Here's the second part, everyone! Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement in my studies! I really appreciate all of you guys being so understanding and more importantly, so supportive!
I hope you all enjoy, and again, as always, please review! They make my day! :)
(Edit 09/30/14: Someone mentioned that I should have a trigger warning up here in regards to something I mentioned in this chapter. In order to really make the antagonist in this chapter to have a real reason to hate Jim and go after him so blatantly, I had to make up something drastic. The point of this antagonist's background is to explain how he went from normal to having a psychotic break that made him go after Jim, but I guess I should have given a warning before I went about that. Just letting you all know, I did mention rape in this part of the story. I'm sorry for anyone who's already read it and got upset that I didn't warn the readers beforehand, and I apologize for any future readers if that character's background offends or upsets anyone. It really was not my intention. Based on what I've seen and read in psychology books, usually when a person has a psychotic break, there's a stressor, and it is generally pretty severe in order to make a crack in someone's reality. That was what I was going for. I hope that explains things a bit, but just so I cover all my bases: trigger warning for mention of rape, and again I'm truly sorry if I upset anyone.)
Disclaimer: I do not own any Star Trek franchise.
XVI
Fake it 'til You Make it
Part 2
For the next few days, Jim kept to his agreement to Bones. He spent most of his day (both Alpha and Beta shift) sleeping to stave off the boredom, but once a day, he'd poke his head out of his quarters and have a meal (usually dinner) with his Command crew. They'd walk him back to his room before they retired for the night, fully expecting Jim to go to sleep as well, but the night was when Jim became truly active.
Every night, as Gamma shift started, Jim would quietly make his way through his bathroom and knock on Spock's door. Spock would answer, follow Jim back to his room, and pick out a workout outfit for him (Jim had tried picking his own clothes once, but that ended very badly. Turns out that that was one thing he couldn't train himself to figure out, not that it was something that he cared too much about it.)
Both would then make their way to the most empty observation deck to spar. Their workout probably lasted about two hours – just long enough to wear Jim out and short enough that he didn't have any huge bodily injury that they would have to call McCoy to handle (unlike the very first time Jim started this with Spock).
Once finished, Spock would lay out clothes as Jim showered. It was generally the standard Starfleet black uniform – he was well aware that Jim didn't go to sleep after their workout. He wasn't sure what Jim did, but if Jim didn't offer the information, he wasn't going to ask.
Patiently, Spock would wait until Jim was dried off and fully dressed before he retired back to his own room, leaving Jim to his own devices. (It was very lucky that Spock didn't need as much sleep as a normal human. In fact, he was sure that was why Jim picked him instead of Sulu or anyone else to spar with in the first place. Jim was selfless – he would never purposely take away from someone else for his own benefit if he could help it, and Spock's sleeping cycle was completely unchanged by Jim's request.)
Jim would spend the rest of the Gamma shift wandering his ship, mapping every inch of her. There was always some Ensign who would keep him company. It was almost like they were waiting outside of his door for him. Every time he stepped out, it wouldn't be more than two minutes before someone joined him. Sometimes, (because he did spend hours walking around and people had duties), he would be accompanied by two or more different Ensigns per night.
Logically, he knew his pride would have started to question them and wonder if it was because they didn't trust him on his own. He would have been (and should be) infuriated by that normally, but not once did a single one act like he was handicapped. They all were like Penelope and Charlene – never reaching out to lead him like a guide dog. Instead, they talked and let their voices lead him, only gently maneuvering him out of the way of a random object in their path if Scotty's earpiece didn't catch it in time.
If Jim had to be honest, he was really touched that his crew cared that much. He always knew that his crew was loyal, but to be so understanding and considerate when logic and regulations told them to kick Jim off the Enterprise? It was more than Jim deserved, at least in his mind.
He really did have the best crew in the world. He actually came to look forward to his nightly wanderings and all the stories his crew would share with him. It made him feel – dare he say it? – loved.
He was making progress, honing his other senses and brushing up on skills that he never thought that he would have to use again. He was doing well – physically and emotionally, which was something that he really had to work at. He really thought that he was going to be alright – he really believed that there was going to be some light at the end of his dark, dark tunnel.
That was, until the sixth day, when Bones slipped up.
Jim was at his daily dinner with Bones, Spock, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, and Chekov. All were chatting animatedly as they finished up. Usually, someone would warn him in time if there was someone nearby or if he would run into something (he didn't wear his earpiece to dinner generally because he had no need of it when he was with his friends), but for some odd reason, Bones didn't warn him fast enough and he ran smack into some well-built Ensign. Jim, caught off-guard, stumbled back and hit a chair hard. Like a domino effect, Jim went tumbling down – his head (not that he knew it) inches away from smacking into the sharp corner of a table.
All of his friends lunged for him, but it was Bones who was the closest. Grabbing Jim and yanking him towards himself, Bones jerked Jim out of harm's way.
Immediately, Bones turned Jim around to face him. "Jim, are you okay?"
There was a surprised look on Jim, followed by a flicker of…something…before it was replaced by…well, if McCoy had to describe it, it would be "nothing", like Jim had swiped away all emotion from himself in that split second.
It took a moment for Jim to reply, and he took that time to pull away from McCoy. "Yeah, I'm good." But he sounded far away.
"That was close," breathed Sulu.
"I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't see you there!" said the Ensign who bumped into him in panic.
Jim shook his head, taking a step away from them all. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."
Jim's behavior suddenly struck them as odd. His tone was distant and he was drawing away from them, like he was shutting down, but they couldn't get a read on him at all. It was like he had become a complete statue. At the same time, he was skittish, as if being where was at the moment was the last place that he wanted to be at.
"Jim?" questioned Spock.
"I'm fine," Jim responded, but it sounded automatic. "I'm suddenly really tired."
"I'll take you back to your room," Bones offered, taking a step forward.
The change was almost immediate. "No!" Jim snapped. He was seconds from panicking, and they could all see it.
"Kirk, what's wrong?" questioned Uhura.
Jim's face twisted and suddenly, they could all read the raw fear and soul-crushing grief that froze them all to their spots. In that second, Jim turned and fled, disappearing faster than any of them could react to.
Sulu turned to stare at the rest of them, completely baffled. "What the hell was that?"
"I don't know," McCoy growled, "But you can bet your ass that I'm going to find out."
He started forward, but Spock stopped him gently. "Do you think that is wise, Doctor? As you have said before, he may need some time."
"Did you see him, man? He was having a fucking panic attack! What if he stops breathing or something?" McCoy drew himself up. "We have to find him before he hurts himself."
"Vhat do you propose, Doctor?" asked Chekov.
"Spread out, find him. But when you do, com me. Don't touch him. He may not react well at the moment."
"There's no need for that," Spock said quietly.
Instantly, McCoy rounded on the Vulcan. "What do you mean, Spock?!"
"I mean that there is no need for a search party, Doctor. I am sure that he is heading to, if not already, at observation deck three."
"How do you know?"
"I simply do. Should you spend your time quarrelling with me, Doctor, or should you seek out Jim?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it."
Without another word, McCoy stormed out. In minutes, he was scanning the darkness of observation deck three for Jim. He spotted Jim in the far corner, facing the windows that he couldn't see. Jim was sitting, hugging his knees to his chest, making himself so small that McCoy almost missed him.
Quietly, McCoy walked up to Jim and plopped down next to him – close enough that their shoulders were just an inch apart. With the dim lighting from the stars, he could see a bit of Jim's face, but not enough to make out any expressions to know what was going through Jim's mind. His body language, on the other hand, gave away everything. He was stiff and tense; he was hugging himself so tightly, as if he was desperately trying to hold himself together. It also screamed at Bones that he wasn't welcome, that he didn't want to talk, but Bones wasn't exactly one that was so easily deterred.
When silence ensued and Bones continued to stay by Jim's side, Jim sighed, making sure that he didn't look in Bones' direction. "Go away, Bones."
Bones wasn't even surprised that Jim knew it was him. "Talk to me, kid. You okay?"
"I'm fine."
"You don't look okay, Jim."
At that, Jim barked out a mirthless laugh that sounded so sarcastic and dry that McCoy could almost see tumbleweeds rolling by. "I really wouldn't know how I look right now, would I?"
"Jim, your vision isn't…"
"Don't even!" Jim suddenly snarled, cutting McCoy off. "Stop lying to me, Bones. I may be blind, but I'm far from stupid."
"What are you talking about, Jim?" McCoy was honestly baffled.
Jim moved so fast that it freaked McCoy out a bit, and he jerked out, flailing. In that moment, Jim caught McCoy's right hand in an iron-grip – so hard that McCoy squirmed, trying to pull away, but Jim didn't let him go.
"Are you still going to lie to me, Doctor?" Jim practically spat out McCoy's title.
"What are you…?" McCoy trailed off, realizing what Jim was alluding to – his right hand moving around, completely unhindered and not paralyzed by some foreign plant.
His breath caught in his throat.
Jim had been timing his blindness with McCoy's hand – and now the paralysis had worn off on McCoy while Jim still couldn't see a single thing.
McCoy felt his stomach drop.
Jim let McCoy go, pulling away like he had been burned.
"When did you find out?" breathed McCoy.
"Back in the mess hall. You grabbed me with both hands," Jim replied in monotone.
So that explained the inscrutable expressions that passed across Jim's face before he ran away.
"When did the paralysis wear off for you?" Jim asked quietly.
McCoy swallowed hard, but now wasn't the time to lie. "Two days ago."
"And you didn't think to tell me?"
"I…I didn't want you to worry."
"So you thought it would be better to give me false hope and lie to me."
McCoy cringed. "No, that's not what…"
"When were you going to tell me that this was permanent for me?"
"It's not. Jim…"
"Unbelievable. You're still lying," Jim hissed.
"Jim, please, hear me out…" McCoy pleaded, but Jim was having none of it.
"You know, I probably could have come to terms with being blind. Yeah, I would have freaked out, wallowed in self-pity, gone through the five fucking stages of grief, whatever. The point is: I would have come to terms with it if you told me from the start. But you decide to lie to me, to my face, mind you, and give me hope and tell me that I still have a chance. That's the worst of it all, Bones. That stupid, false hope that was snatched back like I never even really had it in first place."
Jim turned his unnerving, blank eyes onto McCoy. "Tarsus would never have been so bad if I hadn't experienced hope in the first place. In the beginning, Tarsus was a happy place – it held so much promise and hope that I could finally escape Winona, Frank, and my father's shadow. I could relish in thinking of my future, planning it out like any normal teenager. But Kodos came and fucked that all up, and I can't help think that Tarsus wouldn't have been so horrifying if it wasn't for that hope. That false hope that could never come to be."
He smiled bitterly. "And here you are, my closest friend, doing the same exact thing to me."
Bones recoiled like he had been physically slapped, but he was determined to set the story straight. "I'm sorry, Jim. I'm sorry for lying to you and making you feel this way, but don't give up yet. I swear to God, if it's the last thing I do, I'll fix this for you."
Jim just looked resigned, like a man who had nothing left. "What really happened to me, Bones? The whole truth."
"The paralytic in your eyes should have worn off like mine, but you were allergic to it, and that raised an autoimmune reaction to it. Your body, in its attempts to fight off the foreign substance, started attacking itself too. That's why your condition is lasting as long as it is. We think that the autoimmune response stopped the signals from your optic nerve to your brain. We're still figuring out a way to treat you, but the eye is a delicate matter."
"You can't get any worse than blindness, Bones. I'm already at that stage."
"But you're not completely blind, Jim."
"I can't see a damn thing. I think I'm pretty fucking blind."
"No, what I'm saying that every part of your eyes is still working. There's nothing wrong with them anatomically. It's the signals that having problems, and if we go in and fix things surgically or through medication, that could hurt the working parts and cause blindness in a way that nothing can help."
Tentatively, Bones reached out to touch Jim's shoulder comfortingly. Surprisingly, he did not pull away. It meant that Jim needed the physical comfort, despite having been lied to for almost a full week by his best friend. And that worried Bones more than anything. "Look, Jim, I know it may feel like this is all over, but we're still working on your eyes. We won't give up."
"And if you don't find a treatment?"
"We will." The resolution was strong in Bones' voice.
"How long will that take? A week? Month? Years? Come on, Bones. You know as well as I that the longer it takes to find a treatment, the less likely it's going to work."
"We'll find one, I promise."
"Don't promise things you can't fulfill, Bones."
"Aren't you always saying that you don't believe in no-win situations? Don't give up on me, Jim."
But Jim clearly didn't believe him. Maybe it was just easier for Jim like this – to give up on hope completely so that he couldn't be crushed again.
Quietly, and so softly that it made it seem like he was going to break into pieces any second now, Jim whispered brokenheartedly, "I'm going to lose her, aren't I, Bones? I'm going to lose everything." He let out a shaky exhale, "What am I going to do now?"
"I don't know, but if worse comes to worse, we'll figure something out."
"'We'?"
"You don't think I'm going to let you leave alone, do you?"
"If this is some sort of guilt-ridden obligation of yours, I don't want it."
"For a genius, you're a moron." Bones leaned over and bumped Jim's shoulder. "I only came to the stars for you, idiot. Why the hell would I stay in this disease-infested hellhole without you?"
Jim smiled softly. "Hey, don't call my girl a disease-infested hellhole. She's gorgeous."
"You've got problems, you know that? Falling in love with an inanimate object." Bones joking tone switched to something more somber and sincere, "But I ain't letting you deal with anything alone. Wherever you go, I'm going too."
"You don't have to, Bones."
"I want to. You and Joanna are the only family I've got left, and I ain't letting either of you go."
Jim fell quiet before breathing out a heartfelt, "Thanks," and spoke no more.
Silence surrounded them with only the light from the stars that Jim couldn't see to illuminate the room. Bones could barely make out the tears that Jim refused to let fall and the defeated expression on Jim's face. It was something that never belonged on him, and it made Bones' heart ache.
If it was the last thing that he did, he had to find a treatment for Jim's eyes, because he didn't think that the universe could last with the one and only James T. Kirk out of commission.
And if he had to be honest? Well, he didn't think Jim could last like that either.
There was a definite change to the ship after the day that Bones slipped up. After Jim found out that his condition was very likely to be permanent, he disappeared, hiding back in the darkness that he had tried so hard to fight against. He stopped his nightly wanderings, he stopped sparring Spock, and he no longer left his room anymore – not even for dinner with his closest friends – or let anyone in, for that matter. He even refused to speak to Bones.
Despite knowing that Bones had meant well and would forever follow him wherever he went, Jim just couldn't handle the thought of his best friend – his brother – lying to him about something so important on top of the prospect of his blindness being permanent. He just couldn't take anything or anyone. He was free falling, breaking apart into tiny little pieces that even he couldn't put together again, and the last thing he wanted was for his friends (lying friends) to see him disintegrate in the blackness.
And without her Captain, the Enterprise seemed to lose all her light. The atmosphere had grown to be sullen and tense, spread down from the Command crew to the rest of crew. Bones spent majority of his time in his lab, researching and searching for a cure. The strain of not talking to Jim was clearly weighing down on McCoy: his face had gone unshaven for the last two days and the bags under his eyes were getting ridiculously dark, but no one could get him to rest. The only one that could refused to speak and meet anyone.
But there was no rest for the weary. Trouble followed the Enterprise, no matter how much pain she was in.
That day, the three highest ranking Commanding officers: Spock, McCoy, and presumably, Kirk, received a message that Starfleet was conducting a surprise inspection of their ship. It was a courtesy note – the inspection crew was going to arrive the next day, whether they wanted it or not. The Enterprise had no choice in the matter. It wouldn't usually be a problem – despite how lax Kirk was in personality, every regulation was kept up to date and his ship was spotless – but when McCoy noticed the name of the head inspector, he rushed up to the Bridge, his research forgotten.
"Spock," McCoy said the moment the turbolift opened. "We need to talk."
Spock turned in the Captain's chair, having just read the memo. "I assume it has to do with the inspection tomorrow?"
Sulu swiveled around. "We're having an inspection?"
McCoy rolled his eyes. "Yes, Captain Obvious. But we have a problem."
"Why?" Uhura asked, turning to face McCoy too. "We have nothing to hide."
"Except for Scotty's fermentation station," Sulu muttered.
"Zhere are many zhings zhat Mr. Scott vill need to hide," Chekov added with a hint of a smirk in his expressions, which meant that he may or may not have been involved in some of Scotty's shenanigans. That was slightly more worrisome than any of them would like to admit.
"I have already forwarded the information to Mr. Scott," Spock said. "This is not the first time that Mr. Scott has had to clean up Engineering for an inspection. However, I assume that you are not speaking of that, are you, Doctor?"
McCoy shook his head. "No. Scotty's a smart enough idiot to cover up his shit. And Jim's too, since…you know. Anyway, did you notice who the lead inspector is?"
"A Mr. Spencer Jones," Spock replied.
Uhura raised a hand to her mouth. "Oh no."
McCoy shot her a glance. "Yeah, oh no."
Confused, Spock raised an eyebrow at McCoy and Uhura. "Please explain, Doctor."
"I'm surprised you don't already know, Spock," Uhura said.
"It was famous story back at the Academy," Sulu offered. "We all know it. Kirk was really close friends with this Spencer guy, and he still broke up his engagement by apparently sleeping with his fiancée. But knowing Kirk now, I don't actually believe it all."
"Most of that was true," McCoy started. "They were close friends and in a way, Jim did play a part in breaking up their engagement, but Jim never slept with her. Spencer Jones entered the Academy at the same time as me and Jim. He was brilliant in his own way and I think Jim gravitated towards him because of that. They became fast friends. Jim was actually the one to introduce his future fiancée to him."
"Ex-fiancée," Uhura corrected.
"Right, I'm getting to that. So, Spencer was always this highly envious man. He always wanted what he couldn't get, and I guess, with Jim, there was no real danger. Jim didn't really build up his bad-boy reputation until his second year and he was still a little bit broken in the first couple months we were at the Academy. And to Spencer, it meant that there wasn't anything to be jealous of Jim for, which I guess, worked for them. The problems came after Jim introduced Joyce to Spencer."
"Joyce was this first year Engineering student that Jim met in one of his classes. They had hit it off right away and they started hanging out, all three of them. Spencer fell for Joyce and vise versa. It was a whole lovely romantic thing that I really don't give a damn about. The point is, Joyce was always close to Jim – they had met first and they were practically siblings – and Spencer started getting suspicious of the two, despite getting engaged in the six months that they knew each other."
"At that time, Joyce found out that she was pregnant, and instead of telling Spencer first, she went over to Jim's and told him. They ended up celebrating all night until Spencer came looking for her. When he stormed in, he saw Joyce lifting up her shirt so Jim could touch her stomach, but from his view, it looked like Jim was feeling her up. Furious, Spencer punched Jim, breaking his nose, and dragged Joyce out."
"Jim didn't see Joyce for another week. And apparently, when he finally got a hold of her, it wasn't good. That night, Spencer had gotten so pissed off that he held her down and raped her. She was so shocked and hurt by the whole thing that she had a miscarriage. She didn't even get the chance to tell Spencer before she lost it, and she called Jim, sobbing. When Jim found her, she was still sitting in a puddle of her own blood, covered in dark bruises."
"After cleaning her up and treating her, Jim was going to go and beat some sense into Spencer, but she begged him not to. She still loved him, despite what had happened, but she just couldn't handle any of it right then, and she asked Jim to take her away."
Uhura nodded. "Knowing Kirk, he did it without question, didn't he?"
"Yeah. He hid her away so that no one but himself knew where she went. She dropped out of school, leaving behind just her engagement ring to return to Spencer. And when Spencer found out that she left him, he had some sort of psychotic break and went spiraling down this destructive path. He was kicked out of the Academy after a series of fights that he started on campus. I know that Starfleet did employ him though, at some low position, because they didn't want to lose his talent. But to Spencer, it felt like he lost everything: the girl he loved and his bright and successful career."
"And he blamed ze Keptin for it," frowned Chekov.
"He swore that he was going to bring Jim down, if it was the last thing he did. Which is why this inspection is going to be a problem if Spencer is the one leading it. He's going to be a real stickler and looking for trouble."
"If he finds out that Kirk's blind, is he going to use his authority to pull Kirk from command?" asked Sulu.
"You can bet your ass that that's what he's going to do," growled McCoy. "That fucking bastard."
"What are we going to do?" Uhura questioned, sounding more than concerned now. "If Kirk isn't back in the Captain's seat by the time for the inspection, Spencer will know that something's up and he's going to report him!"
"Jim can't do this inspection, Uhura. He's fucking blind!"
"Vhat vill happen if he can't?"
McCoy shrugged. "I don't know. They'll probably start an investigation into Jim's condition and find out that we've all covered for him. We'll probably get into some trouble for that, but more importantly, Jim will be grounded and he'll lose the Enterprise. We can't have that. We need him as much as he needs us."
Spock stood. "We will find another way, Doctor. Do not worry. We will not allow that to happen."
"It better not, because believe it or not? Staying on the Enterprise is the only thing keeping Jim together right now. He loses her, and even I don't know what will happen."
"Well then, we better not find out."
McCoy, Uhura, and Sulu waited nervously in their docking station for Spencer Jones' arrival. They had brainstormed all night, but couldn't come up with anything to get Jim in the clear. Spock had sent to them as a stalling tactic before he did some last minute configurations. What he was doing, they had no idea, but it had better be good, because the moment Spencer stepped out of his shuttle, he was already looking fairly disappointed and angry.
Spencer was just as McCoy remembered: tall, slender and blonde, like Jim. He had hazel eyes and high cheekbones with fair skin. He was still handsome, but there was so much anger in him that it was forever scrawled on his face. He was wearing the standard grey Starfleet uniform, as was the five other men that he brought with him, which was quite unusual. Most of the time, inspectors came alone or with just one other person, but then and again, the Enterprise was Starfleet's flagship. She was under more scrutiny than any other ship.
"Good morning, Mr. Jones," Uhura greeted, flashing him her brightest smile, and held out her hand.
Spencer just looked down at her hand like it was something dirty and ignored it, forcing Uhura to awkwardly bring her hand back.
All he had eyes for was McCoy. He gave McCoy a brittle smile. "Long time no see, Leonard. You look like you're doing well."
McCoy returned the expression, though his smile was less strained – he didn't want to give anything away. "Good to see you, Spencer. Welcome to the Enterprise."
"I know you're all busy people, so shall we get started right away?" asked Spencer. His tone and carefully chosen words were very cordial, but Uhura, Sulu, and McCoy had all learned how to read body language. Spencer looked as though he was just itching for a fight.
With another fake smile, McCoy spread a hand – a gesture for Spencer to go first, "Let's start at the Bridge, if that's alright with you."
"That's perfect." They headed out the door. "So, how's dear old Jim?" Spencer asked as they walked the brief minute and a half to reach the Bridge.
McCoy had to suppress his flinch and soothe away any worried lines. "He's actually a bit under the weather today."
"Well, that's unfortunate. Will he be leading me around for the inspection?"
"Uh…probably not."
Instantly, there was a touch of curiosity that made Spencer seem all that much more suspicious. "Why? Is there a particular reason that he cannot attend to his duties?" he questioned as the door to the Bridge whooshed open.
Luckily, McCoy didn't have to reply – not that he was sure that he could anyway – because, sitting before them in the Captain's chair was Jim. He was wearing his golden uniform, clean-shaven, and looking every inch of the Enterprise's Captain, though he was a bit pale and had obviously lost some weight in the past few days. And, he wasn't wearing his earpiece that Scotty had made him.
His blue eyes seemed to sparkle as he grinned at them. "Hello, Spencer! Long time no see! Welcome to my ship!"
McCoy, Uhura, and Sulu all had matching dumbstruck expressions, staring at Jim like he had grown a second head. Spock, who was standing beside Jim, raised an eyebrow at them. Like chided children, they instantly schooled their features to a neutral look.
"Mr. Jones, will you and your five companions require any refreshments before we begin this inspection?" asked Spock.
"No, I don't think so," Spencer replied, a little too slowly, because he wasn't a hundred percent sure who Spock really was.
"Oh, silly me. Let me introduce you to my crew," Jim jumped in, noticing the uncertainty in Spencer. He pointed to each crew member as he spoke. "This is my First Officer, Commander Spock. You've met Doctor McCoy, my CMO, and Lieutenants Sulu and Uhura. Sulu's my pilot and Uhura's my communications gal. That's Ensign Chekov, over there, my navigator. You'll meet Lieutenant Commander Scott when we go down to Engineering."
Jim crossed his legs, even as he looked straight at Spencer. "So, what would like to inspect first, Spencer? I assure you that everything's in order."
Spencer's eyes narrowed. "I'll be the judge of that. If you don't mind, we'll like to make sure everything is fine on your Bridge."
Jim swept one arm open. "Be my guest. I know I'm not supposed to hover, so if you have any questions, I'll be sitting right here."
"Actually, it would help if you all stood by the door," Spencer said.
Jim frowned, a little confused. It was unusual for inspectors to request that officers leave their stations – generally, they just worked around the officers, but Spencer did have a specific grudge against Jim. Jim just figured that he wanted to make things a bit difficult for him, so he shrugged. "Sure. If that makes things easier on you."
He stood and easily crossed the room to reach McCoy, Uhura, and Sulu. Spock and Chekov were right behind him.
Meanwhile, Spencer gave his men a few orders before they all spread out to duck under stations and immerse themselves into their duties.
McCoy nudged Jim, whispering lowly so that Spencer's men couldn't hear and asking the one question that they were all wondering. "Can you see now?"
Jim shook his head. "Nope. Still blind as a bat."
Oh. That explained why Spock had asked Spencer if they wanted any refreshments so out of the blue: he was purposely calling out how many people Spencer had with him so that Jim would know.
"What the damn hell?" McCoy turned on Spock, hissing, "This was your brilliant plan?"
Jim stopped the argument before it even happened. He smacked McCoy (on his upper arm, he was sure, based on the firm muscles he felt when his hand collided against McCoy). "Stop it. You all know my history with Spence. If I don't do this, you guys get fucked over. So shut up and have faith in me."
"Can you do this, Kirk?" asked Uhura. "I'll believe you if you say yes."
"Yes," Jim replied back. "I have to, don't I?" He gave them a weary smile. It was tight and strained as if it truly pained him to smile. "I want to stay here if I can too."
Uhura leaned over and lightly kissed him on the cheek. "Don't worry, Kirk. You've got us, no matter what."
"We won't let you down, Kirk," Sulu added. "Promise."
Chekov chimed in. "Always, remember, Keptin? Always."
Jim didn't get the chance to respond (it would've ended up being some totally awkward because Jim didn't know what to do with emotions) because Spencer popped up and approached them.
"Looks like everything is in order here. Can you take me to Engineering, James?"
Jim almost cringed at the use of his legal name. He had almost forgotten that that was what Spencer called him back in the day. He didn't know why he never corrected Spencer back then. The name "James" always reminded him of Frank and those awful memories.
"Yeah, of course," Jim smiled back, turning in the direction of Spencer's voice. "Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, and McCoy, back to your posts. Spock, with me," he commanded.
"Actually, I would prefer it if your Command crew stays with you," Spencer slid in easily.
Alarm bells started ringing in Jim's head. Normally, he would've read Spencer's body language and figured out what his plans were, but he couldn't goddamn see, leaving him wide open like a bulls-eye in the middle of nowhere. And Spencer was always a dangerous foe. He was madly brilliant, almost as smart as Jim, especially in strategy. Jim had no doubt that Spencer had something planned. There were no such thing as coincidences, and even if there were, there was no way that Spencer would pass up this opportunity to bury Jim into the ground. Not after what happened with Joyce, and certainly not when Jim was living Spencer's dream.
Remembering to be cordial at the last second, Jim looked at Spencer with curiosity placed on his features. "May I ask why?"
"Your Command crew is famous for being exceedingly loyal to you, James. I'd rather keep them in sight while this inspection is going so I know that they aren't going about tampering evidence."
At that, Jim bristled. "I take offense to you implications, Mr. Jones. My crew, while loyal to me, would do no such thing."
"Is that right?" Spencer shot back. "Are you telling me that your crew would not cover up anything in order to protect you?"
Jim lifted his chin defiantly. "Not if it requires doing something that'll cost them their jobs. They're good officers, and more importantly, good people. I could not ask for a better crew."
And he honestly believed it – his personal self-worth never truly did match his crew's own love and deep loyalty to him. It was sad, in a way, which made everyone try so hard to prove him wrong.
Spencer considered him for a brief second. "Even so, regulations dictate them to join us."
Jim gritted his teeth. He had read the regulations several times, just so he was aware of what needed to be done on his ship, and nowhere in there did it say that, but he was sure that if he called Spencer out on it, he was going to get someone in trouble, and that was the last thing he wanted to do right now.
"As you wish," Jim said, "All you, call for your replacements. Sulu, give the con to yours."
His Command crew, except for Bones because he already had M'Benga covering for him, did as they were told. They all waited until their substitutions came before they left the Bridge with Jim in the lead and Spock close by his side, guarding and protecting. Beside them were Spencer and his five goons.
The rest followed behind, watching everyone carefully. Jim looked confident in his strides. There was no hesitation, no faltering. He seemed to know exactly where the turns were, even greeting a couple of Ensigns (not by name, but by title) as they passed by. To all those who didn't know the truth, it looked as though Jim was one hundred percent normal – that he could see just as well as the rest of them.
They were stuck in a weird mix between being surprised and not. Jim was always full of hidden secrets. All they wanted to know now was how the hell was Jim able to act like he wasn't blind at all? He even blinked at the normal rate!
Jim easily gave Spencer and his inspectors the tour of Engineering when they arrived, letting Scotty, who was already waiting for him, to tell them the more detailed aspects that a Captain shouldn't technically know (Jim being an exception, but he was always the king of low profiles and having people underestimate him, so he kept quiet as Scotty went on about the hydraulics of their machines).
And like the others, Scotty was forced to tag along with Jim and the rest of them in a corner as Spencer and his people spread out to inspect Engineering.
Sulu couldn't help himself when they were alone. "Kirk, how the hell are you doing this?" There was clearly blunt awe in his words. "How do you know your way around the ship so easily?"
Jim actually chuckled. "I'm glad I can still surprise you guys once in a while."
McCoy groaned. "You're not going to tell us, are you? You just want us to stew and wonder at your magnificence."
"Well, I am magnificent," quipped Jim, knowing full well that McCoy was being sarcastic.
"Just tell us already, Kirk!" said Uhura.
"I mapped out the ship by number of footsteps," Jim responded dully, as if it wasn't impressive in the slightest.
"Ze entire ship?" asked Chekov incredulously.
"Yep. I happened to have a lot of time on my hands that first few days." He trailed off, a sort of dark look passing over his face.
Yeah, that confirmed their suspicions. Jim was definitely still struggling with what had happened on the sixth day when Bones slipped up. But he was all about acting today and that look instantly smoothed over, covered by a mask of faux confidence and charisma. He looked exactly like he would normally, except his eyes were blank and there was a tiny strain in his smile.
"You got any other hidden skills that you picked up this last week?" Bones asked.
Jim shot a look over at Spock. "Yeah, but let's hope it doesn't have to come to that."
Spock nodded sagely. "Indeed. Would you like to tell them or shall I?"
"Tell us what?" frowned Uhura.
"Spence's up to something," Jim responded. "I can't read into anything except the tone of his voice, and that doesn't help much. But I know he's up to something."
"How does Spock know this before us? We didn't see you talk to anyone besides Spencer."
Jim rolled his eyes. "You dated him and you still have to think about it?" He pointed at Spock's general direction. "Touch telepath, remember? He's been sneaking touches in all day to warn me if I'm about to run into something. He's acting as my earpiece."
"When did you guys come up with this plan?" demanded McCoy.
"This morning, right before Spencer arrived, and after Spock told me the situation."
Spock had politely knocked on his door as soon as McCoy and Uhura had gone off to receive Spencer. Jim hadn't responded, remaining seated on his bed, but Spock spoke through the door, explaining what was going on. Hearing that Spencer was coming, Jim had dragged himself up to let Spock in.
Even if there was no hope for him and his eyes, he would still be damned if his crew had to suffer at Spencer's hands for covering for him. They had been so kind, so caring through his entire time onboard – even more so when Jim had fallen down and couldn't find his way back up.
No matter what he was going through, Jim had to protect his people, and if that meant that Jim was going to lose everything a few days earlier, then so be it.
"Pushing aside the fact that Kirk's a freaking genius," said Sulu, playfully nudging Kirk, "What do you mean Spencer's up to something? He's a bit odd and everything, but I haven't picked up anything from him yet."
"He likes to manipulate people. To you guys, he probably just seems a bit out of place, but overall, not harmful. Problem is: he's kind of like me. And we all know how well underestimating me goes. Spence is smart too. He's plotting something. Don't you find it weird that he's kind of gathering all of us up and putting us into a corner? Why aren't we allowed to watch him do inspections?"
"Isn't that regulations? That we can't hover around inspectors?" questioned Uhura.
"Yeah, but to be removed from the general vicinity? That's unusual. And the way he insists on all of us sticking together. I don't know about you guys, but I feel like I'm being herded into a cage."
"I agree," Spock said. "There seems to be a lot of anger simmering underneath his surface."
"I'm not exactly surprised. That man hates me more than Frank ever did, not that he has any reason to though, that jackass," Jim seethed. "I may have been that jerk that slept with everything that moved, but I never ruined any of their lives. Spencer destroyed Joyce. Absolutely crushed her."
There was a hint of sadness to Jim's words now that they had never heard before. Joyce must've meant quite a bit to him before everything fell apart. It made them wonder why they had never heard about her until now.
"So, what do think we should do?" asked Sulu.
"Uh, I don't think the blind person should be making any plans. Anyone second me on that? I second me on that. Next," Jim said.
Uhura rolled her eyes. "Well, there isn't much we can do right now except watch him. We don't even know if he's plotting something."
Jim opened his mouth to protest, but Uhura saw and cut him off before he got a chance to retort to that. "Fine, he's plotting something, but we don't know how devious his plan is until he makes a move."
"But vouldn't zhat be too late?" questioned Chekov.
"Maybe? But he also has all the cards in his hand right now. We make one wrong move and Kirk here is grounded."
"So, what should we do?" wondered Scotty.
Jim gave them a brilliant and reassuring smile. "We fake it 'til we make it and hope that whatever shit Spencer's gonna pull ends up being something that we can handle on the fly."
McCoy groaned. "Every time you say that, shit hits the fan."
Jim smacked him, mock anger on his face. "Well now you've jinxed us! What the hell?"
Scotty shushed them quickly. "Settle down, girls. He's comin' back."
They all instantly plastered a neutral expression on their faces as Spencer came back with his men. Spock suddenly noticed that the man in the back – a tall, Caucasian brunette with black eyes – was rearranging his hold on his clipboard. As he did so, the movement knocked his bag slightly to the side. By the way he moved it back in place, Spock realized that the bag, which was once full and heavy, was now empty. Whatever was in there had probably been left either at the Bridge or deep in the bowels of Engineering.
He lightly touched Jim's bare hand, sending the information to him. He saw the brief second of Jim's eyes narrowing as he considered the possibilities before the mask slid in place. Jim didn't return the touch, but Spock knew Jim received the message anyway. It was just that Spock knew that Jim couldn't plan for anything yet. Not if Spencer's attention was wholly on them.
"You keep a very tight ship here, James," Spencer said as a greeting. "This is the first ship that I've come across that has met every single criteria thus far."
"Well, we are the flagship, after all," Jim smiled, "And as I said before, I have an amazing crew. It's all on them, not me."
"I guess the rumors of a fermentation station built in the back were fake then," Spencer joked.
Scotty froze, but luckily, he was hidden behind Sulu and Chekov, otherwise, Spencer may have noticed the panicked expression that spread across his face. Besides, Jim was already speaking, diverting the attention back onto him, as if he could sense Scotty's uneasiness.
Jim chuckled. "As much as I would enjoy such an installment, it's against regulations."
"Yes. And you never break regulations, do you, James?"
"Oh, I'm sure you know full well that I do, Spencer," Jim replied, not rising to Spencer's bait. "I think every one of my crew members can tell you a time that I broke regulations to save their lives. Hell, I broke regulations to save the entire planet from Nero. Although, I'm sure you know of that. It was quite famous for a while."
He was casually prodding Spencer, and it was making his friends very nervous. Weren't they trying to keep a low profile? For all intents and purposes, it looked like Jim was trying to goad Spencer into giving them a hard time.
Spencer's grin became so strained and brittle. "You know what, James? I would like to inspect your Brig next. Would you mind taking me there?"
"Why, of course. Follow me."
The next few minutes of their journey to the Brig were tense and painful. It was composed of Jim subtlety putting Spencer down with modest bragging and all the while, keeping up the charades that he could see everything. It even worried Spock so much to the point that he touched Jim's hand for a split second to get a reading, but Jim pulled away quickly. There wasn't much that Spock picked up, and he had a feeling that he wouldn't have picked up much anyway because of Jim's ability to erect mental barriers, which meant Jim had something in mind and they weren't going to like it.
Goddamn it. This was not going to end well. At all.
Jim's brilliant act went on beautifully right up until Spencer raised a phaser to his face and he didn't even flinch. Mind you, generally, he would never flinch when a weapon was threatening him – he had far too much experience and skills to be afraid of that – but he didn't even know that a phaser was raised against him. There was quite a difference from being fearless and simply not knowing, and it slowed ever so clearly.
They had all just taken a few steps into the Brig – Spencer and Jim in the front with his five goons bringing up the rear. Seconds in, Spencer pulled a phaser out of his bag and pointed it directly at Jim's face. His companions did the same and threatened the rest of the Command crew, who were all unarmed. (Why would they be on their own ship for a mere inspection?)
Jim, just hearing silence and sensing no movement, had absolutely no idea what was going on, and it made him superbly nervous.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Spencer?" yelled out McCoy. "You know you're raising a phaser to a Captain of the Federation?! That's treason!"
Ah. That answered Jim's question of what the hell was going on. Far too late, Jim raised his hands in surrender, like he was sure the rest of his crew was doing.
Spencer ignored McCoy completely and peered more closely into Jim's face, trying to piece it all together. "What's with you, James?"
"Well, for one, you're pointing a phaser at me," Jim replied, but his eyes were nowhere close to the phaser. Instead, his sight seem focused to one point – Spencer's mouth. He was following the sounds in order to pinpoint the location of the speaker.
All of a sudden, Spencer realized what was going on. "You can't see, can you?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Jim easily lied. "Could I have brought you around the ship if I was blind?"
"I don't know how you did it, and I don't care. Paulius, Aaron, handcuff the rest of them and throw them into the Brig. Do it well. Don't underestimate them. The rest of you, keep your phasers on them."
"What are you gonna do about the Captain?" asked one of Spencer's people.
Spencer grinned. "He's mine. Do as I say. Now."
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Spencer?" growled Jim.
His sharp hearing was already picking up the sounds of his friends being handled roughly. Their loud protestations made him tense up, ready to defend them all if he could, but their voices were getting farther from him. No doubt they were being dragged to the prison. The telltale sound of the locks clicking into place confirmed his suspicions.
Jim wondered briefly why they didn't fight, but he realized that they couldn't risk it. Not when he was blind and with a phaser pointed at his face.
His heart sank. He became the one thing he didn't want to become to them – a burden.
"This is my revenge, James, for what you did," Spencer snarled out.
"That was five years ago, Spence. You should have moved on. Joyce did."
"Don't speak her name!" screamed Spencer, reaching forward to slam the butt of his phaser against Jim's temple.
Pain flashed through him, but it was something that he easily could handle. He straightened back up. "Fine, you're pissed. I get that. And yeah, you're right. I'm blind as a fucking bat right now and I've been told that it's kind of permanent. You want revenge? Go for it. Tell the brass that I can't see to save my life and I'll be grounded. I lose everything. That's what you want, isn't it? For me to feel the same pain as you."
"It's not the same. I want you to suffer. To bleed from your very soul, as I did. You being blind just makes this so much easier to do."
"There's not much left that you can do to me that'll hurt me, Spence," Jim sighed. "There's nothing left that you can threaten me with."
"You care for your crew, don't you? You care for this ship."
Jim tensed more. His silence was his answer.
"We've planted bombs in both the Bridge and Engineering. On my command, everything you have ever loved will go up in flames."
Jim took an angry step forward. "This is between you and me, Spence. You leave them the hell alone!"
"What the hell are you going to do about it, you fucking bat?"
Jim gave him an odd, crooked smile that had a wicked edge to it. "Don't you want to know where Joyce went? After all these years of searching and never finding her? Yeah, I know about you seeking her out. Why else do you think you've never found her? I'm the only one in the entire world that knows where she is, and I'm so much smarter than you."
With an angry roar, Spencer lunged at Jim, his right hand throwing a punch to his face. Jim was prepared though. In an instant, Jim tilted his head and dodged the blow while striking Spencer in the stomach.
Spencer huffed out a breath, curling over, and Jim didn't waste a second. He used the back of his left fist and slammed it against the side of Spencer's head. Spencer went down, groaning.
Jim sensed the other five coming at him. He ducked a swipe to his head and managed to land a kick on another one. Moving quickly and sidestepping a kick to his abdomen, Jim slammed the palm of his right hand upwards. He was rewarded with the satisfying sound of a nose bone crunching. He swung around, elbowing someone behind him and throwing him across his shoulder. As far as he could tell, he took down two people so far and would have actually won in the end, but he hadn't counted on one of the men having a taser on him and stabbing him in the back with it.
As the volts ran through him, making him spasm and fall to the ground onto his side with a grunt, he could hear his friends screaming for him. And he couldn't move a single muscle to reassure them. Everything was so painful and so numb. God, he hated tasers. Not even he could do anything against the thousands of volts of electricity running rampant through him and wreaking havoc all over his nervous system.
Fuck. He was so screwed.
He felt someone grab him by the hair and drag him upwards into a slightly raised position. He winced, feeling the harsh and painful pressure more acutely than he would have before. Sometimes, heightened senses weren't all that great.
"You lose, James," hissed Spencer into his face. "Tell me, where's Joyce? And I might just let you die before your friends."
"How…nice of you," Jim panted out. "But that's a secret that I'm taking with me…to my grave."
A fist slammed into Jim's face, striking right where his left temple was. He felt his entire head jerk with the impact, but he couldn't even roll with the punch and lessen the blow because of Spencer's hold on him.
"Tell me."
"No."
Two more hard resounding punches. Jim could feel his face start to swell.
"Tell me!"
"No."
The rain of blows struck him all over the face. He felt his lips split, his nose bleed. Cuts from the sharpness of Spencer's knuckles bit into his cheekbones. In a few minutes, Jim just knew that he was going to look like his face had been stung by fifty bees – swollen and broken.
Spencer pulled back a bit, breathing harder than before. "Tell me where Joyce is."
"Are you deaf?" Jim snapped back. He knew he was being stupid. All he had to do was talk, but he had to protect her. Surely, Bones couldn't be upset at him for this…He spat out a mouthful of blood on the ground. "I said 'no', you psychotic son of a bitch."
Spencer let go of Jim's hair, and he fell back down like a puppet with his strings cut. He instantly curled up, protecting his vitals as best as he could; he knew exactly what was coming for him, but it wasn't much against the heavy onslaught of harsh kicks that beat him to an inch of his life. He felt one or two of his ribs give in when Spencer managed to get past his defense. He could feel his skin breaking and his vessels bursting. He could feel each and every painful hit, tearing him apart like he was nothing.
And then the fists came back. Spencer reached down, grabbed Jim's hair again, and pulled him up so that he could slam his fists against Jim's temple over and over again.
A lancing, sharp pain shot through his head by the fifth strike and he felt everything go up in flames in a bright, white light. He was sure he passed out then, because when he came back to awareness, the beating had stopped.
He was still lying on the ground, face down, left there like a piece of road kill, but thankfully, the footsteps were leaving him.
"Goodbye, Kirk. Have fun watching your precious friends and ship go down in flames around you. For Joyce."
And Jim heard the doors whoosh closed.
"Jim! Jim!" he heard Bones calling for him. "Damn it, Jim! Answer me!"
Jim couldn't respond. There was so much pain, particularly in his head, just behind his eyes, just consuming and overwhelming him. He squeezed his eyes shut – the simple act allowing him to concentrate on slowly, slowly shoving all the pain behind a solid wall in his mind. He had to get moving. The clock was ticking. He couldn't rest now. He had to save his ship.
Letting the adrenaline rush through him, Jim struggled to push himself to all fours. The normally easy task left him panting, but as he kept moving, the more adrenaline rush through and the less he was starting to feel. He pushed himself up, staggering and reaching for the wall to lean against in support.
The sudden touch of the wall made him flinch – he hadn't expected to be so close to it – and instinctively, his eyes fluttered open. His eyes widened and he blinked twice slowly. Though everything was too bright and still blurry, Jim was starting to be able to make out the shapes of the Brig around him. He could see the red blood on the ground, the whiteness of the walls, and the geometric forms of the desks and chairs before him. More importantly, he could see the keypad to the prison that was holding Spock, Bones, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, and Chekov, all whom were staring at him with such worry and concern for him that it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
He staggered forward, fumbling a bit as he pressed in the code to release them all. Bones was the first to reach him, his strong hands grasping him and holding him up even as his knees tried to give out on him.
"Jim! Are you okay?" asked Bones, panicked as always.
Jim shook his head, pushing Bones away to stand on his own. His strength was flowing back in him as his need to protect his people rushing through his veins. "Scotty and Chekov, go to Engineering now. Find and clear any bombs you find. Spock and Uhura, do the same at the Bridge. Sulu, Bones, with me."
He didn't even wait for any acknowledgment before he started to head to the door with strong, confident strides, as if he hadn't been beaten like a dog only minutes before.
"What are you going to do, Jim?" Uhura exclaimed, concern making her voice louder than it usually was.
Jim turned and flashed her a grin. "I'm going to go thank my dear old friend Spencer."
All of them were floored.
"What for?" Spock had to ask.
Jim's eyes absolutely sparkled. "For beating my vision back into place."
Bones and Sulu actually had a hard time keeping up with Jim as he swept through the halls in his hast to reach Spencer. He knew that his body was on a limited time and he had to reach Spencer before he slipped out of his grasp. He could see every Ensign shooting him looks as he passed them by – he was probably littered with bruises and cuts and probably looked every bit as wreaked as he felt – but he didn't have time for them.
He felt a swell of happiness rise inside him though. The fact that he could see each of these people and their expression - that he could see the bright white walls of his precious girl and the length of the halls. It was something he had taken for granted, and with each passing second, that bubble of happiness and relief grew and grew until that and his need to take down Spencer were the only things he felt.
He reached the docking deck faster than he had expected – the adrenaline and awe at being able to see fueled him to move far quicker than he should have been capable of. By the time he got there, Spencer was just getting onto his shuttle.
With everything pouring into his legs, Jim sprinted forward, shocking Spencer like a lightning bolt when Jim grabbed him by the front of his neck and threw him down to against the steel incline of the shuttle. Jim pressed hard, cutting off any speech, as he used his own body weight to keep Spencer pinned to the floor. Hearing the commotion, Spencer's men started piling out, their phasers raised at Jim. In a swift movement, Jim slipped Spencer's weapon out his holster and switched it to stun. Before anyone had time to react, Jim shot at them with the precision and accuracy that he was ever so famous for.
The five men were out before Jim even lowered his phaser. It took only thirty-six seconds for Jim to take them all down, and it just reminded both Sulu and McCoy how truly terrifying Jim was, especially with his sight.
With anger and rage written all over Jim's face, he turned back to Spencer, loosening his grip on Spencer's neck so that the man could respond. "You fucking psychopath. Did you really think you could threaten my crew, my people, and get away with it? What was your end game? Starfleet was going to know that you that attempted to blow up their flagship!"
"It didn't matter anymore," Spencer rasped out. "My revenge was all I lived for up 'til now."
"You clearly won't institutionalized long enough, Spence. You're still psychotic! Did you ever think that there was a reason why Joyce left you?"
Spencer spat at Jim. "It was because you were a cheating bastard!"
"I never touched her! It was all you, you fucking rapist! You were the reason she left!"
"What are you talking about?!"
"She was pregnant with your kid, jackass! And you raped and beat her over and over again until she lost the poor thing! Your own child, Spencer! You murdered your own child!" Jim yelled, his grip becoming inhumanly hard and painful.
Spencer's face went pale. "What? Why didn't she tell me?" he breathed.
"How could she? Between the sexual and physical assaults, when did she have the time?!"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because she made me swear not to! She loved you, even to the end, Spence, but she couldn't deal with you after her miscarriage." Anger made its way back to Jim's face, but it was mixed with a deep, profound sadness. "She was like my sister, Spence. I regret ever introducing you to her. I regret even meeting her. Maybe things wouldn't have turned out the way it did."
Jim let his hold on Spencer go and leaned back. He took a deep breath, bringing back his composure. "But that's all in the past, and I'm not one to hold grudges for things that happened so very long ago. But there's one thing that you did do that I can't forgive." Jim leaned down, letting his dark side bleed through and freeze Spencer with such sheer utter fear that he almost forgot to breathe. "You threatened my family. And for that, I'll make sure that you never see the light of day again, Spence. Even if Joyce wanted me to leave you alone in peace, old friend."
He slammed a fist straight into Spencer's face, knocking him clean out.
Jim sighed, standing and moving around Spencer's unconscious form to face Bones. Both Bones and Sulu had matching faces of shock, fright, and concern. It made Jim just want to giggle, but that could also be the adrenaline leaving him and making him feel giddy.
He walked over to Bones, draping an arm around his shoulders, and let the doctor support the majority of his weight. "Sulu, want to find something to tell these idiots up? And if you can't," he tossed the phaser he had stolen from Spencer to Sulu who caught it deftly. "Stun their ass into next week."
Sulu nodded, still a bit surprised, and wandered about the docking deck to look for zip ties or handcuffs.
"I don't understand why we came with you when you didn't even need us," Bones said to Jim, shifting a little so that he held Jim's weight better. "I assume you brought Sulu along so that he could do the fighting?"
Jim shrugged, wincing as his shoulder ached at the motion. "That was the plan, but adrenaline and all."
The world was starting to move dizzily. Even the ground started to feel like he was standing in a pit of quicksand.
"I found some zip ties. They're all bundled up and set to go," Sulu announced, coming up to them.
Jim craned his neck, seeing Spencer and his five goons lying in a pile some distance away from their shuttle. "Good. Get the Security team down here and handle them. And find out if Spock and Scotty got rid of those bombs. I'm sure they have, otherwise, we'd know by now."
Sulu looked at him with concern, and Jim grinned goofily because he could actually read that expression on his friend. "Are you okay?"
"m'fine," Jim responded, but he was starting to sway, or so he thought. It might've been in his head, seeing how both Bones and Sulu hadn't reacted yet.
"You can see now, right, Kirk? What are you going to do now?" Sulu asked excitedly.
Jim gave him a silly little smile – dopey even. "Now? I'm gonna pass out now."
And so he did.
Bones and Sulu barely had enough time to catch Jim before he hit the ground.
"Goddamn it, you ingenious idiot! Couldn't you have waited until after we got to the Sickbay?" groaned Bones, staggering under Jim's weight.
Sulu just laughed. "Are you even surprised, McCoy?"
McCoy rolled his eyes. "No." The two lifted Jim up and started carrying him out the door.
"We should just drag him," McCoy said.
"That's rude."
"Yeah? And how is making us carry his heavy ass to Sickbay not rude?"
"He just took down six guys without blinking an eye. I think this is the least we can do, considering we didn't exactly do anything the entire time."
"Well, if my back ends up being messed up tomorrow, I'm going to make his life a living hell."
Sulu chuckled. "I'm sure you will, regardless of your back."
And honestly? He was looking forward to it.
The last week and couple days had been a rollercoaster. Sulu couldn't wait for everything to go back to normal again.
Well, at least as normal as their small, dysfunctional family could get.
The bombs that Spencer had made were apparently cleared out fairly easily. They were simple and crude, and also, not very well hidden. Spencer, as psychotic as he was, wasn't a very good villain. Even Scotty would have done a better job than Spencer, but at least that went smoothly. For once, their luck held out.
Hours later, the Command crew piled into the Sickbay to watch McCoy berate Jim as he healed each and every cut and bruise. Fortunately, they had come after McCoy fixed Jim's ribs – bones healing were always a painful process – and after the majority of Jim's injuries were healed. His handsome face was back to normal.
"Why did you let him beat the shit out of you again, Kirk?" Sulu asked, his tone as if he was talking to a small child.
"If I made him angry enough, I knew he would just try to beat the crap out of me," Jim responded, lifting up those big blue eyes to look at Sulu. "If he thought that I was down for the count and no longer a threat, he wouldn't tie me up or anything. He'd just leave me alone, and that's what I was going for. It was the only advantage I had when I was blind. Speeding up his timetable would also have made him slip out and be less cautious. With anger fueling him, he was bound to make mistakes, and when you have little to no information, that's what you'll have to count on. And besides, there's no faster way than obtaining information than when it seems like you've lost and been defeated."
"So that was your plan from the start – to get yourself beaten to get information?" Uhura clearly did not approve. "Is that why you were goading him after we left Engineering?"
"I'm sure he meant to put more bombs as we went around for inspections. Spread us thin so that when the time came, we wouldn't be able to stop them all in time. Making him mad meant that he was going to give up putting bombs in other places so that he could kick the shit out of me."
"How did you even know zhat zhere vere bombs?" asked Chekov.
"Spock figured that one out and let me know."
"Incorrect. I informed you that one of Mr. Jones' men had emptied his bag in either the Bridge or Engineering. You are the one that concluded that it was a bomb," Spock amended.
"What else could it have been?"
McCoy rolled his eyes, pulling away from Jim. He had just finished healing all of Jim's injuries. "Anything else? A water bottle? Food? Why do you always jump to bombs first, you crazy bastard?"
Jim's eyes sparkled. "I like bombs. Explosions are fun when you're the one causing them."
"That is...disturbing, on so many levels," Sulu said.
Jim just chuckled. "My genius aside, how did I get my vision back, Bones?"
"I'm not entirely sure."
"Guess."
"Well, you know how I said that your eyes were fine, it was just the signals that weren't being sent? I think, after you got tased, the electricity started jumpstarting everything again. And the face-bashing you received was what knocked everything into place, like the key turning the ignition. I'm not a hundred percent sure though. I can do some more research and figure it out." He was looking at Jim like he was a delightful puzzle.
"Uh…no thanks. I'm just going to enjoy my vision without someone poking and prodding me."
Jim was bright and cheerful, so happy and relieved that he could see again. The warm, fuzzy feelings was contagious, mostly because they had all seen Jim at his lowest point this last week, and damn were they happy to see him happy again.
Uhura leaned forward, smiling, and hugged Jim tightly. "I'm glad you're back."
Jim gave her an awkward pat with a confused look before pulling away. "I've been here the entire time." He raised an eyebrow at Spock, Sulu, Chekov, and Scotty, as if he asking, 'Is she on something?'
They all just shook their heads, unable to explain. Jim was with them physically, yes, but mentally? In the past few days, Jim was basically a mere shell of himself, and they had really missed him. It wasn't like they could blame him for it either. They all had no idea what they would do if they lost their sight. They weren't like Jim – they couldn't adapt and evolve quite as well as he could.
Speaking of…"When did you learn ta fight like tha'?" Scotty asked.
"Fight like what?" Jim returned.
"Ya know, without yer sight?"
"Oh. Well, I'm a genius."
McCoy smacked Jim on the arm. "A legitimate answer, ya idiot."
"That's my answer! I'm a genius with superb fighting instincts."
"You've got to be kidding me," Sulu said.
Jim grinned. "I'm serious! You can ask Spock! He trained with me at nights."
Spock nodded. "We did spar every night. From the very beginning, he was able to return my blows and engage in a competitive fight. I did not have expected such skill from a mere human."
In Vulcan talk, that meant that he had been surprised at how extraordinary Jim was.
Jim's grin grew broader. "See? Genius. I can't explain exactly how I figured it out, but I've been trained in so many different ways that reacting to a threat is like second nature to me. My body moved before my brain caught up. Does that make sense?"
"Not at all," Uhura said.
He shrugged. "I tried. Point is: I'm a genius."
McCoy paused. "Wait, is that why your nose was broken that first day?"
"Er. No?" He was clearly lying and Spock had taken a step back.
"Spock! You broke his nose?! What the hell?" roared McCoy, getting to his feet. "He was covered in bruises too!"
"Hey! In his defense, I egged him on!" Jim protested.
"With what? He's a Vulcan!"
"I said that his mother was a hamster and his father smelt of elderberries. I think he was so shocked and confused that he punched me."
Silence fell as bafflement and incredulity filled the air.
"You can't be serious…" Sulu said. "You got a Vulcan to punch you on a line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail?"
"Go nerds!" Jim cheered, reaching forward to high-five Sulu.
Uhura rolled her eyes. "This is unbelievable. You are unbelievable, Kirk."
"Why, thank you. Thank you very much," Jim ginned.
She threw her hands up in the air. "I can't handle this right now. I'm out." And she proceeded to leave.
Scotty chuckled, "I'm with her. Rest well, laddie. Glad yer eyes are okay now."
"Me too," Jim said softly with a happy smile.
"I will need to fill out the paperwork and inform the Admiralty about this event," Spock said, "If you'll excuse me."
"Yeah, yeah. You just want to get outta here before I get my hands on you," growled McCoy.
Jim laughed. "I'll see you soon, Spock. Thanks for everything."
"It was, as the saying goes, my pleasure."
"Chekov and I are going to make sure that Spencer and his men are 'comfortable'. We'll see you later," Sulu said, and they too, started to pile out, but Chekov stopped at the last second and turned to look at Jim.
"Keptin? Vhat did happen to Joyce?" he asked quietly, almost timidly, like he was afraid that he was stepping on a bomb.
"Oh. She's doing really well, actually. It took her a couple of years to get over Spence, but she found the love of her life and they're married now, with two kids."
"I'm glad," Chekov smiled, "See you later, Keptin."
"See ya, Chekov," Jim waved.
After they were gone, McCoy gave Jim a look. "You told me a different story about what happened to Joyce."
"Did I?" Jim feigned innocence. "My bad."
"So, what's the real story?"
"You know, I can't really recall anymore."
It was then when Bones knew the truth – he had been told that Joyce was living happily single in some countryside in the UK, taking care of bees and her precious dog – but as a doctor, he knew that having miscarriages could do a number on a woman's mentality. Sometimes, women who lost their baby would spiral down into a depression until well…Bones didn't really want to go into it.
He looked at Jim and saw the sorrow that was hidden so deeply within Jim's blue eyes, and could only do one thing. He smiled. "You know, I like the story about being married with two kids."
"Really? I thought you were against marriage."
"Only if the marriage includes perfidious harpies like my ex."
Jim chuckled and jumped off the Biobed. "Come on, Bones."
"Where are we going, Jim?" Bones asked, already following his best friend without hesitation.
"I've been blind for a week, and you know what I miss the most?"
"What?"
"The stars. Let's go see the stars, Bones."
Bones grinned. It seemed the entire nightmare was finally past them. And boy, did that make Bones feel so happy that he felt like he was on cloud nine.
"Come on, Bones! Hurry up!" Jim called out. He was already several feet ahead of Bones, waiting patiently with that confident smile that was just so Jim.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming, ya ingenious idiot," Bones huffed in mock exasperation, "I'm coming."
Bones wasn't sure what was brighter that day – Jim's smile or the stars that spoke of everlasting hope, even for them.
Especially for them.
So how was it? I had a bit of a hard time going into these last two chapters because there was so much emotion that went into it (and I generally don't do emotions in real life; emotions give me hives), but I hope I did it justice.
Oh, and just so you all know, I have put this story under "complete", but I'll still be updating it. I'm still trying to figure out which prompt I wanted to write next (#2: Jim loses his memory to pre-Academy days or #3: the crew can read Jim's mind). Let me know which one you guys want the most. So far, it looks pretty even.
I guess, other than that, my spiel is done. Thank you all for reviewing and being so supportive. The next update may take a while, but I truly hope you all stick with me and my story!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review!
~ Kanae Yuna