Oh man, I forgot I had written this. I found it in the dark depths of my hard drive. I wrote it sometime after I watched the new movie.
Re-Reading it now, I'm not entirely happy with it. Some parts feel stiff and not quite with the flow I had imagined. But I'm tossing it out here anyway, seeing what people think. It's also pretty obvious this has not been beta'd in any way, so please excuse any mistakes. Also, my only knowledge of the series is from the new movie, and wikipedia. So I might have BS'd some facts here and there.
Enjoy.
---------------
Kirk hears the doors to the lift hiss open, but he doesn't turn to see who it is. He doesn't need too. He can feel the cold glare drilling a hole in the back of his head from where he sat in his captain's chair. Straightening a little in the suddenly uncomfortable chair, Kirk pulls up a video screen on his console, and begins idling scanning through files about their current destination, attempting to look busy.
"How long till we reach our destination?" Kirk asks aloud, using his utmost 'I'm-the-Captain-and-I'm-busy' voice.
"Approximately thirty-two hours till we reach Arkadis 5, keptin." Ensign Chekov replies, his eyes flicking nervously between the captain and the newcomer on the bridge.
Kirk winces and scowls internally. Shit, he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up.
"Ahem." The person behind him irritably coughs, and Kirk can hear the tapping of an impatient foot. Swiveling around in his chair, Kirk decides he can't ignore it any longer, and turns to face his ultimate doom. Doctor Leonard McCoy, Chief Medical Officer.
"Bones! What a surprise. What brings you up to the bridge?" Kirk flashes him his trademark grin.
"Dammit Jim, I've been paging you for over an hour. Get your ass down to sick bay, now." The irritable doctor all but growls at Jim.
Dr. McCoy was generally a patient man, but he'd long since lost any of it when dealing with one James T. Kirk. After years of knowing the man, McCoy knew that no way in any level of hell would Kirk actually willingly go down to sick bay without a fight. So McCoy had long since stopped asking Jim, he now ordered.
"I don't have time for that Bones. Can't you see I'm busy doing…..captainy…stuff?" Kirk internally winced at his oh-so-smooth excuse, but gave Bones another smile and waved his hands at his video screen for emphasis. Just as Bones had long since stopped asking, Jim had long since stopped listening.
"Nice try. Now you either march down there like the mature captain you should be, or we'll do it my way. "
'My way' turned out to be Bones's weapon of choice, his trusty hypospray, armed and dangerous. McCoy taps it in one hand, letting Jim know he was completely serious. As always.
"Come on Bones! I'm fine! We don't need to resort to such drastic measures." Kirk shrinks back in his chair a little bit, the sight of the hypospray making his neck twinge with phantom pains of previous assaults from the medical tool. He would've used his so called Captain-rank authority at his Chief Medical Officer, but Kirk had learned early on that not even being an Admiral would protect him from Bones and his so called mission to ensure Kirk's well-being.
Kirk cast a hasty glance around the Bridge, looking for an escape route. He silently cursed at the other crew members who were watching the exchange with interest, knowing none of them would come to his rescue. Sulu and Chekov were desperately trying stifle their laughs, while Uhura just rolled her eyes, unimpressed, and continued on with her work. They were quite use to the showdowns between the Captain and the CMO, and they learned right off the bat to never take sides.
"I'm not kidding Jim. You have to do this." Bones all but growled, seeing Kirk's 'fight-or-flight' instincts starting to kick in. He'd catch him eventually, but Bones wasn't really in the mood to chase down the Starfleet captain who was acting more like a 10 year old.
"Is there a problem?" The flat monotone voice of First Officer Spock questioned, having just arrived on the Bridge to see the confrontation. Kirk used Spock's appearance, which distracted McCoy, to all but leapt from his chair and skidded his way over to his First Officer, putting the Vulcan in between himself and his enraged CMO.
"Jim! Dammit get back here!"
"Spock! Great to see you! -save me-" Kirk slapped the Vulcan on the shoulder in his usual greeting, much Spock's annoyance, and began inching his way back towards the lift.
"The Captain, needs to report to sick bay, now." Bones growled, taking a step towards them pointing the hypospray at Kirk like the deadly weapon it was.
"No I don't!" Kirk yelled back as he made a dash for the lift, and frantically began punching the button for the doors to open.
Spock remained perfectly composed as ever, but internally he let out a heavy sigh. Having a great distaste for the Captain's moments of immaturity, and knowing there will be no end to this confrontation till the doctor got his way, Spock logically decided that ending the conflict now would be best.
Just as the lift doors opened and Kirk was about to scramble inside, Spock reached over and grabbed the back of Kirk's shirt, and using his great Vulcan strength, hauled the Captain back into the room. Kirk let out an unmanly squawk, stumbling for a moment as he attempted to right himself after being deposited back into the room. Seeing his First Officer step in front of the lift doors, blocking his only escape, Kirk sighed in defeat. "Traitor." He mumbled.
"Now, please explain the reason for the captain's required attendance down in the medical bay. Is he ill?" Spock questioned, turning his attention to the doctor, who he logically concluded would give the most honest answer.
"No, but he-"
"Ha! See, I told you I'm fine!" Jim cut in, but only earned a glare from Bones and Spock in return. Spock nodded for McCoy to continue.
"Starfleet regulations dictate that any and all personnel who go down to any planet that they have not visited previously, must receive the mandated vaccine inoculations for any viruses or other illnesses that could be present." McCoy began, rattling off the regulation like it was straight from the textbook.
Spock nods in understanding. It was true, as he himself already received the required vaccine treatment for the new planet they were destined towards. He noticed Kirk's sudden reluctance to join in on the conversation, as the Captain had folded his arms across his chest in a defensive manner, and his expressions was dangerously close to being called a pout. "Yes, that is correct." Spock verbally agrees with the doctor, urging him to continue.
"This idiot here hasn't received his yet." McCoy grumbled, motioning towards the Captain with his hypospray. Kirk visibly flinched, near growled and shuffled a step farther away from the medical device.
Spock raised an eyebrow just marginally in interest, but hardly in surprise. It was practically common knowledge throughout the entire ship that the Captain held a certain hatred towards the medical department, and spending any small amount of time there.
Spock could only wonder if the Captain had yet to discover that his good friend the doctor had posted a ship-wide memo that stated; 'that if anyone noticed any sort of medical ailment with the Captain, regardless of the severity, they were to report it immediately to the CMO, and they were under no circumstances aide the Captain in fleeing any medical staff.'
"Captain, this should hardly be anything new to you. The vaccines are important in protecting your health." Spock began, using his trademark 'lecture' tone, which Jim has frequently been on the receiving end.
"I know that Spock, I just…" Jim paused for a moment, running a hand through his unruly blonde hair. "Those shots hurt like hell." Jim hastily continues, seeing the glares coming from both Spock and Bones. He could practically hear the 'Don't be such a baby, Jim', running through their minds. "I hate being stuck down in sickbay, hooked up to those damn machines for that long. I have better things to do with my time." Jim looks pathetically at Bones, who just rolls his eyes. Spock however, is surprised by this.
"Hooked up to machines? I was unaware that there was an additional process to your vaccinations. Please explain, doctor." Spock turned to McCoy for an explanation.
McCoy just gave an irritated sigh, looking thoroughly annoyed. "Jim here is somehow allergic to at least half of the medications given to him. Remember a year ago during the beginning of the Nero incident? When his hands turned into giant mutant potatoes and his tongue swelled? Turns out that was just the tip of the iceberg. And that was just from a mild inoculation. Luckily, for most of the planets we've been to in the past, Jim's had the vaccines already, or the reaction was very minimal. However this time, Jim needs three different vaccines, and they're pretty powerful stuff."
Most vaccines were actually rolled together in vaccination super-shots, which could have up 20 different vaccines in each dose. They were grouped together by common genetic make-up, to reduce reactions between the different vaccines. The super-shots were actually more efficient and had a much less allergic reaction ratio then having twenty individual shots of each vaccine. This time however, the needed vaccines were not apart of the typical super-shot package, because of their unique make-up.
"Because of this idiot's spastic immune system, I'll be putting him under 24-hour observation after I've given him the doses." McCoy concludes, glaring at Kirk the entire time.
"I don't need to be put under observation. I'll be fine." Kirk protests again, but deep down he knew the battle was already lost.
Spock is quiet a moment, pondering this new information. He was previously aware of the Captain's sensitivity towards medications, but he hadn't realized just how susceptible he was to deadly reactions. If Dr. McCoy was this adamant about the risks and needing to put the Captain under watch, Spock concluded that the Doctor's solution was most logical and best served.
"Captain, I am inclined to agree with the Doctor. Given your past medical record, and the risks with these inoculations, it is most logical and highly recommended that you go along with the Doctor.
"However, if you are so against the inoculations and the surveillance, the only other solution would be to simple not beam down to the planet. Because as Starfleet regulates, you are unauthorized to beam down without the mandated vaccines." Spock concluded, once again stating his opinion as if he were speaking to a child.
An expression of disgust flickered across Kirk's face. He knew he wasn't allowed to visit the planet without the proper vaccines, but the idea of being excluded from the landing party was far more agitating then sitting under Bones's 24-hour watch. His shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Dammit." He refused to actually verbally agree, but he'd figure Bones would get it.
"Good, now let's go. The faster we do this, the faster you can get back up here and play hero all you want." Bones latched onto Jim's upper arm, refusing to let him go until they were in Sick Bay, should Kirk decide to bolt halfway there.
"Spock, I leave to Bridge to you. If anything happens, call me." Kirk gave Spock a meaningful look, one that Spock understood quite well, and strongly resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Plainly put, Kirk wanted Spock to call him either way, and bail him out of Sick Bay. As if Spock would stoop to such childish actions.
"I doubt any end-of-the-world cataclysmic events will occur while you're gone." Bones just grumbled, dragging Kirk to the lift, and pushing him inside when the doors opened.
"You never know. We could get ambushed by Klingons, have a reactor meltdown, get sucked into a black hole and sent into the past, get attacked by a psychotic Romulan, hit a meteor-"
Bones just slapped him in the back of the head.
"Ow! What the hell was that for, you-"
And the lift doors snapped shut, sending the Bridge into silence.
Which didn't last long, because Sulu and Chekov immediately broke out into giggles. They were just as quickly silenced by a glare from Spock.
Sitting down in the captain's chair, Spock took up Kirk's data on the planet they were destined for, idly scanning the info he had already read through before.
"Continue on towards Arkadis 5."
-------
Kirk reclined on the medical bed, arms folded across his chest, and projecting as much anger and hate has he physically could to anyone who walked by. Which actually made him look more like a pathetic pouting child, especially with all the wires and such strapped to him. Some of the medical staff couldn't help but smile and almost giggle at his appearance. The irritating continuous beeping of the heart monitor, breathing monitor, brain function monitor and any other strange devices Bones managed to hook up to him didn't help his mood in the slightest either.
Rubbing his sore neck for the hundredth time, he mentally began a list of all the things he could do and things he could use as revenge against Bones. Which was actually a rather small list.
"Stopping rubbing it, you'll just make it more sore." Bones grumbled, walking up next to Jim's bed, idling scanning the monitors and jotting down a few notes.
"You're just doing this to torture me. You make up excuses and use your medical mumbo-jumbo to make it sound official, but really, you just do this to make me miserable and in pain." Kirk glared at the doctor, who just gave Kirk an all-knowing smile.
"Yes Jim, congratulation, you've figured out my master plan. All this time I've just been pretending to be your trusted friend, when actually I am trying to make your life a living hell by keep you alive and healthy, especially when you do such a great job of trying to get yourself killed." Bones grinned, and patted Kirk on the shoulder.
"Asshole." Kirk muttered. "So am I free to go yet? I feel fine." Jim stresses, for the hundredth time.
"Sixteen hours down. You're running a slight fever, but that's nothing too out of the ordinary. I'm keep you here for the full twenty-four hours and giving you a full physical at the end just to be sure." Bones replied, continuing to mark down some data as he read them off the monitors.
"Figures." Jim relaxed back onto the bed, closing his eyes and shifting himself slightly, attempting to get comfortable. "I'm taking a nap. Don't you dare poke or prod me while I'm asleep." Jim didn't open his eyes, but waved his finger at Bones for emphasis.
"I wouldn't dream of it Jim." Bones just replied, smirk never leaving his face.
-------
Jim awoke a few hours later with the distinct impression that something was wrong. He couldn't tell exactly what yet, but his head was pounding with an intense killer pain, and his body felt hot and heavy. He could not only feel, but hear the blood pumping behind his ears, throbbing and pounding like drums, making him dizzy. A strange coppery taste coated his mouth, and made it gross to swallow. Sitting up very slowly and groggily, Kirk tried to grasp exactly what was wrong. A strange warmth lined his eyes, and dripped down his cheeks. Smearing it with his fingers, Kirk could barely get his mind to work straight enough to figure out why his tears were red.
And then, the alarms of the monitors began.
"Jim! What's wrong!?" Bones suddenly showed up out of no where, at was at Jim's side in an instant. He was horrified to find blood seeping from Jim's eyes, nose, and from the lining he saw on his lips, from his mouth too. A quick glance at the monitors told McCoy that Jim's heart rate was elevated and neural activities irregular. His temperature was high too.
"I need some help over here!" McCoy called to his staff, who were already beginning to dash in.
"Bones. 'M fine. Jus…jus'st a lil head…hurt…ya know? M'fine." Kirk mumbled incoherently as he was pushed back down on the bed.
"Just shuttup for a minute, Jim." Bones growled, pulling up vital scans and read-outs from the monitors and ordering his staff for various tests.
"Blood pressure's too high. Signs of internal bleeding. Irregular neural activities increasing, along with rapid heart rate. I need a blood work and a cell count. Get the IV hooked up and a blood transfusion."
Jim's head slumped to the side, as the monitors began screaming even louder. Blood slowly ran down his face and pooled along the bed. His breathing labored, wheezing and gurgled, and his heart jumped at dangerous rates within his chest.
"Shit! His lungs are filling with blood. Get him bagged and hooked up to the oxygen. I need to drain the fluids from his lungs. Where are those blood tests!?" Bones ordered out like an angry war general, as he worked furiously to treat the failing captain.
"Someone page Commander Spock! Tell him we got an emergency and to get his ass down here, now!" Bones screamed.
"Dammit Jim! I'm not letting you die here, not on my watch."
----
An hour later, McCoy stumbled out of the room, covered in splatters of blood and looking like the walking dead. He slumped down on a bench, rubbing his tired eyes. Spock warily approached the doctor, looking calm and composed, but anyone who knew the Vulcan could tell he was anxious for an update.
"He's stable." McCoy said finally, and the tension in Spock's shoulders visibly relaxed.
"Doctor, what happened?"
McCoy straightened his back, and leaned his head against the wall behind him, eyes closed. Where to being?
"Cerebral and intracranial hemorrhaging, which resulted in additional bleeding through the eyes, nose, and through his respiratory system. Additional swelling in the brain caused some complications, but we've been able to stop the bleeding. The only thing left now is to wait for the swelling to go down, and his fever to break." McCoy rattled off the symptoms he had been battling with for the past hour.
"And these are all side-affects due to the inoculations?" Spock asked, voice tight and grim with the news. McCoy just nodded.
"Whether it was one or the combination of all three, I suppose we'll never know. All we can do now is wait for him to wake up to know the real extent of the damage…" McCoy finished, holding his head in his hands again in exhaustion. Spock could practically hear the unspoken truth behind McCoy's words.
'If Jim ever wakes up.'
Any type of internal bleeding was dangerous. Bleeding in the brain was even worse. With the addition of swelling and a fever, there was no way of knowing what type of damage his brain might have sustained.
"Dammit" McCoy hastily got to his feet, feeling too anxious to sit in one place. "I'll page you when he wakes or if there are any changes." And with that, McCoy walked away.
Spock himself walked to the window which looked into Kirk's room, hands calmly held behind his back, expression blank. But inside, his gut churned.
Kirk laid sprawled on the medical bed, deathly pale. A breathing mask over his face assisted in his breathing, and various IV's were hooked up to him, dripping fluids and blood into his weakened body. Spock found it to be surreal to see the captain, who is usually so lively, to be so still. Unable to watch anymore, Spock turned, and headed back up to the Bridge.
-----
McCoy is abruptly awoken from the slumber he didn't remember falling into, his head jerking upwards from where it had been cradled in his arms, hunched over his desk.
"Doctor! Doctor! Come quickly!"
McCoy sprang from his desk, dashing through the medical bay towards the nurse's call.
"What's wrong!?" McCoy ran up to the nurse, who was looking into Kirk's room. She just simply pointed.
Inside, Kirk was awake and he was currently sluggishly attempting to wrestle the monitor and IV tubes off of him.
"Jim! Oh thank god, you're awake!" McCoy ran to Kirk's side. He attempted to reach forward to examine Kirk's eyes, checking their response, but Kirk flinched out of his grasp.
"Don't touch me!" He snarled, battling with the monitor wires and attempted to get out of the bed.
"Jim, jesus stop moving! You had a severe reaction to the vaccinations, and nearly bled to death. You can't move yet. So just calm down." McCoy pushed the struggling captain back down onto the bed, his eyes flickering over the monitors, noticing Kirk's elevated heart rate.
Kirk did not calm down. If anything, he almost began to hyperventilate. "Where am I?" He wheezed out, his chest heaving.
"Dammit Jim, calm down! You're still in Sick Bay. Your still feeling some of the effects of the reaction. You need to breath slowly." McCoy responded, trying to soothe the agitated man.
Kirk took several deep and almost panting breaths, his eyes wildly scanning the room. He eventually looked straight at McCoy, giving him a long searching look. It was then, by some internal instinct in McCoy's gut, he knew something was wrong. That feeling turned truth, with Kirk's next words.
"Who are you?"
-----
Reviews are most welcomed!
