So like a lot of people I was left kind of unsatisfied by Nurse Chapel's quick one-line mention in the latest movie. Really there's nothing wrong with her sleeping with Kirk, and it's not completely unbelievable that he might forget her (if he has been around as much as implied), but like I said, it's unsatisfying. Anyway, here's a quick oneshot I wrote to fill in the plot hole.
It is illogical to presume that I would own Star Trek.
He would've thought that being brought back from the dead would be more exciting. As it turned out though, the healing after being brought back from the death was a bitch. Jim spent most of his days sleeping, though unable to repress old habits, his eyes snapped open at the sound of any movement in his otherwise quiet little corner of the hospital.
"Christine?" Jim gulped when he saw the familiar blonde woman tinkering with one of the medical instruments in the corner. Hands on her hips, the woman turned.
"Oh, so you do remember me," Christine Chapel said in a casual tone, meeting his eyes fully, quirking an eyebrow in a distinctly Spock-like way.
Jim winced. When Carol had asked about Christine he'd automatically freaked. Jim had learned from painful past experiences that you don't go bringing up other girls in front of the woman you're currently interested in. "You've been talking to Carol Marcus."
"Yes I have." Christine adjusted a few settings on the screen. "You know..." She lowered her voice to a secretive whisper. "She was here every day last week to check on you."
"What? Really?" Jim glanced at the open door, as if she might waltz in at any moment. He tried to sit up straighter, but he hadn't even the strength for that. Christine seemed to guess at what he was thinking. She strode over and pulled him up with a surprising amount of strength. After she adjusted his pillows she pulled back and went to finish entering her data into the machine.
"She probably won't be back in the country until the memorial service," Christine continued. Huh. Well maybe it was for the best. He wasn't sure he wanted to her to see him in this condition anyway.
"What's she up to lately?"
Christine frowned. "She's experienced severe trauma Jim. She has the right to want to escape it all for a while."
"Yeah, I can understand the urge," he acknowledged, staring yearningly at the door, this time imagining himself racing through it.
Again Christine seemed to read his mind. Jim remembered being unnerved by her uncanny gift from the moment they met. Though Bones repeatedly told him she had no genetic tendencies towards telepathy, Jim still wasn't sure. Speaking of Bones, Christine was talking about him. "He doesn't have the best bed side manner, but Leonard Mccoy is the finest physician I've ever met. He'll have you on your feet at no time," Christine assured him.
Jim laughed, then stopped abruptly. Ribs. Well, at least he was alive. He was grateful to still be able to experience anything, whether it be laughter or pain.
"They seem to think very highly of you. I mean, Leonard, Carol and the rest of your crew. Even that handsome young vulcan who stopped by was concerned for you. I've never seen a vulcan be concerned before." Christine was studying him with a critical eye. Jim wondered if she didn't like what she saw.
"You could've misread him. Vulcans are said to be difficult to read," Jim suggested quietly. Not that he believed it. Spock of course, was easily concerned about others, though the concern was not always evident to everyone, Jim knew the green blooded bastard cared a great deal. In fact, Spock cared so much that he tried to block out all of his emotions completely, unsure if he would be able to function under the pressure of such a constant raw nerve. Jim understood the impulse. Still, it was nice to hear that Spock had visited him. Though Jim had never seen him coming or going. Spock probably timed the visits specifically whenever Jim was in a deep enough sleep so that his presence would go unnoticed.
"I could be wrong," Christine admitted. "People occasionally get things wrong after all."
That reminded him. "Listen Christine... I'm sorry I never got in touch with you or anything. That was rude of me."
"Jim Kirk apologizing, why I never thought I'd see the day!" Christine's curls bounced as she shook her head in amusement. She finally finished sliding her fingers over the holo-machine and "I accept your apology. No hard feelings or anything." She squeezed his hand briefly. He felt a rush of affection for her. "And to tell you the truth..." She chewed at her lip thoughtfully. "I'd almost forgotten about the whole thing until Leonard called me in and said he needed help bringing you back from the dead."
"Oh." Jim didn't know whether to feel offended or relieved. Maybe a bit of both?
"Oh indeed," Christine agreed. She shrugged, standing up and adjusting her mini-skirt. Jim tried not to stare at her legs. Then her soft grin monopolized his attention. "Besides, it's not like we gave each other promise rings or anything like that, it was just one night."
"It was a good night," Jim said, smirking at the memory.
"Good at the time, but forgettable afterwards." Christine smirked right back. Touche. "Anyway, water under the bridge, right?"
"Right," Jim agreed, wishing more of his previous female encounters would respond this well to seeing him again.
"That's a relief, I wouldn't want it to be awkward. Five years in space with a muddied air between the Captain and Head Nurse wouldn't bode well for the rest of the crew's sanity."
"No kidding..." Jim froze when he realized what she meant. "No kidding. Uhura said we'd be needed some new crew members, but I had no idea you'd even applied..." She nodded slowly. "That's great! Congratulations!"
She blinked. "You look like you actually mean that."
"I do. Considering I'm alive, you must be a great nurse."
"It was mostly Leonard's work, but yes I am terrific at what I do." Her back straightened. Jim's mind drifted to another blonde who stood straight no matter what the situation.
"Carol said it makes you happy, being a nurse. And happy people do their jobs well. So I look forward to seeing more of you."
"Not too much of me I hope." She winked on her way out. Jim smiled. Her sexiness was undeniable. Though he did want her to understand...
"Hey Nurse Chapel!" She turned and tilted her head questioningly. "I may hit on anything that moves, but my crew will always get the respect they deserve."
"Glad to hear it," she called over her shoulder. Jim was sad to see her go. The company had been welcome. Since he'd officially been declared dead for a while, he'd sort of hoped he might hear from his mom or Sam at some point, but at this point it was a fool's hope. Most of the surviving crew had made their way down at one point or another, but mostly they had better things to do. When Jim wasn't sleeping he was listening to Bones yap in his ear about proper sick edict. Though Jim knew he probably deserved it this time. In fact, he was due for another Bones-flavored lecture right about now. So he closed his eyes and waited for the familiar brisk footsteps to echo down the hallway. "Anyway," he decided. "Things are shaping up to be a fascinating couple of years."
And that's it. Read and review if you liked. Or if you didn't like. Or if you're neutral and you feel like exercising your fingers on the keyboard.