Admiral Archer Has Had Enough
by Starsinger
Kirk is driving Archer, Bones, and just about everyone else crazy because his friends are out having fun, and he's stuck in a hospital, mostly in bed, pouting. So Archer, with McCoy's permission, gives Jim a desk job. Don't own them.
"Bones, did you know that the Young and Restless just started it 343rd season?" Jim asked.
"That's nice Jim," Bones mumbled. Then his friend's words penetrated his brain, "Wait, how do you know that?"
"Bones, I'm stuck here in bed with nothing for entertainment except the same pretty nurses day after day, the occasional Yeoman checking in with me and batting her eyes, and the television. What did you expect me to do?"
"So you watch soap operas?" Bones asked. He really shouldn't be surprised. Jim tired of the news weeks ago, it seemed to be all about the Enterprise and him and his crew. It was, as Spock put it, the 342nd report of his death that caused Jim to start watching other stuff: animal channel, soap operas, Lifetime Network, Do It Yourself, and the various others that had nothing to do with his lack of well-being.
"Nothing else to do," Jim muttered.
"Wait, is this where all the nurses go at 1100 hours?" Bones asked suspiciously. All the nurses up here disappeared for an hour every day starting around 11 am. No matter how hard anyone tried, they couldn't be found. Jim nodded, Bones walked out, they had to find something for that boy to do. He was even discussing what each character was up to and how bad the person they were with was for them with Nurse Chapel. McCoy was glad to have her back.
He called Admiral Archer, who quickly answered the link. He was out walking Porthos. He listened to Bones' dilemma and paused, considering. "Dr. McCoy, would you object if I gave your Captain a desk job?"
"Something he can do in his current situation? I'd be grateful. The nurses maybe a little upset with you though. He keeps telling them how the stories are going to end before they're revealed. Really, they shouldn't waste that brain on a soap opera." Jim was, to the dismay and delight of the nurses, always correct in his predictions. Vulcans only thought they had an analytical mind. Half the time Jim wasn't even aware of what he was doing. That may have been why Admiral Marcus had felt so threatened by the young captain.
So, with both Fleet Commander's and McCoy's permission, Archer brought a whole stack of paperwork and a PADD with him to visit Jim. Jim was understandably perplexed, "What's this?"
"Okay, we're tired of paying you to sit around and do nothing," Admiral Archer said with a grin. "We can't make you get off your ass, but, we can make you use your brain. The one thing there's nothing wrong with." Archer picked up the top file, "These are everything we know about the Klingons. I want you to sift through everything we have, this includes Kris' data from her first hand accounts, and come to some conclusions. Whether the Klingons will ever go to war with us, the likelihood anyway. Whether or not it's a coordinated effort. Which Clan is likely to lead the effort. Everything you think relevant. Then, I want you to right a separate report on how influential my Captain's marriage to the Klingon Chancellor is likely to be.
"Jim, I need that moment, right now, so does Mary. I need that 'Lightning storm in space,' or 'Why is he carrying a bag' moment where you connect those seemingly random dots and put them together. Is Kris right? Are they capable of being our allies? Or are they so tightly wound that this could never happen. You make the call." Kirk nodded reading the first file. He was absorbed, but occasionally jotted down a note or two on the PADD. Archer left the room quietly, confident that Jim Kirk could do what needed to be done."