Save a Prayer

Fanfiction
Title:	Save a Prayer
Author(s):	C. Liane de Maier
Date(s):	1999
Length:
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: TOS
Relationship(s):	Kirk/Spock
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Save a Prayer is a Kirk/Spock story by C. Liane de Maier.

It was published in the print zine Encore.

Summary

"'Save a prayer for yourself'," a young alien girl tells Kirk as he copes with rehabilitation from serious injuries, a separation from Spock that he had not known would be so painful—and news that the Enterprise is missing."

Reactions and Reviews

C. Liane de Maler impressed me again with a wonderfully romantic story in "Save A Prayer". I found the Hannee to be a very insightful and interesting people. The Hanneic concept that friends are relatives of the heart is quite beautiful. And her first time story was incredibly erotic and moving.

This is a moving tale of missed opportunities and second chances, made all the more impressive because the author is not a native speaker of English. It certainly doesn’t show in this story! Once in a while an unusual phrasing or word choice caught my eye, but for the most part the prose is not merely competent, but quite lyrical.

The author also demonstrates considerable skill at writing from Kirk’s POV. So many things are made beautifully clear thanks to her economical writing style and imaginative descriptions: Kirk’s state of mind, the planet he’s on, its native cultures, the hospital facility. The author seems to have a knack for presenting a few vivid details and letting her reader’s imagination supply the rest. For example, I loved her description of what Kirk sees as he reenters the sanitarium upon returning from the nearby beach: an ornate brass sign with the name of the former manor house and beneath it... ...a smaller and much newer plastic sign with bureaucratically-neat Roman letters. “Federation Rehab Clinic” it said coldly. All the good the visit to the beach had done him drained away. This is so effective! I understood immediately that the pleasant setting is unavoidably spoiled by its utilitarian atmosphere, and also that Kirk is desperately unhappy about being there.

Kirk’s reunion with Spock is somewhat understated, but very tender. Having nearly lost one another, their directness and willingness to express long-suppressed feelings struck me as quite believable—a satisfying ending to a satisfying story.

Clever beginning with Kirk on what we think is an ocean sailing vessel that turns out to be a fantasy. Kirk is at a Federation rehab clinic after an accident, and where he’s lonely and unhappy.

Flashback to the accident and an explosion where Spock is injured and Kirk tries to help him. The building caves in on Spock and Kirk pushes him out of the way and gets himself pinned beneath the debris. A little native girl approaches Kirk on the beach and talks to him. He longs for the stars again. Kirk was informed that the Enterprise has been lost during a battle with Orion pirates, but they don’t know what happened for sure. In a tender scene, the little girl tries to comfort Kirk, but he fears Spock is dead. He is in the depths of despair. At this point things get confusing because all of a sudden, Spock is there holding Kirk, telling him the Enterprise is fine. Later, Kirk and Spock are on a ship or maybe looking at an old ship, I wasn’t certain.

But then they kiss and make love on the ship in a very lovely and romantic scene.