ST Fic: A Study in Friendship (2/3)
ἀρετή
χάρις, ἡ, on the part of the Doer, grace, graciousness, kindness, goodwill
“Shut up, Spock! We're rescuing you!”
-“The Immunity Syndrome”
“What the heck were you thinking, Spock? Letting yourself get this worn down! You’d better be glad we’re only one day from Starbase 6, because I have no idea how this infection is going to interact with your green blood!”
It was infuriating! For a self-professed devotee of logic, Spock could be so . . . so stupid at times. Leonard was only three years older than Spock, so why should he have to babysit him!? He started to untie Spock’s boots.
“Doctor . . . I . . . ”
“No, Spock. Lie back down and be quiet. You are in absolutely no state to be doing anything for yourself. You are an adult by Vulcan standards, right? Only I don’t know how that works on your planet. On Earth full grown adults are responsible for their own self-preservation! No, don’t answer. I have to get your shirt off. Come on, you can sit up for me . . . You, Jim! Don’t you dare come a step nearer to this bed.”
Jim, as if to compound his earlier foolishness in half carrying the clearly infected Vulcan to sickbay, was about to try to help Leonard get Spock’s shirt off.
“I’m perfectly capable of doing this myself, Jim. And anyway, I can’t believe you have the nerve to try to help now. You know when your men are working and when they aren’t. You know that Spock needs rest just like anyone else. How could you let this happen? How on earth could you allow him to take three shifts in a row?”
He was glad to see that Jim did look ashamed of himself, but it did not soften him.
“He . . . the captain didn't kno-”
“Spock. If you make one more sound, I swear I will knock you out with this hypo before you can say ‘little green men.’ Even if he didn’t know about that last triple shift - or that absurd decision to enter quarantine for a better sample of the Bacterium! - he should never have let you take two shifts in a row for weeks. Stay sitting up. You’ll breathe easier. Hang on. NUR-Oh . . . I’ll just take one of these.” He grabbed a few pillows from the next empty bed, and started propping Spock up with the extra ones.
“Well, Doc, to be fair, you did sign off on all the shift reassignments.”
“Jim, I don’t care. I was here busy trying to keep all these people from dying. Pass me that extra blanket, will you? I didn’t have time to check up on you. You were on the bridge with Spock for hours every day. How could you not have seen that he was exhausted?”
“You’re right, I should have-”
“Don’t put your hand anywhere near your face, James Tiberius Kirk!” Leonard grabbed Jim’s wrist just in time to prevent him putting his head into his hands. “You touched Spock when you carried him in here. You may be infected, too.”
“I’m sorry, Bones . . . so sorry.” Jim dropped down into the chair, looking absolutely miserable. Leonard was still very angry - and still very scared. Who wouldn’t be when he saw his two best friends stumble into sick bay, one hardly able to breathe?
“Jim, I don’t want you to leave sickbay either. I won’t put you in the general quarantine, but I want you to go into that room, and get some rest, so we can observe you, and see if you start showing any symptoms. Take this blanket - I don’t think there is one on the bed in there. We’re less than twenty-four hours from Starbase 6, and then we’ll have the materials to get all these people better very quickly. And Spock will be okay, too. Alright? In there. And I don’t want to hear a word of complaint! D’you hear me?”
He watched Jim go into the adjoining room, pull off his boots, and lie down on the bed. Then he looked down at Spock, and saw that he was watching their captain as well.
“He’ll be fine, Spock. Now I want you to sleep or meditate, or whatever the heck it is that you Vulcans do. But not another word! Do you need another blanket?”
“H-how can I answer that if-”
“Sh! Here. Another blanket will do you good. Now don’t move from here until I come back.”
Leonard left grumbling to himself. Those two men would be the death of him!
φῐλία
χάρις, ἡ, on the part of the Doer, grace, graciousness, kindness, goodwill
“Shut up, Spock! We're rescuing you!”
-“The Immunity Syndrome”
“What the heck were you thinking, Spock? Letting yourself get this worn down! You’d better be glad we’re only one day from Starbase 6, because I have no idea how this infection is going to interact with your green blood!”
It was infuriating! For a self-professed devotee of logic, Spock could be so . . . so stupid at times. Leonard was only three years older than Spock, so why should he have to babysit him!? He started to untie Spock’s boots.
“Doctor . . . I . . . ”
“No, Spock. Lie back down and be quiet. You are in absolutely no state to be doing anything for yourself. You are an adult by Vulcan standards, right? Only I don’t know how that works on your planet. On Earth full grown adults are responsible for their own self-preservation! No, don’t answer. I have to get your shirt off. Come on, you can sit up for me . . . You, Jim! Don’t you dare come a step nearer to this bed.”
Jim, as if to compound his earlier foolishness in half carrying the clearly infected Vulcan to sickbay, was about to try to help Leonard get Spock’s shirt off.
“I’m perfectly capable of doing this myself, Jim. And anyway, I can’t believe you have the nerve to try to help now. You know when your men are working and when they aren’t. You know that Spock needs rest just like anyone else. How could you let this happen? How on earth could you allow him to take three shifts in a row?”
He was glad to see that Jim did look ashamed of himself, but it did not soften him.
“He . . . the captain didn't kno-”
“Spock. If you make one more sound, I swear I will knock you out with this hypo before you can say ‘little green men.’ Even if he didn’t know about that last triple shift - or that absurd decision to enter quarantine for a better sample of the Bacterium! - he should never have let you take two shifts in a row for weeks. Stay sitting up. You’ll breathe easier. Hang on. NUR-Oh . . . I’ll just take one of these.” He grabbed a few pillows from the next empty bed, and started propping Spock up with the extra ones.
“Well, Doc, to be fair, you did sign off on all the shift reassignments.”
“Jim, I don’t care. I was here busy trying to keep all these people from dying. Pass me that extra blanket, will you? I didn’t have time to check up on you. You were on the bridge with Spock for hours every day. How could you not have seen that he was exhausted?”
“You’re right, I should have-”
“Don’t put your hand anywhere near your face, James Tiberius Kirk!” Leonard grabbed Jim’s wrist just in time to prevent him putting his head into his hands. “You touched Spock when you carried him in here. You may be infected, too.”
“I’m sorry, Bones . . . so sorry.” Jim dropped down into the chair, looking absolutely miserable. Leonard was still very angry - and still very scared. Who wouldn’t be when he saw his two best friends stumble into sick bay, one hardly able to breathe?
“Jim, I don’t want you to leave sickbay either. I won’t put you in the general quarantine, but I want you to go into that room, and get some rest, so we can observe you, and see if you start showing any symptoms. Take this blanket - I don’t think there is one on the bed in there. We’re less than twenty-four hours from Starbase 6, and then we’ll have the materials to get all these people better very quickly. And Spock will be okay, too. Alright? In there. And I don’t want to hear a word of complaint! D’you hear me?”
He watched Jim go into the adjoining room, pull off his boots, and lie down on the bed. Then he looked down at Spock, and saw that he was watching their captain as well.
“He’ll be fine, Spock. Now I want you to sleep or meditate, or whatever the heck it is that you Vulcans do. But not another word! Do you need another blanket?”
“H-how can I answer that if-”
“Sh! Here. Another blanket will do you good. Now don’t move from here until I come back.”
Leonard left grumbling to himself. Those two men would be the death of him!
φῐλία