Title: McCoy
Author: Istannor 
Series : TOS
Part: 1/1
Rating: [PG13]
Summary: McCoy becomes part of the team

Disclaimer: These are the characters of Paramount and
Viacom, they own them I only check 'em out from the library.
I promise to bring 'em back, when they promise to treat them
with respect.



					McCoy




Doctor Piper waited in the office of the base commander for
his replacement. Leonard McCoy was joining the Enterprise as
its new CMO. They had planned to meet away from the ship,
first. Piper had some things he needed to tell McCoy, before
Leonard had a chance to meet the Captain, and the ship's
Vulcan First Officer. They were very important things. Piper
had requested that McCoy be his replacement, because McCoy
had a reputation for being a brilliant, slightly erratic,
physician and scientist. He also had the reputation of being
argumentative, confrontational, and lacking in respect for
Starfleet protocol. McCoy drank too damn much, and talked
too damn much; he was a perfect choice for the Enterprise.

The imaginative, passionate, brilliant, Captain of the
Enterprise needed someone just like that, in Piper's
opinion. Kirk needed someone to fight with, argue with, to
respect. McCoy would give Kirk a run for his money. Spock,
what Spock needed, Piper honestly hadn't figured out. The
Vulcan had become more rigidly logical and less animated,
over the years he had been on the Enterprise, under Pike. He
had begun to retreat from any semblance of emotions, into
Vulcan stoicism. Kirk joining the ship, had been the
catalyst for yet another change for the Vulcan. Piper had
seen Spock watching his Captain with  looks that even Piper
couldn't interpret. Maybe McCoy would have more luck.

"Hey, Pipe. How the hell are ya?" Piper was shaken out of
his reverie by the rough southern drawl of Leonard McCoy. He
turned to see a big, crooked smile on the craggy face of the
new CMO. Startling blue eyes peered out from below
non-regulation length, coal-black hair. 

"Hey yourself, Lenny. You're late."

"Yeah, commercial transports are a pain in the butt. Where
can we go and get a nice drink of bourbon? You're a vodka
man, if memory serves me right."

"Come on, I know just the place." Piper led McCoy through
the warren of  corridors that comprised Starbase twelve,
until he found the spot he was looking for. It was a quiet
bar that few Starfleet crewmembers ever visited. They would
be able to talk out of the way of noisy eyes and ears. They
got seated and chatted about old times, and Starfleet
hassles, while they waited on their drinks. After McCoy took
his first sip, Piper felt it was time to get down to
business. 

"Lenny, I wanted to have a very private, and off the record,
chat with you about Kirk and Spock, before you hit the ship.
You know Kirk from before, right?"

"Yeah , I met him when he was recovering from the attack on
his ship. You know the one I'm talking about, when Garrovick
got killed, along with half of the crew. Anyway, Kirk blamed
himself for it all, even though his actions actually saved
every other person that survived. I thought the kid was
brilliant, real intense, and a little scary at the time. I
should've known he'd make Captain at some obscene age."

"Do you like him?" 

"He seems okay, at least what I've seen of him, and his
Psyche profile, was consistent with what I've seen and
heard. He's stubborn as hell, but he needs that to survive.
He doesn't have any real hang-ups or prejudices. The guy
doesn't drink much and never uses any drugs. As for his
off-duty life, I know he has a reputation as being more than
a little active, but the women seem to like it, and he's
never abusive on any level. All in all, his profile looks
like he's a picture perfect Starship Captain: brilliant,
decisive, deadly and without fear.  He's the saint of
Starfleet, at least that's what they want you to think."

"Well, what I'm going to tell you is not on his psyche
profile. It isn't anywhere in hard copy. Do you understand
me?"

"Completely off the record?"

"Completely."

"Why?"

"Because, he will deny it ever happened, to protect the
memory and the record of his First Officer, and his best
friend. You know he killed the man himself ?"

"I heard about it, horrible."

"You have no idea  just how horrible, Lenny. Can I tell you
this?" Translation, are you going to continue to keep this
private, and off the record?

"Is he worth it? What you are asking me to do, could put my
own career in jeopardy. You know, I haven't met a military
man yet, that was worth that."

"This kid is the best that will ever be. Yes, he is worth
all of this. You know me, Leonard; trust me."

"Damn, out of the kettle, into the flame. He better be
special. Go ahead, give it to me." Piper did. He gave McCoy
the whole, painful story. He told McCoy how an esper crazed
Gary Mitchell, had beaten and raped his captain, before Kirk
had killed him. At the end, McCoy's only response was: "I
need another drink."

They sat in brooding silence for a long time, before McCoy
finally spoke. " What about the Vulcan?"

"He's a problem. The First Officer is supposed to have his
hand on the pulse of the Captain and the morale of the ship.
Spock couldn't sense morale if it bit him in the ass. He's
so busy denying that he can feel, being super Vulcan, that
he frequently doesn't have a clue what either Kirk, or the
other Crew members are thinking. He's a tough nut to crack.
Luckily for you, I think Kirk is going to do your job for
you, in that area."

"What do you mean?"

"Kirk likes Spock, as a person, I mean. Somehow, he sees
something in him that, I,  for one, have missed. He has the
Vulcan playing chess with him, eating with him, sparring
with him, he has even invited him on Shoreleave with him."

"Did he go?

"No, but I suspect that Kirk will get his way sooner or
later. He always does. Now, the Vulcan is actively working
to anticipate his Captain's wishes. That's a first. As far
as I know, the only person Spock was ever close to was Pike.
That was a definite mentoring relationship. Pike was not a
real warm and toasty guy in his later years. He had gotten
distant and morose, before he left the ship. 

"Kirk, though that's a different matter all together. Wait
until you get a chance to see him turn on his charm. He has
this damn smile that makes you want to hug him. Lately, he
has  bounced back to his old self. He's laughing again,
joking, and teasing the crew. They love him Lenny. No, let
me change that; they adore him. They will do anything for
him. Spock has not proven any better than the rest of us, at
resisting the Kirk charm. I suspect they need each other,
more than either one of them would like to admit."

"Well," Piper stood up and slapped his thighs. "I know I've
given you a lot to digest, Lenny. They need you, a lot.
Spock is the rational one, at least outwardly, but he's
afraid of his own needs. Kirk is infinite possibilities and
indomitable will, but he's afraid his heart will lead him
down the wrong path. Somewhere in that mix, they need a
soul. That's you, Lenny. You are going to have to be their
heart and soul. What do you say?" Piper held out his hand.

McCoy took the proffered hand and stood slowly. "I say, I'm
in for one hell of a ride. At least it won't be boring. You
need to  be forewarned, Mark, from what I've heard about
Kirk, he is a true military man: controlling, egotistical,
manipulative and real aggressive. We may end up hating each
other. He may not want a heart and a soul."

"He is all of those things, Lenny, but he is a visionary,
and the finest leader I have ever seen. He won't ever turn
away something that will benefit the ship, and you can
benefit the ship. Give him a little space before you judge
him. Remember, this man is fifteen years younger than the
next oldest Starship Captain, and he earned the right to be
up there. Just do your best."

Piper waited for a response. McCoy  slowly nodded his
agreement, then, they shook hands to seal the deal. They
left the bar together to go to the ship. It was time for
McCoy to meet his charges.

"Any of them have any real medical issues?" McCoy asked as
they walked down the hall.
Piper thought about his answer for a minute. "Spock is a
Vulcan- Human hybrid. He has a lot of issues because of
that. You have to be careful with everything you do to him.
His reactions to drugs are not human, and they are not
Vulcan either. He's denser, stronger, faster, and more
sensitive to fluids and cold, than a human. Read up on
everything you can get on Vulcan's , you'll need it. They're
able to perform healing, in a self-induced trance state.
It's only useful when they're well enough to induce the
state themselves. You have to smack the mess out of him, to
bring him out of it, when he's finished.  I'll show you a
tape I made of it, so you can see what I'm talking about.
You won't find any real helpful information on hybrids,
because he's the first. Good luck with that one, you'll need
it."

"Kirk is as healthy as two horses. He recuperates from
injury like a frigging magician. He needs to, because he has
a bad habit of getting in the way of flung, shot, and
dropped objects.  Watch out for him. He hates admitting to
physical or medical problems. I saw him take us through
battle one time with  two broken ribs, a concussion,  and a
broken arm. He didn't say a thing about it until we had
finished them off. Also, the kid," Piper responded to
Lenny's repetition of the word, kid. "I'm seventy, Lenny; to
me, he's a kid. Anyway, the kid insists on hitting planets
first. He risks his neck far too much for my tastes. I think
he has some deep-seated thing about protecting his crew.
You're going to need to watch that."

"What about my staff?"

"You have fifteen techs, all great and six nurses. Christine
Chapel is your head nurse. She's a definite keeper. Your
other Doctor is M'Benga. You may have heard of him. He's the
only human to be trained at the Vulcan Science Academy. He
is one brilliant guy."

"Well, at least you gave me great staff. You should've seen
my last ship. The captain was no damn help either. He was a
real hands off kind of guy."

"Don't worry. Kirk does not tolerate lazy or inept crew. The
man is a wizard at getting the best out of people or getting
rid of them. You'll get all the support you need in that
arena."

"Alright, when do we meet the prodigy. I hate child
prodigies you know."

"Kirk hasn't been a child since he was twelve. Read his
confidential record; you have access to it now. There are
some things in there you need to know. You'll do just fine."
Piper was leading them towards the transport pad to take
them to the ship. "It looks like you won't have to wait.
There he is right now, with his shadow. They must have just
finished their meeting with the Base Commander." Piper
walked a little faster. "Hey, Jim."

Kirk turned around to wait for them. Piper could see his
face slowly break into a grin as he saw who Piper was with.
"Hey Mark, I didn't know you picked up strays." Kirk walked
up to McCoy with a wide, genuine, grin and an outstretched
hand. McCoy began to automatically respond with his own
smile and handshake. "Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, I presume.
Welcome, and we are glad to have you join us. Let me
introduce you to my First. Dr. McCoy, this is Lt. Commander
Spock , my Science Officer and my First Officer." McCoy
moved to shake hands then remembered and dropped his hand
awkwardly. Vulcan's didn't shake hands.

"Captain Kirk, it's good to see you again. As soon as I
check in, I'll be giving you a roster for everyone to come
visit me for complete checkups. Mr. Spock, I look forward to
working with you."

"Doctor." The Vulcan radiated a glacial calm. Piper
suspected that there was going to be fireworks in that
particular relationship.

Piper watched Kirk turn and smile at Spock. The Vulcan
warmed a slight bit, immediately. "Spock, I met Dr. McCoy
during one of my rehab sessions back on Earth." Kirk leaned
almost imperceptibly towards Spock and the Vulcan's stance
relaxed a bit more. "Why don't you beam up with him and give
him a tour, Spock. We can save the official stuff for later.
I'd like to spend a little time with Mark, before he
leaves."

Spock looked at Kirk and nodded solemnly. "Of course,
Captain. Doctor, if you will accompany me, I will escort you
to your quarters and show you the Enterprise."

Kirk and Piper watched them walk away together to beam up.
"Jim, I think he'll cut it."

"Who, Spock or McCoy?" He chuckled.

"Both. You have that Vulcan as loose as I've ever seen him,
you know. I think McCoy may help you a little there."

"I like Spock, a lot. He's a good man, a kind man. I don't
want McCoy harassing him. As I recall, Leonard has a tongue
that can cut through bones. He was pretty raw back then."

"You need that."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Kirk gave Piper a half smile and
ran his fingers through his hair. That was his one sign he
gave when he was embarrassed, or lost for words. "I'm going
to miss you, Mark. You've helped me through some rough
times." Kirk said quietly.

"Pay me back by becoming the best damn Starship Captain in
the history of the Federation." Piper slapped Kirk on the
back, and moved him down the hallway.

"You don't ask a lot, do you?"

"I know your potential, Jim. You just need the right people
around you. I think you have that now."

Kirk stopped and stood silently for a minute. He closed his
eyes briefly. "You never did like Gary as my First." He said
quietly.

"No, I didn't. He wasn't smart enough to keep up with you,
and he was a user. Spock can keep up with you and McCoy can
keep you whole."

Kirk grunted in response. "Spock can think rings around me.
McCoy needs to stay sober to keep me whole. I remember a lot
about him, especially him being drunk more than I liked."

"Stop selling yourself short, Jim. Spock and you think
differently; both of you are equally brilliant. As for
McCoy, he only drinks heavy when he works for an asshole.
He'll do fine, for you."

Kirk tilted his head slightly to look at Piper from the
side. "I think I've been complimented, but I'm not sure."

"Come on, Jimmy boy,  buy an old man all the drinks he
wants. I want to get rip-roaring drunk on my last day with a
legend to be."

"You must have started already. You have to be drunk, if you
think I'm going to be a legend. Come on, old man, the drinks
are on me." 


Chapter 2

Piper had been gone for two months. McCoy stood on the
bridge, next to the Captain of the Enterprise. He reviewed
the last few painful weeks in his mind.

The Enterprise's first mission, after McCoy joined the ship,
had been deep space star mapping. McCoy had watched Kirk in
action against a ship from the newly discovered, First
Federation. The massive, First Federation ship had trapped
them like fly paper. They were given 10 minutes before
certain death and McCoy had resigned himself to death. The
countdown got closer. The tension was overwhelming. Then,
Kirk dreamed up the Corbomite maneuver. McCoy still felt a
mixture of chagrin and pride. It was his fight with Kirk on
the bridge, that made Kirk think of the bluff. That crazy
bluff saved them from destruction. Who else would have
thought of lying about the Enterprise carrying a
self-destruct substance as part of the ship that would
destroy whatever destroyed the Enterprise. It proved a point
to McCoy however, that Kirk was basically a heartless,
fearless, liar.

McCoy had been too mad at Kirk, to wait to talk later. Hell,
he hadn't been sure there would be a later, and that had
scared the shit out of him. He started a fight over Kirk
pushing Lieutenant Bailey too hard.  The boy wasn't ready
for the level of responsibility that Kirk gave him, or so
McCoy felt. Kirk said he had to get ready. They argued. Kirk
used their fight to inspire him to win. Everything was grist
for his mill. McCoy admitted to himself that his new Captain
was one very cool customer. His calm made the whole bridge
patiently count down the seconds to death, without panic. He
could see it as a good trait, it just wasn't normal to
McCoy, or human. The young Bailey returned to resume his
duty station before the end. Maybe, Kirk had been right.
McCoy didn't like how he, himself,  felt. He liked how he
had acted, even less.

He had watched the Vulcan and the Captain, on that day. They
prowled the bridge. They were hunting lions. They searched
for a way out, any way out. Spock finally suggested
acknowledgement of defeat. The first real glimmer of anger
from Kirk had surfaced at Spock's surrender.  Even McCoy,
hadn't missed the slump of Spock's shoulders, in response.
McCoy thought Spock giving up, made Kirk madder than someone
trying to destroy the ship. 

They met their adversary later. The alien that had
threatened to destroy the ship, was a three foot tall,
humanoid, named Baalok. Baalok and Kirk had hit it off
marvelously. Great, McCoy thought. An alien was going to
destroy our ship, kill us all, if we had failed his damn
test. That same alien had announced how alike he and Kirk
were. Even an alien could recognize what a heartless,
manipulator Kirk could be. Worse yet, Kirk had not held a
grudge. Baalok had terrorized the ship and him, McCoy. Kirk
had accepted it without hesitation. It was going to be a
long four years, the Doctor thought. 

McCoy still felt a little guilty about it all. Kirk
apologized to him, later, for getting angry with him in
return. Shoot, Leonard thought, here I fought with the man
on his bridge during a red alert and he apologized to me for
getting angry. The man ain't right in his head. He's crazy,
that's what he is.

McCoy had looked forward to the next mission after that one.
He felt a fool now, for doing so.  It was to re-supply an
archeologist, Robert Crater and his wife, Nancy, on planet
M113. The wife had been one of McCoy's old flames. The
memory of the heat between them, still made McCoy's groin
ache.  McCoy had just wanted to look, even if he couldn't
touch. Or, so he had thought then.

Days and deaths later, McCoy stood beside Kirk on the
Bridge. The planet disappeared in the distance. Kirk was
unusually quiet and withdrawn. Spock hovered with obvious
concern. That mission had been a disaster. They lost three
crewmen to a salt craving, shape changer on M113. It had
been the last of its kind and they had killed it. No, I
killed it McCoy thought. I shouldn't lie , even to myself.
Prof. Crater was killed. His wife had been dead for years,
it turned out. Dr. McCoy had made yet another glaring
mis-step. This one had almost killed his Captain. 

Memory flooded McCoy, again. "Move aside, Bones." Jim said 

"What's going on here, Jim? He asked. 

"She's not Nancy, Bones." 

"Are you insane?" had been McCoy's response. He had been so
angry at the Captain's inhumanity. Kirk's words still echoed
in his mind. McCoy hadn't believed Kirk. He had not wanted
to believe Kirk. So, the Doctor had gotten between the
phaser and the target. The salt vampire had been Kirk's
target. The creature used McCoy's distraction to move in for
the kill. Its target was Kirk. McCoy had stood, paralyzed.
The salt creature began to kill his Captain. Still, McCoy
couldn't move. Spock had run in screaming at McCoy to kill
it. McCoy's heart had made him hesitate. The creature threw
the Vulcan aside like a rag. He smashed Spock against the
wall. Then, the creature turned to drain the remaining life
from the Captain. Kirk's scream of anguish, as his cells
burst, made McCoy fire.

Kirk's face had been closed and unreadable, to McCoy, since
then.

Leonard McCoy shook himself out of his reverie and back to
the present. He had just let the Captain out of the
Sick-bay, after a quick, but thorough exam. Kirk still
looked a little pale and weak. His responses to McCoy since,
had been short and to the point. There was no reason for the
Doctor to stay on the Bridge. Kirk had said little to him,
in the days they had orbited the planet, to collect the last
of Professor Crater's artifacts and personal belongings. The
Doctor turned to exit. Someone grunted loudly, followed by a
thud. McCoy turned to see Kirk, face down on the floor,
unconscious and seizing.  

The Doctor rushed back and was seconds behind the Vulcan.
"No, Spock, don't try to hold him. Let him go. Uhura call a
medical emergency; full life support to the bridge." The
seizures continued. "Bring me the med alert kit, now."
Someone, Sulu it looked like, was already handing it to him.

"Do something, Doctor, quickly. He can't breathe." Spock
inched closer. Kirk continued to seize painfully. He was
totally lost to his convulsions. McCoy could feel the heat
of the Vulcan; he was so close to him.
 
 McCoy ran the tricorder from the kit over Kirk. "I'm doing
 something, dammit, Spock. Let me work." He looked at the
 readings. Kirk had an enormous electrolyte shift with
 severe hyponatremia, low sodium. There was also an unknown
 circulating hormone that the instruments had not picked up
 before. It had to have been a delayed trigger from the
 vampire. He was seizing from acute cerebral edema. There
 was no anti-epileptic meds in the kit. "Shit," McCoy
 muttered. 

He picked the strongest sedative he could find, and injected
it into the young Captain. It was too strong; the man
arrested. Suddenly, McCoy was confronted by a man that was
not breathing. "My god, I've killed him. This is all my
fault."  McCoy whispered to himself, forgetting Vulcan ears.
He checked for a pulse. Still there, but weak and thready.
"Spock, start mouth to mouth, move." McCoy turned again to
the woefully inadequate kit. Just as he had decided to use
something that he hated, the team with the crash cart raced
onto the bridge. He had Kirk hooked up to life support in
three minutes flat. They raced to sickbay.

McCoy's thoughts were racing and painful. He worked on the
Captain in a blur of focused activity, for the next few
hours. Finally, he brought the brain swelling under control
and the seizures subsided. McCoy sat at his bedside, in a
silent vigil, afraid to leave. Kirk's hand lay open, on the
edge of  the bio bed, where it seemed to reach towards the
Doctor, in silent supplication. McCoy fell asleep, watching
it not move.

He was startled awake by movement. The Vulcan was standing
next to him watching the sleeping Kirk. McCoy stretched and
stood. "Doctor, I need to say something to you." 

McCoy turned to look at him. "What is it, Spock?" 

Spock met McCoy's eyes for the first time. McCoy flinched.
"On our first mission, you fought with my Captain.  He
needed his attention to be on our problem. I excused your
behavior then as an aberration, attributable to your
ignorance of how things are done on this ship. Two days ago,
your hesitation almost killed my Captain. He ordered you to
fire; he ordered you to stand aside. You did neither. This,"
he pointed to Kirk,  "is the result of your weakness. This
is the result of your incompetence. If my Captain dies, it
will be your fault. I personally will not tolerate you ever
endangering his life again, ever. That is my word. That is
the promise of a Vulcan."

McCoy was stunned. The worst part was, that the Vulcan had
told the truth. It was McCoy's fault. He had blown it, yet
again. Shit, Shit, Shit. "He's my captain, too, Spock."

"Obviously not, Doctor, or you would have fired,  when he
ordered it. Had you done so, we would not be standing here,
now. You are .. unreliable. In the future, I will do what I
must, to insure Kirk's survival. Do not ever stand between
me and that goal." He gave the human a look that McCoy never
wanted to see again. Then, the Vulcan left.

It was another day before Kirk began to stir. McCoy sat and
watched him open his eyes. The Doctor gave him a few moments
to get oriented, before he spoke to the awakening man. "Jim,
this is McCoy. You're in sickbay. You had some seizures from
your salt loss. It's over now." Kirk didn't answer. McCoy
felt his heart skip. Maybe Kirk had a residual deficit from
the seizures. Maybe he couldn't hear or speak. No, McCoy had
checked the brain scans. That would have shown up. "Jim, do
you hear me? Jim, I'm talking to you. Say something,
dammit."

"What precisely did you want me to say, Doctor?" Kirk stared
through him.

"Damn, you scared me half to death. I was worried you might
have brain damage or something. Don't do that to me."

"Sorry, Doctor." Kirk turned his face away to the opposite
wall.

"How do you feel, Jim?"

"Tired, and I have a headache." His voice was muted. 

McCoy worked around the monitor for a moment. "Let me get
you something for your headache." The hiss of the hypo was
the only sound except for the beep of Kirk's vitals, on the
monitor. The Doctor felt overwhelmed by regret. "Jim, I'm
sorry. My hesitation almost killed you. I was wrong."

Kirk turned back to look at him. "No, Doctor McCoy, your
lack of faith, your questioning my orders, and your
hesitation,  almost killed Spock, me, and who knows how many
other members of my crew."

"I'm sorry."

"That won't do."

"What the hell else am I suppose to do, flay myself for
you?"

"I need to be able to trust you, Leonard or I can not have
you on board my ship. I have had enough of untrustworthy
people. I have had enough of users, liars and weak links.
Make me trust you again, Leonard, or leave my ship." He
paused, as if he was going to say something else. He didn't.
He turned away to face the wall.

McCoy left the room. Standing in the doorway was Spock. They
passed each other without a word. The Vulcan entered the
room McCoy had just left. He signed out to M'Benga and went
to his quarters.

McCoy sat in his cabin for the rest of the night, nursing
one drink. He never finished it.
The last time he had been asked to trust someone, it had
been his wife, right before he caught her with her lover.
Now, this man wanted trust from him, demanded it. McCoy
wasn't sure he could give it. He realized that he hadn't
heard what Piper had told him. He had listened , but he
hadn't heard it. Kirk was a righteous force. The Vulcan
followed him without reserve. McCoy hadn't accepted the
fact, that these two men might be more than just intelligent
soldiers. He had discounted their humanity, their morality,
and their honor. Kirk had almost died because of that
cynicism. 

"You are going to have to be their heart and soul.," Piper
had said. Shit, McCoy thought, first, I have to find my own
soul. I've lost it over the years; or buried it so deep that
I can't reach it. They need that from me. They're worth that
from me. I don't know if I have it now. I don't know if I
ever had it. Maybe that was the problem with my wife, my
daughter,  and every relationship since. I've been playing
God, the big bad surgeon. I had the gift of life or death. I
have always known what the other guy should do, the arbiter
of right and wrong, that's me. Who better than me, to judge
people? What if I've been wrong all these years? Maybe it
was me after all. Maybe I'm the faithless one. What do I do
now? 

The man was willing to trust me with his life, his soul and
I played with them. I hesitated and I questioned his right
to command me. I didn't trust him, just like I've never
trusted anyone, really. I've destroyed every relationship
I've ever been in. I've left either emotionally or
physically. Piper was wrong. It's not Kirk and Spock that
need each other. It's me who needs Kirk and Spock. I have to
break back out into the world and feel for myself again. Not
just tell others how to feel. Lord, this hurts. I don't want
to feel that much. Alcohol has been my best friend for
years. Now, this man is offering me himself.  I don't want
to take that kind of chance, but I have to. No more liquid
sedation, McCoy. Its time to come out of your haze. 

He thought about what this would mean to his life. Many
things would have to change. He would have to be willing to
allow himself to truly be led. That had never happened
before. With trust, came reliance. With reliance, came
friendship. After friendship, came expectations. Perhaps, he
could take the journey. He knew now, he had to try. He got
up and went back to sickbay.

Spock and Kirk sat quietly talking in the sickbay. McCoy
waited while Spock finished his report on Ship's status.
"Captain, Mr. Spock." They looked at him silently. He began.
"Let me introduce myself again. I am Leonard H. McCoy, your
ship's Surgeon and CMO. I underestimated both of you. I
overestimated myself. I'm sorry, Sir. I request permission
to start again. From now on, you'll only get my best. You
have my word."

Kirk and Spock looked at each other. Kirk turned to McCoy.
Kirk's eyes pierced him, read him down to his genetic code.
Finally, Kirk nodded, once. "Very well, Dr. McCoy. Welcome
to the Enterprise. Welcome to our team."


4


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