A few days went by until I finally got to the press release that Jim and Spock were so giddy about.
"A dose of radiation leading to the death of one..."
Jenny was so young. You never expect anything like this to happen to anyone. But everywhere- everything has a risk.
Just as I finished initialling and signing to document, I heard a tap on my window.
It was Cristina.
She instinctively handed me a coffee and my tablet as we walked towards the nurses' station.
"Talk to me Cristina," I said swiping from side to side.
"Baby Nathan Ollivers, born two months ago was brought into the clinic this morning, diagnostics revealed a heart aneurism pressing up against his aorta."
She tapped my screen a couple of screens to reveal scans of the baby's heart and an EKG.
"Clear my schedule - and yours too. This is going to be a long one. Have you updated the parents?"
"Not yet sir," she replied, "but I'm on it."
She hurried off.
----
I headed over to the bridge to hand back the documents to Jim.
When I walked on the bridge, I saw Jim yelling at Spock - almost viscously.
"Captain," I prompted.
"What do you want Bones!" he yelled.
I pulled him over to a corner where no one could see us.
"What's up with you Jim?" I asked as he started to calm down.
He said a few words that I didn't really listen to until I noticed that his pupils were slightly uneven.
"Jim," I asked "forgive me for this-"
I flicked the light of my pocket light in his eyes.
All of a sudden he seemed really tired and lethargic.
"Jim come down to medbay-" I said, "you're not looking so great."
"Come on Bones- I just need a coffee," he said non compliantly, as he tried to walk back to his original position.
"Take the day off - go to your quarters." I said pulling him back.
"No." he said walking away.
I really didn't want to do this but he left me no choice.
"That's an order. You can return to your post after being cleared by me."
"Thanks Bones," he said sarcastically leaving for his quarters. "Wouldn't want you to restrain me."
Uhura mouthed 'thank you' as I turned to hand the release instead to Spock, First Officer now Interim Captain.
Something is wrong with Kirk.
But just in that moment I heard my pager beep loudly disturbing the silence of the bridge.
Baby Nathan. It was 911.
