Authors Note:
Sorry its taken me a few days to write this, I've been completely stressed out at work but I'm finally off for the next few days. So here is F is for Flu. It was supposed to be Flu, The Andorian Kind, but I got Flu mixed up with Shingles! So I've changed my S and made this just a plain Flu one. See if you can spot the Phlox (Enterprise Fans) quote! Sorry its shorter, but there's only so much detail you can go in with flu without it getting boring.
Thank you all so much for following me, following this story and most of all for your wonderful reviews. They are incredible and I hope they continue!
Tomorrow is G! This one took me and ThisOldGirl, a while to think of, but I think its a neat little twist on the medical file :)
Chapter Six
F is for Flu
Jim sat bolt upright right in his bed, panting heavily until he caught his breath. He untwisted himself from his damp sheets and threw them on the floor. "Computer Lights 80%" he mumbled, every word sent a screech of pain down his throat. The lights instantly lit up the room causing him to wince away in pain, covering his sight with his arm. "Computer… lights 20%" Speaking caused him to cough sending more pain down his throat.
He almost fell back to lay back down on his bed, stretching his aching arms and legs out using up all the possible space. It was so damn hot, he could feel himself practically sticking to the bed, he even thought about stripping off his basic's he liked to sleep in and laying here naked… but soon changed his mind.
Jim looked to his small bedside table, most people kept a photo of family or friends on theirs, however Jim kept a small clock on his. He squinted, checking the time, groaning when he realised he had only been asleep a few hours. "Fucking hell. 03:40" Jim muttered to himself, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He couldn't work out why his body ached so much, the day hadn't been the busiest. Maybe he had just overdone it at the gym or something.
A sudden chill overcame him, causing him to shiver. He was starting to be grateful that he hadn't stripped off after all. He attempted to move to grab his sheets on the floor, but his muscled ached and hurt too much. He wondered if grabbing the sheet was really worth the aches and pains, until he shivered again. That was enough motivation to grab the sheet and wrap himself up in it.
Jim curled himself in the cool sheets like cocoon, desperately trying to keep himself warm as he continued to shiver. How was he supposed like this when it was so damn cold? His bathroom door kept catching his eyes, a shower would soon warm him up. Keep himself wrapped up, he just about managed to swing his legs off the bed and pushed himself into a sitting position, although the sudden change in elevation cause his growing headache to pulse harder. He squinted his eyes as he tried to forget the growing pain in his head.
He started to wonder if the shower was really worth it, much like grabbing his sheets off the floor, but they were worth it… so the shower had to be worth it too. He pushed himself up and steadied himself before he lost his balance and ended back on his bed. He kept his sheets wrapped tightly round him keeping any heat inside his small cocoon. He managed to shuffle his feet into the bathroom, being thankful that the lights were already dimmed for him.
He turned the shower on and wacked up the temperature, allowing steam to fill the room. He didn't notice how stuffed up his nose and sinus' felt until now. The steam allowed so much comfort to him as he took deep breaths into his nose clearing his airway. Jim would happily stay in here the rest of the night if he could. He dropped the sheet providing him his warmth and stripped off, quickly stepping into the scolding hot shower. He let the water blast down onto his aching body, providing comfort as it eased his tense muscles. He didn't want to leave the waters comfort and before he knew it 45 minutes had passed and the water was starting to run colder. He quickly rinsed off his hair and took a final deep breath before he faced the cold air again.
He grabbed an extra towel, wrapping it around himself tightly and putting the other over his head. Jim soon shuffled back out his bathroom and noticed how comfortable his bed suddenly seemed to look. He didn't even have time to think before he fell forwards onto it. The second his head hit his pillow he was asleep, giving his tired eyes a welcomed break.
oOo
"God Damnit, Jim! If you don't open this door in a minute I'll break it down!" McCoy shouted at the captain's door. He hadn't showed up for his morning shift and everybody knew how unlike Jim that was. Spock soon asked McCoy to check on him.
McCoy actually had the medical override for every quarters on the ship, although he didn't like to use it on Jim… unless he really had to. He soon sighed, realising that this was going to be one of those times. He punched in the code and stepped in. It didn't take long for the smell of sweat to smack him in the face. McCoy walked over to Jim's bed and saw him lying flat on his stomach wrapped in a couple of towels, his hair was incredibly fluffy and he had a small patch of dribble on his pillow. He raised an eyebrow, not knowing if he should laugh or be worried.
He didn't want to disturb Jim, but he thought a quick with the medical tricorder wouldn't hurt. He whipped out his tricorder from his bag running the scan. He quickly looked up as a small snore escaped Jim's mouth, causing McCoy to smile. He assumed he was just catching up with some much needed sleep. It made no sense to wake him up, in the eyes of a doctor anyway.
Although the second the scan results came in he felt his heart drop. Jim was rocking a fever of 40.1 degrees and that was way too high, especially for someone who was just wrapped in a couple of towels. He had a few inflamed muscles over his body and clearly he was going to wake up with one hell of a headache. He placed his tricorder down on Jim's bare bedside table and grabbed his hypospray, loading it with a few pain medications and sticking it straight into Jim's neck, hoping to bring his temperature down. Jim didn't even flinch at the small pinch at his neck.
McCoy turned to Jim's desk in the living part of his quarters and flicked open a comm to the bridge.
"McCoy to the bridge."
"Spock here. Have you located the Captain?" Spock asked.
"Yeah, yeah I've found him. He's too sick to come to work today." McCoy replied, looking over to the sleeping figure of Jim, he still hadn't moved.
"I shall remain in command until he is well enough to return then. Thank you Doctor."
"You could at least ACT like you care, Spock. He's got an incredibly high fever. I was lucky to find him when I did." McCoy said, raising his voice slightly.
"Then perhaps you should place the captain in quarantine. As to not infect the rest of the rest of the crew." Spock spoke logically.
"He doesn't need that. It's nothing some rest can't fix. I'll alert you of any change. McCoy out." He rolled his eyes at Spock's blunt answers, wondering why he went into detail with him in the first place.
McCoy walked back over to Jim and felt his skin, although his fever had lowered his skin was becoming cold to the touch. He shook Jim a little, attempting to wake him up. "Jim, wake up. You need to get dressed."
Jim's eyes snapped open, feeling McCoy's icy cold hands on his feverish skin. They were both incredibly red and blood shot. It didn't take him long to notice he had slept in.
"Oh crap. What's the time? I have to get to the bridge." He attempted to push himself up, pulling the towel from his head and throwing it on the floor.
McCoy held up his hands, retracting them away from Jim. "Woah, hold on, kid. You're not going anywhere today."
Jim squinted his eyes as he pushed himself back into a sitting position, keeping his towel wrapped over his lower half. "Why not?" he coughed dryly.
"You have the flu." McCoy said bluntly. "You could infect the rest of the crew. So, you're stuck on bedrest until I say so."
Jim looked up at McCoy who was standing over him, his red blood shot eyes stinging slightly. "The flu? In space? How is that even possible?"
"It doesn't take much, a single sneeze into a container is enough to get the virus on-board. It can lay dormant until such time as it is released." McCoy answered, grabbing Jim some of the Starfleet basic's Jim had in his drawers and throwing them on the bed.
"We can travel faster than the speed of light. You'd think we could find a cure for the common cold." Jim huffed, trying to catch his breath. He shivered a little, not wanting to admit that getting dressed would be a good idea.
"Do you need help getting dressed?" McCoy asked, ignoring the sulking captain.
"I'll be fine." Jim coughed dryly again. "You can return to sickbay now, Doctor."
McCoy rolled his eyes. "Luckily for you, I have no patients and in case of an emergency, I can be contacted here. You really think I'm going to leave you in this state?" he said, turning his back allowing Jim his privacy.
Jim didn't want to admit how difficult it was getting dressed, even in the casuals that McCoy had given him to wear. All his body ached still and his headache, which had dulled down, was beginning to get worse again. He continued to sniff his nose to stop it running.
McCoy turned back around as Jim walked into his bathroom. While he was in there McCoy thought it would be the ideal time to change the sweaty bedding on Jim's bed, giving him a clean and fresh one to climb back into.
When Jim appeared at the bathroom door, he somehow looked worse. He leant heavily on the door frame before taking the few steps back into his bed. His eyes nearly snapped shut straight away. "Thanks Bones." He whispered, before closing them.
"No problem, kid. I'll be here with chicken soup for when you wake up. Just get some rest." He whispered back, retreating to Jim's desk to get some of his paper work done, which included updating Jim's medical file. He was just glad that in a few short days Jim would be well enough to return to the bridge… although by then it was more than likely that he would have caught the germs and be suffering himself.
oOo
