“What? What do you mean the kitchen’s got a leak?”
Jim heard the exasperated sigh in his mother’s answer.
“Just what I said. One of the pipes behind the stove burst and it’s ruined everything in the kitchen.”
He took a big sip of his coffee and glanced around the shuttle he was riding from San Francisco to Riverside. Most looked curiously at him except for the two sitting directly next to him. One gave him a disgruntled side-eye and the other arched a brow.
“Can’t you fix it?”
His mom laughed. “Can you?”
“Well…no.”
“Anyway, it’s all ripped up.”
“What’s ripped up?”
“The kitchen, honey.”
“The whole thing?”
“Uh huh. No walls, no appliances. Nothing.”
“Not even the stove to roast the turkey?”
“James Tiberius, are you not understanding?”
“Mom, I’m coming for Thanksgiving and you’re saying we have no way to have it?”
“Not at the farmhouse, no. Fortunately, Ray has agreed to have us there.”
His stomach sinking, Jim stuttered out, “Who is Ray?”
“I told you I was seeing someone. He lives very close and invited us there. Including Spock and Leonard. It’ll be fine. See you soon.”
“Mom—”
“You might pick up some instant coffee on the way here.”
“What? No coffee?”
“No coffeemaker, Jim. I know, I know, it’s going to take a while to get used to this. Can’t wait to see you. And anyway isn’t that what holidays are all about?”
Jim sulked down into his chair.
“Problems?” Spock asked tonelessly.
“No kitchen. No Thanksgiving at Mom’s.”
Bones grumbled. “Should’ve gone to Georgia as I said.”
“You still can,” Jim snapped grumpily.
“Restaurant?” Spock asked, seemingly uncaring or unfazed by Jim’s distress.
“No. Ray’s.”
“Who the hell is Ray?” Bones demanded.
“Her boyfriend or something. He’s expecting us all over there.”
“What’s he going to cook?”
“How should I know?”
Spock reached over and took Jim’s hand, touching their palms and fingers together. Jim felt calmness flow through him.
“All will be well, T’hy’la. After all, aren’t we most thankful for each other?”
“I think I might throw up.”
Jim ignored him, leaned close to Spock, and kissed him.
Jim’s gaze flew to his. “What exactly are you imagining you’re saying?”
Spock glanced around the observation deck. “I am not certain this is the place for this kind of conversation. Any moment someone else could come and…may we adjourn to either my quarters or yours?”
“Spock—”
“Please.” Spock straightened. “I ask that I am given the chance you gave my counterpart from that universe.”
Jim looked heavenward, but then nodded. “Yours then. I can leave then if necessary.”
Spock tried not to let that sharp comment sting but it was difficult. Still he took some relief in Jim’s ready agreement.
They didn’t speak as they left the observation deck and headed to the turbolift that would talk them to deck with officer quarters.
They bypassed the door to Jim’s and went right to Spock’s. He entered his access code and the door opened to let them inside.
Jim preceded Spock inside, but the moment the door closed he turned to face Spock, arms crossed in front of his chest in a clear defensive matter.
“The hell I’m not,” Jim insisted to Bones, who had grabbed onto him to prevent him from going into the farmhouse after the Klingon.
“I’m your doctor and I forbid it. Now I know Spock did his mumbo jumbo to your head and now you mostly remember, but you were injected with a drug that wasn’t meant for you and you had a bad reaction. I need to thoroughly examine you back on the ship before I clear you for regular duty!”
“This is hardly normal circumstances and I need to…where’s Spock?” Jim looked around the immediate area and sure enough his husband and first office was nowhere to be seen.
But before he could panic too much, the Vulcan appeared carrying the other now unconscious Klingon.
Jim turned to Bones, giving him the stink-eye. “You deliberately distracted me while Spock went in there, didn’t you?”
“You bet I did. I meant every word too.”
“This isn’t over.”
Bones snorted. “Seems over to me. Now let’s get the other one and get back to our time. And our mess. Let’s leave theirs to them.”
Jim looked back at the farmhouse. The pumpkins and the scarecrows. A much earlier version of the same house he had grown up in.
He suddenly felt such sorrow it nearly brought him to his knees. This had been a happy place once.
“Jim?” Spock spoke softly.
“Yeah, I’m coming.”
****
“This is the place?”
“So it would seem.”
Jim eyed Spock. “How do we do that with twiddle dee and dum here? Do we have to go through all five us at once? How is that going to work?”
“I am fairly certain I can carry them through with me, you two just need to keep up.” Spock sounded amused. Jim was anything but.
“Ha ha.”
“Can we speed this up?” Bones asked. “I’m getting nervous. I don’t want this thing to close on us so we can’t go back.”
“Okay, okay. You’re such a weenie,” Jim teased.
“Just call me Doctor…you know what? Never mind. You totally would.”
“Ready?” Spock asked.
“Wait! I can’t leave.”
Bones and Spock gaped at him.
“Not until I find out who shot JR.”
“It was Kristin,” Spock said calmly.
“Kristin? Are you sure?”
“Who’s Kristin?” Bones asked. “Who the hell is JR?”
“Yes, Kristin. Let’s go, Captain.”
“I can’t believe it. I mean I guess it makes some sort of sense,” Jim said, then he said, “Go!”
A moment later they ran back out of the Guardian of Forever.
But there were only three of them. Spock, Bones and Jim.
“Damn! The Klingons!”
“Fear Not,” the booming mechanical voice of the Guardian spoke. “The Klingons have been returned to their Bird of Prey in their sector. They will have no memory of their time in Earth Nineteen Eighty.”
“Are you sure?” Jim asked.
“Yes, Captain Kirk. When you return to your ship, you too will have no memory from your time there. We will see to that.”
“And did I change history? Did they? My ancestor…James Kirk…”
“He is once more alive in Riverside at the farmhouse in 1980.”
That made Jim happy.
“Thanks. Is he okay?”
“He is in good health and has no recollection of any adverse events.”
“You mean of being dead?” Jim asked, dryly. “Did they do that?”
“Your appearance necessitated his temporary removal. Had you remained, he would have ceased to exist as he was known.” There was a long pause. “As would many others. You are responsible for the lives of millions having been saved, Captain Kirk. Do not take that lightly.”
“I don’t.”
“Goodbye.”
And the Guadian went dark.
Still Jim lingered and after a moment he realized he and Spock were alone. Bones had gone off to the beam up point.
“Jim?”
“I’m just…in a lot of ways, I really liked living in 1980. I liked the house. Decorating for fall. The simplicity. Free of all the complications in my real life. It was…good for a while.”
Spock shook his head and drew Jim into his arms. “I am not certain you would adapt to such a life long term. You are not a sedentary sort who can spend his nights on the couch watching television.”
“But see, Spock, that’s exactly what I did. And I don’t know, for the time I was there, I really wasn’t bored.”
“It was an escape from reality that perhaps you required.” Spock tilted his head. “And Becky?”
Jim smiled. “She was a nice lady but to be honest I don’t even remember that much about her or the time I spent with her. She…never felt right. Not for me.”
“And?”
Jim kissed him. “You’re the only one who’s ever felt right.”
“I am gratified.”
For a long time they just held each other.
“There is no where I would not go to retrieve thee,” Spock said softly in Vulcan.
“I know.” Jim briefly touched their foreheads together.
“Shall we?”
“Mm. Still it would have been nice to remember all that happened there. It’s already fading though.”
“Indeed.”
They started walking away from the Guardian.
“I don’t think she’s right for him either.”
“Becky?”
“Uh-huh. She wants him to move to Colorado. I don’t think he should.”
Spock made a humming sound. Jim looked at him.
“You know something?”
“You are quite correct. He does not go to Colorado with Becky.”
“I knew it! That’s great.”
Spock shook his head, took Jim’s hand, and led him to where Bones stood waiting. Spock handed Jim his communicator.
Jim was surprised to realize that he wanted to take Spock’s outstretched hand. So he came around the wood pile, stepped over the…creature or whatever he was lying on the ground…and placed his hand in Spock’s.
He was even more surprised when Spock drew him near and embraced him, holding him close as though he were precious to Spock.
Jim swallowed hard. “That’s not a Halloween costume that guy is wearing, is it?”
“It is not. He is a Klingon.”
Jim drew back to see Spock’s face, but he didn’t pull away entirely. “Klingon. This should all freak me out more, shouldn’t it?”
“I believe you are getting your memories back, though slowly.”
“Memories?”
Spock shook his head. “It is difficult to explain.”
“Try me.”
Spock glanced down at the Klingon. “First we need to secure him before he revives. There is yet one more like him we will need to capture before we can depart.”
Jim did move out of the embrace now. “I think I saw some rope in the barn there. Hang on.”
“Be careful, Jim. We don’t know the location of this one’s companion.”
Which of course made the butterflies in Jim’s stomach take flight, but he walked over to the door of the barn and threw it open.
“You don’t happen to have a flashlight in your arsenal, do you?” Jim asked. “It’s pretty dark in here.”
Spock put his hand on Jim’s arm. “Wait here. I’ll go in since I have a phaser.”
“What if that guy wakes up?”
“He will not. I will be out in a moment.”
Jim watched Spock go inside the barn for the rope. He turned around and crouched down by the Klingon and spotted what looked like some kind of gun.
He lifted it off the unconscious Klingon just as he heard the scuff of a footstep. He raised the gun.
“Hey, hey, hey. I’m on your side.” McCoy had his hands up. He had obviously come outside to see what was going on. “No hypospray, I promise. Put that disruptor down before you hurt someone. Namely me.”
Jim looked at the weapon in his hand. “A disruptor, you say?”
“Yeah. A Klingon weapon.”
Jim straightened and stood but he didn’t put the disruptor down. He figured it might come in handy if the Klingon woke.
“Where’s Spock?”
“Getting some rope.” Jim eyed McCoy. ”You want to give me your story?”
“Well.” McCoy crossed his arms over his chest and tapped the fingers of his one hand on the other arm. “I was on the bridge—”
“The bridge?”
“You are the captain of a starship.”
Jim laughed. “A what?”
“It’s complicated. Anyway, there was an incident on the bridge with another crew member and when I tried to medicate him there was a scuffle and it ended up being injected into you instead. You had a very bad reaction. You transported yourself down to this planet—”
“Earth?”
“Not really. A version of past Earth accessed through this portal called Guardian of Forever. Basically you’re on the planet with that portal.” McCoy paused. “I think. Look, I don’t know the science of it or whatever. I just know you somehow got hit on the noggin after the shot and you’ve lost your marbles.”
Jim sighed. “You’re giving me a headache, Bones.”
McCoy whooped. “You just called me Bones!”
“Huh?”
“Your nickname for me.”
Jim suddenly turned and looked toward the barn. “Spock’s been gone a long time looking for rope. I’m going in.”
Jim found himself being helped off the floor by the strong arms of his mysterious savior, Spock.
For a moment, Jim found himself gripping Spock’s forearms and clinging to them as he slammed the back door closed with his foot. He peered through the dark window out at the night.
“Jim?”
“Something’s out there.”
“Where?”
Jim pointed with a shaky hand. “Out in the back. I heard it breathing.”
Spock pushed Jim behind him. “Stay here. I will look.”
Jim reached for and grabbed him again. “You aren’t going out there, are you?”
“How else am I to look for the breather?”
“Haven’t you seen Halloween?”
Spock frowned. “Halloween?”
“Yeah. Michael Myers.”
Spock gave him a look and once more pushed Jim away. “I am not afraid. Wait here.”
Spock opened the back door and went outside.
Jim looked around and found his crowbar and then followed Spock outside, crowbar at the ready.
“Spock? Where are you?”
“Here, Jim.”
Spock’s voice came from the side of the house, so Jim made his over there. Spock stood by himself.
“Nothing?”
“Negative. I hear no breathing either.”
Jim frowned. “I heard it. Something or someone was chasing me. Where were you, Spock? I called out.”
“I was in the front yard making certain everything was secure while you slept. I apologize, I did not hear you had risen.”
He blew out a breath and nodded.
Spock encircled Jim’s arm with his hand. “Let’s go back inside. You shouldn’t be running around, exerting yourself after your concussion.”
Jim allowed Spock to draw him back into the house, but he still felt uneasy.
“This isn’t right.”
“Jim?”
He looked around, turning in circles. “I don’t live here. Not like this. This is too…new.”
“New?”
“The house should look older than this.” He stopped turning and put his hand over his face. “Where’s Becky?”
“I do not know Becky.”
Jim lowered his hand and looked at Spock. “I don’t think I do either.”
“Jim—”
“What’s going on here, Spock? Is someone gaslighting me? Are you?”
“I am not.” Spock reached up to the beanie on his head. “However…”
Jim woke to a warm hand on his face. He was lying down and not on the hard asphalt he would have expected given he had collapsed in the parking lot. And why had he anyway? Ordinarily he was not the fainting sort. He was pretty sure about that. “You are awake.” The voice was familiar and yet not. It made him feel…safe. Which was altogether odd. He opened his eyes slowly and found himself staring into very dark brown eyes. Dark chocolate framed by long lashes. And strangely arched eyebrows. And a woolen forest green beanie pulled down over the tips of his ears. “You,” Jim said, softly. The man’s head tilted at an angle and for a moment Jim felt queasy. “I apologize. You hit your head when you fell. You likely have a concussion.” “Where…” “You are in the bed of your own room in the farmhouse you are currently residing in.” Jim turned his head to look, but it hurt to do so. “Easy. Do not try to move too quickly.” “Do I know you?” The man looked pensive and he seemed to hesitate before responding. “Here where you are now you do not.” “But…you know where I live?” “I do,” he admitted. “It is complicated.” Jim didn’t think he was up to complicated things right now. His head was still fairly fuzzy though it only seemed to ache when he tried to move it. “That man.” “What man?” “The dean at the college. He called himself McCoy, I think.” The beanie man nodded. “Do not worry about that now, Jim.” “What…who are you?” “I am Spock.” “Spock,” Jim whispered and somehow that name seemed…well, he didn’t know what it seemed. “It will be all right, Jim,” Spock assured him. “I am going to assist you in sitting up and then I am going to give you some tea to drink. Are you hungry?” “I think so.” Spock put his hands under Jim’s torso and carefully lifted him into a seating position on the bed. He’d already propped up pillows for Jim to lean against. Jim blinked. “My shoulder up by my neck hurts a bit.” He tried to turn his head to see but of course couldn’t. “There is a slight bruise there, but it will fade and become less painful.” “A bruise? Weird.” “Indeed,” Spock murmured. He reached over and took a mug from the bedside table and handed it to Jim. “Here is your tea.” He took a sip from the warm tea. “How’d you get into the house?” “I found the key on your person.” Jim nodded, wondering what to think about that. His mind seemed too fuzzy to give it much consideration, and for the moment anyway he didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger. And the weirdest part was that he wanted to trust Spock. Which was probably crazy and due to having a head injury. “If you will continue to drink your tea, I will go and make you some food. What would you like?” “I think I have a can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup.” “Canned soup?” Jim smiled a little and nodded. Spock shrugged slightly. “Very well. I will be back with your soup. Try not to move too much.” “Okay.” And Jim watched Spock leave the bedroom. He still was…missing something. He didn’t know what.
Jim narrowed his eyes at the short but lanky man with the moustache standing by his trash cans.
“Clyde?”
“Evening, Mr. Kirk.”
“What are you doing?” He lowered the crowbar.
“Becky called me from New York, said you had some racoon problems and to come on out and set up some traps.”
Clyde was Becky’s cousin. Didn’t have a very high IQ but he was a nice man.
Clyde stepped away from the cans. “I don’t see any signs of racoons, Mr. Kirk. But I set out traps anyhow.”
“It’s Jim. What do you see signs of?”
Clyde shrugged. “Nothing really. No signs of rats or racoons. But maybe you wouldn’t see anything specific. Traps are set now though, so I’ll come check on them in a day or two if that’s all right with you, Mr. Kirk.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Jim glanced around where the trash cans were and over toward the front yard. “See anything else around, Clyde?”
“Like what?”
Yeah, what, Jim? Glowing red eyes?
“I don’t really know, I guess. Anything weird I suppose.”
Clyde looked at Jim like maybe he was crazy and Jim wasn’t sure he was far off. So he smiled.
“You want a shot of whiskey for your trouble?”
“Wasn’t any trouble, but I’ll take the whiskey.”
Jim hesitated. He didn’t necessarily want Clyde in the house. He didn’t really have any issues with Clyde, but he didn’t exactly trust him either. Becky had mentioned once that her cousin sometimes stole things. Not usually from people he knew, but still.
“I’ll bring it right out,” Jim said. “You wait here.”
“I will, Mr. Kirk.”
Jim went into his house and over to his liquor cabinet. He quickly poured two shots of whiskey and then brought them back out the front door. True to his word, Clyde stood just where Jim had left him.
He handed a shot to Clyde and kept one for himself.
Clyde didn’t immediately drink the shot, but instead asked, “You and Becky going to be married someday?”
Jim wasn’t sure exactly how to answer that. For Clyde, yeah, but most especially for himself.
So he settled on the vague, “She wants to, I think.”
Clyde nodded and thew back the shot. Jim followed suit, feeling it burn down his throat.
Clyde handed the empty shot glass to Jim. “I’ll be on my way now, Mr. Kirk. I’ll check back on those traps like I said. And if you need anything else, you give me a call.
Jim called after him as he headed for his truck, “You want some money?”
“Nope, that’s all right.”
And just a few minutes later he was gone. Jim watched him until the lights from his truck faded away out of sight.
He set the shot glasses down on the porch and walked to where the pumpkins and scarecrows were. He clenched the crowbar.
Looking for what? Again, he really had no clue. And not surprisingly he didn’t see anything anyway.
With a shake of his head at his only foolishness, grabbed the glasses and went back into the house. Double locking the front door. Then he double locked the back door too.
And just before he went to sleep, he thought he heard a whisper.
“Hey Bones,” Jim greeted his friend as he approached their “usual” table where they’d been meeting for coffee before classes. He gestured to Spock who appeared beside him. “This is Spock. My…” He looked to Spock.
“Significant other,” Spock supplied.
Jim smiled. “Right. Spock this is Bones, er, Leonard McCoy.”
“Doctor.”
“Have a seat, both of you. I have questions.”
He exchanged a look with Spock, but when Spock shrugged, Jim sat and Spock took the seat next to him.
“So, you’re saying you two are canoodling now?”
“I guess you could call it that, sure.”
“Since when?”
“Very recent. Needless to say I won’t be needing a single dorm. I already informed them.
Bones grimaced. “Just like that? What, did you meet three days ago?”
“Three weeks, two days, fourteen hours and—”
“Never mind,” Bones growled. “It seems rather sudden.”
“Well…when you know you know.”
“What do you know?” Bones demanded.
“We both like each other.” Jim grinned.
“Like?”
“A lot.”
Jim smiled at Spock. “Exactly.”
Bones buried his face in his hands. “I give up.”
“That is wise, Doctor. As I am fairly certain that we do not require your opinion.”
Bones glared. “Now just a minute.”
“Bones,” Jim quickly interrupted before things got more tense between the two. “Lay off. It’s all good. We’re happy. And things are going well. I just wanted you to know I’m staying in the dorm with Spock and why. That’s all.”
“Fine. You win. I’m done pestering you.”
“For which we are grateful.”
Bones opened his mouth to retort to Spock.
Jim cut him off again. “We both have class, right, Bones.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Jim turned to Spock. “I’ll see you back home.”
“Indeed.”
A few minutes later, Bones walked by Jim’s side as they left the cafeteria.
“Home, is it?”
Jim laughed. “Yeah, I think so. We’ll see. It’s all good, Bones. I promise.”
Fortunately for Jim, Bones didn’t jinx him and he wasn’t told or even that week that a single dorm was available to him.
The truth was he didn’t want to have to make that decision. Mostly because he’d be tempted to tell the admin office to give the room to someone else on the waiting list. And that wasn’t fair to Spock.
But Jim admitted to himself that he had something of a crush on his Vulcan host and really didn’t want to leave.
One night though Spock was out late, doing what, Jim wasn’t privileged to know, so Jim put on his pajamas, made himself some of Spock’s tea and lounged on the sofa reading his book.
When Spock still wasn’t back by midnight, Jim went to bed, feeling a little lonely, sad and jealous. He had no right to feel that way, of course, but he suspected Spock had some sort of date and Jim didn’t like the idea.
He was awakened at 2 in the morning by Spock returning home. He stayed in his room, staring at the ceiling while he thought of Spock on his date.
Jim decided he had two options. Hope that he got a room to himself soon or tell Spock he wanted to date him.
Spirk (with a small dose of Pinto) 