Chapter 31- Take the Good with the Bad
I didn't bother unpacking my things since I didn't know how long we would be on board, but I did remove the envelope that had now become battered from being in my bag for nearly two weeks. I sat on the edge of the bed and read the note written in Leti's hand. "Dr. Collins- I was glad to have met you and I hope you enjoyed your stay. Leonard would have a fit of he knew I was writing this, but I just wanted to tell you that I am glad he has you as a friend. I know you saw me in the orchard and I didn't mean to spy, but at least now I know that you will watch and take good care of him. I won't worry as much if I know there is someone up there who cares for him. He doesn't always act it, but he really is a gentleman and he will take good care of you too because I know him well enough to see that you mean something to him as well. He can't hide from his big sister! Be safe in your travels and I hope if he makes it home again soon, you come with him. –Leti."
I smiled and folded the letter before tucking it deep into my bag where he wouldn't accidently find it. Thankfully I wasn't alone in keeping an eye out for her brother, between Jim and I we tried our best. The door opened and shut with a hiss and McCoy tossed his kit onto the desk with a defeated sigh. He looked upset and I placed my hand on his back when he sat next to me. He rubbed his face vigorously in frustration and growled, "That Dawkins kid is about to get a promotion in the next few hours."
"What's wrong with her?" I asked feeling the tension in his muscles.
"Starfleet must have had some hack first year med student on the line. It wasn't even close to flu or anything like that. She is dying of radiation sickness she got when the planet she was on was hit by a shockwave of x-rays that were ejected from a black hole while she was on an away team collecting specimens. Likely everyone on this ship has it to some degree and I have absolutely nothing to work with! If I had a properly furnished sickbay I might be able to save her and treat everyone else, but as it is all I can do is watch and see who drops dead first."
I couldn't think of anything meaningful to say, so I just ran my hand across his back in a weak effort to…I didn't know what it was supposed to accomplish, but at least it was something. There was a sense of impending hopelessness that hung heavy; to know that the cure was out there but to have it just out of reach was maddening. It seemed rude just to wait for her to go, but there was nothing else we could have done. If her death would have been sudden it would have been easier to take, but sitting in silence while we counted the minutes was almost too much. "Are there any other ships in the area that might have what you need?" I finally choked out.
He shrugged. "Maybe. But even if there are they will be too late to help her. The way fluid is building in her lungs she will drown and suffocate before then. And if that doesn't get her, the pressure of trapped fluid on the brain will, or she will go into kidney failure trying to process all the excess drainage. Any way you look at it, it a fucking horrible way to go. And when I reported to Dawkins, I found out the kid is only a lieutenant and everyone else is either just enlisted or even cadets doing final projects. I know that research vessels don't see much action, but we are heading toward some of the more unknown parts of the quadrant and I would think Starfleet would like to have us map it all out first before sending in a shipload of kids."
I patted him on the back and stated, "I know it is late, but we should grab a snack from the cafeteria before turning in. We both know how the low nutrient thing turns out."
He smirked a little and replied, "You go on ahead. I don't have the stomach for it right now." He did look miserable and exhausted, so I left him there to wallow a bit over the impending addition to his body count even if it wasn't his fault.
The mess hall was quiet save for a few people sitting at a small table whispering tensely among themselves. It didn't seem a private matter, so I decided to join them and they graciously allowed me. I introduced myself and told them what I did on the ship, but they seemed to lose interest. Psychology was mostly a human venture and therefore not the focus of the ongoing research on the ship. While we also studied animals, psychologists generally didn't get around to plants, although I once heard that they would grow faster if you talked nicely to them.
"So I was telling Al here that there have been reports of Romulans spotted near the edge of the quadrant and even a few in the sector we are in." The young assistant named Jenkins whispered as though the Romulans could hear. "I just hope we don't run into them."
"What have they been doing?" I asked a little tense myself. Suddenly my tuna sandwich didn't taste so good.
"We don't really know. I have heard they have been robbing Federation ships and destroying them. I guess they are still pissed about us kicking their asses." Al chuckled. He was a big, gregarious man that worked in engineering. Somehow I couldn't imagine him fitting down the hatch to the engine rooms. "I've never seen one, myself, what are they like?"
I put my sandwich down and answered, "I wasn't on the Enterprise when they faced Nero, but I have had some experience with them and they are generally to be avoided." Completely, if at all possible.
"No shit." Jenkins laughed. "They destroyed Vulcan, that takes some seriously evil rage. People say Klingons are the worst, but at least they didn't obliterate an entire planet that was inhabited."
"I agree. I have personally dealt with both, and the worst thing about Klingons is the way they smell." I thought back to the awful stench that permeated the ship for days. "And on that pleasant note, I wish you goodnight because I can't eat another bite thinking about it." They laughed as I disposed of my tray and made a cup of chocolate pudding for McCoy. If there was anything I learned by sitting next to him at dinner so many times, it was that he had something of a sweet tooth that seemed to gravitate around all things chocolate.
When I got back to the room, the bathroom door was open and a wall of opaque stream permeated the small space. I could hear running water and an occasional tapping sound. If he was shaving, I didn't know how he could see what he was doing. "Did you save any hot water for me?" I taunted.
There was a little more splashing and the water stopped. He emerged from the fog in his pajamas drying his face with a towel and I thought it just a little strange he would shave before bed, most men I knew waited until morning. He crossed the floor and inspected the pudding I held out to him with a smile. He smelled of wet hair and a mix of sweet and spicy scent that suited him quite well, but I tried not to dwell on that. He draped the wet towel over his shoulder with a fling and said, "I wasn't really hungry, but seeing as how you brought it all the way back, I'd hate to see this go to waste." He dug into the cup clearly enjoying every bite of the sugary goodness.
I took my shower and while I was getting dressed, I yelled through the crack in the door what I had learned in the mess hall. He didn't seem impressed with hearsay or the fact that they had been seen near the border since they lived on the other side. "Still," he grumbled while I got my clothes ready for the next day, "if they have been spotted around here, that could be a problem. I wonder if Jim knows or has heard anything."
I climbed into bed and he began tossing pillows and blankets onto the floor. "What are you doing?" I asked amused.
"What does it look like?" He retorted. "Going to bed, same as you."
I patted the bed with my hand and told him, "I think we are past that now. Come on up here and sleep like a civilized human and be prepared to lose the battle for the blankets." He took the invitation and grunted happily when the lights went out.
He was quiet for a moment before his low, gruff voice said, "Morgan, I didn't ever get the chance to thank you for what you did back on Earth."
I slid my hand under the covers to gently pat his arm. "You don't have to." I whispered. "The look in your eyes when you met her at the door said it all. Besides, it was just my job; the same thing you said when you saved my life. I would say you pulled off the bigger feat and this is probably as close as I could ever come to paying you back."
He rolled onto his side to face me and said, "You don't owe me anything, you never did. If that were the case, I would completely own Jim's ass for all the times I pulled him back."
"Then maybe you should remind him of that next time you lose at poker." I smiled.
He looked as though he wanted to say more, but his eyes fell to my lips and chin with an exquisite aching that resonated with me because I felt it too. He slowly raised his hand to my face and traced the outline of my jaw as I leaned in for a delicious kiss and that was all it took for the remaining barriers to be broken.
Unlike Jocelyn's evaluation, I found him to be a patient, thoughtful, and generous lover who was exceedingly careful not to go faster than I wanted him to. And go slow I did, enjoying the exploration of the hardened angles of his body and drinking in his masculine scent. He was no Adonis by any means, but he did have an appealing average build with just enough definition to appreciate. The tingling of his hot breath as it brushed across my skin was elating and as a doctor, he knew things about the human body that served him well. I knew there was no one else I wanted more than him and for so long I had tried to ignore it, but it made that moment all the sweeter. All the waiting and the pent up frustration added a sense of urgency and release that washed over us as we lie in each other's arms wondering why we waited so damn long.
"Maybe we should just keep our thing behind closed doors." I mumbled into his chest while he ran his fingers through my hair. "Not hiding like Spock and Uhura, but you know, for professional reasons."
"You mean you think my examining your tonsils with my tongue in a hallway would raise questions?" He asked mockingly. "Ok, no PDA. I agree."
"I would just like to keep it casual like it is no big thing." I told him. He looked sharply down at me and I added, "Monogamous, but nonchalant. Is that better?" He let his head fall back on the pillow with a grunt. "It's business during the day, but when we are off duty it will be our business."
"I get it." He chuckled. "So when we are on the clock nothing has changed, but you don't mind others knowing."
"Exactly." I confirmed. Something told me most wouldn't mind and a few would even be relieved. Now I just had to make sure that if this all went south that it was clearly not my fault; Jim would not hesitate to shoot me out an airlock because he had warned me in no uncertain terms against hurting his friend, and I had no doubt his revenge would be swift and severe if he had even the slightest suspicion I had.
McCoy's buzz came crashing down when he got a page from Dawkins asking him to come to the Captain's quarters immediately. He knew before he even got up what he would find, but he quickly got dressed and went anyway with a permanently etched scowl on his face. I was just finishing up in the shower when he got back. He poked his head into the bathroom and growled, "She's dead." I opened the curtain enough to look at him, but he seemed far more upset than he should have been. "But we have bigger problems. A warbird has been spotted nearby and Dawkins is almost shitting himself on the bridge. He may be the First Officer, but I am now the senior ranking officer on the ship. I have to try to give him a hand up there." He put his hands on his hips and muttered, "Jesus. I'm a doctor, not Jim Kirk."
