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Backround (to make the story make more sense.)
Jim and Gaila are together, on the Enterprise
Pike comes onboard during a mission
Jim gets badly injured
There you have it
As ranking officer, Admiral Christopher Pike had command of the Enterprise on their one and a half week journey back to earth.
The mission he had been overseeing had ended in disaster, unsurprisingly putting the unluckiest man he had ever met in critical condition.
Which was why he was waiting in CMO McCoy’s office as the doctor finished up his rounds.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Leonard had finally reached the screened-off biobed of his most regular patient. Dumb kid was still awake, but Bones had a feeling the reason was probably the teary-eyed redhead sitting next to him.
“Don’t worry so much, Gaila, I’ve pulled through worse. Right Bones?” Jim’s words were slurred slightly with fatigue (considering the kid was half asleep)
Bones ignored him and continued to check his vitals.
“I know Jim,” She sighed. “it’s just that it’s always you-“
“It is not always me-“ Bones grunted a laugh at that and Jim glared.
“-and every time something happens I worry that maybe this is the time that you won’t pull through and it’s terrifying.”
Jim was silent for a moment (and wasn’t that a god damn blessing) and for a moment McCoy worried if he was intruding, but it was his sickbay and he could be where he pleased.
“Do you love me?” Jim asked suddenly, an unreadable expression on his face.
Gaila cocked her head, confused. “Of course.”
He grinned brightly. “Then marry me.”
Gaila and Leonard stopped and stared at their questionably sane captain.
He seemed confused by their confusion. “I mean, I’d attempt to get down on one knee but Bones’d have an aneurysm.”
Gaila turned her shocked expression to the good doctor. “How much pain killer did you give him, Len?”
He shook his head and leaned in to flash a light into his friends eyes. “He definitely shouldn’t be this out of it.”
“God dammit Bones!” Jim shoved his hand away, blinking. “I’m not high, you guys! Gaila, you’re right. I don’t know when my lucky streak will end, so why wait? I haven’t got any time to lose, and I want to spend all of it with you.”
Bones was still hung up on the use of “lucky streak” in that sentence.
Gaila was just hung up. “I-you’re serious?-I mean-“
Jim chuckled. “All you have to say is yes.”
She glared at him and grabbed his hospital gown by the collar, pulling him up for a kiss.
Just as Bones was starting to get seriously uncomfortable as well as worried about lack of oxygen, she pulled away. She rested her forehead on his and whispered, “Does that answer your question?”
Jim chuckled and met her lips again, pulling her back down with him onto the biobed.
Bones was very alarmed at where this was going. “Hey! No! None of that! Look, I’m very happy for you and all, but no way. Not in my sickbay, kid. Especially not in your condition you moron. And now I’m leaving the privacy curtain open, cause I don’t trust either of you.”
Leonard got out of there, having had enough awkward for a day.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Hello, Admiral” McCoy sighed as he made his way to his office desk, dropping wearily into the chair.
“Look, Leonard, this isn’t formal. I just want to know how Jim’s doing.” Chris took a seat opposite the doctor.
Bones sighed again and rested his head on his palms. “It doesn’t look good, Chris. He can put on a smile and act fine all he wants but this time there’s just no telling. And there’s nothing else I can do. He’s strong and if anyone can fight through the impossible it’s him, but there’s only so many miracles the human body can survive."
They both looked out to where they could now see the blond haired blue eyed moron of a genius, laughing and smiling and stealing kisses from a delighted Gaila.
“He asked her to marry him.” McCoy shared.
Pike grinned, pleased at the news. “Good for him. They deserve it.”
“That’s the thing. They do deserve it. Jim deserves to be happy for once, but for once I can’t guarantee he will be."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Oh! I’m sorry, admiral!” Gaila exclaimed when she bumped into him leaving the medbay, her bright smile still firmly in place.
He waved his hand dismissively. “It’s no problem. How’s Jim?” He glanced over to where his young prodigy seemed to be resting.
Gaila’s smile dropped. “Leonard doesn’t think he’ll be alright, does he?”
Chris glanced back down at her, surprised. “What makes you say that?”
“I can see it all over your face. I could see it all over Leonard’s face. I just didn’t want to believe it. He seems completely fine- “ She stopped and looked up at him, eyes watery but determined.
“You’ve taken on the duties of captain since you’re the ranking officer, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Marry us?”
Chris was startled. “Do you really think now is the best time?”
She nodded fiercely. “If he… if something goes wrong, I want him to be happy for as long as possible.You know, give him something to live for.. And also…I just really don’t want to wait” She smiled again.
And how could he say no?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Gaila shook Jim awake as she and Pike took seats opposite each other.
“Get up, Jim. We’re getting married.”
Jim groaned and rolled over, tugging a pillow over his face. “Don’t I get any say in this?” He complained, voice muffled.
“You had your say, when you asked me.” Gaila rolled her eyes.
“But I didn’t say now.” Jim whined like a petulant child, and now Chris rolled his eyes.
“Yeah well I say now, so get up. You’re making yourself look childish in front of your superior.”
“My superior?” Jim tugged the pillow down and peered up at where he now noticed Pike was sitting. When he realized why the man was there, his eyes narrowed. “Traitor.”
Chris ignored him. “Since he’s likely to fall asleep at any moment, I’ll make this short. Gaila, do you, for some unknown reason, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health however rare the health may be?”
“I do.” Gaila confirmed over Jim’s whiney “You sound like Bones.”
“And Jim, do you take this woman who deserves better than you to be your lawfully wedded wife, through everything I’m supposed to list for you?”
“Mmmm.” He tried nodding, but he was kind of at a bad angle.
“Then as far as I’m concerned, you’re married. You can kiss, and all. I’ll see what I can do about rings. And Jim, son, get some rest. You look like hell.” He smiled warmly down at the man.
“What do you think I was trying-“ His response was effectively cut off by Gaila’s mouth.
“...Love you.” He sighed when she pulled away, his eyes slipping closed.
“Oh, wait, Chris.” He reached out blindly before giving up and dropping his arm. “Uhm…somewhere in my room…I think it’s in my safe… I have my mom’s old ring… Bones could *Yawn* probably find it.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Yeah, I know where the dumb thing is. Took it away from him soon as he told me about it cause I knew he’d lose it.”
Bones turned from pike to rummage through the safe in his office.
“Ah, here it is.” He handed it to the admiral. “It was the ring his father gave his mother. Says he found it in the attic one day and kept it. Oh and here, give him this.”
He handed Pike a gold wedding band. “It was mine, when I married Jocelyn. Tell him I want him to have it.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever wanted someone to get better as much as I want Jim to.” Pike admitted.
“You’re the closest thing that man has to a father. If he does make it through this, maybe he’ll finally tell you how much you mean to him.” Bones patted him on the shoulder as he left.
When Jim pulled through- because he had to, he didn’t have a choice- Pike was going to throw him and his wife the biggest goddamn wedding, just so he could make a toast to tell the kid how proud he was.