Walking the Stars

Reciprocation

Stardate 2259.71

Jim woke with a bit of a start, his eyes flying open as he drew a sharp, deep breath. His eyes darted around, trying to figure out where he was.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic," McCoy droned as he waved a medical device near Jim's face, "You were barely dead. It was the transfusion that took its toll."

"Transfusion?" Jim asked, only becoming further confused.

"Your cells were heavily irradiated. We had no choice," McCoy said before placing a heart monitor on Jim's chest.

"Khan?" Jim asked, remembering something McCoy had mentioned before about the man.

"Once we caught him I synthesized a serum from his, 'super-blood.' Tell me, are you feeling, uh, homicidal? Power mad? Despotic?"

"No more than usual," Jim joked, a soft smile gracing his lips, "How'd you catch him?"

"I didn't," McCoy said before moving to the other side of the bed.

This allowed Jim to see Spock standing in the room.

Spock approached Jim's bed in a calm manner, his hands behind his back.

"You saved my life," Jim said to Spock.

"Sala and I had something to do with it, too, you know," McCoy griped.

"You saved my life, Captain," Spock said, finally speaking, "And the lives of the-."

"Spock, just," Jim started, "Thank you."

Spock paused for a moment, "You are welcome, Jim."

In the hallway, just outside the door, Sala heard Spock speaking. What surprised her was hearing Spock speak as though he was speaking to Jim, and not McCoy.

The female pondered for a moment if Jim was indeed awake.

Sala heard more chatter, though it was softer than before. Steeling her resolve, she re-entered Jim's hospital room. She felt her eyes open just a touch further than normal, and her breath caught for a moment as she saw a sight she had been wanting to see for the past two weeks; Jim with his blue eyes open.

"Speak of the devil," McCoy said in a quiet voice as he continued to check the monitors.

"You are awake, Captain," Sala said, regaining the slight break in her composure.

"Welcome back, princess," McCoy muttered after he finished checking Jim's vitals, "Well, Jim, your vitals look good. And no matter what you say, I'm keeping you overnight just to make sure you're okay. But you should be able to get out of here in the next couple days now that you're awake."

McCoy then looked from Jim to between the two Vulcans in the room.

"Spock, can you come with me for a minute?" McCoy asked as he started to leave the room.

"Certainly, Doctor," Spock said softly. 

The two men then left the room, closing the door behind them, leaving only Sala and Jim.

"I promised I'd come back to you," Jim said with a half-hearted chuckle.

At first, Sala did not say anything, instead electing to move and sit on Jim's bed on his right side.

"You did. However, it took you much longer than originally anticipated," Sala said, finally speaking.

A small silence settled between the two before Sala broke the silence.

"You already had an impressive feat of heroism in your repertoire. You did not need to put yourself into that level of danger. I apologize that I was not there to have been the one to take your place," Sala said softly, her gaze dropping downward as she spoke.

Sala was finding it difficult to find the words to articulate how she was feeling. She was feeling relief that Jim was okay, but also a great deal of fear; fear that her Captain would not reciprocate her feelings, fear that she could just as easily lose him again as she already had once. Then of course, there was the burst of affection that she was feeling for her Captain. 

"Don't talk like that, Sala," Jim said, raising his hand and placing it on Sala's left cheek, "I wouldn't have let you do that, even if you were there. You're too important."

"I hold no more significance to the Enterprise or Starfleet than another Commander or Cultural Officer," Sala returned, her logical side kicking in.

"You're important to me, though. And it seems like I may be important to you as well."

"What do you mean?"

"Bones said you've been camped out here for the last week."

Sala's eyes moved downward again, "I could not seem to rest properly without being frequently assured that you were well.

"There was much for me to think about during the last week."

"Oh?"

"Jim, as you know, Vulcans strive to remove themselves from their emotions. I, however, have made the choice to not purge all emotion, but rather 'keep it in check.'"

"What's bringing this up?"

"You died, Jim. Seeing that, made me feel pain and loss akin to what I felt when Vulcan was destroyed, and when I lost my mother. I did not understand at first why the pain was so great. Then, when I realized that I could not relax without knowing you were alive and well, I realized that the pain was coming from a place other than friendship; from somewhere deeper."

"Sala?"

"I have come to the conclusion, that, in the four years that I have known you, I have managed to develop deep feelings for you. Not of admiration, but of affection."

Jim did not say anything. He then moved his gaze to find Sala's right hand before grabbing it gently with his own.

"I think you just beat me to it," Jim admitted.

"Beat you to what?" Sala asked.

"Saying 'I love you.' I tried to say it back on the ship. Guess it didn't make it out," Jim said with a soft chuckle.

Sala looked from her hand in Jim's to the man's face.

Her stoic mask, was cracking.

"You, reciprocate my feelings, Jim?" Sala asked, her voice shaking slightly.

Jim let out an air of a chuckle, "Yes, I feel the same way you do, Sala."

Sala heard Jim's words and let them hang in the air for a moment, before a smile broke across her lips.

"That's very good to know, Jim," Sala said in a warm voice.

Jim's right hand moved from Sala's hand to her cheek, "I knew a smile looked beautiful on you."

Jim then lightly pressed Sala towards him, giving her a soft kiss on the lips.