Accidents Do Happen (Star Trek: TOS story by D.A. Marsh & J.A. Barnett)

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	Accidents Do Happen
Author(s):	D.A. Marsh & J.A. Barnett
Date(s):	1989
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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Accidents Do Happen is a K/S story by D.A. Marsh & J.A. Barnett.

It was published in the print zine As I Do Thee #12.

Summary

"It shouldn't take the awkward clumsiness of an ensign enamored of Spock to point out to Kirk his own feelings about his first officer... but it does."

Reactions and Reviews

I really enjoyed Spock's off-hand compliments to McCoy - assuming that people got "crushes" on McCoy, too; and not thinking of him as "old". Also that McCoy was suspicious at first, but when he realized that Spock was sincere he was very moved by his remarks. I liked Marlow's character very much. His clumsiness and accident-causing because of being around Spock was absolutely believable; and I liked how Marlow, despite his trouble, still kept his dignity. I also liked the awkwardness of Kirk and Spock's first attempts at kissing - much more realistic than some of the "sublime perfection" scenes I've read!

The plot of this story is slightly original. A young scientist with a crush on Spock becomes accident prone, and the accidents are increasingly dangerous to Spock. Oh, and the scientist is male. A story like that sort of stands out a little. The only thing that bothered me about it was the sexist remark about Chapel. The authors have Kirk thinking that the scientist's dilemma wasn't amusing like Chapel's. Why would Chapel's feelings for Spock be amusing? Is it because Chapel is a woman? Are a woman's feelings so unimportant that they should be subjected to ridicule? I really hate it when K/S stories run down women in order to elevate the relationships that men have with each other. I liked the character of Marlow in this— the guy with the crush on Spock, who gets clutzy when Spock's around. Easy to identify with! And his dangerous clumsiness was used well as a wake-up for Spock and Kirk. I was less crazy about Spock's spying on Kirk in the shower (though it made a nice illo). I think Spock would have more honor than to stay, and I'd rather he found out Kirk loves him some other way. The interaction between McCoy and the others was especially nice: "That boy is gonna clumsy you to death" for instance. The dialogue is good in general, but the authors use too many different tags: exclaimed," "declined," "deduced," "protested," "prompted," "relented," "snorted," "conceded"— all on one page! It really is less conspicuous to use "said" almost all the time. I found this to be a story with good pacing, smooth transitions, and an admirable use of dialogue that demonstrated an excellent understanding of the characters. I also appreciated the gentle humor throughout, and the sex scene was also very well done. The one thing the story may be lacking, structure-wise, is a little more drama or a stronger climax at some point in the story. I also would have preferred a little more background on the development of Kirk and Spock's attraction to each other, and why McCoy and Marlow were so certain of that same attraction when the reader wasn't aware of anything K and S had done to "publicly" reveal themselves. Overall, a well-crafted story and a pleasant read. My favorite line was McCoy's thought that, "Spock wasn't supposed to flatter him. That wasn't part of their agreement."

A light-hearted amusing story about a love-sick boy who becomes excessively clumsy in the presence of his object of adoration—namely one Commander Spock. One such escapade places Spock in a potentially embarrassing position vis a vis Kirk, but also shows him that there is another person who adores him. The rest of the story tells the tale of how they overcome the problem of the clumsy crewman and how they become lovers.

I liked the fact that it was the infatuated ensign who persuades Kirk to tell Spock that he loves him. I liked the portrayals of Kirk and McCoy and I loved reading about a Spock who has learned over the years both to understand and accept his human colleagues.

Definitely worth a read.