How Like a Winter

Fanfiction
Title:	How Like a Winter
Author(s):	Jo Martin
Date(s):	1982
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
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How Like a Winter is a Kirk/Spock story by Jo Martin.

It was published in the print zine Never and Always with Lighter Shades #1.

Reactions and Reviews

1982

'How Like a Winter' by Jo Martin is the final story in the zine and is the personal favourite of the editors. In the story, the relationship has lasted for over sixty years and is still strong. It is seen'through the eyes of a nurse, hired by Spock to look after an 110 year old Kirk." Spock, in charge of the peace negotiations with the Klingons, has to leave Kirk behind as he has a broken hip. Annoyed with himself for letting Spock down, he reveals to the nurse his feelings for Spock and his reaction to getting old. A beautifully written and moving story, it is a delight to read.

1993

I'm not sure how many other readers will like "How Like a Winter," but it is a type of story that I just adore. It portrays a 110 year old Kirk, bonded for more than sixty years to Spock. Kirk has broken his hip, and Spock absolutely has to leave him to attend a peace conference with the Klingons. He hires a nurse to take care of his recalcitrant bondmate while Kirk recuperates, and the story is told from the nurse's perspective. I'm an absolute sucker for stories that show an older Kirk and Spock, never read one I didn't like, so I'm definitely prejudiced in favor of this story. Nevertheless. I did have a few problems. This older Kirk was too much like many fan writers portray an older McCoy, in my opinion, awfully crusty and uncooperative. It wasn't until the later part of this short story that Kirk's true, unmistakable character started to emerge, once he began to relate to the nurse as a person, and to talk about his relationship with Spock. And I'll never get used to the Britishisms that sometimes creep into the dialogue authors. Hearing Kirk say "Bully" always so jarring...I liked the irony of the bedridden Kirk speaking so protectively: "...it was achilly evening and he isn't getting any younger either, you know. That's why we've settled on Vulcan. He feels the cold so, now he's getting older." I like a story that doesn't have pretensions, that doesn't try to be something it isn't. "How Like a Winter" is short and sweet, I'm sure too cloyingly so to some, but it certainly warmed up a cold winter evening for me. On my own personal scale of one to ten, I give it an uncomplicated seven.