Chapter Seven - Jim

After all these years, after all these fights, I have finally realized something. Something very important, when it comes to starship captains.

Captains and Sickbays just don't mix.

It's not the first time I've been confined to a Sickbay diagnostic bed, and it certainly won't be the last. And every time, Bones has to patch me up, give me a shot, and send me right back up to the bridge. The Babel mission excluded, of course.

Reason one: A captain should be on the bridge, where he belongs. Not lying down on the job. It makes me feel weak and helpless. A captain should not show weakness in front of his crew, especially not me.

Reason two: When confined to Sickbay, I often find that I have nothing to do. And therefore, my constant complaining nearly drives Bones up the bulkheads. He always comes just short of sedating me just to keep me quiet. Which sometimes amuses me anyway, the way I can make him go stir-crazy within minutes. Hey, if it gives me something to do, why not?

This time, the boredom wasn't quite so bad. After all, I had Sargon to talk to. And thinking back, I found that I had actually missed him. True, the first time he had taken over by force and nearly killed me, but that led to one of the greatest adventures I have had as of yet. And thanks to Sargon's new host body, I am now shielded from Henoch's influence...for the time being.

Sargon was curled up on my chest, and since he weighed so little it didn't bother my broken ribs at all. It was the middle of the sleep cycle, and I could not make myself sleep. Everyone else on the ship, with the possible exception of Spock and the midnight crew, were safe in their quarters. Out on a dark bed in Sickbay with only the light of my heartbeat monitor to illuminate the room, I felt vulnerable. To what, I can't say.

I couldn't shake the feeling of being alone. No one else on the ship was injured or sick, so Sickbay was virtually empty. A rarity on board the Enterprise, to be sure. It only added to the eerieness of my situation.

I don't know how long I lay there, but finally the loneliness got to be too much. I gently removed Sargon from my chest and placed him on the pillow, then slowly sat up. Small slivers of pain worked their way through my ribs, but I could manage.

After easing myself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed, I cautiously tried to stand up.

Whoa. BIG mistake.

My legs buckled and I nearly fell, stabbing pain lancing through my ankles. I grabbed onto the edge of the bed for support, then very carefully tried again. The pain was less than before, and I could stand. But I was a little shaky, having been confined to that damn bed for a few days. My body hadn't recovered from the beating I had received - worse than a beating, that thing was trying to KILL me.

But after taking two steps, I stopped. Something was wrong. The ship was quiet...TOO quiet. I couldn't even hear the midnight security guards walking down the corridors. My 'captain's instincts' were telling me that it was not as it seemed.

A low chuckle sliced through the silence, almost growling in front of me. [Why, James Kirk, must you always be so stubborn?]

That voice...

[I've tried to kill you twice, why won't you just accept your fate?]

Tried to kill me...two times?

[This time, I'll make sure the job is finished.]

"What do you want from me, Henoch?" I demanded, staking a cautious step backward. "We left you back on your planet in peace. Why must you insist on killing me?"

A living flame burst into view as he approached. [I seek only revenge, my dear Captain.] The golden disc glinted in the faint light, right above two red eyes and bared teeth. [You sought to destroy me. I have the right to protect myself, do I not?]

James Tiberiouskirk! Sargon's voice said. It is Henoch!

Yes, I realize that, I thought in annoyance. You care to do anything about it?

Of course! I will transfer! You run to get Doctor McCoy while I hold Henoch here.

Before I could ask what he meant, I felt the sudden sensation of being sucked out of my body. I had only felt like that once before...when Sargon first took over my body.

And, quite abruptly, I was three inches tall.

~~~~~~

I ran down the corridor, scared out of my wits. Sargon had just traded bodies with me, again! And now I was a damn LIZARD!

I darted into Bones' quarters and quickly spotted him, asleep at his desk. I ran over and tugged on his boot. Bones! Bones, wake up!

McCoy blinked sleepily, looking down at me. "Huh? Oh, its just that damn lizard of Spock's. Go away, you blasted thing."

BONES! It's me, Jim!

It quickly became obvious that he couldn't understand me, so I ran over to where he kept old-fashioned pens and paper. I quickly scrawled a message, 'Bones, it's me Jim!' I held it up so he could see it.

"What the HELL?" He was definitely wide-awake now. "You can't be the captain!"

I wrote more. 'Sargon switched with me again.'

"Damn."

I nodded and kept writing. 'Henoch's in Sickbay! He's attacking me as that alien!'

Bones was up and out the door before I could blink. Dammit Bones, wait for meeee!