A/N: Thank you all for waiting so patiently and, of course, for the reviews, they brighten my day.

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Chapter 4

"I gave him a hypo to get the pain off and let him sleep." Bones crossed his arms, coming close to Spock's side in front of the unconscious boy. His breathing was slightly uneven which concerned the doctor, though he tried to hide it from the half-Vulcan. "What do you think?"

"It seems the rapid and constant growth of the Captain is causing strain to his body and mind, unable to adapt quickly enough to his recovery." Spock murmured. Bones had called over the First Officer later in the day when Jim had been complaining nonstop at the pain in his head and limbs.

The boy lay unmoving now besides the slight heaving of his chest and Bones took a moment to look him over. Jim had grown some more during his sleep and his baggy pants now fit him perfectly. His hair had lengthened as well, as his facial features became much more defined. The doctor could tell the boy had probably reached the age of six by now.

"Do you suppose the pain will be constant?" McCoy inquired, eyes shifting towards the half-Vulcan.

"I am unable to answer in the current time, but there is a seventy three point two percent chance that shall be the case." Spock replied, turning his head slightly to peer at the worried doctor. "Doctor, if I may inquire as to your concern over the Captain?"

"What do you mean?" McCoy furrowed his brow. Shouldn't it be obvious?

"Forgive my prodding, but I have not failed to overlook your heightened interest in the Captain's well being as of late." Spock explained; his voice laced with curiosity, if that were possible.

"Well if my best friend suddenly turns into a kid obviously I'm going to be a bit more concerned."

"That seems...logical enough." Spock murmured. The half-Vulcan tilted his head down for a moment as if slipping into reverie. "Another question, doctor."

"What?" Bones growled, letting his annoyance for the First Officer get to him. The other man did not seem to catch the change in tone or simply paid no mind to it as he continued to speak.

"Aside from your concern over our Captain, would you be able to explain your change in behaviour towards him?"

"Such as?"

"Your verbal attacks towards the Captain have lessened as well as your patience for his usual strange behaviour..." Spock plainly answered, folding his hands behind him.

"Well, he's a kid. You can't treat a child the same way you would with a twenty something year old, could you?"

"Vulcan children are treated the same as adults on my planet." Spock explained. "It is only logical that we Vulcans be treated similar ways, though my mother used make gestures close to yours now, much to my father's dismay." The half-Vulcan's voice lowered almost to a soft whisper as his eyes seemed to glaze over in remembrance.

McCoy gave a simple nod, careful not to disturb the First Officer and momentarily returned his attention towards the sleeping Jim. The boy shifted slightly, turning over to his other side on the bed and grumbling incoherent words as the hypo began to wear off. The movement seemed break Spock's short train of thought as he spoke again.

"There is a chance that the pain the Captain is currently suffering from may depend at his age, seeing as the human anatomy significantly changes in the early years of childhood and adolescence."

"Hm, makes sense." Bones said, hand running along his chin and jaw as he took the half-Vulcan's comment to mind. It was a bit too early to tell but was certainly a plausible theory. Jim moved on the bed again.

"Indeed, Doctor, if it were not logical I would not have told you." Spock murmured, and both men felt their dislike for one another heighten once again. Bones did not hide his glare towards the half-Vulcan, swiftly returned with an amused look and raising of a brow.

'That cocky green blooded hobgoblin...' Bones twitched slightly while clenching his fist. If there weren't a sleeping child in the room he would have long thrown a remark at the First Officer. He exhaled deeply, grabbing his datapad to insert his observations over Jim to keep his mind occupied from Spock not too far away.

"Bridge to First Officer Spock ." The familiar voice of Lt. Uhura suddenly echoed in the room. McCoy sighed in relief at the sound. The other man quickly strode to the monitor on the doctor's desk.

"Speaking," Spock answered.

"Mr. Spock, you are needed in the Bridge." Uhura said.

"I shall be there shortly." Spock returned in his somewhat monotone voice before ending the transmission. The First Officer turned towards the doctor a small boy before leaving the Med bay. "Good day, Dr. McCoy."

"And good riddance." Bones growled when the half Vulcan passed through the door. There was a strange silence when the Vulcan finally left. Bones continued to occupy himself with watching the sleeping Jim but eventually brought himself to help a few people, saving the worn nurse Chapel. The most severe injury was from a crew member in engineering that managed to burn themselves with a broken circuit which Bones managed to patch up quickly. There were also a few cases of crew members coming down with a cold but were easily fixed with a hypospray.

In the middle of his shift he decided to check up on Jim, wondering if he had woken up yet. Stepping close to the blond, the boy seemed to sense his presence and began to wake.

"Hey, you." Leonard greeted softly as Jim's eyes began to open. The blond blinked, staring plainly at the older man as he tried to register who he was. He relaxed at the familiar sight of the doctor.

"Am I sick?" Jim murmured, drawing the sheets closer to his body in anticipation. His throat felt dry and he wished for a glass of water but couldn't find the desire to ask for one until the doctor answered his question.

"A little bit." Leonard replied.

"Ohh..." The boy's face dropped and Bones frowned.

"But you'll get better soon." McCoy added. His words seemed to make Jim feel a bit better as his eyes didn't seem to look so sad anymore and the doctor's small scowl thinned.

"Do you promise?" Jim asked hopefully and Bones wasn't sure how to answer. He could not exactly lie because he was not sure himself, but it would seem cruel to simply tell the child to wait and see. McCoy had never been the best with promises and commitment and did not necessarily feel like trying his luck again so soon. He could not hesitate when he answered; children always had a way with pointing out when people tried to beat around the bush, so instead he decided to change the topic completely.

"Hey, how about we do something? We never made our trip to the Bridge." Bones commented and Jim shook his head, the one the doctor wished he didn't do.

"I don't want to." Jim said as he sat up. He didn't seem to pay attention to his new body, most likely becoming accustomed to constantly changing or his mind simply telling him that was how he always was.

"Well, alright." Bones nodded, his eyes darted towards the clock by his desk which now showed fifteen minutes to five. "Are you still hungry? You slept for quite a while."

"Little bit." The blond's quiet tone continued, hinting at disappointment and disinterest. He just may have the most depressed six year old Bones had ever seen, though he had not been around any children for quite a while, it was hard to tell.

"Want me to get you something from the replicator?" Bones asked softly and the boy quietly nodded. McCoy could tell no other words would help in cheering the young Jim up so he just let him be, staring blankly at the Med Bay walls.

Leonard wasn't gone very long and returned with a small plate of fruits and vegetables in the blink of an eye. Jim had relaxed to a content state though the blond looked at the dish in slight distaste but ate at the few carrot sticks and apple slices Bones handed him. The older man took the liberty of leaning against the edge of the bed, in his position he managed to see an illuminated screen poking out from the covers.

"Drawing now?" Bones asked, watching as the boy piled the blankets around himself and grabbing a few orange slices; eventually, his head and arms were the only thing completely visible from the blankets. Jim nodded before sneaking out the datapad and poking at the screen before showing the interested doctor.

"That's me." Jim explained, pointing at the small stick man on the PADD screen. Bones grinned at the spiked hair the boy gave himself, along with the overly large head and small drawn limbs. Jim shifted his other hand away to show another person and pointed at the drawing again. "This one's you."

"Why am I so angry looking?" Leonard murmured, looking deeper at the device screen. The stick man Jim was clearly double his stick man Bones' size, baring the same overly large circular head but had an angry face shown with a frown made up of a large zigzag.

"Because you're always like that." Jim giggled, ducking his head into his cave of blankets. Bones stared at him plainly, biting at the inside of his cheek at the comment.

"Just eat your food." He said and Jim reached for a celery stick, munching at the vegetable while finishing up his drawing on the PADD. The rest of the drawing was made up an array of things such as a small ship at one corner that Jim said was the Enterprise. The boy later showed him a picture of a stick man Spock with an overly large smile, which both disturbed and amused McCoy, creating a strange mental image of the grinning Vulcan in his head.