chris will back me up that it was medically necessary."

Jim shook his head, laughing very softly. "You'll do no such thing. At least one of us isn't just sleeping."

"For the love of all that is holy, shut up. I'm begging you," Bones said.

Jim laughed again, accepting his help to stand. "Spock back?"

"He is. He brought some clothes. Not that he minded wearing mine. But he thought wearing his own was preferable."

"Makes sense. Is Hikaru doing the laundry?"

"Scotty is. I have no idea why. He lost a bet? I don't know," Bones said, putting Jim back in bed. "What do you want to eat?"

"I don't know. Well, actually what I want is a banana milkshake."

"That's fine. I'll send in Kheri and Tahla and bring your milkshake when it's ready."

"Thanks," Jim agreed. He watched Bones leave, the door soon filled with Tahla and Kheri Uhura. Kheri was a large man in spirit and in his physical being. His booming voice could fill any room and his laugh was the most infectious Jim had ever had the pleasure of hearing.

"Hello my dear," Tahla said with a bright smile and a huge bouquet of roses.

"Jim," Kheri added with a smile.

"Hi," Jim responded, admiring the flowers. "Are those for me?"

Tahla and Kheri both laughed at him. "No they are for Leonard. In sympathy for having to put up with you," Tahla told him warmly, putting the vase a table where Jim could see them.

"Yeah, he deserves them," Jim was forced to agree, smiling at Tahla when she sat on the edge of the bed to study him closely. "I'm fine."

"Why do you insist on lying to me, young man?" she asked warmly, shaking her head.

"It's not a real lie. A polite half-truth maybe," he assured her.

"Seriously, dear. How are you doing? Leonard said you sustained some pretty sever injuries."

Jim shrugged with his right shoulder, not succeeding in keeping all of the flinch off of his face. "I wasn't shot. And the only stitches are in my head."

"True," Tahla had to agree, stroking the stubble on his scalp. "You have a nice head for shaving."

Jim laughed at that. "No thanks. I'm looking forward to it growing back."

"Of course you are," Kheri said. "You'll be relieved of duty for the next two months."

"I think I heard that. But I'm not entirely sure," Jim admitted.

"No matter," Kheri told him. "You'll be able to help us unravel what happened. But no active missions."

"So I'll still be paid?" Jim joked.

"Half salary," Kheri decided. "And that's for being a smart-ass."

"Kheri," Tahla said with a laugh. "That's no kind of language to use."

"But it's true," he reminded her.

"I wasn't arguing with the veracity of your statement," she said. "At any rate, dear, your book is still number one on the New York Times list. I don't know that you would miss your Consortium salary."

"It pays for luxuries. Like electricity and gas," Jim joked, smiling when Bones returned with his milkshake. "Thank you."

"Coffee?" Kheri asked.

"Banana," Bones corrected. "I was wondering if I could have a private word with you," Bones said to Kheri. "It's nothing to do with you," Bones assured Jim.

"I didn't say anything," Jim protested.

"Of course, Leonard. Behave yourself," he said to Jim as he followed Leonard out and across to his office.

"Have a seat, please," Leonard requested when they were in his office with the door closed.

Kheri did it, looking up at Leonard with a smile as the Doctor paced in front of him.

"I'd very much like to marry your daughter, sir," Leonard finally blurted out. He stopped, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I meant to be much more eloquent. Convince you I'm worthy. Not that any man is truly worthy of Nyota. I know that. But I am…"

"Leonard," Kheri said, holding up one hand to stem the flood of words. "Tahla and I can't think of a single person we'd rather see Nyota with than you."

"Oh," Bones said, sitting next to Kheri, studying his face. "That's a yes?"

"That is a most definite yes, son. I appreciate you asking me even though it's truly unnecessary. Nyota is already looking at wedding dresses. She wants me to buy a new tuxedo," Kheri laughed.

"Good," Bones said with a nod. "Jim has already agreed to sell us, well, me 10 acres. I haven't asked her yet but I think she's willing to live out here. We'll build her a studio."

"She doesn't want to live anywhere else," Kheri said. "She wants to get married out here. Live out here. Raise your babies out here."

"Babies," Leonard repeated. "We haven't discussed babies."

"If they don't fit into your vision of the future, she won't marry you. As much as she loves you," Kheri warned.

"They do fit in, sir. I just hadn't thought about it," Leonard admitted. "She will make beautiful babies."

"You both will," Kheri said. "And you won't have any shortage of baby sitters. With Pavel and Hikaru always close by."

"There is that," Leonard laughed. "I think I'd like to wait to get married until after the house is built. That makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Certainly it does. I believe that is Nyota's general timeframe as well."

Leonard nodded, taking a deep breath. "Thank you, sir."

"Thank you, son. Welcome to the family," Kheri said, standing when Leonard did and engulfing him in a warm hug. "You wait here. I'll tell Nyota to come talk to you."

"Give me three minutes. So I can get her engagement ring out of my safe."

"Of course," Kheri agreed, going to the door, his laughter lingering.

Exactly four minutes later, Nyota knocked softly and entered, looking a little worried. "Len?"

"Hey," he said, smiling at her before hugging her. "Come in."

She followed him to the couch, sitting next to him. "What's up? Everything okay?"

"Better than okay, darlin'. I have received permission from your father to propose to you," Leonard said, sliding off the couch to kneel before her. He took out the ring box to open it, smiling up at her in pure happiness. "Nyota Uhura. Will you marry me?"

She laughed and slid off the couch in front of him. "I think you know the answer to that." He was incapable of responding as she kissed him, leaving them both completely breathless. "Yes, yes, yes. I will absolutely marry you."

"I hoped you'd say that," he said, slipping the ring onto her finger. It was emeralds and rubies, her favorite combination of jewels. She had never cared for diamonds and he knew she would prefer the red and green stones.

"Oh Len," she said breathless when she looked closely at the ring. "It's wonderful."

"Thank you," he said. "Hikaru designed it."

"Hikaru?" she repeated with a laugh.

"I know. I was surprised too. But he loves to design jewelry. He has a real eye for it as it turns out."

"Good for him," she said. "Let's go tell everybody."

"Yes, ma'am," he agreed, following her out, their hands tightly clasped. The first stop was Jim's room, much joy at the news. Not much of a surprise but very happy none-the-less. The celebration in the living room and kitchen was much more boisterous, Hikaru and Pavel disappearing into the wine cellar, only briefly, to find two magnums of champagne they had put back for special occasions. The discussion of their engagement devolved quickly into who would be ushers, her maid of honor, where it would be held, what she would be wearing. Most of the ideas came from Nyota, Winona and Selema, Tahla joining in when she left Jim's bedroom.

Leonard excused himself to go see Jim who was talking to Spock. He laughed at Bones when he sat in the rocker in the corner. "You can run but you can't hide."

"Don't I know it," Bones agreed. "Good lord, man. I had no idea."

"Congratulations," Spock said. "You are a very lucky man."

"I know," Bones said with a smile. "A very lucky, happy man."

"Good for you," Jim said. "Not only do you get to plan a wedding, you get to plan a house."

Bones groaned at the reminder. "Maybe we'll elope."

"I doubt that," Jim laughed. "Not from the way she was talking."

"Yeah," Bones agreed.

"The Ice Floes can play for the reception," Jim said.

"True. Won't make it too much of a circus," Bones said.

"I predict that your wedding will be a circus at any rate," Spock said in sympathy.

"Helicopters. Boats off the dock. Paparazzi," Jim teased.

"Whatever for? I'm not anybody," Bones complained.

"You are Jim's best friend. You are marrying Nyota Uhura," Spock reminded him.

"Oh yeah. Eloping is the way to go," Bones said, burying his face in his hands.

Jim laughed, the only response that was possible for Bones' overly dramatic reaction. "They still don't know who the rat in the corn was."

"That's not good," Bones said. "What are they going to do?"

"They want my help. Just on the computer," he rushed to tell him before Bones could yell at him. "From the safety of my bed."

"All right. For a couple of hours. And that's all," Bones said.

"That'll work," Jim agreed with a sigh. "Tomorrow."

"You done in?" Bones asked, moving to sit on his bed.

"Yeah." Jim hated admitting it but the pain seemed to be winning. And all he could really think about was going back to sleep. His admission to Bones was met with confirmation that it was to be expected.

"I'll get you a pain killer. Then you can sleep until tomorrow," Bones promised him.

"Good," Jim agreed, looking up at Spock. "You staying?"

"I will until you are asleep. Then I will…. I am uncertain what I will do," Spock admitted.

"How are your parents? Are they angry with me? Well, I know your father won't admit to being angry."

"Neither of them are angry. Nor do they have reason to be. They understand. It was my father who told me I needed to go to Rahth Mutadaffaq. He could then hardly fault me for following his advice."

"There is that," Jim agreed. "Once it's actually dark outside and you are ready for bed, will you come sleep with me?"

"Certainly," Spock said. "I have my own pajamas now."

Jim laughed softly at that. "You looked adorable in Bones'."

"I believe Hikaru's term of adorkable is more apt."

"Hikaru called you adorkable?" Jim said, unsure whether to be annoyed or amused.

"He did. Pavel called him down for it. I took no offense," Spock said.

Jim shook his head, laughing again. "As long as you don't mind."

"Not in the least," Spock confirmed, watching as Leonard gave him two huge tablets and a glass of water.

"Drink all of it," Leonard instructed.

Jim grunted and obediently emptied the glass before returning it. "Would you put Star Wars on again?"

"Of course," Leonard said, going over to start it. "Do you want me to stay?"

"No. You have a celebration to be the center of," Jim said, laughing when his friend frowned at him. "You lucky guy."

"Go to sleep," Leonard said as he turned off the lights and slipped out of the room, leaving Jim, Spock, and the movie.

A/N: As hard as it for me to believe, this is probably going to be the next-to-the-last chapter of Kirk. James T. Kirk! Thanks a million to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story! Reviews really are writer crack! I haven't quite finished the last chapter yet - I get terrible separation anxiety. But I hope to post it this weekend.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! And thanks again!