elliewood | Fic: Companion, Chapter 7: Bones (2)

You know you're getting old when the first thing you think about as you're waking up from an afternoon nap is, Goddamn my ass hurts. Used to be I could sleep in whatever location, whatever position I needed to. One time during my residency I grabbed half an hour of shuteye lying on a laundry pile; another time, I found an empty room in the ward I was rotating on and napped just leaning up against the wall, propped up by the restroom door frame. My aching back and ass are telling me those days are over. Welcome to impending middle age, son, they tell me, how you like that?

And I've been getting that message from other body parts, too -- my eyes are singing the same song. I've noticed that I can't shift my focus as easily as I used to, that I have to stand farther away from the wall monitor to see the readings, hold PADDs and charts farther away from my face so what I'm trying to read doesn't look doubled and my ocular ciliary muscles don't scream.

But my distance vision is fine. Almost perfect for a Human, in fact. So when I woke up in the recliner, back stiff and ass sore, and saw Spock holding Jim's hand, I was pretty sure I wasn't seeing things.

I blinked, hard, a few times. And just like that, he wasn't. I didn't hear or see him move across the room, but a second later, Instead of being seated at Jim's bedside, he was standing next to the recliner looking down at me with that Vulcan look that says, Hey, dumbass, time to get it in gear.

I guess I'd been dreaming, after all.

"Doctor, the captain has shown signs of awakening. If you would, kindly assess his current condition."

Didn't have to tell me twice. I was out of that chair in a second. "How long was I asleep?"

"Three hours, sixteen minutes, and 27 seconds. It is currently 1249 hours."

"Fuck." Joints popped as I made it over to the biobed and checked the readings. "Why'd you let me sleep so long?"

"There was nothing more compelling for you to concern yourself with. The captain's physical status remained unchanged, save for an increase in his vital signs and a slight movement of the fingers of his right hand, which I am reporting to you now."

I nodded. Logical as always, damnit. "Respiration and heart rate are up, all right. Let's turn him on his back and see if we can get him to respond." I cranked the head of the biobed up slightly and pushed Jim onto his back while Spock pulled the pillows out from behind him. Jim's body still felt limp, the muscles slack with atony. I tried not to get my hopes up as I sat down next to the bed; Spock remained standing on the other side.

"Jim. Are you...can you hear me? If you can, open your eyes." Damn, my voice sounded rough. I cleared my throat and tried again, my hand rising to touch his forehead, to comb through his hair with my fingers.

"Jim, please. Try to open your eyes. Look at me, please." My fingers tugging at his hair, like they could draw him out, pull him into wakefulness.

Nothing. I looked up at Spock. "Are you sure? That you saw..."

"I am sure." Not one bit of hesitation.

"Jim. I'm here. Spock is here. We want you to open your eyes, let us know you're okay."

Something socked me in the chest when I saw it, a fractional lowering of his brows, a tiny frown. I petted that frown encouragingly, smoothing the skin with my thumb.

"That's it, come on, wake up. Look at me."

The frown deepened as his eyes opened, not a lot, but enough that I could see a glint. His mouth moved, his voice wispy and unsteady but distinct.

"Bo..."

I felt my face break into a huge-ass grin.

"Yeah, kid, yeah it's me."

His eyes shifted toward the other side of the bed. "Poh...?"

"I am here as well, Captain." Spock tried to sound cool, but his voice hitched slightly on the "well." My cheeks were cramping from smiling so hard.

"Kay." And just like that, he was out again, his eyelids closing as the frown relaxed.

"He knew us." I thought I would bust a gut from sheer joy. "He knew us, he knew who we were."

"Indeed."

"Sweet baby Jesus," I breathed, and I let my head drop to rest on his shoulder, my hand still clinging to his hair. A moment later, I heard Spock come around the bed to stand next to me. I didn't trust myself to look up.

I felt a firm but gentle squeeze, his hand on my shoulder, and I kind of lost it again, so I pushed my eyes against Jim's gown for a few minutes until I could stand up to update his chart.

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