"You have this look on your face like you're about to tell me something that I don't wanna hear," Jim said as Leonard and Doctor Piper walked into the waiting area where Jim, Gaila and just about everyone else Leonard knew -and then some- was waiting for news.
"Sheriff Pike sustained…" Piper started.
"Who are you?" Jim asked.
"I'm Doctor Piper, the new Head of Surgery, Miss…"
Jim rolled her eyes, "Bones, how is he?"
"He crashed on us a few times but we managed to get him back. He has damage to his T-twelve and L-one vertebra, we won't know how bad it is until he's awake but there may be deficits. That is the good news. Bad news is that his liver was Swiss cheese. We've resected it but there haven't been any marked improvements. He's gonna need a transplant or he won't last the next couple of days," Leonard sighed. He warned Piper to just tell her straight up what was going on but the man wouldn't listen. Idiot.
"What are our options?" she asked.
"Limited. Unless someone dies in the next few hours…" Piper told her.
"Living donor's our best bet," Leonard cut the other man off.
"He doesn't have a family, McCoy, that's not gonna happen," Piper said.
"He has us. We might not be blood but we're still his family. What's it gonna take?" George stood up, that Kirk determination clear as day on his face.
"Given the urgent nature, a battery of tests that have be completed on top of each other," Piper said.
Leonard rolled his eyes, "A medical exam, psych consult, blood and urine tests and a blood compatibility test. Plus, HLA… its a genetic test. We don't have a ton of time, so best match will go straight to surgery. We'll take out a portion of the liver and transplant it into Chris. Donor will stay in the hospital for a week, post-op."
"I'll do the tests," George said before his sister could offer, giving her a look like he knew she was going to say it.
"Me too," Jacobs added.
"So will I," Gary nodded.
"I would if I could," Sulu said. "Wrong blood type."
"Same here," Hendorff sighed.
"Will that work?" Jim asked.
"That'll work. I hope," Leonard said before he called Nurse Chapel over. "I need three living donor workups on a rush. It's for Sheriff Pike's liver."
"I will personally get them started," the nurse nodded. "Come on, guys."
"He also needs blood. So will the person who donates their liver. We're exhausting our supply," Leonard said.
"He has some stored down at county," Jim said. "So, do I. We're the same blood type, he can have it. And I'm sure the guys don't mind donating their blood if they aren't picked for surgery."
"I'll call down to county and take care of that," Piper nodded.
"Let me know when they're done. Hendorff, nobody goes in to see Chris unless Bones gives you the okay," Jim said. The big guy nodded and headed to Chris' room.
"What are you gonna do?" Leonard asked her.
"Call in some of the people on the reserve roster. All nine of us are on duty and we're gonna need to get some rest eventually," Jim sighed. "I called Spock already. He's in the air right now so he should be back soon."
"Spock?"
"His dad is the Canadian Ambassador to the US, lives in the embassy in Seattle. Spock's the reserve lieutenant, I need his brain power," she told him. "Hey, keep me posted on Chris' status. Sulu, you're with me."
"You're leaving?" Piper asked her.
"With Chris here, I'm in command of the Washington County Sheriff's Department. I have a dead girl and my boss might be joining her soon. As much as I want to stay here, I have a job to do. The best chance I have at finding this guy is figuring out just happened in that warehouse," Jim said.
"Do you know who has the authority to make decisions for him?" Piper asked.
"I do. I'm Chris' listed next of kin," she told Piper before looking at Leonard. "Bones, do whatever you deem necessary."
"Okay. Just…" Leonard looked at her. "Please be careful."
"I'll do my best."
"How's he doing?" George whispered.
"They're getting him into recovery," Leonard sighed. "He's stable. Stopped trying to die on us. How do you feel?"
"Like I just had surgery," the blonde chuckled. "Where's Ari?"
"Getting coffee. Your mother's here too. Your in-laws are at your house with Pete and Jo."
"Has Jim checked in?"
"Sulu called. He's keeping an eye on her for us," the southerner chuckled, then yawned. It's been a very long day and it's still not over.
"She's gonna kill this guy. Going after her was one thing but Chris… For all intents and purposes, that man is our dad. Jim would walk to the ends of the Earth to protect him. Hell, she's do that for all of us but him in particular."
"I wanna kill this guy just for putting his hands on her, so I can only imagine what's going through her head right now."
"You and me both. Just do me a favor," George said. "Don't let her loose herself in all this. Jim can become laser-focused when she sets her mind to something. I don't have to tell you that, you've seen glimpses of it already. With me and Chris in the hospital, someone is gonna have to reign her in."
Leonard nodded, "I'll watch her back, I promise."
"Give me something I can work with," Jim yelled as Leonard walked into the Washington County Sheriff's station at almost three in the morning.
"I would if we had something. Stop yelling at me," Sulu yelled back.
"I fuckin' hate this," Jim groaned.
"You all need sleep. And you should probably start from scratch," Leonard said and everyone standing in the station looked at him. "Start over. Jim, the other day, you told me that you didn't fit. Marla and Chris don't fit either. Drop the obviousness of Chris' gender and what's left?"
"Five people who spent most of their time alone," Gary said.
"Excluding Jim and Chris, they all worked with kids," Jacobs said.
"Excluding Marla and Chris, they're all blonde and blue-eyed," Scotty added.
"Location," Jim said as she looked at the board with the case information on it. "Jan was in her house. Beth was at the school. I was in my house. Why was Marla in an abandoned building?"
"It's a secondary," Gary said. "Probably attacked her somewhere else and took her there."
"It was an ambush," Sulu said. "What if, and this might be way outta left field, but what if that call that we got over the radio was meant for you?"
"Why me?" Jim asked.
"Because you are the one who evaded him," Spock said as he and Nyota walked into the room. "Perhaps he assumed that you would respond, you were on duty."
"See a body on the ground, go in, he's got you. Other than the bloody teenagers who go out there to smoke, nobody goes over there," Scotty nodded.
"Still doesn't explain how it jumped from a science teacher, a school nurse and a history teacher to me and Chris," Jim sighed.
"Maybe the answer is in that," Nyota said. "Is there a chance that he's not after you and you're just in the way?"
"He attacked her in her house," Sulu said.
"I think that's the lass' point. What if the attack at her house was a mistake and the ambush was to get her out of the way?" Scotty said.
"Attacking someone in their own home is one hell of a mistake. Who would he have been after on Jim's property if it wasn't Jim?" Leonard asked.
"Oh, you brilliant, brilliant men. That's it. That's... He's not after me," Jim said.
"He tried to strangle you in your kitchen. Please tell me I missed something," Sulu said.
"You did. We all did. He's not after me because he's after Winona," Jim told them.
"You think he's after your mother?" Deputy Stiles asked.
Jim nodded, "We both live alone on the same property. She used to be a teacher, still subs sometimes."
"You look just like her. It's an easy mistake to make, I did it when I first met Winona," Leonard added. "This guy ain't local. Can't be."
"How do you figure that, Doctor McCoy?" Stiles looked at him.
"Because everyone who lives in Riverside knows that Winona lives in the big house, even though I own it, and that I live the smaller house. We've been looking at this the wrong way. I thought that because I'm the odd woman out that he was after me but I think I'm just an honest mistake," Jim said.
"A mistake that this guy can't afford to have. He killed Marla and took her out to an abandoned building in order to get us all out there," Jacobs sighed. "But nobody attacked your mother."
"She's at the hospital with Harper. Hendorff was there before that and you all know that he's a brick wall," Sulu sighed. "Who would want to hurt Miss Winona?"
"I might have an idea but there's nothing we can do about it right now," Jim groaned.
"Why's that, lass?" Scotty asked.
"Because the person I need to talk to is in prison and I can't see him for another five hours. Sulu, update Harper. Winona said she was staying the night at the hospital. He'll have to keep an eye out for any craziness. Everyone who's been here all day can go home. Spock, I need five minutes of your time," Jim sighed.
"Cut her off at five minutes, Spock. She's been on duty for twenty-one hours and I'm 'bout ready to toss her over my shoulder," Leonard said. She gave him a look. "Don't look at me like that, I'm serious. Five minutes, then I'm draggin' you outta here."
"I'd like to see you try," Jim chuckled.
He chuckled, "I'll do a lot more then try."
"You sure you don't wanna go home?" Jim asked as she locked her front door behind them and dropped her duffle bag. "I was here alone Wednesday night and I was perfectly fine."
"You asked me that a million times already," he chuckled.
"I'm just checking."
"No, you're not. What's wrong?" Leonard asked.
"Nothing," she said with a shrug as she pulled off her coat.
"I call bullshit. If you don't want me to stay, I'll go."
"It's not that."
"Okay, so what is it?"
"What if Chris dies?" Jim asked with a sigh. "What if… What if I'm right and this guy goes after my mother? She's not my favorite person but she's still my mother. What if I can't stop him before he hurts her?"
"What happened to all that Jim Kirk bravado?" he asked.
"I'm too tired to pretend to be brave," she muttered. "The closest thing I have to a father and my brother are both in the hospital. Some lunatic is after my mother. And I'm in charge of the fuckin' department. This is Thanksgiving, I can't wait 'til Christmas."
"You'll catch him, Jim, you just can't do it alone. You have good people on your team, let them help you. I did George's surgery myself, so I know he's fine. You let me worry about Chris," Leonard said, holding her face in his hands. "Last I checked, I'm a damn good doctor. He's not gonna die as long as I can help it. Okay?"
"Okay," Jim whispered.
"How about we head up and go to bed?"
"Yea. You know, nobody has ever slept in my bed with me."
"Really? Not even a one-nighter?"
She shook her head, "Nope. You know how I told you about feeling safe when I sleep. I've never let anyone sleep in my bed because I didn't want that feeling to get ruined."
"You want me to sleep on the couch?" Leonard asked.
"Hell, no. I'm just… it's kind of a big deal. Me trusting someone to sleep in my room."
"And you're scared that you'll hate it, even more scared that you won't," he guessed.
"Maybe," Jim chuckled. "You think that makes me nuts?"
"You sleep with a gun under your pillow, so jury's out on that one," Leonard smiled.
"Well, a strange man did get into my bed last week," she smiled. "I mean, who does that?"
"I wasn't in the bed, just on it. And you're the one who didn't lock your door," Leonard reminded her.
"True but nobody's ever bothered me before."
"Maybe I'll just have to bother you more often."
"I'm locking the doors these days. You have to knock. Sorry," Jim chuckled. "Come on. We both need sleep and showers and not necessarily in that order."