He drifted in and out of consciousness.

He remembered movement, flashes of color, and his name being called. There was pain, but mostly it was nausea that took his attention as the taste of bile bubbled up in the back of his throat. If he managed to hold it down, he didn't remember.

Mostly he dreamt. He would find himself walking aimlessly on the Enterprise, not caring where he was going or where he was coming from. He wandered around the ship, nodding his head to familiar faces, never talking to anyone he passed.

He didn't even question the faces who weren't there anymore. He found Commander Pike in the mess hall, drinking tea and reading something. Pike spotted Kirk and gave him a mock salute with his mug.

Kirk's father, whom he'd only seen in pictures, was talking to Chekov and Sulu down in engineering. They looked like they were having so much fun and no matter how much Kirk wanted to get close, to see and touch, he never did.

Harrison was there too. Unlike the others, who all had a job to do or were interacting with something within the dream, Harrison walked around aimlessly like he was lost. He kept peering around the corners, going into rooms and leaving them within a few seconds later. Kirk had considered pointing him in the right direction, but everytime he came close, Harrison would move away and disappear.

It was a sad dream.

()

Kirk didn't know where he was. Disorientation robbed him of coherency and memory for the first three minutes of consciousness. He was on a bed, that much he knew. He was thirsty, still in a great deal of pain, and overheated.

From what he could see, it looked like he was in some kind of house. The walls were curved, dark brown, and there were various animal skulls hanging off the ceiling. Kirk knew, studying the various trinkets scattered about and the smell, this was someone's personal home.

Harrison walked through an open section of wall that lead to outside. He was wiping his hands. "Oh, you're awake," he said, seeing Kirk. "Good. I thought perhaps you died."

He said it in the same tone as someone would say, 'Oh shucks!'

"Where are we?" Kirk asked, his throat burning as he spoke.

"This? This is an abandoned Klingon home." Harrison said, gesturing around the place. "They probably left it due to a storm, common problem on this planet. Either way, it gave me what I needed. Medicine, needle and thread."

At first, Kirk didn't know what he meant. The words then clicked and he pulled back the covers and stared at trouser-less legs. The slash across his thigh had been expertly stitched up. "How long have I been out?"

"Only a few hours." Harrison walked up to him, kneeled down his presented him with something. A communicator.

Kirk gaped. "I found it among the items here. Call them," Harrison said, shoving the communicator into Kirk's hands. "They won't talk to me."

This wasn't kindness. Harrison was only doing this for his own and yet Kirk was gobsmacked by the attention. It was strange, having a man talk about beheading you in one minute and in the next, he was sewing up your wound and making sure you were comfortable.

Kirk took the communicator and called in, "Kirk to... anybody. Is anybody out there?"

He half-expected to hear Bones or Scotty on the other line. He thought out of all his crew, those two would be the ones who were willing come to a Klingon planet, against Starfleet orders, to rescue him.

His eyebrows rose to his hairline when it was Spock's voice that came through. "Captain? Are you unharmed?"

"Oh God, Spock, it's so good to hear your voice." Kirk meant it. Forget about being stunned at Spock defiance, Kirk was happy to hear him. "Yeah, I'm... okay."

"I notice you paused which means you lied to me. What has Harrison done to you?"

"Nothing, Spock. This planet is not very friendly to humans. Look, where are you?"

"We are now orbiting the Klingon occupied planet. We were following your signal when it suddenly cut off."

"We?"

""Lieutenant Uhura, Sulu, Dr. McCoy, and Mr. Scott."

Oh wow, the whole gang was here. If Harrison wasn't here, watching his every move, Kirk might have blushed from the affection he was feeling. He shook off those emotions and straightened his resolve. He had to be tough at the moment. "Spock, I order you to back off from the planet."

"Captain...?"

"The Klingons read the same signal and there's a good chance they're laying in wait for another ship to come by. If you dare come down on this planet, they might shoot you out of the sky."

Spock must've had his finger on the speaker button because Kirk could hear Bones' voice echoing from the background, "Is he insane? He expects us to leave him- Jim! We're not leaving you down there!"

"He's quite right, Captain," said Spock in his even tones. "It would be unwise to leave a Starfleet captain on his own on a hostile planet."

"Gee, Spock, why can't you just admit it's because you like me?"

"I-"

"Kirk," Harrison hissed impatiently.

"Calm down," Kirk whispered to him and turned back to the communicator. "Spock, tell me, where are the sleeper-pods containing Harrison's people?"

"Back at Starfleet."

From the corner of his, Kirk could see Harrison's body language change. His shoulders suddenly dropped, as if a weight was pulled off of them. His whole stance reeked of an exhaustion.

"I'm safe, Spock. That's the truth. You are not to come down on this planet, you are to go back to the nearest Starfleet station. That's an order. Kirk out."

The energy it took to keep that level of authority in his voice was enormous. By the end of it, Kirk was drained. His hand dropped heavily as the world spun slowly. He thought he was going to vomit right there.

"Go to sleep," Harrison said. His voice suddenly sounded softer, more gentle. He pushed Kirk back down to lay on the bed. "...Captain."