Jim's grip tightened and his face started to scrunch as he became more conscious
"You alright Jim?" McCoy could see his vitals were slightly elevated but not concerningly so
"mmph" a disapproving grumble was all the reply he could muster as he slowly turned onto his side facing McCoy and buried his face further into the pillow. Jim was yet to open his eyes or let go of Bones hand. Thankfully McCoy was not what you would call 'vertically challenged' so he was able to reach the pain relief he had already prepared and insert it into Jim's IV line.
"You'll feel better in a minute"

"feellikeashuttlelandedonme"

"what's that? And in Standard this time"

"Feel like a shuttle crashed into me" this time he did open his eye to look at McCoy as he made sure to annunciate clearly

"Yeah, Sebatian flu will do that" McCoy re-checked all the readouts, confirming Jim's vitals were mildly elevated but holding steady. Jim was still pale and obviously lethargic but at least the worst had run its course.
"This stage can be a bit rough so I'll keep you topped up with mild analgesics for the next 48hrs, but good news is you should feel much better after a good sleep or two"
"How long do I have to stay in here?" Jim was always quick to ask this question no matter how bad off he felt
"48hrs in Medbay because it makes my job easier if your here, then I will release you to your quarters BUT it will be at least another 48hrs before I even think about clearing you for duty"

"Thanks Bones" Jim was listening but exhaustion was winning so he hoped he managed to get the words out before he fell asleep again.

Of course Bones was watching him so he didn't miss the sleepy mumble of Jims genuine gratitude. Figuring Kirk would hopefully be out for a while but no longer in need of close monitoring, McCoy took himself into his office and collapsed onto his couch.

##

He had no idea how quickly he fell asleep, and he had no idea who it was that covered him with a blanket, but he was grateful for both. He woke up 7hrs later stiff and sore from not moving in so long, but feeling much more 'on his feet' – at least as much as he could before has a coffee anyway.

He went straight to Jim's bed where the young captain seemed to be sleeping comfortably enough, going by the current readouts – but he hadn't been that way the whole time as the smartflow history reported him waking in discomfort at least twice, but apparently gamma shift hadn't needed to alert him. He trusted them, and if Kirk trusted them enough to not need him then that's fine, practically groundbreaking actually, but he couldn't help but feel a bit miffed that he wasn't consulted at all. Maybe that was just the "pre-caffine hangry's" though, that Kirk found necessary to tease him about. He would be making a subtle enquiry later about the lack of consultation.

Checking the Patient Smart-Flow board to get up to speed with the current shift he now noticed that someone has set his status from 'IN CLINIC' to "OFF DUTY – SAVE YOURSELF!". That made him smile. Christine was the only one who would have had the gall to do that, but he didn't doubt that someone had helped because 'save yourself' was not part of the preset options – and it was something Kirk would do. Deciding Kirk and the Medbay would be fine without him for the moment he decided to go freshen up quickly.

McCoy returned about an hour later. McCoy was supposed to take the third watch (gamma shift) last night but slept through it after being on-duty for the previous 24hrs, so he figured he would just jump back into the mix with the first watch of the day (alpha shift). Perks of being CMO meant he could adjust his own hours to cover whatever shift required him more during any given situation. Downside to being CMO meant more often than not he would work back-to-back shifts to get everyone through whatever crisis was trying to kill them that week.

McCoy was sitting next to Kirk's bed having his coffee and going over notes as the commotion of the shift change woke him up.
"Mornin Jim" Bones sounded way too cheerful so Jim just scowled at him as he gave himself a minute to wake up, taking notice of everything going on around him – paying particular attention to the gathering of staff at the nurses station
"Shift change" McCoy nodded toward the people in question as he did Kirks morning physical. Jim didn't always bounce out of bed in the morning, but he usually looked a lot less wary and took less time to fully wake up. He took an educated guess that the kid got woken from a dream, and probably a weird fever dream at that.

"You're chirpy this morning. I take it you got a good sleep Bones?" Jim was now eyeing him as he got himself sitting up, and some of his usual energy was starting to creep into his voice and features which settled the knot in McCoys stomach somewhat.

"Yeah I did. I see you managed to get some too which should have helped. How are you feeling now?"

"Like I have the Flu. I can't tell if I'm hot or cold. My joints ache. My fingernails ache – is that even possible? How do fingernails hurt anyway?..." yep he was awake now McCoy couldn't hide the small smile as Jim was distracted looking at his fingers "I feel like crap, but I also feel better if that makes any sense"

"About as much as it should. Crappy but better is a good start. I'll get some breakfast sent up and see how you handle some food." Jim shot him a wary look at the mention of food so soon so McCoy continued "Nothing fancy – just a piece of toast or fruit. I've got no intention of pushing your system so soon, but your body needs energy now to recover"
Jim seemed to accept that with some hesitation but said nothing so McCoy finished up his exam and hooked up the next lot of fluids.

"I'm keeping you on the IV until your able to stomach enough food and water to keep yourself stable, but I'm slowing the flow rate so you don't have to get up and urinate every 20min. You're not dangerously dehydrated anymore so this is just maintenance now" McCoy always talked through what he was doing with Jim, knowing that Jim needed to know what was being done and why.

"Now on the Jim pain scale of 1 to 10, how bad is the headache and abdominal pain?"
Jim had a flash of 'how did you know?' before he remembered that it was Bones and Bones was almost a mind-reader when it came to Jim.

"about a 4 and 6"

"alright. I've already got a mild analgesic going IV with the fluids which should be taking the edge off, but I wanna give you some Butorphanol which is stronger and will help relax your stomach muscles" Bones watched carefully as Jim thought it over before agreeing to the extra meds.

"OK" Jim signaled his consent before repositioning himself trying to find a more comfortable spot. He watched as Bones loaded the hypo and gently administered it – as gently as a spring loaded hypodermic can be administered anyway.

"Right. You rest, let the drugs do the hard work, and we'll get some food sent up and see how things go after that. Your comm and personal PADD are in the top drawer there, but you are officially off duty at the moment so no trying to run the ship from my sickbay or there is a sedative with your name on it!"

"You know I'm going to get bored"

"I'm a doctor, I'm not here to keep you entertained. You're going to be on bed rest which shockingly means letting yourself nap, if that won't happen then read, do puzzles, catch up on reports if you have too, but nothing more. I'll be in my office for a bit then I'll be around again."

McCoy had walked around to the other side of the bed and removed Jim's PADD from the drawer while he spoke, handing it to Jim right as he turned to walk away to his office.

Jim turned the PADD on and found it already on the 'Downloads' page – someone had recently downloaded some new stuff onto his device: The Lord of The Rings book trilogy, The Hobbit book trilogy and some games including Backgammon, and something called Sudoku. Of course, Bones knew he was going to get bored, and he would need distracting from feeling like crap. Bones could be so thoughtful but would never let anyone know he was such a nice guy under the prickly exterior he loved to put on. Jim smiled to himself as he settled in and tried to decide what to look at first.

##

McCoy was in his office doing some research on something for another patient and going over other items of immediate importance from his never-ending 'To Do' list that came with being CMO. He was skimming through various research papers for the specific data he needed when he heard Jim call his name. Looking up and over at Jims bed he could see Jim sitting awkwardly stiff and immediately dropped everything to go over to him, reading the data on his bed display as he approached.
"Jim?" McCoy was concerned at Jims complexion and body language

"I don't feel good" Jim mumbled as it seemed to take effort to get the words out.

McCoy was feeling and scanning everything as Jim suddenly gagged. Jim had one fist clinging onto the bedsheet, and the other hand shot out to grab Bones scrub top. McCoy quickly grabbed a nearby emesis basin and held it for his friend as he quickly went over all the readings

"Please don't let me be sick again…" Jim pleaded as his body gagged again.

After nursing Jim through the start of this illness he wasn't at all surprised by Kirks fear of a repeat, and McCoy was not at all disagreeing.

He held the basin steady as he rubbed Jims back, while Jim kept a solid grip on his shirt. Neither one of them was going to cease until Jim was ready

"Jim, I need you to breathe through it OK. Just breathe slowly" then McCoy turned to a nurse that was subtly making it known she was available if needed but wasn't interrupting "Jess I need a dose of IV glucose"

"…" Jim was doing a great job focusing on his breathing

"Your body's not trying to be sick Jim. The pain and tension have eased off thanks to the drugs so your GI system is trying to reboot…"
Jim was visibly relaxing now but still shaking with apprehension as the nurse ran back over.

McCoy passed the basin to Jim, who was now letting go of his shirt, and injected the glucose into Jims IV port
"Your stomach acid's building back up but its out of balance with your glucose levels so instead of feeling hungry you've gone straight to feeling nauseous. I've just given you an injection of straight glucose which will help"

Jim was looking at McCoy with an expression of 'I really want to believe you but…' before managing to say "can't. eat. Bones" followed by a dry heave as if to prove the point. McCoy was now leaning on the bed so he was close to Jim and could make eye contact
"The glucose will control the nausea Jim, trust me. Then I promise food will be a slow introduction, enough to keep your system satisfied but I'm not going to push meals onto you. I promise."

"you said that twice" Jim had listened intently to what Bones said. Bones looked confused so Jim decided to clarify "You said 'I promise' twice. And I do trust you Bones, you know that. It's just hard not to feel …" he caught sight of a nurse busy nearby so didn't say what he was going to say, but he knew that Bones knew him well enough to guess anyway.

"Yeah. I get it" McCoy gave the back of Jims neck a quick supportive squeeze "but I'm guessing the glucose is already working because you just spoke in whole sentences. So, I'm going to give you a moment, then I'm going to ask you to try eating something"

McCoy walked over to the breakfast tray sitting untouched by the nurses station and grabbed the apple, then cussed when he couldn't find a knife anywhere so he grabbed something else and headed back to Jim, drawing all the privacy curtains closed so it was just them.

Bones sat in the chair next to the bed and started cutting the apple into slices, handing one to Jim, who took it like he was being handed a suppository. McCoy knew this was delicate territory and forcing Jim to eat was not an option. He knew Jim would eat it but it had to be in his own time, so McCoy just sat there cutting slices and making himself look busy. To Jim's credit he only procrastinated for a few moments before taking the first hesitant bite. That was soon followed by a second and shortly a third bite finished it off. To anyone else it would have seemed odd to be proud of Jim's efforts, but McCoy could have beamed he was so happy. He waited a moment before asking Jim if he was ready to try another slice. When Jim took the offer without fuss and slowly ate it in two bites this time McCoy couldn't hold back his smile. Jim noticed and suddenly all remnants of unease disappeared from Jims posture and he finally relaxed again.

"Alright. Half an apple is a great start Jim. You rest for a bit, try reading something and I'll come back after I go make house call" Mccoy patted Jims leg as he got up and left. Jim new that McCoy wouldn't leave unless he was positive Jim was going to be OK, so that somehow made Jim feel it too. He might feel completely wrung out and upset at the existence of the flu, but he was OK.

I hope you enjoyed my little fic.
I am in two minds about adding one more chapter, but I have soo many story drafts on the go at the moment that it would be good to have this one wrapped up, and I think it's OK to end here?

Please let me know what you think. Reviews and comments feed my soul :)

Love you all.

- D.A.