Title: Lightning & Ash Fandom: Star Trek XI Rating: PG-13 Pairing: Captain Jim Kirk/Dr.

Leonard McCoy <strike>Summary</strike> Prompt: "I like to think Jim's about to leap into terrifying danger, and Bones is standing by, watching, unable to believe what Jim's about to do." Content Advisory: Injury and tense situations referenced. All Thanks To: <lj user="elfsausage">, who <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/jim_and_bone s/366497.html">provided the plotbunny</a>, and the comm <lj comm="jim_and_bones"> for existing. <i>Disclaimer:</i> This fanwork has been created for pleasure only and not for profit. Author's Note: Another commentfic from my files. May is a crazy month for me, so it will take awhile, but I promise that one day I will again post a story longer than a thousand words. <lj-cut text=" &#39;How are they, Bones?&#39; "> "How are they, Bones?" Jim asks as he swings himself down into the cave's front alcove, but Leonard scans him carefully before answering, paying particular attention to his ENT passages. Jim puts up with it with relative good grace, standing at obedient attention and suppressing two coughs. All things considered, he hasn't inhaled that much volcanic dust; still, it's more than if he'd, oh, <i>stayed in the fucking cave</i>. Leonard dials up an expectorant to go with the anti-

inflammatory, and doesn't think he jabs Jim particularly vindictively. That "Ow!" is at least half whining, and the snapped, "<i>Report,</i> Doctor," is just plain uncalled for. Leonard crushes down his private delight in Jim's glittering glare, steps back as Jim rubs his neck, and obediently says, "Yes, Captain. Cooperton's stable and in good spirits, considering. Zukhrak's still unresponsive, though." Jim frowns, pausing mid-rub. "Huh, that's not good, is it." It's not, and Leonard's worried. "He's a big guy, sometimes they go down hard. The readings are ambiguous, he might wake up anytime." Jim just looks at him, head tilted, until Leonard goes on. "Or his brain might be starting to swell." "Fuck," Jim mouths almost soundlessly, his shoulders momentarily wilting, and Leonard's worried about him, too. "I found the shuttle," he murmurs, and it's Leonard's turn to mutter a curse. "It's only about two klicks northwest... what's left of it, anyway. And of Lieutenant Thelin." The situation's gotten pear-shaped enough to bend protocol. Leonard squeezes Jim's shoulder, and Jim doesn't shrug him off for at least ten seconds before straightening up again. "There's good news, though," he adds with a slightly brittle smile, "the eruption's

punching a hole into the atmosphere. If I go about six klicks southwest I should be able to get a signal through. Maybe eight." Leonard opens his mouth, and shuts it, and lets himself speak on the second try. "You're going back out there? Into -- <i>that?</i>" because he can't think of any curses strong enough. While Jim was gone he peeked over the cave's lip, out at the slate-gray billows pouring out of today's unexpectedly lively volcano, at the jagged twists of lightning crackling down the side of the ash column and the flames flickering in its depths. Jim went out with only a mask from the medkit to protect him, while Leonard was half-distracted with two patients and this whole exhilarating near-death experience, but a quick reconnoiter is one thing and a ten-kilometer hike in these conditions quite another. Jim nods as if it makes sense. "Let me grab a swig of water and tell Cooperton attagirl, all right? But I should go before--" "You should <i>stay</i>," Leonard insists, squeezing his fists together to keep from grabbing Jim again. "They'll find us as long as we stay put, and we're as safe here as anywhere." "Can Zukhrak wait that long?" Jim turns the full force of his gaze on Leonard, eyes blazing blue even in the dim cave. "Can Cooperton?" Leonard gapes silently, because there's nothing he can say that doesn't either

betray his patients or encourage Jim to charge back out into danger, and Jim half-grins and smacks his shoulder as he steps past to glance around the rock wall into the cave's main chamber. "Captain," Cooperton calls, her voice strained but cheerful, and Leonard turns to watch Jim wave at her. "Looking great, Lieutenant," Jim answers, and she actually laughs, despite and because her whole left side's as splinted and taped and immobilized as Leonard can manage. "Keep an eye on that big lug for us for another minute, okay?" Her assent drifts around the corner as Jim turns back to Leonard, still smiling like this is an everyday field trip and not an everyday disaster; he shrugs and brushes his hands down Leonard's shoulders, almost quickly enough to be deniable if anyone were watching. No one's watching, though, they're the only two still standing. Leonard tries to say something useful or professional or otherwise sensible, and only chokes out, "Jim." "I'll be back before you know it," Jim says brightly, so confidently that something inside Leonard actually eases, reassured. Which means he's shocked down to his toes when Jim leans in right through protocol and kisses him hard enough to crackle like a lightning strike, drinking down Leonard's gasp and replacing it

with a warmly exchanged breath and a sweet swipe of tongue. Then Jim steps away, smirking under bright worried eyes, and reaches up to the overhang to pull himself up. Before Leonard can even find the voice to remind him to have some water, Jim's gone.