Chapter Text
"What do you mean your shore leave is cancelled?" Leonard paces toward his best friend and captain, James T. Kirk, with the measured steps of a man who is beyond furious. "Who overrode my orders?"
Jim smiles lopsidedly in a way that means he has prepared some nonsense—or a terrible joke—to placate the other's offended sensibilities. Leonard doesn't want his sensibilities placated!
"Damn it, man, I'm the physician! Is my evaluation of a commanding officer's well-being a joke to everyone? The last time we left the Enterprise, you had an assignment already queued up. The time before that, I don't even know where the hell you ran off to, Jim, but it wasn't on a vacation!"
Jim winces and looks aside—which is a great reminder of the third person in the room, who should be as incensed as McCoy.
Leonard whirls around, levelling a finger at the quiet commander. "Why aren't you sayin' anything?! You should be on my side! You monitor him almost as closely as I do, so you know he needs this downtime!"
"My silence does not imply a lack of interest, Doctor. Merely, it seemed prudent to let you relieve your more volatile reaction before we logically address the concern."
"Whoa, okay," Jim interrupts, "don't gang up on me. Bones, Spock—this change of plans isn't up for debate. Negotiations on Sular V for mining rights have degraded significantly over the last several days. Command needs a level-five arbiter."
Leonard flattens his mouth into an unhappy line. "And you just happen to be the only qualified officer in the quadrant? That's bullshit, and you know it."
"They asked, and I agreed. I'm here to inform you."
"I wasn't born yesterday, Jim. A video call from you would have suited just fine."
"Indeed," Spock intones.
For the first time since entering the apartment, Jim hesitates. It makes the little hairs on the back of McCoy's neck stand up. "Unofficially, the Kairon have a track record of hostility that makes Klingons look peaceful."
"Great," mutters Leonard. "You pick the most dangerous arbitration."
"Bones."
Leonard crosses his arms over his chest, still feeling confrontational but also knowing to graciously allow Kirk to continue.
"The former head of arbitration was badly roughed up during a debate and quit on the spot."
Leonard doesn't know whether or not Jim thinks he is more impervious to harm than others, or if he's just plain stupid.
Wisely, Spock inquires, "What contingencies are in place in the event you experience a similar endangerment as your predecessor?"
"Ha! You know it's nothing I can't handle, Spock."
Well, that answers McCoy's question. Jim's both arrogant and stupid. It shouldn't be surprising. Years in command may have matured Kirk and lent him gravitas but it hasn't fundamentally changed who the man is.
Spock wanders over to the living room's computer terminal. Likely within the next hour, Spock will have consumed every available record and log on the Kairon. But if the Vulcan has the temerity to present Leonard with a customized risk profile and prediction chart of Jim returning unharmed, Leonard will throw it right back at him.
There's clearly no chance of waylaying Jim. Leonard had recognized from the moment Jim stepped over the threshold that the man held no interest in having his mind changed. Even now, as clear as day, Jim's blue eyes have the sheen of determination.
Kirk watches Leonard's expression closely, as if waiting for some inkling of another outburst. "I will be back in time to run the final test of the new ship mods alongside Scotty," he promises. "I'll see for myself what they have done to her!" Then he dares to slap Leonard on the back of the shoulder and grin across the room at Spock. "Enjoy your leave, gentlemen. Don't miss me too much!"
Leonard rolls his eyes. "As if you're that entertaining."
"It's the other way around," Jim says cheekily. "Never a dull moment with you two. You argue more than a Tellarite and an Andorian over the merits of a plate of food they both hate."
McCoy slants a look at the Vulcan as if to say still don't know why we put up with this idiot.
Spock arches an eyebrow. "Captain, you exaggerate. Our dialogue is primarily constructive."
That's a stretch, thinks Leonard, but he can play this tune. "Honestly, Jim, Spock is the most practical person on the ship. Even I can appreciate that!"
"Why, thank you, Doctor McCoy. I also find your emotionalism beneficial at times."
"Yeah? How alluring exactly?"
"I did not use that word."
"It was implied!"
"Negative."
"You green-blooded hobgoblin, why can't you pay me a genuine compliment?!"
"Ah," comes their captain's voice, steeped in fondness, "this is what I'll miss."
Then don't go, the doctor wishes to say. Hang the consequences, and give us this small margin of time together we fought for.
But that's a selfish request, especially in their line of work. When duty calls, a Starfleet officer must answer. James T. Kirk is among the best of them. Jim can do no less than step up if his skills are needed.
Leonard packs down disappointment and signals his resignation by slumping slightly. Jim smiles, offering an ever-so-slight dip of his chin in acknowledgement of McCoy's choosing to yield.
"When do you depart, Jim?"
"Soon." But Jim heads for the built-in, well-stocked bar instead of the front door. "Just not so soon that I can't share a farewell drink with my best officers. You'll be fine without me," he adds confidently as he inspects then uncorks a bottle of bourbon.
Leonard can't help but emphasize, "We'll still be without you."
Jim meets his friend's eyes as he holds out a full-to-the-brim tumbler. The smell of the bourbon is strong, comforting… and just the right peace-offering. Leonard accepts it and takes an appreciative sip of the liquor. Spock arrives at Leonard's elbow, taking the second tumbler from Kirk.
Jim raises the last filled tumbler, his own, toasting, "To our reunion."
"May it be swift," Spock finishes.
McCoy resists the urge to poke at his Vulcan companion for that bit of sentimentalism. "And uneventful." Oh, he can only hope; yet in the back of his mind, he is compiling a list of all the ways Jim could find trouble on his own.
"Now where's the fun in that, Bones?" challenges Kirk, grin bright and warm. Then he knocks back his drink.
Spock and McCoy follow Kirk's lead more slowly, savoring their final minutes together before parting ways.
~~~
Days have passed, and personal plans have been adjusted. But silence is never easy to abide for a worrier like Leonard Horatio McCoy.
Spock is barely on-screen before Leonard all but pleads, "We can still stop him."
The other man raises an inquisitive eyebrow.
Leonard knows very well that Spock likes to pretend not to understand contextless statements simply out of sass, but he does not have the time or the patience to enjoy a quick volley of wits. "I'm goin' to!" he insists, stubbornness thickening his Southern accent.
"That would be unwise."
"Why? You know damn well Jim is heading straight into a minefield. One wrong step, and we won't be there to piece him back together!" Leonard suppresses a shudder at the imagery created by his own words.
"An unnecessarily gruesome analogy, Doctor."
So talk me out of it, Spock, he challenges wordlessly. After a moment of silence, he realizes that Spock is genuinely considering the merits of the suggestion.
A tinge of excitement overtakes Leonard. "I can be at the dockyard quicker than you can shake your boots! We'll catch Jim before he boards the next shuttle."
Spock leans back from his desk, steepling his hands. "And what could be said to change the Captain's mind?"
"Maybe Jim just wants us to nudge him some more. You know how he is at times, not able to make up his mind. Hell, he's said before we're basically the debate in his head, only louder. He needs us as much as we need him. Why should we let him go?"
"He asked us to."
Leonard deflates, because, yeah, that's the crux of it. "You're annoying. Next time, tell me a lie."
"Vulcans cannot lie, as you are well-aware."
McCoy considers calling Spock out, having seen firsthand how Spock skirts the truth when it suits him. But then they would spend the next half-hour arguing while Jim boards that shuttle and travels far away from them.
Besides, it's not nearly as fun to argue with Spock knowing that a certain person is not around to intervene.
Perhaps the Admiralty is aware that Jim's exponential rate of improvement in arbitration since the Academy days is primarily due to Jim routinely acting as the mediator between his ship's two seniormost officers. Jim is remarkably adept now, McCoy has observed, at smoothing over his and Spock's heated disagreements, usually accompanied with a stifled laugh, or by playfully switching from side to side in a debate until they collectively kick Jim out for being an annoyance, or simply stepping in to articulate 'Spock means this' and 'Bones is concerned about that' better than any universal translator.
While Kirk could easily pull rank and order Spock and McCoy to compromise or shut up, Leonard has always known that Jim enjoys inserting his own brand of chaos into their dynamic. Jim may want them to get along on principle; yet if Spock and McCoy get along too famously, then Jim can act oddly squirrelly about it.
Truly, Jim Kirk could give Mr. Spock a run for his money on being a conundrum.
And since Jim isn't here to mediate, McCoy behaves himself.
"Leonard?" comes the query, for apparently listening to McCoy's silence is more troublesome for Spock than arguing.
Leonard holds the Vulcan's gaze through the screen and hums. Spock in turn dips his chin slightly.
This is one of those times when they need not say anything to understand each other completely.
Jim has left. And yet, comfortingly so, they neither need to move forward nor backwards during his absence. Staying still, waiting for his return, is all that is required.
"You know how to reach me," Leonard says eventually, feeling reluctant for some reason to end the call.
Spock confirms, "I do."
"Don't forget to enjoy your time off."
"Do not forget your own departure time, Doctor."
Leonard glances at the chronometer and curses. He will absolutely miss his ride home if he doesn't grab his travel bag and get going.
"Farewell." Spock presents him with a Vulcan salutation—then promptly disappears from the screen.
Leonard chuckles to himself and, feeling better, decides to stow away further worries until he arrives in Georgia.
~~~
Having to explain an unexpected visit to a few nosy family members makes Leonard wish he had considered exploring whether or not Starfleet's General Hospital was short-staffed (and who is he kidding, that hospital is always short-staffed). Currently, one particularly annoying cousin looks him dead in the eye over a forkful of scrambled eggs and drawls, "I thought you had a date."
Serves them right, being sprayed in their face. That's not a joke any divorced man wants to hear while sipping his morning cup of coffee.
"Don't fight in my kitchen," the owner of said kitchen warns the pair of men at her table.
"No one's fightin'," grouses Leonard, offering a napkin to his red-faced, least favorite relative. As they lock gazes, a spark of old rivalry flares to life. "At least not in the house."
His grandmother scoffs, then mutters about having raised them to be better than barnyard brawling, rotating each of her potted herbs on the room's windowsill as she clucks in dismay.
Leonard does not brawl. But he is capable of tricking his clumsy cousin into tripping over his own feet and then sitting on the idiot. Or, at least, that's the way things were handled when they were youths.
A phantom twinge in his hip reminds Leonard to accept that he's too old for physical skirmishes. So, he shrugs at his cousin and offers, "Sorry about that."
His cousin rolls his eyes.
Leonard fiddles with the food on his plate for a moment, then taps a finger across the padd at his elbow. He forgets he's holding a spoonful of grits when he sees the symbol for a newly arrived message.
Oh, it's Nyota.
He skims the transcript of her message rather than playing it, just in case the content is job-related. As it turns out, she wants Leonard to tell Jim to call her. Apparently, Jim has forgotten to send her something she asked for—she's vague about what, exactly—before they left the Enterprise in dock.
"If you're going to be here, then be here," complains the other occupant at the table. "You check that damn thing every other minute." The man prods sarcastically, "Waiting on a love letter or something?"
McCoy tucks his padd out of sight, on the bench next to his knee. "You're one to talk. Gran says you got dumped by both Easterly sisters last week. What kind of moron tries to date the twin of the girl who rejected him just the day before?"
"Who're you calling a moron, you creaky old fart?"
"I'm only two years older than you!"
"My, my, now who wants to chop this year's firewood?" interrupts their grandmother.
Leonard and his cousin immediately grow quiet. Finally, Leonard hedges, "Is the central heat not working again? Should we call somebody to look at the unit?"
"Y'all know I just love a real fire crackling in the den come winter," Gran says with an innocent little old lady smile.
"This is Georgia," mutters Leonard's cousin. "It barely gets below freezin'."
McCoy's glare means shut up, you fool, or we'll be made to chop up trees for days.
His cousin shoves the basket of biscuits, which he had been previously hoarding, to Leonard's side of the table. "Hey, since you ain't been back in a while, I can show you what's new in town."
Leonard gives him a thumbs-up.
The eldest McCoy watches her grandsons, seeming pleased about something. "Well, maybe that firewood can wait a while."
Leonard nods, eating silently until she leaves the kitchen before sitting back with a sigh of relief. "Best if one of us leaves before she comes back."
"Yeah, me," concludes his cousin.
Curious when no explanation is forthcoming, Leonard asks, "Why you?"
"You staying for the whole leave?"
"I think so."
His cousin's gaze flicks toward the bench. "I guess that's not awful. She's happy you have friends and all, but she's missed you."
Leonard rubs his knuckles against his cheekbone, a habit he thought he had lost until just now. Being here, surrounded by reminders of his life prior to joining Starfleet, isn't as painful as he had expected.
"We've got some catching up to do," he agrees earnestly, then jumps right over to teasing. "Not to mention, you and I need to have a heart-to-heart about why your love life sucks."
And thus ends their brief amity, with his cousin shooting him a universally rude gesture from both hands.
"To our happy reunion," Leonard says, laughing.
Three days later, a persistent beeping from his personal padd changes everything.
McCoy feels guilty even as he automatically answers the call. Then the hard-won sense of comfort at being home dissipates entirely. Shore leave has been cancelled.
~~~
Spock and McCoy materialize in the Enterprise's transporter room at the same time, a feat accomplished by the Chief Engineer's ingenuity at simultaneously pinpointing two people in vastly different locations. Leonard suspects Spock had been lurking in some science lab on Starfleet Academy's campus, spending his shore leave as only a Vulcan would—researching. By contrast, Leonard was lounging on his grandmother's slightly sloped porch with a lemonade in hand when the persistent beeping of the priority call came through.
Leonard had been reading (purely for pleasure, of course!) the latest medical journal from the Intergalactic Institute of Infectious Diseases, and he would testify to that in any court of law. Jim may be running an assignment, Spock may be hypothesizing and calculating under the pretense of academic interests but some people can use the good sense God gave them to relax when they're supposed to.
The collection of medical essays was completely forgotten at the sight of Montgomery Scott's pinched face. "The situation on Sular V's gone to shit" was all Leonard had needed to hear to start creatively cursing. His grandmother would have boxed his ears over his 'ungentlemanly language' had she not been napping at the back of the house at that moment. But Scotty simply looked sympathetic.
Because of their last conversation, Leonard assumed Jim was still cagey about disappointing them and, therefore in typical avoidant-Kirk fashion, had not responded to the regular messages Leonard sent him. But the reality is so much worse.
"A little birdie told me the Admiralty kept the Captain's first two missed check-ins a secret."
Leonard wonders if Scotty's contact mentioned the name of the admiral who gave that stupid order just so he can send the fool a blistering remonstration. Leonard is Jim's personal emergency contact, not to mention Chief Medical Officer of the goddamned flagship! If anyone ought to be informed of Jim going missing...
Leonard opens his mouth to finish that thought aloud, but Spock has the gall to interrupt the forthcoming tirade with a terse "Not now, Doctor."
Scotty continues his report. "I was in the middle of breakfast when the Enterprise received a distress call—at least, that's what I thought it was at first. Very odd indeed given we're under repairs and on subspace comms only, until I realized the pattern was just disguised as a distress call to catch someone's attention."
The engineer shudders as they file into the turbolift to be carried to the bridge. "The Kairon have taken the Captain hostage and are making demands." Then his shoulders hunch slightly under the twin scrutiny of Spock and McCoy. "I alerted Command right away then called you."
The Vulcan offers, "Well done, Mr. Scott."
"And thanks," adds McCoy, "because I know those stick-in-the-muds would have put you under a non-disclosure until they made up their minds to tell us anything."
"Figured that," agrees Scotty. "And imagine my surprise to learn where Kirk was. I thought all three of you were climbing a mountain at some national park. That's what Nyota said."
"I did not inform her of the change of plans," Spock admits.
That's a surprise to Leonard. Then again, Spock could be irritated in his own way about the abrupt cancellation of their long-awaited camping trip. Uhura would pick up on that immediately. Alas, some irritations should remain private.
Or, the two of them could have still gone on to Yosemite and spent the week drinking (Leonard), communing with nature (Spock), and commiserating over Jim (their common problem). Why hadn't they thought to do that?
The lift opens to an unmanned bridge. Spock moves to the center seat with Leonard close behind. Scotty settles at the communications station.
Spock orders the computer to display the Kairon's message. The viewscreen replaces its serene panoramic of the stars with a staticky image. McCoy hears an exclamation of surprise from Scotty and senses rather than sees Spock's countenance stiffening.
Whatever else is happening on the bridge doesn't fully register. Leonard's gaze stays fixed upon the horrific scene before him, something right out of his nightmares as if the universe had known what he fears seeing most.
Kirk hangs from chains. His gold tunic is torn nearly to shreds, pale skin beneath discolored with bruises and blood.
The footage isn't stable, distorting in pulses from an unknown interference; yet nothing can disguise the alertness in Kirk's eyes.
He's not dead, thinks Leonard, pressing a hand to his mouth, momentarily light-headed.
The only thing keeping him from swaying on his feet is the steadiness of the limb under his grasp. At what point Leonard had grabbed Spock's arm, he doesn't know. But breaking the connection now feels like an impossibility, not when Jim still looks like a man with one foot in the grave.
We should never have let you go alone.
"Bastards," Scotty growls. "I'd like to get my hands on them!"
The intense wave of hatred that rolls through Leonard is like the shock of having cold water thrown in one's face. It certainly is not Leonard's own usual brand of disgust when presented with evidence of the cruelty of others. Startled, he turns his gaze down to Spock.
Not a single muscle twitches in that stony countenance beneath the doctor's scrutiny; but, like Jim, there is a burning in Spock's eyes which speaks of powerful emotion.
Leonard realizes that Spock's control over his emotions has cracked, otherwise a non-psionic person like Leonard would not feel this reaction. It can't be helping Spock that Leonard is also still shamelessly squeezing his bicep.
He yanks his hand back and drops his other hand to his side. The overwhelming rage gutters out with the snap of their physical connection.
Spock looks McCoy's way, then, dark eyes catching and pinning the man where he stands.
For the first time, despite having seen Spock lash out once or twice before this, Leonard thinks he finally has a taste of what it's like to poke the proverbial bear—or in this case, a Vulcan's volatile nature—and face the consequences afterwards.
It's not meant for him. Spock has been radio-silent with Leonard since he left for Georgia, but Spock has never hated him. Of that, McCoy is certain. And so, he almost pities the Kairon. If they end up in Spock's hands… Well, this particular Vulcan has never been the forgiving type, pacifist or not.
"Sorry," Leonard whispers, erring on the side of caution. His touching Spock was uninvited after all.
The anger disappears from the Vulcan's eyes. "Unnecessary," Spock states, almost flippantly, and returns to facing the viewscreen, once again in control.
In McCoy's periphery, Scotty abruptly turns his back to fiddle awkwardly with the communications station. In the next moment, the grainy image of Jim is replaced with two Kairon dressed in their traditional warfare armor. One holds a long-range plasma rifle, definitely not Starfleet regulation. The other has a standard-issue communicator and phaser clipped to a wide belt, likely confiscated from Jim or another officer.
The computer automatically translates the alien language, making intelligible a host of arrogant demands, just like Scotty had warned them. The Kairon want the Federation to grant them sole commercial authority over the mined minerals. They want to own the planet and two sister planets. They want to dance in the blood of their longtime nemesis, another space-faring merchant race, with the Federation's backing. This hostage bears the evidence of how serious they are about getting what they want. Negotiations will resume only with the Kairon Chancellor at the head of the table and the Federation kowtowing!
"I don't care what they think," spits Leonard angrily. "The talking is over."
Spock rises from the captain's chair. "I concur."
Eyes wide, Scotty looks uncertain between them. "We can't leave space dock."
"The Enterprise does not need to, Mr. Scott."
Leonard didn't think Scotty's eyes could go any wider but they do. "You mean… Nay, we can't just steal another ship! The only one ready enough for flight anyway is an Excelsior class... much fancier guts than our lady here but not nearly as reliable if you ask my—"
"That's a good idea," cuts in McCoy, curious to see what the other man does.
The engineer grabs for the corner of the nearest console like the ship had just rocked sideways.
"Now is not the time for your jokes," admonishes Spock.
"Then give us a better solution. Because I'll be damned if I just sit here and twiddle my thumbs waiting for those scum to show off Jim's corpse!"
"I will offer to go to Sular V."
Leonard explodes, "Like hell you will! Have you lost your Vulcan mind? You'll just be another pawn in their hands! And what about us? Are we supposed to be okay with losing two commanding officers?!"
Spock's response remains indifferent. "At this moment, no other crew member knows of Jim's capture or of the change in command."
"You bastard, it's enough that I know. So forget it! Jim would order me to lock you in the brig if he heard of such a foolish thing. You know better anyway. Where's your blockheaded spiel about 'the crew comes first'?"
"It has taken shore leave with the others. Recall, Dr. McCoy, that there is no crew aboard to concern myself except for you and Mr. Scott. Therefore under these circumstances, it is illogical not to accept that the greatest priority is the Captain's safety."
"Don't twist the tale to suit your own crusade, Spock." Leonard cannot hold back his frustration at having to be told by yet another person that he doesn't get a say in their decisions. "Fine, suit yourself. But if you want to insert yourself in the firefight on Sular V, then consider me a passenger on your journey to hell."
"You're both crazy!" cries Scotty. "What's more, Jim will thank neither of you for being so reckless as to run after him! You're the ones he'd expect to keep your heads on straight and do what needs to be done."
Leonard closes his eyes briefly. "You're right. I guess we're just a little… shaken up by what we saw. No one is going to harrow off after Jim."
"It's the Captain in trouble, anyone would be shaken." Scotty frowns, then. "Mr. Spock?"
Leonard didn't realize Spock had turned away from them.
Spock says, still facing the blank viewscreen, "Admittedly I am… conflicted. I shall consider the avenues open to us with more care."
If Spock were Jim, Leonard would reach out and place a hand on his shoulder in understanding. But he's touched Spock enough for the time being.
So he settles for reminding Spock, "You don't have to do it alone."
This seems to cheer Scotty up, at least. He nods to no one and declares, "I'll make a few more calls."
Leonard sighs and tells the man dryly, "At least try to give the pretense of a senior officers' party or something. We don't need to draw the wrong attention for coming off shore leave prematurely."
"We can ask our friends to bring alcohol," agrees Scotty. "No one questions a get-together that has booze."
Leonard waves him onward, then glances back at the Vulcan still pretending to be lost in thought. There's not much else to say to make either of them feel better. Jim left, and now Jim's life is in jeopardy. An unsanctioned rescue mission could be a career-killing move.
For now, McCoy simply wishes for his friend's safe return and the chance to heal him of the torture he has obviously endured. Then Kirk is never leaving Sickbay again.
He follows Mr. Scott into the turbolift, intending to head to Sickbay to assess its operability in a pinch, leaving the Enterprise's newly established acting captain a moment of solitude. They each must gather strength in their own way. Jim needs that strength to come home again.
~~~
Art by comradetoad
