A Kestrel for a Star (Star Trek fanfiction)

Chapter 23

Kez felt conflicted. Half of her was being pulled off the bridge and into the lift with Spock, to comfort her friend, however it was Kirk that needed her attention most.

He sat up with her help, her hand cupped under his nose to catch the blood that dripped down from his left nostril. He met her eyes and flashed her a cocky smile. At least he had all his teeth.

"That wasn't what I expected you to do." Kez hissed, as she hauled him to his feet and helped to keep his steady.

McCoy stalked over and handed her a wad of tissue for the pool of blood in her hand then fixed his stern eyes on Kirk, "Congratulations, Jim. Now we've got no captain and no goddamn first officer to replace him."

Kirk patted McCoy on the shoulder, "Yeah, we do," he didn't hesitate in moving over to the chair and sitting down haphazardly. He winced as the top of the backrest pushed into a bruise that was forming on his shoulder blade.

"You have got to be kidding me." McCoy sounded like he had reached the end of his patience.

Sulu cleared his throat, "Pike made Kirk first officer before he left the ship"

Kes confirmed this, moving over to Kirk's side and handing him the rest of the blood-stained tissue, "I think I should retrain as a nurse."

"By the end of this mission, there will probably be vacancies," McCoy grumbled, waving a medical analyser over Kirk to make sure no bones had been broken in the fight.

Kirk touched Kez's hand lightly, "I'm fine, Stibs. You should go see Spock."

He watched her pull in a long, deep breath before nodding. She looked exhausted, dark circles forming under her deep brown eyes. Even the little flecks of silver that speckled her iris' looked more like a dull grey. He turned her hands over, looking at the blood that had dried in the creases in her palm. His blood.

She pulled her hand back and stood up, wiping them down the front of her stained and worn, red uniform. She nodded and turned to leave, walking slowly but resuming an admirable and strong body language and straight back. A force to be reckoned with.

She nodded at Uhura as she left.

"You'll be the death of that girl, you know," McCoy grumbled, still waving the medical device around Kirk's face, like an annoying fly.

Kirk sighed, he wasn't happy with all the situations Kez had been dragged into somehow, but the more he worried, the more dangerous the situations she got herself into seemed to be.

"I didn't ask her to port after me into the middle of nowhere, did I?" Kirk responded, waiting for McCoy to give him the all-clear.

"Love is a dangerous game," McCoy said under his breath, in a way he thought maybe Kirk wouldn't hear. Kirk did hear it though, and it felt like an ice knife in his chest.

He shook it off though and by means of distraction, he turned to Chekov, "Open a ship wide channel. We're going after Nero."