The work on replicating the necessary oscillation pattern was coming along well until both Scotty and Chekov reached the point where sleep was needed. Spock had already removed himself and both men from the duty rosters, so a pair of cots were brought into the area where they were working. Scotty proved to be a prodigious snorer, so Chekov had pulled his own cot as far away as possible, though he muttered that he never slept well without a blade within reach.

Left to his own thoughts and meditations, Spock's brain kept returning to Chekov's earlier words and how he blamed the Spock of his universe for the death of his friend. His motives had been quite different, but his actions in changing the ship assignments had come very close to costing the life of his own Nyota. And had their McCoy not defied an inconclusive ruling - yet another matter that came back to him as the originator of the complaint - and brought Kirk aboard that fateful day, would any of them now be living?

The Kirk from the other universe claimed their Empire was at peace with both Romulans and Klingons, a statement that McCoy's ease in dealing with the Klingons seemed to confirm. Surely peace was always preferable to war . . . or was peace not always the more logical alternative? What had the peace truly cost their Empire? It was obviously a case where, even if one did not need to fear war with another planet, one had to fear violence on a daily basis. Where even a young genius could not sleep sound without keeping something to defend himself with close at hand.

The casual way some of them assumed that he would not only allow his own McCoy to die, but would enjoy seeing the man die in agony? That bothered him on a deeper level. It also reminded him that if they were successful in bringing back their own crew before he spoke with the other McCoy, he could rightfully be accused of killing the doctor by default by not learning what the steps needed to be taken for a cure.

Decision reached, Spock rose from where he had be seated, quiet as a cat. Distasteful as he found dealing with the counterpart of Doctor McCoy to be, it would not be right to avoid him and risk his McCoy's life for the sake of his own comfort.

There was no doubt that both the doctor and captain were in the captain's quarters, so Spock didn't hesitate to go straight to the door and request entry. It was granted almost immediately.

The lighting in the room was dim, but nothing that would affect his sight. Spock saw that Kirk was leisurely sprawled across the bed, his attitude both lazy and attentive. It brought to Spock's mind a le-matya he had seen in captivity once. The animal seemed half-asleep until the second one of the keepers unwisely turned his back to it. The keeper did not survive to learn from his error in judgment.

A shift of his body that caused the sheet to slide revealed a great deal more of Kirk than Spock expected. Modesty also seemed to be an attribute not common in the counterparts. Kirk wasn't in the least concerned, though he did seem slightly put out by Spock's presence.

"Something I can do for you, Mister Spock?"

Clasping his hands behind him, Spock steadily looked Kirk in the eyes.

"Actually, I came here in order to have a few words with Doctor McCoy."

There was a slight noise to the side followed by a familiar, yet unknown chuckle.

"Well, aren't you just in luck then? I just finished my shower."

Turning, it was quickly apparent to Spock that the other McCoy was as lacking in modesty - and clothing - as Kirk was. For reasons Spock couldn't quite make sound fully logical to himself, their casualness about their nudity annoyed him and that annoyance was increased by the way both men seemed to be aware of it.

Kirk stretched and got up, moving behind McCoy and running his hands down the doctor's arms possessively.

"Will you be alright if I leave the two of you alone while I take my shower, Bones?"

"We'll be fine, Jim. Won't we, Spock?"

Having the distinct feeling that he was being teased, Spock didn't respond - which amused Kirk to the point that he started laughing and continued to laugh as he made his way into the bathroom.

"You wanted to talk? Talk."

"Perhaps you would prefer to put on some clothing first, Doctor?"

That smile that he'd never seen on his own McCoy formed on the other McCoy's face again.

"Me? I'm happy as a clam the way I am. But I can slip something on if this bothers you. Does it bother you, Spock?"

For a brief moment, Spock considered lying, but this meeting was quite distasteful enough with adding that to the mix.

"It does."

Laughing, McCoy took his time fishing out a pair of exercise pants and slipping them on before settling on the bed as Kirk had. No, not like Kirk. While Kirk had reminded him of a le-matya, McCoy reminded him more of the agile rock lizards of the Vulcan desert. Deceptively still, but with eyes constantly in motion and taking in everything.

"Better?"

The teasing tone was still present, but Spock found he could ignore it better now.

"Were you sincere in your offer to teach me how to make the cure for my Doctor's condition?"

Spock's repeated use of the possessive in referring to the other McCoy added to the doctor's enjoyment.

"I was. It's a lot of detail to take in though. Are you willing to meld with me to learn?"

That was not a question that Spock had been expecting and he studied McCoy closely, looking to see if he was serious.

"I do not believe that my McCoy would be as . . . at ease with that suggestion."

"I'm pretty sure you've noticed by now that a lot of the resemblance between your CMO and me is superficial. We grew up in very different ways - not logical to expect we'd turn out the same, is it, Spock?"

The Vulcan's eyes narrowed in irritation.

"You seem to derive a great deal of satisfaction from making use of the word logical as often as possible."

"Maybe I do at that. So? You want the information or not?"

The thought of merging with the mind of this McCoy appealed to Spock about as much as the thought of walking through sewage did. Steeling his resolve, he reminded himself once again that his comfort was a minor consideration at best.

"I do."

There was a look that crossed McCoy's face that Spock couldn't read, but the man smiled and scooted further back on the bed before relaxing.

"Then come get it."

There was now no way for Spock to initiate a meld without joining McCoy on the bed.

"Doctor . . ."

The expression returned again as McCoy patted the bed beside him.

"If we're going to swap stories, I plan to be comfortable. I wouldn't wait too long to make up my mind if I were you. Jim's not going to stay in that shower forever and he's the jealous type."

Moving onto the bed, Spock gripped McCoy's left arm as he had on the observation deck, pinning him down as he extended his other hand to press against the side of McCoy's face.

"My mind to your mind... my thoughts to your thoughts..."

The rush of images nearly overwhelmed Spock. It took him a moment to realize that this McCoy was no novice to communicating with others using his mind, even if he lacked the ability to form the connection himself.

He saw flashes of himself - no, not himself. The other Spock - the bearded one. His clashes with McCoy. The two of them joining forces to kill Gary Mitchell. The two of them fighting in a Vulcan arena with T'Pring watching. He and McCoy kneeling before T'Pau together - the other Spock spattered with green blood. Those images and many more that would likely take weeks of meditation to sort through came and went before he heard McCoy speaking in his head.

~Shall we get down to business?~

In meticulous detail, McCoy showed each and every step in the process. Spock had not fully appreciated the amount of work that his doctor had put into changing Khan's blood into the serum that had returned their Captain to them. Then came the steps that had been carefully laid out for Kirk to follow. A strong memory came next that gave Spock pause.

~You died during the procedure to rid yourself of the disease?~

McCoy's mind voice was amused.

~I got better. Any other questions?~

~No. Not regarding the procedure.~

~Good - because what's next isn't for you - it's for you to pass to your own doctor.~

Before Spock could raise any objections, the information was being forced in much like the earlier images had been. It occurred to him that the earlier images had been the equivalent of McCoy testing the waters.

~I see my counterpart has managed to get the meaning of at least one phrase across to you. Most of what I sent you won't mean much to you, but it will be plain to a doctor of my level. Klingon anatomy and such. Wouldn't do for you to run into Koloth again and him not know his way around a Klingon's body. Might want to make sure he learns some Klingon from Uhura as well.~

This unsolicited offer made Spock suspicious.

~And why have you done this for him?~

~Because it amuses me. And because you people don't give doctors any where near the respect they deserve.~

~By respect, you mean fear.~

~To a degree. Wouldn't hurt folks on this side to remember that nobody can take you apart as well as the man who knows how to put you back together. And I believe we've finished at a good time.~

~Why is that?~

~Because I do believe you're about to have a close encounter with an angry Captain.~

Spock reopened his eyes and found himself looking directly McCoy's eyes which again had that almost reptilian cast that had bothered him before. He then realized the position he had unknowingly shifted to while submerged in the mind meld. The voice coming from behind was cold to the point of frigid.

"If you're feeling the urge to molest a doctor, I suggest you return to finding a way to get your own back and jumping him."

Getting hit by even a light stun at close range is a highly unpleasant experience. Spock was still conscious but unable to make his body respond as Kirk pried his fingers from McCoy's arm before unceremoniously shoving the First Officer off the bed and onto the deck.

"Now, Jim, there wasn't any need for all that. Nothing more went on than a mind meld."

Kirk moved to hover over the still reclining doctor.

"Try feeding that line to someone who doesn't know how intimate two minds touching really is. I'm not buying it - not with the way he had you pinned down to the bed."

"Well, I might have been egging him on somewhat."

Listening to McCoy from where he was on the deck, Spock hadn't realized until then that you could actually hear a smile in someone's voice even when you couldn't see their features. Then he heard Kirk give a short laugh.

"Of course you were, Bones. That's part of your charm."

Regaining his ability to move well enough to leave the Captain's quarters didn't come fast enough for Spock. If either of the other two in the area noticed his departure, they made no mention of it.

Once in the corridor, the Vulcan drew a deep breath and took a moment to make sure his limbs were steady before walking briskly back to where Scotty and the other world's Chekov were resting. His mother had once taken him to visit an Earth-style carnival and he recalled a Hall of Mirrors that was lined with the wavy mirrors that distort images instead of reflecting back truly. These beings were distorted as well and it was high time to get these . . . carnival mirror reflections back to their own world.