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McCoy was true to his word, and came back around lunchtime to make Carol go down to the cafeteria to get some food.

When she returned, Uhura was in the waiting room, holding a blue uniform in one hand. She handed the dress over to Carol and smiled softly. "We've all been requested to report for debriefing in half an hour," she said gently. "I brought you a clean uniform, and we'll meet everyone else there."

Carol nodded. "Thanks," she replied, taking the uniform and heading to a restroom to change. She didn't want to leave, but she knew duty. And she and Jim were the only ones who actually knew everything that had happened with her father and Harrison on the Vengeance.

Everyone besides McCoy was already at Cochrane Hall when the two women arrived, and the doctor came in just a few minutes before they were supposed to go inside to face the panel of Admirals, a large scowl on his face. "Well, the press has officially staked out the hospital," he informed them, taking the coffee Chekov handed him with a thankful nod.

"That bad?" the Communications officer asked curiously.

McCoy rolled his eyes. They're hounding everyone who leaves for some information on Jim. They know that he's the one who 'saved the day', or whatever they're calling it, and they know he's in there. No one's seen or heard from him since we got back, which only adds to the mystery."

"How's he doing?" Sulu asked.

McCoy sighed. "Better." He glanced at Carol and managed a small smile. "His heartbeat's much closer to normal. He should be on schedule to move out of the ICU and into a regular Recovery room by tomorrow."

The door opened and an Ensign gestured for them all to enter. There were seven Admirals waiting for them – Archer, Barnett, and Pike were the only ones they knew well, but Garovick was there too, along with several more they weren't very acquainted with. Komack wasn't present, which surprised most of them, as he was in charge of the Enterprise. By all rights, he should be involved for that simple reason alone. But Jim was the only one who was privy to the Admirals' investigation into Komack's actions, so his absence was nothing more than a confusing twist for the rest of them.

It was a very straightforward afternoon; the Admirals asked questions, and Spock took the lead, telling them about Jim's orders to apprehend the fugitive Harrison. He informed them of the encounter on Qo'nos, before Uhura took over briefly and told them about what happened when she and Jim had talked to the Klingons. There were several questions about the second group of Klingons, and what their relation was, but Uhura didn't know, as she had left before Jim had actually had any conversation with them. She did make sure to inform them that the second group had not been hostile. She didn't have all the details, but Jim seemed to have known them, and he had appeared to at least trust them enough to feel comfortable having a conversation without any of his crew at his side. She trusted Jim. If they wanted more detail, they'd have to wait until he could tell them himself; she wouldn't speculate, not when there was every chance her words could be twisted to form an unpleasant picture to further advance the hostile image the Klingons had had within the Federation ever since its formation.

Garovick cut in when Uhura finished. "Were you aware of the orders that Admiral Marcus gave to Captain Kirk?"

Spock fielded that question, his voice clipped and precise while also conveying his disapproval of the Admiral's tone, which indicated an interest in pursuing Jim's insubordination. "Captain Kirk simply informed us of Admiral Archer's orders. He implied that Admiral Marcus had requested the torpedoes to be loaded for emergencies, but were not to be used unless there was no other recourse."

Jon understood that Jim didn't want to get anyone else involved in the conflicting orders, so they would likely have to wait for the complete story. Once Jim woke up, they'd be able to get a more in depth picture of everything that happened. "I told Captain Kirk to disregard Marcus' orders," he confirmed, successfully derailing any potential action Garovick might take to discredit Jim later on. "I implored him to use discretion, as something didn't sit right with what Marcus told him. I also gave him full jurisdiction over the mission, to make whatever calls he felt were justified."

Garovick didn't look happy with that, but the other Admirals all nodded in understanding, most of them looking satisfied. Though some of the more conservative Admirals still weren't huge fans of Jim and his somewhat unorthodox methods – despite the fact that his record as a Captain was spotless and the Enterprise had one of the lowest mortality rates in the Fleet, their penchant for injuries while on away missions notwithstanding – he was becoming more and more popular with the majority of Starfleet Command. The public loved him, which meant Public Relations loved him. He might not do things strictly by the book, but he was a great diplomat amongst different races in the Federation, which boosted Starfleet's reputation. He had the complete loyalty of his crew, and all Admirals knew the difference between professional and personal respect. There were only too many Captains out there whose crew respected the stripes first, and the person in the uniform second. Jim's crew followed him because he put his faith in them; because he knew them, cared about their stories, not just what they could bring to the job. All Admirals understood how difficult it could be to gain that kind of devotion from your crew, and it only spoke positively about Jim's individual character as well as his abilities as a leader.

Spock continued, through apprehending Harrison, the damage to the Enterprise, and through Jim and Harrison going over the Marcus' ship.

Carol picked up at that point, telling them what had happened after her father had beamed her off the ship, and of Jim's arrival. She was proud of herself for remaining calm and composed as she related Harrison's actions, killing her father, assaulting Jim, Chris' arrival, and through their return to Medbay.

Jon inclined his head when she finished. "You have our condolences for the loss of your father," he said.

Carol shook her head. "Thank you, Admiral, but I would prefer you give those sympathies to the people he hurt."

Spock and Scotty took over from there, outlining the state the Enterprise was in, and projected completion for repairs. McCoy briefly updated them on the Enterprise's injured.

"I'm still a little confused over how a Starfleet Captain is on apparently good terms with a Klingon," Garovick commented dryly, looking around at the group. "Friendly enough to contact said Klingon and request assistance with the recapture of a Federation criminal. And confident enough to do so and expect the Klingon to actually follow through."

Jon sighed. "Captain Kirk met these particular Klingons over the course of the Enterprise's travels. They had a cordial relationship and parted amicably. He informed me that he would attempt to make contact when we found out that Harrison had escaped to Qo'nos, but I am unaware of the details."

The Admirals asked a few more questions, before they finished. Chekov and Sulu remained mostly silent in the background; they weren't sure why they needed to be here, other than the fact that they were part of the command crew. But they hadn't done too much that would require them to be questioned.

Finally, they were released; McCoy insisted that they all go get dinner somewhere other than the hospital, and come back tomorrow. There was no point in hanging around the hospital again tonight, so he told them to wait until morning, when Jim would likely be moved to a regular room, and they'd be able to spend more than a minute with him.

Most of them agreed, however unwillingly, and headed off to their own apartments. Carol stayed with McCoy, and he didn't comment as they continued walking towards the hospital. He knew better than to try and make her go home. If he barred her from the hospital, she would just sleep outside.

XXX

McCoy didn't give them a specific time to come back, so the doctor figured he shouldn't have been surprised when they all showed up at dawn the next morning.

They didn't have to wait long; McCoy and April came out to join them less than an hour after they arrived. "We just moved him to recovery," McCoy informed them, smiling wearily. "If you want to see him, follow me."

He led them down the hall; Jim had a room all to himself, and there was enough space for them all to crowd in without pushing too much. Carol was already there, in the solitary seat next to the bed. She was back in jeans and Jim's sweatshirt, and it was pretty clear that she hadn't gotten any more sleep last night than she had the night before.

"How is he?" Uhura asked.

McCoy looked better than he had in days. Now that Jim was officially out of the woods and actually breathing on his own, he felt like he could relax a little. "We've started to cut back on the medication. He's still on some pretty heavy painkillers, but if things go the way they should, he'll start waking up by tomorrow."

They all smiled, and settled in for a long visit; McCoy rolled his eyes at the predictability. There was no point in them sticking around all day, but he knew they'd stay anyway.

Chris found them a few hours later, looking harried but happy to see Jim without a tube in his throat. "Sorry it took me so long to get here. We've been a little busy."

"Have they found Harrison yet?" McCoy asked, scowling at the reminder of why they were all gathered in a hospital room right now.

Chris shook his head. "We're still working on it. Just don't ask me where we are on that aspect, because I have a feeling Jim's the only one who knows the answer." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "However, we have been reviewing Komack's actions as the commanding officer for the Enterprise. It was classified so I know Jim didn't mention it to you, but we've been investigating him for several years now. Unfortunate as it was, his actions in support of Marcus have finally been enough to push for an official review board. They reached a decision this morning."

They all tried not to show too much eagerness; Komack had no friends on the Enterprise, and they were all eager to see him go. Hearing that the Admiral was under review at least cleared up why he hadn't been a part of their debriefing the day before.

Chris' mouth twisted slightly into a grimace. "He's still on staff, but many of his duties have been reassigned, and he's facing much less authority. We can't really fire him or request his resignation; he's proved he's incompetent in some aspects, but not actually acting perfidiously. His command of the Enterprise has been reassigned to Admiral Archer."

"Good," McCoy said under his breath. No one else chimed in, but it was clear from their pleased expressions that they agreed with him.

"So how long are we allowed to stay this time?" Kevin asked curiously, looking at the doctor. When they all turned their attention to him, he blushed and looked down. "Well, you've been kicking us out periodically for the last few days. I figured you'd get around to doing that again at some point."

McCoy rolled his eyes. "Dinner. Go somewhere else to eat and sleep, come back tomorrow morning. But you've got the rest of the day if you want to stay here. I guarantee though, he won't wake up today, so there's really no point. I know you're all worried, but I promise, Jim's going to be fine."

"How about we just stick around until lunch then," Chris suggested. Everyone nodded their agreement and settled in for the morning.

Chris moved over so that he was standing by the wall with McCoy, and spent a moment studying the doctor, taking in everything from the wilted shoulders to the stubble on his chin that indicated it had been several days since he had shaved. "You know I'm including you in that statement." McCoy looked over and raised an eyebrow. Chris shook his head slightly. "You're exhausted, McCoy. You haven't spent more than a couple hours outside of this hospital in days. Go spend time with your daughter, eat something that didn't come from the cafeteria here, and sleep on a bed that actually doesn't consist of a pile of blankets on a floor."

April heard him and leaned over, resting a hand on her boyfriend's arm. "I'll make sure he takes the afternoon off," she promised.

McCoy grumbled a little, but agreed reluctantly.

The gathering this time was much more relaxed, now that they knew Jim would be fine, and they were actually allowed to see him. Cory came running in sometime around midmorning, looking harried.

"I came as soon as I could, I'm sorry it wasn't quicker, I was buried in research and just saw your message, Kevin. Thanks for calling, I'm sorry –"

"It's fine," Kevin cut him off, seeing his distress and trying to calm him down. "Jim just got moved out of ICU this morning." He glanced around at the group. "Guys, this is Jim's cousin Cory." He introduced the command crew to Cory, and the young man smiled.

"Nice to meet you all," Cory said. "Jim's told me a lot about you. It's great to finally put faces to the names." He paused and tilted his head to the side. "Scratch that, that sounded stupid. I knew what you all looked like, it's not like you're not known all across the universe, after that whole Nero situation five years ago. But it's nice to meet you."

"You too," Sulu answered for all of them, smiling at how much this man's scatterbrained way of talking reminded him of Jim.

"Can you stay long?" Chekov asked curiously.

Cory shrugged, grimacing. "I can pop in and out, but I can't take a lot of time off right now. And Jim would hate it if I skipped work to see him lie in a bed all day. I'll stop by later tonight." His eyes widened and he stood up straighter. "Crap, I just ran out of a meeting when I saw Kevin's message. I've got to go, I'll see you all later!" He ran out of the room, leaving them all staring after him, startled at the abrupt change.

After a minute, Uhura smiled. "He seems nice."

"Does scatterbrain run in the family?" Sulu asked curiously, and they all chuckled. The quick entrance and exit, mind jumping all over the place, was very Jim.

April chuckled lightly. "Jim was practically his hero, when they were teenagers." Everyone looked at her, confused, and she swallowed, her mood dampening. "On, you know… Tarsus. Cory took everything Jim did as gospel. We all did, after things went bad. But Cory and Jim… well, they were practically brothers. Jim felt so guilty after Lisa died. He was so afraid to get back in touch with Cory, he thought he blamed him for her death." Most of them looked confused, and April frowned. Hadn't they had gone over this years ago, when she and Jim had told them about their shared past? "Lisa, Cory's sister?"

Some expressions cleared, and Uhura coughed lightly. "You guys dropped several names during that conversation, but we didn't know any of the relations." Jim had told Carol some more details after they had left Tarsus, but for most of them, they had had to be content with what they had learned in that first conversation, right after they had received the mission to go to Tarsus.

April blushed, embarrassed. She hadn't realized how little they had actually given their friends to go on, during that talk. "Sorry. Lisa was Cory's sister, Jim's cousin. She was six when Kodos killed her."

Kevin looked down, still feeling guilty that he had been with Lisa when they had snuck away from the group and gotten caught.

April shook her head. "Anyway, Cory and Jim were close. They still are, they just don't get a lot of time to actually see each other. But they are a lot alike, you're right Hikaru. I'd say it's a genetic thing, but I really don't want to say either of them have anything in common with Winona." She looked angry with the woman she had never actually met but knew enough about to already hate. Carol, Chris, and McCoy looked similarly angry.

After some unhappy grumbling under his breath, McCoy mumbled something about checking on some patients before he was forced to leave the hospital, and exited the room. The others settled back down, eager to spend as much time as they could with Jim before they also had to leave.

XXX

For the most part, McCoy actually managed to adhere to Chris' stipulations and April's ministrations. He got a few hours of sleep in his own bed, and ate an actual meal that consisted of food that didn't come out of a machine. He spent some time with Joanna, who had been staying with a friend for the last few days, since her father hadn't been able to look after her properly.

Joanna wanted to see her uncle Jim, but fortunately didn't fuss too much when McCoy told her she'd have to wait a few more days. He didn't want her to see her pseudo uncle until he was awake and able to reassure the young girl that he was all right. He took Joanna out to get some ice cream, and they spent a couple of hours playing on the playground outside the childcare center, before McCoy returned her to her temporary home and headed back to the hospital. Joanna was being a great sport about the situation, knowing that her father was doing his duty; she wanted to be with her family, but she was mature enough to understand that it wasn't possible right now.

McCoy arrived back at the hospital in the late afternoon, and was unsurprised to see Carol once more sitting in the chair next to Jim's bed. She had left at the same time as the rest of them, but not without protest.

Carol barely looked up when McCoy entered, but she jerked her head slightly to acknowledge his presence. McCoy dragged another seat up to Jim's other side, and settled down with a PADD. "The press is still outside," he commented idly.

Carol nodded minutely. "They were hounding us when we left earlier," she said, her voice soft. "I snuck in through an emergency exit when I came back. I couldn't take any more questions."

McCoy grimaced. "They're relentless." He passed Carol his PADD. "On the bright side, the Admirals finally released a statement. It's pretty straightforward and very vague," he added as Carol read the report. "The man responsible for the attacks is being pursued, and Captain Kirk is currently undergoing treatment for injuries sustained trying to bring the fugitive to justice."

Carol nodded as she finished the article and handed the PADD back. "They don't say much about my father," she commented idly. "But they do say he was in league with Harrison. Probably because they don't want to honor him like they would an Admiral who died in the line of duty."

McCoy winced. "Should I say I'm sorry that he won't be given a military funeral?"

Carol shook her head quickly. "I still think Admiral Pike should have just tossed him out an airlock before he brought the ship back to Earth. He doesn't deserve an honorable funeral. He almost killed us all."

They lapsed back into silence as evening turned into night. McCoy stayed on his PADD, working through reports and reading the updates on various crewmembers. Even though they had all been transferred to Starfleet Medical once the Enterprise had returned to Earth, McCoy was still their CMO, and he wanted to keep track of their progress.

It was sometime around midnight when Carol sat up straighter, leaning forward in anticipation. "Jim?"

McCoy put the PADD down and stood up.

Carol looked at him. "He squeezed my hand. I'm sure of it."

McCoy nodded quickly and began fiddling with the machines around the bed.

Carol shifted. "He moved again. Jim?"

On the bed, Jim could feel the cloudy sensation of pain creeping in from the edges. The real world seemed to calling, loudly and with vigor. He didn't want to face it. Even the simple task of opening his eyes was just too much effort. If he could get away with not breathing, he'd do that too. Every time he drew in air, a fire ignited in his chest.

But there was something important he knew he needed to do. He could feel it. There was some reason he needed to wake up now. With what seemed to be an insurmountable effort, he forced his eyes open and blinked blearily at the ceiling.

"Jim?" The voice sounded faded and like it was coming from a distance, but it was familiar. He turned towards it.

Carol smiled brilliantly, happy tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. "Jim," she breathed, feeling overwhelming relief at seeing those bright blue eyes after so many days of seeing him unconscious.

"Carol, I know you're excited, but I need you to back up for a minute while I do a few checks," McCoy said, looking up at the Lieutenant. Carol obediently stepped back, giving Jim's hand one last squeeze of encouragement.

McCoy ran a few tests, checking Jim's pulse and pupil reaction. "You're on the good drugs right now, so I know things are probably pretty hazy. Not that you're probably planning on it, but don't move too much; you've still got a bunch of burns, a couple broken ribs, and a broken collarbone that we haven't healed yet." He probably wouldn't jump right into the diagnosis of injuries with any other patient, but Jim always appreciated knowing how bad things were right off. "We'll get the bones fixed later today or tomorrow. The burns on your chest and shoulder are still healing; we'll get to work on those soon too, but for the rest, it's better to let it finish the natural way. Your arm will be sore for a while, and you won't be able to move it much, but you won't really be moving much anyway, so that's not an additional inconvenience. Your lung and trachea were burned as well, which is why it hurts so much to breathe. That'll have to heal completely on its own, so it's going to be painful for a while. The damage to your liver might take a couple weeks or a month to heal. We had to replace one kidney, which you probably won't even feel, on top of everything else. But that will take about six to eight weeks to heal completely."

McCoy spent a minute fussing with Jim's blanket before he continued. "Do you remember what happened?" he asked, not sure which answer he would prefer. Not knowing could indicate potential lasting head trauma. But knowing meant that he remembered everything that had happened, and McCoy didn't want Jim to deal with any more pain.

Jim nodded slightly and then groaned, closing his eyes when the room began to spin. "Ugh, someone get the name of the starship that hit me?" His voice was scratchy and rough from disuse, and it felt like someone was shoving a knife down his throat when he talked.

McCoy snorted, shaking his head in amusement, and offered his friend a cup filled with water. He helped Jim sit up a little and held the cup to his lips so he could drink. Setting the cup down a minute later, he sighed. "You basically got yourself electrocuted, Jim. It took several days to get your heart beating normally again. We're lucky I didn't have to replace your liver as well as your kidney. That lung's going to take at least another month or two to heal, maybe longer. Bottom line is, it's going to hurt like hell for a while, and you won't be doing any back flips any time soon, but there won't be any lasting damage."

Jim smiled at the familiarity. Trust the doctor to lay out the facts with his own irascible flare.

McCoy finished his ministrations, and glanced over at Carol before returning his gaze to his best friend. "It's really good to see you awake, Jim. I'll give you two some time alone."

With a last nod in Carol's direction, he left the room to go start making the calls to all the necessary people, informing them of Jim's new status.

Carol waited until the door closed, before she stepped forward again, grasping Jim's hand as tightly as she dared, still mindful of his injured status.

Jim squeezed back, smiling reassuringly. "It's good to see you."

Carol sniffed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "I missed you. Oh God, Jim, when I saw you go down…"

"Hey, hey, I'm fine," Jim tried to comfort her. "I promised you, didn't I?" Carol chuckled weakly and nodded. Jim smiled. "I make a lot of those promises, apparently. I distinctly remember Chris telling me five years ago that I'm not allowed to die on him. I know it wasn't pleasant, and I'm so sorry about what happened on that ship, but we're both fine. I'm hoping at some point someone's actually going to fill me in on the last few days, but the fact that you're not currently in a hospital bed as well probably means that you're completely healed, which I'm very grateful for."

Carol leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I was back on shift the next day," she promised.

"Good," Jim murmured, his eyes already drooping shut.

Carol smiled gently. "Go back to sleep, Jim. I'll be here when you wake up."

Jim muttered something that could have been a 'love you', and dropped off to sleep.

Carol's smile widened. "Love you too."

XXX

When McCoy passed through the waiting room half an hour later, he somehow wasn't surprised to see several members of Jim's command crew rushing in. Spock and Uhura had obviously come together, and Sulu was just a few steps behind them. Just as they located McCoy and made their way towards him, Chekov came running in, Scotty half a step behind.

April materialized at her boyfriend's side. "Kevin's on his way in too," she informed him. "And he said he'd call Cory to let him know."

McCoy nodded his understanding. "Pike said he'll inform the Admirals."

Their colleagues joined them at that moment, and McCoy led them down the hall to Jim's room.

Carol turned around as they entered. Her expression was light and relaxed, in a way it hadn't been in days. "He fell back asleep about twenty minutes ago," she informed them, voice soft.

"But there aren't any issues?" Sulu confirmed, looking at McCoy.

The doctor shook his head. "No sign of lasting head trauma, we'll get the broken bones fixed soon, and everything's healing normally. It'll still be a while before he's back to normal, but important thing is, he will be back."

They all smiled happily at the news. "So how long can we stay this time?" Uhura asked.

"At least until he wakes up," McCoy promised. "It'll probably be a few hours, but this isn't the ICU, time limits are only restricted to visiting hours. Which we're technically breaking right now, but I'll bend the rules, just this once."

April came in at that moment, carrying a few folding chairs, which she passed out to those who wanted a place to sit. The room was cramped, with all of them crowding in, but it was a private room at least, so Jim didn't have to share with anyone else.

Kevin joined them ten minutes later, and Cory arrived half an hour after that, looking a little ragged. His girlfriend Amanda was with him, and she greeted Carol warmly, before being introduced to the others.

It was several more hours before Jim stirred again. McCoy was immediately at his side, and the others hung back a little, waiting for the doctor to finish his examination. "Number?" he asked, shining a penlight in Jim's eyes.

Jim rolled his eyes the moment his friend put the light away. "Solid two," he replied. "Seriously, Bones, you've got me on the good stuff."

McCoy grumbled profanities under his breath. "Infant," he muttered. Louder, he continued, "You'll be on those drugs until I decide differently. Don't fight me, Jim, I'm your doctor and you'll stay in that bed until I say otherwise."

Jim snorted softly in amusement.

McCoy sighed exasperatedly, knowing what was going through the man's mind. "Well, you've got some company now."

He glanced around at the group and stepped back to let the others move in. They stepped forward one at a time, saying little but giving him a pat on the shoulder or squeezing his hand reassuringly.

Jim had a smile of appreciation for each of them, grateful that they had come to see him. No matter how many years passed, or how many people told him otherwise, there would probably always be that small part of him who was surprised to see that he mattered to others.

They all settled back into their seats after that, talking about inconsequential things, nothing relating to recent events. It was about time for breakfast when Chris joined them, passing out coffee with a smile before turning to the man on the bed. Jim had seemed to be dozing lightly, but when the Admiral entered, he woke up again, and smiled wearily at the older man.

Chris beamed. "It is so good to see you awake," he said, stepping forward.

Jim nodded slightly. "Glad to be back," he replied.

Sulu and Uhura shared a look, and then the pilot cleared his throat. "Why don't we go get something to eat. Jim, we'll be back later."

Everyone except Carol left quickly. Chris smiled at the Lieutenant. "Don't feel like you have to leave," he told her, and she nodded, settling back into her seat.

Jim looked up at Chris expectantly. "So what's the situation?" he asked, expression serious.

McCoy started to chime in with protests that Jim shouldn't be thinking about work right now, but Chris threw him a glare and he stopped talking. "He has a right to know what's been going on." McCoy didn't look thrilled, but he didn't argue any more. Chris sighed. "We're still working through the facts. Komack's been removed as your commanding officer, and Jon's taking over."

Jim smiled approvingly. "Good. He should be in charge of the flagship. Jon's the most decorated Admiral in the Fleet. The only reason they didn't give it to him five years ago was because we're friends and they didn't want to give me any slack."

Chris nodded in agreement. "But it's been five years, you've established yourself as competent, and considering what happened with Komack, I think we've also proved that they were wrong trying to give you someone you can't work with."

"Was he involved?" Jim asked.

Chris sighed. "From what we've uncovered, it doesn't seem like he knew any of the details. He gave Marcus his support, but we don't think he knew what Marcus was planning. He just saw a ticket to power, and didn't question the validity or reasoning behind the orders."

Jim grimaced. "I could have done without getting caught in the crossfire."

Chris nodded and McCoy rolled his eyes. "We all could have," the doctor grumbled.

"Anyway, you'll have to debrief at some point, but we're not pushing," Chris threw a knowing look at McCoy. "Once you're back on your feet, we'll talk."

"You've caught him up enough," McCoy interjected. "This idiot needs his rest. You two can come back later."

Chris nodded in understanding. "I will. It's really good to see you awake, Jim."

The Admiral left, and Carol bent over and gave Jim a quick kiss. "I love you, Jim," she said softly. "I'll be back in a couple hours." She glanced at McCoy. "Maybe I'll even sneak in some real food, if the warden here allows."

McCoy huffed, but he didn't say anything, and Jim chuckled lightly.

"Love you too," he replied, squeezing her hand tightly, before she also left.

McCoy waited until they were alone, busying himself by hanging another bag of saline and straightening the sheets.

Once Carol had closed the door behind her, McCoy stopped the pretense. "You're not allowed to scare me like that," he said quietly, looking up to meet his best friend's understanding gaze.

"I'm sorry," Jim looked down, his gaze skittering to the far wall. "I really didn't mean to."

McCoy huffed out a sigh. "I know you didn't. You never do. You're a genius, Jim, and I've known for a while that you had this god complex thing going on, that you always think you can save everyone, but you're not invincible."

"I know," Jim hated being scolded, but he knew McCoy had a point. "I wasn't planning on getting hurt. Everything just sort of spiraled out of control."

McCoy sighed again. "I get it, Jim. I hate it, and I'm terrified that one of these days you're going to go off on one of your crazy logic-defying stunts to save the world, and you won't come back. I would never try to make you stop being the man you are. I just don't want to lose my best friend."

They both fell silent for several minutes, before Jim managed to get his voice to work. "How's Joanna?"

McCoy pursed his lips. "Staying with Ensign Callaway and her daughter for now. I didn't want her to come visit until you woke up. She's scared enough as it is, even with just the bare minimum that's been shared with the general public. She's in something of a privileged situation, getting information from Starfleet directly, through me and other officers from the Enterprise. So she knows more than most, but I don't want her to worry too much."

Jim nodded. "I wouldn't want her to see me like that either. But I'd like to see her at some point."

McCoy managed a smile. "I'll try to get her here tomorrow. For now though, you should really go back to sleep. That's the best way to speed up the healing process."

Jim didn't even have the energy to want to protest. He just settled back in his bed and closed his eyes. Before he dropped off completely, he felt McCoy's hand ghost over his own, and the doctor whispered, "Welcome back, idiot."

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