Never Too Late

Fanfiction
Title:	Never Too Late
Author(s):	Jean Gabriel
Date(s):	1991
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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Never Too Late is a Kirk/Spock story by Jean Gabriel.

It was published in the print zine Counterpoint #4.

Summary

"A bond is formed when Spock sustains Kirkʼs life in a meld after Kirk is poisoned, but the captain doesnʼt remember his declaration of love for Spock and goes along with the attempt to break the bond."

Reactions and Reviews

1991

When I first started reading this I was disappointed that it seemed it was going to be a rehash of a plotline that's been done quite a bit before — that of Spock melding with Kirk to help heal a physical problem, and the two accidentally becoming bonded as a result. I was pleasantly surprised when it went beyond that scenario to become much more thorough and complex. I found it to be very smooth reading and just the right length.

However, it did have one lacking detail. The story never explained why Kirk didn't remember confessing his love in the meld. I kept waiting for there to be a major revelation as to the reason for his forgetfulness -- I even thought for a short tine that Sarek may have caused it— but it's never dealt with... unless I missed something?

A couple of very minor nitpicks -- 1) Since Dr. M'Benga is mentioned on page 8, why wasn't he involved or consulted about the meld Spock was going to do (since he's a Vulcan specialist)? 2) At the top of page 16, Kirk begins a sentence with, "Yeah...." which struck me as odd. It's difficult to imagine Kirk saying "Yeah" instead of "Yes".

A few high points for me were on page 2, when in reference to Spock, we're told. "Social functions such as this made him extremely uncomfortable.... His father's presence would make it even more so."; on page 16, Spock's courage in telling Kirk what happened in the meld; and on page 17, Spock's thought, "In this, Jim, you are the emotion-filled one. I could not have suppressed my feelings more tightly than you have done." This author's perception of Spock is very similar to mine.

1992

This is a dramatic and emotionally intense story, but I wonder if the author understands the melding. Spock calls the bond between himself and Kirk spontaneous, but he deliberately performed a deep meld in which he linked on a profound level with Kirk giving him his own life force in order to keep Kirk alive. I'd call that a deliberate action. Any Vulcan should know that a meld like that would fora a bond, and Spock would surely be aware of this fact before he performed it. Of course if he showed this awareness, Spock still wouldn't hesitate to perform the meld with Kirk's life in jeopardy, so the plot wouldn't change. It would just be more consistent.

1997

As with the meld which provides its pivotal point, there is tremendous depth here. Depth of emotion, depth of visualization, depth of involvement for the reader.

Kirk’s strength is waning and it appears inadequate to overcome the results of poisoning when Spock melds with him to lend the necessary strength for recovery. Plummeting headlong into the love and acceptance he finds within, Spock is blind to the formation of a spontaneous bond.

That Sarek and Amanda are aboard the Enterprise lends a unique perspective to what may have seemed familiar and oft-used. Sarek has a dimension we seldom see and it contributed so much to the complexity of the piece.

Into each K/S some angst must fall, I suppose. Here it’s in the form of Kirk’s inability to accept the fact he mentally confessed his unending love for Spock. This in turn results in a devastating decision to have the bond dissolved on Vulcan. And another shock -- Pon Farr is triggered.

It’s so heart wrenching, Spock’s pain so evident. His agreement to accept a surrogate rather than Kirk’s pity is so clear in his thoughts. All he wants is to get this awful thing over with and return to the ship. “With Jim”. “I would not fear my Time if my T’Hy’La was to be there for me.”

Fortunately, no more than the sun could be restrained from rising, Kirk cannot be kept from his T’Hy’La.