The next morning, Bones was sleeping in the chair, and he definitely did not feel rested. He looked at Jim who was awake. "I hate being in the hospital," Jim said.

"You and just about everyone else in the galaxy," Bones replied. "We have to get you ready to go to your meeting with the counselor this morning. I'll be back soon."

Jim just lay there thinking about that. He was not sure he wanted to talk to a counselor, but he supposed he would do it anyway. He could not help but wonder how Bones thought he was going to take him anywhere to meet a counselor.

After breakfast, Bones managed to get Jim cleared to see a counselor by arguing his point with Dr. Flannigan. She had not wanted Jim out of the bed, but Bones told her that he would be with him the whole time and he would keep that knee immobile.

Jim felt like he was wrapped in a cocoon as Bones was taking him down the corridors in a chair, but he had to stay warm. "You feeling alright?" Bones asked.

"I guess," Jim replied. "I'm not hurting."

"Good. Now, I don't want you to waste this appointment. I want you to talk."

"Bones, do we have to go through this again?"

"I mean it, Jim."

"Fine. I'm going to try to bare my soul to a perfect stranger."

"Don't look at it like that. Just talk to her."

"I'll try."

They soon arrived at the counselor's office, and they sat in the waiting room. Jim sat there in his "cocoon" feeling very warm, and sleepy. He looked at Bones who was typing something into a notepad. "Bones, I'm sleepy," he said.

"So?" Bones asked.

"So, I think I'm gonna fall asleep."

"Doesn't matter. You'll wake up when you get in there."

"Are we early?"

"Not much."

"Did you tell Carol I was coming here?"

"No. I didn't tell anyone except Doctor Flannigan. Boy, what a stubborn headed…"

"You shouldn't talk about anyone being stubborn."

Bones looked at Jim as he heard how groggy he sounded. "You're probably sleepy because no one can get any rest lying in a hospital bed," he said. "I have to go get some rest some time today. By the way, Korax and Grakar are coming to see you. I wouldn't want you to be too startled when they get here."

Jim did not respond, but he woke up when they took him into the doctor's office. "Captain Kirk," Doctor Leona Cummings said. "It's nice to meet you. I've heard a great deal about you."

"I can't say the same," Jim replied. "But hi."

"He's kinda groggy," Bones said. "If he's a little rude, don't take it personally."

"I'm not rude."

Bones thought Jim was acting a little strange but he supposed it was some of those medications. He had made a list of them, but he did not think any of them should make him as groggy as he was. He leaned over to Jim. "Wake up, will ya?"

"I'm awake," Jim said.

"You coulda fooled me."

"I think we'll get along fine," Dr. Cummings said. "If you could wait out front."

"I told him I wouldn't leave him," Bones replied.

"Doctor McCoy, I assure you, he's quite safe here."

Bones looked at Jim. "Is that alright with you if I go out front?" he asked.

Jim considered that a moment. "Just don't go far," he said.

"I won't."

Bones left the room, and Jim looked at Dr. Cummings whom he had never seen before. He knew he could not keep being apprehensive like he was about people he did not know, but he was injured and could not defend himself. He thought he was paranoid.

"How do you feel, Captain Kirk?" Dr. Cummings asked as she sat down in her chair behind the desk.

"Warm," Jim replied.

"That's not quite what I meant. Are you nervous?"

Jim did not want to admit that, but he nodded. "I've been kinda nervous since I was captured."

"You feel vulnerable?"

Jim thought about the ordeal he had been through. They had crippled him so he could not run away. "I suppose," he said. "I can't walk."

"What's your prognosis?"

"They're not really sure yet, but Bones thinks I will gain use of my knee again."

"That must have been a horrific and painful injury."

Jim remembered that Klingon leaning him backward and stomping his knee backward. "Yes it was."

"Why don't you tell me what happened?"

Jim was starting to feel anxious just thinking about it, and he felt his heart start to race. "I don't know," he said.

"You can take your time, and just tell me what you want to tell, and if you can't tell it all today, you can tell more next time."

Jim swallowed hard. "I don't know where to start."

"How did you become involved with the Klingons?"

Jim thought about that a moment. "My crew and I…" Jim rubbed his forehead and let his hand slide through his hair that was quite wild since he had been in the hospital. "We, uh…well, Spock, Bones, and I went down to a planet just to observe." He stopped a moment. "We were only observing, and they turned us over to the Klingons. We were taken to Rura Penthe."

"The prison world?"

Jim nodded. "Yes."

"What happened?"

Jim remembered Bones telling him to go and see a counselor after all that happened, but he never had. He had not wanted to then either. "I don't want to think about it," he said defiantly.

"Your friend was very adamant about you coming today, and insisted that we make room for you," Dr. Cummings said.

"I know. He likes to jump in."

Jim was silent a moment. "We were in prison and we had to work in a mine," he said. "I had to wear a ball and chain."

"Just you?" the doctor asked.

Jim nodded. "They obviously had heard about my ability to get out of tight situations."

Jim sat there and told her about Rura Penthe and what had happened in that prison until he got to the part where they tortured him. "I don't think I want to talk about this anymore," he said.

"Why? You were doing so well," the doctor said.

"I don't like to talk about that."

"I think it would help if you did."

"I'm tired. My leg hurts."

Doctor Cummings was typing in her journal. "Well, I'm going to recommend that you see me every day while you're here," she said. "You can tell me as much or as little as you like."

Jim thought he was starting to get miserable. His leg really was hurting from sitting in that same position for so long. How long had he been sitting there. He had told her all about that miserable mud ball called Rura Penthe and how they had tried to escape and had ended up in an even worse situation. He had not even told Bones everything that those Klingons had done to him when they poured that burning chech'tluth down his throat. A whole bottle!

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me more?" Dr. Cummings asked.

Jim looked at her. "I thought they were going to kill me," he said. He rubbed his face. "Please, just get Bones back in here. I want out of here. Now."

"Okay."

Bones soon came in to get him. "You alright?" he asked.

"Just take me back to my room," Jim said.

Bones looked at Doctor Cummings, but he knew she would not tell him anything that they talked about. He took Jim on back to his room and helped to get him back in the bed as he groaned with pain.

"He sat up in that chair too long," Dr. Flannigan said just a little angrily. "He is my patient, and he will not be going to see that therapist. She will come here, or he will not see her. That is final."

"It didn't hurt him to be up for a while," Bones declared.

"Dr. McCoy, do I have to get your commander to order you out of this room?"

"Now, wait a minute," Jim interrupted. "I happen to be his captain, and no one is going to order him out of here. He was just trying to help me."

"It's not helping you to be up in that chair. The therapist will come here."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Dr. Flannigan glared slightly at Bones as she left the room. Bones turned back to Jim. "That woman," he said. "You have a right to get up if you want."

"Bones, will you just cool it?" Jim asked. "That's an order. Don't cause trouble here." Jim lay back on the pillows. "When can I have the medicine again? How long was I in there?"

"A couple of hours. You must have done some talking in that length of time."

"I did, but I…I couldn't tell her everything."

"Why not?"

"It's just hard."

"You know what? You always think you have to act like the tough guy and nothing bothers you. You're not invincible. I figured you'd learned that by now."

"I never thought I was invincible."

"You could have fooled me."

"Bones. I don't want to hear a lecture about talking to a therapist. I went."

"Yeah, I know. What did she say?"

"She wants to see me every day while I'm here."

"Jim, I know why you don't have a therapist on the ship, and it's simply because you know you'd have to go see them."

Jim closed his eyes. "I'm tired."

"Yeah, right. Avoiding the subject again."

"Bones."

Bones shook his head. He knew that was exactly the reason there was no therapist on the Enterprise. "I got back with Andrea," he said.

Jim opened his eyes. "You did?"

"Yeah."

"Are you happy about it?"

Bones thought about that question and tried not to smile. Jim raised up a little. "Do I actually see a smile?" he asked.

Bones looked at him. "Now, don't start teasing me," he said.

"I saw it. You almost smiled."

"Shut up."

Jim chuckled at that. "Be happy, Bones."

"I'm trying."

"Do more than try. Just let yourself be happy."

Bones was still not sure he could do that, but he had let himself get back with her. He had missed talking to her and everything. "How do you stop being afraid, Jim?" he asked.

"You trust her," Jim replied.

"What if I do that, give her my heart, and then she…"

"Bones."

Jim pulled himself up to sit up. "You got back with her for some reason," he said. "Obviously, she wanted you back."

"She was with someone else on the holodeck, and I've never been so jealous in all my life."

"Who was she with?"

"Jim West."

"Oh. Why?"

"Well, I don't know. She…"

Jim leaned on the rail of the bed. "She wanted you to be jealous." He laughed as he lay back down. "She got you good."

"Are you telling me this was all a game?"

Jim heard that hint of annoyance in Bones' voice. "Do not do that."

"Do what?"

"Look for something wrong."

Bones was silent, and Jim maneuvered his head on the pillow so he could see Bones without sitting up. "Bones, if you hurt her again, I don't think you'll ever get her back," Jim said.

"If I break up with her again, I'm not going to want her back," Bones replied, trying to sound cruel. "And I'm not looking for something wrong."

"Sometimes I think I don't understand you at all. One minute, you're happy, and the next, you're sulking. Maybe you should see a counselor."

"There's not one on the ship, and I have talked to counselors."

"Did they tell you to lighten up?"

"No."

"Then what did they tell you?"

"Never mind. You didn't tell me what that counselor told you."

Jim was silent. He could not deny that. "She thinks I have a lot of fear, that kind of stuff."

"Well, I'm getting out of here. I don't have time to sit here and chat."

"Why not? What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, but I'll let you know when your Klingon buddies arrive."

"Klingon buddies?"

"Yeah. I told you Korax and Grakar are coming to visit you."

"I guess I didn't hear that."

"You know it now. See ya later."

Bones walked out of there, and Jim was there alone again. He did not like it but he had to stop feeling anxious. Just as he was thinking that, Carol came in. He smiled as he was very glad to see her.

Bones went to the Enterprise and to his quarters. He thought he was going to sleep while he had time. He knew they would be on their way again as soon as Jim could get back on that ship. He just flopped on the bed and thought about what he and Jim had been discussing. He thought Jim was right about the whole thing…she had just tried to make him jealous. He let his eyes close as he started to sink into sleep…

Over the next few days, Jim talked more to the counselor and also started therapy, which he thought was almost more than he could bear. Bones was always there for the therapy and Jim wondered when he was ever spending any time with Andrea.

Bones and Dr. Flannigan clashed about Jim's treatments again as well, and she threatened to have him banned from the hospital ship. Of course, he had told her to just try it. He did not like some of the medications they were giving him because they had side effects that would cause him to feel more anxiety.

"He has enough anxiety," Bones declared.

"Doctor McCoy, Captain Kirk is my patient," Dr. Flannigan reminded him.

"You could at least take some of my suggestions. After all, I'm his doctor most of the time."

"Not while he's here. If you don't mind, I have other patients to see."

Bones thought he might as well stop arguing with her. He would just take other actions to help Jim. He wondered if he should tell Spock about it, but he was a doctor. He did not have to ask anyone.

During the night, Bones asked the nurses who came in to let him give Jim his medications. They all knew him, so they did not see a problem with that. Bones just stood there beside the bed after they left and did not give the medication to Jim. He would not let him lie there feeling like everything was closing in on him just because of some medication. Most medicines had been cleaned up and did not cause side effects like that but when nerves were involved in an injury, it was hard to create one that did not cause something. He knew there would not be anymore doses during the night, so he took the syringes of medicine with him and went back to the Enterprise. He would just analyze that medicine and do something about those side effects himself.

Later that night, Dr. Flannigan came to see Jim before she left for the night. He was wide awake of course. "Are you feeling nervous?" she asked.

"I'm not sleepy," Jim replied.

"You've had all your medicines. Are you sure you're not sleepy?"

"I'm positive."

"Has Doctor McCoy been in to see you tonight?"

"Yeah, but he left earlier."

Dr. Flannigan put Jim's chart back. "I'll see if I can get something to help you sleep," she said and left the room. She went down to the computer terminal. "Computer, show me all of Jim Kirk's medicine doses in the last six hours," she said. She could see that all the medicines had supposedly been given. "Show me the footage of each time they were given to him."

As Dr. Flannigan watched, she saw Dr. McCoy taking the medicines, and then he left with them. She was tired of that doctor interfering with her patient. She went to the two nurses who were supposed to give Jim's medicines. "Why did the two of you give Jim Kirk's medicines to Doctor McCoy?" she asked.

The nurses looked surprised. "He asked to give them to him," the first, Barbara, answered, and the other agreed.

"You two are on report. When you're supposed to give medication to a patient, you give it to them yourself, and I want the door to Kirk's room sealed, and entrance to his room denied to Doctor McCoy. Now."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Dr. Flannigan folded her arms. She knew how McCoy was, but she did not know what he thought he was doing taking her patient's medications. "Oh, and give Captain Kirk his medicines," she said. "They were not given."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Bones was in the medical lab on the Enterprise when Spock walked in. "Hey," Bones said, as he was looking through an analysis portal.

"Doctor, I must speak with you about a situation that has been brought to my attention," Spock said.

"Go ahead. Don't mind me. I'm just analyzing something here."

"Were you in the captain's room on the hospital ship tonight?"

"I was. You know I was."

"Doctor, did you take medicines from that facility without the consent of Doctor Flannigan?"

Bones stopped what he was doing and looked at Spock. "Why? Did that old grouchy doctor over there say I did?" he asked.

"Leonard, I must have a straight answer."

Bones sighed. "Okay. I did."

"May I ask why?"

"Those meds she's giving to him are causing him to be anxious and nervous. I'm trying to clean them up so they won't."

"Doctor, I am afraid you have…worn out your welcome on the hospital ship. The captain's room has been sealed off and only those authorized to do so may enter, and you are not one of those individuals."

Bones just stood there a moment. "Are you kidding? She locked me out?"

"It appears so."

Bones slapped his hand on the counter. "I was just trying to stop the medicines from making him have so much anxiety," he said. "She didn't have to take those kinds of measures."

"You are fortunate that it was not more severe. Taking medicines from a hospital ship without…"

"Yeah, yeah. Spare me!"

Bones sat down in a chair beside the counter he had been working on. "She just doesn't want anyone stepping on her authority, "he said.

"Doctor, she is the administrator of that ship, and she has a right to be in authority," Spock reminded him. "Until the captain is released, you will not be allowed onto that ship."

"You mean I can't even go over there and see my best friend?"

"I am afraid not. You may only speak with him over the communication system."

"That's not fair! Who's gonna make sure he talks to his counselor and this therapist?"

"You will have to do that over the communicator."

"Spock, can't you do something?"

"I cannot. If you defy these rules, you will be confined to your quarters until we leave this hospital ship. I am sorry."

"Yeah. Right."

Bones just sat there as Spock walked out. He picked up the vial of medication that he had already fixed. He supposed he would have to abide by those rules. He did not want to be confined to his quarters, and he was sure Spock would do that. He did not make threats if he did not intend to carry them out. He would just have to call Jim in the morning and explain everything.