A/N: 'It's a god-damn miracle, Jim, she actually updated.'

Haha, so hey guys, how have you been? Anyone die of old age waiting for this? I hope not. I'm in my final year of University now (oh god, life is coming, what am I meant to do?!) It's been a whole lot of work hence the total lack of any writing (well, okay, I have written some Batman stuff – shhh, Bruce Wayne seduced me, I couldn't help it). But I'm trying to fit Star Trek stuff in whenever I can and I'm desperately excited for the new movie, which JJ appears to have created solely to make us cry.

So here's a random story that came to me when I was watching the movie for what must easily be the 20th time and I was thinking about how Pike just presumed Jim, Sulu and Olson knew how to space jump, even though they were all different specialities. And when I said it to my sis she said that it was probably standard training for anyone serving on a ship and my automatic response was that there was no way Bones would have done that...and then this happened...

Jim woke to the sound of retching coming from the small bathroom attached to his two person dorm room. Normally it was Jim with his head in the toilet after one too many drinking competitions, McCoy was much more sensible than that (or so he liked people to think, Jim knew where he kept his stash of hangover cures). Still, in the two years that they had roomed together, Jim honestly couldn't remember one time McCoy had actually been sick so he was pretty quick to roll out of his own bed and over to the bathroom door, which had been left ajar. McCoy was a sorry sight, leaning against the toilet seat, his eyes closed and his face flushed an unhealthy shade of green. The smell of vomit was strong in the air, keeping Jim by the door.

"You okay, Bones? Do you need me to get your medkit for you?" McCoy kept a well stocked kit in the dorm room for dealing with Jim's late night mishaps.

The doctor's eyes snapped open and he gave Jim a much sharper look then anyone with their head in a toilet should be able to. He pursed his lips for a moment, taking deep breathes through his nose, before he spoke. "No, I don't." He shook his head a little, looking annoyed, "I don't have anything in there for anxiety – trust me, I've tried everything." After this short speech he went back to retching and Jim braved the room to fetch a glass of water for his friend. It was taken without comment, half of it ending up spat back out.

"Anxiety? What's eating you?"

McCoy didn't try to speak again, instead gesturing outside to his bed. A PADD was lying on it, an open message on the screen. Jim picked it up, scanning the contents before sighing in understanding. "You knew it was coming, Bones. I know it freaks you out but everyone has to do it."

McCoy had by now made his way out of the bathroom, choosing to collapse onto Jim's bed, staying as far away as possible from the PADD in Jim's hand, as if it was somehow responsible for the message it bore. "I don't care if all of Sector 10 is up there with me Jim – I am not jumping into space!" His hands moved in the air from his prone position. "What kind of a crazy person thought that up anyway? Jumping out of a plane is nutty enough, but into space? Who does that?! There's no air!" One hand moved to rest over his eyes and Jim, who was used to the sarcastic and defiant McCoy, didn't think he'd ever seen his friend looked so defeated. A plan instantly presented itself and Jim grinned widely.

"Don't worry about it, Bones." Jim made his way over to his bed, tossing the PADD down again and clapping McCoy on the shoulder as his friend sat up. "I'll take care of it."

A sceptical look was levelled at him. "What do you mean 'you'll take care of it'? In with the exam board now are you?"

Jim grinned, moving over to pull his uniform out of the closet. "You know they hate me, Bones, I mess with the stats. No, I mean I'll take care of it – you can just sit tight here and think of nice solid, Georgia fields."

McCoy stood, hands on hips, his nausea forgotten in the face of Jim with his 'no, really, this is a great idea, I swear it won't get me killed' look (as McCoy liked to think of it). "I will not – tell me what you're thinking or I'm going to sedate you so you can't leave."

Jim pretended to look hurt. "Bones, I'm doing something for you – show a little gratitude. And don't look at me like that, this really is a fool-proof plan."

"Says the fool. No, tell me what you're going to do, or it isn't happening."

Jim shrugged, side-stepping McCoy to get to the drawers that held his uniforms. "I'll just do the jump for you, of course."

McCoy just looked at him like he was an idiot. "You'll just do the jump for me? And you don't think anyone will be suspicious as to why I've suddenly gone blond and lost about five years of my life? You've done your jump already, you can't just sign in under a different name."

Jim's grin got wider. "You're forgetting, Bones. The jump is contracted out to a civilian organisation. No one will know me. I'll take your ID – I guarantee you they won't be checking photos – and you know the groups are mixed up among all the cadet courses. Everyone there will just presume I'm doing my jump and no-one will be any the wiser when it goes down under your name." He had his cadet reds on by the time McCoy had digested all of that. He apparently couldn't find a flaw in the plan because he ended up just frowning some more and muttering about it being 'too easy'. "The best plans are the simplest, Bones." Jim punched him in the shoulder and held out his hand, "Now, give me your ID and don't leave the room until I come back."

The best plans are the simplest and the plan went perfectly...Okay, so Jim may have over shot his landing a little and ended up coming down on one ankle kind of badly. But he couldn't have Bones performing too well could he? That's what he told the doctor anyway, while the man fussed over him in their dorm room. Jim could tell McCoy was grateful though. He never said it, of course, but there was a very good bottle of Bourbon waiting for him to share when he got back and that said it all.

One Week Later...

"Cadet Kirk." Jim, who had entered the office on announcement, straightened to a smart salute which Pike returned without rising from his seat. He then gestured for Jim to stand at ease, which Jim did his best to do without leaning too much weight on his left ankle, but also without looking like he was tilting to one side. There was a pause as Pike continued to stare at the PADD in front of him and Jim tried to not fidget. After almost a minute he had to speak.

"You called me here, sir?" Jim honestly didn't know why he had been called. Usually he could trace a call back to something he had done in the last while – given cheek to an instructor, taken a shuttle for a joyride, been out past curfew. But he hadn't done any of those things recently, he'd been getting ready for final exams and resting up after the space jump. Unless he was here because Pike had gotten wind of what he'd done?...

Pike looked up as he spoke, his face showing that odd expression that Jim liked to think meant he was trying to hide amusement under sternness (he didn't really have any proof that this was the case though). The Captain glanced once more at the PADD before arching his fingers in front of him. "I just received the space jump exercise reports," he said, not really answering Jim's unasked question, but confirming the younger man's suspicions. "I must say I was quite surprised." Another pause as Jim schooled his features into neutral curiosity and Pike leaned back in his chair, one hand dangling on the arm. "I was surprised, Kirk," he continued, eyeing Jim shrewdly, "To see your good friend Doctor McCoy's name on the list of completed jumps."

"It's required training for all cadets, sir, medical included."

Pike huffed a little with laughter, "I'm aware of that, Kirk. What surprised me is that he is listed as having done the jump without complaint, though he did hurt himself on the landing – did you know that?" Jim felt it best to just nod silently. Pike nodded as well. "Yes, he landed badly on his ankle, apparently." He leaned forward again, pinning Jim down with his best 'I'm in charge dammit' look (as Jim called it). "But here's the thing, Kirk. I saw McCoy yesterday and he was looking perfectly fine – he was running around Medical at the time in fact. You, on the other hand, are not looking quite so well." He waved towards the chair in front of his desk. "Do you want to take the weight off that leg? You can sit if you need to."

Jim just shook his head, attempting to stand a little taller. "I'm fine sir, thank you."

Pike gave him a once over before returning to 'the look'. "Hmm. And even ignoring that little coincidence, Cadet, you and I both know that Leonard McCoy would no sooner jump out of a shuttle without complaint then you would do a semester without a bar fight."

"Stranger things have happened, sir."

Pike's eyebrows rose. "Really Cadet? Because I'm a well travelled man and I can't think of any. So tell me, did McCoy have a sudden change of heart, sometime after he almost crashed my in-tray with all his requests to be excused from the exercise?"

"Surely that's something you should be asking Doctor McCoy about, sir."

"Do you want me to interrogate the doctor about it, Kirk?"

Jim sighed, Pike knew him too well to be deflected with stupid arguments. "No, sir."

Pike just gave him a long look, before sitting back a little, running his hand through his hair. "I didn't think so." He paused for a moment, thinking on how to continue. "Loyalty is a very highly valued trait in Starfleet, Kirk, you know that?" Jim nodded slightly, wondering what Pike was getting at. "But so is realism. I am more than aware of McCoy's distaste for heights, however; he will soon be a Starfleet doctor and given his skill he will almost certainly be working on a Starship. There may come a time when he has no choice but to space jump. He cannot do that with no training – and he has no training thanks to you, Kirk." Jim tried to butt in but Pike held up a hand for silence. "Like I said, Kirk, loyalty is a fine quality, but you are a command track cadet – you are expected to put the good of your crew above the whims of your friends. As a future officer the training of all future crew members should be your concern. You do not have the luxury of disrupting that training because your friend gets a little air sickness, do you understand that?"

Jim straightened a little but still stared Pike in the eye, "I understand, sir, I do. But respectfully," Pike resisted the urge to sigh because that was how all of Jim's worst arguments with him started, "It wouldn't matter if the whole ship was falling out of orbit, sir, Bones still wouldn't jump, training or no training; so there really wasn't any point in sending him on the exercise."

Pike made a noise of disbelief, "Are you seriously telling me, Kirk, that McCoy would rather go down with his ship than make a jump?"

Jim thought for a moment and then smiled, "I think if it were to happen sir, I would end up strapping him to my suit and doing a tandem jump, it would be the only way he'd go, and he still wouldn't need to the training. Though I would have to knock him out, more than likely..." Jim's voice had gotten softer as he started pondering to himself. Pike left him to it. Jim often referred to his planned future where he was a Captain and McCoy his CMO. It wasn't that Pike didn't think this would happen – both men were extremely talented and would likely hold those positions some day. What Kirk's dreams seemed to lack were the reality of the years it was going to take to earn those titles. Years where they would both serve where they were told and where anything could happen. Kirk had come back to himself while Pike thought this and had started talking again.

"I did try, sir, with the training. I tried talking him into it, reassuring him. I showed him vids and made him come and watch me do my jump. I even took him up in a shuttle to try and make him do an in-atmosphere jump but he wouldn't get out of his seat. Even when I told him one of the engines had gone on fire, he still just sat there – that's how I know he'd gladly go down with a ship, sir." That got Pike's attention.

"You took Doctor McCoy up in a shuttle, gave him a parachute and told him one of the engines was on fire?" Pike didn't even try to hide the disbelief in his voice.

Kirk looked a little sheepish, "It was outside of class hours sir."

Pike gave him a shrewd look, "Yes, but was the shuttle outside of Academy control, Kirk?" Silence was the only answer he needed for that question.

Pike's 'Pile of Kirk Related Paperwork' sense was tingling. He was willing to give in on this, really though. A lot of people would be very surprised with how often he actually just gave in with Jim, but Kirk was one of those Cadets you had to pick your battles with. Pike knew what Kirk had done had come from a good place, and it did sound like he'd tried everything else with McCoy. In the end they couldn't force McCoy to jump out of a shuttle and he was too good of a doctor to have him grounded on that alone. It wasn't worth filing a complaint, getting both cadets in trouble and having black marks in their files. He would let it slide.

"Just go, Cadet." He made a waving gesture with his hand and saw Jim smile just a little as he saluted smartly and strode from the office, still limping slightly. He knew that when Pike said that he meant 'I'm not going to do anything about it this time but I better not hear about this again' – it wasn't the first time something like this had happened after all.