Author's Note: So I wrote this a couple weeks ago as a sort of birthday present to myself (I wanted to get at least one productive thing done) but haven't had a chance to post it until now. Sooo...sorry for the wait. Also, sorry for the ending. I know it's a bit rushed and abrupt but I didn't really know how to end it. Anyways, thanks for reading! Don't forget to review.

Love and well wishes,

Zosia Rose

It was a slow night in the Enterprise sickbay. The last few patients from the battle the week before had all been released, and the nurses were enjoying a much needed break. Dr. McCoy, however, was spending it reviewing reports and filing a few of his own reports. It had gotten late and after nodding off a couple times, he decided that he was going to need some caffeine if he was going to be able to stay awake while doing something so utterly boring this late. He got up slowly, cursing his aching bones, and decided that that was the last time he was going to pull an all nighter just to finish a few lousy reports. As he poured his coffee, a huge yawn escaped his lips. It was so loud that it almost masked the whoosh of his office door opening behind him. Almost. McCoy turned to face his visitor with steaming mug in hand. He had expected it to be Jim worked up about some woman spurning his advances as usual. It wasn't. To his surprise, Spock stood in the doorway instead, framed by the bright fluorescent lights from the sickbay behind. He nodded in greeting, "Doctor."

McCoy wondered briefly why Spock was there. The reports were almost done, there were no patients to check up on, and, knowing Spock's lack of emotions, he wasn't there to chat. Suddenly, McCoy didn't care why he was there anymore, he just wanted Spock to leave so he could finally get some sleep. His annoyance at the interruption (as well as who exactly had interrupted) and his exhaustion made his normally gruff tone even harsher than usual, "What do you want, you pointy-eared hobgoblin? Can't you see I'm busy?"

Spock half turned back towards the exit, "Perhaps I should come back at a different time, then."

That got McCoy's attention. No matter how tired and fed up a doctor is, he is still a doctor. And a doctor knows a change in character when he sees one. Spock's sudden change of mind, paired with the flash of an undecipherable something in his eyes when McCoy called him the familiar nickname, let alone the nonexistence of a witty retort thrown back his way in exchange was definitely not Spock's usual behavior. Hell, the doctor had seen him almost every day since the beginning of the mission and for all that time the Vulcan had never been anything less than stoic. Slightly interested at times, yes, but never like this...whatever this was. Something was wrong. But what? He planned to find out.

McCoy ran his hand through his hair, then sank into the nearest chair, "No, Spock. The reports can wait. What is it you wanted?"

He looked Spock over with a critical eye now that his doctor side had been triggered. He found that Spock was holding himself extremely stiffly. Well, more stiffly than usual at least and that's saying something. He looked as if he were full of pent up energy and he was holding his hands in front of him for once, seemingly cradling his right arm. He carefully unclasped his hand from around his wrist, revealing it as heavily burned and cocked at an odd angle. Bones could be seen poking out of the skin, marring his pale complexion. If McCoy had been a more inexperienced doctor, he would have gasped. But he wasn't, so in the time it takes a normal person to process the image, McCoy was up and fully ready to act. He pushed Spock over to the closest biobed, bone-knitter already in hand, "What did you do to the damn thing?"

Spock was uncharacteristically soft spoken, "I was merely careless while performing an experiment, Doctor. There is no cause for concern."

McCoy stared at him in disbelief, medical tools momentarily pausing in their work. Spock? Careless? There were many things Spock was but careless was certainly not one of them. But the opposite was just as insane, if not more. Spock didn't lie. Sure, he was able to, but he had said that he found the idea abhorrent unless absolutely needed.

"Doctor?"

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Spock's careful question. He scowled at the Vulcan, then quickly rethought his body language. He shifted his stance so he appeared less threatening, forced his mouth into a comforting smile, and made his voice soft and smooth, "Spock, what happened to your wrist?"

Spock's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. If McCoy hadn't been looking for it, he was sure that he would've missed it. He wondered briefly how many other emotional cues he had missed because he wasn't looking hard enough. Spock's voice had gotten even softer, "I already informed you of the incident. Nothing else occurred."

McCoy sighed and ran his hand through his grizzled hair, this time in annoyance, "Look, Spock, I'm a doctor. My job is to help people. Even when they don't want to be helped. And I can't help you unless you tell me the truth."

Spock was silent, obviously considering the idea carefully in his huge brain. Then, after a long moment, came the quiet confession, "There was a...malfunction in one of my tools. When I went to use it, it exploded. The shock wave pushed me backwards. I lost consciousness at that point as my head was the first part of my body to hit the wall. The last thing I remember is Ensign Jacobs standing over me, grinning."

The doctor saw red. Not literally, of course, that wasn't medically possible, but he felt that if it was, he would be. "One of the crew did this to you?!" he growled.

Spock nodded slowly, "Unfortunately, that is the conclusion I have come to."

"Why the hell didn't you report this immediately after you woke up?!" he shook his head, "No, never mind. That's not important right now. What's important is that we catch this son of a bitch and make sure he is punished."

He strode to the comm unit and pushed the talk button, "Jim, get down here."

A moment of static, then the Captain's boyish voice came through, "Aw, Bones, do I have too? I was just about to go to sleep."

"Now, Jim!" McCoy's demand left no room for disobedience.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming. Be patient," the comm shut off, announcing Captain Kirk's leaving of his room.

"He better be quick," McCoy muttered darkly, before turning back to Spock, "I'll never let him hurt anyone again, Spock. I promise."

Spock remained silent, letting his gratitude shine through his eyes instead.