For Author's note and disclaimer, see chapter 1
Chapter 34
"Tis all working now so it is," Scotty beamed as he came up on the bridge. "Aye, we got a lot left to do, bit of this and that all over the place. But we've got full life support, we got the engines goin' an' all the food synthesizers are working again, well, apart from the one in the rec-room on E deck, but that one has a life of its own so it does. I don't know once it's been doing what it should, I'd be downright worried if it had been working actually."
"Then I'm glad it doesn't," Jim mused. "Thanks Scotty, you have no idea how welcome this news is."
"Oh, I've gotter an idea," he grinned. "Say, might be a good time to get a bite to eat yourself sir, don't reckon it'll make much difference, but might be a good idea if not everyone went at once."
"Which would make us the guinea pigs," Jim grinned. "I think I can live with that this once. Alright, you want to join us? I thought we'd take it back to my cabin, see if we can tear Bones away from the computer long enough to make him realize he needs to eat."
"Aye, that'd take some doing," Scotty grinned. "Ah used to think Mr. Spock was bad back with Captain Pike, but I reckon McCoy can give him a run for the money any day of the week."
"That he does," Jim nodded. "How someone can actually forget to eat and sleep is beyond me, but they do it, both of them. Well, Spock doesn't forget, he just decides he does not need it and then he don't. Bones forgets, I think the record is around twelve hours or so just because whatever it was he was doing was really interesting, or so he said."
"Aye, sounds like the good doctor alright," Scotty grinned again, then his features turned more somber. "Say Captain, how is the doctor doin'? I mean, I ain't had a chance to talk to him so I haven't, and he wasn't looking none too good when I did catch a glimpse o' him yesterday."
"Apparently he was already coming down sick when it happened," Jim found he didn't want to describe it any closer than so. It had been bad enough finding him like it, he did not want to remember it and Scotty would know what he was referring to anyway. "So now he's got pneumonia and is annoyed as heck with me for ordering him to rest, and thrilled like you wouldn't believe because he now has a lung sample with pneumonia that he can fool about with. I think he's annoyed I won't let him yet," Scotty would understand how he meant. He knew McCoy well enough for that. The two of them got along really well even if they did not have much in common in their different pursuits.
"That does sound like the doctor," Scotty beamed. "He'll be alright then I ken, Ah was getting a wee bit worried there, but he's on about all o' that he'll be alright."
"He will," Jim agreed. "And if we got heat back he'll be able to work in the lab in sickbay at least. That should keep him happy, and as crazy as I think it sounds, he's got a point, wanting to perfect treatment. I can't really fault him for that."
"Yea couldnae stop him if ye tried," Scotty soothed with a bright smile.
"And I wouldn't want to try," Jim decided. "If we grab some lunch now, why don't you join us? I doubt he'll mind and if he's really engrossed in it I could use some help dragging him away."
"Ah wouldn't mind so I wouldn't," Scotty beamed.
"Spock, what do you say about an early lunch break?" Jim turned in the Captain's chair to where Spock stood by the science stated. Appearing quite engrossed himself.
"It would be satisfactorily if not necessary Captain," the Vulcan decided.
"Good," Jim rubbed his hands together in a pleased gesture as he stood. "Let's see what we can shake loose out of the food synthesizer."
"Captain, I do not see how shaking the unit would in any way be beneficial," Spock raised a querying eyebrow.
"Figure of speech Mr. Spock," Jim smiled lightly. "Just a figure of speech, Mr. Sulu, you have the conn."
"Yes sir," the navigator nodded as he turned his attention back to the station in front of him.
Scotty led the way with the enthusiasm of someone who had repaired something everyone else wanted and they soon found themselves in the mess hall. With a bowl of plomeek soup, and one haggis already on the plates Jim found himself trying to determine what to coax out of the machine. Keying in a classic hamburger with fries because while Bones would gripe about it he wasn't there to stop him. There was no reason for him to only have a chicken salad after all, no matter what the doctor said.
"Something th' matter there?" Scotty frowned.
"Bones didn't seem to have much of an appetite before," Jim admitted. After all, a good captain should notice such things and be concerned for their men. "And it's not really surprising either I guess, but I'm not really sure what he'd like." There were a stack of diet cards on the table next to the machine, and he could use his own card for a second meal on occasion. The cards were both in order to keep track but also in case a crew man had a certain needs or an allergy. Since McCoy didn't really have any special needs that wouldn't be a problem and he could use either one he wanted.
"Aye, that's a bit of pickle alright," Scotty nodded. "If he's feeling a bit poorly he'll be wanting something light and easy so he will."
"And I figured something that he really likes, he usually goes more on nutrition and values," Jim sighed. One should know more of what ones best friend liked to eat. He had a fairly good general idea of Bones, but he probably knew Spock's preferences better and he wasn't sure if he liked that.
"Why don't ye try a wee bit of fried chicken n' mashed potatoes? That'd suit the laddie I'd think," Scotty offered and he nodded. It sounded like something that McCoy might enjoy, southern enough and not extreme. Fairly easy to digest and somewhat nutritus.
Keying in the command and taking both trays he led the way down to his quarters, smiling softly when he found Bones by the computer, not even looking up, or really away from the screen even when he was coughing into his elbow.
"Hey Doc," he grinned as they entered and put the trays down on the table.
"Hmm?" attention still full on the project he barely acknowledged them.
"Aye, that's the good doctor alright," Scotty beamed happily. "We got a wee bit of lunch for ye so we do. I ken ye oughter eat laddie."
"Hmm," hunched over he simply keyed in a fresh set of commands in the computer.
"Remind me never to put him on guard duty," Jim shook his head softly with a smile. Scotty was beaming from ear to ear. "Doc, Bones, we brought lunch."
"I heard you," he frowned at the screen, running a hand over his face and Jim noted he still looked to be running a bit of a temperature. Hopefully he was keeping an eye on it. "I really need to get to the lab to work on this."
"Well, maybe after you've eaten we'll see what we can do," Jim stated and that had his attention. His head snapped up as he looked at them.
"Powers all restored, opening up all areas," Scotty grinned. "We pulled it off so we did, and even got the food synthesizers working for good measure."
"That's great Scotty," McCoy pushed himself back from the computer with a smile. "Then I need to get to the lab."
"Hold it there," Jim held up a firm hand, wondering how a captain was supposed to manage with a crew like this. Didn't even one of them have enough sense? Really, anyone who was in any way ill should know better than to want to run off to a lab without even eating first. "You are going to eat first, and then we'll see. We need to make sure the ventilation system and heating are working properly in all those places, and give them a chance to acclimate themselves again after having power restored. Until then, it's here or sickbay for you." Bringing the trays over they tried to arrange them on the narrow space of the desk. There was barely enough for all four of them since the cabin was not really made to entertain.
McCoy looked like he was about to object at first, but then he nodded slowly. Probably because Jim had offered sickbay as a middle ground he mused. Well, sickbay had a pretty good lab even if the larger ones were better equipped. It would allow him to get started and he knew it, it also meant that Chapel would be able to keep a better eye on him, and Jim knew that. As far as middle grounds went, it wasn't half bad.
Glancing over the trays he frowned as he took in the contents on the Captain's and Jim tried to look innocent as if he had not even realized that his selection might not be suitable. Then he figured Bones would never go for that. "Given the last few days, I wanted to indulge," he stated. "And I honestly saw nothing wrong with that."
"Indulging once is fine," McCoy shrugged. "It's when you do it too often it gets to be a problem." He started on the fried chicken and mashed potato well aware that he needed it more than he wanted it. It wasn't a bad choice, easy enough to digest and enough of a home feel to make it enjoyable. It was just the illness and medication that was killing his appetite and made him struggle with it.
"When I was sick my mom used to make me creamy soup and grilled cheese toast," Jim started with a grin. "She'd use cookie cutters to make shapes in the toast. Always loved that."
"Aye, a mother will do that," Scotty grinned, picking his cue from the captain. "Aye, my mom would make the best cock-a-leekie soup ya ever had, and she'd be putting little crackers in it so she would."
"Your mom ever did anything like that, Spock?" Jim prodded gently.
"Though completely unnecessary as it served no purpose, she would indeed," Spock inclined his head. "While I was unable to determine why she thought it would be needed, she would make small bread patties to eat with plomeek soup, completely illogical."
"Aye, but Ah bet ya ye loved it just the same," Scotty grinned.
"It was, pleasant," Spock finally decided while Bones frowned at them.
"What did your mom do when you were sick Bones?" Jim prodded with a grin. "Having no clue, we went with just fried chicken, did you ever get figure shaped toast?"
The doctor looked up with a frown, and it struck Jim he did not look happy at all with the way the conversation was going.
"Your dad was a doctor Bones," he prodded. "If anyone would know how to treat sick kids I'm guessing it would be him. All parents spoil their kids when they're sick, it's a parental law."
"Aye, that it is," Scotty grinned though he felt the smile falter a little when the man stared stubbornly into his mashed potato. "Come now laddie, they must'a have done something."
"Bones…" Jim prodded softly, feeling a little uneasy for having brought it up.
"My mama would leave a thermos of chicken soup in the kitchen before they went to their work," McCoy stated his voice unemotional. There was none of the drawl that he had when he was either relaxed or angry, just the controlled tightness from when he was trying very hard not to be emotional about anything.
"Yer parents left yer all by yer lonesome when ye was sick? That's just no' right," Scotty frowned.
"Neither her office nor the hospital readily agreed to them taking time off, especially not for a kid that got sick all the time," McCoy scowled at him. "Anyway, if we got all systems working again I need to get some work done, can't stay cooped up in here the whole blasted day." He pushed up from the table and squeezed past Scotty.
"Bones…" Jim pursed his lips, trying to figure out what to say. Obviously it bothered his friend, and they sure hadn't done him any favors.
He noticed McCoy pausing, shoulders stiff. "I'm just not hungry Jim, I appreciate it, but I don't really have an appetite and I'd much rather feel like I was at least doing something… It's fine down in sickbay now, ain't it?"
"Yeah, it should be fine down there now," he nodded. "Just don't overdo it, okay?"
He was rewarded with a noncommittal grunt that could have meant anything as McCoy left the cabin.
"Well, that didnae work," Scotty decided. "I don't ken, how anyone would just leave their bairn like tha' though. It just ain't right so it's not."
"If I had known, I would never have brought it up," Jim found he did not have much appetite for his own food anymore. "I suppose we should be glad they left him soup."
"It has been my understanding that the Doctor's mother was not in possession of any grater culinary skills," Spock stated, eating his plomeek soup. "It might actually be that Doctor McCoy would have much prefered if she had not done so."
"Aye, it might be," Scotty nodded. "Still ain't right though."
"No, it's not, I know he said once his parents worked long hours, I suppose it wasn't easy for them," Jim sighed. "But I never figured they'd leave him alone, sick. I hope it was because they did not have much choice, but even so it can't have been any fun for him."
"Might be why he'd rather work than admit to anyone he's feelin' a bit under the weather," Scotty decided. "I ken I would've have been the same way if I was him."
Jim nodded, finishing his lunch more because he needed it than because he felt like it. For someone who was so open and emotional as Bones, he sure was hiding a lot of rather depressive things, even from his friends. It seemed wrong that the one who was always taking care of the rest of them, gentle and cheerful with young inexperienced crew members, apparently had not really had anyone who took care of him the same way. Had he really learned all that from just working a little with his grandfather then? He really wished he could get his friend to talk more about it, but when it was something he did not want the others to know, Bones was as private as Spock.
Well, he'd go down to sickbay later and at least make sure he was doing okay under the circumstances. At least for whatever good it did, Bones would know they had meant no harm.
Funny how much you could do while not meaning to...
TBC
Thank you all who's read and reviewed, the Cricket is thrilled.
