A/N – Last chapter. I hope you enjoy it!


Elder Spock set his teacup down gently on the sturdy, wooden table. Old eyes took their time, but finally made contact with the blue ones across from him.

"That is quite a story, Jim." He told the Captain. Jim smiled that Kirkian smile that had always melted the ice around his heart.

"Heh, I guess this is the part where I say we lived happily ever after. I mean, with Spock's help, we really controlled that severed bond and he helped me live a normal life." Jim chuckled as he too, sat his teacup down. His voice was warm, just as it had been during the story, and even to show how the years had affected him.

Elder Spock steepled his old fingers and relaxed back into the couch. "But, may I ask, what did Dr. McCoy do that convinced my younger self to go to you?" Jim moved forward to the edge of the couch, then scratched his nose like it was more important.

"That was five years ago, Old man. I hardly remember it now." The elder Spock eyed him, knowing from experience that he didn't need to show emotion to make the Captain understand he was calling his bullshit. "Okay, well, maybe I remember a little bit." Jim admitted. "It's just… embarrassing." Spock offered a small nod, urging him to continue. "You see, after Spock and I became lovers, I asked the same question, mainly because when I bitched to Bones about it, he absolutely refused to acknowledge he'd done anything. He called it fate. But then, Spock walked me through it with a small mind meld. He said he received a package at his door and—you know what?" Elder Spock looked up questioningly. "I don't think it'll have as much affect if I just tell you. How about I show you what he showed me?" Elder Spock thought about the option for a moment and decided that there would be no harm in it. Surely his counterpart would not mind. So he reached out his fingers and placed them lightly on Jim's meld points. He chanted the words and their eyes fluttered shut.

/Jim must have meant it. Though Spock knew it had been him who was avoiding the Captain, there was no doubt that Jim had meant every word. His playful banter only that, playful. He never meant to excite Spock into thinking that there could be something more quite like what had transpired between Mr. Spock and James. He had been a fool. A Vulcan fool.

Though he had sent his letter of transfer two nights previous, he hadn't received a response, clearly the Captain wanted to procrastinate on the form as well as his apology—but Spock wasn't expecting one. Captain Kirk was too proud a man to admit his defeat, and Spock knew he too was too stubborn to force it out of him. Once they got back to Earth, it would all be over. Jim would never have to see him again, and it would be like they had never met. Just as he wants.

The morning of their dock back on Earth, Spock had readied himself early. He had plans to go to the New Vulcan Colony and help for the two weeks before he returned back to Starfleet for his transfer. Grabbing up his small bags, Spock exited his room, only for his feet to come in contact with a small package.

It was brown, square, and tied with medical tape, which gave away who had left the package. Picking it up, Spock decided he still had enough time to view its contents before he would make his leave.

He sat the package on his desk, taking his time to open it. When the brown paper was pulled aside and the tape thoroughly obliterated, Spock saw that inside the package was a box full of record tapes. Looking at them closely, Spock recognized them as the tapes stored for medical purposes. Typically, the recordings of each session. Why would Dr. McCoy leave him these tapes?

He pulled them all out, a total of twenty tapes in all, and sat them beside his computer. Before he put the first tape in, he noticed at the bottom of the box was a small slip of paper. He hesitated for many moments before he finally convinced himself to reach for it.

Jim and Spocky's Happy Play Time Room

Another note was also taped below it.

I don't know if this'll mean much to you, Spock, but I'm hoping below that cold, Vulcan exterior, is the same emotional heart I saw beneath Mr. Spock. Leonard McCoy

The note made something inside Spock quiver. What did this mean? Instead of asking himself and deducing the logic behind it all, Spock simply ignored his Vulcan nature and fed his curiosity. He put the first tape in and watched the screen.

"You apologized to Spock yet?"

"I'm trying, Bones. I'm trying, but this damn bond thing keeps getting in the way. It makes me say things I don't mean and fuck up what I want to say."

He put in the next one.

"I haven't seen him, Bones, and that… it's discouraging."

"This is no time to give up! He's just playing hard to get."

And the next one.

"Spock hates me."

The next.

"I tried, but I just couldn't. I'm so stupid! I can't even apologize to him! They just won't let me! I'm going to lose him!"

He went through all the other tapes until he came upon the very last one.

"After tomorrow there won't be a team anymore. I got his letter of transfer. After tomorrow, Spock's going to be the Chief Science Officer of the USS Battalion."

"What? Jim! You're not serious, are you? You're not going to sign off on that!"

"I told you, Bones. It's over."

Spock stopped the tapes, emotions becoming wild inside him. What a fool Spock had been! Jim hadn't been denying him anything, but fighting the battle with the foreign bond! Had Spock been so illogical that he had simply forgotten? Just because a Vulcan could manage the severed link didn't mean a Human could. Jim was strong, but also weaker than he thought possible. For three weeks, the Captain had been struggling on his own. No one to guide him through the unfortunate events of his careless counterpart.

His door chimed.

"Enter." Spock called, almost ghostly. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"I figured you'd watched them by now."

"Just finished, Doctor." Silence fell. Dr. McCoy moved closer until he was directly behind the sitting Vulcan. "Dr. McCoy, you are aware that me viewing these tapes is strictly forbidden by Starfleet Regulations. This breaks the doctor/patient confidentiality."

"And you know I don't give a rat's ass about that, Spock. It takes a lot for Jim to give up, and there was no way in hell I was going to let you strut off this ship without one last try."

Silence. "I did not know—"

"You couldn't've. Jim's regular emotional state mixed with your Vulcan broken link just kept expanding, making it impossible for him to function around you since you were causing the most emotional fluctuations inside him. At the rate this'll going, it's already affecting Jim's speech. He's starting to sound like James, and I think because of the lack of support, it'll be permanent." Spock didn't speak. "Look, there's still time to fix it." He pulled up the note that stated their play room and held it up for Spock to see it. "Together, we can set it right. It's not too late."

"But, I have not spoken with him since..."

"You don't need to." Dr. McCoy then turned him around so that they could face each other. "Look, before you leave, post this note back up at the Private Rec Room. Leave the ship and come back after you're sure everyone's gone, knowing Jim, he'll still be here. Chances are, he'll see the note and wonder who the hell put it back. Meet him there and just do whatever feels right. Oh, and since his speech is on the fritz, kiss him. That'll get the message across if he doesn't believe you." Spock appeared confused.

"Kiss him?"

"Yeah. You still want to be his boyfriend, right?" Spock looked away. Dr. McCoy took his shoulders, feelings of sorrow and understanding bleeding into him. "He needs you, Spock. And you need him. Captain Talho said our universe was the furthest from the origin point, and if there was one thing that was constant, it was that you and Jim managed to find each other. That's not coincidence, Spock, that's destiny."


"And if he still manages to look as stupidly confused as he typically does, just tell him, you felt it in your 'bones'. He'll understand." Spock nodded. The doctor was right, there still was time and after seeing their counterparts, even his elderly form, Spock could not deny that this was no coincidence. Maybe it truly was destiny. If Spock left, could he handle breaking destiny?

"I will do it." Spock stated. The doctor smiled. "It is illogical, as I can not say that I love him like my counterpart could, but I do believe that with enough time, I can. With enough time, I can say that I love him."/

Elder Spock drifted away from Jim as the memory came to a close. Since it had been five years, it was safe to assume that Jim had been in numerous mind melds before so it was no surprise he looked unphased by the action.

"Leonard is a good friend."

"He is." Jim confirmed.

"And tell me, based on that memory, has enough time passed for you both to admit that you are in love?" Jim went silent, but the smile remained on his face. It looked like something was on his mind and after many moments, he looked up with his startling blue eyes.

"Well, Old man, I didn't exactly come across the galaxy just to rehash and tell you an epic story. I came because, James waited eight years to admit it, and I didn't want to do what he did. My real reason I came here is because my next three year mission is going to begin soon. Me and the old crew are getting back on that ship to finish out going where no man has gone before… and I didn't want to do it alone." Elder Spock nodded and allowed a small quirk of his lips.

"Jim, you are asking me something." He nodded.

"I am. Spock," Jim began slowly, "will you do me and my Spock the honour of bonding us?" He felt his old body tremble with emotions. "If there's one thing my counterpart taught me, it's that time is fleeting, but never too late." He paused, "And he also taught me something very important, that…" the Captain trailed off.

"What will be, will be." Elder Spock finished for him. Jim nodded.

"What will be, will be," he echoed, "destiny."

The ceremonial bonding would be the following morning. Elder Spock closed his windows from the chilly night air and slowly made his way to his bedroom. New Vulcan had been doing well, and though the people would have been honoured to witness the bonding between Captain Kirk and Commander Spock, Jim had requested that the bonding be in secret. It was only for them to know about. Elder Spock could only comply as he remembered that that was exactly what he and his own Captain had done.

Looking around his dim room, Elder Spock walked towards his bed and opened a drawer in his nightstand. From it, he pulled out an old device that looked strangely similar to a communicator, scratches and faded colours showing he had had it for a very long time. On it, he pressed a button and uplifted a holograph of himself and Jim in their prime, Vulcan kissing and staring longingly at each other after their bonding ceremony.

"Thank you, Jim." He whispered as he drifted off to sleep. "Thank you."



A/N - *blush* And that's it. I hope you all enjoyed the story! Thanks for reading and sticking with me on this! I hope this ending did not disappoint! Thanks again!