"Bones!" Captain Kirk swung into the medbay, Commander Spock in his wake and a small Orion girl in his arms, blinking drowsily.
McCoy stepped out of his office, took one look at the captain and his tiny burden, and turned around and went right back in, shutting the door behind him. Muffled, his voice came through: "Chapel, tell our idiot captain that I refused to be dragged into any more insanity this week. Make M'Benga deal with it."
Nurse Chapel's smile was distinctly amused as she approached the captain. "How can we assist you, Captain?"
"That is not what I told you to say, Chapel!"
Her smile widened, and Kirk grinned in response. "Just need a check up for Zyhya, here, and we'll get out of your hair."
"Of course, Captain. Let me get you settled in and Doctor McCoy will be right with you." She bent over to smooth Zyhya's dark hair, smiling reassuringly. "How are you doing today, little one?"
She just stared at Christine, one finger tucked securely in her mouth and her other arm in a vice grip around Captain Kirk's neck. Spock cleared his throat. "She has not spoken since we liberated her from a Coridanite trader. Neither has she relinquished her hold on the captain. The trader is currently in a holding cell, as the trafficking and attempted sale of a sentient being is strictly forbidden by the Articles of the Federation, Amendment the First, and is punishable by life in prison at the very least."
Christine gasped. "Were there others?"
Captain Kirk nodded, his normally sunny expression troubled. "A half dozen adult Orions and several Bajorans, but Zyhya was the only child, thank God. The others have already been beamed to Starbase 74, where Commodore Daniels is helping them relocate their families. The trader had nothing we could use to identify Zyhya or her family – even the record of sale just had her name and age and what he – paid for her." He paused, visibly gathering himself as he held the little girl tighter. "Lieutenant Uhura's professional opinion is that –" he broke off to smooth Zyhya's hair down and cover her ears as he went on in a hurried whisper, " – if she was sold this young, her family won't want her back. Too many mouths to feed and not enough to go around."
"Jim." Doctor McCoy was standing in the doorway, his face drawn and tense. "Let me examine her, if she'll let me."
Spock murmured something about having the quartermaster procure some clothes for her, and Christine stepped aside to let him pass.
A half hour later, Bones pulled two Earth-style sweets from his pocket. He smiled gently at Zyhya and handed one to her, unwrapping the other and popping it into his mouth, gesturing for her to do the same. She watched him for a moment, eyes wide as a baby sehlat, before following his example. "Nurse Chapel, would you get the tyke something to play with while I talk to Captain Kirk, please?"
She hurried over to her desk, where a quick rummage produced a battered but still colorful puzzle-cube that would light up if you managed to get the sequence correct. As Chapel handed it to the little one, who took it with the same wide-eyed hesitance she'd given everything and everyone, Doctor McCoy leaned wearily against a medcot, scrubbing a hand over his face. "She's a little malnourished, Jim," he said quietly, "but nothing that a few months of good meals and some supplements can't fix. I'd say she's about three years and four months, although considering the malnutrition it might be more like two and three quarters."
The captain nodded. "But other than that -?"
"Other than that." McCoy sighed. "She's perfectly healthy, except she can't hear a da- a blessed thing."
Kirk's head came up sharply, and Zyhya glanced up, brows furrowed. He sent her a quick smile and, reassured, she went back to her puzzle. "Nothing at all?"
"Nothing. Now, I could try regenerative surgery, try and bring a little hearing back, but at her age specially, it's my professional opinion it would be a mite too risky. These kind of operations are still chancy, even for humans, and with her different physiology, I'd rather wait until she's a little older to try it. I'll get in touch with a few specialists back Earth-side and see if they've got any advice."
"Right." Kirk still looked a little blank. "Well, I guess that explains why she didn't react to Uhura's Orion or our Standard."
"What are you going to do with her?"
"For now?" He glanced down at the tiny green hands deftly manipulating the cube. "Well, for some reason that completely beats me, she's decided I'm a good person to attach herself to, so I guess I'm on nursery detail until she gets a little more comfortable."
McCoy's lips twitched. "Let's hope Starfleet doesn't have any urgent missions in store for you, Jimmy. You'll have your hands full enough as it is. Go on now, I'm sure Spock is waiting for a report, and the little one needs some dinner. I'll send a list of appropriate dining options to your padd and I'll be along with the nutritional supplements in a while." He disappeared back into his office, muttered something about idiot soft-hearted captains and delusions of grandeur.
Captain Kirk watched him go, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, before shaking his head and thanking Christine for her help.
"Not a problem, sir. And she's welcome to keep the toy as long as she likes."
The smile grew, and he thanked her more warmly, miming awkwardly to Zyhya that they were going to go and eat some food, now, and she could play more with the cube later.
Christine looked after him a minute, sighed, and pulled up 'A Beginner's Guide To Universal Signing' on her padd's book index. She had a feeling they'd need it sooner rather than later.