Engine room crew members shared glances as they heard their lead engineer's cough echo through the large inner ship. Scotty has been sick for three days now and everyone could tell he wasn't getting any better. He refused help from Bones, saying "no one can run this ship like I can without blowing something up."

No one argued with him there. Partly because no one tells Scotty what to do and partly because you weren't on the ship currently. You were playing ambassador on a space station and despite the Enterprise heading there to pick you up, it wasn't fast enough for the crew. Scotty was getting on everyone's nerves. Mainly Bones' because he was worried the Scotsman would spread what he has to the rest of the crew. That would not be fun.

So, here they all were, praying that they wouldn't catch what their superior officer had and praying even harder that you get here soon because the only person who had the guts to level with Scotty was you; his wife.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You adjusted your uniform as you stepped off the transporter pad. Captain Kirk greeted you, taking your hand, a large smile on his face.

"Welcome back Commander. You have no idea how glad we are that you're back."

Bones piped up behind him. "Some more than most."

You gave them a look. "Is everything alright, Captain?"

Kirk nodded for you to follow him as he spoke, leading you through the hall. "It seems as though your husband-"

You interrupted him, placing your face in your hand. "Has he been defying your orders again? I told him, the only way he got away with acting out last time was that he ended up helping-"

Kirk chuckled. "No, (Y/n), not exactly. He has been sick and won't take orders to rest. Bones is at his wit's end getting that man to not spread whatever he has."

You shook your head. "I am so sorry Captain. Excuse me as I go quorenteen my husband." You bowed to the captian be for stomping off in the direction of the engine room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Scotty wiped his nose on his sleeve as he looked over the specs of some newly upgraded power couplings. He let out a rattling cough into his elbow then shook his head, blinking. His head felt heavy and his eyes itched. He was thankful you were off on assignment. If not he could practically hear you say:

"MONTGUMRY SCOTT!"

Scotty jumped, nearly dropping his PADD. Apparently, he thought too hard because you actually showed up. He winced as he turned around, spotting his lovely wife making swift work of the distance between them. You looked as excited to see him as he felt.

"Do you want to die?! I have half a mind to skip the part where you slowly die of your illness and send you out into a cold stary grave."

Scotty sniffed, smiling wide. He walked down some steps to meet you, his arms opened wide. "If it isn't by wonderfully, beautiful wife."

You stepped up to him and he tried to hug you but you side-stepped him whacking him upside his head. He let out an annoyed "hey" and rubbed the back of his head. You rolled your eyes. 

"If it isn't my stupidly sick husband." You crossed your arms and shook your head. "I leave you alone for one mission and you decide to contract the plague. Not only that but you refuse to get help." You sighed, looking at him for an explanation.

Scotty shrugged, sniffing again. "You know how it is, love. No one can run this ship like I can." He started to cough, staggering a bit.

You reached forward and took his arm, holding him steady. You let yourself smile as you felt his forehead for a temperature. He was burning up.

"Yes, that is true. But you're no help when you're spreading your disease and making the rest of your crew look and feel like death." You stroked some of his damp hair back, concern bubbling inside you. "And I'm not too keen having my husband drop dead."

Scotty chuckled weakly, coughed then leaned on you a bit more. "Save your breath woman, I'm not dying."

You shook your head and smirked. "Not yet at least."

You tossed one of his arms over your shoulder as you held his waist, keeping him up as you walked out of the engine room. As soon as the doors shut behind you two, you heard the engine room erupt into claps and loud 'thank you's. You laughed and Scotty chuckled as you hobbled away with him to the med bay.

"Perhaps I was a wee bit suborn."

You looked at him, taking in his sick face. "Mmm, just a bit. Come on, lets put the doctor's mind to rest and you to bed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You wrung out a wet rag, Scotty's coughs coming from your shared bedroom. You held the rag and grabbed him a glass of cold water before making your way to the room. You placed the cup on the nightstand and sat down on the side of the bed.

"How are you feeling?" You cooed as you placed the damp rag on this warm forehead.

Scotty tried to sit up but his head throbbed painfully making him blink hard. You reached up and helped him lay back down to rest. He opened his mouth but instead of words coming out a really hard cough did. You rubbed his back and knit your brows. Bones said Scotty was going through the worst of it. But that didn't make you feel any easier about how he looked or sounded.

You reached up and started to stroke his brow tenderly. "Not so well, I take it."

Scotty shook his head. "I'm afraid not." He closed his eyes against your touch. "This is a bloody drag. You'll see the Captain will beg for me to get back to work."

You laughed to yourself, smiling slightly. "Oh yes, of course, he will. I'll let you know the moment he calls for you?" You stood and looked around the room, wiping your hands on your dress. "I have the rest of the day off, so I will be in the office of you need me."

Without hearing a reply, you turned to leave but as you pass the bed, Scotty reached out and grasped your hand weakly.

"You think you could stay a wee bit longer?" He stroked his thumb across the back of your hand.

You gave him a sweet smile and nodded. "Of course dear. But you need to promise to keep your germs to yourself."

Scotty chuckled. "You know how I hate sharing."

Gently, you placed yourself on the other side of him, making sure to give him enough space. You took his hand with one hand as you placed your other under your head, facing him. The two of you laid there, the sound of Scotty's labored breathing filling the room. You could tell he wasn't asleep yet and that he was uncomfortable.

You gently squeezed his hand. "Do you want me to call for Bones? He can give you another seditive hypo."

Scotty, with his eye still closed, he chuckled, ending with a bit of a cough. "And have that grumpy warden come peer into my prison? No thanks. I prefer your company to his."

You let out a gentle laugh, scooting a bit closer to him. "And do I dare guess why?"

Scotty smirked and turned his head slightly to you with one eye cracked open. "Well, first off you smell better than he does."You smiled wide and laughed. He continued. "And you do have a nice smile. I missed it while you were gone."

You couldn't help but smile wider, your cheeks warming. "Only my smile?"

Scotty closed his eyes, letting out a breath. "Oh no. I missed much more than your smile. " He yawned and you could tell he was starting to drift off but he gave you a sweet smile.

Your heart warmed and he squeezed your hand back before letting out a small cough. You reached up Even sick and in pain he made you laugh and feel loved. You ached seeing him so sick but all you could do was help make sure he got enough rest. Besides, he brought this upon himself, not seeing Bones sooner.

You watched your husband as he slipped into a restless sleep. You thought about getting up to get some work done but you found you liked being close to him, even if you could get sick. You moved a bit closer to him, resting your head on his shoulder. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, relaxing in the closeness of your husband.

You missed him greatly but even when you weren't on long diplomatic missions, Scotty was always busy. So at night, you took the time to study him, remember his face, his touch, his smell. Lost in your thoughts, you subconsciously wrapped your arm around his middle, startling him awake. He opened his eyes a bit and took a deep shuttering breath.

"I'm sorry dear. Try to go back to sleep," you whispered as you tried to leave his side so he could get some much-needed sleep.

But your husband had another idea. He reached over and pulled you to him as he moved to hi side. He slipped one arm under you and around your waist as his other arm laid atop your waist as he gently played with a bit of your hair. You were hesitant at first but he was stronger than you, even with a cold, and you found you missed being in his arms far more than you let yourself believe. You snuggled into his chest, relieved to feel his fever was going down. You tucked your head under his chin and listened to his heartbeat as hand played with your hair and made nonsense shapes on your back.

You felt him place a kiss on the top of your head. "Don't be sorry, lass. I can feel myself getting better already. Your touch could heal me from anything."

You smirked and kissed his neck where you could reach. "You're delusional," you whispered with a smirk.

He chuckled. "I guess we could bring the good doctor in here and see how I fair with him in your place." He coughed.

You giggled at the mental image he presented. "He would be appalled to learn you snore."

The both of you laughed lightly before relaxing in each other's arms again. Scotty moved a bit and kissed your cheek before holding you close again. "I love you," he whispered.

You smiled. "I love you too."