Chapter 1:

Awakening

A.N. I own nothing, merely play with, borrow, and try not to break anything in the process.

A.N.#2. While I am a fan of Star Trek, I am not overly familiar with the canon behind it. I, therefore, apologize for any outrageous or blatant inconsistencies.

"Let's name him Jim."

"I dare you to do better."

"…demoted and sent back to Starfleet Academy."

"If anyone deserves a second chance, it's James T. Kirk."

Jim woke to a dull throb behind his eyes, and to a hypo to the neck. Bones, he thought, with a weak smile. I can always count on you to kick me when I'm down. Never the less, the sensation was a familiar one, familiar and safe. He relaxed back into the bed, and thought about just drifting off on the wave of exhaustion that still seemed to plaque him.

"I thought that would get your attention." Well, so much for that idea. He cracked open an eye, only to clamp it shut as the light from the overheads seemed to spear into the back of his brain, increasing the throbbing that seemed to be growing by the minute. "Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty. I'm a doctor, not a babysitter. And it's time you woke up and start dealing with this mess we're all in." Bones snarked as he prepared another hypo. But Jim could see the black eyes he was sporting in a too pale face, a face that was doing a poor job of masking the relief and happiness he must be feeling. The old softy.

He hissed as the hypo's contents were released into his blood stream, and sank into the bed as the throbbing turned into a pleasant warmth. "Don't get used to it. The good drugs are for those who don't give their best friends heart attacks on a daily basis. I'm getting grey hair, damn it!"

He watched as Bones busied about, checking monitors and updating his chart. "I thought you said you weren't a babysitter, Bones."

"Ha, bloody ha, Jim. What… did you die and suddenly wake up a comedian?" Bones picked up the banter with barely a pause. Only someone who knew him as well as Jim did would notice the effort it cost him not to hitch a breath at the reminder of his latest close call.

"Let me know if you suddenly start to feel homicidal, alright?" Bones jokingly demanded. Yet he couldn't hide the edge to his voice that told Jim that he was more than half serious. Bones went on to explain, "We had to give you that bastard's blood. Lord knows what type of additional crap he had swimming around in it, or what side effects it may have." Bones paused to clear his throat. "Just…tell me if you suddenly start feeling superior to everyone around you and like you're God's gift to the human race, understand?"

"Anymore than usual, right Bones?" jibbed Jim, as Bones picked up a pen light.

"Look here." Bones ordered as he gripped Jim's chin and turned his head to get a good look at his eyes. He clicked the light on and just like that, Jim was back in the bowels of the ship, working to save the family that he didn't even know that he needed. Contemplating the inevitability of dying slowly, and as he had always feared…alone. He jerked his head away from the harsh blue light. "I'm fine, Bones." He assured, as he gently shoved the older man away. At Bones scrutiny, he snapped "You just have to stop trying to blind me. Let a man wake up after death in peace, huh?!" And with that he turned onto his side and closed his eyes, hoping the other man might catch a hint and give him a break for once. Not that that had ever worked on Bones, but…

"Yeah, fine, I can see that." Quipped Bones as he stared at Jim's averted face. "You were out for two weeks Jim; we almost lost you. We had to do three transfusions just to clear your blood of the radiation, and you are still recovering. And lest you forget, you died! Anyone else would be a goddamn basket case, but no, Jim Kirk is fine." Jim's only response was to flop back on his back and glare ineffectively at the ceiling.

Bones' pointed stare soon flicked to the far corner, "Well, you have a visitor. Talk to him, won't you?!" Neither Jim nor his companion knew who exactly was supposed to be talking to whom. "I'm tired of the damn hobgoblin lurking around. Some of us have work to do." Ah, well I guess that answered that. Bones seemed to have reached his limit for the day, and with a snort, marched through the door and out of sight.

"How's my ship, Mr. Spock?" Jim asked softly.

Spock replied in kind, "The Enterprise is currently in space dock, Captain, and has been there for the past 15.7 days. Repairs are currently underway, but the damage was… extensive. Commander Scott is overseeing the repair efforts personally. He, in fact, refused to allow another to touch, as he put it, "his beautiful lady" in your absence. He continues to mention that he was gone only for a period of one Earth day." Spock allowed the small hint of a smile to cross his face.

"And the crew? How many did we lose, Spock?" Spock visibly hesitated. "The doctor asked me to avoid discussing such matters until you had made further steps in you recovery, Captain. He appeared quite insistent." Spock then glanced at the door, as if the doctor would swoop in at that very moment at the prospect of his patient's blood pressure rising. Spock contemplated whether the doctor might indeed have some form of telepathy, with how agilely he guarded the Captain's sick bed, but quickly discounted such thoughts as highly illogical.

"Tell me, Spock." Jim demanded. He turned to face Spock head on. "I'm fine. Now tell me."

Spock's body posture shifted as he finally began his report. His clasped hands went to the small of his back, and he spoke quickly yet assuredly, "Upon your demise," Spock's voice suddenly cut out, only to resume with, "Khan's ship crash landed below our ship. We were able to retrieve him, and Doctor McCoy was able to use his blood to revive you. Lt. Sulu was able to maneuver the ship into space dock, where as I said, repairs are under way headed by Commander Scott." Spock paused to gauge the Captain's emotional state. He knew that the crew's loses would hit him the hardest.

"Due to the loss of hull integrity, and the disruptions caused by the failing of the gravitational sensors, casualties were inevitable. However, evacuation efforts were effective in preventing mass casualties. In addition to your efforts, loses were less than previously expected." Spock reported.

"Damn it, Spock! How many?!" Jim barked.

"Roughly 24.6 percent, sir." Spock finally admitted. Jim turned his head away, and stared vacantly out the window. It was too much; it was just too much and too many. "Without your actions, I calculate that we would have lost another 15.1 percent, Captain, not to mention the additional casualties that would have occurred if the Enterprise had not been able to achieve flight and retreat to a stable orbit." A long pause infused the room. The silence that descended was at the same time companionable yet stifling as it dragged on.

"Thank you, Mr. Spock" Jim's voice lacked all expression as it broke the silence. It was with a bleak expression that he turned to once again face his First Officer. "Now, what mess is Bones talking about?"

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