Keeping the Nightmares at Bay

Unbroken Circle

Days passed as Spock waited to hear back from Sarek. Logically, he knew that it could take a while. After all, there had been eight thousand colonists on that planet. Eight thousand names, eight thousand stories to go through to find eleven. And Sarek was the Vulcan Ambassador to earth. He was busy. He couldn't devote all his time to sifting through names. Still, Spock felt impatient.

Jim had not brought it up again, for which Spock was thankful. He would rather not discuss it until he had news. So they days crept by. Days spent on the bridge, or with their friends. Nights spent curled around each other, locked in a passionate embrace or simply dozing off in each other's arms.

The T'hy'la bond had finally started to level back out again. So, while they missed each other when parted, it was easier. It was no longer that same deep, acute ache, like a piece of themselves was missing.

Jim had noticed the settling and remarked on it. For him, it meant that he had less trouble spending time with people other than Spock. He no longer felt that they had to be attached at the hip.

Another reason Jim rejoiced in this settling was Spocks promise to him. Spock had said that they would discuss getting marriage bonded with him once it had happened. He had not forgotten. The thought filled him with excitement.

He wanted to marry Spock. He knew it deep in his bones. He couldn't imagine a world where he wouldn't want to be married to Spock. And finding out that they were basically the Vulcan equivalent of soulmates did nothing to curb that desire. If anything, it amplified it.

It proved, in Jim's mind, that they were right for each other. After all, spontaneous mental bonds were very rare, almost unheard of. The mental compatibility had to be off the charts for there to even be a chance of one happening.

He also had begun to learn how to shield his mind as well as how to mentally reach out to Spock through their bond. Spock spent many an evening teaching him how to navigate the intricacies their T'hy'la bond. How to find the comforting weight of Spocks presence in his mind and to reach out in turn.

They had yet to tell any of the crew. And though it was evident that Bones and Uhura knew something was up. They had, as of yet, not been able to pinpoint exactly what. But as their respective best friends, they knew somethingwas different.

It was honestly a little surprising that no one had caught them yet. Though that was probably due in part to the fact that most of the crew believed Spock to he above such things. Although there had been a fair amount of skill and luck involved in staying undetected so far.

Finally, after nearly a month of waiting, Spocks padd beeped, alerting him of a message. He was on shift on the bridge at the time, and so didn't think much of it. Jim was right there, engrossed in work, so it wasn't from him. It wasn't an emergency, and he was busy, so he didn't bother to check it. He could get to it when his shift ended.

Upon the end of his shift, he returned to Jim's room, now their room. Jim had programmed the door to allow Spock in after less than a week. The thought of sleeping away from his T'hy'la felt foreign and unsettling to him. Jim heartily agreed, and had all but demanded that they share a bed.
They had been practically living together since then. Spock only used his room for mediation and extra storage now.

He methodically changed out of his uniform and hung it up neatly in their shared closet. Then he pulled out his casual clothes and dressed. That done, he relaxed on the bed to wait for Jim. He had gotten held up with the shift change and would be down momentarily. Picking up his padd, he was reminded of the unopened message from hours earlier. It was from Sarek.

It was from Sarek! Spock rushed to open it. His hands were almost trembling as his heart beat faster in a very unvulcan way. This was it. This was the moment of truth.