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Chapter Twelve: A Friend in Need

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"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

Christopher Robin

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The door gave in with a noise that suggested it might never close correctly again, and Leonard all but stumbled into the small compartment. The soft hiss of the vents told him that the entire simulator was being systematically reoxygenated, but the air was still painfully thin and breathing was difficult.

"Jim…" Leonard wheezed, heart pounding.

The formerly still body on the floor moved slightly at the sound of his voice, and the doctor could have cried with relief.

"Hold on, kid." The medical officer dropped to his knees and fumbled for the latches of the helmet, hands shaking with adrenaline. The glass was foggy and opaque from the cadet's breath, so the doctor wasn't able to get a good look at him until he finally managed to pull the thing off. Jim was soaked in sweat and paler than a corpse, lips tinged blue. He was breathing, but only just barely, breath coming in shallow, rapid gasps. The kid was on the verge of hyperventilation. He sucked in a pained gasp as the helmet slid off, but his eyes were still unfocused and glassy.

Hypoxia followed by rapid-onset cyanosis. The doctor that still ruled his mind diagnosed quickly. Not good.

"Come on." Leonard fumbled at the restricting suit, frustrated when his shaking fingers and the overly-complicated contraption failed to cooperate. He was pretty sure he wound up permanently damaging something, but he managed to get the suit open and pushed away from Jim's chest.

"Hey! You stay with me!" Leonard demanded when the cadet's head rolled to the side, hands coming up to Jim's face, patting roughly. "Stick with it kid, just breathe."

'Just breathing' seemed like a concept that was going to be more difficult to grasp than it sounded like. One of Jim's hands groped blindly, finding the doctor's arm and squeezing painfully. He was breathing too quick, too fast; there still wasn't enough oxygen in the room to kickstart his body back into its regular patterns.

"In, out, that's it." Leonard tried to help the kid, tried to set a pattern for him, but it almost seemed like he was too deep in his own head. Jim's eyes rolled back until Leonard slapped his face again, bringing his glassy stare back to the doctor. His skin and hair were drenched with sweat.

"Where the hell is the medical team…" Leonard swore, feeing the icy grip of desperation closing around his chest. He could handle this; Jim would be fine, he could get him through this. If the goddamn medical officers would show up and do their job.

As if on cue, footsteps from the outer corridor caused Leonard to whip around. "In here!" He bellowed. "Get a move on!"

They did. Within moments the team arrived, pulling open the door n a flurry of activity and equipment. They'd donned oxygen masks themselves—clearly the cause of their delay—but the doctor couldn't waste time hating them for it. He snatched a mask and tank out of the hands of the nearest medic and jammed it into maximum output. He quickly slipped the mask over Jim's mouth and nose, feeling his own chest relax as Jim let out a shuddering gasp and finally managed to take in more than just a partial mockery of a breath.

"That's it, kid." The doctor murmured mindlessly, gripping the kid's hand hard with his own free hand. "Just breathe, we've got you. In and out, you got this."

Jim groaned softly, eyes sliding shut in exhaustion as his breaths deepened slowly and evened out. Bones dared remove his hand from the mask to gently wipe the damp hair out of the kid's face. His own head was still spinning, though air in the room had already been circulated. He supposed it was the aftermath of the adrenaline and panic. Feeling slightly dizzy, he found himself sliding bonelessly to the floor beside Jim.

One of the medics was offering him a tank and mask of his own but he swatted them away, disgusted.

He finally caught sight of the crowd that had gathered outside the small room, and scowled at them. "Well? If someone doesn't hunt down that son-of-a-bitch, I will."

"Cadet Jameson is already being contained by the security teams." The same instructor who had doubted Leonard earlier spoke up with a frown. "However there is no evidence that there was any foul play involved here, doctor."

"No foul play my ass." Bones growled, sparing a glance down at the too-pale cadet. Jim seemed to have slipped into some kind of stupor; his eyes were half-open and fixed unseeingly on the ceiling. His breaths were uneven, but deeper than they had been and they seemed fair less painful. At least something seemed to be working.

"Get that stretcher in here." McCoy growled when he was convinced the kid was not about to pass out. He stood by as a team of medics struggled to fit themselves and a manual stretcher into the cramped space. They clearly had no intention of coming anywhere near the seething medical officer and gave him as wide a berth as they could manage.

Leonard hovered watchfully, trying not to lose physical contact with Kirk as he was gently lifted onto the padded canvas surface.

The kid seemed to stir a little as he was shifted, eyes sliding lethargically around the room until they landed on the doctor. He tried to smile a little through the mask, but just ended up grimacing.

If the situation had been any less nerve-racking, Bones would have laughed at the kid.

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Bones remained glued to the semi-conscious cadet's side on the short trip back to Academy Medical. It took every once of self control he had to stand by without interfering and let the facility doctors do their job. After running a wide variety of tests and bloodwork, it was ultimately determined that the cadet would live.

Well. Now Bones could get some sleep at night, knowing professionals like these were on hand. Christ.

Although thoroughly exhausted, Jim quickly came back to his senses once his blood flow returned to normal and oxygen began circulating through his system. As expected, he put up quite a fuss about being confined to a bed, even if the doctors promised he could be released within the hour. According to his relatively skewed sense of logic, he hadn't needed to be admitted in the first place.

After hearing this, Leonard went out into the hallway and slammed his forehead against the wall a few times.

A security officer arrived shortly after to interview Kirk and inform them both that Cadet Jameson had been placed on Academic suspension awaiting official review of the incident. Bones was glad to hear this, but Jim didn't seem to be.

Bones shouldn't have been surprised when Captain Pike showed up at the hospital, but he still was. He didn't think that the crisp uniform and it's extremely imposing image would ever fail to affect him.

"Doctor." Pike joined the medical officer at the door of one of the clinic's temporary patient rooms.

"Captain." Leonard's eyes flickered to the older man, but ultimately returned to Jim. He still wasn't convinced something wasn't going to pop out of the woodwork and try to eat the luckless kid.

The younger cadet was paler than the sheets he sat on and looked like he hadn't slept in several weeks, but overall he had managed to escape permanent damage. He sat with his back to the door, flirting half-heartedly with a young nurse who attempted to do a final checkup before he was released from the hospital.

"How is he?"

"Oh, he's fine." Leonard's jaw clenched. "Jameson's not going to be."

"I read the preliminary incident report." Bones wasn't sure he liked the resigned tone in Pike's voice. "I understand you think Cadet Jameson had something to do with Kirk's condition?"

Leonard turned incredulous eyes to the captain. "I think?" He repeated. "I know he did. That bastard's had it in for Kirk since the day he started. You've seen what they've done to him."

"I see a cadet who has sustained injuries in the course of his training." Pike sounded frustrated with his own words. "Unless Cadet Kirk can testify to the contrary…?"

Bones was silent, glowering at Jim's back. He wished to hell the kid would testify to the contrary—wished he'd even admit what was happening. But he knew Jim, and unfortunately he knew the kid would chop his own arm off before agreeing to testify about what Jameson, Lenot, and Burgess had done to him. Whether this decision was born of fear or stubbornness or something else entirely, Leonard had given up guessing.

"I have to do something." He said at last, voice steely. "I won't just sit here and watch this go on: it's gone too far already."

"I couldn't agree more." Pike surprised him with his answer. "If the cadet refuses to speak out against his persecutors to protect himself, I suppose we'll simply have to catch them in the act."

It took a moment for that to sink into Leonard's head. When it did, he allowed himself a moment to gape at the poker-faced officer. "Are you saying—"

"I'm saying that you and I are going to take some affirmative action in this matter." Pike's blue eyes sparked a bit as they turned briefly to McCoy. "I didn't drag Jim's ass out of the mud to watch him get beaten to death right under my nose. You may find it hard to believe, but you're not the only one who cares about what happens to him, Doctor McCoy."

Pike held Leonard's gaze for a beat, communicating the fact that holy shit the man was serious, and then nodded his goodbye.

"Meet me at my office tomorrow after your shift." The Captain called over his shoulder as he left.

McCoy was still thinking of a reply by the time Pike disappeared.

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Even Leonard was exhausted by the time he and Jim made it back to their dorm. He couldn't even imagine how Jim must feel—aside from his brief stint of unconsciousness, the cadet hadn't had a moment's rest since being pulled out of the simulator. His shoulders sagged and his steps were heavy as he shuffled across the floor to his room.

"Not so fast." Leonard grabbed his arm. If Jim made it to his bed odds were Bones wouldn't get answers out of him for another twenty-fours hours at least.

"Sleep…" Jim groaned disapprovingly, but allowed Leonard to guide him to a seat on the couch.

"After you tell me what the hell happened in there." McCoy stopped the protests he knew were coming. "And not the bullshit you fed to the security officer. What actually happened, Jim?"

"Bed." Jim mumbled again, chin drooping.

"If you insist on being difficult, I probably have a hypo around here that'll wake you up. You know, if you're really so tired."

"Sometimes, I think I hate you." Jim's eyes were closed, and he shifted a little in his seat as if he expected to fall asleep right where he was.

Leonard snapped his fingers, getting Jim's attention with a pointed look. "Talk to me, kid. You owe me that much."

"What's to say, Bones?" Jim sighed and he sounded so tired, and the shadows under his eyes were so dark when he finally looked up at his friend. Leonard felt a pang of remorse for doing this to the kid right now, but he reminded himself that it really was for the cadet's own good.

"Just tell me what happened." McCoy's voice was softer now. "Just be honest with me. I swear, I lost ten years of my life seeing you like that, kid. I just want to know the truth. I swear I'm not going to go hunting the guy down."

"You'd better not." Jim tried to smile; it crooked one corner of his mouth up and then dropped like he was too tired to hold it there.

"You've got to help me help you, Jim." The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. "You know that. That's all I'm trying to do here."

The doctor had a brief flash of realizing how utterly strange he sounded, as if he were talking to a frightened child or a wounded animal instead of the strong, stubborn man he'd come to know as his best friend. His gut twisted a little as he realized the comparison might not even be too far off the mark.

Jim looked thoughtful and pensive, but the words still weren't coming.

"Did Jameson attack you in that airlock?" Leonard blurted out what had been on his mind all night.

Jim's eyes shifted just briefly in his direction; Bones didn't need words to confirm his worst suspicions. He felt anger bubbling up in his chest like an active volcano, begging for release. The doctor spent a moment staring at Jim (who would no longer meet his eyes), trying to understand the way his mind worked. He found it impossible.

"Jim." He waited firmly until the kid met his eyes this time, and found himself blanching at all the pain, anger, and rage he saw there. "We swore we would be honest with each other. Didn't we?"

"Yes." Jim answered softly. His head fell back against the couch cushions. Slumped there like that, knees pulled up and arms crossed, he looked like little more than a kid. Bones had to remind himself that in many sense of the word, Jim still was that kid.

"Yes, we did." Kirk repeated softly, almost as if to remind himself.

This time, Bones waited for him to be ready. He felt instinctively that he was, and that meant it was time for him to back off before he lost him completely.

"He didn't… hit me or anything. He pulled the tank off my suit." Jim mumbled at last. "I think he was actually out of it, you know. I don't think he meant for it to be me. He was just… you know, he couldn't breathe. He was desperate."

Don't you dare make excuses for him. McCoy wanted to grab Jim by the collar and scream it in his face, but with a few deep breaths he managed to resist the urge.

"You couldn't breathe either." Leonard tried and failed to take the sharp edge out of his voice. "Would you have stolen a tank from someone else?"

Jim shook his head, finally finding the good grace to look a little contrite.

"And he left you there." Goddamnit, Leonard felt so angry. And he was keeping fairly calm in spite of it, which was perhaps the greater miracle. "He took your tank, and left you there, unable to breathe. You could have died, for christsakes."

Jim's jaw shifted. Bones could tell he was trying to figure out something to say that wouldn't make himself look weak or Leonard even angrier. Which of course only served to make Leonard angry, because he didn't want the kid to feel like he needed to shield himself like that.

Stewing silently, Bones sat back against the chair and tried to cool himself off. There was no quicker way to shut Jim down than to get angry and start attacking him. He really needed to cut that tactic off at the pass before they both blew up and the whole thing ended badly. He wanted to help Jim here, not make things any more difficult for him. How helping someone could be this complicated was completely beyond him—

"Thanks, Bones."

The soft voice snapped Leonard back to the present, and he glanced up at Jim in surprise. "What?"

The kid looked up at him carefully, still looking more torn and tormented than anyone his age had any right to be. "Thanks for coming in, you know… In the sim." He coughed out a little laugh and looked away sheepishly. "I really didn't think I was gonna make it, this time. I felt like I was dying."

McCoy's heart clenched. "I'll always come, Jim." He sighed. "God help me, I think I'm gonna always be there if you need me. At least I'm going to do my damndest to be."

Jim's grin made it to the surface this time. "I know."

And somehow that meant more than anything. Because Jim did know; did believe Leonard was going to be there for him. And that was all Bones needed.

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Gahh, doesn't that quote up at the top just turn your heart to mush? It does mine.

Anyway, yes you got another update within a week! Your eyes do not deceive you! First of all, I'm determined to get this story done before I get bogged down in school and lordhelpme it's already happening, so for my own sanity I'm going to be spitting these chapters out as fast as I can. Also, I kind of wanted to wrap up this bit for poor Jim's sake. Even I wasn't sure what was going to happen to him until I wrote it! :]

As for the Very Big Deal I mentioned last chapter, the winner is: A tie!

Whaaat? How can it be?

Well, let me explain.

Technically, you ALL got it wrong. Because not a single one of you guessed the United States Coast Guard! Yes, it is a branch of the military, just small and exclusive and way too awesome for most people to remember.

So the closest answer was the Navy, which Zemby guessed first, so there is your first winner. Hurray! Zemby is also the first person who has thanked me for serving (even if I haven't technically served yet) and this was just the most amazing feeling. I never really thought people would say that to me: I mean I've said it about a thousand times, but it feels so strangely different when someone else is saying it to you. In any case, thank you Zemby! You made me smile. A lot. :)

It was my amazing laynee, who always writes me the best reviews, who got it the closest through summarization: "I'm going to guess Navy or Marines. Gut instinct tells me Navy. Something about you being aboard a 'ship' of any sort seems to fit."

Laynee, you melt my heart. :)))

So Zemby and laynee (you amazing people, you!) get to send me prompts for my next two Jim/Bones one-shots! I'm dying to see what they come up with. :D

Thank you so much to everyone else who reviewed: GBFreak1, J loves JS, Thomson, kayenem, xRandomosityx, spinalcracker, Shameless Spocker, TipsyTippyToes, Solo by Choice, moviesaremagic, ackeberlynn, magnoliatf, and phoenixluv! Your support means the world to me. :)