The Enterprise was even more fantastic than Charlie could have imagined in even her wildest dreams, and when she arrived at sick bay her heart soared with the type of excitement that could only be brought about by a well-organized lab. She quickly checked in with Dr. Puri before finding one deviant cabinet that was in complete disarray. She stared accusingly at the nurses before setting to work in organizing it. It wasn't until Kirk and McCoy made their entrance that she even looked away from the cabinet. "What the hell?" she whispered, as McCoy brought Kirk over to one of the beds.
She strode over to the center of the commotion, intent to see what type of trouble Kirk was causing now. "What is going on? How did Kirk get on the ship? And what the hell is wrong with him?" Her voice rose at least one octave with each question she asked. She had been there all of five minutes and already Kirk was mucking things up. At least by this point, McCoy had had the good sense to knock him out.
"He's my patient, whom I determined needed medical care, and I simply didn't think it would have been wise to leave him in the care of another physician."
Had Charlie been anything except a doctor, she might have believed him. "Okay, I'm going to call your bullshit right now. You're trying to tell me that in the three minutes between when I last saw Kirk and when you had to load into the shuttle, he began exhibiting symptoms this severe? Please tell me, Doctor, what type of disease on earth hits that quickly?" He began stuttering before she held up her hand to silence him. "I am in enough trouble already and I barely even made it onto this ship. I am not about to let you or Kirk screw this up for me!" she was shout-whispering at him, trying not to draw the attention of the nurses. She did not want to be associated with any madness involving Kirk.
"Look, Jim was really upset when he learned that he was grounded and I couldn't stand looking at his stupid, sad face, so I gave him a vaccine for Melvaran mud fleas," he muttered. "Please don't try to make trouble."
She sighed. As much as she disliked Kirk, as long as he was unconscious for most of the trip, she supposed she could tolerate him, even if he was a mouth-breather. "Alright," she sighed. "But I'm only doing this because I don't want any trouble for you. Now we are completely even. This is my thank-you for forgiving me."
"I'm not complaining, but I never expected you to give me anything for not holding a grudge." His eyes wandered over to the cabinet that Charlie had been organizing. "Who let that cabinet get so disorganized?" he asked, face scrunching into what could almost be described as anger.
"I suspect the nurses. There are two really incompetent ones." She let her eyes conspicuously wander to the pair, so as to let McCoy know who they were for future reference. "Want to help me continue organizing?"
"You bet your ass." His intensity about organization in a medical lab was even greater than hers. Charlie knew instantly that they would get along just fine. As they began alphabetizing, now that the cabinet was completely cleared, McCoy cleared his throat to get her attention. "So why did you have trouble getting onto the enterprise? There's no question that you are perfectly qualified. The way you removed the heart from that Andorian cadaver, was almost moving."
She couldn't help but laugh at his comment about the Andorian cadaver. "Well, the Commander didn't seem to think that my academic record outweighed my recent discipline record."
"The Commander? You mean that pointy-eared bastard?" he asked incredulously.
She nodded. "The very same."
"Well, if he didn't want you on the enterprise, then how did you manage to get cleared for the Enterprise?"
"Commander Spock and I have a mutual friend who spoke on my behalf."
"Who?"
"Don't go thinking that I am going to reveal my secret weapon to you. They wish to remain anonymous and I intend to honor that."
He nodded as if he hadn't expected her to give him any information anyway. They were finally beginning to neatly fill the cabinet with the newly alphabetized drugs, when both of them heard a woman shout "Dr. McCoy!"
"Good God," muttered McCoy as he hid behind one of the beds.
Just as he was doing this, Allison, who Charlie knew from classes, bounded over. "Charlie, have you seen Dr. McCoy? I have a bunch of really important questions for him."
Seeing the panicked look on McCoy's face as he violently shook his head, and knowing – as everyone did – that Allison had an enormous crush on McCoy, Charlie quickly created an excuse. "You know, Allison, I think McCoy went with Dr. Puri to deck six."
"Really? Why would they have the two senior medical officers both go to the same place?"
Charlie shrugged innocently. "I have no idea, but that was the last I heard about them."
"Thank you so much, Charlie!" Allison hugged Charlie really tight. "By the way, your hair looks super adorable in that side braid." This was why Charlie hated lying to Allison. Even if she did come on too strong, she was still the nicest human being on the planet, and Charlie's face fell as she bounded away.
As McCoy pulled himself off the floor, Charlie couldn't help but comment "You know, it wouldn't kill you to try and talk with her more. Once she calms down, she's a very pleasant person."
"I'm just waiting for her to calm down," he muttered. It seemed the Doctor was never really in a good mood. "Thank you, again. It looks like I owe you now."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
Their conversation stayed light for most the remainder of the trip and, although it was inexplicable, in the last couple of days, she felt as if she and McCoy had developed into confidants. Their shared torture at the hands of Jim Kirk, along with all the secrets they helped one another hide had created some sort of strange, but potent bond between them.
They had both set about doing their different tasks for the trip long before the message about their impending arrival at Vulcan, but their peaceful day was soon completely disrupted by none other than James T. Kirk. At first, Charlie was going to stay completely out of it: as far as she was concerned, McCoy could calm down his own deranged friend. However, once she saw how ridiculously swollen his hands were, he became a patient, which meant that he had to become her first priority. Just as she was about to join McCoy in treating Kirk, Kirk ran out of sick bay! As he was doing this, McCoy turned to Charlie and shouted "Grab a medical kit and follow us!"
She quickly obliged and sprinted after McCoy and Kirk, often handing the doctor the necessary medicines before he had even asked for them. As she had suspected earlier, they worked well together. When Kirk finally stopped running around the ship, she was surprised to see that he had been looking for Nyota this entire time. When he began talking about the transmission that Uhura had translated a couple days ago, Charlie almost began to see the way the wheels were turning inside Kirk's head; she wasn't sure that she liked it. The entire party only began running again when Kirk decided that it was his place to tell the captain about whatever conclusion he had drawn from what Nyota had said.
When they finally arrived on the bridge, it was one huge, overbearing shit storm, for lack of a better word. Everyone was yelling at each other until Kirk finally managed to get a couple words in, explaining his theory about some Romulan vessel. Although Charlie had no idea what he was talking about, it was enough to convince Spock, which was more than enough for her, although at this point she was a little dumbfounded that Kirk had been intelligent enough to surmise this much. She had never seen his test scores, but she had always worked under the assumption that he was an idiot. In fact, she had even wondered if he was intelligent enough to work security. Learning that Kirk was actually intelligent – and respected by Captain Pike, no less – shattered her view of the world a little bit.
She and McCoy stared at each other as they prepared to come out of warp. The scene which welcomed them once they did come out of warp was a terrifying one and Charlie felt herself let out a small, unwilling gasp as she saw all the destroyed ships. All she could think about were all the young cadets that had been on those ships and imagining them dead. During her momentary lapse, the ship had hit some of the debris, almost sending her flat on her face, but McCoy steadied her enough to prevent anything that embarrassing.
"Dr. McCoy," she said, taking on the formal business persona she should have taken on once she had realized the gravity of the situation. "We need to get down to sick bay. There are going to be a lot of injuries."
She had heard the beginnings of a plan forming between Pike, Kirk and Spock, but she hadn't assumed it was any of her concern until Pike began looking around the room for people who had advanced combat training. Sulu volunteered, and as Pike continued scanning the room, his eyes fell on Charlie and she saw it on his face: he had very nearly laughed when he saw her. Great, so 'The Incident' was going to follow her even as she entered the beginning of her Star Fleet career. Unfortunately, things got worse. "Dr. Jacobs, how much combat training do you have?"
So he had asked. She supposed he had to, and considering her performance last month, it wasn't a ridiculous question, but it was an embarrassing one. "I have received no extensive formal combat training sir, beyond that which is required by the academy. Even if I had, I believe that my services would be best rendered in sick bay, as I am a medical officer."
Pike nodded and decided to have Kirk go on the mission instead, although Charlie was fairly certain that his combat training was about as extensive as hers. Everyone at the academy received it. Despite how grave the situation was, before Pike's group left the bridge, Pike couldn't help but say "You know, Dr. Jacobs, you should consider investing some time into advanced combat training. If you can do that much damage when you are completely drunk, I'd like to see what you can do with a little more training when you're sober."
She stared hard at him, believing he might be joking to be cruel, but she saw nothing but sincerity on his face and her own face changed to a look of confusion. She was also a little mortified that the same man who had taken an interest in Kirk – recruiting a delinquent in the process – would take an interest in her. However, she had no time to ponder the matter any further, as she and McCoy had a disaster to take care of in Sick Bay. As they arrived there and surveyed the disaster, they looked at each other, understood what had to be done, and set to work.
Patients began flooding in and although it was morbid, Charlie and McCoy were both in their element, handing each issue with startling efficiency as it occurred, surprising even themselves. As Spock kindly reminded them, they were first and second in command now. For some reason, it felt natural and right.