Vulcan Love

Already tired and worn out from a long day tending to injured redshirts in the sick bay, it was no wonder Doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Chief Medical Officer to the United Starship Enterprise felt a sense of dread and overwhelming exhaustion when he entered his office, only to find the ship's First Officer sitting patiently across from his desk.

"Mr Spock," he grumbled, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I sense distaste in your words Doctor," Spock replied.

"You're not wrong," the Doctor mumbled, throwing himself into his chair. "It's been a long day, Spock. Don't you think you could come back tomorrow? I'm very tired and a little on the short-tempered side if you hadn't noticed."

"I had, Doctor," Spock said coolly, "but unfortunately this cannot wait."

McCoy sighed and studied the Vulcan's face. Normally emotionless and completely cool, the Doctor detected a hint of worry in the Science Officer's face; completely unadulterated humanistic worry. McCoy frowned.

"I was wondering if I could speak candidly with you, Doctor," Spock continued, "it seems it is a matter of urgency to my overall emotional health."

"Emotional…" McCoy's brow furrowed further, "…are you telling me, Spock that you're experiencing human emotions?"

"It appears so Doctor." Spock's fingers twitched slightly, something McCoy mentally noted as a nervous twitch. He quickly ran his eyes over Spock's form. His diagonal eyebrows almost met at the point where his brow crumpled, his eyes showed immense strain and his upper body language displayed very obvious tension.

The Doctor deducted that the Second-in-Command of the Enterprise was simultaneously confused and worried about something.

"This is troubling, Spock," the Doctor said. "Is it perhaps some Vulcan originating disease that allows you to experience emoti-…"

"No," Spock replied shortly, "it is merely my human half over-powering me, something that I am now helpless to control."

McCoy leant back in his seat. Why all of a sudden, would Spock seem at the mercy of his human side, he wondered. All these years they'd know each other, McCoy could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Spock react emotionally to a situation. His allegiance lay with his Vulcan heritage, as opposed to his human ancestry; everyone who was affiliated with Spock knew this. The Doctor's mind ticked; it was so out of character and such an unusual occurrence. He could think of no reason as to why this would be happening. Unless…

"Doctor McCoy, can I ask a personal question?"

Bones snapped out of his thoughts and grumpily replied, "Sure."

Spock shifted, obviously uncomfortably in his seat. "What does the emotion, love, feel like?"

McCoy was taken aback by the First Officer's question. It was yet another out of character statement from the Vulcan. "Love, Spock?"

"Yes."

The Doctor considered for a minute. "I don't wish to romanticize or sound poetic, but love is, well, love, Spock. It's all encompassing and quite frankly the most beautiful thing in the world. More important that mathematics, or logic. Love is when you truly care for someone regardless of who they are, and you would do anything for them."

"But what does it feel like?"

Bones was quite amused at Spock's emphasis on the term 'feel'.

"It feels…it feels like you will never be sad again, that nothing can ever stand in your way. For some people, it hurts. But for most, it's the warmest feeling in the universe."

Spock shifted uncomfortably in his seat again. He focused on a small speck on dirt on the office floor before jumping to his feet. "Thank-you, Doctor McCoy, you have been most…" he paused as he found the words, "….helpful." The Vulcan turned on his heel.

McCoy watched him walk out his office and close the door behind him. He closed his eyes momentarily and let the strangeness of the last few minutes wash over him. In an instant he felt heavy tiredness fell upon him…a heavy sleepiness, exhaustion, weariness…

McCoy's eyes snapped open and he felt himself reaching for the door before he had realised.

"Hey Spock!" he yelled down the empty hallway. The First Officer, who was but twenty feet from the Doctor's office door, spun around in bewilderment.

"Yes, Doctor? Is there something you need?" he seemed to have almost returned to the normal half-Vulcan the Doctor so strongly detested and admired concurrently.

"If you really want to know," he called, "Jim loves you too."