Prime Universe

It was quite an often occurrence that Doctor McCoy woke up in Sickbay. When he did so, he could usually feel a PADD digging into his face, his weary body supported by an uncomfortable chair, his head resting on his desk. Though, when he woke up this time, he felt none of those things. He felt the rough blankets of a bio-bed, the tug of an IV in his arm, a soft pillow under his head. Yet, the most concerning of it all was that he could feel a phantom pain in his chest.

Since when was he hurt? What had Jim done this time?

Opening his eyes, he was met with a darkened sickbay, signifying night-time on the ship, and two more biobeds with both Jim and Spock on them. From what he could see, all of their life-readings looked strong, and McCoy let himself be relieved by that. Every part of him wished that he could get up and take a closer look, but his limbs felt too weak to do so.

Where was Chapel in all of this? M'Benga? Any of his nurses? As soon as he opened his mouth to ask for someone, he noticed a man leaning over a PADD by Spock, his clothes appearing rumbled in the dim lights.

Leonard.

Then it all came back to him. The diplomatic mission that went wrong. The knives. The escape back to the Enterprise. Leonard forcing himself into Sickbay to help them. And then…nothing.

He hated memory gaps. It always made him feel uncomfortable. How was a man expected to do his best work when he couldn't remember anything?

"They're all okay." Leonard said gruffly, no doubt noticing his stare, and McCoy sighed as the younger doctor walked over to him.

"Thanks. Diagnosis?"

"Severe hemorrhaging with both Spock and the Captain. Spock's in his healing trace now, and Kirk's under forced sedation. Both of them have undergone surgery, and should be okay." Leonard said, setting down the PADD on a nearby desk and running his hands through his hair.

Now that McCoy looked, the other man looked exhausted, more exhausted than normal, and the thought concerned him. The man looked dead on his feet, and that wasn't a good thing, especially as he was still recovering from his run-in with the Romulans. McCoy knew that he needed to get Leonard resting as soon as he could.

"You, on the other hand-" Leonard continued, "had three broken ribs and a punctured lung. You've been patched up, but you'll need a few days of bed rest. The cut on your arm has been healed, too, but be gentle with it, will you? M'Benga told me to sedate you if you tried to get up."

McCoy sighed. Of course he did. Annoyance filled his mind, at the fact that he couldn't do his job, couldn't protect his friends, and he hated it. He was their doctor, not a patient! He should be on his feet helping them!

Without warning the PADD that Leonard had was thrust into his face, and McCoy grabbed it with a scowl.

"What in the blazes-"

"As a doctor I don't want to give this to you," Leonard said, his accent seeming louder because of the silence or the exhaustion McCoy didn't know, "but as a Leonard McCoy myself I get it. You'll want to take a look, won't you? You get ten minutes."

McCoy nodded his thanks, because yes, he did want to take a look at the reports, more than anything, and he unlocked it and read it. He knew that Leonard needed the rest, but now, knowing what he would do in this situation, didn't want to risk saying anything about it before learning what had happened. Leonard would most likely take the PADD from him if McCoy began questioning how much sleep he got, and McCoy wasn't going to risk it.

He quickly scanned the information provided, getting a quick overview of what happened, and was thankful to see that both Jim and Spock had been well taken care of, despite some complications that had arisen. And, all of Leonard's treatments with Kirk was exactly what he would've done, and that made McCoy's old heart a little more steady.

He heard a small crash, and he looked up to see Leonard stumble over to Kirk's bedside, studying the monitors. He favored the leg that hadn't been broken, his breathing seemed short, and, now that McCoy really focused, he seemed a few moments away from breaking down. There was even a slight glint in his eyes, and was he about to cry? He was rapidly blinding, and McCoy soon had no doubts in his mind about it.

Knowing himself, it would take more than a monster to make a McCoy cry. What was going on?

Although he hated the man with a passion, well, used to, he didn't know how he felt about him now that he saved Kirk, McCoy hated to see it. There was no doubt that this man was capable of saving lives, and working himself to the bone to do so. That was something that McCoy couldn't let continue. He was a doctor for a reason, he hated seeing anyone in pain, whether physical or emotional.

Looking back at the PADD, he read again that Kirk had flatlined twice. Maybe that was why Leonard was so protective of him? Watching his vitals while stumbling around like a newborn lamb? Having someone flatline during an operation wasn't a simple thing, it was dangerous, it was scary, even to the best trained doctors. It was at that moment that he knew that Leonard had to take a break, before everything that had happened over the past few weeks hit him.

"Leonard! Sit down, will you?"

"I need to check their vitals." Leonard replied gruffly, and he didn't even look up.

Of course. Of course he would be as stubborn as a mule.

"Sit down, man! You're stressing me out by hobbling around my Sickbay! Kirk and Spock will be fine, the monitors will tell you if anything changes. You're acting like you've never been in a Sickbay before."

Leonard rolled his eyes at that, but begrudgingly hobbled over to the chair by McCoy's bed, sitting down with a huff. There was a thin sheet of sweat on his forehead, and he wiped it off with his sleeve, watching McCoy with what looked like wariness.

"Are you alright?" McCoy asked, setting down the PADD, and Leonard huffed, his brown eyes shining with confusion.

"You're the one in the medical bed."

"But you're the one hobbling around my Sickbay like a fevered pig."

Leonard chuckled at that, and somehow McCoy knew that his mother had said that saying a lot, too.

"I'm alright. I've been through worse. M'Benga took Spock and yourself into surgery, I took Kirk. He and Chapel are resting, but I wanted to stay back."

"You wanted to make sure that they were alright?" McCoy asked, and Leonard hesitantly nodded, "I'm the same way. Chapel would've had to drag me out of here after a day that you had. Do you want to talk about it?"

The words felt strange in McCoy's mouth, but right now he didn't see another version of himself, another potential danger to the Enterprise, but a young man who held so much weight on his shoulders, who didn't have anyone to talk to. The least he could do is offer a listening ear.

"Talk to you? Frankly you'd be my last choice."

"I'm a doctor, and a psychologist! Who else?"

Leonard seemed hesitant. McCoy could see his walls going up, walls that McCoy was familiar with. It was the same walls that led to his divorce, led to him losing his daughter, and he hated seeing those walls go up around a different version of him.

"Look, Leonard." He began, wincing as he shifted where he laid. "I get it. You have to be the one to save them, the one to heal. The unbreakable force that doesn't falter. Being friends with two people with no self-preservation skills does that to you."

Leonard huffed at that, a small smile playing at his lips, before it disappeared back into a frown.

"But," McCoy continued. "You still need to allow yourself to get help, too. So talk to me. Who better to understand you than a different version of you?"

"I…" Leonard began after a few tense moments, resting his hands on his knees. "It's silly. I should be able to handle it."

"It's not. The only thing silly on the Enterprise is Jim Kirk's fascination with losing his shirt every mission." He could feel himself smile at that, and Leonard relaxed, too.

"In my…timeline, I lose Jim."

"What?"

"He nearly dies, and…" Leonard took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair once again. "I don't know. Seeing your Kirk flatline brought all of that back. I don't think I even recovered in the first place, and seeing all of that happen didn't help, either."

Doctor McCoy didn't really know what to say to that. He'd been close to losing Jim too, many times, but how close was Leonard's experience to make him act this way? Was his emotions caused because of that, his apparent exhaustion, and not being in his same timeline? Was it a combination of the three, or was there more that Leonard wasn't telling him?

"What happened?"

Leonard seemed to hesitate, "I…I can't tell you. But it was bad. He was dead for a good ten minutes. It was a miracle that I got him back."

"What? Ten minutes?"

"He was cold when he got to me." Leonard took a deep breath, wiping his eyes. "I still have nightmares. And, you and I both know-"

"McCoy nightmares are something else." Doctor McCoy finished, and they both fell into what he could call a comfortable silence. McCoy remembered his nightmares as a child, vivid, relentless, and left one feeling breathless and sick when they woke. His nightmares got worse after the forced mind meld, yet didn't really get any better after the Vulcan healers. He couldn't imagine how Leonard dreamed about his Kirk's death.

"I'm sorry." Leonard said, turning away and getting to his feet. "It's been a long day."

"Take it easy on that leg, will you? And it's fine, man! You saved him. You saved both of them. That's not something to sneeze at. Listen. I have a couch in my office. It's not the most comfy, but it works. Go take a nap, eat some food, rest. You look like you need it."

Leonard watched him, frowning. "I need to monitor their, and your, vitals."

"Let the nurses take care of us, they're capable of it, believe me. You need the rest. The last thing we both want is your leg to get hurt again, or for you to hurt your already weak body."

"I can't." Leonard said, his voice with a slight bit of Southern bite that McCoy was all too familiar with. "I'm not leaving them."

"Kirk is alive, in both timelines. You did that. Now rest. And Spock will be fine. I don't understand much about the Vulcan healing trace, but it works, believe me. Aren't you tired?"

"That doesn't matter一"

"It does! Just rest, man!"

"Alright, fine. I'll go lay down. But, if you feel anything odd, or if Spock or Kirk一"

"They'll be fine! You have no self preservation skills, don't you?"

"Something tells me you don't, either."

Unlike their arguments before, this one felt less strained. More kind. And, McCoy was pleased to see that his words seemed to affect Leonard, at least a little bit.

"Fine. I'll be in your office. I'll get one of your nurses to watch over you three."

With a weak, hesitant smile, Leonard makes his way into Doctor McCoy's office, and McCoy finally let himself relax, glad that the man had finally listened to him. His heart hurt though, seeing Leonard suffering as he did. Was that how he looked to Jim, Spock, and the other crew of the Enterprise when he worked too long? It was hard to watch. Terribly hard to watch.

With a sigh, he knew that he did all that he could now. He knew that his body was weak, and he had to rest himself, which was something he found difficult, much like Leonard no doubt did, too.

Yet, the thought of Leonard chewing him out like McCoy just did to him was a scary one.

So, after quickly glancing over at Jim and Spock, making sure that they were okay, he let his eyes slide closed, hoping that he could help Leonard more than he felt like he already did sooner rather than later.