Authors Note: I do not own Star Trek or any of its characters or ships. If I did, I would be sharing a bottle of bourbon with Karl Urban and Chris Pine!

My youngest bought home a stomach bug that hit both kids and I on the first day of school holidays. I was sick and exhausted, and misery loves company so poor Kirk had to suffer too.
- Hopefully this story doesn't suck as much as the real-life version did. There are some medical inaccuracies because I wasn't fussed about fixing them.
- also reviews feed my soul … 😊

Jim was on the bridge, halfway through his shift, standing at Uhura's station talking to her about the upcoming mission when he was suddenly overwhelmed by an intense wave of nausea that had him double over with a violent, thankfully unproductive, gag.
"Captain?" Uhura sounded simultaneously disgusted and concerned as she stood up and took a step back to give him space, but still placed her hand on his shoulder for support
"That was weird…" Kirk stammered after a second, genuinely confused about what just happened
"Captain? Are you unwell?" Spock enquired as he came over to assess the situation
"You should have said you weren't feeling well, should I call for Dr McCoy?" Uhura asked before Kirk could reply to Spock.

"What? No! … I'm fine" and he had felt completely fine before his body decided to surprise him. He must have looked as confused as he felt because both Uhura and Spock seemed to change their minds about lecturing him any further.
"Perhaps you should go sit down?" Uhura suggested as Kirk was still just standing there like a deer in headlights
"um, yeah, we'll finish this later" Kirk agreed as he went to take his seat in the captain's chair followed closely by Spock who was now hovering. He sat there and started reading the PADD he still had in his hand and tried to move on from whatever it was that just happened.

He didn't get to read more than a few paragraphs before a feeling in his stomach had him instantly on alert. Deciding that he was definitely going to need a minute he tried to make a quick exit to his ready room but couldn't quite make it to the door before his stomach seized violently.
Kirk braced himself against the wall with one hand while the other wrapped around his midsection as his stomach violently emptied itself against the bulkhead in the corner of the bridge. When it was finished, he closed his eyes and rested his head in the crook of his arm that was still leaning on the wall. He was very aware that everyone was looking at him and the mess he had just made, and he would be seriously embarrassed if he didn't feel so sick right now.
Spock commed for McCoy to come to the bridge and ordered everyone to 'carry on as they were' so the captain could have some privacy as he retreated to his ready room, and Uhura called for a cleanup.

McCoy entered the bridge only a minute later, having rushed in response to the call.
"Doctor. The captain is unwell and has taken himself to his office" Spock informed him as he walked in.
"Define 'unwell' Spock" McCoy probed knowing he would get a more honest answer from the Vulcan than he would from the captain. Best to know what he could be walking in to.
"The captain appeared well until approximately 20 minutes ago when he suddenly doubled over while talking to Lt Uhura. It appeared that he was going to be physically ill however he recovered quickly without incident. He then quietly resumed his duties for a short period of time before he became physically unwell again just a moment ago."
"There were no signs he wasn't feeling well before the incident with Uhura?" McCoy was trying to confirm if it was Jim being stubborn and not saying anything, or if it was a sudden onset.
"I believe it just hit him, he looked just as surprised and shocked as I was." Uhura confirmed
"Right then" McCoy nodded at them before going to find his patient, noting the foul puddle currently decorating the doorway to the captain's office.

As the door opened McCoy seen Kirk sitting at his desk with his head in his hands, he didn't look up to see who was entering until the doors closed again. When he did glance up McCoy was sure he seen a hint of relief that it was him who entered. McCoy didn't know if he should take it as a complement or if he should be worried.

"Hey Jim, I see your redecorating the place" McCoy joked and was relieved to see Kirk sit up and relax back into his chair more comfortably. He pulled out his bio-scanner and programmed in the patient information as he approached his friend
"Apparently so" Jim responded with a halfhearted laugh that sounded more like a scoff as he let McCoy scan him. Kirk looked pale and was shaking slightly, but looked otherwise fine
"Wanna tell me what happened?"
"I felt fine, honest. I woke up, got ready for my shift, a felt a little light-headed but not like I was sick – more like I needed some food" McCoy didn't even try to hide the 'eyebrow' as he let Kirk continue "I grabbed a coffee and some food, walked up to the bridge, started my shift and felt fine until all of a sudden it was like I got punched in the gut. Literally one second I'm talking to Uhura, and the next I'm ….." he trailed off as he couldn't really find a way to describe what he felt. It still felt so weird, and now McCoy was staring at him and he felt uncomfortable.
"what about after that?" the good doctor apparently wanted Kirk to keep giving him all the details
"Well Uhura suggested I sit down"
"Smart girl"
"So I did. I was trying to read the mission brief but then I DID feel sick…I got light-headed all of a sudden and my stomach started churning. I tried to come in here but… I didn't quite make it" he flushed with embarrassment at the honest recount. Kirk had a sheepish look as he met McCoy's gaze, prepared for some comment about being an 'idiot' or an 'infant' for not knowing he was going to be sick. He was pleasantly relieved when none came, and he seen nothing but compassion in his friends face.
"And how do you feel now?"
"Better. I think." That got him a disbelieving eyebrow
"initial scan shows minimal abdominal discomfort so I'm inclined to believe you for now"
Jim just stared at him waiting for what he hoped would be clearance to take the rest of the shift off and that would be end of story, but he knew his friend too well so it was no real surprise what his CMO said instead…
"Alright then, let's get you to medical and find out what's going on"
"Really? Bones, can't I just go to my quarters"
"After a trip to medical so I can examine you properly! I know you've got a strong stomach kid, so it's not right for you to be randomly vomiting on the bridge and I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't find out why" Kirk could hear McCoy's accent getting stronger as it does when he gets frustrated, and Kirk knew he was right, so he didn't push him any further.

Kirk and McCoy made their way to the turbolift and down the corridors towards medical, mostly in a comfortable silence. As they entered medical Kirk began to feel lightheaded and nauseous again but only mildly so, so he said nothing and hoped it would go away. He sat on one of the bio beds as instructed (deliberately choosing the one closest to McCoy's office because it was an unwritten, but well known, thing that he always got that bed seeing as Bones was Jims human security blanket).

McCoy was getting Kirk situated when two ensigns hurried in - one with blood dripping from his nose as he tried cup his hands under his face to catch the mess, and the other with blood dripping from the side of their mouth. Turns out a friendly sparring match went a bit too far. Jim was about to go all 'Captain Kirk' on them, but Bones beat him to it – straight to the point in that no-nonsense way of his that had the junior crewmen certain to never make the mistake again. Jim let Bones reprimand them as he patched the two men up, it was a pleasant change to be the observer and not the recipient for once, and he did enjoy watching Bones work. He was so distracted by what was happening that he almost didn't notice the uneasy feeling in his stomach growing stronger.

The ensigns were so focused on the doctor that they hadn't acknowledged their captain's presence in the corner, and Kirk wasn't about to draw any attention to himself, so he quietly and subtly repositioned himself to hopefully get a bit more comfortable until the feeling passed. Unfortunately for Jim the discomfort turned into churning and his mouth started filling with saliva so he looked around for anything he could use just in case. Subtly grabbing an emesis basin that was stocked nearby he sat on the bed facing McCoy's office so his back was turned to the rest of the medical bay. Now he was fully focused on trying not to vomit (eyes closed, cradling the basin and trying to breathe through the nausea) as McCoy and his nurse were discharging the two ensigns. A silent but surprisingly forceful gag shuddered through him, and he felt like he couldn't breathe as heard the whoosh of the doors closing. Hoping they were alone again he couldn't control the groan he made before making use of the basin in front of him

"Hell…" Bones muttered as he ran over to Jim, one hand helping hold the basin steady while the other rubbed his back
"Courtney draw up some Metoclopramide". McCoy could feel the force of the heaves through Jim as his stomach emptied itself through multiple, violent contractions, leaving Jim gasping for oxygen
"it's alright Jim, I've got you" McCoy soothed as Kirk was finally able to try and catch his breath
"I'm gonna give you something to settle your stomach down now" the nurse took the basin as she handed Dr McCoy the medication. Bones gently pressed the hypo into Jims neck
"it'll take a moment to kick in, lie down for me and I'll find out what's going on"
Jim didn't even open his eyes as he repositioned himself for McCoy to run his scan.
"Have you been around anyone who's sick, or anyone who got kids who are sick?"
"No, I've been on the ship the last two weeks straight – with you and the rest of the crew" came Jim's tired response
"Well someone has. Looks like you've got a variant of Rotavirus – because of course only you can manage to somehow contract a pediatric virus while locked up in a tin can in space where there are no kids" McCoy didn't know what made him more frustrated - that someone had managed to bring the virus onboard without him knowing, or that it was Jim who was suffering the consequences.
"Great, now you know what it is can you make it go away!" Kirk was sounding equally as pleased
"Unfortunately no. I can synthesis a vaccine but seeing as you're already symptomatic that won't help you. Good news is it should only last a 24-48hrs" Jim was not looking anywhere near happy with that answer judging by the look on his face, but they both knew Bones would do everything he could to help Jim through "Earth kids used to get a mild variant of this all the time before vaccines nearly eradicated it – you'll be fine"
"can I at least go back to my quarters?"
"I don't see why not. The Metoclopramide should keep the nausea at bay for at least a few hours so I will come by and check on you later, but you are confined to quarters – no roaming the ship!"
"Understood. Thanks Bones"