Another prompt from J

“He’s dead, Jim.”

Jim looked down at the straps of the ahn-woon around Spock’s throat. The way Spock’s eyes bugged out. Jim’s heart thundered so hard in his chest, it hurt.

The desert heat had him sweating so badly his uniform shirt was soaked through and clinging to his body. He felt vaguely faint and incredibly weak and drained.

And yet…

“No.”

“Jim. Let go of him!”

Bones pulled Jim away.

“No.”

“Jim. Spock…”

“It’s not real, Bones. Tell me it’s not real.”

Bones craggy face blurred in front of his eyes and Jim realized he was crying. “Jim, I’m sorry, but Spock is dead. You killed him.”

Jim was aware then that a group of Vulcan males came and took Spock’s body away. He sat on the ground, numbly staring at where it used to be.

But how could this happen? He’d wanted to save Spock from Stonn, T’Pring’s…well whatever he was. True he hadn’t known it was to the death, but…

“You’re going to have to kill him, Jim.”

“Kill Spock? That’s not what I came to Vulcan for, is it?”

But that’s exactly what he’d done. And now—

“Well, Captain Kirk, this is a surprise,” the Vulcan woman, T’Pring, said as she approached him. “I had not expected this outcome.”

Jim stared at her. “What?”

“I had thought Spock would win easily against you.” She straightened. “I never imagined a human could be strong enough to…well. This changes things.”

“It what?” Stonn shouted and came forward, clearly angry, despite the nonsense about Vulcans not having emotions. “I am to be your mate.”

T’Pring shrugged. “Perhaps. Perhaps not. It is up to the captain if he wishes to discard his interest in me.”

Stonn turned cold eyes to Jim.

T’Pau came over to them. “Well, Kirk, what is it to be? Will you join with T’Pring in the mating chamber? After all you have a rightful claim to her after defeating Spock.”

“Mating chamber?”

T’Pring smirked and put her hands on his arm, her nails digging in. “Come, James. My champion.”

“No. No. I don’t want this. Spock……”

“Spock is dead. You killed him.”

“No.”

“Spock is dead. You killed him.”

“No, no, this isn’t…”

“Spock is dead. You killed him.”

“Nooooo.”

“You’re going to have to kill him, Jim.”

“You’re going to have to kill him, Jim.”

“NO!”

Jim sat up, panting in bed. He wiped the moisture from his eyes.

A hand was rubbing his back and the lights in his room were on. He looked at Spock.

Spock.

Alive.

“Are you all right now, Jim?” Spock asked.

“I-I don’t know. That was…”

“A dream?”

“A nightmare. You…we were back on Vulcan. All those years ago with T’Pring.”

Spock watched him. “When you and I fought.”

“Yes. Only, you didn’t kill me. Or even think you did.”

“I do not understand.”

Jim shook his head. “I killed you. Only it wasn’t McCoy’s trick. I really had. With the ahn-woon.”

“It was only a dream, adun.” Spock soothingly rubbed his back. “We are here. I was not killed nor were you.”

“Yeah.” Jim laughed. But there was still moisture in his eyes. He reached for and squeezed Spock’s hand. “Think I’d better get up. Don’t think I can go back to sleep for a while.”

Spock glanced at the window of their bedroom. “The sun is rising. Would you care for a walk?”

“Yeah, yeah. Thank you. I’m sorry I woke you.”

“I would have risen soon anyway. Come, love, let’s walk off your dream.”

Jim nodded, rose from the bed, and eyed the ahn-woon on the wall dispassionately. “Maybe we can move that to another room.”

Spock patted his back. “0f course, Jim.”

Jim smiled and embraced  Spock. “Love you. Let me get dressed.”

Spock turned to the ahn-woon and took it off the wall as Jim went into the bathroom. He shook his head.

“As though he ever had a chance to beat me. Illogical.”