First Officer Spock could recall little of his journey from his quarters to Sickbay nor had he waited to hear what McCoy had to say. There had been something in the man's voice that spoke of urgency. He only stopped when two security guards gripped his arms and McCoy stood in front of him blocking him from going into the Intensive Care Unit.

"He's still with us, Spock. He opened his eyes and they react to light but he has said nothing and given no other reaction. All scans are as before. I," concerned blue eyes looked steadily at him as a hand briefly rested on his shoulder, and the Vulcan fully understood what was not said as he knew this man so well, "I just thought you should be here." Only then did McCoy nod and stand aside as the security men released him.

Although to all those around him it looked like Spock confidently walked up to the bed he was aware he was merely controlling both the Human emotions and his Vulcan fury at what had happened to Angus on his behalf. He had remembered more about what had taken place before, about how Angus had acted, had been, and knew the being that persona for that long would have been a human version of hell. Angus hardly knew him and yet had borne all that to get him back. McCoy might, by training, be meant to think, as so many would, that there was no hope for Angus, and yet McCoy had accepted that he had sensed an awareness when he had briefly touched Angus's mind, a knowing that he was lost. No, not so much lost as trapped. McCoy had accepted that what he had sensed outweighed technology. He was only vaguely aware of them watching him as he paused by the head of the bed looking down at Angus.

McCoy had been right, his eyes were open but they were fixed, reacting only to light. Momentarily Spock closed his own eyes, too many memories were battering against his barriers. All that he had seen about those eyes down there, that Earth saying about the eyes being the mirror of the soul. Down there those eyes had been alive and reassuring, now there was a totally lost look about them. There was something there, something stopping Angus from returning. Kroykah! He had been aware of his mind starting to calculate how many things could be stopping him.

"You okay, Spock?" Kirk's voice penetrated his mind and he turned and looked at his friend. "I have to go see to our guests."

"I will remain here. If he is to come back I should be here to help in whatever way I am able to."

"I will be back as soon as I can. The rest of you should go get some rest." when there was no movement Kirk kept looking at Spock and the Vulcan saw the smile about his friend's eyes then he looked from Uhura to Sulu to Chekov and finally at Scotty, "I do not want to make it an order. You will be notified of any change." Once the others had gone Kirk looked from the still form on the bed to the still form standing beside it just looking down at it. He knew his friend so well he knew the guilt he would be feeling although he would never admit to that Human aspect. Briefly he rested a hand on the stiff shoulder and gave a light squeeze, "He'll be glad to see you, Spock. He'll be glad that you are the first person he will see."

Spock had nodded and Kirk left. Spock had nodded not because he agreed with what Jim had said but because he knew he had to acknowledge him so he would leave. He was aware of McCoy's light touch before he walked out of the room to sit at his desk where he could monitor what was going on. The Vulcan was not sure if Angus would be glad to see him, if seeing him would bring back too many memories for him to deal with. So many of those recalled memories made him wonder more about the man and about if he would really want to return to them. The images that had flooded into him in that brief mind touch had coalesced and he had a deeper understanding and appreciation of the man and all he had done, all he lived with. What the images had shown him and what his brother had said only added to his wondering if the man would really want to return. At first he wondered what Human would want to return but paused, and closed his eyes. What being of any species would want to return to those memories and living with them ever present? Angus had called upon whatever it was in that enabled him to be that other persona for so long, to only lesson it slightly in that room with him when Angus had tended to his needs. At the time he had been unable to fully resist the drugs he had been given but even in the haze he had been aware of the conflict within the man: the conflict had been held down by the repeated "Trust me." Would Angus now trust him to ensure he got the best care? Was there some part of Angus that trusted him to help him back or.

No! Not after all he had been through, all he had endured, all he had done to get him back to the Enterprise. Carefully Spock placed his hand briefly on the side of Angus's face and sent the message that Angus had sent him all the time, "Trust me." He removed his hand and just stood looking down at the still form allowing a moment of Human hope to possess him.

One of the many things James Kirk disliked about dignitaries that he had to show about the ship was their asinine questions. He was certain that somebody somewhere gave them all the same set of questions with instructions to repeat each question at least three different ways. Usually it was just the Ambassadors who asked questions but the aide was also asking a lot of questions about the ship and the crew make up on other Federation ships. It seemed to amaze the aide that more and more non-humans were becoming starship captains within StarFleet and that there were many more within the Federation.

As they walked through the ship, with Kirk believing they had seen enough of the ship, the Ambassador said, "There is still your Sickbay I wish to see to see how it compares with others I have seen. I have heard that your medical staff is the best in all of the Federation. My aide has told me that there were no patients, that you had had a loss of another officer not just your First Officer. I know how hard that must be but it seems your crew admirably copes with such losses."

"The loss of crew members is part of being out in unchartered space, Sir. The crew know that out there we encounter on a daily basis the risk of losing not only some of our fellow officers but also our own life and the ship. It is accepted by all who venture into the unknown. While it is not visible to those who do not know the crew it is the loss of crew members when not out there that seems to effect them far more as far too often there is no reason for it."

"So the loss of your First Officer and the other officer has been difficult for your crew to accept and yet there is no sign of any inefficiency." The aide looked at him and Kirk felt that previous unsettled feeling when he looked at the man.

"The crew knows the best way it can honor fallen shipmates is to continue working, upholding the high standards of the ship. In private the crew may mourn in their own way but on duty they are officers and carry out their duties."

When they arrived outside Sickbay Kirk hesitated, he hoped that Spock would have returned to his quarters and yet suspected he had stayed. Bones would have shut the main door to the Intensive Care Unit so that the only access was thorough his office so he had to ensure they stayed in the main area. It was best not having to explain how Spock returned until he had sorted all of it out and he would need a lot more time to do that, if it could ever really be sorted out as there were so many questions and people involved. At his core he knew he wanted five minutes alone with whoever was behind it with them as drugged as Spock had been but he knew that that was unlikely as whoever it was was bound to be back on

"Gentlemen, you will remember Doctor McCoy, Doctor, they have come to check out your domain." even as he spoke he saw McCoy press a button that silently closed the door to the Intensive Care Unit, saw that the intercom was on so that Spock could hear what was said and so that Bones could hear if he were suddenly needed in there. From where they stood they could not see the instrumentation that Bones could that let him know how Wishart was doing. McCoy gave him a slight nod then looked at the others. To them the nod would be acknowledgment but Kirk knew it was to let him know there was no change.

McCoy briefly but politely pointed out the many features the Enterprise had that some of the other starships did not have and Kirk was quick to point out that they were pieces of equipment devised and created on the ship often with the help of the First Officer and Chief Engineer. McCoy would catch his eye as though to add that a few were the creation of Angus Wishart alone. When asked about the Intensive Care Unit McCoy said, "I have a patient in there who does not need any distractions at this moment."

"But we were informed that the person who had been brought here from that craft had died."

"I do not know where you got your information from but whoever gave it to you did not ask my about the condition of any patient. Also throughout the day I see many members of the crew about various things. When one presents themself and does not wish others to know and there are no immediate emergencies I make full use of the I.C.U." McCoy looked at each one of the three men before crossing his arms over his chest and rocking on his heels, "I am sure you gentlemen, being gentlemen, understand how some people like to keep some medical matters private."

"Then the man who came out of the craft did not die?"

"That is correct. As the Captain will attest, the man who came out of the craft did not die. He was checked over by myself, had minor injuries taken care of, and sent to his quarters. You were clearly given wrong information."

The confusion and slight traces of panic was plain on the aide's face, "But I saw, I saw when I came here, all the blood. You said,"

"If I remember correctly you were unable to ask if the mess you saw on the emergency operating table was an indication that the officer had died. I told you it was what was left after me working on the officer which made you lose most of the coloring to four face," McCoy smiled to himself as he watched a shade of red slowly add color to the young man's face. "I generally leave the tidying up of the operating room till after the patient it settled and you came in before I had time to do so and saw, as I said, what was left You then asked if he had said anything and I informed you he was too severely injured to speak. You did not ask if he had died nor what his present condition was. But you were most insistent that you would tell the Ambassador and Admiral."

"It was red blood" Kirk saw the aide seem to relax, "He human?"

McCoy had also seen, as Kirk had, the way the man relaxed, "It is not just humans who have red blood. There are many species that have red blood and red other bodily fluids."

The man seemed to suddenly pay real attention, "You mean he is an exotic?"

McCoy looked at Kirk and saw his Captain and friend was feeling as he was and then a movement on one of the registers made him look at the others then back at Kirk just as a strange sound like a person trying to say "No." while being strangled came from the intercom unit. Then that one word in that voice, "McCoy."