Several hours after blasting the Narada into oblivion, Jim's eyes were drooping, his sides aching, his throat burning and his head pounding. He was down in Engineering, sitting at the bottom of one of its multiple staircases with his head resting against the cold metal of the handlebars.
"Sandwich?" Scotty asked as he sat beside Jim, offering a sandwich that looked like it had been put together by a tractor with all the layers and the haphazardly protruding contents sticking out in odd ends. He shook his head with a groan at the gruesome sight, his stomach protesting at the thought of eating a sandwich that had what looked like macaroni and cheese in it.
"More for me." Scotty said with a shrug and took a huge bite out of it. "You know, if you are feeling a bit wonky, why don't you try heading to the medical bay?" Scotty asked between mouthfuls of what looked like broccoli. Jim would be surprised if the replicator that produced that Sandwich was heading for a junk shop as soon as they got back to Earth.
He shook his head no again at Scotty's question and closed his eyes as his head pounded some more at the motion.
"What's the matter, lad?" Scotty asked him, still busy with the sandwich. "Not afraid of doctors, are we?" He asked some more.
Jim shook his head once more. He wasn't afraid of doctors. Hell, his best friend was a doctor. But he was sure Bones was busy with other patients right now. Captain Pike being his top priority.
"Well, what's the problem then? Head on to sickbay and get yourself looked at." Scotty prodded.
Jim shook his head again.
"Fine, be that way. I can tell you are hurting, lad. But if you want to suffer it's up to you. You just keep shaking your wee head at me and see if I care when it falls off." Scotty said, which made Jim inwardly chuckle at the imagery.
"Shouldn't you be at the bridge, Captain?" The Scot asked after a few moments of silence, seriously this time.
"I'm not Captain, anymore." Jim replied in a raspy voice that made his throat hurt. It made him realize that the reason for all the head shaking was because he didn't want to talk with the pain it was going to induce. "Captain Pike is back." He went on, soft as a whisper.
"Isn't the old fella incapacitated?" Scotty asked.
"Even so, Spock was first officer under Pike. Now that Pike is back, Spock should resume his duties as Captain Pike's first officer so he has to take acting Captain." He explained.
"And where does that leave you?"
"In here. Hiding in engineering. 'M not supposed to be in the Enterprise in the first place. Stowed Away." Jim tried speaking in small words; his throat couldn't really take it.
"Really? Should I be hiding, too? I'm not supposed to be here in the first place either." Scotty asked in a somewhat berating tone.
Jim stirred at the response and stared tiredly at the happy go lucky man beside him. "Scotty, I couldn't have done it without you, man. That thing you did with the warp core, I never would have thought of that, we'd all be dead if it weren't for you." He told the man in all sincerity.
"I could say the same thing for you, lad. A lot of people would have died if it weren't for you." Scotty replied following a resounding belch. "Although, I may have still been alive in that ruddy ice bucket of a planet. But I'd rather face a near death experience than stay in that bloody place. If you and that weird, old bloke had not come around, I wouldn't be in this fantastic ship." He said some more, his face full of awe as he admired the Enterprise.
Jim thought back on his encounter with the Old Spock back in Delta Vega. Even if he was convinced that the old man was indeed Spock of a different timeline, he still was skeptical on Spock having been, and always shall be, Jim's friend.
He barely got along with this timeline's Spock. Not to mention Old Spock called him James T. Kirk. How could he have been and always shall be Jim's friend? He didn't even get his last name right.
Yah, Old Spock was a weird, old bloke.
