Alright, now the story really gets going. To everyone who's read and review- thank you so much. I hope you enjoy Part Two.
When Kirk awoke, he was in sickbay. But not the sickbay he recognized. There were no flowers, and his teddy bear, Georgie, wasn't next to his bed. It was always next to his bed when he woke up in sickbay.
He looked up to see Nurse Chapel walking by. Well, he thought it was Nurse Chapel. She had her hair pinned up and there wasn't even a hint of a smile on her face. Kirk couldn't remember a time when she wasn't smiling or giggling.
"Hey, Christine." Chapel glanced up at Kirk as she made her way past his bed. Instead of a squeal or a grin like Kirk was expecting, Chapel just snorted and shook her head.
"What'd you do to get yourself in here this time, Captain? Flirt with the wrong Halkan?" Chapel snorted again and continued on her way.
Kirk sat up in his bed speechless and confused. He rubbed his neck where Spock nerve pinched him. What was going on here? Everything here was all wrong.
Kirk got off the bed with a new mission. He had to find McCoy and then figure out how to get things back to normal.
Luckily, it didn't take long to find McCoy. He was sitting at the desk in his office at the end of sickbay when Kirk walked in.
McCoy looked up at him. "Jim," he said, studying Kirk's face, "you're awake. How ya feeling?"
"Confused," Kirk admitted. He sighed and sat down in the chair on the other side of McCoy's desk. "What happened?"
"Well, according to Spock and Scotty, you weren't acting like yourself after you transported up-"
"Not acting like myself? They're the ones that were acting all weird!"
"Not the way they tell it," McCoy said. "Scotty told me you were demanding that gift baskets be sent down to the Halkans and then you tried to hug Spock." McCoy watched closely for Kirk's reaction.
"Well, yeah," Kirk shrugged, not seeing the point. "What's so unusual about that?"
"Oh, boy," McCoy sighed and stood up. "I guess they were right."
Kirk's eyes followed McCoy as he went to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle and two glasses. "What do you mean," he asked slowly, "that they were right? Is there something wrong with me?"
"Not according to the tests I ran while you were out cold," McCoy said, sitting back down. "I thought maybe something down on Halkan messes with your thoughts or your memory. But your physical and mental health tests came back completely normal and there's not one unusual thing I can find," McCoy sighed again, opening the bottle he put in front of him on the desk. "Which means, Spock and Scotty's theory must be right."
"And…," Kirk was almost afraid to ask, "what's their theory?"
McCoy looked him straight in the eye. "Well, I don't think you're gonna like it, but," he leaned forward and lowered his voice, "Spock and Scotty suggested that there could have been a transporter malfunction- not surprising, really. I always said those blasted computerized machines were gonna be the death of us. Scrambling out bodies into a billion tiny pieces and-"
"Bones!" Kirk interrupted. "Get to the point."
The doctor looked at him sheepishly. "Right. Sorry. So far, Spock and Scotty think that the ion storm caused some sort of surge during your beam up. And they're not a hundred percent sure about the next part, but…" McCoy trailed off. Kirk nodded for him to continue. "Well, they think that the surge caused the transporter beam to… move somehow and you materialized somewhere else."
Well, a transporter malfunction during beam up would certainly explain why Kirk got dizzy. But something still didn't add up quite right in Kirk's head. "Wait a minute, though. I didn't materialize somewhere else, did I? I appeared in the transporter room, Spock and Scotty were there."
"Uh, well this is the weird part," McCoy said slowly. "They apparently think that you're… not from here."
"Huh?" asked Kirk, dumbfounded.
"They think you're from a parallel universe," elaborated McCoy. "And that somehow our universe made contact with yours while you and… the you from here were beaming up and you two kind of… switched places."
Kirk sat back in his chair trying to process what McCoy was saying.
"Look," McCoy said. He grabbed the opened bottle and poured out a blue liquid into one of the glasses. "I don't understand it much myself. But when you've been working on the Enterprise this long, you just learn to deal with what the universe throws at you," he looked up at Kirk, "or in this case, transports to you."
Kirk let out a little smile at McCoy's words and took the drink that McCoy handed to him. He sighed and looked around. It was strange to think he could be in a different universe. It seemed so similar to his own that it was hard to fathom. But the little things that he could find different here seemed to make a huge difference.
"Hey, Bones," McCoy looked up from the blue drink he was sipping at. Kirk gestured at the office door. "How come there's no flowers or music or boxes of chocolates in sickbay? All that's in there is beds and equipment? It just seems so… clinical."
"Well, yeah," drawled McCoy. "'Cause it's a medical bay." He took another sip of his drink.
Kirk looked down at the drink in his hands. "Well, where I'm from, we have all of that." Kirk raised the glass to his face and took a sniff of the blue liquid. "And you usually give out hot chocolate, not…" he gestured with his glass.
"Hot chocolate," snorted McCoy. He nodded at Kirk's glass. "That's Romulan Ale. Perfect cure for a rainy day."
Kirk swirled the liquid in his glass around suspiciously. "You know, back on my Enterprise, in sickbay we have a motto: 'A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.'"
McCoy snickered and almost choked on his drink. "That's, uh, some slogan you've got there."
"Yeah," Kirk sighed. He lifted his drink to his mouth. "I doubt this stuff helps the medicine go down." He took a sip and gagged and the burning sensation going down his throat. "Actually, I think this stuff is more likely to help the medicine come up."
McCoy shrugged. "It works for me."
Kirk set his glass down on the desk and looked at McCoy seriously. "I'm not gonna be… stuck here forever, am I?"
McCoy set his glass down too and leaned forward. "Well, Spock and Scotty are on the bridge right now verifying their hypothesis and, if they're right, looking for a way to get you back home and our Captain back here."
Kirk nodded slowly and stood up. "So, can I… go to the bridge, then?"
After a brief moment, McCoy nodded. "Sure," he said standing up. "I'll go with you. We'll see if they've found out anything."
As Kirk and McCoy made their way down the corridors toward the turbolift, Kirk couldn't help but feel longing for his Enterprise. An Enterprise where his crew members greeted him enthusiastically in the halls instead of with a curt nod and an uttered, "Captain", as they did here.
They got in the turbolift and rode it up to the bridge. When the doors swished open, Kirk frowned at the sight that met his eyes. It was the bridge, but it was so... wrong.
He saw the familiar faces of his officers; there was Chekov and Sulu at the front consoles. But there were no smiles on their faces. No joking, or humming, or laughter.
And there was the not so familiar face of Uhura, whose normally curly hair and big red bow was now replaced with a straight, slicked back pony tail. She was also straight-faced, not squealing or giggling, just quietly concentrating on her work.
And there was not one single teddy bear in sight.
Feeling McCoy's eyes on him, Kirk quickly shook off his uneasiness and followed McCoy over to the science station where Spock and Scotty were working.
"Doctor, Captain," Spock nodded at each of them as they approached.
"What've you got, Spock?" asked McCoy, peering over Spock's shoulder at his console.
"We have determined that an interdimensionary cross contact has indeed occurred. The computer is calculating a diagnostic solution-"
"Can't you explain it in plain Standard, you pointy-eared goblin? I can't understand a damn thing you're saying," growled McCoy.
"Then perhaps you need your ears checked, Doctor, for I have been explaining in Standard."
"Bones! Spock!" Kirk admonished. The two officers looked at him. "That's no way to talk to each other. You guys should apologize."
McCoy and Spock glanced at each other and then looked back to Kirk with eyebrows raised.
"Fine," grumbled McCoy, "I'm sorry. You green blooded hobgoblin."
"And I apologize, Doctor, for overestimating your intelligence and failing to speak in a manner which you can comprehend."
"What is wrong with you two?" Kirk asked, stunned. "Why are you being so rude to each other?" Kirk shook his head. "Maybe you two should hug and make up."
Now, the whole bridge crew looked stunned.
"Me and Spock- hug?" McCoy spluttered.
"That is a most illogical suggestion," Spock added.
"But- you guys hug all the time!" whined Kirk.
McCoy shook his head slowly. "Not here we don't."
Kirk let out a breath and looked around. "What kind of place is this? No teddy bears, no hot chocolate, no hugs. I ended up in a universe that's so… warped."
"I'm not so sure we're the warped ones," McCoy muttered, staring at Kirk.
Kirk glared at McCoy for a moment before turning to Spock. "Please tell me you've figured out a way to get me back home," he said desperately.
"Affirmative," Spock said. Kirk's spirits lifted instantly and he felt like dancing for joy. Although in this universe, he doubted anyone ever danced for joy.
"According to the computer's data," Spock continued, "we should be able to artificially recreate the magnetic surge that occurred the moment you beamed here accurately enough to send you back."
Kirk could barely hold back his happiness.
"However," Spock hesitated before continuing, "it seems as though the contact between the two universes has caused the interdimensional space to start increasing. Soon, the parallel universes will have too much space between them to safely beam you and our Captain back to your respective ships."
"When you say 'soon', how soon do you mean exactly?" Kirk asked worriedly.
"We must beam you back within the next 131 minutes to ensure safe transportation between the universes."
"So, we have just over two hours?"
"Aye, Captain," Scotty answered.
"Can we do it?" Kirk asked, looking from Spock to Scotty.
"Aye, it's very doable," said Scotty. "Just a bit of rewiring and some tinkering with the computers and we should be able to recreate a power fluctuation of the correct magnitude in no time."
Kirk let out a sigh of relief, "Good."
"Commander," Uhura's voice rang across the bridge as she addressed Spock. "Our transmission has detected Klingons on our starboard bow."
Kirk thought the atmosphere on the bridge was serious before Uhura made her announcement, but once the words were out of here mouth everyone on the bridge tensed up.
"Klingons?" asked McCoy. "What in blue blazes are they doing here?"
"Acknowledged, Lieutenant," Spock nodded to Uhura. "Sound the red alert, Mr. Scott."
"Aye"
Suddenly, a siren sounded throughout the Enterprise and red lights flashed on the bridge, leaving Kirk to wonder what exactly was happening.
"Ready the photon torpedoes, Mr. Sulu."
"Aye, sir."
"Photon torpedoes?" Kirk asked in confusion. "What- are we gonna fire at the Klingons?"
"Only if they fire first," Chekov shrugged while he turned around to face Kirk and the others. Kirk stared at him in bewilderment. Chekov- sweet, little Chekov with his teddy bears- nonchalantly willing to fire torpedoes at Klingons? It was inconceivable.
"Fire at us? Why in the world would they fire at us?"
"They're probably after the Halkans' dilithium crystals," Sulu said, concentrating on the controls in front of him. He turned to Spock. "Klingons are targeting the ship, Commander."
Kirk couldn't wrap his mind around what was happening. Klingons after dilithium crystals and targeting the ship? That didn't make any sense.
"There must be some sort of misunderstanding," Kirk said, trying to talk some reason into the bridge crew. They weren't seriously considering engaging in some sort of battle right above a planet they were negotiating with, were they? "Why don't we just contact them and have a nice a conversation?"
Uhura snorted. "Right," she said sarcastically, "a nice conversation with the Klingons."
Sulu's voice rang out over the sound of the red alert. "The Klingons are targeting the Enterprise, Commander."
Kirk shook his head, not able to wrap his mind around the situation. He just wanted to make sense of this universe. Even more than that, he just wanted to go home. But most of all… he just wanted a hug.
"Prepare to fire."
"Spock." Kirk turned to the one being he could trust to be logical. "This is ridiculous, why don't we just-"
"Klingons are firing."
"Fire torpedoes, Mr. Sulu," Spock ordered.
"Aye."
Suddenly, the bridge shook as one of the Klingon missiles hit the Enterprise, sending the crew members falling.
Kirk tumbled into Spock, who lost his balance and fell into the science console, hitting his head and landing on the floor.
"Spock!" Kirk rushed to the Vulcan's side. Spock didn't respond, having lost consciousness.
"Move over," McCoy nudged Kirk aside and pulled out a medical tricorder. After scanning Spock for a few seconds, he said, "Let's get him to sickbay."
Kirk helped McCoy carry Spock into the turbolift. Reflexively, Kirk called out, "Scotty, you have the con!" Flushing slightly, Kirk remembered that he was not technically the captain of this ship.
He was surprised, and slightly pleased, to hear Scotty yell back, "Aye, Captain!" before the turbolift's doors closed.
Once Kirk and McCoy had Spock on a biobed in sickbay, McCoy started scanning the Vulcan again.
"Is he gonna be okay?" asked Kirk worriedly, feeling slightly guilty that he accidentally pushed Spock into the console in the first place.
"He'll be fine," said McCoy, putting his tricorder away. "There's no fractures or contusions. He just has a concussion. But," McCoy walked over to a table and picked up a hypospray, "I have something for that." Kirk watched as McCoy injected the hypospray into Spock's neck.
McCoy glanced up at the readouts over the bed. "He'll probably be out for another twenty minutes at least. Well, look at that," McCoy said pointing over to the red alert light on the wall. It had stopped flashing. "I guess the Klingons has been taken care of."
Kirk said nothing, still disturbed by the thought of Klingons being even the tiniest bit threatening.
"Bridge to sickbay."
McCoy walked over to the comm unit on the wall and pressed a button, answering, "McCoy here."
"Doctor McCoy, we need you on the bridge," Kirk recognized Sulu's voice. "There were a few minor injuries from the Klingon attack."
"Acknowledged. McCoy out." The doctor grabbed a medkit lying nearby and nodded in the direction of Spock. "Stay here with him, will you," he directed at Kirk. "If he wakes up before I get back, comm me on the bridge."
Kirk nodded and took a seat next to Spock's bed as McCoy headed out the doors of sickbay.
It was weird, Kirk thought, to see an identical counterpart of his boyfriend lying unconscious. He didn't know what to do or how he should feel. He wanted to hold Spock's hand, but considering the nerve pinch he got earlier, he thought it best to keep any touching to a minimum.
He was worried, but he didn't know how worried he should be. He had to keep reminding himself that it wasn't his Spock, it wasn't his boyfriend. This Spock belonged to a different universe. This Spock didn't have the same memories, the same feelings as his Spock. This Spock didn't hug.
This led Kirk to think about his universe. If Kirk was stuck in this place, then supposedly his counterpart was over on his ship. Kirk wondered if his counterpart was finding the alternate universe as strange as Kirk found this one.
Things were so different here. Kirk found himself wishing that he could somehow give this universe of a taste of what his own universe would like. A universe where things actually made sense.
And suddenly Kirk had an idea. He lifted his gaze from where he was watching Spock slowly breathe and saw Nurse Chapel standing a few beds away.
"Christine!" Kirk called out.
Chapel looked up and raised an eyebrow in question.
"Can you get something for me?"
I'll update the last chapter later on. I'm off to take an exam now!
