Re> Did hurt/comfort in B7 get its origins from American ST fanfic...
Ah, but the Americans learned about drama from the English, years before the invention of the television :).
Shane
It might be argued that h/c has its origins pre-television, too. For example, Bram Stoker did a number of melodramatic stories where a strong heroine rescues and comforts the hero (Dracula itself begins with Johnathan's victimization by vampires, and we appreciate Mina's strength from her ability to comfort Johnathan and her friend Lucy). Jane Eyre certainly could be classified as h/c. I'm sure I've read manly adventure stories where explorers or soldiers have bonded while getting the injured one back to safety, but I can't come up with specific ones at the moment. In the Secret Garden, a platonic friendship forms as Mary helps Colin gain a stronger constitution. There is nothing new under the sun. Don't blame it on the Americans.