Disclaimer: SSDD

Warnings: I think Bones swears or something, and there is more inappropriate slashy stuff. Also - it's going to get more confusing for a while. Bear with me.

Author's note: Finals are coming up and I'm behind in my ENGL 308 class – I'm burned out major. UGH. I'll try to get the next bit up soon – but I can't promise anything.

I need a vacation! Need to recharge the batteries so I can THINK and write again. Need sleep too.

Any suggestions on where to go that's not too terribly expensive? - I'm leaning towards the Oregon Coast around the beginning of June – after the 2nd of course – Must take Princess Whitelaw DVD with me after all. LOL

In Which There Are Hickeys


Two nearly sleepless hours after the three of them had crowded into Jim's bed the comm signal started beeping. Spock hit the button, wondering momentarily why the comm in Jim's room was being accessed but realizing that whoever it was must have tried to contact him in his own quarters and gotten no answer.

"Spock here," he answered.

"Captain, this is sickbay, I'm sorry to wake you, but we've been trying to get a hold of Dr. McCoy for the last 10 minutes and can't find him. You wouldn't happen to have any idea where he is would you? "

"He is with James. I shall contact him for you. What may I say is the emergency?"

"Oh well, it's not really an emergency per se. It's just that Lieutenant Claymore came in and is presenting with symptoms that indicate he could be suffering from appendicitis and he's insisting on seeing Dr. McCoy."

"I see. I will let him know."

"Thanks Captain. Sorry again for waking you. Sickbay out."

Leonard, who had heard the entire thing, had already headed to the bathroom to get dressed. He came back in pulling his shirt over his head about 50 seconds later.

"You want me to put the kid back in the other room before I go?"

"That will not be necessary Leonard. I am far more capable of moving James myself if the need should arrive."

"I don't know how he slept through all that. Course he shouldn't have woken up at all earlier with the amount of sedative that I administered. Anyway, sorry I gotta go but Claymore is fairly OCD, especially when it comes to doctors, and won't let any of the other staff touch him. I'm sure he hasn't even let the nurses take his temperature yet and if it is appendicitis I need to get down there."

"If the Lieutenant has such mental illness, how is it that he was cleared to work aboard the Enterprise?"

"Cuz the kid's fucking brilliant is why. IQ off the charts and Scotty begged me to give him medical clearance. He sees the ships counselor regularly and wears gloves down in engineering. It's weird but as long as he can work through it, Scotty says we need him. Anyway, you gonna be okay with the kid?"

"He is practically comatose as you can clearly see. I shall be fine. Goodnight Leonard."

"Yeah, for the third time. It's a good damn thing you don't have to work in the morning. Hell it is morning. Whatever, bye."

Spock watched Leonard skulk out into the corridor and locked the door behind him before returning to the bed. James was sleeping peacefully, Little Spock clutched to his chest. Even though his sleep had once again been interrupted, Spock was glad for it. As close as he and Leonard had become over the past few months he was still not completely comfortable with being so physically close to the other man. James was a different story. His human half was so drawn to James, and to Jim, that he craved physical contact with him.

Spock had agreed to the arrangement of the three of them sharing the bed only so that he could remain in contact with James. However, once the other two had fallen asleep it became clear to Spock that his close proximity to Doctor McCoy was causing him a great deal of discomfort. In fact, had Jim been there to provide an apt description, he would have said that it was giving Spock the heebie jeebies, which it was. However, the discomfort and the loss of sleep due to that discomfort were worth it, since he had been able to remain in contact with James without fear of further repercussions.

As he stood looking down at James' sleeping form he decided that the situation was well enough in hand and it was worth the risk of climbing back into bed with him, rather than disturbing him and carrying him back into the other room to his own bed. Which was ironic, since the bed he was currently sleeping in was in truth, his own bed, and not the one they'd had installed in Spock's bedroom.

He curled around James' sleeping form molding himself around the other man's body and pulling James close to him. He felt a twinge of guilt, but the swirling clouds of emotion accosting his mind and his soul were so overwhelming, he needed the contact to calm himself. Jim had become his anchor, the embodiment of the metaphor of home, for him. In his meditations, he was no longer able to center himself on Vulcan, for it was gone, and the closest thing to the anchor of 'home' that he had left was Enterprise, and Jim.

He was far too emotionally attached and his Vulcan half felt the shame of it, but his human half, which he had grown to accept and embrace since losing his mother and his planet, this human half told his Vulcan half to fuck off and let himself be happy. This is what he did. The contact with James, who smelled and felt like Jim, calmed the turmoil that boiled inside of him.

He sighed deeply into James' neck and placed a kiss on the back of James' head and the crook of his neck before drifting back to sleep, though who he was kissing, he no longer knew. His last thought was that he hoped they resolved this situation very soon, even if it meant the loss of his James.

~ * ~

"Papa! Papa, papa…papa…papa, Papa. Papa! Papa…PAPA, papa, papa, …..papa…..papa?... papa!... Papa ,papa,……PAPA!"

"James, that is quite enough, I heard you the first time." Spock said shaking his head as he opened the bathroom door to James' smiling face. Spock was clad only in a towel, as James had started his reverie only a moment after Spock had stepped into the shower. "What seems to be the problem, I told you I was getting into the shower and you know that you are supposed to leave me alone when I am in the bathroom with the door shut."

"Yeah Papa I know, but Nyota's on the comm and says it's portant."

"I see, thank you James." Spock said simply, crossing to the desk to speak with the communications officer. When he was done he turned to inform James of the news.

"Yeah I hearded, Chris is comin' ta see me. Yay! Chris is comin, chris is comin' I get ta play wif Christopher," he sing songed as he skipped around the room.

"Yes, Admiral Pike is aboard the Endeavor and the ship will meet us in two days, and the Admiral would like to see you, however…."

"I shouldn't not oppose on his time an I hafta be good and not spect him to play less he wants to, an if he says he's tired… *sigh*… no whining..…"

"Impose not oppose, and that it quite right. I must finish my shower now, please sit down and eat your breakfast."

"I don wanna eat wifout you Papa, asides I dint replicate it."

"You were told to."

"Yeah, but I don't gotta work today and neither do you so I can get dressed and shower after breakfast can't I papa? Pweeeeeeese?"

Spock just sighed and nodded. He knew he had a penchant for giving into James too easily, but he found he just wanted to get through the day without arguments. The night had been long and interrupted, and Spock's usually dreamless sleep had been riddled with short dreams and images. Thankfully no nightmares, but the dreams had been mostly about Jim, about he and Jim, and he awoke with a longing for Jim and immediately felt guilty, knowing that having Jim would mean losing James.

While he showered he remembered the one dream that had particularly affected him. It had seemed so real. He had felt warm soft lips against his own, and Jim's scent had invaded his nostrils. He felt Jim's fingers roaming over his side and his chest, then steal their way under his shirt. He'd kissed back and pulled Jim into his arms as he felt Jim's tongue demand entrance into his hot Vulcan mouth. Jim's tongue had felt cool and wonderful against his own, and had tasted so good.

In the dream they'd kissed and touched, pressing their bodies together, making out like teenagers for quite some time. The frottage had been exceedingly pleasurable and their desire for one another had built. Spock had whispered his love, need and desire into Jim's ear, only to hear Jim say "love you too, but we better not, 's'not a good idea" before kissing him breathless once again.

He had not understood why Jim thought making love would not be a good idea, but the dream had been hazy, foggy, he could not remember the circumstances or surroundings, except that he had a vague idea that they were in the Captain's quarters, in Jim's bed. Their kissing had slowed and eventually Jim had snuggled up into him and the dream had ended. However, now that Spock thought about it, it was more like they had fallen asleep than if the dream had just ended, as if he had fallen asleep. He had awoken this morning with James curled into him in much the same manner.

He contemplated this for some time, wondering if Jim had surfaced somehow, because James was sedated, and if it had really happened. He dismissed it however, in favor of it being just a dream. It had after all had a very hazy and dreamlike quality, he hadn't been awake, or alert after all. He had however found that thinking about the dream so intensely had caused another need to 'arise' so he took care of his pressing problem before finishing with his shower. The he tried to put all thoughts of Jim out of his head before he started his day with James.

After he put his pants on and brushed his teeth he began shaving. As he shaved his neck he noticed a mark there, that hadn't been there the previous evening. The mark was faint, a small greenish bruising, much like similar marks he'd once experienced after he and Nyota had been intimate. She'd said they were called a 'hickey' and he had found he liked both giving and receiving them.

As he looked at the mark more closely he remembered that in the dream Jim had been suckling at that particular spot on his neck at one time, he also remembered reciprocating and placing his own mark on Jim at the base of Jim's neck in a very sensitive spot. It was so sensitive that it had elicited heady moans from Jim that had cause Spock to intensify his ministrations. The mark he left had been much larger than the one Jim had given him and he had punctured Jim's skin with two of his teeth. Jim had waved off his apologies telling him it was hot and plunging his tongue back into Spock's mouth.

As he looked at the mark on his own neck once more his curiosity got the better of him. He called for James who came bounding into the bathroom excitedly.

"Hey Papa, are you almostes dun acuz I'm getting' hungry? Are we still at the plant planet where Karu is getting botanical samples? Acuz he said it's pretty and tolded me 'bout a neat place for swimmin' and picnics and I was thinkin' maybe you n' me could go on a picnic just us two."

"Yes we are, and that would be enjoyable, but we should include your Bones," Spock agreed as he pulled back the collar of James' shirt to see a large purple bruise at the base of his neck, lined with two prominent tooth marks, his tooth marks. He swallowed hard and sighed. He was about to speak again when James shied away from his hand a bit.

"Ow, don't touch it, it hurts a lil bit."

"I am sorry…"

"S'okay, Bones can't not go acuz he gotsta work. Karu gave me a PADD wif directions case we was still here taday so I can get us to the right spot. Can I have peanut butter and jelly? Do you even know how ta swim? There wasn't much water on Vulcan. I can teach you, I'm good at swimmin'. Um… can you put a shirt on or something?" He finished, shifting uncomfortably. He had said everything in such rapid succession that Spock had not had an opportunity to get a word in or address the hickey on James' neck.

"James….hand me my shirt," Spock sighed, as he noticed James staring at his bare chest and stomach, and absently chew on his finger and licking his lips. He put his shirt on before continuing. "Do you know how you received this….mark…on your neck?"

"It's a hickey Papa, jeez. Anyways I thunked that was another Jim dream or somethin' even though it was weird, but then I noticed it this mornin', in the mirror," he shrugged. "I guess it wasn't just a dream.

He seemed so nonchalant about it that Spock nearly dropped the subject, not wanting to push the issue, but he needed to know exactly what had happened.

"James, was Jim able to surface during the night? Is that what happened?"

"Papa I don't know, honest. I thunked it was a dream, cept I dint know if it was my dream or Jim's dream. It was weird kinda, like I said. I…," he blushed before he continued. "I know there was some kinda naughty stuff Papa, but, it was a nice dream. I liked it. I liked it a lot," he blushed again, looking at his feet. He paused for a minute as he concentrated on how to explain.

"How exactly was it weird?" Spock prompted.

"It was weird cuz, it wasn't like when Jim is in charge and I'm in the back watchin', but it wasn't like now either, it was like bofe of us at the same time or somethin'. I dunno. I can't splain it no better. Can we eat now? I just want cereal cuz I ated a banana already cuz you was takin' too long."

"I… yes James, let's go eat breakfast." Spock didn't know what else to say. James' explanation left him more confused than he had been before, and more than a little unsettled. He could not help but feel that he had crossed a line and done something he should not have with James, but James did not seem adversely affected by it, so he did not know what to do. Finally he decided it would be best to get through the day, and discuss it with Leonard later.

He knew that Leonard's suggestion would be that James come and stay with him for the time being, and Spock knew that if he approached Leonard with it now, he would insist on his leaving James with him right now rather than later. He had already promised James his picnic, and despite his confusion and inner emotional turmoil, he was not ready to be separated from James just yet. They would have their picnic first, and then he would allow Leonard to do what he must if it was the only solution.