"Bones, you're needed in the Transporter Room; prepare to join the landing party," Captain Kirk announced over the com.
Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy was less than pleased at the news; he loathed the transporter with a passion. "Darn it, Jim, how many times are you going to drag me along on these planetary landings? I went on this mission to practice medicine, not to get my atoms scrambled around into who knows what!" Sighing, he grabbed his tricorder and made his way to the Transporter Room. Arriving at the room, Captain Kirk, Sulu, and Spock awaited him as the remainder of the landing party. McCoy exchanged nods with Sulu as the group assembled on the transporter pad; he slightly grimaced at Spock, who as a matter of course gave no visible emotion. Kirk he glowered openly at, causing Kirk to exclaim,
"Whatever is the matter, Bones? I thought you liked landing parties!"
"Yeah, I'm sure you did, Jim; all those times I've asked never to go on one again never happened! It's like telling someone you're allergic to something, and then they keep on giving it to you…honestly, couldn't you take Nurse Chapel with you for once?" McCoy groused, knowing full well it would not change anything, but he had to get it out of his system.
"But Bones, I would miss your expert medical knowledge and your opposing viewpoint from Spock too much! Someone has to challenge the logical opinion on these landing parties!" Kirk grinned at his friend's annoyed expression, and then told Scotty at the controls, "Energize!"
Once beamed to the planet, an unexpected sight met their eyes. Gemini IV was a supposedly peaceful colony where humans and Vulcans coexisted harmoniously with one another. Transmissions from the planet to the Enterprise had been uninterrupted, and all had appeared to be all right with the colony. Staring at the desolation and carnage, even McCoy felt nausea creeping up his throat, despite his medical training. Bodies lay strewn in the streets, and buildings were burnt to the ground and collapsed. Something had gone terribly wrong on Gemini IV, but what?
"Spread out and begin a preliminary search for survivors. Mr. Spock, you're with me as you can give a hypothesis to what made this occur. Bones, see if you can find anyone." Kirk took charge of the situation and snapped everyone out of a dazed inactivity.
McCoy began to use his scanner, sweeping over each body carefully. Forty bodies later, he found two huddled close together that caught his attention. The woman was Vulcan, while the man was human, yet something about their pose suggested intimacy between them. He swept his scanner, to find them both deceased. He observed a ring on each of their hands, and paused for a moment.
"So another human/Vulcan marriage, and here I thought Spock was the only one. I guess on a human and Vulcan co-colony it shouldn't be much of a surprise though. So many dead…it will be a miracle if someone is alive. What caused this sudden disaster?"
McCoy was broken out of his reverie by a soft, whimpering sound to his left. Hurriedly, he stood from his crouched position and moved towards the mostly collapsed building. Slowing his initial speed, he approached cautiously until he was directly in front of the building. Peering into the dark crevice between two walls leaning against each other, he called out,
"Hello, is anyone there? I'm here to help!"
A slight rustling sound and a gasp reached his ears, and the walls shifted violently. McCoy's eyes widened; another shift like that and the walls would collapse. He crouched down in front of the crevice and began to speak softly, gently, in a tone no one on the Enterprise thought him capable of. As his voice lowered, some of his Southern twang became more apparent in his speech, adding a warm quality to it.
"Hey, don't be afraid; don't move either, because those walls are going to collapse if you do. Just stay put, all right? I'm going to get you out of there; I'm a doctor, Dr. Leonard McCoy. What's your name?" All the while, McCoy began to inch his way forward deeper into the crevice.
"I am called Surak, after the Vulcan philosopher of old. I am half human however; my father is human. Why are you attempting a rescue, Doctor?" a small voice queried out of the darkness.
"Good grief, it's like I'm talking to a miniature Spock! Are all Vulcans like this?" McCoy thought as he finally reached the end of the crevice. A small boy, perhaps eight or nine years old, looked up at his brown eyes with sapphire ones, attesting to his human parentage. He had several cuts and abrasions on his face, and he was trembling slightly; he held himself tightly, as if trying to stop the shaking. A familiar mask met his gaze, one McCoy had seen on multiple occasions on a certain Vulcan's face, but this one had signs of cracks. Instead of the perfectly calm image McCoy had been expecting, he had found a terrified Vulcan trying to hide the fact. McCoy's initial wariness gave way to pity as he said,
"Okay, I'm going to back up now, and you can just follow me, all right, Surak?"
Surak nodded, and began to follow McCoy out. Just as McCoy was fully out, the walls collapsed on themselves. McCoy lunged forward, grabbed Surak, and hauled him out a second before the wall would have crushed him. Surak stood up quickly, bowed to McCoy, and said,
"I thank you, Doctor, for rescuing me. I must now seek out my parents." Surak strode away in the direction of the couple McCoy had seen earlier.
Apprehension settled on McCoy as he thought about the couple with their rings. "Oh no…that could be his parents." He sprang to his feet and sprinted after Surak. "Wait, Surak, don't!" His warning came too late for the child.
Surak had stopped abruptly in front of the couple; he stared down, not comprehending the situation. As McCoy reached him, he sank to his knees. "Mother…Father…" he whispered. "MOTHER! FATHER! NO!" he screamed, voice cracking. He began sobbing, shocking McCoy to stillness. At first, McCoy hesitated, unsure what to do with an emotionally compromised Vulcan; there was probably some speech or chant to get their emotions back in check, no doubt. Surak then turned, tear-filled eyes locking on McCoy. McCoy's heart melted, and he forgot that Surak was a Vulcan child. He just knew there was a hurt kid who needed his help.
Kirk, Sulu, and Spock regrouped and were met with an extraordinary (Spock classified it as fascinating) sight; McCoy held a Vulcan boy in his arms, and was gently rocking him back and forth while sobs emitted from the boy. A couple lay beside them ("Presumably the boy's parents" Spock surmised), and McCoy was humming softly. McCoy looked up and saw the landing party; he made a move to stand up, but Surak clenched tighter onto him. McCoy paused, and then stood up holding the boy in his arms.
"I never knew you had it in you, Bones, maybe you should branch out and have a child care center on the side," Kirk remarked wonderingly.
"Indeed, Doctor, you seem to possess talents we were unaware of in the past," Spock noted, gazing at Surak questioningly.
"This isn't funny, you two; Surak just lost his parents, and he happens to be half human like you, Spock, albeit a bit more free with his emotions! This kid gives me hope for your race; for a while there, I thought you didn't have any emotions to be free with!" whipped out McCoy, a bit embarrassed from his display of affection.
"An illogical assumption, Doctor, seeing as you had previously observed my attempt to strangle the Captain after being emotionally compromised," replied Spock while Kirk subconsciously rubbed his neck.
"Well, I have to take him to Sickbay, Jim, it's not good for him to be here all alone, especially since we don't know what caused all this yet," McCoy looked to Jim, slightly bouncing Surak as he did so.
"Very well, Bones, if you say so; Scotty, five to beam up, with two on one pad; and make it quick!" The landing party beamed aboard, with McCoy immediately heading to Sickbay with Surak securely lodged in his arms.
"Fascinating," Spock remarked to Captain Kirk.
"What is it, Spock?"
"I believe Doctor McCoy had bonded with the boy, in his human way. He has become quite protective of the child, regardless that they have just met. I also believe Surak has also formed a rudimentary sibling bond with him without consciously recognizing it. In any case, it will be a difficult parting for both," observed Spock, his gaze following McCoy out of the room.
"That's Bones for ya; irritable on the outside, heart of gold hidden deep within." Kirk remarked.
"A biological impossibility, Captain, as a heart composed of the element of gold would not function as the life support of the body," Spock raised an eyebrow.
"It's an expression, Spock; I need to get you a guide to them or something…" muttered Kirk.
Meanwhile, McCoy had attended to Surak's cuts and abrasions, gently cleaning them with soap and antiseptic. The boy was silent, obviously embarrassed by his emotional outburst. He glanced at McCoy, then spoke,
"You have my thanks, Doctor, for supporting me in this difficult time. I apologize for my display of emotion."
"I was happy to help; and don't apologize, it's perfectly natural for you to react like that; I'd have been more worried if you hadn't. I don't care what Spock would say, holding in all that emotion can't be healthy for you. Trust me; I felt some of it; that's too much to hold in forever."
"I must have passed some by touch, forgive me for…" Surak trailed off as the sedative McCoy had secretly administered accomplished its effect. He fell into a deep sleep, McCoy looking meditatively on.
"The pointy-eared green-blooded hobgoblin does feel then…why are they so against showing it? Don't they understand what the repression could be doing to their nervous systems? Especially the half human/Vulcan systems…" He shook his head, his thoughts drifting to the First Officer. "The more I learn about you, the more I don't understand; one day, maybe you'll be willing to tell me. Until then, I'm going to have to argue with you till kingdom come." A small smile spread across his face as he leant back and drifted off to sleep. "Then again, maybe that's not such a bad thing…"