Though it was a huge struggle for you, you stayed strong and kept more to your work than your thoughts; the worry was killing you.
It had already been two days and no contact had been made with the missing exploration team, and the ship's equipment couldn't find them on the most advanced sonar, or even the simplest.
Everyday, as soon as your working hours were completed, you'd make your way to Bones' office to talk or help with his duties; you had also studied nursing in Starfleet, after all.
Bones ranted at you about the things that were wrong with the world, or space, or the universe, and you were content just to listen; it helped to relieve some of your own stress, actually.
Mr. Sulu, now the temporary Captain, had said he would not risk losing more people by sending out a search party. He decided that the only thing to do was to fly over the whole of the planet, at a slower speed, so that the scanning instruments could have more time to scan for the team and whatever else may be on the new world. The waiting was nerve-wracking and only caused your anxiety to grow.
Another long day of waiting passed and you tried your best to work diligently in Engineering; everything was ship-shape.
You ate alone that night. It was full of silence you wished you didn't have to listen to; when you were deaf, you were blanketed in silence and it was comforting and peaceful, but now that you could hear every little sound, you had to listen to quiet and the interruptions in its wavering waves. This silence was restless and subject to change.
After an hour alone, you couldn't stand the quiet anymore and walked swiftly out of the dining hall towards the medical bay to find Bones. He was inside of his office, slumped over his desk; he was fast asleep. You smiled and shook him awake, leading him, still half asleep, to his quarters where you helped him into bed, ignoring his protests about still having paperwork to fill out and patients to see.
"Can I stay with you?" you asked, slowly and carefully so that the doctor could understand you.
"Yehmnshurmmm…" he mumbled something incoherently. You took that as consent and climbed into his bed, curled up under the covers, and laid your head on McCoy's chest to listen to his heartbeat until you were able to fall asleep.
Bones mumbled another couple of unclear words and instinctively wrapped an arm around you before promptly falling asleep, the gentle rising and falling of his chest lulling you.
For hours you laid like that; calm, thoughtful, and silent as you listened to your best friend and protector sleep. You never grew tired of listening to his heartbeat because it filled the restless quiet with something interesting and beautiful, in its own way.
You flicked your (E/C) eyes towards the clock on the end table. 1:54am.
You sighed quietly, interested by the sound before realizing that it was your own voice.
Suddenly a chirping sound shattered the peaceful silence, and Bones mumbled in his sleep. The chirping sound repeated. This time, McCoy sat up abruptly, startling you. He first rubbed his eyes, then looked at you, confused. His brow furrowed in wonder, but he was distracted by the sound of the chirping, which came once more into yours and his hearing.
He snatched up his communicator from the nightstand and opened it. "What,," he stated more than asked in a voice full of exhaustion and annoyance.
"Dr. McCoy, you're needed in the transport chamber," a voice said. Bones grumbled a reply and quickly got out of bed, and you followed swiftly behind, not knowing what to expect.
"What were you doing in my bed, (Y/N)?" McCoy questioned you as the two of you walked with haste to the transport chamber.
"I wuz lonely," you said, looking up at him. "I ask furst," you added, speaking too fast to check your own grammar and tenses; you looked at him innocently, wondering if you did something wrong. Bones didn't look like he remembered you asking but he did look as if he believed you.
"Hurry," he said in a gruff tone, remembering the task at hand as he started running. You followed his lead, becoming anxious.
Once you both made it to the transport chamber, you stopped dead in your tracks, staring at the transport platforms. The exploration team had been beamed up. Though Mr. Scott, Uhura, and Spock were all coming to, blinking slowly and sitting up, Captain Kirk and Pavel Chekov never stirred, lying on the ground, hardly breathing.
You ran frantically to Chekov, seeing blood trickling down from his temple. His face was pale and his chest only just rose and fell, proving that he was still breathing, if only a little.
"Wake!" you said in a panicked voice. You shook him a little.
"Be awake!" you shouted when he didn't respond. The tears came streaming down your face and you panted with worry. You listened for his heartbeat, which was faint, and began to shake him again.
"Calm down, (Y/N)!" Bones called, pulling you away from Chekov's body.
"Make hem be awake!" you commanded in a sob.
Bones kneeled to your level and grabbed your shoulders, looking you sternly in the eye.
"I need you to calm down first," he said. "I need you to help me take him to the Medical Bay," he instructed slowly.
"I need a stretcher. Can you get me one?" he asked. You were still breathing fast and you quickly looked at Pavel, then at Bones. You nodded.
McCoy let go of you and you ran as quickly as you possibly could to the Medical Bay, rolling a stretcher as fast as possible to the transporter chamber. A million images and thoughts ran through your mind the whole time, only fueling your adrenaline rush even more.
Once you returned, you helped strap Chekov in and followed Bones, who was wheeling an unconscious Kirk in front of you, to the Medical Bay.
The adrenaline was gone, the excitement had died down. Spock was now in charge of the Enterprise and the crew, at least until Kirk woke up, and Scotty had gotten right back to work in Engineering.
You sat with your head on Pavel's chest, listening to his fluttering heartbeat as you waited for him to wake. Your eyes were half open, and you were exhausted. You clung to the young man and strained not to fall asleep. You wished he would wake up. At least Bones had determined that his head wound wasn't too serious, and he should wake up any day.
You didn't want to fall asleep. Your body was tired and resigned, and your eyes closed against your will. "Some rest will do you good." Bones said softly, kissing your temple before you were pulled, kicking and screaming mentally, into slumber.