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Medical charts updated, Leonard leaned back. Things, he dared to think, were going well. Or, he amended, as well as a highly experimental medical treatment could go. Jim had been awake for four weeks now, and had yet to exhibit anything that could be described as augmented behaviour. He wasn’t exactly his usual, jubilant self, but Leonard had caught glimpses of the man he knew underneath the sadness, the weariness, and the sickness. That being said, Leonard sensed a tectonic shift in Jim. He saw it in the distant looks and uncharacteristic silences. Twenty-six, and he’d lost some of the exuberance of youth. Cold, hard reality had seen to that. Nothing like dying to put a few things about yourself into perspective.
Leonard pushed back from the desk, grabbed his coffee, and headed for Jim’s room. He was off duty now for the next two days. It’d be nice to spend some time with his friend as his friend, rather than in a medical capacity.
He strolled down the corridor, sipping coffee. Jim’s room was away from the rest of the hospital. Starfleet took security very seriously, especially where experiments were concerned. Jim was recovering, and the admirals wanted to have all the privacy he needed, but they weren’t taking any chances, not with the augmented blood. Starfleet wouldn’t let Jim go wandering around until they were certain he wouldn’t turn into another Khan.
Leonard entered Jim’s room. “Good eve –”
The bed was empty. So was the small bathroom attached to the main room. Leonard frowned. Jim wasn’t scheduled for PT, he still ate his strictly regulated meals in his room, and he wasn’t allowed out to the hospital’s gardens without company – medical and security. Stepping back out, Leonard went to the nurse’s station. The woman working there looked up. “Oh, Doctor McCoy! I thought you were off duty.”
“I am, but I’m wondering where my friend went.”
“Captain Kirk? He’s where he’s been at this time of day all week.”
“No he’s not.”
“He is.” The nurse smiled. “He’s with the children.”
Leonard stared at her blankly. “The children?”
“Go on down to the children’s hospital on the tenth floor. He’ll be in their playroom. Just keep it quiet. It’s nearly their bedtime. Oh, and Doctor Boyce will be up here in thirty minutes for the captain’s next round of immunity treatments. You’d better fish him out, otherwise the children will demand extra stories, and you know how Doctor Boyce feels about tardiness.”
Bemused, Leonard went downstairs. The bright colours and murals of the children’s hospital greeted him. It was quiet. A few members of staff nodded to him. Leonard realised he had no idea where to go. The head of paediatrics spotted him looking slightly lost.
“Doctor McCoy, welcome! The playroom is down the main hallway.”
Leonard looked at the woman. She was far shorter than him, her brown hair shot through with thick bands of grey. “Doctor DeRosa, yes?”
She nodded. “That’s me. I hope you don’t mind me recruiting Jim for this, but the children respond so well to him and I thought it might help him a little bit. Forgive me for not asking you first, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity.”
“Opportunity?”
“Oh, didn’t he mention it? One of my young patients went walkabout the other day and Jim found her.”
“Where?”
“The physiotherapy suite. She hid herself in there. She was awfully upset, but Jim calmed her down. He brought her back down to us here, and didn’t leave until he’d read a few stories and she was fast asleep. Naturally the other children caught wind of it and staged a rebellion until Jim agreed to come back and read again. So here he is. It’s the fifth time. I’m not sure what we’ll do when he’s discharged, but we’ll worry about that when the time comes.” DeRosa smiled. “Come on, I’ll take you to the playroom. You can take him back when he’s finished. A moment sooner, and we’ll have a mini riot on our hands. Shouldn’t be too much longer. He’s already read The Little Tellarite Who Could Argue and Ari Andorian’s Amazing Antennae. Just one more book to go.”
They reached the playroom. Leonard heard Jim’s voice loud and clear. “A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood. The fox saw the mouse, and the mouse looked good. ‘Where are you going to, little brown mouse? Come and have lunch in my underground house.’”
Leonard peered through one of the playroom’s observation windows. Spread over the carpet, cushions and hoverchairs, the children were completely absorbed in the tale. Jim sat in a comfortable chair in a pair of old sweats and a Starfleet Academy t-shirt. He held a large, child-friendly PADD in his hands, the images and words up for all to see. None of them noticed their audience at the window.
Jim raised his voice as he spoke the mouse’s words. “‘It’s frightfully nice of you, Fox, but no – I’m going to have lunch with a gruffalo.’”
“What’s a gruffalo?” the children chorused.
“A gruffalo?” Leonard asked.
“It’s an old Earth classic. Late twentieth century. Your captain has a taste for very obscure texts,” DeRosa said. “The children love it. We haven’t gotten through a bedtime without it.”
Leonard shook his head. Trust Jim to find something hundreds of years old to read to young children. “So, what is a gruffalo?”
Jim’s mouse voice answered. “‘A gruffalo! Why, didn’t you know? It has terrible tusks!’”
The children gasped.
“‘And terrible claws! And terrible teeth in his terrible jaws!’”
The children squealed. Jim read on, changing voices for the fox, the mouse, and the other animals that came along.
“See why I wanted him?” DeRosa asked. “Look at them. They love it. It’s the perfect supportive therapy for them. They have their very own Starfleet captain coming by to read them their bedtime stories.”
“Looks like he’s enjoying himself,” Leonard said. He hadn’t seen Jim look so relaxed in weeks. For the first time since he regained consciousness, Jim didn’t look like he carried the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders.
“He is. And so are the children. If you’re alright with it, I’d like him to keep coming down here. I know he has a way to go with his own recovery, but he’s working wonders for these children. And I think it’ll do him some good, too.”
Leonard had to agree. He watched, and listened, to the tale of the little mouse that fooled all the animals desperate to eat him with tales of the fantastical gruffalo… He couldn’t help chuckle at the children’s astonishment as the supposedly make-believe gruffalo appeared in all his glory and tried to eat the mouse, only for the clever little creature to fool the fearsome creature, too. The story concluded, and despite a chorus of young voices begging for more, the medical staff entered to take the children back to their beds. Jim put the PADD down and promised he’d be back with more tomorrow.
“Do you think you’ll find a planet with a real gruffalo?” a small human boy asked Jim.
“Maybe,” said Jim. “And if I do, I’ll have to make sure I’m as clever as the mouse. Sleep well everyone.”
“Good night!” the children chorused.
“You have your own patient to collect,” DeRosa said.
“Not sure he’ll thank me if I try tucking him into bed,” Leonard said.
They entered the playroom. Doctors and nurses ushered the small patients out of the room. One child evaded capture by the medical team. The little girl gripped Jim’s sweatpants and pulled herself into his lap. She wrapped her tiny, thin arms around him. He gave her a gentle hug. Whatever he said was too soft to hear.
“She’s the one he found,” DeRosa said. “She was injured when the Vengeance crashed into the city.”
“Her family?” Leonard asked.
“On their way back from starship postings. They’re serving Starfleet officers. She was staying with her grandparents, but they didn’t survive. We had to rebuild most of her bones after their apartment building fell on her. She’s one of the lucky ones. Her father’s due back the day after tomorrow, her mother sometime next week, but as you can imagine, she’s struggling on her own. She’s only four. She’ll glue herself to Jim’s side if we let her.”
“Unfortunately for her, Jim’s due for another round of immune system treatments. You’re right, it’s great for him to come down here, but if one of them sneezes on him, he could come down with pneumonia, and he doesn’t need that kind of complication.”
“I understand,” DeRosa said. “Perhaps you can find a way to convince her to let him go.”
Leonard strolled over to the pair. “Oh, excuse me, miss, I don’t suppose you’ve seen my missing captain? See, I left him upstairs and – Why, would you look at that? I think you’re sitting on him!”
The little girl giggled.
“Hi, Bones,” Jim said. He looked down at the little girl. “See, I snuck away, too.”
“Thank you for your help finding him, ma’am,” Leonard said.
“You’re welcome,” the girl said.
One pale hand ruffling the child’s curly hair, Jim looked tired but happy. “Am I in trouble?”
“No, I think I’ll let you off this time.” Leonard smirked. “Besides, it’s time for bed.”
The little girl stared at Jim in amazement. “You have a bedtime even though you’re a grown up? And a captain?”
“Yeah.” Jim sighed melodramatically. “Doctor McCoy says it’s because I’m sick, but I think it’s because he’s bossy.”
The girl scowled. “All the doctors are bossy.”
“They are, but they also know best.” Jim looked to Leonard again. “Hypospray time?”
“Unless you wanna catch a cold.” Or worse, but Leonard didn’t want to scare the child.
“Sorry, Pascal,” Jim said to the girl. “But you know I’m coming back tomorrow.”
“I don’t wanna go to bed!” The little girl cried.
“Ah, ah, ah,” Jim admonished gently. “None of that. Doctor DeRosa’s gonna take good care of you until I come back tomorrow. And how do big, grown up, almost Starfleet Captain girls behave?”
Pascal rubbed her eyes. “They have to set a good example for the crew.”
“That’s right. And what do captains need?”
“Lots of sleep so they can boss everyone around!”
Jim held up a hand. Pascal gave him a high five. “Sounds like someone’s ready for her first command.”
“Better watch out, Jim. Sounds like Miss Pascal’s ready to take your job,” Leonard said.
Pascal grinned.
Doctor DeRosa stepped forward. “It’s time for bed, Pascal,” she said. “We need to let Doctor McCoy take the captain back to his bed, too.”
“I’ll see you all tomorrow,” Jim said. “And I found a great old story book about a cat called Slinky Malinki. You’re going to love it.”
“Okay.” She yawned widely. “Good night.”
“See you tomorrow,” Jim said.
Doctor DeRosa picked the girl up and carried her away. With the playroom empty at last, Jim slumped in his chair. “How much trouble am I in?”
“None.”
Jim frowned at him. “Seriously?” He yawned. “I know I’m not meant to wander off.”
Leonard hauled Jim to his feet. “I’m willing to let it slide.” Jim leaned on him. Leonard wrapped an arm around him. “If I don’t, I’ll be upsetting all those cute kids.”
“They are cute,” Jim said. He walked alongside Leonard, his footsteps slow and hesitant. “And exhausting.” He rubbed his eyes. “All I did was sit in a chair and read to them, but I feel like I’ve gone ten rounds with a Klingon.”
“I won’t sign you up for volunteer shifts in the nursery. At least, not until you can outrun the average humanoid toddler.”
“Thanks.”
They strolled out of the children’s hospital. Leonard guided them to the lifts. Jim yawned so wide his jaw popped. The lift arrived and they took it back up to their floor. Boyce waited for them in Jim’s room, hypospray in hand. “How were the children today?” the older man asked.
“Good,” Jim said. Leonard helped him into bed. “Managed to convince them they only needed three stories.”
“Only three?” Boyce gasped and held a hand to his chest. “Captain Kirk, you are a cruel man.”
“Have you read The Little Tellarite Who Could Argue? It goes on and on and on.” Jim settled himself on his back. Leonard took a seat out of the way. “It’s worth five books all on its own.”
“But the children survived the arguments? I’m particularly fond of the one about the child’s bedtime,” Boyce said, delivering the hypo with practiced ease.
“Ow, yes. I’m setting a three book limit. If I don’t, I’ll probably fall asleep in my chair again like I did the first time I went down there.”
“Tell me someone took photos,” Leonard said.
“The kid’s holding out on you, Len,” Boyce said. “The photos are adorable. Like a cuddle pile.”
Leonard grinned. “That sounds precious.”
“Don’t you show him,” Jim told Boyce.
“I’ll forward you a few,” Boyce said. “Should come in handy next time someone wants to avoid a physical.”
Jim muttered sleepily. “You’re taking advantage of me.”
“Oh, absolutely,” Boyce said. “Now, get some sleep.”
“Aye, sir.”
Boyce headed out. Leonard pulled his seat closer to Jim’s bed. “How about you? Need a bedtime story?”
Jim rolled onto his side and cracked open one eye. “I should warn you, I’m a connoisseur of twentieth and twenty-first century children’s picture books.”
“Got any downloaded?”
“Loads. My PADD’s around here somewhere.”
“Helpful.” Leonard found it under a discarded t-shirt. He flicked through the books on offer. Hairy Maclary, This Is Not My Hat, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, The Dinosaur Who Pooped a Planet… “Want one in particular?”
Jim didn’t answer. He was already fast asleep.
Leonard reached over and tugged a blanket over Jim’s sleeping form. Friend tended to, Leonard settled back in his seat and delved into the classics of children’s literature.