Hey Guys! so after almost TWO YEARS of using the same image for this story I finally colored it. =)

Enjoy!


Kirk woke up to his alarm and started coughing. He felt awful. He sat up and immediately lay back down, exhausted. He coughed again.

"Bones I think I'm dying." he moaned.

"What do you mean by that?" asked McCoy, who was already up, having gotten up with Spock's alarm that morning. He attempted to answer and broke down into a coughing fit.

After Kirk stopped coughing Bones placed a hand on his forehead. "Dang it. You've got a fever. hold on." Bones went into the bathroom and came back with a thermometer.

"Open up." Kirk did. "One hundred and two degrees." read McCoy. "And counting." he glanced at Kirk. "You should stay in bed. I'll tell the principal."

"No, I'm fine... I'm not sick." He sat up, clenching his eyes shut for a moment, dizzy, then smiled. "I'll be fine!"

"Lay back down right this instant!" demanded Bones. "A minute ago you claimed to be dying!"

"Now I'm fine." said Kirk. "Spock, tell him I'm fine."

"I will not undermine Leonard's opinion in this area. He is after all, a medical student. Even as simply a human he is more qualified than me to determine your state of health."

Kirk crossed his arms. "Well I'm human too, and I say I'm okay." He smiled once and then devolved into a coughing fit, trying to stand. Bones pushed him back down so he was sitting. Not being rough, just, firm.

"Lay down or else I will find some way to dye your hair green." threatened Bones. Kirk lay back down.

"But I have classes..."he whined.

"I don't give a hoot about your classes! You can just smile and talk your way back into good graces for missing a day or two, especially because it's because you're sick." Bones crossed his arms. "And if I have to lock you in here to get you to rest, then I will."

Jim coughed again. "Fine..." he moaned and curled up under the covers. "But tomorrow I'm going back to our regularly scheduled lives."

"There's nothing regular about our lives." grumbled McCoy, grabbing his PADD and moving to leave the room. Spock followed him out, leaving Kirk alone.

He thought to get out of bed, but it honestly felt really nice to just lay there...although he was cold surprisingly. and tired. He soon fell asleep.


Bones was pretty sure he had done poorly in class today, he had hardly been paying attention. He was thinking about Jim, wondering if he had stayed in bed or if he had gotten up and left the room, being stubborn as usual.

He met up with Spock on the way back to the room.

"You think he's still there?"

"No." answered the Vulcan. "I doubt James would show such an...uncharacteristic display of logic."

"Good way of putting it."

"Hey! Spock! Bones!" Christine ran up in between the two boys. "Good I found you, don't you two ever keep your PADD or a communicator on your or anything?"

"It isn't required to."

"I know. Anyway, I'm supposed to tell you that Jim is in the infirmary after he started acting feverish in class and almost fainted"

"Dang it. I knew wouldn't stay in bed. Is he okay?"

"Yeah...mostly...He's a little bit, loopy." she explained.

"Meaning?"

"He was talking his hand when I left..."

"Is this something we should be concerned about?" asked Spock.

"No, just a fever, no danger."

"Jim is a danger to himself even when he's healthy." said McCoy, walking toward the infirmary. Christine walked with him and Spock, talking mostly to Spock. McCoy let them.

"Hey, we're here to see James Kirk." said Bones.

"OH, you missed him. Doctor Tranyar had him moved back to his room." said the nurse. "Sorry, cadet." Bones sighed.

"Okay I'm going to our room then. Thank you." Spock and Bones left, saying goodbye to Christine as they did.

Spock opened the door to their room. All the blankets had been taken from Leonard's and Spock's beds and Jim was lying on his bed beneath them, sound asleep.

Bones sat down at the desk and got to work on his homework in total silence. Spock sat on his bed and did the same.

About an hour later, James sat up, hardly even awake.

"Chris, turn off the lights." he mumbled.

"James. Christo-"began Spock.

"Sure, Jim." interrupted Bones. "Computer, dim lights." the lights went to a level where they may as well have been turned off-making it fortunate McCoy and Spock were working on electronic devices. Jim flopped back down on his bed, mumbling something about The Color Purple.

Bones sent Spock a message on his PADD.

'Don't try to correct his delusions. He isn't awake or lucid enough when he is to understand.'

Spock replied;

'And yet this illness has no threat to James?'

'No. His fever isn't high enough for that, And if it were, we have the medical technology to bring it back down almost instantly. But it's healthier to let the fever just run it's course in this case.'

'I recall Jim once telling us that he didn't get sick.'

'Everyone get sick. His lucky streak in avoiding just happened to finally end. Also, if he says anything else I'm writing it down for blackmail in case his ego gets any larger or he gets any stupid ideas in the near future.'

'I must advise against such a course.'

'Whatever, Hobgoblin.' Bones looked up from his PADD and over at Jim. He had to admit he didn't like seeing his friend sick.

Spock didn't either


"Uggh." Jim sat up in bed the morning after next. "My head hurts."

"Are you still hallucinating though?" asked Bones.

"What?" said Jim. "I don't remember that."

"I know. Don't worry I wrote it all down. Also, we may now finally have a list of every girl you dated."

"Gee, thanks Bones. So kind of you." Kirk got up. "Not dizzy...that's good." Spock came out of the bathroom, saw Kirk up, went back in and came back with the thermometer.

Bones took his temperature. "And you're ninety-eight point six." Kirk coughed.

"Good. I hate being sick. I haven't had a fever since I was eight."

"lucky." grumbled Bones. "Also, you're supposed to rest today."

"But Bones-"

"I will lock you in here so help me god! For real this time!" threatened Leonard. Kirk sighed.

"Can I go out tonight?"

"We'll see." Kirk grinned.

"What is the smile for, James?" asked Spock.

"That means yes." Leonard and left the room.

But really, despite his complaining, he hadn't minded taking care of Jim-with Spock's help-and was grateful that he was better.


Two things. First is This fic is currently the 18th most reviewed in the TOS archive on ! Kind of amazing when you think about just how many TOS stories there are. So thanks guys. =)

Secondly, for those of you reading my Mirror Mirror Back At The Academy Story. I would like to continue it but I could really use a prompt or two to get me working on it again. So any idea you guys have for it (or for this) are greatly appreciated!