Work Text:
Bones was bleeding from his side and Jim could feel it soaking through his shirt, making them both sticky.
“Stay awake,” he told him, and Bones murmured in response. “Keep talking to me. Tell me how you two met.”
With some effort, he hoisted them both up far enough over the giant fallen tree that they stayed put.
“At work,” Bones said.
The planet was damned hot, Jim was breathing hard and sweating, but there was nothing to be done; they’d lost their water pouches somewhere along the way after the locals had started launching sharp projectiles. “Yeah? Tell me more.”
“An argument.”
How the hell he was supposed to get them down the other side of the tree, with Bones limp and injured, Jim didn’t know. If he just slid down, he might be able to reach back up and pull Bones down on top of him, but there was no controlling Bones’s fall. Tell-tale crashing noises, distant, but all too clear, left him no time to consider other options.
“This is gonna hurt,” he warned him, and Bones huffed something that might have been a laugh. “Keep talking.”
“Talked for hours. He lost track of time. Unusual.”
The landing was jarring, sending pain up through his feet and ankles, but there was no time. Jim pulled on Bones’s leg and winced at his cry of pain, only to be completely distracted by his own discomfort as all of Bones’s weight suddenly sent him toppling to the ground. Bones was no longer talking but moaning softly and holding his side.
“I’m sorry, sorry,” Jim whispered, and Bones cried out again as Jim pulled him up by getting a shoulder under his arm and dragging him along as fast as they could go. They only had to stay ahead of their pursuers until the shuttle got back to the Enterprise and they could be beamed up. Maybe it was time to get off the path. “We’re going to go up this hill, c’mon.”
Occasionally Bones would get his feet under him enough to be more help than hindrance, but mostly it was slow going. Off the path there were larger bushes and uneven ground, but the trees provided cover, and their route wasn’t predetermined, so he was less worried about someone setting up an ambush around a corner. Jim focused on breathing until Bones’s pained groaning quieted down to a worrying level.
“Bones?” he asked, and stopped to shake him a little. It got him a flutter of eyelashes at least. “You were telling me about Spock. You met and had an argument. What next.”
Bones didn’t answer.
Jim swore and stopped walking, propping Bones up against a tree as best he could and tapping his face. “Wake up, Bones, wake up. You can’t go to sleep right now. Wake up. Doctor.”
He still didn’t move, but Jim was out of time, so he threw caution out the window and picked Bones up in a fireman’s carry. Protecting his wound came second to not getting captured. Even if he was bleeding out—and he was, that much had been established precious minutes ago as they stumbled through the sparse forest—without the packs they had lost Jim could do nothing but run.
—
“Sickbay,” Jim ordered the turbolift.
It was deserted, as he’d known it would be, except for McCoy’s room, where the door was open and the lights were dim. McCoy was laid out on his back, dressed in the blue patient wrap and monitored by several machines. One of which was beeping quietly. Spock was curled up on McCoy’s left side, one arm tucked protectively about his midsection.
Jim sighed.
“Christine.”
She looked up from the viewscreen with dark circles under her eyes. “Captain. I’d have thought you’d be asleep.”
As if to prove her point, Jim yawned widely. “I’d like to be. Nurse,” she yawned too, and looked displeased with herself, “Spock can’t sleep here. It’s against regulation.”
“Did he fall asleep?”
“Yes.”
She got up and pushed past him, moving to peak in the door to McCoy’s room. He waited until she turned around to put out a sympathetic hand.
“I didn’t have the heart to kick him out, Leonard kind of woke up when he came in,” she whispered, “I didn’t think he’d actually fall asleep.”
Jim walked to stand next to her, taking another look at them. “I know. But, someone has to wake him up.”
“It’s not exactly regulation for them to sleep in the same bed in the bunks either you know,” she said.
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jim said, “Spock’s always meditating when I fall asleep, and your bunk is in the other barracks.”
They watched Spock and McCoy for another moment.
“I’ll be the bad guy,” Jim said finally. Christine stepped back to let him into the room.
He went slowly, hoping he was going to be able to extract Spock without waking Bones. Spock’s right shoulder was the easiest thing to reach. Jim tapped it. “Spock.”
Two seconds later, he tapped him again, then shook him gently. “Spock wake up.”
He saw Spock’s eyelids flutter and leaned over to be in his line of sight. “I’m sorry, you can’t stay here overnight.”
“I will return to my bunk before shift,” Spock murmured, and closed his eyes again.
“Not good enough,” Jim said, poking Spock’s shoulder again. “C’mon. You can sit with him tomorrow.” He waited while Spock heaved a sigh and turned to bury his face into the pillow and McCoy’s neck. Thirty seconds, and then Jim’s sympathy was going to run out. In twenty Spock began to extricate himself very gingerly and carefully, eventually coming to stand by the bed.
“I apologize for any disturbance to your duties, Nurse,” Spock said. Jim turned to see Christine hovering in the doorway. “Captain.”
Christine nodded at them and dimmed the lights as they left.
Spock was quiet as they walked to the turbolift, still in his uniform, and Jim wished he’d put on his own before going to retrieve him. “I’m not trying to be an asshole, Spock.”
“I am not upset.”
But he wasn’t happy, either.
—
Jim woke up slightly earlier than he would have normally, sneaking out of his bunk while the lights were still off and while Spock would usually have been meditating. He’d gone back to sickbay, Jim figured. The only other person up was Scotty, who was an early riser by habit, gathering his things to shower.
“Morning,” Scotty whispered.
Jim tired to respond but could only yawn widely.
In sickbay, M’Benga was already on duty and in the main room when Jim arrived. He looked up and nodded towards McCoy’s room. Jim inclined his head in thanks and changed course, carrying his two mug, coffee and tea.
The machine was still beeping softly and Bones was still fast asleep. Spock looked up when Jim entered, already on the defensive, but Jim just set his mug down on Bones’s tray by Spock, and sank into a free chair on the other side of the bed.
Spock switched which hand was holding Bones’s so he could pick up Jim’s peace offering.
“How is he?”
“Recovering,” Spock said.
Jim sipped his coffee and watched the two of them for several moments. The blankets over Bones’s chest were perfectly smooth, and even his hair had been arranged, which were all very Spock things to do for someone who was stuck drugged with pain meds in sickbay. Spock didn’t say anything further.
“How are you?”
“I am well.”
If Jim thought that were true, he’d have slept in this morning. “What time did you wake up?”
“At the same hour I always do.”
“When was the last time you meditated?”
“I am caring for myself adequately. It has not yet been a full day,” Spock replied.
The room fell silent except for the machine’s beeping.
“It wasn’t my first choice to send the rest of you back to the ship without us.”
“I am not angry with you, Jim,” Spock said, looking at him for the first time since Jim had set down his tea.
Jim sighed and put his coffee down. “Well you’re acting like it, I don’t know what to think here. Bones is a member of the crew like any one of us, and believe me, I understand it’s hard when family and work get mixed, but you’ve managed before. I just—”
“The specific incident is not my major concern,” Spock interrupted him.
“Alright, then can you tell me what is?” Jim asked, feeling a bit helpless.
Spock said nothing for a time, picking up his tea again and pressing the mug and his fingers to his cheek. It was a strangely intimate gesture to see from him and it caught Jim off guard, that even after so long, something like this could still surprise him.
“Illogically, a part of me assumed that when the ships were linked and he and his team were no longer alone, that he would be, safe.”
A sip of coffee bought Jim some time to figure out how to respond. “And this is the first time he’s been seriously injured since then.”
Spock waved his mug to indicate the room around them. “Obviously, he is still a member of this crew, he will still be a part of landing parties, and even on the ship, none of us are free from danger. My reaction to the demonstration of this fact is, illogical.”
“No, it’s not,” Jim had to say.
“If I were serving on a Vulcan ship, my distraction would warrant severe reprimand.”
“I feel like that’s a bit harsh.”
Spock shrugged, and then forgot about Jim completely as Bones started to wake up.
“Good morning, Leonard.”
Bones took a deep breath that was almost, but not quite, a yawn. “There’re two of you. ‘m I dying or something?” he said this with a smile, but Jim had to hide a wince.
“You’re fine,” Jim assured him, “I just came to see how you were and bring Spock some tea.”
“Coffee?” Bones asked. His fingers were petting Spock’s hand comfortingly as he talked.
“You are not allowed any coffee until you are off the medication,” Spock said firmly.
Bones’s head moved in what was probably supposed to be a sarcastic manner. Jim stood.
“I’ve got to go get ready, glad to see you awake, Bones. Don’t give Spock too much of a hard time, he worries. See you on shift, Spock.”
“Bye Jim.”
Spock looked conflicted, as if he wanted to agree with Jim about chastising Bones, but not at the expense of his own pride. “I will see you in half an hour, Captain.”
Jim nodded, patted Bones on the shoulder once, and left them to it. He just had to trust that Spock would be fine.