Still don't own them. EDIT and REPOST. Now betaed thanks to 1lostone. Thank you.
To clarify, They're not yet back to Earth from the movie. I'm assuming it took them a couple days to get back to Earth, because Spock went to warp in the Jellyfish, and Nero followed him and then Sulu followed both of them, and they went a little ways. Since they ejected the warp core, they would have to go home at sub-light, so it would have taken a few days...(ish). Kirk's been awake so long because in my version, he hasn't slept since the night before his hearing. He's Kirk, so he didn't sleep during the crisis, and then he was afraid of another crisis. Don't worry, he'll get to sleep eventually.
Kirk came to as the doctor was attempting to reset the bones in his hand. Shit that hurt. Hands were the worst. All the tiny bones. Bones had already set those once. McCoy was gonna freaking kill him. Should have left the bandage on.
Should have stayed in the pod.
Damn Stupid Vulcan Nerve Pinch. Now his shoulder hurt. But he noticed that it was not as painful as it had been the first time. Clearly Spock had taken it easy on him.
Kirk grimaced.
He glanced down at his chest. It was still rainbow hued, but it didn't hurt to breathe anymore, which likely meant the ribs were fixed. So just the hand to finish and the eye to go. Oh and the back. Not too bad, he could endure that. It wouldn't be long. Then he could sleep.
Kirk looked around for Spock. He had a feeling that the Vulcan would still be around.
He was not disappointed. The science officer was hovering just behind the doctor. Spock's hands were clasped behind his back, and he was observing the proceedings with obvious interest.
"Shouldn't you be on the bridge, Commander?" Kirk asked him. He was getting tired of being babysat. Bone knitting always made him grumpy.
"Alpha shift ended approximately seven point four minutes ago, Captain. I am not required at this time."
"Oh." That meant that he'd been out longer than he thought. It must have taken a while to get the ribs all worked out.
Kirk allowed his mind to drift again. What was the Vulcan still doing here? Shouldn't he be off somewhere spending his free time…however Vulcans spent their free time?
The doctor was wrapping his hand.
Maybe Kirk could get him to do the gashes on his back before the eye socket. It would be nice to be able to lie back when they fixed his face. The doctor was already raising the bone setter.
He held up a hand to forestall the doctor's movements.
"Doc, can you do my back first? I'd like to lie down."
Kirk could barely endure the look of compassionate understanding that the doctor fixed upon him.
"What's your name anyway?" he said, realizing he still had not asked the man. Great now he could add "rude" to his reputation of "arrogant, charming, stupid and reckless. Great.
"M'benga, Captain." Kirk nodded.
"I will see to your back immediately, sir. Just let me get a few things." M'benga laid the bone setter down on the edge of Kirk's bed, and walked away, presumably to fetch the stuff that would be needed to fix Kirk's back. He and Spock were left alone.
"Captain, may I inquire as to how you sustained such injuries to your back?"
Kirk really didn't want to talk about it. He just wanted to rest. He also didn't want to add to Spock's guilt. His response was terse.
"Delta Vega."
What small emotion that had been showing in the Vulcan's eyes shrouded over as Spock's expression shuttered closed. Spock looked as though he wanted to say something, but then thought better of it. He nodded.
The two of them waited in uneasy silence for M'benga to return. The moment stretched to what felt like infinity.
Spoke broke the silence. "Captain, I regret-"
Kirk held up a hand. "Forget it, Spock. We all did what we thought we had to." Kirk was silent for a little while, and then he continued, "It worked out. And you aren't the only one with regrets about their actions."
The Vulcan stepped around the bed and mumbled a quick, "With your permission?" as he moved.
Kirk flinched away. "Don't pinch me again, Spock." He didn't need any more pain today. He hurt too bad already.
"That was not my intention. I was requesting permission to view the extent of the injuries to your back."
"Oh. Um fine, I guess." Kirk didn't really want Spock to see any more than he already had, but really what did it matter? It wasn't worth the effort. Embarrassed, he ducked his head.
The Vulcan studied him in silence. The scrutiny raised the hairs of Kirk's neck. Finally, very quietly, Spock said, "I'm sorry, Jim."
"S'not your fault, Spock." Well, maybe it was. But Kirk didn't blame him. Not anymore.
The Vulcan inclined his head again. "May I inquire again as to exactly how the injuries were sustained, Captain? Their type is unfamiliar to me. Would I be correct in the assumption that you chose not to remain in your pod?"
Kirk laughed.
"You would be correct, Commander. I climbed out of it as soon as I woke up from your nerve pinch thing."
"Climbed, Captain?"
"Um, yeah Delta Vega's an ice planet, and the pod burned through about twenty feet of ice before it came to rest. I had to climb out."
"Your level of climbing proficiency is sufficient to scale twenty feet of solid ice?"
Jim cleared his throat. He didn't really want…oh who the hell was he kidding? He already had a reputation for recklessness, which was not entirely undeserved. Might as well own up to it.
"It's a hobby of mine."
He was not going to comment further on the subject.
"I surmise that the injuries to your back were not sustained during this climb?" Spock was looking at him like he was some sort of nut job. Damn, they'd been getting along so well. Today. They'd been getting along so well today.
"Um no. I got chased by a Drakoulias, that's like this giant polarilla thing. Like a gorilla and a polar bear had a baby. And it was chasing me. But I got lucky cause that got eaten by this huge freaking Hengrauggi which like just burst up from under me. A spider Godzilla thing. It saved my life and then it tried to eat me. While I was trying to get away from it, I fell down some sort of cliff, and I got banged up a little. But I think the back's from the fall. I think. Not entirely sure."
The Vulcan blinked at him.
Damn.
Kirk thought he'd stunned Spock into silence.
Just as Kirk began to wonder where his doctor had gone, they were approached by a nurse. A nice-looking nurse. She was blond, and she had legs that went on for days.
Despite his weariness, Kirk beamed his most charming smile at her.
She humored him with a tight smile back. It didn't reach her eyes. Great. Bones musta warned her off. After the stunts he'd pulled on this mission, he'd be lucky if he ever got laid again. He might be spending the rest of his life in prison.
Don't think about it. Great now he was giving himself orders. Unsuccessfully.
Vaguely, he wondered how much trouble he was really going to be in?
What was saving Earth worth?
He hoped it was a lot.
The nurse checked his vitals, and informed him that McCoy would be out of surgery very soon and M'benga had been called to some sort of emergency with one of the passengers.
Passengers. That meant one of the Vulcans. Shit. "Spock, would you be willing to—"
"Indeed, sir. I will ascertain the nature of the emergency." Kirk nodded wearily. Spock was headed in direction of which M'benga had disappeared.
He was alone with the Nurse.
She moved awkwardly around him, as though embarrassed by his presence. He wondered why. He only had his shirt off. She couldn't be that naïve. Could she?
"Dr. M'benga told me to clean your wounds, sir."
Kirk nodded. He'd expected that.
She moved behind him and gasped, her hand still hovering in mid-air. "Captain, how did you-? " She cut herself off at his glare.
He was tired of explaining himself. No, he was tired of justifying himself.
Kirk sighed.
"It's a long story." He wasn't repeating the story to anyone but McCoy. He was too drained.
She smiled at him honestly this time. "I bet it is, sir."
He hissed as she applied the sanitizer to his back.
"I'm sorry, sir, some of these are quite deep." Yeah, tell me something I don't know, Kirk thought. Those would be the Hengrauggi scratches. He was lucky to be alive. Thank God for old Spock. Old...er Spock. Shit, this was going to confusing. It already was confusing. Spock hated him. But older Spock didn't. This Spock thought he was a moron. That Spock thought he was a hero. And that Spock thought that he had worth.
It was the first time that James Kirk could ever remember someone really believing that of him.
He wondered vaguley if there was a way to get from here to there.
It would be nice to have a friend like that.
Kirk was shaken from his reverie by the nurse's voice."I believe you may have a minor infection as well, sir." Great. More time in sickbay. Woo hoo.
"Do what you have to do, nurse." He just wanted to sleep, why couldn't any of them see that?
"If you could lay on your stomach, sir, I'll get started."
Kirk obeyed her request and lay down. He was lolling off to sleep when he felt a hypo hiss against his neck.
Instantly alert, he caught her arm. "What did you give me?" His chest had already starting to burn. He forced his eyes to focus.
She recoiled from the ferocity of his movements. "It's just a simple pain killer, sir. It's perfectly harmless."
But it wasn't. Kirk could feel that already.
"Get McCoy," he gasped. "Aller-"
It was all he could get out around the reaction. His mouth was swelling. Everything was swelling. He couldn't breathe.
Kirk started shaking. Why did his mouth feel wet?
Vaguely, as though from a far away dream, he heard alarms and shouting. Dammit, the ship was in danger.
Bridge.
Must go...bridge.
He knew he shouldn't have left. He tried to rise. But he was seizing in earnest now, and his limbs wouldn't complete the necessary movements.
"Dammit Jim, stay down!" McCoy's voice was strained and very angry. Where had Bones come from?
"Bo—" Kirk couldn't complete the word. He was shaking too hard.
He was grateful when he passed out. At least it hadn't been because of Spock this time.
So this chapters a little short. The next one'll be longer. Please read and review, and let me know what you think.