~ By Laura Cynthia Chambers
McCoy awoke with a snort. Eyes popping open, he squinted and rubbed the back of his neck, sore from lying on the couch. “Computer, what fool time is it?” he mumbled.
The computer didn’t respond.
McCoy gingerly got to his feet, stretching. “Oh…” He pressed a hand to the small of his back. “That does it. I am getting too old for this couch.”
A creak made him freeze. “That didn’t come from me…” Stiffly moving towards the door of his office, his gait sped up and became more fluid.
He surveyed sickbay, his domain. Everything was as it should be. Treatment beds were nicely made up with clean sheets, the vital sign displays had been freshly wiped down…
And the cabinet door hung open.
He frowned. “Did I leave that-“ McCoy hurried over to the cabinet, pushing lightly on the door. It swung out of the way with ease. He saw an empty space on one of the shelves, and looked briefly before spying the medicine bottle on the table, still uncapped.
He picked it up, reading the label. “’Salemboline’…now I know I haven’t used that today.” Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the light spilling from Albix’s room. Setting the bottle down, he headed in that direction.
As he entered the room, he stopped in his tracks, momentarily caught off-guard by what he saw. Nurse Sonya Courtney stood poised over a sleeping Albix, a hypospray in her hand. “Nurse?”
She looked up at him, fear and calm warring for dominance. “Shhh,” she hushed McCoy. “Once I’ve sedated the creature, call security. I think it may be rabid.” She brought the hypo down towards the Agapean’s neck.
“No!” In a flash, McCoy was by her side, trying to wrestle the hypospray from her hand. She struggled against him, stronger than he thought she’d be. The hypo came dangerously close to his own neck, and he ducked out of the way. Courtney pushed past him and thrust the hypo towards Albix again. McCoy reached out and grabbed her arm, twisting her wrist until her grip on the device loosened. “Oh!” she cried out, gasping.
Albix’s eyes twitched as he turned over and eased up slowly, still half-asleep. “Wha-“ He blinked twice, taking in the scene before him. Quickly, he straightened up against the headboard, squishing the pillow beneath his weight as he did so.
McCoy pinned Courtney against the wall with one hand, arms crossed behind her back, kicking the hypo under the bed as he did so. He reached for the comm switch on the wall with the other hand. “Security!” he yelled. “I need help in sickbay!”
Courtney angled her head towards the comm unit. “Yes! Come quickly! Hurry!” She turned to McCoy. “Let me go, Doctor! I have to sedate it first! They’re not safe if I don’t!!” she pleaded, her face reddening as she writhed in his arms, trying to free herself.
McCoy turned the switch off and grabbed Courtney’s shoulders with both hands, turning her around to face him. He gave her a good hard shake. “Nurse! Control yourself! That is not a creature; he’s my patient! Look at him!” McCoy turned her forcibly around and pointed at a still cowering Albix, eyes darting between McCoy and the nurse.
Crying out in fear again, she buried her face in McCoy’s chest, grabbing his shirt with her fists. “Don’t let it bite me! Please, don’t let it bite me!” she wailed.
McCoy frowned as it dawned on him. “Another one?”
Two security officers ran into the room. “Put her in medical restraints. I’ll be there in a second to sedate her. After that, I want one of you outside this room. Don’t let anybody but me in,” McCoy ordered, wagging his finger.
“Yes, sir,” one of the men answered. They removed the trembling nurse from his arms gently.
She fought them both, but they only tightened their firm grip on her. Her frightened eyes still fixed on the bed where Albix now slumped, breathing rapidly. “THE CREATURE!! THE CREATURE!” Courtney screamed as they dragged her away.
McCoy rounded the bed, stopping to place a hand on Albix’s shoulder. “Sorry about that,” he drawled. “You try to get some rest now, all right?” Albix nodded and slid down under the covers, still uneasy. After a cursory glance at his vital signs, which were improving, McCoy leaned on the edge of the bed and bent over, picking up the hypospray. He stood again and moved toward the door, turning out the lights.
McCoy paused in the doorway, his gaze darting between Albix and the hypo, still trying to make sense of what had just happened.