The Long Silence [for losthunter]

[boldygoing]

Jim had been looking forward to getting drinks with Hunter after the end of the Nibiru mission.

Sure, it didn't exactly go according to plan, but when does it ever? And with the news of a five-year mission in the works, not yet assigned to a ship, he's pretty excited that the Enterprise might have a shot at the most prestigious and ambitious assignment Starfleet has ever offered. No crew is more prepared, he feels. And getting to explore uncharted territory every day for five years is a dream come true.

But that's before he gets called into Pike's office and busted back to fucking cadet.

Before the admiral tells him that the Enterprise is no longer Jim's.

Before Pike tracks him down in a dive bar, spiraling into the black hole of his own thoughts, consuming everything except the horrible, sinking feeling in his gut that somehow he's done everything horribly wrong, and the admiral tells him that he's not out of the running just yet.

He's not captain anymore. But Commander Kirk is the first officer of the Enterprise now, and as awful as it is that Spock has been reassigned, it's a rope thrown to a drowning man.

He's not okay. But maybe eventually he will be. And he barely has time to process any of this before the call comes in, that there's an emergency session called at Headquarters. Something like that is never, ever good news. And no matter what it's about, Jim has the distinct feeling that he's not going to be able to get around to having drinks with Hunter tonight.

He hurries to get into his gray dress uniform, and fires off a quick text message to the now-familiar number. Need raincheck. Emergency @ HQ.

Surely he'll have the time to reschedule later, once the crisis is over.

Comments

[losthunter]

"Maybe there is something I could do to help? If you have photos of the crew who lost their lives, it wouldn't take me long to create stylized portraits of them."

Especially if Jim is going to miss the ceremony, Hunter wants to show his support somehow. These are all people that were important to Jim. Enough that he risked his own life to save others.

[boldygoing]

Spock and McCoy share a brief look. "Would you be able to do ninety-six in three days?" McCoy asks. "I think Jim would appreciate the gesture; I just don't have a clue how long that'd take."

[losthunter]

"I make portraits for a living. When I am at art and trade fairs, I typically can do one in 10 minutes. It is a long enough sitting for a client, who wants to visit at the other booths."

"I could get it done." He shrugs lightly.

[boldygoing]

"Perhaps ninety-seven, then," Spock suggests, and McCoy looks blank for a moment before realization seems to strike.

"Oh. Yeah. Ninety-seven would do it," the doctor agrees, and gives Hunter a somewhat solemn look. "One of the admirals killed at Daystrom was really important to Jim."

[losthunter]

"Then definitely we should include that admiral." Hunter feels a little better that he can do something to help with the memorial services. And help the families who have to deal with the tragedy in a small way.

"I just need their photo to get started."

[boldygoing]

"I will see to it," Spock says. He, too, would prefer to have a task with which to occupy himself. He doesn't take well to being idle.

The Vulcan heads out, leaving Hunter and McCoy alone with Jim. The doctor runs a hand over his face, looking utterly exhausted. But he looks over at Hunter and says, "So how do you know Jim, anyway? I didn't think he had any friends outside the service."

[losthunter]

"We met at a market. He stopped by my booth, and we started to talk." Hunter tells a half-truth himself. He just hopes that they still have markets in this century.

[boldygoing]

McCoy doesn't seem to see anything odd about that story, fortunately. "Yeah, that sounds like him. Intergalactic peacemaker no matter where he goes."

[losthunter]

"Anyway, when he had selected something to purchase, I had teased him about him taking me out for drinks as payment. We met up again for those drinks. And just... a friendship blossomed from that." He is still gently stroking Jim's arm with his fingers.

[boldygoing]

Jim remains unresponsive, but McCoy doesn't look concerned by any of the readings on the biodisplay at the moment. He does sigh a little though, heavy and tired. "I'm sure he'll be happy to know you came to visit, once he's done doing the Sleeping Beauty thing."

He looks over at Hunter. "I don't know how much Spock told you. Got any questions?"

[losthunter]

"If I believed a kiss could make miracles happen..." Hunter shook his head slightly. That magical kiss didn't work in his situation. But he has to wonder if any of Kendra's latent magic would have any effect, since it would still be tied to a kiss. He is a little tempted to try it.

"He explained about the purposes of the medical fields that are in place right now. And not to disturb them."

"And he explained that Jim risked his life to save his ship and his crew."

[boldygoing]

McCoy rolls his eyes, but there's no real venom in it. "Better not. Start something like that and the line to kiss him awake would be all the way out to the street."

The doctor nods a little. He expected that Spock would stick to the cover story, but even that sounds rather bare bones. "We'd all be dead if he hadn't. Still don't have a clue how he broke his back, though. Not like there are security feeds inside the core."

[losthunter]

"Hear that Jim. You got a whole crew of good-looking people aching to kiss you. And here you are... sleeping through it." Hunter squeezes Jim's hand.

He frowns in concern. "The warp core. That is where he got the radiation poisoning?"

[boldygoing]

"Yeah." McCoy chooses his words carefully. He still barely knows Hunter, and since the truth would be awfully difficult to explain without revealing classified information, he can't afford to drop any hints. Fortunately, half-truths make it a bit easier. "He's damn lucky to be alive. If we hadn't had access to an old cryo tube, he never would've made it long enough to treat the radiation poisoning. As it is, he's got a long recovery ahead of him."

Assuming that Jim wakes up, that is. McCoy doesn't want to jinx anything, so he hasn't voiced this particular worry aloud, not even to Spock. It hasn't been long enough to make any assumptions like that. But he still worries.

[losthunter]

Since Hunter doesn't know what a cryo tube is, the half-truth sounds true enough. And he can see an unvoiced worry on McCoy's face.

"Is it typical for coma patients to wake up?" In his dimension, it is nearly unheard of. Not impossible... but the odds are never in the patient's favor.

[boldygoing]

"Depends on what caused the coma," McCoy says, and this kind of talk is familiar for him, letting him go on medical autopilot for a bit, easing the stress that comes with being friends with Jim fucking Kirk. "With head trauma, it varies depending on the severity of the injury. Drug-induced comas are commonly and safely used in some surgical procedures. Jim's situation is... kinda unique. Patients exposed to that level of radiation have never survived before, and the treatment is experimental. But he is responding to treatment. We might be able to take him off oxygen in another day or two."

[losthunter]

"Well he is a very unique man..." Hunter has to smile a little. If all the hope they have is that Jim is responding to the treatment, then he will grasp onto it with all his might.

[boldygoing]

"Yeah, trust Jim to refuse to get himself in ordinary kinds of trouble." This, it seems, is something they can agree upon.

[losthunter]

Hunter has to shake his head a little. If Jim gets himself into unique trouble in his own dimension, he sort of wonders what sort of Nexus trouble will be awaiting him. Once he is awake. And back to himself, again.

But at least he can do something now. He can work on those portraits. And he plans to visit Jim every day, if possible. There are a few books that he can bring, that he can read to him.

And that will have to be enough.

[boldygoing]

Hunter's vigil is never a solitary one.

Over the next several days, whenever he visits, there is almost always another member of the Enterprise crew visiting their captain. Spock doesn't tend to say much, preferring to stand along one wall and monitor Jim's vital signs, not out of mistrust of the doctors but out of an oddly emotional need to reassure himself that the captain is alive and improving. McCoy is often in and out, tending to Jim's medical needs, and three days after Hunter's first visit, Jim is strong enough to withstand the spinal repair surgery, allowing for the removal of the stabilization field, and another day passes before the oxygen field is removed also.

Others visit too, but Lieutenant Nyota Uhura visits more than anyone else. She, too, enjoys reading to Jim, although her choices of literature are very rarely in English, and the language varies from day to day. And she takes the time to get to know a little of Hunter too, enough to ensure that his preferred non-alcoholic beverage is made available during his visits. It's often she who is responsible for escorting him up to Jim's room, still under more strict security protocols.

Ten days after Spock first contacted Hunter, Uhura greets him in the lobby of the hospital with a somewhat relieved smile. "He woke up this morning."

[losthunter]

Hunter has gotten into a routine, as strange as it sounds. Despite the sombre circumstances, it has been nice to spend time with Jim's crew members. Especially Uhura. He liked listening to her read to Jim. And is very impressed by her linguistic skills (especially when he learns that some of them are from other Alien cultures).

He smiles too, hearing the news she has for him. "He did! That's awesome."

It takes a lot of willpower not to celebrate a little louder.

[boldygoing]

Uhura can understand his enthusiasm. Though Jim is still nowhere near healthy, he's been slowly improving, and this is a big step towards recovery.

Fortunately it does not take long to walk far enough into the hospital that they don't need to worry about being overheard. "He's been in and out ever since then. Doctor McCoy says he'll probably still sleep a lot, but it's real sleep now."

[losthunter]

"Has someone had the opportunity to 'debrief' him on the last couple of weeks?" There is so much classified information they can't talk about with Hunter around. He doesn't want his presence to prevent Jim from learning information that is important to his own welfare.

[boldygoing]

Uhura nods slightly. "The parts that Doctor McCoy feels are important, anyway. Too much stress is bad for his recovery, so he doesn't know what happened in the city yet. We're not allowed to tell him, even if he asks. But he's still on some fairly heavy-duty painkillers, so he probably won't think about it." She smiles slightly as they arrive at the door to the captain's room, and activates the decontamination beam. "Just do what you've been doing. He'll be glad for the company."

[losthunter]

"Avoid any stress-related news. Gotcha." Hunter feels a little nervous about seeing Jim today. "No big line-up of crew members clamoring to check in, yet?"