Spock entered sickbay and walked up to the Captain's biobed cautiously, attempting to make as little noise as possible so as not to awaken the doctor. McCoy's limbs dangled from his chair – save for the one that rested on the biobed, a few inches from Jim's hand – and his mouth was agape. There was a spot of drool on the collar of his blue uniform. His face was unshaven and his hair unkempt and he looked just in general absolutely terrible, Spock observed with the slightest of frowns.

However, he could not really blame the doctor – he had been working incredibly hard over the last few days, attempting all that he could to awaken the still unconscious and coma ridden captain.

Preliminary scans of Jim's brain had found it wildly fluctuating between intense response to stimulus and worrisome periods during which his reactions dipped closely to an almost comatose state. Two days later, the doctor had retrieved all of the information he believed he needed for a removal of the communication device lodged within Jim's spine. However, after the device had been removed, it took only an hour for Jim to become completely comatose, with no response to pain or light.

Believing he was to blame, McCoy locked himself in his quarters for a good six hours, during which there were periods of both silence and crashing, probably from the destruction of furniture or other possessions.

After shaking himself out of his, as he called it, "funk," the man proceeded to spend the next twenty four hours, with the help of Spock, laboring over attempts to reawaken the captain and researching the communications device.

After dissecting the device and scans taken of it while it had been in Jim's spine, Spock had learned that the insidious thing used a retractable needle to insert itself into the spinal cord and release a wave of drugs infused with nanites that would only be activated with the remote controlled by Thomas Leighton (A man who in fact was also still unconscious, and was being kept under guard on the other end of sickbay). However, even with the use of the remote they found that the captain would not wake.

The idea that his captain's brain had been compromised was a painful one. On Vulcan, such an offense was even greater than that of physical assault. To have one's mind violated, especially a psi-null such as Jim Kirk, was both physically and emotionally scarring.

Add to that the indication that Leighton might still be locked within the captain's skull, and Spock was feeling rage towards Leighton unlike anything he had felt since his encounters with Khan. Leighton had used Kirk's past to gain his trust and slip under his guard like a tick or some other seemingly harmless being, then proceeded to take absolute advantage. Spock knew that, should the captain wake, the efforts they had taken to get him to trust people would be reversed. Leighton's betrayal would have him second guessing everyone.

However, that problem could wait for now. The most important issue was getting Jim to awaken. And Spock thought he knew what to do.


It took several hard pokes, a jostle, and a slap to the face from one of the nurses to get McCoy to wake up. And though Spock hated to deprive the doctor of the sleep that was necessary for him, he felt that there was no time to delay.

They moved to the doctor's office. McCoy blinked hazily at him from behind his desk, and said gruffly, "Get on with it, Spock. I don't got all day."

"I believe the word is have, doc –"

"Spock."

"Very well. Do you remember what I told you about Vulcan mind melds? I believe that the time has come to try."

McCoy shook his head. "Spock, we've talked about this. It was dangerous before he was unresponsive, and now – it could be like jumpin' into an empty abyss."

Spock's lips thinned. "From the tests we have run, I believe it is the only feasible option we have left besides simply waiting. We should not be afraid to try this, Doctor."

McCoy sighed, and the room was silent for a minute. Finally, he spoke up. "Spock, are you sure? You're experienced in this, or - ?" he paused. "I just – this is kind of foreign territory for me here, and Jim… I don't want to risk anything."

"This will be a risk, doctor. But a risk I believe is worth taking."

The Doctor simply looked at him for a moment before nodding. "Alright, Spock. I'm trusting you on this one. But we need to be careful here." He stood up. "You should probably do this soon, I suppose. Is there anything you need from me?"

Spock turned towards him. "Actually, I was hoping you would join me."

"Sorry, what?"

"Jim has… always been more responsive – emotionally, towards you, and so he will likely be more drawn to your presence than to mine."

McCoy slammed a fist against the desk and stood up quickly. But instead of yelling, he covered his mouth with his hand suddenly and turned, looking through the windows of his office at his best friend.

"Okay," he spoke finally, and swallowed roughly. "Are you sure this is safe? This ship doesn't need all of its XO's down for the count."

"Unfortunately, there is no good way to know."

"Well, conjecture Spock! Isn't that what you're good for?"

Spock didn't reply, and simply let the doctor stand for a minute. "Sorry, Spock. I'm sorry. This whole thing's got me wound tighter'n..." He drifted off, and nodded. "But okay. If this is what it takes, I'm all for it. There's no way that bastard's winning," he finished, glancing at Leighton's bed.

Spock nodded. "I will go prepare, and will be at the Captain's bedside in an hour."


True enough, an hour later Spock had meditated and prepared as best as he could for the occasion and McCoy had prepped Jim and himself as well as he knew how. M'Benga hadn't reacted to the plan smoothly, but he had agreed in the end nonetheless, and would be close by. Nurses were standing by in case of any other emergencies.

"So, how does this work?" McCoy sounded uncomfortable, and he shifted on his seat.

Spock remained motionless, closing his eyes for a moment to consciously block McCoy's feelings. "The method is quite simple, really. It involves contact with the captain's psi points, as well as your own, and my sustained concentration."

"Worst case scenario, what happens to us?"

"We all end up in comatose states."

McCoy coughed and dismissed M'Benga's last attempt to dissuade him. "Sounds reasonable enough."

"We should begin." Spock raised his hands, placing one on the captain's face and hovered the other in front of McCoy's before seeing a small nod of consent from the doctor. As he placed his fingers on the man's psi-points, his eyes closed and he slipped into a meditative state, his mind reaching to the tips of his fingers and gently prodding the minds of the men he was now connected to. The response from McCoy was surprisingly immediate. Their minds fused and together they reached for Jim's mind.


What they found was something Spock had never felt before, something incredibly interesting yet incredibly frightening. It felt empty – no. Not exactly empty. There was light, but it was dim. It was more like a spare room then a barren wasteland.

He could feel McCoy's confusion and worry, and truthfully he was feeling some of that himself, though the doctor would never know.

They pressed forwards, probing spaces and turns, looking for life. They moved faster and faster, so fast that they almost tripped over it.

A huge black space. A pit, and at the bottom: two bodies. Leighton and Jim.

A flash of terror from McCoy, and without a single hesitation, they jumped in. Spock saw McCoy become less of a thought and more of a form as they fell, and Spock did the same. The fall was longer than they anticipated, and it was with a slight jolt that they stopped in front of the body of James Kirk.

McCoy crashed to his knees and pressed his fingers to the captain's neck. When he found none, he looked to Spock desperately.

"Calm down, doctor," Spock stated clearly. "Normal laws do not apply here. Even we will not have a pulse." McCoy checked his own wrist in response, and when Spock's statement turned out to be true, he placed his hands back on the captain's face.

"Jim! Come on, kid, wake up for us." He slapped Jim's face lightly. "Come on, you can do it." Miraculously, the captain's eyes fluttered. But at the same time, Leighton began to move.

Spock turned to the other body. The body of the man who had invaded the mind of his friend and caused them all so much pain. Just like McCoy and himself, Leighton's conscious was here. They had to find a way to remove it and return the man to his own body. One body controlled by two wasn't one that could function. Clearly this was why Jim had been unable to rise from his coma. But how would they remove him?

He bent down and grabbed the traitor's arm as his eyes blinked open. When they cleared, his face morphed from confused to calmly blank.

"Well well, is it the captain's side kick's come to save the day?"

"Silence," Spock growled. "You have done enough damage." He turned his head and saw Jim struggling to sit up, the doctor's hand on his back.

"Jim, talk to me," McCoy almost pleaded.

Jim blinked and focused on the face of his friend. "Bones?" McCoy reached forwards and pulled Kirk into a tight embrace.

Spock could feel relief pouring off of the older man, and felt his own at once in equal measure.

When McCoy pulled back, Jim stuttered, "Bones, what – what are you doing here? How – where even are we?" He added, looking around at the black space they occupied.

"I've got no clue," McCoy admitted. "Best as I can say, we're inside your head."

Jim stared at him. "Wait – is this a mind meld? Why are you…?"

"You weren't waking up. We had to do something. Spock brought me here – used his voodoo magic and whooshed us to find where the hell your mind had hidden out."

"Spock?" Jim turned and caught Spock's eye. "Spock!" He grinned. But when he saw the man Spock was holding his grin faded; his smile slipped into a scowl.

"Jim," McCoy cautioned.

"You little fucker," Jim growled, pushing himself to his feet.

Spock felt the former crewman rise as well, and his grip tightened on the man's arm.

"Jimmy, calm down a second," Leighton said. "There's nothing here –"

Now it was McCoy who yelled, "Are you fucking crazy? Shut the hell up before we destroy you right here you bastard!"

Leighton turned to Spock, whose hands were holding the man's shoulders in a death grip.

"I would recommend the same thing," Spock stated dangerously, his eyes flashing.

Leighton's eyes turned frightened, and Spock couldn't help but feel satisfaction.

"Now that we've got that covered, how the fuck do we get out of here?" McCoy said.

"We simply go back where we came from. The difficult part will be putting Leighton back into his own body."

Spock could feel a flash of fear from Jim. "Wait, you're leaving?"

McCoy looked at Jim softly. "Of course, kid." He scoffed. "We can't just camp out in your brain forever."

Jim's eyes flashed to Spock before returning to McCoy. "But…"

"What, Jim?"

Jim swallowed, and said quietly, almost inaudibly, "What if I don't wake up?"

"Aw Jim," McCoy muttered, and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You're gonna wake up, ya hear?"

Jim's lips tightened and his nodded. "Ok."

With that utterance, the four of them were less than shapes once again, soaring out of the hole that had trapped Jim. They left him at the front of his mind, well out of the way of that pit, and then Spock was in his body once again and removed his fingers from the faces of his friends. Without pausing to answer to the questioning faces of the nurses and doctors around them, he stood and walked over to the figure of Thomas Leighton lying prone on his hospital bed. Placing his fingers at his psi-points, he released Leighton back into himself.

When he turned back to Jim's bed, all eyes were on the bio bed.

Jim was waking up.


Oh my god. I'm so sorry. Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this story (and officially a year since I started this thing). I'm also really nervous about this update. Please, tell me what you think!

Also, in the long ass interim between updates, we got to 100 followers! Wow that's cool. I know it might not be so much to some people, but dang I couldn't even hope for that much of a response. Let's hope I didn't let you all down by being slow! I promise that this story will be finished eventually - I can't just leave it undone that's not how my brain works. And there are only a few more chapters left, so whatever the end result, we're wrappin it up!

Love you lots! - Capstar98