“You can’t save Spock by sheer will, Captain,” Sulu declared.

Jim pressed on Spock’s gaping, bleeding wound. “Watch me.”

“Captain, we’re sitting ducks here in this clearing.”

“Do what you need to do, Mr. Sulu. In fact, that’s an order. But I’m not leaving him.”

“Captain,” Spock said weakly. “Go with the others.”

“No.”

“If you stay then we will both die.”

“Okay then.”

“Jim…”

“I’m not leaving here without you, Spock. So can it.”

“Keptin,” Chekov spoke up. “I have the Enterprise. They can beam us up.”

“Do it.  Beam us up. All of us.”

It was much later that Spock looked at him with somewhat droopy eyes as he rested on a biobed, all patched up. Or mostly. Thanks to Bones.

“Captain, you should have left me behind.”

Jim smiled a little and squeezed Spock’s hand. “There’s an old saying from Earth, Mr. Spock. Used by comrades for hundreds of years. You go, we go.”

Spock just stared at him. Jim nodded and turned to see Uhura approaching.

“Stay with him,” he urged. “He’s in and out of it, but he’s doing much better.”

He went to move past her, but she put her hand on his arm.

“Captain, thank you. For what you did down there.”

“I would have done that for anyone. And you’re welcome.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment, looked at Spock and then back to Jim. “He’d want you to stay.”

“I’ve got work and anyway, I’m sure he’d rather have you.”

“No. You’re wrong. Maybe it’s not my place to tell you, but, Spock has…” She stopped, bit her lip, and sighed. “He has very deep feelings concerning you. He doesn’t know how to express them.”

“Lieutenant…”

“And I have a feeling you reciprocate those feelings. I’ve thought so for a long time. Whatever you think about Spock and me, right now, we’re just friends. It’s been that way for a while. He’d want to see you, Captain.”

Jim exhaled. “I do have reports and a few things to do. But…I’ll come back later.”

“So…what I’m telling you…it does have meaning?” She searched his eyes.

He chuckled low. “Yeah. It’s meaningful.” He patted her arm. “Thanks. I’ll be back later.”

“And you should clean up,” she said, arching a brow like her former, apparently, boyfriend. “You still have Spock’s blood all over you.” She frowned. “And your own?” Her gaze went to the red on his shirt. “Are you bleeding, Captain?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Has Leonard checked you out?”

Bones suddenly appeared. “Did I hear my name?”    

“The captain is bleeding.”

“Uhura! Damn it. Bones, I’m fine.”

Bones grabbed him and hauled him away. “I’ll be the judge of that, you idiot.”