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“Jim? What the hell is going on?”
Dr. Leonard McCoy had been called out of surgery for an urgent meeting at ththe Transportation Room. As he approached the transporter pad, a scowl on his face so fierce that Jim actually cringed, Leonard assessed the situation, and as usual, found things to be in their usual state. Screwed up.
“Uh… Bones? I… really don’t have an answer for you. I just know that something bad happened when Scotty beamed Spock and me up from…”
Jim didn’t even get the chance to finish. His Chief Medical Officer was on the pad, staring at the baby in Jim’s arms. Make that a baby that seemed to have a very familiar green tint and considerably pointed ears.
“Jim… You’re going to tell me that’s not Spock. Right. Now. Because so help me, if this is a prank of some kind, I’m going to hypo your ass so full of that mud flea virus you loathe so much that you’ll wish it were your hands swelling to epic proportions.”
The Captain of the Enterprise had never wanted to lie so badly before in his life. What would one white lie hurt, anyway? Meeting Bones’ gaze, however, ensured he’d tell the truth. There was no lying when Bones was looking this severe. And there was no getting around the fact that Bones knew exactly who the baby in Jim’s arms was. And while Jim was sure it was impossible, when he met the babe’s dark brown eyes, he was pretty sure Spock knew it, too.
“Look, Bones… I... don’t know what happened, but I do know this much. Scotty’s going to work his ass off to find out how to fix it. And I’m going to help him and so is Sulu and Chekov and… every other genius I can find. Until then, I really wish I *could* tell you that this isn’t Spock, but...” Jim’s voice was rising higher – the way it always did when things had the nerve to go so south he hadn’t a clue how to fix them.
The baby in Jim’s arms started to squirm and before Jim could figure out how to comfort him, he let loose a wail of a cry that made Bones’ features melt into something a whole lot less ferocious. Just like that, he was transformed into someone Jim rarely got to see. A father.
“Oh now… hey, there,” Leonard said, lowering his face closer to the fussing child. “It’s alright, little guy… we’re gonna get you back to nor…” Len stopped himself fast, raising his hand up so the baby could reach for his fingers. “We’re gonna get you back to yourself before you know it. Jim here’s the smartest guy I know,” Len kept on, reaching for the baby without even realizing it. “Well, next to you, that is. He’s gonna fix everything. Till then, you and I are gonna get you something to eat. How’s that sound?” he asked the babe who was now crooked safely against his chest.
Over the baby’s head, he glowered again at Jim. ‘Fix it. Now,’ he mouthed, finding Scotty’s retreating form. He met the Engineer’s gaze and one look was all it took to get him moving around to Jim, a set of transporter plans already tucked under his arm.
“Yeah, we’ll leave this hard stuff to the grunts, won’t we,” Len continued, cooing to the baby and letting Spock pull the meaty part of his palm to his mouth. “You and me’s got better stuff to do. Like getting some food and maybe a nap, too, huh? That sound okay to you, little guy?”
Jim took a second to glance at Bones as he walked with Baby Spock towards the lifts. Heat bloomed in his belly at the sight of his husband holding a baby and being so completely transfixed. For more than a moment, Jim was sure he wanted that for the two of them, but quickly tucked the moment away for later. Instead, he opted to work on getting his Commanding Officer back where he belonged.