There have been a lot of questions about where I'm planning on ending this story. Since a lot of those have been posed by guests, I'm going to answer in this AN. This story is going to continue through the 2009 story. I've got about three more chapters including this one. That being said, I have not ruled out the idea of a sequel dealing with the events of Into Darkness, or perhaps bringing it back to Tarsus. Perhaps I'll leave that up to you; you will find that I've left the story a bit open-ended in the last chapter, giving me a chance to continue it on, but I would like to hear from you: would you prefer a sequel dealing with Khan, or Kodos?
And Happy Easter and Passover to everyone who celebrates!
Disclaimer: don't own
Jim felt much better the next day, though of course, better for Jim, and better as a whole were two completely different things. If you asked McCoy, he would much rather take the idiot off duty until they returned to Earth, but that wasn't an option.
Repairs were underway, and Engineering and the Bridge, the two areas worst hit, were already seeing improvements. Small ones, but they were there.
Navigations was functioning, not quite perfectly, but well enough, and Pavel said there was little danger of them accidentally flying into a star or something, so Jim counted it a win.
Once Scotty felt secure enough to leave Engineering, he had people go up and try and get Communications up and running again. It was a long process, and still ongoing, but they were working on it.
Jim helped out as best he could, and spent a good deal of time working on fixing computers on the Bridge during his shifts.
Spock was inwardly fascinated at the way the Captain was able to move between different jobs; his reprogramming of the Kobayashi Maru had indicated a level of understanding when it came to computer programming, but it was remarkable to see the evidence before his eyes.
Three days into their trek home, Chris woke up. McCoy immediately let Jim know, and he left the con in Spock's hands, heading down to Medical.
The Captain was groggy, and in a lot of pain, but at least semi-aware of his surroundings.
Jim sat down next to him, and waited. After a few minutes, Chris noticed his presence. "What're you doing here?" he asked, groaning.
Jim smiled. "Thought you could use some company."
Chris looked away. "What did you do to my ship?"
Jim grimaced. "She's a little banged up," he admitted. "We're fixing what we can."
Chris almost flinched at the guilt he heard in Jim's voice. He hadn't meant to do that. He looked back at the younger man. "I'm sorry, Jim. I didn't mean to blame you. I'm sure you didn't have a choice."
Jim shrugged.
Chris sighed. "Tell me," he ordered.
Jim did so, keeping it concise, as he reported the entire incident, from when he, Hikaru, and Olsen had left the shuttle above that drill, to when they had gotten the ship away from the black hole.
When he was done, Chris was silent for a minute, before he spoke. "Why did you go over to Nero's ship? Why take that risk?"
Jim looked him and raised an eyebrow. "You did tell me to come and get you."
Chris sighed. "I also told you to regroup with the rest of the Fleet."
Jim shook his head. "Not enough time. Besides," he smirked, "sometimes you have to take chances for the things you care about."
Chris blinked, startled as the kid threw back a line he had used so many years ago, when Jim had asked him why he hadn't told anyone that he had known who he was on Tarsus. After a moment of silence, he smiled. "You did good, kid." Jim looked startled, and Chris' smile widened. "You kept those under your command safe. Yeah, you scratched the ship a little, but you saved your crew."
Jim shrugged, and then winced.
Chris frowned. "How bad is it?"
Jim shook his head. "I've had worse," he replied by way of answer.
Chris glared, and after a moment, Jim sighed and gave him a rough overview of the multitude of injuries he had.
Chris felt the fury flare up, but knew he couldn't do anything about it, so he let it go. "You take care of yourself, Jim. I know how easy it is to forget about your own needs, worrying about the big picture, but you are a part of that. And as a Captain, you need to be able to lead."
Jim nodded. "Bones told me the same thing," he acknowledged ruefully. "And I'm really trying to remember. I sort of forgot, the first night. But I've done better since then."
Chris smiled. "Well, I have every confidence that you'll handle the job admirably. How are repairs coming?"
Jim grimaced. "Engineering's probably the most optimistic about everything, though they did see a lot of damage down there. The Bridge was pretty badly hit, about a third of the computers are down, but we're working on getting them back up. Communications are still down, so we have no way of contacting Starfleet and requesting aid, or even letting them know that the situation has been taken care of. Or even telling them what the situation was, come to think of it."
Chris snorted lightly, and Jim shrugged. "Navigations was also knocked out a little, and it's functioning mostly all right, but I'm trusting a lot in Pavel, to be honest. He says there's nothing to worry about, but the system is sort of on the fritz."
"What does that mean?" Chris asked curiously.
Jim bit his lip. "A few degrees off here and there, sometimes it goes offline randomly." Chris stared, and Jim nodded. "Chekov's a genius, and I know he can counter for a lot, so if he says not to worry, I won't, but it still is a little concerning. Scotty and I put a few people on it, but we're stretched thin as it is."
Chris sighed. "One thing they never teach you about at the Academy is how to mop up after the excitement. Experience is a cruel teacher, Jim. It gives the exam first, and then the lesson. You do your best, and you ask for help when you need it."
Jim looked at him. "Help."
Chris chuckled. "You're doing as good a job as I could have done. And that's my honest opinion. Trust in your crew. You've got a good one. Perhaps they're younger than most, but they're doing a good job."
Jim smiled. "True. My command crew is made up of majorly Cadets. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I do trust them, more than I've ever really trusted anyone."
Chris felt a sense of hope in that. He knew that Jim had serious trust issues, and was heartened to see that he could lean on others in such a way.
McCoy poked his head in a moment later. "Jim, you should get back to the Bridge."
Jim nodded, and said his goodbyes, promising to stop by later.
Chris smiled. "You did good, kid. I'm proud of you."
Jim bit his lip, hesitating in his position by the door of the room. "You know, the other Spock said that my father was my reason for joining Starfleet in that timeline." Chris nodded, confused. Jim looked down briefly, before his gaze returned to meet Chris' own comforting one. "Some things don't really change across timelines, you know?" Chris raised an eyebrow, and Jim shrugged with his good shoulder. "Just a different father."
He left, his cheeks red, and Chris was startled by the admission. He hadn't realized their relationship had evolved so much, but he had definitely come to think of the younger man as a son, in some ways. At the very least, he felt a fatherly affection for the kid. Oh, who was he kidding, he loved the kid like a son. He could admit that, if only to himself. It filled him with a warm feeling, to know that the sentiment was returned.
XXX
Jim made every effort to integrate himself into the crew as they inched towards home; he spoke with various crewmembers and asked after their families, how they were handling their jobs, and the like. He committed names to memory, and tried to make himself approachable, as he spent a good deal of his free time where others could see him – on the Observation Decks that were still available to the crew of the Enterprise, in the mess hall, or watching different sparring partners in the gym, since McCoy had barred him from actually participating until his injuries were healed.
His efforts were noted and appreciated by many, who though they were not privy to the same level of insight that the command crew had, had seen how badly hit the Enterprise had been by Nero. It was good to see their Captain there, assuring them that they were doing all right, that they were making progress.
Even if that progress was slower than he would have liked, Jim made sure to show an optimistic face to the crew, so that they wouldn't worry.
The repairs were progressing, even if parts of the ship didn't look like it. Scotty had delegated another team to dealing with the Navigations issues, but the main concern was Communications at this point. If they couldn't contact Starfleet, they couldn't get help. They were making some progress; earlier in the day, they had managed to briefly hear some chatter over the system, before the transmission cut out.
Jim helped out where he could, and he had multiple strengths in computer programming and Engineering. He could rewire the machines, and he definitely knew how they worked, but even he was stumped by many of the issues they were facing.
XXX
Five and a half days into their journey home, they finally had some major success. Scotty didn't have any more manpower to spare, so he was spending most of his time on the Bridge himself, his head and shoulders buried in the Communications console, rewiring the computer, trying to figure out the issue. The rest of the team was in the Communications department on another deck, dealing with issues down there.
He let out a shout of glee, and Nyota mimicked his motions, grinning as she turned to face the captain. "We might have something, Captain."
Jim smiled from his position working on a computer across the Bridge and made his way over to the Communications station. "How's it looking down there, Scotty?" he asked, studying the small screen. There was writing on it, but it didn't make any sense, and a few wavy lines.
Scotty grunted. "Give me a minute, Jim. It's not like there's an instruction manual under here."
Jim nodded, and bent down, seeing what he could do to help. He was pretty good at problem solving, and he knew a few tricks that he thought might move the process along.
They were rewarded when a few minutes later the system made a whirring sound and seemed to reboot, flickering on for brief moments before going black, and then coming back to life again.
XXX
Jon and Richard swore softly as the technicians tried to stabilize the feed. They were getting a rather broken image of the Bridge of the Enterprise, showing the dark skinned Communications officer and what looked like Kirk for only brief moments, before static intervened. The last update they had received was a rather short transmission sent from Acting Captain Spock after Chris had gone aboard the Romulan ship, so they really had no idea what was going on.
Several other Admirals were also in the room, as they hoped to get a status report on the Enterprise, and the situation as it stood.
Richard leaned forward as the image cleared again, showing Jim and another Cadet he was sure was called Uhura, or something like it.
" – get it?" they caught the end of a sentence.
"Kirk?" Archer spoke, shifting slightly as their screen snapped into focus, filled with two people, which indicated they were using the small screen at the Communications console, rather than the larger screen which would show them the whole Bridge.
Jim looked relieved as the image on the Enterprise cleared as well. He was bent over the Communications console as Uhura worked on the feed. He nodded. "Admirals, I apologize for the delay. We've been having some issues here; Communications only just came back online a few minutes ago."
Jon was really confused now. Why was Kirk in charge? Where was Chris, and why had Spock passed on command, to a Cadet of all people? Though he must have been feeling out of his depth as well, Barnett simply went with the flow and nodded. "Understandable. I trust you can give us an update now?"
Jim inclined his head, and turned to Nyota. "Cadet Uhura, are you able to put this on the big screen?"
Uhura furrowed her brow as she worked. "I should be able to, Captain," she replied, concentrating on what she was doing in the hope that she would be able to comply.
It took longer than it should have, though considering the patchwork job they had done to just get Communications up and running again, it wasn't that much of a surprise.
A moment later, Uhura gave a satisfied nod. "Got it, sir," she informed him, as the image of the Admirals shifted from the small screen to the larger one, and Jim turned around and moved to stand beside the Captain's chair.
The Admirals back on Earth were treated to the scene on the Bridge, one of orderly chaos. Alpha shift was in full swing, with many Cadets and officers performing their duties amongst the hustle and bustle. Judging from the damage they could clearly see, even through the vidscreen, several Admirals were amazed the ship was even functioning as well as it was.
Jim glanced around at the officers on the Bridge with him. Chekov and Sulu were at the helm, Spock at the Science station, Uhura still at Communications, monitoring the feed, and several other commissioned officers mixed in with the Cadets around the room. In addition to Scotty, there were others from Engineering also on the Bridge, in various positions as they tried to fix nonworking equipment.
A smear of grease across Jim's face indicated to the Admirals that he had also been helping with repairs, before he had stopped to speak with them.
Barnett noted everything with a keen eye, even as he took in the worn out Acting Captain standing somewhat at attention, though it was a flawed stance, as he was leaning to the side slightly, indicating exhaustion and possible injuries. There were dark circles under his eyes indicating a severe lack of sleep, and several bruises and bandages peeking out from underneath his shirt. He nodded decisively. "Report, Captain Kirk."
Jim took a deep breath – hiding the wince as his broken ribs protested – and began to speak. He kept it short, simply outlining the events of the destruction of the Narada, and why they were in such a state. He touched briefly on why he was in command, and informed them of their projected arrival, the repair work they were able to get underway, and what would need to wait until their return to Earth.
When he finished, he slumped ever so slightly, though it was caught by the sharp eyes of Barnett and Archer, who had spent a good deal of time with the younger man over the last few years.
Richard leaned forward. "Your actions are commendable, Captain." He glanced around at the other officers. "All of you have performed above and beyond the call of duty."
Jon nodded his agreement. "We're recalling the rest of the Fleet from the Laurentian system, and will send you help as soon as possible. The USS Yorktown should arrive within the next few days."
Jim smiled slightly, knowing why they had tasked the Yorktown with the rescue mission; Shay would be going crazy by now. He made a mental note to contact her soon, now that they had Communications back up.
Richard sighed, feeling much older than he had a few days ago. As he studied the officers on the Bridge, he knew he wasn't the only one. All of them had grown up quite suddenly, gaining more experience in a few days than most did in a year. "How are you doing?" he asked quietly, causing several Admirals in the room, and most officers on the Bridge, to look at him in surprise. They weren't used to hearing that level of caring from the stern man.
Jim blew out a breath of air. "Was there something else you wanted to know –" he started, but was cut off.
"Jim."
Those who weren't staring were now; especially those on the Enterprise. They hadn't been aware that their Acting Captain was on such close terms with the distinguished Admiral.
Jim slumped even further, and almost collapsed into the Captain's chair. "I think, under the circumstances, we're doing the best we can," he admitted, his voice dropping the forced professionalism, as the report turned more to a civil conversation between colleagues and friends, as he had had so many times over the last few years with the older man.
Richard nodded understandingly. "How's Chris?"
Jim shook his head slightly. "Still a little out of it. Nero really did a number on him."
Both Richard and Jon could hear the sense of loss in his voice. They knew how much Chris meant to Jim.
Archer also sat down, wishing he could do something to make things better for Jim. The kid was a rather remarkable young man, and he couldn't deny that he enjoyed the company, and saw him as something like a nephew, or even grandson. Not that he had ever told Jim that. Even if he had had a few issues with the kid over the years, such as when he, along with that boy genius Chekov and his aide Scott, had taken his poor dog and tested out that crazy theory. Still, Jim had promised him he'd get Porthos back, and he hadn't lied.
"Jim…"
The Acting Captain shook his head. "Don't, Jon. Please."
Everyone watching started. Hearing the man use such a familiar term with the Admiral was shocking. Only Barnett didn't seem surprised. The lack of professionalism just told the Admiral how frayed Jim really was. Usually, he kept it to proper terms of respect when in the presence of others.
Richard put a hand on Jon's shoulder, squeezing gently. Both men understood what Jim was feeling. They knew how close Jim was to Chris, and more than that, this was the second genocide the kid had been witness to – neither of them had confronted Kirk on what they had learned about his past, and Tarsus; there really hadn't been any time, with the distress call from Vulcan coming shortly after their overheard conversation between Jim and Chris, and Chris' subsequent explanation. But even if they hadn't talked about it, they still understood.
"We will expect another update in two days. Should you need anything, let us know. We're all a little worn, but we will do the best we can."
Jim nodded. "Thanks, Richard," he said quietly, nodding at Uhura to cut the link.
Everyone continued to stare at him, but Jim offered up no explanations as he carefully levered himself out of his chair. "Mr. Spock, you have the con."
Moving in such a way that his command crew could all could see the underlying injuries he had been trying so hard to hide, he exited the Bridge.
Murmurs broke out around the room, as people discussed the familiarity of their Captain with two of the highest Admirals of Starfleet.
Spock only allowed the speculation to continue for a few moments, before he informed them in a few clipped words to return to their tasks.
XXX
Jim's next stop was Medical. Not that he wanted to put himself under the ministrations of McCoy, but he needed to see Chris.
He slipped quietly into the Captain's room, and took a seat next to the older man's biobed. Chris was asleep, but Jim didn't mind. He just needed to reassure himself that he was there.
"Hey, just wanted to let you know that we got Communications back up," Jim informed him. "Well, Scotty and Nyota did it, but we were able to contact Starfleet. Jon and Richard are sending the Yorktown to help out. Shay's gonna kill me."
"Don't worry, she'll kill me worse."
Jim looked down at the Captain, startled. "I thought you were asleep."
Chris opened his eyes and smiled. "Resting. There's a difference."
Jim snorted. "Yeah. Keep telling yourself that."
Chris rolled his eyes. "How soon until the Yorktown gets here?''
Jim shrugged. "A couple of days, probably. They're not exactly close. I'll have Spock give you an exact timeframe."
Chris shook his head, chuckling. "Much obliged."
Jim sighed, sinking back into the chair slightly. "I think things will be better now that Communications is back up. That was a major concern, so now that it's fixed we can focus on other areas."
"But we're still limping along on half impulse, with no warp core and no way of speeding up."
"Maxed out above capacity, with replicators that are going to give out sooner rather than later," Jim agreed, nodding as he rested his chin on his good hand.
Chris sighed. "Help could not come soon enough."
Jim nodded again. "Hopefully they're pushing the engines. I'm sure Shay is itching to get here as soon as possible."
"Just keep doing what you're doing," Chris said soothingly. "Try contacting the Yorktown to get a prognosis on arrival, and go from there."
Jim agreed, and left to go carry out the rest of his shift.
When he returned to the Bridge, he spoke with Uhura briefly, and had her contact the Yorktown, and transfer the feed to his ready room.
On the Yorktown, Shay was trying hard not to panic, as she ordered her pilot to push the ship as hard as it could safely go.
"Captain, we are receiving an incoming transmission from the USS Enterprise," her Communications Officer informed her.
"On screen," she replied tersely, hoping she didn't sound too panicked, but not caring at the moment.
A moment later, the Communications officer of the Enterprise appeared. "Captain, this is Cadet Uhura of the USS Enterprise, I have Captain Kirk to speak with you, if you'll give me a moment to transfer it to his ready room?"
Shay nodded shortly, hiding her surprise at the words 'Captain Kirk'. What the hell had happened in the last few days? "Do it."
A moment later, the image blurred and changed, and Jim was visible, alone in his ready room.
He looked tired, stressed, and stretched too thin, Shay noted, but he smiled easily enough as he looked through the vidscreen. "Captain," he greeted courteously. "I hear you've been tasked with bringing us aid."
Shay nodded austerely. "Captain Kirk." She stressed the 'Captain' part with a raised eyebrow. "I find myself rather interested in hearing how a Cadet is now captaining Starfleet's Flagship. But that is probably a story that can wait until later. For now, what do you need from us?"
Jim held in his smile. There would be time later for storytelling. "The most pressing concern we're dealing with right now is handling the increase in persons aboard. The replicators are maxed out as it is, and we're going to run out of food before we reach Earth, if we continue as is."
Shay nodded again. "We can certainly assist with that. Our arrival is estimated at…" she glanced over at her Navigator, and he chimed in with the answer.
"Two days."
Shay looked back at Jim. "Can you hold on until then?"
Jim nodded. "We're managing. It's really just a lot of things all piled on top of each other. It was a big sigh of relief when we managed to get Communications back up though, so hopefully we'll be breathing a little easier now."
There was a moment of silence, and Shay bit her lip, taking a deep, steadying breath. "How's Chris?" she asked softly, almost afraid of the answer.
Jim smiled softly, understanding. "Awake, aware. Still laid up in medbay, so you can imagine his feelings on the matter."
Shay snorted lightly. Her boyfriend hated hospitals with a passion. She nodded. "We will see you in two days, then, Captain. If you need anything else, please let us know."
Jim nodded his agreement. "I'll send you the damage reports, so you can think about what you can contribute."
Shay smiled. "We'll see you soon then."
The transmission cut out, and Jim returned to the Bridge, feeling a little better.
XXX
When the Yorktown arrived, Jim and Spock went to the transporter room to meet Shay and the delegation that was beaming aboard. It was a small team, but there would be more people coming later, to assist in the repairs.
"Sir, we are getting a request from the Yorktown for beam up," the tech reported.
Jim nodded. "Approved."
A moment later, four people appeared on the pad.
Jim took a deep breath to steady himself, as Shay and her officers stepped down. "Welcome, Captain One. Thank you for your assistance."
Shay smiled tightly. "We are happy to help, Captain Kirk. I believe you might remember my Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Higgins." Jim nodded at the man, recognizing him from when he had surprised Chris and Shay on their shore leave at Risa several years earlier. The Chief Engineer looked startled to see the teenager again, but nodded his own greeting. "This is Lieutenant Hannoway, and Ensign Pra'ash."
Jim nodded to each of them in turn. "Welcome, and thank you all for coming. I'm James Kirk, and this is Commander Spock."
He paused for a moment, taking a breath and thinking of how he could utilize their new arrivals.
Shay was using all her training to stay put; she could see the bandages on his hand, and the bruises lining his throat. When she had heard what had happened, she had been so worried, for both him and Chris. Even knowing that they were both all right hadn't diminished her fear. Seeing him now, it felt like she could breathe again.
When Jim paused after introducing himself to her crew, she couldn't stay still any longer. Taking two steps forward, she encircled Jim in a tight hug, trying to be mindful of any injuries she was certain he had, if those bandages were any indication. She was sure there were more wounds he was hiding, even if she couldn't see them at the moment.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again, James Kirk," she whispered, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
Jim smiled into her embrace, feeling his own eyes moisten slightly. "I'll try," he replied softly, his voice muffled by her shoulder.
The delegation from the Yorktown seemed confused by their Captain's familiarity with the Cadet-turned-Captain, though Higgins remembered that this particular man was a friend to Captain Pike, so it would stand to reason that Captain One would know him as well.
Spock raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.
The two pulled apart a moment later, and Shay nodded decisively.
"Now, tell us how we can be of use," she said, getting down to business.
Jim didn't waste any more time, sending Higgins off to find Scotty, and the others to help out in their areas of expertise. One was a Navigations specialist, while the other was a computer programmer.
Once they were gone, he sent Spock back to the Bridge, and looked at Shay. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to see Chris."
Shay nodded, and the two headed to Medical.
Jim nodded at McCoy when they entered, but didn't speak to the CMO as he led Shay to Chris' private room.
The Captain was awake when they entered, and didn't fully manage to hide his flinch at seeing his girlfriend.
Shay sniffed, trying not to cry as she walked up to her boyfriend's side.
"Hey," Chris said, a little warily when she didn't say anything.
Shay bit her lip, taking his hand and squeezing tightly. "Hi," she replied. "How… how bad is it?"
Chris shrugged. "Not too bad," he said breezily.
Jim coughed, and Shay turned to look at him. "Get your CMO," she ordered.
Jim immediately complied, despite Chris' protests.
He returned a moment later with McCoy in tow, and introduced Shay quickly, before she demanded an update. McCoy gave her a rundown, which did little to assuage her fears.
"Nero basically shoved an alien bug down his throat," McCoy sighed, overriding Chris' objections. "It latched onto his brain stem and did a real number on his nervous system. I removed it, and his brain function is the same as it was before, but so far, I'm not seeing as much progress as I'd like in his recovery."
"What does that mean?" Shay asked, looking down at Chris.
"McCoy frowned. "The toxins from that bug are throwing everything out of whack. I can't tell right now if it's permanent, but as of this moment, he's paralyzed from the waist down."
Shay inhaled sharply, and Chris grimaced. "Way to blunt the blow," he grumbled.
McCoy glared. "I'm not one for delicacy," he shot back. "Besides, she's your girlfriend. She was going to find out sooner or later." Jim snorted, and McCoy looked over at him. Jim shook his head, not commenting, and McCoy sighed again. "There's every possibility it's not permanent," he reasoned, looking back at Chris. "I'll know more when we get back to Earth, but with half our equipment on the fritz, it's just not possible to tell right now. Starfleet Medical has the technology I need to monitor your progress."
"Can our medbay help out at all?" Shay asked.
McCoy looked at her. "I'll take all the doctors and nurses I can get, but I think it's more that the equipment on starships just aren't advanced enough yet for what I need."
"Can we get Chris back to Earth quicker? We could take the injured back now, perhaps," Shay suggested.
Jim shook his head. "I considered that, but I think we need you more helping out with repairs here. If we had another ship available, that would have worked, but Jon and Richard could only give us one. And we need the extra manpower. We just can't spare you guys for the few days it would take for you to get to Earth and back."
Shay nodded, understanding. As much as she would like to get Chris back to Earth, she understood that the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few.
Jim needed to get back to the Bridge, so he left Shay with her boyfriend, and returned to his duties.
XXX
With the Yorktown assisting, things got a little easier. They had the extra manpower to tackle more of the repairs in Engineering, and they were able to fix most of the major problems in Navigations. Some issues were too big to fix before they returned to Earth, but they did what they could. Structural damage was still a concern, but they were much more optimistic about things with the extra help.
McCoy was breathing much easier with the additional assistance of two more doctors and three more nurses on loan from the Yorktown. They transferred most of their more serious injuries over to the Yorktown to be healed, since a lot of their equipment on the Enterprise wasn't functioning, and with more help, McCoy was able to actually sleep more than a few hours at a time.
McCoy tried to get Jim to beam over to the Yorktown to see to his injuries, but the Acting Captain refused, saying that there were others who were worse off, and that he didn't have the time to spare. Osteoregenerators took time to work, especially with the multitude of bones Jim needed healed, and Jim didn't have it. McCoy tried to insist, but Jim just gave the doctor a strangely sad smile and said he could handle it.
McCoy tried to go to Chris to intervene, but the Captain refused with a sigh, his eyes old and weary as he looked at the doctor. "As much as I hate it, Jim's right. I won't go around him like this, McCoy. There are worse injuries than his, and he can handle a few broken bones."
McCoy looked at Chris incredulously. "You actually condone him walking around with those injuries for days longer than he has to?"
Chris rubbed his hand over his face. "I don't like it, but he's making a command decision. His own injuries are not more important than someone else's. And to be perfectly honest, they may be less. Because he can deal with it. Trust me, he's had worse."
The way he said it sent shivers down McCoy's spine. "What do you mean by that?" he asked suspiciously.
Chris shook his head. "It's not my story, so don't ask. Just believe me when I say he can handle it."
McCoy didn't like not knowing, but he didn't push the issue, and he stopped trying to get Jim to go over to the Yorktown.
With the arrival of Shay and her ship, Jim was also able to spread out the Vulcan survivors, so that the Enterprise was less crowded. This also decreased the strain on the replicators, which meant that they were no longer forced to sacrifice speed for food, the way they had been, so their estimated arrival time moved up two days, which could only be a good thing.
They continued to crawl along towards Earth, and the crew of the Yorktown meshed easily with those on the Enterprise. There were some concerns amongst some of the senior staff, but most were unfounded. Many of those on the Enterprise were Cadets, who had suddenly found themselves thrust into positions of authority, while those on the Yorktown had spent years working to get to where they were.
Shay had worried that the most resentment would come when her officers dealt with Jim and his command crew, of whom most were Cadets, but it seemed that her crew respected Jim and his officers for what they had done; Jim was also acting remarkably the part of a seasoned Captain. She had spoken with Chris several times, and he had told her of how amazed he was at how well the kid was doing. It was truly incredible, how well he fell into the role. It was like he was born to be a Captain.
XXX
A few days out from Earth, one of the things Jim knew he needed to do while he was still in command was think about promotions. There were so many people who had performed above and beyond, and he wanted to recognize their actions. Hikaru and Nyota could definitely graduate as full Lieutenants. He wished he could recommend Pavel as well, but the kid had to be eighteen. One of those strange rules that Starfleet had. He would definitely be recommending him for Ensign, though, the highest rank someone under the age of eighteen could earn. Scotty could be promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and there were a few others he wanted to recognize for their work both during and after the conflict.
He compiled the recommendations, and sent them along to Chris for review, since technically, he really didn't have the authority to approve anything.
Chris talked to him about his recommendations the next day, but didn't deny any of them, trusting Jim's views, and agreeing with all of them, sending them forward to Command to look over, since they would have the final approval. Jim was happy that his friends' actions would be recognized.
The one thing Chris didn't like was that Jim didn't seem too interested in what would become of his own field promotion after they returned. Jim seemed perfectly content to return to Cadet life.
Fortunately for McCoy, he hadn't tried to deny the Captain a PADD; probably because he had had experience treating stubborn patients, with Jim. So Chris was able to contact Jon and Richard, and talk to them about what they would be facing on their arrival at Earth.
It was a bit of a mess, to be honest. Most of the graduating class had been killed above Vulcan, and it made Chris' heart hurt, to think about all those young lives, snuffed out before they could begin. He hated that, even though they had known it was coming, they still hadn't been a match for Nero and his advanced, futuristic weaponry.
The Admirals told him that things were going to be pretty confusing when they arrived, but to expect some serious commendations for their actions.
Chris tried to foist it all off on Jim, but it didn't work as well as he'd hoped. Something about him having the conversation from a biobed, he figured.
XXX
At long last, they reached Earth. Jim breathed a sigh of relief when Hikaru announced their imminent arrival, and Nyota contacted the Commander of Starbase One to ask permission to dock.
He was more than relieved that they could still dock, considering all the issues the ship had going for it, but Hikaru assured him it was possible.
He and Spock had spent several hours the day before putting together lists of who would be sent dirtside first. Once the injured were sent down to the planet, the Vulcan survivors would depart. Those who were needed to continue in specific departments would stay until the rest had left, before they boarded shuttles as well. Jim and the command crew would be the last to head down.
The shuttles carrying the injured had left as soon as they were within range of Earth, so that they could save as much time as possible, and would return once unloading their cargo.
The docking procedure seemed a bit more forceful than it should be, but they hadn't crashed, so Jim considered that a win.
Thanks to the schedule he and Spock had set up, they were able to get everyone off the ship with little fuss. Everyone knew when they were supposed to report to shuttle bay, and they showed up on time. Probably because they were all more than ready to get off the ship.
The Vulcans were happy – or at least, ready – to depart, and several thanked Jim for his hospitality. Sarek yet again sought the Captain out to express his gratitude.
Jim turned several heads when he answered the Elder's comments in Vulcan. "Should you ever find yourself in need of assistance, Elder Sarek, I will be happy to come to your aid. Live long and prosper."
Sarek almost smiled as he nodded austerely. He copied the hand gesture Jim had made, noting the way the Captain's hand curled in slightly, evidence of the broken bones he still had yet to get fixed. "You as well, Captain Kirk."
XXX
Several hours later, Jim was exhausted beyond measure. He could count on one hand the number of hours of real sleep he had gotten in the last week, and all he wanted was to collapse into the nearest bed. It was almost time for him and the rest of his command crew to go dirtside, as soon as the last shuttle returned. He had really tried to take care of himself, as Bones and Chris had implored, but being a Captain of a ship as damaged as the Enterprise was, was not easy. There was just so much to deal with, and even when he was off duty, he still had to deal with looking over reports, and studying what had been seen to each day, what still needed to be taken care of, checking over the crew that was still on the injured list, those that had come off but were still on light duty, making sure his CMO actually slept, and various other duties that fell under the purview of the Captain.
Hikaru pulled him out of his thoughts a moment later. "The last shuttle has arrived, sir."
Jim looked over at the Pilot, and then around at the rest of the crew. They all showed signs of wear from the last couple of weeks. He smiled. "Let's go home."
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