ST XI Fiction: Lullaby
Title: Lullaby
Author: Caera1996
Pairing: Kirk, McCoy
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Please. Is this even necessary? Credit to the writer of the song.
Summary: Someday McCoy will stop being surprised by Jim.
Note: This was written as a very quick response to a prompt on the kink meme. The prompt is here: http://community.livejournal.com/st_xi_kink_meme/5274.html?thread=4629658#t4629658
McCoy sat back with a sigh, rubbing the heels of his hands over tired, dry eyes. It had been a hell of a day.
The Enterprise had answered the distress call of a small, minimally staffed freighter that had been damaged when it had strayed off course into a meteor field. Their shields were down, and the damage to the ship had caused radiation leaks that weren't detected until people started getting sick. One of the most effected was the only child on board...a beautiful little nine year old girl with pearlescent light blue skin and long, fine hair that had already started falling out. She was going to be fine, but she'd been ill enough that McCoy had deemed it necessary for her to come aboard the Enterprise for treatment. Unaccustomed to other adults, she'd been shy and frightened, and McCoy knew, probably overwhelmed by the ship and the people, and being away from her parents, who were working on the damaged ship to bring it back to proper working order. McCoy had sat with her, talked to her and did his best to keep her calm...things he could have passed along to one of the nurses, but her parents had placed her in his care, and he could see his own daughter in her. Eventually, she'd fallen asleep and McCoy retreated to his office.
Now, though, he glanced at the monitors that displayed her vital signs. McCoy read an elevated heart rate, elevated adrenaline levels, and elevated blood pressure and brain activity. She was awake and she was anxious. Sighing, he stood and made his way over to her biobed, stopping short when he realized that someone was already there. It was Jim...he must've been on his way to McCoy's office and stopped to talk with her. McCoy realized that Jim couldn't see him with the privacy curtain drawn the way it was, so he stopped and just watched for a moment. Jim and kids was...an interesting mix. Somewhere between terrifying and absolutely adorable, not that McCoy would ever admit that spectrum existed at all.
Closer now, he could hear the girl's hitching breaths. She was lying on her side, clutching the pillow and pressing her face to it. She couldn't completely muffle the sounds of her crying though. Jim ran a gentle hand over her head, soothing her in a low-pitched voice. McCoy couldn't make out all of what he was saying, but he caught a couple of words. After watching for a few moments, McCoy turned away to get a hypospray with a mild sedative to help her relax enough to sleep.
He froze, though, when he heard something new. Jim was singing -- actually, really singing! -- to the child. And, damn, he had a good voice. McCoy stood there, listening, and feeling as if he were eavesdropping on something intensely personal. Jim had never sung in front of him, and they'd known each other for years.
Stay awake, don't rest your head
Don't lie down upon your bed
While the moon drifts in the skies
Stay awake, don't close your eyes
Though the world is fast asleep
Though your pillow's soft and deep
You're not sleepy as you seem
Stay awake, don't nod and dream
Stay awake, don't nod and dream
His voice was pitched low, but despite that it was clear and smooth. McCoy knew music, and there was real talent here. He shook his head. Someday, he'd learn to stop being surprised by Jim Kirk.
Jim sang the lullaby, one McCoy didn't recognize, and hummed a couple of bars. The child's breathing had evened out, and Jim slowly stopped stroking her hair, and straightened up, his eyes were gentle and contemplative as he looked down at her now peaceful face.
"Reverse psychology?" McCoy asked, voice barely above a whisper. A little smile curled his lip as Jim started slightly. Jim turned around slowly, flushing just a bit, knowing he'd been caught. He cleared his throat and threw a familiar, cocky smile at McCoy.
"Whatever works," he said. "Just don't tell anyone."
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