Jim's head hit the wall with a sickening thud and slid slowly to the floor.

Sam was in a foul mood today.

He had just walked through the hall and was dragged into a closed off rec room. There was no time for him to defend himself when the punch came. He took it to the face and blocked the others. That only lasted until Sam produced a whip from nowhere and began hitting him with it. The whelps that came up on his skin were worse than they had been before and they stung worse.

Jim wasn't worried until an actual knight stick was used. Sam brought it down on his ribs as he struggled to gain his feet, breaking a couple with an even more sickening sound. Jim cried out hoarsely and curled up even more. He heard tsk sound before the door opened and closed.

He wasn't sure how long it was before someone came in and found him like that. There was a flurry of movement about him, in which he had no idea what was going on. All he knew was the gentle rocking motion nearly made him sick. Well, not nearly. It did make him sick, so sick in fact he threw up all the way to Medical.

When he got there, the first person he saw was Bones. The doctor was shouting orders so loud Jim's ears were bleeding. When the nurses and Bones tried to move him, he vaguely remembered screaming at the pain. Then everything went black.

The minute he came to, he heard voices. The two that came into full blown range was the two he thought were close to him.

"It's clear by the contusions and lacerations that he has been abused," he heard Spock say in what the Vulcan obviously thought was a lowered voice. But as Jim listened he didn't hear anyone other than Bones and Spock. That meant he had been placed in isolation. Great.

"I understand that, but who would do such a thing?" Bones asked. He was clearly worried, as Jim knew he would be. It really pained him to hear his best friend sound so lost.

"That I do not know, Doctor, for if I did, I would bring him to justice."

"Well, obviously Jim doesn't want us to know who it is because he doesn't want that person to get in trouble."

"I fail to see the reason why."

"This is Jim. He doesn't need a reason other than he feels like it." Bones began pacing, something he did when he was nervous or contemplating something. "Whoever it is, we have to wait until Jim wants to talk."

"Does that mean I am still acting captain?"

"Yes, Spock. You're still acting captain."

Jim decided to make it known he was awake. The bio-bed hummed to life at his slight movements. Bones was on him faster than he thought possible. He was checking vitals, especially heart rate and blood pressure. Jim was still fuzzy on how he got there but at the moment he didn't care. He was warm but his head was buzzing.

"What happened?" he asked. He knew what happened. He just needed to know what was wrong with him.

Bones smiled as he gently ran a hand through the captain's sweat laden hair. "You're in Medical Bay, kid."

"I know that but what happened?"

"We were kind of wondering if you could answer that one." He frowned, playing the dumb blond very effectively. "Jim, you have a concussion and you threw up on the way here. You have three broken ribs and healing wounds. Would you like to tell me what happened?"

Bones watched as Jim's already dilated eyes darkened and dilated more than he had ever seen. The kid was scared, as he should be. Someone beat the shit out of him and left him in the rec room to suffer alone.

Jim shifted as much as he dared. He couldn't tell Bones that his own brother was the one who had put him here. He still hadn't figured out what Sam wanted but he wasn't going to let his friend get hurt while he looked. Sam was his problem so if Jim had to play dumb to keep his friend ignorant for the time being he would in a heartbeat.

"You don't have to answer me right now," Bones said after a few moments of silence.

He nodded. "Can I go back to my room?"

Bones frowned unhappily. "Jim, you have a concussion. I don't think you should move at the moment."

"Please, Bones. This place freaks me out. I want to go back to my room."

There was no way the doctor could argue with him when he whined. So he got a hover chair ready for Jim's transfer.

88888888

Chekov walked into Jim's room quietly. The captain had been discharged from the Medical Bay and sent back to his room. He thought it would be a good idea for him to go see him.

After saying the new override code Jim had given him, the Russian whiz kid walked into a dark room. He walked over to the bed and sat down gently on the edge. Jim was asleep with his arms spread over the pillows. He looked to be in pain. Chekov smiled and gently touched the captain's arm.

"Please, don't hit me."

"I'm not going to, Keptin."

Jim opened his eyes and stared blearily at the kid. "Hey, Chekov. What are you doing here?"

Chekov held up the canister. "I'd thought I'd help in anyvay possible."

"Can't today, buddy. I had bandages this time."

"I can vork around zem."

Jim lay perfectly still as the cool salve was placed above and below the fresh bandages Bones had applied. The gentleness of the kid's hand was very soothing on his hot flesh. His body ached quite literally from head to toe. It felt good just to have someone take care of him without asking a million questions.

"Do you need anything else, Keptin?" Chekov asked when he was done.

"Come water please." Jim hated relying on people but Chekov did it without as much as a complaint.

When the kid brought the water to him, he had a hard time sitting up. Chekov had to carefully prop him up just so he could drink without choking. When he was done, he gently placed him back against the pillows. Jim sighed and tried to wriggle back down under the covers but only groaned painfully when it pulled at his ribs and shot pain through his head.

"Keptin, vhy don't you tell Dr. McCoy vhat's going on?" Chekov asked him softly.

Jim cracked an eye open at the kid. He was really worried about him. He shifted until he was as comfortable as he could get. "I don't want him hurt, kid."

"He can take a lot, Keptin."

"I know he can, but he doesn't have to." He opened his eyes again. "You can't tell anyone, Chekov. He can't know what's going on."

"Keptin, you can't do zis alone."

Jim smiled. "I'm trying to so don't tell." Chekov shifted unhappily. "I don't want him to know, Chekov. Promise me you won't tell him."

"Keptin, I..."

"Chekov, promise me you won't tell Bones."

"I promise, Keptin. If you vill excuse me, I am having dinner vith Sulu."

Jim watched as the ensign walked out of his room. This was a tough secret to keep. No one knew what Sam was doing, not even Jim himself. It was tough having to deal with his brother's rampages and not let anyone else know because it could be dangerous to them. He didn't want that. He wanted everyone to be safe, even if it meant using his body to do it.

Groaning again, he rolled back into the pillows, allowing the cooling salve to take effect.