Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek.
Note: Here's part 2 of Charlie X! I hope you enjoy!
Please, please review! Suggestions are welcome!
…...
Chapter 2: Charlie X part 2
"And so you see, Charlie. What you did was wrong," Jim finished, attempting to look wise and fatherly but failing miserably.
Charlie had an expression on that told the captain that the poor boy had no idea what he had been trying to tell him.
Jim had spent the better half of the hour trying to word what seemed like a simple explanation; and in the end he was more confused and embarrassed than Charlie was.
The captain was cursing his friend the doctor and making a mental note never to cross the Enterprise's Head Nurse ever again. The woman may look like an angel but she knew how to dish out cruel and harsh revenge.
But dammit, he was the captain of Starfleet's flagship! He could do this.
"You just have to respect a woman and her personal space, okay?" he said finally.
That seemed to have reached the boy, who nodded.
See, he could do this kind of thing; this father/mentor kind of thing. He'd remember to tell Bones that later.
"But sir, why is it wrong for us to invade a woman's personal space but not a man's? Don't they have to be respected by other men too?" the boy wondered innocently.
Dammit.
Jim cursed under his breath.
"You know what," the captain stated quickly as he glanced down as his comm, "I should probably be getting back to the bridge; we can continue this discussion later, okay?"
The boy seemed disappointed but didn't say anything.
"Why don't you go hang out in the break room?" Jim offered quickly, "And if you run across Doctor McCoy, ask him about this issue. I'm sure he would be better able to explain this stuff; doctors are better at handing advice."
Bones deserved Chapel's revenge as much he did.
The boy nodded again and turned to leave.
Jim sighed, running a hand through his hair as he stepped out of his office and made his way to the bridge.
…
Christine Chapel was sitting across from Uhura as they chatted along with Sulu while Spock stood to the side, his fingers gracefully playing the strings of a harp-like instrument. Uhura smiled over at the first officer, and stood up and went over to him.
Being Uhura's close friend, Chapel was privy to the information that her friend and the vulcan were in a relationship. In fact, most of the close circle of the captain, were aware of each other's secrets and personal lives.
A loud voice was heard from behind her and Chapel smiled to herself.
"Look, kid, you have to act like a gentleman to a woman," the doctor explained gruffly, "You got that?"
"Yes, sir," Charlie answered quickly.
Christine felt sorry for the boy who was by terrified of the doctor; and she suspected he was just answering 'yes' so that the doctor would leave him alone.
"Good," Doctor Mccoy answered as they rounded the table and nodded to the others.
Spock returned the greeting as Uhura smiled over at the doctor. Sulu pointed to the seat beside him and the doctor sank into it before ordering a drink.
He glanced up at Christine and offered her his signature glare.
She shrugged and smirked, "You look tired, Doctor."
Doctor McCoy didn't answer and took the drink brought by the server.
She turned towards Charlie and offered him the seat next to her. He eagerly agreed and sat down.
"Christine, I wanted to show you something," Charlie began with a bright smile.
He was cut off by the soft and almost mystical voice that was playing with the music.
Christine smiled over at Uhura who was singing a funny song as she walked around the table animatedly. Spock played as she sang about the adventures of the Enterprise as she passed Sulu and then mentioned how grumpy the doctors could be along the way as she placed a hand on Doctor McCoy's shoulder.
The doctor grumbled and shrugged her hand off. Uhura shared a smile with Christine as she continued singing.
When she finished, Christine and Sulu began clapping and they began to beg for another song.
Charlie looked like he wanted to tell her something when the doctor beat him to it.
"Can't we have any quiet?" Doctor McCoy questioned, his frown growing wider.
"Can't you enjoy some time with people?" Chapel inquired with a smirk.
"Dammit, woman, I had to deal with idiots all day. I think I've earned some silence," he retorted.
"Maybe some music will do you some good, they say music heals," she offered.
He managed a bitter smile, "It can't heal the life I've had."
Before Chapel could answer, two things happened in quick succession.
First, when Uhura asked Spock to play them another song, all of the strings of his instrument became disconnected from the other end of the instrument as if ripped by force. Uhura's eyebrows furrowed as Spock raised an eyebrow and inspected the instrument closely.
"I do not understand how this could occur," the vulcan murmured.
Doctor McCoy raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Well, that was a bit of luck."
Chapel turned to give him a small glare when Doctor McCoy's glass shattered in his hands and he roared in pain. Wine spilled everywhere but the broken glass bit into the doctor's hands as if they were attracted to his hands like a magnet. In seconds, his hands were bleeding in little rivers down his palms.
The doctor began cursing in pain as he tried to remove the glass.
"Christine," Charlie began but the nurse was already standing rushing to the doctor's side.
"Not now, Charlie," she ordered sternly as turned on a scanner and a dermal regenerator that Sulu had passed her; luckily the doctor was carrying one when he had entered the room.
For a second she thought she saw a dark glare on Charlie's face, but he stood and left before she could be sure.
Shaking her head and focusing on the matter on hand, Christine took the doctor's hands and began to gently remove the shards of glass from the man's palms.
He hissed as she removed the pieces but he didn't say anything.
Spock was at the other side of the doctor, rummaging through the doctor's case as the chief medical officer began giving orders between gasps of agony. When the vulcan handed her a hypospray for relieving pain, she eyed the doctor who ordered her to administer the hypospray that instant. Not wanting to argue with the doctor, she wiped her hands of the blood and glass and quickly injected the man.
"It must hurt a lot more than we realize if he needed a pain reliever," Uhura commented as she took the soiled towel from Chapel.
"You don't say," the doctor managed through gritted teeth.
"I don't understand, the glass has cut far deeper than it should have," Christine muttered.
"What the hell are you talking about, Chapel?" he demanded as he arched his head to read the scanner.
"Doctor McCoy, the way you've been cut in several places is more like a knife cut than glass being embedded in your skin," she explained as she set aside the scanner, "Some pieces have nearly cut to the bone."
The others seemed surprised, but the chief medical officer ordered angrily, "We can study the behavior of my injuries later, Chapel!"
"Right," she answered as she grabbed the dermal regenerator and began to hold it over his hands.
After a couple of minutes, the injuries had healed to small cuts and then small scabs. Only a few faint lines indicated any injury.
The doctor finally relaxed and took a deep breath. He stared down as his hands as if studying them, "Strange."
Sulu called over a server to clean up as they stood, "Well, we better be getting back to work."
Uhura nodded and then smirked at the doctor, "Don't hold a glass that tightly next time, doctor."
Doctor McCoy grunted but didn't respond.
Spock, Uhura, and Sulu stood and left.
The doctor and Christine remained; he glanced over at her.
"Your hands are dirty," he snapped as he threw her a wipe.
She glanced down at her hands to see they were covered in blood, the doctor's blood.
She never thought the sight of blood would ever affect her, but seeing the doctor's blood drenched hands and his blood on her own hands had made her feel uneasy.
Christine quietly wiped her hands when the doctor spoke up, "Thanks, if you hadn't been there, then I would have been forced to do everything myself. I wouldn't trust those three with healing a paper cut let alone broken glass cuts. Even if that hobglobin probably could do more advanced medical procedures."
She smiled, "You're welcome, Doctor."
…
Jim was walking down the hallway when he passed Charlie, who stopped when he saw the captain. The captain slowed down and smiled over at the boy.
"Where are you going?" Charlie questioned as he followed Jim.
"Thought I'd take a break from the bridge and wander around," the older man answered, "You can join me, if you'd like."
Charlie nodded quickly as they turned into another hallway.
Jim nodded at the crewmen who greeted him but didn't stop long to chat.
"So, Charlie, have you made any new friends?" Jim questioned, "I heard that Nurse Chapel introduced you to our young navigator."
"I met Mr. Chekov," the boy began, "But I didn't care about meeting him. So I told him to go away."
Jim paused, "Mr. Chekov is a great kid, Charlie, and you should have been nicer to him."
"I wanted him to leave," the boy protested, "I only wanted to talk to Christine."
The captain's head jerked towards the boy and he gave him an amused smile, "Look kid, I get it. You've got your first crush..."
Charlie cut him off, "I love Christine."
Jim's expression sobered, "Look, kid, you just can't go after Nurse Chapel."
"Why not?" the boy demanded.
The captain smiled at the boy's question, remembering his own days as a teenager.
"She's older than you, kid," Jim explained, "And why go after older woman when you can choose from plenty girls around your own age. A good looking guy like you shouldn't settle on the first girl he thinks is pretty."
"What should I do instead?" the boy asked.
Jim placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled, "Be patient and the right girl will come. And when she does, take it slow. You're rushing your feelings a bit too quickly."
The boy slumped his shoulder and murmured, "Everything I do is wrong."
"That's what being a teenager is all about, Charlie," the captain grinned, "It's about making mistakes, getting embarrassed, getting into bar fights..."
He stopped when Charlie gave him a questioning glance.
Jim added quickly, "Well, scratch out the last part."
The boy wasn't cheered by Jim's humor. In fact, he looked miserable and frustrated; with his hands clenched into fists and his jaw set tight. He shrugged off Jim's hand from his shoulder and stalked off.
"I thought you wanted to hang out?" Jim called out.
"Maybe later," the boy answered without turning back to the older man.
Jim shook his head amused, "Bones will love to hear about this."
He continued his stroll, this time directing himself towards the sickbay. As he did, he noticed a crewman leaning against the wall on the floor. He rushed over and asked, "Ensign, are you alright?"
"Yes, sir," the man answered as Jim helped him up, "I was walking down the hall when suddenly I slammed into the wall, sir."
"What hid you?" the captain asked.
"I don't know," the man managed as he rubbed the back of his head and grimaced in pain.
"Maybe you tripped, Ensign," Jim offered.
"All I remember is passing this kid and then next thing I knew I was lying in a heap," the man explained.
Jim's eyes widened and he turned towards the hallway with a sinking feeling.
"Who was the kid?" Jim questioned calmly.
"I think it was that kid we picked up a few days ago, sir," the man stated and he gave the captain a questioning look, "Why?"
Jim shook him off and managed a smirk, "No reason; you better get some ice for that. Luckily, I don't think you'll have to visit Doctor McCoy today, Ensign."
The Ensign broke into a smile but then winced from the pain, "Glad to hear it, sir."
"But if you feel dizzy or the pain worsens, make sure to check with a doctor or nurse to look over it," Jim ordered.
"Yes, sir," the man answered before leaving.
Jim stared at the spot where the Ensign had been sitting before rushing back to the bridge.
"Spock, comm Bones and tell him to meet me at my office," Jim ordered, "Tell him it's urgent."
"Yes, sir," the vulcan answered.
…
"He's a danger to everyone on this ship if we don't' do something, Jim," Bones advised.
"But he's only a teen," Jim argued.
"Indeed, but he also has greater power than any other human we know of," Spock pointed out, "Captain, the boy was also near two other incidents today."
Jim questioned as he paced the office, "What happened, Spock?"
"There was a reported incident of two people suddenly disappearing off the ship," the vulcan explained.
The captain suddenly jerked his head toward the vulcan, "Two of my crewmen gone? Where?"
"That is what is so puzzling about the disappearances, captain," Spock answered, "We tried to locate the two men, but we failed to even register a signal."
Jim narrowed his eyes, "And what does this have to do with Charlie?"
"Security cameras show that the boy was near the men at around the time we lost their frequencies," Spock explained.
The comm came on, "Sir, permission to enter."
Jim noticed the serious tone in the voice and answered, "Come in, Sulu."
His helmsman rushed in with something brown in his arms. Hikaru Sulu looked shocked and fearful at the same time as he faced the three men.
"Well, out with it man," Bones ordered impatiently.
Jim peered closely at the bundle in Sulu's arms and his eyes widened slightly, "Is that a dog?"
"What?" Bones exclaimed as he peered closer at the object, "You know large pets like dogs and cats aren't allowed!"
Sure enough, a small brownish gold puppy of husky breed was resting in the arms of the helmsmen fighting and thrashing in Sulu's arms, clearly trying to escape.
"Sulu, are you going to tell why you have a dog on my ship? I mean it is cute and everything; but you know the rules," Jim questioned raising an eyebrow at his usually obedient helmsmen.
"Sir, this isn't a pet," Sulu began bewildered.
Jim was wondering why this puppy was so scary to Hikaru Sulu, one of the bravest men he knew.
"I don't know how to put this, sir," the helmsmen began again, finally able to compose himself enough to explain, "But this dog is Chekov."
…
Chapel entered her rooms, and sighed. After a long day of organizing and assisting the most difficult doctor that Starfleet had to offer; a couple hours of sleep were looking very appealing.
She changed into a long dark blue nightgown that had a greek chiton style to it and then sat at her desk to finish some notes for the next day. Grabbing a PADD, she jotted down some instructions for the nurses for tomorrow and then made a list of tasks to finish by tomorrow.
As she was about to put her things away and get to bed, her door slid open.
Her eyes widened and she snapped her head to the door, knowing that only a handful of people who had the emergency override code for her room.
And Charlie X was most definitely not one of them.
"Charlie, what are you doing here?" she demanded, slightly irritated at the lack of respect shown by the boy.
The boy smiled, "I came for you, Christine."
She stood and stared him down, "How did you even get in?"
"It was easy," he answered brightly.
She couldn't help herself and scolded him, "You have to knock; you can't just barge in like you own the place. This is my room, and you need to respect my space."
Charlie's smile was wiped right off; and a frown had replaced it, "I just want to be with you, Christine. Please don't shut me out."
Christine stared at him coolly, too exhausted to have to deal with this boy but managed to ask, "Charlie, what do you want?"
He stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders, "I love you, Christine. I want to be with you and only you."
Normally, Chapel would have rejected the boy straight off but something about the look in Charlie's eyes scared her and made her think twice about that.
He looked dangerous, as if daring her to reject him.
She reached behind her and turned on her comm, connecting it to the bridge.
Hopefully, the captain or someone would hear her and come to her aid.
…...
That's part 2! Only one more part left!
And I just had to do the whole Charlie turns someone into an animal part; but I thought it would be funnier with Chekov as a husky!
After the next chapter, I will either be writing "The Man Trap" or "Naked Time", whichever I get to first. Hopefully, I can will get access to watch the later episodes, since I already had someone "Trouble with Tribbles". I also really want to do a humorous "Mirror, Mirror" story.
Enjoy! Please review, suggestions are always welcome!