Author's note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed and alerted! A special thanks to my anonymous reviewers, you always have the sweetest comments! I really like how this chapter turned out. Hope you like it.

Chapter Four

Jim lay still as he listened to the sound of his own heartbeat through the monitors. Every part of his body ached. He shifted on the bed, and lifted his arm to press the call button. The door to his room opened a moment later.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Doctor Ravi asked.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Only about two hours. Would you like some water? I can acquire some chicken broth if you are hungry. Your stomach isn't ready for solid food yet."

Jim shook his head. "Just the water. I'm not hungry." The doctor poured a cup of water and stuck in a bendy straw. He sipped the water, but shook his head after a moment. His stomach was too queasy for any more, but at least his mouth was wet. "I wanna talk to Lieutenant Pike." He tried to push himself up and fell back in the bed.

"He's in a meeting with Captain O'Mara, but I can contact him for you."

The kid went into a coughing fit. It didn't stop. The alarm on the bed went off as Doctor Ravi grabbed the oxygen mask and pressed it to Jim's face. He greedily held it tight against his face. The doctor checked his stats and made a note on his PADD.

Jim swallowed and lifted the mask. "I need to talk to him. We have to save my kids."

"Doctor Ravi to Lieutenant Pike."

There was a soft pause. "Pike here. Is there a problem, Doctor?"

"Our guest is awake and he's requesting to see you."

"I'll be right there."

The communication line closed. Doctor Ravi adjusted the height of the bed to ease Jim's breathing and help him sit up a little. Jim continued to breathe with the mask for a few more minutes before pushing it away. Doctor Ravi turned his oxygen level up. Lieutenant Pike entered a few minutes later. He held a large thermos of coffee.

"You didn't sleep long. How are you feeling?"

Jim shrugged. "I'm fine. I want to help you talk to my kids. They do have a communicator, but it's on a low frequency. They will only talk to me."

Pike crossed his arm over his chest. "I'd appreciate it. I really would like to help those children and get them some place safe. There's no need for them to hide anymore. After everything they've gone through, they deserve someone taking care of them."

"I took care of them."

Chris wanted to reach out to comfort the kid, but he knew better than to touch him. "I know you did and I'm sure you did a great job. I'm here to help you now, Jim."

The boy froze and his eyes quickly dropped to the blanket. Pike quickly realized his mistake and silently asked for Doctor Ravi to give them some privacy. Jim covered his mouth with the corner of his blanket as his lungs tried to rid themselves of the fluid and gunk in his chest. Lieutenant Pike winced at the sound. The boy's shoulders dropped and he could see how exhausted Jim was, even though he'd only been awake for a little while.

"You know my name," Jim murmured.

"Yes."

"Is that why you are helping me? You want to help the son of the legend, George Kirk's poor fatherless bastard."

"No, Jim. And I want you to remember this, I'm helping you because you just went through a horrible experience and it's my job to help everyone I can. Not just because you are George's son."

Jim nodded, blinking at the moisture in his eyes. He looked away from the lieutenant as he spoke. "I don't want special treatment. I just want my kids to be safe."

"I promise they will be okay."

"I don't want anyone to know my name. When we find them, call me JT." Jim coughed again and Pike looked up to see Jim's heartbeat increasing.

"No one other than Doctor Ravi, Captain O'Mara, and I know your name. We can keep it that way."

The medical monitor above Jim beeped softly, bringing the doctor back into the room. He grabbed a cooling blanket and laid it across Jim's legs. The kid pushed it back as sweat rolled down his forehead. Jim weakly shook his head.

"Don't need it. I'm already cold."

"You have a high fever and we need to lower it," Doctor Ravi said, lifting the blanket and covering him again.

Jim shook his head. "Can't you give me something for it?"

"Due to the shock your body experienced from the situation and the medications you're allergic to, your immune system has been compromised. It's best to try a few natural remedies until you're more stable."

"You better hurry up."

"What's the rush?" Dr. Ravi asked, adjusting the flow on the IV drip.

"I have to go get my kids." Jim's eyes tightened and he rubbed his forehead.

The doctor dimmed the lights a little as Jim's eyes fought to stay open.

"Once you contact them, we can safely bring the children to the ship to see you," Pike explained. "It's not a good idea for you to leave the medbay right now."

"I have to go with you or they won't trust you!" He pushed up with his arms and cried out in pain. Dr. Ravi tried to help him, but Jim flinched. "If I don't come with you, they will think you kidnapped me and it's a trap. They have to see me." Jim let out a shaky breath. "Please."

Jim watched as Chris rubbed his stubbly chin and nodded. He knew he was putting the lieutenant in a bad situation, but they were his responsibility. He had to save them.

"I'll talk to the captain and –"

"It has to be today," Jim interrupted. "They won't last much longer. They're already starving."

"Lieutenant, may I speak to you for a moment?" Doctor Ravi said.

Jim watched as the two stepped off to the side. The doctor's face was tight as he spoke quickly to the lieutenant. He pretended he couldn't hear them, but he could hear all of it. It didn't change his mind on what he had to do.

"Lieutenant, I don't think it's a good idea to have our patient leave the medbay. He has a high fever and his body isn't responding to the antibiotics. He refuses to eat because he's nauseated, but he's nauseated because he's eaten nothing. We're in for a struggle."

Pike sighed. "I understand Doctor, but if we don't do something soon… all of those children could die."

Pike did not have a good feeling about this. Jim walked beside him, moving slowly in the clothing they'd replicated for him. He kept the medical kit with him as Doctor Ravi's request, just in case something happened. Jim wore a medical monitor in case of an emergency and they could beam him back to the medbay. Two security officers walked behind them. Wind snuck into every opening in Chris' coat. Jim paused and Pike could hear the wheezing sound from his lungs. He frowned.

"This should be close enough. Can I have your communicator?" the kid asked.

Pike pulled the communicator out of his pocket and handed it to Jim. He noticed the trembling in his hand, but he quickly pulled away. Jim tinkered with it before lifting it to his face.

"Hey K, this is Troop Leader calling. Can you hear me?"

The group waited in silence. Jim shivered and pulled his arms tighter across his chest.

"K, this is Troop Leader. Are you guys okay?"

Pike waited and his heart skipped a beat when the voice of a small child answered Jim's hails.

"JT, is it really you?"

"Yeah, K, it's me. Is everybody okay?"

There was a soft sniffle. "We're really hungry. They know where we're hiding and we ran out of food. How did you get away? We thought he killed you."

Pike watched as Jim smiled. The conversation seemed to be lifting his spirits, though his face showed the pain he was in.

"Nah, it takes more than that to get me down. It's a long story, but I'm with some people who can help us. They're from Starfleet and they have food. I think we can trust them."

The voice paused for a minute. "Umm… okay, if you say we can trust them. You can come up."

"There are four of us. We'll be up in a few minutes."

Jim closed the communicator and handed it back to Pike. The kid wavered on his feet. Pike put out his arms and steadied Jim as he started to fall to the side.

"Are you sure you can do this?"

The lieutenant watched as Jim nodded and regained his balance. Chris wondered how much longer the analgesic Doctor Ravi had given Jim would last. He needed to rest. He could barely move his arms and breathing was a serious struggle. They shouldn't have let him come.

They moved up the steep side of the mountain, toward a small opening where the children were hidden. Pike let Jim lead the way. He winced when he saw Jim grab a rock and pull himself up. He didn't make a sound, but the pain had to be intense. Pike glanced behind him to see the two men from security close. Jim was first into the cave, but Chris helped him stand up. His eyes widened at the sight. Sixteen children were cuddled beneath a few torn blankets and had dirty, pale faces. The oldest couldn't have been more than nine. The youngest had a pink bow in her blond hair and had to have been around two years old. As soon as the oldest boy spotted Jim, he ran at him. Jim let out a moan when the kid collided with him, hugging him with as much strength as he had left. Chris looked away as tears formed in Jim's eyes.

"Hey Kevin, I'm okay." Jim gave him a smile.

"I didn't think we'd see you again." Pike recognized Kevin's voice as the one from the communicator.

"Me either, but I'm here."

"You look awful," Kevin said, pulling back and getting a better look at Jim.

"I'm fine. How's Tommy?"

Kevin pointed to a small bundle of blankets. Jim stumbled over, almost falling. Pike barely contained the urge to pick up Jim and hold him tight to protect him. He watched as the two boys moved over to the blanket. One of the security officers removed his backpack and took out the two thermoses of chicken broth. The other man helped pass out small bowls and pieces of bread. Pike was shocked to note the kids didn't fight. They waited patiently for their food and ate in silence. They were still terrified of them and it made him feel ill. Pike returned his attention to Jim.

Jim pulled the blanket back, revealing the tousled hair of a six-year-old boy. The little boy stared up at him with a smile on his face. Part of his face was obscured by white gauze. Someone had hurt the little boy. Pike couldn't look away.

"Hey Tommy, how are you feeling?" Jim touched his forehead.

"It hurts, but I'm okay," the boy answered.

"You have a fever. There's a doctor on the ship who can help you feel better. He fixed me up." Jim turned to face Pike. "We have to get him back to the ship."

Kevin helped Tommy stand and guided him over to the other kids to get him something to eat. There was little ventilation in the cave and it was damp. Pike observed one of the kids comforting another. They'd been through hell. Jim talked quietly with Kevin. Chris noticed Jim's movements were stiff and intentional. The analgesic was wearing off. His ribs contracted as he coughed into his hand. Kevin frowned.

"Are you okay, JT?"

Jim shook his head. He wasn't catching his breath. Pike moved a step closer, but Jim put up his hand as the coughing finally ceased. He straightened and took a shallow breath.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied with ease.

"You sound awful."

Jim brushed it off. The kids had finished eating and were waiting quietly. "Lieutenant Pike is going help all of you back to the ship. We're safe there. They can give us food and beds. Some of you desperately need a bath. But it's gonna be okay."

"What's gonna happen to us?" a little girl no older than five asked.

"You will all be taken care of us and safely taken back to Earth. Your families will be contacted. No one is going to hurt you again," Pike answered.

The kids whispered to each other. Chris glanced over at Jim and his heart dropped into his stomach. Jim's hand was on his ribs as he wheezed. His face was incredibly pale. Coughs suddenly erupted from his mouth and he could see the red spots on Jim's lips. Pike moved quickly and barely managed to catch Jim as he fell. He was still breathing, but barely.