Family

The first thing that Jim became aware of was the headache from hell he was suffering. The second was that he had a feeling in his throat like he had swallowed a cotton ball. The third thing was a beeping noise coming from beside him and then very slowly his fuzzy brain started to work again until the point that two distinguishes voices reached his ears.

"It was your job to ensure his safety!" The gruff voice reminded him of his best friend Bones.

"I would do that if the idiot hadn't jumped in front of a shot meant to Ensign Edwards!" A lighter voice said in an angry tone, a tone that he recognized as belonging to Selece.

"If you had trained that brainless boy better that wouldn't have happened!"

"I train all my subordinates to outstanding levels. How dare you to criticize my work?"

"And you marvelous work lend Jim into the sickbay... Again!"

"Jim can hurt himself by only sitting on his chair doing nothing in the bridge. And I did the best that I could."

"The best, it seems, wasn't enough. Hate to break this for you Miss Genetic Enhanced Freak, but your work sucks."

"What?" Came the screech that made Kirk's head hurt more. "I loathe you!" The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed in the sickbay and Jim opened his eyes only to see Bones rubbing his arm with a furious expression on his face.

"How very mature." Leonard rolled his eyes.

"Are you two getting a divorce?" Jim slurred and two pairs of eyes fell on him.

"Jim!" Selece let out a relieved sigh to see her friend awake and McCoy got a tricoder to scan the Captain's body.

"Damn kid, I'm going gray because of you."

"Love you too Bones. So... Are you gonna divorce?" Selece and Leonard looked at each other with suspicious in their eyes.

"Is he delirious?" She asked the doctor who raised both his eyebrows.

"Well... He's not feverish, so I don't know."

"Jim, sweetie," Selece combed her fingers on soft blond hair. "what are you talking about?" Jim tried to laugh at the way the Chizetan was acting around him, but laughing made his body hurts. It's just that every time he hurt himself badly she would impersonate the 'very worried mother character' and treat him like a child. And damn he would shoot himself before admitting that he like it, a lot. He had mommy issues, so what? Every guy has his problems, even a Starfleet Captain. Especially a Starfleet Captain.

"You two were fighting like an old married couple... I'm too young to have divorced parents and I don't wanna decide with who I'll spend my weekends and holidays."

"Probably with your father. You know that the guardianship always goes to the mother." She decided to amuse him and Jim smiled while Bones snorted behind Selece.

"You spoil him too much." Leonard rolled his eyes again.

"Well... He is our baby, we have to take care of him." Selece joked, still caressing Jim's hair.

"Dad is jealous because you love me more than him." Jim gave Bones a lopsided smile and the doctor only grunted.

"I'll always love you more." Selece kissed him on the forehead and Jim's smile became bigger. Seconds later baby blue eyes started to blink repeatedly.

"The drug is kicking in again." Leonard alerted her and after that Jim was unconscious again over the bed. "Well... It seems that he's better."

"Yeah, it seems."

"Sorry about that." The doctor murmured.

"Come again?"

"You heard what I said."

"Yeah, and I still don't believe it."

"Okay, let's face it. You worry about him, I worry about him and this kid will be the death of us, so I think that fighting every time he's hurt will lead us to nowhere."

"You were the one who started all the yelling."

"You yelled back."

"Now who's the one being immature?"

"I believe that both are acting under their real intellectual capacity or age. And must I remind you that raised voices are not welcomed in this place?" Spock's voice broke the mutual glare that Leonard and Selece were sharing and brought their attention to the Commander.

"Well, like a clock Spock. I'm impressed." Selece suppressed a giggle after listening what Leonard said. In the last twenty hours since Jim was shot, went through surgery and was unconscious, Spock had contact the sickbay at least five times asking for reports about the Captain condition and on the sixth time that he called, McCoy finally snapped and said for him to stop bothering, what made the Vulcan apologize and tell that by 2000 hours he would stop by for a visit. "As you see, Jim is in la-la land, but he woke up for a few minutes before so I believe that soon he'll be up and back to pester us."

"I see." Was Spock only response before he positioned himself beside the Captain's bed like a watching gargoyle.

"Now if you don't mind, I have some things to discuss with my wife." McCoy closed his fingers around Selece wrist, ignoring the raised eyebrow that Spock threw on their direction, and pulled her into his office.

"Wow, I should report you for domestic violence." Selece rubbed her wrist after McCoy let her go.

"How dramatic. You didn't even feel it, so don't try to fool me."

"So..." She said after a long pause between them. "Whiskey or Scotch?"

"After what we went trough, I think both are in order." Selece agreed with her head and pulled a chair while Leonard went to his cabinet and grabbed the two bottles along with a pair of cups. He poured some Scotch to Selece and Whiskey for him and sat at his working table. "For one more day in this damn ship under Jim's crazies stunts." He raised his glass and clinked it with hers.

"Cheers my good doctor. Cheers."