The Forty Sixth
Chapter Two
"Jen, has the captain slept at all since he came in?" The doctor asked as he scrubbed his prickly face, trying to wake up after the couple hours sleep he had managed on the sofa in Puri's office.
"Pike or Kirk?"
"Kirk."
"I don't think so sir. I think he tired but," She picked up a PADD pulling up his chart and handing it to him. "He's talking to the Chief Engineer and First Officer now. He mentioned something about getting one of the labs back online." She pointed to the single room at the end of the sickbay.
"I bet he did! Damn it, Jim!" he stalked to the back of sickbay and stormed into the room."This sickbay is not a conference centre Jim! I told you to sleep!" he ranted, ignoring the other two senior officers in the room. "Something that you quite clearly have had precious little of and I wasn't kidding when I said your body needs it too heal!" he glared at Kirk who was reclined nonchalantly on the bed with his right leg raised on a pillow and smeared with white antibiotic cream. It was the only injury that he hadn't healed up as the infection needed to be cleared up first.
"Doctor, I apologise. I was unaware of your instructions to the captain."
"Not your fault Spock. This moron wasn't going to tell you." He hadn't taken his eyes off the acting captain since he walked in. He didn't need the monitors to tell him that Jim was on the last of his energy, as his pale complexion and fine tremors in his hands did that for him.
"Doctor I hardly think-" Spock began only for Scotty to cut him off.
"Ack, Mr Spock I think that's our cue to leave." Scotty said looking between the Doctor and his charge. "Come now Commander, we have what we need for now. Sweet dreams, captain." The Scottish engineer said with a playful wink as they left the room.
"Do I need to explain accelerated healing to you again?" Leonard burst as the door closed. "Or have you somehow gained a concussion since we spoke and therefore can't understand my instructions?"
"Bones for godsake, calm down it's been 3 hours!" Jim argued weakly, avoiding his friend's eyes.
"And in another 3 hours you are likely to be in a coma!" he shouted angrily at his drawn patient, gesticulating wildly, PADD in hand. "With the amount of damage I just fixed, I have just pushed your body into healing frenzy, your cell division and blood nutrient transfer has increased exponentially! Your body has just done what should have taken 2 weeks in 2 hours, why the hell do you think that you're on nutrient therapy?" He pointed at the IV fluid. "You were already overtired when you came in, your body needs sleep to recharge itself." He took a calming breath. "If you cannot achieve that by naturally, I will have to it chemically – which at this stage is not without risk!"
"Bones, seriously that's a bit overkill!" He tried to appear unconcerned, and if Leonard had been anyone else they would have bought it, Leonard knew Jim and he knew he hated being drugged.
"No Jim it isn't." He pinched his nose. "I'm sorry but you got to sleep, one way or the other." He sank into a hard plastic chair to the side of the bed. "What's going to be Jim?" he asked sympathetically, studying his friend features. A silence drifted between them as Jim looked away from the doctor.
The silence stretched as Leonard allowed Jim the space to think. "Jim..." Leonard began when the silence continued into minutes.
"I see him." Jim said finally, as he looks unseeingly at a patch of wall. "Every time I close my eyes." He swallowed still looking at the wall. "I don't want to look at him right now. I don't want to hear him tell me that he's proud of me. I don't want to hear that I'm a Kirk, I don't want to dream of the life that I could have had or should have had." He sighs and pulls himself under control, scrubbing his face trying to wipe away the emotion. "Anyway, you get the picture." He voice strong. "I don't want to dream Bones."
"Okay." Bones breathed. So desperately he wanted to talk it through with Jim, but now wasn't time, he needed sleep. Maybe when he woke up they would get drunk. "I'll be back in a minute." he slipped out the room quickly.
As promised he returned quickly, carrying a hypo. "This will allow you about 4 hours dreamless sleep." He held it up in front of his patient. "After it wears off I am not going to wake you up, but I'll be right here if I think you need waking, Deal?"
"Okay." Jim nods with a brief tint of a smile. "Just one thing you've got to promise me, Bones." He held up his hand pausing the doctor's advance with the medication. "If Scotty gets that lab functional, you'll try." Bones saw the desperation in Jim's eyes to save Crewman Croxson. "46 is one too many." He whispered.
"I make no promises Jim, and I won't compromise patient care for the rest of the ship, but if there is a viable chance I will take it."
He nodded "good enough." The two friends looked at each other. No more words needing to be spoken for the understanding to be reached. Forgiveness, trust and loyalty no more, no less. Gently he placed the hypospray onto Jim's neck and released the contents. Heavy lids gently closed on blue irises for the first dreamless sleep since it all began.
"I'm proud of you, Jim. You crazy bastard!" Bones whispered.
Leonard collapsed back into his chair. It was going to be a long day, he called up the nurses' station, to send in the on shift med students. They were about to get a crash course in heart transplant surgery. Because if Scotty's team could get the damaged lab running, he was going to need some help.
End.
A/N: thank you for reading, I hoped you enjoyed it. As I mentioned before, please let me know what you liked or didn't like so that I can improve my writing skill for the next story. Thank you.