Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or its characters. I make no profit from this work of fiction.
It all happened so quickly. One minute, Bones was seeing Jim off on the transporter in his best civvies for lunch with his mother. The next, the Enterprise burst into action, getting transporter locks on everyone they could in the restaurant and surrounding areas of the Starbase.
Before Jim's mother had arrived, a young group of Terra Prime terrorists had taken over the restaurant, threatening to blow themselves and everyone around them up with bombs strapped to their bodies. Starbase security had managed to get a video feed and patch it through to the Enterprise and other docked ships.
Of course Jim had put himself right in the middle of things, trying to talk them down. It was the first time in space for many of the group, if the way they stared at the stars was any indication. They had made a stand on a starbase as a futile protest against humanity's expansion into space.
Jim had tried every trick in the book to get them to stand down. The oldest looked barely sixteen, and the youngest maybe ten.
Chekov announced that they had transporter locks on all the restaurant patrons and anyone else that hadn't been evacuated. But the kids had something on them or in them that prevented a lock, something that Terra Prime members did to ostensibly to prevent themselves from being beamed to another planet.
And then one of them snapped at Jim to shut up, and the screen went white.
Leonard raced to the transporter room and took in the sight of the slightly banged up restaurant patrons. "Jim!"
Jim was near the back, sporting a splotch of bright red on his temple and the most lost look Leonard had ever seen on him.
Leonard took a quick look around; no one was seriously injured, thank God. Since Jim wasn't moving off the transporter pad, Leonard stepped forward, his fingers curling around Jim's bicep.
"C'mon Jim," he murmured, gently tugging him along.
Jim didn't say anything but let Leonard lead him away. Once in the hall, Leonard whipped out his tricorder and scanned him. The head wound was superficial.
"Jim?"
"Bones ..."
Leonard saw Spock heading their way and gave a shake of his head before taking Jim's arm and walking him to his quarters.
Jim's eyes were wide and unseeing as Leonard set him on the bed and grabbed the dermal regenerator from his med kit. Tears spilt down Jim's cheeks as the regenerator healed the physical damage. That done, he sat next to his lover and pulled him into his arms.
"They were just kids," Jim whispered.
"I know, Jim. We couldn't get a lock on them. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Gone. All gone," Jim whispered into Leonard's shoulder as the first sob wrenched itself free.
Leonard held him tight. "I know, darlin'. I know."