Been awhile, sorry, got distracted. I'm outlining a Into Darkness story for my In Need & Deed verse, won't start posting until it's mostly finished.
And now, Scotty.
He's drinking a little more than he should, what with the repairs he'd have to oversee in the morning, mind roving over the last few days, as well as the day he first got caught up in this mess.
A half Vulcan from the future, showing up with a half-frozen lad (Barely an adult, he remembers thinking, despite being 25) and explains the situation. Something felt right, agreeing to go with Jim. Or maybe it was just him being sick of freezing, but something about the situation had just tugged at him.
He liked Jim, the rough and tumble genius repeat offender, who loved the Enterprise as much as he did and would go drinking with him. (And it was Jim, he knew, that would let him make the modifications that weren't, technically, Starfleet Regulation, and keep a still, that also, was not technically regulation.) Captain Kirk, on the other hand, wasn't someone Montgomery Scott could get a long with all the time. Captain Kirk was reckless, dangerous, capable of getting people killed when focused on doing something he felt was right. Oh, sure, Captain Kirk could be good and lovable, but that was when he was relaxed and letting Jim shine through.
Scott takes another drink, trying to forget the mess Captain Kirk got dragged into (and subsequently, dragged the Enterprise into). Truth be told, he didn't really regret it. Giving Kirk his resignation when the other wouldn't listen to reason, that is.
He did feel sorry, when for a brief moment, Jim flickered through, a glimpse of betrayal on his face along with a mix of understanding. Jim, Captain Kirk, they were young, Scott had realized, still full of fire and not quite tempered by experience yet. Jim had lost the only father figure he had known, and Captain Kirk was reacting the same way he always did to a threat that hurt those he cared about. In hindsight, Scott could see this clearly, but then, he had been hurt, not only as a chief engineer whose Captain wasn't listening too, but as a friend who was being thrown away.
And then Jim called him up, in need of someone to trust, and Scott had agreed without thinking. Even with the poor apology Jim had tried to give (and slightly ruined) for his actions, Scott's conscience had already been planning to help before his mind had registered what Jim was asking. Because it was Jim, not Captain Kirk asking. Jim who was like a brother to the scotsman.
He had gone, leaving Keenser to cover, just in case, and what he'd found had left him in shock. A battleship, larger than the Enterprise, and he soon learns meant to destroy it.
Scott listens in horror as Admiral Marcus explains they're going after Kirk because he has gone against orders, and has not killed the man that killed Pike. (Scott is relieved, because he doesn't want Jim to become a monster.) Scott easily taps into the communications below decks, and Captain Kirk begging for the lives of his crew, begging to be the only one killed, reminds Scott that despite it all, Captain Kirk and Jim are the same person, and the Enterprise is the only family he talks about. It's Scott's family too, and it takes him seconds to disable the entire weapons system (some daft idiot designed them poorly, though he can't complain) and the feeling of relief as Jim all but cheers his name lingers as he runs to hide.
Killing the security guard, however,- not directly, no, but he'd still pressed the button that lead to the man's death- leaves him with a bitter feeling.
And then, they'd been rushing, no time for words about feelings, trying to take down Admiral Marcus (and he wonders if Kirk saw what he could have become) before they were back on the Enterprise and rushing to fix the engines. The Warp core was out of alignment. No time to get the radation-protective suits, which to keep them from being used by Saboteurs were locked in his office. And he could see Jim, rough and ready genius planning to go in. Before he could make the offer to go together (because he can't let his brother go alone) Captain Kirk is whirling on him.
He wakes up, buckled to his chair and everything is stabilizing, and he feels even worse than when he indirectly killed the guard. He gets to the clear door in time to see Jim pulling himself out of the core housing, moving slowly- crawling because he can't stand.
"Jim!" it comes out a hoarse croak, and Jim only briefly looks up, and Scotty sees something that makes him want break down. "Jim, c'mon laddie, you've got the door controls on that side." The damn safety precautions to make sure no one accidentally gets sealed inside are working against them, because with the inner door open, the decontamination procedures won't start, and more importantly, they can't get Jim out.
He doesn't remember reaching for the intercom. He remembers Commander Spock, vulcan facade cracking, demanding the door to be opened, remembers responding and all but hitting the decontamination button as soon as the light signaling the inner door had closed came on.
They weren't going to get a chance to talk over drinks and make amends, it hits him as Jim's last words are exchanged with Spock, and as Jim admits to being scared, Scott wants to scream, because it can't end like this, not after what old Spock of the future said. Scott remains, after Spock has rushed off in a rage that scares even Uhura, after Uhura leaves to get back to the bridge after a hug, and long after a group in the proper gear gets Jim's body and takes it to the med bay.
Jim had been happy, relieved, crawling out of the core. Captain Kirk had done what he always did when his crew was threatened, and this time, he had only gotten himself killed.
Scott wants to hate him, wants to slug him. But Chekov is there in a panic, and his engines are a mess, so he pulls it together. The crew that joins him are subdued, but he gets hugs and gentle hits to the shoulder in welcome and relief, and it's hours later he's called back up to the med bay.
He meets Spock outside, who informs him that Jim hadn't signed the resignation forms, and instead gave Keenser and himself a month of leave for 'personal reasons'. Scott is a little torn by that, on one hand it looked like Kirk was assuming too much, on the other, it looked like Jim was hoping to get him back.
Inside, Jim is hooked half a dozen tubes, and his vital signs are so low Scott can't help but stare.
"Officially, he was only mostly dead, use of the serum made from Khan's blood is stabilizing him." McCoy explains.
"He'll live?" Chekov asks, and Scott feels hope mixed with anger and worry stir in his chest.
"He'd better, and then I'm going to slug him for going in alone!" Scott snaps. He knows he's crying too, but damn it, he's sick of his emotions being batted about like a yo-yo.
"Get in line." McCoy retorts.
"It is a courtmartial offense to hit a fellow officer." Spock interupts, eyes finally leaving Jim's still form. "And I believe, it is unethical to hit a man while he is recovering. However, I am unsure if that applies when both are off duty."
Scott doesn't bother remembering the rest of their conversation, finally finishing the bottle. The Enterprise is his home, he's got good lads and lasses who look up to him, and the command crew is one of the more entertaining he's ever had. And Scott knows it'll take not just Jim apologising, properly this time, but himself apologising for walking out instead of staying and working through the difficulty. Scott knows they'll forgive each other, start working on strengthening the over-strained bonds, and someday, they'll get to the point that old Spock is so sure they will.
Families, afterall, were like Starships. They needed constant maintenance to work.
Constructive Criticism will be much appreciated, This made sense in my head, but I might have wandered and rambled. Next up: Not a darn clue. Who do you want to see?