Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or make any profit from this work.
Thank you so much for the reviews! There is one more chapter after this one. I am just dipping my toe in the pond this first time, keeping it short.
The room was hot, and a buzzing noise was dragging Jim up from the depths of sleep. He pushed the blanket off, but was still hot. What was that annoying buzzing?
"Thop!" he groaned, holding his head.
He heard a swishing noise and then Uhura yelling, "Jim, are you here? Did you forget our lunch date?"
"Thuth, don't yell." He squeezed his head harder.
"Jim?"
"thhh..."
"Are you alright? Wow, you look terrible." She waved a hand in front of his face... . "Hellloooo?"
Why was Uhura here floating around his apartment and waving her hands? Was this a dream?
"I mean you really look terrible! Do you think you're contagious?" she asked.
Jim just stared at her, totally spaced out.
"Ok, maybe that was a little callous," she conceded
A hand pressed to his forehead and Jim shivered.
"Jim, you're burning up!" Uhura exclaimed. "I'm comming Leonard. Good thing you always use the same key code to your apartments. I could just see you in here, passed out on the floor and no one the wiser."
Jim just stared blankly at Uhura. He could see her lips moving but couldn't really make sense of what she was saying. If his head would just stop throbbing and buzzing, maybe he could understand why she was here in his dream. He pressed his fingers into his eyes trying to stop the throbbing.
Jim realized that the buzzing noise had stopped and opened his eyes.
Uhura was standing, hand on hip, with an expectant look on her face. "Well?" she demanded.
He just stared at her blankly. Nope, no clue.
Uhura lifted her communicator to her mouth, "I don't think he's taken anything Leonard. He's got a pretty high fever."
"Ok," a voice replied, "we'll be there as soon as we can. Try to get his temp down if you can and keep him horizontal."
"Oh, that won't be a problem. I don't think he could move if his life depended on it."
All Jim heard was buzzing again and then nothing.
xx
The feeling of someone's hand stroking his forehead pulled Jim from his feverish slumber. There was only one person who had ever done this for him. In his hazy mind he could remember her voice saying, "It's ok Jimmy. I'm here. You'll be fine." Then there was a moist, cool cloth on his hot forehead, stroking and pushing his sweaty hair back. It felt so good. "Mm. Mom?" He croaked out. How could this be? His muddled mind tried to work this conundrum out. Maybe it was Sam. Sam took care of him when he was little. Before he left. Before Jim was sent to Tarsus. Jim's mind shied away from those thoughts, they were too painful.
"No Jim, it's me, Uhura." You're in your apartment at Starfleet. Remember?"
Yes, Jim remembered. His mom was dead, Sam was dead, and he was all alone.
The warm cloth lifted away from his skin and then returned moments later, once again nice and cool. "Shh, Jim. It's ok. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere," Uhura's smooth voice lulled him.
He wasn't alone. Jim held onto that thought as he drifted away.
xx
The next time Jim awoke, it was to a hand on his shoulder gently shaking him.
"Come on Jim, that's it, open your eyes. I need you to swallow this. It will help with that raw throat of yours. I also want to check you over again."
What was Bones doing in his room? "I must be dreaming again," he thought, but the dream Bones kept shaking him. "Boneth, go away," he croaked, "ged oudda my dream." Then he felt a sting in his neck. "Ouch, thop thad."
"Don't be a baby Jim. Come on, wake up an swallow this, or I'm gonna have Spock over there hold you down, an pour it down your throat!"
Spock simply raised his brows at the good doctor.
Jim tried to use his best captainly glare on McCoy, but the room was too bright and it hurt his eyes. There was a glass still waving its way around in front of his face. "Thop waving thad around in frud of my fathe, you're maging me natheouth," Jim barely managed to get out.
"Then drink it and I'll stop waving it," Bones said, as the vile medicine cup was once more brandished in front of his face.
That was it. Jim turned green and threw up on the doctor.
"Ah shit!" McCoy exclaimed.
"I believe he did warn you Doctor," Spock pointed out, one eyebrow raised, "the statistical likelihood.."
"Spock!" McCoy swung towards Spock, one finger pointing at the commander, "You don't wanna annoy me right now." McCoy turned back to Kirk, disgruntled muttering under his breath, "Help me get him cleaned up. Sorry about this Jim, I should have realized."
James Kirk lay against the bed panting, skin almost as pale as the sheets, except for the two spots of pink on his cheek bones. He had passed out.
McCoy ran the tricorder over Jim and then took his pulse. Satisfied for the moment, he pulled his own soiled shirt off and threw it into the laundry bin, grabbing a clean one for himself and one for Jim, from Jim's drawer. As Spock helped him get the sweaty, soiled, sleep shirt off of their captain, something caught his eye. "Wait a minute Spock," he said, as he bent lower. "Dammit! This wasn't here earlier." There was a fine red rash all over Jim's stomach. "This isn't just regular Terran flu," the doctor observed. "No wonder he hasn't been responding to the meds. We're going to have to take another blood sample over to Starfleet Medical. Help me get this clean shirt on him Spock."
Once the Captain was all cleaned up and settled in warm, dry bedding, McCoy turned to Spock, handing him the blood sample. "Do me a favor will you? Double check his blood work personally, for me, just to make sure. I know Starfleet Medical is one of the best, but those idiots missed something and I don't want any more screw-ups. This is Jim we're talking about."
Spock nodded, "You have my word Doctor." He turned and hastened from the room.
xx
Six hours later, McCoy's communicator beeped. "McCoy here," he answered.
"Spock here, Doctor. I am on my way with the necessary medicine. I will be there in twenty-seven point three minutes. Spock out."
McCoy sighed and closed his communicator. This was a helluva shore leave for Jim.
xx
Bones' soft tone reached Jim. "Come on Jimbo, wake up. I gave you an antiemetic and an antipyretic, so you shouldn't sick-up this time. Come on, open your eyes."
Jim cracked his eyes open to slits. The room was dim now and his stomach wasn't rolling. "Hmmh...," he started to clear his throat but stopped at the raw, inflamed feeling. It felt like he had swallowed broken glass and metal shards.
Bones gently eased his hand under Jim's head, "I'm going to lift you up so you can swallow this medicine. It'll help with that sore throat," he said, lifting Jim's head to meet the cup. Slowly the medicine found its way down his throat with minimal spillage. Jim was too sick and tired to care and the medicine felt cool and soothing on his raw throat. He closed his eyes as Bones laid him back on his pillow. The throbbing in his head was starting to settle down a little.
Jim tried to gather his thoughts, "Boneth, whad are you and Thpock doing here? You're thuppothed to be enjoying your thore leabe."
"You don't remember Uhura coming over yesterday and comming me?"
Jim's brows scrunched in concentration and said, "No, bud why wath thhe here early? You're all nod thuppothed do be here dill Monday abdernoon."
"Jim, It's Tuesday evening. We've been here since yesterday," McCoy gently explained.
"Oh," he replied. No better response came to mind.
Just then, Spock strode into the room, handing the doctor a package. "Here is the medicine you require Doctor. I was able to isolate the virus. The captain has managed to acquire the Bajoran flu. In all fairness to Starfleet Medical, it is very hard to differentiate from Terran flu, and they have had very little experience diagnosing it. I believe you will find the requisite medical supplies you need to render proper aid." Turning toward Jim, he said, "I am pleased to see you awake and lucid Captain."
"Thankth," Jim replied. Finally taking note of his surroundings, he realized he was no longer on the couch and asked, "How did I ged in bed?"
"Spock carried you," McCoy replied, busy loading the hypo with the new medicine, "you were pretty out of it at the time."
"Uhm, thankth Thpock."
"No thanks are necessary Captain. You were incapacitated at the time and it was beneficial to your recovery to move you," Spock replied in his usual stoic manner.
Jim just stared at Spock and then over at McCoy.
"I feel like thit," he informed them.
Spock just raised one brow and nodded.
McCoy chuckled and said, "Yeah Jimbo, I'll bet you do. Well, this here hypo will help. It'll take a few days to kick in, but you should be right as rain by the end of the week," he promised, pressing the hypo to Jim's neck. "Back to la-la land for you."
McCoy ordered the lights down to ten percent, tucked the blankets tight around Jim and then put his hand over Jim's eyes. That was all it took, he was out like a light.
McCoy stood over Jim, hand still on his forehead. "Bajoran flu," he murmured, "How did I miss that? Dammit, I knew something wasn't right!"
Spock straightened up, hands in their usual place behind his back, and cleared his throat, "Ahem, you are not at fault Doctor. It is difficult to properly diagnose a medical condition without all the symptoms."
"Thank you Spock," McCoy replied, somewhat embarrassed but grateful.
xx
The next few days were up and down for Jim with his temperature swinging back and forth. Bones would hypo him in his aching neck, his fever would drop and he would sweat so bad they had to change his bed-clothes. A few hours later his temperature would start creeping up again. At one point he was shivering so bad he thought he broke a molar. Jim was totally wrung out.
McCoy would have put him in the hospital, but he knew Jim would get more rest at the apartment. So, Spock, Uhura, and himself took turns taking care of their captain, it wasn't the first time and it probably wouldn't be the last.
Finally, at the end of the week, his temperature improved. They also found out that there were three more cases of Bajoran flu at Starfleet Medical. Apparently, he had picked it up in the spaceport. Someone coming from the Tau Cygni campus had brought it over and the bio scanners hadn't caught it.
"Technology can't prevent everything," Bones ranted, "I keep telling you Jim, space is full of disease. I'm just glad we have Spock here batting on our team. He's the one who isolated the virus."
"I fail to see what baseball has to do with this Doctor."
"Oh, forget it Spock," McCoy replied, rolling his eyes.
Jim sat up in the bed, quietly enjoying the show, which he knew was for his benefit. He couldn't help thinking, "He had the best friends and crew in the galaxy."
xx
"Captain, Lieutenant Uhura wanted me to pass along a message. She will be stopping by at thirteen hundred hours to bring you something from Mitchell's with toasted almonds and coconut. I believe it is a frozen confectionery, that she felt would benefit your sore throat. It sounds most intriguing."
"It is Spock, stick around and have some when she brings it," Jim invited, "You too Bones."
"I just might do that," McCoy replied. "You know it's been a long time since I've had real ice cream, and if I know Uhura, It'll be the good stuff," Bones said, smiling his toothy grin.
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