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The Captain of the Enterprise settled into his seat on the bridge and slowly scanned his crew. Every one of them had given him some kind of greeting which he returned with a smile, a nod, and a greeting of his own.
But for some inexplicable reason, he simply could never resist stopping behind the navigator’s station to ruffle Chekov’s gleaming curls. It was like a good luck charm. Like touching a mascot before an exam or a sporting event.
“Captain,” Chekov would say each and every time, “am too old for such -- cuteness!” Then he would give a big sigh. “Am eighteen soon. Please to stop foolishness. Sir.”
Kirk would laugh, and consider all was well on the Enterprise.
They were several weeks into their first five-year mission when Uhura went to the Captain after their shift. “I’d like to speak to you privately, Sir.”
“Okay, sure. Uh, my ready room?”
Uhura nodded and followed him off the bridge. She began speaking as soon as the door closed. “You’ve got to stop this ’thing’ you’ve got going on with Pavel. You treat him like a puppy, always petting him. Everyone notices. It’s like you not letting him go on Away Missions.
“And it’s not fair to him. He may be young, but he‘s Starfleet and a valuable member of the crew. And you’re his superior. You know very well he would never make any kind of real complaint for that reason alone. Not to mention it certainly seems like he has a bit of a crush on you.”
“Whoa, whoa, Uhura!” Kirk could feel the embarrassed flush on his face. He got up and paced around the office. All the while he kept throwing little glances at his Communications Officer as he thought of exactly what to say. Finally he stopped and turned towards the woman.
“There’s nothing between me and Chekov. He’s a kid. I don’t do children or virgins. And have you ever known me to date, much less have sex with anyone on the Enterprise?”
Uhura gave him a look of sudden realization, and shook her head.
“Right. Okay, thanks for bringing this to my attention, Lieutenant,” Kirk said with a curt nod of dismissal. “I, ah, I promise to treat Chekov in a more adult fashion from now on.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“No, thank you, Uhura, for bringing this to my attention.”
* * * * * * * * * *
“Pavel! I just got the rota for the next Away Mission. We’re going to Puti’on III!” Sulu sat himself in the chair across from the ensign at the dining table. “Oh, come on, this is a plum assignment. It’s like being assigned to Tahiti on Earth. Or getting shore leave on Risa. Cheer up!”
“Is no reason for cheering, Sulu. Is boring. Only get to go on boring missions. Escort Admiral. Escort Ambassador. Now it is escort vaccine. I only get to go because Spock and Dr. McCoy also go. They will take care of me.”
The teenaged ensign sighed with gusto and tossed his fork onto the table and pushed his meal aside.
“Hey, I’m going too, and all I know is that I’m planning on hitting a beach or two while we’re there,” Sulu said with a shrug. “Come on, Pavel, give it a break. You’ve been acting weird ever since the Captain stopped the head rubs.”
Sulu gave his younger friend a sharp glance, and was about to say more.
“Nyet. Nyet.” Pavel shook his head. “Is just -- I think he thinks me a child still. I am Navigator! Graduate Starfleet. Am genius!
“I have much to prove,” the teenager added in a quieter voice.
“You will, Pavel, you will,” Sulu assured him. You have all the time in the world.”
* * * * * * * * * *
“Don’t worry Bones! You’ll love the Puti’oni, Bones! Friendly aliens, Bones!
“Too bad nobody told the Klingons!” Dr. McCoy literally shoved Captain Kirk off the transporter pad to make way for the two security men to carry Ensign Chekov away. The badly broken and burned body barely looked human, and Kirk barely kept from gagging.
Scotty, who counted himself a good friend of the teenager had tears in his eyes as did his assistant.
“He’ll be well, our lad. The good doctor will see to him, Captain.”
Kirk nodded, unable to speak at that moment, as he hurried to Sickbay. All along the corridors and near the turbo lifts the crew had gathered, waiting for news of the beloved ensign.
The Captain was stopped outside Sickbay before he could even step foot inside. “He’s in surgery, Captain. Dr. McCoy…” Nurse Chapel stopped to take a breath, and looked the captain in the eye. “The chances will be better if he makes it twenty-four hours.”
“If.” Kirk nodded and turned to leave. “Tell Chekov I’ll see him tomorrow,” he said quietly.
The next day was excruciating for the whole crew. The successful surgery was followed by a devastating relapse. It was almost as if the ship were in mourning for the ensuing three days.
On the fourth day, Dr. McCoy walked into the mess to make the announcement that Chekov was awake. And would undoubtedly make a complete recovery.
“He can have visitors. One at a time. But no shenanigans, y’hear? That means you, Riley, Sulu!”
After the laughter died down, McCoy went over to sit across from the Captain. “Look, Jim, I have something I have to tell you. Something I think you need to know.”
Whatever it was, Kirk knew it was serious just by the grave look on his CMO’s face. “Bones? Is it Chekov? I thought you said he would be okay?”
“It’s about Chekov, yes. And he’s okay. Just hold on there, damnit, Jim!
“Look, I had to transfuse the kid. He’s got a pretty rare blood type so I had to synthesize several times.” Bones closed his eyes as if in deep thought before continuing.
“After it was all over, Jim, I kept thinking something was off. So I did some checking up.
“Did you know you and Chekov have the same blood type?”
“No. But what does that have to do with anything?”
“It’s AB neg, which is pretty rare. But there are some additional antigen factors…” McCoy shook his head. “There were a lot of similarities. Too many for coincidence. So I did a DNA comparison.
“Damnit, Jim, I’m a doctor, not a genealogist! Pavel is your half-brother!”
End