By the look on the Captain and Doctor's faces, that was the wrong thing for Scotty to say.
"No Scotty, it's not just a broken bloody ankle! We're talking about your health, your life!"
McCoy yelled, then Kirk joined in and clearly he wasn't going to go easy on the Scotsman.
"You work down in the most dangerous place on this ship, one false move down there and you could kill yourself! More so when you're walking around on a broken ankle!"
Scotty just sat there as his crew mates continued to scold him, for what he saw as a tiny thing.
Even if he wanted to say anything, there was no way for him to get a single word in.
Soon the yelling came to an end, after several minutes. Any longer and McCoy was sure he would lose his voice, alongside Kirk.
Both of their faces were flushed red with anger, and they weren't going to return to their normal colour anytime soon.
"Well…Have you got anything to say for yourself?" Kirk asked while folding his arms, making him look like McCoy.
"Does it matter if I do? You'll probably just yell at me again…" Scotty grumbled as he turned his head away.
At hearing Scotty's words and the sadness in his voice, Kirk's harsh eyes slowly softened. "I've never heard him sound so sad."
And Kirk wasn't the only one, McCoy also had took note at how sad and defeated their Scotsman sounded.
Maybe yelling at Scotty wasn't the best idea, nor the most comforting thing to do.
With a quiet sigh, Kirk sat himself down on the edge of Scotty's bed. Avoiding the Scotsman's bad ankle.
"Sorry for yelling Scotty, but I only did it because I care. But, I'm struggling to figure out why you didn't just tell us that you were hurt."
"I don't have time to be lying about Jim, there are things to be done. I'm the Chief Engineer, I'm supposed to be looking after the ship we all live on…"
Scotty still hadn't turn to face Kirk, "Besides, I thought you would just take the piss."
"Now why would we do that?" McCoy asked softly.
"I fell down a fucking verge, like a bloody moron! You have every right to laugh at me for that, not to mention the fact that I broke my dam ankle."
Scotty sounded even more upset, clearly he was taking this whole thing badly.
Just then he felt a hand get placed on top of his, he glanced over to see it was Kirk's hand.
"We wouldn't have taken the piss Scotty, sure we may have laughed at the initial incident. But as soon as we had seen you were hurt, we would have stopped."
"You don't have to act so dam tough all the time Scotty, it's alright to admit you're hurt."
It was McCoy who had said that, as he sat down on the Scotsman's other side.
"But, I'm…" Scotty started, but Kirk cut him off.
"But nothing Scotty, it's caused us just as much pain watching you limp around. I know you're the Ships CEO, but you need to take care of yourself. If you don't do that, then you can't look after the Enterprise, simple as that."
There was a long silence, that was until McCoy broke it.
"Basically Scotty, we need you to be at your best so you can keep this ship together. I don't think we could ever get a better Chief Engineer, so god help us if anything ever happened to you."
Scotty still had his head hung low, "How long will I be off my feet for?" Of course that was his biggest concern.
"About a month, possibly two. But that's needed to make sure your ankle heals, so there won't be any arguments."
McCoy's voice was soft but also stern, that wasn't what Scotty wanted to hear but he knew he only had himself to blame.
"Fair enough, I'm sorry for hiding it from you lads. I guess I was more concerned about hurting my pride."
Scotty felt a hand on his shoulder, which made him lift his head up finally.
"Don't worry, your pride is intact Scotty. Now, rest up. I'll try and keep the ship from getting blown to bits while you recover."
Kirk smiled cheekily at the Scotsman, who returned the same smile.
"Aye, I will Jim. Don't worry, I'm sure the wee lad Keenser can keep things together for a month or two."
Scotty gave a little wink, both to Kirk and McCoy.
At least now Scotty knew to just admit he was in pain instead of hiding it, sure the guys may laugh a bit but they would quickly turn to caring.
