A/N: The marriage chain came from the truly awesome CMM on the K/S Archive. And the Sarek/McCoy came from out of nowhere. Really! Hope you enjoy.

Jim gave the face on his terminal screen a very sour look. "Ambassador, I'm in extremely deep shit." He took in a long breath before adding, "This has to be the stupidest thing I've ever done."

"Jim, it could not possibly be as bad as you assume it to be, whatever this problem is." When this old Spock gave him a gentle and encouraging smile, Jim didn't even notice the Vulcan's mouth hadn't moved because he was that attuned to almost all of both Spocks' eye-expressions. Which only made him want to bang his head on his desk from the embarrassment of a Vulcan being encouraging. The Ambassador wouldn't like it, so Jim refrained… for the moment.

"Oh, it's worse. So much worse. And hopeless."

Though the Ambassador's face didn't even twitch, he clearly conveyed both exasperation and impatience. "Please, stop beating around the bush, as you would say."

Jim mumbled, "I've fallen in love with my First Officer."

"But that is wonderful news."

"I don't understand."

"The statement explains itself." And Jim could see it, even without the lips quirking into a grin, that the Ambassador was yanking his chain.

Still, Jim sighed. "Ok, explain, in small and simple words, why this is good news to you. Because, I'm telling you, from the way this will probably go down if I 'fess up to him, he's gonna finish what he tried to do on the Bridge eight months ago."

"I will." The twinkle in those old eyes brightened for a moment. "I want you to tell me what prompted this call first, Jim."

"Oh." Jim gave a groan and ran a hand through his sleep-mussed hair. "That's entirely your fault. I want you to know that. Completely your fault, and I'm pretty sure Spock's going to give you a stern talking-to the next time you two talk, by the way."

"Indeed."

He wagged a finger at the Ambassador. "Oh yes. Anyway, I had some sort of nightmare, but it didn't feel like one. It wasn't right. It felt like I'd been there before when there's no possible way that could be true. Anyway, I guess this dream was bad enough that Spock heard me shouting from the other side of the bulkhead. I don't even know how he got into my room, to be honest." Jim rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. "All I know, and I'm not even sure about this, is that he did something to wake me up, because I'm almost positive I was stuck in that dream and he brought me out of it." Jim gave the Ambassador a self-depreciating snort. "He was so worried and it just kind of dawned on me. I guess this was there all along. Now I don't know what the hell to do and I definitely don't see how this is a good thing."

Old Spock couldn't help it, he very quietly started to laugh. "Oh my friend, you labor under the misconception that he does not feel the same. That could not be further from the truth."

Jim shifted further back into his chair. "Couldn't prove it to me, even though I know he cares. Comes with the territory when you're best friends."

"We will set aside that argument for just a moment. What was this dream?"

He again rubbed the bridge of his nose, mostly to give him time to organize what he thought he'd seen. "I remember glass. I remember watching you-" Jim shook his head in consternation, "I mean Spock-" He rumbled low in his chest, showing his frustration. "I saw you trying to sit down. But your skin didn't look right. He, no you, reached for me, and couldn't. That damn glass was in the way still. I was screaming in my head because I couldn't touch you either." Jim's shoulders drooped. "That's all I can really remember. I guess what I thought was the screaming in my head was me actually yelling in my sleep. I still don't know what Spock did to wake me up though."

The Ambassador was silent for what Jim thought was a long time, the look on his face one of calculation. When he finally spoke, in was almost hesitant. "You remember nothing else?" Jim shook his head no, and Old Spock's face changed. "I see. Do not trouble yourself over it. Dreams are illogical by nature and often do not make sense."

An argument was on the tip of his tongue. He knew something was significant about this dream, could feel it down to his bones. The look on the Ambassador's face gave it away too, a look he knew well. It was the same one his First wore every time he lied to Jim's face, when Spock thought that the truth would make the illogical human do something reckless and dangerous. Guileless, innocent and far too wide-eyed. Jim wished that Vulcans would stop lying about not being able to lie.

But if Spock, either one, decided that he didn't want to share what he knew, than Jim was out of luck. So Jim let it slide, and hoped they'd eventually tell him what was going on. Jim wouldn't hold his breath.

"Why is my counterpart going to speak to me about this?"

Jim gave him a thoughtful look. "You know, I don't know. Once I was awake, he started this angry ramble while making sure I wasn't hurt. Well, ok, his version of an angry ramble. Something about you messing my mind up and he was going to kick your ass over it." The raised eyebrow Jim got made him chuckle and he sat up straighter in his chair. "Oh, I'm paraphrasing. And I didn't know half of what he said as it was. He kept switching between Vuhlkansu and Terran Standard, so it was kinda hard to follow when I can count the words I know in Vuhlkansu on one hand." Even though he couldn't stop grinning about Spock doing the Vulcan version of Spanglish, he had to ask, "I've been meaning to ask you, what does ne ki'ne mean? I mean, he calls me t'hy'la all the time in private anymore, not that I know what t'hy'la is either, but he only says ne ki'ne when he's particularly worked up."

"'Worked up' Jim?" The Ambassador flashed an eye-smile again, and damn it, it still made him want to whap his head on his desk.

Instead, he growled in exasperation. "You know what that means. Don't pretend you Vulcans don't get all emotional about things either. I know better."

Old Spock nodded in acknowledgement. "You are correct, I do know what you mean. While I can not tell you what t'hy'la means, since it is not my place, ne ki'ne is easy enough."

Jim waited. And waited some more, until it dawned on him that the Ambassador was

intentionally waiting on Jim to say something, no doubt building the anticipation. "You teasing, sneaky, old, conniving Vulcan! Spit it out already!"

"Really Jim. Old?" Jim laughed and waved him to continue. "Are you familiar with ancient Greek concept of shield mates?"

"Yeah. They were basically the equivalent of the mid-twentieth century idea of brothers-in-arms. They go farther though, everything from sharing living space to serving as each other's body servants when necessary. Some pairs even become…" Jim suddenly blushed hard, realizing what he was about to say. "Not that we go that far."

"Still, the spirit of it applies. Ne ki'ne is just the Vulcan term." The old Vulcan gave Jim a shrewd look. "Before the Reformation, ninety-six percent of the warrior class were shield mates in all forms of the word. The last three centuries before Surak, ne ki'ne was used as often amongst warriors as telsu, because almost all warriors were bonded to other warriors."

"What?"

"And Spock, regardless of everything he has been taught or attempted to be, is still controlled by the same impulses as his warrior ancestors. As am I."

Jim couldn't help it, he stared. Not just stared, but an open-mouthed, you're-fucking-kidding-me stare. It took him almost two full minutes before he responded. "Wow. Could have fooled me. He's a pretty hardcore pacifist."

"Jim," Old Spock gave him a look that would put most Professors to shame, the you can't be this stupid look that his Spock gave him all the time. "Jim, you should know better. I should not have to tell you that being a warrior has nothing to do with violence."

"I know, I know. So he calls me ne ki'ne because why?"

"Because you know what telsu means. In his heart of hearts he calls you bondmate and soulmate, but I believe he dares not call you so in a way you understand because of his own fears, and he could not stand not laying claim to you in some way." The sad and wistful sigh was unexpected. "The fears he has, that I once held, will not matter for much longer."

"What do you mean?"

The eager look on Jim's face amused him. "Vulcan's have a mating cycle which occurs approximately every seven years called Pon Farr and I am breaking many of the Tenets of Privacy to speak of it to you. But no matter. It the normal course of events, Spock would not succumb to it for another eight years. The destruction of our race has… accelerated matters."

"Really?" A thoughtful crossed Jim's face. "You mean kinda like when frogs or something similar are almost wiped out in a particular area, then suddenly they start breeding like crazy to bring their numbers back up?"

"Exactly so. The problem is that we do not have enough unbonded females for all of our unbonded males." The Ambassador's eyes crinkled with a smile. "This will work to your favor."

"How so?"

"My Jim was more of a diplomat. When my Time came, the woman I was to bond with decided she wanted to be free of me. Afterwards, I had no mate, but my Jim came to me. He presented a very logical argument for why I should take him as bondmate. In the end, I agreed." He ignored Jim's chuckle. "You are more of a warrior, so you will have to present yourself to Spock as one warrior does to another, since there is no logical argument to make. He is unbonded with no chance that Sarek has found him a suitable mate."

"Woah!" Jim threw his hands up as the sudden thought crossed his mind. "Hold on. He might not want me for a bondmate. Spock might just call me ne ki'ne because I remind him of one, as you said I remind you."

The old Vulcan sat in dumbfounded silence for a moment. Finally, he lifted a slanted eyebrow in challenge. "Do you trust me Jim?"

"Absolutely."

"Then you will do so now, especially when I am about to grant your heart's desire."

Jim suddenly started to snicker. "You know, this is the oddest and most convoluted talk with anyone I've ever had. Even tops the time my Spock give me the logical reasons that Uhura broke up with him."

"It is about to become stranger still. Please pay attention Jim." After the moment it took for Jim to get himself under control, the Ambassador continued. "In order for this to work, there is a very specific way that this will be done. However, for now I will give you a summation of the steps."

Spock stopped when he saw the confused look on Jim's face. "How will I know that Spock is about to start this mating cycle?"

"Ah. The earliest signs are when he stops touching anyone, but especially you. He will avoid it even by accident, but he will want to. He will reach out as if to touch your hand or your shoulder or even your face, then draw back." He gave Jim a sardonic look. "I will assume that I do not need to tell you to touch him as often as possible."

Jim laughed quietly. "Of course you don't."

"Very well. That is when you must watch him. After four days, in which he will become increasing volatile, he will ask to be relieved of duty until he has dealt with whatever excuse he gives you. Wait two days, then you must go to him."

"It's not that simple, is it?"

"Yes and no. The act of taking you as bondmate is simple. The preparation is less so. You must not touch anyone after he has isolated himself, or consume meat. You must be calm. His space must be just so. You must be arranged in exactly the proper way in his quarters." He knew Jim would find the next part amusing. "Doctor McCoy's help and cooperation is necessary if you are to do this. And you must not take any longer past those two days or else he will fall into the Plak Tow and become too volatile.

"There are also items you will need that you do not have, which I will send to you."

A snort of amusement wasn't really unexpected. "I can only imagine what I'm missing. But you can't send them to me. Or Bones, for that matter. Spock checks all packages for the Command crew since the bomb threat we had a few months back." What a crazy bit of terrorism that had been. A package, supposedly containing a gift for an Andorian envoy the Enterprise was scheduled to ferry to a conference, hadn't passed the bio screening. Thankfully, Bones had taken Spock with him to look at it, and the sensitive nerves in Spock's hands had picked up the vibration of the power supply. "You gotta find someone else to send it to on this ship. Somebody Spock wouldn't check packages for and could give it to me without my First having a huge, distrusting fit over."

A thoughtful look passed through Old Spock's eyes. "I am not supposed to tell you this yet, but Sarek has decided he no longer wants to serve as the Vulcan Ambassador to the Federation for reasons he chooses not to divulge. Also, I have been discussing the idea with Starfleet Command of having a small diplomatic Corps of civilians stationed on Constitution-Class starships for First Contacts, to minimize misunderstandings between Starfleet officers and new species. It is almost certain that I can convince Sarek to participate in the trial run that they are going to use your ship for. I am sure I could present enough logical and emotional reasons for him to be unable to refuse."

"Sneaky, sneaky. Then you could just send what you need to through him, since he'll demand to check his own packages, and Spock will be none the wiser. And send instructions!" Jim laughed at himself. "Knowing my luck, I'd forget something if you didn't write it down." He had another thought. "Approximately how long until Spock starts this cycle?"

"Certainly within the next ten months, but I can not give you a better time frame than that. We are still unable to find a pattern in who starts their cycle when, or precisely why. I promise you that I will have Sarek on your ship within two Terran weeks."

"Good." Jim cocked his head a little to the side. "I'm guessing I'm not supposed to tell Spock what we talked about."

"No. The less he thinks you know, the better. All things will be in place for when the time comes." The Ambassador flashed Jim a small, but real, smile. "You may tell him about Sarek. The news will lighten his heart. Now, you must sleep."

Nodding, Jim held up his hand in the ta'al, which had taken him months to master under his First's tutelage. "You're right, my friend. I got Alpha shift tomorrow. Peace and long life, Ambassador. I'll talk to you again at our regular time."

"Of course." Spock returned the ta'al. "Live long and prosper. I will send Sarek along to you shortly. Goodnight Jim."

Sitting back after switching off his comm link, he wondered for a moment what the hell he'd just agreed to. But, if it got him Spock in the end, he wouldn't dwell on it. He'd also wait until the morning to tell Spock about his dad.

On the other side of the bulkhead, Spock knelt rigidly on his meditation mat. He couldn't hear what Jim and his older counterpart were talking about, but it made his stomach clench a little with jealousy.

And, no matter how deep into himself he went, the small amount jealousy refused to fade.

Time passed, as it is wont to do. Days to weeks. Weeks to months. Good and bad landing parties, Sarek coming aboard, meals and chess games, one emergency after another.

Jim noticed the little things changing the most. Bones harping on him about balancing his meals and Spock coming to him for answers to human things more often and Sarek acting less rigid than Jim expected a Vulcan to be the longer he was amongst the crew. Certainly less controlled than Spock.

But, most of all, he noticed how much more he was falling in love with Spock every day.

Waiting was going to drive him insane.

Finally, after what had to be a never-ending progression of days, Spock started his downward spiral into mating.

Jim should have figured that Sarek would be first to notice, besides himself, that something was going on. He was Spock's dad after all. Still surprised the hell out of him when Sarek came to his quarters, two days after Spock started acting odd, willing to discuss it. The conversation they had about Vulcan sexuality, which should have been awkward but wasn't, was very blunt. And informative.

The best part was the finger kissing.

Sarek tried to explain it to him. Really he did. Jim just didn't get it and asked for a demonstration. A slight frown of confusion had marred Sarek's face for a moment before he nodded. Jim waited patiently for a couple of minutes and was going to ask again, when the door to his quarters opened and Bones came in.

The question of what Bones needed was halfway out of his mouth even as Sarek greeted the CMO, first and middle fingers together and reaching for Jim's best friend. "T'nash-veh Hakausu, I thank thee for coming."

Bones' eyes flickered from Sarek to Jim and back, even as he pressed his own fingertips to Sarek's. "Of course darlin'. What'd you need?"

"James," Sarek motioned to Jim, who was at that point leaning against his desk and whose jaw had come off it's hinges, "requested a demonstration of the ozh'esta. As my telsu, you are the only one I would perform it with."

"Wait a second!" Jim had to interrupt. He knew what telsu meant, but Bones and Sarek? No way! "Bonded? When did you guys do that? Does Spock know? Are you sharing quarters, because I never saw a request for that." Jim tilted his head a little. "Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing the paperwork for either of you on your change of status."

"Jim, if you don't stop talking, we can't answer you. Seriously, it's like you've never seen married people before." Bones gave a huff and looked back at Sarek. "I know how you are about privacy, so are you sure?"

Sarek looked at McCoy in a way that was more than a look. He talked, but his eyes never left Bones' face. "By Terran reckoning, we bonded four months and eight days ago. Spock dealt with our cabin reassignment and change of status papers."

"Oh." Since they were on leave for a week on Starbase Four at that time, it explained why Jim hadn't seen leave papers either.

"Ok brat, we'll explain this to you in greater detail later. Now, you want to see this or not?"

Everything that happened after that part was weird, but interesting. The blackmail material Jim got on Bones would last for years too.

The irony wasn't lost on Jim that the talk Sarek and Bones gave him was almost seven months to the day of his conversation with Ambassador Spock.

Two days later, after constantly rubbing elbows with Spock thanks to an engine malfunction that Scotty needed both their expertise to help fix, Spock came to him requesting relief of duty. Because Bones had demanded Spock report for twice daily check-ups at Sarek's insistence, Jim knew he was coming. But he acted surprised, determined not to show Spock that he thought it was anything worse than the Vulcan equivalent of the common flu, which, at this stage in Spock's Pon Farr, seemed true enough. Jim granted it with the customary concern that he had for his First.

Now the real fun began.

Old Spock was right. The customs for a soon-to-be bondmate to follow were not that simple. But in an odd sort of way, they made sense.

It only took the first twenty-four hours for Jim to figure out that he really didn't like not touching people. More than that, he realized just how tactile he was when he was catching himself every other five minutes trying to pat someone on the back or touch their shoulder or the like. In short, the no-touching thing sucked.

Going meatless wasn't that hard though. Nowadays, Jim went without it for over half the meals he ate with Spock anyway and two days wouldn't be a problem. It got Bones off his back about his diet too, which was always a plus in Jim's book.

Some things, such as Spock's quarters, were going to have to wait until a carefully scheduled check-up in Sickbay happened. Sarek was even going to escort Spock there, to make sure he went, then return to help Jim. Out of idle curiosity, Jim asked him why Sarek could help and not a yeoman. The answer, for all it's technical jargon about Vulcan telepathy, basically boiled down to Sarek's residual psychic presence wouldn't be threatening to Spock, since he was a bonded family member; therefore not a challenger for his mate. Jim shrugged and figured Spock would explain it better to him in Standard eventually.

With everything else either planned or in motion, the only thing left was the contents of the smallish box Sarek had brought with him from Ambassador Spock all those months ago. Until now, Jim hadn't looked in it. Though he wasn't exactly superstitious, it seemed as if opening the box and finding out what was in it would make him panic. Figuring he only had sixteen more hours before he'd need to use whatever the Ambassador sent, Jim sat on his bed and opened it.

The first thing, which he was expecting and sitting on top of a unbelievable dark emerald green cloth of some sort, was a list of instructions written in a neat copperplate hand. Jim wasn't surprised to find it on real paper that he could keep locked away, as opposed to a dataPADD that could be hacked or tampered with.

After setting the paper aside to read in a few minutes, he pulled the cloth out and unfolded it. It took a moment to register that he was holding a long, sleeveless robe, because he was too busy admiring the soft and cool feel of it. Jim wondered what the robe was made of. He'd guess linen, but it didn't have any of the tell-tale wrinkles that linen would get from being folded for a long time. Maybe a similar kind of fabric made of Vulcan materials was Jim's thought. Whatever the case, it was almost sheer and very, very soft. Refolding it, Jim set it beside the paper.

Next in the box was a smaller box. Lifting it out and popping the lid, the scent of something close to the slightly sweet, musky, cloying smell of dragon's blood resin filled the air. A peek inside showed him three containers of varying sizes, full of liquid and a very small jar of powder. He replaced the lid, placing it next to the robe and reached for the last and smallest box.

He muttered a curse when his door chimed at that precise moment. "Enter!"

"Finally getting around to that package, are you?" Bones chuckled as he walked into Jim's sleeping area and sat on the other side of Jim's bunk.

"Shut up old man. I've been busy." Jim gave his best friend a half-hearted glare. "What are you doing here, anyways? I thought you were on duty right now."

Returning the look, Bones lifted an eyebrow. "What makes you think that I'm not? Maybe I'm here to give you a check-up."

"You can't. Besides, you looked me over three days ago. Haven't been on any landing parties or involved in weird transporter accidents or in direct contact with alien cultures since."

"Direct contact with alien cultures?" Bones let loose a sharp bark of a laugh. "Jim, you're about to be up to your eyeballs in alien culture."

"Ok, new alien cultures. All my bits and pieces are still attached and working like they should." Chuckling, Jim waved his hand at the items that were in the box. "I figured now would be a good time to look through this stuff. I've got nothing else I need to do until tomorrow."

Bones nodded, then blurted out the question he had been thinking for some time now. "You sure about this Jim?"

"Yeah." Jim wasn't really surprised by McCoy's question, though he thought the question would have come weeks ago. "Yeah, I'm sure. I love him. I mean, you know what it's like, being bonded to Sarek and all. You wouldn't have done it if you didn't love him either."

"That's true." The blush that took over Bones' face was interesting, but Jim didn't ask about it. Probably because he knew that Bones didn't do well with talking about the mushy stuff. "Actually, that's why I'm here. I need to talk to you about the bonding part."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now, keep in mind, Vulcans don't talk about the actual Pon Farr, since its pretty much an instinctual response. And Sarek already gave you rundown on how Vulcans generally deal with sex. They do talk about the rituals and the bond itself when they hit seven or so." Bones shifted a little and settled back down so he could watch Jim's reactions. "A member of the family who's not a parent normally explains the ritual. You've got that talk, by the looks of things," he said jerking his head towards the box. "A parent explains the bond. I told Sarek I would do this for you."

Jim laughed. "You don't look like my Dad."

Bones looked tempted to whap Jim in the back of the head. "Closest thing you got to one, brat. Anyway-"

"Wait. Who explained things to you?"

A slightly uncomfortable look crossed Bones' face. "Spock did. Things were easier for me and Sarek, simply because Spock was being trained to do what the Matriarch did during matings before Spock went to Earth. Sarek started the bond, and once his Pon Farr started, Spock came and completed it, which is how it's usually done. Before Sarek fell into the Fever, Spock explained how the ritual normally would happen and explained how the bond would feel… Things like that."

Jim started laughing again. "I can only imagine what Spock thought about you becoming his step-daddy."

"You mean after he stopped screaming hysterically?" Bones chuckled. "You can ask him, but he really doesn't seem to have a real problem with me being his father's bondmate, especially since I told him I wasn't trying to take his mom's place."

"He's knows you'd never do that. He just likes to rile you up."

"Well, maybe, but we need to get back on topic." Jim nodded and shut his mouth, figuring that the more information he had on this, the better. Bones waited a moment, just to make sure, before continuing. "Ok, first thing you need to know is that every bonded pair experiences the bond differently. For the purposes of this exercise, we'll use string as the descriptor." Jim opened his mouth to interrupt, but McCoy already knew what his friend was going to ask and beat him to the question. "No, I'm not going to tell you how we experience it. That's private, you nosy gossip." Jim grinned. "As I was saying, string. Spock is going to blast through every barrier, one at a time, and tie one end of the string to that part of your mental landscape and tie the other end to a similar part in his brain. This takes a while, which is why Pon Farr can last for days."

Jim cocked his head, a perplexed frown on his face. "So, why all the sex if you're just being tied together like that? I mean, wouldn't it just be easier to fully bond before the Fever?"

A darker blush than earlier, from the roots of his friend's hair to all the way down his neck, was awesome as far as Jim was concerned. "Vulcans always have strong shields in place because of their mind voodoo. As deep as they need to tie this string, those shields can only come down far enough during sex. At least, that's the gist of the talk me and Spock had. After the first Pon Farr cycle, a Vulcan's got to make sure the strings are still attached where they should be, so they go back into the Fever. They also breed during it, but you don't need that explanation. You don't have the parts."

"That seems like too simple an explanation for something that's been biologically hardwired into the entire species."

"It's also got something to do with a drop in solar radiation and more rain. I can't really tell you for sure; I'm not nearly as good at astrophysics as Sarek is but you could talk to him about it after this. Doesn't make sense without knowing it all anyway and I'm not sure I do." McCoy shrugged, as if his response made perfect sense. "Anyway. After all the strings are in place, they sort of twist into a really strong cord so that it doesn't break. Granted, I'm probably making a hack job trying to tell you about the bond, but you'll get what I mean when it happens. The twisting is not easy to miss. Now, after you've bonded, you'll always be able to feel each other. Like, if you wanted to talk to him, there's one string that you can tug on, in a way. Or if you needed to find him, you just follow it along until you run into him. Things like that."

Well, that explained how Bones came to be at his quarters almost four days earlier when Sarek needed him. "Will it hurt?" Jim didn't look concerned, so much as curious.

"If I didn't have somebody tell me what to expect, I think I would've been unsettled, but no, it's definitely not painful." Bones tried to hide the deep blush came over his face again by looking in the box. "Ah." Reaching into the box, he pulled out what Jim had assumed to be just another small box. It wasn't. More like a flat case than anything else. The gentleness that his friend handled it with told Jim that this little case was a very big deal. "The marriage chain."

When Bones just sat looking at it, Jim got a little impatient. "Well, open it!"

"Can't. Only you or Spock can after you've bonded. I'll show you mine though, only keep your paws off it." He sat the box down on the bed and fished under the neck of his tunic for a moment before pulling out a very fine chain with a small trinket attached. Jim leaned closer to get a good look.

The chain itself was almost thinner than spider silk, and the trinket turned out to a medallion no bigger than Jim's thumbnail. At first the metal looked to be white gold, but then the cabin lights caught it and flashed silver. The center of it was set with a paper-thin, incandescent gem shaped as an animal Jim hadn't ever seen before. He leaned back and McCoy carefully stuffed the necklace back under his uniform shirt. "What kind of metal is that? I've never seen anything like it. And the animal?"

Bones looked thoughtful. "It's shaarra-silver. Comes from a special mine that used to be on the far western edge of Vulcan's Forge, near ShiKahr. The beast is a le-matya. These chains have been used by bonded pairs of Sarek's House since way before Surak, to show their mated status. One of the few pre-Reform traditions Vulcans kept after they turned to logic. Or so Sarek tells me." Bones chuckled. "Closet romantics the whole lot, even if they keep telling everyone they're not."

Suddenly it dawned on Jim that his friend wasn't really the same prickly bastard that he'd known at the Academy. Oh, Bones was still brash, coarse and abrupt, but he seemed lighter in spirit and happy. "Sarek's really good for you."

Bones smiled shyly. "You ever get that feeling, like you're only half a person, not complete, missing something?" Jim nodded earnestly. "Sarek fixed that, same as Spock will for you. He'll shatter every barrier in your mind and anchor himself in every part he touches. There won't be any secrets between you, not that you'll want there to be." Bones' eyes took on an awed expression, his voice sounding almost reverent. "That's what the bonding is all about, creating a whole being out of two parts."

"Wow. That really is romantic." Jim smiled as he started to really think about the possibilities of Spock being at his side always as a best friend, partner, bondmate. He smiled wider at McCoy, definitely liking all the new ideas.

After a luxurious and hot, and long, water shower with the bath stuff Ambassador Spock had sent after Bones had identified the bottles in the box as such, Jim felt a lot calmer. Aroused and eager too, if he was honest with himself. The arousal may have had something to do with the oil Old Spock had sent him to use to stretch himself with. And even though the instructions in the box didn't say he should have prepared himself, they didn't he shouldn't either, so Jim did what he did best and took the initiative. He was a man of action after all. There was no point in getting down to it only to figure out that Spock was too far gone to handle a courtesy like lubing Jim up. Bad things happened when those details where forgotten.

Eagerness wasn't any surprise at all either. Once Jim had figured out his own heart seven months ago, and after the call to his time traveling friend, he sort of pined really. From then to now, him and Spock had continued to grow closer in small, but important ways. Meals shared became more frequent, time spent together off-duty was almost constant with chess games and sparring matches and talking. Lots of talking. Joking too. Jim always knew Spock had a sense of humor, as dry as it was, but wow. Even a well timed, raised eyebrow could make Jim laugh hard. And if he thought he could read Spock before, he'd only gotten better at it. So good, in fact, that he thought he caught the love in Spock's eyes from time to time. At least, he hope is was the same kind of love that Jim felt for him, because if it wasn't, he was about to make a huge mistake.

But he didn't have time to doubt with the tight schedule he was running.

After a brief debate with himself on what to wear while dealing with Spock's quarters, Jim shrugged into the sinfully soft robe the Ambassador had sent. Again, even if the instructions didn't say he couldn't wear anything else before locking himself in Spock's room to wait, no point in taking the chance that it could be offensive for some unbelievable reason, one even Jim couldn't dream up. Chuckling to himself for be overly cautious while closing the almost invisible snaps on the robe, the chime on his door whistled, then opened to reveal Sarek. "You escort Spock to Bones already?"

"Indeed. We most move quickly, however. I do not think Leonard will be capable of holding Spock in Sickbay for more than one hour."

"Ok." Jim waved Sarek to following him through the bathroom he shared with Spock, explaining, "I'd rather not be seen in the corridor dressed in just a robe."

Now, Jim may not have been quite as good at reading Sarek's expressions, even after the Vulcan had spent the last six months on his ship, but he was still pretty sure that Sarek was smiling. "As you will, sir."

Jim flashed him a smile when they stepped into Spock's quarters. "Oh, come on, Sarek. I know that you're my head diplomat and all, but were off duty and I'm about to become you're son-in-law. Call me Jim."

Sarek cocked his head a little to the side, puzzled. "I must tell you, in all honesty, I do not understand why humans shorten their names or respond to names others give them. It is an odd practice."

Chuckling, Jim mentally ran down the list of things that needed to be removed from the space or hidden or tucked away: dataPADDS, laundry and bedding, the small table and chairs that sat in the middle of the space, Spock's meditation mat. And the broken lyre whose pieces had been left piled on the desk. Finally he answered Sarek. "It's kinda like terms of endearment between friends. Less formal, but not quite as intimate as what you'd call a child or a spouse."

He nodded and they got to work. Sarek took care of the main space while Jim dealt with the sleeping area. Fastidious as Spock was, two days of isolation without even a yeoman coming in to make sure something as normal as laundry pick-up was done or paperwork was tended to, the Vulcan's cabin had a stale feel to it. First, Jim stripped Spock's bunk. Off-handedly, he told Sarek, "I swear, I'm going to put in a request to Command about having laundry chutes put in. Nobody's dirty clothes should be carted around a ship."

"That would be a wise decision, James." While Jim couldn't see Sarek's face, not that Sarek would show it, he definitely got the impression that Sarek was amused. He motioned for Jim to hand over the bundle though. "My assistant is waiting in the corridor. He will take that to the laundry."

Jim passed it over and knelt to roll up Spock's meditation mat, waiting until Sarek came back to ask a question that he'd just thought of. "I was wondering, what am I supposed to do?" The raised eyebrow made him clarify, "I mean mentally? I've been told or figured out everything else, but nobody told me what I'm supposed to do in my head while Spock's rummaging around in there."

The tilt of Sarek's head told Jim he was thinking about how to say what he intended. "You must be as calm as possible and accepting. This will not be easy for my son, so it will fall to you to be his grounding presence during his Time." If Sarek was a little less Vulcan in his control, Jim figured he might have shrugged. "Reach out to him in turn, if you can, as if you were trying to call him with your very being."

"I'm not sure what you mean, but I'll try it."

"Making an attempt is all that can be asked of you. Also, I am compelled to warn you, the first time he joins with you, and possibly the second, will not be… gentle." Enough of Sarek's control cracked to show a fierce emerald blush.

Jim just smiled and went to deal with Spock's meditation idol next.

Clean-up complete, temperature turned up to broiling, lights almost off, Sarek shuffled out of the cabin, still stretched, the dragon's blood-smelling incense burning in the brazier Spock used for meditation, robe close at hand for the times he wandered out of the bed. Tasks finished, Jim checked the time with the computer and clambered onto the exact center of Spock's bunk to wait, spread out to show off as much of his naked skin as possible as Old Spock said he should.

Laid out like he was made him feel a little uncomfortable though. Not that he didn't want to do this, not that he didn't want to be Spock's bondmate, but Jim would have preferred to be standing and ready to meet Spock in the middle of his cabin instead of laid out like a sacrifice. Jim wouldn't argue it, but it made him feel kind of silly in a cheesy romance novel sort of way.

Shrugging off the sudden image of a Vulcan warrior coming home to ravage his willing mate, and laughing at his own sense of cheesy romance, he relaxed. Before Jim knew it, he'd dosed off, waiting.

The soft sound of the hydraulics opening the door woke Jim up. Spock's rough voice slicing across the room was what made his eyes pop open and look at him. "Why are you here?"

For a moment, Jim's throat was too dry from nerves to speak. But only for a moment, then his brain kicked into gear and he figured he'd go with the truth. "You need a mate." Giving a shrug and a small grin from where he lay on Spock's bed, he added, "I thought I could be a good one to you."

Spock moved closer to the bunk Jim was spread out on, taking a deep breath of the incense as he did. The fine tremors that Jim had noticed days ago intensified to just short of violent, seeming to shake even his voice and turn it into gravel. "Are you so certain I would welcome you as my bondmate?" Spock's voice went deeper with challenge, the gravel more pronounced, becoming a growl. "Why would you want to be?"

He didn't tense at Spock's tone, knowing from both the Ambassador and Sarek that if he did, Spock might take it as unwillingness and that he'd have to bodily subdue Jim. Not what Jim wanted to do. "I love you." Jim's eyes brightened, making the already electric blue eyes glow. Going for broke, he added, "I've loved you for a while and I could name a thousand reasons why. You make me better. That tiny line that shows on your forehead when you're worried about me. The eyebrow I get because you think I'm being reckless. And the eyebrow I get when you think I'm being funny." He flashed a smile almost as bright as his eyes. "You're my best friend and I think you love me too."

"I do." Spock moved until he was standing at the foot of his bed and Jim could see the Fever blazing in Spock's eyes, the brown quickly being consumed by the black pupils. "I do love you. I feel as if I have loved you for all my life."

Beckoning Spock with an outstretched hand, Jim asked, "Show me?"

As fast as Spock stripped off his uniform, Jim guessed he didn't need to ask twice. And Spock really didn't waste any time after his clothes were off. Starting at the arch of Jim's left foot, he skimmed his nose along the inside of Jim's leg, not even stopping at his groin where is cock was perking up rapidly to the sheer sensuality of what Jim perceived as Spock's inspection of him. All Jim could really see now was the faint shine of the skin along Spock's spine and shoulders as he continued to move up Jim's abs and chest and neck, breathing hard and burning hot, finally burying his nose in the spot just beneath Jim's ear. "You smell like ralik-khaf and home."

Jim smiled. "I hope that's a good thing." He skated a hand up Spock's back and buried it in his hair, the soft and deep whine from Spock's throat sounding almost pained. Jim blushed some at what he was about to say. "Look, we can talk this to death soon, but we should probably take care of this," Jim reached down and grabbed the erection that he knew he'd find in a firm grip, "before you combust." Spock rumbled far down in his chest as Jim touched him. Jim continued, encouraged. "I'm ready for you. Stretched and everything, so we can just…"

He didn't even get to finish what he was going to say, though Jim didn't doubt it would have been something he kicked himself for later, before Spock jerked up, flipped Jim to his hands and knees, and thrust home in one hard and solid push.

It hurt and felt good to Jim at the same time, the involuntary shout broken by the abruptness of it. Spock didn't really give him any time to adjust either as he pulled Jim up to just his knees and back onto Spock's lap, shoving his cock deeper, forcing Jim to scrabble for something to hold on to. Jim could only imagine, in the split second he had to think, how they looked. Spock kneeling on his bunk, naked and flushed a beautiful pale jade, lap full of a panting and equally red-flushed Jim, whose thighs and knees were spread wide to balance himself, hands gripping the outsides of Spock's thighs.

The subtle wriggling from Jim really couldn't be helped. While, from the feel of things, Spock wasn't really that much longer than Jim's own decent eight inches, the girth was unbelievable. But he guessed Spock really didn't appreciate him trying to move at all because he clamped his teeth down on the muscle in Jim's neck, growling, and wrapped his arms tighter around Jim's waist and started to thrust, very short jabs that nailed Jim's prostate so fast and so hard that he couldn't find breath to even moan.

Pleasure raced up his spine. Raced just as fast as his heart and his breath too, and Jim had never been so close to coming so fast in his entire life. Although he did manage to spare a fleeting second to wish there was a little foreplay first. He shoved that thought violently aside as soon as Spock's hot hand slowly trailed up his chest, up his neck, giving a faint caress to his jaw before the hot fingers aligned on his face.

Spock's coarse murmur in his ear was a sound he knew and didn't know. It was quickly consumed be a fleeting and never-ending kaleidoscope of thought, sound, emotion, dreams, scent, hope, touch, love, lust/fever/music/words/color/life/truth/home/t'hy'la…

Everything shattered in an orgasmic, blissful, timeless Human heartbeat.

And, after a time, was remade.