The Vigil (Star Trek: TOS story by Debbie Cummins)
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| K/S Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Vigil |
| Author(s): | Debbie Cummins |
| Date(s): | 1991 |
| Length: | |
| Genre: | slash |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: The Original Series |
| External Links: | |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Vigil is a Kirk/Spock story by Debbie Cummins.
It was published in the print zine Tantalus #2.
Summary
"Spock stays by an injured Kirk's bedside as the human battles for his life. Through the ordeal, Spock comes to the realization that his love for Kirk is more than just brotherly."
Reactions and Reviews
If you are familiar with this author’s stories, you know that she is definitely a “get Spock” kind of gal and that in some of her stories, she really, really “gets” him, sometimes in ways that are difficult for some K/S fans to read. This story certainly fits in that genre, although in this case, we are shown the aftermath, rather than the actual event, and this time it is Kirk who is suffering, not from any physical pain, but from the devastating loss of his best friend and overwhelming guilt that he never told Spock how he really felt. But now it is too late, for Spock is deep in a coma as a result of an unexpected and savage attack, and there is virtually no chance he will ever recover. It is almost too much for Kirk to bear and the author’s account of his struggle to maintain control as he is forced to face his worst nightmare, a nightmare from which there is no escape, is guaranteed to keep the reader on the edge of her seat.There is no end, for him or for us, to the grief and despair of knowing everything he had and could hope to have with Spock is now gone forever. Even McCoy, with all his skills, can do nothing except offer Kirk his sympathy and support, and try to ease the guilt his captain is feeling for opportunities missed and a future with Spock that will never be.
Like her other story, “Madman of Lesath, published in T’hy’la 27, “The Vigil” is a story that is desperately begging for a sequel. But then again, it also serves to remind us that life is sometimes very, very unfair and that happy endings are not always possible.[1]