Awakening
"Wake up!"
The voice is distant at first.
"You need to wake up!"
Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that voice. The voice that demanded her to wake up. But she's not sure she can do it. Her body is not responding to the demands. She has awareness of her arms and legs but has no strength in which to move them. So how the voice expects her to commit to its demands she is unsure.
"Wake up Jamie!"
Pike's voice. Her brain is more alert now. But it couldn't be Pike's voice. She was imagining things. Her eyes still do not respond.
"WAKE UP!"
Her eyes fly open. The world around her was a blur, shapes, and colors blending together as she fought against the darkness clinging to her consciousness.
The first thing she notices is that she's in the med bay. The second thing she notices is that she had two figures sleeping by her bedside. Spock even in sleep, his posture was disciplined, but the lines on his usually composed face hinted at a deep concern and Sam his dark hair a mess, face haggard with worry and exhaustion. Oh, it must have been bad if Sam had been called here. The voice in her mind was now a distant hazy memory or perhaps not a memory at all but her mind in its own way needed to do for her to jolt herself awake. All she knows is she feels exhausted and that she is in slight pain. Which tells her Bones hasn't put her on the good stuff this time. The last thing she remembered before the void swallowed her was the searing pain of electricity coursing through her veins, her body convulsing uncontrollably, and something about an activation code.
Jamie's heart clenched at the sight of them. They must have been by her side for hours, maybe days. How long had she been out? The question flitted through her mind, but her body was too tired to chase after it. She tried to call out, to let them know she was awake, but her voice wouldn't obey, her throat dry and raw.
"Hey." Carol greets her quietly with a bright smile.
Jamie tries to respond but finds herself unable to. She must look pretty damn out of it. "Do not go back to sleep yet, Doctor McCoy will want to do a few checks."
She was too exhausted, the effort of waking up draining what little energy she had left. Her eyelids drooped, the world blurring again as sleep tugged at her insistently. She fought it for a moment, trying to hold on, to stay awake just a little longer. But it was no use. Her body was too weak, too battered. The darkness reclaimed her once more.
The second time Jamie awoke, she felt more anchored to reality. The pain was still there, a constant companion, but it was more manageable now. She blinked up at the ceiling of the sick bay, the harsh lighting muted by a dull throbbing behind her eyes.
Her mouth was dry, her throat parched, but she forced herself to speak, the word slipping out in a rough whisper before she could fully comprehend its significance.
"Whittamer..."
The name tumbled from her lips, drawing immediate attention from the figure beside her bed. It was Spock, his sharp gaze focused intently on her, the concern in his eyes hidden behind a mask of Vulcan calm. He leaned slightly closer, careful not to disturb her fragile state.
"Rest, Jamie," Spock urged quietly, his voice low and soothing. "You need to conserve your strength."
But Jamie couldn't rest, not yet. There was something she had to say, something crucial that her fogged mind had dredged up from the depths of her memories. She struggled to piece together the fragments, her thoughts moving sluggishly, like trying to swim through thick mud. Yet one thing became increasingly clear as her brain fought to make sense of it all.
"Whittamer," she repeated, her voice a little stronger this time, though still rough and strained. "Whittamer is Garrett!"
The room seemed to freeze at her words, a heavy silence falling over them. Jamie's heart raced, each beat echoing in her ears as she stared up at Spock.
Spock's eyes narrowed slightly, the only indication that her words had had an impact on him. He remained silent for a moment, processing the information with the speed and efficiency that was so characteristic of him. Then he gave a small nod, his gaze never leaving hers.
"I understand," Spock said, his voice steady, though there was an undertone of urgency now. "But you must rest. We will handle this."
When Jamie awoke again, the pain was a distant memory, numbed by the medication coursing through her system. She blinked slowly, her surroundings coming into focus more clearly this time. The sterile white walls of the sick bay were familiar now, and she no longer felt the panic of not knowing where she was.
Her body felt lighter, the leaden weight that had pinned her down before lifting slightly. She still ached, her muscles sore, and her skin tender, but it was a dull throb rather than the sharp, searing pain she remembered from her torture.
She shifted slightly on the bed, testing the limits of her movement. The action drew the attention of Dr. McCoy, who was standing by a monitor nearby, checking her vitals.
"Easy there, kid," McCoy said, his voice gruff but warm. He moved to her side, checking the readings on the various instruments around her. "You've been through the wringer. Let's not rush things."
Jamie managed a small smile, though it felt like a monumental effort. "Feels like I got hit by a shuttle," she rasped, her voice still rough but a little stronger now.
McCoy gave a short chuckle, though his eyes were still clouded with concern. "You're not too far off," he said, adjusting the settings on one of the machines. "You were in pretty bad shape when they brought you in."
Jamie nodded slowly, the memories of her torture still hazy but starting to come together in fragments. She remembered the room where she'd been held, the cold metal table they'd strapped her to, the relentless shocks that had wracked her body. She shuddered involuntarily at the thought, her breath hitching.
"Hey, none of that," McCoy said quickly, his tone softening as he noticed her distress. He reached out, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're safe now."
Jamie swallowed hard, trying to push the memories back down. She didn't want to relive it, not right now. Instead, she focused on the here and now, on the fact that she was back on the Enterprise, surrounded by people who cared about her.
"Where's Sam?" she asked after a moment, her voice still weak but steadier.
McCoy gave her a reassuring smile. "He's getting some rest. He and Spock were both here when you first woke up. We had to practically drag them away to get them to take a break."
Jamie nodded, relief flooding through her at the thought of her brother. Sam was safe. She had feared that he might have been caught up in the same mess she had been, but he was here, on the ship, and that was all that mattered.
"And Spock?" she asked, her gaze shifting to the door as if expecting the Vulcan to appear at any moment.
"He's in the ready room, I believe," McCoy replied. "Dealing with the crisis you managed to uncover before you passed out again. Spock tells me that -"
"Garrett? Yes. It's him."
McCoy's expression darkened slightly, confirming her fears. "Yeah, Spock and Admiral Nogura are looking into it," he said grimly. "Let them handle it."
Jamie wanted to argue, to insist that she could help, that she needed to be involved. But McCoy's stern gaze and the sheer exhaustion still clinging to her made it impossible to muster the energy for a fight.
"Okay, what happened? Ship?" she whispered, closing her eyes as the fatigue washed over her again. "The code they wanted?"
"One of your crazy plans saved our bacon and yours ... again," McCoy's hand squeezed her shoulder gently, " they wanted an override code that could only be voice-activated by Spock."
Oh yeah! Jamie tried to laugh but found herself only capable of smirking.
"Nogura wants answers from you."
Nogura would have to wait! This newfound knowledge allowed her to drift back into the healing embrace of sleep, knowing that, for now, she had done all she could.
The hum of the ship's engines was the first thing Jamie Kirk became aware of as she stirred from the fog of unconsciousness. The second was the persistent throb in her head, a dull reminder of the recent events that had landed her in Sickbay. She winced as she opened her eyes, squinting against the harsh overhead lights. Everything was a blur, slowly coming into focus as her senses returned. The sterile scent of antiseptic filled her nostrils, grounding her in the present.
"Welcome back, Captain," a familiar voice said from somewhere to her left.
Jamie turned her head gingerly to find Bones standing beside her bed, his face a mixture of concern and relief. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, though that was nothing new; the man had a knack for overworking himself when his friends were in danger.
"Bones," she croaked, her voice hoarse, as if it hadn't been used in days.
He gave her a reassuring smile and patted her arm. "Take it easy, Jamie. You've been out for a while. You gave us all quite a scare."
Before she could respond, another figure stepped into view, his presence commanding and unmistakable. Admiral Nogura, the man who had shaped much of Starfleet's, stood at the foot of her bed. His stern expression and the sharp glint in his eyes were enough to sober her fully, despite the lingering haze in her mind.
"Admiral," Jamie said, attempting to sit up, but Bones pressed her back down gently.
"Don't strain yourself, Captain," Nogura said, his tone clipped but not unkind. "I'm here for answers, not to add to your discomfort."
She nodded, understanding that whatever had brought the admiral to Sickbay was serious. Nogura was not a man to make casual visits, especially not to someone recuperating from a severe concussion.
"I've been briefed on your recent… activities," Nogura began, his gaze unwavering. "It seems you managed to pull off quite the stunt. Three wanted prisoners and a man believed to be dead, all beamed directly from the transporter room to the brig. I need to know how you did it. Starfleet protocol doesn't exactly cover this kind of situation."
Jamie took a deep breath, steadying herself as memories of the recent mission flooded back. She had been operating on instinct and training, relying on the obscure bits of Starfleet regulations that few officers ever bothered to learn, let alone employ.
"I followed Starfleet regulation protocol 7345, sections A, B, C, and D," she replied, meeting Nogura's gaze with her steady one. "The basic idea was to give any hijacker exactly what they wanted, without them realizing that I'd set a trap."
Nogura's eyebrows arched in surprise, a rare expression for the usually inscrutable admiral. Jamie continued, seeing that she had his full attention.
"Any transmission sent during a hijacking scenario would automatically broadcast a distress signal. If the ship's weapons systems happened to be armed and ready to fire, the hijackers would find themselves not in control of the ship, but in the brig instead," she explained. "You can code the computer to locate people not assigned to the ship and transport them to a designated location—in this case, the brig. The hijackers wouldn't even realize what was happening until it was too late."
Nogura's eyes widened fractionally, an acknowledgment of the ingenuity behind the maneuver. He nodded slowly as if piecing together the implications of what she had just told him.
"I did not know that," he admitted, a trace of admiration in his voice. "Very well, Captain. Get some rest."
Jamie relaxed slightly as Nogura turned and left without another word, his mind whirring with what he had just learned. She glanced over at Bones, who was giving her a look that was a mixture of pride and exasperation.
"You really need to stop giving the admiral more gray hairs, Jamie," Bones muttered as he picked up a medical tricorder and began scanning her vitals.
"What can I say?" Jamie replied with a weak grin. "I like keeping him on his toes."
Bones rolled his eyes, though his expression softened. "Now, let me run through some more checks."
Before he could get too far, the doors to Sickbay swished open again, and Spock entered, his presence a calm counterbalance to the intensity of the last few minutes. He approached Jamie's bedside, his hands clasped behind his back in his customary manner.
"Captain," Spock greeted her, his voice as measured as ever. "It is good to see you awake T'hy'la."
"Good to be awake," Jamie replied, appreciating the Vulcan's steady presence. "Did I miss anything important?"
"Nothing that requires immediate attention," Spock assured her. "However, I am curious about the protocol regulation you mentioned to Admiral Nogura. 7345, sections A, B, C, and D—is this a standard Starfleet procedure?"
Jamie's grin widened. "Not exactly standard. Just means a code writer of the Starfleet systems isn't allowed to give any secrets, essentially. But, I know it like the back of my hand because… well, I wrote the protocol myself. The idea was to create a failsafe in case a starship was ever compromised by hostile forces. I never thought I'd actually have to use it."
Spock considered this for a moment before speaking again. "How did you know that I would guess the correct activation code?"
Jamie chuckled softly, wincing slightly at the movement. "I didn't need you to guess anything. The phrase you said didn't actually matter. I programmed it to respond to your voice, Spock when you first joined the Enterprise. All I needed was for you to say something, anything, and the protocol would activate."
Spock raised an eyebrow, his version of a smile. "Ingenious."
"Thank you," Jamie replied, feeling a sense of satisfaction at having pulled off the maneuver. "It was a bit of a gamble, but it paid off."
Bones finished his scans and nodded approvingly. "Well, now that you're more responsive, I can finally update you on your health status. All your vitals are stable, and your neural scans look good. The concussion is healing nicely, but I want you to take it easy for the next few days."
"Why am I not surprised by that," Jamie said, trying to mask the lingering discomfort she still felt.
He smiled, but there was something else in his eyes, something that told Jamie he wasn't quite finished. He hesitated for a moment before speaking again, his tone softer, more personal. "There's one more thing, Jamie," Bones said, his voice carrying a note of both seriousness and excitement. "I've got some news that you might find… interesting."
Jamie exchanged a glance with Spock, who looked equally curious. "What is it, Bones?"
Bones took a deep breath, clearly savoring the moment before delivering the news. "You're going to have a baby, Jamie."
The words hung in the air for a moment, not quite registering in Jamie's mind. "I'm… what?"
"Pregnant," Bones confirmed, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "About four weeks along. The fetus is looking strong—healthy as can be. Looks like you're not the only fighter we've got on our hands."
Jamie was stunned into silence, her mind reeling with the revelation. Of all the things she had expected to hear, this was not one of them. She instinctively placed a hand on her abdomen, as if trying to connect with the new life growing inside her.
"A baby…" she whispered the reality of it slowly sinking in. Her eyes flicked up to meet Spock's, and she saw the same mix of surprise and awe reflected in his gaze.
Spock took a step closer, his expression softening in a way that few ever saw. "It seems our family is growing," he said quietly, his voice filled with a warmth that only she could bring out.
Jamie's lips curved into a smile, the enormity of the news beginning to settle in.
Spock reached out and took her hand, his touch grounding her in the moment. "We have much to look forward to."
Bones cleared his throat, breaking the spell of the moment with his characteristic gruffness. "But first, you're going to rest and recover, Jamie. No more stunts, no more protocols, at least not until you're back on your feet."
Jamie laughed softly, nodding her agreement. "Alright, Bones. You've got my word but could someone update me on Garrett first?"
"Rest first." Bones barked at her.
"Rest T'hy'la. I'll update you when you wake."