Len McCoy didn't have shoes and he let everyone know it. He giggled as his sock-covered feet padded silently down the ship's corridors. If he could contain his mirth long enough, he could creep up behind unsuspecting ensigns and startle them.
He could if Spock wasn't on top of it.
"Come along, Leonard." Spock resigned himself to picking the child up and carrying him as he'd seen Nurse Chapel do. Len was not happy about this turn of events, but he'd stopped reacting so loudly. Spock's ears were grateful.
"But I wanna walk." He whined. Spock wasn't nearly as fun as that nice Nurse Chapel.
"You will not be permitted to walk unaccompanied, and scaring ensigns is not appropriate behavior for a Starfleet officer." The only made Len pout more. He was totally enamored with the idea of being a "Space Doctor" in a big "Space Hospital Ship" like this one. Spock was coming to find that comments like this were extremely effective.
They arrived at the officers' mess without too much fuss. Nearly everyone had cleared out for the upcoming shift, and there were only a few diners left after the lunch rush.
"I very much wanted to tell Meester Scott where he could stick that soldering coil; I said- Oh! Meester Spock. I did not realize we had… guests onboard."
Chekov and his lunch companions snapped to attention. What was no doubt a very interesting and insubordinate tale had been interrupted by the arrival of their commanding officer and a toddler. The end of that story was unsuitable for both sets of ears.
"My goodness, Mister Spock!" Uhura declared, her eyes twinkling. "What an adorable little boy! And here I was, sure we didn't have guests either!"
Sulu nodded in his affirmation, hiding any potential comments behind a cup of coffee.
"Indeed." Spock wasn't one to mince words. "He has only just arrived. I take you haven't heard-"
"Well ain't you the prettiest lady I ever did see!" Len McCoy hollered. "Momma calls me 'Len' and I'm takin' you to dinner!"
Sulu choked on his coffee and spit all over Chekov, who could hardly be bothered to care he was laughing so hard. Uhura's grin split her face from ear to ear, and Spock felt more than a little uncomfortable.
"Well, aren't you a little charmer!" Uhura stood up to shake the tiny hand. More quietly, she murmured to Spock, "I wonder where in the world he picked that up from."
"Undoubtedly from the 'holo-shows' he is inordinately fond of. Already he has likened me to a Romulan who 'hits ladies and shoots people'."
Uhura smiled knowingly. "Do you watch a lot of holo-shows, Mister Len?"
The boy nodded. "My Momma likes the one about the doctors who go on dates. When I'm grown, I'm gonna be a doctor too, and then I can buy you dinner!"
The Lieutenant's smile was a little less bright as the pieces fell into place. She looked at Spock, and then back to the young doctor-to-be. "Don't tell me you're the famous Leonard McCoy…?"
Spock found Uhura's efforts to 'play it off cool' commendable. The boy didn't notice. "Yes ma'am I am!" He turned to Spock. "Does everybody on the ship know my Dad?"
"They are all well-acquainted with Doctor McCoy. I believe you will find that most of them are familiar with you." The atmosphere in the room had become heavier, now that all of the officers were on the same page. Chekov and Sulu couldn't really stop staring, even if their expressions were pleasant enough.
"Perhaps it would be best to have lunch before becoming concerned about dinner, Leonard." Spock nodded to the trio at the table before walking over to the food synthesizers. Len waved bye over the Vulcan's shoulder.
"Can I have pecan pie?" Len asked. Spock was becoming increasingly aware of the child's volume and marveled at how such a small set of lungs could make so much noise.
"After you have consumed an appropriate quantity of nutritional food substance, that will be acceptable." Spock missed the furrowed brows as he pulled up the Doctor's food preferences on the computer. "I will synthesize a 'baked potato with all the fixin's', carrot slices, and applesauce. Provided you are still hungry afterwards, you may have a slice of pie."
"I'm gonna eat it all!" was the vociferous response. Spock requested a child's portion of the dishes and waited for the food to synthesize. Leonard was delighted and clapped his hands excitedly at the prospect of lunch.
Spock took the tray and the small doctor to one of the tables and set them down. Leonard immediately grabbed for the applesauce, almost upsetting the bowl. Spock steadied it and offered the child a spoon instead. "Nurse Chapel would not be pleased if I returned you to the Sickbay covered in applesauce." He emphasized this point with one of his eyebrows.
Len sat quietly and waited for the entire tray to settle before going after the applesauce again. Once satisfied that Leonard would not make a mess of things, Spock returned to the synthesizer for his own lunch. He selected one of his usual salad mixes, one with Vulcan spices and acceptable nutritional value.
There was no applesauce disaster when he returned. Astonishingly, Leonard was eating without any fuss. He scooped the applesauce into his mouth faster than Spock thought possible, yet none of the semi-liquid substance spilled. The potato was Leonard's next victim, and a much messier one. Sour cream, cheese, and little bits of bacon were scattered across the tray and the front of his shirt. Too little too late, Spock remembered napkins.
"Please endeavor to keep your clothing free of food." Spock tried to mop up the splotches of sour cream while Leonard strived to make more.
"You talk like a computer!" He spit bits of cheese and potato on Spock's sleeve. "Are all the Vulcans like that or are you a robot Vulcan?"
Spock had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. Leonard McCoy seemed to be consistently outspoken, messy, and blunt. "Vulcans are not all alike, though most are quite similar to myself in behavior and mannerisms."
Len blinked up at him but continued shoveling potato into his mouth. After he finished scraping the potato skin with his fork, he began scooping up carrot slices. Spock merely raised an eyebrow at the boy's antics and went back to his salad.
A few minutes later, there was a clatter of silverware. Spock looked up sharply. Len was looking up at him, expectation in his eyes.
"Can I have my pie now?"
Faster than Spock had imagined possible, Leonard had eaten all of the food, and was now chanting "Pie! Pie! Pie!" Who was he to refuse, under such pressure? It seemed Spock would have to meet those demands or subject himself to additional methods of persuasion.
Spock got up and headed over to the food synthesizer. Momma McCoy's famous pecan pie was a much-beloved recipe of the Doctor's, and the recipe was often pulled up. The little door opened, and there before him was a hot slice of pie. Now Leonard was cheering from the table. Suddenly, Spock's become a hero.
The pie was gone almost faster than the applesauce, and Spock was grateful for a few moments of silence.
Pretty soon after, Jim came striding through the doors, covered from the waist up in grease and conductivity fluid. He was wiping himself down with a towel, but there was no saving his shirt. Captain and clothing were filthy.
"Did you fix your car?" Leonard spit crumbs all over the table. "Dad fixed the car before he took it to the shop, and he looked just like you!" He shoved the last of his piecrust into his mouth and stared as Jim went over to the food synthesizers for himself.
"Spock. How's our littlest patient?" Jim was looking over the mess on the table as he got his black coffee.
Spock set down his fork and turned toward his captain. "Leonard has a large appetite, Captain. He has consumed a full meal already."
"Really?" Jim sat down next to the bottomless stomach. "I can see you enjoyed it."
Len didn't respond. He was staring at his tray, littered with bits of cheese, but he didn't make a move toward any of it. Now that Jim was looking, Leonard wasn't moving much at all.
"Len?" Jim put a hand on the kid's shoulder. "Is something wrong?"
Before responding, Len put a hand to his stomach. He looked up at Jim, suddenly pale. "I don't feel good."
The captain's eyebrows shot up. "We should get you to Nurse Chapel right away." He picked the boy up off the bench and headed toward the door. Before leaving, he turned his head back. "Spock-"
It was a good thing his shirt was already ruined. The article certainly didn't survive the second appearance of that baked potato.
