In Sickbay

[dr_boyce]

Doctors very rarely make good patients. Boyce was no exception. The nurses had finally given up on trying to keep him in bed. God forbid he should actually get some rest. Instead he ambled around Sickbay trying to walk off some of the sluggishness that came with heavy painkillers. His arm, now in a cast and wrapped, rested protectively in a

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[cptn_pike]

Pike hadn't woken up yet since the surgery. A fact that the nurses and med techs hadn't minded too much since the doctor had hyposprayed him into oblivion because up to that point, he was still trying to get up and make his way back to the bridge. At least while he was unconscious, they could treat him better.

But the blood transfusions and surgery part was over...now they waited for him to come around again.

The first thing Pike noticed was the color of the ceiling. Not something you tend to notice, even if you were on a starship for years at at time. He sighed, blinking and trying to focus.

[dr_boyce]

Boyce had just finished another slow circuit through Sickbay when Pike began to show signs of awakening from the anesthesia. He thought for a moment that he might perch on the edge of the bed but decided against it. Once he sat down, he would be done. He wasn't ready to be done.

He watched his patient's facial expressions and body language very carefully. "Give it a minute," he instructed.

[cptn_pike]

"...Boyce, s'that you?" His speech was a bit thick. Been awhile since he was in sickbay this badly hurt. He wasn't enjoying being back. Moving his head around, he tried to find where Boyce's voice was coming from, feeling like he was swimming through cotton.

"What...did you shoot me up with?"

[dr_boyce]

He dropped his free hand onto Pike's shoulder in hopes of reassuring him. It also served to give away his position. He stood to the Captain's left. "Fromenaline," he answered. "Just relax and let it do its job."

[cptn_pike]

"Seems I don't have a choice." He looks up at Boyce, his eyes a bit cloudy but his determination was still there. "How goes everything? Ship still together?" He just came out of surgery and he wants reports already.

[dr_boyce]

The doctor wasn't at all surprised. He'd long ago grown accustom to the questions. He'd also learned that avoiding them did more harm than good, no matter the answers.

"The ship is in one piece. Everything is fine," he reported truthfully. "We're still in orbit while we wait for orders. Since the surface is off limits, the crew is happily entertaining themselves aboard."

[cptn_pike]

"Good." Pike blinked the spinning room to stop and starts working on sitting himself up with limited success. "When can I get back on the bridge?"

[dr_boyce]

That hand still present on the Captain's shoulder would have to be enough to restrain him. There wasn't much strength behind it but there was persistence.

"When you're certified physically fit to return to duty. Not a minute before."

[cptn_pike]

If Boyce and he weren't such good friends, he wouldn't have kept in the bed from that hand. But as it was, he knew he wasn't getting anywhere like this so he laid his head back down on the pillow with a groan.

"And when would that be? Exactly?" Giving Boyce the most long suffering look he can muster...not that Boyce would be sympathetic, but you can't blame a Captain for trying.

[dr_boyce]

Oh he could try alright.

"Three days," he stated unequivocally, knowing full well that it would seem more like an eternity to his friend. "Erikson made the call. I concurred."

[cptn_pike]

He guessed right, that's pretty much an eternity. Pike runs a tired hand over his face thinking to himself, I'll be out in two...

"I take it I don't get any say in it?" Though his side was starting to twinge on him, he hadn't really asked how much damage he'd incurred.

[dr_boyce]

"If you had any say in it, you'd try and negotiate your way down to a day and a half." His tone clearly conveyed it was out of the question.

Removing his hand from Pike's shoulder, he found a spot on the edge of the bed to perch. He slumped slightly as he settles.

[cptn_pike]

Busted. "You know me too well," Pike tried his best to sound annoyed. "I need a doctor that doesn't know me."

Pike watches his friend sit down. "You're needing rest more than I do. You had it up close and personal with that.....thing. Whatever it was."

[dr_boyce]

Boyce couldn't help but weakly smile at the feigned annoyance. Pike needed a doctor who didn't know him like he needed a hole in the head.

"We both had it up close and personal," he corrected. "I just happened to fare better than you."

[cptn_pike]

Of course, Boyce is right. And it's not like Pike wishes it was the other way around, he wouldn't want to see his friend in this position as much as he wanted to be better right away.

"How well did I fare exactly?" Pike looks up and down his arms at the bandages and starts feeling around his torso, wincing slightly as he finds the stitches and bandages there. "Ow."

[dr_boyce]

If it were possible, Boyce would without hesitation change places with his friend. Ultimately, he's just happy that they're both alive.

"It slashed through you in the upper left quadrant. Penetrated the ribcage. Lacerated your spleen."