"Captain! Klingon War Birds approaching! They've got some sort of old fashioned weapon; I don't know if our shields will hold!"
Jim Kirk broke off his discussion with McCoy and snapped into Captain Mode. "Switch all extra power to the shields," he ordered as the bridge crew raced to obey, "Get the weapons ready. Bones, prep Medical Bay. Spock! What kind of weapons…" McCoy could still hear Kirk barking orders as he ran down the halls to reach Medical Bay. Opting to take the long way instead of waiting for the crowded turbo-lift, Bones continued at a trot down little used corridors. He could hear the explosions from where the weapons were hitting the Enterprise and picked up his pace. He had almost reached the next set of hallways when the wall on his right exploded inward.
When the darkness lifted, he found himself trapped under a heap of debris with a heavy board lying across his chest. McCoy groaned, feeling blood running down his body and at least five cracked ribs. It took a few minutes of pushing, twisting and almost passing out from pain before Bones could free himself. Running as fast as he could down the remaining hallways, he could already hear the screams of the injured and shouts of his fellow Medical Officers. He smiled grimly through the pain; it was time to get to work.
~o~
Bones limped from patient to patient trying to ignore the white-hot pain radiating from his cracked ribs and throbbing concussion headache. Sending the less injured to where the lower ranked doctors and nurses waited, he began to work on those whose life was running out before his eyes. He did what he could for them before moving on.
~o~
A few hours later, Bones knew he had to stop. He could barely walk straight and was having trouble concentrating through the banging in his head. Staggering into the supply room, he reached blindly for a bottle of pain killers. He frowned when his fingers touched empty shelves. Squinting through the pain-haze, he saw that the shelves of pain meds were gone, save for a few bottles. He growled a few curses before turning his back on the meds and walking into his office. Opening his desk drawer, he quickly found the bottle of bourbon hidden in the bottom. Filling a glass full, he steeled himself before drinking the liquor down. For a few seconds, all he could do was gasp. Thankfully, after the initial burn had faded, enough of the pain had evaporated that he could see clearly and walk straight. Leaving the bottle of alcohol out, he limped back into the melee of blood and broken bodies.
~o~
Many, many hours later, McCoy took a deep breath and winced as his ribs protested. Some time during the night, he'd sent the younger nurses and doctors to get some rest, leaving only himself and a handful of others to take care of the trickle of injured officers coming in. Thankfully, most of the worst injured had already been cared for and only needed some checking up on. He shook his head and staggered as the room spun. His pain-killing alcohol had run out hours ago and they were almost out of drugs. McCoy clutched at the bed next to him, fighting to steady the room, and lost when the bed's occupant spoke to him, "You look like crap, Bones. Haven't you slept at all?" Jim Kirk sat up carefully on the bed and grinned shamelessly. McCoy tried to glare at him through bleary eyes, "No, and I bet you haven't either. Where are you hurt?" Kirk laughed, "I see your bedside manner hasn't improved much. Hey, remember that one time when…"
Bones closed his eyes, praying for just a little more patience. He could dimly tell that Kirk had stopped talking and forced his eyes open. For an instant, he reeled; the room was blurry and edged in black. He fought it, planting his feet and blinking quickly. He became aware of Kirk's arm around his shoulders and Kirk's voice in his ear, "I really think you should see a doctor, Len. You look absolutely terrible." McCoy exploded, throwing Jim off him. "Dimmit Jim! I am a doctor and besides, I'm not the one who needs tending to right now. We barely have enough meds to go around and they," the sweep of his arm indicated the patients around them, "don't need me using them up! Now sit down and tell me what your damn injuries are!"
As Jim sat meekly back on the bed, McCoy could feel himself losing consciousness. The room grew dark and he swayed on his feet. He had a sensation of falling, then nothing.
~o~
The next time he opened his eyes, he was lying in his bed with Kirk sitting in his chair looking thoroughly miserable. McCoy tried to sit up and groaned, "Good God, I feel like crap." Jim sat bolt upright and his 100 watt grin spread across his face. "Len! It's about time you woke up. Do you have any idea how badly you were injured?" McCoy tried to raise a hand to stop him but Kirk ignored him and continued, "Multiple broken ribs, a severe concussion with slight bleeding in your head, several internal injuries, all leaking blood; Bones, you are lucky to be alive!"
Bones sighed, "I know Jim. We were down to only a few pain-killers so I was dosing myself with bourbon to keep myself awake. I couldn't just let them die Jim! As long as I was on my feet and thinking, I was going to help." Jim nodded, a strange expression in his eyes, "Do you have any idea how many people you saved, Len? Over 300 people were injured and 100 of those were severe and another 100 of those would have been if left untreated. You're a hero."
Bones scoffed, "You forget that I had another 30 people helping me, Jim. I didn't do it all by myself." Jim nodded, "That's true, but do you know who they are crediting? Their CMO, Bones, you. They've all been saying that they would not have had this level of success with someone else in charge. Only 10 of 300 that came into the Medical Bay died. I personally know of 12 people that are putting you up for an award from Starfleet."
Leonard McCoy smiled, a grin that lit up his entire face, "Can't let you have all the recognition, can I? Thanks Jim." Jim Kirk grinned back and held out a hand to McCoy. The two men shook hands and Jim patted Bones on the shoulder, "Get some rest, hero. Even I know that you must be exhausted." Bones smiled and closed his eyes, "For once, Jim, you're actually right. Thanks again."
Jim Kirk left McCoy and headed back to the bridge to let the crew of the Enterprise know that their Chief Medical Officer was alive and well once again.
A/N I had this bouncing around in my head for a few days so I finally wrote it while I was supposed to be studying for exams. Ah well, it was just English. As usual, I own NOTHING. Please read and review