Retrospect (Star Trek: TOS story)

Fanfiction
Title:	Retrospect
Author(s):	Addison Reed
Date(s):	1990?
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
External Links:
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Retrospect is a K/S story by Addison Reed.

It was published in the print zine As I Do Thee #13.

Summary

"A letter from one friend to another recounts the good times and the bad times in the lives of James Kirk and Spock of Vulcan during the period between ST:TMP and ST:TVH..."

Reactions and Reviews

Retrospect" is what I like to call one of those "little moment" stories, penned by one of the most talented K/S authors this fandom has been blessed to have (even though you'd be hard-pressed to get her to admit that). This little gem takes place between the events of ST:TMP and STVI: The Undiscovered Country. What makes this story stand out for me is how it is presented to the reader—an old-fashioned, handwritten letter penned by an innkeeper to an acquaintance of Captain Sulu's. We never learn what type of relationship the letter's intended recipient has with Sulu nor do we learn the innkeeper's name or even whether such person is male or female. Yet none of that matters as we are allowed to view intimate "little moments" between Kirk and Spock as seen through a stranger's eyes. From an exhausted Kirk and Spock arriving at the inn for a much-needed rest following the events with V'Ger, to a confrontation with reporters that undoubtedly will lead to public speculation exactly what is going on between the two, to an offer by the innkeeper that is first made to make amends for the intrusion by the press, but which ends up providing a sanctuary for the two men for that visit and many more to come, to a gentle intervention by said innkeeper to one lonely starship captain whose "cure" for said loneliness has remained aboard the ship, a "cure" the innkeeper is quick to provide - the events unfold in a way as only this author can relate them, with a quiet eloquence that is guaranteed to leave the reader mesmerized from beginning to end. This story, like so many of this author's stories, leaves me shaking my head at what a marvelous talent she has when it comes to K/S and while she has not put pen to paper in quite awhile, I am happy to report there is a good chance we may not have heard the last of her. If so, it will indeed be a blessing to us all.