Baby on Board (Star Trek Agere)

My Bones pt 3

Jimmy woke up with a gasp. He frantically looked around, finding himself in bed in a dark room. Even in the darkness he quickly recognized it as his dorm room. His eyes slowly adjusted to view his surroundings more clearly, he could make out the sleeping form of his roommate on the other bed through teary eyes.

Jimmy gripped his blanket, looking down at the space between their beds with caution. There could be something down there, waiting to grab him. But he needed Bones. He took a shaky breath and hopped off of the bed, rushing over to his friend's side. 

"B-Bones?" Jimmy whispered, when the man didn't wake up Jimmy shook his shoulders, "Bones? Wake up! Bones!"

Leonard woke with a start. He turned to face what ever had woken him to find a teary eyed Jimmy at his bedside.

"Hey, Jimmy, what's wrong?" Leonard asked, rubbing his hand over his face.

"Had a bad dream." Jimmy mumbled, hugging his blanket tighter.

"Oh." Leonard sat up, turning on his bedside light. He seemed bigger than he normally was after a nightmare, "Do you want to talk about your dream?"

"Nuh uh." Jimmy shook his head. His eyes shifted to the floor, "Can I, um- Sometimes Mommy and Daddy would let me sleep with them when I had a bad dream..." His voice trailed off.

Leonard moved over slightly and lifted the blankets, "Of course you can sleep with me, Sugar. I'll protect you."

Jimmy climbed onto the bed, laying down as close to Leonard as he could. He pulled the blanket up to his chin and stuck two fingers into his mouth.

Leonard bit back a frown when Jimmy put his fingers into his mouth, "Where's your binky, Little Darlin'?"

Jimmy pulled his fingers out of his mouth. He knows he's not supposed to suck on his fingers, but he couldn't help it, "I dunno." His lip quivered and he tried not to start crying again.

"That's okay, it's okay, Baby. I think I've got one around here, somewhere." Leonard dug around his bedside table until he felt the spare pacifier and gave it to Jimmy, "There you go. All better now."

Jimmy rested his head on Leonard's chest and sniffled. Leonard didn't turn of the lamp. He didn't try to go back to sleep, not yet. Jimmy needed the light to know where he was and that he was safe, and Leonard needed to be awake to reassure him when the light doesn't work.

"I don't wanna go back." Jimmy suddenly mumbles around the pacifier.

Go back? What was he talking about? "Go back where?" Leonard asked, brushing Jimmy's hair away from his face.

"Tarsus."

Tarsus? Tarsus IV? Leonard had read about the massacre before. Was Jimmy there? He couldn't have been. He couldn't have been more than thirteen when it happened. What had happened to his sweet little boy?

"I don't wanna go back, Bones." Jimmy sobbed, gripping Leonard's shirt tightly, "I don't- I can't."

"Shh, you won't. You won't, Darlin'." Leonard whispers, pulling Jimmy tightly to his chest, "You're staying right here with me. I've got you. You'll never have to go back to that horrible place. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"Not gonna leave me, right?" Jim asked, clinching his fists tighter as if to stop Leonard from going away.

Leonard stroked Jimmy's cheek, "Never, baby. I'll always stay with you."

"I love you, Bones." Jimmy mumbled.

"I love you too, Jimmy Bear." Leonard kissed Jimmy's forehead and hugged the little boy a little bit tighter, "Now, try to get some more sleep. We can stay home from school tomorrow if you want."

Leonard knew that the chances of Jim waking up regressed were slim, and mister James 'perfect grades' Kirk wouldn't skip class for anything, but it was worth suggesting. The promise of staying home with Leonard seemed to please Jimmy.

Jimmy nodded, laying his head on Leonard's chest. Leonard waited, rubbing Jimmy's back until the little boy fell asleep. He wasn't ever going to let anything like that happen to his little boy again. He couldn't. He had to protect him. When Jimmy's breathing began to slow and his body relaxed, only then did Leonard close his eyes.

Leonard woke a few hours late to an empty bed. He glanced over at Jim's bed. Not made, but still empty like the night before. It didn't take him long to find his roommate. Jim was sitting at the table in the small kitchen area of their dorm, already dressed for his classes, drinking a cup of coffee.

"No breakfast?" Leonard asked.

"Not hungry." Jim said.

Of course not. Jim is never hungry after a nightmare. Finally after all this time Leonard was starting to piece together why exactly that was.

Leonard sighed and sat down across from the younger man, "Jim, I need to talk to you about something important."

"What is it Bones?" Jim asked.

Bones took a deep breath, deciding to just get it out, not beat around the bush, "Last night, after your nightmare, you mentioned something about Tarsus." The younger man froze, "Jim, were you on Tarsus IV? You know during the massacre?"

Jim set down his cup, he folded his hands in his lap and stared down at them, "I should've told you sooner but, I don't know. I guess I was scared you would look at me different."

"You didn't have to tell me. This is something personal." Leonard said, Jim glanced up, only for a second, "I don't want you to feel pressured to tell me about every trauma you've ever had. But I want you to know that if you ever do want to talk about it I'm hear to listen and I don't judge."

Jim chuckled, "You do judge. It's one of your talents."

"But I won't judge you for anything that happened to you there. You know I won't." Leonard sighed, "This doesn't change how I see you. You're still my friend, and I don't want this to change that.

"Thanks, Bones." Jim smiled a little.

"You know I love you, kid, right?" Leonard suddenly asked, catching the other man off guard, "I just want what's best for you."

"Yeah, I love you too." Jim said, he bit his lip, a hint of anxiety rising in his chest, "What are you trying to get at? You're not trying to send me to therapy are you? Bones, I-"

"No, Jim, that's not my decision. I just..." Leonard sighed, he drug his fingers through his hair, trying to figure out what to say, "You don't technically have a caregiver yet, not legally. Neither of your parents are actually caregivers, and well, after last night I realized I really don't want anything to happen to you, kid." 

"Bones?"

"I think I want you to be my little." Leonard said.

Jim smiled, laughing the slightest bit, "I thought I already was."

"What?" 

"You've been taking care of me every time I've regressed since you got here." Jim admitted, "I've talked to my parents about it a few times. I just assumed you weren't ready yet, so I never mentioned it."

Leonard smiled, "Well, then we'd better call your parents, because once they're planetside again we've got some paperwork to sign."