Title: Younger Than Stars (2/?)
Author: klmeri
Fandom: Star Trek TOS
Pairing: Kirk/McCoy, pre-Kirk/Spock/McCoy
Summary: Jim never thought he would fall in love this way but he hardly minded. Remembering that he loved, and was loved, kept him sane. At least, he hoped so – until his rescue came.
Previous Part: 1
Or read at AO3

The shuttle coasted smoothly to the landing pad, the world below growing larger and larger until buildings turned from puddles reflecting the sky to oval-shaped domes. The tiny figures clustered together, awaiting the shuttle, gained colors of grey, blue, and brown.

“Good job,” Jim congratulated his co-pilot once they were safely grounded.

“Thank you, Captain.”

Jim clapped the young man on the shoulder as he stood up. “Come along, now’s the opportunity to stretch our legs.”

His voice carried to the back of the vessel, and everyone began unhooking their seatbelts—except for their honored guest. The Ambassador sat with her arms crossed, her expression as displeased as it had been the first time Jim had met her.

“We’ve arrived,” Jim reminded her. “We’re disembarking.”

“Contrary to what you believe, Captain Kirk, I do not take orders from you.”

What had upset the woman now?

Jim swallowed a sigh. “At your leisure then, Ambassador.” He brushed past her, anxious for a look at Tassos III.

The shuttle hatch seal hissed with the cabin’s pressure release, and Jim had made his way to the door by the time it slid back to reveal the outside world. His inclination was to be the first man out the door, but a little voice inside his head that sounded suspiciously like Bones prompted him to step aside and allow the two security officers to disembark ahead of him. He jumped down next and breathed in the fresh air, taking stock of what he saw.

At the edge of the pad, he greeted the men standing below. “I’m Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise.” He lifted a hand to indicate the others filing out of the shuttle. “I am accompanied by my crew. We have brought Ambassador Leta for her scheduled rendezvous.”

The same shadow flickered across the men’s faces, gone before it had hardly formed. Not one of them moved, came forward to return the greeting; they just stood with arms hanging loosely at their sides, expressions empty.

Jim felt a red alert at the back of his neck and thought, Something’s very wrong here.

But before he could assess the situation further, a man wearing a pair of antique spectacles came hurrying out of a small dome opposite the landing pad. His ruddy face spoke of sudden embarrassment rather than exertion but his manner was rather affable as he called out, “Ambassador! Ambassador, how wonderful to see you again!” He murmured something to one of the men as he passed them, and the man nodded, gave a jerk of his chin that had the rest of the group retreating back to the dome.

Leta ignored Kirk as she strode for the staircase. “Mr. Tappan,” she said, “the pleasure is all mine.” She took the hand Tappan offered her and allowed him to escort her down the steps. “Shall we talk inside?” Jim heard her say as the pair walked away.

“Captain?” one of his security officers said once it became obvious they had been abandoned on the landing pad.

Jim made a quick decision, one that he hadn’t expected would be necessary. “I want two of you to remain with the shuttle. Inform the Enterprise we have arrived at our destination, then report to me and the ship on the hour.” He turned around, saw that his crewmen looked as troubled as he felt. “You are all seasoned. You know to treat this situation with care. We should only be here overnight but stay alert.”

They all nodded in understanding. One of the lieutenants retrieved communicators from inside the shuttle and passed them out. Jim clipped one to his belt and ordered his security officers to carry phasers as well. There was a possibility they might offend the locals—and Leta, no doubt—by arming themselves, but Jim would rather explain himself later than take the chance of being caught unprepared.

As he led two of his team toward the dome in which everyone had disappeared, he resolved to find out what made him feel uneasy about this place.

~~~

Leonard had stayed in Sickbay as long as he could, glancing every-so-often at the chronometer until he was certain there would be news.

But no news was delivered to him.

Leonard left Sickbay then, ranting in his head about inconsiderate Vulcans who should know by now to keep him updated on all things Jim. It was with relish that he stomped onto the Bridge looking for Spock. Yet the moment he started to descend the upper platform, Spock casually rose from the Captain’s chair and meandered the long way around to the Science station.

Leonard refused to take the hint and doggedly followed him. He leaned over Spock’s shoulder after the Vulcan sat down and said, “Any word on Jim?”

“The shuttle made a successful landing on the colony’s surface thirty-one minutes ago.”

Leonard waited for the rest but when Spock stayed stubbornly silent, he pressed, “And? Is Jim all right?”

Spock turned his chair around, his stare cool. “Are you inquiring as his physician, Dr. McCoy, or as his friend?“

For a second, Leonard saw red. He immediately took a step back because it meant he couldn’t physically reach Spock to thrash him in case of another insensitive remark. “I’m asking because I have the right to ask, Mr. Spock,” he snapped, not bothering to hide the hurt he felt. He thought he glimpsed a hint of regret in Spock’s eyes before he added, “Both as the Captain’s CMO and his friend.”

Spock’s expression turned to stone. “I see,” was the flat response. The commander put his back to McCoy again.

Leonard imagined wringing that scrawny neck from behind and had to stick his hands into his armpits to make certain he didn’t act on the impulse. That time in the brig might come faster than he or Jim anticipated. They were hurtling towards disaster at break-neck speed and it was now or never to stop it.

“Spock,” he said.

Spock operated various instruments on the console without acknowledging his name.

“Mr. Spock,” Leonard said again, sharper this time, causing one or two of the other people on the Bridge to jump slightly in their seats.

Spock’s hands paused in their work. “Yes, Doctor?”

“The Ready Room,” he ordered, turning on his heel and marching away. He didn’t bother to check if the Vulcan was following him. At this point, Spock would realize he didn’t have a choice.

~~~

Leta and Tappan ceased their conversation when Kirk entered the main hall. The interior was sparsely decorated but had enough seating that the open room must be used as the gathering place for the colonists.

Tappan blinked, then seemed to realize he had forgotten about the second half of the landing party, and jumped from his seat. He grabbed Jim’s hand and pumped it twice.

“Captain, Captain, my sincerest apologies! I am Augustus Tappan.” He adjusted his glasses and peered at the man and woman behind Kirk. “Won’t you be seated? I’ll have the cook bring refreshments. I apologize in advance: our kitchen staff is small, our fare usually simple. We are, after all, hardly more than a community of farmers.” He laughed briefly and nodded at another person in the room, who slipped out.

“James Kirk. Nice to meet you, Mr. Tappan. We don’t require anything elaborate. Water for me and my crew would welcome.”

Jim took a seat opposite Leta, who turned her face from him as if the sight of him irritated her.

Tappan eased back into his seat. He took Leta’s hand in his own, a gesture that spoke of affection. “Is this all of your crew, Captain?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Leta reclaimed her hand.

Jim murmured to himself, “Fascinating,” as Spock surely would have, and made a point of pretending not to notice that Leta had turned a fierce glare upon him. “No. There is docking protocol to follow, supplies to be checked. The Ambassador added some personal items to our cargo, and I imagine she would be displeased if we took off tomorrow with them still on board.”

Tappan’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “Of course.”

“You will have them brought to me immediately,” Leta demanded, “and if I find that anything was damaged—”

“Karen,” her companion admonished.

Leta’s mouth formed an unhappy line but she didn’t finish her threat.

Fascinating, indeed, thought Jim. Leta and Tappan obviously knew each other very well, intimately if their body language was any indication.

Well, who was he to judge mixing business and pleasure?

That brought McCoy to mind, and Jim had to clear his throat. “Ambassador,” he said, “I won’t interrupt your time with Mr. Tappan.” He addressed their host. “I would like to take a look around. This is my first visit to the Tassos system.”

Tappan smiled. “Certainly, Captain.” Just then, a frowning man wearing a dirty apron came through a side door with a tray. “But why not have that cup of water before you go? The afternoon sun can sneak up on you here.”

Jim accepted one of the small cups with thanks and drank from it.

~~~

The tension between them was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Neither Spock nor McCoy had spoken since the door closed them off from the Bridge, and they stood almost as far away from each other as they could get in the small area that served as their captain’s Ready Room.

Leonard honestly didn’t know how to handle Spock when he was like this, and it was clear Spock had no intention of helping him figure it out.

In the end, he said the first thing that came to mind. “If my interest in Jim was going to be a problem, you should have said something right from the beginning.”

“Why should I speak of a matter which clearly is not my concern?”

Leonard’s temper flared. “Because you’re acting like a spiteful adolescent!”

A muscle in Spock’s cheek twitched. “I will not stand here and be insulted, Dr. McCoy. If you have nothing constructive or useful to say, I shall return to the Bridge.” He added, “I am in command of this vessel in the Captain’s absence,” as though Leonard needed the reminder.

He leveled his finger at Spock. “Maybe you shouldn’t be!”

“Enough. To argue over a fact is pointless.”

“Well here is a fact for you, Spock… You’re emotionally compromised!”

Spock came at him so swiftly, Leonard almost couldn’t track the movement. Leonard had backed up against a table on instinct, and now Spock nearly had him pinned against it.

“That is an accusation you should not make again,” Spock said in a voice much softer—and deadlier—than usual.

There was a ruthlessness about Spock that Leonard had hoped never to see in him or to experience again. It set his heart to pounding, but he managed to keep his voice steady as he insisted, “There’s something wrong with you.”

The Vulcan leaned in slightly, nostrils flaring, before he suddenly drew back, restoring the personal space between them.

Leonard watched Spock fight an internal battle for control and waited, frozen, for the outcome. His hands refused to let go of the table’s edge.

A long minute of silence passed. Then Spock said, “I apologize.”

Leonard convinced his hands to release the table and nervously rubbed his palms against his pants. “I guess you can’t deny that I have a point.”

“No.”

“Want to talk about it?”

Spock answered flatly, “I will answer your questions during the psychological examination.”

Leonard blew out a breath and hoped he wasn’t going to regret what he was about to say. “I’m not relieving you of duty, Spock.”

Spock responded more slowly, a sign that he was surprised. “I almost… attacked you, Doctor. I have acted as no officer, no Vulcan, should. Why would you…”

“Forgive you?” Leonard finished when Spock trailed off. He sighed aloud and stepped away from the table. “Because it’s my fault.”

Spock’s eyebrows drew together. “That is illogical.”

“Not a bit illogical,” Leonard retorted without any real heat. “I provoked you on purpose.”

“Yes, in an attempt to—”

“Spock,” the doctor cut in, “hush up and listen to me, would you?” He waited a second and, when Spock didn’t continue, said, “I don’t fully understand why you’re upset, but I know it’s because of me. Anybody can tell, which goes to show just how strong your animosity has become, and how close to the surface it is despite you trying to hide it.”

Spock said nothing.

Leonard pleaded, “What did I do, Spock? What did I do to make you hate me so much that you can’t stand to talk to me?”

“I do not feel hatred.”

“You feel something!” he nearly shouted.

That something flared in Spock’s eyes. “If this is another attempt to antagonize me, you will not succeed.”

“Damn it,” cursed the doctor, “I’m not out to get you, you pointy-eared hobgoblin! I’m trying to help you!”

“You would be most helpful by keeping your distance,” Spock replied and pivoted away.

Leonard didn’t think, just reacted, a reckless decision which he would later blame on his close association with a man named James Kirk. As Spock strode for the exit, Leonard leapt after him, caught him by the arm and tried to plant his feet to halt the Vulcan’s forward momentum. There was no way in hell he was letting Spock shelve their conversation indefinitely!

But he misjudged Spock’s true strength, for the Vulcan jerked his elbow at the unexpected contact, clipping Leonard across the chest. Leonard overbalanced backwards, and it was just pure bad luck that his forehead caught the side of a hard plastic chair as he went down. The chair tipped over too.

“Oh hell,” he groaned, immediately clapping a hand to the wound.

Spock had gone down on his knees next to him. “Doctor,” Spock was saying, alarmed, “have you injured yourself?” His hands kept moving close to Leonard’s face then retreating in uncertainty.

“Just dandy,” grumbled Leonard. He pulled his hand back from his forehead and stared at the blood on his palm. “Help me up.”

Spock grabbed his shoulders to lift him.

The door to the room slid open in that moment, outlining Sulu in the doorway with several worried faces behind him.

“Doctor McCoy, Mr. Spock!—is everything—”

They must have been a sight because poor Sulu stopped talking and paled.

It took Leonard a second too long to realize exactly how the scene would have looked: him, bleeding, and Spock frozen above him, as if caught in the middle of a violent reaction—or worse.

They had seen Spock brush him off in the last few weeks. Prior to the crash that brought them running to investigate, they had witnessed the mounting tension between Spock and McCoy come to a head, had to have been speculating among themselves what kind of stand-off was happening in the Ready Room. He and Spock had never been the best of friends and on occasion had been very vocal enemies.

It wouldn’t take a stretch of the imagination to picture a horrific showdown.

Sulu regained his composure quickly and moved into the room. He ordered in a tone as unyielding as it was regretful, “Commander, release him and move away.”

“Wait a minute,” Leonard started to protest.

Spock let go of his shoulders and stood up. Leonard watched him glance at the other officers pushing into the room—a shocked Uhura, wide-eyed Kelso, Jim’s frightened yeoman. Then Spock said in the calmest voice Leonard had ever heard from him, “You may place me under arrest now, Mr. Sulu.”

The silence in the room was deafening.

Stunned, Leonard could only think to say the Vulcan’s name.

The look Sulu gave Leonard was pitying. “Uhura,” he said, “call Security.”

~~~

“Captain, what if they poisoned us?”

Jim shook his head slightly as he and his officers cut across the grounds. “Not likely, Lieutenant. With Joran and Garrison in the shuttle, they can hail the ship at the first sign of trouble.”

The officer on Jim’s right adopted a look of thoughtful consideration. “Meaning, Tappan was trying to find out if he had an advantage… or an opportunity to neutralize us.”

“At the moment, we’re only speculating,” Jim pointed out. “The endgame is to lift off tomorrow without trouble, so let’s not go looking for it.”

“Then what would you call what we’re doing right now?” quipped the young man on Jim’s left, and the second officer failed to cover up a snort of amusement.

Jim decided to let the joke (and the high-five behind his back) slide. He was too jaded by McCoy’s daily insubordination and Spock’s dry wit to be offended.

But maybe it wasn’t proper that he was smiling. Quickly, he rubbed the smile away with the back of his hand and reminded his two team members, “Don’t drop your guard.”

“Yes, sir!” they chorused.

Jim steered his group toward a tall circular building that looked like a grain silo. A first step, he decided, in the investigation would be to see what kind of crops this colony grew.

~~~

The voice of the man standing outside the brig cell held a mix of exasperation and disbelief. “Help ma boab, what’s happened? Mr. Spock?” he questioned before turning to the person sharing the bench with the tight-lipped, straight-backed Vulcan. “Dr. McCoy?“

“He’s not supposed to be in there,” explained Giotto, the Chief of Security, looking nonplussed by the situation, “but he snuck in when my men turned their backs and refused to come out.”

Mr. Scott shook his head slowly, still at the point of trying to believe that the pair was in the ship’s brig.

“Excuse me, gentleman.” Nurse Christine Chapel bustled past the two red-shirted officers and said to the man standing guard by a control panel, “Lower the field.”

“Not you too!” exclaimed Scotty.

“Hardly,” retorted Chapel. She adopted a no-nonsense tone. “Dr. McCoy needs medical attention—which he would have received by now if he had been escorted to Sickbay.”

“We’re just Security, ma’am,” Giotto replied. “Not his keepers.”

McCoy, who had been alternating his glare between his silent brig companion and Giotto, lowered his gaze meekly when Chapel entered the cell and plunked a medkit onto the bench.

“I can’t believe you,” the nurse hissed in his ear as she bent close to inspect his head wound with gloved hands. “Only an idiot locks himself up with the person who assaulted him.”

“It’s not like that,” Leonard insisted. He raised his voice to carry to the others. “Spock didn’t attack me!”

“Not what he said,” countered the Chief of Security, indicating Spock with a lift of his chin.

Leonard harrumphed. “Anybody who knows anything about Vulcans can read between the lines. He didn’t say specifically that he hurt me!”

“Specifics or not, any potential threat to this ship or its crew must be contained, Dr. McCoy.”

Spock broke his silence. “That is correct.”

Leonard kicked out, sadly not able to bridge the full span of the bench so his boot could connect with Spock’s shin. “You’re about as threatening as I am!”

Chapel poked her patient in the chest. “Stop moving, Leonard,” she warned him, positioning a hand-held regenerator against the sluggishly bleeding cut, “or I’ll sedate you and have you hauled out of here.”

Leonard tucked his limbs back against his body.

Chapel muttered a few more things about Leonard that he chose to ignore.

“What a fine mess this is,” decided Scotty. “I give up. I’ll be on the Bridge.” He paused in walking away to ask Spock, “Any orders, sir?”

“None, Mr. Scott. You are now in command of the Enterprise.”

Scotty simply shook his head again and left. Giotto followed him soon thereafter.

Chapel removed the regenerator. “This is the best I can do, Leonard. I would also say signs indicate you don’t have additional head trauma, but your behavior points to the contrary.”

“I know what I’m doing, Christine.”

She straightened and gave him a serious look. “I hope so.”

After packing up her medkit, Chapel walked over to Spock, leaned toward him and whispered something. Leonard suspected it was along the lines of The sooner you give in, the sooner Dr. McCoy goes to Medical for proper treatment. Then she too was gone, leaving just Spock and McCoy in the brig and a single guard by the door.

Leonard pursed his mouth and stared at his cellmate. “All you had to say was ‘Dr. McCoy fell and hit his head.’ What’s the point in letting them believe you pushed me?”

Spock said nothing.

He tried again. “Do you want to stay in the brig until Jim comes back?”

Still, Spock said nothing.

Sighing, Leonard leaned against the wall and touched a finger to the new skin stretched taut over where his cut had been. “I wish I knew what was going on in that head of yours, Spock,” he said.

“Even I am not certain,” admitted the Vulcan quietly.

Leonard glanced at him. “That’s a first.” Then he sat up as he considered something and turned to Spock with concern. “It’s… not due to some biological event you haven’t told me about, is it?”

The morose air surrounding the Vulcan seemed to dissipate as Spock turned his head to observe the doctor. One of his eyebrows lifted. “Biological event, Dr. McCoy?”

Leonard made a face. “Like that… pon fur.”

“Pon farr.”

“Yeah, that.” He added anxiously, “I need to know if you’re on another course to self-destruct. Don’t even think about keeping me in the dark this time.” Muttering, he patted his belt. “Should’ve thought to bring my tricorder. Stupid, McCoy, stupid.”

“You are a strange individual.”

Leonard huffed. “I’m just worried about you. Imagine that.”

Spock removed his hands from his knees and clasped them in his lap. “I regret my actions.”

Any residual anger Leonard might have had disappeared. “I’m sorry too.”

“I shall never understand why you insist on apologizing when you are not at fault.”

And just like that, they were on even ground again.

Leonard scooted a little closer to Spock. “Does this mean if I ask you a personal question, you won’t explode on me?”

“Highly unlikely, Dr. McCoy, as Vulcans do not combust.”

“Hobgoblin,” grumped Leonard, his good humor restored. “This is a serious inquiry, so pay attention.”

“Please, make your point.”

“What don’t you like about my relationship with Jim?”

Spock’s silence only lasted for a few seconds. “I would not say I dislike it.”

“Spock, if ever there was a need for you to be straightforward…” Leonard warned him.

A soft whoosh of air exited through the Vulcan’s nose, the closest Spock ever came to an actual sigh. “On multiple occasions, you and I have observed the Captain’s… relationships or, to be more specific, the ill effects thereafter when those relationships came to an abrupt, often unfortunate end. At one such time, you said to me that I could not understand the ramifications of falling in love, that I could not understand Jim’s grief, implying that you did. So I am curious to know, Doctor, if you care for the Captain as you say you do, why risk his emotional well-being—and yours—for the sake of pleasure that may be all too brief?”

To hear Spock speak so candidly about emotion, in particular about love, floored Leonard. It also gave him the much-needed insight into what truly troubled the commander.

“You’re afraid I’m going to break his heart.”

“I suppose a human would phrase my concern that way.”

Leonard placed a hand on Spock’s knee without really thinking about it, only to catch himself a moment later and quickly withdraw his hand. Spock stared at the spot where the hand had been.

Leonard grimaced and apologized.

“Again,” murmured the Vulcan, “unnecessary.”

“Just accept the fact that I am sorry.” Leonard hesitated, then continued. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize you would be bothered by it. I should have. I should’ve known because of how deeply you care for Jim.”

Spock’s head came up, as if he had been startled.

“I could promise you I won’t hurt Jim, but I think you would believe me more if I said I will try my best not to hurt him.”

“Then you believe the relationship is worth the risk of failure.”

“Of course. I’ve had my share of heartbreak, Spock, like Jim. Neither of us jumped into this without some reservations. But just so you know, it seems to be working out for us.” His mouth twitched. “I daresay we’re happy.”

Spock’s ears turned dark green.

Leonard pointed at him, grinning. “You’d better watch it… I think you’re losing control again!”

“Doctor,” the Vulcan said, clearly torn between shock and dismay.

Leonard let out a peel of laughter.

The guard nearby twisted around to look curiously in their direction.

“We’re good,” Leonard said to the man. “Now tell Giotto to let us out of this cage!”

Next Part

Related Posts:

• Younger Than Stars (16/16) – from November 17, 2015
• Younger Than Stars (15/16) – from November 17, 2015
• Younger Than Stars (14/16) – from November 17, 2015
• Younger Than Stars (13/14) – from November 6, 2015
• Younger Than Stars (12/14) – from October 30, 2015

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