It was surprisingly not awkward when Jim finally woke up to find that he was still in bed with Spock and Nyota. What they had done while in his mind had removed what barriers there might be and he found himself surprisingly comfortable with both of his lovers. Then they spent a day and a half recreating their encounter with more control on his part and adding many more new and interesting possibilities for sex. Jim particularly liked the one where he got to watch Nyota take Spock apart and he took control and put Spock back together again.

The pure pleasure in Spock when he let go was something to behold.

There was also the time Spock screwed him so long and so hard he couldn't remember his own name; that was fantastic.

In fact, Jim had to admit when they finally managed to keep their hands off each other that he'd never had sex like it, ever, and he'd had a lot of sex. He was beginning to see some of the advantages that Kris and Adam promised were there. When he just thought about Spock and by association Nyota, Jim had to admit he was happy, but of course outside his quarters there were complications.

Adam and Kris had a long sit-down talk with all of them and then took Jim, Spock and Nyota to visit some of their experts in the field of submissive bonding as soon as Jim declared himself fit for duty and dared Bones to deny him. The first contact continued, and everything seemed to slip back to something resembling normality, but of course Jim knew it couldn't last for long.

Orders from Starfleet came in all too soon that the Enterprise was needed to ship some medical supplies to Ranar VII, where a plague had just broken out. Being one of the fastest ships in the fleet and in the area, Enterprise was the only vessel for the job. Jim was still waiting for his superiors to digest the reports about his new situation, but until they said something, he had his duty to perform.

It was only fair that he deliver the news to Adam and Kris in person, so he went to their quarters as soon as the orders came in.

"Come in," Kris greeted when the door opened.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said, stepping into the room, "but I don't have much time. The Enterprise had been ordered away from Sonara on an emergency mission; a diplomatic party will be arriving to continue negotiations for the Federation. I know it's short notice, but you'll have to pack and return to the surface."

Kris looked at Adam who smiled faintly.

"We can't do that," Kris said simply.

"But we have to leave," Jim insisted.

"And we have to come with you," Kris replied.

Jim totally hadn't expected that.

"But we don't know when we'll be back, if ever," he pointed out.

Kris walked up to him and placed a gentle hand on his arm.

"That doesn't matter," his friend told him. "We are your guides, we cannot abandon you. When you finally have no more need of us, we will find our own way home if necessary. Until then, we will stay with you."

"You'd do that for me, leave your home?" he asked, taken aback by the calm pronouncement.

"Of course," Adam said and smiled at him.

It was not an option Jim had considered and it might, possibly, have made him a little emotional, not that he was ever going to admit it.

"Well, thank you," he said, not really sure how to respond properly, Kris and Adam had already done so much for him and Spock. "In that case we'll be leaving as soon as we have all our people off the surface. If you want to pick anything up, now is the time to do it."

"We already have everything we need," Kris said, at which point it occurred to Jim that his friends had known this was going to happen and had planned accordingly.

"Oh good," he said, doing his best not to look like a complete idiot, "than I guess I'll see you later then."

After which he left as quickly as possible so he could avoid Adam and Kris until he had had a chance to adjust to this whole new development. His early life hadn't exactly prepared him for such sudden and complete demonstrations of care.

~*~

The medical supply run was totally routine, although when they arrived at Ranar VII the population were more than grateful. As long as Jim spent time with Spock and Nyota during his down time he found that life went on pretty much as normal. They shared his quarters every night because they were the largest, but still each had their own should they need to retreat to them for any reason.

It was not all sweetness and light. He and Nyota did have one huge argument two days into the mission, but it had no effect on their work and when he apologised for being an ass with chocolates and flowers, he managed to smooth everything over. The makeup sex had also been so good that he seriously considered staging small arguments every now and then just because it seemed to bring them even closer together.

He did find himself listening to Spock a little more closely, but when he made decisions, he couldn't say he felt any different than he had before.

The crew all knew what had happened, but they were professional enough not to mention it. The Enterprise offered medical aid to the colony as well as the supplies and everything went without a hitch. In fact, everything was running so well and they were almost ready to leave that when the chime to his quarters went and he found a grim looking Bones standing on the other side of the door, he didn't immediately assume his friend was there about him.

"Come in," he said, since Nyota and Spock were still on shift, "can I get you a brandy?"

"Sorry, Jim," Bones replied, "this isn't exactly a social call."

That stopped him in his tracks.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Starfleet sent me a priority message," Bones told him; "they wanted more details about you and Spock."

Jim sat down.

"That's it then," he said, and Bones just looked at him; they both knew what it meant.

The orders came in the following morning; the Enterprise was to report to Starbase 3 where there would be a hearing to judge the status of her captain. The Starbase was well within the confines of the Federation, just right for a ship that was going to be changing captain. The fact that it was three days away at maximum warp was the only good thing about the whole situation.

~*~

Jim stood outside the guest quarters where Kris and Adam were staying and went to announce himself, but stopped. He was almost sure he could hear singing. The voice was faint, but it sounded powerful and strong and Jim suspected he knew where it was coming from. With a shake of his head he leant over and touched the panel on the wall to announce his presence. The singing stopped and the door opened to reveal a smiling Adam.

"Hey, Jim," Adam greeted, "come on in, what can I do for you?"

Jim stepped into the room as Adam moved out of the way.

"Were you singing?" he asked, unable to avoid his curiosity.

"Yes," Adam said, eyes alight with delight. "I was investigating your recordings and you have some amazing music. If you used it more, I am sure your society would have had less wars. I couldn't help singing along."

"I thought Kris was the singer, being an attaché?"

Adam grinned at that.

"Kris is a song maker, he was born to create music, but he always says I was born to sing his songs" Adam explained. "Kris says it's hard to shut me up."

That Jim could believe. Adam talked a lot.

"Are you okay," Adam asked, "you didn't have another argument, did you?"

Jim shook his head.

"I have new orders," he said and sat down; "I'm to take the Enterprise and report to Starbase 3 where there will be a hearing about my new status."

"Oh," Adam said and sat down as well.

"Yeah," he acknowledged.

"You don't believe they'll understand," Adam said gently.

"I know they won't," he replied. "This is cut and dried as far as they will see it. I am fundamentally compromised."

"But you're not."

"They won't see it that way; they don't understand."

"Then we'll make them understand," Adam told him and placed a hand on his in a move of complete solidarity.

"I'm not sure it's possible," he admitted; even he wasn't quite sure if his relationship with Spock would pose a problem.

Adam stood up and walked towards the other side of the room, clearly thinking.

"When is this hearing?" Adam asked.

"Three days."

Adam thought some more.

"We will ask to speak," Adam decided. "Don't worry, if anyone can explain it will be Kris. No matter how close minded they are, his words will reach them."

Adam looked so sure that Jim almost believed him. He gave his friend a smile for trying, but he was almost sure in three days his career would be over.