"I was just thinking
It's been a long time
Since I got to see you
Tell you, I wish you were mine
And so I've been sinking
Into this dark place
Cause I need to hold you
Tell you, I'll never be fine
Unless you come home
I wish you would come home."

Joshua Radin "So Long Sunshine"

Two Weeks Later…

Generally Spock was not comfortable with the commonality of touching in human culture. He had made an exception with his mother because he had loved her, and her touch had made him feel safe in his youth. He knew it was also a way that humans conveyed strong emotions sub-textually, something again that Vulcans were not familiar with, making Spock all the more uncomfortable when McCoy had placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"He'll wake up soon."

Spock simply nodded his head in appreciation of the doctor's analysis, and then watched silently as he left the room.

The steady rhythmic beeps from nearby machinery assured Spock that Kirk's heart was beating and that his vitals were all functioning and reading properly. Spock cocked his head, surveying his captain and his friend in this serene state. For the first time in a long time Spock thought that Jim looked ironically well rested. The slow and steady rise and fall of his chest gave the impression of a calmness that was foreign for the great James T. Kirk.

There was still pigmentation distortion along his face and hands and a few deeper cuts that had not properly healed. At least one bruise had remained near his brow, but he otherwise looked unharmed. Impressive for someone who had been dead.

The Vulcan slowly approached the bed, glancing up toward the door once more to make sure they were alone. He supposed that he might be violating medical codes or perhaps even general human boundaries by what he intended to attempt, but he had to ask his captain one question, and by the power of whatever god or gods that might exist, his human side was currently affecting his level of patience. Slowly, Spock extended his left hand's thumb, index and middle finger and placed them gently – so as not to upset Jim's cranial injuries – upon the meld points on his face. He closed his eyes and waited, hoping to feel something that was a conscious remnant of his captain.

It did not take long.

'Captain?'

Something stirred within the recesses of the meld. Jim.

'Spock?'

The Vulcan was thankful that no one could currently see the relieved smile that had nearly curled both sides of his mouth in the moment that he had heard his friend's voice.

'Spock…what are you doing? Is this that mind-touch thing you do?'

'Yes captain. A mind-meld. It is a common gesture among my people.'

'But…you don't normally mind-meld with humans, I thought.'

'It is not uncommon if there is a strong link between the individuals.'

There was a silence, and Spock reached further, thinking that he might have lost his bond.

'So there is a strong link between us, you would say?'

Spock froze momentarily, realizing that he not lost the meld, Jim had simply been pondering the meaning of his first officer's words.

'We are friends,' Spock stated, a questioning hesitation lifting up the last syllable of the word in his voice. 'If I have offended you captain, I extend my apologies-'

A warm laugh perforated the energy of the meld, warming Spock in a way that he had not felt in a very long time. He quietly pegged away the thought of how much he enjoyed the unexplainable familiarity of James' mind and how it had the strangest feeling of home.

'No need to apologize, Spock.'

Relief washed over the Vulcan, and it seemed to have extended accidentally into the ether that was Jim's sub-consciousness. He felt his friend go lax beneath his touch in the hospital bed.

'Jim?'

'I'm here…what did you do?'

'I…extended my thoughts into you. It was not intentional.'

Another laugh; the warmth grew in Spock and he felt it prickle his skin with a strange kinetic energy. The Vulcan tamped down is confusion at the ease with which they shared their emotions through the meld. Usually it took practice and time, considerable effort and a great deal of trust for such a connection to manifest between two bonded Vulcan. The complications that arose between a Vulcan and a human were even more ample still. There was only ever one exception, and it was the answer that Spock had been seeking.

'Spock…are you okay?'

The question brought Spock back to the present.

'Yes captain, and I am relieved that you are as well. Your recovery was…unprecedented.'

Memory flashes came to Spock's mind, the Vulcan temporarily forgetting that Jim could see them as well.

Each relived in small pieces the moment shared as Jim had slipped away in the decontamination chamber of the Enterprise's warp core drive.

Scenes from Spock chasing down Kahn, the battle between the two men and Kahn's eventual defeat at the hands of a broken hearted Vulcan and flashes of words:

'cannot break rules'

'how can you…break bone?'

'let me show you'

The ether shifted around Spock's mind, and he reached deeper into the meld, thinking he had lost Jim again. Something grabbed at his free hand in the physical world, locking tightly around the wrist, then shifting to wrap around the back of his hand. Jim!

'You went after him!'

It was an observation tainted with anger and a croak of disbelief. The voice had become so strained that Spock wondered if Jim had become conscious while in the twine of the meld.

'Yes.'

He had no argument to justify his actions. Spock knew it had not been logic that had sent him after Kahn, although he had not understood other things. The emotion built in the ether once more, and Spock knew that Jim would feel his heart in the moments to come. His feelings opened to share the grief he had felt at having lost his captain, the pain and desire for revenge, and the feeling of loss and hopelessness. While it was true that Kirk and Spock had only worked together for a short time, what they had experienced together had strengthened their bond to something more, something neither man could put his finger on.

'Spock…'

Silence struck in the void and darkness between them. Instantly, Spock felt shame for his behavior. He had hoped that no one would see that side of him again, least of all Jim.

'Captain, please, you do not need to - '

'I'm sorry.'

It was Spock's turn to be silenced with his confusion.

'Spock?'

Something reached out to him from the shadows. Jim was beginning to manifest physically within the meld, a technique that normally humans were unable to do without practice.

'Yes, Jim,'

'I'm sorry.'

'For what?'

'I…' Jim trailed off, and Spock sensed the sorrow and guilt that Jim felt.

It was Spock's turn to reach out, and he momentarily brushed what felt like a shoulder. Jim still did not fully have a corporeal form, but he was getting there.

Something shot out and wrapped around his wrist in this realm, while Jim's physical hand held his in the real world. They were connected now on both planes, and the connection was solidified between them. Spock saw Jim in his mind's eye, unmarred by the events of the past. He simply was, and the image was beautiful. Sad blue eyes and a devilish smile captivated the Vulcan's attention and he waited to hear his Captain speak.

'I only wanted to save my family,' he said. 'I didn't mean to hurt anyone.'

Spock allowed himself to smile fully this time.

'You are alive and well now,' he surmised. 'I suppose I can forgive the transgression.'

Jim's grin widened, and it eased Spock's heart.

'You are my brother, Spock. I cannot thank you for all you did.'

'And you are mine,' the Vulcan assured him. 'There is no place you can go that I will not follow.'

The smile on Jim's face changed. It was not the usual smile of a man hiding his fragile nature, but instead the smile of someone who was finally ready to rest after a long and arduous journey; someone who had found a place to rest, a home.

'Likewise, Spock.'

Silence, not expectant but comfortable, and suddenly they embraced each other. Although it was through the meld, each drew comfort from the other's presence and touch.

'I will let you rest,' Spock stated after a while. 'But I will return.'

Kirk nodded as they pulled away from each other, the grin returned.

'I'm sure I'll be here.'

Spock bowed his head respectfully and slowly broke the meld.

He watched Jim's face for a few more moments in the physical world before taking leave, only remembering that Jim's hand was still wrapped around his own. He lifted the weakened hand in both of his, blanketing the cool and motionless fingers between his. He was sure the consciousness of Jim was able to feel him, and so he squeezed them gently in reassurance that although Spock had left, he was still with him and would return. He would always return, for the meld had assured Spock of what he had come to suspect two weeks ago.

"T'hy'la."