Disclaimer: don't own

Things settled down over the next week. Jim continued to heal, slowly, and his friends continued to visit. McCoy brought Joanna, as promised, and Cory and Amanda stopped by once a day.

Carol rarely left, and the next most frequent visitor was Spock. He was joined by Uhura many times. Sulu and Chekov came together most of the time, sometimes with Kevin. Once Jim had woken up, he had implored Scotty to go oversee the Enterprise's repairs, so the Scotsman was not physically around, but he had called several times, both to check in and to pick Jim's brain about some of the issues that had come up with the repairs. McCoy didn't like Jim working, but Carol could see that the mental stimulation was good for the man. There was always a healthy flush to his cheeks whenever Scotty called, the two of them working together to fix their ship.

Jim was released from the hospital a week after he woke up; he was still unsteady on his feet, but well enough that McCoy knew he'd better release the idiot before the man just escaped on his own. The doctor knew it would happen soon, if he didn't let Jim go back to his apartment.

Carol took charge of getting him back, but neither one was surprised to see the rest of the command crew waiting for them when they arrived. Jim was too tired to do much more than say hello, but considering the circumstances, no one complained, and they quickly left, offering promises to come back if Jim or Carol needed anything.

Once they were alone, Carol immediately hustled Jim into the bedroom, getting him situated and telling him to get some sleep.

Jim smiled wearily as she sat down next to him, grasping her hand gently. "Stay," he murmured.

Carol returned the smile as she nodded, lying down next to her boyfriend. Together, the two drifted off to sleep.

XXX

Jim continued to recover over the next few days. He was able to get from the bedroom to the kitchen without stopping to rest by day three, and he didn't have to sleep so much anymore.

His friends stopped by at least once a day, not having many other duties they needed to attend to. McCoy came more frequently; most of the Enterprise crew had been discharged from the hospital by now, and Doctor Caraway had ordered him to spend more time outside of the hospital than in it. He still worked shifts, but the necessity that had been brought on immediately after the attack was gone, and it wasn't quite as pressing that he pull double and triple shifts anymore.

A week after Jim had been released, Jon finally braved McCoy's wrath to request that the Captain report for a debrief.

McCoy tried to refuse, but Jim agreed, overriding the doctor's complaints, and promised to be there.

"You're not ready to get back to work," McCoy objected, glaring irately.

Jim sighed and settled back into the couch, taking a glass of water that Carol handed him with a grateful smile. "Bones, I have to debrief. I'm the only one they haven't talked to yet. I need to do this. The sooner I get it done, the sooner we can all move forward." McCoy still looked like he wanted to protest, but Jim stared at him knowingly, and shook his head. "I'm fine, Bones. I mean, maybe not completely, but I'm getting there. Jon won't let them bully me too much, and they all know I just got out of the hospital. You've been keeping them at bay for a week, they need my report."

McCoy grumbled a little more, but he stopped arguing. "They better not make you stand at attention," he muttered.

Jim smirked lightly. "I'm sure they'll be understanding. You worry too much, Bones. Just relax. And maybe go spend some time with Joanna and April. I promise, I won't fall apart without you here," his expression smoothed out into an appreciative smile. "I'm grateful for everything, Bones. You're a great friend. But you don't need to be here all the time, promise. Go do something for yourself."

Carol leaned forward, her gaze earnest. "He's right, Leonard. We'll be fine. Go be with your daughter and girlfriend."

McCoy threw them a last distrustful look, before he left the apartment.

XXX

Carol made sure they left in plenty of time the next afternoon, just in case Jim needed to take a break on the walk to the Cochrane building.

When they arrived, she kissed him on the cheek in the lobby, and pulled back, smiling. "Good luck in there," she said. "Don't let them push you too hard."

Jim nodded. "Promise. Now go do something that doesn't involve looking after me for a few hours." She started to protest, and Jim shook his head knowingly. "You've been just as bad as Bones at not taking time for yourself. I'll probably be here for a while, so go relax." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, mindful of the fact that they were in public and might be seen, and entered the room.

The Admirals were already there and waiting, but they didn't seem upset that Jim was a few minutes late. Jon waved him in and gestured for him to take the empty seat in front of them. "This isn't meant to be an inquisition," he assured the Captain. "We simply need to get an account of your actions during the situation. Just tell us what happened, and if you need to take a break for any reason, please don't hesitate to ask."

Jim nodded. "Thank you, Admiral."

Jon looked down at his PADD and cleared his throat. "All right, let's begin. Tell us about the orders that Admiral Marcus gave you before the Enterprise departed."

XXX

The afternoon was eaten up by the Admirals asking questions, and Jim responding with as much detail as he could. He related everything from Marcus' orders, to his conversation with Jon and the new orders he chose to follow instead; the conversation with K'Temoc, including the previous meeting during their five year mission, the confrontation on Qo'nos, the sabotaging of the Enterprise, trying to fix the ship and get out of hostile territory, Marcus' arrival – Jon played the recording of the conversation that Jim had had the foresight to record, just in case – the fight on the Vengeance, and the second conversation with K'Temoc.

When he finished, he fielded several questions, mostly relating to his cordiality with the Klingons. It appeared that the Admirals weren't sure what to make of it. Jon and Richard seemed to be the only two who didn't find it at least somewhat inappropriate. Garovick was entirely distasteful of the whole idea, but the other four Admirals seemed a little more open to at least considering the possibility of an amicable relationship with the Klingon Empire.

Jim definitely scored some points for telling Jon of his meeting with K'Temoc on Tarsus, and for keeping him informed of everything, with the Klingons and with Marcus.

"Do you think this Klingon will inform you if they capture Harrison?" Admiral Kwon asked, her expression stern. That didn't faze Jim though – in all the years since he had started at the Academy, he had never seen her looking anything other than unyielding.

Jim almost shrugged, but he refrained, keeping himself professional. "I can't say for certain," he replied. "But I believe K'Temoc when he says he'll comm. me. Our communication has always been professional and courteous. I know things with the Klingon Empire haven't exactly been great, but from what I can tell, many of the Clans may be moving more towards cooperation. Logically speaking, they're not in a good place to begin open hostility with the Federation, and they know it. Nero hit them hard too, and even if they don't want to admit it, they know that. They don't want a war."

There were a few more questions, before Jon declared that the meeting was over, and if they thought of anything later, he would let Jim know. He could see the man was fading, and didn't want to risk McCoy or Carol's wrath if he tired the Captain out too much.

A look from Jon had Jim waiting while the other Admirals left, and when they were alone, they walked out together, keeping the pace slow. "Go get some rest, and come see me tomorrow," he ordered, a smile indicating that it wasn't an official order, more of a suggestion. "We'll talk more then."

Jim nodded, and headed back to his apartment. Part of him had been hoping to find Carol waiting, but he also wanted her to have some time to herself, so he was glad that she was nowhere to be seen as he exited the building.

The apartment was empty, so Carol was apparently still out. Jim wanted to get some work done – there were a lot of forms he needed to look over, repairs he had to sign off on – but he was tired, so he just laid down on the couch to rest for a few minutes, and he was out like a light.

XXX

When he woke up, the light filtering through the window showed it to be early morning, there was a blanket draped over him, and Carol was curled up by his head, on the floor, fast asleep.

Jim smiled slightly and rested a hand on Carol's shoulder, before he took a breath and made himself stand up. His chest ached from the movement, and he knew that was his still healing lung. Most of his injuries were further along in the healing process, but that one would just take longer. It wasn't debilitating, just painful if he overexerted himself, or tried to do too much too fast. McCoy continued to assure him that it would heal completely, it just wouldn't be as fast as any of them wanted.

Jim quietly made his way into the kitchen for some water, and checked the time. Jon would be in his office by now, and Jim wanted an update. He was still wearing his clothes from yesterday, but he didn't have the energy or inclination to change, so he just wrote a quick note so that Carol wouldn't worry, and headed out.

Richard was also in Jon's office when Jim arrived, the two Admirals halfway through breakfast, which they were quick to invite Jim to join in on.

The Captain took a seat gratefully, and helped himself to some pancakes.

"I'm surprised to see you up so early," Jon commented. "Shouldn't you be getting more sleep?"

Jim shrugged and swallowed his bite. "Fell asleep after I got home yesterday afternoon. It looked about time for breakfast when I woke up, so I figured I'd come find you. You barely leave your office, so I thought it was a safe bet to come looking here, and I'm desperate for some news. How's the investigation going?"

Jon grimaced. "Still compiling evidence. Komack's not going to be given any real authority for a while, that's for sure. But we're taking our time before convening the tribunal, because we want to make absolutely sure we don't have the grounds to actually charge him with any criminal acts before we move forward." He sighed. "I'd love to see him out. He's really made a mess of things, and I don't trust him at all. But I'm not sure if we have enough cause."

Jim took another bite and chewed slowly. Swallowing, he asked, "What about Garovick? He seemed to be backing Komack a lot. Was he involved at all?"

Jon shook his head quickly. "Garovick's a hard ass, but it was more politics than anything else with him. He's a stickler for rules and regulations, and he took issue with some of your more… innovative command decisions. Some of his choices on how to handle things may have been distasteful, but it's not illegal to dislike someone, and he had no idea what Marcus was planning. He was just as furious as the rest of us when we found out."

Jim nodded slowly. Well there was that, at least. "Can't say I like the idea that Garovick makes things difficult for me just because he doesn't like me, but you can't win everything. I'll settle for never having to deal with Komack in an official capacity ever again. He's horrible as a superior, and I'm tired of his subtle and not-so-subtle threats, the blatant disregard for my opinions, and his disinclination to listen to anything I have to say." The two Admirals winced at hearing some of the struggles Jim had been facing with his superior officer for the last five years. They knew things hadn't been great, but Jim usually did his best to keep his problems to himself. The young Captain just shrugged and smiled slightly. "But I hear I've got a new boss now."

Jon smirked. "Yes, seems the Admirals have been convinced that I can handle you better than Komack. The fact that you were willing to trust my orders over Marcus' said a lot. "

"It was never any option," Jim assured. "I didn't really know Marcus that well, but I do know to trust my gut, and in what world could it be right to blow a planet off the map just to get at one man?"

Jon nodded, as Richard pushed his empty plate away and settled back in his seat. "So how are you doing?" Richard asked, trying to keep his voice sympathetic and open. He didn't expect much, since the only people Jim really talked to that he knew of were Chris and McCoy, and maybe Carol since the two were apparently dating. Just because they were friends with the Captain didn't mean he would share willingly unless it was absolutely necessary.

Predictably, Jim just shrugged and shook his head lightly. "I'm fine, really."

"We're not saying you're not," Jon pacified, "but it was a pretty intense few days. You were caught up in a corrupt Admiral's insane plot, and it nearly got you killed. There's nothing wrong with needing some time to process."

Jim rolled his eyes. "This doesn't even come close to the top ten worst experiences of my life," he said, his voice even and devoid of any turbulent emotion. "Seriously. Harrison was crazy, Marcus even more so. But I'm not emotionally damaged or anything. It sucked, and I gotta say, I'm not going to be advocating for getting shot point blank by a phaser any time soon, but I'm not hung up on it."

A hesitant knock at the door interrupted them, and Jon called for the intruder to enter. His secretary poked her head in nervously. "I'm sorry to interrupt Admiral, but you've received an encrypted call from a location that has been traced back in the direction of Klingon space. They want to speak with you and Captain Kirk, immediately."

Jon frowned and looked at Richard. The other Admiral nodded in understanding and stood up. "I'll leave you two alone. Let me know what happens."

He left and Jim moved around the desk so that he was standing next to Jon. The Admiral stood up and motioned for Jim to take the chair. Jim almost protested, but he really was sore, so he took the offered seat.

The computer on Jon's desk blurred, and then the image cleared, showing K'Temoc in front, with several Klingons standing behind him.

Jim smiled slightly. "K'Temoc, I hope your call means you've got good news?"

K'Temoc inclined his head. "Captain Kirk, I am relieved that you made it back to Earth safely. Admiral Archer, we have not met face to face, but Kirk trusts you, and he has proven himself to be trustworthy to us. He informed me that it was your approval that allowed him to grant us safe passage back to Klingon space at our first meeting."

Jon nodded once. "I'm not in the business of targeting anyone based on other people's prejudice. You broke a treaty by entering Federation space, but Captain Kirk felt that you didn't deserve to be drawn and quartered for simply protecting your own Empire. We've all got issues with Romulus right now, and you've got every right to want to know what they're up to. Maybe from here on we can work together on that."

K'Temoc looked startled, but thoughtful. "Perhaps. I have brought my observations to my Clan leaders, and there may be opportunity for amicability in the future. However, we are calling today about your escaped criminal. I told Kirk I would let him know when we captured this Harrison. He is in custody now."

Jim let out a sigh of relief. "That's great. Thank you for letting us know."

K'Temoc looked satisfied. "We will be handling the sentencing ourselves. I trust you will allow this."

Jon looked a little disgruntled, but Jim turned to him and shook his head, expression serious. "Admiral, they do have a claim. Harrison killed several Klingons and violated the treaty by going to Qo'nos in the first place. They have him, and they can handle it themselves. I'd like to see Harrison pay for the lives he took, but this will have to be adequate. You know they'll most likely kill him for his crimes."

K'Temoc cleared his throat. "The Clan leaders understand Starfleet's desire to see justice for their deceased citizens. And while we are not prepared to hand the criminal over to you, as a show of good faith we will allow a special envoy to witness justice being dispensed. To that end, they have authorized Captain Kirk to attend the sentencing. You will be here as a witness only, with no authority whatsoever. If you agree, we will allow the Enterprise to cross the Neutral Zone and park in orbit above Qo'nos. Captain Kirk alone will beam down."

Jon and Jim shared a look, several opinions and emotions passing unsaid between the pair. After several moments, Jim turned back to the screen and nodded. "I appreciate your offer, and I accept. However, it will have to be another ship. I'm afraid the Enterprise won't be fit to travel anywhere for several more months."

K'Temoc looked concerned, but he didn't comment other than to agree. "The offer still stands. One ship, and only you will be allowed to the planet's surface."

Jon sighed, but didn't put up any objections. "Very well. We thank you for your consideration in allowing a Starfleet presence. The Yorktown will depart this afternoon, and it will likely take two or three days for them to arrive, if they push the engines."

K'Temoc inclined his head. "Give us an accurate projected arrival once you have it. We will wait. Harrison isn't going anywhere, and the Clan leaders have agreed that fostering peace with Starfleet may be worth waiting a few days to dispense justice."

He signed off, and Jon immediately placed a call to Shay, informing her of the new mission and telling her to be ready to depart in six hours or less. He requested that she join him once she recalled her crew, so he could give her a more in depth briefing. She was confused, but didn't argue, and quickly signed off to contact her crew.

Jon looked back at Jim. "You should go get ready," he advised. "I'll tell Richard and Chris what's going on, and we'll see you in a few hours." He sighed and rubbed a hand across his face wearily. "Chris will likely be joining you, if only to keep an eye out and make sure you don't collapse."

Jim rolled his eyes. "I'm fine." He knew it wasn't true, and he knew that Jon knew it wasn't true, but he felt compelled to say it anyway.

Jon just flapped a hand dismissively, and Jim left, heading back to his apartment as quickly as he was able.

Carol was awake when he got back, eating breakfast at the kitchen table while she read on her PADD. She glanced up as he walked in, and smiled. "You look better," she observed. "Did Admiral Archer have any new information?" She paused, her smile dimming as she took in his grim expression. "Jim? What's happened?"

Jim took a seat across from her at the table, and let out a long breath of air. "The Klingons have Harrison," he informed her.

Carol nodded slightly. "That's great."

Jim pursed his lips, his expression not lightening at all. "They're dealing with him themselves, but they've allowed me to come as a Starfleet representative, for the citizens we lost in his attack."

Carol sat up straighter, her expression suddenly concerned and slightly alarmed. "You're going back to Qo'nos? Are you sure that's wise? You only just got out of the hospital."

Jim sighed. "I have to, Carol. Just the fact that they offered says a lot about the potential for change. We can't offend them by turning them down."

Carol bit her lip nervously. "I won't say it doesn't concern me, but I'm not going to ask you not to do it. You're right, this is a huge step for us and them. If we can achieve peace with the Klingons…" she shook her head wonderingly. "I never even imagined it was possible, but if anyone could do it, it would be you." She stood up. "You go pack, I'll let our friends know what's going on."

Jim nodded and headed to the bedroom, while Carol pulled out her comm. to make some calls.

McCoy arrived first with Joanna; the doctor looked upset, but he was clearly trying to hide it as he gestured for Joanna to join Carol on the couch, and immediately disappeared into the bedroom to berate Jim for even thinking about leaving the planet before he was cleared.

Jim listened to his grumbling for a while as he continued to pack. Finally, he let out a weary sigh and looked up. "Bones, I know it's not ideal, but I have to go. I promise, It'll be fine. Chris and Shay will be on board, and you know the doctor on the Yorktown is almost as good as you." He smiled slightly, hoping McCoy would rise to the bait.

McCoy just rolled his eyes. "I want to go with you. I don't care about how good the Yorktown's CMO is. He's not me. I don't trust anyone else to keep you from killing yourself because you can't be bothered to actually take care of yourself."

Jim's smile widened. "You're a good friend, Bones. Thanks, but I'll be fine. Promise. Chris is pretty good at keeping an eye out for my self-destructive behavior too, you know. I'll be back soon. A week at most. Swear."

McCoy scowled, but stopped complaining. He knew he couldn't talk Jim out of this insane plan, and he couldn't go with him. He just had to trust that Jim knew what he was doing. And he had to admit, most of the time, the man did. He made a mental note to send copies of Jim's medical reports, along with any issues to watch out for, to both Pike and the Yorktown CMO.

Jim finished packing quickly, and headed out into the living room, to find that Carol and Joanna weren't alone anymore. Spock and Uhura were there, both looking concerned – even Spock looked rattled, not that most would be able to tell. But Jim was pretty good at reading Vulcan emotions.

The doorbell chimed again, and Carol let April, Chekov, Sulu, and Kevin enter. Jim let out a small sigh, but didn't protest their overprotectiveness. He knew it wouldn't do any good anyway. Scotty was still in Riverside, or Jim knew he would have been here as well. The Engineer wasn't supposed to come back to San Francisco for another few days.

"When do you leave?" Uhura asked quietly, biting her lip anxiously.

Jim gave her a reassuring smile as he sat down on the couch and pulled Joanna into his lap. The girl was getting too big for it to be comfortable, but she settled back into her pseudo uncle's arms contentedly, enjoying the simple fact that he was here and at least healing. His extended stay in the hospital had scared her badly. "A couple of hours. I'll be gone a week or so, most likely."

"I don't like this," Sulu commented, leaning against the wall as he crossed his arms.

Chekov nodded slightly, and Carol definitely looked like she agreed.

Jim rolled his eyes as Carol sat next to her boyfriend, grasping his hand tightly in her own. "I know," he pacified. "No one does. But I have to go. I'll be fine, they've promised me safe passage."

"Promises mean nothing to a corpse," McCoy muttered, leaning against the armrest of the sofa, on Jim's other side from Carol.

Jim glanced up at the doctor and shook his head. "Everything will be fine." He knew they didn't believe him, and he wasn't entirely sure he believed himself, but he trusted that they meant it when they offered him safe passage. Whether or not that promise would carry through was yet to be seen, but for the moment, he believed that they had every intention of keeping it.

Since Jim didn't need to meet the Yorktown crew for another couple of hours, they all settled down to pass the time discussing anything except the potentially hostile situation Jim was about to warp into. Joanna had their attention captured for a while as she told them all of her extended sleepover with her friend's family. She really had been such a good sport, not complaining too much that her father and makeshift family hadn't been able to be around as much over the last few weeks. And she had had a lot of fun with Sheri.

When it was time to go, they all accompanied their Captain to the shuttle hangar, arriving just a few minutes before the shuttle Jim was scheduled to take up to the Yorktown was supposed to depart.

McCoy scowled at the shuttle, and then turned back to Jim. "You better stick to shuttles," he warned. "You just had an organ replaced, don't go thinking you can scramble your atoms around by beaming just yet."

Jim rolled his eyes, but his expression was amused. At his side, Joanna giggled. The girl had not let go of Jim's hand since they had left his apartment. "No transporters, got it." McCoy huffed, and Jim's gaze softened slightly in understanding. "You worry too much Bones. Shay won't let anything happen to me."

"That woman takes overprotectiveness to an art," Chris joined the conversation, setting his bag down at his feet as he came to a stop at Jim's side. He smiled at his wife's antics, wholeheartedly agreeing with her when it came to Jim's safety. "But Jim's right, you really shouldn't worry so much. We've got his back."

He clasped the younger man's shoulder, Jim rolled his eyes, but he didn't try to protest. "So you got your position sorted out?" he asked instead.

Chris nodded, smile widening. "Final paperwork was signed yesterday, but I didn't think I'd be called so soon." He glanced back at where several crewmembers were gathering, and gave a jerk of the head. "Looks like it's time to go. Sooner we leave, sooner we come back, right?"

Jim let out a soft snort and shook his head minutely. "Not entirely sure it works that way, but OK." He almost stooped to pick up his bag, but McCoy was a step ahead of him, and handed it off to Chris, not willing to let the still recovering Captain carry anything remotely heavy if he could help it.

Jim rolled his eyes again, but just turned to give the others a last farewell. Uhura hugged him briefly, while Spock offered a Vulcan salute. Sulu clapped him on the back, and Jim let Chekov draw him into a brotherly hug before he ruffled Kevin's hair reassuringly. April pulled him into a hug next, and then stepped back and let her boyfriend move forward.

McCoy grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, but gave Jim a hug as well. "If you take any unnecessary risks I'll kill you," he muttered in the other man's ear.

Jim smiled at the remark. McCoy wasn't always great at showing emotion or dealing with it, but Jim had never doubted how much the doctor cared for him.

He turned to Joanna next, dropping down to one knee to give the eleven-year-old a hug. Joanna gripped his shirt tightly, trying and failing to hold in her tears at having to say goodbye to him so soon after he had been so sick. Her dad hadn't given her many details, but she was eleven. She wasn't stupid, and she knew how much Uncle Jim liked to throw himself in harm's way, especially if it meant saving someone else in the process. "Come back soon, Uncle Jim," she whispered, sniffling softly. "I'll miss you."

Jim smiled gently as he pulled away. He cupped her face gently with one hand and used a thumb to wipe the tears away. "I'll be back before you know it," he promised quietly. "Be good for your dad, yeah? Don't get up to too much trouble without me." He winked mischievously. "But if you want to stretch some pranking muscles, well," he leaned in closer, "Admiral Garovick's office is thirteen twenty."

"Jim, stop corrupting my daughter," McCoy growled, pulling Joanna back as the girl giggled.

Jim just shrugged good-naturedly and stood up with a quiet groan that had several of them taking a half step forward worriedly, but he waved them off. It was just soreness, nothing to get excited about.

Carol bit her lip nervously as Jim turned to her, and timidly took a step forward, allowing her boyfriend to draw her into a comforting hug. Jim bent down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, ignoring, or perhaps not caring, about the many people currently surrounding them in the hangar, including several members of the press, who had all heard about the Yorktown's looming departure, along with several rumors that they were going to capture Harrison, though no one had confirmed that.

Jim and Carol hadn't really discussed officially releasing the nature of their relationship, even though they had been together for years, because they knew that once they did, everything would change. It got complicated when one participant in the relationship was a superior officer, and Jim and Carol liked the way things were going between them. They didn't want to risk rocking the boat, especially before now, when any disclosing of their relationship would mean that Carol's father would know, and she hadn't wanted that. They had promised Jon that they would officially inform the Admiralty, but then everything had happened with Harrison, and it all went to hell and they hadn't had a chance yet. By this point, it wasn't that they thought they might break up, it was just that they were hesitant to deal with the scrutiny that would surely follow, once people knew.

The couple broke apart after a few moments, neither one looking too happy. Jim gave the others one final wave, before he followed Chris onto the waiting shuttle.

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