Title: There Were Days (10/16)
Author: Still Waters
Fandom: Star Trek TOS
Disclaimer: Not mine. Just playing, with love and respect to those who brought these characters to life.
Summary: McCoy is critically injured and Christine Chapel does what she does best. A character study of Leonard McCoy and a look into the world of the Enterprise medical team.
Notes: My apologies for the delay in getting this chapter posted. I've started a new job in a new specialty and the hospital basically monopolizes my time right now. Please be assured that I will finish this story – the sickbay staff is always speaking to me, it's just going to take longer to find the time to sit down and write what they're saying. Thank you for your kind reviews and feedback as I explore this world - I appreciate your continued support of the sickbay staff and their story. There are no medical notes for this chapter – if there's anything new that I forgot to clarify, just message me and I'd be glad to explain it.
As she walked into sickbay several hours later, Christine marveled at how a good cry and a little sleep could improve one's outlook on life. Her internal clock had woken her up an hour before her scheduled shift as usual, only to find a message from Elise telling her, in no uncertain terms, to go back to sleep and to not even think of coming to sickbay until 1400 hours. Seeing that the same message had also been sent to Mara and M'Benga, Christine had collapsed back into bed, gratefully. Those extra few hours of sleep, along with a hot shower and decent meal, made Christine feel like a new woman. She strode into the ICU, ready.
Elise looked up from flushing the central line and smiled widely. "Hey, honey," she greeted.
"Hey, Elise," Christine smiled, as she moved to McCoy's left side. "Hiya, Len," she said softly, kissing his cheek. "I'm stealing you back from Elise now, okay?"
Elise grinned. "See, Leonard? I told you Chris couldn't stay away." She dropped her voice, whispering conspiratorially, "she knows that once that beautiful child of yours gets here, she'll have to share."
"Gladly," Christine affirmed. She looked up to Elise. "How'd he do?"
Elise smiled and motioned Christine over. "Come see for yourself," she said, pointing to the discontinued medication drips. "I think he finally understands that this is supposed to be a good thing. He had three more hypotensive episodes, but responded quickly to bolusing - last one was four hours ago. Lowest he dropped was 84 systolic and he's been holding steady anywhere from 98 – 102 since the last episode. Heart rate went up to 120 – 130 during the BP drops, but came right back to 80s – 90s and has been staying there. I unhooked the vasoactives and rate controls, but they're still primed and ready if you need them. Dr. Sanchez d/c'd the demcorzen since he's been a-fib-free long enough. We dropped the sedation down 5 mikes once he started to buck the vent again two hours ago and we switched him over to CPAP then. He's doing well with the virdipan and vent where they are – resps are 12 – 14, sats 93 – 97%. Oh, and that sacral redness is resolving – since he behaved himself hemodynamically, I spent extra time with the skin sealant and positioning. There shouldn't be a problem."
Christine's eyes ghosted over the monitors and medications, confirming Elise's report. Letting out a relieved breath, she gave the older nurse a quick hug. "Thanks," she whispered.
Elise shrugged gently. "My pleasure, but he really did all the work."
"Good, because I'm going to make him work even more," Christine said firmly, directing the statement at McCoy's lax features. "We've got eight hours until Johanna gets here and she's going to want to see those beautiful blue eyes."
"Why doesn't anyone ever tell me my eyes are beautiful?" Tom lamented, walking into the room with a new bag of fluids.
"Tom, your eyes are beautiful," Mara replied, coming in on Tom's heels.
"Aw, Mara, I didn't know you cared," Tom said, pulling down the nearly empty IV fluids and replacing the line with the new bag.
"I don't," Mara admitted. "I was just looking to shut you up."
"Wow, I really feel the love here," Tom sighed dramatically.
"I love you, handsome," Elise assured him. "Go on and get some sleep. I'll report off to these lovely ladies."
Tom grinned. "You're the best, Elise. Good day, lovely ladies," he bowed to Chris and Mara before heading for the doors.
"Where'd we get that lunatic?" Mara sighed at Tom's back.
"Same place we got you, sweetheart," Elise reminded her. Mara and Tom had attended the same nursing program and were assigned to the Enterprise within six months of each other.
Mara rolled her eyes as Christine laughed. "Yeah, yeah," Mara muttered. Noticing the discontinued medications, she suddenly brightened. "Good news?" she asked Elise excitedly.
Elise nodded and began giving the two women a full report. She was just finishing when M'Benga walked in with Dr. Sanchez.
"Good afternoon, Chris, Mara," M'Benga nodded to the nurses. Turning to Elise, he smiled brightly. "Michael tells me you convinced Leonard to behave today," M'Benga said, glancing over at Sanchez.
"Oh, no," Elise shook her head firmly, "I just reminded him that it would be ungentlemanly to ignore a colleague's plan of care," she nodded at M'Benga, "and that it would be downright foolish to ignore his own," Elise waved the PADD with McCoy's tri-ox notes. Grinning slyly, she added, "I may have also mentioned that he should remember that Chris and Mara don't make idle threats."
"Damn straight," Mara muttered.
Christine reddened. "I never threaten," she insisted. "I use evidence-based practice to firmly recommend a rational treatment plan."
"Careful, Nurse Chapel, that statement sounded suspiciously Vulcan," Jim Kirk's voice suddenly filled the room as the ICU doors swished shut.
"Really, Captain?" Elise was surprised. "I thought it sounded more like Leonard."
"True," Kirk agreed. "Although you'd never get either of them to admit it, Bones and Spock have a lot in common around all that arguing." Kirk's chuckle was abruptly cut off by a cough that attempted to hide the sudden surge of emotion he felt when he realized how much he missed their sniping.
Noting the Captain's tight features, Elise quickly stepped back in. "Speaking of Mr. Spock, Captain," she began, "when he came by early this morning, he told me not to expect you until late this evening."
That worked. Kirk grinned sheepishly, the shadows fading from his eyes. "Yes, well, Mr. Spock doesn't know I'm down here," he said drily. He knew he shouldn't have let his guard down last night. A worried Vulcan was just as quick with a mind-meld and sleep suggestion as a worried Bones was with a sedative hypo. One moment he was being guided tiredly into his quarters by his First Officer and the next, he woke up to find several hours had passed along with a message that Spock would be covering his shift on the Bridge.
While McCoy's sedatives knocked Kirk out longer than the pharmacokinetics dictated, Spock's suggestions tended to only last half the time the Vulcan intended. Bones chalked it up to the sheer strength of human emotion. "Jim, the mind is a powerful thing – if you feel strongly enough 'bout somethin', all the Vulcan mind disciplines and sedatives in creation won't make a damned bit of difference – you're gonna wake up, blocked receptors or not. I once had a Kirillian boy bolt awake on the operating table while I was elbow deep in his intestines….which happened to be in what would be our upper chest and shoulder…..almost knocked me clean out. His village had been attacked by the tribe's local rivals, and his last mem'ry before passin' out was of his parents bein' burned alive. The sheer terror was enough to pull him straight out of general anesthesia. I could've given that boy enough anesthesia to knock down a raging Jrszlau bull calf and it wouldn't have done a thing. The mind can only be quieted for so long, Jim, before even one that's completely shut down realizes the only way to save itself is to face those demons head on."
Kirk had realized very early on that Bones was right. In this case, not even sheer exhaustion and a Vulcan sleep suggestion could keep his mind quiet for long. The sheer worry for his friend demanded attention, hence his presence in sickbay long before Spock had intended. Kirk glanced around the room, challenging each member of the medical staff with his glare.
"Well, I sure as hell won't be the one to tell him," Mara blurted out as Kirk's eyes met hers.
The room exploded into laughter.
Wiping his eyes gratefully, Kirk was the first to speak. "So, how is he?" he finally asked, moving to McCoy's side, eyes searching the monitors.
"He did well, Captain," Elise said, giving Kirk a quick summary of what had occurred during her shift.
Kirk let out a relieved breath. He looked to M'Benga. "What's the plan?"
M'Benga caught Christine's eyes before focusing on Kirk. "I'd like to do another EEG and cranial scan to give us a better picture of what the compound has done."
Christine moved to the monitor panel and began setting up the tests. At M'Benga's nod, she began the EEG.
Kirk watched the monitor anxiously until the screen beeped and Christine pulled up the results. M'Benga and Mara crowded around the data and Kirk's heart soared as three smiles suddenly blossomed. Christine started the cranial scan as M'Benga came to Kirk's side.
"The EEG shows significant improvement, Captain," M'Benga smiled. "The waves are still a little slow, but that could be attributed to the sedation Leonard is receiving. The speed of the waves is much more consistent with a normal human brain and the delta and theta waves, the two waves that shouldn't have been present last time, are no longer present."
Kirk squeezed McCoy's arm. "That's it, Bones," he said softly, looking back at M'Benga as the monitor beeped again with the cranial scan results. Christine transferred the massive amount of data onto PADDs for M'Benga, Mara, and herself to review.
"Michael, come take a look at this," M'Benga called softly to Sanchez, who had melted into the background.
Sanchez walked over and took the PADD, letting out a surprised breath. "Impressive," he finally managed.
"Impressive?!" Mara laughed, turning her attention to McCoy's silent face. "Dammit Leonard, you need to wake up so someone can give these results the response they deserve!"
Christine nodded in mute agreement. Mara was right. If Leonard could see this right now, he'd be beside himself with excitement, bouncing around sickbay, pulling anyone he could find into discussion on implications and potential improvements. She sank onto the edge of the bed and waved Kirk over to look at the PADD. "You need to see this, Captain," Christine said breathlessly. She brought up the first scan, prior to their discovery of the Fabrini compound. "This is the first scan – you see these darkened areas?" She pointed to several areas on the screen with the stylet. "Those indicate dead tissue – there were several significant areas throughout the frontal and parietal lobes, as Dr. M'Benga had said." Kirk nodded as Christine moved the old scan to the left of the screen and brought up the new scan on the right. "Now, take a look at today's," she said quietly.
Kirk gasped. "All the dark areas are gone. Does that mean….."
Christine grinned. "That there aren't any dead areas in Leonard's brain? Yes, it does."
Kirk let out a choked breath. "It worked?" He almost couldn't believe it.
A touch of clinical reserve entered Christine's expression. "The compound repaired the dead tissue, so that it is functioning properly physiologically," she explained gently. "But we can't know how well any of Leonard's functions were retained until he's awake for longer periods and we can test them."
Kirk nodded slowly and turned around to look at M'Benga.
"Christine's right, Captain," M'Benga said. "The scan shows Leonard's brain is functioning normally. There are no dead areas – all cells are functioning properly in terms of cellular respiration. The tissue is well-oxygenated. It is an incredible improvement, as Christine just showed you," M'Benga smiled. "However, the scan simply cannot tell us whether the now healthy looking area of the frontal lobe that controls memory actually maintained Leonard's memories, or that the language centers will connect properly with their respective structures in the body when called upon. Looking healthy and acting healthy are two very different things in terms of brain function. Now, Leonard showed promise when he woke up last night – as he wakes up for longer periods, as Christine said, we can test the functions of the previously damaged areas and see how well the Fabrini compound retained what had already been there."
Kirk nodded, chewing the inside of his lip in thought.
"The research was incredibly promising, Captain," Christine said softly. "The compound literally brought the cells back to their original state, so that nothing was lost. Leonard is the first human, or even humanoid, to actually receive the compound, so we just won't know until he shows us. He'll show us, though. Can you imagine him turning up an opportunity like this? Not only did he get to test his own tri-ox theory on himself, but he also got the chance to be the first subject to receive and expound on the effects of a potentially revolutionary cerebral compound. He'll be busy researching himself for months!"
Kirk laughed at the truthfulness of Christine's description of McCoy. Ever the researcher, Bones delighted in discovering new possibilities and reworking old ones. Even under the pressure of finding cures for massive outbreaks of unknown illnesses, Bones somehow managed to retain a gentle undercurrent of pure excitement running through his red-rimmed eyes and nervous grumbling. While the physician's nearly limitless compassion for life often led him to throw aside self-preservation and test those new cures on himself first, Kirk had learned that he really couldn't chew Bones out for being himself. It was actually Christine who had finally helped Kirk understand. After the events on Minara, Christine had pulled a pacing Jim Kirk aside in sickbay while McCoy was getting checked out. "Captain, you are in command of the Enterprise. You're responsible for the actions and safety of the 430 people aboard this ship and you'll do whatever you feel is necessary to uphold that responsibility. If an unknown, hostile force demands to meet with you alone in order to spare the ship further damage, you go, because you take that responsibility as seriously as life itself. Leonard may make a fuss about it because he's worried about you, but underneath all that, he understands, because he has the same sort of responsibility. He is CMO of the Enterprise, and his responsibility is for the health, both mental and physical, of the 430 people aboard this ship, including you. If an untested, potential cure for an illness threatening the lives of the crew of this ship needs to be tested, he isn't going to put anyone else at risk – he'll test it on himself, because to cause harm to a crewmember is to have failed in his responsibility to their health. In the case of Minara, he may seem like a self-sacrificing idiot, but you were all about to do the same thing. His sense of responsibility…..along with quick access to sedatives…. won out. To have let either you or Mr. Spock be injured as he was, would be to have failed in his responsibility as both your CMO and your friend. You can't begrudge him that, Captain, anymore than he can begrudge you for throwing yourself into danger to protect the safety of the ship." There were very few times that James T. Kirk had been rendered speechless, but that had been one of them. He had looked at Bones in a whole new light ever since.
Kirk brought his attention back to the present. Christine's confidence gave him confidence. She wasn't one to give hope lightly. If she felt that McCoy would continue to recover, he couldn't help but believe it too. He smiled. "Well, I'll certainly know where to find him," Kirk chuckled. Whenever Bones was immersed in some new study, he was scarce on the Bridge, and Kirk found himself missing the presence enough to wander down to sickbay during the shift just to banter with his friend. He'd even pretend to understand what the experiment was all about, just to see Bones light up with excitement.
"So, what now?" Kirk asked M'Benga.
M'Benga glanced back down at the PADD. "I'd like to give one more dose of the Fabrini compound, just to make sure. After that, we'll let him rest and see if he can remain stable where he is."
Kirk nodded. He squeezed McCoy's arm one more time, then stood up, stretching. "In that case, I'll head up to the Bridge to see how we're progressing toward Starbase 8…. and to let everyone know how Bones is doing," he decided. "Call me if there's any change."
"Of course, Captain," M'Benga assured him as Kirk left the room.
Elise and Dr. Sanchez retired to their quarters with well-wishes for the rest of the shift, while M'Benga conferred with Christine and Mara.
As Mara went to administer the last compound dose, Christine stayed behind with M'Benga. "Any objection to another trial off the sedation?" she asked. "I was thinking of giving him an hour or two after this dose, then as long as he stays stable, turning it off for a few minutes to give him a chance to come up on his own."
M'Benga nodded. "That's fine," he agreed. "The more chances we give him off the sedation, the faster we'll be able to get him off everything."
"My thoughts exactly," Christine affirmed.
"Go ahead. Call me if you need me," M'Benga said, heading for his office, immersing himself in the cranial scan results again.
McCoy received the last of the Fabrini compound without incident. Christine and Mara took advantage of McCoy's stable vitals and decreased medication schedule to thoroughly bathe the physician, change the bed linens and do another two rounds with the skin sealant and pillow positioning. An hour and a half later, Mara left to assist M'Benga with two apparent cases of food poisoning, while Christine began a full set of range of motion exercises. She was fifteen minutes into McCoy's upper extremities when he began moving his head restlessly.
Christine's eyes flicked toward the monitors, checking McCoy's oxygenation status. Noting that the O2 sat was normal, she switched to a full perfusion scan just to make sure the restlessness wasn't indicative of hypoxia. When everything checked out fine, she went over to the virdipan and shut off the sedation. Laying a gentle hand on one arm, she spoke softly. "It's all right, Len, you can wake up now."
After a few tries, McCoy's eyes fluttered open. Clouded blue shakily tracked the room as Christine tried to grab his focus. McCoy didn't seem to hear her though, and his respirations became faster and shallower as he continued looking for something only he knew. He tried raising a hand to his face and upon finding himself too weak to do so, he went into full-blown panic.
The alarms screamed.
"Leonard!" Christine shouted, laying a hand on each side of his face and putting herself right in his line of vision. "Len, look at me. It's Chris. You're okay. You were injured and you're in sickbay, but you're okay."
McCoy was still trying to raise his left arm when Mara burst into the room.
"We're okay!" Christine reassured her. "He's disoriented. I'm trying to get him to focus."
Mara let out a nervous breath, moving to the bedside, ready to intervene if McCoy's vitals required it, but out of the way so he wouldn't be over-stimulated.
Christine looked down at McCoy's arm. At her nod, Mara grasped McCoy's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"You're weak from being in bed, that's why you can't lift your hand," Christine explained firmly, but gently, keeping her face close to McCoy's. "You just need to get your strength back, that's all. Mara's holding your hand right now. You feel that?"
McCoy's breathing slowed slightly as he focused on Christine's words and Mara's grasp. Feeling the hand in his, he closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath.
"That's it, Len, you're all right. Now, open your eyes and look at me," Christine ordered.
McCoy slowly opened his eyes and struggled to focus on Christine's face. Blinking hard, cloudy blue finally locked with Christine's clear gaze.
"Very good," Christine smiled. "Just breathe. It's all right." She watched as the monitors calmed down, finally blinking green as McCoy's vitals returned to normal.
McCoy's eyes were locked on Christine's for dear life. Christine struggled to keep her heart from breaking at the sheer terror of disorientation in that incredibly expressive blue.
"It's all right," Christine assured McCoy again. "Let's start simple. Do you know who I am?"
McCoy nodded slightly, his eyes never wavering from her face.
"Good," Christine let out a relieved breath. It wasn't a verbal confirmation of orientation or memory, but they had to start small. "Now look to your left," she guided his face toward Mara. "Do you remember Mara?"
McCoy nodded again.
"Good," Christine said, bringing his gaze back to her own face. "You were hurt when an Engineering panel exploded. You're in sickbay and you're getting better. Mara's going to bring your hand to your face for you, and I'll explain what you feel, okay?"
McCoy nodded slowly, blinking hard to maintain his focus.
Mara gently brought McCoy's hand to his face and rested it on the CPAP mask.
"You were having some trouble breathing," Christine explained, "so you're on a ventilator. You're breathing on your own now though, so you're just getting oxygen and pressure to help keep you comfortable." There was no point in going into the minute details. McCoy needed enough for reassurance at this point – once he was more coherent, he could demand the full story. Too much information would only be detrimental to his disoriented mind right now.
Watching McCoy's face, Christine asked, "Is there anything else you want me to explain?" She didn't want to freak him out with the shunt unless he needed to know right now.
McCoy shook his head slightly. He was struggling to keep his eyes open.
Christine nodded. "Okay. It's all right to go back to sleep. You need the rest. Someone will be here when you wake up."
McCoy's eyes finally slid shut.
Christine and Mara let out a breath simultaneously as Christine reached for the virdipan and reset the sedation at the previous dose.
M'Benga walked in. "Everyone all right?" he asked calmly.
Christine nodded. "He woke up disoriented, but responded to verbal reassurance."
M'Benga nodded. "Mara, could you please see to the Ensigns' discharge instructions? I gave them both another dose of sporsdin and they have their medications for the next three days."
"No problem," Mara acknowledged, leaving the room.
M'Benga turned to Christine for a full report. "Well done," he thanked her as she finished. "Do you want me to inform the Captain?"
"That's okay," Christine sighed, "I'll do it. You know he's going to want specifics."
M'Benga gave her an understanding smile before heading back to his office.
The next six hours flew by for Christine. After informing the Captain of McCoy's second return to consciousness, she found herself explaining the details to Kirk and Spock as they came down to sickbay, as if needing to physically see their friend as they heard the information. The word spread through the Bridge crew and Christine began passing on well-wishes and positive thoughts from the crewmembers as they called down to sickbay to let McCoy know they were thinking about him. Uhura came by briefly to see McCoy and to let Christine know that Kirk had given her permission to leave her station if the medical staff thought music may help calm the physician in the future.
About an hour before the Enterprise was scheduled to reach Starbase 8, Scotty came down to let McCoy know that Johanna was on her way. "I'll be bringin' yer wee one to ye soon, Doctor," Scotty assured him.
Christine smiled, curious. "If everything is actually fine with the engines, how are you planning to do all this so it doesn't raise suspicion, Scotty?" she asked. It wasn't that she doubted the man - hell, Scotty was even better at technical bluffing than McCoy was at medical bluffing when the situation called for it.
Scotty grinned, rocking back on his heels. "Don't ye worry, lass," he smiled knowingly. "I've got it all worked out."
"I've never doubted that Scotty," Christine grinned back.
Before she knew it, Captain Kirk's voice came over the comm. "Attention all hands, this is the Captain. We have reached Starbase 8."
Kirk looked around the Bridge, pride swelling in his chest at the commitment blazing in his crew's eyes. An anticipatory smile curled his lips as he called down to Engineering. "All right, Scotty. Showtime."
In sickbay, Christine squeezed McCoy's hand and leaned down to whisper, "Here we go, Len."
Johanna McCoy paced nervously behind the pilot's chair of the medical transport ship, Gaila. They were just approaching Starbase 8, and her nerves were shot. She was usually able to nap anywhere, thanks to her father's influence and her current profession, but the sheer emotion of this journey made her twitchier than a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs. She had started the trip by trying to recall everything she had learned about the woman the Gaila was named for – Nyenda Gaila had been a nurse on Orion who, tired of only being able to comfort those who had loved ones ill and dying on other planets, had taken matters into her own hands and developed a system of medical transport to unite loved ones with their ill kin on other worlds. The Gaila, piloted by Dr. Mallory, a former colleague of her father's from Atlanta General, was one of the first such medical transports commissioned on Earth.
The worry had kicked in as soon as Johanna ran out of information on Gaila, so she tried to distract herself by reading over the studies Christine had sent her on the Fabrini compound, comparing it to her notes on her father's injuries. She lasted about two hours before the words blurred into the image of her father, pale and still on the biobed, relying on both the miracles of modern technology and relics of the past to keep him alive.
That's when she had started pacing.
"Miss Johanna, you're gonna wear a rut in that floor," Dr. Mallory sighed good-naturedly.
"Well, what else am I supposed to do?" Johanna grumbled.
"You could sit down and relax. We're coming up on Starbase 8 now."
"Relax?!" Johanna nearly shouted. "How the hell am I supposed to relax? I don't even know if he's still alive." She slumped against the bulkhead as the realization of her words sunk in. Last she had heard from the Enterprise, her father had been having trouble with his blood pressure during the first few doses of the Fabrini treatment. What if he continued not to tolerate the procedure? What if she was beaming over to mourn over a corpse?
Dr. Mallory turned in his seat. "I'm sorry, darlin'," he said softly. He knew better than to try and offer platitudes.
Johanna's wave both accepted the apology and dismissed the need to continue talking. She twisted the ring on her finger gently, trying to find comfort in the only contact with her father she could have at the moment.
The silence continued for several more minutes, until the Gaila established orbit around the starbase. "Miss Johanna, look," Dr. Mallory called her over to the front viewscreen.
Johanna pushed off the wall and leaned over the pilot's seat. Her breath caught in her throat as the Enterprise floated into view, a serene pearl in the darkness. She had never seen the starship in person before, and seeing it now, she could suddenly understand her father's tales of Captain Kirk's love of the ship. It was beautiful.
"Medical Transport Gaila to Starbase 8 Medical Facility," Dr. Mallory acknowledged their arrival over the comm.
"Starbase 8 Medical Facility, Dr. Keary here," came the response.
Dr. Mallory's smile widened. "Paul, how are ya?"
There was a brief pause, before Keary's voice returned. "Dan Mallory, is that you? What're you doing out here? Last I heard, you were still at Atlanta Gen."
"Still am," Mallory responded, "but I do this on the side too."
"Overachiever, eh?" Keary teased.
"Yeah, that's me," Mallory laughed.
"So, what've you got?" Keary asked.
"I've got a high-profile case here. Do you have a private channel?" Mallory winked at Johanna.
"Sure thing, Dan," Keary said, giving Mallory the frequency.
Dr. Mallory glanced at Johanna. "This is perfect," he grinned. "Me and Paul go way back, even further than me and your father. He'll know just what to do."
Johanna grinned. Finally, some good news.
"Okay, Dan, what's going on?" Keary asked.
"Well, I've come all the way from Earth to get a young lady to her injured father on the Enterprise," Mallory began. "Their Chief Engineer can beam her on board from my ship, but we need a story for why I'm here. The Enterprise is taking care of the story of why they're here," he finished.
Mallory could practically hear Keary's grin. "Not a problem. I keep a few 'fake patients' on the roster for occasions such as this. We'll document that one of those patient's daughters came via the Gaila, beamed directly from the ship to the medical facility, and returned the same way. A short visit, and no reason for anyone to even think of checking the transporter log. If they do though, my transport chief will make everything check out just fine."
"Wow," Mallory whistled, impressed. "That is so wrong," he laughed at the obvious effort Keary had put into the deception.
"Yeah, but you're going to use it, aren't you?" Keary challenged.
"Hell yeah," Mallory grinned before suddenly clamping a hand over his mouth. He turned to Johanna. "I'm so sorry Miss Johanna," he apologized for the profanity.
Johanna snorted. "Please, Dr. Mallory, how many times have I let loose on this trip? My daddy may be a gentleman, but he's also a doctor, and I'm trainin' to be a nurse – there ain't nothin' I haven't heard before."
Mallory chuckled. "Point taken," he acknowledged.
"All right, I've got the documentation all taken care of," Keary came back on the comm. "I'm transmitting the details now, so you're all on the same page."
"Thanks, Paul," Mallory said sincerely. "You're the best."
"Anytime," Keary replied. "Tell the young woman I hope for a full recovery for her father. Oh, and do me a favor? Ask her to give my regards to Dr. McCoy. His neural grafting technique with the basal ganglia saved my daughter's life."
Johanna choked back tears as she nodded at Dr. Mallory.
"I will," Mallory said softly. "I'm sure she'll be glad to. Gaila out."
"Dammit," Johanna muttered, swiping at her eyes.
Mallory smiled gently before turning back to the console as the comm whistled again. "Enterprise to Gaila, come in please," Uhura's strong voice called.
"Gaila, Dr. Mallory here," Mallory responded.
A new voice came over the comm. "Dr. Mallory, this is Captain Kirk. Is everything ready on your end?"
"All set, Captain," Mallory acknowledged. "I'm a lot easier to explain than a Federation starship."
Kirk chuckled. "Yes, well, you don't have my crew, Doctor," he said proudly. "Johanna, are you ready to beam over?" he asked.
"I've been ready since leavin' Earth, Captain," Johanna replied.
Kirk laughed. "All right, get into position. Dr. Mallory, I can't thank you enough."
Mallory waved off the thanks. "There's nothin' to thank, Captain. Len's a damn good friend and I'd be a horse's ass not to do everything in my power to get his little girl to him at a time like this."
"Well, thank you anyway, from one friend to another," Kirk returned.
"My pleasure, Captain," Mallory said softly. He turned to Johanna. "Give Len a hug for me, okay?"
Johanna enveloped the older man in a crushing embrace. "Thank you," she said huskily, before taking her position again.
"Go save his brilliant ass," Mallory whispered as the whine of the transporter beam took Johanna to McCoy's side.
Johanna was greeted by a Scottish burr straight out of the history books. "Welcome aboard, lassie!" Montgomery Scott grinned. "I'm Chief Engineer Scott. The Captain is on his way."
Johanna's face lit up as she realized who she was talking to. "You're Scotty?" she half-asked, half-stated.
"Aye, that's me," Scotty replied.
"Oh, it's an honor t'meet you, sir," Johanna shook his hand enthusiastically. "My daddy's told me so much about you."
"Well now, first things first, none o' this 'sir' business," Scotty insisted. "Just call me Scotty."
"All right, Scotty," Johanna grinned. "I'm only in the basic courses so far, but I'd love to see what you think about using tirilium crystals to improve the reliability of life support systems."
Scotty's face brightened. "Aye, it'd be my honor, lassie," he smiled. "I've been workin' on some modifications to the biphasic scanners in Engineering with tirilium – stuff has a lot o' promise."
Johanna was just about to launch into her idea for the crystal's use in medicine when Captain Kirk strode into the room. Seeing the smiles on Scotty's and Johanna's faces, he couldn't help but laugh. "Making friends already, Mr. Scott?" he asked drily.
Before Scotty could reply, Johanna launched herself at the Captain, hugging him tightly. Kirk let out a surprised breath as Scotty tried desperately to hide his laughter. Johanna stepped back unapologetically, the full intensity of her blue gaze directed right at Kirk. He swallowed hard at the familiar force of those eyes.
"My daddy's always said he works with the best crew in the galaxy," Johanna said firmly. "And now I have no doubt he's right. I don't know how y'all did it, but thank you."
Kirk finally regained his voice. "It was for Bones," he said simply, as if no other explanation was needed.
Johanna smiled softly at the Captain's nickname for her father and the tenderness there. She turned to Scotty and gave him a hug too.
"What was that for, lassie?" Scotty sputtered.
Johanna rolled her eyes. "Like you had nothin' to do with explainin' why a Federation starship had to detour all this way," she snorted.
Kirk raised his eyebrows. "Smart girl," he muttered.
"Aye, like father, like daughter," Scotty smiled.
Johanna turned to Kirk. "Captain, can you please show me to sickbay?" she asked.
"Of course," Kirk motioned to the transporter room doors and led the way.
Christine looked up from changing McCoy's nutrition patch to see the Captain enter the room, followed closely by Johanna McCoy. Johanna stopped short in the doorway at the sight of her father, but visibly relaxed as she met Christine's eyes.
Christine walked over to the younger woman and wrapped her in a comforting embrace. "Hi, Jo," she said softly.
"Hi, Chris," Johanna's muffled voice responded as she leaned into the embrace.
"You want me to go over everything?" Christine asked gently.
Johanna nodded mutely, allowing herself to be led to McCoy's bedside. Kirk faded back toward the doors, allowing the women time to talk.
Christine explained the current ventilator settings, medication regimen, and sedation plan. She went over McCoy's two conscious episodes and the day's test results, before answering questions about McCoy's earlier treatment. Johanna's hand went to her mouth as Christine discussed the two times McCoy crashed during the Fabrini treatment. She sank into the bedside chair as Christine described the second arrest, but rallied enough to glare at McCoy and growl that he wasn't even going to think of arresting again now that she was there.
Christine finished answering Johanna's questions and put a gentle hand on the young woman's shoulder. "You want a few minutes alone with him?" she asked softly.
Johanna nodded, swallowing hard. "Yes, please," she whispered.
Johanna sighed as the ICU doors swished shut. All she could think about since learning that her father had been injured was getting to his side, and now that she was there, she didn't know what to say.
She let out a breath; half-laughter and half-sob. "Well, Daddy, you always said a little sufferin's good for the soul, but don't ya think this is taking it a little too far?" she choked out. She glanced up at the monitors, reassured by the stable readings. "You're doin' pretty good right now," she said, reading the vital signs to McCoy. She fidgeted nervously before letting out an exasperated breath. "This is ridiculous," she thought to herself, "he's your father goddammit, just talk to him!"
Johanna took a deep breath and sprang to her feet. She leaned over and kissed McCoy's cheek. "Hiya, Daddy, I'm here," she whispered in his ear. "I'm gonna help take care of you, so just you relax and get better, ya hear?" Smiling at the sudden feeling of normalcy, Johanna perched on the edge of the bed and took her father's hand. Grinning mischievously as she traced the lines on his palm, she said, "You know, you were wrong – Captain Kirk is charming," she giggled. "Seriously, Daddy, he got me here. I don't know how he did it, but he did, and that makes him damn charming in my book."
An hour later, Christine and the Captain came back into the room. "I'm just going to do my assessment now, okay, Jo?" Christine said.
"Of course, Chris," Johanna replied, moving off the bed.
"No, you're fine there," Christine insisted. "Stay."
Johanna nodded her thanks and resumed her place. Kirk gestured toward the bedside chair. "Mind if I join you?" he asked.
"Captain, you're family just as much as I am," Johanna insisted, motioning him to the chair.
The three sat in companionable silence for several minutes as the medical scanner whirred gently in the background.
Johanna finally broke the silence. "You know, I really wanna be mad at him," she laughed bitterly, "for making me worry, but this could've happened to anyone. It's not like he did anything stupid," she sighed.
Kirk followed Johanna's gaze to McCoy's face. "Yeah," he agreed, lost in thought. "Not like that time he ignored the radiation leak."
Johanna whirled around with enough force that she almost landed in Kirk's lap. "What?" she asked icily.
Kirk swallowed hard as his brain kicked back in. "Uh oh," he muttered. "Bones didn't tell you about that, did he?" he asked meekly.
"No, he didn't," Johanna stated firmly, "but you will."
Christine stifled a laugh as Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the Federation's flagship was glared into submission by yet another McCoy.
"Sorry, Bones," Kirk apologized, before recalling the story. "A little over a year ago, we were attacked by an unknown force. One of the Engineering substations was damaged – the reactor exploded and radiation flooded the room. Whenever that happens, the doors and vents automatically seal and can only be overridden by command code before the leak's been resolved. There had been an engineer in the room when the explosion occurred, so Bones went down to see what he could do. Scotty told him about the leak and that he'd have to wait, but Bones insisted that they couldn't wait, that if the man had received an electrical shock during the explosion…." Kirk glanced at McCoy and swallowed, "…..that he could be in cardiac arrest and that the longer they waited, the less chance he had of survival. Well, Bones ended up overriding the door on his medical authority. He went in, put the cardio stimulator on the engineer, gave him a dose of something, then pulled him out. He was right – the man's heart had stopped. Bones saved his life."
Johanna closed her eyes, running her fingers over her father's hand. "How much radiation did he get?" she asked.
"Enough that he just missed throwing up on his patient before collapsing in sickbay," Kirk remembered heavily. "He spent a few hours throwing up and getting fluids before the radiation treatment finally kicked in. There wasn't any lasting damage." Kirk looked at his friend fondly. "You know what he said to me when I asked him why he did such a stupid thing?" he asked Johanna.
Johanna shook her head. "No, but I can imagine," she said softly.
Kirk kept his gaze on McCoy's face. "He said, 'Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor. First do no harm. If I had waited, that boy'd be dead. A sin of omission is a sin just the same. If I'd just stood there waitin' for that leak to resolve, I'd be just as responsible for his death as that explosion. We can treat low-level radiation poisoning. We can't treat death.'"
Johanna sighed. "Yep, that's my daddy," she said, her voice torn between sadness and pride.
McCoy moved his head slightly as the doors swished open and Spock walked in.
Johanna looked to Christine, who began adjusting the sedation.
"Ah, Mr. Spock," Kirk greeted the Vulcan. "May I present Johanna McCoy?"
Spock inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Indeed. It is a pleasure to meet you Miss McCoy."
"Johanna, please," Johanna insisted.
"Very well, Johanna," Spock said. He met Christine's eyes. "I was coming to inquire as to the doctor's health."
Christine smiled. "I think he's getting ready to wake up again," she said, nodding to McCoy as he restlessly tossed his head again. "I've just turned off the sedation. I'm going to call Dr. M'Benga, but you can all talk to him in the meantime."
Johanna kept a firm grip on McCoy's hand, while resting her free palm along her father's cheek. "Daddy?" she asked nervously.
"Bones," Kirk said softly, gripping McCoy's arm.
Spock rested a hand gently on the physician's shoulder.
"Come on, Daddy, you have no idea how much Georgia misses those eyes," Johanna half-sobbed. She still had McCoy's former patients come up to her and tell her that it was those compassionate blue eyes that kept them fighting at Atlanta General. "C'mon, Daddy, wake up for me," she pleaded.
M'Benga entered the room silently, taking a place at the foot of the bed, nodding quietly to Christine.
A soft groan made its way through the ventilator mask as McCoy's eyes fluttered open. Christine took an involuntary step forward as cloudy blue began slowly tracking the room. McCoy's chest heaved, just as Johanna threw herself around his neck.
Bringing her head back up, Johanna put herself right in McCoy's line of vision. "Daddy," she breathed out. "Daddy, it's Jo. Look at me," she said clearly, keeping her eyes locked on her father's.
McCoy's eyes slowly met Johanna's, sliding into focus. He squinted, a slight frown evident under the mask.
"It's okay, Daddy, I'm here," Johanna said.
McCoy's eyebrow went up in confusion as he shook his head slightly.
"I'm really here, Daddy," Johanna tried to make him understand. "I'm with you on the Enterprise. 'Come hell or high water' right? Well, here I am," she smiled, leaning down to kiss his cheek.
McCoy blinked hard. Focusing again on Johanna, his eyes narrowed slightly and his mouth twitched into a weak imitation of his disbelieving 'yeah, right' expression. His eyes slowly left Johanna's face and sought out Christine, Spock, and Kirk.
"She's really here, Bones," Kirk assured McCoy as the physician's eyes met his.
"Indeed, Doctor. Johanna is here on the Enterprise," Spock said.
McCoy's eyebrow went up again, as if surprised that Spock was sharing his delusion.
"It's okay, Daddy," Johanna said softly, "I'm not sure I'd believe me either."
McCoy's lips twitched in a half-approximation of a smile.
"Believe what you need to believe, Len," Christine said gently, "but just know that Johanna's here and she'll be here when you wake up again."
McCoy's eyes closed slowly, a slight smile on his face.
Spock clasped his hands behind his back. "I do not believe Dr. McCoy thought Johanna was real," he stated quietly.
"Well, I'm gonna sit right here until he does," Johanna growled. Kissing her father's hand, she stretched out alongside McCoy, nestling her head against his chest. "He only gets to think I'm a hallucination once," she declared. "Next time he wakes up, he's gonna remember why momma always called me his child."
Spock's eyebrow approached his hairline. "Indeed," he said, "it will be impossible to ignore such a force."
Kirk stifled a laugh.
Johanna simply smiled.