A Strange & Beautiful Flower

Fanfiction
Title:	A Strange & Beautiful Flower also ... And in This Dream
Author(s):	Dovya Blacque
Date(s):	1985, 1987
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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This is a K/S story by Dovya Blacque.

art for this story in Progressions by Maureen B, photocopy

art for this story in Progressions by Maureen B, photocopy

It was originally published in Progressions 1985, and titled "... And in This Dream" and reprinted in A Gathering of Blacque with the title A Strange and Beautiful Flower.

Summary

"Kirk experiences a very disturbing dream that leads him to reconsider his attitude concerning his first officer and best friend."

Reactions and Reviews

1986

Another first rate entry. Occurring soon after the captain's mind transferance with Janice Lester, Kirk as been having some rather interesting nightmares that lead to therapeutic volley with Dr. McCoy. Especially well-done in this piece are the characterizations: the voices, the responses, are genuine. McCoy's analysis of Kirk's dreams is more than credible one senses the professional here, just as one perceives acutely Kirk's growing discomfort, and Spock' s growing concern for his captain.

1997

Again, one of my favorite K/S stories. Very simple in concept even simply written, but for me it packs a wallop. After the transference with Janice Lester, Kirk has disturbing dreams of making love to a beautiful, darkly-tressed temptress. At the end of the dream, when he is about to achieve orgasm, he realizes that he is also a woman.

He finally talks to McCoy about the dreams, and McCoy leads him in an analysis that includes the meld he shared with Spock in Lester's body. He suggests that the dreams might be an "echo if you will, of something that passed between you and Spock in that last meld."

"I think it was a mutual, brief, probably completely subconscious thought that has cropped up in your dreams because it appealed to you. Oh, I don't mean that you wish you were female or that Spock was, but the idea of closeness, ultimately intimate closeness with Spock, a closeness that you perhaps perceive as 'female', appeals to you, very strongly."

Kirk thinks about that for a while, and eventually says just a terrific line, "And it wouldn't matter if he were a Denebian Slime Devil, right? That, no matter what body houses Spock's being, I'd want to be close to that body?"

Eventually Jim and Spock have their own conversation, and that leads to bed and some nice sex. I especially enjoy the way they are honest with one another while they're almost matter-of-factly discussing their situation, how Spock says, "I am ... fixated, for lack of a better term, on you and have been for some time. My life exists around you, because of you, for you. I have realized for some time that when my next... Time arrives, I will have a difficult situation to face. There is little possibility of finding another mind which is as ... close, as dear to me as yours. I had planned to take leave when the symptoms first began, planned to go away and simply ... die..,. I now see I have another choice, a choice where none existed before ... do I not, Jim?"

This is one of those stories where the tears flow, which is annoying, but I find the forthright characterization so appealing I gladly overlook that problem.

2004

Despite my admiration for this writer, I almost didn't read this. It commenced with a long dream sequence which didn't appear to involve Spock, but was Kirk's subconscious attempting to deal with the transference with Janice Lester. I flipped past the italicized portion (the dream) and realized there were many pages to follow, and decided I'd best pay attention. What a great story I would have missed had I followed my instincts. I would have deprived myself of so much love, so much tenderness. And those are elements of the K/S relationship I never get enough of! First a very likeable McCoy wisely counsels his captain, helping him to understand that the dark haired woman in his dreams is very similar to Spock. Their revealing conversations are a delight, played with just the right amount of levity. McCoy is never abrasive and Kirk is never evasive.

Then it's Spock's turn and things begin to get really interesting. He is written as caring, sensitive and not at all naive, though there is a touch of innocence. He deduces that Kirk needs him at perhaps a different level than before, and diverts the human from chess to something a bit more personal. It's a wonderful evening, enrapturing for the reader, revealing and increasingly stimulating to the participants.

I absolutely love the way the dialog flows between Kirk and Spock, the ease with which they move from careful words to daring ones. They cannot escape the understanding that pervades their conversation, their sharing of feelings. They know now that they are meant for each other, that gender need not be a barrier, but how do they take that final step from telling to touching? Kirk boldly inquires, "What do you want, Spock?" The answer is firm and filled with love and commitment, "I want to hold you."

This all sounds quite innocent, but I assure you, it does not remain so. They cross easily into an intimacy that can only be born of the greatest and most unselfish kind of love.

Missing this would have been depriving myself of a glimpse into the very core of K/S.