A/n: Better late than never, right? This last chapter accidentally got deleted off my computer and it took me quite awhile to work up the desire to rewrite it. But it's finally done, so I hope you guys all enjoy the ending.

Chapter 4

A wash of emotions scurried through Bones' head like he hadn't felt since his ex-wife had knocked him over the head with her shoe. Fear, surprise, anger, relief – he shook his head to clear it and blinked a few times, but Jim Kirk was still standing there, in the best and worst possible of places, with his Vulcan sidekick behind him. Yeah, that sounded about right. Good to know he wasn't hallucinating.

"Jim!"

"Bones!" The two of them cried out at the same time, his captain stepping forward and reaching out a hand, as if McCoy would take it and the two of them would go strolling away into the sunset.

The Klingons behind them calmly aimed their phasers at Kirk. "Thank you, gentlemen," said Marga, just as composedly. "Captain Kirk, I suggest you don't make any more escape attempts at the moment." She clapped her hands together. "Well. It is wonderful to have you three together, though. We have much to discuss."

Kirk did a double take at her words and Bones saw his eyes land on Uhura, who stood frozen behind him in her ill-fitting KIingon gear. So the disguise was working, at least for now. After a brief second of surprise Bones saw a familiar glint in his friend's eye and he knew Jim was going to work the situation to his advantage. "What could I possibly want to discuss with someone who kidnapped two of my best officers?" Kirk snapped. "Oh wait, I know." He snapped his fingers. "Maybe why the hell you kidnapped two of my officers?"

"There is no need for sarcasm, Captain." The senator replied, serenely as ever, and clasped her hands together at the small of her back, a sign she was preparing for a long speech. Bones watched as Kirk signaled Spock with nothing more than a shift of his eyes, and the Vulcan began inching, almost imperceptibly, toward Marga.

"I told you we needed a doctor, and it was the truth," Marga continued. "You have probably noticed how few crew members are aboard this ship. I'm afraid this is the case with much of the planet. There is… I believe the word is an epidemic. A disease has claimed millions of Klingon lives, and continues to spread. It is unlike anything we have ever seen, and none of our doctors seem to have any hope to cure it. My councilors and I have decided to procure a Federation doctor. We heard they were the best." She turned to Bones and granted him a bitter smile.

"Why didn't you just ask for help?" Kirk demanded. Spock was nearly directly behind Marga now.

"Klingons do not ask for help," she replied disdainfully. "Your doctor was needed. We procured him. That is all. His life was in no danger – at least, if he provided the assistance we requested."

"Your guards killed one of my men! Ramirez is dead!"

Bones recoiled and he heard Uhura make a tiny gasp of horror. Poor man; he could have made a good officer someday.

"One of my guards is dead as well, is he not? It seems to me that the Federation doesn't have such a high regard for the sanctity of life as it claims."

"We only kill when our own lives are in danger! We don't kidnap people and murder their rescuers."

"I suppose that is where we differ, then, Captain. First and foremost, Klingons protect their own." She nodded her head and the guards aiming at Kirk discharged their phasers.

Kirk ducked a fraction of a second before the phasers went off and the lasers hit the wall behind him with a dull thud and a sizzle. "Spock, now!" he cried, spinning toward the senator and the Vulcan behind her, who was poised to grab her neck in that nerve-pinch move. He heard fists connect to his right and knew Bones and Uhura were taking out the last of the guards – Kirk didn't know how she'd ended up in that disguise but it was brilliant – so he focused on Spock.

The black-haired alien lifted his palm – and went flying. Marga pulled out a blade the length of Kirk's arm she had hidden along her back and slung it backward, knocking the Vulcan in the chest with the blunt end and ruining his chances of dropping her. "Spock!" Kirk screamed as his first officer's head hit the floor with an audible thunk.

Spock lay very still after that.

"No!" Kirk aimed his phaser at Marga, shooting off rounds as fast as he could, all of which she gracefully avoided using some sort of Klingon military training that looked like dancing. Kirk saw red. He rushed at Marga, fists and kicks flying, barely noticing as she cut him over and over with her sword. "What did you do to him?" he demanded, finally landing a fist to her chin that knocked her off balance, which he immediately followed with a kick to her gut. "Why can't you just," he kicked her again, "leave…" Another kick. "…my friends…" A punch. "alone?"

Marga knelt on the floor, her head bowed, as Kirk pummeled her over and over. The sword clattered from her fingers but Kirk still saw a haze of red. "You evil bitch," he panted. "How dare you…" He slammed his fist into the side of her head and watched from what seemed like a long distance as blood dripped from his knuckles. "…hurt Spock?"

"Jim! Jim!" Bones was calling his name, and then he was dragging Kirk away by his armpits when Kirk still fought to get at that disgusting woman who had kidnapped Bones and hurt Spock. Maybe killed Spock. Oh God, what if Spock was dead? He lunged forward, fighting to get free from Bones' hold, but though his friend's fingers slipped on the blood streaming down Kirk's chest, Bones held on. "Jim! Stop! It's over. It's over. You win. We've just got to get out of here now."

"It's over?" But it couldn't be. Spock still lay so very still on the floor in front of him. Bones, however, held him tight and seemed to have no plans of letting go, so Kirk sank to his knees and touched the communicator on his bloody, torn sweater. "Scotty? We found them."

"Wait!" Marga, who still knelt bleeding on the floor, lifted up her proud face to Kirk, showing him desperate eyes that flooded with tears. "Please. Please wait. My daughter… she's so sick."

Kirk looked at her for a long moment; then spat out blood that had somehow pooled in his mouth. "Fine. We'll call a damn doctor. But you're not getting Bones."

With that, his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.

Bones had been cleaning up Kirk's messes for a long time – ever since he had met the guy, in fact – so he would think the job would get easier, or at least less annoying. Getting stuck holding an unconscious Kirk in his lap over a pool of Kirk's blood, in a room with a bunch of stunned or injured aliens and two crazy women, however, was really, very annoying. "Aw, damn it, Jim, did you have to pass out now?"

One of the crazy women, Uhura – who was actually starting to grow on him – touched his shoulder and smiled. "We did it, Bones." She leaned over him and touched the communicator on Kirk's chest. "Mr. Scott, are you there?"

"Uhura!" The tinny voice coming out the speakers offered a heavy Scottish brogue, the best way to tell if Scotty was upset or excited. "You're ok! How about the doctor?"

"I'm here, Scotty. Kirk and Spock are both unconscious though. Some rescue team, huh?"

"I'm locking on to you right now."

"Please," Marga begged again, trying to rise but sinking to the ground again, holding her side where Kirk had kicked her.

"Hang on, Scott. Add one more to that. We've got a Klingon visitor coming." Bones eyed the bruises welling under the dark skin on her face. "Better beam us all to sick bay, too."

"Can do." To his credit, Scotty didn't even ask for details.

The next image Bones saw, after the glittering multicolored lights that were a staple of teleportation faded, was his sick bay crowded with what looked light every crew member aboard the Enterprise, all of them shouting and shoving and otherwise getting in the way. "There they are!" one shouted. "They're alright!"

"I don't know about that," another drawled, a hint of Texas in his voice. "The captain's awfully bloody."

"What are you all doing here?" Bones snapped. "Get the hell out!"

"The doctor's back!" An extremely loud and annoying cheer followed that comment, and the mass of crewmen swarmed Bones, all trying to pat him on the back and welcome him home; which was rather difficult to do since he still held Jim's bloody body against his chest.

"What," Bones ground out through gritted teeth, "is wrong with you people? Can't you see we have a situation here?"

Klingon-accented English answered him. "I think they are happy to see you, Doctor McCoy." Marga chuckled humorlessly but quickly stopped, an almost unnoticeable wince evidencing the pain the motion caused. The senator still knelt on the floor a couple of meters in front of him, only now her back rested against one of the sickbay beds. Bones almost felt sorry for the woman; brought so quickly from pride to fear and pain and captivity aboard an enemy ship.

Well. He almost felt sorry for her. After all, he had been in a similar situation himself, once upon a time.

"Okay, that's enough, people," Uhura shouted, effortlessly taking charge of the situation. Bones was starting to think she was a useful person to have around. "Someone get Nurse Chapel in here to help Dr. McCoy, and we need a security team immediately to keep an eye on our Klingon guest. Everyone else, back to your stations. And clear a path to the bridge; I need to file a report."

Uhura watched the peons scatter and laid a gentle hand on Bones' shoulder. "You ok? Can you handle things here?" When he nodded, she turned cold eyes to Marga. "I'm going to contact Admiral Pike and inform him that the Klingons have officially requested Federation assistance in wiping out this disease on your planet. He's going to ask you to make a statement; then he'll probably take you into Federation custody for kidnapping and attempted murder. It would be in your best interest to cooperate."

Marga looked down at the floor during the whole of Uhura's speech, her brown hair, which had come loose from its elaborate braid, hanging over her ridged forehead in straggling wisps. But when the senator lifted her head, she met Uhura's eyes with a proud, tight-lipped stare. "And my daughter?"

Uhura softened slightly. "We'll do our best to help her."

"Then do what you must."

The women nodded to each other and Uhura stalked away. Glad to be back in his sick bay and the drama – mostly – taken care of, Bones allowed himself a moment to watch her butt wiggle under her miniskirt as she walked out the door.

Kirk opened his eyes to a haze of white that slowly cleared into the Enterprise ceiling. From the way his body felt carefully numb and the fuzziness that threatened to reclaim his brain into a drugged sleep, not to mention the fact that he wore only his underwear and lay on his back in a hard bed with a scratchy blanket, he could only surmise that he was in the sick bay. Opening his eyes as wide as possible to keep from sinking back into sleep, Kirk tried to recall the circumstances that had landed him here.

He had been on a rescue mission… Uhura had dressed as a Klingon… and Bones had pulled him away from – "Spock!"

Kirk shot straight up in bed, all sorts of alarms beeping around him as his heart rate spiked and he fought to get free of the stickers and tubes jammed into his arm. "Spock! Where's Spock?" He ripped the IV out of his hand and leaped to his feet, swaying dizzily when his bare heels hit the carpet.

"Jim! Jim!" Bones came tearing around the corner and grabbed Kirk's arm before he fell. "Get back in bed!"

Kirk didn't want to comply but he did anyway, since his legs were threatening not to hold him upright anymore. He sat on the edge of the bed and gripped the metal armrest that protruded from the side. "Spock! Please, where's Spock?"

"He's fine. Jim, he's fine. Lie down before you kill yourself."

A surge of overwhelming relief poured through Kirk and he actually followed the doctor's orders, stretching out on the bed and plopping his blond head on the regulation white pillow. "Where is he?" Kirk asked, allowing his eyes to close for a few brief seconds while Bones stuck needles back in Kirk's arm.

"Glad to see you're so concerned with my welfare," Bones quipped, but he grinned. "Spock got a nasty lump on the back of the head but he's already working again. He's talking to all the higher-ups trying to get you out of trouble. Since you saved me and Uhura and caught a nasty Klingon in the process, I think they're gonna forgive you."

"I'm concerned with your welfare," Kirk muttered, wincing when Bones jabbed the IV back in his vein. "Is all this really necessary?"

"You lost an awful lot of blood. Not to mention all the trouble it took me to close up those damn sword cuts. So yeah, it's necessary." Bones glanced at him from under the brown bangs that shaded almost all the expression in his eyes. "By the way, thanks. For saving my life."

Kirk shrugged, careful to avoid pulling the shiny new skin along his bare shoulder where Bones had healed his cuts. "Looks like I could say the same to you. I could have done a lot better at rescuing you guys; too many people got hurt for my taste." He closed his eyes again, only to quickly reopen them when the sight of Spock lying cold and still on the floor filled his vision.

Bones cleared his throat and changed the subject. "You know we brought Marga back to the ship? She's in a holding cell, but the Federation's having talks with her about a medical mission to help the Klingons. Looks like Captain Kirk is gonna bring peace between the Klingons and the Federation."

Kirk snorted. "Yeah, like that could happen." He could feel the heavy weights of sleep slowly dragging him into oblivion and reached for his friend's hand, squeezing it tightly. "I'm really glad you're okay, Bones."

Bones squeezed back. "Yeah. Same here."

When Kirk's eyelids fluttered open again, he could still feel the warm pressure around his palm from Bones' fingers and he squeezed them, only for the hand covering his to jerk away guiltily. Curious, Kirk forced his eyes to focus until he saw that the dark-haired figure sitting beside him wasn't Bones at all, but Spock. His heart skipped a beat – Spock had been holding his hand.

"Are you awake, Captain?" the Vulcan asked softly, worry evident in his dark eyes, though his face remained as smooth and expressionless as ever.

"Spock." Kirk grinned slowly and sat up, careful not to dislodge any of Bones' instruments this time. "You're alright."

Spock nodded. "I am unharmed. Captain, I must apologize for my failure to apprehend the target. It was my error that resulted in your injuries, and I have been contemplating appropriate methods for you to issue my reprimand, if you would like to hear them."

Kirk shook his head, chuckling. "Spock, you can't actually think that you did anything wrong. If it weren't for you, Bones and Lieutenant Uhura would probably be dead."

Spock's eyes narrowed. "But you were injured, Captain. Any situation in which you may be hurt is simply – "

"Unbearable?" Kirk – momentarily astounded by his own bravery – reached for Spock's hand again, gripping it tightly between both of his. "Spock, I thought you were dead. You don't know… You can't know how that felt."

Much to his surprise, Kirk felt Spock's long fingers curl around his, just for an instant, before the Vulcan withdrew and sat ramrod straight in his chair, both hands folded as tightly as possible in his lap. "I am only half human, and therefore I am uncertain whether I am capable or even willing to experience the entirety of human emotions. The emotions that I have felt, however," Spock hesitated, a show of weakness so unlike the stoic Vulcan that Kirk's heart leapt with hope, "I assure you, I have felt most deeply."

Kirk's heart was pounding now. He was surprised that the monitors hadn't picked up on it, but he supposed that it wasn't actually beating faster; just harder and more painfully since the depth of emotion buried in his chest made the poor organ have to struggle to do its job. Suddenly he couldn't bear to sit in bed for another instant and he climbed to his feet, ignoring the sound of protest Spock made and grabbing the wheeled IV so he could pace without ripping out any more needles. Judging from the red liquid inside the bag, Bones was still refilling Kirk's blood.

He must have lost a lot; maybe that had something to do with the crazy way he was feeling right now, though he doubted it. Ever since he had first awoken back on the Enterprise, Kirk was consumed with the feeling that he wanted Spock; he wanted him more than he had even wanted anything, and even though Spock was standing in the same room, less than a meter away and watching him with more concern than an expressionless Vulcan should be capable of, it wasn't enough. Had anyone asked about their relationship four days prior, Kirk would have said that Bones was his best friend, though Spock was a close contender, but it wasn't true; not then and not now.

Spock was… something else. Something important. "If you had died," Kirk said slowly, still pacing, making small circles around the center of the room until he came to a halt in front of Spock. "If you had died… It would have killed me."

Spock put out a hand as if to touch Kirk's arm but stopped, leaving his open palm hovering in the air. His wide, dark eyes met Kirk's and lingered for a long moment before he broke their gaze and looked down, nodding.

Oh, God. He was in love.

Kirk stood there watching as Spock fought down the terrifying waves of emotion that had been battling both of them for the better part of a week, as they had thought they'd lost two close friends and come so horrifyingly close to losing each other. The relief – the joy that had speared through him when he saw that Spock had survived had to be so much harder on the half-Vulcan who had lived his entire life trying to feel nothing, though the warmth that had wrapped around his hand hinted to Kirk that Spock felt something similar.

Kirk had always tried to be a brave man. At the very least, he was impulsive. So he reached forward with the hand unhampered by needles and grabbed the back of Spock's head and pulled him in for a kiss. As Kirk had expected, the other stood frozen and unresponsive for the first few moments; but then, amazingly, wonderfully, Spock responded.

It reminded him of the first time he had fought to drag emotion out of Spock, when he had insulted Spock's mother until Kirk ended up thrown over a console and nearly choked to death. The emotions that the Vulcan fought so hard to hide had lingered, barely controlled, under the surface until they exploded, all the more powerful and meaningful from their long containment; except this time, instead of strangling Kirk, Spock kissed him back.

The Vulcan placed one hand on Kirk's cheek and the other, delicately, around Kirk's bare side, careful not to harm any of his captain's still-healing wounds, but the lips that met Kirk's were forceful and demanding, opening his mouth for an exchange of tongues that sent tingles all through Kirk and pulled an unmistakable moan of desire from Spock. Kirk pulled tighter on Spock's neck as the kiss heated into a clash of lips and tongue and teeth and their bodies melded together, igniting a frenzy of arousal in them both.

Neither heard the hiss as the door to sick bay slid open. "Aw! Come on! Damn it Jim, I really didn't need to see that."