Nothing Will Ever Be the Same

Chapter 8

He popped his head in. "Can I help you?" he mocked with a grin on his face. You stared a hole into his head before he gave up and undid the straps holding your upper body, stepping aside. You sat up and undid the straps holding your legs down. Locating a wheelchair, right outside of the curtains enclosing the biobed, you hopped off the bed. "What are you doing?" Bones asked. "My job." you said as you reached the wheelchair. Bones grabbed the handles, and you couldn't go anywhere. "Let me go!" you yelled at him, trying to get away. He held on tighter and said "No. I can't do that." You looked back at him and asked "Why not?" "Because I can't let you get hurt again!" he said, and something in his voice broke.

You stopped struggling and let him do whatever he was doing. Bones pushed you into someone's room and turned you to face the door. "You are going to stay here. And I will find you if you leave." he threatened. "OK." you said. He stopped dead cold. "OK?" he asked. "Yeah. I'll stay here." you promised. You could tell he was confused, relieved, and a bit scared. Before he left, you said "Wait, come here." And he did. Without protest. You wheeled over to the bed and said "Sit down." He did as he was instructed. You took his face in your hands and tilted his head to the left.

He had a gash on his face, but he didn't take care if it. "Why did you let this go? You should have taken care of it." you said as you wheeled out of the room and to Medbay. "Where are you going now?" Bones asked you. "To Medbay. And you're coming with me." you said. "Why? There's nothing wrong with me." You stared at him and said "Just come with me. Please." You could tell he was frightened, but he went with you.

Upon arriving at Medbay, you gestured to a biobed and said "Take a seat." He did so obediently. Weird. You wheeled around getting everything you needed to fix his cut. Then you stood up, leaned against the bed with your hip, and started to clean it up. When you touched it, Bones flinched. "Did that hurt?" you asked him. He lied and said "No. Not really." You pursed your lips and said "Lay down." "Why?" he asked. "Because I said so." you said and you called to another nurse to get an x-ray machine.

When you got the x-rays back, there were no broken bones or fractures. You gave him 3 stitches and antibiotics. After that, he let you stay in Medbay. But only if you stayed on a biobed and treated crewmen that could stand. When you made this deal, you made sure to include that you two eventually took a break.

After most of the minor injuries were taken care of and the major injuries were being treated, Bones took you back the room where he took you before. "Who's room is this?" you asked him. He cleared his throat and said "It's my room." You looked back at him and his face was red. You stifled a giggle as he opened the door. You felt a throbbing pain in your head. You touched where it hurt and yelped in surprise. Bones was instantly at your side and asked "What's wrong? What happened?" You pulled your fingers away and there was blood on the tips. "I think I might have split the skin when I hit my head on the wall." you said. "OK. Let me have a look." he said, and wheeled you into the room. Bones then picked you up and put you on the bed. "Lay down." he said as he got a medical scanner and tricorder.

When you lied down, you realized how tired you really were. You closed your eyes and you heard Bones said "Don't go to sleep. Sit up." You did, and asked "Can I go to sleep when your done?" "Sure." he responded. "Good." you said, and you yawned. You looked at him, and he looked tired; like he hasn't slept in a week. You looked down at the tricorder in his hands, and they were shaking. You reached over, took the tricorder out of his hands, and placed it on the table next to the bed. He was about to protest, but he looked at your face and stopped.

He climbed into the bed and lied down on his side, facing you. You did the same, facing him. He fell asleep that way; looking into your eyes. Seeing he was sound asleep, you picked up the tricorder and finished your exam. No concussion, no fractures, no bleeding. Good. Now you can sleep easy. You got under the blanket, got comfy, and drifted off to sleep, looking at Bones peaceful face.

You woke up about 20 minutes later screaming. Nightmares. You were sitting up, and you looked over to see Bones starting to wake up. You started to cry, so Bones got under the blanket next to you, wrapped you in a warm embrace, and pulled you to his chest. You calmed down about 2 minutes later; faster than ever before. You thought it was because you were somewhere new, but deep down, you knew it was because of Bones.

You both eventually lied back down. He was still holding you, and you didn't protest. You both fell asleep to the sound of the ship's engines humming and each other one's steady breathing.

You didn't have any more nightmares after that. Now you realized it was because if him. He was your knight in shining armor, or more like a country doctor with a hypo. You regretted letting him go; everyday without him was less like a dream and more like a nightmare.

You woke up to an empty bed, no country doctor with a hypo, to calm you when the demons in your head got the better of you. And you knew how Bones felt when you left him. You felt defeated. Abandoned. Unloved. Unimportant. Alone.

Then your communicator beeped. A message from Bones. "Don't worry. I'll be back soon." That was all you needed to stop the feeling. It made you feel loved that he would take the time to message you.

You needed to get back to Medbay to take care of the rest of the crew members. The wheelchair was gone. There were no crutches. Seeing no way around it, you got up and hobbled to the door. You poked your head out to see if Bones was out there. Nope. You limped to Medbay. Once you were there and got inside, two nurses and Bones came running in. With Captain Pike!