Iowa Nights

Fanfiction
Title:	Iowa Nights
Author(s):	Dhae Knight
Date(s):	2003
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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Iowa Nights is a Kirk/Spock story by Dhae Knight.

It was published in the e-zine Side by Side.

Summary

"Kirk gets a visit from an old friend and makes some changes to his life. They turn out to change relationships as well."

Reactions and Reviews

A few years ago I was online and discovered K/S. I was yet to find out about the current print zines and the archive sites the old hands frequent, so my first exposure was from a random sampling of oddball websites. I was, for the most part, unimpressed and was ready to drop the genre like the proverbial hot potato, but then I came across two stories, both by one-time wonders, that kept me reading. The first, Skinning Cats by Downdilly, is reviewed separately in this issue. The second was Iowa Nights by Dhae Knight. In each, the title describes many aspects of the story.

Iowa Nights merges a number of the most frequently visited plotlines. It’s a first time, introduction to Antonia, Kirk stagnating in retirement, Kirk will do anything for Spock, Kirk doesn’t realize he’s in love with Spock, Kirk doesn’t know if he can love a man, post-fal tor pan, Spock uses the mindmeld to reconnect with his emotions, vignettes in a years long plotline, PG-rated romance. Sounds awful, right? Can you say cliché? Well, you couldn’t be more wrong. Dhae Knight wrote a subtly nuanced, rich in detail, quietly intense story with a believable thread of poignant innocence throughout and we’re not sure how the story will end until the last paragraph. There’s not a false step in mood, characterization or timeline.

The Iowa Nights in the title refer to the two years of quiet nights Kirk spends with Antonia in his cabin in a transporter-prohibited, Iowa preserve after his abrupt retirement (between STI & II). It refers to Kirk’s description of his relationship to Antonia as happy but he doesn’t know if he’s in love and isn’t sure why. It refers to waiting for visits from Enterprise friends that never happen. It refers to the sameness of days, Kirk’s feeling that he couldn’t spent another day behind a desk at Starfleet HQ and his certainty that there could never be another field command for him. But then something he never anticipated happens.

Spock beams in one morning to ask Kirk to come back and head Starfleet Academy. The Commandant is retiring. His likely replacement is an uninspiring xenophobe without field experience and is expected to purge the Academy of nonhuman staff and cadets, including the position Spock has fought to keep for years. Kirk needs time to consider and Spock offers to return that evening. And this Iowa night breaks the mold. Upon his return, Spock uncharacteristically offers to greet Kirk by shaking hands and Jim, after some hesitation, complies. The contact is a bittersweet revelation for Spock and after an uncomfortable evening with a jealous Antonia, Spock is certain Kirk will remain in retirement. However, when Kirk realizes that he must choose between Antonia, who adamantly opposes living within the constraints of a Starfleet officer’s schedule, and Spock in his life, there is no choice. He and Antonia have a volatile separation.

The final Iowa night is an Enterprise command crew bash at the cabin to celebrate a new 5-year mission. After McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Uhura and Chekov have progressed to the well-oiled part of the evening, Kirk retires to the porch where Spock asks about their relationship and speaks of his mother’s concern that his reeducation was too Vulcan. Jim can’t explain, reluctantly agrees to a meld and shocks them both when the meld reveals that Spock has been much more to him than a friend and treasured companion for years. With a pragmatism that is probably essential for effective command, Jim had simply, subconsciously refused to waste brainpower on an impossible scenario. On the other hand, there was that handshake ….

For me, this story was like the Kevin Spacey movie, “The Usual Suspects”. It becomes more richly textured the second time through and bears revisiting thereafter. If Dhae Knight writes under another penname, please someone post it.