Captain Spirk
Warning: I don't condone the consumption of alcohol; I'm only doing it for Bones' sake.
Chapter 20: Outside Observation
edited: 07/11/2013
Plak Tow; also known as 'Blood Fever' is a condition that afflict Vulcan Males.
More citation required.
Fullstop.
Damn it.
The sickbay was bathed in darkness but for the room of the CMO. McCoy tore his gaze away from the monitor, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He had been at it, searching for every possible answer to the situation involving his superior officers – medical or otherwise – to no avail. It had been 3 days and nothing had turned up. He had even employed the aid of Spock's ever capable science crew and together they would sooner cure stupidity than find an answer to their bizarre predicament.
Sighing he continued clicking on the Vulcan Health Compendium, all 555 pages of it in the hopes of finding something, anything. 350 pages and almost 5 hours later all he received in compensation were tired eyes, a creaking back and a potential liver damage. Which basically equates to: Nothing. Furthermore, in reality he had no clear idea of what it was Spock (and Kirk) were suffering from. The chronometer had chimed three times since midnight and he had been at it for the last 10 hours. Ten long hours that yielded absolutely nothing.
He deftly reached for the glass of whiskey sweating on the desktop. He grimaced disgustedly at the flat taste on his tongue the whiskey had since been diluted by the melting ice. He reached his secret drawer (that only himself and the captain knew about) and brought out a bottle of old fashioned Scottish whiskey. He snorted as he stared at the measly amount of amber liquid swirling at the bottom of the bottle. At this rate he'd soon be running out of booze.
That thought, however, ironically sobered him somewhat. Putting aside the bottle, he allowed his tired mind to wander. Summing his life up to this very moment he deduced:
If it wasn't one thing, it's another.
McCoy had long suspected the 'most likely to indulge in hate-sex with one another' undercurrent between his two commanding officers.
Leonard McCoy had seen his fair share of strange occurrence ever since he was born. Throughout childhood and adolescent years there were always bizarre, inexplicable things that happened that goes beyond comprehension. It seemed to multiply now since Jim Kirk barreled into his life a few years ago. McCoy's first impression was of trouble. And that was exactly what Jim Kirk was. That was years ago. He was captain now. No one – not even McCoy – once upon a time could expect this. Sure, Jim was the owner of a brilliant collection of grey matter humans called brains but his past had always glossed over the potential of that. Starfleet has Admiral Pike to thank for bringing out the spark of genius that had lain dormant in Kirk.
McCoy had known all along what was coming for both Kirk and Spock from the very first time he set eyes on them. Don't ask him how or why but deep inside his ever observing mind (hey, he got paid to observe, dammit) his intuition informed that they would arrive to this consequence sooner or later. The moment of truth has arrived sooner than expected. McCoy knew he should not have been so surprised; all the weird and not necessarily wonderful had chosen to befallen upon this pair often enough, McCoy had lost count. But no amount of intuition could have prepared him for this: the making of a love story of epic proportions, one involving the Enterprise, her Captain and his First Officer with him in the middle of it all.
He wasn't kidding about the Kirk and Spock being the Starfleet Golden Team. That was exactly what Jim and Spock was to the upper echelon of Starfleet Command. Everyone on board this starship and involved with Starfleet knew about this, whether they liked it or not. But with great power comes great responsibility (McCoy have read this quoted in some classic archaic book in his youth he had forgotten the title of) and he had seen how the both of them, along with the crew of the starship been thrown to the dogs as they were signed one terrible assignments after another.
McCoy himself had been out of his wits one time or another in the roller coaster they called a 'career'. The rest of the crew wasn't much better. Sometimes, McCoy had heard the complaints; mumbles, muffled and incoherent as they were about their captain and his fearless ways from the crew. About how Kirk's sometimes unorthodox ways with dealing with things would end up sending them all to their doom. Most didn't mean what they said, McCoy knew this, but in a profession where discipline was paramount and loyalty more valuable than gold, he had exerted his influence and silenced the disgruntled crew members with a look and a warning. The complaints ceased after that, more often than not.
Once in a while, when he felt it prudent and he himself believed that the captain was making decisions that could be potentially dangerous to all involved and the complaints of the crew louder than usual, he would speak to Jim about it. More often than not, a shouting match will ensue and they would not speak to each other for days until one or the other caved in. McCoy was embarrassed sometimes to admit that Kirk was the one to usually be the first to extend the olive branch. He knew that Kirk had never kept score between them.
Since taking over the command of the USS Enterprise, McCoy had never – not even once – heard Jim Kirk breathed a complaint about anything. Despite all the challenges thrown his way, despite the hatred that lingered still from his appointment in the upper echelon and flawed as he was, Kirk was a good person first before he was a good captain. He puts his responsibility to the crew first and foremost before his own welfare.
It was this selfless dedication to his duties that both impressed and exasperated McCoy to no end. McCoy had never met anyone more vibrant than James. T. Kirk. He was like an untamed wild fire. And God damn him, McCoy truly loved that kid. As for Spock, McCoy had arrived to a grudging conclusion that he was a veritable bastard – yes, he was – yet a good person nevertheless, all things considered.
And Spock made Jim happy. Giddy school girl happy at that, the kind that made McCoy want to roll his eyes in exasperation more often than not. The way the captain waxed lyrical on the goblin, it was a wonder how not many people could see the damn bleeding obvious. But that was it, wasn't it? Kirk wasn't exactly super social like he pretended to be. Yes, he wore that playboy mantle like a shield and that's just exactly what it freaking was: a shield. Kirk never let anyone into his inner circle as far as McCoy was concerned it was just him and Spock who were welcomed in.
In turn, Jim made Spock happy too. Yes, the hobgoblin could deny it till he was green in the face but McCoy had caught him looking at the captain with expressions not befitting of a Vulcan one too many times in different kinds of situations. He had never watched Spock panic over anything except the times (more than McCoy would have liked) the captain had been seriously injured in missions. Spock would not settle down until he received the news that Kirk was going to make it. Too bad, he didn't have any cameras on him to record the blatant affectionate looks but he knew what he saw. Uhura's confidential chat to him regarding the matter pretty much cinched it. If the ex could see it, it's there.
It was amusing really, watching them do their little dance around each other; observing these two accomplished and intelligent man acting both oblivious and stupid when it came to love. It was like a sport and McCoy was even aware that some incredibly astute crew members were taking bets about when the two would get their act together. McCoy wished they would too. He had always wanted for nothing more than happiness for them. God knows how much those two deserved it.
It was an inevitable conclusion.
Until now.
McCoy was interrupted from his stupor when the emergency alarm blared and the footsteps of the night crew broke the calm. The lights on the previously dark sickbay were turned on. He rose from his seat and went out. A flurry of activity greeted him. A bio-bed was being prepared and a few of the nurses were stocking up the medication counter.
"What's going on?" he demanded to the nearest personnel before she could open her mouth in greeting. "Dr McCoy, there is an emergency call," she said. "...from the Captain's quarters."
"What was the emergency?"
She shook her head, looking grim and McCoy's heart beat escalated at the expression.
"I was not told from the call itself, sir, but Mr Spock sounded so terrified," she said, voice low, "...and I have never seen nor heard of him ever being ruffled by anything before."
She had a great point there, McCoy thought.
Great, just great.
To be continued
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x Albukirky