Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or its characters.

Last time:

Out of nowhere, Bon-gar delivered a swift kick to Spock's injured shoulder. "I can hear you, Doctor, and I'll be damned if that creature lives to see another minute!" Bon-gar kept a grip on Jim as he withdrew his phaser. "But first, I'm going to kill the human."

Bon-gar leveled his phaser at the Captain and began to squeeze the trigger. Jim felt as if he was underwater – he could see what was happening, but couldn't move fast enough. He was going to die in the damn transporter room, right in front of his fatally wounded First Officer and an entire security team, shot to death by a Tonettan thug. Jim shut his eyes and braced himself for the inevitable.

Thunk. Jim fell to the floor. Not a second later, he heard a heavy object hit the floor next to him and, more importantly, he did NOT feel a phaser pulse ripping through his chest. Opening his eyes, he recoiled with disgust at the sight of Bon-gar's severed head rolling along the transporter floor next to him, leaving a trail of thick purple blood in its wake. He looked up in astonishment. In front of him, Caldo-gar was holding Sulu's bloody sword in one hand, and his uncle's body in the other.

"You, you saved my life," Jim panted, still amazed that he was actually alive.

Caldo-gar gave him a sad smile. "The others, Uhura and Sulu, said he caught up to you. " Caldo-gar shook his head. "I never thought he was like that, you know? I had no idea he was so violent." He gently lowered his uncle's body to the ground. "It's lucky you had a sword; it was the only way to stop him at this point." Caldo-gar seemed to note Jim's confusion. "Our necks are our most vulnerable spot – beheading is one of the few permanent ways of killing a Tonettan."

Spock tilted his head weakly. "Fascinating…" Spock tried to look in Jim's direction, but his gaze was unfocused. "The Federation… could benefit… from his knowledge," he said haltingly.

Bones rushed to Spock's side. "You're thinking about the Federation at a time like this? Dammit, Spock, you're bleeding out! We're getting you to sickbay right away." A medical team quickly loaded Spock onto a gurney, taking care not to jostle him.

Jim struggled to stand upright and join his First Officer. "I'm going with him."

"Damn right you are," Bones muttered. "You can't even stand on that ankle, and… holy hell, Jim, is that a bite mark on your ear?"

Jim reddened, but his discomfort was forgotten when he saw that Spock's eyes had closed. "Spock?" No response. Shit. "Spock?!" Bones was frantically passing the tricorder over Spock's prone form, cursing every few seconds. His worried eyes met Jim's.

"Jim, I know you're the Captain, and I know you're hurt, but –"

"Dammit Bones," Jim interrupted, "I'll be fine, really I will. I know you'll be able to fix me. I'm not trying to pretend like it doesn't hurt, because it does, but you've got to save Spock. He's top priority, okay? I don't care how long it takes."

Bones nodded swiftly. "I'll take him straight into surgery. But promise me you'll stay off that ankle."

Jim acquiesced. "Fine, just get going." Bones was already jogging alongside Spock's gurney, closely monitoring his vital signs.

Jim wanted nothing more than to take off running behind the gurney, but he would be no good to anyone if he injured himself further. "Caldo-gar," Jim finally said, trying to keep his voice steady, "will you help me to sickbay?"

Without a word, Caldo-gar carefully scooped Jim up in his arms and began carrying him in the direction of the sickbay. As they left the transporter room, Caldo-gar glanced over his shoulder to watch the security team remove his uncle's body.

"Caldo-gar," Jim said, peering up at the boy, "I know we promised to set you up with a farm on Earth, but I was wondering if you might consider joining Starfleet. You could apply to be a cadet in a few years."

Caldo-gar looked surprised. "A Tonettan in the Academy? Would they even allow such a thing?"

Jim gave a half-smile. "They let Spock in, didn't they?" His good-humor seemed forced at the mention of his First Officer, and Caldo-gar made no response. "Really, though," Jim continued, "you saved my life back there. I would trust you as a part of my crew. In fact," Jim added, "if you do apply to Starfleet, I'll write your recommendation, and I'll request you on the Enterprise if she's still mine." Caldo-gar seemed a bit overwhelmed. "You'd be a major asset to the Federation, Caldo-gar. There's a lot we don't know about Tonettans."

"Like the regeneration," Caldo-gar said, mostly to himself. Caldo-gar wound his way through the narrow corridors of the Enterprise and finally reached the sickbay. A young nurse motioned for Caldo-gar to deposit Jim in a nearby chair. Caldo-gar complied, and was about to exit the sickbay when he turned back toward Jim. "What you said about joining Starfleet…" Caldo-gar looked at Jim thoughtfully. "That's a lot to take in, especially right now, after everything that just happened." Jim was quiet. The young Tonettan finally spoke. "But it sounds like something I want to do. I wasn't really cut out for farm life."

"Neither was I," Jim said seriously.

After a dozen harrowing hours in sickbay, McCoy had finally stabilized both Spock and the Captain. With much persuasion, even Uhura came in to get her bruises treated. Finally feeling that everyone was out of the woods, McCoy decided to check in on his most vocal patient.

"How are you feeling, Jim?"

Jim was lying on a bed in sickbay, still groggy. "There you are, finally."

Bones cleared his throat. "I asked you a question, Jim, and I'm not leaving until I get an answer."

"I'm fine, Bones," Jim said, exasperated.

"How do I know that's not the concussion talking?"

"Because you already treated the concussion," Jim said.

"True," McCoy conceded. "But it was milder than I expected, given the state of your face. Some of those cuts and broken bones are going to take a while longer." He looked at Jim. "I gave you a tetanus shot for that bite. There was a double row of teeth marks, but those should fade soon." Jim remained silent. "Anything else I should know?"

"No."

Bones massaged his temple. "That was a close one back there… I'm glad you're okay, Jim."

"Why Bones," Jim said teasingly, "do I detect concern?"

McCoy grunted. "Sure, Jim, concern that you don't rebreak that ankle and make me redo all my handiwork. I know how much you love the bone knitter." Jim made a face. "Go easy with sparring this week, okay?"

Jim nodded. "You got it, Bones." McCoy turned to leave, but Jim grabbed him by the sleeve. Surprised, McCoy turned around. "You haven't said a word about Spock."

McCoy sighed and sat down on the edge of Jim's bed. "Well, I've done all I could."

Jim looked alarmed. "What does that mean?"

Bones grasped Jim's shoulder. "Calm down… just let me finish. He lost a lot of blood, Jim – I've never seen him that weak before."

"He couldn't even stand up on his own," Jim murmured.

"And on top of the phaser wound, that Tonettan bastard really beat the hell out of him." Bones fiddled absentmindedly with the comforter. "He seems stable now, though."

"Can I see him?" Jim asked anxiously.

"I wouldn't recommend it. He's in some freaky Vulcan healing trance or some such shit… I dunno." Bones shook his head. "Truth be told, I feel a little helpless right now – all we can really do is monitor his vitals and hope he snaps out of it."

"Actually, Doctor, the healing trance is complete for the time being."

Jim and McCoy whipped around to see Spock standing near Jim's bed. Jim grinned, wide and unguarded – it made him look like a kid, McCoy thought. "Spock!" Jim exclaimed, sitting up straighter in his bed. "Thank god!" His face became serious. "You scared me down there… and you also saved my life. Thank you."

Spock nodded. "I was merely doing my duty, Captain."

Jim laughed lightly. "Just duty, huh? Well, in that case, I'm damn lucky that you're the best First Officer in the fleet."

Jim swore he saw a slight upturn of Spock's lips. "Thank you, Captain."

Bones rolled his eyes. "Good god…" He glared at Spock. "You shouldn't be up, Spock. Your blood loss was extreme, even for Vulcans." Bones visually scanned Spock's body. "And that shoulder was an absolute mess."

"It is still not ideal, Doctor, but it is functional," Spock replied. "Do I have your permission to return to duty?"

"No! I still need to check you over again, run some – "

"Doctor McCoy?" Nurse Chapel interrupted. "Admiral Pike wishes to speak to the Captain immediately. We have tried to delay him, but he is insisting, sir."

Bones looked at Nurse Chapel. "Insisting my ass. Jim's in no condition to be talking to the Admiral right now."

Jim smiled. "Aw, come on, Bones. I'm talking to you, aren't I?" Bones glared at him. "Spock," Jim said, "I want you in on this transmission, too. I still don't even know how you got me out of there, and I have a feeling Pike wants the full story." Spock quickly walked toward Jim's hospital bed and stood next to it. His face was badly bruised, Jim noticed, and he still seemed a little shaky.

Bones eyed Kirk and Spock. "For the record, this is going against my better medical judgment. If it was up to me, you'd both be sedated until tomorrow morning."

"Your concern is noted, Doctor," Spock replied.

Bones stared at Spock. "For god's sake, man, sit down on the damn bed. If you're insisting on talking to Pike right away, I won't have you keeling over mid-transmission." Spock gingerly sat down on the very edge of the bed, his back poker-straight. "Oh yeah, that looks much more comfortable," Bones said sarcastically.

Jim caught Bones' eye. "Pike's probably waiting."

"Fine," McCoy grumbled. He hit a few buttons and, within seconds, the Admiral was staring at Jim from the video screen. Bones quietly exited the room.

Pike's eyes grew wide as he surveyed the scene. "Captain Kirk, explain what is going on. Are you injured?"

"Aye, Sir, but I am recovering."

Pike swallowed hard. "Romulan," he said, a note of anger in his voice, "identify your name and your purpose aboard the Enterprise.

Jim nearly laughed. "Romulan?" He looked over at Spock. The tattoos were fading, but the shaved head was still very prominent.

"It is I, Commander Spock," the First Officer replied.

Pike's eyes bulged in disbelief. "Oh my god, Spock?" He squinted and brought his face closer to the video screen. "It really is you!" Pike sat back in his chair and looked between Jim, propped up in his hospital bed, and Spock the faux-Romulan. "Was this one of your half-cocked schemes, Jim?" he finally asked.

"Negative, Sir," Spock said formally. "This disguise was my strategic decision."

"Well I'll be damned," Pike said. "You know, Spock, I was hoping you'd rub off on Jim. I wasn't expecting it to be the other way around."

Spock's eyebrows raised in surprise. "My plan was based on logic, Admiral."

Pike chuckled. "Knowing you, Spock, I'm sure it was." He eyed the men. "So, do I even need to ask if you found evidence of species trafficking on Tonetta?"

Jim shook his head and scoffed. "Admiral, I think we saw enough to arrest half the planet. One of the leading traffickers was killed in a skirmish on board the ship. I regret that we were not able to detain anyone else involved in my kidnapping."

"Your kidnapping?" Pike repeated. "I thought it was a transporter accident."

"Actually, Admiral," Spock responded, "we were able to arrest one of the leading conspirators, Senator Evrin-Gar. He is being held under guard on board the Enterprise."

Jim looked at Spock in confusion. "A Senator was involved?"

Pike's eyes narrowed. "Wait… have the two of you debriefed each other yet?"

"No sir," Spock said. "I have only just regained consciousness."

Pike raked a hand through his hair. "Okay then. Men, I want you to get the hell away from Tonetta. We'll need a face-to-face to determine what the Federation should do about that planet, and Evrin-Gar will need to be delivered to a Federation Planet to stand trial."

"We will set a course for Earth, Admiral."

"Very good, Captain." Pike looked at the men. "Nice work today. Why don't you catch each other up on what happened, and we'll talk in person upon your arrival?"

"Aye, Sir," Jim said.

"I have one other request, Admiral," Spock said. "We are bringing two Tonettan refugees back to Earth with us: Caldo-gar, a minor, and his mother, Kir-gara. They assisted with the recovery of the Captain in exchange for safe passage to Earth, as well as a farm. The young man, Caldo-gar, has also agreed to fill in the current gaps in Federation knowledge of Tonetta and its inhabitants. Our lack of knowledge is considerable, Admiral."

Pike arched an eyebrow. "This bargain was made on the fly, Spock? By you?"

Spock nodded quickly. "Aye, Sir. I know that it was not regulation, but the decision had to be made."

Pike stared a long while at Spock, then at Jim. "Very well," he finally said. "Get me the paperwork right away. See you in a few days. Pike out."

The transmission ended, and Spock released a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. Jim looked at him. "Sounds like you really jumped through some hoops to get me back."

"I employed some… unconventional measures, Captain."

"You know," Jim said with a sly smile, "not long ago you would have been happy to abandon me on some godforsaken planet."

Spock appeared troubled. "Captain, marooning you on Delta Vega was a grave error on my part."

"Relax, Spock, I'm just messing with you. Truth is," Jim said warmly, "you were scary as hell down on Tonetta."

"What do you mean, Captain?"

Jim gestured toward the faint markings on Spock's face. "Disguised as a Romulan. That was insane. And Uhura and Sulu as Orions?" Jim smiled. "Especially Uhura. I'll never let her live that down."

"She was afraid of that, Captain, but decided your life was worth the risk."

Jim sobered. "She risked a hell of a lot…" His face darkened. "I'll have to talk with her about what that bastard did to her…" Jim looked up at Spock. "You all risked a lot. Thank you."

"Captain, I was just – "

"I swear to god, Spock, if you say 'doing my duty'…" Jim shook his head, then began to chuckle. "Did you really come up with that rescue plan all on your own?"

Spock stared at Jim. "It seemed logical at the time. Your situation left us with few options."

"You are one sneaky Vulcan," Jim observed, the admiration apparent in his voice. "That's a compliment, Spock. "

Spock raised an eyebrow. "Well, I have a very sneaky human teacher."

Jim's eyes went wide. "Is that a joke, Mr. Spock?" he asked, amused.

"No, Jim, I believe I would call it a compliment."

The End

Thank you all for reading my first Star Trek story! I had so much fun writing it. I hope you enjoyed reading it! ----- AE