A.N. A special thank you to numom1, elysenjazz, and Starsinger for their continued support, and to DLB48 and Guest for their kind words.

A.N.2. As to the 'Marcus' character many of you referenced, he wasn't meant to link up to the former admiral, despite the common name. I had originally contemplated a AU-ish situation, but discarded it. Either way, as I had written the character to fit the name, changing the name seemed awkward, and so the name stuck. I apologize for any confusion. A last name was added to the previous chapter.

Chapter 4

An Unexpected Commotion

McCoy rushed down the hallway, his rarely used lab coat flaring out behind him as his strides lengthened to their fullest extent without breaking into a panicked run. His mind was already racing light years ahead to the room at the end of the long corridor, filling up with worst case scenarios and running through the very few medications he was able to give Jim's already overtaxed system.

Lord, Jim better not be having another adverse reaction, he prayed, with a moment of wild panic at the thought that was quickly drowned out by the need to focus at the job at hand-keeping Jim alive…again. He'd had enough of seeing the kid's face turn blue, and having to call the code team. They were becoming a rather familiar, and all too unwelcome, sight as of late.

As the buzz of activity at the end of the hallway grew louder and more agitated, only to drop to a hushed silence as medical personnel filed quietly out of the room, McCoy broke out into a run, fearing the worst. He pushed past the nurse who had had the privilege of calling him down to this mess, and two orderlies, only to come to a dead stop at the scene spread out before him.

The room was in complete and utter disarray. It looked almost as if a localized bomb had gone off. A stack of papers appeared to have fallen from a distance only to blanket the floor. Hypos could be seen in a rustled stack in a drawer that had been half-hazardly left open. The drawer below it was pulled out, as if someone had dug through the drawer, and went on to the next when they couldn't immediately find what they had needed.

Another hypo appeared to be abandoned on the small table beside the bed as if it had been discarded before it had even had the chance to be administered. As the last extra body shuffled out, McCoy was finally able to spot Jim amidst the destruction.

With his last dose of medication, Jim should have still been quietly tucked into bed. Which was why McCoy was puzzled and somewhat alarmed, to discover the bed's sheets spilling out onto the floor. His eyes snapped to the pillow discarded along the wall, as if thrown across the room, only to quickly swing back to the empty bed.

His eyes traveled across the empty expanse of bed and down the tangled sheets, to the figure sprawled out on the floor. His eyes widened to see Jim's face pale and beaded with sweat, his breathing ragged enough that he could hear it over his own quiet inhales and exhales in the now starkly silent room. McCoy's breathing caught, and his eyes snapped up to the figure standing over Jim's limp form.

"What did you DO!?" his voice going from a strangled whisper to a loud roar, as he hurled himself at the looming figure.

Spock didn't even have the chance to reply. Caught unawares, he offered no resistance as he was physically manhandled into the nearby wall by two white knuckled fists clutching the bunched up fabric of his uniform. Only his quick reflexes saved him from smacking his head against the wall as he was forced back against it. As it was, he lost the breath of air he had taken to try and explain the situation to the doctor upon his entrance.

Before Spock had time to adequately respond, McCoy had already shoved himself away from the disheveled Vulcan and rushed to kneel at Jim's side. Needing the physical anchor and reassurance from his friend, he reached for Jim's neck and face with one hand as he reached for the medical tricorder in his lab coat pocket with another. His forehead knotted with worry, and shoulders tense, he waved it quickly over Jim's still figure. His hand, seeming without his notice, almost naturally moved from Jim's neck to run once, twice through Jim's hair before leaving to activate the freed tricorder.

As he began to read through the gathered data, he snapped at the waiting Vulcan, "Get out. Get out before I throw you out." His voice was cold, and his eyes, as he threw a glance the Vulcan's way, were as cold as ice.

Coolly professional, he motioned the orderlies inside. As the orderlies deftly lifted Jim's body back onto the bed under the doctor's watchful gaze, Spock quietly slipped past and into the corridor. McCoy didn't see the oh-so human eyes uncharacteristically clouded with worry or the almost desperate glance he threw the doctor's way as he passed the prone forms.

He was gone long before the doctor dared to leave Jim's side unattended again.

A.N. A rather short chapter, but it seemed the best place to come to a pause. Enjoy, and as always, reviews are appreciated. 3