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“It’s gonna be okay, Bones. Relax.”
“Which one of us are you tryin’ to convince?”
“You. Nothing wrong in here.”
“Except for the flooding and, oh yeah, that massive crack in the glass above your head keeping an ocean out… Not doing such a great job now, is it, Jim?”
“Ah, it’ll hold.”
“If you’re so confident, why’d you push me out the room?”
“Call it a kneejerk reaction.”
“Jim, it’s – ”
“Besides even if it does break, Scotty and Chekov are working on the transporter. They’ll just beam me out.”
Bones said something else, but the sound of glass cracking overrode his voice. Lowering his communicator, Jim looked up and saw the crack expanding. The glass dome over his head had held back the ocean for hundreds of years, but how were they to know the city’s end finally approached?
Earlier that day, when they’d arrived at the blue planet, sensors just about picked up the city under the ocean. They’d struggled to penetrate the massive storm systems raging on the water’s surface, making the transporter useless. Scotty promised to work on it, but he needed time.
“Life signs?” Jim asked.
“None,” Spock answered. “Early scans suggest the planet has been abandoned, although further exploration is necessary to determine why the planet’s population is absent.”
After getting as much out of the sensors as possible, Jim ordered an away team to assemble in the shuttle bay. A small gathering of scientists, security officers and a grim-faced Doctor McCoy, met Jim and Spock there.
“Why’d you want me to come down?” Leonard groused. “Do you have any idea how backlogged my inventory is after that outbreak of Rigelian Fever?”
“Sensors detected unusual readings in the water suggesting it possesses healing properties,” Spock said. “It is logical for a member of the medical staff to accompany us.”
Jim grinned. Leonard did not return the expression.
It was a bumpy ride down to the planet, the storm and the water both beset by unpredictable currents and eddies. But they made it, revealing the submerged city in all its glass, tree-like beauty. Jim found a place to dock and the away team trooped out. The scientists brimmed with excitement. Even Spock seemed to be in a state of greater than usual anticipation. Jim was just as eager to stretch his legs and see something new. However, it hadn’t taken long to note how decrepit the city truly was. Water dripped from countless cracks and joints, and every so often the space around them shuddered and groaned.
“Spock, analysis?” Jim asked.
“The structure is sound enough to last at least an hour, perhaps more in the better protected areas.” Spock tapped rapidly on his PADD and sent an update to everyone else’s. “I have marked several unsafe zones and areas to avoid unless there’s no other option.”
“Wouldn’t it be safer to come back when the transporter’s working?” Leonard asked.
“Perhaps,” Spock said, “but we can take preliminary scans during this time. Early indications suggest the material used in the construction of this city is unlike anything previously known to the Federation.”
“Alright,” Jim said. “Try not to get too far away from this dome. We’ve only got the one shuttle and we don’t want to risk anyone being trapped down here. Stay in your pairs and return within an hour. Any sign of trouble before that and send a team-wide alert.” As the others had fanned out, Jim grabbed his communicator and contacted the ship. “Scotty, how’s the transporter?”
“Still offline, but the good news is Chekov is doing a great job with the sensors. Give us another thirty minutes and they’ll be able to penetrate the water all the way down to the seabed.”
“Thirty minutes might be too slow. Call in all the help you need. We may need to get out of here in a hurry.”
“Aye, Captain, we’re on it.”
With Bones for company, Jim strolled down a long, blue hallway. Lit by naturally fluorescent plants, a faint smell of flowers in every breath, Jim felt no pressing need to hurry. It was strange though, to walk on a world without people, a world that had, for its native people, ended. Jim remembered how he’d loved reading post-apocalyptic fiction in his teens, stories from the past, before encounters with other worlds, when people apparently lived in constant fear of life as they knew it on Earth coming to a sudden, terrible end. He’d thought how exciting it all seemed despite the blatant, and often overly dramatic, tragedy of each book. And yet despite all its troubles over the years, Earth had survived and thrived. Life on this world, however, hadn’t. Fiction painted grim apocalypses. This one, from Jim’s abstract perspective, was peaceful and beautiful. He wondered how hard the people had fought for their world and their lives. He wondered what had taken their lives. Maybe it was the ocean. Maybe it was a contagion or an alien incursion. Who knew?
He mentally apologised to the lost population. Sorry you didn’t live to see how wonderful your world is.
“It’s a beautiful city,” Bones said, even though his eyes were on his tricorder’s readings. “Getting some interesting readings. It’s like there’s something in the air… chemicals…”
“Bad chemicals?”
“No. Definitely not. They’re stimulants. They’ll make us all feel more wakeful, energetic…”
Jim inhaled deeply. “Now you mention it, I feel like I could run a few marathons.” He bounced on his toes. “Any idea where it’s coming from?”
“Yeah… that way.” Leonard pointed to the left where a long series of domes stretched out into the ocean. “Can’t help but wonder why they had to abandon it. Spock was right; there’s no life down here. Where did they go?”
“Maybe there’s something in the database,” Jim said. “If it was a little less likely to flood, we could have ourselves a nice little shore leave. It’s pretty relaxing down here.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you won’t feel so relaxed if we ever work out why everyone’s gone.”
Jim glanced at Leonard’s tricorder. “Picking something up?”
“No, nothing, but people don’t tend to abandon a city or a planet without a damned good reason.”
Before Jim could speculate, a shout grabbed his attention. Without looking at Leonard, he sprinted in the direction the voice echoed from. He found two of the scientists in a dome steadily filling with water. It was ankle deep and rising, spilling out into the corridor beyond.
“Sir, I’m so sorry!” exclaimed Ensign Rivers, an Andorian marine biologist. Her antennae dipped apologetically. “I didn’t even think! I just heard it beeping –” she waved at a console at the back of the dome, “and I tapped it and the next thing I know it’s flooding.” She frowned at machine. “It’s not a very well designed system.”
Jim glanced at the screen, but the language was indecipherable to him. He contacted the ship and sent a sample of the language to Uhura. “Let me know what you work out.”
“Aye, Captain.”
“Sorry, sir, I really shouldn’t have been so careless,” Rivers said.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jim said, snapping his communicator shut. “Let’s just get out. Looks like Commander Spock’s estimate was a little generous.” He stepped aside to let the two scientists out. “Stick to the safe zones and try not to touch anything else.”
“Aye sir,” Rivers said sheepishly. She and her partner headed off.
“Still wish you could spend your shore leave down here?” Bones teased, wading through the water. He pointed the tricorder at the dome’s roof. “It’s definitely weaker than it should be.”
Jim took in the ocean view once again. “I bet it was a real tourist destination back in the good ol’ days.”
“I think I’ll take spaceships over sunken cities.”
Before Jim could reply, a new alert sounded out. Blue lights flashed. An alien voice crackled out of an unseen speaker.
Jim frowned. “What the –”
They both looked up in time to see the glass crack. It was a tiny thing at first, but it quickly spread. Water spurted over them. Jim reacted instinctively. He moved to Leonard’s side and pushed him, intending to hustle him out of the dome but instead giving him a hard shove.
A shove that put Leonard across the threshold when the dome sealed itself shut.
Leonard grumbled, bringing Jim’s mind back to their present separation. “So much for expanding our knowledge of underwater construction and medical advancements, although what’s the damn point in taking lessons on building from a civilisation that clearly didn’t survive?”
“Ah, come on, Bones. It’s only this one section.” At least that’s what his PADD said. So far, the rest of the city held watertight. “We’ll get our chance.”
Water pooled under his feet. He wasn’t sure where it was leaking from, but it was bitterly cold. He gritted his teeth and kept moving. He wanted to get something out of the city’s ancient computer system, but it wasn’t exactly user-friendly when it was written in a language he couldn’t read. Even Uhura was struggling.
Another crack raced across the glass. “Anything, Jim?”
“Um, no.” He tapped the screen. Bright red letters flashed on screen. Jim’s hand snapped back. “You know what, I’m just gonna leave this.” It was the reason they were in the mess to begin with. Part of the reason, anyway.
“Spock’s here.”
Jim peered through the glass of his dome, then the water, then the next dome’s glass and saw Spock arriving at Leonard’s side. His calm expression contrasted sharply with the panic etched into Leonard’s face. He held the communicator up so Spock’s voice would carry through it as well.
“Captain, I fear any attempt to open your dome will compromise the entire structure.”
Jim’s mind made itself up in an instant. “I’m ordering you to evacuate. Take the shuttle and go.”
Spock hesitated for the briefest moment. “Aye sir.”
“No, Jim, no. I’m not leaving you down here!”
“Scotty and Chekov –”
“– Might not solve the problem in time. You’ll drown!”
Jim waved Leonard’s concerns away. “They’ll fix it.”
“Captain, the probability of –”
“Shut up, Spock, and get to the shuttle.”
“Aye, Captain.”
“Don’t you dare move, Spock. We’ve got to get him out of there.”
“Doctor, the captain is correct. His best chance is –”
“Shut up, Spock! Jim, don’t just stand there! You’re a genius, figure it out!”
Jim’s eyes flicked to Spock’s. His first officer gave the tiniest nod.
“Bones, I’m not going to drown, okay? I’m gonna be wet and cold and then you can bundle me in all the blankets you want.” Jim gave Bones the best reassuring smile he had to offer. “I’ll either beam out or you can fish me out with the shuttle, okay?”
“Fish you out? Jim!”
“Go, Bones.”
A dangerous look passed over Leonard’s face. “Don’t ask me to leave you behind. You’d never do the same for me.”
The crack moved again, accompanied by a guttural groan. The dome shuddered. Jim’s head snapped up. His mouth twisted. It didn’t look good. Icy water dripped on his head, sticking his hair to his skull.
“Jim!” Heartbreak shone in Leonard’s eyes. “Don’t you do this. Don’t you dare die on me again!”
Jim stared at Leonard, expression set determinedly. “I won’t. I swear.”
“You damn well better not.”
“Go, Bones. Please.” He noticed Spock take a step closer to Leonard. “Chekov and Scotty will get the transporter working. You’ve just gotta get to the shuttle.” He forced a grin. “And then I’ll see you when you get back to the Enterprise.”
“Would you shut up for five seconds and let me – ”
Jim shook his head. “I’m sorry, Bones.”
“But I –”
“Tell me on the ship.”
“Dammit, no, now! I –”
Spock’s nerve pinch worked in an instant. He scooped Bones up like he weighed nothing. “Captain, we will see you on the Enterprise.”
Before Jim could agree, the glass shattered. Water rushed in. He caught one final gasp of air before the cold water closed over his head. Vision fracturing, everything became hazy and indistinct. His heart pounded with fear. Would Spock and Bones make it back to the shuttle in time?
They had to, and that was that.
Jim sank. He was too deep to reach the distant surface and didn’t want to waste oxygen trying. The transporter would work. And if not… the shuttle was an option too, right? They really could fish him out… if they didn’t mind flooding the shuttle too.
Bones would be so pissed when he came to…
The slow descent continued. It wasn’t so bad at first. His clothes billowed around him, tugged by the deep water current as he gradually sank, taken further and further from the city's bioluminescent lights.
It was a stunning view, even if it was blurry and vague. The domes shone like a string of lamps against a twilit sky. It was quiet too. There was no life out there. It was long dead.
It doesn't hurt.
There was something relaxing about the slow descent.
Jim remembered the look in Bones’ eyes, the quiet desperation and the pain.
No. No, it doesn't hurt.
It wouldn't hurt for Chekov to work faster though. Scotty too. Hell, even the shuttle could come and just, you know, pluck him out… somehow… right?
But he was okay. It didn't hurt. Plenty of time. He just needed to hold on.
Hold on, hold on.
Scotty and Chekov wouldn't be wasting time. They'd beam him out soon, any second now… now… now? …Back to the Enterprise, where the air was recycled and oh so breathable.
Don’t think about breathing.
Jim didn't even know the planet's name beyond some arbitrary Starfleet designation. He didn’t want to die on a planet without a real name, whose people were long gone and the remains of their civilisation were left to rot beneath the ocean. Plus he didn’t want poor Ensign Rivers to feel bad. It wasn’t her fault she’d tapped the screen. It was all an accident.
He wasn't looking forward to submitting that report to Starfleet. Mission abandoned due to instabilities in the city’s infrastructure. Had we known, we wouldn’t have risked a team…
…well, maybe we would’ve been better prepared…
He would be turning it in. He would. He would not die here. Not for such a stupid reason. He hadn’t come back from the dead to die due to a blunder. An innocent, easily made blunder, but a stupid, idiotic mistake nonetheless.
Need to breathe. Just breathe. Breathe!
Pain distracted him from his thoughts. The mounting pressure dug into his ears. For now it was greater than the pain in his chest, but limits would soon be reached. Jim closed his eyes and tried not to think about drowning or breathing.
I’m ready any time now. Come on.
Yeah, it was really starting to hurt. The pressure in his chest was like nothing he'd ever felt, and he wanted to release some oxygen to relieve it. Doing that would be stupid, but it hurt, it really fucking hurt, and damn, with his eyes shut all he could see was Bones and that look in his eyes. Jim wanted to go back, say sorry, say I know, I know, dying once was enough, believe me I know and I’m not happy I’m doing it again, but it was an accident this time, a really fucking stupid accident.
But was okay, it was fine, because he wasn’t going to die. Any moment now the transporter would…
The pain worsened. He clamped his hands over his mouth and nose, trying to hold the oxygen in. His lungs went into spasm, trying to find air. He had to hold on. Hold on, hold on! It wouldn't be long. He wouldn't drown.
He wouldn't leave Bones alone. He’d made a promise. He kept them, didn’t he?
His chest convulsed, bubbles breaking free. It didn't help. The urge to breathe intensified, driving every other thought out. Breathe, breathe, breathe, BREATHE. He had to hold on and ignore the voice telling him to swallow two lungfuls of seawater and die that much faster.
Hold on.
More air escaped.
He opened his eyes. The city lights were so distant.
breathebreathebreathebreathe
Why did it always have to be this way? Why couldn’t they just land on a planet, do things right and not make a city collapse in on itself?
breathecomeoncomeONbreathe!
Why did he have to hurt the people he loved the most?
Instinct won. Before he could control himself, Jim took a deep breath, except there wasn’t any air. His lungs filled with water.
Shit!
It was too late to feel stupid or sorry or guilty or anything at all.
The lights faded. He sank into darkness.
***
Someone cried. Someone else tried to hush the person crying.
Someone else still said… something.
“…delays risk the captain’s life, Mr Scott.”
“We’re working as fast as we can! Two minutes, Commander!”
“Faster still would be conducive to a successful outcome, Mr Scott.”
“I know that, Mr Spock, but it’s not that simple!”
Leonard groaned. Why was the ship shaking so much? Why wasn’t someone compensating for…
His thoughts cleared. The city. The water. Jim! Leonard jolted upright. The rest of the away team stared at him, Ensign Rivers through her loud tears, but Jim wasn’t there.
“Spock, we have to go back for him!”
Spock didn’t turn away from the shuttle’s controls. “Doctor McCoy, that is not an option.”
“Scotty?”
“Would you gimmie a minute!”
“Jim doesn’t have a minute!” Leonard locked his burning eyes onto Spock. “Turn this shuttle around! We can pull him out.”
“It is impossible to do so. The shuttle lacks an area we can separate in order to protect ourselves from –”
“How long until a beam out?” Leonard shouted over Spock.
“I cannae say. The sensors have him, but we still can’t find a way to make the connection between down there and up here. I’m –”
You can fish me out with the shuttle… “What about the shuttle? Can you beam him here?”
Silence on the other end. Then a blast of heavily accented swearing filled the air, accompanied by enthusiastic Russian.
“Drop your shields and standby!” It was Chekov.
Leonard paced. It was all he could do.
“Hold her steady, Mr Spock!” Scotty shouted.
Spock didn’t respond, but his hands tweaked the controls frequently.
“Energizing!” Chekov called.
In a brilliant flash of crackling light, Jim appeared. Leonard was at his side in an instant, checking for breathing, noticing the dangerously low temperature and the blue tinge to Jim’s lips.
He wasn’t breathing.
“We have the captain,” Spock said calmly, betraying nothing. “We are returning to the ship. Shuttle out.”
Leonard tuned the rest of the world out. With the medbay out of reach, he had only one old-fashioned method available: CPR. And it was a messy, horrendous technique… but it worked. Water poured from Jim’s slack lips as Leonard did compressions.
“Don’t you dare, Jim.” That was the other thing about CPR – it was hard work. Sweat dripped over his brow, like the shuttle’s temperature rising unstoppably. “Don’t you die on me, you lazy bastard. Breathe!”
But the cold water continued pouring out and Jim showed no sign of coming taking over for himself.
Leonard felt a rib break under rapid compressions. Never mind. That could be fixed…
“Come on, come on, come on!”
A finger twitched.
“…Breathe!”
Hacking out a mouthful of water brought Jim round. Leonard rolled him onto his side, gasping for his own breath. Jim coughed, vomited, retched and vomited some more.
“That’s it. Get it all out.”
Blue eyes opened, bleary and confused. Jim wheezed, the sound terrifying, like listening to a man suffocating… which, thanks to secondary drowning, Jim was.
“Faster, Spock,” Leonard said. Jim’s eyes rolled back as the fight went out of him again. Leonard pressed hard on his chest, forcing more water out. “We’ve gotta get to the medbay, now!”
Spock didn’t respond, but the shuttle moved noticeably faster. Ensign Rivers continued crying. Jim coughed, his lungs barely working enough to keep him alive. Dammit, dammit, dammit.
“Hang on, Jim.” McCoy spoke into his ear. “We’ll be back on the Enterprise soon. Stay with me.” His squeezed his hand. “Just stay with me.”
Jim’s laboured breathing filled the shuttle’s cabin. Nobody spoke. Everyone listened.
***
Light. Sound. Blurs of colour moved around him. He couldn’t breathe, nothing he tried filled his lungs… What pitiful amount of air he did gasp wasn’t enough… not…
Darkness.
Coldness dragged him back from the depths. Closer to the surface, he heard a voice calling.
“Jim?”
He hit a wall. Black and unyielding, he couldn’t break out. He couldn’t reach the voice, and the voice couldn’t pull him out either.
He lost the fight, disappearing into nothingness.
Harsh, barking coughs threw him into the light. Uncontrollable, unstoppable, Jim curled in on himself as his lungs bounced around inside of him. Something bit into his neck and within seconds his lungs relaxed.
“You with me this time?”
Eyes opening, Jim saw Leonard standing to his left and watched as the man's face lit up with relief. “There you are.” His hand cupped Jim's cheek. “Thought I'd lost you.”
Jim tried to speak, but his voice disintegrated under a fresh wave of coughing.
It took another hypo to relax the coughing again. “Ah yeah, don’t try that yet. Your lungs are still recovering.”
The drugs easing his breathing had the unfortunate side-effect of making him inescapably drowsy. He huddled under the blanket, still too cold. His mind slipped, his eyes closing. Jim didn’t want to sleep, he wanted to apologise. He forced his eyes open, hoping the blur he locked onto was Bones, and the black holes in the face were his eyes.
A hand brushed over his hair. “Don’t worry, I’ll be here next time.”
He let go and dreamt of sinking into an endless blue. No bottom, no surface… Blue water surrounded him, holding him and never letting go. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t save himself, wouldn’t be saved…
Breathe the water and die that much faster.
He took a breath. Deep, aching coughs spread fire through his chest. He awoke to the medbay as he nearly launched himself off of whatever he laid on. Hands grabbed him, holding him in place.
“Easy, easy.” Another bite and hiss. The coughing subsided. “You don’t do things by halves, do you, Captain?”
It was M’Benga. Jim frowned. Where was Bones?
“How awake are you this time?”
“Very,” Jim said, voice barely more than a croak. He swallowed, wincing at the ache in his chest and the taste on his tongue. “How long?”
“Since we got you back? Twenty-seven hours.” M’Benga held out a drink which Jim gratefully sipped. “It took a little time to stabilise your lungs and adequately drain the excess fluid. Secondary drowning is nothing to mess with, plus there was the broken ribs to deal with.”
Jim swallowed. “Broken ribs?”
“I’ll let Doctor McCoy tell you that story. Now we’re just pumping you full of antibiotics to keep everything else at bay. You’re skirting the edge of some pretty unpleasant complications, pneumonia and pleurisy, to name just a few. Take it easy or you’ll really feel the consequences of your unplanned swim.”
“Um…” Jim coughed as he took it all in. “Right.”
M’Benga chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. “Relax, Captain. Take it easy. You’ll be fine. We’ve got you on the good stuff.” He nodded at the IV strapped to the back of his hand. “It should take care of everything.”
“Where’s Bones?”
“Sleeping. Do you want me to get him?”
Jim shook his head. Talking so much hurt his throat, and his chest still felt stuffed and heavy, making every breath a conscious effort. It was uncomfortably similar to his worst allergic reactions, the ones that triggered asthma-like symptoms. “What happened to the city?”
“Oh, most of it is still there. Commander Spock has been back down with another team, better prepared this time. They brought back some fascinating samples. They still don’t know why the city’s people are gone, but the Federation may benefit from what they’ve left behind.”
Barking coughs broke free of Jim, straining pulled muscles. He winced as he spat something out, M’Benga getting a bowl in place just in time.
“Ugh,” Jim said.
“Better out than in,” M’Benga replied cheerily.
Another bout had him hacking out a foul mixture of bodily fluids. He coughed until he was sick, spots dancing across his vision.
“Easy, easy,” M’Benga said, supporting his weight. “It’ll pass soon.”
Jim wheezed so severely it felt like his two lungs were one massive thing he couldn’t hope to fill. A hypo to the neck eased it, but the effort of breathing continued to exhaust him. Sleepiness crept over him again, an unpleasant reminder of last year’s post-death recovery. He didn’t want to sleep, didn’t want to have to make Bones wait for him again, but it seemed M’Benga had something else in mind. He connected a vial to the IV and Jim watched the fluid flow into his arm.
“Rest well, Captain,” M’Benga said. “I’m sure McCoy will be here when you wake up later.”
Dreams of blue pulled him down.
***
Freshly showered and caffeinated, Leonard returned to the medbay after a six hour (enforced) break. M’Benga gave him good news and he found Jim dozing restfully.
“It was a mild sedative, but it took him out,” M’Benga said. “He’s been in and out for a while now. Did you know he talks in his sleep?”
“I’d noticed.” It wasn’t often, and it usually signified an exhausted or, like today, a sick Jim, but it was one of Jim’s cuter habits… except when it happened alongside nightmares. In the aftermath of Khan, Jim frequently shouted himself hoarse in his sleep. The worst of it had passed in time and joined all the other skeletons hiding in Jim’s mind, but sometimes things got the better of him. “Anything bad?”
“Not really.” M’Benga’s lips twitched. “Something about wine… er… chateau P-something.”
“Picard?”
“That’s the one.”
Chateau Picard was a famous brand of wine back on Earth. Very classy, very expensive. They’d celebrated graduation with a bottle. “Anything else?”
“No. Go sit with him. There’s nothing else around here that you need to deal with.”
“Thanks, Geoffrey.”
At Jim’s side, Leonard couldn’t stop himself from testing Jim’s temperature with the back of his hand, even though the monitors all read normal. Cool, but not dangerously so. Not anymore. And thank goodness he wasn’t blue now. His breathing wheezed with every exhale and crackled with every inhale, but he looked significantly better.
“Jim?”
He stirred, mumbling incoherently. Leonard couldn’t help but smile. He leaned in, pressed a kiss to Jim’s’ forehead. “Come on, kiddo. Let me see those blues.”
Jim’s eyes rolled under their lids.
“Wake up, darlin’. Some of us are getting impatient.”
Faint slivers of blue appeared. “Bones?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
A smile tugged Jim’s lips. “Told you I’d be here first.”
“Sure you were.”
Jim was silent and still. Then he dragged in a raspy breath and opened his eyes wide. He grabbed Leonard’s hand and held on tight. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. It was an accident, I swear. I didn’t mean to –”
“I’m not mad.”
Jim peered at him. “You’re not?”
“Not now. You’re kinda lucky. Spock got a pointy earful once I was done saving your ass. Do you know how much a nerve pinch hurts?”
“Yeah.”
Leonard rolled his eyes. How had he forgotten that? “Look, I know it was different this time and it all worked out. You’ll be fine.”
Jim smiled tiredly. “I will. Just as soon as I’m done coughing shit up.” He emphasised the point by doing exactly that.
“It’s a good thing I love you,” Leonard said, handing Jim a bowl and rubbing his back. “That’s it, get it all out.”
“So romantic,” Jim gasped when he was finally done. He sat back and gratefully accepted the water Leonard held out for him. “Bones?”
“Yeah?”
“What did you wanna tell me down there?”
“That I love you, even when you are driving me insane with worry.”
“Love you too, Bones.” Jim smiled lazily, exhaustion and drugs clearly making him giddy. “You’re adorable.”
Adorable wasn’t a word Leonard associated with himself, but coming from Jim he was prepared to accept it. “Wanna hear a good bedtime story?”
“Hmm?”
“Before I came back, I spoke with Uhura. She’s decoded some of the city’s language. The people lived under the ocean for centuries after the surface of their world was lost to high seas and raging storms. They were desperate but determined, and it worked for years.”
“What went wrong?”
“Well, that’s the thing. Uhura doesn’t know yet. She’s halfway through a very good story.”
“She’s gonna finish it, right?”
“Shall I tell her you’re ordering her?”
“Definitely.” Jim rolled onto his side, wincing. “Oh yeah, what happened to my ribs?”
“CPR.”
“CPR?” Jim rubbed his chest. Another coughing fit overwhelmed him, leaving him gasping raggedly, pained tears rolling down his face. “Bones?”
Leonard brushed away Jim’s tears. “Yeah?”
“Remind me to not drown again.”
“Done.” He gave Jim’s hand a squeeze. “Get some sleep. I’ll tell you the rest of the story when you wake up.”
Jim slipped into sleep. Leonard held on, fingers holding onto Jim’s pulse. His other hand brushed through Jim’s short hair before slipping down to rest upon his chest, lifting and dipping with every ragged breath Jim took. “Definitely no more drowning.”