Chapter Six

Pike jolted up in his bed and grabbed the front of his shirt, desperately trying to control his breathing. His shirt was soaked through and his sheets were damp. He ordered the computer to turn the lights on twenty percent. The false sounds of the children's screams rang in his ears. Pike glanced at the clock. He'd only been asleep for four hours.

Chris stood up and headed to take a shower. There was no sense in trying to go back to sleep after that. He took his time, rubbing his shoulders to ease the tension under the warm water. He finished and changed into clean sweatpants. Pike changed the sheets and lay down to read his book. The words blurred together on the page as a headache formed behind his eyes. The lack of sleep and his stress level was catching up to him. His mind wouldn't calm down. Pike grabbed his pillow and headed out of his quarters.

The nighttime staff in the medbay didn't say anything, but a few of the nurses gave him a strange look as Pike headed into the ICU room. Jim looked the same. He was at least resting in peace under the sedative, not suffering from nightmares. An extra line had been added, which Pike recognized as a feeding tube. The kid has to get nutrients somehow. Chris sat down in the chair and put up his feet, tucking the pillow behind his head and against the wall. He opened his paperback book and started to read, this time finding it a little easier to focus.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was in here."

The nurse's voice jarred his attention.

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep. I wanted to keep an eye on him." Pike set down his book and put his feet on the floor. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"No, it's okay, Lieutenant. Doctor Ravi asked for some regeneration on his arm muscles while he recovered. It will help the healing process."

"I won't get in your way."

Pike watched as the young woman ran the dermal generator over the kid's emaciated arms. Red bumps coated the skin; the nurse explained it was a reaction from the antibiotics. She finished with his arms and made a note on her PADD about Jim's stats. The woman smiled up at him.

"Would you like to rub some lotion into his arms? He'll respond well to touch and it will help heal the rash." She paused when Pike hesitated. "Only if you are comfortable, I won't force you."

"No, that's fine. I can do it."

The nurse handed Chris the small bottle of lotion and left the ICU. Pike scooted closer to the biobed. He squeezed some of the white lotion into his hand and began to massage it into Jim's skin. The kid moved a little bit, but after a moment seemed to relax. Pike glanced up at the medical monitor and saw his pain indicator had gone down slightly. He finished rubbing lotion into Jim's arms and set it down. He picked up his book and rested his feet against the bed, adjusting his pillow. His eyes grew heavy as he listened to Jim breathing. It was comforting.

0o0o0o0o0

Pike groaned as he woke up. His neck was killing him and every part of his body felt stiff. He sat up and immediately fell to the floor. He opened his eyes and recognized the medbay. Pike stood up and stretched his muscles. The door to the private room opened a moment later, admitting Doctor Ravi. He smiled at the lieutenant.

"How did you sleep?" the doctor asked.

"Better than I did in my quarters."

Dr. Ravi studied him for a moment. "I can tell you're still exhausted and stressed. You can't hide your emotions from me. I detect quite a lot of concern for our patient." He checked Jim's lines. "Can I inquire why?"

Pike ran his hands over his face. "I wrote my dissertation on the U.S.S. Kelvin and George Kirk's last actions. I even met his wife, Winona. She didn't say much about the incident, but spoke of the character of her husband. As I was getting up to leave, Jim ran into the room. He was crying about a bug stinging him outside and tried to crawl into her lap. Winona didn't let him. She stared at him as she patted his back and told him it would be fine." He paused and watched as Jim's chest rose and fell. "Winona couldn't even look at her son because he looks exactly like George. But Jim calmed down and walked away."

"Poor woman, I can't imagine her struggles. My wife and I have been married for twenty years."

"Do you have any children?" He was surprised since the doctor didn't have any family onboard.

The doctor nodded. "We have two daughters and one son. I can't imagine seeing my son in this condition." He continued examining his patient, taking a look at the marks on the boy's legs. "Jim is very weak and he's vulnerable. It's not a condition he's comfortable with."

"I can honestly say no one really likes being vulnerable. It makes us open to pain and hurt."

"But it also opens us up to affection and friendships. Young Jim definitely desperately needs both, even if he doesn't want them."

Chris nodded and stood up as he checked the time. He had to hurry to be ready for his shift. "I know he does. But I better go get ready for my shift. Captain doesn't like it when I'm late. I'll be back later." Pike took one last look at Jim and disappeared from the room. He had to find a way to clear his thoughts, but Jim wasn't leaving him alone.

0o0o0o0o0

"O'Mara to Lieutenant Pike, please report to my ready room."

Pike barely had time to change and grab breakfast from the mess hall before his meeting. He didn't quite make it on time. Chris rode the lift to the bridge and headed into the Captain's office from there. Captain O'Mara sat at his desk, drinking his morning tea.

"I'm sorry I'm late."

The captain smiled and motioned for him to take a seat. "Not a problem, Lieutenant. Doctor Ravi informed me you were checking up on our patient this morning. Nurse Laura reported the other children slept well, though the youngest insisted on sleeping in her bed. They seem settled in and are eating breakfast. Engineer McLaughlin volunteered to give them a brief tour of the ship later in the morning."

"That's good. Doctor Ravi said the injured boy should be able to join the others later today. He needs another treatment first. He also believes Kodos himself injured the boy. At least three of them saw his face."

Captain O'Mara pulled up a report on his screen. "I'd like you to interview each of the children and find out their stories. I expect to spend another two days here before we proceed back to Earth."

"Understood, sir." Pike stood up and prepared to leave the room. A thought crossed his mind. "What will happen to Jim Kirk? His mother is on a deep space mission. He has no other family."

"Mr. Kirk will be transferred to Starfleet Medical for privacy reasons. Once he is healthy enough, he will be given to the state until his mom can be contacted."

"Yes sir."

Pike turned and left the room. Jim shouldn't be put into foster care after his ordeal to suffer and fall between the cracks. There was no guarantee Winona would come to take care of him. He had an uneasy feeling about the situation.

Chris headed onto the bridge and went to his station. He had to distract himself for a few minutes. Talking to the children about what happened to them was the worst task. Pike took a deep breath and headed to the cargo bay turned nursery. The kids were playing with the blocks and giggling as they moved around the room. As soon as they saw Pike enter, they all came running.

"Chris, we had cinnamon rolls with frosting for breakfast!" A girl grabbed his hand and jumped up and down.

"How's JT?" another kid asked.

"He's doing okay. The doctor needs to keep an eye on him for a while longer, but Tommy should be coming to stay with you later." Pike moved over to an empty bed and sat down. "Can I talk to you all?"

The kids nodded and spread out close to him. Pike smiled. Kevin took a seat next to him on the bed and pulled a sleepy Maya onto his lap as she clutched her purple elephant. Chris didn't know how to start, but he knew he had to ask the questions and get the kids started talking.

"I want to ask about your experience on the planet. None of you have to talk to me and you don't have to listen. It's okay if it is too soon."

Kevin shifted Maya on his lap, letting her snuggle into his shoulder. "Do we have to talk about it now?"

"No." Pike shook his head. "I would like to talk to you before you leave the ship, but we have a few days. So, we can take our time."

"I don't wanna talk about it!" one of the little boys said as tears filled his eyes. "I miss my mommy!"

The lieutenant felt his stomach clench and he tried to remain focused. "It's okay. We won't talk about it right now. I'm sorry I brought it up." Pike leaned forward. "How about I make it up to you and we play a game?"

"I like games!"

Pike moved over to the play area and started stacking the blocks. Within seconds, the children surrounded him and joined in. He ruffled the hair of the boy who asked him to read a story the day before and focused on making the kids happy.

They played for over an hour before Chris had to excuse himself to head back to the bridge to get some work done. He sat in his office, shifting through the files he'd discovered on Kodos' computer. There wasn't a lot of information that Starfleet didn't know. Pike frowned when he came upon a video file, buried deep within a file about colony progress reports. He opened it and felt sick to his stomach. Jim was tied tight to the pole as people filed past, picking up meager pieces of bread and deformed vegetables. No one looked in Jim's direction. The kid coughed and blood spotted on his lips. One of the colonists tried to look at Jim and received a hit to the face. Jim kept his eyes down. The video ended and Pike pushed back from his computer. Kodos used him as an example of his control.

"Dr. Ravi to Lieutenant Pike!"

Pike tried to recover as he pressed the button. "Yes, Doctor. Is Jim awake?"

"Yes, and he's threatening us with a pair of scissors. I believe you might be able to calm him down."

"On my way!"

Chris ran all the way to the medbay and rushed back to the ICU room. Jim really needed to stop with the scissors. He stepped inside and saw the poor kid. The breathing tube was thankfully gone, but Jim was still receiving oxygen through the nasal cannula. Pike was surprised to see Tommy crouched next to him.

"He's delirious. His body temperature is 104.8. We need to lower it as soon as possible." Doctor Ravi kept back from the boy and his captive. "He refuses to speak with me."

Pike nodded and stepped forward, holding up his hands. "I just want to talk to you."

"JT, you can trust him. Chris won't hurt us," Tommy begged. "Please."

Jim's hand was shaking. "No! I won't let you hurt him anymore!"

Pike knelt in front of him. He tried to keep the emotion from his voice as he spoke. "Jim, I'm not Kodos. I won't hurt you."

The scissors clattered to the floor and Pike barely managed to grab a bowl as he saw Jim's expression change. Tommy stood up and ran toward the doctor. Chris held the bowl under Jim's chin as he violently threw up and whispered softly to him to comfort him. Jim stopped for a moment, gasping as tears rolled down his cheeks. His stomach rebelled again. Pike waited until he finished before lowering the bowl and pushing it away from them. The nurse grabbed it and went to clean it up. Jim looked incredibly spent as he leaned up against Pike's arm and his eyes slid shut.

"I'm sorry," Jim mumbled. "I'm so sorry."

Pike wrapped his arms around the boy and held him tight against his chest. Jim continued to cry. The doctor ushered Tommy out of the room, along with the nurse to give them some privacy.

"You're gonna be okay," Pike whispered.

"How do you know?"

"I will make sure no one hurts you again."

Chris put his arms around Jim and lifted him back onto the biobed. He could see the boy's fever was steadily climbing. Pike moved to fetch the doctor, but froze when Jim grabbed his hand.

"Don't leave me alone. Please, I can't be alone."

Pike squeezed his hand tight. "I'm right here, Jim. I'm not leaving you."