'We are now in orbit around Argratha, Keptin.' Chekov called, his hands flying over the navigation console. 'Have you chosen the away team for tomorrow's first contact mission? …Keptin?'

James T Kirk had not heard a word that his navigation officer had said, for he had been too busy gazing at the new veterinary science officer as she leant over a console, deep in conversation with one of the other blue shirts.

That was, until a pointed cough from Mr Sulu dragged his attention back to matters at hand.

'Did you hear me, Keptin?' The bridge's youngest officer made a valiant effort to keep his features neutral.

'I believe the Captain was studying the…moon.' Uhura's voice was impassive but he just knew that she was smirking as she monitored the incoming transmissions from Argratha.

Something that sounded suspiciously like a giggle came from the direction of the navigation console, but he decided to ignore it. Jim consoled himself that at least it wasn't Jaylah. Scotty's second-in-command would've skipped the double entendre altogether and announced – loudly – to the entire bridge that the captain had been paying more attention to the doctor's ass than their impending diplomatic mission.

Clearing his throat, he attempted to regain some semblance of dignity and pretend that his ears were not currently bright red. He failed miserably at both.

'Ah…yes, what's Argratha's moon called again?'

Sulu opened his mouth to reply but Spock's voice that rang out across the bridge.

'Doctor Lyall?'

The bridge crew didn't bother to hide their laughter this time and Jim sank further into the Captain's chair – maybe he'd throw himself out the airlock once Alpha shift ended.

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Reyne had just finished the weekly checks on the avian species in the menagerie when her comm beeped. Murray glanced up from his PADD at the sound but otherwise made no comment as he returned to his reports.

'Doctor Lyall here.'

'Doctor, you are needed on ze bridge at once.' The young navigator's voice was higher than she'd ever heard it, and in the background of the call there were the faints sound of people yelling and furniture being knocked about.

'What's going on, Mr Chekov?' It was rare enough that she was called to the bridge, and even on those occasions it was always to do with some science mission that she needed to discuss with Commander Spock.

'There is a blue rat on ze bridge!' The Ensign's voice broke on the last syllable and Reyne winced as she held the comm away from her ear.

'Alright, alright. I'll be there in five minutes, just stay calm Mr Chekov – I'm sure it's more scared of you than you are of it. Lyall out.' With a shake of her head, Reyne ended the comm and turned to face Murray, who had been listening to the whole, bizarre exchange.

'A blue rat?' His eyebrows had disappeared under the fall of his fringe. 'What was the last planet we visited? Draco 6? Do you think it's a-'

'More than bloody likely.' She swept a lock of dark hair behind her ear as she grabbed a med kit and trap disk from the bench beside the door. 'I'm going to kill whoever let it onto this ship.'

Reyne spotted the creature as soon as she emerged from the turbolift. She bit back a sigh of annoyance – Murray had been correct in his prediction.

'Why the fuck is there a Lethian rat on the bridge? Please tell me there's only one.'

At first, no one seemed inclined to answer either question, but finally Chekov piped up from his place behind the navigation console.

'Aye, Doctor.'

'Thank god.'

With a nod to the young Ensign, Reyne cast around for the piercing blue eyes and shit-eating grin that seemed to be at the epicentre of every disaster aboard this god-forsaken starship. A flash of command gold caught her eye as she spotted the captain crouched a few metres away from the small, blue rodent; eyes focused on his prey.

Eyes widening, she started forward but before she could issue a warning, Jim Kirk lunged forward, hands closing around the rat with a shout of victory.

His cheer quickly became a strangled yelp.

'Bugger bit me!'

The Lethian rat took the opening and scurried away, causing several of the younger ensigns to jump onto their chairs as it scampered to the far side of the bridge.

In the ensuing chaos, Reyne turned just in time to see Jim raise his hand to his mouth.

'Don't!' The sharpness of her outburst effectively grabbed his attention. 'Lethian rats are venomous, and it's worse when ingested. Wait a minute and I'll bandage it up.'

Quickly, she pulled the trap disk from her bag and flicked the switch to prime it. The little metal circle would emit pheromones to attract the creature and humanely immobilise it once it got close enough. With a flick of her wrist, Reyne tossed the disk onto the floor in the general direction of the rodent and turned to face the captain.

Despite his injury, Jim Kirk gave her a winning smile as she stalked towards him, already pulling a bandage from her kit.

'How did that thing come to be on the bridge, Captain?'

With skilled hands, Reyne disinfected the laceration and bound his palm with a biostrip.

'Must've climbed up my shirt while I was on the away mission to Draco 6.' The captain shrugged nonchalantly. 'Scurried out of my sleeve.'

Reyne opened her mouth to point out the holes in his story but decided against it. She'd heard enough from Dr McCoy to know that Jim could be as stubborn as an ass when he wanted to be – which was almost all the time. Especially when it came to his physical exams.

'You're lucky there was only one; those things make tribbles look abstinent. Could've ended up with a ship-wide infestation of venomous blue rodents.' With a shake of her head, she tied off the bandage. 'You'll need to go to the medbay – if it's not treated within a couple of hours, the venom causes mild amnesia that gets worse the longer it's left in your system. Until I catch this thing, just do what you usually do – sit in your chair and look pretty.'

It was the wrong thing to say because his eyes immediately lit up and he batted his eyelashes at her.

'You think I'm pretty, doctor?'

The sharp beeping of the trap disk and a barrage of high pitched squealing saved her from having to reply as the rat fought against the snare.

Carefully, so she didn't get bitten as well, Reyne picked up the snare and raised the wriggling rodent to eye level.

'Couldn't resist, could you? Horny wee bugger.' The creature snapped it teeth at her. 'Male, good. That means you won't be popping out babies left, right and centre.'

With the press of another button, the disk injected the rodent with a small amount of sedative, and within a few seconds it had ceased its wriggling, but still eyed her with barely concealed rage.

'Lethian rats get their name from an ancient Earthen mythology. Right, c'mon.' She tipped her head towards the turbolift. 'I'll drop this wee guy off at the menagerie on the way to the medbay – I'll need to give Dr McCoy the specifics of the venom.'

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Five minutes later, Reyne strode into the menagerie with Jim in tow.

'You were right Murray!' She gave her colleague a wide grin, depositing the sedated rat onto the exam table. 'Look, I've brought you a friend.'

'How wonderful.' Murray adjusted his glasses and peered at the sluggish rodent. 'And what would you like me to do with it?'

'De-venom and examine it, I've got to take the captain to the medbay – he got bitten.'

'Fine, but you owe me some of the cookies I know you have squirreled away in your office. The replicators can never seem to get them right.' He accepted the storage box that she passed to him before glancing over her shoulder. 'Um, Ree… You might want to book it over to medical, the captain isn't looking too hot.'

Reyne whirled around, and it was immediately obvious was Murray was talking about; Captain Kirk had turned a sickly grey colour, and a faint sheen of sweat had broken out across his forehead.

'Shit.' She levered herself under his arm, guiding him away from where he had been leaning against the doorframe. 'You must've had an allergic reaction to the venom. Shit.'

With a hurried farewell to Murray, she half-carried the captain out of the menagerie and towards the medbay.

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Jim's legs gave out just as they reached medical, and Reyne buckled under his weight as they stumbled through the medbay's doors.

'Dr McCoy!'

The older doctor came hurrying out of his office at the sound of her voice, and his ever-present scowl only deepened when he noticed the half-conscious captain slung over her shoulders.

'What the devil happened to him this time? Put him down on the biobed there.' He directed her to the nearest cubicle, and Reyne gasped in relief when Jim's weight finally slid from her shoulders.

'A Lethian rat got loose on the bridge, and our heroic captain decided to try and catch it with his bare hands – got bitten for his trouble.'

'Unbelievable.'

'It's a slow acting neurotoxin, and I think he's going into anaphylactic shock.' Reyne stepped back to allow Leonard to examine Jim.

'How long ago was he bitten?' Leonard jabbed a hypo into the side of Jim's neck. 'That should stop the allergic reaction.'

'About twenty minutes ago.'

'Right.' He turned to root through a drawer of vials, finally selecting one and adding it to a hypo already half-full of viscous yellow fluid. 'This should do it.'

Jim shot the doctor a poisonous look but otherwise didn't protest the second hypo. His colour was rapidly returning to normal and his breathing wasn't as shallow.

'I disinfected and bandaged the bite on the bridge, so that shouldn't be an issue.'

'Thanks darlin'.' His features softened for a moment – as close to a smile as Leonard ever came, before he turned the full force of his glare onto the recovering captain. 'Now have you always gotta go throwing yourself into trouble without thinkin'?'

Reyne glanced over the PADD that Leonard had left on the side. Confident that the good doctor had things under control, she left the medbay with the sound of the captain getting a well-deserved dressing down from his CMO fading behind her.