Jim West and the others were sitting out under the trees behind the town eating a picnic lunch that West had gotten at the diner when Gordon returned. He grabbed a piece of the fried chicken and sat down. "Well, you've been gone for quite a while," West said. "I hope you found out something."

"I did," Gordon replied as he bit into the chicken.

Bones, as usual, was the impatient one. "Well, are you going to tell us or not?" he asked.

"Give me a minute."

Jim Kirk smiled at Bones' impatience, but he thought he might get impatient himself. "You guys are right," Gordon said. "That guy has no regard for ethics, nor the consequences of his research or experiments."

"A scientist who does not consider consequences is truly dangerous," Spock said. "This research was not thought out correctly. Perhaps I can speak with the man and help him to take more into consideration."

"I think we should stop him altogether," Jim said bluntly. "This shouldn't be done at all. I'm sure Mister Gordon and Mister West can see to that once we're even gone. It will prevent a lot of suffering."

"We most likely can until more is known about genetics," West said. "It's a new science and who knows what all can be accomplished with it besides something like this?"

Jim smiled slightly. "A whole lot," he replied. "Just this part of it isn't a good thing."

"Then I guess we have to figure out how to stop this scientist."

Later that day, they were all riding horses, and on their way to the laboratory that Gordon had visited that day. "You know any western songs?" Jim asked as they were riding along.

"Me?" Bones asked. "I don't think you'd want to hear me singing."

Jim smiled and started singing, Tumbling Tumbleweeds, himself. Bones and the others thought he could always come up with something for all occasions. But then, West and Gordon started humming along to make some harmony. The others figured they would learn a new song, because that song sure was not around in 1879.

"I can imagine why people would sing while they ride horses across a place like this," Bones remarked. "It takes a long time to get anywhere."

"It is logical that one would think of some form of entertainment in such a desolate place," Spock said.

"It's not that desolate," Carol said. "It's rather beautiful if you just look at the lay of the land and how the trees grow."

"It's hot though," Bones replied. "And I actually do see a tumbleweed over there. See it?"

"I see it. You know that it's actually a weed that was brought overseas with grain seed?"

"Yeah, but it's still interesting how a plant just dries up and tumbles across the world. Even has a song wrote about it."

"They should write one about you called the Cranky Doctor."

Bones looked at Carol. "I resent that."

Jim was laughing at that. "That woman is definitely my other half," he said.

"Uh huh. I can see that too."

"I was only joking," Carol said.

"Ha, ha, ha," Bones said. "That was so funny, I forgot to laugh."

"The attempts at humor by humans puzzles me," Spock remarked.

"I've even heard you try to be funny."

"Vulcans do not participate in humor."

Bones turned slightly in the saddle to look at Spock with that comment. "Are you kidding me?" he asked.

"I assure you, I am not," Spock replied.

Jim could not help but laugh at Bones and Spock. "You listen to this all the time?" West asked.

"Yeah," Jim replied.

"They're about like Jim and me," Gordon said. "You have to have something to pass the time and ribbing each other seems to pass it just fine."

"Ribbing?" West said with a chuckle. "More like insulting each other."

"Are you really insulting me?"

"Uh…no, but I think you're insulting me sometimes."

"No, no. Don't put it all on me. Your form of humor is less than funny."

"My form? Your form of humor is so unfunny, it's boring. Not to mention your disguises."

"If it were not for my disguises, you probably wouldn't be here riding a horse with us just now."

"I think we make a pretty good team."

"Exactly."

They soon came into sight of the laboratory which was out in a forest, and was built in an adobe building which looked like a cave. They all stopped to look at it. "You think they're going to let us all in there?" Jim Kirk asked.

"I'll tell him I have brought my associates back with me to take a look," Gordon replied. "Let's go."

They rode over to the gate which had a rope which pulled on a large bell. Gordon pulled the rope, and they heard the loud bell ring inside the place. "That's some door chime," Bones said. "Sounds kinda creepy. You sure this isn't some haunted…"

"Bones, let's not go there," Jim interrupted.

"If this place isn't creepy enough, it has to have some sort of weird doorbell. Who has a lab in a place like this? Hidden out here in the middle of nowhere? A mad scientist, that's who."

"Bones."

"I'm telling you, I have a bad feeling about this."

"Doctor, being apprehensive about this meeting may cause our host to be suspicious about our purpose for being here," Spock said. "It would be more beneficial if we remain calm."

"If we can't get him to stop this research, we have to take action," Jim said.

"Don't worry," West replied. "We're prepared for the event that we have to take care of a strange occurrence."

"Right."

Finally, the same scientist that Gordon had talked to before came to the gate himself. "Good afternoon, Doctor Ranson," Gordon said, taking on his German accent again. "I have brought my colleagues along this time. They would like to see your laboratory and your research."

"I did not expect you to return so soon, Doctor Bauer," Ranson replied.

"Oh, well, they were waiting in Sacramento."

"Won't you come in. You can tie your horses over there."

They rode into the compound and Bones watched as Ranson closed the gate behind them. He wondered what they would do if they had to suddenly escape from a mad scientist. They dismounted and tied their horses.

"Come this way," Ranson said.

They followed him into the adobe structure and realized that great care had been taken in the building of this structure. It was well lit and the inside was carved in intricate designs. Jim wondered if this was originally a laboratory.

As they entered the lab, Ranson told them the same things he had told Gordon before. Jim just stood there looking at all the different research tools. "How can you not consider the consequences of your actions?" he asked. "What purpose do you have for doing something like this? You can't possibly think that you can take everyone on this planet and have selective breeding! All you're doing is creating a bunch of beings who think they're superior to all others and want to eradicate anyone who doesn't meet up with their expectations!"

Before anyone could react to what Jim just said, he shoved the lab table over, breaking everything on it. "Jim!" Bones exclaimed, but Jim was not listening.

Jim shoved another lab table over which had a lot of beakers and other containers on it. This action caused a reaction that started a fire in the lab. Ranson was furious now, and he shoved Jim into the wall away from his lab equipment. "What do you think you're doing?!" he yelled.

The chemicals that were burning were starting to make a toxic smoke. "We have to get out of here!" Bones said as he was helping Jim up.

"Ranson, come on!" West yelled as he was moving toward the door. He had not expected anything like this to happen, but the fire was spreading.

"I can't leave my research!" Ranson yelled.

"You have to!"

"No!"

West did not see where Ranson went, but he went on with the others. They soon got outside, and it was just in time because there was a large explosion inside the lab. They moved further away from the building, and just stood there watching it burn.

"Well, I guess that was one way to stop it," Bones said as he looked at Jim. "You could have killed us all."

Jim glared at him. "Don't lecture me, Bones!" he said.

"I'm not lecturing you! You could think sometimes before you act!"

"You didn't lose someone you cared about to him!"

"I almost did! You forget, I stood there looking at what I thought was your dead body! How do you think that made me feel? Huh?"

"I'm not dead!"

"You were!"

Jim shoved him. "Get out of my face, Bones!"

Bones shoved him back. "Don't push me! Maybe next time, I won't save your life!"

Spock walked up to them and Vulcan pinched them both at the same time. "Human anger is senseless," he said.

West and Gordon looked at Jim and Bones lying on the ground. "You must save yourself a lot of knuckle pain like that," Gordon remarked.

"It must come in very handy with those two around," West added. He looked at Spock. "How long will they be out?"

"Long enough that we may be back to the train," Spock replied. He looked toward the lab where the fire was burning even bigger now. "I believe it is safe to say that this research has ended at least for now, and it will be very difficult for anyone to retrieve anything from this fire."

"I think you're right about that," West said.

"I will secure the doctor and the captain on their horses."

Carol frowned at Spock. "You could have just pushed them down or something," she said.

"Then I would have also been in the fray," Spock replied.

"I'll help you."

They got Jim and Bones onto the horses. West and Gordon checked around the lab again to make sure Ranson had not escaped out the back someway with anything, but there was no other way out that they could see. "You know how these things are," Gordon said. "There could be an underground passage for all we know."

"You're right, but there's no way of finding out right now," West replied. "We should have known Kirk would react like that. Obviously something worse than what we know happened."

"A lot of hurt that one carries around."

"Maybe this alleviated some of it."

They mounted up and rode out of there, with Carol leading Jim's horse, and Spock leading Bones' horse with them tied in the saddle. "Maybe we should leave them this way until they want to act civilized," Carol suggested.

While they were on their way back to the train, Q appeared with them riding a horse. "Bravo! Captain Kirk!" he said. "What a performance!"

Jim and Bones were still unconscious, but the others were rather startled. Q shook his head at Jim's unconsciousness. "That Vulcan pinch is so annoying sometimes," he said pitifully.

"Are you going to send us back to our time now?" Spock asked.

"Oh not yet. I'm having too much fun. There's so much unfinished business! Just so many possibilities!"

"We don't belong here!" Carol said. "We want to go back to our ship!"

"Feisty. But then again, I wouldn't expect a man like Kirk to choose any other kind of woman. Oh, you remind me of another woman I've met in a future time. Just full of fire, but she just didn't like me."

"I can imagine why. You're arrogant, annoying, and you take people's lives into your hands, throwing them into situations they don't like!"

"What's so bad about that?"

"Why don't you just go away if you're not going to help them?" Gordon asked.

"I never said I wasn't going to send them back," Q said. "Just not yet."

Q disappeared again. Carol looked at Spock. "How are we going to ever get that ego-maniac to send us back where we belong?" she asked.

"I am not certain," Spock said. "We must figure out what he means by unfinished business."

"What exactly does that mean? And did we change anything by destroying that lab?"

"I think so," West said. "At least it was out away from town where no one noticed. At least we'll know what to look for now."

"The experience with Khan is proof that you cannot control beings in such a way as this scientist thought possible," Spock said. "Do you think it is possible that he got out?"

"I don't see how with that explosion."

"I'm sure that was not Jim's intension."

"It's too late to think about that now. I'm sure we would have done something similar to that. After all, fire destroys the whole thing."

"Perhaps."

By the time they got back to the train, it was starting to get dark outside. Carol stood with her hands on her hips looking up at Jim who was still out cold. "We should leave them sitting here," she said.

Jim West looked up at the sky. "Not unless you want them to get wet," he said. "Looks like it's going to rain. But you just go on inside and we'll get them down."

"Fine with me."

Carol went into the train. West looked at Spock. "I don't think she likes me very much," West said.

"I do not believe that is correct," Spock replied. "She is simply upset about this situation, and Jim."

"Maybe."

They got Jim and Bones off the horses and into the train. Gordon and West took the horses to the stable car, handing them off to their conductor. "What are we supposed to do with them if they're stuck here?" Gordon asked. "We can't just leave them here. They don't have anything."

"We could always take them back East with us. They would be valuable with their knowledge," West said.

"That's true, but how would we explain Mister Spock?"

"I don't know, but he's very intelligent."

"All anyone is going to see are those ears, and if he ever got hurt…" Gordon looked at Jim. "Green blood."

"I know, Artie, but he's here and we can't just leave him and he can't stay hidden his whole life, ever how long that is."

"What will we do if they try to take him and do experiments on him? Commit treason?"

"Maybe they wouldn't want anything but a blood sample. Let's try to have a little hope here."

"I'm trying, Jim, but this is an unusual situation to say the least."

"We could just say his ears are a…deformity."

"That might work. I guess we can keep him in a bubble to make sure he never has a cut or anything."

"The West is obviously not the right place for him. He's more likely to get hurt out here than back in the East."

"Can't argue with that."

"Let's just take one step at a time. I think we should notify the president about what happened with the lab."

Gordon laughed dryly at that. "Oh yes, Mister President, we took four friends of ours from the future to the lab with us, and one of them was so overcome with emotion that he destroyed the whole lab, and Doctor Ranson was killed in the explosion." He looked at West. "How did that sound?"

West rolled his eyes at that. "You don't have to be so sarcastic," he said.

"Really? What exactly are you going to tell him?"

"I haven't figured that out yet."

"I don't want to have to tell him this. He's gonna think we've been hit in the head and lost our minds. Might even take the Wanderer away from us and have us collected."

"Relax, will you? I don't think he's going to react quite that irrationally…at least not at first."

"At first," Gordon mumbled. He opened the door of the lounge car and they went in.

Carol was pacing back and forth. Spock stood at the back door. West wondered if he was staying close to the exit. "I'll get that message going," Gordon said.

"Leave out that part about the friends from the future, will ya?" West asked.

"Right."

West looked at Carol. "You're gonna wear a groove in the floor," he said.

Carol stopped with her arms folded. "I don't find any of this amusing," she replied.

"I can see that, but I think we just have to make the best of the situation. We're not just going to leave you all alone. I think you would be very valuable to the government."

"It would be impossible for us to be used to change history," Spock informed him. "We cannot participate in such an unethical remedy. People learn from mistakes, and the mistakes that were made brought us to the point we were in time."

"I think it's a little late to start talking about the unethical practice of changing history since your captain there destroyed that lab."

"I realize that. However, we will not participate in any other event changes."

"Only those that have an effect on you."

"It is logical to believe that any event in history has an effect on everyone who comes thereafter, whether directly or indirectly."

West looked at Carol. "Is he always like this?" he asked.

"Yes," Carol replied. "But he's also right. We cannot interfere in such a way. If Jim had thought about what he was doing, he would not have reacted in the way he did. However, I hope that he stopped that particular research for now."

"And what else could Q be referring to when he talks about unfinished business?"

"I don't know."

"Our next stop is in San Francisco."

"Not another mad scientist?"

"No. It's not quite that extravagant. We don't actually have another assignment at this time. We're stopping in San Francisco for a little break, and for guard duty."

Artie came back into the car. "Well, the message is sent," he said. "We're ready to roll."

"Tell him to get us going then. I'm ready to get out of this town."

They were soon on their way, and not long after that, Jim began waking up. He felt like he was waking up from a long sleep…until he felt that pain in his neck and shoulder, and the headache. Then he remembered what happened. He sat up and looked around him. He had hoped he was having a nightmare, but no, they were really on this train, and he was dressed like a gun slinger.

"Spock!" Jim said. Spock stood up across the car with a book in his hands.

"Captain," he replied.

"You Vulcan pinched me!"

Spock walked over to him. "I am sorry, Captain. However, I felt it necessary to…"

"Spock, how many times have I told you not to Vulcan pinch me?"

"I do not know."

"See? Even you lost count." Jim grimaced as he moved his head and arm. He looked at Spock. "If I knew how to do a Vulcan pinch, I would do it to you so you would know how this feels."

Carol came over there. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"I will be," Jim replied.

"In that case!" Carol hit him with her hat.

"Ow!"

"You blew up that lab! And then you made it necessary for Spock to have to stop you and Doctor McCoy from fighting!"

Jim thought about that a moment and then saw that Bones was still out. "Oh yeah," he said.

Bones started moving then, and he opened his eyes. He sat up but then he grabbed his shoulder. "Oh, what happened?" he asked as he lay back down slowly.

"You've joined the club," Jim replied.

"Huh?"

"You've been Vulcan pinched."

Bones looked at Spock. "You Vulcan pinched me!? How dare you! I don't think I can move my head!"

"I assure you that you will be quite alright," Spock said.

"Yeah? After how long?"

Jim sat up. "What does a Vulcan pinch do?" West asked as he and Gordon came over to them.

"Well, it makes you feel like you have a pinched nerve," Jim said. He looked at Spock. "The last thing I need right now is to feel like this."

"So, it's basically a pinched nerve?"

"Pressure points," Spock said. "It is a technique to render one's enemy unconscious rather than using violence."

Bones sat up again with a loud groan. "You don't call this violence?" he asked. "I feel like some sort of violence has been done to my shoulder."

"You are not permanently damaged. Since the two of you were behaving irrationally, I felt it necessary to…"

"Never mind the logic! You come over here and I'm going to tell you how to fix me so I can fix him."

Spock went over to Bones and Gordon was very curious. "I want to see this," he said as he sat beside Bones. "Are you telling me that you used pressure points to do this?"

"Yes," Spock answered.

"Fascinating. How did you learn to do it?"

"It is a technique which is taught to all Vulcans."

"Oh."

Bones looked at the two of them. "Do you mind skipping the Vulcan lesson?" he asked. "I'm in pain here. I don't happen to like pain."

"Go ahead, Doctor," Spock said.

"This is gonna hurt, so I'd like for you to do it right the first time."

"I do not intend to make a mistake."

"Good. You should learn this well so you can undo these pinches when you pinch someone you shouldn't."

Bones instructed Spock on what to do and let out a yell when it was actually executed. Bones moved his shoulder which still felt stiff but at least most of the pain was gone. He looked at Spock. "Don't ever do that to me again," he said.

Jim knew he was next, but Bones had done this for him before. "I need some new clothes after this," he said trying not to think of how badly it was going to hurt.

"Just try to relax," Bones said. "I'm the one who's supposed to try to distract you."

"Shut up. If you hadn't been yelling at me, we might not be in this shape."

"Me? You're blaming this on me? Oh, no. You were the one who started the pushing."

"You shouldn't have been yelling in my face."

Bones jerked Jim's arm as he was giving him an angry look. Jim cried out but he was glad that was over. "Spock, I'm gonna learn how to do that, and I'm gonna Vulcan pinch you just so you'll know how this feels," he said.

"A Vulcan pinch does not work on Vulcans," Spock replied.

"Wouldn't you know it?" Bones asked. "So where are we going?"

"San Francisco," Gordon answered. "It'll take us a few hours to get there so we're on a little break until then, before we get our new assignment."

"You always get new assignments?"

"Usually."

"Sounds a lot like us. Always running off on a mission."

"Somehow, I think ours are a lot simpler."

"You're probably right."