Author's Notes: Sherok is a fictional planet, made up by me. You copy it, and I will be forced to send my anti-plagerism tribbles after you. ^_~
Chapter Two - Leonard McCoy
When the turbolift doors opened onto the bridge, I was surprised to see that Jim was already there. He's usually not early, so I make it a point to get there before him. He likes to sleep in when he can, and on more than one occasion I've had to go wake him up. And yet there he was, sitting in his command chair like he'd been there forever.
That instantly raised my 'Doctor's Alarm' as I called it. As I walked over to stand behind him, I noticed the subtle signs of restlessness on his face. Evidently the captain hadn't gotten much sleep last night.
"Good morning, Jim."
"Oh, hi Bones," he replied. There was a certain strength lacking from his voice that I picked up on right away.
"You're up rather early," I commented as casually as I could.
His only reply was a nod. Jim looked distracted, and fairly tired. That worried me, as both a doctor and his friend. Normally at this point he would be talking his head off, excited about some mission or something.
I considered dragging him down to Sickbay to figure out what was wrong, but that would embarrass him badly. And I sure wasn't going to ask while he was on duty, in front of the entire bridge crew. So my only option was to wait.
~~~~~~
"Sir, we've reached the planet Sherok," Sulu reported.
"Slow to impulse power for orbit," Jim replied.
"Aye sir."
I watched from behind Jim's chair, still worried about him. I'd known him long enough to tell when he's trying to hide something from people, but I couldn't tell exactly what. Hopefully the shore leave on Sherok would give me a chance to figure it out.
"We have achieved standard orbit, Captain," Sulu said.
The conversation was routine, the usual military language between the bridge crew. Technically, I wasn't supposed to be on the bridge as often as I am, but since I'm Jim's friend I guess they consider me to be a vital part of the officers up here. After all, it's my job to put them back together after an especially difficult mission...like the last one. I can't tell you how terrified I was to see Jim on the floor of the Briefing Room, even though I knew it wasn't his consciousness. Pronouncing him to be dead was nearly impossible.
I stared at the back of Jim's head. Only two days ago, Sargon had been him. The strain had been almost too much for him the first two times, once on the planet and once in Sickbay. And then he had even died on his own ship. Maybe it was just his way of recovering from that rather eerie situation. That would certainly explain his strange behavior.
"Ready for some well-earned shore leave, Bones?" Jim asked me, turning his chair a little to look at me.
"Of course I am. If I have to put up with any more mysterious aliens, I swear I'll jump ship," I half-joked. That provoked a smile from Jim, and one of those weird looks from Spock.
"Right there with you, Bones," Jim said, rising from his command chair. He headed for the turbolift, and I followed. "With luck, shore leave should go fine."
Satisfied that he was beginning to act more like himself, I mocked being angry. "Dammit Jim, now you just jinxed my vacation!"
Chapter Two - Leonard McCoy
When the turbolift doors opened onto the bridge, I was surprised to see that Jim was already there. He's usually not early, so I make it a point to get there before him. He likes to sleep in when he can, and on more than one occasion I've had to go wake him up. And yet there he was, sitting in his command chair like he'd been there forever.
That instantly raised my 'Doctor's Alarm' as I called it. As I walked over to stand behind him, I noticed the subtle signs of restlessness on his face. Evidently the captain hadn't gotten much sleep last night.
"Good morning, Jim."
"Oh, hi Bones," he replied. There was a certain strength lacking from his voice that I picked up on right away.
"You're up rather early," I commented as casually as I could.
His only reply was a nod. Jim looked distracted, and fairly tired. That worried me, as both a doctor and his friend. Normally at this point he would be talking his head off, excited about some mission or something.
I considered dragging him down to Sickbay to figure out what was wrong, but that would embarrass him badly. And I sure wasn't going to ask while he was on duty, in front of the entire bridge crew. So my only option was to wait.
~~~~~~
"Sir, we've reached the planet Sherok," Sulu reported.
"Slow to impulse power for orbit," Jim replied.
"Aye sir."
I watched from behind Jim's chair, still worried about him. I'd known him long enough to tell when he's trying to hide something from people, but I couldn't tell exactly what. Hopefully the shore leave on Sherok would give me a chance to figure it out.
"We have achieved standard orbit, Captain," Sulu said.
The conversation was routine, the usual military language between the bridge crew. Technically, I wasn't supposed to be on the bridge as often as I am, but since I'm Jim's friend I guess they consider me to be a vital part of the officers up here. After all, it's my job to put them back together after an especially difficult mission...like the last one. I can't tell you how terrified I was to see Jim on the floor of the Briefing Room, even though I knew it wasn't his consciousness. Pronouncing him to be dead was nearly impossible.
I stared at the back of Jim's head. Only two days ago, Sargon had been him. The strain had been almost too much for him the first two times, once on the planet and once in Sickbay. And then he had even died on his own ship. Maybe it was just his way of recovering from that rather eerie situation. That would certainly explain his strange behavior.
"Ready for some well-earned shore leave, Bones?" Jim asked me, turning his chair a little to look at me.
"Of course I am. If I have to put up with any more mysterious aliens, I swear I'll jump ship," I half-joked. That provoked a smile from Jim, and one of those weird looks from Spock.
"Right there with you, Bones," Jim said, rising from his command chair. He headed for the turbolift, and I followed. "With luck, shore leave should go fine."
Satisfied that he was beginning to act more like himself, I mocked being angry. "Dammit Jim, now you just jinxed my vacation!"
