a_mused | +1 smol Vulcan

+1 smol Vulcan

The heat on the planet's surface curled around his neck and threatened to choke him. He'd stripped his uniform top off hours ago, wrapping it around his head to shade his eyes even as his skin started frying in the heat of dual suns. They'd been here two days now. Two days of creating lists and doling out vaccinations and hydration in the hottest part of the planets year.

Two days of wondering how many more people they will find alive.

Handing command to Spock had been both the easiest and hardest choice he'd made since resuming their five year mission, and he can't think about it right now as he comes across another group huddled in a medical tent receiving treatment. He taps on his PADD to load the list of survivors they'd been cultivating and quietly begins asking the adults for names.

He doesn't notice the small boy whose dark eyes followed him around the tent at first. But it was hard to ignore when he began passing out pouches of electrolytes and came to him last, alone and quiet. Jim hands a pouch to the child and crouches in front of him, eying the green flush and glassy dark eyes. Pointy ears. Why was a Vulcan in a human colony?

"Has anyone come and checked you out yet?" he asked gently.

"Negative. I was told to wait."

Bones was clear across the tent holding his tricorder above the head of an elderly woman and scowling, which, could honestly mean anything, until he saw the quick flash of the vaccination hypo hit the ladies neck and Bones' brow furrowed.

"Let's change that." Jim unwinds his makeshift turbin and shakes out his shirt before slipping it back on to hide the burns. Sunburns were the last problem on this planet. "Follow me."

He doesn't take the kids hand, doesn't even touch him on the back to get him moving, just trusts that the boy will move when he does and stay close enough to not misplace him. He saunters over to the cluster of beds McCoy was checking on.

"Bones!"

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"Shhh there we go." He murmurs rubbing the boys back, "Just get it out." He murmurs picking up a vague feeling, he thinks of something and puts his hand on the back of the boy's neck to his skin, and tries to think soothing, and protective thoughts. Not even sure if it will work.

He starts to walk again, now that the boy is past wailing and on to just sobs, and whines. "Why don't we find someplace quiet to lay down for awhile?"

It's like being wrapped in a dozen woolen blankets. Warmth and safety and concern so deep and vast, Savel nearly gets lost in it but it does upend his spiraling thoughts so abruptly it's like someone had cut strings and he slumped, unconscious and feverish against McCoys chest.

Jim comes back to this a moment after it happens, alarm writ clearly across his face.

"I could hear him clear across the tent." He hasn't heard that kind of grief since-

"Did you sedate him or did he fall asleep?"

"Fell asleep, I didn't want to dope him up, kid's gotta get it out." He says still rubbing the back of the boy's neck. He moves over to the little table and looks to Christine whose come in as well with the latest round of lab results. "Give him the fever reducer, hands are full." He says giving his head nurse a sad smile, still rubbing the back of Savel's neck.

The nurse shakes her head but gives Leonard a warm look she picks up a hypo and adjusts the dosage looking at the boy's chart. He's still rubbing the back of Savel's neck as Christine gives the boy the fever reducer.

"Can you handle things for a bit?" He asks easily, she nods. "We're pretty much done seeing people in this sector, just continued treatment until tomorrow"

He moves back over to Jim and lets out a breath. "He'll be okay, he needs sleep and food, and well people to look out for him." He frowns a little, "He's a little dehydrated too." He leans in and kisses Jim's cheek, "Gotta get some aloe on you." He says giving Jim a once over.

Jim nods and doesn't voice the thank you that Savel will never utter, and Jim will never say. Thank you for not taking that from him even if he medically needed it, thank you for letting him rage and rage until there was nothing else to give. Thank you for not trying to take away his grief like it wasn't valid or in need of recognition or-

"Shit." Jim can see the burn from where his shirt was tugged and winces because, yeah, ok, ow. All right. "Yeah. I-It's been a long day."

At least they'd finally made it through the whole settlement. Took care of the healthy, marked doors where there were-

The number of healthy to sick wasn't a great ratio to think about and the number of dead-

Jim swallows and settles in a chair, stripping off his shirt to show the true extent of how long he'd been out in the sun without caring for himself. They were still taking names, making lists of family members known, taking information to inform any family off-planet about the seriousness and-

He slams his eyes shut and grits his teeth, never more grateful for Spock simply nodding in acceptance when he'd handed over command days ago because if someone came to him now, he wasn't sure what kind of response he would be able to give.

When they get back to their tent, Bones carefully lays Savel down on his and Jim's cot the boy clings for a minute before sinking into the pad on the cot. He moves over to his medical kit and pulls out the bottle of aloe, and comes over to Jim giving him a soft kiss.

"You gotta wear a shirt tomorrow... do you want skin cancer?" He mumbles, starting to cover Jim's back in the green jelly. "Are you holding up okay?" He asks working on Jim's shoulders before closing the bottle and put it on the table. He digs around the box and pulls out a couple of cold packs, popping them and putting them on Jim's shoulders, and then goes and puts one on Savel's forehead to help cool the little Vulcan down.

"Can I even get skin cancer?" he asks, only half-serious. They haven't exactly tested the longevity of superhuman blood, and Bones would refuse on the grounds of 'are you fucking kidding me right now' but Jim does sometimes wonder in the dead hours of night what exactly is swimming in his veins. He scratches at a patch of flaking skin on his arm and settles his tired gaze on the boy and leaving it there as Bones moves his hands over his back and chest, dragging a shiver out of him.

"No," he admits. He drags a hand over his face and finally swings his gaze around to Bones. "Gonna ground me?"

Bones comes back to Jim and looks him over, "Do I have too? Or can you what's best for the crew and more importantly yourself." He says pushing his fingers through Jim's blond locks. He gently moves Jim's hand away from picking at the flaking skin. "We'll get you and oatmeal bath, it will help with the pealing." He says cupping Jim's face for a moment and giving him a soft kiss. "I'm here for you darlin'." He says easily before looking over at the boy.

"He needs a bath, it will help get his temp back to normal, like to give him IV fluids but we might have to settle for getting him to slowly eat and drink." He says, "Let him sleep a bit more though." He rambles a little, fingers still working through Jim's hair.

Jim hums, listening but not fully processing the list, the words. There is so much hidden in that so small list, including time, time he wasn't sure he knew they had. He closes his eyes, savoring the touch, the pull of fingers through his hair and nails on his scalp, for a minute or two before gently grabbing Bones' wrist, stilling his hand.

"What about you? What do you need?"

Bones gives him a look he hates that question, he's a doctor he's supposed to handle this stuff... but this was a lot, and anyone would admit that. In fact Star Fleet Command is having them come back to earth when they finish here, a slow trip, for 'refits' to the ship, but he knows the doctor in him knows that it's to let the crew physiologically recalibrate after such a distressing mission for non-medical staff, hell even for medical staff.

"A break, and..." he pauses and huffs, "maybe a hug and some time at home." He says looking at the boy again, "He... he doesn't have anyone, Jim, Christine and I checked. Mother's family was lost on Vulcan, father was an only child..." He scrubs his hand over his face, the thoughts had started in his brain while the boy was crying in his arms. Spock would make fun of him, but he believed in fate.

"Consider this a break." Jim tugs on that arm he hadn't quite let go of. Jim is a big believer in hugs. Maybe that hadn't always been the case, but damn, he could use one right now too. He's not ignoring the kid, far from it, he's more aware of that kid than he had been when he'd first found him trying hard to remain unseen but not exactly hiding and he's not dumb, Bones. He's really not, he can connect the dots from point A to point adopt a Vulcan but neither of them are in the right state of mind to handle that right now.

And the kid deserves more from both of them.

Jim winds his free arm around Bones waist and tugs again. Get down here for your hug.

Bones flops down next to Jim and leans on him a little letting out a slow breath. "Breaks are good, and command only has us doing a couple of milk runs on the way back to earth." He licks his lips a little. "Could go to Georgia for a bit once we are back earthside."

Jim claps a hand over Bones' mouth and widens his eyes. "Shhh. You'll jinx it and we'll end up moderating a Peace treaty that takes months."

Do not do that to him, Bones. Do not make him suffer through that. He lowers his hand and replaces it with his lips in a fast kiss.

"Homesick?"

"Not homesick, but if we are at Star Fleet we both know we'll both end up working." He mutters against Jim's lips smirking a little and kissing him again, as the boy starts to stir a little pulling the cold pack from his forehead.

"He's got to agree to it too," Jim says. He glances at the bed and his expression softens with worry. It'll take a second for the kid to fully wake up and in that time Jim adds. "He might not have any living relatives that we know of right now, but Vulcan's are...possessive of their own."

"It'll be his choice, he can talk to Spock too, already shot him a message." He says easily stretching a little in Jim's arms. He kisses Jim again and rolls from the man's arms and puts to mugs on the table dumping hydration packs into them. "With your sunburn you could use on too." He says looking to see what they can feed the kid. "Remember Jim, he's half human too... and we know how they treated Spock." He points out carefully.

"Wanna bet I know exactly what he said when he got that message?" Jim wants to rub the back of his neck, almost does when he remembers the burn. He lowers his hand and accepts the drink without any grumbling, because right now they were talking about something more important.

"I do. Didn't change the fact that they tried to persuade him to go back when they finally started to rebuild."

And Spock almost went.

He is so fucking glad he didn't.

He takes a fortifying sip of the tasteless beverage and walks over to the side of the bed. Savel's lips are pinched and his eyes are scrunched tight and wow. That's just- "Hey, kid. Pretending to sleep? It's a form of lying." He rests gingerly on the edge of the bed, not touching Savel, but close enough to do so should he need to. "How much of what we're talking about did you hear?"

"He thought we would be adequate parents." He snorts putting together a plate of high water content fruits and setting it on the table smiling at Jim.

"Some." Is all the boy says opening his eyes and not sitting up.

"Well you can ask us questions, and you can think about it." Bones says coming over and scooping the boy up under his arms and bringing him to the small table. "You need to drink and eat a little though, go slow okay?"

"Adequate, huh?" Bones might make an awesome parent, he cares for a whole ship full of people, like actually cares, not just in a- Jim is losing track of his own thoughts, Bones would be a great dad. Jim can't avoid the fact that he has no idea what he's doing if somehow this works out.

Jim watches as Savel nods against Bones' shoulder. He's mildly surprised when the boy looks right at him though, not in challenge, but confusion maybe. Or consideration. Jim rolls his shoulders and settles back on his palms, content to sip his own drink and let the medication seep through his battered skin, and observe someone else getting fussed over for once.

"What is this?" Savel finally asks, poking at the food presented to him.

"Watermelon, cantaloupe, orange..." He says pointing out the fruits, "Something else you want?" He asks easily sliding the mug toward Savel.

He gets some dinner set up for him and Jim as well, setting the plates on the table.

Saved spears a piece of cantaloupe and sniffs it delicately before popping it into his mouth.

"No."

Jim goes to sit at the table and rests his head on his palm. His own mug is empty and the day is starting to catch up to him in ways he's not proud of admitting. He stifles a yawn and using a spoon, swipes a piece of orange from Savel. The kid doesn't even look at him when he does it.

"Eat your dinner Jim, not Savel's." Bones laughs softly working on his own dinner. "If you need anything Savel, you can ask us." He says taking a sip of water.

"What time are we taking people up to the ship tomorrow?" Bones asks Jim.

Jim shifts his attention from the incredibly neutral expression on Savel's face to answer that question.

"Most critical come first and early. We're talking 0600 so you and your team can get them situated in quarantine before anyone more healthy arrives." Jim pauses. "Spock suggested, and I agreed, that we'll hold a remembrance memorial from the ship before we leave orbit."

The settlement had been small to begin with, but with the speed of the disease that number became even smaller. Another ship was being sent to them now but all medically critical and their remaining families would be heading back to Earth with them.

"I'm starting to think Spock likes being captain more than he lets on."

"Probably means we should call it an early night, kind of beat." He says rubbing the back of his neck. "I'll go up with the first load with Nurse Chapel, Dr. M'Benga, and Nurse. Halloway can come up with the last, in case anyone starts to sundown."

He looks over at the boy and gives him an easy look pushing the mug of rehydration medicine toward him. "I really need you to drink that Savel, do you wanna come up on the ship with me, or wait with Jim, tomorrow?" He asks voice easy and low.

Savel frowns at the cup but eventually seems to find some logic to it because the kid straight up guzzles it down. Jim shakes his head and stuffs a forkful of food into his mouth.

"I am not sick," Savel says long after that question was asked. "I would take up room."

"We are taking everyone, kiddo." He says easily, "Have to figure out what on the planet triggered this." He explains. "Don't worry about taking up room in medical, you can hang out in my office, or Jim and My quarters." He says eating the last of his dinner. "Also you're small, so it's okay." Bones teases smiling at the boy a little.

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