25. Shatter
Bones cradled his friend's head in his lap, watching the reassuring rise and fall of the younger man's chest. He pushed sweat dampened hair from Jim's equally wet forehead and sighed as he took his friend's pulse. "Dammit Jim... I wanna lock you inna room and just...keep you there."
Anything else he was going to say was cut off as the door of their cell opened and a figure was thrown in front of them. Bones was up immediately, kneeling next to his other friend. "You alright?"
Spock sat up gingerly, holding his side. "I am injured but can function. These people are rather primitive in their torture techniques."
"All you can expect from a world that still believes pointed ears signify demonic influence." Bones muttered, looking over the numerous injuries the Vulcan had sustained. "We need to get these looked at."
But Spock was staring over his shoulder with a look that boarder lined on concern and the doctor had to give in and pull away slightly. "He's fine. Just resting."
Spock observed his friend's flushed face; the slight shake of his shoulders and the way he cradled his arm. "He's hurt."
"They shattered the bones in his arm with that damn rockslide earlier. He's going to be fine. You're hurt much worse, now let me look at you. I'll need your help to fix his arm."
The Vulcan sat stoically through all of his ministrations, not even flinching as Bones cleaned and bandaged the wounds to the best of his abilities. Then Spock and Bones moved to Jim and hauled him up; Spock pulling him into his lap and wrapping around one of his arms as Bones took the other one gently and nodded to the Vulcan.
Jim didn't scream through the splinting and merely jerked in the stronger man's arms. Bones moved quickly and soon the arm was tied to his chest and the younger man could slump into the space between his friends. They sat in silence for a time before Bones came back to his idea. "A padded room...and whenever anything dangerous happens, we lock him in it."
Spock raised an eyebrow. "An interesting proposal."
"Shut up both of you..." Jim stirred slightly. "I'm not nearly as bad as all that..."
"Yes you are."