Not Mine, Never Mine, Usual Disclaimers.

Kirk was only half aware of what was going on around him, but he did realise that Spock and Uhura were happy again, it only added to his "happy buzz". By the time he was fully aware of what was going on around him, it was morning and he was well aware of his empty stomach. He looked around to discover that he was on his own again. There was food in his bowl, which was emptied on short notice, along with a copious amount of water from the other bowl. The next hour passed slowly, without much happening until Uhura came in to check on him.

'Just so that we're clear, I am not spending the next hour playing "guess what I'm trying to say".'

Kirk rolled his eyes and wondered out the door, fully noticing that as a dog, he was freed from the hangover that followed a night of drunkenness.

'You were still passed out when McCoy came to check in on you this morning, I think he was still feeling guilty that he dumped you on us last night. Anyhow, he said that you should be fine, just leave out some food and water and check on you every hour or so.'

Kirk nodded his head at her and they completed their journey to the bridge in companionable silence. Once on the bridge, Kirk ignored the offer of help and leapt into his seat unassisted, before beginning to gnaw at the bandage still wrapped around his shoulder. His shoulder was still sore but the bandage was annoying him.

'Keptain should you...,' Chekov started to ask.

Kirk met the younger man's gaze with one that clearly said, no, but I'm going to do it anyway. He had pulled half the bandage off by pulling at it with his teeth, when he encountered an unexpected flaw in his plan, namely gravity. He had manoeuvred himself to the edge of his char and had fallen right off the edge when he let go of the bandage. He ended up tangled and with a dent in his pride. There was a snicker from around the room and Kirk looked up to see Uhura hiding a smile behind her hand. Sulu and Chekov had the good sense to turn back to their stations but from the way Sulu's shoulders were heaving, Kirk could tell that he was trying not to laugh.

'Captain, perhaps it would be wise to wait and allow Doctor McCoy to remove the bandage,' Spock suggested.

Kirk snorted and made several attempts to jump back up into his seat again, before finally making it. He began at his task again, only to discover that no matter how he twisted his body, the damn bandage would not come loose. Frustrated, he began to let out a whining growl as he bit and pulled at the offending material. There was definite laughter this time, yet when he looked up, everyone was absorbed in their work, except for Uhura and Spock, Uhura was stifling a laugh and Spock raised an eyebrow at him.

Since I'm going to be out of range next week, 'Im giving you a double update, so savor every word, it may be a while before you get more.