Leonard had been administering vaccinations all day, which was an extremely tedious process. Squirming and fussing yeomen all over his sickbay was the last thing he wanted. Luckily, Nurse Chapel and M'Benga had agreed to help him out. With how things were going, they'd probably finish earlier than planned. Leonard would praise the Almighty for that. People avoided vaccinations like the plague. How ironic.

While he was cleaning up some of the supply cabinets that had been jostled from the vaccination rush, Leonard felt a prickle in the back of his neck. He whipped his head around quickly, almost giving himself whiplash. The Vulcan Ambassador was in the doorway, his back ramrod straight with his hands clasped behind his back. Typical.

"You were aware of my presence?" Sarek asked in the most stoic tone Leonard had ever heard. And he thought that Spock was bad...

"Yeah, I had a feelin'," Leonard replied, letting his home accent seep in. This wasn't business, after all. He was not getting into that Vulcan business.

"Indeed," Sarek raised his eyebrow minutely. Leonard had to struggle not to roll his eyes. "As I have heard from various... loud... crewmen, you are administering vaccinations. For what illness are you attempting to avoid?"

"Every so often we just have to prepare for any new disease that might be spreading on a planet we'd be visitin'," Leonard replied. The crewmen on that ship have had so many vaccinations, they're practically immune to every illness. If that was how it worked, anyway. "We're havin' a quick diplomatic visit on Reona in a few days. Gotta prepare for their famous Reonan disease." Vomiting, diarrhea, confusion, migraine... nasty stuff. Sarek stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. Leonard stared back, not wanted to get into it.

"It would seem advisable that I, as well as my two comrades, receive the vaccination as well." Sarek stated. Leonard rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, would seem so. How long you people stayin' here?" Leonard fixed up a clean hypo, ignoring the silence Sarek was giving him.

In a miffed tone, Sarek said "What is it that you mean by 'you people,' Doctor?" Leonard turned around and smirked.

"What do YOU mean 'you people,' Ambassador?" Leonard said, walking forward with the hypo in hand.

"I had not meant anything by it," Sarek retorted. "It was you who had originally used that language. Is it not a rude thing to say on Terra?" Leonard dramatically rolled his eyes that time and glared at the hobgoblin.

"Calm down, I was just tryin' to quote an old movie," Leonard jabbed the hypo into Sarek before the Vulcan could respond.

"I see. How... human." Leonard glared. What in God's name is the hobgoblin trying to say?

"Well, last time I checked, I WAS a human," Leonard was angry now. He tossed the used hypo onto the counter. "Sorry if I'm being too 'illogical' for you, Ambassador. Now, is there anything else you came for?" Sarek stared. Leonard continued glaring. After a few moments, Sarek turned to leave.

"T'Saang and Savul will be arriving for their vaccinations tomorrow at 1500." With that, the Vulcan left. And what the hell was that? Leonard clenched his jaw. Damned goblins. Taking a deep breath, he realized that he was probably getting too defensive. It's not like Sarek had insulted him, he just called him human. Leonard shook his head. He really needed a satisfying dinner and some good sleep to calm him down.

...

After spending an hour tossing and turning in bed, Leonard decided that sleep wasn't going to do it for him tonight. His mind kept him awake, and wasn't going to let him go. He put on pajama pants, but couldn't find a clean shirt. He really needed to remember to do his laundry. Leonard shrugged and walked outside, taking a stroll. He wasn't too comfortable being shirtless, but he sure as hell didn't want to be walking around in shirts that had God-knows-what spilled on them. He shivered as he remembered that time when an ensign threw up all over him one morning in Sickbay. That kid was sick for days...

Leonard strolled around aimlessly, until he found himself at the door to an observation deck. He never liked looking out into the vast emptiness of doom, but he might have gotten over it by now. Sighing, he walked inside and stood close to the window. The room was dark, but it was nice. It made him feel comfortable.

"Good evening-" Leonard almost screamed, if he hadn't gasped loudly and fallen off to the side. Looking up from the floor, he saw the Hobgoblin Master staring at him with an eyebrow raised high. Leonard scowled.

"Good god, man!" He exclaimed, scrambling up and feeling his rapidly beating heart. "Don't scare me like that!" Leonard took a few deep breaths, looking back out into the black abyss. Several stars scattered out in the distance was really the only exciting thing out there. Jim would probably go on and on about them though.

"It was not my intention to startle you, Doctor," Sarek said, looking out into the space as well. "I had presumed that you were already aware of my presence. That perhaps you had had another..." The Vulcan hesitated, glancing at him briefly. "Feeling." Leonard sighed.

"It doesn't really work like that..." Sarek looked at him and raised a questioning eyebrow. Leonard gestured vaguely, "You know, those times when you get a prickle in the back of your head. Like you KNOW that somebody is looking at you." At Sarek's blank look, he went on. "Anyway, there's that and then there's when somebody just sneaks up on you."

"It was not my intention to-"

"I know, I know," Leonard sighed, waving his hand dismissively. Sarek looked vaguely irked by the interruption, but didn't act on it. The ruffled doctor just kept on looking outside. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that the hobgoblin was staring at him. "Don't you people know it's rude to stare?" He said, not looking over. Sarek said nothing, but looked back out the window.

After a few peaceful but somewhat awkward minutes had passed, Leonard nodded to the Vulcan and left. He was feeling more tired now, and he didn't want to stay up all night. The goblin might be okay with staying up for extended periods of time, but Leonard was not. It only made him seven times angrier. And nobody wants an angry doctor.

...

There was a knock on his office door, distracting Leonard from his monitor. How could he get any damn work done if kids keep pestering him? He threw a grouchy "come in" in that general direction. The door opened and shut quickly, making Leonard look up.

"BONES PLEASE TELL ME YOU HAVE ROMULAN ALE ON YOU!" Jim flopped onto a chair opposite of his desk. Leonard sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had a long day of giving vaccinations (including two goblins). He didn't have time for this!

"Damn it, Jim! I'm a medical doctor not a psychologist!" Even though he was trained in psychology. But he wouldn't mention that. "I don't have time for this- I have too much paperwork to do." They glared at each other. Jim gave him the puppy-dog look with his baby blue eyes. Leonard's glare only got more stern. "Seriously, Jim. I can spare a few minutes, but not anywhere near an hour." He opened his locked drawer, pulling out a bottle. "I'm savin' my Romulan Ale, so you'll just have to do with this brandy that Scotty didn't want." Leonard and Scotty were really the only people who could get their hands on alcohol around the ship, and nobody knew how. He was never telling Jim, that's for sure.

He poured some brandy in Jim's glass and asked him what the matter was. Jim went on to take gulps of alcohol throughout his ranting about Spock, diplomacy, Spock, upcoming missions, Spock, random crew members, Spock... Leonard tried to tune out most of it. Doing some more work, but pretending to be listening, he filled out files of who all he had done vaccinations for and all that. When he accessed the medical files for the Vulcan representatives, he cut Jim off mid-sentence.

"Hey Jim," Leonard asked, ignoring Jim's glare at the interruption. "Why are the hobgoblins here again?" Jim thought for a moment.

"Mmm, they're wanting to visit the nearby planets to make sure that alliances can be made between them. We were the closest transport, so I agreed to let them stay." Jim explained, bored. Leonard nodded. Since their hasty relocation, the Vulcans have had a rickety start. It's good that they were thinking about their neighbors, albeit in a somewhat selfish way. After the brief silence, Jim went on about his dramatic life.

Jim ended up talking for the next couple of hours, but Leonard was able to work over that so the time wasn't completely lost. The doctor had long since locked up the brandy, and he was about finishing up. It was getting late, and they missed dinner. It was high time they got back to their rooms. Leonard helped Jim up and out of Sickbay.

They stumbled along the halls, Jim leaning on Leonard. That's how it always was. Jim was riding him all on through life... He'd have to not say that out loud next time he thinks it. Shoving Jim inside his Captain's Quarters, he returns to his own. Barely having enough time to tug off his boots, he falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.