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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"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.

Savel blinks and Jim wonders if they were going to get more of a reaction to that statement than that. And Jim might have been right, if it weren't for the sudden dusty green color that suddenly appeared on the kid's cheeks. Jim bit the inside of his cheek and waited.

This kid.

"I am not small, Doctor. I am the average height for my age."

Bones gives Jim a warm look and easy smile as he finishes his dinner before looking at Savel.

"A little above on height, but underweight, going to have to bulk you up a little. And by small I meant your a kid, so we aren't leaving you here." He says easily.

"I was alone for 7 days before your ship arrived. Only one caused distress. I am able to wait for the next ship and-"

Jim dropped a hand on the kid's shoulder and gave it a squeeze before he could finish, and either the touch or interruption startled Savel because the look he gave Jim just about broke his heart. There was a level of fear there that really shouldn't have been.

"Kiddo," Jim shakes his head and crouches down beside the boy, "Savel, listen to Bon-Dr. McCoy. He doesn't look like much right now, but he will not lose this fight." Especially because Bones is right, and Jim is ready to back him up 100% on this point. They weren't leaving Savel on that planet to wait for the next transport ship to arrive and collect the remaining colonists.

It was not happening.

"Besides, we don't know that you're completely healthy, and as much as I trust you on the state of your body, we are simple minded humans and we need to do our own tests to be sure."

Bones puts his hand on the back of Savel's neck again trying to soothe him the way he did earlier, "Eat your dinner, we'll get you cleaned up and to bed, maybe a little reading on the padd." he says easily taking his and Jim's empty plates from the table and putting them in the reprocessor.

He goes to the replicator and makes a mug of minty herbal tea and sets it next to the four-year-old, he's seen Spock use the stuff to relax, and he's not sure if it's a Vulcan thing, or a Spock thing, or maybe both.

Leonard kisses Jim's cheek, gonna get him a cot, he can stay in here with us. "Also have to check on some of the sick." He says easily. He rummages in his back and pulls out the PADD without the medical data, and for the first time, puts on some of the age restrictions and sets it next to the mug.

Savel watches, silenced and wide-eyed as Bones does his little busy dance around him. He touches the handle of the mug, but doesn't make a move to pull it closer. Jim snags Bones by the wrist before he can escape their tent. He knows that nervous tension, the need to see everything through to the very last detail.

He's been on the receiving end of lectures about pushing himself beyond what his body can handle.

"Bones," Jim presses his forehead to his husbands and tries to make it very clear how he feels about the idea of Bones' leaving that tent before the following morning for anything less than a total emergency. "Let your team take care of it. You picked them because you knew they were capable of handling these kinds of emergencies." He let's his hand slide down to clutch Bones'. "You've been out there more than anyone else." He's been out there more than Jim and Spock and that is a terrifying truth Jim has been ignoring right up until this moment. "You need time to rest too." He grins. "You're a doctor, not a robot after all."

His hand comes up to move along Jim's face and he lets out a slow breath, "Gotta get the kid something to sleep on and in, and I have to help figure out who goes up in the first group with me, the urgent cases." He says hand still on the side of Jim's face.

"You're right Jim, I'm a Doctor, I took an oath, and I am a doctor in the middle of a medical crisis." He says easily, "I'm just doing my job." He gives Jim a chaste kiss. "Won't take long Christine and I have been organizing them as they came in, but her and I just have to double check a couple of things before we start transport tomorrow, figure out who is stable enough to beam and who we need on the shuttle with supportive care."

"One hour." Jim holds his gaze. "One hour to get your notes synced and back here to sleep. Savel and I can handle finding him something to sleep on."

He tries not to frown. "Don't make me have to come and find you."

Bones whispers in Jim's ear, "I really don't mind when you come find me tho." The words are full of warmth and affection. He moves over to Savel and runs his fingers through the kids hair, "I'll be back in an hour, please eat Savel?" he says easily.

He looks at Jim, "In about 30-40 minutes give him half a hydration pack, and put more aloe on your shoulders, and you need some water." He says before heading out with his med bag.

He's back in 65 minutes.

Jim does. It freaks him right the hell out. He huffs and crosses his arms, moving out of Bones way and only half-listening to those instructions tossed over his shoulder.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Jim is waiting outside their tent with an impatient expression with Savel standing just inside, face as blank and unemotional as the moment Jim stumbled upon him half-hidden in the medical tent.

"You're late."

He frowns at Jim and whispers "Did you want me to rush telling someone their husband died..." He scrubs a hand down his face, "Sorry, someone took a turn for the worse, but we are all set for tomorrow." He says licking his lips a little.

He smiles a little at the boy, "Did Jim, listen and give you the other hydration packet." Bones asks easily coming in and sitting on the edge of the cot.

No. He wanted someone else to handle that for one goddamn minute. Jim slides a hand around the back of Bones' neck and squeezes. He's not even mad. He's worried. Worried that even this little break won't be enough to make up for the exhaustion and pain from the past few days, that it won't even be close.

He hasn't seen Bones reach a breaking point in a long damn time.

"He did." Savel looks between the two adults and tilts his head to the side. "Was he not meant to?"

Jim grins and bends down to unlace the boys boots and toss them to the side and out of the way. He'll let Bones field that one.

Bones chuckles "Sometimes our Jim here isn't the best at listening to doctors." He says but there is a fondness in his voice. "Since I can trust you..." He says sitting on the edge of a cot and working his boots off, "Did Jim drink water and put more stuff on his shoulders?" He asks giving Savel an easy smile, eyes flashing to Jim for a moment.

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