I was pretty much aware that I'd be spending all night reading this...

...and it was six hours very well spent :) Beautiful story.

The carnival part had me giggling quite a bit, because the idea of Spock-or pretty much any Vulcan- sitting next to a huge stuffed animal is just that hilarious. Also, though it's mentioned only briefly, it was fun to see that the relationship between Number One and Spock was touched upon. I always wondered what that might've been like, and it was interesting to see it get some attention here.

And this story really made me feel sad about the fate of Sam and Aurelan, and of course I rejoiced when Jim and Spock got each other back. And it was just the right amount of angst and difficulties before that moment, not too much but just enough to make it feel rewarding. Great work, once again. :)

Gorgeous, sexy, and a suitable amount of angst to spice it up- love this :)

Personally, I thought that line worked- partly because of David's attempt to comfort, but mostly because there's something about the tenderness and humbled look in Kirk/Shatner's eyes when he says that line that I associate very much with being young and feeling sort of emotionally 'raw'/melancholic in a bittersweet sort of way/very caught up in and aware of one's emotions, not just innocent and careless (or maybe I'm just reading too much into it- being young is, in the end, a quite subjective experience).

In any case, you've got a beliavable, thought-provoking and moving fic here, with an in my opinion good re-interpretation of what that line could mean. While I indeed believe in Kirk feeling 'young' in that very moment, this one seems to me a plausible version of how Kirk might feel later, when he's had had time to reflect and 'calm down' a bit.

This was beautiful, a bit sad but still happy in a way, the ending in particular is great. And I always figured Spock would like Escher's drawings, but I never expected to find that someone had used it in a fanfic in this manner :)

Perhaps not quite in line with canon, but it still seems remotely possible- after all, Spock could save the ship and carry out a conversation with Jim even after transferring his katra to McCoy, so maybe a minimum of awareess would be in there somewhere? :) Either way, I like this fic.

Probably one of my all-time favourite Pon Farr stories- it manages to combine angst and humor and hot, tender K/S-action so very well in a perfect mix :)

Beautiful beautiful story, heartbreaking and bitterweet...I'm pretty close to bawling right now, well done :)  I like the ending, it was left a bit open but at the same time with enough clues to give closure and make the story feel completed, with an indication for a brighter future. Sarek trying to laugh made me laugh, too, it was a nice beat of humor in the midst of a rather serious situation. And I love to see the Romulan Commander in here- almost cried when she died, but you gave her a glorious end :)

As the other reviewers have said, a sad but plausible ending- of course I love it when Kirk and Spock get each other, but it's just as intriguing to see someone explore a less happy ending for them, especially when it's as beliavably written as this story.

Great story, this one- the scenes of intimacy, as well as the sequences of action, suspense and tension really got the blood pumping, and the tender, emotional moments sure got me misty-eyed. It's a story that simply...glows, y'know? Love it. :)

Aside from the beautiful K/S-interaction, there are also the well-written Original Characters I'd like to bring up, as I found Salazar and Perkins to be likable, lifelike characters. And Johnson and the Orions are suitably unsympathetic but at the same time well written and complex. 

The part with the photo surprised me a bit, for personal reasons. I rarely enjoy scenes of characters looking at pictures and reminiscing, as I find many such scenes to be overly melodramatical in writing style and seldom able to convey much emotion. Here, though, the writing was fine-tuned, and the scene really called forth a spontaeus warm, fuzzy feeling.

And I like that you've involved Stonn and T'Pring in this story- I'm not overly fond of them, but I like it whenever an author makes the effort to use the characters for interesting sub-plots and intrigue, and fleshes them out a bit beyond the cold-hearted couple of Amok Time.

Finally, since I can't seem to praise this fic enough, I'd like to once more point out how much I like the Kirk/Spock- interaction here. It's so sweet, tender and loving, and beautifully described.

In short: I'm in love with this story. It's that simple. :)

Beautiful.