Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek
The night before they arrived at Rigel, Jim found himself eating alone with April for dinner. Ever since they had left Earth, he had always had several people to dine with each night. Usually it was McCoy and Joanna, but many times Carol and the other members of the command crew would join in. But tonight, everyone else was busy, either working, or spending time with other friends on the ship.
April glanced at Jim as he let out a soft sigh, picking his way slowly through the pasta dish he had chosen for that evening. "Something on your mind?" she asked curiously.
Jim looked up, startled, and shook his head. "No, just looking forward to getting some time off."
April smiled. "Me, too. One of my friends from med school told me I should check out the Barros Inn. She said it was probably one of the wildest bars in the galaxy." She paused for a second and frowned slightly. "I'm not sure how great of a recommendation that is, come to think of it."
Jim laughed, and after a moment, April joined in.
"Do you have any set plans yet?" Jim asked when they both calmed down.
April shrugged, taking a bite of her salad. "Leonard invited me to join him if I got bored, but he also said he had to check with you to see if you had plans," she said once she swallowed.
Jim nearly smirked at hearing the potential offer. "You should go with Bones. I'll find something to do."
April narrowed her eyes. "Spit it out, Jim. If you have something to say, just say it."
Jim bit his lip. "It's just… I can see how much you guys like each other. You should ask him out."
April raised an eyebrow. "I could tell you the same thing."
Jim tilted his head to one side. "As much as I care for Bones, I can assure you, he's not my type."
He laughed as April growled and threw her roll at him. "You know what I meant," she said irritably. Jim calmed down slightly, and handed April her roll back. "I'm serious, Jim. Carol really likes you, and you like her. So I'm going to throw your own advice back at you. You should ask her out."
Jim stared at his pasta soberly. "It's not that simple," he argued, but April was fairly certain that at this point, he was just trying to make excuses.
April leaned forward, her earnest gaze seeking out Jim's own downcast one. "I'll make you a deal." Jim looked up at her, interested. April smiled slightly. "I'll go for it, if you will."
Jim pursed his lips, as April finished off her salad and collected her dishes. "Jim, I know you're hesitant, and I get it, but you deserve to be happy. As long as you're looking, you're always going to be able to come up with reasons to say no. Why can't you just tell that voice in your head to shut up, and take a leap of faith?"
April walked away, leaving him with that thought. Jim picked at his pasta for another minute, before he sighed and quickly finished off what was left. He wasn't really hungry anymore, but after Tarsus, he never wasted food.
Finished, he disposed of his dishes and quickly left the mess hall. If April could take a chance, he supposed he could as well.
XXX
Most of the command crew had their shore leave scheduled for the first day, with Scotty being the notable exception, as they needed to leave one senior officer on board, and Scotty had volunteered. Jim was fairly certain the man wouldn't be leaving Engineering at all, even when he was scheduled to go on shore leave, but he didn't say anything. Scotty was a grown man; he knew his limits.
After they docked above the planet, Jim officially dismissed the first rotation for their leave, and then followed his command crew to the officer's quarters, to change before heading down.
When he went to find Carol, the corridors were mostly silent, indicating that he was one of the last to begin his scheduled leave.
The conversation between the two officers was somewhat hesitant as they made their way to the transporter room. Jim wondered why it was so awkward now; it wasn't like they had never spent time together before.
Maybe because now they were both actually thinking of this as a date. Still, they tried to push past the self-consciousness as they beamed down to the planet and began walking along the main road through the city. Here was all they needed to keep themselves occupied; bars and shops lined the street, with what looked like most major species in the Federation being represented as shoppers and patrons.
Jim led Carol towards a nearby pub; it looked decent, and not too crowded. Plus, it offered them the chance to eat something, rather than simply sample every kind of alcoholic beverage known to the Federation – and a few that weren't.
As the evening progressed, the two were able to at least somewhat drop the unease, and found some common topics to discuss, such as the most recent discoveries in the science department, and the scenery around them. Ok, so it wasn't a large selection of topics to choose from, but they were trying.
When they finished eating, Carol led the way out of the pub, and towards some of the more colorful shops; Jim watched as she poked around, picking out a few trinkets to purchase. Jim himself didn't buy anything.
Finally, Carol pulled Jim towards some of the less crowded side streets; down one such street was a small park, little more than an expanse of greenery with a fountain in the center. She sat on the edge of the fountain and gestured for him to do the same. Looking up into his bright blue gaze, Carol found herself wondering what the hell they were doing. She liked him, and she thought he liked her – he did ask her out, after all – but it was so clear to her that he was holding himself back.
Jim bit his lip as the silence descended. The sounds of the crowd were muted this far away from the main street, and it was almost as if they were completely alone.
After a few minutes of silence, Carol sighed. "I like you, Jim." Jim made to speak, but Carol held up a hand. "Just let me finish." Jim nodded, confused, and Carol smiled slightly. "I like you, and sometimes I think you like me too, but then I can't really tell. You asked me out tonight, but can you tell me one real thing we've talked about all evening?"
Jim almost defended himself. They had talked about science. But that was work, he realized ruefully. This whole evening, they had talked about work, or other people in the crowds around them. Not once had they really talked about themselves.
Carol watched in silence until she saw that he understood what she was saying. "Jim, I want to see where this goes, but I can't tell if you feel the same way. We had a great time on Earth, I really thought I knew where we stood; but then I come on board, and all of a sudden, it's different. Was I wrong to accept this post?"
Jim shook his head quickly. "No." He swallowed. "Carol, I'm sorry. I know I'm sending out all kinds of crazy signals, or whatever it is you call it." Carol shoved him lightly, and Jim gave her a small smile. "I do like you. I just don't really do commitments, or serious anything." He looked down at his lap, his hands twisting nervously until Carol reached out and rested one of her own lightly on top of his. Jim sighed. "I don't know how to trust people," he admitted softly. "I learned the hard way that people are going to let you down, so it's better not to give them the chance."
Carol furrowed her brow. "What about your command crew? It seems like you trust them."
Jim shrugged. "I guess. But everything has limits. I probably trust them more than most people, but it's just hard for me to open up to people. It's not you, I swear."
Carol bit her lip. This was the furthest she had ever really gotten with him, and she didn't know how to respond. What did someone say to that? Finally, she squeezed his hands gently. "Would you be willing to try?" Jim glanced at her, raising an eyebrow, and Carol smiled. "Can you just tell me one thing no one else knows? It doesn't have to be anything big. Just tell me something."
Jim pursed his lips, thinking about the request. What Carol was asking wasn't really that big a deal, but for some reason, it seemed insurmountable.
Carol waited in silence for several minutes, hoping that her nudge wasn't too hard. She really thought Jim would be willing to try, but maybe she had been mistaken.
Finally, Jim looked up, he eyes bright with some unknown revelation. He smiled comfortingly and nodded slightly. Carol was right, he realized. If he wanted something more, he had to be willing to step outside his comfort zone. Yes, his life had taught him never to trust, and to always expect the worst, but all that really led to was a lifetime of loneliness. Sure, he had friends in his command crew, and Chris, Jon, Richard, and Shay were there if he needed them, but he still didn't really let them in. He always felt superficial, and almost disappointed, with his friends. Like he was hiding a part of himself away, and not one of them noticed, or cared to try and find that missing piece. Which was unfair to all of them, he knew; it wasn't like he ever gave any hints or anything.
If he wanted to change, he'd have to make an effort. He couldn't expect everyone else to do all the work.
Jim bit his lip, considering Carol's request. What could he tell her? After another minute of silence, he shrugged one shoulder. "My favorite season is winter," he told her softly, hesitantly. "I hate the heat."
Carol raised an eyebrow, feeling incredible joy that Jim had made that step. "How did you survive California in the summer then?" she asked curiously.
Jim snorted. "I didn't really have anywhere else to go. Besides, surfing."
Carol laughed lightly. "Well, I've never tried it, so I can't speak to that, but I'll trust you." She tilted her head to the side. "What's your favorite part of winter?"
Jim's smile grew reminiscent as he thought about some of his few good childhood memories. "I grew up in Iowa," he said softly. "I love the snow. I remember this one year, I must have just been five or so. My brother Sam and I spent the whole day having a snowball fight. We were soaked by the time we went inside." He tilted his head to the side. "We both ended up with pretty bad colds if I remember correctly, but it was so worth it."
Carol smiled, taking pleasure in Jim's obvious happiness at the reminder of that time. She didn't know that Jim had a brother, and wondered where he was. When people talked about the Kirk family, for some reason they never mentioned George Kirk's other son. She wondered why that was.
Jim let out a soft sigh. "I don't have too many memories like that from growing up," he admitted. "We got in a lot of trouble for tracking water through the house that evening. But it was still a great day."
Carol leaned into his side. "Thank you for telling me." They lapsed into silence for another few minutes, before Carol suddenly spoke up. "I'm allergic to peanuts."
Jim looked at her, confused. Carol shrugged, sitting up slightly. "You told me something about you, so I thought it's only fair I share as well."
Jim raised an eyebrow, and laughed quietly. "I am, too," he informed her.
Carol joined in his laughter.
After a minute, they calmed down, and began to make their way back to the beam up point.
They were mostly silent as they walked through the quiet halls of the Enterprise, and it wasn't until Jim dropped Carol off at her door that he broke the easy calm. "I do like you," he admitted abruptly. Carol looked at him questioningly. Jim bit his lip. "I like you, Carol. A lot. But as I said, I'm not good at this."
Carol stood on her toes and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. She pulled back and smiled. "We don't have to rush anything. Let's just leave it at this. I had a nice time tonight. Thank you for the wonderful evening."
Jim grinned and leaned down to give her a quick kiss. "I had a good time as well. I'll see you tomorrow."
Carol nodded and entered her passcode to let herself into her room.
Jim waited until the door had closed, before he made his way towards his own quarters.
XXX
Jim spent most of the next day badgering McCoy in Medbay, at least until the grumpy doctor had enough and informed April and Nurse Chapel that he would be working from his quarters, and to comm. him if they needed anything. Since all he really had to do was paperwork, McCoy knew he could get away with it.
Jim followed him to his room, asking questions about the older man's evening, and if they had done anything fun.
McCoy glared at him as he took a seat at his desk. "Don't you have a job to do?" he asked grumpily.
Jim threw himself across the doctor's couch. "We're docked at a peaceful planet, one third of the crew isn't in residence at the moment, and we're not doing any major upgrades. I've got some free time."
McCoy's glare intensified. "I don't. Get lost."
Jim grinned. "Come on, Bones. You just took April out on a date. The least you could do is tell me how it went."
McCoy turned back to his PADD. "How was your date with Carol?"
Jim spluttered for a moment, sitting up quickly.
McCoy smirked. "Not so fun, is it."
Jim looked away, his expression contemplative. "It was fine," he said softly.
The doctor raised an eyebrow. "That's all you're giving me? I thought we were best friends."
Jim shrugged. "I had a good time, she had a good time. We had dinner, talked, I dropped her off at her door like a perfect gentleman."
McCoy pursed his lips, trying to read between the lines. "Anything you want to talk about?" he asked carefully, knowing the likelihood that Jim would just shut him down.
Sure enough, Jim shook his head quickly. "Really, we had a good time. So, what about you?"
McCoy shrugged, turning back to his work. "It went well. April's pretty great."
Jim couldn't help but notice the soft smile that adorned the doctor's face as he thought about his colleague.
After a moment, McCoy glanced up and scowled. "My love life is none of your business," he growled.
Jim shook his head. "We're friends, Bones. It's always going to be my business. Besides," he stood up, "April's like my sister, which means if you hurt her, they won't even find your body."
He left quickly, and McCoy stared at the closed door for a full minute before he shook himself off and returned to his work. Jim was his best friend, and he knew the younger man had a protective streak a mile wide, but he had never heard him so serious before. He had no doubt that Jim was speaking the truth. If McCoy ever hurt April, there would be no safe place to hide. Not that he was thinking about hurting her. He really liked the woman; they had had a great time sightseeing yesterday. It had been so easy with her, talking about anything and everything. His only hold up was Joanna. How would she feel about her daddy dating? Would she understand? She liked April well enough, but would that continue if she wasn't just a 'friend of daddy's' anymore?
Knowing that he wouldn't solve anything by worrying about it, McCoy forced himself not to think about personal issues; he was on duty, and he had a lot of paperwork to complete.
XXX
A couple days later, they left orbit. A new mission came in shortly before they departed, so Jim ordered Chekov to set a course for Setlik III. According to Komack, the planet had sent out a distress signal, and the Admiralty was concerned, given the proximity to the nearby Cardassian Union. While relations between the Federation and the Cardassians weren't as stilted and tense as with the Klingons or Romulans, the two were not exactly on good terms, so Komack told Jim to hurry.
Pushing the ship, they could reach the planet in less than eighteen hours, so Jim told Sulu to punch it, and they were on their way.
The ship was quiet in a state of preparedness as everyone was briefed on the situation. They were ready for whatever they might find when they dropped out of warp.
"Sir, our scans are picking up an approaching ship," Chekov informed Jim shortly before they were due to arrive at Setlik III.
Jim straightened in his seat. "Details?"
Chekov focused on the panel in front of him, reading the scans. "It appears to be a smaller scout ship. Not of Federation make. Cardassian, maybe? It's the only ship on our radar, Captain."
Jim stood up and joined Chekov at the helm. He read the scan readout over the Navigator's shoulder and nodded in agreement. "Hideki class. The call sign is Gum Bokter. That's Cardassian all right. It means Red Victory. Smugglers, probably." He returned to his seat, but didn't sit down, merely resting his weight on the arm of the chair while ignoring the incredulous looks around him, no doubt people wondering how the hell he knew Cardassian. "Most Cardassian ships are designed to work as a group. The Hideki class is used mostly for border patrol, since they have a limited offensive range. Sulu, drop out of warp." He didn't wait for the pilot to confirm, knowing that he would do it immediately, and instead turned to face Uhura. "Lieutenant, have you been able to establish contact with Setlik?"
Uhura shook her head. "No, sir. It seems that something has knocked out their communications array. I'm still working on it, but if the issue is on their end, there's little we can do from here."
Jim nodded. "Understood."
Spock stood up from his post and moved to stand behind the Captain's chair. "Captain, if this ship originated from Cardassian space, they are in violation of the treaty. Protocol dictates that we inform Starfleet of the situation, and request additional orders."
Jim didn't speak for another moment, before he straightened up and looked back at the Communications station. "Uhura, contact the Cardassian ship. Tell them we have them in our sights, and order them to yield."
Spock almost frowned. "Sir –"
Jim cut him off. "That ship isn't coming from Cardassian space, Spock, but it's heading there. We don't have much time."
Uhura turned in her seat. "I'm not getting a response from the ship, sir. I believe they're ignoring us."
Jim nearly smirked. "Shocking," he drawled. "Smugglers not wanting to surrender. Give me an open channel, Lieutenant." He waited for Uhura's nod. "Cardassian ship Gum Bokter, this is James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise. You are trespassing in Federation space. If you do not cut your engines immediately, we will consider it an act of war and open fire."
Jim fell silent and waited. It was less than a minute before Uhura called out, "Sir, they're transmitting a white flag." A white flag was the universal call sign for surrender. Jim nodded, pleased. A moment later, they saw the evidence for themselves, as the small ship appeared on the view screen.
Jim almost allowed himself a smile, but then Chekov spoke. "They're locking weapons."
Before Jim could issue any orders, the small ship fired. Everyone on the Bridge held on as the Enterprise rocked and several people fell out of their seats.
"Status," Jim barked as he used his chair to pull himself back to his feet. He quickly blinked some blood out of his eyes, feeling the slow trickle come from a cut on his forehead, likely from where his head had hit the armrest of his chair as he had fallen to the floor. But there was a more immediate problem for him to worry about right now, so he put it out of his mind.
"Shields holding steady at seventy percent," Chekov informed him.
Weapons systems unaffected and ready," Carol called out.
Jim nodded. "Knock out their weapons, Lieutenant."
Carol immediately complied; everyone watched as the ship on the view screen rocked with the force of the hits.
"Their weapons systems are offline, Captain," Carol said, a hint of satisfaction clear in her voice at the perfectly executed shot.
Jim smiled slightly. "Lieutenant Uhura, open another channel." The Communications Officer complied immediately. "Gum Bokter, your weapons are offline. At this time we will accept nothing less than your immediate surrender. Do not push us."
"Sir, they're preparing to jump to retreat," Chekov said quickly.
"Fire a warning shot," Jim ordered. "Don't hit the ship."
Carol complied, firing a shot that just barely grazed the top of the ship.
"They're powering down," Chekov grinned, turning in his seat to look at Jim. He faltered slightly at seeing the blood running from an open wound on the Captain's forehead, but the older man looked to be in good health otherwise, which reassured the teenager.
Jim nodded. "Spock, take a security detail over, find out what our friends are hiding. My guess is that the distress call Setlik sent out was for this. Find out what this crew took from the planet, and we'll see about returning it. Get the crew to the brig, and then we'll contact the Admiralty and drop these criminals off at the nearest Starbase."
Spock inclined his head mutely, and left the Bridge.
Once he was gone, Jim turned around and focused on the crew around him, thinking about what else needed to be done. "Injuries?"
Uhura fiddled with her equipment. "Doctor McCoy has reported several dozen crewmembers making their way to Medbay for minor wounds. He's reporting no serious injuries at this time."
Jim nodded sharply. "Good. Anyone here who needs medical attention, get to it."
"What about you?" Chekov asked softly, as three crewmembers left their seats and headed towards the 'lift.
Jim shrugged, swiping at the small cut above his eyebrow, and then wiping the blood off on his pants. "It's not serious. I'll go down when Spock comes back."
It was clear that quite a few people were not happy with that, but no one contradicted him, as most of them returned to their stations, running diagnostics and noting anything that needed to be fixed.
Jim leaned against the armrest to his chair and opened a comm. to Scotty to get a damage report.
The Engineer assured him that nothing critical was damaged, and he could have the ship completely fixed in less than a day. It wouldn't impede them at all. Jim hadn't expected anything less, but it was good to be certain.
Spock returned a short while later, while Jim was speaking with Sulu and Chekov about plotting a course to Setlik, and Jim immediately broke off to speak with the Commander.
"We found thirty-two Federation citizens in holding cells on board," Spock reported concisely. "Security has escorted them to Medical."
Jim started to nod, but stopped at the headache that accompanied the motion, reminding him of the hit to the head he had taken earlier. He didn't think the injury was still bleeding, but he probably should get it checked out soon.
"The crew?"
"Taken to the brig, Captain," Spock assured. "They were a mix of Cardassian and smugglers. Shall I inform the Admiralty of the situation?"
Jim was about to tell Spock he'd handle it, when he paused and tilted his head to the side. Letting out a short breath of air, he wilted slightly. "I suppose you should, Commander. I have a feeling I'll be otherwise occupied."
He turned around to see McCoy standing there, his ever-present scowl etched on his face.
The doctor glared. "Why the hell aren't you in Medical?" he groused, immediately holding up his tricorder to do a scan.
Jim rolled his eyes and turned away, much to McCoy's consternation. "Sulu, Chekov, get us to Setlik. Uhura, keep trying to establish contact with the planet, let them know we're on our way, if you can." He sighed and turned back to Spock. "Go ahead and inform the Admiralty, Spock. I'll be in Medical if anyone needs me."
Glancing around the room, he realized that McCoy hadn't come up on a whim. He hadn't been surprised at Jim's injury, which meant someone had contacted him. He rolled his eyes again at his overprotective crew. It wasn't like he hadn't had worse. He didn't think he even had a concussion from this!
But, he had to admit that it probably looked worse than it was, especially to someone without any medical training. Head wounds tended to bleed a lot.
With one last look at the Bridge, Jim let himself be dragged into the 'lift by the doctor, listening with only half an ear to the muttered insults.
"It's really not as bad as it looks," he tried to appease the older man, but it only resulted in a pointed glare and the doctor dragging him out of the 'lift and nearly throwing him onto the nearest empty biobed.
McCoy's scowl remained firmly in place as he began running scans on the Captain. However, Jim considered himself versed enough in the Doctor's moods to tell the exact moment when McCoy realized that Jim was actually right. It wasn't a major difference, but the scowl became slightly less pronounced, and some of the worry left his eyes.
Finally, McCoy glanced up to see Jim watching him knowingly. He huffed and threw a towel at the younger man. "Clean yourself up," he barked. "I don't need you bleeding all over my Medbay."
Jim chuckled lightly as he dabbed the towel around the small gash on his forehead. McCoy left briefly, returning less than a minute later with a dermal regenerator. When Jim lowered the towel, he began to set it up. "This won't take long," he assured the Captain. "And you're going to sit here until I'm finished. Got it?"
Jim opened his mouth to respond, when a loud shout cut off all conversation.
"Uncle Jim!" Joanna was like a bullet, hurtling out of the CMO's office and towards the biobed the Captain occupied.
Jim grinned roguishly. "Hey, Jo Jo," he held out his hands for the girl to jump into, which she did with only a little help from her father.
"The whole ship rocked and everything went on lockdown," Joanna babbled, tears in her eyes. "We couldn't leave the classroom, and all the lights were red."
Jim looked up and locked gazes with McCoy for a moment. When they had begun hosting children on board, Jim had worked with Scotty and the Admirals to outfit the classroom accordingly. It was where the kids all spent their days, and if there were any situations like what they had just faced, they needed to be protected. The Captain, CMO, or teacher could throw the room into lockdown, protecting the kids from anyone entering until the situation had passed.
Still, it would have been terrifying for the kids, so Jim just hugged Joanna closer. "I'm fine," he assured her. "Everyone's fine. You should have seen your Uncle Jim up there. I totally kicked a – butt," he amended, with a quick glance at the Doctor standing in front of him.
Joanna laughed wetly, tears still running down her face. She let Jim wipe them away as McCoy placed the dermal regenerator and began the process of closing the wound on his forehead.
Joanna settled into Jim's chest, hugging him with all the strength a six-year-old could muster.
McCoy watched them fondly; he liked seeing Jim and Joanna interact. Jim was so good with her, and she looked up to him like he was the most amazing thing since sliced bread. Jim was like her hero, and McCoy couldn't begrudge him that, even if it was a little grating to realize that he was no longer the single most important man in his daughter's life.
"She was really scared," the Doctor commented softly, noting the evening out of Joanna's breath, indicating that she was likely falling asleep, exhausted after all the excitement. "Her family was up there on the Bridge and she didn't know what was going on." McCoy sighed, shaking his head minutely. "You're her uncle, Jim, so you better make damn sure you take care of yourself. I am not going to tell that girl that your stupidity and recklessness landed you in serious trouble."
Jim bit his lip, looking down at the girl in his arms. "I know," he admitted. "But I really didn't do anything wrong," he protested. "It's not like it's my fault Cardassian smugglers decided to raid a Federation planet!"
McCoy rolled his eyes. "Doesn't matter. You just take care of yourself. I don't like seeing you hurt, any more than she does," he nodded at Joanna.
Jim thought about saying something in his defense, but decided it wasn't worth it, so he just nodded and settled back to wait for the dermal regenerator to finish.
The doors to the Medbay swished open, and both Captain and Doctor looked up to see Carol quickly winding her way through the many patients currently set up around the large room. All of the rescued prisoners were still milling around, though Security was already working on removing those who had no need for medical attention to an empty Observation Deck, until they arrived at Setlik in a couple of hours.
Carol was clearly holding back tears as she reached Jim and grasped his free hand – the one not currently being used to steady Joanna and ensure she didn't fall.
McCoy carefully kept his face neutral as he assured the woman that Jim would survive. "Kid's got a hard head," he commented. "No real damage. He's free to go as soon as the dermal regenerator finishes. Maybe half an hour or so. He'll probably have a headache, but it's not serious."
Carol nodded and sniffed. Wisely, McCoy decided to leave them alone, and went to go help April and M'Benga sort through the liberated prisoners.
Jim smiled softly, squeezing her hand gently. "I'm fine," he promised. "Really. This doesn't even list in the top hundred injuries I've ever had."
Carol rolled her eyes. "That's not exactly reassuring." She shook herself off and sighed. "I'm sorry for acting like such a baby over this. I just saw the blood, and…" Against her will, she sniffed again.
Jim nodded understandingly. "It's OK." He grinned. "I kind of like that you were worried over me."
Carol slapped his arm gently, careful not to disturb the sleeping child in his arms. "Of course I was," she admonished. "You were covered in blood!"
Jim shook his head. "I was not covered," he protested. "And head wounds always look worse than they are."
"But they can also be tricky," McCoy reappeared, immediately moving in to fiddle with the dermal regenerator attached to Jim's head. "Which is why you should always get them checked out as soon as possible."
Jim rolled his eyes good-naturedly, but didn't interrupt as the Doctor made a few adjustments and set the device back up. "Just another twenty minutes or so."
"No scar?" Jim asked cheekily, knowing McCoy's proclivity for defending his skills when called into question.
Predictably, the Doctor huffed and growled. "Don't insult me, infant. I am perfectly capable of dealing with a little scratch like this. You didn't even need painkillers."
Carol frowned as Jim laughed. "No painkillers? Even if it was a small injury, doesn't it hurt to have the dermal regenerator fix the wound?"
Jim glanced at McCoy, and then shook his head. "It's not that bad," he assured her. "I'm allergic to most of the common painkillers, so Bones doesn't like to give me any of the few I can actually handle unless I really need it. Which means it has to rate at least a four before he'll consider it, and a five before I'll actually let him do it."
McCoy slapped him lightly. "In normal people speak, that's a seven out of ten. This idiot has a higher threshold than us mere mortals."
"And this?" Carol queried hesitantly.
Jim grinned. "Solid one. Seriously, it really isn't that big a deal. I just hit the chair the wrong way on the way down."
Carol nodded dubiously. "Well, if you're sure."
McCoy grumbled. "I think I know my own trade. The infant's fine. You should get back to the Bridge though. Jim'll be back up in half an hour, tops."
He left them alone again, and Jim reached out to rub Carol's arm comfortingly. "Hey, I promise I'm really fine."
Carol smiled weakly. "I know. I'm sorry, it's just the first time I've actually seen you get hurt, and it scared me."
Jim nodded understandingly. "I get it." He paused for a moment and then sighed. "I know what you want, but I can't promise that I'll never get hurt again. We have a dangerous job, and there are no guarantees. However, I can promise that I will always do my best to survive."
Carol sniffed and let her smile grow. "I have a feeling you're good at that."
Jim nodded again. "True."
Carol wiped her eyes and pulled back. "I know things can get dangerous on the job. I would never presume to believe that you can keep yourself from getting injured. It's just not possible and you're not the kind of person to play it safe. It's a quality I quite admire about you." She blushed slightly, but continued. "It's not perfect, but I'll live with your promise, and I will make you the same one in return."
Jim smiled. "So we're agreed then." He held out the hand not wrapped around Joanna. Carol shook it, shaking her head fondly.
"I'll see you back on the Bridge, Jim," the young woman said, leaning in to hug him gently, and then rubbing Joanna's back soothingly. The little girl looked so adorable, snuggled into Jim's chest. It made her wonder suddenly if Jim had ever thought about having kids. She tried to hide her blush as she beat a hasty retreat, nearly running to the 'lift.
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