It was just last night, but it seemed so long ago. He supposed part of that was due to him sleeping for fourteen hours straight. Still, the field bandaging T'osa had performed on him stopped the bleeding, so at least he could sleep. "Sorry," Stephen offered. "I wasn't expecting things to get that far out of hand."
"Look at this bruising, too," Dorrin commented, looking curiouly at the bruise on his chest and cheek. "How in the world did all this happen?" Rass removed the dermal regenerator from its drawer and began recalibrating it.
"Um..." Kirk stumbled for the words. He was never a good liar. "I was... excercising."
Finished with the calibrations, the doctor began applying it to the fresh wound. "Exercising?" He looked incredulous. "What kind of exercising were you doing? I thought you were on Romulus yesterday."
"I was," Kirk replied wincing as the skin began to regraft onto itself.
"Then what were you..." a look of recognition crossed the doctor's face. His eyes bulged as a smile crossed his face. "Oh!" He nodded. "Never mind... never mind. Who would have thought romulan women liked to play rough." Rass elbowed Stephen in the shoulder. "I guess there's a little klingon in those women as well as vulcan, eh?"
Kirk smiled. He really didn't like the idea of the doctor thinking he was promiscuous. Not only was it against his faith, but it would be just one MORE comparison between him and his great grandfather. "I guess so," he offered meekly.
"She must mean a lot to you," he concluded, his voice getting softer. The repairs complete, the doctor put the regenerator back in its drawer.
"How do you figure?" Stephen was genuinely interested in knowing how the doctor came to that conclusion.
"You don't strike me as the kind of person who would go and do something rash like that."
Rash... that would certainly have described his actions as of late. What WAS he feeling towards her? She was a spy, after all. For all he know, she was trying to get him caught in order to stage an intergalactic incident. If that was the case, surely it must have backfired. I mean, what plan would have involved getting trapped in the transponder room and getting shot by a disruptor? In the end, her plan almost got him killed. "I didn't think I was, either," he countered, staring at the ceiling. "And I probably won't be ever again."
Doctor Rass smiled. "'probably won't'... that sounds so... indefinite." He helped Stephen off the medical bed. "You're still cleared to return to work tomorrow."
"Thanks, doc." Kirk said with a weak smile. He put his shirt on and slowly walked towards the door.
"Oh, Commander," Dorrin called after him. Kirk turned around. "If that 'probably won't' turns into a 'probably'... you might want to consider some protection... like body armor."
Kirk considered his statement. "I'll keep that in mind."