A/N: Not sure I really like this chapter as much as the last one. :/ It just seems... off, ya know? Maybe it's Spock. I was never good with Spock. Hopefully I didn't mess him up too terribly badly. I'm sorry if I did. (-_-') Feel free to pelt me with rotton fruit for any and all OOCness.

(Lines still hate me at this spot.)

Spock listened quietly just outside his Captain's door, hands clasped behind his back and looking as casual as a Vulcan could, which was actually rather casual. It was considered eavesdropping, he knew, but a Vulcan's curiosity (and worry, perhaps?) could never be extinguished that easily. "Curiosity killed the ca, but the answer brought it back." Well, Vulcan's did descend from certain species of feline… Hence, they purred. Occasionally. Not often.

The sound eventually died down, leaving murmured comforting words to fill the silence. Spock decided that that might have been the best time to make an entrance.

"Doctor, I was-" He cut himself off at the scene before him, and two eyebrows shot up straight into his hairline

McCoy was coddling their young Captain, holding him close to his chest while rubbing small circles in the child's back. Tender words that not even Vulcan ears could hear were said into the blond head. The Captain in question shook in his arms, his breath hitching ever so often. Tears streamed down flushed cheeks, staining the doctor's medical blues. Every so often a whispered apology would come, only to be stifled. If Spock looked closely enough he could swear there were tears in the doctor's own eyes as well.

He opened his mouth, shutting it again quickly before taking a step forward so the door could shut. Emotional situations weren't his strong suit.

Finally, McCoy looked up at the half-Vulcan standing in front of the door, seemingly averting his eyes anywhere but the biobed. He couldn't hide the smallest of grins. Leave it to Spock to try and give a sobbing kid some privacy after waiting outside the door.

"Jimmy," He said softly, and those damn Vulcan ears perked again. "This is Spock. He's the First Officer on this ship." Spock finally looked over to the biobed, his body rigid. He looked about as awkward as McCoy had ever seen him. Jimmy curled up closed to McCoy, and it was suddenly apparent to the country doctor that his eyes were closed, breathing even.

"Well, looks like your late, hobgoblin. The kid's already asleep." He said, followed by a muttered, "Told him he needed to rest."

Spock quirked an eyebrow. "On the contrary doctor, I believe he is, as you would put in, 'faking it'." The little body tensed immediately, and McCoy almost wanted to scold the young boy. If Jim had been his older, normal self, he probably would have too, but the younger version was… different, to say the least.

Instead he simply, gently, pulled the child away slightly, looking straight into wide blue orbs. "I'm gonna leave you alone with Spock for a minute, okay? I've got a few things to take care of." Like filing the reports explaining your de-aging, which I know'll just be God awful. He thought to himself, placing his friend (could be still call him that? The kid barely knew who he was.) back on the biobed as he stood up. Awkward silence enveloped the room as soon as the door shut.

Finally, Jim was the one to instigate a conversation.

"H-how did I g-get here?"

His voice is cracked from earlier sobbing, and so much more quiet than Spock could imagine his Captain's ever being. Then again, he never could have thought that his Captain was abused as a child either, so the improbable had become truth.

There really was no way to answer that question; not without sounding completely insane. "Our Captain was sent on an away mission recently. Somehow, he managed to engage natives of the planet and they proceeded with some sort of ritual. The product was our Captain being temporarily de-aged. That would be you." And somehow, he managed to make to make it sound like a normal, everyday occurrence. Must have been the emotionless voice.

Brilliant sky-blue eyes widened in disbelief. "I-I'm the Captain?"

"Correct," the answer is sharp, without the slightest hesitation

"Of my own starship? Really?"

One eyebrow quirked slightly. "Correct. I believe that is what my previous answer entailed."

Jimmy's jaw dropped, before he quickly shook his head. "No. That… No. I'm not that stupid." He stops, looking at the half-Vulcan with a piercing look that Spock swears his heart skips a beat. "Am I?"

"By no means." And that's all he can offer, because he doesn't understand this younger Kirk's mind in any way, while he understood the older version at least some. He can't sooth a mind he knows nothing about.

There's another lapse of silence, and this one is longer because neither occupant feels the great need to break it. More importantly, neither of them know how.

"What is the last thing you remember?" It's the only thing Spock can think of to say. The only thing that can break the silence.

Jimmy freezes, small fists clenching at his side. Several things flash through the young eyes that should never be there, things Spock can't even pick out, before settling on sadness. As it does his hands suddenly unclench, and Spock can see small droplets of red on the nails and palms. A wave of protectiveness sweeps through him, but it doesn't show. It never does.

"Frank was mad at me." His voice is back to that quiet that still doesn't sit quite right with the Vulcan, and he vaguely remembers Jim mentioning Frank. It was his step-father. "I got in this fight at school. It was stupid, but it got me in trouble." He winced, absently rubbing the small of his back. "Mom was off planet again."

Spock's brows furrowed slightly. "How old are you?"

"Nine." The answer is so automatic, and suddenly he breaks out in a wide grin. "I'm going into sixth grade." He said, obviously proud of the achievement.

He can't help the muttered "Fascinating," that escaped his lips.

Jimmy's head cocked to one side before his lips made a small 'o' of recognition. "Oh right. I remember that one."

"Remember?"

A small nod. "Uh-huh. I read that word somewhere. It means something's interesting, right?" Spock just nodded, and Jimmy broke out into a grin. "It stuck then. Repetition." It suddenly dawned on Spock that there was one thing that the de-aged version of their Captain had in common with his older counterpart; they visibly bounced back and forth between emotions quickly. He wasn't entirely sure whether that was good or bad in a human that age.

A flash of worry passed through Jimmy's eyes at Spock's silence. The Vulcan blinked; he hadn't realized he'd stayed silent that long.

"Anyway," Jimmy said quietly, suddenly finding something incredibly interesting about the floor. "When can I leave? I hate hospitals."

"I will ask the doctor," Spock responds with a nod, turning on his heel to face the door, fully prepared to leave, when a small hand grasps his wrist. Fear and insecurity rush into his system, and he stiffened. The hand immediately dropped.

"S-sorry. I-I just.. don't go. Not y-yet." The voice was almost pleading, and Spock opened his mouth to answer when another wave of emotion came, stopping his voice in his throat.

"N-never mind. I-I just… never mind."

Spock turned, gazing down at the blond curls. Jimmy's head was down and he's biting his lip, clearly uncomfortable. Spock kneeled down, the movement stiff and awkward, and he wished he were more like his mother when it came to comforting and understanding. "I do not have to ask now. If you wish we could… talk. It is your choice."

Nervous eyes flickered up, and there was a small nod. "Could you?"

Spock nodded. "If you want." Maybe he got something from his mother after all.

Jimmy quickly went over to the biobed, pushing himself up. Spock followed, albeit at a slower pace, before sitting down beside the young boy, trying desperately to be near without actually touching him. Somewhere in his mind he realizes that his father was in the exact same position when he was young, after his first (and last) fight.

"What's your favorite book?" All things considered, it's a weak conversation starter, but he offers it anyway.

"Howl's Moving Castle. It's this really old book, back from, like, the twentieth century." A grin. "Calcifer's my favorite. He's a fire demon. What's yours?" And that's where Spock pulls a blank. Not because he doesn't have a favorite, but because he's not suppose to. Vulcan's don't have particular preferences.

So he paused for a second, then decided he might as well say. "Alice in Wonderland." Jimmy laughed.

"That's silly! Only little kids read that!"

Spock can't help but raise an eyebrow in amusement. "It was my mother's favorite. She read it to me when I was young." And he still liked it, oddly enough. The insanity and illogicalness was almost a release.

"'I don't want to be among mad people.'" Jimmy murmured, in a very Alice-ish tone.

"'Oh you can't help that. We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad.'" Spock responded, and though his voice lacked the actual emotions (if madness could be considered as such, because that's all that crept into the Cheshire Cat's voice), the quote was said perfectly. Jimmy burst out laughing again.

So the conversation was instigated. Eventually Jimmy seemed to get comfortable, and before either realized it, it had been almost two hours since they began talking. Amazing how a simple quote could start so much.

McCoy walked in around this time, halting Jimmy's sentence in its tracks. McCoy raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk on his face. "Having fun? You both realize it's almost nine o'clock, right? Jimmy was able to leave an hour ago."

"You never told us when he could though, doctor." Spock pointed out, and McCoy's smirk turned to the usual customary scowl.

"He's staying with you, by the way." He said dismissively, and turned around. The door opened just as he looked over his shoulder. "You don't mind, do you?" Before Spock could respond the door was already shut, leaving silence.


A/N: And it is done! I love writing McCoy, I really do... He's featured in a good portion of my ST fics. Again, I apologise for the OOCness and offer you the chance to pelt me with rotton fruit for it.

Also, I don't know if vulcan's can purr. It's sorta fannon, and I don't know if it was ever confirmed in the original cannon, or even after, but I do know they decsend from felines like humans (if your an evolutionist) from apes. And about the ears perking thing... Yeah, that was just spoof stuff that I thought was funny. XD It would be awesome though if Vulcan's ears did perk!

Anyway, hope everyone liked, and I still need the input on whether Scotty had any sisters or not. ;) Seriously, I won't start writing that fic until someone gives me a yes or no on if he had any siblings.

~Piki :B