Blanket (Star Trek: TOS story)

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K/S Fanfiction
Title:	Blanket
Author(s):	Charlotte Frost
Date(s):	1992
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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Blanket is a K/S story by Charlotte Frost.

Deeb for "Blanket"

title page

It was published in the print zine Amazing Grace #2.

Summary

"While waiting to be released by the rebels using him as leverage in their planetʼs negotiations with the Federation, Spock thinks about the blanket Kirk brought him, and finally realizes his loverʼs true motivations."

The Author Comments

You know those “teddy bear” blankets that were popular in the late-80’s? They’re so soft and cuddly. That was the inspiration for this little story. No rocket science here. I do remember that it got a mention in a letterzine where a reader was exasperated because Spock was being held hostage and “all Kirk wants to do is go cuddle with his blanky” (or something like that). Well…. As I recall, there really wasn’t anything Kirk could do to help matters along. Though the reader was correct that Kirk is a man of action… and he wasn’t here.

Reactions and Reviews

This story has a cute premise: Spock has a favorite blanket Kirk has given him, and the blanket becomes a symbol of the warmth, comfort, and love that Spock missed out on as a child but now experiences as Kirk's lover. I generally enjoy this writer's work, and this story again gives ample proof that she knows her way around a sentence. However, the story contains a fatal error in characterization.

Here's the gist of the tale: Spock has been kidnapped by some rebel faction on an out-of-the-way planet and is being held in a prison cell. Other than being stripped of his clothes, he is not mistreated; he tries to keep warm and wishes for his blanket and thinks of Kirk. Meanwhile, Kirk sits on the Enterprise, holding Spock's blanket, and wishes for the Vulcan to be rescued and brought home safe to him.

And that's precisely what's wrong with this story. I can't imagine Kirk just sitting around on the Enterprise waiting for diplomats and bureaucrats to rescue Spock. The Kirk I know would be battering down the gates of Starfleet Command for permission to go, and if that were denied, he'd "therefore go anyway." The idea of Kirk sitting around with Spock's "blanky" and waiting while somebody else effects rescue is utterly out of character. Yes. some captains might do that, and yes, the author did try to justify Kirk's inaction, but I didn't buy it for a minute.

Still, there are nice moments in the story. The flashbacks concerning the blanket are well done, warm and amusing, and mostly in character; the slight sentimentality in Spock is explained by the onset of pon farr. But nothing explains to me why Kirk wimps out.