Bonds Know No Distance

[mirroredcommand]

The night was dark and deep and long in space, never ending, without a dawn to break the line between waking and sleep, day and night, beginning and end. It made existence endless, broken only by the silent running of the clocks on the wall, the movements of work, food, and sleep. Without these things, without the sureness of a schedule, time became meaningless. Even the stars could not keep him company.

So after Kirk came and 'visited', time resumed its endless patterns, moving on and on without pause or break or concept. For a man used to near-constant action, it was a form of torture more exquisite then any bit of pain or distress. More then anything, it was a torture that gave him nothing to focus his mind on anything but the swelling pain of the broken bond. It was swiftly becoming over whelming, completely and utterly. There was nothing left to keep the pain away, and with his shields designed only to block out Spock's light intrusions instead of a full on force, they were failing after being buffeted for so long. In short, he was going mad.

His expression showed little of the internal war except for the strong brow being furrowed and the age-lines at the edges of the eyes and corners of the mouth looking thicker. It was his hands that gave him away, gripping fiercely into the fabric of the bed he was reclining on. A headache was throbbing behind his eyes in time with his heart, a thick red-hot band of light that was searing like a knife into his mind. Deeper, deeper with every beat of his heart.

Every part of him was focused on maintaining the failing shields, rebuilding them as Spock had taught him those years ago. He had survived torture from Vulcans who knew precisely what to do in the mind, but could not stop this. This bond that had been forced onto him but in the end welcomed, this bond that had saved his life many times in the past, that had saved the life of his first officer and friend, this bond that had been a respite from a world where one could never relax... this bond was killing him. It would destroy him as surely as any blade to the heart.

SPOCK!

Never screamed aloud, never aloud. Instead, strong white teeth bit firmly into his lip, hard enough to send a trickle of crimson along his chin, down to his jawline. The pain, the strain, had been steadily increasing since James Kirk's visit to his cell, as if the reminder of the bond and speaking of it had started a chain reaction. He had long since started to keep his eyes closed [was it hours? minutes? weeks? centuries?] because at least this way the room would not spin. He was starting to feel that same spinning in his mind, making his world wobble like a child's toy.

It seemed hours passed this way. A day? Perhaps. He vaguely heard someone calling him, but did not dare respond. Still trapped in the arms of the enemy, he could not let a weakness be seen. The smell of food made his stomach swell and gurgle, but not from hunger. It felt like his entire body needed one thing it could not have. [a universe away]

He did not feel when he stood, instead he felt the world sway, go sideways. Could not feel the floor beneath his feet, the slap of his hand against the wall in an instinctual attempt to keep himself upright. Did not feel when the world tuned him out, blew him out like a light bulb, did not feel when the pain consumed him and his shields finally fell, did not feel when he hit the ground.

The darkness had claimed him instead.

Comments

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

"You will require rest in a secure location."

Spock knew that Christopher would not rest in as public a location as sickbay, even with Spock guarding him.

[dctr-mccoy.livejournal.com]

That was probably a good idea. Bones considered the best place, as clearly he didn't want them in his Sickbay anymore than they wanted to be there. "As soon as the Captain can move under his own steam, I'll find a more comfortable location for him. For you both," he added.

He hoped to fuck Nyota was more right about these two than Kirk was... had been.

Fuck...

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

Pike would rather suffer through his exhaustion then do something as foolish as falling asleep willingly in an enemy strong hold. Yet, to his own surprise, he found a certain small sense of respect for a small few members of this crew.

"Then you can find us a place now. I'll find a way to get there." He focused that impressive gaze onto the doctor's face,

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

Spock had tensed, ready to leap until McCoy made it clear the room would accommodate both of them. He was not leaving Christopher alone.

Rest, his Christopher needed rest.

And perhaps other comforts.

[dctr-mccoy.livejournal.com]

Fucking know-it all gold shirt goddamned command types... McCoy's face hardened for a moment, not knowing who he was really mad at.

He called the security over toward him, and talked to them quietly for a moment. "We've got a secure room being prepared for you right now. It's a private room, one we keep for guests," he said, trying to keep the disbelief out of his voice. "Give me a few minutes."

Moments later, the doors opened and one of the ensigns holding a phaser nodded at him. There was a shitload of security out there, but somehow Bones felt he could trust that these two just wanted to get somewhere away from the rest of them. "Alright, let's go."

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

The amount of security hardly surprised him, but equally displeased him. He tilted his gaze to Spock, his eyes narrowing. You won't react to them, understood? He knew that Spock would dislike those phasers as much as himself, and right now the growing headache behind his eyes told him that the last thing he wanted to deal with was reigning in his first officer.

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

It would be a matter of but a few minutes work to destroy these babies in red shirts, no true toughness among them. But Christopher was Spock's first concern and he could read Christopher's message as clearly as if it had been spoken aloud.

I am... behaving, Christopher.

The pain of the phasers held no fear for him but Christopher's displeasure was to be avoided. He stepped close to the man, not touching, but there in case he needed the support to walk.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

With every ounce of dignity and strength he could manage, Christopher Pike stood, holding to the edge of the biobed. He would show no signs of weakness, he would rather walk slow and steady and take his time. His eyes moved over the security team, and was invisibly pleased to see several of them shrink from his gaze. "Lead the way." He said comfortably, hiding every sign of his suddenly pained form.

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

Spock could sense the tension and pain that Christopher was hiding, pressing down so that none of it showed on his face, in his posture. Spock glared at the security crew, tempted to hurt at least one of them. But he was behaving. He maintained his position, just in case Christopher stumbled.

[dctr-mccoy.livejournal.com]

They didn't have far to walk.

Around the corner were the rooms kept for quarantining patients. Passing the one currently being occupied by Jim's brother Sam, with two guards outside, he input the code to open the door to the room next door. Inside was a decently sized room with a bed, a table, and a bathroom.

There was a computer whose access had been disabled, and a replicator for food and drink.

"If you need anything, let one of the guards know and someone will come get me," he said absently.

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

Let one of the guards know. That was pleasingly vague. There were many ways of letting the guards... know.

Spock nodded at McCoy.

"Thank you."

He did have some manners, after all.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

He could read it in Spock's posture just what the other was thinking, but allowed it for now. After all, all cats needed to play, and Spock was no different. He walked unhurriedly, taking his time, keeping his step steady.

[mirroredspock.livejournal.com]

The room was... adequate. Cramped for two men but they had shared far worse accommodation. Spock turned his attention to checking the room for hidden devices.

[iron-command.livejournal.com]

Always ready, always prepared. It pleased him to see Spock immediately going into action. Pike turned, looking to McCoy. "This will do. Is there anything else?"

[dctr-mccoy.livejournal.com]

Bones would have been amused at the paranoid look of the two of them, had he given a shit at that moment. Thank goodness for the security detail, more professional about this than he was at them moment.

"I'll be by later to check on you," he said, heading out the door, locking it from the outside. With a few words to Security, he headed back toward Sickbay.