Paradise Interrupted

Fanfiction
Title:	Paradise Interrupted
Author(s):	Anne Elliot
Date(s):	2003
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
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Paradise Interrupted is a Kirk/Spock story by Anne Elliot.

It was published in the print zine Prophets in the Wilderness.

Summary

"Kirk is upset when a female passenger makes a play for him, even though she is fully aware that he is bonded to Spock."

Reactions and Reviews

Kirk is jealous when, long after he and Spock are lovers, Leila Kalomi pops up again. Anne, I'm sorry, I want to like your writing but I just can't picture adults behaving like this (even adult males.) Kirk is a starship commander, not a prima donna having a tantrum! Please. And why would Spock put up with such behaviour? Oh dear, I dislike friction between these guys. I mean, deep angst is one thing but petty upsets diminish them. They are supposed to be heroes after all. Yes, this story is nicely written—I just didn't like the content.

I liked this story. Kirk and Spock have been together for a year, and married for the last six months when Leila Kalomi and Dr. Sandoval (who now are married) become passengers on the Enterprise for a few days, and Kirk becomes jealous of Leila. A previous LOC felt that Kirk was behaving like a prima donna having a temper tantrum and not like a starship commander in this story, and couldn’t imagine adults behaving like this. Well, I can. I’ve seen this type of behavior first hand from otherwise mature, responsible individuals. Plus, it‘s been my observation in the real world that even people who are very competent, capable and efficient professionally can sometimes be less than mature in their personal lives. Kirk and Spock aren’t always going to be perfect, and being jealous of a former lover is perfectly normal. Granted, this is a somewhat less heroic view of Kirk, but lots of stories over the years have explored jealousy between Kirk and Spock; so why not one more story, especially one as well written and delightful as this one? I kind of liked seeing a besotted Kirk making a fool of himself over Spock!

I thought Anne made Kirk’s jealousy plausible given what lead up to him meeting Leila Kalomi again (Kirk and Spock being only recently married, Kirk finding out about betting on the ship about a previous guest and whether Kirk would sleep with her, Spock not telling Kirk that Leila was to be a passenger on the ship, etc.) True, how Kirk reacted to the jealousy was a bit immature, but very human. Plus, it was only for a couple of hours one evening. (Until McCoy talked to Kirk and made him realized what he‘d been doing.) The previous LOC also questioned why Spock would put up with this behavior from Kirk. Well, Spock didn’t put up with it. After the first incident (Kirk was coolly polite to Leila and Dr. Sandoval in the transporter room, and then insisted that he and not Spock escort them to their cabin), Spock only had a couple of minutes alone with Kirk in their cabin while they were dressing for the formal dinner in honor of their guests. Yet he did say something to Kirk then, and the moment they were alone again at the end of the evening he read Kirk the riot act.

I like Anne’s charming and witty writing style so much. Parts of this story were very funny—like the whole discussion about flinging metaphorical doors open on the Enterprise, and then Kirk talking about Spock throwing the Vulcan version of an enormous tantrum—i.e. raising two eyebrows simultaneously. Too funny! Kirk’s stupefied reaction upon realizing he was jealous was priceless, and his admission he had never been jealous in any other relationship was very revealing. And this certainly helped explain his somewhat juvenile behavior with Leila, if it was the first time he’d ever had to deal with jealousy. This was an enjoyable story for me.